Tattoo and Next Tattoo

After finishing the IM in 2007 I knew I wanted to get a tattoo. I have wanted one since the early 90's but never could think of something I liked. I read the article about the T-Dot in Triathlete magazine and thought it was a cool idea. I struggled between this design, something incorporating the Chessyman logo, and the traditional M-Dot. After adding the SBR and the 140.6 I thought it was original enough to put on my arm forever. It is also cool in that nobody knows what it is except other triathletes. When people do ask about it they inevitably say, "The Ironman is how long???" It turned out better than I expected in both the experience and how it looks. The artist could not have been any cooler. We shared a ton of stories over the 2.5 hours. This flash from the camera kind of messes with the dark black ink.
If I finish my next IM in the daylight, which is my goal, I am going to get another one on my right arm. I am leaning toward a small M-Dot in the middle of a sun. Colors need to be decided upon as well as the style of the sun.

Reality Check

6 weeks of IM training down and everything has been going well. I have missed a couple of swim workouts but that is going to happen with my schedule. Actually things have been going almost too well. I PR'd last week in a mile swim timer trial when I finally broke 32 minutes. My running was slightly slower in my first speed session last week but that was also to be expected given the cold weather, wind, and the fact that I haven't gone fast for an extended period of time since November.

Well this morning I got in my AM bike trainer workout and felt great during the 3.1 mile repeats. After a half day of school (parent-conferences tonight) I went for an hour swim. I was cruising and hitting decent 100 yd splits, for me, at 1:50. After 60 laps I stopped to put on the zoomers to do some drills. As I bent my left leg to put on the fin I cramped terribly on the inside of my right leg. I couldn't loosen it up. I got out of the pool and my left leg went as well. Bizarre. I don't kick much when I swim. I also had an easy day yesterday with just a run with my dog. My guess is that I was dehydrated. I didn't eat lunch and haven't been hydrating as well because it is winter. Lesson learned. I need to respect the toll the three different workouts are taking on my body and start watching my diet and liqiud intake.

4 Weeks Down

Today ends week 4 of my IM training. The biggest difference between this year and 2007 is that I am not training for the Boston Marathon as I start the program. I qualified but am defering until 2010. I only get 2 personal days as a teacher and this year I am going to St. Louis with my dad to watch the NCAA wrestling tourny.
Taking out the long weekend runs and middle of the week 14 milers has made the program seem almost too easy. That was until yesterday. I bonked on the trainer for the 1st time. It was a 1hour and 45 minute ride with variable gearing drills for 15 minutes followed by 2 8 mile time trials. I was feeling good on the 1st TT. I had the 2004 Giro on and clocked a 23 minute 9 second 8 mile ride. After a 2 mile spin I started the 2nd with every intention of beating the 1st time. At the half way point I was almost a minute ahead of schedule and wa holding 23 MPH at 94 RPM's. With 2 miles to go it started to feel like my legs were concrete. I started changing gears like crazy and my MPH came down to 20. It felt good in a masochistic way to be on the edge again. I haven't pushed myself to the limit since the Philly Marathon in Nov. Anyway, I fought through and finished with a 23:33.
After a wonderful day spent with just my wife I took my dog for a 4 mile run and felt zero affects from the bike. My recovery is right on, my nutrition is pretty good, my core is in the best shape of my life, my focus is better than ever, and msyne most importantly I feel patient with the program. No silly workouts that wreck me for the next day, just to prove I am at a certain level of finess. With age comes wisdom...at times.