One Goal Down, One to Go!

In October 2012, I first heard about Tatum's Bags of Fun triathlon team. It was a big commitment to raise funds and train for a full IRONMAN. When I started doing triathlons last year, I had a dream of becoming an IRONMAN, but I didn't think it would be anytime soon. I had only done two sprint triathlons and really didn't train for them. I had a newborn daughter and time management would be an issue.

God kept tugging at my heart for the next 3 months to send an email to Jayson Parker and help pediatric cancer patients. I sent the email on January 4th, 2013. On January 5th, I was signed up for IRONMAN Louisville and my journey began. Today marked one milestone down, with one to go. I reached my fundraising goal of $4,500! I know that I will help bring some smiles to pediatric cancer patients with the help of family and friends! I am happy that I have brought awareness to Tatum's Bag's of Fun and pediatric cancer! I have met a lot of great people and gained new friends! 

I have trained hard these past 8 months and learned a lot about myself and life. I am forever grateful for my wife Nickole who has put up with my training commitments. It's not easy training for an IRONMAN and that goes for spouses as well!! 

In 12 days, I will become an IRONMAN! Wow, what a ride it has been!

One Goal Down, One to Go!

LESS THAN 60 DAYS!!!

1 Month, 28 days and 7 hours and 31 minutes until IRONMAN Louisville, as I am typing this but who is counting?? I can't believe the race is less than 60 days away!! Time sure is flying by when your training! :-) The last two weeks has ups and downs with training. I am still getting adjusted to my work schedule, but now that it is Less Than 60 Days, I need to get focused more! A LOT MORE!

I didn't get my long ride in on Father's Day but had a great day with Nickole and the Kids! They got me a pretty cool Medal Hanger for all of my race metals! I am anxious to get it hung up in the living room! ;-) hehehe

Last weekend was spent hanging out with friends at the Dave Matthews Concerts. Friday was a great show unfortunately I jammed my right big toe pretty bad. I decided to follow Shane up the back of the lawn after the show...not a good idea! I jammed it on the way down wearing my flip flops. Saturday it was black and blue and I decided that I would not run on it for a week...it hurt that bad! Saturday night Nickole came to the show even know she asked at 9:10p when Dave was coming on stage...he came on stage at 8:20! Needless to say she is not a DMB fan! I was happy to chat with my Fraternity Bro Dondo on Sat as he is a HUGE Dave as well!

This past weekend has been busy as well. I got a quick ride on Monday along with a swim and it was Olivia's 13th birthday! I can't believe she is a teenager now! Evan, Anniston and I surprised her by going to Lawrenceburg for the night while Nickole was at the New Kids on the Block concert in Louisville.

On Tuesday I woke up early and rode the Dearborn County Bourbon Trail from Lawrenceburg to Aurora. The trail is pretty nice! It was cool to ride my bike in Greendale, Lawrenceburg and Aurora, something I haven't done in a long, long time! I got to reflect on some memories growing up and see how things are changing around town. I rewarded myself after my ride with a Super Big Boy and Vanilla Coke from Frisch's!! That is one restaurant that I wish was closer, although not the healthiest, it was good! We went to the renovated Greendale Pool after lunch. Evan had a blast! He said he wanted to go off the diving board, so I said, let's go for it! He walked down to the end, then waited for me to get in and "catch" him and he jumped right in!! The board isn't that low! It is probably 4 feet to the water! He probably jumped off the board 10 times in 2 hours!

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Wednesday June 26th will be a day I remember forever in my police career. We had been working with the FBI on a possible bank robbery in Fishers and on Wednesday it happened on my shift! This was my first big event, no my first HUGE event as Sgt.!!! We had a teller taken hostage, a foot pursuit, a barricaded suspect and three guns found. We were assisted by several surrounding agencies including the FBI. No one got hurt and 5 suspects were taken into custody. Needless to say, I was pooped after a long day and no workouts.

