Still waiting . . .

Kloden Tell hasn't come yet, and that is really all we are focused on for now. Hopefully he comes soon and is a healthy baby boy. . that would be the best Christmas present ever. Amy is very uncomfortable and I think she is ready to have him. . Me? oh I am fine, thanks for asking. :)

Training is going well, I have cut back on swimming and somewhat on biking to focus more on running. I need to get in a swim or two a week, but it just seems hard to hit the pool for some reason. Biking indoors has its limits. . I did well for a while, but need to get back at it. December of 2007 I biked a total of 10 miles, so hopefully I can up that this year.

I started to type up a blog about the whole season and thoughts and stuff, but got bored writing it so let me sum it up real quick.

2008 was a great year. I made huge improvements and hope to carry those over to 2009. I like the year 2009. . just something about those numbers that I like. Anyway, Kloden will be a welcome addition to the Ironman world and I am mapping out his first race for him. .
Ironman Couer D' Alene in 2035. I project him to finish first in his age group. :) Training starts the day after he gets here. . I hope he is ready.

Waddell and Reed Half Marathon Results

COLD!!!! It was cold Sunday morning. . . that was the first thing that hit my mind when I left my house to ride to the race with Troy and Melissa Smith. Troy asked me what I was wearing when we knew it would be cold, and I said, "oh, shorts and a long sleeve technical t-shirt". .I am not a details person, so I left out the gloves and head/ear warmers. . sorry Troy and Melissa. (They looked colder than me). :)

Got to the race and parked in a dungeon of a parking that would prove to take us longer to get out of after the race than the race itself. Anyway, we walked over to the start line, saw quite a few people that we know and just chatted with everyone till it was time to line up.

My goal for this race was to break 1:49:58, which was my previous personal record for a half marathon. So I lined up about 15 feet back from the 1:40 half marathon pace runner (some races have pacers, that hold the pace time up, so you know how face to run, if you wish). Secretly, I wanted to break 1:40, but I was going to be happy with anything faster than 1:45.

The gun goes off and the normal accordian of human bodies starts. .people want to run when the gun goes off but when you have 600 people in front of you and 4000+ behind you that causes for an accordian effect, where you run then walk, run then walk, etc. . .

I cross the official starting line and hit my watch. The first mile went by pretty quick, but my watch showed 8:15 and I knew that I would have to be much faster than that on the next 12.1 miles if I wanted to break1:45. .

I missed the mile two marker, not sure what I was doing to miss it .. oh wait, I know. . I was worried about the huge hill that was up next. . needless to say, I missed the mile 2 marker so didn't really know how fast I was running at that point. . so up the hill and then on to mile 3, at mile 3 I could see that mile 2 and 3 were around the 7:45 pace, and that was much better. . . I tend to speed up as the miles go by, so I was happy with those two miles.

The course takes you basically from Crown Center northa little and then you head back south towards the Plaza. After Liberty Memorial hill, it was either gradual uphills or downhills. .with a big section through westport and to the plaza that was down hill. . .

My legs felt tired from the training that I had been doing the week prior, but I knew that my aerobic base was big enough and that I was in shape, just needed my legs to hold together.

At the mile 6 point, I could see the 1:40 half marathon pacer ahead by about 200 feet, two girls running right in front of me were talking about the pacer and how he was running faster than the splits he was suppose to be running. They said that we were right on the 1:40 pace, so that felt good to know.

After running behind them for a mile or so, I picked up the pace to see if I could catch the 1:40 pace guy (he actually holds up a little sign that says 1:40). Anyway, the miles clicked by and I started to pass a lot more than were passing me.

Coming back to the Crown Center area, I knew the finish couldn't be far. . mile 11 came by and my time were picking up. At mile 12, I started to kick it up a notch and somewhere in that mile I caught the 1:40 pace guy, so I knew that I had every chance of breaking 1:40. At mile 13 I could see that I was going to do it and my mile 12 to 13 mile was at 6:58 pace.

I came running down towards the finish line and could see the clock and knew officially that I would break 1:40... 1:39:09!!!!!!!!! PERSONAL RECORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I promised Tory and Melissa that I would get photos, so I had to find/run my way back to the car and grab the camera to get back finish line. This was Melissa's first half marathon and Troy said they (he was running with her for support) would finish around 2:25 or so. . Well, they finished in 2:10!!!!!!!!!! So I missed the photos of them running, but hopefully the official photographer of the race got some good ones for them. Congrats Melissa! Oh congrats Troy too. :)

End of a season? Not quite yet!!!

Just a quick note to let everyone know (all 4 people who read my blog that I see at least 3 times a week) that I am still alive. I have decided (as of this past Monday) to run in the Kansas City Half Marathon. For a second. . a split second, the thought of running the Full Marathon crossed my mind, but then reality set in and I hit the button for the Half Marathon. My goal is to beat my previous PR of 1:49:52 at Lawrence Kansas this past April. So we will see how it goes.

After this race, I will do a post with results and thoughts and then a wrap up post to the season. . and then. . . . . . get ready for next season!!!!!!!!!

Redman Results

What a day. . what a race. . .

Redman (Half Ironman: 1.2 mile swim, 58 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) took place on September 20, 2008 in Oklahoma City, OK.

Amy, Jenny and I arrived Thursday night to find the elevators in the Marriot all broken. . .we had to use the service elevator which meant we had to walk through some not so "nice" parts of the hotel. When we got to our room, the rollaway bed was not there and the room seemed small. What now? Call the Country Inn and Suites next door and book a room.

We ended up staying next door in a King non-smoking suite for $10 less a night, plus free breakfast and internet. . we were set. It wasn't the nicest room in the world, but it worked for us.

Friday morning (9/19/08) we woke up and I went on a short 25 minute run. Apparently they don't believe in sidewalks in OKC, so I found myself dodging the morning commute and speeding parents trying to get their kids to school. After the run, we all had breakfast and headed down to the race site to check out the area. After that we drove the bike course, which is good and bad all at the same time. I came to find out that it was not a FLAT course like they promoted and 28 miles out of town always seems really far. . . We costed into 7-eleven after the car showing ZERO miles till empty on the dash and Amy and Jenny telling me to pull over at every gas station. . (7-11 had the cheapest gas and we were making it there if that meant getting out to push).

After driving the course I took my bike on the run course so I could see what that looked like. . it looked long to me, as 13.1 miles should. The run is not my favorite part. :)

Lunch was next at Panera and then back to the race site to check-in and leave the bikes in transition area. Getting my bike out of the car and riding it my front derailluer cable came loose, so I had to have the onsite mechanics fix it for me, which they did and they did a great job too.

We had dinner that night with Troy Smith and family and also with Tim Freeland. We were all down to race the next morning and I think all 3 of us were ready to go. After dinner it was back to the hotel for res and get ready for the next day.

RACE DAY!!! It always seems I wake up before the alarm on race day. . . So we all got up and I met Troy down in the lobby and we headed out to the race to get setup. . wives and family were going to come a little later after breakfast.

