It's been a while since I last posted so I wanted to fill you in on how my training is going. I am in the home stretch about 12 weeks out from Kona. I had been going at it pretty strong the previous 9 weeks and I was kind of in a rut. I decided to look into joining a local triathlon group that conducts workouts throughout the week and weekends. I was familiar with a great group out of the Coppell area call Dallas Athletes www.dallasathletes.com. The group is run by Tom Ryan, an ex-triathlete who has a great attitude and personality toward everything. He really impressed me with his "straight forward" approach on training so I decided the join. All the other triathlon groups I looked at around the DFW area were a little too serious and all they tried to do was sell me on training products and tests. The past three weekends I have been riding with swimming, running, and riding with the group on the weekends. I had always heard that the group dynamic of training is great and make a huge difference. Now that I am experiencing that, I cannot agree more. It was just what I needed to get me out of my funk and back on track for my training. Overall, I can really feel myself getting stronger. I am up to running 9-13 miles on Saturdays and biking anywhere from 35-70 miles on Sundays. the Dallas Athletes group is in the middle of training for the "Hotter than Hell" Bike Ride in Wichita Falls at the end of August. I am going to use this race as a test for Kona. It is a 103 mile bike race in the very hot weather at the end of August. Generally the temps are always at or above 100 degrees for the race. As far as my injuries, my heel and left calf have finally recovered from my tendinitis (Thanks to Dr. Jeff Eidsvig) at Willow Bend Sport & Spine). Last week was the first week I could fully stretch my calf in over two months. Hopefully this is a sign that the injuries are gone.
Disco Triathlon
This past weekend I took part in the Disco Triathlon X-50 distance in Valley View, Texas just north of the DFW Metroplex. This is a new hybrid distance just short of a half ironman. Swim 1 mile, Bike 40 miles, Run 9 miles. I figured this would be a good test to see where my fitness level was at as well as a great chance to race in the heat. See, us folks here in Texas have been dealing with 20+ days of temperatures over 100 degrees. You Texans sure know what I am talking about! This past Sunday was around 103 so the race was a true test to the heat. All everyone has told me that has raced Kona before was. "be prepared for the heat". These are mostly all people from the north and other areas of the country that have not been in Texas in July, but I still listen to them. I after all this summer training, the heat will be the least of my worries in Kona. Anyway, the race went well most part. As usual, my swim was very strong and I felt very good coming out of the water. I was in the top 10 out of the water as I transitioned onto the bike. The first 20 or so miles I made a friend on the course and we kind of teamed up taking turns pulling each other (otherwise known as drafting). We took turns and rotated about every 10 minutes on who would ride in front and who would draft. This is illegal by the way in USAT Triathlon sanctioned events but as long as you do not make it obvious you can still pull it off. Anyway, this conserved a lot of my energy for the first half of the race and I felt good. I really was focusing on my nutrition as I have not come up with a solid plan that I am going to follow. For this race I had two frozen 24oz bottles of Ironman Perform ( this is basically a stronger Gatorade with more sodium and electrolytes) along with some solid foods that I wont bore you with. I was trying to take in approximately 300 calories per hour on the bike and I estimated to be on for about 2 hours. As the bike carried on it began to get very hot. With about 5 miles left on the bike I could really feel the heat. I was almost out of fluid so I let my adrenaline push me to the end. For the most part, I felt pretty good coming off the bike and my legs felt fresh. By now it was over 100 degrees and I could really feel the heat. On the bike you do not feel it as much because of the wind, but when you get off and start that run it is brutal. The run went fairly well. My goal was not to push too hard as I wanted to try to maintain the pace I was going to run in Kona (around 9:30-10 min per mile). This included waking the aid stations to make sure I took in fluid and nutrition to keep me hydrated and energized. The heat started to take a toll on my body as I got into the last few miles. Overall, my plan of taking my time worked out as I crossed the finish line feeling well. My legs and the rest of my body actually felt good. It was the heat that kicked my butt! I had to go to the medical tent shortly after because I could not cool down. I must had dumped 15 bottles of ice cold water and drank another 10 during the run. I also packed my race jersey with ice and cold sponges. The medical team took care of me fast and got me cooled down quickly after putting some ice packets under my arms and getting me more fluids.
Overall I was pleased with my race. I could see a big improvement in my bike ride and my run. I am getting stronger everyday and the hard work is paying off. I did learn that I have a long way to go to be ready for Kona, but I am up for the task. This experience so far has been fantastic. It has really helped me manage my time and improve in all areas of my life. My true test will be in the next two weeks as Vanessa and I are expecting Baby Mia to arrive around the 5th of August. It will be interesting to see how I can balance a full work week, family and hefty training schedule as we get closer to Kona. I cannot thank my wife enough for putting up with me for the past 3 months. All the money spend, time trained, and stories she has to listen too everyday. Without her I could not be where I am at. I have so much to look forward to and I especially look forward to having my three girls in Kona to cheer me to the finish line. Thinking of that is what keeps me going everyday! Here is a picture of Vanessa and I after the race this past Sunday.
