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.

PowerTap Grassroots Athlete

It's a new year with new challenges and opportunities. This year, I decided to apply to be a PowerTap grassroots athlete. Instead of reinventing the wheel, here is an explanation about what that is from PowerTap.com.

"PowerTap is proud to support and sponsor athletes at all levels of Cycling and Triathlon disciplines. Our goal is to support the exceptional athletes who support our brand through racing and training using our products. Our grassroots level sponsorship allows athletes access to discounted product to help them pursue their competitive goals."

Applying to be a sponsored athlete simply required submitting a one minute video. It was hard to keep it to one minute. After running through it a couple of times in front of the computer, I felt like I was getting nowhere. I came across as stiff and it looked like I was reading the text I had written for the video. It was also hard to cram in all the necessary required information and still sound vaguely interesting. Finally, Melissa offered to use my phone to make the video. I scrapped my script and wrote out bullet points. We did one take and it was good enough. Here is the video below.



And you know what? It worked! I have been accepted in the PowerTap Grassroots Athletes program. What does this mean for me exactly? Well, it simply means I will be promoting PowerTap and PowerTap products as I train and race in triathlons and other events. I have agreed to forward promotions, sales, new product announcements, etc to my friends and to represent PowerTap at events. It is going to be fun. In return, PowerTap will give me up to 25 percent off of items in their online store. That is a huge discount considering the products they sell are not cheap. I happen to be in the market for new trainer so I will be able to put the discount to use sooner than later. Mostly though, I think I will have fun using social media to promote the PowerTap brand. It will be a learning experience and will be one more training tool for me. Getting excited about promotions, products, and events will inject additional fun into my training and racing schedule. Plus I can represent Richmond, the Richmond Triathlon Community and DLMultisports.

I will be attempting to blog more as that is part of the deal. So you might see some shorter but more frequent blog posts from me. I appreciate you reading and if you want to learn more about PowerTap or CycleOps, please check out their websites and see what they have to offer. In my next installment, I will describe how my PowerTap G3 power meter has helped me train smart and get faster and stronger in a short amount of time. Thanks for reading. As always, comments are appreciated.

Really Ironman.com?

Ironman.com publishes a lot of articles about training and racing triathlons. Everything from how to choose the proper gear, what races one might be suited for, what to eat and drink while training and racing, how to pick a coach, how much swimming one should do, etc., etc. There are other publications that write about the topic too. I see multiple articles every day being published on various websites that go into some detail about training blocks, nutrition, what's more aero, etc.

Earlier today, I saw this article about whether or not an individual should seek out a coach or simply coach themselves. The original article is here:

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2015/01/can-you-go-the-self-coached-route.aspx#axzz3NrrgLBkU

After going through the pros and cons of being self coached, the article ends with this statement, "Self-coaching should be an option for almost all triathletes. Our sport is not terribly technical—we’re just swimming, biking and running—the three things we’ve done since we were five years old!"

Really? It's that simple? Maybe it should read, ""Self-coaching should be an option for almost all triathletes who don't want to improve." It seems almost irresponsible to make such a bold and general statement. What are all those coaches for that are constantly referenced in all the other articles? Are they chopped liver?  How can Ironman.com constantly quote professional coaches and then in one article basically say that the sport is so simple, you don't need them?  The article did not come right out and say that no one needs a coach and gave discussion points about various resources that coaches provide and to think about whether that is something one might require. And they did use the word option. But ending the article with such a bold statement seems to suggest the author believes that coaches are not necessary for the common triathlete. At least that is the impression I got when I read it. 

Sure when it comes down to it, we are doing lots of swimming, lots of biking, and lots of running. Well, duh. But there is much more to it than that. Personally my coach is more than simply someone who manages my time for me. Don't get me wrong, this is a huge thing and I am lucky to have someone who knows how to structure my week, month, and year so I can get the most benefit from my workouts and races. And as far as accountability goes, my coach is good for that too. I want to turn my Training Peaks boxes green and I look forward to his feedback on those workouts. And does my coach motivate me? He sure does. But beyond all that, my coach really knows the sport inside and out. He knows what it takes for athletes to improve and race well.

Maybe not everyone wants to improve. Maybe some people just want a good healthy sport to help them with overall fitness. Plus there is certainly a social aspect to training and racing. Maybe for some people the social engagement is more important. I like those benefits for sure and for me, it is a healthy hobby. More than that though, it is fun. But what makes it fun is putting in all the work to improve, training hard and then on race day, executing the perfect race strategy that allows me to beat as many other competitors as possible. They do call it a race for a reason. And then doing it all again and trying to improve and beat more people the next time around.