Today I did my longest open water swim! I was really anxious to get 2.4 miles in! The swim course is a 1.2 mile loop in Morse. There were storms to the north of the reservoir and the wind was pretty strong, I mean really strong! The first 1.2 miles were brutal! It took me almost 4 minutes longer than last week and I swallowed quite a bit of water. There were decent waves rolling in. After a 8 minute or so break while treading water, we started the second the loop. The wind was still strong but nothing like it was the first 1.2 miles. I was happy to get the 2.4 miles done in 1 hour 26 minutes. I had wait on a couple of boats to pass and they may have delayed a minute or two on my time. I REALLY wanted to do this as a confidence booster to know that I will be able to swim 2.4 miles and be good in Louisville. As bad as the conditions were tonight, I felt even more confident! LESS THAN 60 DAYS TO GO!!!

Morse Reservoir 

One more to Go!

This past week has had it's ups and downs. Last week was my first week on night shift in about 9 years! I tried to stay up Tuesday night as long as I could before my first night on Wednesday. I made it to about 2:45 and crashed! 20 years ago it would have been nothing to stay up that late, hanging out with friends, etc., not so much anymore! Wednesday was my first shift in training. I made it to about 3 am and hit the wall! I REALLY struggled to stay up. Those last two hours seemed like eternity! I actually woke up early on Thursday and actually felt pretty good but I wasn't going to make the same mistake Thursday night. I made sure I had plenty of coffee to drink around 10pm. I was good to go all night! Diet MT. Dew and Sweet helps too...and lots of it! :-)

Friday I woke up after about 6 hours of sleep and hit the pool with my masters swimmers. My swim workout was around 2200 meters. Friday night I took the kids to the St. Simon Festival in Lawrence while Nickole was doing a Boutique show in Lawrenceburg. That is the first time I had been there. We got there kind of early and the crowds weren't that bad, which was nice. Evan rode a few rides, did some jumping, got in a human hamster and we got a corn dog and tenderloin for a nice healthy dinner! :-) I am glad we got there early because it got really crowded and the kids were cashed out.

Loving the festival!

6am Saturday morning I did my masters swim workout. It was about 2200 meters and we pushed pretty hard. I met up with Bryan, Mark and Kip afterwards and grabbed some coffee. It's nice to sit and chat with some guys about tri stuff and how their workouts and other people we know trainings are going.

After coffee I took down a bonk breaker and headed out for a run. I felt really good on my run. My runs earlier in the week, not so much. I think it is partly due to the adjustment to working a 12 hour night shift. I managed to get about 9.5 miles in. Not a bad Saturday workout.

Saturday afternoon Mom, Kathie and Olivia came up for Evan's t-ball game and to celebrate Kathie's birthday. The game went quicker than normal, which was disappointing. We relaxed by the pool for a while and Evan and Olivia swam in the cold water! The pool in the neighborhood is still pretty chilly since we have had some cooler temps. We headed out on the lake and took a tour. It was nice to get out and relax a bit. We had dinner at Eddy's, which is always good and came home for some cake. To cap off the busy Saturday Nickole, Evan, Anniston and I went to Megan Kehl's graduation party and visited with friends. Yes, it was a long day!

Kathie's 48th Bday!

Sunday morning up at 6:30 and ready to ride! I met up with Mark, Bryan and Nate headed east towards New Castle. This was the first time we have rode this route. Well, let's say that we are lucky to have nice roads in Hamilton County! We hit a few really rough stretches that punted a couple of water bottle. It was almost like it was cobblestone. After getting through that, we encountered a wonderful farm dog. I just love farm dogs when riding on my bike! They are so nice and greet you with a smile....with ALL OF THEIR TEETH SHOWING WHILE RUNNING AS FAST AS THEY CAN!!!! Of course that 1000 or so feet your cadence, speed and heart rate jumps up! Not fun! I need to start carrying some OC spray with me!

We continued east and ran into some gravel portions. Not small gravel portions, but LONG gravel portions! It made for some nice white walls on my tires. Luckily no one went down as the gravel was pretty thick. It did make for an adventuresome ride east, that I don't care to do ever again! On the way back we got on SR 234 and hammered down. Those guys are a lot faster than I am but I think I held my own. I think we averaged 22-26 mph. on the way back.I finished my days workout with a 30 minute run.

