An Ironman is Born.

Keeping with my schedule for updating "Hammering It" I haven't updated in a while. The big news this "catch up" post...

Around 8:30 PM on November 6, 2010, 13 hours and 14 minutes from when I started swimming I heard the Emcee shout over Ozzy Ozbourne's "Crazy Train" (how appropriate)... "Mike Ferranti, from Long Beach, NY... YOU are an IRONMAN!" It was pretty neat.

I'll skip all the other news about the taper, it came fast, and had it's ups and downs. Very scary coming off that training load, it simply didnt feel right to stop what I had been doing so hard for so long.... So here's my race report, for better or for worse...

Pre Race Week

After months of injury free running, I did a couple of fairly short workouts on a treadmill at home I just picked up. It was great not to have to go out into miserable cold, but somehow, it lit up my knees and my IT band. This was there right through race day. Not debilitating, but a factor. What bad luck! I felt indestructable on the run, no aerobic cost, PR's every week, and barely needed a day to recover. I was in some shape on the run. These were a concern, but once down there, all I could do was stretch and deal with it.

Race AM

I felt pretty awesome when I woke up. Rested (enough) and very, very calm and confident. Exactly how you'd want to feel going into your first Ironman. I knew I was strapped for this race, I knew I was strong, and I knew what I was there to do. Frankly I was surprised at how at ease I was. Zero nerves. (really).

Went down to water at it was 38 degrees out. Sun wasn't up yet, I forgot my bike nutrition up in the fridge, and before I could get back up there to pick it up, my wife had given it to some guy in the hall at the hotel who was on his way down to deliver... tense moments waiting, and waiting, and waiting for him to stop by... he did. Yipes. While waiting, I didn't get body marked! Yep I raced the Ironman without my numbers on my arms and legs, THAT was a first. Nagging thoughts about this stuck with me much of the race, as the day and stress wore on, it weighed heavier on me. Sounds crazy, but when the pain came many hours later, it was a factor.

Swim

I started at what I estimated to be a third of the way back. In hindsight that was too far back. 15-20% would have been more challenging, but also a better pace for me. When the gun went off, I had zero adrenaline rush, I submerged and got water in my suit, and began swimming. I felt fine. No rushed breathing, no high heart rate. 

In about 5 minutes all the people who freaked out a bit at the start and went out like we were sprinting a 100 yards due to nerves mostly, were slowing down and I started passing a fair number of people. I was shocked and struggled with navigating through so many bodies. The mass start is something I had never done before. It would become impossible to get pass anyone else I tried a few times squeezing through openings, but took a really good kick to the head. 

First lap went pretty quick, and though I screwed up my tracking and added another 200 yards to BOTH laps, I never stopped feeling good. My buddy Chris Morgan gave me a tip that really, really worked. I overheat in the wetsuit often, and I always hated wearing it for this reason. I would pull down the neck of the wetsuit periodically, and flood it with new water. Amazing how cool it was, illustrating how hot it was actually getting inside the suit. This seemed to REALLY help. Thanks Chris!

Between the two laps, they had the bizarre course layout that required running up on the beach, parallel to the water for a couple of hundred yards, then back in for lap 2. This must have slowed progress a lot with the wade out and wade back in, but I also grabbed a cup of water and got some hydration. Pretty great really. I felt good the whole time, and picked up my pace in the second half of lap 2.

I got out of the water before a LOT of people. This felt good. There was a large super competitive pack ahead of me that was pacing at a 10 hour race... I'd not catch them unless I blew my bike race power plan, which I wouldn't do.

T1

The run was all the way up the beach, and into a building at the hotel. This was pretty weird. I had never run indoors for a transition. Once in, it was pretty chaotic, guys stripping down in the hall way and changing to bike gear. I Rambo'ed it up and just added a long shirt (it was still freezing out) over my wet Tri Top. Left my wet tri shorts. No one seemed to be in any sort of a rush in there, which was just plain weird --it definitely led me to go slower. I even started talking to a guy next to me. The outcome... the longest transition of my life... 14+ minutes! Ridiculous, but not entirely preventable. There was then a fairly good jog in bike shoes over to the bikes, and a long shoot to walk the bike through before hitting the timing mats. Interesting.

