Ironman

We are now a two Ironman household.

G, shortly after finishing Ironman Wisconsin Sunday.

Love this picture.  So much joy, moments before it all went to hell and we practically carried her to the med. tent, then the hospital.  Dehydrated, 16 lbs down if I remember correctly (I've heard it now once or twice).  But that's her story, and I'm sure she'll tell it in due time. 

As for me, Ironman spectating from dawn to dusk is hard, physically and emotionally.  Swim and bike were the worst, as there is so much that can happen to an athlete beyond ones own control.  Was so relieved she got through them without major issue.  By the time the run came I was ready for a shower and a nap, but that would have to wait.   I'm super proud of G for her efforts out there on race day.  She is an Ironman.

Phase 1

It appears that Phase 1 of IMMT training is officially over. No, I'm not officially in training for IMMT yet. But all roads lead there, so it's hard not to feel that way.

So Phase 1, even though I didn't intend it to be that way, turned out to be a biking phase. 700 miles over the last three month, only one ride over 25 miles. Lots of back and forth to work. Not a ton of miles, but considering I wasn't in training mode, I'll take it. With school starting last week, my freedom to commute is largely gone, and with days getting shorter, the opportunities to ride will be getting fewer and farther between. Hence the end of Phase 1.

So we are on to Phase 2. Phase 2 is to be a running phase. Back in early summer I conned convinced my little sister into running a half marathon with me at the end of October. The proposed start of my training program coincided perfectly with a nasty little heat wave that seemed to last all summer. So I didn't run. At all. We're still on for our half marathon, first week of November. The Tyranena Beer Run in Lake Mills. I'm a little behind the eight ball.

But I drew up a plan, run every other day from now until November 5, building up my long run from 5-12 miles between now and then. I'll be ready to run it, but planning for anything other than a PW at this distance would be just plain foolish. Two hours seems like a dream, my two stand alone halfs were 1:55ish and 1:53ish. Doubtful.

So Friday I ran, 3 miles. Went ok. Sore as hell the next day. Sunday was Day 2, ran with the dog, 3 more miles, went well. Even sorer muscles the next day. Tuesday I went out for 5 at lunch. Had some side stitch issues at the end, but otherwise good. Best part, my legs were not, are not, sore at all post run. Maybe the running mojo is coming back.

Phase 2 will also include a fair amount of biking, primarily to keep the legs loose. I'm not flexible at all, and biking seems to really help loosen up tight running muscles. So the plan is to run every other day, bike on the off days. No hammer fests, probably a lot of mountain bikes rides, neighborhood jaunts with the kids, or lunch rides. Just trying to keep the legs loose, not trying to increase bike fitness at all. It's possible Wilson won't move during this period.

I think I'll end up with four more "phases" leading up to IMMT. Not quite ready to reveal the full schedule yet, but soon.

Every spring (since I've been back on a bike), I make a mental goal to go out and ride a couple of new mountain bike trails, areas I have not been to before. It's been pretty easy these first couple of years, seeing as everything is pretty much new to me. Other than Hartmann Creek State Park, where we've camped on a couple of occasions, everything I've ridden has been pretty local. Camrock is the closest and my most frequent destination. The Southern Kettles is the likely destination if I'm not going out to Camrock.

That is about it for my regular mountain bike haunts. Nice trails, but a list that needs to be greatly expanded. Saturday I did just that. Stopping at the Northern Kettles outside of Greenbush on the way to pick up the missing (not missed) children.

I grew up in the area and cross country skied at the Northern Kettles frequently during high school. I even biked there once in the mid/late 90's when all you could ride were the ski trails. Quite different now, and even more punishing than I remember. Nine miles of singletrack fun. Almost always up or down, and either smooth and flowing or rocky as hell. Killer climbs, rocky descents, but otherwise not terribly technical. Came out of the woods dripping with sweat, heart ready to explode. The last climb was brutal.

Bel at the Northern Kettles

I have not put much time in on the mountain bike this year and it's ridiculously obvious. Not necessarily by my riding ability, but in my confidence. I have none, I'm sure in large part due to my fall this spring. After the nine mile jaunt, the only real sore part of me were my hands. Must have had a pretty good white knuckle death grip on the bars for much of the ride.

Fortunately, the only way I know to gain confidence on the bike is to ride it.  And I intend to do more of it the remainder of the year.

W/O Child

We're fortunate to have two wonderful, healthy children. We're even more fortunate to have family willing and able to take them off of our hands for a week. This past week has been one of the most peaceful in years, and even though I'm not really training for anything at the moment, I am watching my wife peak out her own Ironman training, and I've come to realize something I've never really thought about before.
Training for endurance events is infinitely easier in the absence of young children. So much so, that I think some sort of race credit should be given to those who train while raising children. And I have a couple ideas on that, but first, let's discuss training.

This past week, I've been able to do basically whatever I want, whenever I want to do it. As mentioned, I'm not in full on training mode right now, but I still got on my bike four times since Monday, and I didn't once have to think about the ramifications of going out riding. It must be really nice, as a dependant free IM-wanna be, to be able to schedule your workouts at will. I can't even imagine. No soccer schedules, no little league, no having to feed them, watch them, bath them, get them to sleep. Nothing, just eat, sleep, work, train.

But I don't think that's even the most important part. Getting in the training, even with children and a little time management, is relatively easy. It's the recovery. With kids, coming home, showering, and promptly taking a nap is generally not an option. There are no naps, it just doesn't happen. Often. Without the kids this week, I've been free to sleep almost at will, or at least relax and put my feet up. Must be nice.

Which brings us to racing. How about giving those of us with pre-teen children a break? At the very least, our own age groups. How hard would that be? No dice? How about a time discount, 10% for the first kid, 5% for the second, 3% for the third? Seems fair to me. and again, easy enough to implement. I'd still be slow, but at least I'd have a chance.

Barring the miracle of anybody actually implementing one of my wonderful ideas, anyone want a couple of kids for about 30 weeks next year leading up to IMMT?

Anyone?

No. I guess it's for the best. I'm counting on Patrick to teach me how to swim anyway.