What an adventure:

Saturday afternoon i drove up 1.5 hours to Gainseville with all my gear to go for a long ride in Panama City. Everyone thought i was crazy for driving all the way up there just to ride 56 miles and run. BUT i wanted to ride the course (not drive it, RIDE it) to witness first hand what i'd be getting into. So i arrived in Gainseville (my buddy Carl decided to go with me and his house is on the way) and crashed for an early morning start on Sunday.

5 am we both got up, packed the car and got on the road about 6. On the way up to Panama City Carl was driving and ended up getting a 140 dollar ticket :S. We made good time up till that point, then we had to drive the speed limit! Bah.

Took about 5 hours to get up there, on teh way there ti started pouring, and the temp dropped significantly. So much so that we stopped at Wally World to get sweat shirts. Once we got to Panama City though, the rain had stopped but the temp and winds were rough. Unpacked our stuff, kept the sweatshirts on and headed out. the first part of the ride was very difficult. Carl had just gotten his aerobars and wasnt' too stable, especially with 35 mph gusts hitting us from the sides and a pretty constant head wind. He was cranking the pace at 18 mph and i knew after probably an hour we'd both blow up, so i took the lead and slowed it down to a comfortable pace. I mean, we hadn't even gone 7 miles and my legs were burning. With hte head wind, and being the stronger rider of us two, i kept a pretty solid 15 mph pace. The wind was ceaseless, but it's just like riding a long hill.

We made a turn onto a very busy highway with a breakdown lane that we rode in, then turned right onto another highway...with NO breakdown lane. This was pretty scary, not only were people flying by at 60 miles an hour, but most of them were buzzing us because they had no where to go...couple that with cross winds that threatened to put us into their path with every gust..and it was a tense day. Once we got onto 388, the traffic was a bit more sparse, and the winds died down a little bit. At the half way mark, i believe we had a 15.5 mph avg. Turning around though, i realized something...not only did we have a nasty head wind, but the roads were mostly inclines..slight, but noticeable on teh way back. The way back was much faster then the way up, i was able to keep my speed over 18 for most of the way back. Once in awhile father wind would humble me by hitting me head on with such force that i'd be reduced to 8-9 mph for a few seconds. Once we turned on the second to last street we flew, it was down hill with a tail wind, i was cruising at 22-24 mph without really pushing the pedals.

One of the things i wanted to accomplish and dial into was my nutrition on the bike. I went through 1 powerbar, adn 4 gels in the 2:52 we were out there. Plus 1.5 bottles of gatorade and 1/2 bottle of water. So i planned on 400 calories per hour, which would be 1200 calories, and ended up with about 800 total. It was cold, and i wasn't sweating, so i had to force gatorade and water down when i ate a gel or something, and my stomach cramped just a bit early on. The bar was good and easier to eat on teh bike then i thought it would be, and gels went down ez.

We got to the street where we crossed to get to Wally world where the car was, and as we crossed i moved to my right, which put me in carls way and we both fell over going 2 mph. Right in the middle of a huge busy intersection! Nothing wrong or broken, just really embarrasing. I just picked up my bike and jogged it across the street. We got to the car and changed for our run, took a short stretch break and headed out for an hour run. I started out fast...i felt good. I'd say we were going 10:15 per mile or so, until about mile 1. The new position on the bike (agressive aero for flat races) put some extra strain on my lower back..and falling made me tighten it up. So about 1 mile into the run my lower back started really hurting. At mile 2.5 i stopped adn stretched it and it felt a bit better. After that i started to slowdown, my breathing was labored, and even though my legs felt pretty good, my back was tightening up and each foot fall hurt my lower back.

Then at around the 4th mile, i hit my groove. My endorphines kicked in, my pace slowed just a bit more, i'd say 10:45, and suddenly i felt like i could run forever. It was great, unfortunately Wallyworld was just ahead and our run ended up being probably 4.5 miles. Still, i was pretty beat afterwards, then the 5.5 hour drive back to gainseville was very painful, and the 1.5 hour drive freom gainseville to clermont was just as bad. Overall the day started at 5 am and i got to bed at midnight.

Things i learned:

Overall we avg'd 17.7 mph and that was not knowing the course. In the race i'll push a little bit harder in the first half, knowing that i can 'rest' some speed on the way back as it is mostly declines. One thing that sucks is most of the roads are old tar, and tons of vibration really screw with your leg fatigue. Not much i can do about it except maybe get a carbon seatpost. I hope to avg 18-18.5 in the race.

