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Next weekend (11/22-11/23) all Sunrise members will be given an opportunity to jump start training for the 2009 season. Source Endurance out of Austin, TX will be in Shreveport to offer 4 distinct clinics for us to attend. You can decide to come to one or all 4 sessions.

Here is a tentative schedule:

Bike Handling Skills Clinic (Sat 11/22 9AM-12PM)

Saturday 11/22
Stoner Boat Launch
9:00-12:00pm
Come prepared to get on your bike and learn how to descend, turn, drink, and much more while riding. We will be in the parking lot on the road and on the grass to make sure there is a soft spot for falling.

The clinic will conclude with a can't miss game of tag while on your bike!!

Running Skills and Transition Clinic Saturday (Sat 11/22 3PM-5PM)

Lee Hedges Stadium
3:00-5:00
Running Skills and Transition Clinic
Here we will learn all the skills necessary to safely incorporate speed into our training. Running drills will be explained and demonstrated properly. Key stretches and recovery strategies will
also be emphasized to help us stay injury free. The transition clinic will focus on training us how to gain that free speed we could all use!

Quality vs. Quantity (Sat 11/22 7PM-9PM)

Saturday 11/22
7:00-9:00
El Chico's Madison Park
Training Lecture - Quality vs. Quantity
Can we really have a successful season with limited time to train? How can we incorporate training when we all have demanding jobs, family and other commitments? This lecture will show us how to train on as few hours a week as possible and still reach our goals.  Dinner is not included so bring some cash if you want to eat.

Source Endurance Fully Supported Group Ride  (Sunday 11/23 8:00-10:30am)

Sunday 11/23
8:00-10:30am
LSUS Parking Lot
Fully Supported Group Ride
Cap off the weekend with a moderately paced group ride with all 5 Source Endurance coaches and trainers. EVERY level member will be accomodated from super fast to super slow. We will have a sag wagon and sweep riders on the road to feed, protect and serve us. You don't want to miss this!!

I will be sending updates all week. Please let me know if you are planning to attend any or all events. It will be helpful to get an idea of what to expect.

Sunrise is covering all the costs (except dinner on Saturday) so try to take advantage of at least one session.

We are even working on a way to raffle off a training package for one lucky attendee to receive a 3 month training package from Source Endurance.

I hope to see everyone there!

Martha

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I'm back, and have been sleeping like a baby.  Initially, I thought I would be sorer than I am right now.  The legs were shredded on Sunday, Monday, and the soreness was gone on Wednesday.  Now that's a fast recovery. 

The Swim

All week I was more excited than nervous.  I did get a bit nervous about 5 minutes before the swim.  The cannon went off, and most raced down the beach into the water.  A few walked into the surf until it was waste deep.  I was dolphin diving as soon as I could.  The first loop was a hand and feet fest.  I really did not get hit often, much less than I thought I would.   I kept my head down, and kept turning over the strokes, some slow - some fast, to adjust my speed with the pack.  The first lap seemed to take a long time, when I came out of the water 31 minutes had elapsed.  The second lap took less mental time but longer in the real world.  When I came out of the water I was a confused on how much time had elapsed.  The clock said 1:26 or 1:36.  Was I really swimming that long?  I ran up the beach, to the wetsuit strippers and badda bing badda boom, my wetsuit was off.  (Swim time 1:16:xx)

In T1 I forgot to put my wetsuit into my transition bag.  I did not realize this until I was on the bike about 10 miles out of town.   The next day after the race, I picked up my wetsuit at lost and found.  Good thing I had my name written on the zipper strap.