Bike

One word... FREEZING. It was 40 degrees, but there was a good 10-15 mile per hour wind blowing into us all morning. That plus the 20 mph your riding, and it's a hard icy wind blowing on your wet body. That was very, very painful. This went on for hours. I was shivering uncontrollably on the bike for a long while, and I was really not sure how I was going to take this cold. I was unprepared for such cold weather. I saw a few people that were bundled up like a ride in Boston in February. 

This created a problem I wouldn't become aware of for a while. I was so cold and trying to stay as small as I could in the freezing wind, that I wasn't taking in much nutrition, and had long 30-45 minute periods where I took in almost none. Finally, after about 2.5 hours or more, it warmed up as the sun came out. My pace picked up and I was able to eat and digest pretty well. I had not realized it, but I fell behind in nutrition.

By the time I reached the half way point I passed at least 100 people or so, I was starting to mow them down and it felt great. All this while I was barely pushing at all. I could hold a lot more watts than I was pushing, but race plan was designed to ensure I had legs on the run. I burst over on hills and when passing, but I was babying it.

By mile 70 or so, a lot of folks were showing fatigue, I remember ripping through a huge pack of athletes like a buzz saw, I went over race power target a few times as the adrenaline surged, and I felt like a million bucks. I had so much in the tank still, I couldn't believe I could feel so fresh at this point. I was visibly smiling and I knew it. I kept trying to get down nutrition, and avoid blowing through my race power target. My averages stayed under race power, but I was concerned about the little spikes.

At Mile 90 I was still very fresh and kept reeling in small packs and lone athletes. By now however I was still playing catch up with nutrition and was deliberately slowing it down. I started pulling up on the pedals and not pushing fist to prepare my legs for the run, and second to slow down and buy time to digest before the run. I had too much in my stomach, and I was trying to "will it" through digestion.

At no point did I feel any fatigue on the bike, which was awesome, the down side was obvious, my stomach didn't clear. and I've had Gi before when I ran before my stomach cleared. I wasn't happy, but it was all in from here...

T2

I transitioned faster than T1, but the same weirdness with running into the building, and people lollygagging along. I was a little faster, but knowing the run was the grand finale, I didn't rush it too much either.

Out of transition "building" and into the sun. It felt great to get the Under Armor cold gear mock off, and start running. As I left T2, someone asked for my number, I realized then that my number got ripped from my race belt when I pulled the shirt off. No body marking, and no number. I was concerned I could be DQ'ed for some rules violation. This would continue to distract my focus on the run.

Run

I went out a little fast, but worked pretty hard at throttling it down. I dont run as well slow as I do at a faster pace, my form falls apart, probably because I never practiced running slow. Every workout was fast (and it worked at getting me faster). I cruised through the first 10k on an 8:40 pace no problem. Zero aerobic cost or as i had planned "easier than easy."

As I started the second 10k I started to feel bloated. My gut was shutting down from the over eating late on the bike sloshing. My stomach distended badly, I looked pregnant. It put some pressure on my diaphram and I wasnt getting full breaths. I am very particular about my breathing when I run. Then a chain reaction. I struggled with my run form, began heel striking, and my knees lit up. I hadn't had a knee injury in a year. My pace plumeted, which had a very negative psychological effect. I was in trouble. I tried walking an aid station, and was gimping when I started running again. I tried eating a cookie, and felt like I was going to burst. I walked a mile --the first time I had walked on a run since the last time I got rocked by GI. I never walked on a training run. That was mentally crushing.

