Chaska Herald Article

I feel blessed that Sports Editor, Eric Kraushar of the Chaska Herald, did such a nice job recapping my Ironman Adventure in last weeks newspaper. (Click image to read the online story) He brought great focus to the Kenya Children's Fund...speaking of KCF here's the latest and greatest in regards to overall sponsorship.    
Sorting through my mail on Saturday night after returning from the IMWI bike course preview, I opened an envelope from my niece, Molly...WOW.  Thanks to the very generous donation from Molly and Matt, we are now at $4,010 of the $5,343 goal!  You'll recall that the goal is to provide food, clothing and education for 12 children for an entire year.  We're almost there gang, you've sponsored 105.5 miles ($38 per mile) of the 140.6 race total and we have 48 days to go!

Blessings to you. 
May you feel peace, grace, joy and hope on this day!
Lee 

  

Overcoming Obstacles

I've returned from Madison, the host town of Ironman Wisconsin.
Overcoming obstacles was clearly the reoccurring theme emphasized by my coach during our two day clinic.  Ironically, we faced a few obstacles, namely extreme heat and humidity.

Our clinic started with a 60 minute swim start and transition walk through followed by a general discussion of the race flow.  We then mounted our bikes and rode the course stopping often to discuss race course tactics.  40 miles into our 112 mile ride the group naturally split into those that wanted to hammer the ride at high speed and those that wanted to dissect the course and work on best practice race strategy.  Three of us chose strategy over speed although I was eager to pick up the speed.  Based on the good judgement of my friend Scott we stuck to the tactical plan.

Jeff, who has ridden the course some 12 times was excellent at providing his recommendations and insight to what worked for him during the race.   Along the course every ten miles or so, my coach met us in the support vehicle to refill our water bottles and provide additional nutrition.

Never have I ridden so far in such extreme conditions.  Unfortunately we discovered later that one rider on the speed ride was overtaken by heat exhaustion and was taken off the course at mile 80 in the support vehicle.      

Nutrition plays a significant roll in the successful finish of an Iron distance event.  Seemingly, the plan that I executed is solid and will be pretty close to what I'll use on race day.  I'm happy about this!

In the end, our ride was cut short by 11 miles due to the time it took to talk tactics throughout the day.  We rode 101 miles marking my first "century" in what was arguably worst case scenario conditions of extreme wind, heat and humidity!  Side note:  I felt vulnerable to the effects of the sun and yet felt safe and protected by God's grace and love...and knew we would prevail on the course!

We followed the ride with a 4 mile run through the streets around the state capitol while talking run strategy.   I felt good the entire way!  What a day!

The following day we rode 40 miles of the course.  This day, my coach encouraged me to give it my all.  

This experience has provided a great confidence in my ability to compete in this event.  I'll share with you several take-aways in strategy, but the overriding theme was to save your energy for the run!

     

 

Ironman Wisconsin bike preview

13 of us are headed to Madison Wisconsin this afternoon to preview the Ironman bike course.   The plan is to meet at the Menona Terrace Helix on Friday morning to discuss transition then ride the 112 mile course and clonclude the day with a 4 mile brick run.  On Saturday we’ll ride 70 miles.  Nearly 200 miles of riding…I’ll probably feel that, won't I?!

As mentioned in an earlier blog, I made the decision to increase my swim mileage this week.  On Tuesday, I knocked off an uninterrupted 1.8 mile open water (lake) swim in an hour…it felt good.  This morning we swam 3,000 yards in masters swim class...again, I felt great!      

I’m starting to make final tweaks to my gear and part of this included the decision to rent race wheels for Ironman Wisconsin. They’re aerodynamically proven to reduce the effort output on the bike by as much as 20%.  Theory being that this energy savings will transfer to the run portion of the event…I’ll need it! 

Hope you are well and enjoying summer.  It's been ridulously hot and humid for the last week here in Minneapolis! 

