With the Tour done, finally the TV isn’t a distraction—so that means now it is time to rise up and get out the door with only 10 weeks to Kona. I qualified at Ironman Coeur d’ Alene for the 13th time in my life…only this time I actually took the slot to Hawaii. Normally I would pass on it (but marked on the application I was competing for a slot), as it has been about seven or eight years since I had been there. After the last two disastrous seasons with declining training, declining results and increasing pain, 2009 became a mission of redemption or acceptance. For starters, I did not accept my 2008 April race at Ironman Arizona as being my fate from there on. It was a PW (Personal Worst) race, though I thought I had prepared fairly well given the fact I was in constant pain—especially on the bike. The only thing actually making it feel better was to do nothing, which I did a lot of up until about January of 2008. A crash course in high volume training normally would bring things around but this time it was to no avail.
I contemplated not racing for a few years after Ironman Arizona, so at that time, it was a matter of healing before getting back at it. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon a new procedure that allowed me to heal to a certain degree—come back fairly strong and prepare to tackle another Ironman only seven months post-surgery. It was one of those competitor things that just happens, we never want to give in to the obvious. It is always train, train, train, when we should be seeking out the real issues of injury. I have had the opportunity to work with two interesting athletes this year, both who are very talented yet will not be able to realize their true potential unless they a) stop b) heal. There isn’t a valid reason to keep pushing until the problems get fixed, simple as that. Healing takes longer if you are trying to heal and train at the same time. Sometimes light exercise helps healing along, depends on the hand you are dealt with. One of these athletes has so many problems that he would be best doing nothing else but swimming and aqua jogging. Yet, he has a fall and winter schedule he wants to compete in even while he doesn’t know what is causing the pain for sure. This is an example of complete disconnect with reality and could cause permanent damage. Luckily, I was able to find a fix to my hip issues and bounce back, but should have taken my own advice here and just stepped away for a time. This athlete has been told to step away by me on more than one occasion. Finally, (thank God!) he did…but will resume shortly with a fairly full schedule and forge on. He needs to just step away at this time all together and focus his training on his recovery instead.
Another athlete of mine, crashed on her bike up in the mountains and when asked what I thought she should do from this point (recently)…I told her to step away. It does not one ounce of good to push through injury, while still trying to prepare for an A-race. Heal, then go at it again. That is all there is to it in all three of our cases. Experience teaches you a lot about being a coach. Coaching gives you a lot of experience. This works both ways and the result is always the same, a dependable and wise source of information. Sharing information and teaching is largely what coaches do in their profession. Sharing is the key here…when you do this for a living, then the motivation becomes less about sharing and more about the dollars they can rake in. Not that coaching is that good a profession to get rich in…but if you don’t share the information, the credit for helping one another and just look out for your own pocket book, it isn’t a profession you should be in. Share because you CARE. About the athletes, about the sport, and use that experience to help others become their best. Be honest with them and strengthen the sport rather than trying to monopolize it with marketing and cheap gimmicky words of wisdom. Believe in the athletes and the profession. I say to all coaches out there…remember the real reason you got into coaching and the sport. It was because you love the sport and your experience to improve not only yourself but the wealth of knowledge in hopes of sharing it someday for the sake of helping others. At least that is what the REAL coaches and athletes I know got into the sport for. Keep it real, keep it honest.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
A month beyond IM CDA
Well busy isn't the word I'd use to describe the last month since Ironman CDA. Since qualifying for my 13th Hawaii Ironman (*competed in 7 of them--passed the qualifying spot on the others down the ladder)...I've been busy doing things I'd normally save for a rainy day. To keep from going nuts from training very little, I've redirected my energy into painting, yardwork, family time, and projects that just weren't getting done in big training blocks. I hope to add photos by the next blog entry, but downloading the camera seems to even take time I don't have right now. Heading back into training slowly will be painful, but luckily if anything, the healing from last month should be complete. Mentally I'm ready to roll, physically, being a slug with sparse training has caused a bit of a sluggishness in the system as my watts during riding have been very low. There is this residual fatigue I've been sensing on the bike since CDA, but the wattage has been slowly returning this past week to near normal levels. I got in a good interval session with the Cervelo boys who were in Longmont from the Cervelo HQ in Canada. They were all here for a gathering with store owners showing off goods in a pre-Interbike like presentation. I guess the Cervelo P4 will actually come in some pretty cool colors this next year besides plain black & white. Not sure on that yet, but I seem to be sort of over the P4 & looking at a few other models for a new bike. Some companies have caught up & surpassed Cervelo I think in technology as they've incorporated all that Cervelo learned in wind tunnel testing & then have improved on it to create some of the coolest bikes out there. One of which, the new Specialized, Giant, and Trek TT machines. The Speed Concept looks to be far superior in nearly every aspect I've seen. To top it off, none of these bikes have a "dork bottle" that the P4 has. Never did like the bottle to begin with.
