Journey to Kona Day 146: Knowing When its Time to Rest

I know that I've blogged about this before, but it's really not something that I'm very good at.  I also don't really know how to rest.  I considered last week to be a week where I "rested."  That was purely meant to be physical rest, although I've already put in nearly 10 hours of physical activity this week (a good portion of it walking, I'll grant that, but activity nevertheless).  However, my two day trip to Baltimore involved over twelve hours on airplanes, squeezed into an uncomfortable seat, and much of that time was spent mentally engaged in catching up with some projects.  Mental activity is also not rest, as my wife often reminds me.  I generally have trouble resting mentally, as well as physically.  Wednesday was spent babysitting a 3 1/2 year old.  Enough said.  Thursday was a pretty intense workout day.  I "warmed up" for my swim lesson with nearly 3000 yards of solid swim training, then had my 45 minute swim lesson, then spent the next 3 hours getting my bike fit dialed in.  Friday ended up including nearly 2 hours of walking.  No wonder I really didn't feel like doing anything yesterday.  Oh yeah, I stayed up until 2:30 am in order to see my daughter's improv show.  Despite not wanting to get out of bed yesterday, I did, and did a 2 hour run in the heat of the day.  My wife an I then spent a good portion of the afternoon picking out a kitchen sink faucet, and looking at flagstone for our yard.  More brain damage.   So, today was supposed to be a cycling day.

I went to bed last night around 9:00 pm.  I woke up a few times and fell back to sleep.  Finally, I woke up around 6:30 am.  I felt like staying in bed, so I did!  I actually fell back to sleep and repeated this a couple of times until I finally "woke up" at 9:00 am.  That seems like rest!  No physical training for me today.  I think that my body and even my mind have been telling me this all week, and I haven't found a way to truly listen.  So, I'm listening.

The human body and mind is remarkable.  It's often hard to listen to the signals that our own body sends us.  I tend to pride myself on listening to my body, especially when I'm training.  In fact, on race day, that's one of my strengths.  I'm usually good at following my body's signals and modulating my effort effectively throughout the day.  When it comes to training, I'm certainly not one to take it easy or take a day off just because I'm lazy.  Quite the opposite.  One of the best things that ever did was switch away from having my coach write up daily workouts, because I knew that I'd follow them to the letter, whether or not I should!  In a lot of ways, this has allowed my to transform my training at 60 years of age.  I didn't do much training last year, but I was working my butt off.  This year, I'm not working my butt off, so I've been able to up my training.  Finding the balance will always be key. And so, today, I rest.

Journey to Kona Day 145: Threading the Training Needle

I was excited on Tuesday to tell my coach about the training I'd been doing over the previous several days.  He appropriately threw some cold water on my excitement.  Within less than two weeks from completing an ironman, I'd put in a four day block of both volume and intensity, the likes of which I hadn't done in some time, if ever.  My coach properly admonished me for risking too much too soon, especially with my long term goal of Kona, which is what this year has been all about.  At the same time, I knew that I would be traveling to Baltimore for two days, and then babysitting my grandson.  I had a pretty good idea that the rest of the week would be light on training.  So, I chose to hammer myself going in.  That's what I call "threading the needle."  How'd it work out?

I was going to run long today, perhaps as much as 18 miles.  I have to admit, I was tired.  It didn't help that I went to bed at 2:30 am, after going to see my daughters improv show in town.  I slept in, but I was still tired.  Plus, there was definitely accumulated fatigue from the last three weeks, including the travel this week.  While my legs felt fine, within a couple of minutes of starting my run today, I almost felt like turning around and going home.  But I didn't.  Since I started late, it was already hot out, probably close to 80 degrees, with some degree of humidity.  Not Kona humidity, but still, it was humid and warm.

I ran slow, paying attention to maintaining my heart rate at MAF level.  I was definitely slow, but my legs felt fine.  No soreness, just slowness.  I ended up running 12 miles (2 hours and 8 minutes), which was a decent volume stimulus just three weeks after ironman Boulder, and four weeks prior to the Santa Rosa 70.3.

Tomorrow will be a cycling day, I'll listen to my body, as I always do.  My coaches concern was that I push myself over the edge and either injure myself or negatively impact my immune system.  I don't think that I've done that.  Have I pushed so hard that I'm not able to do the appropriate training efforts this week?  That's an interesting question, and I'll have to see how this week goes to answer it.  It can be difficult finding the right training stimulus without pushing over the edge.  I like threading the training needle.

Journey to Kona Day 144: More Politics

I got to listen to a press conference with President Trump today, he was in Japan for the G-20.  There is clearly a new reality in our political world.  For some reason, he can answer questions with no concern about either meaning or veracity and it just sounds normal!  I used to like listening to political commentary and discussions, and I think that this is spoiling it for me.  I'm not really sure what any of this means.  Having our president boast that he gets along with everybody, even, or especially, dictators was perhaps the most remarkable part of the press conference.  It's true, in a weird way, which has always been his dichotomy.  He speaks the truth that he believes, whether it's actually true or not, but he comes across as truthful.  Thus is the manner of a sociopathic narcissist.  The world revolves around them and nothing anyone says or does changes that.

Of course, listening to Trump talk generally gives me flashbacks to my last job.  I'm going to avoid going in that direction.

Tomorrow is a running day.  I've pretty much rested this week, or rather for the last 4-5 days, since putting in a very intensive short block of training.  Time for a long run.  I tend to ponder all sorts of things on long runs, or sometimes I just meditate.  We'll see what happens.

Journey to Kona Day 143: Political Musings

I've allowed my inner political junkie some time the last two days by watching the Democratic Presidential Debates.  Last night I really enjoyed watching.  I thought that the candidates were intelligent, focused and respectful of one another.  Tonight was a different story.  There was more fighting and attempts to gain the "high ground."  I don't think it worked, on any level.  The folks who tried to attack Biden didn't come across all that great.  Biden's response to all the attacks was to basically claim to have been the savior of everything the democratic party has ever stood for.  I was not impressed.  At the end of two nights of debates, I find myself liking most of the democratic female candidates.  Some of the males candidates were fine, but maybe it's time that we actually have an all female ticket.

On a personal note, I like Bernie Sanders.  He'd be fun to have a beer with.  While I like his style and his approach, I'm still skeptical that we really want a true revolutionary in the White House.  In a weird way, that's what we have now, just not the type of revolution I'm in favor of.  On the other hand, having someone who thinks that they can make a deal with anyone may not be what our country needs right now.  Again, I fall back to the idea of having a woman as President.  There's something to be said about getting testosterone out of the White House.

I know people who don't think that the country's ready for a female president.  I think that the country wasn't ready for another Clinton.  I think a female Presidential candidate who comes across as honest and caring, and isn't out for themselves, but to be the Mother of our country, might just be what we need.  Those are my political musings for now.  I'm sure that in the coming months there will be more.

One other aside, I saw a lot of potential cabinet members in the debates.  There's really no need for these folks to fight or try to get the upper hand on one another.  They should let the American people decide who they want to represent them.  They can all have a seat at the leadership table.  Don't tell me why I should pick you.  Tell me who you are and what you'll do.  Let me, the American people, decide what we want in our President.

Journey to Kona Day 142: A Thin Line

When I talked to my coach yesterday, he reminded me that I'd managed to pour on back to back to back to back days of intensity less than 2 weeks after an Ironman.  Maybe not the best idea?  Ironically, I'd felt good in doing the hard swims, the hard bike and the hard runs.  I also knew that I had a two day travel "break" right afterwards, and an additional day of babysitting my grandson.  Now that I've finished with the whole week, I can comment.  Probably a little dangerous, but it is a thin line.  If I managed to get in a solid 14 hour week after one week of recovery from Boulder, and if I'm able to benefit from the efforts I just did on the swim, bike and run, then it will be worth it.  If I get sick, or can't put in another solid few weeks leading up to Santa Rosa, then it wasn't.  It's a thin line.  As I told me coach, though, I've never felt this way before.  Because of that, I felt the need to "go for it."

