It's about to get real.

Memorial Day marks the month of May coming to a close.  Next up is June and oh boy is June a busy one for me.  This week was the end of 15 weeks since I began training for 2014 back in February.  It was an awesome one.  My streak of "+" marks continues on and I stepped on the scale today for my weekly weigh in and I was down another 3 lbs. to 160.  In the 2 weeks since my initial race that served as a good wake up call I've gone from 167 down to 160.  I have not eaten any junk and that's really all it takes for me although it is easier said that done.  Nearly every day I'm confronted with junk food and being a sugar addict if I give in a little look out!  For the week I biked 214 miles on 5 rides, ran 40 miles in 3 runs, and swam 4 times for 10,600 yards.  Every swim I did was in the lake and I'm still amazed how quickly I become a better swimmer when I'm out there versus the pool.  I also attended my strength class at Barre563 twice.

It's about to get real.  In the month of June I am racing 5 times and none of those are on the first weekend.  I am racing June 7, 8, 14, 22, and 29th.  The 29th was one I just added this week on a whim...just an Ironman distance race out in Atlantic City, NJ.  I'd considered this at one time but thought better in April when I was not rounding into shape to start a big training block I would have liked to get to make this an "A" race.  Now that I'm starting to feel really strong and am committed to these other races I thought why not just go see where I'm at.  I won't focus my training around the race.  It isn't a peak race...but it is one I'm really excited to test myself in.  I did not do a pro race last year.  This race in Atlantic City is put on by a European company that is bringing 3 races to the United States.  It is called "Challenge".  They are HUGE in Europe.  The world record Ironman distance time happened at "Challenge Roth" where if you don't break 8 hours you stand no chance of the podium.  I already signed up for a 1/2 Ironman distance race they are putting on in Ohio in late July.  That will be a race I taper for.

A few nights ago I started looking at Challenge Atlantic City and I got hooked on the idea.  I was lying in bed and the more I thought about it the more excited I got.  I got out of bed and looked at airfare and that made my decision.  I got great airfare out of Chicago and a good price on a rental car.  The course is smoking fast with only 700 feet total elevation gain on the bike and less than 300 feet on the run.  To put that in perspective if I rode to McCausland and back for 30 miles my elevation gain would be over 1200 feet...and that is only 30 miles.  The swim will be in a wetsuit which is something that is a plus for me.  The flat run course is to my strength as I do well when I can get into a rhythm.  My goal will be to place top 10 which is what they pay to and I badly would like to earn an award in a pro race before I'm done racing professionally.  In 2011 I missed by 1 place at Racine 70.3.  Regardless I'll be thrilled if I can break 9 hours which is another goal I'd like to cross off my list of goals.  I feel I can do it with the base of training I have put in despite not having a lot of really long rides or runs.  This weekend I bumped up my long ride to 102 miles on Saturday and then Sunday bumped my long run from 14 to 20.  I actually felt awesome on the run despite it being warm and sunny.  My last 5 miles were my fastest 5.  I won't get many more chances to ride or run long from now until the race.  I plan to race, recover, and repeat through June.  I hope to continue leaning down so I can be mid 150's at the most for the Ironman distance race.  The first 4 races in June are a great opportunity for me to earn some money for the iHope Foundation and I'm still planning to race Ironman Chattanooga in late September when I won't have so many races under my belt.  I'd like to earn $1,000.00 for the iHope Foundation through racing this month.  If you'd like to help with the iHope Foundation you can click here to make a tax deductible contribution.

One last reminder, next Saturday morning at 8:30 AM I will be putting on a free triathlon transition clinic hosted by Healthy Habits.  We've got some great samples of GU Energy to give out to those who attend along with some things to give away through a drawing.  Thanks for reading.  DREAM BIG!

Week 14 summary...trying to earn a "+"

Week 14 may have been my best week of training yet this year.  I had good volumes and good workouts.  For the week I biked 171 miles, ran 55 miles, and swam a 2014 high of 9,500 yards.  Today was my first open water swim and although the lake was pretty cold (60-62) degrees it felt really nice after about 5 minutes in my Xterra Vendetta full sleeve suit.  I was a bit scared when I arrived at the lake and saw what I thought was a large log floating in the water.  As I watched it moving rather quickly it suddenly disappeared.  I began to worry this wasn't a log.  About 10 seconds later I saw the "large log" reappear and realized it was some kind of creature.  I almost turned around and left but optimistically convinced myself it would be just as afraid of me churning up water as I would be of it...although I'm not sure that would be the case if I came face to face with whatever was out there.  I have to admit I sighted more than I usually do in this 45 minute open water swim.  The wind was blowing 25 mph giving the lake some nice chop.  I enjoy swimming in that.  It's almost like practicing in my own wave pool and I think it helps when I get to a race where the water isn't calm.