On another front, Kudos goes out to Max, an athlete of mine who just won his AG at the Cabbage Head Du, and won the Mile High Duathlon Series in his AG. He race 4 weekends in a row, with IM training during the week, no taper, and is still kicking butt. These are just speed sessions for him, in his quest for IM AZ results. He's been rocking it all summer long as is a hungry pit bull...so hopefully the stars will align for him this time around in AZ. He's doing better than any year previous. It takes some time for a coach/athlete to get wired into each other so that everything is clicking. More than that, it takes a dedicated athlete that does ALL the work put to them by the coach, believes in the program, has un-ending drive, and communicates in detail their training logs so the coach isn't guessing what the heck the athlete is doing or performing like week to week. This cat exemplifies every aspect of a serious triathlete looking to get to Hawaii for Ironman. No excuses from this guy, he will get the plan & JUST DO IT. Like Nike says in their ads.
As for what I've been doing since IM CDA, I went to my parent's for the 4th of July & hopped in a 5km race only 12 days after IM CDA. I was surprised to win the race (over 200 racers), in 16:04 on a GPS'd accurate course--and set the course record. It must have been the sea level altitude or still being on a "peak" from IM CDA because that sure was a pretty good go at it so soon after IM averaging 5:17 per mile. Of course now back home & sitting for a spell, I went on a 8 miler today and about blew a gasket with high HR and slow pace (must be either the sitting around, altitude, or the fact it was about 90 F). Either way, I have to get back in the saddle again. Oh I certainly am looking forward to the many miles of sweating & consuming sugar gels & sugar water and my Salt Stick tabs along the way. I think my reward post-Hawaii will be something like this...two pc. white toast, mayo, 6-8 slices of bacon, cheddar...drop the L & the T. Wash it down with a giant glass of O.J. or milk. Sounds nasty, but hey, you have to reward yourself for all the discipline with a good old fashioned heart-attack-snack right? Then a short rest & get ready for 2010 season a.s.a.p. Happy Training!
On another front, Kudos goes out to Max, an athlete of mine who just won his AG at the Cabbage Head Du, and won the Mile High Duathlon Series in his AG. He race 4 weekends in a row, with IM training during the week, no taper, and is still kicking butt. These are just speed sessions for him, in his quest for IM AZ results. He's been rocking it all summer long as is a hungry pit bull...so hopefully the stars will align for him this time around in AZ. He's doing better than any year previous. It takes some time for a coach/athlete to get wired into each other so that everything is clicking. More than that, it takes a dedicated athlete that does ALL the work put to them by the coach, believes in the program, has un-ending drive, and communicates in detail their training logs so the coach isn't guessing what the heck the athlete is doing or performing like week to week. This cat exemplifies every aspect of a serious triathlete looking to get to Hawaii for Ironman. No excuses from this guy, he will get the plan & JUST DO IT. Like Nike says in their ads.
As for what I've been doing since IM CDA, I went to my parent's for the 4th of July & hopped in a 5km race only 12 days after IM CDA. I was surprised to win the race (over 200 racers), in 16:04 on a GPS'd accurate course--and set the course record. It must have been the sea level altitude or still being on a "peak" from IM CDA because that sure was a pretty good go at it so soon after IM averaging 5:17 per mile. Of course now back home & sitting for a spell, I went on a 8 miler today and about blew a gasket with high HR and slow pace (must be either the sitting around, altitude, or the fact it was about 90 F). Either way, I have to get back in the saddle again. Oh I certainly am looking forward to the many miles of sweating & consuming sugar gels & sugar water and my Salt Stick tabs along the way. I think my reward post-Hawaii will be something like this...two pc. white toast, mayo, 6-8 slices of bacon, cheddar...drop the L & the T. Wash it down with a giant glass of O.J. or milk. Sounds nasty, but hey, you have to reward yourself for all the discipline with a good old fashioned heart-attack-snack right? Then a short rest & get ready for 2010 season a.s.a.p. Happy Training!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Ironman CDA Race Report
The long road back from a two year long injury to prepare for this journey began back in November 2008. A PRP injection started the ball rolling; it is a new treatment for chronic injury that doesn’t heal much on its own. At 162 lbs, all my pants were tight and belts were no longer needed. My past racing diet held me to around 153 lbs. on average for Ironman fitness, but 162 lbs to start with was something beyond that which I had ever reached starting a training cycle. I knew that the days of poor eating had to stop right then with relentless focus and execution, consistency and mental preparation. Family support became essential for the upcoming half a year, knowing I would be around less on the weekends training substantial amounts (for me) for many weeks. Ironman and succeeding at it takes such vast resources physically, emotionally, financially, mentally…it isn’t for the faint of heart. I made the commitment after my worst Ironman time ever in Arizona back in April 2008; it was time to get that old feeling back in the legs. I narrowed the waistline down to a svelte 143-145 lbs, while maintaining my power numbers with my power meter—actually increased the numbers to a degree compared to last year. Never before have I raced at such a light weight. This was the lightest I had been since high school as a senior. I’ve fought off a 2 month+ stress fracture in the same place/foot as when I ran in college and then used just under 2 months prior to this race, to attempt to get some sort of run fitness back. The layoff concerned me, but I focused on cycling/swimming instead.
