Man To Ironman

June 21, 2009 -

Yesterday I was a man....today I am an Ironman. What an amazing experience! In the morning, before the swim, the announcer said, "at the end of this day you will be an Ironman". That kept me going all day.

The water was very choppy and crazy with the mass start. My bike broke down and I had to wait for tech support, plus I got two flats which all cost me about 30 minutes and the wind was wipping! The run was wet wet wet and cold and windy.

Despite all that I came in strong at 13:05:57!

Happy with the day, the experience and being able to call myself....Ironman.

Tons more to come......but for now.....the after party!

Day 172 Training Log - Ironman Triathlon - 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run!

The Ironmanification of Josh Clark

June 20, 2009 -

Here I sit, on the eve of Ironman. Some nerves, but mostly just anxious and ready to go. Ready to embrace the race and the mystery's that will unfold throughout the day. It was one year ago after the Boise 70.3 when I knew that it was not enough. I knew that I would have to do a full Ironman, I would have to reach the top. What lies after this I don't know. Is there a harder challenge I need to find...or do I settle back into my comfort zone of 70.3's and try to get competetive? We'll see, but first there is tomorrow.

I started training and writing this blog back on January 1, 2009. I did four weeks of conditioning in January and started my 20 week Ironman training plan that I downloaded for free on February 1st. I weighed in at 218 pounds. I trained in the dark, the snow, the rain, the cold and ice. I trained early in the morning, and at night. I spent hours upon hours in the garage on the bike trainer, on the bike out on country roads, on the trails and in the pool. I stuck to my plan with a strict discipline. I trained while I travelled as I had to mix five business trips into my schedule. I ate nonstop, supplemented with everything, stretched constantly, and spent a ton of money for this.

I praise my family who endured the hours of training and even more the hours of me talking about Ironman everyday. Talking about my training workouts, my thoughts and needs. As Ironman and its trianing continually consumed my brain, especially as time went on, it was really the only thing I could talk about...and that is a lot for anyone on the listening end to endure. My wife who was the main recipient of all that talk continued to accommodate my schedule and needs. She baked me muffins, cookies and bars. She cleaned stinky, sweaty clothes day in and day out so I always had fresh gear ready. Thank-you honey, I appreciate all you did for me, for this race....I love you. I'm also thankful for the thoughts, prayers and well wishes of all my other family who constantly let me know they supported me and were thinking about me.

I worked out when I didn't want to, when it was hard, when I was sore, when everyone else was sleeping and when the weather would not cooperate.

From all that, I am here now waiting out the last few hours before the race. I lost 23 pounds getting down to 195. I built my endurance to levels that I had never experienced and I learned new capabilities and discipline that I had not fully realized before.

Despite all that, you are not an Ironman until you finish that race in under 17 hours. 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. One more battle to be had, one more day to go.

Someone asked my why I was doing this. I wasn't really sure? Something is always driving me to want to go after the hardest challenge. I constantly want to push myself further and find new ways to do more. I feel I would look back when this race is over and know that whatever challenge I'm facing may pale in comparison and that I have no excuses.

On to today. Yukon and I headed out this am for a quick swim just to feel the water again. It was a good lil swim...water was still pretty choppy. After, we headed back to the house and took the bikes out for a quick spin just to make sure everything was running smooth.

We had to get our bike and transition bags setup by 3p so we started to work on that. After a careful hour of planning out each stage of the race and loading our five different transition bags we headed back downtown. We racked up our bikes in a seemingly neverending sea of carbon fiber. From there, we headed over to a couple areas where you drop your bike transition and run transition bags. You just drop them into these long rows of bags. I guess someone helps you get it when you need it and you go into the men's changing tent get all the stuff out, re-load it with the stuff you just took off and leave it for the staff to but back. We also have bike and run foods bags that we give tomorrow and you can pick up food or special needs at somepoint on the bike and run.

Once we were done setting up transition, we headed over to check out the finish line and chute. It was still being setup, but still fun to check out and imagine the feeling of seeing it again tomorrow.

The rest of the night consits of watching movies, including 300, and feeding out on pasta, bread and salad. I will hit the sack around 9p and be back up by 4a. Our plan is to be at transition by 5:30a and wait out the last moments flushing out the butterflies before the 7a start.