Got transition set up and talked with friends from KC that were doing the race. . . got down to the water to see the Full Ironman competitors take off.. then it was time for my heat. .

SWIM:

Got in the water and did a quick warmup. Lined up all the way against the buoy and waited for the countdown. . .

The gun went off and I sprinted for the first 100 meters or so. . to try and get out in the front. I was successful and found a comfortable pace. Finally made it to the turn around spot where I started to catch some of the Ironman swimmers (they had a 15 minute head start). I navigated through the swimmers on the back half of the swim course and really ran into a lot of them at the final buouy turn towards home. I was first out of the water. .

TIME: 26 minutes 43 seconds. 1st in Age Group, 1st Overall

Transition 1:

My goal is to get in and get out. . mission accomplished.

Time: 1 minute 17 seconds

Bike:

Well, if I was going to do well, I needed a fast swim and a fast bike. So my goal was to just go as fast as I could. I did watch my heart rate to make sure that it didn't go crazy, it was higher than normal, but i felt good. My hamstrings and back were tight, but pain is part of it and I just kept giong. Going out of town on the bike route and being in first meant that I was the official start to the race for traffic control, they saw me coming and were quick or sometimes slow to get the intersection shut down so I could pass. It was neat being in first though, I have been first out of the water before but am normally passed on the bike within the first 10 miles or so. Not this time. My goal was to not get passed on the bike and if I did, then I was to keep the guy (or gal) in site the entire time. It was mentally tough all the way out to the turnaround point (28 miles) and being all by myself was also a different feeling, I only looked back once at the only turn around mile 14 and didn't see anyone. From mile 14 to 28 seemed like one big long gradual hill o false flat.

The halfway point (mile 28 turnaround) finally arrived and I knew that I could get a look at my competition. I also saw I was out in 1 hour 13 minutes and 11 seconds and unless I just shutdown, I should be able to break 2 hour 30 minutes on the bike. I actually challenged myself to go back faster than coming out, but that didn't happen.

After the halfway point I kept looking for the next biker to come, but it took longer than I expected. I think at around mile 31 or so, I saw the next biker and then a bunch of them. I got to see all of my competition coming and this made me go faster. I wasn't going to let anyone catch me, plus I had at least a 3 mile lead on them.

Being in first was cool, because a lot of other racers, were telling me "good job" "look strong" "keep going", so for a brief instance I got to feel what it was like to be "fast". I know. . I am not fast. . :)

Coming back the finish seemed like it took forever on the last part on the dam. It was one very very very long dam. . .Finally I made it back, I was first overall still and ready to get after the run.

BIKE TIME: 2 hours 27 minutes 34 seconds 22.8 MPH AVG

3rd fastest bike overall, 1st in age group

T2: I was in and out as fast as I could. The announcer was calling out my name saying I was the first competitor and I was flying. . oh if he only knew how I ran!!! :) 1 minute 11 seconds

RUN:

I took off on the run feeling good, I wanted to average around 8:30 per mile for the first 5K. I noticed that it was starting to get hot and I better start to drink. I grabbed a little bit of water/gatorade at the first aid station. My first mile time was 7:58 Perfect! I could even slow down a little on the next two miles and then just try to build into the run. Well at the 1.5 mile mark it happened. . I noticed a twinge in my left hamstring, and all I could think was, oh no, not now!!!! Then it cramped! IT WAS BAD AND PAINFUL!!!!

I came to a complete stop trying to stretch it out. . eventually I fell to the ground beause of the pain and tried to stretch it out. . I thought for an instant about just hiking it back to the start (I was only 1.5 miles out) and calling it a day. . but no, I could never quit or Do Not Finish (DNF) a race. That wasn't my style.

I got back up and the hamstring cramped again. . I fell to the ground and started to stretch it out. I figured at this point, my first place wouldn't last for long and that if anything I just needed to get up and start moving. I got up and started a slow walk/hobble. . then a right legged run (very disturbing to watch) and then just started to jog slowly.

I could feel the remains of the cramp in my hamstring but I was able to jog/shuffle for the next mile or so. My mile 2 split was 10 minutes, so I knew that any shot of holding off the other athletes was not in the works. I hit the next aid station(s) just taking in as much gatorade and water that I could.

After leaving each one, I could hear shortly after them cheering the next competitor. . . that is a strange feeling, knowing that they are coming (you can't see them, but you can hear it).

At about mile 5 to 5.5 it happend, I got passed. Really I didn't think I would hold them off for that long, but the first guy to pass was a Team Athlete, meaning he was just doing the run part since two different guys did the swim and then bike for that team.

Shortly after he passed the next guy to pass me was just moving a little faster than me. .I told him congratulations, he is now in first place and he said "not for long, they are coming, I am not a good runner". I paced off him the best I could and just waited for the others to come. One other guy passed me right before the turnaround and then on the way back to the finish I could see them all coming. My goal at this point was to limit the damage. I was looking for ages on the back of legs so I could see what other 30-34 year olds were passing me.

I saw friends on the course, two Bike Stop Teammates, Tim Freeland who was looking strong and Troy Smith who was looking very strong (bike faste next time). Tim had a personal best and did an awesome job by getting 2nd in his age group. Troy had a personal record and broke 6 hours! (not bad for his first triathlon season)

To make a long story short. . .I was only passed by two 30-34 year olds, which meant I got 3rd in my age group. My main goal was to break 5 hours. . . I was coming down the final stretch, I saw. . 4:59:55 . . 56. . . 57. . . 58 . . 59 . . .5 hours .. flash before my eyes . I was not going to make it.

RUN TIME: 2 hours 3 minutes 23 seconds
I am not going to even say what place it was overall or my age group. :)

I was tired. . that was all I could think of. :) Well that and Dr. Pepper.

Overall time: 5 hours 6 seconds

Overall Place: 14th out of 314

Age Group: 3rd out of 37

Taper and Redman

Well. . . the season is winding down to an end. The benefit and disadvantage of doing an Ironman in June is that you have a big base of fitness to draw on for the rest of summer, but at the same time all the other races after Ironman just don't seem as important. Luckily this year, my attitude and training has been much better than last and I am ready to get the last race of the season over and done.

Racing a Half Ironman Distance race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) can be tricky at best. It is long enough that you can't go all out from the beginning and hammer the bike and then hang on for the run and it isn't long enough (like a full Ironman) that you are always pacing yourself and watching the heartrate to make sure it stays around 70%. No, a Half Ironman is somewhere along the lines of suffering and pain with a little bit of mental anguish thrown in.

I have only done one other Half Ironman and that was in September of 2005. I attempted to do two others, but both were cancelled (long story). So, my experience with this distance of a race is not that great. I have a game plan, but executing the plan is the trick.

So the taper started this past weekend. Basically a Taper is a way to decrease the volume of training while maintaing a higher intensity for a shorter period. So instead of a 3 hour bike ride, you would do a 1.5 hour bike ride but at a slightly faster pace. Get the picture? This allows your body to repair itself and for muscles to rebuild and strengthen. While the body enjoys this time, the mind is second guessing itself. It says to do more, go harder, run faster, swim longer. . .

