Be Warned...lots of introspection and review-age of very unsexy data and results....kinda like watching over my shoulder as I do it...if you like it, give me some feedback thanks!!!!
Pre-Race
As I mentioned in a few previous posts, I have been on a minimalist training program following my mid-season slump. It has been an incredible journey into my personal understanding of fitness and a great confidence booster for what to focus on in the future. In the final two weeks pre-Kona, I tested at my highest FTP since Feb of 2011 and put up a key run with multiple 5:3x mile repeats.
We arrived at 9pm on Wednesday night, a mere 34 hours before race day. There was lots of admin to do to get ready, but almost all of it was fine. Huge thanks to fellow competitor and occasional training partner Jeff Capobianco (Breakthrough Performance Coaching) for helping me to fix my front brake caliper and keeping me sane. When it was all said and done, I lay down at 9pm to focus on the race. Not the best mental/physical build up for sure, but this trip has been 90% vacation and 10% racing for me. I never really felt stressed about the race; moreso about all the logistics!
Race Day
Got an early ride to transition and can confidently say that now, in my fifth try, I can navigate Kona morning well. Got marked, got set up, got to the Team picture and had time for one final pit stop before heading to the swim. Life is good.
The Swim -- 1:08:xx
Heading down the stairs to the small beach, I can see some serious swells breaking down the coast line and flags blowing pretty steadily. The wind, it seems, is here for the race. My fears were compounded by the current pulling us away from the beach as we waited for the start. Clearly this was going to be challenging.
The gun went off and I had a pretty solid swim. The usual crowding around buoys and a few pushes under water, but nothing too bad. I felt really solid about my swim stroke and felt very consistent across the whole day. No massive miscues in terms of cramping or excessive fatigue. On the return trip I noticed that the vast majority of swimmers were 20-40 feet wide of the return buoys (due to the currents) but I stayed on the buoy line with a few folks.
This might have cost me some time in terms of drafting but overall I was very pleased. The real only negative that I have is getting something into my left eye; the swim was so turbulent that you could't see the bottom and getting some water in my goggle meant some sand in my eye that would bug me all day and for the next few days as well.
Future Kona Swim Modifications
The swim start is key here; and as a single speed swimmer I could benefit from being able to lay down an 8- to 10-minute effort to get into a good group on the swim. I started wider left, but still ended up hitting the buoy line super quickly.
Given my tendency to veer right when open water swimming, I could venture even further left and aim for the turn boat. My focus on open water swimming in the last six weeks before the race, including a 5k swim in Newport (RI!) really built my confidence. Would definitely repeat that again.
T1 -- Swim To Bike
Felt really good climbing the steps and got help with my swim skin. In my rush to the transition area, I mistakenly started taking down my tri bib short strap instead of my swim skin (which was down). Dowh! I ran into the tent, took off the skin and gave bag and skin to a volunteer and ran out super fast. Somewhere in here I lost my salt pill container from my back pocket of my tri bib shorts, more on that later.
The Bike -- 5:15 (4-minute penalty)
I had the bike dialed in with the right gear and all my gear on it. In the first few miles I was able to get my feet in, my arm coolers on and start hitting the numbers. I felt pretty crowded on the first 10 miles in town with the admin miles, but was patient here. Managed to high five both girls while spinning slowly up Palani hill!!!
Out on the Queen K, the tailwind was in full effect. Everyone was flying along, which meant that there was very little opportunity to move ahead of the group without exceeding my numbers. Riding steady / EN style is really hard here. Everyone is super strong and VERY motivated. People would bunch up on the hills and I would fly past them on the downhills. But they would all catch me back up by the next rise.
The crosswinds picked up at the airport (mile 20ish?), which make passing much harder as folks were freaked out. By the time we were out past Waikoloa (Mile 35-ish?) winds were pretty strong. Groups stayed together until we started climbing to Hawi, as the road went up and the winds shifted to a full headwind….this is very rare and made for a super hard ride (the pros started 30' earlier and apparently missed it!!!).
It was about this time that I got a penalty for "Failure to Complete A Pass" -- we were riding up a hill and I flew up next to a guy who then proceeded to hammer. I just stopped pedaling and let him pull away into the headwind, but not fast enough. A non-pedaling penalty on a hill at sub-8mph…the officials were pretty strict I thought!!!! I served my penalty at the turn in Hawi after getting special needs; 4 minutes never seemed so long! I took the chance to get in salt and some tylenol and pee for the second time. I had been drinking tons of Perform to get my sodium in, but I was definitely behind and a bit worried. I had to skip a gel cycle b/c I was drinking so much it was hard to digest! It helped being able to grab some coke to drink out there.
The return trip was my usual; I just flew past folks who had started too hard. (Note: I could probably have a better day here by not biking to my best, but not ready to to do that yet.) In fact, I passed the official motorcycles a few times at like 26mph as they were monitoring groups. Having a third cage allowed me to hold a water and douse myself at the start of every hill…that was very key in terms of keeping my body temp down.
Once we hit the airport it got much easier. It was a long ride but I am mentally better at handling it; I think my avg watts were 228, which were still a far cry from my target of 250 but the drop is most likely due to the descent from Hawi.
