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.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Kids, Diet, Exercise, and “Maggie Goes On A Diet”
So, there is this book called “Maggie Goes On A Diet,” according to amazon targeted at kids 4 to 8, about a 14 year old girl that goes on a diet, joins the soccer team, and loses weight. It’s causing a big stir. I’m not normally a “blog about the news” kinda blogger, and to be honest, with IM coming up, I have better stuff to do…but this one has been weighing heavily on my conscious (pun totally intended). I haven’t read the book, so clearly I’m judging a book by its cover. With that disclaimer, my feelings are mixed on the book. I dig that Maggie does something fun to be active by joining a soccer team. I don’t like the idea of Maggie on a diet. I’m all about talking about the goodness of good foods with kids, but not a fan of talking about the badness of foods, or shame, or guilt… If only the book was called “Maggie learns about how great eating good things makes you feel.”
My Early Lessons On Food
I think I was 8 or 9? Third grade. There was this little store not far from my house, it was called Mitchell’s. We’d go there and it was a common treat for me to get a candy bar when we did. Eventually I came to expect the candy bar, it was habit. Not such a great habit for the fat kid, a hat I had been wearing since grade 2 at the time. So anyway, I’m standing in the kitchen. Today is different. Mom is turning over the Hershey bar in my hands, and pointing at the nutritional information. She pointed out that the bar had over 200 calories in it, which seemed to upset her. I didn’t really know why. She was upset with me for wanting it, but handed it to me anyway. I was…I guess ashamed. Eating the candy made me feel better. Calories, chocolate bars, nutritional information, shame for disappointing my parents, comfort in food. This was my first lesson in nutrition.
I was not quite 10 for my next lesson. It was 1986, I know because I remember “Walk Like an Egyptian” by the Bangles on the radio…odd the things that stick in a kid’s head. Yup, still the fat kid. I’m not sure why, but my parents decided to introduce me to exercise. The next thing I remember is running around the soccer field at Garnsey Park in Joliet, IL, near the house I grew up in. Dad told me my butt was sticking out when I ran…which was very true, and something I still struggle with…but it made me feel even more terrible at the time, since I had no idea how to fix it. I couldn’t keep up. I eventually just walked. Running wasn’t fun, but it was clear that it wasn’t supposed to be. It was punishment, for being fat. This was my first lesson in exercise.
Parenting and Healthy Living
So, now I have a 7 year old. He does not have a weight problem, and I’m hoping to teach him things now that will keep that from happening later. But it’s hard. I had a weight problem. I have a food addiction. He sees my struggle with food every day. Just like my early lessons were heavily based on my parents relationship with food. I hope what I teach him will help prepare him to make healthy choices. I hope the example I’m setting is a good one.
I think I’ve got the exercise thing down. William and I run together regularly, and the fun always comes first. If he walks, I walk. If he sprints, I do. We've done a 5k together, and he won his age group. To William, running is fun. Running makes us feel good. We run just for the joy of running. The only relationship we have between running and food is the idea that eating good things helps us run even faster.
Food is harder. At mom’s house there are poptarts for breakfast. At Dad’s house those aren’t available. He isn’t totally sure why. We always want a chocolate chip cookie, but we only get one sometimes. Cookies are a sometimes food, but he isn’t totally sure why. We try to eat veggies with every meal, but French Fries aren’t veggies at Dad’s house. Confusion. But then, I hear him say stuff like “Dad, this has good calories for me.” Last night we were talking about where to go for dinner, and he said “I don’t care, what works best for your calories,” which is something he would hear in our house a lot as I struggle to balance the daily energy needs of an endurance athlete with the structure I put in place to keep the fat guy I was at bay. It’s the reality of my life, but in a way it breaks my heart to hear him say it. I hate that he has to live in a world where food is carefully measured, weighed, and evaluated. It’s a world tanted by my demons.
So, I guess I’m glad that Maggie learned to play soccer and eat healthy food. I’m sad she changed based on her bad feelings about herself and I don’t think that really works as a sole reason for change, at least it never did for me. Clearly, food and exercise are topics that we need to teach our children about as parents. We have to lead the way for them. Childhood Obesity is at 17% now. It’s a problem and it’s time to wake up.
