272 to 140.6: My Journey from Big Man to Ironman

Hello - My name is Mike...

2011-09-20T15:19:00.001-04:00

.. and I'm a "Big Man" again...

It's been almost a year since my last post and things have pretty much been in a holding pattern during that time. No training to speak of, poor eating habits, and no urgency to getting back into a fitness routine. I've been "injured".

Until today. Until now.

The injury has healed to a point that I know I can move ahead.

I've always known that this moment would come. The moment when my mind and my heart would get the same message at the same time. "It's time to get back to training." There have been plenty of moments where my mind would say it but my heart just wasn't in the same mood. And there were times when I was feeling the pull back into training mode when my head just wasn't in the right place.

I'm not sure why this happens but I know this to be true of myself. I seem to always go through some false starts. The heart and the mind are on the same page today and so we'll start back at the beginning.

One positive out of all of this is that I don't really have to learn too many new things. I know what needs to happen. I know that it takes time. I know that it takes patience. But I also know what's waiting for me there and it's a place I really have to get to. Kinda like Mike Reilly's voice at the finish line of an Ironman...

It's funny because the hardest part for me is just starting. As in a triathlon, the swimming portion for me is the hardest part. Not only because I swim like a rock but because it's the part where most things can go wrong (in my opinion). All that kicking and punching... it's chaotic. Just like a start back into fitness and a healthy lifestyle. And what happens in the swim portion of a triathlon? Things always calm down. They sort themselves out. You find your groove. I know this will happen with me getting back into the swing of things.

I owe this moment to many things. Some of which I'll touch on in future posts but the one I'll speak to here is the sport of triathlon itself.

When my family and I committed to competing in an Ironman, many of our friends got swept up into the sport (triathlon and duatlhon). They're "hooked". During my training leading up to Lake Placid they were always a source of encouragement and positiveness. Many of them are now triathletes. Including my wife.

They've gone swimming together, they talk about equipment, nutrition, what to eat during their run, race strategy, long runs, etc... And because I'm still in that circle, their involvement has kept me close. On the outside looking in but right there and never too far away. They may not know it because I've never told them but they've brought me here - back to this starting line.

So - how does it feel to be back at the start? Embarrassing? Hurt? Down? Ya.. that's the way it used to feel but today???... today I'm excited. I'm happy. I'm positive and I'm looking forward to it.

I've received some emails during my "injury" and have to admit that they were all very much appreciated. Sincerely. I barely know most of you but your words of encouragement have really helped me reach this point too. Thank you.

And what does the future look like? I'm not really sure.. Ironman? 5K races? 30 minutes on the treadmill 3 times a week? At this point, I don't really care. What I do care about is that it's started and whatever is ahead of me, I'm excited to get there.

I recently attended an all day coaching clinic which qualifies me to help coach my son's hockey team. At the end of the all day session, the instructor played this video...

It's the same video that finally compelled me to enter the Ironman.

"CAN."

See you at the Finish Line.

Baby steps

2010-11-29T20:50:00.000-05:00

I ran tonight. It was good.

Dark Places

2010-11-26T14:34:00.000-05:00

Allow me to beat myself up a bit....

I'm a fraud.

An impostor.

Weak.

A fake.

I've let people down. Many people. Most importantly, I've let myself down.

No tattoo for me. Not yet...

I've not lived up to what I would consider to be the "Ironman Code".

I'm in a dark place. Very dark. The darkest place I've been. And I've taken the tour of "dark" a few times in my life.

I thought that crossing that finish line in Lake Placid was going to somehow magically put me on some sort of Easy Street. My weight would stay down and my mood would stay up. I'd have reached that proverbial "Next Level".

It didn't happen that way. Not even close. And I should have known that from the start. I've failed. And I'm kicking myself for it. Big Time...

Since Ironman Lake Placid, I've had more beers than I've run or biked kilometers. I've invited those bad eating habits that I had exorcised in my year leading up to Ironman back into my life. I thought that finishing an Ironman automatically entered me into some special club. A club where you no longer had to work for anything. A club where good things continued to happen to those that became members.

Not so. And I shouldn't be surprised. Not in the least.

Crossing that finish line in Lake Placid ranks just behind getting married, and having our son and daughter.

140.6 miles in 13: 42:52. What a moment. And I'll never forget it.

But here's what I've realized since that exact moment on July 25th, 2010... although it's been slow to come to me..

Being an Ironman carries a responsibility. This is my opinion.
I don`t feel right claiming the title of ``Ironman`` and not acting in an Ironman-like fashion.
I thrive when I`ve got things planned out.... to the nth degree.
Without a goal, I float down the river of life and I let it take me where it wants to take me.. even to dark places like I now find myself in.
The achievement of a goal isn`t what motivates me. It`s the day to day actions that I know are taking me towards the goal that do.
I need the sport of triathlon in my life. Without it, I`m not who I want to be. I have to keep my addiction to Ironman.
I need the fear of failure in my life. It`s a big motivator for me personally.

I`m not back to where I initially started my journey but I may as well be..

What a waste of time and energy. I had the opportunity to enjoy a few weeks of letting loose and I`ve let it slip into a few months. What a waste. In hindsight, I could have jumped back onto the triathlon train and built upon my IMLP finish. But I didn`t catch myself soon enough.

``I`m a freaking Ironman`` I`d joke when I cracked open my next beer or sat down for my next slice of pizza. At the time, I knew that drinking beer, or eating unhealthy foods was wrong. Something that I needed to get out of my system. But it hasn`t stopped... and I`m the only guy to point the finger at.

Enough.

I want it to stop. I`ve put myself back a year I`m sure of it. And that pisses me off. I`ve put in too much effort. Too much money. My family has sacrificed time with Dad to help me get to that finish line.

I owe it to them, I owe it to my friends, I owe it to my family, mostly - I owe it to myself.

Enough.

I`m done with the celebration. I`m done with the ``I`m an Ironman`` responses. I am an Ironman. But I need to continue to act like one. To act as though I`m a bonafide member of the Ironman Club. That`s my new goal.

So.. what happens next???

Good question...

I think that part of my answer looks something like this:

Start blogging again - somehow there's some accountability there...
Commit my workouts to a calendar
Plan my weekly meal plan
Sign-up for Ironman Muskoka 70.3 in 2011 and look to improve my 2009 time by an hour
Learn from this post Ironman experience
Publicly state my next BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) once I know what it is.. exactly
Start again.. just start

So I`m apologizing. To my family. To my bride. To my kids. To my friends. To myself.

So here`s what I know....

I know I need a plan.
I know that if I apply the same mentality to other aspects of my life, the sky is the limit. Literally. If I can finish an Ironman, I can pretty much do anything. Provided I`m willing to work as hard to earn it.
I know that I miss the training. I really do.
I know that I miss my triathlon training gang.
I have to remain addicted to the sport of triathon but even more specifically, I have to keep my addiction to Ironman. End of story.
I know I'm happier and healthier when I'm training.
I know that I`m a better individual when I`m chasing a goal that scares the crap out of me.

Folks told me to expect these dark places. I thought they were talking about during the race. My dark place has finally presented itself. 4 months after crossing that finish line. Not at mile 18 of the run. Not at the beginning of the second loop of the swim. But now.

I'd rather be gone on a 5 hour bike ride and then come back home and feel engaged with what everyone else is doing. Feel connected. Be happy and energized. These days, I'm at home all the time but I might as well not be. I feel empty. Without energy. Completely disengaged from everyone and everything. A real freakin' bear. DOWN. And it sucks.

The road out of here is going to be slow and methodical for me. I know this. No magic wand to wave to take me back to where I was after the race in Lake Placid. One very small step at a time and I know that - eventually - I'll be at a point where I want to make sure I stay. This is going to be tough.

Ok - the Pity Party's over. That was somewhat therapeutic actually...

Time to plan things out and then just keep taking the next small step.

To the Finish

2010-09-09T21:36:00.000-04:00

I was going to start off with a Title to this blog of "Race Report - Part 1" or something really original like that but it just didn't seem to fit.

47 days....

That's how long it's been since I crossed a finish line of an Ironman triathlon. Not just any Ironman. Lake Placid Ironman. It's also been how long I've been officially an "Ironman Finisher".

It's also the number of days that I've not trained, the consecutive number of days that I've had at least one beer, the number of days that my nutritional plan has been all but forgotten!

But, I am an Ironman. Mike Reilly told me so.

So lots to get caught up on... you may want to grab a coffee and get into your jammies to read through the rest of this one. It's a record breaker!!! I'm apologizing in advance for it's length as well as for the time it's taken me to finally get it written.

I've missed posting. I'm not sure why I seem to cut myself off from things every now and again but I apologize to the 3 people that have been after me for my race report. It's actually a little more than a race report... it's a recap of the hardest thing I've ever done as an individual and what it's all meant.

On the Tuesday before we left for Lake Placid, colleagues came by my office to wish me well. Some were people that I knew were following my progress and had been asking about my training from week to week but there were a few surprises in there too. It was a great send off and it took a lot of effort not to let emotions that I was feeling get the better of me that afternoon.

Tuesday night was a busy night getting everything ready. I had been through most of my triathlon gear days in advance but I really wanted to make sure that I had everything packed and ready to go for Sunday morning. I made list after list after list and made sure that I had everything checked off before I started packing everything up.

Wednesday morning tested my car packing abilities like never before. Not only were we headed out for our date with Ironman, we were headed up to my Mom and Dad's for a family vacation after that! You couldn't have fit another bag in that car if you tried.

Bonnie (my mother-in-law) showed up to house sit while we were going to be away before we pulled out of the driveway to start our trek to Lake Placid. With house renovations on the go and a dog that wasn't able to make the trip, Bonnie's stay at our place was a godsend. She provided us with updates on the reno as the days went by and it was a load off our (my) minds to know that we had someone in the house while we were away.

An hour into our trip, Lisa exclaims "F#&K!!!!!!". I wondered what I had done? She told me that she'd forgotten the "banner". She'd gone and had this huge banner made and then had everyone sign it for me. She was going to surprise me with it in Lake Placid. We called Bonnie back at the house and asked that she FedEx it to our hotel in Lake Placid. Disaster #1 averted!!!!!

We drove along and I'll have to admit that my mood wasn't what I thought it'd be. Being Wednesday, I thought my "Game Face" would be a few days away. Not so. "Do you have everything? Do you know what the nutrition plan is? What happens if you flat? Are you happy with what you've planned for your Special Needs Bags?" I was really a bit of a grump on travel day. Pretty focused on making sure that I'd done all in my power to make sure that Sunday was going to be a successful day for our family.

Last year when I went down to volunteer at Lake Placid, the border crossing went something like this:

Customs Guy (CG): Where are you guys coming from?

Future Ironman (FI): Toronto

CG: Anyone else in the car with you?

FI: No sir.

CG: Where are you going?

FI (proudly): We're on our way to Lake Placid for Ironman!

CG: You're going down to watch right???

FI: Is it that obvious?

CG (laughing): Enjoy the trip fellas.

FI: Thank you sir.

This year, crossing that border was an entirely different experience. We handed the officer our passports and he examined them. Then he asked "Where are you going?" and I didn't want to say Ironman. I told him that we were going to Lake Placid. "Ironman?" he asked. "Yes" I responded. "All the best to you. Enjoy your trip." and we were on way again.

We arrived in Lake Placid at around 7:00pm and went directly to find some dinner. As we were walking the short distance to the restaurant that night, I found myself behind Lisa and the kids by about 20 yards or so. The sky had cleared up and there were other triathletes walking up and down Main Street in Lake Placid. I can freeze that moment in my mind when I realized "This is it. You're here. You're at the front of the line of the scariest roller coaster ride you've ever dreamed of." And for the first time - it didn't scare me. I was calm. Relaxed. Excited? Ya, I was excited to be there!

We ate and headed off to our hotel room which was really two rooms. One main living area which had a pull out couch for the kids and another room which had a king sized bed for Lisa and I. We got completely unpacked and settled and got to sleep.

Thursday morning I had some training to get in and when I got back, the famous banner was taped up to the one of the walls in our room. Again, the waterworks nearly started seeing all those friends and family that had signed it for me. Wishing me well on my day and offering words of encouragement. Humbling to say the least.

Friday night we headed off to the Athlete's Dinner down at the Lake Placid Horse Grounds. Tom and I were there last year to take it all in and it was inspiring and motivating. We got in line and headed into the huge tent that they've got set up there and grabbed our meal.

Tom and his tri team sat together. There were 10 or so "Iron Virgins" in his group. All great people. I couldn't help thinking about some of my triathlon teammates back home. All very special people in my book. And I couldn't help thinking about all of them that night. Hours and hours in the pool negotiating the start of the next set, all of the kilometers on the bike on Saturday mornings looking out for one another and chatting about our upcoming races, family, work, etc... I've only realized in the past month just how much they've all become a part of my life. More on that later.....

To begin the night, someone introduced Mike Reilly - the voice of Ironman. He ran up onto the stage and immediately had the 10,000 or so people in the tent in a standing ovation. He had us pumped!!! We went through some introductions and they played the Ironman Motivational video which had me covered in goosebumps.

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This is the very same video that I replayed time and time again when I was playing around with the thought of one day challenging the Ironman. And here it was again, being played in Lake Placid with thousands of other people that were trying to do the same. Goosebumps...

At one point in Mike's speech, he asked anyone who'd lost 20 pounds getting ready for Ironman to stand up. I pushed my chair back and stood up. Tom's tri team all gave me a thumbs up. Things were about to get interesting. "Anyone who's lost 30 pounds, keep standing. Everyone else, you can take you seat." I kept standing and the number of people standing dropped. "40 pounds." and I kept standing. "50 pounds." and I could tell that I was one of the few folks still standing. I say "I could tell" because I wasn't really looking around. I knew that if I'd made eye contact with Lisa, Ryan or Megan, I'd have lost it completely. I'd done this for them, for all of us, and I have to say that it was a huge rush for me to be there and still standing in front of all of these people. "60 pounds?" I kept standing and the group that was left was down to around 40 people. 40 people out of 10,000 or so. The chatter around where we were sitting was great. I could hear people saying "Now I'm really interested!". It was great!! "70 pounds!" I stayed standing with about 20 other folks. When Mike asked who'd lost 80 pounds, I finally took my seat. Total strangers patted my back and high fived me. I finally brought myself to look at Lisa and we both had tears in our eyes. What a moment.... There were three guys there who'd all lost over 100 pounds! I think the guy that had lost the most had lost 135 pounds! Absolutely amazing. Incredible really.

Fast forward to race morning.

Tom met me in our room and we wolfed down our pre-race meals. Lisa was up at that time too and I was pretty sure that she was more excited about our day than we were! We got dressed up in our morning clothes, grabbed our special needs bags and headed out the door to what was going to become our first Ironman experience.

As we walked along in darkness, we would pick up other athletes coming out of their hotels. Eventually, we were a group of 50 or so and the mood was intense. Not too much talking going on and lots of mental prep happening.

We got into transition and got somewhat organized there. I took off to find the Body Marking area and got in line there. I'm not sure why but getting body marked is like having your ticket stamped. To me, it means that it's official - you're about to embark on something pretty special. Lindsay marked me up and I walked back to the transition area for some final prep work. As I made my way through the madness, I made sure to look around and take it all in. There were 100's of folks lined up outside the barricades taking it all in. I remembered being one of them the previous year. I remember thinking to myself "These people are NUTS!" Now I was one of them!

After some final prep in transition, I left to make my way down to Mirror Lake. At this point, I still had to "purge" before zipping up the wetsuit completely. I got into a VERY long line-up and was worried that I might not have enough time to do the deed. With only minutes to spare, I ticked off my last "To Do" and started my way down to the water.

I was keeping an eye out for my support crew and eventually gave up on ever finding them in the crowd of 1000's there to watch the start. But as I neared the water's edge, there they were! I was nervous and excited all at the same time. I asked Lisa at one point where my swim cap was. I though I'd dropped it somewhere or just flat out forgot to bring it with me. Turns out I was holding it!!! My mind was just racing. I got some good luck hugs from the team - they have no idea how great that felt. Just what the doctor ordered!

So here we go... Ironman. A whole whack of training, eating right, missed family time, and pain has all come to this very moment. I'm on the starting line. Now I just have a long day ahead of me. And a bunch of "What if's"... But Ironman (and the training that goes along with it) is a lot like life itself. Just take it as it comes and deal with it. And that's what I was going to do that day. Just roll with whatever came.

I made my way over to the far side of the start area about halfway back. I was able to stand in knee deep water as the clock slowly made it's way towards 7:00:00am. As the US anthem was sung, you could hear a pin drop. What a moment! Thousands of athletes and spectators all standing still and hushed. I get chills just thinking about it. Mike Reilly was working the athletes and the crowd into a frenzy and the clock kept ticking... this ride was about to start.

When the cannon went off, I stood there. Planted. I watched the start of the swim as though I was a spectator myself. I waited about 90 seconds and then checked to see how many folks were going to be behind me on the swim. Here goes! I got into some clean water and started my day.

My swim strategy was simple: Keep the heart rate low and stay out of the traffic. To me, this means breathing every 3 strokes. At that pace I know that I'm in or around a 2:00 per 100 meter pace and I know that I'm not depleting the tank too much. I got in behind some feet which seemed to be moving at about my pace and stuck with them. By about the halfway point of the first out section, those feet started to slow down and I had to go looking for another pair to follow. I looked up and saw a perfect path to get around the slowing pack. Out and around and I was able to pick up some more feet to follow. I also found myself in between two other guys and I found that we were really working as a team making sure that we were swimming as straight a linen as possible. I took the first corner very wide as I did the corner that sends us all back to the beach and to the start of our second loop.

Along the stretch back towards the beach, I clued in to the fact that it was actually raining. But it was sunny at the same time? Perfect rainbow ingredients.

Time for the rainbow story... finally... allow me to be a bit mushy and soft here...

On May 16th, 2008 my family and I lost someone very special to us. Uncle Tino was more than an "uncle" to my brother and I. He was our 3rd parent. Never married, he and my father were lifelong friends. Tino coached my father's hockey team and the friendship just kept growing from there. When we went up to the family cottage for weekends, we picked up Uncle Tino at his place of work and up we'd go. When he retired from his job, he would come EVERY DAY to our house to keep tabs on my younger brother. Tino eventually lived with us and when my folks retired to the family cottage, Tino went to retire there too. He was family. And I miss him a ton....

Shortly after his passing, my brother came to visit us in Toronto with his family. As we were out for a 5k run together, we looked up and saw a double rainbow. In my life, I've never seen one. But there it was as clear as could be. My immediate thought was "That's Tino." I'm not a guy who is very religious or anything like that.. but that rainbow was him telling my brother and I that he was in a better place. After that, rainbows would appear at times that re-enforced that it was his way of checking in. My family and I were driving back to Montreal for our Christmas together that year. As we were just starting out on our 7 hour drive, I looked to my left and couldn't believe my eyes.. here it was, -20 outside, snow on the ground, not a cloud in the sky and there was a rainbow! I elbowed Lisa and asked her if I was seeing things. But there it was... There have been many more times since that time where rainbows have shined and I know in my heart that it's Tino checking in with us.

Back to the swim... with the conditions ripe for rainbows, at every breath, I'd look into the sky for one. I actually swam out of my little pod so that I could slow down and really take a good look around. At one point, I flipped onto my back and scanned the horizon. Nothing. I thought for sure there would be one around up there but no such luck. And then the weirdest thing happened... as I was scouting for my swimming buddies and looking up towards the beach exit, there was my rainbow! With all the splashing and thrashing that was going on ahead of me, and the sun hitting the surface of the water, I saw the rainbow. I guess it's the same effect you get if you're spraying a hose on a sunny day to wash your car or something but it was there. Thanks Uncle Tino!

As I saw the bottom of the lake start to become shallow and could hear the sound of the cheering, I stood up and took a quick peek around to see if I could see my team. No such luck this time around. Back into the water, around the dock and started the second loop. I was feeling really fresh. By this time, the pack had thinned significantly and I was lucky to again find myself bracketed by two swimmers on either side of me. The guy to my left was "swimming the line" (a rope that is anchored below the surface of the water in Mirror Lake which holds the swimming buoys) and I therefore knew that we were swimming as straight a line as we could. As I neared the first corner for the second time, I was focused on making sure that I wasn't going to get caught up in too much traffic when out of nowhere - BANG!!! My head hammered something that felt like a boulder! "What the frig was that?" I remember asking myself. As my vision slowly restored itself, a bright orange kayak came into focus! It was one of the volunteers sitting there to make sure we were all doing OK. Hey buddy - how about moving out of the way and helping a brother out eh? I wasn't that far away from the freaking buoy!!! Disaster averted, I kept to my strategy and came out of the water in 1:16:30 which is a 2:01 per 100 pace. I can't say that I'm disappointed with that but if I get another opportunity to challenge Ironman again, I'll do a few things differently to see if can't improve on that time.

On the right looking for Greg

My buddy Greg Collett who I blame for giving me the Ironman bug was in Placid volunteering. He's a sick puppy and volunteered to be a wetsuit peeler. His daughter was doing Placid as was her husband and some other in-laws. I promised Greg that I'd search him out after my swim. As I came out of the water I started scanning the carpet for Greg. I passed about 12 or so peelers and then finally saw Greg. He was there looking for a customer. I ran up to him with a huge smile on my face and we "Man Hugged" it out. He stripped me and helped me get up off the ground. He told me to "Kick Ass!" and sent me on my way to T1.

My trek to T1 was unforgettable. Running through that chute from the beach to the Olympic Oval was worth the price of admission all on it's own. It felt as though millions of people were cheering you on! I couldn't wipe the smile from my face and it was all you could do to make sure you kept things in check and not get too caught up in the moment! Again, I was fortunate to pick out my support crew! My bro is a pretty tall guy and so I saw him first. Everyone was smiling and wishing me well. One event down and 2 to go...

T1: If I had to sum this experience up in one word it would be "Confusing". I grabbed my T1 bag from the rack and proceeded to the men's tent. I grabbed the first seat that I could find, sat down, opened my bag and... just sat there... for whatever reason, I just couldn't seem to think straight! The night before, I must have visually rehearsed this moment 10 times but here I was and I didn't know if I should put my helmet on or my bike shoes on first. Where was my heart rate monitor? Should I put on my arm warmers now? Jacket? 12:07 in T1!?!?!?!?!? Holy smokes!

I grabbed my bike from the rack and headed out to the mount line. Strategy on the bike was to "Take it 'ease!" Everything I read and heard told me to just keep the bike under control. If I thought I was going too fast, I slowed down. It rained for the first 20 kms or so of my bike which included the downhill portion into Keene. I rode the brakes for a lot of that downhill section. Especially after my rear wheel started to speed wobble! I just wanted to do everything that I could to make it to the finish line. As I started the flat portion from Keene in towards Jay, my speed got up to my training pace and my heart rate was looking fine. But I still slowed down.

Just before heading into the first out and back section, I saw my coach and a fellow Aurora Duck cheering from the side of the road! I saw them before they saw me and so I started yelling obscenities at them before I flew by them and they had a chance to retort! Great support out there Karen and Andy! Appreciate it!

The stretch that the organizers had to put in due to construction on Hazleton Road was fair. Nice and rolling and it was a great spot to see just where you stood as far as the leaders were concerned. In my case, they were WAY ahead of me! And that was fine with me. I loaded up on nutrition during that first out and back section before we started our climb.

Another highlight for me was at the top of Poppa Bear hill where there was another crowd of supporters cheering us up that last tough section of hill. It was loud!

Into my first Special Needs stop and all I had to do (thankfully) was re-stock on my nutrition and fluids. A nice guy named John helped me out there. Thanks John! I saw him much later in the day while I was on my run and shouted out another "Thanks" to him for his help - karma was everything to me that day!

Starting the second loop

Up and around Parkside Drive and into yet another screaming mass of Iron Supporters to start our second loop of the bike course. At this point, my legs were feeling great. I had a lot left in the tank but I wanted to make sure I left it all there for the run. I headed out past our hotel where I was able to see my family again for the first time since coming out of the lake. They were jumping up and down and making noise with the various noise making devices that Lisa packed for just that very purpose. It was a great 2nd loop send off for me.

On the second loop, I really let it all hang out on the downhill into Keene. My relative bulk propelled me past many lightweights. Lightweights that pass me on uphills as though they were being towed by a motorbike... The one complaint that I had this day was that some of the competitors were riding right smack in the middle of the downhill section even though they weren't passing anyone. At that speed, yelling at the top of my lungs "ON YOUR LEFT!!!", they couldn't hear me coming. Eventually, they'd get the message and get over to allow me a safe pass but I'd have already braked a bit to make sure I wasn't called for a drafting penalty.

During my second loop on the first out and back, I had to pee. For the first time in my riding experience, I had to relieve myself while out on a ride. I'm not sure why it had to happen at this point in time but through all the other long rides we took this never happened to me. As luck would have it, an aid station was right in front of me so I decided to jump off the bike and hit the port-a-potty. As I was waiting in line (3rd or 4th guy in line) I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Coach Karen! "Mike - what are you doing?" "I'm going to pee coach." "Not here you're not!" she told me! "Go on your bike!" she tells me with a smile. And so, with a full bladder, I got back on my bike and continued along. But as I did, the sensation left me somehow and I only eventually ended up hitting the loo about 5k into the run!

I finished the bike portion without any drama or unexpected issues. My average speed wasn't anything to write home about (25.75 km/hr) but I was done the bike and now things were more in my control on the run.

With the benefit of hindsight, I'd have hammered a bit more on the bike section. I have also mentally committed to working hard on my bike this off season. I want to build some strength here and with that, I think my confidence on the bike will also increase. I was just so worried that I was going to have enough in the tank for the run that I really left something out there on the bike. Next time...

Coming back into town on the bike for the second time was awesome. Two events down and one to go. Only 42.2 km stood between me and my goal of finishing.

I handed my bike to another great volunteer and headed to T2. I took a seat that was situated where there was a ray of sunlight shining in on it. Easier to see what I was doing in getting prepped for the run. I lubed up big time here. I should ask Vaseline for a sponsorship or something. I wasn't going to chafe anywhere that was for certain! As my 11:31 T2 indicates, I took my sweet time getting ready for the run. I had some sun screen applied (more like caked on) and headed out of the tent to start the third and final leg of the journey.

The Lake Placid run starts out with a great downhill section. The legs felt as I had expected them to. Heavy! But I knew from my training that this was going to be short lived and they'd come around in about 7 or 8 minutes.

As I hit the first little uphill section, I felt something "off" in my hamstring. Oh no... just a twinge? Or something that I was going to have to deal with for the remaining 41 or so kms? I hit the top of the hill where it flattened out and it just cramped up on me. Frig! Not what I wanted to happen! Not now... please not now.

I pulled off to the side of the road and tried stretching it out using the sidewalk that bordered the road on this section. As I was grimacing and trying to get things back under control, two guys sitting on the lawn in their Adirondack Chairs asked me if I was OK. They looked like they may have had some Ironman experience in their past and so I explained what was going on. One asked me if I had any salt tabs which I did. He told me to take 4 right away. I was only going to take on one per hour as I did during my training but all bets were off now. I swallowed four tabs right then and there and started walking. Within what seemed about 75 to 100 meters, the cramp went away! Completely gone! Like it never happened... amazing. Just after that I ran past my team who were camped out in front of our hotel. I stopped and gave Hi Fives and hugs to all that would take one and told them that I felt great. I did. I wasn't just telling myself that. I really did feel strong. Away I went towards the River Road out and back section.

Ski jumps were a welcome sight!

On the Thursday of Ironman Week, Janus has a tent called the "Inspiration Station" where families can make a poster that they then go and put up along a nice long straight away on River Road. Ryan, Megan, and Lisa all made one for me which was really cool. As I was running that stretch, I couldn't help but keep my eyes peeled for their signs. At one point, I looked down at my watch and found that my pace had slowed by a full 30 seconds!!!! Holy! I had to pick up the pace or risk staying at that pace for the rest of the run. I eventually found each of their signs and touched each one as I ran by. It was also nice to know that they'd be there during the second loop. Something inside knew that I'd need a boost at about that time.

As I continued along River Road, I stopped at every second aid station (located every mile) and took on some water and Perform. They were passing out wet sponges at these stations too and I found that they really helped get the salt out of my eyes so it didn't really bother me as it had on some of my training sessions.

I had a few folks that I was keeping an eye out for during the run. Training Payne, my pal Tom, and a few other folks that I know from around home. I never did end up passing Tom (I'm not sure why or how we missed each other) but I did shout out to Training Payne. He was easy to notice with the captain's hat perched on his noggin!

As I kept running I thought that he must have had a terrible bike or something because he wasn't all that far ahead of me on the run. Within the next 20 meters I realized that he must have been on his second loop of the run! I had a feeling that he'd challenge for a Kona spot and in the end, he secured one. Actually qualified for Kona... amazing story. How a guy can train and drink beer with the same intensity baffles me but his recipe works. I'm playing around with using the same technique!

There's one really big hill that takes you into the main part of town on the run. I promised myself that if I ran it on the first loop, I wouldn't be too disappointed in my performance if I chose to walk up that hill on my second loop. Everyone walks that hill. It's long and steep. The good news is that it's also lined with a ton of people cheering you on. I can't walk in front of people. Get me on a stretch of road where there's nobody around and I can walk with the best of them. I'm too vain or proud to look weak in front of other people. I ran that hill. And I felt great doing it.

I stopped at the Special Needs stop on the run. I had been looking forward to this stop all day long. A friend that I've met through the sport of triathlon has now done 15 Ironman events. I took him to lunch in the weeks leading up to Lake Placid and asked for his advice on a number of things. Special Needs was one of the topics we covered off. Bill's first advice for the Special Needs bag was this: "Put something in there that you're going to look forward to eating when you get there." Bill likes to put pizza and a pop in his bags. Me? Salt and Vinegar kettle chips!

I tore open that bag and enjoyed two heaping handfuls of them right there. It was bliss! It also got a few laughs from my helper Alain and a few other folks and volunteers that were helping out. But Bill was right. I looked forward to that reward at the 21.1 km mark of the run. It signaled to me that I was half way through the run. Only 21.1 kms to go now. What's this going to feel like?

I passed two signs heading back out to start the second half of the marathon. One sign read "Finishers" with an arrow pointing to the right and in towards the Olympic Oval. The other sign read "Second Loop" and pointed towards a 21.1 km stretch of road that I'd just finished running. That "Finishers" sign became my new motivation. I was going to do everything and anything to make it back to that point. Anything.

I made it out past the crowd in town and then out towards our hotel. I again stopped to recharge with some hugs from my kids and some words of encouragement from my family. This time I didn't tell them that I felt good. I told them that it was getting tough.

Not too far after that, I had to make the first of two port-a-potty breaks. As I left, I unknowingly dropped the gum container that had all of my salt tabs. I must have been about 100 meters away before I noticed. There was no way I was going to run the rest of this thing without those salt tabs so I headed back to get them. I found them on the shoulder of the road. Man, was I happy to find them.

Back out onto the run. At the ski jumps, we all take a left which starts us out on the River Road out and back. In my opinion, that's the loneliest stretch of the Ironman in Lake Placid. You can tell that the sun is thinking about setting, the people you're running with seem to be struggling more and more and you know that you're almost done your day. It was at this point that things were really put to the test.

I started having to walk at each aid station. I'd start walking about 25 meters away from where they'd start to get a GU gel into me. Then I'd grab a sponge and wipe down. Next, I'd grab two cups of Perform and down them. Lastly, I'd grab another sponge and clean off my face and hands. And then I'd count to 8 out loud to get myself moving again. That technique never failed me out there. Not once did I walk after the end of an aid station. I wasn't keeping any world record pace but I wasn't walking either.

Before hitting the turn around point on River Road, I started trying to figure out how much further I had to go. Even with the markers on the side of the road, my brain just couldn't do the math. I can't explain it but I just couldn't focus long enough to do the calculation. Weird. So I started asking the volunteers at each of the aid stations. "How far away are we from the finish?" Nobody was really able to tell me. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. They mark each mile along the course. I just couldn't do the basic math...

