Ironman at Law

Long Time, No Blog

2010-08-28T14:49:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been four months since my last post. Here's the quick update on my life:

Training

Still going at it. This year was designed around getting stronger, and that's what I've been doing. I've only raced one time this year at a local sprint triathlon. With the exception of a long week in Boulder for a camp with Endurance Corner and Coach AC, I have spent the past 8+ months doing some long, sometimes monotonous, training. Getting stronger. Now I've switched focus to race specific training for my two races in October. October 10 is the US Open Olympic Triathlon in Rockwall. The following weekend is Ironman 70.3 Austin, where I qualified for the World Championships two years ago. I'm not really shooting for anything in particular for either of those races. My only goals are to run fast, have fun, and get some good benchmarking for next season.

Speaking of next season . . . After October, I recover for most of November to shed the 2010 fatigue. Then, it's time to get serious again. Ironman training. Real Ironman training. Ironman St. George is May 7, 2011. Most believe it's the "longest" (i.e., "slowest") Ironman race in North America, which means for someone my size, we'll really have to pay attention to how to fuel it and pace it. Should be fun!

Business

So what's really been keeping me busy these past several months is my new law firm. Yes, I quit my well paying, secure, paycheck-every-two-weeks job to start a firm with a good friend of mine in Rockwall. There is a link to our firm's website to the right, and here, if you want to see what I'm up to now. The website is still a work in progress, so check back often.

We've been open for about a month now. So far, so good, but setting that up, planning for it, and keeping up with training has pretty much killed this blog. Even if it's just with short posts like this one, I'll try to keep this more up to date, as this is the only place a lot of you follow my training and racing life.

Onward!

Mad Men

2010-04-21T16:57:00.001-05:00

“Advertising is based on one thing, happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay.” –Don Draper, Mad Men

My wife and I have been watching the AMC series “Mad Men” for a while now (we watch it at our own pace on DVD and are only on Season 2, so please, no spoilers!). For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it centers around a Madison Avenue advertising agency in the late 50s/early 60s, the schemes employed by them to create ads, and the lifestyles of the various characters. The show is quite entertaining. One of its funnier aspects (even though they tend to overdo it) is how the writers portray things that were supposedly commonplace in America in the early 1960s, but that today we would all view as absurd. For example, drinking hard liquor all day at the office, not wearing a seat belt, the way women are portrayed both in the office and at home, and in every scene almost every character is smoking (including a scene with a pregnant woman presumably very close to her due date having a cocktail and puffing away at a cigarette!). There was even a scene with the main character and his family having a picnic in a very nice park. As they were leaving, he throws his empty beer can in the woods, and his wife simply picks up their blanket, shakes off all of their trash (napkins, cans, etc.) and walks away.

I’ve always assumed that the writers are intentionally over the top with their portrayal of just how “stupid” everyone was in the early 60s. I wasn’t around in the 60s, so I don’t really know, but I doubt we've gotten that much smarter in the past 50 years. Most of the time I watch and think, “This must be a gross exaggeration. It couldn’t have been that bad! No one would be that stupid!”

But then I started thinking of the things that we did just a few years ago (and that a lot of people still do today), and I wondered: What would a show about endurance sports in the late 00s/early 10s look like forty years from now? People eating eggs but only after removing the yolk, which happens to be the most nutritious part; eating a gel just before a run because they think they need those extra carbs to make it through their 40 minute workout; adding more and more cushioning to their shoes and getting more and more injured in the process . . . ; the list goes on.

I bring up those three specific examples because, like a lot of you, I fell victim to the false thinking that led to those mistakes. Mistakes that, looking back, I cannot believe I was stupid enough to make! What was I thinking!? I will touch on the nutritional examples in a later post. Today, I want to discuss shoes.

I’ve been reading “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. It’s a GREAT book—well written, entertaining, and very informative (Thanks, Ryan!). If you are a runner, PLEASE (!) drop what you are doing, go to the nearest bookstore, and read Chapter 25 (then you can buy it and read the rest later). Don’t worry; it will not spoil anything from the previous 24 chapters. But it will explain some of the problems with running shoes today.

Honestly, it made me angry. Angry that I spent years running in products that were most likely the very cause of my running injuries. Angry that I spent thousands of dollars over those years searching for the answer and trusting that the “experts” knew what they were talking about. Angry that I assumed that those same experts were looking after my best interests. But mostly, Angry at the Mad Men who came up with these products and swore to me that I would injure myself without them; swore to me that I needed to replace them as soon as the cushioning wore down; swore to me that the more I spent, the more protected I would be; and all along the Mad Men were reading study after study telling them they were wrong on all accounts.

I trusted companies that made money when I bought their shoes, when they told me that I would injure myself if I didn’t buy their most expensive shoes at least every three months. They never cured my injuries. But I kept buying. I cannot believe I actually fell for this. I thought I was smarter than that.

Thinking back on it, I am in disbelief that I fell into their trap. All I can think is, “This must be a gross exaggeration. It couldn’t have been that bad! No one would be that stupid!”

Fortunately, I now know better. I've learned from experience, not from a book and not from a shoe salesman.

Consider this: If you put your leg in a cast, the muscles will atrophy and become weak. Shoe companies have been selling us casts for our feet and telling us that it was a design flaw in our feet that made their products necessary. The weaker it got, the thicker they made the casts. We bought it. And the more we bought it, the more we got injured.

Regardless of your beliefs in God vs. Mother Nature, the human foot is a brilliant work of structural integrity. When will we stop arrogantly assuming that we can outsmart our creator?

“The deviation of man from the state in which he was originally placed by nature seems to have proved to him a prolific source of diseases.” –Edward Jenner

Newton's Going Off-Roading!

2010-01-28T11:46:00.003-06:00

Newton Running announced today that it is releasing a new trail running shoe in July 2010--the Newton Momentum. We will finally have an off-road shoe with all of the aspects we've come to love about Newtons! I can't wait to get my hands on a pair and head down to the Texas hill country for a weekend. Or perhaps a summer trip to Boulder to really test them out right!

Here's what the Newtonians have to say about their latest creation:

The Momentum is an off-road guidance trainer designed for runners committed to a more efficient natural running style. It provides intelligent control for all foot types on all types of terrain, from groomed bridle paths to technical mountain trails.

My only concern right now is that I won't be able to get my hands on a pair until mid-summer!

I'll get a review up as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can read more about the Momentum here.

Cleaning Out My Closet

2010-01-23T12:23:00.002-06:00

I had two main projects to complete during those two weeks of Christmas and New Year's where there's not a lot going on at work, and the training is a little on the light side. Two things. My wife wanted me to clean up "my" area of the closet. And I wanted to do my annual cleaning/reorganization of the bike shop. Guess which one I got done?

Of course, it was the closet. Gotta keep the CFO happy, or I won't have a bike shop at all!!

Cleaning out the closet reminded me of the ridiculously difficult time I had finding a pair of running shoes that worked well for me. By "worked well" I mean a pair of shoes that I felt confident in and that I could run in worry and injury free.

Consequently, I spent years switching from one brand and model to another. Below is a pile of shoes that was hiding at the bottom of my closet from 2008. I tended to switch them out before I really needed to because I was never happy with them after a month or so of running. But I also never got rid of them because I was afraid I might want to try them again if they were "better" than whatever I tried next.

In February 2009, I ran the Austin marathon in one of the blue Brooks shoes pictured above. In March, I started running in Newtons. And I haven't looked back. I have never run more consistently and more injury free since college (i.e., before I started listening to the "pros" in the running stores tell me what shoe I "needed.").

Consequently, below are the only three pairs of shoes that I have run in since February 2009.

The pair on the left were my first pair. The yellow pair were for racing and some interval training. And the pair on the right are my current training shoes. The most shocking part to me is that I only had two pairs of training shoes in 2009. Two.

Last January, Tory at Newton told me that she couldn't promise that I would be faster, but she did promise that I would recover faster. That's really what convinced me to give them a try. And I am happy to say that I ran COMPLETELY injury free in 2009. I have also been running much more often and more consistent than I ever have in my life (including college). Oh yeah, and I'm faster than I was last year.

Gone are the days of stressing about what shoe to try next. Thank you Newton Running! After years of foot problems, you have drastically changed my running life. And for that, I am forever grateful.

Cleaning out the closet will be a lot easier in 2010! Now, if I could just convince the Newtonians to come help me clean out the bike shop!

The Five Dollar Shake

2010-01-15T13:51:00.000-06:00

Vince: "Did you just order a five dollar shake?"
Mia: "Ummhh."
Vince: "It's a shake. That's milk and ice cream."
Mia: "Last I heard."
Vince: "That's five dollars? You don't put bourbon in it or nothin'?"
Mia: "No."
Vince: "Just checking."

I just signed up for my first race of 2010. The Dallas Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon on March 14. The entry fee was $100. Upon seeing the price, I immediately thought of the above scene from Pulp Fiction (the second best movie ever made), which takes place just after Mrs. Mia Wallace orders the "Five Dollar Shake" at Jack Rabbit Slim's. Vincent Vega cannot believe that anyone would pay $5 for a milkshake. And I cannot believe that anyone would pay $100 for an event that lasts less than 90 minutes. But I did. And I'm sure I will again. And it will cost me approximately $1.15 a minute. Hopefully my response after running in what I am now calling the "Hundred Dollar Half" will be similar to Vince's after he tried the "Five Dollar Shake." (Look it up. I'm not posting it because I was censored the last time I went above a G rating!).

The plan for the first part of this year was to spend time in the water. I owe AC (i.e., New Coach--AC are his initials) a 12 week swimming block, and we'll get to that. But first things first, I need a solid qualifying time from a half marathon in order to get into a good starting coral for the Chicago Marathon this Fall. I planned on just taking it fairly easy and going under 1:35 to make sure I'm at least in Coral B. I have no worries that I can do that without missing a beat in my training. To get into Coral A, however, I need to go under 1:25:59, which will require significantly more effort without moving me up that much further to the starting line in Chicago. When I explained this to AC, he responded with:

"If you're going to race, then let's RACE!"

That sounds fun! And a little scary, since I haven't done any really hard work for him yet. And I've been complaining about how easy he's making me run and ride. I've been warned that my time is coming. And I'm guessing my days of complaining about easy workouts are quickly coming to an end. Oh boy?!

In the meantime, today marks the halfway point for the 30 Runs in 30 Days challenge. So far it has been easier than I thought it would be. Leading into this, the most days in a row that I had ever run was probably five, and that would have been in college. In the past few years I haven't even run a lot of back-to-back days, much less 30 of them in a row! This had me a little apprehensive about how my body would hold up. But once the first week was out of the way, I felt a lot more at ease with these runs. Rather than getting more difficult as the month goes on, I'm finding that the runs are actually getting easier. I feel like just 15 days of consistency has already made me more resilient. Probably because I wasn't allowed to run hard, thus injuring myself.

Thanks, AC. I'll try to save my complaining for the whip instead of the leash.

A Necessary Change

2009-11-25T17:22:00.005-06:00

"Only the wisest and the stupidest of men never change."

--Confucius

Just before the World Championships, I made a significant change in my training life, and it's time to share that with you.

After working with CTS for more than three years, I've decided that it's time to move on. This was a very difficult decision for me. CTS, and Lindsay in particular, have taken me from a slow, overweight wannabe, to a multiple marathon finisher, a top age grouper, three-time Ironman finisher (twice finishing just outside the top 10% of the field), and helped me set PRs in almost every race distance that I compete in (both in running and triathlon). Those are very satisfying results in only four years of serious, focused training. Thank you, CTS, and especially Lindsay.

But sometimes change is necessary in order for an athlete to get to the next level. So I am now working with Alan Couzens at Endurance Corner. Alan lives in the Promised Land (i.e., Boulder, Colorado). I promise that has nothing to do with this decision--although the fact that almost all future training camps will take place in Boulder might have helped me make up my mind. Just sayin'.

If you know me at all, take a quick look around his blog, and you'll quickly understand why I am so excited to be working with him. I am a big believer in his methods and his apparent willingness to tell his athletes what they need to do to get better rather than just allowing them to do whatever they want. As Chuckie V said today, "athletes who train how they need to always beat athletes who train how they want to."

Looking forward to many years of training under you, Alan. Let the chlorination begin!

Ironman World Championships 70.3 - This ain't your momma's triathlon!

2009-11-20T10:34:00.006-06:00

This is a special race. Everyone is fit. Everyone is fast. And EVERYONE can run. I know I’m not a strong swimmer. But my cycling has come a long ways the past couple of seasons. And running has always been my bread and butter. In most races, if I can stay close enough on the swim, I can usually make up some ground on the bike, and then attack the run. Not in Clearwater. Not at the World Championships. Dropped in the swim? Guess what. GAME OVER! Enjoy your next 3+ hours of racing. Because you have no chance.

Not that I had a bad swim (for me anyway). But this course, and everyone’s ability to run well under a 1:30 for the half marathon, sets up to really punish the weaker swimmers of the bunch. You have to be balanced to do well at this race. And by balanced I mean, you can’t have any weaknesses. Lesson learned. You want to play with the best? You’d better bring something more than a strong run.

The swim started out fine. They moved it to the causeway water due to the conditions in the ocean from Hurricane Ida. That changed the start to a time trial instead of waves. Basically, you walked across the timing mat, and your race started. It got very crowded and people were fighting to get in the water once they crossed that mat. I got a great feel for how international the race is while waiting in the starting chute. Two German guys were confused as to how to get into the water. It was only about one foot deep, so the officials announced that you would be disqualified for diving in. The German guys didn’t get the distinction between jumping in the water and “diving” head first. “Everyone is diving, no?” Nein. Don’t go head first. “AHHHH!!! Danke.” No problem, dude. Have a good race.

FOCUS on the swim. The time trial start was both good and bad. It was less crowded than most wave starts are. But the faster swimmers would run right up on you and you would do the same thing to the slower swimmers in front of you. I got kicked in the head a few times. All in all, I would prefer a mass wave start. I’m sure the guy that took second place in my age group would agree, since he lost by one second. Four hours and two minutes of racing, and this guy loses by one second—probably with no idea that it was that close because of the time trial start. Unbelievable.

About 400 meters into the swim, I was starting to settle in and find a good stroke when I noticed that we were swimming through a bunch of seaweed. The water was so shallow that my hands were hitting the sea bottom. I tried to swim shallow to not touch bottom, but I ended up cutting my middle finger on something. Of course, my first thought was “I’m bleeding in the ocean. Great.” It hurt, but there wasn’t much I could do about it so I just kept swimming. I had trouble finding the turn buoy because we were swimming directly into the sun. I just followed the others and eventually saw a red buoy—time to make hard left turn. 800 meters into the swim, and I stood up and walked around the buoy in water that didn’t even come up to my waste.

The only other trouble on the swim was the exit. It was very difficult to see where to go. With no practice on this course the days leading up to the race, I had no idea what to look for as I was swimming in. I kept having to stop and look around to get my bearings. Finally, I exited the water and headed to the transition—35 minutes after I started.

CONCEDE on the bike. This bike course was all that was advertised. Flat, fast, fairly windy, and lots of big groups of cyclists. About 15 minutes into the ride, Michael Dawdy went by me. That man is a beast on a bike! And he had EIGHT guys sitting right on his wheel. They were lined up like he was leading them on a breakaway. I’ve never seen guys ride that close in a triathlon before.

Not much else to say about the bike. I stayed aero, followed the race plan, stayed within my power zones, kept up with my nutrition, ignored all the guys that were passing me, and finished with plenty of legs to run on (or so I thought at the time). One of the most uneventful, near perfect bike splits of any long course race I’ve been in. The most interesting thing that happened was looking down at my hands and noticing that I was still bleeding from the swim. My new, white Fizik bar wrap is now stained with blood (as are my new white shoelaces. I don’t think I stopped bleeding until I stopped racing.).

I averaged 24.4 mph for the bike and finished in 2:17.

STAMPEDE on the run. That was the plan anyway. In almost every long course race, my lower quads cramp in the first mile of the run. This race was no different. About 4 minutes in, the cramping started. I usually just have to slow down a little until my legs realize that we are now running, not pedaling, and the cramping will subside. Sure enough, just as I started up the causeway, the cramping stopped and I was able to run strong. Not as strong as I had hoped, but close.

Speaking of the causeway . . . that thing is steep! I knew we had a “bridge” to run across four times, but I failed to consider the size of the ships that have to pass under that bridge. The first trip over it wasn’t too bad. I found my legs pretty quickly and ran the first 5 miles in just over 35 minutes. The second trip over the causeway took a little bit out of me. I slowed a little during that sixth mile. It didn’t last too long and soon, I was running strong again. I think the best I felt all day was during the second half of the seventh mile. I felt as strong as I have ever felt in a half Ironman.

Then I went over the causeway for a third time.

I had been taking Gatorade at every aid station up to that point. Gatorade will often upset my stomach, so I try to stick with gels. But when I’m working that hard, it’s almost impossible to eat a gel and keep up the pace. So I was taking one drink of Gatorade, followed by a drink of water, at every aid station. Just after the eighth mile, I was coming off the causeway, feeling strong, with only five miles to go, and I decided to skip one aid station. I don’t know if it was the day, the lack of focused training the past two months, skipping the Gatorade, the causeway, running too hard when I started feeling good, or a combination of all of these, but at that ninth mile, someone flipped a switch, and I entered a really low spot. Every step was a fight.

I did everything I could to keep my pace up, but to no avail. And when I cracked, I cracked! I slowed by about a minute a mile for the next two miles. I started taking Gatorade again, and managed to pull myself together for the last two miles. But by that point, it was too late. The damage was done.

I had run the first half in 46 minutes (only one minute off my goal pace). The second half took me 51 minutes. And that was mostly due to the last four miles. My total run time was 1:37.

Overall impressions. My total time was 4:37, which is my fastest time at this distance. I can look back now and see where I could have easily gone several minutes faster (for one thing, my transitions were pathetic!). But even looking at where I lost time, I think the best I could have done that day was possibly still not good enough to crack the top half in my age group.

