IMMoo 2010

Overall Ironman Wisconsin was a great experience. I decided to do this race last year after getting involved with the USAFA Triathlon team. Each year the Academy sends a dozen or so cadets to race in IMMoo. How could I turn down the opportunity to represent the AF. I volunteered to haul the bikes up from Colorado so my adventure began five days prior to the race. The venue is well coordinated dispite the logistical challenge of the convention center and the parking garage. Our transition times were quite lengthy, but in the end everyone's faced with the same challenge. After deciding to start conservatively, the swim was pretty much uneventful. I actually decided to ease up at times throughout the swim, thinking my time was going to be slightly slower. After hitting the shore in 1:01 I gained some confidence heading up the helix. Ten minutes into the bike I had my first issue of the day; defective aerobars. I'm not too impressed with the Vuka extensions and elbow pads. The extensions came loose and floated around the entire ride. Nothing more frustrating then trying to shift and the shifter is upside down. The biggest mistake I made all day was the first half of the bike. After feeling pretty good in the swim, I bit off more than I could chew with the first loop. Cruising along at about a 4:45 pace I hit a wall between 50-70. After posting a 5:04, I was ready to get off the bike and start running. I began the marathon with Daniel (in photo) and ran the entire run with him. Daniel is a Swiss Army ER Doctor, who left for Iraq several days after the race for Humanitarian work. Daniel made this Ironman the most memoriable one I've had out of the nine I've done. I truly enjoyed our time together, especially miles 7-11 where I bonked pretty hard. After whoofing down several hundred calories I began to perk up although my left knee began to give out. Typically this type of discomfort would have affected my gait and slowed my pace; however, the SpiderTech Spider I was wearing gave me just enough support where I was able to maintain the same pace. My confidence grew throughout the remainder of the marathon. I was able to finish strong with a sub-7 minute pace for the last four miles. I finished in 24th place (9th amateur out of 2550) with a time of 9:37 (1:01 / 5:04 / 3:23). Now it's time to relax for several days before getting back on the horse. Kona...T-minus 24 days and counting...

Approach to IM Training

After listening to Craig Alexander discuss his total weekly mileage during a podcast interview, I started to scour the Internet for information pertaining to Ironman training volume. I am simply amazed by the drastic spectrum of approaches to training. Based on some of my recent findings, I elected to inquire about Michael Weiss' training during our group ride today. At first I was a little hesitant to ask him questions, mainly because this is their livelihood and some may be gun shy to divulge their secrets; however, Weiss was more than willing and very candid about his training. Several elements to his approach to training surprised me. First off was the swim frequency and volume he does on a weekly basis; six swims a week with a total hovering around 20+ miles! With a mountain biking background, Weiss has spent the last two years learning how to swim. In order to compete at that level he needs to drop his swim by another five minutes or so, according to Weiss. He also mentioned he does mostly longer sets (300s, 400s, etc...) with shorter rest intervals and does not spend too much time doing sets of repeat 50s/100s where most of us thrive. Other components to his training that amazed me was his approach to running. Weiss only runs about 40 miles a week. However, these miles are all quality to include a weekly track workout (repeat 400s, 800s, etc...). His longest run is 2:30 (18ish miles) max at an average pace of 7:00. For those of you familiar with the Santa Fe Trail, Weiss runs north from downtown Colorado Springs towards the Academy which is slightly up hill. The flat miles are around 6:30 pace whereas the hilly miles are a bit slower. After he noticed I was a bit shocked Weiss added that Andy Potts does not go over 1:45 for his long run when training for an Ironman. Weiss also stated that he has a fairly deep background in cycling and continues to focus on the bike in order to improve his overall endurance and strength. Now I know most of us mere mortals cannot transcribe their training directly into what we do and expect miracles. We simply do not have the genes, aptitude, resources, nor the time to reach a fraction of their level, but there are functions of their approach to training that can definitely enhance our abilities. This has definitely made me question my approach to training. With my weekly run volume between 50-60 miles, I'm definitely going to reconsider the frequency, quality, and volume of my workouts... Michael Weiss was very forthcoming and patient and I appreciate his generosity. Although we will never reach comparable achievements, when can be inspired to pursue and attain that next PR.

Check Your Ego at the Door...

