One Goal Down, One to Go!

In October 2012, I first heard about Tatum's Bags of Fun triathlon team. It was a big commitment to raise funds and train for a full IRONMAN. When I started doing triathlons last year, I had a dream of becoming an IRONMAN, but I didn't think it would be anytime soon. I had only done two sprint triathlons and really didn't train for them. I had a newborn daughter and time management would be an issue.

God kept tugging at my heart for the next 3 months to send an email to Jayson Parker and help pediatric cancer patients. I sent the email on January 4th, 2013. On January 5th, I was signed up for IRONMAN Louisville and my journey began. Today marked one milestone down, with one to go. I reached my fundraising goal of $4,500! I know that I will help bring some smiles to pediatric cancer patients with the help of family and friends! I am happy that I have brought awareness to Tatum's Bag's of Fun and pediatric cancer! I have met a lot of great people and gained new friends! 

I have trained hard these past 8 months and learned a lot about myself and life. I am forever grateful for my wife Nickole who has put up with my training commitments. It's not easy training for an IRONMAN and that goes for spouses as well!! 

In 12 days, I will become an IRONMAN! Wow, what a ride it has been!

One Goal Down, One to Go!

LESS THAN 60 DAYS!!!

1 Month, 28 days and 7 hours and 31 minutes until IRONMAN Louisville, as I am typing this but who is counting?? I can't believe the race is less than 60 days away!! Time sure is flying by when your training! :-) The last two weeks has ups and downs with training. I am still getting adjusted to my work schedule, but now that it is Less Than 60 Days, I need to get focused more! A LOT MORE!

I didn't get my long ride in on Father's Day but had a great day with Nickole and the Kids! They got me a pretty cool Medal Hanger for all of my race metals! I am anxious to get it hung up in the living room! ;-) hehehe

Last weekend was spent hanging out with friends at the Dave Matthews Concerts. Friday was a great show unfortunately I jammed my right big toe pretty bad. I decided to follow Shane up the back of the lawn after the show...not a good idea! I jammed it on the way down wearing my flip flops. Saturday it was black and blue and I decided that I would not run on it for a week...it hurt that bad! Saturday night Nickole came to the show even know she asked at 9:10p when Dave was coming on stage...he came on stage at 8:20! Needless to say she is not a DMB fan! I was happy to chat with my Fraternity Bro Dondo on Sat as he is a HUGE Dave as well!

This past weekend has been busy as well. I got a quick ride on Monday along with a swim and it was Olivia's 13th birthday! I can't believe she is a teenager now! Evan, Anniston and I surprised her by going to Lawrenceburg for the night while Nickole was at the New Kids on the Block concert in Louisville.

On Tuesday I woke up early and rode the Dearborn County Bourbon Trail from Lawrenceburg to Aurora. The trail is pretty nice! It was cool to ride my bike in Greendale, Lawrenceburg and Aurora, something I haven't done in a long, long time! I got to reflect on some memories growing up and see how things are changing around town. I rewarded myself after my ride with a Super Big Boy and Vanilla Coke from Frisch's!! That is one restaurant that I wish was closer, although not the healthiest, it was good! We went to the renovated Greendale Pool after lunch. Evan had a blast! He said he wanted to go off the diving board, so I said, let's go for it! He walked down to the end, then waited for me to get in and "catch" him and he jumped right in!! The board isn't that low! It is probably 4 feet to the water! He probably jumped off the board 10 times in 2 hours!

.

Wednesday June 26th will be a day I remember forever in my police career. We had been working with the FBI on a possible bank robbery in Fishers and on Wednesday it happened on my shift! This was my first big event, no my first HUGE event as Sgt.!!! We had a teller taken hostage, a foot pursuit, a barricaded suspect and three guns found. We were assisted by several surrounding agencies including the FBI. No one got hurt and 5 suspects were taken into custody. Needless to say, I was pooped after a long day and no workouts.

