Fat No Mas - Triathlon Workout bLog

28 November - 11 December 2011

2011-12-12T12:26:00.000-08:00

Ironman Hawaii World Championships was this past Saturday. I found it very inspiring. I enjoy watching the pros race although they always present it in a way that's tough to follow in detail... if you care. They also covered a number of age grouper stories, perhaps more than usual, but not in quite as much depth. There were also quite a few struggling oldsters they tracked across the finish line at the end. Because my goal and desire is to qualify for this race, I watch it with a particular mindset and interest. Once again it made me think: "WHAT IS YOUR PASSION?! WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? WHAT DRIVES YOU? WHAT ARE YOU CAPABLE OF?"

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Ironman Arizona was 3 weeks ago now. It seems like a lot longer to me. 1 1/2 weeks ago I got into the pool twice, plus started on upper body and core strength training. I wanted to give my legs an extra week to recover. The mid-week swim I wasn't quite ready but by the weekend I was feeling back to normal. I finished the weekend with my head and heart starting to feel that it was time to ease back into training, to begin preparation for Ironman Texas and trying to win my age group to get that slot for Kona. I had begun seeing a new physical therapist that I believe and hope has the magic touch to quickly eliminate the plantar f-ing-itis in my right heel that I totally inflamed at IMAZ. He uses A.R.T. and claims a nearly perfect success rate. (We'll just see about that.)

This past weekend was a frustrating week. My intention was to ease back into training beginning Tuesday, getting in a couple of workouts in each discipline, plus two weight sessions, all of a relatively short duration. When I got in the pool on Tuesday an intercostal strain across my upper left chest and back made swimming go from uncomfortable to nearly impossible. I had to get out after 600 yards. I realized I would be setting myself back if I continued to force it. Went to the weight room and did what I could for upper body and core, avoiding anything that caused pain in the chest. This was my 2nd week of this and I stuck with the same weights, sets, and rep count as last week.

Got on the Elliptical on Wednesday to do a 10 min warm up for weights. When I realized it wasn't bothering my strain, I continued for another 20 min for 30 total. I was a happy puppy after that! Did a 40 min elliptical on Saturday and a final strength training session. Sunday was my first time back on the bike since Arizona and it was a nice 2 hours - to Oceanside harbor and back - without a heart rate monitor or a concern for speed or effort. Finished the day with a nice 45 min walk with Linda and the dogs and a beautiful sunset.

Today I've got sore glutes and quads but that should be gone by tomorrow. My intention is to get some loosely structured training in - 2 swims, 2 rides, and 2 elliptical runs. Also will get 3 full strength trainings in. Will see the physio therapist twice for my heel.

Ironman Arizona 2011 - Full Race Report

2011-11-26T13:33:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Arizona on Thursday afternoon in time to check in for the race. I didn’t want to wait until Friday in case something unforeseen happened. The 6 hour drive from San Diego had to be solo due to some family issues that had Linda drive out with Son2 that night. Stayed at our usual hotel – Hyatt Place in Mesa, Arizona – because it’s freeway close to the venue, is very roomy, comfortable, and clean, and is priced well. It’s also close to a huge shopping area that includes Bass Pro Shop and their restaurant where I have my pre-race meal. With this being my 3rd Arizona Ironman I felt less of a need to be there on Wednesday. I swam before I left on Thursday and then skipped the Saturday Tempe Lake swim. The main training I did once there was to ride the run course and the start/finish of the bike course. With the right heel not in perfect shape I opted to do no running and save it all for Sunday.

For various reasons, Son1, Pasadena Trojan, ArmyMat, and Italiphil were unable to make the trip this year as they did in 2010. This year I had 3 “Get Sladed Nation” t-shirt wearers. First let me say thank you to my amazing wife for all her love and support, and most especially on the day. This Ironman thing is IMPOSSIBLE without her. Son2 (22 years old) was a fantastic sherpa who did it with fine humor and focus. I think he got to see his dad in a little bit different light this time and that’s a good thing. Mom also came out for a 2nd straight year with huge amounts of enthusiasm and love.

Coming into the race I had to physical issues. The first was the plantar fasciitis in my right foot (previously it had been a left foot issue). This limited my training mostly to the elliptical machine. I have felt that there is a hierarchy in substitute training, with water running a little below the elliptical. For this reason I focused on elliptical, since it at least offers some gravitational effect. With only 3 weeks left I began to slowly add running on solid ground or on the treadmill. By race day my longest actual run on solid ground was 5 miles - not the best race preparation! The other issue was also heel related. While icing my heel earlier in the week I left the ice on too long and it was too cold. I ended up "burning" the skin on the bottom and at the back, making socks and shoes very uncomfortable. I was greatly concerned about my discomfort and the possibility of skin breakdown while on the run. Fortunately it was early enough in the week that, with the help of frequent Aquaphor applications, the skin didn't crack or blister and was good on race day. The random scratch/cut that I had on my toe was taken care of with "liquid" bandage.

I did not sleep well the night before. It was frequent waking and sleeping. I didn’t let it trouble me but just tried to relax. On race morning everything went smoothly. Was ready on time, as were Linda and Son2. My checklists were checked and once again nothing, including the bike nutrition (left at hotel in 2009), was forgotten. Arrived about 5:10, got the bike pumped and the nutrition placed, put running shoes into the run bag and the rented GPS tracker in the bike bag. Then I stood in line for the portapotty before taking my Special Needs Bags to the drop spots. It seems like it took forever but was done in less than 10 minutes. For some reason I then decided to go into the changing tent to put on my wetsuit and was surprised to find it to be warm and not dark. I did some stretching and muscle activation in the tent before going outside to use my handled rubber tubing to warm up for the swim – especially my lats, which burn and hurt on the swim if I don’t. From there it was time to turn in the morning swim bag with my warm clothes and other stuff I had used that morning. From there I stood waiting to go through the “Swim Out” exit. While there I realized I’d forgotten my last minute nutrition and wondered what I’d done with it. I decided to let it go since it wasn’t worth trying to push through the crowd to see if it was in the Morning Bag. With the pros in the water they now moved us to the small dock where we were to jump into the 61 degree water. I removed my socks, pitched them in the trashcan, and jumped.

I swam the 100 or so yards to the start. We treaded water, waiting for the pros to start 10 minutes before us and once they were off the age groupers moved forward. Kayakers keep us behind the line if they’re doing a good job, which seemed not to be the case. Mike Riley wasn't doing his usual scolding of the kayakers and athletes this time, though, and I think in hindsight it was because they were preoccupied with a malfunctioning timing mat at the swim exit from transition. Anyway, I couldn’t quite get to the front and was 3 or 4 swimmers back. It gradually began to get tighter and tighter, like sardines in a can. The national anthem was being sung when I felt a slight irritation in my wetsuit sleeve. When I went to adjust it I found my “lost” nutrition right where I had stashed it. I waited for the Black Sabbath Ironman song to play just before we were to start but it never came. In fact, there was no countdown or 30 second warning either. With 20 or 30 seconds before the canon I looked over to my right and saw that it was a bit less crowded so I extracted myself and moved over just in time.

Off we went (3 minutes late at 7:03). I didn’t get hit or pulled on but there was a lot of contact that sometimes inhibited my arms from pulling or recovering properly. This lasted for the first few minutes and was repeated periodically for the first half as we swam east, directly into the sunrise. Unlike usual, I didn’t feel that I swam particularly straight, although I aimed straight at the sun, an easy target. I WAS able to do a fair amount of drafting which allowed me to expend a bit less energy while still maintaining my pace. I made more of a conscious effort to do just that. I stuck pretty closs to the buoys once I was about 2/3 of the way down the first part of the course. As the age groupers thinned out, drafting was less possible or practical. With about 1000 yards to go, leg cramps were right there in the background, ready to grab me. Altering movement slightly, along with more kicking than in past swims, helped.

I got to the seemingly impossible-to-climb metal stairs and got out with the help of a strong volunteer. The swim went well and was at a comfortable effort. Very happy with that split since I held back and had a steady effort, remembering that it would be a long day and to leave my "swimmer ego" at home. Split: 1:00:40, 1^st in age group, 164^th overall.

Once I got my wetsuit off my shoulders I layed down and had 2 enthusiastic strippers peel off my wetsuit, pull me up to a standing position (a cramp in my hamstrings was growing), and off I ran to be handed my bag and get my bike stuff on. In the change tent I got some fantastic help from a volunteer attending to my needs. I opted to skip putting the arm warmers on as I didn’t feel that cold. This was a choice I would regret. I DID remember to put my bike gloves on, something I somehow left in the bag last year. I ran out in my bike shoes, grabbed my bike, watched someone almost wipeout as they ran out the exit in their bike shoes, ran to the mount line, and did my running mount. Knowing that the exit was a slight uphill leaving transition I had left my bike in 2^nd gear to make pedaling very easy. Transition was a reasonably fast (for me) 5:49, 3^rd fastest T1 split in age group, 406^th overall.

It feels great to get out on the road with so few others out there yet – fewer than 200, including the pros. The bad part about that is it always makes me want to push harder than I should to keep the crowd at bay. Mistake #1 occurred in transition when I chose not to wear arm warmers. While it wasn’t windy, the sun didn’t come out for the first half hour. I froze and literally shivered for the first 10 miles on the bike, leading me to push too hard and hurt my quads. When I finally realized what I was doing I knew I'd likely pay for this later. It showed on the 2nd loop bike split. The first loop was 1:45, probably 5 minutes too fast, while the 2^nd and 3^rd ones were both 1:53. I searched for any way I could to take the pressure off the quads, especially the left one. 1/2 way thru loop 2 it was at least getting less uncomfortable. The 3rd loop my legs felt in better shape. There was a pretty good headwind coming down the "hill" that is the Beeline Hwy. This slowed my 3^rd split some.

Bike nutrition went fine. My 4 hour Perpetuem bottle with about 280 calories per hour was finished at the 3:59 mark. I drank less than 40 oz of Nuun electrolyte-spiked water during that time, though it felt like the right amount given the temperature and humidity. It probably wasn't. I drank Perpetuem about every 15 min followed by some sips of water, plus some more swallows of water in between. Once the Perpetuem ran out I switched to Hammer gel. Originally I’d planned on using a Hammer nutrition bar for 220 calories but in prepping it for the ride I realized it would be too soft and gooey so went with a gel bottle. When the Speedfil bottle of Nuun water ran out I got water on the course to refill it on the fly and had SaltStick capsules in a container. The first water I got would not squeeze into the Speedfil frame-mounted bottle. The next aid station was just after the turnaround so on the way up I yelled to a volunteer that I wanted a bottle with no cap on it. 45 seconds later the awesome volunteer was handing me that requested bottle and in the water went without a problem. I probably shouldn’t have taken all 20 oz since there was less than an hour left and I wasn’t drinking that fast. On the other hand I probably should have been drinking maybe 4-5oz more each hour than I did. Mistake #3: the SaltStick container didn’t work properly (I hadn’t fully tested it in maybe a year… oops!) so it was a challenge to get the caps out without stopping but I problem solved that as well. I also took half a tab of caffeine every 75-90 minutes from a container in my Bento Bag. Plus 1 Immodium at the final turnaround.

Mentally I stayed even throughout. I appreciated the natural beauty along the Beeline Hwy. I had a Navajo healing song playing constantly in my head when I was otherwise quiet. The ride felt way shorter than any of my long training rides.

Biggest negative besides the quads? Many of the uber bikers with their fast and fancy rigs would get into packs and have a draft fest, making little to no attempt to stop except when the refs appeared. Very disappointing to have people do this intentionally. Yes, a 3 loop flat-ish course gets crowded but I'm just saying. I believe I raced with integrity.

As I approached transition I undid my bike shoes and road with my feet on top so I could jump off and run in just my socks. I also eased up a little during the last mile or so and backed off the gears to hopefully help me run off the bike. Was it a benefit to back off? Doubtful. Split: 5:31:50, 2^nd or 3^rd fastest split in age group, 504^th overall. (Intermediate split: 100 miles ~4:50) See detailed splits below.

After dismounting and handing my bike off to a volunteer, another volunteer called out my number while a 3^rd retrieved my bag. Into the tent I went. Yet another volunteer attended to all my needs, asking if I needed this or that item. I gave him my helmet and other unneeded items which he put into the bag, handing me my compression socks, etc. I put on my belt with a nutrition bottle and zipper pouch attached, pulled on my pink breast cancer hat, and ran out of the tent, avoiding the volunteers smearing sunscreen on people. (I use Scape sunblock.) My time in transition was much shorter than last year’s 6+ minutes, only partly because I forgot to stop and pee. Transition 2 split: 2:46, 4^th in age group, 340^th overall. I left transition in 1^st place for my age group.

After less than a hundred yards I realized I still had my bike gloves on! It was an easy choice to not stop and go back to drop them off. I just had to decide what I’d do with them. After a couple hundred more yards I stopped at the portapotty to pee while restfully leaning on the wall. That was a very nice, calm and quiet minute and a half stop.

Had hamstring cramps twice on the first 2 mi. but was patient, held it together mentally, and didn’t rush to get back running. Looking back I’m surprised that I actually handled this so wisely and with clear thinking. I think it was because I knew this was just the beginning of the run and if I tested them too much in the beginning it could very easily turn into a very long, slow 26 mile walk. The cramps were likely a consequence of compensating on the bike for smashing the quads and trying to adjust. Thanks to this being a 3 loop figure 8 course, I had access to special needs after a mere 4ish miles. I learned from IMTX to stash ace bandages in the bag and wrapped my left hammie with one. Because I didn’t think I’d have access to the bag a 2^nd time, I carried the 2nd ace with me just in case. I probably should have wrapped one of my calves with it but never did. The other benefit of grabbing the SNB was that I could stash my bike gloves in that bag and not have to continue carrying them the rest of the way. Not realizing I should have stopped right where I got the bag, I walked maybe 50 feet with the bag. A spectator took it and returned it to Special Needs for me. (Technically I suppose that was a rule violation… oops.)

Plantar F-ing-itis heal pain arrived at mile 6 and was a constant companion, slowly increasing as each mile passed. I don’t know if my splits will bare this out but aside from the appearance of pain and the mental concern that this caused, the act of running was starting to feel good and to feel right at this point. Those feelings lasted to a varying degree through much of the 2nd loop. Sidenote: when I went to pack my shoes away for the trip home I discovered some gum or candy stuck to the bottom of the right heel (my bad foot). Stuck in that gum was a small rock about ½” think. I heard this clicking noise somewhere mid-race and thought a small piece of gravel had gotten temporarily stuck. I had no idea it was still there. Probably didn't do my heel or running gait any good!

The quads hurt the entire time but I suspect that's true for everyone pretty much. Didn't cramp any more but I walked a tightrope with that, being cautious enough not to do something to jeopardize my ability to run. When I saw the Get Sladed Nation for a second time around the 3^rd loop, Linda told me that I was in 3^rd for my age group. This gave me incentive to dig deeper on that 3^rd loop and try to maintain my effort. I was about to tell them that 12 ½ minute miles was all I had in me. I managed to run the hill in Papago Park on the first two loops but had to walk it the 3^rd time. That 3^rd one gave me my worst mile split of the day – 15:04. I knew my mile pace was slowly crashing but I could do nothing about it. It had nothing to do with cardio conditioning. It was all about lack of specific training and muscles unable to do more. My mile splits are below. I missed more of the mile sign markers than usual, or else they just weren’t there. A nearly one hour gap on splits makes them a bit less useful. Most disappointing part? I just didn't have more to give than I did.

Nutrition went pretty smoothly. I took in the ½ strength/diluted gel I was carrying before every or every other aid station, followed by water or ice water from the stations. Put ice under my hat when it was available to help stay cool. I took in electrolytes in the form of SaltStick capsules at every other station. I walked every aid station as planned since I use a run-walk-run for distance running. For the first time in any of my Ironman races I never had to resort to taking in the aid station sports drink, or defizzed Coke, or other food on the course.

The last mile or two before you get within about a ¼ or ½ mile from the finish is the quietest, darkest part of the course. I was aware of another 55+ year old near me so I did not walk or take nutrition in at the last two aid stations. I had a feeling that others in my age group had passed me at some point during the final loop but it is dark in many places on the course and you also never know who is on their 2^nd loop or their final one. I did know that I could do something about the guy I was aware of and considered it a race between he and I. Eventually, though, I couldn't find where he was.

I can proudly say I walked less than ever on this run, despite my heel and my lack of training. I did not give in to any extended walks (except for that final hill walk in Papago Park.) There are a number of reasons for being successful in this area. I was mentally prepared more than ever for this, thanks to my mental training with Kirsten at Awesomeness of You and also thanks to my 3 previous Ironman races. It was my goal to be mentally strong and stay mentally even during the race in order to accomplish this. My run split may not have shown this because my overall speed suffered from lack of training.

I was also able to run more because of the previously mentioned information I received from Linda that I was in 3^rd place. Even if I had no control over how fast the others were racing I knew that to give into the walk would be giving up on placing. My splits show that I slowed down significantly but it wasn’t a result of giving in to the pain. Finally I had another internal incentive to keep running. It came from a comment from one of my online training plan coaches. I emailed a question about how I should alter the taper given that I had not been able to run more than 5 miles and had instead relied on the elliptical for training. His comment to me was that I should not do longer running than I’d already done but should add walking since I would likely be running and walking in the race. This was actually sound advice but in my quick reading of it I took it to mean that I couldn’t run the marathon as expected and that I would be walking a LOT. This turned into a challenge in my head which lead to a “you don’t know who you’re dealing with” attitude. Run split: 5:05:53, 23^rd in age group, 1338^th overall.

One more thing about the run... As a result of severe Ulcerative Colitis back in my late 20's I had my colon removed. This makes nutrition and bathroom "management" a challenge sometimes, especially in an Ironman. Around mile 8, at the end of the first loop of the run, I began to get gas and umm, waste, build up. Due to my "altered plumbing", gas cannot be released by itself without "other consequences”. The only way is to have a seat in the portapotty or the gas, etc. backs up in the small intestine. Not very comfortable. I weighed my options and chose this discomfort because I wasn't sure I'd be able to stand back up if I sat down in one of the orange huts on the course!

One of the things I am pleased with about this race is that I managed to once again have fun out there, making quick jokes with spectators and volunteers, expressing gratitude, and embracing what the day brought. I can also report that, unlike Ironman Texas, I did very well at being emotionally even throughout the day, thanks in a huge way going to Kirsten and her guidance. In addition to training long and hard physically, I worked hard on the mental side so that I could race well and so that I could reach my goal of “staying emotionally even”. While I started that mental training knowing I was strong mentally, I also knew there was room to improve. I found that improvement with Kirsten’s help. The two other people who were part of my “team of coaches” were Diane Buchta who taught me the ways and methods of strength training that she first taught to Mark Allen (among others) many years ago, and the coaches behind the MarkAllenOnLine training plan that I followed for the 19 weeks leading up to the race.

Sorry, one more thing about the mental side: even though I was struggling on much of the run I still appreciated my surroundings and the actual running. Despite my declining splits, I did well at focusing on the whole race and the process, not just the splits. I paid attention to what my body seemed to be capable of. I would note every split I took on the run but then I went back to the “doing”. Being in the moment, in the present, not getting ahead of myself, helped me race the way I did. It could have been ugly out there if I hadn't kept my head focused on where it needed to be.

11:46:56, 9^th place in my age group and 699^th out of 2,565 who started, was way slower than I'd hoped for but it was still a best time by about 5 minutes (11:52:02). I can honestly say that I'm proud of this anyway because I had NOTHING left in the end. It was an amazing and painful day, a difficult and rewarding journey, that I will ultimately remember for all it’s successes.

Bike Splits:
Loop 1 - 1:44:49 (58:19/46:29); HR137max/121ave and 138/120
Loop 2 - 1:52:56 (60:00/52:56); HR138/119 and 128/115
Loop 3 - 1:54:01 (54:03/59:58); HR131/120 and 133/118
Run Splits:
Official -
2.5 mi - 10:58/mi
9.0 mi - 10:09/mi
8.5 mi - 12:02/mi
6.2 mi - 13:39/mi
5:05:53 - 11:40/mi
Watch splits -
1mi ? – Heart Rate 127max/118ave
2mi 12:29 – 127/117
3mi 8:38 – 129/122
4, 5 mi 21:32 (10:46ave) – 136/125
6, 7 mi 21:09 (10:35ave) – 129/125
8, 9, 10 mi 30:34 (10:11ave) – 141/127
11mi 11:26 – 124/117
12mi-17mi 58:18 – 129/116
18mi 12:12 – 122/114
19mi 24:35 (12:17) – 129/117
20mi12:13 – 120/113
21mi 24:51 (12:26 ave) – 119/113
22mi 15:04 – 115/106
23mi 12:39 – 115/109
24mi 13:42 – 120/112
?

Ironman Arizona 2011Race Report - Abbreviated

2011-11-21T04:13:00.000-08:00

First let me say thank you to my amazing wife for all her love and support today. This Ironman thing is IMPOSSIBLE without it. This year I had 2 other family members come out. Son #2 (22 years old) was a fantastic sherpa who did it with fine humor and focus. My mom also came out for a 2nd straight year with huge amounts of enthusiasm and love.

11:46 and 9th place was way slower than I'd hoped for. I can honestly that I'm proud of this anyway because I had NOTHING left in the end. It was an amazing and painful day. Here's a quick race report. Of course I'll write a long, ridiculously detailed one later and post on the blog.
If I could advise anyone on training it would be this: While training on the elliptical machine due to an injury is an effective substitute, having only 3 weeks of running on solid ground (longest training run of 5 miles) is NOT the best way to prep for an Ironman!

The swim went well and was at a comfortable effort to be honest. Very happy with that split since I held back and had a steady effort, remembering it would be a long day and to leave my "swimmer ego" at home. Most disappointing part? They did NOT play "Ironman" by Black Sabbath before the start!

I froze and shivered for the first 10 miles on the bike, leading me to push too hard and hurt my quads. When I finally realized it I knew I'd pay for this. It showed on the 2nd loop. I searched for any way I could to take the pressure off, especially the left one. 1/2 way thru loop 2 it was at least less noticeable. The 3rd loop had a pretty good headwind coming down the "hill" that is the Beeline Hwy. Biggest negative besides the quads? Many of the uber bikers with their fast and fancy rigs would get into packs and have a draft fest, making little to no attempt to stop except when the refs appeared. Very disappointing to have people do this intentionally. Yes, a 3 loop flat-ish course gets crowded but I'm just saying.
Had hamstring cramps twice on the first 2 mi. but was patient and held it together. Likely this was a consequence of compensating on the bike for smashing the quads and trying to adjust. Thanks to this being a 3 loop figure 8 course, I had access to special needs after a mere 4ish miles. I learned from IMTX to stash ace bandages and wrapped my left hammie. Carried the 2nd one just in case and probably should have wrapped one of my calves. Plantar F-ing-itis heal pain arrived at mile 6 and was a constant companion. Quads hurt the entire time but I suspect that's true for everyone pretty much. Didn't cramp any more but walk a tightrope with that. I knew my mile pace was crashing but I could do nothing about it. It had nothing to do with cardio conditioning. It was all about lack of specific training and muscles unable to do more. Most disappointing part? I didn't have more to give than I did.

Oh, one more thing. As a result of severe Ulcerative Colitis back in my late 20's I had to have my colon removed. This makes nutrition and bathroom "management" a challenge sometimes, especially in an Ironman. I know this may be Too Much Information but I'll put it delicately. Around mile 8 of the run I began to get gas and umm, waste, build up. Due to my "altered plumbing", gas cannot be released by itself without "other" consequences. The only way is to have a seat in the portapotty or the gas, etc. backs up in the small intestine. Not very comfortable. I weighed my options and chose this discomfort because I wasn't sure I'd be able to stand back up if I went into the one of the orange huts on the course!

So, to conclude this, the other thing I am pleased with is that I managed to once again have fun out there, making quick jokes with spectators and volunteers, expressing gratitude, and embracing what the day brought. I can also report that, unlike IMTX, I did very well at being emotionally even throughout the day, thanks in a huge way going to Kirsten and her guidance at AOY. Thanks in part to fellow 50+er Cari's success, I decided to change training up this time around and use the basically supported markallenonline.com. It was a good change for me but probably isn't for everyone.

LINDA’S MUCH MORE FUN RACE PLAN – IMAZ 2011

2011-11-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago Skip did his first Ironman and wrote a very detailed Race Plan and I mean DETAILED!!! In my professional opinion it seemed a bit obsessively detailed (I am, after all a licensed clinical social worker) so I did what any good wife would do, I countered his plan with my own: a more tongue in cheek version and then followed it with a Race Day report. This year, since Skip has more groupies, er, I mean fans/athletes following his progress, I am offering a chance for you to experience the life of the spectator.

A little background, it was April 4, 2009 at the Ironman California 70.3 (or a half Ironman for the uninitiated) that I realized that a full Ironman TOOK ALL DAY LONG. That’s a lot of sitting around doing nothing, especially when the competitors are out on the course for hours at a time. You aren’t allowed to chase after them in your car since they frown upon vehicles on closed roads. I don’t have a motorcycle or Vespa so I needed to come up with a plan to spend my 12 – 15 hours (depending on when I start the clock) especially since I can only expect to see my husband 3 – 6 times during this block of time AND only for a maximum of 30 seconds at that! I could dutifully sit and wait for his reappearance and nap, read, knit, text, Facebook and/or chat or I could make good use of my time in between his magical appearances – especially since he had provided us with expected timeframes and splits.

In 2009, the first time Skip did IMAZ, he had three on-site members of the Get Sladed Nation (Son #1, Pasadena Trojan and me, Julie McCoy your Cruise Director.) Last year IMAZ was a banner year for the Get Sladed Road Crew. Dressed in matching team shirts plastered with Skip’s goofy face, we were seven strong in Tempe. This year, due to personal circumstances four members of the Get Sladed Nation will be back in California and we will miss them terribly, so here’s a shout-out to ItaliPhil (Head Sherpa), Son #1 (Assistant Sherpa and Photographer), ArmyMatt (Muscle and Assistant Roadie) and Pasadena Trojan (Assistant Cruise Director and Photographer’s Assistant); however, it’s important to note that Perfect Copy (aka Son #2) is basking in his field promotion to Head Sherpa.

The first thing you need to know is that spectating an Ironman requires planning, precision and advance scouting. The second thing you need to know is it is much more exhausting than doing the Ironman. Now, you might ask how is that possible? Well, Skip will wake up at 4 am, start the swim at 7 am and he will finish around 7 pm. If you are calculating correctly you will note that this is minimally a 15 hour day. That’s a lot of waiting, watching and cheering for us. So for all of those who would never contemplate competing in a full Ironman, and to counterbalance Skip’s OCD/Anal Retentive Race Plan, here is my infinitely more relatable and probably easier to replicate plan.

Linda’s Race Day Plan And Important Details

Tempe is 1 hour ahead of California time or as my iPhone informs me Tempe is on Mountain Time
Sunrise: 7:01 am
Sunset: 5:23 pm
Temperature: Low 51/High 71
10% chance of rain at night

Skip’s Goals:

Swim (2.4 miles) Planned time: 1:03 hour (7 to 8:03 am)
Bike (112 miles) Planned time: 5:40 – 5:50 hours (8:10 to 1:50 – 2 pm)
Run (26.2 miles) Planned time: 4 – 4:30 hours (2:05 to 6:05 – 6:35 pm)

***********
4:00am Stifle my groans as Skip’s iPhone vibrates and wakes us both up. Call Perfect Copy’s room to make sure he’s up too. Try to sneak in a few more zzzz’s while keeping Skip calm while he curses that he can’t find his socks, shoes, bike shorts, salt tabs, bananas, body glide, race bib, heart monitor, cap, etc. I will gently remind him that all of these items have been accounted for and are already packed and in the van or were already turned in Saturday at the race venue.

4:20am Pack the van and double check the check lists that have already been checked and rechecked, but must be checked again.

4:35am Calm Skip down and point to his race plan that states we aren’t supposed to leave until 4:45.

4:45 – 5:00am Leave for race venue, but not before we run through MY LIST (Do you have your…) so I don’t have to run back up four flights of stairs for Skip’s bike nutrition or some other vital item.

5:00am Drop off Skip and Perfect Copy (now Head Sherpa) at the venue. Circle around the area checking for parking options for later and then picking up Head Sherpa and heading back to the hotel to pick-up Skip’s mom, JJ (DNA Contributor and Head Cheerleader).

6:15 am (and an anticipated 53 degrees) go to the swim venue to scope out the best spectator spots. The eastern bridge is an excellent spot, but this year we are considering dropping down to the river walk to try a different perspective.

6:40am Try to pick out Skip amongst the 2,800+ other swimmers. He’s planning to be 2 or 3 people from the front, about 1/3 of the way down the row. I think his cap is green. That should help, not very much since 2000 others will also be wearing green.

6:50am Get really pumped up by the music that will be playing. My favorite part is when they crank up Black Sabbath’s Iron Man.

7:00am And it begins! Mad splashing. Arms thrashing. There are some terrible crawl strokes out there and some swimmers will actually be walking along the river edge at first. Try to spot Skip amongst the swimmers, 2 or 3 people from the front row. Green Cap. Zoot wetsuit, with full sleeves. Right. No problem.

