Tuesday, June 21, 2011

And so it begins. Again.

I decided to end my blogosphere hiatus of a sort. I'll be reading less blogs, commenting less frequently, and probably not posting as much as I had in the past. Sorry, but this is all about me.

A while ago I signed up for the Fireman Ironman Camp in Lake Placid with the blessing of my family and my coach. My coach felt that any opportunity to dedicate time towards training could be beneficial. My family knew how important it was to me and it was sort of a Father's day present for me as the camp was last weekend. The rub was this camp was full of people that were doing this camp in preparation for IMLP at the end of July or people that had already done IMLP and were reliving that special memory. And then there was me with my next race as a sprint tri at the end of August - most people at the camp joked by giving me encouragement saying that I shouldn't have a problem finishing the sprint if I keep training.

I wasn't following the official camp agenda since, after all, I'm not doing IMLP. I decided to use this camp though as my kickoff of official Ironman training. Friday I swam 2 miles (per the Garmin 310xt with the swim firmware) in Mirror Lake and was happy with getting it done in a very casual 1:14, Saturday did 60 miles on the bike (portions of the course) with a transition walk (I'll call it a very slow run of a few miles) and my camp workouts ended with another ride of 42 miles on Sunday before the ride home for dinner on Father's day with the family. All in, my weekend riding included 5500 ft of climbing.

I hate climbing.

I learned I still have problems with my body composition. I'm still slow. I'm still old compared to most "athletes" doing this stuff. I have a real issue with nutrition that I need to figure out (I wanted to ride longer Saturday but was wrecked due to a nutrition fail). My body isn't that broken any more though.

On the plus side, it was great seeing Mandy and a bunch of others that learned a lot about their upcoming race. My base training is to the point where I can ride for a while without issue (assuming the nutrition gets worked out) and was really pleased with my swim. It should only get better from here and I believe if I do what I have to do, I will succeed.

But doesn't that apply to a lot of things in life?

PS: Thanks for all the notes while I was elsewhere. It meant a lot to me.







13 comments:

Kate Geisen said...

Very cool that your family supports your training like that. So glad to hear your body is doing better. Good luck with training!

Unknown said...

glad you're back. keep at it!! :-)

Shelly said...

Climbing (and triathloning) are very zen.... climb within. Do what you can do the best you can do it and enjoy the journey.

Diane said...

Very best wishes Joe for your continued health and success!

MissFit Island said...

Welcome back! Glad to hear you had a successful training at camp and met Mandy. I'm sure you will be back around reading and commenting more during the off season - But right now it should be about you and your training and your family and nothing else.

Georgia Snail said...

Welcome back, keep 'em coming!

Caratunk Girl said...

It is always awesome to see you Joe, I am sorry I didn't get to spend more time with you, but it was a busy weekend!

Did you find the cupcake place? My first stop next time I am in Placid. Oh. Crap. That is like in 30 days.

Nutrition. I struggle too. Trying Perpetum this weekend.

And also, don't worry about where you are compared to others in speed or age - you are out there doing it - balancing work, family, training, life - and that is what matters.

Al's CL Reviews said...

I'm always so impressed with what you are able to take away from every adventure and make it a learning lesson.

Glad you are back.

JAllgood said...

Welcome back & hang in there! I used to hate climbing but now I LOVE it. It's a state of mind that you need to just build up to. Best wishes with your training!

Carolina John said...

That camp sounds like fun! Great way to kick start the cycle.

Teamarcia said...

What a great way to kickoff training. Wishing you all the best with it.

Julie said...

Hi Rock Star! Good luck with all of your future training! Sounds very exciting and I can tell you are looking forward to it! Take care of yourself and stay injury free!

Kathleen said...

Best of luck with your training!