The Trek to Ironman 2011 Begins Today!

Ironman Wisconsin 2010 is today and the journey to 2011 begins with cheering on fellow ENers, volunteering at T1 bike exchange and celebrating at the finish line! How does this begin the trek to Ironman 2011? Let me give you a formula:

Volunteer @ 2010 = guaranteed spot in 2011

(plus race entry fee, hard work and lots of sweat and pain)

Photos and a race report will follow once Josh has recovered from one of the most difficult tasks at the Ironman...spectating! Stay tuned for more Ironman adventures!

Josh's Ironman WI Race Report

First off, sorry this is over 30 days past due. Second, it has taken me awhile to get back into things. I desperately needed a break from all things tri related. Nuff said.. now on with the race report.. BTW click on all pics to see the full picture

During EN Pre race talk we had some special visitors.


Friday swim


My sons commentary of T1


Mental weaponry for the race day


Race morning... Picture perfact


Swim: 1:14 DIV 117 OVR 886
Matt and I chatted for 20 min while treading water waiting for the start. This was a very memorable moment for me. It set the tone for the rest of the day. Earlier in the year I posted a 1:40 HIM swim. I worked on my swim and when I came out of the water at 1:14, I was very happy and felt relaxed and ready for the day.

Bike: 6:17 DIV 144 OVR 1003
AWESOME, I loved every moment of it except for 2. MOMENT #1 The screw that holds the saddle became loose and caused the saddle to move 4 degrees up and down. That caused my back to tighten up and sharp pain to shoot down my legs. I tried to suck it up but couldn’t do it. Towards the end of the first loop I had enough of the lower back pain and stopped to fix my bike next to a guy who was carrying his. Turns out, he needed CO2, but he had no idea how to use my quick fill. After filling up his tire, and tightening up my saddle, I was on my way. It’s amazing how 4 degrees of saddle movement can cause so much pain. My back felt great the rest of the ride. MOMENT #2 the last 2 miles of the bike, the bottoms of my feet felt like nails were being driven through the bottom of them. No idea why, but after I prayed and wiggled my toes for a few minutes, the pain subsided. On a side note, Bill came out and ran beside me on one of the climbs and slapped me. It was AWESOME to get a little push from a teammate!!


Goal watts 169 Goal IF .71 Goal TSS 286
Entire workout (148 watts):
Duration: 6:11:45
Work: 3306 kJ
TSS: 289 (intensity factor 0.683)
Norm Power: 163
VI: 1.1
Distance: 112.812 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 599 148 watts
Heart Rate: 0 170 122 bpm


Run: 4:37 DIV 89 OVR 642
I had a blast running and seeing all the pros on the field. Highlights: I was running, feeling just awesome, when all of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my left butt-cheek. I thought it was a cramp. Turns out, Matt slapped me as he passed me. I lost count of all the people I passed on the run. Even after mile 18 it was hard to count. My goal was to finish in the daylight and I just made it.


TIME 12:24
DIV PLACE 105/260
OVERALL PLACE 710/2500


Summary: This was one of the most memorable, days of my life. I loved every minute of it (even the bad). I felt I could have pushed it harder, but after looking at the files, if I had, the day might have turned UGLY. I am planning on returning in 2011 and hunting down a 60min PR!!
Thanks R&P for a solid plan, the house for their support and most of all, my ARMY of Sherpas.



Sherpa post race message


Two weeks after my race my sister gave birth to her first child. I loaned her my Finishers medal.

Buffalo Triathlon Race Report 2009

4:45 am Alarm went off and the day began with a chill in the air. Perhaps the clouds and cold would go away by race time.

5:00 am My biggest fan, a.k.a. my wife, and I left for the race prepared to face the elements.

5:45 am We rolled into Buffalo and stopped at the local McDonald's for the last warm bathroom break I'd experience for the next 6 hours and to get breakfast for the fan club of one.


6:00 am Perfect parking spot located and grabbed.

6:05 am Contemplation of cold scenario for the day.


6:10 am Transition spot secured.

6:30 am Meet new triathlete friends and continue to set up gear.

6:45 am Porta-potty break

7:10 am Body marked on not so shaved legs.

7:20 am Gloves and toe-warmers purchased from Eriks Bike Shop tent. Saving grace for my toes!

7:30 am Wife sad there is no hot chocolate to be found at vendors.

7:45 am One more run to the porta-potty

8:00 am Quick ride on the bike to warm-up

8:15 am Tri Meeting

8:30 am Quick run to warm up my body and then squeeze into my wetsuit in the comfort of my warm car...

8:40 am Yet another run to the porta-potty...well, kinda.


8:50 Scampering to the beach

8:58 am Almost not finding my wave group

9:00 am In the chute waiting wave group 4's start










9:08 am Air horn blasts and we all high-knee it into the lake

9:10 am See the first yellow duckie.....

