Saturday, September 25, 2010

The War Is Over

The smoke has cleared and its time to think of whats next on the menu for me. I've read a few articles about what to do after your first 70.3 Ironman. Once you conquer that dream the only logical next step is to do a full Ironman (which takes more then twice the training and commitment). I was also reading about what to do after you have a race failure, basically get back up on the horse and try again. In the coming months im going to settle back into my winter routine and regain my muscle mass back with a solid lifting schedule. Thats generally how I started my training for this past race 10 months ago. My goal was to gain 10 lbs of muscle before I basically ran, biked and swam it off in order to prevent injury and have enough of me to last throughout training.

So I guess its the American pride inside me, but even though the war is over, im going to stick around a little bit longer and see what other trouble I can get into.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

FUBAR Syracuse 70.3 Race Recap



"Fucked Up Beyond Any Repair"

Muhammad Ali said it best when he said, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”

The Owner of Ironman expresses a similar concept,"Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 112 miles. Run 26.2 miles. Brag for the rest of your life!"

Shortly after my arrival into Rochester, NY I picked up my bike from FedEx and put it together. I was reminded of why I live and train in Boulder when I was greeted with 60* temps and a mix of rain with a shot of cold. I also found that when you fill your bike tires up at alt. they will be under less pressure here at sea level, they were flat! Which made for an interesting test ride after no pump was found.

Other then the tires the ride went well and I reintroduced the legs to this thing called biking. It wasnt more then 5 miles and everything seemed in good shape except for having a miss alignment of the front wheel and handle bars (quick fix). I guess sometimes I just cant see straight, Its like those times you hang a picture and swear that the ceiling or floor is crooked.

The next day I went for a short run of 1.5 miles at 7:48 pace and I actually had sore hamstrings from my test bike ride the day earlier. This leads me to believe that I may have tapered a little early (which is tough when you have to ship your bike 5 days early). We then packed up the car for an hour ride headed to Syracuse for packet pick up around 2pm under sunny skies and warmer temps that were not destine to last. The expo was pretty much the weakest I've ever seen but the pick up was very organized.




After signing my life away and getting my wrist band we headed down to Jamesville Park to check in our bikes (to leave overnight). I had a great TA spot about 3 rows from the bike out transition and was even greeted by a sticker with my name on it. After pumping up my tires to 105 psi and changing the gears to prepare for the short hill that started at the mount line, we went to the water to check out the swim course. The water was 62*, cold, but manageable in a wetsuit. The Transition from the swim to the bike however was about 800m long spanning across a rocky parking lot. I felt like they could have had the transition a little closer to the water, but I guess this isnt Nam, there are rules.

I had Grilled chicken and garlic pasta for dinner and went to bed around 10pm, after visiting with some old friends who were just in awe at the mere mention of this race.

The morning of the Race:

I got up at 4:45 not feeling nervous or tired in the slightest. I opened a good luck card as I ate my bagel. Apparently the secret surprise awaiting me at the finish line was that Ky, flying and traveling through the night from Ashville to Syracuse to be there. Cue the nerves, but more so I was just in disbelief and concentrated my focus on getting to that finish line. The drive to the start line was about 40 mins with an added 40 mins due to limited park access and the morons directing people to park (they seriously needed additional training), dont worry, I told them a thing or two.

Due to our late arrival the bathroom lines were already long so my sister and I opted for the woods. We set up our transition areas just as they were closing it, got kicked out of there and then 5 mins later they delayed the start by 15 mins and reopened. We got our body marking out of the way and picked up our chips (not sure why they did this the day of the race but it ran pretty smoothly).

I was the first AG wave (30-34) right after the Pro Men and Pro Women. My wave seemed stacked!! I waded into the water at about position center, offset right. The air temp was about 58*, much warmer then the 44* expected and I enjoyed the fact of not having to stand around in my wetsuit for an hour waiting for my wave start. The announcer seemed a bit groggy still and really didnt get the excitement from the crowd.

My swim was extremely bumpy at first, but I stayed calm, steady, and strong throughout, and fended off my space with honor. I had moments where I was next to someone and did manage to draft a little. With 1000m to go I felt strong, and even passed a pro male. I could have pushed it maybe 2 mins faster but took it easy as this is a long race.

