What It Takes To Be an Ironman: PART ONE

Over this past triathlon season, I got asked many times how I fit it all in. The Swimming, the Biking, the Running, the Family time, and the Me time.

I thought I would break down training for an Ironman into a 3 part "mini series. I will do individual blog posts about each discipline, talk about training, techniques, and gadgets that helped make my Ironman a successful one!

First SWIMMING.

Training for an Ironman is a lot of swimming....and I mean a lot. The Y that we belong to is a 25 yard pool which translates to about 88 laps for 2.4 miles. Yes...down and back 88 times. 

If you are anything like me, once you start your workout you get in the zone and get lost in time. For me...that meant loosing track of laps in the pool. 

So I bought a lap counter similar to this one..

It was $25 on Amazon. You can find ones that simply track laps and ones that get as techy as counting laps, timing splits, timing full swim time etc. 

Personally, I kept it simple.

I varied my workouts quite a bit in the beginning of my season. I did some long, slow days; some days focusing on form and sighting in the water; and some days I worked on speed doing intervals and sprint work. Varying your workouts will make you much stronger in the water. Once my swim workouts got long, I kept my workouts to focusing on covering the distance, maintaining good form, and sighting.

OPEN WATER SWIM PRACTICE!!

It is a must!

Swimming in open water is completely different than swimming in a pool. In order to stay on course while out in the open water, sight frequently and use a wider arm position. Keeping your arms wider helps you swim straighter. For Triathlete, keeping your focus on your arms during the swim will save your legs for later in the race. 

How do you get in these open water swim practices safely??

I was fortunate to do all of my big races with Leukemia and Lymphoma's Society's TEAM In Training program. This program not only provided coaching and group workouts, it also organized numerous open water swim practices. Not to mention giving you a noble mission to train for....who doesn't want to help cure cancer?!?!?

Not wanting to fundraise for a specific cause? Check out Facebook or Twitter for the race you are entered in. Some Race Directors will hold open water practices before the event to help participants prepare for the upcoming race. So, check out event social media sites and follow along! 

If you would like to share your insights, tips, or techniques.... PLEASE SHARE!!  Got a cool gadget you love....PLEASE SHARE!!

Leave a comment sharing your thoughts and cool tricks!!

HyVee Triathlon!

Greetings Friends!

This is my first actual triathlon post of the season! Very exciting!!

HyVee Triathlon in Des Moines Iowa over labor day weekend proved to be a great event!

This particular triathlon has the biggest winner's purse of all triathlons! Yep...Des Moines Iowa! The first place winner receives $100,000, second place $30,000, third place $20,000. 

Needless to say the Pros show up and they go hard! It was so much fun just to watch!

During the expo they had their pro panel discussing the sport and answering audience questions. The Pro men stuck around after to sign autographs and take pictures...

Me with Pro Athlete Gregg Bennett. I openly admit to holding on to this man a little tighter than was necessary or appropriate......it was soooo worth it, he is too cute!!

The event itself was very well organized. The start of the event got postponed due to severe weather but the organizers did a great job of communicating with participants regarding the situation. Not to mention it had the BEST SWAG I have ever had at a race! We got a super cool triathlon backpack, a cycling jersey, a hat, vitamins, coupons, and free samples! 

Age group athletes, such as myself, started in time trial fashion. Which was great for the race, but since it is a big race, we ended up standing around quite a bit before the start.

Each age group started a couple minutes behind each other and they had groups of 3-4 participants start every 6 seconds within that group. It eased congestion significantly, and made for a safer swim.

The course itself was great. It had some nice rolling hills on the bike route and some crazy fans as well! I got to give Gumby a high five with on the bike! 

The run was an out and back and was very well supported. I was very impressed with the amount of volunteers and their dedication to making the event fun!

The finish line itself was pretty epic! They had set up huge grandstands for friends and family, an announcer shouting your name as you crossed the finish line, killer post race food, and super cool medals!

I will definitely be adding the HyVee Triathlon to my list of yearly events! This event is a MUST DO!!

Its inexpensive, $99, there is killer swag, and it is a well organized and well supported race! 

Up next......my first IRONMAN!!! Stay tuned!!

Adventures in Nutrition

Greetings friends. As you may know, I am training for a full ironman that takes place in a couple of weeks. During this training season I have been experimenting with a variety of products trying to figure out what I like, what works well, and so on and so forth. 

Recently, I got the opportunity to try some products from Biosteel Sports.... 

Biosteel Sports Sports Drink and Biosteel Advanced Recovery Formula.

These is the "samples" they sent me...literally POUNDS of product...crazy!

When the folks over at Biosteel contacted me and asked me to try a couple of their products,  I eagerly agreed!!  Training for such a crazy event,  like a full ironman, I am always interested in trying new things to see how they make me feel and if they can make this whole process a wee bit easier!

I am very familiar with sports drinks and electrolyte replacement drinks, but recovery protein shakes aren't my area of expertise.

So I recruited some fellow gymrats from one of the gyms that I work at to help me out 

in the protein shake arena.

Matt

Dave

Dave

As you can tell, these gentlemen spend a lot of time in the gym. All three have tried various protein supplements, shakes and recovery drinks included, so I thought they would be a good source for product comparison.

Biosteel Advanced Recovery Formula is different than most protein drinks that I have seen. They use the standard Casein and whey protein BUT they have taken things a step further and made their product more "green". In addition to all of your amino acids, they are using non-GMO organic brown rice syrup, organic cane sugar, organic ginger extract,  and Celtic sea salt. 

The boys and I were all impressed with the Advanced Recovery Formula, it dissolved well in water and had a very smooth texture. Honestly, it was like drinking chocolate milk. It went down easy and didn't have any weird after taste. It settled well in the tummy and none of us had any GI issues.

I liked the Sports Drink as well. It had all of my electrolytes plus amino acids which really helps prevent lean muscle break down when putting in those long miles. The drink blended nicely and had a great taste. The only thing I didn't like was the it changed from pink, when you first mix it, to a weird yellow color. I'm not sure if it had to do with being exposed to the sun since I used a clear water bottle or what. The flavor never changed and I never had any GI issues, but it was something that I noticed and found slightly odd. I still really liked the product and am still using it, but I thought the color change is notable. 

All in all I was impressed with Biosteel sports. One of the Daves liked it so well he asked me to get him more "samples"! 

You can check out Biosteel sports by clicking HERE

Up next....Adventures in Triathlons! 

I complete in the HyVee Triathlon is past weekend, met some Pro Athletes, and picked up some cool swag and a great medal! 

 SO STAY TUNED!!