tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85443824455735396712024-02-07T18:44:40.929-08:00Triathlon Lifestyles: Kevin KonczakKevin Konczak's blog. Triathlon coaching, Ironman, Olympic distance, multisport lifestyle, and fitness training from the triathlon mecca of Boulder, Colorado.Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-8810341205980955002018-08-05T13:33:00.001-07:002018-08-05T13:35:54.691-07:00Return to TriathlonMy last official triathlon was 9/24/2016. Almost 2 years ago. Hard to believe time passes so fast. I've done some duathlons, mainly due to lack of time for distance training and trip to the pool for swimming had to go first--seems like no matter how much effort put into swimming, my swim is about the same, regardless of effort I pour into it. Duathlon is something that doesn't take as much time as Ironman or 70.3 training. I've decided to step away from full Ironman racing for a while--I don't want to miss my kid growing up. <br />
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It has been over 2 years now since a career changing lower leg injury at Duathlon Nationals, which then resulted in a compensation injury of the hamstring on the other leg. This season, I welcomed a shoulder injury of sort where I had surgery back in 2000 or 2001, so I've stayed out of the water. While feeling slightly better after 4 months, I think it may be time to up it to an earth shattering TWO swims a week (haha). Back in 2017, I had signed up for Boulder 70.3 with my wife, for the 2018 race. Honestly, I would not have raced this due to the shoulder injury & lack of training miles, if it were not three miles from home. Here are the stats for prep for my 70.3 (not recommended). </div>
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Ave. training time per week--7 to 8 hrs/week. </div>
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Swim 1x per week (nothing over 2000 yards continuous)</div>
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Run: 15-20 mpw. (no runs over 12 miles)</div>
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Bike: whatever I could fit in. Usually a "long ride" of only 35-40 miles.</div>
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No real time for strength work in the gym. </div>
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Pretty pathetic training but it is all I have time for, races were meant to be all short anyhow. </div>
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Combine that with 3 jobs (tech job, real estate & coaching) that is a pretty full schedule when you have a family and household! It is what it is & certainly I look forward to scaling that back at some point and have coaching a real estate be the only regular jobs. On my ONE swim in Boulder this past month at Spruce pool, I ran into Max Lawler--an athlete I coached for years. Likely the hardest working athlete I've worked with, bar none, certainly faster than any with his standing 9:11 Ironman time. We talked for about 5 minutes and he wondered how the heck I could do all "that" and still race the level I have been all these years. Truth is, my consistency feels as if it has waned due to all that I am doing...feeling scattered at times and certainly need to simplify life in general. Too many hats to wear and often when it comes to racing, has taken me out of the hunt time to time. Sure there are good races, but there are more bad days than I prefer. </div>
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<u>On to the race report...</u></div>
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Woke up at 4:45 AM had a coffee, Clif bar. Had a sore spot on my right calf for the past few days but nothing that would hopefully hinder me in the race. Got to the Boulder Rez with Michelle around 5:50 (transition closed at 7 AM). Did a warm up of about a mile, leg swings, light stretches. Lost count of the bathroom stops. No anxiety that I could detect being the first tri in a couple years...so, went to the swim start, self-seeded in the 27 to 30 min. wave of swimmers after a short swim warm up. Swam easy and all was fine except that dang weak right shoulder. First 2000+ swim of the year completed, YAHOO! </div>
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Transition/T1...As my friend Alicia Brillion stated, I was WAY back in the final two rows with the "rif-raff" and it was just about the furthest route through transition you could get. The guys I race with typically were in the first "AWS" (All World Athlete) ranking of the top in the world. This certainly made for a scenic tour route through transition. </div>
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Bike: Surprisingly, the bike went fairly well for the little conditioning and riding I've done this year. This would be only my FIFTH bike ride in the month leading up to Boulder 70.3 Half Ironman. DON'T FOLLOW THIS EXAMPLE! We have been on vacation 20 of the last 30 days so I just didn't have access to ride. I went through 2 large water bottles of 300 calories each. That and half a bottle of water from an aid station. Not quite enough liquid and was in a deficit by the time I started the run. </div>
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T2: I took a bit more time than expected mainly due to feeling a bit dizzy and the legs were rocked from the sheer distance of the bike which I am not trained for. </div>
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Run: It went to a hand basket from the get go. I have not human nemisis/arch enemy, mine is only HEAT. I hate the heat, race horrible in the heat, as proven by my many mediocre Hawaii Ironman finishes (which is just that along with humidity). From the start the fuel plan was to try to grab as much ice, water, and Coke as I could each mile by walking through them. I was experiencing heat exhaustion meltdown at this point and it quickly became a survival crisis management situation--just jog between aid stations and refuel. I had guys who had never beaten me before (ever) just blow by me so fast on the run I saw them for a minute or two, then they were gone. Last time I raced this, I won the AG and ran only about a minute slower than what Silvio Guerra did today (an Olympian and 2nd overall former professional runner at the 2001 Boston Marathon). Silvio won his AG in the 50-54 as he is now doing triathlons in his 50+ years of life. In fact, the top 3 guys in the 50-54 were all faster than the top 3 in the 45-49 Age Group, so there is still hope to get faster! </div>
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In short, not enough training. I've always been a minimalistj for training hours, but this season it has been way too minimal and just needed to cut back on some things and refocus. I'm not interested in full Ironman racing any time soon, maybe in a few 2-3 years (or more). We will see. Never say never, things change. I'm sure life will toss all kinds of unexpected things at me so you have to be flexible with life. Not to mention age creeping up and all those years of racing consistently, injury free, have caught up to me. Suppose it is pay back time to balance it all out. </div>
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POST RACE: After going home and showering, I didn't really much care what my result was, only that I finished. Very sub-par race but whatever, we all have them. Checking out Michelle's online finish stats (who rocked her race by the way & I'm very proud of her!)...I figured what the heck, let's see how bad I really did. Totally unexpectedly, I was 3rd in my age group. Qualified a slot to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships to Nice, France for 2019. Awards were at 4 PM...it was 3:50 PM. I had to hop in the car, race back to the Rez for awards, having not stuck around to even think I'd have a podium finish/award with that horrible of a race. I turned down the slot to France, no interest in world 70.3 "draft fest" racing. Anyhow, I got this piece of metal as an award, a sore pair of legs, and a reminder that it my first trip back to being a triathlete after nearly 2 years--so it's ALL GOOD! There you have it, my worst day imaginable was still a podium finish.</div>
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I may just have to sign up for some more races this year and try to race myself back into shape...</div>
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Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-51825230695330533302018-01-02T18:47:00.001-08:002018-01-02T18:47:12.888-08:00Be BETTER than you were in 2017!So...it has been a few years since my last blog post, with some injury issues, but no lack of social media posts on FB, Twtter or Instagram. I've been around but just quiet on this front. A lot has changed and busy isn't the word I'd use to describe the chaos of the past few years.<br />
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2017 wasn't such a great year, losing 2 uncles and a cousin. The hard part was in not being able to go back for the funerals, as traveling across country and getting childcare, time off from work and travel tickets all were impossibly tight to coordinate on such thin time margins. The same happened with an uncle a few years ago. I feel horrible in that to my cousins--I really wanted to be there. We were all close, so it wasn't something I wanted to miss. I am honoring my Uncle Tony today in fact, by wearing a down vest he owned. I think about him each time I put it on. He was a hunter, so he had lots of warm clothes!<br />
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On the athletic side of things, it was bust. I only started 3 races. Bolder Boulder, where I had to put forth a 3/4 effort as any faster would damage my already damned injury worse. It was a tempo run but unfortunately, not a RACE effort. I started but struggled training for Ironman Boulder. With only 13.1 miles left I was in 4th overall in the amateur race and winning my age group, on what was the most minimal effort and best feeling in an Ironman I've ever had. The PAIN from the injury was what took me out, I realized I could permanently damage myself so I pulled out, even though aerobically it felt easy.<br />
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I ended up getting MRI results only the day before the race. A day too late in order to get any refund for the race (I had the full race insurance). Either way, I decided to go until I felt either damage would be too much to continue or make me unable to sustain a steady effort. After that, I went to a real medical doctor and it turned out I had been doing all the wrong rehab since day one. He told me to stop all of it, and I got a PRP treatment, where I since then, have been on the steady road back. I'm not there yet, but have lost 11 lbs and completed a duathlon locally, and ended up 2nd with only a professional finishing ahead of me (he is about 18 years younger than I am too boot!) Things are on the road to hopefully a better 2018, as it couldn't get much more minimal in the race department. <br />
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Also, professionally from work standpoint, I have announced publically, that I am a licensed Real Estate Agent in the state of Colorado. I have been working in this arena behind the scenes with my owner-broker for about a year now, been to closings, showing/finding homes and moving things towards that next step in client's lives. My next step was to actually start letting people know I was now doing this professionally. It is a hard business to get into, expensive as well--but I know I have the tools to be a success. 2018 is about making everything I do BETTER than I did it in 2017. That includes tightening up things with a new website as well...something that I've been wanting to do for quite a few years now. It turns out we spin our wheels thinking about doing stuff more than we do those things themselves.<br />
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Here's to 2018, jumping in both feet first...let's DO THIS ! !Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-90746064568265793322016-09-25T17:32:00.003-07:002016-09-25T18:02:25.865-07:002016 ITU World Long Course Championships, OKC, USAI've got plenty of long course race experience with something like 28 Ironman races under my belt all over the world. Just not a lot of experience racing 3/4 of an Ironman only 5-6 weeks after a full Ironman. One at altitude (which takes a lot out of you from the altitude), then the other 3/4 of a full distance, in what amounted to a wind tunnel with heat all day long. <br />
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Let me start by some admission of my own fails. First, I ignored every cardinal rule I ever set for myself in a race, so results are quite deserving of where I landed up. This time around I will not point to the fact I've had one race and pretty much been fighting off multiple injuries this last season. This has more to do with jumping in a race too soon and spacing everything you should NOT do before a race. I will be clear and exact here, to not mislead the post. <br />
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It started last year when I chose ITU Long Course World's in OKC, due to being the 2015 45-49 AG National Champ. You must defend/show up to World's if it is on home soil in the USA. Honor the title! Though several young bucks were moving to the AG (Dave Slavinski & Tom Woods), There was little chance to really defend anything, but hell, let's roll the dice, anything can happen right? <br />
I raced Ironman Boulder in early August, with recovery right after that. Not sure I ran more than 8 miles since then, or biked over 45 miles at any single time since. My swimming was quite decent as that seemed to not bother any of the injuries I've had recently. When I made hotel reservations for this race, for some reason, had it slotted for Sunday, 9/25/2016. I was under the impression it was not 9/24 despite all the communications I may have received and scanned over. I typed the leave/return and race dates from/to Boulder incorrectly, as well as took off more days from work than I needed.<br />
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It wasn't until a final email (sent on Friday morning) of things to do from USAT, for last minute details, that said "Bike Check In until 7 PM on Friday." Why on earth so we take bikes two days prior to the race site? Dumb I thought (Note: this was Friday AM as mentioned, after waking up.) As I read the email, turns out the race was SATURDAY (tomorrow!), not Sunday like I've been thinking since last year! I don't know what, where, or when I missed exactly, or how, but that started the downhill roll with added stress of completing everything in one day. Packet pick up, bike drop off, pack race bags, plan the early morning commute and wake up times, when to eat, what to eat, everything was turned completely upside down in a flurry and rush. Stress for sure! <br />
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Another "rule" I broke was eating junk. I ate a not so good burger from a place called "Tucker's" which looked like a 5-Guys inside, but the burgers were burned tasting and not a place I'd remember to return to. I also had salad that day, which fiber was not needed for those of you who know what the body does race morning. I did steer clear of milk/dairy Friday. Although I did have milk and pizza at dinner on Thursday evening with Tom Woods at Hideaway Pizza in Edmond, OK (ITU Silver medalist in this race). So yeah, I screwed that up royally, something I rarely do. <br />
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Another rule, heading into race day dehydrated. Peeing a bit on the gold side race morning (okay, a lot)...it must've been all the running around getting things done Friday. I went for a bike ride with Tom Woods and some of his buddies. Little did I expect the ride was to be more than half an hour...so I did not bring a water bottle as I had a water bottle full of ice water before we left. That short ride turned in to a hot, getting lost type ride all over the Hefner Lake neighborhoods. It was close to 75 minutes long or more-- double what I expected. Never could catch up liquids after that. Drink too much water, you can't sleep because you're getting up every hour and then feel sloshy in the gut at night. Tom did share one of his water bottles during the ride with me but I went through that rather quickly. <br />
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Another rule broken...(how many can there be?) Not planning out my nutrition. I know to the calorie what I needed for Ironman Boulder. For LD World's I didn't even measure consistently what I put in the bottles. One was about 210 calories, the other was 300 calories, identical bottles. I had a Gatorade gummy block packet and three of the FREE gels I got from USAT in our packets. Not even sure what brand it was, so I figured, it's all calories right? (*NEVER* try something NEW race day.) The rest of the bike was a mostly water and a couple swigs of Gatorade. Clearly I had way too few calories. I could honestly count 1,000 calories for the entire bike of 120 km. Gels, Infinit mix, the rest was just water poured over my head, and some in my mouth whenever I got cottonmouth. I was having trouble keeping anything down really, and even threw up on the bike. As for salt, I had one salt tab on the bike, which I had only last minute put into my Salt Stick, before the swim. If only because Tom asked if I needed any Salt Tabs. My first thought was, "Oh shit, I forgot that too!" Then ran off as they were closing transition to fill the Salt Stick up. <br />
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The SWIM...it went okay, crazy super windy and waves. The amplitude of waves were that of Kona, but the chop the waves was beyond that and as such, the current was worse, requiring you to fight just to stay on course in a legal sense. At times, we swam into the outgoing swimmers as we returned. Luckily, it was in 2 feet of water where we all walked for a hundred or so yards. I did get a cut on the bottom of one toe from the sharp rocks, but it otherwise did not affect my race. Transition went smooth, getting in and out in a decent time but not super fast--but was one of the faster guys for sure. Dan Chapman (my AG) left shortly before I did. Upon exiting transition I heard them announce Tom Woods and knew it wouldn't be long before I saw him passing by. It was quite a surprise not seeing multiple time World Champion Dave Slavinski for a very long time later into the bike. I really thought he would have been ahead of both Tom and I at that point. <br />
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The bike was brutal. Not many calories and not much hydration, way too little of everything. Although I felt quite fine until mile 50 when I just lost power to the quads. First thought...I'm racing too soon after Ironman Boulder, with too little training behind me. Nope, that wasn't it. Next thought...not fueling during the bike enough...yep, that was really the source I think, combined with my nemesis the HEAT for the slow down on the bike. I was cooking, it was not comfortable out there and there was a vast difference in my sweat rate vs liquid intake the entire bike. <br />
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T2...not too bad, not the best, but had to change into some dry socks. It went okay, but not what I called one of my better transitions. <br />
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Run...getting out of transition it was quite hard to get the legs moving. They were dead from the wind and exhaustion spent on the bike, or part of the lack of recovery from Ironman, or lack of training since Ironman, or the injuries--but likely it was a full combination of all of the above elements. <br />
The tempo wasn't there. The cadence wasn't there. Immediately I felt the heat, though it was windy in your face starting out, the mile 1 aid station couldn't come soon enough. Vision blurred about 5 km into the run, arms were flopping around, everything went to hell in a hand basket and there isn't much you can do when that happens, it just happens no matter what technical advice you try to self talk yourself in to. "Arms swing forward, relax the neck and shoulders. Fast cadence!" None of it worked. I was fighting just to finish, after being on the podium position or near it at the start of the bike. Some title defense right? Do EVERYTHING wrong you possibly can and sabotage your day--complete opposite of what you're used to doing. Why? I don't know for sure, it happened. <br />
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After lap #1, the Team Manager, Tim Yount tried to pull me from the race yelling at me, "Come here, it's not worth the damage to your body! It's okay to drop!" I heard him, but he said I was weaving around and eyes were rolling around (my sun glasses were down on the tip of my nose or my head was bobbling). Anyhow, I ran into a fence post while running, not realizing I flopped all over and ran crooked. My thought was, "You're on USA soil, the USA champ, even if you have to walk this race, you have to give the others a chance to knock you off the top spot, it's unfair and would dishonor the title to drop." So I didn't. The hardest part was trying to get my senses back. I started Coca Cola, Red Bull, all the water and ice and sponges I could get at each aid station. I gave up time standing and going through a dozen glasses of ice and water each mile to keep my core temp down. As long as I could get enough to go just one more mile. After lap two, I was going to drop when I got done with it. One more lap to go. I didn't want to continue, didn't want to fight, just wanted it to end. I had absolutely nothing left--put a fork in me, I'm well done! Quit and that memory is forever. Keep going and finish--you've won over yourself and all the inside demons forever. <br />
