10 posts tagged “ironman”

Oddly enough, I'm totally ambivalent about this right now.  I should be excited, but it's just, meh...  hopefully, I won't come to regret it in about 7 months, when I'll be neck deep in training in the middle of summer in balls hot Texas...

This message is generated as confirmation of your recent registration on Active.com. You have been successfully registered for the following:
 
Registration:2008 Ford Ironman Arizona (November)
Purchase Date:11/26/07
Category:Entry Fee
Event Date:11/23/08
Name: Paul xxxxx

 

There's 3 things about the IM Arizona course that I like:

1. The swim is in a small lake (really a river) - Tempe Town Lake.  No chance of 4ft swells or crazy choppy waters, ergo less chance of drowning for me.

2. The buoys will be on the LEFT!  Sadly, I can still only breathe on one side - my left.  This will make sighting a hell of a lot easier, although I'm sure I'll still swim in my trademarked zip-zag pattern.

3. Both the bike and run courses will be 3 loops.  I like the 3-loop setup, same as the Chicago 50K course.  Makes it much easier mentally, I think.  1st loop: "piece of cake",  2nd loop: "just one more after this", 3rd loop: "finish this and you're done!"

That should be an official Ironman race.

Christmas comes early this year, at least for those of us who are gluttons for physical punishment, as they just made the following announcement:

November 23, 2007

TEMPE, AZ -  North America Sports is pleased to announce the addition of a second Ford Ironman Arizona Race to their 2008 event schedule. The city of Tempe and the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community will again partner with NA Sports to host a Ford Ironman Arizona event on November 23, 2008.

Perfect timing, for, as per my usual self, I'd been slacking off in deciding whether to sign up for an Ironman in 2008, and then which Ironman race to do, by which time all the IM races had been sold out.  My procrastination paid off cuz this is a race that I wanted to do, is late in the season, and will be drive-able from Austin.  For those not in the know, Ironman races (each with about 2000 slots) sell out in an INSANE amount of time, like <30 mins for the more popular destinations (like Lake Placid, Canada) and 1-2 hrs for the "less" popular ones.  Effing crazy if you think about it, because people are clamoring to shell out $500, a WHOLE YEAR in advance of the actual raceday, to sign up to willingly put themselves through 11, 12, 14, 15, or maybe all 17hrs of physical pain.  No wonder people think we're nuts.

So, having said that, who's in for the new IM 'Zona?!!  Registration opens Monday 11/26 @ 11am CT pronto!  I'll be there online.  Let the journey begin...

The journey of 140.6 miles begins with one stroke, pedal, and step.  Right?

After months of training, nervous deliberations (can I really do it? yes...no...yes!), and countless learnings, race week is finally here!  In 6 days, I will be toeing the line (or more accurately, wading in water) for my very first triathlon!  (St. Anthony's down in St. Pete, FL.  Olympic distance - 1.5K (0.93mi) swim, 40K (24.9mi) bike, 10K (6.2mi) run)

I can hardly believe it.  I never ever would've thunk that when I started running less than 18 months ago that I would actually be competing in a honest-to-goodness triathlon.  I didn't even know what triathlons were when I started training for my marathon.  There was also the fact that I didn't know how to swim.  At all.  As in, if you had thrown me in the middle of a lake, I would've drowned like a rat.  Now?  I just swam 2500yd straight last week as part of training.  I had never done cycling before either.  I knew how to ride a bike, but that's entirely different from actually cycling with clipless pedals & aerobars, wearing cycling shorts with pads, learning how to change tires, riding with traffic, and on and on.  It ain't like hopping on your bike and whizzing around the 'hood as a kid!  Now?  I completed a 45mi training ride a couple weeks ago and signed up for a Horribly Hilly Hundred 100K ride.  All of this is to say that if I can do it, so can anybody!  It's amazing what each of us is capable of physically, only if we take the initiative to get off our asses and push ourselves to the limit.  Anything is possible, indeed.

So, after slowly building up my base endurance after an agonizing 7-month layoff due to injuries, I started triathlon training in earnest about 7 weeks ago, kicking it up a notch. 

My totals (in miles) for the last 7 weeks:

Week Swim Bike Run 1 2.6 56.5 32.1 2 2.1 61.8 32.1 3 4.2 61.6 20.1 4 2.2 81.9 40.4 5 4.3 41.6 42.4 6 3.8 104.6 30.1 7 5.7 73.5 21.2 8 Race week Total 24.9 481.5 218.4

Yet, despite all this training, I still have never done the following things that I will be doing for the VERY FIRST TIME this coming Sunday during the race:

- Swim in open water
- Swim in the ocean
- Swim in the ocean with potential pee-in-your-pants waves (like last year with 4ft swells)
- Swim with and amongst hundreds of other swimmers
- Swim with a wetsuit
- Bike in a race
- Bike in a non-draft race
- Eat on a bike
- Change a flat during a ride (hopefully I WON'T have to experience this!)
- Transition from swim to bike
- Transition from bike to run
- Run a 10K after swimming for 1.5K and biking for 40K

Am I a little nervous?  You betcha!  But it's a good nervous.  Am I totally excited?  Hells yeah!  Bring it on, baby.  I know I'm trained and ready, so now it's time to just enjoy the whole experience and have fun on race day. 

