Friday, May 30th

Well, I finally got to swim again. Its been a week. Went to the city pool, they said it was 74 degrees water temp but I don't know. The first lap felt cold! But after that it felt fine. I did my longest swim of the year. 2200 meters. Yes now I am doing meters. The city pool is a 50 meter pool while the high school pool is a 25 yard pool. Seems like it makes a big difference. More than twice as far for one length. I guess most of it is in my head, but my lap times were a lot slower than what I thought they should have been.

Saturday is a long bike ride, but it is suppose to rain again. We'll see what happens.

Thursday, May 29th

Rick called me last night since he could not make it to our bike ride. He thought it would have been the best riding weather of the year. He was ride. But we made the ride more of an easy recovery ride. Finished with 37 miles tonight.

Friday is a long swim workout for the first outside swim of the year.

Wednesday, May 28th

I had time at lunch today to get in my run workout. I did 5 sets of 1/2 mile hard with 1/2 mile recovery & 1 mile warm-up for a total of 6 miles. Run felt pretty good except I should have taken some water to drink with me. I know I will next time run any distance over 5 miles.

I did stop by the pool to see if it was warm enough to swim. No one else swam today but I thought the water felt good enough that I'll be there Friday & maybe Thursday. All that they would tell me was that it was almost 70. I'll take my wetsuit just to be safe!

Tuesday, May 27th

Tuesday afternoon brought in 2.5 inches of rain. Sounds like a good day to rest & that was what I was planning anyways. But as like my other rest days, I took my dog on a walk. I think she enjoys it.

Wednesday will probably be a run workout. I don't think the city pool will be open yet.

Monday, May 26th II

Memorial Day & out the door I went at 6:10am. Had to meet Rick, Liz, & Tim at 6:30am at the high school for a bike ride. Rick decided on the route & said it would be 75 miles so we are planning on 85 miles. My total miles for the day was 4 more than the other 3 riders since I rode from home. Group total was 81 miles & we were home by noon. And I think everyone was tired.

I think Tuesday may be a rest day & Wednesday hopefully will be a swim workout if the outside pool is open.

Monday, May 26th

Here is the mileage totals after 16 weeks.

Swim - 37.7 miles
Bike - 1274.8 miles
Run - 205.3

Now on to week 17 of 30!

Sunday, May 25th

What a beautiful morning for a run! Actually may have been just a little warm, but race day in August will probably be a lot warmer.

Got in 11 miles this morning. Felt pretty good except the last 2 miles when my legs & knees started hurting. Of course it was my fault because I started to run faster to try to get a better time at the finish. I know that I should be more concerned about logging long miles rather than running a certain time for the distance. Maybe next week I'll do better.

Monday is another long bike day. Since it is Memorial day, we usually go on an 80 mile ride just because we can. Should be about 5 of us go for the ride. Rick has made up the route that is suppose to go by Tony Stewart's house in the Columbus area. Maybe I should take eggs!

Hope everyone is having a good Memorial Day weekend. I think we are headed to Bass Pro Shops this afternoon.

Saturday, May 24th

Very good weather this morning for a ride. We had 7 riders today including 2 newcomers. Rode for 63 miles with a good but easy pace. Didn't want to run off the newcomers with a hard ride. I think everyone was happy with the pace. Sometimes it feels real good just to ride & not worry about if we are going hard enough.

Sunday is a long run workout. Should be another good weather day.

Friday, May 23rd

I made it to North Vernon this morning for their 6am swim. I did my longest long swim workout to date. I made 42 laps for 2100 yds. Hopefully the city pool will be warm enough to start swimming outside next week. If not, I'll have to make another trip to North Vernon.

Saturday's schedule is an easy 50-60 miles. Sunday & Monday will be harder workouts.

Thursday, May 22nd

After I got the grass mowed tonight, it was time for a run workout. But I really didn't want to. I went ahead & got dressed knowing that if I made it out the front door, everything would be good. And it was. I got a good Tempo run workout in for a total of 5 miles, just like my schedule said.