Future Kona Bike Modifications
Back up bike salt on the bike for sure. I would have had it in my race belt, but pushed that to my T2 bag as it wasn't required for the run. A classic last minute change that cost me a bit.
Add the 11-tooth cog to my arsenal; I had one on order but never installed it…that would have given me a bit of an edge on the descents where I spun out every time. The rolling nature of the course in Kona means lots of chances to carry momentum should I choose to do so.
I rode Firecrest 404s here, which are the data equivalent of old 808s, but I could have handled a deeper section wheel set even with the winds. I think I'd go deeper next time.
A bit more aggressive with aero position…given the wind considerations and costs on the course, even an incrementally more aerodynamic position would help me save more time.
T2 -- Bike To Run
Usually I lose up to two minutes by taking a pit stop here, but this time I was on the move. I found a good volunteer and he helped me to sort out all of my running gear…and it was a lot: Fuelbelt, race belt, banana, gel, hat, cooling towel, garmin, etc. I hit the aid station in the tent as it's the "first" one until mile 1.5 on the run and then it was game time.
The Run -- 3:46
I had pretty high expectations for my run given my fitness coming into the day, and the early miles didn't disappoint. I focused on keeping my heart rate low on purpose (~ 140bpms or lower vs the usual 145bpms) and the splits seemed okay. Of course, the first 10 miles are a rolling and insanely hot few miles along Ali'i Drive and that was just really hard.
I ate and drank very well, putting sponges on my back and ice in my hat and hands, but it was almost too much to do at each aid station -- I could have used an extra hand or three. Mile 6 saw my first ever pit stop in a portajohn in an Ironman run…looks like my pre-race dinner might have been a bit too late. I felt better afterwards, but the break did nothing to make me feel any less hot.
By the time I saw the family by Lava Java I was en fuego. I did my customary walk up Palani to keep my HR down, but when I hit the top and started running again it was clear my body was just not right.
I made it to about mile 12 still running and then it was damage control time. I simply couldn't get cool enough. Couldn't drink enough, couldn't put enough ice on me, etc. The volunteers were awesome but I was walking a fine line between taking in what I wanted vs what my body could digest.
By about mile 15 I had slowed to a steady run in the 8:30-9:00 range and here I would stay. I would have intermittent stomach issues due to the excess fluids in my gut, but by about mile 22 I was on the move again and by mile 24 I was pretty good. Amazing what the end of the race can do for your spirits.
Future Kona Run Modifications
I really think that my suffering on the second half of the run is related to heat acclimatization. You can fake the funk almost all day, but after 1.5 hours of running on what appears to be the surface of the sun, all bets are off.
I need a better aid station strategy here, as I think I spent too long in each one, even early. I just couldn't find a rhythm. Since I don't ever see myself spending 10+ days on the island to get ready to race here, I think I will need to have some serious heat beating protocols in place that I start early. Could be time for Rasmus Henning's surgical glove with ice!
Other Kona Lessons Learned
Additional sunscreen after body marking.-- This year they sprayed you with alcohol to get the numbers on; great for marking but BAD for sunscreen. My shoulders are torched. Next time I must reapply.
Run "Cape" - I think this could help me stay cooler out there, just seeing how well my arm coolers protect me I think this widget would help.
Peak Performance Thoughts
In my fifth race here I managed 115th in the world for my age group. My "should" run would have make that top 80 or 90, which is awesome but a long, long way from the best. Here are some of my musings…
My swim would need to be about an hour to make the right group that will get me set up for the bike. Continued swim fitness is key, as it a better start and ability to swim in a group. Lots of work to do here…
My bike would have to be closer to a 4:45 split. That's about 25 minutes faster than I rode on race day, more than an order of magnitude faster. Part of it would come from being in a better swim group and having less wind on the return trip (the winds build all day, the pros rarely have to deal with them with their 30-minute head start). I would need a super aero set up and the core strength to stay there. And my FTP would have to go way up. I am pushing 340 now for 4W/kg….I would need to get my FTP up north of 375 to be in the hunt. Could be interesting to see what the numbers would be without the descent from Hilo. It might be possible to ride at a higher effort knowing that I can recover there? I think I rode 250ish all day, but the descent got me down to 228 avg Watts. Wondering if I could front-load my bike, riding at .8 IF (265 watts) knowing I have the drop coming later?
My run would have to be 3:10-3:15 which is fitness I already have…it's making it happen on race day that remains a challenge.
If you are still reading, I'd love your input on this report and any advice you can give, thanks!!!!
With that in mind, I present to you my 2012 strategy and welcome your input!
Pre-Race
I will be arriving on Wednesday night with just Thursday and Friday pre-race. This is mainly because we are planning to stay longer with the family; but in reality I have been out there as early as Tuesday and have never truly been able to acclimate to the humidity.
I estimate needing about 10 days, and in my world that will never happen…so I need to nail my race execution and nutrition. My Thursday will be crazy with a swim, registration and my bike ride…then chill Friday after Team Breakfast and it's race day!
The Swim
Last year saw my fastest swim with a 1:06, which I was super excited about. I was swimming with a higher stroke cadence in years past, and while that got me through the swim quickly, my latest realization has been around the total aerobic cost of that type of stroke.