Coming out of T2 i need to keep it slower. I tend to blow out of transition and blow up on mile one, then spend a few miles recovering. During the race i need to take it easy miles 1-8, then if i feel good, pick it up for the last 5 miles.

This 4 hour brick really gave me some confidence for doing this race. I need to do another brick in two weeks, Carl seems to think a 1 hour ride, and 2 hour run would be more beneficial. Not sure what i'll do.

The new aggressive aero position i'm in really helps me keep my power up on the bike, and after this brick, realized that it makes my back tight, but doesn't sacrifice my running muscles. I just need to get more comfortable in this new position.

Overall a great day, minus all the driving.

Yesterday it poured like water was going out of style, so my afternoon run never happened. I don't mind running in the rain but the temp dropped about 30 degrees so it was cold. Instead i went out to a birthday party and got hammered! heheh, had a slight hangover today, but i'm good now. I think i'l go for my tempo ride today and then take tomorrow off in lieu of my 5 hour Brick planned in Panama City on Sunday.

Well well well, I'm burnt like a piece of toast! I snoozed my alarm this morning for an hour because my legs would not respnod to my commands. They're just totally wrecked, BUT i HAVE to do my tempo ride today! will just take me longer to get warmed up. Why on earth am i doing a tempo ride today? Because Sunday i'm doing a 5 hour brick, and taknig friday and saturday off in lieu of that. I probably won't run today though.

So Carl put on his blog that he wants to do the full 13.1 after the 56 mile ride (the course in panama city which i'm racing in may). Well I'm calling him out! No pussin out now you son of a motherless triathlete, it's on! We're now locked into a 5+ hour brick, not including 5 hours driving up there and 5 hours back! We're going to bike his pace, and run my pace. I think it would be wise to set up some temporary aid stations on the run somehow. We'll have to figure out the logistics that weekend.

it's a bit late so i'll keep this one short: Had a productive day at work, ran 3.75 miles during lunch, then biked 1 hour ez around the lake before dinner. I can't get any swimming in this or next week, well maybe, but it'll be sporadic. I just cant' get into orlando to swim anymore, i'm waiting to get a membership at the NTC so it'll be just down the road. I'll do that when i get my first paycheck from CFT. I'll be a duathlete for the next couple weeks, filling my swim time with bikes and runs.

Today was awesome! I rolled into work at 10 am, went running at noon, left at 4 to get in my hill ride, and came back at 7:30 to finish up my work. This is the PERFECT work environment i've always been looking for! Everything is going so good.

I updated the header so it reflects all of last week. My long ride was cancelled because it was pouring so my hours don't reflect it, but oh well, theres always this week.

Today was my first day at CFT and it was a good day, got a press release done and sorted through contacts, set things up...etc. It was productive. As for training, i got really tired around 1 pm and didn't recover from it, i'm still tired. so i'm taking today off and doing a run tomorrow to compliment my hill ride.

yesterday was rainy rainy. I stayed in and did an hour on my trainer and that was it. Today i started my job and so far so good! I'm really tired right now, i think it's because i took a benedryl, i need some caffeine! doh. Going for a half hour run later.

Just got done a 7.6 mile run (1:20) around the lake. What a great run. There are some places where the road is chamfered real bad and it irritated my ITB, but after about 6 miles my lower body was numb. ANother reason it was a great run is because i ran with Julia, a very cute triathlete staying here for a week to do a clinic at the NTC. We'll be doing a bunch of training togehter, she's young (18) and so full of life it's great. She's not stuck up or moody like some triathletes i know. hehe.

After that she wanted to do a tempo ride. Ugh. Ok. 45 minutes around the lake at tempo pace, then 15 cooldown. Now i'm starving like a hostage and going to Perkins!. then getting a new chain, and a chain whip to take my cassette off and give it a thorough cleaning.

I got the job at CFT Sommer Sports! I'm the race promoter and writer/graphic artist guy. IT's going to be awesome! i go in this weekend to work out the details, but i officially start on Monday. This is the best case scenario i had in my mind when i moved here! Now i can save up some money and get a place of my own in a few months. This should all workout just fine...and also an update on my weight. I've dropped 10 pounds in the last 4 weeks, so thats good. I don't see it...well, maybe i do in my legs adn arms, but i definitely feel it.

