Moving!

Good morning! I am going to move back to my old blog, now that "normal" life is resuming - ha ha - yeah, right!  You can find my original blog here. Come on over. I will still blog about training but will also broaden things out a bit.

Friday

Good morning! And "just like that" we lost 16 degrees from the forecast - ha ha. I think I hinted at that yesterday. I expect it will change everyday. Yesterday I also saw a link to the PCB Surf Forecast. I'm sure it will change daily also.

Believe it or not, none of this is bothering me. I feel pretty good about it all. I hope I feel that way next Friday - ha!

My ride with Jimmy did not happen yesterday, and I'm glad. He called about 8 and said he couldn't go. I was relieved. I did not really need to ride, plus it was pretty cold yesterday morning. I needed to get a lot of work done, to top it all off, so it turned out to be a good thing.

We did swim at the Y last night in Bloomington. I did 1.2 miles. I'm not fast at all, but I am fairly consistent, I think. If I can go at the pace I seemed to have settled into, then I will be fine, somewhere in the 1:50 to 2:00 hour range, is what I predict. I have 2:20 to get the job done.

I'm planning on taking the day off from endurance athletics, but the weather and my bike will tempt me this afternoon. A short ride? Maybe. We'll see.

Have a great day!

Thursday

For all the Neo-Luddites out there

Good morning! Thursday! Nine days out from Ironman Florida. Yikes. I am ready. I am ready. I am ready. I am ready...

The weather forecast is still holding onto an 86 degree day. I can manage that - lots of Endurolytes and water. My understanding, from reading people who live in FL, is the weather is harder to predict than here, since it is close to the water. I am not too concerned about it at this point.

I had another decent run yesterday morning. It will be my last 7 miler for a little while. Everything else from now until November 1 will be 5 or less, and there are only 3 of those left, I think. Maybe 4? I think I am going to try run with the group on Saturday at 8 a.m. It will be the first time I have run with anyone since mid-March, I think!

Jimmy and I going for a short ride today. Then this evening I think I am going to join him in Bloomington for 1.2 mile swim. I would like to go ahead and get that done tonight instead of tomorrow night. The next swim after this one will be in the Gulf of Mexico. I am looking forward to getting there and getting in.

Congratulations to Tim the Elder! He has a new granddaughter, Cora Marie, born yesterday afternoon. She came several days early! This is what Tim wanted.

Have a great day!

Wednesday

Good morning! It's going to be a great day today, so enjoy it and be thankful! The forecast above, which could change a lot, has me thinking about how I need to dress on the run. I was thinking I would need long sleeves for the second half of the run. Now I am thinking it is possible I will not. I will be prepared for all kinds of conditions on the run and the ride. I'm pretty sure the swim will be wet, so I am ready for that.

Last night was the final official Tuesday Night Ride. Of course it was short, due to approaching darkness. We had 7 show up for the fun 20 mile ride. You can click on one of our Strava events, to your right, to see the simple course we did. Riding last night were: Timmy G, Iron Bill, Dr. Lucky, Iron John H, Roy, T-Roy, and Me, the Ironman Wannabe (Gonnabe, hopefully). It was a lot of fun.

Following the ride, most of us went to Wendy's to eat, tell stories, and laugh. It was a great way to end the Tuesday night tradition for 2014. We had a long run of this year. I believe we started in March and went all way through mid-October. It's an Ironman year!

Roy and I talked some about our travel on Monday. I think we are going to leave around 6:30 and drive all the way to PCB. Jim is off but Steve is working, and I think Rand is going to travel with them, following them down. Steve is trying to shorten his day, I think. We should all be together on Tuesday sometime.

Hey, I need to go run! I hope to catch you tomorrow sometime. It's all getting pretty real...

Tuesday

Good morning! Looks like we are getting on a good roll with the weather! This is the way October is supposed to be. Speaking of weather, the extended forecast for Panama City Beach is good. I hope it holds. The most significant thing, in my mind, is the warmth. I was concerned about a cool/cold ride and dressing for it. If this forecast holds, then that will not be an issue and a relief.

Yesterday I did a short ride of 12 miles and short run of 3 miles. I was going to go 5 but decided I didn't need to. I felt pretty good at the end, and that's what I was after. I wanted to come off the bike and get my running legs ok, which I did.

Later I went to the pool and swam a mile. Today we gather for our last Tuesday p.m. ride. It will be short one, followed by a trip to Wendy's. We plan to meet at 5:30 and do 20 miles. Rumor has it John H has a new bike. Troy has a new bike. Tim the Elder has a new (to him) bike. All of them are Cervelos. Hmm, the Kestrel club is not longer. Now it is a KC club or CK club.

I hope you have a great day!

Monday

Good morning! Twelve days until The Day! One week from now Roy and I will be on our way, or at least close to it. It's all becoming very real. I go from feeling very confident to being very scared. Honestly, it is mostly the latter, thankfully. I am eager to get to the Gulf and get in the water, hopefully everyday for just a little while.

I ended up not doing anything on Thursday for several reasons. Friday I did all three disciplines. I went for a short ride (20 something miles), followed by a short 2 mile run, and then later I swam a mile at BNL, where I left my favorite jacket. I hope I can find it. Oh well...

Saturday I got up early and ran my best 10 miler since spring. I almost back to where I used to be. I averaged 9:06, which pleased me. I had thought of riding in the afternoon, but the weather was not appealing and I didn't feel great.

Yesterday a small group of us had a nice easy 20 mile ride in the emerging sunshine. It was fun to ride with good friends in a relaxed way. We got to see T-Roy's new Cervelo! Nice! He is going to be quite beastly to a greater degree now. The number of rides before Ironman, along with runs and swims, is now countable.

I hope you have a great day today! I think I will try do all three disciplines again today: shorter ride, 5 mile run, and mile swim this evening. We'll see...

Perspective

Swimming

Actually I know what I actually look like - not the top photo.

Thursday

I have 17 hours to finish!

Good morning! How are you today? I rolled in from Nashville around 6:20 last night and had to teach a class at 7. My transition from travel to teaching involved a quick bite to eat, thanks to Kedra.

My time in Nashville was awesome! I cut my first record, wailing with all the twang I could find about becoming a triathlete. I also got to spend time with a lot of good friends and learn a ton of stuff most would not care about. One of the previous 2 sentences is true.

Anyway, I had a decent 5 miler on Tuesday afternoon. I was going to run a little more Wednesday a.m., but it was raining. It wasn't raining hard, and if I was in the midst of hard training, I would have gone. I'm in taper, so I opted to stay dry.

Today I go to get my bike back from the doctor. I hope to get on it this evening and maybe do a brick workout, probably both ride and run on the short side. Hopefully the sun will come out today. Tomorrow looks good...

Take care and have a great day!

Tuesday

Rand, Brent, Me, Dr. Lucky

Hey, good morning from Nashville, TN! I am attending a conference at Lipscomb University, learning stuff and hanging out with old friends. It's a good way to start taper. I did nothing yesterday in the endurance world, which is fine.

