Less than 3 weeks till Kona!

It's Almost Time:
Well, we are finally getting close to the big day!  I sit here and type realizing I am just 17 dyas from the big race.  The entire family is leaving on Monday, October 2nd and head out to the Big Island . So that is only 11 days out.  I found out last week that my brother Mike is going to fly in from Las Vegas to come see the race and support me.  It is going to be very cool having my big bro there in Kona to kick me in the ass when I am ready to give up! Mike has been very supportive this entire time as I will be sporting his hotel logo  Monte Carlo- Las Vegas on my race suit during the big race. Also, my good buddy Dr. Jeff Eidsvig who has been my Chiropractor and treating me over the past 10 weeks is going to fly out as well.  He will be there to make sure I stay in one piece!  Jeff has been awesome this entire time and super generous and supportive with my journey to Kona.  If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I highly recommend going and seeing him at  Willow Bend Sport & Spine Center. Dr. Eidsvig basically saved me from a very bad Achilles injury just about 6-weeks into my training.  His advice and treatments kept me going strong and made my recovery fast.   Jeff was also featured in this past months Golf Digest for his innovative laser treatment that many of the PGA golf pros are using to heel there injuries.  Check it out!

Training Up To Date:
 I received my race number via email earlier this week and it has started to really sink in  that I am close to being an Ironman.  I have started to taper my training a bit and plan for one more long run of 21-23 miles this weekend.  I am still sticking to my basic plan during the weekdays of short, harder workouts.  After this week  I will spend the remainder of my training time doing short runs and swims along with a little work on the bike trainer to keep my legs fresh.   It kind of scares me that I do not have my bike anymore and that the next ride with be the race.   In all honesty, I am ready for the training to be over.  For most of the past 16 weeks I have worked off pure adrenaline and excitement. That starts to wear off as your body begins to wear.  The 5AM weekend workouts combined with the lunch time and evening weekday workouts really has played a toll on my body. Its amazing to think of all the things that have happened during this time to keep me going: Dallas Athletes, Mia's Arrival, Alzheimer's Fundraiser, Family Support, You Tube video's (LOL), and so much more. Plus, the positive impact my training has had on my entire approach on life now. Vanessa and I often joke about what the heck I am going to do with all my time after this is over?  She is putting me on "Ironman Probation" for the next few years and I do not blame her!

Almost a Bike Disaster!
On Monday morning I almost had a mild disaster with my bike shipping schedule.  About two months back I made reservations with a company called TriBike Transport.  They are a vendor for the Ironman organization that ships your bike fully assembled round trip so you do not have to worry about it while you travel.  This was great for me considering I will be hauling the entire family to Hawaii and it would be one less thing I had to worry about.  Plus, I am no "bike mechanic" so it is probably best I am not tooling with my bike the day before the race.  My reservation had me dropping my bike of this upcoming Friday at Richardson Bike Mart. That made me a little nervous because I would have to go over a week without my bike to train on before the race.  This was common though in order for them to get the bikes to the race site in time.  Little did I know what I was in for on Monday though.   I received an email at 5AM from TriBike Transport stating that my bike needed to be sent out by 4PM that same day. WTF, I said!  To make a long story short, the company works off an automated email system that malfunctioned.  They thought they sent out an email earlier in August to tell everyone across the country that the ship dates were pushed forward.  Unfortunately that email never got out to anyone and caused a mad rush for all the participants using this service to get there bikes to the appropriate shop without notice on the same day.  Both Facebook and Twitter were bombarded with negative comments from participants as I thought it was a joke.  Thank goodness for social media!  I ended up having to cut out of work, speed home and load the entire family up to get my bike to the drop off location in time.  Tri Bike Transport plans to compensate everyone so hopefully they will discount at least some of the $400 fee they charged, ridiculous!  To makes things worse, now I am not going to have my bike for two full weeks.  Kind of sucks for me considering that my biking is by far my weakest point of the Ironman race. 
I will keep you guys posted on the next two weeks as I am sure the adventure of the plane ride with the two kids, my wife, my parents, and mother-in-law will be a "Made for TV movie".   Not looking forward to that, ha ha!

Below is a a photo and video from my training this past week.



Lake Grapevine- Where I do my Open Water Swims w/  The Dallas Athletes Group

Headed out to Texas Motor Speedway on a long ride and I decide to race a train at 30 mph.  Dont try this at home!  



