Journey to Kona Day 207: On the Ledge

I went to bed last night around 10pm.  Whenever I awakened, I just went back to sleep.  I finally got up around 9 am this morning.  11 hours of sleep was just what the doctor ordered!  I also kept thinking about the fact that I was literally on the ledge.  I had given some consideration to working out today, but I knew better.  Both my father and my coach had told me to rest.  In fact, I had been telling myself to rest.  Tomorrow, my wife and I will begin a week long babysitting gig, and I'll definitely need my energy.  So, today, I will tiptoe off the ledge and work towards getting myself back on track.

The Ironman World Championship in Kona is 6 weeks from today.  I've pushed and prodded my body.  I prepared myself for Ironman Boulder and had an excellent result.  I pushed myself to be ready for the Santa Rosa 70.3 and also had an excellent result.  I've done more long swims, long bike rides and long runs (with the exception of my 20 weeks of 20 miles in 2016), than I've ever done since I started doing triathlons nearly thirty years ago.  I got too close to the edge on Wednesday, and my body immediately rebelled.

Looking back at my training logs for the past six months, it's clear to me that my local bike rides often make it necessary for me to put out wattage that's a little on the high side.  I reviewed my rides and found that it's very typical for my 2 minute wattage to average between 210 and 220 watts on a relatively relaxed ride.  On Wednesday I hit 235 watts (and 286w for one minute).  I let my heart rate come up to lactic threshold levels for quite awhile, at the end of a long ride, no less.  Of course, nine days earlier I'd done the same coming up an incredibly steep hill at the end of another long ride, and I'd survived that experience.  Like always, I've been pushing my limits, and I needed to find them.  I can only hope that my body's immediate response has allowed me to back off without undue harm.

Every time I woke up this morning, my brain immediately went to the thought that I was on the ledge.  When I finally got up, I knew that today needed to be a rest day.  I also checked some data to corroborate this.  My resting heart rate this morning was about 44 bpm.  This isn't too bad, but when I'm at my fittest, it drops below 40, and when I'm either sick or unfit, it has approached 50.  My HRV (heart rate variability) was 83, which is a little low.  Most importantly, when I stood up, my HR went from 44 to 86 (in about 20-30 seconds) and I felt very lightheaded. That's historically been an important sign for me.  I prefer, and feel better, when my HR only goes up to 76-78, and is not associated with becoming lightheaded.

I'd been feeling on the edge of getting sick for the past two days, that feeling is improving today, although it's not totally gone.  I'd gotten adequate sleep over the past couple of days, but last night really added on the necessary additional sleep that I was certainly craving.  Instead of cycling all day today, which was my original plan, I'm spending the day with my wife.  We went out for breakfast, and after I take another short nap, we're going to the movies.  Of course, because I still need my head in the right place training for Kona, we're going to see Brittany Runs a Marathon! Tomorrow we start our weeklong babysitting gig.  Hopefully, I'm already getting off the ledge!

Journey to Kona Day 206: Overreaching

I emailed my coach yesterday after writing my blogs for the past two days.  I also looked back at the titles of my blogs over the last week and it really stood out that something was going on.  My dad emailed me that he was concerned after reading my blogs over the past three days.  What’s going on? Am I overtrained? Should I be concerned? Am I pushing myself too hard? Why? 

The answer came to me the moment that my coach noted that based on the data it seems that I have been overreaching.  There’s a big difference between overtraining and overreaching, although too much overreaching could easily lead to overtraining.  I’ve been overreaching my whole life.  I’ve written about that many times before.  I love to set the bar higher than I can actually achieve.  I intend to go to Kona and give it my best.  I’ve written about that a bunch.  I’m feeling that more than ever.  I’m also feeling like I’m fitter than I’ve ever been and capable of more than I’ve ever been capable of.  That’s what overreaching is all about.  You push yourself, then you recover. You push some more, and then you recover some more.  The key  element that my coach noted is that my workouts have all been solid.  If I were overtrained, I’d be pushing without positive results.  With that said, I could be one workout away from dong that.  That’s what I need to pay attention to.

As low I felt two days ago, I was already feeling better  yesterday.  I went for a walk and did a 20 minute swim.  My swim reminded me of how much I’ve improved, and how, no matter what comes from my Kona training, I have found something in my swim stroke that I’ve never had before.  My form feels locked in, and I really want to work hard to secure the muscle memory for the future.  For that reason, I’ll try to get in the water as often as possible, even if I don’t put in a ton of volume every day.  

I’ve written a lot about recovery, and that is equally, if not more important than the hard workouts right now.  With that said, I feel like I have a few more “overreaching” workouts left in me before I begin tapering for Kona.  It’s not that I have anything to prove.  I’m just testing my body in order to see what it can do.  So far, it’s responded positively.  Despite my emotional ups and downs in the past week, my workouts have been solid.  It’s definitely part of the journey, but as both my coach and my dad reminded me, it’s time to show a bit of caution.

Kona is six weeks from tomorrow.  I feel like I have a few more long bike rides in me, and I still have a goal of doing 10 loops over my 11.2 mile, 850 feet of climbing, course in my neighborhood  I’ve done 8 loops, 7 loops and 5 loops.  I’ve done several 5 plus hour rides.  I’d set my sights on 10 loops, which would be ~112 miles with 8500 feet of climbing, and should take me about 8 hours.  That will be the pinnacle, if I can get there.  It’s my carrot.  If I get there, great!  If I don’t, the effort trying will be of great value.  If I feel good tomorrow, it would be a great time to hit this goal, if not, I will try again the following weekend.

My run is as locked in as it can be, but I feel like I have a couple more 20 milers left in me prior to Kona.  I’m setting this upcoming Wednesday for the first one, as it will have been 10 days since my last one.  Then, in 10 more days I’ll be 4 weeks out from Kona, and it will be time for my last long run.  

So, while I will continue to overreach, I really only have a couple of more weeks and a few more chances to do so.  I’ll pay close attention to how my body responds.  If it rebels, shuts down, resists any of these workouts, I’ll rest.  If I’m able to handle them, I’ll rejoice in doing so.  At the end of the day, it’s still all about the journey.  It’s about the exploration of what the human body can do.  I’ll continue to learn from overreaching. It’s what I do.

Journey to Kona Day 205: The Morning After, Again

I woke up this morning trying to immediately decide whether to put in a full day of rest, or whether I had enough energy to get in some time in the pool.  Swimming can be therapeutic if I don't push too hard.  My immediate thought was to rest, but I had already started to do an accounting of how I felt, and I knew that I had already improved with a good night's sleep. I had a phone conference to prepare for and a the conference itself this morning.  That was one of the things that I had been stressing over yesterday, though I was already feeling much less stressed.

I definitely know that I've been straddling a bit of a fine line with my training, and I certainly learned a valuable lesson yesterday.  When you start feeling a little tired, don't throw in a hard 42 minute bike effort, pushing your heart rate up to lactic threshold levels!  Not too smart, though it was fun.  I can hear my coach whispering in my ear.  If I survive this, it was ok.  If I don't, it wasn't.  And, just two days after telling him that my goal was not to do anything stupid with my training in the coming few weeks!  I can only laugh at myself.

I always say that this ironman "thing" is about the journey.  It's a metaphor for life.  My favorite race advice that my coach gives me is that it should feel easy until it starts feeling hard.  If you're effectively pacing yourself, that's about how it goes.  Life is like that too.  Especially for me.  That's how I've always been at work, or with most things I do for that matter.  Though, I have to admit that starting "easy" has never been easy for me.  I remember the first 5K that I did, at the age of 32.  Of course, I went out too fast and felt the bottom drop out half way through the race.  Unfortunately, one doesn't know what their limits are unless you test them.  And, I'm constantly testing, even at the age of sixty.

I guess I understand my grandson even more right now.  He is constantly testing.  He pushes us, he pushes himself. He wants to see what he can get away with.  He wants to see what he can do.  A chip off the old block, I'd have to say!  I've never trained for Kona before, it's my life's dream.  I'm giving it everything that I have.  I'm testing my limits.  As low as I felt yesterday, I'm already feeling better this morning.  A swim feels about right today.  I have a meeting and some driving to do tomorrow, so tomorrow becomes another easy day.  That should set me up for another long bike ride on Saturday, before my wife and I enter a five day stretch of babysitting!  But, I've figure out how to squeeze my long run in during that time.  I guess the morning after is going to be ok.