Basically a higher cadence means I am more tired; I need to breathe more frequently. Since I am not a great swimmer, I lose momentum every time I breathe…and over time as my stroke breaks down. So I am making the shift to a lower cadence stroke. This will allow me to breathe every four strokes (instead of 2 or 3) which keeps me faster over the course of the swim.
A slower turnover is also easier for me to focus on my form and a better stroke…when spinning my arms starts to fail, my only option is to just try and keep spinning my arms. Easy to do but not so good for moving through the water. It requires upper body strength but I have more bulk upstairs than I need. :( I have tested this in the pool and I am able to sustain it.
So far the only downside is that I am all pumped up after the swim like a bodybuilder…but my HR is low which is great.
The Bike
This is totally weather dependent…2011 was a sick fast year on the bike for everyone, but it reminded me of a few key things.
First, I need to be safe on the admin loop in town. Everyone is cheering, folks are all bunched up, it's just mayhem…easy spinning until I am out on the Queen K.
Second, I want to take advantage of the cooler early temps (relatively speaking) and the usual tailwind. After about 15 minutes of spinning up to the Queen K, I will be sitting on my goal race watts. Just as I did at Ironman Texas, my goal is to ride those higher watts sustained across the day instead of building in a budget of additional watts for hills (and counting on coasting).
Third, I will be much steadier up the climb to Hawi. I have pushed this in years past and I thing the spike (up) and crash (coasting back down) have hurt my overall race.
Fourth, I will work on staying aero as much as possible on the return trip. Last year I was significantly faster than other folks when I was aero, but I sat up a lot on the hills which cost me. I have bumped my bars up a bit to make them more comfortable, so I can stay in the bars longer. I have also changed to a shorter pair of cranks (172.5s) and added Q-Rotor Rings. This set up has proven very effective in my training rides and I expect a solid performance on race day.
Fifth, I will be dumping water on myself at every bike aid station, and on my arm coolers at every chance. I will probably keep a water bottle in my back jersey pocket to have it accessible.
Sixth, I will be following my race nutrition plan as outlined by the Core Diet team. Adjusted for the conditions, I will be taking in close to 60oz of Perform an hour. This with the 1/2 powerbar or gel every 30 minutes…add in some additional Salt Stick pills and I'll be rocking and rolling.
The Run
A lot of this depends on both the conditions and what I did to myself on the bike. But I have still made some tweaks. Based on my Ironman Texas performance, I will be running exclusively off of heart rate (not pace). Nutrition will be in full effect as will staying cool. I will most likely WALK up Palani (Pay and Save Hill) as the cost of running could be too much; that will be TBD.
Then it's on the nutrition for the rest of the day. My big focus is on the last hour of this run, for me that's from the Energy Lab back to town. By this point on the day I am usually cooked physically and or mentally, and I have never been able to close well. I'd like to change that this year.
Overall
Nothing earth shattering at all, but hopefully a more consistent and solid day. My focus will be on building my effort all day while focusing on efficiency, nutrition and staying cool. Regardless of whether or not the island gods are smiling on me, I hope to have a more complete day at the world champs!
Thanks to Adam Dunn for this guest post!
Sitting is bad for your health. It’s bad for your lower back. It’s bad for your heart. And it’s bad for your waistline. That last tidbit was interesting to me. So interesting, in fact, that I looked up the differential in caloric burn for eight hours between standing and sitting. It turns out that for a two hundred pound male that difference could be as much as 500+ calories per day according to the American Council on Exercise. You can play with the numbers to see what it might be in your case.
Naturally when faced with these indisputable facts, (it’s science for goodness sakes!), I sought out a more ergonomic solution for my office bound life. In my search I came across two front-runners, and put brief reviews for each in this article. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I am going to tell you up-front that neither of these options worked for my situation; so, being an innovator and overall problem-solver, I created a third product, and have detailed it just as briefly here. Also, despite my obvious bias, in an attempt at fairness, I have included all the links to their sites, all the research, and a link out to a separate review for each product. My goal really is to be informative. The last product to be reviewed here is mine, and my friend Pace McCulloch’s invention and it is not yet on the market, but will be launched as a KickStarter project soon.
Now to the meat of this article!
The GeekDesk
Favored Model: http://www.geekdesk.com/default.asp?contentID=633
Price: $749 – $799
Outside Review: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/technology/personaltech/22basics.html
The GeekDesk is absolutely a terrific desk. It raises and lowers with the push of a button, and sports a truly huge (79’’ wide) work surface. This would easily be large enough to fit two monitors, and all of your work materials on top. The main benefit of this desk is that you if you feel fatigued, you can lower the desk back down, and have a seat.
If money were no object, and I didn’t have to worry about deconstructing and removing my current expensive and very heavy desk from my office, this desk would be mine. Those were the two drawbacks for me, and they were just too steep. The price was too high, and I didn’t want to put my nice desk up on craigslist.
Kangaroo Pro
Favored Model: http://www.ergodesktop.com/content/hybrid-kangaroo
Price: $599 ($459 for the single monitor option)($549 for iMac users)
Outside Review: http://lifehacker.com/5914271/transform-any-desk-into-an-affordable-flexible-standing-desk
This stand up unit truly has an ingenious design. It mounts to your existing desk, (big win), and also raises and lowers with convenience — very nice. It comes in four different styles, and I think I would go with black if I were to get one.
