Sunday, April 8, 2012

Where am I?

1) As in - why have not written a blog post in four weeks?  As many of you know I'm attempting to become a Physician Assistant.  This summer I'll be applying to programs, but right now I'm taking pre-reqs and trying to get some clinical experience.  I've done some shadowing and I currently volunteer at the ER of a local hospital.  I decided that I need to get a little more hands-on experience - so, I've been taking a Certified Nursing Assistant class that's five weeks long.  It is every Saturday and Sunday from 8am-5:30pm - given that I'm also taking Organic Chemistry and Microbiology - I don't exactly have much time or energy to write posts.  We got this weekend off for Easter - next week is our last clinical day on Saturday and our state-test on Sunday.  So, I should have a little more time after that.

2)  As in - where exactly do I live?  I've been meaning to write a post to give my east coast friends a little idea what life is like here in Omaha.
South of Omaha from a bridge crossing the Missouri - Nebraska is to the right and Iowa to the left.  If you were to float downriver you'd find your way to Kansas City, St. Louis (where the Missouri meets the Mississippi) and eventually New Orleans.

For those of you who have traveled across this great country of ours on I-80 - you might think of Nebraska as a boring flat state with no trees that went on for a painfully long time before you got to the majestic mountains of Colorado.  Although southeastern Nebraska is technically part of the great plains - it is hilly.  The Omaha area is marked by being part of the Missouri Valley.  The bluffs overlooking the big muddy might not be thousands of feet high - but they have a certain appeal. 


The constant winds from the west pushed the loose earth of the Missouri Valley towards the east side of the valley where they form the Loess Hills in Iowa.  These hills are actually the perfect place to train for my IM in Wisconsin coming up in September.

Downtown from the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge that spans the Missouri.

Omaha is an actual city.  At over 400,000 residents it's almost as big as Atlanta.  It has the richest man in the U.S. and five Fortune 500 companies (Union Pacific, ConAgra Foods, Kiewit Construction, Berkshire Hathaway, and Mutual of Omaha).  It hosts the College World Series every year - and this year had two rounds of the NCAA tournament and in June it will host the Olympic Swim Trials.  Omaha has a surprisingly strong Indie Rock scene.  Esquire called Omaha's Slowdown the best Indie Rock Club in the country.  Not to mention that the unemployment rate is 4% and housing prices are dirt cheap.  So hate if you must - but Omaha is good living.

Omaha might be relatively large, but it is also very residential.  We live only three miles from downtown, but it feels like we live in the suburbs.  For the first time in my life I live right next to a running trail (pictured below).
 3) Congratulations if you made it this far - so that I can tell you what you probably want to know most - where am I with my training?  Tomorrow marks my first "official" week of training for my first full Ironman in September.  Even though I've been busy I've been keeping up on my training pretty well - but from here out it starts to get intense. 

3/5-3/11
Monday: 1 hour swim & 30 min run
Tuesday: 2 hour bike
Wednesday: 1.5 hour swim & 30 min run
Thursday: 1.5 hour swim
Friday: 1 hour swim & 45 min run
Saturday: 1 hour bike
Sunday: 45 min run
Total: 10.5 hours - 3 hours bike 5 hours swim 2.5 hours run

3/12-3/18
Monday: 1 hour bike & 1 hour swim
Tuesday: 45 min run
Wednesday: 1 hour swim & 2 hour bike
Thursday: 30 min run
Friday: 45 min run  & 1 hour swim
Saturday: 1 hour bike
Sunday: 1 hour run
Total: 10 hours - 4 hours bike 3 hours swim 3 hours run

3/19-3/25
Monday: 1 hour bike & 1 hour swim
Tuesday: 1 hour run
Wednesday: 1 hour swim & 2 hour bike & 30 min run
Thursday: 45 min run
Friday: 1 hour bike & 1 hour swim
Saturday: 45 min run
Sunday: Day Off
Total: 10 hours - 4 hours bike 3 hours swim 3 hours run

3/26-4/1
Monday: 2 hour bike & 30 min run
Tuesday: 1 hour swim & 45 min run
Wednesday: 1 hour swim & 1 hour run
Thursday: 1 hour bike
Friday: 1 hour swim & 45 min run
Saturday: 1 hour bike
Sunday: Day Off
Total: 10 hours - 4 hours bike 3 hours swim 3 hours run

4/2-4/8
Monday: 2 hour bike & 30 min run
Tuesday: 1 hour run
Wednesday: 1 hour swim & 1 hour bike
Thursday: Day Off
Friday: 45 min run & 1 hour swim
Saturday: Day Off
Sunday: 1 hour bike & 30 min run
Total: 8 hours - 4 hours bike 2 hours swim 2 hours run

Next week - 4/9-4/15
Monday: 1 hour swim & 2 hour bike & 30 min run
Tuesday: 1 hour run
Wednesday: 1 hour swim & 3 hour bike & 30 min run
Thursday: 1 hour bike & 30 min swim
Friday: 1 hour swim & 30 min run
Saturday: 1 hour bike
Sunday: 1.5 hour run
Total: 14 hours - 7 hours bike 3.5 hours swim 4 hours run


8 comments:

alyssa said...

ride more!

BG said...

Looks great; say "hi" to Warren for me! Also, I'm pretty sure it's the 5+ million people who live just outside the city of Atlanta proper that put it (and its traffic) on a different level from Omaha. More appropriate comparisons may be with such megalopolises as; Tulsa, Honolulu, or Albequerque. Ha.

Keep up the good training!

Ben said...

hours on the bike will be increasing - patience.

Godsey - I can't get anything past you.

RM said...
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Ben said...

Last week was a rest week before my first "real" week of training this week - it in no way represents what I'm going to be doing for the next 20 weeks. I used Joe Friel's book to plan my training - Daniels has nothing to do with it. I'm going to have 12 weeks with at least 18 hours of training - I hardly think that's the schedule of a P.

However, I know what it feels like to limp through a marathon after not being able to train for six weeks due to injury. I don't want that to happen again. My number one goal is to show up healthy on the start line in Wisconsin.

BG said...

I think it's awesome you're using actual respected literature to aid your training. I don't know about Joel Friel's book, but Daniels has stats to back him up, and you know how I love those. Even if I don't agree with everything Daniels says, his is likely the most complete single source for a training plan for longer distances. If I didn't happen to think that I'm an exception to every rule, I might actually train properly, too. Also, as much as I like science and running, I'm somehow too lazy to combine the two. But, I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do in three sports at once.

Also, getting to the starting line mostly healthy is a great goal; you and I have both had issues with that in recent years, and I'm with you. I didn't limp through a marathon; for me it was a half marathon and a 10mi leg of a marathon relay last year, a week apart. Agreed: not fun. This summer [with a little luck] might be the first time in three years that I show up to a starting line healthy and in respectable shape.

Best of luck!

alyssa said...

Calling these books...or any books....on training, in any sport, of any type, "actual respected literature" is a bit of a stretch I think.

But I'm not here to argue that point. I am a proponent of a plan as well....I followed a Friel based plan in my first 2 Ironmans. They went....fine.

But, I now follow the Book of Biscay.

RM said...
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