Oh, and don't get me started on the stomach, it still wants the same amount of food that you were eating all along the 5 hour rides and 2.5 hour runs that you were doing before. . . it says fill me up. . . even though you really don't need it. :)

Yes, the taper is a tricky thing. Luckily I am feeling great. . swimming fast in practice, biking really well and actually had a decent and fast (for me) run this morning. Now we just need to see what happens on race day.

Here is a link for the race. Of course I will post results after it is all over and give my race report. Just 3 more days to keep the mind in check and the stomach convinced that it doesn't need any more food. :)

http://www.redmantriathlon.com/

Tour of Missouri

Tour of Missouri 2008:

For those that don't know what the Tour of Missouri is, in short is it a stage race across Missouri by the world's best professional cyclists. It is a great opportunity to see a world class race close up. Basically it would be like going to a playoff game or baseball or football and being able to be on the field.

Here are some photos from the event. Pics of bikes. To be exact Prince bikes, some of the best and most expensive in the world. I think I enjoyed walking by the team cars and checking out all of the equipment as much as the race. .. .well, almost as much.

Giant bikes: This is Mark Cavendish's bike, he won the stage and he is regarded as one of the top sprinters in the world.

Here is the final push to the finish. . these guys are moving. . smokin fast. This is at the end of 90 miles and I am sure their legs are burning, but they are pushing close to 40 mph. . . WOW!!!

These two Rock Racing guys fell off the back and were just helping each other to the finish. I think one of them crashed earlier in the day and the other is actually helping him to cross the finish line.

This is my new best friend, George Hincapie. If you don't know who George is, then Google his name. It should return with about a million hits. He helped Lance Armstrong to all 7 of his Tour De France victories. George is one of the greatest American cyclists of all times. When I saw him, he was about to get back into the team bus, but I called out "George, it's me!!!" and he came right over. Well, actually I called out "George, just one more picture" and he was nice enough to come over. Then a reporter got a hold of him so he took pics with me and was answering the reporter's questions. Anyway, I like the picture.

Jackson County Triathlon

Ok, first let me tell you how wonderful it is to have the wife I do. It is not every woman who would get up at 4:45AM on a Sunday morning, drive 25 minutes to wait another 2.5 hours to watch her husband "do a hobby" for approximately an hour and then wait around for him to receive his 3rd place award, which is basically about $100 worth of free stuff. So THANK YOU AMY!!! I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!!! Oh, and did you know that she takes great pictures too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The race started at 8:05 for me, I was the second heat (they had us start by age group) to go, so I had to make up 5 minutes on the first heat and hold off the other heats behind me, that was my goal. Longview lake is a great venue for a triathlon, although today the wind was kicking up some strong waves that made for an interesting swim. Not to mention that I as I the swim went on, I had to navigate through the heat that went ahead of mine. I had a good swim and was first overall out of the water both in age group and everyone that competed.

Swim Time: 8 minutes 13 seconds (.3 mile swim)
After the swim to bike transition, I could see that I was right beside Chris Fugate, a friend and competitor. We actually swam together in High School, so I expected him to be with me on the swim. I know he is a very good athelete and can run very very well, so I needed to put some time on him on the bike and that is what I did. I passed him quickly out of transition and never looked back, I just put my head down and hammered the whole way. 11.75 miles was the 1 loop course.

Bike Time: 30 minutes 46 seconds. 22.9 MPH Average (11.75 mile bike, although I think it is actually longer than that).

This is me going out on the bike, you can't see in this picture, but Chris is about 5 feet in front of me.


This is me coming in to the finish on the bike.

Coming off the bike, I knew I was in the lead. I passed about 20-25 people from the first heat and no one had passed me at all. So I felt like I had a good bike leg. But I knew that the run was going to be tough.

I got off the bike, threw on the run shoes and took off as fast as I can. This was a different feeling for me, I was the only one out there, I figured someone had to be in front of me from the first heat, but I didn't see anyone at all. I figured if I had a 3 minute lead on anyone in my heat (Chris) then I should be able to hold them off, if I could run 7 minute miles. At mile 1 I was right at 7 minutes, the guy at the water station said I was the second one through, at first I didn't know what he meant, but then I realized that only one person was ahead of me. I knew I would see this guy at the turnaround (at mile 1.5) and then I could see who was behind me. At the turn around, the guy in front was about 30 seconds ahead and I could see that he was a guy that started in the first heat, so actually I was ahead of him by 4 minutes 30 seconds or so. No need to worry about running him down. Also, I could see that Chris (the other guy from my heat) was about 2 minutes behind me, he looked like he was moving fast, so I just kept up my pace. Coming home, I got a quick glance back at the final turn and knew that no one was going to catch me.

This is the first race, where I have not been physically passed by anyone. That is a good feeling!!!

Run Time: 21 minutes 02 seconds. 7:01 minute miles. 3 miles (I really wanted to break 7 for an average, but I think that is my fastest 3 mile run ever).

Final Time: 1 hour 2 minutes 10 seconds.

Overall Place: 3rd out of 448 people.

Age Group Place: 1st out of 42 people

Tour of Kansas City Criterium Bike Race

First let me explain what a Criterium is. Basically it is a bike race on a closed short circuit (3 mile loop) with a lot of twists and turns which make for a very technical race.



This was my first bike race ever. Yes I have done triathlons and duathlons, but this is the first time for just doing a bike race. I started the day driving to some friends house so we could ride to the race start together. This gave us about 13 miles to warm-up in. They live in the south part of Kansas City off of 83rd and Holmes and we had to ride up to North Kansas City to Cliff Drive and Prospect. This was great in that it also allowed me to do my first Urban ride. . . I saw parts of Kansas City that I have never seen before (maybe never want to again too). It was actually fun riding through downtown Kansas City.

We made it to the race start to see the first race of the day go off (8:30 Master's 40+ Men). It was great to see the race, it was a lot of fun to watch and it reminded me of the Tour of Missouri and watching cycling on TV. About 3/4 of the way into their race it started to rain. . RAIN plus Pavement plus BIKES makes for very dangerous conditions. Criteriums are known for being dangerous without the rain and now throw in the rain and who knows what is going to happend. Within 5 minutes of the rain, the announcer let us all know that there was already a crash. . .It wouldn't be the last. . .

The Category 5 men (beginners) started at 9:30 AM. We all lined up and they had more than one announcement on how to be careful on the first part of the course and to be really careful on the turns and decents. They also said we may want to start letting air pressure out of our tires to be able to create more surface area to grip the road better.

The gun went off and we all started up (our race was 4 laps of the 3 mile course). . within the first 50 yards, two guys go down hard and slide across the road. Right then I knew that staying upright on the bike for the whole race would be a win in my book. The crash let some of the guys in front to open up a lead and with the conditions the way they were, I wasn't anxious to chase on the turns that were coming up.

