THE ROAD TO KONA 2008

2008-12-31T13:26:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, December 31st
New Years Eve. The end of my year. It's been a good year. I've stayed healthy. I had some good races and some bad races, and I've enjoyed my training.

Summary for 2008
1,172 miles running. (8% higher then 2007)
2,962 miles on the road biking. (-4% lower then 2007)
1,121 miles indoors cycling. (-11% lower then 2007)
193 miles swimming. (-3% lower then 2007)
82 Pilate/Yoga etc classes. (5 more then 2007)
634 hours or 12.2 hrs / week of physical activity. (3 hrs more then 2007)

Where do I go from here? I'm looking at 2009 as a year to take a little more of a laid back approach. I'll be 64 and competing at the end of my age group. I still want to go to Hawaii for the IM race. My best chances will be when I turn 65, a year from now. So, if I can stay competitive this year, it should put me in a good position.

If you want to follow my 2009 journey, it will be at http://www.theroadtokona2009.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, December 23rd
About eight of us show up at 7:00 AM at the West Wood pool for hydro running class. It's a good workout. At 9:00 I have my swim class with 12 people. I get in 30 minutes of running after the class. Then I'm back home shoveling . . . again. We have gotten over 3 feet of snow so far this month and I'm getting just a little bit tired of shoveling.

Monday, December 22nd
Lowell and I head over to West Wood for an early morning swim. Four of my friends show up for their "swim lessons". I spend most of the time working with them on swim drills. This is all new to them and, like me many years ago, will have to go through the struggles of learning how to swim. It isn't much of a workout for me but I'm just interested in maintenance right now and getting them started. At 6:30 PM I head to Balley's for pilate. On the physique side, I've reached my normal holiday weight, 187 pounds. UGH, I was hoping to avoid that this year.

Sunday, December 21st
After getting a couple inches more snow last night, a major cold blast hit us. It's 9 below this morning with 25-35 mph winds. Wind chill is -30 to -40. So, I'm staying inside and turning all the food I ate yesterday into fat cells.

Saturday, December 20th
I head over to Bally's for the 8:15 spin class. The good instructor shows up and we have a gut busting ride. I've needed one of these. The rest of the day we are celebrating an early Christmas with my family.

Friday, December 19th
We have a major snow storm last night. I have 12" of snow to shovel with 1 1/2 foot drifts. This is my workout for today.

Thursday, December 18th
Ugh, it's cold this morning, 5 degrees. As a result, our West Wood run group did a major shrunking, Lowell, Iron Mike, Gary, Amy and I. We go about 5 miles. Masters swim goes well. Our main set is 10 x 100 yds. We do them hard but on a 2:15 interval. I'm able to hold about 1:41 for all of them. I get in 2,900 yds total.

Wednesday, December 17th
So what was my workout today? Pretty much nothing. New windows for my house are ready so half the day I spend digging my trailer out of the snow, loading windows and then unloading them. That should give me some credit as a workout?

Tuesday, December 16th
I get up early to make it to the 7:00 AM Hydro Running class. I teach my spin class at 9:00 and run for 30 minutes after. Master swim is a surprise. Rather then the intervals we usually do, we do a 40 minute non-stop swim. I take the easy way out and do the whole thing with my swim buoy, 2,300 yds. It is sort of like swimming a 1/2 Ironman race with my wet suit. Actually, it is easier then our usual intervals.

Monday, December 15th
I did not work out yesterday. That's the first day in 4 weeks that I took a day off. Normally, I take one day a week. But now that I'm not doing any hard workouts, I don't feel I need that day off as much. This morning, I head out to West Wood to work with some friends trying to teach them how to swim. This will be a challenge. Having gone through the struggle myself, I feel I want to help anyone else who wants to learn. Pilate class at Bally's in the evening.

Saturday, December 13th
We're have a winter thaw, it's 35 degrees. 10 of us meet up at Transition Cycle in Pewaukee and head out to Hartland running. We make a big loop, stop at a friend's house, charge up a bunch of steep hills and get in 11.2 miles. It's a good maintenance run. Today is the last day of the Water Warriors competition so I go to Bally's for one last swim. I do a ladder, 25, 50, . . . 250 yds and back down. I get in 2,450 yds. My two week total is 17.2 miles, 30,200 yds.

Friday, December 12th
I hate swimming in Bally's pool, chemicals too strong. So, I make the trip out to West Wood and get in 2,250 yds. I also make a trip to Bicycle Doctors to pick up the bike pedals I ordered months ago. It's easy to forget about biking when you've had 20" of snow and lots of cold weather. I have a good pilate workout at 4:30.

Thursday, December 11th
Lowell, Iron Mike and I head out for our Thursday West Wood run. Only 4 other people show up. It's cold but not that cold, in the upper teens. We do 5.8 miles.

Wednesday, December 10th
I was hoping to get in a swim before pilate class at 4:30. The class gets cancelled so I have a little extra time to swim. I'm felling the stress of swimming every day for the last 10 days. My arms are tired. To get in my yards, I do 3x500 yds easy with my swim buoy. After swimming, I hop on the treadmill for 30 minutes.

Tuesday, December 9th
Because we are in the middle of another winter snow storm, the Hydro running class is cancelled. I still do my spin class at 9:00. 6 people show up. The snow lets up and, fortunately, they do not cancel Masters swim. It's another quality work out for me and I'm able to stay with the group. I get in 3,200 yds.

Monday, December 8th
I head over to West Wood with Lowell to start a Monday morning swim routine. I have several friends who are anxious to do triathlons but desperately need help swimming. This morning, Gary is my victim. His journey has begun. I was going to go to pilate in the evening but an hour of shoveling snow was enough.

Sunday, December 7th - Cross Country Challenge
Lowell picks me up at 6:45 AM and we are on our way to pick up 13 other runners in our mega rental van. Our destination is Gilbers, a small town 85 miles south in northern Illinois. Most of the group, including myself, have never run this race. It is a 5 mile European style cross country race. What that means is the course is on ungroomed trails. The weather? It is 8 degrees this morning with about 5 inches of snow on the ground.

The primary objective of the race is to finish without loosing your shoes. The course goes through several swamp areas and across 5 streams. The uniform of choice is a large quantity of duct tape around your shoe and ankle.

There are over 800 who show up for this adventure. The race starts with a mass run across an open plowed field. With the snow, it's impossible to see the ruts. Having a couple hundreds runners blaze the trail in front of you helps. The hills through the woods are very steep. It's slippery all the way up and many opt to slide on their butts to get down. When we get to the swamp, it's 95% frozen with only a few areas of mud. The streams are also mostly iced over. One is not and I find a way to soak one foot in the ice water. I fail to jump far enough on another stream and soak the other foot. Surprisingly, even with the soaked feet, the effort of running keeps us all warm. It's a blast for all of us and it'll be an annual adventure.

Saturday, December 6th
Normally in winter, I try to do the back-to-back spin classes at Bally's. Now they have cancelled the second one. Also, the regular instructor doesn't show up so it's one hour of less then inspirational riding. I head to the pool after the class and get a mile in.

Friday, December 5th
I'm still trying to swim every day so I head over to Bally's pool. I don't like swimming here normally as the chemicals sometimes are almost intolerable. After warming up, I do two 500's. Because there is no one to push me, the're slow, 10 minutes each. I get in a little over a mile. Since the winter is in full force, a hop on the treadmill for 30 minutes to get some running in.

Thursday, December 4th
God, it's cold this morning!!! 3-4 inches of new snow and the thermometer says 9 degrees. 12 show up for our Thursday run. The first mile is into a fairly strong wind. Our faces are too cold to talk. After the second mile, we've had enough and head back. Only 3 more months of this fun!! Our coach, Fred, is not at our Masters workout but it still goes on like normal. Our main set is 4x100 on 2:00, all out 4x50's on 2:00, then 3 each, 2 each and 1 each. I'm able to do the 100's at 1:40 minutes and the 50's on 0:40 seconds. That's about what my times have been for the last couple years. Not getting slower is what it's all about for me.

Wednesday, December 3rd
I have some bike maintenance work to do at West Wood in the morning and it isn't until almost 2:00 before I got down to the pool. I do a main set of 10x100 and the rest is kicking, drills, etc., enough to get in 2,000 yd. I get home in time to turn around and go to pilate class. I've learned not to do pilate after a hard bike or run. Now I also know not to do it after swimming. My arms and core muscles are too tired to finish some of the routines.

Tuesday, December 2nd
I head out to West Wood to do the Hydro Running. We're all getting the hang of it now and it's becoming more intense. This is the first workout like this that I feel it after we we're done. My legs are definitely more tired during my 9:00 AM spin class. Then, there is the evening Masters swim. This is the first time this fall when my yards are over 3,000. After warm up, kicking, drills and an 800 yd pull, we do 2x150, 3x100, 4x75 and 6x50 on interval. My arms felt like they were going to fall off.

Monday, December 1st
This morning, we got stuck in the heaviest area of our first winter storm with over 7 inches of wet snow to shovel. The roads are too slippery to run so I'm left with swimming a mile and doing an hour of pilate.

Sunday, November 30th
I was hoping to get a run in but just ran out of time before it started to snow. However, I do get a mile swim in. Today is the beginning of a local competition challenging swimmers and teams to log the most swim yards over the next 2 weeks. I plan on swimming a mile or so every day. That's quite a bit for me but is nothing compared to some of the elite swimmers. It does keep me motivated and it'll help our team totals.

Saturday, November 29th
I meet up with a bunch of my friends from West Wood at Lapuum Peak at 8:00 AM. We run the black loop, 7 miles. The trails are covered with an inch or two of snow. Quite a few people have been on the trails already so the snow is pack and pretty slipper on some of the hills. No one falls, the sun is shining, it's 30 degrees and it's a good run.

Friday, November 28th
I just take it easy today. I do an hour of pilate at Vic Tanney but that's about it.

Thursday, November 27th - THANKSGIVING DAY
I know I have a lot to be thankful for. Being healthy and able to do with I love doing is something I could not have been more blessed with.

To enjoy the food that is coming this afternoon, I head out to West Wood at 7:00 AM to join a workout with our Masters swim group. I get in 45 minutes before heading upstairs to meet up with my run group. About 50 people show up. They are here to help ease their conscious for overeating later today. Because many of them are not our normal group, we make it an easy 5 mile walk / run.

Wednesday, November 26th
Kind of a quiet day. I get in a short 4 mile run through the neighborhood in the afternoon and go to a yoga class in the evening.

Tuesday, November 25th
It's 7:00 AM, I'm at West Wood and I'd rather be in bed. Retired people complain a lot about having to get up early. I guess it's because we shouldn't have to anymore. But, that's the time for the Water Running class. At 9:00 AM, I teach my spin class. I have a high energy group of 11. I think the up coming Thanksgiving Food Fest has them more upbeat then normal. For Masters swim in the evening, it's turkey relay time. After a shortened workout, we choose up 4 teams of 4 each. The first relay is swimming with your hands in your arm pits, i.e., like turkey wings. The second is a chu chu train. First swim does freestyle across the pool, the second grabs the first swimmers ankle and heads back doing a one arm back stroke, The third attaches to the group doing freestyle and the lost is back stroke. The next relay is swimming with an apple and passing to your next person, no hands allowed. In other words, just stupid stuff adults can do when kids are not around.

Monday, November 24th
We got our first measurable snow last night. It was only a couple inches but everything is coated white. The roads are pretty clear so I head out for a run at 1:00. My legs are still sore from Saturday's trail running so things go slow. I cut my route short because the sidewalk up North Ave is too slippery to run on. I get in 9 miles, okay for this time of year.

Sunday, November 23rd
Another cold dreary day. My legs are sore from yesterday so an easy 4 miles around the neighborhood is enough.

Saturday, November 22nd
Ten of our Thursday morning run group meet at Lapuum Peak at 8:00 AM to run the trails. It includes Kathleen, Jackie, Bob, Iron Mike, Nancy and her daughter, Linda, Mary and Gary. Three of them have never run trails before. It's a 7 mile loop with nothing but hills. I've run these trails 100's of times. It feels good to get others to see and enjoy the experience of running trails. They love it. A lot of the local trail runners are here also. The trails they normally run on on weekends is in the Kettle Marine Forest where the deer hunters have started their annual ritual. It gives me a chance to meet up with them for the first time in years.

Friday, November 21st
I head out to West Wood for the 9:00 AM spin class. It's the only way I can get in some biking. Unfortunately, the instructor is not one of my favorite which makes the class kind of boaring. At 4:30 I meet up with Iron Mike and we go to pilate class. We leave from there to go to the annual TriWisconsin Triathlon Team's annual party. It's a chance to meet up with a lot of old friends I haven't seen in awhile.

Thursday, November 20th
Winter is here. It's cold with snow flurries. As much as I love running with the West Wood group, I'm not looking forward to 3 months of cold Thursday morning runs. We head out on one of our normal routes. I can't stay with the lead group but feel ok, 1:02 hr run. Master swim is going better. We do 2 sets of 6x75 on interval. My pace is 1:18 - 1:20 and I get in 2,600 yds. My left shoulder doesn't bother me as much as it did on Tuesday. I also lost my swim suit on Tuesday. I'm possitive I put it in my bag but that could just be a case of oldtimers memory at work. It was time for a new one anyway.

Wednesday, November 19th
I successfully spend most of the day NOT going out for the run I planned on doing and trying not too feel guilty about it. Finally, I head over to pilate class. For some reason, probably because I haven't been going to them for quite awhile, it feels much harder then normal. Also, my bum left shoulder, which has been bothering me during the last couple swim workouts, is getting worse. I may have to be a little more caustious for awhile.

Tuesday, November 18th
I catch the 7:00 AM pool running workout out at West Wood. At 9:00, I have my spin class to teach. And, at 6:30, it's Masters swim. Our main set is three sets of 250 pull, 5x50 yd in 1 minute interval. I'm able to keep with our group for the full set. But, I paid for it by cramping when we started a kicking set. This is the first time I've cramped during a swim workout in a long time.

Monday, November 17th
I've got a good start on my off season training. I haven't run, biked or swam in 3 days. However, I did spend two days at my niece's helping them build a new house. Going up and down ladders, swinging a hammer, and lifting walls in snowy, 30 degree weather should qualify as cross training. If it doesn't, then I don't know why I'm so stiff this morning. After an early afternoon snow squall, I head out for a run. On the way back up North Ave, the sidewalk is too icy to run on. I have to take to the road. I feel surprisingly good and keep an 8:30 pace for much of my run.
Thursday, November 13th
Today, even though it's foggy and drizzly, I feel like running and meet up with my West Wood run group at 7:30 AM. I though my legs would be really tired but they feel surprising good. We run our normal hour run.

POST SEASON TRAINING BEGINS

Tuesday, November 11th
The triathlon season is over. Until January, I intend to just exercise as I feel like it. That means, if the weather is bad, my mood is bad, my body aches, I'm hungry, or any other excuse I find, that will be justification to be lazy.

Even though I don't really enjoy it, what I won't do is miss Masters swim on Tuesday and Thursday. So, tonight I'm back at it. I don't really expect to finish the whole work out, just go until I get tired. Well, we swim too hard for me to get a chance to quit. After 250 pull 5x50 swim, 150 pull, 3x50 swim I though that might be our long set for the night. Then came 4 sets of 3x100 on interval. By the time we finish, my arms feel like they are going to fall off.

2008-11-12T21:57:00.000-08:00

Saturday, November 9th - Half Ironman 70.3 World Championship
It's Friday evening, 10:30 and I'm in bed. I'm not sure how I feel about this race. I'm pretty sure I've tapered okay but I don't feel I trained with enough discipline and intensity. I guess I'm hoping a little magic and my Ironman Wisconsin training will carry me through. I know I'm not over confident.

Shortly after I get in bed, some nerve fires a sharp little pain right above my knee cap. It's gone as quickly as it came. A minute later it does it again. I roll over figuring it's just the way I'm laying. It does it again. Not a real strong pain but just a quick, sharp pain, like a needle, then nothing. I massage it but it comes back. I get up and it goes away. I go back to bed and it fires again. I probably fall asleep somewhere along the way but it's almost 1:00 AM the last time I look at the clock.

My little gremlin knee pain must have stopped as the alarm is going off and its 5:00 AM. I get on my tri cloths and head to the condo kitchen for a small bagel and a banana. Iron Mike is up too. He is going to drive me to Clearwater, about a 20 minute drive.

It's about 6:00 AM when I get into the line for body marking. They have big black stencil markers and I get my 284 number stamped on each arm. I drop off my energy drink and energy bars at my bike and fill my bike water bottle. The porta potty lines are short and I make my morning stop.

The sun is coming up and the temperature is in the low 60's with very little wind. It looks like perfect weather. There are 1,493 athletes here from every state and 47 different countries. The race has wave starts and I'm in the 3rd wave, which is great. It's also a smaller group then most of the others. It's just male 60 and over, about 50 of us. Our start time is 7:00 AM. There is an ABC camera walking around trying to get video in our group. I'd think they would be better off with camera in the female 25-29 age group. I'm just staying away from it. I don't need any distractions right now.

The canon fires and we're off. Our 1.2 mile swim is in the gulf straight out to a buoy and back. I stay on the buoy line and have absolutely no one around me. I make it to the turn before having to work around any of the other swimmers. I've caught up to some of the slower swimmers from the previous wave and some of the faster swimmers in the wave behind us have caught up. As I head back to the beach, we're headed straight east into the morning sun. It's blinding and difficult to spot the buoys. Several times I find myself off line. I get out of the water and check the time. It's 36:56 minutes, just a little slower then last year.

I get my wet suit stripped and head to transition. On go my socks, race belt and sun glasses. My bike is racked near the exit so I have a long run to get there. I grab my helmet off my bike and realize I still have my swim cap and goggles on my head. Those get tossed next to some tree. I pull on my bike shoes, grab the bike and head to the mount area. I'm off.

The bike course is a flat 56 mile route through the local city roads around Clearwater. It's also a fast course with very few hills. Being in the early wave, most of the bikers right now are behind me. By the time I'm done, most of them will be ahead of me. The bike goes pretty smooth. I eat my energy bar and gel pack, drink my energy drink and grab extra water at the 3 aide stations along the way. My kidneys tell me I'm hydrated. I cross over the causeway bridge and head to the finish, remembering the flat and crash I had last year 500 yds from the end. This time, all goes smooth. The clock is at 2:43:05 hours, 20.6 mph. It's 2:43 minutes slower then last year. Darn!!

I grab my run bag and head to the change tent. Off come my biking shoes and on go my running shoes and sun visor. A quick gulp of my energy drink and I'm off on the run.

The 13.1 mile run course is a double loop out and back. It's flat except the long stretch up and over the Memorial Causeway Bridge. My legs hurt from the bike yet my first mile is 8:47. I'm thinking maybe I can have a much better run then last year when I cramped a lot and averaged 9:42 minute per mile. As I head over the bridge for the 2nd mile, it's much slower. The next couple miles I'm over a 9 minute pace and I don't like the way my legs feel. They hurt and are tight. I stop at every aide station, determined to keep as hydrated as I can. I pop an electrolyte capsule every couple miles and gel packs every 3 miles. I make the turn for the second loop. My time isn't too far off from what I was hoping for.

The causeway bridge hill is much steep this time. Another runner and I are slowly shuffling our way up. I decide to walk and sadly, I'm able to keep pace with him. I make the final turn with 3 miles to go. Back to the bridge and I walk up the back side. Now with only 2 miles left, I stride out heading down the front side hoping to make up a little time. Not a good plan. When I get to the bottom, my quads start firing cramps. So does my calf. Hoping to avoid any hard cramps, I'm left with a very short stride . My pace is an ugly 12 minute mile. Even as I head to the finish line and they announce my name, I'm still not able to imitate a real runner. My run time is 2:05:31, only a minute and a half faster then last year.

I was hoping to finish under 5:30 hours. My final time is 5:33:10, 43 seconds slower then last year. I'm 11th out of 23 in my age. The good thing is 9 of the 10 are younger then me so I wouldn't have to compete with them in 2 years.

Sandy, Iron Mike, and his wife, Diana are waiting for me on the other side of the fence in the finish recovery area. I should go out to be with them but decided I needed to sit down for a minute first to let my system recover. After a couple minutes, a volunteer stops to see if I'm okay. I ask him to point me to the medical tent. He obliges and we take a little walk. I get a chair in the "admissions" area and I'm treated to a couple cool wet towels thrown over my shoulders and head. They feel great! By the time the medical staff gets to me, I start to come around. I wave them off. A few more towels and a couple bottles of water and I'm ready to go eat.

