Competitive Period done and in the books!

It's hard to believe, but the 12 weeks of intense, long and highly difficult training during the competitive period is done and over. I have officially begun the 2 weeks of tapering to get ready for race day.

For weeks my training volume has been as high as 20 hours per week, two workouts each day guaranteed and now I am cutting down to 10 hours this week and a mere 4 hours the final week. I have made it through relatively unscathed (with the exception of major skunk scare, more on that in a moment) , injury free and with my marriage intact. Angie deserves a medal, that is for sure!!

I'm fired up to get to Madison. I know it is going to be a VERY long day but I also know I can do it and I'm anxious to get out there. I can't wait to meet that person who will inspire me, amaze me or even be the one who needs a little encouragement to keep going. My brother Doug and his wife Sue are heading out to support me and cheer me on. What an awesome thing it is to have an older brother willing to go that far to show you he loves you.

Before I sign off for the week, I have to tell you the skunk story. Most of you probably already know that I have had my run In's with these white striped vermin. In Minnesota, while running near my home, I happened upon Pepe La Pue's brother and was sprayed from the waist down. Trust me when I tell you it is the most disgusting thing in the world and I know from experience, tomato juice does not work.

While running in Chicago, not far from work, I had one cross in front of me about 10 feet away with it's stupid butt sticking straight up in the air ready to give me a shot. I jumped about 5 feet in the air, spun around in mid flight, yelped like a scared little girl and took off in the opposite direction as fast as I could run!

Well this week, I'm doing my morning run before heading off to work with the Branch Manager in Roseburg, Oregon. Roseburg in nestled along the Umpqua river and is really a beautiful place. It's about 5:30 in the morning, dark and I'm running around this park on a 3.5 mile paved trail. I don't have my headphones on because I believe it's dangerous to run with them in the dark while in a foreign place. Anyway, I have my headlight on, it's shining in front of me (because I also have a tendency to trip on the slightest obstacle in my way) and I'm cognizant of this ever present skunk danger, being very careful to cast a wide light in front of me, when all of a sudden I hear the unmistakable sound of a critter being spooked. I whip my head around to see what it was and right there, not 5 feet from my left side is a @!#$%^$# skunk! It's butt and tail are sticking straight up and he hisses at me and I just FREAK! Luckily he was facing me and didn't have a chance to spin around and spray me but I think I blacked out for a second because I don't remember much after that.

It's unbelievable isn't it. I mean, how many people do you know that have ever been sprayed by a skunk? What are the odds? I have not only have I been sprayed but now I have had two close calls! I'm going to start carrying my supplies for getting rid of skunk spray just in case. Sheeessh, all I'm trying to do is stay in shape!


Ok, that's it....time to recover and rest for the remainder of the day. Take care everybody!

Held together by a string.....

That's what my body feels like right now....held together by a string. After 33 weeks of following a specific training regimen, building in intensity week after week, my 44 year old muscles, tendons, bones and ligaments have been stretched to the max. My main goal from now until Sunday's race is to stay injury free!

Eric, a good friend of mine and fellow Ironman participant strained his calf muscle the other day. It is looking like it may be touch and go for a race day start. Thinking about the countless hours spent in that stupid pool at 5 am, or mile after mile of lonely cycling, with only trucks that pass too close and your own thoughts to keep you company, or the number of miles spent running and listening to your iPod for so long you can't stand another round of Sheryl Crow's 'All I Wanna Do', all in preparation to spend 13 hours or more in pain, only to have it jeopardized by a stupid muscle pull. That would PI-- me off!

If I know Eric, he'll cross that finish line, no matter what!

One more week of intense training, then it's taper time. I'll be on that plane with Angie soon enough, headed for the metropolitan city of Madison, Wisconsin, ready to ROCK!

It's gonna be AWESOME!!

It's Getting Close Now...........

So close to the race....I can feel the anticipation and realization that it actually is going to happen. Two weeks ago was my longest training week all year....nearly 21 hours in total and believe it or not, even with travel, I got it all in.

I have two more weeks of 15 and 16 hours each followed by two weeks of tapering then bam, We're in Madison, on the starting line!

