My First Ever DNS

In all my racing experience, I have had one DNF (did not finish). It was the Shenandoah Mountain 100 in 2010. At the end of 2009, I had surgery on both knees and had given up soccer. I decided I needed to do something else so I started riding my mountain bike a lot more. Back then, I did not really know what I was doing and my attempt on the SM100 resulted in my first DNF. If you are so inclined and want to read my account of the race, you can do so here:
http://jimsoccernut.blogspot.com/2010/09/sm100-recap.html

http://jimsoccernut.blogspot.com/2010/09/sm100-recap.html

Fast forward to the 2016 race season and my first DNS (did not start). I was registered for the White Lake Half triathlon (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) on April 23rd, 2016 and the White Lake Sprint on April 24th, 2016. I had a stellar winter of training leading up to the race and was looking forward to my first tri of the season.

Unfortunately, about a 8 days before the race, I fell ill. I had not been sick in many years and I usually don't get sick. Boy did I get sick. I had a high fever, body aches, terrible congestion, a deep cough, no appetite, and no energy. Each day I got worse and worse. It was awful. I could not do anything. No swimming, biking, or running for sure. I couldn't hardly sleep either because my cough was so bad. I ended up seeing three different doctors including a trip the ER at VCU Health Systems where I had a thorough examination including x-rays and lots of blood work. In the end, the doctor told me I must have gotten some sort of unspecified virus and there was nothing they could really do for me.

Since I didn't have the Zika virus and wasn't dying, Melissa decided to go ahead and head down to White Lake, NC and race her triathlon. I stayed home and continued trying to heal up. I turned the corner that Thursday in the emergency room actually. Melissa had brought me some hot soup from one of my favorite places for lunch, Citizen. It really hit the spot and I started feeling a little better.

By Sunday, my appetite came back so I went to Anohka and got some carry out Indian food. I ate it all in one sitting which I usually don't do. I was able to return to work on Monday but I was still hoarse and still not ready to exercise. When all was said and done, I had a 20 day break from workouts. When I did start back in, breathing was hard and swimming hurt my chest. I think I blew out a rib or cartilage or pulled a muscle or something during one of my coughing fits. I know what broken ribs feel like and the pain I was feeling was pretty intense when I coughed or sneezed. To this day it is still bothering me a little. Hopefully it will continue to heal up and I will be ready to race at the beginning of June when I will race the Naylors Beach Olympic Triathlon on the 5th.

Sometimes things don't go as planned. I certainly did not think I would miss my first two triathlons of the year due to illness. But in the great scheme of things, it is really no big deal. I am healthy again and am into my second solid week of training since having the unplanned break. My cough is almost completely gone although I am still a little hoarse at times. Especially when trying to hit the high notes when I sing along to the radio.

I have to thank Melissa for taking care of me while I was sick. Also thanks to Greg at Citizen for making such great, fresh food. And thanks to David Luscan for working with me on a day-to-day basis as I recovered. It is nice to have the extra attention and working closely with Dave, we were able to make smart choices in my training plan. It seems odd to say it in the first week of May but I am looking forward to my first triathlon of the year. I have no expectations at this point but as the race approaches, I will work with Dave to come up with a reasonable race plan.

Spring Has Sprung!

March is here and with it comes more sunlight, warmer weather, and of course that means the first races of the season are just around the corner! I managed to make it through winter without missing any workouts due to the snow. I was forced inside to the treadmill a few times but for the most part, the snow delays and early dismissals allowed me more time for training.

I did end up with lots of long trainer rides because of the weather. But honestly, I like putting in the work and improving. Riding indoors on the trainer can be a great way to improve if you follow a specific plan and don't dilly dally. My coach always gives me specific, focused workouts and I always do my best to hit my power numbers. There are no stop signs, down hills, or drafting indoors. You either put up the watts or you don't. And in the end, it ends up being less time consuming than meeting up for group rides, etc. And with a properly designed training plan, focused indoor training with a power meter can really boost performance much more quickly then simply slogging it on out on the trainer without any performance goals. 

However, there is really nothing like getting outside for a long ride. On this past Sunday, I got the chance to ride with a friend for 3 hours in shorts and short sleeve jersey. It was such a breath of fresh air after all the cold weather and snow we had the last couple of weeks. There is really nothing like being out on your bike, taking in the sites, sounds, and smells of the countryside. And for this particular ride, there was no slacking either. My friend is quite a bit stronger than me so mostly I was just trying to keep up. Overall it was a really great training stimulus and my power numbers backed up my perceived effort. 

Speaking of sounds, during the ride I heard the sounds of newly hatched frogs chirping away. It reminded me that spring is a time of birth and new beginnings. What better time than now to share with you Powertap.com's new announcement. Something exciting is coming!

Why I Train with Power

 

Many of my triathlon and cycling friends know all about power meters. But some don't. I decided to write a quick post about the pros of training and racing with a power meter for those people who have not looked into it or who may have never considered it. Much has already been written on the subject so rather than go into lengthy explanations, I will provide a few links to some of the articles written about power meters as well as my own personal take on it.

First, we need to define what a power meter is. Here is a snippet from Wikipedia about cycling power meters:

"A cycling power meter is a device on a bicycle that measures the power output of the rider. Most cycling power meters use strain gauges to measure torque applied, and when combined with angular velocity, calculate power." -(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_power_meter).

Using a power meter, a cyclist can get instant feedback by way of a handlebar mounted computer. The computer can display exactly how much power a cyclist is producing at any given moment as well as provide an average over time. Unlike speed, power is not affected by hills, wind, terrain, or other environmental factors. For instance, lets take a hypothetical situation. None of these numbers are real world numbers. I am just making them up to try to get my point across.

Let's say that my training has lead me to be able to bike at 200 watts steady for 1 hour before I am too tired to continue. Let's say that I go for that one hour ride on a Sunday and push 200 watts the whole time. After the one hour is up, I find that my average speed was 20 MPH. The following Sunday, I go for the same ride and I again push 200 watts for an hour. But this time, it is very windy and after I am done with the hour, I find that I have not traveled as far and my average speed was 16 MPH. In this example, I was putting out the exact same effort on both days but my speed was affected by environmental factors. In cases like this, average speed does not truly measure the amount of effort being exerted. However, watts are watts. No matter what the environmental conditions, my work rate can be measured accurately regardless of wind, road conditions, hills, etc. 