Today I did my longest open water swim! I was really anxious to get 2.4 miles in! The swim course is a 1.2 mile loop in Morse. There were storms to the north of the reservoir and the wind was pretty strong, I mean really strong! The first 1.2 miles were brutal! It took me almost 4 minutes longer than last week and I swallowed quite a bit of water. There were decent waves rolling in. After a 8 minute or so break while treading water, we started the second the loop. The wind was still strong but nothing like it was the first 1.2 miles. I was happy to get the 2.4 miles done in 1 hour 26 minutes. I had wait on a couple of boats to pass and they may have delayed a minute or two on my time. I REALLY wanted to do this as a confidence booster to know that I will be able to swim 2.4 miles and be good in Louisville. As bad as the conditions were tonight, I felt even more confident! LESS THAN 60 DAYS TO GO!!!

Morse Reservoir 

One more to Go!

This past week has had it's ups and downs. Last week was my first week on night shift in about 9 years! I tried to stay up Tuesday night as long as I could before my first night on Wednesday. I made it to about 2:45 and crashed! 20 years ago it would have been nothing to stay up that late, hanging out with friends, etc., not so much anymore! Wednesday was my first shift in training. I made it to about 3 am and hit the wall! I REALLY struggled to stay up. Those last two hours seemed like eternity! I actually woke up early on Thursday and actually felt pretty good but I wasn't going to make the same mistake Thursday night. I made sure I had plenty of coffee to drink around 10pm. I was good to go all night! Diet MT. Dew and Sweet helps too...and lots of it! :-)

Friday I woke up after about 6 hours of sleep and hit the pool with my masters swimmers. My swim workout was around 2200 meters. Friday night I took the kids to the St. Simon Festival in Lawrence while Nickole was doing a Boutique show in Lawrenceburg. That is the first time I had been there. We got there kind of early and the crowds weren't that bad, which was nice. Evan rode a few rides, did some jumping, got in a human hamster and we got a corn dog and tenderloin for a nice healthy dinner! :-) I am glad we got there early because it got really crowded and the kids were cashed out.

Loving the festival!

6am Saturday morning I did my masters swim workout. It was about 2200 meters and we pushed pretty hard. I met up with Bryan, Mark and Kip afterwards and grabbed some coffee. It's nice to sit and chat with some guys about tri stuff and how their workouts and other people we know trainings are going.

After coffee I took down a bonk breaker and headed out for a run. I felt really good on my run. My runs earlier in the week, not so much. I think it is partly due to the adjustment to working a 12 hour night shift. I managed to get about 9.5 miles in. Not a bad Saturday workout.

Saturday afternoon Mom, Kathie and Olivia came up for Evan's t-ball game and to celebrate Kathie's birthday. The game went quicker than normal, which was disappointing. We relaxed by the pool for a while and Evan and Olivia swam in the cold water! The pool in the neighborhood is still pretty chilly since we have had some cooler temps. We headed out on the lake and took a tour. It was nice to get out and relax a bit. We had dinner at Eddy's, which is always good and came home for some cake. To cap off the busy Saturday Nickole, Evan, Anniston and I went to Megan Kehl's graduation party and visited with friends. Yes, it was a long day!

Kathie's 48th Bday!

Sunday morning up at 6:30 and ready to ride! I met up with Mark, Bryan and Nate headed east towards New Castle. This was the first time we have rode this route. Well, let's say that we are lucky to have nice roads in Hamilton County! We hit a few really rough stretches that punted a couple of water bottle. It was almost like it was cobblestone. After getting through that, we encountered a wonderful farm dog. I just love farm dogs when riding on my bike! They are so nice and greet you with a smile....with ALL OF THEIR TEETH SHOWING WHILE RUNNING AS FAST AS THEY CAN!!!! Of course that 1000 or so feet your cadence, speed and heart rate jumps up! Not fun! I need to start carrying some OC spray with me!

We continued east and ran into some gravel portions. Not small gravel portions, but LONG gravel portions! It made for some nice white walls on my tires. Luckily no one went down as the gravel was pretty thick. It did make for an adventuresome ride east, that I don't care to do ever again! On the way back we got on SR 234 and hammered down. Those guys are a lot faster than I am but I think I held my own. I think we averaged 22-26 mph. on the way back.I finished my days workout with a 30 minute run.