Day 171 Training Log - Just a quickie 10 minute swim in the lake today still getting used to the choppy water. Temperature is good though, and if I do drink up the lake...at least it tastes good. After that, I took the bike out for a 15 minute spin to to make sure everything is tight....it is.

Post Script: Weather.com today is showing 67 degrees and PM showers for tomorrow. I can do that. I'm feeling anxious, energized, carb and sodium loaded and hydrated.

Here we go.....Let's do this! A great quote from the movie 300: "Remember this day men, for it will be yours for all time."

You can track Yukon and myself with the information below:

Get onto Ironman.com. At the top middle there is a “live race coverage” box. From there look for Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene and click on “athlete tracker”. Once there you can enter our last names or bib #. Clark – 570 and McKinley – 512.

You can also watch the finish line live from the race coverage section.

Finally, I put a picture here of what I will be wearing on the run so you can try to look for me if you are in the crowd. Look for the orange Avia hat and white rimmed shades with red lenses. Also a blue 2xu jersey and black shorts.

Go Fart

June 19, 2009 -

Well, after a rocky sleep last night I woke up around 5:30a this morning wide awake and to my surprise, so did the rest of the house. We were all confused and thinking that the clocks were all wrong...but neigh....we were up early.

After some coffee and breakfast, my wife took the kiddos down to her parents in Moscow and Yukon and I went to the lake for a swim. It was very windy and cool, about 58 degrees outside this morning and 65 degrees in the lake. We swam about a thousand yards and it was choppy. If you don't take your head out of the water enough, you get a mouthful of lake. If you take it out too much for air, you get slapped in the face with some chop on the way back down.....oh well. It was a nice little jaunt, although my left shoulder was getting achy again....boo.

After the swim we headed out for a 20 minute jog, prolly an 8:15 pace. From there, we ran a few errands and went back to the house to eat again and clean up. When wifey got back, we headed in to Iroman village, which I was particularly excited about. I love to check out all the latest and greatest....and get some sweet swag.....which, I have to say, was not overly impressive. The booths were limited and the biggest thing was the Ironman store. Your opportunity to spend zillions of dollars on m-dot apparel. There was a tent where people could make signs and Shelly whipped one up for me. I guess they will place it out on the run course somehwere. Funny side note: if you look behind Shelly's head, instead of saying go farther, the camera angle just caught.......well you can see for yourself. I hope that is not some type of weird race day foreshadowing.

From there we headed back to the house for nap....yes! I can't remember the last time I took a nap in the middle of the day....and it was so great. After, the nap we headed back to the grocery store for some dinner items....salmon, spinich salad and brown rice...mmmmmm.

The rest of the night includes lounging, hydrating, watching movies, more lounging and more hydrating. Sad that the kiddos left today, but also nice to sit down and totally relax, unwind and focus.

Day 170 Training Log - We headed down the water around 8a and headed out for a 15 minute swim and followed with a 20 miniute run....still feeling good and ertainly ready and eager to get this thing going!

Post Script: Weather.com today is reporting 62 degrees and showers for race day. Today it was quite windy again and we had a good bout of showers for part of the day.....bah!

I'm In!

June 18, 2009 -

I'm in Coeur d'Alene, set up at the house we're renting, and officially checked in and registered for Ironman!!!

I got up around 6a and started packing up the car and getting ready to head out. We finally jammed up the car and made it out around 8:30a. It was about 5 hour drive with a food and bathroom stop....kids were so/so for the trip....as good as two little kids can be for a long drive like that.

We are renting a house from some friends and the house is a sweet setup.....soooo much better than being jammed in a hotel room. After we settled up at the house we headed out to register for the race. I sat with this nice lady who put my blue ironman bracelet on that will be on until after the race. She breifed me on my bag of stuff and some of the details and sent me on my way...I took her picture....not sure she liked that.

I really wanted to stay and start going through the Ironman village and start checking it out, but we had a hungry family and needed to go grocery shopping. I have two more days to get to all that stuff. After picking up some groceries we went back for some dinner....bbq'd up some burgers....good Ironman food right?

After dinner, Yukon and I got our bikes all put together and went out for a quick spin. everything is working great.

Ready for a fun day tomorrow!