So why is this important? In the context of racing, pacing is racing. When we race, we want to be able to put out the maximal sustainable effort. If we go too hard at the beginning, we will bonk and slow down towards the end and our results will suffer. If we go too easy, we may end the race with excess energy that could have been used to go faster. An athlete who is experienced and intimate with his or her capabilities will be able to measure out the proper amount of effort throughout a race. Using a power meter can quantify effort accurately independent of environmental factors.

Perhaps equally or maybe even more important, the power meter is an crucial part of training. Training with a power meter can sling shot an athlete's performance on the bike. Using power zones to create a specific training regimen will shorten the amount of time needed to see performance gains. Again, a lot has been written on this subject and I am not here to explain it all. In fact, I am very fortunate to have a coach who knows it all. My coach gives me very specific workouts all based on power. And when I am done, I can upload my power file for him to analyze. He can then use this data to inform my training plan and measure performance gains. Together with my heart rate data, my coach can use scientific principals to design workouts that will give me the optimal training stressor which will lead to performance gains.

Before I provide you with links to the experts, let me just tell you that my experience with my PowerTap G3 power meter has been amazing. Using the PowerTap is easy and there are just a few things to learn about it. It is really a no brainer. I have gotten so much faster and stronger over the last 10 months by using power data to guide my workouts. Granted, you have to put in the work. But if you follow a well crafted training plan based on a valid power test, improvements will happen and they will happen fast.

Not only will you get faster but training with power can be fun too. Functional Threshold Power or FTP is a key measurement that is used to create your zones. It has been fun to watch my FTP climb throughout the last year. And it can be even more fun to calculate my watts per kilogram which is a precise measure of pure cycling ability and can be used to compare oneself to other athletes. When I did my first power test on April 1st, 2014, my FTP was 190. After a solid 10 months of training, my FTP is now up to 220. Of course there is a limit to how high I can build but I am a long way from reaching that ceiling and I know that with more training under the expert guidance of Dave Luscan at DLMultisports, I will continue to get stronger and faster.

So why do I use a power meter? Well, it is an excellent tool to get faster on the bike more quickly than I could without the power meter. It also introduces some fun metrics to track. If I want to podium in my age group, I need to get faster. Using a power meter, I will get there faster than without one.

And now, as promised, here are some links to the experts who know more than me and who write better than I do. If you want to learn more, check them out. And check out powertap.com if you are interested in stepping up your game.

http://www.powertap.com/pages/science-of-power

http://www.peakscoachinggroup.com/Articles.aspx

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/how-to-interpret-power-data-and-what-to-do-with-it

http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2012/01/why-you-need-a-power-meter.html

And of course, you can just google for more information if you want to read more. Thanks for reading. Comments always appreciated.

2014 Race and Event Schedule

I have had my race schedule planned out for a little while now but have finally decided to commit it all to the blogosphere. It is a busy and ambitious schedule. I enjoy racing and having a full schedule keeps me motivated and on track.

Not all of these races are A races. In fact, I only really have one A race, some B races, a couple of B+ races and a C race. In the world of endurance sports, an A race is one that gets full preparation and dedication including a proper taper before the race. B races are less important races that are fun, perhaps challenging, and good training for future races. They usually do not include a full taper. I will rest before a B race but not do a full blown taper. To me, a B+ race is like a B race but is a race I would like to push myself a little harder in. Of course I always push myself. But a B+ race has a condition that makes it more meaningful to me than other B races. Below, I list all of my races and events as well as whether they are A or B races and what gives the B+ races a tad more weight in my emotional commitment.

1. Saturday, March 29th - Monument Ave 10K - C Race. Just another training day really. If I feel particularly good that day, I will see what I can do. Mostly I am doing this race because my work encourages us to run and actually pays our entry
2. Saturday, April 6th - Smithfield Sprint Triathlon -  300 meter pool swim, 10 Mile Bike, 5K run. B+ race. Last year I got 5th in my age group. Therefore I have made this a B+ race meaning I have high expectations and would love to make it to my first podium. 
3. Saturday, April 26th - Richmond Tri Club Sprint Triathlon- 400 meter open water style pool swim, 20K Bike, 5K run. B race. I did this race last year and it was a lot of fun. It is here in town which is convenient and I know lots of people racing. Hoping to go out and have some fun and beat last year's time. 
4. Sunday, May 4th - Monticello Man Olympic Triathlon- .9 mile swim, 24 mile bike, 10K run. B race. I did this last year and it was a challenge. It was windy and cold and I was not "happy" the whole time. However, I had fun overall and my friends are doing it again this year so it should be fun. It is a triple J event. 
5. Saturday, May 10th - Cap to Cap Century Bike Ride- 100 mile bike ride with supported rest stops on the way. Not a race. I would like to get as many 100 milers in as possible this year before my Ironman. Actually I would prefer to get some 120s in. That last 12 miles on the bike is always difficult. Of course, I am not sure how many I will get in. It all depends on what Coach says. 
6. Sunday, May 11 - Kinetic Sprint Triathlon - 750 Meter Lake Swim, 15.5 Mile Bike 5K run. I may have inadvertently told my coach this was a B race. But it is actually a C race now that I think of it. Mostly I am doing this race as a birthday celebration. I like to do something on the epic side for my birthday every year. A century bike ride the day before a triathlon is leaning in the direction of epic. Not quite there but about as close as I am going to get for a birthday celebration in May. 
7. Saturday, May 17th and Sunday, May 18th - Ironman Chattanooga Training Camp. Not a race. Just a training weekend on the Ironman Chattanooga course. I am not good at remembering terrain or routes but getting out on the course will be a big help. Since the course has multiple loops on the run and then bike, I can see most if not all of the course and get a good idea of the elevation and anything else that might help me train for the race.
8. Sunday, May 25th -Mountains of Misery- This one is also not a race. Although some people will seem like they are racing, I am going to take my time and enjoy the scenery. The MOM is a 104 mile bike ride with 10,000 feet of climbing in the mountains near Blacksburg, VA. 
9. Saturday, July 12th -Mini-Musselman Triathlon - 750 meter lake swim, 16.1 mile bike, 3.1 mile run. B+ race. I am doing the Musselman double so I would like to see how I compare to others doing the double.
10. Sunday, July 13th - Musselman Triathlon - 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. B+ race. It will be neat to see how I compare to the other doublers. I have no idea what to expect.
11. Sunday, September 28th - Ironman Chattanooga - 2.4 mile river swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run. A race. All of my training and preparation is building to this day. I would love to go sub 12:30 which is an attainable goal I think. 

