I haven’t blogged in over 6 months!! Here’s an update and a glimpse into my world. I am 10 days out from Ironman Coeur D’Alene!!!
Snow, rain, injury, snow rain, injury- this was the theme of my winter. It was hands down the toughest winter I have ever had as a triathlete. First off I had plantar fasciitis since right after Kona. I had felt twinges of it last year but it would quickly go away. This year after the 3 week rest block after Kona my calves got tight and when I returned to running it was a perfect storm to irritate/tear the plantar fascia ligament. Plantar fasciitis is hands down the worst injury I have had in my 20 or so years of endurance sports. It forces you to the sidelines- there is no training through it and if you do it just gets worse. On top of that we had the snowiest wettest winter / spring I can remember. These 3 things made it very difficult to have a positive mood and consistent motivation. It.just.plain.sucked. I switched chiropractic providers to an ART (active release techniques) provider in Williston- Dr Erik Hemmett. Dr Hemmett has helped me so much in a short amount of time. In addition to this foot injury I have had an ongoing issue for over 10 years with my hip/lower back on long bike rides/races. I have not made progress on this issue significantly in years. Dr Hemmett took one look at a video of me on the bike and was immediately problem solving and we need to try this, that etc. The guy is a problem solver and has a commanding knowledge of muscles and ligaments, biomechanics as well as what to do for areas of adhesions. I have made a great deal of progress on both injuries with him.
Race season officially began in May with the Rev3 Half ironman in Knoxville, TN. This was my second year racing it and I am a huge fan of Rev3 races. The best part of the weekend was hanging with my dad, my brother and 2 of my athletes (Jayson and Sean). My brother has got to be one of the best race sherpas out there not just for the obvious reasons of having someone to help carry stuff to transition etc but because he is hilarious and always lightens the mood not to mention he yells at the top of his lungs during the race. He got some flip video footage and you can hear some clips here (stay tuned- will try posting).
The race went well. Swim was loooong- the turnaround buoy got washed down river and we ended up swimming 1.5 miles. Good prep for ironman!! T1 – I took it really slow to take it easy on my foot. On the bike I felt great and was holding goal wattage well (275-280 watts on the flats). I undershot one bottle in my fueling plan and had a slight cramp issue – stupid mistake. No margin of error at ironman for mistakes like that particularly if I want to get back to Kona. My back felt better at this race than any other half or full I have done in the last 5 years!! On to the run I was running people down and couldn’t believe how good I felt and the best part was I had no foot pain!! I was running 6:15 pace on the flats but this course was a bear and was one of the hilliest bike and run courses I have ever done. Came across the line in a time that put me in 7th overall. No complaints other than the missed bottle. Only amateurs were in the half and it was a strong mix of elite age grouper/Kona hopeful guys from all the over the US. My 2 athletes also had killer races and made big improvements!!
I was totally surprised that I felt recovered 2 days later!! It must be the Hoka’s!! One of the other dials I have turned this year is the shoes I have been running in. The Hoka Bondi B is a shoe designed for ultra runners and I have to say it is incredible. They look like moonboots!! Hey – function over fashion!! At only 9 oz it is as light as a good lightweight trainer but it has a HUGE amount of cushion and is very stable (hard to find both features). It was the only shoe that didn’t aggravate my Plantar fasciitis. I have found that I recover much faster in it as well. I can do a 10 mile run in them and 3 hours later feel like I only ran 3 or 4 miles. No BS. They also incorporate the low to heel to toe offset that we are seeing in the natural / minimal shoes. They are 4mm of drop so they really promote midfoot striking, are cushy and are stable. It is very hard to find these 3 features in a shoe.
I went right into my overload weeks immediately after Rev3—good thing I recovered fast! I pulled off a 315 mile bike week right off the bat and around 40 or so run miles. My training metrics were looking really good- I could sit on 250-260 watts and not even go over zone 1 on the bike. These zone 1 watts are up about 10 watts over last year. Due to the run injury I put in a lot of extra bike miles. To be honest this was something I knew I needed to do anyway- I was not riding as fast as I know I am capable of at Ironman. Big decouple from what I could do in a shorter race vs IM. However a good bit of that was from back issues I have had in the past. If I can ride CDA with little to no back issues and pace and fuel to the letter there is no reason I can’t have a breakthrough ride there. Run fitness was about where it was a year ago- running 6:40 pace at the top of zone 1 albeit slightly lower run volume and shorter long runs than last year.
Next race was Mooseman oly. I did this race last year but the swim was cancelled and bike was changed to a 17 mile TT start with a 10k run off it. This year was the full 1500meter swim, 27.2 bike and same 10k run as last year.
Mdot is now running this race so they basically run it in a similar fashion to a 70.3 with wave starts. Back when this was non-Mdot you could get into the Open wave which went first and made for better racing (my 2 cents). Anyhow gun goes off in my wave (second wave). I went out hard and found myself in the front pack. There was only 2 guys ahead of me in my wave and I had thought I was having a great swim but I just didn’t swim hard enough!! No excuses though- need to HTFU.
On to the bike- absolutely hammered the bike- although was a little demoralized when Peter Abdinoor caught me at the end of the swim. He and I were riding at the same level on the day and were near each other riding legally. I couldn’t get away from him and he couldn’t get away from me.
On the run – felt great immediately. Plan was to hold 5:45 pace on the flats and just push as hard as I could. I ran down the couple guys who got out of T2 ahead of me (had to stop and fix my speed laces in T2). Felt great on the run and no foot pain!!
The cool thing was that I ran faster in the Hokas than I did on the same run course last year. This is with 6 weeks of no running due to PF in March.
I ended up 4th overall and had the second fastest bike and run splits. Was psyched about that. Good momentum for Ironman in a few weeks.
Right after Moose I put in one last pretty big week hitting 300 miles on the bike and 37 on the run. This past weekend was absolutely brutal with the rain for both of my big rides. Cold steady rain = BRUTAL.
Anyhow- looking forward to CDA in 10 days!!!!!!!!!
Shoutouts –
My wife for putting up with another IM focused training cycle.
My ART guy (active release technique)- Dr Erik Hemmett for keeping me in one piece and allowing me to make huge progress in not only the plantar fasciitis I had but the back/hip issue I have had for years.
My mechanic- Matt Montross for getting my bike dialed.
My TT bike fit guru- Sean Whipkey at the Skirack BG Fit center for getting me more aero AND comfortable/powerful.
Athletes Honey Milk for helping me recover well after the big days.
Training buddies for making the long rides more fun – Gary Snow, Luke Moore, Jason Frank, Jason Baer, Justin Ryea (when he comes out)
Winter training on the bike- Phil Beard- thanks for helping me motivate to ride all winter at the Confluence Cycling Center.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Friday, December 3, 2010
2010 Feel Good Highlights
At the end of each season I like to reflect on my best moments in triathlon. Here is my top ten list (although it’s more than 10) of feel good moments of 2010 as an athlete and a coach. They are in chronological order. Every one of these felt like a victory and put me on cloud nine. These kinds of moments are the things that get me through long and hard training blocks. They are confidence building and make all the hard training completely worthwhile. They also leave me hungry for more!
1- Hyannis Half marathon. I ran 1:18 here which was a breakthrough race for me. It was a new PR and was 3 minutes faster than last year on the same exact course- very similar conditions.
2- RunVermont Unplugged half marathon. I ran 1:16:57 here which was another breakthrough and over a minute faster than my last half marathon. This was a USATF certified course and also my Garmin had it at 13.15.
3- One of my athletes ran 2:50 in his first marathon as a 47 year old dad and teacher. I couldn’t have been more proud. By the way- he did zero speed work (because he was relatively injury prone at the time). Just goes to show how fast you can get on aerobic run training (QT2 zone 1). It makes perfect sense since the marathon is 99% from the aerobic system.
4- 3rd overall at the inaugural Rev3 half ironman. Looking to improve there this year and go for the win.
