Climb Detroit Report 2012

Our Crew before the climb

The American Lung Association's Fight for Air - Climb Detroit event was a great success!  They initially hoped to raise $175,000 and after this weekend they raised more than $185,000!

Our team of firefighters were also able to exceed our goal of raising $1000.  We raised over $1200 for the American Lung Association.  Each of our team members completed the entire event of 1035 stairs within the 70 stories at the Detroit Renaissance Center.  We walked away knowing more about ourselves as individuals and about each other as a team.

About 200 firefighters took part in the "Full Gear Challenge"

No doubt, this event kicked my butt!  The event was very well organized and each person was launched in Time Trial style.  When I took off the first 5 flights came pretty easy; let me clarify this statement by mentioning that this was NO run, we were in full firefighting turnout gear with air packs on our backs - that's about 100 pounds of gear.  Turn out gear is designed to prevent thermal burns from exposure to a fire, it's also designed to keep you dry while spraying water on a fire.  With this design there is no breathability of the fabric.  With every step I got more warm... and then more and more hot!  I hit the 10th floor with another team member and we chose not to stop at the water station until the 20th floor.  15-20 were tough but once I got to the 20th floor water station, I had that brief moment where I downed a small bit of water and chose to again, keep going.  I continued the momentum and by the 30th floor I realized that I was so focused that I couldn't even listen to music, ear buds out and keep climbing.  A volunteer at the 30th floor water station called out that we were 70% done, craziness!  I didn't preplan any mental games for completing this event, only to climb until I reached the 70th floor.

My legs burned, my lungs burned and my body felt like it was on fire.  The climb took place behind the elevator shafts - it was about a 5 foot wide space per flight with cinder block walls and fluorescent lights.  Being that this was in the center of the RenCen, there were no windows and no ventilation.  Heat rises and with each flight it was noticeably more warm.  By the 40th floor I had to open my coat to let out some of the heat.  I took 10-20 second breaks at the halfway point between water stations and it didn't seem like it was ever enough rest.  Each time I stopped it seemed like there was a volunteer at the top of that next flight, since I'm stubborn, I didn't want to look like I was resting... I didn't think about the fact that I looked completely spent. 

Me, Jeff, John and Al
Some crazy funny volunteer forced us to take this picture.

Something about the 60th floor seemed to be a problem for me.  The steps no longer hurt my legs, in fact, I couldn't even feel them.  It was hot and each step made my body burn more.  I couldn't count down the last few steps but as soon as I crossed the threshold to the 70th floor hallway I was grabbed by "the big security guy" who didn't say anything except  "Get him to triage"  Since he was pulling my gear off of me and simultaneously pulling me down the hallway to an air conditioned room, I assumed he was talking about me.  I tried to say that I wanted to stay in the hallway and wait for my crew but apparently he was already prepared to deny that request.  Recovery was quick - icepacks were stuffed in my shirt and some HFCS drink poured in my mouth /SARC  I gathered myself and gear and walked to the hallway to watch for my crew.  Soon enough they trickled in, one by one!  Everyone took time to recover and we went back down (via the elevators) as a TEAM.  In 2013 we will be back!

This was a great event that was well organized and a lot of fun!  I'm glad that we had the opportunity to participate in a great cause. Take time to visit the American Lung Association website and learn about the importance of funding their research.  There are several great resources to help you learn about your body and what risks are in your area.  There is also ample information about initiatives in your area that need your support!

While I previously thought that I was trained well enough for my job, Sunday I realized that I need to ALWAYS do more to be more physically prepared!  While we only have a few high rise type structures in our area, we are short staffed, so we will be making several trips up and down the stairs in gear and with additional equipment.  We, I, have to be better prepared for that.  I read an article recently about firefighters being prepared for the "moments" in our careers when we have to rely on our physical and mental training, there's no chance to fall back on that training if it doesn't exist.  I'll summarize the article and leave you with this:

The untrained, unfit and unwilling present a risk... Those with a mastery of skill, sharp mind, fit body and full heart present a resource. At the time of true test, aim to be the best resource available so that the decision may rest in the moment and the benefit. Preparation of mind, body and skill lies within our control, the moment does not.

~ Fire Service Warrior 2011

The Year in Review: 2010

2010: What a great year!

