HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hello? Is this thing on? Well, as you can see, I have been very busy. Not busy in a good way, but busy working, getting fat and going in the opposite direction of ironman. I want to start by saying, to you, my friends... sorry. Sorry for not returning phone calls, emails, etc. The last month leading up to Christmas was one of the most intense and stressful months of work I have ever experienced. Hopefully, it is over for a while!

Anyway, on to business. I have not updated this in a while, but I want you all to know that I have been doing some sparse activity. Mostly just running here and there and mountain biking twice a week. ...you know, the old "I'll start Monday" thing.

Here it is, a new year... 2007! This is the year for my ironman. Training starts today. Time to quit fooling around! All the preparations have been made, equipment purchased, books read, now time for execution. GAME ON!

YAY I LOVE RUNNING AGAIN!

Today, yes today, after a long long wait, I finally got my full length rigid orthotics!!!!!! Doc said to ease into them for a few days, but I just could not wait to get it on and run. I am not sure if it is the emporer's new clothes, but I have never enjoyed a run (feet wise) as much as this one. My feet and knees felt great, aligned and sturdy. The only problem was from residual soreness in my calves from the weekend activities.

It has been so long since I blogged, I do not remember if I have already mentioned this or not... anyway, I tracked down an orthopedic surgeon that is a runner/triathlete... We talked about my goals of training for and completing the ironman and came to this: Goal Number 1. - DON'T GET INJURED!!!

Anyway, my floppy foot is much better after a month of PT and work on my proprioceptors. All of the exercises are ultra goofy, but I think they may be helping. On my first appointment with the orthotics guru, I received a soft and temporary orthotic. I wore them for a while and they made my feet sore... but they never seemed to help completely. Upon receipt of my new carbon fiber full rigid orthotics, the difference was immediate. He told me to break myself in an hour at a time over the next several weeks, but I could not wait... I ran tonight. And I loved it.

Tonight's Workout:
3 mile run with RD and her friend Cindy. The pace was 9ish. I really enjoyed it, but the bad news is this... RD completely ran me into the ground. She has been running (and getting hella hot in the process) and can now kick my ass. I better get my ass in gear!

Oh, I almost forgot... Today is happy new shoes day! YAY! I am out on the Brooks after a very short and not-good attempt to wear Brooks Trances... Back to the Asics Kayano.

Remember the old saying: "I'll start training on Monday?"

Confession: Well, here it is Monday and guess who blew off training. Ugh.

I did make an effort to be an ironman today, though. In talking with my Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Powell (ASOM) who is also training for an ironman... The topic of training came up. He Suggested a book by Matt Fitzgerald. I ordered it on Amazon today and will tell you about it when I get it. Basically, it is a cookbook for training for the ironman. This is just what I need. The plan is to do the base routine twice in a row, each time ramping up then into the fray. I am super pumped and will have to really focus to start and keep slow in the run to avoid injury. That is, if I ever start!

wOW! So it has been a while. Man, training took a turn for the worst. I am starting over today, Monday... yes another Monday start to training. For the past several weeks, life has been extremely hectic. I did get some training and cross training done, but the time to report here, to you, on this blog, has, been, well, let's just say, low priority. Not that any of my fans (you) are not my priority, just that I have not made time for you, so hate me.

Over the last few weeks, work has been very demanding. I had several 'until 10 or 11' work days. Super suck. I have been riding a bit, mostly mountain bikes. Friday after Thanksgiving, I had the bright idea to play tackle football with my Young Life highschoolers... what was I thinking? I managed to escape a trip to the emergency room, but ended up VERY sore. My hip flexors, abductors and feet were and still are killing me. In the middle of the game, I realized I was gambling with my ironman attempt. This occurred to me as I was running a little fade route... the ball was in the air, I was right on target... meanwhile I could hear/feel a six foot six, pimple faced, teenager breathing down my neck. He was at full sprint, head up, arms at perfect 90 degrees with hands bladed and pumping fast. It was at that moment that I remembered what happened last time I played tackle football in college. That game ended with me in the ER with a Liz Franc Injury (google it, its nasty). In fact, that injury is what has been causing me to spend countless dollars on physical therapy, orthotics, etc. Anyway, I "missed" the pass and the ball fell incomplete. The rest of the afternoon would be damage control and prayer. I cannot tell you how happy I was when we finally called the game. Whew.

