Training Logs

While building out training plans, I start with a Google Drive Sheet (Example Google Sheet), with all of the target workouts listed and the associated results of each. All of the big events from my first Ironman at Wisconsin in 2019 have had at least a 6 month formal plan put together. Each week, I’ve written up a short summary of how all of the events went.

What follows here is a listing of my weekly summaries, showing my moods and thoughts along the way, hopefully re-constructing the rollercoaster of training. Remaining completely candid throughout, these are my thoughts at the time and I’m presenting it here as more of a time capsule of my journey.

2022 – Ultraman Florida

  • Feb 7 – Feb 10 – Monday was a long travel day, was able to get a few airport walks in was all. Tuesday I was finally able to ride outside again, felt fantastic to get on a rode, took some time to get comfortable out there and got a little lost. Wednesday we went down to the race site for a little run with Chad & Ryan with a couple pickups then a swim in the cold lake, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. Did one more mechanical ride after the bike tech replaced a cable and the bottom bracket, and I put on a new chain, pushed on a couple sprints just to ensure everything was working well. Went back to the race site Thursday for one more swim, with gloves this time, which worked really well, set my mind at ease, back at the house took one final shake out run, then tried to get some rest before race day.
  • Jan 31 – Feb 6 – Easy Monday with a nice long walk, weather if finally feeling nicer. Good wetsuit swim Tues, feeling fast in it, hit 1:13 for a 100yd, took the family for a walk, much colder than expected, had a good recovery ride then out to dinner for work. Wed run on the treadmill had a tight chest, felt like the air was really dry, and wasn’t handling it well. Right foot, on the outer side was have a couple twinges, something to keep an eye on. Started cramping in the hamstrings, right and left legs at work Wed, I haven’t had these pop up in quite awhile, the only thing I can think of that’s different is I’m eating more peanuts, thus more salt than usual. I’m going to start taking Magnesium again through to race day. Good swim Thursday, pushed a great pace, only had time for short run that night with Elsa. Straight watts push early Friday on the ride, held an ok average. Easy swim Saturday with Ryan, long segments, steady paced, into a decent spin bike ride, not pushing hard on watts, just keeping the legs moving. Started Sunday with a flexibility session, then took Elsa for a long easy run, was feeling great for it, then a long walk with Kelly.
  • Jan 24 – Jan 30 – Flexibility session was much needed, and felt great, again, not much of a strength focus to it. Good swim Tues, felt less fatigued, was able to push again, really cold, short walk with Elsa, then a good, easy recovery bike session. Wed run was cold again, but good, feeling good as the fatigue subsides, held mid 7’s for parts without much effort. Thurs swim was the opposite, mindset was long and slow, and I couldn’t get any speed working at all, but, slow and steady it was, same with the ride, I couldn’t hold any kind of power, 200 watts felt like 350, adjusted to hit 180’s instead of the target 230’s, disheartening. Ran Friday on the treadmill, 9 min pace with 1.5% grade, felt decent throughout, no hard push in there though. Sat swim went great, broke 5km into 3rds and was quite consistent, felt tired, but great by the end. The ride went even better, 3x60min ramp ups and was able to hold 230+ for 10 minutes while 3 hours in, not certain what changed, but it was a great confidence boost. Sunday’s run went much the same, felt solid throughout, 15 miles in and was feeling fresh, love it.
  • Jan 17 – Jan 23 – Family walk on Monday. Good hard swim Tuesday, still feeling the fatigue from the weekend, but swim well, walked the pup with Kel and got a decent recovery ride in, where I felt quite good on the bike. Wednesday’s run was slow in the cold, but the heartrate was good, and the legs felt tired but solid, no aches or pains. Thursday AM swim started with just me and Ryan who had his breakthrough swim and stayed right with me throughout, super happy for him! Ran to Ellen’s for WausaUltra meeting, was cold, but had some good intervals times in there, stopped a little short of goal time. Friday am ride went well, dropped the FTP on Zwift to ensure I could get the ride done, I think I dropped it a bit too far, felt a little too easy. Swam with Ryan G over lunch, he’s continuing to do well. Stopped the swim 1k short Sat as my shoulders and neck were really tensed up, thinking it may have been because the pool temp was colder than usual, not a great sign for a cold open water swim. Then did a 5 hour bike at Chad’s in the heat, was really feeling overheated until I switched to ice water, helped a ton. Was quite nice to see the sun and outdoors while riding, beats the basement. Ran on the treadmill at home Sunday, stopped about 2 miles short due to my knees hurting. Got a late start Sunday, was really feeling fatigued.
  • Jan 10 – Jan 16 – Cold start to the week, and finish from last weekend. Took Elsa for a short walk, and got a decent flexibility session in, did a number of short ones this week. Great swim Tues, fastest Iron-distance swim to date. Run went well, but was strapped for time, called it a bit short. Felt good to run in the warmer air though! Easy bike on Wed was good outside of Zwift crashing, recorded on the watch instead. Took Thursday swim easy knowing what was coming, still a decent time, put the ftp down to 190 for the hard bike session to not blow out the legs, and got a recovery family walk in too. Indoor Ironman went quite well on Friday, the swim was 2.4 mile straight, a little slower than anticipated, but wasn’t pushing, the cycle was super flat, and had some great company for, the first ride with people in ages! The run was a bit brutal, switched from treadmill to track 4 times, tracking this was hard, so the run was approximated. Saturday, woke up sore, but slept great, about 10 hours! Swim was even slower, shoulders were really hurting, and had a headache, so didn’t flip turn at all. Started to feel better during the ride, got more calories in and just slogged it out, low watts. Sunday’s run was good, after the first 3-4 miles, those really sucked. Was feeling great by mile 20, was happy for Andy to join for some, and was oddly freezing, like I wasn’t used to running outdoor anymore. Great week.
  • Jan 3 – Jan 9 – Shortened the Monday run per Coach Chad, came out of the weekend run down, flexibility session felt fantastic. Got a decent swim in Tues, sore after the 100×100, and the ride went well, felt really comfortable at 130w. Easy run in the snow on Wed, slow going as there was a lot of snow most places, Elsa had fun though. Slow start to the swim Thurs, was still feeling the 100×100 soreness in the triceps, finished strong. Ran wed on the treadmill, 1.5 grade, steady 60, up 30, up 15, up 5, up 3, up 2 into cooldown, tough on the hips and knees on the treadmill. Friday got a stretching session in b/c the treadmill left me with a really sore back. Struggled a bit on the bike, but hit a decent new FTP, tightness and pain followed. Saturday was in quite a bit of pain, slept in an extra hour, and stopped a lot during the ride to stretch. Had family over until Sunday AM. Feeling a little better, ran to Andy’s for the Packer game in -20, back held together great for this run. Was too cold to run back with wet clothes, so biked the missing time from Saturday to finish off the weekend.
  • Dec 27 – Jan 2 – Short walk in the cold Monday with Elsa into a good S&C Session. Tues swim tried out the new wetsuit, went really well, easy effort was averaging 1:24/100yd, then got a run in with Elsa after work instead of biking, she really needed to run, finally, joined Kel in the gym for an easy spin. Did my recovery spin Wed. Thursday had off work, got a great swim, then ran with Andy, for 90 minutes and finished the last 30 minutes solo, felt great throughout. Crushed Friday’s hard bike session, took Elsa for a walk, then partied in the New Year. Saturday got to a late start, re:party, but got a broken 5 hours 40 in and the run. 100×100’s Sunday went really well, outside of a lull from 5k to7k where my body started to tighten up. Bike session after was cut short to get to family Christmas, was very hard to push the cadence on that ride.
  • Dec 20 – Dec 26 – Monday was busy with work / WausaUltra, ran low on time. Tuesday got a decent swim in, then ran Elsa, which felt pretty good, easy paced, loosened up, into a longer S&C session. Wed am had an easy ride. Thursday had off, great swim to start, fastest Iron distance time, then ran up the mountain with Andrea. Friday had off, got a decent bike ride in, pushed the watts. Saturday I split the bike session, first 2 hour ride as great. Didn’t have time to finish the second though. Got a walk up the Quarry trail with family. Ok run Sunday on the treadmill at home, then walked to the pool to meet Chad, but the pool was closed, so skipped the swim. Took the week easier due to the holidays.
