Ugh.
Its been difficult lately. I'm not totally 100% sure why... maybe its the fact that I'm racing in the Ironman World Championships in < 2 weeks... maybe its school being in full swing w/ massive projects in the works.. maybe its the idea of missing 3 full days of classes for Kona... Maybe its just me letting those things get to me.
I was talking to Courtney today and we realized something... WE LEAVE FOR KONA IN 9 days! WOW. It really hit me.. this is going to happen.... I immediately got off the phone with her and started packing :)
But really, lately I've been a bit off. School really is getting a bit more stressful and a few of my workouts havent been exactly where I want them. Tomorrow I'm really going to push those negative thoughts out of my head and just have a good solid workout w/ my friend Scott.
Its so close to Kona that there is nothing else I can do thats going to help me race day and I know that... Its just difficult to actually act on that. I feel like I need to go ride 130 miles to make sure I'm ready.. Of course I'm not, but thats how I feel. I'm still waiting for that race... that race where I have NO regrets and am 100% satisfied. Things in general are coming together well.. I just need to get through next week without breaking and just stay on top of things.
Ironman World Championships = T-minus 13 days
I love you all :)
_Jacob_
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Meat Pie Tri Weekend!!
Well I'm now done with my final race before Hawaii! This weekend Courtney and I drove down to Louisiana so I could do the Louisiana State Championship Tri (Meat Pie Tri) so that I could hopefully get those 100 points its worth.
Since I'm trying to place 1st in my AG for the Region and get my regional elite I need these points! After the dissapointment I dealt with at Route 66 I really want to get a win and move up in the rankings.
We arrived in nachitoches (Sp?) around 6:30ish on Saturday. We checked out the race site, found our hotel, grabbed some grilled chicken at Chilis and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. The alarm went off the next morning around 4:30 and we headed off to the race site. Pre race went well. I grabbed my packet and set everything up after a quick 15min WU ride on the run course. I found out a few minutes before the race that it was wetsuit legal by about .5 of a degree! Ha. Of course I didnt have a wetsuit... but on the upside I was getting more practice with my friend Scotts Blue Seventy Speedsuit, which i've totally fallen in love with :) The swim was a time trial start meaning everyone formed a massive line starting with the lowest and going one by one every 3-5 seconds. I went in 18th and came out 2nd! Wow. What a solid swim. Ran into transition to discover my chip was no longer on my ankle.. As I ran out of transition in second I told the timing guy at the mat that I didnt have a chip and that I was number 18.
I knew who was off in first and really worked to catch him. Unfortunately I never did, and since I dont have any splits other than the ones I got (which was only for my 5K) I have no idea if I actually gained on first or not. T2 went way smoother than I thought it would and I was off. My 5K was SMOKIN... It was somewhere from 17:59-18:01. Regardless thats a 5:48 pace and almost a PR (including my stand alone!). After checking out the results that was about a minute faster than the second 5K split. So I really gained some ground here, which is where I normally lose races.
Once results were up I saw that I ended up in 3rd overall and first Age group by 10mins! Since I was in the top 3 I got an overall award which was a beach towel and a free pair of Brooks running shoes. (which I'm probably going to sell on Ebay since I wear Newtons)
As far as points go I didnt get the 100 I wanted but I did end up with 97.9. After doing some calculations, those points put me in 9th overall and 1st age group with 95.0 points. Unfortunately I also realized that had the Route 66 racing staff put a turnaround cone on their bike course I would have gotten 100 points and my total now would be 98.66 which means i'd be in 2nd OVERALL. (Thats overall hardware by the way) So its a little bitter sweet right now. None the less its a lot of motivation to get out there and kick some ass next year in the points so I can get up there in the overall.
In other news KONA IS LESS THAN 3 WEEKS AWAY!!! I leave in TWO WEEKS! wow. Its really starting to sink in. I still dont think that my body has realized its going to be doing an Ironman distance race that soon though... which could be a good thing I guess? :) This is my last 20+ hour training week so I'm really going to focus on getting those quality workouts and just staying relaxed.
Ill post my Meat Pie Tri race report as soon as I get it done!
Back to finishing up some homework...
Click here for the MeatPie Tri RESULTS if you wanna see the overall!
