Admittedly, I am getting a little ahead of myself considering I haven’t completed one Ironman yet, but turning a race like this into a sweet-ass vacation sounds amazing. Not to mention the scenery is amazing are my people! Ironman Austria. 
Oversleeping or Listening to Your Body?
I have never been a morning person. It’s not that I don’t like them, I love to wake up slowly and naturally with the world. I can also get a lot more done when I’m up with the birds (or my crazy dog). It’s just very hard for me to get moving and I have a theory on why that may be to my advantage in the later phases of Ironman Wisconsin.
I used to love playing football with my buddies as a kid. My best friend was the quarterback for our high school team and we spent hours in the summer playing six-on-six sandlot games in a local field. In retrospect it was pretty dumb because we played tackle without pads and there were some vicious hits. I was fearless and would stick my head into any play, and anyone who knows me will surely acknowledge that this has had an effect on my thought process.
My friend, the quarterback, spent most of those summer days trying to convince me to go out for football. He’d claim that I was the best wide receiver in the school. I’d be his favorite target and would catch a ton of passes (and get even more girls). There was only one problem . . . I could not talk myself into getting up for the early morning summer practices.
So, while I slept in on those late August days, my friend would be sweating his ass off and puking at 7:30 in the morning. It was the first of two practices a day and, in between workouts, he’d come by and wake me up around 10 o’clock.
He was wide awake and prodded me for about 15-20 minutes before I’d get out of bed. Then, without fail, by 11 o’clock I would be alive and ready to go. But it was too late. I couldn’t be on the team if I didn’t go to the early practice.
When the season started I was right there on the sidelines rooting my buddies as they tackled their way through the Big 8 Conference in Southern Wisconsin. The pads crackled in the crisp Fall air, and I would drift to a place of regret. I knew I could play for this team, but why couldn’t I get up and go to early summer practice?
Sometimes I think it’s a cop-out to say I’m not a morning person. But years of evidence don’t lie.
At the core of this problem is the fact that I am just “slow to warm up.” There is something going on with my body chemistry that always makes me want to ease into things. It is very evident in my workouts, whether they are at 7 am or 10 at night. The warm up makes a huge difference in my performance.
I have seen it in every race.
The one that really stands out is my first Olympic, the Nashvegas Triathlon. It started at 7 am on a cold, rainy, and mucky Saturday morning in September. I stood on that river bank shivering before diving in and nearly losing my mind. I was tense, tight, and still wanted to be in bed. I nearly panicked and quit two hundred yards in. But instead I tread water for about 5 minutes and decided to keep going. Slowly, but surely I woke myself up and by the time the swim was over, I wanted more.
It was still raining when I got on the bike, but I was awake and embraced the 25 mile ride with confidence. I had the same feeling on the run course. I was a relative novice, but felt like I had a much more in the tank when I crossed the finish line. Slow to warm up, fast to finish.
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I had a great 5 mile run last night with the East Nasties. The route was 4.3 miles in and out of Shelby Park, but Mark Scviner and I added an extra loop around the lake that included sprints.
I had a great 5 mile run last night with the East Nasties. The route was 4.3 miles in and out of Shelby Park, but Mark Scviner and I added an extra loop around the lake that included sprints.
This was the second morning in a row that I over slept a workout and once again, I feel okay with it. I don’t particularly like the idea of “slacking” but I am listening to my body and what I’m “hearing” is a re-birth. I can literally feel my legs warming up and building strength. They have been through a lot lately and I see nothing wrong with giving them an occasional break.
I have a serene peace of mind that is hyper focused in the moment.
In some ways, I almost believe I could finish an Ironman right now because of how good my body feels. It would be a struggle, but if I “feel” good, I believe I can do anything. Something about getting closer to your accomplishment gives me a huge surge of energy. It’s that feeling you get when you’re a kid. That ability to play sports all day and night. That ability to suck it up for one more deep post route or fast break. I don’t know where the energy comes from, but you dig deep into the reserves and do what needs to be done to finish.