Day 169 Training Log - Just a quick 30 minute ride tonight, a mix of some cranking and some spinning. There was a pretty wicked wind sometimes pushing and sometimes trying to knock you over. Hope that disappears by Sunday.

Post Script - Weather.com today is reporting 63 degrees and a few showers....that works. Also, feeling pretty good today. Happy to be here and very excited to enjoy the pre-ironman experience over the next couple days.

Pack It Up Pack It In

June 17, 2009 -

Let me begin, I came to win. Lil old school for ya. That's right folks, Wednesday....hump day....pack day. This evening we are putting all the junk together to load into the car. My job is to figure out how to load me, wifey, Ella, Keaton, bike, kid jogger, suitcases and tri bag into the Land Rover. Oh, and we don't have a bike rack, so it's all going inside???

Crazy crazy crazy day! The funny thing about Ironman, is that prepping for it is easy compared to all the work it takes to prepare to leave work for a week. Somehow I'm so railed right now and I was having to think a few weeks out as right after Ironman I have a couple business trips. I'm basically out of the office for two weeks.

After a nonstop, whirlwind day I got about 90% of the work I wanted to accomplish done. Then it was straight home for the packing tornado. My wife got her and the kids ready and the house in order, while I got myself and tri bag ready as well as the bike securely positioned in the car. After that I did some additional house cleaning as we have a friend coming to house/chicken sit.

At the end of it all, it's 10p and I'm just sitting for the first time today. We are pretty much ready to go, but I want to get out early in the morning, which means getting a good breakfast, prepping kiddos, loading the rest of the car and packing food....so we'll see.

Day 168 Training Log - I had another nice lil taper workout today. It was a 15 minute swim, 20 minute bike and 15 minute run. The swim was a 5 minute warmup, 6 x 50 fast, and then a 5 minute cool down. Today the swim was was a bit of a bummer because something was tweaked in my left shoulder. Not sure if I just had a muscle get a lil weird from that massage yesterday or what, but it was having some pain throughout. I still cranked out 900 yards in that 15 minutes. For my 6 x 50 fast my laps were: :37, :39, :39, :39, :38, :37. On the bike it was a five minute warmup, 10 minutes fast spinning and a five minute cool down. Finally, the run was 5 minute warmup, 5 minutes fast and a five minute cool down. Everything is on track...ready to go.

Post Scrip - Weather.com today is showing a few showers and 67 degrees for Sunday....continues to change. Overall, my verves toward the race are normal. I'm not overly jittery or nervous, mostly just still poised and ready to do it. I was stressed about getting my work done, getting ready to go and getting out on the road tomorrow. I imagine after we get in and get settled tomorrow, register and sit down to have some dinner and relax, I will finally be able to totally unwind and focus on the task at hand.

Almost Famous

June 16, 2009 -

Yes it was just about a year ago that I did my first ever half-iron distance race in my hometown of Boise Idaho. It was the race that sparked my buddy and I (who have been racing together since college) to say, "well we're only one distance away from the top....better do the full Ironman." Most people relish in their 70.3 accomplishment and settle down a bit, but all we could do was count down the days until they opened online registration for CDA so we could get our real Ironman journey underway.

We must have been two of the greatest athletes Boise had ever seen as they put our picture from the swim start on the front page of the Idaho Statesman newspaper the day after the race and then ran it yet again this year the day before the race. You can see us both standing there staring off into the distance looking very intense or very scared...not sure which. That's my buddy John, aka Yukon there in the middle with the sleeveless wetsuit and his arms folded across. Then there is me, standing right beside/behind him to the right. The looks on our faces.....priceless.

Anyway, for your tracking purposes for CDA, Yukon is bib# 512 and I am bib# 570. I think you will be able to track from ironman.com, but I will have more detail on this in the next few days.

On a side note, I went in for my pre-race massage today. I have this gal that delivers a very punishing yet gratifying deep tissue massage. I like to flush everything out and work out all the kinks a few days before the race and then really continue to focus on hydration and stretching. I had quite a few wound-up knots behind the 'ol shoulder blades where I like to store that kind of stuff. Man this woman, she just grinds her elbows and fists in there....talk about joy and pain.....I heard it's like sunshine and rain:)

Day 167 Training Log - Just a 30 minute swim today, which was to take place in the open waters, however no time to fit in that whole lake thing today so I just headed to the pool. I cranked out 35 laps or 1750 yards in the allotted 30 minutes, which translates to one mile exactly....athank-you. Great swim by the way, more confidence that I am strong and ready.