5- 4th overall at Mooseman Olympic distance with the fastest bike split of the day and backed it up with a fast run. I hadn’t had the fastest bike split at any race for years. My bike training was really paying off. Couldn’t have been happier.
6- Ironman Coeur D Alene. I came into this race with a 500 pound gorilla on my back. After many attempts at qualifying for Kona I still hadn’t made it there. At each previous attempt I either had an injury or botched my race execution (pre-QT2 days). I nailed this race and when I hit the final finishing stretch of the run I can honestly say it the most intensely overwhelming feeling I’ve ever experienced in my athletic career. You can see the finish from about a half mile out ---very wide long straight section. The road is lined with hundreds of spectators. With about a ¼ mile to go and knowing roughly what my time was going to be I completely burst into tears. I had left nothing on the table---I raced as fast as I could have on the day and that’s all I can ask for. When I crossed the line and pretty much collapsed- they brought me to the med tent area where I sat down and proceeded to cry as hard as I think I’ve ever cried. I’m talking loud extreme crying- completely uncontrolled that you can’t hold back. All the years of hard work, sacrifice, failed Kona attempts, all the time away from friends and family all culminated in this one moment of severe catharsis. There was a volunteer with me who witnessed this and said “you probably want to call someone”. I said yes and she handed me her phone. This was as close as I’ll ever get to having to a Rocky Balboa moment (yes this sounds cheesy but I don’t care). I called Lindsay who didn’t come to Idaho as we were trying to save money and I was on a sole mission to qualify for Kona. That call was my “Adrian I did it call”. I lost it again on the phone with Lindsay. I really did it. By the way I didn’t know yet if I actually qualified or not but I knew I had the best race I could have had. I found out the next day that I qualified!!
7- VT sun sprint distance- 3rd overall here and went 1:00:52. This was 30 seconds faster than last year and as best I can tell it was the 4th fastest time in the history of this race. Looking to break an hour there next year. By the way- I had done zero speed work up to this point but yet was holding 5:40 pace off the bike.
8- Seeing an athlete of mine break the women’s course records in the sprint and Olympic races at VT Sun. So proud!!!
9- Riding 100 miles in 4:29 (22.3 mph av speed) at ironman heart rate. Breakthrough!!
10- Seeing one of my athletes break 5 hours at Vineman and then backed it up with another sub 5 performance at Timberman.
11- Setting a new bike course record at the Waterbury long Time trial (14 miles).
12- Racing Ironman Hawaii!!!!!!!!!!!!! Need I say more? This was a triathlon orgasm.
13- Seeing one of my athletes finish his first ironman in Florida. So happy and proud!!!
14- Seeing Lindsay absolutely crush a half marathon. She got 7th in a field of 1200 women and broke 1:32 on a certified course which was a PR!! Felt so good to see her nail this race!!
15- Seeing an athlete of mine get second in the world in her age group at the Half ironman world championships (Clearwater). Can’t wait to her see her fly in 2011!!
1- Hyannis Half marathon. I ran 1:18 here which was a breakthrough race for me. It was a new PR and was 3 minutes faster than last year on the same exact course- very similar conditions.
2- RunVermont Unplugged half marathon. I ran 1:16:57 here which was another breakthrough and over a minute faster than my last half marathon. This was a USATF certified course and also my Garmin had it at 13.15.
3- One of my athletes ran 2:50 in his first marathon as a 47 year old dad and teacher. I couldn’t have been more proud. By the way- he did zero speed work (because he was relatively injury prone at the time). Just goes to show how fast you can get on aerobic run training (QT2 zone 1). It makes perfect sense since the marathon is 99% from the aerobic system.
4- 3rd overall at the inaugural Rev3 half ironman. Looking to improve there this year and go for the win.
5- 4th overall at Mooseman Olympic distance with the fastest bike split of the day and backed it up with a fast run. I hadn’t had the fastest bike split at any race for years. My bike training was really paying off. Couldn’t have been happier.
6- Ironman Coeur D Alene. I came into this race with a 500 pound gorilla on my back. After many attempts at qualifying for Kona I still hadn’t made it there. At each previous attempt I either had an injury or botched my race execution (pre-QT2 days). I nailed this race and when I hit the final finishing stretch of the run I can honestly say it the most intensely overwhelming feeling I’ve ever experienced in my athletic career. You can see the finish from about a half mile out ---very wide long straight section. The road is lined with hundreds of spectators. With about a ¼ mile to go and knowing roughly what my time was going to be I completely burst into tears. I had left nothing on the table---I raced as fast as I could have on the day and that’s all I can ask for. When I crossed the line and pretty much collapsed- they brought me to the med tent area where I sat down and proceeded to cry as hard as I think I’ve ever cried. I’m talking loud extreme crying- completely uncontrolled that you can’t hold back. All the years of hard work, sacrifice, failed Kona attempts, all the time away from friends and family all culminated in this one moment of severe catharsis. There was a volunteer with me who witnessed this and said “you probably want to call someone”. I said yes and she handed me her phone. This was as close as I’ll ever get to having to a Rocky Balboa moment (yes this sounds cheesy but I don’t care). I called Lindsay who didn’t come to Idaho as we were trying to save money and I was on a sole mission to qualify for Kona. That call was my “Adrian I did it call”. I lost it again on the phone with Lindsay. I really did it. By the way I didn’t know yet if I actually qualified or not but I knew I had the best race I could have had. I found out the next day that I qualified!!
7- VT sun sprint distance- 3rd overall here and went 1:00:52. This was 30 seconds faster than last year and as best I can tell it was the 4th fastest time in the history of this race. Looking to break an hour there next year. By the way- I had done zero speed work up to this point but yet was holding 5:40 pace off the bike.
8- Seeing an athlete of mine break the women’s course records in the sprint and Olympic races at VT Sun. So proud!!!
9- Riding 100 miles in 4:29 (22.3 mph av speed) at ironman heart rate. Breakthrough!!
10- Seeing one of my athletes break 5 hours at Vineman and then backed it up with another sub 5 performance at Timberman.
11- Setting a new bike course record at the Waterbury long Time trial (14 miles).
12- Racing Ironman Hawaii!!!!!!!!!!!!! Need I say more? This was a triathlon orgasm.
13- Seeing one of my athletes finish his first ironman in Florida. So happy and proud!!!
14- Seeing Lindsay absolutely crush a half marathon. She got 7th in a field of 1200 women and broke 1:32 on a certified course which was a PR!! Felt so good to see her nail this race!!
15- Seeing an athlete of mine get second in the world in her age group at the Half ironman world championships (Clearwater). Can’t wait to her see her fly in 2011!!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Ironman Hawaii Experience 2010
Let me just start by saying this race and this experience were everything I have dreamed them up to be and more. This race is truly the ultimate mental and physical challenge. This is the most competitive triathlon in the world and I savored every second of it (except for the flat- more on that later). It was such an honor to have qualified and it meant the world to me be here, this race is the heart and soul of our sport. Before I get into it though, I need to acknowledge my family who puts up with this lifestyle. It is no easy task to train to race at this level and work 40 hours a week. It is a great deal of training time which doesn’t leave much room for family time. Lindsay- thank you so much for your support, you are my dream girl and my best friend. Brian, Megan, Scott, Ben and Matt- thank you for understanding and not giving me a hard time when I need to train. Mom and Dad thank you for teaching me how to work hard to achieve what I want. Meghan, Jared, Bridget, Molly, Buster, Murphy, Jess, Sean, and Aspen thank you for being patient with me when I need to train when visiting or when you visit us. Sue and Mac- I know you think I’m crazy rolling around in my spandex all the time but thanks for being in my corner.
