Ironman Louisville Coverage

For the first time, I made the picture gallery in the media coverage.  The following picture was #3 in the Lava Magazine race photo gallery:

Photo courtesy of Lava Magazine

Here is the link:
http://lavamagazine.com/features/gallery-ironman-louisville/#axzz26Lj2fAQ1

Thanks Lava!

Ironman Louisville: First Professional Ironman: 5th Place

Since my first Professional race at the shortened Muncie 70.3, my training had been focused on getting ready for Ironman Louisville.  Since Muncie was basically an Olympic distance, it didn’t provide the race day simulation that I had expected, but it was very helpful in seeing where I stand against the other professionals.  Mainly, my swim needed some serious help and focus before Louisville.  With that in mind, Coach Bonnie Karas from Fraser Bicycle and I developed a plan to do what we could in the 7 weeks between the races while still developing as needed on both the bike and run.  To sum it up:  more swimming!

Everything was going according to plan and my times/paces were peaking in all 3 disciplines, until my last weekend training…..This is when 10 minutes into my ride, I needed to avoid a deep pothole in the road, and I instead hit a baseball size chunk of asphalt, that I didn’t see until after I hit it! This shot me into the bushes on the side of the road, bending my front wheel in half, which then launched me over the bars, back into the road landing on my back and cracking my helmet in 4 places.  Not exactly that way you want to end your final training weekend!  Luckily, a scraped back, road rash on my hip and really stiff neck were the result.  No doubt I was really lucky that my injuries were so minor.  As a side note, I will forever wear a helmet when I ride.  Without a helmet, who knows what would have been the result.  Equipment-wise, besides a broken helmet and destroyed front wheel, my bike was fine with only a few minor scratches where it hit the pavement.

This unexpected little twist changed my whole outlook on race week.  Instead of resting, packing and preparing, my focus turned to injury repair and damage control.  I was doing everything I could think of to heal my wounds and loosen up my neck: ice, heat, massage, ointments, and ibuprofen.  Everyday I was getting incrementally better and while neck didn't seem too limiting in my range of motion it was definitely a nuisance.  After a few short training sessions, at least I knew that I could still swim, bike and run at my expected paces, but he big question mark is how would it feel after 6, 7 or 8 hours into my day....and would it hold up to 112 miles on the bike?  There was no way to know until race day, so I just focused on what I could control in the final days and knew I would just deal with it on race day as required.

Ironman Louisville Pro Debut: 5th Place Professional!

It's been a while since my last post, but since Muncie, my focus has been on getting ready for Ironman Louisville:  My first Ironman as a Professional.  I will be writing a detailed race report in the coming days, but I can't wait until I finish the complete race report:  I finished in 5th place with a personal best time of 9:28:50!

It was a great day for me that began with losing time on the swim, clawing back time on the bike and then unleashing a great run with the 3rd fastest run split of the day (3:09) only behind Patrick Evoe and Chris McDonald, who finished first and second overall respectively.

Check back in a couple of days for a detailed summary race day execution and nutrition plan.

My First Pro Race: Muncie 37.2 Race Report

Well this is took a little longer than expected to write, but better late than never right?  As I sure most of you know, due to the record high temperatures on race day, the race was shortened from a 70.3 to a “long-Olympic” distance race.  The format went from 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run to a 1.0 mile swim, 30 mile bike (as reported by race management, although I measured 29 miles on race day) and a 6.2 mile (10km) run, hence the Muncie 37.2 distance.  Since these are not a standard Olympic distances I can’t compare my overall time to other races, although each segment can still be evaluated separately with how I raced at Rev3 Knoxville back in May.

For me, shortening the race was far-less than ideal for a couple of reasons.   Most importantly, my focus on long course racing, HIM and IM distance, for the past 3 years has left me missing the peak raw power and speed required for the Olympic distance, and secondly, the swim is my weakest leg, so by keeping essentially the same length swim, but cutting the bike and run courses in half, I was not able to race my strengths and make up some of my time losses in the water.  Regardless of these factors, it doesn’t change the race format and I don’t want to make excuses (although maybe I just did?) since we all have to race the same course under the same conditions.  So I adapted my race strategy for the shorter distance and prepared as well as I could.  The only significant change to my equipment was instead of wearing my SLS3 Fobic ITU suit over my standard race kit as a swim skin, I decided to save the time in T1 and wear the Fobic suit from start to finish.  Also, I deiced to keep 2 bottles on the bike since I knew I would need 2 to stay hydrated for the run, and by carrying them with me, I could skip the congestion of the aid stations.  With everything all set, now on to the race!

