BUFFALO • IMWI70.3 • GMAS

BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN, GRANITEMAN BUFFALO TRIATHLON. IT WASN'T MY FIRST TRIATHLON BUT WHERE I WAS INTRODUCED TO THIS 3 IN 1 SPORT I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH. AS A MARATHON RUNNER SEEING THESE FOLKS SWIM, BIKE AND RUN WAS STILL OVERWHELMING AND I THOUGHT THE SPORT WASN'T FOR ME. AS WE ALL KNOW, I AM NECK DEEP INTO THIS SPORT NOW!

​SEEMS TO BE A COMMON THEME WITH THE BUFFALO TRI, HOT AND WINDY. THIS YEAR DIDN'T LET ANYONE DOWN WITH PRETTY SOLID RACE CONDITIONS EVEN WITH THE 90 DEGREE WEATHER AND STRONG BREEZE. THE BEST PART OF THE DAY WAS MY SHERPA, KNOW IN THE TRIATHLON WORLD AS THE ATHLETES SIDEKICK. WHILE SLIGHTLY OVERWHELMED AND STILL LEARNING ABOUT US CRAZY TRIATHLETES, KIA DID A GREAT JOB AND MIGHT OF ACTUALLY HAD FUN!

​WITH STEALTH RACKED, THE RACE MEETING OVER AND WETSUIT ON, IT WAS GO TIME. A COOL PART OF THESE GRANITEMAN RACES IS THE PRE RACE MEETING WHICH ALWAYS INCLUDES A PRAYER, WHICH I THINK IN TODAYS WORLD, IS SOMETHING WE CAN APPRECIATE. SOMETHING I NOTICED RACE MORNING WAS EVERYONE LATHERING UP WITH SUNSCREEN PRIOR TO JUMPING IN THE LAKE. FOR ME THIS MAKES ABOUT AS MUCH SENSE AS ROLLING IN DIRT AFTER YOU SHOWER, GUESS I NEED TO LOOK INTO THIS THEORY!

​THE SWIM WAS BRUTAL, VERY BRUTAL! FOR SOME REASON I COULD NOT SIGHT THOSE DAMN LITTLE YELLOW DUCKS AND SWAM IN A ZIG ZAG PATTERN RESULTING IN A 1:50/100YD TIME OF 29:55 WHICH ON THE PLUS SIDE LEAVES ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. BEING THE FIRST OUTDOOR TRI MEANT THE FIRST TRANSITION WITH A WETSUIT, AND THANKS TO MOTHER NATURE A T1 WITH SUNSCREEN APPLICATION. MORE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT! AWW, THE BIKE, MY FAVORITE PART! THE BIKE COURSE HERE AT TRI BUFF IS FUN WITH LOTS OF ROLLILNG HILLS WHICH RESULTS IN SOME KILLER UPHILL BATTLES AND SOME EXCITING 30+ MPH DOWNHILL SECTIONS. US WITH RACE WHEELS ALWAYS LIKE THE EXCITEMENT OF CROSS WINDS TOO! ALL THIS MAKES FOR A 20.3 MPH BIKE SPLIT FOR 1:09:20 WHICH CONSIDERING SAVING MYSELF FOR IM70.3 I'LL TAKE BUT ALSO ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT!

​THE RUN, THE PART WHERE YOU CAN SEE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL! DID I MENTION IT WAS HOT? THE SUN WAS HOT, THE BREEZE WAS HOT AND THE PAVEMENT WAS HOT! SET A GOAL OF 8:00/MI BUT ENDED THE DAY WITH A 8:21 AVERAGE PACE WHICH IS LESS THAN IDEAL ALSO. GUESS I CAN BLAME THE HEAT BUT WE ALL KNOW THE LACK OF TRAINING IS HOLDING ME BACK EARLY IN THIS TRI SEASON. A POSITIVE IS THAT IT WAS OUT OF MY CONTROL, GETTING SICK SO I CAN JUST TRAIN MY ASS OFF AND KEEP ON PUSHING! ONE HUGE POSITIVE IS LIKE MY PAST FEW RACES, I HAVE BEAT LAST YEARS TIME. ON SUNDAY I WAS ABLE TO TAKE A SOLID 9 MINUTES OFF MY TIME FROM LAST YEAR AND THAT IS A GREAT CONFIDENCE BOOSTER AND GETS MY HEAD IN THE RIGHT PLACE FOR MADISON!

