Countdown

I thought it would be a great Idea to keep everyone in the loop how my training is going and how I am managing my daily pain. Well, that was supposed to happen six weeks ago. Once again I have fallen victim to limited time, laziness, procrastination and utter fatigue from training twice a day not to mention being a dad!  I once again apologize for starting this late but I hope this can provide you with some insight to my daily training routine. 

So here I am, 6 weeks into a very difficult and challenging training schedule for Ironman Arizona. I am currently using a 24-week training schedule that consists of 15-25 hours a week of swim, bike and run. In the early stages of training for an Ironman, I am working on general endurance training. This means many hours a day working on all three sports. The most challenging is the run.

Having clubfoot and being an endurance athlete do not go together well. However, I have been fortunate thus far to achieve what seems impossible. It simply is not easy doing what I am doing. Many nights I come home after training and deal with a significant amount of pain. Some days I can barley walk and limp about the house until I train again. Why do I even try, you ask? It’s for my son, fellow club footer, and the rest of you that are affected by clubfoot or have a child born with this disability. I do it for you. To show you that anything is possible regardless of what limitations may be before us.

My typical training day starts around 5:00 am. I head to the pool and swim for an hour, working on my speed and endurance. After the pool, I head into the weight room where I work on strengthening my feet and calf muscles. It is important not to neglect strength training when dealing with clubfoot. Your feet are the foundation and it needs to be a strong foundation in order to complete a race of 140 miles. I arrive home 2 hours later so that I can spend time with my family and, of course, eat quite a bit for my second workout of the day.

In the afternoon, I prepare for my second workout which usually is a run or bike session. I typically bike about 30 miles, working on speed, endurance, and strength. If I have a run scheduled for the day, it usually is anywhere from 4 miles to 20 miles. At the end of the week I have covered around 100 miles or so on the bike, many miles in the pool and about 20 miles running.

At the end of the day, I try to rest my feet as much as I can. I stretch them and ice them throughout the night. I have a very difficult time walking about the house, but mange as best as I can. The following morning is the absolute worst experience in having clubfoot. I wake up to tremendous pain. It takes me several minutes to prepare my body to get out of bed. As the day progresses, it gets better, but I am never pain free.

As the weeks progress in my training, I will be sure to update you on my progress, pain management advice and how I am doing overall. Again, it’s not easy doing what I am doing. If I can help one child born with clubfoot or motivate someone with clubfoot to be the best they can be regardless of a disability, it makes it all worth it. It also makes 140 miles of swim, bike and run much easier to fathom!

Stay tuned for more updates!