I just couldn’t do it, however. I am a software engineer. I am a two monitor guy. That means that I would need to pay around $600 bucks to stand at work. The other big negative for me? I’m not just a two monitor guy, I’m ahigh maintenance two monitor guy. I have to have my Mac laptop and accompanying Apple Cinema display, and I just didn’t find a solid solution for that. So again, the price was out of my range, and although I would consider paying good money for the perfect solution, this just didn’t do it for me.
Stand-Up Desk Kit
Pace at his Stand Up Desk Kit with optional keyboard mount, and monitor stand.
Price: $187-$199, free shipping in the lower 48 states.
Again, I apologize for any biases. My journey truly was to find the best solution for my problem, “butt-in-chair-itis”. This design is so simple that I really don’t know why it doesn’t exist in the market. It is a 47’’ by 23’’ work surface, supported by four patent pending adjustable legs. You simply set it up on top of your existing desk. Big win, remember? The adjustability allows for people, short and tall, to stand at work. The top comes in a plethora of styles allowing the user to really define and match its style to their office. We really took the Occam’s Razorapproach to it’s design: the simpler the better. It has the lowest price of all competing solutions, and still checks all the boxes to be ergonomically compliant.
The biggest negative is that it is not adjustable on the fly, but that was very easy to remedy. I used a stool. When it is time to sit, I sit, when I want to stand, I kick the stool away and stand. If I need break, I’m already on my feet, so I take a walk and clear my mind. Once I had set the desk at my preferred height the thought never occurred to my to fiddle with it again. As far as setting the monitors at the right height, you can take the “el cheapo” route and use books, but if you want to avoid the “ghetto look” like I do, you get the “still pretty el cheapo” monitor stands. All of these extras add up to about $140, making the grand total about $327ish – still about $260 less than my second choice.
This product is not currently on the market, but hopefully will be with the help of KickStarter supporters.
So there you have it. Those are my honest opinions of each of my favorite standing desk products. If you have any differences of opinion or any comments whatsoever, I would love to hear them, because after all, we are just trying to come up with the best solution for each other. Happy standing!
After training for Ironman Texas and racing it at my limits, I returned to reality to run a cycling camp, do a Half Ironman (5' of my PB), run a Lake Placid training camp and a 130-mile hard ride with Team Fuelbelt.
By the end of it all I was sick and tired -- literally -- of training. I could barely get out of bed to eat, much less train. It was the worst "hole" I had ever been in, and I did everything to try and get out: doctor visits, change in diet, prioritization of sleep, etc. After another few weeks of no real change, I decided on two weeks of total inactivity.
Man, that was really hard.
But I returned slowly with a lighter weekend while supporting the Team vs Ironman Lake Placid. I began to regroup and laid out my plan. The initial goal was to work off of what I had done for Ironman Texas, but after 4 days I realized I couldn't do it. It wasn't that it was too hard…it's that it was too much.
My "usual" program of about 14 to 16 hours a week with multiple two-a-days was overloading my system. It was then that I decided to commit to a more minimalist training program to close out my year. Basically the goal was to create the easiest to execute plan (1 session a day) that would focus on raising my fitness.
Note: It certainly helps that I have a decade of triathlon experience and that I put up some good volume earlier this year, but that said I think a lot of folks can benefit from what I have done.
The Basic Week
I took this week from a post I read by age group phenom, Sami Iniken (link). You can read the full post to see his position on training, but the fundamentals made really good sense for me.
From my experience, my best fitness would take place in the winter when I could pile on the intensity and not have to do any volume work. Transitioning to the regular season meant longer rides and runs as well as the addition of swimming.
During this phase I would literally watch my high-end bike and run fitness numbers drop. By the time I got to race day, I would lose anywhere from 25 to 35 W off of my FTP. On the run I would lose 1 to 2 points off of my vDOT.
The only saving grace was the fact that I lost weight during this volume period. As such, the loss fitness was offset by the fact that I was lighter. Regardless, it was really frustrating to race on race day at a fraction of what I knew I could hold for training.
My goal in transitioning to this minimalist program was simple: arrive on race day with peak fitness numbers and zero fatigue. I may not have the miles in my body, but I'll be as sharp as I'll ever be.
The top things I took away from Sami's approach were:
- One workout a day is enough, especially if you are pushing your limits and then allowing for recovery.
- Training tons of time to accumulate fatigue and then hope for a bounce in fitness is fuzzy at best…we can do better with what we know now about the human body and the demands of race day.
- Recovering from a session (absorbing it) is more important than just doing more work.
Leveraging A Fixed Schedule
The structure of the basic week meant there was little time for additional training. Instead, the focus was on seeing improved results within each session. Not from day to day, but rather from Tuesday to Tuesday.
For example, when I started out running my long run was approximately 12 miles. The first week I averaged just about 7:30 minute miles. Every week I chipped away at that number and by week four I was running low 7:00 minute miles.
In other words, instead of working at the same intensity from week to week as a result of adding time or more volume, I could accomplish more work by upping the intensity incrementally. This also made seeing progress very easy: if I wasn't faster than last week…I wasn't stronger.