The soreness kept me on the couch most of the rest of the day. Saturday morning brought immense stiffness. Nevertheless, I met Norm and we went for an epic mountain bike ride... We road all of Grapevine then went over to Nob Hills and rode all of it. We ended up with 35ish off road miles. That put me over the top. Towards the ended, I could not even lift my leg over the top tube.

I have been this sore before, but only a few times. Here's the deal... I love it! I means I am doing the right things... all except gambling with my ironman attempt, but the epic and painful rides are all necessary training... I LOVE IT!

Training Update

I have recently been referred to as someones "favorite non-training fat ironman to be." After hearing this, I realized that due to my lack of posting updates, the general public (yes, all 2 of you) thinks I am not training and fat. Let me dispel that misconception: I have been training very hard. Yes, cross-training, in fact. I have been working very hard on my intestinal fortitude training. Last night, I did three sets of frozen margaritas with a shiner bock super set at the end. Between reps, I added a couple of sets of fish tacos, chips and lots of salsa.

I have been in the throws of a major career decision and the stress and focus has caused slight deviation. I will have you know, though, that I have not had a single dip of Copenhagen throughout the ordeal. This is huge for me. My usual stress crutch is a pinch of snuff.

The only beneficial thing I have done since last week's mountain bike ride is continued physical therapy. We are working on my foot, ankle and proprioceptors. Actually, the therapy has cause a great deal of soreness. I guess it is working. Monday, I go for my orthotics and will finally get to begin my run training. I am really fired up about all of that.

Whew, what a weekend. What a great weekend. Didn't train much, but had a great weekend. I had a very good buddy come into town to visit. Instead of my usual Saturday morning bike ride, I power ate at Cafe Brazil... oooh MIGAS! My bowels will probably never recover. It was sort of a dreary weather weekend, so we moped around for most of the day, went to the book store and read and visited. My only Ironman training for Saturday night was a cheese eating workout followed by a wine drinking brick. This workout is for strengthening intestinal fortitude and a reverse core exercise. Let's just say I had a great workout.

Sunday morning we doubled up with another trip to Cafe Brazil... Oh yeah! I did ride Sunday, so that is good. I skipped church and got a short trail ride in. I rode pretty hard despite the belly full of pancakes, eggs, bacon, butter, coffee, last night's cheese... It was good. In fact I rode so hard I screwed up some spokes on my rear wheel.

Got home just in time for it to start raining. Then spent some time getting ready for Young Life club Monday. Then around late afternoonish, RB and I split for crazy Fort Worth to go hear the Fray play live. We ate at Joe T Garcia's and had a few cervesas before the show. I think I am officially finished eating for the year! The show was awesome! We got home at 1:00am, so I missed the Monday morning swim. I am just off to a stellar start!

Tonight's workout was a little different... I went with RD to Power Yoga before the swim. I thought the stretching would be great for gimp foot and strength for my core (which is rather large right now). I found myself hating myself for choosing Yoga about 15 minutes in. Someone please tell me how the hell that is supposed to be relaxing? The instructor kept saying (in an annoying calm voice like a kindergarden teacher) "find your happy place, just let go, go deep into your heart, release the day and all the negative..." Meanwhile, I am trying to balance on one hand with my body twisted and every muscle tense causing me to shake... I am sweating so much that I am sliding on my little mat... Yeah, I got your happy place right here, biaznatch!

Swim Workout #5: 1,650 Meters

• 300 Warmup
• 3 x 100 Free for Time (1:22.38, 1:38.44, 1:38.44)
• 200 Pull with paddles
• 200 Kick with fins
• 200 pull with paddles
• 200 kick with fins
• 250 swim down

Observations:

1. Yoga, is not synonymous with relaxing and stretching. It reminded me of Junior High Football practice where coach made you lay on your back and hold your legs out straight, toes pointed 3 inches off the ground for an hour. That is basically power yoga, i.e., flex in some weird and awkward position and hold it until it hurts then hold it for about three minutes longer. Yeah, it sucks.
   
2. Confession: I think Yoga may be the ticket to a good and injury free ironman
3. This is an old one, but found it once again: you can go just as fast with a slow stroke and good form as cranking hard with bad form.
   
