IM Date: 5/29/09- Update

Time for an update...yesterday's long swim went very well.  I got about 2.5 miles in and felt good.  My goggles still tend to feel like cheese cutters on my face about an hour so yesterday I picked up some new TYR, wide view goggles that should be much more comfortable.  I will try them out next week and I hope they work.

Last night Jodee and I paid a visit to Gear West and got Jodee re-fitted on her bike - very cool.  They set her up on a trainer and then set up a video to analyze her riding.  It took about an hour and I think they made some HUGE improvements in how she'll ride.  They changed everything from her seat height and angle to her stem height and the angle and length of her aero-bars, angle of her handle bars, etc.  I think it will pay off over the next few months and most importantly over the 112 miles of the Iron Man.  I made an appointment for next week for myself and I can't wait.

With the additions in the last week, we have now jumped ahead on our "expenses list" for the event.  The new goggles, the bike fitting and new saddle, as well as picking up an old bike for Jodee's trainer have tacked on a nice new chunk of money to the list.  I guess I can't complain too much...we hadn't had any additions to the expense list since 2008.  Oh well!

Have a great weekend...I know I will. : )

IM Date: 5/27/09 - Week 3 (in progress)

With the holiday Monday, I am getting my posting in a little late this week.  We had a great weekend of training and took advantage of the extra day off to get in a long swim and bike on Monday.  This week sees the longest swim (hour and a half) and the longest bike (four hours) sessions yet.  Jodee is running the inaugural Minneapolis Marathon this Sunday and Andrew and I are doing the 5k.  It should be a good time, Jodee's just running it to do it...not for any specific time.

But my hip is starting to feel a little bit better which is nice.  I think I may have to do the 4 hours on the trainer Saturday, so I have already downloaded the next Season of "Entourage" (my favorite new, but old show) that I haven't seen so I can entertain myself.  If I can get outside to ride that long, I will...and if not, I will get very used to looking at the walls of my basement.

More to come...

IM Date: 5/21/09 - Update

Just a few things to update:  

Yesterday the toenails went "bye-bye".  Well, one came off as I was pulling some running shorts on and the inside of the shorts caught the edge of the nail and WHAM!  It was pulled off.  Fortunately the new one had started underneath, so it wasn't too painful.  Gross, yes...but at least not too painful and I was able to go out on my run immediately afterwards.  And the other I started to cut off and it's almost gone.  So I guess it could have been a lot worse.  Too much info???  Sorry.  

Which leads me into my next topic:  When the hell did Minnesota turn into a wind-tunnel???  Holy crap, we had 30 mile an hour sustained winds yesterday.  Which made the 94 degree temps easier to run in...but man, that's what I call a "head-wind".  Mother Nature could lay off the wind for a while...

Today I had my first long swim of training and it was good.  It was an hour swim and I got somewhere between 1.25 - 1.33 miles in.  Best of all, I felt good.  The swim is where I need to be my most diligent with training...because there's no coasting or walking in the swim like on the bike or run.  You stop – you sink.

That's all for now...hope you all have a great holiday weekend.

Bri

IM Date: 5/18/09 - Week 2

Week one is in the books and it went well.  Week two is here and everything begins to get "cranked up" just a  bit.  The biggest changes are my 1.5 hour run on Saturday last week is now 2 hours this week, and my 3 hour ride yesterday is 4 hours this coming Sunday.  My hip is still bothering me a bit, but not quite as bad...which is nice.  I'm on the "wait list" to get in to the Chiropractor this week.  It would be nice is someone has to cancel and I can take their spot.  If not, I'm in a week from Wednesday for sure.  Either way, I hope it will continue to improve.  

Back soon...

IM Date 5/11/09 - Week 1

Week 1:  This week isn't too bad.  The first few weeks of the program gradually build (as they should) and by the time we get into the middle of the program I'm not sure how much of a life I will have.  But I'm sure we'll talk about that later.  

But for now, back to "week 1".  I have just 4 hours of running, 1 hour of swim time, 5 1/2 hours on the bike and two scheduled lifting sessions.  I will try to get my usual 3 lifts in this week as well as teach my jiu-jitsu classes and train some jiu-jitsu like usual too.  

Hopefully the weather is cooperative this summer...it will make training much easier.

Here we go!

IM Date 5/11/09 - Training Begins

Okay, the training began a long time ago and never really stops, but my OFFICIAL training program starts today.  18 weeks of training focused on just one thing: September 13th, 2009 a.k.a. Race Day.  Each week I'll try and post the week's "activities" and if something comes up that is out of the ordinary in between I'll post about that too.  

I hope the injuries are now getting behind me because it's time to get to work.  It will definitely be an adventure and I hope to see the finish line at the end of 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running.

Lot's more to come...

Bri

IM Date: 5/8/09 - TC 1 Mile Results

Last night was the TC 1 Mile and after total chaos trying to just get down to the race itself, the results were good.  I finished in 5:54, which with injuries and having run and lifted earlier in the day was very good for me.  So I'm happy.  It was a nice course...straight down Nicollet Avenue from 2nd Street to just after 15th.

IM Date: 5/7/09 - TC 1 Mile is tonight!

So tonight we'll run the TC 1 Mile in downtown Minneapolis.  All three of us, Jodee, Andrew and myself, will "hit the streets" and see how we do.  Jodee and I did this event 4 years ago and I think I finished in about 7:20 or so.  I will be curious to see how I do tonight.  I did run and lift this morning as part of my regular program so, with that said, I haven't positioned myself for any record-setting times.  But we'll see.  It should be fun either way.  It's always fun when the three of us are able to do an event together.

IM Date: 05/04/09 - Housekeeping

Well, April has come and go and we are almost ready to start our "official" Iron Man training programs.  We got the bikes out this past weekend for the first long, outdoor ride of the year: a 30-mile trek from Plymouth out past Lake Independence and back.  I have to say the new bike will be a HUGE plus on the Iron Man course.

As far as April goes, with all my hip problems, I got just 119 miles in.  But things are slowly starting to improve and I think my new lifting routine is helping already.  The picture above is from the LTF indoor triathlon...Jodee's boss was kind enough to send it to us.

More to come...