Big Numbers

What does it take to complete an Ironman? Remember that is 140 miles all total? So what do I have to do to complete that race? Some one said:

A goal without a plan is just a wish!

So I spoke with several people who have done an Ironman. One had a respectable time at Kona for a 50 year old of 9:35. So I asked about training and weekly totals from someone who finished under 10 hours and particularly the bike. How much time do you spend on the bike? The answer was no less than 40 miles a weekday ride. The usual 3 day a week ride was a minimum of 40 miles each and the long ride was 80 miles. A total of 200 miles! The run mileage is a even higher than I thought it would be. It is not unusual to have a 50 mile week with a long run of 18 miles. Swim was what I thought, 3 to 4 days a week with at least one open water swim of 2 miles.

How can I do that? So what does it take? Planning, time and discipline. Planning of your training and planning of your time. The hours spent training are some serious hours...15 to 20 hours. It takes discipline to get up on time, go to bed on time, get out to do your training on time and to eat right...disicpline.

So for those of you that ask me about my numbers, they are really small compared to those who have done what I want to do. That's why I call it WEAKLY totals. They are weak by comparison.

Weakend Report

This week has had an emphasis on the bike.... while tri's are not just about the bike it is a major portion of the race. After all you spend 6 hours or more in the saddle and 1 hour on the swim. So you have got to develop an iron butt. Since I did the Estero Island Challenege on Monday, Tony wanted to do that for our Sunday ride. More on that in a moment.

Friday was of course one of my regular ride days. Tony and I were able to get 25 miles in before having to go to work. Once at work I found I was incredibly hungery, eating everthing in sight. I swam at lunch only to return to the office to eat more food.

Friday night I went to the Club as usual and again ate and drank beer like a pig.

Saturday was my long run day. I got up at my regular for a 7:30 run but I just didn't have any energy. It was warm, about 72* and bright sun so I thought it was going to be a tough one. So I imagined it was Kona. You know after the bike your hot, tired and have no energy. The first 2 miles were uneventful. I picked up my water bottle at the 2 mile mark and just tried to maintain an even pace. Then my HR monitor stoped working so I ran on feel. The next 4 miles was just plain hot..... I refilled my water bottle and had to choose long course or short course. Welll don't give yourself a choice...I took the short course so my next water stop wouild be at the 10 mile mark..... I just dragged myself there. No energy no nothing, I was just empty. After refueling with water I headed home and finished for a total of 14 miles. O well better get it next time.

Saturday night J and I met Tony and his wife at the Country Club for the British Invansion Night. It was a great night of eatting fish and chips with triffle for desert and dancing the night away to the music of the 60'.... the Beatles etc.

Sunday the forecast called for rain showers. But when I got up to go for my ride it was partly sunny and looked like it was going to clear. After giving Roo a quick bath ( I gotta remember to do this after the ride and not before) I met Tony at his house. We decided to do the Estero Island route.

As we started out it looked as if it would clear but the winds started up. We slogged into the wind for the first 10 miles and I couldn't wait to make a left turn onto Bonita Beach Road hoping the wind would be less...but no it was more! Now going directly west toward the Gulf of Mexico the winds increased as we got closer to the water. At Doc's Beach house, where I swim in the gulf, we turned north on Hickory Blouevard. The wind was on our left side coming off the Gulf and having such sudden gusts it was hard to stay on the road. The wind actually whistled thru the spokes on my wheels. Then the heavens opened with a stinging downpour. At one point Tony was actually blown off the road into the grass. Fortunately there is no curb or sidewalk. From then on it was one of the hardest bike rides I've ever done. Wind, stinging rain and going over 7 bridges including one climb in Ft. Myers Beach that is over a huge bridge (beyond cat climb). Needless to say after 50 miles I was glad to be back home. It was a struggle just to stay upright on the bike. But then I thot of Kona and the winds there so it was good practice.

Totals for the Weak

Bike - 140 miles
Run - 28 miles
Swim 12,500 yards
weights 2xs
pilates nada

Circumnavigate Estero Island Challenge

Yesterday I circumnavigated Estero Island a total of 41 miles. This is something that I have been wanting to do for some time but due to the road construction on one leg of my trip it hasn't been safe. So more in moment.....

The weakend weather was wonderful. The morning lows were in the mid 60's and the day time highs 81*with a nice gentle breeze. So here is a quick recap of my weakend...

This weekend I.....
... got off work early Friday, 2 pm, and went to the pool for a swim....
...had drinks with friends at the Club
...ran 15 miles Saturday morning
...walked 9 holes of golf Saturday afternoon
...had dinner at the beach with J watched the sunset.
...did the airport ride with Tony total of 60 miles
...did the Estero Island ride by myself total of 40 miles
...washed the windows at the house inside and out plus vacuumed the window treatments.
....fix a wonderful dinner of Oldman's meatloaf with Oldman's homemade mac & cheese.... hey I was starved for carbs.

