What a difference your Heart can make!

This past weekend I had a 5 hour brick which was made up by a 1 hour swim at a steady pace followed by a bike ride. I had a new seat put on my TT bike and had an updated fit to help me on the longer distance rides. My goal for the bike was to see if I could ride and manage my HR better as the terrain and time extended. I wanted to go back to the Harvest Moon course since it killed me on the last leg of the ride this past fall. I remember how I felt that day and how I hoped I would feel at the same spot riding a lot smarter today.
I was riding alone and so I took it really easy out to where I would start my effort. The wind as predicted was pretty bad (I hate it when the weather men are right) blowing north. I was riding east feeling the effects of the wind and knowing that my first turn was a left turn so the wind would be at my back. I prepared for an even bigger battle on the second half of the course with it being mostly up hill and now with a direct head wind. The left turn on Watkins road came pretty fast and as I was making a small climb I was shifting to harder gears because the wind was pushing me up the hill. For the next 10 mile I was pushing my 11 cog as best as I could and still maxing out several times because of the downhill section and the tail wind.
The sun was on my right shoulder and as I would look left I could see my shadow and was able to watch my legs moving like pistons. It was a very cool feeling to be moving as fast as I was, seeing my body position as smooth as it looked while my legs were driving up and down. I watch the pro's do this all the time and for the first time I felt like they did. Only difference is I had a 20 mile wind at my back and I was going down hill. This fun leg of the ride ended way too quickly and I made a right turn onto Colfax road where I would ride for the next 15 miles.
The fun was over because the wind had moved from my back to my side and I had to work hard to keep the bike going straight. This section of the ride was again downhill with only a few little rollers to allow you to stand up and stretch. I felt good on this section keeping my effort and HR right where I wanted it the whole time. I fueled up again in Bennett and was soon back on my bike ready to make the right turn into the wind and the climbing that would be the next 25 miles of my day.
I decided that I would take the speed data off my Garmin and stay focused on HR for the next section. It was as bad a I was thinking it would be so I settled in and tried to keep my legs moving and my HR down. Every time I allowed my mind to drift I would come back and I would be way over my desired HR Max for the day. I ended up turning on a HR alarm when I exceed 150BPM's and that would help me know when I was not paying attention. I was alone out on this section with no cars passing me and no one out working. No one really wanted to be out in this wind on the Eastern plains. I made it to the right turn back onto Quincy road where I had 2 big climbs left. I moved to my lowest gear for the first time of the day and kept slowing down to keep my HR below the alarm. I was now on my bike for over 3 hours which was my longest ride of the year. I had to laugh as I felt I would be faster walking some of the sections of this long drawn out climb. The top came and so did the next one with the same smile wondering if I could walk the hill faster.
I started to go down hill a bit towards home and I was very pleased with my results. Nothing else mattered this day except that I was able to control my HR and keep it under 150BPM's on this ride. I was eager to look at the results but that would come a little later since I was rushing home to make it on time to Josh's birthday party.
Josh turned 9 today and had a blast at the Gym where we had his party. We then ran to Webelos next and by the time I was able to stop and relax it was nearly 5pm. This was the biggest sign that the type of training I am doing will net me the endurance to keep going all day.
Later that night I loaded my data onto Garmin and took a look. I smiled when I saw that I had a HR average of 146 for the day. My speed was only 1 MPH less than when I raced the Harvest Moon course and died last fall. I am very excited with my training and look forward to REV3 70.3 Knoxville in a 6 weeks. Of the 3 70.3's I have done I have never ran across the finish line and at Harvest Moon I had a 2:58 run errrrr walk to finish that day. I look forward to running off the bike and being in control of my next race.

Thanks for the help Coach Beth,

Love you Anne,

Tyler

Week 10-11 and Canyonlands Half Marathon race report

The past several weeks were resting weeks as I planned to run in the Moab Canyonlands Half Marathon. I wanted to see what the past few months had done for me in base building and see if I could again execute on a longer event not by being fast but being smart in a longer race.
I had several good workouts leading up the race week and then spent most of the week in Valencia working with clients that came into town. Landing in Grand Junction on Thursday afternoon was a great start to the weekend and it was fun to connect with John, Nicole, Nancy, Keith and Beth. We made it to Moab in time to get a late afternoon ride in. We stayed on the south end of town and headed up towards the La Sal Mountain range. The weather was great and it was nice to get some sun on our backs. Months on the trainer really allow you to be thankful when you get back outside.