I had some good interval workouts on the bike and even running despite some lingering deep tissue soreness from last week's race.  Saturday I ran a 5k for a workout that Jay Whitmore had told me and my wife about.  He thought there was a chance I could earn $200.00 for the iHope Foundation if I could win and I was able to do that without digging to deep.  I was still able to get my longest ride of the year afterwards hitting the roads of Scott County for 72 miles.  Sunday I ran 14 miles which was my 2nd time at that distance this year.  My legs handled it better than the first time which is a good sign.  I have had a lingering infection that has drained me a bit but mostly keeps me up coughing late at night which has hindered my sleep.  I saw the doctor today for some stuff that will hopefully help me put the infection behind me.

The highlight of the week was not in the workouts.  What made this week the best of the year was being able to put 7 "+" marks in my workout log...one next to each day.  You see, I began keeping track of days I eat 100% clean with no junk food a few years ago by adding a "+" or a "-" in my workout log next to the day.  This year has been a struggle.  My weight is higher because of my lack of discipline with eating right.  I am not someone who is blessed with the ability to eat crap without gaining weight.  The old line about drinking a milk shake and having my butt jiggle for a week is true for me.  I'm also pretty addicted to sugar so there is no such thing as having 1 cookie for me.  It's 0 or it's 7 or more.  No joke.  Same thing with about every other kind of junk food.  My longest streak of "+" marks in my workout log through 13 weeks was 3 days.  I am now on a streak of 9 days and it is showing in my weight.  Last Monday morning my weight was 167 which means that was probably my race weight last weekend.  Today I was 163.8.  Looking back through my workout logs I tend to add about 2 seconds/mile per additional pound of body weight regardless of race distance.  When I weighed 150 two years ago I was doing workouts that put me in shape to run a 5k in 15:40.  My 1/2 marathon that year was 1:13:10 and I weighed 150.  Right now I'd be about 1:18 and that formula holds true with my current weight.  That motivates me because I know I'll be disappointed in my results if I allow my weight to hinder my progress this season.  I'm running out of time so the "now or never" for 2014 is in full swing.  It's much easier when I have a streak going.  Yesterday I was at a graduation party with cake, chips, candy...etc.  I didn't even get the shakes when I turned it down.  I'm looking forward to adding 7 more "+" marks this week and seeing if I can knock a couple more pounds off that weight...2 lbs. would be about 12 more seconds off that 5k time...thanks for reading.  DREAM BIG!

1st Race of 2014...Lake MacBride Duathlon

Sunday was my first race of the 2014 season after beginning training 13 weeks ago.  I was excited to test my fitness to see where I was at.  Going into the race I felt like my running was lagging a bit mostly due to my increased weight this year.  Weighing in at 166 on race day was the heaviest I have raced in 4 years.  Biking has gone really well over the last couple weeks.  I was expecting a good ride.  I did not do a single interval workout until 4 weeks ago and I have seen quick increases in my bike power since I began interval training.  The race was near Solon, Iowa and featured a 2.5 mile run, 18 mile bike, and an advertised 5k run that turned into just over 3.5 miles.  It was the first of 3 events making up the Scheels Duathlon Series.

I had my new Zipp Super 9 wheel put on the bike Saturday at Healthy Habits.  I am expecting a new Specialized Shiv hopefully later this month.  Dan Adams at the shop was tremendous in getting my 11 speed wheel set up to work on my 10 speed bike.  Jen was also racing and we left the house at 5:45 AM for the drive to Lake MacBride State Park.  We were a little later than we hoped because we drove to the wrong entrance of the park and it turned out we had to drive 10 miles to get to the correct entrance.

