Ironman and beyond....

2011 Speed concept is here!!

2010-07-12T11:48:00.000-05:00

Got my Speed Concept last week. I will post pics soon

2008-09-14T11:52:00.002-05:00

The run or a.k.a. death march shuffle - This is where I lacked some training this past year. I was using the run/walk strategy. Worked great for the first 10k. This is where it got tough. Around mile 8 there was a lady who I was leap frogging fro a while and we started to run together. We were both hurting with a long way to go. From here it was about survival to the end. There was more than enough time to finish but we wanted a little better. Before 11pm was a goal. 30 seconds run/walk was the plan. She helped me quite a bit, and I hope I helped her at least half of what she did for me. I met my Mike and Joanne many times during the run and it was great. It helped take the focus off of what pain I was feeling in the feet. Thank you so much! The absolute worst part was turning around 500 feet before the finish to do the second lap. Made it to the special needs and got food and another pair of socks. That was one hell of an improvement. It felt like I was walking on knives the entire second half. Kept up with the run/walk thing as much as possible. Aid stations were awesome. there was so much energy there it made you want to go faster. Cola and pretzels were my friend at every station. Well we finally made it to the last half mile. My friend Becky showed up right there to give a bit of encouragement to the end. She gave me the extra kick to the finish. Without all of her help throughout the past year answering so many of my stupid questions I would have been a complete bundle of nerves.In the distance I could hear Mike Riley announcing newest batch of winners. The two people that I was shuffling with have already finished IM's so they were all in favor and suggested that I run up ahead of them and get the good finish photo all on my own. Well, now it really was my turn. I saw the finish line and just kept speeding up. I didn't feel the pain of my feet anymore. I was going to live out one of my life's dreams. At 11:24pm September 7, 2008 I was officially an IRONMAN.

Pictures to follow this week along with closing thoughts.

IM-Wisconsin 2008 RR part 2

2008-09-09T16:36:00.001-05:00

T1- 14:07 took my time and changed clothes completely. I figured it was going to be a long day, so make it comfortable. So I put on the lucky 2XU shorts and 2001 IM IW jersey and had a sandwich. Yes, I ate 1 un-crustable. Boy did that hit the spot! The jersey I wore I bought in the first IM-WI 2001 knowing someday I would wear it when i did it. One problem in T1. NO BIKING SOCKS! I figured it wasn't that bad since I do ride without socks quite a bit but never 112 miles. Big mistake that I would find out later.

Bike- This was my leg of the race i was way ready for. I felt really good on the way out HR came down really quick and the power numbers I set were right on target. I was going out at a 160 watt average which for most of the leg out I was up around 20-22mph. First loop gave me a glimpse of what was going to happen but I ignored it. I dropped my chain twice but I put it up to over shifting. I pulled in to Verona and witnessed the TDF like moment. I was absolutely flying somewhere in the 30mph range. Going down the people lined street my speeds were fed off of the crowd. Time to special needs from the Monona Terrace, 3:15. This was over halfway. I was on pace for a solid 6:30 bike split. This is where it went to hell. On hwy 92 drive train locked up. I locked up and discovered my deraileur in the spokes. My chain was completely wedged between the crank and the frame. I got it unjammed but realized I was one spoke short. Wheel was way out of true but I wasn't about to call the crumb wagon to take me back. I figured I was forced out. My worst nightmare. I listened to the constant ticking of the broken spoke. I lost an hour and a half stopping to find tech support to get a new wheel. No luck! I made it to Cross Plains and finally saw a tech support tent. The guy wasn't going to let me continue. He showed me where the frame was broken and told me sorry :( There was no way I was stopping. I told him I have already went 30 miles like it was and I will walk the rest of the way. While we were arguing the assistant discovered the rear pulley wheel. It was sliced in half with most of the teeth missing. this would explain why I had no freewheel available. Got going again and limped the bike back to the Terrace. Total time on the bike was 7:40. I was able to eat and drink on the bike, I felt fresh and the 112 miles that flew by other than the mechanical failure.

T2- since I was behind schedule, I skipped changing clothes. I just switched out shirts and finally put on some socks! The bloody toes thanked me! 10:40 total time. I should have stepped up the pace a bit more but Ironman is what is is. Do not get upset with things you cannot control. Go with the flow and enjoy the day.

IM-Wisconsin 2008 RR

2008-09-09T10:28:00.002-05:00

Well lets just say I owe my wife a big thank you. She has put up with a year of me being away training, traveling and working way too much. What a trooper and now I hope I have made her proud.

The year leading up the race was injury free till one week before. My littlest one jumped on my foot while I was lying on the floor and we thought it was broken. Short story, it wasn't. I went to the doc, they took x-rays and told me it would just hurt. I bruised some tendon. I visited the Chiro who is a multiple marathoner and he checked it out. He popped it back into place and all was good.

Pre race - Got out of bed at 4am after a night of almost no sleep. Nerves were getting the best of me. I kept having dreams and visions of not making the swim cutoff of 9:20 am. I kept wondering if I did enough training to make it. I had one hell of a time knocking out the self doubt going into the swim. After a diet coke things calmed a bit :) Well I grabbed a bit to eat and headed up to the Terrace to get the party started. Walking down to the Terrace, I could hardly believe I was going to do THIS! I have spectated since it started in 2001 and I was hooked. I always wanted to do but never thought it would actually happen. This day was my one and only shot so I was going to make it happen. I saw a few friends and family on the way down to the swim and this made it all better. I was in a calm state ready to have fun.

Swim - I started really wide, standing waist deep in the water. I did not want to deal with getting pummeled in the water or treading water for half an hour. I knew I would have to swim farther but oh well. The cannon went off and I let the mass of crazy fast swimmers go. There was about a 20 second delay and then I was off. I got in a groove and got to the inside of the buoys three quarters of the way down on the first straight away. I circled the 2 red buoys and hit the clear water on the inside of the rectangle. My friend Becky who does this every year let in on a little secret. As long as you go around the outside of the red buoys you are in the course. I had clear water in front of me with only a handful of people here and there. I never got kicked, punched or swam over. Pretty uneventful for the rest of the way. I hit the beach in 1:44. Saw friends and family and that gave me that extra boost that everything is OK. I do remember asking the people at the swim exit if I made the cut off and they laughed. I made it by well over 35 minutes! I felt spent coming out of the water but not completely shot. I got to the wetsuit strippers. Boy that is something I have never experienced before. It is probably the weirdest part of the day. As I was going towards the area, one lady unzipped the back, 3 people were waiting for me, told me to drop. They had that wetsuit off of me in a matter of 3 seconds. I trotted up the Helix slapping five with people and seeing more friends and family and I knew it was going to be a great day!

I am an Ironman

2008-09-08T14:36:00.001-05:00

At 11:24 September 7th Mike Riley announced that I was an ironman at Ironman Wisconsin. More to follow after a nap.....

Horribly Hilly Hundreds report 200k...ish

2008-07-06T19:48:00.003-05:00

The long and short of this ride.....HILLS, HILLS and more HILLS!!!

I never knew WIsconsin had this many hills. The ride was planned as one of the toughest 200k rides in the midwest. It sure was! There were a few points in the ride where downhill speeds hit 50mph! On the flip side everyhting that goes down must come up. Those same momentum builders contained a momentum killer. Two climbs I just flat out got off the bike and was walking faster than some people still in the saddle. I looked down on the speedometer and saw a climb going uphill riding clicking 2.5 mph. Walking I was over 3. What does that tell you?

Later in the ride I was starting to bonk. This hit me around 90 miles. At 99.5 I was cooked. Luckily storms passed through and the race officials wouldn't let us continue. We were forced to seek shelter in a nice farmers barn. There were roughly 30 of us held up in the barn. There were hail stones coming down the size of nickels. About 30 minutes of waiting they shut down the ride completely. Sag wagons were coming to pick everybody left out there up and take them back to the park. I was not ok with that! I told the official I was going to ride a quarter mile don the road and back. I was not going to miss my first century ride. I got the mileage in. 100.25 miles!! A first for me. I have never gone more than 80 miles in one trip. While 100.25 was great in those conditions and that terrain, I am a bit disappointed. I really wanted the entire 124 miles in on this ride for confidence going into Moo, but 100 miles out there was sure something!

A day in the saddle on the IM MOO course

2008-06-07T13:52:00.004-05:00

Well Keith and I did a bit of recon on the course today. I had the TTX all ready in it's race set up. I will be sporting the Aeolus 5.0 front and the Aeolus 6.5 Powertap in the rear. These wheels climb like a dream and they are sharp looking too. We took off from the Monona Terrace at 6am. Well Keith had a head start on me riding from his home so he was warmed up already so we took it easy for the first 10 miles into Verona to get warm. Now i understand why people hammer it all the way to Verona. It was so tempting to do the same! We held back on purpose and it paid off towards the end. the hill going into Mt. Horeb that always puts me to my knees was a breeze with the correct set up. I never went over 250 watts up it. I do not think that has ever happened before (well at least to me). Leaving Mt. Horeb on Witte road speeds hit 49mph! I definitely had more than enough speed to make it up the rollers. The first rather large hill was not that bad either. With the exception of not being able to go into my largest rear cassette cog it was great. Wattage was limited as much as possible to ensure not blowing up. Upon getting into Verona I had come up with a few things that were going to be in the special needs bag. List is as follows:

Nutter Butters!!
PB&J Uncrustables
Bodyglide
Salted Nut Roll
2 extra tubes
2 CO2's

Just a few things that I thought of on the way. I really didn't want any more gels or anything sweet. That stuff gets gross after a while. The trip going back to Verona was a bit boring. A slight uphill the entire way but manageable. This will be time to zone out and get ready for the next step. Oh yea, one more thing the Helix sucks. I was going up it myself and I was getting a bit dizzy. I can only imagine what it will be like with lots of people half out of it going up and up and up. It never seemed to stop......

Mad City Marathon (half) report

2008-05-26T10:00:00.003-05:00

Mad City Marathonwas the activity for the weekend. I have done this 3 time prior to today with results being consistent at 2:22 and some change. First year being not prepared enough and 70F temps the next being over prepared running in 90+F temps when the race was shut down putting up the same times all the way to today for 70F again. Coming into today this is kicking off running season for Ironman Wisconsin roughly on the same course. I was putting no pressure on myself what so ever. I was treating this as a supported early season long run. I was going to experiment with nutrition and Gatorade and water per station no matter what.

Started with the night before, I ate like normal and got good sleep. Woke up close to two and a half hours before race tim and actually ate! I ended up taking the shuttle to the race start and ran into Joanne and her friend. Imagine spotting them in a crowd of a reported 3500 half marathon runners. I ran with them for the first 2 miles since they were planning on running a 10:30 pace. I figured I would run this pace to get warmed up instead of going out too fast like usual and blowing up by mile 3. Well I got into the groove with splits and HR going like this:

3 mi- 30.09 AVG 161hr
6 mi- 30.36 AVG 167hr
9 mi 31.28 AVG 165hr
12mi 30.03 AVG 168hr
final 1.1 mi 11.40 AVG 172hr

Miles 6-9 included a trip to the port a potty after being hydrated enough. My strategy going in was to walk the hills to control the HR from going to high and make up the time in the flats. The race organizers changed the route this year from previous years and added an extremely sharp downhill that just killed the quads. I finished at 2:13:20 instead of the reported 2:08 on my watch. This was good for 1929 out of 2866 overall. I was 13 minutes off of my goal of 2 hours flat but still good considering this was going to be the IM pace/strategy for september.

The day after calfs and quads a bit sore. I noticed 2 small blisters from not wearing the correct shoes but this is easily fixed for next time. BRING THE RIGHT SHOES!!!

A few updates...

2008-05-15T20:27:00.002-05:00

Well the big ride is tomorrow (Friday the 16th of May). I will embark on my first century ride in my life. I have never done one hundred miles on a bike in a row ever. This is a work sponsored activity so I am not supposed to feel guilty, my boss man said so! Our quest begins in Madison and ends in Dubuque Iowa! Hills, hills and more hills is the menu for the day. Myself and a few co-workers will turn around in Darlington after lunch and back to Madison for a total of just over 100 miles.