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Any more screw ups? Sure. Oh let me count the ways...After much walking between and aid station stopping, Dan Chapman (a local I've had the pleasure of meeting along with his wife), passed me by and was kind enough to encourage me to continue (I was going to, just in walk mode). Upon getting to the finish line, there was a right sidewalk (lap route to turn around), the finish (straight ahead) and the left sidewalk (the run exit to start out of T2). Nobody was posted there so I was in full tilt with whatever I had left in me towards the finish line, cut left (wrong direction!) before Tim Yount yelled I took the wrong direction and to come back. I turned around only to see the Aussie (McCann) who I saw drafting multiple times on the bike with a Russian and another...buzz by the intersection and took my 6th place AG finish place, dropping me to 7th. So there you have it, I was 6th until the last 50 or 75 yards of the race--but lost it going off course, making me now a 7th place 45-49 AG finisher. That sucks. I was delirious so was confused despite there being a sign right there pointing to the finish. But another competitor did the same thing so I don't feel as bad. A trip to the medical tent for lots of ice and cold towels, a half hour later, and I was able to leave. After the finish, Dan Chapman said his wife walked me to the Med Tent. I didn't even know it was her I was so out of it. I saw a female and some things spinning around--like a kaleidoscope. That's all I remember until I cooled down. The only thing really I was aware of was multiple doctors around me talking about temperature and how an oral thermometer isn't accurate...so they may have to take a rectal temperature. Luckily, they didn't see the cut in the back of my suit (repaired from 2013 Du World's accident when a Brit ran into me at the bike mount line with his SRAM R2C shifter levers). Otherwise, that would have been the ideal place to put it!<br />
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In short, I screwed up about everything you could possibly screw up. Right down to dropping a shampoo bottle on my foot in the shower race morning, leaving a bruise before I left the hotel for the race. Yeah, it was as if bad luck was on my side the entire trip. <br />
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What's next? Go see a doctor and get some imaging on all these injuries, get into a physical rehab plan, build strength, and get healthy. Only two races under the belt all season. From Long Course Triathlon and Duathlon AG National champ last year, to UNRANKED in both sports. Wow, what a turn of events. <br />
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I'm happy to have gotten to know Tom Woods better this trip, he was like a travel buddy we spent so much time hanging out. As for my athletes I coach, I will only say, take this as a positive message. Your coach on this day, leads by example. What I mean by that is, I lead by example of what NOT to do before, or during a race. That was not the usual ME out there, so it is good to get grounded by having this poor of an experience, which in turn, is a good thing. Because it reinforces what I always have said. Plan, double, triple, quadruple check plans. Don't be lazy about the details. A few missed details can be disastrous for race day. All that work goes in the garbage without plans and precise execution. <br />
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The happiest thing I did this trip, was not giving up. Not quitting or letting someone pull me, no matter the cost. I beat those demons inside, fought them back. I'll be back, next time--healthier, more fit, ready to rumble again. After all, it was inspiring despite my slow time and placing, to defeat my toughest competitor...ME. Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-28312759520061864052016-08-19T18:44:00.003-07:002016-08-19T21:27:50.606-07:00The Season & Ironman Boulder 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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IRONMAN BOULDER 2016<br />
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2016 has been a long list of personal challenges for myself and my family. It actually started last fall with the passing of my brother in law, with a quick discovery and even quicker loss to cancer. Then there are the ups and downs of the oil industry which got the best of my wife with a lay off after that (thank goodness she's back on the horse again though). In sport, the recurring soleus injury from 2015 Duathlon Nationals (the ONLY race I lost in my age group), where I tore it part way through the first run--continued to haunt me all of 2016.<br />
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I did one local duathlon, preparing with about six rides on the trainer and some on again/off again runs and no speed work. It turned out okay and had I raced in the Elite wave, I'd have actually made money from prize purse offered. There was Bolder Boulder, an even bigger mess with one of my worst times in that race, but still managed a first place by two minutes over the second place guy. Pretty disappointing time for me, but rolled with it. Boulder Peak was cancelled, so there was what was to be my first race of the year, didn't happen. All this time the 2015 injury cropped up each 3-4 weeks even while doing about 12 miles a week. Another thing I had not done this year was lift weights, due to the injury, so felt weak all season. Running never really gained traction (pun intended). <br />
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I literally ran in pain all season long and finally decided after a long search, to go with a less light weight shoe for Ironman Boulder, in exchange for cushion. HOKA Clifton 3. After some work getting elastic laces adjusted, these worked fantastic until the squish from being wet cropped up. <br />
Leading into the race meant pretty much a couple of what I deem "medium length" runs and one long 20 mile run in the HOKA shoes. In order to get over the soleus issue, after about 11 months, I decided I had to stop running all together. So on my work lunch break, I would just use the elliptical trainer rather than walking on the treadmill. After 2 months, the soleus issue was clear! <br />
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But...not so fast, a new hip issue (opposite side from the soleus tear) from the elliptical (because the pedals were too wide compared to my narrow hips), cropped up and stayed with me right until this writing post Ironman. However, I could run again only with a nagging strain feeling from the overused, odd position the elliptical placed me in. Eventually the elliptical thing just had to stop. At least it hurt mostly only during cycling. What a mess! The hard part was keeping confidence up that finishing an Ironman on a total of 7-8 hours a week, dealing with injuries that obviously would not be gone by race day. There were really no 4,000 long swims (lucky to have gotten in a 2,000 yard swim at all!) Running required at least two days to feel ready to run again, while cycling--just took more time than I had this summer. The goals for Ironman Boulder were simple: <br />
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1) Finish and not throw up a lot like 2014, or walk. <br />
2) Pace all day long, much easier than normal, while keeping cool and fueling best I could. <br />
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Now the race details...<br />
SWIM: <br />
Flipped 5x on my back to keep putting my cap back on...it kept sliding off the top of my head during the swim. Breathed 2x on the right, 2 on the left--then SIGHT THE BUOY. Nice and easy, barely felt like I was swimming, the effort was likely way too minimal and felt like a warm up. A sub 1 hour swim should I choose, definitely is possible even off the fitness I have now. <br />
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T1: <br />
Blazed through super fast until I exited the change tent...pee break #1. <br />
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BIKE: Held back more than I wanted to, but patience in Ironman is KEY. Pacing and nutrition should be the main things for age groupers to focus on. From 2014, I knew too many tend to over-cook the bike and die out on the run. The plan was to nail 21-22 mph even if going faster was possible. Never felt the 112 miles have such little impact as I did in this race. Feeling that fresh was sort of scary, usually it hurts at that point. At the special needs aid station, I had to get off the bike and pee again (a good sign), so a guy held my bike while I did the duty. <br />
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T2: Blazed through again, only to have to stop just as I exited the change tent, to take what I'll just refer to as a lengthy porta-john break. Details left out for those less inquiring minds-- never eat a 3/4 large pizza the night before an Ironman race. It'll come back to haunt you--guaranteed! <br />
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RUN: Literally had figured I'd blow up due to the lack of running and injuries. The first 13-15 miles were focused on fueling, super short steps, and just poke along sloth-like. This was the greatest question mark of the race for me...can you do any Ironman on 7-8 hours a week? You should be training more than 15-20 miles a week for Ironman (total). The long runs were really so few and far between, I couldn't tell you if I actually did ONE per month or not. It may have been longer, and would require looking into my online training log...but knowing my weekly totals...yeah, they were 15-20 unless it was a long run week. One far off goal I had to was run slowly towards the front, to see if even on a 7-8 hour training week, with injury, how close I could come to a Kona Qualification slot. Not that I ever planned on taking the slot (I have ITU World Long Course Triathlon Championships in September so Kona was out due to that). <br />
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One guy from Colorado who is always in the mix, Kevin Dessart, was someone who is typically a faster swimmer/bike than I am, who also holds the % of wins in head to head competition over me, by quite a bit. How close could I get? The cards were stacked against me in more than one way for this race, but whatever, give a go right? He would start a wave ahead of me so that was a 2 minute head start. If I saw him on the run, I'd gauge the effort. It was surprising to see him shortly after the first turn around on the run. I would continue to slowly--really slowly, close that gap all day long. Unfortunately, I lost a solid 5 minutes with 4x porta john breaks throughout the run (damn pizza!) I would just see the back of him, nearly catching him 4 times prior to the actual "catch" but lost a good 75 seconds per stop each time. Finally, around mile 23 we were even (although I knew I was actually 2 minutes up due to the chip time). He floored it and we were battling back and forth in an epic Mark Allen/Dave Scott Iron War of our own. As long as I could keep him about a city block in my sight, it would be a rare win over him. In the end, it was a blast, just so much fun! As we went around the final bike path cones a few blocks before the finish, Kevin took off like a Usain Bolt and put about 20-25 seconds on me (the same thing I had done to his friend Neal years ago at IM CDA in the last half mile). I had already used up all my energy just to make up the 2 min. swim deficit, plus the multiple overly long bathroom breaks. That was a good 7 minutes total I had to dig for, that last sprint effort was more than was in the tank at that point. Kevin Dessart, it was a pleasure being pushed to the limit by such an athlete of your stature, thanks for the monumental memory!<br />
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The race was over and at the awards, I had finished 3rd in the 45-49 and 12th overall (no pro field), all while spending the season injured, racing injured and training the distance of a sprint of Olympic distance triathlete. I'm calling it a massive success as I met my original goals of not getting sick during the race, finishing the race and qualifying my 19th time for Ironman Hawaii. As I said, I did not take the slot due to ITU Worlds. Never had I finished an Ironman and felt so fresh the following day. My recovery is going much better than anticipated, although that is just because I'm actually motivated to continue training and WANT to work out. That is a sign that I'm not burnt out from my non-existent season. In fact, I won't have enough triathlons to be ranked at all in 2016, as the 2015 Long Distance US Champion for Triathlon M45-49. I won't have any duathlons to be ranked in 2016, as the 2015 Long Distance US Champion for Duathlon M45-49. Wow, from high ranked to non-existent.<br />
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The take away here? It doesn't matter where your place is until the finish line. This was clearly the EASIEST all day long effort of any Ironman completed. This was clearly the LEAST amount of training ever done for an Ironman completed. This was clearly the HIGHEST overall placing of any Ironman completed. This is clearly the QUICKEST RECOVERY from any Ironman completed. Maybe there is a message here--just stop training all together and do the races? I'll have to think that one through...<br />
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(*Special thanks to Jen Schaffner for the lead photo from Twitter at the top of this post.)<br />
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Next up...racing for Team USA at the World Championships!<br />
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<br />Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-90850441553458573892015-11-23T21:11:00.003-08:002015-11-24T10:13:00.328-08:002015: It's a wrap! End of season. Abbreviated but successful and no WTC events for the first time in a while. Previous posts show an injury received in St. Paul in June, followed by having to not start Boulder 70.3. Age group wise, it was more than I expected, having not lost the Age Group M45-49 in any race all season long except where the injury occurred, for multisport racing. In total, 2015 garnered THREE National Championship titles in three DIFFERENT sports.<br />
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<u>2015 RESULTS:</u><br />
National Titles:<br />
1st USTAF Men's Master's Team (BRC/Team Adidas)<br />
1st USAT Long Course Triathlon M45-49<br />
1st USAT Long Course Duathlon M45-49<br />
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<u>Additional 2015 races:</u><br />
1st Bolder Boulder 10km AG win<br />
1st Boulder Sunset Triathlon AG win<br />
1st Boulder Peak Triathlon AG win (and King of the Mtns. jersey-Master Men)<br />
3rd USAT Standard Duathlon M45-49<br />
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Not a lot of racing, but a darn near perfect record despite sitting out the core of the summer race season. There may be some more racing this year, but with only weeks away until 2016 and a whole new scary world out there with some major life changes (to be revealed at a future date), the upcoming season includes some super duper long races such as Ironman Boulder, ITU World Long Course Triathlon Championships going as the US Champ to defend our soil & whatever else I can drum up. The random running race, or duathlon, but no Kona next year (nope, not taking a slot if I get it at Boulder), no Du Nationals long or short. It'll be home-bound more regional or local races. UNLESS something major changes, that is the plan. Do plans ever go exactly according to how they are laid out? Rarely!<br />
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Below is a picture from US Long Course Duathlon Championships. On the left, Tom Woods, then 2008 US Olympic & pro triathlete Matty "Boom Boom" Reed, KK (that's me!) and Dan Chapman ('15 Du Standard distance champ M45-49). I've gotten the opportunity to know Tom & Dan a bit better this season. Actually, I didn't really know them at all! But I've raced Tom a few times I guess looking back at results, but don't focus too much on the others, just going my own rate & seeing who is left standing at the end of the day. Good people, good to see some familiar faces at races, and chat online with a few of them. Fast boys, I'm going to have to continue to find a way to stave off Father Time as long as I can and reverse the aging process with consistency and better focus for 2016 and beyond. Gotta love this racing stuff--just a thrill, win lose, whatever. It's all good.<br />
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L to R<br />
Tom Woods IV, Matt Reed, KK, Dan Chapman<br />
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<br />Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-66231929540082088812015-06-14T15:38:00.000-07:002015-06-14T15:44:56.566-07:00Crisis ManagementLong story short on US Standard Distance Nationals. I did finish but not without serious injury, did not defend my #1 ranking or national champion title in the M45-49. I also did not compete in yesterday's Ironman Boulder 70.3 to defend my title there either. <br />
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If you want the long winded version here it is...Running really was coming around quickly leading up to Nats, must have been the fact that all my running was pretty much a tempo run every time I stepped out just for time constrained reasons, no "junk" mileage allowed. Combining distance and some intensity into one run is all this busy life could afford in 2015, which was spent primarily on completely and intentionally turning my life upside down in many ways. Time to mix things up, enough of the old routine (while there is comfort in routine)...has become exceedingly and spiritually unrewarding. I had a blog post about BIG CHANGES about two blog posts back. While I'm not completely ready to release what those changes are (no, not the Caitlyn Jenner kind of changes! !)...it has more to do with future, freedom of the mind and ability to do things I've always wanted to do rather than what LIFE has decided for me along the way. I'm taking control of aspects of life coming up really soon so I'll be way happier in the long run. I think the take away here is finding that spiritualistic "key" that makes Kevin the happy go-lucky guy that has been dragged down by routine over the years past. <br />
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At Du Nats, once again my race room mate Andy Ames aka "The Legend" & I predicted a pretty decent race. My running was on from the start. On lap one, at the turn around a younger chap named Dave Slavinski (Master's Duathlete of the Year & multi-world/national champion in du & tri), asked where the rest of the pack was. We were at least 100 yards ahead at this point with the gap growing between the two of us & the pack. First mile he said was 5:23. Second mile was 5:16. Very comfortable and I was thinking at the time we should pick it up because it really felt too easy. I decided to take the lead from Dave so I did...pressed on the uphills a little bit more and soon found myself on the cobblestones of Raspberry Island. Just coming onto the second section of the cobbles my right foot toes landed on the cobblestone while most of the foot/heel dropped very quickly. I let out a loud "OUCH" and that was it. Pulled soleus according to the doctor. <br />
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Immediately I was spat out the back and Dave pulled away in the last half mile putting 20 seconds on me as I limped in to T1. Drop out? Continue? Let's see if I can shake it off on the bike. Fast transition and made up the time to Dave while mounting the bike. I told him to GO...since he said on the run we should work together during the bike to separate us further from the pack (unlikely as he is a way faster biker!) The bike ended up being a seated 1-legged pedalfest as I dropped back further and further, but we had such a large lead after that first run, the day did actually still end with a 3rd place in the M45-49. The bike downhills were awesome and the course was superior to last year's. Hills, curves, etc, all made to my strengths living in the Rocky Mountains. Too bad I couldn't get a chance to use those skills! <br />
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Just pressing down on the right pedal was too much to bear, the second run was not looking promising. If I had to walk to finish I would. Why did I not drop out and risk further injury? Honor. <br />
I was the one with the target on the back by the others having been the top seed guy in the race for the age group and holding the rank of #1. I think you defend the title and rank, as best you can and at least give the guys behind you a shot at taking you down. So what if I raced it practically 1-legged...we toe the line together and finish the race, whoever crosses that line first deserves it. Barring crashes, injury, bad nutrition or whatever else you can come up with, it's all part of the game. To deny my competition that opportunity is unjustified wimpiness. I congratulated the guys who finished in front of me on the way to the medical tent. Got some ice, hobble out of there after the doc said what I had done was a soleus tear (taking 2+ to 2 months depending...) to recover from. To top it off, Andy had an awful day at the office, my kid came down with a fever and an athlete I coach crashed a week before his A-race separating his shoulder. What a HORRIBLE week it was. <br />
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As of this update, I had to not start in the Boulder 70.3 as mentioned. Can't quite run or clip out of bike pedals yet, but I'm hoping for that in about a week. I'm babying the injury and doing everything to recover as best I can. Light swimming with a pull buoy and aqua jogging has been my only recourse at this point...as well as some upper body weights and core work. I'm not taking this laying down, I've worked too hard and was "in the zone" with high expectations for the season, which was down to just one more race (Boulder Peak). As of last week, I've entered USAT LC Du Nats in Ft. Worth for November. Dave Slavinski told me after the race that USAT Tri LC Nats was this fall with World's in Oklahoma next year. I did not know that as I primarily race WTC races + USAT Nats. Typically, I don't go to many World Championship races aside from Kona and the two ITU Worlds I've done (only because they were close in Canada). I'm more of a long course guy anyhow. So yeah, I may enter USAT Tri LC Nats in September too. <br />