No real injuries to speak of, just 44 year old aches and pains that don't amount to much, I have never felt in better shape. I'm amazed at what my body has adapted to...if I would of thought of thought of staying in an aerobic state (70% to 80% of max heart rate) for several hours in a row, I wouldn't have believed I could do it. Now, each weekend is spent riding miles and miles followed by running and swimming, only to get up and hit it again the next day. On more than one weekend, I have covered the distance of an Ironman, so I know I can do it.

NBC just ran an encore presentation of the 2006 Ironman Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Of course, I tivoed it and have watched a few times for inspiration. It never fails to bring a tear to my eye. However, watching it now, I have a brand new appreciation for what I'm seeing. I know what it feels like to train when no one else is around, or say no to something I want to do because I have to get my ride in.

Anyway, I'm feeling great, ready to go to Madison and get this baby done!!

Take care everybody!

A Whisp of Smoke........

On Tuesday my wife called with the sad news that her grandfather Merril had passed away suddenly. Unfortunately, he choked on something and the trauma was too much for his frail heart, he had turned 88 the week before. Merril had visited our home just a few days earlier and I had been able to show him my bikes and carbon fiber race wheels. He was so fascinated, with his engineering background, he took great pleasure in seeing the progress of man, never imagining a simple bicycle could advance so far.



Tuesday, my daughter flew to Minneapolis to attend her best friends wedding as the Maid of Honor. I was out of town on business when my phone rang Wednesday evening. Nathan, our oldest called to tell me Stephanie was fine. Not having watched the news, he had to let me know about the terrible bridge tragedy that happened just a few hours earlier. My heart raced as I processed the information in my head.


During the collapse, Stephanie was throwing the traditional Bridal shower just south of the bridge, thankfully safe and sound. But a few of the girls that attended told her that if they had not been at the shower, there was a good chance they would be on their way home from work, taking the 35W bridge as they usually do.


Once I knew my loved one was safe, my thoughts immediately turned to my Coke Family. Was one of our trucks on the bridge? Possibly a salesperson trying to get back to Eagan? I quickly phoned Pat in Illinois, getting his voice mail, I left a message to send me word when he could.


Not able to do more, I started that evenings training ride, leaving our Medford branch with the sun shining and the temp a blistering 95 degrees. I headed north to Table Rock road. TableRock is leftover lava flows that rise over 800 feet and provide spectacular scenery with hawks riding the thermals, looking for pray. It's spectacular. Below is the route I took with a couple of pictures. The one in the middle is what you see from the road I was on.

After an hour straight out....I'm stopped, looking at my blackberry, waiting for word from Pat that we hadn't lost anybody. He had emailed that 3 people were lost, but no one from our Coke family.

At that moment, I looked up, I see Table Rock with the sun just above the flat top of the lava rocks and I'm reminded again....Life is just a Wisp of Smoke. That's it. It's that quick.

One day you go to work and after a long day you get stuck in traffic, on a bridge under construction. Without notice the bridge collapses into the Mississippi river with a crushing weight that is hard to imagine....and that day becomes your last day. No notice, just that quick, just that sudden.

You go to your annual physical, feeling fine. The doctor recommends a body scan and finds a grapefruit sized tumor and 6 months later you leave behind a family or you leave to defend your country's border and the rear tire blows on the vehicle you just happened to be assigned that day, and you leave behind a wife and two small boys.

We don't get a warning that it's coming, you wake up one day and it happens, altering everything from that day on.

What does all this have to do with my journey to Ironman?............everything.

This journey is just one element of my commitment to myself to live everyday as if it were my last and I can tell you without doubt, it has been everything I thought it would be and more.

It's part of my desire to strive to wring every drop of fun, blessing, challenges and love that this day will bring. Trying hard not to disrespect the gift from above that it is.

I ask you....what challenge have you always wanted to try? What relationship needs repaired? Who do you need to call and tell that you love them? Are you living where you want to live, doing what you want to do? Maybe you just need to look in the mirror and tell yourself how awesome you are.

Life is but a Wisp of Smoke............What are you waiting for?