This is very humbling (humiliating?) for me. I never thought I would go there and win. At least not this year. But I didn’t think I would be 100th place out of 137. I don’t think I really appreciated just how fast everyone there was going to be. Now I know. And next time, I’ll be ready for that. That race is all business. One thing’s for certain . . . it made me want to experience Kona even more. There’s just something about competing with the best that appeals to me. And I can’t wait to do it again. I will be back. But not until I am ready to actually compete.

Right now, I’m just not fast enough. And if I learned one thing, it's that just because you're fast enough to get there, doesn't mean you're fast enough to compete there.

Final Race of the Year - 70.3 World Championships

2009-11-11T23:11:00.003-06:00

This Saturday is the last race of the year for me. The one that I have had on the calendar for more than a year now. Although work threw a wrench into my training this past month, I still feel as ready as I ever have for a half Ironman. And I better be! The competition at this race is going to be unlike any I have ever faced. A PR is not going to be good enough to crack the top third in my age group. I'm finally racing with the big dogs. Does that make me a big dog? Because for some reason, I don't quite feel like one yet.

Ryan (who will be making the trip to Clearwater to watch!) told me before Coeur d'Alene this year to "Race like you belong, because you do." I made the mistake of not truly believing that last June when I had all the problems at Coeur d'Alene. I'm still not fully convinced. Sometimes the only way to truly believe that you belong with the big dogs is to get out there and run with them. That way you at least find out one way or the other. And that's what I'm going to do.

You can watch the coverage of the race at here. Just find the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, click on "athlete tracker," and you can follow me throughout the morning (I apologize for not having a link directly to it, but it wasn't up when I wrote this. It should be easy to find on Saturday.).

Thank you to everyone for their support this year. I will post a full report when I get back to Texas next week.

Coming Up For Air

2009-11-07T21:41:00.002-06:00

Yes, I'm still alive. I've been crazy busy at work lately (two days off out of the last 30, and stayed at the office past 10:00 most nights). But that case has now settled, so . . . I'm coming up for air! With a demanding career, a two year old boy, a wife I love, and my athletic goals, this blog (unfortunately) has to take a back seat to everything else when I get swamped. But I'm back! And I promise I'll catch up on all the fun things I've been meaning to write about. As soon as I get back from Clearwater!

That's right, next weekend is the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida. This will be my first trip to a World Championship. I'm very excited and honored to be a part of it. And if I'm not humbled, I'm sure I will be next weekend. I wonder how many of my competitors have spent the last month neck deep in a lawsuit?

I ran a solid race at the U.S. Open a few weeks back. It was a typical short course triathlon for me. Awful swim, first place on the bike, and a 38:22 10K for third place in my age-group. I missed the win by about a minute. But the two guys that beat me were about 5 minutes ahead of me out of the water. Ridiculous. If I could just keep up, I would win by several minutes.

As soon as I get back from Clearwater, swimming will be a VERY high priority in my life. Over the next few months you may notice a strong smell of chlorine whenever I'm around. Please excuse it. If you don't smell it, you have my permission to send me back to the pool. I've got lots of work to do!

Ironman at Law: Sensored for Content

2009-10-06T11:34:00.003-05:00

Well, the poor attempt at humor in my last post has apparently gotten my little blog banned in at least two offices. And since blogs are way more fun when they're read at work, I have given in to "the Man" and have sensored my own writing. From now on, no more references to [SENSORED] or [SENSORED]. And no matter what, I will definitely not refer to [SENSORED]!

By the way, the new bike is not yet ready. It arrived yesterday, and I should be able to pick it up tonight. The maiden voyage will likely occur on Thursday morning.

Bike [SENSORED] - Specialized S-Works Tarmac

2009-09-30T09:39:00.006-05:00

What a beautiful bike! (Click on the picture for the "centerfold" sized version!). Yes, I am sick. But if this stripped down frame doesn't get your blood pumping, then you have no soul.

I am no longer coveting my neighbor's bike. I finally ordered this frame yesterday. And if all goes well, I will be riding it this weekend. I can't wait! I will report back on Monday with my thoughts.

Stay tuned!

Injury Prevention – Part 1 – Consistency is Key

2009-09-22T13:52:00.003-05:00

This is a re-post (sort of) of a blog I wrote almost a year ago for the Tri-Prosoap.com team site. I never finished what I started, so I decided to try again. I've updated it to reflect my thoughts/experiences in the past year. But for the most part, it's the same. Here goes . . .

When Billy asked me to share my thoughts on injury prevention, my first thought was “But I’m injured all the time!” In fact, I had skipped my run the morning he asked because of lingering pains in my feet since the Longhorn 70.3. But here I am, just a few weeks later, with little or no foot pain, back to a somewhat normal training schedule, and realizing that I really haven’t had to take any significant time off from training in several years. I think this is due to the numerous lessons I learned after the even more numerous mistakes I made when I first started in this sport more than seven years ago. So maybe I am qualified to give advice on the subject. Or to at least tell you all what has (and especially what hasn’t) worked for me.

But first, let me start off by saying that I am not a doctor. I am not a physiologist. Or a chiropractor. Or physical therapist. In fact, unless it is engineering or law related, I have had absolutely no formal training whatsoever as it relates to anything that I will write about on this blog. This is all based on my own reading and personal experiences (which, truth be told, I have probably done more studying of this subject than I ever did as an engineering student! Sorry, Dad.). It’s basically going to be “Here’s what I do and why.”

Ok, on with the show . . .

It’s important to note from the start that we are talking about the so-called “overuse injuries” not injuries that you get from traumatic experiences such as twisting a knee or crashing a bike. So why do we get overuse injuries? Put simply, we do more than our bodies are ready to handle at the time that we do it. Breaking it down even further, we do more than certain parts of our bodies can handle at the time that we do it. We’ve all heard this, but it bares repeating . . . Doing too much too soon, or going too hard too often, will eventually lead to injury.

I had an engineering professor that used to say that “In a perfect engineering world, all the parts to your car’s engine would completely fail at the same time.” His theory was that if our cars were perfectly engineered, then one day you would be driving along and every part of your car would break at the same time. In his mind, we don’t live in a perfect engineering world because certain parts wear out faster or at different rates than others.

Or more appropriate for this analogy, certain parts of the engine can handle stresses that other parts can’t handle. If you always drive 100 miles an hour, there are parts to your engine that will be able to handle the stress, but others that won't. Unfortunately, because the bigger, more powerful parts of the engine can handle those stresses, you won’t know that the smaller, more delicate parts, can’t handle it until it's too late and they fail.

This is a good analogy to our bodies, and I think describes overuse injuries in an easily understood way. Anyone who has had an extended lay off from training (and especially weight lifting) and then goes too hard or lifts too much their first trip back to the gym understands this phenomenon all too well. Sticking with the weightlifting example, if you haven’t lifted in a while, your bigger muscles will allow you to lift A LOT more than the smaller, more delicate, connective tissues are able to handle. This is why the days after your first weight training session, you generally feel like you've done some MAJOR damage to your muscles. You did too much too soon, but your body didn’t tell you until it was too late. Remember this feeling!

Breakthrough workouts are how we get stronger, faster, and build more endurance. But just because your body will allow you to run 15 miles when your longest run in the past 6 months was only 5 miles, doesn't mean you can pull it off without injuring yourself. It may not happen at first, but don't be fooled. You are setting yourself up for disaster.

I finish almost every workout feeling like I could have done more. There are obvious exceptions, but for the most part, you should not be pushing yourself to the brink of failure a majority of the time. There is a time and a place for this type of training. But not until you are ready for it, and even then, not too often. If you do, there will be muscles that can take it, and you may be able to train this way for a while. But eventually, this type of overload will lead to injury.

So how do we make sure we aren’t overdoing it? Patience and Consistency. Patience to wait until the time is right to tackle that Ironman/Marathon you've always dreamed of. And consistency to gradually build up your body to the point that it can handle the training and intensity necessary for tackling such an event. I'm talking about years, not weeks or even months. The more consistent you are with your workouts, the more consistent you are with your recovery, and the more consistent you are with your nutrition, the less likely you will get overuse injuries, as long as you are also paying attention to your body. And as long as you are patient.

It took me 5 years before I was finally able to attempt an Ironman. I signed up for one just one year after I got into this sport. But injuries kept me from doing it. I was injured more in the first few years of my involvement in this sport than I have been in the last 5. I now train harder, longer, and have raced more and more every year since. Be patient! I'm not saying you can't complete an Ironman or marathon your first year in the sport. But I am saying you will definitely be faster, stronger, and enjoy this sport a lot longer if you are patient and don't rush into racing longer than you are ready for.

Some people say that there is no such thing as "overuse." They argue that in reality, you are under trained for the training/racing you are doing. It's really just semantics, but the point is, you have to train in order to train more and/or at higher intensities. I can handle the 20 hour weeks at the intensities that I put in because I have been consistent for years. The pros put in 30+ hour weeks at even higher intensities because they have been even more consistent for even longer. If I were to go out and put in 30 hour weeks for the next month, I would injure myself (if I could even last a month!). I could handle 30+ hour weeks only if I were to slowly increase my training (and quit my job so that I could spend time recovering properly!). Know your current limits.

As for the here and now, don’t take extended lay off periods (I hate the term "off season" because it tends to make people think they shouldn't be doing anything). Try to do something (even if it’s just a 20 minute easy run) 5-6 days a week (AND ALWAYS TAKE ONE FULL RECOVERY DAY no matter what time of year it is – but more on this in a later post!). Don't try to bite off more than you can chew. You'll get there. It just takes time.

Don't overestimate what you can do in the short term. But more importantly, don't underestimate what you can do in the long term if you are patient and consistent.

Consistency is key. You’ll see this theme throughout my thoughts on this subject. That’s all I’m going to write today. The rest of the posts will be themed around what I do at different times. So I think I’ll do a post on how I prepare for a workout/race; things I do during a workout/race; things I do immediately after a workout/race; and then just recovery in general since that’s all the rest of the times of the day. Of course, like any good training plan, this could all change as we go along, especially if you ask questions, like I’m hoping you will. If what I write doesn’t make sense, please tell me using the comments section, or shoot me an email and I’ll be sure to respond.

Big Agra Strikes Again!: Dangers of Soy

2009-09-18T11:50:00.003-05:00

If you eat or drink soy products--and especially if you feed them to your children!--the link below is a must read. But first, a little background on the soybean . . .

In a nutshell, soy was originally used to help put nitrogen back into the soils that were depleted from the less than sustainable practices of modern American agriculture. The soybean plant is very good at enriching soils with nitrogen, which is necessary to have a healthy soil. That led to the soy being the second most abundant "crop" in America (behind corn, which is NOT A VEGETABLE, people. It's a grain. Yes, that matters, but that's for another post!).

So what do you do when you're Big Agra and, by necessity, you have a lot of soy? Well, apparently, you market it as a healthy alternative to meat. Those folks at Big Agra are geniuses. But if the following is true . . . they are Evil Geniuses.

Dangers of Soy

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5430 Long Course Results - PASS!!

2009-08-14T17:04:00.007-05:00

For all of you that have been eagerly awaiting a race recap from the 5430 Long Course in Boulder, here it is: I had fun. So based on my goals for the event, I passed. Yes, it was the slowest half-Ironman I've had in years. Yes, the altitude affected me more than normal, so every time I tried to increase my effort I felt like my lungs would explode. Yes, I think I was more dehydrated than I've ever been in my life (first time I've considered asking for an IV at the finish). And yes, Ryan, my Ironman protege, beat me by 7 minutes (nice job, Ryno!). But I had fun, and that was the goal.

It's really hard not to have fun when you're training or racing in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. Boulder is where triathletes go when they die. The really good ones live there already. For example, Chrissie Wellington was in the race, among many other outstanding pros. The reigning men's Ironman World Champion, Craig Alexander, was also there, but not racing. I saw him training during the race. About eight miles into the bike course, I looked over and saw him RUNNING. Yes, running down the bike course on highway 36. And I was only eight miles in, so I'm pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating yet. You hardly ever see pros of that quality in Rockwall, Texas. And by "hardly ever" I, of course, mean "never." Since I'm not going to Kona, that's the only time this year I'll get to race/train on the same roads as the reigning men's and women's Ironman World Champions. At least I did it once this year. Pretty cool.

I took the above picture while walking around at the race site the day before the race. This is the view that you have about 500 meters from the finish. Like I said, it's hard not to have fun when this is the scenery. The bike course is even better.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Arkansas to join some fellow Tri-Prosoapers (and my sister) at the DeGray Lake Sprint Triathlon on Sunday. Then next week, I'm racing in Rockwall at the annual Tri-Rock (another sprint). That will be three races in three states in three weeks. Should be fun. And fast. Like I said in my last post, time to get fast.

We Don't Get to Pick Our Bad Days

2009-08-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday will be seven weeks since I finished my third Ironman--Ironman Coeur d'Alene. It will be seven weeks since I had the worst swim I've ever had in an Ironman. Seven weeks since I spent 20+ miles unable to shift into the big chainring. Seven weeks since 96 miles into the race my crank came off my bike while going 22 mph, which then caused me to break my aerobars and somehow avoid having the worst crash of my life. Seven weeks since I sat at the side of the road waiting on a mechanic to come make my bike ridable again. Seven weeks since I secretly hoped it couldn't be fixed so that I would have an excuse to quit. Seven weeks since the first time I've taken longer than 4 hours to run 26.2 miles (only one minute longer, but still, longer). Seven weeks since I decided that, for me, the reward of just finishing is not worth the sacrifice it takes to get there.

See, I've "just finished" three Ironmans, three years in a row. I'm tired of "just finishing." I keep telling myself (mainly because Lindsay keeps telling me) that it was only one bad day. And we don't get to pick our bad days. But when our bad day happens to fall on the most important racing day of the past three years, that does something to your confidence. Before I even finished the bike leg, I started wondering what all of this is worth. In order to race (and I mean, RACE, not finish) an Ironman you have to make incredible sacrifices to your other goals. I'm not talking about the sacrifices of everyday life that it takes just to compete in an Ironman. I'm talking about all of my athletic goals.

For example, I've never run the Boston Marathon. I've never done as much cycling road racing as I'd like to do. I've never made a 70.3 race an A-race. In fact, in the past three years, no race other than an Ironman has been an A-race. 70.3s are my favorite distance. But I've never focused on doing one right. Ironman makes you slower at everything. You can still be relatively fast. But you will never be as fast as you could be as long as your focus is on the Ironman distance. So for me, the rest of this year, and at least the first half of next year, is focused on getting faster.

The rest of this year is totally dedicated to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in November. I have no goals of winning or qualifying for anything. I just want to see how fast I can go. Lindsay and I will figure out a more specific time goal over the next couple of months. But for now, we're just focusing on making me fast.

Ironically enough, I leave for Boulder today for the 5430 Long Course Race, which was my "bad day" last year. Ryan is racing again, so I'm eager to see his progression. And my goal is to just have fun and gain back my confidence. No time goals, and no goals that can be affected by anything that is out of my control. My goal is simply to PASS. If I have fun and enjoy the day, then I PASS. If I get frustrated, angry, pouty, upset, etc., then I FAIL. Either way, it will be a good training day and a good time with a very good friend. Once I get back to Dallas, it's time to get busy getting fast.

I may still do an Ironman next year. But if so, I'm going back to Arizona in November. No Spring Ironman next year. That will give me lots of time to focus on speed before we start the long haul back to Arizona. And it will allow me to concentrate on that other race that I've been putting off for way too long . . . the Boston Marathon. Anybody want to meet up in Boston?

A Typical Monday

2009-06-15T17:19:00.005-05:00

Monday is usually a rest day for me. I'm usually pretty tired by Monday morning. As most age-groupers can appreciate, the weekend is when I train the longest. Not always the hardest, but definitely the longest. So by Monday morning, I'm usually tired, sore, and ready to rest.

I have a routine that I have done almost every Monday for the past several years. At lunch, I pull up my previous week's schedule on my CTS personal page. I take this time to reflect on the week. I download my power files, update my training log from the weekend, and reflect on how everything went, how I'm feeling, what questions/concerns I have or expect Lindsay to have, etc.

Then, I put that week away. No matter how good/bad it went, it's over. What's done is done. Time to move on and prepare my mind for the week ahead.

So I click the "next" button and pull up my schedule for the current week. I look at all my workouts for the week, specifically picking out the key workouts that I know are the most important ones to focus on that particular week. These are often my weekend workouts, and reminding myself what's in store helps me get my head around what's to come. The workouts are written out with lots of detail. Time, intensity, intervals, rest intervals, power, etc. There's even a section for coach's comments where Lindsay will fill in any details that might not be apparent from the listed workout. It's very descriptive, and I like it that way.

I like routines. There are almost never surprises when I check my weekly schedule. Monday at lunch is never the first time I've seen what's on tap for that particular week. But some Mondays the schedule looks a little different than usual. And some Mondays it puts a knot in my stomach that doesn't go away for hours.

Today was one of those Mondays.

Today, I put in my comments from the past weekend: ". . . went a little faster on this run than you wanted me to, but I felt fine afterwards. . . . Felt good on the bike today . . . . the heat index today was over 100 and I didn't get on my bike until after noon . . . . " Then I turned my focus to this week.

Immediately, I noticed Sunday. The only thing it says is: "Race-Ironman." No intervals. No prescribed workout duration. No coach's comments. Just "Race-Ironman." Not much else to say about that.

There's nothing else physically I can do to prepare for Sunday. But I have six more days to get prepared mentally. Time to get my head in the game.

The Slowest Sixteen Days of the Year

2009-06-05T10:58:00.004-05:00

I have sixteen days left until Ironman Coeur d'Alene. I am therefore in full taper mode. Yuck.

