Revamping my goals **fixed

**Looks like this didn't post correctly, so I made some corrections and added a little update below.

My goal after Ironman Lake Placid in 2011 was to qualify for Kona. There's a draw to the Big Island that is very easy to get swept up in. For some reason qualifying for Kona becomes the end-all be-all in triathlon. I remember going to roll-down the day after IMLP and even though I was tired, broken down, and didn't even want to think about racing another IM, I secretly hoped I qualified. It was as if I needed validation above and beyond the fact that I was in the best shape of my life and I just did an IM!

Thus, in reviewing my goals, I'm trying to rid myself of this need for validation.

I want to focus my goals on things that are within my control. And I'm going to layer them in tiers - the first tier being the most important, the second taking priority once the first goals have been met, and the third being the icing on the cake.

Tier 1:
 - Be happy in my life and training finding a balance of work and play
 - Be healthy and in control of my diet, weight, and rest
 - Be fit and fast through following appropriate training and completing the workouts on the calendar

Tier 2:
 - Build bike strength by riding upwards of 200 miles/week starting in May
 - Improve running base and performance by adding purpose to each and every run
 - Swim enough to be competitive
 - Build overall through regular gym sessions through April and then with decreased frequency through July

Tier 3:
 - Get damn close to 4:30 in the half ironman I will race June 1
 - Get damn close to 9:30 at IMLP on July 27

The biggest thing I'm doing is taking priority away from results. I want to focus on what's closest to me and most important in the long run - being happy. What happens on race day happens. Time is just a number, and I won't allow myself to get caught up in it.

Also, because of some family and work obligations, I don't think I'll take a Kona slot this year even if it is offered. I've teetered on this for a while, but the cost and stress just isn't worth it. If I can make it in 2014, there's no reason I can't do it some other time. And that's that.

Lastly, I had a pretty good February. Much better than February of 2011 anyway. The foundation is coming together well. It's a recovery week this week, which I needed. I took Tuesday completely off because I was running a fever. I'll get some quality in this weekend and then back to it next week.

Solid start to IM training

Things are rolling here in PA despite the weather trying to keep me inside and unmotivated. Yes, we are covered with 6-8" of snow. Yes, the temps are frigid. Yes, the roads are icy and torn up from the salt and snow plows. And yes, the trails are covered with snow, extremely wet, and pretty much useless...

BUT I'm finding my groove. The motivation is back, and where there's a will, there's a way.

The training plan I'm using started on Feb. 11, and the first two weeks have been pretty good. Not perfect, but pretty good.

It's all about developing a good base so I can handle the higher stress later. I skipped a swim last Friday and couldn't handle the 3hr trainer ride as planned on Saturday. This week I missed a strength session Thursday. If I can hit the weekend work planned (3hr ride Saturday, 1hr ride and 1.5hr run Sunday) I'll be good. It looks like it will warm up enough to get outside tomorrow. Now I just need to decide if I trash my road bike on the chewed up pavement or if I get on the mountain bike again (which I don't really like riding on the roads because I'm just wearing away tread on expensive mtb tires)... We shall see.

Looking back on my training log, I haven't done a 10+hr training week since 2011! Yikes! I'm feeling the fatigue, but I'll get used to it. Comparing this year to 2011, I had a little more time/miles in the bank going into Feb. 2011, but the training is about the same. I feel like my running and swimming are behind where I'd really like them to be, but there's still plenty of time. I'm happy to put in a good bike foundation first.

I've been thinking a lot about my goals for this race season lately, and I'll write something up in a future post. The teaser is that I really focused on goals that were out of my control in 2011, and I rolled those goals into this year without really thinking about them. I want to get away from that. I can't control whether or not I get a Kona slot. If there are 4 soon-to-be professionals in my age group, there's just nothing I can do. I don't want to put myself in a situation where I could end up disappointed, so I've got to adjust my goals to things that are within my control. More later.

Happy Friday and thanks for checking in.

PW

January in review

Well I certainly put the blogging on the back burner in January. To be honest, I think that's how it will stay from here on out. I just don't have the mojo. I enjoy being able to look back on the training log and see how I was feeling during certain parts of the training, but there are just too many things going on to keep up with it. My new blog goal is just 1-2 times per month. I'll kick this one off with bullet points.

• January was a light training month, but I got into a better routine than I had been in. I am confident my body will be able to handle the 12-15 hours/week that February and March are calling for. 

• I tried a juice cleanse that lasted all of about 12 hours. The biggest problem is that I don't have a juicer - I was just using my blender for everything. Maddy and I both tried it. We couldn't choke down the 3rd juice of the day. The goal was to get my weight down a little. It has come down, but I'm heavier than I have been in previous years. I (also optimistically) think I'll be down to a good training weight once things get going.

• I've gotten some good trainer rides in - 3 of 2+ hours. I have a group of buddies here all training for IM, so we line them up in a basement and slug through. It really does make the time go faster.

• I got a cardio-pulminary test on Jan. 31 to see how the ol' ticker is doing. Some interesting take-aways were: 
• My VO2 max is a bit lower than I expected. 57.7 is all I could muster. I thought I would be in the mid 60s. It just shows what I have always known, though, I have a weak top end.
• The doc diagnosed me with exercise induced asthma. After the VO2 my lungs couldn't exhale nearly as much as before. I was prescribed an advair inhaler, and I'll go back next month to see if it helps.
• My aerobic threshold HR was 177 pushing 280 watts and my anaerobic (lactate) threshold HR was 187 pushing 315 watts. The HR's I can work with. I have no way of measuring watts, though, so besides an fun number, it means very little to me. I guess the W/kg is kind of interesting. Right now I'm about 153lbs, so 4.1W/kg. I'll take that.

• Lastly, I went for an AWESOME mountain bike ride this morning. I love that bike. The roads are snowy and salty, so there was no way I'd get outside on the road bike. Well worth the investment to keep me going through the cold winter months.

So, that's where I am. 

Onward and upward.

Thanks for reading.

PW

The difference

This is going to be a few brief thoughts on what will make the difference between 2011 and 2014.

First is the goal - it's no longer about finishing an Ironman. It's about getting to the top of my AG and qualifying for Kona. But I can't just focus on outcome based goals. I need to instead focus on things I can control and let the outcome be what it may.

So, what will make the difference?

I hope it's just attention to detail. Simple as that. As a former co-worker who I really admired used to say, "take care of the little things and the big things take care of themselves."

What does that look like day-to-day?

- Going to the pool with a workout in hand rather than just winging it. And doing the whole workout! - which is a big problem of mine. In 2011 I did way too much "oh it's fine if I just do 2500 yards today, I'll make it up later in the week" and then I wouldn't make it up...

- Spending LOTS of time on the bike. I have 3 now, so there's really no excuse. I also cut a lot of rides short in the base phase of my training. The new training program is calling for a 3 hour ride as early as February 15. The bike is the "easiest" place to see major improvements and it's no secret that more time on the bike makes you faster.

- Adding striders to the end of my runs to focus on form and leg turnover. Just 5-10 short 20 second sprints with full rest have been shown to make runners more efficient without breaking down the muscles as much as a full track workout. Again, it's the little things.

- Strength sessions twice a week during my base phase. Not killing myself in the gym (or at least not all the time), but just adding some stability and core work. Hopefully this, as well, will pay dividends in my overall performance.

The underlining theme is focus on the little things. And as easy as it is to write down, I know it will be hard to put into practice. Especially when I get tired, things start to get cut short. And it could be my body trying to tell me that it's working too hard. But I hope I'll be able to tell the difference.

So bringing this into the New Year, I guess those are my resolutions... pay attention to the details. We shall see how it goes.

Happy New Year all! And thank you for reading.
DO GREAT WORK!

Santa was good to me!

Race wheels! (the other one is still in the box)

Ok it wasn't Santa, it was me... But some awesome family members helped fund these :) Thank you!! I actually got them for a screaming deal on active gear up. Less than $800 for the wheelset. 80mm carbon clinchers with aluminum braking surface. A little heavier than full carbon wheels, but I don't need new special brake pads, and I don't have to worry about heating them up on that Keene descent.

And I didn't forget where the rubber meets the road. Michelin Pro4 competition tires. Oooooh baby! And the red detailing is going to make people quiver in fear as I blow past them. They are going to look SOOO sweet on the Slice. Oh, and I'll probably go pretty fast on them too.

It's a shame I haven't been better to myself this break! I started off with a good week last week. Got a nice run in Friday and a ride outside in unseasonably warm weather Saturday, but I hit the holiday binge hard after that... Lots of beers, bourbon, and BIG meals. I'm talking about the heavy appetizer, lick-my-plate 2000 calorie entree, and then dessert, because why not? Right? Some people put a weighted vest on to train, but who wants a vest? I'll just pack on some extra pounds...

In all seriousness, I should be back in a routine by this weekend. No real harm will be done, and, frankly, I'm having fun with family and friends, so it's worth it. I also found a delicious and funky beer during my binge. It was called something like "Sweet baby Jesus Peanut Butter Porter". The name really tells you everything you need to know. Now go out and find one.