Run 1: On the first run a couple guys went out really fast.  I figured that would be the case because it was that way in every duathlon of the series last year.  I sat back a bit and worked my way up.  At the mile mark I was running in the lead with one other guy.  At the 1/2 way point I was in the lead and was quite surprised by how I was running considering my weight.  I realized that due to gravity I was having a much more difficult time whenever the course went uphill.  We ended the first run up a long hill and I almost gave up the lead.  I knew the biggest challenge would be from fellow Iowa professional Daniel Bretscher.  Daniel is one of the top triathletes in the United States and is someone I have always looked up to.  He's a great athlete and a great person who was always very helpful and supportive when I earned my pro license back in 2010.  He relocated to Iowa from Indiana last year and went on to finish 2nd in 5 professional races including Ironman Wisconsin last September.  My first run was the fastest of the race in a time of 14:08.  I had a quick transition and was out on the bike in the lead.

Bike: I felt very good on the bike early on.  This was my first race ever with power output being measured.  In past years I have trained with power in the hub of my wheel but never had it for races because I raced with a different rear wheel.  This year I bought a Sram Red Quarq Elsa Powertap crankset from Healthy Habits so it won't matter what wheels I'm using...I will always be able to get power readings.  In a sprint I won't pay too much attention to it but can gain valuable data from it after the race to determine if I'm getting stronger, racing tired...etc.  When people asked me in the past what kind of power I raced with my complete guess for a sprint distance was 290 watts.  I held the lead into Solon for about 5 miles and got a glimpse behind me and Daniel was not far back.  I knew he would probably pass me but hoped to be strong enough to stay behind him at 10 meters.  At the half way point he passed me and I was able to stay at 10 meters until we got to some hills.  With each hill the gap would stretch out and by mile 13 I had lost contact.  I would slowly watch the lead grow bigger and bigger giving up a minute over the last 5 miles.  My overall bike average was 24.6 mph and it was 2nd fastest to Daniel's 25.4 mph average.

Run 2: From the beginning of the run I did not feel my turnover was very good.  In the first 1/2 mile there was a pretty nice hill and I felt like I was going SUPER slow up it.  I was getting hamstring twinges and was hoping to keep the cramps from derailing a so far solid race.  Once we got on the downhills on a park trail I felt back into a good rhythm but anything resembling an uphill was not good.  I knew I was running slower than my tempo pace and the run kept feeling longer and longer.  At the only out and back point I thought I had about 45 seconds on 3rd place which was comforting but the last 1/2 of the race would not come soon enough and it ended up being nearly 1/2 mile long which was not something I enjoyed in my current state.  I finished in 2nd place and my 2nd run was the 3rd fastest.  My overall time was 1:19:55 which was a little disappointing because I was on pace to beat my time from last year throughout until the 5k got long.  Not long after I finished I got to watch Jen win the women's race on Mother's Day which was great.  She's worked very hard over the past year getting stronger at QC Cross-Fit and also has spent more time on the bike trainer than she ever has. Her first outdoor ride was the day before the race for 10 miles and she said the crosswinds made her feel very uncomfortable.  I was also SUPER impressed by fellow PV teacher and 9th grade boys basketball coach Drew Croegaert.  I get to ride the bus to some 9th grade games with Drew and enjoy watching him coach but had no idea he was such a good multi-sport athlete.  Drew finished 11th overall.  I've seen him a a couple Barre563 classes and know he's been training hard.  Looking forward to seeing him at more races.  Congrats to all the finishers of the Lake MacBride Duathlon and thanks to Scheels for supporting this event.  Complete results with splits can be found here.

Overall I was pleased with how the race went.  I thought my first run was better than expected, the first half of my bike ride was solid, and then things started to go downhill.  I thought I tired on the bike sooner than I would have liked.  This was probably due to the increased effort I put out once I was passed by Daniel.  I think when he passed me my average watts was 279 and by the end I was at 292.  I thought my 2nd run was pretty poor.  I definitely have a long way to go but it's only May and I think I'm ahead of where I was a year ago despite weighing 5 lbs. more.  I earned $200.00 for the iHope Foundation through the race which is always exciting for me when I can use my talents to help with this cause.  Last week we awarded 2 students with iPads and each a $1,000.00 scholarship upon graduation in 4 years.  If you'd like to help make the next one happen please click here.  We would never have been able to give 2 more iPads and scholarships this year without the recent support of so many.  THANKS!!

