Beyond Kona

I've stopped posting here and have created a new blog...

http://beyondkona.blogspot.com/

Some final thoughts...

Thanks to all those that have read this blog, posted comments, sent me e-mails, and generally offered encouragement along the way.

It was a great experience, one that I learned a lot about myself, and how lucky I am to have such great family and friends around me.

This is the conclusion of the story - thanks for reading!

Things to do better next time... Things I did well...

Areas to improve...
(notes so I don't forget - may help you in your next race too!)
- Don't try too hard or overthink things on race day - enjoy the race, trust my training, nutrition and hydration plan - NOTHING new for the race
- Train in conditions that simulate the race, then race the same as I train - don't over compensate for conditions
- Monitor fluid intake better - too much fluid dilutes nutrition and makes me weak
- Keep it simple - stop over-thinking things, simply visualize the race from start to finish keeping it as simple as possible
- Get better at open water swimming
- Fix the swim goggle issue
- Get in the water much earlier - don't wait until 5 minutes before race starts to get in the water (10 minutes at least)
- Stay focused in transitions, dump the transition bag on the ground so nothing is forgotten
- Run the last 6 miles as hard as I can - don't wait until the last 3 miles
- Do some practice rides on tire pressure identical to race day tire pressure
- Check spare tubes before the race
- Smooth shifting during the race, expecially at the start when things are exciting
- Stretch my back when applying sun tan lotion
- Ice in the hat and shorts work good on hot days - not required at every water station
- If I'm staying cool, no need to drink so much
- Don't be afraid to skip water stations on both bike and run
- Keep better track of electrolyte intake
- Pay attention to the morning temperatures - limit fluid intake on the bike for the first 15 minutes or so, just a few sips until sweating begins
- take 2-3 electrolytes right away on bike leg
- Remove deraileur when transporting bike
- Wrong race mottos "Drink early and often" and "Stay Cool"
- Instead of "Are you doing your best", stick with "Catch the next age grouper" - worked in Florida!
- More practice in windy conditions - head down, ass up
- Open gels and bars on the bike before the swim
- A practice swim, followed by a medium (40 mile) bike would have let me know if the salt water was going to affect my hydration
- More mid-day naps leading up to the race

Things I did well...
- Swam straight
- Started the run conservatively and built from there
- Getting off the bike was smooth
- Bike start was smooth
- Didn't loose focus even when I felt like crap
- Ran the entire marathon except when absolutely necessary - mile 5 porta john and puke stop at mile 20
- Ice in the hat and ice in the shorts was inspired - remembering a hat is a good start
- Vaseline on the feet was a great move (no blisters even though I ran most of the race with wet feet)
- Closed my eyes when my goggles leaked
- Practice swims were a smart move
-Family vacation was great
- Messages by Jan
- Stayed calm
- Finished strong

The following days

The day after Ironman, I took Sena, Rachel and Erika to the airport for a noon flight. Erika and I had some nice father/daughter time at the beach before we headed to the airport.

I spent some time with my mom and my sister Liz that afternoon, then went to the awards banquet, that evening. Met an old German dude, that turned out to have placed in his age group. The speeches from the finishers were pretty good.

On Monday I took a 40 min bike ride along the coast, packed, finished my last blog entry, drank a lot of beer and relaxed. My flight back was a red eye, leaving from Kona at 11:15pm on Monday and arriving in Philly at 7:30pm on Tuesday.

At the airport, I met a guy about my age that finished Kona in 2005, but bonked at mile 90 of the bike this year and called it quits. I felt a little guilty for complaining about my mediocre race. I also met a woman who came to see the race - she is a race official, but wasn't officiating this race, just a spectator. She helped clarify a few rules for me.

The day after I returned, I went back to work, with 3 full day workshops and some key deliverables due by end of week - whew - I'm just starting to catch my breath.

Kona - Race Day - Long Version

For the shorter version of this, click here

What you're about to read is the good, the bad, and the ugly. Overall, I had a great experience - I tried to share as much as I could remember - enjoy...

Getting to the Race
The alarm on my mobile wakes me at 4am - I slept pretty well considering this is race day. Not yet awake enough to be nervous. The calm waters of Kialua Bay encourage me as I sit on the lanai chugging liquid calories, eat a banana, take my electrolytes, and start hydrating.

At 5:20am Sena and I begin our walk to the start - the streets are loaded with buff athletes and their families heading for their biggest race of the year, and for some, the biggest race of their life.

I'm feeling a bit cold and put on an extra t-shirt over my race tank top. This also helps alleviate the ropes from my water filled pack digging into my skin.

The Transition Circus
The transition area is ordered chaos. The energy level is high and tense - I try to smile and stay relaxed and focused. Race volunteers are herding nervous racers to the entry point of the transition area. Sena and I get separated and I take my cell phone so I can find her later to give her my bike pump, sandals, glasses, etc.

In the transition area, I load up my bento box, fill my water and fuel supplies, and pump my tires. A race volunteer holds my bike while I pump - I fill the rear to 130psi, then add one more pump 'for good measure' I say to the race volunteer. The rear tire is rated at 145psi, and they say the heat from the morning sun has a tendency to blow your tires if over inflated. My earlier training ride was at 130psi. My front tire is rated at 165, and I fill it to 135 because it is difficult to pump much higher and this makes me nervous.

Several people borrow my bike pump and extra water as I get my bike ready - people seem to be very nervous-friendly - looking for someone to talk to in order to avoid thinking too much about the race.

It takes some time to find Sena, and I'm glad I brought my cell phone which simplifies the task. We find a quiet spot near one of the top women athletes to just relax and enjoy the moment. Sena wishes me the best and I head back into the transition area to wait for the start.

At 6:40, the US Coast Guard kicks off the event by sky diving into the race start. In a short while, the pros start, but I don't have a very good vantage point. A race volunteer directs a group of us to a fairly desirable starting point, where I have one more opportunity to pee before the race begins. I wait until 6:55 to get into the water and then make my way to the start.

I go Swimmin'
The cannon booms at 7:00 sharp and we're off. The next 80 minutes are surreal. My plan was to swim to the left and avoid the masses, but somehow I ended up going straight at each buoy - I think I was corralled like a school of fish all going in the same direction, never really getting a choice, just trying not to get bumped and jostled too much. My goggles won't stay sealed (again!) and I just try to swim straight with my eyes closed as much as possible, only stopping to clear my goggles about a dozen times. Swimming with my eyes closed is actually more relaxing than seeing all of the body parts floundering around you, but occasionally leads to a kick to the head.

At some point I look up and see the turn around boat and think that this isn't too bad, but then it seems to take forever to actually get to the boat. At the boat, we swim west for 100meters, then head back to shore. Things seem to get a bit less congested when I realize that I am actually swimming slightly inside the buoys. Except for salt water burning the crap out of my eyes and my arms starting to feel like lead, the rest of the swim was ok. It was great to see the 50 foot blow up Gatorade bottles on the shore, but again it seemed to take forever to finally reach the sandy bottom. (did I mention that I suck at swimming)

Sunscreen anyone?
I run through the transition area noting that I finished in under 1:20, which is good because my expectation was between 1:15 and 1:30. In the changing tent I trade my swim cap, goggles and skin suit for a heart rate chest strap and race number. I then start looking for the volunteers that are supposed to be spraying suntan lotion on us. Keep in mind that I left my eye glasses with Sena almost 2 hours ago, so my near sighted vision, the burning salt water, and the glare from the morning sun are all conspiring to make me a stumbling blind man running through transition yelling 'sun screen - who has sun screen'. Unfortunately several volunteers point me in a direction the eventually leads to my bike without ever finding a sunscreen volunteer. Fortunately I have my own sunscreen in my bento box, that I get a non-designated sunscreen volunteer to spray on me. While I'm putting on my helmet and prescription sunglasses, the volunteer decides to spray himself with my sunscreen instead of doing a really good job on me - missing the inside of my shoulder blades, which I should have remembered from previous races.

Lost Chain and Flat Tire in the first 12 miles
After running through the transition area with my bike, then mounting my bike, I am finally doing something I am good at. There is only about 50 yards before you have to climb a hill, so it is important to get some speed, get your feet in the shoes and be ready to go before you start to climb (my family saw one crash and many near misses at this point in the course because people were having trouble clipping in quickly).