The race started at 10am so we all had a pretty easy morning getting food and things set-up. The group of runners grew as Tony, the Cross’s, Dave and Margaret and Paula and Scott joined us in Moab and ran the 5 miler or Half. We had to take a school bus up the canyon next to the Colorado river and were dropped off with plenty of time to get in a good warm-up run. I lost the group after warm-up and decided to seed myself near the 2:20 pace group. My goal coming into the event was to execute a steady build and not to exceed the ability to control my effort over the entire event knowing that the last 3 miles were the courses toughest miles.


The gun went off and we slowly moved forward for two minutes as the faster runners took off. I hit start on the Garmin and I was off trying to keep the first mile really easy. It was a pretty steep downhill and I was passed by waves and waves of people even thought I seeded myself near the 10-11 minute mile pace groups. This continued for the first 3 miles where I did not pass one person and was passed by hundreds of others maybe even thousands! Mile 1-3 (10:19, 10:30, 10:33). I felt really good with the first 3 miles and as we passed by marker 3 I wanted to pick-up the pace slowly and build for the next 7 miles. It was kind of funny because just as I started to increase my speed at the start of mile 4 the wave of people passing me stopped and I alone began to move forward though the sea of runners. Mile 4-6 (10:01, 9:52, 9:11). I was told that the first 6 miles of the race were going to be the fastest and it would be a hard 2nd half. To complicate my race plan the wind today was pretty aggressive and the sun was out and it was hot. I was not carrying any water and relied on the aid stations. I had wanted to break 2 hour mark for my first half marathon but as I pushed my effort on 7, 8 and 9 I came to terms with the fact that I would not. I focused on my main goal of execution and keep smiling as I was passing hundreds of people. Mile 7-9 ( 9:17, 8:51, 8:49 ) Mile 10-13.1 had a pretty good hill climb and then we exited out of the canyon and hit a steady climb to the finish line. I made the decision to not push any harder than what I could maintain for the next 3 miles since I was at the top end of my effort and holding steady. I was running near 185bpm’s for the last 2 miles and had to get 3 more done. When the runners came out of the canyon we went under the road and had a little climb back up to the main road. I made the right turn and looked up and saw nothing but people walking the river and cool canyon to look at was gone and it was the ugly part of the race couse. The wind was pretty extreme at this point and the effort to keep the same pace as the last mile of the canyon was not a reality for me. I was not able to tuck behind anyone since most runners were running slower than I was at this point OR walking. I did my best to stay in control and deal with the pain that I was in after running so hot for nearly 45 minutes. I had 2 (ish) miles left and I wanted to keep it even. I closed my eyes and thought of Anne and the kids and that helped carry me to the last mile. I still was running pretty strong and passing groups of people walking or running a lot slower. I saw Keith towards the last quarter mile and we ran in together. (He kept his tradition alive and ran up the canyon first with John so ended up running near 24 miles that day)


I had seen him and John at the start of the race and then Dave at mile 12 but no one else the entire race. I kept the gas on the entire day and did not die in the 2nd half. I was able to have a steady climb and felt great with my finish. I loved the race, the group that I ran it with and most of all that I was able to run smart. My training is paying off and I excited to continue to push towards IMCDA. I will keep working on building my base and making the training time pay off. I am so thankful for coach Beth to help me get to where I am today and to Anne and the kids for allowing me to chase my dream. This weekend gave me more confidence in what I can do and the desire to train hard again. I have a few builds until Rev3 Knoxville 70.3 Triathlon in May and look forward to training smart. Mile 10-13.1 ( 9:04, 10:05, 9:35 ) Total time 2:07:25
Love you Anne,

Week 9 of IM training

The week ended with a group ride outside in 60 degree weather. The sun was beating down on our necks and backs and it was much needed warmth. We spent as much time talking and laughing as we did riding since most of us had not been off our trainers for several months. For me it was a great end to the biggest training week so far in this IM build.
I completed 11 of 13 activities that were on my schedule for a total of just under 16 hours of training. This week had some unusual parts to it as I did most of the workouts before work or during lunch. Lunch time on Thursday I had a 1:15 run and when I left the car the temperature gauge showed 40 degrees so I went in shorts and a few layers on top. In that hour the weather changed and ended up snowing the last 20 minutes. The temperature dropped nearly 20 degrees in that hour and the only thing I could do was laugh.
Anne and the kids seemed to be good this week and on Saturday we had a great ski day with Rob and Kristin’s families. We took Liv up since John and Jenn are cruising in the Panama Cannel.
It was a very tiring week this week but my spirits were really high. I know that I have several more weeks with this type of volume in them and I hope for the ability to have as good of an attitude as I did this week. I am pleased with the progress on my base build in my mind. I have not seen much of any change in my HR/Effort yet but I am sure it will come around. A few friends that were signed up to do the IM with us have dropped for different reasons and now some of my thoughts are just about getting to the starting line.
This next week the volume drops down and it seems like a very easy week. I have the Canyon Lands half Marathon in two weeks and I am looking forward to racing a half marathon and seeing what I can do.
Thanks Anne for the support this week and making it easy for me to chase a dream.