I have started a little project for wifey dearest. She mentioned to me she wanted to try out a road bike. Well look what i have built out of spare parts so far.

Picture the remainder with a white saddle, carbon post, white grip tape, red cabling and Ultegra components. She should have a pretty sweet carbon fiber Madone for her first road bike. I only hope she like it....

I think (and hope) I saved somebody's life today

2008-04-24T21:25:00.002-05:00

I was traveling through town with my 2 kids, it was a misty rain coming down. I was northbound on main st and the vehicle ahead of me was traveling at a low rate of speed maybe 15-20 mph. Coming to the light at Madison Avenue the light turned yellow and the vehicle ahead of me stopped almost a car length into the intersection. i was stopped at the white line and was wondering what this dude was doing. Vehicle proceeds to take a left on Madison Ave traveling in the parking lane of all places. stays in this lane for a few block and then veers over into oncoming lane. Good thing there wasn't any traffic coming at him. Speeds went from 8mph to 35mph . He turned into the Health Club lot and turned around. I have since called the police and reported this guy. After his turn around at the Health Club he absolutely flew back into town. I kept an eye on as he got caught at the light and I caught him then. While traveling down Robert street south, I noticed an officer that started to come out to monitor him. I slowed down at the light in the left lane to turn off. While turning off to the left and having the officer behind the guy the vehicle in question came into my lane and almost hit me. I sure hope the police saw that!! I have no tolerance for drunk drivers. If this guy was drinking and driving and would have hit somebody and I didn't call him in could I have lived with that?

Commute to work on the TTX aka Earth Day

2008-04-22T18:16:00.004-05:00

Today this morning's commute to work was:

16 miles a little over 50 minutes. 487 k/j averaging 169 watts. It looks as I need to up the watts. The next ride I am going to maintain an average 190 watts for the ride. This will force me to ride at a quicker pace and train the body to clear the lactic acid. Wish me luck!

I am happy to have this streak of building on the bike over for a few days. Tomorrow is a run and a day off from the bike. I want to come back fresh for another week of build. The HHH 100 is coming and I have to hit the hills!

First test on the course

2008-04-20T20:40:00.002-05:00

Today my co-worker Keith and I hit the IM-MOO bike course starting in verona for one loop. I took the road bike with the new test saddle and Bontrager Aeolus front wheel. Figuring this would be a light set up for optimal performance out there I forgot one thing. I am on my road bike and not the TTX. What's the big deal you ask? Well on the TTX I have a 50x34 crank chained to a 11x23 cassette. Perfect combo. I forgot that the road bike was a DA 54x42 chained to the same 11x23 cassette. Wow talk about aggressive. It was doable for training but not for racing. I was going up some of the hills at a whopping 6 mph with no more gears left for climbing. I will do it again with a more reasonable 12x27.

The entire ride was set at a pretty easy pace not going to aggressive. Including a stop in each town for refueling we came into Verona after 42.19 miles in 3hr 3 min. total consumption was one package of Sport Beans, one bottle of Gatorade, 2 bottles of water and one gel. This is the first time ever that I actually had to pee on the bike (I did stop for that). I had my hydration down for that ride with a lot still to learn. Total power was just under 1900 k/j which was a pretty good workout. I averaged a low 160 watts. I have to ask around if that was good or not... Until next time :)

30mph headwinds

2008-04-15T19:17:00.002-05:00

Today in Wisco there were 30mph headwinds on the lunch ride today. A 20 mile loop turned out to over an hour and 15 minutes! Going into the wind the watts were going through the roof. At the 10 mile turn around point, I had registered 653 k/J. There were points in the ride going out that we hit a downhill and we were not gaining any speed. It kept the same 12 mph. Talk about demoralizing! The return trip was great. At the turn around it was like somebody just turned off the hurricane fan. We didn't feel any wind at our backs but the speed were were going it sure helped. Imagine siting up in the hoods (road bike) and going close to 30 mph on a flat with no pedaling. That's what happened! The ride ended rather quickly after the turn around. Were were back to work in what seemed like minutes. I finished the ride at 778 k/j so you can see how much the wind helped.

Tomorrow, if the wind is right i will ride that hurricane winds to work. I will get some free commuting miles before the Bike to Work Week.

Checking in

2008-04-13T16:28:00.003-05:00

A lot has happened since my last posting. I have been concentrating on swimming mostly. I found out that I am swimming with my hands going into the water upside down which slows me down. I am concentrating on putting my thumb in the water first. Just with that improvement I gained a few seconds in my 100 yard time.

My brother who is a former collegiate swimmer has been consulting me on some swim training. I am now in the middle of intervals. These are the 100 yard sets that make you want to puke if done correctly. It took me a few session till I got it right but I finally did it. I found out I can consistently hold a 1:50 per 100 yard. Over the next few sessions I will be aiming to improve that so I can claim myself a 1:45 swimmer.

Biking is starting outdoors with lunch rides really stepping up this week. It is supposed to be in the mid to upper 60's!!! After a long winter here in Wisconsin it will feel down right balmy!

Running I fell has been improving with the exception of one treadmill run. I have realized why I hate the treadmill. I ran on tuesday on the dreadmill at work and hurt for 3 days afterwards. I only ran a 5k on it. Well today I did a 5 mile run and it felt fine. I ran it faster and harder than the dreadmill run and when I was done felt like I could do it again. I didn't as I am going to go for a ride tomorrow at work. While I was out running today I was listening to a type of music that is completely foreign to me. After reading a post on ST I was directed to a website that had some free downloads of so called running music. They are called Podrunners from Dj Steve boy. I went with the 150 square one track. Holy shit! It was awesome! I am not really a techno fan but running to 150 beats per minute was great. IT really pushed me. goto the site and try one out. I downloaded all of them for the upcoming running training. Hopefully I can work up to the 180 V-tach workout.

Over the past month

2008-02-24T15:10:00.002-06:00

I have had a fairly decent base building go. I have just under 16K of swimming, 43 miles on the bike, and only 8.5 running. The swimming has progressed the best. Every three weeks I have been doing an endurance set. That consisted of multiple sets of 100 yards on 1:30. While 1:30 is incredibly fast, I was using jet propulsion aka flippers. But adding it up I needed the flippers to make the 1:30 pace on lap number fifty. My goal is to make the set of 100x100 on 1:30 with 30 seconds rest between by the beginning of May.

The biking is picking up after a few disastrous snow days. I was going to a cycling class on Wednesdays for a while now but over the past 4 weeks I have only made one. There has been so much snow that I cannot even get there to participate. I just pray for outdoor riding to comer soon!

Running is not a priority for me right now. I did a few runs at a slightly higher pace than a tempo run. It felt good even on all the ice I was running on. the path today was completely covered in ice that was over 6 inches thick! Boy will it be a mess when it all starts to melt! I will continue to do maintenance runs for another couple weeks. The next target run day is the Crazylegs Classic. It is a simple 8K in Madison that over 20000 people participate in. That is the official kick off of run training for me. I will be running at work at that point.

Eyes do not freeze...

2008-01-19T22:06:00.000-06:00

Today running in -6 F temp and -22 F wind chill I found a few things out.

People driving by you look at you like you are nuts.
Eyes do not freeze when exposed directly to headwind of those temps.
wind proof pants are a must.
wind proof shirt, thermal layer, base layer and outer shell is too much.
ice cream afterwards tastes great.
If moving, I am comfortable at -6 F.
I can't wait for July when it is 100 F.
I have run in one extreme to the other 107 F high and -6 F low, a true 113 degree swing.

Just an example for my warm weather peeps out there, it is so cold here that a room temperature can of diet Pepsi was set outside and within 20 minutes it was frozen almost solid!

Oh yea, tomorrow the Pack will win!

Forward...

2008-01-19T12:24:00.000-06:00

It is really hard to start thinking about next years events, much yet signing up for them when the outside temp is hovering around ZERO F. But today I made my first step in planning for IM-WI. I have signed up for the Horribly Hilly Hundred. This is a 200k ride that takes place partly on the Ironman Wisconsin bike course. This is Wisconsin I have to remind my self as I go up the more than 12,000 feet of climbing in this ride. This ride will span over 120 miles but it will be way harder than IM-WI. My friend Keith and I will be riding this, not for time but more for endurance and fun all in preparation for the easier 112 I will have to do in september. A fellow Ironman competitor and IM-WI 11 hr finisher Ben told me that to do this ride, survive and recover will be a greater achievement that the bike leg in the latter part of the summer. I will walk away with the confidence of this ride and will look forward to beating the next! Check it out! and now to go start hitting the trainer a bit harder.......

Worst excuse

2008-01-06T20:49:00.000-06:00

Well this is a new one for me. I skipped a run today because it was to "foggy"! How many times have you used that one?

It was so bad there was a 200 car pile up just up the road. You couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of you. I have never seen it that bad before. I keep wondering if I will see something like this when I go by the lake....

Indoor riding now begins

2008-01-06T12:49:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday night i went to an indoor cycling "class" put on by a few of the Trek employees. I got there and there were 25 Cycleops Fluid trainers in a cold room. I didn't have enough layers on for this so I started to get a bit worried. Slowly people filled in and 24 trainers were taken. The trainer explained that this was going to be an interval session and we can make it as hard as we want. Having never done this before, I figured that it couldn't be that hard. We lets just say the HR was spiked on the 5 minute intervals. % minutes at 110 rpm is enough to really get the sweat faucet turned on!

The cold of the room quickly disappeared and I was dripping with sweat. We even opened a few windows to let the 8 F air temp cool us off. Wow did those intervals rip[ apart the legs! I slept good that night to the point I didn't want to wake up that next morning thats for sure.

I will continue the RPM sessions for the next 2 weeks to get the cycling legs back under me and see what happens after that!

2007 numbers

2007-12-31T17:07:00.000-06:00

This is the official posting of the "work" I did in training this year.

Actual Time - 139:45

Swim 103546 yards
Bike 1201.1 miles
Run 159.1 miles
walk 26 miles
MTB 25 miles

I will not make a New Years resolution at all. I will however say I am calling it now. My numbers will go up and my results will follow :)

New favorite swim workout this morning

2007-12-31T07:34:00.000-06:00

Over on ST they were talking about a 100x100 swim workout today. I figured what the hell? I would never do 100x100 so i scaled it back to the goal of 50x50. Here is what actually happened....

10 x 100 @ 1:15 with 15 seconds rest between
5 x 100 @ 1:15 with 30 seconds rest between
6 x 100 @1:30 with a minute rest between.

All in all it killed me. As I was attempting to get out of the pool, I smashed my shin on the edge. I was so dead getting out of the water that I didn't even react. I am going to have one good bruise. I figured that only 100 yards at a time would be "easy" wow was I wrong. It shows my lack of speed/endurance. I will be doing this workout every other week to build this up to doing the full set of 50x100 at a respectable pace.

This is crap

2007-12-29T10:54:00.000-06:00

I sometimes hate Wisconsin! This is what it looked like....

I played guitar with Slash formerly of Guns and Roses!!

2007-12-24T21:02:00.000-06:00

One hell of a week I must say! Thursday night I got to play guitar with Slash of Guns and Roses (Velvet Revolver now). It was almost a dream come true. I really wanted to hang with him but he really is a better guitarist than I thought. Trading chords back and forth until I just got blown away. I will have to work out a few problems before I jam again.

Earlier this week I ended up getting a Cortizone shot in my strumming hand shoulder. I bit too much playing!

Happy Turkey day! (aka 10 and 1 GB day)

2007-11-22T14:55:00.000-06:00

Well after a week and a half of inactivity (being sick sucks!) I decided to run the local Turkey Trot 10K. I was still coughing quite a bit and the post nasal drip was very prominent, but what the hell?