I slow jogged, gimped, and ran while holding my stomach for the next 20k. It got dark and I was hurting. I remember feeling depressed as the sun set on not only the day, but my race. What a spiral I was in. Then a wave of people I beat on the bike by an HOUR started passing me on the run, slow steady pace, probably a 9:50 or so, but it looked quick to a guy in my shape at the moment. I had not eaten through the whole marathon... and carbohydrate depletion was affecting me adversely. Not fun. Trust me. It screws with your thoughts, and it felt like I was doomed. I never get like this! I like the adversity, and I love the hardest challenges... but this was different.

Ultimately seeing people passed me sparked the competitiveness in me back up, and I just decided I would fight back. Fight, fight, fight I kept saying to myself trying to get full breaths past my bloated stomach. Whatever it took I was going to run and not gimp. 

While I never ran like I am capable of after the first 10k, my stride opened up a bit and the last 5k or so I was running like a runner (a rather sick banged up one). 

I looked down at my Garmin watch as I have a thousand times before, and usually looked at a number like 10, 15, 20 miles on a long training run. This time, I looked down and saw 138.6 miles... then enormity of this race hit me. That's a long, long way to drive in a car... and I'm not done yet... I passed people straight through the last 5-10k and felt ok. The last mile I figured I would drop it and atone as much as I could for a poor performance relative to what I know I am capable of on the run. 

I finished the Ironman.

Ultimately I was right at the 50th percentile among all athletes that day, almost 3,000 of them, which is not as competitive as I could have been, but what we can do on paper means nothing on race day. That day, and in that mornings cold, I did what I did, and I suffered through the run to earn what I got.

I could have really beaten myself up over the run, but I have not. Disappointed a bit sure, but I know there was a lot to appreciate too. I will HAMMER that course one day, because that's what's inside me. Like every race, I went in with a thousand achievements in training that I never would have imagined. Ironman interviewed an older guy before the race, he said he "won" before the cannon went off... he said "doing what you've done to toe the line at the Ironman, that's an accomplishment that is as big as the race itself." This was a guy who had multiple heart attacks in his life and came back to race (and finish) the Ironman.

This was an experience I will not forget, and of course, it probably started a fire inside that I won't be able to extinguish. I am taking 1 year off the Ironman distance race. I will do 70.3, Olympic and maybe a sprint or two with friends or family next season. I want to spend a lot more of next summer with my family. My wife Janine and the kids sacrificed as much as I did this season, and I am grateful for their support in preparing for this day.

In the interim as they say, I've got a race under my belt known as a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, a 26.2 mile run, and an experience to remember the rest of my life.

I will train hard, and make a run at the Ironman again and we'll see what happens. I still can't do anything without going all in... of it's next run at the Ironman or just about anything else... you can believe, I'll continue to "hammer it."  ...for me, life is to short to do things any other way.

While glad this was done, the sands in the hourglass were running very low before I was out for the count within 45 minutes of this picture, I was motionless on a couch and didn't move for many hours.

I Can Really Run, More Hard Intervals, 911 from Austin Ironman 70.3, Big Windy Weekend...

Few things in this update...

First, I've had a few runs in a row that we're really strong --basically PR'ing every long run workout. It's almost crazy. Last week, we had a "shorter" weekend run, 15 miles. Went into it feeling good, but not great. Dropped my pace down into the high 7's --man it just was coming. Last mile still had it to do a 6:40. Definitely worked in the last few miles, but it was there. This week, 6:40 miles in the weekly interval workouts and the "easy" tempo run was 7:24 avg pace with most of the effort on throttling pace down. It kept drifting to 7:17. Once settled in, it felt like my "all day pace" a fun run. To think... my goal from a year ago was to be able to get a 10k on 7:30s. I can really run with the best of them.

