Training Update: Swim Lessons and Power Tests:

Dang I’ve been slipping.  It’s already been about a month since my last blog entry, so sorry about the delay.  It’s been a busy few weeks, not only with training, but trying to finalize the logistics of my first races as well as all the other “normal” stuff that needs to happen.  Typical of the winter so far, my 2 kids have been swapping illnesses over the past 4-6 weeks.  Once one is better, a few days later the other comes down with something.  Basically sick, get healthy, repeat.  Last week everything seemed to peak, when BOTH came down with double ear infections and the flu.  Luckily the flu ran it’s course and they are getting just about back to normal.  Now I’m keeping my fingers crossed that neither my wife nor myself come down with the flu.  Oh well, so it goes with 2 kids in daycare and winter that won’t quit.

Back to my training…

2013 Race Schedule

After looking at all the great events out there, I've put together the following race schedule for 2013:

Martian Half-Marathon - 4/14

Rev3 Knoxville Olympic - 5/5

Ironman Florida 70.3 - 5/19

Rev3 Quassy Half - 6/2 (Tentative, but unlikely)

Rev3 Williamsburg Half - 6/23

Ironman Lake Placid - 7/28

Ironman Muskoka 70.3 - 9/8 

Rev3 Branson Half - 9/22

Ironman Florida - 11/2 (Tentative, but likely)

It was pretty tough to narrow down to this list of events.  Even looking within about an 8 hour drive, there is the potential to race a major event nearly every weekend between May and September.  Just so many great events out there now!  

You will also note that I will be racing 3 Rev3 events (and possibly more) and will participate in the Rev3 Pro Series.  I have been to Rev3 Knoxville the past 3 years, and I am very impressed in both the quality of their events and what they are doing to progress the sport.  If you've never been to a Rev3 Event (www.rev3tri.com), I highly recommend you check one out; you will not be disappointed.

As with all plans, the list is subject to change, and I am excited to kick-off the 2013 triathlon season in less than 10 weeks!

Fraser Bicycle Indoor TT Series: Race 3 and a Swim Test

It’s hard to believe that we are already in the middle of winter, with the 2013 race season just around the corner.   To help track my progress this winter, I signed up for the inaugural Fraser Bicycle Indoor TT Race Series.  The race series is a total of 5 events, with the top 4 placings counting towards the final series ranking.  While there is no substitute for riding outside, group riding at the Computrainer Lab at Fraser Bicycle with the added motivation of a competitive event, the race series has been great for tracking how my cycling fitness is trending during the long winter months when we are stuck indoors.  It really adds that extra motivation to push and really see where your power is at.

Training Update: Charity Ride and Battling the Bugs!

It’s been about 2 weeks since my last training update, and all was going well until mid-last week, when I got bit by the head cold bug again.  By mid-January, everyone in our house seemed to be recovered from the annoying runny noses and stuffy heads that we’ve been playing tag with since early December.  We were finally bug-free.  I was in a good training groove, hitting all of my key sessions and seeing progress, and then “tag”.  I’m it (again)!

On January 26, I rode a 4-hour segment, from 8:30 PM to 12:30 AM in the Fraser Bicycle (www.fraserbicycle.com) 24-hour Charity Lab-a-thon, to benefit local charities.  Since I would be surrounded with others pushing their trainer limits, I figured I would use this as a test to see where my long ride fitness is.  Since is for charity, it’s just an easy ride, right?  Wrong.  Line up 16 triathletes, mountain bikers and various other riders on Computrainers and the unwritten rules take over:  it’s always a competition.  

Fraser Bicycle Computrainer Lab at about 2:00 AM

Review: X-1 Audio Interval: Waterproof Headphones for Swimming

In fall of 2011, I knew I needed to spend more time in the pool in the off-season.  However, I didn’t grow up in the water and the thought of spending hours staring at the black line did not leave me too excited to swim as much as I needed to.  I like to listen to music while running, so that would probably help for swimming too, right?  At the time I heard of waterproof cases and headphones for swimming, but I was skeptical.  Would they really work?  Do they stay in place?  How do they sound?  After a reviewing the various options available, I went with the X-1 Audio Interval. 

The X-1 Interval is a waterproof plastic case that stores your iPod Shuffle, and has integrated waterproof earphones.  The earphones are special, in that they fit snugly inside your ear canal, and the kit comes with various sizes of ear pads so that you can customize the fit to keep them in place and the water sealed out.  The unit itself is pretty simple to set up:  place your iPod inside, plug in the headphone jack, close the cover, and attached to your goggle straps.  Fine-tune the earphone size and within a few minutes you are ready to swim with music.

Getting moving in 2013

Now that we are a couple of weeks into 2013, I’m getting back into a normal training routine.  The holidays are always a busy time, and at least for me, there is no way to hit every session that is planned.  There is just too much to do.   Once that period was over, I’ve been able to get back to consistent training over the past few weeks.   I am still a few months away from my first race, so no need to be a winter training champ, but through consistent training, my bike and running legs are steadily coming back.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: consistency is key for long-term improvement.  It’s not one or 2 magic sessions that lead to sustainable improvement, but simply putting in the work everyday, and over time and the improvements will come.  That is more or less my approach to the winter training.  It’s about building the foundation so that once the weather breaks and races get close, my body is ready to handle the longer or more intense sessions.

2012 Season Review

It’s hard to summarize an entire year of triathlon in a few words, but I’ll try:  2012 was simply amazing!  Looking back there were many highlights to 2012, some were expected, and some were a complete surprise.   Based on race results, my 2012 season saw my triathlon performance rise to another level.  Here are the highlights:

Amateur Results:

• Rev3 Knoxville Olympic: 1^st in AG, 3^rd Overall – 2:03 (USAT Elite Qualifying Race)

Professional Results:

• Ironman Muncie 70.3: 24^th Place – 2:17 (race shortened)
• Ironman Louisville: 5^th Place – 9:28 (Personal Best Ironman Time)
• Ironman Pocono 70.3: 15^th Place – 4:24

Since I’ve already posted detailed race reports for each of my races, I’m not going to go through all the details again, but here is a little more insight into my 2012 season.  However, before I start with 2012, I need to first go a little further back to late 2011…..