Ordinary Marathoner

It took two and a half years, but it finally caught me. I finally caught the Covid-bug. I was starting to think maybe I had some kind of natural immunity, or maybe I had it but without knowing… an asymptomatic case, that may have helped boost my immunity.

My primary experience with Covid lasted 2-3 days. I was pretty sick, but I’ve had worse. A few days later, I tested negative and got out of my quarantine status and went on with life. However, there’s a lingering issue – chest congestion and sinuses mainly.

Some effects have been welcome – I’ve dropped about 8 pounds, for one. But others are nagging. The congestion won’t go away. For someone who was in a really good, consistent, disciplined training cycle, it’s hard to wait. I want to get back into training, but I need to be cautious. Stay tuned…

Looking to improve with a triathlon or running coach? Reach out to Coach Scott at [email protected] and set up a free consultation.

DONATE to our nonprofit, The Ordinary Marathoner Foundation.

Become a Patron and help support the podcast! Check out our Patreon Page.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

What an incredible weekend in Lake Chisago, MN. This is exactly the kind of experience I was hoping to build when I started the Ordinary Marathoner Podcast. A cohesive and caring team with individual goals above and beyond anything they once thought possible.

Lake Chisago was host to a great event. As a team, we had a blast – swimming together, riding together, and enjoying our downtime. Individually, these athletes all went out and gave it what they had. And they all had great experiences – conquering goals, but also learning that there are still ways to improve! It makes me feel very satisfied, as their coach. Proud, if not inspired, of this team.

Looking to improve with a triathlon or running coach? Reach out to Coach Scott at [email protected] and set up a free consultation.

DONATE to our nonprofit, The Ordinary Marathoner Foundation.

Become a Patron and help support the podcast! Check out our Patreon Page.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

It’s that time of year again! Ironman Lake Placid week! We have been traveling up to this serene vacation-area almost every year since 2017. I haven’t done the race since 2019, but I have eyes on the 2023 version. That meant that this year’s trip, along with being a spectator and volunteer, gave me an option to do a little recon for next year.

I swam the lake and biked the most difficult portion of the course. All to remind myself of what I was about to get myself into by registering for next year’s race.

But this weekend wasn’t just about getting ready for 2023. It was also about experiencing, and respecting, the 2022 race. My daughter Samantha and I watched the swim and then also got out there to Run Aid Station 5 in the middle of the night to volunteer. Watching hundreds of athletes in the late hours making their way back to town, the finish line, and Mike Reilly declaring them an Ironman, was super-inspiring. We are looking forward to going back in 2023.

Running has been the bane of my triathlon existence lately. I just can’t get off the snide – haven’t embraced it as I once did. With lofty goals of 140.6 Miles in Lake Placid next year, it’s time I confronted this issue head-on. How to go about doing so? Easy. Set a Medium-Term goal that emphasizes running and then GO AFTER IT!

Enter…. The St. Jude Memphis Marathon. 26.2 miles through the streets of Memphis. Battling the urge to listen to Marc Cohn, and running my way to a solid finish. I can do this… and it fits so well into the overall plan.

As I sat back and thought about the sport and my intentions of following through with a solid training plan, I thought of the simplicity of it all. Running – moving your body across a certain distance for a certain time. Distinct. Measurable. HONEST.

We don’t seem to get a lot of honesty these days. Fraud seems rampant – even in a Panera parking lot. But there’s no fooling the watch. Running is truth, and I think these days we can all use a little more of it.

Looking to improve with a triathlon or running coach? Reach out to Coach Scott at [email protected] and set up a free consultation.

DONATE to our nonprofit, The Ordinary Marathoner Foundation.

Become a Patron and help support the podcast! Check out our Patreon Page.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Last year I completed IM Mussleman 70.3 despite being a bit unprepared, undertrained, and overweight. Heading up to Geneva, NY this year, I had 3 distinct goals. Improve on the swim, improve on the bike, improve on the run. I am happy to report that I improved on ALL THREE!

It was a beautiful day – perfect for racing. Everything came together and I smashed all three goals. Now, it leaves me wondering… just how much can I continue to improve? There’s only one way to find out… keep on training!

#TrainingWorks

Looking to improve with a triathlon or running coach? Reach out to Coach Scott at [email protected] and set up a free consultation.

DONATE to our nonprofit, The Ordinary Marathoner Foundation.

Become a Patron and help support the podcast! Check out our Patreon Page.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Last week we talked about diet and the importance of not eating like a dick. This week, we bring a little more proof as to why.

As I recorded last week’s podcast, I speculated that my 2017 Ironman Lake Placid bike ride was faster than my 2019 bike. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the numbers in front of me at that moment, but the speculation was enough for me to go back and check.

And oh my, was I correct. Despite not being as strong or having the endurance I have today, combined with the fact I was completely inexperienced with racing or sustained outdoor climbing, my 2017 Lake Placid time was MUCH faster than 2019. The main difference between the two? I was about 20-25 pounds heavier!

The importance of dropping weight ahead of IMLP2023 has never been more pronounced to me after seeing those numbers. And though I have a lot of time, I want to make sure I do it the right way. No crash diets, no weight loss at the expense of losing strength. Just sustained, proper nutrition, solid training, and continue avoidance of eating like a dick (though post-race donuts are allowed.)