Well, I think that is everything. It is going to be a busy spring and a big summer of training. I am looking forward to the process of training and racing. I hope to learn more about what I am capable of and become a better athlete throughout the year.  Feel free to comment. Thanks.

Daily Motivation

The other day, a fellow athlete who was set up on her trainer next to mine asked me how I managed to get up early for all the morning workouts again and again and again. She was on her third cycling class in 24 hours and I was on my third day in row of cycling and my fourth day in a row of early morning workouts. She was not a regular at this class and wondered how I managed so much early morning consistency.

I told her all my tricks to forcing myself out of bed in the morning to put in the work. And now I would like to share those habits here. The first thing I do is grab my phone and turn off the alarm that has ripped me from my slumber. Then I open various apps on the phone. The bright light of my iPhone helps start the process of waking me up. I have read numerous articles about sleep and they all say that any kind of light, especially the blue light from a computer screen or TV is very disruptive to sleep. Even the light from the alarm clock by the bed can be a hindrance to falling asleep and staying asleep. In this particular case, I use that to my advantage as I am actually trying to wake up. 

I look at Facebook and Twitter very briefly. I look at a few headlines, check the weather, and check my email. Then while still in bed, I post something on Facebook about the workout of the morning. The Facebook post seals the deal. Once I write it down, I feel like I have publicly committed to the workout. Sometimes I write something simple like, "up early to swim." Sometimes I go as far as write a short poem. The Facebook posts act as inspiration for myself. It is also nice to share with like minded Facebook friends who are also getting up early to swim, bike, or run. And hopefully, it is inspiring for others as well. I am sure I annoy some people with my daily posts about heart rate, t-max, high cadence drills, etc. But it is my Facebook so I will do what I want. If people are annoyed, they can ignore me, hide me, un-friend me or whatever they so choose. Hopefully though, my positive attitude towards working out will be infectious. I hope so anyway.

Another important tool for waking up early is to have a good evening routine. A few years ago, we cancelled our TV service. We still watch things on the computer but it is all on-demand with less commercials than regular TV. This has reduced our TV watching to a total 20 to 60 minutes a night. I almost always ice my kneees during this time and both Melissa and I catch up on our social media during the commercials. Less TV time means more time for sleep and for the other all important evening task that contributes to a successful early morning wake-up. This key task is really what can make or break an early morning workout session. And is really so simple. Before I settle in for the evening, I get all my morning workout gear together. That may not sound like a big deal but trust me, it really helps. Morning are foggy at 5AM. Waking up to any uncertainty can squash motivation.

Finally, another great tool for getting going in the morning is visualization. I visualize myself at the workout. I visualize all my teammates at the workout as well. I picture us side by side, working hard, grunting, groaning, sweating, and occasionally feeling close to throwing up. When I go the pool, I visualize all the strangers that I consistently see at the pool each week. There is "old guy" who plods along at a snails pace lap after lap with his feet dragging along nearly on the bottom of the pool. There is "pull buoy lady" who swims the whole time with he buoy. There is "fin guy" who swims with fins the whole time. There is "slightly overweight but still very fast lady" who always shows up about 20 minutes into my workout. And lately there has been two new friendly ladies who are training for their first triathlon. These folks don't know it but I treat them as teammates. They consistently show up at the pool week after week which I use as a motivator to get me there.

My final visualization involves the actual races I am training for. Putting in the consistent work will pay off on race day. I know that and I continually think about it. I want to be ready on race day. I want to be thoroughly prepared. If I think about my races during the early morning haze and later during my workouts, I get a little bit of extra motivation to shake off the cob webs and get out of bed even though my body seems to prefer staying horizontal. I also know that once I get the workout done and am at work sitting at my desk or in a meeting, I will feel good about my morning workout. I will feel a sense of accomplishment. Starting out the day at 8AM already having accomplished a hard workout is a good feeling.

I understand that these techniques will not work for everyone. But they seem to be working for me. Thanks for reading. Time to ice and relax and try to get some rest. After all, tomorrow morning will be here before you know it and I am pretty sure I will be doing a big workout.

Post-Race Blues? Maybe for a Minute

I often hear athletes say they get the post-race blues. I would like to offer my opinion about why this happens to some people. Also, I have some suggestions about how to deal with the big change that happens after you cross the finish line and make your way back to the reality of work and daily living.

After the race, the training journey is over and the task is completed. All of a sudden, there is no carrot in front of the cart. Plus, despite the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment one gets after completing a race like Ironman and the boost in mood it gives, the body and mind is just plain tired. Rest is needed. Lots of food is needed. There is no longer the impending race to help stay motivated to get up at 4:45 in the morning and jump in the cold water, run 1 mile repeats around the track at sub 5K pace, get to sleep early, eat right, etc. This lack of focus and direction can make one feel a little lost. And did I mention lots of food is needed.

People often identify themselves by their actions. For instance, I may identify myself as an IT guy because I work in IT. I may identify myself as a Triathlete because I train and race in triathlons. But after my big race, when I am tired and recovering, it may feel like I used to be a triathlete, I used to train and race triathlons. Immediately after the race, it seems like all I do is eat and sleep and drag myself back to work each day.