This is the time of year that I don't sleep well, I'm irritable, hungry, my muscles ache, and self-doubt starts to creep in. The only time I feel really good is after 10-20 minutes of running or riding. I'm starting to feel refreshed, which scares me because it's too early to feel this good (there's that self doubt again!). But I'm not allowed to open it up on the bike or during a run. "Save it for race day," Lindsay says. If race day doesn't come soon, I may explode.

In other news, I've had two races since my last update. I raced the inaugural Rotary Classic Rock Sprint Triathlon in Rockwall (where I live), and then one week later we made the trip down for the CapTex Olympic in Austin. Last year, I never felt like I raced well leading into the Ironman. This year, I haven't peaked yet (which is good), but I'm off to a much better start than last year.

I've been reasonably happy with both results. I ran 5:44 pace off the bike and finished second overall at the sprint. At the CapTex, I was over 3 minutes faster on the swim, only 4 seconds faster on the bike (although the course changed a little and some say there was an extra hill or two), and I was close to 4 minutes faster on the run. I wanted to break 40 minutes on the run, but was only able to do just over 41. Still, in one year, I had a much better swim, a faster bike split, and then ran a solid, steady pace, which was also faster than last year. That should mean that I'm ready to have a good day in Idaho.

Last weekend was my last long ride and run before the race. I felt good and had better results than in years past. This weekend I'll be doing a long(ish) bike/run brick on Saturday (40+mile ride followed by a 10+ mile run), and a swim/bike brick on Sunday (3800 meter swim (i.e., ironman distance) followed by a 40 mile bike).

I'm looking forward to these workouts. For one thing, I have some extra energy to burn, and this is my last chance to really wear myself out before the race. But the best thing about this weekend's schedule is that it looks fairly easy compared to the weekends I've had for the past several months. That tells me that my taper is going well, and more importantly, my mind is ready to race an Ironman. Hopefully, my body is ready as well.

First Race of the Year: Blah!

2009-04-22T15:30:00.004-05:00

Sunday was my first triathlon this year. 13th overall and 2nd place in my age group. Glad that one's out of the way because that was not my best effort. I didn't really take this race seriously, and it cost me.

Most of you know that I am very meticulous when it comes to my race preparation (or anything else for that matter). In fact, I've been called OCD once or twice. Sometimes people refer to my little tendencies as "anal" which I find disturbing. I'm not sure where the term "anal" originated. It really makes no sense! Why anyone would use that part of the human anatomy to describe my tendencies toward perfection is beyond my comprehension. (Ironically, the fact that I just took time out of this blog post to decipher "anal" vs. "OCD" is probably a symptom of my OCD. Or would that be ADD? Never mind. Just don't call me anal!).

Back to Sunday. I didn't take the race seriously, and therefore failed to plan properly. I ended up trying to pull all my gear together at 10:00 the night before the race (when I had to get up at 4:00 to be there on time).

I haven't swam in a wetsuit since my last race last year (i.e., October . . . SIX MONTHS AGO!). I realized this when I pulled my wetsuit from the bottom of my closet, turned it right side out, and found that it was covered in mud from the Longhorn 70.3. I wondered then if my swim would be any good, or if I would practically lose the race in the water. As it turned out, my swim was no good and I lost the race in the water. I've had issues with this wetsuit since I bought it last year. I'm swimming significantly slower in that wetsuit than I am in training or in races where I'm not in that wetsuit. I don't like to blame poor performances on equipment ("It's the poor musician who blames his instrument!"). But after several consistent problems, I think it's time to find another one.

I had a decent bike ride, and this was the first time I have raced with a power meter. I averaged 23.6 for the bike course, and was the fourth fastest bike split. I managed to take back all of the time that I gave up in the swim to the eventual winner. But then, I took too much time in the second transition.

Generally, I don't wear socks on the run of any race shorter than a half Ironman (I never wear socks on the bike in a race). However, I have never run barefoot in the Newtons (bad preparation). So I decided to put on socks for the run. This took too long, and the winner passed me in transition. Actually, he passed me a few seconds after we left transition, and I never saw him. Even if he was running faster than me, he would not have passed me until a couple of miles into the run if I had just had an average transition time for me. And if he had passed me with a mile to go, I would have noticed, and would have fought to beat him.

As it was, I was not all that motivated to work any harder than I did. I only averaged 6:25s. I'm generally at 6:00 or faster per mile in a race this short, so I know I could have run with him if I had known he was there. I'm disappointed in myself for not running faster regardless of where anyone else was on the course. That's not me.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not making excuses for my lackluster performance. I'm simply venting about the fact that I: (a) did not take a race seriously; (b) did not prepare properly; and (c) did not try hard enough. All of those things cost me a top 10 overall and another age group win. If I give it my all, and I get second place, great! That's a fantastic result! But if I don't prepare, I don't take the race seriously, I don't try my hardest, and I get second place . . . well that's disappointing. I can't help who else shows up at a race. But I can help how prepared I am and how much effort I put forth.

Silver lining: This was a wake-up call. I'm glad I got the first race of the season out of the way. Time to move on. And time to prepare properly! Like the title of this blog says: "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." That means more than just getting in the training.

Fantasy (Tour of) Flanders; It's Going to be Scrum-diddly-umptious!

2009-04-03T14:10:00.018-05:00

I've never played any kind of Fantasy Sports. My wife plays Fantasy Football every year, and usually does quite well. But I've never felt like I had the time to deal with it. Until now!

Don't get me wrong. There are not many sports that I don't enjoy watching (especially football). But no sport is as exciting as Professional Cycling (if you disagree, then you just don't understand the sport). And there is nothing more exciting than the spring, single-day classics in April!

So some friends of mine at work and I are having a little Fantasy Cycling pool during the month of April. Starting this weekend, with the Tour of Flanders. We have drafted three riders each. We will re-draft riders for the other two races in our pool (Paris-Roubaix and Leige-Bastogne-Leige). I got the first pick in our draft today since I was last place at our Tour de France pool last year (yes, I know, humiliating!). I ended up with "Big" Tom Boonen, "Big" George Hincapie, and "Perfect Size" (since he's only slightly smaller than me) Juan Antonio Flecha.

I'm hoping my team does well for me. Usually, when I pick riders for a team, they either crash out or get kicked out for doping (e.g., the last Rabobank rider I chose, Michael Rasmussen). Ahh yes. Michael Rasmussen. That jerk almost ruined my son's life!

You see, since I knew I would take time off when my son was born, I convinced my wife in September/October of 2006 that we should have a baby. That way, he (since I was sure we would have a boy!) would be born in July, just in time for the Tour! That turned out to be perfect timing for my "paternity leave" as I was then able to stay at home for most of the month of July in 2007 and ~~take care of my wife and newborn~~ WATCH THE TOUR!!! However, as I tend to get carried away with things when it comes to my excitement over professional cycling, this almost turned out horribly for my son.

Just before the Tour started, and just before my wife's "due date," I made a pledge to several friends that I would name my son after whomever won the stage the day he was born. As it turned out, my son was over a week late, so the Tour rolled along and he missed out on all the best names. We missed out on Fabian Cancellara Brooks, Thor Hushovd Brooks, Tom Boonen Brooks, and my personal favorite, Filippo Pozzato Brooks (I tried everything possible to induce labor on that day!).

But alas, he was born on July 15, the day that Michael Rasmussen won the stage. And while I can think of worse names than Michael to name a son--that's my cousin's and my brother-in-law's name--I can't think of a worse cyclist to name my son after (as he is a dirty cheater!). In the end, we decided to name him after my dad, John, who has, coincidentally, never won a stage at the Tour de France, but as far as I know has never taken performance enhancing drugs either. Oh well, maybe we'll have another child soon and we can name her (since we already have a boy) after this year's winner of this week's Tour of Flanders. I'm hoping that her name will be Juan Antonio Brooks, George Hincapie Brooks, or Tom Boonen Brooks.

SRM vs. PowerTap

2009-03-27T11:59:00.004-05:00

A while back I mentioned that the CFO (aka, my lovely wife), had recently authorized a new purchase. Several of you have guessed that I was getting a new bike. Others thought it was new wheels. You were all correct that it is bike related. After a few years of riding with a PowerTap power meter, and racing without one, I am the new proud owner of an SRM power meter!

Yes, it's used. I haven't ridden it enough yet to cause that much crank rub. But I have ridden with it enough to know that it is WELL worth the extra price over the PowerTap. And if you want to race with the PowerTap, those $850+ hubs for all of your race wheels will quickly add up to more than the cost of an SRM.

So far, there are several things I like better about the SRM:

1. I can finally race with power. Because PowerTap measures power from the rear hub, you have to either race on your training wheel, or buy new hubs for every wheel you race with. And as you know, from my latest marathon adventure, I am an idiot when it comes to pacing during a race. The SRM measures power in the cranks, so it doesn't matter what wheels you are riding on. Now, I can race with whatever wheels I want (including a disc), and still get instant feedback, which should keep me from going out too hard in an Ironman or even a 70.3 race.

2. The computer displays more information. The PowerTap only shows Power, Speed, and one other reading, so you have to toggle to see distance, time, cadence, work, and heart rate. This is very distracting when you're trying to do intervals and you need to see, for example, cadence and time. You can leave it on cadence, but then if you want to know how much more time is left in the interval, you have to push a button SEVEN TIMES to get back to time! That can actually be dangerous if you're working hard during the interval. The SRM computer, as you can see here:

displays power, heart rate, speed, and cadence all at the same time, while time and distance toggles back and forth on its own. Much better for those intervals! Speaking of intervals . . .

3. Interval times on the SRM start over from 0:00 so that the time you are looking at during the interval is the actual time you have been doing the interval. The PowerTap will record splits, but you can only look at the overall ride time, not the time you have been doing the interval. In other words, you have to do math and remember what time you started the interval! This is very annoying. Let's say you're doing 8 minute intervals with 6 minute recovery intervals. You warm up for 15 minutes, and start your interval. That means you have to remember that your first interval ends at 23 minutes, you start the next at 29, then it ends at 37, and so on. With the SRM, you start the interval at 15 minutes, and the time goes back to zero. When the interval is over, the time goes back to your total ride time. Again, MUCH better than the PowerTap.

Some people complain that because the SRM is in the cranks, you can only use it on one bike. NOT TRUE. If you add a sensor to your second bike, you can swap the cranks back and forth to whichever bike you are riding that day. This takes less than 10 minutes, and is perfectly safe if you know what you're doing.

I can't wait to do some shorter races and find out what kind of power I can push for a sprint or Olympic distance event! It's impossible to push yourself in training as hard as you can push in a race. Now we're going to know exactly how hard I can work under race conditions. But more importantly, I'm going to know early on in an Ironman bike leg, whether I'm working too hard, long before it's too late to do something about it.

The Newton Project - "Adjusting" to My New Drug

2009-03-18T14:24:00.006-05:00

It's been just over a month since the Austin Marathon. It always seems to take me longer than I expect to fully recover from such an event. What usually happens is I feel like I'm recovered but as soon as I try to pick up the intensity, my legs remind me that it's only been a couple of weeks and that they are still tired. I think that's what it must feel like to get old. I KNOW I can run faster than this! I remember when I used to. But I just can't make my legs do it anymore!

Just after the marathon, I received a box in the mail. The return address said "Boulder, CO" but I think that's just a cover for Newtopia because when I opened the box, this is what I found:

A brand new pair of (free) Newton running shoes. To recap, when we first discussed my foray into Newtopia, I had sworn them off forever! And then, just one week later (and still not recovered from the PAIN caused by the first run in them), Tory from Newtopia made me an offer I can't refuse, and I agreed to give them another try. The plan was to run in them for 10-15 minutes at a time and then switch back to my Brooks shoes for the remainder of my runs. In theory, over time, I would increase the time spent in the Newtons until I was running exclusively in them, recovering faster, running further, and generally enjoying life (hopefully, injury free).

My experience thus far:

I've run in them four more times now, and I'm getting more and more sold on them with every run. I think just running in them the first time (Dec. 26), pointed out the "flaws" in my running stride. I wasn't someone that you would consider a "heel striker" but I was definitely landing on my heels more than I thought I was (especially late in a hard run after I started to get tired). Since December, I've worked on consistently landing more on my mid to fore foot rather than my heels. So when I got the Newtons in the mail, I couldn't wait to slip them on and go for a run! But having learned my lesson in December (and after reading Linday's comments that "Athletes that meet their goals on time are the ones that don't make the same mistakes twice"), I decided to stick with the plan of only running 10-15 minutes at a time in them.

My four runs in them so far: (1) the first 15 minutes of a 40 minute treadmill run - after 10 minutes, I considered pushing it to 20, but after 15, my legs were tightening up, so I switched to my Brooks; (2&3) the first 20 minutes of a 50 and 60 minute run; (3) 25 minutes on the treadmill during my "rest" day this week.

At first, I was fairly sore the mornings after running in them. But this week, after my 25 minute run, I was not sore at all. In fact, I felt like I could have run a lot further in them than I did, but I called it a day after 25 minutes, since technically I wasn't supposed to be running at all that day. Regardless, I'm adjusting to the shoes faster than I expected to.

My thoughts thus far:

For all of my running life, the first 15 minutes of most runs was the worst. It just always seems to take at least two miles to get in a groove and feel like I can run. But for my past four runs, the first 15-25 minutes of running have been fantastic. I can't explain it, but running in those shoes makes me feel faster, lighter, and more comfortable than I have ever felt in a traditional running shoe. Now, the first two or so miles of running after I switch back to my Brooks are the worst part of every run. I eventually get the feel for them again, but I never feel as good as I did when I was in the Newtons.

One thing is for sure, the Newtons have completely ruined my Brooks shoes for me. After running in the Newtons, my Brooks (and a pair of Nike's I have) feel heavy, clunky, old, and even less cushioned, even though they are supposed to be MORE cushioned. The best way I can describe the difference is that the Brooks shoes feel "flat." My Brooks only have about 150 miles on them, but they feel like they have two or three times that. Imagine riding a bike on a smooth, paved road and all of a sudden you're riding on the beach. That's what it's like when I switch back to the Brooks.

The problem is, after too much of my Newtopian bliss, I still get a debilitating lower calf hangover if I run too far in them. If I don't (as they say) "adjust" to these shoes soon, I may go crazy. Patience has never been one of my strong points. And now that I've tasted what those Newtonian "drug dealers" have to offer, I want more! I've heard that drug dealers will often offer potential customers a free sample of their "product," knowing that the potential customer will soon be hooked and will then come back for more. But upon returning, the helpless addict will be forced to pay a premium to get his or her fix. Welcome to Newtopia, my friend. Yes, the lower calf hangovers can be hard to take at times (I'm still trying to build up my tolerance). And the premium you pay to get your Newtopia fix ($175 a pop), can be hard to swallow if your used to paying a lot less than that for running shoes.

Oh, but that spring in your step just 2-3 weeks after a marathon, that normally takes at least a month to come back. And the feeling I get when running in these shoes . . . well that, my friends, is worth the price of admission. I just hope my tolerance builds up soon before I decide I will never "adjust." I had a hard enough time finding running shoes I liked before I tasted Newtopian bliss. I can't imagine ever finding a shoe that feels this good. Even if it's only for 25 minutes.

I'll keep you posted . . .

Pie, Cadence, and Manipulation

2009-02-26T13:07:00.005-06:00

Lindsay knows just how to manipulate me. She just sent me the above chart. It's a breakdown of my cycling cadence over the last two months. Honestly, I had no idea she had such capabilities. But since she knows I am motivated by numbers (and that I'm a huge dork), she sent it to me. It's hard to read, but all that is really important is that the green section represents the percentage of time that my cadence is 80-90 rpms, and the blue is the percentage of time that my cadence is 90-100 rpms. It would be much better if the green and the blue were reversed (i.e., I should be pedalling more often in the 90-100 range and less often in the 80-90 range).

This is really just Lindsay's way of telling me that I need to pedal a little faster. She knows me quite well by now, and knows that if she tells me to keep my cadence a little higher, I may or may not do it. But if she shows me a chart with a breakdown of my cadence, and tells me to make it look different, then like a monkey doing tricks for a banana, I will stop at nothing to make this chart look PERFECT!!

However, while Lindsay has taken into account my OCD in sharing this chart with me, I'm worried that she may not fully appreciate the extent of my obsessiveness. I'm now concerned that I am going to try to pedal at 60-70 cadence 75% of the time for the next 2 months. That way, the next time she sends me this chart, it will look more like this:

Maybe she should change 90-100 to yellow, just to be safe.

Austin Marathon - Pacing for Dummies

2009-02-19T15:54:00.008-06:00

Yesterday, a friend that keeps up with my blog on Google Reader informed me that I only post 0.5 times per week. My first thought was, "Wow! That much?!" But then I realized that once every two weeks is not so good if I want to keep any readership whatsoever. More importantly, though, is that I keep my job. And with how busy I am at work right now, I have been missing workouts. And I can't very well explain to Lindsay that I don't have time to swim, but I do have time to blog. Regardless, as my friend is aware, I am motivated by numbers. At work, it's the billable hour. With racing, it's obviously the clock that I'm obsessed with. And now, I have new motivation to write more on this blog: My Google Reader Rating must rise!!!

So last weekend my wife (aka, Krisha; aka, the CFO) and I went to Austin, Texas for the Austin Marathon. Before Sunday, I was unaware that there was a 26.2 mile stretch of road in Texas that has absolutely ZERO flat parts. I guess, technically, the very top and very bottom of each hill is flat, just before it starts to go back up or back down again, but you get my point. That is one hilly race! Luckily, or so I thought, I do lots of running on hills. The route I run most of the time has several big hills that come into play on almost every run. The hills at the marathon, however, were shorter, steeper, and there were A LOT more of them. All this to say, I screwed it up. Long story short, I started out too fast (as I always do!).