This type of progress is usually harder to discern in a program that adds more time or more distance each week…your incremental adaptations are driven not into going faster but holding the same pace for longer.
Another unforeseen benefit was the fact that the rest of my life fit into a very simple schedule. With the training for 5/7 days locked in the morning before my kids wake up I have ample time during the day to do all the things I need to do in regards to my work, my family, and my other commitments. The only downside so far is needing to be in bed by 9:30!
Interim Results
Of course I'm only a sample of one, but I'm very pleased with what I've seen so far.
As I mentioned earlier, I've been doing triathlons for for 10 years and have done a lot of training within that time. Not to mention the training I did already earlier this year in preparation for Ironman Texas. So the results below are by no means typical, nor should you expect them on your own. That said, I encourage you to try this out simply to see what you could possibly do.
The Bike: The entire training cycle I have uses 3 rides a week. 2 of them are indoors during the week, averaging between 70 and 90 min. a session. The third ride is a longer session, always 5 hours, with different amounts of work inside of it.
At the outset, the midweek rides were both very intense. There were short intervals at or above FTP. As a result, the weekend ride was more aerobic. Once I got within six weeks of my race, I changed the set up to be as follows: one hard bike during the week, one muscular endurance bike during the week, and a quality long ride. By quality I mean repeat 25 min. intervals just above target Ironman pace.
The midweek rides allow me to see progress by targeting FTP numbers, and I could increase the work on the weekend rides by manipulating intervals across the fixed time of 5 hours.
The Run: This area is perhaps the most specific to me. The fact that my vDOT is a 56 means that I can run very few hours and still log a decent amount of miles. My run training has been effectively three sessions a week, broken down as follows: one hard run, one easier short run on some rolling hills, one long run at or above goal race pace. Between these three runs I'm averaging about 30 miles a week.
The Swim: My epiphany here came at the hands of local swim guru Trent Theroux at one of my first workouts back in the pool. He pulled me over and said something to the effect of: you are a good swimmer with a good foundation...but when you started swimming you were on 1:30/100, now ten minutes later you are swimming on 1:40s and barely making it. You should do intervals."
Coming from Endurance Nation and Coach Rich's approach, I had to laugh -- that's what I was SUPPOSED to be doing but I thought I had a better way. I broke things down to a 40 minute swim workout where I could do about 1750 yards per session and really focused on (A) quality swimming and (B) consistent pacing.
While I am not amazingly faster per the Bike or the Run progress, I have gained a new depth of appreciation for my swim technique and what it takes to both hold on to it as I get tired but how to get it back when I have lost it. Both are new to me and I hope will translate to a better Kona swim.
It has been very refreshing to return to a focus on intensity as I can see the results from week to week in terms of my progress, or lack thereof. There is no fudging the math–I'm either stronger and faster or I'm not.
Lessons Learned
In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm pretty jazzed about the fixed schedule. It's great for setting expectations and making the workouts fit into my day-to-day life, with the added bonus of being able to benchmark my performance from week to week.
Spending time tracking baseline metrics is really valuable.
Previously I spent a lot of time tracking my workouts but that quickly devolved into a game of seeing how much I could do. By tracking things like “number of hours slept” or “number of push-ups done” I'm able to improve my overall fitness and wellness in a manner in which tracking workouts themselves didn't allow me to. It has the effect of really connecting me to where my body is at on a day-to-day basis.
Even great training doesn't make you feel anymore ready.
My numbers are super high right now, better than I've seen them in a long time before an Ironman. But that same doubt still remains, the doubt we all have approaching a big race or were not sure of is that enough work. Doing more work for me is simply not an option so I am making sure to do the best I can given what I've allotted myself. Again, race day will tell the truth.
Goals for Kona
As I have mentioned elsewhere, by breakthrough performance at Ironman Texas was a double-edged sword. While part of me was so psyched about what I was able to do the other part of me said what else is there to do?
This renewed focused on minimalist training does give me an opportunity to continue to test my limits in a way that I can still mentally and physically handle. Making this commitment has also forced me to step away from setting any massive goals.
At the end of the day nobody cares what you do at Kona, it's a celebration of getting there.
I plan on giving my best on race day but that's it. The rest of the trip focuses on the family and enjoying a great vacation! Thanks for reading!
I have just crossed the half way point -- 8 days of essentially zero exercise except for a short 2.5-mile easy run I lead at a conference. This is the longest I have gone without exercise since Octover 2011 after racing in Kona.
I wrote about my reasons for this decision in my last post here, but I wanted to fill you in on my progress.
- I started planking 10 minutes a day. This was a debacle in day 1 but I am sufficiently able to complete the whole progression now. Very pumped about this.
- I have been stretching every day; my adductors feel 100x better but my psoas is still a bit sore. Lots of work to do here.
- I will be checking out some new saddles from TTBikeFit to see if it will help me reduce pressure on my adductors.
- My resting heart rate is finally consistently down below 40 bpms each morning...haven't see those kind of numbers since April!
Of course, I'd love to be doing a lot more in my free time, but for now this seems to be doing the trick. With just six more days to go, it will soon be time to map out the next phase of my training...stay tuned!!!
