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.

Friday

John is often called John Heat!

Good morning! John H is just hours away from his Ironman event. It's going to be a very hot one, just like it has been in the past. The challenge this summer is not having much weather that is similar to prepare for the conditions. John is smart, well-trained, and disciplined. He will be an Ironman come Sunday night. I plan to be there when it happens!

John and I have been through some good times together. We qualified for Boston together at Monumental in 2010. Then we suffered through Boston in 2012 in the record heat. This year, hopefully, we both become Ironmen, joining many of our good training partners.

Yesterday was hot and humid, but I had a good day of training. I had a breakfast meeting and was then supposed to meet Roy and Jim at church to ride. Jim texted to say his appointment was later than he thought, so Roy and I would ride for a while and come back to church to get him. Roy decided to ride from Bedford, which was fine.

I was ready to roll at 9. Roy got a little delayed, so we didn't roll from church until 9:15. Jim got further delayed and finally called to say he would meet us in Orleans at Huck's at 11:15. Roy and I rode around for a while longer and came back to meet Jim. We then headed out 337. When Roy reached Bromer, he decided to head back, noting he would have around 75 miles, which was plenty for him.

Jim and I continued to Livonia, stopping at the Little Twirl to get some bottled water. We then proceeded on 56 to West Washington School road, looping around for a while until we reached Livonia again. By this time it was hot with a headwind. I hit a pre-bonk state, but was able to gel my way out of it. Jimmy pulled me for a while, allowing a full recovery.

We parted ways on Pat's Plants' road, and I ended up back at church with 72+ miles. After a quick bite and change, I made my way out to Kenray Lake. Yes, there would be a swim after all! Jim was taking KJ fishing, which allowed me to swim. I got a mile in and was very happy to do so. I swam better than I had in a while.

Today is a rest day, anticipating a long run early in the morning.

Thursday

Cora ready to roll!

Good morning! Thursday! Summer finally arrived, and I wish it would have waited until John did Ironman Louisville. As he said, displaying a good attitude and approach, "I signed up for it, thinking it would be this way." He will do well. I plan to go down as soon as the preacher stops on Sunday. Short sermon? I should catch the end of the bike, T2, and the marathon.

Yesterday morning I got off to a good early start. I like to be finished around 8, and I was doing 8. It went pretty well. I did not work that hard Tuesday night on the 47 miler, which set me up for a better run. It was humid but cool enough. The run was nothing to write home about, but it goes in the log book. I realized, thanks to Strava, my running shoes now have more than 400 miles on them, so it's time for another pair of Mizuno Inspires. I think I have had more than a dozen pairs of them.

I plan to get 30 running miles this week. I will let my bike miles slide down to around 150, I think. It looks like no swimming this week. Jimmy, the gatekeeper to the lake, is going to Chicago for the big Olympic Tri, along with Steve B. He is not tapering for it, but I'm sure he will do well.

Today, for the second week in a row, I am going to take the day off. Jimmy and Roy will be my partners. Jimmy wants 70 miles, including several hard miles. I think I'm ready.

Wednesday

John & Jim ready to roll

Good morning!

Well, well, well...it didn't rain last night. It turned out to be one of better nights as far as weather is concerned. It wasn't too hot, and the wind was fairly helpful both ways, coming out of the southwest.

John is in taper, and last night was his last ride before Ironman Louisville. He needed to take it easy. We were all in the mood for that, so we quickly came to the consensus of only riding about 30 miles and doing nothing too hard. Rand, Troy, John, Jim and me were the riders this evening.

I did a pre-group ride of around 18 miles. I wanted extra miles, and I thought we could get rained out. I started about 4:30. I thought about starting earlier but just couldn't get everything under control before then. It worked out just fine.

We rolled to 337 in an easy pace. Then at 337 we lined up for a 20 mph ride to Bromer. Troy did most of the work out. There we turned and came back at about 20 mph. Troy, John, and Jimmy led the way back. We were all super careful. The last thing John needed was a crash.

