So yesterday I went up through college. Today I will get caught up with where I am today. Tomorrow I will cover my plan and training. After that I am sure everyone will be thoroughly bored with me and never visit this site again.
After I got out of college I began lifting weights. I had never done so in college because of recurring shoulder problems. Medical knowlege of shoulder rehab was not what it is now. Proper lifting and strength work may have eliminated much of my pain. Did a lot of power lifting, almost got myself up to a 300lb bench. As I have stated before, getting big was never my issue. Getting smaller was the challenge. I did that for a few years and was happy to never touch a swimming pool in that time. I wouldn't even go in on nice days to cool down. If I wasn't going to swim laps, I didnt' see the point.
At some point in 2001 I went to a party in Minnesota and saw a few college buddies. Greg Worm was doing triathlons and directed me to http://www.trinewbies.com/. I read some articles and got a training plan and went to work. My bike was a Trek hybrid with big tires. I knew nothing about running form or shoes. But I could swim. I ended up doing a few races, finishing them all. I was towards the back of the pack. But you have to start somewhere. I saw it as a challenge and was hooked.
The next year I can back and was much faster. I had my eyes on a 1/2 Ironman in August, and trained for that. I did well that year in shorter stuff. (for me). And went to Pigman in Iowa where I got my ass kicked. My swim went well, my bike went well...but it was about 105 that day. There was NO shade of any kind. And I had no nutrition or hydration plan. I had maybe one bottle of fluid on the entire 56 mile ride. I made it about 3 miles on the run and started staggering around like an idiot. Started walking. thought about not finishing. Worm caught me around there and walked with me for quite a while. I am not sure I would have finished without him. Thank you Sir Worm. That was in 2003 I believe.
After that I took a few years off for business and injury reasons. I floundered and gained weight.
Fast forward to October 2007. Got word that I won a bike. Ended up paying a little extra and getting a Trek Equinox 7. (http://www.trekbikes.com/). I figured it was time I got back into shape. Started swimming and running again. Did some trainer riding...mostly ineffective as I still didn't really know how to train properly.
2008 comes and I start racing. I realize I am faster than I was before I took the break. Considering I was 40-45lbs heavier I was surprised. That year I lost 20lbs and finished the season strong and injury free. At that point I started getting a little more serious about racing. I made the decision to sign up for Ironman Wisconsin 2009 and began training righ then.
I got a computrainer and started to ride a lot in the winter months.
In November I stupidly decided to be a more forefoot runner instead of heel striker. Cause major injuries throughout my right foot. So I focused on swimming and biking.
Despite that I got much faster and was finishing in the top 15% of most races with little run training. I'll find a way to post results at some point.
Despite the foot injuries and residual shoulder issue (and Crohns) I steadily improved over the year. I signed on with team Gear-Grinder which is a very fast group. It makes training and racing a lot easier when there is a group of people that you know will be at the races. I found it very motivating despite the kick in the ass they all gave me.
Ironman came and I finished. I will post the entire race report at some point. It is lengthy. I finished with a 13:43. I had to walk a majority of the run. But it was my first try and it takes years to get good at that kind of endurance event.
After Ironman I took a look at where I was and decided I wanted to be competetive at this sport. I took some time to heal and started looking at my goals. I knew I wasn't going to do another IM this year and decided I wanted to qualify for USAT Age Group Nationals.
Tomorrow I'll start going into a little detail of my training plan, diet, and plans for qualifying...as well as the times I think I'll have to hit to qualify.
Thanks for reading. (assuming anyone is.)
No comments:
Post a Comment