7:01 – 7:59am Stroll along riverfront, try the bridge vantage point. Try and stay warm. Head over to try and see Skip exiting the water and running up to transition. Immediately upon spotting Skip, #2861, the Get Sladed Nation will need to hoof it to the upper roadway to see him leaving on his bike. The timing is critical. If we lollygag we will miss him and spend another 30 minutes wondering if he left already and why is Transition time is so slow. Skip is now heading up the Beeline Highway, three loops, 112 miles. We are now hiking back to our car on the other side of the river.

8:30am Return to hotel to change, grab some breakfast. We have nearly 6 hours to kill before Transition #2, which should be around 2:00pm. What to do, what to do? We will check out the movie times, but first we will head up Alma School Road and see Skip pass us by a couple of times on the bike leg. (Inquiring minds will want to know, WE ARE NOT SEEING THE NEW TWILIGHT MOVIE).

10:30am Movie time!

12:00 -1:30 Get out of the movie and stop by the hotel to pick up warm clothes for the evening. Head back to Tempe Beach/Race Venue to see Skip leave transition for the run and to admire his compression socks. They look a bit like medical stockings…Then we will head up the street to Tavern On Mill (404 South Mill) to catch a couple of quarters of the Charger game and have lunch.

3:00 pm Head to the finish line to see the pros finish.

5:15pm Grab a snack and return to our run vantage point. The run course is easy to follow and the runners will make 3 loops so we can see Skip coming and going and coming and going and coming and going. We plan to shout “HIPS FORWARD!” and “GOT GUTS?!?!” and “Aren’t you about done?”

6:30pm Head to the finish line and cheer on all the Ironmen. Stand on the bleachers that bounce up and down with the hundreds of spectators all watching anxiously for their athlete. Become emotional as each runner crosses the line. Text and call the Get Sladed Nation when it looks like he is getting closer to the end and they can watch on-line.

6:50pm Anticipate the end and the accomplishment. Have my camera ready to capture the finish. Scramble down the bleachers and find Skip at the finish line with his medal around his neck and his new hat on his head. Give him a big hug and kiss and hold him as he cries and I cry.

7:15pm Watch Skip down FRENCH FRIES in the Athletes’ Tent.

8:00pm Bundle my exhausted Ironman and all his gear into the van. Hand him his O’Douls. Drive back to the hotel. Drag him upstairs to our room and throw him into the tub with lots and lots of ice.

8:30pm Head for Famous Dave’s BBQ for dinner.

Ironman Arizona Pre-Race Training Review

2011-11-15T20:03:00.000-08:00

With Ironman Arizona just 5 days away, there is relatively little training left to do. Even the taper is nearly over. Most of the extra time is spent packing and making sure I have everything I'll need, not just for the race, but for pre- and post-race too. (Some of the extra time is used to write these annoying blog posts that I subject people to.) While I "trust the taper" I've also had to make some modifications the past few days. I've had muscle fatigue and soreness in the legs so I've cut back on the biking and running more than planned. Better to go into the race with legs that are rested and fresh than to have lingering fatigue.

I find that this is a good time to review how I've spent this past 6 months, and more, in preparing for Sunday. It has been a journey that's included challenges and a persistent injury, fatigue and frustration, successes and joy (yes, joy). Following a new training plan after more or less doing the same thing for 3 years was probably long overdue. It has been an interesting change and time will tell if it was a good move.

Looking back at my training log has been valuable. During the final 2 peak weeks of training, prior to this taper, I put in more than 20 hours a week. I am a little shocked to realize that, though Mrs Sladed probably ISN'T. I know I was there. I know I did it. And I know I was fatigued. But to now look back and realize that I did indeed do the work, adds just that much more confidence in myself come Sunday. It also makes it easier for me to accept that my taper plan isn't backed off enough and that I'm right to adjust it, even though doing less is not my "normal".

Knowing that I persevered during swim training even though my speed gradually got worse; knowing that the cardio endurance remained strong; and now having my speed return in the taper gives me confidence that I'll be able to maintain what I consider a reasonable pace for me during the 2.4 mile swim. Knowing how many long rides of 5 and 6 hours I put in should help me if I have any struggles during the 112 miles on the bike. Knowing that I squeezed in a substantial number of "medium" length rides of 3ish hours on the damn trainer on weekdays means just as much mentally. And finally, knowing that while I couldn't get much real running in (5 miles was my longest training run), I didn't skimp on how long I spent on the elliptical machine as a substitute. That will get me through the marathon. And it doesn't hurt that having trained similarly in the past makes me believe that I will be successful.

When I jump into the water on race morning, wearing my signed Team Challenge Tri bright orange race top under my wetsuit, I will know that I've done the work. I also know that it will be a long and sometimes difficult day. Because of the distances involved it will challenge me and will force me to see how I respond when the pain comes and the mind screams at me to STOP. I look forward to this. This will make all the training worthwhile. It will show me if I've become stronger and if I've progressed, which to me will be one of the important measures of success. My goal is to be emotionally "even" on that run course, especially when each footstep is tough to take.

It is my intention to race with joy and gratitude and to have fun in a way that, unless you're an endurance athlete, you may not quite fully understand. I can't wait for Sunday!

Tuesday 8 November 2011 - Trust in the Taper

2011-11-08T19:44:00.000-08:00

Trust in the taper... Trust in the taper... Trust in the taper...
For the past 3 months (or longer) of swim training, I have gradually, slowly, steadily gotten slower. It has been an extended exercise in frustration. And it doesn't help that my training partner continues to get stronger and faster in the pool. Work hard, train consistently, stay vigilant with technique - you expect to see improvement at some point. When all you see is a slow erosion of your speed at every distance you swim, you begin to wonder. You have doubts about how you're training. You wonder if somehow your technique has changed for the worse. At 55 you begin to think that maybe age is catching up with you.
Trust in the taper...
The taper began last week. It wasn't all that evident in the length and intensity of the workouts, although some of them did tend to be slightly shorter in duration. The biggest difference was the stopping of strength training. It was the first of 3 weeks of no weights or resistance exercises. This past first week the difference was barely noticeable. The bike and run workouts actually felt no different. Only on Sunday during the 5000 yard swim workout did I see an incremental change. It wasn't much but it had me feeling like I would be okay after all. During the set of 9 x 300 Freestyle I could consistently hold a pace that was 1 or 2 seconds faster per hundred than the previous week.
Trust in the taper...
This is the start of the 2nd week of tapering. This morning's swim of 2500 yards was a full 1000 yards shorter than the previous week's Tuesday morning swim. The 9 x 100's Free were at a pace that I haven't been able to approach in the last 6 months. On top of that, the amount of time needed to recover between 100's was amazingly short. That's a clear indication that the two important components of speed and endurance are coming around and will be there come race day.
Trust in the taper...
Even though I've been an athlete and a coach for quite some time, when you're in the midst of it all it can be hard to have perspective. In spite of the frustration I continued to train hard, hoping that the taper would take care of it. With confidence flagging a little I also tried to keep it in perspective: the swim is about an hour out of an 11 or 12 hour day so if it didn't come together it would mean a barely noticeable 3 or 4 minutes longer in the water. Now, seeing that the taper is indeed working it's magic, my confidence in my ability to reach for my goals is returning. The bike segment will probably come together as well. The amount of time I've spent in the saddle seems to be almost 10% more than in previous years. Will it pay off? My hope is that I'll be able to maintain my speed with less effort, leaving more for the run.
Trust in the taper...
The run will be a big question mark. The heel pain has kept me from running for longer than 40 minutes at a time. This has been the worst prep leading into an Ironman that I've had compared to any of the previous 3. The one plus is that more of it has been on elliptical, with a much more limited amount done as water running. Still, running on solid ground or even a treadmill is bound to yield better results than training on the elliptical machine. Regardless of this I have a strong belief and high level of confidence in my physical and mental abilities. What that means is that I haven't ruled out the potential for doing the marathon in a PB (personal best). I can only wait and see how this "old" body will respond. One thing I know for sure is that I...
Trust in the taper!

Race Plan - Ironman Arizona 2011

2011-11-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

In the interest of sharing with others who might benefit from reading a detailed race plan, here is my race day plan for Ironman Arizona 2011. It is by no means the only way to do it but it might give someone a good outline or starting point.

Goals:

2009 splits – 12:32:02 – 1:01 / 7min32s / 5:44 (19.51mph) / 6min 11s / 5:33 (12:43/mi)
2010 splits – 11:51:07 – 1:03 / 6min57s / 5:45 (19.47mph) / 6min41s / 4:49 (11:02/mi)
A Goal – 10:59 Dream goal (very unlikely) - splits 1:03 (1:31/100yd / 6 min / 5:40 (19.77mph) / 5 min / 4:00 - (9:09/mile)
B Goal - 11:35 - splits 1:03 (1:32/100yd) / 6 min / 5:50 (19.2mph) / 5 min / 4:30 (10:18/mi)
C Goal - Finish! After all, that's what I am here to do and stuff happens.
Mental Goals – I will be emotionally "even" for the entire run, not allowing anything to get me too up or too down, until I'm within 2 miles of the finish. It will all be "up" from there. Race with joy and gratitude.

Keys for Success:

Swim: draft, reserve effort
Bike: even or negative split the 3 loops; keep heart rate in a reasonable zone (well below 133 after 1st 1/2 hour), averaging ~126
Bike: relax shoulders, hold aero position; full pedal stroke; nutrition and hydration early on bike.
Run: smooth, "easy" run pace during 1st half of the marathon; hip position; forward lean; 90 strides/min; maintain heart rate in a reasonable zone; negative split, at least in effort.
Finish strong, with joy and gratefulness

Race Week:
· Plenty of sleep – 7.5-8hrs
· Daily quiet time: gather mental energy, visualize race, mini meditations, affirmation questions.
· No caffeine for at least 3 weeks
· Minimize stress and avoid negative people around you
· Very low fiber consumption beginning Saturday
· Revisit key sections of course in training: morning swim, bike different sections, run along lake, ride the run course!

Race – Night before:

Eat early
Shave, sunscreen
Double check Special Needs bags
Lay out clothes, etc.
Mental – meditation, affirmation, visualization

Race Morning:
4am Wake up
4:05 Bathroom; Eat banana, 2 spoons of almond butter, ½ bagel, start sipping Perpetuem bottle; 1 immodium pill; supplements (magnesium, calcium)
4:15 Shave; Tri shorts and top on; Sunscreen arms, leg fronts, lower back, neck, face; Heart Rate monitor on; last minute stuff; Bathroom; checklist; Pack car;
4:45 Leave for race, sip energy drink
5:00 Race site: Bike ready: Perpetuem bottle, aero bottle with water and Nuun, 2 SaltStick tubes, computer, pump tires, check bike; Bento bag: extra electrolytes, Hammer Bar pieces, 1 gel bottle (full strength), tube with 3 Immodium pills and 6 caffeine ½ tabs, butt wipes; Body marked; Arm Warm-up; Have Linda sunscreen upper arms, shoulders, calves; wash hands; pump and sunscreen to Get Sladed Nation; Drop Special needs; Arm warm up, stretching, focus, visualize, relax, be grateful to be here
6:20 Wetsuit on, body glide, 1 gel, goggles and cap; drop warm up bag; take 1 caffeine tab
6:40 In the water, swim warm up
6:50 Get into position, just behind the front row, around center, face in water

SWIM Goal: 1:03 (63 min) note: ~1:28/100yd pace = 1:01:35
Keys for Success:
- Face in water frequently while waiting
- Fast first 200m then find someone to draft behind
- Efficient pull
- Increase kick slightly last 500m
Technique Focus:
Relaxed and strong
Steady and even-paced
Mental:
“What would it feel like to flow like water?”
"You've done the work."
"You are strong"

T1 (Transition1): wetsuit off; get bag; dump bag, wetsuit in, goggles/cap off into bag, towel spread; put on: socks, shoes, arm warmers, gloves, glasses, helmet on; race belt/number on while running; running mount on bike; Ride under control - it's not a sprint!

Bike Goal: Ride steady in order to run strong - 5:40

Keys for Success:
-Monitor HeartRate - keep below 134; early on in low 120’s
-Resist the excitement - first lap fairly easy, holding back; increase effort slightly on 2nd lap; work the 3rd lap without losing sight of the run
-Stay alert - avoid other riders and cones
-Head check top down: Aero position eyes up, neck and shoulders stretch, hydration/nutrition, breathing, flat back, stretch back, full pedal stroke
-300 calories per hour – 4 Hr. Perpetuem bottle for lap 1 and 3, Hammer gel bottle for back up
-Hammer bar pieces on 2^nd lap.
-Water - sipping 16-24 oz per hour as needed
-Electrolytes – after Nuun spiked water: SaltStick capsules every 20-30 min; more if hot
-Caffeine ½ tabs half way up, end of lap 1, ½ way down lap 2, turnaround of lap 3
-Immodium at final turnaround.

Technique Focus:

Head check top down: Aero position eyes up, neck and shoulders stretch, hydration/nutrition, breathing, flat back, stretch back, full pedal stroke
Relax shoulders
Relax into elbow pads
Stretch neck and back early and often

Head tucked, eyes rolled up

Mental:

“First lap is a warm up”

"What would it take to easily choose my greatness?”
“Sh’ma Yisrael…”
Spiritual journey

T2: shoes off at dismount, handoff bike, helmet off, socks off; compression socks on, shoes on; 2gel shot blox, 2 SaltStick bags, gel bottle belt, and wipes in pants; glasses back on if taken off, hat on, race belt moved to front, “Be Strong at the End!”

Run Goal: 4:00 (9:09/mi) to 4:30 (10:18/mi)

Keys for Success:

-Resist the excitement - walk/jog first few minutes to ease into the run to protect the heel and control heart rate - low 120's early, low 130's in last miles
-Focus on form - hips forward, forward lean with back straight, high cadence
-Take regular walk breaks - 5 min run, 30 sec walk or at every aid station
-Start at easy pace, holding back until later miles
-Take in gel or chews every 15 minutes; water every aid station
-Electrolytes - SaltStick capsule every other aid station
-Base pace on Heart Rate and perceived effort, NOT mile pace

Watchwords:

“Hips forward”
“This is a spiritual quest.”
“Be even. Be in the present moment.”
"Easy, then light, then effortless"
Mental:
“First lap is a jog”
Emotionally EVEN
“What would it feel like to run with grace, with speed, and with pure joy?”
"What if right now I am a far greater athlete than I ever imagined?”
“What have I decided is not possible that truly is possible.”
Be on a spiritual journey

0-3 miles: Jog / easy pace with 30 sec walk breaks at every aid stations. Breathing.

3-16 miles: Focus on form and efficiency. Monitor heart rate (below 128). Nutrition and hydration.
18-20 miles: The race begins. Monitor heart rate (low 130s max)
20-26 miles: Be strong at the finish. Monitor heart rate (build from 130 to mid-130s, higher last 2 miles). Be in the moment.

Century and a Half

2011-10-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today was the MS Bay to Bay Ride. A fundraiser for Multiple Schlerosis (which my father has - unfortunately his diseases don't stop there), it's a 100 mile ride on Saturday followed by a 50 mile ride on Sunday. Son1, Marc, got me to sign up for this with a couple of his buddies. As sometimes happens, they weren't able to train enough for the 100 and chose the 50 mile option for Saturday instead. With this being an important lead up to Ironman Arizona, I wasn't willing to shorten my ride. Bad dad or focused athlete... you decide.

The ride starts in Irvine, heads south along the coast, and then inland through Camp Pendleton, and popping out in Oceanside at about 48 miles. I was in the first wave of 75 or so riders. It's a "wave" start and it's "not a race" so it's not timed and they don't keep track of who finishes or when. I hung bank with the leading group for about 15 miles but began to get impatient with the low effort and finally took off with another guy. We talked a little about this and that for a few miles. A few others stayed close and would catch up periodically.

Because we were the lead riders we were escorted by a motorcycle! I use the word "escort" loosely - he generally rode slightly behind us or would ride up a 1/4 mile and wait until we caught up. He didn't seem to know the route or offer any help with the directions of the route; he didn't really seem to even know what the route was. More than once he went the wrong way and circled back. I got lost twice very briefly when there were no route arrows to be seen. These were in areas not exactly accessible to cars so that arrows could be placed. Still, it was nice having the motorcycle there.

Eventually another guy caught up while the other guy I had been riding with dropped back. We rode into the Marine base and a few miles in we suddenly had to stop at an intersection for at least 3 minutes. In front of us, crossing the road were at least 300 Marines marching in columns of 4. While I wanted to get going, it was also one awesome sight to see! They were marching with backpacks and rifles, chanting in response to their Sargents. Once we got going, through thick fog, I hung with 3 others that caught up while we waited, including a woman who knew where she was going. The guys were laboring to keep up with her, praising her for her speed and strength. I wanted to stay with her since she knew where she was going.

I took the lead for a while and we dropped 2 riders. Once we got to the 48 mile mark where there was a rest stop in Oceanside. I stopped to get the next route directions, some water and a quick portapotty visit. I stayed longer than intended because I was sort of waiting for the other 2 I'd been riding with. I could see they were in no rush, very common on a century ride, so I got back on my bike. The motorcycle guy says, "You're leaving? Don't you want to rest?" I said, "No, I don't need a rest. I'm ready to go." And off I rode. I felt badly because I think he was ready for a break. I apologized at the next red traffic light but he said it was okay, it's an adventure. I think my split on that relatively flat first 48 miles, including the Marines and the many stop lights was 2:35. This is fairly quick for me and gives me confidence in my bike fitness, especially when I consider that it came after a week that included a 3 hr ride on Thursday, a 2:20 run on Friday morning, and 4500 yd swim on Friday after work. Not to mention having to get up at 3:25 a.m. to get to the bus in the morning.

The rest of the course was loaded with hills, not one of my strengths. I did manage to stay ahead of everyone else for the rest of the ride. My only companion was the motorcycle escort. It felt pretty strange. The thing about being in front is that everyone is behind you and you don't know who is gaining on you (even though it's not a race). You also have no one else to follow. If you screw up on the route, there's no one there to tell you.

Much of the 2n half of the ride was through some beautiful back country hills through San Elijo Hills, Questhaven, Del Dios Hwy, and Rancho Santa Fe, etc. The sun made it's only appearance before the fog returned as I got back to the coast.

The motorcycle buddy was full of praise for my relentless push. With a couple miles left I began to join some of the late starting or slower 50 mile riders as everyone ended up in the same place. The finish was anti-climactic because nobody cares what place you are, let alone the fact that no one knows whether you've ridden 50 or 100 miles, which makes it funny. No one caught up to me for that last 52 miles so I was happy about that. I must repeat that this only means that I was fastest in the FIRST wave. Who knows how many from later waves rode faster! I'm sure there were plenty who rode faster than this geezer but I'm still pleased with my ride. My effort was strong and solid. I kept my heart rate in a consistent zone 2-3 pretty much the entire way. And I take away some lessons for Ironman Arizona next month.

The goodie bag, live band, and meal were all good. I met up with Son1 and his buddies and we sat around eating and recovering, which was especially nice since we didn't even see each other before the ride. Linda came and got us. The guys eventually went to watch the SC game with a college friend.

This morning was the 50 mile ride from Carlsbad to Mission Bay. We ate breakfast and then got on the road. We all stuck together for about half of it, including the Torrey Pines hill. We met back up at the top at the rest stop, where we hung out for 10-15 minutes. It seemed like forever as I (uncharacteristically) waited patiently until everyone was ready to roll again. I didn't push hard like yesterday and it was fun riding with Marc, "Bucks", and R.

As I got into La Jolla I couldn't hold back any more and just kept riding. I waited for them at one point but they never appeared so I just started riding on until the end. It was a nice ride through neighborhoods. The only downside was all the stop signs. The finish at Hospitality Point was nice, with burgers and dogs being served. Linda met us as the 3 guys finished. We hung out for quite some time until they got on the bus to go home to Santa Monica, etc.

My quads are hurting tonight for sure but it was good to push. Hopefully it will translate into strength for IMAZ in 4 weeks. Thank goodness I only had some core and arm strength work left to do after the ride. The legs had NO interest in working any more. Monday is an off day. Tuesday starts the final "Peak Phase" week of training, culminating with a Brick on Sunday - 6+ hours ride, 30 min run.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

2011-10-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was the SheRox sprint triathlon in San Diego. Linda and 3 other family members participated, all completing their 2nd tri ever. All were successful, even with less training than for their first one back in May. Linda managed to take a fall at the start of the 5K and now has skinned knees and a badly bruised palm/wrist. Of course she went on to finish with a good split on her fast walk anyway! Tracy and Diane, both Team Challenge 2011 team members also did the race and did well. They are now "seasoned pros"! Diane plans on doing an Olympic distance next year and another Team Challenge member, Mary, has her sights set on the Vineman half Iron distance next July. Seeing everyone continue to participate in this healthy lifestyle just makes me grin big!

There are now less than 5 weeks to go until Ironman Arizona. This week and next will be the hardest/longest training weeks as my efforts come to a peak. The gradual taper starts about 3 weeks out. Did a 6:50 ride last Saturday, part of it with (TC Tri) Jason and part of it with my son Marc. That's the longest I've ever spent in the saddle. The week included a mid-week 3 hour ride and a 1 hour speed workout. With SheRox last Sunday I decided to cut out one of my swims. The 2 swims I got in were a 3500 yd workout with speed efforts and a 4500 yd distance workout. My running was limited to 3 workouts on the elliptical machine - 2:05, 1 1/2 hour, and an hour speed workout. Last week was the final week of "power phase" with the weights. This week I moved into the "chisel phase".

This weekend I'll be doing the MS 2 day ride with Marc and his friends. It's 100 miles on Saturday and 50 on Sunday. In order to accommodate that I'll move my long swim workout to Friday after work. Hope I can get everything in; I always have the belief that if you've trained well and pretty consistently during the base and build phases, then the peak phase is what will mean the most when it comes down to improvement. It is what challenges you to go beyond where you've gone before.

I'm also putting some time into the mental aspects of the race, even more than in the past. With my mental yo-yoing at Ironman Texas, this should help me through the marathon. It's also gotten me to set a different type of goal for the race besides a time goal. My goal: I will be emotionally "even" for the entire run, not allowing anything to get me too up or too down, until I'm within 2 miles of the finish. It will all be "up" from there. The intention is to avoid the extremes that can have a big negative affect on the run. With the run being the leg that most people struggle with even if they are "runners", I've been working on my mental arsenal to help me to be more successful. I've gotten help from Kirsten Lewis who has a company called Awesomeness of You.

Monday 2011 September 19

2011-09-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

It's been something like 6 weeks since I've posted on my training blog. My focus has been on my athletes and training them for TriRock San Diego sprint triathlon. All 40 had a successful day, with more than 30 were doing a triathlon for the first time. After 16 weeks of training, the day was a tremendous culmination of their efforts. With Linda's irreplaceable help with the beginner swimmers and the more apprehensive newbies, all of them had a wonderful experience they'll never forget. As a team, Linda and I seemed to be the perfect balance for what people needed. As partners in this effort I think we had a synergy that many would envy. Not only that, having her be a part of this undertaking made the whole experience even more rewarding and just a lot of fun.

Though my focus has been on my athletes, my training has not suffered as much as I feared. I've missed some sleep. And I've missed a workout here and there and had to cut back a little on how many session I did but I only had to eliminate 3 low priority sessions a week: 1 was a recovery effort 60 min bike ride once a week and the other was a 30 min recovery run, which I managed to do at least half the time. I'm also not doing a 4th swim workout but I never intended to do that anyway, although I get it in ocassionally when I lead an open water workout on Thursday nights for Tri Club San Diego. I also dropped down to 2 strength training sessions a week, but it's actually how it's written up in my training plan so technically I'm doing the strength program prescribed by Mark Allen's online plan, plus a few additional exercises.

Plantar F-ing-itis has been a problem in my right foot for the past 4-6 weeks. I've done the usual kind of stuff to get it to heal, including nearly eliminating all real running and instead using the elliptical machine and water running as substitutes. I've done a seemingly high number of long rides and the swim workouts have been structured differently so my yardage hasn't been quite as big as in the past, but I'm confident it will get me there in the end.

This past Saturday I raced in an Olympic distance triathlon. It's the first triathlon I've done that wasn't a 70.3 or full Ironman in maybe 2 years. I didn't train for it specifically nor did I do any taper but I was excited to be racing again. Of course, with the foot issue, that changed things just a little. Going in I resolved not to run but to drop out and take a DNF. My race plan was to race as if I would be running but then not actually run. It took everything I had not to run because the foot felt fine thanks to all the adrenaline and endorphins and I felt good running out of transition. The excitement of competition and the knowledge that I was in a pretty good position made it tough to drop out.

As it turned out I had finished the swim and bike and left transition in 1h39m. I had a lead of 4:58 in my age group at that point. I had the fast swim split and surprisingly the fastest bike split for my age group.To be honest I think I would have been run down by the eventual winner but I had a shot at 2nd and at worst probably 3rd. Knowing this has lit the competitive fire to try to do some more shorter races again next year.

San Diego Triathlon Classic
Swim 22:59 (1st of 20; 32 of 668 overall)
T1 2:51
Bike 1:12:10 (1st of 20; 78 of 668 overall)
T2 1:15 (total time so far 1:39:15; eventual 1st place in age group was 1:44:13 leaving T2)
Run DNF (did not start either!)

After the race on Saturday I got a 2000 yd swim workout in and did strength training. On Sunday I did a 5 hour bike ride. I'm still recovering from it all - a fun and tough weekend.

Monday 1 August 2011

2011-08-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

These training blog posts have had to be few and far between since my coaching and those athletes who depend on me must come first. I have switched my own training and have been following an online plan by Mark Allen. I have had to make some adjustments in how I’ve trained in the past but not drastically. I’ve paid more attention to my HR zones and training intensity. Not that I’ve ignored those in the past but I’ve been more diligent.

The program I’ve been following has 12 workout per week and although I’ve been able to do that in the past, it has becoming too much. Last week was a meltdown of sorts. Monday evening, first day of the training week, I cut the strength training short. I just had such low energy and fatigue and felt no motivation. I skipped Tuesday’s training completely and then picked it up again on Wednesday. Sunday’s long ride of 4 ¼ hours was fine as far as performance goes but it took the rest of the day and night to recover. Part of that was probably bad fueling during the ride.

I’ve come to 2 conclusions as a result of the past week. First, taking two ½ days off of training is not the same as taking off a full day. Second, I can’t squeeze 12 workouts in over the week and coach 3 group sessions at the same time. That means making changes in my own training, including dropping 1 workout for each sport. I was already not swimming 4 times a week as this feels unnecessary given my strength in that sport. So for now I will return to taking Mondays off with the exception of doing some core work that night at home. No bike, run, or swim for sure. I will drop the low priority workouts in the plan and go from there.

I still have faith in the plan and believe I can still improve with this approach. I don’t think my body has been telling me that I’m overtraining but it is telling me I’m over-fatigued (similar but different things). I think the most efficient way for me to manage that fatigue is to adjust my training so I can remove some of the time pressure that has led to my fatigue since I don’t have many other options.

Injuries update: My shoulders are doing fine. The AC (acromial-clavical) joints hurt after swimming but very mildly. The rotators seem fine. The shoulders are good enough that I can sometimes sleep on my side without discomfort. I’m working to keep the plantar f-ing-itis at bay using the golf ball and doing exercises almost daily. This time it’s the right foot that seems to be the most tender in the hours after training. For run training I’ve been doing the Elliptical at least once a week, the treadmill once or twice, and regular real running no more than twice. Whatever the deal is with my lower back, I don’t know. It doesn’t get in the way of training at least.

I have two triathlons scheduled to race in: Ironman Arizona in November is the “A” race. I also signed up for the San Diego Triathlon Classic Sept 18, an Olympic distance event. It’s been a while since I’ve done anything shorter than the half Ironman distance.

Monday 27 June - Friday 8 July 2011

2011-07-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

The last week and a half was a good training week although one essential component, sleep, got shortchanged. Not good. Linda and I got out to Palm Desert for the weekend. I got in two 2 hour rides for training. I didn't run since I'm being cautious with my feet - don't want plantar f-ing-itis to return so I've stuck with the elliptical all last week and did my 90 min. run on a treadmill this morning. I've managed to get my two strength training sessions in per week and think that's doable.

The big training news for me is that we decided that I could get my own outside coach. I've been pretty much sticking with a similar plan for all 3 of my Ironman races and feel it's time to change things up a little to see if I can make new gains. I'm also having a hard time managing my own training while making sure everyone I coach is taken care of. In addition to all of that, since it is an online coaching service, I will gain some experience and insights in how to do that better. I trained 7 women for a sprint triathlon earlier this year and most of that was done by email, Linda being the big exception there! So not only will I benefit from a new program, it will also help me as I coach others.

I've decided to go with triathlon legend Mark Allen's training program. It will not likely involve much, if any, personal contact except maybe through email but I look forward to the experience. I respect and appreciate his approach to training and to triathlon in general and believe some of that will carry over into my training and coaching as a result. I'll begin with the program next week, which will give me 19 weeks of training. I've put in 4 weeks using my previous plan so the new training will build off of that.

One of "my athletes" on Team Challenge did a sprint triathlon a couple of weekends ago and placed 2nd in his 25-29 age group. He still has 8 weeks until his A priority race and should see a good amount of improvement as he progresses through his training. I'm tailoring a plan just for him as he has different goals compared to the rest of the Team Challenge members. Competition will be much stiffer for him at the TriRock on Sept 11.