I'm testing out my new header which will give you more info on my training. I wasj ust thinking that you really don't know what in hell i'm doing each week. So here's a breakdown that i will update every Sunday night! If i'm feeling extra zealous i'll even take a screenshot of my super detailed Tri Geek Spreadsheet stats page. It's like 2 pages of nothing but anal stuff, for some of you, you may want to see how long i train in each zone, or how my sleeping habbits and training coincide. Or maybe not. We'll see if i feel like uploading that every week. for now the header will have to do!

oh one more thing: I'm going to add stats to my page soon so you can see what i'm doing each week. I'll update it every week on Sunday. It'll have Run Bike and Swim [Miles Time] and % for the week of total exercise. As well as totals for the year.

Phew! It's 94 degrees and not a cloud in teh sky. Lets go run and ride! Did 1/2 hour run, then 1 hour hill ride. THe hill ride was supposed to be 1.5 hours but the heat was getting to me and i didn't have any water, just gatorade. The gatorade started going down hard and i knew my stomach wasn't absorbing well because of how hot it was so i decided to go home. I started drooling a bit and knew i'd be in trouble if i dind't get home soon, so i slowed it down and made it home...downed half gallon of water over a half hour and feeling much better. Now it's time for spaghettie and boca chicken!

Today was a great 30 minute run (3.5 miles) and 55 minutes in the pool (3000m) and the swim was good! The first 2000m was done as 100m repeats witha nd without a pull bouey. The last 1000 was done straight, and my second half was faster then my first. I felt good in the water, my pacing seemed ok, i didn't feel any anxiety like i do in open water. Also my last 200 meters was good because i found out i can lengthen my stroke a bit more by twisting a bit. When i utilized this, i was able to get down to 13 strokes per lentgh for my last 200m after i had already swum 2700m. Thats a good thing. I really spaced out in the water today too which is good. i got into a rhythm after about 1800m and my arms went a bit numb like my legs do when i'm zoned. I was really comfortable.

Well instead of pussing out, i ran :30 minutes (3.2 miles) and after making some MAJOR adjustments to my bike, did a 1 hour tempo around the lake at 20 mph. I feel more powerfull in the position i'm in now, but it won't yeild much power for hills. But Panama is flat! so no biggie.

So i wasn't "BOB" today, i trained and i feel good about it.

My hamstrings are still very tight and sore, and i overall feel very lethargic today. I'm going to listen to my body (my lower back is bothering me to) and not do my hill ride today, instead i'm going to do a 4-5 mile ez run, and maybe a 20 mile ez bike. That should give me close to 2 hours. Apparently my 'hard week' last week was too hard, Jay seems to think after my breakthru run, then moving, was like doing a big race...and i need a few days to recover. So today is hopefully the last recovery day cause this is getting a bit depressing.

Today i decided to take the day off. My hams are still very tight and tomorrow is a hill ride (all hams) and a run. I ate like crap and didn't love it, so i must be over it. Back on track tomorrow!

My legs are totally thrashed. I could feel it yesterday as the tightness began to set in around 4 pm. Right after i helped move Michelle into her new place. This morning i tried to stretch my hams, but even lifting my leg straight was hard to do, so i did my best and geared up for a 4 hour bike. That bike ended up being 1.5 hours for a couple reasons. One: My legs are thrashed, and i wanna take it easy considering i broke through some heavy barriers yesterday running. Two: since biking is my strength, it's not a big deal that i take a few hours off this week. Overall i ended with 9 hours of training total.

I need to do more swim practice, thats my new worry: going out too fast in the swim and bombing. I don't want that to happen, so i need to find a swim partner and swim in the open water more. I'm fine in the pool, but once i hit thta open water, i always swim too fast, my heart races...i gotta overcome whatever anxiety i have in open bodies of water.

Awesome, AWESOME SUPER run! Oh my god, i'm so high right now.

Today i decided to throw caution to the wind and go back to my old running style since i ran without pain on Thursday. Not only did i do 7 miles today without pain (I had tightness in my hip wher ei previously had pain but tightness is better then pain!) but i cruised to my old running times! Check these splits out!