There are a lot of short climbs and turns in the first 11 miles of the bike course... Up Palani (~100 steep meters), left on Kuakini (~3/4 mile), right (up) Malaki (~1/4 steep mile), right on Queen K (~1 mile), right (down) on Palini (~200 steep meters - no passing zone), left on Kuakini (~3.5miles rolling, ending with a steep uphill), then turn around to Queen K the same way you came.

I started passing people right away and, as I expected in this field, I also get passed occasionally too. My cadence sensor got bumped in the transition rack, so I have no idea what my cadence is - oh well, I'll live. I lose my chain going up Kuakini about 5 miles in, and am frustrated that I have to get off to fix it instead of just getting it back on by shifting down and pedaling.

Once I get on the Queen K, I start feeling good, thinking "I'm freaking doing the Kona Ironman"... and then boom, my rear tire blows - flat in an instant. Fortunately I didn't crash. It takes me a minute to realize what is going on, then I get busy changing the tire. My first tube has a hole in it - crap! People are flying by on their bikes. Something is going on about 15 meters from me, but I'm trying to stay on task. Ok, this tube is working out. I over hear someone saying Natasha is out of the race, doesn't look good... I look over and see a guy across the road on his cell phone looking at the group of people huddled 15 meters from me. I see a woman sitting on the ground - it's Natasha Badman. No time for autographs, I've got to get my tire fixed.

After changing the tire, I ride slowly by Natasha and wish her well, encouraging her to rejoin the race if she feels up to it. She smiles and tells me to have a good race too - very cool lady.

Trying to Find some Rhythm
Riding down the Queen K, it takes a while for my legs to start to warm up again. I start passing loads of people and try to put my 10 minute delay into perspective - it's a long day out here - 10 minutes doesn't mean much - just do your best on the day. I worry about another flat, because I don't have a spare tube. Fortunately I don't get another flat the rest of the day.

The winds are fairly light for the next 30 miles along the Queen K, but I just don't feel good. I'm drinking plenty of water, and taking electrolytes and fuel - just like training, but more water than usual - hard to say how much I am actually drinking - there are so many water stops and I just keep filling the tank. For some reason body just isn't absorbing the water, making it hard for the nutrients to get into my system. I had the same problem at the NY Marathon a few years back.

Normally I get into a great rhythm about 25 miles in, but here I am over 40 miles into the ride and things are going south. The winds start picking up at the turn toward Havi and I start to get nauseous and a headache. I see a sign 18 miles to Havi - not so bad, then I start to see the pros - ok, I'm only an hour behind, I lie to myself. The next 18 miles are tough - mostly up hill and windy - I pass fewer people. A Spaniard age grouper and I trade places for the next 30 miles - he doesn't appear to speak English and he is in no mood for joking - eventually he falls back. I skip my special needs bag since it only contains extra protein drink that I'll only need if I go over 6 hours... hmm.

A Blustery Downhill
The ride down from Havi is hairy. Intense side winds, but lots of downhill, so you're going fast. Some riders just take it easy going down, but I keep pedalling and bracing myself against the winds. Riders are literally leaning into the wind, but then the wind stops, or a car passes and you have to adjust. The balance of cyclist is really an amazing thing.

At the bottom of the hill, my bike computer tells me 'memory full' - damn, I knew I was forgetting something. Oh well, I decide not to bother with it on the run.

The Blast Furnace
The ride back is rough, and I keep asking myself - 'are you doing your best'. It's a simple mantra - everybody needs one on a long course. I think about the pre-race meeting and how they said to try to enjoy the day because it goes by too fast, but my head is splitting and I want to puke. The wind has picked up throughout the day and the sun is beating down - it's a blast furnace. This is my low point for the day, and I look out across the Pacific and think about my brother-in-law Jim Walker who died earlier this year - I have dedicated this race to Jim and I will get through this... I push myself those last 30 miles, each one seems to take longer than the last.

Bike to Run Transition - a muddled mess
I stumble through the bike-to-run transition. The volunteer in the changing tent was the least helpful volunteer I've had in all of my Ironman races. When other volunteers come to over to help me he shoo's them away because he was there if I needed him. One thing that surprised me was when I went to put vaseline on my feet, the tube was so warm that it just came squirting out all over. After leaving the tent twice and returning because I think I forgot something, I finally get it together, still forgetting my water bottle (as it turns out, that was probably a good thing), and forgetting my gel packs, which isn't such a good thing.

Running in the Ironman - cooler than I thought it could be
On the run course I start feeling better. I fill my hat and shorts with ice every chance I get. Ice in the shorts might sound... uncomfortable, but it all just goes to the elastic band on the legs and keeps the hamstrings and quads cool, while dripping cool water down your legs. I also put sponges in my shirt. Fortunately, I don't get blisters on my feet very easily (especially with vaseline on my feet), so I run the whole marathon with wet feet. I am really comfortable for the first 12 miles or so, but by overcompensating on staying cool and hydrating a lot, I probably am not sweating enough, so I start to get that bloated and pukey feeling again. I keep a steady pace for the next 4 miles, but then start struggling big time, but won't let myself walk - 'are you doing your best'.

Will you be able to walk down the Aisle?
During the first 15 miles I kept trading places with a super studette 23 year-old. She seems to have quite the following along the entire course. We start talking in those bleak volcanic fields and she tells me that she was going to be married in 3 days! I ask her if she will be able to walk down the aisle at her wedding after this race, as I pass her for what turns out to be the last time.

What is the Energy lab anyway?
Going down into the Energy lab is like going to hell - you go down, it gets hotter and doesn't seem to end. It took me a while to figure out what the Energy lab is. Turns out, it has nothing to do with the race giving you an energy boost - it's a government research facility that turns changes in water temperatures into electrical power - it just happens to be the last turn around point in the marathon.

A kind Gesture
Once you get out of the energy lab you're coming up on mile 20, where my body decides to give back all of that fluid I have been dumping into it all day. It takes about 5 times to clear my system. A 60 year old stud comes up behind me and pats me gently on the back and said some kind words - that really meant a lot at the time. After about a mile of recovery I started feeling good again, and at mile 23, I decide I could push the pace to the finish, and I move pretty well for those final three miles - steady, focused strong. My strongest final Ironman miles!

The Finish
The run down Allii drive is the best finish line spectacle I've ever seen - I only now wish I would have slowed down and enjoyed it more - I barely heard my family calling my name as I sprinted to the finish and didn't see them until 20 minutes later. I hear my name, I cross the finish, I pump my arms, I get my lei - what a great feeling!!!

Tunnel Vision
A couple of really great race volunteers walk with me to the family meeting area. I stop at a shower and rinse off, telling the race volunteers that I'll be ok. I wait in line to get my medal, and I wait, and wait, and I'm surrounded by people and I can't breath, and my legs are going weak, and I'm getting tunnel vision, and I realize I'm about to pass out. Fortunately there is a race volunteer right there to help me to a bench, where I recover for about 10 minutes.

I begin talking with an old dude from Australia that's been at this for 20 years - he is in bad shape like me. The race volunteer gets me water and my medal, and then Erika and Rachel find me, called Sena. We try to help the Australian guy find his wife, but can't figure out how to call her out-of-country number.

Salt and Family - good combo after a long race
After some pictures, we walk over to my sisters hotel a block away, where my mother and sister are waiting. I shower and eat Tostidos (they really hit the spot), and tell them all about my day and they tell me about all of the cool things they saw all day long. What a special way to finish this race.

Kona - Race Day - Short Version

There's a long version and short version to every story, so I'll start with the short version and you can go to the long version if you want the nitty gritty...

Short version:
The Kona Ironman lived up to it's reputation as being one of the most gruelling races on the planet, and it was a fantastic, satisfying experience. Throughout the day I tackled every challenge with a good result. I was constantly amazed by the caliber of athletes on the course throughout the day, and truly felt privileged to race with them.

I finished in 11:23, with a swim time that I expected (1:19), a bike time at the slow side of what I expected (over 6 hours), and a run time a bit better than expected (3:43). I felt really good in the last 3 miles of the race (so good, in fact, that I didn't slow down through the finishing chute to enjoy the moment).

Having my wife, Sena, and my daughters Erika and Rachel at the race and supporting me every step of the way leading up to the race was incredible. Having my mother and sister join me in Hawaii, and my other siblings and friends supporting me from 'the mainland' really meant a lot to me.