I left on Thursday the week of the race, scheduled to depart at 5:55 PM. Checking if the flight times changed online, my wife told me the flight was cancelled and I was put on a later 9:35 PM flight instead. Then it was delayed until 9:55, and then delayed again until 9:57 and again until 10 PM. This concerned me as I needed to pick up my car rental and drive to CDA, 45 minutes away and I would be getting in late. The other issue was the airport car rentals closed at midnight. We sat on the runway for 35 minutes after taxiing, or 10:45 PM. It was around a 1:45 flight time with an hour roll back due to time zone change. We landed at 11:56 PM but didn’t get off the plane until around 12:05. Luckily, the car rental folks stayed open knowing there was a plane just landing. I ate one of those egg salad sandwiches in a sealed plastic Saran-Wrap-like container and drank a Gatorade from an all night open gas station on Barker Rd. Nothing else was open off of highway 90 through Spokane aside from a Carl Jrs. The egg salad sandwich actually wasn’t that bad—the nutrition report on the side of the package showed it was well within my new “healthy” diet. La Quinta Inn in CDA was a $139/night noise machine; I slept 4 hours and heard the neighbor peeing a dozen times in the next room throughout the night. I promptly checked out that morning and went to the Best Western a block away, as they had a block of rooms cancelled. This was a really nice place, but it was $179/night. It was worth it though, as I rested very, very well and was totally relaxed. With the room all to me and no noise bothering me at all, it was a good night of sleep. A friend from Boulder, oddly enough, was staying just THREE doors down from where I was on the same floor. Maybe the folks at the front desk knew we planned on getting together anyhow as we attended the race “solo”? So we chummed around for the next day, ate breakfast together, hit the expo. Good stuff. Then I ran into Bill, a fast guy I am coaching and another gal from Boulder (who unfortunately DNF’d due to serious back issues)—Laurie (who was there signing up for 2010). Bill had an extra room so invited me to stay there with him, Laurie, and sister Madonna Buder. I stayed with them the next two nights so they were my room mates for the key days up to the race. Really I hadn’t expected to stay in three different places the first three nights. But if you do sign up for CDA, rent a house—it is economical compared to the hotels, and above all don’t get a room at the La Quinta Inn off of Hwy 90 on Apple Way…it’s a noisy, expensive dump and you will regret it!
I never did get a swim in before the race due to time constraints. The weather was quite cold (I heard it was 60 F as a high on race day—a bit cool by 2 to 4 degrees I think), but I still only used toe warmers and regular warm weather race outfit on the bike. No gloves or anything, or arm warmers…I took a chance in that I left my Craft long sleeve thermal base layer in my T1 bag banking on luck the weather would hold. Cold weather races suit me better for some reason—I guess because I come from a colder climate originally. It stayed dry did but was very, very windy with 4 foot waves. The swim was extremely slow and the roughest water they’ve had there with 15 mph winds. I laughed during much of the swim and had a good old time having waves go under me, disappear then dropping me straight down with a body slam back into the water. Many swimmers were being pulled from the water from what the post-race video of rescue boats showed. People were getting motion sick to their stomach swimming. The key was to smile, laugh, stay relaxed and just deal with it. Get worked up and it is wastes energy you need for later in the race. Conserve during the swim, steady on the bike while monitoring calorie/liquid consumption, and power numbers as well as mph, then try to hold it together on the run. The plan was anything left with 10Km on the run was going to be dished out in full. I exited the swim feeling like I really didn’t just swim 2.4 miles; it was almost TOO easy despite the conditions. Someone said I had around the 14th fastest swim in my age group but I don’t know, didn’t look it up yet. Out of nearly 362 in my AG, that is pretty good for screwing around having a “tour” out there.
The bike was a bit different as this was the bane of my training/racing the last two years and caused me the most misery training from the pain level. My time wasn’t that impressive with a 5:22 compared to the 5:05-5:15 most the other guys were doing in the top 10 of my AG. But it was all I could muster without destroying my chances for a good run. I was counting bikers at the first turn around, where I was in 74th place overall. I was with the eventual AG winner Brett Sublett for the first 56 miles, and then dropped off on the second lap quite a bit. Brett was so far in front after the bike my top AG run time couldn’t dent his lead too much aside from 5 minutes…however, take away those mentioned pee breaks during the race and I would have been staring right at his back coming down the finish chute. It didn’t matter though, my mission was accomplished, and I finished the run while running the entire thing. Plus, I captured my 13th Hawaii Ironman qualification. After this race, I would say I pretty much have qualifying for Hawaii Ironman figured out, while holding a full time job and with a kid. This is something I think most coaches can’t say they can do (despite some claiming to be specializing in training Ironmen)…so it is something I can pass onto my athletes on how to do this. Qualifying for Kona while holding together a real life and with responsibilities isn’t easy. Finding a balance in life while not having to forfeit everything to get to Kona is often a tough medicine to swallow. But you do have to do your work and stay focused, unwavering in your determination. In my situation, the extra support of my wife made a huge difference too (thanks honey!)
