Leadville Trail 100 and Colorado

I had the opportunity to go out to Colorado to crew/pace a buddy of mine during the Leadville Trail 100 mile ultramarathon, this was single handily one of the most awesome experiences in my life. While out there I had the opportunity to hike to the summit of Mount Elbert which is the highest peak in Colorado @ 14,433 feet above sea level and the second highest peak in the lower 48 states. Below is my recap of my pacing duties that I posted on Daily Mile and in the interest of time I'll just use that and give some additional thoughts below.

"My job was to get Jay up and over Hope Pass during the Leadville 100. I picked him up after 50 miles of running and only an hour into the climb I wasn't able to keep up with him. The trail was very congested at this point with inbound and outbound runners and every time he would surge to pass someone I would struggle to catch back up only for him to surge past someone else. I'd like to blame it on the head cold I've been plagued with the last week but the fact of the matter is he is just a beast going up hill, it was like trying to keep up with a damn mountain goat. Eventually I started to become light headed and faint and had to stop as my heart rate skyrocketed. I gave him the last bottle of water so he could continue on without me and hopefully meet back up with him at the Hope Pass aid station. About 10 minutes later, Marshall, a friend of Jay's who was out there to pace someone else who had dropped out of the race came flying by me looking to help out. It was like a gift from God seeing him, I was struggling so bad trying to catch back up and mentally I was starting to crack knowing it just wasn't going to happen. Once I knew Jay was going to be okay I could go at my own pace and not over work myself. After I made the aid station I refilled my water bottles and started the trek down the mountain. Going down hill is by far my stronger suit and I was able to pass a lot of people and made up quite a bit of time apparently I came in to the Twin Lakes aid station only a few minutes after he left and I was told Marshall was with him and he was doing good, thankfully. Quite a humbling experience but it was really amazing too, reading about this race and actually experiencing are two completely different things. So proud of Jay, Tom, Flynn and everyone who competed out there, a whole new respect for that race, and the amount of physical and mental strength it takes just to line up let alone complete."

Now I've read a number of accounts of this race in various ultra runners biography's but to read about something and to actually experience it are like previously stated two completely different things. First off when you live in the Midwest and the steepest thing you encounter on a training run is a 100 foot climb you can not even fathom what gaining 3000-4000 feet of elevation is like, especially on some of the gnarliest nastiest trails out there. Over the course of last week I experienced the 3 hardest things I've ever done physically, climbing Lake Deluge trail, Mount Elbert and Hope Pass and even though they kicked my butt I loved it. I may not have enjoyed it fully at the time, but looking back it was simply amazing and something I will remember for the rest of my life.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Freedom Run 5k

OK its been an awful long time since I've posted anything here, a lot has gone on but don't have time to play catch up right now. Here is a recap of last nights Freedom Run 5k.

Ran the freedom run 5k with Caden, he had a bit of trouble with side stitches during our warm up and they just never went away. We had to walk considerably more than the firecracker but considering hes only run 3 or 4 times in the last month he did amazing finishing in just over 36 minutes. I was worried this would turn him off racing but at the end he still sprinted towards the finish smiling and egging me on that he was gonna beat me. I live how much joy he gets out of running and I'm so thankful I can share it with him, makes me love to run all over again.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Not just another run

Haven't posted much lately, I've either not had the time, desire or anything interesting to share but had to share this from yesterday.

Caden's tball game ended early last night so was able to steal back the run I had skipped that morning when we got home. Started out running with the boys, we jogged down to the school and did our 2 laps there (Casey rode his bike and only ran one lap, his legs were hurting, think he may be getting shin splints) and then ran home. Proud to say that Caden completed the 1.7 mile loop nearly a full minute faster than on Saturday and this time he chatted me up the whole time, pretty sure he is going to have no problem knocking out the Firecracker 5k as long as he paces himself accordingly. I'm simply amazed at his exuberance for exercise and what seems like an unending pool of energy. I haven't coerced him or his brother into running or exercise (other than laying the foundation by setting an example) and Caden especially has latched on to it. Definitely makes me proud and excited about the whole thing.

After dropping off the boys I headed back out for more pushing the pace for a progressive tempo effort. This run felt great and an 8:30 mile felt nearly effortless, was able to peel off 7:50ish for the last mile. Did a little cool down jog around the block to finish off. Feeling pretty confident about my fitness with just a little over a week to go till my first race of the season, can't wait!


Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Run for Renewal RR

Saturday I ran the Run for Renewal 5k, this was race #3 of the Live Uncommon Race Series and the only repeat event from last year and one of my favorites because of the cause it supports, Project Renewal, an after school program for underprivileged youth. They got a huge boost in participants this year when Live Uncommon stepped up and covered the cost of entrants this past week as a way to show support for the tragedy that happened last Monday at the Boston Marathon, which in a nut shell is one of the reasons I love being associated with Live Uncommon, doing good and awesome things because it is the right thing do for everyone.

As far as the race, I had no expectation of running this hard since I've only been back running now for a couple of weeks. My goal was to finish under 28 minutes and keep it nice and easy, I ran with my friend Anne for the entire race (I was hopping I could keep up with her the whole time) and it was nice to catch up with her. Best part was I had no pain in my Achilles during or after the race even with picking up the tempo a little for this race, I think I'm ready to start pushing things a little more this week and see how it responds.