Looking to improve with a triathlon or running coach? Reach out to Coach Scott at [email protected] and set up a free consultation.

DONATE to our nonprofit, The Ordinary Marathoner Foundation.

Become a Patron and help support the podcast! Check out our Patreon Page.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

The dreaded yo-yo. That’s the history of my weight gain and loss. Weight goes up, weight goes down. I feel like I have never reached my optimal weight in terms of performance. I start to lose, but the race always beats me to it and then I get content and gain it back.

That is no longer an option.

I have a lot to prove over the next 13 months to get myself in the best shape of my life for this last full Ironman race. Priority number one… lose the weight. How can I say that I gave it my all if I can’t control myself in the kitchen?

Overcoming a poor diet is the easiest way for me to improve. Historically, I have never quite overcome the allure of bad food. I know when I focus on diet, I succeed. So, what’s stopping me all these years?

What’s stopping me… IS ME!!! It’s my own choices and behavior. The bottom line is, if I want to reach my optimal weight goals, I have to stop ONE THING. I have to stop eating like a dick!

Looking to improve with a triathlon or running coach? Reach out to Coach Scott at [email protected] and set up a free consultation.

DONATE to our nonprofit, The Ordinary Marathoner Foundation.

Become a Patron and help support the podcast! Check out our Patreon Page.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

This podcast was tougher for me to do than it looks. It took some self-reflection, some self-admission, and changing a long-held outlook I have dealt with for years. Parts of it may seem silly to others, even though it was important to me. It would be a fair assessment to call me naïve and possibly over-dramatic. But this was how my childhood dream unfolded and, ultimately, was crushed.

I had a hard time posting this today. I went to bed realizing I left out some details. But I feel like I promised a weekly podcast and this one was in the can… so here it is.

Now, I can’t even remember if I told this story on the podcast before… so it would seem understandable that maybe 30 years after the fact, my mind has altered some details and omitted others. Either way, in the end, I just never lived up to my dream. And maybe it was the fault of a lazy or uncaring coach who deceived a naïve kid. Or maybe it was more an underperforming player not making the most of the sliver of an opportunity he was given.

That it still bothers me 30 years later is proof that the dying dream of a 19-year old can continue to resonate through life. Redemption is something I’ve discussed often on the podcast – typically when I DNF a race and then come back to defeat it. But this runs deeper. These next 13 months are redemption of a different kind. It is the answer to the question, “What if?”

My intention is to immerse myself in training for Ironman Lake Placid 2023 in a way that I haven’t done before. To change habits that, even in my best training cycles were engrained to my core and never completely overcome. To bring intensity during training to levels unseen. And to be consistently focused and working towards the goal of putting in the work to a degree I have not done before.

Redemption… it will be sweet.

Looking to improve with a triathlon or running coach? Reach out to Coach Scott at [email protected] and set up a free consultation.

DONATE to our nonprofit, The Ordinary Marathoner Foundation.

Become a Patron and help support the podcast! Check out our Patreon Page.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Four days into my new training mindset. I was cruising – crushing workout after workout. Feeling great. Until…

Waking up with an injured foot in WEEK ONE (of nearly 60 weeks to come) was something I didn’t expect. It threw me for a bit of a loop, and led me to lose focus – especially when it came to diet. I ate… bad things. I lost discipline for one day. And it bothered me.

What’s it gonna be? These are the things that happen during training that can cause you to lose focus. But it is precisely these times when focus needs to become extra-vigilant. When you lose that ability to train, you need to step up in the other areas. Especially diet.

In retrospect, I should be thankful. Thankful that this setback came in the beginning of training and not during the more important weeks and months later on. I should be thankful that I only lost focus for one day, and immediately recognized and righted the ship. Thankful that the lesson has been learned and should a similar circumstance arise later in training, I’ll be ready to deal with it.

Showing up at Lake Placid in 2023 at my all-time peak will happen. This is a minor setback.

With Ironman Chattanooga 70.3 now in the rearview, it’s time to look ahead. After much thought, I’ve decided it’s time to think big again. As the years fly by, these big events tend to feel more and more challenging. There’s just no better time than the present.

This goal may be familiar… and it may not seem very exciting. But it’s something I must do. I have some unfinished business in the mountains of Lake Placid. It has been three years since I left 56 seconds on the table. And I’m due for another shot at the big one.

The commitment it takes to finish this race is immense. I’m ready. When I sit back and evaluate my training and past performances at the full-Ironman distance, one thing really bothers me. I feel as though I have never quite given the race the complete dedication it demands. I’ve been in decent shape. I’ve succeeded in my goal to finish. But I haven’t ever shown up on that start line with the aggressive mindset of being competitive. 2023 will change that.

I’ve really been loving the 70.3 distance. It’s challenging enough to demand training, but short enough to enjoy the rest of the day in celebration of victory with your fellow athletes. But I still need one more shot at the big one. That’s why IMLP2023 will very likely be my last one. I deserve to give it my best. It demands my best. Let’s get started.