Son1 is down this weekend so hope to go for a training ride with him on Sunday. Maybe he'll go bike shopping with us for Linda's bike. He's talked me into riding with him and some of his buddies in the MS Cure 2 day Ride that starts in Orange County, goes 100 miles on Saturday, and finishes at Mission Bay with 50 miles on Sunday. This is in October so not only will it be fun to ride with the "Lazer Wolves" but it will be good for training as Ironman Arizona approaches 5 weeks later. I've also signed up for an Olympic distance triathlon in September in San Diego. It'll be my first non-Ironman or half Ironman triathlon in over 2 years. Because of injuries and issues, everything has been focused on going long. I'm excited to race something shorter even if I'm not specifically training for the distance.

Finally, I posted a little something about the joy of swimming fast and strong on the coaching blog at if you wanna read it... no obligation!

Monday 13 June - Saturday 19 June 2011

2011-06-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

Linda had her first post-treatment MRI last week and it came back 'clean'. We are relieved and very happy. The joys of taking Tamoxifen will continue for the next 5 years, as will a rotating monthly doctor appointment.

Time is more crunched than ever so posting to my own blog has been nearly impossible. I took 2 weeks off from training after Ironman Texas, more or less. Surprisingly I was not very sore and by about the 4th or 5th day I felt like I could run again... but didn't. I saw my physical therapist and she was surprised how well I came out of the race. My body didn’t show much in the way of imbalances. I began swimming the 2nd week after IMTX and then a little running but held off on the bike a little longer.

This past week was my 2nd week of Ironman Arizona-specific training. It is a challenge to figure out how to get everything in with all the time needed for coaching others. Because they rely on me, that has to be a high priority. And my family priorities have not been in balance lately so things will have to be managed better as I learn what I can do and what I have to let go of. One of those things will likely be this weekly workout blog, as DOING the training is more important than POSTING the training. It will have to be a "hit and miss" I'm afraid. It also looks like I'll have to give up on making Monday an off day and instead take 2 or 3 evenings off instead so that I can coach. Still figuring that schedule out.

Other than the various “challenges”, things went fine this week though it’s hard to separate how I felt my training went with how my Team Challenge group trainings went. Got in nearly all my training. Strength training is a struggle though and only managed to get that in twice. I’m looking at resorting to twice a week for that with such a time crunch. Marc was down for the weekend and it was Corey’s birthday on Saturday and we had fun going to dinner. Sunday I got to start the day with a Brick workout – 1:55 ride to La Jolla and back along the coast with Marc, followed by a 20 min run. Then finished cleaning and getting ready for a family BBQ.

Monday – Treadmill Run with/4 x 20 sec sprint, 40 sec recovery; strength training
Tuesday – Swim 2500 yd, 40 min run; Team Challenge swim workout
Wednesday – Trainer Bike Ride 1:25 w/8 x 20 sec sprint, 2min recovery; strength training
Thursday - Road Run :50
Friday - Trainer Ride 1:00
Saturday – Team Challenge group ride. Swim 2700 yd (2000 Free – 28:20 w/500 splits of 7:07, 708, 704, 701 – 28:25 last week); Corey's Birthday
Sunday – Brick 1:55/:20; Father's Day

My Diet

2011-06-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a number of requests, I am going to share my diet. In doing so I need to emphasize a number of things. First, I am not a nutritionist or a registered dietitian. Second, this is not a diet in the weight-loss sense of the word. I'm not saying you won't lose weight when you limit calories and combine this with exercise but it's instead a diet that I live by, as these are the foods in my diet. Third, this diet was formulated for me because of chronic and severe inflammation of part of my small intestine (I don't have a large intestine - surgically removed due to ulcerative colitis.) An Oriental Doctor with an Eastern Medicine point of view is responsible for the restrictions found here. I began going to him on a suggestion by my surgeon when antibiotics were ineffective. Fourth, if you decide to eliminate categories of food from your diet, you want to proceed slowly. And it is important to consider how you will make up for the healthy nutrients found in those foods you are no longer eating. Finally, this does not follow the "everything in moderation" approach. It has some major restrictions which I choose to follow very closely for the most part. Therefore let's start off with the restrictions and then I will get into what I DO eat and where I do "cheat".

No dairy of any kind. That includes milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, butter, whey protein, and anything else from milk.
No meat except fish and seafood (such as shrimp). Duck is also permitted but I don't eat that either. Tthat means no beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or any other land dwelling animal.
Hot spices are not allowed. That means everything from pepper to cinnamon to chili are out.
Tomatoes (unless cooked well, such as in a sauce) are too acidic and are off the list.
No sugar, fruit juice, artificial sweeteners, and similar. That means no soda, juice drinks, or things like that. Honey is allowed in moderation. A little sugar in bread products as part of the baking process is okay.
No dried fruit
No alcohol.
Avoid preservatives and artificial anything.
Nothing eaten or drunk very hot or very cold. (I can't handle this so I have not followed this restriction.)

Have you stopped reading yet?! Those are the major restrictions. Depending on what you are used to eating, you may ask yourself, "What's left?!" There is plenty but it may not be as easy to get or as "comforting" to eat. I'll do a list with some general groups and some specific options available. These are based on current thinking about nutrition and aren't necessarily specific to my Oriental Medicine Doctor's diet.

Vegetables - steamed, boiled, raw, grilled, sauted, etc. A few examples include broccoli, cauliflower, sweet peppers, green beans, peas, carrots, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, squash, cucumbers.
Fruit - Bananas, avocado, apples, oranges, peaches, melons, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes.
All nuts as long as they are well chewed or as a nut butter.
Legumes such as kidney beans, black beans, etc
Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, corn, whole grain pasta and breads, etc. I am working on keeping all grains to a minimum.
Fats - the best to use is olive oil. If you have to use a vegetable oil then Canola and Safflower oils. The fat from fish (salmon), avocados and almonds are considered good fats. Fish oil and flaxseed oil have Omega 3's and 6's and are useful as supplements.

Based on well-respected triathlete coach and nutritionist Bob Seebohar, I try to minimize my grain consumption, including whole grains. Instead I try to get my carbohydrates from other sources, especially fruits and vegetables. It is a struggle though. I eat a bagel every morning and I often snack on pretzels that are not even whole grain. I also eat tortillas and tortilla chips. It's a constant struggle for me not to eat those things.

What do my meals look like? First, remember that I'm not perfect at this. 2nd, this is an evolving thing. It took a few tries before I forced myself to stick with the major restrictions. I'm still working at reducing grains but I've made a good start. 85% of the time I don't have grains at lunch or dinner. I am fighting against the elimination of my bagel at breakfast and I also can't seem to do without the 'crunch' and the convenience for some of my snacks. I've managed to remove bread from my lunch and I don't usually eat grains at dinner. I do eat potatoes which are not part of Seebohar's guidelines. I don't really like sweet potatoes but they are considered a much better alternative.

Pre-workout in the morning - banana, teaspoon of nut butter
Breakfast - whole grain bagel with a little almond butter and honey (or a plain blueberry bagel), 2 soy sausage patties (Morningstar Farms), banana or other fruit
Snack - fruit and nuts; OR pretzels or dry shredded wheat cereal squares (no sugar) and nut butter
Lunch - 12-16oz cooked vegetables (broccoli is my favorite) with Olive Oil, ~3 oz canned salmon or tuna, seasoning; OR salad, fruit, and canned salmon or tuna; OR cooked veggies and a garden patty (vegetable and soy-based hamburger)
Snack - same as above
Pre-workout in the afternoon - banana, and peanuts or almonds
Dinner - Salmon, baked potato, sauted mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers, steamed veggies (usually broccoli or green beans); OR veggie burger patty, baked potato, salad; OR cooked vegetables and soy meatballs, potato wedges/fries (not deep fried); OR a big veggie burrito from Chipotle (black beans, a little rice, peppers and onions, guacamole, lettuce)
Snack - fruit and nuts; and/OR frozen smoothie made from unsweetened soy milk, banana, strawberries and/or other berries, and blueberries; sometimes pretzels or chips (it's a constant battle!)

One final part to my diet is hydration, or drinking. I mentioned the restrictions of no alcohol, sugar, artificial sweeteners, fruit juice, and hot or cold temperature drinks (that restriction I ignore). Besides not drinking alcohol (unless you count O'Douls beer with its very small amount of alcohol), I don't drink regular or diet soda, fruit juice, milk, sweetened soy milk, or sweetened teas. That pretty much leaves me with plain coffee, plain tea, and water. Since I'm not a coffee fan my drink of choice is decaf iced tea, brewed in the sun... sun tea. (Sun tea is not very strong.) If I'm cold I'll make some hot tea. If I need a good smack to stay awake then I'll drink tea with caffeine, though I generally avoid it, especially during the final 2 months before an Ironman. My reasoning for this? I do not want to interfere with my ability to sleep, be it at bedtime or if I can sneak in a 10-20 min nap at work during lunch. I also can have restless legs at night and I don't want anything that might make that occur. Finally, I've experimented with the use of caffeine during races and doing that is only effective if you have been off the stuff for a good 3 weeks or more. So, on an average day, not including workouts, I probably drink about 2/3rds of a gallon of water and mild iced tea.

As I said, this may not be what you were expecting. It's how I eat. I purposely didn't include fueling for long training and races, nor did I go into pre-race meals. I also didn't go into my supplements. It's obviously not a diet that I follow to count calories either. I've gradually lost weight, 30 lbs, over the 4.5 years of multisport but that has a lot to do with exercise, overeating less often, and trying to think like an athlete, and not this diet. I've followed these restrictions for 12 or 13 years.

Ironman Texas 2011 Race Report

2011-05-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

This race report is extremely long so be warned. My audience is pretty much me and that's why I journal. But you're welcome to read or skim it.

Ironman Texas is in the books. Finished in 12:09:12, placed a distant 3^rd in my age group, and was one place short of qualifying for Kona. It was one heck of a day physically and emotionally.

I excitedly signed up for the race nearly a year earlier, thinking it would be good to try something different after doing 2 in Arizona.This was the inaugural race and I got caught up in the excitement. After deciding that training for 2 in one year was doable, I signed up. As the real training got closer, changing circumstances (Linda being treated for breast cancer, job situation) made this less than a great idea. Doing 2 full distance Ironmans some 6 months apart became less desirable. That truth was one of the things that impacted my performance. The time commitment that necessitated being away from Linda made the long bike rides especially difficult to even want to complete.
Before I get to a race report that might interest those considering doing this race or doing it again, I want to give the conclusion on how I did that I came up with a few days after finishing. In hindsight there were 4 things that negatively affected my final build and peak periods of training: 1st, time commitments – my job finally restarted and I began coaching others. 2^nd, I lacked getting complete rest during the 2 week taper period so I went in very tired, not from a training standpoint but in a general way. 3^rd, repeated injuries and strains to my calf muscles kept me from getting in the long runs needed for the marathon – 1 hour training runs are way less than half the of what is needed. And 4^th, a lack of mental focus and mental preparation really hurt my ability to cope with the run.

For me IMTX actually began the previous weekend when Linda (my wife) and I traveled to Atlanta for the Iron Girl sprint triathlon. She and 6 other family members all successfully completed their first ever triathlons. Linda did it a dozen weeks after completing chemotherapy on maybe 4 weeks of reasonable training. Her body just wasn’t ready any earlier. 12 weeks before the race I had to lift her legs into the van after we did a slow 20 min walk on the beach with a rest break at the half way point. What a woman! She had maybe 3 weeks of bike training for a course that was difficult for beginners. It was a great weekend, though it left me sleep deprived.

I flew straight from Atlanta to Texas after the Iron Girl. I was excited but exhausted. Being a support crew, Sherpa, and coach isn’t easy. Flew into Houston Hobby Airport, got the rental car, and took an hour and a half to drive the 45 or 50 minutes to my hotel. GPS had the hotel location wrong and the frontage roads along Interstate 45 were confusing in the dark for this first time visitor.

Found an awesome indoor 50 meter pool to train in that was very close by and that helped rejuvenate my spirits. My bike arrived by FedEx and I took it to my room. Went for a run and dinner and came back to put it together for my Tuesday training. No matter what I did, the rear wheel would not go back on right. On Tuesday Bikeland, a bike shop I’d seen near the Drury Inn and the pool I was using, was my next stop where I embarrassingly explained that I couldn’t put my wheel on. I said I didn’t know if it was stress or fatigue or what but could they help me. I was expecting them to quickly put it on the stand, pop on the wheel, and say no charge. And I would be oh so grateful and offer 10 bucks for 30 seconds of work.

Turned out the rear derailleur was broken and couldn’t be repaired. They had a lesser grade model in stock or I could wait until late afternoon the next day to get the same kind that I was used to. I opted for what I knew to avoid the “nothing new on race day” rule. A Specialized sales rep that was working the Ironman expo heard the tail end of my story and told me to come see him if this didn’t work out and he would make sure I was fixed up for the race with a loaner bike. I wasn’t happy with my circumstances but realized it could be worse. I was doing what I could do and it would be okay. I complained and moaned about my circumstances but gradually let go of being upset, trying to stay focused on only dealing with what I could control.

Instead of a ride I did another run, trying as best I could to be on the bike course. A side note: the course maps are pretty poor. I found them difficult to understand, as did my wife. They just aren’t very clear. After the run I ended up seeing the Chipotle, my ‘comfort food’! I like to be consistent with what I eat during race week if I can so I was happy to be eating the veggie burrito I eat at least once a week at home.

Knowing the bike wouldn’t be ready until late Wednesday, I decided that I’d drive much of the bike course without my bike available for doing some of the segments on. After a midmorning swim off I drove, getting lost several times. I found the terrain to be rolling with no hill climbs. And the scenery was, at least to this southern Californian, beautiful. I don’t have much opportunity to ride through woodlands and farm land like this course offered. Road surfaces seemed pretty good as well.

Took a nap and woke up to my phone ringing saying my bike was ready! Hooray! Got the bike, asked about where to ride (it was 4:30 and I’m not big on riding in traffic), and did a 90 min ride. It felt good and I was relieved. Saw much roadkill along the way, including my first armadillo. Went back for another Chipotle burrito and home to do some work from the laptop, which I’d been mixing in with the trip all week.

Let me say that Bikeland of The Woodlands was awesome. They were very understanding of my circumstances and the stress involved. The owner didn’t gouge me in any way. He said he wasn’t going to take advantage of my misfortune and gave me a deal on the derailleur and discounted the labor. Plus he threw in a Bikeland water bottle, which I used for the race. I can’t say enough about the good folks there.

Wednesday I got up, did some work from the room, and then swam. Around 11am I went to check in. Of course there was still a line but it wasn’t too bad. Had various conversations with people in line. Unfortunately one guy was a negative ninny who had nothing but complaints and sad stories. I’m not sure why he even participated in WTC/Ironman events. The line moved quickly enough and I would say there wasn’t one by lunch time. I did a road ride in the afternoon for about an hour because I wanted to make sure to give the derailleur and the new cable as good of a workout as I could. I didn’t want to have a stretched out cable not working correctly in the middle of the race. Went back for adjustments at the bike shop and picked up some nutrition I ordered. Everything was coming together. Now if I could just catch up on my sleep and feel rested.

Thursday I cut off my work responsibilities, made sure all my race bags were packed and ready and got a short ride and a very short run in. The Athletes’ Dinner and Meeting were at the Mariott. First class set up in comparison to IM Arizona that has it outside with less appealing food. It was great to meet and sit with some iamtri.com group members and to finally meet Robert and Bill (well, re-meet Bill). Got back to the hotel and rehearsed my speech for the Team Challenge triathlon group that I was about to begin coaching. It was the kickoff dinner and with them being in the Pacific time zone, it was perfect. Using Skype, we did a video call so I could speak to the group and convey my excitement. An hour later I drove back to Hobby Airport to pick up my #1, Linda, at midnight. It made for a late night but I was so happy to finally have her there.
My planned swim at the race venue got scrapped, choosing sleep instead. Instead I got up ate, got my bags and bike ready to turn in, and drove with Linda to transition. Check out the swim exit and then drove over to the swim start to get a line on the buoy layout. Briefly spoke to the guy in charge of the course. We took a drive to see where Linda might have a good view of the swim start and still be able to get to transition to see me in T1. Went to dinner with Linda’s cousins from Dallas at Guadalajara Hacienda. After eating most of my meal I suddenly started getting anxious and decided to leave them and get back to the hotel for an early morning wakeup.

The weather was pretty mild in the morning when I arrived at transition to stash my nutrition. It was then a nearly 1 mile walk to the swim start. Got there in plenty of time, layed down and relaxed for at least 20 minutes, and did a little stretching. Used my pull tubing to warm up for the swim and was immediately bombarded with questions from kids on the playground.

Headed over to the swim start. The pro start was at 6:50. The age groupers started to go in at 6:40 and I was among the first. I set up wide outside next to the nearest tetrahedron buoy, which I hung on to until 6:53. Without a wetsuit it meant treading water took an effort. As the weaker swimmers joined the group it really got crowded. There were a few people freaking out. When the gun went off there were hundreds still on the shore waiting to get in. In the future I hope they move the start line farther down the course so there’s more room for everyone to spread out.

There was a lot of bumping and bashing for the first few hundred yards. For me it then began to thin out. I picked some excellent lines, I believe, and managed to cut some tangents. I was never alone. I did find people to draft off of and also held back in my effort, not pushing as hard as I usually do. The swim up the narrow channel for the final quarter of the race not a problem for me but many behind me said that it was pretty crowded. The sides of the channel were pretty shallow so it was a strange sight to see people stand up at that point! Exited the stairs without a problem and heard
Mike Riley announce my name. With no wetsuit to take off I grabbed my bag and took too much time to change from my Speedo brief and get on my tri top and shorts.
I grabbed my bike, aware that I’d gone 3 to 6 minutes slower than past swims but feeling good. I ran past the mount line and past 3 or 4 other riders who were stopped and mounting their bikes. I don’t really understand why people don’t do a flying mount. It seems like it’s so much more efficient. The ride was cloudy and relatively cool. By the time I hit mile 10 my glasses were steamed up from the moisture in the air and my sweating. I wore them low on my nose and wiped them a few times but it wasn’t until about mile 45 or 50 that they stayed clear.

The aid stations were well mannstaffed, at least when I went through them. I went through about 48 oz. of water (with Nuun in it) and grabbed water 4 times from aid stations to refill my Aquacell bottle. Threw in at 1 or 2 Nuun tabs with each water I took. Also took in a Salt Stick capsule every half hour starting with hour 2 as I was beginning to noticeably sweat. Went through another 50+ ounces before the 112 miles were up. I used a 4 hour bottle of Perpetuem for nutrition but went through that in 3 hours so started in on the Hammer gel bottle I had in the Bento bag. Also grabbed 1 gel at one of the later aid stations.

Somewhere around 75 or 90 miles the Texas Highway Department decided they couldn’t tolerate the huge back up on one of the highways/farm and market roads. He had the police stop a big group of us at the intersection and we were there for a good 3 minutes. Of course it seemed even longer but I’m trying to be conservative. I started asking loudly to give us a turn, to let us have a turn, as the cross traffic wasn’t a steady flow. I was 35 riders back though and couldn’t see down the road. I stood over my bike expecting to go at any moment. I did do some stretching and my heart rate did drop nicely. When he finally let us through it was a draft fest for most of the athletes. I didn’t join in with that. After about a minute most of the pelotone was clear and I just built back up my pace. Within a few minutes I was done even thinking about the stop except to think of it as a rest break and was refocused.

Arriving in T2 I unclipped and kept my shoes on, as I thought we were told at the meeting, handed off my bike, and ran through to get my bag and run shoes on. With the portapotties unoccupied I peed for what seemed like 2 of the 3 ½ minutes I spent in transition.

Off I ran. The beginning segment is pretty deserted and strange, going through across an empty parking lot before connecting up to the loop part of the course. Right away I felt a fatigue - I suffered out there. My left calf had been taped with Spider Tech brand kinesiotape but not my right. The right one slowly started hurting a bit but not a major thing at first. In general I didnt feel great right off. At times I even felt a little wobbly or dizzy. Though not great, my pace wasn't horrible for the first few miles. It felt like my fatigue was coming from the accumulated stress and lack of sleep for the weeks before the race. Why I don’t think it was the bike ride I have no idea. I felt a little dizzy every few minutes, too. I gave into walking every half mile instead of every aid station by the 2^ndmile. Mile 3’s pace fell to 11:30 but I kept the next few under 11:00 until mile 8, right around the start of the 2^nd loop.

The course was mostly on the street with some of it on the cement sidewalks that go through the trees and are nicely shaded. The sun was not strong and it seems like it was mostly cloudy, a true blessing. The temp got up to 90 degrees f. with pretty good humidity. I felt reasonably comfortable, which I can only attribute to training time spent covered in layers and time in the sauna. Maybe I was delusional because I still never felt great. The gels that I carried in my Fuel Belt went down slowly. I chose to use the Shot Blox and Salt Stick caps for the first hour. The gels that I carried on my Fuel Belt went down slowly. Very unappetizing. I just didn’t feel right. Eventually I resorted to the Ironman Perform that was on the course. It was cold and tasted better than the gel. This was a violation of the “nothing new on race day” because I didn’t train with it. First time I tried it was at the race expo. I resorted to that, water, and ice cubes under the hat and down the back of my shirt. I mostly stopped with the gels and the caffeine but continued with a Salt Stick cap every ½ hour.

The left calf never gave me trouble though my left knee hurt from the beginning. Never had that before. The right calf continued to worsen. With a 3 loop run course, access to my special needs bag was there twice. For the first time I used mine because I had an Ace bandage stashed in it. Wrapped the right calf and it helped a lot.

The 3 loop course was lined much of the way with spectators ringing cow bells, cheering, and offering encouragement. There was just one semi-lonely segment in a fairly new housing area that wasn’t built out or fully occupied. Arizona’s
concentration of spectators in transition and near the finish is huge but overall there were more at Texas. For the most part there was great energy from everyone. The course is even flatter than Arizona. It’s much less open than Arizona too – desert and manmade lake versus woodlands and manmade lake and canals – but I think Texas was a little better for the athletes. I saw Linda and her cousins twice on a prominent corner. They lifted my spirits each time, though the feeling was short-lived.

For me the run proved to be a big mental challenge. All I could say about it for a couple of days was that I was an “emotional mess”. That stemmed from my frustration with my physical feelings and performance. Also early on I saw someone I saw someone wearing a Blazeman ALS shirt and this put me in tears. I just heard a week before that a family friend had just been diagnosed. In half a minute I would pull it together but I was not mentally ready for the struggle of this run. Not being in the best of shape and not having rehearsed what to focus on during the tough parts left me vulnerable. I would bounce from ALS to my wife’s 1 year battle with breast cancer to my thinking about how long I was taking to finish the run, making Linda wait for me. I would have a meltdown, pull it back together, walk or run, talk with other runners, walk, and have another meltdown. This went on for most of the run. Miles 11-20 were the worst, ranging from around 12:54 to 14:20. Miles 21-24 were 12:20, 15:10, and a couple of 12:50s. The final 2.2 miles were under 11/mile. I never walked a full mile but the walks segments got pretty long at times. The last 4 miles were mostly running. It’s easy to make yourself run when the end it in sight.

The finishline was spectacular: lot’s of spectator noise and excitement for a good distance to the end. I felt wobbly after I crossed the line and was helped by volunteers for quite a few minutes. Finally I saw Linda and her cousins, all wearing their Get Sladed Nation t-shirts. I hugged Linda and cried on her shoulder which seems to be a tradition. Tears don’t seem to come out but I certainly cry. I cried fairly often after crossing the line.

Got to the food area which offered great burritos, none of which I could eat. I had some potato chips but my best recovery food was supplied my #1 supporter, Linda, who had an O’Douls beer, 2 Clif Bars, and a bagel for me. It was heaven. The walk to the car felt like a mile but eventually we made it to the hotel where I took a 10-15 minute ice bath, put on compression, and headed to PF Chang’s to eat with Linda and the cousins. I made the mistake of drinking iced tea. The caffeine, not to mention endorphins and race energy, kept me pretty much awake all night.

During the race I had no idea what my place was in my age group. If I’d known I’m sure I would have put more effort into the run. Because I ended a very distant 3^rd it would not have mattered in the least.

I went to the roll down just in case but found that the 2 Kona slots were claimed. I decided to stick around just in case another age groups slots rolled out to another age group. It was not to be but it was fun to be there for the process. I was a little disappointed but it would have been with mixed emotions had I got a slot. I didn’t feel worthy at the time.

We went back to the hotel and checked out, before heading back to the Marriott for the awards luncheon. The pros’ speeches weren’t particularly interesting. I received my trophy, gave away my 3 CO2 cartridges to some locals, and drove for a final meet up with the cousins before flying home. The flight was tough, with legs tight, jittery, and swollen. Made it home, got our stuff (bikes fly free on Southwest), and made it home. I was certain I would never consider returning to do Ironman Texas again.

One final thought: I was pretty down on my performance for a few days after the race. With time and understanding of why I did less than I believe I'm capable of, I've gained some appreciation. I also was reminded of something I'd lost in all of it: gratitude. I've preached it and reminded others not to forget to race with gratitude. I didn't stick to my own philosophy and it cast a cloud over me. I should have remembered that I've been through a lot to get to this day. Injuries, job ups and downs, Linda's breast cancer, health issues, and on and on. Nearly every athlete out there has tough things to deal with. Being grateful that I'm out there getting to do a race of this magnatude is something to be grateful for!
Here are the boring numbers:
Swim 1:07:27 – 3^rd in age group and 213^thof 2157 overall – rather slow for me but it was without a wetsuit and I didn’t
push it.
T1 6:45 – 14^th in age group, 978^thoverall – not fast or efficient changing from my Speedo to my tri gear, socks,
and bike shoes, especially with no wetsuit to deal with. I left transition in 2^ndplace.
Bike 5:35:31 – 2^nd in age group, 436^thoverall – averaged 20.03 mph even with the 3 minute forced stop at the
intersection. Random bike splits – 0:23
Heart Rate 143 max/128 average, :30 HR 142/128, :24 HR 136/123, 3:56 HR146/123,
:22 HR 140/124
T2 5:07 – 4^th in age group, 415^thoverall – this included a long 2 minute stop at the portapotty to pee. I left
transition in 1st place.
Run 5:14:12 (11:59/mi, 7:29/km) – 17^th age group,
892^th overall – finished in 4^th place for age group but
moved up to 3^rd since the 3^rd place finisher wore a
wetsuit and wasn’t eligible for placing consideration.
Mile Splits
1 – 9:42+ Estimated HR142max/136average
2 – 10:16, HR144/137
3 – 11:30, HR140/129
4 – 10:33, HR136/130
5 – 10:44, HR136/130
6 – 10:06, HR138/130
7 – 10:24, HR136/128
8 – 11:09, HR135/127
9 & 10 – 22:24 (11:12ave), HR137/124
11 – 12:59, HR134/119
12 – 13:27, HR125/112
13 – 14:20, HR125/108
14 – 13:36, HR122/107
15 – 13:21, HR123/110
16 – 12:54, HR123/108
17, 18, 19 – 38:36 (12:54ave), HR135/115
20 – 13:59, HR123/107
21 – 12:19, HR123/113
22 – 15:09, HR116/100
23, 24 – 25:36 (12:48 ave), HR127/109
25 – 10:52, HR126/121
26.2 – 12:34 (estimate for 1.2 mi), HR143/133

Iron Girl Atlanta and Ironman Texas

2011-05-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

What a weekend it was last week! The whole process of getting 7 novice triathletes to the starting line after working with all of them, except Linda, mostly through email, was a challenge. The rewards Sunday were oh so sweet.

Every single one completed the Iron Girl Atlanta “sprint” triathlon is quite an accomplishment that I hope the will all be proud of. It turned out to be a tough triathlon (especially when it came to the bike segment) for a first timer. Linda is so glad everyone helped her mark this new beginning post-breast cancer treatment and I am extremely proud of all of their achievement.

It was an amazing experience and a great day. Of course seeing my wife cross that line had me in tears. They all earned their medals and I hope they will be able to look back on the day and draw strength from it because they can strive and do whatever they set out to do, not just in sports but in life.

A coaching side note because this is one of the rewards I get to experience. Besides being on these 7 family members' journeys, I had the honor of having an impact on an 8th. The swim course goes along the shore for about 250 yards. I was watching from this vantage point about 50 yards down the beach. During the first wave of women, all 50 years and older, out comes a woman saying she can't do this, she done, this is terrible. Her husband is there calmly trying to reassure her to get back in and go, but of course she'll have none of that. Having the advantage of being an outsider I was offered to help. He stepped back and I spoke quietly to her, calmer her down, explaining why she was feeling this way, pointing out that the pack was in front of her now and that she'd have clear water, telling her where she should swim, etc. Off she went back into the water, with a very nice, strong stroke I might add, finishing the swim. I never saw her after that but have faith she made it to the finish line. Those are the kinds of moments that make coaching so great.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ironman Texas is here! Weather prediction: "warm"(up to 100), "breezy"(10-20+mph), and "sticky"! Bike is racked, transition bags are in place, took a nap, and ate dinner. Still left on the to-do list: pack special needs bags, prep the nutrition, retape my calves, and sleep. WooHooo! Almost time to take it on!