After the ride we gathered at Wendy's, as usual. There, as out on the course, we talked a lot about Ironman. Rand and Jimmy were giving sage advice. John and I were soaking it in.

Today? A run of some length. It is very humid!

Tuesday

Maddie, Cora & Lester. Jenny Day is one of the Give Thanks 4 sponsors.

Good morning, Tuesday! You came to me a lot, I mean a lot, earlier than I wanted. I greeted you at 3 this morning, and seemingly you would not be denied attention. Every mind trick in my book would not allow me to ignore you, so now here I am starting the day with some tiredness. I will remember our early start throughout the day.

I don't have a whole lot to report today. I went on a 7 miler early yesterday morning. It was foggy/humid but not too bad. Today, and the weather could be a factor, I hope to get a 50 mile ride in. Tonight we will have our usual 36ish mile ride, so I hope to do some before the 5:45 roll out. I am not sure what everyone is going to want tonight.

Jimmy is talking about a hard bike workout on Thursday. I think he is planning on doing the Double TT Trouble segment back to back to back. Yes, 3 times. I plan to take Thursday off work to do that with him. If that happens, then I have to think pretty hard about working too hard tonight. We'll see. Again, the weather may be a factor.

John H is a few days out from Ironman Louisville. I am looking forward to going down Sunday afternoon to watch him finish. I am hoping for a cooler forecast than the one presently presented.

I hope you have a good day!

Monday

Strava training log

Good morning! Another new day, another new week, all gifts from God, as is every breath we breathe, when you think about it. It's great to be alive and enjoying it all. How's that for some positive thinking on a Monday? You're welcome! ha ha

OK, I had a great weekend of training, and that pushed me to my highest weekly total time since I began this Ironman quest. I don't know if I will hit 20 hours or not, but I hope to. I am getting closer. I am finding it an art to balance the days and fatigue from previous workouts. This last week I was able to manage them much better. I hope this is an indication of fitness.

For example, I swam a mile and then rode 30 on Thursday morning, but I felt tired on both of those. I was unsure how I would do on my long run on Friday. Here may be the biggest factor: I had a great night's sleep Thursday, getting lots of rest. Friday morning was cool, so things were aligned for me to do a 15 miler. That's what I did, and it went well.

Well, after running 15, my longest run of the year on Friday, I was wondering how I would ride on Saturday. I did not sleep super well or long on Friday, but I had a really good ride on Saturday. I rode 104 without any hints of bonking and evening getting all that tired. I had great riding partners for most of it, which makes it all go better. We worked together on the ride, occasionally pulling each other.

John started out with us but went back early because he is tapering. Roy, Rand, Jim, and I continued on to Campbellsburg, Fredricksburg, and then Palmyra. It was a nice course, except for the 5 miles each way on 150 from Fredricksburg to Palmyra. Some complained loudly about this! The cars were not friendly or smart, passing us several times with oncoming traffic present. After a brief lunch stop in Palmyra we returned with a bit of a push for a south wind.

Yesterday I went out to the lake. I only have time for about 2 miles on Sunday afternoon, unless I make special arrangements. I did the 2 miles, and it went ok. I thought I was slower than last week, but I was actually 2 minutes faster. It certainly is nothing to write home about it, but it is fast enough to get me off to a good start at Ironman Florida. That's my goal: get out of the Gulf and get on the bike!

This week will probably see me with less hours, which is OK. I am thinking of starting today with a 7 miler. We'll see how I feel. I hope your week is off to a great start!

Friday

I could probably do that. Good morning! It's Friday and another nice cool morning. What a summer so far.

I am supposed to take a day off during the week but rarely do. I used to try take Fridays but now I have regular counseling sessions. I am really considering Thursdays, which I did in part today. (I ended up going to the hospital in Bloomington to see someone this afternoon.) Thursdays are appealing because Jimmy is off.

Jimmy does not like to train alone, so matching up with him on Thursdays for some serious work has possibilities for the next few weeks. Today we made our first effort, and while it was not quite what imagined, it was good to get some work done together.