The Bike

I was on the bike, and starting to get a little hungry.   I drank water for 20 minutes on the way out of town, and then started eating the PBJs.  Around 30 miles, the ride started getting too comfortable, and the back wheel was spongy.  I was getting a flat.  I came off the bike and changed the flat, and by the time I had finished with the wheel race support pulled up to help me.  They took my dead flat tire and spent CO2.  Around the 70 miles Daniel came by me, and we rode and talked a bit, and then he pushed ahead.  Besides the flat, my bike was pretty uneventful.  Around 80 miles there were no more packs of people.   I just kept riding up to athletes, say hello, and pass them.  Coming back we had a nice tail wind, and instead of pushing the pace I just let the heart rate drop low into the easy zone.  I was saving those bpm for the run. (Bike 6:13:xx)

T2.  Off the bike and into the changing tent.  I stripped off the biking gear and put on running shorts and a shirt.  I was worried about the fierce Florida sun burning my shoulders.  Got a quick application of sunscreen on the arms, shoulders, and back of the neck and I was off on the run.

The Run

For the first 13.1 miles I was doing great.   I was knocking out mile after mile at a Sub 9 pace, right where I wanted to be.  I was more concerned with pace than nutrition.  When I reached the turnaround near the finish line, I was not feeling super fast anymore.  I received my special needs bag and a bottle of Carbo Pro, and walked a bit, and then started to run again.  I saw Katie and felt a surge.  For the third leg of the run I remember the turnaround at the finish line and the entering the park and making the final turn around in the park, I'm not sure what happened in the middle?  When I ran to the final turn in the park, the time was 5:42 PM.   I took a big sip of coke and took off.  I knew I could make it back in 60 minutes.  Mile 20 all the way back to the finish I ran from aid station to aid station, only enough walking to collect a cup of water and cola and drink as much as I could handle at the moment. The faster I ran the sooner I would be done.  The legs felt strong but I was tired, and just kept pushing.  The run was done in 4:02:10.   Two minutes faster than my first marathon.   What a great run. What a great day!

I really enjoyed the race, and the accomplishment finally took hold of me Monday morning.  I was so glad to share this with Katie, Louise, Daniel and Elka.  Special thanks to coach John Newsom.  You rock.   I was 20 miles into the marathon and I knew would finish strong.   Thanks for all the good workouts and tips.  And thanks to all those who cheered me on the course, your names are unknown, and I appreciated all the encouragement.

Living the Dream (11:42:34, IMFL 2008, My First IM)

Craig

 

(I missed having my riding buddies Seth and Jeff to chat with on the ride.   112 miles is a long way to ride with no conversation.)

Posted in: Race  Tags: triathlon, ironman, florida

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It’s now 10:30 AM, Tuesday, and I still have not left the driveway.  With all the hustle of packing, stuffing, and maneuvering items into the truck, I miss placed the one key item I needed.  My keys!  I more excited than nervous.

I have spent three months in a run focus, three months in a bike focus, and then another four months of combining all three sports together.  We’ve had some solid long rides were each of us suffered at least once.   Either off the back, or just trying to hold onto a wheel so we could make it back to our cars and drive straight home and crash on the couch.

More than the gain in fitness is the friendship you develop with the others you train with.  I mean after multiple many long runs and very long rides, there is no more casual conversation about the weather.  At this point all conversations are personal, that's how I feel.   One on One.  Only the good stuff is left to discuss.

Thanks to everyone who has shared a story.  I’ll cherish them all.  

Fyi, I found the keys on the bumper.

peace out

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I was out riding late October and snapped this photo while on Robinson Rd, adding in a last few intervals before Ironman Florida.  The sun went down a bit quicker than I thought it would and I stopped to take this quick pic, which turned out good.  I would recommend not putting the digital camera in the bento box on the front of the bike, my camera seems to have rewired itself with the help of my perspiration.  

This year I have put a lot of miles on the bike at Rocky Mount and ERBC to Mansfield.  We even got to see a cougar on the side of the road one weekend out on HWY 1 between Ellerbe and the General Store about five miles out.   The cougar was not alive, ...I don't know if a car hit the cougar or it was killed and placed there.   Jeff and Seth also spotted the cougar but none of us stopped to whip out the phone and take a pic.  Next time the workout will have to stop for a moment to capture the event.  The cougar was gone the next day.

I'm feeling pretty good about IMFL.  The training has been great, and I'm as fit as I have ever been.  I'm ready.  Bring it on.

cn

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