Journey to Kona Day 204: Feeling Crushed

I woke up today feeling much better.  The fatigue had lessened considerably, and I was excited to get in another long bike ride.  It was a beautiful day, started out on the cool side as I rode the first loop of the 11.2 mile, 850 foot climbing loop in my neighborhood.  While the first hill is never easy, I felt like I was in a reasonable rhythm.  I wore my heart rate monitor and was watching my power readings, which were all pretty good.  I was getting in an adequate amount of calories and fluids as I completed my second loop.  The loop itself is almost never flat, starting with a one mile climb that has portions that get close to 10%.  The next climb starts as more of a "false flat" before turning up for a shorter, somewhat harder climb.  I get a short downhill reprieve at that point before starting the third, nearly one mile climb that rivals the first climb of the day.  Of note, the first climb is definitely the hardest, and it literally starts right away, as I have a 30 second ride down my street before turning to start the climb.  The prior "false flat" becomes a stretch where I can go fast while pedaling, but not feel like I'm actually descending before I hit another false flat before I get to the backside of the first climb, which is shorter, but starts out hard before smoothing out.  The first climb becomes a screaming downhill that garners all my attention as I hit 38-42mph.  Some times I don't touch my brakes and hit the 42 mph mark.  Other times I don't have the concentration to do so, tap my brakes a couple of times to scrub a little speed, and "just" go about 38 mph.  It's amazing what a few mph does for the confidence.  As I get to the bottom of the descent, I can either coast, or ramp up my wattage to try to get a Strava record for the downhill.  That can be dicey, however, as I have the quarter mile steep climb back to my house at the end of the loop.  Some loops I just put my bike in its lowest gear and try to spin up the hill, other times I hammer up the hill until I can't, and other times I hammer up the hill for the requisite one minute of torture and my highest one minute power outputs.

Today, I kept thinking about how many loops I would do.  I started the day with a vague plan to ride about five hours or so, which would mean at least 6 loops, and probably seven.  When I had completed the fourth loop, I stopped at home to use the bathroom and replenish my fluids.  Up until this point, I had been feeling fine, and my heart rate, wattage and paces seemed to be right on target. As I left my house, I had a fleeting thought to just stay home and finish my ride, but I'd ridden 3 hours and 15 minutes, and I really wanted to get in at least four hours.  I had started thinking about my next long ride on Saturday, and that today's ride was really the prologue to that ride.  I didn't want to sacrifice Saturday for some extra miles today.  And therein was my first inaccurate thought.  It wasn't about the miles, or even the absolute number of hours today.  I was climbing 1000 feet every hour, and the cumulative impact of each hour was heightened because of that.  If I'd been riding on a perfectly flat course, I could have easily ridden 5-6 hours without even noticing it.  So, today's ride was having a positive training effect. I had even been thinking of running a short while when I finished my ride today.

I decided to do one more loop and then call it a day.  However, knowing that I just had one loop left, I somehow decided to ride hard for the entire loop.  Looking back at my power and heart rate, that's exactly what I did.  In fact, I increased my power by approximately 20 percent from where it had been the entire ride.  The 47 minutes that the loop had been taking was shortened to about 42 minutes.  My "need" to put in some hard effort was assuaged, but I didn't quite comprehend the toll it would take on me for the rest of the day.

I was still feeling fine when I got home.  I ate, got in the requisite protein, calories and fluid, and laid down to watch some television.  About 45 minutes later, I felt like the bottom had dropped out, so I took a nap.  I awoke about an hour later feeling refreshed, but that was probably the high point of my day.  About the only way to describe how I felt the rest of the day is that I felt "crushed."  I kept eating and drinking, hoping that would help.  I kept resting.  I had some "work" that I needed to do, but the thought of thinking was just overwhelming.  Knowing that I needed to get the work done became very stressful.  I even began to get the onset of a panic attack, which I knew made no sense and was unnecessary.  I finally settled down enough to get most of the work done before going to bed.

I fell asleep wondering how I'd wake up in the morning, and whether I'd get in my swim that I'd planned to do.

Journey to Kona Day 203: The "F-Word"

The "F-word" of ironman training is fatigue.  It sneaks up on you.  When it hits you, sometimes you just don't know what to do.  Yesterday, I woke up feeling great.  I'd completed one of my best ironman training weeks ever, culminating with one of my most rigorous 20 mile runs ever.  I had energy.  I was looking forward to another solid week of training.  By yesterday afternoon and evening, I was laying on the floor, not wanting to move.  I was tired, I was doubtful, I felt like I needed a week of rest.  The good news is that I've been here before.  As I noted yesterday, delayed onset fatigue is similar to delayed onset muscle soreness.  It's delayed!  It takes a little while for the body to recognize the degree of fatigue that you're carrying.  It also takes a little while for the endorphins from the week, and from the long run, to dissipate.  When those endorphins dissipate, bam!  The fatigue hits.  It didn't help that we were babysitting my grandson.  An hour and a half of playing with a cyclone of energy probably put just enough stress on my system to exacerbate my fatigue.  Or not?  It was probably going to be there anyway.

Ona positive note, the way my training has been going, I should snap out of this pretty quickly.  I made sure to nap yesterday (twice!) and to graze all day on protein and carbohydrates.  And, I stayed hydrated.  Today is a long swim, which should be fine.  I actually swam yesterday, and went for a short walk.  I was going to do a short bike, but by the time I thought about it, it was 90 degrees outside, so I thought better of adding unnecessary stress to my already fatigued body.  These are the important decisions on the road to being ironman fit.  Recovering from fatigue is part of the process of getting fitter.  It's also part of the process of becoming resistant to the fatigue itself.  It's a fine line. Too much fatigue and one slides into overtraining.  Too little fatigue and one doesn't continue to get stronger and more resilient on the journey to tolerating the rigors of ironman.

The hardest part about fatigue is the doubt.  When you're really tired, doubt begins to seep into your mind.  You wonder if you should do tomorrows workout?  You wonder if you're on the edge of overtraining.  For me, being a physician, I begin to wonder if there's something wrong with me.  I feel the manifestations of fatigue and wonder if I have some sort of terminal illness.  Of course, I stop, look at myself, realize that I've just rust for 20 miles, and remind myself that wouldn't be possible if I was dying.  There is humor in fatigue.  Tomorrow and Saturday will ideally be long bike rides.  After speaking to my coach, I put off the plan for another 20 mile run this week.  That might be too much, too soon.  As I prepare for Kona, there is definitely a balance.  I must avoid unnecessary stress and excess fatigue that is not productive.  Only then, will fatigue be the real "f-word."

Journey to Kona Day 202: The Morning After

I never know exactly how I'll feel the morning after a long hard run, especially if it's at the end of a long hard week.  Today was no exception.  I'm tentatively feeling pretty good, although delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and delayed onset fatigue usually manifest 36 hours after finishing a workout.  That will be tonight.  The good news is that I woke up without any major sore spots.  My low back is a little sore, which is about par for the course for how it felt most of last week!  That means it's time to get back to doing the hot yoga, which life circumstances have kept me from the last couple of weeks.  I also keep planning to do some core exercises every day, but that continues to be a life long promise that I have trouble keeping.

I woke up this morning feeling a little tired and a little sore.  I may be at the point in training where I'm underestimating both feelings because of the constant training and the constant stress on the body.  However, I didn't hobble out of bed, I just stepped gingerly out of room while my wife slept.  Last night I tole her that I might go swimming this morning, and my mental outlook for doing such is ok, not too strong, but not too tepid  I have no idea what will happen when I get to the pool, but one thing is always for sure, and that is swimming is good for my back and great for recovery.