The two days of travel are not to be ignored, nor minimized.  I was pretty tired today, but managed a 2 mile walk with  my 3 1/2 year old grandson (and future ironman, I hope).  I also walked another four miles while on phone calls later in the day.  When all is said and done, I dodged a lot of bullets in the last three days.  I hope.  I'll know tomorrow, and I'll definitely know this weekend. If I'm able to put in a long run on Saturday and a solid bike on Sunday, the risk will have been worth the potential reward.  But that's a lot like everything in life.  Sometimes you have to take a chance in order to get the greatest reward.  I'm hoping to compete at the Santa Rosa 70.3 in my age group as I've never competed before.  What that means is that I'd like to actually be competitive in the swim, and definitely in the bike.  The run is always the most problematic, although I know that I can hold my own.

In all of my years doing triathlons, and in all of my previous age groups, I've always been behind after the swim, and then lost a little more on the bike.  Even if I improve my run, it won't hurt to be more competitive on both the swim and bike.  Saturday's bike ride, albeit with both volume and intensity, in addition to the stimulus of the ironman bike, certainly opens up the possibility of a significant fitness boost for the 70.3.  My 5k effort from last week and my progression run on Sunday, coming off the long bike, will also set my legs up well for a performance boost.

My coach did remind me that doing this amount of intensity isn't necessarily specific to Kona, and he's right.  While my overall goal is to do my best at Kona, I'll never compete in my age group there, and I'm taking the opportunity to compete in my age group at Santa Rosa seriously.  It's a thin line, but the "juice is worth the squeeze!"

Journey to Kona Day 141: Swim Start Strategy

I’ll never forget wading into the water for my first Ironman in St. George Utah in 2010.  It was a traditional mass start, in the full ironman tradition.  The water was cold, in fact, it had been measured as low as 52 degrees in the middle of the Sand Hollow Reservoir.  The cold water caused the athletes to wait until the last possible moment to enter the water.  I still put myself about 10 yards behind  starting line, and because of the tentative nature of many of the athletes that day, got to experience a mass ironman start without most of the resultant chaos.  Three years later, at Ironman New Zealand, I put myself on the front line, albeit off to the left.  There were athletes on both sides of me.  I’ll never forget that experience.  I’d done many triathlons where I’d had other athletes swim over me.  I usually just let it happen.  On this one occasion, something clicked.  After the gun went off, I started swimming as hard as I could. (here’s a quote from my race report: "I made sure that I was horizontal when the gun went off, that is key, and I took off as hard as I could, bodies flying everywhere, trying to go over me, around me, whatever.  But today, I’ll have none of it...I keep my head up and keep my elbows up and I make my way forward without getting hit today.” I remember athletes on both sides of me trying to swim over me.  Instead of letting them succeed, and getting pushed back even further by the rush of swimmers behind me, I did something that I’d never done before.  I put my hands on their shoulders and pushed myself further ahead of them.  More importantly, I was able to keep swimming and hold my position!  Aside from the downhill swims at Ironman Chattanooga, that was my fastest Ironman swim ever (1:08 if you’re interested).  

Almost every Ironman now has a “rolling swim start,” where athletes seed themselves into groups based on their expected swim times.  It’s generally safer than the mass start, but far less iconic, and makes it hard to compare where one is in relation to their age group competitors.  With that in mind, I’d probably lean towards age group mass starts instead, but that’s another discussion.  I’ve been in an interested position the last few years when it comes to seeding myself for the swim.  Until a few years ago, my typical ironman swim time was in the range of 1:10-1:14.  My swim training diminished and my swim times gradually increased, so I never really knew where to position myself.  I also don’t like starting too late for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to reduce the amount of time spent in the heat of the day.  Also, the further back one starts, the less chance to briefly draft off faster cyclists as they pass you.  In fact, at Boulder, I seeded myself at the front of the 1:10-1:20 group, which wasn’t far off.  I never had anyone swimming over me, and seemed to stay with a similar group of people throughout the swim.  It also gave me the opportunity to draft off of slower swimmers who are faster cyclists than I am, which I actually took advantage of to some degree during the bike leg.

That brings me to the Santa Rosa 70.3.  I’ve been reading the race reports from previous years and it’s a race with a lot of participants!  This can lead to a pretty crowded bike leg.  There’s certainly one way to guard against this, and that’s to start earlier on the swim.  My recent swim training has increased my confidence in this regard, and reviewing my New Zealand race report was a first step in my mental preparation.  If I’m going to seed myself in one of the early swim groups. I need to be prepared to swim hard and to have people trying to swim past, or over, me.  On the other hand, I’m familiar with the course, and it wouldn’t be too hard to swim a little wide initially if necessary.

My swim in the pool yesterday would probably translate to a 34-35 minute half ironman swim.  That’s pretty much what I used to do!  My swim fitness and recent data would attest to the fact that I should be able to do “at least” that!  I’ve got 4 1/2 weeks to get faster, and I also have some time to work on my swim form in my wetsuit.  I actually think that I’m not benefitting from a wetsuit right now with my new two beat kick, and need to figure out what to do about that.

I’m pretty sure that the rolling half ironman swim groups start with 25-29 minutes, followed by 30-34 minutes.  I’m tempted to go in the back of the first group.  I’m very confident with my ability to have a good bike split, and am actually planning to go hard on the bike.  I relish the thought of better cyclists who don’t swim well passing me.  It will give me the opportunity to draft off of them for 10-15 seconds before settling back to the requisite 7 meters behind them, which is still in their draft.  At Boulder, I followed one guy for several minutes this way, and passed several other people during that stretch.  

I also recently wrote about the controversy over the swim start at Kona.  Whatever it ends up being, I want to swim well there.  I’m setting the bar high for my swim.  Santa Rosa will be a great opportunity to see where I’m at!

Journey to Kona Day 140: What Really Matters

As I drove to the airport today, I was thinking about my blog.  My original plan was to stick to the theme of the past few days and write about my 20 minute swim this morning.  An interview I heard on the radio changed that. Sometimes, other things matter more than training for Kona.  This year happens to be the 20th anniversary of the Columbine shootings.  I remember like it was yesterday, where I was when I heard about it.  I was at an airport, flying home from a business trip.  Initially, the t.v. showed a school in Colorado.  First of all, a lot of the schools in Colorado look similar, and I’ll never forget my first reaction was that the video looked a lot like the school my kids went to.  Fortunately, for the sake of one dad concerned about his kids, they showed the name of the school.  At least my kids were ok.  However, I could only begin to think about the parents of the kids at that school.  Twenty years later, it was remarkable to hear an interview with the principal of Columbine, and to learn what he had learned from the experience.  What really matters in life is what I took from listening to the interview.  Every day is a gift, and I’m thankful for the many wonderful things that life has brought me.

Apparently, after Columbine, there was discussion of what to do with the school.  Ultimately, they decided to keep the school “as is,” although subsequent school shootings have led to different outcomes.  What blew me away, and something that I’d never thought about, was that there are people who visit the school as some sort of tourist attraction.  They even have busses that pull up to the school.  Other people try to enter the school grounds in order to take pictures.  Wow!  I would definitely understand any decision to significantly change the school grounds.  The worst of all the scenarios are the “copycats,” which recently occurred, and continues to grow, amongst people who weren’t even born at the time!

So, once again, I’m reminded of what’s important.  My ironman journey matters, but in the big scheme of things, I’m thankful that I’m able to get in the pool, or go for a run.  I’m certainly thankful to be able to take care of my grandson, with whom I just left my wife to fend for herself for 36 hours!  I hope that he’ll be easy on her.  I’ll be back in time to help the last day.  And that’s what matters.

Journey to Kona Day 139: Ironman Run Training at its Best!

I woke up this morning and felt pretty much like I did after yesterdays bike ride.  I still felt fatigued, my legs were dead, but there was no soreness.  Perfect ironman run training!  So, I just got out of bed, and ran my very hilly 11.2 mile loop.  The first six miles are a net uphill, and I just ran comfortably, no attention to pace, and it was definitely slow!  I ran the entire time, never walked, but was probably running at nearly a 12 minute/mile pace.  Again, it was a lot of climbing, so that's not too bad.  Also, I never felt stressed, my breathing was fine and my legs actually felt fine, albeit somewhat dead.  When I got to the end of the sixth mile, I knew that the majority of the run back home was downhill, so I decided to increase my effort.  With that said, even my steep downhill mile near the end of my run was done at a pedestrian eight and a half minutes.  Still, by the time I ran up the last steep kicker to my house, my average pace for my 11.2 mile run was 10:45.  For a loop with 850 feet of climbing, on very tired legs, I'm pretty darn happy!

