What have I done?

I just officially signed up for Ironman Cozumel in November 2021. I can't believe I actually did it.

So what led me to do this in 2021? 

It started when I noticed a swimming friend who announced on Facebook that she had signed up for Ironman Arizona and I commented on her page that I was going to ponder about that race too. That got me really thinking that since I am going to be training for the Aqua-Bike worlds which will be the same swim and bike length as an Ironman, so why not take advantage of all that bike training and just complete and Ironman too. But as I have well documented on here, my running is a BIG problem, especially with injuries.

So that meant a conversation with my coach. I laid out that my only goal was to FINISH the Ironman race, and I would basically just plan on doing a lot of walking during the marathon. My coach felt confident that with my swim and bike where they are, I could bank of walking the marathon and still making the cutoff time, so he agreed to the plan.

The next step was to sign up for Ironman Arizona which was going to open for registration a few days later. Less than 24 hours before it would open up to general public, it was closed as full. I suspected this might be the case because IMAZ had been cancelled just a couple of weeks prior so I assumed many of those that had signed up would just transfer their entry to the following year.

So CRAP. Now what was I going to do. Nothing else in the US worked in my schedule or was open, then I noticed that Ironman Cozumel was open. We had been to Cozumel on our last cruise a few years back and went on an amazing snorkeling tour. I then had to discuss this with my wife as I am sure she would want to come with.

She was all excited about the possibility of going to Cozumel and we found an all-inclusive resort just a few blocks away from the finish line and on the bike course. So she gave the green light. I just needed to decide if I wanted to do a hot and humid race, that was in a foreign country as my first Ironman experience.

I spent a couple of days reading race reports and everyone seemed to really enjoy their experience in Cozumel, both the race experience and the post-race snorkeling and diving. I was really worried about the hot and humid conditions. I don't do well in that weather and I don't experience much of it where I live. It is still my biggest concern about the race aside from the run.

So after much internal conflict I did it, I signed up for IM Cozumel. My wife and kid are going to join me and we plan to stay a few days after the race to enjoy the sights and relax. I have almost 12 months to train, and as long as I can stay healthy, I will be ready. I am excited and nervous, but I plan to enjoy every minute of my training and racing in 2021.

Gobble Gallop

 Well due to high COVID numbers, this year's Gobble Gallop was moved to a virtual race. But the family got up, got dressed and did the race outside in our neighborhood. It was actually a really nice day for the race. I choose a route that turned out to be pretty slippery, and I tried to push myself a little bit. It was fun, but I have a feeling I injured myself again.

New Toy for the Pain Cave

 I have been considering it for a while, and with COVID shutting down half of them at the Y, I decided to pull the trigger and bought myself a treadmill. It was nearly 8 weeks from order to delivery, but it finally showed up today.

I am still slowly building up to running again, but having this in my basement will be a game changer for me this winter. Now I just need my own pool....hmmm

Outside Bike...in November?

It was surprisingly warm today for the first full weekend in November, so I figured I would take advantage and get outside on the bike. Just a long cruise with a couple of short intensity intervals is what I was after today and I was successful.

The wind really picked up for the second half of the ride. It was about 12mph when I left but an hour in, it really picked up and was 20 gusting to 30. So much of the ride home was either a crosswind or into the wind.

By 2 hours in, my legs were pretty toast. I didn't sleep very well last night so that didn't help matters either. But it was sunny, upper 50's in November, and great to be outside riding again.

Got a text from a friend today that I found funny. "Saw you on the bike today on industrial. You were heading home. I said, whoa, that guy is fast...then I said..wait, is that Tim? Saw your Strava and yep sure was."

Off Season

 I am pretty much just in off season mode now. I am still doing some workouts every day, but the intensity is dialed back some and the duration is down too. Just staying active and doing some different workouts to keep it interesting.

My kid mentioned to me that she wanted to go hiking so today turned out to be a perfect day for it. The leaves were just a bit past peak but still a lot of color as we walked a few miles of the cross country ski trails at Lester Park. It was really nice being outside on a leisurely walk around nature. Winter will be here soon enough and we will be stuck inside for most of it, so trying to take advantage of days like today to get outside.

