Brick 1hour bike, 1 hour run

Both workouts went well, a bit windy tonight and very hot. I definitely lost a lot of fluid! Overall feeling the training in a great way, feeling stronger and my endurance is getting a lot better. Great work out and now for some shut eye!

Arthritis Foundation Reminder

Well, I got back after it today and ran about 36 minutes. Legs felt much better and it was definitely the right choice to take a day off. I also did some more pictures, filming, and videos of short answers for the Arthritis Foundation. It was a great reminder of how lucky I am to be doing what I am doing and a huge motivation for ITU Chicago this weekend!

Added rest day!

One thing I've learned in training for these crazy distances is that you need to listen to your body and today I woke up really drained with some pain in my left calf. I decided to take an extra day off given what I accomplished this passed weekend a head of my training program and especially with ITU Chicago this weekend. I also bought some awesome compression socks for my calves and have to say I'm a believer. Lots of stretching, rest, and rolling out of the muscles so hopefully I can get back after it tomorrow!

3300 yards (1.88 mile) swim and 16.30 mile run (2:06)

Finished out this weeks training today since I took an early rest day. Man was it tough. It was really hot out so I sweat a lot. I ran the same path I did last week and in the exactly same spot started to think about the Ironman finish line. My older brother who did IM Wisconsin last year tagged me in a picture of the finishing chute....and it was a much needed pick me up after a long weekend/Monday. Thought I'd share it for some inspiration. Add it to the things to visualize when the pain/tiredness sinks in!

My first century ride!

Sunday, I woke up determined to see 100 miles on my garmin and I got it with 104! It was really tough, I did the Ironman loop 2x. I am realizing I need to ride that loop more as it helps my legs learn how to climb the hills and turnover so that I can be really fast on the straight aways. It was also a really big mental game because you do the same hills so you know exactly what is coming. Yesterday was cool because I started out and it was 86 degrees and sunny and then a storm rolled in as I finished. Now to get faster....and the Chicago triathlon is this weekend!!!!

Wed/Thursday Workouts

Wednesday: I had a 45 minute run with 12x1 minute sprints. First set of those in a long time and it felt good to just be able to run fast and really get my heart rate up there. I always feel like an idiot doing sprints cuz I feel funny trying to do it but man do they help you get faster. I was actually riding alongside a father/daughter on one of those random bikes and the girl would say hello to me every time they passed me on a recovery minute. haha, made me smile.

Thursday is BRICK DAY. I had my softball game get cancelled due to the rain so I was able to really push today which was nice. I had a 1:30 bike/30 minute run. My bike got a little dice-y around 5pm with all of the traffic in and around verona. My run was extremely fast, I averaged about 6:30 min/mile pace which is really great.

I read this article today about increasing my marathon time following the swim/bike during my Ironman. Interestingly enough, it's all about volume volume volume on the bike so hopefully my training program is doing it right. http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/how-to-nail-the-ironman-marathon

This weeks training has been difficult with the amount of storms and rain we have been getting. Verona actually had a tornado come through the town and I hear there was some significant damage along the course but no deaths. Crazy what mother nature can do.

Finally, a great quote that I have been repeating to myself lately: "Good things come to those who work there assess off and never give up."

And then I ate 3 doughnuts

Todays workout = 2,800m in the pool with 8x100 sprints, and 4x200 max. Needless to say my arms were on fire. Followed by an 1:20 bike ride which turned into an 1:40 because it was such a nice day out I just kinda lost track of time. I did my workouts separately today instead of back to back so took extra recovery and I feel really good. With this weekends passed work out, I still can't stop eating. On top of a huge dinner, I have consumed 3 doughnuts, and will likely keep eating. Kind of amazing.

