Updates from Jon Tidwell

4th Place Age Group Finish...

At the Ir...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:39:56 GMT

4th Place Age Group Finish...

At the Iron Star Half Iron yesterday. Really pumped about that. Went into it a bit undertrained (all things considered) as I hadn't been in the saddle in six weeks. The bike was hilly and had a fair amount of wind to really crush the legs, but I still managed at 1:54:00 half marathon, which was highly unexpected. Many thanks for the my support crew (the bride) yesterday. Couldn't have done it without you!

Muddy Buddy Awaits...

This Sunday I'll ...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:03:17 GMT

Muddy Buddy Awaits...

This Sunday I'll take on the Dallas Muddy Buddy with my Ironman buddy Kevin. We'll be looking to improve on our second place AG finish from last year, while staying warm... and getting very muddy.

Getting Back Into Groove

Have pretty so...

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:50:28 GMT

Getting Back Into Groove

Have pretty solid run last night. It was only six miles, but it felt great. Best run in over a month. And this morning, I didn't get hammered at the Masters swim workout. It was a tough 2450 yards for me, but I did well, and am ready for Friday's workout in the water. After the September workout, I feel like I am getting my mojo back.

Tomorrow morning... bike. (Weather pending)

Definition of Insanity

I welcomed the s...

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:54:48 GMT

Definition of Insanity

I welcomed the stationary bike back into my life at the gym yesterday. I was planning on rain, so didn't ride before work and did 60 minutes. It went by faster than expected, even with Sportscenter only having two game highlights to show. The one game playoff between the Twins and Tigers looked like a good one. As the weather gets colder in the winter, I think more time on the trainer/stationary bike are going to happen. So now I'm shopping for a phone that I can watch movies on.

30 Weeks to Ironman St George!!!

Vacati...

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:30:58 GMT

30 Weeks to Ironman St George!!!

Vacation at Disney World was a blast. We had a great time with the kids, and the amount of fun they had was worth taking 7 days off from training.... not to mention the 7 days before hand for trip planning, and the 5 days after vacation for 'recovery'. But now, it's back to hitting the bricks. Ironman Mode began today. Today is day one of the 30 week training plan that I am putting together to get me through the mountains of St. George, Utah next May.

As I get back into the groove of early morning workouts, I've started looking for cold weather cycling shoes and gloves, and am starting to look at dates that will work to get up to Ardmore, Oklahoma for some hardcore hill training on the bike.

Stay tuned for more frequent updates, as I make the journey to a second Ironman finish.

Prairieman is Happening!!!!

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:28:27 GMT

Finally got around to the registration this past week, so I am set for 3 more triathlons this year, two half irons and one Olympic distance.

The Hotter Than Hell 100 is very up in the air. There are a few life events (ie. kids' events) coming up on the horizon that will require some race/training schedule adjustment. The lowest hanging fruit late August is HnH.

On a training front, things are going quite well. Running with the bride for half marathon (August 23rd) has been a blast, and I will be a bit sad to see it end. But I am looking forward to being by her side, as she crushes it for those 13.1 miles.

Mentally, I am ready to unleash a beating on the Prairieman course. My motivation is quite high, for revenge on that course. I know my goals for the day will come down to the run on the bridge, and I am ready for it... mentally. We'll see what the conditions give us. I'm expecting mid to uppers 80's, coming out of T2 that day, and I'm sure the wind will have something to say before all is said and done.

The bike needs a tune-up and new tires before September 13th.

Been a while....

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:40:59 GMT

Twitter has taken over a bit from my blogging. The last month has been good. The PlayTri festival was very motivating... since you can find motivation in a sub-par performance. My swim was great... Masters Class is paying off for sure. I set a PR pace in the water, and blew away my best time by 1/10 of a yard per second... what that means is I cover 1500 meters this year, in the time it took my to cover 1500 yards last year (my previous best swim). That comes out to swimming an extra ~130 yards in the same amount of time.... based on my rough calculations.

There was rain on the course that day, so I took what the bike would give me, and finished with a solid pace, close to 21mph. The run.... well, I had been concentrating so much on the swim and bike, that I took for granted my run shape. Hard to believe that 3 months out from my marathon PR, that I would end up walking on this 10K. That is where the motivation came from.

The bride is half marathon training right now, and we are doing those runs together. My number one goal for the PrairieMan Half Iron is to nail the run. I will sacriface my pace in both the water and on the bike, to knock out a walk free 1:50:00 half marathon that day. Which could be a tall order if it is as hot as it was two years ago.

