Must Get Going
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
It has been a month now since I completed Coeur d'Alene Ironman. I took 3 weeks off. Yikes. I have a race, 5430 Long Course (half ironman), in 17 days. I usually don't wait this long to start training. 3 weeks left. I found a plan from beginnertriathlete.com and printed off the last 3-4 weeks. I think I will combine this and my workouts from last year. I will make the best decision possible on what to do.
I woke up really early on Monday to get my MRI. During my lunch break I lifted weights. My focus was on my legs. I went and ran almost 10 miles after work in the 90+ degree weather. I felt great and had an awesome run.
I got a blister on my left foot. Tuesday was tough. It kinda felt like the day after Ironman...barely able to walk. Today isn't much better. My legs are so tight and I stayed up too late last night. Time to snap out of this funk. I brewed a pot of my newest coffee flavor. I am drinking Millstone Foglifter. Not bad.
MRI RESULTS
The results came in and don't look good :(
I have what is called Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex (TFCC) Injury. This injury was caused by my fall and might require surgery. I also have a Ulna fracture. I am going to see a specialist on Tuesday of next week to find out more. My doctor says that because I am so active I will need and want surgery. It really amazes me how one dinky fall can do so much! Surgery or not; I still want to do my race on Aug 10th. If I can do an Ironman on an injury I can do a half-ironman. Right?
posted by Iron Eric @ 7:14 AM,
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Testing FootGlide
posted by Iron Eric @ 7:00 AM,
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MRI
Monday, July 21, 2008
I went to the hospital today to get an MRI for my wrist. My wrist is still bothering me. It has been a month now since I injured it and it's time to figure out what's wrong. I am crossing my fingers that what ever is wrong it doesn't lead to surgery. YIKES!!
posted by Iron Eric @ 8:43 AM,
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Why???
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Why do terrible things happen to good people???????
posted by Iron Eric @ 10:54 AM,
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2 Mile Run
Monday, July 14, 2008
My running club had a 2 mile trophy series run today.
Mile 1: 5:40, Mile 2: 6:23Total Time: 12:05
Pace: 5:52/mile
Distance: 2.06 miles
WoW. That was fast. I was huffing and puffing the whole time. This race was short and sweet.
posted by Iron Eric @ 9:06 AM,
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First Workout after Ironman
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Stiff. I am not sure if I need to explain anything else. I went for a run this morning. I got up, snoozed once or twice and my run awaits. I knew right from the start I was going to be aching. Its hard to explain, but my legs felt really stiff. Lead. Iron. Oh yeah, Iron. My knees felt sore but did not hurt.
I ran pretty good for the first time back. No cramps or huge pains. My right hip still hurts from my crash, but it will take more weeks to fully heal. I ran for 30 min and went 3.5 miles. 8:43/mile.
I don't have a workout schedule, but I really should come up with something since I have a race in 1 month. Time to be hardcore again and the workouts begin. YEAH!!! Of course, I started playing Zelda II.
posted by Iron Eric @ 7:00 AM,
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Might need a plan?
Monday, July 7, 2008
Where to go from here?
Mental Check...Good.
Spiritual check...Good.
Physical check....um...
- wrist still hurts..maybe 20% better?
I called the doctor to see what he wants me to do with my wrist. It has seen some improvement. It only hurts when I twist it. I am starting to see some strength back, but very slowly. I am a little scared because I want to start exercising right away and I want my wrist to recover.
I start training again soon. I decided to take of 2-3 weeks after Ironman. It has now hit the 2 week mark and I am getting anxious to get going again. I have a 5430 Boulder Long Course (Half-Ironman) coming up August 10th. That's a month away. Yikes.
I will start training again on Thursday July 10th. This will give me one month before my next race. I know what needs to be done. I need to start gearing up for another training mode. HARD CORE.
I have a Team Zoot GU Group ride on Saturday and a 2 Mile RMRR Trophy Series race. This is great because I will ease back into things.
posted by Iron Eric @ 9:11 AM,
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My Iron Finish
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thanks TriBoomer for recording this! It means everything to me!!
posted by Iron Eric @ 9:31 PM,
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Ironman Coeur d'Alene Race Report
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Pre-Race
My alarm went off at 4am. I went to bed just before 10pm and slept the entire time. I am not sure if I woke up to use the bathroom. I brought my oatmeal and bought some milk the day before. I had 2-3 packets of sugar with my oatmeal. I also brewed some coffee. I don't remember having the entire pot, but a cup or two works.
Bathroom breaks. You mean to tell me I have to use the bathroom again. I used the bathroom 4+ times before every race. I must get some kind of pre-race jitters? It gets annoying sometimes, but that's life.Nicole and I left the hotel about 5:15am. I setup my bike and transition bags the day before so I didn't have much to setup. I pumped up my tires to 115psi, took off the plastic bags and made sure everything was ready.
I put on my wetsuit and was almost ready...wait a minute. I forgot to put on my bodyglide so I unpeeled the wetsuit halfway and applied the bodyglide to the necessary areas. I don't really need the bodyglide, but I put it on just in case.
Once I got the wetsuit on, it was time to line up for the swim. That came really fast and we started to head to the lake. I stayed out of the water before the swim. I wiped some water around my goggles to make sure they wouldn't fog up. Great plan!
Swim: 1:17:02 (2.4 miles)
The gun went off and so did the swimmers. YIKES. The swim was the craziest swim I ever imagined. It was like everyone trying to swim all at the same time in the same area. On the bright side of things, it forced me to hold back and pace myself. One of the turn-around buoys was packed with people. I heard people scream "lets go" and "come on now". We were at a doggy paddle because it was congested.I didn't drink too much lake water. There were times I got a big gulp. I didn't get too beat up during the swim. I did get bonked and bonked others, but for the most part I was good.
