Ironman UK Training Week 7

Another week done, another week closer to Ironman UK. 23 weeks to go.

Lost another 2lb this week so now back down to 13st 9lbs. This was the lowest I got to in 2012

Should see the 10,000th hit on the blog over the next couple of days. Never thought it would reach that when i first started writing about quitting smoking and buying a bicycle.

Training

Calories burnt for the year = 59,166
Training hours this week = 10 hours 27minutes

Monday

Swim. 1 hour coached swim session

400 metre warm up, 100 metres using some training fins. Did some vertical kicks with the fins on to feel the muscles i should be using when kicking. Then did some one arm drills with fins and holding a float out front with one arm. Whilst doing this, practised lifting the elbow high out the water.

 Tried it afterwards without the float, alternating sides after every 10 kicks. Unfortunately the first 25 metres was a disaster where i just sank as soon as i swapped sides. Next 25 metres went a lot better with no water consumption. Finished the session with some bog standard swimming.

Tuesday

Bike 46 minute/Run 16 minute brick session

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/234708254 - Bike

Run was an out and back to Sainsbury. Actually ran the furthest yet on a 15 minute brick run. Just
over 2 miles.

Had a bit of a hairy bike moment hammering down a hill near Dunston Hall my bloody front light cut out & found myself  travelling at over 20mph in total darkness. Luckily i was in the middle of the road other wise things could have got a bit funky. Note to self, make sure i connect light to battery properly!

Wednesday

Run 1 hour 1 minute.

Ran just under 6 miles, down to the lake and back. Something up with my Garmin Forerunner. For some reason it's not logging my starts correctly & chopping off parts of the runs.

Calf's feeling OK today, I've managed to get the knot out of my left muscle which has made running a lot more comfortable.
In a dilemma about trainers now. I worked out Ive done 372 miles in my Saucony's so i  they are probably due for replacing. They certainly will by VLM . I don't want to buy a big chunky pair again as I'm trying to move to the more minimalist shoe. However, it's less than 2 months till the marathon & I'm not sure if i can make the transition to running that distance in the minimalist shoe???

Swim 1 hour 1 minute

‎82 lengths tonight so a bit less than last week but i had a go at some bilateral breathing. Normally i just breath on my right side every two strokes. This is what Ive got used to, relaxed strokes and breathing was my biggest front crawl hurdle.

First i did a few 4 strokes between breaths (on the right side) then a 6 stroke, that was quite hard and it took a good half a length to get my breathing back under control again.

Did some alternative  2 stroke/3 strokes for a couple of lengths, felt really awkward on the left side and found I'm lifting my head a long way out the water. Eventually managed to do about 6 lengths of bilateral breathing. Certainly easier once i got a bit more rotation going on.

Found this link tonight which talks about bilateral breathing.

http://www.swimsmooth.com/bilateral.html

Something else to keep practising
 

Thursday

Bike 1 hour 11 minutes  - http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/235255704

Bit of a chilly one, couple of days off work now so did this first thing. Now got no training for 48 hours which is quite a nice thought. May try do some pre work Thursday bike rides so i get the same extended rest period.
 Didn't go with hill training this week as it was day time, thought I'd head out to the country for a bit. Managed to find a church i couldnt find at Rackheath previously.

Friday

Rest Day

Saturday

Didn't do Park run this week as doing my volunteer bit. Quite handy really as it was snowy and cold.
Still, went out and did a little run later as part of my Newton shoes transition

Run 21 minute  - Just a little one

Bike 2 hours 4 minutes - http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/235920080

Took a bit of self motivating to get out the door for this one. Snowing, cold and breezy. First hour was a bit of a mare but after that the sun had decided to come out a bit which was very welcome.
Ticked off another few churches  http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/norfolk-church-count-81.html

Wrap up warm

Today made me think of a song from my favourite group of all time, AC/DC. For those of us striving for our first Ironman. Despite crap weather or other issues & knowing it would be easier just to sit at home in the warm laying on the sofa. That attitude won't get me to the finish line on August 4th!