After a few slices of pizza and some cookies, my support group helps me gather up my transition bags and bike and we head to a bus that will take us to our car. It seems all the athletes on the bus have their own seat. I guess no one wants to sit next to us. Other then my legs being very sore, I feel okay.

It's been a good race, not quite what I wanted, but still a good race. I think I'd like to come back and see if I can get that great race next year.

Tuesday, November 4th
I just go out for an easy 3 mile run before packing up and leaving for Florida.

Monday, November 3rd
I head out to West Wood to get in an early morning swim. As usual, I spend more time talking then swimming. I get in about 1,000 yds. At 1:30, Lowell, Iron Mike and I head out on our bikes to ride around Pewaukee Lake. The temperature is in the low 70's, near record for this time of year. We've got to take advantage of it. It's an easy enjoyable 33 mile ride.

Sunday, November 2nd - Turkey Trot
I pack three of the grandkids in the car, pick up my sister Carole, and head to Greenfield Parkway for the annual Turkey Trot. This is a prediction run, 2 miles or 15K. We're all doing the 2 miles. The 25 runners, or walkers, closest to their predicted times in each race win big frozen turkeys. And, or course, NO WATCHES allowed. I'm usually pretty good at winning a turkey. I predict 14:05, 7 seconds slower then last year. UGH! My time is 14:42, 44 seconds slower then last year. I feel okay so I have no clue why my time dropped off so much. Maybe it's my sore glute. Who knows. I guess that's part of getting older. Noone else in our family wins a turkey either.

Saturday, November 1st
A week from today, I'll be in Clearwater, Florida for the 1/2 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. I don't feel my training has been where it should be . . . but it is what it is. Maybe it'll show that less training is better. I get in my last long run today, 9.3 miles. I keep a good pace, about 8:45 per mile. My glute bothers me a little but not enough to slow me down.

Weeks Workout: 16.2 miles running, 31 miles biking, 1 spin class, 3.6 miles swimming, 3 core workouts. Training time 10:40. Not the running and biking I had planned.

Friday, October 31st
Wow, the end of October already. The weather is gorgeous, sunny, low 70's and calm. Since I shipped my bike yesterday, I get my old bike out and head out around Pewaukee Lake, 31 miles. I push it pretty hard. I was expecting to feel stiff at pilate but felt pretty good.

Thursday, October 30th
Yesterday I spent in Madison working on my daughter's basement, again. Today, since its almost Halloween, our run group shows up in costume. I have a 25 year old Tux I wear. The baby blue jacket, yellow ruffled shirt, and polyester tux pants work well with my "Old Man" mask. I have to leave the mask and jacket behind during the run as they are too hot. We run 7 miles hard and my glute is hurting again.

Instead of taking my bike on the airplane, I've decided to ship my bike via UPS to Florida for my race next week. It turns out to be more expensive then I thought it would be, $119. The airlines charge about $80 one way. So, I'll probably bring it back on the airplane. I've borrowed my son's bike case and, after taking off the wheels, handle bars, seat and pedals, everything fits. I throw in my shoes, helmet, wet suit, and other stuff so I won't have to carry an extra bag on the plane.

Masters swim is a little different tonight. Instead of the main set of high quality 100 and 200 yd lengths, we have a moderate 600 yd and a continuous 20 minute swim. I use my pull buoy for the 20 minute and get 1,150 yds. I feel pretty good.

Tuesday, October 28th
I catch the 7:00 AM water running class. We try some deep water running with flotation devices. Mine doesn't have enough buoyance so I have to use my hads to skull to keep afloat. Eventually, I get some ankle flotation toys and that helps. Fortunately, only 4 show up for my 9:00 cycle class. My MP3 music player goes dead so I have to wing the workout to go with an old music CD I had with me. Masters swim at 6:30 is just okay.

Monday, October 27th
I took yesterday off. The weather is ugly so no biking today. I was hoping to catch a spin class at Vic Tanney but they cancelled their Monday class. I end up with 30 minutes of swimming before Pilate. Not much of a training day.

Saturday, October 25 - Lakefront Discovery 15K Run
I was going to bike yesterday but the weather was bad and I could not make it to pilate. So, I got a rest day for today's race. Temperatures are in the mid 40's with a light breeze and an occasional peak of sun light. This is the 14th time I've run this race and, compared to most years, this is good weather. My first couple miles go good but by mile 6, my pace drops of to an 8 minute mile. For whatever reason, I always seem to be able to run the last couple miles of this race better then the middle of the race. Today is no different. Mile 8 I'm at 7:54 and the last mile I run in 7:47. I finish in 1:14:02. It's a minute slower then last year but I'm used to being slower every race. If I was in the 65-69 age group, my time would be only good enough for 4th place. The winner in this age group is over 7 minutes faster then me. But, since there aren't any fast runners in my age, I get 1st place. My only problem now is my left glute muscle is hurting. It's been bothering me on and off now for a couple weeks but this definitely made it worse. I may have to back things off the next couple weeks.

Weeks Workout: 20.2 miles running, 84 miles biking, 1 spin class, 3.7 miles swimming, 2 core workouts. Training time 14:40. A pretty good training week with good bike, run and swim higher intensity workouts.

Thursday, October 23rd
It's a nice cool morning for a run. About 15 show up. We take a different route cutting across the golf course and the back yard of some condominium. It splits the group up pretty much. Some of the faster runners aren't here so I'm able to stay with a lead group. It's a good hard hour run for me. Masters swim is at 6:30. These workouts are never easy for me but I survive. Most of my 100 yd splits are 1:45 to 1:48. I get in 2,600 yds.

Wednesday, October 22nd
I meet Iron Mike and we head out on our bikes to Bicycle Doc's. It's in the low 50's, a little sun, and very windy. The wind is from the east and is at our back most of the 26 miles out. A gust of wind catches both of us and almost sends us to the pavement. After that, we really get cautious. On the way back, we ride the Glacial Drumlin trail to Waukesha, a 15 mile flat stretch that gives us some protection from the wind. The rest of the ride we have to deal with it. The clouds thicken up and the temperature drops into the 40's. It's cold. I can hardly feel my toes. This ride I'm glad when it's over. An hour later, I go to pilate's at Bally's. It's enough to fire a few cramps while trying to do the routines. Not the best core workout.

Tuesday, October 21st
I tried something new this morning. West Wood has a new water running class. The bad thing is it is at 7:00 AM. I give it a try. To my surprise, there are about 10 of our Thursday run group there. In the class, we basically run and do leg lifts, kicks, etc in the pool. I'm not sure how helpful it is but it was fun. At 9:00, I'm upstairs teaching my spin class. Masters swim is at 6:30 PM. Our main workout is 3 sets of 200, 2x100 and 4x50 swim in 2 min/100 interval, 1,800 yds total. It's hard but I'm able to keep up. I only grab my buoy for the second 200 yds. I feel pretty good about it.

Monday, October 20th
I head over to West Wood this morning to meet up with Greg. I met him last week at our Thursday run group and he doesn't know how to swim very well. Me, mister super swimmer, is going to try to help him to swim better. We run through all the basics. Now, he is gung ho on practicing. We'll see how long that lasts. After lunch, I head out to ride around Pewaukee Lake. My legs are tired and I ride easy. It's also cold, windy and dreary. Pilate class at 6:30 at least goes well.

Sunday, October 19th
I ate and drank way too much yesterday and feel like crap today. After everyone has left, I decide to go for a short easy run instead of a long run which I was going to do instead of a long bike ride. My weight has also just jumped up a couple pounds. I've been expecting that.

Saturday, October 18th
Again I change my plan and decide on a higher pace 9.3 mile run. I push every hill and surge on the flats. My last mile is 8:02. It's a good hard run. This afternoon, my whole family is getting together for family pictures, my 4 kids, spouses, and 7 grandkids. It almost doesn't happen! My son-in-law is coming from Madison. His is an elite triathlete and often uses the trip from Madison to Brookfield as a chance to get in an 80 mile bike training ride. Outside of Oconomowoc, he is hit but an inattentive driver. I rush to Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital to find him sitting up in the emergency room with no more then a few bruises and scratches eating a Clif energy bar. He is extremely lucky! It's a reminder to me on how cautious I need to be when riding.

Weeks Workout: 22.2 miles running, 31 miles biking, 1 spin class, 2.8 miles swimming, no core training. Training time 8:41. An pathetic training week.

Friday, October 17th
Originally I was going to get in a long ride but, after reading my Triathletes Training Bible, decide to do a higher intensity shorter ride. I head out around Pewaukee Lake, a 31 mile loop. I push hard on the hills and ride the open stretches 20-22 mph. It's a good ride.

Thursday, October 16th
We meet up at 7:30 at West Wood for an hour run. I link up with Kim, one of the newer members of the group. She is also the slowest in the group today. I have no speed. I blame my condition on my daughter. I worked all day yesterday at her house remodeling her basement. As a result, my back is pretty sore from the 101 trips up and down her basement stairs and the kneeling on the floor for 101 times to cut wood and drywall. Masters swim is 6:30. It starts with the normal apprehension and mental funk about swimming. After warm-ups, our main set is 100, 200, 300, and 400 yd on progressively faster rest interval. I figured I'd do the 100 and then have to grab my swim buoy for the rest just to keep up. I grab it for the 200 and then put it back figuring I could always get it. I finish and do the same for the 300. Finally, the 400 and I do not use the swim buoy and keep up. It's a small break through. We also get above and under water video taping tonight. Fred will analyze our stroke using these at a future workout. I get home and feel really good about tonight's swim. Is it wrong to spread chocolate chunks and Hersey's dark chocolate syrup on chocolate chip ice cream? Is it wrong to have two bowls in one night?

Tuesday, October 14th
After 3 days of hard work on the cottage getting things ready for the winter, I'm ready to get back into my home routine and training. Spin class this morning and 5 people show up. It's ok. I don't get out on a run until 3:30 this afternoon. My lunch isn't settled and, after a couple 3 minute tempo surges, I get heart burn. That slows me down. I'm tired when I get to Masters swim. After the warm-up, I was very tempted to bag it. But, I stayed through our main set of 4 times (200 yd swim / 4 x 25 yd race pace on 0:40 interval). When we get to a kicking with flippers routine, I cramp up and head to the locker room.

Saturday, October 11th
We drove up north to the cottage yesterday and the weather and autumn leaves are gorgeous! I wanted to get out and run yesterday but I had too many projects. With the great weather again today, I'm really glad I brought my bike up with me. I head out on Highway 2 to Marinsco, 28 miles, with a gental tail wind. In spite of some type of strain pain in my left hip, I'm flying over 20 mph. It's a little tougher coming back. I average 19.3 mph for the ride, my fastest ever for this route.

Weeks Workout: 16.7 miles running, 56.5 miles biking, 1 spin class, 4.3 miles swimming, no core training. Training time 11:45. An okay training week except my running is low.

Thursday, October 9th
After spending all day yesterday at my daughters pulling electrical wires and dry walling in her basement, I'm stiff and sore. It feels like I did a major workout. It doesn't keep me from dragging myself out of bed at 6:30 AM and meeting up with Lowell and our Thursday morning run group. It's a perfect day and everyone seems to have taken extra caffine. I don't know what our pace is but I'm guessing about an 8:00 minute mile. We also add to our route so it takes over an hour.

Tuesday, October 7th
I'm back to spin class instruction this morning. 5 people show up. It's not like riding outside but I still workup a good sweat. Master swim is a lot better tonight. I finally feel like I have energy and am able to get through the entire workout. Our main set is 400 pull / 4x100 swim, 300 pull / 3x100 swim and 200 pull / 4x50 swim. All our swims are on our training interval of 1 minute per 50 yds. Making all the intervals is a big plus. Lots of chocolate chips and syrup on my ice cream is my post work out reward.

Monday, October 6th
We have our first OPHARTS swim workout this morning. As we did last year, I put together a swim training workout and any of our Thursday run group is invited to join in. Steve is new to the group and has never had structured swim training. So I spend quit a bit of time with him and not so much time training myself. That's fine as I'm still fretting about how my swimming has taken a nose dive. Of course, the solution is to get my ass in gear and train. It's another cool autumn day, perfect for a run. At noon, I head out on my 9.3 mile route for a tempo workout. After I get to River Rd, a little over a mile, I begin with 3 minutes zone 3 running with 2 minutes recovery. I continue with 4 minutes, then 5, then 4 and finally back to 3. My tempo efforts are 8:00 - 8:15 pace. I feel good. By the time I get to pilate class in the evening, I'm a little stiff.

Sunday, October 5th
The Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon is today. My son Paul and a lot of my friends are running it. I signed up for finish line bag pickup so I get to see all of them at the finish. I had my fastest marathon at this race so it brings back some found memories.

Saturday, October 4th
We have our first fall frost this morning. The sun warms things up a little before I head out on my long run. After the first couple miles, I feel good and settle into an 8:30 - 8:45 pace. This is harder then I normal run the route but I decide to keep it going. I finish the fiirst loop, 6.6 miles in 58:45. This is a fast pace for me. For what ever reason, I still feel good the second loop and don't slow down. I finish this loop in 57:53. That's faster then I've run this route in a long time. It really lifts my spirits.

Weeks Workout: 19.4 miles running, 74.3 miles biking, 2.7 miles swimming, no core training. Training time 10:31. Not the volume of training I wanted to do this week. At least, I ended it with a good run.

Friday, October 3rd
I meet my friend, Mike Esser, and his son and we head to Madison to ride the Ironman 40 mile loop through Verona and Mount Horab. They have signed up for next year's race and I volunteer to lead them on their first adventure on the bike course. They now have a better appreciation for how tough it is.

Thursday, October 2nd
Over 30 show up for our run this morning. If this group keeps growing, we will need a parade permit. Several in the group are doing the Lakefront Marathon this week. They run an easy 15 minutes out and back. I have not motivation so I run with them. Nothing changes for Masters swim in the evening. I'm still struggling with it.

Tuesday, September 30th
Today was my first teaching of spin class for the fall. I was surprised when 5 people showed up. This afternoon, I was hoping to get a 6 mile run in but ran out of time. Masters swim continued to be a mental struggle. We practiced the butterfly which I have absolutely no aptitude or ability for. Then our main set of 4x150, 4x100, 4x75 and 4x50 were on our training interval which I could not hold.

Monday, September 29th
Last week, I bought new pedals to put on my old bike so I could ride it once in a while. Since the weather is a little damp, I figured today would be a good day to use it. Why do manufactures constantly change their product? My new pedals are Speedplay, the same type as on my other bike and what I have on 2 pair of my biking shoes. But, the new pedals are just slightly different such that my shoes don't stay clipped in. I almost crash several times when my feet come loose from the pedals. The sales guy at Bicycle Doctors should have told me this. They will have a set of hardly used $170 pedals being returned next week.

Sunday, September 28th - 5K Race for the Cure
I pick up my sister, Carole, who is a cancer survivor, to run the 5K Susan G Koman Race for the Cure. It's for cancer survivors and about 8,000 run the race. I think I have her hooked to run it every year now. I'm still dragging. My time is over 24 minutes, 2 minutes slower then last year. Maybe it'll help kick start my muscles to get me moving again.

Saturday, September 27th
I head over to the Southwest YMCA to meet up with other bikers who normally ride every Saturday morning at 8:23 AM. Only 5 show up, 3 easy riders and 2 speed demons. I end up riding by myself for 43 miles. At least the weather is good.

Friday, September 26th
It's an absolute beautiful fall day that still feels like summer. I head out on a 9.3 mile run. Unfortunately, my run is not as good as the weather. I'm just plugging (new definition for slow jog) along. Even Pilate at 4:30 is a struggle. I don't know if it's still post IM fatigue or what.

Thursday, September 25th
My legs are awful tired this morning. I thing spending the entire day yesterday at my daughters working on refinishing her basement was harder then my normal training. Our Thursday morning group does a 20 minute and a 15 minute tempo run with 5 minutes easy between them. Masters swim gets a D- today. We spend a lot of time on back stroke technique and drills. My left arm I cannot reach back very far, old high school injury. That makes back stroke swimming pretty much a one arm fiasco. I also just have no stamina during our main set. It makes me really disliking swimming.

Tuesday, September 23rd
I head out for on my 6.6 mile loop through Fox Brook Park. I feel okay but my pace is pretty average. Masters swim is at 6:30. For a change, Fred has us all practicing the back stroke. My left shoulder does not appreciate me even trying it so I'm pretty much like a dying fish. Our main set of 3 time 3 x 100 yds on interval goes better then last week.

Dear Blog - I have a confession. Before my masters swim workout today, I completely lost my mind. Sandy has wanted me to do the Louisville Ironman race ever since it started 3 years ago. I told her "no!" because it is too blazing hot in Louisville the end of August and it's only a week before Ironman Wisconsin. Well, this year, it's two weeks before Wisconsin. She has friends and relatives in Louisville who watched the race this year and loved it. She is planning on going next year to watch it with them. So, since I'm not a very good spectator, I . . . signed up!!

TRAINING FOR IRONMAN 70.3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS

Monday, September 22nd
Today is the first day of fall and the the time to start getting ready for the 1/2 Ironman 70.3 World Championship triathlon November 8th. I've had 2 weeks of guilt free eating and limited training since IM Wisconsin. Now it's time to regroup and start training again.

I head out on my bike to ride the Holy Hill 50 mile loop. I stopped riding the loop this spring because the roads had gotten so bad. They are still not any better. I feel strong and I ride all the hills in the saddle. Although I don't feel I pushed the ride extra hard, I cramp during pilate class this evening and again while watching the evening news. Maybe my legs are still not 100% recovered.

2008-09-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

Thursday, September 18th
After spending all of yesterday at my daughters working on her basement, I'm back to training today. Our run group meets at 7:30 AM. After 15 minutes moderate pace, the speed picks up big time. I feel 100% recovered and try to stay close to the lead group. From that point, it's 40 minutes of hard running at about an 8:00 minute mile. It felt good. Masters swim at 6:30 is still a struggle. After a summer of mostly low intensity open water swimming, the 25 yd pool is killing me. Even though our main sets are not that long yet, I'm really struggling to stay with my group. It's a little depressing. A few beers at Sluggo's after our swim help. Lauren, a great swimmer in our group, gives me some coaching in the parking lot on the importance of getting the feel of the water and the process of catching water. Now I have something a little more specific to work on next week. I'd like to think what he told me will instantly make me a faster swimmer but . . . I know that won't happen.

Tuesday, September 16th
Time to get the bike out. After a quick fix of my handlebar wrap, I ride out around Pewaukee Lake, 30 miles. The energy is still not there. I make it an easy recovery ride. Master swim is at 6:30. This time I last a little longer. Our main set is 3 x (100pull, 2x100 swim on interval). It's tough to get back into pool swimming. I get 2,000 yds in before stopping. My shoulder is a little tired and I don't want to risk an injury now.

Monday, September 15th
I head out on a morning run down the forest road for 25 minutes and then back. I feel pretty good all the way, about 95% recovered.

Sunday, September 14th
Yesterday, we drove to our cottage in the morning and it rained all afternoon. So, today is my first chance to try running again. My glute is still a little sore but I can run with it. I head over to Little Duck Lake and back, about 4 miles. On the way back, I visualize racing someone the last mile. Of course I beet them in the last 100 yards.

Thursday, September 11th
I meet up with our run group. Everyone congratulations us on our race. Then, were off for our normal run. My left gluteus maximus is too sore to run so I practice my Ironman shuffle for 20 minutes. This evening, our Masters swim team regroups to start training. I last for 30 minutes.

Wednesday, September 10th
I'm still on a high from the race. But, I still have a monkey on my back, the one that has not gotten me a podium top 5 finish in an Ironman race. Already, I'm thinking about next year and what I might do differently. I know I still have a better race in me. I know I can ride a faster bike leg. I know I can run faster then a 5:22 Ironman marathon. I also know right now my legs are very sore. I feel like an old man every time I stand up to walk.

Monday, September 8th - IRONMAN WISCONSIN
7:00 PM Monday and already I’ve been reunited with the cookie jar, Frito’s, chocolate chip bag, and, of course, ice cream. Over the next couple days, everything that is eatable in this house is now at risk of being consumed without guilt. But first, let’s go back to the beginning.

It’s Saturday evening and I’m back at the Best Western Hotel in Madison. I’ve had my pre-race spaghetti dinner at my daughter’s house. I’ve laid out my morning cloths and food. It’s now time to get what sleep I can. Normally, I get up at 3:30 AM for my pre-race breakfast of banana and bagel. I decide this year I will wait until I get up at 5:00.