This past week we received iHope business sponsorships from Crawford Company and from Russell Construction.  Crawford Company joins on as a Bronze level sponsor.  I was thrilled to add them to the helmet for the season.  Russell Construction becomes the 2nd Gold Level sponsor and I will be adding their logo to my race jersey.  I am sending those logos this week to Kiwami to have my jersey made for the rest of the season.  We are up to 12 iHope business sponsorships.  My goal was 15 so I'll be working hard to find 3 more businesses that want to support this foundation.

Crawford Company specializes in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, laser cutting, specialty welded fabrication, brewing equipment, and custom architectural products. Crawford products and services are found within commercial, industrial, and residential markets. Crawford's foundation was built in the residential heating and cooling market. Over time Crawford moved into the commercial heating and cooling market and into specialty fabrication.  

Russell Construction provides pre-project services including planning and project management services, real-estate development and property management.  As a long term solutions provider, Russell predictably delivers cost effective construction services.  Having completed more than $1 billion in projects in educational, healthcare, manufacturing, and federal government markets across 29 states, Russell remains a market leader in its core construction markets.  The firm has been recognized by Engineering News Record Magazine and Inc. Magazines's INC 500 listing of America's fastest growing companies.  Employees at Russell Construction give back an incredible amount to our community.  Over the past 15 years they have contributed over 1 million dollars to non-profit and community agencies.  Read about those here.  Russell Construction was also influential in creating a non-profit foundation called Live Uncommon that aims to encourage health, fitness, family-values, and giving back to the community.  Live Uncommon supports races that are non-profit making lasting impacts on the organizations behind the races.  My wife Jen and I are proud to be part of Live Uncommon.  

Week 12...what a week!

As I think about the most exciting weeks I've had in the sport of triathlon including earning my pro license in 2009 by winning the Longhorn 70.3 amateur race, a 6th place finish at Racine 70.3 in 2011, Ironman Arizona in 2011, and winning Beach 2 Battleship full Ironman distance last fall...this past week falls right into that category...and I didn't even race.  It had nothing to do with the 47 miles running, 140 miles biking, or 2,400 yards swimming.  I was pretty excited about a 5x3 minute bike interval workout I did this week averaging 340 watts on the hard periods after hitting 298, 305, and 307 earlier in the month.  I was surprised by the big jump in power although I could tell I had really good legs when I began the workout.  The thing that made this week so exciting was the record-setting week of iHope Foundation contributions.  I met this week with the iHope Foundation board and we are going to be able to award 2 more iPads and $1,000.00 scholarships this week!  We are up to 10 iHope business sponsorships thanks to the following businesses helping with the foundation this past week.

Wallaces Garden Center located in Bettendorf and Davenport is a Platinum level supporter

Green Buick GMC located in Davenport, IA is a Platinum level supporter for the 2nd year in a row!

Online Freight Services is a Bronze level supporter and a 2 year supporter of the iHope Foundation

Tri-City Blacktop is a 1st year iHope Foundation supporter with a Silver level support so I'm thrilled to have them on my jersey in 2014!

UnityPoint Clinic surgeon Dr. Andrew Stevenson is a 2nd year iHope supporter and very thankful to have Silver level support!

First Central State Bank located in Eldridge, DeWitt, Le Claire, and Long Grove is a 2 year iHope Bronze level supporter!

Schebler Co. is a 2 year iHope supporter and I am thrilled to add them to my race jersey as a Silver level supporter!

I have included more on these businesses under the iHope business sponsorship page.  I am grateful for their support of this foundation as well as proud and excited to represent them this year while I race!  I will be sending the jersey off to be created in the Kiwami Triathlon lab in 1 week.  Silver and Gold level sponsorship will include business logo on the 2014 jersey.  I have had business sticker logos made for bronze level sponsorships and up.  I hope to fill the helmet up this year and have room on the disc wheel.  Also, outside of businesses we had very generous support from Nick and Jessica Ludwig (2 years in a row!) and Creston Fenn this week.  Thank you all so much for the support of this foundation.  I cannot express how excited I am about the great things we are able to do through this foundation.  With 10 business sponsorships we are not just 5 away from the goal I set out to hit this year for the iHope Foundation regarding business sponsorships.  My own goal is to earn $2,000.00 for the foundation through racing.  If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribtuion you can click here 