It's always interesting how long runs tend to beat your muscles up less the more tired you are when you run them.  Yesterday's run was nearly 3 hours and 40 minutes, possibly my open marathon time these days if I were to be perfectly prepared and completely fresh. Nevertheless, another 6 miles would have brought me to an ironman level marathon.  One of the reasons that my muscles aren't too beat up is that you just can't pound on a day like yesterday.  My final downhill mile was probably done at 9:38 pace, my slowest ever.  I couldn't run much faster downhill at that point, which minimized the stress to my muscles, tendons and joints.  It also approximated what my legs would be like at the end of an ironman.  Which is also encouraging.  The last five miles of yesterdays run were done, on a hilly portion of my run course, similar to the other fifteen miles, at a pace pretty much equal to the entire run, just under 11 minutes per mile.  I'll take that at Kona.  Of course, I'd love to get that pace down to 10 minutes per mile, and that's not too ridiculous of a goal.  A good place for my mind to be on "the morning after."

Journey to Kona Day 201: Never Any Doubt

Well, maybe a little.  Today was another 20 mile run, as I noted yesterday, at the end of a pretty stout week of training.  Instead of running an easy 20 miler, however, I made today's run quite challenging.  I ran my 12 mile loop that has 850 feet of climbing as the base portion of the run, and added 8 miles into Sycamore Canyon, which includes a steep mile descent and then climb.  The latter half of my run was done in 80 degree temperatures, and I was definitely sweating a ton.  When I came out of the canyon, with about four miles left to go, I thought of today's title, "Never Any Doubt," as I had no doubt that I was going to finish todays 20 miler.  Truth be told, those last few miles were tough. At the end of a very challenging week, my legs were tired, I was tired, the hills today took their toll.  But, I knew that I was going to get it done.  In fact, it meant a lot, knowing that while Kona will be hot and humid, and the run course does have climbing, there really isn't anything like what I did today.

Kona has 1009 feet of climbing on the run course, and today my run had 1588 feet of climbing in just 20 miles. My average pace of 10:54 with this amount of climbing would actually be an acceptable pace at Kona.  Not ideal, but acceptable.  The idea for todays run was always to just get it done and to do it without any doubts.  I made sure to start the run off comfortably, and to maintain a mellow pace from the start, which always includes a steep one mile climb.  My legs never felt good today, but they didn't feel bad.  Even over the last few miles, my legs felt ok, although I was definitely fatigued.  Once I got home, I could definitely feel the fatigue of the week catching up with me.  Nevertheless, I never doubts my ability to get the job done today.

I have seven weeks left before Kona.  I've felt all week like I'm ready. If the race were four weeks from today, I'd be absolutely fine with that.  I actually feel like I'm fully prepared and ready to race my next ironman.  The key now is not to screw things up.  No injuries, no getting sick, no need to stretch my limits.  I know that I can continue to work on my swim strength, but honestly, I'm not sure how much, or what, I need to do when t comes to my run and bike.  Sounds like a discussion with my coach on Tuesday.  The most important thing is that I don't have any doubt about what I am capable of achieving in Kona in seven weeks!

Journey to Kona Day 200: Boy, I'm Tired

17 1/2 hours of solid training this week, and a 20 mile run coming up tomorrow.  On one hand, it's really good to know that I'm not concerned about my ability to complete tomorrows run.  In fact, I'm looking forward to it.  When I got up this morning, I was tired.  Despite feeling tired I went for a 45 minute bike ride, which is never completely easy in my neighborhood.  It wasn't simply an easy ride, but I kept it pretty mellow.  From there, I went to the pool, with the initial idea of swimming another 4,000 yards.  As soon as I got in the pool, I realized how tired that I was.  I decided to just swim continuously for as long as it felt ok, focusing completely on my form.  500 yards became 1,000, which became 1500, and I finally decided to stop at 2,000 yards.  I could have kept going, but I was definitely tired, and I'd proved my point.  I was slower today than I was earlier in the week, by about 5 seconds per 100 yards, but my form was intact.  The lost time was due to fatigue, pure and simple, which was both ok and expected.  For good measure, I immediately swam a solid 100 yards in 1:39, about 7-8 seconds slower than usual, but again, par for the course. 

A major part of ironman training is the ability to train when fatigued.  I found out today that I could swim continuously for half an hour despite being quite tired. If I keep my form solid, I need to focus on my lat strength.  Ultimately, that's what is going to allow me to swim faster.  Of course, on race day in Kona, I'll be rested, and all the training will have an opportunity to pay off.  When I got home, I realized how tired I was.  I made sure to eat.  Fully restocking those muscle stores is key to every day of training.  Tomorrow's run will not be effective if I go into it without adequate glycogen in my muscles.  Last night I kept eating, and today I'll make sure to keep grazing.  The next thing I needed was sleep, which I got from a really solid nap.  Sleep is so important when it comes to recovering and training.  When I look back over my years of training and competing, taking naps is one of those things that I've never really been good at making sure I do.  

I'm already tired this week, but it seems like I've been able to recover with just a good day of rest.  I felt really tired on Thursday, and rode my bike for nearly 7 hours on Friday.  I'm really tired today, and I'm sure that tomorrows 20 mile run will be just fine.  Fatigue is part of ironman training.  Boy, I'm tired.

Journey to Kona Day 199: Eight is Enough

My week of training isn't over yet, but it's been a pretty solid five days.  Honestly, I can't remember having five days like this before, probably because I haven't.  My week began with a five and a half hour ride on Monday that had an intense climb near the end that actually required me to get off my bike and walk.  This definitely stressed my glute and groin muscles.  Tuesday consisted of a continuous ironman distance swim of 4,000 yards at a solid pace.  Wednesday was a 90 minute hilly run that began with my legs still feeling a little sore from Monday.  I swam yesterday morning and felt dog tired.  That was my set up for today's bike ride.  Most of my cycling between now and Kona will be on my 11.2 mile neighborhood loop (with 850 feet of climbing).  The goal today was to do the loop 10 times.  That would have been 112 miles.  It wasn't to be, but it was still a very successful ride.  I rode the loop on my tri-bike seven times before switching to my road bike because of a slow leak in my rear tire.  The hills were challenging, as they typically are, but I still felt pretty good during the seventh loop.  As I rode the loop the eighth and final time, I knew that I was done for the day.  Theoretically, I could have ridden another 20 miles if I'd ridden over flat terrain, but that wasn't really the purpose.  The reason that I ride this course is that the hills make for a great workout.

Seven loops on my neighborhood bike course had a total of 5879 feet of climbing over 79.6 miles.  Kona has 5814 feet of climbing over 112 miles.  By the time I'd climbed 6700 feet over 91 miles my legs were done.  It was also relatively hot out, with temperatures in the 80's.  While Newbury Park doesn't have Kona type humidity, it was a little on the humid side today, making for some decent Kona training.  I've previously done a seven loop ride after Ironman Boulder, and have set a goal of hitting 10 loops.  For today, eight was enough!  The other factor is that I'm supposed to do a twenty mile run on Sunday, and need to leave something in my legs for the run.  It wouldn't have done me any good to completely destroy my legs today.  Getting them super fatigued was plenty, especially in the context of Monday's ride.  Ultimately, the idea is to be able to ride the 112 miles in Kona and feel fresh enough to run a marathon.  The fact of the matter is that I'll be tapered and fresh for Kona, and I'm feeling pretty confident about how my legs can be on race day.  Eight was enough today.

Journey to Kona Day 198: Detour to Politics

While I keep up with politics regularly, I try not to get too engrossed, lest I get depressed.  But the last couple of days has turned that thought upside down.  A comment by Donald Trump about the political leanings of Jewish people has really upset me.  It's upset me for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that I take notice anytime anyone lumps Jews into a single category and passes judgement on that category in a way thing might very well stir the pot when it comes to people who already don't like Jews.  While there are those that don't agree with me, history is clear when it comes to singling out Jews and using us as scapegoats on any number of issues.  That's the first issue, and it scares the daylights out of me.

On a more pragmatic level, the politics of American support for the state of Israel has long been pretty straightforward.  This is not a Democrat or Republican issue, nor should it be, lest we digress into once again segregating Jews by their political party.  Yes it's true that the majority of Jews are Democrats, but at the end of the day, we are all together when it comes to the need for a Jewish state. If we didn't learn one thing from the Holocaust, and from two thousand years of persecution throughout the world, it was that the state of Israel allows Jews to be themselves.  The irony is that means a level of heterogeneity that is unparalleled.  But that's another topic for another day.