Masters Swim

 Finally the gang is back together in the pool led by our wonderful Coach Lindsey. With new COVID protocols, the group was small, but it was great to be back in the pool under the watchful eye of the coach. I have mentioned this before, but I really like this class. There are several people who are all about the same speed so we tend to push each other. But we have a coach who stops us to tell us what we are doing wrong and uses video to help show it. Together that means we see slow but steady improvement, even with only 2 days a week in the pool.

One of the many downsides to this new COVID swimming is that we are limited to just 45 minutes. That really shortens the yardage that we can do in a session to 2000-2500 tops. So we try to make the most of that time, and really focus on technique.

But we all make the most of the time we have.

My First Multisport Win! Square Lake Race Report

Like most of us, 2020 was a turbulent and weird year for me. The year started with taking a job in Phoenix that was to start April 1, but then COVID happened and cancelled those plans along with so many others. But another summer in northern Minnesota isn’t so bad, we adjusted to the new routine, and I continued to train.

A running injury in May meant that I did very little run training this summer (I am a terrible runner anyway). Three mornings a week I open water swam in various lakes around Duluth with a few other athletes, and I also did a ton of biking including my first century ride. I much prefer biking to running and the weather here was fantastic all summer for training. So when I saw that Square Lake 70.3 had an aqua-bike division I saw it as a chance to open water swim one last time before being stuck in a pool all winter, and to see how fast I can ride 56 miles.

On race morning, when my alarm went off at 5am, the first thing I did was look outside and saw that it wasn’t raining. Then I looked at the radar and it looked like most of the rain had already gone through. All good news since I was not looking forward to racing in the rain. I packed up the car and drove through the fog and light rain to the park.

After picking up my packet I headed to transition to set up. Everyone was well spaced out for the race and that was really nice. I wish every race could do that! With a delay to the race start due to fog, I got to spend a bunch of time just chatting with the people around me. A mix of veterans of 70.3 and first timers of this distance. All of us were glad to be able to get out racing this year so much thanks to the organizers.

With bib numbers being assigned alphabetically, I was in the last swim group. The first swimmers were coming into transition to head out on the bike as I walked to the swim start. I chose to wear my sleeveless wetsuit today as the water temp was reported to be mid 60’s on Thursday which is typical for what I have been swimming up here in Duluth all summer. However, once I dove in, I found the water SHOCKINGLY cold. It took me a bit to recover from the shock and then get into my groove.

A solid middle of the pack swim time just as I expected.

After a quick (for me) transition I was out of the bike. The course was every bit as hilly as I have heard! I had driven it the day before but riding in a car you just don’t get the same sense of elevation. But I train on hills quite a bit up here, so I was pretty used to it.

Aside from hilly, most of the course was quite beautiful. I saw turkeys, deer and swans during my ride. I made sure to smile and thank all the volunteers along the way and was appreciative of the spectators out on the course cheering on all the racers since my Sherpas and cheerleaders stayed home.

When I started the bike, I had no heart rate displaying on my bike computer which I found odd. About halfway through the race I realized that it was a NEW HR strap and I had only ever paired it with my watch. So, as I was riding, I paired the HR strap to my bike computer and then I had HR. Stupid me.

I held a good power number right up until about mile 53 when my legs started to really complain, and I started that internal dialog between my brain and my legs. “Just keep going until the next turn.” “Just one more hill to the park.” Thankfully the brain was convincing, and the legs held out to the end.

I crossed the finish line super happy with my effort. Power and HR exactly where I wanted it, speed was a bit slower but that I blamed on the wet conditions. I knew I had done pretty well because there were not a lot of bikes in transition yet.

When the results came out the next day, I got my first ever multi-sport victory!

This race was a lot of fun. It was a difficult bike course, much different than what I have done before in races, and the weather made it more difficult too. But the organizers, athletes and volunteers made the whole event worthwhile so a big thanks to everyone for creating a safe and fun event.

POOL Swim

With the weather being significantly cooler up here now, I think the days of open water swims are done. I booked a time in the now open YMCA pool. 45 minute time slots, and only one person per lane. This morning was my first pool swim since March 13th. I keep my written workouts in zippy bags and I chose the workout that was on top because it seemed like the right amount of yards for the 45 minutes of pool time I had. I was right. 