Kona Day 7

Tomorrow is the big day. Sitting here on the lanai with the waves crashing against the rocks less then 20 yards from me, I can see the second half of the swim course. They have placed the big orange buoys what looks to be 300-400 meters apart for the length of the course. It kind of freaks me out when I look at the distance from the shore.

It was another beautiful day today here in Kona - I hope the weather is the same for tomorrow, with a mid afternoon cloud cover.

Today was spent preparing my bike and race bags, and just chilling out and carbo loading.

Bike check-in was a unique experience. You get a personal guide to show you around the entire transition area and ask all the questions you want. They don't let you go back to your transition bags after you have hung them on the rack, which is different from other Ironman races I've done. Of course I didn't know that and didn't put my prescription sun glasses in my swim-to-bike transition bag. Fortunately I'll be able to leave the sunglasses with my bike tomorrow morning.

Went out to dinner with the family - I have been eating potatoes and spaghetti all day, so I just joined them and picked at their ahi tuna and french fries.

My mood keeps shifting from anxiety, to excited and race ready, to totally relaxed. Writing the blog is kind of therapeutic.

Kona Day 6 - Part 2 - Banquet Dinner and Pre-race Meeting

Last night was the banquet and pre-race meeting. I met a few nice people and was into the Hawaiian spin they added to the race, but beyond that, uch of the format and content was similar to previous Ironman dinners and pre-race meetings. I did learn a couple of things about the rules that I hadn't before realized.

Once you begin to pass someone on the bike, you must complete the pass or incur a penalty. Apparently a lot of people get called for this one. I don't think I like this rule since the person you are about to pass may decide to speed up just as you begin the pass, making it very difficult to pass. Well, hopefully I don't get any penalties.

I also learned that once you tell them you want to quit the race, they mark your number down and give you a DNF - if you have a change of heart after they write your number down and you actually do finish the race, you still get a DNF - so apparently you have to be very careful what you say out there to the race officials (like this sucks, I'm never going to finish).

They did have a 'preview' of the special interest stories that I'm sure will be part of the 1 hour special they put together. A double leg amputee trying to finish; a 19 year old navy seal hopeful trying to build his resume with an Ironman; etc.

Follow along on race day - my number is 606

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Kona Day 6

This place is friggin' awesome - you can just feel the energy level at this place. Just walking down the street you bump into some of the top athletes in the sport - they have all been really cool and happy to spend a few minutes talking. You also see so many hard bodies running and biking it's like the city of the master race.

At breakfast we saw some people walking down the street in their underpants on their way to the underpants run. We got to see a bit of the run after we finished our breakfast. I would have definitely joined if I had some running shoes with me.

I got a chance to talk with Michael Lavato, one of the best US Ironman racers - really friendly guy - I hope he kicks some ass on Saturday.

Sena got her picture with Michelle Jones (last years female winner) while I was getting another ART message from Jan Wanklyn and her magic fingers. Sena said Michelle was really nice and not bothered by the picture taking at all.

We made it to the expo and bought all kinds of stuff, then we headed off to Hapuna Beach with my sister Liz, and we all met my Mom there. It was a real nice day trip. On the way home we stopped at my mother's time share - huge place on a golf course - she was so proud of it.

Banquet tonight followed by the pre-race meeting. Tomorrow, is bike check in.

Getting close...

Kona Day 5

Did an easy swim this morning, followed by an ART (Active Release Therapy) message from Jan. She was concerned when I told her my left leg goes numb sometimes on the bike - "that's not normal" she smiled as she proceeded to put my hip flexor through the ringer.

Afterward Sena, Erika, Rachel and I took our first full family outing in a while. We drove 1.5 hours to the southern most point on the island and walked 2.5 hilly, rocky, dusty miles to a beautiful green sand beach. It really was worth the trip, but we all got a little sun burned and a tad dehydrated. I'll post some pictures later.

Had a nice dinner at 'oodles of noodles', then picked my sister up from the airport.

Time for bed now.

Kona Day 4

I took a short swim early, focusing on open water skills (sighting for race day, drafting, etc.) and planning my race day tactics. I saw a sea turtle about ¼ mile into the swim, and stopped and followed it for a while - pretty cool.

My mom got in last night and she met us at the condo after my swim for a trip down south, to the ‘Place of Refuge’ and the ‘Painted Church’. We were also going to pick up some Coffee for Rachel’s boyfriends parents, some “Donkey Balls”, and do some more snorkeling while we were down there (fyi - Donkey Balls are chocolate covered macadamia nuts - nothing to do with the wild Donkeys crossing over Queen K highway at dusk ; ).

After our excursion down south, Sena dropped me off to pick up my registration stuff. They checked my ID about 10 times before they gave me my race number and goodie bag. The goodie bag is half the reason I do these races. The hat they give you is definitely cool memorabilia, but the bag itself was a generic Ironman bag - nothing that said Hawaii or World Championship. Not as much cool stuff as I had hoped - I just hope my registration fee gets me some cold water on the course. I guess I'll need to go shopping.

After I got back to the room, we chilled in the pool for a bit, then I took my mom to the grocery store and ran into Ken Glah and his wife Jan (also my message therapist). She told me to come and see here the next day for a pre-race tune up message.

Later we checked out the “Parade of Nations” - we had some fun with it - cheering on the well represented Swiss and the one guy from Hungary alike.

Ken Glah had his own car in the parade and had some trouble throwing lollipops to us, saying this is why he does triathlons and not baseball ; ). Paula Newby Frasier and Natasha Badmann each had their own cars at different points in the parade.

Later in the evening we picked up my eldest daughter Erika at the airport (yeah!). She was fully of energy as always and I could hardly believe she had just flown in from South Carolina.

Kona Day 3

Today we decided to ride up to Hawi, the turn around point on the Ironman bike course known for it’s long uphill ascent and extremely windy downhill. Sena and Rachel were going to meet me at a small snorkeling spot at the bottom of the hill.

On they way there, I stared out the window at mile after mile of desolate lava fields with the sun baking down on the occasional bike rider. Man oh man, it's going to be a long day on Saturday.

The hill leading to Hawi is fairly gradual and I was surprised when we actually got there because I didn’t think we had climbed enough. At the top of Hawi, we got out and I reassembled my bike (it wouldn’t quite fit in the trunk without removing my wheels and aero drink holder) and took a couple of photos for the bike club at home (wearing my WCCC Jersey of course).

Sena and Rachel decided to stop and get sandwiches in Hawi for later as I started my short 7 mile ride down the hill. It was still a bit early for the high winds and I didn’t see any white caps in the ocean below.

I flew down the hill at speeds between 27 and 35mph, occasionally getting a blast of wind from the side, but nothing serious. I got to the snorkeling spot really fast - Sena and Rachel weren’t there yet, so I started to climb back to Hawi until I saw them ata at a fairly slow pace (13-16mph). When I saw them coming in the opposite direction, then I turned around and met them for sandwiches and snorkeling.

The snorkeling was interesting – and old sugar factory with massive chains and machinery at the bottom of the ocean floor. The fish were somewhat sparse, so we made it a fairly short swim, then the long ride back to Kailua Kona.

Back at the condo, I took a 6 mile run up to Queen K highway in the heat of the day. Unfortunately, there was a lot of cloud cover, so I didn’t get a feel for the conditions that I might encounter on race day, but it was still a tough run, particularly the short ¼ mile up Palani road which is about mile 11, and then the long gradual return on the Queen K to Palani – which is about mile 25 of the marathon course.

The rest of the day we hung out at the pool, went shopping, drank some beer and just relaxed.

Kona Day 2 - Part 2

Just got back from my run. That Burrito (and last night's pulled pork) were a big mistakes - I had to make 2 pit stops in 8 miles and was extremely fortunate that there were two beaches with facilities fairly well placed and aligned my very impatient digestive system. I've got to get with it - only 5 days until race day - trying to enjoy my vacation and get ready for the Ironman is proving more difficult than I thought.

When I returned to my condo after the run, I realized that I left my key in the last bathroom I was in, so I had to run back (only about 1/2 mile) and ended up with a 9 mile run. I grabbed a cold water and went to this nice little garden court yard next to the condo to stretch while enjoying the sun glimmering across the ocean waves.

So one thing I learned is that the first 10 miles of the marathon 'may' have some shade. I'll try to check it out tomorrow at the right time of day when I think I'll be at that point in the course.