I've been able to complete a few things this last year that I've been working towards for a while.  Over the course of the year I exceeded each of the goals I set for myself.  2 of my biggest race goals were to run a marathon and complete a Half Ironman.  Both went very well and were a big step up in 'The Plan'

Annual Swim/Bike/Run goals were met, though my run totals could have been much higher if I would have kept running through the end of the year.  But again, my foot needed the rest and I think my mind needed it too - thus, the Off Season.

2010 totals
Bike:	2098 Miles
Run:	702 Miles
Swim:	31 Hours
Strength:	16 Hours
Other Exercise/Stretching:	55 Hours

In 2011 my biking mileage will probably be about the same but I plan to do a bit more work on speed.  My average race speeds are currently about 21mph and I'd like to be about 24mph for Racine.  For my run goal I would like to shoot for 1000 miles in 2011.  It's a huge step up, but based on my peaking from last year, I think it would be a good goal.  I always need to improve my swimming so I'm not setting a specific goal for swimming.  Yes, it is my biggest limiter and needs the most work, so if I could swim even 10-20 seconds faster (per 100m) I would consider that a pretty big success. 

Strength training will need to be increased quite a bit.  I've been fairly consistent the last 2-3 years in total volume for strength training, but in order to improve my overall speeds, I'll need to gain more power early this year.  I've been on a kettlebell routine that will surely help me improve all around.  I'll be working on basic calisthenics (like push ups, sit ups, pull ups and squats - body weight stuff).  I've always liked the basics and enjoy the Navy SEALs workout programs.  I've also looked at the newer things from books like "Convict Conditioning" - all body weight things... you know, everything you'll need to be able to do to prove yourself strong in the prison system!

I did learn quite a bit of valuable information from the MSU study that I was a part of.  A big key is the total volume of aerobic activity that I need to be doing.  A LOT!  And along with that I am learning the importance of more frequent high intensity drills and circuit style training.

Lot's of things to incorporate in this years training program.  I'm excited to start the new plan.  My Racine plan will start in mid-February.  While I haven't pinned down the exact race plans for the year, here's the list of events that I'd like to consider:


     4/02 Martian Marathon
     5/01 Steelcase Du
     6/05 Hawk Island Tri                    
     6/12 Motor City Tri Oly               
     7/17 IM Racine 70.3                                         
     7/30 Warrior Dash MI
     8/07 Lansing Legislator Oly                           
     9/11 Rev3 Cedar Point 70.3
     9/24 DWD 50k                          
     10/15  GR or Detroit Marathon      

As always, THANK YOU to my family and friends for your support over this past year.  My girls are my biggest supporters.  

Fluid continues to be a huge part of my training and racing as a sponsor!  Thank you Rich and Dave and to the whole rest of the Fluid crew.  Give Fluid a try sometime and you'll find the best available recovery drink mix of electrolytes, protein and glutamine!  For those who like the typical post workout protein shake, try the new Fluid flavor: Chocolate!

Team Motiv8 is underway.  If you'd like see how you can get on board with our team, send me an email at JHag@Team-Motiv8.com  We continue to look for sponsors who want to come on board and help us take the message of the importance of making fitness part of a child's everyday life!  As part of that, adults need to be proactive WITH their children.   If you are interested in completing your first triathlon - let me know.  We will be putting on a First Time Tri training program that will lead up to the Hawk Island Triathlon in Lansing, MI.  We will cover all of the basics that a "Noob" will need to know in order to successfully complete a sprint distance triathlon.


Bring on 2011!!!

March is Here!

February seemed to fly by quickly, perhaps that's because we were short a few days. It was a great month for indoor training (not my favorite thing to do). But warm weather will be here soon.

During February I spent a lot of time on the bike trainer and a bit of time in the water. I still haven't started to focus my running; and today's run around MSU campus proved it. I started out too fast (6:40's)and tried to settle into a pace that was comfortable (8:20's)... last year. I ended up going much slower than I had hoped. But with the sunshine, you can bet that I'll pick that pace back up soon.

Swimming seems like it is becoming my friend. I have started to focus on speed workouts. 10x50's and 3x500's... it seems like nothing to say that my warm up is an easy 500. That's good as I'll need every minute of training come Racine! I am finally able to push the 1:20's/100 for a few laps. But I still need the direct help from a swim coach. So I hope to be hitting a few swim clinics over the next couple of months.

Cycling (still on the trainer because I'm afraid of the cold weather drivers) is going very well.