Over the years I have watched all the coverage and read many race reports about Ironman Hawaii. Through this media exposure I had learned about many special spots in and around Kona. It was thrilling to visit each of these “special spots” during the trip. Lava Java was the first one on my list. I. Love. Coffee. Lava Java is a really awesome coffee shop right on the race course. This sounds corny but I had dreamed of being able to walk in there and have a cup a few days before the race. Once we got there it was everything I had hoped it would be- seriously. You know how some things aren’t as good as you had pictured in your head? Well this was even better. It was very close to the ocean and had outdoor seating that overlooked it---unreal!!! The coffee was the best I have ever tasted- really!! I have tasted a lot of coffee in my life and I can honestly say that 100% Kona coffee is the best there is. Lava Java also had the best tasting 100% Kona coffee that I tasted on the island.
The next “special place” on the list was Dig Me beach—the swim start area and a spot I had dreamed of being able to get in. I got in on Wednesday before the race for a practice swim. Again this was even better than I pictured in my head. The water was incredibly clear and the perfect temperature. There were many brightly colored fish and I was pretty much in heaven. I love open water swimming period and here I am at the race of my dreams swimming with fish!!
OK moving on- the bike check in was Friday – the day before the race. It was quite a production just getting into the transition area. As you walk in there is a long 200 foot section before the entrance of the transition area lined by a fence all along the right side. That fence was lined with at least 100 reps from various cycling related companies, from bicycle companies to pedal companies to components- they were all there. Many of them were sitting in lawn chairs and all of them had a clipboard and pen and were making notes about the bikes as we walked by. This made me feel like a rock star for a moment. The reps were looking at everything- one guy asked me what saddle I had (I have a neoprene cover over it). Once I got into transition athletes are assigned one volunteer who went through EVERYTHING related to transition. My volunteer showed me where to put my T1 and 2 bags and the flow of the transition area. I had never been to a race that did this- very helpful especially with such a big transition area.
The rest of the day before the race was spent off my feet as much as possible and trying to ease the anticipation of the race. I have to say I had more fear built up about the swim start than for any other race. I am a very confident and comfortable open water swimmer but Ironman Couer D’Alene (CDA) was by far the toughest and most physically aggressive swim I had ever done - I had a moment during that swim when I thought I would drown (very choppy waves, cold and big swell and extremely crowded and full contact that didn’t let up). Everyone kept saying wait until the Hawaii swim start—warning me that that it is the most physical and intense swim of all races. In my head I thought if Hawaii is going to be worse than CDA I am in really in for an extremely tough swim.
On race morning I made my way down to the start with Lindsay and some QT2 team mates. Lindsay was the ultimate race Sherpa!! Body marking – this is the only race I’ve been to that stamps the numbers on—very cool. I just want to point out that the volunteers at this race are incredible!! I heard there were about 5000 volunteers. Thank you a million times over to all the volunteers. We met several of them after the race that flew in just to volunteer!! Now that is cool!
Once I got my new Blue Seventy swim skin on I headed toward the Dig Me beach swim entrance. Out of the sea of bodies appeared my training buddy Jason Frank! It was very cool to hang with him in those last few minutes before the start. We were the only Vermont men in this race!
Once in the water I made my way up toward the front. This was a deep water start (probably about 30 feet deep at the start line). The sun was on its way up at this point. I positioned myself way up front and to the left near the floating Ford car (yes there was a Ford floating on a big buoy platform). I was way on the left side and about 2 rows back. The plan was to go out very hard and try to get ahead of the masses (something I didn’t do at CDA). I felt this would reduce the craziness for my swim as well as set me up for a good swim split. The swim splits tend to be much slower than at other IM swims due to no wetsuit and the currents. We treaded water for about 8-10 minutes although it wasn’t too bad at all- not as bad as the Lake Placid deep water start which is more crowded. The salty water makes us very buoyant. There were people on surf boards and referees paddling back and forth across the line to make sure no one crept up too far. By the way, I want to point out that the refs in this race were awesome. They made for clean hard racing. On the bike there was a ref on a motorcycle visible at all time for at least the first 30 miles on the Queen K highway. They gave out many penalties. Ok back to the swim- the cannon was about to go off. There was no warning and then BOOM!!!!!! We are off- I was super aggressive and went out hard- usually I back off when there are people all over me and next to me. I didn’t care, I pushed hard and felt great. I swam at sprint distance race pace for about the first 400 yards at which point I found myself with clear water on either side of me and feet ahead of me. I said to myself I must be off course or something- sighted- nope right on course. I can’t believe I am not getting beat up. I thought OK it’s going to get worse- I am going to get beat up bad—just be ready for it. I hit the boat turnaround in 30:30 holy shit I am flying. I forgot there was likely a current helping me but still I was psyched and felt great. My main focus on the swim was pulling water with perfect form. I focused on holding as much water as I could with a strong catch and long powerful strokes. Really I felt great. I pushed hard on the way back and it did feel a little like we were swimming a bit slower. I hit the sand and looked at my watch 1:06:30. YES!!!!!!!! This is a great swim for me and I was very much in the mix! The CDA swim was waaaay harder than this!!!
Out to transition as fast as I could and put my socks and shoes on. Once on the bike I took an extra 20-30 seconds and put on my new SCAPE sunblock. I highly recommend this product. My training buddy got severe burns last year at Hawaii and I really didn’t want to take any chances. This stuff stays on!!!! I didn’t get burned! The sun here feels hotter and stronger than anywhere I’ve been including Mexico. Out on the bike- it was chaos for the first 30 miles or so. There were so many of us!! Refs on motorcycles everywhere. I had to stay focused to make sure I was always moving forward through a draft zone or not within one ahead —just the slightest lapse in focus would be a penalty. I had to waste a little bit of energy to always move through a draft zone and get ahead and it was way better than getting a penalty. It was just a necessary evil at this point. By mile 40-50 I was averaging 22+ miles an hour with heart rate in zone 1 and felt great.
Once we got into the windy section of the course- I couldn’t believe how strong these cross winds were. Unbelievably strong gusts that would come in hard and almost knock me off the bike. I couldn’t ride aero through this section. I could see how
riding the course ahead of time would be good- learning how much to lean and how to anticipate these winds in the aero position would have helped. I had to stay sitting up through most of this. It was extremely difficult and amazingly hot.
Around mile 60 or so (about a half mile before the turnaround in Hawi) I feel a thump thump thump. I looked down and realized the worst, a flat tire. This was the most gut wrenching feeling- here I am in the biggest race of my life and I have the first flat in over 10 years of racing. I was really upset. I got off the bike and start changing it- doing my best to keep my composure. My mentor and QT2 founder Jesse Kropelnicki rode by and said In a very calm confident tone- “it’s a long day, you’ll be fine”. This definitely helped. My training buddy Jason Frank went by going the other way and yelled “stay calm John” stay calm”. That helped too. Got the flat fixed and it seemed like I pumped it up too much with the CO2 so I let some out (this took some extra time to take the valve extender off again). I got the wheel back on and start back on my way. Mentally I felt beaten at this point. I was so mad and disappointed. I had been riding so well and feeling so great. I pretty much didn’t get my head back on straight until I started the run. The last 40 miles of the bike were just plain brutal. The winds were insane- mostly the cross winds- I couldn’t ride aero through this. Also my glutes and lower back started hurting. This is an ongoing issue that is much better than it has been in the past but is still affecting me. My heart rate was low and legs felt OK – no cramping or anything. I was nailing my fueling and hydration. It was so hot that I drank 3 x 24 oz bottles in the first hour and still didn’t pee. I drank at least 2 bottles an hour and never peed once on the bike!! Now that is hot! Anyhow I definitely lost more time over the last 40 of the bike due to my back. I am going to get this fully corrected by IM CDA 2011. I was eager to run and just told myself I would let the race come back to me.