Pre-Race:

With the earlier start and staying about 30 miles away in Anderson, I was up waaaayyyy earlier than I have ever been for a race.  Alarm went off at 2:45, and my feet were on the floor by 3.  Went through my normal pre-race routine, packed up the room and was on my way to Transition by 4:15….which was still pretty early for me!  After arriving at the race site, I went through my normal check-list and start time countdown, got in my warm-up run and headed down to the water by 6:00.  Even though it was still dark and early morning, the temperature was still in the mid-80s.  As I entered the water, it immediately hit me how warm it was.  It felt like bath water, and was officially measured at 88 F.   By far this was the warmetsst water I have ever swum in.  After a few minutes of swimming around the warm-up area, I headed to the start corral.  It was go time!

With this being my first pro-race I really didn’t know what to expect, and my expectations were realistic.  I was lining up against some of the best triathletes in the world so my plan was simple: hang on the to the feet of the pack as long as possible and emerge within 5 minutes of the leaders.  Then when it came to the bike and run, I knew what power and pace I was capable of and just go by feel from there.  No problem….right?

Swim:

We lined up in about knee-deep water and the gun went off.  Starting in a small wave was nice.  It was easy to find the space needed to get into a normal rhythm relatively quickly.  So now I just needed hang on to the feet in front of me…..which lasted about 200m until a gap started to form.  Then after another 150-200m of swimming next to someone else, I decided to slip behind the person next to me and get whatever draft I could.  That only lasted another 150-200m until another gap started to form.  By now I was swimming essentially solo, so my plan was just hold onto my form, push the pace as much as possible, without over-cooking the swim.  And yes, overcooking is the right word.  I have never swam in water so warm, and I have never experienced what it was like to overheat in the water.  The heat was unbelievable.  After we made the turn, I could not ignore the fact that I was hot.  Just Hot.  I could feel the heat in my face and there was absolutely no relief from the water.  About half way back to shore, I even started to get a slight side cramp, which has never happened before.  Finally, I was out of the water with the time of 27:28, which put me in 22^nd place after the swim.

As we left the water and ran up the hill to Transition, there just was no relief from the heat.  I was warm and couldn’t wait to get on my bike and cool off with some water down my back and the air blowing.  T1 went smoothly, and I was out on the bike in 2:29. 

Bike:

My plan at this point was to ride at my expected Olympic power and try to catch back up to the rest of the men’s field.  As I tried to increase my power over the first few miles, felt like I was working way too hard for the power I was putting out, and I was still really hot.  I am pretty certain I was overheating from the swim so my body was slowing down until I could shed some excess heat.  The only way to speed this process up was to dump more water down my back, which felt great.  It took me about 30 minutes into the bike, until I felt “normal” again.  After the first 10 miles, my HR began to drop and my power went back up; it was like I finally got my temperature under control.  The second half of the ride was pretty uneventful, with just trying to catch the riders in front of me, and I was able to make a couple of passes.  My average power of 263w produced a ride time was 1:08:18 (26.4 mph avg as reported by race and 25.5 mph from my Garmin).  My bike split ranked 18^th and moved me up to 21^st Overall.

Just like T1, T2 was typical.  A quick rack of the bike and switching of shoes and I was out on the run course in 1:11.

Run:

Just like the bike, my plan for the run was pretty simple; try to catch whoever was in front of me.  As usual, I took off quickly for the first ½ mile and then backed down a little since I feel the start of a side cramp.  As soon as my pace lowed, I was passed by two of the guys I passed on the bike.  As they pulled away, the cramp started to go away, and I was able to keep pace with the second passer and kept the gap at about 100 feet.  We raced this way until the turnaround mile 3, where I was finally able to catch him and make the pass.  I was feeling really good now, and just kept my foot on the gas and made another pass just after mile 5.  At this point I couldn’t see anyone else in front of me and no one behind me, so,I tried to take it all in as I ran down the finish chute as my first finish as a pro.  My final run split was 38:28 which ranked 17^th and put me in at 21^st Male Pro with a overall time of 2:17:54.