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A good start ended poorly for the season, but you have to have crisis management. Come up with a new plan and goals. So I have. I'll get by this and come back stronger, not because I want to, but because it simply is required. The only time you lose is when you quit. It's hard to lose if you never quit. <br />
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With Otillo out of the picture for this year (it was promised to my team mate that we had a Race Director men's team spot from merit, so I built my entire 2015 schedule around Otillo as the main goal)...I change gears to fill the void. Seems the RD went back on his word to Stefan and that just isn't cool. Especially since my season hinged on competing there. We are assured up and down the bible we were in, but yet, we aren't. So on to new things, Sweden is a trip that just isn't happening now. Oh well, for all the hype it is, Otillo is just as much a speck on the endurance world of racing than any other self-proclaimed world championship. Although...it would be cool to race it! <br />
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What's up next? Family, life changes and hopefully getting back into the swing of things to use this fall as a launch pad for 2016 season. I'll be starting much earlier for 2016 as it will be another Ironman year. Not sure which Ironman I'll be racing, but I have an idea or two. Either way, I'll be ready this time around. See you at the races! <br />
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KK<br />
<br />Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-91779390623477635352015-05-28T09:54:00.000-07:002015-05-28T10:11:47.651-07:00Busy is better! (Sometimes)What a CRAZY last couple of months it has been. I took April off from work, except for Sundays...more on that in an upcoming blog post hopefully in the near future. Hopped in the Barking Dog...1st in AG, 4th overall, 1st "non-elite wave" finisher. What a weird race though (although it was cold so I was a fish in water & loving it!) It's no secret that aside from myself the arch-nemesis has always been the heat factor. With a training deficit due to April as mentioned...there wasn't a lot of pressure so I stayed out of the elite wave which took off in wave 1. Then there was a second wave, I was third & my buddy Andy Ames was in the 4th wave. With the elites & pros up the road & Andy not next to me, it was one of those go through the motions type runs. Nobody to run with so used it as a warm up, just enough to warm up for the bike.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 Barking Dog Duathlon</td></tr>
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The bike--okay, I gunned it as best I could so no complaints there, but it was still off from normal especially with all the rain we've had this year & as mentioned, the entire month of April's non-activity. Finally, the last run...whatever I could dig into/press to the finish is what was going to be my result. The finish came up quickly & even afterwards, didn't seem like I was really that taxed. No gaggy-pukey feeling like I normally have from over-exerting myself, although I didn't have coffee that morning. I think that is a trend I'll be following. <br />
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Memorial Day was Bolder Boulder. Another odd non-coffee day that started with wife's home baked wheat bread, strawberry jam and water. Used some old cotton sweats to ditch near the start, but brought $1 for a "mobile locker" just in case. Finally, I tried to use the mobile locker & theysaid it was actually now $2. So...I ditched said gear behind a bush and picked them up after the race. Before the race I did some sprint pick ups in front of Excel Sports with Chris Grauch, my team mate from our defending US National Master's Cross County gold medal crew. We run for Boulder Running Company/Team Adidas out of Colorado Springs. That really got the legs moving. </div>
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Long story short, I started about 7 yards or meters behind the start on the far left to avoid the nut jobs who just HAVE to get out front right away for that "A wave" photo that usually appears on the next year's calendar. Anyhow, it was a quite laid back start and just took it out what felt slow (5:32 pace)...but was not really any slower than last year--it just felt that way. About mile 1.5 Andy Ames (who holds silly fast BB records of 31 minutes + for many, many years)...pulled up and tapped me on the shoulder as he did last year when he trounced me horribly. I settled in right behind him comfortably until mile 5, then as I did in Barking Dog Du...decided there was just way too much left in the tank so I floored it until the finish with my second best time on that course. While it was my 2nd best time, it was also my easiest effort RPE-wise...with my lowest HR ever. Checking my 920XT, per LT zone calculations using the Coggan Method...I spent 68% of the Bolder Boulder in heart rate zone 3, with only 22% in zone 4. In 2014 I was almost all zone 4 after mile 1. Which totally makes sense because as I told a gal I used to coach through a Tweet on Twitter...it really did feel like just a Tempo run. I've had harder training runs than that effort. The data proves to too. <br />
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To top it off, I won my age group FINALLY in Bolder Boulder after something like four 2nd places in a row. Something has happened with the last couple races with the running. It seems easy to go faster, yet less training, but no coffee before races so there isn't that stomach acid issue. <br />
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The folks were here for 10 days so I didn't get to see them much with things starting to pick up following my "post-April" sabbatical from training with the upcoming races on the horizon. I'm heading to US Duathlon Nationals next week with 2013 World and National/2014 National 50-54 Champ Andy Ames, as my room mate again. This guy is a freaking LEGEND--if you Google him you'll see how impressive this guy is. It's always a challenge just to hold his shoulder in a race. I'm heading back to defend my 45-49 AG National Championship/#1 ranked for all of 2014. Andy is the one that talked me into this duathlon stuff a couple years ago when I finished 4th at World Championships in Ottawa's ITU Standard Distance Championships.<br />
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If I don't show up, it would be disrespectful to not only the National Champ title, the ranking, but to those who want to try to knock me off that top stair. Which is fine for me because I have no expectations especially after taking April off from pretty much "life of any sort" to speak of...although April was STILL fun...just not letting the cat outta the bag yet on that so stay tuned in the weeks ahead!<br />
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I've managed to spend some time with some of my athletes I coach, to really snucker-down on specific individual help, as well as holding a transition clinic for them. It included video footage, form analysis & set up for race day. Summer is just about here, tomorrow is the kid's last day of school, it looks like training time Monday-Wednesday will be more limited if any at times, but I'll have PLENTY of daddy time which is better than just about anything I can think of! You can ride a bike until you're older, or run when old--but you only have your kids around for so long. I'm going to take advantage of that while I can. Until next time, steer clear of the bad people in life & don't let anyone tell you "no" because--they know NOTHING about the power you hold within you!<br />
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KKKevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-47592582942620779812015-01-03T18:08:00.000-08:002015-01-03T18:09:11.629-08:00New Year New Things--New Year's ResolutionJanuary 3, 2015...it is already three days into 2015, wow, how time flies. I see my kid growing so big each day and life picking up speed more like a snowball on a hill like the Grinch in the cartoon just before they went off the edge of the mountain. Then the Who People from Whoville or whatever, changed the Grinch into someone different than what he had been. Lives changes, situations change, but never should we leave that change up to others to control. If you don't like something in your life, change it. Period. There is no "right time" or ideal time to change things. Each day you don't work towards changes that make life more sweet, then that is one wasted day on earth. It takes motivation, lots of it. <br />
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Like Tony Robbins the motivational speaker...use people, songs, sights or whatever gadgets you can to motivate yourself in 2015 to make a change. Personally, I like the words from a Michael Jackson song called "Man in the Mirror" simply because of the message. <br />
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<em>I'm starting with the man in the mirror</em></div>
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<em>I'm asking him to change his ways</em></div>
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<em>And no message could have been any clearer</em></div>
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<em>If you want to make the world a better place</em></div>
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<em>Take a look at yourself, and then make a change</em></div>
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One thing I've learned this past year, seeing Robin Williams pass on, looking at so many Hollywood actors take their own lives...is time is short. To be so miserable that you feel the only way out when seemingly they have the world at their feet, to find a quick way out like that. I'm a survivor. It's what I do. If something stands in the way of that--don't need it. Period. Taking a back seat to multiple situations I'm personally not happy with, may have led me to waste a few years doing things I'm just not happy with. Finally, I woke up in 2014. Time to not be a sheep and be a shepherd. Taking a step back can mean two steps forward sometimes. <em>Life is too short to not move forward at least one step per day. </em>2015 is going to be new territory for me, exploring those fears of uncertainty in many aspects of my life. I'm lucky to have a great support system especially with my wife. </div>
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I gather all the quotes, messages on Twitter, stories from others and inspirational/motivators to keep up the fight to take those things I'm not thrilled about that cloud my pursuit of excellence, then use them as strength to finally make those decisions to just do it. This is going to be an AMAZING 2015, I can't wait to tackle new horizons, adventures and experience the way I want to live life. I'm taking control of those things that have "controlled" me because I'm finally saying HELL NO! NO MORE. It's tiring and huge drain on energy, but the energy I'll gain at the end of it, will be more than anything I've spent getting there. Vague I know, but let's just say while routine can be comforting, it is also a prison. Where is the adventure and growth in routine? <br />
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I'm going to make a change & it is going to start with the man in the mirror! </div>
Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-27763115594986853632014-10-23T13:29:00.001-07:002014-10-23T13:56:23.063-07:00Kona Report 2014<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQXpU2miIHBWCrmcxfkEz-soXgg21oPOdULaNBn6xKdm6q_uVViBWXZxlJVJ-q0LPapeMtMOnRmAIpUZwCtYXseT0daaUpjLJuMJ4KdQH_0sy8OYPR5vm_Bvg3AhoeZjUQBHnJW65tj8/s1600/IMG_2673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQXpU2miIHBWCrmcxfkEz-soXgg21oPOdULaNBn6xKdm6q_uVViBWXZxlJVJ-q0LPapeMtMOnRmAIpUZwCtYXseT0daaUpjLJuMJ4KdQH_0sy8OYPR5vm_Bvg3AhoeZjUQBHnJW65tj8/s1600/IMG_2673.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Less than an hour after finished--barely managing to hide the pain!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We stayed again at the
Royal Kona Resort, just a mile into the run and little less than that from the
start/finish line. It is just outside Chaos Central with beautiful grounds to
spend time at, complete with its own private lagoon to swim in on the ocean.
There is food right next door at Bongo Ben’s or Hugo’s on the Rocks where many
parties take place after the Ironman. This was the first time there with our
son, he really enjoyed it so much and can’t wait to go back. The experiences he
had such as going over 100 feet under the surface in the Atlantis Submarine,
snorkeling at Turtle Bay, hiking the rim of a volcano at Volcano National Park
and spending a lot of time in the pool were just invaluable. So much to see and
do while we were there, it was a summer vacation in the fall! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDn3aC8M0eN2endFccALP75KYRFIGN440ShNz1-ZqhjViZKognkiJwNzGUY9lYur9vvAy1GY0nG6OtvWmyRtPkvpUjEhKEISLIK0wdTx3L8Bhwo8msz4cNVWkFZ-hQtPFlnCFQ8rIdqSY/s1600/IMG_2602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDn3aC8M0eN2endFccALP75KYRFIGN440ShNz1-ZqhjViZKognkiJwNzGUY9lYur9vvAy1GY0nG6OtvWmyRtPkvpUjEhKEISLIK0wdTx3L8Bhwo8msz4cNVWkFZ-hQtPFlnCFQ8rIdqSY/s1600/IMG_2602.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My trusty but getting outdated steed!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Below is basically a
summary of the answer I gave a friend when he said he was worried when he saw I
only had two water bottles on the bike. I felt it was a decent enough answer
that also pretty much summed up the trip from a race perspective, with a few
edits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuL6n10Xq5OKvoL5T3uc26ONal6L4GHevrWIs0JOQxlZCpeVugjQTfOV9nSey2WVx5jFbezYoMzBRdxYOvrISp2OldTknTOcQjhIwLBvMsXKlEdkSNx_yFPnm8k2OXV0co4QyYak0QvpA/s1600/IMG_2686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuL6n10Xq5OKvoL5T3uc26ONal6L4GHevrWIs0JOQxlZCpeVugjQTfOV9nSey2WVx5jFbezYoMzBRdxYOvrISp2OldTknTOcQjhIwLBvMsXKlEdkSNx_yFPnm8k2OXV0co4QyYak0QvpA/s1600/IMG_2686.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volcano National Park</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I've come to the
conclusion that with aid stations every 10-15 miles (depending on the Ironman
host site), that 2 is enough. By the time I finish 1 bottle I'm usually 45
minutes into the bike & still have one in reserve & just exchange at
aid stations accordingly. The mix at the stations is less calories but I'm
still getting my "special needs bag" half way through the race (56
miles). The other thing is: Who wants to drink hot liquids? In Hawaii, drinks
get hot really quick so it doesn’t taste good or go down easy if you carry more
than two bottles, they’ll just heat up and not cool you off. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V7HekX1fqZb-CShERNaYxp0PsHrQqQxMBVIItnmhH9thDQ_2-NfKVbuFVj_aT_GdEy3Cw1uDSQJaVl2OKo7oBaW0jmlZLhwPc7nTPTfVLmqEgQurVoIqOCmF41G4PElk4ZDFjqF3tRg/s1600/IMG_2666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V7HekX1fqZb-CShERNaYxp0PsHrQqQxMBVIItnmhH9thDQ_2-NfKVbuFVj_aT_GdEy3Cw1uDSQJaVl2OKo7oBaW0jmlZLhwPc7nTPTfVLmqEgQurVoIqOCmF41G4PElk4ZDFjqF3tRg/s1600/IMG_2666.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">#1--Fredrik Van Lierde's bike race morning (he's in the water swimming at this moment).</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Getting enough liquids
on course isn't usually an issue. It also saves weight (1 bottle---large, is
about 1.8 lbs full). My issues are strictly heat management. Just not good
racing in anything above 71-73 F usually, I start falling apart from
overheating as my sweat rate is 4 lbs per hour at an outside temperature of 85
F. That is an unusually high sweat rate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYhUqLKNQZYjN6MS_yQ3SFq9Hlguj1j5UryoEgx-UwR75Qrgr1m5VkUODfgY3NcXlO9F2npmgbH9GMLcoaSCdaBj32mK3P33ekYSRyQ9rgjGlbn6wWb4xuhAHj4QddtZYJr5hjehmR2A/s1600/IMG_2655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYhUqLKNQZYjN6MS_yQ3SFq9Hlguj1j5UryoEgx-UwR75Qrgr1m5VkUODfgY3NcXlO9F2npmgbH9GMLcoaSCdaBj32mK3P33ekYSRyQ9rgjGlbn6wWb4xuhAHj4QddtZYJr5hjehmR2A/s1600/IMG_2655.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Hotel Lobby: Royal Kona Resort</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In summary, the swim was
I think my slowest ever & I have been swimming well I think this year. My
biking was coming around at Ironman Boulder but had issues with vomiting
on the bike causing me to not take in or absorb enough calories to run well off
the bike. I have read that some people who have issues with too many liquid
calories, should look into some solid foods along the way. Not much, just some.
Liquids/gels absorb better and are broken down already to a point, but some
people actually needs just a “tease of solid food” along the way. It’s just the
way certain people are built. This is one thing I will look into for longer
races and experiment with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRTY4PYXTsBVNHIaGz1WTLd-hMORxt9yCF2IZq_66zTrhzB6iFxvdFCim5nQfb18iuOsY0QRRQhqkKfB3JZluuMt-2FOTf2FK6MWeWlatY02zVOhug58js4_KucLQDyq5vwTIGSc3kvo/s1600/IMG_2623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRTY4PYXTsBVNHIaGz1WTLd-hMORxt9yCF2IZq_66zTrhzB6iFxvdFCim5nQfb18iuOsY0QRRQhqkKfB3JZluuMt-2FOTf2FK6MWeWlatY02zVOhug58js4_KucLQDyq5vwTIGSc3kvo/s1600/IMG_2623.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Kona Brewery</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This time I was just not
moving from the start. The swim likely was the slowest in Hawaii (big waves but
just had a slow swim all together). I’m not sure if it was because I had
absolutely no coffee on race morning, or while I was there in Kona. I wanted to
see if some of the issues I was having lately in races was due to too high of
acidity in my stomach. Apparently, I can go back to drinking coffee race
morning because I still had the issues. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHOX5xek84kO22bjfdhFU0dIRAYzjfUz0t0kOBmaGs2IucjifHarisInl1rA_dI_dgLZtP6PwZcUtq4dSmVNzsToSACESxAYDt_-y_vEDZhQEX10Utiaj1xmQBIjUKLqzhk2VOe4w81M/s1600/IMG_2688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHOX5xek84kO22bjfdhFU0dIRAYzjfUz0t0kOBmaGs2IucjifHarisInl1rA_dI_dgLZtP6PwZcUtq4dSmVNzsToSACESxAYDt_-y_vEDZhQEX10Utiaj1xmQBIjUKLqzhk2VOe4w81M/s1600/IMG_2688.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volcano National Park</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The bike…the legs never
could produce the power & I'll have to investigate that further as I had
what I think may have been my 2nd slowest bike ever there. Part of it was I’m
sure, due to racing a second Ironman in one year on a little more than 12-13
hours on only a couple weeks as my larger volume weeks this year. You can race
an Ironman off of that little volume if you’ve been consistent, but racing two
in a year with only about two months between is a bit of a stretch. There are
professional “age groupers” who do nothing more than train and call their “job”
coaching a few athletes, but with a real full time job myself, as well as
coaching, maintaining a house, HOA Board work, family and other projects
mid-production, it is a huge undertaking and performance will eventually
suffer. Things need to be streamlined and/or outsourced a little (okay, a lot
more). In short, I’m out of balance and that drastically cuts into the focus of
everything else. I’m too scattered, which is something I help identify with my
athletes I coach. You need balance to perform well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbhOCDZbYA-nQOTiR9oPup0hPpV7X3ctL5pfHIvn4red4nXrnRLypI0dKromuL8SlbyVwNsBoc9jiX9qRKR5WVSmjM20l27NuFV_xZrDr_mZwtEjf1I-VTBVkIP1uAGN4y42bnE9hA6w/s1600/IMG_2604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbhOCDZbYA-nQOTiR9oPup0hPpV7X3ctL5pfHIvn4red4nXrnRLypI0dKromuL8SlbyVwNsBoc9jiX9qRKR5WVSmjM20l27NuFV_xZrDr_mZwtEjf1I-VTBVkIP1uAGN4y42bnE9hA6w/s1600/IMG_2604.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from our Hotel balcony</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Each Kona has been more
of a reward just in getting there and I really do not think, I’ve gone there to
actually RACE it before. It is the frosting on the cake. For some it is the
main thing. For me, I automatically know the heat will destroy me so it becomes
one of those “also-ran races” where you just do it but don’t focus on it much.
Odd, I know. One would think it should be the opposite. Knowing yourself goes a
long way to deciding which are key races for you though, what you would be best
at. I’m thinking now that is the reason it really isn’t an issue for me to
qualify traditionally. I know the races I go to qualify at, due to the
demographics of the course and conditions, pretty well. I know what I race will
be conditions typically in my favor. The reward is always something that
traditionally does not suit me well…a race hotter than hell and humid like no
other, often with winds equal to both of those. I’ve read up on every heat
management preparation and training protocol I’ve found. I’ve trained in a
sauna, in the middle of the day, in extra clothes, in super windy conditions,
in 100 F heat in the dead of summer. That is just the start. Still, I suffer
from overheating and shut down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKBrnu-hkebvEoc3dn9dg0RyFfMyjlPZ4vjHQKtYkNg5Zy4z_L3NUXKx3ETM24PSg-5RJa9mVWFYB9Gp1jKyWFi6xpTQZbJdytUD9H8cXAYxSOejZkR3_AI3_BNG7ZUsuwt04CzfJ7ns/s1600/IMG_2632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKBrnu-hkebvEoc3dn9dg0RyFfMyjlPZ4vjHQKtYkNg5Zy4z_L3NUXKx3ETM24PSg-5RJa9mVWFYB9Gp1jKyWFi6xpTQZbJdytUD9H8cXAYxSOejZkR3_AI3_BNG7ZUsuwt04CzfJ7ns/s1600/IMG_2632.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">KK, the "Real Starky" & Kevin Collington at breakfast</td></tr>
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</o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The run…couldn't absorb
the liquids & started throwing up again. The worst of which left me keeling
over 2 miles from the finish in standstill--losing about a quart of Coke right
on the Queen K pavement for several minutes. I seem to be having a lot of these
issues lately. Definitely need to change my approach and in race nutrition.