Lindsay's last bit of encouragement just before the race was, "I know you will have a good race. Just remember to be consistent from mile 1." Easy enough. The plan was to run each and every mile between 7:00 and 7:10, thus finishing with a Boston Qualifying time of between 3:03 and 3:08. Even if I slowed down after 20 miles or so, I would still have two minutes to spare! So with my perfect plan in place, the gun went off, and I started running. Here are my splits and my thoughts during the race:

Mile 1 - 6:46 (Oops, settle down there, Seabiscuit.)
Mile 2 - 7:02 (There we go, time to settle in for a while.)
Mile 3 - 6:51 (Um, slow it back down, tough guy!)
Mile 4 - 6:41 (Hey, moron, what are you thinking!? Answer - "Man, I have to pee!")
Mile 5 - 7:23 (I stopped to pee for a little over 40 seconds, which means this was another 6:40 mile)
Mile 6 - 6:46 (Ok, I tried to warn you. You will pay for this later.)
Mile 7 - 6:46 (Oh yes, you will pay dearly. You just wait.)
Mile 8 - 7:09 (Woo hoo! Back on track!)

Mile 9 - 7:01 (Now we're talkin. And I'm still feeling pretty good! Maybe I'll be ok.)
Mile 10 - 6:50 (Alright, whatever, let's see what we can do!)
Mile 11 - 7:29 (Hmm, that mile was pretty hilly. Maybe I'm still alright.)
Mile 12 - 7:32 (Another hilly mile. The downhills were really starting to hurt at this point.)
Mile 13 - 7:11 (Back on track. Strong first half. Hang in there.)
Mile 14 - 7:22 (This is going to hurt.)
Mile 15 - 7:27 (Oh dear.)
Mile 16 - 7:48 (That's ok. You knew this was coming. "Only" 10 more miles.")
Mile 17 - 7:44 (Alright, this hurts. But whatever happens, surely you can keep it under 8 minutes!)
Mile 18 - 8:01 (Hmm, maybe not.)
Mile 19 - 7:48 (Seven more miles at 8 minute pace . . . Ok, that's less than an hour, hang in there.)
Mile 20 - 8:06 (Just keep running.)
Mile 21 - 7:47 (Just keep running.)
Mile 22 - 8:58 (Uh oh.)
Mile 23 - 8:43 (Mommy!?)
Mile 24 - 8:18 (YOU WILL NOT WALK! You will pay for your idiocy!!)
Mile 25 - 8:53 (How are those two girls passing me and talking?! And one of them is wearing pink Newtons. Great.)
Mile 26 - 8:16 (Only 0.2 miles. Hey wait, is that another hill!? NOOOOO!!!!)
Last 0.2 - 1:40 (Must. Eat. NOW. Hey look! Doritos!!!!)

Total Time - 3:18.27. I'm not embarrassed with that. But I'm not really happy with it either. I know I would have done ten minutes better (at least) if I had just been able to start out smarter. I've run stupid races before, but usually I'm thinking "Man, I feel good! Maybe I can hold this pace?!" But I've run enough marathons that this time I knew from the beginning that this one was not going to end well for me. And it didn't. I could not get control of my pacing, and it finally caught up with me.

I will say that running those last four miles was quite possibly the most painful athletic experience of my life (at least the most painful one that I remember). So at least I learned that I can run for a LONG time in a LOT of pain. That's good. I think I'm going to need that in Coeur d'Alene this year if I want to get to Kona. As Lindsay recently said, "This is a good training marker for the Ironman. Remember, every day training and racing is important and makes you stronger for the next training session and race. It is all part of the bigger picture!"

Bigger picture indeed. Time to move on to Ironman training. Four months to race day, and I'm starting that four month block with a 3:18 marathon. I'll take it! And speaking of Coeur d'Alene, Kona qualifying, training/racing smart, and learning how to pace in a race . . . the CFO has recently authorized a new purchase that I can't wait to tell you about! But that will have to wait for another post. I need to increase my Google Reader status!

Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In

2009-01-15T09:13:00.018-06:00

After almost two years of intrigue, my recent experience had finally convinced me to give up on the notion that Newton Running shoes might be the perfect running shoe for me. If you have no idea what I'm talking about (first of all . . . where've you been?!?!), read this first (and be sure to read the comments).

As you can see, the Ironman at Law Blog is read way up in the land of Newtonia (either that, or those pesky spies at Google tattled on me). I haven't been able to locate Newtonia on my little "recent visitors" map, but I think it's near Boulder. Anyway, one of the Newtonians left a comment this week explaining that it was possibly the user, not the shoes, that were the problem. ("It's not me, it's you!") Yesterday morning, I spoke with the Newtonian that left the comment. Let's call her . . . Tory (since that's her name). And I must say that the Newtonians are very nice people. I wish more companies would take the time to talk with their customers the way Tory took the time to talk to me.

Two things in particular surprised me about our conversation. First, I expected the Newtonians to believe that everyone should be running in their shoes. This is not the case. "Nothing is for everyone" was one of the first things Tory said. And while Tory and I may still have different opinions about the percentage of runners that "should" be wearing Newtons, the fact that she did not say 100% was a pleasant surprise to me. The way I understand it, Newtons are designed to get us to run the way we were designed to run. Traditional running shoes are designed to keep us from hurting ourselves when we decide to run in a way that we weren't necessarily designed to do. Whenever we try to outsmart our Creator, bad things tend to happen (see, e.g., processed cheese and high fructose corn syrup).

This is why I've wanted to try the shoes for so long. Even though I was a candidate for motion control shoes, the more I ran in them, the more I was injured. Several years ago, I finally gave up on them, corrected my running form, shortened my stride, increased my cadence (I run with a 90-95 cadence now), and am now running a lot more miles, a lot faster, with a lot less injuries. This is what Newton Running is trying to encourage.

Tory also explained how to adjust to the shoes in a way that is somewhat different (or perhaps just more detailed) than the information found on the Newton website. The website says, "A general rule would be to take it easy for several runs. Enjoy the new feeling and do runs of 2 to 4 miles until you have about 25 miles total. At this point you should be fully adjusted and ready to go farther and faster." I had read this prior to trying the shoes, but like most people, did not want to decrease my mileage to only running 2-4 miles at a time until I adjusted to the shoes. I therefore planned to do one or two short runs a week in them, and do the rest in my traditional running shoes. You know the rest of the story.

Tory explained what sounds like a better approach to me. She suggests starting each run by running in the Newtons for 10-15 minutes, then changing into your normal shoes to finish your workout. After a while, you are able to increase the amount of time in the Newtons until you are eventually running all of your miles in them.

Ok, that makes sense, but I was still not convinced. That sounds like A LOT of trouble. "What's the benefit?" I asked, "Are you saying that if I take the time to adjust to these shoes, that I will be faster?" Her answer was the second thing that surprised me about the conversation. She said, "No. I can't guarantee more speed. But what I can say is that because of the technology, you will not do as much damage during your runs and you will recover faster than in a traditional running shoe." I followed up with, "So you personally notice a significant difference in your recovery time now that you run in the Newtons?" Her answer, "Absolutely."

WOW! Now they have my attention! I'm drinking the Newtonian Kool-Aid (or in my case, the Grape Soda)!

Every endurance athlete spends lots of time and even more money trying to figure out ways to recover faster. Just look at all the products out there (both legal and illegal) that are designed to get you back to training faster. We probably spend more money on recovery shakes than any of the other foods in our pantries. We wear compression socks/pants/shirts that promote blood flow to our muscles while we sleep and ride in planes. If recovery is what you're selling, endurance athletes (triathletes especially) are buying!

But how confident are they? Well, after my marathon in February, Tory has offered to send me a pair to try. I will then update all (or both?) of you, my faithful readers, about my experience. You and I will find out together if they will completely ruin me, or if the benefits outweigh the inconvenience of "adjusting" to the shoes. So far, I'm not yet convinced. My recovery time for my first 6 miles in them was a little over two weeks. But as the saying goes, "It's the poor musician who blames his instrument." This time, I will play it the way they tell me.

So that's where the Newton Project stands. After swearing to never run in them again, Tory served me up a nice tall glass of grape flavored Recovery Drink. And I'm preparing to drink it down with a huge smile. I may someday run in a blissful state of Newtopia. Or I may once again end up with a purple tongue, a stomach ache, and begging Lindsay for forgiveness. But either way, I will tell you all about it.

Weekend Update - Bad Timing on Out-And-Backs

2009-01-12T17:05:00.007-06:00

Well, I think it's safe to say that my self-induced calf injury is a thing of the past. I only have a handful of weeks (5 to be exact) until the Austin Marathon, so I had no choice but to get a quality long run in this weekend. Saturday was my day. It was cold and the wind was blowing over 20 mph, but I bundled up and headed out the door, hoping for the best.

I had planned to do a 2 hour run, so I was going out an hour and then turning around. That works well if you run EXACTLY the same speed on the way out as you do on the way in. I, unfortunately, NEVER do that. So I'm forced with either running past my house at the end of the run, or running longer on the way out and risking making a the run longer than it was supposed to be. At the 53 minute mark, I had a choice to make. Turn left, down a familiar path, and run out of road in less than two minutes, meaning I would likely get home early. Or turn right, down a road I had never been down before and risk upsetting the Drama Queen that is my brain since I wouldn't know EXACTLY where to turn around (YES, I am OCD!). There is not much I hate more than getting home early during a workout. It's worse on the bike because I basically have to soft pedal around the neighborhood just to get the last two minutes in so that my power file says 4:00 instead of 3:58 (again, OCD). But it's just as bad on a run. To me, my driveway is like a finish line. And I don't like to run past it!

So I took the road less traveled and turned to the right. DQ immediately freaked out ("What are we doing!!?? This isn't the right way!!). But, I somehow survived, and by the time the hour was up, I could see a big turn in the road. I was feeling REALLY good at that point, so I decided to keep going and turn around at the big turn. I turned around in 1:02, and then realized why I had felt so good. I had been running slightly downhill for the past nine minutes. Oh yeah, and remember that 20+ mph wind? Well, that was helping me run down that hill. All of a sudden, I was running much slower, and DQ was trying to convince me to just walk. So much for the road less traveled!

As it turned out, the wind was in my face for most of the trip home. I ran just under 17 miles, and I finished in 2:07. I.e., 7 minutes longer than I planned on running. That's practically a mile further. And it was SO WORTH IT!! Because I didn't have to run anymore once I got home. Unless you are a runner (and possibly OCD), don't even try to understand this way of thinking.

Sunday - Another two hour workout, but this time, 90 minutes of it was on the bike with the last thirty minutes being a run. Sunday was not as cold and the wind was practically gone, so the bike ride was uneventful. Then I had a 30 minute run. The first hard transition run of the season is always fun. And by fun, I mean ridiculously difficult. I felt like I was carrying a 50 pound pack on my back. I turned around after two miles (14:30) because I figured I would slow down on the way home. Most of the last mile back to the house is uphill, and my legs were pretty much toast at that point. But I wasn't about to give up with less than a mile left to finish the weekend! So I pushed on. I topped the hill, and knew I was only two minutes from home.

Two more minutes, and my weekend is over! Two more minutes, and I can EAT. Two more minutes, and I can take a hot shower!! I rounded the corner and headed towards my ~~driveway~~ finish line. I joyously glanced at my watch and realized . . . I made it home a minute too early.

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-09T16:36:00.009-06:00

I went to the kitchen in my office to clean out my giant Denver coffee mug so that I could enjoy a delicious afternoon Americano, and I saw this:

You can't read the note in the picture, but it says: Official "Clean out the pantry, I've Made a New Year's Resolution" ledge.

Apparently someone has made (at least) the following New Year's Resolutions: (1) No more little powdered donuts (or "donettes" according to the clever packaging); (2) No more iced biscotti; and (3) No more throwing away food. So they left it on the counter for all to enjoy.

And enjoy they did! There were only two little powdered "donettes" left when I saw the sign. So I left the orange. I'm not giving up on citrus fruits this year. I just wanted to offer the latecomers a healthier option than an iced biscotti and two "donettes". Mainly, I just want to see if the orange would last the day. If it does, I will take home and eat it. If not, then I have provided someone an orange that might have otherwise fallen to the "temptation" of a little powdered "donette." Win. Win.

Grape Soda, Isaac Newton, and Confession

2009-01-07T15:24:00.010-06:00

Hello. My name is Barry. And I have an advertising problem.

It's true. I sometimes buy products I know are not right for me simply because the advertising is pure marketing GENIUS.

Take, for example, the time that I was pumping gas and there was a grape soda ad on the gas pump. It was a picture of an open ice chest, full of ice and cans of sweet delicious grape soda. At that moment, I decided that nothing would taste better than a grape soda, and I HAD TO HAVE ONE. Luckily, I was at a gas station, and therefore went directly into the store and purchased one. It only took one drink for me to decide I had been duped. But not willing to admit my mistake, and not one to throw away something I just paid for, I stubbornly finished the grape soda . . . which left me with a stomach ache, a purple tongue, and a ~~sugar~~ high fructose corn syrup high. Now every time I see an advertisement and suggest that whatever is being advertised looks cool, my wife will sarcastically say, "MMMMMMM, grape soda!"

My latest fall to the lure of advertising came a couple of weeks ago. After lots of marketing at Ironman events and in magazines, I decided that the Newton Running shoes looked like they could be just the thing to make me a super fast runner. Craig Alexander runs in them, and he just won in Kona, so they MUST be good, right!? I asked Lindsay about them, and she quickly said they were not right for me. Now, I know that she knows more about running shoes than I. And I know that she knows my running style better than I. And I know that she knows what is and is not the right thing for me to do/wear/have/try/eat/drink/etc. in training than I. But come on, Craig Alexander wears them!! And their website is really cool!! So the Saturday after Christmas, I ran in a pair of Newtons. And they felt GREAT!!!

. . . for about 3 miles. Then my calves started getting tight. And my ankles got tired. And my arches started hurting. In the span of about a quarter mile, I went from "Wow these are GREAT!" to "HOLY CRAP! What have I done!?" I only "ran" 6 miles that day. My only thought at that point was "Lindsay is going to kill me!" I couldn't wait to see what type of torturous intervals she would put me through to teach me not to blow her off again. No problem. Lindsay's out of town for the holidays. I can recover from this before she gets back. No more running in the Newtons until I have the time to adjust to them. Eight weeks out from a marathon is not that time!

The following Monday, I could barely walk because of the pain in my lower legs. Every single muscle from about mid-calf to the tips of my toes was screaming at me every time I took a step. Tuesday was a little better, so I laced up my normal running shoes and headed out the door. I made it 1.6 miles. Turned around. And walked home.

I felt fine on the bike, so I went on several long bike rides the rest of the week. Then Saturday, a full week after my little experiment, I went out for a long run. It was the most painful 12 miles of my life (it was supposed to be 16!).

I'm feeling better now after having confessed my sins to Lindsay, and running easy, massage, and stretching yesterday. Today is MUCH better. I actually think I will recover in time to get in a solid 2 hour run this weekend. We'll see. First, Lindsay prescribed the "someday you will listen to me" intervals for tomorrow morning. They are going to be tough on my sore, tired legs. Better take a Fuel Belt with me! Those look really cool! And Craig Alexander uses them! Sweet.

New Year; New Look

2009-01-01T13:31:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you are all off to a great start. I got the year rolling with a solid three hour ride this morning with the group from Rockwall Cycling. That's always a great ride, so if you live in the area, come out and join us!

I've changed up the blog a little to start the new year. Mainly, you'll notice the color is different. I have found the white background easier to read, so I'm switching it up. Let me know if you like it or not. Speaking of letting me know, I want to make this something useful instead of just a way for friends to keep up with me. But the only way for me to know what anyone out there wants to hear about is for you to leave comments at the end of posts. So if you like what you read, don't like what you read, want me to talk about something, want me to stop talking about something, etc., leave a comment. Otherwise, it's just me keeping a journal. Which I'm fine with, but like I said, I would prefer to make this useful for someone besides just me.

Happy New Year, again. And give me your thoughts!

Congrats to Brooke!

2008-12-18T15:19:00.007-06:00

One of our Tri-Prosoap team members, Brooke Rossman, qualified for the Boston Marathon last Sunday by running a 3:40:49 at the Dallas White Rock Marathon! Brooke had to run it no slower than 3:40:59 in order to qualify, which technically means she wasted 10 seconds worth of effort by finishing faster. But joking aside, with that 30+ wind in her face for most of the second half, she could have easily done a 3:30 in better conditions (or faster). Nice job, Brooke!! Can't wait to see you in Boston!!

You can read her story and follow her progress as she prepares for Boston at http://www.brooketoboston.com/.

Congrats also to all the Tri-Prosoap members that finished the Marathon. Billy and Chase are pictured above with Brooke. Jason, Michael, and Dian also ran with pride. You can check out all of their stories at the Tri-Prosoap Blog.

Anyone who has ever run a marathon or ever wants to run a marathon should go check out all their stories. After having run five myself, I can honestly say that I have experienced EVERY single thing that each of them discussed. From Jason's mid-run weight loss secrets, to Billy's emotions at the starting line, to Chase's hammies and calves cramping as he was trying to keep moving toward the finish. But what stood out the most to me were Michael's thoughts immediately after the race. I think every time I have finished a marathon I've said "Never Again" at the finish line. But after a few days (sometimes even just a few minutes) I start to think, "that wasn't so bad. I can do that again. I wonder how much faster I could go if . . . " And so it begins again.

Congrats again to all!

Turkeys Trotting

2008-11-26T12:09:00.017-06:00

It has been a tradition in my family for many many years to run the annual YMCA Dallas Turkey Trot every Thanksgiving morning. It's actually my favorite running event in Dallas, and was also one of my first. With everyone spread out across the country, this is the one event of the year that everyone has always been in Dallas for. And that has meant that it's the one time of the year that my entire family goes and competes at the same event at the same time, whether we are prepared for the 8 miles or not. Thankfully, tomorrow will be no exception.

As I've mentioned before, everyone in my immediate family is a runner. My dad has been running since running wasn't cool. Mom started several years ago and hasn't slowed down yet. My sister is a former Texas High School State Champion in the two mile and runner up in the mile. My wife runs, her sister runs, my sister's husband runs, and even the little ones begged to run the three mile event this year.