Two weeks since my Ironman in Boulder, and I just completed a near 14 hour training week with some very solid training over the last three days.  Got in some swim intensity, essentially ran a 5K at 5K effort, did one of my hardest bike rides in recent memory, and did a two hour hilly run.  Part of the neat thing about this type of training is that I'm really not sore.  This actually makes sense, especially with a run like the one I did today.  Being able to run a downhill mile only at 8:30 pace limits the damage that I can do to my legs on the downhill.  Similarly, my 5 hour marathon at Ironman Boulder two weeks ago limited the amount of damage that I could do to my legs as well.  It's an interesting corollary to ironman/endurance training.

I've got five weeks to go before I do the Santa Rosa 70.3.  That means that I have 3-4 weeks of 70.3-specific training that I can do before that race.  Which is fine for Kona as well.  I'm envisioning more long bike rides, long runs and long swims.  After all, it's Ironman!

Journey to Kona Day 138: Bike Fitness

I forgot to mention in yesterday's blog that, in addition to swimming, I rode my bike for 45 minutes, but more importantly, I essentially ran a hard 5K over a very hilly course.  Why does this matter?  Because I'm literally 2 weeks out from Ironman Boulder (as of tomorrow), and ventured to the top of my heart rate yesterday.  Whether this was smart or not, only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, I did put some physiological stress on my body.  Then, today, I followed that up with a group bike ride to the top of Gibraltar Road in Santa Barbara.  We started at sea level and topped at at 3818 feet at the top of the climb.  I knew that the major portion of the climb would require about one hour of constant hard effort, but was also excited to see what kind of wattage I could average during this.  Sure enough, over one hour, I climbed a 6.1 mile Category 1 Climb (average grade of 8%) and essentially averaged 200 watts.  I've never done that before.  Similarly, I averaged ~ 190 watts over 90 minutes.  If it hadn't been for the descending, I'm sure that my 3 hour average wattage would have been a record as well.  I spent 2 hours today cycling at over 170 watts.  The other great part was that I still had legs at the end.  In fact, I was surprised at how good I felt when I finished a pretty tough 5 hour ride.

Some of this bike fitness comes from my training. Some of it comes from the boost of an ironman 2 weeks ago.  And some of it comes from having spent nearly 3 weeks at altitude, and now I'm back at sea level.  What excites me the most is that today's ride will give me a further boost in the coming weeks as I prepare for the Santa Rosa 70.3, where I want to hammer the bike segment!  And, from the long term perspective of Kona, another 5 hour ride is in the books, and this one was challenging.  Granted, I "only" rode 62 miles, but the climbing was intense, and the descending was psychologically intense, not to mention strenuous on the hands and forearms (braking much of the way down on steep, winding downhill roads).

I'll sleep well tonight, thinking of a short ride in the morning before running tomorrow.  I'm happy with where my swimming is, now I'm also happy with where my cycling is.  My run seems ok, based on yesterday's hard 5K, but I'm tempted to do a 2 hour run tomorrow.  We'll see what my body says!

Journey to Kona Day 137: Swim Breakthrough

I was excited by my swim lesson a few days ago, having swam 200 yards in 3 minutes flat for the first time in years.  When I went to the pool the next day and swam 200 yards, I did it in 3:14.  To say the least, I was a little disappointed.  So, today, I was patient.  I warmed up for about 10 minutes with swimming drills that reminded me of my key form foci.  I then swam some 50's comfortably, in about 44-46 seconds each.  I then did a couple of 50's faster, focusing on my form some more.  Now, was the moment of truth.

I rested for a short time and prepared myself.  I set off to swim 100 yards as hard and fast as I could, focusing on my "follow-through," especially with my left arm and hand.  Also, extending my hands after they entered the water, and keeping my fingers pointed down.  There's a fine line to quick turnover of my arms while extending my stroke.  There's also the challenge of going hard enough to go fast, but not so hard that I'll actually slow down.  Finally, there's pacing.  If I do the first 50 too hard, even my best efforts to maintain form during the second 50 will fail.

I nailed the 100 yard effort, feeling that my form held up and my pacing stayed consistent.  I was out of breath when I hit the wall, looking up at the clock to find that I'd swum 100 yards in 1:19.  I haven't done that in years.  Most importantly, it was a very steady, albeit "all-out" effort.  What next? Well, 200 yards, of course.  So, I rested until my breathing slowed down, about a minute, then swam 50 yards very slowly and leisurely to get my body relaxed and ready for the 200 yard effort.

I nailed the 200 yard effort, once again not really feeling the fatigue until the last 50 yards.  I realized that my left arm was getting a little "lazy" about half way through, and focused my efforts on slapping down and extending the arm.  Once again, I went "all-out," but was steady and consistent, really pushing in the last 50 yards and feeling like I had enough left to do so.  I looked up at the clock and saw 2:48.  I think that's the fastest 200 I've ever done. Ever.  What next?  Well, 300 yards, of course.  Once again I rested until my breathing slowed down, about a minute and a half this time, then swam 50 yards very slowly and leisurely to get my body relaxed and ready for the 300 yard effort.

I nailed the 300 yard effort, really trying to hold a steady pace for the first 200 yards and then increasing my effort over the last 100 yards.  Once again, I found myself needed to focus on the left arm, which I did.  The last 100 yards were hard, and definitely "all-out," but also consistent and steady.  I knew that I was right on target to hit a 300 yard time that I haven't hit in years.  I'd been looking back at my training logs from over a decade ago and saw some 300 yard repeats in ~4:30+.  I looked up at the clock and there it was, 4:27.

From a confidence building perspective, this was huge.  What's next?  Being able to hold these paces for repeated intervals, with decreasing rest in between.  That's the goal.  If I can keep this up, it bodes well for my Ironman swim time.

Journey to Kona Day 136: Getting Back On Track

It's now 11 days since I completed Ironman Boulder, and I think I'm finally starting to get back to "normal."  I rode my back for 90 minutes this morning, and it wasn't by any mean leisurely, nor was it super hard.  It was a solid 90 minute ride at close to half ironman intensity.  I realized while doing the ride that I'll soon be increasing from two loops on my neighborhood course up to four loops.  Four loops will take me about 3 hours, which is longer than what it will take me to do the bike course at the Santa Rosa 70.3 in about 5 weeks.  I'm expecting in the next couple of weeks to make that 3 hour ride the norm for a "daily" ride.  I was hoping to ride every day this week, but my body wasn't quite ready.  Today, I felt good the rest of the day after doing a solid ride in the morning.  No other training today, but that was also ok.  I worked on a number of other projects that I've been procrastinating on. I feel like I'm getting back on track.

It's pretty remarkable what an Ironman does to you.  It's important to respect that and not to forget it.  That's how you get into trouble.  It's also important in terms of planning ones life.  If you really want to do the type of training that it takes to compete in Ironman and half ironman distance races, you must take into account what it will do for the rest of your life.  Naps help.  In that regard, I haven't done as well the last week and a half as I'd like to.  Today was no exception to that.  I didn't nap.  Of course, I did nap yesterday.  On the other hand, I did have a good night's sleep last night, and slept in this morning.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.  Depending on when I wake up, I'll do some sort of training in the morning, but then I have some errands to run.  I don't want to overdo it tomorrow, as I'm riding with my tri club on Saturday, 56 miles with nearly 8,000 feet of climbing.  Definitely a good way to see where I am from a cycling perspective.  I expect to test my running legs out on Sunday.  I'm traveling on Monday and Tuesday, so that automatically becomes rest days!

It feels good to get back on track.  My inner angst is quickly diminishing and my confidence is building.  Soon I'll be visualizing my race in Santa Rosa.  One step at a time, and for now, my focus will be my next race.  That's as it should be.

Journey to Kona Day 135: 60 Years On

I'm don't think that Elton John had me in mind when he sang Sixty Years On.  Just 10 days removed from a solid Ironman performance, I have to admit that I'm still fighting some fatigue.  I swam this morning, hoping to build on yesterday's lesson and great swim times, only to be a little disappointed by some slower, albeit strenuous, efforts.  Doing 300 yards five times, with a minute of rest in between, definitely taxed my system.  I was tired today, in fact, so much so that I ended up taking an early nap and then dozing while watching tv this afternoon.  That's ok.  I'm allowed some fatigue.  It's a reminder that I need to demonstrate some caution as I recover.  Considering that I'm now officially sixty years old, I can't be too unhappy.  Even my slower swim times today are pretty much in line with where I was ten years ago.