When Trump called out Jews for aligning themselves with the Democratic party, he turned 70 years of bipartisanship upside down.  He also instigated a rift between Jewish Republicans and Democrats that is not only unnecessary, but carries the potential of significant harm.  This harm is multifold.  This country does not need Jews fighting amongst ourselves at a moment in time that has white supremacists feeling emboldened to come forward espousing their hateful views.  And while American Jews have different views on Israeli politics, so do the citizens of Israel, where disagreeing is built into the fabric of the country's culture.  On one thing we all need to be clear, and that is the importance of having a Jewish state.  That is an area where there has never been much daylight across the political spectrum here in the United States, nor amongst American Jews.  To put that at risk is tantamount to lighting a powder keg.  But that's what Trump does.  Little thought goes into what he says, and there really isn't much thing as any actual policy.  It's whim, pure and simple.  This whim, unfortunately, scared the daylights out of me.  We are about to enter a recession, and history abounds with examples of Jews being blamed for economic downturns.  One can only wonder what will happen in this Trumpian environment when the economy heads south.  That ends my detour into politics.  Tomorrow, I hope to be on my bike all day, and I look forward to blogging about that!

Journey to Kona Day 197: It's Getting Real

I have 7 1/2 weeks before participating in my life's dream of competing at the Ironman World Championship in Kona.  The last few weeks have been amazing.  I've written about how why swim, bike and run are at levels that they haven't been at in nearly a decade.  It's time to start visualizing the race, which is something that I like to do.  I'm looking forward to the fact that the roads will be in great condition, unlike many of the roads I ride on here, especially the roads I rode on Monday.  That will be to my advantage on race day, although a windy day will definitely have it's own say as to how the bike ride goes.  With that said, Kona is all about the experience, and however the winds and weather decide to be, as I ride along the Queen K Highway, I'll know throughout the day that I'm doing the Ironman World Championship.  It will never be boring, and I won't get tired.  This is a once in a lifetime experience, and I plan to appreciate and experience every minute of it!

Yesterdays swim continued to confirm the fact that my swim is better than ever.  I swam 4000 yards without stopping.  My stroke rate is as low as it's ever been.  I think that I'm expending less energy and gaining confidence in being able to maintain a solid pace and effort for the entire ironman swim.
There will be more days like this over the next 6 weeks.  It was also good to go out and run for ninety minutes today after Monday's bike and yesterdays swim.  Friday will bring me to another long bike and Sunday will be another 20 mile run.  Neither of these days cause me any concern, and in fact, I'm looking forward to them.  I'm excited as I begin to recognize that Kona will be her before I know it!

One interesting thing to come out of the last few months is the recognition that I'm enjoying this level of training, but that I doubt that I'd want to do this year round.  It's ok to immerse myself for Kona, but I have other things that matter to me in my life, and essentially making my training a full time job is probably not what would really excite me.  Experiencing Kona, on the other hand, is definitely something that is allowing me to do what I've been doing.  For the next few weeks, as I ramp up my training, get in longer swims, bikes and runs, the reality of Kona will be my incentive.  It's getting real!

Journey to Kona Day 196: Be Prepared

Yesterday was an interesting day.  I planned on riding my bike anywhere from 100 to 120 miles.  I was on the road before 8am, stopped for Starbucks about an hour and a half into my ride, and ended up talking to a 73 year old Vietnam veteran for nearly half an hour.  I then road up the Ojai bike path, where I met my parents for lunch.  Up until that point, I felt great, was enjoying the solitude of the ride, and was very happy with how the ride was going.  As I rode down the bike path, I was figuring that I might add some time and distance to my ride, when suddenly, my front tire flatted.

I've been pretty lucky over the years, not getting flat tires too often.  One of the reasons is that I rarely let my tires get worn.  I also tend to ride tubular tires, which I think flat less often.  My new bike has clincher tires, though they're new.  I changed the inner tube, found a couple of thorns in my tire and pulled them out, and went to use my CO2 cartridge, only to find that the air was coming out of the CO2 adapter, and not going into the tire.  No choice but to call for Uber, which took about 15 minutes before he came.  While waiting, my rear tire flatted, probably another thorn having made its way through the tire.  I briefly thought about taking the Uber home, but that wasn't the point of the day.  I took the Uber to a bike shop at the base of the bike path, got both tires fixed, bought a new CO2 adapter and got back on my bike to finish my ride.

The good news is that if I flat at Kona for some reason, I'll have working equipment to fix the flat.  It would have been horrible to have this happen during a race, much less than at Kona.  It's a great reminder to check everything before a race.  Not only every nut and bolt, but everything on the bike, everything needed for a successful race.  I will get new tires prior to the race.  This is my dream, and I both want and need to be prepared in every way possible.

My ride home was uneventful, until I came to the final climb. I'd never ridden up this climb before, only to discover that there was a reason.  In fact, I'd chosen not to ride down the climb in the morning, due to its steepness.  I never really thought it'd be too steep for me coming up.  I was ok, until I wasn't.  In the last half of a mile the climb, the gradient averages 14%, with pitches up to 20-21%.  Huffing, puffing, sweating, I actually started to feel a little light headed.  I got off my bike and actually spent several minutes walking to get to the top of the climb.  Being prepared means knowing the course you're riding on.  I had learned that the bike path was in "thorn season."  I had learned that the climb home was brutal.  With 7 1/2 weeks to Kona, most of my bike rides will now be near home, where I can deal with anything that gets in my way, in order to focus on the training that I both need and want!  I will be prepared for Kona!

Journey to Kona Day 195: Pikes Peak

Driving down to Colorado Springs and looking to the West to see Pikes Peak brings a feeling unlike most others. I will always remember my “runs” to the top of Pikes Peak.  They hold a separate place in my memory that includes running my first marathon, my marathon PR in Philadelphia, most of my ironman races, and my 100 miler.  Finishing a half marathon at 14,115 feet brings its own challenges and feelings, and having to turn around and descend the year I completed the Pikes Peak Marathon, was a feeling unto itself.  And so, I will always gaze up at the mountain with both awe and respect.

Whenever we drive to Colorado Springs, I always point at the barren peak and tell anyone within earshot how much it means to me.  I was relatively new to marathon running when I first tackled the ascent.  My friend and Colleague Joel Peacock ran it with me that year.  My colleague and friend, Dennis Jahnigan, also ran it despite being under treatment for brain cancer, to which he would succumb later that year.  Two years later I ran the marathon thinking about him.  There are so many more things that matter than our finishing time or placement.  

Pikes Peak represents the highest bar we can set for ourselves.  Since I believe in setting the bar high, trying to reach that bar, but not judging myself on the result, this has special meaning to me.  Setting that bar has many aspects. It may have something to do with my athletic endeavors; it may have something to do with work related goals; it may relate to personal, life related priorities.  That what Pikes Peak means to me.

Journey to Kona Day 193: Keep Moving

I haven't been hobbled by a race like the way I felt after my twenty mile run last Sunday in a long time.  Running races have a way of doing that.  I always say that it's hard to totally beat yourself up in an ironman marathon because you start on tired legs.  The fresher you are at the beginning of a run, the easier it is to beat yourself up.  Something that I've learned in the past couple of years is the importance of keeping moving in the days that follow.  Taking a rest day does NOT mean putting your feet up on the table.  In fact, that's a sure fire way to solidify all of the toxins that you've created in your body!  The key to a successful recovery is moving!  That's also the key to a healthy lifestyle.

In the two days following the race/long run, I swam and biked for nearly an hour and a half each day. I could feel my muscles getting their tone back and the stiffness and soreness leaving my body.  By Wednesday, it was almost entirely gone, to the extent that I was able to blast my way up the climb to my house at the end of my bike ride. It wasn't my fastest or my strongest, but it was solid.  I could tell that my legs were almost back.  As my coach reminds me, there are other signs beyond muscle soreness.  Fatigue is the most insidious and dangerous, and while keeping moving is the order of the day, so is getting enough sleep and rest.  Life is about balance, as is ironman training.

While we're on a five day trip to Colorado, I will keep moving.  I have my running shoes and I will use them every day. I can't quite pack up my bike.  Swimming is a possibility, but is a little harder to arrange the logistics for finding a good lap pool.  The key is to keep moving.  When I get back, I start a heavy block of volume training, with as much cycling time as I can muster. Lots of moving!

Journey to Kona Day 192: Caring Too Much Part 2

The other aspect of caring to much that becomes a problem is combining it with a touch of perfectionism.  When solving every problem, helping every person, figuring out the best solution, is tied to caring, it's combination that can only lead to stress and disappointment.  There are rarely certain solutions to any problem.  On of my favorite leadership discussions revolves around the fact that there is rarely 100 percent certainty around the answer to any question.  This is particularly true in the realm of the care of complex older adults.  It's ironic that as a leader I'm able to help others understand that we often have to make decisions where we barely have 50% certainty, but that I don't necessarily heed my own advice!

It's interesting that when it comes to triathlon, I've never had trouble accepting the lack of perfection, and that I've been able to modulate how much I care about the sport.  Maybe that's the point.  It's a sport.  Caring about people is by its very definition a more serious endeavor.  But then again, we all tend to take ourselves too seriously.

It's time that I let go a little bit of putting other peoples lives on my shoulders.  It's an impossible task without a positive outcome.  Every individual ultimately has their own responsibility to care about themselves.  The only exception to this rule are children.  Even in that realm, I'm blessed with the "luxury" of being a grandparent, which means that when my grandson is directly under my purview, that I can and will care too much and take that responsibility seriously.  However, he has parents to take on that role when I'm not around.  That reminds me of when my grandfather paged me at the airport in Amsterdam when I was seventeen.  I always say that I get my worrying genes from him, as well as from my mother.  I love to joke that I'm a worrier, not a warrior.  But, genetics are only one part of how we become who we are.  It's on me to help protect myself from the ravages of caring too much too seriously.

Journey to Kona Day 191: Caring Too Much

What of the traits that made me a good doctor was "caring too much."  I always took my patients situation seriously, and approached each patient as if they were my own loved one.  I remember a time when the daughter of one of my patients was insistent that I put her dad in the hospital.  Despite the fact that I could have made more money by acceding to her wishes, I fought hard not to admit him to the hospital, because I believed that would be more harmful to him.  One of the challenges of caring so much is the impact it had on my own mind and body.  I have always taken things so seriously, my ironman training has put me in better touch with myself.  I now know the toll that "caring too much" has on me.  I got a taste of that when I learned that an oncologist had decided to put my dad on some medications that might help him, but might also harm him.

Some doctors are so focused on treating a problem such as a specific cancer, that they forget to focus on the whole person.  It's why I am so passionate about real person-centered care, and why when the dust settles after Kona, I will focus a portion of my energies on editing a geriatric medical textbook that highlights the need for this approach to care in older adults.

One of my favorite "caring too much" stories had to do with a patient of mine who was falling, incontinent and confused.  This is a classic triad consistent with normopressure hydrocephalus, which he in fact had.  The treatment, which had inconsistent results, but nevertheless was worth trying because the alternative was worse, was a shunt.  My patient was insistent that he didn't want anything done.  At the same time, he continued to be insistent that he be the sole caregiver for his wife, who had Alzheimer's Disease.  It certainly didn't help that his disease was clouding his judgement.  I also took care of his wife.  He didn't want to place her in a nursing home, but he would have to shortly if he didn't get treated.  I finally decided to have him come in with his daughter, whereupon I "ganged up on him," and with his daughters help and support, literally forced him to have the procedure.  It was more of a forcefully strong encouragement that if he didn't, he would have to put his wife into a nursing home, which he didn't want to do.

He had the procedure done, and when he came back to see me, doing much better, by the way, he told me that he'd never forgive me for forcing him to have the procedure.  I told him that I respected that, and that I hoped he'd feel that way for a long time!  Being a doctor is an imperfect science, and an art.  I had to make a judgement call that did in fact respect my patients wishes and goals.  He was just not able to balance the conflicting goals that he, himself, had.  I will always remember this case because it would have been easy to do nothing as he said he wished.  Sometimes doing the right thing is hard, and sometimes we can never be sure if we've done the right thing.

Since I'm no longer practicing, I tend to "care too much" when it comes to the health and well being of my family, especially as they encounter a non-person centered healthcare system.  My clinical judgement is still intact, and I bristle at doctors who don't take the time to evaluate a persons goals and preferences before they make a treatment recommendation.  It would be easy for me to sit back and not care, but it wouldn't be me.

Journey to Kona Day 190: Camarillo Half Marathon Race Report

While I wrote about my twenty mile run on Sunday, I realized today that I could really write a race report about my day.  So, here it is.

Four days prior to race day I did a solid 2 hour hilly, 12 mile run.  Two days prior I did another solid 3 hour bike ride.  My legs were still somewhat stiff and definitely tired when I went to bed on Saturday night.  I got up at 5 am, with the knowledge that if I left my house by 5:40 am that I would have time to complete a 7 mile warm up.  I got in my typical bathroom stops while putting on sunscreen.  My legs felt ok, not great, but not bad.  When I put my shoes on, I felt a twinge in my left low back/hip area.  It’s my pre-race twinge area.  I quickly relaxed, keeping it from completely seizing up.  I put some tiger balm on it and massaged it a bit.  I ate a banana and headed out to the race venue.  I got to there right around 6 am and quickly took off on my seven mile “warm-up” run.  I ran the first loop of the course, starting very easily and comfortably.  In fact, for the first 3-4 miles, I just breathed as easily as I could, and kept my running effort completely relaxed.  There were lots of bunnies on the bike path, and my girls love bunnies, so I just enjoyed nature and the sunrise.  I picked up my effort a bit and got myself close to breathing every 4th step, which should be an effort I can do for a long time.  I didn’t really pay attention to my paces, but realized that I had started at between 9:30 and 10 minute mile pace, and had increased that pace closer to 8:45-9:00 pace over the last 3 miles.  I got back to the race start with just enough time to use the restroom quickly and get back to the starting line for the start.

At the start line I ran into a couple of members of my triathlon club.  One told me that she was going to run 9:30 pace, and the other told me that she was going to run 8:00-8:30 pace.  I decided to head out with the faster runner, but immediately realized that she was running much closer to 8 minute pace, and I had no intention of starting that fast.  The other person wasn’t running 9:30 pace, and I decided to just tuck in behind her, hitting the first mile in 8:20.  A little faster than I’d planned, but I was breathing ok.  I also noticed a gentleman who appeared to be my age running at the same pace.  He looked very comfortable and his form looked super easy.  I decided to focus on him, as the woman started to slow down a little.  I found out his name was Marco.  I thought he was running easier than I was, but he wasn’t so sure.  We ran together for a little while, until he started drifting back.  I was maintaining a solid effort and pace between 8:30 and 8:50 while maintaining my breathing.  Right around mile 1 I had counted the folks ahead of me, and there were 40.  By Mile 4, I’d moved up about 5-6 spots.  There were a few people ahead of me that I couldn’t really catch without pushing too hard.  

As I started the second loop I was still feeling pretty good.  I did mile 8 in 8:53 and was starting to increase my effort for the final 5 miles.  Mile 9 was on a slight incline, which I could feel.  I was breathing harder, but continuing to push and try to keep a solid cadence.  When I hit the mile 9 marker, my watch showed a 9:20 mile.  My mind wanted to run faster, but my body was saying now.  I realized at this point that the next four miles would take both concentration and effort.  I increased my breathing and began to focus a bit on grunting (my favorite focus tool!).  The next three miles were right around 9:30 pace, and there wasn’t much I could do to go faster.  In fact, I caught one of the people ahead of me, but he pushed forward on a downhill and I just couldn’t match it.  He stayed about 100 yards in front of me to the finish.  When I got to the final mile, I tried to push as hard as I could.  I did manage to get my pace down to around 8:30, but that was it.  I hit the lap button when I’d hit 20 miles for the day.  I’d almost forgotten that today was actually a 20 mile run day, not a true half marathon race.  

If I’d have been racing a half marathon today, there’s a lot of things that would have been different.  I wouldn’t have done a 12 mile hilly run four days before, and most certainly wouldn’t have done a 3 hour bike ride two days before.  I absolutely wouldn’t have done a 7.2 mile warmup run either!  So, I was beyond happy as I did my final push to the finish line and finished the half marathon in 1:57:07, good enough for 34th place overall and 1st in my age group!  Granted, it’s a local race, and in most other venues, I’d have been lucky to have been top 10.  On the other hand, I wasn’t actually racing, so I’ll take this any day of the week. Hopefully, with a little more focused training and a real taper, I’d still be capable of pulling off a 1:44 half marathon.  

One of the more important take homes from this race was that I was able to lock into a 9:30 pace over the last five miles.  If I could ever do that in an ironman I’d be beyond ecstatic.    

Journey to Kona Day 189: Less is More

I had a major breakthrough in the pool today.  Putting together everything that I've been learning about my swim stroke over the past few months, I put it all together and found myself using fewer strokes to swim faster.  Wow!  It makes sense if you start to break things down.  If you're swimming inefficiently, each swim stroke accomplishes less, so you end up with more strokes, but actually going slower.  For perhaps the first time in my life today, I swam faster while using relatively fewer strokes.  One of the things that my swim instructor has been drilling into me is the timing of my hand entry in relation to the rest of my body position.  Today, I focused on making sure that my timing was completely synchronized.  I then focused on making sure that I was getting as much force as possible with my "pull" through the water, without worrying about my speed.  In getting my timing right, I was actually maximizing the "glide" one gets after the hand entry, and avoided the tendency to rush getting on with the pull.  In fact, there's a level of patience that I realized that I needed, and that I think I achieved for the most part.  I put it all together and deliberately did try to swim faster, while maintaining the form that I've been working on.  The result was that I was swimming faster while using fewer strokes per length and fewer strokes per minute.

I know that I have a lot of work to do in order to lock this in.  However, I think I'm in the right place to start.  After my trip to Colorado, I'll get to work on repeating long sets of swimming where I focus on this.  It's so easy to want to "cheat," but all cheating does is to slow you down.  The only thing that will hold me back is strength, as the greater focus on an efficient pull will in fact take muscle strength and energy.  I know that part of the answer to that is to better engage the lats in order to utilize some very powerful muscles to more effectively move through the water.

In many ways swimming faster is counterintuitive.  On the other hand, it's obvious that flailing away in the water takes a tremendous amount of energy that doesn't translate into swimming fast.  What I've learned is the ultimate representation of these principles.  Sometimes you have to do less in order to achieve more.  Ironman is a metaphor for life, and so is swimming.

Journey to Kona Day 188: Overthinking Things

I've been reading race reports from other athletes who've done the Ironman World Championship in Kona.  It's part of my preparation.  I figure that I can learn from others experiences. Well, I think that I've gone too far.  In reading other athletes race reports, I was bound to come across any number of less than positive experiences.  One, for example, has to do with the wind conditions at Kona, which I know can be pretty brutal.  However, this is the type of situation I really have no control over.  I also know about the heat and humidity, which I'm already working on.  Somehow, last night, I actually became a little anxious over the unknown.  That's not the direction I'm trying to go in.  In fact, I pride myself on having done 14 Ironman's and that I've learned how to stay in the moment and deal with anything that comes my way. Maybe I'm taking this race a little too seriously?  What's new for me?

The only thing that I can truly control is my training.  That not only includes the workouts I do, but my recovery, nutrition, sleep, etc.  This race is my life's dream and I've been approaching it as such.  It's time to back off a bit from the mental over preparation and stick to the things that I know about.  The weather will be whatever it's going to be, and I'll deal with it like I have any race where I've encountered untoward conditions.  I'll embrace whatever comes my way and find a way to enjoy it!  I remember one year at the Oceanside half ironman, it rained, and it was cold.  I only wore my trisuit, and I remember thinking how much I loved racing in inclement weather, which wasn't true. But, I made it the truth that day.

I know it's going to be hot and humid in Kona, and I've not only started my preparation for that, but also my mental state of embracing it.  Heat and humidity are not only my friend, they are conditions that I look forward to racing in!  The wind is another story.  Well, not really!  I love windy weather.  I can certainly call upon my experience at St. George in 2012.  I've also ridden in high winds many times.  Granted, I have a new triathlon bike, and I may not be as used to riding it in the wind than my previous bike, but I'll be fine.  Probably the scariest part of riding in the wind is while descending.  At least I know that my position out of my aerobars is still pretty fast on my new bike, so if it comes down to getting out of my aerobars on race day, I'll be fine.

I can't control the wind, or the weather.  I can't control anything other than myself.  There's no need to overthink anything at this point.  On race day, I'll stay in the moment and enjoy the experience.  That's all the thinking I'll need to do.

Journey to Kona Day 187: Twenty Miles

Twenty miles is my magic running number.  In 2016, I ran twenty miles every week for twenty weeks.  I also had some of my best ironman run performances that year.  As I approach Kona nine weeks from now, this concept has resonated for me.  A few weeks before Ironman Boulder, I did an 18 1/2 mile run. While it wasn't twenty miles, it had a ton of climbing, and took me just about 3 hours, which is sort of the magic number for my twenty mile runs.  Obviously, I ran a marathon at Ironman Boulder, which I suppose counts as a twenty mile run.  Looking back at my training logs, in May I did a 2:38 run (15 miles) and a 3:05 run (17 miles).  These runs did have a lot of climbing, making the time on my feet the important factor.  I suppose that I began my year with a 100 mile "event," which took me 40 hours to complete, with about 30 hours of moving time.  There's no question that had an impact on me this year.  Since the end of March, I've also completed five other 2 hour runs.  These all add up, but they're not "twenty milers."  Today was my first official twenty mile training run.  There will be more!

I used the opportunity of a local half marathon to simplify today's twenty miler, and to give me some incentives.  I got to the race early, and managed to get in 7.2 miles prior to the start of the half marathon.  My legs were still a little tired from the week, but not bad, and I just kept a very comfortable pace.  The race itself was another story.  A fellow triclub member told me that she planned to run 9:30 pace, and I figured, that might be a little slow, but maybe I'd run with her.  Our first mile was 8:20, and that set the tone for me.  I was breathing fine and felt comfortable, so I just settled into a reasonable pace over the first eight miles, generally running in the 8:30-9:00 range.  My breathing was fine, and my legs felt fine.  Mile 9 was another story.  I had begun to pick up my effort, but my legs wouldn't answer.  9:20 was my time for mile 9.  I lifted my effort further, but the legs wouldn't respond.  I engaged my best grunting technique and increased my breathing to every 3rd step.  I was locked in around 9:30 pace.  That's what I did over the last four miles.  In some ways, I shouldn't be too surprised.  That's probably similar to what I did at the Santa Rosa 70.3.

On a very positive note, I was running as hard as I could at the end of a three hour, 20.25 mile run.  My pace wouldn't go much faster than 9:30 (although I did manage to get into the 8 minute range coming to the finishing chute).  Considering that I've never run an ironman marathon at faster than 10 minute pace, I should be pretty happy.  I also noted that my cadence was right around 168 steps/minute.  I've been working on this. I'd like it to be a little faster, but I held pretty steady today, rather than slowing down my cadence at the end, which I've done in the past.  Obviously, in Kona, I'd be thrilled to be running anything close to 10 minute miles at the end.  Trying to lock in the feeling and sensation of running 9:30 pace on tired legs is what ironman training is all about.  It's what my twenty milers are all about.

When I hit my 20th mile today, it had taken me about 3 hours, 2 minutes and 45 seconds.  During my "20 x 20" experience, the fastest that I ran twenty miles was right around 2 hours and 51 minutes.  I did several of those 20 milers in 2:54-2:58.  I'll definitely take 3:02 today.  It also came with an age group win and 34th place overall.  Nine weeks until Kona.  This is definitely a good start to my running preparation!