Afterwards I ran some cool down miles downtown and checked out the flood waters, I also ran some stairs in one of the parking garages to get a better view, it's crazy to think that downtown Davenport floods nearly every year and yet they refuse to put up any kind of flood wall, what's that they say about the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...yeah I think the City Administrators qualify on that one.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

My Heart is Sad Today

I haven’t blogged in quite some time, my post started to get monotonous and then I went on vacation and I really got out of the habit but today I am compelled to write something about the tragedy that occurred yesterday during the Boston Marathon. For starters I cannot make sense of why someone would choose this venue to carry out their heinous act of violence. But to ask why someone would do this is an exercise in futility. Anyone so far gone in whatever belief system they adhere to that actually condones this kind of behavior on innocent victims is obviously irrational and therefore cannot answer a simple rational question as to why? Any answer would not make sense to a rational person and therefore useless to even pose. I can understand an act of violence against ones enemy say in a time and place of war, whatever side of the battle field you are on there are strong beliefs and both sides believe they are fighting for the side of good, usually. Add to that the fact that the combatants know the ultimate penalty for engaging in their activity may and could be death, the race participants and spectators who gathered along those streets certainly did not under any circumstance expect death to be an outcome of that day’s events.


One story that I’ve heard touched me profoundly, it was about the death of an 8 year old boy who was at the race to cheer on his father. Seeing his dad at the finish line he rushed out to him to hug him and then went back into the crowd with his mother. That was when the first bomb went off and tragically took his life. As a father and runner this hits me on so many levels it is hard to comprehend all the emotions it stirs up inside me. Sorrow for the father that lost his son, guilt because if he hadn’t run that day his son would still be alive, or if he had been 5 minutes faster or slower maybe he is still alive today. Finishing a marathon was one of the most emotional moments I’ve ever experienced; it sits firmly behind the birth of my children, my wedding day and the loss of my mother and grandfather. I could not fathom going through the extreme elation of not only finishing a marathon but finishing Boston, the Superbowl of marathons, having your son greet you and hug you at the finish line and then moments later he’s gone, ripped from this world like your heart from your chest.

I struggle sometimes with sympathy and empathy for others, it may be a byproduct of growing up in an alcoholic family or maybe it’s just how I was made but this situation, this one story pulls at my heart strings more than anything in recent memory, and there has been far too many things happen lately like this and the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting and other tragedy’s. I remember when 9-11 happened, I was shocked, saddened and angry but it did not touch me the same way this has. That may be in part to being older and now a father and having a completely different view on the world and life 12 years later.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this tragedy, yesterday was a sad day for the world of running and for the world itself when events like this are becoming more and more common. Healing will come over time for most, but the scars will remain forever on some. My heart is sad today and that is really the only way I can put it.

Week 9 - Wednesday's musings

I was thinking the other day about toughness and living a tough life and I realized I am no where near as tough as I previously believed.

Granted I've never considered myself a "tough guy" in the classic sense, I don't go looking for fights, in fact my natural inclination is to avoid a physical confrontation at most costs, but if push comes to shove I will do what is necessary to protect those I care for and what I believe in. But being willing and able to fight is not really a true measure of toughness. I'm talking about over coming adversity, thriving in diffucult circumstances, getting back up more times than you get knocked down. And that is where I believe I lack toughness. All I have to do is look in my workout log and see all the red marks signifying a missed workout. Now I know some of those may have been legit reason's like sickness or injury but a lot, and more often than not, it's because I was tired or sore from the previous days workout. Those are from a lack of mental toughness, that lack of perseverance or a win at all cost mentality that gets one through a tough workout or out of bed at 4:30 am to go put in the work to achieve a goal.

This is what was going through my mind this morning when I so badly wanted to go back to sleep and skip my planned bike ride. I was tired and sore from yesterday and I wanted to crawl back into bed and just sleep, but I challenged myself, I asked myself if I was mentally tough enough to go through with it and I'm happy to say I answered the call and I got a good workout in.

I don't take too much pride in my minor accomplishment this morning especially when I think about how it stackes up to other individuals who are answering a much more impactful challenge. Those individuals in the armed forces, police, fireman, emergency responders and given our recent snow and ice utility workers out all day and night keeping us safe and helping restore power. They get up early answer the call each and everyday for something way more important than training for a triathlon. They really live by the catchy little tag line at the bottom of my post's when I'm just playing at it hoping I can somehow live up to their standards. Maybe I won't be fighting crime or rushing into a burning building anytime soon, but there are things I can and should be doing that can positively impact the world around me.

So today I say it with a little different meaning...

Until next time... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 8 - Saturday

Opted not to go run trails out at Loud Thunder, haven't run all week and figured probably should stick close to home just in case my Achilles flared up...turned out to be a good idea. I made it about half mile before it started hurting, nothing major but knew it wasn't something I wanted to push and aggravate further so I headed home to  hop on the bike trainer. Ended up getting 2 hours on the bike without any further complications.

I have a feeling this may be a nagging injury if I don't just nip it in the butt now, so looks like I may just have to have an extended break from running for awhile. Looks like I'll be getting a lot more pool time in the near future which won't be so bad I suppose. I can also spend some extra time in the gym building my strength as well and just get in lots and lots of miles on the bike.

Until next time...Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't...

...and today that means knowing when not to push through an injury.