Running Like Mad

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:57:33 GMT

The bride is training for a half marathon in August, and I am training for that exact same half marathon... in addition to my regular training schedule. This is bringing on an additional 12-15 miles of running per week (at bride's pace) and I can feel it in the legs. Also... the Texas heat is picking up, and running at 8am is an energy drain in the sun.

One week away from first triathlon of the year. Olympic distance at the Playtri festival. My aspirations for the podium are gone. I haven't been enough all around training to finish at the pace. A top 10 age group spot should be doable, with top 5 being a solid day with my current conditioning.

Also, I am not registered for the Iron Star Half Iron in November, that takes place in Montgomery, Texas. Team Seabiscuit went down there in 2007, but this will be a solo trip. We are spread out across the country that weekend, since Ironman Florida also takes place that weekend.

Slowly Getting the Bike Legs Back

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:39:21 GMT

Had a good weekend of training. Didn't get as much swimming done this week as desired, skipping all but one Masters class.... attending the easier Monday workout. But had some good runs throughout the week. I'm adding on miles at an easier pace, running with the bride as she trains for her half marathon in August.

Friday and Saturday were solid days on the bike. Made it down to White Rock for 30 miles on Friday morning and felt really good. Saturday was an 80 milers with Coco, and I held up for the first 60. The last 20 were into a steady headwind, and my lack of bike shape kicked in. But I am very happy with how I did for the first three quarter's of the ride.

Yesterday, I put up a good enough time to win the team 5k at Stonebridge Ranch with D-Rod. He pulled third overall, and I think I got 7th, on a hilly and hot course. I wanted to break 20 minutes, but in the conditions, I was very happy with my execution for 20:59. When Daniel adds 30 seconds to his time, I know the conditions were tough.

This week...

Monday - Off
Tuesday - Track workout
Wednesday - Masters swim & weights
Thursday - Bike at White Rock Lake (~30 miles)
Friday - Masters swim @ weights
Saturday - Bike (50-60 miles)
Sunday - Run (8-10 miles)

Mad shout outs to Kevin and Raul for tearning it up and Ironman CDA yesterday. Those guys are motivational.

Train Smarter... Not Harder!!!

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:32:21 GMT

Got a little too fired up yesterday. I am in the process of helping out my younger brother-in-law prepare for his upcoming fall cross country season. He is a beast, and at 16 can run a sub 17 minute 5k. I fully expect him to break 16 minutes this year. In preparation for his coming summer running camp, I took him to the hills of Stonebridge Ranch last night for a 6 mile scamper... that covered about 1200 feet it total elevation gain.... in the 94 degree sun.

We broke it down into two loops of 3 miles, to cover Sunday's race course in the team 5K we are going to run. I made the mistake of trying to pace with him. He took it easy on me, but I still went out way too fast, covering the first 3 in a hair over 19 minutes. If we added another tenth of a mile that would have been a PR for me at ~19:45. Throw in the hills, wind and heat and it pretty impressive for me.

Though.... I paid for it on the second loop. I managed to keep a pretty steady pace overall, right at marathon training pace... but it felt labored and uneven, and I was drained when we got done. Then I went to meet Yvette at the track for a 3 mile run, as we prepare to the Hottest Half together in August. It was still hot at 8:30pm when she and I ran, and I could tell that the next day was going to be rough. Suffice to say, I skipped the team tempo run this morning to recover.

Overall, a nice 9 mile night.... though the middle 3 were very painful and probably not the most beneficial. The 5K race on Sunday will let me know.

Getting Fired Up!!!!!

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:27:28 GMT

I think every workout since my registration for Ironman St George has been a quality one. Which is especially good since I am picking up the workload on the bike and swim. For the run, been concentrating on the speed aspect of things, and haven't been piling on the miles.

It's looking like four days of spinning this week. Two on the stationary bike at the gym (following a run workout and swim workout on respective days) and two days on the real bike, Friday at White Rock, and Saturday with Coco. I'm hoping to clock over 100 miles on the real bike, and an hour and half on the stationary.... which will be mentally painful right now... but necessary as the cold weather comes in early next year, during the final preparations for St George.

One good thing that is going to workout, is that I will be doing a half ironman race right around the time my Team Seabiscuit captain will be throwing down on Ironman Florida. And then next year, he will be doing a half ironman (New Orleans) in the timeframe leading up to St George. I think we will both be relying on each other leading up to our respective Ironman's, for some sanity and drive on the peddle machines. I know I will. With that being that, it should be a good year of training.

I'm getting amped, and looking forward to taking on the climbs of St George.

The Last McDonald's.....