"Hotter Than Hell" Bike Rally- REPORT

HOTTER THAN HELL 100 - August 27, 2011:
This past weekend I took part in the infamous "Hotter Than Hell" Bike Rally in Wichita Falls, Texas. This is one of the largest bike rally events in the U.S. with over 14,000 participants each year.  The Hotter Than Hell gets its name from the scorching high temps in the area during the summer months.  Lets just say this year...... it lived up to its name!  This was my first time to do this event so I was pretty excited.  I was also a little nervous, considering this would be my first time to ever ride over 100 miles on a bike.  I have done a handful of rides at the 75-85 mile mark up till now but I knew  this would be a big step for me to break the 100 mile barrier.  Just last weekend I completed a 85 mile ride with the Dallas Athletes group (http://www.dallasathletes.com/) from Coppell to Joe Pool Lake in Mansfield.  It was very hot and the last 10 miles of the ride were pure hell!  I have a tendancy to not hydrate enough and it often kicks my butt as i start to fatigue.  The "Hotter Than Hell" ride would be a great chance for me to work on this and really focus on my nutrition plan for Kona.  With only five weeks left to the race I really needed to figure this out. The moring started off early at 4AM with my mother-in law Carol and her best friend Candy taking me to the race and dropping me off.  It was very nice of them to do so since it was about a 50-mile trip to Wichita Falls and the race site.  Both Carol and Candy are morning people though so I am sure it did not bother them.  Plus, they got a good 30 minutes in to make fun of my tight bike shorts, LOL!  I did really appreciate them taking me.



Me right before the start of the Hotter Than Hell 100 in Wichita Falls.

 
GOAL/NUTRITION PLAN:
  My main goal for this ride was to really experiment with my nutrition plan and figure it out for Kona.  I had just started using a new product that I was going to try out from a company called First Endurance (http://www.firstendurance.com/). They have numerous products used by pro triathletes that I have read about so I figured I would give them a try.  I had heard nothing but great thing about there "liquid shot" 5-oz flasks so I decided to  purchased a case last week  from www.firstendurance.com/nutrition/efs-liquid-shot.html).  These "liquid shots" are individual  5-oz flask with about 400 calories each, loaded with electrolytes, carbohydrates, potassium, magnesium and amino acids.  This is all the good stuff I need to keep me upright and not overheat or start cramping on race day.  I have had issues in the past with this on numerous rides. Once I get 2-3 hours into a ride, my quads often start to get tight and cramp. For those who have experienced this on long hot days, it is no fun at all.  This is the last thing I need to happen in Kona.  If you start to cramp, your day is done!  So the key is to make sure you stay hydrated and keep your calorie and sodium intake up. The big selling part of the "liquid shot" is that it is not a gel or GU-like substance like most of its competition.   It is all liquid based so it enables you to mix in your water bottles diluting the strong berry or vanilla flavor.  It actually did not taste that bad.  So here was my plan:  Since I needed to consume about 250 calories an hour to stay on track, my plan was to drink one 24-oz water bottle with the "liquid shot" mixed in about each 1.5 hours.   this would give me about 800 calories over a 3-hour span. I would carry two 24-oz water bottles mixed on my bike along with my 50-oz Camelback backpack with strictly water only.  I figured this would carry me through more than half my race and then I would just refill the water bottles at one of my three planned aid station stops with the extra EFS flask I would be carrying.  I would also consume more water and maybe 2-3 Cliff Powershot Gels and some aid station handouts just to get a different taste in my mouth so I do not vomit.  Funny, huh? You triathletes understand!


THE RIDE:

The Start at 6:15AM -- 14,000+ Cyclist

The start of the rally was pretty cool.  Seeing more than 14,000 people lines up in the dark was a site to see.  Everyone was in good spirits and surprisingly since it was so early, it was only 82 degrees.  The first 10-15 miles of the ride I planned to just take it easy and warm up. It is very important for me not to push to hard in the beginning and have nothing left at the end. This was pretty easy to do considering all the darkness and congestion.   The race committee decided to start the race an hour early due to the extreme heat  in the forecast for the day so it stayed fairly dark for the first 30 minutes of the ride.  My nutrition plan was in tact as every 10  minutes or so  I would take gulp out of my loaded water bottle with the EFS mix.  I reached the mile 30 rest station and decided to take a quick break to stretch and pee.  My legs felt fresh and I was feeling awesome. The atmosphere was full of happy folks and everyone was chatting during the ride.  After a quick 3 minute stop,  I jumped back on my bike and I was off.  I remember actually feeling a cool breeze for the first hour or so on the bike.  For you Texans, you know that during the summer this is hard to come by.  Everyone was talking about how shocked they were that is was so cool out.  That all changed quickly though.   I rode along with an older gentleman for about 15 miles before the half way point.  I had noticed his cycling jersey was from Ironman Texas so we chatted about Kona a bit.  He had done 2-3 full distance Ironman races before so he gave me some solid advice about the race and what to expect.  It is pretty cool when people hear you are going to Kona.  They treat you like you are a celebrity and become fascinated about your journey and stories.  It is people like this that really make the sport of triathlon great.  Everyone is so supportive and always willing to give advice. Back to the ride. It was going well as I reached the infamous "Hell's Gate"at mile 60.  This is the largest rest stop area where there is live music and lots of fans cheering.  This is the stop that many people are known to turn back and take the quick 10 mile ride to the finish.  By now it is usually 100+ degrees for most but since I was moving pretty quick it was still only 97 degrees, LOL!  I could really feel that the EFS "liquid shot" mix was working.  I had no fatigue in my legs and I felt fresh.  After a quick refill at mile-60 I was off again.  It only took about 5 minutes into the ride before I really could start feeling the heat.  By now it was around 10:00AM so it was starting to really get hot!    I knew to stay focused and not push too hard as this was the mile range where I usually start to fatigue and cramp as the heat takes its toll on your body.  By mile-75 I was still feeling great, sticking to my plan of drinking my EFS mixed beverage every 10 minutes or so.  I also forgot to mention that I was popping 2 Thermotabs (salt pills) every hour just as an added buffer to prevent cramping.  I planned my last rest stop for mile-90.  The ride between mile 60 and 90 was a little more difficult. I can say that I still felt pretty good (for someone sitting on a bile for 4 hours could be).  By the time I reach the mile-90 rest area it was the first time I felt thirsty all day.  My nutrition plan had been working and I was really feeling well.  Only 13-mile to go!    To make sure I stayed fresh the last few miles I poured ice water down my jersey and all over my head.  I also took in some aid station bananas and Poweraid.  As I pulled out of the rest stop I noticed the large temperature gage they had on the street.  It read 109 degrees!  I was officially apart of the hottest "Hotter Than Hell" in history!  I know that Kona is hot and humid but there is no way it will be cooking like this! I also heard a rumor that the ground temp was around 155 degrees.  BRING IT KONA!  The last 10 miles were fun even though it seemed like it was 50 miles.  I chatted up with some other riders and even stopped at the last rest station for the "FREE BEER".  I'll be honest, I took one sip and poured the rest out.  I just wanted to finish this damn ride at this point.  I finally reached downtown and came up to the finish line.  I could not believe how well I felt after the 103-miles.  I jumped off the bike and was greeted by my wonderful wife Vanessa and my new baby daughter Mia (1-month old).  They made the track from Seymour (where her parents live about 50 miles west) to see me finish.  No matter how many times I finish these races, the best part is always seeing my family at the finish line. There is not a day that goes by during my training that I do not imagine them at the finish in Kona!

CONCLUSION
Overall, I was very happy with the day as it took me a little over 5-hours to finish the 103 mile bike ride.  I can really feel the improvement in my biking and this event gave me a huge mental boost to my confidence.  I also an super excited about my discovery of the EFS "liquid shot".  I can say that it is a life saver!  No cramps, no fatigue, no soreness at all.  I definitely plan to incorporate First Endurance into my race plan at Kona.  I will use the next few weeks to tweak my plan to make sure I have it down.   Also, I forgot to mention and thank Jeff at B&B Bicycles ( http://bbbicycles.com/) for letting me use the ZIPP 404 race wheels for my event (http://zipp.com/wheels/404-clincher/ ).  These wheels make a huge improvement in my cycling.  They should for $2500, right? LOL!  In all seriousness, the ZIPP wheels are great, plus they look pretty damn cool!  Jeff and B&B have been a major part of my preparation for Kona over the past 13-weeks. He has helped me with my fit and with his experience has given me a lot of guidance to prepare me for the race.  I cannot thank him enough for all he has done.  I am a little more than only five weeks out from the big race.  I really only have three more weeks of intense training and then I start to taper for the final two weeks to get my body fresh.  Right now I am at the peak of my training at around 13-15 hours a week. I plan to just do 2-3 more long rides to keep my confidence up as well as maybe 2 more long runs of 18-20 miles. I will keep my mid-week training at the same pace that I have been at, focusing heavily on my long weekend training days.  I will keep you posted in the weeks to come as I get closer to race day!  We are almost there!