Week 8 - Thursday

So I've been dealing with a sore Achilles tendon since after Saturday's long run and so far it is doing much better, I was really concerned that it was going to be something major and keep me from running for a long time, and just that thought really bummed me out. Not because I wouldn't be able to complete my goal of a half ironman this year but just not getting to run. It is kind of ridiculous how much I love running now when I think about how much I used to hate it another lifetime ago. When I was younger and played organized sports, running was something I had to do, and more times than not it was a punishment or viewed as such. We ran after football practice for conditioning, we ran a lot more if we had a bad practice or a bad game the previous week. Enjoyment and running weren't in the same ball field, heck they weren't on the same planet. I used to joke that I hated running so much that I wouldn't even run to my car if it was raining. Now one of my favorite things is to run in the rain oddly enough. The thought of losing something I have grown to love so much frankly scared me.

The good news is disaster, as of now, may be averted. I haven't run all week so far, skipping my easy run on Tuesday night and my run this morning and allowing may Achilles time to rest and heal up. I have been able to ride with out any pain or discomfort and may test things out tonight or tomorrow on the treadmill just to see how things are progressing.

We're planning on running trails this weekend and I would love to get out there but if I'm going to do more damage I don't want to risk it. Better to skip a run in February and heal up than potentially do major damage and be out for months on end.


Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Week 8 - Tuesday Ride

After a disappointing start to my week yesterday, I skipped my swim and subsequently beat myself up all day about it, I was ready to get after it this morning.

Bike workout went great, Achilles tendon felt just fine throughout. Still remaining cautiously optimistic about it, may try running just a little on the treadmill tonight to test it out or just get another 30 minutes on the trainer.

Until next time...do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 7 - Saturday and Sunday

Met up with the some of the usual suspects and a couple new faces for our weekly long run. Run was good finished up with 15 total for the day but afterwards once I got home my achilles tendon on my right foot flared up real bad making it painful to walk. I don't remember doing anything to hurt it but you never know sometimes what can lead to an injury.

Wasn't able to ride later in the afternoon and I was starting to get bummed out that I might be on the shelf for awhile. Rest and multiple rounds of icing it through out the rest of the day had it feeling better this morning. I was able to get in a 90 minute bike ride today after church without any pain so I'm remaining cautiously optimistic that it's nothing major, might have to take it easy running for awhile but if I can still ride shouldn't be too bad.

Week 7 - Travel, rest days and anxiety

Sunday morning I flew to Tulsa for our annual Leadership Conference. I knew this would be a tough week for training and that's why I pushed a little harder last week. I did get a nice shake out run on Sunday afternoon after arriving, getting settled in and a short nap. Legs felt pretty good considering the high mileage on Saturday. Where we stay at has a good network of trails right behind the lodges so I was in heaven running there. Monday I hit the gym for a total body workout and Tuesday I was able to steal away after our meetings for another run. Our nights are pretty jammed pack with dinner and activities so good sleep eluded me while I was down there and that left me drained yesterday and today so I've taken the past 3 days off. I'm not disappointed in the extended rest days, I pretty much accounted for it as I laid out my plan and ultimately the rest is going to be a good thing, especially this early in the year. I can feel the anxiety and restlessness building inside me to get after it and hopefully tomorrow's long run will be just what I need. Probably not going after a marathon distance again, but should be in the ballpark of 16 miles. Ready to get back to my routine next week, I'm such a creature of habit.

Until next time ... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 6 - Saturday Looonnnggg Run

Yea it was a long run today...

Met up with Jay, Emily and Phil at the radio station to run, we started off with an hour out and back before running up to Trinity for the LU Press conference and fun run. We did a loop around Bettendorf with some LU peeps, it was good to get caught up with some friends. Afterwards Jay ran back to the radio station with me, on the way he mentioned how close I was going to be to 26 miles and when we rolled in I was just at 24. I would have been good with that but with only 2 more miles to go I just had to get it so I headed back out for the last 2 with Jay as he ran home. I'll admit it was great to have a marathon under my belt I was grinning ear to ear as I pulled out of the parking lot. Made a pit stop at McD's and splurged on a cheddar onion burger and McChicken, man those tasted phenomenal.

Felt great today, sitting here now I really don't feel much different than I did a couple weeks ago when I knocked out 14.

Thanks Jay for giving me that little extra motivation to go for it.

Until next time... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 6 - Wednesday Swim and Weights

Almost did it again, almost let the seductive ways of the snooze button lure me back to bed. Gave myself a little pep talk and reassured the fact that I would appreciate the workout once it was done.

Swim: 2000 yards
WU: 200 swim, 200 pull, 100 kick
MS: 1200 yard swim
CD: 200 pull, 100 kick

Weights
5 rounds of 5 thrusters (95#), 30 soccer toe taps, core
3 rounds of 10 hang cleans, 10 walking lunges with medicine ball twist.
Finished up with multiple varieties of box jumps and plyo push ups.

Week 6 - Monday and Tuesday

Okay so I've slacked a bit on updating my blog so I'll catch up the last 2 days in one.

Yesterday I really did not feel like getting up and working out and I gave in to the temptation to sleep a little longer. I really wish I hadn't and I was not happy with myself for allowing that to happen, luckily I had the opportunity to get a swim in over lunch and I took advantage of it and was really glad I did, I ended up getting in a good 2000 yard swim.