For me, staying cool is critical. That means finding as much shade as possible, running on the white lines on the road, hoping for cloud cover and rain, dosing myself at every aid station - whatever it takes. My afore mentioned stomach problem were not solely due to my poor dietary choices of late, but in large part, due to the heat and humidity. I felt fine at first, but it caught up with me after a few miles and my blood began to boil.

After today's run, I've decided I need to do at least one more run (maybe tomorrow) that includes a few miles in the lava fields.

I got a feel for the'furnace blast' feel on the bike course yesterday, but as soon as the clouds came out, it was fine. So I'm really hoping for cloud cover or I'm toast - literally ; )

Anyway, when I got back to the Condo, I noticed Sena picked up some cold Stella Artois - yum.

Kona Day 2

Did another swim today - felt a bit more comfortable in the open water, finishing approx 1.2 miles. Sena came to take some video, but lost track of me with all the other swimmers. Rachel chilled back at the condo.

After the swim, we headed down south for some snorkeling. It was really nice to get some time with Sena and Rachel (but we missed Erika so!). It took forever to get the the spot we had picked due to road construction - and there are very few alternate routes on Kona.

For lunch we had 'Bitchin Burritos'. I tried to stay somewhat healthy, with a fish and black bean burrito, which turned out to be pretty good. Now I'm just trying to digest so I can go for an 8 mile run.

Kona Day 1

Well I made it to our Condo in Kona late Friday night (11:30pm Hawaii time; thats 5:30am Saturday Eastern standard Time). I was pretty wiped out by the time I got here, not sleeping well on the plane due to a muscle cramp in the middle of my back. I somehow managed to unpack and get to sleep by 12:30.

At 6:30am on Saturday morning and put my bike together. I wanted to get a swim in fairly early, so I ate a hammer bar for breakfast since I hadn't gone grocery shopping yet. The swim start is less than 1/2 mile from our hotel and I got there about 8:30 - swam about a mile. On my way there I crossed paths with Michelle Jones, womens winner of last years Ironman World Championships.

It was a really nice swim with the fish, clear water, and fairly calm surf. Unfortunately a 1/4 mile into the swim, the salt water and my skin suit conspired to chafe my arm pits (I didn't think to put on body glide). About 1/2 mile in I decided the fire under my arms would not heal very well if I kept going at the same rate, so I pulled the top of my skin suit down and headed back to the start. I finished in about 37 minutes with plenty of stops - I'm only guessing that it was a mile.

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at a local farmers market and picked up some organic bananas. Yum. When I got back to the hotel, I finished a few items on my bike assembly and hit the road for a 2 hour ride. It was a really nice ride and I met a couple of nice folks from Australia. I got back to the hotel, scarfed whatever food was handy, then headed for the grocery store. At the store, I was kind of out of it, and picked up a few random items, knowing that I was tight on time - I had to pick up Sena and Rachel at the airport at 2:50.

Before heading to the airport, I scarfed a couple of PB&Js and a glass of milk. Once at the airport, the parking lot was full, so I waited roadside for a while, waiting for a call from Sena which didn't come. Long story short - their flight was 2 hours late and I just sat in the car waiting and waiting.

All ended well when we got back to the condo and had a nice meal and an early bedtime.

The trip to Kona (October 5th)

Saint Sena
Getting up before the alarm this morning was easy – my trip to Kona lay in front of mean and I was ready. The day was going to be a long one, with 2 significant mainland layovers; I would leave Philly at 10:15 and arrive in Kona 15 hours later. Using frequent flyer miles isn’t always as great as it sounds, but I sleep pretty well on planes and am pretty good at keeping myself busy reading, writing, drawing, and listening to music.

Sena, drove me through early morning rush hour traffic to Philly airport where I arrived 2 hours before my flight to ensure I didn’t have any trouble checking my bike. For some strange reason, I felt extremely calm as we drove to the airport. Sena, on the other hand, was anxious about the whole family trip, the coordination required and responsibility she felt getting all four of us to the Island at different times. Believe me, I don’t take it for granted that she has taken on the majority of the burden in planning this.

Extra Airline Charges for your bike
Over the past two days, I spent many hours disassembling and packing my bike. I had gotten both my bike container and my checked bag down to under 50 pounds each in an effort to avoid additional, costly airline fees. Based on the American Airline web site, I expected the airline to charge me, at most, $100 each way for my oversized bike case (greater than 67 diameter inches). Based on my last airline trip with my bike and some additional research, I know that the check-in clerk has some discretion in this matter and how they interpret the rules. The conversation with the airline check-in clerk went something like this..

“Good morning, how are you?”
“Is that a bike?”
“Yes, my pride and joy”
“You know we have to charge you extra, right?”
“I understand, but sometimes they waive the charge if it is under 50 pounds”

“Well it’s going to be 160 dollars”
“Hmm, I looked it up on-line and my understanding was that at most it would be 100 dollars”

“Ok, well it says if it is collapsed in a hard case, under 50 pounds, and less than 67 inches, there is no charge, so I guess I don’t need to charge you”

“Here, let me print this out for you and you can show it to check-in on your return trip”

Hopefully I have the same fortune on my way home. As it turns out, I think she was charging me $160 round trip, which is $80 each way, which is what the printout said. I’m fairly certain my bike case is over 67 diameter inches, but I’m not sure she knew what diameter inches meant, so I lucked out.

The subtleties of bike packing
The flight to Chicago (my first layover) was uneventful and I was able to snooze for about an hour, then practice bladder control in the Window Seat. As we sat on the runway waiting to deplane, I had a birds-eye-view of the baggage handler as he removed my bike from this plane. As he slammed it on the transport, I remembered something a my friend Joanne told me on my last trip – make sure you remove your derailleur when packing your bike. I wish I would have remembered it yesterday when I was packing my bike! I won’t find out if there is a problem until I’m in Kona 10 hours from now.

Is that Bruce Jenner?
So while I’m sitting at Chicago O’Hare airport for a layover in route to LAX, just finishing a McDonalds grilled Chicken sandwich. I look up, and there is Bruce Jenner sitting 30 feet from me. I figure that is a good omen on my way to Hawaii.

Taking Bets
I spoke with my sister Liz on while I waited for my first flight. Liz is my sister whose husband Jim died earlier this year and he is who I have dedicated this race to. Liz will be joining my in Hawaii, but she told me that she had a fear of the big island due to the volcano and no where to run. This strikes me as kind of funny, and I made a few jokes about only the good swimmers would survive, but I think she is really nervous about the whole thing. However, she really wants to be there, particularly since the race is dedicated to Jim.

Anyway, Liz tells me there were a bunch of people down in Florida betting on my finish time. Now I really feel like a pro athlete! I started to think of all of the bets you could place on a race like this – odds against finishing at all; odds against finishing in the top 50% in the age group; odds against finishing in the top 25% of the field. The weather on the day of the race will have a significant impact on finishing time, so betting on finishing time is a bit like betting on the weather. In any case, if you’re reading this and betting on me, good luck!

Venkat
Last week, out of the blue, an old friend (Venkat Ramanan) from Los Angles called. It has been 20 years since we last spoke and it was really good to hear from him. If I had thought ahead, I would have realized that I had a 4 hour lay over in LA that we could use to get together. By the time I realized the potential opportunity, it was too late as Venkat had business meetings late Friday afternoon, but he assured me when he visits his son at UPenn during the fall, we will get together and talk about old days.

weekly stats

Target was 15 hours, and I just barely got it in...

47run miles in 6 hours
5.5swim miles in 3.42 hours
111bike miles in 5.75 hours

not sure why I did so few bike miles - I guess I was trying to run in the sun / heat early in the week - my bike sessions were mostly hard efforts

My foot felt better today and I did 1 hour on the eliptical and 1 hour on the treadmill - good compromise to an outdoor 13 mile run that I had on the training plan.

busy packing

It is really tough to pack for a 10 day trip to Hawaii when you're doing an Ironman. My weekend was spent mostly on tuning my bike and packing.

My bike tuning included: replacing the chain, putting on a new cassette, replacing brake pads, replacing front derailuer cable and housing, cleaning, etc. I still have to take it apart and get it in the bike travel case. I also found out my race wheels aren't true, so I'll need to get that taken care of before I leave. The wheels came with a special truing tool, that I spent an hour trying to find. Finally found it with fairly detailed specs on the tension required. Sena is going to drop them off at the bike shop tomorrow.