  • Dec 13 – Dec 19 – Travel week for work, in Clearwater FL, took a nice long walk on the beach then flexibility before bed. Tuesday, felt pretty terrible still first thing in the morning, but got a great run over lunch, then a decent ride on a Peloton after dinner, pretty easy effort on both. Ran again Wednesday, early before sessions started, did a little trails, then a OWS over lunch in the ocean. First free swim in the ocean and my mind was a bit nervous as visibility was terrible, salt water doesn’t taste too great either. Longer run Thursday morning, this went great, crossed over 3 huge bridges and got to see a lot more of the Clearwater neighborhood areas. Fly back on Friday and used the day to just recover. Saturday I split the 8 hour ride into 3 smaller chunks, turned down my ftp by 30 and did spin type rides, while I felt wiped out by the end of the day, it was a great mental break. I did only cover 5 hours, not 8, but retained my sanity. Good run Sunday with Jake on tired legs, was pretty slow and cold, but got it done. Swim was cut short as I was getting bored, felt like I should be out with friends, so trimmed the last 2k yards off. Physically I felt good, but it was a pretty slow pace.
  • Dec 6 – Dec 12 – Easy Monday into a great swim Tues AM, fastest IM distance swim to date, mostly sprints, as I got confused on the workout and was doing sets of 10×50 instead of 10×25 – had me pretty wiped out all day though. Easy ride felt great to loosen up. Easy run Wed in the snow without Elsa. Ok swim Thurs, was feeling quite run down, but had fastest 500 and 1k times, after that the session got really hard. Ran on the treadmill that night, was pretty brutal, pulled out short of the target. Swam with Ryan Friday, went well, he’s progressing nicely, attempted a ‘push’ ride that evening, which was difficult, couldn’t hit my targets, and was done without ERG mode. Saturday’s ride was completely brutal! Wanted to stop so many times, but kept pushing, Sunday turned into more of the same on the run. Needed to stop about 4 times to stretch, eat and collect myself to push on further. The snow and non-plowed sidewalks didn’t help at all. This became a difficult week
  • Nov 29 – Dec 5 – Great swim Tuesday am, after a slow start, hit some good times on the 100’s 1:25 may be the new fastest 100. Easy bike session. Wed AM ran on snow with Elsa, took a couple falls and cut it a bit short. Sore on Thurs, but the swim went great, hit 1:25 on 2 hundreds deep into the set. Thurs night, dropped of the car at Danny’s, ran home and got Elsa. Stomach was hurting on interval pace the first 30 min, got better the second part, with Elsa pulling. Brutal workout, kicked my ass. Fri AM, first workout on increased FTP, also kicked my ass, did it out of ERG mode, which I liked better. Sat am was WausaUltra training run, meant to get 3 loops in, made just under 2, got there late and lots of talking. Swim went really well though, pushed it pretty good, Ashley joined. Snow on Sunday kept me from running, but did get the 5 hour ride in, brutally boring, only had football for the last hour of it. Was difficult after the wedding as well.
  • Nov 22 – Nov 28 – Short flexibility, and ran with Elsa to get her some activity, easy effort. Great swim Tuesday, and did some training with Ryan as well. Missed the evening session due to car shopping. Ran with Elsa Wednesday and got a walk in with her. Ran to the turkey trot raced and ran home, missed breaking 20 minutes by 3 seconds! But on the way there my heart rate felt and showed elevation. It’s continued on outdoor runs since. Got a couple of Zwift sessions (HR felt good) in while Kel was walking inside and took Elsa for a little walk as well. Great run with Elsa on Friday morning, good pace and it felt easy, into more car shopping. Shortened Sat bike due to family celebrations, took Elsa on a short walk, had 2 Thanksgivings Saturday. Sunday was tough, bike was a hard press for low watts and the run was brutal. HR on the watch was >190 at times, couldn’t be right, but my chest didn’t feel right either, fatigue had me working hard and moving slow.
  • Nov 15 – Nov 21 – Easy flexibility session, decent run tues on the hills and a great swim in the am, speed is picking up and staying through the whole set. Easy ride Wed. Got to the pool late on Thurs, put in a hard session though, great speed. The run was great that afternoon, tempo work through the wind and snow with Elsa. Ramp test Fri was rough, but pushed the FTP up. The 5 hour ride went well, pushed it a little longer just to hit 100miles, into a decent swim, was slower than expected when judged against perceived effort. Sunday’s run went well on tired legs, was pretty slow, but felt good throughout.
  • Nov 8 – Nov 14 – Easy Monday, full S&C session. Tuesday was a great swim, good pace and feeling better, that easy ride didn’t work, the computer/trainer connection kept crashing out. Wed had a good easy run with Elsa in the morning, than swam with Ryan in the afternoon, worked from home part of the day. Thursday was another good swim, keeping a good pace and less painful again. Thursday night I modified the run from 3x5k to 3x2m but only got halfway through, the hard breathing became too painful to continue. Friday was a tough trainer session, had to stop a couple of times, but made sure I finished it out, then ran with Elsa after work, easy paced. Saturday was on the trainer early, PC was dead, so biked on power to the watch, came through really slow compared to what actual mph would be. Finished the 4 horsemen route then on Zwift, that was a huge ass kicker. Sunday ran over 9 in the first snow with Elsa, then off to the gym to finish on the treadmill and track. Tested estimated pacing on the track with the watch, it came back terribly inaccurate as well. Got a shorter swim in as I ran out of time. Sunday was rough due to a wine hangover. But I did get to bed early 8:30 on Saturday night.
  • Nov 1 – Nov 7 – Short swim on Tuesday, testing out the ribs, did ok with it. Did a run with Elsa that afternoon, shorter again, pace felt good though. Took the ride easy on Wed am before work. Thurs swim went great, pace felt good, the ribs were sore, and by 3500yds they started to spasm, so stopped at that point. Ran and cycled yet on Thursday, had spasms during the bike yet. Quite painful. Same went for Friday AM cycle, was in a lot pain and couldn’t push through the power I needed. Saturday was in Baraboo, and didn’t get started on the run until the sun was up, nice run there, but short. Sunday got a great ride in outside, most likely the last. Skipped the swim due to the ribs.
  • Oct 25 – Oct 31 – Ankle was quite stiff on Monday after the weekend run, had a good walk. Decent swim Tues am then a fun exploration run with Elsa, took her through the graveyard and down to memorial, ankle was feeling better. Wednesday after a lot of walking throughout the day and the morning easy ride was the jeep crash, super lucky to have walked away. Tried a ride Thurs to see how the body would feel, did a short treadmill run over the weekend, and a long bike session Saturday. Too much drinking and a massive loss of motivation led to a low production week, oh and of course being sore and shaken up from almost being killed.
  • Oct 18 – Oct 24 – Monday ran Elsa on the Mt, had issues with my left foot on the terrain this time, pain when striking on the outside of the foot. Need to get this figured out! Easy ride Tuesday outside, turned into chasing traffic, pushed hard, but felt great, good to let it rip again after the cold. Swim was rough Tuesday am, no energy to keep it moving along at all. Wednesday did an easy run with Elsa in the am, went better than I thought it would, flat ground is alright on the ankle. Thursday I skipped the swim to spend time with Kel and make her breakfast. She wanted to sleep in as she’s sick now. Got a long walk in with Elsa after work, then attempted the ftp, it was brutal and came in a little under last months, blaming it on the cold. Friday AM COLD run with Chris, did a couple sprints to test the ankle, felt good/ok during, got a little stiff throughout the day. Ran as hard as I could at the fall 50, through the pain and stiffness, paid for it after. Everything tightened up even more, but took 3rd in the race. Sunday’s ride was killer, not feeling well after the race event, just run down. Didn’t use a fan and mostly just climbed, good heat training, but felt dizzy at one point.