I had to be registered by 8:45 for a shotgun start at 9am. I grabbed my entry form filled it out and heard the announcement that registration was closed. Since I was already in line with the registration was filled out I was in! Ready to go with 2 minutes till the gun goes off I get the ipod set to track mileage/pace and time. Note to people who have no business in the front of the pack, do the god damn math and find your pace ahead of time. There were people lined up in the 6 minute mile pace group that were walkers and 15 min mile pace runners. I am not a fast runner by all means but come on, I had to bob and weave to get around these idiots to just get clear. Doing this resulted in me going out a bit too fast. First mile was clocked at a 7:12. WAY TOO FAST FOR ME. Settled into a rhythm, fought through a few side stitches and finished at 1 hour 36 seconds. I really wanted to break an hour but after being sick for an extended time not working out I'll take it.

Final numbers:
6.5 miles
1:00.36

Set a 5k PR at 27.00.71

Lessons learned:
I need to start the running program again. Stick with the lunch runs at an aerobic pace, speed later. I believe my aerobic fitness is ok, but always room for improvement. I need to work on flexibility. The side stitches haven't happened in a while, and that is due to inactivity. STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH!

Another celebrity sighting/brush with second place

2007-11-16T19:44:00.001-06:00

well celebrity if you are in the cycling world...

Monday a week after I thought, Levi showed up at Trek. That dude is short! I looked up and saw this short balding guy getting walked around and thought that guy was familiar. I asked a fellow co-worker and it was confirmed. Levi Leipheimer has right next to my desk looking at the frame I was designing! I didn't have my camera phone ready to take a picture but there is a picture of him holding one of the WSD Madones out in the plant. LINK I have heard of pro cyclists coming in but I have never seen one this close up. Kinda odd to see somebody a foot shorter than me looking larger than life, right there.

Remember November 5!

2007-11-01T20:07:00.000-05:00

Figure it out..... ;)

I am not dead!

2007-10-28T21:22:00.000-05:00

Just lying low. I turn 36 this week (on the 31st) and I really do not feel anywhere close to that. Mornings after a long ride maybe but normaly I would put myself 10 years youger than that. Right now I am focusing on getting a new mower since mine blew up a few weeks ago. It is so damn frustrating!

Other than that I am starting to ramp up the swimming yards. This week I was 250 yards short of 10K! For me that is some pretty good numbers. I want to really start pounding the yards and make a 1 hour, continual swim feel like nothing. The run is a total different story. A 5k is easy but it feels like a long run right now. In a few weeks is a 10K turket trot I will be doing to guage my run fitness and se where I need to go from here. Up is about the only direction I would say!

It is now official.

2007-10-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

This evening I got my confirmation from NA Sports for IM Wisconsin. I am paid and in the game.

To keep track of when it is for those of you who don't know, there is a countdown timer just below my profile. I will be getting more nervous as the days wind down to the day.

Day before the self declared TT

2007-10-05T20:36:00.001-05:00

I took the TTX to work today top work out the bugs before the 65mile TT tomorrow morning. The TT is a 65 mile loop from the Tyranenna Brewery up to Trek Bike World headquarters then in the middle of F'n nowhere and back. Well lets just say I should have never left work today. We decided to go against the wind straight south for eight miles lop around the lake (Rock Lake, Lake Mills) and back to Waterloo. I was feeling sluggish from the start but decided I will go and bail out and take the shortcut if it gets worse. My equipment was the TTX, Hed 3 front and then A Renn Disc wheel. This was the piece I was testing for tomorrow. Well it was like 7 miles from Waterloo and I told the riders at the back that I was spent and was just going to coast it in. They turned the corner and that was all she wrote. They were about a quarter mile ahead of me but blinded by a long row of trees and pop, the tubular let out all it's air. I pulled over and was going to change the tire. Oops, it is a tubular, I didn't have a new tire with me, hell I didn't even have a CO2. I forgot the entire flat kit. I started to walk the last 5 miles back to work by myself. I got a lot of thinking done. I will never ride tubulars again, I need to wash the biking shirt and shorts I was wearing today since it is on it's third ride and could stand on it's own, I want ot sell the TTX and lastly I really need to eat before I go out next time. Towards the end of the journey, one of the guys I was riding with git a bit worried as I didn't come back for a while. A 4 mile walk in road shoes is not a fast trip ya know! He picked me up with his car and gave me a ride back to work. Apologizing for leaving me behind since nobody gets left behind in out lunch rides. It sure is nice to see that there are still some caring considerate people out there! On the entire trip back not a single person stopped to See if I needed a ride. People in cars just do not like bikers.....

Did anybody notice??

2007-09-15T14:37:00.000-05:00

I made a change to this blog a few weeks ago with an update. I have since corrected this. Can anybody tell me what it is??

Have a great race!!

2007-09-08T20:11:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning at 7am is the time 2200 friends of the sport will be hiting the swim at IM-MOO. The weather couldn't be any better, the venue is spectacular but those damn Wisconsin state birds. The Mosquitos are out in full force. Watch out for them!

On a lighter note. My buddy JWM is going for his IM medal. We met a few years ago on www.trinewbies.com when we were beginners in the sport. Throughout the years we have had a lot of trash talking at races we have done together. The last being the Spirit of Racine half Ironman which he got the best of me yet again. I say hats of to you Jeff, this one is for you! A bit of Kopps for the finish ;)

Product review - 2008 Zipp 999 wheelset

2007-09-01T22:20:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since my last product review (see Powertap SL last spring) but this one was worth the wait. I was looking for a disc wheel for the longer distance triathlons next year. I have used the Renn 575 disc, waiting for a Hed disc and still on the waiting list for a Bontrager Aeolus disc. The Renn and the Hed offer a clincher version of the disc, the Bontrager and the Zipp do not.....or so I thought. I went looking at the Zipp website and noticed for 2008 they now offer a clincher version! No more gluing tubbies for B-!!

I contacted the rep at Zipp about demoing a clincher disc. They sent one out to the local bike dealer for me to try. It was a very pleasant experience. They were easy to deal with and helpful in setting it up with the dealer. I find it odd that I work at a place that makes the Bontrager discs and I can't even demo one, I can't even buy one as they keep them on such a limited inventory that professionals get them and not the general public. Not real good for getting your product out there isn't it?

The first week I had the disc I was not able to use it. We had major flooding from the torrential rains coming down for 7 days straight and we were even declared a federal disaster area because of all the flooding. The second week was much different. We had sunny and pleasant weather. Perfect for riding and riding fast! I took the bike to work with the Zipp proudly displayed at my desk. It sure did get lots of looks and comments. Mind you, all positive. The first ride was a 20 mile loop of gently rolling hills. The disc was smooth and responsive. They made me ride harder to keep up with the wheels. I ride a TTX 9.9 and these wheels were made for it. The clinchers are a bit heavier than their tubular counterparts, but the familarity with the clinchers edges the weight differential. If I am that concerned with a few hundred grams, I will skip that last twinkie! It makes more sense to lose a thousand grams off of me than to purchase the wheels that save those grams. The familiarity of the clinchers is a big seller for me. Discs were once resreved for those who ride tubulars but not anymore. I could change this tire and tube no problem out on the course without having to worry about carrying a bulky tubular out there on the course.

Overall impressions are very favorable of Zipp, and the product speaks for itself. The disc is very solid and it felt natural under the TTX. It accelerated smoothly and rolled effoertlessly on the flats as well as the rollers. I would recommend this disc to anybody who wants to ride the best. You will race harder just riding the wheel. This disc is truly the best you can buy.

I'm back!

2007-09-01T10:19:00.000-05:00

This week I started riding at work again. I have logged about 120 miles this week and it feels great! After having really not ridden since the end of July it came back pretty quickly. Lets keep this going through the winter in preparation for an early season half if everything works out....

Back in the game

2007-08-26T10:51:00.000-05:00

Well yesterdy I took the TTX with the Zipp disc out for a ride. Now keep in mind I haven't ridden the TTX since the terrible half Ironman in late July. I figured that I would do just a quick lap around the lake but that took a turn. I went around both lakes! It was a total of 32 miles (not planned) in one hour and 30 minutes. I felt great till the last four or five miles. After not riding for a while I just got tired and couldn't keep the pace. There was a stretch of fresh blacktop that was just wonderful! Smooth and fast! The disc performed well and I feel I might be back!

Well she was right....

2007-08-24T14:14:00.000-05:00

With the loss of an old friend, results in the addition of 2 new friends and an improvement on the other existing friend.

The first new friend is a '06 Fuel 90 aluminum frame with carbon rear suspension that was given to ME by a friend at work. WE put it together with last years and the years before that parts. It is outfitted with Sram X-0 shifting and Hayes 9 hydraulic brakes. I did have to buy the wheel set. It was a test set from the engineering dept for $40!!!

The second is a Trek Madone from the first year they made the Madone. This bike is outfitted with full Dura Ace components compliments of the sale of the "old friend." I am using the wheels that came off my TTX for this so right there that is money saved. I built this bike from the frame up which I have never done before. I now consider myself a bit of a wrench. I know I can do it and it didn't fall apart after a test ride! I do however need to get a longer brake cable housing, I think I cut it a bit short. Can anybody tell me why this bike is not like a normal Madone?

Lastly here is the TTX outfitted with some new race wheels (demos, don't worry). It is a brand new set of Zipp 999's. The rear is a clincher disc and not a tubular. It is a slight bit heavier but I know I can change this out without a problem and not be stranded. I haven't had a chance to ride them yet as we have basically been planning on building an arc with 14 inches of rain so far this month. It is totally killing me!

A lost friend :(

2007-08-22T19:49:00.001-05:00

Well on sunday I lost one of my good frieds of 7 years. Over the years we spent a lot of time together. If you ask my wife she would say that I spent more time with the friend than her but she really knows better. The friend is gone but not forgotten. Good bye old friend.....

Well sports fans, the plan has changed :(

2007-08-17T11:30:00.001-05:00

My goal from years back was to do the Ironman Wisconsin race in '08. It has been the dream since first seeing the race in Madison years ago. After a few "discussions" with wife and family, I have decided to do push it off till '09. This will give me the opportunity to train at work a bit more and really focus on nutrition while on the bike. This has been a major problem for the past few years at the half distance. While this is a hard decision, it is the smart one. I have done every distance up to a half so far with basicly reserves and not fueling during the race. this will change. The plan, more longer rides with eating on the bike to get used to it more.

Next years race scheduls looks to have possible 2 more half IM's added in a better, more vacation location. Where that is, I have no idea yet. I want flat to rolling hills with an easy run. The swim I am not really worried about. Inland lake would be good as I do not care for ocean swimming and high waves. Any suggestions?

Work today...

2007-08-14T22:02:00.000-05:00

Today I left work for a while to get in a ride. The Trek demo trucks were in full force. I took 3 rides. The first ride was on a Trek Fuel EX 9.5 full carbon. This bike is light! I could throw it all over hte place. the only problem with the light weight was traction. I was slipping all over the place. New tires and higher gearing would fix that. All in all a smooth great ride!

A 4 mile mountain bike ride was harder than the last half IM road ride I did. You sure feel it going up the hills and navigating.

The second ride was a LeMond Tet de Course. All I can say is WOW! The Aeolus wheels sure helped glide me along the ride. In comparison to the Madone, the LeMond won only because of the components. The LeMond had the SRAM Force kit and the Aeolus wheels while the Madone had Bontrager Race Lites with Ultegra. I think I am a SRAM man now. It was effortless in shifting, clean looking with one less cable (no top brake cable coming out of the hood) and light as can be. Now to just get the TTX outfitted with th eSRAM Red kit but that is for another time and place.

Last ride was on a Gary Fisher Superfly. It was a hardtail and not a full suspension but the lightweight carbon really made it feel like I wasn't even hitting the bumps very hard at all.

Now if I had my choice to buy any of these it would have to be the Fuel EX. The technology is so advanced and the ride was great that how could one not? I recomend trying out this bike if you can. It is great cross trainignfor tri. Like I said, a 56 mile TT is easier than some of the single track we were riding today! Ride on!!

The bike show '08

2007-08-12T09:03:00.000-05:00

This is my job (if you can call it that). I have been working on all these bikes pictured. The first being the pride and joy the 08 Madone 6.9 Pro. This was my project since January. Enjoy the pics as more will follow this week!

Madone 6.9 Pro

TTX SSL

TTX 9.9 no longer in Yellow.

TTX 9.0 in Carerra Blue for the entry level carbon model.