On to the run- I felt amazing. I felt like I hadn’t even biked—not kidding. Between the flat and then not being able to push as hard as I can due to my back my HR had been pretty low during the second half of the bike. I looked down at my run pace and found that I was running low 6 minute pace!! And my heart rate was only at the top of zone 1. This is insane. Second mile was 6:10, third mile was low 6. HR was still low. I hit mile 9 in 1 hour flat and was just blowing by people. Once we hit the climb up Palani I started feeling like I had gone out too hard. I continued to run steady and strong but just not with the same fervor I had in the first 10 miles. I was still pulling people back and feeling pretty good. No cramping, no stomach problems. Moving well. The first out and back on Alii drive were by far the hottest on the run course. Once we got onto the Queen K- the heat really wasn’t too bad at all. I think this is why there were so many fast run times this year. As I brought it in the final mile-I was just trying to savor this experience. The crowds were amazing. As I made the turn onto Alii the crowds got deeper and louder! I was very happy to break 10 hours despite the flat tire. It only fuels me to want to come back. I cross the line in 9:56:04 and a 3:17:00 marathon.
It was great to be there with the QT2 Systems crew. We qualified 13 athletes this year! QT2 is the reason I have made progress over the last few years. Up until 2007 I was plateauing. If you want to learn how to race Ironman and not just slog though it come see what QT2 does. There is a reason QT2 athletes run so well off the bike. The real highlight for QT2 at Kona was Cait Snow getting 8th overall woman. She was the top American and ran the second fastest marathon in the history of Kona (2:56:04). Her marathon time was faster than Mirinda Carfrae’s course record set in 2009. Miranda ran 2:53 this time around. All of the QT2 men broke 10 hours this year with a handful of sub 3:05 run splits. Way to go QT2!!! It’s all about the run!!
Over the years I have watched all the coverage and read many race reports about Ironman Hawaii. Through this media exposure I had learned about many special spots in and around Kona. It was thrilling to visit each of these “special spots” during the trip. Lava Java was the first one on my list. I. Love. Coffee. Lava Java is a really awesome coffee shop right on the race course. This sounds corny but I had dreamed of being able to walk in there and have a cup a few days before the race. Once we got there it was everything I had hoped it would be- seriously. You know how some things aren’t as good as you had pictured in your head? Well this was even better. It was very close to the ocean and had outdoor seating that overlooked it---unreal!!! The coffee was the best I have ever tasted- really!! I have tasted a lot of coffee in my life and I can honestly say that 100% Kona coffee is the best there is. Lava Java also had the best tasting 100% Kona coffee that I tasted on the island.
The next “special place” on the list was Dig Me beach—the swim start area and a spot I had dreamed of being able to get in. I got in on Wednesday before the race for a practice swim. Again this was even better than I pictured in my head. The water was incredibly clear and the perfect temperature. There were many brightly colored fish and I was pretty much in heaven. I love open water swimming period and here I am at the race of my dreams swimming with fish!!
OK moving on- the bike check in was Friday – the day before the race. It was quite a production just getting into the transition area. As you walk in there is a long 200 foot section before the entrance of the transition area lined by a fence all along the right side. That fence was lined with at least 100 reps from various cycling related companies, from bicycle companies to pedal companies to components- they were all there. Many of them were sitting in lawn chairs and all of them had a clipboard and pen and were making notes about the bikes as we walked by. This made me feel like a rock star for a moment. The reps were looking at everything- one guy asked me what saddle I had (I have a neoprene cover over it). Once I got into transition athletes are assigned one volunteer who went through EVERYTHING related to transition. My volunteer showed me where to put my T1 and 2 bags and the flow of the transition area. I had never been to a race that did this- very helpful especially with such a big transition area.
The rest of the day before the race was spent off my feet as much as possible and trying to ease the anticipation of the race. I have to say I had more fear built up about the swim start than for any other race. I am a very confident and comfortable open water swimmer but Ironman Couer D’Alene (CDA) was by far the toughest and most physically aggressive swim I had ever done - I had a moment during that swim when I thought I would drown (very choppy waves, cold and big swell and extremely crowded and full contact that didn’t let up). Everyone kept saying wait until the Hawaii swim start—warning me that that it is the most physical and intense swim of all races. In my head I thought if Hawaii is going to be worse than CDA I am in really in for an extremely tough swim.
On race morning I made my way down to the start with Lindsay and some QT2 team mates. Lindsay was the ultimate race Sherpa!! Body marking – this is the only race I’ve been to that stamps the numbers on—very cool. I just want to point out that the volunteers at this race are incredible!! I heard there were about 5000 volunteers. Thank you a million times over to all the volunteers. We met several of them after the race that flew in just to volunteer!! Now that is cool!
Once I got my new Blue Seventy swim skin on I headed toward the Dig Me beach swim entrance. Out of the sea of bodies appeared my training buddy Jason Frank! It was very cool to hang with him in those last few minutes before the start. We were the only Vermont men in this race!
Once in the water I made my way up toward the front. This was a deep water start (probably about 30 feet deep at the start line). The sun was on its way up at this point. I positioned myself way up front and to the left near the floating Ford car (yes there was a Ford floating on a big buoy platform). I was way on the left side and about 2 rows back. The plan was to go out very hard and try to get ahead of the masses (something I didn’t do at CDA). I felt this would reduce the craziness for my swim as well as set me up for a good swim split. The swim splits tend to be much slower than at other IM swims due to no wetsuit and the currents. We treaded water for about 8-10 minutes although it wasn’t too bad at all- not as bad as the Lake Placid deep water start which is more crowded. The salty water makes us very buoyant. There were people on surf boards and referees paddling back and forth across the line to make sure no one crept up too far. By the way, I want to point out that the refs in this race were awesome. They made for clean hard racing. On the bike there was a ref on a motorcycle visible at all time for at least the first 30 miles on the Queen K highway. They gave out many penalties. Ok back to the swim- the cannon was about to go off. There was no warning and then BOOM!!!!!! We are off- I was super aggressive and went out hard- usually I back off when there are people all over me and next to me. I didn’t care, I pushed hard and felt great. I swam at sprint distance race pace for about the first 400 yards at which point I found myself with clear water on either side of me and feet ahead of me. I said to myself I must be off course or something- sighted- nope right on course. I can’t believe I am not getting beat up. I thought OK it’s going to get worse- I am going to get beat up bad—just be ready for it. I hit the boat turnaround in 30:30 holy shit I am flying. I forgot there was likely a current helping me but still I was psyched and felt great. My main focus on the swim was pulling water with perfect form. I focused on holding as much water as I could with a strong catch and long powerful strokes. Really I felt great. I pushed hard on the way back and it did feel a little like we were swimming a bit slower. I hit the sand and looked at my watch 1:06:30. YES!!!!!!!! This is a great swim for me and I was very much in the mix! The CDA swim was waaaay harder than this!!!
Out to transition as fast as I could and put my socks and shoes on. Once on the bike I took an extra 20-30 seconds and put on my new SCAPE sunblock. I highly recommend this product. My training buddy got severe burns last year at Hawaii and I really didn’t want to take any chances. This stuff stays on!!!! I didn’t get burned! The sun here feels hotter and stronger than anywhere I’ve been including Mexico. Out on the bike- it was chaos for the first 30 miles or so. There were so many of us!! Refs on motorcycles everywhere. I had to stay focused to make sure I was always moving forward through a draft zone or not within one ahead —just the slightest lapse in focus would be a penalty. I had to waste a little bit of energy to always move through a draft zone and get ahead and it was way better than getting a penalty. It was just a necessary evil at this point. By mile 40-50 I was averaging 22+ miles an hour with heart rate in zone 1 and felt great.
Once we got into the windy section of the course- I couldn’t believe how strong these cross winds were. Unbelievably strong gusts that would come in hard and almost knock me off the bike. I couldn’t ride aero through this section. I could see how
riding the course ahead of time would be good- learning how much to lean and how to anticipate these winds in the aero position would have helped. I had to stay sitting up through most of this. It was extremely difficult and amazingly hot.
