I've been training for a couple of months now, but today it became official. I'm on the final 32 weeks schedule with all peaks pointed toward October and Kona. Today it was cycling drills (one leg drills and high cadence.) Cadence is particularly important for Ironman training. Ideally you spin at 90 rpms for the duration of the race. At lower rpms, but on tougher gears, you feel like you're cycling. Your legs get that burn that everyone associates with good and fast cycling. But that burn takes a lot of energy out of your legs, and you still have a marathon to run. So burn=bad in terms of long distance triathlon.
The one leg drills are designed to identify and fix dead spots in your pedal stroke. The stroke is a full 360 degree spin, not just a downward push on the pedal. By pedalling with only one leg you really do feel that full stroke for all 12 hours around the clock face.
It was a really good workout today. I think perhaps coach Paul was the most pleased, happy to see that I'm not a lost cause with absolutely no skills. My skills may be minimal, but they are there. Now if I can just get the lung and cardio power to go with them.
And if we could just get Ironman to issue their official invites all will be well. They stopped taking lottery entries for Kona on Feb. 28, so hopefully now that that's closed they'll start to move forward with filling their entries. But when that will actually happen is anyone's guess.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Waiting on Ironman
It's now the closing week of January and Ironman still hasn't picked its list of special exempt Kona participants. I don't believe that there's any chance they won't pick me, but it sure will be nice once they officially do. I'm training, working to stay motivated, and working around the cold I picked up in Utah last week. But I don't think anything will light a fire in me more than getting the official word that I will be traveling to Kona. Knowing that I will have the opportunity to be the first heart transplant to ever cross that finish line will carry me further than anything else. Well, that, and the many people that I continue to meet at UCLA's heart transplant clinic.
This week I was there to give blood (for whatever reason my body is now metabolizing my rejection meds faster than before so my drug levels are being adjusted) and I met an older man who just had his transplant six weeks ago. In talking to him, and sharing with him my Ironman goal, I found out that he actually competed at Kona four times - winning his age group in 1994 at the age of 60. I can't imagine what it must have been like to go from being the world's most fit 60-year-old to being a man in need of a heart transplant to save his life.
But he persevered, stayed strong, and now he has his heart. He told me that his IM days are long gone, but he can't wait to get back on his bike. At 74!! I'm half that age.
Call it irony, good fortune, fate, or something else, it was a great lift to me to meet this man who knows what I've gone through as a heart transplant patient and knows what I'll be going through as an Ironman hopeful - albeit in a different order than I'm doing things.
This week I was there to give blood (for whatever reason my body is now metabolizing my rejection meds faster than before so my drug levels are being adjusted) and I met an older man who just had his transplant six weeks ago. In talking to him, and sharing with him my Ironman goal, I found out that he actually competed at Kona four times - winning his age group in 1994 at the age of 60. I can't imagine what it must have been like to go from being the world's most fit 60-year-old to being a man in need of a heart transplant to save his life.
But he persevered, stayed strong, and now he has his heart. He told me that his IM days are long gone, but he can't wait to get back on his bike. At 74!! I'm half that age.
Call it irony, good fortune, fate, or something else, it was a great lift to me to meet this man who knows what I've gone through as a heart transplant patient and knows what I'll be going through as an Ironman hopeful - albeit in a different order than I'm doing things.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Nine Months Out
Tomorrow, January 10, we will be exactly nine months away from the Ironman in Kona. And I am struck with the thought that if a human fetus can grow enough in nine months to form an actual living and breathing person, then I can grow enough in the next nine months to get myself 140 miles in one day.
Nine months away, and the training now begins for real. I am no longer getting in a run here and bike ride there, but I am actually going to begin a designated training schedule that has one end goal as its conclusion: crossing the finish line on October 10.
I was also reminded this week that it will be far from easy. It's not easy for anyone, heart transplant or not - immuno suppressed or not. But it will be extra hard for me. I picked up a stomach bug at the beginning of the week and at the end of our holiday trip to Michigan and I have been paying a dear price all week. On the bright side, I've dropped about seven pounds. Another 10 to 15 and I'll be at my optimum IM weight. But it's probably not the healthiest way to lose weight. And I can tell you for sure that it's not a fun way to drop the extra pounds.
When I get a cold, or an infection, or a virus of some kind, it sticks with me. In an effort to keep my body's immune system in check and in stand-down mode in regards to the new heart, there is a trade-off. When I get a cold, or an infection, or a stomach bug, I have virtually nothing in my arsenal to fight it. That's what's been happening this week. In the grand scheme of things it won't come close to derailing my IM plans. It just means that as I begin my training in earnest I'll do it a little weaker than I had been a week ago. A minor setback at most.
Nine months away, and the training now begins for real. I am no longer getting in a run here and bike ride there, but I am actually going to begin a designated training schedule that has one end goal as its conclusion: crossing the finish line on October 10.