So I was off Monday for President's Day therefore I decided to do my much thought about Estero Island ride. As I said above, I haven't done it because of road construction on the beginning leg on highway 41. There is suppose to be a bike lane but it has been removed and the highway is a mess.


So after giving Roo a quick bath (pic left) I started out at 7:30 am. It was overcast with patches of fog. Here's a pic looking down my street but you can't see the fog.

The first 10 miles are on the bike lane of Rte 41 until the road construction lanes. I road the right lane when I had to then on to Bonita Beach Road which leads of course to the beach and past Doc's.... I stopped at Lover's Key State Park which is rate as on of the top 10 beaches in the US. It is a beautiful park with wonderful white sand beaches. Here's a pic of Roo at Lover's Key...



Just after I took this pic a truck passed my with a sheet of drywall on the roof. The drywall blew off and crashed into the road. Had I not stopped for the pic it might have hit me! I continued on over 6 bridges into the community of Ft. Myers Beach. It is your typical island beach town with a lot of the 3 wheeled motorcycle engine cars and tourists.

Finally I reached the beyond cat climb of Ft. Myers Beach Bridge. Once at the top I stopped to take some pics, the one above and this one.....



At the top of the bridge I at my cliff bar and then headed home.... I had thought about riding on to Sanibel Island but I'll leave that for the next holiday. The ride was a total of 41 miles with an ave pace of 17.5 mph. I did have a problem with muscle cramps at the 38 mile mark. So I've got to solve that problem. I was drinking regular gatorade rather than endurance formula so maybe that had something to do with it.

I came home to wash windows at my house and I fixed myself a wonderful dinner of meatloaf with homemade mac and cheese which I had with a nice bottle of chardonnay (alone Linda).

Continuing Saga of the Cold

Weakend Update

This weakend I...

Friday I had drinks and dinner with my neighbors at the Country Club
Go up late Saturday morning
Ran 15 miles
did my taxes...I owe, I owe, so it's of to work I got.....
went to Maxwells with J for dinner
did a long COLD ride with Tony on Sunday 53 miles...43*
made it to church on time
skipped the beach for swimming
went to the wait room
had beers at the River Clb
put the robot in the pool
sat in the hot tub and watched the robot

Weakly totals
Bike 128
Run 29
Swim 6,000
Waits x2
Pilates Nada

Monday it was cold again ....38* and today we had frost with a morning temp of 31*. I turned my heater on last night for the first time in 2 years. No lunch time swims so far this week even though the temp at lunch time was 62*.

Cold Spell Continues

I'm sure your tired of hearing me say it, however it was another cold morning. This week Southwest Florida has had some really cold mornings and some areas reported frost. I'm not used to riding/running in 38* weather! I don't have the right clothes nor do I want to buy them for just one week out of the year. So today was a ride day. I wore my warmest cotton longsleeve shirt, tights, a windbreaker and wool gloves and I was still cold for the first 10 miles. But I got it done and finished my 25 miles.

Tony is recovering from his back injury. He wore a back brace and disguised his appearance by wearing a terrorist ski cap under his helmet. I almost didn't know who he was..... a short skinny balding Englishman with a funny accent!

I have some running around to do at lunch for the Firm so no swimming today. This weekend looks promising so here are my plans. Maybe if I tell you in advance it will help me to keep them!

Tonight
Cocktails at the Country Club
Dinner with the Icelandic neighbors
Tomorrow
Long Slow Run 15 miles
Work on my taxes
Sit in the Hot Tub
Wait Room work out for upper body
Dinner at Maxwells on the Bay with J
Sunday
Long Ride with Tony 60 miles
Go to Church
Clean my pool
Sit in the Hot Tub
Long Swim at beach if warm 1.5 hour
Afternoon beer(s) at Doc's Beach House
Passout from exhaustion at 8:30 pm

COMING SOON

I just realized I'm off on Monday Feb 20th for Presidents Day. Anybody want to do a long ride around the Island to Sanibell and back?

Road Rage Gone Wrong

Ok here is road rage in Toronto gone wrong against a bike messenger, Lisa. See the whole photo shoot and read about it here. The basic story is the guy threw trash out of his car window. The messenger not liking liter picked it up and threw it back thru the car window. The guy now mad threw hot coffee at the messenger. The messenger then keyed the guys car. The guy stopped to stomp on the messengers bike which then started this fight. The photographer took these pics plus a pic of the license plate at which time the car's drive chase him with a baseball bat.

The Long Cold Lonely ride

OK it wasn't as cold as Jill faces Up inAlaska faces but for me 43* was cold given the fact that I don't really have cold weather riding gear. So cold is relative to where you live and since I'm use to 70* in the early morning it was cold.

Also Tony (pictured left on his old bike not his new Trek Madone) has missed three rides with a bad back. It seems he "put it out" loading his van with boxes. YEA sure. OK so I'll just continue on getting stronger while he gets uglier.

Today I did my regular loops through the community to get my 25 COLD COLD miles. Not to many people around today. I did see Smilie and the Thin Lady and her husband. No Coffee Drinker and Collie, no Bull Dog and Bull Dog Walker.