I have had quite a run over the past year, with tons of great results and almost as many personal bests...but I have run into a problem...my body isn't keeping up with my goals. So it's time to implement Plan B, break the glass and pull the lever, emergency-stand-down-time.
That's right...two weeks off to rejuventate for a final end-of-season Ironman Kona push.
My year started with a two-week break post Kona into the November OutSeason. I pushed through there to set a personal best in a February Half Marathon as well as new all-time high on my threshold power on the bike.
Then it was right into training for Texas where I set a new lifetime best (9:27). I took two weeks off but then rode pretty long (and hard) at our Ironman Lake Placid Rally.
I was beat up, so I took two more lighter weeks before I jumped into the Patriot Half Iron and went 4:32 for ninth overall (report here).
So I took a few light days again, but two weeks later I jumped into the second annual FuelBelt ShootOut Ride...this year was 127 miles and I was doing well until I missed the final selection at about mile 105, suffering and cramping all the way back home.
So here I am about 12 weeks out from Kona and feeling really bad. I am in shape, for sure, but I am hurting.
My hips are tight. My adductors are tighter. My resting pulse is still in the mid-40s (usually mid-30s) and I simply can't get enough sleep at night.
I talk about my ability to recover being my competitive advantage, so it's time to put that to work. Starting today, 7/2/13, I will be taking two weeks off from biking and running. I have the option to swim but will be cautious there as well. Instead, I will focus on daily stretching and core work to get some strength back as I rest up.
Doing the right thing isn't always about doing the easiest thing...but I have to do this if I want to have a solid finish to my year.
Wish me luck!!!
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Backdrop
I entered this race long before I was even considering Ironman Texas in late May. I raced here last year b/c it was close to home and I ended up winning my AG and placing 5th OA (4:26:xx) time, so I thought I'd come back. Thanks to some serious local smack talk, I signed up for the Elite wave...and I probably won't do that again. But more on that later.
Regardless, this race was exactly four weeks to the day after Texas. I rode and ran a few times at the LP Rally, but only swam twice. Basically zero training or thoughts towards the race. In fact, I was thinking aobut not racing as close as Thursday....but then I rememberd I'd be racing with my wife (first time since before kids!) and so many others...so I sucked it up!
Race Morning
It was great to be in transition and to see so many folks I knew. From last year, from Endurance Nation, from FuelBelt Race Team...the list goes on. Totally pumped about how great our sport is. I do my best to ruin this vibe by stressing out about all the things I need to do before my wave start, which is #1 because I am in the Elite wave. :(
The Swim
I can see the local studs are in attendance for the race, so I resolve to do my best to represent. When the gun goes off I am with the group for the first 300 yds, and when I settle in they drop me. The water was relatively choppy and I was (am!) so uncomfortable swimming in a wetsuit that my form was awful. Straight up bad. I just survived it...resolving to really focus on my swimming for the rest of the year. Final time was 34:xx, which was only 3 minutes down on my usual group but just too...plain...slow...for my group. Net time was about 3 minutes slower than last year's time.
T1
A total debacle! I was dizzy, almost fell over twice....couldn't get my swim cap off...and my bike got stuck on my rack. How this didn't take me six minutes I'll never know. It felt like an eternity...
The Bike
Given my experience on the course last year, I was ready for the terrain and knew where to push the pace. The biggest difference was that while last year had no wind, this year was quite windy. Some of the open sections by the water were actualy dnangerous with the wheelset that I had on my bike (808 + wheelcover in the rear).
I knew I wouldn't feel great, and tried to be as steady as possible. I rode the race in 3 x 45 minute segments (it took me 2:27 though!) and my IF was roughly .68, .73, .71. The .73 section in the middle was when I had one or two of the faster AG folks come by and I could roll with them. Another strike against the Elite wave is the fact that I had very little folks to actually race with on the bike!
My nutrition was good and my back/legs felt good enough, so I just tried to be as steady as I could overall. Net was a bike time that was only 2' slower than last year.
T2
Much better here, but I was in the furthest corner so I had a lot of running to do. Took a snapshot of the folks around me and prepared to get to work.
The Run
I wasn't sure how I'd feel here given the cramping in my adductors and hamstrings all week. But my massage and lots of stretching helped as I felt pretty solid. My early miles were mostly 6:30s, which I knew was about as good as I could do. I could only see one person on the road in front of me and I caught him at mile 4. Then it was solo running in the heat, managing my nutrition and my HR.
The pace started to come up a bit as the heat & workload combined to put the hurt on me. I was running more in the 6:40s now, with the odd 7:0x mile because of heat and a dropped bottle.
About mile 7 I saw another person barely in front of me. I began to work the pace and by mile 10 he was only 1/2 a mile in front of me. I started to bare down, putting in some more 6:30s...and by mile 12 I thought he was in reach. I really started to bust a move at this point and caught him with about 100 yds to go. Turns out I ran a 6:03 final mile for a 1:26:47....just 30 seconds slower than last year.
Overall
I am pretty glad I raced but I don't know if that's becuase I had a good day, had fun with so many peeps or becuase it means I can take another easy week off. :)
I still think racing a half four weeks after an Ironman isn't a great idea...but clearly it can be done.
