T-minus 24 hours until I race the 2010 Steelhead Ironman 70.3 Challenge

Twenty four hours from now I will be getting into my Team In Training wetsuit that all my campers and staff signed and jumping in Lake Michigan and competing in one of the hardest athletic endeavors I have ever competed in, the 2010 Steelhead 70.3 Half Ironman Triathlon.
Am I ready? Ready as I'll ever be. I've trained. Try to eat right and try to stay hydrated all this week. I've swam 1.2 miles before, I've rode my bike longer then 56 miles, and I've ran more then 13.1 miles more than once. Never have I combined those three distance in one day.
Am I nervous? Not any more. I'f you read my previous post where I had a mini nervous attack not any more. I have my back up wetsuit. My bike is working now. Village Cycle fixed my front derailer cable, I've cleaned it up, and I fixed my cleats. After my Lake Geneva bike ride I had had to get new Speedplay cleats. When I was going on a training ride with the new cleats I could not clip in. After a close inspection, my new cleats were installed backwards! After I figured out what was wrong I was able to clip into my bike. I'm not aching or in pain and feel rested and ready to go. Knock on wood.
I've got PowerBar Gels, Performance Bars, and Harvest Bars for the bike ride and run. After the race I'll be looking for Well Done Steak and Beer.

All my gear is ready. Well 90% ready. I've laid everything out and made a list of things I need to get at the Expo today.

• Body Glide - To help take off my wet suit and prevent cheffing. 
• Bento Box to store my peanut butter pretzels in
• Goggle lens defogger - so I can see the buoys during the swim
• Tri laces - For my running shoes. 

Yeah I'm ready. I'll be making updates via Twitter and Facebook all weekend except during the race. If you want to track me during the race you can chip track me at http://www.IronMan.com. My bib number is 1974, I'm in wave 17, and I start at 7:42 am Chicago time. 

I also wanted to take a moment to thank everyone that has donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by making donations, buying my water bottles and coming to my various fundraiser functions. I've raised $1,500 and hope to raise another $1,100 by the end of August. That money is helping families of victims get to doctor appointments and finding new and better cures for cancer.  

I'm going to finish packing and head up to Benton Harbor. 

Wish me luck, 

ROCK ON \M/, &

GO TEAM!

6 days to go before Steelhead 70.3 Half Ironman Things To Do

Only 6 days to go before my first half Ironman.
Only six days left until race day!! This is what I know about race day:

• Out of 18 waves, I'm in wave 17. I start swimming at 8:42 AM. (7:42 CST). The first wave is the Pro Men and they start at 7:00 AM (6 AM CST). Last year I was the first wave. I wonder what I'll do to kill time before the start of my race? 
• I'll be wearing a white swim camp according to the Steelhead website. For the past several tri's I'm always in a white cap. 
• I'm bib # 1974
• You can follow my progress live at http://ironman.com/
• I'm picking up my race packet this Wednesday Afternoon at Running Away Multi Sport in Chicago before I go to a half mile swim at Ohio Street Beach
• I need to clean my bike.
• I need more Power Bar Harverst Bars for race day. 
• I need to buy some pretzel peanut butter snacks for race day
• At the Expo I want to buy:
• A Bento Box
• Steelhead Tri Jersey
• Steelhead Hat or Visor
• Red Sunglasses
• I'll talk about this stuff later. 

Thats all I can think of for the time being. Any one want a water bottle?

Ten days away from Steelhead Half Ironman and I'm falling apart.

Less then 2 weeks away from Steelhead 70.3 Half Ironman and I’m falling apart. All my equipment and body is going to hell.

It all started last Wednesday at Ohio Street Beach. I had to swim 1.5 miles in Lake Michigan. I’m putting on my wetsuit and I find a hole in the crouch area. So I had to swim 1.5 miles without a wet suit. The air was hot and the water felt nice. I was scarred shitless that I was swimming in Lake Michigan and not wearing any flotation device. Luckily I have my wetsuit from my first triathlon for next week.  

