Tuesday, July 6, 2010

IRONPLAN

I told myself that I would make a decision on the 4th of July if I was going to do the Full Vineman Ironman this year. I had to set an actual date because if I waited until I "felt ready" I would probably never do another Ironman again. Of course, to celebrate my decision that I would race this distance again I went out on my roommate Roddys boat and tried wake boarding for the first time. That way I could ensure that the next day I would wake up feeling like a truck ran over me. Nothing like having "Popeye" forearms and being aware of every muscle in your back less than 30 days out of an Ironman. Not to mention I took such a face plant that my eyes still feel like they are in the back of my brain. Other than that, I was pretty good and will have to monitor a new addiction!

One of the things that will be different about this Ironman is that I am not going to have a race done leading up to it. All of the Ironmans I have done in the past has had some form of triathlon race completed about 4 weeks out. However, my little wake board incident has left me feeling similar to the way you feel after your first race. So I am just going to let that be my "breaking in" for this race.

Everything has been going pretty well since I started training again and so many of the things that have been bugging me in the past have started to go away. It is a very pleasant feeling when you go to work out and the only thing that makes it challenging is the fact that it is challenging. Hopefully I will have lined up enough challenging days in a row to make Vineman a successful experience.

Now that I have taken my pro card back I have been asked more than once why I am going to go race Full Vineman rather than one of the larger WTC Ironman races. As a "pro" you can get into any of these WTC races whenever you want unlike age groupers that have to sit at their computers ready to sign up as soon as the race opens to ensure they can get in. This is usually a year in advance. How one plans an Ironman a year out is beyond me! Anyway, my reason for doing Full Vineman is because I want to do a lower key race as my intro back into Ironman and also, Full Vineman is a true test of the Iron distance.

At Full Vineman there will not be 20 guys getting out of the water and riding a train for 112 miles. The race is going to be a true time trial test. The two times I have done the race it has been me and my bike the whole way. It is the oldest Iron distance race on the mainland and is one of a small few Ironman races that has not been bought out by the WTC. I really enjoy the ambiance of this race!

As well, the last time I did this race I had two flat tires and only one spare. That didn't go over so well and caused a major delay on the bike. I have some unfinished business at Vineman. This year I am expecting better luck with my tires!

In addition to Full Vineman I am going to be racing the new Rev 3 Ironman. Rev 3 hosts a series of triathlons and will now be introducing the Full Iron distance this year. Again, it is another non WTC event. If these two races go well and don't leave me feeling trashed I will hop on the WTC band wagon and race Ironman Cozumel. It seems that it is going to be an iron year. I have no 1/2's on the schedule and don't plan to put any on it. I may do one Xterra race in between but that is it. After that it will be break time and gears will shift a bit.

Okay no more boring blog typing. My poor arms are worn out from the typing due to the fact that wake boarding has left my hands in a fist for most of the day. I think I will take that activity off the schedule until early August....