Today I have a window in the afternoon, so I hope to get a 5 mile run in around the streets of Brentwood. Urban running is considerably different from where we usually run. We are blessed to live and train where we live and train.

I hope you have a great day!

Monday

Beautiful Kenray Lake

Good morning! I am headed to Nashville sometime this morning, so I need to give you a quick report before getting organized. Before I leave for Nashville, I am headed to the Bicycle Doctor to get a tune-up for my bike. I will drop my bike off, along with Dr. Lucky's bike.

I had a good weekend of work, the last hard workouts before taper begins. I took Friday off from endurance work. Kedra and I went to Bloomington, after stopping by to see Cora, of course, to celebrate Kedra's birthday. It was a good chance to fuel up for Saturday's activities.

Saturday was my last 20 mile run. It was nothing outstanding, but it was a good, solid run. I did not fade much at the end, so I was pleased by that. It was on the cool windy side but comfortable mostly. After the ride I came home and rested for a while. Then I met Jim and Rand at church for a 50 mile ride. As you can imagine, it was a bit slower than usual. Jim and Rand ran 16 miles Saturday morning. We were all satisfied with "seat time," regardless of speed.

We had fun on the ride and talked a lot about Ironman. I am trying to learn from their prior experiences. It was a bit windy on the ride. We managed it pretty well, mostly riding into it, so we could have a tailwind on the way back.

Yesterday after church and lunch, it was time to head to COLD Kenray Lake. I was really wanting 2 miles. Jim, Rand, and Brent were saying 1 for them. Well, Jim was waffling, saying 1 or 2. I shamed him into 2, for which he was grateful - ha ha. I got my 2 in, numb feet and all. It was my fastest 2 ever, so it serves as a bit of a confidence builder. Jim thought the water temp was just north of 60. I think it was 33 or 34 degrees. Just kidding.

Now taper begins!

I hope you have a great day/week!

Friday

Good morning! I'm not sure if the video I included works, since it is my first effort to put one up in my blog. The video is of Cora walking. She will be 9 months old on the 14th. Watching her walk, and especially watching her crawl a few weeks back, reminds me of my swimming - awkward but productive.

Speaking of swimming, that's what Jimmy and I did yesterday. It took about 3 hours for my feet to warm up afterwards - ha ha. Yes, that water in Kenray Lake is getting cooler by the day. We hope to have one last big swim in the lake on Sunday afternoon. Anybody got foot warmers I can borrow? Everything else stayed warm enough. I did a mile.

Today, and it's not looking too good, if the conditions present themselves, I will try get on my bike for a ride. I could have ridden long yesterday but didn't because of the forecast. Oh well. I got a lot of work done.

Tomorrow morning: 20 miles on the run. Hopefully this will be followed in the afternoon by a medium to long bike ride. I hope it to be one last big day before official taper begins.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Mercy!

Thursday

Good morning! How are you on this Thursday? I'm doing well. Had another pretty good night's sleep, which is such a blessing. I have been blessed with pretty good sleep during this training cycle. I go to bed ridiculously early, but it's the only way I have a shot at 7.5 hours of sleep. I can't seem to sleep past the 5 o'clock hour.

This week was supposed to be one of the biggest weeks of training, a peak before the taper. It's turning out to be more of mid-taper week, but I think it's OK. The weather and schedule have been the biggest problems. Yesterday, stuff just kept getting in the way of getting out. I did end up with a short ride and a short run following. It was not a bad brick.

Today? Who knows? I am going to work like crazy this morning, hoping for some kind of afternoon workout. Dr. Lucky is busy until midday, and then we will check in. I need an open water swim, but a ride would work also. The chance of rain looks to be 50%. Flexible I will try to be. My main focus now, as far as this week is concerned, is cranking out my last 20 mile run on Saturday morning. I need to do it no matter what the weather is. Right now it looks decent.

I am taking my bike to the shop on Monday a.m. for a minor repair and for a tune-up. It's all getting so close and real! Three weeks from Saturday! I am at peace presently and hope to stay that way.

Here's hoping your day goes great!

Wednesday

Hey, good morning! It's Wednesday, and I avoided any camel pictures. Your'e welcome.  The next line contain all the details of all I did in the world of endurance athletics yesterday. Ready? Here it comes:


Yes, that's right, another rest day. A rest day determined by weather and benevolent bus driving. I was filling in on a bus trip for someone who broke a leg. My bus left at 5 p.m. for Oolitic. My thinking all day was, "If I see a sunny, or even dry, window of opportunity, I am going to go ride." You know when the sun showed up, along with the dry? Yes, around 4:30. Oh well. Three of my buddies got a 30 miler in, racing the dark.

I am being forced into taper a little quicker than I wanted, but from everything I read and know, it's fine. I wanted another 100 mile ride. According to the weather forecast, that is not going to happen, which is ok. There is no point in taking risks of crashing or getting sick by riding in the rain.

My hope now is for a long swim tomorrow, before the water gets any colder. Jim is free tomorrow afternoon and is considering it, I think. Don't know what the Crane boys have in mind? Hopefully one way or another I can get a long one in.

My last 20 miler will be Saturday morning. At least that's my plan. Today? It's going to be nice, so I hope to get everything done by early afternoon. I am thinking about a ride and a run. I need to do a few bricks during taper, so now would be a good time to start. I avoided them to this point, due to sore hamstrings. Now is the time, I think.

It's kind of a shame I'm not running this morning. I could have had a clever Strava title about the lunar eclipse. In fact, I need to go begin looking for it. Have a great day!

Tuesday

Persimmon 5K start

Good morning! I hope you are good on this new day, another gift from God. It looks like a wet day, on and off, so the usual Tuesday bike ride is a big question mark at this point. I can't ride at the usual time of 5:45 anyway, but I was hoping to sneak out earlier in the afternoon. I will just have to be on standby. The best riding day is tomorrow, but. . .

Yesterday morning I had one of the best 10 milers I've had in a long time, in spite of the light rain and wind. It was also very dark. I know I am going to finish Ironman in the dark, so this dark running is good for me. It really is different running in the dark. The light eventually came, as it always does.

The day ended with me in the pool at BNL. I did a mile there. I'm still not swimming as well as I would like, but I am getting it done. I know, even at my present pace, I have plenty of time to complete the 2.4 miles of Ironman, which is coming so quickly! Yikes! I've downloaded the Athlete Guide and a nutrition guide. I know my bib number, 2899, so it's all getting very real.

The Give Thanks 4 race is coming up soon, so I am spending a fair amount of time thinking about it, especially trying to promote it. I really enjoy directing it. It is becoming a fairly popular race on the Mag 7 Series circuit.

Busy day ahead... Thanks for stopping by.

Monday

Cora processing sights/sounds of Bedford Half or figuring out why she has to wear that hat

Good morning! Another 10 miler is calling my name, so, once again, a fairly quick post. I am ready for Ironman to happen. I want to get back to normal life and routines, including more relaxed blogging. This is the last week of hard training for me. Up next: taper!