Week 8 of IM training

Today, February 26th 2012 marks the birthday day of my best friend. She turned 34 and we spent the day doing all the things that she wanted. We had a leisure morning with the news paper, coffee and an egg breakfast. The kids presented her with a new cordless drill and a caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. We gave her the handmade card that we worked on a few days earlier and told Mom whatever she wanted to do we would do for her birthday. We went shopping at IKEA and had lunch there as well as taking it really easy with no workouts and a lot more television time. We are about to have breakfast for dinner and game night. I hope that she had a great day.
Looking back on this week I had to work really hard to get my training in and the hours that I did do seemed to be more difficult than last week. This week was a build and I had 12.5 hours of training to get in.
Rather than a grocery list of what happed this week I thought that I would write down some of the more interesting parts surrounding training this week.

1. Monday-During a run in Cherry Creek Res alone in the afternoon I decided I was very cold and underdressed but decided to gut it out. The chills came over me and stayed with me for a few days when I saw 3 Life Flight helicopters fly south over CCR as I was starting a tempo effort and kept me distracted from focusing on my run. I then saw them return together 30 minutes later heading north. It looked like they were heading for Children’s Hospital and I have been sad for the victims, families and the entire situation sense then.

2. Tuesday- Beth gave me the same Hypoxic swim set that I titled “Nasty” last week and I was tired and spent way too much time stressing about getting it done. I finished it but it took a lot more out of me this time with most being mental.

3. Thursday – We had plans to do a computrainer ride over in Lakewood (30 Minutes from my house in the early morning with good weather). I woke up early because I was told we would have a little snow. I pulled out of my driveway 1:15 minutes before the ride started and 6 inches of fresh snow. I pulled into the parking lot 5 minutes late passing 6 accidents and had a great ride with Beth and John.

4. Saturday- I switched my Sunday heavy day workout schedule to Saturday and had a great time swimming with Keith. We pushed each other and had a lot of fun doing it. The run was without gloves, no more than 2 layers up top and I was even able to not wear a hat. I put a visor on and enjoyed the warm sun for the first time in several weeks. I paid for it by having a ring appear after I got home and took my visor off. My head is sunburned badly and I look like a dork.

Next week is a huge week as my last build week and hope for success in getting it all done. I have 15 hours on the schedule and hope that I can get it all done. I have a huge amount of gratitude to Anne and the kids for allowing me to chase a dream that I have had for many years. I am very surprised how much this takes away from my life not only in training and money but this week I was not able to stay awake past 9pm 3 nights up from 2 last week. Anne is wondering how to adjust bedtime to include her very grownup but tired husband!

Week 7 of IM training recap

Week 7 of IM training recap
This week as I look back was a big week. The volume increased 3 hours over last week and the efforts of the workouts took a lot more out of me. I was able to get out of the basement (treadmill and trainer) and outside more this week than the last two combined. I did not travel this week and we had Grandpa Randy Crocker come into town on Thursday. Jackson had his Blue and Gold banquet and crossed over to the boy scouts. The scout troop that he joined has 3 big camp outs this summer with the first one in a month. I am invited but will sleep in a separate cabin from the 1st year scouts……My boys are growing up!
Saturday Jackson, Josh and I went skiing with John, Liv, Andrew, Rob, Max, Thomas and we stayed together most of the day. It was a great day with really no wind and a big blue sky. We had a blast and closed the lifts down. It was the first time skiing with Rob and Thomas and they snowboard which made it fun for us since we normally are the only snowboarders in the family.
I enjoyed the strength workouts that I was faced with this week because I really did not know the outcome. I month ago I was not able to finish a swim set because I maxed out and had to stop. That was really hard for me and I have worked at really not to push my effort more than I can sustain for the entire workout. I was required to elevate my efforts this week more than I have in a long time. It was good to feel tired; in fact I was in bed sleeping two nights this week before 9:30pm. The sad part of it was the nights were over the weekend and I was a terrible date for Anne. Glad her Dad is here and able to keep her company.
I have the Canyon Lands ½ marathon in less than a month and I am working towards a good run that day. I am planning on running it fast and seeing what my wheels (feet) will do. I am also looking at a unique race in Las Vegas called the Ledman Triathlon on March 31st. The swim is 2.4K the bike is 124K and the run is an 8.1 mile all uphill effort. This race is not going to be a fast race but a chance to make sure I can manage my effort and stay consistent the entire time to the finish line. I want to work on this part of my distance training and feel that this would be a good event for me at this point of training.
I am pleased with the results so far and pleased that I am staying healthy. I have been able to avoid getting sick so far and have been able to manage the stress really well. I have another build this week and I am excited to see how it goes. Week 7 is in the bank and off I go into week 8. 1:40 run today on a light dusting of snow outside in Cherry Creek Res on Presidents Day 2012.

