Confusion makes things clear.

I have been thinking about it for some time now. At times it makes my head hurt, other times it makes me excited, then I get scared and my stomach goes crazy, then I just finally stop thinking about it and focusing on something else. It's called Ironman.

For about 8 years I have been watching IM and truly fascinated by the human bodies ability to go through 140.6 miles of continuous effort. The training, money, time, and personal sacrifices IM requires. During the last 4 years I really knew that one day I was going to be an Ironman but when that day would come would be no time soon. As time marches on so does life.

My first triathlon in 2004 was a first timers tri, shorter than a sprint but I trained, went and had a great time! For some reason I never went back for more, I was afraid I guess. Lost in a huge world of age groupers and Clydesdale's, big expensive bikes, fast swimmers and runners. It was intimidating to say the least, hey, I was a weight lifter not a triathlete. So for the next 2 1/2 years I went back to weights and running short distance fun runs and my first marathon at the end of 2004. Last year I decide to run 2 half marathons and get back into triathlons.

I then found blog world and created 1 Step Closer 2 Ironman. I knew that my daily life would play out on the pages and 1 step at a time and some day it would lead to my title. Along the way I've met fantastic people and learned of others trials and tribulations, not only with triathlons but with life in general. The tri-blog land people are all trying to get to the same place within. They may do it at different venues but the desire to complete there 1st, 2nd or what ever it may be something is all the same. And we all help each other along the way through the good times and bad. I've been hooked on my blog community of friends from around the US and am very proud to be on there blogs as JohnnyTri.

Lately a few Ironman races were completed and several fellow bloggers were participating and I was cheering so loud they could hear me from H-twn. I love seeing others accomplish, it's just fulfilling but my desire longs just like the next person. I want to be at those races with them.

I loved how MoMo, IM Myles, Tri-Greyhound, Kona Shelly, Iron Will, and Geek Girl were all out there this past weekend giving it all they could and having fun. I was jealous but in envy. They all trained so hard and accomplished so much. Then for some, (like Bigun who was at home cheering from the sidelines like me) the day after there event went and sign up for IMCdA 2008 and yet again I am so proud of them for taking the step but once again jealous and feeling like the Bridesmaid and never a Bride as I once said. Then my man Bigun has to go and dedicate a full blog writing to all of the totally awesome people who are going to be having fun at IMCdA 2008 (no harm Bigun, page rocks.. read on) And I think to myself... I will be watching once again via the web in 2008.

As I first said I have been thinking hard, so much so since last week that it gives me a headache and stresses me out. I have asked questions to several bloggers and local coaches and still the answer does not come. I even talk with family and they don't have the answer. There is no looking for the answer when it's already there and you just don't see it.

Then in the last 2 days the it came more clear, cloudy at first, maybe hazy but there. As I started to see what I was looking for it began to clear up. Wait, I see two answers. TWO! NOOOOOOO I only need one!! Not Two! Crap! Now I'm confused with two answers. I have to focus on the two answers and feel which one is the correct one. Then today it happens! About 2 hours ago it just finally clears, sparkles and shines like the Big Dipper. What should I do? I can see it now.

And the answer is:

Thats right peeps, I'm in for 2008 Ironman Coeur d`Alene! And now there will be no cheering from home, it will be from the bike and run as I'm out there on the course with you MoMo, IM Myles, Bigun, Tri-G-dog, Blink140pnt6, Iron Eric, Curly Sue, Spokane Al, Boulder, DrBubba, Iron Tater, Geek Girl, TriDogMom, Bradster and Tea.

So now I can rest at ease, except for the occasional WTF did I do and freak out! I can focus and can't wait to take the next 357 days 1 Step Closer 2 Ironman!

rockon`

moving along..slowly

First off congratulations to those for racing in the Buffalo 70.3 and IMCdA! You all are awesome!

Also super congratulations to Myles for locking up 1st place in his division! U Stud!

Now training updates:

This weekend I did slack on my swim workout/weights for Saturday. Excuses: humm.. tired or lazy not sure.. actually felt fatigued and after speaking with the exercise physiologist it was basically because I ran out of gas/fuel/calories etc.. at the end of the week from working out so that means I need to eat more! Yahoo!