The Guy Who Got Me Into This Mess
JIM SCHWAN
Okay, so if you’re looking for a culprit in all of this Ironman business, it is Jim Schwan. Last year at this time he peppered me for weeks about getting into the Couch to 5K program he was coaching and I finally gave in. He ran by my side for the 5K and lied about our speed the whole way, leading me to a sub-27 minute finish. Jim is the Ironman veteran in the bunch. He’s done Louisville, Beach to Battleship, and several Half Irons. I would never never tell him this, but he has been a true motivational force in my life. He is also an original card carrying member of my Whiffle Ball Golf Country Club, Tarrolly Hills. Dig deep into Jim’s complex mind with 20 questions (below the photo).
1. Where are you from? St. Louis, MO, but have lived in TN since I was 11.
2. What are your favorite running shoes? Current Favorite are Mizunos
3. What kind of bike do you ride? I have a Cannondale Caad 9 road bike and a Cannondale Slice TT bike.
4. What’s your age group for Ironman Wisconsin? 45-49
5. What’s your go-to workout meal? Don’t have a go to workout meal but my go to pre-race meal is Carmela’s Chicken Rigatoni and a glass of Chianti from Macaroni Grille.
6. Favorite beer? It changes with the seasons. Right now it’s Terrapin MooHoo.
7. What was your favorite race to date? This is probably the most difficult question because I like different races for different reasons. Maybe Hell or High Water 5k because I went sub 20:00.
8. What are you most looking forward to on this journey. Training with the Fab 5 + 1.
9. What are you least looking forward to? The chaffing.
10. What is your strongest discipline? Running.
11. How would you respond to the criticism that endurance athletes are self-centered because they spend so much time training? I’m sorry, did you ask me a question?
12. What 3 words would you use to describe yourself? Motivated, Social, Competitive
13. Aside from triathlons and working out, what is your favorite hobby? Poker
14. If you could go anywhere in the world, where? And why? The Galápagos Islands. Looks fantastic and unspoiled.
15. Favorite Nashville Restaurant? Depends on mood.
16. Favorite sport other than endurance? To watch – football. To play – hockey.
17. Favorite band? Foo Fighters
18. Which Fab 5 member will cross the finish line first? Daniel
19. How do you think doing this Ironman will change you? It will bring me closer to some really great people.
20. Are you racing for anyone? No. 
The Beauty of "Off Days" in Training
There’s nothing like waking up on Monday after a rough weekend of workouts, rolling onto the floor, and relaxing into Shavasana pose. High ranking monks claim Shavasana is the most important part of yoga because it’s when we let the fruits of our labor sink into the fiber of our muscle, bones and mind. The real work is in the relaxation. The recovery is in the intention.
Then again, monks aren’t training for an Ironman.
In reality, my “off day” started early this morning with a 30 minute easy run and will end with an hour of light bike training while I watch another crappy documentary, like HIStory. I have mixed emotions about the intensity of training because, quite frankly, I am a big fan of monks!
But I get what’s going on and can already see how it’s paying off. A year ago mixing in a “light 30 minute run” would have been laughable. Today, it was a nice way to start, even though it’s a holiday.
I used to lift weights a lot in college. There were streaks when I’d lift 6 days a week for an hour and a half, including ab work, etc, but this weekend was probably one of my most impressive combinations of endurance workouts in . . . oh . . . ever.
It started Friday night with an hour bike ride on the trainer, which was mainly interval work and, while I realize an hour is just the beginning, that hard ass seat no picnic.
Saturday, I met the IMWI crew at 7:20 for some video shooting, then I and climbed on a Spin bike for an hour and a half, which included a pretty tough Spin class in the middle. At 9:00 we stripped down and went for a 20 minute run to complete the brick.
