20 miles at the Orange Grove

Anyone who knows the Orange Grove will respect the run I did today.  For those who don't, it is a 10mile loop and once you start, there is no turning back.  It is an orange sand road that runs up and down hills along side the Orange trees.  The sun stays straight over head so there is no chance of shade.  You better fuel right or the heat will take you down.  Top athletes like Lisa and Joanne use this to simulate Ironmans.  So of course I had to attack and what better way to do so then to double loop it!

I was feeling good and after a nice little sleep in we headed over.  Lisa ran the first 45min with me to get me into a solid tempo.  I had Dave in the wagon to fuel me as I ran.  I was feeling really good and fell into a solid tempo pace.  I looped the first lap at 1:11 for 10 miles.  Not too bad.  My goal was to drop the hammer and negative split the 10 miles on the 2nd loop.  I used the wind to my advantage and surged when it was at my back holding 6min miles for the most part.  After dave fueled me up with a gel and water I was smooth sailing!  I came in on the 2nd lap with a solid 1:10.  That ended up being 2:21 for 20miles.  Nothing to crazy..haha  Sub 3 hour marathon easy...lots of fuel in the tank left.

After a quick meal we went to the pool for a recovery swim.  Doing 800m repeats isn't as fun as it sounds and after 2 I was good to go.  All up swam a solid 3000m...Lisa just laughed and said go home.

Overall this week has been awesome.  I miss my wife and puppy...and of course my clients, but it as shown that I have progressed in all 3 events over the winter....

watch out this year..gonna be awesome!

More Pics

Check out that ass shot! I have the white swim cap on!

CENTURY WHAT!

Today we took the day off Swimming, running and focused on the Ride!  Today's Workout was a 5 hour ride and in the middle do a 6 x hill repeats in the biggest ring.  I only had a 12 on the back because of a seized bearing so I pushed it a bit harder.

The ride was great!  I was feeling strong and from the winter riding it shows I am pretty fit right now.  I took 2 bottles of Gatorade, 4 power bars and 2 gels.  We made it to 4 hours and was at 120km.  This is when Jen got cocky and said lets ride a century (which is 160km!)  So we attacked!  

It was going well then all of a sudden the clouds opened up and we got dumped on.  It was some of the hardest rain I have ever ridden in!  We pushed through and got it done.  We finished the ride with 164km of riding!  Not too bad for a February ride.  

I was freezing after the ride and opted out of swimming and went shopping.   I had to find something for my wife Shannon!....Finding a solid gift allows me to come back next year to train!

Time to eat.  Big 20mile run tomorrow.  Gotta represent! 

Wednesday Training

First off! Here are a couple pictures from the Great Escape Triathlon! Not a bad look on my pink ride!

Training was awesome today. Swam with Lisa and Jen at 6am. The set was all threshold, so that meant total attack! After all said and done I swam around 4300 then in the afternoon I swam an extra 1000m to make up 5300m..oh yeah!

After that we headed to the Orange Grove. To anyone who doesn't know the Orange Grove, it is the true test of running. A 10mile loop with no exit..when you enter you better finish! I love it! We headed out 2 miles then hit 30min of constant hills. No stopping just up and down. It was nice because one way was pushing you up, but the other way was smacking you down with the craziest headwind I have ever seen. It was standing me up! After that did a 2 mile cool down.

I had an optional bike today but instead caught up on my sun tan and headed to Celebration. It is an outdoor pool in Disney where Jen and I chilled out and the others had to swim. I later got into the pool to get in some extra meters!

Tomorrow is going to be awesome! A serious 5 hour bike with a run...then Friday I am going to throw down a 20mile run. 2 loops of the Orange Grove! Yes 2!!!

Bed Time...no early swim tomorrow! Yeah!

Tuesday Training

What a solid workout day.

6:30am was a morning swim. It was only 12 degrees out and they forgot to heat the pool. Lets just say an outdoor pool at that temperature isn't that fun.

The set was hard.

1000 choice Get warm
6x50 kick
4x75 (50 drill, 25 swim)
8x50 1-4 descend
50 easy

Main set:

6x100 on 1:35
6x100 on 1:30
6x100 on 1:25
6x100 on 1:30
6x100 on 1:25
3x100 on 1:30

The swim was awesome. Was able to make all the pace times! Even with a sore right shoulder...probably from my wetsuit and wearing it only once this winter..haha

The stroke is coming along! Excited for this year.

So after a quick Starbucks break we headed out on the bike! 45min warm up into 4x10km strong. My goal was to catch Jen! On the 1st repeat I gave her 2min head start and attacked! I finished the 1st repeat on 15min. 2nd repeat I gave her 2:30 and she got me. I came in at 15min again. The last 2 I laid it out! Came in at 14:30 min for 10km then slammed a 14:15 min and almost collapsed!

After a Ironman Transition...Bob had the key I headed to the track and got to work. Goal was to stick around a 4min km for 45 min. I was feeling good and every 3rd lap I picked it up. Not to mention Tyson Gay was working out next too use...and I pull up with a pink bike..haha I threw down a 41min 7mile run, which is around a 6min mile! Starting to come together.

Jen didn't want me to post these pics but I find them funny..haha

Florida Training

Hey Everyone,

Here in Clermont Florida training hard. We arrived on Friday and got straight to work. We headed to the NTC for a 4500m swim. Not bad for just driving 18 hours straight. Thankfully we only got 1 speeding ticket!

Saturday was seen as a light day because of the race we were gearing up for Sunday. It was a 2000m swim in the morning then a 18mile bike ride and a 30min run. The goal was to get 6min pick ups in each. The bike and run were feeling great! So I was really excited for the race Sunday.

Sunday I woke up feeling great and excited. I have put some serious hours in over the winter training especially in the water. So I was feeling confident in my race. Goal was to kill it.

The swim was a mile long. Which is good for me if there is a longer bike, but it was only 18mile bike, so anaerobic was the key word of the day. When the gun went off I tried sticking to the feet of the front pack but fell off slightly and caught onto the 2nd group. I was really pleased with my swim and felt comfortable in the water. I came out with a 22 min swim, which is around a 1:23 per 100 swim. Not too shabby for February.

Onto the bike I new it was going to be good. I cranked it out and had the 9th fastest bike split of the day on my Guru and ISM saddle. Holding 25mph, which is around 40km.

Off the bike I was feeling great. I have been putting in hours on the treadmill getting my speed off and it payed off. Pushed the first 2miles in just over 11:25 then held strong and finished with a 30min 8km. That gave me 10th overall.

I am very pleased with the progress and it will only get better. I have great sponsors who are keeping me going strong and improving me everyday.

Thanks to everyone, who is helping me achieve my goals.

Day 3 Recovery Day.

Went to the pool and did 4600m swim. Shoulders were tight but what could you do! Then got on the bike and did a solid 2 hour ride around 200watts into a 35 min run. Should have been 30 min but got lost..haha

Report more later!