Then on Saturday I was riding my second loop in an 11 mile loop around Lake Geneva. I wanted to do 3 loops then do a 20 minute run. Around mile 9 on the second loop I noticed my left cleat was making clicking noises. After I finish a really tough hill just outside of Fontana my shoe and cleat were not connected. I had to ride 11 miles through the hills to get back to my car on the power of my right leg. The ride totaled 44 miles. So to make up for the last 16 miles I ran for 40 minutes then swam a half a mile in Lake Geneva.

I ended up getting new Speedplay Zero cleats at Village Cycle in Elk Grove after my 12 mile run on Sunday. Today I tried using the new cleats and I could not clip in. I took my bike to Village Cycle in Arlington Heights. They said the cleats are fine I just have to break them in. Then I told them I was having issue changing into by big dear in the front of my bike. The mechanics told me I have to get a new derailer cable. Plus the bike mechanics said I need t clean my bike more or the carbon will explode. So I get my bike back on Wednesday.

See the difference in the new cleat vs. the old cleat? These barely survived 1,000 miles.   

I would go running but my side hips are aching. Instead of risking injury I’m taking a rest day and writing a blog update then doing some Yoga on www.Netflicks.com.

I hope everything works next Saturday. I did get new shoes (Saucony Hurricane 12) and a new helmet (Giro) so I don’t have to worry about my head and feet. 

 

Everyone knows I'm not going to quit. Not after I heard about Bob Percy. Bob Percy is fantastic speaker who I met a few times at Team in Training Functions. He is a great speaker. For the Team in Training Mission Moment last week our staff person told us he hitting a rough patch in his battle with blood cancer. He was with his family and going to see the team of doctors for the next course of treatment. Before the doctors came in Bob's family told him It's OK to stop treatment and take it easy. Bob then quoted a speech from Tiffany Wilson from the 2007 It's My Life conference:

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, It's about dancing in the rain."

  Suffice to say he is posting everyday on Facebook with all the ups a down of cancer treatment. Hell I wanna dance in the rain too! I wanna keep fighting for him and all the other people battling cancer. I'm still fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Make a donation online at http://www.runningforacure.info or ask me about buying one of my Team in Training Water Bottles.  

Steelhead 2010 Training Update...Less then 3 weeks away!

Training for the Steelhead Half Ironman and trying to fundraise $2,600 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a lot of work. I don’t remember working this hard when I was training for the Chicago Triathlon Triple Challenge last year.

Right now I’m at the peek of my training. Friday was a 1.5 mile swim. Yesterday I had to do a 50 mile bike ride and 5.5 mile run brick workout. Today I had a 12 mile run I had to hammer out around Busse Woods. I’m a little sore but I’ll survive. Tomorrow is a 2,500 yard swim.

There were plenty of times I wanted to quit. There were plenty of times I could have been sleeping in, playing video games or hang out with my friends late at night at the bar. Then I think about all the people I know who are affected by cancer. They can’t quit, they don’t have that luxury of quitting. Plus I remember that I’m stubborn and I don’t like to quit either.

Looking at how my training is going I’m expecting to finish the half Ironman in 6 to 7 hours. I’m assuming 40 to 50 minutes of swimming, 2.5 to 3 hours or cycling and 2 to 2.1 hours of running. I would be real happy if my end time was around 6 hours. My first and main goal is to finish and finish strong of course.   

I’m still fundraising. I have about $1,600 to go.  The best way you can help me is buy one my Team in Training water bottles. Click here to learn more. My Pump It Up and Noodles and Company Fundraisers did okay. Be on the lookout for another function in the very near future.   Of course you can make a donation at http://www.RunningForACure.info.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is committed to curing leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and helping patients and their families. The support you provide is invested wisely:

In fiscal year 2008 $71.4 million was invested, including funding for 129 new grants to researchers in academic institutions and $4 million in contracts through the LLS Therapy Acceleration Program. As of June 2008, LLS was supporting 388 research projects and 9 research contracts in the U.S., Canada, and 14 other countries. LLS also provides financial assistance to patients; sponsors scientific conferences around the country; produces educational materials and videos; and runs dozens of Family Support Groups nationwide. (Source http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=12358)