I'm still struggling a bit with who I am and what I want to be focused on.  There are days that I truly would just like to focus on my ironman training.  Spending excess energy trying to change the world doesn't always feel like it's rewarding.  There is definitely a finite feeling of satisfaction that is gained from my race results.  That's one of the reasons I've already begun looking forward to the Santa Rosa 70.3.  The only real goal in Kona is to finish in under 13 hours.  Anything else would be gravy.  Competing with the best in the world makes it difficult to aspire to much more than that.  I remember when I competed in the U.S.A.Triathlon Nationals.  One of my best 10K times ever, on a tough course, and I was near the bottom of the age group.

It's tough enough to be recovering from an Ironman.  I never really pay attention to my birthdays, but it's hard not to pay attention to sixty.  In the context of the last seven months of my life, it's easy to ask questions.  Again, my typical ironman sequelae includes a variety of negative feelings.  They will soon be over, and I will fully be on my path to the next race, and ultimately too Kona.  I've got a lot ahead of me.  Sixty Years On.

Journey to Kona Day 134: Perfecting the Swim

Back in the water today to work on my swim.  I'm still carrying a little fatigue from Boulder, but it felt good to be in the water.  I warmed up with some drills and then did some fast 50's and 100's, finding that my times were quite solid!  And, that was before my swim lesson.  I really like my new swim coach, and can credit him with my being able to come out of the water at Boulder feeling fresh for the bike.  It's fun to learn the key techniques that can help me swim fast, but as Coach Lucho reminds me, you still have to practice swimming fast in order to actually swim fast!  With that in mind, I'm excited about the next phase of my swim training.  We'll see how it pans out at the Santa Rosa 70.3 in 6 weeks, where I'll definitely test my ability to do a fast half ironman swim.

My swim coach noted that my left arm is a bit "lazy" during recovery and entry into the water.  He likens that movement to throwing a baseball, with the resulting hip rotation being key to an effective swim stroke.  My friend Rudy noted that I'm right handed, and perhaps the "left handed" "throwing" motion might not be as natural.  It's something that I will be diligently working on in the coming weeks.  One thing is for sure, as I fatigued, the left arm got lazy.  Something to focus on, but also, I need to build the endurance while swimming fast so as not to fatigue!

The next element had to do with extending my hands with each stroke.  It's kind of the "glide" concept, but in reality it's a culmination of the throwing and hip rotation.  If you follow through and extend your arm after it enters the water, the hip rotation will flow naturally and the forward intertia will be maintained.  This will be a fun concept to focus on during my upcoming swims.

The final piece of the equation has to do with hand position.  It's intuitively obvious that once the hands are in the water, keeping the fingers angled down is paramount.  If they come up at all, it's literally like putting brakes on.  Yet, it's easy to forget this, especially when one starts fatiguing (there's that concept again).  In addition to the fingers pointing down, this is the beginning of "catching" the water and swimming "over a barrel."

Between my swim coach and Coach Lucho, one more thing is certain about my upcoming swim workouts.  I'll be doing lots of sets of 300 to 500 yards.  Today, I actually swam 200 yards in 3 minutes flat.  I haven't done that in years.  I'm going to need to get my 300 yard swim down to 4:30, and then my 500 yard swim down to 7:30.  Then I'll need to be able to do multiple sets of them.  That's my goal, and I'll start working on it tomorrow!

Journey to Kona Day 133: Listening to my Body

My mind has been excited about jumping back into my training this week.  I'd already thought about riding my bike every day for at least 1 1/2 hours.  Yesterday, I rode 45 minutes, albeit pretty solidly, I probably leaned a little more in the direction of going harder rather than just getting volume in.  It's a little hard not to do that because of the hills in my neighborhood.  Plus, it really did feel good to push a little bit.  Yesterday ended up being a pretty long day and when I woke up this morning, I just wanted to go back to sleep.

Instead of working out this morning I got some paperwork done and started cleaning up my study.  I'll probably take a short nap before my massage today.  I also noticed that when I woke up early this morning, that I was having some negative thoughts about my health.  8 days after an Ironman, having negative thoughts about my health? Hmmm, sounds familiar.  Rest is the key recovery tool at this point.  Another day of rest not only won't hurt, but will probably do me some good.  Pushing too hard, too soon, can have untoward results.  I still might ride later today.  We'll see.

This is always the most fascinating part of ironman training to me.  There is a fine line between taking it too easy and pushing too much.  I'm fortunate to have a coach who trusts my instincts, and that over the years, I've learned to pick up on signs that my body sends me.  The fact that I'm already tired today and I actually got in a decent number of sleep hours last night should tell me that I might need a little more recovery.  Not only did I do an Ironman 8 days ago, I then drove most of the intervening days.  Driving is tiring in and of itself.  So, I will listen to my body today.

Journey to Kona Day 132: Father's Day

I had a really great Father's Day.  I got to see my grandson yesterday, and while we didn't see him in person today, we did get to Face Time. We saw my daughter's Improv show today, and she was spectacular.  Then we spent time with my parents.  I finished off the day just hanging out with my wife and watching one of our favorite old t.v. shows.  I rode my bike 45 minutes this morning, and my legs are already feeling like they're coming back solidly.  In fact. I rode my 11.4 mile hilly loop.  I didn't ride easy, and I didn't ride too hard.  I just rode steady, and it was a solid 45 minute ride.  This loop will become my best friend over the next 15 weeks.  As I've told my coach, and myself, I plan to work my way up to riding the loop 10 times in one day.  That should probably take about eight hours to do.  When I do that, I'll be "bike-ready" for Kona.  I'm also planning to run the same loop regularly, and work my way up to running the loop twice.  Then I'll be "run-ready" for Kona.  I restart swim lessons on Tuesday, and my swim plan is to work on my strength and speed.  The distance isn't an issue, as I've already put in greater swim volume than I have in years.

Since I'm sixteen weeks away from Kona, it's ok to start setting my goals.  My simple goal is to finish in under 13 hours.  Since my typical ironman has taken me somewhere in the 12 hour range, this should be reasonable.  I'd like to finish in the top 60th percentile of my age group as well.  Considering that Kona is about the best in the world, I'd be very happy with both of those results.  In looking at last years'a results, the guy who just beat me by 14 minutes at Boulder actually finished Kona in under 12 hours.  Hmmm.  One step at a time.  I'll be better able to gauge where I'm at in six weeks when I do the Santa Rosa 70.3.  In the meantime, it's all about training.  Results don't just happen, you have to put in the work.

My goal this week is to start putting in solid bike and swim volume.  Running will just be about getting my running legs back and not doing anything stupid.  When I woke up this morning, I was a little tired, and a little down.  By the time I got off the bike 45 minutes later, I seemed to have some energy back. I had a full day with my family and I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep and starting a fresh new week of training tomorrow.

Journey to Kona Day 131: Striking While the Iron is Hot

I woke up with that thought in my head today.  When an opportunity arises, you go for it!  I don't remember what I was dreaming about, but I wrote down the thought as soon as I woke up.  I've already been thinking about my training during the upcoming week.  That's a good sign.  At the same time, I'm feeling a little low as I come out of the post-ironman funk.  The next few days will tell me where I am.

Opportunities arise all of the time.  If you ignore them, you'll never get anywhere.  I like to say that most major decisions in my life, I've made in a matter of hours, never days.  I guess that's who I am.  Sometimes, it can come across as impulsive, but at the same time, it can be looked at as decisive.  Fortunately, I'm in a mode right now where a lot isn't riding on my need to make quick decisions.  That's probably a good thing.  I've got sixteen weeks to go before Kona.  I'm already starting to think about my goals.  That's who I am.  I like to have goals.  It helps with motivation.  At the same time, it's key not to live and die by achieving those goals.  That's what's important.  I use my goals to motivate myself, but that's it.  The results will be what they are.  Whether it's life, or triathlon.

So, I'm not entirely sure why this notion of striking while the iron is hot was important to me when I woke up.  But, when opportunities arise in the coming months, I'll keep it in mind!

