Got Sweat?

Today I was supposed to do a two-hour run, but this nagging foot injury has me somewhat sidelined. Instead I headed to the gym for two hours of aerobic action. Strapped on the iPod and hopped on the elliptical trainer between a couple of the regulars (so I assume). The retired male contingent generally gives younger men the cold shoulder in these situations. Not sure if it’s ‘cause they think I should be at work “paying my dues” or if I’ve somehow upset their daily equilibrium. Then again, maybe they’re just threatened by my good looks. :-)

But I digress… This ended up being an unintentionally important training day. I determined my “sweat rate.” Ya, I know, pretty disgusting, but also extremely important. I should have done this long ago.

In two hours of jumping from elliptical-to-treadmill-to-elliptical-to-treadmill (AAAAAARG!!!) I lost more than five pounds of fluid. Holy dehydration, Batman! Just think how much fluid I’ll need to ingest at Ironman! Needless to say, I’m definitely planning to make use of all aid stations on race day. As they say, hydrate or die...

A side note – When I was about 1-hour and 50-minutes into my sweat-a-thon WGAL News 8 sportscaster Mike Hostetler stepped onto the treadmill next to me. That didn’t last very long. He moved a couple machines away when he realized he was in my spray zone. :-)

Belated Father's Day Message

Warning – This post has absolutely nothing to do with triathlon training.

A friend of mine recently lost his father to cancer. That event and the long, lonely car ride to Lake Placid had me reflecting on my own experiences – both as a father and the fond memories of my own dad.

I had a pretty unusual father-son relationship compared to my peers. My dad was a product of the Great Depression and a veteran of World War II. He went to college on the G.I. Bill. He retired when I was in junior high school, so we had tons of time to spend together. We played catch, went hunting and spent a lot of time on the golf course (the “hunting” expeditions were more like hiking trips with guns and ammo). He hardly ever missed one of my baseball games... and there were a lot of them! Words that describe my dad – humble, resourceful, loyal, compassionate. He was a “people person.” I keep a photo of him with his B-29 crew on my desk at work. It reminds me of another word – Sacrifice.

I can’t imagine how different my life would be right now had I not had such stability growing up. The children served by the Bridge of Hope aren't so lucky. Most don’t have a guiding father figure in their lives. Just as I did nothing to deserve the good fortune of my family situation, the Bridge of Hope kids have done nothing to deserve their emotional and social uphill struggle.

I gave another gift to Bridge of Hope today – this time in thankfulness for my father.

Setback or Blessing in Disguise?

Ah, baseball season! It's nearly over for my boys. I'll truly miss it, as I always do. Snapped this photo of Kyle's first at bat tonight. Many years ago when I tried to imagine what my kids would be like I had visions just like this photo in my head. Life is good.

Last Sunday I completed the peak run of my training cycle. Not much to say about the run itself. It was hot and sunny. I enjoyed the challenge. It took me 2-hours and 40-minutes to finish.

My feet hurt pretty badly afterwards, most likely because I had done most of my long runs on soft trails but this one on hard and hilly pavement. As Father's Day wore on I noticed I wasn't enjoying standing up a whole lot. My right foot just wasn't recovering. As I got into bed that night I noticed the foot was discolored.

Worsened pain on Monday had me playing amateur sports medicine man. I Googled "stress fractures" and saw photos and read symptoms way too similar to what I was experiencing. Six weeks of recovery with the potential for surgery - Yikes! For 24-hours I fought the temptation to wallow in self-pity, imagining the race going on without me. Some of those around me had to fight getting sucked into my vortex of negativity!

It's Thursday now and the pain is almost gone. I was able to swim on Tuesday and Wednesday. This morning I went on a group ride and felt fine. I think I'm almost out of the woods.

Those preparing for Ironman right now are all walking this fine line. My experience is not unique. Nearly 30-weeks into my training cycle, my body and mind waver between incredible fitness/toughness and total collapse. This was a good wake-up call, with limited training impact, to remind me that I'm not invincible. I need to concentrate on being rested for my most important sessions. Mind-body awareness is now absolutely essential. I'm almost there. The work is almost done.

