Nov 17-Nov 23 2008 - Numbers

Hours Swimming: 3.25
Hours Running: 3.75
Hours Biking: 0 (flat tire)

Total Hours: 7
Training Plan Hours: 12.5
Next Week: 14 (11 are on the bike)

7 hours in one week is good for me. The last time I did 7 hours was 2 weeks before the ½ Ironman in Boulder in August. I feel good. I’m not tired. I’m getting enough sleep. All is well in pre-training land.

A Flat on my trainer

I got a flat on my back tire while riding on the trainer. This kind of thing only happens to me. It's like the bike knows I don't really want to ride it. I've been procrastinating and then when I finally get into a groove, I get a flat. One of the main reason my total hours aren't adding up is lack of hours on the bike.

Swimming and Running are no problem. Biking is the problem which is a big Ironman problem.

I took the wheel off and attempted to get tire off and discovered I only have one tire lever. I'm going to spend the rest of today getting all the tools I need so I can change this flat.


Tools for Changing a Flat Bike Tire -- powered by eHow.com

Athlete of the Year - Vote

Vote for Chris Sweet for Athlete of the Year:
http://www.mychicagoathlete.com/Media/AthleteoftheYear.pdf

Even though I'm in Colorado, and he's in Chicago, I vote for him to be athlete of the country for the year because of his platform.


Here is his platform:

"If elected, I will mandate that all employers consider travel to races a
regular part of the work week as well as provide all employees who did a morning
workout with a nap. Bicyles, wetsuits, running shoes and energy gels will all be
tax-deductible. The week before Kona shall be considered a national holiday.I
will mandate that deep-tissue massage be covered by all insurance companies (but
not those nancy-pancy spa massages). My alternative energy plan is simple:
everyone needs to eat more carbs. My healthcare plan entitled HTFU will save
countless billions. Break your arm? Duct tape and R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice,
Compression and Elevation). Bronchitis? 5X1 mile. Hard."

Training Partners

I just got back from an hour swim with my training partner, Tina. The swim was great; I finished the warm up and main workout in an hour. We only had an hour because Tina needed to get to work. At first I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out – having a training partner. I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to swim as long as I needed some days. But it’s been perfect. I pick Tina up on the way to the YMCA. It’s really nice to have someone to talk to on the 15 minute drive back and forth. We get to the pool and just swim. She forces me to swim faster 1) in order to finish the workout in the allotted time and 2) so I can keep up with her.

I’ve never trained with anyone before. With Ironman looming in the distance I’m trying everything new and listening to the experts in order to get better and faster. I biked with Tina a bit before the Long Course Triathlon in July and that helped tremendously. And, we ran two times a week in the morning.

Things are going really well – in pre-training land; I’m adjusting to the training load even though it is only the last week I’ve been doing the required hours. Like Bold said, I’m building (slowly) my base. I’ve never done this before and I really like it; imagine that.

Also, reading about mental training is helping me keep my eyes on the prize.

So, thanks Tina.

Confession

I haven't been sticking to the training plan.

I've been swimming. I've been biking inside. I've been running. Everyday I do something but the hours aren't adding up.

Last week: 10/27/08-11/20/8 - Hours Swimming: 1.5. Hours Biking: 0.0 (okay, so last week I didn't bike inside at all). Hours Running: 2.
Pathetic now that I see it written down.

This week: 11/3/08-11/7/08 (not a full week, yet, for the record) - Hours Swimming: 3 Biking: 2.75 . Running: 3 .
I have 1 day to get the 1.5 more hours in to be training according to the plan. *8.5 hours

This is my update and it's bad. But this is the pre-training plan. "tomorrow is another day"