2 weeks

Me, my bike, and Ironman

It's been an interesting week. Home sick with the stomach flu for a few days of it. Finally started to feel a little better on Friday. Was able to get in 3k in the pool, all of it really easy. We then took off to Bend as we had some wedding stuff to attend to. I got up early and went out for my long ride of the week Saturday morning. I originally had another century on tap, but with the way I had been feeling lately we had decided to do this ride based on feel. So if I was feeling absolutely great, then maybe I would go the full 5 to 6 hours. If still feeling like crap, well then I would go an hour. You see, it doesn't really matter at this point. I mean it does, but it doesn't matter like you think it does. Going out and hammering a 6 hour ride 3 weeks before IMC isn't going to help me go faster. Getting sick again by doing this well most certainly help me go slower though!

So I set off from our hotel room and headed up Century drive towards Cascade Lakes hwy and Mt. Bachelor. I didn't feel great. Muscles were tired, low motivation, etc. I could tell I was still recovering from being sick. So I took it very easy, spinning up the hill. Despite this I was flying by people heading up the climb which made me feel great. I crested the summit and headed down the back side to Elk Lake where I turned around. I climbed back up to the summit again and then back to the hotel room. Overall I felt pretty good about the ride considering my current health. The thing I was most happy about is that my asthma (knock on wood!!) has yet to be impacted!

While on the ride, my bike and I had a few conversations. I told her she needs to go fast in 3 weeks. She told me she would. I thanked her for going hard at IMAZ, but asked why she was so slow at Boise 70.3? She laughed at me and told me to be smarter in my training and not race sick. I had to admire my bike at that moment. Not only is she worth more than me, but she was talking smarter than me to :) So we made a deal, I told her I would be smart the next 3 weeks and taper like a champ. I even committed to riding a strategic race in Canada, including not hammering out to Osoyoos or up Richter. In turn, she committed to a strong second half of the bike and promised my legs would be good for the marathon.

Let me tell you, it's good to have friends in this sport :) Thanks for reading,

-T

Well, I'm home sick today. Second day in a row. I caught some kind of stomach bug. I will spare the details, but let's just say I probably won't have a problem losing those few lbs that I was after :) The good news is my airway does not seem to be compromised at this point. This is always my biggest concern when I get sick as my airway typically gets inflamed and racing, well it's like trying to do an Ironman with a bag over your head. So...hopefully this bug leaves and I'm good to go. This was my last week of heavy work before entering into taper which means I'm just getting a little extra rest which is never a bad thing for an Ironman competitor!! I have a long bike scheduled for Saturday and a long run scheduled for Sunday, but I will change these as needed based on how I'm recovering from the illness.

There are so many doubts that enter your mind as you prepare for the big race of the season. The nice thing about this being my second Ironman is that I've had all the doubts before. I know there is nothing I can do in the next 3 plus weeks to race better at Canada...except for rest. Honestly, I could go out and do what I did last year 3 weeks before Arizona...a 112 mile tough ride with lots of pacing work, followed by a 7 mile run at sub 8min pace. Actually, it was the 3k pool time the day before and the 20 mile run the day after all added together that killed me. I had to face the facts...hammering out large workouts like that so close to the big race will do nothing but elevate the risk of illness. So this year I have been smarter. I've still been getting in these key workouts, but not in a row, and not so close to my race. Did I get sick this time due to training? Probably not, but my immune system was definitely not as strong as normal as I was in my final big training block leading into taper.

So the morale to this story is I have learned from my mistakes last year. I will not go out and hammer a 110 mile ride on Saturday and then back it up with a 20 mile run at a pace faster than what I intend to run at Penticton just to prove that I can do these things. I know I can. I already have...many times over the past 6 months. So as I retire the computer to take another nap, I'm content with where I am and confident that I will still reach my goals at the end of this month in Canada. Thanks for reading,

-T

Good Days

It's been a little while since I have posted anything. To be honest, I've been so tired from work and training lately that I haven't had the energy to sit down and blog. This past week was a pretty good training week. Not too heavy during the week as last week ended with some big efforts on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was supposed to be an 18 mile run last week and it ended up turning into a 20+ miler with over 2k of elevation gain. That wiped me out for the rest of the day. But, I ran strong and felt OK during the entire effort, even when I got lost! My run feels good right now. I can easily run 7:45 to 8min pace on a hilly course (see elevation gain above) on my 15 to 20 mile runs. My goal going into Canada is to be able to run sub 3:45 for the run. I believe I'm in position to do this now.