As children we were often told that "it's not whether you when or lose, it's how you play the game." After playing soccer all throughout childhood and most of my adult life, I learned that that statement is only partially true. Fair play and honesty are no doubt the cornerstones of any competition. And while it is not really all that fun to beat a bunch of 5 year olds in soccer, it is a lot more fun to win when competing with people who are similar in skill and experience, drive and desire. Wining is fun.

The other day I had a bike trainer workout called "Anaerobic Sandwich". This was a challenging workout for sure. But my coach set me up to succeed. I am one hundred percent certain that not only was this workout challenging but since I was able to complete the workout as prescribed, I got the perfect stress on my body to help me improve as a cyclist. That's why I do it right? Sure I was queasy afterwards and slightly dizzy and the thought of eating made me a little pukey. But that is part of the fun. My coach knows what to throw at me that challenges me but does not set me up for failure. And we are not simply toughing out these workouts just so we can get through the workout. The end goal is to beat other triathletes to the finish line. No, I am not going to win. Not yet anyway. But I am going to perform better and chase down the competitors in front of me. Someday, I may win my age group. In fact, that is my goal. Thankfully I have a coach who knows how to motivate me and make me a better athlete all around. He does that with knowledge, science, experience, personality, and even humor.

Funny how one article on the Internet can drive me to babble on a bit. Thanks for reading.

Reflections on 2014

The celebrations and parties are over and many best wishes for the new year have been wished upon friends and family. Blogs have been written, Facebook and twitter updates have been posted. And now, I would like to add to the digital record. There is much to be said but I have challenged myself to be as brief as possible. So here goes my wrap-up of 2014 and my thoughts on the upcoming year.

A lot happened in my neck of the woods this year. Of course a lot happened to everyone all over the world. While I reflect on all these things, I have to remember how lucky I am despite the challenges I faced. Not once did I have to worry about my next meal. Not once did I wonder where I would be sleeping. Not once did I have to flee my home because of war and barbarism. Not once did I not feel loved and appreciated. There are millions in the world who are not so lucky. 2014 had challenges but in comparison to many, they were really not that big a deal even if they seemed to affect me greatly.

In 2014 I quit my job and started a new one. Also, Melissa and I decided we were tired of dealing with a big house and big yard and devised a plan to downsize. That meant cleaning up our big house and putting it on the market and finding a new place to live. Once we made that decision, we moved like lightning to execute our plan. With the help of our excellent Realtor, and because of Melissa's keen mind and sensibilities, and a great deal of elbow grease from our most generous friends,  we were able to move out of our big house and into an 8th floor condo in the city of Richmond rather quickly. And we love it!

Also in 2014, my dear old dad passed away. I have written a few times in this blog about my dad. I miss him a great deal. But I have missed him for several years. Dementia took my dad away from me little by little through the years. As his disease progressed, and he could no longer do all those things he loved to do, my sadness grew. Fortunately, my dad never got violent or went missing. He was gentle as always. But in the end, he could no longer do the things he used to be able to do including eat. Truly he was a skeleton when he finally gave up his last breath. And were it not for morphine, his pain would have been hard to bear. Like I said, I miss my dad and there are many things that remind me of him and make me smile or cry. When this happens, I let the emotions wash over me and let the sadness fill me. Thankfully, I have many pictures of him that help me remember his greatness and make me smile.  Here are just a few. Big shout out to my brother Erik for going through all the old photos and scanning them. It's a big job that everyone always talks about doing but Erik gets things done.

So in 2014 I got a new triathlon coach, started a new job, bought and sold a house, lost a close loved one, and completed several 5ks, a 10K,  a 15K, and 7 triathlons including Ironman Chattanooga which I finished in 11:45. Not bad at all. Busy, stressful but successful. Thankfully, I have Melissa as my number one supporter. I could not have gone through all of these events without her by my side, offering advice, always encouraging, always supporting, always chipping in to help, always available for hugs. Sharing all of the difficulties, stresses, and accomplishments with her is really a blessing. I am one of the luckiest people I know when you think about it. Thank you Melissa for always being there for me and with me as we make our way through our lives together.

