You can call me the Iron Courier. Delivery under three (hours) or it's free. Some background and details, perhaps? Much like other days of the week, Sundays at our house have a bit of a routine. One key part of that routine involves my kids asking to go to their grandpa's house after church. I typically tell them to ask their grandfather. He typically tells them to check with their dad. Yes, it's a vicious circle. It makes them laugh. Yesterday was all boys. My daughter went to church with my wife, leaving three generations of males from the Pol family to fend for themselves. Of course, my son wanted to go for lunch at grandpa's. It worked out well as it gave him the opportunity to read a story to grandpa as part of homework. We ate lunch, watched the first half of the Packer game, and, according to my dad, did all the other things men can't do in mixed company (mostly associated with bodily functions, you know how guys can be). At half-time, we hurried out the door so we could get home before the second half started. And, of course, left my son's homework packet sitting on my dad's table. He noticed it and called, just as I was pulling into the driveway at my house. And, also of course, it needed to be turned in, today. That left me with the challenge of juggling the rest of the Packer game, a 12-mile training run, dinner, and returning to my dad's house to get the folder. Enter MapMyRun. While watching the second half of the game, I mapped out the route I would take to my dad's house, if I were running. Nine miles, one way. A bit much when the plan called for a 12-miler. Of course, that doesn't consider either the Ironman or the insanity factor. As the Packer game wound down, I changed into my running gear and headed out the door. I told my wife I'd be back in three hours, or the delivery would be free. Eighteen miles (about four of which were not much fun) and 2:50 later, I walked back in the door, a sweaty pack on my back. Thank goodness for the plastic sleeves they use to send the books/signature sheets home. Iron Courier Service. You call, we deliver. And who needs the bike?
Getting back into the training thing, I'm pleased to note that my aerobic capacity hasn't suffered TOO badly. After an easy seven mile run at 9:40 pace, I did three miles at 9 min/mile without having to break anything. It's a far cry from 3:40 marathon pace, but not bad for being off six, er eight, okay, nearly 10 weeks.
There, is, however, a noticeable price I am having to pay. My legs have forgotten how indestructible they are supposed to be. After two easy runs, 10 miles total, I was feeling it in my legs. Perhaps not to the extent experienced after my first marathon, but still...
These are the legs that do back to back 30 mile runs on a weekend. These are the legs that did 50 miles under 10 hours. These are iron legs.
Apparently, I need to bust out some rust remover.
I know, it's been a while. Because of that, I'll refund everyone's dues for the month of June. Keep an eye out for those reimbursements.
In addition to being busy, I wanted to keep the Run for Ron Charity event at the top of the page. The donation link is still in my profile, and I hope you'll consider making a donation.
With just two weeks left until the High Cliff half-Ironman, I'm a bit concerned about race day conditions. Rumor has it we're supposed to train like we race. If that's the case, I hope it's rainy, windy, and cold enough to make snow a real possibility over the rain. Because that's about all I've been training in, lately.
Though it's been tough commuting to work, I managed one such ride May 28th. It was in the mid-40s the entire trip in, with a headwind and rain. When I left the house, I had on my running tights with tri-shorts, a long sleeve jersey over my tri top, and gloves. I was concerned with what I would do when I got to warm.
As if...
Late in the ride I became more concerned with how I was going to change a flat tire with frozen hands. Apparently the answer is, "Not very well." I barely avoided blowing my last spare tube when I inflated it with part of the tube outside the tire. Thankfully, I did have one more CO2 cylinder than tubes.
It was somewhat better after work as I headed to a bike shop near the office to replace tubes and CO2. Two minutes down the road I felt my foot slipping and figured I'd broke one of my cleats. I "uncleated," looked down to see what was wrong with the cleat, and wondered where my pedal had gone. All that was left was the shaft of my Speedplay. Luckily, I found the pedal still in my cleat.
At the bike shop, I was able to replace the tubes, CO2 cylinders, and properly inflate my tire. The weren't able to provide much help with the pedal, so I pushed it on and biked home hoping nothing else would go wrong.
Obviously, the wind had changed direction and I had the same headwind going home as I had going to work. And home is uphill.
Saturday, I went out for my final long ride prior to the race. I hoped to get in 60 miles. When the rain started five minutes after I started, I shook my fist at the heavens to show my determination to stand up to the elements.
By the way, our high temp on Saturday was 53F. That was the temperature at midnight as the temps fell through 50s into mid-40s territory, which is where they were at during my windy, rainy ride. Fortunately this time, I only had a headwind in one direction.
So far, this year, only one of my rides has been in temperatures any warmer than 50F. Most have been in the rain.
I am fairly confident that race day will be sunny, windy (during the swim and bike), and somewhere around 100 degrees. I will burst into flames somewhere around mile 45 of the bike. Luck will be with me as the wind prevents the flames from totally engulfing me.
That luck, and the wind, will die as soon as I step off the bike. It is most likely I will spend the entire half marathon dumping cups of water onto my head to douse the fire as I continue to deal with spontaneous combustion.
Still, I will be there. I will race. I will have fun. And perhaps, just perhaps, I'll live up to my expectations.
