16 miles.

Jackie and I headed out around 7:00am this morning for our 16 mile training run, the longest distance either of us has gone so far. After completing 14 miles last Sunday, I felt pretty confident I would be able to handle it. The weather was perfect for a long run – 47 degrees, cloudy and no wind. We picked one of our usual courses, running down the Mountain to Sea Trail near our apartment and heading west towards the Newport Back Bay.

I felt strong the entire way and was able to get enough water and GU Chomps to stay on track. I kept a consistent pace of about 8 minutes per mile for the first 14 miles and slipped back just a little over the final two miles to finish the 16 miles in 2:11. That’s an overall pace of 8:11 per mile on the day!

I feel great about today’s run, but am quickly learning just how taxing the marathon distance is going to be. Today made 16 miles seem like it might be the point where every mile will really start getting tougher. Running another ten over what I did today is going to be a big challenge. Overall, my body is much more sore today than I have been in a while. But…that probably has something to do with yesterday’s CrossFit workout. Note to self: Don’t do a Tabata workout involving air squats and weighted lunges (45# in each hand) the day before a long training run!

After all that, my muscles were definitely in need of some recovery, so I hopped in an ice bath for about 10 minutes, a recommendation from another Ironman in training (Thanks Todd!). Ice baths make a huge difference in kick starting muscle recovery, making the initial shock well worth it after just a few minutes. I’ll be making this part of my post-run routine for sure.

New Gear – I’ve had issues with blisters on long runs, so, last night I picked up a pair of Injinji toesocks (pictured). Aside from keeping my toes from rubbing against each other, they help the toes spread as they should naturally when running. No blisters today and on top of that, they kept my feet cool and relatively dry. I think I found a winner.

Next week we have an easy 6 miler which is perfect timing since we’ll be wine tasting in Temecula. Then, it’s on to the next challenge – 18 miles.

The plan for 2012

In this post I’ll give an overview of my plan for the year including the races I’ll be participating in and how and when I will go about my training. Hopefully, this will give those of you outside the sport of triathlon a good picture of what goes into the year of an Ironman in training.

My goal for this year will be to follow a training plan that sets up the Ironman to be my “A” race. I will select a few other races this year to use as training races, helping me gain experience and set benchmarks. This year’s calendar includes a marathon and a half iron distance triathlon, neither of which have I attempted before. I may throw in a shorter distance triathlon as more of a “for fun” race, where I can work on my transitions, strategy and test equipment and nutrition in a race setting. With that, here’s what’s on tap for 2012:

March 18th, LA Marathon (www.lamarathon.com) – The LA Marathon will be the first full marathon (26.2 miles) for Jackie and I. We have done a few half marathons over the last few years and feel it’s time to try the full. For me, it’s a necessity as I’ll be running a full marathon after the swim and bike legs of the Ironman.

LA should be an interesting venue. The course is point to point, which means it starts in one location and finishes in another as opposed to the more common looped courses. In this case, we’ll start at Dodger Stadium and make our way through LA, hitting Hollywood, Sunset, the Chinese Theater and other landmarks along the way to the Santa Monica Pier.

Jackie and I are in the middle of our marathon training now. As of last week, every Sunday is now a milestone run. We did 14 miles which surpasses our previous longest run of 13.1 miles (a half marathon). Tomorrow we will run 16 miles. We try to knock these long runs out on Sunday mornings, usually starting around 7am. Then we shower, hit up Jamba Juice for our post run smoothie fix and head to church. This routine will likely get tougher as we build up to 22 miles in a few weeks.

Aside from these long runs, we do an easy 2-4 mile run on Monday and a harder tempo run or speed work on Wednesday. These are usually 6-7 miles or a series of intervals at the track.

In addition to running, we do CrossFit three days a week right now (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday). These workouts take place on top of our parking structure as many of you have seen in the the weekly pictures posted on Facebook by our awesome trainers, Jeff and Carolyn Alexander. CrossFit has been a huge addition to the training regime and I’ll be talking about it in more detail in later blog posts.

June 9th, Camp Pendleton World Famous Mud Run – We’ll be running this great event down at Camp Pendleton, home to the U.S. Marines, with a group of fellow CrossFitters. The Mud Run is a 10k (6.2 mile) obstacle course where we’ll get covered in mud, blasted by marines with fire hoses, make our way through a 4ft deep pond, crawl through tunnels, climb walls, and run like crazy. At the finish, it’s time to shower up and enjoy some live music and free beers! An additional twist, we’ll be in the Boots and Utes division decked out in military boots and utility pants. Oorah!