I’ve been drinking fluids every chance I can for two days. I should not be surprise that I wake up to have to pee. I check the clock. It’s 3:27. I guess I might as well have my early breakfast after all.

5:00 AM and the alarm goes off. I’ve actually slept fairly well. By 5:30, I say good-by to my wife, Sandy, and I head down to the race start. My first stop is to drop off my Bike and Run Special Needs bags. These have things in them that I may need half way through the bike and run. Then, it’s down to body marking. I get my race number written on each arm, 1852, and my race age on my leg calf, 63. I head into the bike transition area and fill my water bottle and check my tire pressure.

After a stop at the porta potty, I make a last minute check on where my bike and run bags are in the transition rooms. There are over 2,200 athletes mingling around, each going through their own pre-race jitters. Finally, it’s time to get into my wetsuit and head down to the swim start. It’s extremely crowded and I get to the waters edge only 5 minutes before the start. It’s just enough time to swim out to the center buoy line where I’ve decided to start. The cannon fires!

The first couple 100 yards of the 2.4 mile swim are just mayhem. Everyone is knocking, kicking, and banging into each other. I’ve learned to just hold my own and keep going. I get behind a “walrus” who isn’t swimming very fast and there are swimmers on either side of him also going slow. I have no clue why they started up front but, this is not the time to stop and ask. I just have to work my way around. The rest of the half mile stretch to the first turn buoy doesn’t get any better.

I’m now headed back on the first loop. I look up and there’s a swimmer going straight across in front of everyone. He obviously is not looking where he’s going as he’s heading out to the middle of Lake Monona. It’s still a constant battle bumping into other swimmers. Finally, the second loop and things start to spread out. There are now areas of clear water to swim in. Before I know it, I’m headed back to shore. I feel good but I’m not too sure what my time might be. A couple volunteers help me up the shore bank. I check the clock, 1 hour, 23 minutes. That’s 3 minutes faster then last year. It’s a good start.

After a quick strip of my wetsuit, I run up the helix, grab my bike transition bag and head into the changing room. I dump my stuff on the floor. OH CRAP!! I put my run transition clothes in my bike bag and my bike stuff is in my run bag. A volunteer takes my wetsuit as I do an OJ sprint to the run transition room to get my other bag. The door is locked! I can’t get in. The gods must have been with me as the person with the key was right there and lets me in. I switch bags and head back to the changing room. The volunteer with my wetsuit has disappeared. I’ll worry about that later. I pull on a pair of arm warmers, bike gloves and socks. I wore my tri shorts and jersey under my wetsuit so I’m ready. I put my helmet and sun glasses on, grab my bike shoes and head out. The sun screen ladies give me a quick coating of lotion on my shoulders. Another volunteer unracks my bike. I get my bike shoes on and head to the bike mount area. My 112 mile ride begins.

It has started out as a perfect day, cool temperatures, low humidity and no wind. The 16 miles to Verona I stay easy and relaxed. The next 14 miles to Mount Horab also go easy. Sandy and my cheering gallery are waiting for me at the High School. I have to yell at them to let them know I’m here, “Good Morning Everyone!!!!” I’m ahead of my plan.

As my ride continues, my handlebar wrap starts to come undone. Before I know it, I have a 10” long streamer from my handlebar. It’s sort of like the streamers we use to have on our bikes . . . when we were 6 years old. It’s a real nescience. I get to the half way point back in Verona. I’m averaging over 18 mph and I feel great. I stop for my special needs bag to get my PB&J sandwich and Oreo cookies. I pull off part of a piece of tape from my handlebars and use it to hold down my handlebar wrap enough to keep it out of my way. It works.

As I head back to Mount Horab for the second loop, an old enemy suddenly returns. I feel the first signs of cramps in my quads. My hope for a great bike ride just took a dive. I have to start holding back, especially on the hill climbs. After awhile, I figure the cramps are firing mostly whenever I get out of the saddle. I have to take Timberline and Midtown hills supper easy in the saddle. I make it through them but my pace is dropping off. I’m back in Verona and begin the last 16 miles back to Madison. The cramps seem to be gone and I push the pace again. As I get to the overpass at Rimrock Rd, the cramps fire hard in both quads. I try to stand and it makes it worse. I barely make it to the top. I coast down the other side and soft peddle the best I can. The cramps ease up. It’s only about a mile to the finish. My big worry now is making it up the helix without cramping. I start up the 2 story circle, peddling as easy as possible in my lowest gear. I make the top. My bike time is good, 6 hours, 23 minutes. It’s my fastest Ironman bike time.

I grab my transition bag and head to the changing room. I get on my running shoes, shorts and singlet and make a quick stop at the porta potty. As I start the marathon, my legs are still crampy but I’m able to move in a slow jog past the crowd of spectators. My legs start to loosen up. I check my watch at the 4 mile marker. It’s a 10:15 per mile pace. This is good. But, good things have a way of going bad in an Ironman. By mile 8, the tank is almost empty and I start to do a 1 minute run, 1 minute walk. I pass my family and get great high 5’s from my grandkids. Their smiles keep me going for a little while. By mile 9, I can no longer run. I’ll have to walk the rest of the race. It’s a depressing thought.

For a change, I decide to drink a glass of coke at aide station 10 and a full glass of ice water. Up to now, I’ve been following my energy plan of drinking water, taking electrolytes and energy gels. But this change revives me and by mile 11, I’m back to a slow jog. The crowds around the Capital are great and I make it to the halfway turn around just one minute off my pace.

My friends are there and I get a quick update on my friend, Dan. This is his first Ironman. He has been training with us all year. The news is bad. He was unable to make the swim cut off time by a lousy one minute. But all of us know that this race is not just about finishing. It’s about the journey and the individual accomplishments and victories we make along the way. Dan has MS. Years ago, he could not feed himself. Now he is a champion. He finished a 2.4 mile swim. He did it in 2 hours 21 minutes. What a victory.

I head back out still in a slow jog. At least it’s not walking. I get to State St. and I run square into a spectator who steps in front of me. I hope he feels stupid because he is. So many friends and so many spectators just keep me going. I turn at the end of the street and another spectator steps in front of me. At this point, I’m just a slow moving bus with no brakes so please, nobody step in front of me again. As I head back along Lake Mendota, I’m back to walking. I hit the coke and water again. It gets me going again up around the Capital and down the finish line. It’s a great feeling! After 7 Ironman Wisconsin races, I’ve finally broken 14 hours. The clock says 13 hours, 36 minutes and 22 seconds.

My son, Ken, who finished 2 hours ago, helps me to the food tent. I sit down for a minute only to have the world start spinning. It’s a familiar feeling. I know what’s coming. He helps me to my feet and we head to the medical tent. I hope they have my normal cot ready. The routine is to first check our weight. I’ve lost 6 pounds which isn’t too bad. They find a cot and two aides help me sit down. The cot collapses. Okay, now I’m lying down. A couple bottles of water and 4 cups of broth get me coming around faster than normal. Wow, no IV this year.

After my short stay, Sandy meets me outside the medical tent. She tells me I’m 6th in my age. I’m disappointed that my best Ironman race isn’t enough to get me to the podium. But, this year has probably been my most enjoyable Ironman journey. In addition to Dan, there has been Mike Kurth, Andy Neary, and Evan Joyce; great friends who have made this, their first Ironman journey. Being part of their journey has been incredible.

Next year??? Yes, I’m registered!!! Why not!!!

Saturday, September 6th
We meet up with my son, Ken, wife, Jackie and my wild 2 year old granddaughter, Maggie for a hotel restaurant breakfast. Back to the room and I start getting my race stuff ready. I've got 4 bottles of energy drink for the bike, 2 bottles of energy drink for my transition bags and a bottle for drinking before the race. Shoes, shorts, tops, energy bars and gels, helmet, sunglasses, etc. all get laid out and checked off. A couple extra long sleeve shirts get added just in case the ". . . slight chance of rain" forecast turns into an all day rain like it did 2 years ago. Finally, I pack it up in the bags ready to go. I grab my 2 transition bags and bike and head back to Monona Terrace to check them in. I run into Lowell and some of my other friends. Race day is finally here.

At 5:00 we head over to my daughters house for our traditional spaghetti pre-race meal. By 8:00, I'm back at the hotel ready for what ever sleep I can get.

IRONMAN WISCONSIN

Friday, September 5th
It's 9:30 AM and we are on our way to Madison. Normally, I try to get in a swim the Friday morning before the race. But, because of the problem I've had with my shoulder, I decide to skip it this year. We get to the Best Western Hotel and are able to check in. I hang around the hotel for a little bit before heading over to Monona Terrace to register. There's no line and I'm out of there in 15 minutes. Next, it's the mandatory stop at the expo to spend some money on race clothes. I get away cheep this year with only sun glasses and a skull cap. Iron Mike is working registration so we make arrangements to meet up at 5:00 for dinner. My son, Ken, also arrives and joins us. Back to the hotel and a good nights sleep.

2008-09-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

Thursday, September 4th
Lowell, Mike and I meet up with our Thursday run group. We only go with them for 30 minutes, enough to get our appetites up for the breakfest that follows. Everyone is wishing us luck. Many of them are volunteering so we will see them, hopefully, at the race.

Wednesday, September 3rd
Another mental day just thinking about Sunday. Lowell and I ride for an hour and that's about it for today.

Tuesday, September 2nd
This morning at 9:00 AM, I had my final physical theropy session for my shoulder. It feels okay, just a little sore yet when he works on it. So, I know there is still a chance it may flair up during the race on Sunday. When I get home, I go out for a 5 mile easy run. Although I take it easy, my heart rate is why too high. It might be my nerves or maybe the heat. Most of the afternoon I wish I had a real job. It's too hot out to do yard work and mentally I can't get myself to do anything. I'm definitely in my prerace anxiety zone.

Monday, September 1st
Yesterday was an off day. This morning Lowell and I drive out to Oconomowoc to swim with Mike and Dan at 9:00. At least it's not 6:00 AM like last week. I swim to the island and back which is short of a mile. It's a test of my arm. No problem. My weight is at 180#'s, about where I want to be for the race. I'm really having to watch what I eat as I'm not burning the calaries I was during training and I don't want to be gaining a few pounds just before a race. It's a struggle!

Saturday, August 30st
Sandy and I drive into Milwaukee to watch the Harley parade. 8,000 motorcycles roaring!! It's awesome!!! If I wasn't into this triathlon stuff, it would be awful tempting to enjoy my retirement on a Harley. This afternoon, I ride my pedal bike out to Pewaukee Lake and back, an easy hour ride. I throw on my running shoes for a 3 mile run after the ride. Even though I take it easy, my run time is fast. My excess energy from tapering is already kicking in.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 18.7 miles. Biking 87.0 miles. Swimming 0.2 miles. 2 Pilate workouts. Total workout time 9:45 hours. It's a good taper week.

Friday, August 30th
I meet up with our group at Pewaukee Lake at 6:00 AM to swim. I hate getting up this early. I only swim about 15 minutes just to test my shoulder. It's fine. I have physical therapy at noon and it's still A-OK. Pilate at 6:30 feals good.

Thursday, August 28th
I meet up with our Thursday run group at 7:00 AM. We run an easy pace but it isn't easy. I have my heart rate monitor on and I'm up in zone 3. I walk some to get it back down. At the end, I get on the scale at Westwood, 169#'s. I don't remembe the last time I was under 170#'s. That explains why my HR was so high. Dehydration will do that.

Wednesday, August 27th
I had a scheduled physical theropy appointment this morning for my arm. Although it's not hurting anymore, I figured it wouldn't hurt to still go. The theropist found the problem muscle and it's still a little sore. He did ultrasound and gave me some exercises. When I got back home, I headed out for a couple hour bike ride. I didn't push it, just rode easy. This is my final long bike ride. Everying from now on will be short and easy.

Tuesday, August 26th
I tried to adjust my shifters yesterday durning my ride. The more I adjusted them, the worse it got. So, this morning, I head out to Bicycle Doctors for a tune up. Now I should be ready for IM Wisconsin. It's a beautiful day with low humidity and about 70 degrees. That's maybe why my 9.4 mile run this afternoon goes so well. I keep about an 8:30 pace and finish my last mile at 8:05. I feel good.

Monday, August 25th
In the last 7 days I've seen the world do a 360 degree turn. I started with a good swim last Monday. Then the sore arm on Tuesday followed by 2 days of complete exercise disability and resignation that I would not be doing the IM Wisconsin race in 2 weeks. But, then came Friday and Saturday and the sore arm starting to feel better. And today? 95% better. I went out for a ride around Pewaukee Lake, 31 miles. I pushed it hard and wasn't even aware that just 4 days ago, I couldn't ride. This evening, I do Pilate at Vic Tanney. I was cautious on some of the routines but didn't have to stop on any of them because of my arm. I'm not sure if I'm ready to try swimming yet . . . but it's close. IM Wisconsin, here I come.

Sunday, August 24th
What a difference a day makes! My arm is 80% better. I'm not ready to swim yet but running and biking are fine with no pain. I decided I'd do the long run I missed on Friday. I end up going 16.5 miles. My pace is good and strong all the way. I could have gone on easily. Having a cool day with low humidity helps a lot. Even after drinking about 60 oz of water, I loose 6 pounds.

Saturday, August 23rd
I slept a lot better last night. My shoulder is better but it still hurts when I move it in certain directions. Putting it in close to my body like I do to ride in my aero position on the bike is still painful. So, I head to Vic Tanny's for the spin class. They use to have 2 classes on Saturday morning but one has been cancelled so I only get an hour of riding in. I guess it's better then nothing. The medicine warns it will make you drowsy. It sure does. I take a morning nap after spin class. It's my granddaughter's 2nd birthday so I let Sandy drive to Madison. I sleep the whole hour trip. I have trouble staying awake at the birthday party. I sleep on the trip home. Finally, bed time and I have no trouble falling asleep.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 27.6 miles. Biking 49.5 miles. Swimming 2.4 miles. No core workouts. Total workout time 8:52 hours. I lost a couple key workouts this week, especially on the bike. Next week I start tapering so there is no making it up.

Friday, August 22nd
The last 3 days have been total crap. My shoulder is still very sore. My mouth isn't much better after getting a tooth filled today. It's the opposite side of where I got my wisdom tooth puller so now it hurts to chew on both sides. I make an appoint to see a sports doctor, someone I went to back in 2001. He is a little perplexed. It's not the tricep but some other muscles. It's obviously injured because he cannot move my arm in a lot of positions without triggering a lot of pain. He x-rays for arthritis. There is none, thank goodness. He puts me on a prescription muscle relaxer and anti-inflammatory. This evening, I think I've turned the corner. The constant pain has gone down some and I can move the shoulder a little further without pain. That gives me a little encouragement.

Thursday, August 21st
I meet up with the West Wood run group at 7:00 AM. Although my tricep is not better, I can run a little with it. Due to some intestinal stress, (I have to crap), I cut my run short. I have an 8:30 dentist appointment so a short run is not a problem. At the dentist, I got my two final crowns put on and, although not planned, I get a bad wisdom tooth pulled rather then have it filled. Now I have a sore mouth to go with my sore triceps.

Wednesday, August 20th
My tricep mussle is worse. I try to bike with Mike and Lowell but have to turn back. It's throbbing with continuous pain with any movement. Not good!!!!!!!

Tuesday, August 19th
I get up this morning with a very sore right tricep from yesterdays swim. I get out the ice pack and start on ibuprofen. Hopefully, it's just a little overuse soreness that will be ok in a day or two.

Monday, August 18th
This is my final hard week of training. This morning, I run my 6.6 mile Fox Brook loop. I try to do some up tempo intervals but my legs aren't moving very fast. I just leave it as a moderate pace run. At 5:30, I meet a group of about 20 other triathletes at a friend's house on Lake Nashotah to swim. He has a 0.4 mile loop set up with buoys. I make 6 loops, the 2.4 mile IM distance. Although every loop is slower, I feel good. I finish in 1:19 hr. That would be an excellent time for me at IM Wisconsin. We are all starved after our swim. A stop at Marty's Pizza solves that.

Sunday, August 17th
OFF day. I eat too much at Fred's, our swim coach's cottage, before driving home.

Saturday, August 16th
It's 9:00 AM and Mike and I are headed out to run around Duck Lake. For the first 6 miles, we run hard. Mike claims I'm pushing it and I claim I'm only trying to keep up with him. The last 7+ miles down the gravel forest road we run at a more sensible pace. We finish with a dip in the lake to cool down our legs, wash off the sweat and rinse the dust out of our running shoes. Our time is 2:06 hr. Some of our Masters swim group show up arount 3:00. Only Pete is up to swimming across the lake to the island and back with Mike and I. It's about a 2 mile swim. Pete's done and probably drinking a beer before Mike and I finish. It takes me 55 minutes.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 29.2 miles. Biking 242.7 miles. Swimming 4.0 miles. Pilate class. Total workout time 21:49 hours. Great bike week with 2 century rides. High volume week.

Friday, August 15th
Iron Mike and I head out biking from Land O' Lakes on a beautiful cool up north morning. We make it to Manitowish Waters, our 52 mile turnaround point, in less then 3 hours. On the way back, both of us almost fall asleep while riding. Only the occasional car pulling a boat or a steep hill on the winding forest roads wakes us from our peddling trans. We finish at the Dairy Maid for ice cream treats. It's a good ride, 105.6 miles, 18 mph average.

Thursday, August 14th
My question at this mornings run is, "How slow can you go before jogging is considered walking?" Actually, most of the conversation during our run is about our experiences with having to crap during a run. Our running muscles and our crapping muscles have this on going arguement. In the end, the crapping muscles always win, reguardless of where we are. If nothing else, the conversation makes our morning run go fast. This afternoon, I'm on the road heading north to the cottage. Iron Mike and his wife are with us. Some of the other members of our Masters swim team are meating us up there for a weekend of eating . . . and possibly a swim or two.

Wednesday, August 13th
Another big ride day. Five of us head to Madison to ride the IM course. By 8:05, we're on our bikes. Even though the temperature is in the low 70's, I'm in a sweat from start to finish. Iron Mike, Lowell and I ride pretty much together. Evan (age 20) and Mike Kurth (a young 41) are our other two riders. We pretty much watch them in the distance most of the day. It helps push our pace. Other then a couple flat tires, it's a good training ride. It takes me 6:17 for the 106 miles. For a finish, I run 30 minute. I check the scale when I get home. Down 5#'s. In spite of having to pee at every stop, I'm still dehydrated. A cramp in my leg on the way home is added proof.

Tuesday, August 12th
Since I have a big day tomorrow, I take it easy today. I bike out around Pewaukee Lake 33 miles. Originally, I was going to do some hard tempo intervals but, my legs are tired and I'm lazy. I just ride a comfortable pace. Since Masters swim is done for the summer, I don't have anything else on my plan today.

Monday, August 11th
Lowell, Iron Mike and I head out to Oconomowoc Lake again. This time we make 3 loops to the boat house. It's a good 1:27 hr swim. YES!!! I have one of those rare runs this afternoon where I actually feel I'm running fast. I do Fox Brook 6.6 mile loop with 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 minute intervals at about 5K pace with 2 minute recovery, I push up North Ave hill and finish my last mile in 7:48. Evening pilate is a little tough.

Sunday, August 10th
OFF DAY. I get to work in the yard and rest. I need it!!

Saturday, August 9th
I'm glad this morning is over. Iron Mike and I finish our long training run, 18.3 miles. It takes us a little over 3 hours. Even though the weather is nice and I get water every 3 miles, I'm dehydrated. The scale says 173#. It was 180# when I started. My heart rate near the end is 125 bpm. It should be 105 - 110 but, when I'm dehydrated, it runs a lot higher. The rest of the day I'm pretty sure I'll feel like doing nothing, which is what I'll probably do.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 31.1 miles. Biking 156 miles. Swimming 4.0 miles. Pilate 2 classes. Total workout time 18:56 hours. I get in a good long bike and run this week. Only 2 more weeks of hard training to get through!

Friday, August 8th
It's 6:30 am and Lowell, Iron Mike, Evan and I drive out to Oconomowoc Lake to swim. This is my first time swimming the lake this year. We swim from a little beach where there aren't many boats. It takes about 26 minutes to swim across the lake to a boat house and back. We do the loop twice. In the afternoon, I ride over to Mitchell Park and do 6 one mile cadence intervals. The rest of my ride is for recovery. Only 2 people show up for pilate in the evening. I guess the weather is too nice.