Lee 

Great Weekend Workout!

On Friday morning I ran 9-miles at a fairly fast pace.  Later that afternoon we visited our Friend Mike on Lake Minnetonka where we skied, wake boarded and wake surfed!  That evening the kids and Liz were complaining about being sore…I felt fine! 

On Saturday morning I woke at 3:30 to thunderstorms and a deluge of rain! Our bike group was to meet at 5:30 for our 60 mile ride but postponed it twice due to the rain.  I really never went back to sleep after 3:30.   

What should have been a fun, challenging ride, turned into a ride that took its toll on me mentally and physically.  I felt great fatigue and began to doubt my training, fitness level and whether I would be able to tackle the Ironman distance!  My training partners Scott and Derrick listened and encouraged me through that dark place. 

Later that afternoon I heard more complaining from my family about being sore from the water sports.  It finally hit me too, my upper body was quite tender from the skiing we had done.  Although I could not directly feel it, my legs were probably very tired as well.  It occurs to me that I’m on the edge of over-training and need to pay very close attention to my level of fatigue both emotionally and physically!                

Sunday morning I set out on my longest run ever; 18-miles.  I was tight at the beginning but the run went as well as I could have hoped.  My typical long-distance run route takes me into some very remote areas…On this day I felt I needed to be around people and knew the local LRT path was flat, fairly soft due to its gravel base and would have lots of people based on its recreational nature.  Perfect plan and execution.  I ran the entire 18 miles and never stopped!  Challenging for sure but confidence building at the same time.  The best part was that my body had already recuperated from the previous days ride and lack of sleep!    

Mantra:

I’ve created a mantra while running that distracts me from my discomfort. I repeat (in several different orders) the names of the Kenya Children’s Fund staff and sponsored family. 

Ginger, Jane, Carolyn, Heather, Jacob, Teresia, Michael, Sabina, Ben… I also repeat my theme verse; Philippians 4:13; I can do all things through Him who gives me strength!

Last week I received three sponsorships…I’ll provide an update on this in the next day or two.

A group of us will ride the Ironman Wisconsin bike course on Friday and Saturday; a 112 miles on Friday and 70 on Saturday! 

In two weeks I race a half iron distance triathlon…things are moving at warp speed!

Thank you for your prayers of encouragement, protection from injury and wellbeing.  I remain healthy and able to continue forward. 

Blessings to you all.

Lee  

26.2...what's the big deal about that?

Saw one today that made me laugh.
You know you're an ironman when you see a 26.2 bumper sticker and think....that's all?
A 26.2 sticker is what marathon runners often put on their car as identity.

Brutal weekend workout lined up...4 hour bike ride tomorrow and an 18 mile run on Sunday.  That's after a 9 mile run this morning!  But until then, we're headed to the lake at noon today for some watersports.
Hope you have a safe and fun weekend.  I'll keep you posted!
 

Swim Distance

Strong run and bike workouts as of late have me feeling confident.  I continue to do back to back bike/run bricks and they have been solid as well.   

If there’s a weak link in my program it may be my swim.  Ironic in that the swim has been a strong element for me in the past.  Overall it’s not weak, but, I have yet to add significant distance.  My typical swim is a little over a mile, I need to immediately increase the distance to 2 miles during this last 60-day push!  

I’m feeling intimidated by the significant distance of the bike (112 miles) and the run (26.2 miles) courses.  It’s hard to get my head around the fact that it’s twice as long as I’ve attempted.  And when I try to encourage myself with the fact that I finished my last half iron distance strong, it’s no help…again, the full iron is twice that far!  What was I thinking when I signed up for this?! 

I received two KCF sponsorships this week from good friends Gea and Barb.  Gea is a spin instructor at Lifetime Fitness and an outstanding triathlete...She's really helped me to improve my fitness.  Also, longtime family friend Barb sent in a generous sponsorship.  Additionally, Barb inquired about an ongoing sponsorship of a KCF child – super cool!  I’m grateful and humbled by the outpouring of gifts KCF has received!