Mile 1: warm up: 10:58
Mile 2: 10:28
Mile 3: 10:06
Mile 4: 9:40
Mile 5: 9:21!
Mile 6: 9:01!
Mile 7: Cool Down : 10:32

I still have my old times! If my hip wasn't tightening up, i could have kept that 9:01 pace for a few more miles no problem, i was still in my upper aerobic. Not only that but i didn't feel fatigued at all throughout the whole run. Based on how i felt, i could definitely hold a 10 minute pace for 12-13 miles. This is such good news, i was really starting to get worried that my run would be my biggest limiter, but after this run i'm really really happy with the results and confident i'll be ok for the rest of my training. My patience and positive attitude has really paid off. I tried to 'fix' my running form and it didin't work, but most importantly i kept my fitness up to the point of being able to go back to my old times. This came as a suprise ...a really pleasant one!


By the way, my newest article was posted on triathlete.com!

I helped Michelle and her roomate move today, after the move i was still full of energy while josh and jeff sorta conked out on the couch. heheh. it pays to be in shape.

Day off today...thank god. I really don't feel that stiff. I think i felt worse yesterday morning then i did today. So i'm hoping for a full recovery of energy by tomorrow morning where i tackle a 7 mile run.

No pain! no pain! finally! I ran today in my old running style (after a very difficult 21 mile tempo ride around the lake..it was VERY windy today) right off the bike. The first mile was pain free at 12 minutes, then my legs 'emptied' of lactic acid and i burned up the pavement to record a 9 minute second mile, pain free! There was some tightness there, but no pain. Damnit, iw as getting really worried that i'd have to walk the half marathon at the end of Panama City but this is a good omen! I'll see how it goes on my saturday 7 miles. If i run pain free for 7 miles, i'll kiss the ground and take off my shorts!

Tomorrow; DAY FRIGGEN OFF. and boy are my legs glad.

i'm beat. My whole body is stiff. One more day though, get through today and i get my day off tomorrow. Gotta do my 1:30 tempo then a half hour run after. I'm gonna do tons of stretching right now before i go out...

Had a nice run out and back. 3.75 miles 46 minutes. Every 12 minutes, i'd walk 1 minute in an effort to postpone my hip pain. When the pain came on at mile one i was getting annoyed (not only that but my HR monitor is acting funny, there's no way i'm at 198 HR!) and somehow miraculously began running my old way. Running on the outsides of my feet. This put a lot more strain on my achilles (which i've had no problems with so far) but seemed to keep my hip from hurting (besides the residual pain from the first mile). I think all this 'the perfect gait' or best stride is just honkey bullshit if you think of what is comfortable for you. Once i develop more calf and achilles strength i think my hip pain will be a thing of the past. One thing i noticed is when i try to run 'normal' my ITB 'snaps' over my hip bone if i push my finger in my hip to feel it. Thats why the pain is not a fatigue pain but a pain pain. If you know waht i mean.

I got my wetsuit back from the altering fellow. He did a good job, besides the fact that the right arm was cut a bit deeper then the left, so my nipple sorta shows on that side heheh. But i took it out into the lake today and had no more strain on my shoulders on each stroke. I do need to do more open water swims too, they're much different then pool work. It's kinda scary out in that lake all by yourself, so i cut my swim short. I'd like to have 2-3 other people in the lake with me or else my imagination gets the best of me (Gators). Tomorrow is a 1:30-2 hour ride, not sure what yet, probably tempo around the lake.

Today was an awesome day of training. My schedule called for a 1:30 hill ride but since i've got all the time in the world i went quite a bit longer. After a nice warm up around the lake, i proceeded to beat myself to death up and down hospital hill a bunch of times, then moved on to Washington street, up and down Grassy Lake, then back up Hospital hill, and around the lake one more time. It was 2:20 of leg burning action. On my way back i stoppeda t the waterfront and decided to take a dip. Ahhhh how refreshing! The water was beautiful! it's march and i'm swimming in a lake without a wetsuit, florida rules.

Tomorrow is a run and swim. My legs are really wrecked from this workout, and i'm very happy for it.

Today i ran 3.4 miles in 36 minutes, biked half hour, and swam half hour. I'm starting to appreciate my situation more and more...the lack of responsibilities i have, the all day i have to train..etc. I'm going to take full advantage of it and get into some serious shape!


