Catch up...

I started this blog the day I signed up for Ironman Texas. However, I never really went public with it so I didn't really update it. Anyway, I thought I'd do a catch up post and let you know what's been going on for the last 6 months...

2010 Races:
King Tut Triathlon (Sprint) - 1:16:21
Texas Man Triathlon (Sprint) - 1:31:52
Prairie Man Long Course Triathlon (70.3) - 6:48:40
IronStar Triathlon (70.3) - 5:47:41

It was a good 2010 season culminating with the 2 half iron races that I did in order to prepare for the Ironman in 2011. I had a pretty poor showing at the PrairieMan half. It was miserable conditions that day (September in Texas) with high humidity and temps well into the high 90's. I had a decent swim and a good 45 miles on the bike...the problem was the last ~10 miles. I stopped taking my nutrition because I felt bloated and like I was going to throw up. I went to a place mentally that I won't allow myself to go again. I came into T2 and no more than 3-4 steps off the bike my hamstring cramps. Awesome. I take a couple minutes to cool myself down and hear Rachel ask me, "Brian, is this going to happen?" knowing full well I still had a half marathon to run. I didn't respond. I wanted to quit, but I couldn't stand to give up. I think I told her, "We'll see" and headed out for the run. I walked a good bit of the first 2 miles because I felt like throwing up. Finally, after clearing my stomach, I actually felt like I could run again. I quickly downed some more gels and pretzels and picked up the pace around mile 3. About this point I realized that I wasn't the only one suffering. Once I noticed that the day was taking a toll on almost every participant my attitude changed. I decided to make it my goal to encourage everyone that passed me or that I passed (it was an out and back course so that was a lot of people). This dramatically picked up my spirits. The rest of the run was brutal and felt more like a death march than a run, but I made it to the finish line and even "sprinted" through the chute.

I was disappointed to say the least. I was proud that I finished, but not with my time. I decided that I couldn't have that be my last long distance race prior to heading into Ironman training. I felt like it would take too much of a mental toll on me. And so, I began training for Ironstar.

I spent the next 2 months training hard to make sure I turned in a better performance leading into 2011. Sure enough, I had a good day and turned in a 5:47:41 at Ironstar, setting a PR for me at that distance! Finally, I have something to take me strong into Ironman training! I battled quad cramps during the run, but fought them off by taking in as much Enduralytes and Gatorade as my system would allow and was able to press on.

The week following Ironstar, I had a terrible pain in the arch of my right foot. I took 3-4 days off, but was anxious to get going again because White Rock Marathon was only a month away. I was on schedule up to this point, but after a couple of runs I realized this foot thing was not going away and was actually getting worse. Crap. I pulled out of White Rock and gave my body 3 full weeks off from ALL training. Surely that will fix it right? Well, with the help of Aaron (he's a manual therapist), I was able to improve the plantar fasciitis, but now I couldn't run more than 1/2 a mile without incredible knee pain along my right patella tendon. Crap. What am I going to do now?!? I took another week off and worked with Aaron to treat the foot and knee. I was finally able to get out for a run the week before Christmas and was able to do a few miles!! This is great! Foam rollers are amazing.

Over Christmas and New Years I didn't do much of anything training wise due to traveling, not wanting to irritate the injuries, and then picking up a cold. Finally, on Jan. 10 I felt well enough to workout again. Here we are 3 1/2 weeks later and I've been going hard each week and feeling good. Still spending a good 15 minutes before every bike or run workout engaging my core muscles and using the foam roller to stretch out. It's working wonders!

Ironman Texas...15 weeks away!