My work is somewhat rewarding but it is also stressful. Swimming, biking, and running not only help me relieve the stress, it also gives me a long term goal that helps keep me happy. Let's face it, there are not many of us who can truly say that going to work every day provides great joy and satisfaction. Even if you have a decent job and decent co-workers, work can get to you after a while. And it might not just be work. There are other aspects of life that might bring you down. And now, post-race, there is no outlet because there is no energy, no motivation, no direction. For me, the relentless never ending field of IT Support can be exhausting. When I am training for a race, I have more energy for work because it is really just a means to an end. But after a big race, that tiredness can make everything else seem like a drag.

After my last big race, Ironman Lake Placid, I immediately started thinking "What's next?" You will hear that a lot in my circles. "What races are you doing?" or "What is the next event?" I wanted to race again as soon as possible. For me, putting in all the prep work so I can really push myself on race day is really a lot of fun and brings me great joy. Plus it keeps me healthy which is my ultimate goal. Without a race on my schedule, I lost some of my identity.

I looked at a bunch of events and even mentioned some to my coach. She did not give me the green light on anything. Also my wallet became a big factor. I had spent lots of money on IMLP and needed to cut way back as to not over extend ourselves. My accountant also did not give me the green light for anything. In fact, she gave me the red light. Thankfully, my accountant knows best. I resigned myself to not doing any more events this year and stopped looking at race websites.

My next step was to overcome that lost feeling. In the end, I just took a long look at myself and my circumstances. I am really blessed. My feeling of malaise was immediately squashed when I looked around me at all the horrible things that happen every day all over the world. After all, I have a loving wife, a close family, all the good food I can eat, a great home full of many possessions, great friends and training partners. Also, I am healthy. I can take a walk around the block, make my own dinner, feed myself, bathe myself, provide for myself and others. There are many people across the world, in our neighborhoods, and in our families who are not so lucky.

Without rambling on too much more, I just want to give some advice for those people with the post-race blues. Get lots of rest. Eat lots of good food. Maybe go ahead an indulge in a piece of candy or an ice cream cone. Most of all, look at yourself and compare your well being to those less fortunate people and most of all, HTFU!

I am happy to say that after a couple of weeks of rest, I started training again and while I am not putting in quite as many hours as I was during the peak of IMLP training, I am back to consistent swim, bike, and run workouts. Also I have already signed up for a big race. Next year I will be doing Ironman Chattanooga on September 28, 2014. I will do some other races next year before IMTN and I will likely do some running races this year. For those of you who missed it, here is a little 20-second video announcing my intent to race IMTN.



Thanks for reading. Chin up!

First Race Report of the Season

Is it Spring yet? It sure does not seem like it in Richmond. We have had cold, snowy, rainy weather for some time now. It seems like Spring will never come. Despite the bad weather, I have been able to get some quality training in this month.  In March I started a new schedule:

Monday - AM Swim, PM Cycling Class
Tuesday -PM Pro K track workout
Wednesday - AM Swim, PM Cycling class
Thursday - PM Cycle at home on trainer with Melissa/Sometimes run instead
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Long Bike
Sunday - Long Run and Long Swim

Needless to say, with all the training and my job, I have not had much time to sit and write. I spend all day in front of computers and sometimes the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a screen when I get home.

Last week, Melissa and I participated in a small 5K at a local elementary school. Our teammate was the race director and the race was a fund raiser for the PTA at the school. There were about 50 people at the race. When the gun went off, I took off at a reasonable pace. Right from the start, I found myself up front with 3 other runners. We ran the first mile in tight formation before one young kid and myself started to put distance on the other two runners.

After a little while, it was just the two of us running side by side around the turns. While I was pushing it a little, the young high school aged boy seemed to be out for a morning jog. His running seemed effortless. At one point, I said "Are you just toying with me?" He admitted that he was which I thought was pretty honest and sort of funny. It really seemed like he was running my pace. I decided to back off ever so slightly to save myself for a possible kick at the end. He slowed with me which verified what I thought. I told him that I did not have a kick. It was a lie. I had a decent kick for someone my age. I thought perhaps when we saw the finish line, I could surprise him. Actually I knew this was not likely but it was worth a try if the opportunity arose.

With about a quarter of a mile left, he said, "not much further now" and proceeded to speed up and pull away from me. I countered but I could not match his speed. As the school came into sight, I knew I would never catch him. I pushed it a little but did not wipe myself out. I had second place sewn up which was just fine with me. 

After crossing the finish line in second place, I congratulated the winner and asked him if he ran track. He confirmed my suspicion. When I asked him what distance he ran, he told me he ran the 400 and 800. So even if I did have a good kick, I never would have beat him. I can't complain though. At 44 years old, second place to a 17 year old high school track athlete is not too shabby in my book.

Plus the 5K was really just a warm up. After the race, we did a 38 mile team bike ride followed by a 13 minute T-Run. It was a fine day in Richmond, despite the cold.

Next week is my first Triathlon of the year. Melissa and I will be doing the Smithfield Sprint Triathlon. It is a very short race: 300 Meter Pool Swim, 10 Mile Bike, 5K. There are some other folks from Richmond racing as well. It will be a nice little jump start to the season.

Thanks for reading.

Half Finished, Two Thirds to Go

Today I welcome back my favorite guest blogger, my better half, my partner in crime, my lovely wife Melissa. Without further adieu, here is her latest triumph.

It started last summer, while I was sitting at my desk at work, thinking I had missed the boat. Jim had signed up for a 70.3 race, along with some training friends, and he emailed me one last time. “Do you want me to sign you up too?”

And I thought, “Hell, no. Is he crazy?”

But as the days passed I got to thinking about what races I was going to do in 2013, and what my next goal should be. I had done 3 more sprint triathlons in 2012, along with a few other planned running races, but I hadn't given much thought to 2013. Ironman races sell out quickly, in a matter of hours. And Raleigh 70.3, an inaugural event, was no different. So, I sat at my desk and thought it over. And over. And I thought, what a shame that I didn't sign up for that race. Lots of people we know are doing it, and I'll be there anyway to support Jim. What a bummer. For some reason I just wasn't in the right mind set when he asked me.