Iron Girl Atlanta

2011-05-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

It has been a good 6 weeks since I've posted on my training blog. It's not like me to not keep track of my workouts and/or at least comment on the week. I never did it as a teen swimmer and I've maintain a workout log for the past 4 years with triathlon. I usually feel like if I don't do my log the workout didn't happen. I've had to stray from that because of being overwhelmed with higher priorities.

One of those higher priorities comes to it's completion a few short hours from now, on Sunday morning. Iron Girl Atlanta sprint triathlon goes off at 7:00 am and in the first wave of swimmers will be my wife Linda and her sister. The 2nd wave will be her sister in law. In the last two waves, around 7:30, will be our son's long time girlfriend and 3 nieces. All seven will be doing a triathlon for the first time. Some have trained diligently and others have trained almost not at all. I think all of them will face challenges during the race but I think they are all capable of crossing the finish line.

They are all doing this to help Linda mark and celebrate the end of her treatment for breast cancer. Some 12 weeks earlier she felt so bad from the chemotherapy treatment that getting out of bed took too much effort. Then she got to the point where she could walk down the block 4 houses away, turn around, and come back. Slowly she improved and got stronger, 1 step, 1 pedal turn, and 1 swim stroke at a time. We are celebrating her new health and new beginning. I will be crying when she crosses that line and has that finisher's medal placed over her beautiful, no longer bald (1/4" long hair!) head. Seeing all of the women and young women make it to the finish will signal a significant personal achievement. I will be so proud of them all.

Ironman California 70.3 Race Report - 2 April 2011

2011-04-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

With this being my 3rd 70.3half Ironman (all at Oceanside, CA) and having done 2 full Ironman races (both in Arizona) I find it interesting to see that my whole mindset has shifted. The first time I attempted each of these distances I was very emotional and happy to have finished, finishing being the biggest goal of the day. Leading up to those races everything related to it was a big deal. The goal, the training, the excitement surrounding the race, the sharing of the goal with others. And then achieving that goal was also very significant and a big deal. That is how it should be because you're going some place you've never been and you're putting everything you've got into it. All the unknowns, the challenges, the new levels of commitment and dedication.

It's not the same for me now. These events are still BIG, exciting, typcially well-run, top notch races that I put everything into preparing for. The volunteers, crowds, and participants are all pulling in the same direction, aiming to achieve things that are not easy to achieve. That's the way it should be. The difference is that after you've done one or two, your focus often changes to things that are more specific within the race. That could be a personal best finishing time, an age group placing, a trip to Kona or the 70.3 World Championships, or something else. The fact that you crossed the finish line is still significant and is always the goal.

But the thing is you've been there before. If you're not careful you can lose your perspective. Tough goals are great to have but don't forget to appreciate what you've done, even if you fall short of what you expected or hoped to do. Don't shortchange yourself. It starts to get easier and easier to take what you do for granted. Racing a 70.3 or full Ironman is an amazing experience. Be grateful that you made it to the starting line. Be happy that you finished. Appreciate the support you've received, not just at the race, but throughout your training, from family and friends and whoever else was there for you.

I am grateful for the love and support of my wife, even as she went through some really bad days this past half year. Being healthy enough to walk a few miles over the coarse of the race day, including walking more than a mile back to the cars with me, listening to my recounting of the race, is such a blessing. (Not sure how much she'd call listening to me a blessing, but you know what I'm saying!) She is very proud of her "half of an Ironman"! She's also very funny! And she is inspired for her next 6 weeks of training to do her one (and likely only) triathlon, the Iron Girl Atlanta sprint triathlon.

So when I say I'm a little disappointed with my performance, it's not about anything except falling a little short of goals. Being grateful for everything and everyone, and for getting across that finish line, still made it a great day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What a day it was. 10 days out there were predictions of rain. Instead the weather was perfect with a low of about 60 and a high of about 70, and it was mostly overcast. Water temp felt warmer than the 59-61 it was the past 2 years but that may be because I'm more acclimated to it after doing a couple of open water swims the past 3 weeks. There was some wind out on the bike and run.

Arrived at 5am and parked about 1 mile away. Opened the van and found my aerobottle had fallen over and spilled out completely. Fortunately I had a gallon bottle of water and extra Nuun electrolyte tablets and solved the problem in a minute. Did NOT have backup for my nutrition bottle so fortunately that wasn't what spilled. For this race you bring your bike the morning of the race, riding it to transition. The transition area is very long and narrow but they have the entry and exit set up so everyone goes the same distance. Set up transition with the other geezers (55 and over). Had enough time to use the portapotty (twice!) and use my tubing with handles to warm up for the swim. There's no warmup allowed for the swim and I find that my lats start to hurt early into the swim and bug me all the way if I don't get a warm up. A few 1 minute rounds of pulling on the tubes, or doing a few pushups, really helps prevent that.

As we stood in the long shoot waiting for our wave to start, we got to see first Andy Potts and then the rest of the men including Matt Reed, Jordan Rapp, and Rasmus Henning, exit the water and run through transition to the bike. Then the women came through, including Mirinda Carfrae, Heather Wurtell, and Kate Major. Soon we waded down the boat ramp and out to the water start. Just before we started, a big sea lion (that can bite you) swam across the course. The gun, or horn, went off and 10 strokes into the start I locked arms with someone and had to pause to untangle. I swam a great line, siting frequently and weaving my way through slower people from earlier waves. Did my best to avoid contact - always feel bad for the slower swimmers having to deal with fast people coming up from behind.

Ran the long path to transition, got my stuff on, including shoes (I don't leave them in the pedals) and ran out for a running cyclocross-syle bike mount. I didn't put on arm warmers - didn't need them. I did have toe covers on my shoes and a little disposable toe heater packet under each because of the cold water. My T1 was faster by 2 minutes. The first 25 miles are relatively flat, and with a tail wind or at worst a cross wind, it was also fast for me at 21.7mph. The next 15 miles with hills and headwind averaged 16.8 mph and the final 16 miles with a few hills and more flat was 19.6mph. I've ridden the course for 3 years now and each time it's taken me 2 hours 50 min., a very frustrating fact. Aside from the headwind on the hills, not much was different. Besides getting some coaching the only other thing I can think of to do to improve is to change the cassette for this course. I've got a 12/25 and the steeper parts of this course require me to stand up and pedal at a cadence that must be as low as 40 or 50 (not exactly sure).

The volunteers, especially riding through Camp Pendleton Marine Corp Base, were great this year: very helpful and enthusiastic. I never used an aid station but I did my usual shoutout request for Coors Light or Bud Light, which always got a laugh from the Marines. It would spike my HR a little but it's worth it. My nutrition worked well, although with the wind, clouds, and comfortable weather, I didn't think about drinking enough, taking in about 13 oz / hour. Just wasn't thirsty. So maybe it was just right since I didn't feel dehydrated on the bike or the run.

Because my T2 run from the dismount line to my rack was about 15 yards I didn't bother taking my shoes off while riding and leaving them in the pedals. Just like last year I had a good 2+ min. transition, which was slowed a few seconds when I realized that I'd forgotten my Fuel Belt (never used it for a tri before) after running 20-30 ft and ran back to get it. The calf muscle I'd torn 3 weeks ago held up perfectly with no problems or feelings of strain - a big relief. Just as I've done for every half and full Ironman I've done, I managed to go too hard for the first few miles. I just find it so hard to dial it back and ease into it. At least it was better in that my effort and HR were not crazy high. At mile 5 the quads started hurting. They only got worse as the miles past. I stopped at every aid station or every mile for a 20-45 second walk as I drank, took in fuel, and/or electrolytes. The exception was that I didn't stop for the first 2 or last 2 miles, pushing hard for a strong finish.

My wife was my only spectator this year, not counting anyone checking in on the ironman live website. It was great to have her there, back to exercising and getting past her breast cancer treatments. Shortly after I ran past her at the start of the run someone say my pink and white hat with the pink ribbon and yelled "breast cancer". I almost lost it, beginning to cry. But I reined it in quickly knowing I had 12.9 miles to go.

Besides being "chicked" by many women out there I'm happy to report that I was also AKA-ed (passed by an Above the Knee Amputee.) There was also a guy running dressed as Nacho Libro, a Mexican pro wrestler, with a mask/hood and a red cape but he never caught me.

Boring details:
Overall 5:22:46 - 13th of 65 men 55-59, 542 of ~2400 overall (2009-5:33:53, 2010-DNF injured)
Swim 29:21 (1:32/100m. pace) - 3rd in age group, 150th overall (2009-28:42 , 2010-29:51)
T1 4:35 (2009 8:26, 2010-6:56)
Bike 2:50:49 - 17th in age group, ? overall (2009 2:50:09, 2010-2:50:10)
T2 2:21 (2009-2:20, 2010-2:09)
Run - 1:55:40 (8:50/mi pace)- 18th in age group, ? overall (2009-2:04:16, 2010-no time-injured)
mile 1and2 - 17:22 (8:41 mile pace), Heart Rate 146max/138average
mile 3 - 8:48, HR144/136
mile 4- 8:31, HR143/138
mile 5 - 8:38, HR141/137
mile 6 -8:32, HR142/139
mile 7 - 8:39, HR143/140
mile 8 - 9:10, HR143/136
mile 9 - 9:15, HR140/136
mile 10 - 9:10, HR142/136
mile 11and12 - 18:04 (9:02), HR143/137
mile 13 - ~8:40 (doesn't include the extra .1 mile), HR155/147

Nutrition Plan - Half Ironman 70.3 - California 2011

2011-03-30T04:20:00.000-07:00

Prerace
1 tab Immodium, Metamucil
1 plain blueberry bagel
1 banana
1-2 tsp. almond butter
Prerace/PreSwim (at venue)
Perpetuem + Nuun bottle for sipping
1 1/2 tabs caffeine (300mg) 1 hr before wave start (6:20am)
Bike (>3 hrs)
(~300 to a max 400 cal/hr + ~48 to 72oz water + ~600mg Na/hr)
6 scoops of Perpetuem in 24 oz water bottle (810 cal, 660mg Na)
3 NUUN tabs + 48 oz water in Aerobottle (360mg Na/tab = 1080mg)
2 - 1/2 tabs caffeine (100mg) @1 hr in and just before finish
1/2 tab Immodium just before finish
0 Perpetuem Solid tabs (100 cal/3 tabs, 0mg Na) for backup
0 Saltstick capsules to be taken if sweating (215mg Na/each) for backup
Run (2 hrs+/-)
(~200 to a max 250 cal/hr + 16-20oz water)
2 servings diluted Hammer Gel in each of 2 Run Belt flasks (180 cal/flask, 40mg Na = 360 cal, 80mg Na)
6 Saltstick capsules (+ extra) (216 mg Na/capsule = ~1300mg Na) take 1 every 2 miles
Postrace
O'Doul's beer
Tuna sandwich
Whole wheat bagel with almond butter and honey
Water

Monday 21 March - Sunday 27 March 2011

2011-03-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Written Sunday 3/27 - It's been a challenging week. Finally started back to work full time. I was excited to receive my official coaching certification from USATriathlon in the mail on Saturday. The past couple of weeks I've been in touch with CCFA, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, as they are looking for a coach for their new triathlon Team Challenge program. With my health history including ulerative colitis, my success as a triathlete, my teaching and coaching background, and my USAT Level 1 coaching license, I seem to be an excellent fit. I am excited at the prospect to say the least!

Ironman Cali 70.3 is this Saturday and I'm in a modified taper mode in hopes of doing well. I don't want to lose sight of IMTX in May so I wouldn't call this just past weekend or the coming week a full taper. On the other hand, with the calf injury, attending a Shiva for a friend who lost his mom, going back to work, and celebrating Linda's birthday, I had to cut some of the workouts anyway.

The right gastroc is in pretty good shape after resting it for 17 days. I took nearly 1 week of running off completely and then did a week of only water running. This past week I got in 2 - half hour treadmill sessions and 1 - 15 min road run as part of a brick. Then on Sunday, after a strong 3 hour ride I did a 45 min run as a brick. There is no pain during running and I am very optimistic. The effort for the brick workout on Sunday may have been a little too hard but I found it hard to pull back given how the past couple of weeks have gone. It may not have been the best thing for the 70.3 but it was very appropriate for IMTX in May.

Weighed 154 lbs during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 9500 yd
Bike 4 times - 3x Trainer 4:07; 1x Road 2:59 (55.3 mi)
Run 5 times - 2x run 1:00; 2x treadmill 1:00; 2x water run 1:45; 2x walk :36;
Strength Training - 1x upper, 2x core (BOSU routine 1x), 1x lower
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon 3/21 rest day
walk 20 min
Tue
am -swim 3050 yd, 45 min water run
pm - strength training
Wed 3/23
am -Trainer bike ride 1:30
8 x 5 min Hard gear/3min recovery
HR146max/122ave
pm -Swim 2650 yd; Core + BOSU routine
Thu
am -Trainer bike ride 1:45
Didn't do scheduled brick due to calf.
HR139/124
pm -Treadmill Run and Walk :30
Fri 3/25
am -Brick (modified) :52 trainer ride/ :15 road run
:52 trainer ride HR125/114ave; :15 run HR132/122ave
pm - Walk :16; Celebrate Linda's birthday!
Sat 3/26
am -Swim 3800 yd; 60 min Water Run; 30 min Treadmill; 22 min Sauna
600 wu; 3000 Fr - 43:30 (709, 711, 713, 715, 720, 722); 200 sd
60 min water run
30 min treadmill run in warm top and sweatshirt
22 min sauna
pm -Celebrate Linda's birthday!
Sun3/27
am - Brick - ride 2:59, run :45
Road bike ride 2:59; 55.3 mi
HR142/123ave; zone1- 3.5 min, z2- 22, z3- 2:19, z4- 14, z5- 0
Road run :45
HR146/135ave; z1- 0, z2- 1min, z3- 10, z4- 34, z5- 0
pm - no strength training

Monday 14 March - Sunday 20 March 2011

2011-03-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

Written 3/21 - This was supposed to be a recovery week of sorts but it didn't feel like it. Probably because last week's training saw a few missed workouts. And also because I shuffled my workout planning a little to allow me to do a modified taper for Cali 70.3 in Oceanside beginning this coming weekend, March 26th. I am counting on being able to start running again this coming week after I see the Physical Therapist on Tuesday.

This past week I managed to miss a 1 1/2 hr moderate effort bike ride and a 40 min recovery effort run. I also skipped one strength training workout for the legs specifically. The run and the swim were based on extreme fatigue and good judgment (I hope). Sunday morning the rain managed to stay away until after 1:30 pm so I got my 5 hour ride in on the road. It was 3 challenging hours followed by 2 hours of misery. Didn't know why it's so difficult but upon further review I think it had to do with maintaining a higher than usual heart rate than I normally manage on these training rides. It also included some pretty strong winds - 20-28mph - at times. I also tried something different nutritionally to see if it might work for me at IMTX in May. Finally, maybe I should get a little company for at least part of these long rides!

On Saturday, with my calf still mending, I did a 2hr 20min water run. I was happy to get it in as I spent about 5 hours prior to that traveling and taking CPR for my coaching certification. That was after doing a decent 3800 yard swim workout, including 3 x 1000 freestyles on 15 seconds rest.

I'm happy to report that Linda is continuing to get stronger. She got in both weekend workouts, on Sunday going 20 min on the exercise bike, followed by 30 min walking on the treadmill. No swimming yet as we want to make sure her shoulders feel 100% before she starts that.

Weighed 154 during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 9650 yd
Bike 3 times - 3 x Road 8:21 (1:27.3 mi)
Run 4 times - 0x run; 2x walk :45; 4x water run 4:10
Strength Training - 3x upper, 3x core, 2x lower
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
Wed Road bike ride 1:35; 24.2 mi
8 x 3 min at high intensity/~3 min recovery
HR152max; zone5- .75, z4- 27, z3-29, z2-32, z1- 5
...
Sat
am -Swim 3800 yds
600 wu; 3 x 1000 Fr RI 15sec - 14:29, 14:15, 14:31; 200 sd
pm -Water Run 2:20
Sun
am -Road bike ride 5:06; 74.9 miles
HR143max/123ave; Zone1- 4.5, z2- 44, z3- 3:44, z4- 33, z5- 0
pm - Skipped 40 min recovery run; Strength training - all but leg work

Monday 7 March - Sunday 13 March 2010

2011-03-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Written Monday 3/13 - This was a build week, week #13, in preparation for IMTX. I missed a day and a half of training due to health stuff. With pouchitis (similar to ulcerative colitus) being treated with antibiotics, I'm feeling better. However, since my pouch/internal reservoir had not been scoped in probably a decade, I went in for a "no colon" colonoscopy which included biopsying 3 polyps. I hadn't realized this would take me out of afternoon training or a suggested (mandatory?) break from weight training. I missed 1 bike and 1 run workout. Plus, with a strained calf, I did 3 water runs instead of the usual 4 run workouts.

I so want to do well (and finish!) Oceanside 70.3 on April 2nd. This calf injury from my long run 10 days ago is quite frustrating. Of course I'm doing what I can to work around it, planning to be fully recovered on race day.
Linda is back to work and did 10 min on the exercise bike and 20 walk on the treadmill on Sunday - a good start! No swimming yet as her shoulder still aches. She may also be experiencing muscle ache due to chemo... not sure.
Weighed 155 lbs during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 9650 yd
Bike 3 times - 3x Road 6:46 (114.9 mi)
Run 3 times - 0x run :; 0x eliptical :; 3x water 2:45; 0x stairmaster :
Strength Training - 1x upper, 3x core, 1x lower
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
etc
Fri
am - Road bike ride at moderate to high aerobic 1:33, 26.7 miles
HR146/123ave
Zone1- 5min, z2- 16, z3- 51, z4- 25
pm - Water Run :45
7 x 30 sec bursts
Sat
am - Swim 3800 yd; Core; 20 min sauna
600 wu; 3000 Free - 43:58; 200 sd
pm - Water Run 1:00
Sun
am - Modified Brick 3:12/1:00
Road bike ride 3:12, 53.6 miles - very bundled up
HR137/120ave; z2- :44, z3- 2:15, z4- 8
Transition ~:12
Water Run 1:00
pm - no strength training - restart next week

Monday 21 February - Sunday 6 March 2011

2011-03-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

This is 2 weeks of thoughts on training, without the actual workout logs.
Written Sunday 2/27 -This was a Recovery week with time and amount of intensity cut back. I'm way too tired tonight at the end of this type of week but mostly I just think it was a busy weekend. Training went well. Swam a 2000 Free on Sat. that was at a faster pace than my Time Trial 2150 yard swim the previous week. Not sure why that is but I'm happy to be seeing improvement because in general I'm swimming slower than I did a year and a half ago. Some of that has to do with injuries along the way. The Brick workout today - 2 hours riding outside on the road plus a 45 min run went well. In spite of the air temp being 36 degrees when I started getting layers on, my core was warm. Fingers eventually thawed though my feet didn't until I got running. I added another hour of riding to the tail end of the run so I could ride with Son1 He got a new road bike and wanted to ride with the old man. We enjoyed it a lot.

Also spent some time with Son1's girlfriend who is in training for her first triathlon with Linda and the other female family members. Iron Girl Atlanta is a sprint distance event on May 15th, 1 week before Ironman Texas. I got a chance to work directly with her on her stroke and showed good improvement. She also has things to work on that I can incorporate into her workout plan. They sent me a video of her swimming and that helped me to guide her some but being together in person is a much better way to work. The 7 women have finished week 1 of their training plan with 11 weeks to go.

Linda is back with the living now that the final Chemo treatment is in the rearview mirror. We started doing 15-20 min walks and she swam twice over the weekend: 500 yards on Saturday! This stuff still causes a great deal of fatigue but she seems to be getting stronger each day.

It probably wasn't a brand new realization this week but I did think my snacking (which I see as a weakness) from a slightly different angle. And maybe that's not even true but anyway... While I am very conscious about what I eat, especially at meals due to a restricted diet and because of training, I realize that my snacks are another matter. Often I snack on things that are healthy, though not always. And I eat too much in the snack department. So I realized that I'm not really thinking about why I should do better with snacks. If I'm hungry I should eat but I need to be aware of why I'm eating and why I should not be eating. I never think in a concrete way about having a GOAL to be a certain weight for racing when I'm mindlessly snacking at night. If I did think about what I was putting into my mouth at night and how it impacts that goal, I know I would be better under control. Yes, I workout so much that I can get away with things but that's not what I really want or should be doing. New thing to focus on.

Weighed 156 lbs during the week.

Written Monday night 3/7 - It is such a relief to have Linda feeling better. I guess most of the time I wasn't aware of the stress her treatment and recovery was having on me. She is back to work today and I was worried about her since fatigue is going to affect her with her being in the office for a full day. She did fine but came home very tired.

We spent the weekend in Palm Desert with her brother and his family. It was a nice time. I got to do some more swim coaching/teaching as our sister-in-law and niece will be doing Iron Girl Atlanta. Also tried a to help my niece (14 years old) on the bike. Not so sure that was at all successful.

This was an unusual training week. Phil, my friend that I swim with was sick all week . Also I started coming down with Pouchitis at the end of last week which explains the fatigue I felt after a recovery week. It's the first real 'GI event' since my intestinal surgery 11 months ago. I haven't taken antibiotics for pouchitis since 1998 so instead of doing the Chinese herbs/Chinese medicine thing I decided to go the Western Medicine route. I'm on Flagyl and Cipro now and will get my "J-pouch" scoped this Wednesday morning. The pouchitis took it's toll last week, causing me to skip training on Tuesday night, a rarity. It was weight training.

Friday in Palm Desert I did my 4 1/2 hour bike ride. (Being in the Desert I couldn't get my usual 3rd strength training in nor the long weekend swim.) On Saturday I started my 2 hr 20 min run. At :38 mark I felt a tightness in my right calf and stopped after the 3rd or 4th step, walked, and tried to start again. Stopped 2 steps later with a strain, walked home, and did no more training (missed a short run and short ride). Saw my Physical Therapist who worked on me and taped my up. No running the rest of the week. Swim and Bike are still on the table. I might try water running at the end of the week but we'll see.

The 70.3 in Oceanside is April 2nd. I plan to be ready for it. Ironman Texas is May 21, a higher priority. I just don't want to lose too much training from this setback.

Monday 7 February - Sunday 13 February 2011

2011-02-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

Written 2/13 -Reconnected with my Physical Therapist this past Monday - she left the place she was at. This was Week #10 of 24 leading to Ironman Texas. Linda had Chemo #4 of 4 on Thursday. In anticipation of her feeling terrible by Sat. night, I shifted my workouts so I'd be done by Sat. afternoon, with nothing on Sunday. Hoping very much that she'll have passed the worst of it by Monday.

Wore some new running shoes, Newtons, twice this week for short stints. So far I like them very much but I'm being conservative and cautious. All workouts went well except for Friday's ride - couldnt seem to raise the effort to a high aerobic zone. After swimming a straight 2500 yard Freestyle at a good pace, Saturday's Brick of 2:45 on the bike followed by a :50 run (treadmill) went well. I felt like I could keep running for ever.

Am getting more focused on the April 2nd (Half) Ironman California 70.3, having planned my training leading up to it, including a taper. Not wanting to sacrifice the prep for Texas, I am not doing a 'full' taper. I'll taper for the week before but not as much as I would if it were my key race of the first half of the season. I looked at last year's results. My goal is to finish in the top 10 of my age group and a 5:15 if everything goes perfectly.

Worked on and sent out training plans to 3 of the 7 family members doing Iron Girl Atlanta sprint triathlon. Looking forward to helping them succeed!

Weighed 159 lbs during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 9300 yd
Bike 4 times - 3x Trainer 4:45; 1x Road 2:43 (43.8 mi)
Run 4+ times - 1x run :54; 1x eliptical 1:00; 2x treadmill 1:56; 2x stairmaster :20
Strength Training - 2x upper, 3x core/shoulder rehab/BOSU, 2x lower - 3 sets of12-15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day - Physical Therapy; overate at dinner at Chart House
Tue 2/8
am -Swim 3000 yd; Treadmill run 1:06; core
650wu; 5 x 50 Fr drill on 50; 50ez; 6 x 200 Fr on 3:00 - 248, 49, 48, 48, 47, 46;
50ez; 9 x 50 Fr on 50; 3 x 100 K on 2:10; 100sd
Treadmill run 1:06 +5min wu and cd (used new Newton shoes 10 min); 10 x 1min H/2min recovery
intensity was less than all out due to concern about soreness from last Sunday's long run
pm - Strength training; 10 min wu Stairmaster
Wed 2/9
am -Trainer ride 1:45
9 x 1:30H/2:00 recovery
HR141/119 (141 not high enough)
pm -Swim 3000 yd; core
600wu; 6 x 50 Fr drill on :50; 6 x 200 Fr Fartlek on 3:10 - alt 50ez, H - 246-249;
50ez; 4 x 75 K on 1:40; 50ez; 8 x 50 Fr H on 55; 100sd
Thu 2/10
am -Brick 1:45 trainer ride/:54 road run
bike HR125/119; Run HR132/124
pm -strength training; 10 min wu Stairmaster
Fri 2/11
am -Trainer Ride 1:15, HR108ave;
hard time getting going
pm -:60 Elliptical Run (moved from Sat.)
Sat
Swim 3300 yd; 40 min break; Brick (moved from Sun) - 2:45 road ride/:50 treadmill run
600 wu; 2500 Fr - 35:47 (500 splits - 707, 710, 714, 713, 703) lost about 4 sec on 3rd 500 w/external issue (Phil - 36:06); 200 sd
Road Ride 2:43 - 43.8 mi, 16.9mph ave
Treadmill Run :50 +5min walk cd (1st 20 min wearing new Newton shoes)
Sun - day off except for core, BOSU rowing, and shoulders using tubing.

