There is NO race coming up!!!!

Screw it!!! I am convincing myself that there is NO race coming up in less than 3 weeks.

Ironman Mont Tremblant?

A) What is an Ironman?
B) Where is Mont Tremblant?

Anytime I think about my next workout, my mind immediately jumps into "Oh no! Don't go too hard! You might blow it and never recover!!!"

I have had some of the best runs and rides and swims of my life on an absolutely train wrecked and tanked body, and some of the worst rides/runs/swims of my life on a perfectly rested body.

Why or how could or would ANY workout in the next three weeks wreck the last 7 months of training?

FUCK YOU TAPER!!!!! YOU DON'T EXIST!!!!

(and I feel better now)

Basically I am mentally having a hard time right now. I recall making a good decision by only training for 7 months last year and ending my season with Lake Placid. This was because around that time in 2010 I peaked for Timberman and realized that training non stop for 8 FULL months is too much. 7 FULL months is the perfect amount my body can handle.

Next season? Maybe the end of June will end it...

Oh, and.....

FUCK YOU TAPER!!!!! YOU DON'T EXIST!!!!

August: The Final Month

Welcome to the beginning of the end of the world! of my training season. I can't believe it is already August and I am racing my 2nd Ironman in less than 3 weeks.

For those seasons where my season ended either in August or September, I always remember that physically I feel like the King of the World, but mentally I feel like a scared timid little child not wanting to jump off of the diving board at Mr. Switzer's for the first time.

Have I done this before? YES! Why does it seem so so hard to get through the final 3 weeks of the training cycle? I think it is because of anticipation.

Ever wonder why the first 5 miles of a 10K zooooom right by and yet the final 1.2 feels like it takes a friggin marathon of time to complete?

Anticipation.

You want it over SO badly that it won't come soon enough. I liken this to watching a kettle boil or for Christmas to arrive when you were 6. It would never happen!!!

So! I gotta stay mentally sharp.

This morning I took my 1 trillion x 400 workout on the track and turned it into a 60 min easy run. I felt guilty. My coach, without even telling him I did this, sent me an email with the following:

"Be very smart now with the last 2.5 weeks....So, whenever you feel as though you may be going a bit too hard between now and race day, chances are you probably are. Back off and ease up."

Boy did I feel relieved!!! And.......CONFLICTED!

When should I slow down? When is it ok to keep going hard despite it hurting?

I think the fine line rule here is this: STAY SHARP!

I have done this before. With less than 3 weeks left, my Ironman fitness is in the bag. I may add to it slightly, but the bulk of everything is done.

We are determining my race wattage. My swimming pace. My running pace (until my legs give out).

Now it is time to cement those paces and practice them and know what they feel like, and make sure my fueling supports it.

I have been here. I have done this. I have followed through with it.

Now I just can't fuck it up.

Happy August!!!

Unsustainable

I am starting to hit my breaking point with training and work. My current lifestyle is unsustainable long term.


Basically my job, which pays the bills, AND! pays for my triathlon lifestyle, comes first. Without it, I would ditch triathlon in a heartbeat and just be a runner and do only local races. Priorities people!!!

Fortunately (but also unfortunately) I have been working a shit-ton of overtime! Yes, the extra cash is wonderful, but that in itself is expensive: NO FREE TIME TO SPEND IT!!!

Well, my free time currently is training. And with Ironman crunch training currently going on, I am doing LOTS of it!

Here is a sample of a Tuesday:

• Wake up @ 6 AM, run from 6:30-7:30AM.
• Work from 9AM-6PM
• Ride bike from 6-8PM
• Work AGAIN from 8-9:30-ish or till 10PM
• Get home, try to be in bed by 10:30

Wednesday:

• Wake up @ 6 AM, run from 6:30-7:30AM.
• Work from 9AM-8PM
• Pool from 8:30-9:30PM-ish
• Try to be in bed by 10PM

Thursday:

• Repeat Tuesday, same volume, different variation of a run/bike workout.

DO YOU SEE ANY FREE TIME IN THERE?!?!