That evening I jumped on the bike trainer while Deanna walked on the treadmill and the boys played Wii before dinner, I have really grown to love working out at night after work. For the longest time it was something I really struggled with but lately I have really enjoyed it, probably because I know that it is so much better than the alternative which is just sitting around watching TV. I know these evening workouts are not going to last forever as the boys will begin Soccer and then Baseball soon and evenings will be filled with practices, I will still find away to squeeze in some training, I can always run during their practice.

This morning I jumped on the bike again, I probably should have run instead but since I have to move my long bike ride to Friday morning (traveling to Oklahoma for work early Sunday) today was really the only day to get in my 90 minute ride. I went a little harder than I wanted too last night and that left my legs sore and tired to start this mornings ride but they eventually warmed up. I did the following workout.

WU: 10 minutes easy spin
MS: 6 x 10 minute sets at expected Half Ironman speed with 2 minute easy spin between sets.
CD: Remaining time alternating every minute between easy and medium speed

I got this workout from Triathlete.com and have been meaning to do it for sometime, pretty tough workout especially on tired legs. I definitely took it easier than I think I could have but my legs are tired from 4 consecutive days of cycling. I have an optional ride tomorrow that would make 5 straight days before taking Thursday night off, it may end up not getting done or just real easy, or I could recover well in the next day and half and power through. I feel like lately I have been recovering really well so I'm optimistic. I have an easy 30-40 minute run tonight and then my long swim tomorrow morning.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Week 5 - Thursday Double Duty

Going to be working late tonight tearing down and closing one of my stores so had to get both my run and bike done in the morning. Kind of a bitter sweet day closing my Southpark Mall location, it was the very first store I ever opened, worked at and managed, with this company but it has been a huge profit drain for the last year plus and with the mall completely unwilling to work with us on our astronomical rent we had to make the decision to close up shop.

The run:
Temperature was 12° this morning and with the wind chill it was well below zero so I was relegated to the dreadmill this morning, thought about just doing a bike/run interval workout but I really needed to do a speed focused run workout so opted for Yasso 800's on the treadmill. Ended up doing a 1 mile warm up then 6x800 @ 7.5, 7.7, 8.0, 8.2, 8.5, 8.5 with a quarter mile east run between sets. I ran easy for the remainder of the hour to finish up with 6.82 miles total.

The bike:
After I dropped the kids off at school I headed back home to jump on the bike trainer. Did a pretty tough bike last so took it easy today. 10 min easy warm up then 3x10 min in medium gear, 1 min easy.

Now it's time to refuel for a long day at work.

Until next time... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 5 - Tuesday

Technically yesterday should have been an off day and it was for the most part but I just had to get an easy workout in after work, so I walked on the treadmill did some core and body weight exercises.

This morning got up bright and early to ride and discovered nearly 60° temps and was pretty tempted to just go for a run, but I stuck with the plan, kind of wishing I hadn't now supposed to get cold again tonight.

Watched The Big Lebowski while I rode and did a 90 minute hill simulation workout, good movie, great workout.

Tonight the plan is to jump on the treadmill before dinner and get 30-40 minutes in. I'm sure the decision to ride instead of run will haunt me later.

Week 4 - Sunday Long Ride

Watched nearly 5 hours of UFC fights in less than a 2 hour ride, I think there is too much talking and not enough fighting in these Fox/FX broadcasts.

The workout:
20 minute warm up then 5x10 minutes hard, 5 minutes easy with an easy spin for the cool down.

Had a good time last night at a friends surprise birthday, feeling it today though, glad I was able to get my workout done earlier so I could just enjoy a nice day bumming around the house with the family.

Until next time ... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 4 - Saturday Trail Run

Met up with Jay, Tom, Phil, John and Shawn at Sunderbruch park this AM for a little trail running, my first time out there and it was definitely worth the drive. It was cold this morning, 8° to be exact, when we started but warmed up a bit once we got moving. My hands froze up yet again, John was kind enough to trade his mittens with me and surprisingly my hands warmed up, note to self go buy mittens they work!

Other than frozen digits it was a great morning running trails, after the first loop everyone but me and Tom left and we headed back out for more. We ended up with right around 11 miles (forgot to start my watch at one point after a stop) and it felt really good, probably would have gone for more if this wasn't supposed to be a recovery week. I will definitely be back out there again soon.

Afternoon called for an easy trainer ride, was difficult to get motivated for this ride but I knew i would appreciate it afterwards. I always feel better the day after a long run if I get an easy spin in later that day. I watched part of the movie Soul Surfer which is a favorite and really motivational.

Tomorrow I will have plenty of MMA to watch during my long trainer ride with the UFC on Fox tonight plus the preliminary fights are on FX so definitely enough to get me through.

Until next time ... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 4 - Friday Swim

Woke up tired this morning, did not want to get out of bed, but I slept in yesterday (and had to do my workout last night, hence why I was tired) so I got my lazy butt out of bed. I so much rather enjoy working out in the morning as opposed to evenings but I really like to sleep in as well, such a dilemma... oh well enough about my "first world" problems.

Hit the pool this morning with the intention of doing my long swim that I passed on Wednesday, did the standard 600 yard warm up then swam 800 yards straight through. Felt really good in the water after I got warmed up, I was swimming next to one of the regular early morning swimmers, Jerry, nice guy but man he creates a heck of a wake for such a skinny dude. Good simulation for rough water swimming, best you'll get in a pool I suppose, every time I share a lane with him I swear I end up drinking half the pool.