Journey to Kona Day 130: Heading Home

I've been away from home for most of the past few weeks.  It actually feels good to be heading home.  I'm also reminded how tiring driving can be.  It will be nice to get home, although our house is still not quite a home.  We won't have a kitchen for another few weeks at least, and we still have boxes to unpack.  All of that makes for not being completely settled.  Still, it will be nice to get home, sleep in my own bed, and see my grandson.

I'm pretty happy with my result at Boulder.  I'd like to have gotten my fifth place finish, but seventh isn't bad at all.  I've run through in my head what it would have taken to move up one or two notches, and the bottom line is that I would have had to go a minute per mile faster over the last 14 miles.  How I would have managed that, I don't know.  I know for sure that whenever I tried to pick up my effort in the last few miles, I really didn't feel good.  In fact, I started to feel lightheaded.  Passing out would not have helped me with my placement.

 Boulder is always a tough race for me.  The altitude certainly has an impact.  I'm quite happy with how my legs felt.  In fact, that's probably the most important take home from Boulder.  My legs felt fine throughout the entire run.  Five days afterwards, there's minimal soreness left.  On the other hand, I'm definitely still fatigued, but it's getting better by the day.  It will be nice to get home and actually get some real rest as well.

Journey to Kona Day 129: Training Plans for Santa Rosa 70.3 and Beyond

Since this week is a pure recovery week, I can start thinking about my training plans going forward.  Next week I can get going with both swimming and biking. I can run for the purposes of recovery only.  I know that is important, as my legs are still feeling the effects of Boulder.  Fortunately, they're only a little stiff now, most of the soreness is gone.  And, I'm definitely still fatigued from the race.  I need to monitor that, as that's always the most dangerous lingering thing to deal with.  I'm already envisioning starting to get some volume back on my bike this Sunday, and certainly next week.  I have a 11.4 mile loop in my neighborhood that has about 850 feet of climbing, almost all of which I can do in my aero position.  I am planning to work my way up to doing this loop 10 times.  When I get to that volume, I'll definitely be ready for Kona!

I'm going to use the same loop for running, and doing the loop twice will definitely provide me some serious training benefits for my long runs.  My swim volume has already been solid, and I want to continue with what I've been doing.  I've already reached out to my new swim coach, and I'll continue to work on my form, but more important, it's time to work on strength.  Long swim sets with paddles and bands around my ankles are on my horizon!

I've got six weeks until the Santa Rosa 70.3.  I signed up for this race for a few reasons.  Initially, it was going to be my Kona validator, but that's no longer necessary after finishing Boulder.  It's seven weeks after Boulder, which gives me a huge training boost going into it.  I want to use this in addition to some 70.3 specific training to really try to achieve my best results.  My plan is to swim hard enough to have a a very solid swim time, hopefully in the low 30 minute range.  The bike is a net downhill course, and I've historically ridden the first half of the full ironman quite well.  It's still my PR for the full ironman distance.  I'd love to do 70.3 bike course in under 2:40.  And, that would leave me with the run.  Can I still do a half marathon in under 2 hours?

As soon as I'm fully recovered from Boulder, I can do some training efforts that will coincide with these goals.  It's going to be fun!

Journey to Kona Day 128: 17 Weeks to Kona, Finding Inspiration

It's real.  While I've got 6 weeks to go before I do the Santa Rosa 70.3, there are now 17 weeks to go before Kona.  When I did my first Ironman in St. George in May of 2009, Kona was already on my mind, it had been for years.  Now, it's just 17 weeks away.  Found out a couple of days ago that it looks like I'll be starting in the absolute back of the race, not by choice, but by the decision of people who clearly don't understand why Kona is an iconic race.  Fortunately, the iconic nature of Kona that lives in our hearts and minds can't be taken away from us.  If I'm to race Kona pretty much alone, than so be it.  On the other hand, maybe this will give me a little more incentive to improve my swim and bike so that I'll actually be racing with some of the age groupers throughout the day.  That's what we do.  We find things to focus on. We find inspiration in the little things.  It's not difficult.

Very few human beings on this planet will race in the Ironman World Championships.  It's an honor to be there, regardless of where we start.  There was a time that there was a lottery, I didn't want to get to Kona through a lottery, but I believe in the Legacy program, as it is consistent with the commitment that many of us have to the sport and to the concepts that ironman is based on.

This week will be about recovering from Ironman Boulder.  I'm proud of my 7th place age group finish.  I pretty much gave it everything I had, and I can still feel that.  Fortunately, the aches and pains are diminishing, but the physiologic impact of an ironman will take a little longer to heal.  I've already starting planning my training.  I want to get stronger for the swim, and I want to put in significant volume on the bike.  I have some 20 mile runs left in me.  There's core training and hot yoga.  That's pretty much it.

17 weeks to Kona.

Journey to Kona Day 127: Legacy Athletes and The Ironman Spirit

The Ironman World Championship in Kona has and always will be about one thing, the human spirit.  It isn’t about who is the best triathlete on the planet, or in an age group. It has and always will be defined by the moment that Julie Moss crawled across the finish line.  She didn’t win that day, she came in second. Perseverance and overcoming adversity will always define this iconic event.  The Legacy athlete honors this history.  Many of us were never top athletes. We were often the last ones picked on the playground. We come to Kona for the opportunity to demonstrate our love of the sport. We are Ironman.  

Allowing Legacy athletes to compete with the best athletes in our age groups is the ultimate celebration of the human spirit.  Segregating us into a group “bringing up the rear” disrespects not only the Legacy athlete but the true meaning of Ironman.  We are not looking for individual attention. Quite the opposite.  We want to blend in with the highly talented and dedicated athletes that test the limits of what human beings are capable of. We don’t want to be separated. We just want to truly be an integral part of this iconic event.

Journey to Kona Day 126: Ironman Boulder Run Recap

It's better to write my run recap more than 24 hours after finishing.  I'm definitely feeling my DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), which tells me that I really did leave it all out there on the run.  I learned after the race that I'd gotten out of the water and T1 12th in my age group, and after passing nearly 200 people on the bike, had worked my way into 6th in my age group coming out of T2.  The five people ahead of me, and the person right behind me, were all top level age group athletes, most of them being prior Kona qualifiers or USA Triathlon All-Americans.  Fortunately, I didn't really know any of this out on the run course.  I just knew one thing.  My legs felt pretty good, but I had one gear and only one gear.  Trying to push harder than that gear didn't feel good, and I knew that feeling would only get worse.  So, I worked hard to find my rhythm and stay with it.  I ran most of the first eight miles around 11 minute/mile pace.  That meant that I was probably running at about 9:30-10:00 pace and walking the water stations and the short climbs.  Around Mile 9, this wasn't feeling good, so I changed my plan.  I switched to walking a little more, focusing primarily on my breathing.  My legs felt ok, but my breathing didn't.  Whenever I pushed a little too hard, I really couldn't do it.  The last few miles, in particular, I began to feel lightheaded whenever I pushed a little too hard.

Also, around Mile 9, the run began to feel like a chore.  That was probably the point at which I mentally switched over to the same mode that I used at the SnowDrop Ultra, which was definitely helpful.  If I'd have tried to push too much at that point, the result would have been pretty bad.  Instead, I maintained a pretty even pace to the end.  Unfortunately, the mile markers at the end were way off, and the last 3 miles essentially became four.  For someone who likes to pick up my effort over the last few miles, this was not good.  Fortunately, I realized it and modified my effort, allowing myself to run the last quarter mile to the finish.

I started the run 6th in my age group and finished the race 7th.  My goal had been to make the podium, and I missed that by 14 minutes.  The two people ahead of me were top quality age group athletes, and to think that I was that close to them is an incredible accomplishment.  For a change, the person finishing in 8th in my age group finished 42 minutes behind me!  In a way, I feel like I've made it into the upper tier.  Not the top tier, as I was nearly 2 hours behind the winner of my age group.  Remarkable!

While this may not seem positive, I'm limping around and I'm definitely sore today.  Years of racing tells me that means that I pushed my body close to it's limit yesterday, which is always my number one goal.  Now it's time to focus on getting prepared for Kona.