I had a 7 a.m. breakfast meeting in Bedford, so I ended up meeting Jimmy at the Farmer's Market at 446. Together we went to Kenray, getting in the water around 8:45. I did a mile, and he did 1.2. I am not swimming as well as I was, but I am still doing OK. I was in my wet suit today for the first time since May. It took me most of the mile to get used to it.

Originally we had planned to go to Orleans and do the Double TT Trouble course at least twice if not three times. Jim discovered he had an appointment earlier than he thought, so, long story short, we road up 446 and got 30 miles in. We were slow on the hills. Neither one of us had much more to give. I was glad for a somewhat easier ride. It will help me on this morning's run.

This morning I am looking for 13-15 miles. We'll see how I go. Tomorrow we ride another century. This will be my 8th 100 miler of the year, which will help push my yearly total way north of 3500 miles, which is more than all of last year. I wanted 4000 before Ironman. Looking good!

Thursday

Good morning! I do not like what I see in the extended forecast, specifically for John H's Ironman Louisville. Looks like hot weather finally arrives next week and stays around for a little while. There is still time for another Polar Vortex, right? John is well-trained and smart, so he will do well regardless. The weather of late sure have been nice though.

Not much to report here today. I had a breakfast meeting in Bedford yesterday, so I decided to take advantage of my flex-schedule opportunities. I headed over to the Milwaukee trail to give it a try. I find Wednesday, after Tuesday night's harder work out, to be a challenge. I ran 5 miles on the trail, parking at the Central Church of Christ.

It is noticeable, isn't it? That you are going downhill, which means the return is uphill. I was pleasantly surprised the return trip was not too bad. I would like to begin on the western end of the trail for a long run, doing the uphill first; not sure what the options are on that.

Today is a swim and ride day with Jimmy. We'll see how it all plays out. Tune back in tomorrow!

Wednesday

Smiling Jim ready to roll into the wind

Good morning! We all know what day it is, so I will let that one go for a week or two. Wow, it's nice and cool out there this morning. It's been such an unusual summer. I wonder if we are going to get any prolonged periods of heat? If so, I hope it waits until after John's Ironman Louisville, which is a week from Sunday.

Last night six of us rolled out from church: Tim G, Jimmy, Scott, John, Rand, and me. I did a little work before that, arriving back at church with 14 miles, wanting to total 50 for the evening. I saw Roy there, and then I saw Roy drive off. He left his shoes and helmet at home. No ride for you! (soup Nazi voice) I know that was frustrating. My guess is Roy rode from his house.

It was windy last night, just as we thought it would be. I think NW winds are not much fun on our course, which runs mostly SE. It means you get a nice push out, but then you have to pay for it. I would prefer to work into the wind and then ride back with it, but, hey, you get what you get and do what you do. I know Ironman Florida could be a windy ride.

Our Tuesday night rides have really evolved over this season and last. We used to ride out casually and at a relatively slow pace to the county line. Then we would either time trial back as individuals, spaced by about 45 seconds or paceline in a group or groups. Sometime last summer we started riding harder going out. I think Strava had something to do with it - ha ha.

This year, an Ironman year where everything is a bit ramped up, we have been going out hard and returning hard. Then at Bill's initiative we started formalizing this by going back to the finish line of the time trial course and making it a double -- going hard 10 miles out and then turning and coming back hard for the 10 miles. No stop at P tree. Just do it. I think it has been helpful.

Last night we went back to the pre-double time trial effort and simply rode the wind out informally. John, Scott and Jimmy took off hard, around 28-30 mph. I stayed on for a mile or two but fell off. It's too much for me. Rand and Tim came from behind and passed me along the course. To use Jimmy's word for the evening, I felt a bit lethargic. Oh well, I made it out to P tree.

Once there we decided to stay together to fight the wind back. We made a vow initially, but someone in the group had a strong aversion to the word. We then made a pact, but that changed to a "loose agreement" to stay together on the way back. In other words, "Don't drop Allen." I pulled first and probably pulled too long and hard, because once I got back to the back and hit the Bromer hill, I was breaking the loose agreement, falling off the back.