Overall, I am happy with my race, and my experience in Muncie.  Obviously I was disappointed the race was shortened; however for the majority of the field I believe it was the correct call.  It was really fun to race as a pro and line up in the first wave, race on a relatively clear course (except the second loop part of the bike) and test myself against some phenomenal athletes. Going in I had realistic expectations on how I would finish had it been a 70.3, but the short course added an interesting twist since my training was not focused on short course speed.  Regardless, I was still able to learn a lot about my own fitness and where I need to improve to move up in the future (swim focus anyone?).

That’s it for now, time to get ready for Ironman Louisville!

Making the jump!

It’s been a busy few weeks since my last post about my race in Knoxville, so here is a quick update of some interesting developments over the past month….

The immediate weeks after Knoxville were fairly typical post-race; first some recovery, then when I resumed normal training, I got sick for a few days.  This gave me a few more unexpected recovery days, which left me some time to think about my season.  Based on my result in Knoxville, I became eligible to apply for a USAT Elite license.  This would allow me to race in the Elite/Pro category.  During this time I thought long and hard on whether to move up.  After weighing all the options, and both my short and long-term triathlon plans, I decided to make the jump!  Starting with my next race in Muncie, I will be toeing the line with the best in the sport! 

It’s definitely an exciting and interesting place to be.  As I am getting closer to race day, I am getting really excited to get my first pro race under my belt and see how I compare.  The thought of lining up as a “Pro” has given me a heightened sense of motivation in my training.  Over the past few weeks, my training has been progressing well, so I know I will be prepared as much as possible for Muncie.

Also, during this time, I have moved from my Shiv to a BMC TM01.  I’ve had some great races and many miles on the Shiv, but when the BMC arrived, I knew it was time to move on.  To summarize, the BMC is just awesome!  As I get it dialed in over the coming weeks, stay tuned for updates and feedback. 

Race Report Rev3 Knoxville Olympic: The Race of Three’s

Well, my first race of 2012 is in the books and it was a huge success!  In case you couldn’t tell from the title, it was the Rev3 Olympic in Knoxville.  The following are 2 versions of my race report: the short and long version, which you can choose depending on how much time you have….Enjoy!

Short Version:  I finished 3^rd Amateur Overall.  1^st in M30-34.  Short enough?

Long Version:

I had done this race the past 2 years, but since it was part of my Ironman build for Coeur d’Alene, I raced the half both times, but never the short-course Olympic.  Actually, this was the first Olympic event I truly raced since 2009.  With a focus on an early-summer Ironman and qualifying for Kona in 2010 and 2011, I was completely focused on long-course training and racing from the start of the season.  However, with my plan to race Ironman Louisville (late-August) this year, I have the flexibility to race other early-season events.  So about 8 weeks ago, I discussed with my Coach, Bonnie Karas from Fraser Bicycle, which race I should do, the half or Olympic?  We agreed the it would be interesting and fun to see how I would perform on the shorter distance.  With that in mind, my goal wasn’t only to race the distance, but my goal was to place on the Amateur Podium:  Top-3 Overall.  Period.  Based on my fitness this year and looking at past results, it was a realistic, stretch goal.  With that goal in mind, we tweaked my training plan from the standard Ironman base building to include more race specific intensity.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  there is nothing easy about racing an Olympic; the training hurts!