  • Oct 11 – Oct 17 – Sick all week, won’t be adventure racing, trying for that in early Nov. Will get a shorter run and possible swim in Saturday. Still riding on Sunday, but effort tbd. Cut out or short workouts all week, legs started cramping immediately upon trying to run Wednesday. Thursday went slightly better. Friday a little better again. Saturday got a longer one in with Elsa, lots of hills and the legs were feeling much better, lungs hurt though. Sunday rode hard for 25 then did a really easy loop around the MT with Ryan, into 6 more hard effort. Lungs were coming up short here again, legs felt great without any fatigue in them. Didn’t make the Adventure race… sicko
  • Oct 4 – Oct 10 – Easy recovery Monday, damn it was a rough one. Good swim Tues, set a fastest 1k, recovery bike went well. Decent run Wed am with Demon Elsa, she wouldn’t listen and kept chasing critters, and a stretch session that evening. Thursday was a really good swim, easy effort for most with some sprints, hit a hard run that evening, ankles weren’t feeling great before it, trying to focus on strengthening there. That run pushed the threshold down a bit too, did an easy bike with Kel that night after work too. Harder ride Friday am at Chris’s spin class, was a good push through, legs are feeling tired. Early up for Sat run, tried to squeeze it in before a busy day. Went alright, feeling slow, HR monitor was reporting a high bpm, higher than it should have. Skipped the swim, ended up crashing with Kel early, took a 2 hour nap after Randy’s celebration of life. We both really needed some down time. Stayed in a watched a movie, finally some relaxing time together. Sunday was early up for bike to Tomahawk with Ryan. Ride went really well, fatigue was really setting into the legs by mile 55, even with an easy pace. By mile 85 I was bouncing back though, pushed a 300+ sprint for 30 seconds after 100 miles in. Then took pup up to Rib for a hike after Kel went back to work.
  • Sept 27 – Oct 3 – Rode some Mt Bike at Ringle with Tim, started slow, but found a groove, then broke Chad’s derailleur clean off the bike on a rock. Fun set on Tues (4k 1) that went well, was pushing decent speed at the end yet, endurance is starting to stick. Ran a bit too hard on Tuesday’s recovery run (switched Tues/wed due to scheduling life things). Good ride Wed am, had to warm up into it, legs were very stiff just out of bed. May need to get up earlier and stretch first. Went out Wed with Rick/Holly, sick Thursday, cut the swim short (and was really slow). Took most of the day off work, felt dizzy and super tired. Slept most of the day. Got a walk in and then an easier bike session of 64 minutes instead of 90. Feeling much better Friday, back to it, got an ok run in with Elsa, was feeling much better, but not 100%. Rode 80+ with Ryan Sat, which was supposed to be easy, but kept turning into a race, way over on watts, but really fun. Paid for it on Sunday’s run. Loaded up a bag with water and food, in prep for the Adventure race, legs were tired, ankles and feet were hurting bad by the end, pretty terrible pace and a bunch of walks in there. Walked right after, then borrowed Jakes bike for a ride at Ringle again, went so much better this time. Tired legs did just fine out there.
  • Sept 20 – Sept 26 – Felt great on Monday, so got a run in with Jake & Elsa, covering some trails and hills. Harder on Tues, felt really run down. Swim felt slow and didn’t record 200 yards, should be 4.5k. Ride went well, lighter pressure was good. Looking at weighted vest for walking now. Cool morning for the Wed run, Elsa was going crazy chasing rabbits and deer, feet/ankles are still recovering. Good swim Thurs am, into a training with Ryan. Run was pretty brutal at times, too slow at others. FTP test Fri early, legs felt tired, was a small increase over the last one. Short walk with Elsa, storms rolling in, biked easy recovery with Kel. Saturday ride went well, the cold sucked, it was more windy than I thought it would be, and my neck/shoulders were hurting, I think from looking up on the trainer to the TV. Sunday ran to Chad’s with Jake, pushed the HR a little too far up, was Z3 for most of it even at 9min miles. Felt quite fatigued, feet/ankles were painful again. Started doing 20lbs weighted walks as well.
  • Sept 13 – Sept 19 – Felt great Mon so decided to run Elsa on the Mt, the hills I’ve been running have been super helpful, we flew through a 5k up there. Good and quick 4k swim Tues. Then a quick run with Elsa. Easy ride Wednesday AM. Great swim Thursday, ass kicker of a session. Did a training swim with Ryan too, walked and a hard bike session with some sprint work. Easy longer run Friday morning, tried to get some fatigue into the legs for Saturday’s Birthday run. Foot was acting up around the marathon mark, needed to relax and let it flow, started feeling better and continued. Great pace targeting for Ultraman. Moderate ride Sunday at 140 watts, held that with no problems, felt really good, wasn’t as much soreness as I was expecting. Best I’ve felt off a birthday run weekend!
  • Sept 6 – Sept 12 – Easy Monday, good swim Tues AM, still pushing decent speed through to the end of an iron distance swim. Easy early run with Elsa Wed, good swim Thurs, just Chad & me, ended with a chase, which was fun. Short puppy run, then hard bike session, 8 minutes at max 2 minutes recover x 8 – into 10 minute cooldown. Good Friday run with Elsa, pushed hard for intervals on tired legs, couldn’t get much speed from them. Rode with Chris Sat, hard push to start, took it easy in the hills in the middle and hard push to finish, fun ride. Shoulders were hurting, swam next, tried to stretch them out with kickboard reps. Swim was good, sprints well paced. Into run, 5 with Chris, then home to get Elsa for the rest. Cut the swim and run a little short as the rest of the day was promised to Kel. Felt pretty good at the end, wanted higher energy levels, stayed up for the day pretty well, crashed hard in the PM. Early up for Madison drive, ran around the course all day supporting, then back late. Felt hungover from that effort Monday AM, worth it, team did great there.
  • Aug 30 – Sept 5 – Eased into the week, feeling more rested, flexibility sessions were needed. Good swim Tuesday AM, 4 loops and pushed hard the last one. Setting last Sunday’s 4 mile swim to Wednesday, resulting in 3 swim days in a row, allowing for skipping the holiday weekend swim. Long swim went really well, energy levels felt good, shoulders start to ache around 4k, push through, they get better. Into early Thurs swim, sore, but still hit some good times after a warmup 500. Trainer lost the controller (ERG) during a training session, restarted, still wasn’t working. Decent run in Superior, slow and steady. Good ride, pushed a little over power, but felt great through it.
  • Aug 23 – Aug 29 – Virtual rides on Tuesday / Thursday – FTP test Thursday – should do this once a month (211w). Storms Friday / Sunday, Skipped the Friday swim prep due to weather, did get a hard run session in though. Early run Saturday left me drained, had to walk a bit around 12-15, and stopped a mile short. Knees, hips and feet were all in pain, need more miles in. Sunday’s ride I hit the power without too much trouble, started to really feel like fading about 50 miles in. Very windy and looked like storms were rolling in. Energy level crash hard at the end. Had a major headache, shoulders and arms hurt. Felt like I needed more sleep, even though I slept 10 hours from Sat – Sun night.
  • Aug 16 – Aug 22 – Easing back into the routine after a break and vacation. Shorted first few workouts. Wed was first time back on the trainer, watts seem quite low compared to outside, about 30 off. Switch bike/run on Tues/Wed – 1/2 Marathon went really well, didn’t feel like I had the training in for speed, and went out for a fish fry / drinks the night before. Race started and I was feeling great, so I decided just to keep pushing until I couldn’t. Went into the pain locker about 10 miles in when I new a PR was in the cards, couldn’t quite pull it off, legs wouldn’t respond to more speed, missed 1st in age group by 3 seconds and a PR by 27 seconds! Rode with Jess/Ashley on Sunday, easy 50 with company was good, bit too slow though, so I missed the swim

2021 – Ironman Tulsa

  • May 17 – May 23 – IRONMAN TULSA – Travel week and race day.