More this coming week from the show :)
The test rides will be on Tuesday.

My new view at work

2007-08-09T13:16:00.001-05:00

For the next 10 days I will be reporting here.....

This is my first bike show. The entire Trek line will be shown. Pretty exciting knowing i am supposed to be there instead of crashing, sneaking in like the first year it was at the "Monona Terrace". There are a lot of dealers from around the world coming to check things out. I will hopefully get pictures next week.

What did you see at work today?

2007-08-08T19:04:00.000-05:00

I walked in today and I couldn't believe my eyes. Just on the other side of the wall was this...

wait for it

Do you know what this is? How about this one?

wait again, almost there.......

Well let me tell you. This is the actually bike the won the Tour de France this year. Life is good some days knowing that I get paid to do this stuff! Next week I will get a few pictures of the new bikes that I did :)

Spirit of Racine Swim

2007-07-30T07:47:00.000-05:00

The Swim-
At first I thought and heard that the water was cold. I hate cold water!!! I got the wetsuit on slipped in the water and it was great! the gun went off and I hit my swim stride right away. I was not going to push the swim as I am not a strong swimmer. I swam just like all my training swims. Long efficent strokes to save energy. I felt real good the entire swim but it did feel like an eternity. I have never exited the water after a mile point two of swimming feeling like I really could have done more. I looked a bit suprised when my brother clicked the pic though (thanks Mike). Not an inprovement on last year in time but my swim conditioning is way ahead of where it was last year.

T1- Zipped in and grabbed my helmet and sunglasses. This is one of the first years I forgot to clip my shoes to the pedals.

I could have gained a few secondes doing that. All in all it was still faster than any other year I have done this race.

Spirit of Racine Half Ironman pre-race

2007-07-28T14:27:00.000-05:00

How to finish an Ironman 70.3 on 150 calories or less

2007-07-23T10:29:00.000-05:00

This was supposed to be my race for the year. I got the sweet new TTX flying a disc and all, got good training on it and even ended up having no real knee pain leading up to the race. For the most part I as ready to set some PR's in this Half Iron Man this year.

Let me start with a few pre race items that should have tipped me off of the following weeks events. On Wednesday i did a 2000 yard swim at the local pool without stopping in 32 minutes. As a pool swim goes without stopping I thought it went pretty good. On thursady night I got a nice leisurely ride of 20 miles on the TTX. All is well! Friday night went to bed at a decent hour but woke up at 4am, not the worst thing but I figured I can get some well deserved sleep then on Saturday night. Let for Racine got checked in at hotel, dropped off bike and got registered at the school. So far so good! We decided to meet my brother and his soon wife to be for dinner. I opted to go with my liquid diet of some soup while the others enjoyes some of the best smelling Tex-Mex food I have ever seen. We ended up leaving after 3 hours of chatting and relaxing. It really took my mind off of things that were going to happen the next day.

The next day....

Had the hotel people give us a wake up call at 5am. I really din't need it since I was so nervous about the next day that I figured I only got about 2 hours oif sleep. Well it is better than nothing! I rolled into transition with plenty of time to spare meeting up with my fellow trash talking buddy Jeff. At that point I really felt rexaed walking down the 1 mile beach to the swim start. It was kinda surreal. Nice cool water, great temperatures and hell I am doing this for the third time. Never in my life would I have thought that I would be completing my third Half Ironman distance race. That was the phrase of the day "finish my third IM race, no matter what."

The Swim-
At first I thought and heard that the water was cold. I got the wetsuit on slipped in the water and it was great! the gun went off and I hit my swim stride right away. I was not going to push the swim as I am not a strong swimmer. I swam just like all my training swims. Long efficent strokes to save energy. I felt real good the entire swim but it did feel like an eternity. I have never exited the water after a mile point two of swimming feeling like I really could have done more. Not an inprovement on last year in time but my swim conditioning is way ahead of where it was last year.

T1- Zipped in and grabbed my helmet and sunglasses. This is one of the first years I forgot to clip my shoes to the pedals. I could have gained a few secondes doing that. All in all it was still faster than any other year I have done this race.

The Bike-
I was going to attack this course on the new bike. I was confident and ready to roll on the TTX. I got off to a great start I was averaging 23mph for rthe first few flat miles. From there things felt a litle weird. I was in a very bent over aero position and I got major heartburn. That can be explained by the Acute Gastritis i was diagnosed with last week and the neves kicking in. I watched my average go down and and down to a very depressing 16.7. I just couldn't get comfortable, couldn't get into a rhythm. I got to the first aid station took on some water and an Infinit sports drink. WOW did somebody mix that a little strong! It hit my trampoline of a stomach and came right back up. While this was happening i hit a bit of a rough spot and my bottle of water was catapulted out of the bottle holder behind my seat. Oh well I will just have to use up a gel and the remainder of the water in the aerobottle. Well the gel didn't really agree with me either. Lets just say that water was the best thing at the time. About halfway throught the bike I recognized Tracy from TeamRaceAthlete on the sponsored bike. I asked her how it was going so far and then I told her about the stomach troubles I was having and she offered my a NUUN tablet. It smells just like the bottle caps candy from childhood but dissolves into a flat coke like liquid. Wow did that stuff work! I felt pretty good, the nausea went away and I could finish up the bike.
Total nutrition - 1 gel, 1 NUUN tab, 2 oz of sports drink and 3 water bottles worth of water for 56 miles of hard riding.
2 hurls to get rid of all of the above.

T2-rolled in with the shoes still clipped in felt pretty good and even changed shirts for a clean dry one to run in.

The Run?
I left the transition area I saw my wife we said a few words and I took off. I started walking at first and then ran right up the hill. I ran till the first aid station and grabbed a water and an ice water. Or what I thought was ice water. It turned out to be the Infinit and then I proced to return that to the ground after I drank it. Almost to the turnaround I took a slat tablet to get some sodium in me. I proceeded to get one down and as i was taking the second one down, well the stomach revolted and said no way. A bit up the road, Tracy saw me again and gave me another NUUN tablet to make it to the end. That woked fro a while but I then realized that ice water was the only thing I could do. I had to keep somewhat hydrated. Well I finished the run with a similar second half split so at the least I was consistent.

Lessons learned-
NUTRITION, NUTRITION, NUTRITION! I was properly trained for the swim and the bike but not trained for the nutrition over the long haul. You just can't do an Ironman on water and one gel. You taake in 250 calories but expend 3000, it comes from somewhere. That somewhere is your muscels. That is why I just took a nosedive towards the end.
Pain is only temporary. This is so true! I saw a lady holding this sign 100 yards from the turnaround on the run. It just got to me. Yea, it hurts but I was also thinking that I committed to myself that I was going to finish no matter what. While dissapointed with my performance I was doing a lot of self talking afterwards of not doing Ironman Wisconsin in '08. While this is something that i do want to do I might consider doing a 101 mile event instead of a 140.6 mile event. Having completed the 70.3 miles it might be the next step. I just do not know...

The good, the bad and the ugly!!

2007-07-23T08:41:00.000-05:00

2006 SORT results

swim - 49:15 --pr
t1 - 2:49
bike - 3:14 --pr
t2 - 3:37
run - 2:53

Total 7:03.19

2007 SORT results

swim - 51.08
t1 - 2:41 --pr
bike - 3:22
t2 - 3:01 --pr
run - 2:57

Total 7:17.03

More details to follow with pictures.

A little weight loss and a week off

2007-07-01T17:21:00.000-05:00

I had wanted to drop a few pounds before the HIM I am doing in July and this week I accomplished that goal. Not really by choice. It started last Friday, I was feeling a bit tired and weak and things progressed from there. After a visit to the doctor to dig a chunk of my ribcage out and get it tested is when it really kicked in. I figured it was from the numbing stuff they give you but the feeling never went away. Throughout the remainder of the weekend and the week I had a hard time keeping fluids in. I normally am about 201.5lbs and Thursday morning I hit rock bottom. I tipped the scale at 193! But having not really eaten anything and not doing any kind of activity it is probably counter productive for training.

Monday at work we are shutting down for the afternoon to do a 10 mile time trial, bike parade in town, an obstacle course on Lime bikes and lunch catered in. If you beat the boss you get cash. After today's self made time trail I will not be beating the boss. Over a 16 mile course which includes a warm up and cool down I could only manage a 19.2 mile average. Not really gonna cut it but what can I expect for no saddle time since last Sunday on the sweet Madone?

I will hopefully have pictures and results tomorrow. Wish me luck!

08 Madone long ride

2007-06-24T10:54:00.000-05:00

This morning I took out the new '08 Madone out for a longish ride. I covered 50 miles in 2:40 and it felt great! The first impression I noticed on the ride was the lack of tail end mush. I normally ride an Aluminum 2200 and being 200 plus pounds I can really torque the frame on a sprint or a hill acceleration. With this Madone it welcomed the hills. I could power up the hill and it felt as if the power I was generating to the cranks was directly transferred to the road. The acceleration on the flats were comparable to my tri bike in the feel of taking off while still in the saddle. While not as aero, the feel was about the same. In recreational riding the performance model which is the one I was riding was quite comfortable. I normally ride a 58cm but this was a 60cm which stretched me out a bit, but not to the point of losing my center of gravity on descents. There seems to be a lot of flexibility on the saddle position. I used the long seatmast with the seat set as far forward as possible which put me on a rather aggressive tri angle where I felt the most comfortable.

I would like to use a PowerTap wheel on the TTX, the Madone and the 2200 on the same course to compare the power transferred and power average.

In conclusion, the Madone is a very impressive ride. It feels like a Ferrari at a Porsche price. It is feather light and suitable for large riders. I have no reservations in riding the Red Alpha level carbon frame ever again. It is a very forgiving ride. After 50 miles I got off not feeling beat up and able/ready to run. I even went for a quick 20 minute run afterwards to test that feeling. This is a frame you have to ride to re4ally appreciate. I was looking forward to finally riding it after working with it for the past 8 months and it was defiantly worth it!

The feeling of driving a Ferarri

2007-06-23T20:23:00.000-05:00

That is what I felt after taking the Madone 6.5 out for a short, quick spin. It was very responsive like downshifting from fourth to third. It was a very stiff. I felt like the power I was pushing to the cranks was directly tranfered to the road. Now for the long ride tomorrow...Lets see how that shapes up!

The new Madone arrived...in my garage

2007-06-22T19:11:00.001-05:00

Today I brought home the new Madone 6.5....and it is in my garage!!

I wlll be testing it this weekend and let you all know the results. I am pretty excited! The bike does not have decals on it because they are still in the works. The frame is just the nude carbon no paint. From what I have heard from other riders who have ridden it, it is like no other. One has to ride it to appreciate it.

My other bikes are a road aluminum, aluminim mountain and one other tri bike that is OCLV carbon. I was told by the engineers that the Madone will just put the TTX to shame in acceleration (well in comparison) and there is no comparison at all with the aluminum. Stay tuned for the results!

Bike to work Time Trial

2007-06-10T08:04:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning 5:20 am I depart my residence for a sprint to work. The distance is 20 miles only because of a road being chip sealed so I had to take the long way. One hour 4 minutes there 5 minute break to get some water and my new found friend Jelly belly Sport Beans compliments of the Trek 100 last weekend. The return trip was a negative split and I couldn't belive it! I pulled a one hour and one minute return on the same road. So doing so some quick math, a another 16 miles to get the half split now is way ahead of last years 3:10. Now to start running again..........

A night to remember

2007-06-01T01:03:00.000-05:00

That is what tomorrows event is titled. Well tonight (thursday) was a preview of that night to come. Over the past 6 onths I have been working on a totaly new revolutionized road frame for the bikers out there. Well tonight was the night it was first unveiled to the public. It was at the ever so beautiful Milwaukee Art Museum.This is what you see as you first enter the massive building. There were roughly 300 of the WORLDS top dealers at this event. Little did they know they were going to be part of history! There was going to be an unveiling of the 2008 New Madone Trek roadbike but they didn't even know was going to happen. This coming weekend is the Trek 100 an annual sponsored ride to raise money for the MACC fund and a lot of people were there for that. Well were they wrong! At 6:55 sharp the presentation started. The president of Trek was speaking and introducing the new road bike. He explained the entire bike, brought out a few people to talk about the project and BAM, Lance Armstrong walks the new bike right out on stage.

