Back in Action......

It's been almost 1 week of "recovery" and feeling appreciably better. I managed to get in 3 runs this past week a 3,3 and 5 mile runs. My lungs are fine, just a mild cough nothing too serious. Went to the doc to have hernia checked out. It's very very mild and almost unnoticeable most of the time, except during strenuous activity, which is about to begin. He referred me to some specialists and I doubt I will follow up at this point. If it gets worse then I will have it checked out more. Till then I plan on training hard for IM Utah. Overall training assessment at 70 days out from IM Utah 1. Overall base is solid for running 2. Bike needs a ton of work 3. Swim should be fine, making it into the pool at least 1-2 days a week 4. Weight has been a consistent 180 lbs, which will drop to 175 before the race 5. Nutrition has been good 6. Focus on getting at least 8 hours of sleep per night If I had to race today I would suffer so I need to be on the bike 3 day a week, pool 2X and continue with my running, getting in 30 miles per week. Brick sessions on the weekends will be part of my routine where I'll need to be getting in 3-4 hour training sessions. Come race day, it'll be a 12-13 hour training session...if I'm lucky. Goal is to simply go under 13 hours. Prediction 1:30 in the water, 7 hours on the bike and 4 hour marathon, with healthy transition times should go under 13.....too early to tell but we'll see. My real goal is to build my base and stay healthy as I prepare for the real training to occur for the UTMB :) That is my "A" race for the season...next to IM Phoenix where I expect to CRUSH my nephew. Oh, yeah...I entered the IM Kona lottery...unlikely that I'll get in but if I do...it'll make for an interesting late summer, early fall training schedule. Today I'm going to hit the trails and get in a 2 hour run which should yield about 12-14 miles at Percy Warner park...It's a beautiful sunny day here in Middle TN. Before then, Jack's got a basketball game...he's been playing well as of late...only if he were to practice. Hope the UTMB posse is training and building a solid base...that's the real deal...can't fake that. Cheers!

Training on Hold.....

Traveling every week has pros and cons. Certainly the cons stack up and the pros are a stretch. One of the cons is being in planes and in hotels that house colonies of germs. I'm surprised that I'm not sick all of the time with the work schedule, training regimen and overall lack of a good 8 hours of sleep on a consistent basis.

Well, this past week I picked up a cold virus that has made its way to my chest and it's kicking my ass! I did manage to get in a good swim and 20 miles or so of running, however, no way I can continue training.

Below is a picture of the patient room at the Vanderbilt Walk in Clinic. I've had X-rays taken, blood drawn and all of the other pomp and circumstance completed and now waiting to see the Doc.

About 12 years ago I had pneumonia that spun out of control due to my lack of experience and recognizing the symptoms as well as several Docs that had their heads up their asses. So what I learned is to take control of the process. I did this today. Established a base line with X-rays and white cell counts. Both showed areas of concern. White cells were elevated showing a high likelihood of bacterial infection and white shadows on my lungs associated with early stages of pneumonia. Not what I wanted to hear but glad that I went and got it looked at. The docs put me on Doxicyclene. So we'll see if my temperature will drop and my lungs start to clear up.

If in 24 hours this does not improve I'm headed back to get a shot of Rocephin and some levaquin. Till then need to chill out. Think I've caught it early this time. We'll see....no more training till I'm appreciably better.

Cheers!

Lance takes 2nd place....

It's pretty impressive that Lance held the lead for a good portion of the run till he was overtaken at IM 70.3 Panama in his debut race this past weekend. He was 19 minutes in the water, beat the field by 4 minutes on the bike and lost by less than a minute.
At 40 years of age...pretty good.

This past week I continued my focus on the run. Got in close to 40 miles both inside and outside. Got in several interval training runs to begin improving on speed. The endurance training for 50 and 100 mile runs have developed a solid base, but no speed.

On Saturday I got in 15 miles on the treadmill running 2 miles at a 7:30 pace and 1/2 mile at a 9 min/mile pace. I could've probably have run the entire 15 at the 7:30 pace but need to take it easy and not jack up my Achilles. This week I will do lots of calf raises to keep everything in balance.

Started the week off with about 1,500 meters of swim in the 50M lanes at the wcrc. Ashley had us doing lots of drills which left my shoulders pretty sore.

On a plane and headed to Rochester for the day then off to Denver for the rest of the week. Hoping to get in a lot of time on the bike in spin classes this week along with a solid massage.

More to follow...got shut down

Cheers!

Monday's

Busted little toe....honey badger don't give a shit....training must go on! Managed to get in an 8 mile run with Tim, averaging about a 9 min/mile pace. Felt the effects of altitude and the my injured toes.

The weather was a little chilly. Temps were in the low 30's. Just pleases to get in a solid run, with some nice hills. Off to Chicago for management meetings for the remainder of the week. I need to find a pool to get in a couple of swims. My shoulders are still a little sore from Sunday's 2,000 meter swim. My times averaged about 1:55-2:00 minutes per 100. It was not easy maintaining this pace. Still plenty of work to do.

Cheers!

Base Training Season......

No bike this past week, but got in a great swim from 5:00AM - 6:30AM on Friday morning with the masters group. Not really too concerned about the lack of training on the bike at this juncture. I am exactly 90 days or 3 months out from IM St George. My run base is very strong. Despite not spending a lot of time in the water, the time that I have spent is building confidence. My 100M times have dropped 20 seconds after just a few time in the water...from a tiresome 2:20/100M to 2:00/100M...a far cry from my 1:45/100M performance in Australia. Not certain I have the desire/will to get back to that level. I'll settle for getting out of the water in 90 minutes in Utah. Planning on going out for a 40 mile ride today before getting in a 2.5 mile swim with the triathletes at WCRC. Total training time 3.5 hours today...still in front of me....it's 50F and overcast. Below is a picture of yesterday's weather that I was able to run in. The trails at Percy Warner were like small creeks. I hit the trails at about 7AM and got in a 7.5 mile run during a sustained downpour. Nothing like running on muddy trails, cold and wet. Later in the day I managed to get to PL Fitness for a 4.5 mile run on the treadmill, with a focus on running uphill...building quads and calfs. I am determined to never walk uphill...it will pay dividends in the Alps.

I've been doing research on UTMB this past week....a little daunting. Weather is expected to play a major factor in the race, therefore, training in ugly weather in the middle of the night will be a must do. Gotta get the bad ass HB crew in Colorado to spend Friday nights running at high altitude in shitty weather....not so much physical versus mental conditioning. The week ahead includes a short trip out to Denver for a day and then off to Chicago for management meetings. Work is very very busy right now, which is a good thing and expect to only get busier. Being structured and disciplined with nutrition and training schedule will remain important. The good news is that I'm pretty experienced and have learned to not get too uptight about training. Lot's of work to do....gotta stay healthy and building a strong base is the focus. Cheers!