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!

Last name EVER first name GREATEST

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

ST CROIX TRAINING

We just returned from our Spring Break trip to St. Croix. The weather was nothing short of perfect. Sunny every day with highs averaging 85F and lows at night averaging 73F. Everyday was spent at the beach with the kids where we snorkeled and swam offshore about 1,000 meters to get in my swim practice. Lots of sun block was required and kept me from getting burned the entire trip.

In addition, I managed to get in about 4-5 bike rides, 2 long rides at 50 miles around the island. I got to experience the 70.3 course and "The Beast" which has a 27.5 degree slope and gets the heart pumping. The head winds on the south side of the island biking east averaged 25-30 MPH. This was very challenging and made me realize that if Lanzarote was anything like St Croix that we are all going to be in for a very very long bike ride - thinking that under 7 hours will be a challenge. Nutrition remained a challenge as well as I threw up my lunch due to the heat factor. This was an issue for me in Australia and thinking that I need to switch over to 100% liquid nutrition for the race. Hammer has a product called "Sustained Energy" and "Heed" that I have been testing out - with some success - need to really get this dialed in over the next 5 weeks and make it part of every workout that exceeds 2 hours.

I also managed to get in several long runs that exceeded 10 miles. In particular I managed to get in about a 15 mile run through the mountainous trails of the St Croix rain forest. This was a very difficult course, but really quite beautiful. Thinking that I need to begin entering more of the ultra running trail events. The run will be the best part of my game, with the bike being a close second. Still have plenty of training time left.

This weekend is new Orleans 70.3 - which I'm expecting to be a flat fast course. I'm hoping that this will be a great training day to work the fast twitch muscles and develop some speed for IM Lanzarote. really must focus on the total package over the next 4 weeks as I need to be peaking with my hours, at least 20 hours per week for the next 2 weeks and then begin my taper for Lanzarote. Nutrition, rest and focused training will be the goal over the next 14 days. My work schedule is going to be rather hectic and stressful - so stress management will be a focus as well.

Getting to sleep by 9PM this evening to catch a 5:45AM flight tomorrow. I hope that we get good news from the vet tomorrow about Frankie. We're all concerned and hoping that he has a speedy recovery from his surgery, poor little weenie dog.

Here's to the next 2 weeks, on all fronts!

Signing off.........

A Windy Brick.......

A big training day. Started out the day with a 4 mile run to the park to watch Sinclair's soccer game. Post game rode 50 miles at an average of 18.1MPH. Half way thru the ride my avg speed was about 16 MPH as I was riding into some very heavy headwinds. I was concerned about my speed as I have not ridden my Felt B2 Pro and very much trying to get use to my new saddle as well as getting my butt saddle worthy. My legs felt heavy for the first hour - thinking that it was due to the 10 miles that I ran the previous morning - but then came the next 25 miles.........

Well, suffice to say the second 25 miles was much better than the first - as I was warmed up, motivated and had the wind to my back. I broke a speed record today when I hit 52.9MPH - however I almost dumped it as I had my 303 front wheel - which caught the wind gusts which made for a pretty scary ride.

Overall I felt pretty darn good - finishing strong. Post ride I slapped on my sneakers and hit the road for a 3 mile run. The first 2 miles - my legs felt like lead weights - as I tried to work the lactic acid out of the muscles.

Here is my HR data for the work out:

Z1 95-114 = 25 minutes = Avg HR 104 BPM
Z2 114-133 = 2:54 minutes = Avg HR 124 BPM
Z3 133-152 = 35 minutes = Avg HR 135 BPM
Z4 152-171 = 0

Almost a 4 hour work out today and feeling pretty good. With 3 weeks to go before IM 70.3 New Orleans - I'm going to be ready for a great training day in New Orleans - followed by the MCM 26.2 the following weekend. Bring it on!!

Altitude Training.........

At 5,200 feet above sea level one would think that the impact on training wouldn't be that significant. After all, Mt Everest climbers ascend to 29,000+ feet to sit on top of the world. However, interestingly enough, science has proven that living at altitude generates more blood red cells that carry more oxygen to the muscles to reducing lactic acid faster - or simply allowing the body to recover more quickly - thus enhancing overall performance.

So, training in Denver should have benefits come race day at sea level. This week I've noticed a difference in my average HR which has been about 7-8 BPM higher due to altitude. Anyways...............

I got in a 7 mile run on Monday - followed by a great core workout and strength training of calves, lats, biceps, etc. This morning I managed to get in a 15 minute swim followed by a 45 minute high intensity spin class. This evening got in another 1 hour spin class along with a 3.5 mile fartlek treadmill run. Enjoying a pizza right now and then hitting the rack. Going to try to get to the gym in the am to get in 10-12 miles so WTD miles will be at least 20 miles.

Tomorrow night I'm getting a massage and looking forward to getting them regularly as my training increases. The overall goal this week is to get in at least 20 hours of training. This means I've gotta hit some long training rides on the bike and a 15 mile run later in the week, along with a long swim.

Lot's of training ahead of me - but feel pretty good right now for 70.3 New Orleans. Leadville is another story - a scary one at that - hoping that it has a happy ending.

Cheers!