  • May 10 – May 16 – Running the pool is even more boring than a treadmill. The wetsuit swims were super fast but really warm. Felt great in the sleeveless one. Great ride on Tuesday, had to hold back on the power. Easy Wednesday, wetsuit swim (sleeveless) on Thursday after aqua jog. Friday had a great ride, feeling strong, trying to stay at race pace. Saturday took the swim easier, into 90 minute aqua jog then outdoor run. Foot felt ok, took 2 miles to loosen up then the pace came up. Bike Sunday was great, held really good power, had a flat at 35 though, messed up the co2 cartridge. Good week. (Distance 147.47, Duration 17:25:54)
  • May 3 – May 9 – Focusing on the bike / swim week. Giving up on the run training, trying to rest as much as possible going into race day. Very little running outside of aqua-runs. Hammered on the bike early week, keeping higher watts, looking for a good race simulation ride on Sunday, last hard effort before race day. Well, had tap beer on Friday, and biked hungover on Saturday, fought headache and nauseous the whole ride and puked on the way home – Sunday was mothers day and ran out of time to aqua run. (Distance 118.25, Duration 13:27:52)
  • Apr 26 – May 2– Swap week forward one – Easy week, tried to stay off the foot as much as possible, tweaked it again at WausaUltra Backyard, running around the course doing photo/video and cheering. (Distance 39.88, Duration 9:14:44)
  • Apr 19 – Apr 25 – Rough week, saw Ruppel about the ankle/foot issues, reduced the run and by the long weekend workout, did the run on the elliptical, which hurt my knee, causing the bike Sunday to get cut short as well. Could hardly walk on Sunday. Also, super stress levels from putting together a buy offer for a new house. (Distance 106.98, Duration 13:41:54)
  • Apr 12 – Apr 18 – Easy Monday, short flexibility and a walk. Short run Tuesday before WausaUltra meeting, feeling great after 2nd Covid shot, swim was great! Rode later Wednesday, had to clean the bike chain after Sundays ride, not cool, as it was the first time out. Thurs swim went well, easy run with Elsa. Smashed the bike on Friday, great push. Swim was good Saturday, run not so much, foot was really hurting, cut it 2 miles short. Sunday century was good, felt good throughout and race effort at the end felt good. (Distance 184.82, Duration 17:46:57)
  • Apr 5 – Apr 11 – Flexibility Monday went well, right foot/ankle are still hurting. Good swim Tuesday, ran Elsa. Ok run with Elsa and late ride Wed, then too many drinks. Short burst swim and late good (neg split) run Thurs. Rode later on Friday, didn’t have much energy and cut it after an hour. Ran to the pool Saturday, slowly, swim went pretty well, second run was brutal, foot was really hurting. Sunday’s ride was very wet and so so cold! Bike computer died half way through, no more power reading after (Distance 152.97, Duration 19:09:49)
  • Mar 29 – Apr 4 – Picked up Sundays ride on Monday, got 2 of the 3 hours in, good and windy, so some decent bike handling skills practice. Decent swim Tuesday, got Elsa a run, then good indoor bike. Got lost on the WausaUltra course Wed with Lee, swim and longer run Thurs. Ironswim straight Friday AM went great, short walk and extended bike session. Rib trail running beat me up, foot was really hurting on this one. Great long ride Sunday, foot still hurt on the ROTB. (Distance 238.07, Duration 22:39:47)
  • Mar 22 – Mar 28 – Decent workout week, into spring break long weekend. Wasn’t able to ride Sunday, but hiked and had a good run Saturday, although, I was a little hung over and HR was higher than it should have been for the pace, strained something in my foot a couple of times and needed to stop. (Distance 87.44, Duration 12:51:04)
  • Mar 15 – Mar 21 – Felt great Monday, had a good run with Elsa and a longer flexibility focused session. Late to swim Tuesday, short set, good hard ride. Flat out sprint intervals Wed. Outside ride Thurs, good power, but mechanical issue with brakes. Windy! Great run Friday with pup on Mt Bay. Good long run Sat, early start to get to mom’s birthday. Great ride Sunday, so much wind, but good Tulsa training. 4 hours at race pace effort and felt great! (Distance 115.59, Duration 15:34:05)
  • Mar 8 – Mar 14 – Took the bike out Monday around the block ! Long swim Tuesday, pushed past the limit, back again Thursday and that went really well, felt much quicker. Good ride Wed night, with some decent power pushes. Great run Thurs, 4 easy to 5k increase to 5k pace. Long run went well, joints were sore by the end. Sunday ride sucked, got the time in, but really low motivation & power. (Distance 119.71, Duration 16:33:21)
  • Mar 1 – Mar 7 – Great swim, feeling like I’m getting back into the swing of things. Busy week with picking up a travel trailer, got runs in where I could. Great long run Saturday with Andy, left calf was very tight the last 4 miles. Great indoor garage ride with Ryan Sunday, hours slipped by quickly, power was a little low, but felt great the rest of the day. (Distance 146.3, Duration 13:16:58)
  • Feb 22 – Feb 28 – Good week, until the weekend, the run went great, Sunday felt terrible, head and body aches. Finally some good hard runs during the weekend and the swim felt better. Hard ride on Friday, felt great. (Distance 82.67, Duration 10:12:03)
  • Feb 15 – Feb 21 – Good start to the week, finally getting warmer. Swim was a bit easier, hopefully will get quicker in a couple more weeks. Easy bike on Thurs, got a late start due to wine transfer issues. (Distance 122.82, Duration 14:15:50)
  • Feb 8 – Feb 14 – COLD week, started with short runs with Elsa, by the weekend she didn’t want to be out at all. Long dreadmill run Saturday, knee felt a bit better. Finally back in the pool Tues, that was very difficult, no endurance. Great bike Sunday, changed to Rouvy, felt much more like being on the road. (Distance 121.87, Duration 10:26:59)
  • Feb 1 – Feb 7 – Easy workout Monday, ok ride, Tues, took a while to get warmed up. Hard interval treadmill run Wed. Drank too much wed night, felt like shit all day Thurs, didn’t feel well even through the weekend. It got super cold, runs were about 2 miles outside, all Elsa could handle. Treadmill run Sat was brutal, knee hurting and major loss of motivation. Continued into Sunday ride, started with headache and shoulder/neck pain, which got much much worse. Felt like a 100 mile ride. (Distance 105.2, Duration 11:32:26)
  • Jan 25 – Jan 31 – Finally did a strength day, mostly core and arms/shoulders. Decent ride Tuesday, ran a lot this week, temps were pretty ok. Skipped the intervals on Saturday, it was all I could do to get the 12 in. Good ride Sunday through, neg split too, and kept 80% of race power, with a 1 mile run off bike on the treadmill. (Distance 135.05, Duration 16:08:00)
  • Jan 18 – Jan 24 – Monday, Tuesday were good runs with Elsa, into an ok ride Tuesday night. Another run Wed, and short treadmill test Thursday. Ran again Friday into Ironbull RMAC trail run / fat tire adventure. Short on time ride Sunday on tired legs (Distance 116.42, Duration 12:55:59)
  • Jan 11 – Jan 17 – Monday was new car, quick run with Elsa after. Saturday was an Ironbull training run on trails, Sunday I ran out of time, got a much shorter ride in. (Distance 74.47, Duration 10:08:39)
  • Jan 4 – Jan 10 – Better week, eased, in, then did zwift workout Thursday, into neg split run Friday, into long ride (was very hard at 2 hours) into longer run, which when very well. (Distance 111.84, Duration 13:15:44)
  • Dec 28 – Jan 3 – Finished out the year trying to get to 1400 miles running. New Years Eve left me with a huge hang over… hard and slow start to the new year (Distance 68.67, Duration 08:33:50)
  • Dec 21 – Dec 27 – Good hard ride on Tuesday, long run with Andrea Wednesday, short with Elsa Thursday. Christmas day short zwift and a hike on the Mountain with the faimly. Longer ride Saturday and decent run with Elsa Sunday into another family walk at Eau Claire Dells too. (Distance 94.41, Duration 13:59:39)