I ended up with over 3,000 miles cycling since November, so these were numbers beyond what I was used to training. However, since I wasn’t running, I had a little time to bike more. The cycling still was not at a point where I was 100% satisfied for this race, but it was enough to come off the bike and finish with the fastest AG run of the day. While my time was 9:43 and change for a hilly and windy course, I was a little over-hydrated on race day. The first stop was T1, had to pee. Same went for T2, peed before running. On the bike, I pulled off around mile 60-something and used the porta-potty at an aid station. On the run I pulled over FIVE times and counted 1-one thousand, 2-one-thousand, etc. until I hit 40. Yep, 40 before I stopped. Total time lost there was 45 seconds (getting in and out of the potty actually takes a couple seconds, not to mention losing your momentum). Each stop was 40-45 seconds each time…sometimes you just have to count so you know what you’re actually losing. Long and short of it is I ended up losing 2nd place in the AG due to peeing and quite a few overall spots as there were many athletes just a couple minutes in front of me. I know it sounds uncouth, but the reality is, if you’ve ever raced with a full bladder you know how distracting it can be, if not just from discomfort. My marathon run time was actually 3:07-3:08 taking out the bathroom breaks…and I was far from tapped out on pace. I can run faster—maybe next year? Around 9 miles left in the run I felt a little “woozy” so started immediately on pretzels for the salt, which did not help much. Next plan was to take in anything that had high calories, so in thinking what they had at aid stations, I determined chocolate chip cookies and de-fizzed cola were my best options for my caloric deficit. The caffeine would most undoubtedly have an effect. It brought me back a bit so I calculated with one final turn around point, that I was sitting in about 4th to 5th place with only 4.75 miles to go according to the race numbers I saw at the turn around points. I knew one guy was “Sean” something so I looked at the numbers on the back of the legs of the athletes to identify anyone in my AG. My mission was to hunt this cat down and pass him—which I did with around 2 miles left in the race. This is the only time I went top speed on the run, knowing I had to catch a few people in order to podium but still needing to be able to conserve enough to complete the run while actually running the entire thing.
There was an old “pay back” settled on this day, in that a rather excellent athlete and head coach of another coaching business from California…finished behind me (we’re now 1-1). I’ll call him Military Guy or MG for short. This is the same cat that took first at Ironman Brazil in my AG a few years ago. I raced Brazil with a slight sprained ankle that year finishing only 20 seconds behind him for third place, with a guy from Italy sandwiched 16 seconds ahead of me and only 4 seconds behind MG. MG had passed me near the end on a steep downhill which I had to pull up on pace due to the sprain. To which I never caught him but was closing fast.
MG was behind me the entire bike at IM CDA until I pulled over on the bike to use the porta-potty. So when I saw him at one turn around on the bike and he was behind me, then saw him again on the run and he was ahead—I knew my breaks allowed him to pass without knowing it. When I caught him at around three miles into the run, I knew he was going to have to “pick ‘em up and lay ‘em down” if he was going to keep pace. I was watching his cadence and it looked a little labored but wisely conservative. I was so relaxed and just cruising without hardly any effort…even looking at a few nice houses along the lakeshore in admiration before regaining focus on the task at hand. Seriously though, my concentration was above normal for a race in my opinion—doing everything I “preach” to those athletes I coach on race day. I kept tabs on MG but he eventually finished about 7 minutes down on me…not including what “could” have been without the breaks. That would have made the run difference between us a full 11 minutes. But still, I respect the guy as he may have just had an off day. Just a little friendly competition but heck, it makes for a dramatic race!
When I rode with Dave Scott before his accident a little over a month ago, he asked what my expectation or goals were for the race. It was merely to finish the race without walking—which I did. Sure, I wanted to finally get back to Kona for my 13th qualification/8th time racing it. Ultimately, I would like to PR before I get too old to break it. While I do not do well at all in the heat, especially in Kona, I feel I can do it if I work hard enough. I will be racing myself only—not even attempting to compete specifically with even any local athletes who did well at IM CDA or others. The goal is clear: go faster than my current Kona PR. If it happens, great, if not, I tried to the best of my ability. There is always another race next year, never give up on your dreams or goals. It’s up to you…How_Far_Do_You_Want_To_Take_It?