My T1: Ran without a stagger but huffing pretty good to my bike. Took some water and got the rest of my wetsuit off. I decided to put my socks on now and not have my bike shoes already attached to the bike (since it was a wet grassy run to the mount line).

It was still dark when I got on my bike and my sunglasses instantly fogged up making it hard to see anything at all. At mile 2, the first turn, I hit a storm grate but kept on trucking. At mile 3 I was greeted by a massive hill that slowed progress but I did pass a few people still recovering from their swim (I guess thats the Boulder in me).

At mile 5 there was trouble! My front tire went flat. I stayed calm though, knowing that it was way too early for a flat but nothing I could do about it, I formed solutions not hysteria. It only took me 7 mins to change out and I was back rolling. At mile 6 however my back tire started to thud a bit and I thought I may have bent my rim from that sewer grate.




Downhill at mile 10, my first opportunity for a little rest I had a massive blowout. Air was rushing out of somewhere and at first I thought it was just my compressed air, but about half way down the hill I had my second flat. Second flat with no way of repairing it because I had already used my one reserve tube. Basically I was screwed! I took off my wheel and walked up the hill in my bike shoes (I figured no one would stop on the down slope but there was a chance of flagging someone down at the top of the hill when they were still going slow). I managed to flag down #218 telling him its over for me, I just want to finish, and he let me have a tube. Thanks man!

I was starting to hate the bike section and even though I had spent time off the bike, my legs and body were by no means recovered. I took it slow, determined stay on the bike and not to have another flat.

That was until mile 15 when that back tire I had just repaired, went flat. Those compressed air cans really are only a one time use thing even if you get the size 16. This time I had to borrow air and a tube but I was on a flat and the riders passing me were going much slower. Rider 246 felt my pain and without stopped dropped supplies beside me in the grass and pedeled on. I wasnt even half way yet and I was starting to feel like I was on some pit crew or something. By this time it had started to rain and I stowed the sunglasses. A dense fog had rolled in preventing anyone from seeing more then 2 miles in front of them and the inability of seeing how high the next hill was. An hour had already passed since I left transition and I had a lot of race left to go. The first water station was around this point and I grabed some G2. I was surprised of how many spectators were out cheering us on and making noise, that was awesome!




At mile 20 I passed by a ski resort which had mowed the face of the main run all but the a HUGE Ironman M and the Dot. Wish I had a picture of that. Half way, it was time to get back to my plan and have a gel, I mean not having a flat tire for over 10 miles was something to celebrate at this point. The party was short lived when faced with another massive hill to conquer. This one even took a few bikers off their bikes and on foot. Something that I refuse to allow in my tool shed!

The next 30 miles were a blur exept for the 12 Warriors standing at one of the turns roaring their heads off (finishers of the Warrior Dash, NY a day earlier). To be honest I dont know what happened to me in the last 10 miles but I know it was slow because I was getting passed by people that I should have never seen the whole race.

I reached the dismount line itching to get off, along side another guy with similar feelings but poor exicution. As he teetered over still clipped in I skidded down the wet grass to my spot. My socks were soaked so I decided to change them and I had had to go to the bathroom for 2 hours now so I stopped by the jon on my way out to run. My legs were beat but not entirely heavy, I thought to myself.. im off the bike, there is nothing that is going to stop me from finishing now.

The run course started out with this wacky u-turn and apparently the bathroom idea was contagious. At mile 3 the curse returned and I was overcome by the worst stomach cramps of my life. I was slowed to a humbling hunched-over walk. I stopped at each water station for liquid intake and left it in search of the next a mile a way, taking it a mile at a time. At mile 6 it wasnt getting better, I pulled off into McDonalds, no not for a Big Mac. I began to shake and I even threw up. Downed more water and after 30 mins of this I decided it was time to get to the next mile. As I got back on course my sister was there trotting along and looking strong. We walked a little and I told her my troubles so that she would be able to relay the info to my fans at the finish (a destination I was now 3 hours late to).