When the cycling gets tough you just gotta  'Ride on'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNdagpIgItw

Apologise for the cheese

Sunday

Run 1 hour 45 minutes - http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/236243602

Really loved today's run even though my legs were seriously bitching after 90 minutes. Don't think it helped having a lot of uphill towards the end. Snowed a bit but nothing drastic. Quite handy that there had been a freeze overnight or the muddy bog path along the river at Eaton would have been a nightmare again.
Felt very relaxed on the run, had happy thoughts running through my head about completing the various events this year. Particularly London Marathon & IMUK.

As i posted on my FB earlier. "Ironman training. Somedays I love it, Somedays i hate. Today is a love it day".

Swim 1 hour 2 minute

Went for the 50 metre swim session tonight. Still only managed the same as last week. 40 lengths in the hour. I did do a fair bit of bilateral breathing again though.

Other

Slight setback this week although it hasn't stopped my training, yet. I've suffered in the past with an abscess under my tailbone, although i haven't had any problems for over a year I was supposed to go up the hospital next time it flared up so it could be operated on.

Problem is, the operation results in a 8-10 week recovery period as it is a pain to heal. Not an ideal time for me to have 10 weeks off work nor losing 10 weeks out of my training plan. So, hoping i can get away with antibiotics to clear it up again. Thankfully my cycle seat is a perfect mould that removes any pressure away from the painful area.

Tribars going back on the bike this week. Need to get used to them again. Also ordered an Aero Drink bottle that will fit between them. Should encourage me to drink more & also enables me to do it whilst staying in an aero position. Would have liked to fit a speedfill system but that is a bit pricey for now..

Halfords was the cheapest for bottle and bracket. They currently have a 20% discount on cycle accessory web purchases. Plus i got my Aviva 3% cash back on it.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&productId=561677&catalogId=10151



Cheers

Andy

Follow me on Twitter @clearseaz

My charity page for event listings & making a donationhttp://www.bmycharity.com/clearseaz

The Cycling Norfolk Church Spotter
http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/

The allotment Journey Blog
http://allotmentjourney.blogspot.co.uk/

Join the Facebook Group - The Ironman Journey
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/287319678021088/

Say hello on the Fatman to Ironman forumhttp://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=&UTN=191464&last=1&V=1&SP=

Ironman UK Training Week 6

Week 6 of the 30 week plan. Still remaining pretty much injury free & no planned sessions cancelled yet. Biggest issue i am having is a knot the size of a walnut in my calf muscle. Although regular massaging of it and foam roller use seems to be helping. Any advice on sorting out the calf muscles would be appreciated.

Training

Calories burnt for the year = 49,857
Training hours this week = 9 hours 54 mins

Monday

Coached swim 1 hour

400m warm up followed by 4 x 50m with the kickboard. Then 150m of those finger dragging drills.
Whole bunch of lengths, didnt count them but worked on my arm technique, felt like it was getting better, i was managing to keep up a bit more with the others tonight.

Penultimate set was a 200m time trial which i did in 4 minutes 39 seconds.

East coast Triathlon 250m swim took me 7 minutes 33 seconds.

Although i'm not doing any sprint triathlons this year i may have to revisit some of the ones i did last year in 2014. Just so i can see what progress i have made.

Tuesday

Bike 46 minutes / Run 15 minutes brick session

First step up on the weekly brick, extra 15 minutes on the bike ride. Started to increase my pace as

well. Bike ride Average 15.1 mph & run was a 8.48 min/mile average.

Heres the routes, both out and backs

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/232035940

http://app.strava.com/activities/40678991

Wednesday

Run 1hour 2 minute

Run felt ok but suffering when i got back. Shins now really painfull & calf muscles aching. Although i use the foam roller daily, going to have to spend more time on the calf muscles to sort myself out. Either that or seriously consider dropping a run.

Swim 1 hour

New PB on the swim. 88 x 25m lengths within the hour.