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:07:28 GMT

For at least 11 months. As I am now registered for Iroman St George on May 1, 2010. I got the yearning of crap food out of my system at lunch today, as I am going to train like a madman, to take two hours off of my 14:05:14 time at Ironman Arizona last year. Junk food will be eliminated from my system until I cross the finish line.

My focus is on reaching that finish line in a time of 11:59:59 or below. AND IT WILL HAPPEN!!!!!!

Other news.... went to Ardmore, OK on Saturday for a Team Seabiscuit ride of 70 miles (which I had no business doing, since I had been on the bike a total of 5 times in 2009 prior to then) and had an excellent ride considering my bike shape. Going to try to get two rides in this week, before taking the weekend off from training to celebrate 10 years with my wife.

Next trip to Ardmore in early July. More to follow on my selection of an Ironman training plan.

The Training Plan Starts.....

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:21:02 GMT

Sometime in the coming days. I have been looking at a few, putting notes together about pieces I like and dislike, and working the 7 days of the week for those plans, with my group workout schedule. After this past weekend, I've noticed that I need to the put the most work in on the bike. Swimming is progressing quite nicely, due to the Masters Group in Frisco (on the days that I go), and running is maintaining well since the April marathon.

Cycling is going to get kicked into high gear this week. With an intense group workout on Wednesday, some spinning on Thursday and a 70 miler in the Ardmore, OK hills on Saturday.

This past weekend was a bachelor weekend, with the bride and kids out of town. Saturday I put in an easy 40 mile bike stroll with Coco and Raul. Then Sunday, I had my first brick of the season, a lovingly painful 22 mile ride, followed by an unplanned blistering 3 mile run at 7:26/mile.

This week:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Negative Split Track workout
Wednesday: Masters Swim in the AM, Negative Split Bike in the PM
Thursday: Off (maybe Negative Split run)
Friday: Masters Swim
Saturday: Bike 70 in Ardmore
Sunday: Run 10-12 in Frisco

Rainout Weekend

Tue, 19 May 2009 08:11:21 GMT

Saturday was a day of rain in the DFW area, so I didn't make it out to do anything. I don't have the bike trainer in the house while we staying with the in-laws. Sunday, I did manage to get a very solid 14 mile run in, at 7:43/mile. My running is continuing to go well, with swimming improving from the Masters Class (which I skipped yesterday). My relationship with my bike is not where it needs to be. I'm hoping to get it off the rack this week. I figure that will be a good start. I'm six weeks away from my first Olympic triathlon of the year and need to get some time in.

This weekend is going to be crazy, with Mom coming in town for the boys birthday party. Monday may hold a 10k in Stonebridge Ranch.

Rest Days Are My Best Days...

Fri, 15 May 2009 12:31:06 GMT

.... sometimes. The rain on Thursday morning got in the way of the group run at the park.... whose name I can't remember right now. Anyway, I took Thursday off to sleep in. And the benefits were felt in the pool this morning. I didn't get left behind on the longer intervals (200 yards in 3 minutes being the longest today), and I actually had a little bit left in the tank to put some speed in the last set of 6 25 yard sprints, clocking the last two in 19 and 17 seconds, respectively.

From there, I went to the gym to do some light lifting and core work. All in all, a very good training day. Hoping that the weather will hold up for my long run tomorrow, as well the little one's last soccer game of the season.

Pool Lesson Number 5

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:34:15 GMT

That is what I found out this morning, during a kick drill in the masters swim class. I've been to five of these masters swim sessions, and have pulled away five things, one for each day it seems. Some are big and some are small. Today I found the biggest yet. My legs aren't helping me out too much in the water.

I have apparently gotten into a bad habit of being an "arm swimmer". That is my own doing, from thinking that I can save myself some matches (heartbeats) on the bike and run, if I use mostly my arms in the water. While that is a novel concept, in practice I am setting myself back by (possibly) over dedicating energy in the water to maintain pace.

This morning, after getting spanked in 8x125 yard repeats at 2:10 intervals, the next drill was a simple kick, where Coach Eubanks would blow his whistle to tell the group to speed up, or slow down. Yes, I am fatigued getting back into a rigorous training schedule, and maybe my legs were a bit tired from yesterday's track workout.... but I was the slowest kicker out of 29 people. It was brutal, but enlightening. On other freestyle drills, I am probably at the top of the bottom half of this group... speedwise, which I guess is a testament to my "arm swimming".

Time to work on this kick. I am going to have to fill this gap in my stroke to get out of the water in 30 minutes at PrairieMan.

Triathlon Season Has Started....