This past week has flown by. Before I knew it, Meghan and I were having a cocktail Friday night. I met a friend Saturday morning for my long ride. He had 60 on tap for the day, so we rode a hilly course together for 60 and then I went back out for another 40 on more flat terrain concentrating on pacing and staying in the aero position 5+ hours into a ride (not as easy as you think because everything starts to get sore!). I felt good about the ride. Erich is at different level than me so it was good to ride with him and push myself a little harder. I got off the bike and put my runners on for a quick 4 mile transition run. I felt great. The rest of Saturday was nice. We had a date night, so it was a nice meal out on the waterfront and then we saw the movie Inception.

This morning Jeremy and I headed out for 14 miles of running back up on the Leif Erickson trial. I was pretty sore from the last few weeks of heavy training and yesterday's effort. We ran pretty well. We averaged 8 min/miles for run while holding a conversation for most of it. Again, the elevation gain was nice! 1200ft in fact. So there is the skinny on the training update. Speaking of skinny...I still have a few lbs left to lose before IMC. I've really been trying to work on my nutrition lately and hopefully it will pay off with me dropping a little. I eat a lot so it's tough...especially with eating out a lot for work, but a few extra lbs can really make a difference. The only other thing I've been working on is my sleep. Got 10 hours of it last night. It was marvelous! Well, that's about it. 4 weeks to go. Game on.

-T

The final push

Well, IMC is nearly here. 5 weeks left until I toe the line up in Penticton. I don't know quite what to feel as the event gets closer. I feel like my training program has been solid all year, I just haven't always been terrific at following all aspects of it. There have been so many interruptions this year compared to last year. Which is weird since last year was such a tough year. Although this year has been nuts! A job transfer, a move, becoming a land lord, working harder than I have in a long time, oh...and a little thing called a wedding that is upcoming. Actually 6 days post Ironman to be exact.

From a fitness standpoint, I feel as fit as I ever have. I think I wrote up a good training program for this year which required me to get a lot of early season cycling miles and have a solid run focus in the spring. I am disappointed about getting sick prior to Boise 70.3 as I feel like I was ready to put a very fast time on the board. The only discipline I don't feel great about is my swimming as I have neglected to make many early morning workouts due to work and life constraints, but I had the fastest split the other weekend at Hagg so I guess that is coming around as well. But none of that matters. Pentiction is what matters this year. So I have just over two more weeks of large training volume and then I will ease into a 3 week taper for the big dance.

This past week has been an interesting training week. It started out slow as I was just totally wiped out. So I backed off on one session and cancelled another. I then woke up this morning to get in my 6hr ride. I did the same course as last week. Out to and then up Larch Mountain. It takes me almost 2.5 hours to get to the bottom of Larch so it's a perfect distance away for Ironman simulation. This week my Dad met me at the bottom and he started up the mountain ahead of me. I gave him a ten minute start and then took off. I started this time at Women's Forum instead of just at the turn off to the mountain. I had a pretty good ride up. My legs were pretty sore from some intense training lately and the temperature was damn near triple digits out. My goal was to better my time from last week of 73 minutes. I was able to make it up in 70 minutes, and that included the extra 60 seconds or so it takes to get to the base from Women's Forum. I was very pleased with this effort.

