Snow Bunny 275 Days to go

Running in a snow storm is fun, but there are some dangers.
You have to look out for puddles.
Running in wet sneakers is ok, but in near freezing temps is not a good idea. A four mile run takes me 42-43 minutes. That is a long time to expose your toes.
You have to look out for clumps of snow falling off of trees. As the temp rises, clumps of snow the size of plates came crashing down around me. Once again, running for 40 plus minutes in the cold is fine, but you want to stay dry.
Most important, you want to make sure that the snow plows see you. (It's good for you to see them, but since they weigh more, considerably more, you want them to see you.)
I hate running in cold weather, so to stay motivated I have my mega motivation mix in the iPod.

Run Like Hell

Fanfare for the Common Man

Karn Evil 9

Immigrant Song

Superstition (SRV Version)

La Grange

Hot for Teacher

All Along the Watchtower

One Vision

Enter Sandman

The James Bond Theme
People look at me like I'm crazy. Maybe I am, but to be ready for Cozumel, I feel that I cannot take too much time off between runs.
First mile felt great.
Second mile the knee started to let me know it was there. Went away, came back during 3 and 4th miles.
Heat & stretch b4 run. Ice and stretch after.
I used to take this pain as a sign that I was done with running. Now I just see it as an annoyance I have to put up with on the road to the Ironman

It is beginning to come together - 280 Days to go

This triathlon is a puzzle with five pieces.
Swimming
Biking
Running
Lifting
Resting

To put it all together, I've set bench marks when I have to reach each one for this to work right. I wanted to reach a comfortable swim by June of 2,000 meters. I reached that in February. The more days I took off between swims the farther I could go. REST the missing ingredient.
With the tendonitis, I wanted to be back running my standard four mile workout by March. The PT is over and now I have to take everything I have learned and make it work:
10 minutes before running apply heat
Stretch, Run, Ice. Rest
(Don't you have a 26 mile run to prepare for?)
I do, but I'm more concerned about the swim and bike. This strategy served me well at the half ironman. running is my weakest event, so focus on getting stronger at the two others and just maintain what I have in running. Until 9 months ago, I had never been able to run more than 3 miles. Then after months of running 3 miles, I moved up to 4. 4 felt pretty good, so I moved up to 5. A little knee pain. 5 became six and a little knee pain became pressure on the knee cap.
Now I'm fighting my way back to six miles, but I'm trying to do it without injuring myself again.
Why so relaxed about the run?
It is the only event you can do slowly.
Swim slowly? Without a wetsuit, I'd sink.
Bike slowly? I will tip over.
Run slowly? Yes that is called walking and I've done it many a time at a triathlon.
Biking will have to wait for warmer weather, but I know it is coming. I can hear the birds chirping.

Until then, I have to be sure to stick to the plan:
Sunday: 60-90 minutes indoor bike, 30 minutes of weights to strenthen the torn shoulders.
Monday: 4 mile run
Tuesday: 850 meter swim, Leg lifts
Wednesday: 30 minutes of weights to strenthen the torn shoulders.
Thursday: Leg lifts
Friday: 2,000 meter swim
Saturday: REST

Shiver me timbers- 325 days to go

There comes a time in every man's life when he must conceed the fight. Not give up the war, but change his

strategy to win the battle. For me, the second week in December was that time. It was so cold, that I was riding with winter cloves on. I had to stop at the half way mark (15 miles) to warm up my toes. The temperature was 37 degrees & I could not feel my face. Normally, this is the point in the year where I stop riding.
Just one problem...I couldn't take a four month break from cycling this year.
I was training for a race. A very long race.
Last year I started riding in April. By July I was riding 40 miles every Sunday. By August I was riding 60 miles every Sunday. This year my goal is to be at 60 miles by July and 100 miles by August. The only way to do that (without hurting myself) was to continue riding through out the year.
But how?
Even if I bundled up, snow would soon make cycling to dangerous.
Answer?
Take it indoors.
So every Sunday I do 30 miles at the gym on a stationary bike. Is it the same? Nope, but it should be enough. How can I be sure? Because it was done last year at the Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii. One of the two US Navy personnel to compete had trained on a stationary bike...in a submarine.

Ramping It Up - 300 days to Go

I am not under any illusions about what I have committed myself to. An Ironman race is no walk in the park. It is long and it is exhausting. Preparing for a race of this distance (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) is going to take a lot of planning. The first thing I started to do was increase my swim. A normal swim for me was 850 meters, just over a half mile or 36 laps in an olympic size pool.
So I added an extra few laps one morning and I was at 1,000 meters. I was excited until I realized how far I needed to swim in meters. 2.4 miles is @ 4,000 meters. So I increased to 1,200 meters. After a few weeks, I increased it to 1,500 meters.
(Do you count each lap?)
No need to. I know how fast I swim. I've timed it for months.
100 meters takes me 2 minutes
500 meters takes me 10 minutes
1,000 meters takes me 20 minutes.
1,500 meters takes me 30 minutes.
So, 2,000 meters takes 40 minutes
(Who cares how fast you swim?) .

There is a time cut off at the Ironman. I have to be out of the water in less that 2 hours 20 minutes.
(So by your account, you should finish in 90 minutes)
Except, I'm not swimming this race in a pool. I'm swimming it on the Caribbean Ocean. Sure I have swam in the Hudson and I've swam in the Caribbean when I did the Bermuda Tri, but I have never gone this far before. When I did the Half Ironman, it took me 42 minutes to go 1.4 miles, but I got to wear a wet suit. This swim does not permit wetsuits.



Wearing my wet suit, with my wife
and son before the start of a triathlon in 2007.
This swim was only 1,500 meters.