On the big hill before the finish I was able to catch the main group and pass a couple of people, but going down hill after the starting line onto the second lap was where things got sketchy again. The whole Bike Shack race team pretty much went down, 3 guys went down hard and then the next thing I know a guy behind me went down and clipped my back wheel. I managed to stay upright, but I made an executive decision right there, that I wasn't going to ease off and stay away from other riders and out of danger. Afterall, this was just a 12 mile bike race, and I didn't spend all year training for Triathlons and Ironman to give it all up for a broken bone in a bike race.

The last 2 laps consisted of me riding in no man's land, passing a group of 2-3 riders from time to time and just wanting the race to be over. I could see the main chase group, but the rain and turns and mud that was splashing up on me from the nearby construction, just had me peddaling hard but not pushing on the turns or cutbacks.

When I finished, I was all by myself, I really thought I had come in second to last or very close to it. After I finished, I saw that the main chase group in front or me (which had about 7 guys in it) just finished about 10 seconds before me.

After the race, I was talking with the two guys that I rode up to the race with and they each thought they got 5th or 7th place, which meant I probably got around 14th place or so. .

Final Place: 12th out of 49 riders.

I was happy with my finish and had a good time riding to the race and back, it was just the race that I could of done without. :)

I climbed the big hill for the last time, catching a guy that fell off the main chase pack

Miles. . .

I am going to start posting ride reports from the Saturday morning group. . ..

Good job to everyone on Saturday. We had a good crew and thank you for
hanging back to make sure everyone made it to Lotawana ok. . .

Saturday's Theme: Miles. .. ..

Some commentary for your reading pleasure (from the 7:30 ride). . ..
(starting after Lotawana). NOTE: IT seems Charlie lost the Yellow Jersey
from the previous week, but we are happy to report he was wearing King of
the Mountain colors. . so we didn't do a good enough job of protecting him
the week before. .

I always enjoy riding with a big group of people down Colbern. Everyone seems
a little antsy to get the ride going and test out their legs for the day.
We had a big group hit the big climb and it quickly revealed who was
ready to ride and who was not. Next . . .

Randy got us going on E Colbern Road coming off the hills towards
Stillhouse. . Dave organized us into a semi decent paceline on Stillhouse
till one of us (who I will not name TROY!!!!, had a flat and it took the
expertise of Dave to get him back on the road). Randy, Dave, I (Jared) and
Max helped to get Troy back up to catch the stragglers and then onto QT
where it looked like most of the guys were done for the day. . .(Eric must
have killed them heading to QT).

After QT, we got a good group (around 8-9) guys heading to Buckner on F
Highway. Eric took the first pull and did an excellent job of getting us
close to Pink Hill where "THE MACHINE" Dave Corwin took over and got us
past Pink Hill and up to a good pace. Steve took over till we got to
Truman Road and held his own really well. I pulled up Truman and onto H highway for a bit. . . . we had about 4-6 guys by the time we hit Bone Hill with Randy and Dave attacking halfway up and I believe Randy won King of the Mountain points there. . .

Heading onto 24 highway into Buckner we had the wind at our backs and Randy
on the front (could anyone ask for anything more?). We stopped at Shell
station for some water/ice/gatorade and started the paceline back up.
Headed down Lake City Buckner Road up to Bundschu where Dave or Troy won
King of the Mountain. . Or maybe it was Randy??? :)
I can't remember . . . I was too tired.

After Bundschu, the executive decision was made to head south on 7 Highway
to 23rd street instead of the Bundschu Hills heading East. .. We had a
good paceline heading down 23rd and everyone seemed to riding strong.

We hit church hill off of 23rd and it never seemed so steep, I can't
remember who took KOM points. .but we were all tired that was for sure. We
did have the pleasure of having a motorist yell (tell on Eric) for not
using hand signals. . .Eric. .please use hand signals and not the one finger
kind.

We came down to RD Mize where apparently much to my surprise the
intersection was not clear which caused me to hit Randy's wheel and almost
end my day. Luckily I was able to "right" myself and after stopping to
check things over was on my way while giving everyone about a 100 yard head
start. . Dave and Randy dueled it out up RD Mize hill to Caseys with Troy
and Eric behind. . I was able to catch Eric and then Troy but had to go
into Time Trial mode to catch Dave and Randy. I finally did at I-70 and
Woods Chapel with the help of a Red Light. ..

Dave, Randy and I ended up first back to Bike Stop with others shortly to
follow. . .

All in all it was a good ride with some new faces. . . Good job to
everyone. .. .

FOLLOW UP: It appears that Steve helped Charlie salvage his KOM jersey by pulling him back from Crenshaw. . . Those two do a great job. . I hope to be riding that well when I am a few more years down the road (no pun intended.

Midwest Mayhem Olympic Distance Triathlon

Here is a race report for the race I just did. It was in Clinton Lake south of Lawrence, KS There will not be any pictures because my personal photographer had the day off. :)

The funny thing about doing an Ironman is that other races just don't seem as important. So much goes into training, planning and executing an Ironman that when other races come up on the calendar, they just sneak up on you and I find myself scrambling at the last minute to get everything together. I guess mentally after an Ironman you feel as though you should be done for the year.

Woke up at 4:45 to meet Ben Schloegel at his Fire Station by the old Bannister Mall. Headed out to Lawrence ready to get the race going and head back home.

The swim portion is a 1.5 Kilometer swim in Lake Clinton, it is a small lake so there was not any chop or waves to speak of. I was placed in the second heat (heats were based on age group) and there was 5 minutes that separated each heat. The swim went off well and I felt I had a decent performance.
Swim Time: 22 minutes 48 seconds

I headed out of the swim into Transition 1 and felt as though I am actually getting faster in getting my bike stuff on quickly.
Transition 1 time: 1 minute 8 seconds

The bike leg was a 40K or 24.8 miles. It was a hilly course with a nice strong wind out of the west/southwest. I had decided going into the race that I would need to have a strong bike and try to just hang onto the run. I was only passed by 1 person and actually passed about 4 guys on the bike. I knew that I was first out of the water in my heat, so the guys I passed were actually from the first heat (they had a 5 minute head start). Coming out of the lake was hilly and then out onto the main course, with the wind at our backs for the first 4-5 miles was nice, but then it was time to pay. We headed west and then eventually southwest and had to fight the wind the entire time while riding up some fairly long uphills. It was definately a mental struggle. Coming home, was more of the same wind. . .but just put my head down and kept hammering.
Bike Time: 1 hour 8 minutes 5 seconds Average mph: 21.9

Transition 2: I came into the transition tired, but got my bike helmet and sunglasses off quick and socks and shoes on. .
Time: 1 minute 3 seconds.

The run was a 10K or 6.2 miles and I knew that it was going to be tough. The course was hilly and even involved some off-road sections through the woods and rocky trails around the lake. I wasn't moving really fast at first and my first time check at mile 1 was around 8 minutes 20 seconds. I was hoping I would be able to hold 7:30 per mile, but the course and the heat/humidity didn't allow for that. I suffered through the run and really have never felt so tired during a race since my first Half Ironman when the temps were a comparable 92-95 degrees.
Coming to the finish, I was just happy to be done. I got passed by 1 guy with about 1/4 mile to go, but I had no response.
Run Time: 53minutes 58 seconds 8:43 per mile

Overall Time: 2 hours 26 minutes 59 seconds

Overall Place: 9th out of 132 people
Age Group Place: 1st out of 16 people

Upcoming Races

I have 3 races left this year for the sport of Triathlon. I may try and do a bike race in early August, but that will be a pure learning experience since I have never technically done an official bike race before. . we will see. Here are my next traithlons.