  • Dec – 14 – Dec 20 – Cold on Mon/Tue – just ran to get Elsa out. Took the rest of the week pretty easy. Did 10 run Sat with Elsa and Andy. 2.5 hour bike Sunday through a headache, just not feeling well. Developed a cough this week too. (Distance 99.28, Duration 10:55:58)
  • Dec 7 – Dec 13 – Ok week, missed a weekday bike, double run Thursday at Sylvan and with Elsa. Saturday got cut short when Elsa hurt my knee going after a deer. Ok ride Sunday, split into 2 b/c the gravel zwift road was really slow, hard to find the motivation. (Distance 89.97, Duration 10:52:50)
  • Nov 30 – Dec 6 – Decent week, couple early efforts on the run at a decent pace. Long run felt good, shorter time on the bike Sunday, good climb though. (Distance 99.23, Duration 11:35:58)
  • Nov 23 – Nov 29 – Good holiday week, some S&C to start, no long run, but got some trails in, no long ride, but did fat tire on single track. Trails were a good change up. (Distance 86.51, Duration 12:40:55)
  • Nov 16 – Nov 22 – Skipped s/c again, good runs Thurs / sat, temps were nice out and longer ride Sunday, inside with low power. (Distance 109.8, Duration 13:14:26)
  • Nov 9 – Nov 15 – Cold again, trainer weekend ride and the long run got caught in the rain, with some bad nipple chafing (Distance 93.51, Duration 10:58:51)
  • Nov 2 – Nov 8 – Nice weather week, rode outside Saturday, went really well, ran the WausaUltra course two loops with Andy then took Elsa to grandpa’s land for a some running (Distance 119.36, Duration 12:13:40)
  • Oct 26 – Nov 1 – Good S&C, little easier this time, Tuesday AM ride the trainer froze at 142 watts, restarted and it fixed itself. Second ride was hills, low cadence high watts. Easy run Wed, harder one Friday, felt hard, speed wasn’t there. Really wasn’t feeling well mental or physically this week. Sick (booze) all Thursday. Shorter ride Sunday too. (Distance 72.16, Duration 09:58:03)
  • Oct 19 – Oct 25 – Hard run on Tuesday, knee was left sore from that one, dialed it back the rest of the week. Recovery weekend, just some basics this week. (Distance 73.62, Duration 09:23:53)
  • Oct 12 – Oct 18 – Easy week, not getting started into it just yet, trying to build back to a routine. Removed swimming re:Covid for a few weeks, Wisconsin is spiking in case numbers huge right now. (Distance 50.65, Duration 07:07:09)
  • Oct 5 – Oct 11 – Easy week, recovery from 50k. Rode with Mom on Wednesday. Ran with Ryan around the Mt Saturday. Cut wood for 5 hours Sunday (Distance 60.88, Duration 10:17:37)
  • Sept 28 – Oct 4 – Replacing the cable on the bike this week, so it’s all torn apart. Got a number of walks in, plus a couple of swims. Race was good on Saturday, full write up in blog (Distance 58.57, Duration 14:16:36)
  • Sept 21 – Sept 27 – Getting started back on a plan. The weekend before this was my 39 mile birthday run, so the week is low, but getting back to it. (Distance 73.83, Duration 10:33:16)

2020 – Solo Ironman (Tulsa Replacement) 24 Hour Washington Island Triathlon (solo)

  • July 20 – July 26 – 24 Hour Race Week
  • July 13 – July 19 – Ran with Lee Monday, good long swim Tuesday, faster, ended early due to lightening, longer run wed, bike ride with Kel that night, good hard swim Thurs, moving fast, decent run later. Good easy ride Friday. Sat felt super tired, did the Ironbull practice run, lots of elevation, crash hard after. Felt much better Sunday, and a great easy ride. (Distance 113.02 – Duration 16:40:13)
  • July 6 – July 12 – Monday am run with Elsa, walk later. Great swim Tues am after little sleep, Mt hike on quarry trail, great bike power push. Wed took off from work, went to Minocqua and Swam around the island, great pace! Into an overnight workout. Thurs continued overnight around 3 am it was getting hard, but pushed through to 6 after starting a 5am swim. Short run Friday, Longer decent run Saturday, felt good. Easy max watts ride Sunday and shorter walk (bugs). (Distance 172.77, Duration 18:51:15)
  • June 29 – July 5 – Long run Monday AM into Long run Tuesday Night run, started at 3am, had the cow/bear incident, into an OWS before work. Wed did a couple walks with the Mrs, into a 9pm bike on the trainer. Thursday had a great swim and decent run later in the day. Morning run Friday into surfing and lake time. Saturday was a longer run with Andy into a 5k with MTT and more holiday parties. Sunday was a run before lake time up north and a couple of easier bike efforts after. (Distance 115.45, Duration 15:50:31)
  • June 22 – June 28 – Monday run with Elsa. Tuesday morning, good swim, night was a ride in the dark on the trainer, followed by 4 mile run(technically wed), started at 10:30p. Got a walk / run in later wed. Thurs good swim, walked and great bike. Friday early run and walked later. Saturday was the big brick, and it went surprisingly well, Sunday I was down and out however, just got a couple walks in. (Distance 212.62, Duration 21:22:48)
  • June 15 – June 21 – Early run Monday with Elsa, and walked. Tuesday good paced swim 4 loops, golfed and ran with Elsa. 3:30a start wed, longer run into good swim, walked later. Thurs was 2 runs as commuting, Mt hiked and biked late, pushed it hard and felt good. Friday walked and ran after dinner. Rainy sat saw sat/sun switch, did 80 miles on zwift, walked later. Sunday good swim into a 2 look 15 mile run on fatigued legs from Saturday’s zwift (Distance 172, Duration 21:10:01)
  • June 8 – June 14 – Hot hot heat Monday run, had to watch HR closely. Long swim Tues, pushed hard, easy run, decent climbing bike on zwift. Easy run with Elsa Wed and walked. Thursday was a long hard swim, 10k decent paced, and walk. Friday biked early on a hilly zwift route, easy run over lunch. Saturday ran to Mat’s house and swam in the cold very tough current of lake Wausau, hiked Eau Claire Dells after. Sunday rode easy solo and enjoyed the sights, then another trek with Kel and Lori. (Distance 158.62, Duration 20:05:17)
  • June 1 – June 7 – Recovery week, slowly getting back to it, legs were dead on Tuesday run yet. Biking felt pretty good all week, running was hard. Only got one swim in, but it went well. (Distance 105.97, Duration 14:25:01)
  • May 25 – May 31 – Easy ride with Kel Monday. Great swim Tuesday AM, avoiding cramps, biked to the post office, walked and easy run. Short walk wed. Easy run Thurs, walk then rode one loop on the bike course. Easy swim Friday with a decent walk. Saturday SOLO IRONMAN Race Day!! – nice hike Sunday to keep moving (Distance 199.91, Duration 22:33:21)
  • May 18 – May 24 – Solved the cramping during the swim by end of week 🙂 Easy run Monday with Elsa. Took a half day on Tues for wedding anniversary, got a long walk and good bike session in. Ran early Wed, then swimming with cramps in the afternoon. Took wed off to recover. Ran early and swim again Thurs, more cramping. Easy bike and ROTB before hiking Saturday. Finally good swim Sunday and easy run. (Distance 104.08, Duration 14:43:48)
  • May 11 – May 17 – Monday, short run with Elsa, family walk, Kel wasn’t feeling well. Broke my cord swimming Tues, decent run for Elsa, good walk and fantastic bike. Early run Wed, Elsa did well in the 30 degrees, walked that afternoon. Thurs ran longer solo, and walked. Friday was first OWS with a lot of leg cramps, did a great lunch bike session. Sat was great, good run with Elsa, then 40 on the bike went super well, followed with long walk on the Mountain and yard work. Sun was a 12 run in the rain and cold, legs felt good. (Distance 133.07, Duration 15:12:27)
  • May 4 – May 10 – Easy day Monday, still recovering, lots in Tues, felt pent up, split the bike session for dinner (inside for time constraint). Wed after work run with Elsa, easy pace, chest was tight and legs heavy. Thurs ran over lunch, went much better, then walk and ‘swim’. Early bike Fri, heavy legs in the AM hard to get going, good run later in the day. Long ‘swim’ sat. Switched bike/run around, bike went great Sat, felt strong, hard sprint to finish, 2 run off bike went well. Sunday run was cold but good, all about attitude. (Distance 160.77, Duration 18:51:25)
