Back Online May 25th

Hope everyone's IronMan training is going well. A large number of athlete's at Walden Pond this morning at 5:30am. I know some are training for Coeur D'Alene in June, which I plan on in '08, but most of us are training for Lake Placid. It feels great to be swimming open water again.

I'll summarize the last couple of weeks: allergies, sick, 2 hours a day each day on the trainer with the cold, rainy weather, stress, not much fun. My coach is telling me to cycle 350 miles a week. A distance I have yet to reach (mostly in the mid-200s), but now that the weather looks like it's going to be decent for a stretch, I think I can come close to that mileage. Last weekend was the Lion's Sprint Triathlon. Any race that starts with the word "sprint" is not going to be a great race for me, but I managed 3rd in my AG not far behind some pretty quick guys.

Swimming is going well. I've ramped down my swimming lately, but the 5 days a week over the winter has really paid off. I think I have made it over the hurdle, finally. I am also trying to keep my running fitness and still improve on speed, but I will continue to concentrate on the bike. It is my best opportunity to shave off time the IronMan.

Race Schedule is:

June 2 - Mooseman International Distance, Bristol, NH
July 1 - Patriot (Inaugural) Half Iron, Freetown, MA
July 22- IronMan Lake Placid, NY

I am doing things different this year, doing different races and distances. I want to keep this sport interesting and the best way to do that is to mix up the races. The coach's theory is: rather than doing the Mooseman 1/2 and taper/recover, instead do Patriot and not taper, then I can recover and taper for the IronMan at the same time. The schedule also has fewer races, so I can focus on the primary goal and get to race in Kona this year.

This weekend is the "Sufferfest" 55mi bike + 6x1mi on the track at 6:00 pace (or faster) with 30 second rest. I think we'll be doing a post ride of maybe 25. It should be fun. It will be nice to get out and train with some of the local pro-athletes.

Anyway, evrything is going well. I had a massage yesterday and feel good, although the transition to heavy biking from marathon has had some small impact on the legs.

See you on the road,

-Kyle