Sunday I was out the door for the 80 min Bike and 50 min run. Did good staying in the zones but by the time I got to the run it was humid and hot and I paid a little for it on the run. Good things come from your training, such as, I learned I needed more calories and because it was so hot/humid I need to wet down with water more frequent to help stay cooler, especially since July 15th will be HOT!

This week continues with last nights bike in zone 4 for 20 mins and I realized I would much rather do a 90 min long ride then short intensity threshold work! but without complaints I got it done. Today, is 30 min swim and weights! I likely da weights!

Can't wait to finish reading the race recaps from all those listed below in Captains Log.

rockon`

the word..

Captains Log: Saturday June 23, 2007.

Many athletes throughout the world are preparing to undergo 140.6 and 70.3 in just a few hours. Of those, some will fulfill there mission with ease, most will complete the mission with a few obstacles and few will fail to make the time cut offs or fall to unexpected circumstances.

It will be a day of personal achievements or personal failures but no matter the outcome the athletes will build memories for life. Most already have secured memories in personal achievement in training and life, they pushed there bodies far beyond belief and understanding. There families, friends and strangers will be watching as each one attempts there own personal goal.

To the commanders, MoMo, Kona Shelly, Tri-Greyhound, Myles, Wil, Iron Pol, and Simply Stu to name few, it is now about having fun and controlling your vessel as you steer through the course. We all know you can do it and are awaiting debriefing race status.

rockon`

Follow the yellow brick plan..

And this is exactly what I have done the last 4 days this week. I followed the training plan as stated and tomorrow is Rest Day!! Yahoo!

Training today (sorry Bigun, no chart) seemed like a Tempo Run but they call it:

Maximum Lactate Steady State (MLSS) Training Duration: 20 to 60 min Warm-up: 20 min Zone 1

Intensity: Zone 4 (MLSS and anaerobic threshold) Purpose/Description: to improve the velocity or power output associated with your MLSS. This workout is performed at a constant effort for the specified amount of time. Your effort should be Zone 4. Following this workout, you should cool down in Zone 1 for 10 min.

All I know is that the 20mins I was in Z4 it was go time! I even cranked out a 9:30/mile which is Huge for me. It was a little hot, imagine that in Houston, and once finished my cool down was basically a fast walk/jog.

After further playing with the Garmin I now have it set in running mode to give me a read out on Distance, Pace/mi, HR, and HR Zone along with automatic 1 mile lap times (although I forgot to turn off the alarm for slow and fast pace times, it kept beeping at me in Z1.. beep..beep.."speed up".. and Z4...beep beep.."slow down"

Off to bed so see ya all tomorrow!!

rockon`

A chart for Bigun..!!!

OK here is a chart from my Garmin on my bike Zone 2 ride today. Kept that heart rate in da zone.. loven` it! and felt great! Maybe this slow and low stuff is not so bad.. rockon`

UPDATE: After a specical request I updated my chart to BPM! haaaa! My HR Z2 is 135-146. haaaa again!

called out .. :)

After being called out by the Bigun for watching too many movies, haha. I went over and signed up for Athlinks. It's actually a great data base system (free to sign up) for tracking all your races/events that you may have participated in. Mine actually found my marathon run from 2004, so now I have all my events in one place, pretty cool. Then it also has a myspace thing where you can have friends, such as the Bigun, write race recaps, post pictures and even tracks your "rivals" that have entered events such as yourself and were in your age group, cool huh.

Training so far has been going good. OK, so it's only been 2 days on the plan but those two days were great. Monday, was the bike ride in Zone 4 which was a little challenging and yesterdays swim session for 30 mins in Zone 2 was slow and steady. I was at the gym pool which now I know why I don't like the pool, 1) Chlorine smell even after you take a shower; 2) cannot stay consistently swimming, have to turn at the walls; 3) Chlorine smell; 4) sharing lanes; 5) Chlorine smell and last but not least 6) Chlorine smell!

