Kona Project: "The Hay is in the Barn"

The preparation is complete and it's time to race!

Sunday morning at 7:40 am, the horn will sound to start Ironman Eagleman 70.3 and my 35-39 age group.  As I think about it, I get butterflies in my stomach.  All the hard work over the past 8 months will be on display.

I am confident I will have a good day; a personal best in fact.  But, will it be good enough to compete for a Kona slot?  There is one slot allocated for each age group.  Any slots not taken will then be reallocated to the age group within that gender that has the most participants.  Since the 35-39 age group is one of the largest, there is a chance there will be two qualifying slots.

It pretty much breaks down like this.  I need to have a time of 4:15 or better.  30 min swim, 2:15 bike split, and 1:30 run split.  Throw in transition times and this becomes a worthy challenge for sure!

Laura and the boys will be there with my parents cheering me on.  It's awesome to have them making the trip with me.  It definitely provides a little extra motivation.

I can't wait!

Kona Project Update: "Another Two Steps Back"

Unbelievably, one day after I publish a post about feeling good and looking forward to racing Columbia, I wake-up feeling not so good.  I awoke at 4:10 am feeling fatigue and a little achy. I persevered and made my way to the gym for my morning 3500 yd swim.  Although, everything about me was moving more slowly.  I kept second guessing whether I should've have even gotten out of bed.  I did my 800 yd warm-up followed by 4x50 yd intervals.  My stroke felt good, and I thought about continuing.  But, I could feel my body telling me that if I did, I would pay for it later.  So, after 1000 yds, I got out of the pool and went home.

Laura asked why I was back so soon.  I told her I wasn't feeling well.  At this point, it was about 5:50 am and between then and 6:30 I had gotten considerably worse and called off work.  I scheduled a doctor's appointment and went back to sleep.

At the doctor's office, the nurse took my temperature, 101.2.  I expected that based on how I'd been feeling.  The doctor examined me and concluded I probably have pneumonia.  Yep, freakin' pneumonia.  How about that for two steps back!

So, no Columbia this weekend.  I'm already feeling significantly better today.  The fever is gone, but I have to get this taken care of if I want any shot at being my best at Eagleman on June 8.  I'm doing my best to stay positive.  My body has told me once again, that I need more rest.  I will make sure I get it this weekend and then go from there.  Stay tuned!

Kona Project Update: "Two Steps forward; One Step Back"

I'm learning the hard way that preparing to qualify for Kona is a "two steps forward; one step back" process.  After a solid beginning to my training last fall, I was forced to pull-back during late December and early January due to some back pain that was most likely a result of increased training and lack of maintenance work such as stretching and strength training.  Again, following several months of solid training and improvement from February through early April, I was forced to pull-back again.  Scheduled recovery from a hard block of training as well as unscheduled recovery from sciatic pain in my right glute/leg, increased fatigue from being sick, and increased asthmatic symptoms forced me to post-pone the final hard training block that leads up to Eagleman.

On Saturday, April 19th, I completed 101.72 miles on the bike with an average normalized power of 252 watts followed by a 3-mile run, on which my legs felt surprisingly good.  Following that workout, I told Laura that I was feeling strong.  Despite having some mild sciatic pain in my right glute and some normal asthmatic coughing while exercising, I could feel the improvement and benefit of all the training. It was very exciting! In the days that followed I had some severe fatigue and wondered if I had come down with mono.  My normal asthmatic coughing increased greatly and left me almost unable to take a deep breath without coughing.  You can imagine trying to train under such symptoms.  Finally, the sciatic pain in my glute prevented me from bending over and touching my toes.  I knew I had to pull-back and get my body right.

Afer talking with Coach Chad about pulling back a little on the training, I scheduled appointments with my asthma doctor and Dr. Brad at DeNovo Pittsburgh Chiropractic.  The increased rest along with a change in asthma medication and Dr. Brad's miraculous Active Release Therapy have me back in full swing and ready for this weekend's Columbia Triathlon, which is now organized and run by the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.  This weekend's race will be a small but important step in my final preparations for Eagleman on June 8.  Look forward to my race report next week to see how I did.

Kona Project Update: "Spring Fever"

Is it here, or isn't it?  I'm talking about Spring.  This past Sunday it snowed, and I did my 4 hr ride on the trainer in my basement.  Yesterday, Tuesday, it was 75 degrees outside.  It's the time of year where Mother-Nature can't decide what she wants.  However, there are undeniable signs that spring has sprung. 

1. 75 and sunny! 
2. Baseball is back!  The Buccos won their Home-Opener in walk-off fashion as Neil Walker hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the 10th to beat the Cubs.
3. And, racing season is here!!!

While my first race of the season is still six weeks away, May 18th in Columbia, MD, some of my friends have already had the races of their lives. 

Two weeks ago, Kim Schwabenbauer and Bruce Jenkins posted career days at the Asia-Pacific Championships in Melbourne, Australia.  Kim finished on the podium as the third female pro with a time of 9:10:06 and Bruce set an Ironman PR with a time of 9:46:29.  If that wasn't impressive enough, last week at Ironman Los Cabos, Beth Shutt finished as the 4th female pro with a time of 9:32:28.  Wow!!! Congratulations to each of them.  They are dedicated athletes that put in the time and energy, and they are seeing it pay off.

These inspiring performances, along with the warmer weather, has provided added motivation and energy for me.  My training has been going well, but there is plenty of work still to be done.  Working with Coach Chad, I continue to train smarter and harder than ever.  I've dealt with a few bumps along the way adjusting physically to the increased workload and intensity, but seem to be getting stronger in all three phases, as I prepare to compete with the best in my age group at Eagleman 70.3 on June 8th.

Kona Project: "A Week in the Life of...Day 7"

Friday 2/28/14

4:10 am: Wake-Up

4:55 am: Swim
3000 yds (1000 WU, 5x50, 3x400, 5x50, 300 CD) working on some faster effort/intervals.

5:55 am: Shower & Dress

6:05 am: Head home

6:20 am: Arrive home
Help get the boys ready for school.

6:46 am: Out the door

7:15 am: Arrive at Daycare
Laura and I drop the boys off.

7:35 am - 3:03 pm: School/Work Day
It's Friday!!!

3:35 pm: Pick-up the boys at Daycare
Always the best part of the day!

4:15 pm: Arrive home

4:45 pm: Tempo Interval Run
9.24 mi outside w/ 2x3 mi intervals (Avg Pace/mi - 6:33, 6:43, 6:28 & 6:48, 6:49, 6:29)

6:15 pm: Shower & Dress

6:40 pm: Dinner at Outback Steakhouse
Thanks to my Secret Santa for the giftcard!

8:00 pm: Bath, Books, Bedtime

9:00 pm: Lights-out for me too!
And it will all start over tomorrow morning...