Sunday was a tempo run and to make a long story short we had a warm up and cool down, but still covered 9.5 miles in 80 minutes (8.24 overall pace) which was pretty tough, but felt good.
We all want to go fast, so, light runs, like this morning’s, are in some ways the toughest. That’s another reason why I will be coaching the Couch to 5k group a couple times a week. It forces me to slow down. To think about form. And to let go of my ego.
In an “Ironman Monk” sort of way I am learning how the light workouts are Shavasana for triathletes. They remind our muscles, bones, and mind what we’ve learned, but don’t wear us out in the process. I think, after some deliberation, the monks would endorse this philosophy.
A Flattering Look at the Ironman Wisconsin Team
If you’re on Facebook, please feel free to like our Crushing Iron page. We’ll be posting as a team and it’s likely to be full of fireworks that won’t be posted here.
This is Mark’s proud grin after being elected team captain for post-workout beer parties. 
Coach Robbie wondering what the hell he got himself into.
Kevin’s recovery program in action. 
Daniel raising $3,000 for the homeless with his hair. 
Jim fighting a “mysterious illness” in week one of training. 
Shot of Mike from an emotional scene in one of his earlier movies. 
Manti Te'o and Believing in Yourself
The more I hear about this Te’o story, the more I tend to believe he was genuinely duped. I think — just like we wanted to believe his story– he wanted to believe this relationship was real. Against all logic, he kept rolling with the unthinkable twists and turns because he truly felt comfortable with the image she presented.
She said the right things. Pushed emotional buttons. And, as a Mormon, maybe it was just easier for him to be in a relationship removed from religious anxiety.
He likely had a huge pool of female possibilities on the Notre Dame campus, but was conflicted by the temptation of it all and chose to recede into a safe world of fantasy. It doesn’t make this cover-up right, but I can see how it all spiraled into a big mess he simply hoped would go away.
Regardless of the outcome, I think Te’o’s story is more proof that we can talk ourselves into anything. He wanted comfort, love and understanding so badly that he ignored blazing red flags all around him. He was all-in on this relationship and it was fueled by hope and faith.
Or maybe it was all a big cover up.
Regardless it got me thinking about the power of the mind with regard to training. How much can we talk ourselves into? How much of an affect can visualization have on our finish times? I believe a lot.
If so, how do we find the right mindset? Can we talk ourselves into confidence or does confidence drive the train? Which comes first? I kinda think it’s fluid, and like meditation, takes practice.
Some days I feel so good about a workout or have so much energy I look up qualifying times for Kona. That’s when I get this Jekyll &Hyde thing going on.
Mr. Mike Hide says, “What the fuck are you doing? You haven’t even done one Ironman yet.”
The honorable and soft spoken Dr. Michael Hyde starts calculating splits and devising ways to pay for the trip to Hawaii.
The frightening part is . . . both sides are right.
I respect Ironman more each day. While it is becoming less intimidating for some triathletes, it is still a monster quest. A year ago I couldn’t run a mile without stopping, now I’m concocting ways to blaze through 140.6? It seems as illogical as having a serious girlfriend for 3 years without meeting.
But you try to keep the faith. You want to believe you can crush it . . . or kiss it.
Consequently my Kona qualifying target time for Wisconsin would be anything under 11 hours. How ridiculous of me to even think about that kind of time, and that’s the problem . . . the more I think about it, the more I talk myself out of the possibility.
The other night I had a discussion with one of my training partners, Jim (who is looking eerily close to Einstein these days) 
about the intensity of the training schedule so far away from the race. I was concerned about getting too deep too fast. The last thing I want is burnout.
Jim’s been through this and knows what it takes to finish an Ironman. He’s completed two. Essentially he said he didn’t think the workouts were that difficult and asked me if I wanted to “do okay” or “crush it.”
So, like most things, it’s better to make a decision and be wrong than never make a decision. The first decision was made when I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin. The second one I have to make is, how will I approach it, with questions and doubts, or confidence?