Post Script - Checked back in with the weather report and weather.com is now reporting 80 degrees and isolated thunderstorms for Sunday....should be interesting. Also, allergies taking it easy on me today. Best they have been in about a week or so...I would give them a 4 out of 10. Lastly, I'm feeling relaxed today. I think my nerves yesterday were the resounding build up of a ton of work stuff, because when I really think about it...Ironman isn't all that hard to get ready for. So I was able to knock out a ton of work stuff between yesterday and today and should be able to polish up the rest before I leave Thursday morning for Idaho.....making me a calm warrior ready to attack in the biggest athletic battle of my life....woop woop.

The Final Frontier - Start Week 1

June 15, 2009 -

Start week 1...wow. The final frontier....the final count down. Every Monday for the last 19 weeks I have added a "start week #" as a part of the countdown, and here it is....starting at me....taunting me.....gently torturing me....start week 1. The final days counting down to zero.

I'm finding I have a little more anxious attitude today, which I imagine will progress as the week continues. Much different than last week's more relaxed "let's do this already" attitude. I keep going over details, things to remember, preparations to make and anything else I haven't thought of yet. I can see myself slightly spazing over the next couple days as I prepare everything, pull the gear together and generally, nervously tinker around.

It's all good though, I am excited, feeling strong, and ready to go. I had a solid little taper workout today dabbling in all three sports and also got my bike chain cleaned and re-lubed. I think I got more grease on myself than what I actually cleaned off, but the chain is looking nice, clean and ready to haul. Also took some time after the chain cleaning to wipe down, dust off, and spiffy up the 'ol Felt B-12. She looks hot and ready to roll.

Tomorrow I will start to gather all the components for my gear and tri-bag into a big pile. It will be my first checklist rundown....the prelims before the final pack Wednesday night. Only two more days to prepare as we are hittin the road first thing Thursday morning....bright eyed and bushey-tailed.

Drank a ton of water today and had a dope dinner of grilled chicken breast with fresh cilantro on top, steamed yukon gold potatos, and sauteed asparagus.....mmm.mmm.mmm. Gonna finish the eve off with more agua and some killer stretching.

Day 166 Training Log - Todays training was a series of short burst workouts within each sport. It totaled 20 minutes of swimming, 15 minutes of biking and 30 minutes of running. The swim was 4 x 5 minutes starting fast and then returning to race pace. I eneded up getting in 300 yards in each set totalling a 1200 yard swim. My four 300 sets were 4:53, 4:58, 4:56 and 4:47. Then to the stationary bike (which I have not been on in forever) for 3 x 5-minutes. It was a 5-minute warmup then 5 minutes all out and a five minute cool down. I did a medium gear and cranked about 100 rpms on the warm-up and cool-down. For the five minutes all out I used the same gear and worked somewhere between 120 to 130 rpms. From there, I moved to the treadmill (also haven't been on in forever) for 3 x 10 minutes starting slow and building to race pace each set. I started each set at a 9:30 mile and built to a 7:30 mile (although 7:30 should be a far cry from race pace. It was a good, fun workout. Felt great.

Post-Script: If yesterday's allergies were a 10 out of 10, today was somewhere around a 6.5. Not nearly as much sneezing and tissues, mostly just stuffy sinuses. Also, CDA weather report for Sunday is showing 75 degrees and isolated thunder-storms. It's been changing every day.

The Nose Faucet

June 14, 2009 -

I meant to add an allergy report onto yesterday's blog as I thought I may have hit the worst of it. Without exaggeration, I most likely had close to 100 sneezes and went through 50 Kleenex yesterday. I thought I should mention it as it sucked, but I was also hoping it was the worst of it.

Until today. This morning I got up and did the mowing and weed-eating, which really pissed off the 'ol allergies and the pretty much was the theme for the rest of the day. I'm certain I doubled my sneezing and kleenex usage from yesterday. It's weird because I'm not sick, but allergies definitely wipe me out.

It takes a lot out of you to sneeze and blow your nose all day. Plus your throat is itchy and your head gets pretty cloudy. Hoping as the week progresses with potential cooler weather and rain that these bad boys can simma down already.