Finally, the turn around point came into view. What a sight!

It was also about this time that my legs and feet (toes specifically) started to hurt. I knew this was going to happen. Time and time again I was told that it was coming. "Expect it." I was told. So when the pain arrived, I was ready for it. I started to count to 8. And I kept counting to 8 for the remainder of the day. Over and over again... 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. Repeat. It took my mind off the pain and kept me putting one foot in front of the other.

For me personally, the hardest part of my day was this. I'd come shuffling up behind a pack of 4 or 5 triathletes walking. As I neared them, I could hear them discussing an event they'd done earlier in the season, how well their bike ride went that day, etc... you could tell that they'd packed it in. The day was done for them. They were happy to walk it home.

I went to Placid to finish. But more than that, I wanted to do my best. I wanted to really test myself mentally and physically. Walking the rest of the way to the finish line wasn't something that was going to satisfy me. And so, as I approached more and more of these groups, I'd almost shout out "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8." It would prevent me from hearing what they were discussing. At this point in my race, if I'd heard the wrong words (negative motivation), I was one step away from walking the rest of the run. I didn't want that to happen.

Aid station by aid station, I knew that the finish was getting closer and closer. I rounded the last corner on River Road and the ski jumps came into view. I knew now just how close I was.

My hotel came into view for me for the last time. I knew not to expect anyone there for me this time. They were all somewhere in the Olympic Oval waiting for me to enter it. That really helped dull the pain and hurt I was feeling at this point.

It was also at this point that I joined up with Andrew and another guy. I quickly told Andrew that I wasn't going to chat much and that I was going to keep counting to 8. He was fine with that he told me. The other guy didn't say anything. I guess he was just there to keep pace with us. And we were shuffling!

At one point, Andrew was able to do the math that I'd been struggling to do. "We're 4 kms from the finish." is what he said. I can pinpoint exactly where he said it to me. 4K? I can crawl that if I had to.

It was at that point that I knew we'd done it. We were going to finish an Ironman. It was going to hurt sure. But we were going to finish. Period.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do on the big hill leading up into Lake Placid this time around. The decision was made for me when, at the bottom of the hill, my coach jumped out of the crowd on the side of the road with a smile on her face from ear to ear. "I'm so proud of you Dunbar!" she shouts to me. She gives me a big hug and starts running beside me up the hill. No way was I going to walk now! I did manage to warn her "Karen - if you get me DQ'd for running beside me now, I'm going to kill you!" We laughed at that.

At the top of the hill, she dropped off my side. I think she knew that the experience of a lifetime awaited.

As I turned left off the steepest portion of the hill, I was faced with another slight uphill portion of road. But it was lined with people cheering the rest of us in. It just pulled me along. "Go Michael!" "You're there!", "You're going to be an Ironman!" are shouts that still echo in my mind. Thanks to those complete strangers, I was able to keep the pain at bay and continue towards the end.

At the very last aid station, I emptied my pockets of any GU or Cliff bars. I never wanted to see another one for as long as I lived! Good riddance!

"This is it." I remember thinking to myself. Only 1 small kilometer away. Soak it all in. I could hear the music blasting and the crowd cheering. That sound marked the end of my goal.. the louder it got, the closer I knew I was.

I continued to shuffle along. There were athletes walking their bikes back to their hotels at this point and they'd offer up encouraging words as the rest of us finished up our days.

750 meters...

I looked up in the sky and told Tino that this was for him. That's when the waterworks really started for me. I couldn't breathe properly. My chest was tight. But I couldn't have been any happier at that moment in time. I have to admit it.. I was proud.

Shake it off Dunbar... you can't be teary-eyed in your finishing photo!

500 meters...

And there it was... that sign I'd been running towards for the last 21 kilometers.

"FINISHERS" with an arrow directing us to the right. Unbelievable....

Into the Olympic Oval. Volunteer tells me to watch my step as I navigate a 4 inch step onto the speed skating track's surface. The crowd is jacked! Mike Reilly is calling out names! I check behind me. Nobody was there. Nobody in front of me. Just as I'd visualized it. There's no way he's not going to be able to announce my arrival at the finish.

I enter the first corner and there's my buddy Tom. He's had the race of his life and is stretched out over the barricade yelling at me! High five brother! Tom had finished a full hour in front of me. Great work Tom. Well deserved sir!

At this point, I felt as though I was absolutely flying. I couldn't feel my legs. The pain had disappeared completely. Gone.

I could make out the finish chute at this point. Surrounded by spectators seated in the bleacher seats cheering everyone across the finish line.

100 meters...

"Mike!" It was Lisa! Not where I had expected to see her but am I ever happy that she's there to witness this with the kids. It's been a lllllooooonnnnnnggggg haul for her and our kids leading up to this moment too. This is for them as much as it is for me.

50 meters...

I cup my hand up to my ear and point towards the finish line. I've been working towards this moment for too long. I've worked too hard. I've sacrificed a lot. My family has sacrificed a lot as well. I hope my message gets to Mike Reilly. I need to hear it Mike. We just gotta hear it. C'mon Mike! Say it!!!

And he did. I heard it loud and clear...

"Mike Dunbar from Aurora, Ontario -

YOU

ARE

AN

IRONMAN!!!"

Thanks Mike Reilly... you've just made a dream come true.

2 meters...

1 meter...

Quick Update

2010-07-29T19:32:00.000-04:00

First of all... a sincere and very heartfelt "Thanks" to all of you for checking in with me over the last week or so. It's appreciated - Big Time!

Secondly, it's taken me exactly 17 minutes to log into my Blogger account to write this entry. My family and I took off from Lake Placid on Monday morning and have been hanging out with my folks north of Montreal at my "Happy Place" - Lake MacDonald. I don't have cellular reception and we're on dial-up... and I'm not complaining...

It's been a crazy & great past few days. A full Race Report will be coming and I've spent time writing down thoughts so that I don't forget them.

I want to congratulate Bryan Payne or Payner as I called him on the run course at Placid for qualifying for Kona. You deserve it Bry. I thought you were having a crappy day and then I realized that you were on your last run loop!!!! I'm always telling my kids that as long as they're having fun, I don't care what sport they're participating in. You're a shining example of how to have fun (to the extreme!) in this crazy sport that has somehow become a lifestyle. I couldn't be happier for you brother. And I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to tip a few back together down in Lake Placid but I might finally make my Paynapalooza donation and get out your way for the August bash... if you're still holding it now with your big Kona spot and all.... I hope you're not going to go all serious on us here eh?

I also want to publicly thank my friend Tom who had the Ironman of a lifetime on Sunday and who somehow found the strength to help me out after my Ironman was done. He always seems to be waiting for me at finish lines... I might have to work on that next tri season!

Outside of some general soreness in my feet and legs, everything from a physical perspective is fine. I'm losing my two big toenails which I think is part of the deal when you do an Ironman but it's a small price to pay in my view. Mentally, I've been on a high since Sunday at 7am. I don't want it to end!

The past 4 days have been filled with down time, beer time, family time, daddy time, and reflection time. I've been asked the question 25 times.. "Will you do another one?" My outside voice responds "No.".. but something inside tells me that I'm not telling the truth... it's a life changing event. At least for me it was.

I'm also very happy to see that I've become the ASI Photo poster child for the Lake Placid Ironman event.

www.asiorders.com/view_event.asp?EVENTID=60052

That's me and my smiley face coming across the line in 13:42:52. It's also the picture that I'm going to order as soon as I get back to Toronto. I'm not sure how big a picture they allow you to order but hopefully it comes in a lifesized version! I'm going to wallpaper it behind the bar at the house!

So that's it for now. Full race report coming on the weekend. For now, I'm off to get a beer, watch some CFL Football with my Dad and then hit the hay at halftime. Life can't get much better than that...

It's here...

2010-07-24T19:36:00.000-04:00

In about 12 hours, I will be given the opportunity to do what I set out to do some time ago.

One year ago, I was handed my entry to Ironman Lake Placid. One year ago, I began taking the necessary steps to get me to this point. This moment.

I'm scared. I'm nervous. I'm amazed. I'm stressed. I'm emotional. But most of all, I'm proud. I don't often say that about me. I don't like the praise - I'm more a guy who likes to lead by example. But I'm proud.

I'm proud of my family most of all. Training for Ironman is nothing small. Add to it a few small items such as a move to a new house and a house renovation and what you have is a family who has worked together through it all. I know it hasn't been easy. There were too many days where Megan would ask me why I was wearing my "Gumpy Face". Too many missed family times at movies, trips to the park, walks around the 'hood. And through it all, Lisa just kept going. Taking the next step. Just like me. Thank you babe. I don't have the words.. I just don't have them...

Tom and I took our bikes into Transition this afternoon and the buzz was incredible. They allowed only the participants into the bike rack area and there were tons of people looking in on us, taking pictures... they were me one year ago.

I have to finalize my Special Needs Bags tonight, review my nutrition strategy, and visualize my day a few times and then I'm off to bed. 4:30am is my planned start to the day. Tom and I are going to get our breakfast here in our hotel room and then we're going to take the short walk into town to start the process.

My brother and his wife got into town tonight and we were fortunate enough to have dinner with them. They passed along some well wishes from some of their friends that I also know from back home. It's appreciated and I'm going to buy them a beer when I see them next.

I just got a knock on the door and it was Greg and Willem. I got a personalized bike course tour from them a few days ago and they calmed me down more then they know. Two great people. Both are Ironmen. I'm humbled that they go out of their way to wish me well tomorrow. What a community this triathlon community is. Get to sleep they tell me. I doubt I'll sleep tonight.

As I'm packing up my Special Needs Bags, an envelope drops to the floor. I know I didn't put it there. I've kept the emotions in check so far this week... surprisingly. I guess there's a lot to get done while you're here and so I haven't really had time to reflect on the journey. I was thinking I'd have time to do that after the event tomorrow.

My bro and his wife have left me a note... It's my October 26, 2009 blog entry. I well up reading it. I haven't ever gone back to read some of the early entries. Here are some of what I'd written that day...

"When I got into to the line that morning, a part of me was hoping that we were too far back to actually secure a spot. Was I really up to it? Was my family up to it?.. My road to becoming an Ironman had begun.

"I want to keep this story as something that I can look back on and share with my kids many years from now. I want to show them that any goal that you set for yourself can be achieved if you just keep working at it. Never Quit."

And so we're here. All of us. At a moment in time that presents itself as an opportunity to do something great. We all have them in some degree. And in thinking back on the journey, that's all I've really been doing. Putting myself in moments where I could either succeed or fail. And I failed a bunch throughout this. But I learned, I found other moments to be successful and after enough failing, there was success.

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed keeping this blog. I loved getting the comments and I loved spending the time (when I could) updating it with my random thoughts and ramblings. Of course, there will be a race report to come and some final thoughts on the journey but there's a conclusive feeling to this entry tonight.

Thanks to everyone for letting me know that you'll be tracking me tomorrow. I know that I'm going to draw on it tomorrow throughout the day.

Now it's off to get what rest I can get. I've got a date tomorrow with another "moment" and hopefully get to hear the words I've been hearing in my dreams...

"MIKE DUNBAR FROM AURORA ONTARIO - YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!!!"

Quick Update

2010-07-24T07:40:00.001-04:00

Weather looks like it's going to co-operate tomorrow.

If you'd like to follow my "slowness" tomorrow, I'm bib #1118 and you can access the Athlete Tracker at www.ironman.com.

Off to the pancake breakfast!

We're Here

2010-07-23T14:06:00.000-04:00

We got into Lake Placid on Wednesday night. As we crossed the border, the skies opened up and it POURED until we pulled into the Municipal Parking lot here in town to get some dinner at Generations. I've never seen it rain so hard for so long. I was sure that Mother Nature wouldn't have enough in her to hit the region with weather like that for another year... we'll see.

We got into our room and got settled in. We've become pretty efficient in the unpacking discipline as of late! Overall, the main drag in Lake Placid was quiet. I guess most of the folks planned on getting here on Thursday. The Ironman signs are up all over the place. There's a buzz here.

Thursday morning, Tom and his Iron Crew got into our hotel and we did a quick run which included the run back up into town (steep!). One of my goals on Sunday is to run that thing on the first loop. I'll see how I feel on the second loop but I want to be able to say that I ran that thing at least once. After the 8k run, we headed over to Mirror Lake for a one loop swim. Last year when Tom and I were here to volunteer, we did the same swim. Only that time, I'd stop to make sure that Tom was still with me and that I was staying close enough to him to make sure nothing went off the rails. Yesterday, we swam side by each the whole way. My swimming has improved by 10 seconds per 100 meters in that year. I'm guessing that Tom's has improved by 20-25 second per 100. That's amazing. I was impressed. The swim was great and we "Swam the Line" which rests below the surface of the water about 5 or 6 feet. Sure helps keep you straight.

We finished up the swim and headed over to the high school to register. They weigh you in at registration. I guess this is to see how much you lose during the race and to see if they need to hook you up to an IV bag after you cross the finish line. These looked to be high tech machines and with my shorts and T-shirt on, I tipped in at 194.0. I'll take 1 pound for the clothes and take 193.0 as my race weight. Not the 185 I was really hoping for but a far cry from the 272 I started this journey out at! 78 big ones gone. That's what my son Ryan weighs... I can't imagine hauling him around with me on Sunday! Couldn't be happier.

After registration, we met up with our families in the Olympic Oval where the kids (and moms) were busy in the Janus "Inspiration Station". It's a huge tent where they provide bristol boards for anyone who wants to make up a poster for their aspiring Ironman. Our guys did a fantastic job and I'll be keeping a close eye out to see if I can catch a glimpse of their poster on the run. They'll be hard to miss!!

We headed into town for an early dinner and the plan was to get everyone tucked into bed at our regular time. It didn't exactly work out that way for Ryan and I...

Two weeks ago, both our guys came down with "Swimmers Ear" which was really painful for them both. Their ears were really sore... We got them some drops and in 5 days it was cleared up. Ryan's came back. We tried some over the counter drops but we wanted to make sure that we attacked this bout as quickly as possible. I headed out to the local medical clinic to find that they were closed. The next town over had one that was still open but were closing at 8pm. I raced back to the hotel, grabbed Ryan and headed over to Saranac Lake's clinic. We got there at 7:30pm and saw the doctor almost right away. He spend about 1 second looking into Ry's ear and he told us that he had an ear infection. He was also nice enough to let me know that the local pharmacy was closing in 10 minutes and that he'd call in the prescription for us so that it was waiting for us when we got there. I was sure he told us to get to the Rite Aid in Saranac. We raced there to see them locking the doors. I bargained our way into the store and ran to the pharmacy counter which was also closing up for the day. The pharmacist there said that she hadn't taken a call from the doctor and didn't have anything for us. "Maybe the Rite Aid in Lake Placid has your prescription." she guessed. So Ry and I hop on over to their Lake Placid location and ask Heather (the greatest pharmacist in the US of A) if she had the prescription for us. She didn't. She then took the initiative to call the Kinney's Drug in Saranac Lake to see if they had the information. They did! Heather and her counterpart at Kinney's discussed how to make it happen and in the end, Ryan and I left with all the drugs he needs to get on top of this ear infection.

Thank you Heather. Very much!

We rolled back into the hotel room and started getting ready for bed when I noticed something hanging in the hotel room. Lisa somehow got this amazing banner produced and got all kinds of people to sign it for me. There are neighbours, close friends, and co-workers all wishing me well on Sunday. Very nice of everyone to have contributed. Thank you Lisa. That banner's going behind the bar at the house! Every once in a while, Lisa will pass me her BlackBerry and have me read another email from some of our friends sending me notes of encouragement. This is very humbling and still, for some reason, hard to just accept. What some of them are saying doesn't seem to "fit" if that makes any sense... "Inspirational"? I'm not used to people using that word to describe me. I'm glad I am but I'm just a regular guy with a VERY supportive family that has allowed me to chase down one of my Bucket List goals. Day by day and workout by workout I've arrived here in Lake Placid. And, if I'm smart and my bike doesn't explode on me, I'll be crossing that goal off my list on Sunday.

Today (Friday) is a scheduled day of rest for me. I've been told to stay off my feet and watch some cheesy movies here in the hotel room. I did sneak out to drive around the bike course this morning with Tom. Just like I remember for the most part. Hilly but fair. I'll have to be very smart about my bike execution and that means to really back off and keep something in the tank for lap 2 of the bike and then the marathon. I think one of the main keys for me is to make sure I get my nutrition in on specific sections on the bike. Leave it too late and the next thing you know, you're climbing a hill for 15 minutes and there's no opportunity to eat or drink.

Tom and I got back from our drive and now I'm in full R&R mode. Lisa has taken our guys out for a Scavenger Hunt of some sort and she's a champ for doing it. This is a stressful time I'm sure for her. Iron families have a hard job down here too. Entertaining a 7 and 5 year old in the rain ain't easy. She's a champ.

I can look out my hotel room window here at any given time and see other Ironman participants out there riding their bikes or out for a short run. Each of them has worked all season long to get here too. Some, like me, are here for the experience. To get to the finish line and nothing more.

Tonight we're all off to the Athlete's Dinner down at the Lake Placid horse grounds. Tom and I were there last year and it's a great time. Then Tom and I have to attend a mandatory Athlete's Meeting to review the rules of Ironman. I wonder if drinking beer is illegal?

So, we're down to 41 hours until we start our big day. I'm going to write down my race strategy tomorrow and get my special needs bags ready to go. Bike check in is tomorrow as well. Then my goal is to have a dinner at around 5pm and be in bed before the kids are.

My brother and sister-in-law are coming down tomorrow and are staying just down the road from where we are. I'm going to want to see those guys before Sunday too.

Piles of Positivity!!!

2010-07-15T23:27:00.000-04:00

I'm not really sure where to start this one... I'm a very lucky guy to be the recipient of some great and positive "energy" these past few days.

I post my bib number (#1118) on Facebook and get some important well wishes from friends and family.

I arrange to meet for lunch with one of my Saturday morning bike crew. Bill has competed in 14 freakin' Ironman events. Think he knows a few things about the big day? You bet he does. I bombarded him with one question after another. Bill's on vacation this week training hard for Ironman Canada. He gave me some great advice for the swim, bike, and run portions of the day. But what I really took away from our time together was how to manage the mental game that day. Thanks Bill - I'll be making "Deals" with myself all the way to the finish.

One of the life lessons I'm going to do my best to impart to my kids is this: If somebody else out there has experienced the success that you're looking to achieve personally, go and learn from them! Ask questions. Ask some more questions. Take some of the failure out of the equation and fast track yourself to your goal.

Near the end of our chat, he asks me if I'd like him to perform one of his famous "Ironman Tune-ups" on my ride. Bill has a reputation within our cycling group as the guy that knows most about bikes but I guess I didn't know exactly how much. The guy's a magician. He tunes one of our local pro's bikes! Bill's wife wins her AG by miles in anything she enters and he does all of her bike work. If these guys trust him to work on her bikes, why wouldn't I??? He gives me a list of items to gather and then to show up at his place Thursday. Remember, he's on his VACATION. I show up at noon at Bill's place and he drops everything he's doing to work his magic on my bike. He's pulling cables from everywhere, fishing wires here and there, replacing tires, tubes, etc.. Then he finds not one, not two, but three potentially Ironman ending issues with my bike's set-up. My crank is loose, some cable thingy on the back is loose and had it fallen out, I risked being in my small chain ring all day, and my bike computer was installed incorrectly. It could have wreaked havoc with my rear spokes! Bill understands... he truly understands the investment I've made heading into July 25th. He treats my bike with that knowledge in the back of his mind. He wants to give me the best chance of getting through the bike issue free. I pay Bill with a case of Budweiser with a request that he keep a few cold for after Placid so that we can toss a few back when I'm back home. Done deal.

Last night, I got an email from someone that I went to high school with. He played hockey at the College we went to back in Montreal and, to my recollection, had one of the hardest and heaviest shots I've ever seen. He's been following my progress on the Blog and tells me that he took up the sport back in 2000. He's taking on an Olympic in the near future and, like me, has Ironman Dreams - specifically Lake Placid. He wished me well on my day. Positive vibes in the energy bank!!! I'll take it. Thanks Dan!

Before heading into work this morning, I make an appointment for a pre-Ironman massage. John works on other local Ironman / Ironwomen and he himself is a Kona qualifier and finisher. As he's doing his thing, we're chatting away and I mention that I'm trying not to put too much emphasis / focus / importance on just July 25th. It is a big day but I don't want to get too overwhelmed with it. He says "An Ironman is a way of celebrating the triathlon lifestyle. Have fun with it." Did that ever his home with me. I'll be taking that with me to Placid. Thanks JB.

I walk into work this morning and before the computer has booted up, one of my biggest fans comes and swells my head with "Mike - you're looking FIT!" I'm not sure I've ever been told thatbefore. And, although being given compliments like that make me uncomfortable, it was very much appreciated. We end our short conversation with our secret fist "props" handshake and again, my energy bank has grown. Thank you Ali. You'll be with me in Placid my friend.

I head into a meeting and come back to be greeted by another email from a great friend. His note chokes me up. I print it off and a copy of it is going into each of my special needs bags. In it, he quotes from an article he recently read about an endurance event called the Comrades Marathon. It reads "In each race I have learned the desire to quit comes but once. It is a coward that once beaten does not return." There will be no Quit in me on the 25th. Paulie - you have no idea how powerful your gesture was. Thank you my friend.

I'm wrapping up a conference call this afternoon with a colleague that I have tremendous respect and admiration for. We're signing off on the call when I'm asked if I'm taking any vacation this year. I say that I'm off next week and the week after, not making any reference to Ironman. My co-worker says "Has Mike told you what he's doing on his vacation? We're all so proud of him." Thanks Meagan. It meant a lot to hear that.

I went for an open water swim last night at a lake not too far from where we live. 2k is the distance and that's accurate because the markers are out there as a part of the rowing club that uses that same lake for their training. I felt strong. I felt relaxed. I felt fast (even though I'm not). I'm ready to swim.

I took my newly tuned bike out for a scheduled 60 minute ride tonight. I had to keep looking down to ensure it was my bike that I was riding! Smooth? I've never had it run so slick. It felt as though I had another gear out there tonight. The bike is ready.

I run last night and it feels like I have springs in my legs. All systems go here as well.

People are telling me that they're heading down to cheer me on. It's extremely humbling... and appreciated.

The countdown clock is officially into the single digits. 8 days...

If my experience the last few days is any indication, the positivity that'll be floating around in Placid is going to be THICK. And I'm going to bottle it.

Reflecting, Recollecting & Refocusing

2010-07-13T10:37:00.000-04:00

I could say that the lack of blogging has been due to the constant work around the new house, unpacking, getting the final details for Lake Placid taken care of, training, etc... but I'm beginning to wonder if it's because the day is quickly coming and I'm trying not to focus too much on it. Writing would bring it back front and center...

July 25th, 2010 has always been a scary day for me. From the very moment I signed up almost one year ago to today, just the thought of being on that starting line sends my stomach into a mess. Writing this blog from time to time was, at least in part, a way for me to stay accountable. To myself, to friends that follow (thanks!), and to others who I may never meet. My conscience doesn't allow me to lie (or at least it makes it REALLY hard). Keeping this blog has, surprisingly, given me the motivation to get out the door to a swim workout, kept me honest on tempo runs, and kept me moving on the bike. More times than anyone will ever know. It's been more help that I initially thought.

But as the day approaches, family, friends, and colleagues are all wishing me well. They want email updates after the race. They're telling me that I'll cross the finish line, to enjoy the day, that it doesn't matter what happens in Placid because what I've done to get to this point is impressive in itself. I really appreciate what it is that they're telling me but I'm uncomfortable hearing it. I'm not sure why...

I was at a friends 40th birthday party on the weekend and many of the attendees were coming up to me having heard that I was going to be attempting an Ironman triathlon in the coming weeks. They were full of questions and I enjoyed telling them about my training, the science behind it, the nutrition, and the commitment that's it taken me and more importantly, my family to get to this point. As I left the party that night, I caught myself thinking that I actually sounded a bit like a triathlete. I've learned some pretty cool stuff about the sport.

My thinking today is that I have to spend these next two weeks of taper working on my mental game. Training Payne summed it up perfectly in his blog just the other day. My coach has told me the same thing. The training's done. I'm taking what I've been able to build up as far as fitness is concerned with me to Placid and the chips are going to fall where they may. These next two weeks are for me to shift my thinking. Get my head screwed on right. Get rid of the needless "what if's". Focus on the finish. Visualize July 25th in it's entirety. Start building up some of that inner confidence and get rid of the doubt. Mike Reilly is going to call my name - I can hear it.

So, as of right now, July 25th isn't a scary day for me. It's an important day for me and my family sure - but it's not scary. Scary was my first bike ride of over 150k with the Saturday morning crew wondering if my nutrition plan was going to hold up. Scary was going to bed at night knowing that I had a 30k run to get scratched off my To Do List the next morning. Scary was waking up with a new pain in the knee that wouldn't go away and wondering how it was going to affect my training. Scary was the dog along 5th Sideroad on my bike rides. Man can he (she) run fast!

Lake Placid is going to be a blast! A once in a lifetime event. A life changing moment in time. I'm going to soak this in. All of it.

My pal Greg who was the guy that convinced me to enter an Ironman told me the first time we met that Ironman wasn't all about the day itself - it was about the journey. I don't know why it's taken me so long to realize it but he's bang on. The things that I've done from a fitness point of view to get me to this point is something I never thought possible a few short years ago.

I vividly remember that moment. July 25th, 2007. Lisa and I went to dinner at a local restaurant. The kids were up at my folks place and we were going to meet them the next day to start our vacation together. Lisa looked across the table at me and, with tears in her eyes, told me that she was concerned about me.. my health specifically. I was tipping the scale at 270+ lbs and was consistently having chest "discomfort". I'd get winded coming up the stairs from our basement. I was miserable. I knew that something had to change. Right then and there.

Weight loss eventually re-introduced me to running. Running led me to the sport of triathlon. Triathlon has led me to Ironman. Ironman has introduced me to some very amazing people. People that are positive. People that chase their goals and work hard to achieve them. People that I aspire to be like. Maybe I'm one of them already.

Three years later, I'm down 75 pounds. My body fat percentage is the lowest it's ever been in my life. An "easy" bike ride is 90k. I can run 30k. I'm doing a freakin' Ironman in less than two weeks. Three years TO THE DAY that Lisa and I had that discussion in the restaurant. If you want something badly enough and commit to it, you can do it. No matter what. Just keep taking the next steps. Fail and learn from it. Try again and eventually, you'll achieve what it is you're after. You can.

The Ironman... When people ask me what the distances are, I still shake my head in amazement.

Growing up, I remember that when someone swam across our lake at the cottage, the news spread like wildfire. "Wow! He actually swam across the lake? That's amazing!". Then it'd be another 5 years before someone would try it again. I went on Google Earth the other night and calculated the distance of the LENGTH of the lake. 3.65km. Across the lake measured (at it's widest) 1.4kms.

I remember a father / son team that would bike from their place in the city to the cottage. Again, I'd be amazed that someone could actually do that. The distance? 120kms. A distance that, today, would be a below average long training ride with the crew. It still makes me shake my head...

In high school, we had something called the 9 minute run we had to do in gym class. I recall running along with a pal of mine and making a deal with him that if he stopped, I'd stop too. I stopped and he didn't. I couldn't start again. A simple 9 minute run and I couldn't get the legs moving again. Things have changed.

Mom and Dad were here visiting with us this weekend. I won't see them until after Lake Placid. As we said our goodbye's yesterday, they wished me well and told me that they'd be there with me in spirit. I know they will. So will so many others.

Still lots to plan. One last bike tune-up, extra gear for my special needs bags, load up on race nutrition, and a few workouts to get done.

I'm looking forward to these next two weeks. Mostly, I want to make sure that my mindset shifts into a more positive one than it's been the last few weeks.

It's time to start enjoying this.

Holy Hotness Part II - Peterborough Half Iron Race Report

2010-07-06T22:44:00.000-04:00

I had set the alarm to wake me up at 4am in order to make sure that I got my race day nutrition into my belly and then go and gather fellow Aurora Duck John at his place for 4:45. We took off in the darkness on our way to meet up with another recently migrated Duck Jamie who, like me, was just finishing off a house move. We met Jamie en route and the three of us continued on our way to Peterborough. We were all there to compete and participate in the Half Iron Distance.

By the time we racked our bikes, got through registration, body marked, and off to the port-a-potties, my pre-race time clock was pushing the stress meter close to the red line. I like to leave myself LOTS of time to make sure that my transition is set up the way I like it, I know where my bike is racked, I visualize my transitions, try and repeat my strategy in my mind, and then make it down to the water for a warm-up. I'm not sure where the time went that day but it was like I was operating in fast forward and I have to say, I like my old way better. Lesson Learned: Arrive early to race events.

My friend Tom (another Lake Placid Iron Hopeful) and I got set up in the transition zone next to one another. We headed down to the lake and did a quick out and back warm-up to get used to the position of the sun and some other spotting guides.

Tom was there with strict orders to go on his Ironman pace and he stuck to it perfectly. Unfortunately, 5 minutes into his bike he flatted and had to spend about 5 minutes repairing that. We passed one another again on the run and Tom was feeling the heat. I could tell it was getting to him. It was getting to all of us out there. I heard someone mention that they heard the humidex hit 42 on Sunday.

I didn't have a great mass start experience at Guelph a few weeks ago and so that was one of my main goals at Peterborough. Find some clear water and try and stay there. The horn sounded and we all waded into the lake to get started on the first of two 1km loops. There was some light bumping and body contact for the first 250 meters or so but I found the clear area I was looking for. I had two pair of feet in front of me and another athlete on my inside with the same colored swim cap. The caps were given out on your expected finish time so I thought that if I could stay with the person on my left, I'd be in good position.

I followed those feet as best I could and finally took a moment to see if the feet were cutting a straight line to the turn buoy. When I did pop my head up to take a peek, I noticed that the cap colors they were wearing were from a group with a faster expected finish time than me. Hmmmmm... I didn't feel as though I was working too hard out there and so I made the decision to continue to pace myself with them. What didn't register with me is that they were headed right for the buoy at the first turn. I normally like to take the corners wide to avoid any unnecessary body contact but by the time I realized where we were headed, it was too late. Sure enough, things got a bit clogged up and my next 50 meters or so were turbulent to say the least.

We made the turn to get us back to the beach and things straightened out again. I stayed in between two other athletes on either side of me. We were probably 4 feet apart and the three of us seemed to work together as far as making a straight line to the beach.

First lap done and we're onto the beach to get us to the start of our second loop. Beavermeade Park was a great venue and there seemed to be 100's of spectators there to support their families and friends. It always gives me a boost to hear the shouts and words of encouragement. It's one of the biggest reasons I love the sport. It's full of positivity.

The second loop was uneventful and my pace was relaxed and I was feeling GREAT. Out of the water and into T1 and I'm happy to see that my bike isn't the last one in my age group rack. In fact, I thought that my swim was strong. 37:12 at a 1:52 pace is what I ended up finishing with for the swim portion. Good for 25 of 60 in my age group and I'm happy with that.

Out of T1 and onto the bike I found my thoughts all over the place. "Stay easy for the first 10 minutes.", "Get moving!", "Can I keep a 30km/hr pace today?", I was all over the place and didn't stick to my race strategy at all. I got caught up in the moment and in the end, I hurt my performance. On the bike, things were going great. I passed the 30k mark and was happy to have passed a few other folks along the way. It was about this point where folks on their $5000 bikes started flying by me... I was happy that it didn't happen 5k into the bike and knew that it would happen sooner or later, I was just happy that it was later. At one point, I recognized Bernadette who works in my dentist's office. I knew that she was into triathlons but had no idea just how strong she was. She passed me on the bike and I said "Nice work Bernadette!" I don't think she recognized me but I told her quickly where I knew her from and she gave me a grin. She ended up finishing first in her AG. In time, I'll upgrade my bike and see what improvements in speed there are to realize. I've already decided that my winter workouts are going to be bike and leg focused and I'll be looking to improve my bike average in Peterborough next summer.