This week I had some hill workouts and I have a long ride I need to make up tomorrow. I only had one day off this week, which was Tuesday. Evan had swim lessons and t-ball back to back! No down time in the Patton house!

Today;s weather was nice for a ride! I got about 30 miles in on the bike and a 4 mile brick run afterwards before work tonight.Tonight is my last night shift training as a new Sergeant. I will go back to day shift starting Monday morning for more training. Night shift has not been that bad and my sleep hasn't been as crazy as I thought it would be. It is tough not seeing Nickole and the kids that much this past week while I am at work when they are home sleeping.

One more to Go!

Daddy's Girl! :-)

I HAVE BEEN HORRIBLE!

I have been horrible at keeping up with my blog. It has been almost 3 months since I have posted. A lot has happened in three months! This will be a long post to catch up!!!

 I competed in my first sprint tri at Purdue University on April 6th. It was a cold day! Luckily the swim was indoors! I felt really good  for my first sprint of the year. It was the first time I raced with my Flo wheels and could really tell a difference. The swim was in the nat, the bike course went outside of the campus area a bit and had A BIG HILL! After coming back into campus the run wasn't too bad but had a few hills as well. The course markings were horrible around Mackey Arena. I almost got off course. I finished with a time of 1:13 and finished 6th out of 15 in my age group. I was pretty happy with that. After the race, Nickole, Evan, Anniston and I had lunch with the Lindauer's at The XXX Restaurant to refuel.

In April I had a work trip out to Denver Colorado for the Lifesavers Conference for a few days. It was a nice trip and I got to ski one day. The weather was a lot colder then normal and we got a lot of snow while out there. The Boston Marathon Bombings also occurred while we were in Denver. It was a sad day.

Evan and I went to a Pacers game and listened to Tatum sing the national anthem. This was Evan's first Pacers game. We had a great time and had great seats! I was humbled by a lady who sat two seats down from us. She stated she was a family therapist and was impressed on how I interacted with Evan and stated I was a model dad and wished that she could have video taped us to show other dads how it should be done. I felt very proud!

May 4th, I competed in the 500 Festival Mini Marathon. The weather was great for running and I had a personal best of 1:48. I felt like I had a little more in the tank after the race and felt really good! I negative split the race as well. My nutrition was spot on.

May 11th, I competed in the Muncie Olympic triathlon.  This was my first Olympic distance tri. I was a big step up from the sprint distance. The swim was 1500 meters, It was a cold, nasty day. The race was delayed an hour and was very disorganized! Nickole and the kids came to watch me and that made for a long morning. The swim was in Prairie Creek Resvoir. The water temp was 61 and the air temp was 41! This was the first race that I have swam in a wetsuit. I felt pretty good during the swim. My sighting was a little off but I managed. During the T1 I forgot to put my gloves on. Big Mistake! My hands were numb by the time I was done. I felt great on bike other than being cold. During T2, I could barely tie my shoes! I negative split my run and was happy with my time. I finished in 2:50 and I placed 8 out of 18 in my age group. I was happy with my performance for my first Olympic Distance

After the May Olympic I continued to train hard. I had a couple of group rides and boy the guys I rode with were fast! It pushed me a lot. I got rained on during a couple of training rides as well. I ended up getting another pair of running shoes. My Mizuno's kept giving me blisters. I decided on a pair of Brooks Ravenna 4's. So far they have worked out fine. They are a little heavier than the Mizunos but I like them.

At the end of May I got a surprise that a Sgt. self demoted himself. I was #1 on the Sgt.s list and that meant I would probably get a call to step up. I did get the call and would be assigned to day shift and my hours would be changing. I was really worried about my training but talked to coach Winn and I believe we have it figured out.