Another possibility is the training. If you do not push a certain pace for
certain amounts of time, in extreme similar conditions, minimal training hours
may cause the body to not acclimate to digesting highly sugary substances. You
will consume while racing, little more than some course drink that is nasty,
gels, Coke—possibly very ripe bananas. Usually there is little else to eat
along the way except maybe oranges and pretzels. I find the oranges too acidic
to handle during a race. Pretzels, while great for the salt, are cake-like dry
and not easy to eat.The body just rejects it because you are pushing too hard
and the muscles need the blood flow while it is competing with the stomach for
digestion. The combination seems to result in the old fashioned “up-chuck” (my
observation). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheKPn0P6aLty6aug1FkhRr3Oyr-rxtGDoLJilFfAuNi8M4NqkM0NMpBBBjXiXMBLMXOxlrpBhK2DzMMtAJcdd5VXf4uR-TZyEuDuMI6Nd25FRrvwH4dP_ozfYHgbN9Jqq4lBDEHp6ZfzE/s1600/IMG_2703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheKPn0P6aLty6aug1FkhRr3Oyr-rxtGDoLJilFfAuNi8M4NqkM0NMpBBBjXiXMBLMXOxlrpBhK2DzMMtAJcdd5VXf4uR-TZyEuDuMI6Nd25FRrvwH4dP_ozfYHgbN9Jqq4lBDEHp6ZfzE/s1600/IMG_2703.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the King Kam Hotel two days after the race</td></tr>
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About the only thing remotely "okay" was T2. T1 was a disaster
as my "helper-volunteer" was an elderly man who was moving very slow
(God Bless him for trying though!) He had moved my bike jersey from the floor
in front of me to the back of my chair I was in while I wasn't looking & it
slid down under my butt & I couldn't find it. I honestly thought someone
accidentally tossed it in a bag & shipped it out of the tent with all the
other transition bags as they do, to keep things “tidy” once an athlete is
finished. In the chaos he didn't remember where he put it. Ultimately, his job
as I asked him--was to remove the small 2 inch piece of electrical tape on each
rolled up arm cooler & he just couldn't do it. I didn't want to rip it from
his hands as I just continued putting everything else—just because he was
trying and I didn’t have the heart to even hint he wasn’t really
helping—volunteers are the life blood of races so you MUST be thankful just for
being there. Between looking for my jersey & him having issues with the
tape, T1 was just over 8 minutes long (I think a new T1 record for slowness on
my part). I am actually known to be very fast in transitions except for Ironman
races--but this was ridiculous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">KK having a bad day (photo Jen Schaffner)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Building the transition at the pier days before</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Long & short of it
was a slow body. I never got going, physically or mentally. Heat & wind
were issues sure, so was nutrition. Lots of stopping on the run to gather
food/drinks/ice at aid stations--but stopped 2 x on the bike (once for a pee
break) and once at Special Needs bag pickup. The run...lots of walking through
the aid stations & to clear the gut. It seems like every time I drank that
nasty Power Bar Perform drink, it came up minutes later. Thanks God Ironman
will be going back to Gatorade starting next year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel Joyce at gear/bike check in</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So it was a bust…the
worst race all year long. Not that Boulder was a great race...Boulder was not
up to what I expected. But Kona was worse yet. After having what I consider a
highly successful season—not losing my age group in any multisport race all
season until Ironman Boulder, it ended on not so good last couple races. I have
a few ideas to fix the issues in 2016, so I'll be mulling that over &
experimenting with new approaches in 2015 as I prepare for ÖTILLÖ in September 2015
& take a year off from Ironman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10:41 is actually what I
believe my 3rd worst Ironman ever. But it is what it is & some days just
finishing is the goal. I'm not beating myself up about it, as I look forward to
newer challenges & continue to try to solve the riddle of Ironman Hawaii. I
can get there & race other Ironman races quite well, but in Kona...the
heat, humidity & wind just chew me up & spit me out. Some are built for
those conditions but I seem to be more geared for colder weather racing than
the heat. I think my high sweat rate has a lot to do with it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking towards Kona from the pier</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You never get sick of seeing this in the morning--beauty!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My awesome escort on bag drop off day: Tim<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lastly, yes, the great
American speed skater Apolo Ohno who was a “guest celebrity” competitor; kicked
many folks’ arses. He was about 9:52, smashed my finish and many other top age
group athletes. Even if being one of the best in the world is his job, it is
impressive for his first Ironman. Final words, yes, I got “chicked” by age
group women as well. I’m secure in myself in that, they went faster on a day
that was clearly not so great for me. I don’t have a problem with that. They
have two legs/arms and so do I, if a woman beats me then congratulations! Same thing
goes for any other guy that finishes ahead of me. There is no difference, man
or woman, we all toe the line and the fastest ones finish ahead of the slower
ones, so put the egos away and get back at it, try to improve the next time
around. If we find ourselves headed down the wrong road, we can always turn
back to take the correct one!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-49222848004899282802014-09-05T11:54:00.002-07:002014-09-05T11:54:57.784-07:00Ironman Boulder 2014Following my first US National title a couple weeks earlier at Duathlon Nationals, I was poised to go out onto my home turf and rip it up if only the leg injuries during the near-entire-season would just bug off for one day. The long story short without reading this entire blog is this...swim was uneventful, some stomach or bacteria thing from the Rez going on started 30 miles into the bike causing me to throw up a dozen times during the bike/run, not allowing enough calories & hydration to keep going or stave off cramping during the run. Walked a lot during the marathon (about 19 aid stations in total as well as between them for a bit, then stopped to take off a shoe/sock due to a stick or rock--something that was bugging me). Survived in a disappointing run which was very uncharacteristic and unlike what I was ready to unleash. <br />
<br />
Now the details. First, the bike course was not that difficult and the altitude and hills should not be concerned for those wanting to do this race. The water quality is an issue though it is tested each Monday. It rained like a Banshee Tuesday, Wednesday & part of Thursday. Enough time for some e- coli to fester in the water or something nasty. It could have been oil/gas in the water from all the boats the previous days leading into the race--high numbers in the water for sure vs. normal. There were hundreds dropping race day due to vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration. The Med Tent docs said something unusual was going on because the same symptoms were showing up--90+% who came into the Med Tent had the same things going on. I've never cramped in an Ironman before, this was a first and brought me to a halt multiple times on the run. <br />
<br />
For those looking to come to the Ironman Boulder race, logistics are illogical. I live 3 miles from the Rez, yet had to drive south to Boulder High, get on a bus, only to get driven all the way back to north Boulder past my house, and into the Rez. There were other cars sneaking into the Rez yet they told us the roads would be closed. Weird. Two different transition areas was not cool either, but whatever, I didn't have to pay for a plane ticket, hotel, bike transportation, food or car rental. It is what it was. Race morning wasn't anything spectacular, it was nice to start in the "AWA or All World Athlete" wave. This keeps the pretenders out of the way who usually sprint to the front then screech to a halt after the half way buoys causing a barrier to navigate through, or those who bunch up during the bike and never let you pass without locking onto your wheel endangering you to potential penalties by pack rotating anytime you pass them, which happens way too often since Ironman typically oversells their races to a point of danger or degrading fairness on course. <br />
<br />
After the swim which felt long while I was out there, having only swum 4K + about 2x all summer long, I took my time in T1. Stopped at the bathroom as usual in an Ironman and took a long time getting my bike stuff on. In shorter triathlons, there are few who transition faster than I do, including pros--my times are right there with the pros. The longer the race such as Ironman, the longer I take on purpose. It's a long ride and run & it is best to make my bathroom stops in transition than while on the move, plus, it clears my system so I can bike/run discomfort free from GI issues. <br />
<br />
The bike was different for me this time as I raced with my HRM. Typically going off of RPE after spending YEARS using and analyzing with a power meter, my bike sessions. I had sold my Power Meter a few years prior after the company went belly-up and haven't bought a new one as new technology and dropping prices continue. I know myself well enough that I know what to do now & where I stand fitness wise & what the issues are I need to work on--it's what I do as a professional coach. But training with the HRM then racing with it just for the bike portion was a two-day prior decision to ensure I didn't get too excited & kill off my run. Racing 135-137 most of the ride, I hit some issues at mile 85 when dehydration from vomiting set it. HR shot up to low to mid-140's, not too bad but I knew there would be further issues down the line as no calories, liquid or salt/electrolytes would stick. The final bike time was 5:03...my second best time ever while being one of the easiest effort levels of any Ironman I've done. <br />
<br />
T2...was VERY long. Not only did I take ANOTHER 2 minute porta-potty stop, resting, almost napping...I put all my stuff on in transition carefully and slowly. Cisco Quintaro, a local triathlete, was a volunteer in the tent and rushed to my aid getting anything I needed. The tent was very empty and I knew I was near the front of the race. So far minus the tossing of cookies all day--it was a pretty easy effort day & I was ready to cook it on the run. <br />
<br />
The run...I had a ball the first 6 miles, flying and starting to mow down people while in a "jog/cruise" mode. Then shortly after I saw Sonja Wieck (who took one of the awesome Twitter Pics--thanks Sonja!)...I started walking. That was the last pic anyone took of me relaxed, because the dehydration set in. Then I had to take my shoe/sock off because something in it was bugging me. Sitting in the grass on the side of the course, watching a few guys I just passed go by...it was setting up to be a very, very long day. In the below picture, easy sailing--nobody behind me and near the front of the race. <br />
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The rest of the day was just crazy hard trying to make it to the line. Cramping--something new. Overheating (not unusual but not fun either!) Doubts as to if this was going to be a day I wouldn't finish (unlikely but always a possibility). It went from thoughts of possibly winning the AG (I hadn't lost a multisport race all year in my AG)...to can I finish? Upon seeing former World Champ & former ex-pro European pro cyclist/pro triathlete Curt Chesney was again racing (now in my AG), that it was always going to be a race for 2nd. That was turning to 3rd, 4th...how far down the list could I slide? At the end of the day, it was a 4th place salvaged 45-49 finish. Enough for my 13th Ironman Hawaii qualification. Top 5 in the AG got a slot. <br />
<br />
Some of the highlights of the day were certainly seeing my friend Andy Ames and his wife Rachel, who just had surgery, on the run course cheering me on. Rachel took a few photos below. Andy tried to take a few by running up ahead (while I was walking)...as if I was going to keep pace with a speed walk...? Also, seeing one of my athletes Grant out on the course and near the finish and Peyman (Sasha) Razifard. All in all it was an "okay" race. <br />
<br />
I would possibly do it again someday but the concrete 6 foot narrow bike path needs to be moved to a wide road run, it was ridiculous on lap 2 having to dodge so many people, creek path tubers, dogs...and even a pro triathlete who was following his American wife on his bike during the run (knucklehead thing to do!) I witnessed TWO pro female triathletes during the run receiving outside assistance--thus, breaking the rules. The bike overall was very clean and was about the cleanest bike leg of any Ironman I had seen, so BRAVO to the participants up front for keeping it clean. One thing that impressed me most was the depth of people cheering on the BCP near the high school--four to five deep at times, as well as the finish line near Pearl Street. Amazing crowd. If not for the concrete path being so narrow, two transition areas, and silly long T2 run into the track at the high school, I really wouldn't have complaints (aside from the bad water!) <br />
<br />
Next up for me is Ironman Hawaii in about a month. Thanks to all my friends and family who supported me this season, coming out to races to watch, take photos, etc. Certainly, winning a US National Champion title goes down as a big landmark for me, as well as winning everything I've entered multisport-wise in my 45-49 (I just turned 45 in May)...all season, until Ironman Boulder's bacteria/stomach issues that is. Ironman Hawaii is just the frosting on the cake and family trip so not a lot else to say besides it has been a good race season despite injuries keeping me from biking well. <br />
I'm still trying to figure out why I'm racing so well despite biking so much worse...just quirky stuff y'know? <br />
<br />
2015 will center around ÖTILLÖ in Sweden. It is starting to look like I'll be heading to the Mother Land (I'm Swedish/Polish/German). My friend & I have apparently secured a team start for the World Swim/Run championships so no Ironman next year. There will be other smaller races involved along the way but nothing concrete yet, just fun races. 2016 I'll be back at Ironman, hoping to hold my own against the incoming younger guns into the age group. Thanks for stopping by my blog & also thanks to my sponsors Rudy Project, Infinit Nutrition, Boulder Running Company/Team Adidas and Blue Seventy! They've all been a big help with not only GeminiMultisport.com but to my own racing. <br />
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Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-12835472228263403472014-09-01T17:26:00.001-07:002014-09-05T12:01:44.862-07:002014 USA National Duathlon Championships: RACE REPORT<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Duathlons are something I had rarely dabbled in during
multisport competition in my younger days. It was a speed session or something
I did when the weather was too cold to have a swim involved. Using it merely
for pre & post race practice of race routine (figuring out how long prior
to wake up, what warm up to do, how much/long, etc).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly using it to hone transition skills
is one of the greatest values I find as it is real world stuff you just can’t
seem to get in a practice out of your garage, because there are people around
you trying to kick your ass and every second counts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last year, a friend I had gotten to know through trail
racing and some sporadic winter duathlons, Andy Ames (2013 ITU World Duathlon
Champ 50-54, 2013 & 2014 US Duathlon National Champ 50-54), planted the
idea/seed in my head that he thought I should race duathlons more. He thought I
could be one of the top in the nation if not world. I like to say he badgered
me until I said uncle, but it was a new direction so what the heck. I found a
2013 qualifier, Orange County Duathlon in early spring. Finishing 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>
overall with a hip strain to the guy who would later become the overall US
National champ—I stamped my ticket on Team USA & went to worlds. Andy &
I roomed together and had a hoot of a time going around Canada’s version of
Washington D.C. In the end, I was 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> in the 40-44 (in the world!!)…as
well as the top American master.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The keynote here was it was just on a bucket list of many
for 2013. Only FIVE days prior I had raced Boulder 70.3 half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still tired from that effort, it was a tricky
balance. Go all out at Boulder & flop at worlds?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A goal was to go only hard enough at Boulder
to nab a slot to 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas, which I did perfectly.
However, it still left me dry for worlds to a degree, but I was satisfied even
though my bike effort was quite horrible. I took an extended and early break
last fall after Las Vegas, knowing 2014 had Ironman Boulder involved. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2014, Andy once again talked me into going to race USAT
Nationals for duathlon in St. Paul. Once again, we roomed together and had fun
trying different restaurants each meal. Race day was 6/19. Once again, I raced
Boulder Peak Triathlon on 6/13. The entire season was a battle with a chronic
hamstring tear after a duathlon I won called Big Sky in Denver. From there, I
over-compensated with the left non-injured side and ended up with a quad strain
that lasted pretty much through August. Luckily, the duties of Boulder Peak
efforts were not enough to deter me from my first ever US National
Championship. I’ve always wanted to be a National Champ in *something*
(anything)…finally that was off the bucket list. I’d love a World Championship
one day too in something, maybe someday. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2014 US Duathlon National Championships went something like
this…race effort from Boulder Tri was 6 days prior, a little tired—cycling all
season has been horrible as far as power output from the injury. Biking was so
far OFF from my normal, it was very common for me to have one of the slowest
bike legs in the top 10. For some reason, my running has been very much ON all
season except Bolder Boulder when I was in the beginning of the injury stage.
Nationals was no different. Knowing I wouldn’t be up with Dave Slavinski/Tom
Woods AFTER the bike, I kept out of their way on the first run and throttled it
just enough to come in 7 seconds after them. It was quite an easy run and
running with them really was quite realistic. All I wanted anyhow was to shoot
for the 45-49 title & they were both 40-44. I’d get through the bike leg
just waiting for a 45-49 to pass me. A few did, one had bad luck by crashing on
a corner, fate stuff you know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once I got passed by the reigning US Duathlon Long Course Champion
(I didn’t know it was him as I never met him)…I kept tabs so him and another
guy who passed me on the final lap of the bike. Honestly, the power wasn’t
there on the cycle leg—it was difficult knowing how much time was being taken
out of me from a simple chronic leg issue that crops up every couple
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon hitting the run, I quickly
passed the first of the two guys in front of me in my age group. It was about
200 meters into the run when I moved past him. Slowly I closed in on the leader…inch
by inch, not really punching it, just steady to see what he was doing, if he
tried to make a move—whatever. Observe. The plan was to slowly close, then gas
it. The run course was shortened due to flooding, so with about a quarter mile
to go I had caught up to the US Long Course Champ, Marc Warner. Again, I didn’t
know it was him. In the last half mile I thought, “I believe the finish line is
just around that last pylon then it is like a quarter to half mile then the
finish, I better catch up to this guy NOW. It’s now or never!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Doubts crept into my mind whether I could actually close the
gap of about 12 seconds if he punched the accelerator. It is easy to cave when
doubting yourself. Then I told myself, “Dig, don’t throw away this trip, a tick
off the bucket list and national title because you don’t want to hurt!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dig I did to catch him within about a 100
meters. I kept right on going. He kindly encouraged me to keep on going, with a
“Good job.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest was well…history.
My first ever US National Championships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>USAT gives the US Champs a special jersey to wear with the year on the
back of it, to wear if they like to show their accomplishment at future races.
