Christmas Blizzard???

Well the good thing about a blizzard this time of year is being stuck in the house and ample of time to get some riding in.  I completed Q3 of week #1 of the winter cycling program today and it feels really good to be back into the swing of things.  My legs and body feel great and my recovery time hasn't taken all that long.  Today I watched the 2005 Ironman World Championships that I received from my wife for Christmas and it was awesome.  Such and inspiring way to complete a workout.  Too bad those videos are only an hour long because it really passed the time and will surely come in handy on my longer rides.

All in all, I think we received over 12 inches of snow this time and this makes 2 blizzards in the month of December.  If it keeps this up, I think it will be a very loooooooong winter!!  Hope everyone had a great Christmas, as we did.  My kids are growing up so fast and they both enjoyed the events this year.  I think my wife is getting a little cabin fever being stuck inside with the kids going on the 4th day now. 

Have a safe and happy new year......set some goals and go achieve them!!!

Back to Cycling

Well after my month long break from the bike, I decided yesterday that it was time to get back on the horse.  I will be starting my winter cycling program over with week 1 and that started yesterday.  My legs are in pretty decent shape from wrestling but the first day is always hard on your system.  Suprisingly, my legs feel really good today.  I ended up watching "The Miracle" (hockey movie) and it was good at keeping my motivation up through the workout.  I will do another workout tomorrow on Christmas Eve, then again on Saturday or Sunday.  I will be cycling around 3 days a week and the program is 12-14 weeks long depending on the route I take.  That should put me around the middle to end of March, which is great timing so then the weather should be decent and I can get out on the highways. 

My Half Ironman Training program officially starts on January 11th.  It is a 20 week program with the target date of the race of June 6th.  Wrestling season won't officially end until late February, so I will probably just cut off 4-5 weeks of the program.  I really need to start swimming before my program takes off or I am going to be in for a rude awakening.  I am excited about the training but nervous at the same time.  The training volume will be more than I have ever done, so that unknown has me a little nervous.  Hopefully, my body will stay injury free and my mind focused on the goal at hand.  I am really looking forward to this challenge and to stay the course of my goal of finishing an Ironman.

Merry Christmas to all.  It looks like we are on the verge of getting another blizzard, so it looks like we will be stuck in the house for a few days......good training days!!!

Cycling Break

Well wrestling season is in full swing now and I am having a hard time squeezing in time for my bike.  I have taken a couple of weeks off from Jorge's program but I am planning on re-starting the program the week after Christmas.  This will give me a chance to get through the holidays, plus it will get me closer to spring.  It will give me a program to get me through winter, so I can pick right up and go outside in March.  I should have the basement insulated by Christmas time as well, so my biking times should not affect the kids at all.  Hockey season will be starting here before too long as well, so that will cut into my biking times as well since we usually play on Sundays.  The pond is frozen now, so we will be checking the ice to see if it is ready to go. With the winter settling in, it should be great ice all winter long. 

Wrestling has been going really well and my shape is coming back.  Once wrestling is over, I should be able to transition right into the HIM training with relative ease.  The lack of swimming right now has me a bit worried.  I would like to get in a few pool sessions before February just to keep the muscle memory up.  The pool I have been swimming at has closed the pool due to state budget cuts, so that means I have been scrambling to find other locations.  All of the pool locations are at least a 30 minute drive to get to, so I have an hour travel time just to get my swim in.  Hopefully over the holiday, I can get a few sessions in. 

Well that is it for now.  Hope everyone is doing well and enjoy this holiday season with your families.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Decided with this being a crazy week with traveling to Minneapolis to my brother's for Thanksgiving that I would take this week off from my bike training.  I will pick up Week 4 this coming Sunday.  I am having an issue with keeping the noise down and waking the kids up in the mornings, so I have been diligently (or at least kind of) on getting the room downstairs finished.  When I mean finished, just electrical finished up, so i can at least insulate the ceiling and walls.  This should keep enough of the noise down that I can ride my bike in the mornings without causing too much havoc with the family.