At the turn-around point, I was averaging 32.6km/hr and felt pretty good. My heart rate was in the mid 140's and the nutrition was bang on. Nothing to tweak there before Lake Placid. We turned around and I was surprised to find out that there was a slight wind coming at us. With the heat the way it was, I didn't think there was any wind out there and nothing on the way out indicated that there was any. I was looking at flags and leaves and nothing seemed to be moving. Anyhow, Mother Nature decided to give us all a bit of a head wind to work into and that's just the way it goes.

At the 85km mark, my average was down to 30.2 and the magic 30km/hr average was in jeopardy. I normally like to lollygag my way into T2 and make sure that my legs are as rested as they can be. Not today. The lure of the 30km/hr average was too strong and I had to keep hammering into T2 to keep it there. I ended up with a 30.1km/hr average which, when compared to my Muskoka Half Ironman pace of a blistering 25.6km/hr, I'm really satisfied with. Total bike time was 2:59:08 and was 40th of 60 guys in my AG. Something to work on for next year.

I took my time in T2 and headed out on the run course. Here I wanted to start out really relaxed and slow. I got started and got into a pace that I thought felt about 30 seconds slower than what I do my long runs at. I finally looked down at my Garmin and noticed that I was actually running 30 seconds faster than my long run pace! Too fast Mike! Slow it down! But it felt good and so I decided to just go with it and see what the day would bring.

It brought me to the 7km mark of the run and my race strategy went from "Go for it" to "Survival" in one step. I honestly don't know if I've ever "bonked" before in my training. I've had times where my body just seems to quit on me but I've pushed through those times. Out on that run, in that heat, it didn't matter what I told myself, I just couldn't muster the energy to get moving again. I walked... I never thought I would but I did. I took on as much water at each of the aid stations as I could and trudged along. I ran / walked the rest of the run. I walked up the hills and tried to run on the flats and on the downhills. The turnaround point seemed to never come and then finally it was there. It seemed to provide me with a bit of momentum and I was able to "run" (shuffle more likely) to the next aid station. At about the 15km mark, I was headed up a hill when I felt a twinge in my left groin. Oh boy... not the groin... not now.. not after all of this training... I walked the rest of that hill and tried running on the flat that followed. No pain. I decided to walk the next hill regardless and, again, there wasn't any pain. On the next hill, I tried running and the sensation came back to me but this time, a bit sharper. Frig!

I came up behind two guys walking together at the 18km mark and stopped to chat with them for a bit. They were funny guys and we shared a few laughs but I didn't want to walk the rest of the way in when I knew I could still physically run so I said my goodbye's and started my running again.

The sound of the finish area always seems to fill me with energy. I could hear the announcer calling in the finishers and promised myself that I was going to run in the rest of the way. Even though that was probably 1km or so, I hadn't run a full km since the 7km mark and so it was a challenge to finish off this way for me in that heat. I saw the timing clock with 6:07:xx and was surprised that it wasn't more.

Finishing time: 6:08:07. Satisfied? Not really. Did I learn anything? A TON!!!! Another reason that I love the sport of triathlon. Just like in life, I'm a believer that it's good to fail. With failure, you learn the ways not to be successful and you take those lessons with you until the next time. So on that front, I'm taking some positive out of the experience.

I waited at the finish line for Tom and as the time passed, his family and I started to get a bit worried. There were people finishing that I recognized as being well behind him after we crossed paths on the run course. Tom finally came into view and for the first time since I've known Tom, he wasn't wearing his famous smile. That heat stole it from him somewhere out there. He couldn't find his breath and his heart rate didn't want to come down for him. He struggled. Now we're both praying for rain in Placid! Or snow!

I went in search of my fellow Ducks and found them taking refuge in the shade and drinking fluids. Jamie didn't look good and I thought I was going to have to help him to the car he looked so weak. Ends up he lost 7 pounds on his 165 pound frame. That's a lot... John looked fresh as a daisy and had a great race. Jamie ended up with a 5:57 and John finished with a 5:15 and a 8th place finish in his AG. He's a natural...

We drove home together and by the time I got home it was 6pm. The heat was still beating down and I had dinner to get into me but I just didn't have an appetite. I'd been up since 4am, raced a Half Ironman, and needed to get to bed which I did at about 8pm. The alarm went off on Monday morning at 7am and I got on with my day.

I made it to physio Monday afternoon where they discovered that I've aggravated one of (or both) of my hamstring adductors. Beth worked me over HARD and sent me away with some light stretching / strengthening exercises to do and I'm back to see her again tomorrow morning to see how things are progressing.

I have a 6 hour bike to get done on Thursday and a 30km run to finish on Saturday. With those two key workouts out of the way, we're into taper mode and into Lake Placid.

My psyche took a bit of a beating in Peterborough. I've done a 180 on the Lake Placid goal time thing too. This entire journey started with the single goal of having Mike Reilly announce my name at the finish line in Lake Placid. It doesn't matter if I come in 12 hours after the cannon is fired or 16:59:59. I just want to make it to the finish. That's the goal. It's always been the goal but with some early season personal success on the bike, my mind started getting cocky and thinking about the "what if's". What if I could put it all together on July 25th and the magic happened? I've been talking to and following many Ironman finishers and they all pretty much say the same thing. That magical day is tough to come by. Some still haven't experienced it and are still looking for the day that it finds them.

The magic I'm looking for comes in the form of another guy named Mike calling me an Ironman and being handed a medal that says I'm a Finisher. That's all...

I had a day off yesterday and did a bike on the trainer tonight. I was supposed to make it to swim workout tonight but my Ironbride crossed signals with the babysitter and so I'll have to make that up at lunchtime tomorrow. At this point in the game, just getting into the pool and working on some technique is where I'm going to realize the most gains so it's not all that big a deal that I miss an organized workout. Although I was looking forward to seeing the gang there tonight.

Run and make-up swim on tap for tomorrow.

Out.

Holy Hotness Part 1

2010-07-04T20:38:00.000-04:00

Peterborough was HOT! Was up at 4am and am going to be asleep in about 7 minutes. Tomorrow I'll give my proper update.

Quick reminders: swim, weeds, sun block, Bernadette, Tom, hot, bike pace, volunteers, other Ducks, hot, cramping, slightly pulled groin? funny tan lines, tired, 60+ participant, bike course, the most tired I've been in years. Want that course again next year.. without the hot. 6:07 total time. Happy with swim and bike and was just too freakin' hot on the run. We were suffering out there large.

Out.

Peterborough Half Tomorrow

2010-07-03T21:04:00.000-04:00

Another busy day here at the new place.

My mother-in-law came over to help watch the kids as Lisa and I could focus our attention on getting things unpacked and put away. Beautiful sunny day here today and the kids were in the pool for ALL of it. Fun times for sure!

I have my second Half Iron distance event tomorrow up in Peterborough, Ontario. I'm surprisingly relaxed about the whole thing. I'm not cocky.. just not nervous about it. I just checked the weather and that run is going to be a hot one! I'll be drinking at all of the aid stations for sure tomorrow. I'm picking up two of my fellow Aurora Ducks in the morning. J Cap and I will start out of here at around 4:45am (4am wake up call for me) or so and we'll meet Jamie en route and then continue our way up to the race site.

I've got all my stuff packed and ready to go and the bike is already in the van ready to roll. I just have to get my breakfast prepped and then I'm off to bed to see how many hours of sleep I can get. I hydrated well today but staying off the feet was hard to do with the jobs getting done around here.

Tomorrow is not my "A" race. I'm there tomorrow to make sure that I've got my mental game in check and that my nutrition plan works smoothly for me. I'm not going to go all out in any of the sections of the tri tomorrow. I'm going to keep things steady and consistent. Another mass start will be great to get through as well.

My cold is much better today and I think with one more good night's rest, I'll be back to 80% or so. Shouldn't affect me tomorrow.

Race report tomorrow.

Out.

Back from the Underground

2010-07-02T16:04:00.000-04:00

It's been a much busier two weeks than I expected.

Our house move somehow snuck up on me and I ended up taking last Thursday off to continue prepping for our Friday move day. It's amazing what you accumulate over the course of time. The move was uneventful for the most part. We had one of the helpers do something to his elbow and he was forced to sit on the sidelines while his two teammates did most of the loading on the first trip. By around noon, we had a substitute helper at our place and the pace picked back up to normal. Our new house is really close to our old one (1.2 kms. approx) and so the movers were able to pack their truck, unpack, pack another load, unpack it and then head back over to the old house for some of the odds n ends... By 9pm, we were at the new place.

This is when the stress started to kick in for me personally. Trying to get out for a run was almost impossible. Shoes? I know I saw there somewhere... In the garage? No. In the basement? No. Why of course!!! They're in the Dinning Room! OK, let's go for the run. Wait.. where's my hydration belt? I know I've seen it somewhere... and the search continued for what felt like 2 hours until I finally had all my running "stuff" ready to go.

It's been great in the new place. I didn't think I'd feel as "At Home" as I do after only a week. The kids are doing great too. I was nervous that it'd be too big a change for them but they've taken it all in stride. I'm thinking that the pool in the backyard might have something to do with it... We back onto a local golf course and I'm going to guess that the average number of putts on the green that we back onto is going to go through the roof. Imagine trying to tap in a short 4 footer and then all of a sudden you have two kids start screaming, the dog starts barking, Lisa starts yelling at the dog, and I'm screaming at the kids. What are the chances that you're going to sink that putt? None!!!! We're working on it... We're also working on a scheme to undercut the beer cart's monopoly on the course. I'm going to manufacture a fake lemonade stand. I'll have a fake top on the cooler with empty lemonade cans and a sign saying "Lemonade $0.25". I'll have the kids set up the table right at our back gate next to the course. When the beer cart is out of sight, the top of the cooler flips and there are ice cold brews in there. The sign also will go to "Beer - $2.00". I figure we can get both kids through University with this little entrepreneurial venture... maybe franchise the idea... stay tuned...

I also have to admit that I've had as many beers these past 3 days as I've had in the previous 6 months of training. There was no way I wasn't going to have one with the movers after the job was done. I opened up the cooler that I had prepped for them, dipped my hand down into the ice filled water and handed each of them a can of the golden nectar. How could I not partake? That was a slippery slope... Anyhow, back of the pints until after Lake Placid. I've already got some of my favorite stock on order for the finish line in Lake Placid. Beau's Lugtread Ale (http://www.beaus.ca/beer/lug_tread) made by some great people in one of my favorite parts of Ontario. I'm bringing a few for my fellow Ironpals as well and I'll be enjoying a few of these post Placid.

I ended up missing a short bike workout and yesterday's swim workout and I feel terrible about it but... I don't think that missing those sessions are going to have any determination as to weather or not I can finish Lake Placid. At this point in the game, I guess you either have the fitness or you don't. I hope to heck that I do.

Coach K sent me my two weeks of workouts on Sunday (had to find the wireless router first...) and somehow, I completely forgot that we'd decided that I'd do this weekend's Peterborough Half Ironman distance event. How could I forget that? The neat part of the surprise was that I didn't immediately go into a state of nervousness over the distance. Last year heading into the Muskoka 70.3 event, I lost sleep in the weeks heading into the event. This week, I've slept like a baby. I think it's pretty cool to know that my fitness baseline has allowed me to look at this weekend's race as just another event on the summer schedule... cool stuff...

After Peterborough, I've got a 6 hour bike workout that has to be done next Thursday and then a 30 km run that I'm going to do next Saturday morning. With those two big volume workouts out of the way, we're into taper mode and the workload is pretty much over until July 25th in Lake Placid.

I have to say that I really welcome everyone's questions / comments / well wishes around my Ironman attempt. At work, folks have been asking more and more about how I'm feeling about it. Friends from back home are dropping notes to me wishing me well and they don't know how much it means to me. My physiotherapist, doctor, neighbors, and fellow Aurora Ducks are asking me questions around Lake Placid and it's really starting to bring it all to the forefront of my mind.

22 days away now. Hard to believe that it was a year ago that Tom and I stood in a huge lineup around the Olympic Oval in Lake Placid and handed over our Visa cards to pay for the privilege of taking part of this year's Ironman. Lots of learning in those past 11 months. On the training front, the nutrition front, on the technique front, gear front, and more recently, on the psychological front. For me, I think this race comes down to the space between my two ears. Like I said earlier, I either have the fitness now or I don't. It's too late to impact that now. So I'm assuming that my coach has given me the work necessary to get to that finish line from the physical perspective. What I need to start honing in on in the coming weeks is specific race strategy and some mental keys that I can use out there on the course to help just keep me going.

Quick run on the schedule for tonight and then an even shorter bike / run combo tomorrow before heading to Peterborough for Sunday morning. The new place came equipped with a hot tub and I'm starting to realize the therapeutic advantages of being able to jump into it after a good workout. I also find that a hot tub is like a barbecue... you can't use one unless you have a beer in your hand.

I'd still like to drop 5 lbs before Lake Placid and I think that I can but my mindset has changed. I used to believe that Lake Placid was just another way for me to lose weight. Don't get me wrong, the training for an Ironman would make anyone lose some weight. But my mindset has changed in the last few weeks. I'm no longer a guy who's overweight. I'm a guy who USED to be overweight (or PFG - Previously Fat Guy). Ironman isn't about the weight for me anymore. It's become a lot more than just that.

Enjoy the weekend.

Playing Catchup

2010-06-18T16:28:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy week and a bit to say the least...

The training seems to be taking more of a toll on me lately. I decided that what I needed more than anything was some early bedtimes. I think it's starting to work in my favor.

We're one week away from moving into our new home and that's been weighing on my mind quite a bit lately. Finalized the mortgage, arranged all the utilities to be shut off the day we're out, lined up legal aspects, etc... Lisa has done 98% of the packing at home and I'd say that we're almost done. We've got one more big day of packing scheduled for tomorrow and that should pretty much do it!

We were chatting with the kids about the move, more to see if they were sad that we were leaving our current home. NOT!!!! They're really stoked about getting into the new place. I guess it's just Lisa and I having the walk down memory lane... time sure has flown by!

Ryan and I have our celebration all planned out. He's going to have a Root Beer (very rarely does he get pop) and I'm going to enjoy one of the real beers in the new hot tub. Megan wanted us to all watch a movie together and I think that's exactly what we'll do...

Was at my nutritionist's on Monday this past week and was happy to see that my body fat percentage has come down from 21.6% to 12.4% since February of this year when I started working with her. I'm pretty happy with those results...

Guelph Olympic triathlon coming up this Sunday. Having another "mini taper" into the weekend and I hope that my results there are in line with what I ended up with in Milton. I really want to make sure that my swim is a LOT straighter than it was in Milton. I'm feeling more and more comfortable in the pool these past few weeks and I finally think that I'm starting to "get it".

Only 36 days left until Lake Placid. "Are you ready?" is a question that I seem to be getting a lot of these days. I didn't really have the answer when it was first asked but now that I've thought about it a bit more, I'd say that I'm as ready as I can be. I've missed only 3 workouts since January and had to modify a few workouts in March to navigate around a quad tendon injury that had me taking it easy on a few runs. Other than that, I'm thinking that with the coming 5 weeks of injury free workouts, I'll be in Mirror Lake thinking that I've done everything from a training perspective to complete the course.

I've been doing a lot of analysis on what I'd consider a good finishing time for me in Lake Placid. After all, this whole journey has been about accomplishing a goal. That goal was to finish an Ironman triathlon in under 17 hours. But with all the training that I've put in, I think I'd like to revise the goal and set some more specifics around my times in each of the events... I realize that anything can happen out there on the course that will take you out of your strategy but here is my Best Case Scenario for Lake Placid:

Swim: 1:20:00
Bike: 6:26:00
Run: 4:56:00
Transitions: 20:00
Total Time: 13:02:00

At last year's event, that would have put me in and around the middle of the pack for Men 40-44 which for a PFG (Previously Fat Guy) I'd be pretty happy with. Again, this whole exercise started out with the goal of finishing in under 17 hours so that's still the main objective but I'd like to be thinking about some short term goals while I'm out there.

Did some looking back last night and was happy to see that since I've been tracking my workouts, I've put in 143.25 kms of swimming, 2553.62 kms of biking, and 720.8 kms of running.

I also have to admit that as Ironman slowly approaches, whenever I'm out running or biking, visions and thoughts of the day are becoming crystal clear in my mind's eye. Right out of nowhere these thoughts will pop up. I love it when it happens. I was running the other day when all of a sudden, the stop light at the intersection ahead of me became the Ironman finish! I had goosebumps on top of my goosebumps! Someone recently asked me what I thought I'd do coming around that last corner in the Olympic Oval. I'm not entirely sure but I know that I'll be looking for my family and friends and then the domino effect of that is that the emotion of the day will come undone completely. I'm not sure how that's actually going to manifest itself but I think I have a good idea...

Tonight is a 90 minute spin session on the bike followed by a nice and easy 30 minute run. Tomorrow is Guelph prep day and then it's show time on Sunday. It's my first Olympic distance triathlon so I'm anxious to see how it plays out. Should be fun either way...

Life is GREAT!

Focused 45

2010-06-08T23:13:00.000-04:00

45 days to Lake Placid and I'm implementing my frickin laser beam focus on them all. I'm going to stretch like a crazy man, nail my nutrition, and ace my training. After all the work I've put in, I don't want to have any excuses when we all line up at the start line.

Christmas in July? I came home today and Lisa told me that I had a big package.... waiting for me on the dinning room table... I didn't order it. It was just there! A case of 12! It's a Powerbar sports drink called Ironman Perform. I took one down with me for my recovery bike session tonight and I liked the taste of it. It'd be better cold but it was a nice change. So to whoever is responsible for sending this to me - Thanks!

Speeding in Milton: Thank you to all of you who have either passed along your comments on my race report or have asked me how my day went on Sunday. I'm still pretty pleased with my effort in Milton compared with where I was last year and I'm already looking forward to the next season to see if there are further improvements I can make. I finally reminded myself to take a look at the bike computer to see just how fast I hit coming down the 6th Line hill.. I'd have to say that going that fast was an absolute RUSH! Now if only I could hit that speed on the flats... something to work on this off season...

Training: I did a 60 minute bike session tonight and was able to average 30 km/hr for the first time ever. I think my average speed result in Milton played a huge part in me being able to do this tonight. My mind now knows that a 30 + km/hr pace is possible and tonight my legs and brain worked together to help me achieve that pace goal. I was happy with that.

We also did a 1500 meter time trial at the pool tonight. I did a 27:30 which translates into a 1:50 pace. Considering that when I started in the pool I was going anaerobic just to hold a 2:00 pace per 100 meters, I'm happy with the result. Now all I have to do is swim straight in the lakes and try to keep that pace at the 1:50 mark. Thanks to John to set the pace in Lane 3 tonight.

It looks as though I'm on my very first 180km bike ride this weekend. The Saturday morning crew is looking to "go long" this weekend. If I end up hanging in there with them, it'll be the first time that I've done "The Distance". Should be a hoot.

Lisa mentioned to me that some of our neighbors are talking about going down to take in Ironman Lake Placid. This means a lot to me... it's awkward... humbling... but now the pressure to finish is REALLY ON!!!

Move day is fast approaching, mortgage is almost decided, renos are practically booked, kids are excited, things are slowly being packed (have to put a dent in the packing this weekend for sure). Busy times...

That's it for now...

Milton Sprint Recap

2010-06-07T22:12:00.000-04:00

On Saturday morning I did a very quick bike / run brick workout. 20 minutes on the bike followed by 10 minutes on the treadmill. In getting ready to do it, I was thinking "Why bother? It's a 35 minute workout..." Am I glad I did. I found that my legs got their mojo back at around the 5 minute mark during that brick workout and that paid off for me at this past weekend's Milton Sprint Triathlon.

When the alarm went off at 5am, the sound that caught my attention really wasn't the alarm going off... it was the torrential downpour hitting the roof! If I was waking up early for a round of golf, the alarm would have been turned off and I'd have slept in well past starting time! But Sunday morning's appointment was an important one for me for a few reasons.

I've put in a lot of training in the last 10 months leading up to my A race of the season (Ironman Lake Placid). I've been anxious to see what improvements (if any) I'd been able to make in the various disciplines in that time. What better way than to get out to an early season race.

Secondly, and probably more importantly, throughout my journey so far, I've met people and read about countless others who have battled through challenges. A little rain wasn't going to keep me from getting to the race. Folks with prosthetic legs competing in marathons and triathlons, Team Hoyt (Google it), PFGs from all over the place each with his or her own story to tell. Many times I've pulled inspiration from their stories to get me out the door to a swim, bike or run.

So, dragging my carcass out of bed and out the door I picked up a pre-race coffee (sorry Doris... just a routine on race day!) and then my coach who was officiating at the race and away we went.

It was still pouring when we arrived at the race site. Not only was it rainy but I'd say that it was cold out there as well... Anyhow, you get the picture.. it wasn't the ideal weather conditions we were all hoping for. As the starting time drew closer though, the rain stopped. The sun didn't come out but the rain was gone! Nice!

I took my bike over to transition and got myself situated in a spot that was relatively dry and easy to locate on my way in from the swim. While setting up, I was looking through the transition area to see if I'd recognize any of the folks I was hoping to bump into there.

Willem (or at least someone I thought might be Willem) came by me and I said "Willem?". Turns out it was him and we spent a few minutes formally introducing ourselves and chatting about the race. Willem has a Subaru season's pass that allows him access to all of Subaru's events this summer. Willem made the gametime decision to do the swim portion of the race and then call it a day. With the rain wreaking havoc on the roads and the run course, he didn't want to risk injury. I can respect that.

I recognized a few of my fellow Ducks in the transition area too. Paul White finished 1st in his age group and 20th overall. I understand from my coach that Paul is another PFG (Previously Fat Guy) that also had a nice smoking habit. I'm not sure how long ago he made his transformation but he obviously has benefited from it. Jim Russell is another Duck that was in attendance. I think he might just be starting out in the sport but he posted a great time in Milton. Shannon Kemp is a regular rider in the Saturday morning rides. Shannon typically starts out with the group, and then just simply leaves us in her dust. Shannon won her age group at Milton and was the second lady to finish.

I missed Rodney (http://tlog.dortoh.ca/) but can see from some of his photos that he's posted that I was set up just in behind him. He had a great race too and I'll try and catch him at another event over the course of the summer. Nice work Rodney!

Race time was approaching so I visualized my transitions about 6 times and then headed to the lake in my spanking new wetsuit. Water temperature was advertised to be 72 and I'd say that it was bang on. I did a short out and back warm-up and got my swim strategy put together. I lined up with my wave (#4) and watched as the earlier waves took off on their races.

I'm not sure how it happened but as the horn was about 15 seconds away from sending me off on my first race of the season, I looked behind me and realized that I was in the front of the swim start!!! NOT part of my strategy!!! I finally experienced the washing machine effect that up until that specific moment in time, I'd only ever read about. Feet kicking inches away from your face, arms coming down on your head and legs, people crossing in front of you from every direction possible... it was a blast! But not something I was interested in doing long term... I stopped to let the sprinters go on their way and settled into a group of 3 others that were keeping about the same pace. The first leg of the swim had us pointed towards a shoreline that had a barn on it. Sighting was easiest for me during this portion of the swim as the barn was an obvious landmark to keep focused on. The second portion of the swim was difficult for me sighting-wise and I ended up putting too much trust in some of the other swimmers around me. I did a lot of zig zagging during that second leg of the swim. I kept well to the outside of the buoys and avoided any congestion at those points. Before long, I could see the exit and lined up with two other gents in my age group heading that way. We picked our way through some of the earlier starters (confidence boosting event) as we approached the exit.

Out of the water and heading into transition #1 I had the urge to peek behind me to see if there were many green caps still out there (my age group wore green swimming caps). I decided not to do that and instead, would see how many bikes were left in our transition area (triathletes are normally set up in the transition zone based on your age group). As I counted my way to the third rack and my transition area, I was pleased to see that my bike wasn't the last one there! I've seen that once or twice!!! I got busy with my transition and all of a sudden, I got light headed. I had to grab onto my handlebars and get into a sturdy stance to let it pass. Once it did, I ran with my bike to the start line and started my bike portion of the race.

My last experience on a bike in a race was in Muskoka and I just remember hearing "On your left" A LOT (when passing another triathlete on the bike course, you're supposed to call out "on your left" to let them know that they're there). After the first 200 meters or so, I hadn't been passed and was actually passing a few folks on our way out to deal with the hill on 6th line. Confidence was building here a bit too.

As I started up the 6th line hill, I knew that I'd be passed by a few folks. It's a combination of a few things... my relative bulk compared to others in the race, my gearing ratio, and my inexperience on tackling hills on the bike. I was out of the saddle almost immediately and grinding my way up to the top. My plan was to really push it once I made it to the top while others might have been catching their breath. I gave it my best shot at the top and I was surprised that it actually worked. There were tons of folks re-grouping at the top and I was finally able to tell them "On your left." Man did that feel good for a change.

Then something really cool happened. I could see a huge line of cyclists in front of me. In my mind, they looked like folks in my Saturday morning rides. During those rides, I normally ride near the back because of my relative inexperience in riding but also because of the strength of the riders that I go out there with. They're freaking fast... If I don't keep up to them, I'll feel like crap that I'm holding them back (like I did once last summer on my old bike). Not a good feeling... I do whatever I can to keep up with them.

I decided that the folks in front of me were all part of my Saturday morning group and my goal was to take the lead to supply them with some draft. I started picking off riders one by one and would then set my sights on the next one. Now don't get the impression that I passed 100's of people here... I didn't but I'd have to say that overall I passed more people than passed me. That's something I could get used to!

We finally hit the downhill portion of the 6th line hill. Once I grew an extra testicle and had the nerve to look down at the cockpit, I saw 74.x km/hr. Holy man! That is officially a new speed record for me.

Pulling into transition #2 I saw coach Karen and she was yelling out some encouragement which was great. Again, I was pleased to see that the number of bikes in transition were fewer than I'm used to seeing and that got me pumped to start my 7.5k run. The start of the run is uphill. I got in behind this one racer who was going at a decent pace to start the run and tried to stay with him up the hill. Almost at the top of the hill and I got a really good stitch in my side. It stayed with me for about 1km or so and then disappeared. At about that point, I recognized Paul White on his way towards the finish line. He looked so relaxed! Not too far after that I crossed paths with Shannon's husband Bill who offered up a high five. Bill had biked from Aurora out to Milton that morning (about 90kms he later told me).

We finally got onto some pavement and this is where I thought I'd see a steady stream of folks starting to pass me. At the 3km mark, I'd only been passed by a few racers. Not too many from my age group and that provided me with some motivation to keep it going. We hit the turn around point and started for home. I finally caught up to this one guy who was staying about 40 yards ahead of me. I saw his age (44) on his calf and he was my next target. Right at that moment, a guy zinged by us both but as he flew by, he shouts out "Go Get 'em Duck!". I got a jolt from that and tried to stick with him for however long I could. This mini sprint took me past the fella in my age group and put about 75 yards between him and I. I was surprised to have as much left in my tank when we hit the 6km mark and started to pick up my pace. Into the finishing stretch, I took a peak behind me to make sure there wasn't anyone planning a sneak attack on me. As I got closer to the finish line I could hear the announcer call out Deanna's name (another Saturday morning rider). I finished just after her.

Crossed the finish line and was happy with my effort. But where did my effort put me? Going into the race I was hoping to finish in the middle of the pack I thought that with the work I've put in, I could come in around 1:55:00 or so which, in years past, would have put me right in the middle of my age group.

Final result? 1:52:23 which was good for 21st out of 68 in the age group. Top third! Have to say that I'm happy with that. Overall, I'm ecstatic with my bike average and I have to admit that I'm completely baffled at a 5:08 pace on the run. I've never kept a pace like that... ever... I didn't wear my Garmin on race day but I wish I had. I'd love to see what my splits were on the run.

I could have done a much better job sighting on the swim and that would have reflected in a better swim pace. I'd like to be in or around a 1:50 pace on the swim. My swim effort felt like I was at 1:50 but I'm sure I swam farther than that out there and that resulted in a slower pace than I was hoping for. 18th out of 68 swimmers though. I must have passed a few folks out on the swim and didn't know it. I think my pacing was steadier? Who knows.. maybe the folks that swam over me had to zig zag more than me! 22nd of 68 on the bike (32.2 / km avg.) and 31st out of 68 on the run.

I've already set a few goals for next year... Swim straighter, ride faster, and don't leave anything out there on the run. Let's see what that gets me next year!

I was supposed to ride home from Milton to Aurora as a bike training session but decided to get home and do it there either on the trainer or on one of my regular routes. It never happened. When I got home, Lisa was out with Megan at her dance recital and Ryan was at his buddy's birthday party. It was just me and the dog... and a bed that was calling my name!!! I was out cold within a few minutes.

I missed my bike session on Sunday and I'm not feeling good about it. These long bike rides are key to my preparation but no matter how many times I told myself that, the rest won out... I'll have to have a quality bike session this coming Saturday to make it up.

Guelph Lake I Olympic is coming up next on June 20th. Let's see how we do there!

Life is GREAT!

The Mini Taper

2010-06-02T21:50:00.001-04:00

Through the knee issue, my build / rest weeks were messed up a bit. Heading into my first race of the season this coming weekend, my coach has me on a "Mini Taper Week".

With the relative longer distances that I've been putting in, the week seems hardly worth putting the effort in. But I know that these weeks are just as important as those bigger weeks. It seems that my mind gains clarity during these weeks as well. Without the extra number of hours of training to get done, my mind tends to wander off to race days that are coming up.

I'm excited about this weekend's Milton Sprint Triathlon. I'm not exactly sure what an "official" Sprint distance should be but Milton's is a 750m swim, 30k bike, 7.5k run. They bill it as "The first tri of the season" and I think it's been well attended in past years. There's a challenging hill up sixth line that I'm looking forward to. For us bigger fellas, going up isn't nearly as speedy as coming down.

I'm getting a lift out to the race venue on Sunday morning and then my plan is to ride my bike home from there as my long ride training for the week. So far, the weather looks like it's going to co-operate. I just need to make sure that I'm all set as far as nutrition / fluid is concerned for the ride home. Should be close to 120kms and with the 30 during the race, my daily total will be around 150kms I'm guessing.

My triathlon team is going to be featured in the July issue of Triathlon Magazine Canada (http://triathlonmagazine.ca/). Last night before our workout, they had us gather around the pool that we train at for the team photo. By the time we'd herded the group of us into the "money shot", I was only going to be able to invest about 25 minutes in the pool before I had to get home so that Lisa could get to her ball hockey game. I decided to skip last night's workout and get in a technique specific workout today at lunch. I lucked out and was able to find a lane all to myself. Even with my focus on technique, I was able to hold what I guess is now my "normal" pace of 1:50 ish. I'm anxious to see how that translates in an open water swim with a wetsuit on Sunday.

Move day is now only 23 days away. Lisa has been a champ in getting things packed away bit by bit. I'm sitting in a room full of boxes as I write this. It's a stressful time... larger mortgage, different surroundings, new neighbours (some we already know!), etc.. How will the kids react? I guess we'll know in a few weeks... Still have to nail down the mortgage amount, decide if we're renovating a few things right out of the gate or will we wait a bit for things to settle in on us.

One beef I already have is this: Everyone has their hands out for $$$ around a move. I guess they think that with all that money floating around out there, they're entitled to their share for it. Example: my hydro provider (Powerstream) is charging us $30 for a "Change of Account Fee"!!! What for? Haven't they made enough profit margin off my family the past 8 years? And what is actually involved in updating my account? An address change? How long would that take to do? 5 minutes? 10? Let's make it 10 minutes... that works out to $180/hr wage rate for some clerk to punch in some different information on my new address? That's crazy! I should call their competition! Oh right... they don't have any... Stuff like that bugs me.

Tomorrow is calling for a 2.5 hour bike ride and then our swim workout. Friday I do a quick run at lunch and then Saturday I'm doing a 20 minute bike with a 15 minute run after that. Then it's race day in Milton.

