3 Weeks!

Everything is clicking right now. Only 3 weeks to go!

Racing's fun...

So I did a sprint tri (750m swim, 18.8 mile bike, 5K run) this morning, the day after a 5 hour bike and 20 minute t-run. Totally didn't know what to expect, but ended up doing really well. I'll have a longer race report up later, but wanted to get a quick post up. I didn't even wear my watch, so I don't know my splits, results aren't up yet. I came through around 1:30, which was 15 minutes faster than I was expecting. My bike computer had me averaging roughly 22mph with a top speed of, get this, 41mph!!! I was rolling on the bike today.

More to come...

4 Weeks!

Great track workout tonight with Karen. Feeling really fast out there. Hit my last 400 (quarter mile) in 1:22! That was after 3 1200's and 2 400's. Feeling really good overall. Just keeping an eye on both IT bands as the right one was acting up towards the very end of the 2 hour run this past Sunday. I think it was just saying "Hey, I'm still here" as I've been paying so much attention to the left. Massage therapy is helping A LOT! My Masseuse told me today that if she didn't know me, she would have had no idea that I'm training for an Ironman. My legs are just recovering really well. Gotta be the Juice! It is really helping out with muscle damage and repairing that damage quickly. Getting a little scientific, it reduces the markers of oxidative stress and flushes out the free radicals that cause muscle soreness and damage. Endurox, post workouts, is also helping the recovery process.

Stay tuned...

Oh Yeah, It's On!

If you are reading this after 7am on Thursday June 19th, you'll notice that I'm 30 days away. The bad days and weeks are now behind me. The negative thoughts and doubt are gone. I'll not bring them back up, nor slump back into them. They've molded me into what I am now. I'm pressing on hard. I'm gonna do this.

Tuesday night ride!

SWEET! I had a great ride tonight. Averaged 22.1 mph, with a max speed of 34.5 mph, over 33.39 miles. I stayed with the front group for the entire ride! I'm getting so much stronger on the bike and I love it. The bike fit I had a couple weeks ago is really paying off. I've got more power on the bike and in a much better position to run off the bike. All my t-runs since the fit have been great!

5 Weeks!

Holy cow! 5 weeks to go!

Tonight's track workout went great. When we all showed up, a big thunderstorm was moving in with lots of lightning. Karen decided to move us indoors, into the University of Richmond basketball stadium. I knew at that point what we were doing. Stadium runs. Yep, we started on one aisle and went up and down every aisle on the top section all the way around the stadium. Once we did that, we took 4 laps around the main console area. Then headed back into the stands to complete a second set of stadium runs, this time on the bottom section.

I have some sick fascination with stadium runs. Maybe it's the numerous times I had to do them while running track in Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech, their football stadium. Which goes from A all the way up to YYY on the West side and up to 5Q on the East side. U of R's basketball stadium only went up to like AA. So this was the one workout, and probably the only, that I got to lead and stay well ahead of everyone. I love stadium runs.

Our Little Girl

So I had a terrible training week last week, more on that in a bit, and now have even more to keep in this brain of mine. Nikki sent an email out to friends and family that I wanted to post regarding our little Ansley. Needless to say we are both worried and pray for everything to be okay. All this in a little 3-year old.

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"Well mother’s intuition told me that I should have Ansley’s hearing checked – after 3 hours with the ear doctor today we have discovered that she has lost most of the hearing in her right ear. We won’t know how much of this is permanent or temporary hearing loss until probably the end of July after she recovers from surgery.

On July 3rd, they will be putting her 2nd set of ear tubes in, removing her adenoids and tonsils at the same time. These things are all connected and affect each other and with her excessive history of strep throat the smart thing to do at this point. This should be a same day surgery however she has to be out of school for 2 weeks afterwards – should be fun in the Deal household!

After all the fluid has drained from her ear and they are fully healed then they can do another hearing test to determine what portion is permanent – the Dr said that most likely she will have some permanent loss – to what extent we will have to wait and see.

Just wanted to pass this along – please keep her in your thoughts and prayers – especially on July 3rd!"

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So we definitely have a lot going on in the next month. I pray we can make it through.

Beginning Thursday, last week's training was miserable to say the least. Mentally, I just wasn't in it. Every day felt like I had to force myself to get out and get the workout in. Doubt, questions, insecurities. It all filled my thoughts, all weekend. On top of that, it has been over 100 degrees since Friday.

With last week behind me, I'm focusing on the positives and really working hard to keep the negative thoughts out of my brain. Monday's track went really well in the 100 degree heat. Tonight's bike, again over 100 degrees, also went really well. I actually do enjoy the heat and humidity for some strange reason.

Stay tuned, we're getting close...

Faster swim lane

I'm stoked that I was able to hold my own tonight in the faster lane! It made me really push myself past my comfort zone to hold the pace that the others were swimming. It hurt a bit, but most of me really enjoyed the push! The big difference in the lane change is the rest time between intervals and sets. There isn't much at all! I'm proud to say that I didn't have to take extra rest or miss any intervals!

Had my bike fit this morning. He said that there was a lot about my position that he liked and a lot that he didn't like. He made a bunch of very minor changes and tweaks to increase my power on the bike. I could already feel a huge difference in the few minutes I was peddling. I also didn't need any additional upgrades, which was good on the wallet! He noticed that my left leg, the one that I had the IT band trouble on, was folding in too much. This motion was keeping my IT band in a contracted position which would cause me much pain on the marathon leg of the Ironman. He placed two shims, very thin plastic pieces, underneath my cleat on the left shoe that prevented the left leg from folding in. I can't wait to get out and ride to see if I can feel a difference in the power output.

7 Weeks!

Wow, it's getting close!

Training is going really well. This past weekend I finished up a 6 hour bike ride. Really good ride. The first 3 hours saw some beautiful weather. Low 70s with, get this, NO WIND. I didn't even know what do to. Once I got through West Point and was heading up King William Hwy, the wind picked up as storms were heading in. Luckily I only got a little rain with just over an hour to ride. All in all, it was a good 6 hours in the saddle.


Swimming is going extremely well. Feeling more and more comfortable in the water. Completed a 4000y swim on Saturday and felt pretty good about it. Will update how the lane change on Wednesday afternoon's Master's class goes.

I've got a 3 hour run coming up in a couple weeks. We'll see how my IT band holds up. So far, so good. Only need 7 more weeks of everything holding together! Got some new shoes to get nice and broken in prior to Lake Placid. They are HOT! I'll get a pic and post it.

Logan finished up his last soccer game on Saturday. Seems like the season just flew by. As the Assistant Coach, it was really cool to see how much better the kids got over the two months. I had a great time coaching those kids.

Nikki got her hair cut. Looks great! I love it! Once I get a pic, I'll post it.

My family is remaining very patient with all my training and I love them very much. They have been great in supporting me through this.