Here's an extended version of what went on this last weekend:

Friday night the boyz arrived, along with the three amigos! The three amigos are computer dudes who decided, "Lets do St Anthony's as our first ever race!" This coming from a guy who's using a road bike older then me, another using a hybrid that has a stop light that flickers and comes out of the bike when the kickstand is pushed down...hehe these guys are awesome! They just soaked in the environment and did a great ride on saturday. I'm getting ahead of myself though.

The first time i meet Matt, he's got a case of Corona in his hand. "I come bearing gifts." So when BD arrived with dirty, we were all downing brewskies and laughing hysterically at oen thing or another. I gave the three amigos some group ride etiquette lessons, then we all went to bed.

Juanjo's beutiful wife locked him out of his house, so he didn't get to the house until like midnight in his super DOPE M3 silver sex machine! He let me spin the tires a few times and coming back from Outback on saturday night, i pushed her to 115 on the road. MMMMMMM it was nice. I'm getting ahead of myself agian though.

So Big daddy was lucky enough to get the bunk in my room, and i must say it wasn't as unpleasant as most make it out to be. He's not THAT loud. Though he DOES get up ever 39 seconds to piss.

Saturday morning Mark wanted to do his swim after our bike, so we all decided that was ok. We headed down to the park and both Juanjo AND BigD got lost. The park is 1 mile away from the house....

I met Ironsteve, and Ruben. Dirty (Steve S), mark, matt and others were already at the park all geared up. Big D finally arrived with the three amigos and we all started off on the ride. I knew my way through the route, though i'd done it backwards the first time, so this was a bit different. I just told Dirty, "Follow the arros on the road, they're still there from last year" Ok he says.

4 miles from the start he breaks off the front with Matt, Mark, and Juanjo...right passed the first turn off of Old 50. I yelled but they didn't hear me. Oh well, Ruben behind me i decided we'd do the route by ourselves. Ironsteve joined us a few minutes later and off we went.

Let me tell you, doing that 56 miler frontwards is WAY WAY harder then doing it backwards. You don't realize how many slight slopes there are until you're going UP them, leading to huge hills. I sat and managed every hill in my seat while Ironsteve drilled up em like a champ. Ruben was strong on the first few hills, but died shortly after...he's the first skinny guy i ever beat to the tops of hills!

After the hills we got to a lonely flat part for many miles, slight upslope, big head wind. I was struggling to keep a 15 mph pace. Another reason for this is my HORRIFIC underestimation of nutrition. By the time we were half way done with the ride, i was out of my 4 gels i brought and down one bottle of gatorade. The gatorade didn't bother me, it was the fact that i was hungry as hell and had nothing to eat.

Ironsteve saved the day when he came up and said he had to unload "Six pounds of piss". We stopped and i mentioned i was hungry. Ruben said he had a powerbar and gave one to me. Now, any other time i would have declined because i've had really bad experiences with bars (just not settling or tasting right). But this one was peanutbutter and i was starving and on the edge of bonking so i ate it...and it was good! It settled good, and i had no problems with it. I finally found a bar i can eat on the bike!!

So that down, i found some more energy and brought then to Sugar loaf. Sugar loaf is fun, it's probably 10-11 percent grade, about 1/2 mile long. I was managing the hill at 4.5 mph (+.5 mph from last week), Ironsteve danced on his pedals, and Ruben was out of his saddle huffing and puffing his way beside me.

"Sit down dude, yer gonna explode."
**Ruben sits down**
"Push with your hams and glutes (like Rich taught us). Manage the hill, you can't attack this hill yet."
**Ruben begins to breath semi normally at 4.5 mph, his eyes light up**
"Wow thanks man, this is much better! i thought i'd not make this hill, thanks a bunch."

This was my first feel good moment of the weekend.

As we ascended the hill, i noticed the three amigos and BD up at the top just watching us torture ourselves. When Ruben and I got to the top, Ironsteve wanted to do the hill again, so off he went. I took the much needed rest to eat the other half of the powerbar Ruben gave me. BD wanted to know where to go next, and i offered to lead him back to the waterfront but he wanted to go another way and so we split.

By this time my legs are thoroughly spent, and i know we've got a few huge hills to go. But i trudged on, through grassy lake, down to washington street, up Hospital hill and home free from there.

I was very burned by then, and the thought of doing the olympic course, or even doing ANY running just made me wanna pass out, so instead i went home with most everyone else, ate some pasta, and by 8 pm i was in bed, totally unconscious. Did i mention how fun everyone is when we're together? I think i can count about 4 serious moments the whole weekend.