I found out that the pool in North Vernon (about 30 minutes away) is open so Friday morning I'm headed over there for my long swim workout. At least I will get one swim workout in this week.

Wednesday, May 21st

Great day for a bike ride. Started out as 6 of us but 2 miles into the ride Rick had bike problems & had to go back. For the rest of us we finished with 49 miles today. We did Clearspring hill again & this time I made it up in under 6 minutes (5 minutes & 59 seconds to be exact). The ride felt very good to me. I think I could have went faster but kept it under control instead.

Thursday is a run workout on the schedule. Should be another nice day outside.

Tuesday, May 20th

I guess I should clear something up, my last 3 rest days have actually been active rest days. I have went for a walk with my dog for at least 1.5 miles each time.

OK, now on to Tuesday. Got all 3 of our vehicles washed today, hopefully get my motorcycle done Wednesday. And finally at 6:30pm I got to go on my run workout. Finished with 3.5 miles & 5 sets of 30 seconds hard & 3 minutes recovery. My legs still felt a little sore from the weekend, but not too bad.

Wednesday is a bike ride, heard there will be a total of 6 riders!

One other thing, if you think I've missed a couple of swim workouts you are right. The high school pool is closed, they are having some work done at the pool area this summer. And the city pool doesn't open until May 28th. I may go to North Vernon Friday morning to get a swim workout in, just haven't decided for sure.

Monday, May 19th

Pretty sure Monday will be a rest day. Had a tough weekend.

So, here is the totals after week 15.

Swim - 58,200 yds (36.4 miles)
Bike - 1162.8 miles
Run - 185.8 miles

Sunday, May 18th

The day started at 6:45am as Liz & I went for a short bike ride to warm-up for the Time Trial. Time Trial started at 8am today, kinda a good test since we just rode last night too. Today's course was the hilly course, different from Saturday nights course with a few hills to ride. My time was not as good as last night, but pretty good for the hills. I finished the 12.2 miles in 33 minutes & 42 seconds which was good for 4th place out of 8. Again, I was happy with that time.

Now it was 9am & time for the long run. I went for 10 miles today. That made the last 24 hours again end with a lot of miles. 95 miles on the bike & 10 miles of running.

Sunday was also my first brick workout. A brick workout is one workout immediately followed by another one, usually bike then run.

Well, I'm half way there. 15 weeks down, 15 to go. I believe that I am right on schedule. I'll post the 15 week totals on Monday. I'm off to my mom's for a good supper!

Saturday, Math 17th

The day started off early as we had a garage sale today. But at 2pm, I took off for a bike ride with Liz. We rode 34 miles then meet up with Rick at 4pm. With Rick we got in another 22 miles. Now that I have warmed up with 56 miles, its 6pm & time for the B2 Time Trial. It is 12.2 miles on a flat road. My best time in this event was 33 minutes & 19 seconds. Notice I said was because today I rode it in 32 minutes & 55 seconds. That was good enough for 5th place out of 12 riders. I was very happy with my time. Three weeks ago my time was 34 minutes & 44 seconds.

Sunday is another B2 event that starts at 8am followed by a scheduled long run.

Friday, May 16th

I know that I am behind on my posts. Been pretty busy.

Friday turned out to be a rest day. I felt exhausted, so I just took it easy today. When for a walk with Cathy & my dog.

Saturday is a long bike day & is also a B2 Time Trial at 6pm.

Thursday, May 15th

Got my early morning swim in, but I sure was exhausted. Been pretty busy this week. Again in a 24 hour period, I ran 5 miles, rode 42 miles, & swam 1 mile.

Also, got Stephanie off to Mexico for her 8 week class. I think she is excited now that she is there & seen where she will be staying.

I can tell you that I won't be swimming Friday morning, decided to rest a little. But should be able to get in a run workout at lunchtime or in the evening.