Monday 31 January - Sunday 6 February 2011

2011-02-06T17:18:00.000-08:00

Written2/6 - I realized this week that although I've been dedicated to training I have not been very focused on either my goal for IM California 70.3 or IM Texas. It's not like I'm not making progress towards those goals but, beyond thinking about IMTX and my lack of knowledge of the course and about heat acclimation, I haven't gone much beyond that. It's time to get focused on both races. I'm familiar with the IM Cali course so visualizing the specifics has started.
Trained hard on the weekend with a 2500 yd straight swim at a moderate pace and a 4 hour ride on Sat and a 2:10 (13.45 mile) run.
Weighed 159.0 lbs during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 9400 yd
Bike 4 times 8:22 - 2x Trainer 4:17; 1x Road 4:05 (64.0 mi)
Run 3 times - 1x run 1:19/treadmill :51; 1x walk ~:20; 2x stairmaster :20 - missed 1 recovery run of 35 min on Super Bowl Sunday
Strength Training - 3x upper, 3x core, 2 2/3x lower - 3 sets of 12-15 - missed 1 BOSU "rowing" routine skipped 2 leg exercises on Sunday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
Tue 2/1
am -Swim 2950 yd; 44 min Run
700 wu; 4 x 50 Fr Breath every 5th on 50; 6 x 200 Fr on 3:00 - 249, 49, 48, 48, 48, 46;
50ez; 7 x 50 Fr H on 55 - 35-36; 50ez; 3 x 100 K on 2:10; 100sd
Run (dirt track) +5min walk w.u. and c.d
8 x 1:00 H/ 2 min recovery

15 min Sauna
pm - Strength Training
10 min wu Stairmaster
Wed 2/2
am -Trainer Bike Ride 1:50
8 x 1:30 H, 2:00 recovery; HR143/115ave
pm -Swim 3150 yd
700wu; 4 x 100 Fr drill; 6 x 200Fr Fartlek - 50ez, 50H on 3:10; 100 Mtn. K RI 5-10;
50ez; 6 x 50 Fr on 55; 100sd
Thu Resting HR45; Weight 159.0 lbs
am -Brick 1:15/:23 at high aerobic
Bike HR141/127ave; Run HR146/137ave
Good level of intensity
pm -Strength Training
10 min w.u. Stairmaster
Fri 2/4
am -Trainer Ride 1:12
at high aerobic; HR129ave
Sat 2/5
Swim 3300 yd; Road Bike Ride 4:05
600w.u.; 2500 Fr - 36:17 (500 Fr splits - 714, 716, 715, 715, 717) (Phil 36:17)
1 hr break
Road Bike Ride 4hr5min; 64 miles; 16.5 mph ave.; HR111ave
Coast sections 17.7 mph ave
Sun2/5 Super Bowl
Run 2:10 (1:19 dirt track, :51 treadmill)
(8.2 + 5.25 = 13.45 miles)
HR 128ave including w.u.
+10 min walk c.d.
Strength training

Monday 24 January - Sunday 30 January 2011

2011-01-31T21:22:00.000-08:00

Written 1/30 -Final week of an 8 week block of Base Phase training. This was a recovery week. It was a good week of training. Missed strength training on Sunday. My weight continues to be a concern; I'd like it to be a few pounds less. Time to get more focused on avoiding poor snacks. I've realized I need to plan my race season besides the 2 Ironman races and the 1 half IM 70.3. Some running races and maybe a sprint and Olympic distance tri. Due to injuries I have been unable to think about doing much racing the past year and a half except for Ironman, a rough water swim, and a century ride or two. I got a message from my Physical Therapist saying she had left Foundation Training. I need to call her and hopefully figure out a way to continue as her client.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 8050 yd
Bike 4 times - 4x Trainer 5:14; 0x Road : ( mi)
Run 4+ times - 2x run 1:05; 1x treadmill :50; 1x eliptical :47; 1x walk :22; 2x stairmaster :20
Strength Training - 2x upper, 2 1/2x core, 2x lower - 3 sets of 12-15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day; weight 159.5
Tue
am -Swim 2500 yd; Elliptical run 47 min
700w.u.; 6 x 50 Fr drill on :50; 8 x 100 Fr on 1:30 - 121, 123's; 50 ez;
6 x 50 Fr H on :55; 5 x 50 K on 1:05; 100 s.d.
Elliptical :47 - HR144max/121ave
pm -strength training
10 min w.u. stairmaster
Wed
am -Bike trainer ride 1:11
pm - Swim 2550 yd; Core
600wu, 6 x 50 Fr drill; 6 x 150 Fr Fartlek on 2:20 (50ez, med, H); 50ez; 4 x 75K RI10;
12 x 25 Fr alt ez, sprint - sprint leaves on 1:00; 100sd
Thu
am - Brick- Trainer ride 1:02/Road run :35
ride HR140/123; z1- 3, z2- 9, z3- 33.5, z4- 15.5
run HR140/132; z1- 0, z2- .5, z3- 11.5, z4- 22.5
pm -Strength training (except core)
Fri
am -Trainer Ride 60 min
pm -none
Sat
am -Swim 3000 yd; Treadmill run :50
600 w.u.; 2200 yd - 31:42 (500 Splits - 714, 713, 712, 711) (Phil's time - 31:58; 200 SD
Treadmill Run :50 + 5 min walk wu, 5 min cd
HR124ave; zone 2- 7min, z3- 37.5, z4- 5.5
pm -
Sun 1/30
am -Brick: 2:01 bike, 30 min run
2 hour trainer ride, 30 min road run
ride -HR129/115; Z1- 5.5, z2- 35, z3- 1:18
run - HR140/128; Zone2- 1, z3- 18.5, z4- 10, z-0
Got a little carried away with the effort on the run, though the zones may be off a little. Time for a retest.
pm - skipped strength training to be with Linda

Monday 17 January - Sunday 23 January 2011

2011-01-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

Written 1/26 -This past week i had some sort of left ankle pain on Thursday and switched to the elliptical. Source of the pain is not known. Also did the Sunday long run on the elliptical. It was a tough week and weekend for Linda, receiving her 3rd of 4 chemotherapy treatments. I adjusted some of my workouts and only missed one strength training sessions. Happy with the 1650 Free time trial swim.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 7900 yd
Bike 3 times - 3x Trainer 5:20; 0x Road : ( mi)
Run 3 times - 1x water run :30; 3x elliptical 2:40; 1x treadmill :10; 2x stairmaster :20
Strength Training - 2x upper, 3x core, 2x lower - 3 sets of 12-15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
Tue
am -Swim 2550 yd; Elliptical :50
600 wu; 4 x 50 Fr breathing pattern on 50;
12 x 100 Fr on 1:30 - 122,23,23,23,23,22,22,23,22,22,21,21; 50ez
6 x 50 H on 55 - all 36s; 4 x 50 Fly K on 1:05; 100 sd
Elliptical - aerobic; 6 x 30H/1:30 recovery
pm -strength training
Wed 1/19
am -Brick 2:30/:30
Trainer Ride 2:30 - HR139/122
Zone1- 6, z2- 19, z3- 1:45, z4- 19.5, z5- 0
Road Run :30 - HR139-130
Zone1- 0, z2- .5, z3- 13.5, z4- 15.5, z5- 0
pm -Trainer Ride 1:20
12 x 1min H in big gear/2min recovery
HR137/113; z1- 3.5, z2- 56, z3- 16, z4- 4.5, z5- 0
Thu 1/20
am -Swim 2550 yd; Run 40 min
500 wu; 4 x 50Fr drill on 50; 5 x 200 Fr on 3:00; 50ez;
4 x 75 Fly K on 1:40, 100S; 12 x 25 Fr H on 35 - 16, 17, 16's, 15; 100 SD
Treadmill Run 45 min planned. Stopped after 10 min with ankle/foot pain. Finished with 30 min water run
pm -cancelled - Linda feeling bad from Chemo
Fri
am - Strength training
10 min wu (elliptical)
Sat1/22
am -Swim 2800 yd; Beginning Pilates 60 min
600 wu; 6 x 50 Fr drill on 50;
1650 Fr Time Trial - 22:57 (654, 700, 701) (Phil - 23:25); 250 SD
pm - Bike trainer ride 1:30
HR127/114; z5-0, 4- 0, z3- 48, 2- 36, 1- 5
Sun1/23
am -Elliptical Run 1:50
HR116ave; Zone1- 5.5min, z2- 30, z3- 1:11, z4- 0
pm - cancel strength training - home with Linda

Monday 10 January - Sunday 16 January 2011 (plus Ocotillo Century Ride)

2011-01-17T20:56:00.000-08:00

Written 1/17/11 - This week was week 6 in my 23 week plan for Ironman Texas. (Even though I want to do well at California 70.3 half Ironman in Oceanside in early April, my focus is Texas.) This was still part of the 8 week Base Phase, the 2nd week of a 4 week block. I flipflopped this week's workout with next week's because of the century ride I did on Saturday.
Have added saunas to my routine, going in a couple times a week. Am up to 8 minutes. Using it to help get ready to acclimate for IMTX. True acclimating will probably start in March.
My cold was still having an impact on me this week as well so I skipped a 90 min ride on Wed. and strength training on Thur. (Went to a lecture on Thursday instead.) Friday I took off completely. Saturday was the ride and I tacked a 30 min run onto the end of it. On Sunday fatigue was so heavy that I planned on skipping training all together. After being up an hour I decided to do the swim workout. That afternoon I got the whole strength training workout in. I did miss the long run but there was no way I was in any condition to do that AND the Century.

The ride went pretty well. Got up at 4:15 and out the door in 30 minutes. Should have left at 4:30 in hindsight. Got to Ocotillo at 6:35 or so and stood in line for the bathroom. Didn't get riding until 7:15. Was warm enough to wear shorts (tri shorts) but needed arm warmers to start. A few minutes in I realized I needed to put on a windbreaker which I stopped and did. Dropped my chain twice on the ride.
The weather was clear and 50 to 75+ degrees under sunny skies. The breeze was mild too. Reached the half way point in 3 hours 13 minutes without incident. Stopped to refill my water and grab 1/2 an energy bar. With a line at the bathroom I started back, knowing there would be a stop with plenty of portapotties within 15 miles. Spent 4 minutes taking care of business and then pushed on for the rest of the way back until I got a rear flat around mile 80. It took about 8.5 minutes to change it - I continue to stink at that. The flat was caused by a cactus thorn which I "wisely" removed before replacing the inner tube. I did learn that one should not sit too far off the road as there are many more cactus thorns lurking in the dirt.
Finished the ride in 6:16:42, including 18.5 minutes of non-riding.
HeartRate average - 122
Average Speed 16.5 mph
HR zone5 - 0, z4 - 21.5, z3- 4h50min, z2- 55, z1- 1min
Immediately following the ride I did a 30 min run. Just like on the run in Ironman, I had trouble keeping my HR and effort slow/easy at the beginning:
HR144max/136ave; zone5- 0, z4- 24.5, z3- 5, z2- .5, z1- 0

This coming week Linda has her 3rd round of Chemo-sucking-therapy. If I can I'll be trying to get my long 1hr 50 min run in as well as a relatively long 2:30 bike/30 min run brick and a 1650 freestyle time trial swim in.
Weighed 158.5 during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 3times - 8450 yd
Bike 2 times - 1x Trainer 1:30; 1x Road 6:17 (99 mi)
Run 3+ times - 2x run 1:00; 1x eliptical :50; 2x stairmaster :20
Strength Training - 2x upper, 2x core, 2x lower - 3 sets of 12+
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
Tue
am - Swim 2700 yd; Elliptical 50 min - 6 x 30H/1:30
pm -Strength train
Wed
am - skipped 90 min ride
pm - Swim 2550 yd; core
Thu
am - Brick 1:30 Trainer/:30 road run
Fri Took the day off for Saturday's ride
Sat
am - Ocotillo Century Ride/30 min run (see above)
Sun Not feeling sore today in spite of the century ride and run, just very tired. Was going to take the day off, considering my cold but after an hour of waking up and clean up, I felt good enough to swim and then return later for strength training.
am - Swim 3200 yd
500 wu; 5 x 500 Fr on 7:30 - 719, 16, 14, 16, 13
pm - Strength training

Monday 3 January - Sunday 9 January 2011

2011-01-09T23:14:00.000-08:00

Written Sunday 1/9/2011 - This is the first week of a 2nd block of Base Phase training for IMTX. Started coming down with a cold early in the week which affected how I felt during training but didn't affect how much I did. Rode 3 hours on the trainer on Sunday when one thing after another kept me off the road for a 3.5 hr ride. Saturday was a heavy training day: swam 3000 yd, including a 2200 Freestyle in 31:52; then a 30 min treadmill run; then an hour Pilates beginner class. At 4:30 I did my long run, a 90 min road run that was about 9.1 miles.

Linda had a rough week recovering from her 2nd round of Chemo. She's feeling better now but is pretty fatigued still. It took a full week before she could do much of anything besides rest or sleep. Two more rounds to go.

If the weather cooperates I plan to do a century ride this Saturday in the desert - Ocotillo. I've done it twice and it is a great century with almost no traffic and only 1 stop sign.

Weighed 161.5 on Monday but 156.5 on Thursday.

Week Totals
Swim   times - yd
Bike   times - x Spin :; x Road : ( mi)
Run    times - x run :; x eliptical :; x walk :; x stairmaster
Strength Training - x upper, x core, x lower - sets of
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
...
Sat
am - Swim 3000 yd
600 wu; 2200 Fr - 31:52 (500 splits - 711, 711, 713, 715)
pm - Run 1:30 - ~9.1 miles
(1.52 mile splits - 14:57, 1425, 1500, 1448, 1502, 1524)
Sun
am -3 hour trainer ride

Monday 27 December 2010 - Sunday 2 January 2011

2011-01-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

Written Sunday, 2 January 2011 - It's been over a month since I wrote a workout blog update on training. It's not like I haven't been training, I guess it just has to do with my focus. Linda had her 2nd chemo treatment this past week and is feeling pretty lousy. Son 2 is also sick, though he is starting to feel better tonight.
My focus, besides being on Linda, has been divided a little with passing my triathlon coaching test and preparing to coach. As of the new year, I will have 7 women newbie triathletes to coach as they prepare for Iron Girl Atlanta in May - a sprint triathlon. It'll be 1 week before I race IMTX in The Woodlands. While I'll have the stress and excitement of Iron Girl, it will also allow me to be training in the humid South for about a week and a half.
This week's training went well. It was a Recovery week after 3 weeks of base phase training. With New Year's Day a holiday I was able to move some of my Saturday to Friday. Saturday I woke up with a heart rate of 52 so I took the day off instead of riding. It was 49 at the start of the week. My Sunday Brick went well, with an extended 2 hour trainer ride followed by a 30 min run on the road.
Weighed 156.5 during the week but a very large 160 late. Didn't want to know what I weighed this morning. Too much food! Except for the whole bag of tortilla chips, at least it was healthy food...small consolation!

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 7450 yd
Bike 3 times - 1x Spin :60; 0x Road : ( mi); 2x Trainer 3:20
Run 4 times - 1x run :30; 0x elliptical :; walk 1:02; 2x stairmaster :20; 3x treadmill 2:10
Strength Training - 3x upper, 3x core, 3x lower - 3 sets of 12-15

Post Season Review and Evaluation

2010-12-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

1. Season Goals - What were they and did I achieve them?
My initial goal was to get my heel healed. If that happened and I was allowed to start running, I hoped to break 5:30 for the Ironman California 70.3 and improve my marathon time at Ironman Arizona 2009 of 5:32:02 by going between 4:59 and 4:30. My plantar fasciitis improved enough by May to allow me to run on the ground 1-2 times per week. This was not in time for the California HIM so I dropped out of that race after the bike. Ironman AZ was a success, going 11:51:07 (with a 4:49 marathon), improving by 41 minutes.

2. What were the high points of my season, the things I was most excited about?
I recovered from 3 hour emergency surgery for a blocked small intestine in a relatively short time, allowing me to start training for IMAZ without losing any time. Being able to do run training on solid ground for 5+ months in order to achieve my IMAZ goal was exciting. Going 11:51 landed me right in the middle between my dream goal and my realistic goal despite some poor weather conditions on the bike portion. I was also surprised and pleased to run a 10K race in a best time that was sub-:50.

3. What were the misses this season: the things I didn't accomplish or missed out on.
It took longer than hoped for me to heal from plantar fasciitis. This frustrating delay left me with a DNF for IM Calif. 70.3. Shoulder problems and a torn rotator cuff during the summer threw me out of swimming for ~5 weeks. It also made doing the La Jolla Rough Water Swim Gatorman 3 mile a bad idea so I didn’t swim that day. I also didn’t get to do any sprint or Olympic triathlons and very little run racing as a result, making sure I got to the IMAZ starting line. It meant lots of training with very little racing.

4. How did I feel about my fitness this year? What were my biggest strengths?
I felt more fit than last year in the area of running. Cycling probably improved but it was hard to measure. My core was stronger, as were my legs.

5. What in my training brought about the strengths?
I was able to do more real running as well as use the elliptical machine. Weight training for the legs and core was consistent over the entire year.

6. What were my weaknesses in fitness?
Swimming and upper body strength training took a small hit due to the shoulder injury. Cycling also didn’t improve as much as I’d hoped or expected.

7. What could have been done to address these weaknesses in fitness?
Cautious training to avoid injury would help. Continuing with “shoulder rehab” exercises should help keep me from slipping back further. I believe that I am not as strong and efficient as I could be on the bike. One-on-one coaching would certainly be beneficial. More time in the saddle of my own bike instead of in a spin class would also help. A couple of long rides were missed in the 2 months leading up to IMAZ that normally would have been accomplished. I now have a trainer to use that will allow me to do more of my shorter rides on my own bike instead of in a spin class.

8. If I could change one thing about the season, what would it have been?
Two things: not having my wife diagnosed with breast cancer and me avoiding injuries.

9. Based on this season, what are some initial goals for next year?
I have 2 Ironman races and a 70.3 scheduled for this coming season. I would like to get into the 5:10 or below range for IM Calif 70.3 in the spring. IMTX in May will be my 1st hot weather race. My goal is to be well-acclimated and finish in the top 10 of my new age group (55-59). IMAZ in Nov. will be my 3rd effort there. My dream goal would be to break 11:00 and make the podium (top 5). A more realistic goal would be to break 11:20. I also have the goal of improving my race nutrition so that I have no issues for either IMTX or IMAZ.

10. Anything else I want to discuss about this year and next year?
I maintained a good weight during the season, though during the weeks prior to IMAZ I dropped from around 156 to 151.5. This was likely beneficial for me but am uncertain how it happened.

Ironman Arizona 2010 Race Results

2010-12-10T06:23:00.000-08:00

I know this is tedious but I'm just posting it for me as a reference and as another way to view how my race went. By being able to compare my rankings between the two years under different race conditions the numbers show a number of things. Most obvious is that even though my bike time was the same for both races, relative to everyone else it was around 12 % better. It is one way to be able to make an indirect comparison. Although the competitors are different from year to year, considering the large sample size, it seems pretty justifiable to conclude that I made a fairly significant improvement on the bike even though the time didn't actually show that.

                      Split (average pace); Age grp rank; % rank;       Overall rank; % rank
2010 Swim - 1:03:07 (1:39/100m.); 7 of 150; 95.33%;             247 of 2361; 89.54%
2009 Swim - 1:00:49 (1:37/100m.); 2 of 170; 98.82%;             145 of 2516; 94.24%

Transition 1 - 6:54 (xxx pace); 37 of 150; 75.33%;                    673 of 2361; 71.50%
                     7:32 (xxx pace); 41 of 170; 75.88%;                    846 of 2516; 66.38%

2010 Bike - 5:45:11 (19.47mph); 26 of 150; 82.67%;               427 of 2361; 81.91%
2009 Bike - 5:44:22 (~19.5 mph); 50 of 170; 70.59%;               780 of 2516; 69.00%

Transition 2 - 6:41(includes bathrm); 84 of 150; 44.00%            1442 of 2361; 38.92%
                     6:11 (xxx pace);          94 of 170; 44.71%             1546 of 2516; 30.52%

2010 Run - 4:49:16 (11:02/mile); 55 of 150; 63.33%                 1032 of 2361; 56.29%
2009 Run - 5:33:10 (12:43/mile); 104 of 170; 38.82%                1748 of 2516; 30.52%

2010 Overall - 11:52:07              30 of 150; 80.00%                    584 of 2361; 75.26%
2009 Overall - 12:32:02              59 of 170; 65.29%                   1132 of 2516; 55.01%

Ironman Arizona 2010 Race Wrap-Up

2010-11-28T09:08:00.000-08:00

I’ve written my race report telling about the day of the race, the ups and downs, the times, the heart rates, the joy, and all that went on from my perspective. It cannot be complete, though, without sharing my appreciation and feelings of gratitude. Ironman racing is a team effort. When you are out on the course doing the race, sure it is you who is pulling through the water for 2.4 miles. And it is you who is pushing and pulling the bike pedals for 112 miles. And it is you moving your legs to run, and/or walk, the marathon. But you are not out there alone.

The massive team of volunteers is amazing and they deserve mounds of praise. Every step of the way they were there for us athletes. From the start of the swim to trying to climb out of the water and up those damned stairs, they are there to help. They stripped off our wetsuit, they pointed us in the right directions, they handed us our stuff and collected our debris. The volunteers shouted directions, hand us nutrition and water, took our trash, tried to keep the course safe, cheered us forward, massaged our pains, tended your wounds, caught us at the finish, supported us, hung that special medal around our necks. All this help is an amazing thing to be a recipient of, and it’s all in an effort to help us succeed in reaching our goal. I am so grateful to all of them.

Then there was the Get Sladed Nation, a group of people who may have cheered for me on race day (or not even known when I was racing) but who supported me during the time leading up to the race. I am forever grateful for their love, help, encouragement, care, support, and/or expertise. From the doctors who helped me deal with injuries or illness – all setbacks that turned out to be temporary, to the physical therapists who helped me recover. There was the plantar fasciitis which involved multiple doctors (Dr. John Martinez, Dr. John Chisholm, Dr. Tallman), endless attempts at treatment, custom orthotics, multiple forms of physical therapy, shockwave therapy under general anesthesia, and finally an analysis of my running form by Gino Cinco.

In April I had a pesky little bowel obstruction (actually a blockage when my small intestine decided to fold over on itself) that led to a visit to the ER, 3 hours of surgery, and a week in the hospital. Dr. Giurgiu was my guy. At that time I felt a tremendous amount of support and sympathy from my iamtri.com online friends in the Ironman Arizona 2010 group and especially the 50+ Triathletes group. I was in a bit of despair sitting in the hospital and then coming home, unable to walk even a quarter mile. I received empathy, encouragement, prayers, and donated training miles! It was a nice mental and emotional boost. (And it hasn’t stopped there as members continue to be supportive, positive, and sharing of their knowledge.) What a group!

Pain in the right shoulder began to appear during the summer. First Dr. Anthony thought it was the AC joint (acromial-clavicle). Then Dr Richburg thought it was a tear in one of the rotator cuff tendons, confirmed with an MRI showing a 75% tear. It turned out to be both of these. I had stopped swimming and doing most of my upper body strength training. After 5 weeks I started back in the pool since NOT swimming didn’t seem to be helping. Saw shoulder expert and surgeon, Dr Jan Fronek, who eventually gave me one injection, recommended lots of physical therapy, did not advocate surgery, and gave me the go-ahead to race.

My now-traditional pre-race cutting of my hand on a piece of glass came during the shoulder issues. This time I didn’t get stitches… but I SHOULD have. I won’t mention this doc’s name. I also won’t be returning to that Urgent Care.

The non-doctors who supported me were at least as important. My kids (Marc, Corey, Matt, and Courtney) were a great joy to have with me at the race. Their cheering was great, especially on the run when I was able to see them 5 times (I think). I fed off of their energy and it helped keep me going, knowing they’d be there when I came around again. I also knew they would be good company for the “older” Get Sladed Nation support team! Marc and Courtney flew out from LA and then returned Monday morning because it was a work day. Corey and Matt made the long drive out on Saturday, carrying extra luggage with them. Getting to share this experience with all of them was really great. I was so happy to have them there!

My extra mean trainer (XMT), coach, strength training expert, and friend Diane Buchta, is the kind of person everyone should have in their corner. Her expertise, personal experience, enthusiasm, energy, and supportive nature are unique. Her strength training has been an essential component to my success, not to mention my self-image. Her can-do attitude is second to none and helped fuel my fire to keep going no matter what.

Having Mom at the race, in person instead of just in spirit, was just the best. Her arrival Saturday afternoon was a total surprise. I had no idea that she and my wife could possibly have managed to coordinate all this. I never thought she would do it, given how much planning and good fortune it took to pull it off. Her devotion to Dad, who has Alzheimer’s, is something to behold. It is something very important to her (and to Hank and to the whole family) and she rarely misses a day of seeing him. She is also such a sports fan and appreciates the hard work and competition that goes into an athletic event. She enjoys the buzz of the crowd, the excitement, the focus… everything that’s involved. Getting to see her 54 year old “kid” compete in an Ironman was a special treat in her eyes! Fans like her are VERY rare. Her generosity at meal time was something else, too! Mom was along for this ride from the very beginning of my efforts to do an Ironman with her great support and interest, from my preparation to crossing the finish line and beyond.

And then there’s a certain friend who jumped on board for a wild ride, supporting me as Sherpa, driver, videographer, checklist monitor, and friend. Phil, a high school friend and fellow swimmer, was the one that got me back into the pool in the first place back in 2006. He took on the support team / pit crew job after he found out Linda might not be able to go to the race at all after her breast cancer diagnosis. He offered to drive out with me, stay with me, and help out with whatever I needed. To do this he took vacation time from work. In return he got to drive me everywhere, carry most of my crap, check off my checklists, take me to my workouts, adopt my daily routine, make sure I did stuff I had on my schedule that I’d forgotten about, get up at 4:00 a.m. on race morning, stand on a bridge over a lake before sunrise, take pictures and video, stand on a windy corner on a desert highway to see me ride by for 20 seconds, stand on the run course and see me go by 4 or 5 times for 20 to 30 seconds each time. After I raced for nearly 12 hours he was there at the finish line ready with congratulations and my post-race O’Douls beer. He did all of this with enthusiasm and good humor, and he showed me how supportive and generous a friend could be. I’ll be forever spoiled by his kindness.

Lastly there is Linda, my one-and-only, who was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 ½ months before the race. With her health and treatment for this being our highest priority, my participation in the race at all was in question. As things progressed and a plan of treatment began to form, we had hope that not only would I be able to race but she might be able to join me. At times she was more concerned about this than I was. Each step of the way she wondered how it would affect our calendar. Would she be able to drive out with me? Then it was a question of could she fly out on Saturday? Would she be stuck at home relying on text messages from Phil and coverage on the computer?

Eventually things fell into place and she was able to have her radiation treatment followed by a couple days of recovery, then a flight out to Arizona on Saturday. I had been unhappy enough leaving her behind on Wednesday but having her there the day before the race helped to make everything feel right and the way it should be.

She arrived just in time to step into her role as the “cruise director” for the Get Sladed Nation in attendance. She coordinated where everyone should be during the race to cheer for me, timing things out so I wouldn’t be missed. And she made sure everyone also got away from the race for breaks, movie watching, and refueling.

Linda has been supportive of me since I started on this triathlon adventure. It has evolved and grown to Ironman proportions as I continue to pursue time goals and personal improvement. She has been so understanding and accommodating in part because she knows how much this triathlon thing makes me happy. How I got so lucky to marry the perfect person, I don’t know. She is the best “teammate” anyone could ask for. I would never be able to do this without her.

To have such a great group of supportive people is such a blessing that I will forever be grateful for. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the Get Sladed Nation. You all are the best!

Ironman Arizona Race Report - 21 November 2010

2010-11-25T11:51:00.000-08:00

Warning! This is a very long post with many details...
Wow, what a day! I finished in 11:51:07, bettering last year’s time of 12:32:02 and succeeding in landing between my “A” dream goal of 11:40 and “B” realistic goal of 11:59:59. I was 30^th of 172 (or 150 depending on who's counting) men in my age group and overall 584^th of at least 2361 that started.

Woke up at 4:00 at Hyatt Place in Mesa, Arizona, not having slept real well. At 2am I was up and so ate a little something before going back to sleep for 2 more hours. Ate, showered to bring my core temperature up, shaved, dressed, sunscreened, gathered everything together (and double-checked my list to be sure I remembered everything), and went down to the van. We made a wrong turn heading to the freeway and I was not exactly tolerant of the mistake - pre-race stress. It was a whole 2 minute delay!

I arrived at Transition around 5:15 with my good friend and Sherpa, having been driven by my wife and dropped off. It was warmer than usual, around 60 degrees. I did NOT forget anything, unlike last year when I forgot my bike nutrition bottle. Got all my nutrition loaded on the bike, pumped my tire, and sent my Sherpa back to the hotel, though not before saying one last goodbye to my wife on this cell phone. Took my Special Needs bags over to the proper drop off spots, did a quick 10 min warmup run, and then stood in line for the bathrooms. It was pretty crowded. Seems like I waited 20 min but I’m not sure. Put my shoes into my T2 bag, slipped on my throwaway socks and a pair of flipflops, and went to find a place to put on my wetsuit. Shared some BodyGlide with someone and got help with the final wetsuit zip up by a volunteer. Turned in my morning clothes bag and made my way through the “Swim Out” inflatable. It took longer to get ready than I expected but at least I didn’t feel rushed like last year.

My swim split was pretty close to being right on as predicted, with a time of 1:03:07 (1:00:49 last year), a time I’m pleased with given my diagnosis of a 75% tear in one of my rotator cuff tendons, arthritic issues and pain in my AC (acromium clavicle) joint, and a loss of 5 weeks training back in Aug/Sept. About 2/3rds of the way through the swim, I got a severe cramp in my left calf. I considered stopping to take care of it but eventually got my foot flexed just right and it eased. The cramp returned even more strongly about 500 meters later and the flexing wasn’t causing relief. My mind was racing to make decisions. Should I stop? Would I be able to walk when I finished? Would this screw up my ride or run? I’ve had plenty of these in the pool over the years and when the muscle contracts and won’t release for some time, using that muscle becomes less than pleasant. After a few seconds, it completely stopped me and I bobbed vertically in the water trying to decide whether or not to look for a lifeguard’s paddleboard to hang onto until I got it to release. My impatience and desire to keep going won out and I managed to release it again by flexing my foot. This isn’t exactly the most streamlined, efficient way to swim but better than the alternative!

I found the swim to be a little more crowded up near the front compared to last year. Maybe that was because I wasn’t one of the first ones in the water this time, jumping in around 6:43 or 6:45. Maybe it was my positioning. Or maybe it was because I was 2 minutes slower. The water was expected to be a cold 60ish degrees but to me it felt warmer. Not sure what it actually was. I seeded myself about 3 people back from the lead row and this time I was on the side, one half to 1/3 closest to the buoy. A few minutes before the cannon went off I noticed a much clearer spot barely 10 yards closer to the buoys and moved there.

I was jostled and banged into quite often for the first few 100m but then it eased, only to be randomly bumped some more. Took a few bumps to my arms as I got tangled with other swimmers. Also got a sharp kick to the ribs. No matter where you swim it’s always frustrating to suddenly be bumping into people when you think you’re swimming straight. The trouble is everyone else thinks they are going straight too! I managed to draft off of other swimmers to some degree maybe up to 50% of the time. I will say that I was frustrated with the person who kept banging into me once we turned towards the stairs, 100 yards from the swim exit. He was obviously not going straight. Either was a guy to my right who swam way wide and off course. Of all places to be able to swim straight, that would seem to be the easiest place. So it goes!

My T1 was slow at 6:53(7:32 last year). I blame it on the cold and a lack of assistance in the tent because of the number of bodies in there. It’s surprising how much more crowded the changing tent was by my getting out of the water 2 minutes slower than in 2009.

The bike split of 5:45:11(5:44:22 last year) was 5 minutes slower than predicted but the conditions were also tougher than predicted. While the temperatures were more mild than usual, the winds blew up to 35 mph with occasional gusts to 40 mph. My bike splits going out of town and uphill were faster than the downhill splits! It also rained for much of the hour during the 2^nd half of my 2^nd out-and-back. This was only the 2^nd time I’d ever ridden in the rain. As a result I learned that every time you steer around a curve or corner that water coming off the front tire drenches your foot. I know that’s probably obvious to most but even with rain during my last 6 weeks of training I managed to avoid riding in it for all but about 10 short minutes.