The weekend was good! I went out Friday morning, even though it was threatening rain, and got 10 miles. They were not fast, but when it was over, they were done. See how profound I am? It was a bit misty and very humid and very dark on Friday morning. That coupled with the 100 mile ride on Thursday made it easy to go slow.

Saturday was the Bedford Half marathon. I was a bike escort, and for lots of reasons, I decided to escort the 2nd male. It ended up being a former student of mine for Oakland City U, Kyle Stansbury. I love that kid. He is such a good runner.

He/we toured the course in 1:13:xx. I felt useful out there, moving 5K walkers over and stopping a couple of crazy cars. It was a great experience all the way around. The Bedford Half was amazing. The Galloways and gang did an amazing job. Tim the Elder nearly worked himself to death in the process, but it resulted in a great event for our area.

Ben and Lester both ran the half. Ben wasn't super trained for it, but I am so proud he ran. In the end he broke 2 hours and won an award. Lester was also light on miles but ran an impressive 1:33:xx. It's a challenging course, so those times are really good. Another friend, John H (not Iron John H) ran his first half and had a great run! I loved watching everyone finish well.

I rode around enough on Saturday to get 20 (slow) miles on my bike, which was fine. It was very cold and windy. I was glad to come home and work in my office all Saturday afternoon.

After church yesterday, Brent V took me out to Crane for a swim. Talk about cold - wow! We agreed if the sun had been out it would have been much better. Instead it sprinkled from time to time. It was good to get a mile + in the books though. I'm not sure how many more outdoors swims we can have if the water temp keeps dropping?

This week I am going to take what I can get. My main priority is swimming, which will begin tonight in the pool, and running my last 20 miler. I really would like to get another 100 mile ride in, but the weather may nix that. At this point there is no point in doing something too risky that could lead to a crash.

OK, this turned out longer than I thought. Thanks for stopping by. Time to hit the (dark) streets of Mitchell!

Gettin' Real

Friday

Good morning! It's raining but still warm. I want 10 miles. Hmmm. We'll see...

Yesterday I took off to ride with Jimmy. It would be (was) my 11th 100 miler of the year. I had told Jimmy I wanted to do one more by myself, explaining in a group context, even with one other, you get an advantage of drafting etc. He took the words to heart.

We took off and headed north through the Rabbitsville Rollers, picking up 15 miles before heading south. We did this while it was relatively calm, knowing the south wind would increase as the day unfolded. It would also allow us to turn in Fredricksburg and return without doing a lot of extra loops.

The plan worked pretty well. The south wind did present itself and strongly pretty early. We pushed into for a long time. I noticed Jimmy stayig beside me or behind me almost all the time. Later he told me he wanted me to experience the ride without any help, which I appreciate. With the wind and heat (ironically it was one of the hottest centuries of the 11, on Oct. 2) we did not go super fast.

Bottom line we got the 100 miles with very minimal stopping. I still hope to do another one, I think, but if it doesn't work out, then I think I am fine. We'll see.

Tomorrow I am riding my bike to escort a lead running in the Bedford Half Marathon. This will be fun and interesting, providing a new perspective on a race for me. It is going to be cold! Lester and Ben, along with 600+ others are running it. That's amazing!

Thursday

"I'll do this if you will show me a calf."

Let's see, I believe I missed yesterday, since there was nothing to report about a rest day. Oh, good morning, by the way!

Yesterday saw me back at it, but of course, at the start you could not have seen me, because I was running in the dark. The darkness is lasting longer now, but that's ok. I can find enough light along certain streets to get the job done.

I was a little slower yesterday but still got a good 10 miler in. I was mindful of the 100 mile ride today, which should be the penultimate 100 miler in this training cycle, though I am not exactly sure if/when the last one will happen.

This morning's radar bothers me a bit. They are now talking about a round of rain possible this morning, which would not be good. It looks like it might go north of us? I sure hope so.

Really need to get going...

Tuesday

Legends

Tim the Elder - another legend

Good morning! Wow, I'm glad that night is over. Every once in a while I have a bad night's sleep. Last night was it. I think I was dreaming I was not sleeping, after getting up for a while with restless legs. Oh well...makes me appreciate the good nights more.

Last night's sleep helped me figure out today. I was struggling with when/where to get a ride in. It was creating problems for me. Another factor in figuring out today is that I have only had 2 days off from endurance athletics in September. Bottom line: today is going to be a rest day. It will do my body and mind good.

I did have another decent 10 miler yesterday. My hamstrings are still letting me know they are there but not anything like before. I think I will run another 10 miler in the morning, followed by a 15 miler on Friday morning, weather permitting. Thursday is shaping up for a 100-112 bike ride.

As Ironman gets closer, my awareness of it is getting larger. It is a long day, and the questions have already started about training. Enough? Right way? Yes, and yes, so shut up Mr. Doubter. I still have a couple of weeks to work on a few things, and then the focus becomes more and more on the mental aspects.

In the top picture, and it's too bad the Elder was not in it, are some legends of Lawrence county running. Larry Hammersley, Larry Moffatt, and Albert Mesarosh are all compelling figures for different reasons, but the common link is running. Tim the Elder had a great 5K on Saturday. After blowing a hammy the year before, he came back with a performance that flirted with the coveted sub-20 time. Next year! And I hope to be there too.

OK, I am going to have a great day, and I hope the same for you. Say a prayer for a friend who had cancer surgery yesterday. Tim S. He is a good man and will recover well. We hope to see him back on the road and the bike before too long.

Monday

All in my family, except me, did the Persimmon 5K

Lester and Ben bringing home the goods

Good morning! It was a wonderful weekend. Perfect weather, coupled with all of my children home, makes for some special times. The Saturday of the Persimmon 5K is one of my favorite days of the year, and this year was no different. Everything was so nice.

Everyone in my family did the 5K, including Cora in the stroller. The best performance of the day goes to Lester. He ran 19:17 and finished 6th overall. This is on very little speed work and not a great base. He is running the Bedford Half on Saturday, as is Ben. Ben also had a good run, breaking 22 minutes. Not bad for a (former) football player.

Since this blog is about my Ironman training, let me tell you briefly about that. I had another good 20 miler on Friday morning. I was pretty pleased with it. While not fast, compared to my past, it was solid and fast enough. My heart rate stayed good the whole time, which really pleases me. I think I am ready for Ironman, but I will do another 20 miler in less than 2 weeks, at the very edge of taper.

Saturday between all the fun, while everyone else was cleaning up from the 5K, I squeezed a quick 17 mile bike ride in. It was so nice out. I only got 100 miles in last week on the bike, which is OK. This week I hope to get back up in the 150+ range. This will be a challenge, due to schedule and shorter days.

Yesterday I went swimming. It was not all that good, which makes 2 in a row in that category. I have plenty of time to work on things, but I am hoping to get back into a better place soon with the water. I'm not sure when the swims will fit this week.

OK, it is going to be a great week of weather, at least for the first few days of this week. Enjoy!

Thursday p.m.

Hey there! Yes, I am a little out of routine, but that's ok. Right? I am tired, so this may be brief.

There was not much to report about Wednesday. I had a rather ordinary 5 miler on a beautiful morning. That was the beginning of a pretty busy day.

