Iron News Man - October 14, 2009

By CHRIS SCHAUBLE

Updated 9:00 AM PST, Wed, Oct 14, 2009

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Southern California’s bad weather has not stopped my Ironman training! Coincidentally, all of it can be done inside which is perfect. I have to chuckle because yesterday I watched the “The Proposal” with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock while getting in my training ride! That almost felt like cheating, but hey, it counts!

Today I’ll do the same and already have the movie I plan to watch picked out. It sure makes a "Plan B" training day not so bad. Nothing beats the great outdoors, but if you have to be inside to train, watching a movie makes the time fly. After I finish the ride, it's time for a nap and some much-needed recovery.

Here’s my TrainingPeaks.com schedule for today from Triathlon Coach Jason Healey:

Cruise Intervals
Type: Bike
Planned duration: 0:00
Planned distance: 0.0 miles
Ride 1hr - 15 minutes: Cruise Intervals

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Countdown to Ironman

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Ironman Journey

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Triathlon Training

Warm up for 20 minutes. Start warm easy and gradually raise your heart rate to a hard effort (Sprint Distance Bike effort). Once you have reach this level of effort hold the effort during the following set of Intervals:

Set 1: 9 minute (hard effort) followed by 2.5 minute recovery spin.

Set 2: 6 minute (hard effort) followed by 1.5 minute recovery spin.

Follow the cruise intervals with a 20-minute steady effort and cool down.
This is an ideal workout for your bike trainer. You won't have to worry about traffic, lights, sharp bend in the road or intersections. It's just smooth sailing.

Pretty simple huh? I relish a “light” training day because I know what’s ahead for the end of the week. Tomorrow I have a medium distance run… Friday I have a super-long swim… and Saturday I have a killer ride! A light day today means I’ll be fresh and ready for what the remainder of the week brings!

Days until Ironman Arizona: 39!

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-Chris

Why blog? To inspire others.

Simply put, two years ago I was overweight! At 6’1” I weighed 252, and wore size 40 pants. Few people really noticed, but I did. In pictures, on TV, I was not happy with my appearance. Covering the 2007 LA Marathon for NBC4 was the last straw. Every picture I was in highlighted just how out of shape I had become.

No more! Since that time, the guy who could barely run around the block has slowly built-up his endurance and completed the 2008 Long Beach International Marathon , 2009 Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, 2009 LA Marathon, and the 2009 Vineman Ironman 70.3.

However, something happened along the way. After my first marathon, I fell into a funk. I asked myself, “Why do you feel such a let-down after a marvelous achievement?” The answer I have since learned from my coaches, I failed to set the “goal beyond the goal”. Thus, my quest for Iron was born!

I’m registered to compete in the Ford Ironman Arizona on November 22nd, 2009. Along the way, I will compete in various road races and triathlons to fuel my passion and push my training along. The intense and at times brutal training will happen after my duties as 4 a.m. to 7a.m. anchor for NBC4 have finished. The sacrifices I will make will be substantial, and for that I thank my beautiful family and friends in advance.

I invite you to share this journey with me.