Wednesday

I swam a couple thousand this morning at 5:30. It was a "chilly" 60 something this morning and in the 20s at home. I think I'm in a great spot. I got some sun rather than eating lunch and am soaking up as many rays as I possibly can.

Class is tough and there is a ton of information. I passed the first exam so all is good.

I hope to spend more time at the health club this week and weekend. It is nice to have it so close!

Good luck to Seth this weekend at his Half Iron distance event. I wish I could do it with ya bro.

Have a great evening!!!! I hope to take some photos tomorrow and this weekend.

Coach Bones

class again

I woke up early this morning to get over to the Sportsplex by 530. the pool was 5 small lanes ans they filled up fast. Most had 2 people in them. I was the only one doing sets of over 200 and the only one doing flip turns, they didn't seem like a spunky bunch. I got my 2500 in and took off! The water was 83+ . My 1000 warm up, I was raced at lest 5 times off the wall. Even by muffin top speedo man.

No worries, I went back at lunch to put myself through an hour of my own spin class. There were at least 10-15 girls to 1 guy. Not bad odds if you were a single guy of course.

Burned belly

I made it to Florida today for a training class. The minute I got to the hotel I was in my suit and out at the pool. I spent no longer than an hour in the sun and my front side is beat red :-)

I LOVE IT! I really miss the sunshine and mentally, it makes a big difference for me. Too bad it won't cure back pain.

I look forward to some relaxation even though class will be long and somewhat boring.

Great job to JT (one of my 2008 athletes) on his PR for his half marathon yesterday! I loved hearing about that!

Good luck to Seth on his Half Iron race this weekend!

Boston Marathon Completed

Well.....

I made it. It was an extremely tough day for me. With the lack of training for the month leading up to the race, I really didn't know what to expect. I had a deep desire to qualify again here.

At the half point all was well and I was averaging right around 7:01 pace. That gave me a huge cushion to shoot for 3:15. Unfortunately around mile 15 the wheels fell off for me. My back started to restrict my stride and I just felt really low on the power side. I was being passed by people that should not have been passing me. I slowed down, planning on about another 10 seconds per mile but it just kept growing and growing.

By mile 22, I was doing all I could to just keep from walking. After the longest 4.2 miles of my life, the finish of the 112th Boston Marathon finally appeared.

We ate at Fire and Ice and absolutely pigged out after the race.

I am a little disappointed in the finish time but more so on my personal performance. Realistically, I went in severely under trained and I admit that.

I'll qualify and try it again after age 40.

One step closer to Kona. I can chalk this up to training long when things go bad.

Hey, I got the medal :-)

Thank you to Trish and Grant for coming with me. Thanks to Seth for the attaboy understanding email. Thanks again to Jayne for even making moving today possible.

Boston in the morning

Well I'm just over 12 hours away from my first Boston Marathon. Trish and Grant are off on a tour. Even with the past experiences of Pre-Ironman I still don't think Trish understands the importance of being off my feet the day before a race. I hung with them for a while but headed back early to relax.

I have to admit a little nervousness. This is something I usually coach so I know what to tell myself. The problem is this is uncharted territory for me so I'll just roll with it. I'm not thrilled about arriving several hours early to a race but I understand with 25000 people and a point to point race you have to do something to get people there.

Thanks to Jayne for taking care of me today. What a huge load off my mind.

After preparing for this race and all the travel and rushing and worrying....it is here. I cannot even begin to imagine what Kona will be like. A dream to come true.....

Well, here we go. I'll write after the race.

Grant is sporting my jacket

This afternoon, we just hung out. Trish was not feeling well so Grant and I went to the pool while she napped. We all walked up to the pharmacy to get vitamins and medicine for her.

We met Brian Bess and Dick Miles for dinner in Boston. We hit Massimanos. It was a little steep for our wallets but we did what we could tomorrow we'll conserve a little bit. Grant's only request is ice cream.

We took the Green train home and watched emergency vehicles going crazy around the hotel across the way. Currently we are getting ready to tuck in. I'll be on the floor tonight. My sleep was poor at best last night.

Here is Grant posing in my 1st Boston Marathon Jacket.

Everybody is here in Boston

Yeah, so Lance is running Monday. While we were walking around the expo, at the Craft booth, we ran into Tim DeBoom!

There is a ton of stuff to see here and the expo was crowded and a little overwhelming. We spent a ton of money and time there this morning. I had a great time at the Brooks booth and will most likely be back tomorrow.

Yesterday was the first time Trish and Grant had ridden public transportation.

This has already been a really expensive trip.

Hey, we had to do it once.

Here is Natalie from Craft. She was a ton of help! Thanks Natalie!

Last Run

Last night I was able to get in a fantastic afternoon stroll with Amanda. I had to get in one last run before I left for the race to break in new shoes, ease my mental side and to close a chapter on training for the event. Nice 7 and thanks for the company Amanda as well as driving cross-country to meet me

It was absolutely gorgeous out! Tank top and tri shorts weather. A little breezy but we had a great time none the less. I look forward to more of those. Amanda......have a very good race this weekend. Push yourself and have fun with the event.

I'm heading to Boston in the morning and starting to smile already!

Hopefully I can post some photos after we get there.

De Soto Sports says "Yes"

Very happy day! De Soto Sports is now a participating sponsor for me for the 2008 season! I just received word. This makes me very happy. I have worn their tri clothing since my very first race. It is a staple for training, racing as well as....well just about everything I do tri related.

http://www.desotosport.com/

Thanks guys!