Today, Roy, Jim and I rode. We rode 60 before swimming for a while. Jimmy locked his key in his car, so the ride first went to the 13 miles to his house to get another key. Then after making sure he could get in his car, we took off for the county line. The weather was stunningly beautiful!

After the ride we changed and made our way to Kenray. I was beat, and it showed up in a slow swim. It was good to be in the water, though. I did get another 1.2 miles in the log book. Roy and Jim both swam 2 miles.

All in all it was a good day in the endurance world. Tomorrow I plan to do another 20 miler. I hope I can get it done!

Wednesday

Good morning! This needs to be a quick one. A run awaits, and if I am going to start at 6:30, I am going to have to get out the door.

I sneaked off yesterday (actually I did not sneak off - I told others what I was doing) for a midday ride. I shortened the planned 25 down to 22. It was an ok ride, just ok. My legs felt tired and burned the whole time. The wind was from the northeast. Here is the data.

This morning I am running short, hoping to be fresh for tomorrow's long ride. Jimmy is wanting to shorten it down from 100 to 70 or 80. I will evaluate on the bike whether I want to tack on extra miles to make it a century. I am not sure it will help me that much at this point.

Did you hear about the Lake Tahoe Ironman being cancelled at the last minute? Wow. I can't imagine how that would feel.

I hope you have a great day!

Tuesday

Good morning! Another cool morning for us with the promise of a very nice afternoon and evening. I love fall, and it's now fall. I thought the autumnal equinox was yesterday morning but it was last night. I slept right through it, which is a good thing.

In yesterday's post I meant to acknowledge Jimmy's weekend. He, along with Steve B and Rand H, swam 2.4 in Sullivan on Saturday and then rode a little over a 100 miles. Then on Sunday morning Jim ran 20 miles. That's a pretty good weekend, wouldn't you say? He didn't swim Sunday afternoon but was nice enough to allow the rest of us to have access to the lake via his property.

This week has a lot of schedule challenges, specifically I am driving a bus a lot. Someone broke a leg, so I am helping out. The result is three trips this week. The first one was last night to Salem. Tonight I go to Paoli, and Thursday I ventured over to Oolitic. I am trying to make the most of the time. Last night I did quite a bit of reading/research in prep for Sunday.

Last night's bus work will relieve some of the guilt I will feel today when I slip away midday for bike ride. It is the only way I can get it in. I'm not sure of the exact time, but I will slip away and try get 25 miles in, probably doing the Double TT Trouble course in Orleans.  I can run early, in the dark, but not being Troy Y, I will not ride in the dark.

Speaking of running in the dark, yesterday morning's run was a lot that way. Mitchell has enough streets with enough light to make it doable. My main concern: skunks. So far so good. I have seen them around over the years, so I know they roam around.

I had another decent 10 miler yesterday (Strava & Garmin). If you look at the data, then you see I started out slower than I finished, which is good. Also mile 3 is where I transitioned through some dark streets, trying to find more light. I am feeling more confident in my running every time I go out, which is good. I hope to rejoin the group runs before too long.

I hope you have a great day!

Monday

Good morning! How are you on this new Monday? Hey, I know a lot of people do not like Mondays. I like them just fine -- just another way I am weird, I suppose.

This needs to be quick. I think I am going to try get 10 miles in this morning, so I will need to get started pretty early. It's going to be a nice morning to run. All week looks great for endurance athletics.

The weekend was good. Friday I ran 13 miles. It went pretty well. I got up Saturday morning, ready for the Spokes Ride. Scott joined me. We had a nice leisurely ride. Robin Elliott joined us after about 20 miles. It was nice getting to know her. The ride was well organized and enjoyable.

Yesterday was swim day. As usual I had a fairly tight window of opportunity. I arrived early, as did Roy. Jimmy texted saying he was running late and to go ahead. Perfect. We jumped in, right when Brent V showed up.

I did another 2.4 non-stop and did it in 1:33:40, which is 2 minutes faster than last time and 6 minutes faster than the first time. My form fell apart around laps 8-9, but I was able to regain it a bit and finished well. It was a good swim for me.

Busy, busy, crazy week ahead. Lots of things are going to be challenging, including get all my workouts in. We'll see how it unfolds. I hope you have a great week!

Friday

Good morning! It is Friday, you know. It's going to be a busy one, but the reward at the end of the day for me is spending some time with Cora. That is probably my favorite thing to do.

Yesterday was a good one. I got a lot of work done in the morning. It was productivity defined and measured in different ways, reflecting a variety of activities. That set me up to feel good, which set me up to have a couple of good workouts.

I left work a little after noon and headed out to the Park. I got on my bike, experiencing a fairly significant northeast wind, and headed out for around 25 miles. I came back with exactly 26. I fought the wind heading east and then enjoyed a nice ride back west. Then I turned north and just worked my way back in. It was a decent ride, a Kestrel in flight, a little Afternoon Delight.

After the ride I had enough time to go home and unload the bike and change into my swim gear. It's nice to have good friends in good places, like Crane. John H picked me up outside the gate, and we headed onto base, to the lake. There we met Rand and Brent. We donned our wet-suits and headed into the water.

I worked on a few things while in the water. Each lap is about a mile, so there is plenty of time to try fix things. I talked to Jimmy and Roy some about my swimming. Jimmy told me, "Push your buoy and elongate your vessel." Now before you let your mind wander (stop laughing!), this is the language of total immersion swimming. I tried to do those two things, plus kick a little better. The result was a 9 minute improvement over my only other time in the lake at Crane.

Nine minutes is huge. It reflects a very poor first swim there, but it also shows that technique is my main problem. The good news is I can work on technique all the way to Ironman, even while tapering on the bike and the run. It could make a big difference in the kind of day I have on November 1.

OK, I hope to squeeze 13 miles in this morning before an appointment at 9 a.m. I best get going! Tomorrow I hope to find 75 miles on the bike.

Thursday

Cora victimized by an Alabama fan 

Good morning! How are you today? I feel pretty good and am certain this day will be enjoyable. That's the approach I'm taking. There a chance Kedra and I get to babysit sweet Cora this evening or tomorrow evening, and I'm telling you that enhances the joy beyond measure.

I am a runner again. I have a ways to go to get back to where I once was, but I am certainly going in the right direction. I am starting to think about marathons, the post-Ironman kind, the Boston qualifying kind, again. Those thoughts were long gone for a while. For several months I dreaded the run portion of my training, much preferring cycling and even swimming. That's all changing now.

Yesterday I had another decent run. This came on the morning after a moderate-hard workout the night before. The cool weather is a factor, and so is confidence, which is building. It all feels good.

Today I am going to work as hard as I can this morning and then carve out some time this afternoon. I hope to get a 25 mile ride in, followed by a swim. It looks like a pretty nice day ahead. I hope it keeps warming up.

I hope your day goes well!

Wednesday

Good morning! Yep, it's Wednesday, hump day, whatever... It's my long day, but that's quite OK. I love what I do, so getting more of it is a good thing, I suppose. Well kinda.