Back to Hecksher Park for hard 3x45 intervals. I tested out my new Specialized TTS2 aero helmet. It sure seems like it works. You can actually HEAR the wind flowing past it. Makes a noise. Between that sound and the sound of the 808s... it sure sounds fast anyway ; ) Did these intervals with a little bit of a cold, but still I hit the power goals. Last interval required depleting some nuclear fuel rods inside, but was good to get that kind of effort in. Fun.

While still lounging in bed my buddy Chris calls from Austin, TX, where he's racing in the Longhorn Ironman 70.3 --first HIM, first long course race. Worried about the tubulars on the Zipp wheels he rented at the race. Without any experience with them, he's going to swap them out for a set of clincher wheels at the shop he rented his bike at.

This morning, my 112 mile bike was scratched due to a "wind advisory." This plus cold had me chicken out at 5AM when I got up. It looks nice out now, but, since the winds will be half or less tommorow, I'm going to to ride tommorow, and will drop a 20 mile run today.

If I can ratchet the motivation all the way up, maybe another PR... : ) We'll see... until next time, I'll be hammering away, the taper begins next week... I drop to 70% of the 140.6 distances, then down to 50% then down to 30%... race day is really starting to come faster and faster.

Recovery Week, eMotion Rollers are Cool

Taking it a little easy this week, with recovery centric workouts. An hour or so a day, swims and low impact bike and run.

This morning I did some riding on my eMotion Rollers. They are basically awesome. They really work, and I realized... I don't think I need to be in a doorway to ride them. I spent most of my ride on the aerobars (pretty aggressive position) shifted gears on the bar end shifters, and even got out of the saddle and surged... the rollers surged with me. Amazing.

I am really looking forward to getting back on them, and riding without a "safety net" ie, not in a doorway. Between the rollers and the update coming for the TACX Bushido Trainer, I'll ride like crazy this winter and come out loaded for bear in the spring.

Wait... I still have an Ironman in front of me. Jesus, that's coming up quick. A couple of weeks of insane effort will be awesome. Long ride and long run this weekend. Yup, I'm psyched.

MightyMan 70.3 is in the books.

The "MightyMan" half ironman is in the books. Though better than my first race at that distance, it's well off the mark. Ok swim, hammered the bike, and then something went wrong on the run. One hilly, windy, & cold course.

Swim was not great, but not bad. Still dont like the wetsuit. Not many bikes back at T2 when I got in. Run went out at a planned easy/starting pace... then disaster strikes! Don't know if it was a bonk, but stabbing pain in lower back near adrenals and I was cut down to 8's & 9's. Worked it out by mile 10 (with a bizarrely loooong #1 stop!) and then dropped it to try and salvage the race, back to 7:30s, and last mile at 6:50. Relative disaster, but still a 5:31 race, #15 of 50 in my age group and top 20% overall.

All in all, dropping the P4+disc wheel guys was a _lot_ of fun on the bike. Last year, I had to watch them blow by. Not so fun getting towards the front, only to end with a middling performance. Back there next year for the rubber match... on to the Florida Ironman.

Back at the office, dinner with a bright MBA we're promoting tonight. No rest for the wicked ; )

And... Tapering

After a wicked build cycle winds down, including a PR pace on a 22 mile run that knocked :30/mile off my long run pace, and an all time high on power output on the bike and PRing time/distance and pace on that power... I'm tapering.

I hate tapering. Just like they say, I feel sick, tired, and frustrated. No sense of accomplishment without a 6-7 hour workout on Saturday and Sunday. Feels like I'm instantly falling out of shape.

Today I got a good but short workout in on the bike 2x10 intervals at crazy power I've never held on the bike before. That was crazy HARD! so much for "tapering" !

I am starting to feel very READY for the Montauk MightyMan 70.3 --as coach Joe puts it... it's just another workout now. Far less of a workout than my average weekend workout.

Pretty cool... Bring it.

Great Long Intervals

Today, I went with Coach Joe to Hecksher State Park on Long Island. It's has a relatively small loop going around it. Two roads, double lanes, pretty good condition... and almost zero cars.

