I didn't realize how hard it would be to recover from the Ironman and get ready for the shorter race season. 

With TNT coming up, I am trying to get back in shape to be FAST after all the long, slow distances of the Ironman...but I am having trouble because I am still TIRED!  I don't know if it is the heat, the let-down after all the build-up to CDA Ironman, or just the beating I took during the event, but I am (at best) sluggish.  I have done a few spins and runs, and have been in the water a good bit since the 22 June event - but I can't say I've had a really good workout since the race.

Tonight I'll do about 6 on the trail, and will ride tomorrow.  Culpepper is coming up (3 August) and I was hoping for a great time - given all my Ironman training.  Any advice on getting my mojo back would be welcomed!

Jay

PS:  Please let people know about the Tony Snow Family Trust sponsored by Wachovia Bank and the Center for Health Transformation.  Find out more at:

Center for Health Transformation
Attn: Tony Snow Family Trust
1425 K Street, NW
Suite 450
Washington, DC 20005

http://www.healthtransformation.net/cs/TonySnowFamilyTrust

My friend died Saturday morning.  He was a wonderful man - an inspiration to me and to many, many others.  Last year I dedicated my race to him because of his perserverence and positive nature and his continuous will to live and struggle against cancer.  This year, sadly, I will dedicate my race to his memory.

He was a man of character who lived the life he knew was right.  A patriot and loving father and husband, with a strong intellect, a deep abiding faith, and an unfailing positive outlook on life, he cared deeply for his family, his friends, his community and his nation.  He was accomplished in many things, he was a writer, philosopher, media personality, musician, teacher, inspirational speaker, editor, athlete and pundit.  Yet what he was most proud of was that he was a father and a husband and a friend.  A towering figure, he cherished the moments when he was just a regular guy, hanging out with the other dads in the neighborhood, watching his kids play basketball or swim of sing or play an instrument.  He was true to his words, and he lived a great life.  

He loved so many, he laughed often, and he made the most of every single day.  This year I will dedicate my race to his memory as just one tiny gesture of thanks for the compass that he provided, one which guides me still as a man, a father, and a citizen.  I hope there are many tributes to this great man who died too young at 53.

John O'Donohue wrote these words in his book "To Bless the Space Between Us:"  May you see the reflection/Of you life's kindness and beauty/In all the tears that fall for you.

There have been and will be many tears shed for my friend.

But he would have said "Don't sit around moping, get out there and DO something!"  And so we will.  We will race, and we will raise funds and awareness and we will fight to remove cancer as a cause of death.  I have no doubt that we can do it, and that some day we will lose far fewer of these wonderful people in the prime of their lives. 

JMcConville

Tony with me and his sister Jenny at last year's Nation's Triathlon.

All it takes to keep going during a triathlon is a little inspiration.  Here are two good signs I saw during the Ironman Sunday (as best as I can remember them):

"All great things are achieved not by strength, but through determination and perserverence."

"Your pain is nothing compared to the feeling you will have if you quit."

"Give everything you have, and you will achieve everything you deserve."

and my personal favorite:

"Don't Suck"

Jay

11:49:23...I am happy :)

What a beautiful event....do it...

On the training schedule today - rest!

JMcC

What a spectacle!  This Ironman thing is something else altogether!

We are having a great time at the Ironman Coeur d' Alene.  The town is beautiful, the people friendly and welcoming, and the event venue looks fantastic. (http://ironman.com/events/ironman/coeurdalene)

There are so many preparations, so many "blocks to check," and so much to do, time really flies.  Tomorrow is the big day, and we (Tom, Kirsten, Lori, and I) are all anxious for the event to finally begin.  Water temperatures have risen to a balmy 58 degrees F, so we are ready to light this candle!  Weather couldn't be better.  I expect to finish the run under a setting sun at 70 degrees with calm winds...how great is that.

One of the kids made a very interesting observation yesterday.  My son said that this is the only sport where, with just some training and a little effort a regular Joe can enter into one of the big events of their sport.  Imagine "signing up" for the NFC Championship Game or the National League Playoffs.  In Triathlon you can "sign up" for an Ironman and get all the spectacle of a big sporting event - with pros, media coverage, a city taken over by the event itself, and all the rest.  What a kick this is!

I am looking forward to the opening gun, starting the swim, making T1 fresh, hitting the bike, climbing the hills, rolling into T2, and having a steady and controlled run ot the finish line.  It is going to be great.  And then...when it is all over, we can concentrate on the TNT - and turning this little habit into something really positive for all those in need of cancer treatment and research.  One more day.

J

Just a quick note to say hello from Spokane - on our way to Coeur d' Alene for Sunday's Ironman.

Arrived all safe and sound and took a 40 minute run in the hills - very nice...no humidity! 

As for the Potomac and swimming - it is fine...last year was very clear and clean...I'd take that over Lake Coeur d' Alene right now...which remains a chilly 55 degrees F.

Of course, in the tradition of "when in Rome" I am writing this from a coffee shop in downtown Tacoma.  I have been here before, but forgot how beautiful it is.  The weather is perfect and the race conditions are looking great for Sunday.  We should have our whole group of four racers together tomorrow and then we start the process of checking in and all that.  We will drive the bike and run course, and of course get in the water (wet suits required).  I've never swam with my little booties before, so I'm going to check that out too.  It should be fun!

Cheers!

Jay

Ironman Couer d' Alene is next week - so I'm tapering right now, and it is fun! 