I hope to get out for a little 5 miler. I am hearing there is fog out there, a cool fog, mid 40s. Not complaining here but I am not quite ready to say goodbye to the summer. I will, however, take what I get and receive it with gratitude.

Last night was our Tuesday night ride. We shortened it a bit due to the shortening of the days. This is going to be a challenge all the way to Ironman. I will continue to compensate by taking off early, like I did last night. I ended up with 51 miles. I got about 17 before the group gathered. I had to don cool weather clothes, with a view I might adjust. No adjustment required; I was dressed just right.

We rolled out the usual way to the county line. I dropped off early and fought the wind out, which made for a better workout I suppose. I didn't want to fall off, but I just couldn't stay attach; high cadence, low cadence, I just didn't have enough speed to stay on. Once I made it to the line, everyone else was ready to return, so I just flipped and took off.

I had no problem staying on going back, which resulted in a nice return. Instead of going all the way to the usual finish, we stopped the line and turned a mile short, heading back on the same route we came out. This cut off 2 miles and/or about 7-8 minutes, which helped us get back with adequate daylight. Here is my Strava stuff.

We had a good group last night: Roy and Troy, Jim and Tim, Rand John, and Scott, and me. Did I miss anyone? I hope not. Scott and I are riding the Between the Spokes ride on Saturday. I'm not crazy about what it's called. I don't want to experience anything between my spokes - ha ha. Oh well, it should be fun. We did it last year. I hope to stretch it to a 75 mile ride.

OK, best get going!

Tuesday

I can relate, Cora, I'm always hungry!

Good morning! Another very cool morning. While I am enjoying this, I am not really ready for it to stay this way. I believe there is a warm up for the weekend. We need it to keep those lake temps from plummeting any further. It is going to get pretty cold in the water before Nov.1 if we keep this trend.

I don't have a whole lot to report this morning. I did have another good run, a 7 miler. I liked the way I ran it. It took me 2-3 miles to settle but then I settled into a decent pace that slightly increased as the run progressed. I feel like a runner again. I did not for quite a while. I think that temporary season is over.

Today is a ride day. Shorter days are presenting a challenge to us. We are gathering at church still, best I can understand, but we will have to shorten the ride somehow in order to get back safely. I guess we will figure that out as we roll out. I plan to do a pre-ride, if I can get everything to fall into place. I would like to see 50 miles in the log this evening.

OK, let's all have a great day. Attitude is the key!

Monday

Cora is 8 months old

Good morning! This needs to be fairly quick. I want to get 7 miles in before 8 a.m. This means I will need to start before too long, and I have to pack up for the day as well. It is going to be another nice cool morning to run. I am not quite ready for this kind of cool, but here it is!

I hope you had a good weekend. I had a great weekend, a busy one mixed with a lot of church activity, along with some good endurance work. After a rest day on Friday I was ready to attempt my first 20 miler in a long time. Saturday morning was very cool--low 50s-- and fairly windy out of the northwest.

Seven a.m. was a good start time. I needed to check my phone periodically, so I went out for 6-7 miles at a time, coming back for nutrition/hydration and phone checks. I am pleased to say I did the 20 miles without any problems. Naturally I slowed some in the last 3-4 miles, but that's quite ok. My heart rate stayed good throughout. I felt good afterwards.

If you are interested in the data, I think you see it here: Strava and Garmin. I was certainly not fast, but I was fairly steady. I also did a 100 mile bike ride on Thursday, so I am pleased about my fitness level. We are less than 7 weeks out from Ironman Florida and everything is looking good.

Yesterday afternoon some of us went swimming: Jimmy, Roy, Brent, and me. It was cool, and the water was cool. Jimmy wanted me to try his sleeveless wet suit, so I did. I liked it, though my arms never warmed up during the swim.

I went into the water with an intentionality of working on my rotation, kick, and reach. Yes, that is too much to concentrate on, but I tried to work on each one at various times. I am not sure if it was that or the wet suit--probably both--but I took nearly 5 minutes of my 1.2 mile time from my last attempt. I was happy about that but not totally satisfied. I can work on swimming all the way to Ironman, which is good.

OK, need to run. Literally.

Friday

Good morning! Looks like a nice, cool day ahead. It's going to be a good and busy day for me. That's what I get for taking a Thursday (mostly) off. I'm quite ok with all that. Nothing like a deadline (Sunday) for bringing focus.

The plan yesterday was to roll out of Lighthouse at 7:30, which I knew probably wouldn't happen. Still, it was a good goal. Jimmy and I were going to ride our 100, and Roy would be doing his on a different route. There was a slight chance of intersection along the way.

We all woke to a heavy mist/light rain. Roy decided to ride with us, and Jimmy overslept. Texts were exchanged and plans changed. The result: the 3 of us rolled out from Lighthouse a little after 8. The conditions were not super pleasant, and the delayed start was probably a blessing. It was on the dark side. I was really glad Roy was along. He is great to ride with, as is Jimmy.

Jimmy and I both had 2:30 appointments. If you do the math, then you know we had to get after it and stay after it. We had a northwest wind taking us out, and we knew it. We needed to avoid the Amish Super 2 because of chipping and sealing. We decided to head to Fredricksburg in a fairly direct way, turn, and begin the return, knowing we would need to pick up 15 miles or so to make the 100.

We decided to stop at Campbellsburg on the way out to get more water. We were 25 miles in. It was the only stop of the day, except for 2-3 more "very adequately hydrated" stops along the side of the road. The cool weather definitely made hydration easy.

Experimenting with nutrition was one of my main goals. I set a timer to go off every 30 minutes. (Jimmy had one every 15 minutes and ate often.) I ate religiously for the first 4+ hours. I started out doing 300 calories an hour, alternating between a 200 cal. bar and a 100 cal. gel. It worked pretty well. I really had no problems. I do believe it may be a little much, so next ride I will try 200 calories per hour.

The ride was good and solid. We ran into a decent rain between Campbellsburg and Fredricksburg. It was unpleasant, but I didn't get cold. We turned around and headed back into the rain and the wind. I was pleased that we were able, in the end, to come back at the same speed with we went out, 17 mph, easily breaking 6 hours.

If you want to see the data, then you have a couple of options: Garmin data and Strava data. The thing I always notice and don't understand is the difference in calories consumed. Strava says I used 2686, while Garmin has me burning 1722. I could probably research this but don't care that much really.

Today is a rest day, and tomorrow I attempt my first 20 miler of the training cycle. It looks like a great morning for a long run. Sunday is another long swim. Have a great weekend!

Thursday

Good morning! Just a brief check-in this morning. Jim and I was supposed to knock out another 100 miles this morning. It looks like a pretty decent day ahead to do that. It will actually be on the cool side, I think. My main objective today is nutrition, working to eat more as I ride. I have several different things to try today.

Yesterday morning I ran out of time, so I did a 3 miler instead of my hoped for 5. I did not sleep well on Tuesday night, so I was concerned about the run. The good news was I felt good and ended running at an 8:49 pace, with the last 2 being 8:42. That's still not too fast, but it is a move in the right direction for sure.