Before I go any further. This is no "woe is me" cry for help. I am bringing this all onto myself! I could tell work, "Nope! Not gonna work OT." I could be like, "Fuck triathlon! I am gonna be a professional couch surfer instead." And all of a sudden I have all the time in the world.

But, that is not the reality of life right now.

FORTUNATELY!!! Ironman training and working overtime are both short term things (and will be over soon!!! *fingers crossed*) but UNFORTUNATELY they are colliding at the same time.

I was thinking this morning about the last time I actually cooked myself a meal outside of breakfast? I can't remember! Work has provided food for me for the past I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER that I think the only things I have bought at the grocery store have been gatorade, uncrustables, generic chocolate Ensure, and a case of water, and that has all been for training!

I am looking forward to August 20th, the day where I won't be able to physically move, yet totally free from a HUGE obligation.

Over and out!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Irn Bru & Meat Pies

If there was ever Ironman Scotland, this is a sample of what might be provided in terms of on course nutrition, AND!!!! weapons for battling the Brits during the run.(I was at a Scottish fest over the weekend)

This is a Scottish Orange Soda. It is disgusting. Tastes like liquid bubble gum and or liquid children's tylonel, with fizz

A meat pie and a bridie, with HP sauce.

Also useful for WHEN the zombies attack ;)

However, before you can cross the finish line, you have to do two more events:

#1 The Sheaf Toss:

and #2: The "throw the kettle bell thing over another pole" thing....

As you might be able to tell, my loopiness is pretty much there. I am in the thick of Ironman training with lots and lots of volume going on. Good news though! My body is handling it a lot better this year vs last year.

One more 100+ mile ride to go this weekend then taper!!

Success!!!

I finally had the breakthrough in Ironman training that I have been yearning for during this Ironman specific training cycle.

Yesterday I did a 5 hour bike plus a 1.5 hour brick run. Still small in comparison to the full Ironman, but 4 weeks out a decent length workout! Everything went well, mostly because I paced myself good enough (I could have gone a tad slower on the bike) on the bike which led to a very good run on some hills. I owe the above to also smart nutrition.

Nutrition, I have learned, can be fudged from the 70.3 distance and shorter. Now, I wouldn't play around too much during a 70.3, but at least you can recover from one by shoving copious amounts of salt and vinegar chips + pretzels + powerbar chocolate sticks + an espresso Gu + coke + gatorade + water all down your gullet @ once. (This works by the way!!!)

But nutrition for the 140.6 distance, I have learned, CANNOT be fudged! (Mmmmmmm, maybe fudge in bike special needs? Fudge doesn't melt, right?!?)

And I struggled with this last season for Lake Placid, and I was struggling with it this season for Mont Tremblant: I COULD NOT FIND A CONSISTENT EATING PLAN + FOOD THAT MY STOMACH WANTED AND WORKED AND I COULD GET DOWN EASILY

I think I solved that yesterday:

30 mins: Gu
60 mins: Kona Mocha + Vanilla EFS Liquid Shot
90 mins: UNCRUSTABLE!!!
2 hours: Kona Mocha + Vanilla EFS Liquid Shot
2.5 hours: Gu
3 hours (or special needs bag): Generic Chocolate Ensure
3.5 hours: Gu
4 hours: Kona Mocha + Vanilla EFS Liquid Shot
4.5 hours: UNCRUSTABLE!!!
5 hours:  Kona Mocha + Vanilla EFS Liquid Shot
5.5 hours: Gu
6 hours: I BETTER BE FUCKING DONE!!!!

See what I did there? NO MORE SNICKERS BARS!!! They work if you buy one at a convenience store and eat it on the spot. Unfortunately that doesn't exist during a race! Freezing works, but even in cool temps, if will still thaw out in 30 mins, and pressed up against your body (even with a jersey in between) it will melt into a disgusting gooey mess within that 30 mins. And not to mention it will sitting in your T1 bag for however long before the race even starts + the amount of time you are swimming. Sorry Snickers, but you are out!!!

But I found a REALLY good and SMART replacement! Smucker's Uncrustables! They are frozen, but even when totally thawed out and baking in the sun, they don't get messy. Aaaaahhhhhh. And! Who doesn't love a PB&J?!