Thursday, August 7th
I have a dentist appointment so I can't meet up with my Thursday morning run group. With a sore tooth, I head out on my own around Fox Brook, 6.4 miles. I push my tempo but I don't feel like I'm going anywhere. I think my legs are tired from yesterday's ride. At 5:30, it's our last Masters swim for the summer. I do the main workout set but not much else. Even for that, I'm in a low motivation pace.

Wednesday, August 6th
Iron Mike and I head to Madison to ride the IM Wisconsin course. It's overcast but the temperature is in the 80's and the humidity is still moderately high. My goal is to make sure I hydrate enough. We ride 109 miles. It takes us about 6:30 ride time, over 7 hours counting our stops. I've forgotten how hard this course is. We average about 16.4 mph. That's almost 2 mph slower then my up north 100 mile route pace. I end up drinking over 10 bottles of water and I still loose 5 pounds. The good thing is, no cramping. It's a good training ride.

Tuesday, August 5th
My plan is to drop my car off at the service shop and bike home from there. It turns out the shop is right on the Glacial Drumlin Bike Trail. I head out west until I reach Waterville Rd. I know it's a good biker's road and I head north from there. I loop around Pewaukee Lake and head home. It turns into a good 33 mile ride. At 5:30, I'm off to Master swim. I take the lead for part of our main set just to force myself to work harder. I get in about 2,500 yd.

Monday, August 4th
The humidity is back up there. Thank goodness it's an easy day. I run my 6.4 mile loop to Fox Brook at an easy recovery pace. My legs are still not recovered. I get in an hour pilate class in the evening.

Sunday, August 3rd
OFF day. I get to rest my legs which are pretty tired from yesterday. Just 3 more hard weeks of training left.

Saturday, August 2nd - Whirlpool Steelhead 1/2 Ironman 70.3 Triathlon
It's back to the ugly part of racing, having to get up early. My hotel wake up call is 4:15 am. I get my stuff together, eat a banana, and stop at Iron Mike's motel to pick him up. We drive to the designated parking area and get the shuttle bus to the race site. There are 1,800 athletes in the race so we allow plenty of time. Actually, we allow too much time. I could have slept another half hour.

The race swim is in Lake Michigan, the same lake that 2 weeks ago I froze in. But now the water temperature is 72 degrees. Because the wind is out of the NW, the race starts at the north end of the beach. It's a 1.2 mile swim so that's how far we have to walk up the beach for the start of the swim. The good thing is I'm in the 2nd wave. The bad thing is, the tortellini I ate last night has me waiting in the porta potty line and I only have 15 minutes before the start. My anxiety and my intestine get a relief when they announce the swim is cancelled. The wind and waves are too strong for a safe swim. Instead, it will be a duathlon with a 2 mile run substituted for the swim. So, 1,800 athletes trek back down the beach.

I get my running stuff on and head to the start line. They still keep us in our waves. At 8:00 am, the race finally gets going. In the crowd, some guy steps on the heal of my shoe pulling it off. I call him some unpleasant words as everyone passes while I get my shoe back on. It's an easy 2 miles and a fast transition to the bike.

The 56 mile bike course is relative fast and flat. I've mentally decided to not push my bike pace to see if I can have a good time on the 1/2 marathon run. Every once in a while, I get the urge to push it as others pass me. Finally, Iron Mike passes. He's having a good ride.

I make a good transition from the bike to the run. As usual, my kidneys need relief the first mile. That makes for a very slow 10:20 minute mile. My legs feel good and my second mile is at 8:52. My 3rd mile is 8:20. I wanted to be under 1:57 hr for the whole run which is a 9:00 pace. Each mile I'm at between 8:30 and 8:45, well below my goal. I finish in 1:54:35. I check the results. Overall, I'm 4th in my age but have the second fastest run. If I had pushed my bike a little more, I think I could have beaten the 2nd and 3rd place finishers. The guy who won my age is ranked #1 and I could have never beaten him. It's been a good day.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 30.9 miles. Biking 155.5 miles. Swimming 3.5 miles. Total workout time 16:43 hours. Good week.

Thursday, July 31st
About 20 show up for our Thursday morning run. I can't keep up with the lead group and I don't want to run with the slow group. So I run in no-mans-land for awhile. I get on the scale after the run, 170#'s. I really will need to hydrate before the race I'm doing on Saturday. The plan is to leave for Benton Harbor, Michigan, site of the race, around 11:00 this morning. When I get home I have a call from my dentist. They have an opening for me right now. I got a tooth crowned in July, I have a second temporary crown right now, and my current crown needs to be replaced. I'm trying to get it all done before my dentist, who I really like, leaves town, and before my Ironman race. By the time I get back, it's 1:30. Now the 3 1/2 hour drive takes 5+ hours because of the traffic through Chicago.

Wednesday, July 30th
Iron Mike and I plan to make up for yesterday's short ride. We head south to Ottawa Lake for a 70 mile ride. On the way, my shifter starts dragging. We make a short stop at Bicycle Doctor's and they get it adjusted. Works great now. We stop at Ottawa Lake and go for a short swim. I've never been here. It's a small out-of-the-way lake with an artificial beach, a good place for open water swimming. When we get back, I get on the scale. Even with the drinking I did on the bike, I've lost almost 7#'s. It's a reminder of how much I will have to drink at the race this weekend.

Tuesday, July 29th
I was planning on going to Madison to ride the IM bike course. But, one of my cars is acting up so I meet up with Lowell and some friends at 8:00. The plan is to ride about 3 hours. We never get our act together and end up just riding around Pewaukee Lake, 33 miles. Master swim at 5:30 is fairly easy. The group isn't training for any swim races so our workouts are not as intense as they are in the winter. That doesn't help me. But, since I'm not really a swimmer, it's still good training.

Monday, July 28th
I head out for a morning run through Mitchell Park, my 9.3 mile loop. After an easy first mile, I pick up the pace and do some tempo efforts. When I get to North Ave hill, I push it to the top. Finally, I push the last mile in 8:10 pace. It's a good run. Later, I get in an hour of Pilate at Vic Tanny's.

Sunday, July 27th
Before heading back home, I get in a swim to the island and back, 1:02 hrs.

Saturday, July 26th
After getting in a little work and fishing, I drive up to Watersmeet in the evening and head out on my bike on highway 2. I'm planning on riding for only an hour with high intensity on the hills. I head west into the wind to start. I can really feel the fatigue in my legs from the ride and run the last two days. I turn at 35 minutes and now the wind is at my back. It feels great until some insect lands on my triceps and deposits his stinger in my. Ouch!! By the time I'm able to brush it off, I have a large welt. It's been a while since I've been stung on a ride.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 38.2 miles. Biking 179.8 miles. Swimming 4.7 miles. Total workout time 19:05 hours. Great week.

Friday, July 25th
Today is one of those long runs I'm not looking forward to. I head out to highway 45, then down the snowmobile trail to the forest road and loop back around the lake, about 18 miles. Yesterday, I dropped 4 bottles of Gleukos energy drink in the woods along the way. I also take 2 bottles with me. It's cool but a little humid. The deer flies are out in full force and very annoying. My pace is very slow but I keep my heart rate under 110 bpm. This is what I'm hoping to do at IM Wisconsin. A nice dip in the lake to clean the sweat and dust from the trail is a good finish. It takes me 3:20 hr.

I use my sister's computer to check my email. I'm waiting for a message from the race director from last months Ironman Kansas 70.3 race. The message is there. He agrees that the person they gave the Ironman 70.3 World Championship invitation to at the race probably did not complete the run and that I should have gotten the invitation. They have invited me. I'm going back to the 70.3 World Championship triathon in November!!!!!

Thursday, July 24th
Almost perfect biking weather; cool, calm, mostly overcast and dry. I head out of Land 'O Lakes at 6:30 am and head to Manitowish Waters. I'm hoping to limit my pee and water breaks so it's more like an Ironman race. Some guy is in the john at Boulder Junction so I have to wait longer then I want. I make a quick stop at Manitowish Waters gas station and head back. I pick up a little head wind but still keep an 18+ mph pace. It's a 5:28 hr ride. I grab my running shoes and head down the snowmobile trail in Land 'O Lakes for 30 minutes. Good workout.

Wednesday, July 23rd
We decide to go back up north for a couple days. We get up there in time for me to get in a lake swim. I make it to the island in under 30 minutes. I pick up the waves on the way back and it takes me 35 minutes. I can really concentrate on my form in longer swims like this.

Tuesday, July 22nd
I get in an easy 4.3 miles through the neighborhood. I feel pretty good. Masters swim at 5:30 is a struggle. I use my favorite pull buoy for a lot of it.

Monday, July 21st
OFF DAY

Sunday, July 20th - Spirit of Racine 1/2 IM Triathlon.
I still hate the need to get up before 5:00 am for races. I need my sleep. Iron Mike picks me up a little after 5:00 and we drive down to Racine, about an hour drive. Everyone has been talking about the race for weeks as the Lake Michigan daily water temperature has been about 55 degrees. THAT'S COLD!! I once thought they cancelled the swim if the temperature was below 60 but I guess that was wishful thinking. To add to my apprehension, the dew point is supposed to be in the 60's.

So far, the forecast is correct. The water is 56 degrees. It's so humid, there is a heavy fog. That causes the race to be delayed for half an hour. With the fog we can't see the swim buoy's. The race finally starts. I'm in the second last wave which starts at 8:00. I know I will hyperventilate as soon as my face hits the water. So I stay in the back of my wave. We have to run for about 100 yds before the water is deep enough to swim. That helps get adjusted to it a little. I try swimming but it takes my breath away. I do the breast stroke and keep trying to relax. After another 50 yards, I'm finally adjusted. I'm either too numb to feel the cold or I'm generating enough heat to make it bearable. I'm now starting to pass some of the swimmers I had to let go by me in the beginning. As I make the final turn and get to the shore, I check my watch. Wow! 33 minutes. That's faster then I've ever done 1.2 miles. Either the course is short or there was a good current helping us.

I make a good transition to my bike and head out on the course. I feel good. I warm up quickly and get into a good rhythm. At 5 miles, I check my pace, 20.9 mph. I check every 15 minutes and my pace stays over 20. This could be a good race for me. Based on what my kidneys are putting out, I think my hydration is ok. With no wind and overcast skies, the humidity is not as bad as I was expecting. I ride in, make a quick change to my running shoes, and I'm off on the run.

It doesn't take long before I have to stop to pee. In a race, it seems to take forever. My legs are tired but no sign of any cramping. The sun comes out but there is a cooling breeze from the lake. I try to hold a 9:15 pace. That slows as I spend time drinking at every aid station. I finish the first loop and get a boost from my family, friends and grandkids. If I can hold my pace, I can break 5:30 hrs. That would be close to my best 1/2 IM race 4 years ago. But, my legs are too tired and I struggle just to keep running. Now, I'm aiming for 5:31. I see the finish and get lots of support from everyone. My finish is in 5:31:09. I'm happy with that time. I'm also happy that I do not have to make a trip to the medical tent, like many of my races.

I check the race results and I'm first in my age by 12 minutes. There are 9 other's in my group. I'm also 680'th out of 1,360 finishers, exact middle of the pack. I guess I'm an average triathlete.

Saturday, July 19th - Amy Belle Open Water 1 Mile Swim
Lowell, Iron Mike and I head up to Amy Belle Lake for a 1 mile open water race. It's a pretty low key event at the YMCA. It gives us some open water training. It's probably not the best to do before my 1/2 IM race tomorrow but I'm trying to look at the race as a hard training day. Anyway, I swim in my wetsuit (thus I'm not eligible for awards) and feel good. My time is 0:28:31. That's a pretty good mile time for me.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 24.2 miles. Biking 106.3 miles. Swimming 3.8 miles. Total workout time 14:18 hours. More of a recovery week.

Friday, July 18th
Still hot and humid. I ride out around Pewaukee Lake. I push part of it with 5 minute surges but overall, my pace is a little slow. Pilate class in the evening.

Thursday, July 17th
I meet our West Wood group and go out for an hour run. I'm dragging and I'm sure it's because of the humidity. Master swim goes ok. I do quite a bit of our workout with my swim buoy. Iron Mike and Mary are not here and they are the ones I usually pace myself with. Without them, I have to work to keep up with some of the other swimmers.

Wednesday, July 16th
Humidity is still high. I head out on my bike looking for a new 50-60 mile route. The roads up around Holy Hill have gotten too rough. I map a route that will take me to Bicycle Doctor's in Dousman. About 5 miles from my turnaround, I hit a bump and my pad on my aero bar breaks. That's convenient as I'm near the bike shop. I stop in and they put a temporary one on until they can get it warrantee'd. On another bump, I loose my water bottle. It bounces into the weeds and I can't find it. I still have my aero water bottle and another bottle in my jersey pocket. I stop in Delafield on the way out and back and refill them. I also buy 2 bottles of Gatorade. It's a 3:20 hr ride. When I get home, I check my weight and, in spite of all my stops for water, I've lost 4#'s.

Tuesday, July 15th
The humidity is back. I do a temp run on my 9.3 mile loop. By the time I get to North Avenue hill, I have to walk up it. The scale says I lost 6#'s of sweat during the run. In the evening, I'm back at Masters swim for the first time in 3 weeks. Even though it was not a particularly hard workout, I struggled with it. A number of times, I have to use my pull buoy to keep up.

Monday, July 14th
I'm still a little stiff. It's nice out so I run my 4.4 mile loop through the neighboorhood at an easy pace. Pilate class in the evening feels good. A lot of my muscles needed the stretching out.

Sunday, July 13th - Pewaukee Duathlon
This was supposed to be a triathlon but the water quality in Pewaukee Lake is still bad. So, they substitute a 1.3 mile run for the swim. Even if the water quality had been good, they may have had to cancel the swim as there are 20-30 mph winds and heavy waves. This is a sprint distance race with the bike 16.4 miles and the final run 5K. There are over 1,300 athletes, way too many for the course. The bike course is especially dangerous as many of the athletes are beginners riding slow and not following the rules of staying to the right of the road. They are 3 and 4 abreast at times. I have to constantly yeall at them to move to the right so I can pass. It's frustrating and the reason I will probably not do this race again. The wind has my bike time 4 minutes slower then last year. My run is also slower. I finish in 1:26:12, 3rd in my age.

Saturday, July 12th
Drive home. Do nothing.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 26.1 miles. Biking 189.3 miles. Swimming 1.0 miles. Total workout time 15:38 hours. A good bike and run week.

Friday, July 11th
I'm dreading today as I'm making the 105 mile ride alone to Manitowish Waters and back. At least it's not as cold as last week. I'm on the road by 6:00 am. I'm not as tired as I expected from yesterdays run and my pace is good, around 18 mph. I make quite a few stops and finish in 5:50 hrs. We were going to drive home this afternoon but I decide to go fishing instead. It's great to be retired.

Thursday, July 10th
It's cool this morning but humid. I plan on running part of the snow mobile trail and loop around the lake, 15 miles. I start slow and it never gets any faster. I have 2 bottles of water in my fanny pack and I carry a third as I have no water available on the run. As I run down the abandon rail road trail, I find a bunch of old rail road spikes and decide to keep them. Now my fanny pack just got heavier. It's just a long slow run that takes me 2:31 hrs.

Wednesday, July 9th
I plan on a long run tomorrow so today is biking. For a change, I start out riding east on Highway 2. That was probably not the best decision as the wind is strong out of the west. I turn at 45 minutes and begin the push back into the wind. It takes me 50 minutes back, a 28.3 mile ride.

Tuesday, July 8th
The humidity is back up and I feel it on my run. I run the entrance road back to Highway 45 and back, an 8 mile route. I push the hills and do some up tempo surges on the flat sections. In the afternoon, I swim out to the island and back.

Monday, July 7th
The weather is great and I ride out on Highway 2 to Marenisco and back, 57 miles. I ride hard and feel strong. I keep a 19+ mph pace out and back. It's probably my fastest ride for this loop. I finish with a short 3 mile brick run down the snow mobile trail.

Sunday, July 6th
Yesterday we hade our family picnic with 52 people staying at our 4 cottages. It was great. Of course, ate way too much!!! Today, I just want to spend the time with my family as most of them are heading home.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 14.7 miles. Biking 130.0 miles. Swimming 3.3 miles. Total workout time 11:04 hours. A long bike and run but low on volume of training.

Friday, July 4th
My son, Ken, and son-in-law, Mike, get me up early, ugh, and at 5:00 am, we're out the door and drive to Land O' Lakes to get in a long ride before the 4th of July parade. It's 44 degrees and none of us have any of our cold weather riding clothes. Long sleet cotton tee shirts and socks on the hands will have to do. For the first 2 hours, we just shiver and ride, waiting for it to warm up. Finally, as we leave Boulder Junction, we're warm. Mike takes the lead and the pace quickly picks up. I draft off of Ken as we ride 21-23 mph. When we get to Manitowish Waters, 52 miles, I leave them to ride back on my own. They're going another 10 miles, too far and too fast for me. My ride back goes well and I'm able to average 18.3 mph for the whole ride. As I ride down main street in Land 'O Lakes, it's 15 minutes before the parade so I have a crown to cheer me on.

Thursday, July 3rd
My legs are tired from yesterday. All my kids (4) and grandkids (7) are up here with us so things are a little hectic. I do get in a swim, about 1.6 miles.

Wednesday, July 2nd
My son, Paul, and I head out to run around our lake, 13.2 miles. It's a cool perfect day for running. After the first 15 minutes, our pace picks up and we get into a good cruse pace. At about the half way, we make the turn onto the forest road several minutes faster then our normal pace. When we finally hit the driveway, we continue on to the end of the road adding 1.5 miles to our normal route. 2:19 hours, it's a good run. Later, I get in a 40 minute swim and still feel pretty good.

Tuesday, July 1st
I feel a little better and head out for a ride down Highway 2 to Marenisco. After 12 miles, my legs feel sore and tired and I turn around and head home.

Monday, June 30th
After driving to the cottage after the race on Saturday, I spend yesterday and today fighting the cold I've had for 2 weeks. It's gotten worse and I almost wonder if I have phenomena.

Saturday, June 28th - Elkhart Lake Triathlon
We get up at 4:30 am and drive up to Elkhart Lake. I did this race 6 years ago as my first triathlon. That day it was rainy, foggy and cold. They cancelled the bike, too dangerous, and the water temperature for the swim was 60 degree, the minimum allowed for a triathlon. Needless to say, not a good first time triathlon experience.

The race is an Olympic distance, 1.5K (0.9 mile) swim, 45K (27.9 mile) bike and 10K (6.2 mile) run. My nephew, Dan, and Iron Mike are also racing. I feel good and go through my pre-race setup. The swim is a time trial start, 2 athletes start every 3 seconds. They have us older athletes starting right after the elite and pro's. That's great. I get the go and I'm off, running through the water until it's deep enough to swim. As has been happening, I find it difficult to get my breathing down and find a rhythm at the start. Eventually, I'm okay and have a good swim. The bike course is rolling hills and the wind makes it tough going. But, I much prefer this to a warm muggy day. The run is also hilly but goes well. I finish the race in 2:51 hrs and feel it was a good race for me. I'm 2nd in my age.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 28.5 miles. Biking 126.0 miles. Swimming 1.6 miles. Total workout time 13:49 hours. A couple high effort races.

Friday, June 27th
Today is a pretty much of a recovery day with only an evening Pilate class. Most of the day I spend getting ready for our 2 week trip up north.

Thursday, June 26th
I meet up with our morning run group. It's humid and I have a horrible run. I only do 4.5 miles . . . and have to walk part of it.

Wednesday, June 25th - Run to the Beach 3.3 Rile Race
This morning, I get in a good ride around Pewaukee Lake. In the evening, I head out to Pewaukee Lake to what normally is a 5K race. But, because of the flooding, the course is changed to a 3.3 mile run. So, that will mean I will have my fastest (and only) 3.3 mile race. I have a good race and average 7:30 pace with a first in my age. The best part was a friend of mine was running his first ever race. He is in his 60's and credits our Thursday morning run group with the motivation to run the race. He not only finishes, but is third in his age. It's really gratifying to see someone like him pickup the challenge of running to the limit of what he can do.

Tuesday, June 24th
It's another perfect weather day. The only negative is I have a cold I came down with several days ago. Between bouts of hacking and a bloated head, I don't feel too hot. I lace up my new shoes and head out planning on running 13.2 miles. After my first loop, I decide to extend my second loop to get in a longer run making it 14.5 miles. At 5:30, I head over to Masters swim. I don't know if it is the cold or the run but I feel exhausted. After our warm up, we start our main set. I go to the back of the group and hang on for several 100's before I call it a day. I'm just splashing water and not getting anywhere.