Wish me luck!  Hopefully, I'll have some good pictures to share.

Today was another first in my triathlete life (ah... the trials & tribulations of a newbie) - it was the first time I trained all 3 sports in one day.  I didn't plan it this way, but after taking yesterday completely off because of some soreness in the shins (hope it's not the dreaded shin splints coming back) and thigh area, I needed to hit all 3 disciplines today.

I had planned on starting with the swim, but oh so predictably, after getting my ass up late AGAIN, I decided, what the hell, I'll do the sweaty sports first, because then I can swim and take a shower afterwards and be all done. 

So, I ended up doing the following training this morning:

Bike on trainer for 44 min. 14.0 miles with climb drills.

~30min break/transition to get ready to run outside

Run outside for 1:04 hr. 7.02mi @ 9:02 pace.

~2hr lunch break/following rule of not swimming for 1hr after eating

Swim at indoor pool for 45 min. 1500 yds total on interval drills.

Not too shabby a training day, eh?  I made it through alright without killing myself, although my shins and thighs are still a little sore...

On a related note, did you know that Ironman now has its own official channel on YouTube?  I'm dubbing it IronTube (TM).  Check it out, it's got some good videos.  Here's an inspirational one:

Where is Old Zealand?  Good question, right?! 

Everyone knows about New Zealand, but where the hell is the old Zealand that gave name to the New Zealand?  I actually had this thought in my head tonite as the land of Kiwi has been in my mind lately.  [Btw, if you didn't follow the link, "old" Zealand is actually a province in the Netherlands and is spelled "Zeeland"]

As befits my OCD mind, I've been thinking obsessively about all things triathlon lately, ever since more inspiring triathete bloggers (like here, here, and here, among many others) completed their first Ironman this year.  This may be the most *premature* presumptive thought ever, but specifically, I've been thinking about where I want to become an Ironman in 2008 (I told you it was premature). 

There are so many awesome Ironman events in awesome locales around the world;  there's always the old standby's IM Wisconsin or IM Florida, but somehow, I want to make this life-changing momentous event even more life-changing and momentous-er.  I think (probably unwisely as far as planning goes) I really want to travel somewhere far and exotic to do my first Ironman, to really ratched up the life experience, because I've never traveled anywhere outside the U.S. except for Canada (eh!) and England.  I really need to see the world more.  This could be a chance to kill two birds with one stone.

Which brings us back to New Zealand.  Specifically, Ironman New Zealand!  I've been thinking IMKiwi 2008 as my Ironman destination.  It just seems so awesomely perfect -- the exotic locale, the country, the first-timer friendly IM course itself, the people support, the extended travel vacation, everything. 

Time-frame wise, IMNZ is in March, which is perfect because -- again, in theory -- if I start my triathlon training for reals beginning of 2007, after my god damn hip stress fracture injury finally heals, this gives me basically 15 months to go from zero to Iron.  I think that's doable.

So, there you go.  Since you basically have to plan for an Ironman 12 months or more in advance -- not just for the crazy-ass training required, but also because of the fact that most Ironman events sell out exactly 365 days in advance! -- I'm putting it out there.  Just dreaming out loud.  Sign up would be in March/April 2007.

All I have to do now is wait for reality to bitch slap me upside the head with something next year to completely knock out all my plans, hopes, and dreams.  Ahhhh.... life.

... to get into triathlons!

Best.Sports Action Photo.Evah.

HAC*-permanent-status Desiree Ficker at the 2006 Ironman Championship in Kona, where she finished 2nd!

(*Hot Athletic Chick)

In all the excitement last night (excitement in this case being a sudden debilitating attack of the blues), I forgot to mention that I managed to swim 100 yards straight at my laps workout yesterday. 

Can I get a woop woop!!

I only managed to do it the beginning of the workout though, when I was still so fresh and so clean.  As the workout went on, however, as usual, I found myself tiring rather quickly in the water.  My form and technique are definitely getting a lot better, but I need to take it to the next level and really learn how to swim with ease and endurance.  In other words, how to swim fishlike.

So, at the recommendations of some folks, I've decided I need to go back to square one and religiously follow the proper techniques, drills, and exercises according to the Total Immersion way.  I've been reading through the book on the right, and the principles and philosophy laid out about good swimming make a hella sense.  For example, one of the fundamental truths in swimming (supported by all kinds of studies) is that the best swimmers in the world always have the lowest stroke counts (where stroke count is the number of times your hand hits the water going the length of the pool).  In other words, good swimmers ALWAYS look extremely relaxed while they're swimming because they aren't flapping their arms & legs 100 times/min, creating up all kinds of bubbles.  Lower stroke count equals less energy expended equals higher endurance. 