Back to Work

Thanks to so many of you concerned about my health. I'm doing fine, especially with the help of these get yer butt back to work medicinal aids! :-)

Ironcamp Wrap-up

Well friends, I've made the journey home safe and sound. While jumping jacks aren't on my "to do" list today, I have to say that I'm feeling very good. So good, in fact, that I was planning out my next long ride on the drive home.

I woke up Sunday and trotted out 11 or 12 miles. Many of the campers took part in the Lake Placid 1/2-marathon that day, but I was perfectly content to explore some back roads on my own. After getting cleaned-up and eating a good meal I said goodbye to my new friends and headed home for Amish Country.

So there you have it. 26-hours of training last week. 2.4-miles of open water swimming, 361-miles of cycling, something like 25-miles of running/shuffling, and one-hour in the weight room. Now I'll sit back for a couple of days and let my body absorb it's new found fitness.

The mental edge I've gained by pushing myself to the limit is priceless. There were times on the bike when I felt lousy and weak, but I was consistently able to regain my mental and physical energy to finish my workouts strong. Ironman veterans claim that's the name of the game - to remain patient and focused through your low points. You can't focus on the end result when you're at a low point. It might break your spirit. You have to focus on the moment, about what you can and should be doing right now.

My friend Steve likes reminding me of what I said to him around five years ago. The story has evolved like a fishing legend, but I believe I told him that I didn't think I was capable of running long distances. I had so many excuses - I'm a "fast-twitch" guy, I'm built like a sprinter, my shins can't take the pounding, etc, etc. One morning I decided to shut up and join him for a five mile run. And so it began...

ICEC Day #4

120 mile ride, 20-minute run.

I took advantage of an invitation to ride with Patrick McCrann and two other strong riders this morning. They had mapped out a giant loop through several small towns - Ausable, Elizabethtown, Keene, and some others I can't recall without looking at a map. The views were SPECTACULAR and the roads incredibly smooth and quiet. After about 65 miles of "easy" riding we made a difficult 6-mile climb out of Elizabethtown and descended into Keene. From that point we made a right turn onto the race course. We took turns pulling the pace line and picked up the pace a bit. We stayed together until the final few miles, when Patrick and Rex dropped the hammer. I finished a couple minutes after those guys and joined them for a short transition run.

I learned a lot today... On the ride there were several sections of course where Patrick was riding behind me. He coached me on the nuances of the race course and gave me advice on riding technique. Tonight we had another camp dinner at our condo. Coach Rich Strauss gave a fantastic Ironman racing talk. He and Patrick have coached so many folks and seen all of the classic mistakes. They've completed 16 Ironman races between the two of them.

Most folks are sticking around to run tomorrow, but the camp is basically adjourned. I'm supposed to put in 2-hours and 15-minutes of running in the morning. That won't be easy after all the riding I've done the last four days. My total milage on the bike for the week is 361. My quads are screaming right now and I'm really sleepy.

What a week! I probably won't post tomorrow 'cause I hope to clean up after my run and hit the road. Stay tuned for a wrap up report on Monday... Peace, Dan

ICEC Day #3

1.2 mile group swim, 64-mile ride.

Man it's hot! 40-degrees 2 days ago... 90-degrees today.

Twelve of us showed up at Mirror Lake this morning to do one loop of the swim course (1.2 miles). The water is cool but feels really good once you get moving. I finished in just over 30-minutes without pushing very hard. Feel really good about that.

After a quick transition back at the condo, I was off for one loop of the bike course. We started as a group but splintered pretty quickly. All told I did another 64-miles. After consulting with Patrick, my goal was to push the final climb past Whiteface all in the big ring. This week will probably be the last time I get a chance to gain any appreciable power before race day, so my motivation was high as I reeled in a bunch of riders who had gone out too hard.