Finally, I want to say Happy Birthday to my baby girl Elle!  She turned 3-years old this past weekend.  It seems like yesterday she was an tiny little baby. She is one of many that keep me going strong through all these long hours of training and work and always seems to put a smile on my face! She amazes me everyday at what she can do and accomplish.  A day does not go by during my training that I don't think about Elle and the rest of my family at the finish line in Kona.  Happy Birthday Elle, I love you!

Elle at Grandma & Grandpa's celebrating her 3rd B-day!

                                                                  

Baby Mia is Here / 9 Weeks Out!

It has been a few weeks since my last post so I wanted to give you an update of how my training is going along with other things.  Last week my wife and I welcomed Mia Gail Pistana into the world.  She was born 6 pounds 13 ounces ( a little thing!).  As I have documented in my past posts, training for an Ironman is a tough task in itself but when you throw a 2-year old toddler in the mix as well as a new baby girl, things tend to get more difficult. Vanessa and Mia are doing great so far and I am so excited to have another daughter in my life.  I have even implemented Baby Mia into my training a bit, LOL! 



Mia and Daddy in Training!



On to my training  I am at about 9 weeks out from the big race.  It seems not too long ago that is was ages away. I am really in the peak of my training now and really starting to pick up the intensity.  I am still sticking to my original plan training 4-days during the weekday only at about an hour to two hours a day while I do most of my long distance training on the weekends.  Right now my long run day is on Saturday morning.  Most of you know that here in Texas the weather has been ridiculously hot the past two months.  On to p of that, it has not rained in who knows how long?  We are approaching the 40-day mark of over 100 degree temps so I am usually up by 5AM on Saturday and get out early to complete my runs.  This way I can avoid some of the heat even though is is usually in the mid-90's by early morning.  Right now I am at around 15-17 miles on my long run.  I can feel my running has improved drastically and my legs have gotten stronger.  I have really improved my running form.  I know know I can do the marathon distance but now I am focusing more on a comfortable nutrition plan for the race.  On Sundays I continue to workout with the Dallas Athletes Multi-Sport Group  http://www.dallasathletes.com/.   We swim out at Lake Grapevine starting at 6:00AM every Sunday morning and follow that up with a bike ride usually in the 35-60 mile range.  On Saturdays I sometimes ride with Dallas Athletes training group that is prepping for the Wichita Falls "Hotter Than Hell" race coming up in two weeks.  This is a national famous bike rally that is a 100 mile ride.  It takes place in Wichita Falls, Texas which usually has temperatures of around 100-110 degrees for the race.  I am riding in the rally so it should be a good test to see where I am at with my bike.  Most importantly, I have never ridden 100 miles before so it will be a HUGE mental boost if I can complete the ride and feel good at the end.


My Girls!!!!



So I have a lot going on right now to say the least!   I cannot thank my wonderful wife for supporting me enough!  Without her support all of this would be even more difficult than it already is.  She has really stood behind me and is amazing.  I know I have stated this over and over again but I cannot stress enough.  This entire experience of training for the Kona Ironman has really changed my life.  Not only my physical well being but my overall attitude and approach on everything from my family, my job, and most importantly life overall.    The discipline I am gaining from this experience I plan to carry on everyday.




Mia Gail Pistana



Dallas Athletes/ Disco Triathlon

Dallas Athletes
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.

 