Not on that list, however, is a PR at the event. The last time I raced here, I was a few short months away from Ironman and in a far different place.
But they WERE flip-turns. And no, this isn't an April Fools' Post.
1800 yards with flip turns at the deep end. I'm holding off on the shallow end until I'm more comfortable in the deep end, and a time when there are fewer people in the pool.
I figured that someone capable of completing and Ironman and ultramarathon should be able to handle somersaults in the pool. It does appear I'll have to show some restraint on the push-off (I had issues with one ear plug early in the swim), but it's not too much different than pushing off during an open turn.
The biggest challenge? Keeping track of my distances as I can't check my watch like I can when I touch the wall in an open turn.
 It's 50F and sunny. That means the bike came off the trainer, and I headed out. The kids took their bikes out at the same time. I did just over 25 miles in 1:25. It was a pretty laid back ride, meaning I've been seriously shorting my estimates for time spent on the trainer. I've been using 15 mph for spin rides, and they've been much more challenging than today's ride, outside. Of course, just being outside probably helped. A lot!
I took this picture after I got home. Most of the gear I have on is courtesy of someone else. The cold weather cycling top and the gloves were Christmas presents from my in-laws, and the tights (that can't be seen) were from a gift certificate I got at the first triathlon I ever entered. The Tri Fox cycling shorts are mine.
Today, I'm feeling something that becomes all too rare during the long, Wisconsin off-season (otherwise known as winter). No, I'm not talking about sun-burn.
I'm talking about the widely familiar burn our muscles feel after a solid workout. Many of my winter workouts are base building. And though base workouts are vital for a successful race season, there is something about the "feel good" pain associated with a challenging workout.
My current muscle aches are related to workouts from Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday's swim was scheduled to be a longish workout of 2500 yards. My earplugs weren't cooperating, and I was getting water into my left ear. That happens to be the one with the ruptured ear-drum, so letting water in is a bad idea. Lucky for me, I'm a right side breather, so I was still able to complete 1000 yards.
Since 1500 yards represents a bit more than 30 minutes of my time, I decided to make an extra appearance in the weight room for some core body exercises. I ran through a more rigorous series than I've done for some time. My abs and glutes are paying the price, even two days later.
Yesterday, I hit the track for my MWSLR (mid-week sorta long run). I put in two sets of 10 x 20 second strides, with 40 seconds between strides. For those unfamiliar with the term, strides are speedwork designed to increase turnover. For the 20 second stride, I target 33 left foot strikes, for a cadence of 100. As we get closer to the race season, I'll work on increasing the cadence toward 120.
I'll never race at that cadence, but doing the strides helps increase turnover during normal running. And it tends to push me toward LT, adding the benefits that provides.
Needless to say, 20 minutes of quality speedwork the day after a solid core body workout has my body feeling the burn. And this is a good thing. It means the long and boring runs of the winter "off season" are over.
And that means the race season is approaching rapidly. And that, my friends, is what all the work for the past several months is all about.
I spent last night racing against some of the world's best cyclists as they completed stage five of the Amgen Tour of California. And while I had a much easier (and shorter) ride than they faced, the sprinters still KILLED me at the end of the race.
Race season offers the opportunity to get in some training while watching the races. With the bike on the trainer, I started the workout watching E.R. Since I was a bit late getting going, I had to continue my ride after the show was over. I flipped over to Versus so I could "race" against the peloton in the ToC stage.
For the purpose of "realism" I established some simple guidelines for the workout. While the race was on, I had to be in the big ring with a low gear and keep cadence with the cyclists on T.V. That forced me to push my heart rate and work the legs. Commercials were for active recovery. That works really well, because it creates an irregular pattern of higher and lower heart rate efforts, while keeping a bit of control of the time spent at either level.
I was only about 90 minutes in when the peloton reached the finish line. Despite their being better than 100 miles ahead of me, there is NO WAY I could have kept up with them in the sprint to the line. Cavendish hit nearly 40 miles an hour in that final push. Amazing!
Regardless, using the race coverage translated into a more intense workout than might be achieved watching "regular" T.V. It might be time to invest in some cycling videos so I can use them when there isn't a race being broadcast.
It seems only fair to review the 2008 goals and accomplishments before moving on to 2009. Besides, it's the "in" thing to do. So here we are, the 2008 facts and figures.
Training Statistics:
Swim - 144,660 yards (just over 89 miles). This was short of my goal of matching my 2007 swim yardage. In retrospect, that was probably unrealistic as 2007 was my debut Ironman year.
Bike - 700 miles (including 130 "estimated" miles on trainer using 15 miles/hour). Way short of my similarly unrealistic mileage goal of 1500 miles.
Run - 1035 miles (my first time breaking 1000 miles in a year). The one distance success for the year, well beyond my 750 miles from last year.
Major Accomplishments:
Trinity Triathlon Sprint PR (this is the same race where I completed my first ever triathlon, breaking my bike chain and running about seven miles of the bike course, finishing dead last).
Marathon PR of 3:41:38 (set at the Green Bay Marathon).
Half-IM PR of 5:27:55 (set at the Spirit of Racine Triathlon).
