It's only day 3

It's only day 3 of my Ironman training and I have already reached a brick workout. Luckily it was a short one, but it's still a brick and it's hard. What made this more difficult were two things: #1. I had already mentally prepared myself to reschedule this workout for tomorrow since I have a late golf lesson scheduled. I actually went home and by accident took a 30 minute nap. I woke up completely in a panic that I was late for my lesson even after telling myself that I cannot fall asleep. #2. The weather. As I was finishing my golf lesson, around 6:30, it started to rain. It was nothing major, but just enough to wet the roads. At that point, I was ready to go to the gym for a weight training session. I had my bag packed with my workout clothes. I was ready to go.

I only had one problem. I looked at the weather forecast for tomorrow and it is calling for showers and thunderstorms all day. How am I supposed to get my workout in tomorrow with that forecast? After deliberating and looking at the radar, I decided tonight had to be the night. I figured I had a just over an hour before he rain would hit. I should be able to make it. With this being said, I changed my clothes and went out for my 45 minute ride. As I am heading out, I notice the ominous clouds behind me. If it started storming, I will have to ride back into it to get home. I thought "I'd better get going!" I pushed pretty hard to get things rolling on the hilly terrain. I reached the halfway point (around 22 minutes) and turned around. I must have really turned it on on the way back because I made it back in just over 40 minutes. The skies still looked threatening, but I figured I only had a 15 minute run so I should be fine. I grabbed my visor and threw on my running shoes and headed out for the second part of my brick. My legs were a little tight heading out and my pace was slow but that was okay. The plan didn't specify what kind of pace. Given it was the first week, it was probably slow, but I just went. As I made the turn around, I was averaging around a 8 minute mile which was faster than it felt, then on the way back I turned it on. My overall run was 1.94 miles in 14:41. That equals a 7:36 pace. I was hauling ass to bring it home and it was a good thing I did. The moment I reached the circle at the cul de sac, it began to rain. After taking a shower, I peaked outside and it all let loose. It was raining cats and dogs. I think somebody was watching out for me tonight. -Thanks for your help.

And here it is...

Ironman training officially began yesterday. Overall, I'm feeling pretty good about the state of my fitness going in. I feel I have the necessary tools to have a great race by staying healthy throughout the year. My biggest challenge in tri training has been problems with my achilles tendon. After my therapy sessions before Ironman Louisville, my achilles felt strong and with the information I was given at Elite I feel I can keep it that way.

With my training beginning, I will go ahead and announce my time goals for Ironman Florida:

Swim- 59:59 (under 1 hour)
Bike- 5:30
Run- 4 hours or less
Total: Under 11 hours

My goal is pretty optimistic considering I did over 15 hours in Louisville, but Florida is going to be a flat and fast course and most importantly the temperature is supposed to be much cooler. Additionally, I feel I am going to be better prepared physically. During my run training last year, I was unable to do any speed work because of my achilles problems. Hopefully that won't be an issue this year. I am keeping my fingers crossed!!

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. ~William Jennings Bryan~

It's almost that time...

My tri season officially kicked off a few weeks ago with the Langley Pond International triathlon in Aiken. My training had not quite been what I had hoped going into the race, but I wanted to do an early season race. My overall goal was 2:30. I had some slow transitions which caused me to miss my goal by 10 seconds!! My main goal of the race was to see if I could hold a sub 8 min 10k. My pace ended up being 7:40/ mile. Obviously I am very happy about that!!

My next race was a few weeks later. I did my first stand alone 5k. I have finished an Ironman, but have never done a stand alone 5k. It was the GHS Swamp Rabbit 5k run in Traveler's Rest. I didn't know what to expect so I asked my dad what a respectable time would be and he thought sub 24 would be good so I went with that. Things went pretty smooth after getting to the race site. The one thing I wasn't planning on, was the amount of people. There were over 3000 people in the race. I should have known after hearing about how many people run in a typical 5k. Oh well. The race itself went pretty well. It was a hilly course. The only flat part was the last 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile and that was on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. My final time ended up being 22:52. I pushed it pretty hard and feel good about my time.

After all is said and done, I've decided on an Ironman training plan. I decided to go with an intermediate plan from Triathlete Magazine's training guide by Matt Fitzgerald. The only thing is that the plan is a 24 week plan instead of 20 weeks. This means I start one month earlier!!! When is that??? Less than one week! I'm looking forward to it though. I need some training structure in my daily life. I've gone too long without a plan to follow. So I officially begin training on May 24, 2011!!!

Here we go again...

It's mid April in 2011 and thoughts of Ironman are beginning to creep back into my mind again. My race isn't until November, but race season begins in just over a week in Aiken, SC. My training isn't where I hoped it would be so I decided to drop down to an olympic distance race instead of a half ironman. I probably could have finished it but would run the risk of injury. One of my goals for this year is to remain injury free. That would be best case scenario. I know it's not likely, but one can hope. I'm trying to be smart about my training and to take it slow.

My 2011 race schedule is the following:

April - Langley Pond Olympic, Aiken, SC
June - Caine Halter Sprint, Greenville, SC
July - XTERRA Whitewater, Charlotte, NC (maybe)
August - Greenville Sprint, Greenville, SC
August - Ironman Augusta 70.3, Augusta, GA
November - Ironman Florida, Panama City Beach, FL

Another day of reflection

I had some kind of a reflection day today. I was on Facebook and decided to read my Ironman race report as well as the note from a friend. Reading this brought back so many memories, thoughts and feelings. Wow. What a day it was. I remembered everything in such vivid, brilliant detail. I could practically feel the water on my face during the swim, the sun beating on my body during the bike, and my feet aching on the run. It has always sounded like a big accomplishment to say I have finished an Iron distance race, but that just the fact of the matter. As I was reading my report and the other note, I began to cry knowing how strong of a person I am. No matter how bad I felt that day, not once did I ever think about quitting. I thought I may have to physically, but was never going to actually stop. As I begin my training for Ironman Florida, I think back and wonder where that strength came from. As my training progresses, I will have to tap that strength as I push myself even harder. When the thoughts and fears creep in, I will know I have what it takes to complete the task.

Finishing up 2010 and beginning 2011

In December of 2009, I set a goal. I wanted to finish Ironman Louisville and complete all six PGA Certifications in one year. It would be a huge challenge but an even bigger accomplishment if I could successfully complete both. Two weeks ago, I finished my final PGA Certification and became one of 69 others out of 28,000 PGA Professionals to accomplish this. Two months ago, I finished Ironman Louisville. Overall 2010 has been a pretty good year. I am very proud of the physical and mental strength I have shown thus far. In 2011, I will begin a similar challenge. I will begin my work on my PGA Master Professional Program as well as begin training for another Ironman. Yes, that's right. Another Ironman. I have signed up for Ironman Florida on November 5, 2011. It's going to be another summer full of scorching hot bike rides, muscle burning runs and mind numbing sessions in the pool. Remind me why - oh yeah, I get a tee shirt and a medal.