  • Apr 27 – May 3 – Monday rest, little swim and walk. Ok run Tues, more swim. Wed swim ride, run hard ride, drink too much, get sick all day Thurs. Fri, easy run, ramp up ride was decent effort. Sat run went well, followed by long walk. Sunday ride was terrible, no energy, or motivation, far short of target, felt horrid all day, dizzy and nauseous (hardly drank Fri/Sat) (Distance 138.93, Duration 15:42:19)
  • Apr 20 – Apr 26 – Took Monday to recover. Tues, big climb day on zwift, ok run with Elsa ed, middling bike effort on zwift Thursday. Friday Elsa was too ‘hot’ for a decent pace. 10k mid effort, 1/2 marathon mid effort back to back Saturday, then a long walk. Good rides Sunday, target IM paced, 25 loops and a run in-between (Distance 167.02, Duration 17:33:16)
  • Apr 13 – Apr 19 – Mon, easy run with Elsa and recovery bike and a bit of swimming exercises. Tues run with Elsa and good bike effort. Wed longer swim exercises, easy run with Elsa. Decent bike Thurs. Friday split the 10k run up for IMVR3 – med/hard efforts & swim session. IMVR3 bike on sat, then 16 run, finished with 1 mile @ 1/2 marathon pace. Sunday struggled through indoor century, quicker than outside, but mentally hard weekend. (Distance 204.45, Duration 18:01:21)
  • Apr 6 – Apr 12 – Took Monday fully off. Tuesday got some swimming strength training in, dog run over lunch, family walk then decent hour bike on zwift. Wed early 30 min ‘swim’, warm run over lunch (Elsa was overheating). Thurs cold run went easy wasn’t feeling well (hangover). Friday took 1/2 day for Good Fri, bike easy then a hike and another bike, moderate. Sat started Ironman Virtual Race 2 3krun 40kbike 10k run. Did runs on Saturday, setting new PR’s, even with a dog run in between. Sunday snow is coming, ran dog early, then warmup into 40k ride, PR, and easy additional miles ride. (Distance 170.21, Duration 18:11:24)
  • Mar 30 – Apr 5 – Took Monday as a complete rest day. Biked inside Tuesday as I didn’t get started until later, sun was going down. Wed got a good run in with Elsa, she’s starting to over heat already, my first run in shorts. Thurs run was hard to get going, felt underwater for the first 5 miles. Figured out a dryland swim replacement, got a long walk and short bike in. Friday got a good indoor ride done, some more dryland swim, and a decent run with Elsa. Saturday run was really smooth, felt good walking the dog after as well. Sunday long ride OUTSIDE went great other than my neck and shoulders getting sore, by mile 80 it was pretty unbearable, short run off the bike really helped. (Distance 188.02, Duration 17:46:37)
  • Mar 23 – Mar 29 – Took Monday off, no S&C again, got a walk in. Hard neg splits run Tues and first bike outside on the Giant. Wed early training ride went well on tired legs. Thurs was first ride outside! AMAZING! decent run, dodging people and bikes, Rode outside Friday too 🙂 Long run Saturday went better than last week, still sore in the joints. Sunday 3 hour trainer ride went great, held good power throughout. Walked Elsa then, and she was attacked by a bulldog, going to take it slow with her moving forward for a bit. (Distance 171.1, Duration 16:30:40)
  • Mar 16 – Mar 22 – Mon swim hard push effort, extend and pull. Tues the news came out the Y was to close (Covid-19) Motivation starts to wain. Took it out with a hard bike, ran Wed, easy. Bike Thurs b/c bad weather, took it easy. Easy run Friday too. Long run Saturday started great, ended in a lot of pain, muscles tight and joints beat, walk after was painful. Decent ride Sunday, longest on the trainer yet, didn’t cover much ground and wasn’t neg split, straight effort as the run Sat wiped me out. (Distance 161.17, Duration 17:49:49)
  • Mar 9 – Mar 15 – Longer swim Monday, easy pacing. Tues cadence variant ride was surprisingly challenging. Wed swim was tough, brick tread while partner swims, then hard effort 4 mile run, neg split went great. Thurs swim took it easy as with the run that night. Fri am had a good bike session. Sat, 5k was cancelled, had a funeral we didn’t end up going to, messed up the workouts, and ran with Seth, put a small bike in too. Sunday had a good climbing bike route and solid run. (Distance 131.47, Duration 16:46:16)
  • Mar 2 – Mar 8 – Didn’t make the swim Monday, took a full day of rest. Tues AM was a neg split ride that started slow, but ended great, the afternoon run felt harder than it should have at that pace. Tough flipper swim, bad news and maximal effort interval run with a nice walk after to calm down. Good Swim Thurs am, skipped the late run, weather was terrible and I didn’t feel up for it. Fri am good bike session, Saturday workout went well, little slow on the swim, but did 2 1000 sets in there. Run went great, good pace, crashed hard an hour after, felt like a nervous system thing. Sunday bike was tough, out late the night before and DLST, so little sleep, late start and broke it into 2:30 and 1:30, all inside on 50+ degree day, still icy in spots. (Distance 151.59, Duration 17:13:22)
  • Feb 24 – Mar 1 – Good effort Monday AM, swim felt good. Solid effort on the bike Tues, think I can up the FTP again next week. Fins swim Wed, I led was fun, ok run that night, heavy legs, couldn’t get a decent top end speed on intervals. Hangover swim Thurs, was slow, but there, run went well, cut a little short for Elsa. Friday was an FTP test, brutal, but came in where expected. Sat, great swim and good run, felt strong all day. Sun ride, rocked neg splits, felt great even pulling 200w at the end. (Distance 114.42, Duration 13:28:01)
  • Feb 17 – Feb 23 – First week of filming a ‘week in the life’ Swim was good, S&C was lackluster. Tuesday run with Elsa was very windy & cold, bike session was tough, but good avg watts. Wed flipper swim was brutal, followed by a good hard run in the cold. Thursday swim was a great effort, felt good, took it easy on the run. Friday was sore swimming, then put out a decent bike effort. Early sat solo 4 mile run, 4.2 swim went very well, 10 mile run with Andy, was good to be in a new location. Lat Sun bike went well, didn’t have the normal boredom fall off after 2 hours inside. (Distance 141.46, Duration 15:17:37)
  • Feb 10 – Feb 16 – Felt slow on Monday’s swim, run was at an easy pace, then a mediocre core session. Good bike on Tues. Better flipper swim Wed, snowmobiled, and ran late in terrible winter conditions with Elsa. Cold Thurs, ran on treadmill, little short. Polo was brutal, got 700 in free swim before straight, that was slow, but felt great. Good bike session Friday, not a organized workout. Sat did WATTS indoor tri, bike was a hard push, run & swim went well. Sunday bike was hard – low effort, legs were burnt up. (Distance 114.26, Duration 14:25:50)
  • Feb 3 – Feb 9 – Good hard swim Monday am and finally did a S&C that night at home. Good slowish run with Elsa Tuesday and a decent ride. Hard intervals run wed, and great flippers swim that morning. Thursday was a swim mostly without the pull. Friday polo resulted in a lot of sprints. Long swim Sat am went well, finally got nutrition right so the treadmill run I didn’t bonk on, felt good the rest of the day too. Long ride Sun was made better with virtual company and a good movie, felt good through it. (Distance 135.8, Duration 15:46:42)
  • Jan 27 – Feb 2 – Started the week easy, skipped swim, slow run with Elsa. Tues got a good ride in. Wed was flipper swim and an ok interval run set. Thurs had a good swim and easier long run. Took it as at polo Friday, then a hard bike session. Great solo swim Sat am, with a little shortened run with Andy around the Mt. Was feeling quite tired and sore Sunday, took the ride very easy, then a walk up the Quarry Trail (Distance 123.99, Duration 16:38:01)
  • Jan 20 – Jan 26 – Led the swim on Monday, was quite fun, easy bike that night, since missed Sunday. Hard interval run Tues, Elsa was still pulling 4.5 miles in! Led swim again Wed, Sera made the workout, went well, even hungover. Bike effort Wed was tough, but got through it, finished late. Early to swim and run Thurs – wanted some treadmill video footage. Swim was good, 1.5k in group swim, they’re continuing to push it. Thurs night I ran with Elsa on some trails to get video, it was beautiful out, but the terrain was very hard, going to be paying for that one. Friday was polo in the AM. (Distance 92.33, Duration 09:41:28)