4. I am seriously considering joining a masters program... maybe Plano Wet Cats. We'll see.
   

Setback: The First Obstacle

Today, I went for my much awaited Gait Analysis. Here's the short version: my gimp foot is all jacked up. Apparently the string of injuries I have had in my left foot over my life, including fracture, liz frank injury, ruptured achilles, IT band issues, and a torn adductor, are all interrelated. The end result is a floppy foot and a time bomb for a running injury. I am so glad I went. As the therapist set up the tripod to film me running, she said, "does that hurt?"

"What?" I was truely puzzeled.

"Running?" She said, "because it looks painful."

I am so glad I went. I am trying to avoid injury and apparently, the gait analysis was a great idea! Here's the problem: The Ortho said, NO RUNNING... until we get some therapy and especially orthotics in place. He said my love (or in my current history, hate) for running will drastically improve with orthotics. I am cautiously optimistic.

So I guess my training really does start Monday... Which Monday, I just don't know. I plan to keep swimming and cycling just the same... Just keep moving forward and make good decisions!

Took advantage of the time change to trick myself into getting up early this morning for a swim. As part of my goal setting program, I am going to be moving the bulk of my run and swim workouts to before work. This will enable me to have a life, albeit a pretty lame and dorky one, after work.

So anyway, I did manage to get up early this morning. On 7 hours of sleep, I trudged to the gym. I am pleased with the lack of humans in the pool on Monday morning, it was nice and peaceful until about 7:00 and the fats and such came out of the woodwork (good for them, right?) The water seemed to have far less chemicals than Friday, and by far less chemicals, I mean you could see the bottom. I swam incident and burn free, so that is good news... however, the maintenance man and management staff all deny that anything was ever wrong with it... I seriously don't believe them. Additionally, the maintenance guy did mention that he came in on his day off to check the pool... right.

Swim workout #4:

• 200 Warmup
• 200 Pull (w/ paddles)
  
• 300 Kick (w/fins)
• 400 Free 8:08:22
• 200 Pull (w/ paddles)
• 300 Kick (w/ fins)
• 400 Free 8:10:02

Confessions:

1. I am very dissinterested in the warm up and cool down, I feel they are a waste of time. Somehow, I think that may be stupid, but let's go with it for now.
2. Felt like crap this morning in the pool... especially in the 400 set. Just felt a little out of synch and such. This shook my motivation a little bit.
3. I wanted to quit after the first kick set (just being honest)
4. Got a little bored today
5. Had a bit of a breakthrough on the pull paddle drill. Felt like my form was great and balanced.
   
6. I am worried about my form and the possibility that I am training myself into bad habits. I think I need to swim with someone or a group soon.

Oh, I almost forgot... today is my gait analysis. I am very excited about it. If I could just get to the point where running is fun and pain free, life would be great! My run training is to begin officially this week. I took about two weeks off to let my shinn splints heal from the monster tri. I think I am ready. Hopefully these types of decisions will keep me injury free until August!

Bike Training:

Bike training today was a little different. I could not help myself... I went mountain biking. I really hope that I can work some of this type of "cross" training into my workout. I think one of the biggest things I will miss next summer and closer to reace time is moutain biking. It is just so much fun to me... anyway, Norm and I rode Northshore trail at Grapevine. Felt great most of the day, was climbing well and all... bonked with about 2 miles left. All in, a great 20 miles of interval taining.

Friday Swim: 1700 Meters

• 300 (meter) warmup
• 200 free
• 200 pull (w/ paddles)
  
• 300 kick
• 200 free
• 200 pull (no paddles)
• 300 kick

Had to cut the swim workout short. After the second pull set, I noticed that my lips were stinging and burning. They were swollen and I felt a little like mush mouth from the Fat Albert gang. Anyway, then I noticed that I was breaking out into hives. I got out of the pool and showered. I felt like my skin was melting away. I had hives all over my body, feet, bottoms of my feet, ears, palms, and yes... even there. I am not sure WTF. I am kinda leery of the 24 hour fitness pool. The manager was gone, so I will have to call tomorrow.

Observations:

1. I take my skin for granted. I really like it and get upset when it melts.
2. I get a lot of funny looks from people when I bring an armload of swim toys to the pool.
3. It is hard to get motivated to swim alone on a Friday night.
4. People that you meet at the gym on a friday night are, in gerneral, pretty interesting.
   

Training #2:

I did not accomplish my goal of 2000 meters tonight. I made it 1,600. I talked myself into cutting it short because I was running low on time and had to meet Norm for a night Mountain Bike ride at 8:00.

