Ironman Done

I finished the Ironman in May challenge Friday. I can't imagine having to do all of that in one day. I've talked with a couple of people who have done ironman's and they say it's just a matter of training. I guess like everything else if you condition your body for it, it's possible.
The challenge has given me an appreciation for riding a bike outside. I've always known I would enjoy mtn. biking but I've avoided it since it would just be one more hobby I don't have time or money to enjoy. It has also made me step up my swimming. I still can't beleive how hard that is for me.

Anyway, next week should be interesting then it's off to San Diego.

-Justin

Your car is broken?

After work today, Drew saw that I had taken my bike to work. He looked at me and said, "Daddy did you ride your bike to work?". I said yes and then he asked "Is your car broken?" I patiently explained that I took my bike because I enjoy it and my car is running fine. He then looked at me condescendingly and said, "ok Daddy your cars broken, we can get you a new one". No matter how much I tried to explain that my car was fine, he just couldn't comprehend why somebody would voluntarily take their bike to work when they had a perfectly good car. It was so cute how Drew was patronizing me the whole time like I was the one who was in denial.

By the way, I do enjoy the bike riding to work. I show up to work feeling energized and just have more overall energy all day. I would recommend it to anybody who lives within a reasonable distance from their work.

I'm Back

It was another non-typical week of training. Monday was exhausting. I rode the bike in, ran 3 miles at lunch, then rode home. My legs were a bit tired when I got home.

The highlight for me was running on Wed. and Sat. I had taken last week off because I was feeling unmotivated. Monday was sluggish, probably because of a combination of time off, biking, and 80 degree weather. Then Wed. I ran the infamous "suburban loop". It wasn't my fastest time doing that loop, but I felt strong the whole way. Then Saturday I did a four miler in the morning. Aside from getting pelted in the face with ice the whole time, it felt really good. My thoughts were, "my legs are back". Hopefully this next week will feel good also, then I'm going to take another week long break while we go to San Diego then the marathon training begins.

Ironman totals so far:
3200/4000 yards swimming, 34/26.2 miles running, 70/112 miles biking.

Bike to Work Week

My good friend Tyson was kind enough to show me some trails to work this last week. I've seen him commuting on the freeway before (on his bike of course), but that made me a little nervous so I opted for the trails. It takes a good chunk of time to get there and back, but it's also more fun than sitting in a car.

For some strange reason, I didn't run this week. It's weird, I didn't plan it but after last weekends "quick" 3 mile run I just lost motiviation. I keep thinking that with the marathon looming and so much "required" training coming up, I should take advantage of the opportunity to slack some. Although I did find alternative ways to spend my excercise energy. Besides biking to work I went to a couple of yoga classes. I've experimented with some yoga before, but nothing had prepared me for Thursday's class. This was the level 3 (of 5) and I had just been getting used to the level one. From the class description it looked do-able and I was ready to kick it up a notch instead of almost falling asleep during class. As I stood with my forhead nearly touching the ground and my left leg somewhere over my head in a pose I can't pronounce watching the sweat drops accumulate on the hardwood floor, I started to second guess the wisdom of my attending that yoga class. Actually, when it was all said and done I was sore but glad I went. I won't do it again tomorrow, but hope to someday.

I'll look to start running again this week, probably tomorrow. I'll limit to 9 or 10 miles just so I don't overdo it.

Ironman in May totals so far.
2400/4000 yards swimming 23/26.2 miles running and 50/112 miles biking.

Next stop St. George

I got in! I never thought I'd be so excited to run 26.2 miles. I'm still going to do a couple of "tune up" races this summer (haven't decided exactly which yet). I'm starting to look for accomodations for that weekend so if anybody has any good ideas let me know.

Meanwhile the Ironman continues. I'm up to 23/26.2 miles running, 6/112 miles biking, and 1600/4000 yards swimming. I got my bike fixed and since next week is "bike to work week" I plan on getting a good chunk of biking miles in the next week.

later

Justin

Ironman in May

Every May there is a group of folks at work who puts together this month long event called Ironman in May. It's intended to get people active and healthier. You have to complete an Ironman distance over the course of the entire month. You swim 2.4 miles, bike like 112 and run 26.2.
This will be the first year I'm going to try and complete all three. The first year I didn't sign up because I knew I would only do the running. Last year I realized they gave you prizes even if you didn't complete all three so I did the running and got a maverick gas card. This year I'm gonna go all the way. I started swimming last November so that shouldn't be a problem. The biking will be all on a stationary because I don't have a bike that works right now. And of course the running won't be a problem.
So far I have 9.5 miles run and 800 yards (.5 miles) swimming.

-Justin