This week I had some hill workouts and I have a long ride I need to make up tomorrow. I only had one day off this week, which was Tuesday. Evan had swim lessons and t-ball back to back! No down time in the Patton house!

Today;s weather was nice for a ride! I got about 30 miles in on the bike and a 4 mile brick run afterwards before work tonight.Tonight is my last night shift training as a new Sergeant. I will go back to day shift starting Monday morning for more training. Night shift has not been that bad and my sleep hasn't been as crazy as I thought it would be. It is tough not seeing Nickole and the kids that much this past week while I am at work when they are home sleeping.

One more to Go!

Daddy's Girl! :-)

I HAVE BEEN HORRIBLE!

I have been horrible at keeping up with my blog. It has been almost 3 months since I have posted. A lot has happened in three months! This will be a long post to catch up!!!

 I competed in my first sprint tri at Purdue University on April 6th. It was a cold day! Luckily the swim was indoors! I felt really good  for my first sprint of the year. It was the first time I raced with my Flo wheels and could really tell a difference. The swim was in the nat, the bike course went outside of the campus area a bit and had A BIG HILL! After coming back into campus the run wasn't too bad but had a few hills as well. The course markings were horrible around Mackey Arena. I almost got off course. I finished with a time of 1:13 and finished 6th out of 15 in my age group. I was pretty happy with that. After the race, Nickole, Evan, Anniston and I had lunch with the Lindauer's at The XXX Restaurant to refuel.

In April I had a work trip out to Denver Colorado for the Lifesavers Conference for a few days. It was a nice trip and I got to ski one day. The weather was a lot colder then normal and we got a lot of snow while out there. The Boston Marathon Bombings also occurred while we were in Denver. It was a sad day.

Evan and I went to a Pacers game and listened to Tatum sing the national anthem. This was Evan's first Pacers game. We had a great time and had great seats! I was humbled by a lady who sat two seats down from us. She stated she was a family therapist and was impressed on how I interacted with Evan and stated I was a model dad and wished that she could have video taped us to show other dads how it should be done. I felt very proud!

May 4th, I competed in the 500 Festival Mini Marathon. The weather was great for running and I had a personal best of 1:48. I felt like I had a little more in the tank after the race and felt really good! I negative split the race as well. My nutrition was spot on.

May 11th, I competed in the Muncie Olympic triathlon.  This was my first Olympic distance tri. I was a big step up from the sprint distance. The swim was 1500 meters, It was a cold, nasty day. The race was delayed an hour and was very disorganized! Nickole and the kids came to watch me and that made for a long morning. The swim was in Prairie Creek Resvoir. The water temp was 61 and the air temp was 41! This was the first race that I have swam in a wetsuit. I felt pretty good during the swim. My sighting was a little off but I managed. During the T1 I forgot to put my gloves on. Big Mistake! My hands were numb by the time I was done. I felt great on bike other than being cold. During T2, I could barely tie my shoes! I negative split my run and was happy with my time. I finished in 2:50 and I placed 8 out of 18 in my age group. I was happy with my performance for my first Olympic Distance

After the May Olympic I continued to train hard. I had a couple of group rides and boy the guys I rode with were fast! It pushed me a lot. I got rained on during a couple of training rides as well. I ended up getting another pair of running shoes. My Mizuno's kept giving me blisters. I decided on a pair of Brooks Ravenna 4's. So far they have worked out fine. They are a little heavier than the Mizunos but I like them.

At the end of May I got a surprise that a Sgt. self demoted himself. I was #1 on the Sgt.s list and that meant I would probably get a call to step up. I did get the call and would be assigned to day shift and my hours would be changing. I was really worried about my training but talked to coach Winn and I believe we have it figured out.

