Ironman Florida 2013 – 11:53:28

(Check back for updates with pictures)

My goal for this race was to have a good day and a strong run.   IMWI 2011 was awful for me, and after suffering through flat tires and nutrition problems I wanted a better day this time.   So, my definition of success wasn’t tied to a particular time or split but more to a feeling, which is odd for data driven Mike.  I think it worked out pretty well for me though. 

Swim

Time:  1:10:49

Pace: 1:50/100m

The swim was a mass start to Van Halen’s ‘Panama.’   At the cannon almost 3000 people ran into the ocean, and almost immediately the ocean hit back.   Three foot breakers pushed us back towards the shore.   The swim was tight, where I had seeded myself.   It was a very congested push to the first bouy, with a lot of contact.   My goggles were kicked a few times, my ankle got grabbed once.   I really had to fight for every inch until the first turn.   The first turns was very congested so I dove under some other athletes hanging onto the buoy and sighted the next buoy. 

The course was two loops in the ocean, with a brief beach run in between.  When I got to the shore the first time I saw that I was at about 35 minutes, which was great.  Better than expected.  Luckily the second loop was less stressful.  

In general, I just kept reminding myself that it was a long day, and to not be in a hurry.  I just got the swim done, and I was out in about 1:10.   My ‘best day’ prediction was 1:12 so I was really happy with the result. 

T1 12:46

The T1 run was pretty long, but not as bad as the IMWI helix run.  Things went to plan, I didn’t run but I just moved ‘purposefully’ through transition.  I noticed that for some reason my left heel was hurting, but I couldn’t really do much about that. 

Bike

Time:  5:21:19

Pace:  20.91 mph

The bike was also pretty congested.  There was a combination of deliberate and involuntary drafting going on for most of the bike.   I kept my distance the best I could, but there wasn’t really anywhere to go.  Every time I’d back off to eat/drink I’d get passed by pace lines that I’d have to again repass.  

There was a NW wind, at less than 10 mph that created a minor headwind on the way out, and a minor tailwind on the way back. 

For the most part I just tried to put my head down and do work.    That said, being in your own head for 5 hours is just a long time.  It’s hard to focus that long.  

Just like cedar point 70.3 I had problems either with my power meter or my effort level again.   My quarq said I was riding about 20-40W under goal.   My RPE said I was working hard enough.   My speed indicated I was holding right around 21 mph.   So, I road mostly by effort.   This is a big problem I need to solve though.  It might be that there is something wrong with my electronics, or my calibration process.   It could also be that I’m so mental about the run that I’m afraid to push the bike even a little, and that’s giving my RPE a bit of a false read.  A third option is that in a race there is always a pack to avoid, nutrition to eat, aid stations to go through, and turns to negotiate, and maybe I’m just not good at holding power while doing those things.   Whatever the cause, I was happy with my pace and if I left some on the table so be it.

  

At about mile 70 I hit a real mental low point, and I started singing songs from ‘The Little Mermaid’ to myself.   I remember passing this girl singing and getting a funny look.  I shot back, ‘come on, you know the words.’  I’m just about positive I heard her singing behind me! 

I saw Lana and Tam on the bike around mile 90, just when it seemed like it would never end.  I hit the century mark at 4:46 and I was jazzed about that.  My fastest century by 14 minutes. 

My ‘best day’ goal for the bike was around 5:10 and my ‘average day’ goal was 5:30.  So, 5:21 was really right where I should have been.  It also lined me up for going sub 12 hours if I could run a 5 hour marathon, which would be really neat.

T2 8:27

So, T2 was thankfully much shorter than T1.   I did what I needed to do, but still didn't run in transition.  I knew I’d get plenty of running soon enough.  The volunteer helper I had was in such a hurry he took my T2 bag away before I got to put my shoes back in it, or get my sunblock out.   So, I’m sitting there in T2, with bike shoes in hand and run shoes on.   I yell to him ‘Dude, I still have my bike shoes.’  He says something like ‘sorry, it’s been a long day.’  Yeah, funny, me too…  

Run

Time: 5:00:07

Pace:  11:27/mile

I noticed that every time I put my left leg down my heel would hurt.   Same place I noticed in T1.   Not much I could really do about it, but it was there and painful. 

I ran by heart rate, trying to stay in zone 2, for the first few miles.   That was working out really well at first.   But, then, my heart rate dropped to between 90 and 100 bpm after the first few miles.  That wasn’t right.   It wasn’t something I had experienced in training however, and had no idea how to fix it.  So, I just did my best to ignore it and run the marathon on feeling.

At mile 5 I noticed the 18 mile mark on the run course, for the second loop, and made a mental note.  That’s where the race starts, mile 18.   That’s where I’m going to have to really work for it. 

Somewhere on the first loop I ran into Mirinda Carfrae, on her second loop.  As she ran by I sped up just a bit and was like ‘hey, you’re Mirinda Carfrae.’   I guess it’s sorta stupid to tell famous people who they are, because, well, they know.   Anyway, I was like ‘ok, I’m gonna let you go ahead, you got this.’  And so I let her go, since she was leisurely jogging my 5k pace.   That was cool though, we’re totally running buddies now. 

For the first 13 miles, the sun was pretty hot and it was sort of humid.  Those conditions are not great for me to run in.  I did my best running between aid stations and walking/recovering my HR as I drank between aid stations. 

Every mile I’d take a self-assessment of my condition.   How was I feeling?  In general I was less hydrated than I wanted to be.  My pace was ok, but not what I was hoping for, but being a terrible runner isn’t exactly news worthy.  From my first few splits, it looks like I had a shot at that sub 12.    Energy level was ok, all things considered.   Stomach was going between good and bad, back and forth.   I wasn’t cramping at all.  Things were all green across the board, given where I was.

At mile 13 I had a minor asthma problem and hit my inhaler.   I thought I’d walk for a bit and see if I could recover, but it didn’t get any better.   I used my inhaler again, but it still really didn’t improve.  So, at that point I just decided to run again.  Running didn’t really make it worse, so I kept back on my plan.

When I hit mile 18 I had a massive side stitch.   Self-fulfilling prophecy I suppose.  I don’t normally have issues with side stiches, so I wasn’t sure what to do.  I walked again for a bit, it eventually went away.

At mile 22 I looked down at my watch and realized that if I pushed I could still hit the 5 hour mark on the run, somehow, after all that walking.  Admittedly I was a little bummed that I had a shot at sub 12 after this deep into the marathon, because it meant some hurt was coming.  So, I made my mind up to do it.  At mile 23 I stopped walking the aid stations and just ran.   It’s funny, I was pushing so hard I felt like I was running 7 minute miles.  In reality, it was more like 10 minute miles.   I saw Lana right before I crossed, but couldn’t really do much more than try to smile.  I crossed the finish right a few second over 5 hours, and for some reason had it in my head that I had finished in over 12 hours.  

A volunteer immediately grabbed me and took me to medical because I was clearly smoked.  I sat down, drank some chocolate milk and got my head back together.  While I was in medical I heard someone say ‘these guys are right at 12 hours’ so, I looked down at my watch and realized I had finished in under 12 hours as well.   I met a worried Lana outside of medical and made my way back to our condo. 

Post-Race Thoughts

I really had a great day.  Because of the awfulness that was IMWI 2011, in some ways it feels like my first ironman. 

Of course I usually want more, and today was no exception.  I would have liked, given all the training I put in, for my run split to be closer than an hour off my open marathon.  I did the best I could with what I had though, and it was pretty good result.  My ‘best day’ prediction was 4:30, so I guess in the back of my mind I think there’s another 30 minutes in there somewhere, but that’s about as deep as my genetic well goes I’m afraid.

Our Panama City Beach ‘Vacation’

After IMWI I think I laid in bed for two days.  This time I was much better prepared in general, and I hurt a lot less the next day.   I was sore, but it wasn’t awful.

That painful heel I mentioned was the worst of it.   I had a big puncture wound on my left heel.  My best guess is that I stepped on a sharp bit of shell on the beach as I was heading to T1.

I got up at about 6am to go with Lana so she could register for 2014.   We had to get there two hours before registration opened, to secure a spot.  With WTC, it seems the 4^th discipline is standing in line.

My legs were of course really sore, but that was to be expected.   We joined some friends on the beach for drinks and that certainly took the edge off.  

Two days out I felt way better.   Most of the pain was gone.   I was experiencing some episodes where I’d go from ‘fine’ to ‘I’m going to kill someone if I don’t get some food’ in a matter of seconds, so I gave myself a pass to eat pretty well. 

The highlight of our dining experiences in PCB was ‘Buddy’s Seafood Market’ where we went in, picked some fresh seafood, and they steamed it while we waited.   I ate about a pound of fresh shrimp and some scallops, along with potatoes and corn.  It was really delicious. 

We also ate at ‘The Boathouse’ with some friends.  It was great as well.  I had grilled local grouper with a bottle of Beaujolais.  

Thanks

I have many people to thank for this big epic day, and the training to lead up to it.   

First and foremost, thank you Lana for getting me to the starting line safe, healthy, and sane.  And for keeping the house together while I trained.  And for all your love and support.  I really can't thank you enough love.

Thank you friends and coworkers, for supporting me in doing this and talking about it non stop for the last 12 months.

Thank you trisharks and fellow Epic Endurance team members for your support and well wishes on facebook!  You guys are an inspiring bunch.

And last but not least thank you to Laura Wheatley for pushing me further than I would have pushed myself.   

Cedar Point 70.3 - 05:29:01.830

After a stomach flu related DNS at Cedar Point last year, and a terrible DNF at the half distance this year, I really wanted Cedar Point to go right. 

Please be sure to read this post on how I revamped my nutrition for a cramp free (but still very colorful) experience.

Lana had to work until Friday evening, so we drove half way from Illinois to Ohio Friday night and we stopped at South Bend Indiana, in this awful hotel.   It was right on Notre Dames campus, and there were groups of drunk hockey players out playing bags in the parking lot until 3 in the morning.   The next morning they had ‘breakfast’ that both of us were pretty afraid of, but since there was no microwave in the room we made do.

We made it to Ohio and got a quick swim in, then registered.  After registration I was shaking down my bike when I discovered my front wheel was flat.   I fixed it and noticed the wheel was once again leaking from the valve.   I changed the valve extender, and my problem was fixed so I checked my bike in.  To say I was on edge would be a massive understatement.

That night we made dinner in our room, as extra food poisoning prevention. Unfortunately Lana said her stomach was already upset.  I walked down the beach to check my bike one last time that night.  The tire was holding…  I set the alarm for 4am and went to bed.

That night, at about 2 am, Lana was sick.   It seemed very similar to what I had the year before.  After the tire stress, and then this, I had really had my fill of this race.  Two years in a row…

I thought about it, but I knew Lana would want me to race.  She went back to bed.  I felt terrible for her.   When I got dressed that morning I had a problem with the zipper on my new jersey.   I’d only worn it once before, so Lana suggested I take her bike jersey with, just in case…

Swim

Time  35:19

Distance 1.2M

Rate 2:00/100

AG Place 13 / 75

The lake swim was moved to the bay this year, because a 25ish mph wind was creating some rip currents in the lake that made swimming too dangerous, according to the coast guard.

It was a TT start, and I had to wait forever (it felt) to swim.   The swim was at least half a mile from T1. 

My swim went really well.   I had a new wetsuit I was looking forward to wearing (Tyr Hurricane Cat 5).   My only complaint, and it happens a lot in triathlon swims, is that the distance just doesn't add up.   My GPS reported 1.33 miles instead of 1.2.  That’s the difference between a 1:33/100 swim and a 2:00/100 swim.   Admittedly, I could have sighted poorly or my watch could have been off, but I rarely swim as slow as 2:00/100, even on a cool down lap, and I doubt very much that a 2:00/100 pace would have gotten me 13 in my AG.   So, I choose to believe I swam the 1.3 miles.  :)

T1: 09:35

Note previous comment about long long run to T1.

Bike

Time 2:36:07

Distance 56 Miles

Speed 21.53

AG Place 16 / 75

Well, the good news is I had air pressure in my tire!

Conditions were pretty bad.    It was very windy and misting rain, enough to make the cornering slow.

After the first 10 minutes I started working at my goal watts.  My RPE was way too high though, like time trial high.  But I was still missing my numbers by about 5W.  I looked down and noted I was averaging about 23 Mph.   Nope, too hard.  Something’s wrong with the quarq maybe.   I was questioning everything, trying to figure out if I should push it, back down, or something else.  What’s the plan?   I spun the pedals backwards a few times to try to zero the quarq out.   Still, things aren’t feeling right, and I seriously doubt my electronics.   Then I remember that I calibrated the quarq when it was in the rev3 rack.  Maybe that?  

 Then comes a wave of doubt.   Have I already blown it?   Did I go too hard chasing that number to run later?   In the end, I made the call to flip to my plan B screen, which has heart rate but not power on it, and rode by RPE and heart rate. 

By mile 56, I was ready to get off the bike, and my average pace was right in line with what I did at route 66, on a worse day.   So, even if I wasn't hitting my numbers, I was going hard enough for today. 

The last ten miles of the bike were with a wicked cross wind coming from over the beach.  It was like being sand blasted.  I was holding on for dear life, and sand was everywhere.   Up my nose, in my mouth, everywhere.   I was happy to be done, but unsure about the run.  

  

T2: 04:13

Right off the bike into T2 I noticed the zipper had broken on my new jersey.   Seriously?   Luckily I had Lana’s bike jersey at her request earlier.  

I took my time in T2, changing into dry socks, plan B for wet weather on the bike.  I glanced down at my HRM and saw that the sock change brought me down into zone 1, so I figured I’d go out and run a few miles at low zone 2 and see what stuck, I was wanting to be careful at this point.   Thinking about Lana sick in bed, I didn't want to drive all the way out here for another DNF, so a conservative approach was warranted.

Run

Time 2:03:48

Distance 13.1 Miles

Pace 9:31

AG Place 25 / 75

After the first few miles ticked by, I was pretty pleased to see I was sitting right around 9 minute pace, at the lowish end of zone 2 heart rate.   Combined with quick aid station walks, I was averaging about 9:20.   Not speedy, but I knew at even that pace I was lined up for a huge PR.  I was running really well, and decided to stay at that conservative pace.  (Yes Laura, your run training is working!!!)  

At about mile 5 I picked it up into upper zone 2, but I was really staying at about the same pace.  

Around mile 10, I finally let myself hit zone 3.   Running back into the park the last two miles, I was running directly into the wind and I was very glad I was as fresh as I was.   I was right at threshold, running a 10 minute mile.   Once we finally turned, I was all out, trying not to barf, and running to the finish.  

And finally, having executed every plan B in my race plan, thinking about my poor wife with the same stomach bug I had last year, my jacked up quarq, and the flats the day before, I turned down the finish chute to smile for my finish line picture, in my purple woman’s bike jersey, relieved to cross the finish and happy that an anvil didn't fall from the sky to bonk me on the head.   Good grief, what a race.

On Statistics and Half Ironman: Going from a DNF to a 15 minute PR at the half distance

Flash back to last year, I got a stomach bug and DNS’s CedarPoint.

Then, this July, The Route 66 HIM happened.   I had a ‘just ok’ swim, but I started to feel bad with about 10 miles left on the bike.   The run was awful.  I cramped the whole way, and both calves finally locked up around mile 11, sending me face first into the dirt and qualifying me for a free ambulance ride.  Game Over.

I was seriously considering that my efforts at the 70.3 distance were somehow cursed statistically improbable. 

But, just the same, Cedar Point 2013 was on my calendar, and I wanted a bit of redemption.   So, how do you come back from your first DNF?  

To paraphrase Seth, I think first you have to acknowledge that, if you do this triathlon thing long enough, you'll DNF.   It's almost certain.  So, it happens.   How do you get back up?

For me I'd first have to not cramp up and fall over...but I just didn't have time to really dig into that.  I've got a new job, and I’m training for Ironman, there just wasn't time.   So, the bigger problem was time management.  

Time Management

My two ‘biggest’ rocks outside of family life were work and Ironman training.   These two time commitments were about 60-70 hours a week, combined.   Additionally, I was spending another 1-2 hours a week figuring out which workouts I should be doing, and how I should be training.  

So, when I heard that longtime friend, exercise physiologist, PhD student, and super triathlete athlete Laura Wheatley was starting a coaching business it seemed like a good idea to solicit her help.  

 I've worked with a lot of coaches in the past.  Most of them want to talk about what an ‘art’ coaching is, and I’ll concede that it somewhat is.  Few will answer my questions when I ask why.   Fewer still have good reasons when they do answer those questions.  And while I’m not an exercise physiologist, I’m a scientist just the same and scientific process doesn't change.  Said another way, I’m an evidence based, research based, pessimistic math guy that won’t do something because that’s what your n~=50 coaching experience says works.  I’m always going to ask hard questions and expect proof, and Laura is one of the few people that have answered those questions in a reasonable way. 

So, I have a coach.  Poof, 2-3 hours free per week, more confidence that I’m doing the right kind of work, and a lot of experience I can call on as needed.  I can focus on the work, and not the planning.  Additionally, my run has been bad for a long time, and I needed a new approach to make it less bad.   Stick to your core competencies, as the business guys say.  But first things first, I now had the opportunity to invest those hours on fixing my cramping issue, hopefully for good…

On Fixing Cramping

No one really knows why cramping happens in a specific instance.  Lots of things can cause it.   It’s a multifactorial problem.   It could be overexertion, glycogen depletion, inadequate hydration, an electrolyte problem, or something yet undiscovered, and there are decent arguments around each.    It’s something I've struggled with in the past, but usually only after a race or towards the end.   A DNF based on cramping was a whole new thing.  

So, I had a complicated multifactorial problem and about 4 weeks to solve it.   The way I wanted to solve the problem was to manipulate each individual factor and evaluate.   But, that wasn't going to work.   1.  There wasn't time.  2.  How do I know that two factors aren't dependent on one another, or both on a third? 3.  I lacked a testing methodology, because the issues I experienced in racing I wasn't experiencing in training, for various reasons of which probably only some were known or guessed at.

I was really left in a situation where the only reasonable option was a shotgun approach.   Or, to quote Ripley from "Aliens," ‘I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.’

So, I’d have to be ok with not knowing why.  I could build any number of models, related to why I was cramping.   But that’s the thing about models.   My hero statistician is George E.P. Box (What?  Everyone has a hero statistician, right?).   He says “Since all models are wrong the scientist cannot obtain a "correct" one by excessive elaboration. On the contrary following William of Occam he should seek an economical description of natural phenomena. Just as the ability to devise simple but evocative models is the signature of the great scientist so overelaboration and overparameterization is often the mark of mediocrity.”

George also says ‘All models are wrong, some are useful’ or something like that…

I think George would have been down with Ripley.   And I had to be ok with not knowing ‘why’.  

So, I overhauled my entire nutrition plan.   This time I hired yet another expert, friend and Coach Kevin McCarthy, to review my nutrition from the Route 66 half and make recommendations.   Kevin was the first to see me after the Route 66 half, and he probably had a better gauge of my physical and mental state than I did.  Laura was of course doing the same thing, giving me great and practical advice on nutrition.   She was also making some changes to my training that I felt would help quite a bit.   I also did an exhaustive amount of research on my own.   Lastly, I talked to almost every experienced age grouper I trusted, including many of my fellow Trisharks.  

Once I had a lot of recommendations from many sources, I consolidated them very, very deliberately, and with great rigor, into what would become my nutrition plan version 2.0.  This is an approach I’m very comfortable with as a data scientist.   This is a proxy for a statistical technique called ensemble learning.   If you need to develop some rules, or generalized learning and you can’t dig deep on the why, because a problem is too complex or you lack time, ensemble learning is where it’s at.  Said simply, you use the ‘vote’ of an ensemble of learners to obtain better predictive performance than you could from a single constituent learner.  (If you’re a statistician reading this, also consider that the decisions of the trees in my little live action roleplay version of a random forest was, from talking to me and their own personal experience, subject to bootstrap aggregation and perhaps boosting as well. :P )

And then I tested, and tested again, on long training days, to make sure it would work, or at least do no harm. 

This is not to say that the concept of ‘phone a friend’ is especially clever in our sport.   It’s not.  But, there is a trap us age groupers sometimes fall into.   There is danger is in reading one paper, speaking to a respected friend or coach, or even  reading one pro’s nutrition plan…and then doing what they do.   My solution to cramping was using formal methodology to avoid this trap, simple as that.

So, how’d it work?

At Cedar Point this year, despite a continued string of misfortune (race report to follow), I managed a 15 minute PR at the half distance.   More importantly, I did it without a single cramp, at approximately the same effort level I had previously raced at.  I’ll never really know what went wrong at Route 66, and that does bug me on some level, but truth be told I’d never be 100% certain, even if I had an infinite number of identical races in which I could isolate and manipulate variables.   The real world is never the lab.

Perhaps even more importantly, I stopped trying to ‘do it all’ myself and gained a team, which as a busy part time long course age group athlete, is really invaluable.   If you only get to race a few times a year you don’t have much opportunity to experiment in race conditions or train sub optimally.   

Big thanks to Laura, Kevin, and all the local athletes I spoke to, that got me this far.  Also thanks to all the professional and age group athletes writing blogs like this one, you can be certain I've data mined you all.  :)

In The News!

Thanks to the Ottawa Daily Times for the great story!  If you're suffering from obesity, or just want to lose some weight, it's possible.  It can be done, and this is how I did it.

Ironman Wisconsin 2011 14:18:09

I woke up at 3:30am on 9/11/11, and I knew the day was finally here.  Ironman.  The race I’ve been aspiring to for the last three years, was going to happen in three and a half hours.  Even if everything went exactly to plan, I knew this race would test me. But that wasn't the case.  Almost nothing went how I planned.  

The first indication of the challenges that were ahead was apparent as soon as I opened my eyes.  The head cold I had been dealing with all week was still in full force.  It was probably worse than the day before in fact.  That was outside of my control though; all I could do was manage it the best I could with the medicine I had stuffed in all my bags. 

I ate my typical race breakfast, drank coffee, and left for the race. 

Swim

Distance – 2.4 Miles

Time- 1:20:50

It's an amazing thing to be in the water at an Ironman Swim start. Thousands of athletes were lined up in the murky but very glassy water. Mike Reilly was telling us we were all going to “be an ironman” today. The cannon went off, “Beautiful Day” by U2 was blasting on the PA, and suddenly the water erupted into chaos. 

For the first 400 Yards I went hard. In mass starts I would rather be swam over than swim over other people...

I felt really good, and I was shocked and happy to see 1:20 on the clock when I got out of the water.

T1

Time – 12:30

I carefully ran through T1, did what I needed to do, and got going. I was not going to be heroic running barefoot in T1 and screw up my day with a fall.

Bike

Time – 6:45:24

Distance 112 Miles

As the bike started out through Madison we entered a bike path that went under a city street. Unfortunately, with less than two miles in, a rider crashed her bike and was being attended to by paramedics, which stopped the bike course. It was frustrating to have my foot down while the clock was running, but the woman that fell off her bike had bigger issues. She was being taken off the course on a back board. I hope she was okay.

I made it through the “stick” and hit the first aid station, where I threw my bottle and picked up a bottle of powerbar and a bottle of water, and very nearly avoided a second pile up, when a rider went down at the aid station.

About ten minutes later, I grabbed my powerbar bottle to take a drink. It was empty. The volunteer that handed it up to me didn't screw the cap on tight, and the bottle drained out. The next aid station was water only, and the combination of those two issues meant I was going to be short about 200 calories in my first hour.  I typically eat a cliff bar in T1, but that didn’t happen today.  My stomach wasn’t feeling up to it, possibly because of the rough swim or because of my cold. 

I was still biking very well and making many passes. My bike was set up well, and I was happy to see that with the addition of my aero helmet, wheels, and removing my two training bottles + holder I was averaging about 19 mph on the bike.

At about 25 miles in I was passing someone and I hit a BIG pothole I didn't see. I was immediately worried that I damaged something. A few miles later I felt the back of my bike bouncing. I looked down to see the rear tire flat and my heart broke. I knew my bike split was ruined. If I couldn't get moving again, my race was over. I'd been training for 12 months for this day, and it was hard to think this might be the end of my day.

I got off my bike, closed my eyes for 5 seconds, and got some perspective on things. An accident, nutrition problems, and now a flat and the clock wasn’t even at 3 hours yet... I’d like to say I was totally calm and prepared, but that would be a lie.  I was a mess. 

Okay, I thought, some things are happening that I don't want, but flats and colds are completely outside of my control. Regardless, I can quit now, or I can keep moving forward...those were my options.  Walking away would have been very easy in that moment.  Quitting becomes exponentially easier when you know that no matter how the rest of the day plays out you can't perform to the best of your ability. Continuing meant suffering a lot, for a sub-par performance. This was my first Ironman though, the race I've had my eye on doing for at least the last 3 years. I've sacrificed a lot to get to this day. My wife was out on Old Sauk with my parents, cheering for me. So, I decided to keep going, and just make it the best day I could.

I pulled my back wheel off and checked for damage. It looked ok, other than the flat.  I grabbed the razor blade out of my flat kit and cut the flat tubular in half and peeled it off the rim. I pulled my spare on and inflated it. I was moving forward again, but I had lost about 15 minutes.

At about mile 32ish I finally hit an aid station that had calories. I drank some perform and supplemented with my EFS, just like in training, but things weren’t working like they did in training.  My stomach went from feeling bad to feeling awful.  My hamstrings/quads were starting to cramp. I was covered in salt and the day was proving to be a bit hotter than expected. I needed salt, calories, and water and I was struggling to get sufficient amounts of them.  I was totally unprepared for all of this, as my nutrition had always been pretty much perfect in training. 

At mile 46 I saw Lana and my Mom cheering for me at Old Sauk. I tried to smile and wave, they gave me such a positive lift, and I didn't really want to expose them to the badness I was going through.

I was doing the best I could to ride in my power zone on the bike, which was difficult as I had a lot of slower bike traffic to pass now, but overall things were getting better. By the time I went through Verona on my first loop I was feeling pretty strong and my stomach issues seemed under control. Unfortunately I had to stop at bike special needs to get my spare tubular / co2 from my special needs bag. After flatting once, I wasn't going to ride without a spare and risk a DNF, but that meant again my foot came down, more minutes gone.

On a climb about 60 miles in I saw my friends Seth and Jessica.  I had no idea they were going to be there, and I kind of had to do a double take when I saw them.  Seth ran next to me briefly as I climbed and I told him about my flat.  I had this odd thought.  Ultrarunners talk about how they get these hallucinations after running for hours, of ghost wolves chasing them and things like that.  I wondered briefly if I was being chased by a ghost Seth, but I quickly dismissed the idea, as that would probably be the lamest hallucination ever.

I saw Lana again in Verona on my second loop, probably around mile 90. Again, it was a much needed pick up. The cramps were back again. I was now about 700 calories under plan, putting me at around 150-200 an hour.  Not nearly enough.  I was struggling to balance getting more calories and water in with not vomiting, and I was losing.  I only peed once on the bike, around mile 60, so I was dehydrated as well. I was beginning to struggle with holding power.  I’ve never had nutrition problems in a race; I can normally eat anything anytime, and be fine.  I was totally unprepared for a nutritional emergency.  I was getting really frustrated and angry, which happens when my blood sugar is low.   I was cramping badly, something else that doesn’t really happen to me, especially on the bike.  I took some of my emergency salt; it was more likely a function of my lack of nutrition/hydration.  I didn’t really understand at the time how far gone I really was though.  By now I was struggling to hold 60% power and my focus was really slipping. 

But the decision was made, I was going to keep racing. Finishing would have to be good enough. I was going to finish.

At mile 102, on my way back to town, I noticed my back wheel starting to bounce. It was low on air...I had no idea how. I still don't, in fact. My first intention was just ride it for the last few miles. It wasn't quite flat, and it was a tubular anyway, so I figured it would maybe make it to 112. Unfortunately about 107 I noticed it was getting worse.  I knew I was working harder to pedal on a flat, I was worried I was going to roll the tire off the rim, and I knew my bike time was screwed anyway… So, I stopped for a third time, and put another CO2 cartridge into the tire. Luckily, this time it held until I got back to transition, but I lost more time with a third stop.

Yeah, I was having a bad day. But, things could have been worse. There was a guy I passed riding into T2. He was carrying his bike, covered in blood, back into T2 to start his marathon.

T2

Time 11:39

T2 was a mess. There was lots of carnage, and a lot of folks looking less healthy than me. I did my thing, changed socks and shoes and went. The cramps were still there so I took more salt and drank some water.  I tried some gel but it didn’t stay down. 

Run

Time 5:47:46

Distance 26.2 Miles

I was very worried when I started the run. Scared may be a better word. Running a marathon isn't an easy thing on my best day and I knew I wasn’t in any shape to do it at the moment.   I was running very easy 10 minute miles, but my stomach was still wonked and my nutrition was worse. Every time I tried to drink anything with calories at the aid stations I'd throw up. My calves were and quads were cramping very badly. I stopped taking in calories at about mile 6 because I was worried that they'd see me get sick and pull me off the course. I was also worried that it would make my hydration situation worse.

I saw Lana, my parents, and our friends Seth and Jessica at Mile 7.5. By the time I saw them again, around mile 14, I was in the weeds. I was walking. I was totally bonked. I couldn't feel my teeth or look at the ground without it spinning. I was cramped beyond belief. I remember asking Lana if I could make the cutoff if I had to walk. I was pretty much done. Luckily, Mom and Dad went to eat, I really didn't want them to see me like that. I knew they'd be worried enough. At that point someone made the suggestion to try pretzels at the aid stations. I figured that I had nothing to lose, besides more walking and vomit. Sure enough, that did the trick. I only ate a few pretzels per aid station, but it was something and they were staying down. I was able to add bananas, chicken broth, and a little coke on top of that. Things got just a little better, and I was able to run most of the last half of the marathon. It wasn't a fast or pretty run, but it was a run.  The cramps got slightly better too.  In the end I think I probably ran the entire marathon on 10 pretzels and a quarter of a banana. 

On Being an Ironman

As I turned towards the finish, it seemed bittersweet. It was a day that had lots of downs, and very few ups.

When people asked me how fast I was going to finish this race, I told them my goal was 16:59:59, but I knew I had a 12 hour IMOO in me.  Maybe I did, I’ll never really know.  As it turns out, my first Ironman was going to be more about perseverance than performance. 

It's cliché to say things like “well, just play that hand that you're dealt” or “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” but things are cliché for a reason. In the end, I turned down the carpet, “hi fived” the fans, and smiled when Mike Reilly called out “Michael Bernico, 34, of Bloomington Illinois, you are an Ironman!” 

There’s no question that putting together a 12 hour race where everything went to plan would have made me very happy, but fighting for a 14:18:09 where nothing went right is probably better. 

 

Almost nothing went how I planned.  I finished anyway. 

Evergreen Olympic Triathlon -2:33:59.4 (2:51:08.4)

I went into this race with the intent to specifically fix the things I did wrong last year, especially related to hydration and nutrition.  I think I did that.  I probably left just a little on the table, but I’ll take that over last year’s experience any day.   All in all, I think like I executed a pretty good race.


Age Group Place:  13/31 (14/26)
Overall: 138/390 (198/426)


Swim
I feel like I swam pretty well (for me) during this race.  It’s frustrating to know your swimming 1:30 100s in the pool and come out of the water at 2:07/100, but I’m building endurance on to those fast 100s now, and I know that’s a limiter.  Open water is tricky, sighting, contact with other swimmers, and running out of the water all make it a little harder.  That said, I’m about as fast as last year. 

Distance: 1500m
Time: 34:45.6 (34:22.3)
100s: 2:07 (2:06)


T1

Socks…the bane of my existence.  No socks last year.  I run with socks though.  I’m training for a big race and can’t screw up my feet, so I was going to race with socks too…  I sat down to put them on.   Nuff Said…

Time: 2:17.4 (1:34.9)

Bike

Bike conditions were about perfect.  I ramped up to about 90% FTP and intended to hold that for the 40k.  I knew at that level of effort I’d have a real solid chance of doing pretty well on the bike and still being able to run. 

My strategy worked well for the first 13 miles.  Turning north I picked up a tail wind.  I tried keeping my cadence high and my power up, but I couldn’t hold it together.  I was hitting heart rates in z4 if I were running, and my cadence was over 110 at 30+ mph on the flats.  I was spun out.  I bled off about 7 Watts from target.  My bike split was great, but had I a) pushed harder into the wind b) ran an 11-25 instead of a 12-25 c) been brave enough to run closer to 95%, or d) all of the above I’d have easily broken 24 mph.  Oh well, still a great ride. 

Oh yeah, and even though it was cooler I drank a bottle of EFS and 12 oz of water on the bike, and I was happy I did.  I’m an athlete that needs lots of fluid, that’s just how it is.

Distance: 40K (42K)

Time: 1:03:07.3 (1:12:08.9)

Mph: 23.63 (21.6)

T2

My transitions stink.  No excuses…  If I ever did short course for serious, it would be a big focus. 

Time : 1:58.1 (1:45.5)


Run

I came off the bike feeling much better than last year, and I took things pretty easy for the first .5 miles.  The run felt smooth, and I performed pretty well.  I was trying to get my heart up to z3, but I was really struggling to push out of z2.  It seemed like I was muscle limited rather than a heart limited.  Maybe it was mental.  I’m not sure.  Regardless, I ran what I had, and what I had was way better than last year!

Distance: 10K
Time:  51:51 (1:01:16.8)

Pace 8:20 (9:52)

Overall, things went pretty well.  I used the fitness I had pretty well.  I’m still a MOP swimmer, a FOP biker, and BOP runner.  This year I’m slightly more FOP on the bike this year, and very slightly less BOP on the run.  My fitness is improving, but more importantly my race execution skills are getting better. 

Big Day 2 7/9/2011

Disclaimer:  My apologies to all my readers.  This post is even less polished than normal.  Time is very limited, and I'm very tired.  I wanted to get this all down, but it's not pretty...


 So with that, on to my second big day "report"

My first "big day" of training occured just three weeks ago, in week 8 of my 20 week build.

Now, three weeks later, here we go again. 

The plan was originally to swim 1 hour, bike 4 hours, and run 1 hour, the same as week 8.  I got a better offer though.  A local charity ride, pedaling for kicks, was running this Saturday.  It topped out at 67 miles, but I talked to the folks putting it on and they said I could ride the 67 mile loop and keep going on a second loop.  It was a perfect opportunity to get some serious bike time in!  So, I changed the plan to a 6ish hour bike with a 6 mile brick.  I ran the idea past RnP, the endurance nation coaches and they said that would be an "epic" day.  I like the sound of that, and I'm on board for epic.

I was a bit worried about holding my race pace target for the entire 107 miles at this point.  I've come a long way in my training, but I have alot of fitness to build still.  So, I knocked it down to .68 IF from  .7 IF. 

Here's how it went:


Breakfast

Breakfast was coffee and a PB&Honey on wheat bread at 4am, as I drove out to the ride.  I really dig the sandwich for early morning training.  It's easy on the tummy even with intense training, and it goes together the night before.

As stupid as it sounds, I've learned a great trick for the PB&Honey.  If you apply PB to both sides of the bread, it keeps the honey from soaking into the bread in the fridge over night.  Very important!

Nutrition

I've gone through alot figuring out what works well for me.  I needed salt. I needed caffeine. I did better if I had BCAAs.  I needed sugar.  I needed LOTS of water.  I ended up with a few different plans that were all wicked complicated. 

Then lasts weekend I tried concentrating EFS from First Endurance.  It worked REALLY well.  EFS has the aminos I was after, the calories, and it has enough sodium that I don't have to take salt stick if I'm drinking it.  I'm calling out EFS here because it worked really well for me and they deserve alot of credit for making the most advanced sports drink on the market IMHO.  They don't sponsor me (although they should!). 

 Here's how I did it:

1.  I marked a 24 oz bottle at 8oz, 16oz, and 24 oz, filled it with 7 servings of EFS, and then added watter to the 24oz line.

2.  I drink 8oz of this mix every hour, which is approximately 2.5 servings.  This gets me:

240 calories
750mg of sodium
5g of aminos!

3.  I'm very careful to drink lots of water with this mix, and drink more if my stomach feels wonky at all.  I'm a 1.5ish bottle / hour kinda guy.

I've ridden with this mix twice now, including this ride, and I've felt really good both times.  I picked up a mini bagel with some PB half way through for some solids, which was nice but probably unnecessary.  It's very likely I'll use this strategy for IM.

The Ride

My typical Saturday is a 4 hour ride with HARD intervals, netting me 80+ miles, with a 30 minute brick. So, honestly, 6 hours at 68% was pretty easy, even with all the fatigue this training has piled on me.  Thats ok though, easy is good, and a huge confidence builder.

The biggest struggle of the ride was maintaining focus.  Without intervals to break things up, it was hard to stay focused.  I was totally alone the first 3 hours of the ride.  I didn't see a soul on a bike or in a car until I stopped to refill my bottles. 

After the first 67 I met up with some friends and they rode with me for 40 more.  That made things way more fun, and I was able to chat most of the time while holding my desired power level, which probably means I've earned the right to ride 112 at 70% on race day.  That's great news.  Also, BIG BIG thanks to Mark, Jessica, and Seth for keeping me company on those last few hours, that made it so much easier!

I did really well at riding steady power uphills.  Thats a good thing too. 

I did coast way too much...and I found myself loosing focus far too often.  I will have to work on that, but I also know from my HIM experience that won't be as much of an issue on race day. 

The Run

By the time we were finished the temperature had gone up from 66 to 98 (according to my Garmin, in the sun...probably wasn't that bad). 

The ride started at a country church and there was no shade.  The sun was pretty oppressive.  I decided I'd ride home and run on the trail there, and have an air conditioned car ride as T2. 

The break was nice, but maybe a bad idea.  It was really hard to get started again after I had stopped.  I ran 6 miles, very very easy, and honestly it was hard.  Can I run a marathon after 112 miles of biking?  I dunno, maybe, but not yet.  I was visiting the pain cave after about 4 miles. 

Quick Summary - "State of The Training Block"

• Training fatigue right now is VERY VERY high, I'm right at the edge of failure on most workouts.  I have some recovery coming this week though.
• Nutrition is spot on
• All things bike are going very well, but I can focus better. 
• The run...ehhh...I dunno.
• Swimming?  Well I don't sink. 
• If I can stay healthy until IMOO I have a good shot at finishing strong.  Anything can happen, so no predictions, but I have come a long way and I'm really starting to surprise myself with the amount of fitness I've put together in the last few weeks.

So, This Is What Training For an Ironman Feels Like

In one word, consuming.  It's 85 days until Ironman Wisconsin, and already it's all Ironman, all the time.  It's a good thing I have a triathlete wife, and triathlete friends.  Otherwise, they'd all hate me by now.  It's probably all I talk about it.

But who wouldn't be consumed by it.  I'm planning on trianing for this thing that is somewhere between "wow, thats cool" and "that's silly, why would you do that to yourself."  I know it's what I do today that will get me across the finish line.  Race fitness isn't going to just happen "sometime" between now and then.  Every run, bike, and swim is money in the bank for Madison.  Every time I work my life around my training so I can get both done, that's money in the bank too.  Every tweak I make to my electronics setup, my nutrition strategy, my bike fit, they're all lessons learned to help me succeed.  So, yeah, consuming, but more of the purposeful kind and less of the obsessive spinning your own wheels kind. 

And so that's part of it.  If I had to pick another word?  Exhausting.  At the moment I'm training about 15 hours a week, which is 5 under my high water mark from last year...but it's a HARD 15 hours.  I'm pretty much always tired.  And this week is special!  This week I'm doing my first race rehersal.  A real IM worth training event for sure!  Here is what the week looks like:

Monday - Swim 3K
Tuesday - Long Run
Wednesday - Bike 75 minutes with 2x20 @ 100%  with 30 minute run brick
Thursday - Run 60 Minutes with speedword / Swim 3K
Friday - Run 45 Minutes
Saturday - Swim 1 Hour @ IM Pace / Bike 4 Hours @ IM Pace / Run 1 Hour Eazy

One more word?  Ok sure, why not.  Hungry!  At this point I'm typically burning 1200+ calories a day training.  I'm constantly hungry. 

So, that's what it feels like to train for an Ironman.  Consuming.  Exhausting.  Hungry.  :)  Oh yeah, and awesome!

Tri-Shark Classic Triathlon 1:15:55.7

Note:  Since this is my third year doing Tri-Shark, I've put last years results in parenthesis for comparison.

Age Group Place: 8/31 (11/36)
Overall: 76 (124)

Well, here it is!  The first triathlon of the season.  I wish I had better news to share, but it looks like this year is off to a bit of a rough start.  Honestly, I had a bad day.  It was bound to happen though.  Rather than beat myself up about it (because believe me, I did a little of that) I'll try to use this race report as an opportunity to reflect and get stronger.  My fitness was better than ever this year, but where I failed was in execution, a few times in fact...  Here's what happened:

Swim

Distance: 600y
Time: 13:18.3 (11:51.5)
100y: 2:13 (1:59)

I went sans wetsuit, hoping to shave off some transition time this year.  The water was warm, and I didn't think it would be an issue.  It really wasn't.   My body position is way better, it was probably the right call.

I set myself up on the inside line in the swim just because that was where I kind of fit in the pack.  There were about 30 people in my AG, and the start area was very crowded.  This was a mistake, as I didn't find clean water until about 200 Y in (past the first bouy).  I lost ALOT of time in that first 200, I was tangled up with about 6 other dudes the entire time, and no one was giving up ground.  There was kicking, punching, it was a bad time.  At the first bouy things got clear and everything was fine.  I did pass an elite doing the backstroke about 300y in, not sure what was up with that, but it looked like he was having a worse day than me.  


Lesson:  Take the outside line and get to clean water fast, even if it means swimming a little further.


T1

I kept T1 very minimal, but still didn't do a flying mount.  I don't practice short course transitions, and that's not really my thing, so I'll just take the hit for now.  I did go sockless, so it was sunglasses, helmet, shoes, go.


Time: 1:32.9 (2:46.1)

Bike

I got out on the bike and set up riding at 95% of FTP.  I passed a few roadies that I knew, so I was feeling pretty good about things, but then about 5 minutes in, I was in the hole, way over LTHR.  I backed down to about 85% and tried again.  Same thing.  For the first 5 miles, every time I pushed over 90% things went to hell.  I was perplexed, but for the last 6 I kept it at about 80-85% and just did what I could to manage things. 

I'd find out the next day, that my powertap race wheel had somehow broken.  It was reading between 11 and 15% under my training wheel.  What is worse is that the number it was giving me was variable.  Luckily Bloomington Cycle and Fitness stepped in to help me get it sent in for repair!   Those guys are life savers, with any luck that will be good to go by my next race.  I'd been having some wierd issues with it at TTs, and in retrospect I now see in my data that it has been getting worse and worse over the last few months.

Also, of note here.  I wasn't planning on carrying water, but Lana really wanted me to and I was glad I did.  I drank every time I had the opportunity, and needed it.  We had a big temperature swing this week, and no one has really had time to acclimate to that humidity / temp change.  

Lesson:  If you're going to depend on quantitative data for racing, you instrumentation has to be at 100%, checked and triple checked. 

I still managed to hang on to a good bike split, ending up at 16th overall on the bike, and 1st in my AG on the bike.

Time: 33:28 (35:02.8)
Distance: 13 Miles
MPH: 23.3 (22.3)

T2

I got the bike in, changes shoes, and started the run.  When I reached the chip mat i realized I was still wearing my helmet.  Doh!  Classic newbie mistake.  I had to run back and put it back.  This was about a minute of my race.  Did I practice my transitions?  No...  I didn't make time for that.  My training has been really busy...shoulda coulda...anyway.

Lesson:  Transitions are part of the race, and you can't expect to do them well if you don't practice. 

Time: 1:54:.0 (1:18.8)

Run

The run went really bad.  I recently ran a half marathon faster than I could pull together this 5k.  Very disappointing.  Why?  Couple ideas...  Because of the PM issue I was doing VO2max ints for the first 6 miles of the bike.  That can't help.  I struggled with the temperature and humidity, as did many other people.  There was alot of suffering out there.  Also I recently made some run form changes with a coach that haven't really soaked in yet and are causing me to wear out a little faster.  It could have been any of those things, it was probably a combination of all of them.  What's the lesson here?  Not sure.  The PM thing happened.  The heat was something that hurt everyone.  The run lessons will help in the long term, but suck in the short term.  Oh, I know.

Lesson:  As in life, bad things happen.  Keep moving anyway.


Time: 25:42.5 (25:51.9)
Pace: 8:17 (8:20)

If

 Rudyard Kipling's If serves as a mantra to Chrissie Wellington.  I recently read an interview from Chrissie.  According to that interview, she writes the first few lines of If on her water bottles.

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,"


I read the poem today, briefly, before meeting Lana for lunch.  Later on, while I was swimming, my mind wandered back to it.   I've had a string of bad workouts.  I thought I was perhaps over trained.  Maybe, but more than that, I think I've been letting some negative stuff that has been thrown at me creep into my efforts. 

It was, to an extent, easier when I was alone in my basement in the winter.  Now there are suddenly eyes on me, eager to reward my efforts with criticism and negativity.  There are people that want to see me fail, and there are people jealous of my success in transforming my life. 

In a way, I suppose I should be happy that I have critics present.  It means I'm doing something worthy of the effort of criticism.  It also means I have to learn to be confident enough in myself to let that negativity roll off me.  If I let those thoughts in my head, I can't perform at 100% of my ability. 

This is something I've experienced in my professional life, and dealt with well, because there I am sure of myself and my abilities professionally.  Not so in athletics.  I'm very much just "finding my legs" in the athletic world, and learning my way around.  That's going to have to change, there is no room for that uncertainty in what I am about to attempt this year.  I'm going to have to bring my 'A' game mentally as well as physically.  


----

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!


–Rudyard Kipling

Why It Matters

“Nothing can beat the CRR of the Open Corsa EVO CX II”

“Tuesday's ride put me at -23 TSB, I need to back down a bit for this part of the season.”

“There's no real reason to race that 5k, I need 50 seconds for the next VDOT and that's not happening in two weeks.”

“I got you a 2010 team GXP BB to go with your new crank.”

These are all small parts of conversations I've had in the last week. Living the life of a triathlete, chatting with other athletes, leads to a lot of conversations just like this. Bike mechanics, running, swim drills, and the stuff that goes with swimming, biking, and running, occupies are scarce free time. That's ok. It's fun, it's interesting, it keeps my mind as engaged as my body in this demanding lifestyle. It's a healthy outlet. It's a bonding opportunity. I wouldn't have it any other way.

There's more to being an athlete than training and polishing your bike though. Sometimes I forget that, but this weekend I was reminded in a big way.

Most Saturdays I wake up, eat some oats, do a bike workout, take a shower, and then get on with life. But there was something bigger on the agenda for last Saturday. Since the previous week, my six year old son William had been asking for me to take him to the track to run. He's been running the kids runs at our local 5ks, and he's really caught the running bug, to the point that he decided he wanted to practice.

By the time I was off the bike on Saturday, William had his running clothes on. We had lunch. “Dad, I'm going to eat good food so I can run really fast today,” he annouced. “That's a great idea, what do you think you should eat?,” I asked. “Umm, apples, bananas, and probably not ice cream,” he said. “That's all pretty good stuff,” I said. “And ice cream is okay sometimes too,” I added, “especially after really long runs.” William smiled and asked “Like 50 miles?” “Yes, I answered, especially after 50 miles.”  Apparently he's an aspiring ultra runner...

A few minutes later we were at the track. Like any kid, William only knows one way to run. All out! And that kid is fast. We would slow down to a trot every now and then, but as soon as someone was anywhere near us, he was determined to run them down. We had run about 4 laps on the indoor track when I told him that 9 laps was a mile. After that, it was on. He was determined to run a mile. So we did. And we learned about pacing along the way!

My 6 year old has a better handle on eating, and can run a faster mile, than I did at 30. He loves his chocolate chip cookies, don't get me wrong. But there is room for cookies and fast miles in life.  And after all that running, we had some cookies and played some playstation. There is room in this life for relaxing on the couch on a Saturday afternoon too.

Living the life of a triathlete has probably saved my life by giving me something healthy to throw my type A personality into, but if that weren't enough it now allows me to lead by example for my son. Sharing a run with him Saturday meant sharing lessons on pacing yourself, balancing work, and play, and making good food choices. It meant bonding with him, and lots of quality time.

So, it's monday now. I'm still talking about gear ratios and training stress scores, but my run with William is still at the front of my mind. I won't see him again until thursday, but he's already asking about our next run, and that's why it all matters.

The Off Season

So what have I been up to this off season?  I’ve been busy!   I’m getting revved up for the final push to Ironman Wisconsin.  I’ve been building towards this goal for around 3 years now, and it seems like the pieces are all finally falling into place.

General Training

I’m approaching training in a somewhat untraditional way this year.  I’ve built a lot of intensity in and lowered my volume considerably.  I’ve been using Endurance Nation coaching to help me with this plan.  It appears that I’ll be coming into this season a good deal faster because of it.  It’s been rough though, all that intensity is…well…intense…

Medical Stuff

The intensity plus the cold resulted in the discovery that I have exercise induced asthma.  After steelhead last year I had a bit of an asthma attack, although I didn’t really know what that was at the time.  This winter I had another, more serious asthma attack.  A trip to the doctor later I’m now “fixed” with an inhaler.  It was a bit scary at the time, but it’s very controllable.  Life moves on. 

I’m also dealing with some biomechanical stuff related to the knee repair that I had done when I was huge and fell in the snow.  More on that later as it shakes out…

Bike Fitting

I recently went to visit Get a Grip Cycles in Chicago for a professional bike fit.  They spent a bunch of time looking at my flexibility, anatomy, and goals and put me on a fit bike.  Then they put me on a fit bike and did some motion capture video analysis to really get my fit dialed in.  They did good work, and I’m more comfortable than ever on Karma (my Cervelo P3).

Swimming

I’ve been working hard, and not so hard, on my swimming.  All the intensity in my bike/run training has really left me wiped out.  A lot of the folks training with EN stop swimming during the off season because of stress involved with their bike/run training, and the “return on investment” of off season swimming.  I stopped for a while myself.  I missed it though, so I made a compromise and took my swimming back to the drawing board.  I stopped pounding out yards, and started doing entire swim sets of drills.  Drills, drills, and more drills.  Now I can bilaterally breath, swim with much less effort, and swim a bit faster as well.  It was time well spent, and it helped keep the weight off this winter!

The Other Stuff

Life has been very busy, and there isn’t really much time for all that much “other” stuff, but this off season has found me a little extra time and I’ve been having some good times.  I’m cooking my way through all the recipes in the book “Food Matters” by Mark Bittman (what an awesome book!!!).  I’ve also managed to finish all three God Of War games, Heavy Rain, and a few other titles on my PS3.  I’m really working to find some balance in all of this, and so far I’m winning…but it’s a fight!  Healthy is more than just triathlon though.