Around mile 60 or so (about a half mile before the turnaround in Hawi) I feel a thump thump thump. I looked down and realized the worst, a flat tire. This was the most gut wrenching feeling- here I am in the biggest race of my life and I have the first flat in over 10 years of racing. I was really upset. I got off the bike and start changing it- doing my best to keep my composure. My mentor and QT2 founder Jesse Kropelnicki rode by and said In a very calm confident tone- “it’s a long day, you’ll be fine”. This definitely helped. My training buddy Jason Frank went by going the other way and yelled “stay calm John” stay calm”. That helped too. Got the flat fixed and it seemed like I pumped it up too much with the CO2 so I let some out (this took some extra time to take the valve extender off again). I got the wheel back on and start back on my way. Mentally I felt beaten at this point. I was so mad and disappointed. I had been riding so well and feeling so great. I pretty much didn’t get my head back on straight until I started the run. The last 40 miles of the bike were just plain brutal. The winds were insane- mostly the cross winds- I couldn’t ride aero through this. Also my glutes and lower back started hurting. This is an ongoing issue that is much better than it has been in the past but is still affecting me. My heart rate was low and legs felt OK – no cramping or anything. I was nailing my fueling and hydration. It was so hot that I drank 3 x 24 oz bottles in the first hour and still didn’t pee. I drank at least 2 bottles an hour and never peed once on the bike!! Now that is hot! Anyhow I definitely lost more time over the last 40 of the bike due to my back. I am going to get this fully corrected by IM CDA 2011. I was eager to run and just told myself I would let the race come back to me.
On to the run- I felt amazing. I felt like I hadn’t even biked—not kidding. Between the flat and then not being able to push as hard as I can due to my back my HR had been pretty low during the second half of the bike. I looked down at my run pace and found that I was running low 6 minute pace!! And my heart rate was only at the top of zone 1. This is insane. Second mile was 6:10, third mile was low 6. HR was still low. I hit mile 9 in 1 hour flat and was just blowing by people. Once we hit the climb up Palani I started feeling like I had gone out too hard. I continued to run steady and strong but just not with the same fervor I had in the first 10 miles. I was still pulling people back and feeling pretty good. No cramping, no stomach problems. Moving well. The first out and back on Alii drive were by far the hottest on the run course. Once we got onto the Queen K- the heat really wasn’t too bad at all. I think this is why there were so many fast run times this year. As I brought it in the final mile-I was just trying to savor this experience. The crowds were amazing. As I made the turn onto Alii the crowds got deeper and louder! I was very happy to break 10 hours despite the flat tire. It only fuels me to want to come back. I cross the line in 9:56:04 and a 3:17:00 marathon.
It was great to be there with the QT2 Systems crew. We qualified 13 athletes this year! QT2 is the reason I have made progress over the last few years. Up until 2007 I was plateauing. If you want to learn how to race Ironman and not just slog though it come see what QT2 does. There is a reason QT2 athletes run so well off the bike. The real highlight for QT2 at Kona was Cait Snow getting 8th overall woman. She was the top American and ran the second fastest marathon in the history of Kona (2:56:04). Her marathon time was faster than Mirinda Carfrae’s course record set in 2009. Miranda ran 2:53 this time around. All of the QT2 men broke 10 hours this year with a handful of sub 3:05 run splits. Way to go QT2!!! It’s all about the run!!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
All Systems Go! - Hawaii Training Update and Half Ironman Race Report
All Systems Go
This past Sunday I raced the Vermont Sun half ironman. This race fell at the end of a rest week (modified B taper for Kona) and was a perfect test to see how my Hawaii training has served me. I just finished up an extended base phase where all workouts were kept in zone 1. I am pretty aggressive with zone 1 training on the bike and run and tend to push as hard and as fast as possible without going that Z1 heart rate. This lends itself to continued adaptation at my body’s own rate as well as frequent feedback on my aerobic outputs (pace or wattage) which tell how I am progressing or not progressing. The last 8 weeks of training have been some of the best and most consistent I’ve done. I had many confidence boosting workouts and felt great in general. Some of the highlights over those 8 weeks were- 100 mile time trial at Ironman heart rate (zone 1 top on flats +5 beats on the hills) in 4:29 / 22.3 mph avg speed. This was a breakthrough ride. You ever feel like superman in a workout? Well this was my superman day. I felt unbelievable all day. I ran off the bike and by mile 2 was holding 6:30 pace in zone 1. Very good day!! The other great check I had was at our open water swim course (560yds) in Waterbury where I set a new personal best there in 7:09 (1:16 ish pace per 100yds) albeit my swim buddy John Wullf helped pace me (we pacelined!!). Anyhow I was feeling great coming into this half iron. Hoping to break 7 there next week!
Race day-
Swim- Got out fast and was in the front pack around first buoy. Felt great immediately! Had some issues with my goggles- may need a new pair. I love Aquaspere but the nose piece stretches out over time. Held steady in clean water until someone went by and I jumped on their feet. Had a nice set of feet for most of the swim even leap frogged a few times and bridged up to another swimmer. Very happy with how my swim is progressing as this is usually a liability for me and I have lacked consistently good swims in races. I was 4th out of the water in our wave.
Swam 26:32 for 1.13 miles. Yup the swim course was short. This equates to a 28:18 swim on an accurate course which is a PR.
Bike- Within the first 5 minutes former pro cyclist and National team member Kevin Bouchard Hall (KBH) goes by me at 28 mph. Unreal. I decided to keep him in range for about 10 minutes. I could not believe how fast he was riding and backed off to stick to my pacing plan. I just hoped I wouldn’t lose too much time to him by the end of the bike. Another guy Mike Wynn and also Dave Connery went by. It’s really pretty amazing the quality of cyclists we have in this area. As an example when I do a big 70.3 like Florida or Rev3 I almost never get passed on the bike. These guys up here can ride. However a good bike is nothing without a good run to back it up so I just stuck to my plan. The bike is the one area on the day that I don’t feel I executed as best as possible. I just actually rode too easy in the second half. HR was sometimes at IM pace which is too slow for a half. I ended up riding a 2:24 high and had the potential to ride 2:21-2:22 on the day based on my data which at this point is rock solid.
Bike 2:24 (56.32 miles)
The run- I started the run 10 minutes down to KBH. I just said to myself think of all the QT2ers who have been in this scenario and then ran everyone down. Wow this is a tough run course! I can’t believe my buddy Chris Casey ran a sub 1:22 on this last year. That is off the charts! Anyhow I felt good immediately on the run- on the flats I would look down at my Garmin and I was holding 6:00 min pace!! Felt great! The hills were really pretty tough- I would say this is the hilliest half iron run I have done. I was on a hunting safari triathlon style. I hunted down studly biker Dave Connery and went by him around mile 5.5 or so he looked pretty good and was having a great race. As I neared the turnaround I could see someone ahead and thought it was Mike Wynn- what! It’s KBH??!! I was pretty surprised I didn’t think I would catch him this soon. He looked like he was really struggling. I went by and said to hang in there and eat/drink as much as you could. At this point it was 85+ degrees. Mike Wynn went by going the other direction and it looked like had 2-3 minutes on me at that point. I had meant to start my timer when he went by so I could see how far back I was. I went as hard as I could in the second half and continued pulling Mike back but it was not enough. The dude is legit! At mile 11 I was down 2:30. At that point I knew I was going to have to settle for second- not enough real estate to hunt him down. I then decided I would focus on trying to break 4:20. I knew it was going to be very hard. I crossed the line in 4:20:02 !!!! So close !. A hair under 2 minutes back of Mike and good for second overall.
Run 1:27:18 (13.15 miles)
All in all – this was a great day for me. I ended up the day with the fastest run split (go QT2!!) and also had my best swim all season. I had no pain from some of the slight nagging things I’ve had over the last few weeks- this was a victory in and of itself. My durability has really improved! Also since it was hot- it was a great test for Hawaii.
I do need to point out how lucky I am that I have a patient family who supports these crazy dreams of mine. They put up with more than they should (especially with me having to train all the time).