Other than that, things are feeling good...pretty solid.....ready to go. We head over to CDA first thing Thursday morning....woop woop.

Day 165 Training Log - I was to head to the lake for a swim today, but just felt too wiped out from the allergies so I decided to take the day off and relax for the afternoon. I'll put in the lake swim tomorrow. Today, I'm just doing a lot of stretching.

Witness My Glory

June 13, 2009 -

Yes folks, yet another day today (going 24 strong) of sunshine and 80 degrees in Kirkland. I had a run on the books for today and you know that can only mean one thing.....shred the shirt, lather the screen and flop out the belly for all to see.

Not sure why it is so great, maybe because I can loose the nipple band-aids, maybe because that sweat laden shirt is not wearing on me or maybe, just maybe because the sun just loves to soak into my skin and make me run faster; but I love topless running (women please don't try this, I'm a professional).

I headed out today on my last run of any mileage before the race in 75 degrees and had a fantastic run. Much in the same fashion as yesterday's swim, as the run went on I got stronger and worked harder all the way through the finish. I felt great, worked hard in the sunny heat and was happy just out there running along the waterfront gazing out at all the boats and sun-seeking, beach going peeps and really having a rather enjoyable run....which was cool because I wasn't motivated to go out.

Day 164 Training Log - I had a 90 minute run today, which ended up coming in at 8:16 pace for 10.92 miles. This was a little slower than I wanted however, I ran three miles of hills. A gradual ascent mile long hill, a gradual ascent half-mile hill, and a steep half-mile hill. Really though....just a stellar run. One of those days that makes you love the freedom of running.

Lets Go Already

June 12, 2009 -

I had a swim to knock out today and all I could think about was..."lets do this already". I'm trying to be patient, but counting down these final days until the race is getting lame. I did the work and all I want to do is get this thing going already.

During every workout now, I envision every part of the race....mostly the finish. I reflect on all the training and I think.....yup.....it's go time.....lets get it on. I'm not the most patient type, so just knocking out these little taper workouts mostly just waiting to get to race day is tough.

Oh well.

Day 163 Training Log - I had a 2700 swim today, which rocked. It was a 6 x 75 warm-up, a 3 x 700 main swim, and a 150 cool down. With the days off and the other workouts this week, this was my first time in the water since last Friday. I was curious to see how quickly I could put it together after a week of not swimming. The answer, fast. This was a great swim! It was fast and furious. I felt strong and with each set I swam faster just waiting to get tired or blow out, but I just kept going and feeling better. I was swimming as hard and fast as I ever had only verifying one thing......lets go already!

Snot Rockets

June 11, 2009 -

Today was my last workout topping 3+ hours until the race. It was my last long bike. Only one problem.....boogs. I am being beat down by allergies hard core right now. I was on the bike sneezing and farmer blowing out a constant drain of snot. So so so annoying!

Then, when the ride was over, like I didn't get enough during the ride; the attack peaked. Sneeze, blow, sneeze, blow, sneeze, blow, rub eyes, repeat for an hour. So lame! My eyes were totally blood shot red and so itchy and the sneezing and runny nose...highly bothersome. Allergies are the worst.

I have also been progressively learning about my abilities as this Iroman training has progressed and one of them, which I was already aware of became evident today. I hate being on the bike for hours. I think three hours is my threshold for the bike. After that, I just don't want to be on it anymore.

I'm pretty certain full iron races are not going to be my thing. It's the same reason I had to stop doing marathons. 26.2 miles are just too hard on this six foot four inch, 200 pound frame. I always said I had one left in me and it would be for an Ironman...and this is it. Well, I've figured out the same thing on the bike too. After three hours, I just do not like being there.

I have enough in me to rock this Ironman like a 300 spartan, so don't get me wrong here. I am set to do what I trained to do and you can never say what you will desire to do afterward because it constantly evolves. 5k to 10k to half marathon to marathon to sprint tri to olympic to half iron to full iron to.......?

What I'm saying is, I think I have learned enough about myself to know that my favorite sports moving forward will most likely be half marathons and half ironmans. They both work perfectly in my competetive comfort zone.....but we'll see. You have to do them all to figure this out.