Whitetail deer everywhere, and on the Great South Bay to boot.

This loop is awesome for power training on the bike. Most of my interval workouts are influenced for the worse by traffic, lights, and other danger. Not here, you get to just drop it like it's race day.

I did 3 30 minute intervals, holding power normally only done for 8-20 minute intervals... so it was a lot. I dumped all I had into this workout, and hit the average power we were looking for... HIGH!

I felt great afterwards, beat up, but great that I did such a strong workout. My speed was off the chart. I can easily hold mid 20's now on the bike (flat) and never dropped below 18 even in really bad wind by the water.

This was another good day. Tommorow, I'm off to the east end of Long Island to ride in the MS150 with my wife Janine. Janine's dad John has Multiple Sclerosis, and the team she's assembled has raised about $25,000 for MS research... if you'd like to support this effort... visit: www.teamlufrano.com

While this is a 2 day 150 mile ride (about 75 each day) I'll only be doing the first day. Saturday, I'll do the ride, and push it. I need to get 5:30 ride time in, so I'll finish, turn around and head out for probably another 1-1.5 hours, depending how fast I do the first 75-80 miles in the planned course. When I wrap 5 1/2 hours of biking, I'm going to try and brick that bike with a short 30 minute run.

Sunday (when I wont ride with the group again) I'll be doing a 21 mile run. Every run now, Coach Joe raises the pace target. It's a little hard to believe how fast I am going to have to run this, but I will throw myself at it.

Tonight, I watched the 2009 Ironman World Championship again on DVR. Watching Chris Lieto on the bike is so inspiring. He really is my hero! Watching champ Craig Alexander on that run is also inspiring --he's unstoppable. Can't wait to see these guys slug it out in Kona again this year!

Just a few weeks to the MightyMan Half Ironman... I will be ready to bring it... definitely looking for a major PR.

M

Catchup Post... threshold rides, virus, and blazing distance runs

Been a while since last post... here is the update.

I've been doing much longer rides, and riding at much higher wattages. bike has progressed a lot. a 100 mile ride no longer seems like much of a challenge in itself, granted, if I took the pace/power up further, it would get harder to hold. other than that, it's become kind of doable, and i now look forward to those workouts. i've been "bricking" those long rides with tempo runs. holding a 7:30 mile pace off the bike. just a year ago, i thought that was a fast pace to run without the hours of biking ahead of it. the fitness is way up.

i got a bad stomach virus that wiped out a week of training. very dissapointing, but the bounce back was great. i went for a 18 mile race pace run, and really hammered it yesterday. 8:05 miles, with something left in the tank... pace kept drifting up to 7:30, which i dialed down (intelligently, i think --i've done my share of overzealous blowups!)

headed up to the adirondacks for a few days or r&r and training. have some good runs, and a ton of distance swimming in pristine 13th lake.  should be awesome.

went to swim this am, and both of the pools i used were closed until after school restarts. major bummer. should have jumped in the ocean, but i like to go long and enjoy the ocean swims. today was a pure technique and recovery workout.

and i ran over a huge piece of metal that was lying in the street the other day, and blew out my front tubular, major buzzkill, gotta get my bike over to the shop for some TLC. all them miles on rough roads have taken their toll, and the bike doesnt recover as well as we humans : )

next race in the MightyMan 70.3 Ironman, my "warmup" to the Florida Ironman. Very hilly course, which i need to plan on some rides to prep for those hills. I am so much stronger than ever before on the hills though, that I think I'll do ok with them, and blaze it on the run. should be fun.

Recovery Week

After hammering away this weekend, I've got an easy week.

Saturday was a 3.5 hour power training ride. Really had to kill myself to hold the power target. Frankly, I was struggling a bit, but finished 1 watt higher than I planned and fell into the goal zone. Quads took a beating, and are still sore, but that's all good. Topped it off with a quick brick run for a couple of miles. Lots of bricks coming, and probably much longer runs off the bike.