Journey to Kona Day 125: IM Boulder Race Report

I had done my first ironman in St. George, Utah in 2010.  I finished IM St. George all three years it was in existence, and had planned to continue to do it every year.  When IM Boulder came about, I thought of being one of those people who did the race every year, an actually did the race its first four years.  Life got in the way in the fifth year of the race, and it really wasn’t a reasonable expectation for me to do the race last year.  I had already done my requisite 12 IM races to get a Legacy spot, and I had completed my one “placeholder” race, on very limited training, which was not a pleasant experience.  If I’d added Boulder, it would have only been to punish myself.  There really wasn’t a purpose that made sense.  This year is my year to do Kona, and I’d already signed up for the Santa Rosa 70.3 as my Legacy “validation” for the year.  But something was nagging at me.  I loved the Boulder Ironman, and really wanted to try the new course.  I also am in a new age group, and really wanted to see how I might fare.  Three years ago, my 6th place AG finishing time would have won the 60-64 AG. So, after quitting my job in November and devoting my year to training for Kona, I added on IM Boulder.  And, so, here I am.

I’ll always remember the excitement of my first ironman.  Now, I just enjoy the experience leading up to the race and really endeavor to chill and enjoy the entire day.  I’ve got my routine down pretty well after completing 13 IM’s.  The night before the race, I’m usually in bed by 7 pm, trying to actually get close to 8 hours of sleep.  It’s remarkable how well I’m now able to do this.  Having focused for a couple of days on keeping my carbohydrate stores up and my hydration intact without overdoing it, I continue to sip and nibble the night before the race.  Yams are aways a friendly food, and I’ve been eating gluten free pancakes from Buff’s, the restaurant across the street from my hotel, most days.  My wife is with me this year, for the first time in many years.  I know that she’s not going to bed at 8pm, which is when I finally laid down, but I don’t mind her keeping a light on.  I go through my bedtime race visualization that always manages to help me sleep.  Tonight, I go through a few race visualizations before I fall asleep.

While I’ve set my alarm for 3:15, I’m up at 3 am and go about my typical pre-race routine.  I eat yams and chocolate pudding from Whole foods (non-dairy) before putting on my race outfit.  I wear my new Garneau LGneer Triathlon Suit. I put on Aloe Gator sunscreen, which I’ve learned will stay on all day, gathered my special needs bags and decide to walk the one mile to Boulder High School and then a bus to the Boulder Reservoir.  I’m dressed warm, as one of the things I’ve learned over the years is not to expend any unnecessary excess energy prior to the start of the race.  I quietly enjoy the ride on the bus and make my way to my bike, where I load up my drinks and do one last check before using the port-a-potty.  At this point, I’ve done this so many times before, it’s really about enjoying the moment and the experience.  Putting on my wetsuit, I remember to put vaseline in strategic spots.  

My swim training has gone swimmingly well.  Multiple days of 4-5000 yards has gotten me more “swim ready” than I’ve ever been prior to an ironman.  I’m confident that if I focus on my form and swim confidently, that a 1:10 Ironman swim is a reasonable expectation.  With that in mind, I decided to get in the back of the 1:00-1:09 group.  Might as well take advantage of my confidence.  I’ve done this race before and found that people entering the water don’t necessarily follow the buoy line, so that’s where I head as I walk into the water.  The key to my swim is focus.  It’s not my intent to swim “easy,” while at the same time, I have no intention of swimming “hard.”  I think the key will be focusing on “slapping” at the water, as I’ve found this to be a reliable strategy for maintaining a solid focus.  I’m also in tune with my body and it’s movement.  The altitude isn’t an issue, as I quickly feel not only comfortable, but “at home” in the open water of the Boulder Reservoir.  The buoys come along at a reasonable pace.  I can feel the flow of my stroke.  When the opportunity arises, I get on the feet of other swimmers,  but don’t stress over whether I keep up or not.  I’m able to do some drafting, but am more focused on sticking to the buoy line, which I do. Before I know it, I’m turning left, I relax and focus on staying in the moment and enjoying the swim.  One more  left turn and I feel the excitement of heading for the end of the swim.  I remember that it will take a while to get there, so just relax and continue my focus on a solid swim stroke.  As I near the beach, I intermittently increase my kick for very short periods of time.  I’ve really enjoyed sticking with my two beat kick, and there’s really no reason to change that at this point. One thing of note, I intermittently felt like my calves might cramp.  Not sure if it was the cold water, or how my wetsuit fits me with my new kick.  My swim was 1:22, not as fast as I was hoping for, but a lot of people swam slower, including many of the pros.  May have been the way the buoys were set up.  In fact, I’d guess that, especially as I followed the buoys.  Ironically, I was only six minutes behind the winner of my age group, who normally swims closer to 1 hour.

I come out of the water, let a volunteer help me unzip and head across the swim finish line.  I feel great, and am excited about what is to come today.  Taking advantage of the wet suit strippers, I’m quickly off to grab my transition bag and over to my favorite changing bench, which is once again within the ropes (one year it wasn’t).  Headband on, helmet on, socks on, shoes on, gloves on, (though my full finger gloves wouldn’t go on easily, so I made the quick decision switch to my aero gloves, which would leave my fingers exposed, but it didn’t seem “that cold”), my Gabba cycling jersey on due to today’s cold weather, grab my wetsuit, goggles and swim cap and put them in my transition bag.  Get through the transition tent, hand off my bag, get slathered with sunscreen, and make my way to my bike.  

I mount my bike and start moving through the Reservoir part of the course.  No reason to ride hard, just time to get used to the bike and get settled in.  That’s really the key today.  Just stay aero and comfortable and enjoy the bike ride in the beautiful Boulder countryside.  Which is what I do.  The ride out and back on the Diagonal foes well the first time.  I already knew from my ride earlier in the week and this is “free speed.”  I also made sure, most of the time, to catch a draft when a faster cyclist passed me, for the requisite 20 seconds, and then to try to stay about 7 bike lengths behind them for as long as possible.  I did this the first time on 66 and absolutely was flying!  The uphills along Niwot and St. Vrain are mixed with the fast downhills on Nelson and Hygiene.  Then, the uphill on Hygeine before making the turn on 36 and heading back to the Reservoir.  I’m looking forward to this section the first time, as it’s a sign that I’ll be back the second time.  That’s my mental goal, as the top of Hygeine will be 16 miles from the finish, and it’s mostly flat or downhill.  I’m never going to have doldrums today, and I don’t.  I enjoy my bike ride!  During the second loop, I focus on “flattening out” the rolling hills and gaining some more “free speed.”  My plan goes well today.

I’m always happy to get off the bike, because I know that I’m going to finish.

Up until this point, with the exception of a few edits, my race report was written prior to the race!  I do this to help with visualization, and in this occasion, my race was “spot on” until this point.  One addition to the bike report was that I desperately needed to pee by the time I got to mile 30, and was having trouble peeing on the bike.  At mile 50, I was considering stopping, but finally found a stretch where I was going about 20mph, slightly downhill and was able to go.  One of the problems with getting older is that it takes longer to pee.  Ultimately, I must have peed about 5-6 times on the bike and still had a full bladder when I entered T2, adding a couple of minutes to my transition time.  One additional comment.  It was definitely cold, anomy Gabba jersey was a lifesaver.  Also, my bike time of 5:51 was incredibly solid.  

Here’s where my pre-race race report ended.  I never got to the run.  Probably a good thing, because the run was hard, as it always is in Boulder!  I’ll write about that tomorrow.

Journey to Kona Day 124: Adjusting to Life

I always say that Ironman is a metaphor for life.  The weather for tomorrow is truly about being able to make adjustments on the fly.  When I got up this morning, the forecast for race day as essentially 46 degrees and cloudy until noon, and never getting above 50 degrees on the bike.  I have my GABBA cycling jersey in my transition bag, ready to put it on for the bike.  I also have full finger gloves (rather than my light aero gloves where the fingers are exposed).  So here I am a few hours later and the weather report is already changing.  On a very positive note, there is no forecast for rain during the bike ride.  The weather forecast is now showing 50 degrees at the start of the bike, but only going u to 52 degrees by the end of the bike.  That's right on the cusp of chilly, especially with cloud cover. If it was sunny, it might be another story.  There is also limited wind in the forecast, which is great.  I'll keep watching the forecast today, tonight, and first thing in the morning.  That will ultimately guide my decision on whether to put the GABBA top on.

That's life, as I always say.  During the entirety of an Ironman, we are making decisions on the fly that will have an impact on how the day goes.  If I let myself get too cold during the bike ride, I pretty much assure myself of a poor run.  So, I do think about these things in advance, so that I can make an informed decision on race day.  Initially, when the whether report called for temperatures in the mid 50's, I was inclined to just go with my trisuit.  If the temperatures are going to be below 55 for the entirety of the bike, the benefit of not getting too cold will far outweigh any risk of overheating on the bike.  In fact, knowing the course as I do, the warmest part of the ride will be the last hour, when I'll be mostly going downhill and having more wind at my face.  There's really no way that I can get overheated.

