An Early End to a Great Year




Running on empty

  "The best laid plans of mice and men aften go awry," is a great desciption for the end of my 2014 racing season.  I'd love to tell you I have a great reason for ending things sooner than expected.  I'd love to tell you I have a great excuse.  I'd love to tell you anything.  The truth, I'm tired.  I'm not tired in the, I need a day off, way.  I'm not tired in the, that was a great workout I'm exhausted, tired.  I'm tired in the total body, I'm exhausted to the bones, my skin is even sleepy, kind of tired. 

Two years ago when I started this journey I never expected to achieve a quarter of what I've achieved.  My goals were simple, I wanted to lose weight, I wanted to get healthier and I wanted to run a 5K.  In the past year I've run a 5K, run a 10K, run a half-marathon and finished my first triathlon.  I've lost considerable pounds and I've decreased all of my health metrics into healthier ranges.  I've accomplished everything I've set out to do and my body is demanding a break.  I'll happily oblige.  My heart isn't in training right now and I'm afraid of half assing a race prep because I don't want to injure myself. 

I've been spending a lot of time horizontal, bonding with my couch, watching television, splurging on some bad food choices and even finding time to get back into my love of photography.  The break is doing me well.  My body is starting to feel good!  I enjoy not living my life by the schedule in my Training Peaks calendar.  I enjoy sleeping without an alarm set to get up for training.  I enjoy pizza! 

Like all good things this break too, will end.  I'm starting to miss the structure of a training schedule.  I miss the regimen of planned meals and healthy nutrition.  I'm starting to carry a few pounds and my face is bloated with some extra water weight.  All things that will go away as soon as I start training again.

I've been on my break for three weeks now.  I had three more races on my calendar but they are out of my picture now.  One I have deferred to next year.  Right now the Raleigh Half-Ironman and the Lake Placid Ironman are directly in my cross-hairs.

I'm happy to report I'll be changing shifts at work this coming Monday.  I'm going to stop working night shift and change to dayshift.  I'm excited to start sleeping at night!  With this change in shifts I expect I will also change back to a more structured lifestyle of training and eating.  I like things neat and tidy and making the changes at the same time seems to make sense.

My short term goals are to start rebuilding my endurance on all phases of the triathlon (swim, bike and run) while also incorporating some strength training back into my plan.  I'm going to follow a nutriton plan based on the principles of metabolic efficiency and nutritional periodization.  (see I've also been using my time constructively doing research!)  Planning will still be left to my coach, I'll just show up and do the work, as usual.

Overall I'm happy I decided to end things and take a break.  I won't miss the races I didn't race and the rest will probably benefit me more than the races.  The last two years have put a lot of miles on this body of mine and I'm happy to reward it with a break.  I'll be back to training soon but for now I'm going to enjoy the rest -- and maybe a couple of beers!   

Save the Date; No Turning Back Now

(Before you start reading either have a listen to THIS song or read the lyrics HERE.  I'm embracing this as my battle tune for the next year.  I'm a bit of a metal head, always have been, so if you're not really a fan of metal I suggest the lyrics.)

 

Ironman Lake Placid Logo

I hope you were able to read my last blog post about the weekend I spend in Lake Placid watching the Ironman and volunteering.  If not you can find the link here and I suggest you start with that entry.

After the weekend and the volunteering I stuck around for Monday morning.  My efforts as a volunteer earned me the reward of early registration for Lake Placid Ironman 2015.  Working the late shift from bike checkout earned a volunteer sport for early registration but it also earned me the right to a speed pass, so I was able to register before ANYONE else, volunteer, online or in person.  Speed pass registration was scheduled to take place at the office of the visitors bureau beginning at 7:30am.  I'm normally an early person.  I got up around 5am on Monday, finished packing, showering and putting all my stuff in the Jeep for the journey home.

After my chores I took off for downtown Lake Placid with a small stop by the McDonalds for a cup of coffee.  After my drive I found a parking lot on Main Street and payed my parking money.  Magically, rain began to fall - AGAIN!  A quick shower turned into drenching rain.  I was glad I'd worn my rain jacket again as a precaution.  I "mostly," stayed dry for my three block walk to registration.

When I found the visitors bureau the time was about 6:30am and I thought I'd have a good chance of being first in line!  My hopes were quickly destroyed as I bound the steps toward the third floor.  Much to my shock many other triathletes are also OCD early risers who like to stand in lines for an hour.  I was, by my quick count, 30th in line to register!

The wait to register

Fortunately, the registration process kicked off early and we began to register at 7am instead of 7:30am.  I inside and registered for 2015 in what seemed like instants.  The process was easy because Ironman had at least 25 volunteers registering people.  I was in the second wave of registrants and third in the door.  A quick look at my drivers license, the volunteer asked for my email address and I confirmed my info.  Next she asked for my credit card and $740ish dollars later I was an official Ironman Lake Placid 2015 participant!

My unofficial, official registration form
I still needed to complete online portions

After finalizing my race confirmation for 2015 I walked to the section of Main Street where the swim course of Mirror Lake is visible.  I pulled one last selfie with Mirror Lake to use as a reminder I have this race on my schedule.  I'll be back to Lake Placid to train, often, but its nice to carry a reminder!

