Twas the night before Ironman

I finished my last two VERY easy bike and run workouts on Saturday morning with Jill and ate my 2nd breakfast the day before my first Ironman triathlon race. A couple on laps around Mirror Lake on the bike and a partial run loop to loosen things up made for a relaxing morning.

We checked our bikes and gear bags and saw the huge transition area start to fill up with awesome bikes...wow, what an impressive sight!

After a quick lunch in town, we drove the 56 mile bike loop and saw the hilly course up close. The scenery is spectacular and we had great views of rivers on either side of the road and coming back into town, there is a great view of the Olympic ski jumps.

We then drove the run course and it has a few steep hills and a bunch of rollers to keep the marathon interesting. We are getting ready for an Athlete Blessing being held at the Lakeside Community Church and then are headed to a pasta buffet dinner and an early bedtime.

July 22, 2012 is the day of the race and you can track me (bib 2452) at www.ironmanlive.com. I'm looking forward to seeing my Iron Bird Legs cheering crew in their bright yellow shirts on the course!

Early start tomorrow, wish me luck!

Dave (aka Iron Bird Legs)

Liberty Bell Visit and Tapering in New Jersey

The Auto Train deposited us in Virginia and we drove into Philadelphia for an afternoon of sightseeing around this great, historic city. We toured the Betsy Ross house, saw the Liberty Bell and I started carbo-loading while we enjoyed ice cream at The Franklin Fountain on Market Street.

We made our way to Medford, NJ to stay with my younger sister Sharon and her family (Brian, Chris and Cindy). They opened up their beautiful home to us and everyone relaxed by the pool while I prepared for a short run.

With a water bottle and flashlight in hand, I headed out for a 45 minute run in the gently rolling hills of their neighborhood. The heat of the day had abated and it was twilight when I started, but it quickly darkened and I was happy the the loaner flashlight from my sis. The pace felt easy and my heart rate controlled as I eased up and down the road, but something caught my eye...fireflies.

We don't have fireflies in Florida and it was very relaxing to catch a flicker of light up ahead or in the trees near the side of the road as I eased up the next hill. It was a nice taper run and I enjoyed the new training partners.

Off for two days in New York City with the family...is walking around NYC considered tapering? We'll see.

The Journey to New York Begins

I finished my last Florida workout before we loaded up the minivan full of triathlon gear and luggage for the week and a half long trip to Lake Placid. Got up early for a 2 hour bike ride and a 30 minute run after staying up late to pack. Race cloths, workout cloths, hats, goggles, hydration belt and water bottles, bike, shoes (running and cycling)...and the list goes on. Good grief I have a lot of stuff! Then there was the regular packing for the trip and trying not to forget something important. I'm glad that is done!

My son said packing the minivan was like a 3D Tetris game, but it all fit! Whew! We headed over to Sanford (near Orlando) to catch the Auto Train for the overnight trip to Lorton, Virginia. We stopped for a quick, slightly unhealthy lunch at Bojangles, a fried chicken and biscuit joint. It was clearly "Bo Time" today before we checked in at the train station.

The train pulled out at 3:50pm and we should be in Virginia by 8:30am on Saturday.

Next stop is Philadelphia and then to visit with my sister and family at their home in New Jersey. I'll need to slip in a few short runs in the next few days and am resigned to skip my swim workout, but I should be fine without it.

So far so good!

Final Weeks Before Ironman Lake Placid

Iron Bird Legs is almost ready to take flight with less than 2 weeks to go until the race.


The last eight weeks of my 30 week training plan for Ironman Lake Placid 2012 have definitely been the peak.  Here's how it's gone:

• Swimming - Completed 20 hours of the 24 planned, swam 38 miles
• Biking - Completed 67 hours of the 52 planned, biked 967 miles
• Running - Completed 41 hours of the 43 planned, ran 271 miles
• Total - Completed almost 118 hours and logged over 1,276 miles in 8 weeks

I've pretty much kept to the plan and put in a few more biking hours for good measure.  I'm feeling pretty good about how the training has gone and that's a good thing since I can't do anything about it now!

My wife had cool, custom Iron Bird Legs t-shirts made for everyone in the family so I'd be sure to see them as they cheer me on during the race.  That's so cool!

For funny and inspiring story about one race experience at Lake Placid, take a look at this blog post from Sweaty Emily - http://www.sweatonceaday.com/2011/07/ironman-lake-placid-race-report.html

For those of you who'd like to follow the race on Sunday, July 22, you can see live video coverage on the web at www.ironmanlive.com and with my race number #2452 you can track my progress during the race.  If you'd like to learn more about the event, you can explore http://ironmanlakeplacid.com/.  

On Friday we're packing up the minivan and loading it onto the Autotrain to make the trip from Orlando, Florida to Lorton, Virginia.  We'll then take our time and do some sightseeing in Philadelphia and New York City and hang out with my sister and her family in New Jersey before we make the final drive up to Lake Placid.  My friend and training partner, Jill will meet us at Grammie's House the Thursday before the race and we'll all get settled in prior to Sunday.


Then at 7am ET, Sunday July 22, 2012 I'll complete the last 140.6 miles of the journey to become an Ironman.  A 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run and I'm there!


Wish me luck!