He got a standing ovation and sat down to talk about the new ride. He has been riding it for the past 9 months we found out. Guess what? He loved it!!

We all thought the presentation was over and then another suprise. A new mountain bike was unveiled too! This also was one of my projects over the past 6 months. Between the new road bike line and the mountain bike line, it will give people a whole new reason to get out and ride. The Madone pictured was one of my favorites.

I think I have a thing for yellow bikes!

This was the most impressive company function I have ever been to. For the sole reason the employees and the people involved got to participate should have been enough. The venue was phenominal, the food was incredible and the atmosphere was filled with bike geeks from all over the world, to be part of history, priceless.

Here are some closing shots of the Art Museum. The poor resolution photos don't do this justice. I sure wish I had a Canon Rebel to shoot some better shots.

The things you see on a ride

2007-05-28T09:01:00.000-05:00

I went out for an early morning ride today. One of the first tings I saw was a clown walking on an electrical wire.....well no but hopefully it got your attention. I had numerous chipmunks and squirells try to commit suicide in front of me. There were two deer that were playing out in the field and then I saw (a few miles from home) 3 turkeys run/fly across the road. Man, would they do some damage to an unsuspecting car whizzing by not paying attention!

When you take the time to ride around and just check things out you really see a lot more of whatsout there. I drive this route to work and really don't notice any of the hills or any of the lawn ornaments out there but wow, there really is some cool stuff out there. I got a few good landscaping ideas along the way too.

Today begins a more serious training routine. The Mad City Marathon has come and passed this past weekend and now it is time to start running again. I decided not to start running till the weekend of the marathon (that I didn't do this year) to prolong ITB troubles. I want to peak in mid to end of July for the half IM to have a much better showing this year on the run. Only my time will tell :)

New theme

2007-05-26T09:45:00.001-05:00

I went with a bit of a new theme. My A race this year is Racine Half IM. The big sell with Racine is the lighthouse so why not? I will come up with something creative after Racine is done.

On a side note check out the www.trekbikes.com on Thursday night. There will be the biggest promotion ever in the company's history. There will be an unveiling of the newest 2 things that will totally revolutionize the bike world. I have seen both and I can't tell you how much I want to hear the input on it. I have been working on it since the first of the year so it will be something to see the finished product right in front and center for the world to see. Heck even Lance Armstrong will be there to help, it is that big! Stay tuned for more info....

The pieces are coming together

2007-05-26T09:28:00.000-05:00

This years equipment is all set up now. Today I got my new wetsuit from the great people at 2XU wetsuits. When I received it, it was very nicely packed, all neoprene surfaces were protected. It looks totaly awesome! I cant wait to try it out in the 58F water here in southern Wisconsin!

National Bike to Work (day 1)

2007-05-16T20:32:00.000-05:00

Well today a tried to participate in the National Bike to Work week. Well I left and it was sunny skies so I figured what the hell? Well I must have pissed somebody off somewhere. I was about halfway and the sky just let loose. What started as a nice, very light tailwind turned on me and was full head on gale force wind. I was cranking up a hill, while getting pummelled by the rain and wind, a bolt of lightning hit and scared me. At that point I decided it was time to put the call in and drop this ride for saftey purposes. I cranked it up for the last few miles in the freezing rain to the drive in bank for shelter (after 5 pm so they were closed) and called my wife. Bless her heart. She loaded up the kids in the trusty SUV and picked me and my bike up.
As I was loading up the bike I remembered the Chrysler commercial where the woman picks up this beaten down motorcycle dude with her kids in the car not saying a word untill he has the bike all packed up in the back, "daddy had to get that bike now...didn't he?" Well I felt like that, admitting defeat getting picked up. I will be back though!

My weapon of choice

2007-05-13T14:16:00.000-05:00

A few pictures and a description of the ride.

Look at the detailed airbrushing of the Trek Project One modified flame scheme.
Ultegra 10 speed shifting to a Dura Ace 11x23 cassette

Bontrager Race X lite carbon cranks 50x36. Look at that shine and carbon contrast!
Bontrager Carbon bullhorns with Bontrager Carbon clip on aerobars.
Bontrager Triple X lite stem. There is also a Cateye wireless computer.
Selle San Marco aspidle Triathlagel saddle with (for now) a X-Lab behind the seat bottle holder. Holding some sweet Bontrager Race X lite carbon cages.
Attached to the Hed 3 tri spoke rims are the new Bontrager Aero TT tires. These tires have "wings" that line up with the outside of the rim exactly. Improved aero design and running a 19 width the Bontrager tire guy stated that I WILL see an improvement in my bike split right away over a long course. This is the first all carbon bike I have ever owned or even ridden. The feel of Carbon over Aluminum is night and day. I am so confident in the TTX's quality and performance that I will put it up against any BMC or Cervelo ride out there. I highly recommend one of the new Trek TTX's if you can even get one. They are gonna be really hard to get this summer, so good luck!

WTF??

2007-05-12T12:24:00.000-05:00

I have been biking for over 30 years (since I was 5) and I have never got a flat tire while riding.....until this week. Well now for the first time ever in my life I got 2 flats while riding twice while riding. The first time this week I was at work riding at lunch. We were 4 miles from the office and pssssssttt. I didn't know what happened but the guy ahead of me did. With no patch kit, inner tube or co2's I thought it was going to be a real painful trip back. He had everything we needed to get on with the ride. So I ended up scrounging around work and found all the parts (like he did) and now I have almost the same kit. Well it saved me today. 3 miles from home psssssttt. I pulled over and knew exactly what that noise was :(
Well after 10 minutes of trying to figure out what to do I was off, one inner tube lighter and a scratch on the bike now. I stupidly leaned it against a telephone pole and a good breeze took the Hed 3's for a small ride and moved it. Now I have a 1 inch scratch on the toptube of the brand new bike. Consider it broken in now!

Moral of the story. You will flat sometime in your life (maybe even a few times). Learn how to change an inner tube and be prepared!

Don't predict race times!!

2007-04-29T14:38:00.001-05:00

Well I all but jinxed myself predicting my race times. I am going to try to never do that again!
I did the Whitewater Earlybird sprint tri this year. I did this in years past and it has never been the same course. So much for comparing race times. In a previous post I predicted my times they were:

swim 500 yards - 9:00
bike 13.5 miles - new bike 45:00 minutes
run 3.1 miles - 25:30 minutes

Well this is what actualy happened:

swim 500 yards 10:28
bike 15 miles 47:14
run 3.5 39:48

1:37.29
15/22 age group

The swim. I was in the only lane with 4 people. I started last. Everything felt good up to the second lap (fourth length). I ended up passing the other 3 people in the lane and then I forgot to breathe the first 4 lengths and kinda blew up. I lapped 2 people by the end and still pulled off a 10:28 swim, roughly 1:28 off the estimate, but nobody wins it in the swim.

The bike I thought went well. It was windy and never a tailwind. I had a 17.9 mile per hour average which i was a bit dissapointed since it was so close to the 18mph average. I did notice that the new bike needs to be adjusted. the time lost could have been made up if I would have stayed in the aero position. I have to move the aerobars apart a bit to relieve the pressure on the shoulder. But hey these are the first miles on this bike with NO fitting. I really think that one can purchase speed and this ride proves it.

Teh run sucked. Extremely hilly and the knee was just on fire. I ended up walking most of it which is simply unacceptabe. The strategy of less running is hurting now but hopefully in a few weeks after I start runnung again it will pay off in July with pain free running.

The things I have learned at this fun race. Sprints are not for me. A half Iron is much easier and more fun. Not to forget to mention a better bang for your buck! I am just not fast and probably never will be. I need to do some speed work in all 3 discplines. I already had the plan of pounding the bike miles and this proves my point. Starting monday at work the road miles will start. Goal to hit 100 miles a week, we will see what happens. I also came away with the same feeling before this race as I do the longer ones. The anticipation just wrenches the guts but when it all starts.....it goes away. Let the fun begin!

It is about time

2007-04-28T15:59:00.000-05:00

Well it is about time. The project that started a few months ago is finally done. What a conicidence? It got done a day before my first sprint race :) But not without a few bumps in the road....

I ended up getting the frame back from Project One paint department at Trek Bikes. The build up of the frame is where it started to go south. I left work friday afternoon with my frame and all the parts going into the build department (thanks Greg!) HE would try to get it done that night or saturday morning. Well I got the call at 8:30 friday night so off the 7 Y/O Libby and I went. I thought it was just going to be a pick up and go, that s what I get for thinking that! Well we got there and I realized that I didn't have a pass key to even get into the building. Security after hours is pretty tight. Libby and I went walking around the outside of the building and calling at the same time to find somebody to let us in. When we finally got in, there was the first problem. The rear deraileur cable was too short and we didn't happen to have a tandem length cable anywhere. So no rear deraileur and no bar wrapping. So right around 10pm we got the prelim fit done and off I we went.

Next morning after Libby soccer game I was gone to the Trek factory store. They were really busy but Kevin the service manager really stepped up and got the job done. They even did a bit of adjusting and tweaking and even installed a bike computer I had in the bag of stuff I brought in and didn't even ask them to do.

So the long and the short of it, the 200X Equinox 9.9 Project One is done. This bike is sub 20lbs even with the water bottle full. I can't wait to race it in Whitewater on sunday. I hope I can push it as fast as it looks. There is more carbon on this bike than I could ever imagine! Really the only non carbon parts are the deraileurs, chainring and the chain.

Commit me!

2007-04-21T16:01:00.000-05:00

Well this is the day I start training for this season. I know I have said this before but this time there is a reason. For the past few years I have done the Crazylegs Classic in downtown Madison with a few thousand fellow Badger fans but after last years running disaster I am changing strategys. I am going to limit the running untill the half actually gets closer. Last year I had major ITB trouble from running/peaking too early. I will start serious running for the half IM at the end of May. For the immediate, pound the bike miles ad swim like a fish. This is what bring me full circle to my point. I emailed back the race director for the J-Hawks earlybird sprint tri to reserve my spot. Up to this point I really haven't seriously trained at all. I ran a few times, biked a few more but I have swam a lot. So why not see how much fitness I lost from last season?

I estimated my 500 yard swim at 9 minutes. I figured it slower, then that is better for me fro confidence. I would rather lap people in the pool swim than be lapped! The one hang up I have is the bike issue. While I have put on more miles this winter and spring than I have in the past few years it will all change. I was told my new TTX will be out of the paint department on Wednesday and hopefully assembled by friday. So going into the race on sunday I will have one ride on the new bike. What a way to break it in! I could use the old ride but why? it is still a great bike but just the feel of riding carbon on the race course just makes me want to hit it extra hard.

While finshing a sprint is no trouble, I do want to have a good showing. I figure I will be able to beat my times from the past years the way things are now in my training. This was the first tri I ever did many years ago. I will have my brother and his wife to be there also doing this so it will be a fun time. I can always try to chase him down, ya know my rabbit to keep up with on teh course.

I am going to jinx myself here and make a race prediction. Here goes:
swim 500 yards - 9:00
bike 16 miles - new bike 45:00 minutes / old bike 49 minutes
run 3.1 miles - 25:30 minutes

I will post pics and results (no matter how painfull) next monday. Wish me luck!

news and updates....

2007-04-10T18:17:00.000-05:00

Well today I got word that the TTX is in the base coat of the Project one paint. By the end of next week the frame and fork will be done. I am missing two parts to complete the build too. The carbon bullhorn and aerobars are still at least a week out.

Training decision. I think I will be skipping the Mad City Marathon this year. It pains to me to make this decision but last year fighting off the injury bug just did me in for my major focus of the Spirit of Racine Half IM. I feel I peaked a bit too early for the HIM in july. The focus will switch to pounding the bike miles instead. After the TTX is done, I will be riding while I am at work and possibly to and from work. I will slowly build in the running miles over the summer to peak at the end of July to hopefully eliminate the triips to the ortho to get the dreaded cortisone shot in the side of the knee.