I'm a little nervous today, which is normal, but I feel a little better after getting in a short bike, run and swim.  I'm just going to hang out with my wife today and stay off my feet, with the exception of intermittent walks, which I'm finding to be quite helpful.  And, I'll keep monitoring the whether report.  I'll be ready tomorrow, no matter what the world throws at me.  That's what life is about, that's what Ironman is about!

Journey to Kona Day 123: Bit of Stormy Weather Brewing There

I'm famous in my family for using movie quotes.  They often only make sense to me!  This one is from Mary Poppins.  I thought of it as my preparations for Ironman Boulder change by the hour.  Originally, it just looked like it would be a cool day, with highs and lows in the mid 50's.  That's changed, and now it looks like I might be riding my bike in 45-50 degree temperatures for most of the bike.  That could be cold.  There's a few reasons that matters, the most important being energy expenditures and necessary caloric intake.  Next is just comfort, because it's no fun to feel cold for a prolonged period of time. The third is figuring out what to where that won't compromise aerodynamics too much.  And so, my race planning must take another turn as I plan for any or all weather eventualities.

The single most important take home lesson is that losing 10-15 minutes on the bike in order to have adequate nutrition and to minimize discomfort and excessive energy output, isn't a big deal if that allows me to have my best marathon.  In fact, especially in my new age group, the run is really all that matters.  Last year the temperatures were over 100 degrees and if you look at the run times, you'll get what I'm talking about it.  It's not a matter of losing minutes, it's a matter of losing an hour or more.  So, while I've been excited to have my best bike split in awhile, it's more important to be careful and smart.  As always, sounds a lot like life!

I have two major equipment/clothing additions.  Arm warmers an my GABA cycling jersey.  The combination will make me literally impervious to cold and even rain.  I was going to wear socks anyway, and put toe covers on my cycling shoes.  My final decision is what gloves to wear.  I have lightweight and aerodynamic gloves that will provide some protection, but leaves the tips of my fingers exposed.  That might be too cold.  I do have a few pair of cold weather cycling gloves that I can decide upon.  Decisions, decisions, decisions.  That's ironman, and that's life.  I guess I'll have to channel my inner Mary Poppins!

Journey to Kona Day 122: Visualization

I'm fully into visualization mode. I start with the swim in Boulder Reservoir, having done it four times before. I feel strong, smooth and long in the water.  I follow the buoys and I feel great.  I get out of the water feeling great.  The clock shows a swim time of around 1:10.  I make a quick transition and am out onto the bike course.  It's a course I'm very familiar with and I feel fast on the out and back on the Diagonal.  The three climbs between 36 and 65th go smoothly.  I pay attention to opportunities to hold onto speed, but don't burn any matches on the first loop.  The second loop is another story.  I can feel the excitement build as I repeat the out and back on the Diagonal.  Headwinds don't bother me because I'm so comfortable in my aero position.  I take advantage of the accompanying tailwinds.  Rollers are meant to be flattened out, and climbs aren't daunting at all.  As I reach the top of Hygeine and turn right onto 36, I know that the last 16 miles are essentially downhill.  I can go fast and feel good as I finish the bike.  I always celebrate coming off the bike, knowing that I will finish.  The clock shows that my bike time is under 6 hours. Another quick transition and I'm on my way to enjoying the run.  As Coach Lucho likes to say, it will be easy until it is hard.  The first four miles are uphill, but I will be leaving them behind.  My form is good, my breathing is steady.  There is no need to push too hard, just put one foot in front of the other and keep running, except on short, steep uphill sections.  On these, I walk. There's no reason to burn matches unnecessarily.  Besides, walking up these sections is usually just as fast as running up them!  Before I know it, I'm at the turn around near the courthouse.  I'm already half-way through the run.  This year, we only run the "flux capacitor" once, which will be exciting!  The final turn-around, and six miles to go.  I'm reminded of having six miles to go at the SnowDrop Ultra.  Seeing the photos of those kids who have survived cancer, and those who didn't.  This isn't hard.  I visualize making the turn off the main course and towards the finish.  The excitement builds.  I can see the finish line.  I will finish Ironman Boulder in under 12 hours.  I hear Mike Reilly's voice, "Michael Wasserman, You Are An Ironman!"

Journey to Kona Day 121: 100 Miles

My coach made a comment to me yesterday that really hit a nerve, in a good way!  He said that completing the 100 mile event earlier this year will change the way my brain perceives distance.  I get it!  Ever since my bike crash in 2009, getting off the bike has always felt great.  Once I'm off the bike, I know that I'll finish.  However, there's still 26 miles left.  Now, 26 miles doesn't really seem like a lot.  Better yet, every increment below 26 miles will seem even smaller.  I can already feel the difference.  Running one mile suddenly seems so small.

I've already got different mental places along the Ironman run course.  I've already run the first six miles a few times.  Piece of cake!  Furthermore, the first four miles is uphill, and once I'm past that, I'll never see that section again during the race.  I've already got the mental concept that 20 miles isn't that far, so when I get to Mile 6, the final twenty won't be daunting whatsoever.  When I put that in the context of doing a 100 miler, it seems even smaller.  I remember getting down to the last 5-6 miles of the Snowdrop Ultra, and because I was walking, it did seem like a long ways, until I put my head down and powered through the last miles.

Pacing will be important on Sunday.  No matter how good I feel at the start of the run (and that could vary from pretty good to pretty bad), I need to remember to just "ease in" to the run.  The first six miles should be done very comfortably.  I know that this feels like, and there will be some challenge to not letting the adrenaline take over and cause me to run too fast.  There should really be no such thing as running too slow in the first 6 miles.  From there, I just need to get into a rhythm and enjoy the day.  A successful Ironman is all about being "in the moment," and that's where I need to be during the entire run.

The Ironman run doesn't really become a race until Mile 20.  I know what those last six miles look like.  I know what they feel like.  I know what the last six miles of a 100 miler looks and feels like.  There's nothing that will happen to me on Sunday that will make those last six miles anywhere near what I felt in the 100 miler.  I've often planned to "push hard" during those last six miles.  I've never really picked up my pace at that point.  In fact, it's usually hard enough to just maintain the pace that I'm at.  What isn't hard to do is put in the effort over those last six miles.

During the last six miles of the 100 miler, I dug deep and put in an effort that would have been worthy of any of my Ironman finishes.  I will do the same on Sunday.  Hopefully, running will be involved.  Those last miles should never feel good.  But they should feel like I'm able to give it "everything I've got!"  Because I know that I can do that.  Because I've done it.

Journey to Kona Day 120: Omens?

A few days ago I spoke of paying close attention to spots in my body that might give me trouble.  Last night, while I was sleeping, my favorite spot, my right lower back/hip area, tightened up.  I couldn't really do anything to prevent it from happening while I was sleeping.  When I woke up with it, I gently massaged the area and tried to find a good position to sleep in that didn't bother it.  When I woke up this morning, it was improving, and I put some Golden Tiger on it and went for my last real run prior to race day (six miles).  My right hamstring also had a twinge, but I figured that went along with the hip and back.  My run went fine.  In fact, I had no soreness anywhere during my run.  Afterwards, my back had improved, though I still felt a little tightness.  And then I remembered.

Ironman Chattanooga, 2014.  One week earlier, with my toes in the water, they cancelled Ironman Lake Tahoe.  I drove home that day, not completely disappointed, because somehow I knew that I still needed some more rest prior to racing.  I signed up for Chattanooga, booked my flight and a few days later, was there, ready to race.  Three days before the race I went out for a short bike ride on the course.  As I was putting my bike shoe on, Wham! My right low back/hip area went into a spasm.  I spent the next three days doing everything I could to work it out.  Electrical stimulation. Self-massage, foam roller, ointments.  You name it.  On the morning of race day, most of the spasm was gone, but I could still feel a slight ache in the area.  I went on to have my best swim and bike ever (to this day), and my second best run ever (on a hilly course).  I was careful all day not to push too hard to set off the area, but it was fine.