I spent 30 mins at mile 7 sitting on the curb in the fetal position hoping for the pain to subside when Ky came running up from the finish nearly 6 miles away to try to find me. Before that moment all they knew from Ironmanlive.com was that I had finished the bike and was somewhere out on the run. I was in rough shape but after 4cups of water I started to feel a little better.

I got to mile 9.3 and reached a point where I couldnt go on. My first Ironman 70.3 was going to be a Fail. I couldnt stand up straight, It was too painful to even move, I was wet and now cold from the lack of movement. Getting your timing chip taken off is one of the worst feelings in the world. This is when you succumb to the realization that the dream will not be coming true today.

As it turns out, the training was the easy part and no amount of preparation can see you through when luck is not on your side. So How do I feel? Part of me agrees with Thomas Edison, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work," but what have I learned from this? Much of it was out of my control. Either way I will forever have the experience under my belt and I wouldnt take back my decision to enter, they dont call it a "Tri" because its a walk in the park. I guess we can consider this attempt #1 and every training cycle and race from here on out will be that much stronger because I redefined my limits that much more.

Looking at the positives: I had a great swim and new PR in that, I was able to finish the bike course even though I couldnt keep air in my tires, and I did complete 66.3 miles which is more then enough activity for one day.

Whats next?

Not sure. Right now its dependent on how my body recovers. In the days that followed I had sore ankles, knees, shoulder and my bodily systems were not representative of the well oiled machine I was going into the race. I'll be seeking medical opinion to try to figure out what happend and if its even safe to have a second attempt.

SWIM BIKE RUN OVERALL RANK DIV.POS.
35:40 3:25:13 --:-- --:-- -- --

LEG DISTANCE PACE RANK DIV.POS.
TOTAL SWIM 1.2 mi. (35:40) 1:52/100m 402 59


TOTAL BIKE 56 mi. (3:25:13) 16.37 mph


TOTAL RUN 13.1 mi. (--:--) --/mile --

TRANSITION TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 3:33
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 4:54


I want to thank Ky, and my family for coming down and showing their support (sorry for the scare), and my fans for their support through my long 10 months of training. My goal was to at least inspire others and modivate them to get out there and try new things. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about the race or my experience.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Lean into the tape


Inspired by this video posted on Competitor.com http://video.competitor.com/2010/08/running/racing-weight-training-to-be-lean/

Interested in collecting more data on how my training has gone, I weighed in yesterday(Since im less then 15 days till race day we will have to deem this "race weight") finding that I was 4 pounds lighter then last appraisal. From my days of being a vaulter I'm very familiar with the max strength to weight ratio. I would repeatedly weigh in like a wrestler to determine pole selection (poles are weight rated, with conversations for length). The goal was to pack in as much strength and fitness into the smallest container, and shed unneeded mass.

Throughout my 10 month training for this race I have done just that. I've trained with intensity and focused on my goals, not only how I looked. I established a mixture of strength and endurance toward my goal pace. Even though 4 lbs seems like a lot, I truly feel like i've reached that fine line I was searching for. I guess we will only know from performance right?

I just wanted to send out a warning that after a tough cycle and onto the begining of your taper you will continue to have a high motabalism. Generally you reduce your calorie intake to match training load and you do shed a few pounds as your body makes the adjustment. Be sure to make these intake and burn adjustments giving your body what it needs, when it needs it. Tough cycles are for building, the taper is for recovery and repair, both require carefully thought out nutritional planning. Keep focus on whats important, its feeling and proformence on race day, not what the number is. Also I have researched that you can lose 4-8 lbs during the race (depending on effort and length of time), which is over 3000 calories. Make sure that your race weight includes the stored calories/glycogen/fat you'll need to cover the distance.

There is no plan that can tell you the answer to this part of your training. It takes trial/error, and a close watch over your body. Happy training, finish with a lean.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Taper


"The taper (or tapper as ive been miss spelling it): three beers three days out, two beers two days out and one beer the day prior to your race."


Ha, just kidding!! But I did attend a wedding that derailed me a little. Now im back on track. I moved the workouts down to Denver for the time being due to wildfire smoke that has consumed Boulder.