Nickole, Evan, Anniston, and I spent Memorial Day weekend at Dale Hallow Lake with Joe, Joy, John and Debbie. I got a nice 1.2 mile open water swim in on Friday. It was nice and relaxing except for the bad tuna salad I got on Friday night. I got sick on Saturday morning and didn't feel good until Sunday at lunch. Sunday was the first Indy 500 I had missed since I was 12 years old. Dad and I have had the annual tradition for years. I was a little sad and it was considered one of the best Indy 500's with all of the lead changes but I got to watch it on tv on the houseboat in good company. I was glad for TK getting a win. Anniston got her 2nd trip to Tennessee on the water and the weather was starting to warm up. Naps in the hammock were nice! I am looking forward to another relaxing weekend at the lake without the food poisoning!!

My Support Crew!

On May 30th, Evan and I shaved our heads for Tatums Bags of Fun! We were able to raise close to $600. Evan was a little shy getting his shaved because there were so many people in the Main Street Barber in Carmel. I didn't take mine down as much as other teammates but I still did it. The event raised over $11,000!! I am happy to be apart of a great team and organization!

Tatum Approved!

On June 1st I competed in my first 70.3 race. Nickole and I got a hotel room at the Holiday Inn in Richmond IN. I got my packet picked up and met some fellow Tatum Bags of Fun teammates at the Pizza King. Pizza was definitely not in my pre race meal plan! I ended up getting baked spaghetti and still regret getting that! Red sauce usually doesn't agree with me the next day! Before bed, we learned of the giant tornado's that hit Oklahoma City. The front was moving towards Indiana and there was a high chance of bad weather for Saturday. Saturday morning we woke up at 4:50 and checked the radar...not good! I loaded up the bike and ate my usual peanut butter and honey bagel. I also ate a sweet potato. Shortly after getting to Middle Fork Reservoir, it stated to rain. I got my bike checked in and waited for the pre-race meeting. It stopped raining and there was a short window on the radar. It was then time to swim 1.2 miles! I felt great during the swim but didn't push myself. I got out of the water and Nickole greeted me to see how I felt. I got in and out of T1 feeling good. The bike course was pretty hilly! I had to use my granny gear a couple of times. I didn't push myself and was working on my nutrition. I had a bonk breaker the first hour, a honey stinger the 2nd hour and then a GU. I took in Gatorade and water. It was actually pretty nice weather and that window with no rain stayed. it didn't rain the rest of the day! I got the 56 miles done in 2:48. 20.1 mph avg. Once I got to T2, I have a few mistakes. One, was that it was a beast to get on my compression sleeves. It took me a lot longer than I wanted to and I got frustrated. I then grabbed my clear container of salt tabs....or so I thought! I put them in my tri top. As I started my run it sounded a little more noisy than usual for salt tabs. One guy passed me and said, hey sounds like you have tic tacs, ....I said no they are my salt tabs, and he said i know. WELL, as I approached the first aid station, I reached into my back pocket to pull out my first salt tab and low and behold...TIC TACS!! Arghh!! I was not happy and chucked them into the grass. Needless to say I was a little mad and worried. It was starting to heat up and I was sweating more. Luckily I saw a couple of TBF teammates and was able to bum 3 tabs. That was still short of what I needed according to my plan. I felt decent during the run despite the big hills. I finished my first 70.3 race in 5:30 and 11 out 25 in my age group. I was really happy with my time for my first 1/2 Ironman Distance!

I had a promotion ceremony on June 3rd that Nickole, Evan, Anniston, Mom, Dad, Kathie, Olivia, Gary and Cheryl attended. It was after a long day of orientation. I have a lot to learn in my new position but am looking forward to the challenge. I will be in training on night shift for two weeks and then will be placed on day shift until Oct when shift bids happen.

