Crazy Train

Above is what my training has been since the beginning of June. The number that's crazy/scary is the average number of hours/week. As of the end of last week, I'm at 16.77. That is, honestly, fucking insane. However, I intentionally did this to myself to see, along the way, if I felt like I was really prepared to do Ironman-level training again, and possibly even Ultraman. I think I can do it!

Starting yesterday, I'm on an actual training plan written by ME, the CEO of Crackhead Enterprises, LLC. This week's training calls for only 13.75 hours, and that is what I will do. So I will actually begin resting, relatively. From yesterday through October 30, I will only be biking twice a week. This makes me sad, as I am just getting into riding with the fast people in my bike club. But, I know I can resume kicking serious ass with them starting in the spring! And I am certain my coach will want me to ride with them at least once a week. That's how I get faster! And while I am in pretty decent cycling shape right now, it can never hurt to be faster, and I really don't think I've achieved my maximum bike fitness yet! Isn't that fucking exciting? At the ripe age of (almost) 60! 

Starting next week (I have a 1/2 marathon this Sunday), I will be doing double long runs on the weekends, and I will be doing hiking after them. The hiking time is not included in my projected training hours, so it will look like I'm not scheduled for much, but then it will come out in the actuals looking like a lot.

If I take my cumulative hours as of the end of last week, and add in my projected hours through the end of the year, not including the hiking time, I will be at 829 hours for 2016, which will result in an average of 15.94 hours per week. That is close to my heaviest years of training ever, in 2009 and 2010. 2010 is when I did Ultraman Canada. So I think I have proven to myself that I can still train at a very high (elite) level. But, I need to train faster in order to meet my goals of Boston and Kona qualification. I am sure my coach will take care of that in good time. He takes the reins beginning November 1, and I am really looking forward to it! I am positive he will bring the pain, but that's how I get faster.

I have a couple of concerns about myself right now:

1. I have not been sleeping enough. I am accustomed to sleeping a bit less when I am in an Ironman build period, but lately I'm sleeping way too little. Since I know my body and know that I sometimes have the opposite reaction to thyroid dysfunction, I have scheduled a thyroid test in a few weeks. It's likely I will need my Synthroid dosage changed. You might think that sleeping less means I've become borderline hyperthyroid, but, I know from the last few years that sometimes when I feel hyper, my thyroid is actually seriously overworked and trying to keep up with my demands on it and failing. So I may need to slightly increase my Synthroid dose. Starting yesterday, I have recommitted to tracking my sleep, because this will help remind me when I'm doing well at it or not which can signal that I need a thyroid function test.
2. It dawned on me a few days ago that I have FIVE marathon+ races scheduled over the course of 12 months! WHAT THE FUCKING HELL!!! That can be dangerous territory. But that's why I have a coach. I will need to recover properly from each event so that I don't become injured and can keep training.

Really, that's it. I already know where I stand on my current paces for the 3 sports--swimming I don't expect or need to get much faster; running I am 2 VDOT points from where I need to be for the BQ, and I've been there before and know that is entirely achievable in under 6 months, and biking I need to ride more hills, and it's my intent to train on the Ironman Wisconsin course twice a month from May through August. To get the KQ at Wisconsin, I need to be brutally strong on the hills, so strong that I can run my good marathon afterwards. The Wisconsin course is brutal--both the bike and run--and it's funny that I never thought I would do that race again, yet that is the race where I want to win my AG and get the Kona slot! Hey--I know I'm fucking nuts, but you know what? I'm fucking proud of what I've achieved to date and that I have the chutzpah to openly broadcast my very ambitious goals.

How do I feel right now as I write this blog post?

HOLY FUCKING CRAP WHAT HAVE I DONE???

But I am excited as hell, and now every single day is important--how I eat, how I sleep, how I train, how I feel mentally, that I'm doing all the right self-care things, and that I prioritize those things above all else. All the other things in my life are important, too, especially my friends, because they will support me in this--but how clean my house is, how perfectly maintained my yard is--that bullshit doesn't matter in the least. And while I have time to attempt to run everything perfectly, I'm stating for the record that I'm just not going to even try. Things are going to go wrong, and they will be things I probably can't control so I officially surrender to the unknowns. But I'm looking forward to one fucking Cracktacular ride on the CRAZY TRAIN!

Winner Take All

I'm embarking on a big year of training and racing with some very ambitious goals. I've been going back and forth with my coach and some friends trying to decide on what races to do, in the context of my goals. Everything came together yesterday, and it felt to me like the universe was telling me it's ready for me to begin. 

The series of events were uncanny--I'd decided to reorganize my house and garage to make it easier to sew (in the case of the house) and keep clean (in the case of the garage). My best male friend (is that BMF? Really he's a BAMF!), Brad, called and said he and his wife want to come visit me for the Labor Day weekend. Good thing I got my guest bedroom in order! This weekend is when I'd planned to do the International Day of Suffering (see sidebar of races/events), so now Brad and I will do it together! That is going to be so much fun! 

I found out that a double Iron distance race that I was considering doing solo allows teams, and I started planting the seed with Brad last week that maybe we could do it together. Yesterday Brad tells me he's in for the double team thing, which is great, because he's moving to Portland and the race is like an hour from his new house, so I tell him I need to check with my coach.

Then I had found another marathon, the LA marathon, that was good timing post-Disney for me to get the BQ. Brad said he would do that, too. 

I had studied up the Kona qualification data, and it looked to me that Ironman Wisconsin would be a great place for me to qualify, plus it's in my back yard and I can train up there all summer. I ran this by my coach a few days ago, together with where I'm at, fitness-wise, in running and what time I'd need to do to get the slot at Wisconsin.

All that was left was to gain approval from my coach, Nick, to put these races on the table, and we chatted last night and it's a go! So now you can see on my sidebar what I've got planned for 2017--Disney in January, LA marathon in March (although Nick thinks I might BQ at Disney), Volcano Olympic Triathlon in Lanzarote in April (more of a vacation than anything else), team double Iron in July, and then Ironman Wisconsin in September.

I know I am going to need to buckle in for this ride and be prepared for many ups and downs. Goes with the territory. I'm already lining up people to "stalk" me during the marathon at Ironman Wisconsin. I've done this for other friends of mine where they just see me and I yell motivational things at them like Harden The Fuck Up to keep them motivated. It's time to call in some favors and have it done for me. 

Things are a ways off yet, but I know from past experience that once you sketch out the ATP (Annual Training Plan), you have a good idea of what's about to happen and it ain't going to be easy!

But I am so excited and ready for this. I've been training for all this for years. It's going to be a wild ride--I just hope it's not like this:

Stay tuned, and check the sidebar if you want to learn more about the races I'm doing.