Hell on Earth - World's Toughest Ironman

After being redirected through Charlotte, then on to Philly and Barcelona we made it safely, bikes and all to the Isle of Lanzarote .....aka the "Devil's Den". As you can see from the picture above - this is what this isle looks like. A volcanic isle made up on a rugged landscape from spewing volcanic eruptions over thousands of years. I haven't quite figured out why anyone would live here - including even the snakes and lizards.

The wind on the isle redefines the word. It is not wind - it is a constant category 2 tornado. Words cannot do it justice. Needless to say it is going to make for a dangerous bike ride - not the ascents - but the descents - which I like to tuck and do the Bode Miller - may have to change the plan.

Today was our first full day in LZ. We got up at 6AM to 35MPH winds, not gust, but wind. The bay where we swim is protected - with 68F-70F water temps and water as clear as the gin that I'm going to drink on Saturday night. Lot's of parrot fish, flounder and mahi mahi. Still 2.4 miles is a long way to swim.

The run, is relatively flat - key word relative - to TN yes - to a pancake - not even close. Ask an athlete 18 miles into the run if the course is flat - and you're liable to get your block knocked off - like the blue boxer.

The bike - well - it's the challenge and has made me rethink and assess my whole game plan for Saturday am. I've never experienced wind like is here in LZ. To boot, there is 9,000 ft of climb in 80F+ heat. If you run off the road - you're cooked - literally.

Getting rest tomorrow - relaxing - going to get my game on - a PR looks like it's out of reach given the bike course and heat. However, I'm showing up to race and race hard - I'm not leaving this isle with any thought that I could've raced harder.

Go big or stay home.........

Cheers!!

I'm a leavin on a jet plane .......

Tomorrow am we're leaving for Lanzarote via Philly and Barcelona. After a crazy few days of trying to squeeze in 2 weeks of work in 4 days - I'm more than ready to get on a plane and relax. However - before doing that I need to get in a 45 minute run in the am - attend 4 hours of conference calls from the US Air Club in Philly before hopping the flight to Barcelona.

Fortunately the volcanic ash clouds appear to have subsided for the time being. I'm most anxious to just get to Lanzarote. The temps are warming up as are the winds on the isle. Gotta get some sleep and then get up early.

Cheers!

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A good tune to train with....Well in 9 days I'll be hopping a big bird to Lanzarote via Philly and Barcelona. Very excited about the attacking the worlds toughest IM. This course is windy, hot and rugged.

Training is on track.......Feeling Good!

It's been a while since my last posting. A lot has happened over the past few weeks. My little Frankie dog died - a huge bummer. Frances and Oliver are more than making up for his mischievous behavior though. On a positive front, the training for IM Lanzarote has actually been going quite well. Two week ago Will, Kathy, Josh and I travelled to New Orleans for the 70.3 - which was a lot of fun - a flat fast course.

IM NO 70.3 began in Lake Ponchatrain - kind of a murky - but very large lake - looked actually like one of the great lakes from the shore line. The morning of the race was windy and it only got windy as the morning progressed. Kathy and I started almost 1 hour before Will and Josh due to our age group wave start. The water was pretty rough - guessing at least 2 foot white cap/swells that slapped us in the face and wreaked havoc on our ability to sight well. Took in a bunch of water - yuk. After Katrina they would find bodies floating in this lake - not cool. In any event, made it out of the water in 40 minutes - a familiar time - i didn't push it hard and could've knocked a couple of minutes off of the swim - which I would later regret.

The bike was a flat fast course, but for the head winds on the first half of the ride. With every head wind there is alway a tail (almost), and on this day we got a really nice tail wind. Finished the bike in about 2:32 averaging almost 22MPH. No mechanical issues. HR averaged 121-122 BPM - why is that important? Because your body can digest nutrients, less lactic acid build up in muscles and energy is conserved for the run at below 130 BPM - if higher it all backs up in your stomach and your cooked when you get off of the bike. Not certain why everyone doesn't use a HR monitor.

The run was flat and hot. Temps were in the 80's with sun. I didn't feel great coming off of the bike for the first several miles on the run. I've been testing out a new Hammer product "Sustained Energy" and "Heed" combination which I had not fully tested at any competition. I was able to work thru some initial GI issues and then was able to nail the run - running a 1:39 half marathon - that's a 7:38 mile. But not good enough to bag a sub 5 hour performance. Total time 5:02 - a PR for the 70.3 distance. I know that I can go sub 5 hours now.

Yesterday, the four of us rode the 3 Mountain - 3 State course starting in Chattanooga. A very challenging ride - a very beautiful ride thru the mountains and country side. of TN, Alabama and Georgia. Some wild descents and aggressive ascents. Finished the 100 mile ride in 5:45 after stopping twice to get water, go to the bathroom and once to fix my seat that slipped as well as having to tighten my left arm rest. Time adjusted was more like a 5:30. The issue with this time is that my average HR was 124 BPM - which would appear good but I spent 2:06 in the 133-152 HR zone - averaging 137BPM. If this happens in Lanzarote, I'm going to struggle on the back half of the run. So the moral to the story is - don't be as aggressive on the bike and save it for the run - as it's going to be a long day in the wind and sun on the isle of Lanzarote.

I have a 15 mile run today - nothing crazy - just want to keep my HR in the 130-135 zone - for a solid work out. Then from there on out it's a nice taper - swimming as much as possible, great nutrition, no alcohol, light rides and runs - relatively speaking. Feeling pretty prepared. Weight is around 176 in the am and 179 in the pm - this is where I need to be - too light was a problem in Australia.

That's all for now.

Cheers