 So no hunger spells. No dizzy spells. The temps got up into the 80's, and the EFS was giving me plenty of electrolytes. The Uncrustables @ 210 calories were enough to settle my stomach. It.just.worked! And! I knocked the number of Gu's down to 4. BAM!

I always do this, but my bike wound up being 99.62 miles. Gah! I don't have a distance display on my Garmin (because I would drive myself insane looking at it), but don't worry! I hopped back onto the bike after my run and got that last .38 miles in ;)

Side note: I was riding past a Jehovah's Witness, uh, Church? at one point, and this woman in her car came out of the parking lot and I was worried she might crash into me. Hypothetically speaking,  if she had, and had she helped me, do you think she still would have tried to recruit me?

As for the run, I FORCED myself to take the first 3 miles EASY! Then I started getting excited about everything in life, and by mile 6 my split was an 8:06. Whoops! Gotta reign that back in if I wanted to stay smooth for the entire run.

My run course was run UP!, then run down, then flats, then run back UP!, the back down. The last major up UP! totally kicked my ass, dropping my final mile split to a 9:30. OUCH! But I ran in Rockefeller State Park. OMG! It was sooooooo beautiful there today. Had Monet been painting there then, he prolly would have had to call his doctor after 4 hours. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ;)

Fortunately Mont Tremblant is NOT as hilly as what I did. The first 2 miles of the course are uphill, but at an annoying pitch that isn't too steep, but steep enough that it is annoying. Did you get that? ANNOYING!!!

I think I have one more 5 hour ride, and then taper starts!

This Ironman training cycle, compared to last season, feels REALLY short! But! My long rides have been showing a HUGE improvement over last season, so my coach and I are doing something right!!

I miss the good `ole days of the TDF when....

...Lance was winning year after year

...there was a rivalry between him and Ullrich, aka, the "Bad Guy"

...the leaders looked behind them with dirty looks then hit the gas

...doping was rampant (hahahahahahhahahahahahaha!!!!)

...nobody wore helmets

...there was OLN!!!!

...Cavendish wasn't such a fucking princess

...I looked up to Tyler Hamilton cuz he seemed like such a good guy

...Mario Cippolini was racing. He truly was a styling man!

...there was a pirate racing. RIP Pantani!!!

...Richard Virenque owned the mountains year after year

...they did prologues through strange futuristic theme parks

...the still fastest prologue ever was ridden on a Cervelo P3

...there was a guy nicknamed "The Cannibal" who raced like one

...his name was Eddy Merxx, and he raced to put food on the table

...a guy named "The Badger"! (he won it 5 times as well)

...a guy died climbing Mont Ventoux (I have seen his monument) (he was stoned and drinking liquor that day)

...a young American beat a cocky Frenchman by 8 seconds on the last day!!!

...another American got busted with an 11:1 ratio of testosterone in his system!

...some unknown dude put 30+ mins into the field on a breakaway, and wound up winning the tour! (after that american was DQ-ed)

...stages were so long, that the riders would finish before the race officials

...riders had to fill up their own water bottles

Sadly this year, I have NOT been following the tour. I just don't have that fire anymore. We don't have anymore "came back from cancer to win it 7 times in a row" stories or "good vs evil" (Ullrich vs Lance) stories.

Its most likey a change in interests. I saw 3 stages of the tour in 2003, including L'Alpe D'Huez and the Champs Elysees. Now that triathlon has taken over my life, I get more jazzed about the Ironman World Championships than the tour.

Maybe the Tour should be shortened, or, just turned into one gigantic continuous stage where the riders ride all 21 stages in succession with fricking chainsaws on the the handlebars.

Thanks Kevin for sharing!

Happy Friday!!!

Mossman Sprint Triathlon Race Report

On Sunday, Beth and I did the Mossman Sprint Triathlon at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, CT.

I have a small history with this race, my first DNS back in 2008 when my eyes got terribly infected with pink eye and corneal infiltrators. Long story short, I didn't want to jump into Long Island Sound with infected eyes and race. But! I have always kept this race on the radar. I wanted to do a sprint race this year and this was the one that best fit my busy 2012 race schedule. So here goes!!!