I was also reminded this week that it will be far from easy. It's not easy for anyone, heart transplant or not - immuno suppressed or not. But it will be extra hard for me. I picked up a stomach bug at the beginning of the week and at the end of our holiday trip to Michigan and I have been paying a dear price all week. On the bright side, I've dropped about seven pounds. Another 10 to 15 and I'll be at my optimum IM weight. But it's probably not the healthiest way to lose weight. And I can tell you for sure that it's not a fun way to drop the extra pounds.
When I get a cold, or an infection, or a virus of some kind, it sticks with me. In an effort to keep my body's immune system in check and in stand-down mode in regards to the new heart, there is a trade-off. When I get a cold, or an infection, or a stomach bug, I have virtually nothing in my arsenal to fight it. That's what's been happening this week. In the grand scheme of things it won't come close to derailing my IM plans. It just means that as I begin my training in earnest I'll do it a little weaker than I had been a week ago. A minor setback at most.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Kona Clarification
Based on the many emails I've received in return (thank you all so much) it's obvious that I need to clear something up. I do not yet have my spot in Kona officially. With the many avenues I'm pursuing and the many people that I have working their connections on my behalf, I'm confident that a spot will be mine. But Ironman works slowly - they don't announce the lottery winners until March or April - and they have not yet awarded the exempt slots.
Briefly, for those of you who don't know, you can get into Kona one of three ways:
Based on past races and past participants who have received exemptions my whole "four-time cancer survivor and first ever heart transplant to do your race, and on my anniversary no less" should be an easy sell. But just in case it isn't there are a variety of back doors I'm pursuing.
So in short, I do not have my official Kona spot yet. At this point only the qualifiers do. But it should happen. It's just a matter of when. And the fact is that I need to proceed now as if it's going to happen. Waiting will only put me behind the 8-ball in terms of training, promotion pursuit, etc. My engine (my heart) takes a little longer to warm up then the average person's. So I'm guessing that getting it ready for an Ironman might take a little longer as well.
Briefly, for those of you who don't know, you can get into Kona one of three ways:
- Qualification in another Ironman race - something I'll never be able to do
- Lottery - where they award roughly 150 spots from some 10,000 or so entries
- Exemption - in which Ironman and NBC Sports picks a variety of participants based on their story.
Based on past races and past participants who have received exemptions my whole "four-time cancer survivor and first ever heart transplant to do your race, and on my anniversary no less" should be an easy sell. But just in case it isn't there are a variety of back doors I'm pursuing.
So in short, I do not have my official Kona spot yet. At this point only the qualifiers do. But it should happen. It's just a matter of when. And the fact is that I need to proceed now as if it's going to happen. Waiting will only put me behind the 8-ball in terms of training, promotion pursuit, etc. My engine (my heart) takes a little longer to warm up then the average person's. So I'm guessing that getting it ready for an Ironman might take a little longer as well.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
December 1 Doctor's Visit
Good news from my doctor's visit on Monday. In his words "that sounds like a normal healthy heart." Normal is good. Healthy is great. And he is signing off on my attempt to do the Ironman next fall, even if it wasn't a ringing endorsement. His exact words were, "Are you crazy?" My response: "Maybe."
So he doesn't understand my draw toward Ironman. But he did say that my heart is healthy enough to be pushed in training just like anyone else. I don't have to worry and I don't have to hold back. Which is great news, because it's going to take my maximum effort to get me across the finish line in Kona. I've got 100% to give, so I'll give it. I owe at least that much to my donor, my fellow patients, the friends I've lost along the way, and of course myself. And to all of you who have supported me unconditionally these many years and many diagnoses.
So he doesn't understand my draw toward Ironman. But he did say that my heart is healthy enough to be pushed in training just like anyone else. I don't have to worry and I don't have to hold back. Which is great news, because it's going to take my maximum effort to get me across the finish line in Kona. I've got 100% to give, so I'll give it. I owe at least that much to my donor, my fellow patients, the friends I've lost along the way, and of course myself. And to all of you who have supported me unconditionally these many years and many diagnoses.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Latest training update:
Because I'm having a series of minor skin cancers removed from my chest and back over the next few weeks (it's a result of radiation years ago and my current immuno suppressive drugs) I won't be swimming until after the first of the year. Targeted race training won't begin in earnest until then anyway, so for now I'm just focused on general conditioning while trying to establish a weekly routine. That will be a must once the training begins for real in January.
Because I'm having a series of minor skin cancers removed from my chest and back over the next few weeks (it's a result of radiation years ago and my current immuno suppressive drugs) I won't be swimming until after the first of the year. Targeted race training won't begin in earnest until then anyway, so for now I'm just focused on general conditioning while trying to establish a weekly routine. That will be a must once the training begins for real in January.
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