FULL IRONMAN TRAINING BEGINS

Monday, June 23rd
Yesterday was Sandy and my 40th wedding anaversary. We celebrated with an all day picnic in the park with my 4 kids and 7 grandchildren. It was a perfect day. NO TRAINING!

Today I begin my build-up training phase. It just means I will start doing longer runs, longer lake swims and longer runs to get me ready for IM Wisconsin in September. I planned a 70 mile ride today around Holy Hill. It's a little windy but nice and cool. After my first loop, I'm frustrated by how bad the roads have become. I can't get the mental strength to do a second loop and decide to ride out to Pewaukee Lake and back. It gets me 4 hours of riding, 67 miles. I really feel slugish and wonder if the race last weekend is causeing it.

2008-06-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 21st
I meet up with Jeff, a friend of mine, and we head out from Mukwonago for a 40 mile ride. We keep it at a very easy pace.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 6.5 miles. Biking 5.6 miles. Swimming 1.1 miles. Total workout time 4:18 hours. A complete taper week.

Friday, June 20th
It's a beautiful cool and dry day. I was planning on running 9 miles but decide on my 2 loop 13.2 mile course. The first loop goes well. I get a blister on my toe on the second loop and fade near the end. I guess I'm still not 100% recovered from the race yet. Yoga is tough because I'm stiff but I think it helps to stretch things out. Sandy leaves me a large piece of chocolate cheese cake. It't too big for one serving so I cut it in two . . . before eating it all.

Thursday, June 19th
I meet Lowell and Iron Mike and we drive out to West Wood for our group run. We changed the time to 7:00 am. I miss my 30 minutes extra sleep. Everyone is in good spirits and we run a hard pace. I get in 6.8 miles. My weight is down to 176#'s after the run. Good!! I might be coming down with something as my throat is sore but yet I feel good. Masters swim is at 5:30. I go with a positive drive wanting to do the full workout. IM Wisconsin is only 12 weeks away. In addition to (8) 50 yard sprints, we do a steady 400 pull and a 400 swim with alternate breathing. My total is 2,800 yds.

Wednesday, June 18th
Legs feel better today. I meet up with Iron Mike and Lowell and we go for an hour bike ride to Pewaukee Lake. My normal route is closed because the lake is still over flowing but I do have a way around it. I also need to start putting together my training plans for the rest of the summer to get ready for IM Wisconsin.

Tuesday, June 17th
We drove back from Kansas all day yesterday. Today, my legs are stiff and sore. I make no attampt to run or bike but make it over to Masters swim. I use my pull buoy for most of our workout to rest my legs. I also check the race results. I think the two runners listed ahead of my did not complete the full run and their times have not been adjusted. If that's the case, I might still have a chance to get an invitation to the 70.3 championship race in November. I'll just have to wait and see.

Sunday, June 15 - Half Ironman Kansas 70.3
I get up at 4:30 am. The forecast is for mid 80's, humid with afternoon thunderstorms. Right now, it's 70 degrees and sunny. It's a 30 minute drive to Clinton Park where the race is being held. I get to the park at 5:45. It gives me an hour to get ready. I'm in the 2nd wave starting at 6:48. That's good because it will get me finished early, avoiding some of the hot afternoon.

The gun fires and our wave races into the water. The swim is out across the lake and back, 1.2 miles. To keep from hyperventalating, I start slow. I get bumped a couple times and my goggles fill with water. I tell myself to just stay cool and relaxed and worry about making up time after I get into a rhythm. Other then having trouble spotting the buoy markers, I feel good. I finish in 43 minutes, slow for me but 3rd in my age.

I drove the bike course yesterday and I'm not too enthused about it. It's very hilly. Not real steep hills but very long hills and lots of them. I check my heart rate monitor and I'm going too hard. It takes about 10 minutes before I can settle down. I start drinking immediately, hoping to avoid dehydration problems. The first leg of the bike course is a 16 mile out and back stretch running east and west. The 2nd and 3rd legs run north and south. As I start the 2nd leg, a warm south wind picks up. With the wind in my face and sun beating down, the longs up hills are just killing me. By the time I finish the 2nd leg, I'm 15 minutes off my pace and fading. A cloud cover moves in making the 3rd leg not quite as draining. The good thing is the last 5 miles I have the wind at my back. I've drank 5 bottles of water and, since I have to pee, I'm hoping my hydration will be okay for the run. The 56 miles takes me 3:05, 18.2 mph. The 2 guys ahead of me out of the swim are still ahead of me, the leader by 10 minutes.

I make a good transition to my running shoes and head out on the course. It's two loops through the park and camp grounds. The hills are small and, other then the gravel on some of the roads, a fairly easy run course. My legs feel good and, after a slow first mile, I settle into a 9:15 pace. I get my water at every mile aid station and my electrolyte capsules every couple miles. I keep a slow even pace still worried about cramping at some point. At mile 10, I start to hit the wall and my stride shortens up. Just as I start the final 2 mile loop, heavy black clouds roll. Along with them, we get a wonderful cool breeze. The breeze is a huge boost to my energy and I don't care how much it rains. Much to my surprise, the rain holds off and I make it to the finish, 2:07.

The good thing is I've passed the 2 guys in my age who were ahead of me at the beginning of the run. The bad thing is 2 other guys had very good runs, at some point passed me and I'm 6 minutes behind the winner. My final time is 5:59:35. Because of the threatening weather, sever 100 athletes behind me were pulled from the course before they finished the run. They also cancelled the awards ceremony so I have no way of knowing if I'll be able to get a slot to the 70.3 World Championship. If the 2 guys who finished ahead of me decline it, I will get it. But, I really don't expect that to happen. I'll now have to work hard to win my age at the Ironman Steelhead 70.3 race in August.

Overall, I feel it was a pretty good race. But I also know I can do better. The good thing is my new bike rode felt good.

Wednesday, June 11th
Too busy to get any biking or running in. I do make it to Pilate and do a short swim after just to make sure the goggles I want to use for my race don't give me troubles.

Tuesday, June 10th
Roads are still closed because of high water so I drive over to Mitchell Park in the hope a short interval bike workout. It's also closed. So, I ride around the neighborhood for 20 minutes. Master swim is now at the Worth Park pool for the summer. It's a 50 meter pool which I don't real like. Too long! I take it pretty easy and cut out part of it. My reasoning is I'm tapering for my race this weekend.

Monday, June 9th
I've caught up on my sleep and it's back to training. I'm planning on riding today and going out to Pewaukee Lake for an open water swim at 5:30. But, the 3 days of heavy rain has streets closed and the beach at Pewaukee Lake is closed. So, I put on the shoes and go for a short 4 mile run. My legs are still not recovered. I get in some core training at Pilate class in the evening.

Last Weeks Summary: Running 29.1 miles. Biking 61.9 miles. Swimming 5 miles. Total workout time 12:10 hours. With hard workouts swimming, biking and running, it was a good week to get me ready for Kansas in 2 weeks.

Friday / Saturday, June 6th & 7th - MC200 Madison to Chicago Relay Race
It's 6:45 am and Lowell and I are on the road, driving our 2 rented vans to pickup the rest of our relay team, team "The Stick Buns". Iron Mike, my son, Paul and 3 friends, Terri, Sheryl, and Deter are in Lowell's van. Mary Jo and Mike Esser, their daughter, Jessica, and Nancy and her son, Evan, are in my van. We will all be together for the next 36 hours. We are headed to Madison for the beginning of the run from Madison, through Milwaukee, and ending at Montrose Beach in Chicago, 203 miles away. There are 110 teams in the race. Our start time is 9:00 am. Some slower teams started at 7:00 am while some of the faster teams will start later. Hopefully, we all finish about the same time.

The gun fires and our first runner, Jessica, is off. We return to the vans and head to the first exchange point, 5.2 miles away. Within minutes, a torrential rain cloud appears and dumps on her. By the time she finishes her leg, it has already stopped. The forecast is hot and humid with a chance of sever storms so we are expecting the race to be tough. Mary Jo, our 2nd runner, gets the team relay band from Jessica and is off and running. She has a 6.2 mile leg. I'm 4th in our rotation and have a 7 mile leg. My route is all down the Glacial Drumlin Trail. A very strong wind mostly from the rear helps keep me cool. I feel good and run an 8:15 pace, about 2 minutes ahead of my schedule.

After our 6 runners are done, Lowell and his van of 6 runners take over. About 2:30 pm, just before Paul begins his leg, the 9th leg, the race gets put on hold because of thunder storms ahead of us. He is left waiting over an hour before he's allowed to proceed.

Things go well for everyone. Everyone is running faster then their predictions. Our van takes over again at leg #13 and I'm back running at 9:30 pm with head light and a reflective vest with blinking red lights. My leg is 5.7 miles. The first mile is on a trail but it ends and I have to now run down Greenfield Ave. When I get to 84th Street, I exit to do a lap around the Milwaukee Mile race track at the State Fair. Although it sounds like a cool thing, it was dark, the track is banked making running hard and my legs feel like I have weights on them. I'm 3 minutes slower then what I had planned and not too proud of it.

Finally, around midnight, our van is done and we get a 5 hour break while Lowell's group is back running. They have Martin Luther High School open for us. We have the choice of the grass outside or the gym for sleeping. The breeze makes sleeping outside a little cool so we grab a spot in the gym. The gym is dark with 20-30 other runners laying scatter around the floor trying to catch a little rest. I doze off a couple times. At 3:00 am, it's time to leave.

Sometime after 4:00 am, we meet up with Lowell at leg #25 and begin our 3rd set of runs. I have leg #28, only a 4 mile leg this time. It's on trails and back roads with no traffic, easy running. I'm able to hold an 8:00 minute pace and feel much better then my second run.

We finish and Lowell's group takes over for the final 6 legs and the finish at Montrose Beach. They have some of the longer legs of 8 miles and it's warm and humid. Iron Mike is running leg #36, the last leg. We all gather at the finish line to meet him. It's about 5:00 pm. The clouds roll in and a light rain begins. Lightening in the area has the race holding up runners at the last leg. Fortunately, we're just ahead of the weather. As Mike comes in, we join him for a 12 person finish.

It has taken us 30 hours and 25 minutes. We are 62th out of 103 teams that finish, 26th out of 53 teams in the Mixed Open race team catagory.

Each of us finish with stories of how we got lost on the course, of our vans getting lost, of missing our times for transition for our runners, of running in the dark, of strangers wondering what the heck we were doing, and, of the friendships we shared with each other. It's been an adventure for the entire group.

Although this has been my 3rd relay, each has been a great experience. The greatest part is having Lowell and I being able to share this type of experience with our other 10 team mates who never dreamed or envisioned attempting such an event. We are all talking about next year.

Thursday, June 5th
Big storms come rumbling through so our group has to run inside. Since I have the relay race tomorrow and was planning on an easy run any, it's okay. 30 minutes on the track is enough.

Wednesday, June 4th
I was hoping to get in a 50 mile ride but the weather has been bad. I finally get out at 3:00 pm and ride around Pewaukee Lake, 31 miles. I don't want to get my new bike wet yet so ride the old one. I push it and average 19 mph. I follow it with a 3 mile run at a good pace. This will be my final hard bike/run effort leading up to my triathlon on the 15th.

Tuesday, June 3rd
I was hoping to get a run in but ran out of time. Masters swim is at 6:30 pm. It's a killer, 3,500 yds total. Actually, if feels good to have the masters swim ache-all-over feeling again.

Monday, June 2nd
We're back at West Wood for one more OPHARTS swim work out. It's been 2 weeks since my last swim and I'm a little apprehensive. It goes okay. At 2:00, I take off on my new bike to ride around Pewaukee Lake. After a few seat angle adjustments, it feels great. Pilate class in the evening is tough. I've been away from the class for 2 weeks and I can feel it.

Sunday, June 1st
I head out running on my Fox Brook loop, 6.6 miles. After 10 minutes, I begin a 3 minute hard, 2 minute easy effort. At 5 miles, I push up North Ave hill and finish with a hard mile back to the house. My running is still going well. I'm also keeping my weight in the low 180's.

Saturday, May 31st
I meet up with the bike group at the SW YMCA. Mentally, I'm planning on riding hard. Four of us take the lead early on. I don't know the lead guy but he pushes the pace. I can barely stay on his wheel. Finally, after 10 miles, I have another chain problem and 2 of them are gone. The 4th guy stays with me because he can't keep the pace either and also doesn't know the route. We stay together for the last 32 miles. I don't have my odometer yet on my bike but he has us at over 18 mph. For this course, it's one of the fastest times I've ridden it. I get in a 3.5 mile run at the end.

Weeks Summary: Running 23.5 miles. Biking 139.9 miles. Swimming 0 miles. Total workout time 11:18 hours. Slow start for the week but good bike effort the last 4 days. I didn't get in any swim workouts all week. Not good.

Friday, May 30th
I have my new bike and I'm ready to ride!!!! I meet up with a some friends at 2:00. They're planning on riding 3 hours, perfect. We leave from Jeff's house in Dousman headed west into a strong wind. The wind is pushing Jeff's wife and daughter around on their bikes quite a bit and they cut back early. I'm having trouble with my chain popping off when I switch to my small ring as I'm stopping. The third time it happens, I don't get the chain back onto the cassette in the rear. I clip into my peddles, spin my legs, go no where, and proceed to fall over. Klutz!!! My bike is now officially broken in with my first fall. Sam is not as strong a rider so we keep a pretty slow pace for her most of the ride. I end up with 2:30 hr ride, about 40 miles. Except for needing to make a few minor adjustments to my aero bars and seat, I like my new bike.

Thursday, May 29th
I meet up with the Thursday run group at 7:30. There are about 15 of us. I feel good and decide to stay with the lead group for a change. Everyone's feeling good and we push the pace for 56 minutes. I'm still feeling my run pace has picked up the last few weeks. Maybe it's because my weight has stayed down around 183#'s.

Yesterday, I got a phone call, one I've been waiting for for weeks. My bike has come in!!! I head out to Bicycle Doctors and spend a couple hours with Tom, the owner, getting fitted. I LOVE IT! I feel so good, I reward myself by not going to Masters Swim tonight.

Wednesday, May 28th
A cold front came through on Sunday and dropped the temperature to 24 degrees overnight. I got in a mental funk and just couldn't get myself to ride in the cold or run the last 2 days. I feel better today and delay heading home until after a good ride. I load the bike and drive to Watersmeet to ride down Highway 2 to Marenisco and back, 56 miles. There is very little wind and I feel good. I ride hard and average 19.1 mph. This lifts my spirits.

Weeks Summary: Running 26.5 miles. Biking 65.7 miles plus two spin class. Swimming 3.1 miles. 1 pilate class. Total workout time 12:43 hours. Not the training volume I was hoping for but I probably needed a little bit of recovery time.

Saturday, May 24th
It's a nice cool day, great for running. The leaves are just starting to bud out up here as it's a late spring. I load up a couple water bottles and Paul and I head out around the lake. We keep an easy pace and it takes us a little over 2 hours. Other then a few deer and an occasional car, running the forest roads is quiet and peaceful.

Friday, May 23rd
My son, Paul and I plan to do our usual run around our lake, 13 miles, but opt to wait until tomorrow. Instead, we head over the Little Duck Lake, 25 minutes and head back. We both run pretty much the same pace so he's easy to run with.

Thursday, May 22nd
I meet our run group at West Wood and we get in 5 miles. Quite a few of the group are racing this weekend so we don't push the pace. After I get home, we load the car and head to our cottage up north.

Wednesday, May 21st
I head out to Holy Hill on the bike for a 50 mile ride, pushing the middle 20 miles hard. I feel I'm getting stronger every week which is good. I add a 3 mile run when I get home, a good brick workout.

Tuesday, May 20th
This morning is my last spin class for the summer. I get a good group and I think they are disappointed that I wouldn't be there for the summer. I get in a 3.3 mile run after class. This afternoon, Lowell and I meet up with Nancy and her son. Biking is new to her and I want to help her with some of the things I wish someone had helped me with when I started riding. I find out she rode 2 hours a couple days earlier without shifting gears as she did not know how. We ride up and down Mitchell Blvd. working on a lot of biking technique. She is signed up for the Pewaukee Triathlon so she will need to bike a little more to get ready. Masters swim in the evening is pretty routine, 3,000 yds of torture.

Monday, May 19th
I meet our swim group and have them do a shortened form of the workout we did at Masters swim on Thursday. We get in a pretty hard 2,400 yds. Running is all about having good days and having bad days. Today was a very good day. Around 2 PM, I headed out for my 6.6 mile Fox Brook loop. After 15 minutes of easy running, I started a series of (6) 3 minutes hard / 2 minute easy intervals. I then pushed it up North Ave hill and finished with a 7:37 minute mile. It feels great. It's one of the faster times I've done this loop in years and I have no idea why.

Sunday, May 18th
I meet 3 of the runners from the West Wood Beginning Triathlon training program at 8:00. Two of them are pretty good runners already. Cindy is new to running. I introduce them to a new word, fartlek. They initially weren't sure if I was serious or just making up a strange word. Gary and Jamie went out on the trail to run together while I stay with Cindy. After 15 minutes of easy running we started back, running fartleks. She now knows that the telephone poles along the trail and other land marks are objects you run very hard to get to, but then get to walk and catch your breath. It's was great to see her get into it and run harder then she ever has. We did the run as part of tri-Sunday so I headed to the spin class after the run. 50 minutes of that was followed by 15 minutes in the pool. I didn't really feel like swimming so I helped clean up the spin room and then worked with coaching some of the swimmers who were struggling with their technique. So, overall, it was gratifying being able to help others in their journey to do something athletic. It made for an easy training day, too.

Saturday, May 17th
I pick up Iron Mike and we head over to the SW YMCA to meet up with the TriWis Triathlon Team's Saturday morning ride group. About 10 people show up. They're all riding the 42 mile course. I'm with the lead group for the first 5 miles and pull up to check with Mike. He's dropped way off the pack so I circle back to make sure he's ok. He's fine but just lacking the energy. It's windy so I take the lead so he has someone to draft off of. It's a 2:30 hr ride. We have a few minutes so we head our for a 15 minute brick run before heading home.

Weeks Summary: Running 23.9 miles. Biking 93.3 miles plus one spin class. Swimming 4.4 miles. 1 yoga class. Total workout time 14:16 hours. A good training week. I'm especially happy with my running recovery after the 50K.

Friday, May 16th
It's sunny cool and windy, nice day for a run. I've got a 9 mile temp run on my plan. The first 15 minutes I run easy. Then I go 5 minutes hard, 1 minute easy four times. A lot of it is into the wind and hard. It averages to about 8:50 pace. I feel good.

Thursday, May 15th
It's a nice cool morning and our group meets for our Thursday AM run. I feel good and nothing is hurting. We run for an hour at 8:30 - 8:45 pace. I hit the scale after our run and surpise, 178#. I'm going to have to eat a little more - - - not! Master swim in the evening also goes well. We do 4 sets of 2x100 pull on 2:00 minute intervals (I swim at 1:35 each), 4x50 swim on 1:00 minute (I swim at 0:50 each), 2,950 yds total. The bad news today is I miscounted our MC200 team and we are still short one runner.

Wednesday, May 14th
It's windy again today but it's cool and dry. I wait until early afternoon for the sun to come out and head out on my bike for my 50 mile Holy Hill loop. The first 15 miles I ride a moderate pace. The next 20 I push the pace. I found my heart rate monitor so I know for sure I'm riding in my training zone 3 and 4. I get the wind at my back the last 15 miles. I average 17.2 mph which is just okay. I was thinking of running 4 miles after the ride but talk myself into believing 3 would be good enough. My legs have no energy and I'm tired. The good news is I got 12 people now signed up for a MC200 relay team. The MC200 is a 12 person race from Madison to Chicago, 200 miles of running. It's June 6th and 7th. I've done this one before and it's a lot of fun. 10 of the people on the team have never done anything like this so it will be a new experience for them.

Tuesday, May 13th
I only have 3 show up for my 9:00 AM spin class. Disappointing! At 2:00 PM, I force myself to go for a short run. Mentally, I'm in a little bit of a post race drag. I run it slow as my legs are still stiff. I have a 1/2 IM race in 5 weeks so I need to get my butt in gear pretty soon. Master swim is pretty laid back again. We spend quit a bit of time working on turns, wall and flip. I am still a complete zero doing flip turns. I use a nose plug to get past the normal water-up-my-nose problem but still get a head ache from simple summersaults in the water.

Monday, May 12th
Yesterday was a recovery day. This morning, Lowell, Iron Mike and I head out to West Wood for our Monday swim. We have a 500 yd time trial and are fretting about it. We'd rather run 31 miles then swim 500 yds. I don't record my time. I know it's slow as I was swimming for survival. The rest of the day, I vegetate.

