So I have been thinking about the “Bonness Triple” since I failed in November to make it to the 3rd leg at IM-FL… The thing is…I have been informed by the Boss that I cannot go to Kona which would be the first leg of the triple (followed by GFT and IM-FL).
So…this is what I was thinking…GFT 10/23-IMFL 11/05-Silverman IM Vegas 11/13… This would be a little easier financially than the trip to Hawaii and I guess it wouldn’t officially be the “Triple” but it will have to do. 3 IM in 4 weeks…
Is there anyone else out there that have these three dates circled on their calendar with me?
what are you smoking or drinking tonight, 3 IM in 3 weeks, your CRAZY, but then again I bow down to your better knowledge, I need to drink some of that lake mineloa water, sheeeeeeeesh, hehehehehehehhe
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Cmon Heavy D…we will do the three IM together! You would be the first Clyde to ever do the B-triple! We can drive to two of the races (actually I can roll down the hill to the first one)…and then we go to Vegas for the finish! What do you say?!
I’m in w/ you on this and then we can head from Vegas to a good divorce attorney and maybe get a group discount?!?
As my Boss is a little more strict my IM triple may consist of events within a 5 mile radius of our home. See me in '06 though…Jude & Gavin will love Kona!
Go for it! I have 2 of the 3 dates circled. But I am taking the easy way out. 10/23 I will be in a relay in the Great Floridian half, 11/05 I will do Ironman Florida, however I will take a pass on vegas. I was intrigued by the vegas race because I have been to vegas each fall since 2001 to watch my wife do a competition. Now that I am single again I am looking for an excuse for a vegas trip. Maybe if it was more than 8 days apart.
Good lawd…all I know is that I did Kona and then GFT a whole THREE weeks apart back in '98, and I’m just now feeling like I’m back to normal, health-wise :-))
You and Joe are just flat-out sick. Which is a good thing, I guess
…yikes… Support Crew, please explain. We all hope that Joe is doing well ! Granted, we are all mortal (ie death rate is 1.0 per person), but Joe is something else. I hope he is gonna keep racking up those impressive performances !
That thread makes sense. I started throwing PVCs (pre-ventricular contractions) in '99, and began investigating possible reasons why they were occurring. The ultimate treatment plan for me turned out to be enforced rest and a complete, though involuntary, cessation of ultra-endurance (i.e. large weekly training hour blocks) tri-training for a few years.
Nowadays, I’m much smarter, and listen to what my body is telling me much more closely than I did in the past. I also race a lot smarter and a whole lot less. If I feel tired or stressed, I dial back on the time and intensity. I also get annual physical checkups etc. I also NEVER, EVER devote more than 8% of my total weekly training hours to high-intensity speedwork.
Now until IronJoe gets on Slowtwitch and says that the 2 or 3 years of “triples” (IM-HI, GFT, IM-FL) he has done has ruined his life and his heart, I will listen.
Personally, I think the 35+ Ironmans that he has done in the last 3 or 4 years may have a little bit more to do with his condition than the triples… I will be only doing 5 Ironmans this year (thats it!)…3 of them in that span…
Thanks for the update on Joe. Hopefully he will be fine and return to racing again.
All of this reminds me what I had stated many years ago, but that I disregard often today. The heart is a muscle. I could get the same “leg” loading by doing one hour of leg weights and then a steady 2 hour ride and give my heart more of a break, then by riding for 6 hours. In 99, I raced Ironman LP on two rides of 180K and the rest being 90K or less, with lots of leg weight training. I ended up going 10:36 that year. Something to be said about giving the heart a break !
I going to chime in here on the heart issue, since I’ve probably got more expirence firsthand than just about anyone, except for Welchy maybe. The heart is a muscle, but what you forgot to mention was that when damaged, it does not repair itself. Only muscle in the body that does not, and to date, modern medicine is still having trouble growing new heart tissue. They are making great strides, but for now, standard procedures are still the norm. I got my pacemaker about3 1/2 years ago, and I had what they called 3rd degree heart block. Many are confused by this,but it is not an artery block, but an electrical pathway block. At some point I killed heart tissue that carries the beat from the atrimum to the ventricle, so when it is blocked, my heart just stops, sometimes for 20 seconds or more. My doctor has done a study of endurance athletes, and has found that their predisposition to heart ailments is way higher than the general population. Two to three times more it appears. Mostly in the professional ranks, and when you think about it, that makes sense. I know in my case, I would often race with a minor illness, or try and train through the flu or some other bug. Most age groupers don’t have the incentive the pros have to preform in less than perfect physical condition. But as in Joes case, and many other elite age groupers, they train just like a pro would, and put the same kind of pressure on themselves to preform. So it doesn’t suprise me that many of the non pros are having these problems.
Now for the cause. They really don’t know, but right now it is just a causal relationship. You test a bunch of people in a group, and compare it with another group, and note the difference. I believe that I have a good understanding of the real problem, in that we just have so many oppertunities to do damage to our hearts. And it appears that you can do the damage, and go on normally for a long period of time, befor any symptoms occur. I believe that’s what happened to me, but there is no way to know for sure. My best advice is to remember that damage to the heart cannot be repaired like a calf muscle. If you are sick, lay off. If you are overtrained, then rest. Be sensible about your racing. If you want to do 3 Ironmans in 3 weeks, then go slow. It can be done, hell I know some pros that train 3 or more Ironmans a week in their mileage totals. You don’t have to finish at all costs. My rule of thumb is, don’t do anything in the race that takes you out of the race party that nite. Not everyday can be a good day, know when to quit, or your body will do it for you, either today, or 15 years from now…
“My rule of thumb is, don’t do anything in the race that takes you out of the race party that nite. Not everyday can be a good day, know when to quit, or your body will do it for you, either today, or 15 years from now…”
I’ve learned the hard way, and it is not fun. Now I am wiser and willing to “shut down” when the race is about to take me out of the post race party.
On our 100 mile ride this weekend, with a group of ~ 40 year old triathletes, each of us in the sport for over 15 year, we all agreed that any race that has more than 21K of running in it is simply silly. Of course, that has not stopped us from doing Ironman and marathons. In our group of 4, we cumulatively had a Joe Bonness worth of Ironman and similar totals for marathons ! I think we agreed that the easiest way to make it to the post race party is to enter races with less than 22K of running !