February's totals:
Bike: 16h 39m 17s - 264.55 Mi
Run: 5h 13m 07s - 30.14 Mi
Swim: 6h 33m - 17250 Yd

November 2009 'The Off Season'

November of 2009 has now passed us by. It's time for Christmas and the New Year!

This past month I focused on swimming. I spent more time in the water than I did on my bike (never thought I'd say that). Since I did plan for November to be a month of recovery, I didn't run very much at all. So what did I do?

November's totals:
Bike: 4h 30m 17s - 72.43 Mi
Run: 2h 28m 11s - 14.6 Mi
Swim: 4h 35m 40s - 12650 Yd
Strength: 4h 20m

Next I have my basic plan set up for training to race Ironman 70.3 Racine in July. I'll be doing 9 Weeks Prep, 15 Weeks Base, 6 Weeks Build, 3 Weeks Peak/Race/Taper for Racine. The Prep phase is underway as of this past Sunday. Racine is less than 230 days away. While I want to do really well at this race, my ideal goal will be to qualify for the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 - November 13, 2010 in Clearwater, Florida.

Finding the Life/Work/Training balance will be tough, especially heading into June where I will be reaching the Critical Volume stage of training. There are 2 weeks of training will be huge, nearing 14,000km swimming, 475 miles biking and 60 miles of running. As always, family first then work followed by training. I've already started to plan my specific day to day training for each Phase of this process. So now I just need to sit back and do it :)

I will be a RACING GREYHOUND again in 2010! A few other Greyhounds will be going long in tri's as well, completing Half Iron distance events and even Ironman Florida (Trish).

I've been blessed to have a few specific people to train with this year. Next year I hope Craig will continue to kick my butt in the water and that Trixie will keep pushing my limits in biking and running (and now strength training too).

I'm lucky to have several people to train with. So a big 'Thank You' to those who choose to put up with me. Also to the great friends at BeginnerTriathlete.com and especially those the in SWBKRUN MG. You guys rock, thanks for continuing to encourage and inspire me.

Lastly, to my family: Thank you for supporting me. Specifically to Becky, Anna and Sophia - I Love you! This year will be highly rewarding for me on a very personal level and I won't be able to do it without you. I am truly blessed.

So how can you help? Give me a call anytime.

Loving Las Vegas and the End of the 2009 Race Season

Well, we are back home from our Vegas vacation. Becky and I had a great time and loved our time spent with friends. We were able to see many sights and eat some great food. This was our first real vacation since our honeymoon, almost 5 years ago.

For the first couple of nights we stayed with a good friend who lives in Henderson. She cooked for us and drove us everywhere!

On Friday we went to Lake Mead and Boulder City to get an overview of Saturday's triathlon. We visited the health expo at the race finish and did our packet pick up. Later we ate at Milo's - This is a great place to eat and I'll be attempting to remake my sandwich sometime in the near future! But our appetizer consisted of breads and fruits with baked Brie that had Pecans and dried cranberries over it. So very tasty. Friday night we went to Lake Las Vegas for an outdoor concert. This place is an amazing village inside the big city.

Saturday morning came quick and we were out the door for the race. The weather was great and Lake Mead water temp was 72 degrees F. I opted out of my wetsuit for the race for a few reasons, but one main reason was that this was a point to point race with 2 different transition setups. Anything that you'd leave in T1 had to be in a specific bag with your race # on it; it would then be brought to T2/Race finish after the race. Swimming was awesome! The sun popped up just before the race started and the nearly instant heat felt great while I was in the water. The race was very challenging physically and mentally. It was tough to comprehend the elevation for the bike ride. It was hard to maintain speed when there were no breaks in the climb during the bike. The run went well, but my legs were spent. Andrea placed #2 in her category so we stuck around for awards. Way to be!!

Saturday afternoon we got all things reorganized and packed up to head down to the Las Vegas strip. We stayed at the Rio hotel thanks to Andrea's parents. We ate a fabulous dinner at the Rio's Village Seafood Buffett. So many choices of seafood. I ate way too much, but between the 4 variations of crab legs, fish, sushi and desserts... it was so very yummy!

Saturday night we walked the Vegas strip and played some slot machines. We had VIP tickets to the VooDoo Lounge and spent a few hours hanging out and dancing. This bar is on the 51st floor of the Rio, it's outside and you can see the whole Vegas strip. Absolutely amazing view. We finished up our evening by playing a few more slots. Then off to bed for a couple of hours rest before heading back to the airport to return home.