My taper will consist of short workouts with quick accelerations that are designed to keep your arms and legs feeling fresh but worked. I will both isolate and incorporate each major and minor muscle group as well as regain some of my flexibility. Oh and REST! That is my major goal for the taper, mend any little pulls and tweaks, rest my mind and soul for the horror that awaits me on 9/19 in Syracuse.

The hard part is over, and now its time to relax and enjoy. There is not much I can do to better my times and endurance at this point but there are many mistakes I can make to lower it. Some of those mistakes I have already made like going out on a 4 mile run at 6:20 pace when it should have been half the distance and more like 3-4 days from judgement day instead of 2. Either way I feel that my body is able to recover a lot faster then that (it was back in June).


Future workouts on the menu:

5 mile run
10 mile ride with a jump off mile
Interval training in the pool 5x100m, Aqua Running (low impact)
6 mile run with only 3 miles at race pace
Hurdle mobility and shot throw test day
Short lift
Swim to bike and Bike to Run Transition practice
Mt. Sanitas Hike

Spin Class

I have 10 days to do 9 short workouts, which is a huge change from my normal 23 in 10 days. Now is the most important time to work on my mental training, to visualize myself attaining my goals, making sure I know the course and my equipment and setting up a great fan base to share the day with. Its the school of Ambassador U and class is in session.


Researched:

*endurance begins to be lost 7-10 days into Taper


Six to eight weeks out: Decrease the quantity of speed and strength work
Six weeks out: Increase race speed-specific workouts
Four to six weeks out: Shift your focus to endurance
Ten to 14 days out: Last endurance race-specific effort (3-hour bike/ 40-minute run)
Seven to 10 days out: Last long endurance sessions—ride and run. This is about volume, not intensity, so keep it all easy.

week before: 20 min runs, 40 min bikes, no blocks unless its just a transition day (tech day).

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2010/06/training/perfecting-the-ironman-taper_10355

Monday, September 6, 2010

Four Mile Canyon wildfire Boulder, CO



I returned from a Labor Day weekend adventure in South Carolina to a horrific wildfire resulting in a uncharacteristically smokey and hazy Boulder. Now this is not and uncommon occurrence since Colorado is an arid climate, you just never expect for this to happen in your own back yard. The dried foliage and strong winds combined into a recipe for disaster up in the foothills just West of Boulder and about 3 miles from my home in Northeast Boulder.



I came back from the airport in Denver at around 11pm to a strong glow in the hills, no that wasnt an alternate sunrise, it was a blaze that covered 7000 acres! Ash rained down and there was a strong campfire smell. People were being evacuated and homes were being swallowed up. Your basic war zone, including overhead planes and helicopters on bombing run missions.



Due to the smoke a air quality Health Advisory warning has been issued.



What does this mean? It means that one of the greatest places in the world to train for Triathlons had been shut down for training. With the air quality the way it is we might as well be in smogville NYC or Hotlanta. So, its a good thing im on my taper! Im currently moving my workouts down to Denver and staying indoors whenever possible in Boulder in order to minimize my risk of any respiratory problems this close to my race date. There is rain forcasted in the near future and im hoping that will be substantial enough to douse out the flames and restore beauty back to Boulder. Stay tuned.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Swim like Phelps, Bike like Lance, and run like Meb

Today is my final block before the race with 15 days remaining the taper will begin and at just the right time too. After the conclusion of one of my hardest cycles, my legs and mind could really use a rest.

Its a broken block but still a block all the same:

6am spin class where we worked on strength endurance and using all your leg strength but in different combinations while keeping a smooth crank. Like most of my training, except the aid of a watch, its been done on feel. Sure it would be nice to have a power output computer on the bars to look down at, or a GPS to track my instant pace on runs but at the same time the wonder during the workout is what makes the workout great. I dont know how many times i've gotten home and had that Christmas morning feeling as I jumped on the computer to map my run/ride/tri to see the distance and calc my pace/speed. Then log it on Ontri.com and type up a blog for you all to join in on the enthusiasm. This workout wasnt my best but I put in the effort, a little investment to my goal finish time of 4:38 at Syracuse.