Afterwards headed up stairs for some weights, dead lifts were on the menu this morning. I think I'm going to just stick with the basics of power lifting moves like squats, dead lifts and power cleans, picking one of those to start my workout and then doing circuits of body weight exercise like push ups, burpees, pull ups, box jumps and my current favorite piece of equipment in the gym the rowing machine. I can piece together one heck of a workout with just those exercises that leaves my whole body hurting.

Today I did 5 sets of Dead lifts (135, 185(3), 135) each followed by 10 burpees, 25 crunches, and 6 pull ups. Then did 2 sets of 750m row with box jumps, lots and lots of box jumps, followed by more box jumps. Pretty sure my calves are going to be sore tomorrow from all the box jumps, good thing my long run tomorrow is only 10ish miles, going to try and meet up with Jay at Sunderbrook to run trails, never run there before should be interesting.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Week 4 - Thursday Night Brick

Slept in this morning and skipped my run so decided to do one of my favorite workouts tonight bike/run intervals.

Started off with 10 min bike, 10 min run then 20 push ups and 25 crunches. Then repeated four more times with 5 min running and pushups and crunches. Finished it up with 10 min on the bike.

Ended up with 23.1 miles biked and 4 miles run, good hard workout.

Until next time ... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 4 - Wednesday

I have been in a funk that past few days, I think it's mostly due to 3 hard weeks of training and the chilly weather. Being a summer baby I have never enjoyed winter that much, so needless to say I wasn't super motivated to swim this morning. Good news was I was inside and the water was warm. I had a plan to just do my warm up and then swim 1000 yards straight through but after my warm up I changed it up. I ended doing 4x50 hard then 200 swim, 100 kick, 200 swim and 4x50 (25 underwater kick, 25 swim w/fins).

Afterwards headed upstairs to lift, did. 4 sets of squats 10 reps @ 135, 8 @ 155, 6 @ 175, 4 @ 185 each set followed by pull ups, push ups and crunches. Then did 4 rounds of 500m row, 10 box jumps, 10 burpees, 10 mason twists with weight.

Had to drive to Des Moines today and while driving along I-80 I was scanning through channels when I came across the song Jack and Diane. I've never really paid much attention to the lyrics but the chorus stuck out, "Oh yeah, life goes on, even after the thrill of living has gone..." talking about the thrill and excitement of life when you are young and vibrant and full of enthusiasm but after thats faded the rest of your life is still there. Got me thinking, why do the best years have to be behind me? When I was in high school or college? I think the key ti enjoying life is by constantly searching for that next "thrill". It doesn't have to be wild and crazy stuff, heck as any parent knows watching your kids grow up in front of your eyes can be a fearful and thrilling thing. I try to live by a philosophy of being happy in my current circumstances and not waiting for the next "thrill" to bring me happiness, I've found when I am able to accomplish that then I really enjoy the present moment no matter what is going on in my life.

Until next time ... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 4 - Tuesday Basement Brick

Yes with temperatures plummeting this week I am probably going to get a lot more use out of my treadmill, this morning it was a whopping -2 outside when I woke up and let the dog out, needless to say I was a bit chilled standing on my deck in my shorts, after that I was ready for a workout to warm me up.

This week is a recovery week so time to back it off just a bit, seeing as how I'm not following an actual plan and just kind of making this up as I go along it is important for me to at least follow the pattern of 3 weeks build, 1 week recovery. That is really about as complicated as my training structure actually gets, outside of that I do certain workouts on certain days cause it just fits my schedule the best. Anyway onto the actual work done today.

Tuesday is typically my medium ride of 90 minutes but with the recovery week and all I decided to scale it back to 75 minutes than do a brick run of 30 minutes. I started out on the bike watching an episode of The Wire, good show can't believe I never got into when it was running, I didn't really have a plan for today was just going to wing. I ended up doing a 20 min warm up then 4x10 min (8 min hard, 2 min easy) followed by 12 minutes of intervals moving up and down the gear range every minute and 3 minute fast spin before jumping off to run on the treadmill.

I got bored with the run almost immediately so after the first mile I decided to do quarter mile intervals with easy at 7mph and quarter hard at 8, 8, 8.5 and 9, that got me to 3 miles and then ran easy to finish off the 30 minutes.

Ended up with 27.15 miles on the bike and 3.7 on the run.

Took yesterday off so looking forward to my swim tomorrow and lifting weights again.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Week 3 - Sunday ride

Pretty tired today after yesterday's run, ride and staying up late for a birthday celebration, legs felt pretty good though.

Started off with a 20 minute easy warm up then did 10 minutes in a bigger gear followed by 5 minutes easy, did that 6 times which got me to an hour and half. After that I did the big gear for only five minutes to get me to 2 hours. Last 15 minutes I went 1/1 minutes hard/easy and cool down.

I was pretty much spent after this ride, I couldn't have gone longer if I'd of wanted too. Might take tomorrow off or just an easy swim, I'll see how I feel in the morning. Another big weekend of training in the books.

Ended up with 47.35 miles in 2:15.

Now spending the afternoon watching football and building projects with Casey before heading to a meet and greet with the QC Tri Club.

Until next time ... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't. 