If you know anyone that likes going to garage sales, send them to my house Saturday morning. Should have some good stuff at a great price. Don't forget to spend your economic stimulus check with us!

Wednesday, May 14th

It turned out to be a very good day for me. I got to get my run workout in at lunchtime. I did 4 x 1/2 miles with 1/2 mile easy between each for a total of 5 miles. I was pleased with my 1/2 mile sets as each one was faster than the one before.

Then at 4:30pm, Rick, Liz, & I headed out on a bike ride. Weather radar was clear but about an hour into the ride it started sprinkling. Kinda reminded me of the sprinkle ride! Nothing major, just made it hard to see thru my glasses. We ended up with 42 miles with a very good average mph for a group ride. Rick was the strong horse tonight as he set a pretty good pace & keep me trying to keep up most of the night. But I did lead the pack when we hit Redding Rd headed back to town. I love that road! We went by my mom & dad's but didn't see them.

Thursday is a swim workout & if its not raining at lunchtime, another run workout. Also Thursday, we are taking Stephanie to the airport as she heads out to Mexico for 8 weeks for a Spanish class. Everyone keep her in their prayers for a safe trip.

Tuesday, May 13th

I've already completed my swim workout for the day. Of course you knew that if I made it to the 5am swim. I finished with 2100 yds total. Good workout & I was pleased with it. It has been a pretty good last 24 hours as I have run 9 miles, biked 30 miles, & swam 1.2 miles.

Now I'm off for over 24 hours as the next scheduled workout is not until Wednesday at lunchtime for a run workout followed by a 4:30pm bike ride.

Monday, May 12th II

Week 14 ended & week 15 started on the same day. Decided to go out for a bike ride this evening. I need the miles to get use to the aerobars. I finished with 29.5 miles & spent most of the time in the aerobars. Didn't feel too bad this time. The aerobars are doing what they should because my average was the best so far this year.

Tuesday is a swim workout. Then Tuesday evening I am umpiring my first varsity baseball game at Hanover. Hope it goes well.

Monday, May 12th

Since I didn't get my long run in Sunday, I decided to do it this morning. It was a great morning for a run. I got 9 miles total. I tried a different route this time. I headed towards the high school for 4.5 miles, then headed back. Felt great but maybe that was because of the weather.

Now this ended week 14. Here are the totals.

Swim - 54,400 yds (34 miles)
Bike - 998.3 miles (if I had known that, I would have went 2 more miles!)
Run - 170.8

Week 14 was not a very good training week with the rain, but I did end up getting my long swim, bike, & run in so not everything was a waste.

On to week 15!

Sunday, May 11th

Sunday was a total washout. Got up at 6:40 am to check the radar to see if I had an hour & half opening for a run. Not a change. By 7:10 am, it was raining & very windy. Rest of the day was about the same. I'll try again Monday morning.

Saturday, May 10th

Saturday is almost over & it was a good day. Liz & I got out at 10 am for a 54 mile ride. This was my first ride with my aerobars. Aerobars are an extension on the handlebars that let you get lower on the bike & in a more aerodymanic position. That is big in an Ironman event because you can not draft off other riders. I am just now putting them on because they were not needed to climb the mountains.

Sunday is Mother's Day so I'll have to get up early to get my long run in. Then it will be off to Whiteland to visit with Cathy's mom & after that out to Reddington for supper at my mom's.

Friday, May 9th

Good day in the pool this morning. I swam 1900 yds with my best 100 yd average to date. I didn't really try to do that this morning. But the farther I swam the better I felt & my times were good. So I just went with it & finished strong.

Saturday is a long bike day but nothing like last Saturday. Only about 50-60 miles is on the schedule.

Thursday, May 8th II

Now for today's workouts. 5am was the swim. I did my Steps workout. It consisted of 500 yds warmup, then to the steps. First is 400 yds, then 300 yds, then 200 yds, then 100 yds. Each as hard as I can with a short rest between each Step. I then finished with 500 yds cool-down for a total of 2000 yds.