On the first loop going out, an official warned me (I think) not to get too close to the guy in front of me. I was mindful of this for the rest of the ride, first because I want to abide by the no drafting rule and not “cheat” and also because I don’t want the referee to have to decide to give a 54 year old geezer a 4 minute penalty. During the 2nd loop I took water from an aid station for the first time and it was very uneventful. After filling up my aero bottle on the handlebars, I tossed the bottle, and then retrieve an electrolyte tablet (Nuun brand) to drop in. When I returned the container to the bar on my bike’s top tube I missed and it went rolling across the highway. Not a disaster since I had plenty of electrolytes available, but disappointing. It was also amusing to me that I messed up on something so simple. In fact, what I thought about most was that I lost the container with an attached lid; disappointing.

Until now, 5 days later, I was neutral about my bike split. Now that I’ve looked at the results on the website I realize that most people struggled in the weather conditions. I had just assumed that since the wind was pretty much blowing in the same direction the whole time that its net effect was zero. My time was within a minute of last year’s so I just figured I hadn’t made much improvement. But when I compared my age croup placing and overall placing to last year I had made a significant improvement. In this case being able to compared with everyone’s times this year and last year added a perspective I didn’t get from the my raw times.

T2 was also slower than expected at 6:40(6:11 last year). I struggled to get my socks on and I also used that time to take a bathroom break. With a surgically removed large intestine, I must visit the port-a-potty more often than most. Last year I had to do the same thing but chose to do it right after the start of the marathon after transition which made the run time last year a couple minutes longer.

The run split was 4:49:16 (5:33:10 last year). Not exactly fast but for me it was very good. My 1 stand-alone marathon time is 4:29:12 so in spite of how difficult the run was and how poorly I ran it, I’m pleased. My first 3 miles were much too hard and too fast. So were the next few subsequent miles. I don’t know but for me the toughest thing about an Ironman may just be running the 1^st 5 or so miles at a low heart rate and under control at a slower pace. Every time I looked at my HR monitor it would be too high. I’d try to back off but then the next thing I knew it was way up again. I ran using the run-walk technique, running to a mile marker and walking 30 or more seconds and running to an aid station and doing the same thing. This usually meant I averaged 2 walk breaks every mile.

I was forced to make one more pit stop early on the 2^nd loop. Then, at around mile 17 I had a meltdown, having run too fast at the start (allowing my HR to drift into the zone 4 range). I was struggling. I couldn’t keep my focus, I couldn’t walk straight, and I had a tough time running. Mental function was pretty limited. At one point I stopped completely, bending over and resting my hands on my knees. My GI tract wasn’t happy with me either. Don’t know if it was too many calories or water and electrolytes or what. I did something you are not supposed to do: I tried something on race day that I didn’t practice with. I drank some cola! You may think, what’s the big deal? We’ll the last time I drank a soda of ANY kind, let alone one with sugar in it, was 1998! It actually seemed to work, picking me up some. It didn’t completely stay down but I don’t think it was any worse than what I was already doing.

Although I had strong intensions of not walking the little hill that first appears around mile 5 or so, I ended up walking most of it on loops 2 and 3. It seemed like it was taking too big of a toll on me to run it all the way.

I pushed through and pretty much ran the last 3 miles except for 2 short walk breaks. The last 1.5 miles were pretty strong, steady, and painful. I had envisioned the finish many times, seeing my finish time and being jubilant and euphoric. Instead I had tunnel vision, barely seeing the absolutely great crowd, not seeing the clock, hearing my whole family cheering but not hearing Mike Riley call me an Ironman. I did feel exhausted but triumphant. The catcher volunteer held me up so I wouldn’t fall over and was about to take me to the medical tent. I asked to walk around a little so 2 of them supported me, draped in a mylar blanket. The more I walked the better I felt and so the guy went to help other finishers. The woman helped me go over so I could hug and kiss my wife and my mom, who surprised me with her arrival yesterday. (I never thought she would do it as she is devoted to my dad who has Alzheimer’s. She visits him every day.) Then I saw my friend (and chief driver and shepa for this trip). I hugged him, my son and his girlfriend, my 2^nd son, and my “foster” son.

They handed me an O’Douls nonalcoholic beer and I got my picture taken with it and the medal. I was very emotional over the next hour, crying at least 4 times, grateful to have so much support, grateful for the opportunity to participate in such an amazing event, happy to have my wife and mom here, pleased that I pushed myself as hard as I did to achieve a pretty good goal, and relieved to be done.

After the picture I went for some food. Since I’m a vegan (except for fish), pizza is not something I can eat. The French fries, one of my favorite things but something I’ve mostly given up for training, would have been good but were even too salty for me, and I’m salting lunatic! The only thing that tasted good was the O’Douls! Signed up for a massage as my legs were killing me. It was fantastic! Went and collected my things, immediately changing into warmer clothes as I was shivering cold.

My intension was to go back to the hotel, take an ice bath, clean up, and return to the finish line. My Get Sladed Nation was starving for dinner though and it didn’t take much to convince me to go out for dinner instead. I didn’t get to bed until 2:15 and then woke at 5:15 when my wife and friend both got up to take people to the airport.

We had some breakfast and then headed for the Roll Down. I’d never been and wanted to see what goes on. From there we walked to the Awards Banquet breakfast. The highlight was hearing Chrissie Wellington talk about her victory and world record.

My wife, my friend, and I hit the road around 12:30 for the 6+ hour drive back to San Diego.

Some of the unusual sights and observations from the race:

· 2 dead, mostly desiccated coyote carcasses on the side of the road during the ride.

· First time I’ve actually seen people peeing on the bike as they ride. The first was a 40 year old woman (who was faster than me). Next was a 39 year old woman. I felt like they were marking their territory, telling me not to pass, that their lead was insurmountable!

· Lots of dropped sandwiches on the bike course. I know some people insist on having this but it seems to me to be very cumbersome and difficult to access. I don’t really understand why people can’t forgo a sandwich for lunch for just one day. It seems like something more convenient would be make a lot more sense.

· On the run some woman had a sign that read, “Spandex butts drive me nuts” so I shook mine at her, which made her cheer

· The Phoenix Triathlon Club’s aid station where the male members were dressed as police officers in short-shorts and 70’s era mustaches and the women were dressed in revealing police outfits.

· Running with a smile garners more cheers and encouragement from strangers. I lost the smile most of the time for loop 3.

· Wearing a pink cap with a breast cancer ribbon also gets attention, at least on a man.

· Did anyone see their Ford Inspirational Message on the board? I don’t know if my chip wasn’t activating their mat or what but mine never appeared.

Lessons from the Day

I learned a number of things from this race that I can use in the future.

· Put chamois butter/cream in T1, T2, and both special needs bags.

· Placing backup nutrition in the bike special needs bag is a good idea.

· Running at an easy pace/jogging for the first few miles may be the hardest thing I need to force myself to do.

· I need to more accurately calculate my hydration needs on the run.

· I can continue to improve my run, both in endurance and speed.

· I need help from a coach regarding my riding posture and body position. I can feel that I don’t have a consistent position and question what position might be most powerful and efficient.

· I need to do more work riding my own bike so that riding in the aero position becomes easier.

Goals, Splits, and Places

2010 – 11:51:07 – splits 1:03:07 / 6min54s / 5:45:11 (19.5mph) / 6min41s / 4:49:16 (11:03/mi)

30^th place out of 150 Men 50-54, 551 of 2361 overall; swim 7^th, 247^th; bike 26^th, 427^th; run 55^th, 1032th

2009 – 12:32:02 – splits 1:00:49 / 7min32s / 5:44:22 (19.51mph) / 6min 11s / 5:33 (12:43/mi)

59^th place out of 170 Men 50-54, 1132 of 2516 overall; swim 2^nd, 170^th; bike 50^th, 780^th; run 104^th, 1748^th)
A Goal - 11:40 Dream goal - splits 1:04 (1:32/100yd / 5 min / 5:40 (19.77mph) / 4min / 4:48 - (11 min/mile)
B Goal - 11:59 - splits 1:04 (1:32/100yd) / 5 min / 5:40 (19.77mph) / 4min / 5:06 (11:41/mi)
C Goal - Finish! After all, that's what I'm here to do and stuff happens

Watch Splits and Data

Bike 5:45:11(19.47mph), HR151max/121average

Zone1 – 0, Z2 – 43.5min, Z3 – 4:54.5, Z4 – 5min, Z5 - .25min

Lap 1 – 1:52:58 out 56:45, HR151/118; back 56:12, HR132/119

Lap 2 – 1:54:23 out 54:09, HR 137/123; back 1:00:14, HR137/122

Lap 3 – 1:57:56 out 51:50, HR134/124; back 1:06:06 HR135/121

Run 4:49:16(11:02/mile), HR147max/127average (77%)

Zone1 – 2min, Z2 – 27.5 min, Z3 – 2:50.5, Z4 – 1:28, Z5 – 0

1 – 10:07; HR136/131

2 – 9:34; HR137/133

3 – 9:24; HR146/136

4-5 – 19:12 (9:36ave.); HR145/136

6-7 – 20:47(10:24ave.); HR139/131

8 – 10:02; HR139/132

9 – 10:08; HR142/134

10-11 – 23:02(11:31ave. – 2+ min. bathroom break); HR137/129

12 – 10:39; HR141/132

13 – 10:30; HR135/131

14 – 10:57; HR134/128

15 – 10:56; HR134/127

16-17 – 23:35(11:28ave.); HR129/121

18-20 – 36:59(12:20ave); HR134/120

21-22 – 23:41(11:50ave); HR130/121

23 – 13:09; HR133/121

24 – 12:26; HR128/117

25-26.2 – 24:46(11:09ave); HR147/125

Ironman (Arizona) "Bags" Checklist

2010-11-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

Day Before - underseat bike bag

tire rim tools

hex tool

pocket knife

CO2 cylinders 3

cylinder nozzle

inner tubes 2
zip ties

latex/vinyl glove

patch kit

Pre-race – at hotel

Breakfast: Banana, Bagel, Soy milk or almond butter

Pill stuff: Metamucil, Immodium, probiotic, magnesium, calcium

HR strap

Wristbands

Wedding ring bandaid

Sunscreen on - except where body markings go

Race top, bottoms

Sweat top and bottom

Stocking cap

Pre-race - backpack

Wetsuit

Goggles

Caps

Throwaway socks

Handwarmer packs for bike shoes

aero bottle with water and Nuun, 2 elastic bands, 1 for straw

2 SaltStick tubes

Bike computer

Black tape

pump

sunscreen

swim pulleys for warm-up

Perpetuem/electrolyte bottle to sip pre-race

Pre-race – For Bento bag

SaltStick electrolytes in tube

Hammer Bar pieces coated in flour/Perpetuem in plastic bag

1 gel bottle (full strength)

2 Immodium pills, caffeine 1/2 tabs in container

chapstick?

T1 (Transition1)

Red and blue tape to mark bag?

foot towel

chamois butter

socks,

bike shoes,

arm warmers,

gloves,

orange bike jacket?

glasses,

helmet

race belt/number

Cold weather or rain needs?

Bike Special Needs

Perpetuem Dry bottle

Gels (or use gels from aid stations)

Chamois butter

Inner tube

CO2 cartridge

Cold weather or rain needs?
hand warmer packs?

T2 (Transition2)
Red and blue tape to mark bag?

running shoes
compression socks

Cold weather or rain needs?
hand warmer packs?

chamois butter
wet butt wipes
hat
extra race belt/number
1 gel bottle and belt

shot bloks (2)
SaltStick container (18+ capsules)
Run Special Needs

Shot bloks

Gels
Ace bandages

Arm warmers?

Cold weather or rain needs?
hand warmer packs?

SaltStick (extra)

Immodium, GaseX, caffeine ?

Post Race
Hammer nutrition bars

Potato chips
Bagel
O'Douls
cell phone

Compression tights

Sunday 8 November - Sunday 14 November 2010

2010-11-14T21:53:00.000-08:00

Written 11/14 Sunday - A week to go until Ironman Arizona! The taper is working it's magic. Although my legs feels a little sore and fatigued tonight from the weekend, they are better than how they were to start the week. The massage on Wednesday, a luxury I didn't have this year, was amazing. I have one more scheduled on Monday.

Linda began radiation treatment this past week, getting the go-ahead to do the hoped-for SAVI internal radiation that goes for 5 days twice a day. It has been a difficult week but now she has just 3 more days of treatment. It will allow her to be in Arizona for the race and be able to drive back with Phil and I on Monday after the awards breakfast. We are both VERY happy about this. We find out on Monday whether or not chemotherapy will be needed.

The downstairs floors were finished this past weekend, a big relief from the added chaos. Now the furniture needs to come back inside. Did the family room tonight but the living room stuff will come in on Monday. It looks fantastic! After living with the same 'vintage carpet' since 1984, this was long overdue.

My weight fluctuated quite a bit this week; very unexpected. Monday it was 156.5 but dropped to 151.5 lbs on Friday. On Suday it was back to 153.5. I'm more curious than concerned as I know carrying less weight on the bike and run is a GOOD thing. Hydration isn't the issue and I'm eating plenty so perhaps some of it can be explaned as a loss of muscle mass as i taper.

Thursday's 20 min run after a 1:20 spin bike ride was Saturday's swim went great. Did a straight 2500yd in 35:50 and felt very good and pretty easy, and was much better than last week's 4225yd swim. The 1:40 road run less than an hour later also felt good. I had to make sure I kept the intensity in check and not over do it. The left heel is a little sore and I'm a little concerned about the old plantar f. injury. The rides on the road, including 3 hours on Sunday, were also comfortably strong, averaging around 19mph on terrain similar to Arizona without much effort. I did a recovery run in the water instead of on the treadmil and the heel is feeling better tonight.
Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 7450 yd
Bike 4 times - 2x Spin 2:50; 2x Road 4:15
Run 4 times - x run :; x eliptical :; 1x water run :40; x stairmaster
Strength Training - 2x shoulder rehab, 1x core, 1x moving furniture :~)

Monday 1 November - Sunday 7 November 2010

2010-11-07T21:57:00.000-08:00

Written Sunday 11/7 - I don't know what it is. I think I felt the same way this time last year. You've worked so hard for so long, you've put in so much time, you're fatigue levels is super high, everything is coming to a climactic peak. I feel exhausted, relieved, anxious, concerned, self-absorbed, and grateful all at the same time. The feelings are ready to bubble over at any moment. And it seems like there is so much left to be done. All of this and Linda and I handling her breast cancer treatment and Son2's lapband surgery AND having 1/2 our house torn up as our 26 year old "vintage" carpet gets replaced with tile. Crazy!

Monday was a rest day, which I used to get physical therapy on my shoulder. I swam on Tue. morning but cancelled the 54 min run, still sore and recovering from last weekend's long run and long ride. Wed. morning's 2:05 spin bike ride went fine, though it took time to build up to a reasonable effort. The swim that night felt good with less shoulder pain than in a long time. The only place it hurts some is the AC joint, not really even in the rotator cuff.

Rode 2hours on the road on Thursday and ran an hour on the treadmill. Walked the last 3 minutes as i started feeling a twinge in my left quad. I think it's still wasn't fully recovered from last weekend's run. Friday was 2:13 on the spin bike.

I also saw Dr Fronek for my torn rotator cuff and AC joint pain. He feels I can do no damage by competing in 2 weeks and that he does not want to inject me again. Also he's not talking surgery regarding the tear. (He does mention there is surgery available for AC joint issues but that's not needed now either.) So it's all 'green light' for me.

Saturday I swam 2.4 miles in a respectable 1:03. It's 2 minutes slower than last year's swim at this time. If I can do that in the open water I'd be happy, considering the year I've had. Decided to move Sunday's Brick to Sat. as there was rain in the forecast and I didn't want to miss riding 4 hours and running 1 hour outside. Sunday became a rest day as i skipped core workout and an hour run. My thinking was that having 2 days off to rest my quads and my left foot would be a good thing. The coming week is all taper, along with trying to balance work, Linda's breast cancer treatment, Son 2's move back to work, and a 2nd week of downstairs chaos as the tile installation continues.

Weighed 154 on Monday to start the week, 153.5 on Friday.
Resting wakeup HR on Sunday - 43bpm (lower than my recent normal 44-45.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 9500 yd
Bike 4 times - 8:14 - 2x Spin 4:18; 2x Road 6:01
Run 2 times - 1x run 1:00; x treadmill 1:00
Strength Training - 2x core, 2x shoulder rehab
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday 25 October - Sunday 31 October 2010

2010-10-31T21:53:00.001-07:00

Written Sun 10/31 - This week we got news that Linda will probably need chemotherapy and she will probably not be a candidate for SAVI radiation (1 week vs traditional 6-7 weeks). This was disappointing but it doesn't change the fact that her breast cancer is very treatable and survive 'n' thrivable. It just means that the steps she has to go through to be treated successfully will be more drawn out and unpleasant. We can live with that. It does mean that her trip to IMAZ is still in doubt. We won't really know more for another week or so. Will she be able to drive with my friend Phil and I or will she be able to fly out Friday or Saturday?

This past week was a BIG week in the Peak Phase. Saturday's rain got me to move my 6 hour ride to Sunday and do my long swim and long run instead. Did a 3500 yd free in the morning in 50:57. That pace is what I expect at this point, considering my torn rotator cuff and my loss of 5 weeks of training. The 3 hour run started 45 min. after the swim and the rain had stopped. It was beautiful and mild out. The first 1 3/4 hr were on the road, mostly in Leucadia above the coastline. The next 45 min were on a dirt track so I could have access to more of my water. The last 1/2 hr was on the elliptical. I've been diligent about carefully ramping up my swim yardage and my solid ground running, trying to avoid injury. So far so good.

Did the 6 hour ride on the road, on my bike of course. I didn't want to spend that indoors on a spin bike so I'm glad I chose to switch up the workout days because of that. It was a brutally long ride and felt like it would never end. Sticking with it was as much of a challenge as the physical challenge that came from riding the next day after a long swim and very long run, mostly on solid ground.

Found out that my race number will be 1913 for IMAZ.

This coming week is also a Peak Week but also a start of the taper in that the weekend will have a long swim (2.4 miles) and a long Brick (4hr bike, 1 hr run). The longest run and longest bike are in the books.
Weighed 155.5 lbs at the beginning of the week.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 10,750 yd
Bike 4 times - 11:22; 2x Spin 3:35; 2x Road 7:58
Run 3 times - 4:22; 2x run 2:30; 1x eliptical 1:22; 1x treadmill :30
Strength Training - core only

Monday 18 October - Sunday 24 October 2010

2010-10-24T22:05:00.001-07:00

Written Sunday pm 10/24 - This was another good week for Linda. She's recovering from breast cancer lumpectomy surgery (and a lousy cold.) We got more good news from the surgeon and we see the oncologist this week to decide what treatment to follow. She may be a candidate for SAVI radiation treatment which only lasts 5 days instead of the standard 6-7 weeks. This would likely allow her to make the Ironman Arizona trip.

I saw orthopedic surgeon Dr Fronek on Thursday for my torn rotator cuff. He did not discuss surgery but did inject the AC joint. Then he called me today, Sunday (!), to see how I was. If there is no change he will likely inject in the rotator cuff. I skipped my swim on Saturday as a result of the injection.

This was a "recovery" week. 4 weeks left until IMAZ. Next 1 1/2 weeks are the final Peak Phase weeks, with the taper starting about 2 1/2 weeks out. Next weekend will have a 6 hour ride and a 3 hour run. If I'm able to do a long swim then it will be 3000 or 3500 yd as I try to make up for the 5 weeks off of swimming that I had to take in Aug/Sept. My extra mean trainer and I have decided to stop lower body strength training a week early, so I'll only continue with core and any shoulder rehab exercises. This coming Monday should be a rest day but Son2 (Corey) is having lap band surgery on Tuesday so I'm going to take that as my rest day instead.

Saturday night's dinner out gave me indigestion/upset stomach/food poisoning(?) so I wasn't sure if I be up and able to do a long Brick. Woke up well enough to do the 3:30 on the bike followed by an hour run. The foot feels fine - no plantar fasciia pain - and my pace at some point on the run was for sure under 10:00/mile. Only swam once last week - pool was closed for 1 workout and then the doctor kept me out for another one.

The end is in sight and I can hardly wait. I'm still playing with nutrition a little bit. Mostly it's just deciding on the "delivery system" of electrolytes and gel (or gel blocks) on the run. How will I carry and access those items. I've been wearing my race clothes for the long workouts to get used to them and to have the pockets available that I'll have for the race itself.

My custom t-shirt for Ironman Arizona came this week. I can't wait to reveal it!

Weighed 156.5 during the week.

Recovery Week Totals
Swim 1 time - 2050 yd
Bike 4 times - 2x Spin 3:12; 2x Road 4:30
Run 4 times - 2x run 1:11; 2x eliptical 1:39; 1x treadmill :45; 1x stairmaster :10
Strength Training - 2x shoulder rehab, 3x core, 2x lower - Chisel Phase

Monday 11 October - 17 October 2010

2010-10-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

Written 10/17 - It was a great week this week. Linda's surgery went well and she is recovering. Next week we hope to find out what here treatment will be (chemo-hoping not; radiation for 6-7 weeks or SAVI radiation for 5 days.) All of this will determine whether or not she can go to Ironman Arizona. My friend has agreed to go with me/us so if Linda can only come for some of it, he'll be able to drive me back, since I know I won't be able to drive!
It's been 3 weeks since I've made enough time to do a post. Have pretty much kept up with the workouts. I moved this week's long ride and long run to midweek so I could be home for Linda. The ride Wednesday didn't go as planned. After the first 2 hours of a planned 6 I had 3 flats. I had run out of supplies, not to mention patience. Got a ride home and rode 2 hours that late afternoon on the spin bike. The Thursday run included 2 hours of running on solid ground followed by 50 min. on the elliptical machine. The left heel has a sore spot on it so I'm continuing to be cautious so that I don't end up with plantar f-ing-itis returning. Saturday's long swim included a 2500 yd. which I negative split by 500's and averaged a 1:28/100. My plan is to keep building this up so I can keep a comfortable 1:30-1:32/100yd pace during IMAZ. This will mean giving away just a few minutes, but considering it's with a 75% tear in one of my rotator cuff tendons, I'll be very happy with that.
Started getting a cold on Saturday - slight sore throat and sniffels. Skipped most of my weight training on Sunday in favor of rest and a nap. The "indoor brick" of 1:30 on the spin bike and :45 on elliptical took more out of me than I expected.
Weighed 155.5 lbs on Friday, the lowest since my intestinal surgery back in April.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 8500 yd
Bike 3 times - 2x Spin 3:25; 1x Road 1:51
Run 4 times - 1x run 2:01; 3x eliptical 2:20; 1x treadmill :45
Strength Training - 0x upper, 1x core, 1x lower, 1x shoulder rehab - 3 sets of 10 with speed

Monday 4 October - Sunday 10 October 2010

2010-10-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is an old post that just never got posted.
Written 10/10 Sunday - This was an easier week than last week, with a 3hr ride/1hr run brick workout on Sunday. The run was a little tough but I also ran on Friday and Sat so it's not unexpected. Also did a 2000 yd straight swim on Sat as i build the distance of the continuous long swim faster than I'd like. I'm keeping the intensity of the swims in check to prevent pain, and hopefully injury, to the torn tendon in the rotator cup.
Next Friday is Linda's breast cancer surgery and I plan to try to get my long ride and long run, scheduled for next weekend, in during the week instead so that I'll be flexible over the weekend and not have to do anything but be with her.

Monday 20 September - Sunday 26 September 2010

2010-09-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

Written Sunday 9/26 - This was a recovery week though I didn't feel any reduction of fatigue until the weekend. Next weekend includes a 5.5 hour ride and a 2:40 long run. Linda is doing pretty well after her breast cancer diagnosis. We have a plan of action but of course won't know all those details until after a lumpectomy in early October.

Ran a 10K today with the hope of coming within a couple minutes of my best time. I started a little too hard but hung on and did a personal best by over a minute - 49:16. I am very psyched. No pain in the feet either, though I iced as a precaution.

Had an MRI on the shoulder on friday. Won't know anything until my doc appt Thurs. so we'll see what he says.

Ironman Arizona is still being trained for as if I will be at the starting line. There is a lot to the decision. We will see what the doc has to say about my shoulder and what the options are. Obviously Linda's situation is most important to me and we shall see what her course of treatments will be. She is very much insistant that I go do it and she has been looking forward to it herself since last year. If she can't go she will be very disappointed. She has already started recruiting my good friend to stand in for her, driving with me while she flies in on Saturday. I am less concerned about getting to the start line, but I of course would like to do it if I can. It's all a big question mark.

I have been swimming a little at an easy pace (1000 yd Sat) as it doesn't seem to make any difference in how the shoulder feels. I just want to have some sort of endurance if I'm going to do IMAZ; I need to be building up the distance. At the current comfortable pace I would only be about 10 min slower than last year.

Got my bike tuned up and had the chain replaced this week. The cogs/gears are all clean and working well. The chain fell off 3 times during Saturday's ride - I think the derailer needs a slight adjustment. Learned a little from this maintenance.

Weighed 156.5 during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 2 times - 2200 yd
Bike 1 times - 3x Spin 3:00; 1x Road 2:29 (45.5 mi)
Run 3+ times - 2x run 1:32; 1x eliptical :55; x walk :; 1x stairmaster :10
Strength Training - 4x physical therapy; 3x core (including 1 pilates), 3x lower - 3 sets of 10/8/6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
Tue 9/21
am - Run :43 on dirt track; skipped swim workout
8 x 1 min hard/1 min recovery
HR149/122ave; zone1- .5 min, zone2- 12.5min, 20, 9, 0
Strength training
pm - none
Wed 9/22
am - Spin bike ride 1:25
HR139/125; z1- 3.5, 7.5, 39, 33, 2
pm - none
Thu 9/23
am - Spin Bike ride 1:30
HR139/125; z1- 5.5, 9, 54, 20.5, 0
pm - Spin Bike ride 1:05
HR136/120; z1- 2, 16, 44, 3, 0
Fri 9/24
am - Treadmill Run :50
HR140/123; z1- 3, 10, 23, 13.5, 0
excluding 5 min walk w.u. and 5 min walk c.d.
pm - strength training
Sat 9/25
am - Brick - 2:29 bike, :55 elliptical run
Road bike ride 2:29, 45.5 miles - HR133/114
z1- 11.5, 1:02, 1:14, 0, 0
Elliptical :55 - HR140/131, z1- .5, 6, 19, 30, 0
Beginning Pilates - 60 min
pm - none
Sun 9/26
am - San Diego AIDS 10K run - 49:16 (personal best - previous best 50:53 Nov 2008), 4th of 10 men 50-59
HR166/151; zone1- 0, 0, 2, 12, zone5- 35min
My watch splits (with final time of 49:21)
1st 2 miles - 16:00; HR 152/142
mile 3 - 7:46; HR156/153
mile 4 - 8:04; HR159/156 slight rollers
mile 5 - 8:14; HR159/155 more slight rolling hills
mile 6 - 8:05; HR162/159
final .2 miles - 1:10; HR 166/163
Started 1st 1/2 mile at a good pace but was a little fast as the 2nd mile came. Sense of pace felt a little off and though I was okay. Heart rate continued to rise but didn't back off so my splits show some fatigue. Kept pushing and finished strong, very surprised and happy to have gone that fast. Studied the course a little before hand, recalling it from 2 years ago. Did not do the run/walk/run technique. Only walked a few seconds to take in water at 3 aid stations.
pm - Swim 1100 yd; strength train
500 Fr, 5 x 100K RI10, 100 Fr
shoulder muscles felt a little sore so didn't over do it.

Monday 13 September - Sunday 19 September 2010

2010-09-19T21:53:00.001-07:00

This was a good week of training but a bad week for medical issues. Linda's breast cancer topped the list. With Saturday a non-training Jewish holiday, I shifted the long run to Friday morning. I missed some strength training but got good workouts in besides that. The long run was 2 hours 30 min with a full 1:15 of running on a dirt track. The Sunday long ride was 5 hours and pretty tough to get through. They always seem to be that way. Did a 10 min transition run immediately after, which is something I wasn't able to do much of in training last year thanks to the plantar fasciitis. It's good to be able to train the body to be able to run off the bike for sure. The coming week is a "recovery week", with an MRI scheduled for Friday. Also doing a 10K race on Sunday.
Weighed 158.5 during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 2600 yd
Bike times - 2x Spin 3:30; 1x Road 5:07 (83.1 mi)
Run 4 times - 2x run 2:06; 2x eliptical 2:00; 1x water run :30
Strength Training - 3x rehab shoulder, 3x core, 2x lower - 3 sets of 10/8/6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
Tue 9/14
am - Swim 900 yd; Run :50; Strength training
500 fr, 8 x 50 K RI5
50 min run on dirt track
5 x 3 min/3 min
HR146/123; Zone1- 1.5, z2- 17.5, 16, 15, 0
Strength training
pm -none
Wed 9/15
am - Spin bike ride 2:00
1:05 - HR152/126; z1- 3, 9, 27, 24, .5
:55 - HR156/132; z1- 1.5, 4, 21, 26, 3
pm - Swim 1100 yd
500Fr, 5 x 100 K, 100Fr
Thu 9/16
am - Brick 1:30/:45
Spin bike 1:30 - HR146/128; z1- 4.5, 6.5, 38, 41, 0
Elliptical :45 - HR143/130; z1- 0, 1, 28, 16, 0
pm - none
Fri 9/17
am - Run 2:31
1:16 run dirt track - HR138/124; z1-3, 10.5, 54, 8.5, 0
(1st 18 min easy)
1:15 elliptical - HR136/127; z1- 0, 1.5, 1:10, 4
pm - strength training
Sat 9/18 Yom Kippur - no workouts
Sun 9/19
am - Road bike ride 5:07, 83.1 mi
HR140/116; z1- 20, 1:44, 2:54, 3.5, 0
pm - Water run :30 at recovery effort; Swim 600 yd (400K, 200 Fr)
Strength train

Elliptical Machine

2010-09-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

Running injuries can be a disaster for the triathlete with a goal. They can keep you from running for days, weeks, or even months. A potential alternative to stopping running completely is to use the Elliptical Machine. The elliptical machine is an outstanding replacement for actual running. The key to being able to use the elliptical is whether or not it causes you pain. If you are able to use it without feeling pain, it can be the answer to keeping you in the game until your injury heals. In fact it is a reasonable substitute for a workout a week even if you aren't injured, especially for experienced athletes who want to reduce impact or joint stress. Done correctly, the elliptical will allow you to maintain and even improve your aerobic fitness and muscular endurance.