This upcoming weekend I will begin my season with the first of three races that make up the Scheels Duathlon series.  Jen is also racing the series this year so it excites me that we will be able to race together.  Fitness-wise I'm where I would have hoped going into the first race although I had hoped to be a few pounds lighter.  I'm working hard to reach that goal by June when I will race 4 times in 16 days. I'd also like to announce I'll be putting on a free triathlon transition clinic again this year hosted by Healthy Habits on the morning of May 31st.  I just confirmed this today and we have not set a time yet but I would expect around 8:00 AM with a bike ride to follow for anyone interested.  The clinic will focus on transitions but will also include tips and experiences I can share.  Last year we had 37 brave people in attendance...I say brave because it rained the entire time and we did not have a big enough tent to keep everyone dry.  There will be GU Energy products for all who attend as well as some door prizes to be given away.  I'll have more details and nail down a time in the coming weeks.  Thanks for reading.  Check back next week to see how the 2014 race debut went.  Last year I raced the 2.5 mile run, 18 mile bike, and 5k run in 1:18:26.  My goal is to be 2 minutes faster this year.  Thanks for reading.  DREAM BIG!!

Week 11 Training Summary

Week 11 was a great one.  I met all of the weekly goals I set out to achieve this week.  I biked 182 miles, ran 50 miles, and swam 5,700 yards.  This was my 3rd week swimming and progress is being made.  Training has been much more consistent over the past 4 weeks and I'm starting to feel that consistency pay off.  This was my 3rd week in a row running 50 or more miles.  The goal this week is 60 miles.  My body weight is slowly coming down.  I was 166 lbs. this week after 169 last week and 170 the week prior.  I finally got my body fat % tested at Kaminski Pain and Performance Care today and it was exactly what I guessed...15.7%.  I've been tested 7 different times over the past few seasons so I tend to have a pretty good idea before I go in there.  I was guessing 15%.  My body weight is higher than it has been at that % in the past but I could tell I'm carrying more muscle on my legs right now and the higher weight of muscle was confirmed.  My body cell mass is 78.1 lbs. which is the highest it has been in the seven times I've tested.  Most of body cell mass is made of muscle...about 60% of body cell mass is made of muscle tissue.  The lowest body fat % I've had in the seven tests is 9.3% and that was when I weighed 151 lbs.  At that time my body cell mass weighed 71.6 lbs.  I've got some work to do.  Before my first big race in Ohio in late July I'd like to have my body fat % down under 10.  Last fall for Beach 2 Battleship I weighed 154 and my body fat % was 10.7%. 

I've been eating the same thing for breakfast every day.  I eat 1.5 servings of 100% plain oatmeal with 2-3 tablespoons of 100% natural peanut butter, 1.5 tablespoons of honey, and a handful of Granola added to it.  It makes for a very filling breakfast.  I wish I could be just as consistent with my other meals through the day.  I typically pack 2 apples for school and I have steamed rice or protein shakes at my disposal for when I'm hungry but the food that gets brought to our school and left in the break room often trumps my plans and is what I need to pass on. 

My best workout of the week was a repeat of last week but it went even better.  I did 3x10 minutes hard on the bike at 272, 283, and 292 watts respectively and after each I ran a fast mile in 5:36, 5:30, and 5:24.  I do very little brick running but when I do I try to make the bike at a race effort and then run at least 1/2 mile at race effort.  I don't believe too much in just riding easy and then running easy for race preparation unless it is for Ironman in which case the run pace is much slower.  I'm trying to get myself ready for early season races which all happen to be short ones until July.  My hope is to build speed early to drive up my threshold pace so when I move up in distances to the 1/2 in July 5:50 pace off the bike feels easy.  I've been steadily increasing my long runs and rides.  Over the past month I've biked 50, 60, 60, and 66 miles at one time and I've run 13 miles for my long one the past 3 weeks.  This week will bump to 14.  I won't start getting up to 4 hour rides until mid-June and 5 hours won't be until mid-July and mostly August. 

