Road to Lake Placid - May (cont)

May is a BIG month for my Ironman training. Three races and extended training to boot. Yahooo, this is the fun part it.

After Pikes Peek 10k and the Marathon, I did the Columbia Triathlon. This was my eighth time there. The day started out cool and overcast. We old guys were in the third swim wave, nearly a full hour ahead of the last waves. This allows us to finish with the young studs, even though we are not quite as fast as they are. I had a decent race. I PR'ed (PR = Personal Record) my swim with a 28:57 (yeah for me), but my bike was slow due to a persistant cold rain. I didn't have the guts to let my bike go on the downhills, as I was worried about the wet roads. The better cyclists didn't hold back however. I had a decent run and finished 16th out of 20 in my age group.
.. .. ..

The last competition in May was the Jim McDonald Lake swims. This consisted of a one mile open water swim, followed (after an hour rest) by a two mile open water swim. The upcoming Ironman swim is 2.4 miles, so this race is great preparation for the IM. It was a beautiful day and the water was surprisingly warm....77 degrees. I had a great one miler, turning in another PR at 33:50 and actually WINNING my age group. Let me say for the record, that this does not happen very often. I had a good two miler at 1:09:26, another PR, and won the bronze in this race. Go HG!

Road to Lake Placid - April - May

Spring training for Ironman began in Longmont in early April. While there, I was able to begin long bike rides (2 to 4 hours), plus started getting my running distances up. Got in a few 18 milers, and my long pre-marathon run of 22 miles.

We drove back to VA the last week in April, just in time for the Pikes Peek 10k. Since I am training for an Ironman, a 10k isn't much of a run, so I ran it twice, just for grins.



My training buddies, Rob and Chuck

were there for the full double too

The next leg of the LP training plan was the Potomac River Run Marathon. This was held in Alexandria, VA, going from Belle Haven to Mt. Vernon twice. The day was cool and windy (good weather for a Marathon) and the run was well managed with lots of support. My buddy Chuck and I both finished strong.

26.2 miles, 5:05, Silver Medal finish, hooorah!

The Road to Ironman Lake Placid 2007 - Dec - Apr

Dec - April 2007

I committed to the 2007 Lake Placid Ironman last July (2006), 'cuz you have to sign up a year in advance in order to get a slot. Perhaps I should have BEEN committed.

Training for an Ironman takes a fair amount of time. Training during the winter while in Steamboat was all the more difficult as there was no opportunity to bike outdoors, and running was mostly limited to the treadmill. Soooo, like all good athletes, I improvised. I took spinning classes twice a week. This is not the perfect substitute for long bike rides, but it does keep your legs in decent shape. I swam in the Steamboat Health and Rec Center outdoor, naturally heated pool nearly every day. It is interesting swimming outside in 10 degrees or less while it is snowing.

And, I spent a lot of time on the treadmill. Up to 2 1/2 hours at a time. That takes dedication, let me tell you. And, it also took an iPod. Me and my black iPod Nano became very close this winter. We spend enough time together, that we might have been married. Thank God and Steve Jobs (is this redundant?) for iPod.

Jase & Co in SB

April 2007

Jase and family decided to try spring skiing this year. They came out to ski for the first week in April and luckily the snow and weather were kind to us. We still had plenty of snow, and it even snowed during their visit. The night time temperatures were below freezing, so we had good snow all week. It warmed up during the day for perfect spring skiing conditions.

Here is the standard posed group picture:

Here's a couple of self portraits from the lift:










And yes, Brady skied too:

Steamboat 2006/7 season catch up

January 2007

Sorry for neglecting of this blog. I guess I was having too much fun skiing and working out.

These images are from Telluride where I met my MIT buds, Mel, Neal and friend Steve in January. Very rugged terrain.

Telluride is out of the way, even more so than Steamboat. And the town is even smaller than Steamboat. When I drove back into SB, I felt like I had returned to a major metropolitan area.