This past Sunday I raced the Vermont Sun half ironman. This race fell at the end of a rest week (modified B taper for Kona) and was a perfect test to see how my Hawaii training has served me. I just finished up an extended base phase where all workouts were kept in zone 1. I am pretty aggressive with zone 1 training on the bike and run and tend to push as hard and as fast as possible without going that Z1 heart rate. This lends itself to continued adaptation at my body’s own rate as well as frequent feedback on my aerobic outputs (pace or wattage) which tell how I am progressing or not progressing. The last 8 weeks of training have been some of the best and most consistent I’ve done. I had many confidence boosting workouts and felt great in general. Some of the highlights over those 8 weeks were- 100 mile time trial at Ironman heart rate (zone 1 top on flats +5 beats on the hills) in 4:29 / 22.3 mph avg speed. This was a breakthrough ride. You ever feel like superman in a workout? Well this was my superman day. I felt unbelievable all day. I ran off the bike and by mile 2 was holding 6:30 pace in zone 1. Very good day!! The other great check I had was at our open water swim course (560yds) in Waterbury where I set a new personal best there in 7:09 (1:16 ish pace per 100yds) albeit my swim buddy John Wullf helped pace me (we pacelined!!). Anyhow I was feeling great coming into this half iron. Hoping to break 7 there next week!
Race day-
Swim- Got out fast and was in the front pack around first buoy. Felt great immediately! Had some issues with my goggles- may need a new pair. I love Aquaspere but the nose piece stretches out over time. Held steady in clean water until someone went by and I jumped on their feet. Had a nice set of feet for most of the swim even leap frogged a few times and bridged up to another swimmer. Very happy with how my swim is progressing as this is usually a liability for me and I have lacked consistently good swims in races. I was 4th out of the water in our wave.
Swam 26:32 for 1.13 miles. Yup the swim course was short. This equates to a 28:18 swim on an accurate course which is a PR.
Bike- Within the first 5 minutes former pro cyclist and National team member Kevin Bouchard Hall (KBH) goes by me at 28 mph. Unreal. I decided to keep him in range for about 10 minutes. I could not believe how fast he was riding and backed off to stick to my pacing plan. I just hoped I wouldn’t lose too much time to him by the end of the bike. Another guy Mike Wynn and also Dave Connery went by. It’s really pretty amazing the quality of cyclists we have in this area. As an example when I do a big 70.3 like Florida or Rev3 I almost never get passed on the bike. These guys up here can ride. However a good bike is nothing without a good run to back it up so I just stuck to my plan. The bike is the one area on the day that I don’t feel I executed as best as possible. I just actually rode too easy in the second half. HR was sometimes at IM pace which is too slow for a half. I ended up riding a 2:24 high and had the potential to ride 2:21-2:22 on the day based on my data which at this point is rock solid.
Bike 2:24 (56.32 miles)
The run- I started the run 10 minutes down to KBH. I just said to myself think of all the QT2ers who have been in this scenario and then ran everyone down. Wow this is a tough run course! I can’t believe my buddy Chris Casey ran a sub 1:22 on this last year. That is off the charts! Anyhow I felt good immediately on the run- on the flats I would look down at my Garmin and I was holding 6:00 min pace!! Felt great! The hills were really pretty tough- I would say this is the hilliest half iron run I have done. I was on a hunting safari triathlon style. I hunted down studly biker Dave Connery and went by him around mile 5.5 or so he looked pretty good and was having a great race. As I neared the turnaround I could see someone ahead and thought it was Mike Wynn- what! It’s KBH??!! I was pretty surprised I didn’t think I would catch him this soon. He looked like he was really struggling. I went by and said to hang in there and eat/drink as much as you could. At this point it was 85+ degrees. Mike Wynn went by going the other direction and it looked like had 2-3 minutes on me at that point. I had meant to start my timer when he went by so I could see how far back I was. I went as hard as I could in the second half and continued pulling Mike back but it was not enough. The dude is legit! At mile 11 I was down 2:30. At that point I knew I was going to have to settle for second- not enough real estate to hunt him down. I then decided I would focus on trying to break 4:20. I knew it was going to be very hard. I crossed the line in 4:20:02 !!!! So close !. A hair under 2 minutes back of Mike and good for second overall.
Run 1:27:18 (13.15 miles)
All in all – this was a great day for me. I ended up the day with the fastest run split (go QT2!!) and also had my best swim all season. I had no pain from some of the slight nagging things I’ve had over the last few weeks- this was a victory in and of itself. My durability has really improved! Also since it was hot- it was a great test for Hawaii.
I do need to point out how lucky I am that I have a patient family who supports these crazy dreams of mine. They put up with more than they should (especially with me having to train all the time).
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Ironman Coeur D’Alene 2010 Race report- part 2
What a beautiful place to race! I think CDA has got to be the most beautiful place I’ve ever raced. Additionally the town supports this race like no other. There were 3000 volunteers!! Everywhere you went there were local businesses with signs saying, “Welcome ironman athletes”. You never felt like you were intruding which is something I’ve felt before at big races.
The number 1 goal for this race was simple- execute my plan. Once you have trained properly for a race like this it really is all about how well can you carry out the plan on race day. How good are you at holding back the first loop of the bike when everyone is blowing by you? How good are you at drinking and eating a huge amount of fuel on the bike? How good are you at calculating how much fluid and electrolytes you still need at mile 90 of the bike? The answer to these questions often determines how far up the results you are.
Number 1 goal was accomplished! I nailed my execution at this race and couldn’t be happier. Outside of the execution plan my mission at this race was to get a Hawaii slot. I wanted it bad. However on race day none of that mattered- the goal was to nail my plan as closely as possible.
Swim – The CDA swim is known to be a tough swim. It’s a huge lake that can be very choppy with big swells not to mention cold. The first 20 minutes of the swim were the hardest of my whole day (with the exception of the last 3-4 miles of the run). It was quite choppy with big rolling swells but the main thing that made it very difficult was swimming with 2400 athletes at the same time. I just couldn’t get into a rhythm – I was getting kicked or bumped into or arms on top of your arms nonstop for the first 20 minutes. I just couldn’t get clear water. After about 3/4th of the way through the first lap things opened up a bit and the remainder of the swim wasn’t bad at all. When I got out of the swim and looked at my time- I was pretty surprised- 1:07. This was the second slowest I’ve ever swam in an ironman. My fastest was 1:01 in 2007 but I have done several 1:02-1:03 swims. I simply let it go and just stayed present and focused on executing the bike as best I could.
Bike-
I felt like a million bucks out on the bike. Started drinking immediately and was nailing my QT2 fueling plan (worth its weight in gold, without it I would not be going to Hawaii). The first lap I stayed below my zone 1 top (yes this was very conservative). I let people blow past me that first lap. I was riding easier than most of my training rides. Jesse and I agreed it was best to be extra conservative on the bike. By the end of the first lap people were no longer passing me. Second lap I held the same HR and also allowed an additional 5 beats on the hills. I was pulling people back left and right. Only one person passed me on the second loop. I was nailing my fueling, I felt strong, no stomach issues and no cramping. I want to point out that a few years ago I could not eat as much as I was doing here (400-450 calories an hour). Several years ago my gut would just shut down. Training with QT2 has shored up my aerobic system and I can go relatively fast at much lower heart rates than I used to – this REALLY helps digestion. I felt like I could eat a pizza out there on the bike!!! In the last few miles I was so looking forward to running (pretty sick right?). I really was – I knew my bike was conservative and I would need to throw down a solid marathon if I was going to get a Hawaii slot. Bike split- 5:17
Onto the run- by the end of the first mile- my legs felt amazing!!!! What!! I felt like I hadn’t even ridden. I tried to keep my HR down but it settled just above my zone 1 top hovering around 139/140 with the effort level feeling similar to the majority of my training runs (most of my training runs are run around 6:30-7 min pace). I looked down and see 6:40 pace and HR looks good- what!!! This isn’t happening. Yes it is. I was blowing by people left and right. My mile splits were around 6:50/6:55 the first half of the marathon with a few slower ones in the hills section. I simply felt great. I was nailing my fueling and hydration as well. Here’s where it gets interesting- at mile 22 (no one had passed me up to this point) I get passed by a guy – and he’s in my age group. You’ve got to be kidding me- I am not going out like that. I duke it out with this guy for a while but he got the better of me. I just tried to stay as steady as possible but he did get away. At mile 24 I get passed by another guy – and he’s in my age group!!!! You have got to be kidding me – let’s just make this as hard as possible. I dug deeper than I can remember over the last 2 miles- turned myself inside out and shook that guy. I stayed ahead of him to the line running myself into a Hawaii slot!!!! Run split 3:16 Overall time 9:47
Mission accomplished!