So here I am.  Five days before Ironman Boulder.  I feel like I'm in the best Ironman shape of my life.  My taper seems to be right on target.  And the right low back/hip area comes out to play!  I've never figured out the cause of this.  It happens intermittently during my training.  It always goes away after awhile.  I could let it bother me, but that doesn't do any good.  Besides, it might be a good omen.  It's also most likely that my body is saying, "you're ready!"

Journey to Kona Day 119: Taper Musings

Typically, one thinks of tapering for an ironman in the final 2-3 weeks prior to the race.  A couple of years ago, I came across an approach that took into account different tapers for each discipline.  Running, with the pounding inherent to it, is typically looked at from the perspective of a traditional marathon taper, which is typically 3-4 weeks.  The idea is that the last long run be done no less than 3 weeks prior to Ironman.  Of course, the is based on the typical marathon, not a marathon that occurs after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike.  How does that effect the taper?  Actually, I have no clue, but I do know that an Ironman marathon doesn't actually beat my legs up as much as an "open" marathon. Why?  Because you just can't pound the legs as hard in an Ironman run.  Does this allow for a different approach to the run taper?  I doubt it.  Either way, the goal is to come into race day with fresh legs.  My last truly long run (3 hours) was 4 weeks prior to race day.  However, I backed that up with another semi-long run (1 hour and 40 minutes) 2 weeks prior to race day.  This seems about right! One of the key balance points is to keep the legs fresh, but to also keep them neuromuscularly ready for race day.  That's probably as much an art as it is a science.  Yesterday's run felt "just right," and I'll try to continue to "glide" my way into race day over the next several days.  Three years ago, I ran 6 miles just four days prior to my best ironman run ever (based not on time, but on how many people I passed).  The key is that whatever I do, I shouldn't feel fatigued from it. The fact that I napped the last two days tells me that I've still got some fatigue, but that I'm also resting plenty!

The bike taper is even more complex.  Cycling doesn't pound the legs like running does.  Furthermore, Tour de France riders notoriously have problems on days after a rest day.  Which begs the question.  How to taper for the bike?  My last truly long bike was three weeks prior to race day, and then I backed that up with an olympic distance hard bike effort the next day.  What's definitely different for me for my upcoming race is that one and two weeks prior to race day, I rode over 3 hours on the course.  I've never done that before.  My focus was not riding hard, but riding comfortably at an effort that was at or perhaps slightly below ironman effort (I'm not too sure about that one, but we'll find out on race day!).  My legs have felt fine through all this, and again, my naps have helped resolve any fatigue brought on by these rides.  Today's one hour ride on the course was also something new for me, as typically my bike is being transported and isn't available.  It felt great to ride!  I now assume that I have one more similar ride to go in a couple of days. This is all about neuromuscular activation.

And now we come to the swim.  I don't think that you typically taper for a swim 3 weeks in advance. Traditionally, swim tapers should be less than week in length.  Since I've never really put in significant swim volume, "tapering" has been a bit of an oxymoron for me.  With that said, my best swim ever occurred five days after an hour and 25 minute VASA swim trainer session.  I've put in more swim volume in the weeks leading up to Boulder than I've ever put in before.  Twelve days prior to race day, I did a 4600 yard swim. Yesterday, I swam 2000 yards and today I swam 3200 yards.  It feels right.  I do get that swimming will bring on some fatigue, but I can still nap if necessary.  However, I think that my swim taper starts tomorrow, five days prior to race day.  The idea will be to reduce my volume every day, but to swim every day in order to maintain my "feel" for the water.  Clearly some "trial and error" involved in this, but I doubt that I can go too wrong with this approach.

I'm also paying close attention to my body.  My low back has a tendency to spasm right about now, and I've actually felt some twinges.  I must be cautious with movements that might set that off, and gentle stretching and massage of the area.  The number one focus must be in reducing fatigue.  If I'm tired, I need to sleep.  That's what I did yesterday and the day before.  There are no excuses for not listening to my body! With six days to go before race day, I can now say that I'm finally in full taper mode.  Time to glide the body in for a soft landing on race day.  Mentally, I couldn't be in a better place, and I'm ready to leave everything out there on the course on Sunday.  That's all I ever ask of myself.

Journey to Kona Day 118: Podium Dreams

One week to go for Ironman Boulder.  Three years ago here in Boulder I finished sixth in my age group.  The podium at an ironman is the top five people.  Granted, I was twenty-three minutes from fifth.  Still, for someone like myself, being one spot off the podium was a big deal.  Until that day, I never even truly considered that I might get an age group award at an ironman.  And so, my podium dream began.  The last couple of years found me focused on work, and I wasn't competitive at all in the last couple of ironman's that I've done.  While I wanted to acquit myself well at Kona this year, once I quit my job, the idea of preparing myself to be competitive in my new age group began to take shape.

As a kid, I had asthma.  Whatever the sport, I wasn't very competitive.  I was usually the kid picked last if they were picking teams.  When I began doing triathlons over twenty five years ago, I usually was in the bottom half of my age group.  As I got older, there was a period of time that I became more competitive in local triathlons.  I even won my age group on a couple of occasions.  But ironman has been another story.

For me, being competitive has always been about me.  Can I improve on my time?  Can I give it everything that I have?  I do enjoy competing.  It's usually against myself.  It's usually about giving it 100%.  I've alway considered it a successful race if I cross the finish line completely spent of energy, with nothing more left in the tank.

An Ironman race is a big deal.  Competitors from all over the country are competing.  There are some seriously talented people racing.  Granted, there are fewer competitors in the 60-64 age group, but there's a reason for that.  Maintaining fitness and speed at sixty years of age is a big deal.  I'm truly excited after the last couple of years to regain a level of fitness and competitiveness that might give me the opportunity to end up on an Ironman podium.

With one week to go, I'm feeling pretty good.  My swim fitness is as good as it's been in years, in some ways maybe even the best that its been.  I'm curious to see what my swim time is and how I feel getting out of the water.  I've done a many long bike rides as I've ever done prior to an Ironman, and my power seems to be close to where it was a few years ago.  While I'm running slower than I have been in the past, I did do a 100 miler at the beginning of the year.  I've rarely run to my potential in the past, and my training run pace has never really mattered when it came down to race day.

There are definitely four or five people in my age group who are better than me, on paper.  Will they all perform to their capabilities on race day?  Does my training and fitness put me in a position to compete with them?  I think so.  Either way, the only thing that I can do is to take care of myself.  I'm the only one that I can control in one week.  Where I slot in with the others isn't something that I control.  Still, I continue to dream.  One week to go.

Journey to Kona Day 117: Practice Make Perfect!

I was 2 1/2 hours into my bike ride today when...clunk, clunk, clunk.  Flat rear tire.  I stopped, found a staple (of all things) in my rear tire.  Now, I really don't like changing tires.  I've ridden tubular tires for many years, and when they flat, I just get a ride home.  However, I got clincher tires on my new bike, knowing that in the case of a flat tire during an ironman, especially Kona, I'd be able to fix it and get on with my bike ride.  So, I was tested today.  As I thought about fixing the flat on my new bike, I realized that I'd forgotten to put an allen wrench in my storage compartment (turns out I actually did have one there). I was trying to call an Uber, but couldn't find an SUV, when two people rode by and asked if I needed help.  I asked if they had an allen wrench, and they did.  One of them had disk brakes as well on their bike.  I also discovered that I only had one tire lever, which really makes it difficult to open the tire up in order to change the tube.  Fortunately, again, the two people who stopped were totally helpful.

We got the tire fixed and I was on my way.  Most important, I was reminded that I'm fully capable of fixing a flat tire.  Practice makes perfect.  It's definitely something that I need to practice.  I recently wrote about being a creature of habit, and changing a flat tire is not something that I've ever practiced regularly so that it literally feels habitual.  I actually was very uncomfortable with fixing my flat today, but will definitely feel more comfortable if it happens again.  By the time I get to Kona, however, I want changing a flat tire to feel natural.  In fact, just like transitions, it' something I will practice and work on.  I also decided to carry two tubes in case I were to get two flats.  That's just being prepared.

Oh yes, my bike ride went great!  Essentially, this was the same ride a last Saturday, on the Ironman Boulder course.  I rode comfortably and it felt great.  My pace was pretty much the same as last week, and maybe a little faster, although the effort felt easier.  That bodes well.  Eight days to go!