Next up: 100 miler report (hopefully).

Wednesday

Always on my mind, which is good

Good morning! How are you on this Wednesday? There could be some bumpy weather later on, so keep an eye to the sky.

I have quite the busy day today. I have a couple of meetings that will dictate my presence at certain times, so between those I fill in all the other stuff on my list to do today. I like the challenge of productivity. Yes, I know, I am a bit sick, but confession/admission is the first step, right?

Last night was one of the worst night's sleep I've had in a while. I am not sure what went wrong. I got up for a while, and then I think I dreamed I was not sleeping the rest of the night. Oh well, it just makes me appreciate all the good nights more, and I have had a lot of good nights lately.

Part of the sleep problem may have been the good, hard workout on the bike last night. It was a great night--Great with 8 (Strava data)! Let's see, who showed up? There was Tim, Jim, John, and Tim, along with Troy, Rand, and Roy and me. Everyone was in a good mood and ready to work hard. We are fighting darkness now, so we got after it.

Once we hit 337, Jimmy said we would roll out east easy at about 18-19 mph. Liar! We made it to the P tree at average speed of 22.1 mph. I was pleased I hung onto it. Miller saved me coming out the Lost River Bottoms, bridging me back to the line.

After the usual county line stop, there was a little trash talking and then a Sullivan-like start to the pace line back to Orleans, meaning a bunch of guys took off without waiting for the line to form, meaning I was off the back before I even started. Miller, again, saved my day, bridging me back. From that point on it was a fairly smooth ride back to Orleans. We averaged 23.4 for the return trip.

I did about 17 miles before the group arrived, so I ended up with a nice ride of nearly 54 miles, not bad for a Tuesday evening. Here is my Garmin data. After the ride most of us went to Wendy's to recap and laugh for a while. I took Troy and his bike home. He and his "user-friendly" (and very nice) wife had some kind of communication break-down.

Today is an easy 5 miler, I hope. I have a meeting at 8.30, so I should have plenty of time. Tomorrow, I am taking off. Jimmy and I are planning on another 100 miler. Roy is doing one too, but like Fleetwood Mac, wants to go his own way, down highways Jim and I do not want to experience.

Have a great day!

Tuesday

Tuesday Night Ride

Good morning! What another amazing morning we have! And the day ahead looks perfect in my view. I love cool mornings and warm afternoons. Tonight's ride is going to be blessed with nearly perfect conditions: warm with a light southerly wind.

I wonder who will show up tonight? Troy is out, and Jim is in. Beyond that I am not sure. My guess Tim the Elder will show, along with Rand da Man, perhaps. John will bring the Heat, I bet, since he is an Ironman and all rested up now. Will it be (Tim) Miller time? Will stranger Scott show? Roy the Ritter Rider? Should be fun.

Yesterday morning was so very nice! I was on the cool side for almost 2 miles. That is the first time I can say that since spring. I got going a little after 6:30, and after my last 10 miler--a breakthrough run of sorts--I had some expectations I would do something similar. The weather conditions were much better than last time.

I ended up averaging one second faster per mile than last run. Here is my Garmin Connect data. I was a little erratic, which is fine. I am trying to find a groove. My guess is it will be this way for a little while. I was pleased to see a sub-9 mile at the end. Encouraging. I hope to get my training runs back to sub-9 and start running with the group again. I have not run with anyone since mid-March. Ah, the loneliness of the long distance runner.

Do everyone a favor and have a good day by having a good attitude! ha ha Not sure where that came from, but, hey, it is pretty good advice, even if I do say so myself.

Monday

Rebecca, Maddie, Kedra & Baby Cora

Good morning! Monday. Again! Yes and I like it. Everything starts anew, and I think I am ready for a big week of endurance events. Last week I did about 11 hours, which is the lowest week I've had since early/mid July. It worked out to be somewhat of a rest week, so I decided to roll with that.

We have about 5 weeks of hard training ahead and then taper begins. I want to be careful, smart, and work really hard over the next 5 weeks to get stronger and more efficient, especially in the swim. I plan to do 3 more centuries on the bike and start the 20 milers on the run.

Saturday saw us do 70 miles -- Rand, Dr. Lucky & me. I have dubbed Jimmy Dr. Lucky because, well, he is so stinkin lucky. The latest? He and his buddy Steve won a contest for Colts' season ticket holders. The result was an all-expense paid trip to Denver for last night's Colts Broncos game. Dr. Lucky did not even know there was a contest until they called to tell him he won.

That lucky trip dictated, somewhat, the length of our ride on Saturday. Actually we really only needed about 70 anyway, but on the ride Dr. Lucky brought his influence. The predicted rain did not show up, and the highway crossings, and there were several, were all clean and easy. We had a pretty good ride. You can see it here, if interested.

I felt good after the ride and worked with firewood in the afternoon. Rebecca came in from Nashville on Friday, so I got to spend some relaxing time with her too. She, along with the other girls pictured, did a girl shopping thing on Saturday morning. They are teaching Cora the ways of women, I suppose.

Yesterday, between church activities, Rand invited us out to Crane to swim. This was a great experience. The distance across the lake is about .5 miles, which is similar to what we will swim out into the Gulf of Mexico before turning to go parallel to shore for a little while. It was the longest distance I have covered without turning. It was challenging from a sighting standpoint, plus there were ski boats and wakes to consider, along with some wind.

I did ok. I had no fear or panic, but I am slow. I have a few weeks to work on this, and yesterday was really good for me. On my second lap, on the return leg, I saw Rand coming back to me. I thought he was just going to escort me in. He grabbed my foot to stop me, telling me I was in the boat lane. Oops! Evidently there was a ski boat headed my way. I once had an encounter at Kenray with a pontoon boat. I am attracted to boats evidently. Anyway Rand saved my life, and now I live another day!

This morning I hope to get a 10 miler in, starting pretty soon. I have a busy day and week ahead and want to get a jump on it. The temps are really nice and cool this morning. Hopefully this will translate into a decent run.

Have a great day!

Friday

Good morning! Yes, I am considerably later than usual. Two things: I slept a little later (5:15) and I needed to get my run in before a scheduled activity. I'm glad I waited, because I can go ahead on report on this morning's run, which was a little bit surprising.

Before I get to this morning's run, I will give a brief report on yesterday. It will be brief because there is not much to report. I had a very product day in other areas but not so much in the endurance athletic world. I was kinda cuing off Jimmy, and he had several variables to work. Bottom line: no ride, just a 1.2 mile swim last night. I was good with that.

Now this morning's run... I am not sure what happened, but I started feeling like a runner again. I am still a ways away from where I used to be and want to be, but I did 10 miles in a 9:13 pace on a warm and muggy morning. Of course I want to train sub-9 and will, I think, but for now, when I've been closer to 10 minute miles or slower, I am pretty pleased with this run.

Tomorrow we are riding 75, I think, starting at Lighthouse at 7.30, I think. Can you tell Jimmy is involved? ha ha ha! It should be a good ride, but the weather may have something to say about it. And did you see the extended forecast? Cool weather is on the way.