What is in store for 2015? So far, I have decided on the events listed below. Likely there will be a few more running events thrown in for good measure. My goals are to get faster, PR or course, and come closer to the podium. Also, I am hoping to step up into the world of time trial bikes which will assist me with these goals. I started out the new year with a 5K time trial on the track and set a new PR of 19:11. Thanks to my coach Dave Luscan and thanks to the  Dalton team for their pacing and encouragement.

I have a few non-triathlon/fitness goals too. While my diet is pretty decent, I would like to improve it. More homemade juices, more vegetables, less toxins.  I think this year I would like to increase my charitable giving as well as my own investments. My dad did so much for the less fortunate. I would like to model some of that behavior.

2015 Events

April 11th-Crossover Ministries 15K
April 18th-Smithfield Sprint Triathlon
April 25th-RTC Sprint Triathlon
May 31st-Raleigh 70.3
June 27th-Blood Sweat and Gears Century
July 18th-Snake Bite Century
October 11th-Ironman Louisville

Happy New Year Bitches!

Post Ironman Fun

Last night, I traveled west from Richmond to Charlottesville to see the Adrian Belew Power Trio. I had seen this trio play twice in the not too distant past and was looking forward to an intimate show where Adrian would play songs from his long and storied solo career as well as songs from his days in 80's King Crimson. In addition to the trio, I have seen Adrian play in King Crimson three times, in the King Crimson Projekcts, and in his band The Bears. Important note, if you are going to talk about King Crimson these days, you have to differentiate between the various incarnations of the band. Adrian played in the "Elephant Talk" King Crimson, not in the "Larks' Tongues is Aspic" version of the band. I love it all to be honest, from the old to the new. 

As I winded down my work day yesterday before leaving for the show, I thought about what songs they might play. Would they do things like "Momur" or "Big Electric Cat?" Would he play "Pretty Pink Rose" or "Oh Daddy?" He would of course play some great Crimson ditties like "Heartbeat", "Frame by Frame", "Three of a Perfect Pair" and maybe "Neurotica". Just thinking about it all got me excited and I looked up Adrian's past performances on Youtube to wet my appetite. 

After I got off work, I drove the 1 hour to the show and got there around 8AM which was when the show was supposed to start. The venue was small and dark. A few minutes after 8, the opening act took the stage. A performer who simply goes by the name "Gull"  donned his weird mask and started playing a pretty weird, avant garde show. He was definitely talented, playing touch guitar with one hand while playing drums with his other hand. He somehow managed to throw down a funky beat with the kick drum, snare, and high hat all the while playing some nice riffs with his other hand. He used lots of technology to loop various noises that he made with his guitar and his voice. And while he sang a little, his voice was heavily processed and honestly, I could not make out one word. Through all the weirdness, I could tell that he was a very accomplished musician. The audience gave him enthusiastic cheers and hoots in between songs. While he played, they simply stared at him. Of course that is what you get at an Adrian Belew or King Crimson show. Lots of people simply staring, expressionless. I think most are musicians who are sort of studying the performance. Sure they will yell after the song is over. But most will simply gaze at the band with the occasional head bobbing. 

After Gull was done, they cleared off his equipment and brought in the guitars that Adrian would play. There was a lot of gear on the small stage including a Mac laptop that Adrian uses for God knows what. It did not take long for them to get all setup. I think it was about 9:15 when Adrian literally jumped on stage. He nodded his head, picked up his guitar and started the show.

Sure enough, he opened with "Momur". The tempo was quick and just as quickly as it had started, it was over. In fact, I thought to myself that he had skipped a verse. After "Momur" he played "Big Electric Cat." Then another song I did not recognize and then "Lone Rhino." I love the "Lone Rhino" album and was happy he was playing these songs. However, he played abbreviated versions of the songs. In fact, he did this all night. There were a few songs that were full length. Mostly his stuff that I am not as familiar. His longer pieces were mostly instrumental and involved lots of looping guitar licks that he would solo over or layer multiple riffs over one another. No doubt he rocked out, but I did not enjoy the abbreviated versions of the songs. He did not disappoint in his song choices. He played some great 80s King Crimson songs and Dinosaur which I believe is a 90s King Crimson song. Dinosaur was really well executed and throughout the show, Adrian's solos were full of bendy greatness. And the drumming and bass playing were some of the best you will ever hear. 