I was thrilled this week to receive iHope business sponsorships from General Constructors, Inc., Happy Joes, and Lindquist Ford.  My goal this year for the foundation is to get support from 15 businesses.  We still have a ways to go but I'm continuing to visit local business in hopes they see the benefit of the foundation and willingness to contribute.  General Constructors, Inc. becomes the first "Gold" level sponsor of 2014 and will be on my race jersey come June.  Speaking of races, I'm planning to make my 2014 debut in less than 2 weeks in a duathlon.  I will then race 4 times in 16 days through the middle of June.  All of those are sprint distance races with 3 triathlons and 1 duathlon.  In July I will do an Olympic Distance triathlon followed by my first big race of the year in New Albany, Ohio (1/2 Ironman distance).  August will be one small race but mostly my big Ironman training block before finishing the season with Ironman Chattanooga on September 27th. 

If you'd like to make a contribution to the iHope Foundation you can click either link on the right side of this page.  The top link contributes to the iPad portion of the foundation from which we provide low-income students displaying outstanding character and work traits with an iPad.  The scholarship link is below it and the money goes to the scholarship fund of iHope.  Every student that receives and iPad also receives a $1,000.00 scholarship provided they meet academic, attendance, and character standards through high school.  BIG thanks to Kevin and Kelly Pennekamp for making a very nice contribution in honor of our administrative assistants at PV Junior High this week!  Thanks so much for reading.  DREAM BIG!!

2014 iHope Foundation "Gold" Sponsor General Constructors, Inc.

 

 

2014 iHope Foundation Platinum Sponsor Lindquist Ford

 

 

2014 iHope Platinum Sponsor Happy Joe's

 

Week 10 Summary...iHope Business Sponsorship Campaign

Week 10 was a great week of training for me.  Monday morning I woke up and weighed in and was frustrated by another week of not losing weight.  It killed my motivation and I took the entire day off of training and went to bed early.  The day off had me feeling like Superman for the majority of the rest of the week.  Tuesday was my highest single-day training time of the year with 12.5 miles running, 25 miles biking, 2,400 yards swimming, and class at Barre563 to go along with pull-ups, push-ups, core, lunges, plyometrics, and jump rope.  The day totaled about 4 hrs. 50 minutes.  Friday was another HUGE day of nearly 5 hours with 2,900 yards swimming, 66 mile outdoor bike ride, and 6 miles running with some 1 minute hard intervals to go along with core work.  My best workout of the week was Wednesday which was a big confidence boost after the big day Tuesday.  I warmed up 30 minutes on the bike indoors and rode 3x10 minutes with the trainer set at 270-280 watts and after each 10 minute period I jumped straight to the treadmill for a fast mile and went 5:40, 5:35, and 5:30 respectively.  This workout really simulates the feeling of transitioning to the run on race day in a sprint or Olympic distance triathlon.  10 minutes at that effort on the bike was enough to make my legs wobbly when I started the run but after the first mile they seemed to remember how to do this sort of thing and I felt better with each one.  The bike segments were very challenging.  I'm not sure why but it seems getting the wattage high on the trainer is more difficult than the open roads which others have confirmed to me to be the case.  Sunday I ran 13 miles for the 2nd straight week and my weekly totals were 5,300 yards swimming, 150 miles biking, and 56 miles running.  It was my highest run week yet and I was happy to do it on 6 days of running.  The bike mileage wasn't high but I did that on 4 days of riding. 

This week is the kick off to the 2014 iHope fundraising campaign. 
The mission of the iHope Foundation is to provide low-income students in our community who display outstanding character and work traits with technology (such as an iPad) and scholarship money for post-secondary education that will aid in academic achievement and success. 

As part of helping the foundation grow I rely on support from businesses to sponsor me by making a contribution to iHope in lieu of supporting me personally.  Like last year I will recognize businesses that contribute in various ways.  In 2013 I had 10 businesses that sponsored me by making iHope contributions.  My goal is to increase that number to 15 or more this year.  It will be challenging.  I have begun dropping off letters telling about the iHope Foundation and including a sponsorship level proposal.  The picture below can be enlarged if you click on it.  For various levels of iHope support I will post business links and logos on the website, make sticker logos to go on my race helmet or disc wheel, add a business logo to my race jersey, or even do 12 weeks of personalized coaching towards a fitness goal. 