Nickole, Evan, Anniston, and I spent Memorial Day weekend at Dale Hallow Lake with Joe, Joy, John and Debbie. I got a nice 1.2 mile open water swim in on Friday. It was nice and relaxing except for the bad tuna salad I got on Friday night. I got sick on Saturday morning and didn't feel good until Sunday at lunch. Sunday was the first Indy 500 I had missed since I was 12 years old. Dad and I have had the annual tradition for years. I was a little sad and it was considered one of the best Indy 500's with all of the lead changes but I got to watch it on tv on the houseboat in good company. I was glad for TK getting a win. Anniston got her 2nd trip to Tennessee on the water and the weather was starting to warm up. Naps in the hammock were nice! I am looking forward to another relaxing weekend at the lake without the food poisoning!!

My Support Crew!

On May 30th, Evan and I shaved our heads for Tatums Bags of Fun! We were able to raise close to $600. Evan was a little shy getting his shaved because there were so many people in the Main Street Barber in Carmel. I didn't take mine down as much as other teammates but I still did it. The event raised over $11,000!! I am happy to be apart of a great team and organization!

Tatum Approved!

On June 1st I competed in my first 70.3 race. Nickole and I got a hotel room at the Holiday Inn in Richmond IN. I got my packet picked up and met some fellow Tatum Bags of Fun teammates at the Pizza King. Pizza was definitely not in my pre race meal plan! I ended up getting baked spaghetti and still regret getting that! Red sauce usually doesn't agree with me the next day! Before bed, we learned of the giant tornado's that hit Oklahoma City. The front was moving towards Indiana and there was a high chance of bad weather for Saturday. Saturday morning we woke up at 4:50 and checked the radar...not good! I loaded up the bike and ate my usual peanut butter and honey bagel. I also ate a sweet potato. Shortly after getting to Middle Fork Reservoir, it stated to rain. I got my bike checked in and waited for the pre-race meeting. It stopped raining and there was a short window on the radar. It was then time to swim 1.2 miles! I felt great during the swim but didn't push myself. I got out of the water and Nickole greeted me to see how I felt. I got in and out of T1 feeling good. The bike course was pretty hilly! I had to use my granny gear a couple of times. I didn't push myself and was working on my nutrition. I had a bonk breaker the first hour, a honey stinger the 2nd hour and then a GU. I took in Gatorade and water. It was actually pretty nice weather and that window with no rain stayed. it didn't rain the rest of the day! I got the 56 miles done in 2:48. 20.1 mph avg. Once I got to T2, I have a few mistakes. One, was that it was a beast to get on my compression sleeves. It took me a lot longer than I wanted to and I got frustrated. I then grabbed my clear container of salt tabs....or so I thought! I put them in my tri top. As I started my run it sounded a little more noisy than usual for salt tabs. One guy passed me and said, hey sounds like you have tic tacs, ....I said no they are my salt tabs, and he said i know. WELL, as I approached the first aid station, I reached into my back pocket to pull out my first salt tab and low and behold...TIC TACS!! Arghh!! I was not happy and chucked them into the grass. Needless to say I was a little mad and worried. It was starting to heat up and I was sweating more. Luckily I saw a couple of TBF teammates and was able to bum 3 tabs. That was still short of what I needed according to my plan. I felt decent during the run despite the big hills. I finished my first 70.3 race in 5:30 and 11 out 25 in my age group. I was really happy with my time for my first 1/2 Ironman Distance!

I had a promotion ceremony on June 3rd that Nickole, Evan, Anniston, Mom, Dad, Kathie, Olivia, Gary and Cheryl attended. It was after a long day of orientation. I have a lot to learn in my new position but am looking forward to the challenge. I will be in training on night shift for two weeks and then will be placed on day shift until Oct when shift bids happen.