The other guys slowed a bit, and I got back on. After that I was fine. The wind was pretty strong. Overall it was a fun ride, followed by a trip to Wendy's for some of us. Today is a run. I have a breakfast meeting, so I am trying to figure the scheduling of the run. Tune into tomorrow to see what happens! I hope you can sleep tonight.

Tuesday

Ironman Pace Chart

Good morning! Tuesday it is! It's going to be a windy Tuesday evening ride. More on that later.

Yesterday morning I got out for another slow 5 miler. Wow, was it muggy! This is the first time I have run 2 days in a row for a few months. I ran 7 on Sunday and 5 yesterday, and while slow, I had no problem. This is encouraging. I need to start adding a few very careful accelerations in my runs to get used to training a little faster.

I did not mention Rand and Roy in yesterday's post. They both raced over the weekend. Rand qualified for, and raced in, the USAT Age Group Nationals in Milwaukee. He did very well, in my opinion! Roy as had a great race. He raced in Columbus, finishing second in his age group, missing first by a few seconds, I think. 

So tonight is our Tuesday evening workout. I am seeing a strong NW wind, which means, if we do the double time trial, a very fast first leg, followed by 10 miles into a headwind. I guess we'll see who shows up and wants to do what.

I hope your day goes well!

Monday, Monday

Good morning! It's Monday again already. In less than 2 weeks John H will be doing Ironman Louisville. I hope he gets the cool weather of late. Ironman Louisville has a reputation of being hot, hot, hot! I think I read where it has one of higher DNF (did not finish) rates of the Ironman competitions, likely do to hot and humid conditions. I think, also, it is being moved to October, probably for that very reason.

OK, early last week I had visions of the week being my biggest week of training thus far. Well, that didn't happen. The weather and other stuff happened. I did end up north of 12 hours, which is not bad, especially considering the weather challenges. I missed 2 significant workouts: a long swim and a long run.

I mentioned before that I have kind of adopted a loose policy of rest dictated by unforeseen circumstances. It's a bit random, but days off just happen from time to time. They did not happen much in July, just twice. I just keep training everyday, nothing got in the way. August started off that way, and then Friday came. The rain came and came and came. Nothing heavy but enough for me to declare Friday a rest day, a day off.

Most of you will understand this - now I was really eager to do something big on Saturday. A century (100 mile ride) was in my plan anyway, but now I really really wanted to do it. I would start at 6:45, join up with Jim and John and get it done. But the rain came and washed that century plan away. I had an appointment at 2 p.m., so as the rain came, the window of opportunity was slowly closing.

Jim and John came to Mitchell and rain 3 miles in the rain that ended. We all got on our bikes and rolled out around 9:15. It was not pleasant, but we were riding, riding east, into the wind. We were a bit slow, but we were getting some miles. At one point it rained enough to make us question what we were doing, but by the time we considered turning around, the rain stopped.

Orleans, Campbellsburg, Livonia, Orleans, and back to Mitchell made around 53 miles for me and was about all I had time for. John and Jim continued on to the 70 mile mark. It was not exactly what I had hoped for, but I was glad to get some miles in.

Yesterday, still feeling behind, especially after missing Friday's long run, I decided to do something I rarely do: run on Sunday a.m. My usual practice is to get up early on Sunday and prepare for my work with the church. I did as much as I could on Saturday p.m., making room for the run. I did 7 slow miles in very soupy conditions.

Sunday afternoon we went swimming in Kenray. It was Jimmy, Brent V. Danny G, and me. I went 2 miles, which is good. I think I went slower than last time. I just never felt in the flow. I had not been in the water for a week. That may have had something to do with it. Hey, I was glad to cover the distance, no matter how long it took.

This week should be interesting. Our Tuesday night ride is going to have the dreaded conditions of a strong northwest wind. Oh well, it should make us stronger. I hope you have a good day and week!

Friday

Good morning! Well, it's raining here, at a pretty decent rate, at a rate I really don't want to run in. The plan this morning was to run 12 miles. To do that I need to start no later than 7, but I prefer to start around 6:30. I have a standing counseling appointment on Friday mornings with a couple, so I have a limit on the finishing time.

It's ironic, I suppose, on the week I had intended to be my big week, I am going to struggle to get to my recent weekly average. Jimmy was tied up last night, so I didn't swim. My run today is likely to be shortened. I don't really like to do much during the day, trying to keep training early in the morning or in the evening. (The exception is Thursday afternoon.) I will try to get some miles in sometime today.

Jimmy wants to ride 80 tomorrow, which is good. I am thinking 80-100. If I don't get a long run in today, then I will probably opt for the 100 mile ride. I don't know who is doing what tomorrow, but I will try join whatever is going on. The weather could be a factor again.

Yesterday I watched the radar most of the day and really thought I would get rained out of my ride. I was able to shake free from everything around 2:30, so I took off. I didn't need much, and I hoping for a mile + swim, so I rode 26. I have 77 for the week.

I hope you have a great weekend! I hope Rand does really well at the USAT Nationals!

Thursday

Cora at Luke's wedding in June

Good morning! Thursday. Already! Thursday is one of my favorite training days. I usually do a double. I will explain, here in a second.

There is not much to report about yesterday. Tuesday night's ride of 50+ miles, especially the 20 miles hard, left me pretty tired. Plus, and it is probably related to the hard evening workout, I did not sleep very well. (I think dehydration is a factor in my sleep problems at times, and I find it hard to drink enough on Tuesday nights.) I debated about taking the day off, but in the end I opted for an easy 3 miler. I am sitting on 13 run miles for the week.

Thirteen miles gives me a good shot at getting 25 but not a great shot at 30. I don't think there is a super hurry to hit 30, so I am not going to worry about it. I am only running 3 days a week. I started that because of my hamstring problems. They seemed to have cleared up, so I am now contemplating adding a 4th day of running. I'm not sure which day. I know before long I need to start doing brick workouts, adding a run immediately after a ride, so it will probably take care of itself. This is when the 30+ miles weeks will start happening.

Right now my rhythm is a longer run on Monday, a hard ride on Tuesday, an easy run on Wednesday, a ride and swim on Thursday, a long run on Friday, a long ride on Saturday, and a long swim on Sunday. That has worked pretty well of late. Swimming is the one where I am dependent upon others, so schedule changes and pool availability become factors. Soon the evening swim at BNL should begin again, I hope.

So today is the ride and swim today. This is the one day where I slip out and try ride in the mid-late afternoon. Then, lately, Jim and I have met at Kenray at 7 for a swim. The weather could be a factor in both workouts today.

Rand is competing in the USAT Nationals on Saturday! He qualified by winning his age group in a local triathlon. He looks really good, so I know he will have a great race in Milwaukee on Saturday. It is an Olympic distance event. Good luck, Rand!

"Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike. . . Guess What Day it Is??"

Rand rockin' the new aero helmet

Good morning! It's hump day! I hope it's a good one for you. Me too, actually.

Yesterday was a busy, crazy day, which seems to be normal of late. Endurance training is a nice break from all of it. A lot of my training is done early in the morning and helps me prepare to face the day. Tuesdays are different. It is one of two days, Thursday being the other, where I train in the evening. It's a nice way to end the day, but I confess I often feel pretty worn out going into it.

Last night I wanted 50 miles, so I started early and rode around town for a while. I came back to the parking lot around 5:30 and found it empty. Maybe I didn't get the memo? About the time I was contemplating this, Tim the Elder showed up. Then here comes John H. A little while later Rand rolls up. Is this it? Yep.

No Troy, no Bill, no Jim or Tim, no Roy, no Scott, nobody else but the fab four. Bill gets busy and it all falls apart? No, I think it was just an unusual night. We talked before we left, and we talked on the way out, and indecision dominated the conversation. I finally made the call, "Let's do the double." This was after asking myself, "WWBD?" Hey, I even said, "We are here to work!"