I have a few folks I hope to run in to and recognize out there. I'm not sure if Bruce Bird will be there or not http://brucebird.blogspot.com/. Bruce and I went to the same schools back in Montreal. He played basketball at John Abbott College and then again at McGill University. I played football at both same schools. Last year at the Muskoka 70.3 event, I was just starting out on my run and I caught Bruce heading for the finish line! Ends up he was the first amateur to cross the finish line and he took the age group fairly comfortably. The guys a machine. Like me back at John Abbott and McGill, he had to outwork some of the more natural athletes. I hope I run into him this weekend.

Jason Greenlees (www.jasongreenlees.com) is another McGill Redmen teammate from my football days. Jason's a multiple Ironman finisher and has put up some very impressive times for an ex-linebacker. I would never have considered Jason a swimmer, biker, or runner but he's got a competitive spirit in him that obviously has stayed with him after his playing days at McGill.

Rodney over at http://tlog.dortoh.ca is also doing Milton. I follow Rodney on his journey to the Half Ironman up in Muskoka this year. He has an inspiring story to say the least and when I read his blog, it helps me refocus on where folks like Rodney and I have come from.

Peter over at http://petertakeda.blogspot.com/ is fighting a bad hammy and I'd say that he's 50/50 to show up for Milton. He's told me that he'd do the swim and the bike but wouldn't venture out on the run as that's when the hammy hurts the most. He really doesn't want to DNF so he's got a decision to make. Peter and I were introduced by the guy who I blame for getting me into this whole Ironman thing - Greg Collett http://www.gregcollett.com/. If you go to Greg's blog, you'll notice that on the right hand side, he's got links to Peter's blog as well as mine... oh right.. to Tereza Macel's blog too.. she's just the top female triathlete in Canada. I guess Peter and I are in good company!

Another of Greg's Ironman tri friends is Willem who I haven't met but I know through the network of triathletes here in town. Willem is out at Milton this weekend. Willem: the legs are still silky smooth!!! I'm sure I'll average about 42km/hr on the bike with this sleekness!!!!

Looking forward to seeing / meeting these folks out there.

I've circled July 25th on most calendars that I interact with on a daily basis. For my family and I, it's the big game... I did the same thing during my football days. But just like then, the season's here. The off season is over. You've either done your training or you haven't. There isn't much more you can do in season to significantly improve your fitness / strength at this point. All those early mornings and late nights, all that time on the physio table, the hours and hours in the pool / bike trainer / treadmill / road all have been to optimize this season's efforts.

The tri season is here. Welcome back...

Weekend Wrap Up

2010-05-31T22:19:00.001-04:00

With the move closing in on us, the weekends are even busier than normal. It's on these Monday recovery nights that I can get caught up on things...
Saturday morning bike session was awesome. John and I met at the local Second Cup for 7am and did a little 25km loop together. We worked our way back to the starting point and picked up with the 8am group. There were about 16 of us at that point and we started out on our way. Beautiful morning for a spin and again, I was more interested in sticking with the group. Being only my second group ride with these guys and not really having had the chance to measure my pace to theirs, I was just trying to stay out of the way and keep everyone else safe!

We made our way north into a pretty strong head wind. Before I knew it, we were almost halfway to my mother-in-laws old cottage! How'd we get here??? Cool!! We made 3 pit stops along the way to top up on nutrition and get some eats. At one point during the ride into the wind, I decided that it'd be the perfect opportunity to pay some rookie group riding dues and lead the charge for a bit. I slowly made my way up from the back of the pack and eventually was breaking wind (the good breaking of wind...) for the rest of the guys and gals. I felt great up front and was working hard. I didn't want to be the guy slowing down the pace. Eventually, others took their turns at the front but I was happy to at least paid some dues. Later on in the ride, it came back to haunt me and to remind me (again) about the importance of pacing when you're doing these distances. I'm not sure how many times I'm going to have to learn that one...

160 kms later, I'd hit a biking personal best as far as distance was concerned. Only 20kms more to make it to the 180km mark. More confidence being built....

With the three stops along the way, I pulled into our driveway at about 1:10pm. 10 minutes after Ryan's 7th birthday had begun! Threw the bike in the garage, shot downstairs for a shower, quick protein shake and I was into the action!

Water fights, bucket brigade contest, Lego building contest, pinata, the whole 9 yards... it was great. It's interesting to notice the differences between my son and daughter when they have their birthday parties. Ryan's sound level is through the roof and at Megan's, you could hear a pin drop the girls are just to relaxed and chilled. 7 year old boys are super competitive (at least this group was) and the girls seem to be happy to do their own things. Girls parties are easier to referee. Boys, not so much. Nobody ended up in the hospital and everyone had a great time. Especially me!

Lisa and I cleaned up from the tornado and had to transition into party prep mode. We were heading off to the Aurora Ducks Tri Team Season Kick-Off. Unfortunately, with Ryan's party finishing at 4pm, I couldn't make it to either the 2nd Annual Beer Mile or Beer Mile Relay http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=177476&id=510969512 . Looks like it was a great time and I'll do my best to make it there next year.

The Duck that has put this on the last two years happens to do business with my younger brother who lives in Quebec! What a small world!

It was a great night and it was nice to introduce Lisa to some of the names that I've talked to her about over the last few months of working out with the team. The thing that really hit me on Saturday night was the fact that there was a real sense of "TEAM" there. Triathlon is probably considered an individual sport but I really felt a team atmosphere there that night. Very cool.

I had planned all week to get my long run in on Sunday morning in order to beat the heat. My legs were beat up pretty good and my right knee "issue" was back a tiny bit so I decided to put off the run to Sunday night. I think it was a good move. I started out at 7:30 or so and headed north to my in-law's place in Newmarket. Recently, I've discovered this great little trail system that can get me there without having to stop at stop lights, watch out for cars, etc... I made it up to their place in almost exactly 1hr. Total distance was 10.55 kms and I was happy with my pace to that point. The knee wasn't acting up too badly and now all I had to do was make it home in about the same time. Brent and Lori were outside when I got to their place and Brent got me some cool water to refill my bottles. As he grabbed the water from the fridge, all I could see was his beer inventory and it took all I had to not ask for one. I knew if I'd had one, I'd have had more and then would have been asking for a ride home.

Back onto the trail system and headed back to my place. At about he 17km mark, my quads / hammies started to feel tight and so I pulled over and did a 2 minute stretch routine. When I started again, I felt really strong. I'll remember that for IMLP. Ended up with another personal best as far as distance is concerned: 22.11 kms. Still no marathon but the farthest I've ever run at once in my entire life. Funny how when I look back on it, there were days when I wasn't sure I could even finish a distance like that and now my mindset is more around what pace can I keep over that distance. Everything is relative I guess.

Today I was tired. Tired and.. not irritable.. but not myself either. Tired I guess is the best way to describe it. I took an early lunch to make it down to my nutritionist (www.dorisromano.com) and was happy to see that my weight is coming down as well as my percentage body fat. When I started working with Doris, I had 21% body fat and this morning I was down to 15%. She's happy with our progress so my day started to turn around a bit after that meeting with her. Still some lbs. to shave off before Ironman. My revised goal (old goal was 185) is to be 192 lbs. on July 25th. Last year at the Athlete's Dinner, the MC Mike Reilly asked everyone in the room to stand up if they'd lost 20 pounds training for Ironman. More than half the room stood up. Then he continued.. "Anyone who's lost 30 pounds, stay standing. Everyone else can sit down." The group got smaller. He climbed up and and up and up and eventually there were only a handful of folks standing there in a group of 7000 people. This year, one of my goals is to be standing when Mike asks "Anyone who's lost 80 pounds, stay standing."

Bought my wetsuit tonight. I ended up with this one... http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com/pipeline/ because it seemed to have more flexibility in the shoulder area than the others I tried on. I'll be trying it out this coming weekend at the Milton Sprint triathlon.

I'm trying to figure out what my goal should be for this race. It's a C race for me for sure but with all the training I've done, I'd like to think I could "go hard" and see what came out of a really hard effort. I don't just want to go there to see if I can finish it... I'd like to see how well I can do. I'm going to get a lift out to the race with my coach and then I'll ride my bike home from the venue and treat that as my long bike effort for the week. I'll get my run done on Saturday morning.

So things are coming together. Race season starts this weekend! Nice to know that the long months of winter training are behind me now... ahhhhhhhhhh.

May Totals:

Swim: 27.50 kms
Bike: 737.20 kms
Run: 103.35 kms

Total kms: 868.05 (Another personal record)

Rest Day: Perfectly executed...

Snot Rockets

2010-05-27T23:07:00.000-04:00

Another day almost in the books...

Got out on my scheduled 2 hour bike ride today after work. As I headed east to get onto one of my favorite routes, I could see a really dark cloud hanging out in that general direction. As I continued along, I would pick up on the odd lightning bolt streaking down from the clouds. What do to?

I'm a planner. If given an option, I'll always take what I've planned over having to ad lib. Not to say that I don't like to just roll with things, I just prefer not to if I can help it. Tonight's ride started out planned and ended up anything but. As I looked behind me to the west, there was nothing but blue sky and sun! I just had to turn around. I started to head north and as I did, I noticed that the storm was starting to head south. Far enough up the road, I could tell that I was on the north side of the storm and started east again. I had a few wet roads to deal with but at least I had avoided the torrential downpour that must have taken place. There were branches down all over the place!

In the end, I had a good ride. I really focused on spinning up the hills and did what I could to stay in the saddle as long as I could. My new DeSoto Forza tri shorts are really helping me with fatigue in the quads. When I get off the bike, I don't have that heavy, tired feeling in my legs. It really helps me on Tuesdays and Thursdays as I also have to get to my swim workouts on those nights and I like to know that my legs are feeling OK during those sessions.

Have lined up my group ride for this coming Saturday. Looks like there's only going to be 4 of us or so but it's nice to have some folks to try and keep up to and stay focused on. That group ride last week seemed to go by so quickly... you're constantly thinking about things in your head. "Where's my heart rate? How are my legs feeling? Am I working my nutrition OK? What's my cadence at? I'll take the lead up at the next intersection. Check for cars coming up from behind the group. Time to get rid of some snot rockets? Anyone behind me?"

Speaking of Snot Rockets... there's no better way that to be introduced to someone you've never met before by having them blow mucus from their nasal cavity and have it fly 5 horizontal feet and hit you in the leg. This happened to me last weekend. One of the ladies in our group thought I'd dropped off and had some nose interference she wanted to get rid of. As she turned to her right to void her right chamber, she must have caught me in her peripheral and before she could abort launch, she fired and was was apologizing almost simultaneously. Wasn't the first time I've been snotted on. Most likely won't be the last. I looked at it as a rite of passage into the group. No harm done. She owes me a beer for it though...

Signed up for a Sprint distance triathlon on June 6th and an Olympic distance triathlon on June 20th. That will be my 3rd Sprint and my 1st Olympic distance tri. By the time IMLP rolls around I'll have completed a Give it a Try, 3 Sprint Tris, 1 Olympic Tri, and 1 Half Ironman. Not a ton of experience but it's one part of the sport that I enjoy. The not knowing if I'll finish part.... At some stage I guess you get to a point where it's not about weather or not you'll finish but just how quickly you can get to that finish line. I'll look forward to that day.

In other exciting news: I'm having my legs waxed tomorrow! Yes folks... I'm going for the full Ironman experience and from what I can gather, having smooth legs is a part of the game. Having a sister-in-law in the beauty business, I've booked some time with her. I've also ensured that she's got enough hot wax in stock to get the job done. In the end, I'm sure we can make a sweater or something out of what comes off... My brother-in-law is selling tickets to the event and they're going fast. Reminds me a of the waxing scene from 40 Year Old Virgin... classic... Before and after pictures? We'll see....

That's it for now.

What Knee?

2010-05-26T21:43:00.000-04:00

I'm knocking on the wood table as I write this sentence...

My knee is back to 100%.

I went for a run at lunchtime today. As I was heading back towards the office, it dawned on me that my knee hadn't generated any pain at all. That put an extra spring in my step for the rest of the run. It was super hot here the past two days and I was interested in seeing how the run would go in the heat. Overall - not bad at all. Sure it was hot but I find that it actually keeps me loose. I didn't notice any huge difference in my heart rates and I was sure to keep the hydration up for the time I was out there.

Our kids eat pretty much the same thing from week to week. Lisa and I have tried a number of different ways to get them to try new things but we've not been overly successful. Tonight Lisa was down at this year's Brewer's Plate http://www.brewersplatetoronto.org/summary.php and it was just the kids and I for dinner. With the heat being what it was, we headed to the local grocery store to pick up some fixin's for your very own "Sangwitch". We started in the bakery aisle where we all chose our own buns. Then off to the deli counter to choose the meat we wanted. We came home, put our creations together and all that was left were the crumbs! "I'd eat that every day Dad!" was the comment made... Summer Sausage? Never in a million years would I have tried to feed one of my guys that... they love it. We'll do that again a few times to see what other stuff they'd like to try out.

One of the items on my Ironman checklist is to create a playlist of music to get me all psyched up for IMLP. I've got a few tunes that are already on the list of "Must Haves" but wanted to put it out there to the two people that tune in on a regular basis - what's on your training playlist? I like pretty much everything so fire off what you've got and I'll have a listen and add it to my list. Appreciate the input!

Off to adjust the aerobars...

Training: Run 50 minutes / 8.2 kms / 138 avg HR

Overwhelmed

2010-05-26T09:12:00.000-04:00

Things are starting to pile up faster than I can take care of them and I'm going down a path that I don't like.

My mind is full of things that have to get done. In less than a month, we're moving to a new house. I've moved as a single guy about 15 times but that's not too big a deal. Now that we've been living in our place for 9 years, we've accumulated all this "stuff". And somehow, even after purging a bunch of it, we still have tons to get over to the new place. That along with the change of address, arranging mortgages, cancelling mortgages, notifying the utilities folks, it all adds up. I sometimes get to a point where all the To Do's on the list freeze me in a zone where I can't even decide where to start.... Oh ya.. I'm trying to train for an Ironman and keep my head above water at work to boot.

On the Ironman front, the list has crept up on me too. We're now officially less than 2 months away from race day. I have to admit that I thought I'd feel more nervous than I'm feeling but I find myself feeling more excited than anything. Excited about not only the race itself but the whole experience I hope we'll have in Lake Placid.

My list on the IMLP front includes: one last bike tune up before race day, leg shaving!!!, buy new water bottles for the bike, buy wetsuit, buy Athlete Dinner tickets for family, create race day checklists, buy some US $$$, buy travel insurance, arrange doggie day care for our time away, etc...

Training has come back to 100%. The knee only feels a bit sore after my Sunday long runs and by the time Monday morning rolls around, it feels like it's old self.

Last Saturday, I had an amazing bike ride. I hooked up with some of my swimming teammates and we headed up to Lake Simcoe for a 128 km ride. We averaged a 29.2 km/hr average which I'm pretty pumped about. This is basically my second summer riding a bike and I know that I've still got a lot to learn and work on as far as my technique is concerned. I know we've just started our summer here in Canada but I'm already setting bike related goals to work on during the winter months... enough about winter...

I got a monkey off my back on that ride too.

Last summer, I took my recently acquired used road-turned-tri bike on the same ride. In fact, some of the same folks were on that ride last weekend. I'm sure when they saw me they thought "Oh.. there's the guy who we had to keep slowing down for." And I don't blame them one bit. I was ill prepared to be in their group last year. The bike wasn't fit properly and I obviously hadn't trained nearly enough. By the time we got to the 80 km mark, both my quads were cramping like I've never experienced before and I hobbled back home to an ice filled bath to try and take care of my sore legs.

Being on that same ride last weekend and completing it feeling as thought I could have done it all over again really boosted my confidence. With some of the injury shortened workouts over the last 3 weeks or so, I wasn't too sure about what to expect out there on the road.

This weekend the same cast of characters is setting out on a similar ride and we're looking to go 135 kms. I also have a 30 minute run off the bike that day.

Tonight was a swim workout. As soon as we started the warm-up, something wasn't feeling right. My chest was tight. Not that I was breathing hard or anything, but I could only manage shallow breaths. I could only breathe every stroke and felt a bit panicky in the lane tonight. I got out of the pool for one 100 meter set and decided to push through it. I ended up finishing the workout but was the last in line for the rest of the workout. I've noticed this feeling two times before. It typically is the week before a recovery week and it's only when I'm swimming. When I run or bike, the issue is never there.

Anyhow, all feels fine this morning.

Run at lunchtime Wednesday before things get too hot outside. It's good to get some hot weather training in before IMLP anyhow. Never know what the Adirondacks are going to throw at you on race day.

Training: Bike 60 min spin / recovery ride - 25 km - 25 km / hr average
Swim: 2400 meters

64

2010-05-20T23:25:00.000-04:00

64.. the number of days until my date with Ironman Lake Placid. It was 361 days ago that I stood in a lineup with 100's of people for the opportunity to take on 104.6 miles and the chance to earn the right to be called an Ironman. As the old saying goes.. "It'seems like only yesterday..."

Lots has happened in those 361 days. Tons of training for sure, that goes without saying... but life has happened too.

Lisa and I both knew that Ironman meant a new level of training commitment on my part as well as a new level of responsibility on her part. A household with a soon to be 7 year old and a 5 1/2 year old isn't always a walk in the park. Lisa has really supported me through this journey. "Do what you need to do." has been her answer to me when I announce what training plans are for the upcoming days. Thanks Lis.

The butterflies are starting to make more and more appearances in my belly these days... friends will ask me how training's going and when the big day is and it serves as a constant reminder that we're almost there. I don't know what the feeling is like for someone who has completed multiple Ironman races but for me, this first one has a lot of build up to it. I guess it's supposed to be that way...

Was freakin' happy to finally be able to get out on the road tonight for a 2 hour bike. Time on the road goes by 50% faster than it does on the trainer. Ran into a stretch of road that really wasn't bike friendly but it only lasted for about 3kms and then I was back on "normal" black top. I ordered some Desoto Forza tri shorts from Multisport Zone in London, Ontario and they arrived today (Thanks Paul!). Put them on to see how they were going to feel on the bike. Wow... They're the first compression type short I've ever tried and my legs hardly feel as though they did any work tonight. And I managed to keep most of the feeling in my crotch area for the full 2 hour ride... what a bonus! Thanks for the tip Payner! I owe you a few pints in Placid.

Got home, shoveled a meal into me and took off for tonight's swim. 3kms total. Great workout. Really feeling stronger in there these past 4 weeks or so. Still have tons of technique to work on but my level of comfort has increased and I find that I can really get into a rhythm now. I know that helps...

Tomorrow is a quick run at lunch. Physio appointment after that for some Active Release on the quad, and then home for Pizza Pyjama Picnic Party Night with the kids. Something I look forward to all week.

Saturday morning I'm going to meet the crew at 8am for what I think is going to me a 130 km bike ride. This will be the second time I've gone over 100k outside (I've done it once on an indoor trainer). We've got 9 weeks left to IMLP. Two of those weeks are taper weeks and there's a recovery week in there. That leaves me with 6 big weekends to go before the big day. I'm not sure I'll actually get a full 180 km bike ride in before heading down to Placid. Funny... I've never done a 4k swim. I may not have ridden a full 180k bike and I know for a fact that the run at IMLP will be my first ever marathon. The fact that I'm trying to get them done in one day (17 hours) should have me worried. Maybe I am a bit but I'd say that I'm feeling more and more ready for July 25th.

Had another PFG (Previously Fat Guy) moment today. I had to get a new Health Card and part of the process is taking a new photo for the card. The new card came in the mail today and I couldn't believe the difference from the old one. I'll have to scan them in here somehow...

Anyhow, enough for tonight. All is good. The knee isn't acting up, the weight is still coming down, I felt strong on the bike tonight, and there's a long weekend a day away... Life is GREAT!

Bike: 50.5km - 143 average HR
Swim: 3 km

Need the Knee

2010-05-19T22:53:00.000-04:00

Quick updates...

I'm a guy that needs his rest. I'm also finding that the training is really taking it's toll on me both physically and, more recently, mentally. The way my body best handles these types of stresses is by getting rest. Without it, I know I'll come down with a cold or something and that's the last thing I need at this point of the game. So to that end, just a quick update tonight.

Knee: I'd say I'm back to 85% to 90% with the right knee. It's been feeling great these past 4 or 5 days and so I decided to take the run outside tonight vs. doing it on the treadmill. I mapped out a relatively flat course around our place and headed out. I'd say that there was zero issue with the knee until about the 7 km mark and then there was a really slight twinge that was more a reminder that we weren't back to 100%. Sitting here now, it's all good! Let's see what it feels like tomorrow morning.

Swim: We had a great workout last night in the pool. At the end of the scheduled workout, coach had us lane "3ers" (ie. the slow lane) jump into lane 6 (ie. the autobahn). Dan and Brian were in Lane 6 and these guys hold a 1:25 to 1:30 on most nights. Those of us in Lane 3 consider ourselves "in the zone" if we're hauling off 1:45's! Anyhow, the drill was about drafting. Dan and Brian took off from the wall and the rest of us fell in behind. For about the first 10 strokes, I was sitting on Dan's hip / leg and then all I saw was bubbles. Visibility was zero. I had some fun reaching out to see if I could grab his ankle and pull him back but he's a strong kicker and I wasn't interested in spraining any of my fingers... Off the wall at 25 meters and it's all I can do to stay within 2 meters of him. The drill was supposed to go for 100 meters but me and my Lane 3 pals hung onto the wall after 50 meters. Completely anaerobic at that point. It was nice to see just what life in the "fast lane" is all about. Makes me happy to live in Lane 3! (for now...)

Nutritionist: I had an appointment to visit with my nutritionist (www.dorisromano.com) and was happy to hear that my percentage of body fat is down to 15.3%. When I first met with her in Feb. it was just north of 21% so that's some good news for me. With 65 days to go and ideally another 10 to 13 pounds to shed, I'm really going to have to be a good boy on the food intake front. The positive to this is that IMLP is in July so I've still got all of August to eat like crap and partake in a few adult beverages. I love beer but just a few adds the pounds overnight and it takes me the following week to lose it all again. Not worth it at this point in the game.

Kids triathlon: Megan and Ryan are doing their first tri's in 3 weeks. They swim 25 meters, bike 1.4 kms, and then run 500 meters. Lisa and I aren't allowed in the transition area so we're going to practice this a bit on the weekend. That's going to make for some serious fun...

NHL Playoffs: My Montreal Canadiens are showing their true colors in the Eastern Final. I'm just hoping that they take the series to at least 5 games and don't get swept...

Moving Day: Someone mentioned to me this past weekend that our move date was fast approaching. "Nah! It's a long way off!" I said. Actually, not it's not.. 5 weeks and counting. Better start helping Lisa with some packing here soon or there's going to be an addition put on the dog house... for me...

Ryan's Bday: 7 years old! May 24 (provincial holiday here in Ontario). Kid thinks that the entire town sets off fire crackers in his honor! I've bought him a Cervelo P4 and if he can't ride it, I'll just keep it for myself...

Out...

Winner Take All

2010-05-12T22:58:00.000-04:00

Tonight, my team - the Montreal Canadiens - beat the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins to move on to the next round of the NHL playoffs.

I don't have the vocabulary to express how happy I am right now...

Tonight's win was made even more gratifying because it was a Game 7.... winner moves on to the next round of the playoffs and the losers get to go home and think about a long off-season. Time to heal their injuries, take some time away from the game, prepare for next season, and then see if they can attain their goals for next year.

Sounds a lot like training for triathlon to me... and in my own personal case, Ironman.

Ironman is Game 7. It's for all the proverbial marbles. You either defeat your opponent or be defeated. Finish in under 17 hours or don't. Be ready for the challenge or not. It's pretty definitive. Black and white. I like Game 7's. I've been fortunate to have been involved in a couple. You lose sleep the night before the big game. You visualize what you're going to do on game day. You visualize success and what it looks like and what you'll feel inside when you win. Your focus is razor sharp.

Sounds a lot like Ironman....

I have a weird sense that my team plays better when I'm watching them on TV while running on the treadmill. I'll have to ask my shrink about that the next time I'm in to see them... As luck would have it, I had a scheduled treadmill run on the agenda for tonight. I was testing the knee and I'm glad to report that on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is blinding pain, I'd say that I got to a 2 or 2.5. Nothing enough to make me stop. Just enough to remind me that there's still something there that needs some attention.

I have another physio appointment to get to tomorrow at lunch and I'll ask them to make me cry with some more active release technique and then some blast it with some current just for kicks and giggles. I'm hopeful that by the weekend, my long ride and long run won't be impacted by any discomfort and that by Monday, I'll officially be out of the woods.

I've been fortunate in my life that the Game 7's I've been involved in have turned out successful for me. The teams I played for in those situations have both come out with the outcomes we were working for. They happened a long time ago for me but, in my mind, I can replay it like a movie. Complete with the sounds and smells and a very strong sense of what it felt like on the inside. It's so vivid that even writing about it puts me there again.

I'm about 11 weeks away from my next Game 7 and I'm hoping for a similar result complete with memories that I'll be able to re-live on demand. It's awesome to work so hard for something you dream about accomplishing and then be able to experience the success you've worked so hard to achieve...

Sounds like Ironman...

Testing.. Testing...

2010-05-11T23:22:00.002-04:00

.. is this thing still on?!?!?!?

I'm back. I took an unexpected holiday to Funkville and am glad to be home again.

It all started two weeks ago after my half marathon effort. I woke up on the Sunday and my right knee wasn't feeling right. There was a sharp pain that was targeted right in the middle of the right knee cap. It was really noticeable when I went to lift my right leg to bring it forward while I was walking. With 11 weeks to Lake Placid, 2 of those taper weeks and another 2 weeks of recovery in there, my training weeks are quickly becoming limited and missing workouts doesn't sit well with me. Meg and I both had some "Owies" last week... this tape job that my physiotherapist did up on me really worked. I'm sure 50% of it is psychological.

I've fought my way through partial bike and run workouts the last two weeks and I've seen my physio pals WAY more than I'm used to. Not that I don't like them, I just like to see them on my terms and not when I absolutely have to.

So to Funkville I went. I've been reading other Ironman related blogs and injury is part of the lifestyle it seems. I'd read with interest how people worked through aches and pains but up 'til two weeks ago, I was injury free and enjoying the training and the improvements I've been making in each discipline. I thought that if I was going to hit an injury, it would have been early on in the process and so I thought I was out of the danger zone. Not so. Over and over again I've read that, when it comes to Ironman, expect anything. I'm coming to realize this more and more and it's an important lesson.

On the positive side, I'm really feeling it in the water. Last week my pals and I in Lane 3 had an amazing workout. We were holding 1:35s to 1:39s in a few sets. Swimming's not all that different from other sports really. One day it feels as though it's your first time in a pool and that night, it just all comes together. The fact that each of us had one of those "ON" nights was amazing and we were pretty jacked after the workout. And true to form, the next workout I attended, I felt like a bag of hammers....

In all, I think I missed one complete run workout. The rest of my workouts were 50% to 75% complete for the week and I don't think that it's going to mess up my fitness levels all that much. My issue is that when I'm vacationing in Funkville, some of my eeeeeevil eating habits tend to creep back into my daily routine. And when that starts happening, I get more attached to Funkville.

Yesterday was my scheduled off day (I'm really good at those..) and I stretched and iced like a freakshow. I was planning on getting in a nice spin on the bike trainer tonight in the small chain ring for most of the workout but as time wore on, I sensed that the knee was good so I jumped the chain into the large chain ring and started mashing a bit to see if the knee was going to complain at all. It didn't. I ended up working a 5 set ladder set where I stayed in one gear for 5 minutes and then took it up another gear for 5 minutes. I went up 5 gears and then worked my way back down to where I started. No pain. Not even a hint.. Progress? I rode the rest of my 90 minute session at a nice 87 to 89 rpm and both the legs and knee felt great. Nice.

Last week, on the nights that I had two separate workouts planned, it was mentally hard to get to that second workout. I'd start a bike session planning on going for 2 hours but after 80 minutes or so, when the knee got to a point where I thought I was doing more harm than good to it, I'd get off the bike and want to mail in my swim workout. One night, I was actually in my PJs and ready to hit the hay to get my mind out of the gutter and just skip the swim workout. Lisa knew what I was going through and basically said - in her own way - "Suck It Up B****!" That got me out the door and into the pool. A running pal of mine once told me that he's never come home from a run and thought to himself "Boy, did that ever suck.". He's right. If you can drag your keester to a workout, you'll feel like a champ after you're done. You don't even have to have a high quality workout to make you feel positive. The mere fact that you dragged your carcass out to the workout is the victory.

Tomorrow is a scheduled run and I think I'm going to take the same approach to it as I did my bike tonight. I'll keep upping the pace to a point where the knee starts to twinge a bit and then pull it back to a pain free level and try and hold that for a 60 or 90 minute timeframe. I hope it goes well.

In other news... My bride and I are celebrating 8 years of wedded bliss today! In preparing for our upcoming move, Lisa came across a box that had a card in it from the day we moved into this house. After a bunch of mushy stuff, I wrote "I can't wait to see what happens next!" Wow! I couldn't have imagined a more amazing 8 years.

This is a picture of my buddy Tom and I taken last weekend. Tom and his wife and kids were in for a visit and it turns out that he's been fighting a bad back that's had him vacationing in Funkville as well. As Tom's t-shirt says... "Speed Bump". I guess that's all these injuries are. I have also learned that they're part of this amazing journey called Ironman.

Life is GREAT!

One to forget

2010-04-29T23:35:00.000-04:00

As much as I tried, today was a day I couldn't steer myself right. Nothing seemed to go my way today and as the day wore on, the worse it seemed to get.

My knee wasn't as sore this morning as it was yesterday morning and so I took that as a positive sign. As the morning ticked away, I found myself favoring it a bit more as my physio appointment approached.

I got to physio and Kyla got me set up for some Active Release Therapy. Kyla might weigh 105 lbs soaking wet but when she started digging into my quad with her elbow and thumbs I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. She must have bionic hand muscles... After my heart rate returned to a nice Zone 4, we got hooked up to the current machine to get things flowing in the area. After Kyla's ART treatment, the current was like a day at the spa. I felt good leaving there today and was looking forward to seeing how the knee would react during tonight's ride.

I decided to stay on the indoor trainer because I didn't want to risk getting into trouble out on the road and having to call Lisa for the pick up. I also thought it'd be smart to keep it in the small chain ring again and keep the tension relatively low so as not to put too much strain on the knee. It was going well and then at about the 30 minute mark it started to bother me. More so than last night. This didn't sit well with me... I cut the ride short at 45 minutes after only 23.0 kms. I iced it down afterwards and gave everything a good stretch.

Going to the pool for a workout was the last thing I felt like doing tonight. But Ironman finishers have told me that feeling that way and still working through a workout is all part of the deal so I dragged myself to the car and took off for tonight's Duck workout.

We ended up doing 3600 meters tonight and I have to admit that I felt great in the water tonight. I was a bit concerned about how my knee would react when I pushed off the walls but I managed to push primarily with my left leg and kept the right knee out of the equation.

Today also marked the lowest point of my parenting career... Ryan and I spoke about me possibly picking him up after school today and coming home to play some street hockey. I really didn't think that it was a go as bedtime hit last night. I was wrong. I walked into my office after a meeting this afternoon and picked up a voice message from Ryan. He was in tears asking me why I wasn't there to pick him up after school today. He normally gets on a school bus and gets dropped off at the corner of our street where Lisa goes to meet him and welcome him home. The bus showed up but Ryan didn't. He was sitting at the school's office waiting for me... for about 45 minutes. After listening to his message, my heart felt as though someone had ripped it out of my chest and was stomping on it. Up until this afternoon, both kids know that when Dad promises something, he delivers. I dropped the ball today and I just hope I haven't lost his trust. I left work right then and there and came home to apologize to him in person. I still feel like the worst dad in the world. We've made definite plans to have our make up hockey street time together tomorrow and nothing will keep me from being at that school as it lets out tomorrow afternoon. Sorry Ry...