My battery on my heart rate monitor seems to have died, so I'll want to replace that before I go. Hopefully it is just the battery. I'll probably want to clear the memory on my Garmin too, so I don't get that 'out of memory' message 40 miles into the bike. I only run out of memory maybe once a year, but I don't want to take any chances.

I put all my protein drink mixes into plastic bags - I just hope airport security doesn't mistake it for drugs! - it'll be in my carry on, so low likelihood.

There are hundred little things to remember - well I have a few days to get things in order.

Plantar Fasciitis strikes again!

I've been trying to manage the plantar fasciitis, but since the Philly Distance Run it has gotten worse. Taking most of the week off of running after PDR didn't seem to do the trick. It seems to be worst when I do fast runs, like my 5 mile tempo in Valley Forge yesterday - I think the fast down hills took a toll. I'm debating whether I should do my 13 mile run tomorrow - see how I feel - maybe on the treadmill.

I had a good 2.5 mile swim today - it was the first time I was actually able to control my speed going faster and slower throughout the workout.

I spent most of today working on my bike, and going to the bike store to get tools to do the job right. I'm pretty happy with it right now, but I put my race wheels on and noticed they are out of true. I'll take a shot at truing them, but if I have any trouble, I'll need to bring them to the bike store pronto.

I did a fast ride on Creek Road today (midway through my bike repairs). 2x12 miles at a pretty agressive pace. I'd like to do the same tomorrow, but if I have to cancel my run, I may do a longish ride instead.

My iPod went through the wash earlier this week, so I decided to go out and get another (long plane on Friday - to Hawaii!). Spent half the night last night getting decent music on it.

some hard stuff

Yesterday I ran 4x10minutes hard around Valley Forge (hills) with a 1 min rest. My calf muscles were really sore, so I tried not to over do it. Turned out to be about 8.5 miles with my warmup and cool down.

Last night I swam 25x100meters on 2mins. It got a little crazy because the pool was down to 1 lap lane due to swim practice and some old lady water exercise class. I was sharing the lane with a slower swimmer and a faster swimmer. I was pretty tired by the end of the set, but I suppose that is why I train. The faster swimmer caused me to pick up the pace a few times, which was good.

Today I did 5x5mins on the bike trainer in the am, big gear 110RPM with a 5 min rest. Very tough, but need to get that leg turn over elevated.

In the late afternoon I did a relatively easy 7 mile run - my legs felt pretty heavy, but with the warm weather, I wanted to get out there and sweat a little in prep for Kona.

weekly stats

Last week I had an easy week target of 8 hours, but somehow managed over 11 hours, as in...
13 miles of running (a bit over an 1.5 hours)
2.5 miles of swimming (a bit over 2 hours)
140 miles of biking (7.5 hours)

Still recovering from Philly distance run, my calf muscles couldn't really take much more running than 13 miles for the week, which included an 11 mile run on Saturday.

Blue Marsh

Sena and I loaded up the Kayak and headed to Blue Marsh for an open water swim, stopping to visit her grandparents on the way.

At the lake, I got to test out my new Blue Seventy skin suit while she paddled around, making sure I didn't get run over by a motor boat. Tippy sat in her lap and kept here company - I wish I had a camera.

It was nice to have Sena there. She told me my stroke was much better in the second half of the swim - I guess it was after I had warmed up a bit. I swam fairly straight which is a really good sign - something I've had a hard time with in the past. When I got tired, I started getting off course, something I'll need to watch for in the future.

Yesterday I rode and ran in my Ironman clothes and felt pretty good

So, a bit of a bike tune-up and a few more hard workouts and I think I'll be ready!

Kona, here I come!

Full Day

I realized last night that my drivers license had to be renewed by the end of today. Given the notorious reputation of long lines at the DMV, I decided to forego my normal early start and deal with the DMV. I took the convertible, and given the last weather forecast, I left the top down. I got there 10 minutes early and the line was already 50 people long. I met a woman in line who was thinking about moving back down to Guatemala - $300K gets you a nice place on the beach for 99 years... interesting conversation, but I digress.

After getting my number, I notice that it is pouring rain outside, and of course I left my top down, so I do the mad dash to the car in my Birkenstocks and get the top and windows in place. I race back to the DMV so I don't lose my place in line, and I arrive just as they call my number.

After getting home and drying out my car in the garage, I decide that I'll wait a while longer to start my bike ride since it is still raining on and off. Sena and I decide to use the time to hang pictures in the basement that we have delayed far too long. We follow this with a spirited game of foosball and a nice lunch (left overs from my birthday dinner the night before).

I finally start preparing for my long brick as the weather starts to clear. I decide 60 miles followed by a 10 mile run would be good if my calf muscle can handle it.

The weather is very close to Hawaii temps and humidity, so it should be a good day. The ride starts off slow, but eventually I get into a good groove. I neat little bug lands on my Bento box and keeps me company for the first 20 miles, trying to avoid what he probably thought was a mighty wind storm. At the first stop light he flies off and continues his life.

About 40 miles into the ride, on a fast, curvy downhill with a car not far behind, a bee gets under my shirt and starts to sting the crap out of my chest. My natural reaction was to whack my chest and yell - fortunately I didn't crash, however, the driver in the car behind me gave me a funny look as she passed.

After getting home after about 65 miles, I started my run. It was about 82 degrees and 66 percent humidity. I carried two 16 oz water bottles, one with Heed, the other just plain water. The run was really good and my calf didn't bother me too much. I wanted to speed up in the last 3 miles, but decided not to push my luck by straining my calf muscle any further.

When I got home, Sena asked me if I was in the mood for Sushi - I'm always in the mood for Sushi. We tried a new place and had a nice time.

When we got home we saw the end of the Tivo'd So. Carolina Game against #2 ranked LSU (my daughter Erika goes to So. Carolina). LSU won, but So. Carolina put up a good fight.

Bike Tempo

After work I did 4x20min on the bike, struggling a bit at first because my legs are still recovering from the Philly Distance Run 2 days ago.

I tried to run a mile afterward, but my calf muscles are shot and bagged it after less than a 1/2 mile.

I was trying to run the PDR conservatively, but I guess my legs weren't quite ready for the pace I ran. Oh well, I just hope I recover enough to do my last long run this week.

weekly stats

Last week was my last long week. The target was 19 hours, but I only hit 18.5. After the Distance run, I just didn't feel like swimming more than an hour.

Anyway, last week I...
ran 42.75 miles (including a 1/2 marathon race)
biked 170 miles (90 miles the day before my 1/2 marathon race)
swam 4.25 miles

this took...
a bit over 5 hours of running
9.5 hours of biking
almost 4 hours of swimming

good day at the races

I did the Philly Distance Run (Half Marathon) this morning, after riding 90 miles yesterday.

The race went better than expected. I guess it was the cool temperatures that kept my heart rate low. I expected to start at 7 minute pace and pick it up in the last 6 miles to 6:30 pace.

I hit the first mile marker in 6:15 pace and wasn't breathing hard. My heart rate was about 155 and I decided to stay in that zone for a while longer, which resulted in a fairly consistent pace between 6:15 and 6:25. At mile 9, I decided to run the last 4 miles with my heart rate above 160. It was difficult to get my legs moving faster, but I managed 6:05, 6:00, 5:58, and 5:45 in the last 4 miles, barely getting my heart rate beyond 160 until the last 1/2 mile, where I was in the red at 170+.

In the end, I somehow managed to run 1:21:30, which is a 1/2 Marathon PR for me by over 30 seconds. Nice to get a PR at my age ; ) I guess going out at a comfortable pace and picking it up in the end actually works pretty well.



<-- Passing one of the top female masters runners over the Strawberry Mansion Bridge - the bagpipe player (background) really got me going at this turn around point.

Discipline, Will Power, and Heart

When I was young I didn't have the discipline to train like I do these days. I had a lot of heart, but not the day to day discipline required to actually be competitive.

Once you get the discipline thing licked, you have to make sure you have enough energy left, so that when you get to race day, you're just itching to get out there, and once your out there, you're pushing through the pain, riding your legs off - that's about having heart.

Discipline and heart works fine for 1/2 IM races and below, but in a longer race, when there is nothing left, it's all about will power. Keeping yourself moving forward when your brain is convinced that there is nothing left in the engine.

