Season is over and what a season ending race it was! I will work on the full race report and get it up soon but I am going into surgery tomorrow morning ( yes I am finally doing it instead of complaining here all the time) so who knows when I will feel up to typing. I will have a lot more down time for a few weeks so we'll see.
The short of it was that I had my best race results at the HIM so far. Everything went as planned, nothing went wrong despite my mind trying to insert negative thoughts every 5 minutes. that negative thinking scared the hell out of me. I guess I just needed a good race to validate all time spent this year and I just got scared that if was all going to go down the drain. If I had to fault myself for anything it would be that I had to make a pit stop in T2 which took an extra minute or so. Running on a full bladder does not feel good at all so it was a necessary 60 seconds.
Thanks to my family for putting up with me this year. I can be single minded during the season.
Stay tuned for several posts on the seasons ups and downs and training pros and cons.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Peaking
It is amazing to feel the body get stronger. Sometimes when training you are so tired that it is hard to see the end goal. You start wondering if you are pushing to hard, your body is getting run down, and the last thing you need is to get injured or sick right before your taper. Then, out of nowhere you come through the fog. You start into your peak week just before race taper and realize that your body has responded amazingly. You see the miles tick off but your body does not get tired. You look down at your watch and realize that your pace, even after 5 or 6 miles is faster than you have ever been able to hold before. You do your last long ride, a route that destroyed you 4 or 5 weeks earlier and when your done you feel fresh and full of energy. This is what makes all the training time and sacrifice worth it.
I am racing in 4 days and I feel physically more ready for this race than I have at any other. Stories will be told and maybe a legendary race will be run. Lets hope for the best.
An acquaintance of mine posted an answer to a questions about what he did differently for his IM this year than last year. I like that idea and think that I will post something along those lines after my race this weekend. My training this year took on two very distinct phases. The first half of the season was a build up to Buffalo Springs in June. Then I made a few changes and followed a different training schedule for Longhorn. It will be interesting to see what the results are. I want to wait to post the specifics until the race is over so that I have some results to refer to though.
Hopefully there will be more regular posts throughout the off season. I will have a lot to write about as I get ready for IM St. George starting in January. I will also be recovering from shoulder surgery during November and December so I will have a lot more time to think as I sit and get fat.
I am racing in 4 days and I feel physically more ready for this race than I have at any other. Stories will be told and maybe a legendary race will be run. Lets hope for the best.
An acquaintance of mine posted an answer to a questions about what he did differently for his IM this year than last year. I like that idea and think that I will post something along those lines after my race this weekend. My training this year took on two very distinct phases. The first half of the season was a build up to Buffalo Springs in June. Then I made a few changes and followed a different training schedule for Longhorn. It will be interesting to see what the results are. I want to wait to post the specifics until the race is over so that I have some results to refer to though.
Hopefully there will be more regular posts throughout the off season. I will have a lot to write about as I get ready for IM St. George starting in January. I will also be recovering from shoulder surgery during November and December so I will have a lot more time to think as I sit and get fat.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Star Struck
It has been a while since my last post. I have been struggling with something to write. I did not want to just fill the page with meaningless dribble but this weekend gave me something to write.
I am not normally the type of person that gets star struck but that is what this weekend was full of. It all started on Thursday night when I was invited to ride (along with anyone else in Austin) with Lance Armstrong. Stupid me, I decided that it was going to be crowded, I figured on 1000 people so I did not go. I did not want to be one of those that says, "Yeah I rode with Lance". When really I was 2 miles behind him and we just happened to be on the same route. Later that afternoon a friend sent me the pictures and it was really an intimate group, 100 people at the most, almost everyone I ride with on a normal basis was there except me. The stories of break aways by Lance and friends sound awesome. I would have loved to be able to say I drafted off Lance. I will be kicking myself for a long time for this one.
On Sunday I did not pass up the opportunity to ride with another couple of local pro triathletes. Sure they are not as well known as Lance, but I enjoyed the ride and I learned more riding with them than I would have if I was dropped in the first 5 miles by Lance. It was a ral confidence booster knowing that I could hand with 2 people that are recent Ironman winners.
Maybe next time?
I am not normally the type of person that gets star struck but that is what this weekend was full of. It all started on Thursday night when I was invited to ride (along with anyone else in Austin) with Lance Armstrong. Stupid me, I decided that it was going to be crowded, I figured on 1000 people so I did not go. I did not want to be one of those that says, "Yeah I rode with Lance". When really I was 2 miles behind him and we just happened to be on the same route. Later that afternoon a friend sent me the pictures and it was really an intimate group, 100 people at the most, almost everyone I ride with on a normal basis was there except me. The stories of break aways by Lance and friends sound awesome. I would have loved to be able to say I drafted off Lance. I will be kicking myself for a long time for this one.
On Sunday I did not pass up the opportunity to ride with another couple of local pro triathletes. Sure they are not as well known as Lance, but I enjoyed the ride and I learned more riding with them than I would have if I was dropped in the first 5 miles by Lance. It was a ral confidence booster knowing that I could hand with 2 people that are recent Ironman winners.
Maybe next time?
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