The knee is up a notch on the pain scale tonight and I'm starting to worry that it's going to impact my big ride and long run this weekend. I'm supposed to do a quick run tomorrow but I think I might either blow it off to see if the rest helps the knee come back to 100% or give it a try and see how it reacts. It'll be a gametime decision.

Tomorrow will be a better day - I can almost guarantee it.

Random Ramblings

2010-04-28T22:23:00.000-04:00

I don't like to stretch. There.. I've said it...

Never have really. What muscle I do have is wound like a tightrope. Last fall before I completed Ironman Muskoka 70.3, I had a hip issue that really hurt me on the run. It was caused by not enough stretching and my hip flexors were tight. It's basically a chain reaction and eventually it results in something being pulled or hurting.

I paid a visit to my friends at physio today at lunch. I haven't been to see them in a while but I've got a nagging right knee "concern" and I wanted to have them check it out and advise me on how to handle my training as I try and work through it. They're saying that it has to do with the tendon that attaches my right quad to the bone below my knee. My right quad is super tight and is therefore putting some pressure on the tendon as it goes across the top of my knee. They basically recommended some stretching and tomorrow I'm going back for what they term "Active Release". I call it "Let's see how how much we can make Mike cry".

I've promised myself to make stretching my new priority from here to IMLP. With all the other work that I've put in, with the help that my family has given me, the work with my nutritionist, I'm not going to let a lack of stretching do me in.

I missed a 60 minute bike workout yesterday as my bike was still in for it's spring tune-up. I also missed my Duck swim workout last night. Today called for a 50 minute run but I got my bike back today and made up my bike workout to see how the knee reacted. With about 10 minutes to go, the knee started to remind me that all wasn't 100% and I decided to spend my run time stretching and icing down my knee. We'll see how it feels tomorrow. I don't like missing a workout but I sure don't want to make this knee thing worse.

My triathlon club has a monthly meeting where we've had guests come in and talk to us about various aspects of training and the sport of triathlon. We've had a nutritionist come to chat with us, a yoga instructor, an injury prevention specialist, a chi-running instructor,and last night, we had an opportunity to get to know Dr. Len Gushe. Len is one of Canada's most distinguished male triathletes and it was awesome to get to chat with him about his training, his racing experience, and some of his strategies in doing triathlons. Great information and what an opportunity to chat to one of Canada's best.

Signed Ryan up for next year's hockey season. Here in Ontario, the various leagues hold their try-outs in the spring for the upcoming season. Lisa and I have brought the subject of going to the try-outs with Ryan but he's told us that he doesn't feel like travelling to ".. places like Chicago and Denver.." He has cousins that are all great hockey players and I guess he's heard about the travelling they do here locally. I'm not entirely sure where he came up with Chicago and Denver but needless to say, we cracked up when he announced that to us. Lisa and I have chatted back and forth about what we think we should do. In the end, we think that it's best to expose our kids to situations that give them an opportunity to succeed. Sure, that also means that there's an opportunity that, in this case, he may not make the team but that's as good a lesson to learn too.

So we're calling this Saturday's try-out a "practice" and Ryan's all over it. We went out to get his skates sharpened and to get him a new mouth guard now that he's moving up to Tyke! Looking forward to it this Saturday.

The weather is looking good for the weekend too. My plan is to get my bike in after Ry's try-out. This weekend I'm going to stick to roads that I know and not risk finding myself on a crappy road filled with potholes and / or construction challenges.

My Montreal Canadiens made it interesting tonight in the NHL Playoffs beating the top seed Washington Capitals by riding a hot goalie Jaroslav Halak. We'll see how we do against Mr. Crosby and the Penguins but it'll be interesting either way.

I also haven't been as tight on my nutrition intake the last 3 days and I've got to put an end to that. We're down to 85 days to go and I'd still like to hit the starting line 15 lbs. lighter than I am right now. Time to up the seriousness factor a bit...

Lisa has also announced that she'll once again challenge the half marathon distance next year. I'm super proud of her and will be interested in seeing how she goes about keeping her fitness levels up over the course of the summer and heading into winter. Maybe a few 10k races?

That's it for tonight.

Life is GREAT!

Training: Bike 23kms / 50 mins / all small chain ring all the time. Knee not feeling the love tonight.

Weekend Wrap Up

2010-04-26T19:32:00.000-04:00

Had an OK ride on Friday. Will stick to routes that I know are in better shape and that will help with the quality of my sessions...

Saturday, I was supposed to do a 50 minute run but decided to keep the feet up and rest them for Sunday's half marathon effort.

The kids had a sleep over at Nana's place which really helped Lisa and I get up, through our morning routine, and then get to the race site in plenty 'o time to get to the start line.

Lisa was way more level headed and cool that I remember being on the morning of my first half marathon. We took in our race day nutrition and took off to the race site. There's a short walk to get to the arena which houses the bag check, post race pancake breakfast, massage booths, etc... We chatted on our way and Lisa was pretty pumped to get her day underway.

We went into the arena and took off what we weren't going to wear on the course. We checked our bag and then got our timing chips. We ran into Lisa's running and training partner K and she looked ready to go as well. In living in a relatively small community, we ran into many friends who were doing some of the other distances (5k run / 10k run / 21k walk) and wished them well on their days.

We made our way down to the starting area for the pre race warm up. While we were there, I ran into some familiar faces from the Aurora Ducks Tri Team. John, Lauren, and Catherine were all set to go. We entered the chute and I checked my Garmin to make sure that it was set up properly (for the 10th time..). As I did, I noticed that my HR was already up in the 90's and I hadn't even jogged in place! Why was it so high? I didn't know how that might effect my effort out there Sunday. Then, with about 60 seconds to the start of the race, Lauren got this completely panicked look on her face and announced "My timing chip! It's in my bag in the bag check!" Holy! Off she sprinted back into the arena and I didn't see her as we started our run. It was just after the turn-around (out and back course set up) that I noticed her pulled over and stretching out some tightness in her hammies. I never saw her run past me!

My coach advised that I start my race VERY SLOWLY. I nailed that part of the run perfectly. I went out 5:51 and 5:52 for the first 2k. That works out great because that first part of the course is all uphill - nothing severe but uphill all the same. At that point the course is rolling to about the 7k mark and then relatively flat to the turn-around point.

At the end of that first 2k, I felt REALLY good. Legs felt strong, calves were spring loaded and my HR had somehow regulated itself. All systems were a "GO". I tried a 5:30 pace for the next km but was surprised to see it actually end up at 5:21. Still feeling great. Let's see what the next km felt like.

At the halfway point, the clock that they had set up there read 57:06:xx. I started doing the math in the hopes that I could come in around a 1:55:00 or so. At this point in the race, the runners were all pretty well spread out and that allowed me to start playing some mind games with myself. Heading back I spotted some of my buddies and we were able to exchange some friendly Hi Fives. Eventually, I spotted Lisa and K and then were trudging along just fine. I knew that they were working their game plan so I kept on knowing that they were going to finish.

I saw another fella running about 100 yards up from me and set the goal to catch up with him. We hit a hill and I really closed the gap on him. My legs were really feeling strong and I've been practicing my arm pumping on hills and I guess it's working. At the top of the hill he stopped and I didn't. Goal completed. Who's next?

Slowly but surely I managed to reel in a few more folks as I got closer to the 19k mark. At this point, the course is all downhill and I knew from racing last year that I'd be able to keep a quicker pace to the finish line.

I also realized that if I could keep up my pace, I'd be across that finish line in 1:50:00. That was my new target. Everything was still feeling strong so I didn't feel like I was putting myself in injury danger by getting after it. But it was going to be close.

I raced down that last 2k and averaged 4:47 and 4:48. With about 200 yards to go, some of my fellow Ducks were standing and cheering the rest of us in to the finishing area. Somehow I had the lung capacity to let them know that I had about 30 seconds to make it to the finish line. Alan who came out to support shouted some motivational words and they hit home with me. I reached really deep and was going to make sure that I was going to be spent at the end of the road.

I finished at 1:50:28 which is about a 9 minute improvement on last year's time. I'm probably 8 pounds lighter this year and had done a 101km bike on Friday. I have to be happy with that. But I know that those 28 seconds are going to haunt me until next year's event!

I got inside, changed out of my running shoes and headed out to meet up with Lisa and K to cheer them in. When I took off my right shoe, I realized that I'd developed a blister on one of my toes. Funny how I didn't really notice the pain until after the shoe came off. Soon enough, the ladies came trotting around a corner. I was standing with a neighbor of ours and together, we cheered them on. I ran back to the finish line in time to get some pictures of them coming to the finish line.

Lisa really did well. I honestly never thought I'd see my bride complete a half marathon. I haven't asked Lisa if she's thinking about doing the event again next year. I think I know her well enough to give her some time to make up her own conclusions on how her training and race went and then she'll make her decision.

I can safely say that her friend K has raced her last half marathon.

Sources of Inspiration: it's still amazing to me what I'll end up thinking about out there on my runs or bike rides. Sunday, besides keeping tabs on how I was feeling and what my pace was like, I was thinking about the first time I ran this race back in 2008. I was fresh off a 72 pound weight loss but had only signed up to do the half marathon RELAY with my bro. He couldn't make it to the race that day and in the end and I decided to give the full distance a try. I still haven't been able to recreate that feeling I had coming across the finish line back in '08 but I've been close. At that time, my Uncle Tino - basically my third parent, was fighting some major health issues. Unfortunately, cancer took him from us that May. I found myself thinking about "Pops" out there quite a bit Sunday. Especially on those hills. "Never Quit" I kept repeating to myself. Tino was a guy who NEVER complained about anything so I wasn't about to complain about another hill.

I also caught myself imagining myself coming closer and closer to that finish line in Lake Placid. As the kilometer markers counted down, I envisioned myself another kilometer closer to earning the title of "Ironman". I almost teared up a few times just thinking about it (that last sentence just for you Danny Boy!).

Also caught myself wondering how Tri-Stemmet was doing on his Ironman. Sunday morning before we left to our race, we checked his progress. He was out of the water in about 60th spot in his age group and had registered 3 bike splits and all were looking really strong. I knew that he'd be reeling in the faster swimmers on that bike (Matilda). By the time we got home, he had finished his race and was a solid 8th place in his age group. Unbelievable for a guy who has also dropped 75+ pounds in the past few years and has taken up triathlon as a lifestyle. 8th spot! Congrats Johan... I bow to you sir!

Lisa and I celebrated by having our favorite meal - steak with a side of steak. May have had a beer or two as well. A great day on a bunch of fronts!

Life is GREAT!

Second Century

2010-04-23T23:22:00.000-04:00

I took the day off work today. Too much running around to do and not enough time to do it. All that stuff in my brain stresses me out so I decided to take my list and knock each item off it today. Time well spent.

My "reward" for getting my list completed was my scheduled century ride (100 km ride for you non-tris out there (Mom)).

After my run in with those wolf-dogs two weeks ago, I tried another route that was supposed to take me around that part of the route. With all the zig zagging I had to do, I ended up more focused on where I was supposed to be going and not on my cadence, heart rate, etc... At one point, trying to find my way back to some familiar road, I took a turn and ended up on a road that was under construction. The sign didn't tell me how long to expect this "construction" but all I knew is that the road was so bad, my two water bottles came off the back 3 times!!! Both at the same time!!! My average during this stretch was in the 10 to 11km range and whatever hopes I had had starting my ride of setting a new average pace record were shot.

I kept going north and east and south and east trying to find my way back and eventually got back to a road that I knew would take me home. As I got closer to home, I realized that I'd still need approximately 15kms or so to hit the 100km mark and I know that if I get too close to home, I'd end up in an argument with myself about just cutting it short or continuing. Today, I didn't know who'd win that debate so I decided to turn away from home and headed out away from home. Basically, another little 6km out and back. By the time I got to my driveway, I'd done 101.36 which officially is my second century ride. At least there weren't any run ins with dogs...

I managed my nutrition well during the ride. I could have kept closer to my timing but at the end of every hour, I was still on track with the plan. I'm going to have to get used to riding aero for extended periods of time. My neck really gets sore back where it meets my back. It reminded me a bit of football training camp when, for the first week or so of camp, your neck gets so still from wearing that 15lb helmet that you're not used to wearing. Overall, my legs feel fantastic tonight. I ate all of my recovery meals to the "T" and I'm hopeful that tomorrow brings me my first 195lb reading on the scale.

I went and picked up our race kits for this weekend's half marathon. I'm really looking forward to running with Lisa and K on Sunday. I'm hoping to see a lot of familiar faces there too. My goal for the race is to work a plan. The plan still has to be decided on but I'm looking to come up with one and then work it during my time on the road on Sunday. If the legs feel good and the running gods are in my camp, I'd like to come in close to 1:50:00 which, for me, would be an all-world time. We'll see how we go.

Friday nights have now become a night where we play musical beds here at our house. Tonight, Lisa and Megan are in our bed and I drew Ryan. Now that's not all bad because we get to sleep on the guest bed which I think is the most comfortable bed in our house. The not so great part is that Ryan sleeps like an octopus on crack. As I've been writing this beside him here in bed, he's flipped and flopped about 8 times. He will no doubt hit me in the face at some point tonight and it's anyone's best guess as to weather he'll hit me with a hand or a foot... It's a great time though.

I was reading Johan's blog tonight and he's got Ironman South Africa coming up tomorrow our time. He posted a video tonight of the wind over there and it's wicked! I guess it's like playing hockey on bad ice though.. everyone has to play with the same conditions. Johan has a very impressive athletic career in his past and I doubt some of his competition have the same mentality that he brings to race day. I'll be pulling for him in his quest to qualify for Kona. Have the race of a lifetime Johan! I'll be tracking you from Canada.

Training: Bike - 101.36km

Life is GREAT!

"Encouragement!"

2010-04-21T22:18:00.000-04:00

For anyone that's seen the movie "Couples Retreat", you'll recognize the quote above. There's a scene where the couples are all doing yoga together and this Fabio like yoga instructor keeps slapping everyone in the glutes and saying "Encouragement... Yes!!!" It cracks me up...

It's also something that these big training weeks require. A little encouragement.

One of my main goals for last week's recovery week was to keep my weight even at 197 and not put on any that I've already lost. It was tough. A few gatherings with friends and it would have been very easy to slip but heading into the week, my focus was mainly to stay focused. It worked. I ended the week exactly where I started weightwise and I'll take that as a small victory. With 15 hours of training scheduled for this week and 16 hours for next week, I'm sure the weight will drop and I'm hoping to see a 193 or 194 by the end of this two week period.

On Saturday, I put in my Spinervals Lake Placid DVD and cycled along with it for 1.5 hours. Some of the tips that Coach Troy gives out is great and it'll give me something to think about while I'm out on the course. It really made my workout go a lot quicker too which was great. I'll have to get out in the rain for some rides and runs before Lake Placid but in the next few weeks, if the weather doesn't cooperate, I'll put that DVD back in and follow it some more.

I love the first week back off the recovery week. I never know where my new fitness level is and it always seems to surprise me. Today at lunch, I did a quick 50 minute run which called for 3 sets of 5 minutes at my upcoming half marathon goal pace. As the 10 minute warm-up was coming to an end, I looked at my pace and was surprised to see that my warm-up pace held at around 5:30! My heart rate was hovering at around 120 which is something I never would have imagined. With my warm-up pace at 5:30 and my legs feeling strong, I decided to try my luck and see if I could hold a 5:00 minute / km pace for my 3 sets. For the first two - I did. My last set started with me at the bottom of a hill and so my last 5 minute set ended up at a 5:15 pace which I'm still happy with. The rest of the way I held a nice 5:40 pace and my heart rate dropped back to 122 from 140.

I read that Training Payne and Doru are heading down to Placid for a training weekend. I like the cost - $0. It's called Epicman and it's a group of athletes that have been gathering in Lake Placid in a very informal way to train with one another. I'm going to look into it a bit more this week and see how the weekend fits in with our summer plans. If it works out, I'd love to get down there to ride the full 180K course no matter what my completion time ends up being. It'd be more just to build up some confidence on that bike section. We'll see if I can make this work.

This weekend, Lisa's going to be running in her first half marathon. She's been training hard for it. I have to admit that in all of this training, my complete focus is on my daily workouts and nutrition intake. It was only during yesterday's bike ride that I realized that this weekend is our half marathon. This half marathon is the race that got me hooked on endurance sports. I entered this race three years ago and the second I crossed that finish line, I knew I had to keep training for something. My times? 2:00:05 in 2008 and a blistering 1:59:09. I haven't officially decided on a goal for this weekend's race. Partly because I've got a 110km bike ride to do on Saturday and also because it's a race that I'm more interested in having some fun at.

Outside of those updates, I've got a few other things to get done in the near term. Get my bike tuned up after a winter of indoor training, buy a new bottle holder and water bottle for the bike, order some tri shorts and start breaking them in, stock up on race day nutrition, buy a wetsuit (enough of the rentals!), get some new goggles that don't leave suction marks on my eyes for 24 hours, and a few other small tasks...

Out.

Back at it

2010-04-13T23:20:00.000-04:00

Last week saw another Build phase come to an end. I had a 2.5 hour bike to get done on Saturday and a long run on Sunday.

I headed out toward Hockley, ON and I liked the route. There was a pretty good headwind coming for the majority of the ride but I was thankful that it was going to be at my back on the way home so I just kept pushing. This was a new route for me so I took a map with me to make sure I'd make it back without having to stay in a hotel somewhere along the line.

I stopped at one point to make sure of my next turning point. It was at a 4 way intersection but only the east / west traffic had a stop sign to deal with. The north / south folks were just cruising on through. I stopped and made it across the intersection to the other side. I unclipped one cleat to put it on the ground but kept the other cleat locked in. I took out the map and then it happened...

The dreaded sound of a dog chain. A big dog chain. Not some little canine you can put in your man purse dog - a real dog. It really all kinda went down in slow motion. Most dramatic events in my life seem to take on this trait. I took my attention off the map and started to try and zero in on where the sound was coming from. Eventually, my ears were able to determine that the chain sound was coming from the 635 pound German Shepherd that was coming at me. I was also happy to notice that the Shepherd was bringing a friend along for the buffet - a similarly sized dog of unknown pedigree but quite obviously wouldn't pass any of the Olympic doping tests as it was clearly on at least 5 types of steroids.

My mind was so quick thinking that it immediately skipped the phase where it should have been thinking of ways to flee and jumped right to the "This is going to hurt" thought phase. I was literally frozen in place with no time to react.

Then something wonderful happened. They stopped. Dead still. About 15 feet away from me and barking like mad. But they were stopped. And that's when I noticed the little white flags in the ground that were marking what had to have been one of those "Invisible Fences" for dogs. Can I have an "Amen"? I got back on the bike and started off and they followed me along the property line which was defined by these little white flags and once I was far enough away, they just went about their normal business. The owner must have that electric fence set to the "Annihilate" setting for those two dogs to stop like they did.

If I'd known the area any better, I'd have tried to come home another way but I just made sure that I was going fast on the way home. I still had to stop at the stop sign and they still came charging out to greet me but I knew they weren't coming all the way out to chomp on me. Man... that stuff makes you feel alive!

On the final stretch of the ride, I finished off my second water bottle and was reaching for my third and final bottle only to find out that it must have bounced out going over a bump. As a result, I missed about 3 planned hydration points and stopped in a small town's corner store to get some Gatorade and some water. No cramps ever came but I think I was mentally taking it a bit easier knowing that I was without water. I'm going to have to figure out a better way of trying to keep those bottles in their cages.

96.6 kms was the end result and my legs on Sunday morning felt great. No lingering effects like I felt last weekend so I'm hoping that the legs are getting used to the workload a bit.

Saturday night the wheels came off... wine, beer, shots... bad news... and I was alone here at home!! Kidding, we were with some great friends and one thing led to another and my quiet Saturday night plan came crashing down in flames. Didn't feel as bad as I thought I'd feel on Sunday morning but still decided to get my long run in on Monday.

Monday after work I did my long run but still ran into some belly issues that had to be looked after. I really need to iron out my long run nutrition because stopping to use the Port-a-Potties every 30 minutes isn't really the way I'm envisioning my run in Lake Placid.

Any tips out there?

Today was great - recovery week great. Quick spin at lunch and then off to the pool for tonight's workout.

I'm trying to make 9:30pm my goal bed time this week in the hopes that I can put a little extra in the tank for my next Build Phase. I've missed my target tonight by almost 2 hours... ouch...

Life is great!

Negativity...

2010-04-08T23:08:00.000-04:00

I seem to have lots of it tonight.

It started pretty much as soon as I walked in the door tonight from work. I really felt like having a dinner with the family - something that I really value. Instead, I had to jump on the bike and get my workout in before wolfing down my dinner and then heading to the pool for tonight's workout.

I got off the bike and was looking forward to some time with the kids but they'd gone on a bike ride with Lisa and so I ate dinner by myself. Ironman can be a lonely sport too I guess... I'll be glad when it's all over and things here at home can return to my version of normal. I'm 110% a "Family First" kinda guy and the training for Ironman is challenging my value system and it doesn't sit well with me. Lisa has been completely supportive and her theme in all of this has been "Mike - do what you need to do.". Even with that amazing support from her, the fact that I'm missing out on things that I love to do with the kids weighed on my tonight big time. At least I've got a recovery week a few days away and I'm looking forward to filling the additional time not training with time for my kids...

My bike was solid tonight. Legs felt a bit tired from yesterday's bike session (big surprise) but I managed a solid average pace and my HR is staying nice and steady - I think that's good... watched the Masters golf while on the trainer and was interested in how Tiger Woods was doing. From what I saw, there might be some rust there but you can see that he's still got it in him to win the tournament. I'll keep my eye on him the rest of the weekend.

Shoveled down dinner and got ready to head to the pool for tonight's workout. Tuesday I felt great in the water and so I was really looking forward to tonight's session. I was more interested because I've noticed in that in the week leading up to a recovery week, my energy levels are low. I've really put a focus on my nutrition intake to ensure that I've got something in the tank for the workouts that are planned for the week. I thought I had it nailed for tonight's swim but I guess I was wrong...

During our 600 meter warm-up, coach told me that I'd be joining Lane 4 again. As you may recall, the last time I spent any time in Lane 4 I also spent time purging my guts out in the men's locker room. During the rest of warm-up, I was trying to get myself mentally prepared for what I knew was going to be a challenge. I was ready. Stay within myself and just swim the only way I know how - poorly but with lots of gusto!

For starters, we did a 10 x 100m tempo set (the equivalent of sprinting in running). Lane 4 was doing this on a 1:50 pace which means that if you finished your 100 meters in 1:40, you could rest for 10 seconds and then you're off on your second repetition. The first two I managed to do in 1:40 but I could tell that I was in trouble. What technique I have was off and I was splashing around in the water like a hippo on crack. I'm glad they didn't have the video camera out tonight... My lanemate tonight is a strong swimmer - very technical but his eyesight ain't the best. He told me this as we began our workout and he was relying on my telling him when we could start our next 100m sprint. Well by about the 6th or 7th one, I would barely make it back in time to say "Go!". At the end of it all, I was basically just swimming from one 100m sprint to the next without any rest at all. It was crap.

I felt really negative about the whole thing really. My technique is poor and I guess I'm not asking the coaches that are there to critique me enough. From here on in, I'm going to be hounding them for feedback. I'd rather swim half the workout and get some good instruction than do the entire workout with crappy technique. My fitness is OK but now my gains are going to come from proper technique and I can only get that from the coaching staff that are there.

After the tempo set, we did a set where the focus was on our breathing pattern. If there was a positive to tonight it was that I've been able to master the bi-lateral breathing thing that I've really been struggling with since I started swimming 2 years ago. I no longer feel like I'm going to run out of air after just two strokes and can breathe every 3 or 5 which I think also means that I'm more relaxed in the water which can't be a bad thing.

Anyhow, I'm bagged tonight. End of story. I'm tired both mentally and physically and I can't wait for the recovery week to start. This time around though, I'm not treating it like a semi-retirement where I can indulge in some of my old bad habits. Instead, I'm really going to focus on clean eating and getting in some workouts that are of high quality.

I check in with my nutritionist again tomorrow and I think I am down another 2 from the last time I was in to see her. 194 is my goal weight for April 25th which will leave me only 9 pounds to go in the last 90 days leading up to Lake Placid. If I do this, Lisa's going to buy me a Cervelo P4 (I just put that in there to see if she actually reads this blog... my chances of qualifying for Kona are better than getting that bike!).

Anyhow, not happy with a ton of things tonight but I'm reminded of my buddy Training Payne's entries during his big training weeks where he found himself irritable and I'm thinking that I'm just having one of those nights... I may also have to either change my bike workout days or try to get the bike done during my lunch hour. The problem with the lunch hour thing is that pretty soon, those sessions are going to be longer than an hour... I may approach the boss to see if I could get some type of flex hour arrangement going up until Lake Placid... he's great that way and it never hurts to ask. I just don't have enough gas in the tank doing a bike after work and then heading off to swim. I'm not getting the quality out of the swim workout...

I'm going upstairs to kick the dog, punch a hole in the wall and then hit the hay. Kidding!!!

Bike: 28.58km
Swim: 2400m

Life is still Great...

Run Forrest Run

2010-04-07T22:31:00.000-04:00

Today was supposed to only be a run but I couldn't squeeze my bike in yesterday so I had to get it done tonight.

I took off on my run at lunch. It called for a 10 minute warm-up and then two sets of 22 minutes each at my goal half marathon pace. I started the first 22 minute repetition and purposely didn't look at the pace I was running until I settled in to a pace that I thought I could hold without blowing up my heart. About 8 minutes in, I peeked and was holding a 5:20 pace which, for an ex O Lineman, is not too bad. I was stoked to be truthful. I took a look at my HR and decided that there was more effort there and tried keeping it down around 5:10 for the remainder of the 22 mins. No problem!

At the end of that first set, my belly started to grumble pretty bad. This happened to me on Monday too and I knew what was coming. I took my 3 minute recovery and then started running again. I knew that our local arena was about 5 minutes away and really struggled to make it there without any accidents. After my pit stop, I was rested and really wanted to blast it the rest of the way home. Along most of the flat track back to the office, I hit 4:46 and held it there. I pulled into the office and felt like a million bucks. Legs felt great. I guess the outdoor runs that I'm getting in are getting my legs, ankles, feet, knees, etc.. used to the increased pounding that I don't get on the treadmill through the winter months.

Ryan had an appointment with the dentist and Lisa took him down to that after school. That left Megan and I on our own. I picked her up from school and we went on a father-daughter date. It was great. Especially when she asked me why I always get the "Bald Haircut" when I go to the barber... that cracked me up.. and then I grounded her until she turns 23.

After everyone was put to bed, I jumped on the trainer and watched the Toronto Maple Laughs get pounded by the Rangers. Perfect.

I did a 70 minute ride with a 10 minute warm-up and then got into an 88-90 rpm cadence which allowed me to hold a 29 to 30km/hr pace. When a commercial came on, I'd go 3 gears harder and stand for the 1st commercial, sit for the 2nd, etc... until the game came back on and then I'd get back into my main gear and keep pushing. 31.25 total kms with a 10 minute warm-up and a 5 minute cool-down.

Protein shake as a night cap and I'm going to go bag some "z's".

Out.

Playing Catch up

2010-04-06T23:34:00.000-04:00

It's been crazy around here lately.

This past weekend, my folks came in from Montreal for a grandkid fix. They got in here on Thursday night and left yesterday morning. We had an amazing visit as we always do. The weather was amazing so we tried to spend as much of it outside just hanging out and chatting.

I got my first outdoor bike ride in on Saturday morning. The plan called for a 2hr 30 min bike so I headed straight north from my place and turned around at the 1hr 15 min point. Problem was, there was a wicked northerly wind at my back on the way out and it was all I could do to keep the km/hr at around 20 on the way home. On the way north, I was averaging about 40km/hr and felt like Lance! I was looking forward to that first outdoor ride to see how the speed would translate from the trainer to the road. Some folks told me that it'd be about 2 or 3 km/hr faster on the road (as an average) and others told me that it's basically the same.

I think it's actually easier in some ways. You get the opportunity to get up and out of the saddle more frequently and once you've built up some momentum, it's easier to carry it. I found my cadence was very smooth and my legs were really fresh after the ride. Now I'm looking forward to my first east / west ride to see how the winds treat me when I go that direction.

The rest of Saturday was amazing. We had some of Lisa's family over for an egg hunt. I found most of them as the rest of the kids were just too plain slow and I was able to take the goodies from their baskets without much of a fight. I rule the Easter Egg Hunts around here... Kidding... the kids had a blast but holy smokes do they find those eggs FAST! You can hardly take a picture of them and they're done! The rest of the afternoon was perfect. As I blew off close to 3000 calories on the bike, I permitted myself 4 pints and they tasted like gold. Hit The Keg for dinner with the gang and ate beef. A perfect ending to the perfect day.

Sunday was my 41st birthday. I was having some minor back discomfort and so decided to move my long run to Monday and take the day as my off day. At around 11:30am or so, I wanted to go and get the heating pad on my back for 20 minutes or so. I ended up falling asleep and woke up around 2pm. I was miffed at not hanging around with everyone but I guess my body was tired and I felt like a million bucks when I woke up. The kids and I went for a short bike ride around the block and then we had a "feast" (as Ryan calls them) for dinner. More BEEF! I got some great cards and gifts for my bday and enough gift certificates at the Running Room to buy a lifetime of GU! I think I'm going to cash those in tomorrow as I'm low on the nutrition front and want to try a few new items to see how my stomach handles them.

Monday after work, I had a 2hr 15min run to get in. This was going to be my fourth long outdoor run and I wanted to do an out and back instead of snaking my way through most of Aurora. I went directly east and turned at the 67:30 mark. On the way back, I was heading right back into the sun and it was a great scene. I remember my pal Greg telling me about his runs along the same route and I "slapped the sign" in his honor when I reached it.

The issue in running in a very rural area is that restrooms are scarce. But farmers fields are a plenty! Note to self: take a tissue or ten with me on my next run along that route. Hey - you gotta do what you gotta do...

My pace on the way towards home was surprising for me. I was running really comfortably at a 5:45 pace and this I'm happy with. I've got a half marathon at the end of April and I'm going to try and hold a 5:30 to see how that works. It's the day after my first century ride of the season so I'm hoping the legs have something left in them for the Sunday run.

Planned out the remaining bike sessions from here to Lake Placid and I'm starting to get that feeling - it's getting closer! I'm starting to look forward to the day now more it seems. Before, I'd be out of my head nervous but as the days of training tick by, I'm gaining confidence that my fitness level is going to be ready to take me through the day.

Good speed workout in the pool tonight. At one point, I think we had 6 swimmers in Lane 3 tonight. We're a popular lane! As a group, I'd say we had a pretty strong workout tonight. My effort level seems to be lower but my speeds are either staying where they used to be or actually getting a bit faster. Tonight's last set was a 5 x 100 and we went 1:40 for the first one and then held a 1:45 for the rest of them. When I first started swimming, it was all I could do to hold a 2:00 pace for any distance. I'm pleased with the progress and am feeling more and more comfortable in the water. The bi-lateral breathing is really becoming natural with me now and I think it's helping me with a few technical challenges I was having with my stroke. Still tons to work on but I'm figuring it out bit by bit.

Tomorrow is a bike and run. Next week is another recovery week so I'm working towards that as my reward.

I was out running on Friday and ran by a few kids that must have been at the school the other day when I spoke. They came running up to me to say hello and they really made me feel like a rock star. Thanks kids! You made my day!

Over and out - Life is GREAT!

Training: Swim 2750
Weight: 197

Another goal off my list

2010-03-31T15:06:00.000-04:00

Today, I got an opportunity to address the kids at my our local elementary school. Here in Ontario, that means there are kids from the age of 6 up to 14 years old (kindergarten to grade 8).

