1 down 31 to go

I just finished my first week of workouts under the guidance from my new coach and I feel great. Great mentally but sore physically. My week was fairly easy but saturday was a really grueling day but that was mostly my fault. I was scheduled for a 45 minute swim followed by a weight lifting session which was an hour. That wouldn't have been a big deal but before I started my workout I played football for two and a half hours. By the time I started lifting weights I was exhausted! But it was a good feeling and I was able to complete my workout although I'm still sore. Sunday was an easier day since all I had was a bike workout. After that I took my daughter to the y for some quality one on one time playing together n the pool. She quickly tired me out and I sat in the hot tub while she swam a few laps. She was a little disappointed that I didn't also take her running. That's awesome. Not many 10 year olds get upset that they didn't get in a running workout! She really knows how to tug at my heart strings! I'm going to have to start running with her on a regular basis. She is pretty fast. She has a 7:20 pr for a mile. I wasnt that fast at her age. When she grows up I don't think I will be able to keep up with her!

Today is my rest day and its also the day I get to treat myself. I normally drink lots of pop but I committed to not drink any on workout days when I'm training for the ironman. I made a deal with myself that if I don't miss any workouts during the week then I can drink a pop on my day off. I'm currently nursing an ice cold bottle of mountain dew and I'm a little surprised that I'm not as excited to drink it as I thought I would be. Hmm. Maybe I will end up quitting completely. I guess there are worse things.

I'm excited for this week! I looked over my schedule and I have 7 hours and 15 minutes of workouts planned. Other than the weight sessions it should be pretty easy. I will post my week totals next monday.

getting my ass kicked

I'm sorry I pretty much suck at blogging lately. I will offer as an excuse in my defense that my compuer is currently fried. It will be a bit before I can afford to get it repaired. I'm going to do it when I get my tax returns. But onto the tri stuff.

I have huge news. I officially have a coach! I'm super excited about it! It is David Warden from tri-talk. We spent a couple days early this week discussing my goals and setting a plan for this year. Basically it includes getting my ass kicked. A lot. We spent a lot of time talking about past results and extrapolating those to set goals for upcomming races. I'm not going to be doing a lot of racing this year but the races I do compete in will serve as markers to check how my fitness is improving for my run up to the ironman.

Here is my plan so far:
I'm running the eau claire half marathon in early may. I need to finish in under 1:45.(this is my easiest goal)
I'm racing the buffalo olympic tri. In june. I need to finish under 2:25
I'm racing the chisago half ironman in july. I need to finish in 5:00
And I'm racing the madison ironman with a goal time of under 11:00 (this is by far the hardest goal!)
Then I'm running twin cities marathon in october but don't have a goal time yet!

I can throw in a few more races as my budget and free tme permit.

In order to do that I'm basically going to get my ass kicked in workouts all summer. I'm actually really excited about that! I've never followed a training plan from start to finish. For my first ironman I followed my plan for 54 hours. That is acout 3 weeks. I wanted to get a coach so that I am accountable to someone if I don't do my workouts. I know that will keep me motivated and stop me from skipping workouts so I can sleep in.

I also need to stay injury free to meet my goals. I have had some itb problems in the past so david wants to impliment some preventative measures into my training plan. This includes strength training, stretching and a medieval torture device known as the foam roller. I've never used one before but purchased one yesterday on my lunch break. I gave it a shot last night and discovered how horrible this unassuming foam cylinder is. I'm sure this should be outlawed along with waterboarding and thumb screwes. I took a look at the product disclaimer that came with it and here is what it says in the very first paragraph: "The risk of injury from participation in....these exercises is significant, and includes the potential for catastrophic injury or death." WTF!? Well I used it anyway and it was indeed pure hell but I'm going to keep using it since I don't want to have problems. David swears it will get easier the more I use it. I hope so!

So that's it for now. I'm really excited for this year! I'm sure it will be my best race season ever!

its a beautiful day!

First off I can't seem to post photos; for some reason the icons are disabled. I have some great photos to post and I will as soon as the icons work.

My workouts have been fairly boring lately and its because they have all been indoors. Yuck! I don't like spinning on my trainer because I tend to watch the clock too much. I do at least entertain myself by playing video games, watching tv, reading or surfing the internet. Yeah I manage to surf the internet while biking! But I would much rather just listen to my ipod and pedal down the road for hours.

I have been swimming in a pool of course because the ice on the lakes makes swimming difficult. But I did manage to hurt myself the last time I was in the pool. Not too big a deal but on my first lap I went to stand up to adjust my goggles and I managed to kick the bottom of the pool and tore a chunk of skin off my big toe. It throbbed for most of my workout and still hurts a bit every time I take a step. So when I run I'm aware of my toe. Its not horrible but its an annoyance.

Running inside during the winter is both good and bad. It is nice to be able to run without losing traction on snow and ice which slows you down. And wearing shorts and a tshirt is way more comfortable than bundling up. But today I was determined to get outside since the temp is finally above zero! I was supposed to meet with friends for a run this morning but I didn't set my alarm correctly and overslept! Whoops! So instead I ran by myself. Nothing real amazing just 10k but it was my longest run since the begining of october when I ran the twin cities marathon. The weather was a perfect winter day. 20 degrees and snowing with no wind. The snow accumulating on the ground definitely slowed my pace but it felt great.

Now I'm watching the cardinals massacre the eagles in the nfc chanpionship game.

A snowy run and watching footall is definitely a great way to spend the day!

runnin in the dome

Last night I headed to the metrodome for some warm indoor running with my friend mike. I got there before he did and found a spot to stash my jacket and change into my running shoes. as I did that pharmie ran by so I decided to do a few easy laps with her. Mike showed up after a bit and joined us and somehow the few easy laps turned into a few miles! Pharmie finished her run then mike and I picked up the pace for 2 more miles when I decided too try and get in a quick stair workout. The only problem was that all the entrances to the stadium area were closed with large garbage cans blocking the doors. I somehow managed to find one that someone moved so that the door could be easily opened. (it wasnt me no one saw me do it and you can't prove anything!) I did several laps up and down the bleachers but had to dodge a lot garbage left behind from the vikings game on sunday. After the stairs I did a couple cool down laps with mike and headed home. Overall it was an easy laid back 5 miles filled with conversation.

Carly and baby are doing much better now! Check back soon to see a pic of the baby!

im back!

So the new year is here and one of my resolutions is to keep up with this freaking blog through the entire year. Can I do it? Time will tell! I have very ambitious plans for this year. My first race of the year will be the securian half marathon on the 24th. I just registered for it today. I really need to get running and I'm planning on running 3-4 days a week for the year and I am supposed to go out for a short 5 mile run in 5 hours but I'm currently sitting in the hospital with carly who has an iv in her arm. She is very ill and dehydrated. Did I mention she is also 21 weeks pregnant!? Its obviously going to be a fantastic year and I'm looking forward to having a new family member to cheer me on for my second ironman this september! Four month old babies care about ironman races don't they? Either way it looks like I'm going to have to get creative with my workout schedule. So happy new year from a very tired irondad! And please check back for regular updates! I will do them from my cellphone if I have to which is what I'm doing now.

here it comes....

stay tuned for photos of one sexy lady.....

i did ok i guess

i ran the 5k as planned but i didnt run as fast as i thought i could have. i stuck with the lead group of about 5 people until the first mile marker which i hit in 5:30. after that i started having trouble breathing and so i slowed my pace a lot. i definitely could have used my inhaler the last mile. but i finished 19th overall. im happy with that. i finished out my weekend with a 15 mile run with andy (my brother in law) and im still a tad sore. im looking forward to running 18 next weekend.