I have had moments when Will Power carried the day, but it is an elusive mental skill that is difficult to test.

easy day

I'm taking it easy to day. Maybe a bit of swimming on my way home from work. I've had some good workouts this week and I'll be doing Philly Distance Run on Sunday - don't want to over do it. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll swim in the morning followed by a longish bike ride. Not sure if I'll hit my 19 hour target this week - kind of hard with a race at the end of the week.

Read a couple of articles last night. One was about a guy totally obsessed with endurance sports. He had some pretty good insights to what drives that kind of personality disorder ; ) My sister actually sent the article to me in my birthday card - she said it reminded her of me. uh-oh!

The other article I read was about training and racing - fairly practicle ideas. One that I particularly liked is that you should expect to feel bad, really bad during an endurance event. Unlike a 10 mile race for example, where you're sore and breathing hard and generally uncomfortable because you're pushing yourself - this is actually a pretty good feeling by comparison because endorphins coarsing through your system.

A long distance endurance event is different from the dead-legs feeling when you didn't fuel or pace yourself right and lactic acid has done so much damage that your legs are toast. The feeling I'm talking about is when you just have no energy left and can't go on, but of course you can if you have the will power to push yourself - it is all in the head at that point. All of the training is done and physically you are capable.

ear ache, closed track, Bill's first Tri

My left ear started bothering me on Saturday night, so I didn't swim on Sunday. Kept me up until I took some Ibuprofen. It's still kind of sore. I'll give it another day or so, then head to the doctor. Hopefully nothing serious.

I got up this morning and did 12x3min strength on the bike trainer - felt pretty good. I've only been doing 2min repeats until now - jumping to 3mins was tough, but I also increase the rest interval to 1:15 instead of 1min, which allowed my heart rate to get back into normal range.

I planned on doing a track workout tonight, but when I got to the track, there was a big sign saying that the track is now reserved for students - bloody hell! So I jogged over to New street and did 6 hill repeats, then jogged home and did 2 hard miles on the treadmill. Ended up with 10 miles for the day. Oh well, the say everything happens for a reason.

Pete stopped by to pick up some Recoverite and Endurolytes. He did a 6 mile 6:40 tempo run the other day - pretty impressive for an old guy with a bad leg ; ) - He'll probably kick my ass at Philly Distance Run this weekend.

Bill Dawson (president of our local run club) did his first Triathlon this past weekend with his sister and two sons. They all did really well for their first time out. He really seemed to enjoy the experience (I think he'll do another).

references

I'm starting to get lots of questions about training, fueling, equipment, race day strategies, etc.

Most of the questions I can answer based on experience, things other people had taught me, and research I have done, but here are a few references that I have found most useful...

Runners World
Bicycling Magazine
Triathlete Magazine
Triathlete Training Bible Book (Use it as a general guideline and a multi-year reference, but don't try to take it all in at once)
Hammer Nutrition Fueling Guide 2 (there are other useful resource materials on this site too)
Road Bike Review Forum (good for questions about bike equipment)
Triathlon Swimming Made Easy Book (Total Immersion - video is useful too)

I surf the web to get the best deals on equipment, clothing, etc.

I have other books on weight training, stretching, and even mental training, yoga - I've gotten these as gifts, but they tend to fall somewhat short of something I would recommend, so if you have something that you have found useful in these areas, please post a comment.

another epic training day

Today was my longest brick workout before Kona (and I don't want to work this hard again until the race itself!). The plan was to do 130bike followed by 13mile run. I've always thought that if I could pull off a brick workout at that distance I would really be ready for an Ironman.

I woke up with a tickle in the chest and not feeling quite right and the weather was going to be in the low 90s with high humidity. So I decided to do what I could and not beat myself up if I didn't quite do the full 130/13.

The plan was to ride to the Philly art museum and back (80 miles), refill my water bottles and then do the Western Loop of the Dog Daze Century (50 miles). It turned out to be 132+ miles since I had to get to the Western Loop from my house. I averaged 17.4mph which I was pretty happy with given my average heart rate was only 114 and it was supposed to be a long easy solo ride.

When I got home from the bike, I almost convinced myself to call it a day, but then I grabbed 2 water bottles and decided to run just a few miles. I started feeling pretty good a couple of miles into the run and thought I would go 45mins then turn around. I got to 30 minutes and started coming unglued, so convinced myself that I had enough water to go 40minutes, then turn around. Of course I ran out of water before I got home. I really had to push myself the second half of the run to finish, but when all was said and done, I completed 10miles!

These long bricks don't build much confidence, since I feel like crap after 10 miles on the run and I have no idea how I will be able to finish Kona in similar conditions.

I'm hoping that if I pour lots of cold water on myself and keep my core body temperature down, things will be better.

So I trained for 9 hours today! In 90+ degree temperature with high humidity. That is a new record for a long training day for me - and I never want to repeat it (except on Race Day in Kona)!

time management and flexibility

This week there have been a few obstacles to work around. My long run on Monday resulted in sore left ankle and shin - so I needed to pull back from running a few days. I found out yesterday that the local YMCA is closed for the week for maintenance. And there were a couple of last minute changes to work schedules that required me to be in Downtown Philly for 2 days.

So I rode to/from work on Tuesday and threw in three loops around / over Mount Joy on my way home. I did an hour Eliptical on Wednesday so I didn't have any pounding on my leg. I got up early today (Thursday) to do the Carmichael Time Trial Training video, extending the 12 minute endurance section to 24 minutes. And I went to the Upper Mainline YMCA and used their outdoor 50m pool on my way home from Philly today.

So, things have worked out, but it took a lot of last minute changes to what I thought I would be doing this week.

Time Trial

My commute into work isn't the best way to do a time trial, but it saves time and gives me an indicator of where I am in my training. Last time I did this was way back in where I predicted I would break 58 minutes this year - see: last time trial in June

I was so very close this morning, finishing in 58:05. I thought I would break 58minutes, but fumbled with my shoe removal while dodging a pedestrian as I approached my finish point.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the result. I'll probably do one more time trial before the race - we'll see what happens.

23 mile run

I decided to get my long run out of the way early in the week (labor day). I was looking to do about 23 miles in 3 hours. The hills made it a bit more challenging, with four 200 foot climbs and plenty of rolling hills giving me a total elevation gain of over 2300. I somehow managed 23.2 miles in 2:58 running conservatively early and pushing the last 5 miles.

Leaving early allowed me to avoid the heat of the day - I'll save that for my medium distance training runs and race day. I carried two 16oz water bottles, one with Heed and Hammergel, the other with 2 scoops of Perpetuem. It was a hassle carrying them, but better than not having anything out there. I did a water stop at Northbrook Orchards, about 2 hours into the run. I also skirted along Highland Orchards about 6 miles in and thought of a future course that covered both orchards - the Double Orchard run.

Comparing the elevation of today's run with Kona (left) makes me feel like I'll be ok on the hills. It looks like only a couple of 150ft climbs and a bunch of rollers.

It was a good course, basically an assembly of bits and parts of other run / bike courses that I know. Having a well placed water stop is key any long run. On a hot day, I would have needed water much sooner. Here is the course if you want to do it some day...

5 weeks out - need some luck!

next week is 5 weeks from race day - I'll need to be careful because this is the week I've had something significant go wrong in my last two Ironman training periods (parasite in the eye + a pulled achilles (2005), bike crash with a bruised tail bone and cracked ribs(2006))

So I hope my blog next week has nothing but good news! knock wood and all that...

cold swim + weekly stats

Cold Swim
Planned to do 5000 meters (50x100meters with an 8 breath rest) in the 50meter outdoor pool. Did my first 2200 and really had to take a pee break - so I took the long journey to the locker room - the outside air temp was in the low 80s and sunny, but I started to shiver and shake, so before re-entering the pool I took an extra 5 minutes and sat in the sun. When I got back in the pool I was still pretty cold, but I kept going until I got to 4000 meters and had to pee again!

This time I tried a hot shower before returning to the pool, but I couldn't get warm, so I laid in the sun again and totally crashed for about 30 minutes! I woke to a small child screaming and decided that 4000 meters was plenty.

I didn't feel like the water was excessively cold (I should have found out the actual temperature), but I wasn't working too hard, mostly concentrating on smooth, long strokes. I've had hypothermia before and I felt like I was in the early stages, and it was just smarter to pull out and save myself for another day.

