He's back...

Chronic fatigue syndrome couldn't stop me...I'm feeling better and ready to rumble!
Ironman NYC is right around the corner (August 11th)...I'll be ready!  :)

Sick and tired...

...in 37 hours I'll be running the Trail Mix 50K, without a plan.  I'm sitting here, not sure if I should 'go to the well' and race, or use the race as a workout.  I had every intention of racing until last weekend when I got sick...I feel much better today, but what did the cold/flu take out of me?  It is only 31 miles...  :)
iPod is loaded and charged, Garmin is ready to go, and my shoes are clean and dry...
Let's chat about this past week. 
Last Saturday (April 14th) I had a solid 13+ miler with Jeff to/around/back from Baker Park in Orono.  I was getting sick, I was pretty rundown, though the run went well.  I felt strong the entire way (7:50 pace)...though when i got done, I was peeing blood...wtf?  I didn't 'feel' bad, just rundown...96 oz. of PowerAde Recovery and I had all the energy in the world.  Almost 50 miles of running for the week...close to 5 hours on the bike, swam twice with a lot of core/lifting...no wonder I was rundown, huh?
Sunday April 15th:  90 minute spin at LT in SLP
Monday April 16th:  3 miles of easy running with J
Tuesday April 17th:  Needed a solid 8 miler today...let's run to LT SLP from the house.  Mile 1 7:01, and rocked from there.  A couple of the miles were sub 6:35 pace...ended up averaging 6:47 for the run...and it felt EASY!  Am I ready to rumble?
Wednesday April 18th:  OFF
Thursday April 19th:  45 minute spin with core and light upper-body lifting...feeling a lot better today.
So, race or NO race?  Hard workout or 'go to the well'?  Looks like a last minute decision...

D

The last few days...

Thursday April 12th:  An easy 90 minutes on the trainer at LT Woodbury followed by a solid upper-body lift session.  Pretty tuckered on the bike...still haven't recovered from Tuesday's run, and I haven't been able to put the 3+ pounds back on.
Wednesday April 11th:  An early morning hour long run with the folks from Gear West and Gea from K Swiss.  Easy run (8:30ish pace) through the woods just outside of Long Lake...2 words for you, TUCK ERED!  ...
Tuesday April 10th:  Morning 1950 in the pool...next, I could talk all day about the afternoon run...the lack of fluid/nutrition, the fact that the first 8 was downhill with the wind at my back...  16 miles run from home to and from LT SLP.  Logged 8.10 to LT at 7:09 pace...felt EASY, kept telling myself, 'slowdown'...quick drink and a gel and it was time to head home.  UPhill and a tough headwind, averaged 7:03 on the return trip...7:06 average.  Garmin said 16.20.  Here is a link to the run. 
 http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/82402579
...when I got home, quick 4 mile bike ride followed as J ran...TOUGH run that seemed to really zap me :(

So far this week, feeling good!

D

Playlist for today's 16 miler...

Heading out the door in a few for a quick and easy 16 miler...here is today's iPod playlist. 
7:30-7:40 pace followed by a lift/core session...I'll post Garmin results when I'm done.
What a beautiful day!

American Idiot - Green Day
Bartender - Rehab
Blue Monday - Orgy
Dog days Are Over - Florence...
Feel So Close - Calvin Harris
Freebird - LS
It takes Two - Rob Base...
La La La - LMFAO
Lose Yourself - Eminem
Master of Puppets - Metallica
Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO
The Pretender - Foo Fighters
Ride The Wind - Poison
Sandstorm - Darude
Stay With Me - Rod Stewert
Sucker Train Blues - Velvet Revolver

Ironman Kansas 70.3

I was SO excited to hear yesterday that I received an entry into Ironman Kansas 70.3 courtesy of K-Swiss and Gea Miller, the local K Swiss rep.  June 10th is the date.  I can't thank you guys enough!!!  ...guess this means I'll be sporting K-Swiss at the race :)

I have been to Kansas for this race in the past.  In 2008 (?) when my ex-wife Tiffany was training for IMWI, we made the trek to Lawrence and she used the race as a WI tune-up, mainly because the bike courses are very similar.  I'm excited to go back and race...
It's too early to think of a 'game-plan' fpr the therace, though the training plan is set...look out :)

D

Bike fitting...