Have a good week! :)
_Jacob_
Since I'm trying to place 1st in my AG for the Region and get my regional elite I need these points! After the dissapointment I dealt with at Route 66 I really want to get a win and move up in the rankings.
We arrived in nachitoches (Sp?) around 6:30ish on Saturday. We checked out the race site, found our hotel, grabbed some grilled chicken at Chilis and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. The alarm went off the next morning around 4:30 and we headed off to the race site. Pre race went well. I grabbed my packet and set everything up after a quick 15min WU ride on the run course. I found out a few minutes before the race that it was wetsuit legal by about .5 of a degree! Ha. Of course I didnt have a wetsuit... but on the upside I was getting more practice with my friend Scotts Blue Seventy Speedsuit, which i've totally fallen in love with :) The swim was a time trial start meaning everyone formed a massive line starting with the lowest and going one by one every 3-5 seconds. I went in 18th and came out 2nd! Wow. What a solid swim. Ran into transition to discover my chip was no longer on my ankle.. As I ran out of transition in second I told the timing guy at the mat that I didnt have a chip and that I was number 18.
I knew who was off in first and really worked to catch him. Unfortunately I never did, and since I dont have any splits other than the ones I got (which was only for my 5K) I have no idea if I actually gained on first or not. T2 went way smoother than I thought it would and I was off. My 5K was SMOKIN... It was somewhere from 17:59-18:01. Regardless thats a 5:48 pace and almost a PR (including my stand alone!). After checking out the results that was about a minute faster than the second 5K split. So I really gained some ground here, which is where I normally lose races.
Once results were up I saw that I ended up in 3rd overall and first Age group by 10mins! Since I was in the top 3 I got an overall award which was a beach towel and a free pair of Brooks running shoes. (which I'm probably going to sell on Ebay since I wear Newtons)
As far as points go I didnt get the 100 I wanted but I did end up with 97.9. After doing some calculations, those points put me in 9th overall and 1st age group with 95.0 points. Unfortunately I also realized that had the Route 66 racing staff put a turnaround cone on their bike course I would have gotten 100 points and my total now would be 98.66 which means i'd be in 2nd OVERALL. (Thats overall hardware by the way) So its a little bitter sweet right now. None the less its a lot of motivation to get out there and kick some ass next year in the points so I can get up there in the overall.
In other news KONA IS LESS THAN 3 WEEKS AWAY!!! I leave in TWO WEEKS! wow. Its really starting to sink in. I still dont think that my body has realized its going to be doing an Ironman distance race that soon though... which could be a good thing I guess? :) This is my last 20+ hour training week so I'm really going to focus on getting those quality workouts and just staying relaxed.
Ill post my Meat Pie Tri race report as soon as I get it done!
Back to finishing up some homework...
Click here for the MeatPie Tri RESULTS if you wanna see the overall!
Have a good week! :)
_Jacob_
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Freakin Hawaii...
Its funny how it really hits me while I'm at work hopped up on coffee around 3:14am...
I'm getting to race in Ironman World Championships. I couldnt have imagined this a year ago. It was only a dream. A hope. Nothing more... I never actually thought then I had a chance. Now here I am a year later with aspirations of going under 10hrs on the big island.
I'm really at a lose for words so i'll cut it short. Meat Pie Tri is tomorrow and I'm ready to win. 100 points would be really nice.
Kona Taper < 9 days.
_Jacob_
I'm getting to race in Ironman World Championships. I couldnt have imagined this a year ago. It was only a dream. A hope. Nothing more... I never actually thought then I had a chance. Now here I am a year later with aspirations of going under 10hrs on the big island.
I'm really at a lose for words so i'll cut it short. Meat Pie Tri is tomorrow and I'm ready to win. 100 points would be really nice.
Kona Taper < 9 days.
_Jacob_
Thursday, September 18, 2008
New Sponsors and a fantastic birthday..
So I had my 23rd birthday on Monday! I'm definitly not too fond of this idea of growing older.. but hopefully with age comes faster and faster splits! :) wait... I mean wisdom. Yeah yeah.. wisdom.. ;)
I got some really great suprises and plenty of kind cards from friends! Thanks to everyone for making this a special birthday and one I'll never forget! A special thanks to Courtney for an amazing Sunday night dinner and my NEW Specialized Arc-II sunglasses!! I can't wait to try thsoe bad boys out on the big island in October!