So we rolled into the Baptist church parking lot. Being the slowest rider, I said I would go first, and I did. As I got about halfway out, I was wondering, "Who came up with this stupid idea?" Perseverance. Pedal on. I did 19.8 last week, and since the wind was less last night, I was hoping for 20 mph. I hit the halfway mark of 10 miles about 1 minute behind pace.

I knew the wind was SW, so I was hoping the S would help going back more than the W did going out. It did help a little more, and I did end up with 20 mph average. Just barely! But I did make it. I was a little surprised but pleasantly so. It was a good, hard workout for me. Tim, Rand, and John looked great as they passed me.

John ended up with 22.4 mph, doing the course in 53:35, placing him in 2nd place on the leader board. Iron Bill has a commanding lead, setting the record at 50:13 or 23.9 mph last week. My beloved Luddite friends, Rand and Tim, did well, but I'm not exactly sure. I heard Tim say something about 57 minutes, and I think Rand went a little faster than that. It was a nice, fun night.

Three fourths of the riders went to Wendy's for refreshment and Ironman talk. John is only 2.5 weeks away. He got his athlete guide yesterday, which is his words, makes it very "real." I know he is going to do really well at Louisville.

What to do this a.m.? I think a shorter, easier run. I heard a lecture last night on the importance and value of rest. I pay attention, even though I don't always follow good advice.

Tuesday

Hope it's not like this Nov. 1

Good morning! This photo was taken by Roy, back in November, when a few of us went down to volunteer at Ironman Florida 2013. Here is my account of that weekend. Even though I swam the 2.4 Iron distance on Sunday, I look at this picture and am reminded the Gulf is not Kenray Lake. Work, boy, work!

I got the week off to a good start yesterday morning with a decent 10 miler. It went well. I'm still not going very fast, but I am getting some decent distance. School started in Mitchell yesterday, so I was aware of the increased flow of traffic. I did my best to avoid most of it.

I have pretty much decided to not do the Columbus Tri. It would involve moving lots of things around and ultimately getting less training. One of my main motivations was to undo my panicked swim in Terre Haute, but I think I will deal with that in a different way. There were lots of factors that day contributing to my panic, including other panicked people. Something tells me the ocean itself will create more fear than 1000s of other nearby swimmers, so I have several things to work on in my mind, literally in my mind, for mostly it is a mind game.

Today is Tuesday, so tonight is our hard workout night. Rain is a bit of a threat this evening. I hope we can manage to get the ride in. I plan to do the Double TT Trouble workout, but I hope to do a little pre-ride, moving the evening's total up to 50 miles. I'm looking for a big week, north of 16 hours, I hope. Last week I surprised myself a little on the Double TT Trouble Segment. I was simply looking for a steady effort, not pushing too hard. I thought 18.5 mph would be it, but I ended up at 19.8 in very windy conditions. Of course the wind helps before it hurts.

Three months out, actually a little less than, from Ironman, I am feeling pretty good both physically and mentally. I am pleased with where I am in all three disciplines, hoping I can speed up on the run. I am feeling confident, which is a switch from a few weeks back. Doubts were swirling around in my head. I wasn't riding well, not swimming well, and running with lots of pain. Perseverance is the key. Just keep pushing and working, and often things will change. I have learned that lesson over and over in several areas of life.

Weekend Report

Strava Training Log

Good morning! How are you today?

The picture above is a screen shot of Strava's training log. It automatically takes each workout and compiles this nice little log. I like it because it measures things in hours, which is what a lot of Ironman training programs focus on. I am used to measuring by miles, so this is a little switch for me. Of course the Beginner Triathlete (BT) log still does things in miles.

The BT and Strava logs differ also in the start/end. BT starts on Sunday, while Strava starts on Monday. I kinda like living in both worlds. In the past I always began my training week on Mondays.