  • Jan 13 – Jan 19 – Monday swim went well, worked on the bike that night so didn’t make S&C. Tuesday had a run with Elsa and good bike session. Wed flippers swim was pretty brutal. Great swim and run Thursday, cold run, but good. Polo got brutal, then a hard bike ride. Saturday swim was getting light headed, took it easy the rest of the way and shortened the snow globe run. Skipped the ride Sunday due to a migraine. (Distance 82.89, Duration 13:51:42)
  • Jan 6 – Jan 12 – Monday AM was really feeling terrible, skipped the swim. Run went well enough. Tuesday bike the lungs were burning the first 30 min, pushed through. Skipped swim Wed as still groggy from Cold. Wednesday pushed a couple intervals after about a mile. Back to swimming Thurs AM, felt mostly good, stopped short on the 500 to break it up. Good easy run Thursday night and a 50 min bike workout Friday AM that didn’t push me too hard. (Distance 115.82, Duration 11:59:38)
  • Dec 30 – Jan 5 – Good ride on Monday, wasn’t a bike day, but needed to ride, it had been almost 2 weeks since the last ride. Fun run in the snow Wed, got the GoPro out for the first time and set a good time. Thur swim as still pretty sore, little slow. Thurs ride was great, hit a new 20sec high at 628w. Polo was brutal Fri am. Saturday run was tough, icy out and not feeling well, HR was higher than it should have been, finally started feeling well 8 miles in. Same on Sunday, this cold is kicking my ass, was slower than it should have been, and the legs gave out around 90 minutes in, last 30 minutes were forced. (Distance 107.79, Duration 14:08:29)
  • Dec 23 – Dec 29 – Sick to start the week, into Christmas celebrations. Took Mon/Wed easy, with just walks. Swim went well Thursday, with a 39sec 50 to end it. Saturday was Holiday time in Madison, Sunday was the big swim. Cramped up at 4k which slowed me down a ton. Only took one break outside of the cramping to get some food in, went well overall. I think It was certainly easier than the first time and I felt quite good the rest of the day as well as Monday. (Distance 28.32, Duration 10:44:53)
  • Dec 16 – Dec 22 – Pushed again on the Monday swim, clocked a 33:11 1/2 Iron and 1:08:23 Full Iron times, fastest yet. Up’d the FTP for zwift training to 218 and handled #7 Tuesday well enough. Fun swim Wednesday, felt strong and smooth, wanted to keep going. Run with Elsa that night was cold, but kept a good Neg split pace. Thursday run was a good push, started neg split after 5k. Polo Friday was with a still shoulder, slept goofy. After the run and walk Saturday I started to feel terrible, was sick for about 4 days, with muscle and bone/joint aches. (Distance 53.85, Duration 10:14:44)
  • Dec 9 – Dec 15 – Breakthrough in the 5k swim on the catch, made a 5 sec per 100 difference immediately! (Fingers down, wrist bend and pull!). Cold runs Tues/Weds with Elsa. Great ride Tuesday night pushed 276w for 4 min. Good run Thurs, but my knees were hurting on the treadmill, and man is that boring. Friday morning Zwift #8 hit 292w for 4 min avg, got that up. Slow purposeful swim Saturday and a good 10 miles in the snow with Andy and Elsa. Good ride on Sunday, mentally slide a bit around 1:20, last 30 minutes went well though. (Distance 108.88, Duration 11:32:33)
  • Dec 2 – Dec 8 – Long swim Monday, started slow and got slower. Kept at it through determination, but was a challenge. Sloppy run with the puppy then an easy S&C 20min session. Sloppy Tues. run with Elsa, then a tough bike session. Wednesday night to Thursday morning felt like a flu coming on, headache was terrible and achy muscles. Good second Zwift ride, and a harder group run Saturday on the icy roads. Split the bike workout and cut it short to fit in the Packer game and hiking with the family. (Distance 114.08, Duration 14:08:16)
  • Nov 25 – Dec 1 – Long swim Monday went well, started to fall off pace around 2.2k though, ended trying to hold about 1:50/100yd. Tuesday short S&C, neg splits run with Elsa, then good bike session. Wednesday was heavy wet snow, spent 90 minutes shoveling! New PR on a 5k at the Turkey Trot on rough conditions, missed the 20 min mark though. Saturday was run around time and missed the workout. Sunday was a good consistent paced ride. (Distance 102.7, Duration 12:54:19)
  • Nov 18 – Nov 24 – Good long swim Monday, longest in a while, was challenging but good. Good bike session on tired legs Tuesday AM. Drills swim on Wednesday, pull buoy at feet was a good body position change. Moved Thursday run to Friday, went well, took it easy after the zwift workout in the morning. Legs were tired for the run Saturday with Andy. His hamstrings had us stop a little early. Elsa went with the first 7 miles. Sunday bike session was rough, started too hot and the legs were burnt up by 40 miles. Stopped just a bit short as dinner was ready. (Distance 128.33, Duration 15:40:21)
  • Nov 11 – Nov 17 – Conference week. Got a swim Monday am and run in -2 wind chill with Elsa. Tuesday was 60’s and sunny for a run, felt great. Got sick at the conference and took it easy until Sunday. Which was a trail run with Chad and the dogs, until Elsa found a porcupine 😦 Decent bike ride after the vet visit, still wasn’t quite to 100% (Distance 67.96, Duration 07:10:51)
  • Nov 4 – Nov 10 – Monday was first 100×100 training, long swim. Tuesday sprint training, hit 618 max watts! Also did some interval training on a run with Elsa Tuesday. Took it easy on Wednesday. Run Thursday had my right foot hurting from the Hoka’s, so I stopped a bit short. Also 10 degrees in early Nov is just terrible! Friday easy spin, shorted b/c it was Friday night, after drinks. Saturday run was good, had Elsa, and went too far for her, paw was hurting at the end. Sunday I spectated the Madison Marathon, so rode 13 miles on Seek there, and didn’t do the 50 on the trainer. (Distance 80.18, Duration 11:55:34)
  • Oct 28 – Nov 3 – Swimming was going much better this week, shoulder is starting to loosen up. Zwift ride was at ftp 210 and it went much better. Had a good easy run Wed, knee held out alright. Skipped the run on Saturday for Kel’s Birthday. Skipped the run off the bike Sunday to get a walk in with the family instead. Bike did go well though, hard sprints. (Distance 90.53, Duration 11:16:42)
  • Oct 20 – Oct 27 – Ease back into the swim this week after 2 weeks off and the shoulder pain appears to be fading, but do not want to reinjure. Knee is feeling much better, but continue to run easier this week. Tuesday ride was too hard, FTP was set to 232w, which I wasn’t able to complete, had to stop to rest during workouts, lower for Friday. Track run went well, slight knee pain, nothing terrible, GPS doesn’t work within the YMCA track. Swim hurt the shoulder, will take some time to get that right. Thursday run, knee held ok until about 7:10 pace, cut the 6 miles short to 3 and had to stretch and ice to alleviate the pain. Sat swim stopped short due to shoulder pain, same with the run and the knee, it was better than outside though. Sun ride outside, hills hurt the knee, so I cut it a bit short too, had a couple good efforts in there though. (Distance 59.53, Duration 06:56:53)

2019 – Ironman Wisconsin, my first Ironman

  • Sept 8 – IRONMAN WISCONSIN COMPLETE !!!! Race went really well, the run was amazing! See full race report! (Distance: 140.51 | Time: 11:34:51)
  • Sept 1 – Sept 7 – Great ride and swim on Sunday, tried out the new sleeveless Roka compared to green xTerra. Monday was a hard day to keep occupied with the holiday and no workout. Tuesday am storm, moved to Wed am, went well, shoulder feeling better. Nice easy spin Friday, forgot the bike computer though, and swim Saturday felt fantastic! (Distance: 59.21 | Time: 5:07:21)
  • Aug 25 – Aug 31 – Good ride on Sunday, kept it right on pace through as much elevation as I could find, had a decent wind going as well. Legs were tired, but pushed through and they felt good for the run. Shoulder is getting better, but the left recovery still isn’t great on Tuesday Swim. Wednesday run was a slow one with the pup. Thursday hammered on the bike, more of a PE9, but felt good to push for a bit. Great run Saturday, felt strong. (Distance: 103.74 | Time: 8:26:44)