I did get to swim in the ocean in San Diego last week - twice in fact.  Was a little weird because there was really nobody in the water but me.  I tried out my new BlueSeventy wetsuit and it was great - so thin, yet warm, and the bouyancy was awesome.  It really helped me "glide" which keeps me from windmilling and wasting energy.  They key to the Ironman swim is to come out of the water fresh.  I refuse to gain two minutes on the swim in exchange for losing 30 minutes on the marathon later in the day.

Scary is the fact that the lake at Couer d' Alene is only about 50 degrees F right now.  I have got to get some booties (which are now allowed).  Get 'em at www.wetsuitwarehouse.com

Off to a taper bike/run....so nice doing these short training events!

Cheers!

J

From the balcony of my hotel room I see the shining water through the morning fog, as the sounds of the ocean wake me gently from my sleep.   It is 6 a.m. and the seagulls seem to call out to everyone to join them as they glide along the horizon and dip swiftly into the waves.  I hope I will today somehow, having made the journey with my wetsuit and goggles tucked neatly in my hand carried luggage, bulging under my suits and ties, filling my business attire with the aroma of race mornings.

Twelve days till my Ironman.  I need this swim.

But where?  A call to the San Diego Triathon Club reveals I am a day late for two organized swims in the ocean on Monday evening, and the schedule holds no open water promises for the time that I am here.  Do I slip away from the meetings and briefings and hope to luck upon a good swim spot, or do I keep asking anyone who might know to give me the benefit of their experience and point me to the right entry?  Do I dare to swim on my own, with stories of sharks and other disasters certain to creep into my thoughts as I stroke in the lonely silence of the swim?  Or perhaps a public beach, where others might swim with me merely by accident - but where would that be? Either way I am determined to swim it - that ocean that calls me today.

Should you know, please say - where can I swim in San Diego today?

Jay

 

 

I won't be doing the Eagleman this year because of my Ironman (2 weeks!), but I wanted to wish all the Eaglemen and Eaglewomen out there great luck and fast racing in this premium Half Ironman on Maryland's Eastern Shore.  It is going to be hot, hot, hot...my hat will certainly be off to all finishers.  I will take odds that there will be no records broken tomorrow!

My training buddy and friend Lori did awesome at Columbia - with a 7:30 pace on the run...that is smokin' on that course - way to go Lori!

I haven't blogged in a while but not because I haven't been training.  We had a big week last week - basically a peak week.  Now we are into our first taper week.  We rode 3.5 hours this morning with a 5 mile run.  Was nice to be done with the training by noon.  Tomorrow is a 2 hour run and a swim (easy) - so I'm looking forward to that too.  I'll be traveling next week and the key for me is to rest...sleep is its own training session.

Can you believe someone tried to spike me with a broken beer bottle the other day.  I was doing intervals (6x6 minutes) when someone smashed bottles on the road so I would roll over them.  I couldn't believe it!  So...watch out on your rides - you never know what kind of nuts are out there.

My friend and guitar player in my band (Beats Workin' - www.beatsworkinmusic.com) Dan is going to do the Nation's.  It is his first triathlon.  It is fun watching him gear up (literally - he bought a new bike today) and I wish him all the luck in the world out there.  He is a big swimmer, and runs.  The bike is new to him...but I'm sure he will do great.  Train Hard Dan!

Finally - while you are out there on the training courses around town, please think of those who because of illness cannot be out there with you.  Train hard for them and think about what you can do this year to contribute in some way to research, treatment, or anything at all to help them in their struggle.  My friends are fighting hard, and they are so inspirational - but they need all the help they can get - prayers and gifts and good wishes.  Don't Forget!

Train Hard!

Jay

Don't you love those products they sell on TV - "Get Fit In the Privacy of Your Hotel Room!"  or "Lose inches even when traveling" - I don't believe any of it.  Sure, anything will work, but only if you actually DO it!  For some of these silly products, I would think you would have to "do it" for hours on end. Sitting on the corner of my hotel bed lifting dumbells filled with water isn't my idea of training.

I travel a lot for work - on the road all the time.  I've found that the secret is just DOING it and sticking to the basics.  Last night I ran 10 in Huntsville, AL - last week I did 13 in Atlanta.  I can usually find a pool too (they have great pools in Huntsville - the one I use charges $2 for lap swimming, has tons of open lanes, an open air ceiling - and no membership required...Huntsville Natatorium, 2213 Drake Ave., Huntsville, AL (256) 883-3700).

Sure you have to run in unfamiliar areas (remember to wear your RoadID - www.roadid.com) - what I do is drive it with my car when I first arrive, and use my Garmin to track pace and miles.  I've found some nice runs - but I don't get crazy about finding the perfect spot....even if I have to run on the highway, at least I'm running.  They key is - get out of the hotel!

The problem of course is the biking.  I don't think you get any benefit from the lifecycles in the hotel gyms.  The seating is all wrong (why would you make a bike that isn't shaped like a bike anyway?) and it is so intensly boring sitting there watching CNN.  Sometimes you can find a spin class - if you can get a guest pass to Gold's (there is no Gold's in Huntsville - why?) or another club.  Otherwise, I'm stuck running and running.

Oh, one other suggestion.  Don't put your running shoes into your luggage until the very last minute - and then take them out as soon as you can!  Use that hotel laundry bag to seal them up if possible.  This makes for more pleasant meetings - for everyone concerned.  :-)

Next week - New Jersey....Anyone have any other ideas?

 

J