Where Do I Start???

Ok, firsts I want to apologize for being terrible about posting my blogs. There has been a lot going on in the last month, so stick with me and I will try to summarize the best that I can.

#1

First off, I have been doing most of my training solo as of late. JD, my training partner, had to go to be with his dad who is having some difficulties in the hospital. It looks like everything is going to come out alright, but my best goes out to their family.

#2

Training has been going really well. I have gotten in 500 - 600 km on the bike, in the mountains, in each of the last 4 weeks and have been running 85-95 km each of the last 5 weeks.

One thing that I have learned about altitude is that is NEVER gets easy. I am realizing that you just have another set of numbers up here and that you are always slow! :)

#3

This last weekend I headed back to the midwest for a visit to the family and to race the Apple Duathlon in MN. I was scheduled to fly out on Thursday morning in the middle of the morning. The plan was to get up, swim and then head to the airport. Well, I woke up and felt a bit tired. I thought it was just normal training fatigue and headed out the door to the pool. As I walked to my lane, I knew something wasn't quite right. I got in a attempted to swim, but after 300 meters, I had to get out with cramping so bad that I could barely stand up straight. I hobbled back to the locker room, now feeling sick to my stomach and not sure what was going on. I felt like I had the flu, but left anyway for the airport. I made it 8 miles on Highway 36 and had to pull off into and stop at a Starbucks and Subway, where I deposited most of what I ate that morning. I was in so much pain that I was forced to go home and cancel my flight.

I got home, visited the "porcelain god" again and went to bed. After sleeping for a few hours I awoke feeling fine...actually good. What I thought was the flu, was food poisoning.

I called the airline and was issued another ticket for that night back to Madison, only at $400 more. A big thank you to my mom and stepdad for help on that one! I arrived at the airport and arrived to find that the ticketing agent issued me a ticket for the next night. Normally thiss isn't a big deal, but it was Memorial Day Weekend and ALL flights were booked. I managed to get to Chicago at midnight flying stand-by. I arrived thinking I may be able to take a bus, rent a car, or just "figure it out" when I get there. NOPE! So, I had the pleasure of sleeping on the floor of the bus station at the airport.

In the morning, I took a bus back to Madison and then had a few hours to get in a short workout, build up my bike and pack for MN. I arrived later that night at a friend's place and went to bed to race in the morning.

Well, I can let you read the race report under my Schedule/Results link, but in short, the went great. After a solid first 5k run of 16:41, I rode to the front of the race and led off the bike, altitude seems to have a significa:). On the second run I was caught and passed by New Zealand Pro, Will Smith. I finished about 25sec back happy with a pacheck and a second place finish.

This is a great example of just taking things as they come. Just race(or do whatever it might be) with no excuses. Go out and give it everything that you've got and you may suprise yourself. I did.

#4

Ok, now onto number four. After a great weekend with family and a lot of hours on the bike I returned to Colorado to attend a USAT Level I Coaching Certification Clinic. I had the chance to stay at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. That place is AMAZING! It is a fenced in complex that is like a small town. It has dorms, training facilities, an athlete center to eat (whenever they like), access to coaches and trainers 24/7. The athletes have everything taken care of so they can focus on their training 100%. As I walked through the center I couldn't help thinking, "if I could only swim faster."

Back to the clinic. I learned so much valuable information, as well as met many great people who are great resources, including Bobby McGee (the world's best running coach). Along with the OTC, Colorado Springs seems like a pretty nice place to live (less expensive than Boulder for sure).

#5

Coming up I will be training lower volume and higher intensity with hopes of doing well at the shorter races I have coming up. My next race will be the 5430 Sprint Distance Traithlon here in Boulder. Besides that, I am also doing a local Stroke & Stride on Thursday's.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ok, enough for now. Time for bed. I will check in again MUCH sooner!

BB

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Using A Swim Test Within Your Training

Valuing Your Time & Reach

2019 Ironman Wisconsin