I don’t think I’ll be wearing it though—it’s a keepsake!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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KK on top as 45-49 US National Duathlon Standard Distance Champion!</div>
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Shane Thread (left) & Andy Ames (right) at our celebration dinner in St. Paul.</div>
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2014 US Duathlon 45-49 Sprint Champ Glen Thompson (left)</div>
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2014 US Duathlon 45-49 Standard Distance Champ Kevin Konczak (right)</div>
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*Sprint Nationals & Standard Nationals were held on the same day in St. Paul.</div>
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Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-65069822234962091272014-05-26T14:27:00.002-07:002014-05-26T14:27:12.244-07:002014 Bolder BoulderNo matter how many times you try the same thing such as the same race, there are a ton of things you can choose or not to choose to do, which make the outcome different. This year, it was no different. Most of the running the past couple months has pretty much been in the water aqua jogging with no speedwork, strength, or stretching, due to the double-injuries. As stated in previous posts, the right hamstring (7-year old recurring injury), then the left pulled quad from compensation during the Barking Dog Duathlon during the bike leg for the original injury to the hamstring. <br />
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Typically I'll have some toast before a race, then coffee. The toast is to settle the stomach acid from the coffee. The rest of the morning was pretty typical for a Bolder Boulder race, with the temps a little on the cool side. For obvious reasons, with a DNF at West Side Duathlon, a sub-par performance at Barking Dog developing the second injury, the mindset was on the low end of things. I jogged through the cemetery for a warm up, down 30th to the start just as normal--except I was feeling some aches & pains & without speedwork since the last duathlon, the day wasn't feeling too promising. Not to mentally get off on the wrong foot, but you know when you're not 100% or "on" for a race. Certainly, this was one of those days. <br />
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After who knows how many trips to the bathroom today, the near 2-mile warm up jog to the start & a few accelerations, I toed the line but somehow got right up to the front line of the A-wave (usually I'm about 10 feet back). What a great chance to get out of the mess of runners! Frank Shorter was only a few feet away from me when the starting pistol went off on this beautiful sunny Memorial Day. I wasn't as concerned about tagging onto the guy who beat me in my age group the last three years, because I had the rare situation of racing for the 2nd year in a row as a 44-year old. Last year the race was on my birthday, this year it was a day before my birthday. 1-year age categories in this monster of a race. <br />
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Mile 1-it was turning our great & my split was a little fast at 5:26 I think it was. By mile 2 marker it slid to 5:36 or so--still under the 5:37 pace I needed to match last year's time. Around mile 1.5 or 1.25, Andy Ames, another frequent local race pal of mine, tapped me on the shoulder (I didn't know he was racing). At this time, the wheels were already starting to fall off and people starting passing me like crazy (which kept up all the way to the end of the race). <br />
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Mile 3-suddenly the lack of toast to absorb the coffee came back to haunt me (I won't do that again!)<br />
The issue with the coffee was is started to come back up...since there wasn't much in my stomach, it was just dry-heaving (which is difficult to do while running if you haven't tried it...) Quickly I told myself to slow things down, it doesn't matter how you do, you're injured and it is stupid to push it anyhow. Just use it as your first speed towards the summer racing. I kept pro triathlete Paul Ambrose in my sights, as I typically finish ahead of him in the Bolder Boulder. This year, he got me by 2 seconds though! <br />
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Mile 4-the best & noisiest aid station out there, just awesome! It is on 13th Street, near Moe's Bagels. <br />
By this time there were kids and older guys passing me. There wasn't anything left in the legs, finishing was the only goal. There comes a point where finishing is just enough on those painful days--the competing can await a healthy body to return. <br />
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Mile 5-there was a guy who was in front of me who I *thought* was Joe Fogerty, a triathlete buddy of mine from the Springs. I sat behind him & slowed on the hill up to the stadium, hoping to out-sprint him. Turned out it wasn't him, but he sure ran & looked like him with his backwards hat on. Coming into the stadium I saw Paul Ambrose up ahead & tried to catch him, passing Tim Van Berkel (another pro triathlete training in Boulder). I'm sure Tim was just "jogging" but still...you know what I mean...it's cool to have a big name triathlete place behind you even if it was a jog for him. <br />
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The finish-a nice lady volunteer at the finish saw me cross the line, bend over & start dry heaving. She moved a giant trash can in front of me & said, "Here, do it in here..." After 2-3 minutes, I had recovered enough to stop the imaginary vomiting. Sorry to get graphical here, but it was really a crappy day out there for me. Once again, I was second in my age group, to a guy who had run in the Olympics when he was younger, in the marathon. He beat me by 14 seconds on a really bad day. Lots of folks beat me today. It's okay though. I can either dust off the shoes & come back at it in better shape next year, or throw in the towel. Certainly, towel throwing is a bit of a stranger in my world, so there is your answer. Just have to turn this ship around and give it time. This was my second worst Bolder Boulder time, but there will be others. <br />
<br />Congratulations to the Boulder Running Company athletes (we had the 1st overall amateur from our team). Thanks to Cody Hill of the Boulder Running Company and Adidas--the most awesome line of shoes out there, for sponsoring the BRC-Adidas team. I'm proud to run for them, now I need to recover and get back to my 2013 racing shape following these injuries. Until next report--which should be in about 2-3 weeks hopefully...keep the rubber side down!<br />
KKKevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-81635092194476157982014-05-11T10:21:00.000-07:002014-05-12T08:16:52.363-07:00Barking Dog Duathlon: Racing with Injury<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Overall this was a step up vs West Side Du's DNF. The first run was aerobically sort of a non-event & didn't have that muscular extra gear, but aerobically it wasn't that hard--needed to take the run to Andy a bit harder. I did a short sprint at the end of the run just to try anything--get a mental edge even...on Andy before a traditional adding of a few seconds to him during T1 (but he's narrowing that gap). At the start of the bike, there was literally a fraction of the power on the pedals I normally ride. Andy put time into me on the bike & there wasn't anything I could do about it no matter how hard I tried. <br />
<br />
By the time I hit the last run, my legs were so tired from basically pedaling with one leg (to protect the hamstring injury), that the run legs were gone. I was hoping to catch Andy on the second run but managed to lose about another 5 seconds. At the one "dog leg" I stopped briefly to tighten my right shoe as it was flopping around & annoying me from being too loose. This time there wasn't anything left in the legs to click into another gear. Again, aerobically, it was just fine, but no reaction from the legs. The issues do not seem to be one of cardio, but more of the chassis being underpowered. That's what happens when you get old I guess! <br />
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The end result was about a minute behind Andy & about 4-5 places from where I would be when healthy. Obviously some fast guys showed up, but no way my placing is indicitive of where I will end the season. Since West Side Du a few weeks ago, there is no place to go but up. With a new sense of focus on nutrition and recovery from this past weekend, it is time to buckle down & buck up...the season is upon us & I'm behind the 8-ball. It's time to pump up the volume so bring it! Errr....as long as the body holds up that is.<br />
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After the race I was talking with a young chap and his wife who had just moved here from Arizona. Pretty funny story...I was explaining how after the timing mat was crossed at T1 on the bike exit--that I jumped on the bike (I saw signs but no "line" on the ground). The refs yelled to get off the bike & re-mount at the line (which again, there was no line on the ground that I saw, just signs). After hopping on the bike a THIRD time in total...with rubber bands on the shoes already broken...I "stop-mounted" the bike and then my right heal came down on the teeth of the chainring, completely tearing the entire heel off my right foot compression socks (those aren't cheap either!) No injury was incurred. In explaining to the young couple, I said now I guess I'll throw out the compression socks. He quickly requested them to take...used, dirty/sweaty, with holes in them. So I took them off right there & handed the socks to him. That was actually just about the best thing of the day because *inside* I was laughing my arse off. Love a good laugh! <br />
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Notice the above pictures during the run where the socks are on, then the podium shot where there are no socks. By this time--the third overall place guy (Brian) had already left with his "award" lol! <br />
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Which reminds me, racing on what is now a four year old bike with nearly 15 year old race wheels, and 6+ year old tubulars. My gear is getting out of date. It seems to still be working & I still seem to be competitive when not injured, so no point in getting anything but new tires at this point so flats don't happen. Although I need a new race kit...half of my stuff is so old it is in a *dry rot* state. Elastic on the leg grippers are starting to go. The big A race of the year isn't for another 3.5 months so time to heal up & lay the foundation. Sure hope I'm healed better for Bolder Boulder...much further behind than last year, that is for sure! Until next time...you can either toss in the towel or use it to just wipe the sweat off of you & keep going. <br />
One thing I did different due to injury, was to use the KSwiss shoes as they were super light & needed to take as much strain off the injury as I could. At least until I get a new pair of ultra-light ones from Adidas. In hindsight the Adidas would have had a lot better traction and may have helped on the dirt trail quite a bit more. <br />
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As it is a day after the race, I'm barely sore. which tells me racing with injury has left me sensible enough to race UP to the point or threshold of just under making injury worse. At least it was enough to win the 45-45 USAT Rocky Mountain Regional Duathlon Champion title. Nothing feels worse, as in re-injuring the hamstring--which tells me there is a good sense of awareness on what line not to cross. Hats off to all the competitors for racing fast this past weekend...until the next race...Kevin<br />
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(Just call me ===> KK)<br />
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Special thanks to Rachel Ames (Andy's wife) for the spectacular pictures. <br />
<br />Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-17564149152711700482014-04-14T08:09:00.001-07:002014-04-14T08:50:11.819-07:002014 Big Sky Duathlon Results<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Pictures: (top) Kevin Konczak leads current reigning ITU World & US National 50-54 Champion Andy Ames into T1 at the 2014 Big Sky Duathlon in Denver at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. (Middle) KK rolls into the final segment of the bike portion. (Bottom) Kevin Konczak aka "KK" runs towards the finish line with a significant lead on the final 4K trail segment for the overall win against a tough field on a snowy & rainy/sleet filled day. <br />
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Race report: Above you can see that a morning where I finally decided to show up for a 9 AM race at only 6:15 AM that morning, can turn out to be a good thing. It had been snowing hard in Boulder, but an athlete I coach, Grant, lives near the race site. I called in him in the morning & found it was raining there--something I could deal with if there were enough of the right clothes packed. I got to the site of the race okay after having Grant guide me over the phone on how to get there (my bad I should have MapQuested it but do not have a Garmin in my car either). <br />
*NOTE: know where you're going by race morning. Since I had never done this race before I've never scouted the course either. There would be some fast guys there, namely my Team USA room mate Andy Ames who is always a bugger to race--he's the 2013 ITU Duathlon World Champion and US National Champion for 50-54. He happens to be the 2014 US Cross Country National 50-54 running champion as well (crowned just a few months ago). Andy always puts the hurt on me when running! Hey, give me a break, he's a freaking freak of nature and World Champion so I try best I can to hold pace with him. There would also be Mr. Timex (Tim Hola) racing as well as a guy I've never beaten before, Jim Halberg. <br />
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I woke up at 6 AM, had some toast, jam on it, then stopped by Amante for a 20 oz. of my fav. I'd been on coffee detox for a week because it wasn't having the useful effect it normally does. This really got me alert. It snowed, sleeted & rained the entire way there. I took 3 pair of running shoes, 5 pair of gloves & 3 pair of hats, 2 pairs of leg warmers. <br />
*NOTE: Use run shorts that have elastic in the legs to hold up leg warmers rather than just a hem.<br />
To shorten the story, I had a ton of clothes to prepare for about anything. <br />
*NOTE: Bring a balaclava when whether is bad, or one of those scarf/headband/balaclava thingys. <br />
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Fast forward: Really I had three trips to the bathroom before the race, with about a total of maybe 4 minutes of warm up. At my age, I need to be more diligent about that, especially in a sprint race. The elite wave/young guns went off at 9 AM. My wave and older (45-49+) went off at 9:05. It turns out I had the fastest FIRST and SECOND runs of the day out of the entire field, including the elites. That really surprised me because at US National Cross Country Championships I was so out of the mix from a) not having raced since I think the fall/ITU World Du Champs b) having done ZERO speed work all winter long. I'm used to being fast in transitions & ended up with the top T1 & T2 times as well, with the 2nd fastest bike split of the day. Here's how it went down after the gun went off...Andy took off like a bat outta hell as usual, I parked on his shoulder. I decided to have a little fun and speed up to shed the group, but then just after taking the lead my right leg warmer fell down to my knee and trying to catch a moving leg at 5-something per mile pace and pull it up at the same time just wasn't easy to do. Andy took the lead again & then I recalled coming into the park before the race, the wind was going to be in our face after a mile. I stayed parked on Andy's shoulder to use him as a shield and conserve for the bike and second run. Andy likes to be in front and since I've been averaging 5-6 hours of total training a week for who knows how many months now, I was happy to have him do the work. <br />
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Knowing I couldn't let Andy be near me after the bike, I kept laps 1 & 2 as an easy-then medium effort. However, I missed the turn around on Quebec Street and reached the cop cars about 5 yards beyond the actual turn around--so lost some time there. To top it off, my leg warmers kept falling down and had to stop pedaling to grab them & pull them up like 3 times! Each lap gaining about a hundred fifty yards on Ames. Jim Halberg was putting big time in on the bike way up in Wave 1 and figured I'm just trying to hold off Andy in my wave...never saw Tim Hola the entire race up there probably because I was too busy keeping my eyes on the road and not wipe out on the wet pavement and avoiding other Wave 1 folks. Lap 3 I pushed it a little harder on the bike but not enough so there wasn't anything left after the bike to counter a move from Andy. As it turned out, my second run was just sort of an effort of comfort. The bugger was I lost a serious number of seconds while running just to slow down in order to pull up my leg warmers. I counted 6 times for sure in the first mile--possibly as many as 3 times. Wardrobe malfunctions stink! I could always have picked it up more and the pain threshold never really got in the way much. One of those days where you can keep pushing but not really feel it, possibly because it was so damn cold I was numb? I don't know...either way, after the long downhill and turning back towards the stadium/finish, I got a glance at the trail behind me to see where Andy was--couldn't see anything but trail so I just geared it down to the finish line and went over right away to see Andy so I could cheer him on. <br />
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I went to the announcer to tell him to say, "Here comes Andy Ames, the reigning World and National Duathlon 50-54 champion!" I felt Andy deserved all the glory there because he has accomplished amazing things the past year and should be recognized for it. To top it off, he is the Master's Duathlete of the Year for 2013. <br />
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At the end of the day, I'm not sure what happened and why I raced to be the only athlete under an hour all the fastest everything but the bike split...in the entire field. Maybe it was the coffee, maybe it was the lack of training so I've been rested, maybe it was the crappy weather. My dad always said when the weather is cold and bad, advantage goes to me. He was right in this case. Maybe it's the Swedish blood in me, or being a former Nordic ski racer for years while in college. Who knows, either way, it sure surprised me how it turned out...it was a good day! Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-54713569190745710232014-02-07T08:30:00.001-08:002014-02-07T08:30:14.622-08:00On to 2014...It seems Blogger has made it less user friendly to post a new post so actually accessing Blogger took a little research--Google has infiltrated the process and made it a PITA giving me grief whenever trying to log in to post. <br />
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On to 2014...I've ended the year of 2013 on a decent note with a 4th at ITU World Duathlon Championships as the top American Master in the Olympic Distance race in Ottawa, Canada. I've actually been lucky enough to place 16th overall out of all age groups, just missing a bronze medal by one place. Any other age group but ONE other--I'd have podium placed with a World Championship medal...wow, on the first try. Good stuff for a 44.5 year old. <br />
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Due to some rather ridiculous/illogical schedule changes in my work hours at my "day job" I've found myself short training time in the afternoon, so 2014 will greatly limit my training. Having to adjust to an early schedule isn't my cup of tea and will prove to be a personal challenge. <br />
That said, I've been swimming & biking mostly, working on that which doesn't take much time, resorting to more quality training than ever--which is all I've ever really trained like. <br />
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2014 starts off with racing at the US National Cross Country Championships in Boulder, CO. My first ever...and first race of its kind since racing Division II XC back in college days. Luckily I was recruited by the Boulder Running Company/adidas Master's team. This should be exciting, painful and exhilarating all at the same time. As my first race of the year, I think back to XC days...how the "studs" would race in our nation's championship race...how far above it was from high school & college racing. The guys who race in the Olympics in Track & Field will be here...the big names of tomorrow and years past. I'll be in the 8k Master's race, so not quite toeing the line with the 12k current day pros...but there will be the "old farts" pros from yester-year on the same line. <br />
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Swimming has been a lot of fun & I've been posting some pretty good times for me. Finding my stroke flaws & paying attention so so many details that make such a huge difference. Since this is an Ironman year for me again, the focus will be on that big race at Ironman Boulder in August. New age group, local race--only 3 miles from home...can't beat the price for an Ironman! I'm super stoked & just hope the body holds up and is ready for race day. All races until then are merely training days. While I'd like to race at Du Nationals in July, it seems that is the same day as Boulder Peak...so I'm already signed up for the Boulder Peak & tri series...looks like it's all eyes on August! <br />
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There will be some equipment changes...minor ones like a new saddle & possibly a Garmin. Aside from that, the plan for a new Zipp 808 rear doesn't seem likely. I do not see a huge $ per watt improvement in the wings...and think it'd be better just banking that away for retirement at this point. Or getting the house painted...logical stuff that we triathletes usually pass over for equipment. <br />
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This past winter I've decided to pass on the Chilly Cheeks Duathlon series & may hop in the last one last minute but I'm not sure as I've not been riding the bike. The motivation to bike hasn't been there & swimming/running has been a little more convenient and fun for me lately. I'm like that...a "mood training athlete" who when I have time, train in whatever it is I have time for. Oh memories of the days of few other commitments! Looking forward to an exciting 2014! Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-44837519418430203822013-09-29T23:25:00.000-07:002013-09-29T23:25:08.795-07:00The OCEANIC tide of 2013Quite honestly, I'm writing this without looking as to the last post I did. Somewhere between then & now has been a roller coaster of life in 2013. Many things such as having my car totaled in my driveway & being tossed into my wife's car in the spring--by a lady who passed out at the wheel for starters, shook things up. We were in the house & heard a large BOOM! Next thing we know, neighbors were saying a lady just drove into our parked cars. Alas, the joys of having to have a car payment now. <br />
