Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Where is WaldoWalchka?

You may not believe it but I am in fact still around, though I know I haven’t made much of a showing in blogland lately. It would have been nice to chronicle all that has been going on, but there just hasn’t been any time. I’ve been spread pretty thin the last few months between all my responsibilities. At the top of the list has been work and coaching for TNT. Other items, including my own training, have had to take a back seat. Not exactly what I how I planned going into my first Ironman, but the team came first and that’s a choice I’d make again. The TNT season is almost complete as the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon that they are racing is this weekend. It will be great to get that time back for my own training, but I will miss coaching and helping others meet all the challenges that I triathlon brings. We have our final team workout last night and the pasta party is on Thursday before the big race on Saturday.

With the weekend off from coaching I was actually able to turn my attention to my own big race by heading to Madison to train with the WIBA crew. Overall it was a great weekend and I met a lot of nice people. There are more details to share, but this weekend told me how much work I have yet to do before September 9th. Not a lot of time, but I know have a better idea of what it is really going to take to finish an Ironaman.

Ironwil, Simply Stu, and everyone else who helped to put WIBA on did an amazing job. I can’t thank them enough for all the opportunities that they provided in a jammed-packed weekend.

Weekend Recap:
Friday - SafetyBob picked me up early in the morning and we were on the road to Madison by 7:00 am. About 4.5 hours later we arrived in Madison and checked in to our hotel. After a trip to the bike shop and some food it was time for the activities to start. First up was a 2 hour session on the Cycle Ops bikes working on max power. I don’t think I was quite ready for an all out 2 hour session. The Cycle Ops bikes are pretty sweet, but I was drained afterwards. Lucky for us it was just the beginning as the bike was followed up by a 30 minute swim and a 20 run. So nothing like being in a car all morning and then doing a triple workout. Bob and I were beat afterwards, but rebounded a bit in time for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. We talked with others from the group including MN’s own TaconiteBoy. The food was great and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Saturday – After the long day on Friday we skipped the swim to get a bit of extra sleep before the big ride. It was the right choice considering the ride we were about to have. Basically the 75 miles on the course was the hardest ride I’ve ever done. The 100+ heat index didn’t help while riding the very hilly and challenging course. I’ve never had to change my gears so many times in one ride. The only bit of joy was arriving at the three stops to refill our water bottles before heading out again. I think I went through 7 or 8 water bottles in the 4.5 hours that we were out. I rode ¾ of the ride with TaconiteBoy which was fun. We had a small group that suffered together. Getting lost once and adding an extra hill didn’t make the day go by any faster.

Sunday – We were schedule to do half the marathon course with the group. Saturday’s bike had some lingering effects and I woke up with a nasty headache. Bob’s legs were suffering as well so we decided to play it smart and skip the run. It would have been nice to run the course, but the body just wasn’t ready for that. After a good breakfast we packed up the Jeep and headed home.

Overall it was a great weekend and I’m really glad we went. Again a big thank you to everyone who played a part in making WIBA happen. The weekend provided me with the list of things I need to work on before the race. Some parts need a lot of work, but I’d rather know now then be surprised on Sept. 9th.

Hopefully after this weekend I’ll be back full steam in my training and blogging. Until then it’s back to coaching and to all those last minute things before the team races on Saturday.

Take care…

3 Comments:

Blogger Trisaratops said...

Heyyyyyyyyyy you're back!

So jealous of WIBA this year! Last year we had a blast, too.

Too bad I can't run into you in a school bus at 5:02am on Ironman morning this year :( But excited to see how it all goes for ya!

7:30 PM  
Blogger Taconite Boy said...

Good to see you too.

Hey can you send me an email. Wanted to more info on rides out and around afton ect. Also wondering about trying to cooridnate some rides...we need to suffer more together :)

tacboy@paradisepainting.us

6:55 AM  
Blogger Tracy said...

It was so awesome to see you again :) Thanks for coming out!

4:27 PM  

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