12 Oaks Update,
Racing, Believe….
Hey everyone! Hope
you are enjoying the last few weeks of a GREAT summer! First
off, a HUGE thank you to all that have donated towards the 12 Oaks “Iron
Journey” goal! In only a month, we
have raised $2,775! What a GREAT start
and many thanks from all of us at the 12 Oaks Foundation! We have about $740 to go to our goal and we
have about 6 weeks to get there.
I stated in my first post that I am humbled to be racing for
such a great cause, and that has been amplified 10X with the amount of support
we have gotten. Not just financially,
but all the great and kind words everyone has left. The sentiment has been unanimous, 12 Oaks is
a wonderful cause worth supporting!
Matt would be very proud.
Since my last post the race season has taken off! First up for me was the Lake Zurich Triathlon
and I wanted to put together a solid race and finish (this is where I crashed
last year)! Mission accomplished on this
one. I improved on the bike and run
significantly over the first few races of the year. I really felt like coming off the Madison
70.3 there was a surge in the fitness which was wonderful to see.
Next up on the schedule was Steelhead 70.3. I came into the day knowing that I had the “potential”
to do something special. The training
had been going really well and the weather was going to be near perfect
conditions. I’ve raced here 2 other
times, and both times the swim was cancelled.
Not this time! We jumped in Lake
Michigan and it had a very challenging chop.
I knew I just needed to swim smooth and strong throughout and I would be
in a good spot starting the bike. I was
very happy with the swim and it seems as though I’m on track for Louisville
there!
On the bike I had my best day ever. I was strong from the gun and even holding
back a bit. I’ve been racing for 12
years and it is the little things that can help a breakthrough. After Lake Zurich, my coach and I took a look
at how I was riding. I’ve always pedaled
at a very high cadence (100+ rpm). What
we noticed by doing this is that my effort and heart rate would rise “artificially”
and I was leaving some speed out on the course.
We made an adjustment to start riding at 90rpm. It felt really weird at first and I needed to
get my legs used to it. But after a few
weeks…the riding went to another level.
I was able to push harder while keeping the heart rate down. It was a wonderful feeling after having about
5 years of bike “plateau.” It just goes
to show…all the little things add up.
And this added up to my highest wattage output ever for a 70.3 and an
average speed of 23.5mph! That was
nearly one full mph faster than Lake Zurich…at double the distance! Needless to say, I was pretty pumped to start
the run!
On the run, everything fell into place. Again, keeping with the theme of working on
the little things….I went to see Coach Leach (highly recommend!) in Chicago for
a run gait analysis. I was pleasantly
surprised that my form was mostly very good.
But to no surprise, we made a few very minor tweaks and that set my run
form, speed, and power onto another level.
So cool to see improvements at 38 years old J I ran strong and with great form throughout
the 13.1 miles and finished up averaging 6:59 per mile pace. That was my best run average I’ve had after a
Swim/Bike at this distance!
All that paid off in a podium finish and 3rd in
my Age Group. I was also lucky enough to
Qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in South Africa next
September! So I guess you could say a
little luck and a LOT of hard training made this a wonderful day. In fact, it was a 9 minute personal best!
Now I’m into the last BIG training block before Ironman
Louisville. We have roughly 6 weeks to
go, and 4 of that will be long and intense training. I’m really looking forward to this last
push. Like I said above, things seem to
be clicking right now. For the first
time since I signed up a year ago, I’m starting to BELIEVE.
I believe I have a chance for a GREAT day in Louisville. I believe I have a chance to smash through my
best time at this distance. I believe I
have earned the right to compete at the very top…and perhaps qualify again for
the Ironman World Championships in Kona.
That’s what it takes.
If you don’t truly believe you can…you’ve already lost. It wasn’t until I crossed the line at
Steelhead that I truly felt like this was all coming together.
But, I still have a long way to go! A couple more weeks of BIG training (I did
100 miles on the bike yesterday, followed by a 4mi run….followed today by 19
miles of running on the HILLY Cary course).
There is more of that to come, and you know what? I’m having a blast and embracing it!
So here is to the last push of training….the belief is
there, now I have to get the work done and stay healthy. Racing for a cause bigger than myself has
really inspired me this summer. I can’t
wait to make Matt, the 12 Oaks Foundation, my family, my friends, and all of
you reading this proud on Sunday, October 15th.
I’ll update again before the race. So thank you for the support! Thank you for the well wishes! And if you see me out training, chances are
you will see me smiling J
Dave
Dedication, Passion, Results