I left on Thursday the week of the race, scheduled to depart at 5:55 PM. Checking if the flight times changed online, my wife told me the flight was cancelled and I was put on a later 9:35 PM flight instead. Then it was delayed until 9:55, and then delayed again until 9:57 and again until 10 PM. This concerned me as I needed to pick up my car rental and drive to CDA, 45 minutes away and I would be getting in late. The other issue was the airport car rentals closed at midnight. We sat on the runway for 35 minutes after taxiing, or 10:45 PM. It was around a 1:45 flight time with an hour roll back due to time zone change. We landed at 11:56 PM but didn’t get off the plane until around 12:05. Luckily, the car rental folks stayed open knowing there was a plane just landing. I ate one of those egg salad sandwiches in a sealed plastic Saran-Wrap-like container and drank a Gatorade from an all night open gas station on Barker Rd. Nothing else was open off of highway 90 through Spokane aside from a Carl Jrs. The egg salad sandwich actually wasn’t that bad—the nutrition report on the side of the package showed it was well within my new “healthy” diet. La Quinta Inn in CDA was a $139/night noise machine; I slept 4 hours and heard the neighbor peeing a dozen times in the next room throughout the night. I promptly checked out that morning and went to the Best Western a block away, as they had a block of rooms cancelled. This was a really nice place, but it was $179/night. It was worth it though, as I rested very, very well and was totally relaxed. With the room all to me and no noise bothering me at all, it was a good night of sleep. A friend from Boulder, oddly enough, was staying just THREE doors down from where I was on the same floor. Maybe the folks at the front desk knew we planned on getting together anyhow as we attended the race “solo”? So we chummed around for the next day, ate breakfast together, hit the expo. Good stuff. Then I ran into Bill, a fast guy I am coaching and another gal from Boulder (who unfortunately DNF’d due to serious back issues)—Laurie (who was there signing up for 2010). Bill had an extra room so invited me to stay there with him, Laurie, and sister Madonna Buder. I stayed with them the next two nights so they were my room mates for the key days up to the race. Really I hadn’t expected to stay in three different places the first three nights. But if you do sign up for CDA, rent a house—it is economical compared to the hotels, and above all don’t get a room at the La Quinta Inn off of Hwy 90 on Apple Way…it’s a noisy, expensive dump and you will regret it!
I never did get a swim in before the race due to time constraints. The weather was quite cold (I heard it was 60 F as a high on race day—a bit cool by 2 to 4 degrees I think), but I still only used toe warmers and regular warm weather race outfit on the bike. No gloves or anything, or arm warmers…I took a chance in that I left my Craft long sleeve thermal base layer in my T1 bag banking on luck the weather would hold. Cold weather races suit me better for some reason—I guess because I come from a colder climate originally. It stayed dry did but was very, very windy with 4 foot waves. The swim was extremely slow and the roughest water they’ve had there with 15 mph winds. I laughed during much of the swim and had a good old time having waves go under me, disappear then dropping me straight down with a body slam back into the water. Many swimmers were being pulled from the water from what the post-race video of rescue boats showed. People were getting motion sick to their stomach swimming. The key was to smile, laugh, stay relaxed and just deal with it. Get worked up and it is wastes energy you need for later in the race. Conserve during the swim, steady on the bike while monitoring calorie/liquid consumption, and power numbers as well as mph, then try to hold it together on the run. The plan was anything left with 10Km on the run was going to be dished out in full. I exited the swim feeling like I really didn’t just swim 2.4 miles; it was almost TOO easy despite the conditions. Someone said I had around the 14th fastest swim in my age group but I don’t know, didn’t look it up yet. Out of nearly 362 in my AG, that is pretty good for screwing around having a “tour” out there.
The bike was a bit different as this was the bane of my training/racing the last two years and caused me the most misery training from the pain level. My time wasn’t that impressive with a 5:22 compared to the 5:05-5:15 most the other guys were doing in the top 10 of my AG. But it was all I could muster without destroying my chances for a good run. I was counting bikers at the first turn around, where I was in 74th place overall. I was with the eventual AG winner Brett Sublett for the first 56 miles, and then dropped off on the second lap quite a bit. Brett was so far in front after the bike my top AG run time couldn’t dent his lead too much aside from 5 minutes…however, take away those mentioned pee breaks during the race and I would have been staring right at his back coming down the finish chute. It didn’t matter though, my mission was accomplished, and I finished the run while running the entire thing. Plus, I captured my 13th Hawaii Ironman qualification. After this race, I would say I pretty much have qualifying for Hawaii Ironman figured out, while holding a full time job and with a kid. This is something I think most coaches can’t say they can do (despite some claiming to be specializing in training Ironmen)…so it is something I can pass onto my athletes on how to do this. Qualifying for Kona while holding together a real life and with responsibilities isn’t easy. Finding a balance in life while not having to forfeit everything to get to Kona is often a tough medicine to swallow. But you do have to do your work and stay focused, unwavering in your determination. In my situation, the extra support of my wife made a huge difference too (thanks honey!)