Saturday, May 10th - Ice Age 50K (31 mile) Trail Run
I meet up with Lowell and Iron Mike and we pick up Nancy, a super runner I talked into doing the race with us. I meet lots of my old trail running friends out at the race. It is an absolute perfect day for this run, mid 40's, low humidity, no wind and a slight over cast sky. We run together most of the first loop, a very narrow, hilly, 13 mile section of the Ice Age trail. Nancy takes 2 falls. The rest of us are able to stay vertical. It takes us 2:52 hrs. From here we do (2) 9 mile loops. These trails are much wider and easier to run on then the first section. Iron Mike, another friend, Mike and I stay together while Lowell and Nancy charge ahead. At mile 18, Mike is having knee problems and Iron Mike is struggling a little. We separate and I run on ahead of them. At mile 22, I'm at 4:39 hrs. I've got one more loop. They tell me Lowell and Nancy are about 11 minutes ahead of me. I feel good and take off with a purpose to catch them. About 3 miles down the trail, Nancy is struggling with a sore knee and I catch up with them. My tank suddenly goes empty and I now have to work to stay with them. We walk quite a bit after that. In the mean time, Iron Mike is like a rabbit on steroids and also catches up. I had though he might have dropped at mile 22 but he kept going. So the 4 of us are back together. With about 3 miles to go, Nancy's pain killing drugs kick in and she and Lowell are back in the run. Iron Mike picks it up another gear and is able to stay about 50 yds back of them. I'm left anther 50 yds back unable to close the gap. We are on a roll and all finish about a minute apart. My time is 6:29:20. Nancy finishes 3rd in her age while Lowell and I are 2nd and 3rd in our age, 60-64. Iron Mike is still the "kid" at 59 and has to be satisfied he beat me for the first time.

Weeks Summary: Running 36.6 miles. Biking 104.9 miles plus one spin class. Swimming 4.4 miles. 2 yoga, 1 pilate class. Total workout time 20:47 hours. A good volume and intensity training week.

Friday, May 9th
I decide to give my legs a rest for the race tomorrow. I hit the 4:30 yoga class and that's it for today.

Thursday, May 8th
I meet our run group at 7:30 and we go out for 45 minutes at an easy pace. After a short stop at Penara's for coffee, I meet Lowell at noon for a ride around Pewaukee Lake, 34 miles. I have to make Lowell a stronger biker so he can qualify at IM Wisconsin for a Hawaii slot. So, I make him pull most of the ride. With a strong NE wind, it's a little harder then normal. Fred and most of the Masters swimmers are still recovering so my evening swim workout is a little more laid back. We do a lot more kicking then normal which, having run and biked earlier, is a little tough. I get in 2,650 yds.

Wednesday, May 7th
I head out on my bike for my 50 mile loop around Holy Hill. A stiff NW wind makes the first 15 miles tough riding. The ride back of course was a breeze. I average 17.2 mph, about normal for me on this route. I meet Iron Mike at 4:30 for pilate. As expected, I get cramps from having ridden earlier.

Tuesday, May 6th
I get 10 people for my Tuesday, 9:00 AM spin class. After class, I give Tom at Bicycle Doctors a call to find out the status of my bike. I'm expecting it to be 4-6 weeks, at best. He tells me mid May. YEA! This makes my day. I also get an update on the Wisconsin Masters swim team that competed at the Nationals in Texas last week. 24 of the 35 on the team were from my Masters swim group. The team was 15th nationally with 93+ medals (top 10 finishes). One from the team set a new national age group record in the 50 backstroke. I mention all this as I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, I'll go next year. It'll be a new challenge. Hardly any of the group shows up for our evening practice. I feel strong and have a good swim, 3,100 yds.

Monday, May 5th
We meet up at West Wood for our Monday group swim. We do 2 sets of 6x50 hard on 1:30 interval and 3x100 on 2:00 interval, 2,400 yd total. This afternoon, the weather is nice and I head out for a tempo run. My knee is still bothering me and, after 5 minutes, I decide to practice what I preach, don't try to run through injuries. I've done some research and I think I have what is called, runners knee. The primary cause is weak quads not holding the knee cap in alignment. So I walk back to the house and start on my quad strengthening exercises. At 6:30, I get to pilate.

Saturday, May 3rd
Yesterday I spend all day being a handyman at my daughter's house in Madison, i.e., my off training day. This morning, a bunch of us meet out at Lapuum Peak at 7:30 to run trails. Just like the last 2 Saturday's, cloudy, cool and a hint of rain. Thirty minutes into the run, the rain arrives. It's a light rain for the next 2 hours. The rest yesterday helped and I feel pretty good. We get in about 14 miles, our final training for next weeks 31 mile trail race. It's not nearly as long a run as we should be doing but, at this point in my running life, it's all I feel like doing. The good thing is my knee felt better during our second loop then it did in the first loop.

Weeks Summary: Running 32.4 miles. Biking 50.2 miles plus two spin class. Swimming 5.0 miles. 1 pilate class. Total workout time 14:47 hours. A good training week.

Thursday, May 1st
My legs are just plain tired and my knee hurts so my run with our group this morning is very slow, 9:30 pace. We go about 6 miles. When I get to Masters swim at 6:00 PM, I'm in no mood to swim. With Fred, our coach, and the rest of the team in Texas, 8 of us are left to pound out our workout. My warm up is 500 yds, followed by 6x50, 1/2 length breast stroke, 1/2 length swim. Our main set is 200 pull, 200 kick, 200 swim, two times 100 pull, 100 kick, 100 swim, and four times 50 pull, 50 kick, 50 swim. We take about 10 seconds rest between each. Cindy, Iron Mike and I are in our lane. In spite of my mental funk, I'm determined to stay with Cindy. I keep with her on the pull and kick but always loose ground on the swim. To keep up, I only get 5 second rest. After a 100 yd cool down, we kick a 50, 100, 150 and 200 yd set. Both Mike and Cindy are fighting cramping so we aren't able to do them together. Finally, with a cool down, I'm at 3,400 yds. It's a good swim to get my head back on track.

Wednesday, April 30th
At noon, Iron Mike and I head out to ride our Holy Hill route, 50 miles. It's cool and a little windy but at least there is some sun shine. To keep Mike with me, I don't push the pace. It's a 3:00 hour ride. I get in a 3 mile run after the ride, my first brick workout this year. The rest of the day, I feel exceptionally drained and do pretty much nothing. I'm also struggling with the reality of being an old athlete, not being able to run and bike faster, being with lots of people who use to be slower then me but now are faster, and just feeling sore, slow and tired so much more then I use to. I know getting through the summer training for IM Wisconsin is going to be harder then ever. If I feel this fatigued after riding only 50 miles, how will I feel after 75-100 mile bike rides?

Tuesday, April 29th
Spin class instruction at 9:00. I get only 5 so it's fairly low key. I give Bicycle Doctor's a call to find out the status of my new bike. They don't have a shipping date yet. Darn!!! Most of our Masters swim group is headed to Texas for the US Masters Swim Meet later this week so they have a taper workout. Those of us not going get to do 3 sets of 50, 100, 150, 200 yd ladder swims on interval, 2,800 yd total training.

Monday, April 28th
I'm off to West Wood to swim. We do 3 sets of 3x100 yds on interval. It's goes ok. It's supposed to rain so I head out for an easy run around the neighbor hood, 4.4 miles. Pilate at 6:30.

Sunday, April 27th
It's Tri Sunday at West Wood. In spite of temperatures in the upper 30's and gusty wind, about 25 people show up. We run about an hour and then do the indoor cycling for an hour. I'm in charge of leading the cycling. I get a lot of complements after the class from people that liked it. We end with 30 minutes of swimming in the pool. I really don't feel like swimming so spend quite a bit of the time helping some of the group that really do not know how to swimming. Having had to go through it myself, I know how hard it is to learn to swim.

Saturday, April 26th
Storms came through last night and now it is cold, lower 40's with very strong gusty winds. Lowell and I head to Lapuum Peak to get in some trail run training. The trees protect us from the wind but there is lots of areas of standing water. It doesn't take long to get wet feet. We were hoping to do 2+ loops but it's just not the best running day and we cut it short at about 2 hours.

Weeks Summary: Running 26.5 miles. Biking 99.0 miles plus one spin class. Swimming 3.6 miles. 1 pilate and 1 yoga class. Total workout time 16:11 hours. I didn't get the 17 mile long run I had planned but it's a good biking week.

Friday, April 25th
Storms are moving in so I head out for an early run. I do my Fox Brook loop, 6.6 miles with temp intervals. I also potentially save the life of a large snapping turtle that had wondered out in the road and had cars swerving to miss it. My good deed for nature. Yoga class at 4:30.

Thursday, April 24th
Our run group heads out at 7:30 AM. I run with a couple beginning triathelets. Eventually, they have to walk so I get to know them. It makes for a very easy run for me but I enjoy getting to help other people who have a desire to do a triathlon. It's supposed to rain later this afternoon so I head out on my bike for a loop around Pewaukee Lake, 31 miles. It's very windy and I really have to be careful not to get blown over. It's into the wind most of the way back, tough riding. Master swim is at 6:30, or that was what I though. They actually started at 6:00 so I didn't get any warmup. We are really short of lanes and are swimming 8 in our lane. It's a mess as half the group are very good swimmers. It's pretty much just a maintenance swim.

Wednesday April 23rd
The weather is beautiful. My body feels tired yet my training plan is to do a long bike ride. At 11:00 I head out to Holy Hill, my 50 mile route. It takes awhile but I start feeling okay. The ride goes well. I was hoping to do a brick with a 3 mile run when I finish but I run out of time. I head out to Bicycle Doctors as Tom, the owner, has another bike set up for me to try. After some fitting, I take it out for a ride. I absolutely love the way it rides. I can't resist! For those who might ask what I bought, it's a Cervelo P2C. It's a fairly high end, carbon fiber triathlon bike. It's not the most expensive but more then I paid for some of the first cars I bought. I did opt to not go with the high end carbon crank and duro ace derailer components which added another $400 bucks. Now I'll have to wait for one to be ordered. On the way home, I stop at Transition Cycle in Pewaukee for a seminar on endurance nutrition for Ironman races. I don't learn anything new, just a reinforcement on my need to do a better job of getting a working plan for the race.

Tuesday, April 22nd
I'm off to West Wood to teach my 9:00 spin class. My MP3 player battery goes dead so my music is all screwed up and I have to wing it with an old CD I have with some of the music on it. Oh well . . . I head out for a run around 2:00. My legs are still tired from Saturday and I feel like I'm dragging an anchor. I keep it short, 4.5 miles. Pilate at 6:30 is ok.

Monday, April 21st
Yesterday was a beautiful day but . . . it was my off training day. Darn!!! It's still nice today. I head out to West Wood for our Monday morning swim. Our main set is 4x150 yds with a 2,400 yd total workout. I was going to do hills this afternoon but my quads are still sore from Saturday's run so I get on the bike for an hour. I do (8) 1 mile intervals and ride the rest easy. At 6:30, it's pilate class. My knee? Still hurts on and off but it's not bothering me when I'm training. It mainly hurts when I get up in the morning or after sitting for awhile. That I can live with.

Saturday, April 19th
I wake up and my knee hurts a lot again. By the time Lowell and Iron Mike pick me up, it's feeling better. We head out to Lapuum Peak and meet up with 4 other runners from out Thursday group. We run the black loop, a hilly 7 mile trail in 1:11 hrs. The 3 of us and Nancy go for a second loop. This time we walk more of the hills. We also make sure Iron Mike doesn't loose his shoe again in the muck. We end with a 2:30 hr run. It's good training for the 50K trail run I've signed up for May 10th.

Weeks Summary: Running 20.4 miles. Biking 81.0 miles plus two spin class. Swimming 5.2 miles. 2 pilate and 1 yoga class. Total workout time 17:52 hours. My knee kept my running down but good biking and swimming week.

Friday, April 18th
It's supposed to rain but looks like it's holding off. I grab the bike and head out to Pewaukee Lake, my 31 mile loop. My odometer battery is dead so I'm not sure of my pace. I ride fairly hard, especially the hills. I can definitely feel my biking condition is not anywhere near where it was last fall. I averaged about 17.3 mph, a little slow for this route but a good start back. Yoga class is at 4:30.

Thursday, April 17th
I head out to West Wood this morning not knowing if I'll be able to run. My knee is still bothering me. I give it a try and it feels fine. We go about 6.5 miles and I keep a slow pace. After the run, still no pain. What a strange injury. Since our Master swim group is headed to the Masters National trounament next month (I'm not going), our workouts continue to be hard. Tonight we do 6x100 on 2:00, then 4 sets; 100 very hard on 3:00 x 50 hard on 1:00. Iron Mike, Mary, Collen and myself are all swimming fairly equal and push each other. We are all probably swimming our best ever with our 100 times consistantly under 1:40. Our yardage is only 2,900 but I'm exhausted from the intensity.

Wednesday, April 16th
I didn't sleep well last night. For some reason, that's often the case after a hard swim. It's sunny and temperature is in the upper 60's. Wow, great day for a bike ride, except there is a wind advisory out for wind guests of 40+ mph. So be it. I still head out on my 50 mile Holy Hill route. It's not too bad until the last 10 miles headed back into the wind. Ugh!! When the guests of wind hit me in the open areas, it's all I can do to keep upright. It takes 3:14 hours. I'm okay with that as it's a beginning endurance ride. Pilate class at 4:30 is tough. My legs are a little tired.

Tuesday, April 15th
I head out to West Wood to teach my 9:00 AM spin class. My knee is a little better today but not good enough to attempt any running. At 6:00 PM, I'm off to Masters swim. My heart isn't into it. That disappears once we get going. Our main workout is 3 sets of 200 pull, 3x100 swim on 2:00 and 2x50 hard on 1:10. My 100 times are 1:38 - 1:40, great times for me. After some kicking, we do 2 sets of 4x50 on 1:00, 4x25 on 0:40. I end with 3,650 yd, one of the highest Masters training yards I've ever done.

Monday, April 14th
I can barely walk getting out of bed. The knee eventually loosens up a little and I head out to West Wood to swim. We do 6x75 yd hard and 3x100 yd hard. For fun, we add 6 relay races each going 50 yds. I decide to skip all training the rest of the day in favor of giving my knee some rest.
Sunday, April 13th
Just as I expected! I probably shouldn't have run the race. My knee is very sore when I try to walk on it. But, I still meet Lowell and Iron Mike and we head out to West Wood for what is called TriSunday. It is running about an hour, indoor cycling about an hour and swimming for 15 minutes. About 25 people are signed up. Since I can't run, I jump on a bike and ride while they're out running. My knee is fine while peddling. The swim also seems to help my knee. But, it only takes an hour sitting at Penera's drinking coffee for it to tighten up again.

Saturday, April 12th - South Shore 1/2 Marathon Race
I meet Lowell, Iron Mike and Steve and we head down to Lake Michigan for the race. My knee is still bothering me and I'm not sure if I'll run or not. This is a true runnner's race. Almost 500 runners show up on a windy, cold, rainy, ugly day.

The race starts out headed south along the lake with the wind at my back. Actually, it's not too bad. But, I've run this course many times and I know what to expect. Once I get into the park area around mile 3 there are "small lakes" in the low areas covering the paved path. Everyone runs around them on the soggy, muddy grass. Finally, we get to the "big lake" where there is no grass to get around it. If my feet weren't wet up until now, this takes care of it. The 5-6 strides in 3" to 4" of water fill my shoes. I get to the turnaround feeling pretty good.

Going back isn't too bad until mile 9. The wind picks up now, white caps out on the lake, and is right in my face. For the next 4 miles, it's a push into the wind. My feet are soaked. Now, noone bothers running around the pools of water. The temperature is also dropping as the drizzle is now mixed with sleet and snow flakes. Inspite of this, I feel good and my knee isn't bothering me at all. I finish in 1:51:30, a couple minutes slower then 2 years ago. Considering the conditions, I'm happy with my time. It's good enough for 2nd in my age.

It doesn't take long after the race for my knee to tighten up. Now I can hardly walk. The rest of the day I spend in a chair icing the knee. Time will tell if this is anything too serious.

Weeks Summary: Running 23.0 miles. Biking 31.0 miles plus one spin class. Swimming 4.8 miles. 2 pilate and 1 yoga class. Total workout time 12:33 hours. Swimming was good but I didn't get enough biking or running in this week.

Friday, April 11th
I had planned on a bike ride today but the weather is cloudy, windy and just ugly. Actually, I've ridden in worse weather but I just don't feel like doing it. So, I finished up some home projects and go to yoga at 4:30.

Thursday, April 10th
We meet at West Wood for our morning hour run. Since a number of us are running the Striders 1/2 marathon on Saturday, we run mostly easy. In one of those group running moments, I do a 100 yard sprint against Nancy at the end, just to prove an old guy can still run. I win but, later, my right knee acts up and I can hardly walk. That's what I get for being stupid. Temperatures in the 30's and rain all day kills any hope of getting a bike ride in. I make it to Master swim at 6:00 and, as I've done before, forget my swim suit. By the time I get back, I've missed the warm up. Our first workout is 8x75's and I do them at 1:10 pace. We then do 3 sets of 4x100 hard with longer recovery. I hold a 1:45 for most of them. I'm still feeling stronger then normal and the swimming seems to have loosen up my knee.

Wednesday, April 9th
I was hoping to get a good ride in today but the weather is crappy. I also have an appointment at Bicycle Doctors at 12:30 to look at a new bike. Tom, who runs the shop, spends 2 hours working to get the right bike fitted for me. He finally recommends I try a 54cm Cervelo P2C verses a 56cm. Unfortunately he does not have one made up so I'll have to wait until next week. I make it back in time for pilate at 4:3o.

Tuesday, April 8th
Again I have a good group show up for my 9:00 AM spin class. Masters swim at 6:00 just about kills me. Our lane is crowded so I drew the short straw and some how end up with the fast group. The main workout is 4 sets of 200 pull, 3 x 100 swim on some interval that is impossible for me. I can somewhat keep up on the 200 pull but for the 100's, I do 2 of them and the third I do only 50 to catch up with the group. The only redeeming part is that Mike Murray, my idol that I try to keep up with, can't keep up either. The good part is I felt I swam stronger and better then I have in weeks. I end with a 3,450 yd workout.

Monday, April 7th
I have a good swim at West Wood with our OPHARTS group this morning. We do a 500 time trial and I do it in 8:43. At 1:00, I head out to do hill repeats. I warm up for about 2 miles and then run my longer hill route 5 times, each a little harder. It gives me about 5 miles. At 4:30, its pilate class at Bally's

Sunday, April 6th
Wow, still nice weather. I head out on my bike to ride around Pewaukee Lake, a 32 mile loop. My legs are a little tired from yesterday and the wind is still strong. Unfortunately, I have to ride into the wind most of the way back. It just feels good to be able to be out on the bike. I must have seen 20-30 other bikers out riding.

Saturday, April 5th
YES!!! It's finally spring. Temperature in the low 60's. I meet up at 10:00 with a big group of TriWisconsin Team members and we head out on our bikes from the SW YMCA on a 42 mile loop. I ride with the main group for about 10 miles but decide I need to pick up my pace. Eventually, I meet up with a couple other riders I know who have made a pit stop. It's more of a challenge to stay with them and makes for a good ride. Considering the slow first 10 miles and the strong wind, I'm pretty happy with my pace for my first ride this year.

Weeks Summary: Running 25.8 miles. Biking 52.5 miles plus one spin class. Swimming 3.3 miles. Total workout time 13:32 hours. An okay week with one long run and my first outside bike ride.

Friday, April 4th
Well, yesterday was a bust!! I went to the dentist to get a tooth capped and ended up getting a wisdom tooth pulled instead. They insisted I do no physical exertion the rest of the day. That killed my biking and swimming plans. But today, there is a little sun and . . . temperatures in the low 50's. I head out for a tempo run on my 6.6 mile loop. With yesterday's rest day, I feel pretty good. Then . . . out with the bike for the first time since November 10th last year, almost 5 months. I ride around the neighborhood for a half hour just to make sure everything is working okay on the bike. I plan to do a longer ride tomorrow. At 4:30, I catch a yoga class with Iron Mike and Lowell.