Turn-Around point came and I was feeling good. I clocked my time at 37:35 for the first half. Not too bad!! Time to dig in deep and finish the swim. I really enjoyed the swim. The temperature on race day was 59.5 degrees. That made me happy to see that the lake was warming up.
T1: Swim-to-Bike 12:10
The time started once I got out of the water. I was running towards transition. I couldn't believe how many were walking. Helmet, socks...., shoes...., sunglasses, bib #, gloves...., sunscreen. All went well. The shoes and socks took longer than I anticipated. The change tent was packed with people. That was crazy!!!
I had to stop and use the restroom. I spent too long in the port-a-potty. Once out I ran to the bike. Uh oh.......Back to the port-a-potty I went. No wonder why my transition took so long.
Bike: 5:57:37 (112 miles)
What a great ride. I think I went out too fast. It was hard to pace myself because I felt great and I had tons of people to pass. I was talking to other riders as the day went. It was neat to hear from others and enjoy the experience.
Some of the views were breathtaking. Passing by the lake was a big highlight. Some parts were tough, but because I live in Colorado, the ride wasn't too hilly. I would pass many on the uphills and some would pass me back on the downhills.
I had to stop 3 times during the ride. I had to pee each time, but made it quick. A volunteer would hold my bike, while I went to the port-a-potty.
My nutrition was great. I had a GU gel every 30 minutes and drank 16oz of GU20 or gatorade every hour. I think I kept it pretty close to my plan. I tried eating a cliff bar, but I couldn't get it down. I think the cliff bar was giving me cramps for the run in prior long rides.
T2: Bike-to-Run 3:29
The volunteers took my bike and I went to change to my run gear. Shoes, Hat, water/nutrition pack and I was off. This was quick and easy. I did use the stall briefly just to be safe.
Run: 4:08:38 (26.2 miles)
The run is my strong point. Of course, it slows down a little during triathlons. My goal was to run 8:30 min per mile. I ran for one mile an walked for 30 seconds. This was great for the first half, then I walked a little more.
The first half marathon was great. I was feeling pretty good. No cramps, no stomach issues. 
I ate a gel every 30 min and had 3-4 water bottles worth of GU20 and gatorade. The crowd support was the best. There were so many people cheering us on. Some were doing the wave, some asked for kisses. What an amazing day.
The second half marathon went great too. I noticed that I did slow down, but that was expected. I stopped a took off my sock. I had some dirt/sand in my sock that needed out. That was much better. I saw Nicole, Duane and others cheering me on. Wonderful!!
The Finish
The finish is one of the best parts of an Ironman. There were so many people cheering and the emotions were running wild. I would get chills watching others finish, but for me to finish was amazing. I was running as fast as I could towards the finish. I wanted a good photo finish, so I let one or two run past me. A volunteer at the end took care of me. He asked if I was alright and if I needed anything. I met Nicole and Duane at the finish. How special this day was!!
Total: 11:38:56 (140.6 miles)
Post-Race
After talking with Nicole and Duane for a little bit, I needed to sit down and stretch. I eventually got my bike and gear. I was walking, but it was tough. I was told later that there was free pizza and massages. I could have used both. Oh well.
I settled on some gatorade and my cliff bar for dinner. Nicole made a hot bath for me at the hotel and I plopped on the bed. I wanted to go back and cheer others on, but my legs were shot for the day. I slept pretty good that night and it took my legs a few days to recover.
Nicole and I went to another mall the next day. We also went to a TriBlogger's party at Momo's house. That was really fun. I drank some beer, but regret part of it because it made my immune system weak and I got a cold.
These memories will last me a lifetime and I am so thrilled. I am now an IRONMAN!!
What's next? I have another half-ironman race this year. I am thinking about trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but maybe next year. I was also thinking about a tattoo, but we'll see.
I want to thank Nicole for all the support. This year as been amazing and worth it! I also wanted to thank my friends, family, supporters of the Challenged Athletes Foundation and others who have followed my progress.
posted by Iron Eric @ 2:22 PM,
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Ironman Coeur d'Alene 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
I am now an IRONMAN!! My finish time was 11:38:56.
It feels good. It feels great. The full race report will be coming soon.
Nicole and I left Denver to Couer d'Alene, Idaho on Wednesday. We arrived Thursday and found our hotel. Not the best of hotels, but it worked. We stayed at the Guesthouse Inn and were about 2 miles from the start of the race.
I had small workouts here and there. 15 min run, 20 min bike, 30 min swim, etc. I went to the lake and had my practice swim. I swam much longer than I anticipated. It was cold, but just like home. I was only supposed to swim for 30 min and it ended up being 38 min.
The TriBloggers group had a get together at Capones on Thursday evening. Nicole and I were a little late because we went to the wrong restaurant. We met Bigun, Di, Taconite Boy, Spokane Al, Bold, and so many others. It was really amazing to meet so many bloggers and follow their journey throughout the year.
Friday and Saturday went by fast. Too fast. Nicole and I went to the Ironman Expo on Friday and probably spent too much time there. I got a 30 min massage, which I think made a big difference. We stopped by the booths and hung out for a few hours. We went to the mall on Saturday. We traveled about 20 miles to a mall headed towards Spokane, WA. It was fun. I let Nicole buy some Bath and Body Works stuff. I wanted her to come home with something too!!
Our ride home after Ironman was long. We took a different route which added almost 3 hours to our drive. YUCK. We went headed towards Salt Lake City and didn't plan this part well. Of course, we stayed at a really nice "Sleep Inn" hotel. We finally arrived in Denver the next day at almost 6pm.
I got a cold along the way and is starting to clear up. The cold doesn't help with my recovery time. Oh well.
posted by Iron Eric @ 8:26 PM,
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