We had an amazing time! Thanks to our friends for hosting and taking us around the city. Becky's mother was able to take some time off work to stay with the girls at our home, Saturday Becky's father came and my father was able to visit too. We are so greatful for our families to have helped out, which gave us the opportunity to take this vacation and make this final triathlon of the season possible.

With that all said, the Recovery stage of my triathlon training has fallen. I now plan to take a few weeks of easy workouts. I may join the US Masters Swimming and compete in one or 2 swim competitions over the next few months. When I get back into serious training, my main focus for the rest of the year will be swimming. Late this year or early next year I'll start training for next years race season.

I have been honored to be part of the 2009 RACING GREYHOUNDS Team. This team and sponsors are amazing! We have had several opportunities to race together and play together. I have made several new friends that I plan to bother for the rest of my life. Thank you GREYHOUNDS!! Next year I will have a different plan than I had this year, and I hope to be in contact with businesses and people over the next few months to secure opportunities for next year.

In 2010 I will have a different focus. I will not be racing as many events as this year. I'll be stepping up to the Olympic distance races (I plan to still run the Hawk Island Tri and maybe another sprint later). I hope to culminate next year's season by competing in a Half Ironman Triathlon (1.2 Mile Swim, 56 Mile Bike and a 13.1 Mile Run). I will consider an earlier HIM if my swim training goes well over the off season. I must also consider running a full marathon (26.2 miles). If I am able to race the Olympic distance, complete the HIM this year and race them the following year then in 2012 I may be able to consider a full Ironman (as that will complete my 5 year goal to run an IM) Late this year and early next year I will work on increasing my strength training, maintaining a bike/run base and general recovery. Then in February or March start a training program that will last for about 25 weeks until the HIM. But my main goal now is to recover from a long 13 race season.

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged and supported me over this last year of training and racing. I am blessed to have many friends to train with, many of whom have also given me invaluable advice and coaching; you know who you are and I would not be where I am today without you. Becky, Anna and Sophia - you make me who I am. Thank you for putting up with my love of racing and for going with me to the races, cheering me on and giving me hugs and 'high fives' along the course. You bring a smile to face. I love hearing "Daddy, you're all sweaty" and "Don't run too fast, you could fall down and get hurt" I am truly blessed for the support system that I have. Thank you all.

Livestrong Day 50 Mile Route

10/02/2009 - Livestrong Day 50 Mile Ride from Sleepy Hollow State Park in Laingsburg, MI. Here will be our route for the ride. This is a great route that I have rode a few times before. Low volume of traffic and mostly smooth roads. There are some rolling hills.

The event is also listed on Map My Ride

July 2009

August is here, what's the deal? This month and the next few months, I'm only planning 1 race per month. I'm not saying that I won't race an additional race should it come up, but I'm only planning these last 3 races.

Last month I joined a virtual Tour de France Challenge. I met my 300 mile goal for the 2.5 weeks of the tour. Just after the TdF I did an impromptu 100 mile bike. I really wanted to get past the mental block for distance on the bike. I had fun, did well on nutrition and felt good the following days. Mental was on 100%. I didn't get stuck on the distance, I just went out and followed the route. I was thankfull to have a friend to ride that distance with, I train with her fairly regularly GoTrixie.com I'd like to do it again, but I'm not quite ready to commit to it yet. I think I could do it with a couple of days for prep. I'd like to push the pace next time. So the details of my 100 miler - 5 hours 19 minutes put me at a pace of 19 mph average. Per the GPS I burned more than 6200 calories - which is on track based on my previous rides.

This weekend I'll be racing the Lansing Legislator. I will do better in the swim this year than I did last year. I'm hoping to be at 12 minutes for the swim... we'll see. I'd also like to see my bike split to be above 22 mph and I'd like to break the 20 minute mark on the 5k run.

So my totals for the month of July are:

Bike: 23h 18m 40s - 412.91 Mi
Run: 6h 50m 24s - 38.64 Mi
Swim: 1h 19m 07s - 1746.81 Yd
Strength: 42m
Elliptical Training: 40m
Massage: 1h 00m
Yoga: 30m

Inter-Rockin' Triathlon

Race Report from Interlochen's Inter-Rockin' Triathlon

Click the image to view full size / readable image.