Mirror Lake Looms

Quickly after registration I was on the road home.  When I got home I stopped by to show my coach my registration and talk Lake Placid.  We're both confident in my swim.  We'll get it faster and we know I can get through the two laps with little problem.  We also know I should be ok on the run.  I ran the first loop of the course last weekend and I'm confident I'll get through.  We both worry about my bike ride.  I need to have enough time, energy and climb left in my legs for the second loop.  My exact instructions for preparation and race day, "when you head out of T1 remember to take it easy on the first loop.  Everyone is going to speed out of T1 with excitement and fly up the first climb.  Trust your power meter and our numbers.  Let all the other assholes go, they're either going to blow up and you'll pass them or they were just better than you anyway."  My coach is the best!  I'm sure we'll tweak all this, play with it, train for it and eventually kill this race!  I have high expectations and I'm full of excitement.

When I get back from vacation this week we'll be full steam ahead into my races left this season but Ironman will be the major target on my calendar.  We'll see what improvements I can make for the rest of this season and I'm definitely not mailing anything in.  All my focus has just shifted to the future and the big A race circled on my calendar for next July!

So You Want To Be An Ironman; 140.6 Miles to Awesomeness



Mdot logo trademarked and taken from Ironman.com

 "You can quit if you want to and no one will care.  But YOU will know for the rest of your life," is how John Collins, founder of The Ironman, described the race in Kona, Hawaii.  It was on a family vacation in Kona with my parents last fall during Ironman week I decided, without knowing much about the Ironman, that I wanted to complete the race.  I had no knowledge of the distances (2.4 Mile swim, 112 Mile bike ride, 26.2 Mile run all completed within 17 hours), I had no idea triathlons were a popular sport and I definitely had no clue the level of commitment required to be successful in this sport.

This week I've taken and will take incredible strides towards making this whole dream of completing an ironman a tangible goal.  With the blessing of my coach and having met the challenge of a sprint triathlon still finding joy in the sport, I registered for my first 70.3 Half-Ironman event.

Before choosing a 70.3 event, I made a list of things necessary for me to choose a race.  The list included:


1.  The race had to be driving distance from my house in close to or under 5 hours
2.  The race had to be in the spring of 2015
3.  The race had to have a history of being wetsuit legal
4.  The race needed to have a lake swim
5.  The race needed to be near an urban area so I could try to convince friends to come support me

When I received the email from Ironman telling of the spring 2015 races going on sale this week, the one event that met all my standards AND sounded like a really good time was the Raleigh, North Carolina 70.3 race.  When I got the blessing from my coach I was probably one of the first people signed up for the event!  I'm really excited and can't wait to go get a Half-Ironman under my belt and medal around my neck!  I think I'll finally feel accomplishment in this sport crossing that finish line!



Ironman Raleigh logo from Ironman website
My first Ironman event in 2015!


This weekend is another major step for me and my journey to the title "Ironman."  I'm volunteering and cheering on my friends at the Ironman Lake Placid race.  I honestly cannot tell you how excited I am to finally attend an Ironman race.  I've watched many races and finishes on line and on youtube, but I'm sure they are no comparison to the real thing.

I'm leaving for Lake Placid Friday morning and driving there for the weekend.  I've reserved a room at a place near the lake and close enough to downtown I can walk or ride my bike everywhere.  I'm volunteering at the bike checkout area in transition from 7:30pm until midnight on Sunday night.  I'll be stationed right next to the finish line as the late night finishers are coming across.  I expect to return highly motivated and ready to tackle the hardest of my trianing.

I chose my volunteer station for Lake Placid Ironman because it is a speedpass volunteer area.  Yes, a speedpass to register for my very own Ironman Lake Placid race Monday morning before any one else can register.  I will be meeting my goal and finishing Ironman Lake Placid in 2015.  I'm so overly excited and nervous I've had some trouble sleeping the past few days.  Sometimes I feel like I already want to throw up.  Having dreams is one thing, taking the initiative, going forward with all your heart and turning those dreams into goals is a big step.  The process of goal achieving is scary, it requires a lot of hard work and it requires you to go to visit some dark places in your soul to get through.  I don't think I'll be the same person in a year but I'm up for the challenge!

Ironman LP logo taken from Ironman website
The place my dream becomes reality

   When I return from Lake Placid, everything will be different.  I can already tell I'm different than I was last week after registering for the Raleigh race.  I've been more critical of my workouts, I'm trying to stick closer to the goals in my daily race training set by my coach.  I haven't left myself slack in training this week and my sore body is a testiment to this new found resolve.  I also haven't skipped any workouts, I moved a few workouts early in the week when I had more time and energy to devote to them.  I  started sticking to a well defined nutrition plan and I'm actively trying to cut weight.  I can't wait to meet the person I am next year at this time!

In order to document this process and attempt to share my experience as real time and realistic as possible I'm going to be creating a lot of content.  My plan is to share video and photos with the world to keep me honest in training and maybe just inspire someone to become healthier in their own lives.  I invested in a GoPro Camera, a few attachments and I've dusted the patina from a few of my old camera bodies for documentation.  I hope you enjoy the content and follow along!  I'll still be posting here on Monday and hopefully Thursdays but as trianing picks up two blog posts a week might be a challenge.  For the real time stuff please follow along on Twitter and the hub of my activity will take place on Instagram, handle @TheDoob


First GoPro photo grabbed after a ride this week.
An example of what is sure to follow as the quest begins

 As always, thank you for reading!  The journey gets real next week and I'm excited for the challenge.  As the United States Navy Seals say, "The only easy day was yesterday!"  Have a great weekend everyone, more next Monday when I get home from Lake Placid.