Thursday

Bike 1 hour 1 minute - Hill training 865ft

http://app.strava.com/activities/40876940

Did 7 climbs of Long John Hill in Norwich. Was glad when it was over, not the most exciting hours ride. Next weeks plan will be a circuit including Mansfield Lane climb and Long John Hill on each lap. Quite handy as these two are on my doorstep so i dont waste time riding over to Thorpe.

Friday

Rest day

Saturday

Run 17 minutes

Didn't do park run today. Acquired a pair of Newton Sir Isaac running shoes that a member of Trianglia couldnt get on with. Newton website suggested a slow transition into using them, hence the short run today. Will build up the time in them over the next few weeks. Meldy the wise woman from the RW forum also suggested doing warm ups using them as well.

Have to say, first impressions were very good. Definitely encourage a mid foot strike. Although i had been trying to adjust to this in my other shoes, it was quite easy to slip back into heel striking, because of the size of the clumping great heels i suppose.

Newton Sir Isaac running shoe
http://www.newtonrunning.com/shop/men-running-shoes/guidance-2010-white-black-sir-isaac-wide

Bike 2 hours 1 minute - http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/233330812

Great ride today, warm and sunny, little wind. Kept a good average speed, although it has been very distorted due to strolling round Wymondham Abbey with the timer still running. Feeling a lot happier about being able to hold a decent time over the 112 mile Ironman ride.

Ticked off another 5 Churches today bringing my total to 78.
 http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/norfolk-church-count-78.html

Sunday

Run 90 minutes - http://app.strava.com/activities/41214234

Comfortable 9 mile run down to to Whittlingham country park & back. No issues, quite a few runners down there. Very muddy though down the bottom end of the lake as usual, although looks like they are tryng to sort it out with wood/bark chippings.

Swim 1 hour 1 minute

As Arleya has been ill this weekend there was no Karate for her so I didnt have to go to the UEA in the morning, i'll normally do this session whilst she is training. Gave me the opportunity to go this evening and give it a go in the 50 metre pool.

Was good but i was a bit slower, mainly due to people socialising on the side of the pool and getting in the way, despite this session supposedly meant for lane swimming.  Some people were stopping mid length, treading water & chatting, quite bizzarre??  There are only 4 lanes available as the clubs use the other 4. I did switch into one of the middle lanes in the end which was a lot better.

Other stuff

Struggling for pictures this week so here are some token visuals for this week.

My new Trianglia beanie. Should stop Jeff (IronYank) mugging me off about myYankees beanie everytime he see's it.

 I'm putting together a bulk order for trianglia members at the end of the month so pop onto the club website and place your orders.

The Blueseventy transition bag i won for completing an online triathlon survey arrived this week. Never imagined i would be so impressed with a bag but this thing is fantastic. Compartments for everything you could possibly need in a triathlon, including a waterproof wetsuit compartment. It even has a little hole thing for your headphones to connect through to an MP3 player in your bag.

http://www.blueseventy.co.uk/collections/accessories/products/transition-bag

 

 

 Now this next picture is very exciting, not. The Newtons Paul at Trianglia sold me for a tenner to try out. Very comfortable & a perfect fit. Probably a better fit than my Saucony's.

Thats all folks

Cheers

Andy

Follow me on Twitter @clearseaz

My charity page for event listings & making a donationhttp://www.bmycharity.com/clearseaz

The Cycling Norfolk Church Spotter
http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/

The allotment Journey Blog
http://allotmentjourney.blogspot.co.uk/

Join the Facebook Group - The Ironman Journey
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/287319678021088/

Say hello on the Fatman to Ironman forumhttp://wwwrunnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=&UTN=191464&last=1&V=1&SP=

Ironman UK Training Week 5

Super week this week, more PB's, weight loss & a silver medal for my daughter.

Decided to weigh myself as it was now February, going to do that each month. I've lost 4lbs in 2 weeks, so now I'm only 2 lbs off last years all time low.

13st 11lb, hoping to be closer to 12 stone by Ironman time.

All down to increased exercise. No fad diets, miracle plans or drugs. I still eat quite rubbish, things like burgers, pizzas, chips, just reduced the volume.