So tomorrow we will all toe the line once again and remember the things that we are all thankful for. For me, this year I am most thankful for my dad's ability to run. Even though he is having to settle with "only" doing the three mile event this year, that's three more miles than the doctor recently told him he would ever be able to run again. He has a ways to go before he can run another marathon, or even as fast as he would like to run 3 miles. But for now, just finishing three miles is his own personal marathon.

Never underestimate your ability to influence others around you to run/bike/swim/whatever. And you never know how far it will go. My dad ran. So my sister ran. So I ran. So my wife ran, and her sister ran. And my sister's husband ran. And finally, my mom ran (and to this day is the most dedicated of all of us!). Eventually, all of dad's grandchildren will likely run as well. I don't know where the chain will stop. But there's no doubt where it began. Thank you, dad, for always inspiring us to reach beyond our potential, and to go further than any of us thought was possible. You are truly an inspiration. And thank you, especially, for teaching us to run.

Be thankful this week for your ability to train and race. And think about that the next time you don't feel like training or racing. Seeing my dad deal with an injury that the doctors can't seem to fix has made me really think about the fact that someday I won't be able to do this anymore. People often ask me why I do Ironman events. Why do I swim, bike, and run as much as I do? Why do I put myself though that?

Because someday I won't be able to. But today is not that day. Today, I can run. Today, I can hurt and keep moving. Today, I can push myself beyond my comfort level. And for that, I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Injury Prevention at Tri Pro Soap

2008-11-21T15:29:00.005-06:00

The team I race for, Tri-Pro Soap, has asked me to post some articles on the team site regarding injury prevention. I'll put the links here whenever I post on that site. Please check it out, and be sure to support Pro Soap!

http://tri-prosoap.blogspot.com/2008/11/injury-prevention-part-1-consistency-is.html

The "t-sip" Ironman 70.3

2008-10-10T11:28:00.011-05:00

“Patience is a virtue.”

I’ve heard that all my life. And if that’s true, then I must not be all that “virtuous” because patience is something I have never had. I also think several of my readers are not very virtuous based on their comments to me recently! Many of you have told me that you are “running out of patience” in waiting on me to publish another post. I appreciate your patience (or your virtuosity??), and I apologize for the delay. It’s been a busy month.

So back to me and my patience (or lack thereof). I think that has been a problem for me in my endeavors as an endurance athlete. Lack of patience has been the fall of many an Ironman and even many more marathoners. I believe that lack of patience is what causes us to go out too fast, or speed up too early, and then blow up at the end of a race. It’s not always a lack of endurance or a lack of preparation. It’s often a lack of patience.

So as I thought about my approach to the “t-sip” Ironman 70.3 (i.e., the Longhorn 70.3, for you non-Aggies) this past weekend, I decided that because my run has been solid lately, I would be patient on the swim, patient on the bike, and then see if I could put up a solid run time. As you will see, I followed the plan, but came up a little short on the “solid run” goal.

I have had trouble since June with my swimming. Like a lot of athletes, in the pool, I’m fine. But put me in a race, and my times have been up to 30 seconds per hundred slower than in training. That’s a hard pill to swallow, especially when you would win the overall if you just had an average swim! This has been the most frustrating thing about this race season for me. I’m spotting all the top players several minutes, and for me, that’s unacceptable. This will be a focus this off-season.

After thinking more about it, Lindsay and I decided that maybe I was just trying too hard to be fast in the swim. I was starting in the front, fighting with the fast swimmers, getting out of breath early, and thus shortening my stroke for the rest of the swim. So for this race, I decided to just take it easy, focus on my stroke, and . . . be patient. I started off to the side, and just let everyone go. But strangely, I realized that I was not getting dropped like I usually do. And I never lost my breath. My official time was just over 29 minutes. By FAR my fastest time for a swim in a half-Ironman. Yes, the general consensus is that the swim was 3-5 minutes short. But even on the high end of that estimate, that’s about the fastest I’ve ever swam 1.2 miles. Hmm, perhaps patience IS a virtue.

On to the bike. Like most of my longer races, I spent the first 10-15 miles focusing on getting fluids and calories in and just settling in to a solid pace, but not overdoing it by any means. I was in one of the last waves to start so I was passing A LOT of people early on in the bike. I spent most of the ride just telling myself to take it easy and be patient. When I lose patience, or get antsy, I end up speeding up and not leaving myself enough for a fast run. So I was patient. And aside from dropping my chain on a short climb (I actually came to a complete stop since I was climbing at the time—cost me a little time, but no need to panic), there’s not much to report on the bike. Yes, it was windy (we are in Texas!), but I managed to remain patient throughout the ride and finished in 2:32 (22 mph).

Moment of truth. Time to run. As usual, coming out of T2 I felt great. I still had to be patient, though, because 13.1 miles is too far for me to go all out right out of the gate. Plus, I ALWAYS get cramps in my lower quads about a mile in to the run of a half or full Ironman. My strategy is to hold back until the cramping comes, endure it for about half a mile until it finally goes away, and then settle into a pace that is a little faster than I feel like I can hold for 11 more miles. The first mile came and went, and I was running right at 7:00 pace. Then, right on time, my legs cramped. No worries, I’ve been through this in every long course race I’ve ever done. I think it takes your legs a couple of miles to get used to running after a long effort on the bike. If you can run through it, though, it will go away. And sure enough, by the second mile marker, all was well. Time to settle in.

I was cruising along trying to figure out if I should pick it up or remain patient when Lisa Bentley (the eventual women’s pro winner) went by me. Up to this point, no one had passed me and I was blowing by people. It makes it hard to pace properly when all your doing is passing everyone. I find it easier to work harder when someone is there to help push me along, or when someone is in front of me that I’m trying to catch. When Lisa went by I decided to run with her. I picked it up a bit, but she slowly pulled away. The first four miles were on black asphalt and were one long climb and descent after another. Lisa was dropping me on every descent, but on the climbs, I would slowly reel her in. However, by the end of the 4th mile, she had pulled away.

The last 2.5 miles of the loop is on a dirt trail. That was nice except for the sandy parts, which make you feel like you’re running in slow motion. Regardless, it was MUCH cooler on that part of the course, and it really helped break the course up into small sections that are much more manageable than a 13.1 mile run without any change of scenery. About 4.5 miles in, Pip Taylor (another pro who would finish 2nd behind Lisa) came by me. I had someone else to pace off of! I told her that Lisa was not too far ahead, but I could tell by the pace that she was not going to catch her. Pip told me that Lisa had passed her a couple of miles back, so I knew she wasn’t interested in chasing her down. I followed her for half a mile or so and then just before the hill they call “Quadzilla” I went around her. The top of Quadzilla (which I didn’t think was as bad as the rollers in the first four miles) was the 5 mile marker. I hit my watch and saw 36:11. Not too bad, but I’m slowing down from the 7:05 pace I had averaged through three miles.

The last 1.5 miles of the loop were fast. It was slightly downhill, and before I knew it, I was finished with the first loop, and back on the HOT black asphalt for 4 miles of quad killing (and morale killing) rollers! To be honest, I don’t remember much of the second lap. I think my brain shut off and I just went into auto-drive. I remember the 10 mile marker. And I remember realizing that my split for the second five miles was slower than the first (39:12, or 7:50 pace). I remember thinking that if I could just go under 30 minutes for the last 5k, that I would break 4:50. I remember Krisha yelling at me that “PAIN IS TEMPORARY!!” just as I started the last 5k. And I definitely remember feeling like the second time up Quadzilla was MUCH harder than the first. But the details of that last loop are not in my brain. I guess it was painful.

I ran the last 5k in 23:57 (which included the shuffling up Quadzilla), for a final run time of 1:39:18 (5 minutes slower than what I was hoping for), and an overall time of 4:46:20. Only good enough for 9th place in my very competitive age group, and 46th overall male.

The best news of the day was that I earned a spot in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships at Clearwater next year! Speaking of Clearwater . . . I checked the results from 2007. There were 156 finishers in my age group. To finish in the top 50% took a 4:35. Seriously! 4:35 was only good enough for 78th place in my age group! My 4:46 would have put me in 102nd. I realize it’s a different/faster/flatter course. But that’s unbelievable. I’ve definitely got work to do!

Qualifying for Clearwater has done a few things for me. First, it’s reinforced that patience is key in long course racing. Second, it’s made me more confident that I belong in the top 10 in major/national races. I’ve always felt like I could do it, but this is the first time I actually have. I’m finally over that hump, which brings me to the third thing this race has done for me. I am more motivated than ever to earn a Kona spot. And now, for the first time, I truly believe that I am capable of doing it. And I don’t want to wait any longer! I have run out of patience.

My goals for 2007 included proving to myself that finishing an Ironman was possible. Check. In 2008, I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of qualifying for Kona. Check. Next year . . . .

Back to the Basics

2008-09-02T13:28:00.005-05:00

Whenever a sports team gets in a slump, you always hear the coaches talk about how they need to get back to the fundamentals of their sport. NBA players do the same dribbling, passing, and shooting drills that we all did in middle school. Whenever a MLB player is in a hitting slump, the coach always says, "he's just got to get back to the fundamentals of hitting." Jack Nicklaus, the great golfing legend, used to start every season by "learning" how to grip the golf club. You don't get much more basic than that for a golfer.

Personally, I've been running a lot longer than I've been swimming or biking. I come from a family of runners. My dad was runner long before it became cool in the 70s. My older sister was a Texas High School State Champion in the two mile, and was the runner-up in the mile. So when my season wasn't going the way I had hoped it would, I decided that I just needed to get back to the fundamentals of triathlon. For me, that's running.

So I ran the Labor Day 15K in Dallas yesterday. I planned on just running around 6:50 or so (my hopeful marathon pace) and then seeing what I had left for the last 5k. I ran the first two miles in 13:30 (i.e., 6:45 pace). My legs felt really heavy, tired, and slow from all the training recently. But I stuck with the pace and noticed that there was one guy in a green shirt that was way ahead of everyone and then a group of 5 guys that were only about 10 seconds ahead of me. I thought about bridging the gap so that I could just sit in with them and compete for second. But I decided to just be patient and let them come back to me. About that time, my legs started to come around, and I ran that next mile a little harder than the first two. I hit the 5k mark in 20:30 (6:37 pace per mile).

Slowly, I started picking off the stragglers as they were dropped from the group of 5. I caught all but one of them by the turnaround (which was just a little shy of half way). I wasn't sure that I could catch that last guy. He looked stronger than the rest of the group from the beginning, and I could tell that he was the one setting the pace that broke everyone else in the group. I decided that I would just hold my current pace (which had slowed a little) and just see what happens. I'm ok with 3rd.

There was a guy on a bicycle that had been riding to each mile marker and calling out times. At about the 5 mile mark, he rode up next to me. Our conversation went like this:

Bike Guy: "Looking strong. You're in second place?"
Me: "No, third. There's a guy up there with no shirt. He's in second."
Bike Guy: "Are you thinking of the guy in green?"
Me: "Yes."
Bike Guy: "Well, that guy's not part of the race. So actually, you're in second."
Me: "Really?! I guess I better go after him then. You realize, you just made my morning a whole lot more difficult?"

We both laughed, I thanked him and decided to see if I could catch the leader. I was running considerably slower than 6:00 miles, and yet, I was still within striking distance of the win. Apparently no one super fast had shown up to race the Labor Day 15K. Still, a win's a win. It's funny to me how my motivation to catch one more person changed just because I now knew that no one was in front of him. Like I said, I'm ok with 3rd. But I'm not ok with 2nd!

I decided to not let the leader get any further ahead of me, and I would pick it up at the 10k mark. I hit the 10k mark in 41:08 (making my second 5k, 20:38, or 6:39 pace).

Ok, time to chase him down. I sped up again, and was running right next to him when we hit the 7 mile marker. As most competitors will do, when I caught up to him, he matched my pace in order to stay with me. At first, I thought I would just sit with him and wait to attack later on. But I figured that I already had him a little worried, so I should attack now, while his confidence is a little shaken. If I wait, he may decide that he can run with me. Besides, there were only 2.3 miles left. What was I waiting on? So I attacked. Hard. I sped up enough for him to know that I intended on dropping him. He responded at first, but by the time I made it to a turn where I could look back, I could barely see him anymore. I ran the last 5k in 20:17 (6:32 pace - my fastest of the three 5ks).

My total time was 1:01:19 (overall average: 6:35 per mile). That's a little slower than I feel like I should be running a 15k right now if I want to go under 3 hours in a marathon this fall. But I started the race tired, and I only decided to really "race" after 2/3 of the race had already been run. Regardless, I am happy with my effort, my patience, and my strategy against the other runners. I'm also really happy with my running right now. I could have easily run further and faster than I did. For how long, or how fast, I don't know. But I think this is the best I've felt running in September, well, ever. That's a good feeling leading into the Longhorn 70.3 in a month, and a marathon in December.

Perhaps I'll have a couple of good races this year after all.

Trying to Put it All Together

2008-08-28T17:03:00.006-05:00

This has been a tough year for me for racing so far. I overdid it on the bike and cramped on the run at a Half Ironman in April. I had the worst swim of my life at the Cap Tex Olympic distance race in Austin in May. My stomach didn’t cooperate during Ironman Coeur d’Alene in June, which cost me lots of time on the run. I flatted out during the 5430 and had my first DNF in Boulder in August. And I had another bad swim two weeks ago at the Arkansas State Championships that cost me an age group win and a fourth place overall. Each of those races had good elements. My swim was good in April and at the Ironman. My bike was good at the Ironman and the Cap Tex (actually, my biking has been pretty solid all year). And since the mishaps at the Ironman, I’ve been pretty happy with my running, especially my effort. I just haven’t quite been able to put all three together yet this year. Which brings me to last Sunday . . .

Sunday was the Rockwall Sprint Triathlon, which I do every year, but only because it’s local. And by “local,” I mean, it’s less than 5 minutes from my house. Even though I swore off all races produced by Ironhead (i.e., Jack Weiss) long ago, I still do this one so that I can support the local community. Never again until it is run by someone with some common sense.

The Swim – This is a pool swim so you are seeded according to swim time. I was number 27. I was glad that Cooper (one of the Tri-Prosoap members) was one person in front of me instead of one person behind me so that I wouldn't slow him down. Oddly enough, this was the first time I've ever done a pool swim and not been held up by the person in front of me. Thanks, Coop! 4:44 for a 300. Not my best swim, but not my worst either. 14 seconds slower than I had anticipated.

My transitions were pretty much right where I expected. I generally figure about a minute for T1 and 30 seconds for T2 depending on how long the run to my bike is. I ended up with 58 seconds and 29 seconds, respectively. For those of you that don't practice transitions, you should start! The shorter the race, the more important they become. Just think of the time you make up on the run because of transitions alone. 30 seconds spread over the two transitions is 10 seconds a mile on the run. Transitions are your enemy! Every second you spend in there is wasted time. Practice them often. Every time I get on or off my TT bike, I am flying on or off. If you do a brick workout, use that as an opportunity to practice transitions.

The Bike - I knew that several of the Prosoap team were up ahead of me so it really motivated me to work hard to try and catch them. However, as usual for a race this short, I felt like crap the first 10 minutes or so. Right out of the gate two guys went by me in a two-man paceline of sorts. Seriously, who cheats in a 14 mile time trial? The best part is that they kept looking back to make sure there weren't any officials around. Pathetic. One of those guys is someone I have looked up to for a long time because he was so fast. I think he’s even competed in Kona before. I lost a lot of respect for him on Sunday. And for what? A fast sprint race? Nice job.

I eventually caught up to Coop (who was also a witness to the drafting), who then passed me back about 5 minutes later. He was looking REALLY strong when he went by me so I figured he was gone. But I reeled him back in before too long. I know he's a strong runner, so I dug down to try and put a little distance between us in case I needed it to hold him off on the run. Still, I figured we would be fighting it out for the rest of the race. Toward the end I got a little more energy when I realized that I could see our fearless leader, Billy, in the distance. I didn't catch him until just before the last turn before T2. It wasn't until later that I realized he had beaten me in the swim by a minute! Come on, Billy! That's ridiculous! You beat me by a minute in a 300 yard swim?!?! I'm not even going to look to see how bad Chase beat me. When are you guys going to hold a Tri-Prosoap swim clinic to help us slow pokes out? My bike time was 35:59, or 23.3 mph. A little slower than I would have liked, but considering how awful I felt at the beginning, not too bad.

The Run - Felt strong right out of the gate. First mission, track down those cheaters! I caught them less than an mile into it. I generally like to speed up a bit when I pass someone, but in a race that short, if you can speed up, you aren't running hard enough. So I just flew by both of them and kind of chuckled to myself that they aren't quite as tough to drop when they can't help each other by drafting. About that time, the first person went by me going the other direction. Then another, and one more, and then Chase. A quick high five, and then the turn around. I went from starting in 27th position on 10 second intervals to being the 4th person running to the finish. But could I catch Chase?

I felt as good as I ever feel at this point in a race. Sprints are so different than any other distance. There's really no strategy other than to go as hard as you possibly can until you hit the finish line. I had run 6:02 pace the weekend before at DeGray, which is mostly uphill for the first half of the run. So I knew I could go under 6 minute miles if things went well. Unfortunately, I missed the turn to the finish with about 200 yards to go. I pretty much figured it out immediately, so I stopped and looked around to try and figure out where to go to get back on track. Then a guy running the other direction told me that everyone was going "back that way" and pointed toward Chase. So I trotted it in the rest of the way, frustrated, and not running very hard. I jumped the caution tape and crossed the finish line about the same time as Chase.

I don't really know how fast I would have finished, but my pace was just under 5:50 up to the point where I stopped running to figure out where I was. Based on that, I should have finished the run just under 17 minutes flat, which would have put me finishing around 59:10. 10 seconds slower than I had hoped for (remember those 14 seconds on the swim?). And enough for second overall and first in my age group. But who knows what it really would have been.