Swim 1,600 Meters:

• 300 Warmup (free)
• 100 Freestyle, Pace
• 200 Pull
• 200 Kick
• 2 x 300 Frestyle, Pace, 30 seconds between
• 200 Swim Down

Felt pretty good and relaxed in the pool... could almost close my eyes and swim. Motivation was a little low, mostly because of being tired and a little sore from yesterday's swim. Only got 5 hours sleep last night, so that sucks. My only comment to note is that my neck is really stiff.

After swimming, I met Norm for a little 10 miler at Grapevine on the mountain bikes. What a blast! I felt great, surprisingly! The swim did not seem to affect my performance except a little tri and shoulder soreness. All in all, a good day. I am finally getting over my cold and cough.

Observations:

1. Neck is a little stiff and shoulders a little sore. Hope this goes away soon!
2. Still feel and look a little fat. I am really excited to see this weight come off over the next 10 months.
3. Still love my new friends, Clyde and Dale.
4. RB does not like joking around while swimming. I filled a swim cap full of warm/hot water and dumped it on her from the edge of the pool while she swam. This really pissed her off. She promptly flipped me the bird and did not think it was funny. Oh well. I plan to keep messing with her until she lightens up

Okay, so the new equipment and resulting motivation paid off. Tonight I had my first official Ironman training workout. Here are the details:

Swim 2000 Meters:

• 300 Meter Warmup (free)
• 100 Meter Freestyle at 1:40/100 pace
• 200 Pull
  
• 300 Kick
  
• 100 Meter Freestyle at 1:40/100 Pace
• 200 Pull
  
• 300 Kick
• 300 Freestyle at 1:40/100 Pace
• 200 Swim Down

Observations:

1. Breaking down the workout is much easier than what I have been doing. My swim workouts in the past have all been like: get in the pool and swim freestyle at as fast I could for as long as I could. Maybe take a few breaks. But pretty much if the race I was training for was 800 Meters, I would not stop until I hit 800 then I would triple it for good measure. All in, breaking it down seems a lot easier.
2. Kick fins are my new friends. I named my right fin Clyde and my left Dale. I love them and may even let them stay inside the house tonight.
3. The swim paddles were much harder than I remembered. I think I may use them while kicking to get my technique tuned up. When using them for the first time in a while (years) with the pull bouy, I found myself all over place.
4. Note to self: calm down on the first 50 of the kick drill. Sure it is neat to go fast, but it may result in a quad cramp in about 200 meters for now.
5. For some reason, I have the hardest damn time calculating swim distances in my head. My new nifty little finger counter went tits up after 48 laps. I think I may be mentally challenged. I try to chant to myself what lap I am on, but it all just gets mixed up. Why is this so hard and am I alone in this challenge?
6. From now on, I will need to write down my workout and maybe even plan it a little better before getting to the pool. Paper does not seem to last very long at poolside.

Finally, here is a confession. I was pretty pumped and proud to march into the pool with my new Keifer Swim Bag bursting with cool new and brightly colored swim toys... I was really fired up. That is until I saw fat-ass carrying it in the full length mirror in the locker room. Ouch, maybe I am not that cool. I think this may be some sort of payback from me making fun of "that guy." I am officially, "that guy." You know, the one that has all the right gear but is clearly terrible, slow and showing off. Next time I think I may just wrap Clyde and Dale in a towel and sneak them in. Or maybe not, who knows, maybe I'll get over it. I sure hope this weight starts dropping soon!

In an attempt to gain motivation via a vehicle of investment, i.e. spending money on gear, I went to keifer swim shop today and threw down on fins, paddles, bag, lap counter, goggles, ear dildos, chamois (s) and a pull buoy. I am fired up. Maybe this will be the ticket to motivation! It should at least get me through the next couple of weeks.

So you are wondering what an ear dildo is... well, so I am in the shop and texting Phat Daddy David Morgan to get a read on swimming implements. My last question was around ear plugs. I am shopping away, waiting patiently for the reply and I get it. I glanced and noticed an answer. It read: "I use Macks pillowsoft aqua blockers. They are..." I stopped there thinking I had enough information then began handing the phone to the attractive young lady at the counter hoping to not have to expend much energy in describing my need. As my arm extended, I noticed the rest of the message: "...They are purple and look like little dildos." WHOOOW! I panicked and snapped the flip phone closed. It was too late, there was enough inertia and momentum to send the phone tumbling into a pile of kick boards. She reached and I intercepted. I was so rattled that I just said never mind shuffled to the register, giggling.