Brett at Gear West fit me last week...I seem to have a 'hitch' at this height...lowered the saddle some and made some other adjustments and it looked and felt a lot better...as did the hamstring!  Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49h6ye2tVFg&feature=youtu.be

Dodged a bullet...actually 3!

What a crazy week of close calls...first let's start by saying that the past 10 days of training have gone as planned (though I did have to re-schedule my long run planned for Saturday).
First, it's been about 10 days since the hamstring started bothering me, and by last Tuesday/Wednesday it was REALLY sore...enough for me to sit on a bag of ice, take an ice bath and even, are you ready, I even stretch a little :)  ..but have no fear, I had NO pain on my brick yesterday and today I feel back to normal. 
I think I tweaked it bouldering at Red Rock outside of Vegas a couple of weeks ago :(  Bullet #1...
Next, last Wednesday while trail running with the GW crew I turned my ankle...and when I say I 'turned' it, that's exactly what happened.  It completely buckled under me, and I'm not sure how it didn't break...but I was able to run on with minimal pain and by the end of the day I had no pain and/or swelling.  How did that happen?  Rubber ankles?  Though thinking back, I'm not sure if I've ever twisted/sprained an ankle...even playing b-ball all those years...nothing.   Bullet #2...dodged.
...and finally we have last night.  2:40 ride (averaged 20.1) followed by a 6 mile run (7:36, 7:39, 7:19, 7:00, 6:25 and 6:01)...but at around 35 miles into the ride, a car pulled out in front of me as I'm riding the shoulder of Highway 7...holy crap that was close.  I was a 1/3 of a second from flying over the hood of some fat chicks Volvo...b***h!  "Sorry' she yells...  Heart was racing after that. 
I did, however, have a great ride. The new set-up on the bike fit pretty well...I may have to do some 'minor' tinkering, but Brett at Gear West did a great job in the fit and set-up!

Feeling good...16 mile run tomorrow with negative splits...I'll keep you posted :)

Thanks for checking in, and for the continued support!

D

He's baaaack...

I only have a minute...I'll post more about the past 2 weeks tomorrow, but as for today, I followed yesterday's solid 2+ hour ride/3 mile run with a promising run.  I ran from home to Life Time in St. Louis Park...just a hair over 8 miles.  Even with a pretty strong headwind, I managed to average 6:46 for 8 miles (54:09), and could have rolled faster.  Miles 5-7 were run on a gravel road next to rail-roads tracks and I kept having to tell myself to slow the F down....surprisingly I felt good.Trail Mix in 18 days...am I ready?  Hell, it's only 31 miles...suck it up and show some tenacity!

Happy trails!

Get Lucky Half Marathon

Hope everyone had a great weekend...what beautiful weather, though do I dare say it was a little 'hot' on Saturday for the race?  It probably wasn't that hot, though having skied only 10 days prior, 75 felt warm!

As you probably know, I LOVE pacing...and I really enjoy pacing the half marathon distance...as was the case on Saturday for the Get Lucky Half Marathon.  Today's goal, 1:29:59.

Gonna run with John, Dave and Barry...with Jeff, Tony, Chad, Shelly and Mark also running Saturday.

The plan was an easy opening mile, followed by 2+ miles of downhill cruising...6+ miles settled in at 6:50 pace followed by a 2+ mile climb home.

John?  Where in hell are you?  Looks like we're down to 3 at the start... Damn Garmin...why won't you connect?

The first few miles went off without a hitch, though we lost Barry early on due to a tight hammy.  6:36, 6:41, 6:39...blah, blah, blah...  Turn-around came pretty quick for Dave and I in 44:11...right on plan. We were hoping for a :45 second cushion before our climb home.