July 20th: Midwest Mayhem Olympic Distance Triathlon. http://www.midwestmayhemtriathlon.com/

August 24th: Jackson County Triathlon. Short Course.
http://www.jacksoncountytriathlon.com/

September 20th: Redman Half Ironman.
http://www.redmantriathlon.com/

If I do a bike Race it will be the Tour of Kansas City. . I believe the weekend of August 1-3. We will see though.

Oh yeah. . WE ARE HAVING A BOY!!!!!!!!!!! Due December 5th. . .
Name: Kloden Tell Kuntz

:)

2008 Ironman CDA

I will start from the beginning. . . January 1st, 2008. I was 220 lbs and had signed up for Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) in
July of 2007. I was now faced with the fact that in order do the best that I know I could do, I would have to loose anywhere from 30-35 lbs. Well, to make a long story short. . 31 lbs was lost. . . and the final time showed that when I crossed the finish at 6:27.05 PM on Sunday June 22,2008. So here we go. . . .

Wed June 18th, Amy and I left at 6:30AM for Sokane, WA and then a 20 minute drive to Coeur D'Alene (CDA), Idaho. We met a fellow athlete from Kansas City on the plane, her name is Dawn McPherson and it was her first, we sat next to her from Denver to Seattle and from Seattle to Portland, which seemed to make the time go faster since we were able to talk about triathlons and the people that we both knew. Once we landed in Spokane, it was total chaos and waiting for the next 3+ hours. I had Amy get our bags while got in line for the rental car. To make a really long story short, we had to wait 3+ hours for our rental car before we could head to CDA. Plus. .Amy was getting physically sick, head cold and aches.
Got into town and I went on a 30 minute run down to the race start and back. .I felt good and the weather was great. Although, I started to feel a little head cold coming on too.

Thursday June 19th: I woke up at 5:00 AM (remember they are two hours behind us here) and got some things togther and headed down to the lake for a 7:00 AM practice swim. Amy stayed in bed to get some sleep (which she needed. I got to the lake and met up with some BeginnerTriathlete.com friends. We all got ready and headed down to the lake. I went in the lake and the water was COLD!!!! It was 56 degrees and I started to swim and my face was freezing, my brain was cold and even though I am VERY comfortable in water, I started to have my doubts. I pushed through the cold and finally started to settle down and swam 1.2 miles in 32 minutes, which I was very happy about. I wasn't going for a specific time, but I was happy that even though I would stop and sight and just recover from the cold, my time was still really close to 30 minutes. . . The rest of the day I just hung around the house and took it easy. Amy's parents got in later in the afternoon and my parents were already in town but staying over close to Spokane. Amy's parents and us went to eat at Mongolian BBQ. . . which would come back to haunt me in about 24 hours.

Friday June 20th: This was a planned rest day, so all I had to do today was to go register and get my packet and race stuff. Amy was starting to feel a little better, but still not 100%, my head cold was a little better too. . . I just didn't want to get really sick. After we ran around town and got some stuff and I registered, we sat down to eat dinner. . shortly after my stomach got cramps and pains and suffering etc. . to make a disgusting story short, I was up all night on the toilet. . .the whole time thinking, I have an Ironman race in about 36 hours. . that was really tough on me physically but emotionally I was having a tough time. I had spend the past 6 months training day and night, watching what I eat, taking care of myself, spending money (oh yeah, this is not a cheap sport) just to get ready for this moment. AND here I was sick. . . very sick. . .I drank a whole bottle of Pepto Bismol that night. :)

Saturday June 21st: Amy and I woke up early (she was feeling better by now) and we went to the grocery store and I got some more Pepto Bismol. . took a few more swigs and then we all went to the Coffee shop. We tookd my bike and gear bags down at around 11 or so and we went through the merchandise tent so NA sports can get some more of our money. I didn't eat anything till 12:00 that day when I had some crackers and chicken noodle soup and applesauce. I had been drinking water and gatorade, to try and get fluids into my system. I started to feel somewhat better by the afternoon and things seemed to have "stopped" happening. I continued to eat just applesauce, chicken noodle and crackers (I think I ate a half a box of crackers). By the evening I was feeling better still with just some grumblings. . . but there was at least hope. I do want to mention that I prayed about every 2 hours that the Lord would make me better. . .as always he answered my prayers. NONE OF THIS WOULD BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT MY HEAVENLY FATHER.

GOAL TIME: BREAK 12 hours

SUNDAY June 22: RACE DAY. . . I woke up at 4:30 and felt great. I didn't have any more stomach pain/feelings and was able to eat a GU, Accelerade, piece of bread and banana. Actually I felt the best this morning than I did any other day of the week. We loaded up the car and headed down to the transition area/start. I checked over my bike and put air (not too much) in the tires (110 psi). Went to the my transition bags to put my orthotics in the bag and then check on my swim to bike bag. Everything seemed good to go. It had rained the night before, but I waterproofed my bike and bags, so all was dry.

I hung out with Amy and her mom while Andy was off to get Coffee for everyone (besides me). My parents showed up a little later. It was great to have my mom there. .she wasn't able to be there last year because of her monther (which I 100% understand) but I am glad she was able to experience the whole experience with us this year. I put my wetsuit on and gave Amy a kiss and headed down to the swim start. I saw Dawn on the way and we walked onto the beach and then I told her good luck and I headed to the far left to get out of the main crowd and as far to the front as I could.

We stood on the beach and watched the pros come in from their first loop. Standing there getting ready to start is perhaps one of the most nervous and greatest feelings in the world. Everyone is ready to go, the crowd is pumped up and then a helicopter comes buzzing overhead. . .the whole experience is like no other.

Shortly after the pros went on their second lap it was our turn to start. We played the Star Spangled Banner and then the announcer got us ready to go.
BANG!!!!!!! The cannon goes off and before you know what is happening your legs and arms start going and you have begun an Ironman race with 2100+ people.

THE SWIM: I had a good first lap, although my sighting was bit off, I am a much better pool swimmer than open water swimmmer, but I do hold my own in the lake. I didn't get hit or hit anyone on the first lap, and the whole time I am just thinking this seems to be taking forever. I made the far turn and started back towards the beach. Before long I exited the swim, ran on the beach and then was back in the water for lap 2. My watch said 27 minutes, so I figured I was about righ on track and wanted to pick up the second loop a little quicker. The second loop went quicker and on the final leg coming back to the beach the group I was with started to catch some of the slower swimmers who were still on their first lap. I was just thinking that I was glad I was not them. . and I was almost done with the swim. I finished the swim and ran over the timing mat. 56 minutes and 36 seconds

Transition 1: I made it to the wetsuit stripper and the wetsuit was off in a second, the only thing is my goggles and cap got caught in the sleeve, but at least I was out of the wetsuit. I ran and grabbed my bag, was in the tent and changed into my bike gear. Time was 5 minutes 49 seconds.