My immediate goal then (besides mastering the basic tenets of TI swimming: balance, rotation, body position (slippery), and propulsion), is to lower my stroke count to become the good swimmer I desperately want to be.  According to the book, good swimmers should ideally have their stroke count between 14 and 20 strokes.   I did my first stroke count at the swim workout yesterday, and the numbers aren't too good:

It was consistently between 24 and 28. 

I need to bring this count down to between 18 and 22 if I'm going to have any hope of competing in long distance triathlon events over the long term.  I'll get there though -- I'm going to learn how to swim fishlike with endurance, even if it fucking kills me!

On a separate note, like some other people on Vox and the Internet in general, I'm developing a rather unhealthy addiction to Vox/blogging/browsing to the detriment of all the other shit I have to do in real life -- remodeling, training, visiting friends and neighbors, taking the dog for a walk, etc.  I've decided I need to unplug for a little bit, to re-dedicate myself to training (now that I have Chicago to train for again) and maybe finishing up my house.

In passing, I leave you with this very inspirational video of Jon Blais (the Blazeman), who was able to train for and complete an Ironman while suffering from ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's Disease) and the devastating physical afflictions that come with that dreadful disease.  [credit: clip copied from the Triathlon and Multisports Podcast]

If you need to reach me, please email me.  See you around the bend!

"You only get one life.  There's no god, no rules, no judgment except for those you accept or create for yourself.  And once it's over, it's over.  Dreamless sleep forever and ever.  So why not be happy while you're here?" -- Nate Fisher [credit: media1919]

It's weird how watching 5 hours straight of a show about death -- Six Feet Under, Season 5 -- can make you a little despondent and reflective about your own life.  Despite the melancholy hangover, I thought it was an amazing season and ending to the show, where the writing really regained its strength in capturing the fleeting happiness that is life.  I was starting to think the show had started to drag on and gotten a little long in the tooth in Season 4, but it bounced back and went out in top form.

To shake off the cobwebs of despair and specter of death, I went for a 30-min swim workout at our town's pretty awesome Olympic Indoor Swim Center.  I've been going almost daily for 30-min laps for the past 2 weeks -- well, "laps" is a little generous, because I'm basically doing just lengths (one way) practicing my strokes and breathing.  I think I am definitely getting better, more natural, although sometimes it can feel like one step forward, two steps back.  I know it's all about practice, practice, practice -- I just have to get my ass to the pool everyday and slowly but surely, I know I'll get there.

The latest progress?  I can now swim a full lap -- 50 yards -- without stopping!  Yeah, baby.  Doesn't seem like much, but it's huge for me.  Endurance sports training, just like life, is all about the small victories my friend.  Small victories -- they're what keeps you going.  Accumulate enough of them, and before you know it, you just fucking finished a marathon!  Or completed an Ironman, like the inspiring Iron Wil is about to do. 

Swimming does not come naturally to me.  I learned that, again, going for a 30-min swim workout today (to supplement my non-existent marathon training).

If there's one thing that's going to derail my dreams of becoming an Ironman, it's going to be swimming.  The swim segment of an Ironman race is 2.4 miles.  2.4 frigging miles!  The farthest I can swim so far without stopping?  25 yards.  That's right - the length of a standard swimming pool.  I know, go ahead and laugh. I'd be laughing too if I wasn't already crying. (But give me a break. I just learned how to swim just 10 months ago.)

I can run 10 miles no problem, but I'm completely exhausted after swimming the length of a pool, and have to rest before going back the other way.  I'm exhausted because I haven't learned how to breathe properly.  Breathing is kinda important.  If you're constantly thinking about and struggling to breathe in some precious life substaining air while doing your strokes, you're gonna wear yourself out.  Not to mention swallow some tasty chlorine-filled water.  Yummy!  Then, there's the stroke.  My stroke (front crawl or freestyle, whatever you want to call it) is probably inefficient at best, and swimming is all about form EFFICIENCY, unlike running.

But I ain't giving up.  I couldn't run a mile when I started training for my first marathon.  I persevered and finished that goal with flying colors.  I pray to god swimming's going to be same.  There was one ray of hope today.  I learned how to breathe out of BOTH sides of my mouth!  Or at least I learned the technique for it, after watching these two women who were absolute fishes!  I could only make it about 3/4 of the pool length trying this out before having to stop, because my right side breathing (turning the head to the right) is just not natural yet, but I could tell I was going faster, with less energy expended, by breathing under water longer in between breaths out of alternating sides.

It was an exciting breakthrough, at least for me.  It's a, ahem, stroke in the right direction!

Just what the world needs right now.  Surely not love or peace.

What the hell.  It's better than talking to yourself.  This is my first foray into the world of blogging (actually writing a blog, I mean.  I've been a lurker for a while).  This blog will chronicle the trials, tribulations, highs, lows, and no doubt never-ending aches and pains of my loooooong ass journey to wannabe Ironman, something that I never ever thought I would be pursuing (mainly because I can't swim!  And can barely ride. Good thing I can semi run).  But these everyman triathletes have simply inspired me, among many others - Iron Wil, The Great Kahuna, SimplyStu.

Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112 miles, Run 26.2 miles.

Anything is possible!