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We survived the Boulder 500 year flood but still had significant damage as our basement had to be torn pretty much down to the studs. Luckily, my niece & boyfriend had moved in the week before after landing jobs here in Colorado. Just in time to help move the basement "upstairs" if you will...it is still a work in progress & we at least came away with our home & lives despite the damage. Many in Boulder were not so lucky. One neighbor had 4 feet of water in the basement & were on vacation, only to return to sewage and half of their belongings having to be thrown out in a dumpster as wide as their house. <br />
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My son's school was out for two weeks due to damages, I've been playing daddy daycare for him & one of his friends periodically, while trying to do as many clean up & repairs on the house over the past three weeks while working full time. I don't know what not working means any longer. Sleep, work, go to work, sleep (very little sleep at that). Not sure what training is any longer either. I'd like to get back to it, but hopefully I can do that once my son goes back to school. There is so much to do and so little time. It just never seems to end. Need a different line of work so I can work from home and get some of these "must do" lists off the agenda. <br />
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That aside, the big TV just quit working...should I say, turns ON/OFF/ON/OFF...over and over again. Wifey discovered this was a common issue & there is a class action lawsuit we are entitled to for Samsung to fix the problem. Should be taken care of in a few days. <br />
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Racing scene...did so-so this season with short course & trying new things. Went to Duathlon World Championships (ITU), Team USA--finished as top Master, as well as 3rd American overall (out of 372 athletes from USA), 16th overall out of ALL countries in the Olympic Distance race. It is nice to know I was up there with the elite of the sport and ahead of nearly all US competitors. Had I been in any age group but two others, I would have medaled at World's. However, this was on the heels of Boulder 70.3 Half Ironman--FIVE days prior. The plan was to race Boulder 70.3 "just fast enough" to nab a slot to Vegas 70.3 Worlds. I did that on a "half ass effort" basically. I was hot not tired at the end of Boulder's race. I did not want to jeopardize ITU World Championships too much so had to pull back on the pony. <br />
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ITU World Championships was a blast, with my room mate (and 50-54 gold medalist), Andy Ames from Boulder. A quiet guy, Andy and I bummed around Ottawa, Canada in a low-key type fashion. I had a pretty good race and was happy about it, aside from the fact I sort of blew on the bike somewhat. After the first 20K, my legs were smoked and couldn't bike any harder. Certainly the 70+ miles of racing less than a week before took a lot more out of me than I expected. Either way, it was a great experience and without having peaked for it, combined with the racing so soon before, it was a marginal success I'd say. No regrets, I wouldn't have done anything different I think. <br />
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After ITU's, I basically spent the weeks before Vegas, off the bike, with only 2-3 bike rides (it was about 3 weeks between races), then a few runs. I'd say around 3 hrs of training a week (if I was lucky). Realizing I really did not want to race Vegas I instead, used it as a road trip for the family to have fun. I did not care about the race & it was a C-race for me. Didn't train for it, follow my typical routine, not to mention was lucky they let me register. Took the kid out of school, wife out of work for a few days, drove, but arrived Friday night about 7:30 PM. Registration closed at 4 PM. What? All the races I've done that were 70.3 you could register the day before. So when they told me it was over, I was pissed as to the time and expense we made to get there. There was a girl "April" from WTC...she read me my rights basically, rude as hell. She was mean, bitchy--should not be working for Ironman. Turns out 30 others had other commitments they just couldn't get away from with extenuating circumstances as well. So we chased around all over Vegas, meeting here & there, rushing up until dinner time the night before the race, spending all day stressed out. Needless to say, we barely ate, rested or hydrated all day due to this cluster. The entire process was a mess. The T1 or swim area was a muddy mess, clearly the most disgusting and poorly organized race start area I ever saw. Bathroom were few, it was a downpour all throughout the morning and bike. The wife and kid ended up going back to the hotel while I raced. They made it there for the finish just in time. <br />
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Racing in the colder rain was dangerous with all those hills, but it was super-fun being out there in the rain. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The run was one of those days you wish you hadn't eaten garlic. One of my rules of "don't do" things. One mile into it, I had just caught another local gal who started some waves ahead of me (Sonja Wieck), as I started to get stomach cramps. It was the garlic. At mile 1 aid station, I dove into the porta-john. I was nearly 3 minutes in that porta-toilet. Better to take the time and fix what is ailing you than to continue in pain. It was a long, long time, knowing I was losing a lot of time. It didn't matter, it was a C-race right? A C-race with a near 3-week no training layoff after ITU Worlds, running around the day before without rest, food or de-stressing myself in the heat. It was just a really bad time & I didn't want to be there racing. It was about as self-destructive of an effort you could make for a race--totally out of character for me with shoddy results to prove it. Even the first five miles of the bike I rode sitting up braking to avoid crashing, until we got off the highway and heading towards the "out and back" section of the bike. It may have been more than five miles, but since I hadn't even seen the swim, bike or run course until I raced it, I wouldn't know. I did EVERYTHING I tell the athletes NOT to do before a race. Living example of just how wrong you can screw up a race without preparation. I almost have to laugh at how poorly executed the entire lead-up was. <br />
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Since Vegas, I've been pretty much in flood damage control, hoping that maybe, just maybe, 2014 will be a better year. Certainly training will be much more of a challenge in 2014 with the Boulder Tri Series on tap, with a changed worked schedule which will flip my training life upside down after 14 years (shame on them!) Sometimes though, what you need to do in order to get to the next level, is get a good kick in the ass to get moving and stop the coasting. Take charge of your life, your situations, reach for those goals/aspirations--and quit the routine in order to find a better routine. You may have to take a step back before you take two steps forward, but in the end, you'll be better off for it. Things are what they are & in the end, you CAN control where your ship sails. That is, with a bit of help from fate. I know that sounds ironic a bit, but fate starts you out down a path, it is up to you whether to stay on that path to get to your destination. You can stall out in life, or go far. In the end, HOW FAR DO YOU WANT TO TAKE IT?<br />
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PS: The picture here is a giant spider attacking the Canada Parliament building when I was at ITU Duathlon World Championships...Godzilla was nowhere to be found to save the day...<br />
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Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-42509351089425459252013-07-13T16:44:00.003-07:002013-07-13T16:44:54.800-07:00Summer Update!Here we are mid July & plans for 2014 have already changed. Rather than Ironman Sweden 2014, with the advent of Ironman Boulder new to the family of Ironman for 2014, I will choose that instead as it will be a lot cheaper to ride my bike to the start than hop on a plan half way across the world. Although, it won't be as fun or exciting! Anyhow, new age group in 2014 so time to mix things up with some different athletes.<br />
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So far it has been in interesting 2013 with everyone I coach just "KILLING IT" be they on a bike or triathlon, or running. I'm carrying quite a few athletes (pretty much maxed out), so keeping it all in balance has been a challenge. In light of this, I've managed to qualify for TEAM USA Duathlon World Championships in Ottawa, Canada in August. Not a duathlete...it seems I've proven I can race another sport quite well aside from triathlon and pure running. One thing I've found out is that my transitions (save for a once-in-a-while "lemon" race), my non-Ironman distances--are pretty much among the fastest if not the fastest. Who would have thought that by thinking & planning ahead just a little bit while changing gear would actually give a HUGE advantage (not just talking a few steps here). I'll continue to focus on fast transitions as I seek to move up in the results as I get older. Someone contrary to what <i>should</i> happen as I age. The goal here is to stave off the aging process as long as possible so I don't feel like an AARP person before it is really time! <br />
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Boulder Peak Triathlon is in the morning & after a couple weeks of walleye fishing in Ontario & being off my bike & out of the pool...this should be the last <i>non-trained for race</i> of the season. Time to buck-up & get out the door with some consistency as it certainly hasn't been that way the past few months. That is what happens in a non-Ironman year for me anyhow...lots of slacking. Despite that, things seem to be going fairly well, although all races have been quite short. The real test will be if I survive Ironman Boulder 70.3 while attempting something totally crazy by racing ITU World Duathlon Championships only 6 days later.<br />
It may come down to backing off on the effort for the 70.3 & use it as a training day then race Worlds with less fatigue issues. HOWEVER...if I am in the mix for the 70.3 I may just finally accept my slot to Las Vegas World's in September. Decisions decisions...it'll be a spur of the moment decision for sure on race day in a few weeks. Don't ask because I don't know myself yet!Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-83969630424311778252013-01-17T10:23:00.001-08:002013-01-17T10:23:25.050-08:00Tonight is the Big "Oprah" NightI've largely kept quiet on the entire L.A. issue but with things blowing up in the media on the much anticipated Oprah interview with @lancearmstrong slated for tonight, it is time to ponder his direction and future in sport.<br />
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First, let me keep Lance the guy who has done so much for cancer completely separate from Lance the athlete. Argue if you will, he would clearly not have been able to do all he has done in such as short amount of time without the success in the sport of cycling. That is besides the point. Lance the athlete seems to have merely one-upped his competition in doing similar things his competition has done throughout history of the sport, he just took it to a more professional level.<br />
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Believing in the myth or storybook hero of the world's best Tour rider ever, after personal tragedy struck, inspired so many in sport--outside of the cancer patients. I, for example, cannot express how many times I visualized Lance speeding along the road in my training, trying to imitate the tempo, the smooth pedaling and motionless upper body style while trying to achieve a solid ride. Although admittedly, I am not that great of a cyclist so it is somewhat embarrassing to know it never really helped a result for a race. Regardless, Mr. Armstrong was the inspiration to get back into shape for the 2012 Ironman Hawaii, in hopes that after he announced that his goal was to race or win Hawaii. Although he would race as a professional and myself as an amateur, it would have been "cool" to be on the same course at the same time to catch a glimpse of him, despite likely finishing about an hour-plus behind him. Now we know the real story, he would NOT have finished that far ahead of me "legally" as all those years of drug abuse, have resulted in a massive advantage in building up the body to such a high level it would be hard to compete with legitimately.<br />
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It was only few months before Hawaii, I had already qualified at Ironman CDA, in Idaho, USA. Lance was within one week of getting his qualification at Ironman France before all hell broke loose. The beginning of his downfall for years of lying, abuse, manipulation. "The Boss" finally was going to get what he deserved according to many of public opinion. He has certainly lost a lot, but for some reason, some say he thinks he will be able to fully get back to where he wants to be, in the winner's circle. As his biological clock ticks down, even with a potential reduced sentence from his life-time ban from all WADA sanctioned sports, would anyone really want to race him? Personally, he still seems mystifying as he certainly commands much attention anywhere he goes. Publicly, he is done, he burned that bridge. I would not want him representing my products, nor would I any longer want to be in a race against him. Time to pay the price, "The Boss" is not a boss any longer, but one of among many magicians, one who will go down in history as a fraud by the way things look for him right now. The lawsuits line up, media continues to print he is attempting to worm his way out of things through big dollar settlements. Intelligently, the government and others don't seem to be falling for it. Lance no longer holds the cards so his plan continues to fall apart.<br />
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Today, he lost his Olympic medal. What is next?<br />
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There are others in sport doing the same thing every day. This fall, an age grouper from the south named Kevin Moats was found to have been taking steroids. He was at the top of the world winning Ironman Hawaii in his age group. It is rare that USADA (US Anti-Doping Agency) tests ANY amateur, in competition or out of competition. From experience, I could likely name a good half dozen amateurs right here in Colorado that should be regularly tested out of competition for both HGH, EPO and testosterone. When you come out of the woodwork, to the degree some of these athletes have with such improvements it is ground shaking to the age group results, it sets off a red flag. Mark Fretta, an Olympic Training Center triathlete was recently found positive for EPO. Mark, while a nice guy (I met him personally a few years ago), wasn't even what I would call "first tier" level triathlete. He struggled for results. If Lance was beaten by some guys in triathlon, if Mark was beaten by a lot of guys, if Kevin Moats only had a few peers who could beat him, it makes me wonder, WHAT are those guys who beat these cheats possibly on? <br />
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How far up the ranks would we all be if all the cheats taking things on the WADA banned list were removed, move up? Sometimes, I wonder, but I still hope that it will catch up with them in the end and our final results will be where they should be. One thing for sure, should I get to Hawaii in the next couple years, although I'm taking 2013 off of long course racing, my results will be at least ONE place closer to the front. Thanks Lance, for helping me improve by one spot without doing any work at all!Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-62386701175573463742012-11-30T10:13:00.000-08:002012-11-30T10:13:04.327-08:00Here we are 2013!Tomorrow is December 1st so I'll sneak in a quick blog here. Boulder right now is set for a high of 61-63 F today. The large storms looming to the west we may in fact be under a white blanket this time next week--one can only hope, the moisture is needed. With the shortest daylight hours of the year only three weeks away, it is time to give thanks for all the blessings we've had in 2012.<br />
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1) Yeah, the world didn't end, it likely won't in December either...I predict that is a myth.<br />
2) For our families & friends who support us throughout our crazy sporting year, making those sacrifices so we can play in our own way.<br />
3) Our health...without it, we wouldn't be able to enjoy those we love, or those things we love to do.<br />
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On the sporting side of things, once again, everyone I have worked with this season has done something special. From a first time Ironman Robert (who qualified for Kona on his first try), Ethan--a cyclist who will be "cat-ing" up in 2013 & never finished worse than 5th overall...winning his last race, Max--who set a half marathon PR, Jennifer...who ended the season with a 38 minute PR & 6th in her AG at Ironman Arizona. Those are a few highlights so if I've missed anything else please check my "Latest Updates" at www.geminimultisport.com for additional accomplishments throughout the season. It's been a super ride. I'd also like to thank all of our sponsors on the home page of the Gemini website just listed. Especially to Blue Seventy's Mike Orton--who always seems to come through for us when we need a rush or last minute order, you guys are the best!<br />
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It didn't take long to pick up things after a rest from Kona, gradually ramping up time and purposefully setting up many races from now until spring, just to force the fitness consistency. God knows I hate getting my butt kicked in a race but it happens so often the least I can do it put up a decent fight by keeping the fat off when most are putting it on. The course will change for 2013 in that as previous blogs mentioned I'll be doing strictly short course (meant anything shorter than a full Ironman distance). There will be non-WTC races, USAT races & of course WTC races like the ones here in Boulder. It'll be fun & won't require the long training hours of full distance racing. At my age, I've decided to do the "every-other-year Ironman" thing. Recovering some speed is needed between those years, as well as the family time is so valuable, that doing fulls each year just don't appeal to me at this time.<br />
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On the coaching side, I've actually already had to turn down several athletes for a 2013 roster already...a couple from Europe (due to keeping a few spots open for later returning athletes I've coached before.) Not sure how they heard about me, but it is always surprising when someone comes along who I never knew before or even without reference. You don't have to have an army of athletes or army of coaches or be spread all over the internet with advertising in every online mag out there, to be a successful coach. What you do need though, is to care about the athlete & their goals in a friendly, approachable relationship. To you athletes out there, there are always "spots" available throughout the year as some end their season early or some decide last minute to step back from the sport for one reason or another. Inquire about availability by dropping me an email at kk@geminimultisport.com See you at the races! Happy Holidays..<br />
KK<br />
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<br />Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-79848117899261343392012-10-25T11:21:00.000-07:002012-11-29T22:34:38.652-08:00Off Season?Nope, not really off season, in fact, I'm already healed from 98% of my wounds from Kona & have actually run twice already--though quite sore from it! The best thing to do now is knock out some "to-do-list" items and be consistent with at least a little exercise so the flab doesn't start to jostle around too much. It is quite early to start any training per sa of seriousness, especially since there isn't a real solid goal for 2013 other than to do some local races and have fun. Along the way there will be tweaks & changes to the schedule, but surely it is looking like a lot more family time is in order for 2013, which is great for all of us!<br />
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It has been a pleasure working with the athletes this year and seeing them come along so far performing to many successes. First, I'd like to say thanks to all the athletes this year that I've had the opportunity to guide to their most excellent seasons. Thanks for believing in my program and even more, yourself. Thanks to my family for their support when I have had to keep away from certain family functions to either train or work with the athletes, they understand I also have a job to do also. <br />
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As we close the chapter on 2012, I welcome back past athletes and new ones. The smart ones are those who are starting early working towards their goals. I look forward to seeing more P.R.'s for you next year. <br />
To cap off this blog entry...I'll have more time to post this fall/winter hopefully--in case anyone is up for expanded versions of the crazy details of "my world" and this sort of lifestyle. Hopefully it will all be as educational as it is entertaining! 'Til next time...Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-43864142202371898472012-10-17T20:40:00.004-07:002012-10-17T20:40:47.321-07:002012 Ironman Hawaii Race Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This season has been a series of ups & downs, starting out the season well in some short running races and a decent Boulder Sprint Triathlon. Ironman CDA went quite well for me by being able to qualify for my 10th start in the Hawaii Ironman. The Boulder Peak was only less than two weeks from finishing the Ironman in Idaho so despite being totally flat and sub-standard swim/bike AND run, I managed a podium finish in 3rd place. The big issue throughout the 5430 half (now called the Boulder 70.3) was I had a foot injury from CDA--which kept me from running throughout a large portion of the summer from Ironman CDA to Boulder 70.3 except for aqua jogging. Luckily, there was enough time to recover by Ironman Hawaii to get in a few longer runs. <br />
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Bad luck started with couple months prior to Kona, but this may have been a blessing in disguise. The lack of training either helped or hurt me. I’m not sure as there has always been a large volume training build, with a month and a half left before Hawaii. This time training looked like this: <br />
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The below are dates with hours/minutes of total training time taken directly from my Training Peaks account log.<br />
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Aug 6-12: 6:27 (still injured) <br />
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Aug 13-19: 2:10 (still injured)<br />