Wednesday, April 2nd
Well, today is my birthday. Since I won't be aging out of the 60-64 age group, it's sort of a non event. We finally have a half way decent day; it's in the upper 40's and sunny. I meet Iron Mike, Lowell and two other friends, Mike Kurth and Brian Schultz at noon and we head out on a run. It's my first run of the year in shorts. It feels great. Iron Mike, Mike Kurth and I are planning on two loops, 15.2 miles total. Like me, Mike Kurth is signed up to do IM Wisconsin. However, this will be his first IM. What makes it special is he has Juvenile Diabetes. I get a better appreciation of this during our run. He has to stop several times to check his glucose levels and adjust his insulin. When his system does not respond quickly enough to the carbohydrates he is taking while we run, we have to walk. It really helps to understand how tough it is for people with this disease. After our run, Iron Mike and I foolishly decide to try pilate again. It's a mistake we've made before and won't make again as our legs cramp and muscles are too sore to do the routines.

Tuesday April 1st
I get a good group for my 9:00 am spin class. Unfortunately my MP3 player battery dies and I don't have the right music on a CD. So, I have to wing it. After working a couple hours at West Wood and eating a late lunch, I catch a late afternoon nap. I don't often do that and end up almost sleeping through our masters swim at 6:00. Fred usually cuts back on our workout from what he gives to the better swimmers. This time, he challenges us with the full set. We do 4 sets of 150 yd pull, 150 yd swim and 4 x 50 yd swim, a 2,000 yd workout. With our warmup, drills and kicking, we end up with 3,350 yds. I feel good and I'm pleases with how well it goes.

BASE TRAINING BEGINS IN EARNIST
Six months from now is Ironman Wisconsin. So, today is the beginning of my base training. This means the next 8 weeks I will be concentrating on increasing my weekly training, especially my long runs and bike rides. I've got a good start on weekly long runs but my long bike rides is at ground zero.

2008-03-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

Monday, March 31st
I got my off day yesterday. We celebrated a "delayed" family Easter with all the kids and grandkids. As usual, it resulted in too much food, although, I did better then most holidays.

This morning, it's back to OPHARTS swim. We were going to do a 500 time trial but several of the guys couldn't make it so we delayed it for a week. Instead, we do 3x200 and then 600 yds pull. We all hate doing 200's but just needed to do them. At 3:00 pm, I head out in fog and drizzle to get in some hill running. I changed hills from last week. I found a longer hill this time, about 1/6th mile long. 5 times up is enough. I meet Lowell at Bally's at 6:30 for pilate.

Saturday, March 29th
Temperatures are still in the 30's this morning so I'm off to Bally's for spin class. I've gotten in some added riding this week so I opt to just do one class. I also don't like the instructor in the second class. I make it a brick workout with a 30 minute run on the treadmill. I check my weight, 181#, better then the 191# on Monday. A lot of it I'm sure is sweat but, hopefully, some of it is fat.

Weeks Training: Running: 28.6 miles. Biking: 4:42 hrs spin. Swimming: 4.7 miles. Other: 1 pilate, 1 yoga classes. Total 14:10 hrs. A good all around training week with added biking.

Friday, March 28th
I head over to the pool at 2:00 to get in our Masters workout. I skip some of it and, without the group, can't push near the intensity. I get in about 2,800 yds. At 4:30, it's an hour of yoga.

Thursday, March 27th
We've had some discussion with our West Wood run group on the intensity of our runs. Although for some conversation pace means barely-able-to-talk, for others it's actually being able to have a conversation. Many of us have been running this at the barely-able-to-talk pace. So we took over today's run and actually ran at a conversation pace. After yesterday's long run, I needed something slower, 5.7 easy miles. Since our Masters swim is cancelled, I have a chance to go to the 5:30 spin class at Bally's. A bunch in the class convince the instructor to extend the hour class 15 minutes . . . then 15 more . . . then 15 more. So I get in a good 1:45 hr ride.

Wednesday, March 26th
It's sunny but still cool, the low 40's. Iron Mike and I head out for our long Wednesday run. There's still ice on the sidewalks, especially on North Ave hill. On our second loop, we head over to Gebhart Rd which gives us an addition mile. It's a good zone 2 run, 2:23 hrs, about 14.4 miles. This week we are smarter and opt not to go to pilate class after our run. I hate to say it but my back seems to be getting better the last couple days. That probably means it will be worst tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 25th
Since our master's swim is cancelled this week, Iron Mike and I decide to swim out at West Wood before my spin class. I have the workout from our coach and talk Lowell into doing it with us. It's harder then our swim yesterday with our main set 3 x (4x125 yds) on interval. Our 3,100 yds is also the longest swim workout Lowell has ever done. I put together a new routine and new music for my 9:00 AM spin class and luckily, I get 11 people. After class, I stop home for a quick lunch and head over to Bally's to meet Iron Mike for a new 12:15 spin class. After I get home, it doesn't take me long to find the couch.

Monday, March 24th
Half of our OPHARTS group is out of town so we have a small group of 4 to swim. It actually turns out to be a pretty hard swim, about 2,500 yds worth. This afternoon, I was planning on an easy 6 mile run but decided to get in some added hill work arount the neighborhood. I did 10 hill repeats and push hard on the other 3 hills on my route, 5.2 miles. I meet Iron Mike in the evening for pilate.

Sunday, March 23rd - Easter Sunday
I was hoping one of my kids whould be around to go for an easter morning jog but it ended up being an Easter food feast all day. Way too many "easter rabbit" ears and similar chocolate stuff to eat all day.

Saturday, March 22nd
It's done snowing. With a foot of snow on the ground, I'm still stuck with having to do back to back Saturday morning spin classes to get in some longer riding.

Weeks Training: Running: 26.1 miles. Biking: 3:06 hrs spin. Swimming: 5.1 miles. Other: 2 pilate classes. Total 12:38 hrs. An okay week.

Friday, March 21st
Today is Good Friday. It's also bad Friday as we get socked with yet another snow storm. I skip my workouts in favor of shoveling 3 times. It's somewhere between 13"-14" of heavy snow. The worst part is, there will be no biking for at least another week.

Thursday, March 20th
Our West Wood run group is getting bigger and the pace is starting to pickup. Mike and I both have weary legs. We hold up the rear. Eventually, I try to catch the group and he takes a short cut. I can't catch them so I end up running the last couple miles by myself. We get in close to 7 miles. Masters swim in the evening is pretty normal with 16 x 100yds for our main set. I'm tired and my back is still bothering me, especially in the morning.

Wednesday, March 19th
Iron Mike meets me at noon and we head out for 2 loops out to Fox Brook Park, 13.2 miles total. It's sunny and temperatures are in the 40's so it's a good day to run. It takes us 2:08 hr. Once again, we go to pilate class after our long run and once again, we agree this is not the best thing to do. We both end up cramping and struggling to do the routines.

Tuesday, March 18th
Spin class this morning. Only 4 show up. Master swim at 5:30. Since our coach, Fred, is not here, I though I might get away with an easier workout. I did not happen. Our main set is 4x300 yds. After 6x50 kick, we do a second set, 200 pull, 2x100 swim on interval, twice. We end with 3,400 yds. My back is really bothering me after the swim so I'm back to taking ibuprin.

Monday, March 17th
Ah, yesterday was OFF day. I did a good share of eating and nothing else all day and this morning the scale read 194#. UGH! I've GOT to stop snacking and loading up at meal time. Anyway, I'm off to OPHARTS swim this morning. Our main set is 9x100 yds very hard with good recovery. It's a good workout. It's supposed to rain so I get in an early afternoon run. I do (8) 5 minute tempo intervals (3 minutes hard / 2 minutes recovery), 6.1 miles total. It's 6:30 and I'm off to pilate.

Saturday, March 15 - Blarney 5K Run
I meet up with Iron Mike at 8:15 for spin class at Bally's. Both of us plan on doing the Blarney Run at 11:30 so this is our pre-race warmup. This is not really what you should do before a race but we're both looking at the race as training. It's chilly, about 30 but not too bad for running. The race is at Hansen Park and hilly. I was hoping to do it in about 23 minutes but my legs aren't moving very fast and I finish in 23:38. Surprisingly, it's good enough for 1st in my age. A friend of mine was 40 seconds faster but he is now over 65 and in the next age group.

Weeks Training: Running: 29.7 miles. Biking: 3:25 hrs spin. Swimming: 5.2 miles. Other: 2 pilate and 1 yoga classes. Total 14:26 hrs. A good week especially running.

Friday, March 14th
After a quick hour of yoga at Bally's, I head out to West Wood to catch the 6:30 spin class with the bongo drummer. The class is almost full and I get in a good hard hour ride.

Thursday, March 13th
We meet up at West Wood for our morning run. I don't have the energy to go with the lead group and hang back with Mary Jo and Sam. We get in about 7 miles. After our run, Iron Mike and I stop at Wheel & Sprocket to check out their cross country skis. It's part of our plan to do the 50K American Birkie next year. Their skis are already put away but we learn enough to decide we probably want to get skating skis vs. classic. We also get some info on the "wheeled" skis used in the summer for training, assuming we'll train for this. Masters swim goes well tonight. Our main set is 3x100 pull and 3x100 swim done twice. We swim them very hard but on a 2:15 interval. I lead the 100 pulls at a 1:30 - 1:32 pace. Iron Mike leads the 100 swims at 1:37 - 1:39 pace. I felt good, almost like a real swimmer. We get in 3,050 yds total.

Wednesday, March 12th
Iron Mike and I head out for our Wednesday long run. It's supposed to be in the 40's but our heavy snow cover keeps it a little chilly yet. We both are still feeling tired from our race on Sunday and our pace is slower then last week. We slug it out and get in 12.3 miles. I check my weight, 183#'s. That's 8 pounds down from Monday mornings 191#'s. That's what sweating and a good crap will do. After a couple hours recovery, we go to pilate class at Bally's.

Tuesday, March 11th
My back is bothering me again. I wake up and I'm not sure if it will be okay to teach my spin class. But, as usual, it seems to get better after I'm up and around for a little while. So, I head out to West Wood and I get 7 to show up for my spin class at 9:00. Master swim is at 6:30. I'm really feeling fatigued from 3 days of hard swimming. It's just Iron Mike and I in our lane and he's feeling fatigued also. So, we slug through our main set of (3) 200 pull, 4x100 swim on 2:00 minute interval. Neither of us pushes it and swim in survival mode. Tomorrow, I will NOT be doing any swimming.

Monday, March 10th
We meet at West Wood for our Monday swim. I'm really tired from yesterday. We do two sets, one swim and one pull doing a ladder; 50, 100, 150, 200, 150, 100, and 50 yd. I'm too tired from the weekend and have to use my pull buoy for part of the swim set. My afternoon workout is a run up to the auto shop to pick up my car, a slow 5.4 mile run. At 6:30, pilate class and Iron Mike and I are both feeling pretty old.

Sunday, March 9th - Good Samaritan Indoor Triathlon
Iron Mike and I drive down to Downers Grove, Illinois to do an indoor triathlon. We swim 10 minutes, indoor bike 20 minutes and run 15 minutes. Your result is your total distance for the 3 events. For the swim, I was hoping to do 23 lengths but only get in 21, 525 yds. I'm still tired from yesterday. For the bike, I was hoping to do 7 miles and make 7.2. The run also goes well. I was hoping for 2 miles and make 2.17 miles, a 6:55 minute / mile pace. My total is 9.669 miles, first in my age, 18th out of 148 athletes.

Saturday, March 8th - Wauwatosa Masters Swim Meet
Here we go again, a swim meet. Not my favorite compition. I get all nervous waiting for my first heat, 50 yd freestyle. I make it off the starting block okay but just don't feel fluid. It showed in my time, 39 seconds, 1 seconds slower then my last race. Next is the 200 yd freestyle. It goes okay. My time is 3:19, a 1:40 / 100 pace. I was hoping for a little better but it's okay. Finally, the 1,000 yd. I make it okay off the blocks again but this time, my right goggle fills with water at the first turn. I swim a lap but it's extremely annoying having the water slush back and forth in my goggle so I stop to drain it. Not the best race strategy but, that's why I'm not a very good swimmer. I finish in 18:21 minutes, slower then I hoped for.

Weeks Training: Running: 17.5 miles. Biking: 2:05 hrs spin. Swimming: 5.8 miles. Other: 2 pilate classes. Total 11:15 hrs. A soft running and biking week.

Friday, March 7th
I need to get my car to the shop for maintenance and Sandy is out of town. It's still too cold to bike so I guess I'll have to drop it off and run home. That's one what to get in a 5 mile run. I skip pilate in favor of going to a spin class out at West Wood. It turns out to be GREAT! They had black lights setup in the room and a guy playing a bongo drum with the music. It was really an upbeat hour ride. I had to keep reminding myself not to over do it as I have a swim meet to race at tomorrow.

Thursday, March 6th
My back has been bothering me, especially at night for the last couple weeks. Nothing serious except, this morning, it's pretty sore. Since I'm having trouble tieing my shoes, I figure I should probably skip running with the group this morning. Instead, I hit the whirlpool. This afternoon, my back is still sort but no worse then it's been the last few weeks so I head over to the pool to swim with the masters. I'm mentally planning on taking it easy as I have a swim meet on Saturday and I'm doing an indoor triathlon in Chicago on Sunday. But, as usual, it's impossible to swim easy with the group when they are all swimming fast and impossible to just quit half way through practice. Our main workout is 3 sets of 4 x 100 on interval. I hold my usual pace, about 1:40 - 1:43 per 100. I feel good and my back is no problem when swimming.

Wednesday, March 5th
After our Wednesday coffee at Panara's, Iron Mike and I head out for a long run. Weather is final getting a little better, 32 degrees. We do 2 loops to Fox Brook, 12.3 miles total in 1:54 hr. We run a good steady 9:00 minute pace. After a couple hours rest, we head over to Bally's for pilate. This is always hard after a long run.

Tuesday, March 4th
Spin class goes okay with 6 people. Again, I was hoping to get in a run but ran short of time. So, that left Masters swim at 6:30. It's probably a good thing I did not get the run in as we do quite a bit of kicking during our workout. Total yards is 3,400.

Monday, March 3rd
Yesterday was my weekly OFF day. This morning, I'm back at West Wood with our swim group. We do a little longer workout then normal, 2,500 yds. I was hoping to get in an afternoon run but ran out of time. Pilate is at 6:30.

Saturday, March 1st
It's back to a Saturday double spin class, 2:10 minutes of riding. I can't wait until I can get back outside.

Weeks Training: Running: 28.0 miles. Biking: 4:45 hrs spin. Swimming: 3.7 miles. Other: 2 pilate and 1 yoga classes. Total 14:26 hrs. A good training week all around.

Friday, February, 29th
Today is pretty much a recovery day. Iron Mike and I are talking about taking up cross country skiing and doing the American Birkie next year. How tough can a 50K ski race be? We'll see. I get to Yoga at 4:30. It's a lot easier when you aren't stiff and sore from an earlier workout.

Thursday, February, 28th
Despite being only 7 degrees and limited areas on the road to run, our West Wood run group is headed outside. We've all had enough of the inside running. The odd thing is we have about 12 people this morning, more then ever before. It takes awhile but eventually the biting cold gives way to heat generated by our running. Because of yesterday's long run, I hold back to run with the slow group. I get in about 6.2 miles at 9:00 minute pace. Our main set at Masters swim in the evening is 4 sets of 4x100. We start at 1:55 interval and add 5 seconds to each set. Our pace is 1:42 to 1:45. For what ever reason, it's a little slower and tougher then our pace on Tuesday. Our second set was a combination of freestyle and breastroke. I cut it short as my right hand is just too tired to pull any more water.

Wednesday, February 27th
You would think it's spring because I'm happy to see the sun and 20 degree temperatures. Iron Mike and I get a chance to do our long run today, outside, rather then at the Pettit Center. We do two loops to Fox Brook and back, 12.2 miles. We run slow and walk the icy spots, just over 2 hours. Like last week, we make the mistake of going to pilate 2 hours after our run. The instructor has us using a foam roller which adds intensity to some of the routines. We both have leg cramps and complete the routines in survival mode.

Tuesday, February 26th
We dodged the 5-8" of snow last night and only got a dusting. No excuse for people to not show up for my Tuesday morning spin class. I get 9 people. This afternoon, I get some bad news. One of my favorite spring running races, the Trailbreaker marathon - 1/2 marathon race held in early April has been cancelled. Evedenly the race director up and quit and left the race hanging. This race has been ongong for over 15 years and over 700 people do it. I hope the director is planning on leaving town as he has failed the charity this race supports and a lot of people who were relying on his integrity. Masters swim goes great! We do 100 yd intervals from 5 down to 1. Each set we do on a faster interval. Some of my times drop below 1:40. I don't ever remember being that fast during any of our interval workouts. Total yards is 3,350.

Monday, February 25th
Ah, the beauty of it. I show up at our Monday swim workout without my swim suit. Since my shoulders are still a little sore from Saturday's mega swim, it is perfect timing. It's nice enough to get a run in this afternoon so I head out to Fox Brook for a 6 mile loop. I feel pretty good even though there still is some icy spots on the road. Pilate class is at 6:30.

Sunday, February 24th
Today was my last Cycle Challenge class, 1:30 hrs of hard spinning. I had 9 people show up which was the most I've had. I'm pretty recovered from yesterdays swim and I have a good ride.

Saturday, February 23rd - 100 x 100 Masters Swim
Today is our annual Masters 100 x 100 yd swim. 22 from our group show up for some or all of it. The format is to do 10 sets of 10 x 100, altering what we swim each set. One set of 10 might be all freestyle, another with fins, another with a pull buoy and another breaststroke, etc. We take a 10 minute break after the first 40, and 10 minutes after 70. Each 100 is done at a 1:45 minute interval. 6 of us from the slow lane cannot swim a 1:45 100 yd interval so we do 75 yds each. That means we do 100 x 75 yds which is 4.3 miles. It takes 2:55 hours.

After about 80, my stomach is not feeling good and I've got a fat head ache. I can overcome the head ache but if I have to throw up, I'll be over. Thank goodness, I don't and I'm able to slug it out. By the end, everything aches, especially the arms and schoulders. I was able to avoid any cramps I think because our pace was really slow near the end. This picture during one of our brakes pretty much tells the story of the fun nature of this group of great swimmers. Yea, I'm the bald one in the middle.

Weeks Training: Running: 20.4 miles. Biking: 2:00 hrs spin. Swimming: 7.7 miles. Other: 2 pilate and 1 yoga classes. Total 13:21 hrs. A good swim week and okay on the running and core training. Biking is still on the low side. Weight? It's still about 190#, not good.

Friday, February 22nd
I go to the 9:00 am spin class just to get some riding in. At 4:30, it's an hour of yoga.

Thursday, February 21st
The wind chills -20 to -30 this morning so our run group is on the indoor track . . . . again. My legs are toast from yesterdays run and Iron Mike and I struggle to keep a 9:00 minute mile pace. After 45 minutes, I call it quits. Recovery from long runs just takes so much longer then it use to. By the evening Masters swim, I feel recovered. We do 15 x 100 yds on interval. I keep a 1:48 pace the first 5, 1:45 the second 5 and 1:42 the last 5. It's a good pace for me.

Wednesday, February 20th
Iron Mike and I head over to the Pettit Center at 1:00 to run. I plan on 40 laps, 11.2 miles. After the first 8 laps, I do a pickup every 4th lap for 1/4 mile. Overall, I feel good. We both make it to Pilate at 4:30 which is sort of a mistake. Our legs hurt from our run and we're stiff as boards. Neither of us is able to do all the routines.

Tuesday, February 19th
Another sub-zero day and only a couple people show up for my 9:00 spin class. At least I get some biking in by doing it. I hit the indoor track for 4 miles at 8:15 pace after my class. I have another good swim at Masters. After a 1,000 yd pull we did 6 x 150 yds. I keep a 2:36 pace.

Monday, February 18th
We drive back from up north this morning. It's a tiring ride because the roads are partially snow covered and slipper for most of the trip. I do make it to pilate at 6:30.

Saturday, February, 16th
My 2 brothers, my sister and I were going skiing yesterday but it was too cold, not even above zero all day. It's cold this morning but gets to near 20 by the afternoon. It's the first time I've been skiing in over 6 years. It takes awhile but eventually it comes back. I get in about 5 hours of good skiing, good cross training. I'm definitely going to do more skiing again in the future. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. And, since I stayed on my feet all day, I have no injuries to report.

Weeks Training: Running: 20.6 miles. Biking: 1:00 hrs spin. Swimming: 2.7 miles. Other: 1 pilate classes. Total 7:03 hrs. A pretty low week for everything. Add 5 hours of skiing and it's a little better.