So, in November, when the Ironman Foundation opened up some charity slots, I jumped on the chance and registered! On November 2, I became an official registrant of Ironman Raleigh 70.3, to be held June 2, 2013-- 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. And exactly 7 months to prepare.

Thus Is Born The Half Marathon Entry

So, HOW DO I PREPARE FOR THIS THING? The immediate concern was my run training. I have biked more than 56 miles on a few occasions, and swum around (or more) than 1.2 during workouts. But, considering I had never run more than 7(ish) miles, I figured I'd better start working on my run. I discovered a February half marathon race in town that really turned out to be great timing-- the LOVE ROX Half Marathon. November through February(ish) is considered "off season" around here for triathlons, so it was a great time to build my running mileage base and train my body to carry me for all those miles. Then, when triathlon training started in earnest, I would already have a nice base to work from. Perfect. So, on November 6, I put on my best running gear and headed out in the mildly cold weather for a nice, short run.

LOVE ROX Half Marathon

I had 15 weeks to train for this half marathon, which seemed like plenty according to all my sources. Even though I'd trained for triathlons during 2012 and done a few road races, I had actually slacked off on my running August through October.

Over the course of 15 weeks, my weekly mileage grew from 8 miles to about 25. My long runs were on Saturdays. As I increased my mileage each week, I celebrated each time I hit a new milestone. First it was 8 miles. Then 9.5, then 10.5, then 12. I tracked my runs with my new Garmin 610, and looked over my mile split times each week. While my splits were uneven, they did coincide with the terrain (hills=slower pace), so that was as expected.

The coldest weather I ran in was 27 degrees, with a slight wind. I've discovered that I heat up rather quickly, though, so I wear layers in the cold and peel them off as I go. I recorded my clothing choices and the weather in my Garmin Connect log, so that I can refer back to it in the future-- I take note of what I wore, and what I peeled off during the run (usually the gloves, arm warmers, hat and extra shirt come off at some point.) I used my long runs as practice for nutrition, and experimented with using Carbo Pro in my water bottles and using Honey Stinger gels during the run as well. The nutrition plan will be even more important at Raleigh, but I figured there's no reason I can't start experimenting now.

On my long runs, I also experimented with turning off my iPod for at least some of the run. First, I would turn it off for only a few miles, usually at the beginning. Then, I left my iPod off for at least half the run, only turning it on during the second half to give me a boost. On my last long run, 12 miles, I did not turn it on at all. I ran the whole 12 miles without listening to my iPod! Why did I do this? Well, at Ironman races, using iPods or other devices is absolutely not permitted, so, I figure, I'd better start getting used to it now!

And lastly, who can forget the mantra? I have an assortment of mantras that I use. My favorite, based on a poem I wrote, is "Today is the day". But during this training for a half marathon, due to my increased mileage, I had additional time to reflect and come up with some others: "Worth it in June" is one of them, as is "It's gonna be hot in June". You see, while I was lucky enough to train in cold weather for the LOVE ROX half marathon, it will only get warmer from here on out. And, in June it is likely to be quite warm. This will change things quite a bit for me, as I have noticed that my run pace gets slower the hotter it gets outside.

So How Did the Race Go? 

Splendidly.

Two-loops to complete (potential mental obstacle for me)? No problem!

Thirty-seven degree weather? No problem!

Wet, rainy snow coming down on us? No problem!

Hill on the back side of the course (miles 4-5 and 10-11)? No problem!

I would say it went as smoothly as I could have hoped. There were so many Pro K Racing teammates (the triathlon team I train with) volunteering on the course & there were other Pro Kers running the course, so it was awesome to see everyone and cheer others on. It meant a lot to me to have that encouragement. There were also some friends who I was not expecting, who were waiting near the war memorial to cheer me on! It was so awesome to see them there too. And of course, Jim was there too, cheering for me at different spots on the course, and there to grab the gloves and shirt I had peeled off. And after the race, what a nice surprise-- Jim had bought me some flowers to congratulate me. Awesome! My first half marathon is in the books. Now what?

Oh yeah, there's that Raleigh thing. I've got two other disciplines to ramp up. I'd better get cracking.

Getting Back into the Swing of Things: Early in the Morning

What time does your alarm go off in the morning? I bet no matter the time, it always seems too early. Starting in January, I have been setting my alarm for 4:45AM twice a week and 5AM twice a week. Sometimes when my alarm goes off, I am so startled, I am not sure what is going on. But it does not take long for me to remember what day it is and why I am getting up. I just remind myself that I am training for Ironman and that getting up at 4:45 is somewhat mandatory. With a full time job and 14 hours a week of working out, one is forced to become a morning person which is something I never was until relatively recently. I blame this transformation from night owl to early morning exerciser on Mark England. He is the one who got me into my first road race back in 2006 which eventually grew from 10Ks to Ironman.

On Mondays and Wednesday, I get up super early to swim. I am in the pool by 5:30. On Mondays I do a coached swim that lasts 1 hour and is always a good, fun workout with teammates. Our coach is extremely knowledgeable about all things swimming as well as enthusiastic, funny, and creative. We do all kinds of drills to improve our swim stroke and swim fitness. People groan when she says "100 breathe away" or "50 nubby arm kicking" or the dreaded "breath away (dramatic pause) with fists." But although people grown, I am pretty sure they secretly really like these difficult drills. Why would they keep coming back if they did not like it? After all, it is hardly free. I think most of the "guppies" as we are called enjoy being challenged and know that the drills will make us all stronger swimmers. We put in the work because we know it will make us stronger. And many of my teammates are hardly guppies by the way.