"They'll always be someone higher up the food chain then you..." That's definitely how I felt today. Training has been going pretty good over the last few weeks as I prepare for IMMoo and Kona. This week I covered 350 miles on the bike, 66 on the run, and swimming...well, let's just say I've got some work to do in the pool. Friday was my long bike (120 miles) and yesterday was my long run (23 miles). Today was scheduled as a recovery brick (50/10). I knocked out the 10 mile run early this morning and then headed out for an easy 50 at a comfortable pace. That's where I had a conflict with my ego. For those of you who've ridden in Colorado Springs, you might be familiar with the Air Force Academy loop. I live and breathe on these grounds; whether it's for work or training, I'm somewhere within the 18,000 acres of this instillation. On Sunday's there's also a group ride that starts downtown and head's North to complete the Academy loop. I decided to meet up with "said" group in order to minimize the boredom of riding alone. Once I made my rejoin, I realized I was surrounded by some serious talent. In attendance was Danny Pate of Garmin Transition, Michael Weiss (IM St George winner), and several top USOC residential triathletes. So much for taking it easy. One of these days my old age is going to influence my decision making process... The first sprint wasn't even a contest. Several miles prior to the theoretical finish I decided to push the pace, mainly because no one was taking the initiative. Weiss immediately responded (something he was waiting for I assume) and so did Danny Pate. This quickly thinned the herd to a half dozen. The paceline continued to work together until about 1 mile from the finish. That's when Weiss and Pate walked away from the rest of us. I hung on to third, however, I had taxed my stores beyond what was planned. Besides, we still had several healthy climbs to conquer. At the finish of the flat sprint we gathered once again as a peloton and headed up the first long climb (2+miles of 1200' elevation gain). This time I was a little more conservative and sucked wheel from Weiss and Pate until I couldn't hang anymore. Those two simply walked away from the rest of us without any disregard for our well being. That left the OTC guys (Joe Umphenour and another guy who is top 10 in the world for 70.3) and myself to battle for third. We traded pulls until the last few hundred meters where I decided to test my limits once again. This time I was a little more successful (although I'm sure they had several more gears left with approaching races in the coming weeks). We gathered as a group (40 riders) once again and headed around the backside of the loop for a dramatic 3 mile descent. I worked my way to the front and watched as Weiss took off. Once again, with an ego of an eighteen year old, I sprinted after him in hopes of holding on. I reached his back wheel and hung on for dear life. We worked together to separate from everyone else as we reached speeds of 50 mph. I was on my TT bike so I had no problems taking my turn at the front. As we reached a long straight section of the descent I noticed we were actually gaining a little on an SUV several hundred feet in front of us. My only chance to achieve success! I stood and sprinted with everything I had left, trying to close the gap. This apparently caught Weiss off guard and he was unable to respond in time because God know's he would have crushed me otherwise. The SUV dragged me down most of the hill and I could see behind me that the group was closing the gap on Weiss, led by Pate. At this point I considered myself a cheater and sat up to wait for Weiss. I knew it was going to be a close sprint finish at the bottom of the hill between Weiss (breakaway) and the peloton (led by Pate). As I waited for Weiss to close the gap on me I started to accelerate to see if I could provide any pull prior to being swallowed up by the peloton. I maybe gave Weiss a 5 second pull before I completely blew up. The sprint once again was between Weiss and Pate with us stragglers hanging on. At this point I rode a few more miles with the group before I had to turn around and head home. Unfortunately I had to cut my ride down a few miles because I was completely destroyed and had nothing left. The lesson I learned from today's experience is that training for Ironman's can be a lonely business and any confidence you develop can quickly be put into check when surrounded by a more dominant species. Training continues...

