The Road to Kona; Chicago Edition #10

Well, just a couple of weeks till Kona. It has been a while since my last blog update, so I thought I would provide a quick summary of where I stand:

Swim - I did the 2.5k course at the Big Shoulders race a few weeks ago. While I have a lot of room for improvement in my swim, I feel pretty confident that I will have no problems here. I read that one of the primary reasons for the dreaded 'DNF' is sea sickness during the swim, so I'll have to get a few practice swims in after I arrive and think about taking a Dramamine (non-drowsy, of course!). Predicted swim finish - 1 hour, 20 minutes.

Bike - This is the one area that I am concerned about. My training was going great until my accident that cost me a week of training, then my wedding and honeymoon kept me off my bike for another week. While I am confident that I will finish well before the bike cut-off, I will have to really focus on my power zones and not get smoked on the bike (literally, since the temperature on the bike course can reach 100+ due to heat radiating off the black asphalt and lava rocks. Predicted bike finish - 7 hours.

Run - While it is extremely unlikely that I will qualify for Boston before I am 70, I do feel that the run is my strong point. If my previous predictions hold true, I should be starting the run around 3:30 - 4 PM. That will give me two hours of running before the sun sets, so I will be enjoying a nice view of the ocean. Then after dark, I just have to reach the finish line. Luckily, Jennifer will be volunteering at a water stop on the run, so I'll get to see her a few times before the finish. Predicted run finish - anytime before midnight!

So, that is my plan... I can't wait to get to the start!

Break Through Athlete Rob Wurth is the Latest Chicago-land Triathlete to Have Qualified for the For Ironman World Championships in K

Rob Wurth, a Break Through Multisport triathlete qualified for the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii in 2010 by competing in the Ford Ironman Wisconsin and finishing in 10:02:47.

Ironman Wisconsin was Rob’s first race at the Ironman distance (swim 2.4 miles, ride 112 miles, run 26.2 miles). Rob said “I was fairly nervous, mainly just from not knowing what to expect out of the full Ironman distance. Coach Ryan (Head Coach of Break Through Multisport) spent two hours going every last detail of my race plan on Friday before the race. I can’t emphasize how much this helped.”

Rob completed the 2.4 mile swim in 1:07:02, the 112 mile bike ride in 5:26:57 averaging 20.6 miles per hour. He then ran the full marathon in 3:20, averaging 7:40 minutes per mile. Coach Riell said “Rob and I laid out a very detailed race plan and Rob executed it within 2 minutes over the full 140.6 miles. Riell, watched Wurth all day and said “He was amazing all day. When Rob made the last turn of the run heading down the finishing shoot, he looked really strong! He worked incredibly hard all summer and was simply awesome!”

Rob, the only male qualifier from Chicago said “I'm extremely excited and feel very honored to be able to go to the race where it all began, with the top triathletes in the world, and race along all those places like the Queen K highway that I've seen on TV. I have so much respect for all the people that do any Ironman race, it will be amazing to go to the "Super Bowl" of it all. It will be kind of nice when telling those who don't know much about this world that I'm doing an Ironman, and they say ‘Oh that race in Hawaii!’ to finally be able to say ‘Yes, that one.’"

Is Ibuprofen good for you while racing or training?

An athlete forwarded me this article on using ibuprofen while racing and training a couple days ago, it's very interesting.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/phys-ed-does-ibuprofen-help-or-hurt-during-exercise/