After work I went straight down to the track for my 1500m ladder (4,8,10,15,10,8,4)
up at the Fairview HS track. A little bit of background about this track, and im all about switching it up but this crazy track, somehow, ended up not even being level, its up hill slightly down the first 100m. On top of that its the highest altitude track in Boulder at about 5500'.

After a short warm up I got down to business and at first I was really winded but things got better as I got closer to the end of the workout. Overall I think things went great.

400m: 66
R1
800m: 2:53
R3
1000m: 3:40
R3
1500m: 5:38
R3
1000m: 3:45
R3
800m: 2:59
R1
400m: 70

Total: 20:11

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Pistons pumping and fist pumping

This blog is about my longest long run (in training for the Syracuse 70.3 and its included half marathon 13.1 miles).

Today after work I met up with my training partner and we hit the gravel trails of the Bobo Link/South Boulder Path and Marshal Rd. for a long run. The goal was 11-12 miles and to be honest I wasnt entirely excited about it. I've been biking hard lately and been feeling blah the last few Wed...actually thats an under statement. I stopped on my last 2 wed. runs, and as someone who has that never say die attitude, it was a huge confidence buster. That aside, you have to press on and learn from training failures and become that much more determined next time to push yourself to and beyond that level. Today Had the cards right.

This was my first long run of over 6 miles that I would be without water or a fuel plan, I was just going to go and take note of where I began to falter. Out of the gates I took it slow at about 7:30 to 8 min pace for the first 4 miles. At mile 3 I that familiar ghost had returned and I started to have stomach aches and eventually began to see halos. For a moment I thought this is it, im going to go down on my first practice. My next thoughts though did help. My taper starts next week and this was pretty much my last opportunity to get in a long run, and I already failed on a 7 mile run this week due to extream stomach cramping (which I then bounced back from and had the best 2 mile return pace of the year 6:30 flat!). So I pressed on while my partner began to break away from me. To add to this, for some reason I was feeling the affects of the altitude more today then I had in a while, possibly due to my hard training the last 2 weeks.

The course out is a gradual uphill and has always given me trouble making for a very uneven run. When we got to Marshall Rd, it was new territory for me, a road I had never run on and it was flat. At least for a little while, what happened next I have no explaination for. It was as if I had the best energy drink known to man at the right moment because when we made our next turn and were faced by a pretty substantial hill I instantly became the strong runner I set out to be today. I took the hill like it was the first 400m of the run, the ghost was gone. I was going to finish the run on a hot note.

The GPS had died and we were flying blind, so we went out 40 mins and thought that would be enough for over 11 miles. It ended up being 5.31... 7:35 pace. We turned around at a spot that at the time looked like a unique turn around mark (but later I couldnt find it as easily on google sat.). It was time for downhill, I kept that strong pace and even pushed harder in some spots. I caught up to Ky and we ran together until we had 3 miles to go. I broke away a little until 2 to go and then had a pace slow down (loss of focus?). With one mile to go I was praising myself for how strong I felt, I kept telling myself "Im ready." I even got up on my toes and had a stride out finish the last 600m. In all coming back in 6:34 pace and not really that shaken up from it, not really out of breath. My legs shaked as I drank some water and downed a gel... the return of Elvis.

Recap

My goals for this time were changed from a one month time span to a two month one and they are as follows: Swim: 4miles (I had to change it to 7 after I attained that goal within the first month), Bike 400miles, Run 200 miles.

Heres how I did July 1- Aug 30:


Swim: 9.09 avg. Pace= 32:00
Bike: 402.39 avg speed=18
Run: 158.07 avg Pace=7:24

I was able to surpass my swim and bike goal but I ended up slacking too much in July to make up for it in Aug.

July:

S:2.79 pace=32:00
B:136.37 speed=16.4
R:52.08 pace=7:42

Aug:

S:6.3 pace=31:53
B:266.02 speed=19
R:105.99 pace=7:17

as you can see Aug was a stellar month and great final push in bringing my endurence up to the 70.3 distance. It also included a lot of blocks. My times drasically improved both in the swim and on the bike and I started to get better at the bike to run but it still needs a little work.