Weekend Work Out Summary: Relentless

That's how I would describe my workouts this weekend. Saturday I had a 4.5 hour bike ride which ended up translating into ~90 miles on the bike followed by a 35 minutes recovery run (~4.25 miles). I also started to really pay attention to my nutrition so I played a lot with Gatorade, Hammer's Perpetuem, water, and some PB&Js. This was the first time I didn't feel a crash at all so that was great but I also started to get a little nauseous because my stomach was full. My bike ride on the Ironman course had some terrible winds. One thing that I think is really hard to understand is that out there on this course, there is no where to hide and wind really builds your mental toughness. On a windy day, my average miles an hour can go from 21 mph to about 14...it just really breaks you down because it is constant force pushing against you. I started to think, what if Ironman race day is like this.... well, thats why I'm training in all weather. Sunday, I swam 2,050 meters followed by a 2:15 run which translated to just under 17 miles. All in all, a successful training weekend but I am so grateful for a rest day today. I still can't believe how quickly race day is approaching...this is the end of Week 12 of training which means I am halfway done with training. Crazy! I really hope that everyone is right when they say the training is harder than the race.

I also just realized that ITU Chicago is in 12 days!!!! It's a great way to break up the training.

Hill Repeats

Wednesdays are hill repeats, I am on a partial recovery week in training so I only had 7x1 min over a 40 minute run. I also got my Hammer nutrition products deliver in the mail today so I am excited to put those to great work during my 5 hour work out on Saturday and my 4 hour workout Sunday.

First Olympic Triathlon!

Brother-in-Law Eugene, Jacks 1st Place Division

Definitely behind on posts, especially regarding training. It's getting easier and more routine, you kind of just become a robot! This weekend I have a really tough work out so we will revisit things after that.

I competed in my first triathlon yesterday, consisting of a 0.93 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run. I finished 22nd overall and took first in the male 20-24 age group! My run was by far the stronger portion and I am really proud that my training hasn't made me lost any speed! The swim was everything as terrifying as they say. It was an overcast day with lots of wind to start out with, making it really wavy.Within the first maybe 5 minutes, I had swallowed a ton of the lake water and started to panic. Could I do this? Am I okay. I had to stop, stick my head above the water and say okay, obviously what you are doing isn't working but you are a triathlete, adapt. What can you change to make this better for yourself. So I began to rotate more to lift my head higher above the water so I wasn't just breathing in water. I even at one point started swimming the wrong direction and definitely zig-zagged a few times so I need to practice "spotting" or sighting landmarks to help me swim straight. I also had an issue with my goggles fogging up. I was not prepared to be so disorientated when I got out of the water...you just feel really slow, almost like puking, and you are telling your body to walk/run and it just doesn't. It's a really interesting feeling that only a triathlon has ever given me.I was very pleased with my bike time, averaging about 20.6 mph as well as running a 6:51 min/mile on a trail with some pretty serious inclines and slippery terrain. I actually felt I had too much in the tank left over when I crossed the finish line so when I compete at ITU Chicago in three weeks I will be sure to push myself a lot harder! All in all, I have no complaints and found that I actually really enjoyed it. You kind of ride the roller coast of emotions, what the hell am I doing, can I survive this, but in all reality I had a ton of fun and appreciate the challenge of the sport. I did keep thinking, how in the heck am I supposed to double this distance for my half Ironman Racine 70.3 in a month or even triple that for Ironman Wisconsin in September!!!!! Only answer, was not to skip training and to really invest and give it my all. I definitely need more practice in the open water haha. 

Beautiful Hilly Run @ Governor Nelson State Park

Today, as a medical student I spent some time as working with a rheumatologist in clinic. Until this point, I have yet to shadow or partake in any speciality or form of medicine that has had me as engaged as I was today. I was fascinated to learn about all of the different forms of diseases rheumatology studies from systemic lupus erythematous to scleroderma to mixed connective tissue disease and all the way to ankylosing spondylitis. I had an amazing day, taking histories, performing physical exams on patients and really seeing what goes on behind the scenes. I have to admit I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed my time. Who knows, maybe I'll be a future rheumatologist. I was invited back for clinic and I also was able to get the name of a pediatric rheumatologist here at the American Children's Family Hospital that I will likely pursue this summer. I also learned bout a great resource for patients...www.rheumatology.org. It is worth checking out!

Girlfriend Jenny, huge supporter!

Update on my RA - I have to say things have been really well. I have way less morning stiffness with the increase in exercise, I feel my body growing stronger and my joints feeling better, my pain seems really under control. I'm just extremely grateful and reflective on all the good things that are happening in my life right now. I am very thankful for it all and for all the people around me. :) This week, let the training and journey to 140.6 continue!