I ended up with over 3,000 miles cycling since November, so these were numbers beyond what I was used to training. However, since I wasn’t running, I had a little time to bike more. The cycling still was not at a point where I was 100% satisfied for this race, but it was enough to come off the bike and finish with the fastest AG run of the day. While my time was 9:43 and change for a hilly and windy course, I was a little over-hydrated on race day. The first stop was T1, had to pee. Same went for T2, peed before running. On the bike, I pulled off around mile 60-something and used the porta-potty at an aid station. On the run I pulled over FIVE times and counted 1-one thousand, 2-one-thousand, etc. until I hit 40. Yep, 40 before I stopped. Total time lost there was 45 seconds (getting in and out of the potty actually takes a couple seconds, not to mention losing your momentum). Each stop was 40-45 seconds each time…sometimes you just have to count so you know what you’re actually losing. Long and short of it is I ended up losing 2nd place in the AG due to peeing and quite a few overall spots as there were many athletes just a couple minutes in front of me. I know it sounds uncouth, but the reality is, if you’ve ever raced with a full bladder you know how distracting it can be, if not just from discomfort. My marathon run time was actually 3:07-3:08 taking out the bathroom breaks…and I was far from tapped out on pace. I can run faster—maybe next year? Around 9 miles left in the run I felt a little “woozy” so started immediately on pretzels for the salt, which did not help much. Next plan was to take in anything that had high calories, so in thinking what they had at aid stations, I determined chocolate chip cookies and de-fizzed cola were my best options for my caloric deficit. The caffeine would most undoubtedly have an effect. It brought me back a bit so I calculated with one final turn around point, that I was sitting in about 4th to 5th place with only 4.75 miles to go according to the race numbers I saw at the turn around points. I knew one guy was “Sean” something so I looked at the numbers on the back of the legs of the athletes to identify anyone in my AG. My mission was to hunt this cat down and pass him—which I did with around 2 miles left in the race. This is the only time I went top speed on the run, knowing I had to catch a few people in order to podium but still needing to be able to conserve enough to complete the run while actually running the entire thing.
There was an old “pay back” settled on this day, in that a rather excellent athlete and head coach of another coaching business from California…finished behind me (we’re now 1-1). I’ll call him Military Guy or MG for short. This is the same cat that took first at Ironman Brazil in my AG a few years ago. I raced Brazil with a slight sprained ankle that year finishing only 20 seconds behind him for third place, with a guy from Italy sandwiched 16 seconds ahead of me and only 4 seconds behind MG. MG had passed me near the end on a steep downhill which I had to pull up on pace due to the sprain. To which I never caught him but was closing fast.
MG was behind me the entire bike at IM CDA until I pulled over on the bike to use the porta-potty. So when I saw him at one turn around on the bike and he was behind me, then saw him again on the run and he was ahead—I knew my breaks allowed him to pass without knowing it. When I caught him at around three miles into the run, I knew he was going to have to “pick ‘em up and lay ‘em down” if he was going to keep pace. I was watching his cadence and it looked a little labored but wisely conservative. I was so relaxed and just cruising without hardly any effort…even looking at a few nice houses along the lakeshore in admiration before regaining focus on the task at hand. Seriously though, my concentration was above normal for a race in my opinion—doing everything I “preach” to those athletes I coach on race day. I kept tabs on MG but he eventually finished about 7 minutes down on me…not including what “could” have been without the breaks. That would have made the run difference between us a full 11 minutes. But still, I respect the guy as he may have just had an off day. Just a little friendly competition but heck, it makes for a dramatic race!
When I rode with Dave Scott before his accident a little over a month ago, he asked what my expectation or goals were for the race. It was merely to finish the race without walking—which I did. Sure, I wanted to finally get back to Kona for my 13th qualification/8th time racing it. Ultimately, I would like to PR before I get too old to break it. While I do not do well at all in the heat, especially in Kona, I feel I can do it if I work hard enough. I will be racing myself only—not even attempting to compete specifically with even any local athletes who did well at IM CDA or others. The goal is clear: go faster than my current Kona PR. If it happens, great, if not, I tried to the best of my ability. There is always another race next year, never give up on your dreams or goals. It’s up to you…How_Far_Do_You_Want_To_Take_It?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Pre-Ironman CDA 2009
It's not every day that I get to sit around & just read the internet(s) ala "W". However, I find that there is a lot out there that just zipps in & zipps out on the news pages. One thing I find time consuming is reading the online tri rags and cycling rags. It just seems too non-productive to deal with in a day that is full of job & family responsibilities, as well as trying to stave off the extra calories we all seem to accumulate if we treat ourselves a bit too much. Luckily, I've been the opposite this season and have done an excellent job with nutrition on a daily basis. I have been on top of the information super highway a bit more as well. Call it a willingness to make a concerted effort to avoid the "sin box" even though it is 1080i HD.
I just finished watching IM NZ 2009 on DVR, the only full show I've watched in a while. NZ was my first out of country experience and the Kiwis put on a race like no other save for the US military. This is one race I'd like to go back & compete in again--simply wonderful people down on that island, with a passsion for sport. That same passion wanes in athletes from time to time as we encounter this--that--and various other things life tosses our way. One thing I am finding for sure though is that passion never leaves us for good. It is always there, sometimes hidden, or put away to slumber for a few years, then it returns. I've seen old rivals come back after 10 years of layoff from the sport, driven and reborn, picking up where they left off or faster than they were when they took their leave. This is one thing I am trying to come to grips with--it just feels like I want to get back into the swing of things again because I miss being in good shape. I am now a full 9 lbs lighter than when I was racing at my best. Not to say I will race well or even finish for that matter, but Ironman CDA is only 5 days away and surely the better nutrition will have left me capable of at least not being slowed by extra weight. Heck, it's been since high school that I weighed this little--lighter than at any point in college even. Will it be good for racing or will it be TOO light? Either way, I am enjoying the consistency in training again, nearly 3 years after our little boy was born. It is nice to get out and just give it a go one more time at an Ironman. Happy father's day to all those fathers out there!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Pro Triathletes in the Bolder Boulder
Got the chance to see World Ironman Champion Chrissy Wellington in action at the Bolder Boulder 10K on Memorial Day. Pictures are attached. I have a few others I'm posting too...you may have heard of a guy named Matt Reed (went to the Olympics in triathlon this last time around)...he's actually a Kiwi transplanted to the USA. Some other guy who is named Tim Luschinske (for World Amateur Ironman Champion) is posted in the red top (sorry I cut your head off in the photo Timmy! It was hard to see others in the crowd, especially when they are running so fast. Congrats to one of my athletes that I coach, Max. He beat World Champion Chrissy by 15 seconds...just 2 days after he hammered out 124 miles and 8,000 feet of climbing on the bike with me. He's in the white jersey surrounded by runners smiling & making it look easy.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Choosing the right shoes...