I'm not sure about today's swim because even now it is only 56* so we shall see at lunch time. Tonight I plan on going to the wait room on the way home to work on my negelcted upper body.

Lunch Time Swim

This morning was the regular Tuesday recovery run thru the woods and past the fitness center. Other than it was cool, about 55*, there is not much to say. Hardly any one around because it was "cold". Didn't see Coffee Drinker and Collie but I did see Bull Dog and his large Bull Dog. He walks the dog off the leash even though we have a leash rule in our community. When he sees me coming he grabs the dog. Yesterday when I passed on my bike he was a little late grabbing the dog.... it's just a matter of time before you will be reading about a runnner or cyclist who punted a large bull dog thru the goal posts. (Something the Sea Hawks field goal kicker couldn't do Sunday).

At lunch I met up with my former swim Coach, Carrie. Coach Carrie taught me to swim the Total Immersion way or fish like swimming. I have her come and check me out from time to time to see if I'm balanced, roll enough and have good overall form. She will suggest drills and such for me to work on so my swims are not jsut about doing laps. It is amazing how my stroke count has come down with her help and insight. So I have a whole set of drills to do for about the next month since I'm not rolling enough AGAIN when I breath on right side. Hey I'm a lefty most of the time except in baseball and eating and writing.

Unfortunately I was a little late, well a lot late, gettting back to work (1/2 hour late). So I'll have to leave 1/2 hour early to make it up.

Tonight is weight nite but it might have to wait since I'm tired already and hungry.

Strange Weakend

OK it was a strange, weird, weakend....

Saturday I got up early hearing it raining off and on during the night. A cold front came down from up North (thanks Shelly) which cause severe thunderstorms and a few tornados. At 7:00am , when I finally got ready to leave the house for my run, there was a pause in the action, so I thot I could squeeze between the rain drops and not get wet. But it was not to be boys and girls! At the 6 mile mark the sky looked almost as dark as night so I headed home. The last mile the thunder and lightening started then the heavens opened for a Florida car wash (that when it rains so hard it's like going thru a car wash and you can't see a thing). My watch said I ran the last mile in 7:19....I'm not so sure but I did push really hard to get home. So my 15 mile run got shortened to 7 miles. It rain the rest of the day which is unusual for this time of year. This is our dry season so it was good to get an all day soaker.

Sunday morning the cold front had pushed thru and now it was cold with a northeast wind blowing cold dry air. I did the first 2 miles of my bike with long pants but I stopped at the house to switch to bike shorts with a long sleeve jersey. When I got to the spot where I meet Tony there was no Tony. (I found out he slept in since it was too cold and he was tired.) The wind made it a tough go but I did get 50 miles in but several times it felt like I was gong to get blown off the bike.

Sunday afternoons I usually go to the beach or pool for some swim time but since the wind was blowing and it was cool and it was Super Bowl Sunday I chose to go to my neighbors to watch the Steelers beat the Sea Hawks. (GO STEELERS).

WEAKLY TOTALS

RUN - 21 miles
Bike - 125 miles
Swim - 9,000 yards
Weights - 2x's
Pilates - NADA

Finally Friday

It's casual day at the office today. Our regualr dress is business casual but today we can wear shorts.... so, yes Joe, I'm wearing shorts today.

Above is a picture of Olivia Orchid. She just started blooming so I thot I would post a pic of her first the blooms. When she is in full bloom she will have about 60 blooms. She sits on my coffee table on the lania.

Today was a ride morning. I did my usual 25 miles with Tony. Hopefully a swim at lunch time. I was thinking about going to the beach to swim but it is threatening rain and the air temp is 76* so it looks like I'll be going to the heated pool.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Let me be the first to wish all of my friends HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY! For you who missed Phil's awaking from his long winters slumber to make his forecast you can go here to watch the festivities. To be sure since Phil did see his shadow there will be SIX MORE WEEKS of winter! Which is ok with me since I'm not looking forward to the hot weather.

For my friends Loubob and Cliff here is a picture of the hibiscus in full bloom in front of my house.



Today was a tennis ball run day. There was a nice breeze from the east with the temp at 68* when I left the house. I did my usual thru the wood and tried to add an extra mile since I felt pretty good. But as I started on the 8th mile one of my neighbors stopped me to ask me a few questions so I was a little late and I could only add a half of a mile. O well. I'm planning on swimming at lunch time and hopefully get to the weight room tonight.

Tomorrow is the Day!!!!

That's right boys and girls! I know you are excited and can hardly sleep at night. Tomorrow is the big day! I'm sure all of you boys and girls are going to watch the festivities on the webcam.
Tomorrow live from Gobbler's Knob your waiting will be over. Will we have six more weeks of winter? So this is your reminder to set your alarm clocks boys and girls to 5:15 so you can see Punxsutawney Phil crawl out of his borrow at 5:30 and tell us how much long we have to put up with winter.



Remember to tell every one you heard it here on Tri-Oldman's blog.