Picked A Coach!

After a bit of deliberation, a few meetings, and several beers I decide to go with Endurance Nation (EN).  Last Saturday I got the chance to sit down with several of the people coached by them and go over the training, the season planning, the support, and all things Ironman.  It was a lot of fun and several of the people seemed very knowledgeable and helpful.  The things that attracted me most to the company were the structure of the workouts, the season planning detail, and the focus racing.  EN seems pretty focused on making sure that race day is a smooth, fun experience.

There is still some work to do with adding in races I'd like to do to their "season map" but that shouldn't take too long.  Once that's finished, I'll post that as well.  More than likely money will be the biggest limiting factor in the racing this season.  Next time I'm picking a cheaper sport!  :)

 

EN has a pretty detailed workout tracking tool and I’m going to look into ways to post the data on the sight. The training program starts next week and I’ll do manual posts until I get the automated piece figured out.

Signing Up For Ironman

One of the major differences between Triathlon and most other sports is that we get to compete against the professionals and the best of the best.  They set their bikes and running shoes up in the same transition area we do and are usually pretty welcoming when you go to shake their hands.  Could you imagine playing one on one with Michael Jordan?  Playing street football with Brett Farve?  Every race, we are racing in the same conditions, on the same course, and can potentially beat the pros.  OK, so there are only a few out there that can compete with them at that level but still...  It isn't the exclusive club that the NBA, MLB, or NFL is.  Once I started doing triathlons I knew that I would eventually attempt an Ironman.  Once I completed my first Half Ironman I knew that it was a real goal.  

During the week and in the winter, triathletes and cyclists do their bike workouts on a bike trainer.  You place your bike on a contraption that locks your rear wheel in place and applies some pressure to it in an attempt to simulate riding.  It's not a very accurate simulation but better than nothing.  While ridding on the trainer I usually put on a movie or watch a little TV.  One time in particular I had recorded the coverage of the Kona Ironman.  I wanted to sign up for one right then and there.  If you have ever seen the Kona broadcast you know what I'm talking about.  Once I calmed down from the workout I made a deal with myself:  Finish my degree and the reward will be an Ironman.  Some reward, eh?

The plan was to start school again in 09 but things didn't work out the way I planned.  I work for an investment firm and with the down turn in the market and eventually the economy I became nervous.  Last November the future was a little too blurry and I wasn't in a position to risk losing my job in the middle of the semester.  There were a few friends that were planning on doing Ironman Arizona and the timing of everything looked right.

Despite the insane distances you have to travel and that it's up to 17 hours of continuously working out, these races still sellout the first day registration is opened.  Seriously!  In a nation where obesity is on the rise, where are all of these athletes coming from??!?  The day after the 08 race registration opened and I was ready to sign up.  At just before noon I started to click on the website to register through and not even a minute into the process it was down.  It took almost 30 minutes to get into the portion to register and another 20 to get through that.  That's a LOT of web traffic to cause those problems.

After registering I called my friend, Ron, who was supposed to do the race with me.  I forgot he's a teacher and wouldn't be able to answer the phone.  Got a call from him later saying that he wasn't able to get in to register because of problems with the website.  Typically these races sell out in hours and an hour and a half passed from the time registration opened.  I was getting nervous that he wouldn't be able to sign up and I'd be doing this alone.  I missed his next call about 3:30 and he left a voicemail saying "Hey this is Ron.  Give me a call".  For those who don't know Ron, you can't read anything from him one way or another.  I had no idea if he was able to register or not and started to think that he wasn't able to sign up.  

It wasn't until close to 5 that I was able to call back and fortunately Ron was able to register.  Rather than leave that bit of information on the voicemail he decided to let me sweat.  Thanks Ron.

Tenative Race Schedule

Official training for Ironman Arizona (IM AZ) hasn't started yet (And won't start until I get a coach!) but I am preparing for St. Anthony's Triathlon with Team In Training.  Training with TNT helps me by getting me back into the routine of training, have people to train with, and, most importantly, help people who really need it.  This is the 3rd time doing this race with them and it was the first triathlon I participated in.  Plus, starting to build my endurance now will better prepare me for what's ahead.  That said, even once the "official" training starts there are still other races to do.  Racing through out the season leading to IM AZ will accomplish several things.