Ultimate goal here:beat JWM! Even though he is not doing Racine this year, his time beating me last year is still hanging over my head. I have to beat it! JWM let the trash talking beging now :)

Box of what?

2007-04-04T20:47:00.000-05:00

Well today I have received the majority of my Project One build. The frame of the TTX is in it's second stage of paint and the box-o-carbon parts has shown up. The parts list are as follows:
1 Bontrager Race X-Lite Carbon Compact cranks 50x36
1 Bontrager Race XXX-Lite Carbon stem
1 set Bontrager Race XXX-Lite Aero brake levers
1 Bontrager Race XXX-Lite Carbon cage
1 set Dura Ace bar end shifters 10 speed
1 Dura Ace chain
1 Ultegra front brake
1 Ultegra rear brake
1 Ultegra front Derailleur
1 Ultegra rear Derailleur
2 Sram 11x23 10 speed cassettes
1 Blue Bontrager Cork bar tape
1 pair Bontrager Race X-Lite Aero Rims
4 Bontrager Race TT tires
1 Cane Creek IS headset

I am missing a basebar and aerobars which should be here next week. For that I am also going with the Bontrager separate Carbon bulhorn and Carbon aerobars for their superior adjustabillity. I had originally ordered a one piece basebar/aerobar Bontrager Race XXX lite but went for the cheaper and more flexible option. I also went with the Ultegra components to save a bit of money to get some of the extras like the second cassette for the Hed 3 rims and new tires. I am not a weight weenie so spending the extra $$$ on grams lighter Dura Ace components didn't make sense. I could shave more weight not stuffing that last Calzone down my throat tonight for dinner or going out and run a bit more. I will post pics when the build is complete. I am so excited!

The new baby has arrived

2007-03-25T09:13:00.000-05:00

Friday was the day. At 12:35 pm (right before lunch) the new baby showed up. Monday back to the doctor for a check up, that would be a new paintjob. I am posting a picture of the "new baby" in it's original stripped down version and when I get it back from the doctor I will post that one too. I am doing a complete build up on this frame. I have one sticking point, the compact cranks vs. the standard cranks. I hope I can make this decision quick. I really want to get out and ride!

Signs of spring

2007-03-10T13:47:00.000-06:00

As I was going out for what I call my "long run" around the lake, I really took the time to take it all in. A weeks ago there was 2 feet of snow freshly fallen and now there is nothing but slop. Sign of spring :)

I noticed the small of the lake, the melting of the lake with the "out of their mind" ice fisherman still out there. Note again...Sign of spring :)

I rounded the corner and the small of warm blacktop roasting in the sun hit me. I love that smell. Sign of spring :)

The fresh air blowing on my too warmly dressed self realizing that I WAY overdressed for this run. There were kids playing outside with shorts. Sign of spring :)

This coming weekend and week for that matter we are going to experince the warmest days of the year so far. Calling for the high 50's! Wednesday I will be bringing the bike to work that day for a lunchtime ride if it doesn't rain. Sign of spring :)

Knowing that a lot of outside stuff will start happening on a regular basis just gets me ready to bike and run outside for the sheer enjoyment of it. Training will be a secondary benefit at least for now.

swim report 3.2.07

2007-03-03T20:19:00.001-06:00

Today my goal was to do sets of 500 of varying intensity. I ended up doing 9 sets of 500 yards for a total of 4500 yards in one hour!!

Now before this sounds too much of a chest pounding accomplishment, it isn't. I used flippers for the entire set so i could consentrate on the stroke instead of the kick. I still look at it as 4500 yards or 180 laps. I am not too exhausted either.

Now witgh this new found swim experience and the new and improved run performance in the afternoon, i had an idea. Why not have a sprint tri that starts at say 11am or later. I can be in peak performance state (well at least fully awake and stretched out) unlike those 7am start times. Race directors give it some thought.....you might have a few more participants?

swim report 3.2.07

2007-03-03T20:19:00.000-06:00

Change of plan on the new ride.... :)

2007-03-03T09:10:00.000-06:00

Well after suffering the disappointing loss of the Discovery Team TDF TT bike earlier this week a new option came into my lap Friday....literally! I had heard that there was a shortage of Trek TTX bikes in the US and they are going to be hard to get. It seems that everybody wants them. The Discovery Team and the Timex Tri team will be using them too. So my dream of a shiny new TTX was gone :(

Well Friday I had heard that there was a size L TTX floating around the test lab. I ride a L so I figured I would check on it to see what it was all about. It was being tested for paint cracking at the seams. I inspected the frame and I saw no obvious paint cracks but they can't sell it as a new bike so that is where I step in. It will be 3 weeks till I get to take it home but it will be worth the wait. I might get it repainted to my color choice of Metallic yellow with the accents of Metallic Blue and White decals to match my other ride the Trek 2200. Match up the Hed 3 rims on this TTx and watch out course records, i am gonna fly!

Here it is......you can drool now (JWM)minus the Hed 3's

The dream is dissappearing

2007-02-27T16:30:00.000-06:00

The dream of getting my beloved bright ass yellow Trek TTX is fading away. It looks like these bikes have really taken off in the tri world. They are back ordered for quite a while. Dealer will get the priority and even they are still waiting.

Not wanting me to ride a Cerveloin this years races, my advisor is trying to everything in his power to get me on the TTX. We had one alternative :) A shipment of Discovery Team Time Trial bikes from the '06 TDF came in and they had 2 in the large or 58cm size. Well after awaiting word over the weekend I got the answer.

Not gonna happen :(

With the shortage of the TTX OCLV carbon frames, even these used frames are selling at a premium. I can't believe it! I was offered an Equinox 7, but that is basically the same as the Cervelo P2K I am racing now. It might end up being another Equinox 11 aluminum frame untill next year after there are more TTX's available.

Well at least it is good to have a product that is well received and in demand. Wait till you see whats coming out in '08!

The Nike ipod running sensor thing

2007-02-27T16:24:00.000-06:00

I just love mine! I have been using it for a few months now. It really gives a great visual feedback to analyze the runs afterwards. During the run it is great too. At anytime during the run you can press the center button and it will give you time/distance/pace.

I have been noticing that looking back at the results from the last 20 or so runs that my mid day runs I get the most out of. I have been consistently running in the 8:15-8:40 per mile pace for a 5K on the old dreadmill. Now doing the same 5k in the early morning at say 5:30 am my times have been averaging in the low to mid 10:00 per mile pace. I am wearing the same shoes, same sensor and using the same legs. I couldn't believe the difference it makes.

Workload depending I am running 3 days a week (well started last week) at work. It is encouraged so I might as well join in :) If it helps my 5k time who can argue with that?

Perks of the job!

2007-02-27T16:14:00.000-06:00

Well this is the new saddle I received this past week for helping the Bontrager guy. He stated that it is a Bontrager Race XXX Lite limited Edition that was used at the Tour De France Commemorative bike. Just your normal run of the mill $260 saddle. Man is it going to look sweet on the Trek Yellow 2200.

Another improvement I will be making on the ride this year is changing the decals on the Hed 3 rims to have matching colors to the bike "ala Norman Stadler's Kuota in Kona". I am really getting anxious to get out an ride. Seeing people at work go out for an hour in the middle of the day for a ride is just driving me nuts! In case you have been living under a rock lately, here in Wisconsin we just had a weekend storm that dumped a total of 18 inches of wet heavy snow. I am definitely not taking the road bike out there in that stuff!

I will be testing out a lot of new stuf in the coming weeks so stay tuned. The first might be some new tires that are coming out from Bontrager. They are for Aero rims and are very impressive!

Why?

2007-02-27T16:07:00.000-06:00

Why are we forced to do some things?

It seems like we are being forced into switching to the "new blogger." Well I was perfectly happy with the old blogger. If it ain't broke don't fix it! After being in Information Technology for a while I learned to let other install and use the new stuff and work the bugs out and then it was worth my time to to do the install or use the new stuff. I really want to know what the difference from a user standpoint I am going to see with this new "upgrade." If it is just a behind the scenes upgrade for the blogger people tell us. Don't sugar coat it and say it is the new and improved blogger that nobody will realize any difference. It is like going Windows 98 to Windows Millennium. Why???!!!???!!!

Hit the switch, rant over!

Forced time off....

2007-02-02T22:28:00.000-06:00

I have all the opportunity in the world to work out now. I am encouraged to workout during my workday as 99% of the place does (benefits of working at a fitness company) but guess what? I got bit by the injury bug! I was running in the snow last Sunday and slipped on the ice. I didn't completely fall down or anything like that. I tweaked my back while falling. I have been walking around like an 80 year old man. I have been to the chiro a few times and it is getting better but I am just not ready to start putting stress on it again. I even skipped swimming this week!

The weather has a bit to do with some time off (which is helping me in a weird way). Today I was driving home from the grocery store and looked at the temperature gauge. It was 1 degree F. That is damn cold. Thursday it was almost summerlike at 20 with the temperature that was coming our way for the weekend. It is supposed to be highs in the low single digits.

In the short time I will be doing a lot of stretching. I am starting core exercises tonight (lightly) so I do not aggravate the lower back, but just to stretch it out even further.

Footsteps in the snow......

2007-01-21T21:33:00.000-06:00

"they only tell us where we have been, not where we are going."

As I went out this morning for a run while it was snowing (and snowing hard I must say) I got to thinking. How peaceful :)

I was out there all by myself with no distractions or really any noise other than my feet hitting the fresh fallen snow packing it down with each step.

How could something so beautiful as fresh snow be so destructive?
So much fun for kids?
mething I just hate!

This was my first run ever did in a "snowstorm." I have always decided against running in these conditions for some reason or another. Wow was I missing out! How am I going to hit the sub 6hr in Racine?

Well it turns out I had a real great run on the outbound part of the trip. I was clipping along snow hitting me in the face and it was actually refreshing! I had never ran in this type of snow before. I ended up getting to my "halfway" point according to my Nike+ running sensor kit and turned around. This is where the thought came in full force. As I gazed up the road and saw my footprints being slowly covered by the falling snow, I related it to all my past runs.

Does it really matter what I did on my last run?
How fast it was?
How far I went?

My footprints were like all the previous races and training runs I did in the past. They get covered up by something or another in time. We seem to always look in the "past" for our future. Looking down the road in front of me all I see is fresh fallen snow with no real path. I look behind me and I see exactly where I was. From here out I want to look forward, forward to the next training run, next race next whatever.

The long term goal is to do Ironman Wisconsin and finish strong. The short term goal is to get out and do that next training run, swim or bike. Don't look back at that terrible swim, just go out and work to make the next one better to reach your goal in the end whatever that may be.

Cervelo for sale

2007-01-18T17:39:00.000-06:00

Well I have decided to sell my beloved Cervelo P2K in preparation for the new TTX!! If anyone out there is in the market for a 60cm fast ride email me. The drivetrain was recently upgraded and replaced with Ultegra and Dura Ace parts. The parts of the bike that someone could sweat on are replaced too. I am looking to get $1600, so if you want to be the fastest in your AG this is the ride for you. I will have a LBS ship it. Think about it and let me know.

Running again !!!

2007-01-17T19:59:00.000-06:00

Well over the past few weeks since starting the new job, things have really changed. I am now running a few times a week during work hours. Yes, during the day while I am supposed to be working. It is actually encouraged for people to use the workout facility while you are there. Having worked in a "prison camp" before where things were so tied down with restrictions, this new found freedom is hard to accept. There is no formal start time, no formal "punch out time". People are actually treated like adults. There is an overwhelming sense of camaraderie amongst employees helping each other out instead of the self promotion and patting on the back of the "prison camp". I really thought I might want to go back to the "prison camp" if this didn't work out, but it has opened my eyes that there really are places that appreciate people and try to work with them but ......Not a chance!

I will get back to regular posting next week. I will be doing a few more product reviews from some of the new stuff I get to try out from work. Stay tuned....