Thank you

Wednesday – 1 hour swim / 2 hour bike / 3 mile run

Thursday – 9 mile pace run

Friday - 60 minute swim

Saturday – 2.5 hour bike

Sunday 18 mile run

Mission accomplished

Sunday evening; the long 4th of July weekend is coming to a close.  I ran 16 miles on Saturday and felt good the entire way.  My pace averaged 8:44.  During my cool down walk I thought it would be very difficult to start running again!  It's probably naive of me to think that I can run the entire marathon without stopping but I fear that if I stop I won't start again.  I'm not going to lie...the thought of an additional 10 miles is intimidating!  
Today with hot and humid conditions, I biked 47 miles at about 19 mph average.  It was hot and I sweat profusely, nonetheless a solid ride!  Ironically my legs felt better after the ride than before.

The coming week brings a challenging but doable training schedule that ends with an 18 mile run next Saturday!  The Ironman Wisconsin bike course preview is in two weeks, can't wait...more on that later!
I'll make a couple more efforts to bring awareness to KCF in the coming weeks...more on that later as well.
Hope you had a safe and fun 4th celebration.
Lee

Open Water Swimming

Having a whirlwind 4th of July holiday.  Lots of fun activities, events and yes of course training. This weeks schedule included three open water swims, Little Long lake, Lake Minnewashta and Lake Bavaria.  I've mentioned the Lake Minnewashta swim in past blogs...We had a really solid group of swimmers last Wednesday.  Run schedule has been intense and culminates with a 16 miler tomorrow.

Put The Hammer Down

On one hand I’m starting to panic...a mere 10 weeks until Ironman Wisconsin!  On the other hand I’m feeling confident that my 7 months of training thus far has prepared me for the next phase of training and ultimately for the big event in September!  Last year at this time I could hardly finish a 13 mile training run without walking.  Last Saturday I knocked off a strong 60 mile bike ride with good friends Scott, Marta, Derrick, Danny and Jedd.

Then on Sunday I ran 12 miles nonstop at a relaxed 8:16 pace.  My body was a bit tight this morning on my 4 mile run and feeling the effects of the weekend pace, but nonetheless, I press on!     

My buddy e-mailed me this morning and said “you ready to put the hammer down now that you’re rested?” He's referring to my summer training break.   

This week includes 30 miles of running, 5 hours of biking and 2.75 hours of swimming!

 

Several more KCF sponsorships came in last week.  Lifelong friend and Ironman training partner Scott came through with an encouraging sponsorship as did his mother-in-law.  Ironically, I have not met Scott’s mother-in-law.  She sponsored KCF because Scott brought it to her attention through this effort.  This represents the very thing that I’m trying to accomplish!  She believes in the profound impact that KCF is doing for the kids of Kinyago-Dandora and sponsored their effort, not mine.  Shirley, my former strength training coach sent in a generous gift as well.  It was Shirley who helped me train for my first sprint distance triathlon 5 years ago!  Thank you Shirley!  And last but not least, (my adopted aunt and uncle) Otto & Marilyn (Liz’s aunt and uncle) sent in a special sponsorship gift as well.  It arrived in my birthday card.  What a great gift, helping kids in need!

Summer is here in Minnesota, the weather is forecasted to be perfect this week!

I pray a special blessing on you and I'm thankful for your support and notes of encouragement! 

Lee      

USA Triathlon

USA Triathlon was kind to post my triathlon story on their web home page and gave it premium position within the scrolling feature box. Click on the image below to see 



Once opened, you can see a brief snippet of how I have come to enjoy triathlon along with my efforts to bring awareness to the Kenya Children's Fund as I train for Ironman Wisconsin in September 

Click image below to see

The week has been good, weather has been perfect and training is solid.  Big training weekend ahead with a 4 hour ride and 12 mile run scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.