I forgot my lap watch so I was not sure exactly how far I swam but I do know it was 30 mins.

Then it was transition to workout clothes and hit the new strength training program that goes along with this new plan. I was done in 30 mins and heading home to refuel as I was Hungry!

That's all for now..

rockon`

Test Results Recap...

Today, I went for my bike and run test results consultation. I tell you, the boys at ViCi Sports definitely take there time and explain things and answer questions. Bottom line is that I did great during the testing and was able to mentally push myself once out of glycogen and was working on pure anaerobic lactate ability, a factor some find difficult to break into due to the increased stress and uneasy feeling and the down side some of my results SUCKED! Meaning, I need to build my engine!

What does that mean? It means that with my training plan I will see slower and less intense workouts to build that Aerobic capacity (engine) and this will not happen over night and will require Patience, eekk!!

Now along with being patient I will need to be consistent; Consistent in getting at least 8 hours sleep per night, eating good, not missing workouts, doing as the program says and not adding or subtracting volume. It will be different and I am up to the challenge over the next year.

Something I did not know is that everybody's VO2 is basically genetic and can only be improved up to 30% over your LIFETIME! WTF? So being as mine was below avg. I will be able to improve it but not much above avg. according to the scientific results, but the biggest thing one needs to consider is that even though you cannot significantly improve your VO2 you can drastically improve your Lactate Threshold and ability to increase your aerobic capacity which means going longer, faster with more power and using less energy, which I know we all want.

Training today was the called for Bike in Zone 4 so after 20 min warm up it was time to increase my heart rate to the Z4 level and maintain for 20 mins. I was able to do this however challenging at times. (Just a side note, the training plan is based on Watts but being as I don't have a compu trainer or a power meter and was at home indoors to eliminate the hotter than hell variable) once the 20 mins was over it was 10 mins cool down. Overall, great 1st workout and feeling good at this time.

Yesterday for Fathers Day, guess what I did? Did you guess? OK, I watched all 3 Star Wars Prequels for my very first time, OK, so I was a little behind. How great is that, oh, and I ate a bunch! I enjoyed it and I hope all you Dad's did as well.

rockon`

Training plan, Garmin Update and rain..

As I have been putting the Garmin 305 to the test and playing with all the tricks it can do and using the web based program called Motionbased.com I have come to find a few things with the 305.

1) I used it on the swim Friday and it did not track well at all! Now JD has used his and it seemed fine, so our normal 1500 meter swim or about .93 miles became 1.86 miles, I so wish I swam that in 35 mins, I'd be in Hawaii. Also when I uploaded it to the program the track was all over the place, a couple of times I even came out of the water, climbed over houses and ran down the street and jumped back in and kept swimming.. funny.. but I guess the satellites needed to be re-booted just the space station.

2) No problems while using in the water other than tracking, however, I DID NOT PUSH any buttons while in the water. It did track my heart rate, max, avg and of course time.

3) I used it on the 2 runs and it so wonderful for that. If I didn't mention before you can set the screen to show 1-4 different options that you would info on while running/biking, such as pace, mph, distance, HR, etc... it has more selections than can be used. But the screen will scroll through 3 different screens each giving up to 4 options to view so that's a total of 12 data items you can view if you can continue to run or bike that long without looking up, haha..

The upload to Motionbased is awesome as it again tells you all the date in charts, google maps, weather etc.. I could really go on and on about how much data it gives once you upload. The map thing is cool because you can hit play a little dot/arrow thingybob will follow your start and finish track and will give you data as it moves, amazing.

Now as for the my new training plan from ViCi Sports I'm not sure I like it. It has my race dates and the things I have to do but I guess it's because the days I "usually" do things is now out of whack so I guess it's really adjusting to it. Although, I am looking at being a mentor/coach for Team in Training and they run EVERY Saturday mornings and my plan calls for swim and weights on Saturdays, so I have already sent a question to the coach in looking to change it.. hehe..

take a look at The Grid Iron and I will post the proposed training for now, it starts this Monday. Basically the first two weeks are the same but on the 2nd Sun my bike and run times increase 10 mins.

and of course the rain. It's been raining on and off the last couple of days but that did not stop me from getting in my swim on Friday which I have to say was All By My Self Alone The Whole Swim, as JD got a flat tire and was not going to make it out. It's weird swimming by yourself even though you have swam the same lake before about 20 times, ya know. Anyway, I did it and now I have to work on a little more perfection and I know I will be able to handle Ironhead Dallas in July.

rockon`

Tejas photos..