My Wednesday swim is a very regimented workout that my coach gives to me. I print out my marching orders and bring it with me to the pool so I can keep on track. These workouts are usually longer than the Monday workouts and I have to stay on task in order to get the entire workout in before work. After swimming 1.5 miles or more in the pool, I always feel fantastic albeit starving. By the time I get to work, I am calm and ready to face the challenges of the day.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I am doing Craig's cycling class at Richmond Cycling Corporation's Richmond Bicycle Studio. I really love the class. It is quite challenging although anyone can to it because it is up to the individual to gauge one's perceived exertion.  You get out of it what you put into it. I feel like this class catapults my bike fitness skyward like a rocket ship. There is no way I could do these workouts on my own. I have tried to duplicate the workouts at home on my own and even though I am trying to go hard, it just seems that doing this workout in a group setting under the watchful eyes of Craig gives me the best possible workout. Plus the whole time I know I am also supporting RCC and the outreach they do. It is a win win situation. I feel good about the workout and I feel good about helping out the non-profit with my enrollment fee.

In addition to my early morning workouts detailed above, I have also been doing Physical Therapy every day. I do about 1 hour or more a day at home plus once or twice a week I go into the Physical Therapy office and do 2 hours which includes more exercises as well as ultrasound, body work by the PT, and I get to run on the Alter G treadmill treadmill. The Alter-G allows me to run at a certain percentage of my body weight. I started out at 75 percent and have worked my way up to 90 percent of my body weight. This gradual return to running helps ease my body back into it. So far, I have been very pleased with my PT at Advanced Orthopedics in the West End. I have been coming along nicely and today my PT said she wanted me to start running outside again under full body weight. I can't wait to get started although I will have to start out slow.

On the weekends, I have been doing PT, a third swim, and another bike ride. Sometimes I ride the trainer, sometimes I ride outside depending on the weather. Unfortunately, this weekend I will not be riding as I broke the shifter off my bike and it is in the shop getting repaired. In addition to all of the PT, swimming, biking, and running, I have also started back on my core work. Melissa has motivated me to do the P90X Ab Ripper with her. It is a killer workout and I expect to see results if I keep it up.

So is that enough? Not quite. I plan to add in a yoga class once a week to help me stay limber and to help strengthen my hips, glutes, thighs, etc. I seem to stay healthier when I follow a weekly yoga regimen and I just don't seem to be able to work it into the schedule without attending a structured class.

Finally, I wanted to mention that I have added two more races onto my calendar. I have decided to race the Monument Ave 10K, mostly because my work picked up the tab. Also I wanted to race again on my birthday so this year I will be doing the Kinetic Sprint Triathlon on May 12th at Lake Anna. This year my birthday falls on Mothers day (I was born on Mothers Day) so I thought it would be fun to have the whole family down to watch the race and then go out for a celebratory lunch. If there are any other triathletes out there who want to race with me, I would enjoy the company.

So that about wraps it up for now. January has been busy and February will likely fly by. Then there will just be one more month before race season starts for me. Comments welcomed and appreciated.

And the Beat goes On

It has been quite some time since I have had a chance to sit down and chronicle my ongoing journey. In fact, I almost went the entire month of July without a single blog post. Let's just say I have been busy. Here is the quick summary of what I have been up to. Since I am so far behind, I will not go into too many narrative details.

On June 24th, both Melissa and I participated in the "I Love the Tavern" sprint triathlon here in Richmond. The race consisted of a 650 meter open water river swim, an 18 mile bike, and a 5K run. The river was very warm on race day. I tried my best not to think about the bacteria soup and just concentrate on swimming. I felt good on the swim and was surprised how fast it seemed to go by. I managed the swim in 11:47. Not the speediest but definitely a lot faster than 2 years ago before I knew how to swim. For the 18 mile bike, I squeaked in under 1 hour at 59:54. Finally, for the 5K run which was mostly on trails, I ended up with a 23:17 and my overall place was 148 out of 372. Not too shabby. I even managed to finish a few seconds faster than one of my ProK teammates. He crushed me on the bike but I managed a better swim and a slightly faster run. Not that I was competing with him but beating someone who I know is a very talented triathlete and 15 years younger does make me feel good about training and how I have progressed from last year. Training with Jon has been great for my development and I look forward to continuing to chase his fitness.

After the triathlon, we went to the Outer Banks for a week with my family and some friends. We had a great time. Of course, I did a lot of training including some long, hot bike rides and a couple of grueling runs. It was very hot and humid and there was a massive head wind on all my rides. I enjoyed the trip very much. I even got to watch some Olympic Trials and some of the Tour de France which was also fun. It was good to spend some time with my family.

When I got back from the beach, it was time for the Cul-de-sac 5Ks. The Richmond Road Runners Club puts on an annual series of 5Ks. For three Mondays in a row, I went out to the West End to run the 5Ks. During the first race, I hung back a bit at the start and ended up having a pretty good race. I ran a 21:19 which is pretty good for me.

For the second race, it was super hot. Before the race, the announcer warned us all to run slower than normal because of the hot conditions. I had forgotten my watch and when the gun went off, I went out way too fast. At mile marker 1, the times were being called out and when I heard my time, I knew I was in trouble. When the guy said 6:27, I let out a gasp. Sure enough, I started fading. My fellow ProK teammate caught me and ran off ahead of me. I had nothing in the tank. Of course I had done a 4 hour, 70 mile bike ride the day before but still, I could have run a better race. I ended up with a 22:11 which was nearly a minute slower than the first race.

For the last race, I managed much better. Another teammate who is much faster than me said he would pace myself and Jon. When the gun went off though, they still went out pretty fast. Too fast I think. I hung back and just kept them in site. At mile 1, they were about 20 yards in front of me. By mile 2, their lead may have stretched to 30 yards. But I had a strategy. After we turned onto a street that is a bit busier and requires runners to run in single file, I started to pick up the pace. I would push up to someone in front of me, hang for a few moments and then pass them. Once I passed someone, I would have to keep pushing because it would be rude to pass someone and then slow down. I could see Jon and Bryan coming back towards me and knew I would catch up to them. I passed Jon and then Bryan who then caught back up to me. He was pacing us, trying to help us break 21 minutes. I started to falter a bit but he encouraged me to stick with it. Towards the end, he said, "it's yours if you want it Jim. Now is the time." He was referring to the 21 minute mark. As I made my way around the last turn, I could see the race clock. It said 20:45. I snapped into overdrive because I knew I could beat 21. I passed a few people in that last 20 yards and managed to get in under 21. My official time was 20:53 which is a 6:43 min/mile average pace. My time was good enough for 3rd place in my age group. I was quite happy and grateful to Bryan and Jon for pacing me and helping me PR.