For weeks now I have been toiling over which new pair of racing shoes to buy. It is a personal decision and nothing to take lightly as the chosen pair will be used in an upcoming Ironman. For quite a few years I had been using the Brooks ST Racer—a lightweight and stable racing flat. It has a low arch and low toe box, plenty of room up in the toe area. Maybe it was being tired of the same shoe, sometimes they were great and other times I thought there should be a change in my footwear in an attempt to find something that was just better—period. Before the Brooks ST Racer I was sold on the Adidas Competition shoe. Lightweight but not a stability shoe, it served its purpose for several Ironman races and shorter races as well…including a 5km this spring.
I’m a bit particular about my racing shoes, so the search began many weeks ago with reading upon the models, features, reviews, materials used…anything to help narrow down the final few. Long story shorter it came down to the Adidas Mana, Adidas Tempo and New Balance 904. At this time I can’t really recall how many times I was about to sit down at the computer and order a pair of one of these online. Bolder-Boulder weekend I went to the most popular store in town where they had a huge tent sale. I tried on the Mana model, it just didn’t work. Too floppy and not supportive enough though claimed as a support racer model…then the Tempo (suggested to me by a co-owner of the store), it felt good. The week before I was at another store in town where I tried on the NB 904, which also felt good. Thank goodness for all the reviews on the web to research this daunting task, they helped put me in a place of indecision for a few more days until I could regain some sort of rational thought pattern on how to break this “tie” between the 904 & Tempo models. The thing I could come up with is that since these shoes were to be for my upcoming Ironman, how could I best feel how they would feel near the end of the race without actually having to buy a pair of these shoes?
Today was my last day as a “30-something” so the best thing to do with a little over three weeks left was to complete my last longish-like run (not super long but long enough). The plan was to get cleaned up and head straight to the two stores and try on the Tempo and 904 then run on the treadmill a bit in each pair. Right away the Adidas Tempo felt good on foot standing still, but on a treadmill after a quarter mile, the effects of my long run left my feet hyper sensitive and well aware of any potential hot spots. The seam on the inside of the big toe of each shoe (especially the one with the newly formed blister), stuck out like a sore thumb. The fatigue of the long run also left me a bit wobbly legged, and really put any stability or support the shoe was built with, to the test. Stack 112 miles on top of what I ran and we’re talking jell-O legs. The final analysis for the Tempo: No good for me to use in an Ironman.
Onto the next store. Upon slipping into the New Balance 904, then jogging another quarter mile on yet another treadmill, it was apparent that these were the winners. With a seamless liner, fancy non-slip laces, light weight (9.7 oz), not to mention a secure heel support and stability equal to the best racing flat I have used to date. Time will tell if it actually surpasses the “best” racer I’ve used, but regardless, the long daunting task has been completed. That’s one more item off the list of things to do!
I’m a bit particular about my racing shoes, so the search began many weeks ago with reading upon the models, features, reviews, materials used…anything to help narrow down the final few. Long story shorter it came down to the Adidas Mana, Adidas Tempo and New Balance 904. At this time I can’t really recall how many times I was about to sit down at the computer and order a pair of one of these online. Bolder-Boulder weekend I went to the most popular store in town where they had a huge tent sale. I tried on the Mana model, it just didn’t work. Too floppy and not supportive enough though claimed as a support racer model…then the Tempo (suggested to me by a co-owner of the store), it felt good. The week before I was at another store in town where I tried on the NB 904, which also felt good. Thank goodness for all the reviews on the web to research this daunting task, they helped put me in a place of indecision for a few more days until I could regain some sort of rational thought pattern on how to break this “tie” between the 904 & Tempo models. The thing I could come up with is that since these shoes were to be for my upcoming Ironman, how could I best feel how they would feel near the end of the race without actually having to buy a pair of these shoes?