 

The iHope Foundation was created just over 1 year ago and I have been absolutely blown away but the support it has received.  We originally did not have the scholarship component but with the support from year 1 we were able to add this component so every student that receives an iPad will also receive a scholarship of $1,000.00 for post-secondary education provided they meet various academic, citizenship, and attendance standards through high school.  It really ties the mission together by no only building confidence and helping them with school by providing an iPad but also making college a real option and giving them something to think about they may have previously not had.  To date we have awarded 4 students with iPads and scholarships and we met last week to discuss awarding 1 or possibly even 2 more yet this year.  The students must be nominated by teachers, before having the foundation board assess the need, character, and work habits.  Once the list is narrowed down teachers submit recommendations and students are selected from those. 

 

If you know of a business that you think would consider sponsoring me for the 2014 race season by contributing to the iHope Foundation please e-mail me and I will get them the necessary information.  Any amounts make a huge difference to a small foundation such as iHope.  All contributions are tax deductible and contributions made towards the scholarship component also qualify for the 25% Endow Iowa tax credit which is pretty awesome because the contributor will make a big difference to iHope and will get 25% of the contribution back as a tax credit in addition to the federal deduction.  For me last year that meant about 1/2 of what I contributed came back at tax time. 

 

We also rely heavily on individual contributions to make this happen.  If you would like to contribute to the iPad portion of the iHope Foundation you can click here.  If you would like to make a contribution to the scholarship portion (Iowa donors earn the 25% credit on this part) click here.  Thanks for making a difference...if you don't believe me check out the note one of the iHope recipients left for us below (click to enlarge).  HUGE thanks to Dan Westbay, Robert White, and Jason Rangel for recent contributions!! 

 

Thanks for reading!!  DREAM BIG!



Week 9 Summary

Week 9 was my first week back in the water although I only swam one time.  It was my first swim since Beach 2 Battleship on October 26th.  I started with 300 yards and my triceps were burning something fierce.  After kicking some they loosened up and except for feeling slow I started to regain a feel for the water.  The week was a good one.  I biked 150 miles, ran 51 miles which was my highest weekly total in that discipline so far this year, and swam 2,400 yards.  My total training time was 17.5 hours.  I did a long ride of 60 miles on Friday with local triathlete Dan Ward and it was VERY windy.  We rode almost straight into the wind the first half and then had a comfortable ride home although it seemed like the wind was dying down substantially in the evening.  We didn't begin the ride until almost 4:00 so by the time we turned the evening calm was probably setting in.  Sunday was my longest run yet this year of 13 miles.  It was the best I've felt on a long run yet.  My past few runs of 70 minutes or more all have left the top of my right foot a bit sore in the big tendon that runs over the ankle.  I didn't have any soreness after this long run.  I've been doing more interval work on the bike and while running.  I had 2 interval bike sessions and 2 interval run workouts.  Wednesday I ran a 10 minute warm up and then ran 6x3 minutes hard with 2 minute jog recovery between each.  Saturday I was really pleased with a track workout I did with Jen.  It was in the morning only 14 hours after finishing my long ride and my legs could still feel that ride in the wind.  I ran 4 sets of (600, 400, 200) trying to get some speed work at faster than 5k pace.  I ran consistent times all the way through hitting my 600's in 5:12/mile pace, the 400's in 4:56 pace, and the 200's all in 33 (4:24/mile pace).  I was most pleased by how my legs responded after the long ride.  Jen was very quick as well averaging under 5:20 pace through the entire 3 miles of intervals.  We were able to let the kids run around the track and play in the "sand box" (long jump pit) while we did the work out.  With the kids growing up so fast they are becoming much more a part of our workouts.  On Tuesday we ran 6 miles as a family with Owen on his bike and me pushing Payton in the single running stroller, and Super Mom running alongside.  Owen had his first big bike crash a few weeks back with some road rash scars and a bruise on his head under his helmet (thankfully he knows the importance of wearing that!)  He hasn't let that scare him away from his bike.  The kids are in tee ball on the same team and I found out practices are on Wednesday night.  That created a conflict for me with the Wednesday night group ride I enjoy getting to on the same night.  I decided I will help with tee ball and ride intervals alone before practice so I can be there to help with their practice.  I knew when I began this journey in 2009 that if I was still going strong 5 years later there would have to be changes to the way I trained.  Those changes are in place but I believe my best racing is still ahead of me despite the changes.  It adds motivation knowing I can prove to others that the balance of family, work, and competition can still produce good results.  The start of this week has been very encouraging.  I'll post more on that Sunday or Monday.  Thanks for reading.  DREAM BIG!!