You can’t have doubt. Te’o played at an elite level while leading Notre Dame to a 12-0 record. Then his world came crashing in just before the National Championship and he was invisible in that game. He was thinking too much. His confidence was gone. He did “okay.”
If I really pay attention to my life, I can see that confidence is built through action. By tackling fears and showing up for the tough workouts. It’s one thing to plan and plot strategy, it’s another to over think. With Ironman training, I need to believe in myself, trust the workouts, and not let my mind fall into a pattern of doubt.
Swim, bike, run.
Little Kid at the Bluebird Cafe
If you’ve ever been to Nashville or watched the new ABC show with the same name, you’ve probably heard about the Bluebird Cafe. It is a legendary music venue that seats 100 people, kicks you out if you talk during the song, and has hosted most of the world’s greatest songwriters. Tonight, I went to watch my buddy Roger steal the show.
Some of you may remember Roger as my “Wisconsin buddy in Nashville” and this story about how we both decided to change our lives on the same day. This Thursday he will take “changing his life” to the extreme. He’s packing up his guitar and moving to the Florida Keys to be a full-time musician.
It’s a bitter-sweet move for both of us. We have become very close and ran our first half marathons together. I was also there in December when he ran his first full. Roger is one of those guys who gets something in his head, sets a plan, and makes it happen. It’s very inspiring and I will miss him.
Roger is exactly the kind of person I like to surround myself with. Positive, ambitious, and determined. My Ironman training teammates are the same way and on days like today it hits home in the simplest of ways.
My training patterns are slowly but surely falling into place. I am not yet the 5am guy, but I’m routinely waking in time for 7am pre-work workouts. I have been cautious about going too far too fast with changing my sleep patterns and training. Today was a good example as they were on bikes at 7 and I showed up at 8 for spin class. But, other than a little ribbing, it was incredibly motivational to see these guys digging in. It truly reminded me of a team that was determined to do whatever it takes to win. And winning in this case could be as simple as finishing under 17 hours.
After the bike, we walked to the front door of the Y and stared into the pouring rain. After years of adulthood, my natural reaction was to think that we would just run on a treadmill, but not one of these guys blinked. They stepped through the door, put backpacks in their cars, and started running down one of Nashville’s sketchiest streets.
We jogged in silence for a while as the rain soaked our head and shoes. I admired the potential of the rundown neighborhoods I normally drive through in the dark — and as fast as possible. Today landscape was still, and almost inviting. The soft sounds of our feet prodded past the urban blight and we barely saw a soul.
It was an easy pace but East Nashville is loaded with hills. We started joking about how runners yell back to warn other runners about oncoming cars or bikes or whatever. “Car up.” “Bike up.” Then took it to the extreme.
“Puddle up.” “Mailbox up.” “Stick down.” “Bird up.” Nearly everything we saw became an obstacle.
“Street sign.” “Curb.” “Trash can.”
As we made our way back toward the Y, we realized the time was a few minutes short of the targeted 30 minutes. It was a similar moment to standing there looking at the rain. I fully expected everyone to opt for the easy way out, but the quick decision was to veer off and run a few blocks out of the way to complete the goal.
It seems simple, but I found incredible joy in that symbol of dedication. They had already been on bikes for two hours and we may have been two minutes shy of the total run time, but they decided to go the distance and I guess that’s a microcosm of the Ironman mentality. Finish.
I have always known that being around positive and ambitious people makes a major difference. Once again, I am seeing it first hand.
After working various printing jobs for 17 years in Nashville, Roger hasn’t lost sight of his dream and is transforming his life into that of a full-time musician. Jim, Daniel, Kevin, Mark and our coach, Robbie are are incredible inspiration and because of them, I am tackling something most people I talk to can’t even comprehend. The little kid in me is coming back and reality is changing thanks to the motivational forces that surround me me.