However, I was a little disappointed in the performance. Like I said, the songs were abbreviated and there were a few technical glitches here and there. Adrian made a few mistakes which he drew attention to with his facial expressions and the occasional swear.  He songs ended abruptly and there seemed to be some residual noise after each song. I think the electronic noise between songs was intentional, sort of a short interlude between the songs. But I thought it distracted from the experience. As the show when on, audience members obviously were not sure when certain songs were actually over. The cheers and shouts would be delayed while everyone tried to figure out if the odd noises were part of the song or not. The best way to tell if the song was over was when Adrian would grab his towel and wipe the sweat off his body and guitar.

I am sure that the tour will improve as it goes. Adrian said before the show that we were the guinea pigs as they sorted out a few operational details. The band did rock for sure but the transitions were a little sloppy and the shortened songs were not to my liking. Had he done a true medley I think I would have enjoyed that more. I don't think I have ever left a show early but since I had a long drive back home and a couple of busy days in front of me, I left about 3 or 4 songs early. I could see the set list on the stage. As I drove home, I had to evaluate whether the show was worth the $30 plus parking and gas money. On the one hand, all three members of the Adrian Belew Power Trio are excellent musicians and can really rock. On the other hand, Adrian seemed nervous and the show was a little sloppy. I am sure the tour will improve as it progresses across the county but for me, I am going to say that the show was okay. Not excellent, not terrible. Was it worth the trip and money? Well, it was a nice change from my usual routine of sleep, eat, work, train. But overall, I think I am done trying to go to shows unless they are truly economical or convenient. So I guess the answer to my question is a qualified yes. 

Ironman Chattanooga Race Report

It only happened once and it really only lasted for a few seconds. I had a negative thought. "I am not going to do this again. I am tired." Fortunately, I know how to deal with negative thoughts. I pushed it aside. I thought of my brother John and his stoicism. I thought of my Dad who was no longer with us. I thought how lucky I was to be alive and able to push my body. I thought of Melissa and my friends who were there to cheer me on. By thinking of all these positive people and things, I was able to push the negative thinking out of my head. And that was good. Because the hard part was yet to come.

Here are a couple of pictures I use during the race to fight negative thinking. I carry these pictures in my head.

John learning to walk

Inspiring Smile

Ironman Chattanooga starts with a downstream super easy swim. At least it was for this inaugural event. Unfortunately, there was no way to warm up before the swim. Our first order of business after body marking and putting nutrition on our bikes was waiting in line for the busses that would take us to the swim start. I sat next to an older Japanese man on the bus. He asked me if this was my first Ironman. I told him it was number three for me. Then he told me this would be his 20th Ironman and that he was a 16 hour guy.

The swim was a rolling swim start that had us all lined up, sitting down, waiting. I really did not like sitting and standing around before the race. As luck would have it, I ran into a friend who I was able to hang out with so at least that made me a bit more comfortable. Normally, I would swim for a while before the race to get my mind and body warmed up and prepared to race. For this race, once it was time to race, we ran down the ramp, jumped into the water and started swimming.

The current was fast. Interestingly enough, a strong current favors slower swimmers more than fast swimmers. I did not know that going into the race. But afterwards, my coach explained it in a misunderstood Facebook comment that enlightened me and made me understand how the entire dynamics of a race can be changed based on the swim conditions.

I am not a fast swimmer. But I am also not slow. I put in lots of work in the pool to prepare for Ironman and while I might not be fast, I am persistent and consistent. Since the swim was so short, I did not get to reap the fruit of my labor as much as I might have in a lake swim. But I have come to love swim training and am very happy that I put in as much swimming as I did. I plan to continue to work on my swim so I can improve my speed and endurance. To me, having a strong swim is a great foundation. When I come out of the water, I don't want to feel as if I have survived the swim. I want to feel like I crushed it and am ready to charge into the changing tent, have a quick transition, and move right onto the bike.

Once I was finished with the 2.4 mile float down the river, I ran up the steps leading out of the water to a wall of sound. There were so many spectators lining the swim-out chute. Where did they all come from? It was quite amazing to see and hear everyone cheering us on. The cheering and attention made me feel special and it made me run faster into transition. I ran up the steep carpet covered ramp with vigor, passing several people who were struggling with the ascent. One thing that lots of hours in the pool does for you is help you with the transition from swimming to the run into T1. Some people get a bit wobbly when they get out of the water. I was the same way when I first started in the sport. But all my training had prepared me well and I scooted up the ramp with ease.