When using the elliptical you will still do your run workout as it is written. If it includes speed intervals, then you will be increasing turnover and resistance for the allotted time. If it includes hill repeats, then you will use the incline and resisitance to simulate running up a hill. If your workout includes a long, moderate aerobic run then you use a moderate, fairly steady resistance with minimal incline variation. Using RPE (relative perceived effort) or heart rate is critical as well to duplicate the correct effort you would use in a regular run workout.

The other thing that you must maintain on the Elliptical is your running form. Do not use the hand holds or poles. Instead, you want your arms to move freely, as they would when you are running. Manage the resisitance on the machine so that it matches the cadence you would want to maintain if you were out running on the road. Relatively high turnover (90+ rpm) and free moving arms are your goal.

The Elliptical can be pretty boring but it is a good workout and an excellent alternative to running.

Monday 6 September - Sunday 12 September 2010

2010-09-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

Written Sunday 9/12 - Saturday I was sick and did absolutely nothing but watch sports on TV all day. Haven't done something like that in a long time, it seems. My stomach hurt and of course in the back of my mind I was worried it was another blockage like the one that sent me in for emergency surgery last April. It lasted about 8 hours and then things improved rapidly enough that I was able to reschedule the Brick workout for Sunday. Had to be a "no show" for the Gatorman 3 mile swim on Sunday. The shoulder (right) feels worse at the end of the week than at the beginning. I went and watched the mile swim anyway so I could see some old high school swim team buddies and to support Phil, who I helped train and get into shape for this. He had a good day, beating his brother by a lot - always a good thing!
Had a good balance of running and elliptical this week with no foot pain. Did some speed and technique work on Tuesday and did a 55 min run as part of a brick on Sunday.
An MRI for my shoulder is scheduled for Sept 24th. Hopefully will get some kind of answer to what they heck is wrong with my shoulder. It's very frustrating.
The coming week will be very full and busy. Will be taking Saturday off so am moving my long run to Friday morning. May only get 2 strength training sessions in.

Week Totals
Swim 1 times - 500 yd(kick 400, swim ez 100)
Bike 4 times - 1x Spin 1:15; 3x Road 5:40 (99.3 mi)
Run 5 times - 2x run 1:40; 2x eliptical 1:35; 1x walk :50
Strength Training - 30x upper, 3x core, 3x lower, 3x shoulder rehab exercises
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon 9/6 rest day
Tue 9/7
am - no swimming; Run 45 min; strength training core and lower - 3 sets of 12-15
3 x 3min hard, 3min recover (1 min walk, 2 min jog) - ran 3 min hards conservatively as I haven't had much solid ground hard running.
HR149peak/122ave; zone1- 3 min, z2- 12.5, 18.5, 11, 0
pm - moved strength training to a.m.
Wed 9/8
am - Spin bike ride 1:15
HR157/123; z1- 3.5, 16, 32, 19, 2
pm - Elliptical "run" 55 min
HR122/113; z1- 6.5, 20, 29, 0, 0
Thu 9/9 Rosh Hashana / Tashlich
am - Road bike ride 1:47, 32.4 mi.
HR141/123; z1- 3.5, 15, 1:12, 15, 0
pm - beach walk 50 min
Fri 9/10
am - Elliptical "run" 45 min (supposed to be a spin bike but forgot bike shoes)
HR144/124; z1- 6, 7, 8.5, 23, 0
Strength training lower body, most core - Power phase 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
break
Road bike ride 1:30, 25.6 mi
HR129/111 (seemed harder - in hindsight, getting sick?); z1- 7.5, 47, 33, 0, 0
Sat 9/11
am - woke up with a stomach ache so skipped the brick workout. still not swimming. Spent the whole day watching sports on TV
pm - none
Sun 9/12
am - Brick - Road bike ride 2:25, Run 55 min
Bike 41.3 miles, HR143/117; z1- 9.5,45, 1:20, 8.5, 0
Run on dirt and grass HR148/138; z1- .5, 1.5, 7.5, 45, 0
pm - Did not swim Gatorman 3 mile due to shoulders
20 min Water Run at recovery effort
Swim 500 yd - 400 K, 100 very easy
strength training - core, lower body, shoulder rehab

Monday 30 August - Sunday 5 September 2010

2010-09-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

Written Mon 9/6 - (Week 13, 12 weeks remain - 75 days left) It’s been a week of learning and, I think, a week of progress. The week before (week 12) I had overdone running on solid ground. Although I had stuck to my plan to only do 40-45 min at a time, I did that 3 or more times. That was too much and I felt it on Monday around the back of the heel on the sides of the Achilles tendon. This past week I reverted back to using the elliptical machine more, only doing a real run as part of the Sunday long run. Also resisted extending the time to 1 hour even though I was feeling good.

I was still unable to swim due to shoulder issues. I’ve been doing physical therapy for them and see the doctor in the coming week. Though the pain had lessened (it hurt more on Sunday), certain angles still cause me problems. At certain points it feels like it (the right) “catches”. Sleeping wrong exacerbates the pain. With the 3 mile La Jolla Gatorman this coming Sunday, I will once again have to skip a race I signed up for due to injury...GRRRRRR!

Was in Palm Desert this weekend and did the 4 ½ hr long ride on Sat. and the long run on Sun. The ride was on the road where the terrain had some similarities with IMAZ. I’d love to come back a few times before Nov. 21. It was a lesson in endurance, hydration, and nutrition. The temp was reasonable during the first half and all went smoothly. In hindsight I rode too hard at the start. The heat rose quite a bit the 2nd half, I didn’t drink enough, and I could have used more nutrition. I think I could have taken in a little more of both. COLD water would have been even better as the temperature was over 100 F. It was a struggle to finish the ride and my thought a number of times was that I couldn’t make it. It wasn't that I was endangering myself, my body was just protesting. I did finish and then consummed massive amounts of water and food. It’s a reminder that this process of getting to the starting line is a gradual build physically and mentally to be able to go the distance. (63 oz water, 3 Nuun tabs, 7 SaltStick Caps, 8 scoops Perpetuem)

The long run on Sunday was less of a challenge than expected, considering how toasted I was after the ride. I stuck with the plan, doing only 45 min on the treadmill with the rest on the elliptical to total the 2hr 20 min. Avoided the heat completely by using the treadmill instead of trying to find a good place to run outside.

Did my 3rd week of “Peak Power Phase” strength training, though nearly all the upper body stuff was left out because of the shoulders Also decided to miss Sunday’s lower body work, being out on a vacation weekend.

Week Totals
Swim 0 times - 0 yd
Bike 5 times - 4x Spin 4:09; 1x Road 4:30 (77.6 mi)
Run - 2x run 1:30; 3x eliptical 2:50; 4x walk 1:18; 2x stairmaster :35
Strength Training - 0x upper, 3x core, 2x lower - 3 sets of 10-12 with speed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day - physical therapy (shoulder)
Tue 8/31
am - No swim; Run Elliptical 45 min
12 x 1 min hard/1 min recovery
No heartrate monitor
pm - strength training - lower, core - at speed 3 x 10-12
wu stairmaster 20 min
Wed 9/1
am - Spin bike ride 1:25
HR153peak/123ave; zone1- 6.5, 2- 10.5, 3- 47.5, 4- 18.5, 5- 42sec
pm - Brick - spin bike 1:29/ elliptical :30; treadmill walk 18 min
Spin bike HR137/124; z1- 3, 9, 1:10, 7.5, 0
elliptical HR131/124; z1- 0, 1, 29, 0, 0
treadmill walk 18 min
Thu 9/2
am - no swimming - ?
pm - strength training
w.u. stairmaster 15 min
Fri 9/3
am - Spin bike ride 1:15

HR154/128ave; z1- 6, 5.5, 22.5, 36.5, 2.5
pm - none scheduled - in Palm Desert thru Monday
Sat 9/4
am - Road bike ride 4:30, 77.6 miles - walked 10 min

HR151peak/125ave; z1- 6.5, 34.5, 2:40, 1:05, 10sec
(does not include ~5 min bathroom break ½ way thru)
Started at 6:45am. Temp eventually rose to over 100F. towards the end. Did not drink enough water or consume enough nutrition. Electrolytes I think were okay but will evaluate that more as well. HR was higher than normal for not a very high effort at times during the last 45 min.
63 oz water, 3 Nuun tabs, 7 SaltStick Caps, 8 scoops Perpetuem
pm - skipped a recovery run - walked 20 min
Sun 9/5
am - Run 2:20 – 15 min elliptical, 45 min treadmill, 1:20 elliptical

HR132/114ave; z1- 12.5, 50.5, 1:18.5, 0, 0
15 min elliptical HR95ave
45 min treadmill HR128/116
1:20 elliptical HR132/118
pm - skipped strength training - walked 30 min

Monday 23 August - Sunday 29 August 2010

2010-08-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

Written Sun 8/29 - This is week 12 of 24, a recovery week to finish up the so-called build phase. Shoulders are improving slowly. Very much needed this recovery week. 83 days until Ironman Arizona. Next weekend we will probably go to Palm Desert so the long training sessions will have to start VERY early in the morning to beat most of the heat.
Weighed a porky 161 lbs during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 2 times - 1000 yd (kicking only)
Bike 4 times - 2x Spin 2:07; 2x Road 1:49 (50.6 mi)
Run 5 times - 5x run 2:38; 1x eliptical :55; 1x stairmaster :10
Strength Training - 0x upper, 3x core, 3x lower - 3 sets of 10-12 at speed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day - physical therapy for shoulder; legs quite sore from weekend long run and ride (with 10 min run)
Tue 8/24
am - no Swim; 38+ min run; strength training lower and core (no upper)
warmup and drills; 38 min run, 6 x 1:00/2:00 done as 1 min hard but not sprinting, 1 min walk, 1 min jog with technique focus - first time running at a faster pace on solid ground
pm - none
Wed 8/25
am - Spin bike ride 1:05
HR151/124ave; z1- 3.5, 9.5, 26, 22.5, .6
pm - Spin bike ride 62 min; Swim 500 kick
HR132/120ave; z1- 4.5, 11.5, 45.5, 0, 0
Thu 8/26
am - Road bike ride 1:15, 21.6 mi; Run 10 min off the bike
HR137/115ave; zone1- 5.5, 2- 18, 3- 46, 4- 2, 5- 0
run HR138/124ave; z1- 0, 1, 7.5, 1.5, 0
pm - strength train at speed lower body, core, no upper except "rowing" and shoulder work prescribed in physical therapy.
w.u. 10 stairmaster
Fri 8/27
am - Run 45 min @ beach
HR154?/120ave
including drills
pm - none
Sat 8/28
am/pm - no swim; run - 55 min elliptical, 20 min treadmill; pilates class 55 min; Strength training - no upper body
Sun 8/29
am - Brick - Bike 1:34, 29.0 miles, 45 min run on grass and dirt
bike HR not recorded; run HR137/129, z1- .5, 1.5, 27.5, 15.5,
pm - Swim 500 yd kick only

Monday 16 August - Sunday 22 August 2010

2010-08-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Written Sun 8/22 - Week 11 of 24, still in "build phase". The week went well with a full weekend to cap it off. 2 hour 10 min "run" on Sat. and 4 1/4 hour bike ride on Sunday. Because there was no electricity at the Y on Wed, I ended up doing my ride on the road after commuter traffic had died down. It worked fine and am now thinking about how I can get in more time on the road instead of just the once-a-week long ride. The running is still feeling good. I kept it to a max of 30 min in a workout. Next week will probably be 35-40 min. Started plotting out exactly how I am going to systematically progress how long to run over the next 11 weeks before the taper.

Did no swimming after Tuesday and cut out nearly all upper body and chest press strength training after seeing a doctor and starting physical therapy for the shoulders (mostly right, some left).

Got some coaching on my run gait Monday so that I try to avoid repeating my foot injury. He took video and evaluated my running. I do not have a heel strike, a good thing. My hips are not rotated forward enough, which means I engage my hamstring (?) late and use my calf too much. He gave me some ways to work on this stuff. My cadence is fine and should be maintained around 90/min. I also want to have a slight and adjustable forward lean (amount depends on speed) that is not produced by bending at the waist. Things I can work on with drills during a warm up and to concentrate on one at a time while I'm running.
Weighed 158.0 during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 1 time - 2800 yd
Bike 4 times - 1x Spin 1:25; 3x Road 7:16 (121.1 mi)
Run - run 1:15; 1x eliptical 1:40; 1x walk :43; 1x water :30
Strength Training - 0x upper, 3x core, 3x lower - 3 sets of 10-12 at speed, short rest; pilates class :55
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day - weighed 158.0 lbs
Run gait analysis by Gino Cinco at Univ City Physical Therapy
Tue 8/17
am - Swim 2800 yd; "run" 1:01
3,1,1; 5 x 225 Fr on 3:20; 50ez; 12 x 50 Fr on 55; 4 x 100K; 100SD
Run 12:00 + 19:00; 30 min elliptical - 12 x 1min/2min
pm - strength training - no upper (shoulder injury)
Wed 8/18
am - Road bike ride 1:49:30, 32.3 miles - YMCA closed so no double spin class
HR145/120; z1- 5, 25.5, 1:03, 12.5, 0
pm -
Thu 8/19
am - no swim (shoulder injury); strength training core and lower body
10 min run w.u.
pm - Brick - 1:25 Spin bike ride, :25 run
Spin HR137max/126ave; zone1- 1 min, 4.5, 1:14.5, 4.5, 0
Run HR144/132; z1- 0, 1, 8, 16, 0
Fri 8/20
am - Road bike ride -1:18, 20.8 miles
HR137/115; z1- 7, 26.5, 41.5, 1, 0
pm -
Sat 8/21
am - "Run"; run drills, 30 min run on Y dirt track; 1:40 elliptical;
HR134/124; z1- 0, 8, 2:02.5, .5, 0
am/pm - 55 min beginning pilates; strength training
Sun 8/22
am - Road bike ride - 4:18 (+12 min flat repair), 68 miles; 10 min run off the bike
HR137/109 including 12 min stop; z1- 39.5, 2h25m, 1h8m, .5, 0
Run HR131/121; z2- 7.25, 8.75, 0, 0
pm - Water Run 30min at recovery effort; walk 45 min

Ironman Checklist

2010-08-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

Pre-race
underseat bike bag - tire rim tools, hex tool, pocket knife, 3 CO2 cylinders, cylinder nozzle, inner tubes, latex gloves, patch kit
pack transition and special needs bags
Race day morning
remove ring or use bandaid
wear tri top and shorts, sweat clothes, running shoes, timing chip, heartrate strap, watch, livestrong and CCFA wristbands
Race day morning - take with me
wear timing chip

backpack
wetsuit
swim cap(s)
goggles
headlamp
small towel
sunscreen
body glide
emery board
knife
electrical tape (for bike)
bike pump (give pump to "sherpa" when done)
chapstick
Ziplock bags
aero water bottle on bike with electrolyte
gel bottles
gel packets
SaltStick tubes, filled
Nuun tabs
Small container with extra SaltStick, Immodium, etc for bike
pre-race nutrition bottle
large mouthed water bottle for sipping and/or peeing
packed Special Needs bags
Swim
tri shorts (wear)
tri shirt(wear)
timing chip and strap (wear)
heart monitor watch and strap (wear)
event swim cap
silicone swim cap (for cold water swims)
wetsuit
plastic grocery bag to help with putting wetsuit on
2 goggles
gel for just before start
T1 Bag
towel (for ground) - leave behind for next person
socks
bike shoes
gels if not on bike already
helmet
sunglasses
arm warmers
bike gloves
number belt, number
Special Needs - Bike
Perpetuem drink - powder in empty bottle
Immodium
GasX
T2 Bag
running shoes (place in bag on race morning)
compression socks
hat
fuel bottle/fuel belt?
nutrition - gels, gummy gels
SaltStick container with capsules
Special Needs - Run
SaltStick capsules
Immodium
GasX
Post Race - in backpack
nutrition bars
Perpetuem drink - dry powder in empty bottle to mix after
dry change of clothes
dry socks
plastic bag for wet clothes
cell phone
car keys
cash
Post Race - brought by "fans"
O'Douls
Bagel
?

Monday 9 August - Sunday 15 August 2010

2010-08-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

Written Sun. 8/15 - This was training week 10 of 24, a "build" week. The workouts I did went well, but due to shoulder pain I skipped the Sunday long swim and upper body strength training. I plan to call the doc on Monday. There is no longer pain in the acromion-clavicle area. Pain in the right shoulder joint has become more severe so we'll see what to do next. It's quite frustrating as I've never had it in the right shoulder that I recall. I also skipped a bike workout. I'm thinking that after the killer spin bike ride I do on Wednesday morning that lasts nearly 2 hours, another ride on Thursday night is sending me beyond what my body can handle. Will make adjustments next week, possibly dropping one of the rides.

Tomorrow, Monday 8/16, I have a run gait analysis to see how my running form looks in the hopes of avoiding a reinjury to my plantar... or something else.

Next week is the 3rd week of a 4 week build cycle, which means a long ride and long run next weekend.

Week Totals
Swim 2 times - 5500 yd
Bike 3 times - 2x Spin 3:27; 1x Road 1:45 (28.4 mi)
Run 4 times - 3x run 1:16; 4x elliptical 2:09; 2x stairmaster :20
Strength Training - 2 times upper, 3times core, 3times lower - 3 sets of 10-12 to fatigue, with speed and short rest between sets; beginner mat pilates :55
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
Tue 8/10
am - Swim 2900 yd; Elliptical 50 min
3,2,1; 6 x 225 Fr on 3:20; 50 ez; 4 x 100 K on 2:10
50 ez; 9 x 50 Fr on 55 - 36's, 35, 36, 35, 35; 100 SD
50 min Elliptical
10 x 1:00/2:00
HR148/118; z1- 3.5, 21, 15.5, 9.5, 0
stretching
pm - Strength training - 3 sets of 12
10 min stairmaster warm up
Wed 8/11
am - 2:00 Spin bike ride
15 min pre- , 45 min class
HR136/117; z1- 3, 15,37,2, 0
5 min break
10 min pre- , 50 min class
HR153/130; z1- 1, 9.5, 18, 30.5, .75
pm - Swim 2600 yd
3,2,1; 6 x 200 Fartlek Fr on 3:00 - alt 50 build, 50 debuild; 50 ez
8 x 50 Fr sprint on 55 - all 34's except #6 = 35; 50 ez;
3 x 100 K RI 10; 100SD
Thu 8/12
am - "Run" 50 min
HR127/116; z1- 1, 14.5, 32, 0, 0
Run on dirt path 26 min; HR126/112
1:30 break
Elliptical 24 min; HR127/122
pm - Spin bike ride 1:27
HR136/115; z1- 3, 37.5, 44.5, .5, 0
30 min pre-class; HR120/111
57 min class; HR136/118
tough time sustaining a high effort (again)
Fri 8/13
am - Strength training
wu 10 min stairmaster
skip spin ride
pm -
Sat 8/14
am - Brick - Ride 1:45, 25 min run, 25 min elliptical
bike 28.4 mi, HR130/109 - YMCA/101/Torrey Pines Rd/LJ Village Dr/return
run HR128/120
Pilates 55 min (beginner class)
pm - none
Sun 8/15
am - Run 55 min (30 min elliptical, 25 min dirt track run
HR130/113; z1- 7, 22.5, 25, 0, 0
30 min elliptical HR120/105
25 min run HR130/123
pm - skip long swim and upper body strength training

Triathlon Checklist (non-Ironman)

2010-08-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Pre-race
underseat bike bag - tire rim tools, hex tool, pocket knife, 3 CO2 cylinders, cylinder nozzle, inner tube(s), latex gloves, patch kit
pack backpack (items listed below)
Race day morning
remove ring or use bandaid
wear timing chip
backpack
headlamp
wetsuit
towel
sunscreen
body glide
emery board
knife
stapler
electrical tape (for bike)
bike pump
chapstick
Ziplock bags
aero water bottle on bike with electrolyte
cheap water bottle to squirt feet, sip
gel bottles/gel packets
SaltStick tubes, filled
Nuun tabs
Small container with extra SaltStick, Immodium, etc
pre-race nutrition bottle
large mouthed water bottle for sipping and/or peeing
Swim
tri shorts
tri shirt
timing chip and strap
heart monitor watch and strap
event swim cap
silicone swim cap (for cold water swims)
wetsuit
plastic grocery bag
body glide
2 goggles
gel
T1 Bag
towel
transition mat
socks
bike shoes
gels
helmet
sunglasses
arm warmers
bike gloves
number belt, number
Immodium, GaseX ?
T2
running shoes
compression socks (optional)
hat
fuel bottle/fuel belt?
nutrition - gels, gummy gels
SaltStick container
Immodium, GaseX ?
Post Race
nutrition bars
Perpetuem drink - dry powder in empty bottle to mix after
O'Douls
dry change of clothes
dry socks
plastic bag for wet clothes
cell phone
car keys
cash

Race Day Plan - Ironman Arizona 2010

2010-08-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort." ~~ Jesse Owens, 1936 American Olympian, 4 time Gold Medalist

(FYI Arizona is 1 hour ahead of California - Mountain Time Zone)
Goals:
A Goal - 11:40 Dream goal - splits 1:02 / 5 min / 5:40 / 4min / 4:48 - (1:28/100 yd swim pace, 19.77 mph ride, and 11 min per mile pace on the run.)
B Goal - 11:59 - splits 1:02 / 5 min / 5:40 / 4min / 5:08 - (1:28 per 100 yd swim pace, 19.77 mph ride, and 11:45 per mile pace on the run.)
C Goal - Finish! After all, that's what I am here to do and stuff happens.

Keys for Success:

Swim: draft.
Bike: negative split the 3 loops; keep heart rate in a reasonable zone (below 133 after 1st 1/2 hour).
Bike: relax shoulders, hold aero position; full pedal stroke; nutrition and hydration early on bike.
Run: smooth, "easy" run pace during 1st half of the marathon; hip position; forward lean; 90 strides/min; maintain heart rate in a reasonable zone; negative split, at least in effort.
Finish strong, with joy and gratefulness

Race Week:
· Plenty of sleep
· Daily quiet time to gather mental energy and visualize race
· No caffeine
· Minimize stress and avoid negative people around you
· Very low fiber consumption beginning Saturday
· Revisit key sections of course in training: morning swims, bike different sections, run along lake

Race Morning:
4am Wake up
4:05 Eat banana, bagel, and soy milk; metamucil, 1/2 immodium pill, and gasx; suppliments
4:15 Shower and shave; Tri shorts and top on; Sunscreen lower arms, leg fronts, lower back, face; Heart Rate monitor on, last minute stuff; Bathroom; Pack car; checklist
4:45 Leave for race, sip energy drink
5:00 Race site: Bike ready: bottles, computer, tires; Bento bag: extra electrolytes, shot blox, 1 gel bottle, 3 extra gels, butt wipes; Body marked; Have Linda sunscreen upper arms, shoulders, calves; wash hands; pump and sunscreen to Get Sladed Nation; Drop Special needs; Jogging warm up, Arm warm up, stretching, focus, visualize, relax, be grateful to be here
6:20 Wetsuit on, body glide, 1 gel, goggles and cap; drop warm up bag
6:40 In the water, swim warm up
6:50 Get into position, just behind the front row, around center, face in water

SWIM Goal: 1:02 (62 min) = ~1:28/100yd pace = 1:01:35
(note: ~1:25/100yd = 59:50, 1:24/100 = ~59:15, 1:23/100 = ~58:40)
Keys for Success:
- Face in water frequently while waiting
- Fast first 200m then find someone to draft behind
- Efficient pull
- Increase kick slightly last 500m
Technique Focus:
Relaxed and strong
Steady and even-paced
Watchwords:
"You've done the work."
"You are strong"

T1 (Transition1): wetsuit off; get bag; goggles/cap off, towel down on ground, socks on, shoes on; arm warmers on, gloves on; glasses and helmet on; race belt/number on while running; mount line, running mount on bike; Ride under control - it's not a sprint!

Bike Goal: Ride steady in order to run strong - 5:40
Keys for Success:
-Monitor HeartRate - keep at 133 or below; early on it should be lower
-Resist the excitement - first lap fairly easy, holding back; increase effort slightly on 2nd lap; work the 3rd lap without losing sight of the run
-Stay alert - avoid other riders and cones
-Head check top down: Aero position eyes up, neck and shoulders stretch, hydration/nutrition, breathing, flat back, stretch back, full pedal stroke
-250 calories per hour - Perpetuem bottle for 1st 4 hours, 2 dilluted gel bottles for last 1:40
-Water - sipping 16-24 oz per hour as needed
-Electrolytes - SaltStick capsule every 20-30 min; more if hot
-Shot blox optional nutrition replacement

Technique Focus:
Head check top down: Aero position eyes up, neck and shoulders stretch, hydration/nutrition, breathing, flat back, stretch back, full pedal stroke

Relax shoulders
Relax onto elbow pads
Stretch neck and back early and often
Head tucked, eyes rolled up

Watchwords:
“First lap is a warm up”
"LiveStrong"
Grateful to supporters: Lap 1 Linda, Corey and Marc and visitors; Lap 2 Diane, Parents; Lap 3 Diane, Linda

T2: handoff bike, helmet off, shoes and socks off, compression socks on, shoes on; gel shot blox, SaltStick capsules, gel bottle, and wipes in pocket; glasses back on if taken off, hat on, race belt moved to front, “Be Strong at the End!”

Run Goal: 4:48 to 5:08
Keys for Success:
-Resist the excitement - walk/jog first few minutes to ease into the run to protect the heel and control heart rate - low 120's early, low 130's in last miles
-Focus on form - hips forward, forward lean with back straight, high cadence
-Take regular walk breaks - 5 min run, 30 sec walk or at every aid station
-Start at easy pace, holding back until later miles
-Take in gel or chews every 15 minutes; water every aid station
-Electrolytes - SaltStick capsule every 20-30 min
-Base pace on Heart Rate and perceived effort, NOT mile pace
Watchwords:
“Hips forward”
“You are STRONG”
"Just MOVE"
"I believe"
Grateful to supporters:
Linda, Diane, Marc & Corey, parents, Evelyne & Irv, Phil & Mike & Bill, iamtri group, Karen and Launer, coaches, The "Hill" is Matt's Mtn, Linda,

0-3 miles: Jog, then easy pace with 30 sec walk breaks every 5 min or at aid stations. Breathing.
3-18 miles: Focus on form and efficiency. Monitor heart rate (mid 120s). Nutrition and hydration.
18-20 miles: The race begins. Monitor heart rate (low to mid-130s max)
20-26 miles: Be strong at the finish. Monitor heart rate (mid-130s, higher last 2 miles). Be in the moment.

Monday 2 August - Sunday 8 August 2010

2010-08-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

Written 8/8 - This was week 9 of 23. Had a good week though the 4 hour ride on Sunday I failed to maintain intensity for the last 1 1/2 hours. I think it may have been in part because of the 2 hour run on Sat. Missed a 35 min recovery run and strength training on Sunday. Marc was here visiting. This was the 4th and final week of a strength training Power Phase. I have increased amounts of weights for nearly every exercise steadily and am stronger than ever in many movements. My left shoulder has improved substantially, though the right one is still not right. Amazingly it doesn't restrict my motion in swimming. I do tend to breathe only to one side which takes a little pressure off of it, but that's my only compensation. Ran 20 minutes twice this week, finishing the run workouts on the elliptical. Will not increase beyond 25 min in any single workout this coming week.

