I am jumping off a boat into shark infested waters on Sunday

On Sunday I am racing in the Kemah Olympic Triathlon. It is on the Kemah Boardwalk and a sprint tri is being run at the same time. Over 1600 people are scheduled to compete. This race has become one of the must do triathlons in Texas.

They take you a mile out to sea on this boat ...

Suck it Alcatraz

... and make you jump off and swim back to shore!

Swim Exit

How cool is that?

You know what isn't cool?

A few years ago a group of buddies and me chartered a boat right in this area and proceeded to catch four (4) Black Tip Sharks that were all over 6ft long ....

Black Tip Shark - this isn't the one I caught, we ate that one.

My goal for the race is to not get eaten by a shark (-:

Any one else racing this weekend?

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Time in the Saddle ....

My home away from home while in my home.

As of the 18th of April, 420mi have already been logged in the saddle this month. Including a painful 106mi ride on the Ironman Texas course fighting 20-30mph headwinds for the last 50miles. The majority of these miles have been done on the Computrainer on extremely hilly courses and with two weekends remaining this month my total volume should be close to 750mi.

Why so much?

Because the elevation profile for Ironman Mont-Tremblant puts the fear of God in me:

Image pirated from Kevin

The above course is only 56mi so this means it will be done TWICE!

Now this does not mean that I am ignoring swimming and running. Not at all.

I am averaging about 9K per week in pool. My swim fitness and times are getting better each time I hit the pool and am confident I will be back to my mediocre self in the next couple of weeks. I'd like to add some more volume but have been adding an extra bike each week at the expense of a swim workout.

As for running, my fitness has declined compared to where it was during marathon training two months ago. This is to be expected as average weekly volume for an 18-week period was over 60mi per week and have dropped to around 25mi per week. The weird thing is that my running speed has seemed to stay pretty consistent ass I have had a couple bust as runs with some buddies and my pace was consistent with pre-marathon pacing?

So, do you think I am right to be frightened by the IMMT bike profile?

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Random Observations and Stuff ...

It has been a long time since a new post has been seen on these very pages. I am not quitting blogging or anything crazy. I was sick and then busy, that is all. Since most of you people are ADD we are going to recap my hiatus bullet point style (you're welcome)! Lets get it on:

• I am wrapping up Week 5 of Ironman Training and it is going very well. Back in the middle of Week 2 this was not the case. I ended up in the Emergency Room with a 103* temperature. I was told this is a pretty high temperature for an adult and the fact that I was seeing 3 of the same Doctor made me believe this statement. After running every test in the book it was determined I had the Flu - Full Blown! It was ugly. I missed 9 days of training and was pretty weak starting back up. I am pathetic when sick and was sleeping a cat-like 18-20hrs per day. My body just shutdown.

• Good news: I am 100% healthy and back training hard. 

• Bad news: I didn't lose a single F'n pound while sick. I couldn't eat anything solid for like 4 days and didn't lose any weight - bullshit.

• I am at 150-lbs so really do not need to lose any weight but it would have been nice consider all that was coming out of my body.  I know I am at Race Weight when homeless people at stoplights refuse to take my change and tell me to spend it on a sandwich - not quite there ... yet.

• While sick I read the first two Hunger Games Books. One word review: Okay. Also saw the movie with Annie. One word review: Okay.

• I am thinking of developing a movie website that is like Twitter but you review movies with just one word. Who the hell needs 140 characters? Let me know if you think this one has legs?

• Dropped 177mi on the bike this week! Feeling a little KC-like!

• I am eating hills for breakfast (or they are eating me? Semantics) in preparation for Ironman Mont-Tremblant and Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon 70.3. Unfortunately the majority of these rides have been on the Computrainer since I live at Sea-Level.

• Running had been rather difficult for me up until this week. I had no idea why? The longer runs felt okay but the short runs were extremely uncomfortable: Erratic pace, high HR, just no flow or rhythm at all. Then on Monday I met up with my friend Bobby at the LTF Run Club and everything felt fine? It was almost like all the crappy runs never happened. Then I did a brick run yesterday and again today and they both felt great. My guess is that it was still some Hangover from the Woodlands Marathon or I needed a new pair of shoes? On Monday I ran in the new Brooks Pure Flows and they made me feel fast and sexy, which made my ass feel small - maybe it was all mental because we all know you cannot run fast when you feel like your ass is big, amiright?

• While sick Annie and I (she was sick too) watched the first 3 seasons of Breaking Bad. It was awesome. The real reason I watched was so that Kevin and Jon would quit harassing me about it - they were right because it is great. I was actually considering buying an RV and cooking some meth but then I realized I did not know how to cook meth so that dream died a fast death. Maybe one day.

• GAME OF THRONES. If you are not watching this HBO series you are missing out on what maybe the best TV show since The Wire. I watched the first season while on the trainer. It is perfect. The second season just began last week so you can get caught up. This show has potential to be the best show ever. Seriously, finish reading this post and start watching. After you finish you will want to somehow thank me for this recommendation (much like Sharktopus) - this can be done in the form of cookies.

• As I type this my Kestrel 4000 is being fit with a brand spanking new Compact Crank. It is a 50/34 with 165mm crank length. This should dramatically help with all the climbing that is in my future. Thanks to Jon for answering my 6million questions about gearing.

• It has been confirmed: I am still a shitty swimmer. Who would have thought taking 5 months off from the pool would have made me slower and less fit in the water? Will have to file that one away as to not make the same mistake again. Live and learn, right?

• In all seriousness, I suck at swimming right now but am getting closer to reclaiming my status of mediocre each time I hit the pool. By mid-June I am hopeful to be considered a little better then average - when you dream, kids, dream big!

• Just to let you know I am back stronger then ever this post has not been proof read whatsoever, like most of my posts, so whoever points out the most grammatical errors in the comments wins the title of being the snotty person who goes around on blogs and corrects grammar errors. As Rob Schneider would say in every shitty Adam Sandler movie ever made, "YOU CAN DO IT"!

• Going to end on a high note - this is important. WTC is putting on a contest that gives 8 people a chance to win a trip to race Kona. Each contestant has to submit a 90-second video telling their Ironman story. Fellow blogger and Ironman Bob Shuler (aka-OneHourIronman) has submitted his video and needs our votes. All that you have to do is CLICK HERE and then "Vote" in the bottom left hand corner of Bob's video. And for your viewing enjoyment Bob has submitted a video of him suffering away on a spin bike! Bob has been a blogger for many years and has given us all TONS of advice on racing the 140.6 Distance. Let's all go vote and get one of us to the big show!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff