Journey Back to Kona Day 40: Pondering the Journey

Today was supposed to be my first shot at qualifying for Kona.  I was primed.  My training was impeccable.  It wasn't to be, and like everything Ironman, it was totally out of my control.  A "bomb cyclone" cancelled the race today.  I wasn't disappointed, however, for a few reasons.  First, to be totally honest with myself, I've just been "off" over the past few days.  When I got to Sacramento I felt like my allergies were bothering me, and then yesterday my back tightened up on me.  Still, I was "ready" to race today. Except, that I knew that if there truly were 55 mph winds and heavy rain, that I wasn't going to risk hurting myself by getting on the bike. Fortunately, the race directors agreed and cancelled the race.  As I drove home, I began to feel better, validating my friend Rudy's thought that the huge drop in barometric pressure had "messed" with my system.  The vagaries of "getting older," I guess.

As I wrote a post on Facebook to the other athletes, I was speaking to myself as much as I was to them.  The last 8 months have been amazing.  Today's race wouldn't have changed that.  Whether I actually qualify for Kona doesn't change that.  I love having a goal, and I have been very serious about this one, but it still is about the journey.  If I make it about "results," I will lose.  Life isn't about "things," or "results," it's about putting yourself into what matters one hundred percent.  

On that note, I've got some other big decisions to make about what I want to be doing when I'm not training for an Ironman.  All of this has to be factored in.  But, as always, it needs to be factored in, in a good way, a healthy way.  And so, I ponder the journey.

My next Ironman isn't until May, and it's my favorite Ironman, St. George.  While I have the opportunity to do another race in the next 6 weeks, the logistic just don't work, and none of the available races interest me.  I'd still like a shot at the California course.  Having seen it, it really was going to be an interesting opportunity.  Which may make my decision simple, defer to next October 23rd.  The only complication would be if I had a great race at St. George and qualified for Kona next year.  The odds of that aren't good, and I may just want to go back to my original plan of preparing to qualify for Kona once I'm 65.  I've got 2 1/2 years for that.  In the meantime, I will continue to ponder the journey.

Journey Back to Kona Day 32: Ironman Pearls of Wisdom

Having done 15 Ironman events since 2010, I feel like I'm "qualified" to provide some pearls of "wisdom" to first time Ironman participants.  In fact, my coach once told me that you really start to understand Ironman around your 7th time.  For me, that actually was spot on.

1.  An Ironman should be easy until it gets hard.  Ideally, that will mean about 15 miles into the run.

2.  Stay in the moment all day long.  Don't spend time thinking about what you might have done, or what might be next.  Savor every moment of the day.  It's an incredible experience and feeling!

3.  At any point during the day that you feel like someone "turned the light switch off," slow down and nourish.  Do not push, do not try to maintain your effort.  Literally slow down and nourish.  On the bike this means pedaling easily and taking in nutrition.  On the run, this might mean walking or even sitting down and resting, and eating.  Taking ten minutes of rest can save you hours later in the day.

4.  Plan your clothing in advance.  Prepare for all types of weather.  If the temperature will be less than 60 degrees during the bike (and especially if it's closer to 50), make sure that you're wearing proper clothing to maintain warmth.  Hypothermia not only drains you of energy that you'll need during the run, but it significantly increases your caloric needs.  For me, putting on a Gabba top in T1 has helped me survive on multiple occasions.  Arm warmers are also critical, and can usually be worn under your wetsuit (otherwise, they're a bear to put on in transition).  You can always take them off if it warms up too much.

5.  For first-timers, don't even begin to think about a specific time goal.  Finishing is your goal.  Starting out easy and maintaining an easy effort for as long as possible will help you achieve that goal.  It will get hard at some point, but that will make the finish line all the sweeter!

6.  Reread #3. Write it out on your wrist.  Write it on your top tube.  You will forget, trust me.  It's still the single most important piece of advice that I can share.  Be ready and willing to slow down, to stop if necessary, to nourish.  Don't give up.  Just give yourself opportunities to recover.

7.  Don't burn too many matches.  It's a long day.  Don't go out too hard on the swim.  Don't try to power up hills, or in the case of IM California (which has no hills to speak of), don't push too hard against a headwind.  Don't try to set any speed records at the onset of the run.