9:53 am out of the water and half-way up the chute, spot my wife and declare that the swim was "rough."














Transition 1:

• Wet suit off on the way to T1
• Struggled to put on arm warmers
• Fingers shaking too much to put on new gloves
• Lens from glasses popped out

Bike:

• Dropped bottle at mile 4, had to pick it up
• Went really well, except for the crazy "moguls" on the first few miles (i.e. bottle drop)
  
• Passed loads of people, but was never passed
• Thankful for the toe warmers
  

Transition 2:

• Found tying shoes difficult
• Didn't know which way to go for the run...had to ask in moment of confusion.

Run:

• Great!
• Super smooth
• Potty Break
• Still had good time considering potty break thrown in there

There you have it! Official times coming soon...

Week #3

26.2..Below Virtual Marathon Race Report

The gang (_noodle_, Blazer86, jlbwalleye, and Jesse Spates) assembled at 8:00 a.m. for the big race. The weather gods sent us a mixed blessing this morning. The temp was 23, so a good 10 degrees above where it was Friday morning. The downside was that there was ½ an inch of snow on the ground. As our times will indicate, the snow played a significant role in preventing us from achieving our goal of cracking 3 hours. Given the conditions, the team was dressed for the worst:

_noodle_ was wearing his kilt along with goggle to keep the swirling snow out of his eyes

Jesse was wearing a full-blown, blaze-orange hunting getup just in case any deer hunters wandered out of the woods and mistook his loping stride for that of a whitetail

Jlbwalleye was sporting his IM finisher t-shirt in case anyone wanted to question his bona fides
Blazer86 was worried about drag from the wind whipping off the lake, so he came in his speed suit and fur hat...he got a fair number of funny looks, but claimed to be plenty warm once whe got going

After the obligatory team pictures, we hit the trail around the lakes. _Noodle_’s wife and kids were there with signs to cheer us on our way (thanks you guys). We initially set out a brisk, but doable 5:45 clip. Unfortunately after a few near misses on the slippery terrain, there was so much snow caked in our shoes that we were forced to dial it back to 8:15 or so, a much safer speed given the conditions. Since all but Blazer were a little unfamiliar with the route, we thought it would be much safer to stay together and run as a group lest anyone stumble into a pile of snow and end up lost for the winter.

As we struggled to fight our way through the drifts, we kept our spirits up by thinking about the French toast that was waiting for us at the end of the run. At mile 4.8 or so, we split into 2 groups, and despite losing our team solidarity, we managed to hold it together for the last 1.75. Group 1 (_noodle_, and Blazer86) finishied in 53:13. Jesse and jlb came in shortly thereafter in 54:40. Total time was 3:35:46, well inside the BQ time for our combined ages.

Breakfast was great, and everyone headed home around 10:15. Here’s to R&P for a great idea and to the rest of you that completed the Challenge. Hope everyone had as much fun as we did. Thanks to Mrs. Spates for not having a baby and forcing the rest of us to run an extra 2 miles!

Week #2

I can describe this last week in one word, "OUCH!" My legs are not as accustomed to biking as I initially thought they were. Tuesdays workout began with 3 intense bike intervals followed by a run. I had meetings all day that required me to be sitting for hours. The entire time my legs were twitching. Needless to say "twitching" became the norm after every workout. As the week progressed, the symptoms of adaption slowly subsided. This week also taught me that 'OLD MAN WINTER' is coming. The PLAN says "Take 5 seconds and get your shoes on. Hit the road for this run." I don't think that Coach Rich and Coach Patrick understand that it requires much more then 5 seconds to get bundled up and run outside in November IN Minnesota. It takes 30 seconds just to get on the running tights on an already sweaty body. Then all of the other gear needs to be put on. If any thing, I will get wicked fast and getting dressed and improve my T1 time. Taking my cloths off is not a problem.

Having a big fan helps but makes the PIAN cave/TV room look a little sloppy. I keep on telling the kids that if they don't keep their rooms clean, "Daddy might turn your room into my workout room." Annika (my 5 year old) tells me that I smell and she doesnt want her room to smell like Daddy. When Annika gets up early in the morning, she usually finds her way into my arms and cuddles. Thursday morning, she came down stairs wrapped in her blanket and told me that my 'smell' woke her up and that she was 'going to go cuddle with mommy.' This week I might purchase some air fresheners and hag them all over the my bike.

Things happening this week:

Endurance Nation's virtual marathon relay challenge. I am getting together with 3 of my team mates and running a leg of a marathon around Lake Calhoun. This will be a fun event where we can have fun running in the cold together!! Video to follow

Other news to report:

No, thats not mine. I am an UNCLE!! My brother in-law had his first baby on Sunday!! She is such a LITTLE baby weighing only 5lbs. Have a great week!