Week 6 Ironman Training recap

I still have a bit of Hawaii on the brain. Jumping at 7 pools in Hana with the Cleveland gang.


This week back at training was the first solid week I had at home in the past 3 weeks. I was able to jump back into family, work and yes a good solid week of training. The time seems to be rolling by fast and as we talk about IM CDA it use to seem very far away and now it is close enough that I can see it.
I was nursing a little cold that came back with me from my travels and so I was sleeping more and trying to eat really well. The week’s workouts went really well. Putting the gym in the basement has allowed me to hit each workout for the required time needed with little pain. Even though I have a 24hr gym 2 miles from my home it takes me prep and travel time of nearly 45-1 hour every time I need to get a workout done. I can change and be in the basement in 30 seconds and the kids still have Mom or Dad home and accessible.
I am swimming more than I ever have and it feels good to be in the water so much. This week I finished 11,000 yards between 3 workouts. I was on the trainer for some power bike efforts and then had to do two longer run workouts. I had a 5x1km hill effort at 4% incline. I was not sure what that translated to miles so I did ¾ a mile and by the end of the workout I was toast. I feel really good about the strength phase that I am in as I continue to build my base. I came out of my major travel and vacation feeling good and pleased with the results. I am not sure after 6 weeks with all that I am doing I could be in a better spot. Anne and the kids seem happy, work is going OK and I am pleased with the training efforts.
Simply put…..Positive week 6!
Love you Anne

Recap for weeks 3, 4 & a little bit of 5

When you sit down and try to plan for 15 days in 3 city’s with no return to home base it really felt like I was packing everything and still missing items that I am sure I would need.
I really had 3 main goals for this trip.
1. Get the work done that I needed. The first week was spent in presentation from industries leaders at my home office in Valencia. The second was spent focused on my BFF in Maui and the last part was at my customer’s annual conference.
2. I needed to make really good decisions on eating, sleeping and workouts. This two week block had training last on a short list.
3. I needed to come home not totally trashed and sick where I would then need to take an additional 10 days off to get better.
Right now the tides seem to be on the very stressful side of work. Budgets, goals and changes to make the goals are the main focus of the Deluxe right now and this is taking a huge toll on me. Anne was able to come a few days early and see that I really am going to work and I do have an office with co-workers.
We quickly jumped on a plane to meet our Ohio friends and spend a few days on Maui. We packed about 10 days worth of activities into 5 days. We saw the sunrise from atop a crater at 10,000 feet and then rode bikes down to breakfast. We owned the road to Hana with over 600 180degree turns and several hundred 1 way bridges. We stopped and hiked into every waterfall we could find and swam around. We went whale watching, sea kayaking and snorkeled with the turtles from turtle bay. We took surf lessons and ate fish that was caught that morning. Maui was spectacular, the 4 other couples that we were with are incredible people and to spend one on one time with Anne was priceless. We even were able to go running together several mornings together. I swam in the ocean when the wind was high and felt good about getting into a grove as I went from beach to beach. I swam over a reef that was fun to focus on and made swimming very easy. Maui is a splendid place and I look forward to returning there with my entire family next time.
The Miche Conference in Salt Lake City was my last stop so we took a red eye to stay in Maui as long as possible and as we landed in San Francisco at 4am I kissed Anne and we parted ways. She went home and I went to Salt Lake City. I spent the next 10 hours working in the Conference store helping during the open hours and restocking when it closed. I was very happy to let me head hit the pillow that night. I worked the next few days like that and was pretty tired when I made it to the airport to return home. Anne had to manage a huge storm that dropped over a foot of snow while I was gone. I returned to a winter wonder land tired, sick of eating out and just a little sick. I think that I did really well on my main three goals and look forward to being home for a few weeks.













Love you Anne,

T