Time to rest up for a few more weeks before I begin the Kona prep cycle!!!
Backdrop
I entered this race long before I was even considering Ironman Texas in late May. I raced here last year b/c it was close to home and I ended up winning my AG and placing 5th OA (4:26:xx) time, so I thought I'd come back. Thanks to some serious local smack talk, I signed up for the Elite wave...and I probably won't do that again. But more on that later.
Regardless, this race was exactly four weeks to the day after Texas. I rode and ran a few times at the LP Rally, but only swam twice. Basically zero training or thoughts towards the race. In fact, I was thinking aobut not racing as close as Thursday....but then I rememberd I'd be racing with my wife (first time since before kids!) and so many others...so I sucked it up!
Race Morning
It was great to be in transition and to see so many folks I knew. From last year, from Endurance Nation, from FuelBelt Race Team...the list goes on. Totally pumped about how great our sport is. I do my best to ruin this vibe by stressing out about all the things I need to do before my wave start, which is #1 because I am in the Elite wave. :(
The Swim
I can see the local studs are in attendance for the race, so I resolve to do my best to represent. When the gun goes off I am with the group for the first 300 yds, and when I settle in they drop me. The water was relatively choppy and I was (am!) so uncomfortable swimming in a wetsuit that my form was awful. Straight up bad. I just survived it...resolving to really focus on my swimming for the rest of the year. Final time was 34:xx, which was only 3 minutes down on my usual group but just too...plain...slow...for my group. Net time was about 3 minutes slower than last year's time.
T1
A total debacle! I was dizzy, almost fell over twice....couldn't get my swim cap off...and my bike got stuck on my rack. How this didn't take me six minutes I'll never know. It felt like an eternity...
The Bike
Given my experience on the course last year, I was ready for the terrain and knew where to push the pace. The biggest difference was that while last year had no wind, this year was quite windy. Some of the open sections by the water were actualy dnangerous with the wheelset that I had on my bike (808 + wheelcover in the rear).
I knew I wouldn't feel great, and tried to be as steady as possible. I rode the race in 3 x 45 minute segments (it took me 2:27 though!) and my IF was roughly .68, .73, .71. The .73 section in the middle was when I had one or two of the faster AG folks come by and I could roll with them. Another strike against the Elite wave is the fact that I had very little folks to actually race with on the bike!
My nutrition was good and my back/legs felt good enough, so I just tried to be as steady as I could overall. Net was a bike time that was only 2' slower than last year.
T2
Much better here, but I was in the furthest corner so I had a lot of running to do. Took a snapshot of the folks around me and prepared to get to work.
The Run
I wasn't sure how I'd feel here given the cramping in my adductors and hamstrings all week. But my massage and lots of stretching helped as I felt pretty solid. My early miles were mostly 6:30s, which I knew was about as good as I could do. I could only see one person on the road in front of me and I caught him at mile 4. Then it was solo running in the heat, managing my nutrition and my HR.
The pace started to come up a bit as the heat & workload combined to put the hurt on me. I was running more in the 6:40s now, with the odd 7:0x mile because of heat and a dropped bottle.
About mile 7 I saw another person barely in front of me. I began to work the pace and by mile 10 he was only 1/2 a mile in front of me. I started to bare down, putting in some more 6:30s...and by mile 12 I thought he was in reach. I really started to bust a move at this point and caught him with about 100 yds to go. Turns out I ran a 6:03 final mile for a 1:26:47....just 30 seconds slower than last year.
Overall
I am pretty glad I raced but I don't know if that's becuase I had a good day, had fun with so many peeps or becuase it means I can take another easy week off. :)
I still think racing a half four weeks after an Ironman isn't a great idea...but clearly it can be done.
Time to rest up for a few more weeks before I begin the Kona prep cycle!!!
Random Photos
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I recently won the men's 35-39 age group, placing 28th overall, at Ironman Texas with finishing time of 9:27. This was a 25-minute personal best and a breakthrough performance for me, and I want to share how I did it.
Not because everyone can go sub-9:30 in an Ironman, but because how I set the stage for my breakthrough should help you do the same.
Be Consistent
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this was my 17th Ironman race. I started in 2001 with a 10:40 at Ironman Florida and since then have been all over the map with a general trend to the low 10-hour mark starting in 2007.
I have pretty much raced two Ironman events a year since then, with a two year break in 2009 for my wife to race, followed by a broken hip in 2010. I healed well and have managed to continue my progression. In my last five races, including Texas, I have qualified for Kona.
Over this timeframe I have tried many different approaches for training. High volume, low volume? Been there. Taper or no taper? Done that. But the most important thing in retrospect was that I just kept at it. The longer you play this game, the more likely you are to win it….and that's just what happened at Ironman Texas.
Better Race Selection
After reviewing my performance last year with my coaching partner, Rich Strauss, it became clear that I preferred Ironman races that were hilly and cool -- Lake Placid and Ironman Coeur d'Alene come to mind.
But at 6'2" tall and 185 lbs, my body type lends itself to racing a flatter course. My fear of the heat led me to pick races that I figured I could do well at given the climate. But the math of what I could do on a flat course given my bike and run fitness was too compelling.