Break the season up  IM AZ isn't until November and that's 10 months away!  If I were to start training for and focusing on the IM I would burnout by July or August.  Adding various races through out the season will help keep my mind fresh and ready for what's ahead.

Provides a dress rehearsal  The best way to get better at doing something is to do it!  While there are several strenuous and challenging workouts looming this season, the only true way to prepare to race is by racing.  It's the best way to test the race plan and nutrition.

Have fun  Racing is fun!  It's why we do this!!

Here's my tentative schedule.  It will probably change based on money and how things work out my coach.

A level race

B level race

C level race

Tenative race

• Shamrock Shuffle         (8K) 3/29
  
• St Anthony's Triathlon (Olympic Dist) 4/26
• Memphins in May   (Olympic Dist) 5/17
• Soldier Field 10            (10 Mile) 5/23
• High Cliffs Half  (Half IM Dist) 6/20
  
• Culver Triathlon   (Sprint Dist) 7/12
  
• Lake Geneva Extreme  (Half IM Dist) 9/12
• Ironman Arizona (Ironman Dist) 11/22

Getting To The Starting Line

There are so many different coaches, training plans, and training methods out there and it's not very clear which path is the best for me. I'm in the process of trying to figure out how I'm going to go about training and preparing for this race. So many coaching sites promise Personal Record (PR) or Personal Best (PB) times and some talk about percentage improvements that their athletes have seen. There are USAT coaching certifications but outside of that there’s nothing to really offer insight to their coaching methods or what they know. Here are the options I’m looking at. Prices are approximate.

• Self Coached - Free - Just as the name implies, you do it yourself. This is the least expensive option and there are a lot of books (The Training Bible, Going Long) out there with great information which go into the details that you need to successfully make it to the finish line. I tried something like this for my first Half Ironman and that race HURT! Granted, I didn't read much on the sport and have learned a lot since then.
• Download A Training Plan – Free – There are several training plans on the internet and in some of the books that offer you the self coaching tools. They provide the workouts and all you have to do is follow the schedule.
• New Coach – TBD - A friend of mine is training someone for this same race through work and I'm trying to persuade her to train me as well. She is an elite athlete and an Ironman but this is her first shot at coaching.
• Endurance Nation (EN) - $700 – EN is an on-line coaching company that seems to offer more of a One Size Fits All approach to their training plans. Their marketing says that their program is targeted towards busy people and they can get you ready for an IM in around 10 hours of training a week. Very Appealing. The down side is that it appears they heavily rely on their other coached athletes to mentor and guide each other through the program. There are pros and cons to that approach and I wonder how often it leads to a mixed message on their coaching.
• Training Bible Coaching - $185/mo – They have the name and a friend of mine who is using their service now is a huge fan. Also, I’m currently taking computrainer classes lead by one of their coaches so I have some exposure to them and how they operate. However, their price tag makes them the least desirable of the list.
  

The goal is to get this piece figured out by next week so I can move on to the fun part: Planning Races!

First Post

Hey everyone,

Welcome to my attempt at a blog.  Some of you have expressed concern over me doing this race and I figure this is the easiest way to put that to rest.  I plan on recording the training, thoughts, and lessons of my journey to becoming an Ironman.  Hopefully with a little insight to what's going on some of you will see what I'm doing and maybe why I'm doing this will come through.

The name of the blog comes from a great forum post on Trifuel.  Someone posted the question "What Do You Tell Yourself to Keep Going During an Ironman?" and the first response was brilliant:

"Beat the nun..
*puff, puff*
.. gotta beat the nun!"

For those who don't know, this is a reference to Sister Madonna Buder who is the oldest woman to ever complete the Kona Ironman.  Everyone has a goal when they start training for these races and, while I have a time that I would like to finish in, finishing before Sister Madonna is the big goal.  She has been at other races that I've been in and what she does is something increadible to see.  She is also an insparation to continue to stay active.

Hopefully you'll join me and I will do my best to update this daily.  Eventually, I'd like to include my workout schedule and see if there aren't times where some of you can meet up and join me in some of the training.