Nothing crazy in this swim and it turns out I do remember how to do flip turns too! I was actually pretty pleased with my times for the first time back in the pool.

But the 45 minutes goes by fast and then they kick you out.

So a good way to start the morning.

Flats and Long Rides

I have been getting a ton of flat tires. Nearly every ride now. So I decided to order some new tires. I put the new Conti GP5000 tires on yesterday (conference calls are good for something), and I am hoping that it will prevent some of the flats that I have had.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Adam said I should ride the road by his house. He said the road is good and it would make a nice out and back for me. So I rode part of it last week and he was right. So this weekend, with my last long ride planned, I did a full 56 mile bike ride as an out and back.

It has a lot of rolling hills, but only a couple of small chain ring hills on it. But that makes it more challenging. It was gusty winds today out of the northwest. So most of the first half was into the winds. I was getting blown all over the place, especially when I would come out of the trees into an open field. Good practice though.

Good ride, my legs are jelly, but I have a really good idea what to expect in my race in two weeks.

Racing!!!

I just signed up for the Aqua-Bike division of the Square Lake 70.3 triathlon! I debated signing up for the whole triathlon, but while I have been running some, it has been slow and short runs only. Injuries still slowing me down with my running. But I have been doing a bunch of swimming and biking so thats the perfect way to end the season!

Beautiful Sunrises on Lake Superior

 The winds and weather here in the last week have contributed to amazing swim experiences on Lake Superior. Warm and calm water, and beautiful sunrises. Almost a religious experience.

First Century Ride!!

Heck YEA!!!!!

It was a great day for a ride. Started off in the low 60's and was upper 70's when I finished. Mix of sun and clouds. Wind was light for the first 3rd and then picked up and changed directions for the rest of the ride.

I had no goals for this ride other than to finish. I had struggled towards the end of the last couple of long rides that I did, so I wasn't sure how the last 30 miles were going to go.

I did a 40 mile loop back to my house, then a quick pit stop, and bottle refill and I was back on the road. I had planned another 40 mile out and back for a second refill, but the weather was cooler so I played it by ear. I had plenty of fluids left at the planned turnaround so I went the extra 10 miles out.

I actually felt amazingly good for the first 85 miles, and then my butt was like "get me off this bike" and my legs were starting to complain about all the power I had asked of them for the last 3.5 hours.

So the last 45 minutes was a mental game to finish. Talking myself to the next stop sign where I would give my butt a break, and convincing my legs that we were almost done. 

BTW, am I weird for talking to various body parts during these things?

So overall I am SUPER happy with how this turned out. I felt good the whole time, the legs got tired at the end which didn't surprise me. I put out some great power on this ride, kept the HR reasonably in control and overall had a good time.

Now time to relax!

Mid-Summer Reflections

Well COVID has certainly changed our lives. I started out the year thinking that I would be opening a new office for my company in Phoenix and I was going to move there April 1st. With COVID quarantine, layoffs at my company, all of that was put on hold, and basically I know in my heart that it isn't going to happen for a long while now.

I have used this time to make myself better and I have been doing a bunch of training too. I don't know if races are going to happen or not this year, but I will use the time I have to keep improving.

The open water swim group has been a welcomed respite from the daily working from home routine. One of those swimmers celebrated his birthday with a group triathlon at his house followed by a couple of adult beverages. What a fun way to spend an evening and aside from everyone wearing a mask and social distancing, you wouldn't even know there was a pandemic going on.

My worlds race in Amsterdam was postponed a year, just as I suspected. But thats ok, it gives me another year to train for that distance. It turns out that biking 112 miles is a long way.

I am thankful for my health, my job, and my friends. I am lucky and I know it.

Positive thoughts always.

Bike Fail...Then Success

I had a 4 hour ride on my training plan yesterday. The weather was outstanding low 60's when I left, sunny and no wind. After a train delay, all hell broke loose. I felt great for this ride, the bike however, is not cooperating. Flat tire, 30 minute change. Then another 6-8 miles and it went flat again. With only the one tube, I then got a ride home.

Took the tire to LBS, pinched tube. All fixed. Get home, reinstall wheels and now the rear derailleur wont shift. I guess it is time to call it a day. I did take the bike to the LBS, he put it on the stand and it shifted fine. Go figure.

