And so it begins...

Today is the beginning of the long hall. Today I started the arduous training process for a half Ironman Triathlon in Kansas on June 6. I will then take two or so weeks off to travel through Europe (as is the current plan), and then resume training again to prepare for the inaugral Omaha Triathlon on August 1. So today, I was in the water at 6:30 AM and muscled through 1.37 miles of work over 65 minutes--it was probably an hour workout, but I spent ample amounts of time recovering. This afternoon, I will teach my spin class to get some time on the bike in.

The hardest part of this is self coaching. I was talking to my training partner's dad during a run on Thursday and I was explaining my plan to "map backward" from the event. He asked how I knew all this stuff, because that is what his coach that he pays does and calls it. Well, I learned long ago, that if something is going to get done right, preparation is key. I had read a Chris Carmichael book a long time ago and was familiar with the concept of periodization, but a webinar I listened to and subsequent purchase of Joe Friel's Training Bible put it all into perspective...in a visual sense. I get what I'm supposed to do now.

So now my goal is to plan out the weeks on Saturdays...but last night was hard because I was so tired. The other thing that was challenging was finding the time to fit it all in. At this point, I'm trying to plan 8.5 hours worth of training in--half of it being cycling, 30% swimming, and the rest running. That's hard! What was comforting was that this morning's swim was about an hour, so all the rest will probably be about an hour. By the end of today, I will have nearly two hours completed. Tomorrow, I hope to run after my spin class; that will put me over 3.5 hours in two days.

I think the time will add up quicker than I realize, but I do get concerned about the 13-15 hour weeks ahead--but they're a ways off yet.

As for the bike build, it is nearly done and I do have new pictures to post soon. All that's left are the shift levers, brake levers, and a chain.

As for the blog, I think that I am going to make it a weekly practice when it is sleepy at the bike shop on Sunday afternoons...after all, we are getting to the end of the NFL season and I'm going to need to have something to do.

Making my peace...

I've got so much on my mind and so many things to do and only so many hours in the day and a tendancy to procrastinate of put my focus on the secondary rather than the primary. So rather than grade papers that are stacked up against me, I'm blogging.

As for the bike: Headset is in (no pictures yet) and bars are on their way. Then it will be put on hold for a while. All that will be left will be shifters, brakes, cables, a chain, and "polish."

Been doing a variety of things, but not a settled schedule for training yet, but December 1 will be the kick off date. Right now, just trying to create a base. Fortunately, I can create that base and then up the intensity in stages. Still, the base needs to be there.

Yesterday, swam for the first time in two weeks; the latter part of that statement is the downfall. I'm not getting a steady routine in the water...to the point that I am not comfortable there. As I was dwelling on it all day, I feel that my expectations are too high right now. I am weak enough in the swim to be frustrated; I now know enough about swimming now to be frustrated. As I told my training partner Paul yesterday, I feel like I did two years ago when I was prepping for my first triathlon--learning to swim all over again.

From here, baby steps for a while. The gist of my plan is to start small--I'm sure Paul will be asking "You're done already?" a lot in the near future. That's all I'm going to say about it for now...let me see if that works.

To my friends on and from FaceBook, thanks for your support and keep it coming...I'm going to need a lot in the next 7 months. Be a follower...rather, a supporter.