Guess I'd lose the weight quicker if i went totally clean on my diet, but how long would that last? It would make me miserable, i love food & life's too short to completely cut out everything bad.

Training

Calories burnt for the year = 40,204
Training hours this week =  7 Hours 58 Minutes

Monday

Coached Swim 1 hour.

Did a few drills again this week, same as previous week. Added a 400 metre time trial in. Took 10 minutes 19 seconds (including a slight wait) Took over 16 minutes to do 300 metres at Wattisham Triathlon last year. I was still only doing breast stroke then though.

Tuesday

Bike 31 minutes /Run 16 minutes brick session

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/229467864 - Bike route

Biggest snowflakes in the world started coming down as i left work so i had to drag the mountain bike out again. Annoying. Not to mention the sharp icy wind, not a pleasant walk home.
Stuck the lights on the MTB and off i went. My arse was soaked with icy water within a minute of leaving the house. Poodled round the city & was relieved to get home. Arleya had gone to piano so nobody to help with transition.

Still, was out the door within a few minutes, run was quite nice. Did my standard 15 minute out and back to Sainsbury's down Lakenham Way.

Wednesday

Run 47 minutes

http://app.strava.com/activities/39975507

Nice run in the sleet & hail. At least i'll be well prepared if i get shite weather at events i do this year

Swim 1 hour

Is what it is, up and down the pool zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Although I'm definitely getting quicker. Fastest pace I've done and knocked out 86 x 25m lengths in an hour

Thursday

Bike Ride - 47 minutes - Hill Training

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/230252168

Took in Telegraph Lane & Harvey Lane tonight. Climbed 594 feet. Front derailleur started playing up which was a pain. Obviously down to my duff adjusting on Sundays course.

Thursday sessions increase to an hour from next week. I'm debating just doing a small circuit near my house ,riding up Long John Hill a dozen times. Boring but I'll get more ascending in within the hour.

Friday

Rest day & Pizza

Saturday

Park run - 5k.

Always such a mission to get up and do this. Pretty cold again this morning too. Started nearer to the front of the pack today. Was a bit more awake & actually moved as soon as the whistle went.
Had to clamber over a ton of kids to find a clearing which i eventually got after a couple of minutes. Be glad when Mulbarton park run starts, hoping it will be less crowded.

Went with the follow Coxy plan again but trotted past him after about half a lap this time. He was having hamstring issues & had to slow it up a bit. Managed to keep a steady sub 8 min mile pace all the way round. At one point i thought i was on for a sub 23 minute time.

Eventually clocked in at 23.08, another 58 seconds off last weeks PB. Well chuffed. My stride felt longer and more relaxed today, although i was still breathing pretty hard.


Bike 1hr 45 49 minutes - http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/230783042

Great ride this, sunny, dry & not very windy, which was certainly a novelty of late.
Kept a decent pace although my average was totally ruined in crossing Norwich, not helped by all the football traffic. Still, a 15 min average will be more than good enough for my Ironman campaign.

Obviously i wont have the added time of stopping to take pictures of churches in Bolton either. managed to pick off another four today - http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/

Sunday

Run 1hr 15 minutes - http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/231105556

Nice early morning run, not as early as previous weeks which was good. Legs are starting to feel tired now, always good to know I haven't got to run again until Tuesday & that's only 15 minutes

Next weeks training time sees the biggest increase so far as the plan increases to around 10 hours.


Arleya

Great result for my daughter at the Norfolk ACF cross country competition today

As she's 13 she was supposed to be in the Junior group, however, due to lack of numbers they bumped her up to the intermediate category (14 to 15 years) to make up that teams numbers, which seemed a bit unfair to me. However, she still came 2nd

So, with the Norfolk ACF competition done, she now does the Regional championships in March. A decent result there and it's off to the Nationals. She will run as a Junior going forward apparently.