I had mixed feelings about Ironman St George. It had been over five years since my last Ironman and I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm a little bit older and my opportunities to workout had diminished three-fold with the addition of my children; something I cherish each and every day. However, I was soon to discover that my time management skills quickly became the critical feature to achieving the desired effects. After moving to Colorado Springs last year, training in the cold was something I wasn't accustom to. I was determined to put in the miles despite several minor injuries that delayed my running fitness during the winter months. It was finally time to put up or shut up.
The venue was beautiful. I had spent the last seven years in the Southwest so the landscape was a pleasant reunion. With the swim 15 miles to the east of town, careful planning was required in order to accommodate for the lack of easy accessibility to gear and support peeps. The swim was a one lap course held in a sand Hollow reservoir. The water temp was in the mid-50's so wetsuits were a necessity. The swim was a deep water start. However, a majority of athletes elected to remain on the shore at the gun. This alleviated the standard thrash that typically accompanies the first ten minutes. It was fairly easy to get into a groove early on. Chop was minor so sighting posed no issue throughout the swim. Based on my training being limited to the Air Force Academy pool, I surprisingly had no issues with the water temps. With a friend manning the medical tent, Keith later reported that 80+ individuals received care and most withdrew do to hypothermia. I finished the swim up in 1:03+ which is typically an average time for me.
T1 was well coordinated and execution was very smooth, even though the changing tent was a zoo. I guess that's one of the negative aspects to being an average swimmer. Even though there was a chill in the air, embarking on the bike leg is always a welcomed transition. It was time to get to work. The first section of the bike was a true confidence builder. Despite a few minor short climbs the first 20 miles back into and through town, the course was relatively fast (24+ average). Much talk preceded the race about the difficulty of the bike course, however, if this was any indication of what to expect I was more than ready. Unfortunately I was sadly mistaken. After making the first turn towards the north around mile 20, it was apparent that the overall terrain was going to be a gradual ascent. To add salt to the wound, the surface itself was fairly rough and the winds were predominately out of the north. Things were definitely not in our favor anymore. This was mounting into a potential textbook detonation of monumental portions. I attempted to sit back and try to relax as much as possible, however, I have a difficult time showing any type of restrain. To make matters worse, the windy roads before us led up through what appeared to be a canyon. This naturally formed flume created a wind tunnel affect, forcing that extra bit of wind velocity to tame any attempt to develop momentum. It was a continuous grind, concluding with a minor, yet lactate overloading, switchback where any positive unit of speed was a good thing. Upon reaching the summit, and yes I am classifying it as a “summit”, the clouds parted and all elements rapidly turned in favor of any tested athlete still generating energy to move forward. The roads were smooth; winds were now in our favor, and the uncontainable grin-producing descent lay before us. Out of the eight Ironman’s I’ve completed, I can honestly say this specific downhill is the only descent I have actually used my brakes on. After taking a quick glance at my computer, it took a moment for the “58” to register. I immediately thought of my wife and kids and decided it would be best to work for any additional speed somewhere else on the course. Although, tapping 60+ would have been epic, my mortality engulfed my consciousness and thought better of my risky behavior. This dramatic shift in my perspective of the course quickly took another dramatic plunge once I made the transition to lap number two. Rinse and repeat, minus the desired levels of energy. This was the first true test of my motivation during the race and unfortunately my positive attitude took a short recess. To make matters worse, the first and only biker to pass me all day was a Navy triathlete! This was absolutely unacceptable. At that point I bit the bullet and began the long grind up the canyon, maintaining a draft-legal close proximity to my fellow service member. I owe some credit to my sailor buddy because he helped me get through the mentally challenging section of my race. I was able to rebuild a healthy gap on Navy as I continued to drudge through the rest of the bike course. Out of the numerous courses I’ve had the pleasure to ride, there’s nothing like finishing the bike leg in a descent (Canada, St George, and Austria). The last mile into T2 was rejuvenating. There’s something about crowds, speed, and a computer riding 111 that makes it inspirational.
I knew I was somewhere between 10th and 20th but I wasn’t quite sure how I’d hold up on the run based on a recent run-in with a cell phone laden driver, thus the catalyst to my recent adoption by PowerTri courtesy of Jameson. Thanks to the charitable and persistent generosity of Jameson I was able to procure some KT Tape. During the Expo I caught wind that the athletes at the PowerTri booth were giving away free samples. After being struck by a clueless driver on a cell phone, I sustained a minor ankle injury four days prior the race. The injury was annoying enough to pursue some type of stability support. I had used KT Tape on previous injuries, but had no clue where I was going to procure tape this late in the game. After approaching Jameson he diligently worked hard to hunt down a previous customer whom he donated a sample to. After numerous phone calls and several trips out of town in an attempt to find her Condo, I met my Ironman guardian angel, Julia Van Cleave. Julia graciously gave me her KT Tape as long as I earned a Kona slot. Pressure was on…to be continued.

With Ironman St George only six days away, the family is anxious to get on the road. However, school continues to be a psychological road block, especially with six papers left to write before the end of the semester. I constantly struggle with current professional priorities on a daily basis. Although I absolutely love my current schedule and pace of life, I am not an academic student. I still have aspirations of grandeur, something bigger than myself, my career. I frequently come across stories like Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old California girl who's attempting to circumnavigate the world solo. How can one not be inspired or motivated to do something great? Last summer I spent some time in Salida, CO doing some training and met a gentlemen by the name of Dan Cook who ventured through the Heart of America on a 3,700 mile solo rowing journey in an effort to raise awareness and funding for disabled veterans. I am constantly amazed by their selflessness and compassion for others.