Prediction: That was it, that is the last time

2006-12-31T22:25:00.000-06:00

As a lifelong Packer fan I have witnessed history new years eve. This picture was of Brett Favre coming down the tunnel for the last time as a professional athlete. Nothing has been confirmed but the reaction after the game told it all. Now if I only could accomplish a fraction of what this guy has accomplished in his career....wow! What a legend. The toughness to keep going, working through injuries and pain that would put a normal man down for a few weeks this dude has fought through. Now that is an Ironman! My hat is off to you brother.

Beginnings...

2006-12-31T17:19:00.000-06:00

I really hate the beginning of the year for a few reasons. First of all everyone has all these lame-ass new years resolutions that fall apart after three to four weeks. These people crowd the gym, run on the wrong side of the road, do not know how to swim in the lane with other people and they are all so gung ho it makes me want to punch them out knowing 99% of them will give it up in a few weeks. I refuse to make new years resolutions for those reasons. Why do everything under the sun and on Jan. 1 you are going to magicly do the opposite of every bad habit of what you did all year long.

The other reason is my training log. I hate seeing all the zero's in the year to date totals. I realize that it is the beginning of the year but just seeing zero's is depressing. It is great at the end of the year to see big numbers but oh well it sets the bar for the following year.

My totals for this year are as follows:

Swim =114262 yards
Bike =618 miles
Run =259.55 miles

First annual x-mas day ride

2006-12-25T13:33:00.000-06:00

what's wrong with this picture? First off I am by myself on this epic ride. It was supposed to be

legen....... (wait for it) .............dary!

It is Wisconsin on Christmas day and there is absolutely NO snow on the ground. So why not go for an xmas day bike ride? I want to start an annual thing on either riding or running on this day. Count it, 2 years now and still nobody has joined me! Last year I ran so this year seeing that is a freak year up here I took a ride. The ride went pretty good having not really done and riding for a few weeks and hating the cold.

As you can see I have all my Craft gear on. I just can't say enough about this stuff. I was wearing the entire system. The S3 Windproof shirt, the L2, red insulation layer and finally the L3 Outer courier Shell. Let me tell you it had to be in the lower 20's and breezy during the ride as my water in the bottle started to freeze but I couldn't have been warmer! I still need to get the facemask and the proper ear protection. That you could probably tell by the picture too, my face and ears were absolutely FREEZING!!

I hope next year I can sneak in a Christmas day swim in the lake? Well maybe if we are celebrating it in Jamaica :) One can only hope.

LSD and swimming

2006-12-23T14:35:00.000-06:00

While some might find the combination of LSD and swimming appealing I do not. LSD swimming is short for long slow distance swim. I try and try to do a LSD swim but it never works out. I left for swimming at 10:30 this morning which for me is about 4 and a half hours later than normal. I took 3 Cliff Blocks beforehand to get a few calories in to sustain till I was done with the planned 2000 yard set. I ended up seeing on of the dads my daughter goes to daycare with who is an accomplished master swimmer and former collegiate stand out in swimming. He gave me a few tips on my stroke and I decided to try it out. Where was this help 2 years ago before the first half IM I did? Just a few simple adjustment for efficiency in the water and wow it makes a total difference!

I was not used to swimming that really anything over 2000 yards at a time. Things were going so smoothly I decided to push it a bit and go longer at a steady pace. I ended up going for 4000 yards in 1:14!!! It's gotta be the Blocks ;)

Lesson learned! Being more efficent in the water will save you time later during the race. Going the same distance using less strokes will not only save your energy, you will pop out of the water less exhausted. I am all about hitting it hard on the bike and the quicker I can get out of the water and the more energy I have for the bike the better off I will be in the standings.

Product review

2006-12-23T14:28:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I was given some Cliff Shots gel Blocks to try out. I decided this morning to try out the Black Cherry Blocks before swimming. The instructions say too take 3-5 per hour during exercise. I popped 3 about 20 minutes before my morning swim. The taste was grrrreat! They tasted like gummy bears. Taste is sweet and easy to chew. I chased them down with 6 ounces of water. I did not notice any GI troubles as I have in the past with other gels. I kept sipping water between sets during the swim and everything went great!
I will be purchasing some of these in the near future to try in the bike and the run. I really want to see if I can get the right amount of calories in on the bike using the blocks. Follow up to come in a few weeks after I hit the bike a bit.

Swim plan ruined

2006-12-20T06:48:00.000-06:00

This morning I woke up with this god awful sore throat and stuffed up sinuses. I had planned on doing the 100 laps today in the pool. Well damnit that didn't happen!

A few bloggers talk about getting bit by the sickness bug lately and now I seemed to have joined the group. Damn you sick people for bringing me in!

This mornings swim consisted of a 750 yard set and the time was 17:06. If you only could have seen my disgust coming out of the water (a few did see that which now I am a bit embarrassed). The only excuse I have is poor diet last night and all day yesterday and the day before and the day before and the day before...I think you get the drift....

Time is so short in life

2006-12-15T20:28:00.000-06:00

I just got the chills while watching PBS just now. I was watching this totaly kick ass performance of Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Robert Randolph, Jimmy Vaughn and Buddy Guy perform Swet Home Chicago. This was the last song that was performed at the Alpine Valley show in East Troy Wisconsin many years ago. For those of you that do not remember it was the dreadful night that Stevie Ray Vaughn's helicopter crashed into the side of the ski hill obscured by the thick fog of the valley. I got chills when all took the stage again and referenced this event and played the sweet sounds again. I have a bootleg digital recording of the original concert that Stevie Ray played at for his final performance ever. Heck, I even had tickets to this show but ended up not going because I was going to play responsible and get rest before the test I had to take the next day.
I have since went back to Alpine Valley and walked up the hill with my brother-in-law Joe. We saw the spot that the accident happened and it still gets to me all these years later. How does this relate to anything tri related. Not real sure other thna you have to live your life like there is no tomorrow. Race each race like there is not going to be a next race. Give it your best because you never know when your number is up live Stevie's was. R.I.P brother

Trek bikes is my new sponsor!!!!

2006-12-15T20:21:00.000-06:00

After weeks of waiting to announce, I am proud to say that I have signed on with Trek Bicycle Corporation of Waterloo Wisconsin. Starting January first of 2007 they own me ;) I have given notice to my current employer (I was there for a total of almost ten and a half years) that I was leaving. After the initial shock wore off the day went pretty much like normal. If I only find out what next week holds for me (The big boss man come back). I am pretty excited as this has to be too good to be true!

Swim change

2006-12-13T07:14:00.000-06:00

SO I decided this morning that I was going to work on my breathing. We all need to breathe while swimming my coach told me and I was not really doing that.My times should improve and I should pop out of the water a bit fresher instead of completely exhausted. Here is how it went....
Lap 1 - 8:46
Lap 2 - 8:49
Lap 3 - 7:58
Lap 4 - 8:28

(Each lap being 20 laps of the pool)

Announcement is now made!

2006-12-10T14:57:00.000-06:00

It doesn't mean that much to some of you but to me it is a monumental event in my life. This coming Friday December I will be leaving a ten year relationship. While some might think the worst (the big D) it is so far from that. I am making a switch to a different lifestyle. I am leaving the current industry of Information Technology/Printing and Publishing. I start the first of Jan at a local company that is well established, fitness orientated, and family focused? This is something that my current employment is not a kin to at all. The change will be obvious right away. The current situation for me where I am at is totally stagnant, that is why I had to make this change. If you did not receive a raise for 4 years, get beat down everyday, not allowed to take a lunch, forced to work overtime on Saturdays for straight time, promised profit sharing for years and not get any due to "unexpected expenses like a new BMW or office furniture for the company you might understand. I am going from a 35 million dollar company to a 300-500 million dollar company that is poised to really take off and is in my wheelhouse for product.

Can you guess where I am going? I will post after Friday to disclose the name. I am so excited to start!! It will be like the "Nuclear reactor Utopia" as seen in the Simpsons as my brother Mike let me in on.

stolen from http://veeg.blogspot.com/

2006-11-26T21:24:00.000-06:00

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa.
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer (Are there people who DON'T do this?)
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured an ancient site
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played Dungeons & Dragons for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently well enough to have a decent conversation
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (yes, but not all at one time)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life
151. Finished a marathon
152. Finished a Half Ironman

Steady pace vs. Run/Walk part 2

2006-11-26T21:12:00.000-06:00

Well I got out today in 57F weather for a run. What a beautiful day here in southern Wisconsin too bad it will be snowing and cold by Thursday. After not running in almost three weeks I figured it was about time. Planned on an easy 2 mile out and back. Well let me tell you after not running for that long it was not gonna happen like I waqs planning. I did the steady pace plan at a slower rate but an eleven minute mile? WTF? Now I know I am a painfully slow runner but come on! I figured a bad day would result in a ten minute mile for the slow pace but this is nuts. I guess I know what I have to do now,

Get out and run more fat boy!!

Increased volume (like actually getting out there) would be a good start. A few weeks of "re-base building" will be order on the table now. I will have to put the theory on hold for now untill I am a little more "back in the game". B- out for now....

The road to nowhere...

2006-11-23T22:31:00.000-06:00

This is a day I won't forget for quite a while. Thanksgiving day 2006. It was a balmy 60F in southern Wisconsin which is almost unheard of seeing snow and sleet are the norm on this day. I went out for a bike ride on the new Cervelo. About halfway through the 30 mile trek a started to get a moment of clarity. I have really been struggling with a decision I have to make soon regarding my future well being. I came to a fork in the road and just had to stop and think for a moment. What I am doing now, riding is something I really enjoy, I really can clear my head and make some decisions out there not being bothered by any other distractions. I followed the route (not a road I have ever taken on a tri bike) and got to a clearing and it all clicked. Why can't I do this forever and make it my passion? I thought about the family, friends and lifestyle I have now and it all makes this worth it. I have given up the worrying about the bad stuff and now am ready to press forward for the new beginning of the rest of my life. Going back to a "simple life perspective" is what I think I needed. I will now wait for next week for all the confirmations to take place and let the cards fall where they will. It is pretty much out of my hands now since I have accepted the idea and am now ready to roll.

Time off....What a concept

2006-11-22T07:10:00.000-06:00

After a month off from the pool I decided to hit it this morning. Talk about a difference a bit of "taper" makes! As they say:

"absence makes the heart grow fonder"

Well after today, "time off makes my swim time faster"

My normal swim distance is around 2000 in 32 minutes. Well this morning after being properly carb'd up and rested, I managed to pull off a 2500 in 34 minutes. I know this is just a temporary thing but knowing it can be done makes me want to hit it harder to get these kind of times consistently.

Life changing event update...

2006-11-18T08:34:00.000-06:00

Well it is in negotiation status now. A lot of discussions via email, over the phone. It all started with the meeting on Wednesday. Time was budgeted for one hour and it was to start at 1pm. Well it went pretty well and time went on for a bit. I ended up leaving at almost 4:30! Upon leaving I was told I would hear back that following week. I though it was the nice way of saying thanks but no thanks.

the next morning I sent a follow-up email to the people I met with thanking them for their time and within 5 minutes I got a reply. The group was all in agreement that we did go over the time allotted but it was time well spent. Now it seemed they were interested....hmmm. For the next few hours emails were flying back and forth and now it is just a waiting game. Looks positive for now but that is about all I can say without blowing it and letting the cat out of the bag...

Life changing event??

2006-11-15T13:13:00.000-06:00

After submitting this post I will be embarking on a potential "life changing" event. I can give more details when I get back, but rest assured it is tri related for now and for .....

I will let you in on "the secret" in a few hours. I sure got my fingers crossed.

Steady pace vs. run/walk

2006-11-12T17:33:00.000-06:00

I got to thinking on my run today. Would I be faster going from point A to point B if I.....

1 - Did the run/walk thing

or

2 - painfully slow steady pace but do not stop

Well I did the 3.1 mile route today using both. I didn't relly prove anything today other than I gotta get out and run more. I figured that if I did the run walk thing that I could go out at the 7 min/mile pace and walk when I was shot, walk to recover the heart rate. Now if I would have just ran constant at say 10:00 min per mile would I have produced the same results?

