The Cost of Success - Cycle 26

This past cycle was just some more of the same old story.  I sit back here looking at my iPad screen trying to come up with something to write about and truthfully, all I can come up with is what I all did during my training.  Actually, as I sit here, I am starting to remember some key things that stick out that are unrelated to my training.

1. I added up my July monthly totals this past cycle and am happy to announce the final totals:

• Swimming 22.91 miles (103.06 - 2013 total)
• Cycling 631.70 miles (1755.89 - 2013 total)
• Running 115.55 miles (768.98 - 2013 total) 

2. During my biweekly grocery store trip I found an organic rice cake blend consisting of tamari rice and seaweed.  I was actually pretty excited about it, so obviously, I bought it.

That's right - Tamari with Seaweed Rice Cakes!

3. On my 3rd night of work, I not only saved a lost dog and brought him to the local animal shelter, I helped locate the owner of a sick horse that was found on the side of the road.  That's right, firemen are not the only ones who save animals.  This cop saved 2 animals in 1 night.

The pup I saved.

4. On my last day off I finished my morning workout around 12:30pm and then took care of stuff around the house and spent the rest of the afternoon/evening at the cottage with my aunt at her annual party for the family's she babysits for.  It was nice to get to spend some time with my wife and kids.  Sarah and the girls spent all day Wednesday, Thursday, and most of the day Friday at the cottage, so I didn't get to see them at all until I was able to get out to the lake on Thursday.  The weather was perfect other than a strong breeze from the Northwest which made the lake too wavy to get out and do anything productive in the water.  

As my title of this cycle's post hints at, my biggest struggle now has become the financial struggle training for an Ironman presents.  Back when I did the "The Truth Behind the Training" blog post my main struggle was balancing my life and my training with my wife's life and making time for Sarah and our girls.  That was back in April, nearly 4 months ago.  We have gotten to the point in my training were Sarah has just gotten used to being a single parent and more or less accepted the fact for what it is.  My oldest daughter Maya thinks my training has become my "job," since I am gone so long.  If she ever sees me packing up stuff the night before for a workout, she asks me if I have to work tomorrow.  The hardest part about the family sacrifices is the time I am missing with my daughters.  It bothers me that they have just gotten used to me not being around.  But, I just tell myself I only have XX number of days left.  Don't get me wrong, I am still enjoying what I am doing and am wholeheartedly invested in my success and am committed to finishing this race to the best of my ability.  But when my 3 year old daughter says, "daddy has to work tomorrow," when I have a 5 or 6 hour training block,  it tugs on my heart a bit.  

All in all though, my family has gotten used to the amount of time that is required to train for an Ironman and has grown to accept the fact that my off days are consumed by training.  The new challenge is handling the financial constraints to make it to race day.  Outside of the $575.00 registration fee (which is NOT including the extra fees and charges and processing fees), there are countless of other costs that we as a family are having to find money to cover.  First, there's the cost of my fuel to use during training.  I use gels during runs, a drink mix and Bonk Breaker Bars during long bike rides, electrolyte pills and tablets during most workouts, another sports drink mix to use during shorter workouts, other pre and post workout supplements, all on top of multivitamins and just day to day food.  I also can't forget the fact that I am at the point in my training were I am basically eating nonstop just to stay satisfied, so our food bills have increased.  On top of food and fuels, There's the equipment, open water goggles, new shoes, anti-chaffing creams, the hotel in Madison for the night before the race, gas to drive down to Madison so I can bike on the bike course, on top of other things I'm sure I'm forgetting.  An now, my wetsuit has a significant hole in it which I have been trying to repair.  My initial repair worked for a day, but now the small tear has become a full fledged hole.  I bought a new sealing compound with hopes of being able to repair the hole without having to buy a brand new wetsuit.  If I am unable to successfully repair the hole, I will pretty much be forced to purchase a new wetsuit, totally unplanned.  In and of itself, the hole is not a serious issue, but a wetsuit is supposed to fit tight to your body like a second skin.  It needs to be air tight, in order to keep water out.  The suit should be stretchy and flexible.  When there is a tear or a hole it will continue to tear more and more the more it stretches.  

It's hard on me.  I feel guilty enough with the sacrifices I am forcing Sarah to make.  I feel terrible because my daughters don't know any better either - they don't have a choice in the matter.  Sarah at least knows better and is able to make plans on her own when I am out training.  I am seriously the luckiest man in the world to have the support I do of my wife.  The fact that I get the support that I do from her is a true blessing and it goes to show exactly how great of a person she is.  Yes, she does share her frustrations with the amount of money this race is costing our family, but she allows it to happen.  For that, I am extremely grateful and owe her more than I will be able to give her.  This summer has truly grown my appreciation and my love for my wife.  I have grown to learn what my daughters mean to me and how much Sarah means to me.  I'm a lucky man - period.  I am lucky because of my wife and kids, I would not be who I am or be able to do what I do without them.  