Here are a couple of Pros running from the water towards T1

 



Once in T1, I grabbed my bike bag, made my way to the changing tent and changed as quickly as I could. I had a faster transition than my last Ironman for sure. I have dropped a couple of things from my gear so that I have less to deal with. I used to wear a cycling "do rag" and cycling gloves. No longer. I don't need them and dealing with them adds time to my transition. In the end, I had a 6:30 T1 which, for a middle of the pack age grouper like myself, is decent. There are plenty of people who were quicker but I was by no means the slowest.

Once on the bike, it was time to enjoy a very fast ride out of town. Typically the swim portion of Ironman greatly spreads out the athletes in the water which in turn spreads everyone out on the bike course. Because of the nature of the swim course, this did not happen at IMTN. There were so many bikers crunched together on the course, it was virtually impossible to follow the rules. In Ironman, there is no drafting and riders need to keep a distance equal to four bike lengths between each other. It is up to each rider to maintain this distance. Passing is permitted of course but you have 20 seconds to complete the pass. Otherwise, you have to drop back out of the draft zone. The course was so packed, that was impossible. While there was a speed advantage due to the drafting, there were also plenty of times where I found myself looking for space on the course. This caused me to surge here and there to get in front of some of the packs so I could ride at the pace I wanted. I probably over cooked the first loop because of all the leap frogging I did with various people.

Once I went through special needs and onto the second loop, things had finally thinned out a bit. By then, I was already starting to fade. The second loop was much harder than the first.  I looked at the bike splits for my friends and it looks like everyone struggled in the same places that I did. I did a lot more coasting on the second loop and my average speed was slower. But I still felt pretty good. My legs were not hurting, I was getting plenty of nutrition, and best of all my butt did not feel terrible.

Before I continue on to the rest of my riveting story, I have to tell you about the "Sabotage on Hog Jowl Road." Apparently some locals thought it would be funny to scatter tacks and motor oil on the road. Fortunately for me, I made it through unscathed. But many people were not so lucky. I saw at least 20 people on the side of the road changing flat tires. That is way more than normal. Usually you see one or two people here and there with flats. Twenty to thirty is very unusual. I did not think much of it until another rider asked me what I thought and suggested sabotage. After the race, Ironman confirmed the sabotage. Some people just really suck.

That last 20 miles of the bike course was tough. Not because there were giant hills or anything. I had simply been out there 5+ hours and was getting fatigued. I think I did well with my nutrition although I did not drink as much Perform as I usually do. The Perform they had on the bike course was so sickly sweet and did not taste the same as the Perform I had used in training. I don't think I could have done anything differently with my nutrition that would have prevented my fade except maybe drink more Perform. Likely I slightly overcooked the first 30 miles of the course. My average speed for the last 20 miles was much slower than any of my other splits. But I rallied on the way back into town and was excited to move onto my strength, running.

Racing an Ironman is great fun. After completing the 116 mile bike ride, I jumped off my bike and handed it to a volunteer. At Ironman events, the volunteers rack the bike for you in T2 which is a nice luxury. I ran through the rows and rows of bags, hoping that I did not already run by my bag. My mind was not exactly sharp at that point and I had a feeling of uncertainty as I trotted through the rows of red bags looking for mine. I finally spotted it and grabbed it up and ran into the changing tent for a quick transition. Running shoes-check. Visor-check. Bike gear back in run bag-check. Quick trip to the porta potty- double check. What a relief. And I was off.

Here are a couple of shots of the rows of run bags I ran through to pick up mine plus a close up of my bag.

 

The run-out chute was jammed with screaming spectators. I heard and saw Melissa which always makes me smile. And I saw my good friends Jon and Meredith as well. My friend Sally saw me and started running along the fence and cheering. I got a chuckle out of that which is a great way to begin the marathon. Relaxed, feeling good.

During the bike leg, I was passed by a fair amount of riders. Not as many as in the past but still a large number. Also the swim was a rolling start and there were several hundred people in front of me in the line when we started the swim. My division (men 45-49) rank on the swim was 190 out of 274 finishers. On the bike, I was 176 out of 274 finishers. All of this means there were a lot of people on the run course in front of me. It was time to do something about that.