As I reel things back in I'll have some good reading to help me along. Some nutrition and cooking books as well as a book on tips how to get faster. I'll let you know what I think of these in a later post, but the cookbooks (at first glance) are pretty sweet.

OK - that's all for now. Happy holidays! Thanks for reading!

Putting the pen to paper

It's much easier for me to visualize the outline of a long training plan when I physically write things out. So, this morning (after getting some work done around the office) I got out some light reading materials and got to work!

I'm going to blend what I did last time I went to Lake Placid with Matt Fitzgerald's Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide (Level 7/8) 24 week IM plan. There were certain workouts from the last plan that I know (mentally at least) prepared me for the race. I will also use a longer than planned taper, which I took from the QT2 Systems website. I really like the things they do, and I almost signed up for coaching from them, but I couldn't justify the cost. I'll write about my thoughts on coaching some other time. Anywho - this is what I came up with!

24 weeks divided into 3 meso cycles - base phase, build phase, and peak phase. The way Fitzgerald builds his programs, you kind of cycle through a run, swim, and bike focus every few weeks, so I'm really going to just stick to the plan and let it work. From now until Feb. 11 is when I really need to prepare myself for the program. My fitness kind of sucks right now, but I'm relatively strong compared to past winters. More on that later.

 This will be the basic schedule week to week. The key workouts have boxes around them.
Monday - rest day
Tuesday - quality bike or run (they will alternate week to week) with a swim
Wednesday - the opposite of Tuesday also with a swim
Thursday - Brick and either a swim or weight session
Friday - quality swim session (LONG set! 1-2 hours). Maybe a shorter second session during the day.
Saturday - long bike and short run
Sunday - bike and then long run.

Eat, tell my wife I love her, sleep, repeat for 6 months...

Fitzgerald called for a swim then run on Sunday, but I really liked biking and then running long. It really prepared me, I think, for the IM marathon. And I want to go faster than my 3:23 from 2011... Fitzgerald also had a hard bike session on Friday, which I switched to Tuesday. I want to make sure I'm relatively fresh for my Saturday ride. This time around I want to make sure I'm really focused during key sessions. It becomes very difficult when heavy fatigue sets in, but digging a little deeper and really finishing those workouts will, I believe, get me where I want to go.

Despite my mojo being up, the weather is trying to hold me down! We've had a lot of snowfall (for PA) this time of year. I'm doing my best to work through it with strength sessions and pool sets. I tried to ride my mountain bike through the snow covered fields the other day and wow was it hard! I'll be on the trainer until this stuff clears (which might be soon bc it's supposed to hit 65 this weekend!). 

It's a little messy... but I could spend the early morning cleaning OR on the bike. Guess which one I chose? And guess which one Maddy wishes I chose? (Just kidding - kind of).

Last note - coaching winter track has kept me pretty strong. I do a dynamic warm up with the kids everyday, and we do a lot of shorter sprint sets. With the snow covering the track, we've run A LOT of stairs in the academic buildings and we even hit the gym a little bit. Strength seems to be there, but, as I alluded to earlier, my aerobic fitness is way down. I know that I just need to be able to handle the training in February, so, for now, it's going to be kind of unstructured. I'll need to be able to run an hour, swim 3k, and ride 3 hours by Feb. 10. I'm not too worried.

Thanks for reading!

Happy holidays!

Finally feeling it

For the past few months (and I think I could probably go as far back as last year) I haven't really felt the mojo for training and thus racing. Maybe it was burnout, maybe it was just all the other things that I've had going on, but I really struggled to get motivated. I hoped that I would just snap out of it, but it didn't happen... Until now! I'm excited to start ramping things up and get into shape again. I don't know what changed, but I'm finally ready mentally to start getting after it. It feels good. I'll put the pen to paper today to build my plan through July 2014. I hope the energy and motivation stay. I'm sure it will waver at times, but I think I'm finally ready to commit to something again. We shall see how my body holds up. I feel pretty strong actually, but I don't think I have the aerobic endurance that I should. The biggest change will be getting back into the habit of going long on the weekends. Ideally I'll be riding 2+ hours on Saturdays and running 1.5+ on Sundays... I'm also going to try to swim 5x a week. MWF mornings I'll get in for about 3k, and TR I'll do something shorter during my lunch break. Then my running and biking will be done after school. Ideally 2 runs and 2 trainer rides M-F. I'll only get outside on the bike (mountain bike) on the weekends because of daylight. Then I'll run long on Sundays... Week one begins today! Had a good morning swim, and I'm planning a nice easy run this afternoon.

Onward and upward!