Completed 40 and 50 mile ultramarathons. The 40-miler was an official marathon completed after running the half-marathon course in reverse to get to the start. The 50-miler was the Fall 50 Endurance Race, complete in 8:58:00.
Looking Forward:
In 2009, I will try to double swim and bike volume. My run goal is to again break 1000 miles. On the race front, I will run one marathon with no time goal whatsoever. I will complete another as a "double" for 52.4 miles. I will race the High Cliff half-IM and attempt to break my PR at the race, though I don't believe I will pursue my overall half-IM PR. It's a tough course.
I will also continue to give back by coaching the youth tri club. I should have three returning members and hope to add several more to that. I also plan on being in Madison to volunteer for IMWI 2009, and hope to have both the funds and approval to sign up for the 2010 race.
That's the "short and sweet" vision for the coming year. I appreciate everyone who has checked in during the past year. Train safe, race hard, and have a great 2009!
First, allow me to apologize to anyone who spent an hour last Saturday listening to a radio broadcast that, in the end, did NOT include the interview of yours' truly. After learning how to record streaming audio, arranging things around the broadcast, and then taping the entire hour, it became apparent that interview will be another day. My wife pointed out that perhaps they recorded two week's worth of tape to account for the holiday weekend.
For the sake of convenience, I will be recording the interview and will post it here. That way, only my time is spent waiting in the event it isn't on THIS week's broadcast.
It's been a great month of training, and I am nearly complete with the mileage for the Evotri Ironman Challenge. I have completed about three times the needed swim yardage, finished 115 miles on the bike with last night's workout, and have about three miles left to run.
I might try to complete a second Ironman in the remaining days of December. This is because I am determined to complete the full B-Fit B-Day challenge. That means 6600 yards swimming, 40 miles biking, and 10 miles running. At that point, I may as well tack on another 70 miles on the bike, and finish the marathon.
I'm trying to figure out a way to get good footage of the event and put together a nice video to kick off 2009. However, I'm better at finishing races than actually documenting them. If I get around to it, I have some pretty neat ideas. We'll see.
In case I don't post in the next couple days, have a great holiday break. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, or whatever applies best. Whatever that is, enjoy your time with family, take a break from the strict discipline of diet and training, and recharge your batteries for the coming new year.
Thanks to everyone who visits this site, and an extra-big "THANK YOU!" to everyone who visits and comments regularly. I appreciate the support and guidance you provide.
 Swimming Notes
The Spirit of Racine 70.3 race started more than an hour late this year, due to fog. This picture says it all. And, no, the water in the foreground isn't the swim start. That's a puddle. The lake is just on the other side of the participants. If it weren't for the fog, you would be able to see it.
While that race was started in the fog, the conditions rapidly improved, and we were soon biking and running under clear skies. Lately, my swims seem to be "in a fog," and I'm pushing myself toward clearer skies.
At a recent Tri Fox meeting, I was discussing my recent challenges after the long swim break. I commented about all of my other training and how little benefit that training was providing. His reply...
"Swimming is the only thing that helps swimming."
I guess that's a "good news, bad news" response. Good because there is a lot of swimming on the horizon. Bad because I despise swimming more than running. Where's Mary Poppins when she's needed? If swimming is the medicine, I would take a spoonful or two of sugar.
Blog Notes
In the midst of some extraordinary technical issues at Weebly, my sidebar got hammered. While it showed up on the site, I was unable to make any changes. Their support crew did a good job restoring the sidebar, though there were a few notable changes. Like certain elements being repeated an extra time or twelve.
Rather than worry about it, I pretty much reconstructed the entire sidebar. If you notice something horribly wrong, please let me know. If there's something you think is missing or would be beneficial, tell me that, as well. I tend to limit it to the basics, keeping anything unrelated to the site and teams with whom I race to a minimum, so there might be useful links or tools I'm missing.
Race Notes
A few races are starting to materialize on the horizon. Next year looks to be similar to 2008, with some of the race names changing. Several co-workers are interested in the Green Bay Marathon, so I'll likely join them. Spirit of Racine is out due to scheduling conflicts with a youth camp leadership role, so I'm planning on revisiting the High Cliff Triathlon. I don't know if I can set a 70.3 PR there, but I can try to beat the time from my first attempt.
I'll be coaching kids, again, next summer, and might race the Oshkosh Area Triathlon with them. In the "insane" endurance department, I'm in discussions with the owner of the Fox Valley Running Company to tackle the Fox Cities Marathon as a double. We'll start about 3:30 a.m. and run the course in both directions for a total of 52.4 miles.
That will work out well as other co-workers and friends will be tackling that race as their first marathon. If I can keep up, I'll be able to run with them as the celebrate that accomplishment.
Iron Challenge Notes
Training numbers for the first week of the Evotri Iron Challenge!
Swim - 6850 yards
Bike - 0 miles
Run - 11.82 miles
Obviously, the goal for this week is to find my way to the trainer and watch a few movies. My bike isn't going to pedal itself for 112 miles.
And that about wraps up the news for the week. Have a great week of training and stay safe!
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