​MADISON•GRANDMAS MARATHON

WITH IM70.3 MADISON COMING UP ON JUNE 11TH AND GRANDMAS MARATHON BEING JUNE 17TH, TRAINING IS A MESS! TRAINING FOR TWO DIFFERENT EVENTS AT ONCE LEADS TO DRINKING, WAIT, I CAN'T EVEN DRINK. I HAVE A FEW GOOD MILEAGE BASE RUNS IN WITH THE LAST BEING A 17 MILER ON MAY 27TH THAT WENT WELL. TRIED TO DO GRANDMAS RACE PACE WHICH FOR NOW IS 9:00/MI FOR A 4:00:00ISH MARATHON. THIS WAS ALSO ON A HOT DAY SO I MIGHT BE READY FOR THOSE BLACK FLAG CONDITIONS LIKE LAST YEAR. WHO RAN GRANDMAS LAST YEAR? YOU WITNESSED RUNNERS DROPPING LIKE FLIES!

​AS FOR MADISON TRAINING, A FEW SOLID 30+ MILE RIDES ON STEALTH AND A 56 MILE TRAINER RIDE ON RAPTOR ON THE 29TH WHICH MENTALL KICKED MY BUTT BUT SHOULD GET ME READY FOR THE BIKE PORTION. I'M NOT TOO WORRIED ABOUT THE SWIM BESIDES SIGHTING PROPERLY. THE BASE IS THERE WITH A FEW 1.5 MILE SWIM SESSIONS ALONG WITH SOME SPEED AND FORM TRAINING FROM COACH KIA! THE FINAL LEG, THE RUN...SHOULD BE READY FOR THAT NO PROBLEM. WITH THE INTERVAL AND SURGE TRAINING, HOPING FOR A SOLID RUN PERFORMANCE. JUST HOPING TO NOT ENTER SURVIVAL MODE AND WIND UP DOING THE MARATHON SHUFFLE FOR 13.1 MILES. LAST NIGHT WAS THE FINAL LONG RUN BEFORE RACE DAY, FELT PRETTY GOOD IN THE HEAT AND ALSO A MENTAL TEST AS THE BODY IS TIRED AND HAD TO GET OVER A MENTAL SITUATION ABOUT 5 MILES IN WHERE I WANTEDT O QUIT. THIS IS SO STRANGE, PHYSICALLY I CAN DO THE MILEAGE BUT THAT DAMN THING BETWEEN MY EARS CAN SURE PLAY SOME GAMES. HOPING I CAN DO THAT PACE FOR IM MADISON 70.3!

​ALL THIS SWIMMING, BIKING AND RUNNING ALONG WITH SOME STRENGTH TRAINING ACCOUNTS FOR A CRAP LOAD OF TIME. IT'S A SECOND FULL TIME JOB BASICALLY, A JOB THAT FOR ME AND MOST OTHERS DOES NOT PAY. WELL, DOESN'T PAY IN THE SENSE OF MONEY BUT THE BENEFITS TO SOME ARE WORTH MORE THAN INCOME. TO ME, IT ISN'T A CHORE AND IN ITS OWN WAY ACTUALLY RELAXING. EVEN WITH THE EXPENSIVE BIKE, GEAR, RACE ENTRIES OR TIME SACRIFICES, I WOULDN'T CHANGE A THING. TO HEAR MIKE REILLY CALL YOU AN IRONMAN, THAT'S PRICELESS!

​#TRIBERULES #TRIBERACING #IRONMAN #IMWI70.3 #IMMOO70.3 #MADISON #MARATHON #TRIATHLON #TRIATHLETE #GRANDMASMARATHON