  • Aug 18 – Aug 24 – Sunday’s run went great, first 6 with Elsa, 2 solo, 13 with Andy, felt strong, like I could have just kept on rolling. Pushed hard on the ride Thursday, for intervals, started calf cramping just off hard interval. Marathon went pretty well, ankles started to hurt 20ish in. Max wanted to go home about mile 20 as well, the rest of the way in was a struggle with a lot of stops. (Distance: 84.29 | Time: 11:58:22)
  • Aug 11 – Aug 17 – Sunday’s IM course ride stopped short due to Ashley blowing 2 tubes. Was a slow ride with a lot of stops, but great to see the course. Tuesday swim, left shoulder was in a lot of pain, woke up that way, either slept wrong, or the volleyball subbing from Monday night aggravated it. Swims the rest of the week were difficult, by Friday it was bit better, did a solo, slow drills day, focusing on technique and not power or speed. Ride was difficult Saturday, shoulder/neck pain started early at 30 miles and need some solid food in addition to the Carbo-Rocket stomach started to hurt around 70 in. Forgot to check tire-pressure, so I felt slow, hit the target 155w avg on the head though. Run off bike went great, felt better quickly. (Distance: 235.59 | Time: 17:30:28)
  • Aug 4 – Aug 10 – 60-12 Brick went well, hot out again, but good company got through, Bike was at easy pace, great target for IM (145w). Tuesday swim was a good at a good rate, Ryan was a great push, hardest swim at this distance. Saturday’s 1/2 Marathon I started too hard, couldn’t quite hold the target goal of 7:20 – last 4 miles it really started to slide back. (Distance: 131.56 | Time: 11:19:36)
  • July 28 – Aug 3 – Good long run Sunday AM with Chad and Jason. Wednesday was a MTT run then 1/2 loop on the Ironbull 50k course, went much better than the first time. Wausau Tri went well, pushed the bike for the 4th fastest time. Took 1st in age group and 9th overall. (Distance: 99.11 | Time: 11:12:02)
  • July 21 – July 27 – Good run Sunday, was tired from the ride, feet hurt the worst though. Monday easy swim with work folk. Short on time Wednesday so cut the ride in half, with maximum effort. Slow run Thursday with a hot dog. Biked with Jason on Saturday, little short b/c of start point on Wausau Tri loop, was a very hot run, so cut it short. This one was tough. (Distance: 116.46 | Time: 10:53:20)
  • July 14 – July 20 – Door Co. Tri for MTT, (skipped swim [sick]), biked hard, run was at an easier pace, was hot but was good practice for heat management. Wed ride with Bob, went well, pushed hard for 3 intervals. Very hot run on Friday, 3-2-1 splits, 3 hard 2 easy 1 harder, was a great workout. Sat ride got 65 in before the storms hit, cut it down to 100 from 112 since I was on the trainer (Distance: 214.06 | Time: 16:15:06)
  • July 7 – July 13 – Getting sick on Sunday, run was best I felt all day, chest cold got bad throughout the day. Skipped Monday swim b/c of it. Skipped most of the week – slow recovery getting back into the swing… swimming was especially hard. (Distance: 45.91 | Time: 5:44:09)
  • June 30 – July 6 – Kel starts school again on Sunday and I was too hungover to be any kind of useful. Trail run was brutal, very slow, and 2k elevation gain in 6.5 miles. Thursday Iron swim and 100 ride, neck and shoulders were very hurty, legs did great. Rain again on Saturday, cutting the brick short. (Distance: 171.53 | Time: 13:56:05)
  • June 23 – June 29 – Work week in Chicago, good runs down there. Great ride on Friday night, felt good, pushed it at points. Saturday – Sunday at the Cabin with friends, got an OWS swim in there, but the watch kept stopping, the time/distance is estimated. (Distance: 111.74 | Time: 8:24:51)
  • June 16 – June 22 – Cold/rain Sunday ride, couldn’t run after. Cold 4.2 swim 39 degree air temp Monday, group got it done for Ryan. Blasted the Thursday ride, was stressed from work. Then Friday/Saturday was a Mini-Madison trip, Saturday 13 run was hard with a hangover. (Distance: 96.08 | Time: 9:20:00)
  • June 9 – June 15 – Race weekend! 70.3 in new PR !! 5:13 – This week is getting all out of order. (Distance: 100.04 | Time: 9:40:44)
  • June 2 – June 8 – Sunday run with Andy, into a lower volume week. Elsa was too hot to run well on Wednesday night. Swim with Mom and Veronica Saturday AM (Distance: 37.92 | Time: 5:07:52)
  • May 26 – June 1 – Good long run, sped up to < 8:00 after dropping dog off at mile 7. First OWS on Monday! Friday’s run was very fast, but through a storm, had to stop for a bit to wait it out. Good swim in the lake Saturday, decent wind and chop (Distance: 80.49 | Time: 10:06:24)
  • May 19 – May 25 – Really cold 1/2 Marathon at Cellcom, the Full was cancelled due to flooding. Was 4 member MTT Run with Captain Jennifer. Tuesday biked to work and back, massive construction and wind problems. 56 sim-course ride was great, pushed a bit hard at 214w avg, will need to back off to 205 target for IMWI70.3 (Distance: 108.80 | Time: 10:44:13)
  • May 12 – May 18 – Wonderful long ride, Rib climb at mile 45 went well. Do not wear Hoka’s off the bike, arches were very painful after only 1 mile, cut the run short to 2.5 miles. The mid-week biking got a bit mixed up, running out of time with MTT run and dog runs and family walks. (Distance: 116.34 | Time: 9:59:17)
  • May 5 – May 11 – Sunday Runday started with heavy legs, felt great after 10. Wednesday Bike at Y, weather still terrible, stats from the bike are estimated, the bike computer freaked out. 1/2 Marathon was good, Shelley hit her sub 1:55 goal. (Distance: 66.43 | Time: 8:38:12)
  • Apr 28 – May 4 – Sunday was a trail run with Chad. Wednesday’s ride was super cold, but smashed the power output for 90 minutes (long stoplight wait in there) (Distance: 127.87 | Time: 10:01:46)
  • Apr 21 – Apr 27 – Good training 1/2 marathon with Shelly on Sunday. Sick on Monday – neck and back were terribly sore. Wednesday’s ride was fantastic but shortened, pushed hard. Moved the Friday run to Thursday. (Distance: 78.74 | Time: 8:42:52)
  • Apr 14 – Apr 20 – Great week, ended with a good ride, first outside – covered in cow poo, and rough on the neck / back. Started to fade around 60 mile mark, but bounced back around 70. (Distance: 149.47 | Time: 13:14:10)
  • Apr 7 – Apr 13 – Sunday long run went pretty well, right knee had some pain around 15 miles in. Brought Elsa for the first 7. Had no motivation to get started once again. Wednesday went well, Thursday was skipped due to Second Winter (Distance: 86.44 | Time: 9:36:38)
  • Mar 31 – Apr 6 – Sunday went well outside of bathroom/stomach issues, nutrition was good – Tried to keep HR under 140 on runs. Swapping Tuesday/Wednesday. Shortened the Saturday bike, time constraint, was not feeling well that day either – no run off bike (was still inside on the trainer for the ride, rained all day) (Distance: 134.44 | Time: 11:43:49)
  • Mar 24 – Mar 30 – Return from Vacation and getting back into the swing. Saturday was rough, crashed hard after the bike (Distance: 80.28 | Time: 7:40:06)
  • Mar 17 – Mar 23 – Long run Sunday was good, 7 with Elsa on the new harness, worked really well. Then Vacation started. Some short workouts to get me through. (Distance: 33.36 | Time: 4:12:26)
  • Mar 10 – Mar 16 – Race (Run to Remember 5k [22:53]) could have gone better – leg was still giving me some problems, overall the lungs felt tight as well, I don’t think I could have pushed harder than I did. (Distance: 80.06 | Time: 8:07:26)
  • Mar 3 – Mar 9 – Got a little running in – the bike on Tuesday was rough, tried 2 x20 at FTP (233w) that didn’t work out, we’ll need to do a new FTP test now that it’s measured by the P1’s instead of speed/cadence, there must be something off there. So after initial burnout – the second hour was difficult (Distance: 189.5 | Time: 11:49:35)
  • Feb 24 – Mar 2 – Moved the bike from Saturday 23rd to Sunday 24th – due to hip/leg issues… Going to be starting a little slow, until this injury is resolved (Distance: 78.14 | Time: 6:47:06)