Almost Ironman CDA Time!

It has been quite the long struggle with getting down from my 20+ pounds heavy weight from normal race weight since January. The most difficult thing has been paying attention to diet and sticking to it. Doing it the natural way instead (unless coffee doesn't count?) of unhealthy methods. There are a lot of eating disorders out there so I am not one to fall into that mode, but rather, through consistency in diet & exercise. After stepping on the scales yesterday I am happy to report I am near my high school weight (within only a couple pounds), but without all the baby-chubb! I'm sure there are a few pounds I could melt away yet but those reserves will be used for Ironman CDA in only one month.  Either way, I am likely entering 2012 race season at my lowest race weight to date, so it will certainly be interesting to see how that works out.

Race day is a completely different kind of story, one where the stats you may find on places such as Athlinks.com really don't matter. The numbers can't tell the story of the day in an Ironman, only passion after 140.6 and all you did leading up to that day from the previous 6-months will be able to tell (provided there are no mechanical or illnesses taking place!) It remains to be seen whether the obsession of getting rid of the extra chubb I'll need to carry will pay off or not. It may in fact hurt my chances of a good day due to loss of power--too light and there is less power on the bike. However, less weight means I have less to carry around so do I really need to worry about it--because the pay off in the long run is less junk to use my power for all day long right? It should help the run provided the calories get in the body and I stay on top of nutrition. Can't wait until the race is over because it isn't easy eating like a Monk from Tibet!

This is a clip from one of my long rides...so beautiful here in Colorado...I just love it!

With the spring in full swing the grass is still yellow and no matter how much water I pour on it--it's still yellow. Sprinkler system doesn't seem to be working right so moving a sprinkler around every couple days is the only way to sustain it for now. Last week alone I've managed to skip three days of training for Ironman CDA at the end of June in order to start moving on a major around-the-house project. Landscaping the front yard. After two days of cutting, digging, spraying, laying weed barrier and moving a few tons of delivered dirt--I'm half way there. Only three more cubic yards of dirt & three cubic yards of mulch, plant some rose bushes and dwarf pine trees, then pull or dig out some more metal posts out of the ground and I'll be home free on that project. It has been a good excuse to do a lot less training that is for sure!




After last season's 4.5 hour average total for swim, bike and run (which is a little more than an hour per week of each discipline), I managed a 38th place in USAT 40-44 AG rankings garnering an All-American status again. Funny how some years I just do a few workouts per week to keep the weight off and seem to race faster than when I'm serious with a serious goal. Given the less time available to train for Ironman races these days, my theory is that with all the base & experience from years of racing, there is no rush to rush. I'll do what I need to do--enough so I can attain a decent level of fitness by the end of June. Although likely to the degree I had hoped when I signed up for Ironman CDA...there have been some brief shining moments on some training days but definitely more non-shining moments that I hoped for.



About two more months left so maybe this next month I can fit in key sessions AND fit in some project completions. The fly in the ointment really is wrapping up the odds & ends of the "open projects" to free up some time so the stresses of an approaching deadline for being fit enough to handle an Ironman race while moving from start to finish. Here's hoping for the best in the coming two months...