Brief Recap

It's funny, as I look back at this cycle, I had my largest training volume for any of my previous cycles, at 18 hours.  But, as I look back, the days don't appear to be that significant.  Have I become numb to my own training volume?  Or have I just reached a new normal?  I tend to think it's a little of both.  I had a day of nearly 90 minutes of training coming off a night of work, an hour long tempo paced swim, and nearly an hour of training on each work day on top of a full weekend of high volume training.  The 6 days of training that fall on the mornings after work days are in the ball park of 45-90 minutes in duration, which is a little longer than I usually have done in the past, but not by much.  I have been using these days to recover and maintain my fitness gains from my high volume weekend workouts.  The days I have with multiple workouts have become routine and are a great way for me to keep my training volume high without the added stress of long workouts.  My weekend workouts went better then expected.  Wednesday was my self proclaimed "Redemption Ride."  I went back down to Madison for a 90 mile ride on the bike course and followed it up with a 5 mile run.  The very next day, I was up early for a 40 mile ride followed up by a 20 mile long run.  My brick workout in Madison went great, I felt better than expected and was left with a new sense of confidence.  I carried over a little stress and fatigue from that workout into my long run focused brick the next day.  I went out for a comfortable 40 mile bike ride.  After getting back from the bike ride, I laced up my shoes and was out pounding the pavement for a 20 mile long run.  It was my first run of 20 or more miles since training for the Green Bay Marathon.  I finished the run with a time of 2:38 and felt WAY better than expected.  My average moving pace (subtracting time stopped to refill water bottles and get new fuel) was 7:47/mile.  I never felt fatigued to the point of wanting to slow down.  I felt as though I could have gone the final 6.2 miles no problem.  It was very motivating for me to have such a strong run coming off 130 miles of riding the past 2 days and a 5 mile run the day before.  Without a doubt, I am in the best shape of my life right now and will only continue to get stronger, faster, better.

Favorite Workout

My source of recovery driving home
from Madison - Zico Coconut Water

My favorite workout from this cycle was my Redemption Ride.  I left that morning from home around 6:45am and was determined to have a better experience than my previous ride.  I went out with the strategy of climbing the hills easy and pushing on the downhills.  I also stressed staying comfortable and never over-stressing.  I did my best not to focus on my current average speed and if I was currently above or below it.  I did this because when you are riding a course with so many undulating hills, like in Madison, your speed is constantly either way below (as you climb) your average speed or way above (as you fly downhill) your average speed.  This is different from riding on a relatively flat course where your speed is pretty constant.  I kept telling myself, "ride within yourself and your average speed will fall right where you want it."  In fact during the ride, I developed a new mantra for the bike course - Ride Strong - Ride Smart.  I finished the bike, covering a total of 90.13 miles in 4:50:42 with an average speed of 18.6mph or 19.0mph for my average moving speed.  I increased my average speed and lowered my average heart rate.  In other words, I rode faster with less effort from my last ride!  In simple terms, that is the ultimate goal for any endurance athlete.   Immediately after I finished my 90 mile ride, I headed back out for a 5 mile run.  It was my first chance to see exactly what its going to feel like to run after climbing all those rolling hills.  I was very pleased with how my legs felt after taking a more relaxed approach to the ride.  On the other hand, I was not pleased with the hill I climbed on the way out on my run.  Here I had thought I was done climbing hills after I got off my bike.  Oh boy was I wrong.  I headed straight north out of Verona for a 5 mile out and back run.  The entire way out was up hill which was hell on the way out, but made the way back an easy cruise back to the car.  I finished the run with an average pace of 7:52/mile.  During this workout I had two very memorable and motivating events happen.  The first was during my bike.  I was at about mile 60 I passed by two kids who had to be about 6-8 years old.  As I passed them they yelled out "Ironman?"  I responded "Yup!"  To which they simply replied, "Cool!"  It was my first realization to what extent the Madison area embraces the Ironman race.  It really made me excited to see what the crowd and community support will be like on race day.  The second moment was on the run.  I caught up with another guy running through the residential neighborhood toward the turn-around point of my run.  He asked me if I was training for the Ironman and responded by telling him I was and told him what I did for a workout this day.  We then talked breifly about the challenges of training in the Madison area due to the terrain and then parted ways with a simple "Good Luck!"  It was just another example of how much more friendly the Madison area is and also how much the community appreciates the Ironman race.
90 Mile Brick Ride - Details
5 Mile Brick Run - Details

Moving Forward  

Similar to my feelings when I looked back at my previous week of training, I have a feeling of "That's it?"  But then I take a step back and look at the entire picture and each individual workout and realize that it's all part of the master plan.  My overall weekly training volume drops about an hour in total time training.  Some key workouts this cycle include my swimming workout on day 1.  It is my last race paced swim workout of my training plan.  The workout starts with a 600m warm up followed by 6x500m at goal race pace and ends with a 400m cool down.  My goal for my 500m repeats is to finish them as fast as consistantly possible.  My goal is to swim them in 8:50 +/- 5 seconds.  I then have 2 days with double workout days.  On my weekend, I have SWAT training on my 2nd night off and have a day off from training.  The following day I have my last race simulation workout - my second and final Big Day Training.  1 hour swimming, 5 hours biking, 2 hours running, all done with an 1.5 hour break between the disciplines.  My weekend that starts on Thursday, August 8th is the official kick off to a week long vacation at our family's cabin on Lake Poygan.  So I will be doing my Big Day Training from the Lake, which will provide me the opportunity to do my swim in open water.  It really (selfishly) worked out perfect - our week long family vacation just happens to fall on my biggest training cycle volume wise.  

So until next time!  Be fast, be strong, and carry on!

Stole a grilling recipe from one of our dispatchers - Pepper Stuffed Steaks!

A perfect sunset putting a close to yet another training cycle.