Somehow i ended up walking round the course as well?? http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/231195672

Heres a few pics, it was freezing cold, can't believe some of the kids were just in T-Shirts

Top of a long uphill drag

 

 

Smile knowing she beat bunches of 15 year olds

 

Silver medal from the Colonel

Happy Days

 Cant think of anything else, although I'm sure there is some other stuff i was supposed to put in this week??????????   Will have to wait till next week now.

cheers

Andy

Follow me on Twitter @clearseaz

My charity page for event listings & making a donationhttp://www.bmycharity.com/clearseaz

The Cycling Norfolk Church Spotter
http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/

The allotment Journey Blog
http://allotmentjourney.blogspot.co.uk/

Join the Facebook Group - The Ironman Journey
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/287319678021088/

Say hello on the Fatman to Ironman forumhttp://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=&UTN=191464&last=1&V=1&SP=

Ironman UK Training Week 4

Week 4 done and dusted. So far so good, 26 weeks training left till the big day.

Training

Calories burnt for the year = 32,369
Training hours this week =  8 hours 33 minutes

Monday

SWIM - 1 hours Coached

Few drills tonight. Used the kick board again, pool buoy with the finger tips in first, wide stroke. Then did a drill where you drag your fingers through the water as your arm comes back over for the reach. Aim is to keep your elbow high and hand low. Makes you concentrate on making the most efficient arm movement, plus using your hips more. I think its aptly named the finger drag drill.

Started taking breaths on every fourth stroke instead of two as well. Think i'm making progress, does feel like i'm doing everything totally wrong though. Guess i'd just sink if that was the case though.

Tuesday

BIKE 31 minute / RUN 15 minute brick session

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/226942016  Bike 

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/226950312  Run

Busy evening as i had to get a parents evening in, plus the training session.
Had a decent ride though, nice to be snow free, although was very windy.
Picked up the pace on the run a bit tonight. 9.12 min/mile on the run (fast for me)

Wednesday

RUN 45 minute

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/227275778  Run

SWIM - 1 hour

Packed pool again. Couple of speedy, ignorant swimmers in my lane tonight. Some manners & a bit of tolerance, we can all enjoy our swims together a lot better guys. I'm sure getting held up behind a slow swimmer for a few seconds isnt going to scupper your Olympic selection chances!

On the plus side, being bumped and swam into is good training for my triathlon mass starts.

Thursday

BIKE - 47 minute

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/227669748

Hill training session. Climbed 659ft. New PB on Gas Hill & Telegraph Lane
Did think my lungs were going to explode on Gas Hill though, took a good 10 minutes before i
felt like i'd recovered from it.

Friday

Rest day & Pizza. Although the wife only let me eat half the monster Pizza i bought. I did moan a bit but in hindsight, pleased she slapped the greedy pig out of me. A good 600 calories less consumed.

Saturday

RUN 5k (parkrun) - Glad this is back on, although out of nowhere i was awoken with
sleet, hail, wind battering the bedroom window. Great, really looking forward to park
run now. A feeling that was being played back to me by Arleya who had a face like a
slapped arse.

Anyway, bit the bullet & headed up there. Stayed dry for the run. I tried to keep up with
 the boss, Vince, as he had been putting in some good times under my PB. However, the
pace he shot off at from the start left me blowing out my backside so I had to slow it down.

Still, felt good & i completed the first lap in a sub 8min time so was actually looking good for a PB. Opened up my stride a bit & was keeping a 7.5min/mile pace quite comfortable. I was actually starting to creep back up on Vince again. By the time i finished the 2nd lap i passed him. Second lap 16 minutes, PB definately in sight, although i was sucking air hard, which wasnt being helped with the icy air.

Still, managed to hold the pace and came in at 24.03, smashed my previous PB by 37 seconds. I guess i must be starting to get some benefit from the rest of the training. Although I'm concentrating more on my endurance rather than speed.

I'll never be the fastest, I'll never stand on a podium, but i really dont mind. Getting that PB this morning felt like i'd won a gold medal. Happy days

BIKE 1hr 38 Minute  - http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/228223002

Managed to exceed the planned time by 23 minutes.
Snapped a few more churches - http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/
Experinced all four of the English seasons. Snowed on me once, Rained on me, Sleeted and
hailed on me nearly blown off the bike on numerous occasions & thought i was going to
get a suntan when i was out Spixworth way. Came across a great hill out Costessey way that
i havent been up before. Folgate Lane, worth a look. I'll be back on that again.