Sunday was a 15 mile run, I set an overambitious goal of 7:50 pace, which didnt hold up so well, possibly in part do to the heat, it was closing on 100 degrees again, and minimal sleep, but it's fast for that distance for me today. I wrapped around 8:30 for just over 15 miles, and could have kept running easily. Negative split it, and had a few miles under 7:50 in the mix at the end. Coach said it was a good run. I'm of course never ever satisfied with my performance. Just can't accept "good enough." but I guess, its keeping the injuries at bay.

Key this run, for the first time, I took a lot of gels and drank a 3.5 bottles from the fuel belt. With continues practice, I can see how I'll be able to stay stronger, longer this way.

Achilles and plantar facitis are there, but under control. Doesn't stop me from running.

My buddy Kris KO'ed the Lake Placid Ironman in sub 13... raising the bar... i dig it.

Major Catchup... Coach Joe, Zipps, and NYC Triathlon

Long silence on "Hammering It" Blog...  I've not fallen off the radar completely, just running out of hours as the training volume keeps ramping up.

Since my last post... tons of training. especially on the bike. Biggest move was hiring Joe Petrush... a great Triathlon coach and athlete. He takes a very fundamental and science based approach to training. I dig it.

One of the first things Joe wanted was for me to train on POWER on the bike, not speed. This meant I needed a powertap unit laced into my rear wheel. Since I had been oogling a pair of Zipp 808 Carbon wheels, I bought a pair of Zipp 808 Tubulars... they are awesome, and I go faster on them. Really.

July 18th, I raced in the NYC Triathlon, at 2:39, I wasn't exactly stoked about the performance, but it was better than 77% of the athletes there if that matters. I'd really like to get to top 10% but that is going to take a lot of work!

I'm signed up for the Montauk MightyMan 70.3 (half ironman) in early October, which should be a great warm up for the full Ironman in Florida on November 6.

With a race under my belt, and a half on my radar... its racing season again, which adds such an important dimension to all this training.

This morning I did a great swim workout in a gorgeous 50 meter pool, love it, though it was hard enough to make me a little tired hours later. Really enjoyed that swim.

Back in the ocean tommorow for a open water swim with the 'Lafayette Beach Crew' in Long Beach.

Catchup Post: PR'ed distance on 103 mile bike, strong swim, and hammered it on a brick

Haven't been great about the blog posts lately, here is the catchup:

Last weekend, I did the Montauk Century Ride, actually about 103 miles all in. Just over six hours, good workout, but the lingering Adenovirus i caught had an impact. In anycase good day.

2.1 mile swim workout and PR'ed the pace on Tuesday

Today's brick was a PR as well, 72 mile bike at tempo, and a 10k run at a good clip. I'm kinda beat, but a great workout with my friend Domenic. Definitely qualified as "hammering it"

Adenovirus + Plantar Fascitis Beatdown!

It's been 2 weeks now that I'm doing anything but hammering it. What a horrible deal. I did get a good swim in this Tuesday, but not a single good workout since.

Been impossible to get out of bed in the AM most days. Put on bike shorts, but couldnt get on the bike yesterday. What a major, major bummer.

My left foot has been in bad shape with Plantar Fascitis. I got a magnetic roller that really seems to work, and the number of a highly regarded rolfer in NYC. I need some help!

Tommorow AM is an 80 mile ride with some friends. Hopefully I am up to the test of the day... I think once I break through the beat up and tired part of the AM, I should be good.

8.1 mile run... low heart rate at good pace...

8.1 mile run today, legs were still pretty sore from 8 mile TT on friday and this weekends bike drills. kept my heart rate way down though, and opened it up at the end and got up to the 5:30-6 min. mile range without reaching max hr. pretty cool.