Chief Kehl pinning my Segeant's badge on

I was pretty sore for a couple of days from my 70.3. I was able to make it Louisville and ride a portion of the IRONMAN Course. I rode with TJ, Marie, Chuck and Hugo. We parked at the church in Shiloh, which is where the out and back starts. The hills were pretty big on the out and back. I didn't have to get out of the saddle, but definitely used my granny gear. The out and back is about 10 miles total, Once back out on 42 there were a few more rolling hills and then onto KY 393. There were 2 decent size hills and more rollers. We stopped at the gas station in La Grange. You could tell that the people there don't like cyclist and gave us some dirty looks. We headed into town and out to Ballard School Road. That portion of the course wasn't too bad but not sure how it will be in the heat, after swimming 2.4 miles and after riding several miles to get there. Once on Ballard School Road there was one or two decent hills but nothing too bad. It was onto Old Sligo Road. There was one little hill that I had to get out of the saddle on. After Old Sligo it was on to L'Espirit Parkway and awesome horse country. I stopped a took a picture of a few of them. After going through horse country it was back onto 153 and 42. Everyone was pretty tired and we only did "one loop." Our total mileage was around 48 miles for the day. I felt pretty good but need to get back down there for more training rides. The hills keep you busy!!!

That is all for now and I hope to keep up better on this blog!!

Birthday Weekend

Well, I made it another year! I am thinking that turning 37 won't be that bad. This is the year that I will become an IRONMAN! I believe that you are only as old as you feel. Some days you feel like your 101 and some days you feel like your 4 and full of energy! I may be getting more gray but I feel good!

Had a great weekend spending time with family and friends! Took the day off on Friday to spend with Nickole We had lunch at BW's and watched the Hoosier! The Shamrock Shuffle was successful with a 10.46 mile run! It was 1.1 miles longer than it was supposed to be but it was all good! It was a good training run for the 500 mini coming up. I treated myself to a nice Bub's burger afterwards! It wasn't a "big ugly" but it was tasty! The evening was capped off with food and drinks!

Sunday was relaxing spending time with the fam! I have a long week this week. 8.5 miles yesterday 2500 yds in the pool this am, 1.5 hour ride tonight on the trainer and it continues. Working hard to get it done! Will be ready for some March Madness on Thursday!!! Go Hoosiers!!

My Lucky Charm

Daddy's Baby's

Thanks to Jeremy Lindauer, I got my Flo's on!

Come On Man!!! Ain't Nobody Got Time For That!!

So, I have been a little behind in my blog. I met with a nutrionist last week to help with the races. Nutrition is considered the 4th leg of the triathlon. I didn't realize what all I needed to be doing. Wow! I learned a lot. I have a sweat test log I have to complete after every workout. It's amazing that I am losing 4lbs during a 2 hour workout!

This past weekend I did my first group ride. There were some studs in the group and they were mainly hard core "roadies." There were only a couple of us on tri bikes. I made sure I was in the back of the pack. There were prob 30 or so riders. It was the warmest day in a while and everyone was anxious to get outside. The ride went well other then having to pee! We made it to Pendleton but the park didn't have any restrooms! What park doesn't have bathrooms?? COME ON MAN!!! I managed to make it another 10 miles and couldn't hold it any  longer. I had to make a pit stop behind a old barn. RELIEF!! I finished the ride into the wind 36 miles done!

I did a similar bike loop on Sunday too. Once again...gotta pee! I made it to a little store in Lapel this time...barely. If I have to pee this much during the race, I will have to go on the bike instead of stopping! Ain't Nobody Got Time For That in an IRONMAN!

    The weather has been horrible this week....COME ON MAN! Where is Spring???


   These baby's brightened my week up....need to get them mounted and ready to go!!

Look What Came In The Mail!

I got a surprise in the mail today! I finally got my Rudy Project Wingspan Aero Helmet! I ordered this sucker back in December and it finally shipped! It is a lot lighter than I thought it was going to be. I am pretty pumped to wear it at the Olympic distance race in Angola. I decided to do the race up at Lake James instead of Terre Haute. The swim distance is longer and we will be staying at a friends lake house!

Training this week has been so, so. With a 12 dive training today I switched my rest day. I may be doing a 30 mile group ride on Saturday....stay tuned!

It Looks Fast!!

Evan thinks it's cool too!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I had my 5k test run on Saturday morning after my swim. It was cold... 16 degree windchill but I got r done. It was my best 5k time in a year and a half. (25 mins.) Had a nice visit with family in the Burg on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday morning I was able to get a run with one of my best buddies, Matt McCool! It was cold and snowing but we manage almost 5 miles! That was a pr distance for Matt. He is training for the Flying Pig 10k in May!