Bike: I started on the bike easy but my heart rate was up high around 179 or so. . I worked on getting it back down during the first 10 to 20 miles and it finally setteled down to 155 or so. I did notice that my lower back and hamstrings were really really tight and sore. I tried to stretch them out as much as possible on the first 56 miles, I knew that if they didn't get loose then it could be a long long day. The first lap wasn't too bad, I was averaging around 20+ mph on the first 30 miles and that was with some big climbs. The wind was picking up out of the south, which meant heading back into town to start the second loop would be met with winds of around 20-30 mph. I just tried to stay as aero as possible and conserve as much energy as I could. I made it back into town just in time to hear the announcer say that the group that was going by now was among the top age group women. . .that made me smile. There are some fast women out there, no doubt about that. At mile 63 is the special needs bag stop, so I stopped for about 30 seconds to get some essentials and then headed back out for the final 39 miles. The second loop seemed a lot more difficult than last year, although that is because last year I was on the side of the road for an hour and half waiting for tech support, so this year I got to experience the real pain of the bike. Some of those hills on the second loop killed a lot of people. Going 8mph up the hill was a good thing at that point. On the way back into town the wind was gusing up to 30+ mph, but I just tried to stay areo and back off a little, because I realized that I still had 26.2 miles to run.
I also realized that I needed to be off the bike and on the run in under 7 hours in order to guarantee myself a sub 12 hour finish.
Time: 5 hours 46 minutes 23 seconds Avg speed: 19.4 mph.

Transtition 2: I was off the bike quick, to my bag and to the tent. .helmet off, shorts changed, shoes on and I was off. 2 minutes 26 seconds. I knew that 12 hours was doable. . . I was on the run in under 7 hours.

RUN: Well, never been much of a quick runner, but I just telling myself that I need to run no matter what. . I would only walk through the aid stations about every mile apart. So I started running, and the thing is, I felt really good. I was clicking off 9 minute miles through mile 6 and then with the walking of aid stations, went to around 10 minutes till mile 13 or so. Here is where I knew I would have to push through the pain. Each time I run long, when it starts to get to mile 15-18, the pain really starts to set in. I also know if I can get through this 3-4 mile stretch then I will be ok, because my body settles down and realizes that we still have more to go so don't get so stressed out. Well, mile 14-18 was the hardest, I just kept running and focusing on making it to the next aid station. Somewhere around mile 20 I started feeling good again and knew that I would make my 12 hour time no problem. . but then I realized something else that would make me realize more pain. .. If I pushed a little, I could possibly break 11hours and 30 minutes, which if you would of asked me if that was possible a week or even a day before I would have said NO!!! Well, it was possible, and I started to pick the run up. The final 2 miles were pure pain, I saw Travis and Bonnie (BT friends) on the course and each gave me encouragement. .. the last .2 miles are perhaps the best thing. Turning down the final street you can see the finish and the place is just packed with people. .I knew I was going to break 11 hours and 30 minutes and I started to look for my family. . they were about 3/4 way down towars the finish and I saw them and gave it a fist pump. . I was very excited. RUN TIME: 4 hours 35 minutes 51 seconds.

FINISH:
I had planned out my finish in my head and had to remind myself to not look down at my watch as I finished the race. . instead throw the arms up and enjoy the moment. . . .I got the crowd going when I was nearing the finish and made sure that I was all alone so not to get in anyone's way as I crossed the finish line. . I finished in 11 hours 27 minutes 5 seconds. I was very excited. . and also very tired. I pushed myself on the run, something that yes has to be done, but does not feel good. . .

After: I say my whole family and it was great having everyone there. Mom, Dad, Andy, Stephanie, Amy and Aunt Janet and I got to talk to my Aunt Connie on the phone. I tried to eat some pizza, but spit it out. . because my body couldn't handle food. . I drank some water, walked around and then got my bike and bags. walking was very hard after the race, but I was so happy to be done and with the time I had.

Thoughts: The only problem with going 11:27 is now, I wonder how much faster can I go??? If I could take a half hour off, then that would be a sub 11 hour. . which is very respectable. Then if I could take another 45 minutes that would be 10:15, which puts me in World Championship qualifaction territory. . . who knows. . .

We will see. . . I am already thinking of doing Ironman Wisconsin in 2009. . .then maybe back to CDA in 2010.

It is coming. . . .

I am sorry, I will post a new blog very soon about Ironman. In short I had a great time and was happy with my time. . .

Stay tuned. .. more to come. . .

Kansas City Corporate Challenge Time Trial

On May 28th, I competed for JPMorgan Chase in the Kansas City Corporate Challenge. Basically this is a series of sporting events that area companies compete in.

I was one of the 30-34 age group guys from our company to compete. I went into it thinking that if I could go top 10 in my age group, that would be great. .

I warmed up for about 2 miles and felt ok, but tire from running in the morning and lifting weights. . I lined up for the start and hit the gas.

I felt good through the ride, there was a slight tailwind at first and then a gradual downhill, I passed about 4 guys up to this point and every once in a while I was checking my mph. . somewhere around 26-30 depending on where I was on the course. My legs were tight and I could feel the lactic acid building up, but I just kept telling myself to hammer as hard as I could and the pain would go away.

Coming into the back half there is a slight uphill, but I felt good and stayed in my aero bars and pushed through it till the final straight into the finish. I decided to stay aero instead of standing up to crank on the pedals and finished in a time of what I thought was 5 minutes 18 seconds for 2.5 miles.

After the race, I waited for Amy to do her time trial (she did great, especially since she is riding for two) and talked with some friends. . I said, I thought my time was 5:18 and they both said, I should place pretty high. . but I still figured I was 5th or 6th. . .

I made my over to the final results and looked at my name. . . FIRST PLACE!!! I was pretty surprised. First place in my age group (gold medal)and 6th out of 544 people that competed.

I guess all the training does pay off. :)

2008 Bikesource Triathlon

I know. I am really bad at this whole blog thing. I don't think that many people read it anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter too much. Without further delay. . a little update.


Weight wise, I am down to 196 pounds now. I am happy about this accomplishment even though my goal was to weigh less, but I need to face the fact that I have put on muscle at the same time, so a better guage would have been body fat percentage. . but 196 is better than last year and I still feel as though I can loose another 5-10 pounds by Ironman. If I could be 188 or so. . that would be awesome.


So much for that now on with the race. This is the first time I have done the Bikesource Triathlon as an individual. I have as a team before, but this was way more fun. So the triathlon is a sprint triathlon, consisting of 600 meter swim, 11.5 mile bike and 3 mile run.


The swim is done in Heritage Park Lake (Duck Pond) and water temp was 70 degrees. Really it wasn't that bad at all. . . but my feet did touch the bottom a couple of times while we were waiting to start and they sank into about a foot of mud/yuck/etc. . That stuff really grosses me out.




