Training

New Year, New Training Methods!

For Hanukkah, I was the happy recipient of the Garmin HRM-Run which is the Garmin heart rate strap that goes with my Fenix 2. I used to be interested in HR training but that was several years ago and honestly I wasn’t really ready for that level of training.  Its hard to go for a run and target Zone 3 when every run puts you into Zone 4 and walking was never an option for me. Its really been the last couple years where I’ve gotten very consistent with my training that I realized I could make use of this type …

Nutrition Testing

One thing I learned about my body during the riguers of Ironman training was that fueling for endurance events before, during and after training sessions and races is far more important than I ever suspected. A big challenge I had during training was initially towards the end of long, hot rides in the summer and cramping. It was something I resolved through the time tested technique of trial-and-error. Something I never really got a full handle on though was how to refuel my body correctly so that my workout the next day was valuable. The end result was ok on …

Ready for Ironman

This past weekend was my final ‘big’ training weekend for Ironman Florida.  I’ve at times both dreaded and looked forward to the day because I knew that it would be a tough test.  Not as hard as race day itself but at least Ironman will be a single day.  This was, essential, 3 fairly grueling days.  But I’ve conquered the training and I feel more confident than ever about the race and how I’ll done in less than 3 weeks.  Wow, its that close! I’m definitely ready though: Friday I used to try and fit my long swim & long …

A friend’s journey…

My friend Darrell, a close friend from high school, has long been in Chicago and over the past year or so has been asking me all sorts of running advice as he got into the sport. I’m always happy to help a friend get a passion for the sport! A couple weeks ago Melanie had a conference in Chicago and I saw it as a perfect opportunity to visit with my buddy and do a race in a state I haven’t run in yet. I first considered a tri but a half marathon was logistically more reasonable. So I signed up …

Weekend of Training

I have a lot of weekends of training but this past one may take the cake as far as volume goes. I often have to do a couple workouts in a day to get everything in that I want. This weekend we had big plans. Saturday was going to be a ‘mock’ tri day at Fort Desoto where we did a swim/bike/run workout and then we’d follow that on Sunday with an early morning bike ride and brick. The weather didn’t really agree with our plans though and a huge front swept through Florida on Friday and Saturday. So to …