...funny thing happened on the return trip, we never slowed down!  We had a bit of a headwind, so Dave tucked in behind me and I bucked the wind and honestly, never really felt the uphill...I guess I had my head down and was in a 'zone'?  At about mile 11+, I needed to tinkle (pee), so I stopped and headed behind a tree off the road...when I got back to it, Dave was :25+ seconds ahead...how did that happen?  Took me a solid half mile to catch him, and when I did, we worked together all the way through the finish.  The clock read 1:28:25 with splits of 44:11/44:14...that's how you run a half :)

HUGE race for Dave who looked great from start to finish, and to Jeff who ran sub 1:35 and a HUGE 5+ minute PR.  You boyz ROCK!

As for me, the run went well...I was able to get in a tad over 18 miles for the morning, which included a warm-up, strides and a solid 3+ mile cool-down.  6:45 pace felt pretty good...Trail Mix 50K can't come soon enough!

Ended my day with a great core workout...Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Updates...

Just a quick update on the training...  Still going well, still pluggin' along...the feet have been a little sore lately, though that's only because I have been in run focus for the past 2 weeks.  Should hit 50+ this week, which is a lot for me.
Over the past 10 days since my last post, I've had a couple of near-EPIC rides, including last Saturday at Life Time SLP, and some quality, though mainly 'miles' via running.  I am pacing a 1:29:59 group (6:52 pace) at the Get Lucky Half Marathon this Saturday, and just to be sure I could do this without a hitch, I did a modified up-tempo run on Tuesday of this week, mainly for confidence.  8 mile run on an out and back course...felt good right out of the gate.  Miles 1-4, 7:05, 6:56, 6:58, 6:54 (27:53)...at the turn-around I upped the ante just a hair...6:51, 6:44, 6:42 and finished at 6:39 (26:56/54:49).  The run felt pretty easy and I did a nice cool-down walk/jog when I was done to total 10 miles for the day.  It seemed to go pretty easy, could have 20 at that pace...and what a beautiful day...wow!
So, things are still going well...excited to get out on the roads later this month (fingers crossed)...thanks for checking in!

D

Stay tuned...

...am I ever going to update this damn blog?  If I get a chance, tomorrow and Saturday both.
Stay tuned...and as always, train hard...eat cake!

D

Weekend...

Did I mention how tired I am?  The treadmill race ran me ragged...The weekend of training went off as planned...I had a 9 miler scheduled for Saturday with an OFF day on Sunday!
Saturday's run was done late...8:00ish, and it was cold (20 degrees) with too much wind. 
Jen joined me on the bike while I ran the out and back course.  It was snow covered, slippery and I had to cross uncharted trails more than twice which slowed me down.
I hit 4.5 miles right around 40 minutes...really?  Was I running that slow?  Into the wind and 6 stops for snow...OK, that makes sense, but I need to pick up the pace. 
I could tell I had picked up the pace on the Regional Trail, 7:20 pace or so...hit mile 8 in good shape and needed a strong finish...worked mile 9 to 7:04, a solid mile considering the elements and trails...pretty excited on how it went.
Core...a LOT of core in the evening...feeling like a rock!

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/72786146/?new_route=1

Happy Monday!

THIS week...