We celebrated Dad's birthday with cake and ice cream on Sunday afternoon. Anniston came down with an ear infection and luckily our doctor has open clinic hours on Sunday so we could get her some meds. Yesterday and today have been all indoor training sessions. Waiting for the big snow...wonder how much we will actually get???

ANSWER TO THE LAST QUESTION...

Green is associated with Saint Patrick’s Day because it is the color of spring, of Ireland, and of the shamrock

NEXT QUESTION...

Where was the very first St. Patrick's Day Parade??

Dad with his Grandkids

It's March! Go Green!!

We have hit March! I am switching my blog colors to green, facebook pix and background to Green! St. Paddy's Day (and my bday) are only a couple of weeks away! Want to help me with some green? Join me at the Shamrock Shuffle in Carmel on March 16th! You will be helping Tatum's Bags of Fun! You can walk or run and there is fun stuff for the kds and adults afterwards! I will add a photo link on the right side of the blog to register. Make sure you put me down as referred by, a portion goes towards my fundrasising goals! I have also added a new and updated link to my fundraising page. Check it out!

I will posting a trivia questions everyday up until St. Patrick's Day as well. Post your answers on the comment section!

Training has been good this week. I dropped another :45 seconds off my 500 swim time since the last time I tested! Swim, bike, run!

Evan slept thru the night last night! Yeah! He has been getting up everynight in the middle of the night. Nickole has been getting up with him! Thanks babe!

Looking forward to the weekend and spending time with family in the Burg!

FIRST QUESTION: WHY IS GREEN ASSOCIATED WITH ST. PATRICK'S DAY??

Great Cycle Studio Workout

I had a great workout at the Cycle Studio Saturday after my swim workout! We did a portion of the IRONMAN Canada course and then had a team ride with drafting. The hills were brutal and you had to work hard! It was the best indoor workout I have had to date!

I went to Vincennes for a Usual Suspects MC meeting Saturday afternoon. It was nice catching up with some of the guys. We watched that horrific crash at Daytona and ate some wings at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Took Evan to get his haircut yesterday and watched a little bit of the Daytona 500. I hope to make it to that race some day! Had Run workout later outside and ran some errands with the family and relaxed!

And the Winner Is....

After a whopping 11 votes, the winner of  "help pick my wheelset color" is GREEN and WHITE! Thanks for those who helped me decide! I was able to get the set that I wanted!! Flo's presale was crazy! They sold 370 wheels in 15 minutes and are now sold out! I will post pictures once I get them!

So far it's been a good week of training. Did my first brick workout since last year and it was outside...17.5 mile ride followed by a 4 mile run. Missed one bike workout this week due to working overtime, but may get it in tomorrow. Sitting hear listening to the ice hit the windows on the house....I can't wait for spring! Why do I live in Indiana??? As I get older I am not a fan of the winter weather.

Help me with a color!!

So, I have narrowed down a couple of wheelset colors I would like. Help me decide what color! Flocycling's presale is this Thursday and I hope to score a set. They have been sold out for a couple of months now. You can see a picture of my bike on my about me pic. It's black, green and white.
55 degrees out today! Time to get out and ride! :-)

Happy Valentine's Day

It's been a great week of training! I finally got over the norovirus and back in the pool last Saturday morning with a run afterwards. I have had a few great runs outside this week! This morning in the pool we tested our broken 200's again and I dropped my time by a 10 sec average! I am pleased with that and still working hard!

Last night the kids I went shopping and got "mommy" some new bigger cup cake pans for Valentine's Day. Evan and Nickole have been making more cupcakes lately. I haven't had one this week but I still like my sweets!

Looking forward to a ride outside today. Temp is supposed to be 52 and a little windy but I need a break from the indoor traininer!

MY SPECIAL VALENTINE'S!

It's Been A Long Week!