I am so happy to be heading to Hawaii in October. I couldn’t have done this without the support and understanding of my family and friends. Thank you. I am so lucky to be able to compete and train like this.
The number 1 goal for this race was simple- execute my plan. Once you have trained properly for a race like this it really is all about how well can you carry out the plan on race day. How good are you at holding back the first loop of the bike when everyone is blowing by you? How good are you at drinking and eating a huge amount of fuel on the bike? How good are you at calculating how much fluid and electrolytes you still need at mile 90 of the bike? The answer to these questions often determines how far up the results you are.
Number 1 goal was accomplished! I nailed my execution at this race and couldn’t be happier. Outside of the execution plan my mission at this race was to get a Hawaii slot. I wanted it bad. However on race day none of that mattered- the goal was to nail my plan as closely as possible.
Swim – The CDA swim is known to be a tough swim. It’s a huge lake that can be very choppy with big swells not to mention cold. The first 20 minutes of the swim were the hardest of my whole day (with the exception of the last 3-4 miles of the run). It was quite choppy with big rolling swells but the main thing that made it very difficult was swimming with 2400 athletes at the same time. I just couldn’t get into a rhythm – I was getting kicked or bumped into or arms on top of your arms nonstop for the first 20 minutes. I just couldn’t get clear water. After about 3/4th of the way through the first lap things opened up a bit and the remainder of the swim wasn’t bad at all. When I got out of the swim and looked at my time- I was pretty surprised- 1:07. This was the second slowest I’ve ever swam in an ironman. My fastest was 1:01 in 2007 but I have done several 1:02-1:03 swims. I simply let it go and just stayed present and focused on executing the bike as best I could.
Bike-
I felt like a million bucks out on the bike. Started drinking immediately and was nailing my QT2 fueling plan (worth its weight in gold, without it I would not be going to Hawaii). The first lap I stayed below my zone 1 top (yes this was very conservative). I let people blow past me that first lap. I was riding easier than most of my training rides. Jesse and I agreed it was best to be extra conservative on the bike. By the end of the first lap people were no longer passing me. Second lap I held the same HR and also allowed an additional 5 beats on the hills. I was pulling people back left and right. Only one person passed me on the second loop. I was nailing my fueling, I felt strong, no stomach issues and no cramping. I want to point out that a few years ago I could not eat as much as I was doing here (400-450 calories an hour). Several years ago my gut would just shut down. Training with QT2 has shored up my aerobic system and I can go relatively fast at much lower heart rates than I used to – this REALLY helps digestion. I felt like I could eat a pizza out there on the bike!!! In the last few miles I was so looking forward to running (pretty sick right?). I really was – I knew my bike was conservative and I would need to throw down a solid marathon if I was going to get a Hawaii slot. Bike split- 5:17
Onto the run- by the end of the first mile- my legs felt amazing!!!! What!! I felt like I hadn’t even ridden. I tried to keep my HR down but it settled just above my zone 1 top hovering around 139/140 with the effort level feeling similar to the majority of my training runs (most of my training runs are run around 6:30-7 min pace). I looked down and see 6:40 pace and HR looks good- what!!! This isn’t happening. Yes it is. I was blowing by people left and right. My mile splits were around 6:50/6:55 the first half of the marathon with a few slower ones in the hills section. I simply felt great. I was nailing my fueling and hydration as well. Here’s where it gets interesting- at mile 22 (no one had passed me up to this point) I get passed by a guy – and he’s in my age group. You’ve got to be kidding me- I am not going out like that. I duke it out with this guy for a while but he got the better of me. I just tried to stay as steady as possible but he did get away. At mile 24 I get passed by another guy – and he’s in my age group!!!! You have got to be kidding me – let’s just make this as hard as possible. I dug deeper than I can remember over the last 2 miles- turned myself inside out and shook that guy. I stayed ahead of him to the line running myself into a Hawaii slot!!!! Run split 3:16 Overall time 9:47
Mission accomplished!
I am so happy to be heading to Hawaii in October. I couldn’t have done this without the support and understanding of my family and friends. Thank you. I am so lucky to be able to compete and train like this.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Ironman Coeur D Alene 2010 Report – Part 1 / What Kona means to me
Have you ever wanted something so badly that it just shadowed you everywhere? You just couldn’t shake it. Everything reminded you of it.
I couldn't shake how badly I have wanted to go to Ironman Hawaii. It haunted me. The H word was not even spoken in my house for fear of jinxing but rather referred to as the "special place”. When I would see the word Kona or Hawaii I would have a flash of how bad I wanted to qualify and I would quickly re-direct myself so as not to bring up bad feelings. As a kid I dreamed of being like Mark Allen and Pauli Kiuru (look him up if you don't know who he is - SIZU). After many years of doing shorter triathlons I began racing Ironmans in 2005. The last 5 years of ironman racing were littered with many disappointments and failed Kona attempts that came close to breaking my spirit. Why do I want this so bad? Kona is the only real world championship in our sport. It is the most competitive triathlon in the world. All other world championships in our sport do not even come close to the depth and quality of athletes that race on the big island. I wanted it bad. When people would ask, “oh have you raced Hawaii?” “Oh my cousin, brother, sister races it every year…” – you might as well stick a spear right through my heart. It is mind blowing how difficult it is to get to Kona.
In 2008 after having to walk half the marathon at Ironman Lake Placid (due to an injury), I was so upset I was ready to quit the sport. 2007 had been a DNF at LP. The morning after LP 2008 when I woke up next to Lindsay and looked in her eyes and saw how deeply upset she was, she was crying and couldn't believe how all the hard work I had done could just get washed away in the blink of an eye. Seeing her cry like this made a deep imprint on me and a motivation to succeed like I had never felt before. I wanted this for us. She wanted me to get there as much as I wanted to get there and this meant the world to me, I wanted us to get there. Most people don't realize how hard ironman training is on the spouse of the iron athlete. It is simply ridiculous. Our sport is very selfish there is no denying that - but it is a necessary evil to do well. Ironman racing requires a great deal of very difficult and time consuming training.
The last half mile of ironman CDA was just one of the most overwhelmingly emotional, satisfying and exhausted moments I've ever experienced. I started crying in the final stretch as I pumped my fists in personal victory. I knew I had gone as fast as I could on the day and the tears were in recognition of all I sacrificed to reach this one moment- all the times I had to miss out on hanging with family to train, missed out on beers with friends, and missed out on late night concerts. Once across the line I could hardly walk or stand up- they brought me to the med tent area where I proceeded to cry harder than I can remember. All the hard work, all the sacrifices I made to reach this moment. I did it. I just kept saying I did it. The volunteer at the med tent asked if I wanted to use her phone to call anyone. I immediately called Lindsay. We did it babe. We did it.
