I Can and I Will...

Last night I had my first athletic activity since tearing my meniscus in late May, and I was a little nervous in doing so. As I have mentioned, I signed up to play on a rec league basketball team at our church and made it 3 games before hurting my knee (cause I am not 25 any more). I tried to follow the doctors orders and let it rest and heal and all like a good patient. I went for my follow up appointment and the doctor said it was healing nicely, but it looked like I had some arthritis in my knee. I told him I was glad it was better because I still have a plan to do one more Ironman before I call it quits.  The look on his face said a million things. It mainly said "FAT CHANCE"

He told me that running may not be the thing I want to focus on, but I could swim and bike as much as I wanted. Obviously not what I was looking to hear. I was hoping for a "sure, start running again but ease into it and you're good!". So after spending a week in NYC and walking a million steps a day, I figured it was time to try it out with some running.

The game went really well. I did not do a lot of cutting and changing directions, or jumping either, but I did do some light running up and down the court and had no pain while running. I really thought the biggest test would come later that night or the next day, but it feels like it used to, which is cool.

Since this planned season has been nothing like I had thought it would be, it is once again time to re-assess my plan and start again. So Monday, I am starting back on a training plan for a sprint triathlon on August 27 in Sardis, Mississippi. A 1/2 mile swim, an 18 mile bike and a 4 mile run (half road, half trail). My previous PR is 1:58:10 and it was 6 years ago. So I am not naïve enough to think I can PR (although its possible), that is not my goal. My goal is simply to race and make it to the starting line. It has been so frustrating this season starting and stopping over and over again.

I have approximately 9 weeks to prepare for this race, which should be doable, to be a finisher. It will be a tough journey, dealing with the heat and summer activities, but I am an IRONMAN!!!!  And I can get this done. I am excited once again...

At Least That's the Plan...

This post always seems to me like a New Years Resolution type of post. You know the post where you plan out all the great things you are going to accomplish, but we all know you never do. Sometimes we set those goals way to far out in front of us to where we literally have no chance of reaching them. I know you know what I mean. So just to make it clear, this is my 2016 race schedule! the list of races I am planning or wanting to do.

This is something I normally do around the first of the year. I have really had to plan more this year because we are so busy as a family this summer. I know the summer is going to go by in a blur, but it is all good stuff we are doing and it really should be an awesome summer. So  my "race schedule" had to be worked around our family summer schedule. It's only 4 races. I have taken a realistic look at my schedule and what I know I can do for training. So here is my 2016 race schedule (most likely)





May 21- Memphis in May Sprint Triathlon

• 1/3 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run
• Last year I finished in 1:25:52
• Goal is 1:24

July 9- Paris Landing Sprint Triathlon

• 1/3 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 3 mile run
• First time doing this race
• Tri team favorite race

August 27- Dragonfly Sprint Triathlon

• 1/2 mile swim, 18 mile bike, 4 mile run
• I hate this race
• Not done it since 2010 (2008- 2:00:48, 2010- 1:58:10)
• Goal time: 1:55

October 2- Ryanman 70.3 Triathlon

• 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 run
• First time racing this event
• 75% Sure I will do it
• benefits children's cancer research

I think this is a good mix and enough time between races that I can complete. The Ryanman race is something I want to do, but not sure if it will work out, the October date helps a lot, but I will know for sure if I really want to do it later in the season. The  training plans have already been scoped out and at this moment in time, I am feeling pretty good, so let's see what happens. First goal is Memphis in May!

Follow me on Instagram at Jford2309 for updates as well!

How Do You Prepare For A Race?

Well, obviously I train. I swim, bike and run. End of post, thanks for reading.

I was asked this the other day. I know they were referring to the days leading up to a race. Which got me thinking, what are some of the things I do to get ready? I know that physically, I am ready. I know without a doubt that I can complete the distances of each segment of the race. So, I try to take a few days off, I try to not wake up at 5AM on those days, and I try to just relax. I think the biggest preparation that I have to make is to be prepared mentally.
But what does being mentally prepared mean? To me, it means that I have my game-plan set. It means I have thought through what I want to accomplish and I have confidence in my equipment. I understand things happen on the bike, but I know going in, I have everything ready for the race.

Other things I do to get mentally ready:

•I like to review past race reports. This really helps me to remember certain things about the race. Like, where the problem areas were for me? Was this a hilly course? Did I start too fast? After the race, did I feel like I went as hard as I could?

•I like to try and drive the course. Nothing makes me feel better than to know where certain points are along a course. Knowing the ins and outs of a course helps.