I am looking for people to chime in with their results doing the same thing. Do the same route once by run/walking than another going at a steady pace with out walking but a pace that it easy. I want to get a broad range of results to come upwith some solid numbers to compare. Help me out if you can :)

The new rig for the upcoming season

2006-11-11T08:23:00.000-06:00

Well this past monday I recieved a new bike via the UPS man. I ended up getting a 2003 Cervelo P2k!! I had both kids and my wife was gone that night so I had to wait to put it together. It was about killing me!! The next day I had jury duty and had to sit in on my first "real" trial. It turned out to be a speeding ticket, no murderers or anything fun like that. I ended up getting sick afterwards and I wasn't able to assemble it that day either.

fast forward to thursday night ----->

Eight thirty at night, kids are in bed, time to assemble! Checking it out first impressions are not to bad, a bit dirty but hey, it's mine :) My first real tri bike. I had to do the routine cleaning (well at least to my specs) and get everyting put on. Upon further inspection a few parts are going to be replaced. The drivetrain will be replaced. I try to replace my chains every year on all my bikes. As a bigger rider outputting a lot of power I tend to stretch them in a season. The rear cassette and the big chainring are a bit worn for my liking too. I am considering going to a 55 tooth DA front chainring linked to a 12x25 or 12x27 cassette for the hills of the Ironman Wisconsin course. All cables will be replaced too .The bike was last used at Ironman Frorida in '05 so I know it can do the distance I just hope i can push it to do the same here :) So..... if you have any of the listed parts you no longer need, send them my way (wink, wink).
The assembled ride was done thursday night just in time for a nice friday ride...............

One big problem (other than the seat being too low) was mother nature!

"Damn her!!"

The previous 2 days were in the middle 60's F and sunny. Well friday came here in Wisconsin and snow showed up too.

"I hate snow!!"

I am a very fair weather rider(I am trying to change that, really I am)
I decided to put the ride on the trainer till the snow is gone and go back to the fixie for the winter outdoor riding (this is where I am trying to not be fair weather rider). For now I can just dream of riding the Cervelo on the dry warm roads. Note I will be more than ready to start logging the big mileage in the spring!

Inspiration...Worlds greatest athlete?

2006-11-05T21:37:00.000-06:00

After watching Lance Armstrong finish the IMG New York Marathon in a blazing sub 3 hour run I am so in awe of his accomplishment. Not only did he run a great race he raised a lot of money and awareness for cancer. While I am positive cancer has effected each one of us in some way to have someone on the edge of life defeat cancer and win the TDF seven times and then run a sub 3 hour marathon for his first I can only hope to accomplish 1% of what this guy has done. hats off to you Lance! It really is possible for a regular guy to do any of this? :)

Back to Basics part 2

2006-10-29T11:17:00.000-06:00

The actual first "real" ride.

Well the build is completely done. I chose to go with the 52 front and at the insistence of the shopkeeper at the LBS a 19 tooth rear track cog. I originally wanted to go with a 52/16 but that was way to aggressive. The rims from last time were also changed out. I decided not to throw the Hed3's on for a winter trainer.

The front cranks are Shimano XT with a 52 big chainring. The rear cog is a Surly 19 tooth with NO freewheel.

Now for the first ride I wasn't sure what to expect for having never rode a fixed gear bike before. The aggressive gearing even at 19 was a little tough starting out from a dead stop. After momentum has started getting used to the pedals moving no matter what, took a few miles to get used to. Imagine being in the big ring in the front and almost the little ring in the rear and never being able to shift gears throughout the entire ride, not something one is used to. The hardest part for me was the "no freewheel" option there. I was going to hit a rather large bump in the road, so I pulled up a bit to "freewheel" and let the knees absorb the bump but wait, I do not have a freewheel. Well the cranks kept going, catapulting me up in the air holding on to the handlebars only. Since I was going over a bridge at the time, thank god there was a railing there or I would have been off the road completely. Slamming down on the seat on my tailbone, I grabbed the aerolever and pulled it for a stop to catch my breath. It freaked me out a little bit.

Other than the one "scare" the fixie was a little tougher than I thought. I did a 10 mile route in about 40 minutes. Not having the ability to "take a break" while riding will take a bit of getting used to. I will put in the time over the winter and in the spring the work should pay off. I will have stronger legs that are used to the demands of a full circle, powerful pedal stroke. Keep pedaling!!

Milestone in swim training with a little reflection

2006-10-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning October 21, 2006.

This is the date I will not forget. This is the date that I went over 100,000 yards of swimming for the year. "

I am not a swimmer".

repeat,

"I am still not a swimmer."

Well for the first time in my life I think I can say that I might be starting to become one. When I started swimming a few years ago I was out of shape from years of loafing and doing nothing really. I decided ,at the urging of my brother to "try a tri", I figured it looked easy and he always placed well so why not?
Easy was not the word of that day. My first tri consisted of a 500 yard pool swim, 13.1 mile bike followed by a 5k. Being an accomplished cyclist I figured I could breeze through the bike and just jog the remainder. 5k was nothing. Boy was I ready for a rude awakening!

The Swim - Having never trained really for a competitive swim I had no idea of what 500 yards was like nor did I really know how many laps it was. I figured a few, no problem. Fast forward to the swimming---->Total swim time was 11:38 and I was completely exhausted. It turned out to be 20 laps in the pool. Up to this point I had never done that before. At least that was a personal victory. I walked a bit in the pool till the HR came down and started swimming again. This was only after 10 laps. As I got to the wall I kept asking the person doing my timing for the swim

"am I done yet? This is killing me!"

After a few laughs I was told I was only at the halfway point, sorry.

The Bike - Finally I could go to what I thought was my strength. I hopped on the trusty new road bike and went. As I left I noticed a lot of the bikes. Some had the fancy rims, the aerobars and the Bento boxes filled with gels. I hopped on my trusty ride with just my inspirational IM Wisconsin bike jersey (I will do that dream someday, sooner that I think though)and the helmet which I forgot coming out of T1. Finished the ride in 48:56 and felt pretty good about my ride till I saw the actual time I did it in. I only averaged a measly 15.3 miles per hour! Oh well chalk that one up for room to improve!

The Run a.k.a "my personal deathmarch" - Wow I was not ready for this. Now I am supposed to run after that? I was an overweight hurting unit. Barely held together by whets left of me. During the deathmarch I had to walk a substantial portion of it. I got side stitches, the HR was absolutely through the roof and I was just spent. I managed to make it look like I ran the entire route by kicking it up for the last 200 yards, but boy did that take everything I had! I finished the run in 42:35. I was the happiest I think I ever was even with a showing of sub-standard numbers. I finished my first tri!

Where does this relate to the now? Well a 500 yard swim is now the warm-up for my swim workouts which typically go 2000-3000 yards total, the biking has now progressed to finishing a half IM bike with a little over a 3 hour split, and nor running a 5K in 24.00 and some change. I have proven to myself it can be done. All that needs to happen is the work to get there which with a family and work can sometimes be hard, but IT CAN BE DONE! There were many night of less sleep that I wanted to get up before the sunrise to get in that dreadfull 70 mile ride, many a cold freezing day in the winter to get in that 2 hour run and lastly many a 5:30 am swim call at the pool to get in those laps. Looking back it is all worth it seeing the progression I have made. I only hope I can improve upon it even more and get to the goal. The starting gun in Lake Monona in '08.

New PR baby!

2006-10-14T16:35:00.000-05:00

Local race called "Run the River" in Verona Wisconsin. I took the trusty ipod Nano with a kickin' 5K mix, Nike sensor, and my warm Craft gear at 8:05 am to the race site. I had to walk up the hills a few times due to ITBS kicking in again but still managed to pull off a PR of 29'47. But wait, it gets better it was a mismarked 5K which turned out to be over 6K for a total run of 3.84 miles in 29'47 for a pace of a 7'44 mile. This will probably never be duplicated. I guess the 5am speedwork the past few weeks really did help :)

Back to basics

2006-10-08T20:28:00.000-05:00

I am giving up everything! Not quite what you think though. I am only giving up the freewheel. I am going back to basics. I want to experience training like a child again. Remember the days when you got on your bike (that Huffy single speed) and just go all day? You gotta remember it, be home when the streetlights come on?

Well this is what I want and will do over the off season without the restriction of the streetlights. See I live in the country and we have no streetlights out here :) What I am talking about is riding like a kid again.

I am almost finished with my fall project which will help me achieve this new dream. I took an old 1973 Takara steel road bike I got from some farmer who was cleaning his garage out. I stripped it down to a lightweight sleek machine. Cut the roadbars into bullhorns, added an aero lever brake, removed the derailers, rear brake, freewheel and small ring on the cranks and made a fixed gear training ride. Now a few of you might think I am crazy for putting a $1000 wheelset on a $12.59 bike. This is only temporary. I am having a wheelset built up for the "winter time."

Yes it is true I do only have $12.59 invested in this. The aero lever and brake cable and 1 innertube are the only things I have purchased. I still have the chain for $10.00 to buy and like I stated before, the new wheelset will add another $200. this will be a pretty built up fixie for not a lot of dollars. The majority of the parts were lying around the workshop from old bikes. Makes it part of the fun seeing what can be done with old stuff.

Fixed gear for training outdoors in the winter (or for the next 4 months). Well let me break it down for you what a fixed gear will help you with. If the bike is moving, you are pedaling. You stop pedaling you don't move. This will "retrain" my legs to increase my cadence (hopefully). If you ride five miles at 10 miles per hour, you pedaled for entire time consistently. This will dramaticly improve areobic capacity in the end. You will gain strength also because you only have one gear, no fancy granny gear ratios to "make it work for you". You pound out the hill and burn your quads!

I have to admit it but I am a bit scared about the winter months ahead. I have NEVER trained in the snow and ice of Wisconsin. Heck I have never bike trained when it was under 50F and I have only biked in the rain twice! This is challenge number one. Get over the mental part!

All the self talk like
"go inside on the trainer,
maybe tomorrow,
its too cold,
it looks like it might rain,
ect, ect, ect ....."

When I succed in hitting the pavement in the yuck of January the first obstacle is overcome. Damn those demons!

I really want to go into this spring ready to hit the season totaly prepared instead of biking like crazy 2 months before the Half IM to post a dissapointing 3 hour bike split. Challenge on! Ride through the winter on the fixie while others are doing nothing and get that half IM split to a respectable 2:40.

If this tri thing doesn't work out....

2006-10-06T21:57:00.000-05:00

Have you ever considered doing anything else if you know you have no chance of "winning it all?" at a race? why do it?? Well this goes back to making choices. I believe that this is the choice I am going to make to make myself happy. I know I will never "win it all" but it is always enjoyable trying to achieve it. If this tri thing doesn't work out maybe the world of competitive eating? Note the pic? This picture was taken at the Burger King in Waterloo Wisconsin which is 1 block from the Trek Bicycle plant. Go figure? Now there is a choice!!

To each their own

2006-10-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

There are many choices in life to make. Some take the easy road, some take the long way and some just do nothing. If you ask my wife, I am a person that takes the most F'ed up way around things. To me it makes sense the way I do things. Every action is a consequence, a series of events that lead to an outcome. This can be good or bad. It is up to the individual to make it what they want with the tools thay are given. I always feel everything I do, I am doing it the best I can.

For example I did the Spirit of Racine '05 as my first half IM. I got myself so worked up wondering if I was able to do the swim in the "big lake" if my bike was properly set up, if I was ready even doubting my training, that I ended up getting sick from nerves on the course and becoming dehydrated. I let nerves take over and defeat me, not to mention I didn't stick to my plan.

Nerves = DNF for me.

Fast forward to Spirit of Racine '06. I knew going into the day I had the goal of just finishing and enjoying the experience. I put no pressure on myself, no expectations, just go out and enjoy what I put the time in to do. I put in the training and I know the distance was not a problem. Mark one up for proper preparation.

Relax = Finish and enjoy what I am doing.

I am going at training a bit different this off season. I am dropping the competitive angle of the training. I am taking the approach to do the distance and get faster at the distance but not beat myself up say if I don't beat last times workout numbers. Enjoy the time in what I am doing and do not obsess about completing in x:xx ammount of time. I will be ditching all the fancy equipment and getting back to basics.