In other news NUUN accepted my sponsorship application! I'm excited to represent them for the remainder of my season and especially at Kona. I've been using the product for close to a year now and really find it to be a handy form or electrolyte hydration. Plus it tastes good!! For all your NUUN needs check out www.nuun.com/shop!
I got some really great suprises and plenty of kind cards from friends! Thanks to everyone for making this a special birthday and one I'll never forget! A special thanks to Courtney for an amazing Sunday night dinner and my NEW Specialized Arc-II sunglasses!! I can't wait to try thsoe bad boys out on the big island in October!
In other news NUUN accepted my sponsorship application! I'm excited to represent them for the remainder of my season and especially at Kona. I've been using the product for close to a year now and really find it to be a handy form or electrolyte hydration. Plus it tastes good!! For all your NUUN needs check out www.nuun.com/shop!
School is in full swing and things are getting done! Its definitly difficult focusing on classes knowing the Ironman World Championships are on the horizon :) Hopefully it will get a little easier after Kona.
Courtney and I are heading out to the Meat Pie Tri in Louisiana this weekend so that I can hopefully get some massive points!! Finally. I've been looking for big points all year and have run into a few roadblocks, but its looking good for this weekend. My training is right on schedule and I feel great. A win would really be nice.
Next week ill put in some more big volume then its a drastic TWO WEEK taper to the big day!
Alrighty, its back to school work for me. Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! :)
_Jacob_
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Focused on KONA...
We're now well into September. It's really starting to hit me. I WILL be treading water in Kailua Bay on October 11th. Ill be cycling down the Queen K across vast lava fields. I'll run down Ali'i drive.
It doesnt get any better than that for most triathletes. With one more build phase to go I find myself getting more and more focused. I'm already visioning solid, beneficial workouts that lead to a succesful race.
I've even started to tighten down on my diet a little bit more. I'm really excited to see how my training plan works for me on race day. I'm ready to see what I can do when there is no pressure. No reason to hold back. If I bonk ... I bonk. If I walk.. I walk. So what. I'm IN KONA! I just ordered the wheel set I'm going to run. My good friend Andrew got me a great deal on a rental for a Zipp 404 front and a Zipp 808 rear, both clinchers. The last thing I want to do is be playing around w/ tubulars out on the lava fields if I get a flat!! Theres really not a whole lot more to do from here other than get the training miles in and stay focused. Thanks to everyone for all your support and words of encouragement :) I hope to make everyone proud October 11th.
In other news PrarieMan is this weekend. I've really been putting pressure on Scott to perform (haha!) and get that half mary under 1:30! :) Actually I'll be happy with anything. Personally I'd like to finish w/ a sub :30 swim and a sub 2:20 bike. I dont plan on pushing outside my limits, but rather trying to stay controlled while going uber fast. It'll probably come down to the winds on Sunday. I used to cycle Joe Pool ALL the time and I'll tell you those winds can really pick up near the lake. The swim isnt wetsuit legal, but Scott said I can wear his BlueSeventy speedsuit so It'll be nice trying that out in a race before Kona.
Alrighty, I need to get some reading done for school! I'll hopefully get some time on Sunday after the race to update w/ some good results!
_Jacob_
It doesnt get any better than that for most triathletes. With one more build phase to go I find myself getting more and more focused. I'm already visioning solid, beneficial workouts that lead to a succesful race.
I've even started to tighten down on my diet a little bit more. I'm really excited to see how my training plan works for me on race day. I'm ready to see what I can do when there is no pressure. No reason to hold back. If I bonk ... I bonk. If I walk.. I walk. So what. I'm IN KONA! I just ordered the wheel set I'm going to run. My good friend Andrew got me a great deal on a rental for a Zipp 404 front and a Zipp 808 rear, both clinchers. The last thing I want to do is be playing around w/ tubulars out on the lava fields if I get a flat!! Theres really not a whole lot more to do from here other than get the training miles in and stay focused. Thanks to everyone for all your support and words of encouragement :) I hope to make everyone proud October 11th.
