80 Something Miles

Last weekend was a big training weekend for me. You see, when I did Ironman Wisconsin last year my longest ride I completed was 60 miles!!! Not exactly the smartest way to prepare yourself for one of the most “grueling endurance events” out there. This year my preparation for Ironman Louisville hasn’t been exactly by the book, but my training has been extremely consistent & I am happy to say that I have gotten multiple 50-60 mile rides in and am feeling stronger every week. Now it was time to do that little bit longer ride of 80 miles that I never did last year.

Once again the weather was being kind to us as we set out on the course. There were a ton of triathletes out riding, politely waving as we passed each other. Hey all you road racing peeps out there, I know it’s not “cool” to acknowledge other bikers as they pass...especially a bike with aero bars. I’ll still give you the head nod or flick of the wrist when I see you, or maybe I’ll just sit up and yell “good morning!”. All of us triathletes will always remember that YOU are the coolest ones on the road...haha.

Our ride finished up at about 83 miles, which included lots of hills, and I felt surprisingly good. We ran for 30 minutes afterwards and called it a day. Went home and hopped in a refreshingly cold pool for a little bit and relaxed. Only a couple more big weekends of training left.

mmmmm.......Brisket

What perfect day for a ride. The weather was perfectly clear and the temperature was just right. I was setting out again to meet the hills of the Ironman Louisville course once again. My ride partner would be none other than “Mr. Bobby Flay” (my brother-in-law). We did the loop and this time when we were finished I felt awesome. Not at all like the last time when I wanted to throw up after getting beaten up by the hills & wind. This time was different. This time I walked away with a little more confidence and a lot more energy. When I got home I still wanted to get after it, so I went for a run, expecting that the mid-day heat would quickly take its toll on me and I would call it a day, but not today my friends. Today I was strong and today I felt great.

The day would only get better because "Mr. Bobby Flay" was going to be serving up some smoked brisket...mmmmm. We sat patiently as it was slowly cooked to perfection and absorbed the masterfully crafted rub and mop sauce...the anticipation building. The moment of truth finally arrived and…..spectacular! A tip of the hat to Mr. Flay, your prowess on the grill is something to be marveled at.

52 Miles & Some Punches to The Face

I’ll just start out by saying how great of a Saturday ride I had. I didn’t want to do many hills since the knee was still bothering me a little from my Wednesday hilly Ironman course ride. I did the majority of the ride was flat with a few hills at the end for good measure. When the ride was over I had totaled 52 miles and my body felt great. I’ll be in Iron-shape in no time (well, maybe kind-of-Iron-shape).

The remainder of my day was spent chilling out eagerly awaiting my Saturday night plans. Dinner at my brother-in-laws house, who has earned the nickname “Mr. Bobby Flay”, followed by some gladiatorial combat in the form of UFC 73.

Good ride, great food, good fights, I say good day sir!

4th of July Ride

For the last six months I have been steadily training with my wife & her TEAM in Training group for their first Olympic distance triathlon. The constancy of my training was the best it has ever been. However I will not be doing an Olympic distance race in 8 weeks, I will be doing the Louisville Ironman. Note to self don’t train for an IM race using an Olympic distance schedule….haha. I’m sure all the die-hards & experts out there cringe when they hear of “my training methods”. So cringe away because I know it ain’t how things should be done, but I now have 6 weeks before the 2 weeks taper to make my situation a little better come race day.

So July 4th my sister, who is a tri-stud, & I go for my first somewhat long ride on the IM course. We set out from St. Francis School on 42 and rode the course loop back to the school totaling just over 40 miles. The ride was awesome. We rode past all kinds of horse farms, some deer ran along next to us for a few seconds, & turkey buzzard flew over us at one point. I’m not sure if he thought that once I got to the top of the hill I would keel over and he could get a few bites off me. If he was smart he would have show up at around mile 30 of the ride because that’s about when I felt like laying on the side of the road for the scavengers to pick me apart. I finished the ride well behind my tri-stud sister. She is an absolute monster on the bike especially when lots of hills are involved. I then topped the workout off with an easy 10 min run.

All in all, I am happy to have gotten out there today. Happy 4th & God Bless America. Now I’m going to watch all the Rocky movies on TV....truly American.