I have always underperformed in Kona's heat & humidity, but realized that if I am to improve I'll actually need to experiment by racing in similar conditions outside of just that one day.
With those two elements in mind, I decided on Ironman Texas as the perfect early season combination. And with a 4:56 bike split that included 3 minutes to fix a flat tire and a 3:15 run, clearly a flatter course is a good choice for me.
Improved Body Composition
My kick off to this season wasn't about training, it was about body composition. After Kona 2011, I returned home to eat enough Halloween candy to feed a small village. In three short weeks I had ballooned ten pounds, and so I was determined to get back on track as my main focus for improvement in 2012 was to come from racing at more optimal weight.
Even though I was training in the OutSeason, my eating habits were poor and the weight wasn't coming off. Starting at Christmas, I began to focus on my calories. By February I had dropped 15 pounds and was seeing the results in my workouts and races. This included a 1:19 half marathon; a four minute personal best for me.
Making this commitment was tough, but it set me up to confidently make my call about racing Texas because I knew I was ready.
A Tighter OutSeason to Race Window
I took a total of three weeks off of training, totally zero training, after Kona 2011. My first workout was a bike test at the start of the November OutSeason training cycle. More than a few folks asked me if I needed more rest, but I felt ready given I had gone cold turkey after Kona.
After all, I only race three to four times a year and my work schedule allows me to sleep in most days and train when the kids are in school. This quick turnaround meant I was able to build off of the fitness I had created last year. There was no massive gap or retraction of fitness….it was just enough rest for me.
Traditionally in the wintertime I put up season best numbers for the bike and the run. With plenty of recovery time and hard intervals on the calendar, it's easy to create some solid fitness. This generally fades over time as I transition to doing the longer rides and sessions that an Ironman requires.
I didn't have the luxury of doing sixteen or twenty weeks of training into Texas. At first I was concerned, but in retrospect I think the proximity of the OutSeason to my race let me carry my peak bike and run fitness right into my race cycle. This practically eliminated any drop or fade in power, instead of watching it drop off with a prolonged period of building volume and creating fatigue. Of course, it's worth noting that we had a very light winter and I was able to get in one camp on the Ironman Texas course as well.
An Improved Nutrition Plan
In addition to my calorie counting focus, I have been working with The Core Diet team. They not only made some daily menu guides for me to follow for my training, but they gave me a specific Race Fueling Plan. Both were specific to me, and very helpful.
The biggest change here was the sheer amount of food and fluids I would take in when exercising. Almost every workout, even a 30-minute run, had fueling goals. There was never a wasted chance to practice race fueling. Improvements in body composition were targeted outside of the exercise window. This was very effective until my two peak training weeks when I was unable to stick with the guidelines 100%.
I also worked with the Core Diet team to tweak my race fueling plan. I went from taking in 250 calories per hour on the bike to taking in 750…and no, that's not a typo. My Ironman Texas plan called for three bottles of Perform an hour (3 x 170 calories) and a PowerBar (240 calories) in the first hour, for example. It was hard to get down, but I totally avoided any race day bonk and literally felt amazing. This continued with more food on the run, again almost double what I used to eat.
All in, I consumed about 250% of the calories I would have otherwise taken in over an Ironman day. It sounds crazy but I trained to do it and no bonking over the course of the day simply doesn't lie. I am completely converted.
Solid Execution
My experience racing means I have rolled the Ironman dice many times and know what does and doesn't work. I have made almost every possible mistake on race day, and as a result I can handle my body and most issues with confidence.
I know how to pace the swim and the bike appropriately for me. I know how to start the run and how to handle the mental challenge of finishing. I know what to do when it's really hot, or when the wind picks up. I know what it means when my fingers start tingling or when I stop sweating and I know how to fix it.
On this particular day, my execution skills helped me to overcome:
- My slowest Ironman swim in memory -- I thought my race was over!
- A flat front tire -- I was calm and made the switch in under 3 minutes.
- A tight lower back on the bike -- I had packed some Tylenol just in case and rationed out as l was eating (do not try this at home, it is strongly suggested that you avoid using NSAIDs during a race).
- A very hot run -- I increased fluid and salt intake accordingly and focused on reducing my core body temperature immediately.
- Historically slow aid stations -- I usually slow down on the run not by running slower, but by taking longer and longer at aid stations. On race day I had my A game and consistently kept my waking portions to about 20 seconds per mile.
A Ton of Luck
It goes without saying that a ton of things have to go right for a good race to come together. I can say all I want about my skills and experience, but at the end of the day there were some seriously good things that happened to me that were out of my control. I was simply positioned to do well when everything aligned, and they did.
What Does This Mean For You?
Hopefully aside from learning a few things, you also take away that getting better / faster on race day isn't always about a genetic gift or how many hours you have to train.
- While I trained six months for Texas, this first four months were limited to eight to ten hours a week max.
- I made myself faster not by adding significantly more strength, but by improving my body composition.
- I made the most of a chance to train on the course so I was 100% familiar with the terrain and the conditions.
- I focused on improving my race nutrition to avoid the last-stage run bonk that seemed to be inevitable.
As you brainstorm your next big race, make sure everything is on the table. You never know what might make the biggest change in your performance. Good luck!