I suspect Hawaii water temps will be warmer.

Weekly Stats
easy week, finishing 12.7 hours, as in...

4.03 run hours
2.83 swim hours
5.85 bike hours

thats...
32.25 run miles
4 swim miles
103 bike miles

it scares me that I think that this was an easy week!

'only' 19 hours the next two weeks - then it's taper city!

Downingtown HS Track

With WC HS tracks closed on weekends, I rode my bike to Downingtown to do my track workout. The track was empty, but had a sign that actually said "Visitors Welcome". There were few rules, one was to run in lanes 4 or higher. Ok, no problem, just a bit more challenging to know my mile splits. I ran 6x a little over a mile - my Garmin tells me I was doing around a 5:45 pace which seemed about right, but 4 laps was taking me around 6:05, so being in the 4th lane seems to add about 5 seconds per lap. I wonder if that's right? I guess it doesn't much matter - I wouldn't have wanted to go any faster or slower.

It was only a 10 mile ride home, and I took it easy most of the way. That was my shortest Saturday workout in a long time.

Came home and rode into Manyunk with Sena to check out Cadence Bike store to see if they had any good Triathlon gear. No luck, but was nice to walk around town and have lunch with my wife for a change - much better than guzzling Sustained Energy on a long bike ride!

auto pilot

My 20 mile bike ride into the office has become so automatic for me, that my mind sometimes goes into auto pilot and before I know it, I've gone another 5 miles. It's good to just let the mind drift sometimes... I was pretty tired today after getting up at 5am (but not out of the house until 5:45) to ride 20 miles to Betzwood, then do 3x15minutes hard on the betzwood trail and then get into the office and showered before my first meeting at 8am. Felt pretty ragged on the intervals, but I got through it ok, averaging about 22mph.

It's labor day weekend and I only need another 3.5 hours to reach my 12 hour target for the weekend. I plan to do 2 hours in the 50 meter pool, because they close it after this weekend. I'd like to do some mile repeats, but the track is closed, so I may have to jump the fence ; )

I wouldn't mind doing a long bike ride, but it would put me way over my hours for the week and I really need to be well rested for the next two weeks. My biggest goal for the weekend - sleep as much as I can!

Twin Peaks

I did my long run (only 2 hours since this is an easy week) at Valley Forge today, tackling Mount Joy AND Mount Misery in the first half of the run. Mount Misery is a rough trail run and pretty steep in both directions. Needless to say, my average pace was way slow for the day, but I kept my hear rate down. In many ways, running slow is harder than running fast.

Count down

Less than 7 week to Kona - I'm already getting nervous!

I sent an e-mail to Joanne, a friend who did Kona last year asking her if there was any shade on the run course - no such luck. She suggested I drive up to Hilo and do the ride down from the turn around point to a beach about 25miles away, just to get a feel for the raging winds.

A guy from work called me - found out I qualified for Kona - he plans to do his first Half in a month, and his first Ironman next year. From our conversation, I gathered he is a good runner, an average biker, and a beginner swimmer. I tried to give him some basic advice without over complicating things (which is very easy to do).

I biked on the trainer this morning: warmup, 2min max resistance @ 60rpm/1min easyx25. Great workout, but not much fun.

I swam after work, did 10x50 on 1min. I've been focusing on easy, smooth, relaxed swimming and I'm not so sure this speed work is helping - my form starts to fall apart after the first 5 reps.

I'm going to try for 15miles tomorrow in the afternoon sun. That will be my long run for the week, since I've been building for several weeks now, I need a 'short' long run. I plan to start work early, then leave in time to do 2 hours or so at Valley Forge. I'll throw in some hills to make it interesting and let you know how it goes!

weekly stats

Target was 22 hours; I did 22.57, as in...

50 run miles
6 swim miles
204 bike miles (lots of early week rain days forced some indoor bike trianing)

that's
6.57 hours running
4.42 hours swimming
11.58 hours biking

My long swim was 2.5miles, as in 40x100meters with a 10second rest (Sunday)
My long bike was 122miles (Sat - followed by 10 mile run)
My long run was 22miles (Wed)

My old bones are still holding up - next week is a down week, so Stats will be significantly lower next time.

What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger

Yesterday was probably my most difficult training day I've ever put myself through. My training plan called for 120miles followed by a 12 mile run. With temperatures expected to be in the mid to high 90s and stifling humidity, I decided to limit the run to 10 miles.

I started my bike ride at 6:15am in the fog. Sunglasses beaded with condensation and I was soaked 20 miles into the ride due to the 90% humidity. However, the temperatures were not too bad and the sun was held back for a while due to the fog. About 50 miles in, the sun broke through and the temperatures rose quickly. At mile 90, I returned home to refill my water bottles and pick up a new bottle to put on the run course.

Leaving from my house, the last 30 miles were a hilly familiar loop, but they had roughed-up some of my favorite roads with tar and gravel to improve traction for cars. This drives me crazy, because I really excel on smooth roads - oh well.

Returning home the second time around 1:30pm after finishing 122 miles on the bike, it took a tremendous amount of will power to put on my running shoes and begin my 10 mile run.

Temperatures were over 95 degrees, humidity was high and there was no breeze to speak of. The sun burned my skin even with 70 sun protection on. My pace was too fast from the start and I would pay for it later. I carried a 16 oz bottle with Heed, but realized about 4 miles in that I was going to run out well before I got to bottle number 2. Fortunately I saw a couple of guys at a soccer field with a cooler on their golf cart and asked for some water and they obliged.

My body would not cool off and my heart rate was hanging around 160, not matter how much I slowed. I ran primarily in the shade, but the moments in the sun were brutal and I couldn't help but worry about how much sun I would have to deal with in Hawaii.

Forcing myself to run (not walk) until I got to my second bottle allowed me to reach mile 7, but I still had 4 miles to go (turns out to be an 11 mile course I selected). I told myself I could run one more mile, and after suffering through that mile, I decided I pushed myself to run just one more, and then another until I reached 10 miles. At that point I decided to walk/run up Hillsdale, finishing 11 miles in 1:30 - ouch.

I can only hope the conditions in Hawaii aren't quite so brutal. They say the average high is around 83, but running through the lava fields makes it seem much hotter. I also hope I get a breeze off the ocean, but I'm not counting on the shade.

As they say, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

speed work

I finally got to the track this morning and did a ladder, as in... 200,400,800,1mile,1mile,800,400,200, with a 200 rest between each and a 1 mile warm up.

I started off strong and got stronger as I went. Miles were 5:50 and 5:45. Lungs had trouble keeping up at first, then the legs were pretty tired on that last 800.

Yesterday I rode into work, and did 2x15mins at a hard pace along the Betzwood trail.

Things seem to be coming together (knock wood).

22 mile run

nice to get one of these under my belt with over 7 weeks before the race...

my goal this morning was to run 2hours and 45min or 22miles, whatever came first, while trying to keep my heart rate between 140 and 145...

I finished 22 miles in almost exactly 2hours and 45mins, with an average HR of 142, relatively flat course (elevation gain 1100 ft), on 6 endurolytes, 2 gel packs an 32oz of water.

First couple of miles were slow, but I picked it for 2 of the last miles - all part of the plan.

It was a cool morning and I felt pretty good most of the run. I'm sure on a warmer day it would have been far more difficult, but this run sets me up nicely for my final 2-3 long runs and long bricks. Just need to make sure I don't run for a day or two and let my legs recover.

Inventory: Knees are a bit tender; plantar fasciitis requires constant stretching and massaging; hamstring pull is manageable. All pretty standard stuff for an old guy training at this level.

Rainy Monday

Somehow I managed to ride on the trainer for 50mins, run 40 mins and swim 65mins today.



Bike Trainer workout
As much as I dislike riding on the trainer, I have to admit it makes me extremely strong on the bike. I basically do intervals, which makes the time go fast and gives me an awesome workout. Unfortunately I had to cut my workout short because I had to be at the office by 8am, and with traffic in the rain, I need to hit the road by 7.

So the trainer workout is pretty basic and very effective - ride 5 mins in zone 1, 5 mins in zone 2, then start your intervals: 2mins big gear seated, 1min rest, 2min big gear standing, 1 min rest. This is what happens to your hear rate:

You can see where I stopped after the warmup to turn on the fan and later, to fix my chain that fell off.

I hope to build up to a couple of hours on this workout before Ironman.