It's been a long week! Super Bowl Sunday was good with friends however the outcome did not turn out how I wanted. I really hoped the 49ers would pull it out. Then Monday came and so did the Norovirus! First it was Evan, then I got it, then Sara, Jay and Jeremy...they were all at our house for the game. That virus was pretty nasty! I missed work and my workouts trying to rest, rehydrate and get back to feeling Better. Nickole was a Saint and took care of Evan and I all week! Fortunately she did not get it like we did.

I am anxious to get back in the pool tomorrow morning and get a run in before heading to Bronx Biesel's 1st Birthday party.

Indiana Weather....Boo!

The wacky Indiana weather has helped give me a cold / uppper respitory infection. This past week it was 60 then the next day it was 10 below with wind chill! I still managed to get all of my workouts in with a struggle. The groundhog predicted an early spring today....I hope so!

I moved my races around a bit. I will be doing an Olympic distance in Terre Haute in May and adding Toughman Indiana 70.3 in Richmond in June. After talking to Coach Winn, he thinks another 70.3 distance will be beneficial.

The final proofs for the TBF and Vanguard tri kits came this week and look great!! Sugoi and 2XU... I can't wait to wear them!

Finally, Great news for Tatum this week...still cancer free after her doctor visit!! God is good!

"LET'S DO THIS!!"

As I get ready for bed and finish up a few emails, I receive one from a Tatum Bags of Fun Teammate, Tim Justice. His 14 year old daughter Maddy is currently having a relapse of her Leukemia and is at Riley Children's Hospital fighting this awful disease. She is one of the many reasons that is important to support TBF. I am honored to be part of great group, supporting a great cause,

Two years ago today, cancer took my Aunt Joan from us. She battled breast cancer until she lost the fight. She was a Cancer Warrior! Today I think of all of the cancer warriors in my life, in particular, my Cousin Hedy McKay and friend Katie Sawin. They are Cancer Warriors too! For those that fought the fight and currently fighting the fight, I will keep training and working hard in their honor...as Maddy Justice says,

"Let's Do This!" IRONMAN 2013

Great Weekend!

Had a great weekend with the 6 Cools in town! Stayed up late catching up on Friday night, skipped my morning swim workout on Saturday but had a great workout at The Cycle Studio with Team Vanguard.

The boys went to the Monster Truck Jam at Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday night while the girls stayed home and relaxed. Evan thought it was pretty cool, but the loudness took him by surprise! I also found out that Doug Folk will be doing IM LOU also! I am pretty excited that Donny and Keisha will be coming in from Colorado to cheer us on!

This morning was pancake day! The McCool kids need to take some lessons from Evan about sleeping in! They like to get up early! It was a nice relaxing day at home with a nap! I got an hour run in outside tonight and it felt good to breathe some fresh air before the rain hit.

Patton and McCool Kidos!

Potty Training

The past two days have been good. The highlight of the week was Evan running laps around my bike and trainer while I ran on the treadmill. I think he is up to 5 "laps" in a row in between his potty breaks! He was giving me a nice minute rest to help him go "pee pee." ;-)

Looking forward to the 6Cools coming into town tonight for a visit!

Training

My official training plan started this week. It is a 30 week program. I have Mike Winn (IRONMAN FL Finisher) from Vanguard Endurance as my coach. I will be swimming, cycling and running six days a week, with one day off for rest. My program will be based off of heart rate training. This is the first time I have used heart rate for training and am looking forward to it. I read Don Fink's book "Be IronFit" and it seems to work from others that have used heart rate training. Friend and Lawrenceburg native, Doug Folk used heart rate training to become an IRONMAN in AZ this past fall. My training plan will be utilized with the Training Peaks website and program. I have a Garmin 910xt watch with heart rate monitor that will be uploaded into the site. I also have a Garmin footpod for my runs and a cadence sensor for my bike. Coach Winn will be able to view my progress and workouts that I completed from the uploads from my Garmin.