RR from BeginnerTriathlete.com

June is Here Already

May flew by quick, perhaps it was the 4 races I did. All in all, I have had a great year so far. I only met 1 of my 3 goals for the month, although with the planned races, my goals may have been slightly unrealistic. I wanted to hit 300 miles biking, 50 miles running and 5 hours in the pool.

So what's next? I'm not exactly sure. I'd like to think about another sprint tri as there are two great 3 race series taking place this summer at the Island Lake Rec Area. The way my work schedule falls, I won't be able to make either series, but I could do 2 races of each event. So there is potential for 1 race in June and 1 in July.

August will be the Lansing Legislator (possibly my first Oly tri). September will be the Capital City River Run half mary. And October will be another tri in Las Vegas.

Seems crazy to think about the end of the season so early in the season. But I've learned a few good lessons that I will carry with me for the future. One, for example, is that I cannot afford to race 15 races every year :)

So I need to set goals next year for better performance at longer distances. In this manner I should be able to race my first Half Ironman soon. My 5 year goal of running a full Ironman event seems much more realistic now too. Both of my girls will be in school/pre-school then and I'll have the necessary time to train for this type of endurance event. Man, it's exciting to think about an Ironman!! But, that's still a while away.

Thank you all as always for your support and encouragement! I look forward to the next race with great anticipation, whatever race it may be.

Starkermann TT and Du

This past weekend I had the Starkermann 40k Time Trial and Duathlon (5k/30k/5k). I did very well and placed in both races. For the TT I placed 1st in my AG, and in the Du I placed 2nd in my AG.

Race Reports on BeginnerTriathlete.com:
40k Time Trial
Duathlon

This was a lot of fun and challenged me physically and mentally. The hills were shear pain... That's it, pain. Part of the TT involved climbing what is locally called the "Big Nasty" hill, it's part of the Tree Tops Resort ski hills.

During the TT I had more than 1100 ft of climbing and for the bike portion of the Du there was more than 660 ft of climbing. The runs for the DU were the same out and back course that entailed more than 100 ft of climbs.

I did hit 46 mph on my bike during 1 portion (downhill, of course). That was just plain insane!!

All in all I had a good time. I will consider this event in the future. Today I'm pretty sore, so I went for a very easy trail run at Sleepy Hollow State Park (MI). Nice trails and lots of mud. Put in an hour and covered about 4 miles.

Here's a photo of one of the hills, not the 'Big Nasty'


2 weeks out from now is Hawk Island Sprint Triathlon. I'm so excited for this race because I know I'll hit the bike and run hard. I feel very confident that I'll do well. I'm still leary about the swim, but I've spent some good time in the water over the last few months. I need more time in the water and need to practice some open water swims over the next two weeks. But I am expecting good things. My goal will be to finish in under 1 hour. Last year I finished in 1 hour and 9 minutes. Since the course is pretty flat and I've done this before, I should do well.

The Start of May

May has started off strong! I built well last month with some good totals and that puts me ahead early for the season. I have 4 races on tap for this month. My first race was an impromptu 5k run simply to see if I could break the 20 minute mark. While I gave it my all, I fell short by 56 seconds... I'm perfectly OK with this for now, but I had to give it an honest attempt. I finished 58th overall out of 677.

My next races are back to back. I'm competing in two of the four Starkermann Series races in Gaylord, Michigan. My first event will be Saturday night with a 40k Time Trial (bike race). This will push me as I've been riding at that distance for regular training rides. I will then awake early to race in another duathlon. While I do not plan to medal in this race, I do hope to do better than my last du as the distances are the same. (Maybe here I will break the 20 minute 5k)

And my final race for this month is the Hawk Island Triathlon. This was my first triathlon last year. This is a sprint distance race, so the swim is 400 yards, bike ~12 miles, and run 3.1 miles. I'm certain that I'll break my time from last year, but can I break an hour?

From there, the rest of the season is up for whatever comes along. I am considering a few other races that I pooled together early this year. I will also consider a 3 race series that takes place at the Island Lake Rec Area. These would all be sprint distance races, just slightly longer than the Hawk Island Tri; Swims of a half mile, 12.4 mile bike and 3.1 mile runs. And then lastly, I need to decide about an Olympic distance race in August and consider a Half Ironman in November... Hmm. What do you think?

Steelcase Grand Duathlon

Sunday (4/26/09) I ran my first multisport event this year. It was the Steelcase Grand Duathlon. It was a 5k run, 30k bike and a second 5k run. I feel like I rocked it!