First, what a crazy week!  With the Treadmill World Championships going on, working, coaching and a workout week that includes 2 KEY/Epic workouts...I'm looking forward to tomorrow...a day of nothing/not much!  ...but a week I graded a B-.
Let's go in reverse, shall we?
Yesterday, Friday March 2nd:  2350 in the pool in the morning followed by an easy 4.5 mile run outside in the fresh snow.  Speedy, Brodie and Jeff joined me for the run...still haven't 'recovered' from yesterday's ride.  What did you do for a ride yesterday, Derek...well
Thursday March 1st:  I had 3.5 hours to spend at the Woodbury club while Jennifer did her volunteer work on the East side of town. 
I weighed myself this morning, 180.2...perfect.  Solid ride...10E, followed by 9 15 minute BP tempo/hills.  This includes a 4 minute hill, 1 minute easy, 9 minutes of tempo riding, 1 minute easy...I did this 9 times with a 5 minute CD...total time in the saddle, 2 hours 31 minutes. I followed the ride up with a solid upper body lift/core session.  I made an effort to drink on the ride, rotating 24 ounce bottles of PerForm and water...4+ bottles over the ride though by the time I got home and hour after the ride, I weighed 176.4, a loss of 3.8 pounds...looks like I'll be doing a little more experimenting on intake.  Solid ride/workout, though I was concerned with the weight loss...
Wednesday Feb. 29th:  Blah...a blah morning swim followed by a blah evening run on the sore feet in the bitter cold/slushy mess.  Not the most enjoyable run, but something that had to be done.  ...and was it ever slow.  I like the fact that I can run comfortable at most paces...6:30 pace, 11:30 pace, bring it...and I don't wanna guess where today's run landed...it wasn't very fast :)
Tuesday:  Hour spin at LT SLP.  Lifting/core
Monday February 27th:  EPIC 23 this morning...and it was epic in more ways than one.
30 working on the bike (after a warm-up), 1 MILE on the tread at 10.5/10M (Minutes/moderate effort) on the bike/4 MINUTES on the tread at 11.1/10M on the bike/1 MILE on the tread at 10.8+/10M on the bike/4 minutes on the tread at 11.8-12.3...but the feet, especially the left AT, are getting pretty sore/10M on the bike/...went back to the tread for 4 x 2 minutes and 5 seconds in I could tell, this ain't gonna happen...that L foot is just too darn sore...NO need to rumble on it today...back to the bike for a 40 minute work/cool-down.  Ended up with 1:45 on the bike and almost 4 miles of rolling on the tready.  Gonna be sore tomorrow, but a workout that needs to be done from time2time...
Sunday February 26th:  90 minute ride followed by 3 hours at the water park...the water park was definitely more exhausting than the ride :)

Happy week!

IMNYC Bike Course

IMNYC Bike Course

(112 miles/2 loops)
The Ironman US Championship is proud to present an unprecedented closure of the Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP), spanning the scenic cliffs of the Palisades, and heading north into New York State. Bikes will exit the Ross Dock transition by climbing south to Hudson Terrace, then riding north 1 mile on Hudson Terrace to the PIP southbound access. Cyclists will complete two rolling 27-mile counter-clockwise loops on the PIP southbound side, then exit back onto Hudson Terrace and return to Ross Dock transition.

Time to update...

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012...and with 9 miles tonight I'll have about 12 hours for the week...  A nice week considering I got dinged up running on Monday...let's get you up to speed, shall we?My last posting was a week ago Wednesday, smack dab in the middle of an easy week (Feb 19-25th).  The week went off OK...9.5 hours.  Couple times in the pool, 2 spins for 90 minutes each and a handful of runs.  My weight seemed to stabilize at 180.5.  My weight, lifting and core are rock solid right now. 
What else can I say about last week...I hate 'easy/off' weeks'?  I feel like a slug...I train to 'race', and I love training hard...I know, I know, I need a break from time2time.
160 days, 16 hours, 2 minutes and 11 seconds....10, 9, 8...

Snow Day

Where did all this snow come from?  Great for those of you heading to Birkie this weekend, but it sucks for those of us looking to run on some trails.  I know, it will be gone soon enough.What?  No Speedy this morning?  Sick kid?  ...we'll just have to manage without him.
Even with the fresh 5 inches of snow, Jeff, Brodie and I decided to head to the trails just North of Long Lake for our run...what were we thinking?  Mile 1 TO the park, 8:20ish, miles 2 and 3 THROUGH the park, 10:30+ pace, as we were blazing the trail, eventually running along a fence-line in 6+ inches of fresh snow.  Now THAT'S work...still running at 10:30 pace, HR at 166...? 
Once we finally hit the pavement, miles 4-9 were run consistently at 8:15 pace...beautiful 20 degree weather, good conversation...pleasant indeed!
Solid core session tonight...looking forward to my ride/swim tomorrow :)  ...and thanks for the run Jeff and B!

Trail Mix...baby

Just registered for the Trail Mix 50K held at Hyland Park in Bloommington, MN.  I've run the 25K at this event a few times, finishing 2nd OA one of those years...first crack at the 50K here.  Should be a solid training run as I prep for NYC...NOT a race, but a solid effort...SO excited to be running!

Where in the H have I been?