•I like to read race reports from other people. It gives me confidence to hear what other people thought of the race and reminds me of things I left out of my reports.

•Lastly, I review my times from the last time I did this race. I see my splits and I know I have had a good year of training. I know I am faster than a year ago, so this is how I set my goals.

The Dragonfly Triathlon is Saturday. It is a ½ mile swim, 18 mile bike, 4 mile trail run in Mississippi. (Follow the link for a course preview)I am looking forward to this race. Last time I raced it was 2008, when I finished in 2:00:48. 137th OA and 25/28 in my AG. I know, not good right? I am looking to bring my time down to the 1:40s. I have a new lighter bike this year and my swim times are better. My run has improved (last time I averaged 10:06/miles). I do not expect to podium or even be in the top of my AG, but I expect to hit my marks and goals!

Bike vs. Dog

Sat morning we had a planned s/b/r training session planned. I have had a good week training by sticking to my HIM plan and my schedule only called for a 2 hr ride and a 30 minute run, so I fudged one of the swims on Friday, and planned on making that up on Saturday with an OWS. I am really trusting this plan!!

Anyways, Greg, John and I met around 7 AM and headed to the "Manatees" house. (The Manatee is a multi sport enthusiast, that does a lot in this area with racing, he lives on the lake and either races or volunteers at about every race!) There were about 15 people that crashed his place and used the dock to get in some OWSing. I swam 500 yards. It felt good and I felt comfortable in the water. I timed my 500 OWS at 8:56 and I was happy with that. I wasn't pushing it, but I was going at a decent pace, so I am feeling good about all the swim training my HIM plan has called for.

After the swim, we had a 2 hour ride scheduled. It was already getting hot here in Memphis, but the heat got bad fast. I was really using the draft on this ride. Greg and John noted my excuse, but this was the first time I had been on the road on my bike in over 3 weeks due to my vacation, so I felt like I struggled. Excuse #2 would have been the heat, either way, I was not very strong on the bike, which made me realize I am not HIM ready on the bike. I have time to work on it and I know my plan has a more bike focused workouts coming.

As we were riding, there is always a section that Greg always warns us about loose dogs running him down. I have never seen them. I always look for them, but never, have I seen them, until Saturday. John and Greg were ahead of me (I was dragging, struggling and praying for a flat tire, it was that bad!) and out of the corner of my eye I see a little black and white pooch running their flank barking. The dog was running at an angle heading to the street. While I was watching that dog, I saw another bigger dog joining his buddy and I was more worried about the bigger dog, just because it was a bigger dog. The little dog ran into the street after John and Greg had passed it. The stupid dog was watching them and had not seen me. He turned as I was maybe 3 feet from him and he moved over and my front tire runs over the butt end of the dog. The dog yelps (might have been me, not sure) and spins him in a circle. I was very lucky to not crash, but it freaked me out a bit. I was actually more worried about some redneck chasing me down in his pickup truck yelling "you ran over my dog!" On the way back, the dog never approached us, so I guessed he learned his lesson. I felt very lucky.

After the bike (38 miles) we decided to do a short run. I was toast at this point. The heat was bad at 10AM and I knew the run would be tough, but we ran a mile. It was about a 9 minute mile, nothing great, but just getting through it was good for me. I am racing next weekend and this was a good mini race/training session for me.

Last time I the Dragonfly Tri was in 2008. I finished in 2 hours. It is an 800 yd swim, 18 mile ride and 4 mile run. The swim portion for me then was 16:47, which I am hoping to crush. I am still focused on Ironman Branson as my A race this year, but I admit I am looking forward to the Dragonfly this weekend.

Dragonfly Race Report

Well my 3rd triathlon of the season is in the books and I feel really good about it. I really enjoyed the swim part of it the most, how weird is that? All the bumping and shoving, slapping, grabbing and just powering through everyone was great! I was able to swim the entire 800 yards freestyle with no backstroking, so it was a major win for me.

I really wanted to finish in 2 hours and I accomplished that goal. I finished 23rd out of 26 in my age group (139 overall); however there were 4 other people within a second of my time! So that one little let up cost me about 4 spots! Also I am finding that I am in a very competitive age group. There were only a time difference of 32 minutes from the first place to the last place. So I know I need to average more speed on my bike and work on my transition to the run, cause that is an area I need to focus more on. So I know I am looking at more brick workouts.


My next triathlon is July 19. The Mighty Mite, which consists of a 1/3 mile swim , 13 mile bike and a 3 mile run. I am looking to kill the swim and the bike!