Fast forward to the race weekend, I drove from Detroit to Knoxville on Friday, May 4.  Fairly uneventful, but when we went out to dinner in Market Square it was completely packed with people.  Apparently the first Friday of every month the City has an outdoor concert/festival/party in Market Square.   Definitely something to keep in mind if you ever decide to visit.  It looked like a great time.  Saturday was also fairly uneventful, which is a good thing on race weekend.  Pretty much it was final inspection of gear, easy ride and run and a practice swim in the river.  The practice swim was nice since this was my first open water swim of 2012 and the wetsuit always feels tighter than normal during the first few minutes.  The interesting part came when I went to pick up my number.  I was 333.  This got me thinking, was this some type sign of things to come?  I mean this was my 3^rd race in Knoxville, my name has a “third” attached to the end, my son is 3 years old, and I was aiming for a top-3 overall.  Seemed like there was a theme here…

Race Day:

As usual, up early to go through my standard pre-race routine.  Even though it has been over 6 months since my last race, I was able to progress from one activity to another without skipping a beat.  Before I knew it, everything was ready and I was right on schedule: done by 6:45 and I had about an hour until my wave start at 7:50.  After my run, we headed down to the start area, where I continued getting ready for the swim.  Since this is an in-water start, there is no swim warm-up allowed, so any swim warm-up is done before getting in the water.  I was able, to find a place out of the way and hooked up my swim cords, which resulted in more than a few odd looks in my direction!  Oh well, they worked and I was ready to go.  With about 20 minutes before start, I took my Biest-Booster, and with 10 minutes to go I took my gel.  On with the wetsuit and now time to get in the water.  It’s go time!

Swim:

With no real swim warm-up, I made it a point to get in as soon as possible, which was about 5 minutes before the gun went off.  At least I was able to get used to the water and had a few short swim bursts.  While I was swimming, I missed out on the front row at the start line, and ended up about 5-6 feet behind the line about the 3^rd row back.  Finally, the countdown and the horn sounded!  We were off!  It was the usual bumps and knocks for the first couple of minutes, but after that I was able to get into a good rhythm.   I found what seemed to be a good set of feet to follow and settled into a steady pace, which allowed me to focus on my keeping good form.   The swim is a river swim, that is about 1/3 upstream, where we turn-around and head downstream to the swim exit.  There is virtually no current, and the water is flat; absolutely no waves or chop at all and typical of river swims, the visibility was about 6” (I couldn’t see my hand at all during the swim).  About halfway through the swim, I decided the feet I was following were not moving fast enough, so I decided to pull out and go for it.  By this point, I was feeling good and kept the same RPE through to the finish.  The swim exit here is a bit different.  We swim up to the floating dock and heave ourselves out of the water, and being in our black wetsuits, I felt a penguin trying to land on an iceberg….hoping that we launch ourselves enough out of the water so we don’t fall back in!  This has to be pretty entertaining to the spectators.  As I ran up the dock I glanced at my watch and saw 21:18 (1:28/100m avg)!  Based on my training, my target was 23:00, so seeing this was awesome; I was ahead of plan, but with no time to waste, it was on to T1.  My placing at this point was 26^th overall.

T1:  They move this about ¼ mile further down the road than last year.  I figured it would add about 2 minutes to my T1 time and I was close.  I was in and out on the bike in 3:51, not great, but good enough to pick up 1 more position, I was now 25^th. 

Bike:

After racing here the past 2 years, I knew what to expect on the bike.  Plenty of climbs, descents and curves with a few technical portions and speed in excess of 40 mph.  So in other words, it’s not really a course where you just settle into a pace and ride.  On the flip side, it is a fun course that is honest; not overly challenging, but not easy either.  Going into the race, I estimated that if I average about 0.90 Intensity Factor (IF), my time would be about 1:00 – 1:02.  So that was my plan.  Based on some key race simulations, this puts me right in the “standard” Olympic pacing range and still have a strong run after.  In general, the bike went as expected.  I worked my way through the earlier waves of Half-Iron Distance competitors and at the same time passed a few in my race as well.  From mile 10 until about 18, I had a nice battle with another rider swapping positions every couple of minutes.  We were pretty even on the flats, but I was faster on the descents and he would pass back on the climbs.   On the little out and back around mile 13, I was finally able to get an idea on my overall position.  Counting the riders heading back, I figured I was in 6^th place at this point, with about 10 miles to go.  The good news is that I was climbing the overall rankings, but I still had a ways to go get on the podium.  Since every position counts, I knew I had to drop the rider I was swapping positions with.  I couldn’t let him get away and wanted to beat him into T2.  Even if we had the same time, I at least wanted the psychological advantage of being back first.

Finally on the last major climb and technical descent I was able to get a gap and pull away.   For the rest of the ride I kept the hammer down and passed what seemed to be another unlucky rider with a flat about ½ mile from the finish.   I was back into T2 after a ride of 1:01:08 (23.55 mph avg) and move up to 4^th Overall, 2^nd in M30-34.

During the race I paced myself to what seemed to be the correct effort for the distance, but in the end my average power was about 0.85 IF.  This gave me a bike split of 1:01:08, which was right where I thought I would be and it was the 3^rd fastest amateur bike split (I missed the fastest bike split by 6 seconds….damn, I was close!)  Based on my training I think I should have been able to ride at a slightly higher power, but the effort seemed correct.  I think pacing off RPE is better than trying to hold a certain power number, since it gives better chance of a strong run when you listen to your body.  Something to look into for next time.

My nutrition plan for the bike was pretty simple.  1 bottle (2 scoops) of First Endurance EFS, plus 1 serving of gel.  In my water bottle, I also added ½ scoop of First Endurance Pre-Race.  Man, this stuff really is rocket fuel.  This was about 300 cal/hr, which was enough to keep me fueled, but not enough to overload my system at the high intensity.  To keep things simple, I only carried this 1 bottle on my bike….between my extensions, of course!

T2:  I flew into T2 and again move quickly and efficiently.  I slipped on my K-Swiss K-Ruuz 1.5 with speed laces (no socks), grabbed my number belt and visor and headed out on the run.  In and out in 1:11, still in 4^th overall.

Run:

As I left T2, I heard the other riders entering Transition, so I knew I needed to find my running legs pretty quick.  Normally, the first mile always feels a little bit off, both in terms of pace and form.  Today was not that different.  I went out at my target pace for the first 3 miles (goal was sub-6:00 min/mile), and while I was holding sub-6:00 (first mile was 5:56) my form definitely felt a little clunky….but I knew I had no choice; I had to keep pushing.  As expected, my running legs came around about 7-8 minutes into the run.  Now I was still pushing the pace, but my form felt a lot better and running felt more natural.  By this point I couldn’t see anyone in front of me or behind me.  Knowing there were at least a few racers ahead of me, I knew I needed to keep pushing.  At this point, I slowly saw my speed increase:  mile 2 was 5:50.  Somewhere between mile 2 and 3, I knew the turnaround was getting close and it was time to finally check my position.  First I saw 1 runner, then another, then another.  Damn I was 4^th and getting close to the halfway point of the run.  Surprisingly, as I rounded the next corner, there it was!  The Turnaround!  At this point I figured I was about 40 seconds back from 3^rd place with about 3.5 miles to go.  My first reaction was to put my head down and charge full speed ahead.  After a minute or 2, the thoughts started to creep in to be content with my position, 4^th is still a good race, etc.   But I knew I wanted that podium, and I would be disappointed in myself if I didn’t give a full effort.  I didn’t know if I would catch him or not, but I knew I need to keep the pressure on.  The good news is that I continued to see my times fall: Mile 3 was 5:41 and Mile 4 was my fastest yet, at a 5:36, but I couldn’t tell if I was catching 3^rd place or not. 

The run at this point is in a wooded, meandering path, and you couldn’t see more than a few hundred yards at any given time.   Finally, I reached the end of the path and we were back on the main road that parallels the river.  As the road came into view, there he was!  I was getting close.  I was still about 25 seconds back, but at least I could see I was making progress.  We passed the aid station around mile 5, and he still had a 20 second lead.  I knew this was going to be close, and with the few small inclines (they were not really hills, but the rise and fall of the road), my pace had dropped to 5:48 for mile 5. 