Hoping to hop on the bike when i get home tonight. still dont have the new software to install my trainer at the office for early/late/lunchtime rides... anxious. legs are definitely getting stronger from the trainer workouts. quads fitting less and less into my jeans

Forced to skip Saturday, OK Sunday workout

Saturday's run was bagged. Achilles and plantar fascia were in too much pain to run on... the thought of running through the pain was there, but would not risk a serious injury.

Got in an early ride on the trainer for 1:30 --but on a day like today it should have been 3+ hours. Hard to fit it all in. Watched the movie "2012" while riding. Not great.

My friend David Brinker dropped a note with a few thoughts. Says my swim still sucks. I guess I have to get more serious on the swim, though i feel like the whole thing at this point is about the bike and bike-run bricks. the swim will get done, and a few minutes either way wont be such a big deal.

Might try and sneak in another bike trainer to get the miles up this evening.

Swim Progress

Just read one of my blogs from 2 weeks ago. did a 58 minute mile... this past week, KO'ed a 33:43 mile (in pool)

technique (and some decent sleep) trump brute force again.

PR'ed the 8 mile distance, averaging 7:29 miles

Good run, went out a little fast.

Also PR'ed the mile earlier in the week. Missed long run today though, due to some serious knee pain.

I need to replace the tire on my bike... cycling( OUTDOORS) season is here, and i have got to hammer that bike right up to the ironman.

exciting.

Catchup: 10mile PR, Meeting Ironman Jesse Sturino, Day off

Ran a 10 mile tempo run the other day. Felt a little lousy at the start, and kept pace down for HR > 155 for first 5 miles or so, running between 9:30 and 8:30 miles. Picked it up on the way back pretty good, finished 10 miles on an average 8 mile pace. Hammered last 3 miles. pretty amazing how i felt while sustaining back to back 6:40 miles.

Finally met Ironman rockstar Jesse Sturino in person yesterday. He is a champ. Great inspiration... he runs a 10 mile run in 60 minutes, with a break for a cramp. Awesome.

Got up early did a little reading on stocks/market I'm keeping on top of, and off to swim. Feeling good.... time for intervals 100 yards a pop for a mile or so... time to hammer it...

Great Day for Running

Got in a good run today. 12.5 miles, with a couple of hard miles in the middle. fastest mile was 6:50... should have been faster... grrr... I was pacing 6:34 for the last quarter mile. My goal was 6:30 miles this winter... not there yet, but getting closer. Want to be able to crush it on the 5k and 10k distances.

Anyway, averaged 7:51 on 12.5, which is probably a PR for me at that distance. I usually run pretty slow at that distance.

Felt very good at the end, despite some stomach aches around mile 8.

Stomach was a mess last night (over ate like a slob) but I still sneaked in a 1 hour bike on the Tacx Trainer holding 19+ pace. That really needed to be more like 21, but on a good day I think it would be.

On to the swim and maybe a short run tomorrow.

Killer Hill Run

Great run yesterday in Vieques, PR. 18.5 miles, ran end to end of route 200.

Crazy hills... burned a lot of matches on that run. held up okay though. good pace on the last mile of 9:15, which i would not have expected given how one of those huge hills felt on the way back.

The usual knee and foot soreness after running long, but after my first yoga session, I felt like a million bucks.

I am a huge believer in Active Recovery workouts! It works. Yoga is pretty interesting too. I will explore this more.

Short swim today in gorgeous clear water, could see the bottom 25 feet down clearly. little concerned about tides, currents, and reefs I was swimming through so kept it to a half mile and came back in.

Going to sneak in another good run tommorow AM before heading back to NYC.

AM Swim

Not sleeping much, tired again this AM. Popped two anhydrous caffeine tablets this AM to try and kick start it without a coffee. Not sure that worked, didnt feel it until I was driving to the office.

Knocked out a mile swim in 58 minutes. Sounds slower than it is, I do open turns and a mile in a pool has a lot of them. I should practice flip turns. Stil, in any case, it's too slow. All the time has to be made on the bike though.