Just a couple of race photos I got while at Tejas Sprint this past Sunday. I was sporting the Team in Training race ware! Hey, it must have not been that bad, look at that big ol`smile I'm flashn`..maybe it was to get more AIR!!! Really!

or go here for my race photos, I got 2 pages!

rockon`

Garmin Update..

Just really quick wanted to say the Garmin is da bomb! OK, setting it up and learning all the different functions is a little pain in the butt. Once you set your zones and then name that what ever you want.. this is done for the running, biking, and "other" event you want pick, duhh, Swimming. Then you can even have a check box that allows you to track transition times mph so when you start the race you click start, then just hit your lap times for in/out and later it somehow separates the splits and shows your T times.

Ok, So I have heard others say that the Garmin 305 is not to be used in the water, not sure if that goes for the 301, 205, etc.. but the specs actually state that it can be in water for up to 30 mins if submerged up to 3 feet, I think it is. So let me ask, does flailing your arms over and over again about 1 1/2 feet under water constitute submerged? I don't think so and others say it works fine, I hope so!

So after my 3 mile run today I got home plugged everything in and there is my route along with HR avg, max, elevation ascent/descent, pace/mile, speed mph, grade %, number of times you stopped, total running time along with Non-moving time like when I stopped to get a drink of water it knows you stopped and records it, then it gives actually moving pace and pace with the non-moving time included, current time, temps, humidity, wind, GPS signal quality, freakin` laps splits which I did for each mile and then it breaks it down pace/mile and avg and max HR for each lap along with.. are you ready.. calories/energy used per lap!!!! Holy Crap freakn awesome for dis geek freak!

I still have to tweak it a little to get it totally dialed in but I'm loven` it..!

rockon`

The Gamin..

So the Gamin 305 finally came after not being delivered as guaranteed with Amazon but after sending a quick email about the shipping they quickly responded stating they would refund all my shipping costs! Score! And hats off to Amazon for customer service.

Now that I got this gizzmo I have spent a few hours setting it up and pushing all of the 7 buttons so I guess all that is left is get to using it, oh wait, I do have to set the cadence sensor up on the bike. Since the Tejas tri on Sunday, my legs have been a little sore, not sure why, maybe the increased burst of intensity but today I am scheduled for a stretch session of the lower body so that should easy it up.

This week training will continue to focus on swimming as Ironhead Dallas is just a little over 4 weeks away and I want my swim to be descent where I feel in control and not my body in control of me, ya know.

I will also change nutrition strategies and work on things for the heat. I am currently waiting on my training plan from ViCi sports which should come back this week but I do have a follow up consultation on my bike/run VO2's-lactate tests tomorrow afternoon so it should be interesting.

Last night we had our monthly meeting for the Houston Racing Triathlon Club and the guest speaker was a nutritionist who talked about basic nutrition for endurance athletes. It was good to hear because we all think we know what to eat and how much water to drink but after a quick poll show of hands and asking the question, How many servings of Fruits/Vegs are we supposed to eat? Anyone, Anyone?? If you said 10, you would be correct. The majority of the people in the room last night, including my self thought it was around 5 and that would be correct a couple of years ago. Triathletes and athletic involved people actually need more though according to the nutritionist. I was also surprised to learn that quick estimate for (high quality) H2O (any know the movie?) is basically taking your weight and dividing it in half and that's the amount in ounces you need to maintain hydration. So exercising and training you need MORE! So get to drinking people, as you have been reading my post you should have taken a swig of water.

That's it for now so will catch you all after I do some training with the Garmin and get some cool readings. I hear from those that have it I am going to love all that it does, can't wait!

rockon`

Tejas Sprint Recap.