It's amazing how strong I felt today. That's the whole point of this week, to go beyond my preconceived physical and mental limitations to find a new plateau.

This camp is loaded with strong athletes - especially cyclists. There's one large contingent from Boston and another from New York City. There are a few long distance travelers, too. One camper's from Ecuador. Another from Aruba. Coach Rich Strauss rode his motorcycle here from Los Angeles, conducting another Ironman clinic in Louisville, Kentucky last week.

Tomorrow I have a 7-hour ride in the planner. Thankfully the weather's supposed to cool down a bit. Even Coach P claims to be a little apprehensive about the ride tomorrow. Stay tuned for more updates...

ICEC Day #2

An "easier" day today - Rode 65-miles and then swam 1.2-miles in Mirror Lake. My riding partner and I (see photo) encountered a hostile native of Ausable Forks, NY, but managed to escape without injury or getting arrested. The weather warmed-up significantly during the ride. I was way overdressed and suffered from the heat. I shed as much clothing as would fit in my rear pockets for the final big climb into Lake Placid. I figure the added weight made for good training!

Late in the afternoon we had a grill-fest at the condo. All this training certainly gives one license to eat. I've pretty much been eating continuously since 7 am. Still feel hungry! I've burned roughly 7,000 calories over the past two days through exercise.

You can see from the other posted photo that even "ladies" have to make use virtual privacy of the Adirondak forestry. No, Lori, I did not take this photo! Four to seven hours on a bike, downing 16-24 oz of fluid per hour... something's got to give!

In my extreme fatigue last evening I forgot to mention that my front derail cable housing basically exploded as I was climbing Whiteface Mountain. Luckily I did bring a redundant bike so I could ride today as the shop made a speedy repair.

That's about it for day #2. Stay tuned for more...

ICEC Day #1 Report

112-mile ride, 20-minute run.

Woke up to 38F raw air. We launched our ride at 7 am as a group from our condo (on the actual race course) and did a quick tour of the swim start and transition area. Glad I brought my winter riding gear!

From the ski jump site we separated and went off on our own. The race course is something like this - climb, climb, climb some more, then a long cold 6-mile descent into Keene, then a bunch of flats followed by an awkward rolling 14-mile out and back, then 12-miles of mostly climbing past Whiteface and back into town.

I took about a 10-minute fueling break after the first loop and went out for a second. Overall the course is tough. The climbs are long but not nearly as steep as a lot of the hills around home.

We had major plumbing problems at our condo. So bad, in fact, that we deemed it uninhabitable! We have moved to a new location near Whiteface for the rest of the week. This place is much more cozy, but not nearly as close to town.

I'm really whipped and simply must get to bed! Stay tuned for more...

Ironcamp - The Prologue

I started packing for the trip today. Man, are triathletes a high maintenance lot?! Riding, running, and swimming gear… bicycles… food… repair kits… pain medications and healing potions. Might as well be the Lewis and Clark expedition. All I’m missing are gunpowder and beads to barter with the natives. :-)

Have to admit a little apprehension about the looming 25-hour training week. I’m already a little tired today from stringing together three solid 13+ hour weeks. Some active recovery on Monday and Tuesday should have me ready to roll come Wednesday.

Tuesday is travel and camp check-in day. The hard stuff starts Wednesday. I have some goals for the week:

• Boost cycling threshold power by 10% (in layman’s terms – get stronger!)
• Commit the race course and scenery to memory
• Convert my fear of IM distance to a confident respect
• Return home tired but healthy
  

I’m looking forward to seeing Coach P and meeting Coach Rich Strauss of Crucible Fitness. If you’re interested in a glimpse of why I’m such a huge advocate of Patrick’s training philosophy, check out the May 30 and June 1 posts on his “10-hours a week” website http://www.10hoursaweek.com/wordpress/. Rings so true with me!

I plan to update my blog daily during camp. Hope you’re able to check in on the adventure…