Jack hunted me (and Chase) down to yell at us for “cutting the course” even though we ran significantly further than we were supposed to since his course was so poorly marked, and he had no volunteers out there to direct traffic. He tried to disqualify us, but the head ref decided to just give us a 2 minute penalty since we in no way cheated. I’m not sure why Jack Weiss is so hateful. I won’t go into too much detail in this forum about what happened other than to say that I had little respect for the man before this race, and his actions at the finish were just inexcusable. I have gotten off course three times in my life. All three were at Jack Weiss races. I have never complained about it to anyone other than my wife and family. But he comes to me yelling at me and calling me “STUPID, GD STUPID” because I “can’t follow his clearly marked signs.” Me and about 30 others according to the head ref, Jack. I’m done with his races. It’s unfortunate because the Rockwall Kiwanis is a great group and this race is really for them, not Jack. But I am now joining the throngs of others that refuse to support anything that he is involved with.

Ending this post on a positive . . . It was a lot of fun hanging out with all the Tri-Prosoap guys. I don’t get to race with them very often since I do more long course stuff and therefore don’t race as often as a lot of them do. I hope to get to race with them more. It was a lot of fun getting cheered on by so many other competitors. It seemed like there was always someone yelling encouragement at me. It’s nice to have a team in what is usually a very lonely sport. Thanks, guys. I’m really proud to wear the Tri-Prosoap jersey; to represent you guys and the great companies that sponsor us. I just wish that jersey or those sponsors could make me swim like Chase and Billy!

Ryan's First Race; My First DNF

2008-08-15T16:19:00.009-05:00

Well, I’ve delayed writing about this long enough. Yes, I DNF’d (i.e., “Did Not Finish”) in Boulder last weekend. This was the first time I have ever dropped out of a race. It was heartbreaking. I felt much better on the bike than I expected to since I had been sick for so long leading up to this race. The first 8 miles of the bike course are the hardest. It’s mostly uphill, and you feel like you should be going much faster than you are. I know that about this course, so I was telling myself to back off the entire time. I was feeling very relaxed, the pace was effortless, I was averaging well over 20mph and getting ready to pick that WAY up, when all of a sudden PSHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! And my back tire was flat. I don’t carry a spare tire (I race on tubulars so just a tube isn’t enough — you need another tire when you have a flat) in anything shorter than an Ironman. So my day was done. Almost.

This bothered me a lot more than I expected it to. I think the culmination of all the “bad races” I’ve had this year are starting to drag on me. I keep thinking all it will take is one good race to get me back on track for the season. As good as I was feeling on the bike, I thought that could have been the day that it all came together. But it wasn’t meant to be. Instead of flying into T2 and running my legs off, I rode on the back of a motorcycle holding onto my bike with one arm and the driver with the other (not an easy feat with a disc wheel dragging behind us like a sail!), and standing around waiting on Ryan to finish the bike course. When he came through, I still had my race number, so I ran with him.

Ryan did AWESOME in his first triathlon! 5:14 and change is solid for anyone doing a half Ironman, much less someone doing their FIRST half-Ironman! And this was his first TRIATHLON! I’ll let him tell you more about it. I decided with a few miles to go that I would bust out the last several on my own. Ryan was struggling, so I stayed with him until mile 11 and then ran under 6:30 pace to the finish. That felt great considering I had been on my feet all day with little to eat. Makes me wonder what could have been . . . .

Still, overall, it was a good day. Disappointing in one respect, but I wouldn’t trade the experience of running with Ryan during his first race. I will have many other opportunities to race well in a half-ironman. I will never get another chance to run with Ryan during his first race. Call it a silver lining or a blessing in disguise, but I will always cherish that flat tire. I always knew that he would be good at this. It just took me 4 years to convince him to try it. I think he’s hooked! Welcome to the club, Ry!

Krisha and I (and my parents and John) are heading to Arkansas this weekend for the Arkansas State Championships. It’s a sprint distance race, and I plan on making up for last weekend. Regardless of the outcome, anytime I get to race with my wife and my 62 year-old dad, it’s a good day!

How Fast Are You Willing To Go?

2008-08-08T11:17:00.009-05:00

On this, the opening day of the Olympics, I was reminded of the above picture and decided to write my thoughts about it. The athlete puking up his Gatorade is Jarrod Shoemaker, who was the first male to qualify for the 2008 USA Olympic Team in the triathlon. I’m sure that picture says different things to different people. “Gross” might be a common response for many. Or “Why would he do that to himself?” for others. To me, it says that Jarrod Shoemaker is someone who is willing to hurt bad enough to win. Are you?

There is not a lot of separation physically between most US Olympic quality athletes. I believe what separates the athletes at the top is mostly mental. An athlete who clearly understands this as well as anyone is Lance Armstrong. I’m paraphrasing, but I remember him saying something along the lines of, “If it came down to who was willing to suffer the most, I was going to win every time.” Granted, Lance was faster and stronger than everyone else. But he was also willing to hurt more than they were. And he won because of it.

It's quite simple, really. SPEED HURTS. Believe it or not, I get a bigger knot in my stomach before an Olympic distance race than before a half-ironman (which is more than twice as far!) because I know what kind of pain I am about to put my body through. It's not necessarily "more painful," but it is a more intense kind of pain than you endure in longer races. Perhaps I’m not working hard enough during half-ironmans, I don’t know. But what I do know, is that regardless of what "fast" means to you, speed, for everyone, is very painful.

If you read this blog, then you know that I write a lot about how the mind will do everything it can to make you slow down. And you know that I believe the mind overreacts, which is why I have dubbed my right brain as the "Drama Queen" or DQ for short. I can almost ALWAYS go faster than DQ wants me to. We all have our own DQ. And there are lots of tricks that our DQs will play in order to try and slow us down. Just ask Jarrod Shoemaker. I’m convinced that I place high in races, not just because I am stronger or more fit, but because I am willing to hurt more than some of the guys behind me. I’m also convinced that I’m stronger than some of the guys (and women) that finish in front of me. But on that day, they are willing to hurt more than I am.

I’m not saying that you have to throw up to prove that you worked up to your level of fitness (I think the German to Shoemaker's right is giving his all as well -- he's definitely not enjoying himself). Only you can really know whether you gave your all. Personally, I’m not convinced that I have EVER raced as hard as I can. That’s a tough thing for me to admit. But I believe it is true. There’s only one thing I can do about that. I’m racing the next three weekends. Two of those are sprint distance races that will give me the opportunity to practice my willingness to hurt in a race situation. As a former coach of mine used to say, "It's not going to tickle." Regardless, it’s time to find out how fast I am willing to go.

Another Trip to Boulder

2008-08-07T16:54:00.007-05:00

Heading back to Boulder this weekend for the 5430 Long Course Triathlon. It's a half ironman event that, unfortunately, I am not ready for. Well, I'm not as ready as I would like to be. But am I ever? I tend to complain before every race that I wish I had a little more time. This time, though, I think my concern is justified. I haven't been able to train well for the past two weeks. Ever since the giardia/flagyl war, I haven't been the same. I had another episode this week, which I think was due to the flagyl causing me to be lactose intolerant for the time being. I hope that goes away. I love me some lactose! But I'm not going to test it until after this race! I can't afford any more episodes like Monday.

After missing a bunch of training days, I did get out on the bike Wednesday. I opened it up a little to see how my stomach would react. Good news! No problems. I was amazed at how strong my legs felt and how high my power was, even though it was only an hour. I guess that's what happens when you recover! Honestly, I don't remember my legs feeling this fresh in months! Then I ran today, and again, I felt really strong. It's more likely that I'm just rested and will tire out and slow way down during the 4-5 hour effort on Sunday. But we'll see.

That's about all I've got this week. Training hasn't been great. Racing long on Sunday. My very close friend Ryan will be racing as well. It's his first triathlon! My first triathlon was an Olympic distance race, so I guess he had to one up me and go for a half-ironman! Instead of writing about his training and how he's doing, I'll just let him tell you. You can read his thoughts this week on the race, here. My favorite line: "When my body is exercised and challenged, my energy is high, my mind is sharp, and my spirit is strong."

Well put, Ryno! You're going to do great! See you tomorrow.

Controlling the Drama Queen

2008-08-01T11:45:00.008-05:00

Everyone pushes themselves harder in a group than on their own. But there are times when you need to train on your own. So how do you really push yourself when no one's watching? To some, this is the very definition of integrity. And for me, the answer to that question is one of the keys to being successful (however you want to define "success"), not only in endurance sports, but in life. Sometimes, no matter how much integrity I think I have, the Drama Queen that is my Right Brain yells out that I can't do whatever it is I'm trying to do. And he is VERY persuasive at times. The best way to convince him that I'm not working as hard as he thinks I am is my power meter. The numbers don't lie. It tells me exactly how hard I'm pushing the pedals. But still, sometimes ME seeing the numbers is not enough when every ounce of my being is screaming for me to stop (or at least slow down). Which brings me to what I believe is the real key to controlling the Drama Queen. Accountability.

My wonderful coach, Lindsay, sees every file from every one of my rides, and she can tell exactly how hard I was working every minute of the way. That means that when she has me do 5x2 minutes Power Intervals (like she had me do this morning), then she can tell, among other things, how strong I am today (both physically AND mentally). Mentally, because she knows exactly what I’m capable of doing (even better than I know myself). So if the numbers aren't quite there, or if they fade toward the end of an interval, she can tell that I either gave up mentally, or that I’m more tired (or not as strong) than either of us realized.

A lot of how we measure my intensity against my actual power is based on Rate of Perceived Exertion (“RPE”). For example, most of my training volume is done at around a 6 on a scale of 1-10. Intervals are usually around 8-9 depending on the purpose and length of the interval. Power Intervals are a 10. In other words, it's “go as hard as you can for 2 minutes without fading or spiking at the end.” Two minutes doesn’t seem that bad, right? Well, it is worse than "that bad." Power Intervals are, without a doubt, the most difficult intervals that I am ever asked to do on a bike. In fact, they are the only thing I do (with the possible exception of running mile repeats at the track) where every time I do them, I seriously think I’m going to puke at the end of the set. I usually do these on the trainer because I feel like they are too dangerous to do on the road. I'm pretty sure that I would fall off my bike at the end of each interval if I wasn't locked into the trainer.

So at 6:00 in the morning, alone in my garage, and sitting on my trainer . . . working "as hard as I possibly can" can have several meanings. There is no chance I would work as hard as I do without knowing that my computer is recording every turn of the pedals! It’s actually just as effective as if Lindsay were standing there looking over my shoulder the entire time (because, in a way, she is). And because of that (well, let’s be honest, because of my PRIDE), I almost never back off during my cycling intervals. Otherwise, I have to explain to her why I didn't (couldn't?) do them the way she expected me to. For me, that is A LOT more painful than 5x2 minutes of suffering on the bike. Yes, even more painful than falling off my bike and puking.

No wonder my cycling has gotten so much stronger in the past year. If only someone would come up with a power meter for swimming and running! Until then, I’ve got to find some other way to convince the Drama Queen to let me work harder.

Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill

2008-07-31T15:47:00.009-05:00

Finally off the Flagyl, and the metal taste is slowly leaving my mouth! That means, I'm starting to train hard again. Well, sort of. Now my son is sick, so I've missed a few workouts taking care of him. Priorities . . .

We went to Arkansas this past weekend to Mount Nebo, just outside of Dardanelle. My family--actually, the Carter family (Carter is my paternal grandmother’s maiden name)--has been going to Mount Nebo for a LONG time (over 60 years?). It’s a state park on top of what Arkansans call a "mountain." I still have family members that live up there, and my dad, who turned 62 on Sunday--Happy Birthday Daddy John! (that’s his grandpa name, which was also his grandpa’s name)--has been going there since he was a small boy. And so have I. But it wasn’t until this trip that I decided to tackle the climb up the mountain on a road bike. And, therefore, it wasn't until this trip that I actually decided to give in and start calling it a "mountain" instead of a "mole hill." It only rises about 1800 feet above sea level, but anything with that type of a climb is a mountain in my book. It’s only a 2.5 mile climb, but as the sign in the picture above indicates, it’s the most difficult 2.5 miles most of us will ever see on a bicycle!

To give you an idea, the last 4 miles or so of the climb up Loveland Pass (which was the steepest part of the Triple Bypass) took me 26 minutes. But this 2.5 mile climb took me just under 20 minutes, and I averaged more than 100 watts (that’s A LOT) more than I did on the Loveland climb. There are 12 switchbacks (I think. It's hard to count when you're working that hard), which is a lot for that short of a climb. In other words, it was the most difficult 19+ minutes I have ever spent on a bike! I cut my “climbing teeth” in and around Boulder, Colorado, on climbs like the ones here. Noticeably absent are any 18% grades. Regardless, it was only 20 minutes of a two hour ride. My first two hour ride after the illness.

No running or swimming this weekend. I planned on a long run on Sunday morning, but John and Krisha were both sick the last night so we decided to head back to Texas early in case there were any issues on the road. There weren't, and we made it home safe.

So now I have 10 days until the 5430 Long Course in Boulder. I haven't felt this unprepared for a race in quite some time. It's not an "A" race, but the plan was to go into it a little tired. Right now I'm not tired at all, and really feel under prepared. Hopefully, I can pull it all together and not embarass myself in front of everyone. This will be the first race that Lindsay has actually been to, and it will be Ryan's first triathlon, so those two things ought to motivate me to dig deep. I just need to get some quality training in this next week so that I don't feel too rusty.

One final note . . . The “Carter Family” (and the Waters, Brooks, and countless other Families) lost one of its most cherished members this past year. Alan Waters was way too young to leave us when he did. The last time I saw him was two years ago on Mount Nebo. He was very interested in my running and cycling, and I even caught him out there running one morning after we had talked about my racing the night before. I'm not sure he ever knew it, but from a very young age, I looked up to him. He was always my favorite and seemed more like a big brother to me than an older cousin. After talking with everyone this weekend, it appears that he was everyone's favorite. And for good reason. You were an exceptional person, Alan. We miss you. Even more than we ever thought was possible.

Pennies do not taste good

2008-07-24T11:11:00.008-05:00

I somehow ate some Giardia bugs recently. Apparently the only way to get giardiasis is to actually ingest . . . well, I'm not typing that here! You'll have to look it up if you want to know. But just to pique your curiosity, I read recently that because of how you get giardiasis, it is also known as "Beaver Fever." So go ahead; laugh it up. I have Beaver Fever! (Now I KNOW you'll look it up!)

I am very appreciative of modern medicine. However, I don't like to put strange chemicals in my body unless absolutely necessary. This is one of those times. I have a half ironman in two weeks, my training has been nonexistent for over a week now (other than two rides that started off ok, but ended sooner than I had hoped), and I lost over five pounds last Sunday. So time to pull out the big guns! The big guns, of course, being a nasty little antibiotic known as Flagyl. Flagyl is a miracle of science that kills everything in its wake (except for me, I hope!). I also hope that a few of my good bacteria survive the "shock and awe" that's going on in my bowels as we speak. No worries, though. I have yogurt in hand. My probiotic troops are waiting in the wings to go back to work once the Flagyl has cleared out all the bad guys! George Bush would be proud (except that I actually have a plan, so maybe not).

I've read that when you get bitten by a rattlesnake, you taste copper. Well, I can imagine what that would be like (except, of course, I don't have the excruciating pain associated with actually being bitten by a venomous snake, but that's just details) because everything I eat tastes like pennies! In fact, I don't even have to eat anything to taste those pennies. The Flagyl is doing that for me. I can taste pennies right now. And based on that taste, I doubt Jesus (or cavemen) would have eaten pennies. Trust me. I'm only supposed to be on the rattlesnake venom for another 4 days, so hopefully that taste will go away, and my training will resume.

Speaking of resuming training; I actually feel quite good today. Perhaps Lindsay will give me the go ahead to get back after it. I never thought I would have to ask her to "let me work harder," but right now she's pulling on the reins a bit. Don't tell her, but I'm going to Arkansas this weekend. And my Orbea is going with me.

Jesus Ate Better Than Cavemen (and so do I)

2008-07-23T07:28:00.004-05:00

Leading up to the Ironman, I had some digestive issues during some of my runs (several of my runs, actually). And we all know what happened during the marathon at the Ironman this year! So Krisha and I started talking about what might be the problem. As you all know, I tend to over think/over analyze everything (I even re-wrote this sentence three times!), so I decided to do a little research to determine what might be the best diet for me. I’m sure this will take a little experimentation, but hopefully, I can figure out the best nutrition plan for me.

I’ve read numerous books on this subject already. One of the best, in my opinion, is Chris Carmichael’s “Food for Fitness.” It’s great because Chris takes the mystery out of making healthy choices. Everything we eat “carries” the things we need (and sometimes things we don’t need) to our bodies. The trick is to find the best “carrier” for the job. I’ve been eating according to this book for several years now, and I have become leaner, fitter, and faster. I recommend it to everyone, athlete or not. But there still may be something that I’m eating that is causing distress at times. So, I started looking at specifically what I was eating. I decided that everything is suspect. Even my organic, skinless chicken breasts, although “healthy,” may not be the best thing for me in particular (since, like training plans, nutrition plans are individual). So I started looking at other theories of eating.

A lot of other well respected coaches and triathletes argue in favor of the Paleo diet (aka, the caveman diet). The idea is that our technology to produce food has evolved way faster than our bodies have adapted to being able to digest those foods. In an effort to feed billions of people, we have learned to harvest grains and rice to make breads, pastas, etc., that are very filling, but we were never intended to eat that way. Accordingly, we should be eating like our caveman (and cavewoman!) ancestors: i.e., ONLY fresh fruits and vegetables and lean cuts of meat. No grains, beans, rice, bread, pasta, milk, cheese, chocolate, wine, beer, donuts, fettuccini alfredo, Kraft singles, French toast stuffed with blackberry preserves and cream cheese (mmmm), pizza, ice cream, peanut butter . . . you get the idea. If the caveman didn’t eat it, neither should you because we weren’t designed to eat those things. Huh?