The last ½ mile of the course is a climb to the finish, and just before that, the course enters a sidewalk with a couple of switchbacks to enter a tunnel to cross under the road.  I knew I didn’t want to get into a sprint finish on the uphill, and all the turns in the switch back would be hard to make up any time.  So this was it.  I had to do something within the next 0.75 miles, and I was catching him.  At this point, I had no idea on my pace, and I really didn’t care.  I knew what I needed to do, and it was right there!  As I closed in on him, I knew I wanted the pass to stick, so I paused for a few strides to recover (very slightly!) and then charged past as fast as I could.  As I passed I didn’t even look over; I kept looking forward and just ran.  After about ¼ mile I turned around, and he had dropped back about 10-15 seconds.  From this point forward, I kept the pace up and charged up to the finish.  Finally halfway up the hill to the finish, I turned around and no one was in sight.  At this point, I knew I could was going to do this!  I started to get excited, but still kept the pace on and finished my last mile in 5:42.  As I crested the hill, I could finally see the finish, and there was my family cheering me on!  I ran down the finish chute and finally I was done!  After the finish line I finally looked at my watch and saw I ran a 35:31 for the 10k run (5:44 min/mile avg), which is my fastest 10k ever, and a total time of 2:03:00!  At this point I knew I was third over the line, but the race wasn’t over yet.

Now came the waiting game.  While I was 3^rd over the line, there was a second wave, so it wasn’t until about hour later that I finally knew if I reached my goal of finishing on the podium.  During what seemed to take an eternity, the results were finally posted, and there it was: confirmation I finished 3^rd!   What a race!  I am extremely happy with the result, not only because of my placing, but also because I know I raced at my full effort.  Regardless of my position, I know I raced the best possible race and that’s what really counts to me. 

I also need to thank those that have supported me in helping me achieve my goals.  As always, the support and help of my wife and son are essential in everything I do.  All the people at Fraser Bicycle, especially Coach Bonnie Karas for providing the plan to get me “Olympic race ready” in 8 weeks, Ron Schmid for getting my bike ready after a long winter and Paul Rogers for his continued support.   Also, my partners, First Endurance for the producing the best in nutrition products, K-Swiss, SLS3 and H20 Audio for making the long swims much more enjoyable!

This race is definitely a thumb's up!

Now it’s time to recover and figure out what’s next.  My next race is tentatively planned for the Motor City Triathlon in Detroit on June 17.  On a side note, the Rev3 Olympic in Knoxville is a USAT Elite qualifier, and by finishing in the Top 3 Amateur, I am now eligible for a USAT Elite racing license.  So I need to do some thinking if I want to take that step and if so, when does it make sense…. Stay Tuned

It's Almost Here!

Finally!  Race week is almost here!  It’s hard to believe it’s already been about 7 month since Kona, and it’s time to get back to racing again.  The time since Kona was first spent taking a much-needed recovery from a long 2011 season, and then it was back to building my base for 2012.  All was going to plan, and then about 2 months ago, I started talking with Coach Bonnie from Fraser Bicycle about what would be a good first race of the season.  I really like the Rev3 Knoxville in early May…but the question was which race:  the Olympic or the Half-IM?  My last 2 seasons were based around a relatively early-season Ironman in Coeur d’Alene, which required the key preparation phase from mid-March through June.  As part of this build-up I raced the Rev3 Knoxville Half as a key milestone indicator.  This year is different.  I am giving Ironman another more shot, but this year, it is late in August at Ironman Louisville.  With that in mind, my early season fitness is at a different point than it has been the past 2 years.  Also, the added benefit of a late season IM, is that I can race something shorter than a Half or Full, which would be a nice change.  So based on these 2 main factors, the Olympic it is!

Over the past 2 months, we changed the focus of my training from long-course to short-course.  The first thing I have to say is that there is nothing easy about short-course!  Overall training time is slightly less than my long-course training plan, but the reduction of long bike and run was made up with intensity.  Physically, I seemed less fatigued and tired overall, but mentally it meant that you needed to be a ready hit the correct intensity….not all the time, but when the plan called for it.  More so than in IM training, it was essential make the hard days hard and the easy ones easy.

So here I am just over 1 week from race day, and everything is coming together nicely.  Based on my training, I know the changes in my training approach have had the desired effect.  I have supplemented my base endurance with the added speed required for short-course racing, but the question is by how much?  I am not sure; that will be defined on race day.  But until then, I know I am prepared physically and mentally and all that’s left is the final preparations and count the days until race day….which is right where I wanted to be in 1 week out from race day!