I was right

I was correct, last nights swim workout was negatively impacted by my run. I had a decent 50 minute run at Seneca Park. I am not a fast runner by any means, but I have reached a point in my fitness that I can maintain a 10 minute mile pace for an extended period of time.

After my run, I headed over to the pool to get in my 2200m swim. My workout for the evening was supposed to consist of;

250m Warm Up
6 x 25m Drill Sets
4 x 300m Threshold Intervals
8 x 25m Sprint Intervals
6 x 25m Kick Set
250m Cool Down

I had to cut the kick sets and cool down short due to cramping in my feet and calves.

We are heading to western Kentucky this weekend to visit family. I plan on taking my mountain bike to go riding at the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area . I look forward to going because I don't get a lot of opportunities to ride my mountain bike in Louisville. I need to be careful though, the last time I rode there I wreck and slid head first into a tree. I have been having trouble with my shoulder ever since that happened. I have four more workouts to fit in over the weekend. Hopefully I can find a place to swim on Sunday afternoon.

Busy Day

Today is going to be a busy day. I have to run for 50 minutes and then swim 2200m. I was going to go and run at lunch, but decided to wait until afterwards because I won't have time to get to the gym, run for 50 minutes, shower and get back to work within an hour and a half.

I am really starting to think about priorities and how I am going to fit in all of the training for Ironman while still meeting my other responsibilities. I have enough problems doing it now training for an Olympic race. I need to mow my grass right now, but don't know if I will have a chance before we head out of town tomorrow afternoon. Come next spring things are only going to get more hectic. Fortunately I have a wonderful wife who is very supportive and understanding. We discussed the time requirements involved in training for an Ironman before I registered. She gave me her blessings, so hopefully she'll remember that next summer when I am training 15 - 20 hours per week.

As much as I hate to say it, I am going to have to be much more structured with my schedule. Today is a prime example. I should have gotten up and ran before coming to work instead of cramming in two workouts this evening. My swim will probably suffer due to the fact that I am tired from the run. In order for this to work, I am going to have to maintain a schedule, share it with my family, and if at all possible stick to it. Of course, adjustments will occasionally have to be made, but I can address these issues as they come.

One thing I definitely have to include in my schedule is time for prayer and bible study. God has given me the opportunity and the ability to participate in Ironman next year. I need to make sure I give him (and me) time each day.

Peak Training is Getting Difficult

I am entering the last month of my training plan and the first week of peak training. I am currently following an Olympic distance plan out of the Triathlete Magazines Essential Week-By-Week Training Guide by Matt Fitzgerald. This is a good book full of training plans for all levels if anyone is looking for structured training without a coach.

I am having to adjust my workouts this week to account for the Labor Day holiday this weekend. The pool I usually swim at is closed for repairs and won't open until next Tuesday. Therefore I am having to swim wherever I can find the time and place. Last night was suppose to be a bike night, but I decided to swim instead. Today, I ran for 40 minutes during lunch and then had and hour and ten minute bike ride this evening. Both of today's workouts consistent of increased effort for an extended period of time, so I am pretty tired.

My mind is being consumed by Ironman. I am already making lists of things I need and trying to educate myself about anything and everything. I went to the book store today to look at different books. I am probably going to purchase Going Long by Joe Friel.

It's Been a While

It's been a while since I started this blog. I began in January with good intentions to faithfully post daily messages. I had hoped to journal my progress in both my spiritual and athletic pursuits. Fortunately, I have continued to train and compete in triathlons. I have participated in four events to date, and have two more before the year is over. I didn't do the Half Ironman which I mentioned in my initial post, but I will have competed (and completed) five sprints and one Olympic distance races by the end of September.

I have also made some progress on the spiritual and intellectual fronts. I have been reading a book about every three weeks since January. I have read everything from the Lord of the Rings trilogy to John Eldredge's, The Way of the Wild Heart. I am not reading my bible as regularly as I would like, but I am listening to a daily podcast which goes through the bible in a year. If you are interested in checking it out, you can go to the Daily Audio Bible and subscribe to the podcast (http://www.dailyaudiobible.com/wordpress/).

My big news is that I have registered for Ironman Louisville 2008. I spent the last 5 days working at this years race. My goal was to make enough money to register for 2008. At 11:01 on Monday morning I logged on to Active.com and registered. I hope to use this blog to chronicle my journey over the next year.