Today was full of rain again today. My rain gauge had 2.8" of rain over the last 2 days. Therefore I couldn't get outside for a run. But just about supper time, it started to clear up. So after supper I decided to take my dog on a walk. She enjoyed it but started out too fast & got pretty tired. So I took her home & went another mile for a total of 3 miles. Not much but better than sitting on the couch.

Friday is a long swim day & hopefully I'll get in a real run also.

Thursday, May 8th

Liz sent me a link to another blog from a guy who also rode in the 3 State, 3 Mountain. He has some good pictures on it. Pretty cool.

http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002340.html

Wednesday, May 7th

The weather did not help today. It ended up raining 2.4 inches. Therefore I did not get in a run or bike workout. But I did get my hot water heater fixed finally. Had to replace the bottom thermostat. Also re-balanced my washing machine. It was starting to rattle a lot. And I had a busy day at work. Cathy & I got to wash a TV program that we had recorded but hadn't had time to watch.

Thursday is a swim day & may get my run workout in. But its suppose to rain again. We'll just have to wait & see.

Tuesday, May 6th

Got in a good run workout today. I did my Sprint I workout which is 30 second intervals followed by 3 minutes easier between each. I did 4 of those with 1 mile warmup & 1 mile cool-down for a total of 3.5 miles.

Wednesday may be another run workout & bike ride, just depends on what the weather is going to do. I may move one of them to Thursday.

Monday, May 5th

Monday ended up as a rest day. Had planned on doing a short bike ride but ended up with work to catch up with, grass to mow, & a water heater to work on. After a tough weekend, I guess a rest day is OK.

Sunday, May 4th

Today when I woke up, my legs felt great. Especially for the 100 mile ride in the mountains. I had a 6 mile run scheduled for today & that is what I did this afternoon. Just an easy 6 miles. Felt pretty good, very nice day to run.

Now for the totals after 13 weeks. Sure doesn't seem like 13 weeks, seems a lot less.

Swim - 50, 500 yds (31.6 miles)
Bike - 944.3 miles
Run - 158.3 miles
Total time is 100 hours, 12 minutes, & 33 seconds.

After the last two weeks, I feel like I am right on schedule for where I want to be. The Louisville Mini-Marathon & 3 State, 3 Mountain were two very good gauges for me.

On to week 14!

Saturday, May 3rd

I back from Tennesse & riding the mountains. It was awesome & hard at the same time. We finished with 100 miles in 7 hours & 51 minutes. The first 20 miles it was raining the whole time, sometimes very hard. That made climbing the first mountain nice & cool, but made going down very difficult. Wet roads & lots of other riders was not fun. Second mountain was a little more difficult to climb. Then the 3rd & last mountain was probably as tough as everyone was saying.

The trip was well worth it. Worst part was having to drive back for 6 hours Saturday night.

Should be able to go for a short long run on Sunday afternoon.

Friday, May 2nd

Up & at'em early this morning. Got my swim workout in. It was the long swim of 1800 yds. The swim felt really good this. It seemed like I was going fastest than what my time was showing, but right now it is not about the time.

Now I've had breakfast & it's time to get packed for Chattanooga. Weather forecast is calling for a 80% chance of rain Saturday in Chattanooga, but that will be fun also. Doesn't matter to me, I just want to ride the mountains.

It will be late Saturday or Sunday morning before I get back to give a report on the ride.

Thursday, May 1st

Overnight, we had problems with our water heater. The pressure relief value was shooting out water at 1am. Therefore I didn't get all the sleep I wanted so I turned off the alarm & didn't make it to the 5am swim. But I did get in a run workout for a total of 4 miles. Plus my riding mower would not start so I had to push mow my yard. And I had a baseball game to ump this evening. So the day was not a total waste.

Friday is a swim workout. Then we are leaving for Chattanooga at noon. I'm excited to go riding in the mountains. I've never done this before.