Save it, or Shave it? Video
The other day I posted about fellow Ironman Wisconsin teammate Daniel Hudgins and his quest to raise money for the homeless by using his controversial hair as bait. You could vote (by donating) to “save or shave” the hair and the tally came down to the wire in a tension filled finish! He raised over $3,000 dollars and all proceeds will be given to Room In The Inn. The excitement was captured in my latest video:
Shaving For Charity
Well, last night was a first. Fellow Fab Five Ironman teammate, Daniel Hudgins, put his flowing mane on the line to help homeless folk get their lives back in order. Daniel had let his wig run wild for about a year and last night was the culmination of a fundraiser that generated over $3,000.
The gist was for people to donate money so that he would keep or shave his hair. The tally went right down to the wire, but a last second check for $300 by our coach, Robbie Bruce, but the “shave” side over the edge. I was there with a camera and caught every drop of Daniel’s “nervous sweat” on video (a can’t miss thriller that will be posted later tonight). In the meantime, here’s the result.
Training Notes: This morning I rose with the crack of dawn to meet Kevin at the East Nashville YMCA for a leg workout. It was my first “official” Ironman Wisconsin workout of the year and I was astonished by two things:
1. people are actually up at that hour
2. how amazingly weak my legs are even though I have been swimming, biking, and running for the last year.
We did simple lunges, squats, leg presses, calf raises, box steps and the like and I could literally feel dozens of unused muscles at work. The workout left me humbled and amazingly optimistic because I really feel that strength training is going to make a major difference in triathlon results.
Marathon Fever and Kosmo Kramer
I weaved through fancy running machines at the Margaret Maddox YMCA with my eye out for flowing silver hair. It was the coldest night of the season and Jim said he wanted to run 8 miles on the treadmill. Eight miles, just 3 days after his marathon.
He wasn’t hard to spot and I circled around to wake him from the trance.
I said, “Hey.”
He said, “Hey man,” which was followed by an awkward pause while he tried to turn down his iPod.
I poised myself for confrontation.
In my best Kosmo Kramer impersonation, I screamed, “Look at you!”
“What?,” he replied while coasting along at a 9 minute pace.
“You’re snake bit!”
He smiled and said, “What do you mean?”
“Your not even thinking about Ironman! You’re addicted to marathons!
He was a kid who just got caught sneaking brownies off the top of the fridge.
“You may be right.”
I said, “What would Kevin think of this behavior?!?” (in reference to our fellow Ironman training partner).
Jim said, “He probably wouldn’t care.”
I just shook my head and said I’d see him after my swim.
These running people are crazy, and I’m not sure what it says about me . . . but I get it. Something about simply putting on shoes and getting after it is really quite scintillating.
Jim didn’t forget about Ironman, but he is totally smitten with the glory of marathons. And let me tell you, nothing gets a woman’s attention like salt piling up on your forehead while plodding down the road for 26.2 miles! I mean, it’s kinda the same attention you get from picking your nose, but hey, if it feels good, let it rip.
He didn’t qualify for Boston at Huntsville, so now he is all in on New Orleans, and I wouldn’t bet against him. This has just become personal and Jim has a reputation to keep.
But, let’s get back to me!
I did, in fact, go for a swim last night. I lollygagged through 1,500 yards and decided that since I am still into triathlons, I would jump on the spin bike. I peddled for 20 minutes and talked myself into ending the night with a nice little one-mile treadmill run. One solid hour of three disciplines and let me tell you, I feel like a million bucks today.
Tonight, it’s back to the road for a 4.5 miler with the East Nasties. I’m not sure if Jim’s running, but I can assure you I will be seriously contemplating dropping the 1/2 and signing up for the New Orleans full. After all, I kinda like the idea of qualifying for Boston myself.
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In other news, Ironman Wisconsin team member, Daniel, has a special announcement coming out soon. 
He came over last night for a top secret video project I hope to finish tonight so he can post on his blog.