Frustrating, but nothing I can do.

Tried again today and there were no issues with the bike today! The weather was actually probably better today than yesterday as the temps were the same, but there was overcast skies most of the time. A great day to ride a bike.

For 3 hours the ride was great, I felt good and strong and then at 3:01 my body was like "nope, I'm done, my legs are tired, lets pedal home slowly." Looking at my last 3 laps of data its pretty obvious.

My legs were just jelly the last hour, so frustrating. I felt pretty good otherwise, I felt well hydrated this time and ate on my planned schedule. I felt hungry though. I wanted food and not gels.

Late in the ride I started to get a headache (still have it) and I don't think it is dehydration this time as I drank a lot. I am wondering if it is salt? I don't think of myself as a salty sweater but my kit had signs of salt sweat deposits. I drank only water for the last 3 hours of the ride. Perhaps I need an electrolyte drink.

So I guess I will keep working on my nutrition and hydration and my leg endurance. That's why we do these practice rides right?

But I hit my stretch goal today of 21mph and 85 miles. It was dead calm out so that helped. I am super happy and also super tired.

Lake Superior Swim

 Last minute announcement of a Lake Superior swim. It was such a fabulous morning. A little fog, no wind, upper 60's. The water was lower 60's but probably the same as the other lakes earlier this year. One of the reasons I like living here.

A Triathlon...Sort of

 A local friend wanted to do his own personal 70.3, so I decided to join him for the swim. I had a longer bike on the training schedule as I slowly ramp up to my first century ride, so I would do that alone and although I have started running again some, I am nowhere near capable of a half marathon.

There were 3 of us that did the swim today. It was flat calm out there and a good day to swim. The water is getting warm enough now that I am actually getting a little warm in my full sleeve wetsuit. I might need to use my sleeveless next time.

The 75 mile bike totally sucked.

I didn't feel good the entire ride. It started right away with my stomach just not feeling right and that lasted most of the ride. The last hour I just had nothing.

The weather was warm in the low to mid 80's for much of the ride. Being from Duluth, that is HOT, and much warmer than I am used to. I am 99% sure I am just super dehydrated. I just didn't drink enough before the swim and in transition and I just couldn't seem to get enough water while biking.

I figured I did 2 legs of a triathlon I should at least do some amount of running and finish it. I figured 1 mile was PLENTY! So just an out and back from my car. It was so hot. I was tempted to jump into the lake to cool off prior to my run. But honestly this would be a perfect triathlon for me. Medium swim, long bike, and a 1 mile run, all with untimed transitions!

It was fun and I am glad I did it. Keep learning.

Beautiful Morning for a Swim

 A few of us gathered at Skeeter's cabin on Shultz Lake for an open water swim, followed by a pot luck breakfast. It was the most amazing morning yet for a swim. Calm waters, warm temps, and good people. The time in the water is just an escape from the pressures of life, and chatting with friends and sharing a socially distant meal brings about a small sense of normalcy.

Turtles!

 I see a lot of wildlife on the road when I am biking. Birds, rodents, deer and even a bear. But today was the first time I have ever seen a turtle. I didn't see one I actually saw THREE. Two were right near each other trying to cross the road, and the third was probably 3 miles further down the road. Big snapping turtles it turns out.

Open Water Swimming

 Well the ice is off the lakes, and the water temp is kinda warm enough to start swimming. With the pools still closed due to COVID, I gotta get my swimming in however I can. There is a small group of local athletes that are going to get together 2-3 days a week to open water swim at the various lakes.

So far it has been Pike Lake and Island Lake, but we hope to hit a couple of others including Lake Superior this summer.

It is actually nice to get out and talk to real people and not just via Zoom or Teams meetings. I do 99% of my training alone anyway, but with COVID, my interactions with others has been limited, so this is good for me.

100k Ride

I wanted to get a 100k ride in at some point. Last weekend I hit the wall at 45 miles so I just quit at 56. This weekend I took more nutrition and ate more often and that helped A LOT. I didn't hit a wall like I did last weekend. I got pretty tired the last 10 miles, but still felt good.

Saw a bear today on my ride and only got stopped by 1 train!