So here we go. Of course it was up early which didn't really matter because I only got like 5 hours of sleep. Got to the race site and wouldn't you know it my bike race is all that way at the end! Actually, my race was close to the run in, about 1/2 way to the bike in/out and totally opposite end of the transition area, oh well.

Swim: OMG, WTF. (can you start a sentence with abbreviations?) The swim was a little crazy for me. I started behind out Clydesdale/Athena/Teenagers group. The course was a little zig-zagy and not a direct swim around the buoys so I was really trying to pay attention on my siting. Well somewhere along the first buoy as I was getting closer I heard somebody yelling at me! I stopped and looked to the left and there was a crew member, "Hey, you have to swim to the right!" I look in front of me and I am totally off course, nukit! I yell back, thanks and sorry and change my direction. At some point after this I ran out of breath and totally had to slow down and back float for about 30 seconds and then it was on. I got into my rhythm after making the turn around and trying to stay a little wide as the wave group behind me was now starting to pass me. After making the last turn to head for the swim finish I realize that I have swam a non-direct path which probably added some time but no excuses, I exit the swim at a pathetic 19:05! and #38/44.

Getting to T1 from the swim exit was on the opposite end which was OK for me because I was right at the entrance. I actually walked just a bit to catch my breath and bring my HR down, time: 2:07 #15/44

Exiting for the bike was running about half way through the transition area. The course was a two loop with some pretty long straights and just a couple of slight inclines. I was passing pretty good on the first lap and few passed me as well. By the second loop my HR finally dropped about 10 beats and I was feeling good holding 20mph. (I used Accelerade w/Nuun? tablet but it was a little too strong and burning my throat during the bike but got through it)

Bike time: 31:50 #23/44 wtih an avg. 20.7mph.

T2 was getting back to my rack all the way at the end but I noticed that my hamstrings where they connect to your butt were totally burning/cramping.

After the shoe change I was out of T2 in: 2:11 #21/44.

By now it was really humid and starting the run I grabbed some water and walked just a bit to get my HR down some before I started running. The run was went well and reached the 1 mile make and took some more water with my gels and was getting yelled at by spectators to get moving and do that while running! haha. So I did! At mile 2 was a little more water and keep pushing.

There were a couple of Clyds that were ahead of me by about 30 yards the whole run and I just couldn't reel them in. Finally, when I figured there was about 1/2 mile left it was time to catch them boys. After catching them we were about 150 yards from the finish and I was not going to be passed so I sucked it up and pushed it till the finish. When I came around one of the last corners where the spectators were, there was the guy that was yelling at me at mile 1 to get moving! I pointed at him and yelled Thanks for earlier! My run time was on with what I expected completing it at: 30:23 #32/44 for a 10:08/mile pace.

Total time: 1:25:37.

So my thoughts: First off sprints are balls to the walls all out and which is fine but for some reason just don't feel they are my forte. My swim totally sucked and other than swimming all over the place I just saw slow! The bike was good and hitting 20-23mph will work for a sprint but doubt I will be doing that next month in Dallas and in July so slowing down to about 19mph will be my goal pace. The Run, here I just got to get faster which will come from losing a couple of more pounds and working more on some speed training sessions. Transitions were good but me walking from the swim to T1 and T2 to run needs to be cut out and just run.

I totally had fun and loved wearing the TNT gear as there were about 15 TNT'ers there from the Cap Tex race that got rained out and are planning on doing the Dallas race as well.

This afternoon I am really sleepy and feel drained, I guess from lack of sleep and hammer time with the heat and humidity. Drinking lots of water as I feel a little dehydrated.

So there you have it, on to Ironhead Dallas Olympic July 15th.

rockon`

Prerace Tejas..

So everything is ready for Tejas Sprint Tri tomorrow morning and I am race #730 and the race was capped at 800. We are to have great weather with the temps 75-85*, lovely humidity of 87% at 7am dropping to 74% by 9am and light winds of 3 mph.

Any race predictions, not at this time, but just go like lightening as my training plan will be back from ViCi Sports next week or so and then I will have to slow down some..booo... :)

For the race tomorrow, Daniel and myself will be representing SST (spine and sports therapy) and wearing TNT (team in training) gear.