Speedplay on the Run

I wanted to get a run in at noon, but someone schedule a lunch time meeting. So I got out at 11 for a quick one. After a mile warmup, I ran 20seconds hard, 20 seconds easy for the next 4 miles. Nice cool rain made it very comfortable.

The Swim

I should have skipped the swim since I swam 2 miles yesterday, but I'm trying to get 22 hours in this week. It was ok. Once again, I didn't give myself enought time and had to cut it short at 1.5 miles. It took me a long time to get comfortable in the water, but eventually I got there and by the end of the workout I felt pretty good.

weekly stats

did about 19.5 hours last week, thats...
42 run miles
5.5 swim miles
180 bike miles

or
5h 15min of running
2h 50min of swimming
10h 25min of biking

My target for the week was 20 hours, but by the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, I figured I would be doing more harm than good by trying to squeeze another workout in.

Workouts are shifting from quantity to quality now that I have a good base in place. That means more speedplay and tempo work.

bee in my bonnet

For something different, I rode to visit my grandparents-in-law who are staying with aunt-and-uncle-in-law just north of French Creek park (Birdsboro). As I'm riding along thinking about how nice it is to live in harmony with nature, a bee got under my helmet - I must have looked like an idiot, slapping my helmet in an effort to smash a well protected bee. After stopping, pulling off my helmet and cursing while stomping on the small creature, I rode on with searing pain across my forehead forgetting some of the peaceful thoughts I had only a few minutes before.

My destination was at the bottom of a 2 mile hill (rt. 345) which I would climb on my return trip and add another 2 mile downhill followed by another 2 mile uphill (Shed road).

Having shaved my mustache and wearing sunglasses and helmet, my grandmother-in-law didn't recognize me when I got there and there were a few awkward moments trying to explain who I was. We had a nice visit and after too long of a rest and a banana, I made my way home.

After this somewhat hilly 80 mile ride (elevation gain 4300ft), I ran 10 miles, starting off nice and slow and picking it up during miles 8-9, with mile 8 at 6:40 pace and mile 9 at 6:10 pace.

With the cooler weather contributing, this is the first bike/run brick that I actually felt good at the end of the run.

I still need to get 2 hours in today to hit my 20 hour target. Most of it will be swimming.

great balls of fire

I did my long run yesterday afternoon. My planning was a bit poor - last minute decision due to work priorities. My original plan was to do it on Wed morning. I suppose a series of unfortunate events conspired to make this a very difficult run. I managed 19 miles in 2.5 hours and my last 1.5 miles was at 6:15 pace. Lots of trails slowed my progress - loose gravel, uneven footing. I didn't bring water with me as I didn't have a water bottle in the car, so I ran the first 6 miles without water, but managed the rest of the run around water fountains throughout Valley Forge Park. No electrolyes since it was a last minute decision. The weather was good - mid 80s I think, with low humidity and I mostly ran in the shade. I was wearing an old pair of running shorts without enough support, and didn't have any sports lube - end result: too much rubbing and shaffing and with 10 minutes to go, I had to stop and pour some water down my shorts to cool things off! Hence the title of this blog entry. Wasn't able to get a recovery drink until I got home, about 45 mins after the run. Legs were cramping all night - I finally got up at 2am and put an ice pack on the sore spots (mostly my hamstring). Feel a little better today, but I'll stick with swimming tonight.

Lesson - don't do long runs unless your properly prepared.

adding speed

getting in the zone where I start to add some speedwork...

I rode 20 miles to Betzwood this morning before work, then did 4x6min with 30 sec rests on the bike. I was going to do 3x10min, but I ran out of trail due to construction on the Betzwood trail, so I shortened my rests. I was hoping to average around 22mph during these segment since I had a loaded pack and it was my first speed session in a while, but I ended up going faster that than expected.

It always feels good to go fast - too bad it wears you out if you try to do it everyday!

It's what you put into it

My daughter was bored on her long drive back to college and gave me a call yesterday. She was talking about how some people spend a lot of money for college, while others get the most of the the college the choose. She is going to a good college with a merit scholarship under her belt. She works hard both in school and the extracurricular stuff, really getting the most out of her whole college experience.

I supported her view with the "It's not about the bike" logic. 90% of becoming a better bike rider is about what the rider puts in - how hard the push themselves - how long they go - making sure they get enough rest. Sure 10% is about the bike, but as I fly past the $5000+ dollar bikes on my races, I get a certain sense of satisfaction.

This philosophy has been part of my make up for as long as I can remember - work hard, work smart, and you usually cheat yourself in life if you depend too much on a better bike or a peice of paper from a better school to carry the day.

All that said, there is nothing wrong with investing in a better bike or a better school if you have the means, but it is never a substitute thoughtful training / education / work, etc.

weekly stats & today's tempo run

Stats
Well, this was going to be my easy week and aside from my long run and long bike, it was relatively easy...
15.9 hours of training
that is...
41.5miles of running (6 of them were on the eliptical)
3.25miles of swimming (cancelled one of my swim sessions to see my daughter off to college)
152miles of biking (that was only 2 days of biking)
that is...
5.4 hours of running
2.2 hours of swimming
8.3 hours of biking

Tempo Run
Today's tempo run went something like this...
1 mile warmup
4 mile progressively increase speed to 6:45 pace
1 min jog rest
2 miles at about 6min pace
short rest / porta-john stop
2 miles at about 6min pace
1 mile cool down

It felt good to increase my speed - it was easier on my knee (only the first downhill mile was tough on my knee) - it felt like just the right workout

Dog Daze Century ride

I got my swim in on Thursday and an hour on the Eliptical on Friday. My knee wasn't 100%, but I decided to do the Dog Daze century today (Saturday). I figured I could always head back early if I felt like I was doing more harm than good.

My daughter left for college this morning, so I decided to skip the masters swim and see her off, then head over to the Century ride. The starting point is about 5 1/2 miles from my house, so I figured I would end up doing the full Ironman distance if my knee held out for the entire ride.

The plan was to ride with the WC Bike Club at 8am, but after a group photo, it looked like the A group was going to take a while to get organized, so I just headed out on my own at 8:05, figuring they would catch up at some point and I could draft a while - they never did (probably because I took very few rest stops, which is a hard thing to do with a large group). The people I passed in the first 30 miles must have started before the recommended 8am start time because I flew past them pretty quickly and didn't seem to run into someone that I could ride with.

The weather was just about right, cool in the AM, warming as the day passed. No sunscreen on my arms resulted in a bit of a sunburn by the end of the ride. I wasn't particularly smart about refilling my water at the first 2 aid stations, and got a bit dehydrated in the first half of the ride. The midway point is at the same place as the start, with a morning loop and an afternoon loop. I finished the morning loop by 10:40, and after rehydrating at a water fountain, was ready to tackle the second loop.

The miles came and went a bit more slowly on the second loop. I rode fairly conservatively, trying to be mindful of my knee. I notices some some bad riding habits I have formed when I get tired that puts a lot of strain on my knees and I caught myself several times.

I rode this course with a friend of mine (Chris Bartges) a few years ago - it was my first Century. It seemed so much harder back then and I remember thinking that I could never do an Ironman, because there is no way I could run a marathon after riding over 100 miles! hmm.

Well I finished at about 1:30, feeling pretty good, and stopped for lunch with Frank Dulin, one of the founders of the WC bike club - nice guy - I haven't had a chance to talk with him before.

rest for the weary

This IS supposed to be my easy week, so I am taking some very easy days / rest days, but I'm still trying to get in my key workouts.

My long run yesterday was way harder than I expected - 17.5 miles where I was only planning on 15 -miscalculated - heat must've gotten to my brain. I ran out of water for a 3 mile segment (miles 9-11), on a very hot and humid morning. I barely made the last mile up Hillsdale. I'm glad I have 5 more long runs to get ready for Kona, because I'm not even close right now. Hopefully my knees, foot and hamstring hold out!

Speaking of which... my knees weren't feeling so great after the run, my foot was really aching this morning, and my hamstring continues to hurt. So, today I will swim, but no biking or running for the next 2 days. Hopefully I recover enough to do the century on Saturday (Dog Daze). My backup plan is to drive to Sommers point NJ and do some open water swimming - I may do that anyway on Sunday.

Tonight I'll work on my bike - really needs a good cleaning and a bunch of other minor adjustments.