The school is doing it's second annual Half Marathon fundraising event and I was given an opportunity to address the kids on the topic of running a half marathon and the power of goal setting. I was asked to cover these things off in 10 minutes. Not nearly enough time to do the topic justice but given the fact that there were 6 and 7 year olds in the audience, I can understand why they didn't give me 75 minutes! Originally, my understanding was there were only a smaller number of kids who got to sign up for the event and that I'd be chatting with them. When I showed up at the school, they told me that I could go and set up in the "big gym". "Big gym?" I asked. "Why the big gym? I thought we'd be doing this in one of the classrooms." I commented. "400 kids won't fit into one classroom." is the reply I got... Oh boy...

What a great experience. Was able to get a few laughs from the "Too Cool for School" grade 8's sitting in the back row. Largely due to the picture here. Would you look at that shirt! What a beauty! Not only is it a vintage piece of fashion but the fact that the top button is done up really just is the finishing touch. And those spikes on the collars? They're outlawed in at least 4 Canadian provinces now.

Classic really...

After the assembly, I was happy to have a few of the teachers in the gym come up and thank me. They shared with me some of their personal goals and the word "inspirational" was used way too much for my comfort level. Anyhow, it was a great experience and one that I hope I'll get the chance to do again at some point down the road.

I normally can get my bike session in at lunchtime on Tuesdays but with the assembly at the school today, I really could only get the one workout in due to time. I chose to get my 90 minute bike in instead of my swim workout. I need work in all three disciplines but the bike is the portion of Ironman that has me most concerned. Whenever I have to make a choice between a bike workout and something else, I'll always get my bike session in. I'm going to make up my swim tomorrow at lunch.

Specifically, I'm going to spend some time in the pool tomorrow just really focusing on technique. It's something that I can do to a certain degree when I workout with the Ducks but I really want to focus on it tomorrow. If I really put the focus on it during a group workout, I'm afraid I'd impact my fellow Lane 3'ers workouts. Outside of missing a swim workout in January (I was out of town on business and the local YMCA closed before I could get to it), and a Tuesday earlier this month, tonight was only the 3rd time I've missed a scheduled workout. And I haven't really "missed" it, I'm just doing it tomorrow instead. For a guy with a family and a full time job, I'd say that that's a pretty good attendance record.

Tonights bike workout was a 90 minute ride on the trainer. I warmed up for 5 minutes in the small chain ring and then did a ladder of 6 x 6 minute sets. I was able to hold a 30 km/hr speed through the first 8 sets but then had an issue holding that speed or a 90 cadence on my last 3 sets. The legs just weren't there. I did average a 28 to 28.5 km/hr speed for those last 18 minutes and the cadence was in around 83 or so. During those last minutes, I knew trying to hold 30 km/hr wasn't going to happen so I just focused on a nice smooth and consistent motion on the pedals. During the cool down, I got a pinching sensation in my right hip flexor region. I got back into an aero position and it soon went away but I think it's a good reminder that I should up the effort on my stretching from here on in. I haven't been doing nearly enough of that and I know that it will catch up to me sooner or later if I don't get on it.

Over and out!

Must.. get.. rest...

2010-03-26T22:56:00.000-04:00

I'm tired..

I guess I shouldn't be overly surprised with that. I know that I'm tired because I fell asleep in a sitting position here at home after dinner. I NEVER fall asleep in a sitting position. Never mind in a sitting position in a living room with the TV on, kids singing and dog barking! If I sleep when that's going on, the body is telling me something.

Great quick run tonight. 45 minutes with a short 4 sets of 1 minute pick-ups. I feel really strong in my running form (for me) and now I'm looking forward to my long run on Sunday to see how it transfers to the road. Food intake was great today but I didn't get as much water as I normally do. In fact, this morning I felt light headed for about 30 or 45 minutes. It got to the point where I actually laid on my office floor with my feet up on my office chair to see if I could get some more blood to the brain. I'm not even sure if that works but I tried it to no avail. Before too long, the feeling was gone. Maybe it's because I'm tired? We'll see how we are tomorrow.

I've been working on my Setting Goals presentation that I'm giving to a local elementary school here on Tuesday. I'm putting some of my "Big Man" pictures in the presentation and I'm going to let the kids know about my goal of completing an Ironman. There will be kids in the audience as young as 6 and as old as 14 so I have to make sure I can keep everyone engaged. It'll be jammed with humor but I really want them to take the message away that if you set your mind to do something you want badly enough, there isn't anything or anyone that can stop you.

Final hockey weekend for Ryan coming up. It's been a great season and the kids on the team have really progressed. At the beginning of the year, we were literally working with some of them on how to stand up on their skates. Now they're buzzing around out there having a ball. Talk about achieving goals! Big banquet to wrap things off on Sunday where the kids will get a trophy for having a great year and they'll eat pizza until it's coming out of their ears.

Still sub-200 and am hopeful that there's a 197 on the scale tomorrow.

Life is great!

4 - 198 - Inspiration

2010-03-25T23:09:00.000-04:00

More numbers...

4

4 months to go until Ironman Lake Placid. Man it's going fast! Training is going great and I'm feeling stronger and stronger it seems. Great run yesterday. I'm able to hold a faster pace without maxing out the heart rate and I feel as though I'm more and more comfortable on my runs recently.

198

Tipped the scales this morning at 198.2 lbs. That's 74 pounds from my heaviest recorded weigh in and I'm walking on cloud nine this morning because of it. The last time I weighed under 200 lbs was in 1995 - 15 years ago. In following the many tri blogs that I do, a recurring theme seems to be the personal bests everyone sets month after month, week after week, and year to year. This is absolutely one of my Personal Bests. My shirts and pants aren't fitting like they used to. I hope the baggy look makes a comeback this year.

Inspiration

In 2008, I came across the finish line of my first ever half marathon. I was originally going to do the half relay with my bro but he wasn't able to make it and I decided to try the entire distance on my own. Finishing time aside, the feeling that I had coming down the road to the finishers chute stayed with me that day, that week, and the following 3 weeks or so. I was very careful to not jump to the conclusion that I was a running fanatic but after 3 weeks of riding that natural high, I knew I'd found something that I had to keep doing in my life.

Last night, I attended a great friend's tribute dinner. Steve was our MC at our wedding and he and his family played a big role in my wife's childhood. He was being honored for his many years of community service. The things that he's accomplished by giving himself and his time is long and impressive. I left last night with the same feeling as the day I completed my first half marathon. I've been buzzing about it all day and if it keeps up, I think I know what I might be doing with some of my time once the training commitment decreases.

Today's training included a bike and swim workout. I got the bike done right after work and felt relatively strong. I had a 10 minute warm-up where I averaged about 26.5 or 27 km / hr and then the main set was 55 minutes long and I averaged 30.2 km/hr during that time. Overall, for the 70 minutes, I averaged 29.7 km/hr and my heart rate averaged 140. Legs felt good and tired after that session.

Swim workout was a 200 warm-up followed by 4 x 100 (50 drill / 25 kick / 25 swim) and then we headed into 4 sets of 500 meters. Cool down was a nice and steady 500 meters where I was really focusing on my roll and my catch. Things are starting to come together in the water and I'm pleased with that.

Tomorrow is a lunchtime run and then I'm looking forward to my longest two workouts on Saturday and Sunday. 2.5 hour bike and a 2 hr. 15 minute run.

Life is Great!

Update from Lane 3

2010-03-18T23:05:00.000-04:00

Lane 3 is my lane on Tuesday and Thursday night swim workouts. It's the equivalent of the bunny hill on the ski slopes...

More and more it seems, we're completing our workouts at the same pace as our neighbors in Lane 4. Yup, I think we're gaining on them. Steve, John, and I are the regular Lane 3 guys. Occasionally, we'll get someone from one of the other nights jump in with us but we're the core group I'd say. We're all pretty much the same pace and I'd guess that we've all made about the same amount of improvement since the fall. Steve lapped us tonight in a 500 meter set and I think something may have "clicked" with him about two weeks ago. The guy is built like a swimmer and I think he's harnessing that long reach he has.

Today was a great workout day. I got a bike in at lunchtime and during the main set of 30 minutes was able to hold a 29 km/hr pace on the trainer without putting my heart rate above 130. Months ago, I was able to hold a 26 km/hr pace but my heart rate was up in the mid-150's. I'm happy with that.

I was a little concerned getting on the bike today. I had a small pulling sensation on my right kneecap and I wasn't sure how it was going to feel during and after the bike session. No injuries to report.

Tonight's swim was a big one. 400 swim / 300 drill / 200 kick / 100 scull for warm-up. Then a 500 swim / 4 x 50 FAST / 400 swim / 4 x 50 FAST / 300 pull with paddles / 4 x 50 FAST / 200 swim / 4 x 50 fast. Those 4 x 50's were tough. The first 25 meters I felt like a knife but the second 25 meters, I felt like a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood trying to make my way to the other end of the pool. Technique completely out the window! Overall, a solid workout.

Went and grabbed a Banana Chocolate Vivano Smoothie at Starbucks with two extra scoops of protein powder and downed that as my post workout nutrition. MMMMMMMMM! I think I've almost copied their recipe here at home. I'm not sure what I'm missing but I'm almost there. It might just be the brand of protein powder I'm using that tastes a bit different.

This weekend, the folks that bought our house are coming for one of their pre-purchase home visits. I guess they want to take some measurements and stuff like that. The house doesn't have to be in pristine order but I have to help tidying it up before they come over.

Tomorrow is a quick run and then a relatively light weekend of workouts. Lots of time to get a few things done around the house in preparation for our move I guess.

Training:
Bike 50 mins / 21.15kms
Swim: 2800 meters

We now resume our regularly scheduled programming...

2010-03-17T22:06:00.001-04:00

Pity Party's over...

Thanks very much to all of you who reached out. Your words have helped me get my mind back on track. Although we don't know one another very well, the sport of triathlon is an extremely supportive fraternity and I thank you for taking time to share your thoughts.

Three quick things:

1. I'm renaming "Recovery Weeks". I find that the name implies some sort of semi-retirement status and I'm more prone to get off the eating habits which have helped me drop down to 200 lbs for the first time in a long time. I also find that my mind has more excuses for maybe missing a workout here or there when I know full well that's a recipe for disaster. From here on out, I'm calling it a "Pre-Build Week". Yes, I know I'll be recovering during those weeks but naming it this way lets my mind know that there are some heavy days ahead and to take the work during these weeks seriously.

2. My run sucked tonight. I felt like I had a cinder block in my belly for some reason. My breath seemed very short and I never really found that comfortable place that I normally can find. I was only too happy to see the end of that one tonight. The good news is that I feel great having completed it and know that my heart is stronger for it.

3. In trying to put things in perspective, I calculated my Month to date distances and really can't be disappointed in my level of output. I know that there are many more kilometers to go but at this point, I guess I should be pretty pleased. Swim: 8.3kms Bike: 216kms Run: 79.25kms

Tomorrow is a bike at lunch and a Duck Workout tomorrow night from 8:30 to 10:00pm.

Training: Run 8.05 kms / 49 mins

Life is GREAT and getting BETTER!

Why?

2010-03-16T23:27:00.000-04:00

Warning: This is a very cheesy and long blog entry. My apologies...

I haven't had a beer in close to 2 months. Tonight, I've had 3 4 5. I know.. it's a Tuesday. Why did I choose tonight to "slip"?

I'm afraid.... I'm scared... I fear failure... I don't want to let anyone down... I think I may have gotten myself into something too big... I wasn't given the body type to finish an Ironman... It's easier to sit in front of the TV and eat chips and drink Coke... What if I don't finish?

I just knew this moment would come. I just didn't know when. It's happening tonight and I'm going to deal with it.

The time is now. My question is "Why?"

I've got 129 days until Ironman Lake Placid. A little over 4 months to prepare my body and mind to complete a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike, and a 42.2km run. What on earth was I thinking? I'm a hockey player that turned into a very unlikely football player. I'm used to short bursts of energy expenditure, not approximately 15 hours (I hope) of constant physical exertion.

As we get closer to our big day, the talk about Ironman is increasing. My Mom is coming with us and is getting her passport ready. "Where are we staying in Lake Placid?". My brother and sister-in-law have made arrangements to travel to Lake Placid. I send an email to my brother thanking him for making the effort and he replies "We wouldn't miss it." At work, many of my colleagues are asking more questions about what an Ironman is, how my training is going, and what was I doing running in the rain at lunchtime? I find out that friends made arrangements to make it down to Lake Placid to cheer me on. At home, we're planning a move to a new home, enjoying the beginnings of Spring, and talking more and more about the logistics around our trip to Lake Placid. Another friend of mine tells me that her niece is getting into triathlon having read my story...

It's real. It's coming. And, for tonight at least, I'm not sure what drove me to do this. I'm doubting myself and my ability and I'm not happy with myself. This isn't the way I like to feel or think. It's strange and confusing to me...

"Why one earth are you doing this?" I guess it's a question every Ironman participant / finisher has asked him / herself as they put in the crazy amounts of training and effort required to get ready for race day. It's a question that people are asking me more and more these days it seems. I've never had an answer for them. At least not an answer I thought was truthful or well thought out. I think I'm still trying figure it out myself... but I think I'm getting closer to acknowledging my personal reasons... I guess everyone has their own.

Folks ask me which event I excel in or if my background is in swimming, biking, or running. I normally answer that my strength is in the transitions! I'm not a swimmer, biker, or runner. I played hockey, rugby, and football. The last thing the Big Man upstairs had in mind when he doled out my genes was an endurance athlete!

This week is what my training coach terms a "Recovery Week". I guess things are really relative. What I'm scheduled to do this week as a part of my recovery week would be an entire year's worth of working out if you rewound 3 years ago. I was carrying 70+ pounds of extra weight around on my 5' 11" frame and even the thought of a swim / bike / run workout would have made my heart rate peak. I'm extremely happy with where I am. My family is happy with where I am. I'm not entirely sure if Ironman is happy with where I am. I guess we'll know on July 25th. It's been on my mind these past few days and it's all I can think about tonight.

I remember the exact moment I last felt this way. It would have been August of 1989 when I went to my first McGill University football tryout. I was trying out as an Offensive Lineman. I was undersized at the college level and knew I was going to be severely undersized at the University level. About 15 O-Linemen went around to the various testing stations together that day. The first station was the weigh in stop. I snuck a 5 pound weight into my underwear and stepped up onto the scale. My weight was 199 pounds. Not too bad but considering the guy in front of my was 292 pounds, the person weighing us asked me (and I'll never forget this) "..are you sure you're in the right group?" That's when I felt this doubt / fear / uncertainty feeling. That very moment, I asked myself "What are you thinking? What made you think you could walk in here and earn a spot on this football team as an Offensive Lineman? Look at these other guys! They're huge! They weigh way more than you. They're probably stronger than you. You should just spend your time at University focusing on your studies."

What I remember most and very clearly about the answer I gave myself right then and there was that I didn't want to let my family down. I remember very clearly the day I received a letter inviting me to the tryouts and showing it to my folks (they're softies like me) - they teared up they were so proud. I remember bringing home my equipment that first night of training camp and my brother tried everything on - we have a picture of it somewhere. In his own way, I think he was pulling for me. I didn't want to let them down. I wanted to make that team for them. And I did. I outworked some much more physically gifted athletes year after year. And when I ended my football playing days due to injury (too many concussions), I knew in my heart that I'd given it my very best.

I have a great picture here at home. It's a painting of McGill Stadium. As luck would have it, the McGill offense is on the field and it captures the part of the stands that my family would sit in when they came and supported me all of those Saturdays in the Fall. I guess I like the painting so much because it serves as a reminder to me of just how hard I had to work to earn that spot on those teams. And of the fact that I hadn't let them down...

Another reason for the doubt is the fact that one of my blogging buddies went to China to chase his goal of earning an age-group spot in Kona (Ironman's Superbowl). He and his friend John didn't finish. In fact, they're lucky to have their health. Here's a guy that I've been following through the internet. A guy that has trained like a mad man, a guy who loves his beer (and I mean really LOVES his beer) and he didn't have any for the three months leading up to Ironman China. A guy who biked more in one training session than I do in a week! He didn't finish... what does that mean for me? I followed Brian that night through cyberspace. I was tracking his times in his age group and really pulling for him to get his spot. I took the laptop to bed with me that night and kept hitting the "Refresh" button to see if his bike split times would register. In the end, he and John were both forced out of the race for health reasons. If this guy didn't finish, how on earth am I going to be able to?

The guy I blame for pushing me over the edge on attempting an Ironman distance triathlon (although he may not know it) is Greg Collett. Greg is a two time Ironman finisher and through some mutual friends, I invited Greg to lunch to talk his ear off about Ironman. Leaving that lunch, I knew I had to put Ironman on my personal Bucket List. The thing I remember most about our discussion that day is that he told me to ".. enjoy the journey.".

I guess tonight is a step in that journey.

In the last two weeks, I've received two very meaningful emails. One from a good friend Dean I played football with who is following the blog and commented on how much he was enjoying reading it. He didn't know it at the time I'm sure, but his note to me got me through what I think has been my toughest workout to date. I haven't seen Dean in about 20 years! The second email came from my sister in law last week. She knew me when I was "Big Man" and reminded me that I've come a long way from then. That note renewed my focus on my training and she'll never know how much it meant to me to read those words from her specifically (unless she's reading this entry!). Amazing what a little encouragement can do eh?

129 days to go and the question I'm still struggling with is "Why are you doing this?" Tonight I don't feel like I know. My wife? My kids? My brother? Dad? Mom? Uncle Tino? For the tattoo? For me? Or maybe it's for what it might mean after I've completed one? If I can complete an Ironman, what other seemingly unreachable goals can I attempt? I'm excited to find out.

I originally staring writing this blog to keep a record of my training and thoughts on the way to Ironman. I also thought that my kids might be able to read it when they're older and hopefully learn something about their old man and learn that chasing goals isn't always an easy thing to do. I've missed a bike workout and swim workout tonight. Not something I'm proud of. But I know that the benefits of getting this off my mind was worth more than both workouts combined.

If you're out there, let me know. If you're thinking about doing an Ironman someday, let me know. If you're following the blog periodically, let me know. For some inexplicable reason, knowing that you're out there would mean the world to me. Especially on nights like tonight.

Again, I apologize for the sappiness of the entry. I normally like to keep things lighter but I'm an honest guy, and tonight, I had some things I had to get down in words and off my mind...

Training: None.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh1yMnrby3w&feature=related

Weekend Recap

2010-03-15T09:41:00.000-04:00

Friday at lunchtime, two colleagues and I took off from the office for a light run. It was an overcast day but it was still enjoyable to be outside and not on the treadmill for a change. We each did our own distance and we each had a good result. My training came with strict instructions to keep it light and not push because of the workouts that were scheduled on the weekend so I listen to those types of directions.

Saturday morning we were up and at 'em for Ryan's hockey practice. It's amazing to me what these kids learn in the span of a winter. Very proud of the entire team. Big progress all around.

After the hockey practice, we headed home and I jumped on the trainer in the gym at home. Two main sets on Saturday. The first one consisted of a 4-6-4-6-4 minute sets holding a 95 cadence. The last 6 minute set was a tough one but I was happy to get through that particular set in flying colors. I was up over 30km/hr for each repetition which I'm pleased with. I then had a 5 minute spin and then headed into 3 sets of 18 minutes each holding a 90 cadence in the large chain ring. The hardest thing during this set was my seat. I had to get up and out of the saddle once or twice during each 18 minute session to get some feeling back "there". I'm going to have to start investigating some softer seats. The bike shorts I wear have a mattress in them basically so I don't think it's the shorts. Also, I'm not going to be wearing those bike shorts in Placid so I should probably start training in the shorts I am going to wear to get used to them.

Saturday's bike ended up being 48.61 kms and with all of the cool down sets I averaged 26.2. During the main sets, I averaged in the 28.5 range.

Saturday afternoon, my friend David and his son took Ryan and I down to Rogers Centre to take in the Monster Energy Drink Motocross. Talk about loud! Needless to say, the kids had a great time and although they were serving beer up in the Monster Energy suite, I stuck to water and two energy drinks. Good boy Mike...

Sunday we lost an hour as we set the clocks forward an hour for Daylight Savings Time. Having forgotten about the time change, I wasn't able to get my 2 hr run in prior to Ryan's hockey game Sunday morning. Ryan had a great game with lots of chances and lots of work on defence. We headed home for a quick lunch and then headed over to our new house to show the kids the new place. They were pretty excited about that to say the least. Funny thing was is that they thought all the furniture in the house came with the house! Ryan wanted to choose his bedroom based on the fact that there was a TV in it! Too funny...

Home from the house visit and then jumped on the dreadmill for the 2 hr run. I had a very easy 15 minute warm-up and then set it to 6.0 mph and kept that pace until the last 10 minutes when I did another easy jog to the end of the run. Legs were really feeling it for the last 20 minutes or so but they're OK this morning and I'm happy that this week is another RECOVERY WEEK! I'm really going to focus on getting some stretching in this week and make sure that the food intake stays good. If all goes well on the food front, I'll be sub-200 lbs. for the first time since 1994.

Today is an off day and the kids have started their March Break from school. Lots of fun things planned with friends this week and I know that they're going to love that.

Life is GREAT!

Missing Lunch Hurt

2010-03-10T20:38:00.000-05:00

Had an 80 minute run scheduled for tonight. It called for a 10 min. warm-up and then 4 x 12 at a "comfortably hard" pace with 3 minutes of recovery between each set.

I didn't feel right from the start. Something felt unnatural about my stride tonight and I don't have an answer as to why. Is it because I'm tired? These last weeks leading into a recovery week have really been tough on me and I hope that I get used to them before too long! As I was fighting through my second set, I realized that I never got around to eating lunch today! I had it right in front of me and then our CEO requested my attendance at lunch. Can't turn down the boss so off I went. I went to lunch and then right back to work in time for another meeting. Before I could make it back to the kitchen to grab my lunch again, another meeting broke out and then the next thing, I'm on my run without having lunch! That wasn't smart. In my 3rd set, I couldn't keep it up and decided to head home.

I ended up running 9.2 kms in 55 mintues. Man oh man... just not sure where it was tonight. That's back to back workouts where I haven't felt "on". Not sure what to expect tomorrow morning on the 60 minute bike that I've got to get done or the swim tomorrow night.

Training
Run: 9.2 kms / 55 mins

That's it for now...

Lost: Swim Stroke

2010-03-09T23:21:00.000-05:00

No reward being offered as it wasn't really much of a stroke to begin with!

Seriously, I'm beginning to see more and more similarities between my swim stroke and golf game. In my BK days (Before Kids), when I was playing 20 or so rounds of golf a year or so, my golf game would become fairly consistent. Consistently weak but at least consistent. There'd be days when even my bad shots ended up with good results and then other days when it was like I was just taking the game up for the first time.

Tonight in the pool, it felt like I was starting right from scratch. I never got to a point where I felt comfortable in the water tonight. Throughout the workout tonight, I kept waiting for that good feeling to hit and it never did. I was lagging behind my lanemates BIG TIME tonight. Special thanks to Nicole for dragging my carcass through the session tonight. I've said it before but swimming can have moments when it feels like a real team sport. Tonight was one of those nights. Nicole was having a great night and I think she's someone who'd grind out a workout even when she doesn't feel much like doing it. Tonight, she took me and my lanemates and pushed us through the entire workout. No slacking off with Nicole in your lane that's for sure. Without her there to lead by example, I'm sure I would have not completed the workout as it was posted on the board. Instead of sitting here and writing about excuses as to why I had to cut it short, I'm happy to say that I feel really pumped from having completed it thanks in large part to Nicole. The quality of my swim wasn't where I've become used to it being but I did put in the distance and I'll take that as a positive.

Earlier in the day I went to see my nutritionist pal Doris. She's awesome. She's giving me all kinds of tips and tricks on how to make sure that I've got the energy in the tank to get through these crazy training weeks and also showing me ways to lose the weight along the way. So far, I've lost 8 lbs with her help and more importantly, at least to me, is that my body composition is changing in a good way. My percentage body fat is down to 17.6% which is a 5% improvement from when I first met with Doris. I've lost another inch in both the hips and waist areas and I've implemented many of the "Habits" she's coached me on. Now all I have to do is keep the training going and keep the Habits up and I'll be in great shape for Lake Placid.

My brother and sister-in-law were able to book a campsite for Ironman weekend. I'm really excited to have the two of them there. It means a lot to me to know that they're there supporting me on what I'm sure is going to be a day to remember. My Mom has also committed to coming down and she's going to stay with us in our hotel with the kids. She's already applied for her passport and should have it in plenty of time.

With all of these recent developments, it's starting to dawn on me that this is coming faster now. I'm sure the next 4 months are going to fly by so I have to make sure to stay focused on the day to day activities that are going to get me across that finish line on July 25th.

I've also got my buddy Training Payne on my mind today. He's over in Asia for Ironman China looking to have a race of a lifetime and secure a spot in Kona - the Superbowl of Ironman. I've followed Payner's training every day since I stumbled across his blog over at www.trainingpayne.blogspot.com and he's been a source of inspiration to me on some of the days that training felt like the last thing I wanted to do. I'll be following his race on the internet this weekend and even though he won't hear me, I'll be cheering him across that finish line. The guy deserves a Kona spot.

Today was an early start. I was up and on the bike by 5:45am which I'm pretty happy about because I'm a guy who would rather get the work in at night and sleep in a bit in the mornings. I'm bagged right now and I don't think falling asleep will be an issue tonight.

Megan and I spent almost 40 minutes playing the "Trap Game" tonight. I get her in some type of wrestling hold (more like a bear hug) and then she struggles to slip out of it. Of course, she always gets out and she thinks it the most amazing thing that her Dad can't keep her in one of these "Traps". Amazing thing though... in working her way out of these holds, she talks herself out of it. She's constantly saying things like "OK, now take that foot and get it out, then take this leg and shake it loose..." she's got the positive self talk going! I was loving it!

Ry-guy was in his bed at 6:30 tonight. He's not feeling well. He started the day with an upset belly and as soon as I got home tonight, I could see that he wasn't himself. Hope he's feeling better tomorrow morning. He did bring home his report card tonight and both Lisa and I were super proud of his progress. He's tracking well and we've got a few minor things to brush up on but, for his first year in French Immersion, he's doing just great. Keep it up Ry!

Training:

Bike 70 minutes / 30.3kms

Swim 3000 meters (tough meters tonight!)

Life is GREAT!!!

Back on the Grid

2010-03-08T21:53:00.000-05:00

We're just back from my folks place in the Laurentians and they're house is still only serviced by dial-up internet. I had to pull down my Saturday morning workout from my Hotmail account and it literally took 12 minutes to get it. I guess I'm spoiled here with the high speed internet service. It also explains why Dad gets up at 5:30am when he's here and spend time on the "Net"! He must get a month's worth of surfing in 1 hour!

First off - a confession.. I purposely missed my Thursday night swim workout. I ended up having to get my 70 minute bike ride done after dinner and just before when I'd have to leave to swim. I really had to drag my carcass through that bike workout and fought myself back and forth on weather to go swimming and risk going through the motions. In the end, I thought the time would be better spent getting some rest which I did.

We left for Mom and Dad's on Friday at around lunch and made it there for around 7:30. The next morning, I got the bike set up upstairs and started in on the two hour workout. The main part of that workout Saturday was the 4 sets of 16 minutes holding an 85 to 90 cadence. The first three sets went well but I knew that the fourth was going to be tough. I ended up breaking it up into 4 sets of 4 minutes and started working my way through it. In the end, I was happy with the end result. Great workout, happy that I fought through that last set and the rest of the day, the legs didn't seem too tired.

Sunday we got up and started our way home. The closer we got, the warmer the weather was getting outside. I was contemplating moving my long run to Monday but with the weather the way it was, I knew I had to get out there. We pulled into the driveway and I raced in to get on my running gear and get all the gear ready to roll. I ended up with about 45 minutes of sunlight and the rest of the 2 hour run was pretty dark. I ended up getting 19.15 kms done in 1 hr 55 minutes. I got in a great stretch and hit the hay.

Monday's are recovery days which I use to plan out my week's worth of training and, well.. rest. Tonight I've got a bag of peas under my right calf which was a bit tender today. The right side of my right foot was a bit sore this morning but tonight it's not worth talking about.

Tomorrow, I go and check in with my nutritionist and see how we're doing. With that appointment at lunch, I have to get my bike workout in first thing tomorrow which means getting things going at around 5:30am. I guess I knew that these days were coming so I may as well get used to them now. I'm sure I'll be a bag of toys tomorrow night after the swim.

All in all, a great week ahead.

No training today - Recovery Day

Short and Sweet

2010-03-03T20:52:00.000-05:00

There must have been something in the water here last night because none of us had a decent night's sleep.

I'm typically wired after swimming so I normally hit the hay around 11pm or so which is late for me. Last night, for whatever reason, I was still wide awake at 1:30am. I headed downstairs to the guestroom to read a book which normally helps get the eyes closed and I didn't want to disturb Lisa who was having her own sleep issues.

Needless to say, we're a tired bunch here tonight.

I got my 60 minute run in today. I had a set of 5 x 1 minute pickups and they were great. I increased the treadmill speed from 6.4 to 6.6 to 6.8 and then to 7.0 every 15 seconds and in looking at my Garmin output tonight, I kept my Heart Rate in Zone 3. I'm not really following any Heart Rate training workouts but it's good to see that I'm not maxing my heart during these runs like I used to. I must be building up my endurance!

Tomorrow is a bike and a swim. I'm going to do my best to get the bike done first thing in the morning which will hopefully leave me with plenty of energy for the Master Duck workout tomorrow night. Let's see how that works out tomorrow morning.

Training: 60 min run / 9.85 kms

I'm out!

Dark Places

2010-03-02T23:14:00.000-05:00

I'm not entirely sure why it seems that I have time to jot down my thoughts in this blog during the week but can't seem to find the same 30 minutes on weekends. Doesn't add up!

I had a great bike workout on Saturday. Legs felt great. I haven't cramped up in any workout for a month or more which is giving me some added confidence in being able to push a bit harder without fearing a massive cramp session.

Sunday, I was sure that the Men's Hockey Gold Medal game was at 7pm EST. Needless to say, I was excited to find out that it was happening mid-afternoon! I got on the treadmill for a 100 minute run and the time just flew by as I cheered on Canada. I was really nervous at the start of the game but when they scored the first goal, I yelled at the top of my lungs. Apparently the kids jumped out of their skins upstairs! I'll have to go and check my heart rate monitor's output so see if my heart rated jumped at that moment. Wasn't happy to see the USA tie it up but was obviously more than proud with the eventual outcome. Canada 3 - USA 2 in a hard fought game. I've got a lot of respect for that US team and I still say that Ryan Miller instills more confidence minding the net than any of the Canadian goalies. It didn't take long for the horns and fireworks to start here around home. A great sense of Canadian pride.

I jokingly said that I'd get a Canada Flag tattoo at the same time as I get my Ironman tattoo (provided of course that I'm successful in achieving Ironman status by finishing the race!). Here's the challenge. I don't want to get an Ironman tattoo that incorporates a Canadian Flag as it will imply that I've completed Ironman Canada and not Ironman Lake Placid. I also don't really want to walk around with the Stars and Stripes (as much as I love our neighbours to the south). I'm going to have to come up with a design that isn't confusing somehow... I'm not the most creative guy out there so I might have to enlist the help of a few folks. We'll see.. lots of time to worry about that one!

Monday's recovery went perfectly as far as training goes and absolutely terrible as far as food intake goes. I really fell off the bandwagon Monday. I was eating everything in sight. Pop, chips, cookies, cheese, jellybeans, you name it. It showed on the scale this morning too! Oh well, I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I got back on track today and have had a perfect day on the nutrition front. Have to carry that through the rest of the week. My thought process is that after these huge training weekends, I feel like celebrating the fact that I've burned 2000+ calories and I think I'm "owed" a bag of chips or something like that. Just a bad thought process I'm going to have to deal with in the weeks ahead.