But for the 4-8 year olds out there, and for the rest of us too, I think we’d do well to keep the message positive. Eating well and exercising are great things, not punishments or restrictions to how we live.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Madison IMOO Training Camp
Ironman Wisconsin is 40 days away.
This weekend I joined 110ish other folks at a training camp put on by the folks coaching me. It was hardcore, extreme spelled with extra x's...the whole deal. It was the kind of crazy that I imagined, when I signed up for this kind of race. I went there expecting that, and I got exactly what I was expecting. Here's what happened.
Thursday
Thursday morning I woke up in Bloomington. I went to the pool and swam a 2.4 Mile time trial. I beat my best time by about 5 minutes, which I was very happy about, swimming the distance in 1:29:00. I showered, finished packing, and brought some lunch for Lana at work. I offered to bring her a sandwich so I could have just one last opportunity to see her, even if it was just for 2 minutes as a sandwich deilvery man, before I left for Madison. Granted, it was the action of a love struck teenager, but I'll gladly own that. Lana and I have worked hard not to have to spend time apart, so we definitely don't enjoy it when we have to.
After I made it home I loaded up the car and headed to Madison. After an uneventful 3ish hour trip, which was frequently interrupted by bathroom stops due to my crazy hydration status, I checked into the hotel. I ran to a grocery store to load up on some supplies, and then attended a talk put on by the coaches before we road the course on Friday. Dinner was in my room that night. A turkey sandwich, baked sweet potato, broccoli, and salsa were on the menu.
Friday
Friday started at a leisurely 5am. Most mornings come earlier for me these days and the extra sleep was nice.
We started out on the bike at 7:30. My goal was to warm up for the first hour at about 65% FTP, and then move up to 70% for the remainder of the day. In practice I rode a bit easier, following some slower cyclists that knew where they were going. The IMOO bike course is a stick and loop affair. You go out on the "stick" do two loops, and then head back on the stick again. The loops are marked, the stick...not so much. I was totally lost, luckily there were plenty of other people that knew where they were going.
I was plenty willing to take it easy though. This bike course was legendary for it's difficulty and I wasn't going to seek out the suck, I knew the suck would come to me in due time.
A few rollers, and a few cows go by, and then 16 miles in the loop starts. A few more miles, Mt Horeb goes by, which as it turns out, is the troll capital of the US. Who knew?
Then some more serious stuff comes up. There are very fast descents, hard uphills, and some technical turns that come in rapid succession. This is a thinking man's bike course for sure. It's not just about being a careful climber and not roasting your legs. It's about getting up the hill, and knowing if you should coast or stay on the gas. It's about knowing when to have the balls to descent at 40+ mph and not ride the brakes, and when to slow down. It's about all those things at once. Conserving your momentum is key, especially for a heavier rider like myself.
Especially interesting, was a descent with a tight left at the bottom, followed by more descent and a tight right. Someone had taken the time to spray paint "slow" on the road, before that descent out of the many, many descents on the course. They meant it. Jim Garfoot, they named a twisty, hilly ass road after you. You must have been an interesting person.
Next up, I ran into a small town, with a VERY cool little coffee / bike shop called Uphill Grind. I had forgotten to sunblock my neck, and they had me covered. They also refilled my water bottles. They sold what looked to be delicious food, coffee, and anything a cyclist could need as well, and they were super nice to boot. Thanks guys! On the down side, that same city had a cop camped out by a stop sign making sure cyclists stopped, unclipped, and put their foot down. If you didn't? Well, I saw a cop light up a chick on a P2. You know, I kinda don't blame them. Granted there are bigger issues that cops could probably deal with, but there are so many cyclists out training on the IMWI course, it must be an issue for the locals.
In fact, that same day several of the folks in my group were harassed by a black pickup truck, and one was ran off the road. He suffered some road rash but was otherwise ok, or at least that's what I heard. I also heard that they got the truck's license plate. I certainly hope there were some consequences for that driver, but I'm hesitant to say too much since I don't really know for sure what happened.
A few miles down the road I ran into a dude grinding very very slowly up a very very big hill. He looked to be a wizened veteran of the course. "Some Hill" I said to him as I rode by. "Yeah," he said, "They call this one the bitch." I had to laugh to myself at the notion. All these hills were kinda the bitch...but ok. Up I went, and then I figured out the name. After a long, steep climb the hill turns to the right and gets even steeper. "Bitch Hill" indeed.