Week Totals
Swim 3times - 8450 yd
Bike 4times - 3x Spin 4:24.5; 1x Road 4:01 (63.5 mi)
Run 3times - 3x run :54; 2x eliptical 2:12; 2x stairmaster :20
Strength Training - 2times upper, 3times core, 2times lower - 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
Tue 8/3
am - Swim 2650 yd, "Run" 46 min
3,1,1; 6 x 225 Fr on 3:20; 6 x 50 Fly K on 65
50 S; 7 x 50 Fr on 55 - 35s; 100sd
"Run" 46 min, HR153/124; z1- .5, 10, 25.5, 8.5, 1.35
Run 13 min on dirt track
HR126/119
Elliptical 33 min
8 x 1:00/2:00 sprint/recovery
HR153/126
pm - Strength train - power phase 10, 8, 6 reps
wu 10 min stairmaster
Wed 8/4
am - Spin bike ride 2 classes 1:54
55 min class and preclass - HR135/155
z1- 5.5, 19, 29.5, .5, 0
4 min break
59 min class and preclass
z1- .5, 12.5, 17.5, 25, 3.25
pm - Swim 2600 yd
3,1,1; 6 x 225 Farlek Fr on 3:20 - 50ez, 50H, last 25 ez to mod
6 x 50 Fr on 55 - 34, 34, 35s; 6 x 75 K on 1:40; 100SD
Thu 8/5
am - Brick 1:22.5 spin bike ride, 20 min treadmill
spin bike HR136/123; treadmill HR120/115
HR136/122; z1- 5, 23.5, 1:06.5, 6.5, 0
pm - partial strength training
wu 10 min stairmaster
Fri 8/6
am - Spin bike ride 1:13
Class, pre-, and post-
HR144/123; z1- 5, 16.5, 27, 23.5, 0
finish strength training
Sat 8/7
am - Swim 3200 yd; 1 hr Pilates (beginners)
3,2,1; 2500 Fr mod - 36:09 (712, 718, 716, 714, 709); 100 SD
Pilates class
pm - 2:00 'Run' - 21 min on YMCA dirt trail, 1 1/2 min transition, 1:39 Elliptical
Dirt track - HR129/123; Elliptical HR135/124
z1- 1, 11.5, 1:45, .5, 0
Sun 8/8
am - Road bike ride 4:01, 63.5 mil
HR140/108; Ave 16.0 mph
z1- 35.5, 2:21, 47, 5, 0
Had a difficult time pushing very hard the last 1.5 hours.
pm - skipped a 35 min recovery run and strength training session. Marc was visiting.

NSAIDs (Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs)

2010-08-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

On the website Amateur Endurance.com, 2 articles have been published in 2010 regarding the use of NSAIDs by endurance athletes and runners. One is about muscle inflammation and the use of NSAIDs by endurance athletes. The other is about their negative affect on muscle healing. Not only are there health consequences and risks if you use them, but it's also not the way to get the most out of your workout or training. Inflammation is part of muscle work and you don't want to stop the inflammation process too soon. It is part of a process that starts with catabolism, the breaking down of large molecules like polysaccharides, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins into smaller units like monosaccharides, fatty acids, nucleotides, and amino acids. These are broken down and used, in part, to make ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is the energy used for anabolism, the process of maintaining and growing cells.
Below are the full articles, including the opinion that taking fish oil will help control inflammation and aid in recovery:
Inflammation and the Endurance Athlete
There are litanies of inflammation based ailments that can negatively affect an endurance athlete’s performance. Some of these ailments include but are not limited to the common cold, arthritis, tendinitis, depression and DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).

A common method of fighting inflammation is the use of NSAIDs (Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs). The most prominent players in this group of drugs are aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen, partly because they are readily available over-the-counter. But, research indicates that the overuse of prescription and non-prescription NSAIDs could lead to larger health issues such as the development of ulcers, autoimmune dysfunction, bleeding in the GI tract, congestive heart failure, photosensitivity and renal failure.

The use of NSAIDs other than (low-dose) aspirin is associated with a doubled risk of symptomatic heart failure in patients without a history of cardiac disease. (Henry.D, 2000) Research has also shown that sustained exercise while using NSAIDs can compromise renal function and potentiate the risk of developing acute renal failure. NSAIDs are widely used in the endurance community, and athletes should be warned of the potential danger of their use when renal function may be compromised. (Walker, R. et al 1994) This data provides compelling evidence to support the use of alternative treatment options when battling chronic inflammation based ailments.

Fish Oil
So, if Ibuprofen is a no-no, what should I be using? Well, currently Omega-3’s offer an excellent alternative to NSAIDs. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), better known as Omega-3’s act as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. Regular supplementation of Omega-3 fatty acids can easily be achieved by oral consumption of a fish oil product. Fish oil has been shown to improve brain function, decrease inflammation, reduce the incidence of fatal heart attacks and ischemic strokes, improve the outcome of autoimmune diseases, and improve vision. (Blaylock, 2008)

It’s important when purchasing fish oil to make sure it has been refined properly through molecular distillation. From there you’ll need to check the most biologically potent component found in fish oil – Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA). It’s imperative to ascertain the amount of EPA and DHA found in each serving, since large disparities do exist. Unfortunately, there is no FDA recommended dosage for fish oil. But, the FDA does say that the average healthy person (age 5+) should not take a fish oil dosage of more than 3000 mg per day. However, the average person only consumes the woefully inadequate amount of 120-130 mgs each day. (Simopoulos, 2009)

So, what dosage of fish oil should you take? The World Health Organization and numerous other authorities recommend 300-500 mg per day. It’s recommended that you slowly ramp up your consumption of fish oil to see what your body feels comfortable with and to make sure you don’t experience any fish oil side effects, like allergies, diarrhea, heartburn or nausea.

When should you consult a doctor for fish oil recommended dosage? Individuals who have diabetes, people taking insulin, people at risk for bleeding, people with congestive heart failure (or any other condition where the heart is receiving insufficient blood flow), people with high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), people who bruise easily, people who are taking blood thinners, people with fish allergies, young children and women who are breast-feeding or pregnant should always consult their doctor before taking any fish oil. You should also talk to your doctor if you’re a healthy individual and plan on taking a dosage of more than 3000 mg a day of fish oil. (Snow, 2007)

Fish oil supplementation has helped many of our athletes experience faster recovery times, less overuse injuries and better overall body compositions. These anecdotal findings coupled with the current scientific literature, suggest that fish oil can offer a suitable alternative to NSAIDs for the endurance athlete.

Written by By Eric Auciello, ACSM, CPT

References:
WALKER, ROBERT J.; FAWCETT, J. PAUL; FLANNERY, ERIN M.; GERRARD, DAVID F. Indomethacin potentiates exercise-induced reduction in renal hemodynamics in athletes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 26(11):1302-1306, November 1994.

Henry, D (March 2000). Consumption of NSAIDs and the development of congestive heart failure in elderly patients: an under recognized public health problem. Archives of internal medicine 160 (6): 777–84.

Russell L. Blaylock, MD, DHA Supports Brain Development and Protects Neurological Function, LE Magazine January 2008

Artemis P. Simopoulos, MD, FACN, Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 21, No. 6, 495-505 (2002)

Wyn Snow, Fish Oil versus Flax Seed Oil—Which Is Better?, Dietary Supplement Quality Initiative, 2 March 2007

Craig Weatherby, Can Fish Oil Cause Bleeding Risks?, Vital Choices Newsletter, Monday, June 23, 2008 Issue 220 VOLUME 5 ISSUE 220

NSAIDs and Running: Is It Smart?
Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are grouped into two categories. Cox-1 and Cox-2 inhibitors. These medications were designed to limit the inflammatory response of the body the injury. Unfortunately for us there are many negative effects that accompany these medications. A review of current medical literature has caused us to caution patients and runners taking these harmful drugs.

In 1999 the New England Journal of Medicine released a landmark study. They estimated that a minimum of 16,500 people die every year due to side effects associated with these drugs. To put that number in perspective, that same year 16,685 people died of AIDS. It seems that these harmful medications are absorbed in your stomach ultimately resulting in a bleeding ulcer which causes you to slowly bleed to death. The journal SPINE in 1994 stated “NSAIDs are the most frequently prescribed medications worldwide. NSAIDs continue to be one of the most common drugs associated with serious adverse events.” Some of the more serious adverse events include asthma, high blood pressure, kidney failure, hepatitis and death. In fact the journal Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America in 2000 questioned the efficacy and validity of prescribing NSAIDs for muscle trauma and pain. They state “NSAIDs are often prescribed in the treatment of acute (and chronic) muscle trauma, despite a relative lack of scientific data supporting their use. In fact recent studies have suggested that the recovery process and rate of muscle fiber regeneration may be delayed when NSAIDs are prescribed.”

These findings were recently validated when researchers for the journal of Bone and Mineral Research found normal tissue healing failed due to the adverse effects of Cox-2 inhibitors (NSAIDs). Their findings state that “Cox-2 activity is necessary for normal healing.” These findings indicate that by taking NSAIDs following injury that not only is the repair process slowed but that normal healing does not occur. In fact the tissue was studied and found to be pathological (abnormal) in nature. Meaning, it was weaker and more prone to injury. The significance of this for runners and chronic injuries can not be underestimated. Imagine you develop knee pain. Your doctor prescribes Ibuprofen. It takes the pain away but does nothing to solve the reason for the pain in the first place. Now you run on your injury actually making it worse. Not only that but as your body is attempting to heal it is slowed due to the adverse effects of the drug and the new muscle tissue that is being made is weaker and abnormal!

The journal Arthritis and Rheumatism explained back in 1993 that these drugs actually accelerated the progression of knee arthritis. They stated that “analgesic medications such as NSAIDs and opiates may be effective in pain relief, NSAIDs actually increase knee torque during walking, and this may tend to accelerate the progression of the disease (arthritis). Some physicians while well intentioned have actually given patients the advice to take aspirin or Ibuprofen before, during or after a run as a preventative measure. This is directly opposed to current research. The journal Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise stated that “muscle inflammatory concentrations were unaffected by treatment with Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen when compared with placebo 24 hours post exercise.”

Written by Dr. Victor J. Runco, DC

Monday 26 July - Sunday 1 August 2010

2010-08-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

Written 8/1 - Week 8 of 23 - Recovery - 3rd of 4 weeks of power phase in strength training. Although this was a recovery week, I still ended it feeling tired and with soreness in the legs. Took tentative steps running this week. On Thursday I did 12 easy minutes on the treadmill and on Sat. I did 12 min on the dirt path by the Y. No pain so far. I'm starting slow and being cautious. Took a beginners pilates class on Sat with Linda.

Week Totals
Swim 3 times - 6850 yd
Bike: 4 times Spin 3:42; 1 time Road 1:04 (18.5 mi)
Run: 0 water run; 4 time elliptical 2:19; 1time walk :30; 1 time treadmill :12
Strength Training - week 3 of 4 Power Phase 3x upper, 2x core, 3x lower - 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day - 30 min walk
Tue 7/27
am - Swim 2200 yd, Elliptical 45 min, strength train
3,1,1; 8 x 100 Fr on 1:35 - 123-120; 4 x 100 Fly K on 2:10
100 ez; 6 x 50 Fr on 55 - 35s, 36, 35, 36; 100sd
Elliptical 45 min
6 x 30/60s; z1- 5 ,22.5,21.5,1.5,0
HR137/115 - lower than should be
Strength train Power Phase - moved to a.m. for Linda's Padre game
pm - none
Wed 7/28
am - Spin bike ride 1:40 min
2 classes with 4 min break
pm - Swim 2400 yd (cancelled 60 Spin class - legs tired!)
3,1,1; 6 x 225 Fr fartlek on 3:30 - 50ez, 50 H; 12 x 25 Fly K on 35;
100ez; 12 x 25 Fr on 35 - all 15's; 100sd
Thu 7/29
am - 35 min "run", strength training
Treadmill: 3 min walk, 12 min easy run at 5mph w/no incline;
26 min elliptical (HR~131/~126), 6 min cd
Strength training Power Phase
pm - Spin bike ride 60 min on own
HR130/117; z1- 2.5, 10, 45, 0, 0
Couldn't seem to get HR above 120 until about 40 minutes in.
Fri 7/30
am - Spin bike ride 62 min
HR157/127; z1- 2.5, 9, 19.5, 20.5, 7
pm - none
Sat 7/31
am - Swim 2250 yd; 45 min beginning Pilates class
3,2,1; 1500 Fr mod. - 21:25; 150sd
pm - 50 min "run" - 12:25 on dirt track, 38 min elliptical
run HR127/119
elliptical HR136/127
HR136/125; z1- .5, 6.5,36,7,0
5 min cd
Sun 8/1
am - Brick 64/30 - Road bike ride 1:04, elliptical 30 min
bike - HR139/115; z1- f6.5,19, 35; 18.5 miles
elliptical - HR132/121; z1- .5, 8, 21, 0, 0; 5 min c.d.
pm - Strength training - power phase
w.u. 10 min Stairmaster

Monday 19 July - Sunday 25 July 2010

2010-07-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Written 7/25 - Week 7 of 23. Had hard weekend of training even though I chose not to swim so my shoulders would get an extended few days of rest. Got in a 1:50 min "run" on the Elliptical on Sat. and did a 3:40 ride on Sunday. Distance is rising steadily. Next week is a "recovery week".

Went and saw a someone about my shoulders. Here's the report:

Went to a sports med doc Wednesday. He questioned me and took xrays. The conclusion is that I have strained (or did he say sprained) Acromioclavicular (AC) Joints. Both sides. He says it's a grade 1 or 2 because the pain typically comes hours after using them. I'm probably saying stuff you already know but... he said this occurs when i do things that come close to or cross the midline of the body, like barbell chest press. A chest press that keeps the hands wide for the whole movement shouldn't cause problems. He said that he could inject with steroids but would prefer to wait and see if rest, ice, and advil/celebrex will get it to improve. He thought the xray showed maybe a small amount of deterioration in one of the joints. Not sure. Also he thought the "space" between the 2 bones was less than he would expect but in the end he didn't really seem to apply this information to anything.
The movement tests he gave me for rotator cuff-type stuff indicated nothing, though he said he didn't give me two (out of about 8) tests because of the Acromioclavicular Joint problem.

Week Totals
Swim 2times - 4650 yd
Bike: 3times Spin 4:08; 1time Road 3:40 (61.8mi)
Run 1time water run :30; 3+times eliptical 3:10; stairmaster :10
Strength Training (Power Phase week 2 of 4) - 3times upper, 3times core, 3times lower - 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
Tue 7/20
am - Swim 2400 yd, 50 min Elliptical run
300Fr, 200 K; 3 x 100 Fly K on 2:05; 50 S
11 x 100 Fr on 130/1:35; 7 x 50 Fr on 55; 100SD
50 min Elliptical
8 x 30/1:30
HR152/125; z1- .5, 8.5, 29.5, 9.5, 40 sec
stretching
pm - Strength training - power phase 10, 8, 6 reps
wu 10 min stairmaster
Wed 7/21
am - spin bike ride 1:53
10 min pre- , 45 min class
HR145/120; z1- 4.5, 8.5, 33.5, 7, 0
3 min break
13 min pre- , 45 min class
HR150/129; z1- 1.5, 6.5, 24, 25, .5
pm - Spin bike class 1:00, Swim 2250 yd
Spin bike class 58 min
HR ; z1-
300 Fr, 150 K, 50 Fr; 6 x 200 Fr fartlek on 3:15 - 50 ez, 50 H
4 x 50 K (cramp problems); 50 ez; 12 x 25 Fr on 35 - :16s; 100SD
Thu 7/22
am - no workout
pm - strength training power phase
wu 10 min elliptical
Fri 7/23
am - Brick at above moderate aerobic effort: 1:15 spin bike ride, 20 min elliptical
5 min pre- , 60 min class, 10 min post-
HR152/133; z1- 6, 7, 9, 50, 2.5
20 min Elliptical
HR135/131; z-1 0, 0, 16.5, 3.5, 0
pm - no workout
Sat 7/24
am - Elliptical 1:50
HR133/120; z1- 8, 16.5, 1:25, .5, 0
2000 Fr Swim plus wu and cd was plannned. Decided to take the weekend off and not swim at all to help my shoulders. Won't swim until next Tuesday.
pm - strength training - core
Sun 7/25
am - Road bike ride 3:40, 61.8 mi
HR130/111; z1- 17.5, 2:14.5, 1:03.5, 0, 0
pm - 30 min Water run, Strength training
30 min Water run, recovery effort
Strength training upper, lower - 3 sets of 10, 8, 6

Monday 12 July - Sunday 18 July 2010

2010-07-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

Written 7/18 - Week 6 Base Phase of the 23 week plan. The week went well. I felt really good about Wednesday's training, a heavy day. Saturday's brick workout that included a hard mile swim, a 75 min bike ride, and a 30 min Elliptical "run", went very well. Took the rest of Sat and Sunday morning off for a little celebration of our 28th anniversary. Had a 2nd week of "Power Phase" strength training (3 sets of 10, 8, 6 reps) and am upping the weight on some exercises. Had a little trouble sleeping for unknown reasons twice this week. Don't believe it's a symptom of overtraining as I took my resting heart rate and it's as low as it's ever been: 44 bpm.

Week Totals
Swim 3x - 7300 yd
Bike 3+x Spin 3:51; 1x Road 1:14
Run 4+x eliptical 3:05
Strength Training - 3x upper, 3x core, 3x lower - 3 sets of 10, 8, 6 - Power Phase
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day
Tue 7/13
am - Swim 2450 yd; 50 min Elliptical
3,2,1; 11 x 100 Fr on 1:30; 3 x 100 Fly K on 2:10; 50S
6 x 50 Fr on 55; 100 SD
50 min Elliptical
6 x 30 Sprints
HR150/123; z1- 1, 10.5, 32, 6.5, 0:06
pm - Strength training - power phase 3 sets of 10, 8, 6 reps - did not go to failure... was cautious
wu 10 min elliptical
Wed 7/14
am - Spin bike ride 1:46 - 2 classes
5 min pre- , 44 min class
HR153/126; z1- 5, 6, 20,17.5, 1
5 min break
8 min pre- , 44 min class
HR153/134; z1- 0, 1, 23.5, 25.5, 1.5
pm - Spin bike class 60 min, Swim 2450yd, 15 min easy spin
60 min Spin class
HR136/123; z1- 2, 9.5, 44.5, 4, 0
300 Swim, 100K, 100S
6 x 200 Fr fartlek - 50 build, 50 debuild on 3:20
4 x 75 Fly K on 1:40; 50 S
12 x 25 Fr on 35; 100sd
~15 min easy spin bike ride
Thu 7/15
am - no workout
pm - spin bike ride 60 min
no HR monitor
Fri 7/16
am - 45 min Elliptical; strength training
started off a bit slow, taking time to get the heart rate into the 120s
HR130/112; z1- 8, 13, 22.5, 0, 0
strength training power phase 3 sets 10, 8, 6 reps
pm - no workout
Sat 7/17 ANNIVERSARY!
am - Swim 2400yd, Brick 1:14 Road Ride, 30 min Elliptical
3,2,1; 1650 Fr Time Trial - 23:11 (7:00, 7:05, 7:03); 150sd
Brick - 1:14 road bike ride, ~5 min transition, 30 min Elliptical
Bike - 1:14, Y/Leucadia Bl/101 Carlsbad, (no bike computer)
HR143/123; Z1- 1.5, 14, 50, 8.5,0
Elliptical 30 min, HR135/127; Z1- 0, 2, 25.5, 2.5, 0
pm - no workout
Sun 7/18
am - no workout
pm - 50 min Elliptical, Strength training
Elliptical HR118ave; z1- 2, 10, 31.5, 0, 0
Strength training power phase 3 sets 10, 8, 6 reps

Monday 5 July - Sunday 11 July 2010

2010-07-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

Written 7/11 - Week 5 of 23. Had an okay 50 mile road ride on Saturday and a 90 min "run" on the elliptical. Did all the runs on the elliptical - no water running this week. Missed a 30 min recovery run workout on Sat. to see our niece play basketball and eat mexican food. Changed up my workout pattern a little by swimming Wed. night instead of Thur. morning so I could swim with a friend. It was a killer day but that made Thu. pretty light. Next weekend is our 28th anniversary so things will get modified a little so we can have a nice celebration. Also next week will switch the strength training to a power phase with fewer reps and more weight.
Weighed 156 lbs during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 3x - 7750 yd
Bike 3x Spin 3:43; 1x Road 3:15 (50.7 mi); 1x exercise bike :13
Run 0x water run 0:00; 3+x eliptical 3:07; 2x walk ~:35
Strength Training - 2 2/3x upper, 3x core, 3x lower - 3 sets of 12-15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day - return from Palm Desert
Dog walks ~35 min
Tue 7/6
am - Swim 2300 y; Elliptical 45 min
3,2,1; 10 x 100 Fr on 1:30 - 122's, 21,23,22,22;
3 x 100 Fly K on 2:05; 6 x 50 Fr sprint on 55, 100sd
stretch
45 min Elliptical
6 x 30 bursts
pm - Strength training
wu 10 min elliptical
Wed 7/7
am - Spin bike rides 1:49
pre-class 7 min, 45 min class
HR142/118; z1- 6.5, 7, 28, 7.5, 0
5 min break
12 min pre-, 45 min class
HR149/130; z1- 1.5, 4, 24, 27, 0
pm - Spin bike ride 62 min class; Swim 3050y
62 min spin class - kept HR below 130, HR after warmup ~124
20 min break
300S, 100K, 50S; 5 x 200 Fr Fartlek on 3:10 - 50H, 50ez
350S; 200 Mtn Fr; 100 Mtn Fr: 10 z 25 Fr on 35; 100SD
Thu 7/8
am - rest
pm - Strength train upper, core
wu 12 min elliptical
Fri 7/9
am - Brick: Spin bike ride 60 min, 30 min elliptical
pre-class 7 min, class 45 min, exercise bike 13 min
HR147/125; z1- 4, 6.5, 31.5, 31.5, 0
30 min elliptical - incline 5
HR135/129; z1- 0, 0, 27, 3, 0
5 min cd
pm - rest
Sat 7/10
am - Rode bike ride 3:15, 50.7 mi, 16.2 mph ave
Home/RSF rd/San Elijo Hills/Canon Rd/101 Carlsbad/LaCostaAv/Home
HR135/111; z1- 24, 1:20, 1:23, 2, 0
pm - 35 min recovery run was scheduled but chose to miss it for family reasons.
Sun 7/11
am - 1:30 Elliptical
HR127/116; z1- 11, 19, 61
5 min cd
pm - Swim 2400 yd; Strength training - all (upper 2 sets only)
3,1,1; 1800 Fr - 25:48 (505, 514, 511); 100 sd
Strength training

Monday 28 June - Sunday 4 July 2010

2010-07-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

Written - Week 4 Base Phase, Recovery week. Went to Palm Desert for a long weekend so I didn't get one of the strength training sessions in. Shifted the 3rd swim to Friday so I could take some pressure off the long weekend with Linda.
Had an overtraining/fatigue bonk on the spin bike on Wednesday evening. Couldn't get it going, heartrate wouldn't elevate, had low energy, and was sweating without much of a work output. Finished the ride but instead of continuing to push, just accepted the lower effort level and didn't push.
On the short rides in Palm Desert I did some hill repeats. It was interesting to see that I went 10% faster using the big chain ring and a slower cadence than I did when I switched to the small chain ring and faster cadence. My "perception" of speed was the opposite.
Weighed 157.5 lbs during the week.

Week Totals
Swim 3x - 5550 yd
Bike 2x Spin 2:42; 2x Road 2:20: (36.6 mi)
Run 1x water run :35; 3+ x eliptical 2:15; 3+ x walk ~1:30+
Strength Training - 2x upper, 3x core, 2x lower - 3 sets of 12-15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day - walk 45-60 min
Tue 6/29
am - Swim 1850y; 40 min Elliptical; Strength training Lower, core
3,2,1; 7 x 100 Fr on 1:30 - 120, 21, 21,23,21,21,21
50S: 3 x 100 Fly K on 2:05; 2 x 50 Fr on 55 - 35, 35; 100SD
Stretch
40 min Elliptical
4 x 20/40s
Strength train - lower, core
pm - Strength train upper
wu 10 min elliptical
Wed 6/30
am - Spin bike classes
45 min class
HR134/119; z1- 3.5, z2- 7.5, z3- 32.5, z4- 1
5 min break
57 min spin
HR151/127; z1- .5, z2- 7.5, z3- 34.5, z4- 13.5, z5- .25
pm - 60 min spin bike ride
5 min pre- , 55 min class
HR128/117; z1- .5, 21.5, 32.5, 0, 0
Very tired, fatigue, bonk, low energy, couldn't raise heart rate,
Thu 7/1
am - Swim 1800 yd; Water Run 35 min; Core Strength training
3,2,1; 5 x 150 Fr Fartlek, 50 build, 25 debuild on 2:20;
4 x 75 Fly K on 1:35; 150 SD
35 min water run
stretching
Strength train - core
pm - none
Fri 7/2 weight 157.5
am - Swim 1900 yd; Strength training upper and lower
3,2,1; 1200 Fr (657, 705); 100sd
stretch
strength train upper, lower
pm - none - to Palm Desert
Sat 7/3
am - Palm Desert road bike ride 1:02, 15.7 mi, ave 15.4 mph
HR142/122; z1- 2.5, 14, 26.5, 17, 0
1 x P.D. hwy 74 hill climb (Bursari to Visitor Ctr) - 14:54 - gear 2.2, no standing
pm - Elliptical 55 min
Dog walk 20 min
Sun 7/4
am - modified brick: Palm Desert road bike ride1:18, walk 20 min
bike ride 1:18, 20.9 mi, ave 16.1 mph
HR144/123; z1- 2, 18.5, 26.5, 0
3 x P.D. hwy 74 hill climb (Bursari to Visitor Ctr)
#1 - 14:53 - gear 2.2, aero, no standing, HR135/126
#2 - 14:01 - gear 2.2, aero, no standing, HR144/137
#3 - 15:14 - gear 1.3, mixed position, HR142/135
~3min transition; Dog walk 20 min
pm - 30 min elliptical
HR123/115; z1- .5, 15, 14, 0, 0

Monday 21 June - 27 June 2010

2010-06-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

Written 6/28 - It was week 3 of base training phase. Did a "metric century" ride on Saturday which I was a little disappointed with. I'd improved my average speed by.3 mph over last year. Then I remembered that last year's ride was in Oct. when I was closer to my peak of training and conditioning. I felt better. Didn't sleep well the night before, not just because of the ride, but because on Friday night I signed up to do an inaugural Ironman in Texas in May of 2011. I was too excited and found it tough to quiet my brain. Saw Diane Buchta, the extra mean trainer, on Wed. and she helped me with some strength training and stretching, with special attention to my IT bands and my shoulders. Now I just need to get into a routine. When she measured my bodyfat composition I was initially pleased to hear 7+% but on the other hand that means I have less to lose and dropping weight certainly helps when it comes to riding the bike.

Signing up for 2 Ironman races in the same year is something I've been thinking about since before doing my first. Linda's love and support allowed me to pull the trigger and enter. I can't even begin to express my appreciation enough for who she is and what she does for me. And for understanding me. I will be in the next age group in 2011. Though it's still a dream, qualifying for Kona would be the ultimate! Doing the inaugural year for the event has it's appeal. Yes, I'm a little freaked about the thought of the heat and humidity on May 21, 2011 in The Woodlands outside of Houston. I'll have to do everything I can to simulate those conditions in training so I don't have a meltdown. I think maybe she should choose the destination for 2012.

Donated blood on Monday at 2pm. Heartrate was 50 and blood pressure was 116/57.
Body Fat measured on Wed. by Diane : ~7.3%

Week Totals
Swim x3 - 6450 yd
Bike x3 Spin 2:46; x1 Road 3:24 (60.6 mi)
Run x2 water run 1:00; x3 eliptical 2:30; x1 walk 1:00
Strength Training - x3 upper, x3 core, x2 lower - 3 sets of 12-15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mon rest day - donate blood 2pm HR50, Blood pressure116/57
dog walk 60 min
Tue 6/22
am - Swim 2250 yd; Elliptical 50 min + 5 min cd
3,2,1; 10 x 100 Fr on 1:30 A.T. 124;
3 x 100 Fly K on 2:05; 50ez; 4 x 50Fr on 55 - 36's; 100SD
Elliptical 50 min
6 x 20/40 sprints; 5 min cd
HR147/132
Zone1- 0, z2- 3.5, z3- 21, z4- 29.5, z5- 0
pm - Strength train upper, core
Wed 6/23
am - Spin Bike 1:41
2 classes - 46 min class
HR145/126
z1- 3.5, z2- 5, z3- 18, z4- 19.5
5 min break
10 min pre- , 45 min class
HR156/131
z1- 0, z2-4, z3- 27.5, z4- 22, z5- 1
pm - Spin bike 60 min no class
HR133/123
z2- 5.5, z3- 54, z4- 5
Thu 6/24
am - Swim 2000 yd; Strength train core lower
3,2,1; 4 x 75 Fly K on 1:05; 100 Fr;
6 x 150 Fartlek Fr on 2:20; 100 SD
Stretch
Strength train - lower, core
pm - Brick 60/30
Spin bike 65 min; Elliptical 30 min
5 min pre- , 60 min class
HR ave123
zone1- 4, z2- 7.5, z3- 48.5
5 min transition
Elliptical 30 min
HR131/124
z2- 3.5, z3- 26.5
Fri 6/25 Rest day - legs tired and sore; rest for 62 mile ride tomorrow
Sat 6/26
am - Metric Century Ride - San Diego Fiesta
60.6 mi; 3:24; HR 153/133
z1- .5, z2- 4.5, z3- 1:33, z4- 1:45, z5- 2
pm - 30 min water run; strength train upper
30 min water run at recovery effort
Strength train upper body
Sun 6/27
am - Swim 2200 yd; strength train lower, core
3,2,1; 1500 Fr; 100SD
stretch
Strength train lower, core
pm - 90 min run (30 min water run, 60 min Elliptical + 5 min cd)
Adjust resistance on Elliptical to keep HR below 130
HR134/124
z1- .5, z2- 5.5, z3- 49, z4- 1.5