September 23rd, Orangeman Half Iron Distance Triathlon – This race takes place in a beautiful setting in southern Orange County. Jackie and I volunteered on the bike course last year and are excited the add this one to the calendar this time around. It consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 miles on the bike and a half marathon run of 13.1 miles – exactly half the distance of a full Ironman. The course is supposed to be very challenging, but, beautiful with the bike course on Ortega Highway and the run along the coast.

We haven’t started training specifically for this race yet, but, the date fits perfectly with the suggested date for a half iron distance triathlon in the 30-week training plan I’ll be starting in April.

November 18th, Ironman Arizona (www.Ironmanarizona.com) – Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles. Brag for the rest of my life. I get more excited for this race everyday…that might be because I haven’t started the training just yet, but, everything is starting to come together and I know it will be a tough, but, amazing experience.

As far as the venue, Ironman Arizona (IMAZ) takes place in Tempe, AZ at Tempe Town Lake. It’s about a 5-6 hour drive from Orange County, which is perfect. Also, the bike and run courses are both setup in three loops. So, while repeating the same course three times might seem boring, the race will keep me closer to the Start/Finish area and allow family and friends to catch me out on both courses multiple times. I’m looking forward to hearing my cheering section when I’ll really need them out there.

As I mentioned above, I will start a 30-week training plan in April. I’m using a well known training schedule from the book, Be Iron Fit. It breaks down the training into three phases: Base, Build and Peak. I will put my own twist on it by adding CrossFit into the mix, likely just two days a week for most of it. I haven’t quite planned this all out yet, but, will be posting about it in the coming weeks. So, stay tuned.

Ironman Arizona 2012. I’m in!

I’m in. After participating in various triathlons over the last few years, I’ve decided to take on the sport’s biggest challenge – the Ironman. Specifically, I’ll be participating in Ironman Arizona on November 18th, 2012.

I’ll use this blog to share my experience training for Ironman over the next ten months along with the impact it will undoubtedly have on my life. Here you’ll read about good days and new personal records. And, you’ll read about bad days, struggles and set backs. In the end, I’m looking forward to having this blog to look back on the journey to becoming an Ironman.

With that, I thought I’d tell you a little more about what Ironman is along with some reasons why I decided to do it.

What is Ironman? 

Ironman, in my opinion, is the ultimate test of endurance – physically and mentally. It consists of the following events completed in 17 hours or less:

• Swim 2.4 Miles 
• Bike 112 Miles
• Run 26.2 Miles (a marathon)

The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay (a running race for 5-person teams). Participants were debating which athletes were more fit, runners, swimmers or cyclists. U.S. Navy Commander John Collins suggested that the debate should be settled through a race combining the three existing long-distance competitions already on the island: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the Around-Oahu Bike Race and the Honolulu Marathon.

Prior to racing, each athlete received three sheets of paper listing a few rules and a course description. Handwritten on the last page was this exhortation: “Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life.”

(Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_Triathlon)

This should help paint the picture of just what it means to be an Ironman.

Why am I doing Ironman?

As many of you know, my wife, Jackie, and I have been doing triathlons and road races over the last few years. Fitness has become a great passion for both of us. This all started with a small sprint-distance triathlon. In 2009, we set the goal to accomplish what now seems like nothing (500 yard swim, 12 mile bike, 3.1 mile run). Our idea was to train for something that would hold us accountable to going to the gym and sticking to a training plan. Needless to say, we became pretty addicted, having now completed five triathlons and three half marathons together.

I’ve been throwing around the idea of doing Ironman for about a year now and finally decided that if I was going to do it, this was the time. Here’s why.

I’m doing Ironman for physical fitness. This is the obvious one. Ironman training will challenge me physically. It will help me become more fit through long training hours and detailed attention to a healthy diet that supports my training needs. In short, I’m hoping to get stronger, faster and healthier this year.

I’m doing Ironman for the mental challenge. Over the next ten months, my life will revolve around training. I’ll have to make sacrifices and pay extra attention to managing training time around work and life. It won’t always be easy. I’m hoping the mental preparation for training and working through it everyday will change me for the better.

The mental challenge will be tough in training as well. I’ll also have to train my brain to overcome pain and the “demons” that will show up often in long training rides and on race day. This will help me learn a lot about myself and how far I can really push the limits.

I’m doing Ironman to set an example. I feel like the experience will allow me to show others that anything is possible. I’m hoping to inspire others to take better care of themselves by being smart about health and fitness. It kills me to see people unable to live the life they should be because they don’t take care of the only body God gave them. Maybe my experience can help others set and achieve their own fitness goals.

I’d also like to share this accomplishment with my kids someday, again, to show them what’s possible when you set goals and work hard to achieve them.

I hope you enjoy what you read. Please feel free to pass my blog along to others and, of course, let me know what you think in the comments.

– Ben