I had a decent swim. .I was second out of the water, the guy that beat me, only did by a few seconds and the third place guy Sandy Cohen (a friend) was right on my heels and we basically had the same time. I got passed by about 3 people in transition and then hit the bike as hard as I could. All week leading up to the race, I kept telling myself to just HAMMER the bike. . just go as fast as I can till all 11.5 miles were done, and that is what I did.


Normally in the bike part of the triathlon is where I get passed a lot. . well I am happy to report that I passed 3 people and only got passed by 2 people. Individuals that I expected to pass me never did, so to say I am happy with my bike portion is an understatement. The bike leg was 3 loops and had a couple of hills in it that kept everyone honest. I am a decent climber, so even though hills hurt, they can help at the same time. Oh, and I got to use my Giro Advantage 2 Aero Helmet for the first time, and I love it!!!!!


In transition I got passed by about 3 people and then on the run another 5-6 people passed me. I am not a good runner, in fact, I am just plain slow. So, my first mile was 6:48. . and that is acutally very fast for me. .. .the next two miles must have been around 7:30 or so, but I can see that I am becoming a faster runner, but just not fast enough.

Oh, and thank you to Bike Stop (http://www.bikestoponline.com/) for their help and support. Notice the jersey?




My overall time: 59 minutes 50 seconds


Swim Time: 6 minutes 37 seconds (2nd Place in the swim)


Transition 1 Time: 1 minute 38 seconds


Bike Time: 29.09 (6th place in the bike)


Transition 2 Time: 1 minute 6 seconds


Run Time: 21 minutes 22 seconds (83rd place on the run)




Overall Place: 14 out of 206


Age Group: 3 out of 39

Lawrence 1/2 Marathon and 2 months out

Saturday morning (42 degrees, rainy, cold) I went to the typical meeting spot to ride with the White Oaks group, but no one was there. . so I reluctantly went down the road to the Dog ride and Bike Shack crew and rode (tried to) with them a ways. . . Let me just say this, from time to time it is good to ride with people way better than you. 1 is humbles you and 2 it shows you how far you still need to go. So thank you Bike Shack race team for doing both of those for me.

I ran the Lawrence 1/2 Marathon on Sunday April 20th. I did this run last year and had to do it again this year as it is a great run to get in during Ironman training. If you get a chance to do this run, it is worthwhile. It is an awesome time running through the town of Lawrence up to KU campus and then back to Haskill College. My unofficial time (my watch time) was 1:49.41 . . . I wanted to beat 1:50, but the last 1/2 mile was basically a full on sprint. . It hurt . . A LOT!!!

Later in the afternoon I did a 35 mile bike ride in the afternoon with some of my cycling friends. . . it was good to test the legs a little more and to see what type of response I could get from them. . overall I am happy.

TWO MONTHS out from Ironman CDA!!!! I feel great, weight is down to 198 (from 220 on Jan 1st) and I get more excited with each week as the weather gets nicer and the time get closer. I have a goal time to beat 12 hours. Last year I was 13:35 and some change but was on the side of the road for an hour and half waiting for a new tire. . . So 12 HOURS is what I want to beat. That is the great thing about individual races. . . you can set personal goals and even though you come in 900 out of 2500 people you can still feel as though you won a Gold Medal at the Olympics. :)

Speaking of Olympics. . . this should be an awesome summer. . I can't wait to watch swimming and triathlon and cycling in August. . .

I am not good at this.

Ok, so I am not good at posting a whole bunch. . but a quick update. Training is going well. Here are my totals for March.



March's totals:
Bike:
23h 31m 30s - 392.96 Mi
Run:
13h 35m 32s - 86.96 Mi
Swim:
6h 20m - 19300 Yd
Strength:
5h 10m





I was out for a funeral one weekend and sick a couple of other days. .. but all in all a good month. It was the same as last year (or close to it). For April I am going to really get after it.





As far as weight goes, I am down to 201 now, so that is a total of 19lbs lost since January 1. I am happy with that and want to be 195 by the end of April. 190 by the end of May and 185 June 22, 2008 for Ironman CDA.


So that is 5lbs a month. I should be able to do that. The problem with Ironman training and trying to loose a bunch of weight is that one is hungry most of the time. . take food to fuel the 70+ mile bike ride and the 15+ mile run. . .not to mention the other swimming, biking and running and weights during the week. Just need to eat the right kind of foods.
That is all for now.

If anyone can guess where this picture is taken I will take you there and pay. :)

Aero Power and Hemi Power

I got my new toy today. . . Amy was not happy because she said I didn't discuss it with her first or let her know. . I think I told her sometime that I was going to get one. :)

Anyway, here is the new helmet with a little props to The Bike Stop (team I ride for).

And a pic of Amy's new toy (Dodge Charger). . which one costs more?!?!?!?!?!?!

Bad Jared

Ok, so I am not great about updating my blog. . I will try and be better. But what can I really share? I ride on a trainer 3 times a week, run on a treadmill 3 times a week and swim in a pool 2 times a week (sometimes 3). . oh and lift weights twice a week. It has been cold and snowy here since the beginning of December so not much nice weather to get outside and take pics. .



Although there is good news. . I am down to 205 now. . this time last year I was 215, so I am about 2 months ahead of last year at this time. Be then end of March (hopefully we get some warm weekends) I can be down around 195. . 10lbs is a lot in a month especially with the weights and strength building that I am doing, but I need to get lighter. . if I am 185 by Ironman, I will be very very happy.



I have "before" photos that were taken on January 1 and I look at those from time to time. . I can tell my body has changed, but won't post the final pictures till the week before Ironman. . . .



All for now. Here is shot at Ironman last year of me and some friends from http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/ (from left to right) Doug, Andy, Bonnie, Me. . .this was taken two days before the start in front of the beach where it all began.



Oh, and I am not tracking what I eat anymore. .so if you were wondering. . but I basically eat the same thing as when I was tracking and still just one day to splurge on whatever I want.

Snow and Cold, Cold and Snow

Well, it seems as thought I will spend the rest of my training days inside. Either on a bike trainer or on the treadmill. During the week it is hard to get in a ride or run outside due to it being dark in the evening when we get home from work and on the weekends when it is light out at 7:00 AM, it is usually 20 degrees with a strong north wind or snow/ice/rain. So I have done my past long runs on the treadmill. At one time I could barely stand to run for 20 minutes on the treadmill and the past two sundays I have done a 1 hour 50 minute run and a 1 hour 40 minute run on the treadmill. The same can be said for the bike trainer too, although on Monday and Thursday evenings I have the great opportunity to be part of a cycling class (KMA) run by Greg Goodman in Blue Springs, MO. It makes the time go by so much quicker when I am suffering with 30+ people. :)

We got about 3-4 inches of snow this morning and the forecast calls for 30 degree weather the rest of the week. March is right around the corner, so I am praying for some warm (60+ degree) weather in March.