Sunday I started out the group for the olympic route. Most people had a very vague idea of what the course entailed, and after getting to the top of Hospital hill i gave simple directions and the speedsters went at it. I didn't want to lose BD or the slower people on this ride (plus it was a good excuse to go ez) so i stayed behind and traveled back and forth. When i got to the half way point (corner store) i waited for BD, assured he knew where he needed to go, and took off. I caught up with Beverly a little after that on Grassy lake road where she was trying to help a man with a flat.

Now, here's my second feel good moment of the weekend. I saved the day, not only did i have a 650 tube, but i had Co2 and the know how to change it. The fellow didn't even know how to put his wheel back on, so i took care of the whole thing and within 15 minutes we were off (i have do redo the tire when i found a slight pinch in the tube) again. The rest of the ride was faster because i had gained quite a bit of energy from the down time with the flat tire dude.

Got back to the house and started to run, got about 7 minutes out and just fell apart. So i jogged, walked back and called it quits for the day. We all had some lunch, i replenished my flat tire supplies, and everyone left smiling. It was truly a great weekend and i can't wait for the many more we'll have!

Today was the olympic course riding, which i dilly dallied around. I made trips back and forth to wait for people, and what not. not a hard ride at all. At the top of Grassy Lake hill a fellow had a flat. His buddy had 700s and he had 650's. Being the nice guy i am, not only did i give him a tube, but i took off his wheel, put the tube in, pumped it up with my last CO2 cartridge, put the wheel back on and sent him on his way. My good deed of the day.

Afterwards i ran for 20 minutes, then ate, and headed into town to hang with jeff. We bowled a few strings, ate at Friday's then vegged for awhile. Right now i'm pretty tight and sore, my head hurts and i'm ready for bed. Tomorrow is an hour in the drink. 13 hours this week. A good return.

Holy crap, i'm beat! What a great ride! This morning we got up early, only to wait around for everyone to get ready. Some of us wanted to do the Olympic, and others wanted to do the Half Ironman (bike loops). I started with the Half IM group and at turn 3 the front of the group broke off and missed the turn, Iron Steve, Ruben, and I ended up going the same way. That course is HARD! Man, hill after hill after hill. It was the toughest 56 miles i've ever ridden. But i also pushed the pace a bit. I ended up 16.5 avg over the 16 avg i did on the 50 mile, less hillier course. I was dissapoitned with my nutrition strategy, i ended up running out of solid fuel about 2 hours into the bike and had to bum a bar off Ruben. He gave me a Peanutbutter Power bar, and i liked it! I FINALLY FOUND A BAR I LIKE! I woofed the bar, and started feeling better...later i had to get ANOTHER bar off from Iron Steve. So 2 bars and 4 cliffshots, and it was overcast and not hot...i need to put some serious thought into my nutrition strategy.

After the ride we put on our wetsuits and took a dip. I need to get the arms cut off my suit, they really restrict my movement. I'll ask a tailor about it soon. Also, my shoulder seems to be getting better now. i have more range of movement then i had before.

I'm so trashed, and tomorrow we're biking and running. These guys are the best though, i have so much fun with them, we're always laughing. This is what triathlon is all about. The comradare between athletes...it's great.

Today was a good day. I was supposed to do a 1:30 'whatever ride' and i ended up doing a 2 hour tempo ride. What fun! I went around the lake 4 times, and the wind was kicking something fierce! On one half of the lake i'd go 22-23 no problem, on the OTHER side, i'd be reduced to 12-13 mph into the wind, going slightly uphill. Tough day but i felt so strong. About an hour into it my legs got numb and i just cranked. Great ride, and looking forward to doing the tri syndicate rides this weekend too. My shoulder still hurts but not when i run, bike or swim, so i guess thats ok.

time for bed.

Getting up at 5 am to do the masters swim, my first one. We'll see how that goes!

Man am i sore from yesterdays swim! Thats a good thing, but the bad thing is, my shoulder is still messed up. I can actually push my finger into my shoulder and find the nerve, and push it and it shoots pain over my shoulder and into my bicep. This isn't good, but it's good that it doesn't effect my swimming. Not sure how the hell my nerve got messed up, but i'm very much hoping it fixes itself on it's own. Once in awhile i grab a bunch of shoulder muscle and shake it violently in an effort to free it up, but it's being stubborn.