Once on the run course, I immediately starting passing people. I was running strong and maybe running a little too fast. But I was determined to catch some people who I knew were in front of me. For the first 8 miles I ran a 8:26 pace. At one point in the first few miles, a woman ran past me. I looked at her calf to see her age group and it said, "P". At first I did not know what that meant. Then I realized she was a pro, likely on her second lap. She still had a ways to go to finish so she may have been one of the many unfortunate ones to suffer the wrath of the sabotage on Hog Jowl Road. I decided to pick up the pace and run with her. After all, I do these races for fun and what is more fun then running off the shoulder of a pro? We were running pretty fast and she could hear me breathing and shot me an icy stare over her shoulder. She looked a bit perplexed.  After just a few minutes, I backed off and let her go. But I kept her in my sights for a while until I hit an aid station.

Typically I walk through the aid stations so I can adequately refuel and cool off. I grabbed several ice cold sponges at each aid station and tucked them into my jersey right over my heart. I would run with those in my jersey for a while and then as I approached the next aid station, I would take them out and wring them out onto my head and down my stomach. I mostly drank water, Perform, and coke at the aid stations. That is, until I started burping up gross Perform bile. Then I simply stuck to coke and water. This strategy worked for the first 2/3rds of the race.

It was about mile 16 where I started to have doubts and started to fade. I was able to quickly push those doubts out of my mind but I was starting to lose my mojo. Miles 17 to 20 were mentally tough. I did not really like that part of the course. We were running in the shoulder and while it was flat, it was a junky part of the course. Cars would wiz by honking their horns and cheering. The honking was more annoying to me than helpful. I finally made it to the Veterans bridge and made my way across. Of course I knew that the hills on the other side of the bridge would be waiting. I had run up them the first loop. I was not sure I could do that on the second.

Sure enough, I hit the hill and had to walk. I did get a spark from seeing Melissa and my friends on the hill. It was the last time I would see them until the finish. I tried to soak in their cheers but I was struggling. I finally crested the hill and started rolling down the hill. I run pretty fast downhill typically and tried to gain back some of the time I lost walking up the hill. Even my downhill running was much slower than on the first loop. My energy was waning. Looking back, I think I could have done better with my run nutrition. Next time I do an Ironman (next October in Louisville, Kentucky), I am going to experiment with taking in some bananas on the run. This time around, when I stopped to walk through the aid stations, I found my breathing to be elevated and walked much longer than the first time through. Lesson learned I think.

After walking up almost all the hills in the last 6 miles, I was finally crossing the Tennessee river for the last time. There was a gradual incline on the walking bridge and I was so cooked that I had to walk some of that. But once I crested the bridge, I knew I only had a little ways to go so I picked it up and hammered it home. There was a nice downhill section into the finish line chute. Somehow I always find one more gear at the end of these races. I was able to pick up the pace and pass several people in the last 200 yards of the run. And while most people slow down for their finishing picture with their hands in the air, I just ran. I love to run and this was the time to do it. For me, that is the way to finish.  No fancy dance, no rituals, just running hard through the finish line.

It was a hard fought run and I missed my run goal by about 8 minutes but was still pleased with my overall performance. 1:01:24 swim, 6:25:40 bike, and 4:08:08 run. Add in 6:30 for T1 and 4:57 for T2 and my total time on the day was 11:46:39. I had beat my goal of 12 hours and was pleased. I also learned some things about how I could do better the next time around.

Since the race, I have done one very short swim and an easy 2 hour bike ride. My knee is bothering me from the race and I am working on rehabbing that now. I hope to be able to some 5Ks over the next month. Of course, I have already started looking towards next season and have done some tentative planning.

I have lots of people to thank for helping me reach my fitness and racing goals. First and foremost is my genius wife who supports me in everything I do. We both train and race. That can sometimes takes its toll. But with Melissa, it is so easy. We look out for each other and work well together. We have had over 20 years of practice. We are pretty darn good at being married.

I also have to thank all my friends who came out and cheered. It was great to see you all on the course. It still amazes me the power a friends smile or shout of encouragement. Thank you all!

Thanks to all my training partners, JJJ and BOTRBOTL. Thanks to Meredith and Jill for their support throughout the season. Thanks to Jon Cencich for all his encouragement and straight talk.

Finally, I have to give a big shout out to Dave Luscan at DLMultisports. It has been a real joy working with Dave this past season and I am looking forward to continuing to work on my triathlon goals with him. Dave is extremely knowledgeable about all things triathlon. He is quick to offer advice on gear, training, attitudes and anything else related to the sport. Dave is grounded in science and if there is data available to guide training decisions, you can guarantee Dave has analyzed and interpreted the data. It would be an understatement to say that I liked his approach. Thanks for a great season Dave!

Thanks for reading. Comments appreciated.