Seems like weeks since I've last posted...well calm down kids, it's only been a week...and here I am :)So let's get you up to speed as to how this past week went...I had a couple 'up' days as well as a couple 'strugglers'.
Life itself right now is pretty crazy...with Torun, BP and Gear West, my time is pretty limited, but I've still managed to maintain roughly 12 hours per week...how?  Not sure...I guess the thoughts of NYC in August keep me going :)
Let's go backwards in the calender, shall we?
Monday Feb 20th:  4 miles easy with Jennifer late Monday night...REALLY easy running in 4 inches of fresh HEAVY/wet snow.  Tough footing, but what a beautiful night!  Light weights and core as well.
Sunday Feb. 19th:  After a day of doing nothing...(and when I say nothing, that's exactly what I mean)...I went to Life Time SLP for a spin class...got there an hour early and rode Z3, then rode almost a half hour after class to total 2:25 for the day.  And I wish I could remember the name of the cat who taught class...he taught an AMAZING class.  Spin room was packed and rockin'...so much energy in the class!
I felt amazing on the bike with so much power today!  Core PM
Saturday Feb 18th:  Sure Tony, I'll run a quick 14 miles with you Saturday morning...did I actually agree to that?  I was exhausted BEFORE the run...13+ miles of chasing Tony around Minnetonka...including mile 10 in 7:02.  Great run, Tony!
After my run I work at G' West for 7+ hours and I gotta say, I was spent.  I got home, had dinner, did a nice core session...and then I was out...11.5 hours later, it's Sunday morning...I needed that :)
Friday Feb. 17th:  AM)  A quick 6 miles with the boys a G' West, including a loop ON Long Lake.  easy running, though I felt sluggish.
PM)  2800 in the pool...STILL pretty sluggish...nap time?  Finished the day with a solid core/stretch session...I'm still about as flexible as a 2 x 4, but I think it's getting better :)
Thursday February 16th:  120 minutes on the trainer at Life Time...not much power, but a great ride with great tunage...  Followed the ride up with an upper-body session.
Wednesday Feb. 16th:  AM)  7 miles in/on Long Lake...pretty uneventful miles, but needed to get them done.

Have a great day...  Coach D, powered by bacon :)

PowerBar

...is super PUMPED about getting picked up by Powerbar for 2 more years of sponsorship! PowerBar, you guys ROCK!

NEAR Epic today...

Hope you all had a great weekend...
It's Monday, usually a day to sit on the trainer for a couple/few hours, but as per the plan, today was to be an Epic (near Epic) day...and I was ready to rumble.
In the right frame of mind, wanting to ROCK, needing to rock...club was hopping, as were the tunes on the iPod....a modified Epic 21, here we come!
So here we go...and thanks to Mike Stone for putting up with me today.  You are a BEAST, Mike...always a pleasure!
The workout...a run focused brick.  Intervals with biking wrapped around it.
Bike/1 Mile run/Bike/4:00 run/Bike/1 Mile run/Bike/4:00 run/Bike/4 x 2 minutes/Bike
20 minutes on the bike/trainer...10E followed by 2 BP hillz...quick transition to the treadmill.
Tread, :30 at 7.5 then moved it up to 10.5 for the first mile...finished in around 5:50...felt GREAT!
10 minutes back on the trainer in upper Z2/aero...
...quick transition to the tread...:30 at 7.5 then 3:30 at 11.0.
10 minutes back on the trainer in upper Z2/aero...
...another quick transition to the tread...:30 at 7.5, then a progressive mile.  Started at 10.5 for a couple minutes then quickly went to 11.0, then 11.5 and when I hit 4:30 I settled in at 12.2 for the final minute+  Mile 2 in roughly 5:32...still feeling great.
10 minutes back on the trainer in upper Z2/aero...
...let's do another 4:00 on the tread.  :30 at 7.5 and then moved to 11.5 for 1:30 then 12.0
10 minutes back on the trainer in upper Z2/aero...
...back to the treadmill for my last set.  1:00 at 7.5 the off to the races.
1 minute at 11.5, 1 at 12...1 minute at 7.5...I did this 4 times to equal 4 x 2 minutes with 1 minute breaks.
And finally, 20 minutes back on the trainer Z2 aero with drillz.
...now, where's the Pepsi Max :)

A solid workout not quite worthy of full Epic status, but solid...a great way to start the week!