Something about all that just sounds CRAZY to me! For one thing, where did the cavepeople that I came from live? Do I only eat things that were indigenous to that area? So, no bananas or mangos unless my cave ancestors lived in what is now Ecuador or Southeast Asia? And no bread? Or peanut butter? That can’t be right! And that got me to thinking (big surprise!). I can appreciate their logic. I agree that our bodies have not adapted (nor will they ever adapt) to certain examples of things Americans eat (I refuse to call them “food”) such as trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, or xanthium gum (whatever that is). But I still believe that the "technology" of turning wheat into bread is not one of those examples. So what were we “designed” to eat? Well, since I believe that God made me, I turned to the Bible to see if there was anything there that might shed some light on how I should eat.

In the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, Daniel and his boys were held captive by King Nebuchadnezzar. So that they could someday serve in the king’s palace, King Neb wanted Daniel and his boys to be big, strong, and handsome. So he instructed them to eat from the king’s table. Daniel didn’t like this because he found the King’s fatty meat and wine offensive (sort of like trans fats are to me – You’ll never make me eat trans fats, George Bush!!). Daniel told the official in charge of him to test him for 10 days by only feeding him vegetables and water. It wasn’t that Danny Boy was necessarily a vegetarian. He simply found the foods that the King was trying to present to him as unhealthy and offensive. In the end, Daniel 1:15 tells us that after the ten days, Daniel and his boys “looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.” This is a very good argument for eating like a vegetarian. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that we were “designed” to eat like vegetarians. For Daniel, it was a matter of eating vegetables, or fatty, offensive meats. He chose vegetables since there apparently were no healthy alternatives. This is a good lesson for all of us when we are faced with a menu of unhealthy choices.

Next, I thought about what Jesus may have eaten (yes the obvious “What Would Jesus Eat” joke is there, but apparently some guy has already written a book about that too, and I try not to plagiarize). Jesus was not a vegetarian. He ate fish. But more importantly (pay attention Paleo Proponents!), Jesus ate “loaves of bread” (organic and whole grain, of course). And it wasn’t unleavened bread either! Manna, or unleavened bread, did not come in “loaves.” So don’t try to argue that I shouldn’t eat delicious yeasty breads! Most of the breads of the day were flatbreads (or pitas), which were made with yeast. AND there would have been no significance to the sacrifice of eating unleavened bread at the Passover Feast, if they were not allowed to eat leavened bread at other times. So there! Jesus would have sweetened things with honey, not refined sugar, and he would have gotten most of his fat from olives and olive oil.

There are no accounts (that I’m aware of) of Jesus actually eating red meat. There are places in the bible where people ate a “fattened calf” and there were shepherds so they most likely ate lamb. But this was only on special occasions. It seems that even the shepherds only ate lamb on special occasions, and certainly not every day.

Jesus turned water into wine, but as my dad would point out, there are no accounts of Jesus ever actually drinking wine. It was prevalent in the day, and personally, I doubt he would have provided wine for others if it was unhealthy to drink. Some people point to the Passover Feast and claim that Jesus drank wine. However, this is erroneous because at the Passover Feast it would have necessarily been unfermented wine, or grape juice. Regardless, like lamb, wine is something that Jesus would have likely had, but definitely not in excess, and most likely only occasionally.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we should ONLY eat what Jesus ate. I’m sure had Jesus lived in Ecuador rather than Jerusalem, he would have loved bananas! What I am saying is that if Jesus ate it, then it’s probably ok for us to eat. Don't forget, Jesus was perfect. More importantly, if it was available to him, and he chose not eat it, or to only eat it every once in a while, that should be a real indication that we should either not eat it, or only eat it every once in a while. For example, red meat and cheese.

So, I’m going to focus my nutrition plan around fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads, fish, olive oil, and I’ll limit my consumption of cheese, red meat, and wine, but won’t necessarily cut those out altogether. The only real difference in this and how I have eaten for the past several years is the dairy aspect. Maybe that’s been the problem. I do love cheese (just not the horrible, horrible processed stuff!). And ice cream. And pizza. And French toast stuffed with blackberry preserves and cream cheese (I’m sure Jesus would have loved that too!). But, for now at least, I’m cutting back on cheese and other dairy products. This was a lot of work, and a really long post, just to conclude that I shouldn't eat so much cheese! And I doubt that the answer to my stomach woes is simply "too much cheese." But I’ll let you know what happens.

(P.S. – If you question anything I’ve said above, please do your research before you start arguing with me. I’ve done mine, but I’ll admit that most of what I’ve said comes from my own knowledge of the Bible, and Google. Regardless, feel free to leave comments and I will answer anything you have questions about. That includes my conclusory logic.)

The Battle of My Left and Right Brains

2008-07-16T16:07:00.007-05:00

Yes, I have two brains. Neither of them work properly all of the time, but between them and me, we seem to manage ok. Here is my report from the Triple Bypass. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the ride!

After (finally) finding a place to park, Ryan and I clipped in at about 6:40. The climbing started at about 6:41. The first climb is up to Squaw Pass, which tops out at 11,140 feet. It was gorgeous and not too tough (probably because it was the first climb!). We pretty much rode steady up to the first aid station, which is at the top of the climb. It was cold at the top so I put on my arm warmers for the fast ride back down the other side of the mountain. I was basically wearing the same clothing I would wear on a 100 degree day in Hades, er . . . Texas, plus some thin arm warmers. No big deal, right? Wrong. It turns out, when you are traveling on two very thin wheels at speeds of over 40 miles an hour, it's a good idea to be warm! Just try staying on your bike traveling that fast down a mountain without the ability to keep your front wheel from wobbling because you are shivering so much. The ironic part is that shivering is your brain’s way of keeping you warm so that you don’t go into hypothermia. But when choosing between 40mph worth of road rash (not to mention broken bones . . . even though I just did) and the risk of hypothermia, I choose the risk of hypothermia almost every time (especially since I was in no real danger of hypothermia!). My logical, know-it-all, dorky, left brain was eventually able to convince my touchy feely, over-reacting, hippie, risk-taking (and very cold), right brain that keeping the bike upright was more important, and the shivering in my arms stopped. One down. Two to go.

After a jaunt through Idaho Springs, we started the climb up to Loveland Pass (11,990 feet). The only really bad part of the entire course was when we actually had to get on I-70 and battle the semis. It wasn’t too long though, and eventually, we made it to an aid station 4 miles from the top of Loveland Pass. I knew this would be the steepest part of the day, so we fueled up on turkey sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, watermelon, and Cliff Blocks before heading up the last part of the climb. We guessed that it would take around 40 minutes. I felt really good coming out of that aid station (I’m sure it was the Wonder Bread and processed turkey!), so I decided to go for it. At one point I heard someone tell his riding partner (a very strong female) to “get on his wheel” (talking about me), so there was no way I was slowing down after that (both my brains are prideful!). I pulled those two for a while, and ended up ticking off all four miles in 26 minutes (14 minutes faster than my guess). That’s where we stopped for the above picture.

Knowing that my right brain is not a fast learner, I bundled up for the ride down this time (arm warmers, leg warmers, and my rain jacket). While bundling, I felt like the back of my head was going to explode! I got dizzy, and for a minute wondered if I would vomit right over the side of the mountain. Apparently, neither of my brains like working that hard at 12,000 feet since they live about 6 feet above sea level. They settled down and I felt much better about half way down the mountain, and no shivering! Two down. One to go.

After the descent we went around Lake Dillon and into a rest stop in Frisco. Once you go through Frisco, you get on a trail that leads all the way to Avon (about 40-50 miles away (pay attention Texas, you could learn something from Colorado’s trails!)). It was the easiest climb of the day, but it was by far the hardest climb of the day. It wasn’t as steep or as long as the two we had just done. But I entered a zone, not too far into that climb, that endurance athletes refer to as "bonking." Most athletes overuse the term bonking, so I rarely say it. It’s not just getting tired and not being able to work hard anymore. That's not bonking, that's you not training hard enough. Bonking is actually when your brain decides it’s time to quit, and there’s nothing the rest of your body can do to convince it otherwise. Here is the scientific explanation of what happens when you bonk, which was written by Chris Carmichael:

“The importance of carbohydrate cannot be overstated. Not only is it the primary fuel source for endurance performance, it is the primary fuel for your brain and central nervous system. The brain cannot produce energy from fat or protein on its own; it can only take glucose (sugar) from the blood. This is part of the reason bonking (running low on blood sugar) is so detrimental to performance. The confusion, nausea, and disorientation that go along with bonking are more due to the brain running low on glucose than a problem with energy-starved muscles. When push comes to shove, the brain acts defensively to make sure it gets enough fuel. It forces you to slow down or stop exercising so it can use what sugar you have left to maintain your basic bodily functions.”

In other words, if you truly bonk, you can only blame yourself because you didn’t fuel properly! (of course, if you fake bonk, you can only blame yourself because you didn't train properly!). I’ve known this for a long time. I’ve known that bonking leads to confusion, nausea, and in my case, grumpiness/irritability. But the best part about bonking is that the logical, analytical left brain can’t even figure out what the heck is going on! Logic goes out the window, and the hippie right brain takes over and screams “DUUUUDE! SOMETHING’S WRONG!!! You've killed the left brain! I'm all you have left! We have to stop, NOW! And don’t think I won’t make you puke to do it!” All you can think at that point is, “I don't want to do this anymore or ever again.” You can’t figure out that all you need is a little sugar. And all you want is to do is stop.

So when we got to Copper Mountain, we stopped. And I ate. And then, I was fine. We cruised on up to Vail Pass (10,560 feet) without any other issues. I was happy, level headed, and having fun again. Stupid right brain! All we needed was a gel! Stop overreacting! We aren’t going to freeze to death, and we certainly aren’t going to starve to death! (Does anyone else find it strange that the RIGHT side of our brain is the hippie? Genius. God is hilarious.).

This has gotten really long, so I won’t go into much detail about the last 25-30 miles other than to say that it is NOT all downhill like the deceitful map shows. And the map conveniently left off the headwind as well. In all, I only burned around 4500 calories over the 121 miles (that extra mile was from our parking spot to the start) and over 10,000 feet of climbing. Right at 7 and a half hours. Average speed: a smokin’ 16 mph.

My right brain wants to do it again next year. We still haven’t convinced the left side. He’ll come around though. He forgets things easily.

Off to Colorado

2008-07-10T12:04:00.005-05:00

Tonight, Krisha and I (and John) fly out to Denver. We're staying with our wonderful friends Ryan and Gayle (and Austin and Wyatt). We haven't met Wyatt yet, so we're excited for that. And we haven't seen Austin since last fall, so that's just as exciting.

Friday, I'll be at CTS to get the new road bike fitted, and to do some training with Lindsay. Then on Saturday, the real purpose of the trip. The Triple Bypass! No, not open heart surgery. I can do that in Dallas. What I can't do in Dallas is ride a bike over the Continental Divide. I talked a little about it in my last post. The ride climbs more than 10,000 feet over three climbs and 120 miles. It starts in Evergreen, and ends just outside of Vail. For those of you who have made the drive from Denver to Vail, this ride is not as easy as taking I-70. I-70 was built so that you don't have to drive the route we'll be riding. I can't wait!

If you're keeping up with Le Tour right now, check out this article by Chris Carmichael, which compares the Tour to the Triple Bypass.

See you next week . . .

Stop all your whining!

2008-07-08T21:31:00.004-05:00

Athletes are a whiny bunch. Most want perfect conditions all the time. Well, too bad. Especially for me. Because I live in Texas. Where it's windy and hot. Always. If you live and train here, don't be surprised when you go outside and your skin melts. It's Texas! I bet our Alaskan friends don't go outside in winter and say, "Holy crap, it's cold! And dark! I thought it was noon?" Of course it's cold and dark at noon in the winter! It's Alaska! But more on that later . . .

I had last Friday off for the 4th of July (hooray, America!). I like to take advantage of long weekends by getting in lots of good miles on the bike, even if it's only two weeks after an Ironman. Surprisingly, though, I was feeling quite recovered from the race, so I got up early on Friday and met some guys in Dallas for about a 60 mile ride. I felt pretty strong all morning, and was really impressed with how quickly I seemed to recover from the Ironman. Last year it took me two months to feel strong again. This year, two weeks (or so I thought)!

Our plans for Friday included celebrating the 4th (and another Ironman finish for Brian and me) at my parents' house, which is about 35 miles away. So Brian thought it would be fun to ride to their house. I agreed. I'm not sure what happened, but sometime between my morning ride and noon it got really, really hot. And humid. And windy. I know what you're thinking . . . "at least there was wind to help cool you off." Um, if you're thinking that, then you've never been here. The wind makes it hotter. Not to mention slower. If you want to understand how this feels, set up your trainer in a steam room, and then have someone blow a hair dryer in your face while you hammer away for about 2 hours. Needless to say, by the time I got to my parents, I was wasted. Regardless, it was 90 miles and a little less than 5 hours of riding, so that's still a pretty good day. Besides that, I hear Kona is fairly hot and humid as well so I might as well be prepared for that day, whenever it may come.

Which reminds me . . . Would everyone please stop whining about tough conditions and especially about difficult courses!?!? Triathlons are hard. All of them. Especially Ironmans. But even sprint distances with short pool swims are hard. If they aren't, then you aren't trying hard enough! Training is also hard. And if you aren't training in difficult conditions, then you aren't going to be ready for race day when it's hot, cold, sunny, rainy, windy, whatever. The last time I was in Boulder, Ryan and I got back to the Res after a long day of riding during an unseasonably windy day. As we were stretching, a guy came up who had just finished his run. He said he was a pro duathlete (admitted that he "can't" swim -- that's a topic for another post). He was supposed to run 15 miles or so that day, but it was "too windy" so he was calling it a day. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Too windy? I'm an age grouper who works more than "full-time" as an attorney, and I was out there enjoying a great day of training. Here's a guy who's a supposed "professional" and he doesn't want to run because it's windy?! Really? I wonder why I've never heard of this guy? In the words of the great Steve Prefontaine, "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." Everyone that does this sport (especially those that do it for a living!) have been given a special gift. Don't sacrifice it because it's windy! Show me a pro who won't train when it's windy, and I'll show you a soon-to-be-age-grouper. And by the way, when you do become an age-grouper, don't expect to win in my division just because you're a former pro. I train in the wind! And the Texas heat.

Which reminds me . . . Saturday I realized that I'm not so recovered after all. All I had was a 50 minute run, but my legs felt like bricks. It was hot (of course), and I was slow. I (stupidly) did not take water with me (it's only 50 minutes . . .), so I lost 4 pounds in that short amount of time. I ran the last mile (which is pretty much all uphill) in 7:38. Pretty off-pace, but as tired as my legs were, and as dehydrated as I was, I actually expected it to be slower. Sunday was a little better. I did a 90 minute brick (60 on the bike followed by a 30 minute run). Felt good on the bike, and heavy/sluggish on the run (again). And yes, it was hot. But I'll get over it. And, most importantly, I worked hard and finished all of my workouts.

This weekend we're headed to Colorado for the Triple Bypass. 10,000 feet of climbing over 120 miles. Plus, it might be windy, cold at times, hot at others, and possibly rainy. All the ingredients for an epic day. Too bad my "professional" friend from Boulder will miss it.

Beware of Cyclists!

2008-07-03T08:09:00.008-05:00

I rode my bike in to work yesterday. Yes, I still live in Rockwall/Heath (25 miles East of Dallas), which was the number one question from everyone that saw my bike at the office. And no, I can't really disagree with Bicycling Magazine that Dallas is the worst city in America for cycling (WHO'S NUMBER ONE!?!?!). But still, since they opened a new gym in my building downtown, I no longer had the "where would I shower" excuse. So I gave it a try. Long story short, I'll be doing it again. This gives me the opportunity to get in a couple of 40 mile rides during the week, and still be at my desk by 9:00. I can't wait! But here's the long story anyway . . .

I couldn't figure out how to safely get across Lake Ray Hubbard, so my lovely wife dropped me off at the Bass Pro Shop (Stop laughing! That wasn't supposed to be funny! I do live in Texas. On a lake. And actually she dropped me off on "Bass Pro Drive." Ok, that's a little bit funny.). The plan was to ride along the I-30 frontage road, then turn North on St. Francis, and take that up to White Rock Lake (yes, another lake. This one's smaller, though, and lots of people run or ride the trail that goes around it (about 10 miles), so I wasn't quite as out of place there as I was at the Bass Pro Shop). That part of the plan worked perfectly. It was safer than I expected it to be. In fact, I think it may be one of the safest routes I ride. Take that Bicycling Magazine!!

But then I got to White Rock Lake, and the "safety" of a biking trail. As soon as I got on the trail, a lady on a bike (I'm sure a very nice, courteous, sweet lady) checked for traffic from her right (I was coming from her left) and proceded to pull out in front of me nearly taking us both out. I had made it safely past Bubba's jacked up dually on Bass Pro Drive, SUV Mom putting on her makeup and racing to get to work on time, the alleged gunfire that occasionally breaks out in the areas South of White Rock Lake, and most importantly, those bike chasing dogs that have been known to take me down (and ruin a good pair of wheels!). But once I reached the safe haven of a bike trail, another cyclist almost takes me out. Gotta love irony. But hey, at least she's out there! Keep it up ma'am! But please, look both ways next time.

Once I got off the trail and back onto the busy city streets again, I didn't have any other issues. Other than getting lost (Thank God for Blackberries and Mapquest!). While trying to find my way, I came across two Dallas Policemen on mountain bikes, so I stopped them. "Good morning, Gentlemen! Can you tell me the safest way to get to downtown from here?" Their answer: "In a car." Touche, Bicycling Magazine. Touche.