Metroplex Sprint Triathlon 6/12/2011

This past weekend I decided to sign up for the Metroplex Sprint Triathlon taking place at Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie.  Since I have been training now for about five weeks I had kind of hit a rut so I figured this short race would be fun to see how my training has improved my overall fitness level.  the race consisted on a 400m open water lake swim, 11 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run.  These short sprint races are a lot of fun because your approach is totally different from the longer half or full Ironman distances.  You basically go all out the entire race and there is really no "pace" involved.  We loaded up the entire family (Vanessa, Elle, and Carol-mother-in-law) at 5AM and headed to Grand Prairie.  My two year old Elle was all excited as we even brought her bike because she wanted to race! She loves to run with me and ride her bike.  I think she may be a little triathlete here in a few years.  Anyway, this race was a very small local race so only about 175 people took place in it.  I would say that about 30% of the entire group was doing there first triathlon at this race.  This is real cool to see and meet these folks as I remember just two short years ago when I did my first race.  The entire atmosphere is great and the nerves that fill your body are overwhelming.  I went off in the first group as they combined 2-3 age groups and started them together.  Since this was an open-water swim, it usually is a little more intimidating and difficult for the beginners so I thought I would try to position myself upfront at the start since swimming is my best event. I kissed Vanessa and Elle and entered the water with the other 40 or so people in my wave. The gun went off and just how I expected, most all the men in the water raced as hard as they could for the first 100 meters.  I knew that I was one of the better swimmers out there so I let these guys pass me in the beginning.  After we rounded the first buoy, it was only a matter of time before I started to catch up to the 10 or so folks in from of me.  By the time we were half way I had made my way to the front of the pack pushing myself pretty hard.  As I rounded the last buoy for the home stretch I was really breathing pretty hard but only had about 50 meters to go so I gave it one last push.  As I exited the water I was right behind the eventual race winner (more on him in a bit) and we raced toward transition to get our bikes.  I was pretty winded as the rest of the group was a good 20 meters behind us still in the water.  The bike portion of the race was short at 11 miles.  This was good for me because I could really push myself to see if I have made improvements with my training.  I had spent the majority of my Ironman training up to now on my bike trying to improve in that area as this is my least favorite event.  During the race, I did get past by two or three others  but I was happy with my speed as I averaged around 22 mph over the 11 miles.  This is by no means is fast but a lot fast than the 16-17 mph that I used to average just a few months back.   I was very pleased as I came off the bike into transition ready to start the run.  As for the guy who got out of the water before me,  he just happened to be the U.S. National Champion at this Sprint distance, and it showed on the bike and run. I just saw a flash of him on the course as he flew around on the bike at around 26 mph and average at 5:30 min mile run. Hey, at least I hung with him on the swim, right?    As I got into the short run course I felt good for the most part.  I was not tired but I had had a little too much Gatorade on the bike as well as a GU Gel so my stomach was not in good shape.  This made me hold back a little on the short run but I still finished strong with a 7:10 min/mile pace on the run.  My new Altra Instinct shoe http://www.altrarunning.com/, felt great and I think they have really helped me out.  I finished good enough for 4th place in my group.  I was very pleased with my results and I accomplished what I wanted to by signing up.  It gave me a good boost to my training this week and also made me realized how far I have come.  It also made me realize how much further I need to go to get where I need to be for Kona.  Oh yeah, Elle and I did get in a short race afterward as she entertained the finishers with her blazing speed! 

On a side note, congrats to those Dallas Mavericks!  They won the NBA title this past Sunday and are World Champions after nobody gave them a chance. Way to go Mavs!

Riding in West Texas / Chiropractor Visit.....

Memorial Day:
Well it has been a few weeks since I posted anything so I thought I would give you an update on how training is going.  I definitely feel that I am improving especially on the bike as I am under 20 weeks now till the big race in Kona.  Surprisingly, the excitement has not worn off one bit as I prepare.  One thing that has for sure worn down in my body.  Often my legs feel tired and my body aches during the long weeks of training.  Combining a family with a full-time job and training really wears on my body throughout the week. Last weekend for Memorial Day the family and I all loaded up and headed out west to visit with Vanessa's brother for the weekend.  He lives in Wall, Texas (just outside of San Angelo) with his wife and newborn baby boy Gage. The population is around 2K people so lets just say we were not in the most populated area of Texas.  Since we were there for the long weekend I packed my bike and running shoes.  I called the local bike shop in San Angelo the week prior and they gave me a good route out in the country for me to ride. Sunday morning I set out for a 2.5 hr ride that covered about 50+ miles or so.  The day prior the temperature reached 113 degrees so I was anxious to see how I adapted to the heat that morning.  It would be a great comparison to what I will face in Kona with both the high wind and blazing heat.  I got out nice and early so it was only 95 degrees when I got started, cold huh?  the ride was great as I got out on some country roads with nothing in site but lots of cattle and large ranches.  The wind for the first hour of the bike was brutal as I climbed mostly uphill into the 30mph+ south wind. When it was all said and done it had gotten to about 100 degrees.  I made sure to test my nutrition and fluids during the bike to see how my stomach managed during the ride.  I felt great so I immediately followed the ride with a 45 min run that covered a little over 4 miles. For you non-triathletes, this type of training is called a "BRICK".  When you go straight from one sport to the other while training.  this helps your body and mind adapt to the actual race conditions and also does a real good number on the legs!  After the run I was wiped out.  I got a little light headed shortly after as I took in as many fluids as I could.  This only confirmed to me more that I cannot mess with the heat and to stay on top of my nutrition.  I have attached a short video of my bike ride in Wall last week.  For you "Non-Texans" you will get a  feel of what we cyclist deal with while training on the open roads, LOL! I had to cut the video short since the file was too large, sorry.