Not sure what to do about it. I don't have insurance so doctors visit is out of the question.

Anyway today is a 1.5-2 hour 'whatever' ride. The route i plan to take is 25 miles with some good hills. I'll push it a bit today, rest tomorrow, and have a huge weekend. THe tri syndicate guys and girls are coming up, so the weekend will be back to back pain.

Jay seems to think i've got a pinched nerve in my shoulder. Either way, i went swimming at the NTC and didn't have any problems. I felt very powerful in the water today, my rolling has been coming along well. I did a 10x100 on 2:00 and came out of the water at 1:40 practically each time. Good to know. I swam for :45 minutes but didn't keep track of total meters, sorta winged it each time.

Oh yeah, and i mailed in my IM app!

My shoulder is still killing me, but i'm going to swim anyway to see if it matters. I ran 4 miles today, and had to stop and stretch my ITB a few times, but it's getting better. My foot placement is better so i'm sure i'm on the way to fix this thing.

Nothing much to report today so far...

Tomorrow I mail in my Ironman App! There are still just under 30 slots left so i'm pretty much guaranteed a slot. Thanks again Tri Angel and EVERYONE who donated to my cause!
Today i did 1:20 hills, all the hills are rated 8-10% grade...steep. Most of them are probably close to 1/2 mile long. It was a hard ride, i didn't even feel like doing anything today, my quads felt 'empty' and i was just down. I took a vitamin and that pretty much changed everything. Afte the first two hills i wanted to quit, but i got lucky and got lost! That added about another 30 minutes of hills, before i found my way and ended the ride with a tempo ride around the lake 7 miles.

I was supposed to swim today to make up for yesterday but the day just wore on for one, and for two i slept with my arm over my head...ALL NIGHT! my shoulder is KILILNG me! Everytime i lift my arm it shoots with pain. heheh, stupid me.

Tomorrow is Run and Swim. I'm debating whether or not to sign up at the NTC. it sure would be easier to get to the pool...

Good weekend, though it started off kinda rocky.

Friday night Michelle and I started driving up to Gainseville to hang with Carl and Beth, half way there we got a flat. It was pitch dark on the turnpike and we had no flashlight, so Michelle called AAA to get the tire all fixed. We drove back home so she could get a tire at Wal Mart the next day. Time on road: 4 hours. Distance traveled : 90 miles total. Distance from house: 0 miles.

Saturday morning we went to Wal Mart, got everythign taken care of and went up. When we got to Gainseville i ran 6 miles while Carl was at work. When he got home we had a lot to talk about now that i'm actually going to IMFL for sure! Beth made the best Chicken i've ever had, and was the greatest hostess i've ever encountered. She gave us salad, chicken, choice of pasta....Carl and I talked and talked and watched a movie until 3 am. At 10 the next morning he knocked on my bedroom door and we were off on our ride. We did 40 miles in 2 hours and Carl was beat. The ride was wet from the rain the night before, but otherwise uneventful. In my normal sprint on each ride i managed to get to 29 mph into the wind. After our ride we went and ate pasta at Hungry Howies and headed for the pool.

Once in the pool i swam a few hundred meters to warm up and then brought Carl through a progression of drills to increase his stroke rate. By the end of the 45 minutes we had, his stroke rate was improved significantly without losing stroke integrety. I think he'll be up there swimming well pretty soon.

Went home and went to bed after that.

Today i was supposed to run 3 miles, but took a wrong turn and ended up backtracking for more like 4 miles. I'm really starting to dial into this pain in my hip and i think i know how to fix it, it's just going to take time. After my run i didn't plan anything else, but a girl who's stayed here all weekend and until tomorrow; Hannah, wanted to go for a short ride, so i obliged to take her around the lake. It was a leisurley ride, but ended up being relatively fast (18 mph avg).

I was supposed to swim today, but i moved it to tomorrow so i could go into town and drop off some freelance at the same time. I got my check from the Tri Angel today and i'm mailing my app in tomorrow! The Race Directors of IMFL told me that there are 'less then 30" slots left. I have faith that in 10 days when my app gets in they won't be sold out!

Tomorrow is a 1.5 hour hill ride, then swim 1 hour. I've been craving pizza all day, so tomorrow for lunch i'm having Papa Johns!

Looking forward to getting my hours back up. 5.5 hours last week which is perfectly where i wanted to be. Now it's back to 10, 12, 14.