IM Date: 7/28/10 - "It's gonna hurt!"

Well, I know it's getting close because I just made my appointments to "get stretched" each of the final two weeks before the race. I did this last year and I think it was worth every penny...however painful it really is.

I've had issues in the past and continue to with things like my calves cramping from being "too tight" so this is a good thing.

That's all for now...back soon!

IM Date: 7/26/10 - Week 14

Just 5 weeks to go...and it's time to crank it up before the taper starts. Last week I had to take a couple of rest days due to over-training. But I feel a bit better today so hopefully this can last until week 18.

Swim times will increase over the next couple of weeks and we are going to do one last long ride this Sunday after Andrew and I run the "Minnesota Twins 4K" run downtown Minneapolis. We'll head back up to Hinckley and probably get 85 - 90 miles in. The weekend after that we'll do the "Tour de Tonka" ride which is 65 (if I remember right) and then the time begins t drop down to 3 - 4 hour rides.

Speaking of events, yesterday was the Chisago Lakes Tri. Jodee did the half-IronMan distance and Andrew and I did the sprint course. It was his first full-length race and he did well. He had some struggles with the open-water swim but he pushed through. His bike was okay and then he had a great run...so he ended the race on a positive note.

We were both very proud and even though he said that parts of the race "really-sucked" he's ready for more next season. I laughed...but I totally know the feeling ; )

More to come!

IM Date: 7/21/10 - Week 13

Okay...so I'm kind of late this week with my post. I was off on Monday and yesterday went by in a blurr! So here we are in the last 1/3 of the training program and after one more long ride, things really start to taper down. I can't believe we are really at this point already.

This weekend is the Chisago Lakes Triathlon and will be Andrew's first, full length, adult triathlon. He's trained hard and Jodee and I are very excited for him to take this next step in his training and competing. I'll be doing the sprint course with him while Jodee will be doing the half-IronMan.

More to come...

IM Date: 7/12/10 - Week 12

Wow...what a week. I'm glad week #11 is over with, 'cuz I'm tired! After getting more than 200 miles in on the bike last week, along with the 2010 Lifetime Fitness triathlon as well as all of the regular training, etc. I am tired.

But today starts a new week of training and I'm feeling surprisingly good. This week sees us cranking up the biking a little more than before while everything else pretty much stays the same. I may get out and try some mountain biking this week, so if that materializes, I will give a full review!

Have a great week!

IM Date: 7/10/10 - LTF Tri Results

The first triathlon of the year is in the books...the 2010 Lifetime Fitness Tri was Saturday and I am happy to say it went well. My finish time was 2:35:53, about 3 minutes faster than last year. All of which came from my run time.

The biggest change from last year to this year was last year we were wore our wetsuits and this year we did not. A wetsuit increases your buoyancy which will give you a better time. But the lake was a balmy 81.7 degrees and we thought it would be a good idea to try out our speed-suits before we get to Louisville in August. So it was the perfect excuse. I was a little worried about how the speed-suit would be in comparison to the wetsuit, but it was great. It felt almost the same.

So overall it was a good race and I felt good throughout. We get one weekend off and then we head to Chisago, MN for the Chisago Lakes Triathlon on the 25th.

IM Date: 7/9/10 - Race Week

Tomorrow is the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon. And while I do not feel very good going into it, it will be a good gauge of where my training is at. Jodee and i are both doing the Olympic/International distance which consists of: 1.5 k (.9 mile) swim, 40 k (about 25 miles) bike and a 10 k (6.2 miles) run. While I don't really like the course very much (it's by far my LEAST favorite swim of any triathlon I've ever done - yet the one I do every single year) I do like the event as a whole. The best part is seeing the pro racers in action...they are amazing.

Looks like it will be a warm one!

IM Date: 7/6/10 - Week 11

Okay...so it wasn't quite this bad, but yes...I had a little crash yesterday. Jodee and I decided to take our day-off and get in a 100 mile "century" ride. It was right as we were getting going and thanks to some sand I met the pavement with a "thud." But after

Apparently we had a breakdown in our communications because about 1/4 of the way through the ride it became apparent that she wasn't planning on the same ride I was. But she was a trooper and gutted it out for the full 100 miles.

And just like last year, we rode from Hinckley towards Duluth making it just outside of Carlton, MN before we turned around. We rode past the spot where we had our" breakdown" last year and were both glad we were better prepared for such a situation if it happened again this year. It was a long, windy and hot ride. At times you could feel the heat radiate up off of the pavement. By the time we were about 6 or 7 miles out from the end of the ride we were greeted by a nice downpour of rain.

But alas, we got through it. We'll do another long ride later this month and we'll probably do a very similar route on the same trail.

More to come this week as we get ready for the LifeTime Fitness triathlon on Saturday!

IM Date: 7/6/10 - Red, White & Boom Results

It was a wet one! But pretty good overall. Not my best, not my worst. Both Jodee and I finished with a time of 1:43:19. And after dealing with the wind, rain and heat...I'll take it.

Back soon!