In other news PrarieMan is this weekend. I've really been putting pressure on Scott to perform (haha!) and get that half mary under 1:30! :) Actually I'll be happy with anything. Personally I'd like to finish w/ a sub :30 swim and a sub 2:20 bike. I dont plan on pushing outside my limits, but rather trying to stay controlled while going uber fast. It'll probably come down to the winds on Sunday. I used to cycle Joe Pool ALL the time and I'll tell you those winds can really pick up near the lake. The swim isnt wetsuit legal, but Scott said I can wear his BlueSeventy speedsuit so It'll be nice trying that out in a race before Kona.
Alrighty, I need to get some reading done for school! I'll hopefully get some time on Sunday after the race to update w/ some good results!
_Jacob_
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
7hr workouts and Bikram Yoga...
Whooo. Well its been a nice few days. Saturday REALLY didnt go the way I wanted it to. Needed to get 3-4hrs in and got 1.5 due to lack of sleep. I got my 7hr workout in on Sunday. Did 115miles on the bike with a 1hr run and that went really well. Winds have been picking up the past two weekends so it makes my ride a little more challenging. Around 3:15mins-4:30mins theres a pretty good headwind. The run was great. Couldnt have been much better.
All thats left now is this recovery week. Another 3 week build phase then a 2 week taper. Im still debating on the long workouts for the next three weekends. I had a good friend throw out the idea of a 75-80mile ride w/ a 14-16mile run. I may give that a shot. I will be doing two 18mile runs for sure. Just not sure when... Nothing closer than 3 weeks out. With less than three weeks to go its mainly gonna be cycling. No hard impact long distance running at all. Max run 8miles. The taper will be drastic to say the least.
I like the idea that this race for me is so different that any other Ironman for the reason that I'm no longer trying to qualify for anything. I know good and well I'm not going to place so why not experiement and see how different things work. Thats why this time I'm doing the 2week taper instead of 3 week.
Tried Bikram Yoga for the first time yesterday. OMG. Freakin brutal. Thoroughly enjoyed it though. I REALLY wish it was something I could invest more time in. If I were ever a professional triathlete or athlete in general Bikram would be a part of my workout schedule on a daily basis. Thanks to Scott for talking me into it Believe or not I really wanna go back now!
Like I said earlier.. this week will be a nice easy recovery week before I start my final build. Ill keep up the swimming volume this week, stay on top of my cycling and running and get prepared for the Prarieman relay this weekend in which ill be swimming and cycling. Scott will be running the half mary.
Lastly, If anyone knows of a good, reliable source for me to rent or borrow a good wheel set for Kona from let me know! Preferrably a clincher wheelset. Either a Zipp 404 front, 808 rear; or a Blackwell 50mm front, 100mm rear, clincher as well... Thanks!!
I've got some coffee to drink.
Congrats to everyone that started and finished IMKY this weekend!
All thats left now is this recovery week. Another 3 week build phase then a 2 week taper. Im still debating on the long workouts for the next three weekends. I had a good friend throw out the idea of a 75-80mile ride w/ a 14-16mile run. I may give that a shot. I will be doing two 18mile runs for sure. Just not sure when... Nothing closer than 3 weeks out. With less than three weeks to go its mainly gonna be cycling. No hard impact long distance running at all. Max run 8miles. The taper will be drastic to say the least.
I like the idea that this race for me is so different that any other Ironman for the reason that I'm no longer trying to qualify for anything. I know good and well I'm not going to place so why not experiement and see how different things work. Thats why this time I'm doing the 2week taper instead of 3 week.
Tried Bikram Yoga for the first time yesterday. OMG. Freakin brutal. Thoroughly enjoyed it though. I REALLY wish it was something I could invest more time in. If I were ever a professional triathlete or athlete in general Bikram would be a part of my workout schedule on a daily basis. Thanks to Scott for talking me into it Believe or not I really wanna go back now!
Like I said earlier.. this week will be a nice easy recovery week before I start my final build. Ill keep up the swimming volume this week, stay on top of my cycling and running and get prepared for the Prarieman relay this weekend in which ill be swimming and cycling. Scott will be running the half mary.
Lastly, If anyone knows of a good, reliable source for me to rent or borrow a good wheel set for Kona from let me know! Preferrably a clincher wheelset. Either a Zipp 404 front, 808 rear; or a Blackwell 50mm front, 100mm rear, clincher as well... Thanks!!
I've got some coffee to drink.
Congrats to everyone that started and finished IMKY this weekend!
I've included a picture of some Bikram greatness.... :- /
_Jacob_
_Jacob_
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