So in 5 weeks I will be sitting in my rental house in Penticton wondering what tomorrow will hold. Will I be able to stay with the lead pack on the swim? Will I be able to hold back on Richter enough to bring it on the Yellow Lake climb? Will my bike and run prep be enough to allow me to run the sub 3:45 I want on the marathon? Will I have a mechanical? And on and on and on it goes. But you know what? It doesn't matter. Give it everything you have and the outcome will take care of itself. That is my motto this year. Be smart, and be strong. The rest will take care of itself. Thanks for reading and enjoy some pics from our trip up Larch below.

-T

That's Mt. Hood from Sheppard's Point.

Not for you

A classic Pearl Jam song. Also the theme of this post. Triathlon, and Ironman in particular, is a very selfish sport. Just the other day I caught myself trying to answer a ton of pending wedding questions from the Mrs as I was trying to get out the door for an evening ride. I had to catch myself and slow down. Life is about family, not about a bike; or a run or a swim. That being said, I have a VERY supportive partner that understands my need to race right now. No matter how much one denies it, Ironman is very selfish. To finish an Ironman you must put in the training that takes you away from family and friends. To be competitive at Ironman, and triathlon in general, you must put in even more training that takes you away from family and friends. And then there is the recovery and additional sleep that is required and special nutrition, and on and on and on.

So the Pearl Jam song comes on as I'm pumping up a rather nasty climb that same night. "This is not for you." No "it's" not for anyone, but that being said, I involve others with me as I can or as they want. This is where the selfish part is a little different for me. Although I do this sport for me, I race for more than just me. I race for those that have inspired me. I race for those that have spent countless hours a day by themselves while I was out training. But there is still the ultimate question, when you are beyond pain and mental exhaustion, 8 or 9 hours into an Ironman...who do you race for? At this point, it has to be for me. But I have an Army with me. They love and support me. They make me stronger. Although it's me at mile 20 of the marathon, it's not me. It's me and my Army.

I set a PR of almost a minute on that climb. The song finished playing. I smiled knowing that Ironman Canada is just over 5 weeks away.

-T

Big Weekend

The final four big weeks leading into Ironman taper are upon me. Today is a long day, with a large amount of the day spent on the bike. Today I'm trying to mimic the course up at Canada. I will work my way out to Larch Mountain that is a fairly significant climb, think Richter Pass. Actually, Larch is a much longer climb, about 15 miles in total. Then I'll work my way down a descent and an out and back section before climbing back up a fairly significant climb, think Yellow Lakes. Then a nice descent before a final 20 miles into wind to finish. Should be brilliant.

I feel like things are coming together. My run is feeling solid and same with the swim. I need to get the time on the bike. Only 4 more weeks and taper starts. Every workout counts.


Thanks for reading!

-T

Hagg Lake Race Report

I've raced at Hagg Lake 3 out of the last 4 years. For those unfamiliar with this venue, it is rich in triathlon history. Many the founding fathers of our sport have raced Hagg Lake: Scott Tinley, Scott Molina, Mark Allen, etc. In preparing for Ironman Canada this year I wanted a race a little under two months out that would test my fitness, but not require me to take extra time off from training post race. Basically I needed a tough Olympic Distance to race. Hagg Lake was a logical choice. This past week in Oregon has been extremely hot and it appeared Saturday was going to be a bright and sunny day as well. The alarm went off early Saturday morning and Meg and I made our way out to the lake.

My goal going into the race was to swim hard, attack the bike, and see what kind of fitness I had left on the run. I wanted to go sub 2:20 on this challenging course. My PR was 2:23 so I thought this was a realistic goal. I got checked in quick enough and set up my transition. Had some interesting people sharing my bike rack, very interesting people! Anyways, made my way back down to the lake and put on my wetsuit.
I didn't realize there was an elite wave so I was starting in the second wave, just one minute later. Perfect, I love rabbits on the swim! 10, 9, 8, 7...1 and we were off. I quickly took charge at the front of the group and started to set a fast pace. We rounded the first buoy and I was already catching some of the elite group. I settled into a long, smooth swim stroke and tried to enjoy myself. As I rounded the the first lap, I put the pedal down a little to try and catch the final couple elites in front of me. I made the final turn and headed to shore. I had the fastest swim split overall at 20:57 although I think the overall winner of the race might have out split me but his timing chip didn't work on the swim portion.



I had one of the quickest transition of my career at 1:52, third fastest of the day from what I could see. Off to the bike, I was in second overall. Hagg Lake is one of the more challenging courses in the area. Two loops around the lake with some decent climbs on each loop. It is a very honest course. Small climb to get out of the boat ramp and then another climb to start the two loop section of the lake and I could tell something was wrong. I was really struggling to make the pedals turn and was passed by 2 or 3 people. I looked down and instantly saw my problem, my damn brake pad was forced up against my front wheel. I spent the next mile trying to fix while riding, losing precious time. I finally thought, this is insanity and pulled over. It probably took me 20 seconds to fix, but unfortunately lost time getting off and on the bike, plus the time messing around with it while trying to ride. I slowly started to get back into a rhythm and at the turnaround I could see the few people in front of me heading back. I was a few minutes down to the leaders. I will admit, I was pretty frustrated with myself, my goal was to split a 1:07, maybe 1:06 on this course, but in order to do that I knew I needed to be riding with these boys.

The second lap was routine. I gained speed and confidence on the second loop. I entered T2 in what I believe to be 9th place overall. My bike split was a disappointing 1:10:21, good enough for 23rd overall. My goal of a 1:06:30 would have put me at 10th overall. I believe the mechanical cost me between 60-120 seconds, but it's so hard to know.

Anyways, quick out of T2. 1:11, which was a little slower than I wanted, but I struggled pulling my shoes on for some reason. I quickly took off for the hilly 10k run. I quickly picked up my pace and thought I was going to have a decent run. After about 1/2 mile, my asthma told me it had different plans! Oh crap. I knew I wasn't fully healed from Boise one month ago, but I was pretty frustrated that I was still struggling with this. The run course is very hilly as well which is not good for me when I'm struggling with asthma. I'm much better on a course where I can set a pace and not have to move too much off this pace.
That being said, I made the turn back home with 5k left and was feeling ok. I had been passed by a 2 or 3 people and thought I was in 12th overall. I put my head down and continued on my 7:15 pace. There is one final nasty climb before you enter down into the finish area. I made it up that final climb and happily entered the finish chute. I checked my watch and knew I was going sub 2:20. I picked out Meg and my parents and gave some high fives before crossing the finish line. Run split was 45:08 (7:15 pace). Total Time = 2:19:29. This was good enough for 12th overall and 4th in my age group.


Overall, I feel good about the race. I was happy to have my swim back, felt ok about the run despite my lungs still healing, but was disappointed with my bike. The good news is I know what I need to work on for Canada. No problem. If I take out the mechanical, I'm still a few minutes from top 5 bike split which is where I feel like I should be riding. The thing I like about Ironman though, I don't have to worry about being a fast twitch guy (speed guy). I mean you have to be fast, for example my goal on the bike at IMC is to average 21.5 which would get me in around 5:10 to 5:15 for my bike split. I entered the season with a goal of going sub 5 for my split at IMC, but not sure that is realistic. We'll see, so much can change in two months, especially with a solid taper. Anyways, I enjoy the longer distance where you can get into a rhythm and the race becomes a battle of fitness and mental strength. Very much looking forward to Canada next month. Thanks for reading!!

-T

Happy 4th!!

First off, Happy Independence Day to everyone out there! I'm happy to report that I'm having a great 3 day weekend. It started out yesterday with a solid 5.5 hour ride, followed immediately by a 25 minute run. I felt strong throughout the entire day, pushing the pace whenever I could. My lungs have pretty much healed from Boise. They are not 100%, but fairly close. I could tell this weekend that it continues to get better. Off to bed last night to be woken up at 4:30 by our alarm clock...Meghan's first half marathon was this morning!!