Journey to Kona Day 186: Finding My Groove

Today's swim was more about staying loose for tomorrows run than anything else, but it was also an opportunity to test out what I learned this week about my swim stroke and to practice it.  I got in the pool and swam 500 yards with a light focus on having a strong and synchronized left hand entry and left kick.  I say "light focus" because I didn't want to overdo the focus of my swim.  I also wanted to swim comfortably, at a pace that I felt I could keep forever.  I did both and ended up swimming the 500 at a 1:45 pace, which, if I could maintain this consistently, would be an improvement from where I've been.  I took a short rest and then set out to swim 500 yards "fast," but steady, hopefully at a pace that I could repeat for several more 500's.  Whether what I did is repeatable remains to be seen, but I swam the second 500 at a 1:39 pace.  I felt like my form held up.  I can definitely see an upcoming swim set of eight to ten of these.  Only then will I know where I am headed with my swim.  Wearing a swimskin and having salt water to increase my buoyancy, and this pace could be as fast as 1:30 by the time Kona comes around.  That's a 1:05 ironman swim, of which I can only dream about.  To date, without a current (like Chattanooga), my best ironman swim time was 1:08 in New Zealand in 2014.  On the other hand, my Chattanooga swim that year was 52 minutes, which I'm going to guess would have translated to somewhere in the 1:05-1:08 range.  All I know is that it would be cool to swim under 1:10 in Kona!  The crazy thing is that the guys who qualify for Kona in my age group aren't necessarily the best swimmers.  In fact, looking at last years results, a 1:08 swim would have been right near the top 10 of men in my age group.  It's too bad I won't be able to start with my age group, at least I'd be coming out of the water with some of the best athletes in the world in my age group.  Even more ironically, it looks like a 1:08 swim is pretty much right in the middle of everyone at Kona (per last year's results).  Anyway, enough of that, on to more about my swim groove.

I went on to swim some fast 25's, and finished my session with a fast 25 and a fast 50.  The fast 25 was in 17 seconds, and the fast 50 was in 36 seconds.  These are important numbers to me, because they're beginning to set the tone for some swim pace goals that I am planning to set for myself.  What's crazy is at 17 seconds for 50 yards, the comprehension of a one minute 100 yard swim actually enters one's brain.  That's because you need to be able to swim 25 yards in 15 seconds to even begin to think about swimming 100 yards in a minute.  Now, I'm not getting ahead of myself, and I'm definitely not thinking that I"ll ever swim 100 yards in one minute. It's like trying to run at the pace a runner holds for a 4 minute mile.  On the other hand, if I can swim 25 yards in 17 seconds with good form, as I get stronger, perhaps I can get that down to 16 seconds.  Similarly, if I can swim 50 yards in 36 seconds, with practice, strength and improved endurance, perhaps my 50 yard time can come down to 34 seconds.  This is where it gets interesting.  My best 100 yard time as of late is right around 1:20.  That's swimming each 25 in 20 seconds.  Based on the progression that I've laid out, I can see shooting to get my 100 yard time down to 1:12, which would essentially be pegging my 25's at 18 seconds each.  Even at my best a decade ago, I only think I hit 1:14 once.  I love having a goal, and ultimately, getting my 100 time down to around this level should then correspond to better 500 yard times.  Right now, my best 100's are right around 1:20, and I'm swimming my 500's comfortably at 1:45 pace.  Getting my 100's down to 1:12, should help me swim my 500's comfortably in at least 1:35.

Swimming is about form, to a degree.  Once you've mastered the form, you MUST get stronger using the improved form. That's something I never really comprehended or felt until now.  My strength will improve when I'm actually using the right swim muscles and technique on a regular basis.  Only then will I truly find my groove!

Journey to Kona Day 185: Sleep Matters

I slept at least nine hours last night and just took a nap.  This may be the most important training tool.  In fact, I know that I've gotten sick in the past when I haven't slept enough.  In the next 9 weeks, it's important that I get not only an adequate amount of sleep, but plenty of sleep!  I was figuring that I'd get out on my bike early today, but since I slept in, which I almost always do (letting my body decide when I'm ready to get up), I didn't leave the house until after 8am.  I rode my bike for a little over 3 hours, which was enough today.  I had planned to ride up to 4 hours, but I felt a little tired and my legs were definitely feeling some fatigue, so three was plenty, especially with a twenty mile run coming up on Sunday.

Tomorrow is essentially a rest day.  I'll swim, locking in what I learned this week and completing a fairly solid swim week.  But other than that, tomorrow is easy.  I want to be well rested for Sunday's run.  My plan is to get up early (hence the need for good sleep going in, and especially tonight), and to get to the race venue and run one loop of the half marathon course as an easy warm up.  this course is relatively flat, so I'm hoping that my warm up pace will be in the low 9's.  Ideally, I'd run somewhere between 9:00 and 9:30 pace for my warm up.  I won't use pace as my guide, I'll use my breathing, and keep it somewhere in the 4-6 steps per breath range.  After being sufficiently "warmed up," I'll do the Camarillo half marathon, starting at a comfortable 4 steps per breath effort and holding that for the first half of the race, and then, similar to the Santa Rosa 70.3, letting my breathing and effort come up to about 3 steps per breath.  I have no idea what kind of pace that will correspond to, but am hoping that it will at least be under 9 minute miles.

I'll then make sure that I take a nap on Sunday and get a good night of sleep on Sunday night.  I'm traveling for four nights later in the week, and it's going to be really important to make sure that I keep up with my sleep!

Journey to Kona Day 184: Perfection

I'm a perfectionist.  To the extent that this has been a challenge to me most of my life.  At times, my perfectionistic tendencies have actually caused me to purposely not try to be perfect. As of late, I've really tried to reduce my tendency to want to achieve perfection.  With the exception of today and my swim technique.  When my swim instructor told me to swim a 100 yards with a perfect kick, hand entry and front quadrant technique, it hit me.  Malcolm Gladwell knew what he was talking about.  From now on, I don't leave the pool without doing 100 yards perfectly.  In fact, that will be my drill focus.  Now, with swimming, trying to maintain perfection throughout every aspect of the swim stroke is next to impossible.  However, today something else clicked in terms of my greatest weakness.

10 years ago, I broke my left clavicle.  I actually felt that my stroke improved due to attention to one armed swimming for nearly 8 weeks.  Of course, that arm was the good arm, my right arm.  It's no wonder that my right arm enters the water while I synchronously kick with my right foot and ankle.  It's also no wonder that my right arm and leg are stronger at doing this.  When I focused on doing the same thing with my left arm and leg today, it was hard.  It was very tiring.  I'd bet that my muscles of my left arm and leg aren't used to the effort. And, so, that will be my focus. Along with doing it perfectly.

Practice does make perfect, and when it comes to swimming, that is a must.  I'm really excited as to where my work on my swim can take me going forward. Even in a matter of 9 weeks, I think that I can accomplish a lot if I'm dedicated and consistent.  Today, when I kept my focus, my swim times for 100 yards were consistently 1:32.  I don't believe that was accidental.  I think that is my goal for endurance swimming.  Right now I'm able to swim 1000 yards consistently at about 1:47 pace/100 yards.  My instincts tell me that I can reduce that to 1:32 pace with proper form and practice that will strengthen the muscles necessary to achieve this.  And so, when it comes to my swim technique, I'll welcome the inner perfectionist in me!

Journey to Kona Day 183: Torture

I was trying to come up with a word to describe today's workouts, and the word torture came to mind!  In reality, I loved my workouts today, so maybe torture isn't the best word, but I think it's still pretty descriptive.  I started the day with a two hour run.  It was already getting warm, and it was actually humid out.  My run is on a hilly course, so despite my goal to run comfortably, there were times that I did push a little.  I brought one bottle of fluids with me, and by the time I got home my running shirt and shorts were drenched in sweat.  I did put in a few hard 3-4 minute efforts during the latter part of my run, but overall, it was pretty chill.  Considering that I have a 20 miler coming up on Sunday, I'm quite happy that today's 12 mile run seemed pretty routine.