We ended up driving up to Minneapolis to spend a few days with my brother and his family.  It was nice to see them and their kids and have our kids play with them and my sister's kids.  It was a great few days with my parents, brother and sister's families.  I managed to get in 2 quality runs while I was up there.  I ended up doing 6 miles on Thanksgiving morning and another 4 today.  It was a great change of scenery running around Lake Minnetonka and the rolling hills provided the right amount of challenge.  All in all my body and legs felt great.  I need to get in at least one run per week now that wrestling has started just to keep my muscle memory up.  I should be able to accomplish this on Sunday's during the course of the season.  I am thinking right now, my swimming is going to struggle until wrestling season is over, but I guess that is the way it goes.  I will have to get it started in March.  That still gives me 3 months of swimming to get me up to be able to swim in the Half Iron.  Well that is about it for now.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Cycling Week 3

http://jorgepbmcoaching.blogspot.com/2009/11/cycling-plan-week-3-hrmrpe.html

Started Week 3 of my winter cycling on Sunday and my legs are starting to become really sore.  I rode my second workout of the week this morning at 4:30 am.  That seems to be the only time I can get my workout in now with wrestling season starting.  I don't want to have to ride at night after I get home from a brutal practice and i don't want to have to sacrifice family time, so mornings seem to be the best fit.  I need to finish the electrical in the room downstairs, so I can get the room insulated.  I think I might have woke up the kids this morning towards the end of my workout.  I normally have the tv on, but I just had it on this morning with no sound so i could at least keep my mind from drifting.  I used my ipod too but apparently the noise of my bike is still pretty loud.  Hopefully I can work on the insulation this weekend if I can finish the wiring. 

Like I said before, wrestling practice has officially begun and it should be an exciting year.  We are probably only goign to have abougt 16 kids out this year, but that seems to be the average here the last couple of years.  Oh well, the kids we do have should be really solid and I am hoping for some quality results by the end of the year. 

Winter Cycling Plan

http://jorgepbmcoaching.blogspot.com/2009/11/cycling-plan-week-1-hrm.html

This is this week's workout from my winter cycling coach.  It is a 3 day a week plan for 14 weeks and it should be interesting to see how my legs hold up.  I will have to fit my workouts in when the kids go to bed but it shouldn't be too big of an issue. 

New Addition

Well here is the new addition to my training arsenal.  This is a 2009 Cervelo P2DA triathlon bike.  I have currently been riding a 20 year old schwinn which was not setup very well for me and not the right size.  This bike has been setup for my measurements and should help reduce the fatique in my legs, which will allow me to run farther.  I am excited to get outside and get in a training run with this bike.  Hopefully the weather will hold off for a little while and give me some time.  Otherwise I am planning on riding this in my basement all winter long on the trainer.  I moved a TV to the basement yesterday to help reduce my boredom.  My training rides on the trainer this winter will be anywhere from 1-3 hours. 
I will be starting a winter riding program next Monday and will be about 3 days a week for 12 weeks.  Each session will be geared for interval training and last probably 1-2 hours.  I start wrestling practice on Monday, November 16th, so most of my riding training will have to be done when the kids go to bed. 

Des Moines Half Marathon

Here are the ones that did the run on Sunday. Joni and I ran the half marathon, while Justin and his brother Bobby ran the full marathon. This was Justin's first attempt and he came in under 4 hrs which is awesome. Bobby was shooting for qualifying for Boston and come up just short...good luck in a couple of weeks.

It sure was cold this morning but once the run got underway, it turned out to be pretty nice weather for a run.

1st Blog

Hello All - I am starting this blog to give you up to date information on my journey through triathlons and my ultimate goal of Ironman Wisconsin in 2011. As of now, I just finished my last half-marathon for the season. I ran with Joni at the Des Moines Half Marathon and it was amazing. So many people and the weather was outstanding (except for starting at 33 degrees...brr!!). She did excellent and finished the run without walking....so much better than I did at my first attempt.

Well starting to plan my race schedule for next season. As of right now, the only definite date is June 6th and that is the Half Ironman (HIM) Kansas 70.3. This will be my "A" race next year for sure. I am still undecided if I will run in the Council Bluffs Half Marathon 2 weeks prior to my HIM. I guess we will see how my body reacts to the training. I am sure I will plan a few smaller triathlon's along the way and maybe the Pigman in August and possibly the marathon in Des Moines next Oct. Who knows, that is a long way off right now.

I am taking this time right now to rest my body as I was in full training mode since March and my body needs a break before wrestling season starts up Nov. 16th.

Well that is about it right now. Just kicking this blog off and trying to figure it all out. Hopefully I will get some pictures up.