A friend picked us up and we were off. For me, it was all fun. I had a few new jobs: pacer, pack mule, and motivator. My goal was to try and help Meg get under 2 hours. I wore my Garmin, but after a mile or two I didn't need it. After a slow start where I had to hold her back a few times, we were dialed in to an 8:45 pace. I ran ahead to each aid station and refilled empty bottles in my fuel belt and then handed those off to Meg. I can't express how much fun the day was for me! I watched her enter into a dark place around 10 miles but she never wavered. In fact, her last two miles were her fastest 2 miles. Talk about finishing strong!! As we came around the final bend I had an enormous smile on my face as I reflected on everything she had done to overcome injuries to just get to the start line. To then execute the perfect race and come in at, wait for it, 1:56:29...well heck, she smashed it today!!

My parents were there to celebrate with. We told a few stories and then I put my fuel belt back on and headed back out on the course to find our friend Jess who had driven us over. She was doing the full marathon. I found her about 2 miles from the finish line and ran with her to the finish. Again, it was great to take on this new challenge of pacing. I thoroughly enjoyed helping Meg reach her goal. Not only did I get in my long run of 17 miles, but I got to be a part of her magical day :)

Next week will be my first race since Boise. I will be racing the Olympic Distance at Hagg Lake in Forest Grove. I'm excited to see where my fitness is. This is a great race to test your fitness as it is one of the more challenging Olympic races within the NW. An honest course which includes two loops of the lake on the bike with a few decent climbs, and a run that includes two of those hills. Until then, I will continue to put up some decent volume numbers and continue to execute an effective build for Ironman Canada. Thanks for reading,

-T

IMCDA, chasing my dream...

Well, it's official. Today I signed up for IMCDA 2011. Why Coeur d' Alene? Well, if you follow this blog you know that Ironman Canada is my "A" race this year. We are heading there to have a great race and take a shot at sub 10 (hours). If I'm able to execute the race I know I'll be capable of going under 10 and potentially qualifying for Kona. For those that don't follow Ironman racing, the World Championships are held in Kona each year in early October. Kona is basically our Super Bowl. As much as I would love to qualify in Canada, I'm getting married 6 days later and then we are off to our honeymoon...in yes, Hawaii :) So, I would not be ready to turn around and do another Ironman in early October.

Canada is more about completing a chapter in my family's history. My Dad raced Canada 5 times. I have always wanted to do Canada. More than I can explain in words. I have always wanted to attack the two monster climbs on the bike and run my way back into town on Lake Shore drive!! Just thinking about it makes me emotional. But I also want to have a shot at qualifying for Kona before we decide to have kids. Coeur d' Alene (IMCDA) will be our race to try and make this happen next year. It's going to take one hell of an effort to make this happen. Last year it took a 9:34 to qualify in my age group, this year it appears to be sub 9:40. To put this in perspective, the 6 individuals that qualified in my age group last year all ran sub 3:18 for their marathon. That is after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride. That is 7:30 pace for a marathon after over 6 hours of racing before you even get off your bike!! Holy smokes! For you marathoners out there, 3:10 is the Boston qualifying mark. So in order to qualify for Kona in my age group at IMCDA, you are basically being asked to run a Boston qualifying time for the marathon portion.

Well, we'll see where I'm at come end of August in Penticton. I'm hoping to go sub 3:45 for my marathon there. I actually feel pretty good about going a little faster than that, but man, you just never know in the Ironman. If I can do that (sub 3:45), I'll feel pretty damn confident about lowering that another 20 to 25 minutes in 10 months. IMCDA will be my 3rd Ironman, and all three will have been in different locales: Arizona, Canada, and now Northern Idaho. I hope to add a 4th next year...the big dance in Kona!! Would be a great excuse to head to Hawaii for our one year wedding anniversary right?? The key to qualifying for Kona is your ability to race the marathon. To have enough energy left, after holding a good clip for the first 20 miles, at 10k to go that you can push harder than your competitor next to you, or actually, in front of you.

I love long course triathlon racing, but realize I can't do it forever. I will have a solid foundation heading into the off season this year and hopefully can make a realistic push at Kona come June 2011. As always, I would like to thank you all for reading, and especially those of you that put up with me chasing my dreams...most notably the love of my life. Thanks,

-T