Chief Kehl pinning my Segeant's badge on

I was pretty sore for a couple of days from my 70.3. I was able to make it Louisville and ride a portion of the IRONMAN Course. I rode with TJ, Marie, Chuck and Hugo. We parked at the church in Shiloh, which is where the out and back starts. The hills were pretty big on the out and back. I didn't have to get out of the saddle, but definitely used my granny gear. The out and back is about 10 miles total, Once back out on 42 there were a few more rolling hills and then onto KY 393. There were 2 decent size hills and more rollers. We stopped at the gas station in La Grange. You could tell that the people there don't like cyclist and gave us some dirty looks. We headed into town and out to Ballard School Road. That portion of the course wasn't too bad but not sure how it will be in the heat, after swimming 2.4 miles and after riding several miles to get there. Once on Ballard School Road there was one or two decent hills but nothing too bad. It was onto Old Sligo Road. There was one little hill that I had to get out of the saddle on. After Old Sligo it was on to L'Espirit Parkway and awesome horse country. I stopped a took a picture of a few of them. After going through horse country it was back onto 153 and 42. Everyone was pretty tired and we only did "one loop." Our total mileage was around 48 miles for the day. I felt pretty good but need to get back down there for more training rides. The hills keep you busy!!!

That is all for now and I hope to keep up better on this blog!!

Birthday Weekend

Well, I made it another year! I am thinking that turning 37 won't be that bad. This is the year that I will become an IRONMAN! I believe that you are only as old as you feel. Some days you feel like your 101 and some days you feel like your 4 and full of energy! I may be getting more gray but I feel good!

Had a great weekend spending time with family and friends! Took the day off on Friday to spend with Nickole We had lunch at BW's and watched the Hoosier! The Shamrock Shuffle was successful with a 10.46 mile run! It was 1.1 miles longer than it was supposed to be but it was all good! It was a good training run for the 500 mini coming up. I treated myself to a nice Bub's burger afterwards! It wasn't a "big ugly" but it was tasty! The evening was capped off with food and drinks!

Sunday was relaxing spending time with the fam! I have a long week this week. 8.5 miles yesterday 2500 yds in the pool this am, 1.5 hour ride tonight on the trainer and it continues. Working hard to get it done! Will be ready for some March Madness on Thursday!!! Go Hoosiers!!

My Lucky Charm

Daddy's Baby's

Thanks to Jeremy Lindauer, I got my Flo's on!

Come On Man!!! Ain't Nobody Got Time For That!!

So, I have been a little behind in my blog. I met with a nutrionist last week to help with the races. Nutrition is considered the 4th leg of the triathlon. I didn't realize what all I needed to be doing. Wow! I learned a lot. I have a sweat test log I have to complete after every workout. It's amazing that I am losing 4lbs during a 2 hour workout!

This past weekend I did my first group ride. There were some studs in the group and they were mainly hard core "roadies." There were only a couple of us on tri bikes. I made sure I was in the back of the pack. There were prob 30 or so riders. It was the warmest day in a while and everyone was anxious to get outside. The ride went well other then having to pee! We made it to Pendleton but the park didn't have any restrooms! What park doesn't have bathrooms?? COME ON MAN!!! I managed to make it another 10 miles and couldn't hold it any  longer. I had to make a pit stop behind a old barn. RELIEF!! I finished the ride into the wind 36 miles done!

I did a similar bike loop on Sunday too. Once again...gotta pee! I made it to a little store in Lapel this time...barely. If I have to pee this much during the race, I will have to go on the bike instead of stopping! Ain't Nobody Got Time For That in an IRONMAN!

    The weather has been horrible this week....COME ON MAN! Where is Spring???


   These baby's brightened my week up....need to get them mounted and ready to go!!

Look What Came In The Mail!

I got a surprise in the mail today! I finally got my Rudy Project Wingspan Aero Helmet! I ordered this sucker back in December and it finally shipped! It is a lot lighter than I thought it was going to be. I am pretty pumped to wear it at the Olympic distance race in Angola. I decided to do the race up at Lake James instead of Terre Haute. The swim distance is longer and we will be staying at a friends lake house!

Training this week has been so, so. With a 12 dive training today I switched my rest day. I may be doing a 30 mile group ride on Saturday....stay tuned!

It Looks Fast!!

Evan thinks it's cool too!!