In addition to these races, I have been training a lot. I have been doing lots of swimming, biking, and running. When I am not at work or exercising, I am eating, buying groceries and nutrition, washing my workout gear, cleaning my bike, preparing for the next day's workout and sleeping. It is quite a commitment I have made. Luckily, Melissa is very supportive and helps me out a great deal including doing swim workouts with me. She is an excellent swimmer.

Finally, while I have not completed my first Iron Distance triathlon, nor even ridden 100 miles on my bike in one day, I have already signed up for another Ironman. Next July 28th, I will be racing in Lake Placid, NY at Ironman Lake Placid otherwise known as IMLP. There is a good size group of us doing the race. It will be fun to train with a group for the same race. Plus it is supposed to be a beautiful area and very scenic course. I am not sure if I will enjoy the scenery or not. Take a look at the elevation profile for the bike and run. Looks like fun right?

Nutrition-Bonk-Rebound

I want to talk briefly about nutrition. Recently my coach has emphasized the importance of my nutrition and hydration during training and racing. She said my biggest challenge will be working out a nutrition plan that works for me and sticking to it. I am a good listener and generally do what she tells me to do. She said I should shoot for at least 250 calories an hour on the bike. Last weekend, we did a 2+ hour ride and I managed almost 1000 calories and felt pretty good. I have a few things still to experiment with but I am getting it dialed in. So far, I am working with Vanilla Hammer Gels, Clif Shot Bloks, Honey Stinger Waffles, Hammer Endurolytes, and HEED. I may add some different things as my training progresses. Of course, I am still keen on the preride smoothy of bananas, frozen berries, almond milk, Udos Oil, Jarrow plant based protein powder and the magic of chia seeds.

As I am learning what works for me, I also know what does not work. After our Saturday ride, I did about 40 minutes in the pool. I was pretty pooped. I think more bananas would have helped. The next day, Melissa and I rode the "I Love the Tavern" triathlon bike course. It was an organized group ride to allow racers the chance to get to know the course. I awoke on Sunday under-bananaed. I had one banana and a HS Waffle and some Shot Bloks. It was not enough. I was hungry for all 18 miles of the ride. After the ride, we dilly dallied a bit and then went to lunch. Lunch was good but as I would later find out, did not fuel me well for my afternoon 1.5 hour run I had planned. At 3:30 I set out to run the downtown trails. My poor nutrition plus the intense heat and humidity lead me to bonk. I ran for about 30 minutes and then walked the rest back to my car.

The bonk really wiped me out. The bonk headache I got lasted through Monday. After work Monday, I skipped my biking interval workout and tried to rest up. When things like this happen, I always worry that I am getting behind on my training. This creates a little anxiety as I worry a bit that I might not be up to the task.

Tuesday after work, we had a team practice as usual. At lunch before practice, I decided to go ahead and eat a lunch of Drunken Noodles with shrimp so that I would have plenty of fuel in my body. It is risky eating a heavy, spicy meal before a hard workout but I have done it in the past and avoided puking although sometimes my stomach was not happy with me. But it never kept me from having a successful workout.

On this particular Tuesday, we were running hills. We had done hill workouts before but this time the hills were longer and it was hot and there was 90 percent humidity. Without going into all the details, I felt like I had a great workout. We ended up with 6 miles total with about 4 miles of hills bookmarked between the warm-up and cool down. I was drenched afterwards but felt great. Sure I almost puked but overall I felt like I had an extremely successful workout. As a bonus, my anxiety about being under trained went away and I feel like I am on track. Bouncing back from a bonk always feels good.

Race Week

Race week yet again. Saturday kicks of the triathlon racing season as I toe the line for the Rumpus in Bumpass International Triathlon. It will be my 3rd race of the season but my first triathlon. Last year was my first year in triathlon and I did 6 races. As I start my second season, it will be interesting to see how I stack up against other racers as compared to last year. Last year I did 2 open water races but not with a wetsuit. Saturday's race will be my first wetsuit race.

My plan for this race is to go out and see what I can do. While I do plan to leave it all out on the course, I don't necessarily have any specific expectations or time goals. Mostly, I will be gauging my overall fitness and ability compared to last year. I have made gains in my swimming technique and fitness but I still tire during long swims and likely will have to take some breathers here and there throughout the swim portion of the race. I have also made gains in my biking technique and fitness. During my last couple of training rides, I was able to keep my cadence up and travel a higher average speed. My goal for the swim is to try to find a nice draft and not stop as much as possible. On the bike my goal is to keep my cadence up, push the biggest gear I can stay on top of (as Craig from RCC would say), and take in some nutrition. Finally for the run, I plan to just run as fast as possible, trying to negative split the 10K which is going to be the biggest challenge of the whole race for me.

Training with people who are faster and stronger has definitely pushed me and makes me work harder. Just like when I played soccer with my older brothers and their friends when I was young, training with stronger athletes is a definite plus. Just today I read an article about Lance Armstrong and his training plan for Ironman. Turns out he is going to ride with some current pro cyclists who train harder and faster than most triathletes. While I am not training with pros, I am training with multiple Ironman finishers who know how to kill it on the bike. And it has been great fun.

I still have a few workouts left to complete this week before I wake up before the sun and head out for my race. Overall, I am feeling pretty confident and hopeful. I am looking forward to the race. Not only do I want to do well for myself but I also want to do well for my coach. I want to show her that I appreciate her guidance and planning. It is also fun to feel like I am racing for on a team. Even though there will be no team tactics in this race, I sill feel like I am representing Pro K Racing.

Rainy Saturday

What are you favorite things to do on a rainy Saturday? Do you sleep in and listen to the rain? Drink coffee and read the morning paper? Play games with your kids and post silly pictures of them on Facebook. Read a book or magazine while lying around in your pajamas. Or maybe you like to run on the treadmill or maybe do some strength training. Running out in the rain is always an option too. I have to admit, all of these things sound like a pretty good way to spend a rainy Saturday, but for me, I could not think of too much that is better than what I did this morning.