OK, on to the report. I got out Friday morning and felt decent, so I decided to do 13.1 miles. Yes, it would complete an August Strava challenge on the very first day, but that's not why I did it. I need 13 miles to get me to 25 miles for the week. I am trying to get to 30 miles per week on the run. I am getting there slowly. The run went well. It was cool but humid, and I did manage to run a late mile considerably faster. Soon I will start working on speed.

Saturday morning I was going to ride 81. Yes, another Strava challenge, but, again, it was more about reaching the nice round number of 150 miles. I had arranged to meet John H on the course and ride with him for a while, but when we woke up Saturday morning it was threatening rain. I had a bad night's sleep, so I decided to change my plans. I texted John, "I'm out." It was a good decision, for it rained and rained here.

John managed to find a path north from Bedford, out of the rain, so he got his 50, followed by a nice 5 mile run. He is ready for Ironman Louisville in less than 3 weeks. I waited on the rain, getting a lot accomplished around the house, things neglected because of Ironman training. I finally made it out early afternoon for an easy 30 miler. I ended up with a little over a hundred miles for the week. Good enough.

The big news comes out of the water. Yesterday afternoon at Kenray several of us gathered. My plan? Do the Iron distance of 2.4 miles, a distance unthinkable, unimaginable not that long ago. I started off planning to do 12 laps of .2 miles each. I knocked them off one at a time, and 1:39:15 later, I had finished the distance without stopping. It was a good feeling and a great confidence builder. I know the ocean is different, but a lot of things are coming together. It is relatively slow, but I have 2:20 to complete the distance. I should make it easily, barring disaster.

I did have an encounter with a pontoon boat. I guess I provided entertainment, unknown to me at the time, to the boat people and friends on the shore watching. I saw the boat come in at a safe distance. I did not realize it was going to turn around and come back out. All I knew was it passed me, seemingly accelerating hard. Evidently it was trying to pass me, while I kept swimming into its path. Oh well...

This week should be another good one to train. Roy is talking about an Olympic distance tri in Columbus. I am thinking about it. IF I do that, then my training will change considerably. If I don't do it, then I am going to try have a big week, pushing past 15 hours. I need to decide today. I will think about it on my run this morning, which starts soon!

Feel free to share your weekend workouts.

Friday!

Beginner Triathlete Log

I think this could fall into what the kids used to describe as TMI, Too Much Information, though it's not the usual usage of the acronym. Anyway, here is my usual bedtime ritual. I am on my back, three pillows propping me up, reading my Kindle. Once I doze off 2-3 times, signaled by me accidentally hitting Kedra with my Kindle as I lose consciousness, I put the Kindle down, remove the pillows, roll to my left, say one last prayer, and hope for a good night's sleep of 7+ hours. It works out most of the time.

Usually I do wake up in the night, note the time, and then go back to sleep. Last night I woke up, and do you know what time was displayed in the red digits of my alarm clock? See if you find this significant. The display said 337! As I was noting this, I heard a voice, and I'm not making this up, say, "Hey Allen!" Now, I know it was probably a dream, because once the voice had my attention, it never said anything else. But I wonder who (or Who) was wanting my attention. What would it say next? Perhaps, "You idiot, can't you find some other place to ride?"

Evidently not, because I spent some time on 337 late afternoon yesterday. I did 31 miles. Why 31? Because I had 39 from Tuesday. My anality required I get to 70 miles in the log book. Following the ride and a quick meal, I met Jimmy at Kenray for a 1.2 mile swim, which went really well. It seemed quick after my 2 miler on Sunday.

The picture above is a screen shot from my Beginner Triathlete log book. Mike J. told me about this log a few years back, and I have been using it ever since. It is a great training log. It give you all kinds of stats -- daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. If you look closely, you can see my year to date totals:

Swim: 67200 yards
Ride:  3244 miles
Run: 556 miles

My running miles are way down, due to niggling injuries most of the year. Usually I would be approaching 1000 miles at this point. Speaking of running, I am getting ready to head out for a longer run. I am not settled on the distance yet, but I hope to do at least 10 miles.

I would love to hear some of your totals for the year and what kind of log book you use. Feel free to share in the comments below.