Races Cancelled: What's Next?

23 hours of training last week was my biggest yet! With just over 15 hours on the bike, 51 run miles and 1:15 of strength, I am beat. Being my first full week back after influenza A, I could feel the fatigue in my body. On Sunday, I decided to hit the reset button after the news of Ironman Tulsa being postponed (date TBD). I started my week with no training and focused on neglected house maintenance before tackling a century ride on Monday. The rest of this week will be focused on recovery.

With IM Tulsa postponed, my training is up in the air, for now. My next official race is Des Moines 70.3 June 21^st followed by Muncie 70.3 on July 11^th. DSM is likely to be cancelled soon, and Muncie is still on the fringe.

This week I decide where to go from here. I can go back to Zone 2 base build in hopes of racing a full in the fall, or I can drop some volume and target more speed for a faster 70.3. Either way, I am anxious to test myself and check fitness.

April 4^th-5^th, I am planning on racing a virtual half Ironman (duathlon) to find out. To give myself that race feel, I’ll take a few easy days before, use race wheels, wear my kit if it’s warm enough and make my car the transition area away from town. I also have the following goals so I have something to shoot for:

22mph on the bike (self-supported) just under a 2:33 split. I haven’t been over 21mph in training, but hopefully my race effort will get me there.

1:30 half marathon 6:50 min/mi or better.

Total time under 4:00 hours excluding transition. I don’t plan on dawdling or recovering before the run. Hoping to drop the any time over 2:30 on the bike from run split.

Some pictures from my Century Ride with Jeff Paul.

1st fuel stop at 45 miles. 2.5 hours of 15-20mph headwinds

Jeff pulled most of the ride / 100 miles right at dusk

The Flu: Quick Update

It’s been a crazy last few weeks with the Covid-19 outbreak and self-quarantine regulations. Unfortunately for me, I picked up influenza A from my office 2 weeks ago. It actually put me in the emergency room after passing out and smacking my head against the sink. I was probably out for 2 minutes, and I couldn’t even sit up without blacking out again.Ty found me on the floor and worked with me to get in the car. 

At the hospital, they took my blood pressure and pulse laying down and sitting up. Each time I sat up, my pulse jumped from 50 to 90 BPM, and my blood pressure tanked. I received 2 bags of IV fluid a piles of warm blankets. When they swabbed me, it came back positive for Influenza A. The flu put me out for 5 days where the most I did was walk around my cu-de-sac. All I could do was impatiently wait it out until it passed. As soon as my fever lifted, I was back on the bike trainer hardly pushing 80 watts. 

Since that first ride, I’ve ramped back up to a 15-mile long run and 3.5 hours of cycling. My legs are beat up from the sudden volume increase and lack of swim recovery, so I plan to back off after my current 20+ hour week. Even though IM Tulsa is unlikely to be held on May 31^st, I am training as if it will be. I will continue ramping up unless I hear otherwise, and at that point I may switch to less volume more speed for the 70.3’s coming up.

With that, I encourage everyone out there to please be smart and stay safe. It’s not just for yourself, but for everyone else around you too.

Why Race Ironman

Many times, I am asked why I spend so much time, energy and money training for Ironman. Simply put, I set a goal and I will not stop until I achieve it. And even after that, I doubt I’ll slow down. I know that’s a pretty weak answer, so that’s what this post is about.

I’m taking a deeper dive into WHY I do what I do by answering the following questions:

“Why race Ironman?”

“What gets you out the door when you don’t feel like training?”

“What Actually drives you?”

I originally wanted to complete an Ironman to test my limits and join a rare company with the title Ironman. Now, I compete to chase a far less attainable dream. Training for and completing my first Ironman was lifechanging on its own. But now, I have set an even higher goal, to reach the pinnacle of Triathlon at Kona. To qualify, I must earn a slot by coming in 1^st or 2^nd in my age group (unless a slot is rolled down). On this journey, I am determined to inspire and show everyone that Anything is Possible. I also believe fitness is essential in getting the most out of life: better health, stress coping, improved sleep, etc… 

Most days I get out that door simply because it’s become habitual. I determine my workout for the day ahead of time and just go do it. When I really don’t feel like training, I remember my goal and all the people following my journey. My competitive nature fuels me because I know that when I’m not out training, someone else is.

The hardest question for me is what Actually drives me. Exercise in it of itself “feels” good, especially after completing a hard-earned workout. For me, there is something deep inside that wants to see improvement. I love the idea of progressing forward, and I get to watch my body get stronger and faster first hand. So for me, a timed race is one of the simplest ways to track both progression and improvement, and watching that time drop keeps me motivated.

There is Nothing like running down that finish chute

If there is anything I should go deeper into or other questions you want answered, please let me know and I will include it in my next post.

I will also call on a few friends to share their whys as well.