I couldn't shake how badly I have wanted to go to Ironman Hawaii. It haunted me. The H word was not even spoken in my house for fear of jinxing but rather referred to as the "special place”. When I would see the word Kona or Hawaii I would have a flash of how bad I wanted to qualify and I would quickly re-direct myself so as not to bring up bad feelings. As a kid I dreamed of being like Mark Allen and Pauli Kiuru (look him up if you don't know who he is - SIZU). After many years of doing shorter triathlons I began racing Ironmans in 2005. The last 5 years of ironman racing were littered with many disappointments and failed Kona attempts that came close to breaking my spirit. Why do I want this so bad? Kona is the only real world championship in our sport. It is the most competitive triathlon in the world. All other world championships in our sport do not even come close to the depth and quality of athletes that race on the big island. I wanted it bad. When people would ask, “oh have you raced Hawaii?” “Oh my cousin, brother, sister races it every year…” – you might as well stick a spear right through my heart. It is mind blowing how difficult it is to get to Kona.
In 2008 after having to walk half the marathon at Ironman Lake Placid (due to an injury), I was so upset I was ready to quit the sport. 2007 had been a DNF at LP. The morning after LP 2008 when I woke up next to Lindsay and looked in her eyes and saw how deeply upset she was, she was crying and couldn't believe how all the hard work I had done could just get washed away in the blink of an eye. Seeing her cry like this made a deep imprint on me and a motivation to succeed like I had never felt before. I wanted this for us. She wanted me to get there as much as I wanted to get there and this meant the world to me, I wanted us to get there. Most people don't realize how hard ironman training is on the spouse of the iron athlete. It is simply ridiculous. Our sport is very selfish there is no denying that - but it is a necessary evil to do well. Ironman racing requires a great deal of very difficult and time consuming training.
The last half mile of ironman CDA was just one of the most overwhelmingly emotional, satisfying and exhausted moments I've ever experienced. I started crying in the final stretch as I pumped my fists in personal victory. I knew I had gone as fast as I could on the day and the tears were in recognition of all I sacrificed to reach this one moment- all the times I had to miss out on hanging with family to train, missed out on beers with friends, and missed out on late night concerts. Once across the line I could hardly walk or stand up- they brought me to the med tent area where I proceeded to cry harder than I can remember. All the hard work, all the sacrifices I made to reach this moment. I did it. I just kept saying I did it. The volunteer at the med tent asked if I wanted to use her phone to call anyone. I immediately called Lindsay. We did it babe. We did it.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Rev3 Half Iron Race report 5-9-10
What a great weekend I had!! Not only did I get to hang out with my Dad, my brother and my step mom I got to race an inaugural event put on by a relatively new race organization and I have to say Rev3 put on a top notch race!
This inaugural event was held in Knoxville, Tennessee. The focal event was an Olympic distance race with a $50,000 pro prize purse. They had a deep field of pro men and women. They also put on half iron distance event which only had amateurs- this is the race I was in. The race fell at the end of a rest week and was perfect timing for a half iron before Ironman Cour D Alene on June 27.
Knoxville is pretty cool place to hold a race. If you’d heard anything about the Rev3 in CT held last year – you know how tough the course was. Apparently Rev3 likes to find tough courses—good call! This venue had us swim in the Tennessee river- first upstream then downstream. Next we rode through downtown Knoxville (read up and down, up and down) and out of town through some very rural areas. This bike course had very little flat—you were either going up or going down. The run was a rolling course with a lot of it on a bike path.
Race morning –
At 5am promptly I had my 3 cups of unsweetened applesauce as written in my QT2 fueling plan. My dad took me to the race site where we scored a perfect parking spot. I have to point out that my dad was the ultimate race sherpa and host this weekend. I am so lucky to have such a giving dad—he really went out of his way to make sure things were good for me while I was there. Thanks Dad!
Transition set up went well- all things were looking good. In a word my area was: simple. All I had to do upon exiting the swim was put my helmet on and go. For T2 all I had to do was put shoes/socks on, race belt and grab my Garmin and fuel. That’s it---no frills. I’ll get to why this was key below.
The swim –
Over the last few months with work and coaching my swim volume has been lower than planned and to account for this I’ve increased the intensity of my swimming. The swim was an area I wasn’t carrying as much confidence as I have with bike and run fitness currently. Gun goes off- I started off with perfect pacing- not too hard, just right. I had a set of feet almost instantly and was not even getting beaten up! That’s a first. Things spread out quickly and before I knew it my arms just felt really tired- aerobically I felt like I was barely working but my muscles just couldn’t stimulate enough power. I just need to get in more swimming. I tried to hang tough but I just wanted the swim to be over. Finally I make it the dock in 30:50—OK I thought- that’s not too bad. I hit the timing mat at 31:20. I just kept saying – let the race come back to me, let the race come back to me. I exited transition with the eventual winner who I went back and forth with all day. By the way- the eventual winner swam over a minute faster than me but I started the bike with him. Do the math—see my comment about my transition area!!
The bike-
I settled right in at half iron wattage—legs felt great. I was flying. The first 2 miles were some of the only flat sections of the bike- I was holding around 26mph!! We then went up a steep climb and then dropped right into the city. From there it was all up and down with fast technical turns. This course rewarded solid bike handling! I was swooping in and out turns and just simply hauling ass.
At around the 20 mile mark – a guy at an aid station said I was in second! I could see a guy ahead of me who I was rolling up on fast (the eventual winner was no where in sight behind me). I caught and past that guy and was wondering if I actually was in the lead. I kept sticking to my pacing plan although I was going more by heart rate (QT2 zone 2) since after the first few miles my power meter stopped working – I think the batteries are dead. Anyhow as we get within a few minutes of the turnaround I see the guy who was actually in the lead absolutely hammering and is way out in front. Where is the turnaround? How could this guy be so far ahead? You’ve got to be kidding me! This guy was flying. After the turnaround I could tell I had a good gap on everyone behind me—I just kept plugging away. By mile 45 or so I got caught by a guy (the eventual winner) and let him get up the road a but kept him in a safe distance. He went really hard on the most significant climb we had in the race—similar to the hard side of Duxbury gap. I stayed even with him on the climb but had to dig a bit to do so. Coming into the city again we had a series of short steep climbs- he punched it hard on those and I decided to let him go thinking I would run him down.
I was off the bike in third, no back pain and I was ready to run!!
Run-
Once my Garmin synced up – I looked down and was running 6:12 pace! Great – that’s perfect. I was feeling good. I could tell I was pulling back the guy in front of me. By mile 6 or so I started getting IT band pain—what??! This was a somewhat new issue that hasn’t bothered me until recently. I had to back off a bit- - I just couldn’t run really aggressively like I wanted to –for instance on the short downhills I held back. I also forgot my shot blocks but instead grabbed a gel at each aid station and had half a gel every 2 miles to mimic my protocol with the shot blocks. I also drank about 3-4 oz of sport drink at every aid station. I got passed by a hard charging dude from Atlanta and moved into 4th. Then around mile 10 I caught the guy who led off the bike and had obviously cooked his run legs by riding too hard. He was going backwards and not looking good. I moved back into 3rd.
I crossed the line in 3rd overall and 4:29:33. I couldn’t be happier. Even with the IT band issues I ran 1:25 on a rolling course which I’m happy about.
Overall Rev3 put on a first class race on par with (and even exceeds) any Mdot race I’ve done. There were so many little details that just made the experience great. The transition area had little placards with your name on it; they had ice baths at the finish, athlete tracking, and 2 great t-shirts. The venue was huge- big staging area, huge finish chute with megatron video screen. They take your picture at chip timing pick up and then post it on the big screen as you cross the line. The volunteers were amazing. There were plentiful aid stations, I never once felt like I was wishing there was a closer station. Each station had 10-15 people!! They had gels/sport drink etc. Everything was first rate- I highly recommend checking out some Rev3 races. These guys are the real deal.
On the flight home I got to hang and chat with Jasper Blake (he was 9th overall in the pro race) in the airport and on the flight. Really nice guy and killer athlete. It was great to pick his brain on a number of training topics and just shoot the breeze with him.
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