Question number 1: Can I start my training tomorrow? How about next week?

This is the first week of training and already my schedule is not allowing me to train. How in the hell is this going to work? If I cannot get time to start training, then how am I going to get the training done when it really matters? Ugh.

I need to make some changes... that is becoming very apparent. I need to set some goals. I feel like there should be some prefabricated goals in a training manual somewhere that I should adopt... but for sake of being my own man, I will try to come up with my own and then maybe compare notes. The fist thing I need to do is start getting more sleep and start getting up in the morning. As of this morning, I usually roll out of bed 30 minutes from needing to be where I am to be in the morning. Realistically, there is no way I am going to be able to get all of these workouts in after work. Second, I need to figure out and establish my "one thing." I read about it on Trinewbies... here is what TriNewbies says about the "one thing:"

The "One Thing"
What is your One Thing, your reason for being out there in the first place? Solidify a clear purpose for the day and then expect your body to question your mind's commitment to that purpose. Expect this internal debate and prepare/rehearse your rebuttal. I remind myself that the pain and discomfort I feel is only temporary. Pain can't stop the clock and no matter how bad it gets, it has to end sometime. My job is to keep running in a straight line until they tell me to stop.

Just reading that gives me freakin goose bumps... but at this point, I have several things... I need to find that one thing and also start my training... maybe tomorrow.

MONDAY 10-23-2006:

Today is the official first day of training. Well, I guess I am off with a bang. Let's see, the training I had planned for today way to swim 2000 and run 3 to 5. Did it happen? Nope. Instead I consumed about 2000 calories of pizza, wings, Dr. Peppers, a sonic blast and a corn dog. Tonight was Young Life Club and the training just did not materialize. Not good. I keep telling myself that I have plenty of time, but in the back of my mind I know that kind of logic will be dangerous down the road. I am on the edge of mediocrity. Very close to not being motivated... I must nip this in the bud. The plan is to move on, forget about today and start again tomorrow. On thing I know is that in the event, as is in life, you must live in the now. Worry about what you can control and let go of the rest.

I am confident in myself to pull it together. The picture of myself crossing the finish line depicts a very different human being than what is pounding out this blog entry. There will be a lot of changes from here to there, that I am certain. I am excited to see that picture of me finishing the Ironman. Please understand that I will have to be border line obsessed with Ironman in order to motivate myself, so try not to get sick of it.

One of my main motivators right now is the inspiration received by reading Dean Karnazes Ultra Marathon Man. This book is truly amazing... showing proof that ordinary people can do extraordinary crap. An Ironman is just a drop in the bucket compared to the things Dean has done and written about in his book. Check out his website: http://www.ultramarathonman.com/flash/

Training Schedule:

The race is 10 months (roughly) away... In talking with PD, I am going to piggy back on a training program that has been used in the past. I think it comes from a well known local coach. He is possibly an awesome coach, but I don't have the money to pay for him, so I mooch. Anyway, Weeks One and Two Look like this:

MONDAY

• Swim 2000 MetersRun
• 3 to 5 Miles
  

TUESDAY

• Swim 2000 MetersBike
• MetersBike 20 to 30 Miles
  

WEDNESDAY

• MetersRun Meters
• Run 3 to 5 Miles
  

THURSDAY

• Swim 2000 Meters
  

FRIDAY

• Swim 2000 Meters

SATURDAY

• Ride 30 to 50 Miles
  

SUNDAY

• Run 6 to 10 Miles

Okay, so this is a plan for someone 9 to 10 months out from an Ironman distance. Here are my frist observations/thoughts upon first viewing the plan.

1. Holy Crap
2. Holy Crap that is more than I thought
3. This is assuming allot
4. How the hell can this be how it starts? What will it be like closer to race time??? Daily Marathons?
5. Holy Crap
   

As of Saturday, October 21, 2006 at 3:12 PM, I am officially registered for the Louisville Ironman!

WELCOME! This blog will serve as a chronicle of my Ironan attempt for the Louisville, KY Ironman August 26, 2007. You do not know who I am at this point, but I may change that depending on the interest. I would like to keep a journal of every detail so I can reflect no matter what happens. As of now, I am the only one who knows who I am and I still don't know if that person is an IRONMAN.

Stay tuned as I log the highs and lows and training woes on my way to becoming an Ironman.