Week 3 - Saturday long run

Met Jay, Phil, Emily, John, Rick, Betsy and Kent at the radio station for the weekly long run. Man we ended up running all over Davenport and Bettendorf today even made a stop at HyVee so Jay could get some breakfast pizza and he was kind enough to buy me a Snickers bar, man that tasted so good. I felt horrible after 5 miles and almost called it quits, glad I kept going cause I felt better at 15 miles than I did at 5. Ended up getting 15.7 miles in 2:35 today, my plan was only for 14 but plans were made to be broken, Jay almost had me convinced to do 20.

Hopefully getting on the bike shortly before grocery shopping then it is off to celebrate my mother in laws birthday.

Until next time ... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 3 - Thursday morning run

Slept in a little longer this morning than normal which is okay since I can afford a little extra sleep on Thursday mornings with just doing a run workout.

After the typical routine of waffle and coffee I headed out the door with Lucky for a run. Shortly after getting started I just didn't feel like running not sure why but was thinking about cutting it short within a half mile. But surprisingly I was moving really quickly and after the first mile my mood and attitude about the run changed.

About half way through mile 2 my hands started getting really cold, which has been a problem lately. It wasn't really that cold this morning when I checked my weather app it had said it was 25° which is cold but certainly not the worst I've run in. The rest of my body was fine but my hands were miserable. I decided to extend my run with Lucky, he normally only joins me for 2-3 miles, before heading inside to the treadmill. I ended up doing 4.68 miles out side and then half mile repeats with a quarter jog on the treadmill. After each quarter i jumped off and did a set of push ups and core exercises, did that 4 times. Ended up with 3 miles in 23 minutes.

Glad I have a treadmill for days like today, not sure why but my hands were so cold they hurt.

Until next time ... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 3 - Wednesday Night Ride

Got a quick ride in when I got home before dinner. Nothing too special warmed up 10 minutes than did 3 sets of 9 minutes hard working on staying in aero position and 1 minute easy, then 5 minute cooldown.

Big story of the day was the news of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o alleged involvement in this elaborate hoax involving the death of his girlfriend this past fall. Supposedly she never existed and either he was duped by a group of deranged individuals or he was involved for whatever gain. I'm dumbfounded by the whole thing honestly, I like many people were moved by this story when it happened and now that it is coming out that it's all a lie I'm kind of irritated by it. Not sure what motivates someone to do something like this but it is going to be interesting to see how this story unfolds going forward.

Until next time...Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't

Week 3 - Tuesday

Did not get a chance to post this yesterday.

Decided to break up my 90 minute ride yesterday morning and do a Bike/Run interval after each of the 12 minute sets, I was traveling up to Des Moines yesterday and knew I was probably not going to get my run in especially since I planned on going to visit some friends.

All in all workout went really well don't really have the depth of details and feeling being one day removed from the workout. I actually thought about just not even blogging on this day but I've kept up so far through 2 weeks so no need to skip a day now right.

This is what I ended up for on the day.
Bike - 32.5 miles in 1:30
Run - 4 miles in 31:09
Had a good night hanging out with friends last night, even if they did keep me up past my bed time ;-) but that's okay I was planning on sleeping in this morning, which I did. I did bring workout clothes just in case I was feeling motivated to lift weights or run the stairwells. I actually did wake up early and thought about it but decided since I ended up getting my swim in on Monday I would just take this morning off. I am probably going to jump on the bike tonight when I get home for a half hour.

Until next time...Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 3 - Monday Swim

Did not want to get up and work out this morning, probably because I slept terribly. I kept waking up every couple of hours and then fighting to go back to sleep, which is very odd for me, normally I'm a very heavy sleeper and have no trouble going back to sleep if I awake. At 3:45 I finally decided to just bag my workout seeing as how my alarm was set to go off in 15 minutes and I was just not feeling it. In hindsight I probably should have just gotten up then and got ready but I made the decision to just sleep in and hit the pool on my lunch. The good news is a fell back asleep for 3 more hours and it was probably the longest stretch all night so that was good.

I did end up going to the Y for a swim at noon, felt good in the water today thia is what I ended up doing today:

WU: Usual 600 mix
MS: 1000yd endurance swim
CD: 200 yards

I was going to do 5x100 and 10x50's but really just wanted to swim straight laps so got my long swim done for the week.

Now I'm at work choking down my food, although it's good and I'm hungry would rather have a protein shake right now. Its funny how after running and biking I'm all for devouring food but after a swim just not in the mood for food.

Until next time...Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 2 - Sunday Long Ride, Church and Football

Woke up nice and early this morning so I could get my bike ride in before church so I could spend the afternoon watching football and playing Lego's with my boys. Casey got the Ninjago Epic Dragon battle set from Santa and we have yet to attempt to put it together yet so that is on the agenda for today!



Casey showing off his present from Santa

 

My ride went okay, watched part of the Strikeforce fights from last night and an episode of The Wire while I rode. Goal today was to get 2 hours in and let me tell you it was a struggle, one of the fighters was wearing a T-Shirt that read Embrace the Grind and that is exactly what I had to do this morning. Legs were tired from yesterday and just didn't have much oomph in them, but I embraced the grind and kept pushing through. To keep my self motivated I would do 4 minutes at medium gear and then 1 minute easy and just focused on getting through 5 minutes at a time. It worked and I ended up with 41.5 miles for the day.

Church was awesome today, Coach D was preaching and it was a great message on "I'm a Christian, So Now What?" He had 5 points but the 2 that really hit home with me were about Prayer and have Godly Relationships, 2 things as a Christian I struggle with. I usually don't take notes but today I did, Coach D really has a way of getting the people engaged, heck the man could read the phone book and make it sound interesting. He is so passionate and energetic it's inspiring and something I admire about him.