I am currently swimming with the Hamilton Southeastern Swim Club Masters program. Joel Elber is my coach. He is an Ohio State grad, all American swimmer and Olympic trials qualifier. We are currently working on speed and will transition into longer endurance workouts in April. Our workouts are generally 2500-3000 yards per workout. In a short time I have already taken 1:15 off my 500 yard time. Joel varies the workouts each day and they are challenging!. He uses an underwater camera connected to Tivo on a delay to critique my stroke and I am able to see it as well. He has helped improve my stroke drastically and its a work in progress.

My running has mainly been indoors on the treadmill in the basement. Due to the cold weather and conditions, I have opted to stay indoors the past week or so. I do get out when I can to get some running in. Watching sports on the big screen helps pass the time. I am currently running with Brooks Pure Cadence but think I will be going back to Newton's. I ran the Flying Pig on Newton Gravity's and liked them. I may try the Newton Distance this year.

My cycling has been mainly indoors as well on the trainer in the basement. I have been alternating Computrainer workouts on Saturdays at The Cycle Studio in Carmel and T3 Multisport in Indianapolis. The Computrainer is a really good workout. My teammates from Team Tatum along with Coach Winn help push me. The trainer is computer based and I ride my own bike. I am riding a 2011 Felt B16 carbon frame tri bike. It is an entry level tri bike but it works for me. I am planning on upgrading my wheel set in March. I plan on getting a 60 front and 90 rear from Flocycling. They will be lighter and more aerodynamic then my stock wheels.

I had been working out at Crossfit Indynorth 2-3 days a week as well. I need to get back in there as I can tell I have became weaker in some areas. Balancing family, work and workouts is the key!

My First Post!

I did it! I signed up for IRONMAN Louisville! I will be supporting Tatum's Bags of Fun, helping children with cancer along my journey. Please support my cause and click on the link on my blog. It is my goal to raise enough funds to purchase 10 Bags of Fun for pediatric cancer patients! Please check out Tatum's website also listed on my blog to read her amazing story and what she is doing with pediatric cancer! She is a true warrior!

 

Here is a little bit about me...

 

I have always enjoyed a challenge and physical activity. I grew up a river rat, swimming in the Ohio River. My love for running began back in high school. I ran my 1st half marathon in the spring of 2002, the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon with basically no training. I enjoyed it but life just kind of got in the way of my love for competing. In 2010 I decided it was time to get back to what I love and I ran the Kentucky Derby Mini-Marathon. I was not happy with my time, so I bought an entry into the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon the following Saturday! For me, two mini-marathons in 7 days was a little crazy, but I succeeded! In 2011 I set a goal to become an IRONMAN....it didn't happen, but I didn't give up. In 2012 I was able to run a marathon and completed two sprint triathlons and I am hooked! I will become an IRONMAN this year!

Now, the reason I've partnered with such a great organization to help inspire me along this journey is both of my children, Evan and Anniston.

Evan is almost 3 years old and is 110% all boy!! A few short weeks after his birth he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and would need to see a neuro surgeon at Riley Children's Hospital. We walked in to the hospital and reality hit seeing every parents worst nightmare, sick children. What any parent wouldn't do to trade places with their child. After a year of monitoring we were released with news that Evan is healthy and happy!

Anniston was born this past September. As we are packing our things to leave the hospital and head home as a family of four we learned that she has three ventricular septal defects. She is currently seeing a cardiologist at Riley. Reports are looking and showing these holes are healing on their own. With 2 Riley babies in our house and positive outcomes unfolding before us, we are truly counting our blessings.

What Tatum's Bags of Fun provides to children with cancer is hope and tangible items to help get them through the long, tough, mental and physicall chemo and radiation treatments. I will push myself mentally and physically to becoming an IRONMAN while swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and running 26.2 miles in their honor by raising funds to provide them with "Bags of Fun" so they can Be Strong and Stay Strong as they win the fight against cancer!

With the support of my wife Nickole, my two children Evan & Anniston, family and friends, I WILL BECOME AN IRONMAN! Please encourage me along my journey...with a donation and a few words of encouragement, it will help me become an IRONMAN in 2013 while helping kids with cancer!

"I can do all this through him who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13