After I got home, I jumped in my car and drove the one mile to the hot yoga place.  That's really where the torture started.  Ninety minutes of hot yoga, after a 2 hour run, was the veritable icing on the cake!  I pretty much kept up with the workouts, though towards the end, took it a little easier.  I downed two full bottles of fluids before we finished, and felt like I'd actually kept up reasonably well with my hydration.  I was also careful with a few of the moves that might have been setting off my low back.  We'll see how I feel tomorrow.  The cool thing was that when I left the hot yoga place, it felt cool outside.  When I got in my car, I realized that the temperature outside was 80 degrees!  My acclimatization has begun!

I will plan to continue to torture myself with heat and humidity for the next nine weeks.  I have dedicated myself to having the heat and humidity of Kona feel like nothing.  In the past, I've had a lot of success with heat acclimatization, adding in the humidity is new, but I'm already feeling like I will be successful at doing this.  And so, I will continue to torture myself.

Journey to Kona Day 182: What Matters

With under 10 week to go before Kona, a lifelong dream, I'm regularly reminded to think about what matters in life.  My priority is preparing to acquit myself well at Kona.  I rarely do anything in life part way, and this is no exception.  To go and not give it 110% would not be who I am.  In fact, I wouldn't go if that was my plan.  With the commercialization of Ironman, and the fact that WTC is a publicly traded company with an idiot for a CEO, it would have been easy to not even bother going.  However, I'd set my mind on going to Kona as a Legacy athlete, and that's what I'm going to do.  Moreover, as I've written, I have goals and I'm going to give it my best to achieve those goals. At the end of the day, however, it's still able about the journey.  That's what matters.

I definitely have other things in my life that matter.  My family is the greatest priority.  I would do anything for my wife, daughters, son-in-law and grandson.  Right now, training for Kona is my next priority.  I've allowed myself to get caught up a little in the social media swirl of the recent shootings, which is also part of who I am.  I've written about the textbook that I'm editing, and that priority is next and will move up the ladder right after Kona.  I've also got a job offer, which I'm accepting, and I'm really excited about.

The term "multi-tasking" didn't exist when I was growing up, but I've been doing it all my life.  There isn't one thing that matters, there are usually several.  With that said, there's a limit to what we can focus on, and setting priorities is important right now.  That's what matters.

Journey to Kona Day 181: Integration and Assimilation

This blog is not about politics or sociology. I was at hot yoga class today (another 90 minutes of Kona preparation) and the instructor spoke of using the terms "integration and assimilation" instead of "recovery." He said that recovery makes it sound like there's been an injury, whereas the concept of integration and assimilation speaks to absorbing the impact of stress that we place on our bodies.  I connected with this concept.  In fact, I feel like I did a good job of doing this in the past week in response to my race.  Pushing too hard, too soon, could have had untoward effects on me.  Instead, I let myself absorb the useful stimulations from last weeks race, and I do feel like I've integrated and assimilated them into my system.

Hot yoga is already becoming my new favorite workout.  There is no question in my mind that training myself to do a 90 minute hot yoga workout will prepare me for the heat and humidity of Kona.  My plan today was to run after the workout, but my wife wanted to go to lunch.  I went to lunch, came home and took a short nap, and then did a 40 minute run in the heat of the day.  I felt fine!  This feels like a really good start for my Kona preparations.  I'll have to decide how many time a week I should do this, but I'm thinking at least twice.  One of the interesting things that has already happened is how my body responds to the sweating that I do.  During the first session that I did, I didn't drink beforehand, but took in three bottles of fluids during the session.  Today, I drank some beforehand, in addition to swimming for 80 minutes, and then only needed two bottles of fluids during the session.  I've continued to hydrate the rest of the day, especially after my run, where I sweated a bunch more.  I'm beginning to see the challenge of scientifically determining one's sweat rate and how to deal with it.  In fact, I believe that doing more hot yoga, as well as workouts that cause me to sweat, will help my body prepare for Kona.  I'm absolutely certain that a single "sweat test" would be of limited value, because as the body adjusts, circumstances will change accordingly.

Here I am, 9 days after the Santa Rosa 70.3.  I think that I've integrated and assimilated the effort.  Nearly 3 1/2 hours of training today in Kona-like conditions tells me that I'm ready for a solid week of training!

Journey to Kona Day 180: Back on the Bike

I've spent the last week "recovering" from the Santa Rosa 70.3.  Today was my first day on the bicycle.  It was already hot out, and I just rode comfortably for an hour and a half.  I could have ridden longer, but today was just about getting back into the swing of things.  It felt good.  At the same time, I realized that I was still a little tired.  The last few days were certainly not easy, despite the fact that I didn't exercise once during those three days.  Over 10 hours of driving, a ton of time in meetings, is a workout in its own right.  Getting on my bike felt natural and good.  My legs felt fine.  Of course, my hilly route is anything but easy, and I definitely had not choice but to put some degree of effort into going up some of the hills.  My legs were a little tired, but overall I felt fine.  I could have gone on for another hour an a half, but that would most likely have doubled my fatigue level.  It's not time for that yet.

This coming week is about putting in volume.  Volume on the bike, volume in the water, and running volume.  The running volume will culminate in my first 20 mile training run next Sunday.  I'm looking forward to putting time in on the bike, and even more so starting to do some regular 5000 yard swims.  In many ways I've already made a good recovery from last weeks race.  Back on the bike.  Nine weeks and 6 days until Kona.

Journey to Kona Day 179: Moving Forward

This post is not about swimming, biking or running.  It's about life. I was talking last night to a good friend who helped me through my work struggles last year, and I woke up early this morning thinking about those work struggles.  I do suffer from a bit of OCD, so when my brain gets locked into something, it can be hard for it to go away, especially at 3 in the morning.  In some ways, it was important for me to continue to process the struggles I had, but in other ways, it's a realization that it's really time to move forward.  It's funny how our brains like to sometimes pick on things from the past and hold on to them.  Familiarity is a real phenomenon.  But I'd rather let my familiarity be aligned with my ironman training.

It's time for me to move on in many ways.  I don't need to rehash what went wrong.  I don't need to reengage my anger.  I don't need to have regrets.  I want and need to be in the moment and use that moment to move forward.  We all learn from our experiences.  I've learned some new things from last weeks half ironman.  I learned some new things yesterday about the workings of our health care system.  Yes, even I can learn something new about health care!

There's a reason that the sun comes up fresh every day.  It's a reminder that the day is new, and that it's time to move forward.  That even extends to focusing too much on election politics or other things that really have no freshness to them.  The brain needs newness, and that will be my focus for the next month!

Journey to Kona Day 178: The Catch

My friend Rudy made a great point during our conversation today about swimming.  I told him about my swim lesson yesterday, and the realization of understanding about the mechanics of a good "catch."  The concept of the first part of the catch literally being that my forearm drops straight down and my elbow doesn't move, staying in front of my head, so that my forearm becomes a large paddle pulling straight back against the water at a 90 degree angle, became clear to me.  If I'm "lazy," which is easy to do, and let me elbow drop, that "paddle" that is my forearm is now at a 45 degree angle, slicing easily through the water.  It feels easier because it is.  There is less force being applied, less work being done. Or is there?  It "feels" easier.  But it is much less efficient, and is not going to propel me through the water.  It's fascinating how the mind and body work to fool oneself into trying to take what "feels" like an easier approach.

I've also been watching some swim videos to "lock in" these concepts.  While my focus last Saturday was on my arm turnover, which will still be an important concept in the open water at Kona, the point made in the video (which I only caught upon rewatching for the umpteenth time) was that a good catch was more important than faster turnover.  This makes sense.  No matter how fast ones turnover, if the catch is not efficient, there's just a lot of wasted energy that "feels" easier.  I often point out to people that there are plenty of swimmers who expend a lot of energy, but it's inefficient energy, and serves to slow them down, rather than speed them up.  The "catch" is the key element to all of this. As my swim coach points out, when you're getting tired in the water, it's the mental realization of mechanical concepts that you can fall back on to hold on to your form and maintain your pace.  I'm "catching" on!