Monday, June 21, 2010

T Minus Five!

Today is June 21st.  Exactly five months until Ironman Arizona!

Next weekend I have my first Triathlon of the season - the Breath of Life Olympic Tri in Ventura.  I did the sprint triathlon there a few years ago and it was a great event. I'm looking forward to doing the Olympic Distance event this year.

Last year I did just one Olympic distance triathlon in 2:39:29 so I guess I'll shoot for a better time next weekend.  This will also be my first open water swim of the year. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to get out to the beach to do some open water swimming.  But I've got several open water swims under my belt from previous seasons so it should not be a problem.

The main thing I hope to accomplish is to make sure all my equipment is still functioning well and get a baseline time for this distance. If I have any equipment issues or need to make any purchases this will give me plenty of time to take care of them and get used to whatever I buy.

In about a month, I've got the Strawberry Fields Olympic Triathlon on July 18th so I'll have an opportunity to make some adjustments and focus on a faster time if needed.

July 5th, I start my 20 week IM training plan and two-a-day workouts become a regular part of life.

Motivational Movie Monday

Inspirational Video On Increasing Your Confidence!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

(Embedding is disabled for this video so you have to click the link)

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Training transition

With less than 24 weeks to go until Ironman Arizona, it's time for my training to make a transition.  So far, I've filled the year with generic endurance training and endurance events like centuries and half-marathons.  My focus has been on building fitness, but not specifically on triathlon training.

Now it's time to transition into Ironman specific training. 

It's time to start spending more time in the pool. 

It's time to start running after every bike ride. 

It's time to bring out the wetsuit and get some ocean swims done.

Goodbye road bike.  Thank you for your service this year.

It's time for you to take a break so I can focus on riding my tri bike

and goodbye hair-pants.  It's time for silky smooth triathlete legs.