I Posted Again!!!

Well I'm back, and boy did a lot happen the last few weeks. So I'll try to keep the review short.

Musselman Half IM - July 16. Well it took me a bit of time to get over my disappointment. 5:44 is nothing to be ashamed of, but frankly I was expecting and know I can do better. What happened? Poor nutrition led to a bonk on the run that I could not recover from.

S: 39:55
T1: 2:14
B: 2:49.33
T2: 1:42
R: 2:10.55
Total: 5:44:19

I actually wrote a recap, but choose not to post it. One of the reasons I decided to blog is to keep track of my own thoughts. I wrote my first post to serve as a reminder when I hit the highs and lows. I don't really doubt my physical ability, but boy do I need some work on that nutrition thing. And probably tweak my attitude.

Wedding in San Diego - July 22. Thursday night I called my buddy who was getting married that weekend. Cashed in some frequent flyer miles and Friday morning was on a plane to SAN. Travel wasn't that fun, but the weekend in So Cal was worth it. My original flight to EWR was canceled so I had long layover at MSP instead. I think the Ms. Pacman machine is probably the same one that almost caused me to miss flights on many occasions. Was able to get into first class on the way back and must admit there are times when it pays off. Instead of the mile long line at the security checkpoint, I was able to get through in under five minutes. On the way to IAH, an overhead announcement in the plane was made that there were only two working lavatories and for security reasons, the one at the front of the plane was reserved for first class passengers. So, 1 toilet for 180 people and the other for 14. Yikes. By the way I think IAH is probably one of my least favorite airports. Oh sorry for the airport code speak. Old habit from back in the days when I was on too many planes and in too many hotel rooms. EWR=Newark/Liberty, MSP = Minneapolis/St Paul, IAH = George Bush/Houston Intercontinenal, SAN = San Diego, and my home airprot = CLE.

Papers and Projects - Ongoing. The biggest reason for my absence is the fact that I am trying to finish school. I finished five projects and papers the last two weeks and have three more to go by this Friday.

Cardiologist visit - July 14. Well I don't have a definitive yes or no on Ironman. I will be tested for Brugada Syndrome, someday. But since I haven't had anything come up out of the ordinary in months, my doc is warming up to the thought of me competing in an Ironman. And since I've trained so much already, I don't think I could pull the plug on this.

Training - So the training has been pretty screwed up mostly because of the school work. The trip to San Diego forced me to move around some workouts and cut short some others. I actually went over two weeks without swimming. And I haven't been in the weight room since who knows when; my boobs are sagging. In addition, the mental fatigue and sleep deprevation are catching up.

But this weekend saw a few decent training days. Two hour run through the humidity Friday, 2k swim, 45 mile bike, 5 mile run on Saturday, and a century plus ride today. I really wasn't concerned about speed at all and on Saturday and Sunday; I just wanted time and volume and I devoted almost 15 hours to my workouts. (On the flip side I have only slept 12 hours the past three nights.)

I don't really want to say much about my century ride today as it started pretty poorly. Jodi, TriSaraTops, and DaisyDuc may have something to say about it though. But to be out in the heat six hours yesterday and for nine hours today and not crumble has to count for something.

Future Training - Well priority one is nutrition. I hope I took a step forward this weekend as I was out there a long time. I know I need to keep sucking down water, but there were some issues with water supply today. Actually I will mention that I forgot my bottles of Accelerade and that really irritated me most of the first half of the ride. So because of what happened at my half IM, I tentatively have another half IM planned for August 13 assuming the flood waters recede and the bacteria count stays low. The purpose of that race will be to see if I actually learned and can apply anything about my nutritional needs during a race.

New Ride - July 26. So yes the new bike is here and some of you have already caught a glimpse. I have been asked why I choose a road bike instead of a tri bike. So 1.) I have never been too comfortable in an aeroposition. Why tinker with it now. 2.) Most of my miles are road riding, not tri racing and not in time trials. 3.) I was replacing a road bike, not getting a new bike. 4.) I am a decent climber, but a pretty poor time trialist. So I wanted a bike to climb not for time trials, although I think I will get a tri bike soon.

The new bike hasn't been pimped out yet, but it has 180 miles on it already. I promise I will post pictures on Monday.