Today was my last day as a “30-something” so the best thing to do with a little over three weeks left was to complete my last longish-like run (not super long but long enough). The plan was to get cleaned up and head straight to the two stores and try on the Tempo and 904 then run on the treadmill a bit in each pair. Right away the Adidas Tempo felt good on foot standing still, but on a treadmill after a quarter mile, the effects of my long run left my feet hyper sensitive and well aware of any potential hot spots. The seam on the inside of the big toe of each shoe (especially the one with the newly formed blister), stuck out like a sore thumb. The fatigue of the long run also left me a bit wobbly legged, and really put any stability or support the shoe was built with, to the test. Stack 112 miles on top of what I ran and we’re talking jell-O legs. The final analysis for the Tempo: No good for me to use in an Ironman.
Onto the next store. Upon slipping into the New Balance 904, then jogging another quarter mile on yet another treadmill, it was apparent that these were the winners. With a seamless liner, fancy non-slip laces, light weight (9.7 oz), not to mention a secure heel support and stability equal to the best racing flat I have used to date. Time will tell if it actually surpasses the “best” racer I’ve used, but regardless, the long daunting task has been completed. That’s one more item off the list of things to do!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Decisions...decisions
Sitting on a saddle for five or six hours will make a man wince in areas unbeknownst to our counterpart gender. It will also force you to reflect and wince on some rather poor decisions you have made, decisions you need to make, or decisions you’d just rather not deal with. Some of my best thinking is done while on a long solo bike ride, as is rediscovering what it is that makes people and/or events so important to me. Health. This is certainly a reason I got into triathlons. I was an elite cross country skier at one time (now just a shadow of that skier—rarely racing even at a local level…as in once every three years or so). Before that I was a runner but only mediocre until I discovered triathlons where my running took a huge leap. Swimming…nope…biking…just a bit. It took triathlon to spur the curiosity in me to unravel the mystery of a three discipline sport, with many, many (sometimes seemingly way to many) miles and hours absorbing the chlorine filled water. Often times, my bottom was so sore from sitting on a narrow uncomfortable saddle that I didn’t even want to sit on a couch. Other times, my quads were so hammered from long runs that were absolutely needed to establish the level required to be competitive, that it seemed like a mindless and unnecessary act of foolishness. Through it all, a certain standard had been established by which I could return at any time to a state of mental retreat.
Not only was this a way of turning myself inside out and hiding from those decisions I was faced with, it was also a quiet confession time for and with myself to admit my true inner feelings on subjects with one person only. Feeling I was the only one that really was 100% trustworthy not to laugh, mock, or try to argue towards side or the other, my confessions were 100% safe and reliable. You know how someone can toss their opinion out there or present questions that are slanted one way or another? Not this way. Sport allows me to say what I want, even out loud (without anyone around), about any subject, person, or view from either side of the pro (or con) aspect of any situation without offending anyone (primarily because nobody else is around!) That said, it allows things to “soak” and find the best possible answers without any influence from any outside source or interference. 100% my decision. This way, I can take 100% responsibility of success (or failure) for whatever it was. What is it that these decisions are in reality? Speaking in tongues about something that I don’t want to say on a blog? Actually…nope. It is in reference to the fact that we have a lot of junk in our lives that we deal with each day. Things that we have to or don’t want to think or act upon, even if an outcome can be positive or negative. The discomfort of what we deal with in training for sport can fade away the mental pain barrier of those life decisions to a point where we can think more clear. The physical pain becomes the focus and the junk that normally clouds our thought process allows ideas to float freely and in the end, a logical resolution develops and we are left with the happy notion that this resolution is correct. Correct and all our own. In summary, I have concluded that I will go with the Adidas Mana rather than the New Balance 904 running shoe—it took a long time and research to get here, but that is it. Not exactly the earth shattering tug-of-war decision you thought I was toiling with is it? Happy trails~!
Not only was this a way of turning myself inside out and hiding from those decisions I was faced with, it was also a quiet confession time for and with myself to admit my true inner feelings on subjects with one person only. Feeling I was the only one that really was 100% trustworthy not to laugh, mock, or try to argue towards side or the other, my confessions were 100% safe and reliable. You know how someone can toss their opinion out there or present questions that are slanted one way or another? Not this way. Sport allows me to say what I want, even out loud (without anyone around), about any subject, person, or view from either side of the pro (or con) aspect of any situation without offending anyone (primarily because nobody else is around!) That said, it allows things to “soak” and find the best possible answers without any influence from any outside source or interference. 100% my decision. This way, I can take 100% responsibility of success (or failure) for whatever it was. What is it that these decisions are in reality? Speaking in tongues about something that I don’t want to say on a blog? Actually…nope. It is in reference to the fact that we have a lot of junk in our lives that we deal with each day. Things that we have to or don’t want to think or act upon, even if an outcome can be positive or negative. The discomfort of what we deal with in training for sport can fade away the mental pain barrier of those life decisions to a point where we can think more clear. The physical pain becomes the focus and the junk that normally clouds our thought process allows ideas to float freely and in the end, a logical resolution develops and we are left with the happy notion that this resolution is correct. Correct and all our own. In summary, I have concluded that I will go with the Adidas Mana rather than the New Balance 904 running shoe—it took a long time and research to get here, but that is it. Not exactly the earth shattering tug-of-war decision you thought I was toiling with is it? Happy trails~!
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