JD will have to sit this one out as he came down with some sickness Friday, Get better man! The SST team needs da capitan`.

Let me just say I am not using a wet suit, using my new bike shoes and not wearing any socks so T's should go fast.

as I like to say ..."it's all over but da crying..kick da tires and light da fires, Big Daddy!" (part of that saying must give credit to Harry Zier, a colleague from chiropractic college who passed away.. Ur Awesome Harry! miss ya)

rockon`

Run Testing Recap. and some new Toys!

First off let's recap some training from yesterday. I have been having a little difficult with my swim stroke without my wet suit and the last couple of swims I was just feeling confident, could feel my legs dragging, and overall was just tiring out too fast.

So yesterday JD gave me some adjustments to my swim, he as gone through the Total Immersion class and swim's nicely. After changing this and that and S-L-O-W-I-N-G down my arm turn over I was able to maintain a constant rhythm without stopping for about 8oo meters! Which was great because we swam about 1450 and I was actually feeling so much better I was singing: "dah, dah, dat, da, da, ..I'm lovin` it" and thinking about a BigMac! So I knew I was much more comfortable. Awesome!

Today, the Run test at Vici Sports. After getting there and getting warmed up which was a 15 min jog at first then slowed to a fast walk for me it was time to get it on. According to my Bike test results, Johhnny told me that we would not be using the O2 measurement because I gave such a great test on the bike it would not be too much different. (oh, don't start giving me props yet, the O2 test was actually below avg. and so basically my O2 production sucks!)

The test was administered the same way, 4 min intervals with a poke on the finger for blood testing and then increase the speed by .5mph. All I know is that I was able to increase it 6 or 7 times and I saw my max. HR at 178! The report will show all the details and I can report more later on the bike/run results.

Overall, it was an easier test than the bike test, mostly because I was not wearing the O2 mouth piece and it was obviously easier to breath. Now I am a little tired and will "try" to get to bed earlier, but I just got Triathlete Magazine so I have to read it. :)

Tomorrow will be packet pick up for Tejas Sprint Tri on Sunday.

So now for some new Toys:

First off last week TriVantange closed there Proshop and had a 50% off all in stock merchandise, it was totally heaven, so I got a Giordana Bike AeroMesh Jersey for $20 and a Oomph! Kona Vest for $25, and some TYR Race Shorts as well as I got my wife a few things.

Then I ordered some new Louis Garneau Tri Air 2 Triathlon Shoes and of course there freakn` huge! Size 50.

And last but not least thanks to MoMo for the heads up on the Garmin 305 from Amazon.com. I ordered it with a cadence monitor: and it should be here tomorrow!

rockon`

Bike testing recap.

Today at ViCi Sports I took on the Bike Lactate VO2 test which was given by Johnny. Arriving there you start by getting weight and height and clipping in and the test bike is adjusted for you. After a warm up of about 15 mins, there is an avg. RPM/Cadence and then it is determined at what RPM you will be tested, mine was 80.

Next came describing the testing procedures which would be 4 minute intervals at the 80 Rpm, at the end of the interval a small poke to the finger and then the Watts would increase. During this whole time you have an air tube in your mouth like a football mouth piece and a nose clip pinching off your air so no cheating. This whole apparatus was held on my a head gear and instructions were to keep breathing, don't look down or drop your head and oh yeah, keep breathing.

During this whole time you can see a monitor which has a display of your heart rate, RPM, watts, max hr and some other stuff. So once I started I my heart started to increase pretty quick and I thought crap, I'm gonna run out of gas quick, but after settling down, relaxing, and getting in the rhythm my HR went down a little but not too much as the 1st interval passed and we were on to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.