I've spent a lot of time on my bike this year, both outside and on the rollers. In fact I've put out over 650 miles on the bike alone. I've been running about 40 miles per month in hopes of hitting the 600 mile mark this year.

For the Steelcase Du I planned to race the first 5k as a race in itself. I've felt strong in training doing bike/run bricks. So pre-race I went near the front of the group... not in the front, near the front. The gun went off and I took off. I felt strong, looked at my FR305 and found my pace to be sub 6min/mile... Wow! My first mile was 5:46. I had to slow down or my heart was going to pop out of my chest. I hit the turn around and took another quick sprint. I was able to keep my eye on the front runners, so I knew I was in good pace.

A quick side note: I've had great anticipation of running a sub 21min/5k. I didn't think it was within my reach this year as I've been focused on my biking.

As I neared transition 1 I saw the clock - 20:56! I crossed the chip mat into T1 at 21:03. I was so excited about my time that my fingers were shaking! I actually had a hard time putting on my biking shoes. Grabbed my bike and I was out of T1 in 55 seconds.

The wind was a cross/head wind for most of the route. Good thing I spent some windy days on my bike charging into the wind. I faltered climbing some of the hills. The course didn't have huge climbs, but with the wind I did have to stand up a few times. I was only passed once on the bike, by another Cervelo owner, he deserved to pass me as he was flying. My fastest speed on the bike was only about 34mph. We never really got a tailwind. As I neared T2 I started to get my feet out of my shoes so I could hop off the bike and run into T2. I had a hard time getting my left foot out of the shoe and I actually had to unclip, stop and dismount and carry my left shoe into T2. My time for the 30k was 53:20. Not outstanding at an avg speed of 21mph.

I still ran into T2, racked my bike, donned my running shoes and I was out like a bandit in 33 seconds. Yeah!

As I rounded the first turn on the run I felt slow. I looked at my FR and realized that I left it on my bike, no big deal, I just wouldn't be able to tell my pace and heart rate (2 keys I use to help me run and finish stronger). I do normally feel slow running after my biking. So I figured that I was about an 8ish pace per mile. I could feel my calves were a bit sore, nothing bad, but I could feel them getting tight. I didn't want to bomb my second 5k as it would prove that I went too hard on the first run. I pushed on. There was a group of 3 guys just ahead of me, I couldn't catch up to them, but I figured that if I could keep the distance between myself and them that I would be ok. As I neared the finish I started to sprint again. I heard the announcer call out "Jeremy Hagerman of Saint Johns with the RACING GREYHOUNDS finishing strong!"

After first round of results were posted I saw my overall time of 1 hour and 38 minutes. I was pretty stoked. I thought that I surely medaled. Nope, the 30-34 age group is hardcore! The third place finisher in my AG finished more than 12 minutes ahead of me. Wow! I'm still excited. My previous fastest 5k time was 23:54, so I broke that by more than 2 minutes.

Steelcase was a fun race with a good course. The run was on a totally closed course. The bike was good and the intersections were well covered by the police. I had a lot of fun and will plan to run this race again!

January 09

January has flown by super fast! I was able to meet my personal goal of 41 miles for the month in running. I actually hit just over 51 miles.

I still need to get in the pool and stretch more. I feel comfortable with my lifting, but ideally I would be spending a bit more time in this area. I recently did a P90X routine, I loved it. I'm not sure that I have the time to dedicate to the actual program, but I will do a P90X session here and there. I did complete over 180 push ups and 47 pull ups during the 50 minute workout. I was pretty sore for a day or two. I started doing some Spinrvals dvd's while biking on the rollers. Those workouts kick butt. Google it.

February is here now and I have put some time in for training (mind you we are only 3 days into the month). I'm confident that I'll get my 41 miles running in for the month. Next month I will start up some outdoor biking too, that will help my mileage increase.

All in all, training has started out strong for me. This year will bring good things!

Baby Sophia

Just when I think I am settling into a routine, something changes. Sometimes not so good things like being sick or having a few busy shifts in a row at work will cause my training to fall short of my goals.

Sometimes good things happen and once in a while something great will happen. This past few days I have lost more sleep and not even thought about trying to workout for the simple reason that we welcomed our new baby girl, Sophia, into our family on Friday January 23. She weighed in at 8.5 pounds and 20.25 inches. Becky delivered Sophia naturally and non medicated, what a woman huh?