After church I whipped together a new recipe for slow cooker stuffed peppers that I'm looking forwarded to for dinner tonight. I had some of the leftover mixture for lunch in tortillas and it was good so pretty excited for the peppers. Need some variety in my diet so if I can add another recipe to my arsenal that will be great.

Now it's time for some Playoff Football and Lego's so

Until next time...Do today what other's wont, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't...like grow a sweet mustache!

Did someone lose a squirrel?

Week 2 - Saturday daily double

Started the day off with a long run, met up with the usual suspects and a couple new faces. Head wind was rough to start with but nice on the way back. Ended up with 12.5 miles in 2 hours.

Afterwards came up did some jump ropes and core before devouring a stack of pancakes.

Did the grocery shopping, got boys lunch and a snack for me before hopping on the bike trainer. Did the following workout:

WU: 20 min progressive warmup
MS: 2x (5x1 min hard 1 min easy) staying in the aero position the during the 10 min set. Easy 2 min spin after each set.
CD: Rode remainder of time easy.

Watched part of the movie Ali while riding, good movie.

Now it's time for some playoff football!

Until next time...Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 2 - Friday Swim

Ended up getting another 45 minutes in on the bike last night along with some jump ropes and core, actually felt really good afterwards. Then hung out with my boys and watched Dual Survival, easily one of our favorite shows that and Gator Boys.

Woke up this morning a little tired but convinced myself to get up and get going.

Swim work out today was the following

WU: 200 each of swim, kick, pull
MS: 4x200 swim with 20 sec rest
CD: 400 mix

Swimming is starting to come back, getting comfortable in the pool again. Afterwards got a great workout in, 8 rounds of 500m rows followed by 10 burpees on the odds and 10 box jumps on the evens. Thia work out kicked my butt and had me sweating profusely by the end.

Until next time... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 2 - Thursday

Did not get my bike ride in last night like I wanted too, was just too tired after driving all day and getting home till 7:15 and felt like I just needed to take the night off. Which allowed me to work on soap carvings with the boys, Casey did his Boy Scouts knife safety Tuesday night and they had us practicing on a bar of soap. So when I got home both boys wanted to do some more. I got Casey set up and than me and Caden worked together on ours. It was definitely fun and a great bonding moment with my boys which is far more important than a 30 minute bike ride ever could be.

So since I skipped it last night I decided to start a little early this morning by getting a 30 minute warm up ride in before my run. I ended up running 7 miles and then doing another 15 minutes on the bike afterwards. Had a lot of things I needed to think about on this run, trying to figure out how to deal with the disappointment of certain individuals in my life and their actions. I suppose I can't concern and worry myself about their short comings and just deal with my reaction to them. Basically the only thing I can control is me.

Well enough of the therapy session...

Until next time...do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 2 - Wednesday Swim

Got a pretty decent run workout on the treadmill in last night after the boys went to bed. Deanna got home and was telling me about the shenanigans that went on at her meetings in Chicago which helped pass the time on the dreadmill.

Woke up on time again for a swim work this morning, I guess having a couple races on the schedule already paid for is good motivation to get after it.

WU: 200 each of swim, kick, pull
MS: 5x(100 swim, 2x50 swim)
CD: 200

Afterwards headed upstairs to lift but really wasn't in the mood to lift weights so did a variety of body weight exercises along with the rowing machine in some mini circuits. Still a really good workout, need to remember to incorporate easier lifting days (lighter weight loads) every once in awhile to minimize the stress and strain on my joints. I was sore way too much and too long last week and it affected other workout efforts. 

Hopefully tonight I can get in an easy spin on the trainer.

Until next time... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 2 - Tuesday

Woke up bright and early this morning at 4:15 after a great night's sleep, a full days rest yesterday and my stretching routine last night really helped with the leg soreness I've been feeling lately.

Warmed up with a cup of coffee and a few sun salutations and some other yoga before jumping on the bike trainer. Did one of the 2 90 minute bike workouts today while watching the BCS National Title Game from last night. My ride went considerably better than Notre Dame's night did last night. As a ND fan it was really hard to watch, didn't even look like we belonged on the same field as Alabama last night.

Anyway ended up with 32 miles this morning, was getting ready to jump on the treadmill and do a brick run (so I wouldn't have to later tonight after Scouts) when Caden came downstairs, so I headed up with him did my ab ripper x routine and some additional stretching before making him and Casey some pancakes for breakfast, and yes I had one (albeit a large one) too.

Got to get that run in tonight now which will be tricky, but I'll get it done.

Until next time... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 2 - Monday Rest

Week 2 is starting off just like week 1 did with a rest day, and honestly I need it. Started coming down with something Saturday night, felt better most of the day yesterday but after church, taking the boys to Chuck E. Cheese's for Caden's birthday and my bike ride when I finally slowed down it hit me all over again. Went to the clinic this morning and the good news is I don't have strep but I do have a good old fashion cold, with congestion in my chest and head, so a rest day is perfect. Still working from home today but definitely taking it easy and keeping up on fluids.