The Nitty Gritties:
Total Time: 1:07:23
Overall: 25/531
Age Group: 1/36 (M30-34) BAM!!!
Satisfaction Level: Overwhelming!

Pre Race:
Uh, I spent 4 days out on the North Fork of Long Island riding my butt off, so after a 3.5 hour ride going from the North Fork to the South Fork and across Shelter Island (including the ferries) and back to the North Fork, then dropping 100 miles in 4:47:xx the next day, I would say I was NOT tapered at all for this race. It was a sprint race after all!

Then Saturday we went back to NYC for dinner and a show, getting home before midnight with the alarm set for 4AM. Uhg. 4 hours of sleep anyone?

I warmed up for 5 mins in the water, which, for the Long Island Sound, didn't taste very salty....(I HATE salt water!!!)

Swim: 11:41
I was in wave #2. I hadn't swam in almost a week, but I felt good! It was a short short distance to the first turn buoy before you settle in along the length of the beach before turning towards shore.

I went out VERY aggressively and just hung onto the leaders. With only one bad sighting error, I hung with the leaders for most of the way and wound up coming out of the water in 11:41 (not knowing I was already in the lead of my AG)

T1: 1:36
I just transitioned....

Bike: 32:56
So after biking tons of miles days before and zero sleep, this is where my body would either just be flat or would charge ahead.

It charged ahead!

Since I was in wave #2 and one of the first out of the water in that wave, I had super super clear road ahead of me. Unfortunately the bike is a two looper and as I was approaching transition for the start of loop #2, I saw the traffic that I would need to work through. It wasn't too  bad! EVERYONE was staying to the right and nobody was veering. It was awesome! Thank you fellow racers! Beth saw me as she was finishing loop #1, and was WAY ahead of where I thought she was going to be. I knew she was having a good day!

I evenly split the two loops, finishing loop #2 one second off. I held 22 flat for the course. This was actually a rather technical course with lots of turns, so you had to bleed off a ton of speed at the corners before accelerating again. I was working the bike pretty hard the entire time. VERY happy with this bike split

T2: 1:25 (estimate)
Since they lumped T1 time + bike time together, they also lumped the T2 time + run time together. Next season I am going to make a point of getting my transitions down faster. I know how to do a flying dismount, yet I don't do em. I need to run sockless with pull and synch lases only. Next season!!!


Run: 20 mins (estimate)
Didn't run with a watch. I recall leaving transition and the clock saying 50:xx and finishing with the clock saying 1:10:xx, so I am calling this 20 mins.

It was so strange starting the run this far ahead of everyone else. Basically I was in this fuzzy zone of the race. The elites were all way ahead of me. Everyone else was behind me. Some of the run directions were fuzzy and there were volunteers not paying attention. I had to yell for directions a few times!!!

The run course was basically a 1.55 mile up, 1.55 mile down. Running up sucked, but I kept reminding myself that the 2nd half would fly by! And it did! On my way down, I was keeping track of how many women I saw coming the other way, then I saw Beth, knowing she was way up in her age group.

But I had no idea where I was in my age group, but I had a feeling I was leading it. Only a couple people passed me on the run, but they were either younger or older than me. I was still running like someone was after me! (Zombie training)

Good thing I kept my effort up and I ended up winning my age group. The 2nd place finisher in my age group ran the 3rd fastest run of the day and made up 3 mins on me! If it were a 10K, I would have been caught.

After thoughts:
After finishing and drinking some water, I hung by the finish eagerly waiting on Beth's finish. She came in not far after me with a 1st place in her age group as well! Great job!

Winners!!!

What a great race! Glad I came back to do this race. It truly is a gem of a race. Small (well, 532 finishers is a good #), LOCAL!, and full of people I know. I love the low pressure of local races vs the big circus of a WTC event.

This race was also a confirmation of my fitness. Looking at the results, I actually went wire to wire in my age group! Yay Ironman training!

Instead of a trophy or medal they gave out gift certificates for a free entry into next year's race! Sweet! Basically an $85 value! I will take that! Guess I already have a race on the docket for next year. Gotta defend my title!!!