Sophia is a little bundle of joy, and every time she squints her face into what appears to be a smile, I lighten up inside. Sophia makes us a family of 4. Anna is now a proud big sister, Becky is a very proud mother of two and I am more content with life than I have been in a year. Sure we are lacking a little sleep... ok, lacking lots of sleep. But I wouldn't trade this for anything, especially a few hours running in the cold and snow.

My family is my support system. Not only do they help encourage me to run faster or bike farther, they also remind me of the importance of staying fit. I'm not saying that you have to be an endurance athlete, but do what you can to make sure you will maximize the time you have with the people you love more than anything.

I chose to compete in the world of triathlon over a year ago. I'm just beginning to see the results of good training. I will now need to learn how to better balance family and training. I will seek out advice from people I have met over this last year and find ways to better myself for the sport and most of all, for my family.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement over these last few days. Thank you for the phone calls and gifts. We look forward to introducing you to Sophia.

Base Building

I should be maintaining my base for fitness right now, but with new toys and the excitement of things to come this year, I feel like I'm actually base building.

Today I did my first interval cycling session on my rollers with the Forerunner 305. I haven't actually 'seen' my cycling layed out like this before. I find this encouraging because it will give me motivation to become a better cyclist and at the same time help me build that endurance that I need on the bike.

Here's what you see:
2' WU
6x30" @ 100+ (45" Rest)
5x1' @ RPE 6 / 70+ (1' Rest)
2' Easy
5' CD

2008

2008 has come and now gone. As many of you know, this year has proved to have moments of extreme joy and a few moments of sadness. It's hard to believe that my mother passed away almost a year ago. A friend once told me that the days never get easier; however, each day you find a new way to get by. I have found the joy of life displayed through laughter, hugs and kisses of my daughter; love of my wife; the never ending love from my family and the support of my friends.

This past year I accomplished fitness goals that I set for myself over a year ago. A few goals I even exceeded. My first goal for this year was to complete a triathlon, and that meant that I had to learn how to swim. I also planned to train harder than I ever have before by increasing my endurance and speed in running and biking. I hoped to be in the best shape of my life by my 30th birthday.

I completed 2 sprint distance triathlons in 2008. I finished just above mid-pack in both of those races. I also ran a half marathon and set a new personal best for the 5k distance run. I placed first in a 10k race and also took medals in two 5k races.

My annual goal for running in 2008 was to complete an overall average of 1 mile per day, totaling 366 miles: My final total was just over 400 miles running.

2009 brings new challenges and while I haven't set any specific goals for training, I do plan to complete with the RACING GREYHOUNDS. I was accepted onto the team this past week. I'll compete in 5 races / events that include cycling as per my contract. Ideally I will race in the same 2 triathlons that I completed this year and then I will also add another tri and enter into a couple of cycling events.

This month my family will grow with the birth of our second child. I will need to learn to balance my family with work and training. This may be my single most difficult goal of this year. I am excited to see what the future holds for my family.

As always, thank you all for your support. I look forward to this coming race season, meeting new people and learning more about the sport of triathlon.

USMC 5X BT Challenge

November starts a new BT Challenge for me. The Challenge - 5X USMC Challenge

This challenge was started by a US Marine / Triathlete. As the Marines recently changed their workout / PT requirements from 3 days a week to 5 days a week. Our challenge is a basic match of that change - Workout at least 30 minutes a day with a minimum of 5 days a week for the month of November.

Here are the rules:

• A PT session must be at minimum 30 minutes per day, but what you do for PT is up to you as long as it hold training value. (A massage does not count as PT)
• Basically if it is cardio, strength training, or athletic sports it is fair game.
  
• For each PT session completed you will get a point. It is a hit or miss system, so only one point allow per day and only if you get the 30 minutes required for that day.
  
• With a little room for those overachievers there will be a max of 22 points allowed for the month. That is based on a M-F schedule that the Marine Corps Follows which is 20 days in Nov plus a 10% extra. The most points allowed during a week will be 6 points and that is only allowed twice.
• Team with the highest average of % Completion wins.
  

Time Periods: The cut offs for the time periods will be Nov 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 30th.

I'm In! I'm a glutton for punishment. Plus this gives me more motivation to improve my workouts on the new trainer.

Training Logs

Here is the details of my training thus far. Every day I log my workouts, the BT website tracks all of my logged entries.


I'll attempt to continue adding these monthly.

Follow my basic training info here, or go to BeginnerTriathlete to see the fine details.