Last week was pretty tough, and even though I did skip my run yesterday morning I was very pleased with my training overall, made it to the gym and pool twice which was my goal and still hit my running and biking goals for the week. Ended up with 3000 yards swimming, 103 miles bike and 18.5 miles running plus 4 cross training sessions of either weights, stretching/yoga or core work for a grand total of 10 hours 46 minutes of training last week. Hopefully today's day of rest will get me ready for another big week and increase my distances and time training, would like to double my cross training sessions as well especially the stretching which I have been doing more consistently but can always improve, tonight I will do some stretching/yoga to help get me started in the right direction.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Week 1 - Sunday Long Ride

Originally wanted to get up early this morning and go to Illiniwek and run trails but after a long day yesterday and feeling a little under the weather decided to just sleep in and enjoy the extra rest.

After church we took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese's for Caden's birthday which was great, they had a great time playing games especially skeet ball which just so happens to be mom and dad's favorite game too.

Ran some errands and then it was time for my bike ride. Watched a couple episodes of World's Strongest Man competition before the Redskins Seahawks game started. Ride it well legs were still a little tired was shooting for 2 hours but called it quits after 1:45 still lots of time to build it up.

Tomorrow calls for more swimming and I'm actually looking forward to it and giving my legs some rest.

Until next time... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 1 - Saturday Long Run

Met up with Jay, Tom, Sean, Phil and Emily for the weekly long run at the radio station just off Kimberly to run the Duck Creek bike path. It was pretty cold to start but not bad I think it was about 18* but little to no wind, supposed to be upwards of low 40's on Wednesday which is just crazy, might roll in shorts if gets that warm out.

Almost didn't make it today, legs were still really sore from squats on Wednesday but I knew I would regret not going and not getting a long run in this week. I was also hopeful that a nice slow paced run would help work out the soreness and for the most part it did. Mostly though I knew there would be a group expecting me and even though they would have done it with out me the obligation to the group helped pull me out of bed when I easily could have convinced myself to stay.

Run went well we did a 40+ minute out and back for roughly 7.25 miles because a couple other people were meeting up at 7:30. Phil and I were able to convince Emily to go out for 3 more, and we headed back out with the rest of the group.

All in all another good group run in the books ended up with 10.5 miles in 1:42. Now it's time for my youngest boys birthday party and then maybe a short bike ride later.

Until next time... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 1 - Friday Swim

Over slept this morning, would have been so easy to just say screw it and keep sleeping but I made myself get up and get ready to go to the gym. While checking Facebook found the attached picture thought it was appropriate for today.

Swim workout went as follows
WU: 200 swim, 100 kick, 100 pull
MS: 800 continuous swim
CD: 100 kick, 100 swim w/fins, 2x25 underwater kick w/swim back.

Lifted weights afterwards, hang cleans, pull ups, push ups, upright row, 3/4 dead lifts, shoulder shrugs.

Glad to have overcome the hurdle of over sleeping and still get in a good workout.

Until next time... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 1 - Thursday

Didn't want to get up this morning, after hitting the snooze button a couple of times I finally rolled out of bed and got ready for my run.

Thursday is normally a tempo run but after a hard bike workout on Tuesday and squats and lunges yesterday my legs were fried so decided to just take it nice and easy.

Nothing special about my run today just got my miles in and glad I didn't give in to the temptation to just skip it. I didn't get my ride in last night so need to do it tonight.

Run - 5.25 (50:00)

Until next time ... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 1 - Wednesday

Woohoo! I actually made it to the Y for my swim workout today, first time in almost a month.

WU: 200 swim, 200 kick, 100 pull

MS: 4x(4x50 on the minute) with 1 minute rest between sets. The actual work called for 16x50 but my swimming endurance just isn't there yet so I broke it up in 4 sets. I was completing these in roughly 45 sec which is not far off from where I was last summer.

CD: 100 kick 100 swim w/fins

Afterwards I headed upstairs to lift weights. 1000 m row, squats, pull ups, push ups, lunges, dips, box jumps and finished it off with bench press and crunches.

Another day in the books, tonight I might get a half hour in the bike and definitely need yo do my stretching routine.

Until next time... do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.

Week 1 - Tuesday

Kicked off the New Year and Week 1 of my 70.3 triathlon training with 90 minute trainer ride after taking yesterday off.

WU: 10 minutes of easy spinning followed by 15 minute progressive RPM build from 90 to 110 going up 5 rpm every 3 minutes.

MS: 5x9 minutes of Muscle Tension RPM Pyramid with 2 minutes easy spin between sets. First 2 sets went 3x3 minutes in big gear grinding at 45-55, 60-65, 45-55. Sets 3 and 4 were a progressive build every 3 minutes from 45-55, 55-65, 65-75 final set was 3x3 minute builds from 60-90.

CD: 8 minute spin in easy gear building from 75-100+

This workout sucked! I hate grinding away in big gears and low cadence, I'd so much rather spin away at 85-90+ in a smaller gear but this is just the kind of workout I need to build power in my legs. I'm sure I'll see the benefits once the weather turns nice and I can get back outside.

Afterwards I changed into run clothes grabbed Lucky and headed out for a brick run. Supposed to run later but knew I wouldn't get it done so just made it an easy brick instead.

Bike - 31.75 (1:30)
Run -  2.75 (24:00)

Things to work on this week: getting my eating back under control. After a holiday season of splurges I feel like garbage and am ready to stop gorging myself on an almost daily basis, UGH!

Until next time... Do today what other's won't, so tomorrow you can do what other's can't.