Tonight before our workout, the Ducks arranged for a motivational speaker to come and give us all a pep talk about how to deal with the mental game within triathlon. Louise was an awesome speaker. Funny, to the point, related her content to personal stories, and had a great message. In a nutshell, she said that when external "things" are getting at us (rain, cold, heat, noise, etc...) the strategy in getting past it all is to focus on something else. Her technique was to count to 8. 8 paces, 8 rotations on the pedals, 8 strokes in the water. By focusing on this, you block out the external noise. Her second strategy was that if things aren't going well internally (fear of failure, nervousness, anxiety, muscle pain, etc...) you should focus on external things. Start counting the yellow shirts in the crowd, count the number of trees you're passing, count telephone poles, cows, anything to take your focus to something external. Her last bit of advice was to help deal with those days when nothing is going your way and you can't figure out exactly what any of it is. On these days and in those moments, you just have to SUCK IT UP!!!

When the talk was done, we headed to the locker rooms to get ready for tonight's workout. My pal John and I were talking about the message we'd just heard and he commented that sometimes you'll end up in a really dark place when you're completing a marathon or an Ironman. When I asked him to expand on it, he just said that the Ironman distance takes you to bad places that you're going to have to fight your way out of mile by mile, hour by hour. In doing my training, my body is slowly getting used to the workload of each of the disciplines. And I know that as the length and intensity of the workouts gets higher and higher, it's going to start working out the mental aspect of the sport. I've been to dark places in sports before. I've been pushed to my limits to the point of hearing that voice say "Quit. You don't belong here. You should have never started this crazyness." I know that voice is still there waiting for the right moment to visit me again. I'm sure it'll be there in Lake Placid with me. But here's what I also know to be true. I've had those conversations with the voice a few times. I let it get the better of me once. A day and moment that I'll never forget and a moment that I'm glad I experienced. Because of it, I'll never give in to it again. I think that dark place is one of the reasons that I'm doing Ironman. Ironman will definitely test you physically but proper training should get you ready for race day. It's the mental aspect of that day that I think is going play a bigger role. I'm looking forward to it.

My all time favorite Dr. Seuss book "Oh The Places You'll Go" puts it this way...

And when you're alone, there's a
very good chance you'll meet things
that scare you right out of your pants.
"There are some, down the road
between hither and yon, that can scare
you so much you won't want to go on."
But on you will go though the weather
be foul. On you will go though your
enemies prowl. On you will go though
the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward
up many a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

Training:
Bike 60 mins / 29 kms / 29km / hr average (very happy with that)
Swim: 2450 meters

Life is GREAT!

February Totals

2010-03-01T08:43:00.000-05:00

Will recap the weekend's workouts tonight but for now, here are my Feb. workout totals:

Swim: 19.15kms
Bike: 256.72 kms
Run: 132.58 kms
Total Calories Burned: 27,900
Pounds Lost: 4

Today is a Recovery Day!

29 in 28

2010-02-27T18:06:00.000-05:00

With tomorrow's 1 hr 40 minute run, I'll have trained 29 times in the 28 days of February.

Last night I had an easy 45 minute run at a comfortable pace on the treadmill. I was happy to do it on the treadmill inside last night with all the snow we got yesterday. It's Saturday afternoon and it's still coming down!

My run was more difficult than I had anticipated. I had a very slight sensation in my right groin area (2 out of 10 on the discomfort scale so nothing to be concerned about.. I hope). My main goal of the run was to ensure that I had enough left in the legs for this morning's bike session.

Today's bike called for a ladder set where I get into the large chain ring and keep a 95 cadence for 2-3-4-3-2 minutes with 90 seconds rest between each set. The last time I did this set, I couldn't keep the 95 cadence past the 4 minute set. Today was a different story. I kept my cadence more around 97 for each of the 5 sets and held a 30.5 km/hr pace during each. I had a 5 min spin in the small chain ring and then I had 3 sets of 16 minutes at a 90 cadence. Again, the last time I did this, I don't think I held 90 for the entire first 16 minute set. Today, I held 91 or 92 for the first two 16 minute sets but had a tough time holding it in the 3rd. I did manage to hold an 88 cadence for the last set which equated to approximately 27.5 km / hr on the last set. The first two sets I was able to hold between 28.5 to 29.0 km / hr which is an improvement for me personally.

Overall, a great session for me. I'm going to have to come up with a better sweat management system for the trainer. I have a yoga mat under the bike which catches most of of it but some still managed to spill out onto the floor in the gym. I'll have to put an old towel or rag down there next time to keep it more in one spot. But holy man does it drip off me big time.

Ryan and I started our day this morning at 5:45 so we're both feeling a bit sluggish right now. We're just hangin' in the basement waiting for that second wind to present itself.

My bride was introduced to chocolate martinis last night at a gathering just down the street. I don't think it was the martini experiment that has her catching a very rare now right now. I think it was the fact that she only got home at around 2:30am! With my training ramping up, it's the least I could do to give her some time to recoup some of that missing sleep.

Last year when Tom and I attended the Athlete's Dinner in Lake Placid, the mayor of Lake Placid joked that there was going to be a marriage counselling tent set up at the finish line. I can see how training can put strain on a marriage / friendship / partnership. Our routine here at home is that Lisa's in charge of dinner and I'm in charge of the clean up. Our kids are picky eaters and Lisa's sensitive to what I have to eat in order to maximize my nutrition. She's basically cooking 3 separate meals each night! So far, my only recommendation to anyone wanting to train for an Ironman is to be completely open with your significant other as far as what your training week looks like. We talked about doing Ironman as a family before I went down to volunteer there last year. I'm not sure either one of us really knew what it was going to be like but we're finding it out now. Only another 5 months to go and we'll settle back to normalcy... whatever that was...

Off to do some more chillin' with the kids! Have a great rest of the weekend.

Training: 1hr 38 min bike / 44kms / 1621 calories burned / 27km per hr avg. pace

Life is GREAT!

A box of chocolates...

2010-02-25T23:10:00.000-05:00

You never know what you're going to get. One of my top 10 movies is Forrest Gump. His quote was more in the spirit of what you get to experience in life but I think that you can also apply it to things that happen in your day and tonight, in a workout.

It was hard to drag my carcass to the pool tonight. Easily the closest that I've come to bailing on a workout this month. Hands down. I did my 60 minute bike ride around dinner time tonight and then went up to rest the legs before heading out to the swim workout. While laying on our bed, I did some reading with my son Ryan. During his second book, I felt his hand on my shoulder and them him saying "Daddy - turn the page!" I'd fallen asleep reading with him! I guess I'm tired. It normally takes me a good 30 minutes to fall asleep most nights and with the training that I'm doing, I'm finding that there are days that I could fall asleep in the front row of a rock concert. Tonight was one of those nights. Lisa came in at one point to advise me that it was time I hit the road to the pool and I had to peel myself off the bed and get into that cold car to get to the pool.

The turnout tonight was light. We were missing about 10 other regulars. I knew something was up when the coach asked that the lane ropes be removed from the pool. Then she gathered us around the white board and gave us a look similar to when the dentist says "This might hurt a bit.". We were doing a 1000 time trial. I've never done one of these but I was pumped about doing one tonight. It's a great way to see where I am in my swimming as well as a new benchmark that will allow me to set new swimming goals between now and Ironman Lake Placid.

With no lane ropes in the pool, we each had our own lane to swim in basically. 40 lengths is what we had to do. After a quick warm-up, it was go time. I lined up next to one of the stronger swimmers that swims in our lane. We took off and I just wanted to stay with him for the first 100 and then see where I stood after that. Because we were in our own lanes, there wasn't any drafting and we were each pushing the same water. After 100 meters, I was even with my neighbour. I thought that I had it in me to push a bit more so at the wall, I pushed off hard and really gave 'er for 25 meters. That put some space between us. I continued to listen to what my body was telling me and tonight, it was saying "You've got more to give.". At that point, my goal was to push as much as I thought I could without hitting the wall.

Each lap, I'd count by recalling a Montreal Canadien who wore that number on his jersey. 24 - Chris Chelios, 25 - Jacques Lemaire, etc... It made the time go by fast. At about the 30 lap mark, I was passing my neighbour at about the half-way mark of the pool. He was heading one way and I was going the other way. Now my new goal was to lap him. At turn 38, we pushed off the wall at the same time and I'd accomplished my mini-goal. In the end, I averaged a 1:53 / 100m pace which coach Karen tells me would translate into an approximate 1 hour 15 minute swim in Placid. She also told me that Placid is a fast swim. There's a bit of a current that will pull you along. On top of that, there's a yellow rope about 5 feet below the water that keeps the buoys in place. If you "Swim the Line", you know you're going in the right direction without having to look up constantly to sight yourself to the turnaround point. Even if you're 5 swimmers wide, you can safely assume that the person on the inside is following that rope and that the swimmers between you and that person are all keeping a straight line. Now my goal will be to come out of the water in about 1 hour and 10 minutes. I think it's achievable.

Overall, I felt really strong tonight in the pool. Especially during that 1000m time trial. I had a nice tempo going and my breathing wasn't too labored. I'm happy with my progress in the water and know that I have another 5 months (40 workouts approximately) to sharpen my technique and try to squeeze another 5 to 7 seconds off my 100m pace.

Tomorrow calls for a quick 45 minute run which I'll do once the kids are in bed. Tomorrow is also Pizza Pyjama Picnic Party Night here at Casa Dunbar and it's a time that I look forward to all week. Even the kids base the week on this special time. On Monday, they'll start asking how many sleeps we have until Pizza Night. We'll all go to the movie store to pick up a movie, pick up our pizza from our buddy Albert (yes, we're on a first name basis), we head home, get set-up in front of the fireplace and TV in our PJ's, and enjoy a nice quiet night at home together. I hope I'll stay awake tomorrow night!

Training:

Bike: 60 min / 27 kms / 27 kph pace (included a 10 min warm-up in the small chain ring and a 5 min cool down too)

Swim: 2250 meters / 1000 time trial in 18:50 or a 1:53 pace per 100m

Out.

Five Months

2010-02-24T23:02:00.000-05:00

Officially 5 months to Ironman Lake Placid 2010. Doesn't seem all that long ago that it was 8 months ago so I'm sure the next 5 are going to fly by as well. 150 days of training left until the big day. Still lots to get done but I feel like I'm in the right spot at this point.

Tonight's workout was tough on two fronts. First off, it was tough to get on the treadmill for the 75 minute workout. I had to peel myself off out of the La Z Boy where I was watching Canada play a great game against the Russian hockey team. I managed that monumental feat and then started my workout. It was all I could do to stay on it the entire time. For the first 5 minutes, I kept checking the settings on the treadmill. It felt like I had it set at a much higher speed and / or incline. It felt as though I was really hoofin' it but i finally settled in and had a great workout the rest of the way.

Met with my nutritionist for my 2 week check-in today at lunch. I'm down 5 lbs. and a percentage point in body fat percentage. My goals for the next two weeks on the nutritional front is to ensure I'm getting my protein at each eating opportunity and also to make sure I'm getting my protein and carb immediately following a workout. This will help my muscled recoup in time for my next workouts.

Tomorrow morning, I'm going to get my bike workout in before starting our morning routine here at home. Tomorrow night is another Duck workout at the pool and then we're into the weekend again. Long bike and runs scheduled.

In April, I'm getting an amazing opportunity to talk to a local elementary school on setting goals and staying motivated while chasing them down. For the past few years, the school kids get outside at lunchtime and run around the school a few times a week. Over time, they accumulate their distance with the ultimate goal of completing a half marathon or 21.1 kms. In one of the school's newsletters, they were asking for people who have completed either half or full marathons. I put my name out there and was selected to be the keynote speaker at the kick-off meeting. I hope to get the kids and Lisa to the school that day. I think it'll be something that the kids will remember for a long time. I know I will.

Training: Run 75 mins / 12.47kms

G'night.

Remedial Blogging

2010-02-23T23:47:00.000-05:00

OK.. I'm taking heat from my friend Greg on not keeping as up to date as possible on the Blog front. Greg's the guy that I blame for putting Ironman into my head. Until I met him, I hadn't ever considered doing more than a sprint distance triathlon. I still follow Greg and what he's up to in retirement at www.gregcollett.com and if you go there, you'll notice that he's got a link to this blog. He also has a link to Tereza Macel's blog which I guess is OK considering she's been named Triathlete of the Year over at Triathlon Magazine Canada. She dominated her season this year winning Lake Placid and Ironman Canada. Oh ya.. she came in 4th place in Kona. My season in comparison was that I volunteered at Lake Placid, tracked some friends at Ironman Canada on the internet, and watched parts of Kona on NBC while sitting in front of the TV. One of my lane mates is actually being coached by Tereza this year and his A race is Ironman Canada. With Tereza on his team, I'm sure he'll have a successful day.

For starters, we're all done on the house front. We've officially purchased our new place and sold our current place. June 25th is our move date and there will be lots to get done before that day comes around. The kids are really excited about the move. They'll both have larger rooms over at the new place and the neighbourhood is packed with kids which we're happy with. Glad that whole experience is done with. It was starting to stress me out. The couple that bought our place I think are going to love it. They both seem like really nice folks and our current neighbours I think are going to welcome them to the 'hood!

Recovery week officially ended on Sunday for me. My friend Tom who went to Lake Placid with me to volunteer and then sign up was in town for a party that we both attended. Sunday morning, we headed out for our long run. I typically like to hold a lightning fast 6:15 pace on these long slow runs but something about running with someone who weighs 30 pounds lighter than me brought out the competitive juices a bit. I ended up holding a 5:36 per km pace which was surprising. It was also wrong. I should not have done that run that fast. I'll be sure to work the plan from here on in.

Sunday afternoon, we had some more friends over to squeeze out the last few days of skating on the backyard rink. The kids had a blast. I think we had 7 out there at one point and the smiles were everywhere. All that work to build the rink is so worth the effort when you see the kids out there having the times of their lives. Great day. After the kids came off, 4 of the dads made our way onto the rink for some heated 2 on 2 hockey. I haven't skated like that in years and it wasn't long before we were all sweating like a sumo wrestler in a sauna. The one thing I did notice was that my heart rate and the strength in my legs weren't suffering. I guess all that training has it's benefits. It hasn't done anything to improve my hockey skills but my cardio is probably the best it's ever been in my life.

This next Build week snuck up on me and I missed my bike workout this morning before work. I managed to get it in before going to the pool but was worried about cramping in my legs. The last time I fit a bike workout in before a swim, both my legs cramped on me and it was the end of my night. Tonight, everything worked out for me. No cramping. The workout was a tough one and the pace was quicker than normal I'd say. We were kept up to speed on the Canada - Germany Men's Hockey Game and were happy when we heard that it was 4-1 Canada. Big next game coming up for Canada. We'll be cheering for them.

Tomorrow is a run day. 1hr 15 min run which I'm going to get done tomorrow night.

Training:
Bike 27.56 kms / 60 mins
Swim 2850 meters

Life is Great

Relishing the Recovery

2010-02-17T22:08:00.000-05:00

I think I'll grow to love recovery weeks.

I'm counting this one as my first official recovery week in my training. I missed one back in December when I was fighting through all of my health challenges back then. I've ramped up the training since that time and am feeling great about my progress.

Tonight was a recovery bike session. Only 45 minutes long and with strict instructions to Not Go Hard. No problemo... I didn't bother to put my heart rate monitor on tonight but in retrospect, I would have liked to see just how "easy" I was taking it tonight. There wasn't a single time during tonight's workout where I had to back it off and I managed to stay in the saddle for the entire time. I'm anxious to start some 2 plus hour rides on the trainer to see just how that saddle feels.

Tomorrow night, I'm going to miss my swim workout because I'm going to take a bike maintenance course at the local bike shop. I haven't missed a workout in a long time and so I think I'll jump to the pool at lunch time and get a swim in to keep the streak alive. Nothing too serious as this is a recovery week but a session where I can really just try and focus on some of the stroke techniques they're teaching us.

I also got an email from my friend Tom who signed up for Placid with me last July. We're both at a party this coming Saturday night and he's got a 2 hour long run scheduled for Sunday morning. I was only scheduled to do a 60 minute run as a part of my recovery week but I think I'll split the difference with him and do 1.5 hours SLOWLY on Sunday morning. By having that Sunday morning commitment on the calendar, I'm more likely to be a good boy on Saturday night. I'm going to suggest that we do the run along a portion of the half marathon course that I'm running in April. It'll be one of only a very few outdoor runs I've had this winter so I'll have to make sure that I'm bundled up and ready to go.

Training: Recovery Ride 45 minutes / 19.67 kms

Big Day

2010-02-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

Today was another GREAT day. For a number of reasons that I'll go through here.

1. Aha! For the last 3 or 4 days, I have been in a personal funk of sorts. Everything in my world is working out fantastically. Kids are great, Lisa's her perky self, house is sold, spending time with great friends, and all that but I've been a bear! Especially this morning at home... Wow! I don't like it when I get like that. It's been bugging me that I couldn't figure out what was bothering me. Then I remembered reading Training Payne's entry about him feeling irritable a few weeks ago and it clicked! My body's telling me that it's trying to keep up with my training. I'm in my recovery week this week and I'm sure that the light workouts scheduled this week will give my body and mind the rest it needs to ramp it up again for the following 3 weeks where we're back in another Build Phase. Just knowing that the training was the cause made me feel better.

2. Based on being a bear this morning to everyone within a 50 meter radius at home, I invited them all out to dinner on Dad. I had some apologizing to do and so we let the kids choose the spot and we had a nice time. Everyone was happy that Dad figured it out and I was happy that my apology was accepted. Man - I don't like getting that way...

3. Jumped on the treadmill and pushed a 6.5 mph 40 minute run before heading out to swim workout. I kept keeping an eye on my heart rate and it was only near the end that it got into the high 140's. My legs felt really tired for the first 6 minutes but a switch went off and the last 34 were amazing. I felt really strong. Nice.

4. I'm on day 5 working with Doris my nutritionist. She's given me a few things to work on the next 2 weeks and so far I'd say I'm sticking with it 95%. I missed getting a few proteins in at a meal on the weekend but outside of that, I've been bang on. Down almost 4 pounds from Friday morning. I go to check in with her again on the 22nd of Feb. and I'll see where I'm at then. Feeling good.

5. At dinner, Lisa started talking about a local kids triathlon and was asking our guys if there was any interest in participating. We really don't push our guys into any sport. The only "rule" is that we try and keep their activities limited to 2. Ryan's doing his hockey and swimming and Meg does the swimming with Ry and she does ballet with her cousin. Anyhow, they both said that they'd like to enter the triathlon this summer. Ryan's big question was "Is it a race?" He's 6 so to him, a race is something that you have to come in first. I guess it's no different from when I entered my first "Give it a Try" and was worried sick about coming in dead last. I now know that it doesn't matter where you finish, as long as you're giving it your all. So that's what I explained to the kids last night. Just do your best. I can't wait to see them at this triathlon in June! I'll have to give them a few pointers on the transition. I wonder if Cervelo makes kids tri bikes????

6. Off to the pool. Wasn't sure just how the swim was going to go tonight. With the new food routine and the fact that I was just coming off a tough week of training, I didn't know which Mike was going to show up. We did a 300 meter warm-up and things felt average. The one thing I did notice was that the tight feeling I had in my chest last week wasn't there tonight. Good. Our first set was a 4 x 200 on 4 minutes which is pretty much top speed for me. I volunteered to lead the first 200 which I finished in 3:35. Wow... a little too quick there.. I felt fine so I took the next 200 and the next and the next. It was one of those nights where I felt really strong and my lane mates weren't feeling 100%. I have those nights most of the time! We then did 4 x 50 fast and I led all 4 of those. My lane mates were really positive. They kept telling me to Go. I'm really starting to feel as though Lane 3 is becoming a team of sorts. It's an individual sport but we're encouraging each other along and on the nights where you're not feeling strong, the others will pull you along and through the workout. We finished off with 3 x 300 and I led 2 of those. I felt really strong tonight and it's a great feeling to have.

Training: 2300 meters swim

Proud to be a Canadian

2010-02-12T21:17:00.000-05:00

Tonight I did a 40 minute hill run. I got off the treadmill in time to watch the start of the Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

I'm sure someone out there in cyberland will post it on YouTube soon enough but the start of it just grabbed me right out of my seat. I stood up and walked closer to the TV to make sure I wouldn't miss anything. Not a word. Before long, the hair on my back of my neck was standing on end. I have to admit - there was something in my throat... I hope all the athletes have the performances of their lives in Vancouver. I just hope more of them are from Canada! Go Canada Go!

I met with my nutritionist today. We covered off a lot of material (I'm going to go and review after I write this). For the next two weeks, I'm calling it "Getting Back to Basics". I'm implementing a few new routines into my day from Day 1 and then in 2 weeks, we'll build on that foundation. Doris really took her time to explain in my language just how metabolism works and how the food that I eat impacts it's ability to work at it's most efficient levels.

No hockey for Ryan tomorrow morning. My plan is to get to bed early tonight and hit the bike first thing in the morning before everyone gets moving around upstairs. I'll set up the bike tonight and then I'll be able to jump on first thing in the morning. Tomorrow's weather will be PERFECT for an outdoor skate or two. I think we've got a few playdates planned for both Ryan and Megan.

Training: Hill Workout / 131 avg HR / 6.73 kms / 5:57 pace / 607 calories

I'm off to be a Canadian and watch the Opening Ceremonies! Life is GREAT!!!!!!

January Totals

2010-02-12T14:22:00.000-05:00

Workouts: 26
Calories Burned: 18,087
Weight Loss: 10.2 lbs

Swim: 12.25 kms
Bike: 142.94 kms
Run: 94.34 kms

Total: 249.53 kms

Behind on the BHAG

2010-02-11T23:06:00.000-05:00

BHAG: Big Hairy Audacious Goal.

I set one of these for myself back a while ago. It was to weigh 185 by March 5, 2010. The great thing about making your goal public is that it pushes me to work harder to reach it. The not so great thing is that if you don't actually hit your goal, that is also public.

I'm not going to be able to hit my goal weight by March 5th. No excuses here. The goal I set was unrealistic and I've learned a lesson. What I was trying to do was eat just enough calories in a day to lose 2.5 pounds per week. I thought it'd be almost effortless with all the training that I've been putting in. Here's what I failed to realize: taking in only a small amount of calories and trying to train 6 days / week doesn't work for me. On the days when my net caloric intake was 1000 calories, the workout that I'd have that day wouldn't be of any quality. I don't know why I couldn't figure this out. All part of the journey to Ironman I guess. I'm glad I'm learning this lesson now and not in July.

I'm not giving up on reaching 185. I've also learned that it's OK to ask people for help. Sometimes, you can't reach a goal that you've set for yourself without a little help. I'm going to get some nutritional advice and help from Doris Romano (www.dorisromano.com). She's done some amazing things with some of the other triathletes that I swim with and she has a great approach to nutrition as it ties into the various phases of training that I'll be going through. I'm excited to meet with her and get some direction. I know that with her help, 185 is within my grasp.

Ryan has learned to tie his shoes. I know this because from sun up to sun down, he's walking around the house with his shoes tied up and every 6 minutes, he unties them and does them back up again! And proud?!?!?! You should see his face when he's laced those bad boys up. Amazing to see.

Megan didn't have the greatest of days. She made Lisa a surprise Valentine's Day gift which included Fruit Loops as a part of the finished product. We snuck it into the house without anyone seeing it and Megan told me that she was going to go and hide it. Unfortunately, Megan hid it at a height where Abby could get at it and before anyone knew, Abby had downed most of the Fruit Loops. This was the end of the world to Megan. I ran to the store and the two of us made an emergency repair to Mom's gift. All was well in the world again... except for Abby's world because she knew she was in my bad books...

Training: Swim - 2650 meters. Felt great tonight. Really starting to feel a flow to my stroke. My issue remains that when I get tired and my heart rate gets up there, the bilateral breathing and my stroke both go out the window. I really have to concentrate on keeping as much form as I possibly can.

I'm tired

2010-02-10T22:23:00.000-05:00

I was right. I did feel better about last night's swim. I know I didn't complete the workout as it was posted on the board but I know I definitely didn't mail it in last night. I gave it everything I had....

...and a little bit more! For the first time since I've started training for Ironman, I'm tired. Really tired. Tired to the point that I fell asleep in a chair earlier in the week. I NEVER fall asleep sitting up. Ever.

Tonight called for a 70 minute run which I was actually looking forward to. I wanted to get the treadmill speed set a bit higher and see how that would compare with my long slow runs from the last two Sundays on the heart rate monitor. I gave the kids a shower and took them through their bed time routines. By the time I got to Ryan's bed to read him his book, I was bagged. It was 8:15pm and the thought of running just wasn't cutting it for me. "I'll do it tomorrow morning." I tell myself. Before I know it, the phone is ringing somewhere in the house and it's waking me from a very sound sleep. I peel myself out of Ry's bed and start the internal debate all over again. It's now 8:47pm. I went down to where the treadmill is set up and see if my Montreal Canadiens are playing on TV. They are. Now the pro's are starting to outweigh the con's. I take a quick peek at some of the blogs that I follow and I'm reminded that training for Ironman isn't a cake walk and there are going to be nights just like this that you have to fight through.

I draaaagggggeeeeeed myself onto the treadmill and got into my warm-up. Watching the hockey game made the time go a lot faster than normal which is great. Before I knew it, I had to get into my cooldown. It wasn't an easy run tonight. My chest felt tighter than normal and my breathing was more labored than it usually is. My heart rate monitor didn't show any super increase in heart rate though. Weird. Maybe my monitor is off?

Anyhow, I'm zonked and I'm off to bag a few Z's.

Training: Run 70 mins / 141 avg HR / 12.4 kms / 5:38 per km pace

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Leaving it in the Lane

2010-02-09T23:22:00.000-05:00

Good news / Bad news... I'm a bad news first kinda guy.

Bad: I didn't get the entire swim workout tonight.

Good: I didn't throw up in the pool... I made it to the locker room just in time.

Upon arrival tonight, I could tell that at least one of our regular lane mates was going to get the call up to Lane 4. We had 4 swimmers and Lane 4 only had 2. I waited for coach to call one of the faster folks up to the "big league" and was pretty surprised when she called my name and asked me to get in there.

Fair enough I thought. I'll measure myself against these guys tonight and get a good sense of just how much work I need to do to feel like I actually belong in Lane 4. It didn't take me long to figure out that it'll be another 5-7 years! It wasn't that bad but Holy Smokes! I think it was a combination of the workout itself, the fact that I ate too close to swim time, and that I was putting out a harder effort to keep up to the others tonight. I made it through the first 10 x 100 set which we did on a 2:00 pace. I think the first 3 or 4 we did at 1:40 or 1:45. I can't go down a waterslide that fast... I knew I wasn't going to have much left in the tank for the second 10 x 100 set. At the wall after 75 meters, I knew something wasn't right. As I was in the shallow end and closer to the locker rooms, I took the opportunity to get out of the pool and casually made my way there. As soon as I opened the door to get in there, I got "the feeling". You know what I'm talking about. I had two options. Lose it in the shower area (my fellow Ducks wouldn't have appreciated that one too much) or sprint like Usain Bolt to the men's room. I just made it. I made my way back onto the pool deck and Coach K turns to me and says "I just made you puke didn't I." I told her that she was accurate in her statement. She told me that she really wanted to get me out of my comfort zone tonight and I told her that she passed that test with flying colors. I jumped back into the lane and did 50 meters for every 100 that my lane mates were doing. It was more just to get the lactic acid out of my arms and basically start my cooldown.

In the car on the way home I figured out that it's been 17 years since a coach pushed me to work so hard that I had to toss. It was during two a day practices at McGill University when we had just started football camp. McGill has an artificial turf field and you could see the heat waves coming off the field during our afternoon workout. It was a tough practice to say the least. It was August in Montreal and the day was a humid one. Coach Kesson (aka The Grim Reaper) had us work the 5 man sled for what seemed like hours and sent us over for water. I purged. Crazy the stuff you remember eh? I can't tell you which classes I took my final year but I could take you to Molson Stadium and walk you to within 3 feet of where that happened... not that you'd want me to...

So I'm sitting here right now with some mixed emotions. I'm kicking myself for not being able to answer the bell in Lane 4 but I'm also happy knowing that I didn't leave anything in the pool (literally) tonight. I didn't get the full 3200 meters in tonight. I may have done 2200 or 2300. I feel exhausted. My arms are just hanging off my shoulders right now. Part of me feels like I should be disappointed. But disappointed in what? My effort? Not a chance. I gave it all I had tonight and I'm not going to kick myself for that. I did my best and I'm confident in saying that. I didn't keep up with the other folks in my lane but for me to think that I could have is unrealistic. I have probably close to 35 pounds on them each and probably years of swimming experience. I started swimming in the summer of 2008 and couldn't complete 50 meters without stopping. I may get there one day but for me to say that I could have kept up with them tonight would be like saying I'm going to lose 20 pounds of fat by tomorrow morning. Not going to happen.

Tomorrow I know I'll wake up and feel better about tonight. I did something that I wasn't comfortable doing. I know the next time I'm asked to swim in Lane 4 (if there is a next time), I'll still feel out of my comfort zone but not by the same degree. And eventually, I'll feel like I belong in there with the faster swimmers. Until Coach says "Hey Dunbar - they need you in Lane 5!"

Go look for your Lane 4. That place in your life that makes you uncomfortable. You'll plow through it and be a stronger person for having had the experience.

Life is GREAT!

Adjustments

2010-02-08T21:14:00.000-05:00

I really liked reading Training Payne's blog yesterday http://trainingpayne.blogspot.com/2010/02/major-accomplishments-along-way.html.

I think he's captured exactly what training represents for me personally as well as Johnny or Jennie Triathlete. It's not so much the fact that you finish your goal race in a specific time or if you finish it at all. To me, some of the "smaller" steps along the way are the ones that we should be most proud of. Pushing yourself to sit on your bike saddle for that last 5 minutes without anyone watching you. Chasing the thought out of your head that wants you to stop running and start walking.

I did a 90 minute run tonight here at home. During my workout, I thought about a ton of things. But one really kept my attention. I think I've only ever run 90 minutes or more 5 times in my life. Tonight was number 6. I've completed 5 half marathons (one at the end of a Half Ironman).

This really captures one of the things that I enjoy most about training in general. I can remember back to my football days when bench pressing a certain amount gave me the same feeling of accomplishment. You work, and work, and train, and train and eventually, your potential stretches itself and you've established a new baseline. Tonight I feel as though I've done just that.

Adjusting my goals, re-focusing what can now taste as achievable, re-shaping my mindset that a 90 minute run is something that I can actually finish.

Speaking of adjusting.. looks like Team Dunbar will be adjusting to a new home in 2010. We finally got all the nitty gritty details taken care of today and so as of the writing of this entry, we're the owners of a new place coming up this summer. The challenge in it all is that we'll be moving in and then running our first Ironman within 30 days of one another. The upside is that we'll be able to host some sort of party to celebrate our new home and (hopefully) an Ironman finish in August sometime. Lisa and I decided to take the kids out to dinner to let them know about the house. I wasn't sure how they'd take the news but it was pretty clear from their reactions that they're VERY excited about the adventure. Megan's already told me what she wants her room to look like. It involves pink, purple, pictures of butterflies, clouds on the ceiling, and some flowers on the wall. Ryan just wants a Montreal Canadiens logo somewhere on his walls... now that, I can do!

Training: 90 minute run / 14kms / 6:25 pace / 131 avg heart rate. Felt great the entire time. A bit of an uncomfortable feeling under my right ankle which I think is shoe related which is weird because I've worn these shoes for about 200 kms and haven't felt anything there before. Legs felt great the whole time and I ran through a bit of a stitch in my left side from about the 7 minute mark to about the 23 minute mark. I think I ran too close after dinner and didn't get my water in today like I do most other days.

I'm also meeting with an athletic nutritionist this Friday. She's helped out a few fellow triathletes here in my area and they all swear by her service so I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy into the program in preparation for Ironman Lake Placid.

Life is Great (and now that we've completed the new house purchase - less stressful!)!!!!

Golden Doodle Shenanigans

2010-02-06T13:25:00.001-05:00

I'm writing this post this now because I'm sure I'm going to be asleep by 7:30pm tonight...