8.  If you're not "feeling it" at the beginning of the run, use the first six miles to regain your energy.  Walk at the beginning of the run if necessary.  You'll save time at the end!  Walk the aid stations.  Walk when you feel the need to recover.  Pushing too much early in the run can cause you to lose an hour at the end.  Spending a few minutes slowing down can help you avoid the Ironman Shuffle at the end of the day.

9.  As you get to the finishing chute, take time to wipe your face and look your best for the finish.  Don't try to beat the person in front of you to the line, lest you mess up your photo op.  If you're fortunate, you'll actually hear Mike Reilly announce your name as you come up to the line.  There is nothing like it!

Journey Back to Kona Day 23: Messages Our Body Sends Us

3 days before my best Ironman, I was putting on my bike shoes for a short ride and my low back seized up.  Three days later, it was still slightly sore, and I actually worried about it getting worse at different points of the eleven hour and thirty two minute day.  It didn't.  That same spot invariably seizes up on me at various times in my training, and often prior to races.  I've blogged about it before.  It hadn't happened to me in at least several weeks, or perhaps longer.  Until yesterday.  Fortunately, it's only a nagging ache, and not a full blown spasm.  My coach and I often relate it to my body telling me it's time to rest.  My massage therapist says it's where I store things that are bothering me.  It's probably a combination of the two.  

Anxiety is a nefarious demon.  It settles in under our skin and pops up at inopportune times.  I've learned that there isn't always an obvious trigger to my anxiety, though I'm sure Freud would disagree with that.  I just am suppressing that trigger.  I have a number of things to be anxious about.  I have a number of things on my mind.  Ironman training has been a very healthy release for all that makes me anxious.  Tapering can certainly mess with that.  The endorphins are reduced and the anxiety rises to the surface.  

Yesterday was a rough day.  I never finished this blog as I was struggling with my anxiety throughout the day and evening.  Part of my challenge was the fact that I had three presentations today, and two papers that I'm working on.  Plus, my workouts have been minimal for the past few days, almost mimicking my reduction in training a couple of weeks ago that also led to increased anxiety and feeling pretty lousy.  The cure: getting caught up today with all of my projects and getting in two workouts, one of which was a bike VO2 workout.  That really gets the endorphins up!  It helped!

Journey Back to Kona Day 21: Mindset Matters

It's all about the mindset.  My coach was telling me today that 80-100 miles into the bike leg of an ironman, he'd be thinking about how his legs would feel if he started running.  I got it!  If I've prepared well and not burned too many matches on the bike, instead of having the biking doldrums, I should feel ready to go for the run.  In fact, my recent long bike rides have begun to prepare me for this, as I've gotten off the bike and been relatively ok running.  Of course, at Ironman California I'll be well rested going in, and so long as I don't push myself too hard on the bike, I'll be able to relate to the feeling!  I remember feeling this way at Ironman Chattanooga.  It's something I'd love to feel again!  Of course, mindset matters. When it comes down to it, getting in the right frame of mind is essential, and I feel like I'm so far ahead of where I've been before.

Swimming for over an hour just doesn't seem long anymore.  Biking for nearly six hours also doesn't seem that strenuous.  And of course, running 18 miles last week was just another running workout.  That's what my mind is telling my body, but more importantly, that's what my body is telling my mind!  I'm a huge believer in visualization, and as I prepare for Ironman California, and other Ironman's afterward, I'm excited by the new mindset.

Journey Back to Kona Day 20: Swim Easy to Swim Fast

While today was essentially a rest day, I did another 3000 yard swim (did one yesterday as well).  The idea was to swim easy.  No stress, no excessive muscle strain, especially since I was feeling a slight bit of soreness this morning from yesterday's swim.  So, I woke up this morning, ran 3 miles comfortably to get loose and headed to the pool.  Once I arrived, I just got in the water and focused on good form and a relatively easy effort.  Yesterday's stroke rate was ~29 strokes per minute.  Today, I found myself at somewhat less than that, but I noticed that I was using fewer strokes each length and I felt comfortable.  This feeling lasted for nearly an hour, as I reached 3000 yards faster than I have in the past month.  My form was as smooth and solid at the end as it was at the beginning, reminding me that swimming hard doesn't necessarily equate to swimming fast.  

Finding the right swim form and effort is essential for an Ironman, as I'll be swimming 2.4 miles and I don't want to exert too much energy with the bike and run to follow.  In fact, the easier the swim, the better.  The really intriguing aspect of this is whether swimming harder has any value at all.  Today was interesting because I swam really comfortably, and I actually went faster.  In fact, my pace today would have corresponded to ~1:16 Ironman swim, which I haven't done in a few years with the exception of the practice swim at Kona two years ago.  

I've often asked my coach about training more for the swim.  More training might improve my swim times by 5 minutes.  If I added a stronger effort I might save 10 minutes.  At what cost?  The cost of going slower on the bike and run.  The time to practice my swim could be spent on continuing to improve my bike and run.  With that said, there is probably a "sweet spot" for my swim training, and I think that I'm finding it.  

Doing a one hour nonstop swim at comfortable effort is akin to my MAF runs.  I'm not adding much to my physiology in the way of fatigue, and I'm training my body to go at a certain pace with minimal stress.  In fact, even over the past few weeks, this might already be paying off.  While it's "fun" at times to do harder swims, and even to do shorter efforts at a faster pace, I'm not quite sure what I gain from those efforts, except for the "fun" aspect.  

Just as I've diligently been running and biking at comfortable efforts, it looks like my swim training after Ironman California, will continue to focus on doing the same.  I'll try this for a couple of months and see what the result are.  It certainly doesn't hurt to swim easy to swim fast!

Journey Back to Kona Day 19: Sharpening the Sword

I wrote about the art of the taper in my last blog, and my understanding of the process grows with each passing day.  In some ways I never fully understood some of this because my body was never fully ready to effectively benefit from the taper, which is a bit of a misnomer, because tapering will have a positive impact regardless of how trained and prepared one is.  Nevertheless, there is a difference, and I realized it yesterday as I planned for my workout(s) today.  Initially, I'd planned to "get in another six or seven miles" of run volume, in order to get my weekly run volume closer to 50 miles.  But, after an incredibly solid 18 mile run on Friday followed by a 4 1/2 hour, 78 mile, bike ride yesterday, I realized that adding the run volume was purely performing to "a number."  With 21 days to go before Ironman California, it's all about offloading fatigue, while at the same time, sharpening the sword.

My coach put it simply yesterday in a text, you can't sharpen the sword if you're tired.  The type of workouts that are literally going to enhance my readiness for race day won't be effective if I'm tired.  So, there will be no running today.  My weekly run volume will have to tantalizingly remain at 39.6 miles.  Touche!  It is only appropriate that I not hit 40 miles exactly.  That's the point.  It's not about a number, it's about how I feel.  And, I'm tired.  Not markedly so.  Any other weekend prior to this I could have gone out and run six to ten miles.  I could have gotten some more time in on the bike.  That would have added to my endurance training.  But, it won't sharpen the sword.

The past couple of weeks have proven fascinating, as I complete one hard workout after another, adding to my perceived and numerical fatigue.  I've chosen to take a day off here and there when I've realized that doing so will enhance my ability to do the next important volume based workout.  Now, I will choose to take a day off here and there to enhance my ability to do the next sword sharpening workout.  Of course, I'm not yet sure what those workouts will look like, though I have some idea.  My coach will walk me through this on Tuesday.  Today, however, I will swim.  Swimming is good for my back.  Swimming is relaxing.  Swimming is something I've literally delayed training for, because it will have the least impact on my Ironman.  That is, of course, so long as the swim doesn't fatigue me at the start of the day.

Hence, my swim workouts for the next couple of weeks will continue to be long and "relatively" easy.  I say "relatively" because I really want to approximate my race day swim effort with these training sessions. However, today's swim will be easy.  Today is truly a rest day, and it's a great time to see how an easy long swim effects my fatigue, my mind and my body. We'll see how it prepared me for the days to come.  Tomorrow will be a short run, just to loosen up, and possibly a short bike, for the same reason.  I will probably swim again, depending upon how I feel, as I get ready for the real "work" of the taper, to sharpen the sword.