No long stories today, just a series of short ones to prove that I haven’t given myself a heart attack by back-loading so much training for IM NZ. Training:  Going well.  Very well, actually.  My diet is locked in and I am flirting with being within ten pounds of an acceptable race weight. Given the   Read More …

This year has been full of ups and downs. Thankfully, it’s been more ups than downs, but there’s something about the Ironman training experience that spans the whole gamut of human experience. On my long ride today, I thought a lot about what I would have said to myself a year ago, and what I’d   Read More …

Aaaaaand I suck at blogging the last few months. Things at work have been astonishingly hard (I worked fifty hours from December 23rd to 26th, and I just finished my 13th consecutive long-ass day at work) and my training has been, more or less, “average.” And that’s only if we’re putting it nicely.

Whoops! I signed up for the 30th Anniversary Ironman Canada, to take place August 26, 2012. I’ll be racing alongside my sister, my girlfriend, and about two dozen close friends! This sounds way more fun than doing it all on my own!

It’s virtually impossible to write a race report that sums up Vineman after the months of training, the thousands of hours of preparation, and all the anticipation that led up to this day.  I’ve sat down on no fewer than three occasions in the last two days, intending to write a report.  All that’s come   Read More …

Holy crap, down to single digit weeks until Vineman. This week was roughly analogous to last week, but was slightly more run-heavy. I finally get to take a little time to rest up for my race next weekend. This coming week is a 6.5 hour week, plus the race. I’m keeping a tight lid of   Read More …

Well, now it begins: Peak Phase. I have one more week identical to this one, a race week, five weeks of build, then three weeks of taper. I am absolutely exhausted this week, but at least the summit is in sight– seven weeks from now I’ll be at the peak, and then it’s just taper   Read More …

Work has improved somewhat and my schedule has allowed for me to get one full solid week in (after a couple of weeks with at least one or two missed workouts). In a week, peak phase begins. I’m seven weeks from my peak week, and this week was… ok. Not superb, and very tiring, but   Read More …

Swim: 30:05 T1: 4:19 Bike: 1:27:33 T2: 2:31 Run: 56:51 Overall Race Time: 3:01:19 Wildflower is often referred to as the “Woodstock of Triathlon,” but it’s probably more aptly thought of as the “Burning Man of Triathlon” in contemporary terms. Out of nowhere, 30,000 smelly, dirty triathletes converge on Lake San Antonio, California ant take   Read More …

So last weekend I hit the halfway mark to Vineman, but I was deep in the throes of the stress of work, a newly adopted dog, a sick dog, my sick self, and a hundred other things that meant I could either blog about my activities, or do them, but not both. Doing them won.   Read More …