Almost Home

Well, The Day is just about here! Right now, I feel like I've gotten on a roller coaster: I'm strapped in and we're slowly going up the incline for that first huge drop. It seems like it takes FOREVER to make it to the top, and in that brief moment of time you get really nervous, anxious, and downright scared!

That's how I feel right now!

Part of my nervousness is the fact that I didn't get to train as much as I would've liked for various reasons. But that's life. In many aspects of our lives that happens. We just get really busy and can't do everything we set out to do any given day. Even though I'm not as prepared as I'd like, I'm still ready to go. I won't go for a personal best this time. It'll all be about just finishing!

Last weekend I did a 3 hour bike ride on Saturday, followed with a 10 mile run on Sunday. Those 2 training sessions were GREAT for me and my confidence. I've said this a million times: These races are just as mental as they are physical. It takes a lot of mental toughness to push yourself when you think you're at your limits...

In addition to those training sessions, I swam on Thursday for the 1st time in about 2 weeks. I HAD to swim, so I went to Seaworld: It's really the pool at Bally's, but it feels like Seaworld because everybody can see the pool while you swim, and it feels like I'm on display like I'm at Seaworld or something...lol



I wrote a blog about this pool a while ago. Click >HERE< to read more about it...lol

All in all, I had a good swim. I did my normal routine, which was to swim for 60 minutes total, with 35 minutes of non-stop forward crawl at a moderate pace. With that said, I did have some good, quality workouts. The key now is to put it all together. That's where I'm lacking...

Anyway, there's not much more I can do now but brace myself for this wild roller coaster ride! lol

So here I am the day before, getting everything together. I have all my gear packed and ready, and here's my "food" for the race:



People are surprised that we eat during the races. Not really sure why, but I think people believe you'll get sick if you eat while working out? Maybe you will (if you eat a Bic Mac & fries, lol) but the stuff above is designed to be eaten before during, or after workouts.

The electrolytes will help prevent/minimize cramping on the bike & run, the Clif Bars will keep me from starving/bonking, the GU is for energy, and the Gatorade & water (not shown) will keep me hydrated.

The weather tomorrow will be interesting. The forecast is for showers, with a high of 95 and a low of 73. I hope it DOES rain while I'm running, because that'll keep me cool. Running in the Flawda heat & humidity is NO JOKE!

My race plan is pretty simple: race MY race. I won't worry about those around me, I'll just focus on how I'm feeling and try keep an even tempo the entire day.

On the swim I'll take my time and conserve as much energy as possible. Total 1.2 mile swim time: 45 minutes.

The bike will be interesting because of those hills. I weighed in last night at 210 pounds. The heavier a person is, the more difficult it is to ride over hills. I plan on spinning an easy gear yet keeping up a good pace. I'll ride up the hills an easy tempo, as if I'm riding the bridges in Clearwater.

People think of Florida as being flat, but this part of Florida has hills. BIG HILLS! This here is Sugarloaf Mtn. We hit this bad boy around mile 30 of the bike:



Pics don't do this monster any justice! lol



With that said, my goal is to complete the 56 mile bike in 3-3.5 hours.

The run will be the x factor. I liken my races to gas in a car. I start the swim with a full tank. I'm slightly past 3/4 full when I start the bike, and by the time I finish the bike I'm at about 1/2 tank. On the run is when I start to really burn gas! lol I'm usually good till mile 7 or so, but at mile 8, that yellow light comes on and I need fuel! My energy level starts to decrease and I start to struggle.

This all comes down to training, conditioning, and pacing. I think I try go too hard on the bike, or maybe I start out too fast on the run? Either way, that's something I have to work on, because this is where I have the most problems and lose the most time. Tomorrow I'll see what I can do to rectify that!

My goal is to finish the run between 2.5 - 3 hours, thus having a finish time around 7 hours or so. This doesn't count the time it takes in the transition areas (starting the bike & starting the run) however, so I might have to add a couple minutes to my finish time.

I'm also wearing this 1 piece suit because this will help minimize how much time I spend in the transition areas:




This is pure speculation of course, but at the end of the day, I just want to finish! It's all about starting something and finishing it at this point. I'd like a "fast' time, but if it doesn't happen I'll be happy with whatever time I get. These races aren't easy AT ALL. I'll just be happy being able to complete it.

How will I do?? I really don't know, but I do know that no matter what happens, I'm going to keep smiling and give it 110%!



Let's do this!

Stay tuned! Till next time, peace!

Emergency Stopping Only!