I have been focusing on technique only for a while, and that is working. I was cruising nicely with minimal effort and low heart rate.

Traveling this weekend, so I'll hammer the bike this weekend with a Chris Lieto strength workout I saw online. Expecting it to be painful, but it's only an hour.

Rough ways to finsh a run...

Went for a run this afternoon. Great intentions, went out at a 6:10 pace... way to fast, but felt good enough to hold sub 7 for almost 2 miles. That was the good news.

The bad news is the salmon I ate at lunch was probably 2 weeks old in hindsight. My stomach was a mess, and it was HOT out. I havent run in heat in a long, long time. The northeast was brutal this winter, and I guess I am more used to running in cold.

The upshot... I blew up on this run, and walked the first time in a very long time... bagged a run. Just like they say, the negative thoughts pour in, and I am wondering how on earth I got into this, and how I can possibly complete the Ironman. Experience has taught me "I can" but today's experience suggested maybe not.

If that wasnt enough, I forgot my Garmin, and had to use the GPS and a Blackberry app to track it. Pretty ghetto by comparison.

We'll try again tommorow in the pool.

One good thing... I saw this video today.

Reminds me what I love about this Ironman thing... The closing scene in Rocky II has nothing on these guys....

Bike again. Abbreviated by Internet update of Tacx software!

Tacx software had an update to install this AM from the web... killed a solid 20 minutes of my clock. My legs were a little beat down from the day before's brick workout, so I knocked out a 1 hour ride at a decent pace.

Yesterdays ride I maxed 550 watts of power, which felt good (hard) but today was much lower max (not very useful anyway) and higher power output throughout. Of course, I rode the virtual rocky mountains, which are definitely more steep than the flats of the Florida Ironman.

Somehow I was pretty tired. I have to get some sleep, and off to run in NYC tommorow. See you on the east side waterfront downtown. 8 miles. I am thinking of 4 lactate threshold, and 4 back full tilt... see how fast I can make em...

did a great workout this am. brick'ed a 41 mile bike and a 4.5 mile run. first brick workout of the season. felt great. run was too easy. surprisingly so, given saturday was a 20.5 mile slugfest. pretty awesome way to start the day.

tomorrow's swim looks bad. early am breakfast meeting in ct... pool doesn't open early enough! perhaps improvise, and do some weights and a sprint running workout.

What is this blog...

After prepping for a whopping 90 days, and doing an IRONMAN 70.3 (half ironman distance of 70.3 miles total) and feeling good at the end, friend and colleague Jack Daly dropped this one on me...

"Mike, you had a great first race...but you never struck me as the kind of guy that does anything half way..."

Seeing as he was dead on right, I committed on the spot to racing in the Ironman. 140.6 miles comprised of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. The truth is, it's an awesome challenge, having done a bit of training. It seems hard to see how one runs a marathon at any respectable pace after so many hours and such distance... and walk it, I will not.

There is no sure thing that something doesnt go horribly wrong on a race this long, and I really, really get it. But something like 15 years ago, I learned about the Ironman, and for some reason, with zero qualification or training, I just felt like I could do it. Didnt know how, I just had this feeling. In hindsight, it might have been easier to do it in my earlier athletic youth --but time time is when the time is.

Anyway, I'll update periodically with where I am at in my quest for Iron. I'll be standing in the water waiting for the starting cannon to go off on November 6, 2010, and I intend to Hammer it every day until then. As with the Longhorn Ironman 70.3 last year, the training is so much fun, I am cool with whatever happens on race day. I love all three sports, and while the bike was my achilles, I've started focusing much more on it, and will get it up there. I'm already running at 2MPH faster than last season, and I've got a long way to go.

Lot's of guys write much more reflective, emotive things when they blog about their road to the Ironman. We'll see if my post after the race is of that nature... until then, it's really just about hammering it each day and having fun. I love it.

M