What a week!

This has been a crazy week.... My training has picked up significantly and will only gain from here on out. Although most people would think the amount of training that I will do over the next 8 months is crazy I am starting to find it very enjoyable. Running at 5:00 am with a head lamp on is very refreshing. It's just you and the trail, it's a great place to clear your mind. I have found my efficiency at work has also picked up since my focus is much better and my mind is very clear. No more need for caffeine! I am still not completely comfortable on the water but it is starting to get much better. I have my first swim lesson from Todd Erickson who comes very highly recommended this Tuesday. I am really excited to get some detailed training on my swim stroke hopefully help me gain some efficiency. I also met with several triathlon coaches this week and I am very excited to announce I will be coached through this challenge by Dawn Elder. We met Tuesday and I was extremely impressed with her passion for Ironman and triathlons. She has an unprecedented amount of experience and  knowledge of the training and nutrition it takes to be competitive. She will be competing this year in the Ironman World Championships for the full and 70.3 in Kona. Her personality and beliefs fit exactly what I was looking for in a coach and feel so lucky to have her on my side. If anyone is looking for a coach for any length of triathlon I could not recommend her highly enough. She is amazing and it's only been a week! Although after seeing the next two weeks training logs I think she may be trying to kill me........ So this week was pretty good, I had my longest run to date, a 9 mile interval run that I finished with a 8:39 mile average and could have probably went more. I am learning that this will take 15 to 20 hours of training a week during my peak training period and how important it is to have a great support system in place. My wife is totally on board with this and is backing me up completely. She is my rock and I can wait to see her when I cross that finish line. She is as important a piece to this puzzle as anything else and am so blessed to have her by my side. Here is an overview of last weeks training.

LOG Totals
Type	Distance	Duration	Avg Pace	#	Time in Zones
Bike	26.1 mi	02:35	16.4 mph	2
Run	20.0 mi	02:51	08:36/mi	3
Swim	3718.3 yd	00:45	02:44/100yd	2
Total Duration:		06:11		7

This will be a very exciting week. I get my new bike (Cervelo P3) tuned up and fit on Tuesday and the family is going back to Nevada on Wednesday for a quick vacation and I am being inducted into my High School Football Hall of Fame. We are going to do some hiking around Heavenly (Lake Tahoe) and plan to enjoy the weather and beautiful scenery for a couple days. Also it is FINALLY football season! Thursday my Texas A&M Aggies open the college football season at South Carolina. This should be a great game. I have not spent as much time this year following the team as I normally do but when the maroon and white step on the field Thursday I will be screaming my lungs out. BTHO USC!!!!

I hope everyone has a great week! 264 days and counting until IMTX! 

Gig'em & God Bless,

Mark '07