20 mins later my HR was around 168 and I knew that from previous training and trying to max my HR on the bike I was at 172. As the next interval came I was really sucking wind and Johnny asked if I was ready for the next level, I gave the thumbs up and moved on. Once in this level after about 2mins I must have been looking like I was going to pass our or something as Johnny asked how I was doing and too increase my RPM just a little as I had dropped off pace and if you cannot return to pace the test is over. So I kicked it up and now at that 2 mins were left he started cheering me on! I pushed to finish the interval and Johnny asked if I was ready for the next level. (OK, here's where I access my condition: I see my HR at 176, completely sucking air as much as I can through the tube, mouth totally dry from the air, legs completely on fire, sweating like crazy!) So I give the thumbs down sign and test is over. Johnny says to take the nose clip off which I do as fast as possible and he removes the mouth piece/head gear and I slobber all over like a baby but hey, I can swallow and breath.

The watts are turned down and I am instructed to keep peddling and cool down. My HR is now 160 and I am coming back around where my eyes are not crossed or sucked into my head, haha.

As I continue to cool down I notice the my max HR 178, what! Damn!

So I finally climb off the testing bike, change and get to refueling and recovery. Now it's wait a few days and the rests will be emailed to me and the zones, calories per hour, watts, rpm, etc will all be explained.

Now it's recover for the next day and half and come back and do the Run VO2 test! Will update you on that as well.

rockon`

Lots of activity.

As you may have noticed I updated my blogger page with a new banner and some color. It took forever to get it set so hope you like.

As for the activity, I just signed up for the Olympic distance of Ironhead Dallas. Basically, this is my make up for Cap Tex being rained out.

I also somewhere in the back of my crazy little mind have been keeping tabs on IMAZ 08 and as of May 29th there were 1557 people registered. That means I still have time and with way things are looking with the Olympic and a half IM in the fall and possibly 101 in late fall with the Marathon or 1/2 marathon in Jan 08 I really could see myself clicking that registration button. Will have to really think about that one being as I just started with a new job and such and making sure the family is on board.

Well can't wait to hear how the Bigun did out in Alcatraz today!

Today, I got a 26 mile bike ride keeping it easy with my HR close to 140 and avg 18.6mph, that was pretty good I thought. Although I did notice my knees feeling achy later on in the day and I really didn't have that problem on the ol' Lotus bike, so today I went shopping for some new tri cycling shoes but because I have a great big Sasquatch foot no luck. I need a 50 shoe and only found 49's so I ordered some when I got home!!! They should be here this week.

And check this out, trivantage has changed there name to ViCi Sports and this week I am scheduled to undergo the great VO2/Lactate testing for the bike on Tues and Run on Thurs! YEEEEHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! (bluhh, puke) hehe.. Should be fun.

And one last final question: If your spouse/boy-girlfriend or someone else was willing to buy you the Garmin Forerunner 305 which costs about 300 bucks (375 web site) or register for an Ironman which costs 500 bucks,

Which Would You Pick??

rockon`

Theres a new race in town.

First off a big thanks to BIGUN for the heads up on the update to the new added distances for the following event:

November 11, 2007 The Woodlands will host Triathlon 101 which the Bigun himself and family will be in town along with IM Myles to attempt to put some damage on us Texas boys! so stayed tuned..

As the Bigun himself is out preparing for Alcatraz, Way to Go!, he updated me on the new added distances to the Tri 101, which are as follows:

Middle Distance 50.5 = .93mi Swim - 40.3mi Bike - 9.3mi Run

Sprint Distance 25.5 = .50mi Swim - 20mi Bike - 5mi Run

I'm totally excited about the new distance's and will be looking at the Middle Distance if not the 101 after the Ironhead Dallas Olympic that it looks like I will be shooting for now July 15th.

Training: So yesterday I went for the first ever No Wet Suit swim! JD and myself ended up swimming about 700 meters. I was a little shaky and my form was weak but I got it done and with the coming week we will be getting back out there at least 2 more times before Tejas and I will be fine. Scott, one of the other new doctors that has come on board at Spine and Sports Therapy came out to the lake to get a few pointers on his swim technique and let me say he did great for not really knowing how to freestyle swim, way to go!

Today, I am feeling a little fatigue and my sides are sore. My wife has been walking regularly and is gearing up to walk/jog the Houston 1/2 Marathon! which will be her first every all time event. I'm so proud of her!

rockon`