Day 162 Training Log - I had a four hour bike today, but the ride I did ended up finishing in 3.5 hours, which was fine with me as I was getting killed by allergies. I headed out of Redmond up through Redmond Ridge, down through Carnation, Duvall, Snohomish, Woodinville and back to Redmond. it was a good bike, just boring. I had an 18mph avg speed and it was mostly rolling hills with a few biggies. Now mostly just some swimming and running to go.

I'm Flexible

June 10, 2009 -

As the time seems to be rapidly meting toward race day I've become quite relaxed and flexible with the remainder of my training. Outside of one last big ride tomorrow and another 10-12 mile run next week, it's pretty much just swimming.

Not to say that I've lost my ambition, because I still eat, sleep and breathe Ironman, but I have this "calm before the storm" kinda attitude right now.

I used to be so strict about my workouts and training....I could not, would not miss a day.....I would not, could not go out an play.

But now, with 99.9% of the hard training work behind me, I have taken a more casual attitude toward this last week and a half. I find myself swapping workouts and moving days off to fit my schedule.

Take today for instance. I had a nice little swim planned, but this morning I decided I would rather have a sunny fun day. I ate lunch with wifey and a friend on the Redhook patio, I caught up on some errands and I left work early to take the family down to the Wednesday Kirkland Farmers Market.

So I took Friday's day off today and I will do today's swim Friday....big woop.

Day 161 Training Log - I enjoyed a nice little day in our continued glorious sunshine streak. 80 degrees made for a nice patio lunch and a fun time loading up on fresh produce at the farmer's market. Back at it tomorrow with my last long bike ride.

The Freedom Of Exercise

June 9, 2009 -

There's nothing better than coming back after a few days off and gettin busy. The body is rested, you're excited because you have been craving a good sweat, and you go out and crank hard with a great intensity, which always results in........a dope workout.

And dope is what I had today. It was a run/bike and I was very eager to get back at it after those three days off, and especially after I wanted to get back yesterday, but didn't get a chance. Mix that with some continued sweet weather here on the eastside of Seattle and it's on.

I headed out mid-morning in about 70 degrees, threw the shirt off, sprayed on the sunscreen and hit it. I had a great run, quicker pace and gave it an overall thumbs up.

Later this afternoon I headed out on the bike in 80 degrees. I did a loop that I've been into lately that is a mix of fast flats and great climbs. I was out there just haulin and came in a full ten minutes faster than what I usually do this ride in and a couple miles an hour improved.....sweet.

Only two lame parts to this workout....first, I forgot this little sweat-band thing I wear under my bike helmet called a halo. So sweat was just draining down my face, eyes etc.....annoying! Second, immediately after each of the workouts, I got worked over pretty good by allergies....bah.

Day 160 Training Log - Today was a 45 minute run, which was great and ended up being just under six miles for a 7:38 pace. The bike was 90 minutes and ended up being just under 19 miles an hour. This was smokin for me for this ride because of all the hills that kill my pace. Great day....two thumbs up.....high-five.....I like.

Hello Work - Start Week 2

June 8, 2009 -

It seems like it's been a long time since I felt really busy or behind at work. Outside all the travel it has been a pretty mellow spring at work allowing me to accomplish all the training for this Ironman.

Today though, out of nowhere....I got railed. I'm not sure where all this work came from, but it took me the entire day...and part of the night just to get it organized. A full day of meetings, conference calls, piling a to-do list and organizing more work.

Although I still have another day off from training, I wasn't planning on taking it today. But today just happened to be the first time, since February, that I just could not get out to train because I was too busy with my old friend....work.

Good thing the end it near with the race date rapidly approaching....I'm actually quite effective when I work all day.....weird.

Day 159 Training Log - So an unplanned day off today, but good too. Very productive day at work. I'm excited to get back at the training tomorrow though. I can see it will be hard continuing into this gradually declining taper as I really just want to get out there and do more more more. Oh, well.

The Last Hoora

June 7, 2009 -

With every one of my half-iron distance races, I like to take off a full week from all junk. I cut out all the crappy food, most of the sugar (I do have this ice-cream addiction), and any beer I may feel inclined to imbibe.

