This is the week that I've been concerned about

I am now entering week nine of my Ironman distance training, and this is the week that I’ve been worrying about. Some six weeks ago I started looking into my future plans and one thing about this week concerned me. I knew I would be training into winter, I knew I would be doing a lot of runs in the dark, rainy mornings. I planned to do most of my swims during Quinlan’s (nine year old daughter) swim practices. However, I was not prepared for the length of bike riding I am required to do this week. Here in Oregon, it’s wet and dark much of the winter. This week sunrise is at about 7:30 am and sunset is at about 4:30 pm. This makes it difficult to do actual road rides on the bike. So, last year I got a Cycleops bike trainer. This allows me to clip my road bike into the trainer. The trainer has a resistance wheel that allows me to ride stationary and use the gears to allow even more or less resistance. …back to my worries. This week I am supposed to do a training ride of 3 hours and 15 minutes!!! …on a stationary bike!!! On the road, at least there are times when you can coast, stretch the legs a little bit, stand up and get out of the saddle. The views are ever changing. The wind cools you off. Not so on a stationary bike. I’ve been working my way up to two hours, and I seem to be getting better at handling the saddle soreness and boredom. I look foreword to see if I can accomplish this new milestone in training.

Also this week, I am supposed to do a 2,600 yard swim. This includes a 300 yard warm up, 2000 yard foundation swim and a 300 yard cool down. While I received a huge confidence boost this last week by swimming my first 1500 swim (non-stop, no fins) in a very long time, I am extremely nervous about accomplishing this goal too.

All these goals seem large and insurmountable. However, I have faith that they will strengthen me and prepare me to become a Vineman next year.

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Nervous Beginning

Nervous Beginning

November 14, 2010

Yesterday I completed my 5^th week of training for the Full Vineman 2011. The Vineman is similar to the Ironman distance triathlon. It has the same distances; 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and a full marathon run of 26.2 miles. A total of 140.6 miles. The only differences are the franchise name and cost, the Vineman is almost half the cost. (BTW Thanks to my parents for giving me an early Christmas and Birthday – my entry fee.) However, I have never been to a Vineman or Ironman event, so I am certainly not the expert in the differences.

I am nervous. Yesterday I completed planning out my training for the next 18 weeks. At that point I will determine my level of fitness an increase the difficulty (hopefully) of training for the next 18 weeks, to be ready for the Vineman on July 30, 2011. The good news is that at the end of the 1^st 18 weeks I will be on spring break, so I can do a mock Ironman of my own. I am nervous because I see things like a 5 hour 45 minute training ride, in the same week as a 2 hour 40 minute training run. I am nervous because I see a 2.4 miles (4224 yards) swim that I am to do, when I can barely swim 500 (a little of a quarter of a mile) yards without using fins or without stopping. I am nervous because I will have to do all three together in one day. …and there are time constraints. Each course will be closed at specific times. I am N-E-R-V-O-U-S!!!

This all started a few years ago when I was very nervous. I was signed up to donate blood, like I usually did. I sat waiting, knowing that my blood pressure was usually high 140/95. This was marginal, but I was still allowed to donate. I sat down for the tests; my iron was good, I lead a pretty healthy life – no smoking, alcohol, nor drugs. However, when they tested my blood pressure it was something like 165/105. Obviously they denied me for donating blood and sent me on my way. They suggested going to the doctor. I shrugged, denying that it was “White Coat Syndrome.” When I see someone in a white coat (doctors, nurses, anyone about to take my blood pressure) the blood pressure goes up. So, I went home and checked my blood pressure on my own machine. At home I was more comfortable and I usually had decent readings. I strapped on the blue cuff and started up the machine. I took some deep breaths to calm me down. 170/110! Crap! I knew I could be in some kind of trouble. I was nervous. Thoughts of family without a dad or husband rushed through my mind. I called the doctor and made my way there. I thought I could be having a heart attack at any moment. I was about 35 years old and very nervous!!! At the office, I was checked again. …approximately the same readings. I was hooked up to an EKG. I was convinced I was in trouble. However, the heartbeat and patterns looked ok. Being overweight, stressed and a bad eater had caught up to me. I was placed on medications and encouraged to lead a healthier life. So, I started running. Running for my life.

Running felt good, but at first I could really only run for about half a mile without stopping. I kept going. Little by little I got up to double-digit miles. Once you get up to 10 miles, it seems easier to add a few more. I eventually got up to 15 miles. I enjoyed the relaxing feeling of the run. All stressors seemed to go away. I wasn’t nervous when running. Eventually I would run a marathon. The fear of having to run 26.2 miles caused me to get in shape. I would also lose numbers in blood pressure. However, winter would arrive and I would stop my training, only to pick it up again in the spring. So, I would gain 20 pounds in the winter and lose it in the summer. It has been that cycle for the past 4 years. Now, I am going to try something new.

I know that having to complete an Ironman distance triathlon will require me being in the best shape ever. So, there will be no chance for me to slack off this winter. I will continue my training as long as I am healthy. I have seen the results in a few short months I have lost 20 pounds, I have seen my blood pressure this week at 120/76 and I can now sit on a stationary bike for more than 2 hours. There’s progress, but there has to be so much more, and that makes me nervous.

I am starting this blog for a few reasons. One, I want to track my progress. I need to see tangible results. I am training in faith. I do most of my trainings alone and am following plans from a book. I hope that by tracking my feelings and progress I can rely on those during tough times. I feel that a written form of my progress holds me accountable and that motivates me as I train. I also hope that my experiences can motivate others. I am fairly normal, although my family may tell you differently. I do believe that if I can do this, there are many more out there that could do this stuff too, even better than I can. I hope that by seeing the joy I receive by training, completing and conquering the full triathlon, maybe I can inspire others to conquer their fears, whatever they may be …to conquer the nerves through hard work and dedication.

Good luck to us!

-Ed

Last weeks totals…

Bike: 8.5 hours – mixture of warm up, tempo, sprint intervals, long rides and cool downs. All done on Cycleops (mount that allows me to use road bike at stationary bike)

Run: 2.5 Hours – Mixture of sprints, tempo and long runs.

Swim: 6000 yards (3.4 miles) mixture of fins/no fins

Max distance without fins = 500 yards at a time.

Weight: 183.4

BMI 25.6

Goals for this week:

Bike- build strength by doing hill intervals (increased resistance for short periods)

Run - build strength by doing sprint intervals (increased speed for short 30 second bursts)

Oh, yeah and a half marathon (13.1 miles) – Goal time 1 hour 50 minutes (8 minutes 23 seconds per mile pace)

Swim – increase time without fins. Book plans call for interval trainings (no distance longer than 300 yards) on Monday at Wednesday. I plan on leaving the fins in the bag. The challenge here is that high school swim teams start up this week and I do not know how packed the lap lanes will be. Friday’s book plan requires a 1650 yards swim. I will try to do half without fins.