Mon, 04 May 2009 07:35:52 GMT

Not that I have done a tri this year, yet. I can just tell, because I have a bit of razor burn above my knee caps. That is always where I get it the worst. The legs had gotten wooly over the winter, from all of the running, lack of swimming, and cycling with tights on, that there hadn't been a need. But now the weather is warmer for shorts on the bike, not to mention swimming. Ahhh... the burn of triathlon. Gotta love it.

I joined the next session of the Masters Swim Group at the Frisco ISD natatorium for the month of May. I 'audited' the group last Wednesday, and really enjoyed the structure of the swim workouts. So I dropped the cash for this session, and had another go this morning, and really enjoyed it... again. I had never done a structured swim session before last week. I was always a "distance guy", so freestyling for X number of minutes or yards. I think this is really going to help. For not having swam but twice this year, before last week... I have to say that the total ~2000 yard workouts didn't really drain the arms like I had thought they would. The group there is quite large, which I like.... because it allows me to unleash a little bit of Seabiscuit depending on which set we are on.

That being said, I want to work on the swim enough to get out of the water in 30 minutes at the PrairieMan Half Iron this year. My most recent comparable result, was IMAZ last year, when I got the 2.4 miles done in 1:17:55 (~38 minute split). I'm hoping to be able to knock that 8 minutes off come September, and not be drained for the bike and run.

Back On The Horse!

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:56:18 GMT

And by horse... I mean bike. Got a good two hour ride in this morning, and legs feel like I been hit with a baseball bat. I LOVE IT!!!!! This weekend marks the official beginning of triathlon season for me. I am adjusting a half iron training plan for my next race on July 5 (Olympic distance tri).

I sort of extended my recovery week from the Big D Marathon, to a recovery fortnight.... and then some.

Speaking of which.... it was another windy day at White Rock Lake for the Big D Marathon. I held up well for the first 17 miles, but started to crumble on the right hand turn onto Mockingbird from southbound Lawther on the west side of the Lake. Then the left turn off of Tokalon onto Lakewood Boulevard were the nails in the coffin for me not making 3:30:00. For the last six (or so) miles after that left turn, I couldn't get back into a rhythm, and couldn't get a mile done under 9:00. So I finished with a new PR of 3:35:57, and I am happy about that.

I would definitely run this marathon again, and would recommend it to others. But beware... in my opinion, the course itself is tougher than the Dallas White Rock Marathon. But that's just me.

Running in School Zones.....

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:01:18 GMT

Slows me down. And parents frown on it when you leapfrog their kids. Go figure.

I found that out this morning, when I dragged my behind out at 6:15 for a 10 mile run. I finished up just as the kids were walking to a school close to the new temporary house.

So the taper for Big D has started. I didn't actually run the 15 miles I had planned to this past Sunday.... family time contstraints and all. So I am adding a few easy miles to this week's regiment to keep the legs sharp. My 10 miler this morning was good. Got it done in 1:20:09, with a negative split for the last 5.

Funny part about this morning, was that yesterday's rain softened up a part of my route that doesn't have a sidewalk yet... and with the traffic I couldn't jump onto the street for this 50 yards worth of off road training. By the time I made it back onto cement, both soles of my shoes were covered in mud, and completely uneven. The mud caked on the sides of my shoes to enlarge my overall footprint to about the about the size of a Yeti. Took me a few minutes to find a puddle to drag my feet through to even up my running surface, and then I kicked mud at myself for the next quarter of a mile. Suffice to say, this pair of shoes are reaching their last few miles, and probably won't be able to migrate into gym shoes. I think they are done.

Bring On the 26.2!!!!!!

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 07:37:58 GMT

Had a great training weekend, run wise. I was thinking of doing some biking, but it was a bit too cold. So I am hoping to get out with Coco this weekend, as the marathon taper starts, to give the knees a break from the pounding.

I may have said this already, but I made it to the gym on Friday, for 25 minutes of stationary bike (hills setting, level 15) and 1000 yards in the pool. I figured I would be moving like an elephant in the water, but it went suprisingly well. I had been doing enough arm exercises with dumbells in the garage that I did a good swim, and wasn't sore the next day.

My goal for the running only weekend, was to do speedwork on Saturday and a long run on Sunday. Saturday was a 10k worth of running through Frisco, that I knocked out in 44:00 flat (7:06/mile). Then I took my littler brother Daniel to the track for a workout (track season, and he runs the mile.... with a PR of 4:37 for the mile) and got in a 800 repeat, or two..... at his pace. I have to admit that he swallowed me up on the end of the repeats....... the boy is fast!!!

Then Sunday, I got up and knocked out a 22 mile run at 8:11/mile. Daniel finished the last five with me, so it was good to a have partner.