Considering that this full-iron race is double the distance, I decided I should take off double the time from all the junk. The race is exactly two weeks out, so I will make today my last hoora and then go healthy for two weeks. I'm pretty sure this party today includes a bacon cheese burger and fries. Prolly have to throw in some reeces peanut butter cups or a blizzard in there somewhere and maybe wash it all down with a coke.

We'll see.....the day is mine.

After that, I focus and eating a killer clean diet, which includes lean meats and fish, tons of fresh fruits and veggies....and a small lake's worth of water.

Day 158 Training Log - My second day off in a row today, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. I can imagine however, after a couple days of strapping on the junk-food feed-sack...I will be ready to get active again on Monday. I may have to push that third day off back a little bit so I can sweat out all the grease......yes.

Chill Out Man

June 6, 2009 -

It's Saturday...all the hard work is behind me, and I have two days off. Now the real challenge begins....chillin out this weekend. With no major house projects and no training, I don't really know what else to do?

I've got ants in my pants.

Wait.....I do remember how to chill. I sit on the couch and lounge, watch a movie, play with the kiddos, do some more loungin.

Ahhhhhhhh...very nice.....very very nice.

Day 157 Training Log - This is my first of three days off, with two of those back to back this weekend...woop woop!

I Heart To Pee In My Wetsuit

June 5, 2009 -

The greatest part of long open water swims.....peeing in your wetsuit.....mmmm....mmmm....mmmm....warm. Ok, maybe that was a little weird and creepy, but what is the deal with having to pee in the lake....in your wetsuit. I can pee (in a bathroom) and jump in the lake a minute later and instantly have to pee. As represented by my new favorite t-shirt that a buddy of mine sells.

I hit Lake Sammamish for the swim today. It was about 75 and partly cloudy, and the lake's website reported the water temp at 70 degrees....perfect. The water was still for the most part and not mucky at all.

The only annoyance was swimming through the waves that would occassionally roll through from the wake-boarders. They had diminished for the most part by the time the reached us, but still enough to throw you off a bit.

I still have a couple more open water swims left before the big day, but this was the longest. Now, I officially have my longest bikes, runs and swims in the bag.....sweet.

Day 156 Training Log - One hour and fifteen minute open water swim today. Great swim, although around 50 minutes into it I started getting a little sloppy. I swam with a buddy, back and forth between a couple buoys that were about 250 yards apart. We were guessing we swam about 3500 yards, which I would be happy with.

This Is Why I'm Hot

June 4, 2009 -

"Rollin, rollin, rollin, keep them dawgies movin rawhide! Move 'em on, head 'em up, Head 'em up, move 'em out, Move 'em on, head 'em out Rawhide! Set 'em out, ride 'em in Ride 'em in, let 'em out, Cut 'em out, ride 'em in Rawhide."

Ya, so that was me today singing to my legs as I set out for a five hour bike and 30 minute run in 90 degree heat. I wanted to push hard, riding flats and going fast for five hours, but after doing that for two hours, I didn't know where else to go, so I went back to all those hills from the Kirkland century ride I did Memorial Day weekend.....prolly good for building strength....bad idea in the heat with tired legs.

I rocked out 12 out of the 14 hills from that century ride just cranking one after the other. My ride started at 8a at 70 degrees and ended by 1p at 90 degrees. It was a good ride, I just think the all the hill work really took a harder toll on me that it should have.

After the ride, I changed quickly, chugged half a Coke, and headed out on the trail for a 30 minute run...which was hard. It was 90 degrees when I went out and my legs were so worked from all those hills. I ended up hitting 3.5 miles for an 8:26 pace. I was sweating like a mofo and so hot...but then it was over.....cool.

Day 155 Training Log - So a 5.5 hour training day today with a 5 hour bike and a 30 minute run. The bike was good, but hot, and the hills worked me. I did a bottle of carbo-pro, bottle of water, and a bottle of Gatorade. I also figured out how to keep my seat bottles from flying out of the cages...so that was sweet. I took two thermolyte pills on every hour, and had a banana at two hours. I also had a peanut butter and honey sandwich at 3.5 hours.....which I liked....prolly do a couple of those in the race. I mixed in powertabs throughout and a half a coke in the last 10 miles. Then to the run where my legs slowly came together, but I was so hot. Whatever....one day closer to Ironman where all this complaining about the little things will seem so insignificant....this is why I'm hot.