Deep and Steep

That would be a rough description of the hole I've dug myself over the last several months.  I really had no intention on going on such a complete hiatus from training, it just worked out that way.  Truth be told, the only thing lower than my motivation to exercise was my want to blog about it. 

So I didn't, no running, no swimming, no biking, no blogging (obviously), nothing.

And here I am, three months or so later.  A little rounder and hopefully somewhat refreshed and ready to head into 2009.  Now it's just a matter of doing.

This morning without any real thought I registered for a race.  In two weeks.  Nothing like an impending race date for motivation to train.  I have a feeling there will be a lot of these to get me through winter/spring. 

This one is the New Year's Day Dash, 5-miles of cold.  It's not going to be pretty, but so be it.

I've also registered for all my primary 2009 races. 

First off is Ironman Kansas 70.3.  Selected for the hilly bike course and what appears to be a viewer friendly event.  I reserved a prime campsite, right on the run course where the family should be able to see runners from each direction on the three lap course.  Looking forward to the trip, we have friends in Kansas City, and if I can weasel in a trip to Arthur Bryant's again, it will all be worth it.  (It really is all about the food.)

Next is Spirit of Racine.  Swimming in the big pond, my only hesitation with respect to this race.  The rest is fast and flat.  If nothing else it should be a PR for the distance.

Lastly IM Wisconsin.  Ten months and counting.  I really have not thought about it much. 

That's it for the big ones.  I've all but written off the marathon plan, but there is still a part of me that wants to do the Country Music Marathon in April.  If I can get in a running rhythm before the end of the year I'll hold onto it for a little longer.

Deep breath, that's exactly what I just did after rereading what I just wrote.  Gidde up.

Reunited

And it was ok. Not really the makings of a sappy love song, but it is what it is.

I got back on wilson, my tri-bike, for the first time in a good month. For whatever reason I haven't ridden it since Pigman back in August. Seems like a long time ago.

Felt like it too.

First couple miles were the hardest. First major bump was a quick reminder of just how much different this ride is then the mountain bike. Ouch.

We quickly fell back into a rhythm. Some cleaning and maintenance yesterday paid off and we had no issues all day.

Did one lap of the IMoo bike course. It's still hard. Imagine that, sitting on my ass for a month hasn't made the bike course any easier or faster.

Was good to get back out. If nothing else it was a quick reminder of what lies ahead. I anticipate many many miles on this course in the coming year.

Monday Night Ride Report

Tonight P and I went out for a ride. Everything was going great. P was having fun, nice easy ride for me, just what I needed, probably what we both needed. Then I ran him over, literally.

I don't even know how it happened. He was riding off to my right and just in front of me. For reasons unkown he lost control, swerving into my front tire before going down. Flat road, no cars, no corners, nothing, except a 7-year old hyped up on chocolate and fresh air.

P ended up in a heap under his bike, under me and my bike, which I managed to bring to a stop only after the front wheel rolled over him. Not so good.

After shotputting my bike into the ditch and digging him out from under his we sat on the shoulder and surveyed the damage while he cryed it out. Amazingly, nothing significant. Three small scrapes on his back, some roughed up hands and a banged up knee. Typical boy stuff, at least from what I remember.

He sucked it up and we rode the last mile or so home without issue. Even with the trauma of getting run over by dad he still had a great time. Covered 9-1/2 miles, a new distance record (for him).

The Plan

I'm not sure how well the following will show up, but it's basically my training plan for the next year in short form.

The IM plan morphed from a 30-week plan outlined in Don Fink's book, beIRONfit. The plan called for a 1/2 distance race at week 22. I want to do two 1/2's next year, so I'm starting early and repeating 5 weeks in the middle.

Seeing as I can't swim and I've never been a runner, I've morphed the plan a little more to incorporate some additional work in these areas.

First the swim, starting way early and focusing on open water come summer. I'm leaving myself another couple of months rest to hopefully get my shoulder recovered and my attitude adjusted. When I do start swimming again I'll be looking for some help to get my stroke in order. Sally, I'm looking at you.

As far as the run, I want to get a marathon in, and do it early in the spring before IM training gets heavy. I'd have liked to do one earlier, but I couldn't find anything appealing. I'll outline key races in another post.

For the next 12 weeks it's just going to be running with the goal of shaving some time off my 5k. No formal bike training plans. I'll probably commute to work some more, and I'd really like to do more trail riding now that it's cool and the bugs are gone, but nothing formal for the bike.

I think that's it, comments and thoughts appreciated.