Today is an off day. Though I got up at 5:15 to take Daniel to track to work on some 800 meter repeats with him and a teammate of his. His motivation to knock out a new PR this year, is motivating me.

I'm looking forward to the Big D.

Let the (real) training commence.....

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:10:05 GMT

WE CLOSED!!!!! What seemed like a never ending saga in selling our house, is now done. We are out, and living with the in-laws for the time being. This past weekend was filled with moving, but we closed on Monday, got a phat check on Tuesday and I headed down to the Plano Cycling for a new tri bike on Wednesday. Ok, I didn't go to get a tri bike, but the rest is true.

The weather in DFW sucks right now, cold and rainy for the past few days. I got 6 miles done on the treadmill Wednesday morning (my first workout since closing) and IT WAS GREAT! I typically hate stationary training devices (treadmill, bike trainer, etc...) but Wednesday morning, I was on fire. Cruising at a (uncalibrated, mind you) 7:30 pace and it felt like nothing. I anticipate how much better my body would perform with the stress of the house sale gone... but that seems to be the case. If I can extend that feeling into my restored available time for training, I am hoping to put some workouts in before April 5... and maybe kick a little ass at the Big D Marathon.

Realism Sets In

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:39:33 GMT

Disregard that bare bones workout schedule for that week. For the past 3 weeks, if I've been able to get two runs in, then it's been a good week. This week.... I might get 3.

I hit the pavement for 18 miles this morning and took a pretty good beating. I got those done in 2:30:12, which comes out to 8:20/mile... not too bad for a training run. I hit the wall at mile 16 and finished the last two in 18:24 (9:12 each).

I'm adjusting the training plan to only have a 2 week taper for this marathon. Monday will mark 4 weeks to go, so I am planning on long runs of 22, 18, and 12 leading up to race day. It's going to be a tough 22 miles next weekend. Though, hopefully the stress of moving will be done by then, as we are scheduled to vacate next Tuesday.

For this weekend, tomorrow will be an off day for all of the moving we are doing. I'm hoping to get one hour of running on Sunday.

Time to Get Realistic...

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:49:47 GMT

The pending sale of our house and associated move is really eating into my time. Last week, I only managed two workouts. Granted I made them long runs, with an 18 miler yesterday. I am not where near the shape I was in, six weeks out from the White Rock Marathon. My idea of going for 3:10:00 is really a pipe dream at this point. Today marks the start of my second 3 week build phase, and we are scheduled to close next Monday. Hopefully I will be able to stick to my long runs for the next two weeks, and not be too exhausted from the move.

My barebones schedule for this week is.

Tuesday - 7 mile run
Thursday - 8 x Yasso 800's
Saturday - 20 mile run

Anything added to that will be gravy.

Back in the mix

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:30:29 GMT

This past weekend marked the last delivery weekend of the project at the the day job that has been eating my spare time. So this week, I will get back on the horse and finish off the first 'build phase' of my training for Big D. I am already off to a good start.

Yesterday, I got off early from work, and knocked out 6.5 miles at race pace. This morning, I got at 14 miler in before work. My legs were a little spent from yesterday's effort (which were a bit rusty for that effort, truth be told), so it took me 2 hours and 3 minutes to get it done. But I got it done, and I already have 20 miles logged for the week.

Tomorrow, I will probably hit the stationary bike at LA Fitness for a shorter hill program to build up the 'bike legs', then hit the pool. Thursday looks to be off, then unleashing Team Seabiscuit at WR on the bike with Coco on Friday. And finally, a 20 mile run on Saturday prior to driving up to Oklahoma to see Mama. Sunday will be off for the trip....... ie recovery from Saturday's 20 miler.

Too much working

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:25:54 GMT

In my preparation for Ironman Arizona, I was reading 2007 race reports and came across someone who wrote of the difficulties to maintain a training schedule while closing on the sell of a home. Well, I am running through those motions right now. We have been quite fortunate to have been approached by a set of buyers, who made a good offer and we are now moving through the option phase of the transaction. If all goes well, we will be out of our place on Feb 25 and into the unused rooms of my in-laws place, as we then try to save up some jingle for our own home upgrade.

That minor thing, along with supporting some on-call responsibilities for my triathlon funding source (aka, the day job) has been draining my energy and time that past two weekend. And this weekend, we head up to Oklahoma to see mom and take the boys to a Disney show in Tulsa. Thankfully Monday is a holiday, so I should be able to get some work in, once we get back.

That being said....... I ran one day last week. One 10 mile run. It was to be the second week of my first build phase, and I only covered one workout...... for 10 miles. That is probably close to 35 miles behind what I should have done. Somehow, this week, I am going to have to make it up.... while not incurring an overuse injury.