Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Swim, Bike, Run, WOO!

I'm back. Full report to follow. The short story is:

Swim 1:20
Bike: 7:38
Run: 6:13
Final: 15:32:32

Most goals met! I had an awesome time racing, as tough as it was. Took 55 minutes of my Lake Placid time in '03.

Time to rest now...

Monday, August 21, 2006

Penticton Bound!

Well, kids, I'm off to Penticton, BC (via Kelowna, BC) tomorrow morning. The day I have been training for the last 6+ months is less than a week away. Next Sunday, August 27th at 7AM PDT I'll be at the starting line with 2500 other people getting ready to swim 3.8K (2.4 miles), bike 180K (112 miles) and run 42.2K (26.2 miles). Yes, this is the Ironman.

I had lofty goals at the beginning of the year that I'd be able to take 90 minutes off my time at Lake Placid in 2003 and finish in 15 hours. I'm not 100% confident that I can do that, but I do know that (elements willing) I'll be able to do better than last time.

Goal #1: 16:59:59 (i.e., make the midnight cutoff)
Goal #2: 16:32:00 (faster than last time)
Goal #3: Sub-16 hours
Goal #4: Sub-15:30
Goal #5a: Swim sub-1:20
Goal #5b: Bike sub-8:00
Goal #5c: Run sub-6:00
The Stars Align Goal: Sub-15:00

All I have left to do before I leave is:

1. Pack. Well, all my stuff is IN my suitcase (piled up), I just have to arrange it properly so that it all fits.
2. Clean house. My kitchen and bathrooms are in desperate need.
3. Go for an easy swim (only 20-30 minutes at the pool across the street).
4. Chill out!

My flight is at 8:10AM tomorrow. I fly to Kelowna then get my rental car and drive 45 minutes south to Penticton. I can't wait!! With the time change, I'll get in around 10AM their time. Since on race day I'll be getting up at 4AM, I don't want to get off Eastern time too much in the five days before the race, so it will be early to bed and early to rise all week.

Catch you all on the flip side! Full report to follow some time next week.