After that it was a clear shot to Verona. I repeated that same 40 miles, and then finished up back on the stick and 108 miles later I was back at my hotel in time to brick it. It was hot (104 according to my Garmin, but in the 90s for sure) , I was already dehydrated, and I got pretty sick on the run. Things got kinda dark, but I walked a little and suffered through my 6 mile run.
My first ride through of the course ended up being 6:25:00. Not impressive by any means. I ended up about 25 minutes slower than my goal, I really underestimated how much slower those climbs would make me, and how much smarter I'd have to learn to ride the course.
Friday night I listened to a talk on how to ride the hills a little smarter, and logged that in my head for the next day. I ate some oatmeal, a turkey sandwich, a sweet potato, and some frozen blueberries. Then I got to bed, to do it again the next day. I burnt about 4500 calories, and there was no way I was putting that all back, so I just did my best to keep the glycogen I had and slept as much as I could.
Saturday
All things considered, I was feeling pretty froggy Saturday morning. I woke up, ate a PB&Honey, mixed my bottles, and got on the road. It was, for the most part, pretty uneventful. I rode the stick, one loop, and the stick back to the hotel, covering about 70 miles. In the last 10-15 miles my legs weren't willing to make Watts, and I just really let them go. I was fatigued and I knew it.
Back at the hotel I changed and did a 3 mile brick. As I was running by the Allegant Energy Center I saw the sign tell me it was 95 out. With the heat index, it was closer to 104. It was hot. My run was pretty slow, and I was ok with that. My head was finally wrapping itself around the distance, the fatigue, and what this ironman stuff is all about, which is more about "not stopping" and less about racing.
Saturday afternoon I got some sleep. That was the best part of this camp, having the time for rest and recovery. At home I'd be taking care of William, doing chores, cooking, cleaning, life... Here my biggest priority was training and my second biggest was making sure I was recovered to train.
Saturday night Lana was able to join me, which was really awesome. She did a 67 mile ride earlier that day, and we were both ready to eat! We went to a place called "Great Dane Pub and Brewery" in downtown Madison. It was really great! I had a local grass fed beef burger with local Wisconsin cheddar on a multigrain bun, some baked beans with their beer in it, and a glass of a very dark porter.
Delicious!
After that, Lana and I drove a bit of the bike course and got to bed. It was really awesome that Lana drove all the way to Madison to take care of me and support me. I'm very lucky to have her in my life. I doubt she knows it, but She was the highlight of my weekend.
Sunday
Sunday morning I was hurting for sure. I did my best on the foam roller, had some oatmeal, and drove to the Monona Terrace, which is the Start/End(ish)/T1/T2 of IMWI. After a quick talk we took off running from T2 and ran one loop of the two loop run course.
It was a hard half marathon. The fatigue from the two previous days and heat really caught up with me. I had no idea where I was going, and that made it worse. Luckily I found some people to run with, so I wasn't totally lost.
I brought a handheld with me, and Lana brought me extra water at the State Street turn around, around 6 miles in.
We were running 9:30s and it felt quite a bit harder than the 8:06/mi I ran a few months before in the Illinois Half. When we made it the finish I was totally spent, and a little dehydrated. I was very very glad to be done for sure.
When I got back to the start Lana was there waiting for me. We got back to the car and made it back to the hotel to pack, check out, get lunch, and head home.
Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday
I took Monday off to recover and get my bike in order. Tuesday I started training again. I ran 7 in the morning and tried to swim about 3400Y at night, but it ended up being closer to 3K. I did an easy 3 on Wednesday morning, and realized I was still not feeling 100%. The recovery cost to doing this kind of thing is pretty high, but I also learned alot about how to race this course.
It was a valuable weekend for sure, but yeah, I'm pretty wiped still. Again, this is more a "here's what happened" report and my writing is really not so great right now. I just don't have the energy to do much more, so here it is.
This weekend I joined 110ish other folks at a training camp put on by the folks coaching me. It was hardcore, extreme spelled with extra x's...the whole deal. It was the kind of crazy that I imagined, when I signed up for this kind of race. I went there expecting that, and I got exactly what I was expecting. Here's what happened.
Thursday
Thursday morning I woke up in Bloomington. I went to the pool and swam a 2.4 Mile time trial. I beat my best time by about 5 minutes, which I was very happy about, swimming the distance in 1:29:00. I showered, finished packing, and brought some lunch for Lana at work. I offered to bring her a sandwich so I could have just one last opportunity to see her, even if it was just for 2 minutes as a sandwich deilvery man, before I left for Madison. Granted, it was the action of a love struck teenager, but I'll gladly own that. Lana and I have worked hard not to have to spend time apart, so we definitely don't enjoy it when we have to.
After I made it home I loaded up the car and headed to Madison. After an uneventful 3ish hour trip, which was frequently interrupted by bathroom stops due to my crazy hydration status, I checked into the hotel. I ran to a grocery store to load up on some supplies, and then attended a talk put on by the coaches before we road the course on Friday. Dinner was in my room that night. A turkey sandwich, baked sweet potato, broccoli, and salsa were on the menu.
Friday
Friday started at a leisurely 5am. Most mornings come earlier for me these days and the extra sleep was nice.
We started out on the bike at 7:30. My goal was to warm up for the first hour at about 65% FTP, and then move up to 70% for the remainder of the day. In practice I rode a bit easier, following some slower cyclists that knew where they were going. The IMOO bike course is a stick and loop affair. You go out on the "stick" do two loops, and then head back on the stick again. The loops are marked, the stick...not so much. I was totally lost, luckily there were plenty of other people that knew where they were going.
I was plenty willing to take it easy though. This bike course was legendary for it's difficulty and I wasn't going to seek out the suck, I knew the suck would come to me in due time.
A few rollers, and a few cows go by, and then 16 miles in the loop starts. A few more miles, Mt Horeb goes by, which as it turns out, is the troll capital of the US. Who knew?
Then some more serious stuff comes up. There are very fast descents, hard uphills, and some technical turns that come in rapid succession. This is a thinking man's bike course for sure. It's not just about being a careful climber and not roasting your legs. It's about getting up the hill, and knowing if you should coast or stay on the gas. It's about knowing when to have the balls to descent at 40+ mph and not ride the brakes, and when to slow down. It's about all those things at once. Conserving your momentum is key, especially for a heavier rider like myself.
Especially interesting, was a descent with a tight left at the bottom, followed by more descent and a tight right. Someone had taken the time to spray paint "slow" on the road, before that descent out of the many, many descents on the course. They meant it. Jim Garfoot, they named a twisty, hilly ass road after you. You must have been an interesting person.
Next up, I ran into a small town, with a VERY cool little coffee / bike shop called Uphill Grind. I had forgotten to sunblock my neck, and they had me covered. They also refilled my water bottles. They sold what looked to be delicious food, coffee, and anything a cyclist could need as well, and they were super nice to boot. Thanks guys! On the down side, that same city had a cop camped out by a stop sign making sure cyclists stopped, unclipped, and put their foot down. If you didn't? Well, I saw a cop light up a chick on a P2. You know, I kinda don't blame them. Granted there are bigger issues that cops could probably deal with, but there are so many cyclists out training on the IMWI course, it must be an issue for the locals.
In fact, that same day several of the folks in my group were harassed by a black pickup truck, and one was ran off the road. He suffered some road rash but was otherwise ok, or at least that's what I heard. I also heard that they got the truck's license plate. I certainly hope there were some consequences for that driver, but I'm hesitant to say too much since I don't really know for sure what happened.
A few miles down the road I ran into a dude grinding very very slowly up a very very big hill. He looked to be a wizened veteran of the course. "Some Hill" I said to him as I rode by. "Yeah," he said, "They call this one the bitch." I had to laugh to myself at the notion. All these hills were kinda the bitch...but ok. Up I went, and then I figured out the name. After a long, steep climb the hill turns to the right and gets even steeper. "Bitch Hill" indeed.
After that it was a clear shot to Verona. I repeated that same 40 miles, and then finished up back on the stick and 108 miles later I was back at my hotel in time to brick it. It was hot (104 according to my Garmin, but in the 90s for sure) , I was already dehydrated, and I got pretty sick on the run. Things got kinda dark, but I walked a little and suffered through my 6 mile run.
My first ride through of the course ended up being 6:25:00. Not impressive by any means. I ended up about 25 minutes slower than my goal, I really underestimated how much slower those climbs would make me, and how much smarter I'd have to learn to ride the course.
Friday night I listened to a talk on how to ride the hills a little smarter, and logged that in my head for the next day. I ate some oatmeal, a turkey sandwich, a sweet potato, and some frozen blueberries. Then I got to bed, to do it again the next day. I burnt about 4500 calories, and there was no way I was putting that all back, so I just did my best to keep the glycogen I had and slept as much as I could.
Saturday
All things considered, I was feeling pretty froggy Saturday morning. I woke up, ate a PB&Honey, mixed my bottles, and got on the road. It was, for the most part, pretty uneventful. I rode the stick, one loop, and the stick back to the hotel, covering about 70 miles. In the last 10-15 miles my legs weren't willing to make Watts, and I just really let them go. I was fatigued and I knew it.
Back at the hotel I changed and did a 3 mile brick. As I was running by the Allegant Energy Center I saw the sign tell me it was 95 out. With the heat index, it was closer to 104. It was hot. My run was pretty slow, and I was ok with that. My head was finally wrapping itself around the distance, the fatigue, and what this ironman stuff is all about, which is more about "not stopping" and less about racing.
Saturday afternoon I got some sleep. That was the best part of this camp, having the time for rest and recovery. At home I'd be taking care of William, doing chores, cooking, cleaning, life... Here my biggest priority was training and my second biggest was making sure I was recovered to train.
Saturday night Lana was able to join me, which was really awesome. She did a 67 mile ride earlier that day, and we were both ready to eat! We went to a place called "Great Dane Pub and Brewery" in downtown Madison. It was really great! I had a local grass fed beef burger with local Wisconsin cheddar on a multigrain bun, some baked beans with their beer in it, and a glass of a very dark porter.
Delicious!
After that, Lana and I drove a bit of the bike course and got to bed. It was really awesome that Lana drove all the way to Madison to take care of me and support me. I'm very lucky to have her in my life. I doubt she knows it, but She was the highlight of my weekend.
Sunday
Sunday morning I was hurting for sure. I did my best on the foam roller, had some oatmeal, and drove to the Monona Terrace, which is the Start/End(ish)/T1/T2 of IMWI. After a quick talk we took off running from T2 and ran one loop of the two loop run course.
It was a hard half marathon. The fatigue from the two previous days and heat really caught up with me. I had no idea where I was going, and that made it worse. Luckily I found some people to run with, so I wasn't totally lost.
I brought a handheld with me, and Lana brought me extra water at the State Street turn around, around 6 miles in.
We were running 9:30s and it felt quite a bit harder than the 8:06/mi I ran a few months before in the Illinois Half. When we made it the finish I was totally spent, and a little dehydrated. I was very very glad to be done for sure.
When I got back to the start Lana was there waiting for me. We got back to the car and made it back to the hotel to pack, check out, get lunch, and head home.
Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday
I took Monday off to recover and get my bike in order. Tuesday I started training again. I ran 7 in the morning and tried to swim about 3400Y at night, but it ended up being closer to 3K. I did an easy 3 on Wednesday morning, and realized I was still not feeling 100%. The recovery cost to doing this kind of thing is pretty high, but I also learned alot about how to race this course.
It was a valuable weekend for sure, but yeah, I'm pretty wiped still. Again, this is more a "here's what happened" report and my writing is really not so great right now. I just don't have the energy to do much more, so here it is.
Monday, July 18, 2011
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
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)
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.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Swim, Bike, Run, Eat: Big Recovery Dinner
I had the day off to recover today, after yesterday's 107 mile bike/6 mile run, so I had time to cook for myself tonight.
I'm honestly feeling pretty weak and unmotivated at the moment, so dinner wasn't super involved. Here it is:
-Sesame Crusted Tuna and Bacon Wrapped Scalops- Pre-done from The Fresh Market
-Spinach with sea salt, butter, and a dash of hot sauce
-Roasted red and blue potatoes from Prarierth Farms, Green Beans from the local farmers market, and onions.
Oh, and Water Mellon for desert!
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"
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.
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