I hope your day and weekend goes well! Talk to you on Monday.

Thursday

Good morning, Thursday!

It's going to be another nice day in the neighborhood. I am hoping for a super productive day in lots of ways. Hopefully the day will include a swim and bike ride this evening. All of that will take shape as the day unfolds.

I got out early and got a 10 miler completed before 8:15 yesterday morning. It was considerably cooler. It was foggy in places, but the cool temps easily compensated for the humidity. I think it was my best 10 miler of this training cycle. I threw in a few accelerations, striving to get a little faster. I am very pleased with my relatively low heart rate and how quickly it recovers. This, hopefully, will serve me well in the marathon at Ironman.

Last night after my church activities, James came to my office. He had offered to work with me a little bit on fitting me better to my bike. He brought a level, a plumb bob, a tape measure, and seemed to know what he was doing. We moved my saddle forward considerably, creating some better angles. I appreciate him working with me, and now I need to ride it a few times to see how it feels.

I hope you have a great day!

Wednesday

Good morning! Raise your hand if you feel like it's Tuesday? I like holidays, a break in the routine, but they throw me off the rest of the week -- ha ha. Oh well, that's pretty minor stuff.

In July I only took 2 days off, in August I took 3, and in September I've already taken 1. Yesterday worked out to be a good day to not work out. I had to take my bike to the Bike Doctor. I left home around 7, so I could be there when he opened. This meant my usual practice of running before 7 wouldn't happen. Generally, I try not to do anything during "work hours," except on Thursdays, so I didn't want to run later. Plus it was raining...

Rest days are good. Rest days are good. Rest days are good.

Today, here soon, I am going to run 10 miles, I hope. I have a pretty busy day ahead, so it will be a great way to start the day.

My bike has a headset problem. It is fine to ride until the new one comes in. This is good. I was wanting a tune-up at the end of this month, so I will get the repair at the same time.

OK, let's have great days, shall we?

Tuesday

Good morning! How was the long weekend for you? I had a good one, measured in different ways. Since this blog is about my endurance athletic life, then that's what we'll talk about. I will say training for Ironman is difficult.

The workouts are tough, but tougher is maintaining a balance between the workouts and the other things that are far more important. I vowed from the beginning to not let it affect my ministry, and, I think, I have kept that vow. I have had to cut other things, which I'm not crazy about, but we are in the home stretch now. I think we have 6-7 more weeks of hard training and then begins taper.

The long weekend was a pretty good one for training. Friday Rand, Jim, and I swam long. Rand and I did the Iron distance of 2.4, while Jimmy went ahead and did the 3 mile workout. My 3 miler is coming up. I will have to find a good time to do it. I did this 2.4 miler about 3 minutes faster than the first time, so I was happy about that.

Saturday I had (soft) visions of doing a 20 miler. I was still feeling Thursday's 100 mile ride and Friday's long swim, so I didn't know how the run would go. I took off around 6:30, knowing rain was on the radar. I did 7 and went back to grab a quick drink and a gel. The plan was to do another 7 and then decide if I would go on. It was very humid but pleasantly cool.

On my way out to the Amish Super 2, I was feeling pretty good but the sky was growing more ominous by the minutes. Then I saw it, the deal breaker for me: lightning. I continued on for about a minute before turning back to town. Before I could get back the rain came and came pretty hard. I kept going. My shoes were soaked, so I made the decision at about the 12 mile mark I would go 15 miles.

I did not really need 20 at this point, though I wanted it and would have done it if dry. I was fairly pleased with the run, though all of my running is about a minute per mile slower than I wish. Part of that is coming off my double hamstring problems, but now it is more trying to manage one training event in such a way it does not hurt the next one too much. This, to me, is one of the arts of training for Ironman. It is about managing fatigue. I like the challenge.

Sunday afternoon several of us gathered at Kenray for another swim. I went 1.6. Why 1.6? Because it gave me 5 miles of swimming for the week, of course! The swim went OK, not great. I still have lots of work to do.

Yesterday Rand, Roy, Jim and I gathered at church at 7:30 to ride. Several of us have conflicts tomorrow evening, so we decided to do our usual workout today, on Labor Day. We had a decent ride, rolling out on 337 at 20 mph and coming back around 23 mph. The southwest wind was significant. After the workout I did some things around the yard (see above about cutting things out) before a family cookout.

If you look carefully (click on picture to enlarge) at the photo above, a screen shot of my Beginning Triathlete log, you can see my August totals, as well as yearly totals. I am pleased with the swim miles and bike miles. My running miles are low, due to injury earlier, but I am increasing them now.  OK, this turned out to be a longer post than I planned. Oh well... Have a good day!

Friday

Good morning! It's Friday! It's going to be a busy one for me, since I took yesterday off. Oh well, it's all good.

Yesterday turned out to be a great day of training, just like we hoped it would be. Jimmy was delayed a little, so we got started around 7:45, which was fine. The morning temps were cool but the humidity was high. We made our way south and west, extending the Amish Super 2 by turning west/right at the end.

By the time we got to Orleans we were looking at 13.5 miles. Time to head east for a while, like all the way to Campbellsburg. Then we went south, like all the way to Fredricksburg. There we were sitting on 46 miles. We had not stopped and didn't stop then. With depleted water supplies, we rolled into the gas station at Campbellsburg with 63 miles.

It was our first and only stop of the day. We got water, Gatorade, and a small break. It took 10 minutes to do all that. Then it was time to head west for a while, which was the best direction of the day. There was a very small wind out of the east, but still it helped.

All in all it was a pretty uneventful day. We only average 16.5. Jimmy didn't feel good for quite a while. Then when he started feeling better, I was feeling the heat/humidity. It was pre-pre-bonk stuff. Didn't even get close, though. I was able to manage and finish in an upright position. We rolled into the church parking lot at 100.1 miles.

On the ride we worked on our nutrition/hydration plan. I drank 110 ounces of water and Gatorade, mostly water. I consumed approximately 1000 calories but burned 2500-3000, I think. Both are on the low end of what I need to do, so I have more work to do in that area.

After a little break and some real food, I headed out to Kenray Lake. Jim was there with KJ to go fishing. Jim brought his swim gear, just in case it would work out for him. I jumped in and took off. I did a mile in a fairly decent time for me (38 minutes). The water was really warm. It felt good on the old man's tired body.

Brent V showed up to swim, right as I finished. I offered to fish with KJ so Jim could swim. Jim got a mile in, and I think Brent did too. I got home and we had a nice meal of salad and spaghetti. It was a nice day of training for Ironman.

Today? I think there could be another swim in the works, which would be great! I want in the water as much as possible between now and November 1. I know Kenray is not the Gulf but comfort/confindence in the water, that comes from being in it, should carry over, I hope.

Thursday

Cora is growing up so fast!

Good morning! How are you on this new day? Good, I hope.

Today is going to be a big day, at least that's the plan. I have another unusually busy weekend, and since I am supposed/need to take a day off during the week, I am taking today off from my usual activities. I confess it feels a little weird taking Thursday off, but Jimmy does it! Every week! 