                                

My Chiropractic Visit:
For about two months now I have had some bad issues with my left Achilles.  Every time I ran I could feel a small burning sensation in my heel as well as tightness in my left calf.  This all started with my uneducated switch to different running shoes without easing my way into them.  Luckily one of my best friends from high school, Jeff Eidsvig, is a chiropractor in the DFW area.  He works closely with many athletes in the in the DFW metroplex on sports-specific injuries. The past two weeks Jeff has volunteered his time to work on my calf as well as adjusting me to keep me in good health.  Little did I know I was very close to snapping my Achillies according to Jeff.  He worked vigoriously on my heel and you could hear nothing but torn scar tissue.  I cannot thank him enough for working on me as Jeff really improved my calf and heel issues.  I will continue to go see him through June for treatment to make sure I am back at 100%.   Dr. Jeff is also fitting me for custom orthotics from Bio-Correct.  You can read about these fantastic orthotics on his website link below.  I highly recommend if you are training for an endurance event like me that you have a local chiropractor or sports specialist to visit frequently.  Thanks Jeff!



www.wbsports-spine.com/



Head for the Cure 5K/ New Shoes/ Bike Improvement/ Alzheimer's Awareness Fundraiser

Back in March while attending the IHRSA Trade Show in San Francisco I met one of the creators behind a new running shoe from Altra Running. IHRSA is the largest health and fitness trade show in the U.S. and my company exhibits there every year.  The Altra Running company was started by three young gentleman that have been researching running style and the art of "natural" running. I wont get much into the science but feel free to check out the website at http://www.altrarunning.com/ to read about it, especially if you are into running.  Anyway, I decided to order a pair of there "Instinct" shoe and give it a try.  Without getting into detail, the shoe is a minimalistic shoe similar to the bare-foot style shoes you see on the market but it had more cushion for longer distance.  I have been researching running shoes the past few weeks so I figured I would give them a try.  So far I have had them for two weeks and they are great!  My calves are a little sore as I totally ignored the directions of easing your way into them, oops?  This past weekend Vanessa, Elle, Carol (mother-in-law) and I drove up to Frisco to take part in the Head for the Cure 5K run/walk.  Vanessa and I both had friends from college that had brain tumors and were taking part so we decided to join there teams and participate.  This was my first chance to test out my new Altra "Instinct" Shoes at a shorter distance.  They felt great during the run and I ran my fastest 5K yet with a final mile split of 5:40/mile.  The funny thing was Vanessa and I got our race bib numbers mixed up and I actually wore hers in the race.  I ended up winning her age group and it was quite embarrassing for Vanessa considering she is 7-moths pregnant.  They called her name and everyone just stared.  We all laughed it off as it a great event for a great cause.

Yesterday I set out for my first extended bike ride (+2hrs) since the MS 150.  I drove to downtown Fort Worth and rode the Trinity Trail.  This is a bike path that runs along the Trinity River through downtown and all the way through Fort Worth.  I went a total of 35 miles down and back.    Overall the ride went well.  I took it pretty easy since I am feeling pretty sore from my training this week.  My calves have really taken a beating from all the running and I need to be careful not to overdue it. I can really feel my biking starting to improve but I know I have a long way to go.  This was the first time  that I really felt like I enjoyed myself on the bike though.  It was not a pain or hassle in my mind so maybe that is a sign I am starting to come around on this biking thing? I can really feel my body starting to feel the wrath of all this training.  Again, I cannot reiterate how much I have learned about the importance of nutrition both while I train and during my off times.  I need to really keep focusing on not pushing myself too hard in the beginning because I know I have a long way to go.

Finally, this opportunity to compete the Ironman has been a life changing event for me.  These type of life changing events do not come along too often so I thought that it would be a good chance for me to make a difference for others as well during this incredible journey.  I have decided to start a fundraising campaign to help fight and raise awareness for Alzheimer's during my training.  I have teamed up with the Alzheimer's Association of America and created my own personal fundraising web page.  Please click on the link
 Tommy's Alzheimer's Awareness Page and you can take a look  nd read a little about Alzheimer's and its horrible effect it has on many.  I plan to raise as much money as possible over the next five months to hopefully make a difference.  If oyu feel like making a small donation that would be awesome!