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Aug 20-26: 1:41 (still injured)<br />
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Aug 20-Sept 2: 8:47<br />
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Sept 3-9: 11:54 <br />
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Sept 10-16: 13:09<br />
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Sept 17-23: 7:11 (sick)<br />
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Sept 24-30: 7:19 (sick)<br />
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Oct 1-7: 6:34<br />
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Oct 8-12: 3:10<br />
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Ideally this low of volume is not an ideal build up for Ironman. I also may have ramped up a little too soon but there was an illness “floating around” which many people have gotten or have now. <br />
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The race (October 13, 2012): <br />
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I placed myself far left as I could, swimming the entire 2.4 miles casually as I would a warm up training pace. It was uneventful & quite tame as there was not a lot of punching/kicking this time around. The entire plan for today was to a) spend 2/3 the race screwing around going slow, then nail the run b) make hydration & pacing the priority. The entire swim was purposefully spent going slow. Yet, my time/placing was actually pretty good without even trying. It’s hard to criticize a decent swim placing with little effort. <br />
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The bike: Lots of drafting here, but Jimmy Riccitello and his draft marshals did an exceptional job catching the cheaters this year. I raced clear of penalty & rode as I would a long training ride. Hydration, calorie ingestion were all priorities. Special needs didn’t have my bag ready in Hawi so I pulled over for about a minute until they were able to find it & get it to me. Winds were the second worse I’ve experienced on the Big Island. Those hammering the bike were pretty much going to pay the price on the run. Therefore, I rode extra slow & conservative while trying to keep the body core temp down. <br />
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T2: This was only my SECOND of two bathroom stops for the race. Vast improvement! Usually it is 4+ times that I stop during an Ironman to relieve the body. However, I took my time in T1 & T2 to sit down and calmly put on my gear, grab extra drinks and make sure I was comfortable before heading into the next leg of the race. Usually I am tops on transitions but took a more relaxed approach this time. <br />
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The run: The plan was to hammer the run knowing I could pull off a 3:10. Five miles into the run on the left foot, a large blister formed to the left of the ball of the foot & between the second toe. Damage control had me altering the landing which then caused a right foot little toe blister. That in turn, altered my landing again, which caused a left foot little toe blister. The blister on the bottom of the left foot popped and feet were so swollen, that the friction caused skin to peel away to raw meat. The plan for a 3:10 run fell apart although I had plenty of energy to run that fast—the pain in the feet were nearly unbearable. The shoes (Adidas Adios 2’s) were great in training, but I hadn’t accounted for the amount of swelling in the feet (plus they are not “seamless shoes”) so yes there were issues. I walked all the aid stations after that, finishing in 3:23 for a 10:00:26…only 26 seconds from breaking 10 hours. My record here is not great with the heat being my #1 enemy. Never before had I finished the bike without being at least partially “blown up” so when the finish line came along, I had the energy to go another 10 miles, but the feet were done. Raw meat, it wasn’t pretty. Still dehydrated I was a little dizzy afterwards & just wanted to sit down to rest the feet. Either way, I was disgusted with the fact there was so much energy left at the end of this race, but not being able to complete the task due to the blistering. Oh well, it’ll be a return in 2014 when I age up hopefully. Take a year off in 2013 for short course & local races, complete a few home projects…then whatever comes after that. <br />
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My hats off to my Kona roommate Robert Brink who in his fourth triathlon (first Hawaii & 2nd ever Ironman), kept me at bay until just after the Energy Lab heading back to town. You kept it steady all day and it has been a pleasure to coach you this year and making your dream a reality. At 27 years, you have a long and strong future ahead of you in the sport. <br />
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In hindsight 2012 had ups and downs, Kona was while a disappointment in many ways, was a success in other ways. I’m always my biggest critic (I think!) Whatever I do is usually not good enough for me, although this time around keeping the heat at bay/under control as well as not blowing up on the course with such minimal training, makes me think of the larger picture in how much improvement can be made over the next couple years despite aging and supposedly should be slowing. Just because the general consensus is that we “should be” slowing doesn’t mean I have to. Hard work, planning and smarter racing can go a long way to exceeding what is nothing more than an unproven age barrier. <br />
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Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-66198947069975912752012-10-02T17:57:00.000-07:002012-10-02T17:57:25.280-07:002012 Hawaii Ironman (PRE RACE)Now that I am all packed for Kona, Hawaii & ready to leave next week, I was finally able to get out for a bike ride today with a swim preceding that. During today's ride I knew one of the things really needing to get done for a mental relief prior to leaving, was update my blog. Undoubtedly, there will be some viewing this blog because friends said they would keep an eye out for a "Kona update" from me here. What to write about though? This should not be a problem as I have plenty to say about a lot of things--no matter what subject it is. <br />
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Why so many athletes feel the need to create blog entries prior to races or after races (as in race reports), or Twit on Twitter more frequently, I think I have the answer. It may be a way to calm the nerves/inner self, or sandbag to the public/fellow competitors, brag/psych-out their competitors, or even because they have more time on their hands and do not know what to do with themselves during the taper (too much time on their hands). There could be a lot of reasons. I think one of those reasons at least, may in fact be one for this update, although writing period does seem to be an outlet for me regardless. <br />
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The summary of how the last five weeks of preparation have gone...last week was a little over seven hours total training, the week before the same at 7:11. The three weeks prior to that I was sick for the entire three weeks. There were a few short 1 hour or less workouts despite being sick, so we're looking at around only 16-18 hours total for the last month. Certainly not enough to say I'm overtrained. Post Kona-Qualifying visions for this same time period were a large volume build with some decent speedwork. It turns out I'm riding the wave early season fitness because that vision I had is 180 degrees in the opposity direction of the reality. If anything it'll be a "super taper" sort to speak. Not sure what I'd be tapering from, but it doesn't matter as there is nothing I can do at this point but put all the internal negative thoughts in the bottom of the sea. The best approach at this time is to not panic train and utilize the experience I've built over 23 other Ironman races. Pacing & nutrition are the best allies come race day, it is the one thing we as races come to realize after all is said and done--boiling Ironman strategy down to the most basic principles to follow. <br />
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Expectations? Certainly. I expect it to be hot, windy and not to my liking. However, I welcome the challenge because I will continue to keep going back (now every OTHER YEAR to Kona--should I qualify those years), to attempt to conquer the demons that meet me at this race each time. Heat has always been my biggest enemy, nope, I do NOT like the heat in any way, shape or form. This is why I have chosen IM CDA as a qualifier race for me the last three times. It is pretty much considered a "cool" to "cold" race where I excel. As the last race of the year it is my expectation to also continue my quest to become a better athlete with this race lending inspiration to the coming years of racing as well as to the athletes I coach. <br />
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Looking back on a somewhat successful amateur career and being (in the Twilight of my best race years), the age of where "decline begins" for the male endurance athlete, it has been a fun ride thus far. The goal is to continue the lifestyle & stave off age and diminishing results best I can. Taking NO for a stance to Father Time, I'll continue to strive to prove him wrong that I'll slow from this day forward. Some days I feel like this has already happened while other days it feels as if I'm still improving with all the same intensity and excitement of my younger years. Whether the little dude with horns says, "I can't" on one shoulder--or the one with wings on the other shoulder says, "I CAN", no matter what happens race day as an end result is not going to stop the future process or lifestyle. The FINISH line is not the finish/end result, ever. It is always simply a new BEGINNING that I look forward to each day my eyes open to when the alarm clock goes off before getting out of bed. Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-49325558141815797162012-08-06T22:40:00.004-07:002012-08-06T23:02:22.644-07:002012 Ironman Boulder 70.3 Race Report<br />
Let it be known starting out how grateful I am in exceeding (place wise) my expectations in the age group finish. Dealing with what one medical expert calls extensor tendinitis since Ironman Coeur D’Alene limiting my run to a handful since well over a month ago, there wasn’t much to expect aside from something short of disaster. Training has not gone well until a week ago. However, I only had two runs the last two weeks due to this acute issue keeping me from my #1 strength. <br />
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Wake up time was 5 AM. Quick coffee, Clif Bar, toast, fill the tires (disc wheel for this race), ride the bike the entire 3 miles to the start. Simple plan I follow living so close to all the local races—holds true for the sprint, oly & half races we have here in Boulder. Since Ironman CDA on June 24th, I’ve been 100% inactive for 2 weeks while fishing in Canada…then sporadic training and low energy levels leading right up to the day before the Boulder 70.3. My “pop” in the legs only showed hints of re-surfacing about a week ago although most of the time the legs were admittedly flat. It showed at the Boulder Peak too…flat. No zip, no pop, nadda. The outlook for 70.3 wasn’t that good given I’ve run more in a week preparing for IM CDA than I did SINCE Ironman CDA (I’ll just call it IM CDA from here out). <br />
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As a coach, I wouldn’t have suggested an athlete to race with an injury like this. However, it had not been really tested in a long, long time (the foot)…additionally, this race, like the sprint & oly (The Boulder Peak Tri), were all C races. Nothing more than a training day. No expectations really, not even finishing for sure was an expectation. I knew the run was going to be tough, after all, no running right? The next item up for bid…the HALF iron distance is my single worst distance—ever, always has been. After that, HEAT is my Nemesis, after all, look at my historical Kona finishes. Never have done well there, but once—which still isn’t that impressive (to me anyhow). Hell, I didn’t even do a warm up for this race aside from a few hundred yards of freestyle & backstroke because of wanting to save “the foot” for later. <br />
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Long and short of pre-race was during the Anthem, I realized how lucky I am to be American and out here doing this sport, enjoying it while others in some countries are dodging bullets and lucky to ever see a clear blue sky like I was under, once the smoke from the bomb shells disappear. I digress…there were about 255 registered in the 40-44 AG. There were 15 waves total in the race, I was wave 8. The one thing with these Boulder races is the sun…no way could we see the far turn buoy. Starting far right actually nearest the buoy, when the horn blew I sprinted for a couple hundred yards. Then settled into what I felt was a warm up pace. Oddly enough, I found myself alone. No cap colors the same as mine. Was I in front? I had no idea…never been in that position on the swim before. I kept imagining the underwater Olympic footage of the freestyle races. For some reason it relaxed me and things felt more efficient than usual. By the end of the swim exit, I looked around…nobody in front…my first “FIRST out of the water” swim in a big-time high caliber race. There was ONE guy faster from wave two of our AG, but I still claimed the SECOND fastest swim in the 40-44 Age Group. Awesome…makes me want to work more on my swim now to keep it going! <br />
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T1—looking at T1 & T2 times, combined, there is nobody close in transition, it’s been that way all season long. Some years I’m slower but this year, great transitions, nailed all of them so far. I headed out onto the bike and saw Jen, wife of Mark (who I saw just before my wave went off). Mark is a guy I coached a couple years ago—well, I had given a shout out to Jen to GO! She kindly emailed me today actually, informing me that myself & some other guy glued to my rear wheel from my AG, were way out in front of everyone else. Quickly making way through the previous waves, the crowds thinned north of town. About mile 5 “the pass” came from Joe Fogerty (who has won all three of the Series races this year). He was taking it easy on the first lap of the bike so I passed him back, may as well, let’s have some fun right? We went back & forth a few times up to mile 25 when he dropped me & the guy that I *think* Jen said was glued to my wheel (I didn’t ever look back so don’t know who it was). Anyhow, that is about the time I also dropped Mr. Drafter guy who had passed me a few times looking back at Joe & I as if to say, “C’mon guys, let’s pace line this thing!” This “guy” hooked up on Joe’s back wheel for a while as I watched from about 75 yards back. One thing I did not want to happen is let Joe out of my sight too far—ha ha, like that was going to happen. Needless to say, he put 10 minutes into me on lap 2 of the bike. <br />
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Realizing the pace he then set would take too much to hold close, I continued on with the same way the swim went…easy. I’ll admit, my effort was wimpy and not difficult at all on the bike. Legs never really felt strained as the goal was nutrition to stave off the inevitable heat/dehydration from the 90+ F. The energy sapper would be the run as it would be about the time the heat really was supposed to hit. <br />
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T2—lickity-split in and out in 50 seconds. Excellent! Immediately upon the first few steps using a lacing system in my “Kona shoes” which would alleviate pressure on the top injured portion of my foot, the lead in the legs were apparent. Each step was running in mud-like effort. Clearly my “A” sport was gone. Zippo—not there. Known more as a runner than swimmer or biker, there was nothing to fall back on to hoist me up the ladder of results. I did get some inspiration when Dave Scott, yelled at me, “Good job Kevin! Keep it steady going up this grade!” First it was surprising that Dave picked me out remembering my name. Sure we live in the same town but he’s big time & I’m small apples and a dime a dozen of an athlete, not even what I would call “elite” anything. He’s surrounded by those types day in & day out. So yeah, it was cool to hear that from him. The run was more of a soggy shuffle than anything. Again, taking in calories and liquids to practice nutrition for Kona was the main effort here. That—and finishing the run. Each step uphill was way more painful than the flats or downhills as more pressure is required to bound off the front/midfoot on an uphill. Not having my lace system “X” over the top of my foot and having the laces parallel for half of the shoe helped a lot. However, the shoes were LOOSE on the foot/feet and did cause more blisters than normal. <br />
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A note on my competition…Joe had been so far ahead at this point that after the turn around at mile 6.5 I did not see him again until the finish line. No idea how wave 2 of my AG was doing, something that wasn’t an issue because it was only getting to that finish line that I hoped for. There were two guys faster in the area that did not show up race day so that helped a lot in the final standings…but at this point a guy from a previous launched wave I know (while passing him on the run), said, “To the best of my knowledge, you’re in 4th place." NO IDEA if that was in the AG or overall, it didn’t matter…just looking for the finish line! It’s difficult in knowing that, normally, I can hit the turbo thrusters & make up tons of ground on a run on any given day. Now I was in a position where the lack of running and pain from just slapping the ground sends screams of STOP! throughout the nervous system. As long the body still felt there would be no long term damage done—the mind allowed it to continue. The pace was soooo slow in fact; I likely could have kept that pace up indefinitely. It was an easy pace, yet so painful. I’ll call it a “highly uncomfortable cruise mode” and leave it at that. <br />
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The final half mile was hilarious. A runner from 35-39 AG in front of me was daring me to pass him towards the finish. He was completing his first loop on the run, he knew somehow I was on the second lap. It went something like this…”C’mon, put 10-15 seconds on me by the finish line, c’mon, pass me!” I was laughing inside because there was no more speed…that was it. The Governor had been met! However, running downhill I did end up passing him. One thing I’m really happy about is that I did not have to stop to use the bathroom the ENTIRE race. That just doesn’t happen to me in a half or longer race. No time lost there! <br />
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The ending…final AG place was 3rd. Great swim for me despite easy effort, easy bike ride, worst run in likely 10 years of racing halfs. Surprise! A slot to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships! However, I passed on the slot and did let it roll down to the next person in the age group. Got the slice of a tree for an award (varnished log with the race logo burned into it), plus a good sunburn to show for it! Now about two more weeks of rehab, no running aside from aqua jogging, then hoping things will be better for Kona training. At least I can bike/swim…if the foot stops its distractions early, you may find me out on the trails. I’ll be the one looking like he is re-learning to run again. <br />
<br />Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-65866667557180375412012-07-19T16:21:00.002-07:002012-07-19T16:21:30.297-07:00Slow Ironman RecoveryIt has been nearly four weeks since Ironman CDA, recovery still looms ahead many weeks. There are not many weeks to count between now and Ironman Hawaii. Taking two complete weeks off swim/bike/run while fishing in Canada only a day after returning to Colorado, I participated in Boulder Peak Triathlon. It was a difficult time racing without any of the horsepower I was used to, knowing there was no spark from being drained from a recent Ironman. After winning last year, as well as the Boulder Tri Series win for my Age Group, all on an average of 3.5 to 4 hours total training a week--the focus has shifted from short to long course once again. The results and training are very different. <br />
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The "A" races in 2011 were not all that serious due to the limited training time, which was nothing more than a down year from Ironman. However, the results were somewhat surprising to me given such little training. Yes, results were quite excellent while the motivation and goals were not that important aside from going through the motions and hoping to not get too embarrassed with dismal performance. <br />
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With the goal to race long in 2012, the hours, nutrition and rest all increased greatly. The same 2011 "A" races are now considered "C" and "B" races in 2012. Who in their right mind would race a sprint, then an Ironman a week later, train once (a 9 min/mile 4 mile run)during a TWO weeks period, then hop in one of the most competitive Olympic Distance races in the USA? Not to mention having extensor tendinitis in both feet. That is what happened, that is how it went down. <br />
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Currently, training is a chore at best just trying to turn the pedals over. Nearly pulling over on a climb to Ward yesterday, the question of how long will it take to get my "pizaz" back came to mind. Having run once since the Boulder Peak due to the tendinitis and only having swam once, the Boulder 70.3 is not looking too prospective to even start. Yes, doubts if whether that weekend could be used for recovery rather than another "also ran race" are certainly key to think about for Hawaii preparation. <br />
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We are getting close to Hawaii, closer than I care to think about. Each time, Hawaii is just a "go through the motions" race with little emphasis on actually competing. It is more just participating. The course does not suit my strengths being as hot as it is there. For some reason getting to Hawaii is something I normally can get myself UP for to compete and qualify, even above what my fitness should let me. Mentally, the qualifier races are something that I'm able to raise up to meet the challenge, putting the pedal to the metal and pushing through pain that normally could not be pushed through. <br />
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With the upcoming Boulder 70.3, knowing half iron races are my absolute WORST distance to race, I'm concerned recovery from CDA is not going as it should. Sure eating well is helping, as is the extra weekend rest and reduced training volume. Seriously, something has to change in the next couple weeks. If the tendinitis can subside, there may be a profound change in my current approach to Kona. It sure would be nice to run and swim again pain free! <br />