This time next week I'll be in Clermont, Florida (hopefully sleep) because it'll be time to race in the Florida Challenge Triathlon! I can't believe the day is just about here! Time truly flies when you have a million things to do at the same time...lol

I'm a little nervous about this one because I haven't trained as much and as hard as I would've liked. This year I've been busier than I've ever been, and unfortunately the last 2-3 weeks my training took somewhat of a back burner.

But these last few weekshave been VERY productive! I did an hour long presentation at Raymond James Financial on 5-24-11 talking about health & fitness in front of about 100 employees. It was very well received, and hopefully they'll invite me back to speak again.

I FINALLY completed my yoga classes on 5-29-11. I submitted my final exam, and hopefully I'll be a certified yoga instructor by July. Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed on that one! lol

Luckily, I DID do some light training while doing the above, so it's not like I didn't do anything at all. But at the same time, I didn't do as much as I'd like. Don't get me wrong, I feel I can finish. If I didn't think I could I wouldn't even race. My question is how will I do? How will I feel crossing the finish line? Will I feel like a million dollars, or feel like I got HIT with a million nickels? lol

Even though I've done this race 8 or 9 times previously, I don't take it lightly. Swimming 1.2 miles, riding a bike 56 miles, then running a half marathon is no joke. The mental preparation is just as important as the physical, and that's what I'm going to really work on this week. I have 1more hard training day (tomorrow) and then I'm on cruise control. Getting ready for races like this take months, and the week before the race is not the time to put in hard training. You want your body refreshed and ready to go on race day, not tired and still recovering from a hard workout the a couple days before...

Which leads me to today's training session, which was back to the bridges for some good hill training.



I have quite a few cycling jerseys, and I decided to dust this one off and wear it. I like this one because it's a pic from an actual professional bike race. The shot is taken from by a pro photographer (Graham Watson) riding on a motorcycle at the back of the peloton. You can see a couple guys ahead of the pack in the distance, and the others fast approaching with their different color helmets. The shot makes it seem like you're riding with them:




Well, I like it...lol

Anyway, back to the training. Here's a quick vid I took before I started my ride:



The goal today was to ride 3 hours pretty much as hard as I could over the bridges. The bike course is quite hilly, so I MUST simulate the race conditions as much as I can.

It was a great day to ride the bike. Here are a couple pics at the top of the the
1st bridge I ride:




Pictures really don't do this view justice. Th is the Gulf of Mexico and the water looks GREAT. Views like this make it a little easier to ride over & over these big a** bridges!



I usually ride the bridges in a seated position, kinda taking my time, but today I wanted to really push and "hurt" myself. What I mean is I wanted to ride so hard that my legs would be burning by the time I was done. I do that because I want my legs to get prepared for next week. So I did alot of standing and pedaling, trying to ride up the bridges as fast and as hard as I could. To be honest, I couldn't stand & ride all the way to the top. I'd get about 3/4 to the top and I'd have to sit down and slow my pace. But the damage was done. My legs felt it! lol

About an hour into the ride I stopped and took this quick vid:



It was a coincidence that I stopped right at that sign. That's fine, cuz it's my new motto: Emergency Stopping Only: Do NOT stop! I will NOT stop! No matter what happens next week, I'm gonna keep going!



I was feeling good at this point. My legs were holding up pretty well. I was drinking my water & Gatorade, took an electrolyte tablet, ate half a Clif Bar, and took 1 Gu. About 40 minutes later I head back to where I'm parked, which is by the other bridge.


The 2nd bridge is a little longer and harder than the 1st one, and I purposely ride this one last for that very reason. I need to make sure my legs can respond 2-3 hours into a ride when things get really tough. The last thing you want as an endurance athlete is to have your body fail on you when you need it most, which could 3, 4, or 5 hours after you start your event. You gotta dig deep and find that extra bit of energy, and to find it you have to locate it while training.

Two hours into my ride and I'm still feeling good. I'm surprised to be honest with you, because when I say good, I mean I did NOT feel like I had been riding for 2 hours. MAYBE for about 30 minutes of riding, amazingly. I was still riding aggressively and wanted to see how far I could push myself. So far my body was responding well.

I started to feel fatigue 2:45 into my ride. My legs felt tired, but no cramping (thank goodness.) I was still able to push hard, but I could feel my energy levels dropping slightly. That's fine, because on race day I won't ride as aggressively because I'll be saving energy for the run.

Here are pics on top of the other bridge as I was shutting it down:






It was a GREAT day to be outside, and quite a few people were out enjoying the perfect weather. I will never get tired of this view. They always say "never say never," but I'm sayin NEVER! lol








I'm sure after seeing these short vids why I enjoy coming out here to train!