As far as Ironman goes, I am about 2 months ahead of where I was last year. I am down to 207 lbs now (compared to around 215 lbs in February of 2007) and am on target for my goal weight of around 185 for Ironman in June. When I get to 185 I may cry. I haven't been that weight since 2001. Hm??? What happened in 2001??? Oh, I got married!!! :) Just kidding, gaining weight is a choice and I let it happen to me, Amy is a wonderful wife and supports me in all of my training and races. She loves me no matter if I am 220 or 185. :)

All right, not too much else to report. I am hitting my long runs and rides each week and feeling good about everything. One thing I wish I would of had measure in the first of Jan was my body fat percentage.. I am curious to see how much muscle I have put on while fat is going away. . .

All for now. . . till next time. . .

I figured this would happen. . I would be off to a good start and then nothing. So let me catch everyone up. Training is going really well and the weight is starting to come off. I am now down to 209 from 220, which makes me very happy. But the main thing is I can tell the difference physically, I just feel better all around.

We wen't to Colorado last week for a total length trip of 5 days and I had 3 splurge days and 4 rest days (besides skiing, tubing, snowmobiling), so I was "off" of the nutrition and workout plan for a while. I expected to gain about 2-3 lbs, but actually I lost about a pound of weight and it seems to be just going down from there.

It was nice to have the rest days, but my body was starting to miss the workouts and I feel so much better getting back into the swing of things. I am exactly 20 weeks out from Ironman CDA and I am about 1 month ahead of where I was last year at this time. I weighed 197 for Ironam CDA in 2007 and I am already down to 209, so that is only 12 more pounds to lose and my goal is to have that gone and more by the end of March. I would LOVE to be at 180 for Irornman this year. Weight is the single biggest hinderance when it comes to running and cycling. . so I hope to help myself in those areas this year.

If you want to see some Colorado pictures go to http://www.amyandjared.com/ and you can view some samples and then Amy has a link for more pics on her website.

Pain=Worthwhile

I have thought about this topic for a while, and I now know it is true. I often hear from people when they talk about eating good, or when I tell them how much I exercise, they say things like,

"I could never get up that early", "I could never ride my bike that far", I couldn't go a whole week without eating ________ (fill in the blank)."

Some people just don't get it, or if they do, then they just don't care. . . I am like that at times, I will admit it. . that is why I put on 23 lbs since June 24th of 2007. Because I didn't like the pain of working out as hard or eating as good. . . so now I have to deal with the choices I made.

Anything that is easy to do, is not worth doing. Seriously, think about that for a second. If something is easy to do, then it is not worth doing.

Some examples:

Lunch: Going to McDonald's and ordering a double cheeseburger, fries and large Dr.Pepper is very easy. All I have to do is get in my car, drive, pay and then eat.

Free Time: Laying on the couch and watching TV (I struggle with this myself), is very easy and it brings about nothing good.

I am not saying to never watch TV or to never eat at McDonald's (that is what splurge day is for), I am just saying that nothing good comes from those things.

Now, here is what I believe. In order for something to be worthwhile and to bring about true happiness, there has to be struggle and pain involved. Don't believe me. . .? Think about it some.

Examples:

A new baby takes pain and anguish during labor on the part of the mother. . . but in the end, is there anything more worthwhile?

Training for a marathon or Ironman or 5K road race, or bike race takes time and pain when you train for it. Believe me, I find very little pleasure in getting up in the morning and going for a 2-3 hour bike ride in 20 degree weather. Or swimming at 6:00 AM in the morning when I would rather be sleeping.

It is not easy to eat right all the time (except splurge day), it takes work and at times, yes it is painful. . there are times, when it would just be easier to get some tacos at Taco Bell, or a Pizza from Papa Johns. BUT. .the time and pain involved in eating right pays off in the end.

So those are my thoughts on that subject. PAIN=GOOD EASY=BAD

New Look

Big thanks to my wife Amy for making this blog look way better than it was. I am laking in the aesthetic region.

Well, I am not sure how often I am going to post, but just wanted to share some quick thoughts on weighing yourself (myself). I have heard two different schools of thought.

1) Weigh yourself once a week, no more because weight can vary from day to day, due to a number of reasons.

2) Weigh yourself every day, so that way you stay on track and see any fluctuations.

Well, I kindof do in between. I try to follow these rules.

1) Always weigh in the AM. (I haven't eaten so I am bound to weigh less, right? :)
2) Always weigh before eating anything.
3) Don't eat anything until I workout.
4) I only weigh myself on 1 scale that is at the gym where Amy and I go to workout. We have a scale at home, but scales can vary . . . so to keep it consistent, I only use one scale.

I think that is it. I just try and tell myself, that even though I may see a fluctuation in weight from one day to the next either up or down. . it is a slow and steady race. Just keep eating right and exercising and it will all come off. . . just takes work and time. Like anything worth doing. . . work and time.

Pic of my bike before Ironman CDA 2007

Weight Gain and Loss

As a point of reference, I wanted to share what my weight was last year in training for Ironman and after.

January 2007, I was right at 220 lbs. I was training for a marathon throughout Oct, Nov, Dec, or 2006 which took place on January 14th in Phoenix, AZ. I would have expected the weight to come off during those months before and leading up to the marathon, since I was running around 15-20 miles for my long runs on the weekend. But the reality is my nutrition didn't really change at all. So while I was able to "run" (I actually walked a lot) the marathon, my body was in pain and my knees hurt from the extra weight. I believe that I actually hurt more after my marathon than my Ironman. . .

Anyway, the point here is, I started my serious training for my 2007 Ironman on Feb 5th, 2007 I followed a workout schedule and sortof watched what I ate. The end result was that I weighed 197 lbs for my Ironman. I had lost 23 lbs since January 2007 till June 24th 2007.

Losing this weight made it a lot easier to do and finish the Ironman, but I still feel (and felt at the time), that if I had lost another 17 lbs. . I would have been lean and mean for the race.

So that is my goal this year. .. to weigh 180 lbs for Ironman CDA on June 22, 2008.

Currently I weight 213.8 (give or take a 1/2 lb). So that means I have 33.8 lbs to lose.

I WILL DO IT!!!!!!!!! I may have to stop eating at some point (just kidding), I don't recommend to ever stop eating. . . But cutting back a lot can and will help.

From Fat to Fit

I am a little late in getting this started. . (hmm, that seems to be a theme of mine) but I wanted to provide a snapshot into my training and nutrition in preparing for Ironman Coeur d'Alene Triathlon on June 22, 2008. I am tracking what I eat and how I train on two different websites and I will provide the links to each.

Another reason, is I want to hold myself accountable for getting into shape and sharing a little more about me. Which is part of my resolutions for 2008. Also, not to do anything half way. I have decided, if I am going to do something, then I am going all the way. . no more half effort for me. If a workout calls for 1 hour 50 minute bike ride, then I will do that or more. . . nothing less.

I took photos of my disgusting fat body on Jan 1st and will post those (not that anyone wants to see them), but I want a point of reference for when I get leaner and "fit".

That is all for now. . I will post the pics later. . oh and I will attempt to post pics of races/training and such during my journey to Ironman CDA 2008.

Oh here are some pics from my 2007 Ironman CDA.