This morning, I participated in a Pro K Racing team workout. The general plan was to meet at a nearby church and then bike 30 miles to Lake Anna and then swim 1+ miles in the lake to practice open water swimming. As Saturday approached, it seemed like rain could be in the forecast. Karen, our coach, said that if it was raining, we would still meet at the church but then drive to Lake Anna and swim in the rain.

When I awoke on Saturday, it was not raining. But one glance of the radar showed it was on its way. I was not sure what to do. I inspected various weather websites and tried to calculate the speed of the storm. In the end, I decided I could beat the rain to the meeting point. From there, if we drove to the lake, at least I would have gotten in some riding.

It is about 9+ miles from my house to the meeting spot. When I left out of my driveway at about 7:40 AM, it was dry. It was a peaceful morning and there were not many people out and about yet. I started out slow so I could warm up and not tax my system right out of the gate. After about 10 minutes, I started to pick up the pace. It felt good to be out on the bike early in the morning. Riding solo can be kind of peaceful especially when there is not much traffic. And there was not.

I arrived at the meeting spot about 8:15 and to my surprise, everyone was arriving and getting their bikes ready. Some had rain gear so I knew that we were going to give it a go. It was determined and explicitly stated that, YES, we were going to get wet. It was warm enough that the rain would not be too big a deal. It would require extra caution on the road and we would have to me especially mindful of each other. But at least we would not be cold. To me, cold rain is never fun.

When we took off out of the parking lot there were about 6 to 8 of us towards the front of the pack. After a few minutes of riding, I noticed that coach Karen and one other Pro K rider were riding off the front. There was a small gap that had developed between them and the pack I was in. I decided to kick it up a notch and close the gap. It was fun. I had not rode with a group of people that I knew in so long. I could tell the day was going to be fun.

As the rain started to fall, there was a shout from the back of our pack. We were going a little too fast and there were one or two people falling off the back. To me, "falling of the back" is a cycling term that seems slightly nicer than the other term you often here. It was this other term that was uttered. "Someone is getting dropped." We stopped to regroup and once we had everyone together again, we started out on the road again. The rain started picking up and it was at this point in the ride when Karen said that she was going to fall to the back of the pack to ride with the slower people and she asked me to lead.

This was not exactly what I had in mind. The pack I was riding with included several very strong men and women. We are talking about multiple Ironman finishers. I felt like there was pressure on my rear wheel so I did all I could to put the hammer down. Looking at my heart rate data afterwards, I can see exactly when I was given the task of leading the ride. My HR climbed into zone 5 at about 160 beats per minute. I was able to hold on for a while. I attribute being able to hold on for as long as I did to the good people at Richmond Cycling Corporation who have elevated my cycling ability to a new high. At one point during the ride, I heard one woman say, "Here's a hill, let's see what you got Rosen." Of course that put the pressure on even more. I was giving it my all, breathing hard, heart racing, and doing my best.

After a while, someone came up and took the lead and I was able to slide back into the draft. While riding in the draft, I felt like I could ride all day. It felt so good to be riding with a team. There is something special about it and it is hard to explain. I would never have been able to go as fast I did when riding behind the men and women who I rode with today. Not only did I get the physical draft, I got the mental and emotional lift from riding with these exceptional people. Plus it was raining, so there was that added level of adventure.

As we continued to ride, we increased the gab between the lead pack and the slightly slower group behind us. In fact, for me, this was a hammerfest. I was able to hang but I was definitely pushing it. For the rest of the riders, I think they felt pretty darn comfortable while I was slightly out of my comfort zone. But then again, that is what made the ride so great. It was like when I was kid and always played soccer with my older brothers and their friends. The immersion automatically makes one improve. At least in my book.

At some point, one of our guys got a flat and we all stopped while he fixed his flat. Some people took the opportunity to use the facility that is the great outdoors. I took the opportunity to suck down some Hammer Gel and water. After about 10 minutes or so, the other riders caught up to us. We had put a pretty good gap on them but now they had caught up. They decided to keep going while we waited for our guy to finish fixing his flat.

When we got mobile again, my legs felt like they had stiffened up a bit. It would have been nice to ease back into the ride but my fellow teammates had other ideas. Hammer Down! And we were off. My legs complained a little but my heart rate did not spike quite as high. Before you knew it, we had caught up to the other group and passed them. We were in the lead again. And while it was not a race, it was fun to chase, close the gap, draft, fall of the back and climb back to the front, etc, etc.

After about 30 miles of fairly hard riding (for me), we arrived at the lake. Melissa was driving our car as a team support car and followed the riders to the lake. She also had the wetsuits and our other gear. We changed into our wetsuits, donned our swim caps and goggles and waded into the lake. The water was great. It was still raining but the water temperature was actually higher than it is at the pool where we swim.

After a brief float in the water, I started the swim. The water was calm and we all went out at our own pace. There were several kayakers out on the water to support us which was really nice. Swimming in open water is probably my biggest weakness at this point. There are no lane lines and more importantly for me, there is no wall every 25 meters. In the pool, I get the one second break at the 25 meter turn around and the kick off the wall. No walls in the lake. I find that after a while, I am very out of breath and have to take a little break. I continue to kick like a frog and crawl my way forward a bit when I take these breathers so I am making forward progress but it is pretty slow progress and other swimmers pull away from me at this point. I had several breaks along the swim. It was quite peaceful and quiet out there. When I did stop swimming and my breathing slowed down a bit, it seemed so calm and relaxing. Just floating in the lake with the light rain coming down all around me, it was nice.

I am not sure how long it took me to swim the mile. It was pretty long relatively speaking I think. What fun though. I got my first wet suit swim in before my upcoming triathlon in the same lake I will be racing in. This is going to help me immensely. I got to practice sighting and I got to swim a bit with Melissa and watch her swim. She has better form than me for sure. Both the ride and the swim were really great and I can't thank Karen enough for putting the whole training event together.