A nice swim morning

Of course last night I needed to get some quality sleep. I was a little miffed about the Kona lottery. As I watched the Pistons smoke their competition and used my medicine ball, I could think of nothing other than what I would have been doing if my name would have shown up on that sacred list.

I was up until shortly after 11 reviewing my athlete's plans and checking on their goals for the week. 4:08am rolled around a little bit too early and after a little warm blanket pep talk, I was up and out of bed. I knew what was to come but was oddly excited about it.

My lane was free and I jumped in and went for it. I paced very well for the long warm up set and didn't let ding dong with 75 pool toys on and a snorkel racing me off every other wall bother me. Honestly, he looked like "Tin Cup", with the shanks, in the pool. People came and went and I watched the colorful sun rise through the glass of the Michigan Athletic Club.

Outside of a few foot/calf cramp problems the swim went well and I was happy with my effort. 5200 meters was a nice swim. I cannot wait for the lake to get above 60. I'm all over that this spring.

Life for me right now revolves around figuring out when my bike will arrive. I have been waiting soooooooo long for it to come in. At least there are 2 other sports to train for and I always have the exciting trainer.

Good job to JT in the pool this morning! Thanks to my family for the consoling yesterday.

No Lottery Slot Again :-(

Well, my dreams of winning a lottery slot to compete in the 2008 Triathlon Championships in Kona, on my actual 39th birthday are officially gone.

There was only one person from Michigan even picked. Again this year there were no winners with a last name that starts with "Y". Several with "W" but nothing at all after that.

I had a real glimmer of hope this time just because of the special year and everything. I'm frustrated now!

I taught Spinning this morning and will mess around with some core work this afternoon. Yesterday's 10 mile run went okay. I didn't feel that great but averaged 7:02 pace for the run, including a long, slow warm up.

A long swim is planned for Wednesday morning.

Cold, Soggy Weekend

After a couple nice, warm spring-like days the reality of Michigan hit again. It was cold , raining and snowing this weekend. Sunday, I rode the trainer for almost 2 hours then did some core work.

I spent the afternoon with the kids and watching Ironman Arizona on line. I worked with my athlete's plans as well as wrote some new workouts. As long as the sun continues to rise, we continue to train. Even if it doesn't, we'll find a way!

This morning was a 3500 swim. All went well other than the dreaded foot/calf cramp. Yes, the kind where each one of your toes points in a different direction. Fun, Fun fun!

Have a nice day! Boston in 1 week!

Sponsorship deal

I was recently contacted by Rudy Project and have sent in the paperwork for a sponsorship slot through them. I am excited about being able to represent them in an official capacity. Check out www.e-RUDY.com for the current line of awesome eye wear and helmets as well as to locate a Rudy dealer near you.

We are off to the mall. I hope to get a run in tonight.

Friday = Swim Day

This morning was a tough one to get out of bed at 4:08. The rain was pouring and it was below 40 degrees. Fortunately, I came to my senses and rolled off the floor and onto my feet. I headed to the Michigan Athletic Club, just a few minutes late and arrived shortly after 5am to the pool deck.

I starred at the grease board that I wrote my first long swim of the season on. I was shocked no one had written over it. Anyhow, I jumped in and headed off into the first long warm up set. It was a strong 1500 meter warm up followed by ladder sets, followed by some speed work to boost my endurance.

4300 went by like FOREVER but I got it all in. No aches and pains from the swim and life moves forwards.

Still no news on my ordered Kuota Kueen K.

Have a great weekend!

Nasty Sunday

Poor Collin, the boy in the photo with Kona (last post) god food poisoning Friday and Saturday. We ate the same thing on Thursday night. I could be a stomach virus of some sort too.

By Sunday, I was throwing up and had violent chills and sweats. Monday I was off work in in bed. As of today, I am still dizzy and still don't really have a huge appetite.

I taught spinning Tuesday then tried to run in the afternoon. I had nothing, too much energy lost throwing up and NOTHING to replenish. This morning's swim was just okay. It may just take a few days to get through all of it.

I'm off to bed!

All my athletes are doing great! Seth, JT, Jayne and Jodie!!!!!! AWESOME!

Kitty pix

Here she is. The kids are in heaven!

Kona?

Well, yesterday I did something I never thought I would do. I gave in and Trish and the kids got a kitten. She is 12 weeks old and her name is Kona. She's a long-haired "Ragdoll" and is white with gray blotches all over her. I took some photos of her this morning and I will post then shortly.

I jokingly told Trish what we should name her. She said she had already though of it and that was that. Welcome 'Kona Young'.

The last couple days, my back has been absolutely horrible. This morning I used the inversion table and almost passed out my back hurt so badly. I took some ibuprofen and Trish tried to massage it somewhat. Knowing Boston is around the corner makes this all so tough.

I went out and ran 10. Things were out of sync and I felt bad. 7:32 pace was about all I could come up with. I wanted to run 16 today but it looks like the table and electro stim are in the future for this afternoon.

It is sunny and 60 here today!

Finally Home

I made it home after a tough flight home. The guy in front of me smelled like he hadn't taken a shower in months! It was utterly disgusting and very RUDE! I spent the whole flight with my nose covered with a gum wrapper and in my jacket.

I ran and lifted a little on Wednesday.

My last long run before Boston is Saturday. I also will take my old road bike off the trainer. It is supposed to be 60 degrees out tomorrow. No one seems to know where my new bike is at. I'm ready for that in a big way!!!!