After my ride I took my customary 15 minute cool down walk. I like to do that so I get the lactic acid out my legs, and to let them know subliminally that it ain't over yet! They still need to do some work, especially next week! lol

After my walk I get to do what I do best: lay down and relax! lol



You can see the 1st bridge in the distance:



What I like about Florida is you can ALWAYS find a small secluded spot where you can chill by yourself away from everybody. Sometimes you just need to get away from everybody, even if just for a couple minutes.






All in all,I had a GREAT ride. 3 solid hours with little problems. I think my swim and bike will be fine, but the run is the x-factor. Based on previous races, I'm able to get off the bike and run the first 7 miles w/o many issues, but at mile 8 all hell seems to break loose! It's like I have a major energy leak and it becomes a major struggle. I'm sure it's a combination of the heat and being out there for 6 + hours. I'm just plain tired at that point! lol

I really don't want to walk, but if I have to I can walk with the best of them. I can walk to EGYPT if I have to, but I'd rather not! lol

So tomorrow, I'm going for an 8- 10 mile run. That will be my last major workout b4 the race. We'll see how THAT goes!

But whatever happens next week, I'll give it my best shot, and I'll accept whatever fate has in store for me!

Thanks for reading! Till next time, Peace!

My Mind Says "yes!" But My Body Says "Man Sit Down!"

Sometimes your body will tell you things, but we just don't want to listen! This past Saturday I planned on going for a 10 mile run. My big race is on June 12th. That is FIVE WEEKS AWAY!! Every training session counts!

The only problem with that is sometimes your body could care less when it is. If it wants you to take a break that's what you'll do. I'm usually pretty good at listening to my body and taking a break, but it's crunch time. I don't have TIME to take a break, but this weekend I really didn't feel like training. But with the race 5 weeks away, that means I really only have 4 weeks to prepare. So I felt like I HAD to get out there.

Here I am before my run:



I really didn't feel like running, and I even voiced it in my pre-run video:



The day looks like every other in Florida:



My problem is simple: I'm 42, but I still think I'm 25! Yep, I can say it. Then I'm a big sports fan. I see pro athletes like Dwayne Wade & Derrick Rose get hurt then keep plying at high levels. As an athlete, how can a person NOT get pumped to see others struggle thru adversity and prevail??

Well, a really big factor is these guys are in their early 20's. They can bounce back quicker than my old a**! I'm getting like Shaq: He was out for half the season due to an injury. Battled back and played in a game 2 weeks ago. Dude played for FIVE MINUTES before he hurt his calf muscle! The difference between him and Wade? About 12 years. The difference between me & Shaq? About 4. Dammit man! lol

So anyway, I start my run slow, cuz I'm not into it mentally. 15 minutes in I feel a little better. 20 minutes in my Achilles heel starts to hurt. I try shrug it off by stopping to stretch it a bit. I resume running and then it REALLY starts to hurt!! At that point I give up. I turn around and start the long walk back.

Yep, my right Achilles heel is hurting. This is the same foot where I had the plantar fascitis issues last year. I need a foot transplant! I think my heel will be fine in about 2 weeks, but that's 2 weeks I can't run. This really sucks, because I feel like I'm really falling behind schedule.

But I can't worry about that right now. All I can do is focus on what I CAN do, which is bike & swim. I'll deal with the run later. Besides, what will worrying do besides give me more grey hair?? lol

So, on my walk back, I decided to make the best of it and act like a tourist and take pics as I walked. There are some really nice houses on Bayshore & here are a couple of them:







Each house is different, and I've always liked the architecture out here, as well as the water (of course:)



I'm not a fast walker, and since my heel was hurting, there was no way I was going to try walk fast. The last thing I wanted to do was make the injury worse! So I took my time!

My run/walk on Saturday was about 80 minutes. I was far from tired, more aggravated than anything. It's really frustrating when things don't go as planned, but that's how life goes!

Here's my post run vid:



I feel much better as I type this. I can do jumping jacks and walk with minimal pain, but no running yet. I won't try run for AT LEAST 2 weeks. Thelast thing I want to do is reaggravate it and can't run on race day at all. (Walking 13.1 miles while in pain would be TORTURE!!!!) I'll just focus on my bike & swim in the meantime. I had some good runs before I got hurt, so I hope I can keep that fitness level up. If anything, the swim will help my heel because of the water itself. I don't have to deal with gravity and I can really flex my feet while I swim.

But I learned someting VERY important (again:) I know my body. I MUST learn to take a step back when it tells me it needs a vacation day! Well, I'm all ears now! lol

Thanks for reading! Till next time, peace!