Kerrville Triathlon – What a Great Day, Part 1
This was my best race to date! This was my last sprint length triathlon of the year and I went into it with an aggressive mind state. Having completed a few races this year, I felt that it was an opportunity for me to incorporate the big lessons and push...
Interval Training – Changing the stress on my body
Johnny provides a calendar with my daily workouts using the finalsurge web app. On Monday, I noticed that my 1 hour, zone 1 run was a zone 3 interval workout. More specifically, High zone 3 for 5 min, then low zone 3 for 10 minutes. I was to repeat that as many times...
Another training flop today
Damn nutrition!!! (he shakes his fist in the air) Today I had a bike assessment. My eagerly anticipated progress check. The quick result... I bumbled and ran out of energy halfway through the assessment. I was totally embarrassed and frustrated. I've still not...
A real world lesson from triathlon training…recovery
All of the serious triathletes that I've met will train at least 5 days a week. At least three of the days will incorporate two disciplines (bike and run, or swim and bike). The workouts are intense and done wholeheartedly. On the other side of all that intense...
Learning to enjoy the challenge
Training while traveling is hard When many of my colleagues find out that I'm training for a full Ironman they often ask how I get the workouts done with a schedule that has me traveling weekly. The question addresses my mindset. Initially, I viewed the volume...
8 month check-in…I like this journey
August 2019 I like this photo. I took it in Idaho during a recent trip. The way I feel about this image represents a milestone in my life. At the beginning of the year, my goal was to an Olympic distance triathlon, specifically the Octoberfest Tri in Fulshire, TX. I...
I have competition issues
I was completely unaware of it until I had mostly ruined my pool session...I was secretly competing with the guy in the next lane. I was NOT following my training plan. A competitor showed up He arrived shortly after I got in the pool. I noticed that he was...
A new personal best
The anticipation of a long-ride is exciting. Typically, my long rides are on Sundays. Today, I was determined to ride longer than 30 miles, my current record. My training plan has me on the bike for 2 and a half hours. So, with an average speed of 15 mph, a 35-40 mile...
My gear upgrade 😀
Measuring power output is key to endurance Having spent some time with avid cyclists, I kept hearing them discuss power and power meters. In fact, Johnny recently urged me to purchase a set Garmin Vector power meters. He said that training with power is the best way...
Surprise cycling gains today
Showing up is still a mind game... This morning I was scheduled to do a cycling lactate profile. I've described these in other posts. The goal is to do them every 8 weeks. I'm not yet that organized, so I do them when I remember to schedule them. The last test that I...
I see potential in the midst of my mistakes.
During a recent pool session with Johnny, he realized that I had not been practicing my basic skills. As usual, at the beginning of the lesson he tells me to warm up by going through my drills. I looked at him like a deer in headlights. Frozen. I had been exposed. I...
My run test shows the flaws in “personalizing” my training plan.
All coaches everywhere: Just stick to the plan. I know how to get you to your goal. New athlete: I'm feeling good, I'm going to add XYZ to my workout, coach will never know. Or, I'm going to do everything faster since I want to get stronger, coach will be...
Getting comfortable with longer open water swimming
For the past few weeks I have been swimming in a pool and doing a mile for each of my training sessions. . The trainwreck of a swim that I had at the One Two Tri iii race last Sunday makes me want to practice in open water more frequently. Today, I went to a local...
My 1st Podcast Interview
This evening I had the honor of being Interviewed by a friend of mine, Erline Maingot who hosts the Shall We Proceed podcast. A few weeks ago, she found the Instagram page I was using to share some of my journey to the 2020 Texas Ironman. She asked me to come on her...
One Two Tri III Triathlon
I was overconfident and underprepared for the race... If you've thought about doing a triathlon, the length of this race is good for you. The swim is 300 meters in the man-made lake at the Texas Ski Ranch, a 14-mile bike and 5K run on the back roads of beautiful New...