Oh well, you don't need or want to hear my inner struggles with responsibilities, guilt, unmet expectations, the impossibility of doing everything, etc.; you probably have yours to - ha ha. Back to today - yes, the good Dr. Jimmy and I are going to have a great day of training.

Our plan is to roll out at 7:30 for a 100 mile ride, wandering around, moving toward Fredricksburg, collecting miles as we go and come back. We will have to do a few side trips to get 100 miles, but we can do that. We want to minimize stops today, more closely simulating the Ironman ride. We will have to stop for water at some point, however. The weather should be pretty decent today, a little cooler and hardly any wind.

After the ride we plan to head to Kenray for a swim. It's been a week for me, so I am eager to get back in the water. I will probably do a mile and plan on the Iron distance of 2.4 miles on Sunday afternoon. 

Yesterday I did another little 5 miler. They are going fine, but they are slow. I know my Ironman marathon is going to be slow too. I am thinking about doing my first 20 miler this weekend. I will have to see what time constraints I have, along with how I feel.

Have a great day!

Wednesday

Good morning! I hope you are well on this new day, another gift from God.

A run is calling me, so I will try get this out quickly. I ended up with a little over 29 miles last night, 21 less than my hope, but I am thankful to have those miles. The rain was a major player last night.

My plan was to roll out at 4:30, but I had trouble getting out of my office. I was already a little behind, and at this point, since I watched the radar for a while, I knew there was a good chance of plans changing. I decided to get what I could get before everyone else arrived. I started about 4:45 and did a few loops around the edge of town, carefully watching the sky as I went.

It was clear storms were rolling in, so I headed back to church a little after 5. Roy was there waiting. As soon as I pulled under the carport, the rain started. Roy came in the building. We chatted and watched the radar. Jimmy called to ask what was happening. I told him I thought it would stop. The problem was the storm cell didn't want to move. It rained hard for a long time.

Jimmy arrived, as did Troy and Tim the Elder. It was still raining at roll out time. Tim the Elder, the wise one, went home. After a little delay, the rain got lighter, and the radar revealed a window of dryness just north of us. I said, "Let's go!" We did. Just north of town the roads were dry and the sky clear. We did a couple of loops on Dixie Highway and came back. I had 7 pre-ride miles to add to the 22 we did together.

Afterwards Jim, Roy, Troy, and I gathered at Wendy's. John H came to join us, so we got a lot of good Ironman stories and information. It turned out to be a pretty pleasant evening. Today is another 5 mile run. Tomorrow Jim and I are planning to do another 100 miler, my 9th of the year.

Tuesday

Ironman Eyes?

Good morning! How are you on this day, a Tuesday? I am looking at 74 degrees. Hmmm, something tells me my run, which will start in the dark, is going to be warm and muggy. Oh well, at least I'm not doing Ironman today. I'm still amazed with what I saw on Sunday -- people competing in tough conditions.

I took another rest day yesterday. I spent some time with John on the marathon course Sunday. I wasn't expecting to do that, but it turned out to be a pretty good workout. That coupled with a late night/early morning arrival home, short sleep, and a busy day led to a logical decision to rest. It felt good.

Today will be a busy one. I am going to run 5 miles soon, and then I am loading a semi with/for Bryanstville Hunger Relief Project. After that I will squeeze in a few things before heading to Loogootee to meet with a good friend about our work in Honduras. Then a little more work before hitting the bike for a pre-ride, followed by the "official" ride at 5:45. I am hoping for another 50 miles this evening.

The ride tonight, I think, will be sparsely populated. I know John is out, as is Jimmy. We'll see who shows up for what. It is going to be hot and humid.

Watching Ironman Louisville was a good experience for me. It gave me some confidence, but/and it scared me as well. It's a good, healthy fear, the kind that will motivate me to work hard over the next 7-8 weeks before tapering.

Have a great day!

Monday

Iron John getting it done

Good morning! I hope you are off to a good start today. I am up and at it, taking it as it comes.

After church yesterday I made my way to Louisville to watch John Heatherly compete in Ironman. I got there and found it, no surprise, hot and humid. I checked in with several friends who had been there from the beginning.

They reported John did well in the swim and was doing well on the bike. I waited at the transition area for everyone, including John. It was fun to watch people coming in off the bike, 112 miles, after a 2.4 mile swim. Most of them looked pretty good. A few were in trouble.

John came in after a good ride. He switched his bike shoes for running shoes, along with a few other changes, and he was off on the run. It was about 3:30 when he took off. It was very humid and hot. John persevered through it all and finished a little after 10 p.m. It was a long, hot marathon, but he did it!

"John Heatherly, You Are an Ironman!" The words everyone who trains for these things longs to hear! Congratulations, John, great job!

Experimenting with LSD

See the humidity?

Long Slow Distance! I have been telling myself and a few others that I would do 16 miles today. I need to start upping the run miles, and a 16 miler would push me to 31 for the week, a respectable Ironman total.

I knew I needed to start early to beat the heat, so I think I got off right around 6:15. It was very dark, so I decided to run down main street to the railroad tracks and then turn west for a while. It was a decent plan. About a half mile into the run, the negotiations began. What negotiations?

The humidity was amazing, so part of me, Reasonable Quitter, started saying, “You know you really don’t need 16 miles, 10 would give you 25.” It continued as the tenths of the miles slowly passed, “You know in this kind of weather, it really is not doing much good. Five miles would give you 20 for the week; just look at it as a rest week.”

My inner Wannabe Ironman (WI) countered, in a kind diplomatic way, “We’ll let’s wait and see. Let’s do 5, go back to the car, get a drink and decide.” Reasonable Quitter (RQ) continued to quietly make the case for 5 miles. WI remained silent, looking ahead, slowly plodding along, dripping sweat from soaked clothes.

We arrived back at the car, and WI told RQ to shut up. “We’ll go out and do 5 more and then evaluate.” RQ pouted after saying, “fine.” You know what? As the sun rose, and mercifully was blocked by the clouds, the humidity dropped some. Suddenly WI was tricking us into doing 6 before going back to the car. “If we get back with 11, then we can add 4 for a nice 15 OR we could just do the full 16 by adding 5.”

The last section is where things got really tough. It was around 80 and humidity was really bad. WI said, “This will be good for working on mental toughness!” He was pretty excited. RQ had given up, so I had to go with WI.

My pace slowed as my heart rate climbed. This is where the experimentation started. I was watching my heart rate go from the 130s for the first 5 miles, well into the 140s for the next 6, and now it was climbing quickly through the 150s and 160s. When it hit 170, at around 14.5 miles, I decided to walk until it fell back to 155. This happened pretty quickly, so I would then run again for a few minutes, watching 155-169, stopping again at 170.

I think it was good practice for the Ironman marathon. Hopefully it will not be anything like these conditions, but it was good to experiment with my heart rate on a long slow distance run. The overall pace was very slow, but that's ok for today.

Man, I feel for John H. It is going to be so tough in Louisville tomorrow. I am saying some serious prayers for him, his safety, and his ability to handle the conditions. I believe in the power of prayer and believe he will succeed.