Ryan and I hit the arena this morning for his team's practice. We always have a great time at those. Ryan's a full head taller than every kid in the league and so if he's ever in a collision with someone, he's typically the guy that is still standing. This morning, he found a collision he should have avoided... with one of the other coaches! Ryan came flying around and was after the puck but ran right into the rear end of a guy that could play rugby on the first row! The guys a wall. Ryan ended up on his back in a hurry. We all had a giggle about it... fun times.

Came home from hockey and jumped onto the bike for the 1:45hr session that was on the schedule. I averaged 145 bpm heart rate and got just over 46 kms under my belt. The workout called for me getting into a higher gear for 10 minutes and to hold an 85 to 90 rpm pace. I did this 4 times and then got into an easier gear on the way down for 4 sets. I was able to hold the rpms for the first 3 sets but that 4th set really hurt. My heart rate hit 167 and the legs were screamin'. I managed to keep an 80 rpm pace for that last 10 minute set. On the way back down the gearing, I held a fairly consistent 85 or 87 rpm pace and was happy to hit the 10 minute cooldown in the small chain ring.

When I do my bike workouts, I put a yoga mat under the bike to catch the litre of sweat that drops off like rain. It was absolutely drenched when I got off the bike today. I took in lots of water and tried some Blocks to see if they'd mess up my system. Happy to report that they don't. I tossed down a Roctane at the beginning of the session and took another one at around the 55 minute mark. No ill effects as a result. Sometimes, when I take a gel on a run, it messes with my belly. Not so on the bike today. I've been up and down stairs a few times since getting off the bike and the legs are feeling tired. A great feeling.

Lisa and Megan are at an all girls birthday party so Ryan and our pal Max are bacherlor'ing it up here at the house. The boys requested my famous grilled cheese for lunch today. I made that up, put it on the table, got the drinks out there, got the ketchup on the table and then went down to get the boys to come up for lunch. When I got back up, a piece of Max's grilled cheese was missing and I looked at Abby (our dog) and she didn't want to make eye contact with me. Busted! She helped herself to a bit of the sandwich. Bad dog. If anyone is reading this post and would like a 1.5 year old miniature golden doodle, she's all yours. Kidding!!!! Kinda...

Now I'm off to shovel off the rink and get it ready for some afternoon hockey! Doesn't get much better than that in my books.

Life is Great!

Test Sets Fear Factor

2010-02-05T21:11:00.000-05:00

Tonight in the pool, we did our 3 x 300 test set. I've known that the night was coming for some time now. I can be honest here... I wasn't looking forward to it. The first test set I ever did was painful in both a physical and mental capacity.

Ryan was involved in his school's concert tonight and I was hoping that it'd run late and I'd use that as my "out". Didn't happen....

We warmed up and for some reason, I felt like I was fighting the water. Really struggling. Not that I don't normally feel that way but tonight felt tough. We gathered at the wall and got ready to roll. I took up the 3 position in line behind two faster swimmers. I had two guys behind me as well. With people behind me, I've got the added pressure of keeping up to the guys in front of me in an effort to not hold anyone up.

Our group went 5:30 / 5:32 / 5:35 for the 3 sets and, for me, this was really positive. I think my first test set back in November, I went 2:00 / 2:03 / 2:05 or thereabouts. I think that the swimming workouts and a 10 pound weight loss helped. Now I'm wondering where I'll be in 2 months when we do our next test set.

The lesson that I took from tonight didn't have anything to do with my swimming technique. Tonight, I was reminded that when a challenge presents itself, don't immediately get into a state of mind where you're fearful of the event / task / action / project / etc... I was looking for ways to avoid tonight's workout because I had built it up in my mind as a difficult and painful event. I have to put a different lens on these types of personal challenges. I should be looking at them as opportunities to test myself. As a way of measuring my progress. A way of benchmarking just where I sit against the smaller goals that I've set for myself.

The larger thought I had driving home from the pool was that Ironman is a tiny bit of a challenge too! Am I going to look for ways to get out of it? Not in your life... I've gone looking for that personal showdown, why did I feel that missing a test set was OK? Test sets are just points along the way to Lake Placid. I'll pull that lesson back to the front of my mind the next time I hear myself trying to cut a corner in my training.

We all went to see Ryan's school concert tonight. He got up there with the rest of the Grade 1's and belted out a few tunes. At the end of their performance, Ry-guy gives the audience a big bow! What a ham! Wonder where he gets that? He did awesome up there singing in French and the rest of the acts were all first class.

Life is Great!

The General

2010-02-03T23:26:00.000-05:00

Every day, my father will email the family with his "General" email update. We all look forward to the "Monday General", the "Tuesday General", you get the idea. The General is a catch-all update to everyone in the family. What Mom and Dad are up to for the day, what the weather is like, asking for updates on each of their grandkids, what the cat's been up to, etc... There aren't very many emails I get during a day that make me stop what I'm doing but the "General" is one of them.

Tonight I'm doing my version of the General.. in no particular order.

Training: I feel that my training has reached another level. Not a "Qualify for Kona" type level but an incremental improvement for me personally. The long run that I did on Monday was the beginning. I ran for 80 minutes and only near the end of that time was my heart rate in the 140's. I felt as though I could have run another 80 minutes. Last night in the pool, we had a tough 4 x 100 speed set where the gang in my lane had to work on a 2:10 pace. Dennis led the set and he's quick. He's normally in one of the faster lanes but somehow ended up in our lane last night. He really towed the rest of us through that set. We ended up going 1:40 / 1:40 / 1:43 / 1:47. Easily my quickest 100 meter pace ever. We ended up swimming 2450 meters and the workout was great. night we're doing a 3 x 300 meter test set so that'll be a good measure of how I've progressed (if at all!). Tonight on the bike, I was able to hold a 30 km/hr pace for about 10 minutes which, for me, is a triumph. Ended the 60 minute ride with a 28.7 km/hr pace which is another record for me for an hour long ride. I hopped off the bike and ran a one mile brick which felt great. The dead leg feeling I normally have didn't last for more than 3 minutes when it normally goes for about 8 minutes or so. I really hydrated on the bike and I'm sure that had something to do with it.

Weight: I seem to have hit a plateau on my weight loss at 203 - 205. I'm struggling to find that magical spot where I'm taking in enough nutrition to support the training workload and at the same time, take in fewer calories to help get me to my goal weight of 185. Lisa's encouraged me to seek some advice and so I've reached out to a local nutritionist (and fellow aspiring triathlete) Doris Romano - www.dorisromano.com - for an initial call to see if we think there's an opportunity to work together to get me to 185 and to help educate me in proper nutrition for each of the training phases I'm heading into leading up to Ironman Lake Placid. She's worked with a few of my fellow Master Ducks and they all tell me that Doris can get me to where I want to get. We'll see what tomorrow's call brings.

House: After approximately 45 visits in 13 days, we got a respectable offer. In fact, we got 3! Monday night, we were presented with 3 great offers on our home. We chose an offer that had more flexibility on the move in date which will help us with the house that we've conditionally purchased. We've done the home inspection on the house we're hoping to move into and there isn't anything major that needs attention. Our purchase is all but complete. The folks that are looking to purchase our place are doing their home inspection here on Sunday and if all goes well with that (it should), we've got ourselves a new place! I'll tell you something... in recent memory, there hasn't been another event that has stressed Lisa and I to this extent like selling our house has. We'd start our days wondering if we were doing the right thing and end our day talking about the changes we'd make at the new place. Now that it's close to being settled, the positive is outweighing the negative. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's smooth sailing from here until Monday.

Kids: Megan was "Leader of the Day" today in class. It's a very important day! She chose her outfit last night and laid it out on her floor so that she could get dressed in it quickly this morning. When I dropped her off at school this morning, I made sure to let everyone know within earshot that today, Megan was Leader of the Day! She'd look up at me as if to say "Dad, don't make a donkey out of yourself!" In time, I'm sure she'll actually verbalize that but because she's 5, she tells me by the way she looks at me. We got caught up around the dinner table tonight and you could tell that she really had a great day at school. She was still wearing the grin she had at breakfast this morning. Ryan gets out on our backyard rink as often as he can. I can see the improvement in the way he carries the puck and the control that he's showing on his skates. Most importantly, when he's out there skating around at night, the think I look for the most is his smile. We had one of his teammates over for a skate last night. His father called me today at work to thank me (for the 12th time) for having them over for a skate. He told me that his son still hasn't stopped talking about it! One of the top moments of my day today...

So there you have it.. my attempt at a "General".

Life is Great!

Jacked!!!

2010-01-30T21:20:00.000-05:00

Last night, our 5 and 6 year olds played hockey between the 1st and 2nd periods of a local junior hockey game. I can honestly say that I've never seen kids as excited. They were dressed in their hockey gear WELL before we had to make our way onto the ice. We played for 6 minutes in front of the hometown crowd and it was amazing. Each kid had their name announced over the PA system. After our "game" we exited the ice surface and were met by the players as they were coming on. The players were great. They gave our guys High 5's and told them that they did a great job. It was nice to watch. Our kids got a tour of the dressing room and the biggest comment from the team was "Boy, was that room ever SMELLY!" From the mouths of babes...

I got up earlier this morning that I normally do to get my workout in before our day got underway. I was glad I did. I did a 90 minute bike session and really felt the last 20 minutes or so. I managed to keep any cramping at bay by drinking some water as well as some water with eLoad in it. The mat underneath the bike was drenched and it was an amazing feeling to complete the longest indoor bike training session I've ever done. I did have to break from what the workout called for in order to get out of the saddle a few times. I was really getting uncomfortable (painful) at points. I would put the bike into a very high gear and stand in order to push the pedals. I did this maybe 3 times for about a minute each. Overall, with some one legged drills mixed in, I did a 26 km/hr average pace. I know that's no record but today, for me, the gratification came from sitting on that saddle for 90 minutes. From here on in, we'll be building up our times and I'm actually looking forward to testing myself like Training Payne and doing 6 hour training rides. I can't begin to think what that's going to feel like.

I did a quick brick run off the bike and I'm beginning to figure out that it takes me about 5 or 6 minutes to bring the feeling back to my legs to a point where I feel as though I have my running stride at a normal level. I started my run and immediately felt an uncomfortable feeling directly below my right ankle bone. I stood off the treadmill to see if my shoe was on properly - it was. Now I'm going to watch my biking shoes to see if they're the cause. Right now, there's no lingering ache or anything so I'm happy about that.

The rest of the day, we tried to stay out of the house as more people were coming through to view it. The final group left at around 4pm this afternoon and then we finally had our place to ourselves again. We've successfully locked down the property that we're looking to buy for the next 30 days. The only remaining part of the process is to now sell our place for an amount that we think is fair. It's now 9pm and there hasn't been any update from our agent so I guess we'll have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Every now and again, I really try and get my brain to freeze a moment. Right down to the most detailed level as possible. These moments don't often present themselves and I find that it's when I least expect them that they appear. Tonight I had one. A moment that I know I've frozen in my mind forever.

We all ended up downstairs in front of the fire with a movie on. Megan, Ryan, and Lisa were all splayed out on the floor in front of the fireplace and I was in my Man Cave Recliner enjoying a celebratory pint for my ride this morning. For whatever reason, I took my attention off the movie for what I'm sure was only 2 or 3 seconds and peered down on the floor in front of the TV. There was my bride, my son, my daughter and the dog all on top of one another curled up in various positions watching the movie. Freeze! That's a moment to remember forever. Perfection... Family....

Enough of the sappy stuff. I'm going to get another pint.

Training: Bike 39 kms / Run 15 minutes

Life Is Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Fins!

2010-01-28T23:08:00.000-05:00

And I'm not talking about their hockey team, hockey players, women, or ABBA... I'm talking about the swimming fins.

The last two workouts in the pool have called for a few sets with fins on. I really like using them for two reasons. Number one: they make you go fast and it's nice to feel fast in the pool every now and again! Number two: the sets immediately following the sets with fins, I feel lighter in the water and I find my stroke a lot more fluid.

Overall, we did 2200 meters tonight and I'd say that I'm feeling more and more comfortable in the water. Comfortable doesn't mean fast. Comfortable just means that I feel more at home in the water which I think is a positive step in the right direction. I still have "challenges" keeping a consistent stroke and my breathing is brutal. Next week, I'm going to focus completely on my breathing. I know that once I have that down, parts of my stroke will come around a bit as a result.

On the food front, I took in 2030 calories and burnt just about 1000 in the pool tonight. 766 net calories taken in. Not nearly enough for the training I'm doing but right now I'm focused on losing the weight to get me down to 185 by the end of March.

On the "House for Sale" front, we had another visitor tonight to make it a total of 36 visits in 8 days. We've been told by our agent that we're having a 4th visit from a couple tomorrow night. This better result in an offer... The folks that we're trying to buy from have come back with a slight change in our initial offer. Lisa and I are looking at it closely and I'd say that by Tuesday of next week, we'll know weather we have a new home.

Tomorrow night, Ryan and his hockey team will get a chance to play hockey during our local Junior Hockey team's first intermission. I'd guess that the Junior team typically gets close to 400 or 500 people at a Friday night game so it'll be an exciting time for the kids to play in front of that many people. They get their names announced over the PA system and get to meet some of the players after the game is done. Looking forward to it.

Today's Theme Song?

2010-01-27T20:41:00.000-05:00

... I had a bad day.

Work is getting to me. Same problem as most I suppose. I don't have enough time in a day to get things done. Eventually things that are important but not a priority fall through the cracks until they're the priority and have to be done immediately. Compounding the stress of having our house on the market, today's work day was my personal tipping point. By lunchtime, I didn't want to talk to anyone, see anyone, be cheered up by anyone.

I had a run workout scheduled for tonight but moved it up to lunch in an effort to reset my day. It worked.. a bit.. I went back to work and went into a meeting that I got out of at 4:20. When I got to my desk, I had 22 unopened emails, 5 messages on my phone, a to do list with nothing crossed off, and a presentation due Friday that I haven't started. Back into badness...

More than anything, I was disappointed in the way I let everything get to me. Normally, I let this stuff roll off my back. Today, for some reason, it got under my skin and got the better of me.

Another night eating out with the family as the house was again on display. Two more showings tonight. Someone was coming through for the 3rd time. If you're coming through a house 3 times, you're going to put an offer in. Maybe not the best offer but an offer at any rate. 8:15pm right now and no news from our agent. This is getting old fast.

ENOUGH NEGATIVITY! My lunchtime run was awesome. I did a 10 minute warm-up at 6.2 mph. At the 10 minute mark, I got the treadmill up to a 1% grade and kept the 6.2 mph right up to the 50 minute mark when my heart rate peaked at 168 bpm and I walked for 1 minute. After the one minute walk I went back up to 6.2 mph to the 55 minute mark and then did a 5 minute cool down at 5.2 mph. Average HR was 144 and got 9.72 kms done.

I normally turn on the small TV which is in front of the treadmill. I thought I'd try the run without any other distractions. I found my thoughts turning to Lake Placid. Started creating my mental to do list. Came in the Olympic Oval a few times. Sat in the huge tents they erect for the athlete's dinner on the Friday night with my family. 6 months out and I'm already playing little mind games to pass the time. I guess it's all part of the process.

Tomorrow is going to be a great day.

2010-01-26T22:44:00.000-05:00

Another night of staying out of the house because we had two more house showings tonight. We've become professional house showers. I wish we were becoming professional offer takers. We put our offer in on the other house today. It's a private sale so coming up with a price has been a bit of a challenge. From the get-go, we've communicated with the other homeowners that we would eventually come to them with a price that we think is fair to everyone. I hope they're seriously considering it tonight. They have until Friday to come back to us with their decision. So by then, we'll know we're either staying put or a step further to moving to a new place. Stay tuned.

GREAT WORKOUT TONIGHT AT THE POOL!!!!!

For the first time since I joined the Aurora Master Ducks (www.masterducks.ca), I really felt great in the pool. I was really focused on my swim stroke and my catch. We did 55 sets of 50 meters of various drills but on each one, I felt strong. I think more than anything, I ate properly prior to the workout and my body was happy with that. I've been trying to lose the excess weight by restricting my caloric intake but I think I pay for it when a workout comes along. I'm going to start paying as much (if not more) attention to what I'm eating to ensure I'm getting all that I can out of my training. I don't know why it's taken me this long to clue in... what can I say.. I'm a slow learner.

Getting out of our lane tonight, I could sense that "team" feeling. For a few months now, every Tuesday and Thursday night, we jump into our respective lanes and follow the workout posted on the board. Tonight, the guys in my lane worked really hard together. We pushed each other and we took turns leading each of the drills allowing others to draft behind us. As we left the workout, I really felt as though our lane was really a team. It's been a long time since I've had that feeling from a sporting perspective and it was nice to have that sense of belonging again. Cool stuff.

Swim: 2750 meters - best swim workout to date by far!

Scheduled Off Day?

2010-01-26T09:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a scheduled off day but felt more like a long training day!

3 more house showings, pick up Megan at school, shoot home, grab dinner, eat dinner, over to the neighbor's house to sing her Happy Birthday, pack up the family, head to kids swimming, head home, bedtime routine, review offer on our house, laugh 'til it hurts, plan offer on the other house, head to bed...

The offer on the house was a "stinker" but our agent tells us that he's confident that we'll get the offer we're looking for this week. I don't know what makes him say that but we'll wait and see.

My legs felt OK today having put the 12 kms on them yesterday. My feet were a bit sore. I think it had to do with the fact that running outside on some uneven surfaces used some stabilizer muscles that don't get used when I'm on the treadmill. Today, they're 100% fine.

Swim workout tonight minus the cramping! I'm already working on my water intake and I'm not going to squeeze in a bike session before heading to the pool.

Two more showings today and we're putting an offer in on the other place. We'll see what the reaction is. I think we'll know if we're moving or not by Friday. I'll be glad when this is all over one way or another.

Have a great day!

It's a nice feeling

2010-01-24T21:14:00.000-05:00

Had my longest run of the training season on tap for today. With the unseasonable warm weather we've been having here in Southern Ontario, I took my cue from Training Payne and took the show outside today.

I layered up, stretched, and hit the road while we had yet another house showing. Anything to get me out of the house... I felt great almost right from the start. I had put enough water in the tank prior to the run and took a gel as well. I was holding a 5:45 pace which, for me, isn't a slow pace to keep during my long slow running days. I eased off for the rest of the run and managed to hold between a 6:00 and 6:11 pace. The wind was a huge factor early on in the run today. As soon as I made my first turn east, there it was. As I passed by a local car dealership, I could have sworn that the flags were blowing to the north but it felt like it was right in my face. Oh well, just more to look forward to at the turn-around point. I stopped for about 45 seconds or so to take on some more water and another gel and headed back to my starting point. With the wind behind me, I felt like a Kenyan. A 209 pound Kenyan... I had a great pace going and the legs were feeling great. I guess I shouldn't be surprised with some of the other work that I've been putting in but I was happy having the legs feel fresh the entire run today.

Stats: 72 min run / 6:02 avg pace / 148 avg HR / 12 kms / 1167 calories burned

I had even more cause to feel great today.

On Ryan's hockey team, we alternate the goalies from weekend to weekend to let them all have a turn playing in nets. This week it was Katlyn and Thomas' turns. I took Katlyn yesterday morning while the skaters were going through the rest of practice and was showing her the basics which include staying on your feet, bending your knees, keeping your stick on the ice and moving with the puck as best you can. At 6 years of age, there's not too much more you want to throw at a kid in the hopes that something sticks. Anyhow, this morning was game time. We divide our team up to an A and B squad and my buddy Katlyn gets the nod to play on the A side. Right out of the gate, she was facing a barrage of shots and breakaways from the other team. Time and time again, she kept the puck out of the net! I was amazed! Based on what Katlyn showed me at practice yesterday, she was 708% percent more improved today! I couldn't take the smile off my face every time she stopped the opposing team's attempt at scoring a goal. At one point, I went up to her and told her just how great she was doing and to keep it up. She looked up at me with her toothless grin and said "My dad's giving me 25 cents per save!". I skated up to the boards and tapped on the glass to get her father's attention and gave the universal sign for "This is going to be expensive" and he rolled his eyes. I did look over to Katlyn's family who were watching in the stands whenever she made one of her amazing stops. Their reactions were absolutely amazing and something I won't soon forget.

Sport is meant to be fun. Life is meant to be fun. Don't lose the fun. I may be slightly guilty of not having enough fun in training for Ironman lately. In thinking about my run today, I was all business. Yes - all of this training is a big undertaking but so's being a 6 year old playing goalie for the first time this season. Katlyn had fun today. You could tell just by looking at her expression in the locker room after the game. I've committed to renewing my focus on fun today. Thank you Katlyn.

Life is GREAT!

Out on the town

2010-01-23T21:15:00.000-05:00

Quite a day here...

Started off with the 5:45 wake-up call to get Ryan to hockey in time. The good news is that our game tomorrow is the late one (11:15am) which means that the entire family can ease into our day tomorrow morning.

After hockey, Ryan and I met Lisa and Meg at one of our favorite breakfast spots - Chez Cora. A great Montreal export, it's an awesome breakfast spot and we like to get there for a treat every now and again. Coffee is always topped up and the food is incredible.

With 7 house showings scheduled throughout the day, we were basically out of our own house for the day. We hit the local shopping mall for a bit, dropped in on our friends David and K and and our kids played there for a bit. After that, we made our way back towards the house. Ryan and I drove by while our real estate agent was still showing the last folks through our place and we hit the local LCBO to stock up on some vino. By the time we wrapped that up and headed back, the visitors were gone and we were "allowed" back into the house.

We had another scheduled showing at 5:30pm tonight. I had to get a 90 minute bike ride in on the trainer. The time when we got into the house was around 3:30pm or so. As the house is up for sale, you basically need to keep it in "showroom" condition. What that means is that my triathlon room has to be neat and tidy at all times. To get ready for a bike session, I need to take my office chair out of the room, take the workout bench out of the room, get the mat that I put under the bike, get the trainer set up, get the bike set up, get into appropriate training clothing, and get moving. I went through this routine only to have Lisa call from upstairs "Hey Mike? There's a car outside that's been sitting in front of the house for the last 10 minutes. I went out to see what the story was and they've got a 4pm showing apparently..." So, I have to quickly get the bike off the trainer, get the trainer away, pick up the mat, get the workout bench back into place, get the office chair back into place, get dressed and do some final prep for these folks to go through the house. My heart rate is now in the low 120's. I head upstairs to receive the message from my bride "There agent didn't show up so they're going to book another appointment for tomorrow."

Great... back downstairs, set up everything again but now I've only got 60 minutes to get the bike workout in because there is a scheduled 5:30 showing. Get a great workout in. Some very slight cramping sensations in the left calf but I was pushing a higher gear for portions of the session and eased off to avoid any severe cramping coming on. Took on plenty of water, one salt tablet, and two GU's. Felt great coming off the bike and the possibility that our 5:30 visitors might be "the ones" had my spirits high.

They never showed... I cut my workout short in order to get out of my house so that these complete strangers could come through our house and they don't show... class act... I know you should probably assume that stuff like that is going to happen but it didn't soften the blow any.

Oh well - their loss. Two appointments on the calendar for tomorrow and my plan is to get my 90 minute run in before the day gets underway tomorrow.

Steak and potatoes with a nice glass of wine tonight to cap off a fairly stress filled week for me personally. Hit the spot for sure.

Training: Bike 45 mins / 20.4 kms / 146 avg. HR / 27.1 kph avg. It is what it is... room for improvement!

Tread-Hill

2010-01-22T22:35:00.001-05:00

I put yesterday behind me in a big way today. As I get older and more senile, I really try and make an effort about remembering specific things that I experience. Last night's swim workout wasn't one of them. On the one hand, it's something I want to completely forget and get behind me. On another hand, it will serve as a great reminder that I can't take hydration, stretching, and proper nutrition intake for granted.

I'm a scorekeeper. I have to know that if a workout calls for 40 minutes, I workout for 40 minutes. Not 39 minutes 59 seconds. That 1 second would eat me up inside. It really would. Leaving the pool last night before getting through the rest of it really had me in a bad place. I went to the local pool today at lunch and ripped off the rest of the workout that I "owed" to myself. I felt great doing it. I forgot just how nice and bright that pool is during the day. Had a great lane-mate and the two of us just worked through what we had to do. All business. And I felt like a million bucks getting out of there!

Went for a quick "Meeting of the Minds" at the local watering hole with a great pal and got caught up to some extent. He's created a very successful business and he's a guy that is wired the same way I am as far as setting goals and working towards achieving them. From there I went and met Lisa and the kids at a local restaurant for dinner while we had another house showing. That was 3 total today and we're on tap for 5 or 6 tomorrow. We'll have to find ways of staying out of the house tomorrow keeping ourselves busy. Ryan and I are up at the crack of dawn tomorrow for hockey. I love these mornings. Ryan will wake up and ask why we're playing at night because the sun still hasn't come up! Cracks me up... Ry finally lost a bottom tooth that has been hanging on by a thread for what seems like months! The Tooth Fairy made her visit last night and he was excited about that. Nice "Gangsta" pose Ry!

Tonight called for a hill workout on the treadmill. I looked at my logs from the last one I did and wanted to see if I could keep a quicker speed for the duration of the workout. It felt great. My legs were a little tired feeling for the first 3 minutes or so but they loosened up in time for the first hill and I never looked back. 40 minutes with an average HR of 145. Did 6.76 kms. What's with the face Dunbar? Sheesh...

After the workout, the kids both wanted to give it a try. Megan really gets into it and I think I had her up to 4.5 mph at one point! Holding on to her the entire time of course. If she took a tumble, I had my arms around her and she wasn't going anywhere. They Ryan the giant wants to give it a whirl. I start increasing the speed and then realize that there's no way I'd hold him up if he tripped or fell. He's 80 pounds or so and I'd blow my back out if I had to catch him! They both thought it was a hoot and I'm glad that they're taking a very small interest in what I do here in this gym day after day. I hope it's something that they'll always remember.

The weather has beaten up out backyard rink but I'm hoping that there are some colder days ahead so that I can do some work fixing it up and get back out there. We've had some great times out there already and I want to make sure that we have more of them! Tomorrow is a 90 minute run so we'll see how that turns out.

Life is Great!

Holy Cramp!

2010-01-21T22:36:00.000-05:00

We've now had 7 interested buyers through the house and another 3 scheduled for tomorrow. I hope it all gets tied up sooner rather than later. Getting out of the house while folks go through your house is a pain and I want it to end.

Came home from work, had a great dinner, got Ryan's French homework done, and headed down to get a quick 45 minute bike / 10 minute run brick workout in before heading out to my swim workout. Mistake.

I neglected my water intake today at work and then didn't do any stretching after my bike / run. I paid for that tonight in the pool. After some initial warm-up sets, we started our main sets. Shortly into it, as I pushed off the wall, I could tell that something was going to happen. It was just a matter of time before it came on 100%. I made it through the first main set and on the first turn of the second main set, it happened. Both of my quads cramped on me. I scampered back to the closest wall and tried stretching them but then my calves got into the action and were cramping too. I tried to continue through the rest of the workout but I could tell it wasn't going to happen tonight. I owe myself 2 x 400 meters and 12 x 50 meters to make it up. I'll get that done tomorrow at lunch and I'll feel better about it all.

I'm going to up my long run and long bike times this weekend. Time to get moving.

Training Payne put up his new PFG (Previous Fat Guys / Gals) Triathlon Club logo over on his site. I'll be stocking up on some merchandise heading into the upcoming tri season. Check it out at www.trainingpayne.blogspot.com.

Going to hit the hay and wake up with an adjusted (and more positive) outlook on the next 6 months of training. Sometimes, you're just going to have one of those days... I'm finishing mine off right now.

Life is still GREAT!

Hello Again

2010-01-19T12:19:00.000-05:00

What a week!

Flew out of town on business on Tuesday and haven't stopped since!

Was able to get in 3 out of 4 workouts while I was away on business. I ended up missing just one swim workout on the night we arrived. It took longer to get the booth set-up and by the time we had some dinner, the pool was closing. Not too bad considering how busy we were!

Arrived home late on Friday night, woke up early for Ryan's hockey on Saturday and then Lisa and I worked all day getting our house ready to be put up on the real estate market. If you want a clean house, list it for sale! I've never seen our place as tidy as it is right now.

They say that selling your house is one of the top most stressful things you can do in your lifetime. Dealing with it these last 10 or so days, I now see why the experts say this. It's emotional for us. This is our first place together, the kids were both born here, we have some GREAT memories of living here, and all of our neighbors are all first class friends. It's been a roller coaster of feelings to say the least. One morning we're excited about the prospect of living in a new place, the next minute, we're second guessing our motivations.. it's been hard.

I missed my long run and long bike this past weekend in getting the house ready to sell. The lesson that I take from that is that the training has to take priority. Or at least the long training sessions have to take priority. If I happen to miss one shorter workout during the week, I know I won't feel as defeated as when I miss one of the long workouts on the weekend.

Up 2.5 lbs from the business trip. That'll be gone by Friday.

Back to the pool tonight and I'm going to have to find a run in there somewhere too. The treadmill will be out of bounds tonight as we're having some folks through looking at the house. Oh what fun...

Off Day

2010-01-11T21:52:00.000-05:00

First scheduled off day of the year today. Probably a good thing. Not that I'm hurting anywhere - just that I'm run down from a busy last 5 days and the next 4 are going to be busy too.

Off to balmy Edmonton for business for the rest of the week. I've scouted out a local YMCA with two lanes that are open to swimmers all day. Just a short walk from the hotel so that's got the swimming covered off for the week. Treadmills are right there at the hotel so there are my two runs for the week and then I'm back on the bike for a long one on Saturday. Won't miss a beat!

My long run yesterday went really well and I was surprised to see just how slowly my heart rate climbed up for the 65 minutes that it took to complete the workout. I tried keeping the treadmill at 6.2 for the entire run which I did fairly comfortably. It was only during the last 7 minutes that my HR hit the 150 level. Legs felt great afterwards but the body was telling me that I'd had a hectic week.

We went to my mother-in-law's place for dinner and the area that she's in has a community center with a pool. Of course, the kids wanted to go but Lisa didn't feel up to going for a dip so Dad got the call. Being as tired as I was, I was hoping that the kids would just want a short time swimming. As it turned out, the water was exactly what I needed! It seemed to loosen things up and the hot tub that was there sure helped too! Just what the doctor ordered...

Training: 10.8km / 142 avg HR / 65 mins

Quick updates

2010-01-10T09:27:00.000-05:00

Quick updates from Friday and Saturday...

Friday night we got back from our executive course downtown and I jumped on the treadmill quickly before the wine was opened. Statistically, going with the wine first has a 100% chance of missing a workout. I didn't want that to happen because I'm 100% on the training front so far and I wanted to keep it up. Hill workout was really good. My legs were tired after my 3rd set of the hill interval but it was a great feeling.

Saturday was whirlwind of activity. Hockey with Ryan to start the day, out to find replacement scooter wheels for Ryan because he's got a skateboard birthday party today, bike training, house viewing and negotiation, dinner prep, friends over for dinner and a skate, catching up on the Lost show, and then bed.

The bike workout was cut 10 minutes short because I had to shower and get to the house we're considering buying for 1pm and I just wasn't going to have the time to get it all done. There were 3 sets of 4 minute hills in there and the goal was to hold a 70 rpm cadence. Tough gear and the last set I really had to push out. Again, I always love that feeling after the hardest part of a workout. Legs felt GREAT and there was no cramping like on Wednesday night. I ate and took on water regularly.

To finish off the night last night, I gave the rink a flood after all the activity it had yesterday. We had our friends Marc and Mel over with her their two kids and we had our guys out there with their cousin Mitch. At 35 x 35, there was ample room for everyone to skate around and have a good time.

This morning, the ice looks like a pane of glass and the sun is shinning. Should be a great day for some time on the rink. I've got my long run workout to get in today. 65 minutes is what's called for and I'm going to focus on taking on some nutrition and water throughout the workout to see how I manage that. Results of the run to be posted later today.

Have a great Sunday people!

Weight: down 8 lbs from Jan. 1 - still a ways to go but being able to get all the training in is definitely helping!