Thursday, February 14th
Once again, the weather is too cold and snowy to run outside. Our West Wood group stays indoors on the club track. I get in 6 miles. At least, with others running, it isn't so boring. Later, I pickup my sister Carole and we drive north to our cottage.

Wednesday, February 13th
It's too cold for a long run outside so Iron Mike and I head over to the Pettit Center. We run for 90 minutes with a 1/4 mile up pace lap every mile. We get in 10.3 miles. At 5:30, I make it to pilate at Bally's

Tuesday, February 12th
My spin class is at 9:00. I get only 3 people. Masters swim is at 5:30. As usual, I feel sluggish during the warm up but then my energy kicks in. I start in the middle of our group laps but soon I take the lead as I'm catching the feet of everyone in front of me. It's just one of those workouts where I feel like a real swimmer. My 100 yd times are 1:42 to 1:45. I get in 3,100 yds for the workout.

Monday, February 11th
I head out to West Wood to swim with the OPHARTS. For fun, we do a bunch of relay races, each swimming 50 yd legs. It turns out to be a pretty good workout. The weather continues to be very winter like but it's warm enough to get in a run outside. I head over to my favorite hill and do 8 repeats on it and get in 4.3 miles. To complete my day, I get in an hour of pilate at Bally's.

Saturday, February 9th - Cullen 8K Run
We lucked out. It is suppose to turn bitterly cold and windy tonight and tomorrow. But, right now, it's in the upper 20's, okay for a race. The route is in the local parkway where the roads are still icy and snow covered. My son, Paul, brought a box of 1/2" hex head screws which we screw into the heals and toes of our running shoes for traction. It works great. I finish in 40:01 minutes, good for 1st in my age, 102 out of 400 runners. Considering the conditions, I'm happy with it.

Weeks Training: Running: 36.1 miles. Biking: 2:03 hrs spin. Swimming: 5.0 miles. Other: 2 pilate classes. Total 12:54 hrs. A good running and swimming week. I need to get more biking in.

Friday, February 8th
Since I plan to run an 8K race tomorrow, I need to get in some biking. So, I head to West Wood for the 9:00 am spin class. Unfortunately, it's not my favorite instructor, but I get in an hour ride. Early afternoon, I stop at the doctor's office. No, I'm not injured. I need a physical because I'm changing my health insurance. Calestrol and everything was great 2 years ago when I had my last physical. The only thing was my blood preasure was a little high then. Now, it's 120/78. I give a blood sample and get a clean bill of health to continue doing what I'm doing. At 4:30, it's pilate.

Thursday, February 7th
Our group meets at West Wood to run at 7:30. It's warm enough to go outside but the snow storm has left the roads with no shoulders and to dangerous to run on. So, for the 3rd week in a row, we are forced to run inside. We do some fun speed work and I get in 5.9 miles. With yesterdays long run and our run today, my legs are really tired. Masters swim at 5:30. My back is bothering me some from all the shoveling but loosens up after we get going. Our main set is 4x125 on 2:30 and 4x(75 on 1:30, 25 on :45). We also do a lot of kicking, just what my tired legs needed. My total is 3,400 yds. It's a good workout.

Wednesday February 6th
We are having a massive snow storm. I shovel at 7:00 am and again at noon. Everything is closed but the Pettit center is open. At 1:00, Iron Mike, Lowell, and I head over there for a 90 minute run. By the time I get home at 4:00, there is another 5-6" of new snow. I shovel for an hour to get the driveway open. We're expecting more yet so I'll wait 'til tomorrow to finish. Besides, I'm too tired from the run and just need to relax. It quits snowing at 8:00 and we've gotten 16" of heavy snow. Maybe I should get a snow blower?

Tuesday, February 5th
I taught my spin class at 9:00. After, I hit the indoor track for a 30 minute run. Masters swim was a 5:30. My right shoulder is bothering me from my swim yesterday and I'm a little worried about it. Once I got going, it was okay. I felt strong and have a good workout, 3,350 yds.

Monday, February 4th
I meet up with my swim group and we have a pretty good workout. I get in 2,000 yds. I try to do flip turns again but it just leaves me with a big fat head ache. Later, I get in an hour of pilate.

Sunday, February 3rd
Friday and Saturday were days that never seemed to end as I said good-by to my grand nephew.

Today, I head out on a long run in hopes of feeling better. Most of the 11.6 miles I'm thinking of my nephew and the anger I feel for the driver of the car that killed him. Physically, I feel okay during the run. Later, I really stiffen up.

Weeks Training: Running: 15.5 miles. Biking: 1:00 hrs spin. Swimming: 2.4 miles. Other: 2 pilate classes. Total 7:13 hrs. I guess I'll log this as an ultra recovery week.

Thursday, January 31st
I meet up with our run group at 7:30. It's too cold to run outside so we stay in and run on the track. We do a bunch of short pickups very hard and keep a pretty fast pace for an hour run. At 5:30, I head to Masters. Our first set is 2 x 100 on 1:50 interval 3 times with 30 seconds between each. This is a step up from our usual 2:00 interval. After some kicking and dive start practice, we do 3 sets of 3 x 100. The first is 1:50, second 2:00 and third 2:10. I keep a 1:41-1:45 pace. I feel pretty good with that.

Tomorrow, we leave for Arcadia, WI. The funeral is on Saturday. I will always remember this week!!! Every time I think about it, I get a knot in my stomach that doesn't want to go away.

Wednesday, January 30th
I had planned on a long run today but the frigid cold and a heavy heart keeps me inside. I finally get out to pilate at 4:30.

Tuesday, January 29th
I teach my spin class at 9:00 with a plastic smile on my face. A major wind and cold storm is pushing through in the afternoon which cancels our Masters swim at the highschool. I head over to the Pettit Center and run 5 miles with 5 x 1/2 mile repeats. I just feel like I'm going through mindless motion.

Monday, January 28th
I head out to West Wood to swim. It doesn't help. My head and my heart just don't stop aching. The day is spent finding out more details about a speeding society scum of a man who runs over a 5 year old boy and drives away with no remorse. Three older brothers and sisters see it all and can do nothing. A father is putting on his boots to join his kids sleding only to find is youngest son dead.

Sunday, January 27th
It's a nice mild January day. My son, Ken, and his wife have nothing to do this weekend so drive up from Oswego, IL. We're not stupid! We know something is up. As expected, they announce the pending arrival of our 8th grandchild. My daughter, Sherry is in town also. Sherry and I and my other son, Paul, head out for a 35 minute run.

It's now around 4:00 pm when the phone rings. My nieces youngest boy, 5 yr old Matt, has been hit by a car while sleding at his home and killed. Their family has been a key part of the life of all my kids. The lump in my throat is like Mt. Everest. It's awful!!!

Saturday, January 26th
It's double spin class time. By the middle of the second class, I have sweat running out the bottom of my biking shoes leaving a small lake under my bike. Iron Mike and Carole are there for the second class which makes the time go by faster.

Weeks Training: Running: 26.8 miles. Biking: 4:40 hrs spin. Swimming: 4.9 miles. Other: 3 pilate / yoga classes. Total 15:23 hrs. Good running week. Not so good weight at 191#.

Friday, January 25th
It warms up a little so I head out to do some hill repeats. I've got a moderate hill that takes me about a minute to run up. I do it 8 times and get in 4.3 miles. I skip my Friday afternoon swim workout but still go to pilate.

Thursday, January 24th
Sanity prevails. It is -10 degrees with a -25 wind chill. Dan and Andy from our group are ready to run outside this morning but we convince them it just isn't worth it. We head up to the treadmills and ran an hour. It's a much better workout then we would have gotten running outside. I'm still feeling fatigued when I get to masters swim at 6:00. I decide to swim at the back of our group so I don't slow anybody down. It's a struggle. I do get in 3,100 yds.

Wednesday, January 23rd
It's just too cold for a long run outside. I head over to the Pettit Center where they have an indoor 1/4+ mile running surface around the ice rinks. I run for 1-1/2 hrs, 10.1 miles at 8:45 - 9:00 pace. It's an okay run. After, I head to pilate at Bally's. My legs, especially quads, are pretty sore from the run. It makes for a hard class. I'm responsible for coordination tomorrow mornings West Wood run. Weather forecast is for -5 to -10 with a wind chill of -20 to -25. I think we will be running inside.

Tuesday, January 22nd
I should have figured today was not going to be a good day when I left my biking shoes at home. So, I end up teaching my spin class in running shoes. Masters swim at 6:00 pm is awful. For whatever reason, I have no energy. Our main set is 400 yds, 8x50 on interval, 300 yds and 6x50 on interval. I find myself completely exhausted. If it wasn't for the group, I would have quit. Our total is 3,300 yds.

Monday, January 21st
Our OPHARTS meet at the pool at 8:00. We swim our workout and get in 2,300 yds. By noon, it's snowing. It's a beautiful snow, light and fluffy. By 2:00, it's snowing hard and I can't resist going out for a run. I stay in the neighborhood, circling the streets for a little over an hour, loving the snow like a little kid. At 6:30 I'm off to pilate.

Sunday, January 20th
I meet Andy out at Westwood for my cycle challenge spin class. Not much of a challenge as only 4 people show up. I get a good 90 minute workout so that's ok.

Saturday, January 19th
It's 4 below zero so I won't be running outside. I head over to Balley's and do the 2 morning spin classes.

Weeks Training: Running: 21.7 miles. Biking: 3 hrs spin. Swimming: 6.2 miles. Other: 3 pilate / yoga classes. Total 14:00 hrs. Good running and swim week. Wgt still at 190#.

Friday, January 18th
I head over to the Balley's at 3:00 to meet with Iron Mike to swim. We don't feel like doing a ladder workout and opt to do 20 x 50 yds. It's an okay effort. I have enough time to get on the treadmill for 20 minutes before the 4:30 pilate class.

Thursday, January 17th
I meet up with my Westwood run group at 7:30. The trail is snow covered again so we're back on the roads. As usual, the pace picks up after about 10 minutes. Our runs are all suppose to be at conversation pace. Magen, known by all of us for her continuous conversation, and Lowell, never lost for words, lead the pack. Iron Mike and I have no idea what they are talking about because their running well ahead of us. We're not talking because it takes every ounce of our breath to keep from falling behind too much. I do feel my running legs coming back and have a good run. We go for 56 minutes. Masters swim is at 5:30 pm. I continue to work on my stroke flaws that Fred pointed out to me. I also feel I'm swimming better then I ever have. I use to feel I only had one speed, slow survival. Now I feel I actually have a fast and slow speed. I even participated in some team relay practice dives. I get in 3,100 yds.

Wednesday, January 16th
It's a nice winter day, near 40 and sun shine. A great day for a run. I head out on my routine 6 mile loop to Fox Brook Park and back. I check my log and I haven't been out on this loop since early November. I feel good and keep a 9:00 minute pace. After stretching, I head to the club for an hour of pilate / yoga.

Tuesday, January 15th
I'm off to Westwood to teach my 9:00 am spin class. I have 10 show up which is twice as much as normal. I hope that's a sign people like my class. After class, I get on the tredmill for 30 minutes as I try to get my running back. At 6:00 pm, it's Masters swim. My back is still tight but it doesn't bother me while swimming. Our main set is a 1,000 yd pull, my speciality. I end with 3,000 yd. Fred, our coach, is starting to give us feedback on our video taping. I watch myself and it's not wonder I'm so slow. I was doing just about everything wrong on the tape that I though I had corrected. My right arm is recovering way too high and extending out too far, my left arm is too deep and not making the 90 degree elbow bend and my legs are way outside of my slip streem. My breastroke form is actually better than my freestyle. Now, my expectation is I will correct my form and I will suddenly be faster. RIGHT!!!!

Monday, January 14th
I'm still a little sore from yesterday, especially my lower back. I've had lower back problems in the past so I'm a little concerned about it. I start taking Ibuprin as a precausion. Anyway, I still meet up with our OPHARTS at 8:00 am to swim. Unfortunately for me, we have a 500 yd time trial. I really struggle just to finish it. It's slow but I figure my 500 yd race yesterday was my real time trial. We get in 2,300 yds.

I plan on getting a run in this afternoon but it's cold and a little snowy. That sends me to the treadmill at the club for 3.5 miles of intervals. At 6:30, I meet Iron Mike for an hour of pilate. That seems to loosen up my back a little.

Sunday, January 13th - Pabst Farms YMCA Masters Swim Meet
Wow, I have to write about this before I forget it! I consider this my first real swim meet. I've entered the 50 and 500 freestyle races. One of our swim group also talks me into entering the 4 x 100 relay. The first is the 500 freestyle. I'm in the 2nd heat with Iron Mike. I decide to be conservative and do a deck start verses starting from the higher starting blocks. The horn blasts. I proceed to have my feet slip out from under me on the deck which produces a racing dive that looks fairly similar to a belly flop. From that point on, I could pretty much see everyone in the lines around me as they were ahead of me. I get into a conservative pace as I have no idea how hard to swim. Before I know it, I'm on my last lap with too much energy. I was hoping to do 9:00 minutes and come in at 8:56. That's Okay. On the other side, Iron Mike beats me by 20 seconds. UGH!!!!

Next it's the 50 freestyle. I'm in heat 3, again with Iron Mike. This time I start from the starting blocks. The horn fires and my dive goes, I guess, okay. I've got my arms and legs moving as hard and as fast as I can. Just like that, it's over. I've never race anything this short. My time, 0:38. I beat Iron Mike by a couple hundreds of a second. Yea!!! To put things in perspective, one of our team swims it in 0:22 seconds.

Finally, it's the 4 x 100 relay, the last race of the meet. We have two awesome swimmers and then Mike and I. But, since we are the only team . . . we win!!!

Okay, I look at the age results. I have two first and a third place. Wow, that sounds good. I also was LAST in every event I swam. Wow, that sounds bad. How does that happen?? I was 3rd in my age in the 50 freestyle. There were only 3 in my age, i.e. last. I was 1st in my age in the 500 freestyle. I was the only one. That makes me also last. We won our relay, the only team, i.e. first and last.

I have a good time and will do it again. After the race, our great Master group gathers at the Delefield Brewhaus for some refreshments. This is my education into post swim meet fluid and nutrition replenishment. I also experience post swim meet muscle impact. My neck, back and arms are sore.

Saturday, January 12th
Today is the beginning of my return to more biking. I go to the 8:15 and 9:30 spin classes to get in 2+ hours on the bike. It's a good workout.

Weeks Training: Running: 15.1 miles. Biking: 3:10 hours (spin). Swimming: 5.7 miles. Other: 2:40 hours. Weeks total: 12:20 hours. I'm still pushing the 192+ weight. UGH!

Friday, January 11th
Lowell gave me some bright orange Puma running shoes. I want to try them out so I go to Bally's and run in the treadmill. I do 13 x 1 minute intervals working up to a 6:50 pace. They feel OK. Lowell is suppose to meet me at 3:00 at the pool but doesn't make it so I swim on my own. The run tired me out so I do 3 x 400 slow easy sets. From here I head to pilate for an hour of core workout.

Thursday, January 10th
I meet up with my running group at 7:30. Most of the snow is melted so we're able to run the trail. We go about 7 miles. Masters swim at 5:30 continues to be hard. Our main set is 10x100 at our 2:00 interval. I'm able to keep a 1:45 - 1:47 pace without feeling over extended. I total 3,000 for the workout.

Wednesday, January 9th
It's a half way decent winter day so I head out for a short run. I do my 4.2 mile route along with some running drills. Unfortunately, my ankle that I thought was 100% is only at 90%. But, I can still run without pain. So I do! At 6:30 I'm off to pilate.

Tuesday, January 8th
I haven't been on a bike in 2 weeks. So, today was like a restart of my bike training. I have 5 show up for my spin class. At 6:00, I'm off to swimming. Someone must have angered our Masters coach because our main set was a monster. We do 3 sets of 200 pull, 4 x 100 on 2:00 interval and 100 easy, 2,100 yds total. With warm-up, kicking and drills, I end up with 3,300 yds. I go home sore and exhausted.

Monday, January 7th
Sunday was an OFF day. Today, my ankle feels OK from yesterday's run. This is good. I meet up with our OPHARTS swim group for our Monday morning swim. It's not as hard as our Masters swim but a good 2,300 yd workout. My afternoon workout consisted of making 58 trips from the upstairs bathroom to the basement as I made attempt after attempt to solder in a new shot off valve that had started leaking behind the bathroom tub. I finished at 6:00 pm with enough time to make it to Bally's for Yoga.

Saturday, January 5th - S-NO-W Run
This is the 11th time I've run the Lake Geneva 5 mile S-NO-W run. The great thing is, it has become a family event. My 4 kids, spouses and 7 grandkids were all there. My daughter, both sons and my son-in-law all run it. The race is at 2:30 followed by a big party. This is followed but ordering in a bunch of pizzas and a stay overnight at the Grand Geneva Hotel. Although I was able to win my age (they have single age groups so I was the fastest 62 year old), it is an awful slow race for me. My lack of running because of my ankle is really evident. My time, 39:52, is 2:15 minutes slower then last year. The good thing is I'm back running 90% pain free.

Weeks Training: Running: 13 miles. Biking: None. Swimming: 3 miles. Other: 55 minutes. Weeks total: 5:07 hours.

Friday, January 4th
I feel especially stiff and sore from yesterdays run and swim. It really makes me feel like this might be the year I will have to slow down. I hope not. Anyway, I meet Lowell and Iron Mike at the pool at 3:00. We do a ladder workout 50 to 200 and back down. I'm disappointed as our lap time is slower then they were in December. After, we go to Yoga class. The swimming makes the class even harder. I also send in my entry for a swim meet next Sunday. Now, I will be dreading it all week.

Thursday, January 3rd
Today is the beginning of my 2008 journey. I have spent the past week plus eating and NOT doing any training. I feel guilty about it and will now pay the price. I get on the scale this morning, 196 pounds. That's the most I have weighed since I can remember. Physically, I'm also in not too good a shape. My sprained ankle from Thanksgiving is still bothering me. My thumb I sprained in my last race in November is still sore. My right middle finger knuckle is grinding like the cartlidge is damaged. I have no idea where that came from. I have a cold I've had now for 3 weeks. I'm having lots of problems hearing and this may be my year for a hearing aide. My left eye and contact have been bothering me. I have two teeth that need caps. My wife and my doctor think I should have a colonoscopy this year. And, I feel fat! This is where it starts.

I head out to West Wood with Lowell and Iron Mike. It is 1 degree above zero. It is COLD! As Lowell said, if running in cold was easy, everyone would be doing it. So, 6 of us head out. My ankle is bothering me and I hope we cut it a little short of the 1 hour we plan on running. But that doesn't happen. We end up around 8 miles, 1:13 minutes. I have a 2 inch icicle hanging from frozen sweat on my hat.

It's back to masters swim at 5:30. After our warm up and kicking set, its 4 x 150 on 3:00 and 6 x 100 on 2:00. We do our 150's at 2:42, our 100's at 1:46. By the end, we have 3,200 yds and my right hand is cramping up. When I get home, I ache all over. I know it was a good workout to get me back going.

January 1st, 2008
You may have followed my BLOG in
2005 at http://www.theroadtokona.blogspot.com/.
2006 at http://www.theroadtokona2.blogspot.com/.
2007 at http://www.theroadtokona2007.blogspot.com/
If you did not follow it, here is a little background

As part of my journey to do the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon Race, I have embarked on an effort to support Juvenile Diabetes. What is a Juvenile Diabetic's Race? Before you begin following me on my Ironman journey, there is something I would like you to consider. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, I was part of a group of athletes entered in the Ironman Wisconsin Race that took on the challenge of trying to help the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Wisconsin, JDRF. Along with this, Janus Corporation, a partner with Ironman, also contributes to charities chosen by the athletes. IM Wisconsin's athletes have been raising over $1,000,000 each year for local charities. We have raised over $48,000 for JDRF.

While running, I've made a new friend this year. He has decided to enter Ironman Wisconsin. He has Juvenile Diabetes. This will make raising money for JDRF even more important to me. My journey this year will end. The journey of those with juvenile (often referred to as Type I) diabetes will go on for a life time. My daughter also has Juvenile Diabetes. When you read my BLOG story and her story on my 2005 and 2006 blogs, keep in mind I have chosen this journey. Those with juvenile diabetes have not. To survive, they have to check their blood sugar 8-10 times a day, 3,000+ times a year, take insulin, and know that the rest of their life will be a constant challenge. Diabetes effects on the kidneys, circulatory system, etc. are well known. Please, please read the beginning of my 2005 and 2006 BLOG's to get more info on why this is important to me. I will be posting more information on how you can help later.