Sunday

RUN 1hr 31 minute - http://app.strava.com/activities/39581899

Longest run of the year. Again, a bit of a chore getting out of bed for this one.
Had to be done though as last day of the cycle course & also cycle show at the
Norwich Forum to get too. Run went ok, bit cold, slippy on Whit lane & quite
boggy along the river, round the lake. Legs felt really tired & heavy today. Shins
& calves quite achy as well. Apart from that, good run.

Bike 27 minutes

Rode down to the cycle maintenance course. Sorted my gears out, cleaned bike. Shiniest
it's been in a long time. Then headed up to the forum for the cycle show. Did 30 mins
Trianglia bike racking duties, then nipped in for Shaun Yates talk. Rode home, pretty cold
 today, an icy chill in the air so glad i was nt out for long.

Monthly stats
January

Calories burnt = 29,160
Cycled = 13 hours - 151 miles
Ran = 7 hours - 45 miles
Swam = 8 hours
Walked = 15 hours - 46 miles

Other stuff

Norfolk Cycle Show, managed to get up to the forum for a bit to have a look. Made my
day getting to meet Shaun Yates, Tour de France stage winner & directeur sportif for
Sky last year.
Also met paralympian Lauren Steadman who was very nice. I had a chat with her about
her training & she was telling me how she needs to try and juggle finishing University this
year, as well as training for a multitude of championships she has this year. Inspirational.

http://www.thenorfolkcycleshow.co.uk/

Few pics from todays event.

Outside the forum in Norwich

Kids cycling & mini MTB track thing

Rollerdrome 500m sprint competition

Shaun talks about his career & last years phenomonal success with Sky



Have a go at Triathlon with Trianglia



Shaun Yates & his Tour de France yellow jersey

Lauren Steadman. Note to self, only give iphone to young people to take the pics in future

Thought I'd post a video clip of The Slateman I'll be doing in May - http://vimeo.com/24322153

As I don't have to pay for the Slateman accommodation until the event I was able to get my
entry in for The Grafman  http://www.nicetri.co.uk/index.php?id=287

Also sorted my VLM accomodation as well. So, all accommodations sorted and all training
events booked. I'm so organised :-)


Signed up for a 5K swimathon in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.
You can sponsor me here :
http://my.artezglobal.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=422089&langPref=en-CA

Never swam 5k before & i dont like swimming as you know, so a bit unsure why i have signed
up for this. Be good training though & may make a few quid for a worthy cause.

My luck on winning triathlon related stuff continued this week. Completed a Triathlon survey
on Sunday evening & had this in my mailbox the next day

"This is just a quick message to let you know that you’ve won the following prize in the
Winning Weekend #3 of 3 from the Triathlon Industry Association...!"

Prize: Blueseventy: 1 x blueseventy transition bag

My friend Jim is doing a bunch of cycle events for Pancreatic Cancer UK.
If you would like to donate, a link to his FB page is here
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jims-Charity-Cycling-2013/567107546650718

Jims the old man in blue

Andy Holgate blogged his 24 week Ironman training plan this week
'The Musings of a COLT Ironman'
http://ironholgs.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/getting-it-off-my-chest-24wk-plan/

Came across this Blog as well, has a whole selection of Ironman Video clips. Worth a look,
Check out the one titled 'The Crawl'
Kona Ironman Videos - Motivational Videos
http://roadtoironmandaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/kona-ironman-videos-motivational-videos.html?m=1

cheers

Follow me on Twitter @clearseaz

My charity page for event listings & making a donation
http://www.bmycharity.com/clearseaz
The Cycling Norfolk Church Spotter
http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/

The allotment Journey Blog
http://allotmentjourney.blogspot.co.uk/

Join the Facebook Group - The Ironman Journey
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/287319678021088/

Say hello on the Fatman to Ironman forum
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=&UTN=191464&last=1&V=1&SP=