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Taking a look ahead to the near future, obviously it would be nice to ramp up swim and run training. It would also be enjoyable to not race a 70.3 and get my butt kicked. As I've said, my worst distance between sprint, oly, half & full is definitely the half. Finally, it sure would be nice to actually not have nutrition or bonk issues in Kona, thereby completing something I consider respectable of a time there. What is that? Anything under 10 would be nice. Preferably something faster than my best there which is really not that fast considering what some times on other courses have been. Out of what will be 10 starts this year (from 15 KQ's), only ONE has NOT been between 10 and 10.5. Talk about consistency! While not a blazing fast athlete by any means, the one thing that I do have on my side is consistency. Since I'm in this sport for longevity, it seems there are still many, many years to keep attempting some form of improvement or milestones before old age decreases the ability too much. <br />
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Okay Hawaii...here we go again, give me just ONE good race for once, something that is not on par with all the other Kona starts. After all, those lava rocks I brought back to the mainland from my first trip there and then sent back to your Chamber of Commerce has to count for something doesn’t it? I thought the bad luck ended when the rocks were returned…<br />
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<br />Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544382445573539671.post-27260385735478227182012-07-11T08:19:00.003-07:002012-07-11T08:19:34.272-07:002012 Ironman Coeur d'Alene Race ReportPreface: <br /><br />
The journey and thus "A" race goal for this year (Ironman CDA) actually began back in June 2011 the minute I signed up for the 2012 race. Rumor had it Lance Armstrong was going to come back to triathlon to race Kona so the wheels began turning when I heard the rumor. Not everyone can say they were able to race in the same World Championships as the man who is debatably cycling's biggest superstar of all time. The perfect launch pad was a race that had been good to me twice before, Ironman CDA. It is the perfect time of the year as it allows plenty of prep time even after a long Colorado winter and is traditionally on the cool side for many. <br />
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My first attempt at CDA was in 2009 where I was 3rd in the 40-44 age group. The second attempt in 2010 I was 2nd in the 40-44...with only one spot left on the podium to nail down I broke ground in January 2012 with an initial goal of dropping the 20 pounds of body mass accumulated through two months of zero training. It was an experiment (I'm always experimenting with new training methods), to fully rest and see how much weight could be gained by doing nothing for two months straight. Nothing but eating and living a non-athletic life. There was the occasional swim and a several weight room sessions a week for about three weeks...quite short lived. The benefit was in not having to fill out my training log before I forgot what it is the training was. The psychological boost of seeing the weight drop from improved diet and consistency in training would provide much needed motivation once training for the long journey to CDA 2012. Some basic marker races to check fitness along the way, time trials in the pool and up a mountain all went towards springboarding things into a hopeful Kona slot for 2012. <br />
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The trip was a solo trip as wifey needed to save vacation time for her Ironman in Mont Tremblet in August, plus it would save money too. When it comes to "A" races such as this I would actually prefer to travel alone without any entourage or distractions. No motivation is needed or outside help to cheer me on during these type of races because all of that comes from within. I do this knowing everything will be directed towards the task at hand on race day as well as the time at the venue leading up to the event. The ability to come and go as needed without having to compromise on places to eat or when/where to spend time doing this or that is invaluable to a relaxed and ideal situation for what needs to be done. For this, I prefer to travel and stay alone in my own Fortress of Solitude. Come Hawaii time things are different as just getting there is key, Hawaii is icing on the cake and something I'd rather just "do" and enjoy in a less serious manner. This approach could be part of the reason I have never performed well in Hawaii, I don't seem to take it as serious as the qualifier race itself. The other part is the heat--heat is my #1 enemy in racing. For that reason I suppose, back in my early race days in Michigan, I used to show up to races downstate from Marquette (in the U.P.) If it was cold--I have heard "Oh, the Iceman is here." Meaning: The cold temps would certainly not favor them but certainly gave me a huge boost on race day. The cold would often affect others completely opposite of how it would affect me. They would shut down while it seems to lend me an entirely additional gear to jump to. For this CDA was a good choice, as it is known to have mild temperatures with a cold swim in the 50's or low 60's. <br />
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The trip there...<br />
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I stayed at the Sleep Inn in Post Falls after finding a killer deal for about $70 a night (nearly $80 less than the average in CDA). It was a 10 minute drive to the race site from my hotel so it was a blessing really while saving a lot of cash. There was a bike path right in front of the hotel's parking lot which went all the way to CDA where I would bike/run and test equipment out. They put me in a handicap first floor room which was totally awesome. It had extra room in the bathroom, benches and extra rails in the shower which I'd need once disabled from doing the Ironman. I should ask for those kind of rooms at any Ironman race I go to! <br />
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I ran into Max and his wife, a guy from Seattle I've been coaching for years now who has progressed beyond normal levels of anyone I've coached. Once an 11-something Ironman he has gone 9:12 and been to Hawaii as well as kicked my butt on more than one occasion. We had dinner at "Fire" which is a pizza place on Sherman Street in CDA. Since I arrived on Thursday (the race was Sunday), there was plenty of time to discover I would need neoprene socks (legal under a certain temp) to keep the feet from cramping. Water was a balmy 56 F which was just perfect but super cold for others. I love swimming in that cold of water, it reminds me of my summer swims in Lake Superior in a full wetsuit (Wednesday night swims at Judd's house!)<br />
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The gears were jacked up a little on the bike so that was taken care of at Vertical Earth bike shop. The rest of the time was just spent mentally self-boosting my confidence and trying to believe in myself. Doubts always creep in no matter what unless you're a pure egomaniac and think you're indestructible (I know of several types in the Colorado amateur race scene that are like that...) The only thing you can do is be consistent in all your preparation knowing you did everything possible to the best of your ability then let the dice roll. Sometimes you fail even after all is said and done, sometimes you soar like an American Bald Eagle out there. <br />
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The race...SWIM!<br />
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I woke up at 4:30 AM with a goal of leaving by 5:15 AM. The Inn had coffee early that morning so a Clif Bar and coffee was my breakfast. Rarely do I eat anything race morning as all your digestion needs to be done by race time. You'll want to keep blood flowing to the muscles and not to the stomach for digestion. Parking at the college is a great place to park, nearby transition and close enough that when you're sore & done that walking to the car isn't a big deal. After putting the air in my tires and placing special needs bags in their respective place I finished my warm up with about a half dozen trips to the bathroom. <br />
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Once suited up in the wetsuit and down on shore I started FAR RIGHT. On the edge and away from the crazies that sprint the first 1K in Ironman races. I knew that they would fizzle after that but you want to steer clear of the wanna be great swimmers (sometimes I swim like a wanna-be swimmer myself!) Steady as she goes you'll pass them the last half of the swim. Standing on shore I was talking with Max and after waiting for what seemed like an unusual delay, I turned to the guy behind me and said "So when are they planning on starting th--" BOOM! The gun went off and caught me off guard as I turned around quickly, dove and sprinted the first 100 yards to bring myself further to the right as everyone went left. The idea was to find clear, open water with nobody around. Normally you'd want to collect the draft off of others but in over-crowded Ironman races such as this (or any Ironman brand race), you want to avoid getting caught in a shark tank with nowhere to go left, right back or forward. You'll lose more time in those accordion-like crunch moments than if you find open water and let the crazies fight trying to scrap for air. Since I'm not a bad swimmer but not the best (I'm usually top 10% at races which are NOT Hawaii)...this is the best option. After 23 of these Ironman races I know the best path to take when that gun goes off. <br />
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The swim was quite rough as the wind kicked up after the pros had made their first swim lap complete. I was out there laughing and having fun going up the waves then being dropped straight down after the wave passed under me. Others were being pulled from the swim here and there from the cold, one guy sadly, died after being pulled from the water--several days later while in the hospital. This is a dangerous sport but if you keep your wits about you and don't panic, it isn't as big a deal as some make it out to be. Although Hawaii can be different because there are no wetsuits so that safety latch isn't there. <br />
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Once I was done with the swim I had to stop to ask a lady (at the large air-blown arch I'll call the lap/finish balloon) which way to go, because I was disoriented from the up/down swim (even though I had done the race twice). Maybe it was lack of blood flow to the brain from the cold water? I stood up then ran to the lap/finish balloon and said, "I'm done with the swim which way?!" She replied, "You're done GREAT! Congratulations!" I then yelled, "NO! I mean I am DONE which way do I go!? Then she said, "Oh! Great job! Good luck!" Then it must have finally dawned on her and she said, "Oh! Go that way!" She pointed to the right then off I went up the beach to transition. <br />
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T1<br />
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Transition went excellent until I was heading towards my bike when I spotted the porta-johns. Suddenly, on cue as in most every Ironman I do, I have stop at some point for at least a "sit down moment" in one of those porta-johns. Enough on that but needless to say it certainly slows up transition by a solid (no pun intended) minute . If there is anything I normally excel at in triathlon it is usually topping most in any age group in transition unless I lose my shoes (ala Boulder Sprint race 2011). Once at my bike, as I was trying to find the back pocket in my jersey to stuff extra gels (as insurance for calories), my hand got caught up in the wet, folded back end of the jersey. Then there were about four gels on the ground because of this wardrobe issue. My guess is I wasted a full 45 seconds screwing around with my jersey and gels. Finally, I was off and on the bike! <br />
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THE BIKE!~<br />
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It rained part of the bike portion while the winds were strong while heading UP most of the hills. This was a much hillier course than the old one, as well as slower due to the headwind. No doubt on a windless day this could be faster than the old course though.<br />
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I must admit I hammered the first 25 miles pretty aggressively especially since my weight was down to 143 and hill climbing was going great leading to the race. The other incentive is I wanted to reach the front of the race as soon as possible to start counting athletes ahead of me. It is nearly impossible to count who is ahead of you on the second bike loop as you have first looping athletes in the mix. I'm usually around 50th place by the first turn around at this race. I was about 57th this time around so it was average I suppose. By the time I hit the second turn around on the new course I counted 18th including pros (very good for me actually) and this is where I caught up with an athlete I coach, Max Lawler (aka Mr. Awesome Swimmer). Knowing if Max could be reached early on the day would be going well as he is a strong cyclist. This was part of my strategy, to work with him to pace each other legally to make in-roads on the guys in front bringing us BOTH into Kona Q contention. Several guys went by far to hard too try to keep up with them so in Ironman, picking your battles on who to keep pace with is wise. Besides, it is all about nutrition and centering in on your own pacing. Knowing Max and I are fairly close in race results typically, he would be an ideal race-mate throughout the day. In the end I would race against myself but yet, it is still involving those in your age group. I can separate the two while not concerning myself should there be any other non-40-44 athletes in front of me. The task at hand was only with the 40-44 athletes. The "working together" plan was great for a while then as Max was starting to suffer from what I can surmise--"nutritional deficit" shall we say, I went into attack on those who had passed us earlier as our placing was dropping significantly about mile 80-100. Knowing the age groupers were putting Kona Qualification into danger I had no choice but to go it solo. I really felt badly for Max as he put in so much work for this and had set his own "bests" higher than even leading into CDA. He apparently has the Eye of the Tiger again and will reset himself for Ironman Cozumel this fall--the sign of an athlete that believes in himself and has what it takes to be amongst the best--BELIEF. <br />
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There was a "no passing zone" where we got stuck behind a first lap lady rider who was actually going 11 mph. OUCH! All that work I had just done was vaporizing quickly at 11 mph. There were two athletes behind her so she had three of us in tow. Finally I said it was just ridiculous and I was telling the other two I really needed pee and they would not pass--flat out refused. Good thing too because yes, that is illegal. (Although a totally stupid thing about IM CDA in the first place...is to have a no pass zone for over a mile which is only ONE bike width wide--SWEET JESUS give me a break with 2,300 athletes on a two loop course!) Anyhow, here we were dropping to 8 mph on the bridge/overpass near the end of the no pass zone. No telling how long it took us to get through that zone at 8-11 mph exactly because there was a downhill too where we must have hit at least a wicked 13 mph!<br />
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Once we were off the no pass zone portion, we accelerated to about 28 mph in the last mile of the bike. Finally, relief in sight! The only other real hold up which may have been the reason I was stuck behind this lady was the fact that at mile 60 on the bike I pulled over to a porta-toilet to pee...so when a bike is involved you lose more time than if you stopped on a run. <br />
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T2<br />
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Non-event. More importantly they had a huge urinal in the men's tent in T2. It seems to have given me new life in the legs and stopped the stomach cramps. Part of my issue in distance racing is my inability to gauge the proper liquid vs salt and calorie intake. This I'm pretty sure, is why I have to pee a lot in Ironman races. Usually it is inadequate salt but that balance depends to a large part the conditions you are racing in. It is just more pronounced in Hawaii than any other race for me, so yes, I should consult a nutritionist as I know no matter what I've tried heat is my self-destruct button! Fortunately, CDA wasn't hot!<br />
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The race...THE RUN<br />
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Normally my bread and butter of racing, I started out at a fine pace, catching Mike Orton of Blue Seventy Wetsuits and my main contact for their sponsorship. He used to race pro but at short course, this was his first Ironman. He is quite an amazing swimmer and accomplished cyclist. I came up from behind him noticing we were wearing the same race outfit. Before knowing who it was, I said, "Nice race kit!" He turned and we both laughed realizing we knew each other. The first 10K split was my fastest of course, then the next split was still going along just fine. I had no idea what place I was in, nor did I know my average pace or time because I do not wear a watch or look at a clock when racing. I RACE FROM THE HEART. Although any given day it is a question as to which Kevin will show up. The Kevin that wants to DIG DEEP or the one that just goes through the motions and doesn't give too much of a rip. On the third split trouble started brewing. My mind couldn't focus, the form fell apart and everything was becoming quiet. People would be shouting but it was a slow motion silence. Breathing became shallow then the wheels started falling off. Time for damage control! <br />
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START and RECOVERY of THE BONK!<br />
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By the time I realized what was going on, knowing my blood pressure was getting lower with shallow breathing, I recalled previous Ironman races and what they did to restore it at the medical tent. Basically I needed a bit of everything. Liquid, calories, salt. The first thing I reached for was potato chips. Handfuls crammed into dust followed by a water chaser would provide me with all the basics I needed. Next aid station it was Coke and ice. Repeat each aid station. After the dismal third section split, things started to come back but was it too late? I had only been passed by one 35 year old on the run that ended up second in his age group, so all was not lost. When passing another athlete he said, "Wow, your age group is just KILLING IT today!" That was not good to hear because that meant there were a ton of other guys still ahead of me in my age group. If ever run legs were needed they were needed NOW! <br />
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THE FINAL 10K<br />
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Energy levels were restored from the chips, water and salt. While I did stop two other times on the run to use the porta-johns, I counted to about 20 both times...there was a 40 second+ loss right there on my run. All these bathroom stops are nothing more than a lack of salt so the body acts like a sieve and does not hold onto the water well. That and the fact my bladder is the size of a walnut. Back to the race, I'll spare the details with the bathroom issues. Something clicked and it was damage control. Figuring I won't die out there if I push harder, rest can come when the line is crossed. Just put the pedal to the metal and let it fly. It was nice passing some folks those last 10K but there weren't many 40-44's so it was nerve racking not knowing where my position was. <br />
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The ONLY indication of where I stood was from a guy in my age group I had passed who said, "Are you 40-44?" Barely enough breathe to answer with a "Yes." He generously responded "Congratulations you are now passing 5th place." Given this was near the last four miles of the race, I was unsure as to how reliable the information could be due to either a miscount on his part or just fatigue and being delirious after a long day. There was no way I was leaving anything to chance so continued to keep the pace high until the finish. With four blocks left I had closed in on two guys about 25 yards ahead but they got into a sprint at that moment much like the one I was involved in 2010. It was like watching my 2010 race from behind. One guy vanished while the other guy stayed about 25 yards ahead. I had no gas in the tank to pull either of them in. In the end neither were in my age group whew! <br />
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THE AFTER...Med Tent<br />
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Feeling much better than 2010 at the finish line, I only needed to catch my breath but knowing the Med Tent had blankets and lounge chair, the Med folk convinced me to visit them. "How do you feel?" they asked. "Like I just did an Ironman and I'm really, really tired and getting cold now." Off I was to the Med Tent. Well, it was actually outside the Med Tent but in a nice lounge chair. In hindsight, nutrition was the main issue in this race, pacing was fine. Everything else went according to plan, but not getting enough food/drink is something to work on for Hawaii and all future races. <br />
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THE CELEBRATION! <br />
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Today, July 9th I finalized registration online for the 2012 Ironman Hawaii World Championships. The past week I had spent in Canada walleye fishing with my family, not working out for two entire weeks. Yesterday I competed in the Boulder Peak Triathlon, one of the most competitive Olympic distance races in the USA. Placing 4th in the 40-44 (which I won in 2011), coming off of a two week layoff from training and a full Ironman still in my legs, four hours sleep the night before the race, and dealing with a foot injury from Ironman CDA, I suppose it went "okay" but I didn't really care as it was a C race. The celebration has begun, time to refocus and gear everything towards recovery and building distance towards October. There is only one trick question which has been consistent in all but one Hawaii appearance (this will be my 10th time racing out of 15 qualifications). That question is, WHICH Kevin will show up on race day. Hopefully, not the one that usually shows up there! Don't be surprised if someone decides to flip the script...and take a pass on yelling UNCLE. As my favorite Nike commercial says, "The theory of evolution says that only the strong shall survive. But the theory of competition says, just because they're the strong doesn't mean they can't get their asses kicked...no matter what the stats may say and the experts may think and the commentators may have predicted, when the race is on, ALL BETS ARE OFF." <br />
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Best wishes to everyone in their remaining 2012 season. See you on the race course!<br />
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<br />Kevin Konczakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456201061195020123noreply@blogger.com0