The Ironman . . . A Game of Inches

2008-06-30T22:54:00.001-05:00

Ok, so the answer was no. I did not have a sub-10 hour Ironman in me. Yet. Regardless, it was a great trip! We had lots of fun in Seattle and Coeur d'Alene. I even bought a 17 pound Halibut at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. That's the place where they throw the fish. We watched them throw all kinds of salmon, trout, etc., and they never dropped any of them . . . until my halibut. It actually knocked the guy down it hit him so hard, which was quite hilarious! (Why is it that we laugh at people when they fall???). Alas, we'll be eating a lot of halibut for a while! We've had one steak, and it was awesome, so we're looking forward to the rest. We'll see how excited we are about fresh halibut about 12 pounds from now!

On to the race report: I took a while to get this post up because I wanted to include a cool picture from the race when I posted this. But it's taking too long to get the pictures so you'll have to stay tuned for actual pictures of me and the course. This bear is the best pic I have so far. And he is a pretty good description of how ridiculous an Ironman can feel at times (before you get on to me for being sexist, I said "he" because I'm sure that a girl bear would not be so silly as to try something like that!). Although, I'm not sure what that bear is riding for (halibut perhaps??), he doesn't sound like he's giving up. And, fortunately, neither did I.

THE SWIM - The water was 59 degrees! The only colder race I've done was in 54 degree water, but that was a sprint, so I only spent about 15 minutes in the water at that one. This was over an hour. Regardless, the rest of the competitors made it very easy to forget about how cold the water was. That's because all 2300 of them were trying their hardest to drown me! This was by far the roughest swim I have ever been in. The water itself was relatively calm. The people were not! And with two loops, it never really opened up like the course at Arizona did. The course went out, made two left turns, and then straight back to shore to start the second lap. Because each segment was fairly short, and everyone wanted to hug the turn buoys (and drown me!), it was REALLY crowded for about 2 of the 2.4 miles. To top it off, I had no idea what my time was because my watch had been stopped at some point. I spent most of the day wondering what my actual swim time was, and being thankful that no one was successful in their repeated attempts to kick me in the face and drown me.

My Goal - 1:05
Lindsay's Guess - 1:10 ("but if the water's cold, it could slow you down a minute or two.")
Actual Time - 1:11:52

One other thing before we move on to the bike . . . the grass in the transition area is VERY slippery when your feet are numb and wet. And, guys, the volunteers REALLY don't want you running into the women's changing tent after the swim! Trust me, you will fall down if you try!

THE BIKE - After picking myself up off the ground, and finding the right changing tent, I managed to get in and out of T1 pretty quickly. Then it was on to the bike course. The first 10 miles or so is along the lake and is pretty fast. Then it turns North and slowly climbs out of town before getting to 20 miles or so of some fairly difficult rolling hills. I was out of the saddle a few times just to get up a couple of them. After the hills, the course goes back down for 10-15 miles to the end of the first loop. This section is a long gradual downhill, which I thought was going to be a great place to get my legs back under me for the second loop and to help prepare for the run in the last 15 miles of the route. However, the wind was blowing straight up the hill, which meant instead of cruising at 25+ mph, I was grinding it out at 18-20. This was actually the most difficult section of the entire course because of the wind, and partly because I was planning on it being the easiest section of the course. But you have to adjust to the conditions, and the best place to make up time on your competitors is when climbing and into a headwind ("everyone can go fast downhill and with the wind at their back!" Thanks, Lindsay). So I grinded it out at around 20 mph into the wind for about 40 minutes to finish the first loop. I ended up averaging 21 mph for the first loop, which was my goal for the entire race. I fell off pace on the second loop (and came out of the saddle on almost every climb -- somehow those "rolling hills" turned into mountains on the second loop!). I finished the bike in 5:36, "only" 16 minutes off my goal time.

My Goal - 5:20 (i.e., 21 mph)
Lindsay's Guess - "around 20 mph" (i.e., 5:36)
Actual Time - 5:36:21 (I think I should start trusting Lindsay more. Seriously, that's scary! Almost 7 hours into the day and she's off by 21 seconds?!)

THE RUN(s) - Yes, "Runs", but we'll get to that later. Started off strong. Ran the first mile in 7:30, then the usual leg cramping came. That happens when you have been riding that hard for that long and then you start running. It usually takes my quads a half mile or so to figure out how to run again. Sure enough, by the second mile marker, I was 15:10 into the run, and the cramping was gone . . . at least in my legs. I averaged 7:44 for the first 10k. Then I was forced to make my first of two stops in the port-a-pots. I spent 10-15 minutes total in port-a-pots over the next 5 miles. Hence, calling this section "THE RUN(s)." Yes, that is disgusting. And yes, I am childish. But that's the nicest way I can think of to describe what happened during those 15 minutes. After that, it's a little difficult to run strong again (excuse the pun, and my middle-schooler mentality). So I did some walking through the aid stations, and at the mile markers, and whenever the cramping returned, and up the steeper hills, until the last 5k.

THE LAST 5K - Like I've said before, I look for opportunities to test myself late in a race. In triathlons, they always write your age on the back of your calf so that you can tell who is in your age group while you're out there (which reminds me, at the CapTex in Austin, they also put the letter of your wave on your calf since you don't all start at the same time. I passed a girl on the run with "34 DD" written on the back of her leg. Again, I'm an immature middle-schooler, but I found that hilarious. And a little bit disturbing.). At Ironman events, they also print your name on your bib#. So you start to figure out late in the day who has been racing along side you all day long, and who you need to beat in order to place higher in your age group. Well, with less than 5k to go I start seeing lots of guys in my age group. One was "Matt from Boise" who was 31, and whom I had been going back and forth with since the early miles of the bike course. There were several others (one of which dropped us both in the last mile), but I felt like Matt would challenge me since we had seen each other all day. Sure enough, when I went by him, he stayed with me. We picked off several others the last two miles, but never caught the one guy that blew by us both. We were too far back for it to matter for a Kona spot. But holding off Matt from Boise definitely helped my confidence to know that I can "race" that late in an Ironman event. Of the 6 guys in my age group that were battling it out in the last 5k, I finished second. By 3 seconds.

It's unbelievable to me that you can start the day at edge of the water, swim for over an hour, bike for five and a half, go through the two transition areas, stop for unscheduled bathroom breaks, run for almost 4 hours, and finish 3 seconds ahead of the next person in your age group. It's amazing that a 10+ hour race can come down to just 3 seconds. Mere inches.

My Goal - 3:30 (i.e., 8 minute miles)

Lindsay's Guess - 3:20-3:30

Actual Time - 3:59:37 (I guess Lindsay didn't factor in my stubborn stomach.)

So I was off by 56 minutes for my "dream time." However, I was running strong before the stomach issues. I spent close to 15 minutes sitting in the port-a-pots. That slowed me down for the second half as well, which means I was definitely capable of running a 3:20-3:30 marathon. And really, who's going to question Lindsay's Guess when she was so close on the swim and bike? 10:15:23 took the last Kona slot in my age group. So without stomach issues, I'm around 15 minutes away from Kona. Mere inches.

Where can I find those inches? My first transition was good, my second should have been at least 2 minutes faster. I have no doubts that I can gain 15-20 minutes on the bike course next year. I know the course, and I'll be stronger. I didn't start to really ride to my potential in training this year until April. For next year, I'm starting this weekend. I have 51 weeks to find those inches.

People often ask me "what's next" after I finish an Ironman, as if it was a one time thing, and now it's time to move on. While it's easy to dwell on bad races for too long, it's just as easy to pridefully rest for too long after having a good race. Days can turn into weeks, weeks into months, and before you know it, you've lost fitness and almost have to start over. Even a BAD day at the Ironman is a GREAT day of training. About an hour after I finished the Ironman, Lindsay (genius that she is) sent me the following text message:

"Good work today Barry. Get some rest and hydrate. Let's catch up tomorrow to recap the race and begin preparing for the next!"

Exactly what I needed to hear. So, "what's next" for me is two more half ironmans and a marathon this year. Gotta find those inches!

The work is done . . .

2008-06-18T14:33:00.002-05:00

Or "the hay is in the barn" as they say (who are "they" anyway? And why do they think they know everything?). Regardless, it's Ironman Week, and I'm ready to race!

I haven't updated the blog in a while. I intended to do lots of good posts regarding my last long run before the race (it was HOT!), and the 1:24 swim across Lake Ray Hubbard (it was ROUGH! Seriously, up to 3' swells! Thanks to Dee, Mason, and Tim for the kayak support. I think they worked as hard as we did in that choppy water!). But, alas, work got in the way of my fun time (I've got to come up with another excuse), and I didn't get it done.

This week has been especially tough mentally. I'm ready to race and I'm anxious to just get out of town and start preparing for Sunday. I'll feel much better once the canon goes off, but until then, I'm a little on edge.

Brian and Dee pick us up at 4:30 tomorrow morning to head to the airport. We fly out to Seattle, and then make the drive to Coeur d'Alene from there (I promised Dee we could stop at Starbuck's on the way out of town. Anyone know if they have those in Seattle?). I was invited to a breakfast with trisports.com on Friday morning, so Krisha and I will be going to that before the morning swim. Short bike ride after the swim, then pick up Ryno at the airport on Friday night. Saturday is another swim, and a short run. Then rest.

Thank you to everyone that has helped me get to this point this year. My wonderful, beautiful wife Krisha for always being so supportive of my training (even when "work gets in the way" of the rest of our lives together). Brian for keeping me company on all those long rides, and for the occasional slap to keep me from taking this stuff too seriously (I think you're going to have to start hitting harder, Brian. It's not sinking in!). Dee for letting Brian keep me company on all those long rides (almost done, Dee!). Lindsay at CTS for being the best coach ever! (You ROCK, Lindsay, even though sometimes I think you're trying to kill me!). Jason and Rockwall Cycling for ordering things for me even when they don't really carry them in the shop, and especially for providing me with a bike to ride while mine was being shipped to the race (I promise I'll pay you as soon as I get back to town!). All the guys at the Tri-ProSoap team for all their encouragement. Ryan for a great weekend of training in Boulder. Ross, Swanson, McGaffen, and all the rest of the guys that push (i.e., "punish") me on the Rockwall Cycling group rides (even though sometimes I KNOW you guys are all trying to kill me!). And everyone else who supports me in any way. Thanks. I could not do this without all of you!

I don't like to talk up goals too much in public before a race like this, so I'm not going to list them here. Let's just leave it at, "I hope to race that other Ironman event in October this year." We'll know on Sunday night (possibly not until Monday morning). If you want to keep track of my progress, there will be a link on http://www.ironmanlive.com/ on Sunday morning where you can track athletes. Be sure to keep up with Brian Young and Tim Glasson (first Ironman for TIM!!!) as well.

Am I ready? Yes. Can I go under 10 hours? Yes. Will I go under 10 hours? Stay tuned . . .

CapTex Update

2008-05-27T13:29:00.001-05:00

The whole family went to Austin this weekend for the CapTexTri. Last year it was rained out, so we were hoping for better weather in 2008. Sure enough, we were not disappointed. I did the Olympic distance race while Krisha and my dad did the sprint.

I was a little disappointed in my results. I got way off course on the swim and ended up taking 29 minutes to get to T1. That's about the slowest I have ever done an Olympic distance swim. Not the start I was looking for! My wave started about an hour after the first one went off. And since the bike course was four 10k loops, the theme for the bike was "ON YOUR LEFT!" I think I shouted that about once every minute for the entire ride. Still, I averaged 23.7mph, so I wasn't too disappointed with the result considering how crowded it was.

The sun came out for the run. I got passed by someone in my age group early on the run. I decided to go with him, but he slowly pulled away after about a half mile or so. No worries, you never know what's going to happen. I ended up catching him on the second loop of the run, and after having learned my lesson at the PlayTri Half in April, I went by him hard and never looked back. As expected, he didn't challenge me. I was feeling pretty strong at that point so I think I could have held him off anyway. Regardless, because of my ridiculously slow swim, I finished in 2:20:35, which put me in a distant 10th in my age group. Not my best day, but that wasn't the A race of the season, so I'm just moving on. Not dwelling on my miserable swim. Or my lackluster effort on the run. Really, I'm not . . . .

Krisha and Dad had good days. Krisha had a breakthrough in the swim. And my dad finished another race, which with his limited training, is quite remarkable for a 62 year old stud! Way to go Dad! Mom had the most difficult job of all -- keeping my son, John, entertained while mommy and daddy raced.

Team Tri-ProSoap made a good showing as well. Mark Saroni finished 2nd overall in the sprint race as he prepares for the 2008 Sprint World Championships in Vancouver next week. Chase Ingraham was 20th overall in the Olympic with a time of 2:18:07, and Travis Wolther was the first big man to cross the finish of the Olympic, with a time of 2:27:28.

Overall, I like this race. It's pretty crowded, but it's a fun, fast course, in a great city.

These are the days I live for!

2008-05-19T10:17:00.002-05:00

Wow, it was hot this weekend! My good friends at Rockwall Cycling fixed my wheel enough for me to ride on it until a new one came in. Then Joey (GREAT mechanic!) built me up a new rim around my Powertap hub so that I could ride on it this weekend. What a difference a trued wheel can make! That wheel hasn't run right since I did a header over a dog last year. It finally gave out in Colorado last weekend. Thanks to Rockwall Cycling for hooking me up!!!

So this weekend was my last long ride before Coeur d'Alene. My usual training partner, Brian, was out of town so I went solo for 112 miles and a short, 3 mile transition run. I went with the group ride that leaves from Rockwall Cycling every Saturday at 7:00 for the first couple of hours. Then I did my intervals. That took me to about 4 hours in, which is where I really started feeling the heat. It was pretty miserable for a while. I ran out of water about 40 minutes from home. I was really confused at that point because I always plan my routes so that I don't run out. Anyway, after a quick phone call, my lovely wife was more than willing to bring me some bottles of cold water. That seriously saved my day! However, when I started refilling my bottles, I realized that I had been riding along with a full bottle of water the whole time! Like I said, it was hot, and I was delirious!

After Krisha left me again, I started feeling much better. I hammered away for the last hour of the ride. I can honestly say that was the strongest sixth hour of a ride that I have ever had! It was also one of the most encouraging training rides I have ever done. Perfect timing since it was my last long ride before this year's big event!

Lindsay had me do a short, 20 minute run after the ride. I felt exceptionally good considering the heat (not to mention the fact that I had just ridden 112 miles!), and averaged right at 7:00 pace. I finished feeling strong and could have gone a lot longer at that pace. That was very encouraging going into an Ironman. What an awesome day of training!

I want to end this post by saying how AWESOME my wife, Krisha, is. I would hope that most spouses would have brought their significant other some cold water if they were in need. But I doubt very many of them would do it with the same loving attitude that Krisha does day in and day out. She is the most supportive spouse anyone could have! I mean, think about it . . . . I'm off riding my bike for 6+ hours while she's taking care of our 10-month old. She's at a soccer game with one of her best friends, Dee, when I call asking her to drop everything because I didn't plan properly. Less than 30 minutes later, and without as much as a sigh, she shows up smiling, with lots of cold bottles of water. We could all learn a lot from Krisha. There is NO WAY I could do what I do without her support. Thanks, Baby!! I did sign her up recently for a coach at CTS (since they are the best coaches on the planet!), so I'm sure that I'll be able to pay her back before long! I just hope I can be as selflessly supportive when I get that call from her!

HOLY CRAP! A BEAR!!!!

2008-05-12T16:53:00.005-05:00

Just got back from beautiful Colorado. What an AWESOME weekend of training! Without a doubt, the highlight of the trip was about 10 minutes up Left Hand Canyon when I heard Ryan yell "HOLY CRAP! A BEAR!!!" It was without a doubt the coolest thing I have ever seen on a ride. We were just climbing along and all of sudden he (or she, I didn't stop to check!) went running across the road about 20 yards in front of us. We both slammed on our brakes and watched as an American Black Bear walked along the river to our right, pausing to check us out about every 5 steps. What an awesome creature! It really is a shame that we as a human race don't care more about preserving this wonderful planet that God has provided for us . . . .

Anyway, I went to Colorado this weekend for a camp with CTS and to do some training with my very good friend Ryan. After a day with my coach, Lindsay, at CTS doing Lactate Threshold, VO2 Max, a bike fit, swim analysis, and a running analysis, I was pretty worn out. By the way, getting your finger pricked every three minutes, working as hard as you can, on a bike that goes nowhere, with a tube in your mouth, a clamp on your nose, and people yelling at you is not most fun workout I've ever done! Regardless, the camp was great. They really know how to do it right at CTS! Thanks, Lindsay!

Ryan is doing his first half-ironman (actually, it's his first triathlon -- that's how he rolls -- Go big or go home!) this August at the 5430 Long Course in Boulder (you could have picked an easier race, Ryno!). We ran on Saturday in Boulder and found an awesome route that we will definitely be running again as soon as I can get back up there! We were only running for an hour and twenty minutes, so we actually had to turn around long before we were ready. We were just gradually climbing on a nice trail with a mountain to our right and a river to our left. It was beautiful, and honestly one of the most fun runs I have ever done.

Sunday, we rode the 5430 bike course just to check it out. It seemed like it could be fast, but the first several miles were gradually uphill, almost a false flat, which could make you feel slow coming out of T1. We'll have to be patient on race day. After that, we climbed up Left Hand Canyon to Ward, had a delicious cookie, rode back down the mountain, and then up Stage Hill. Stage Hill was much shorter and felt like a small rolling hill after having climbed the hour twenty minutes that it took us to get up Left Hand Canyon. I was having some mechanical trouble so we headed back to the Res and called it a day. It was a great day, and I was not happy to be heading back to the airport to return to Dallas! Thanks for the EPIC weekend, Ryno!!

Note to self, next time you're doing that much climbing, bring something besides a P3C with an 11-23 cassette!

Tough day at the races

2008-04-15T14:36:00.002-05:00

There are certain things you just can't train for without actually getting out there and racing. Even then, sometimes the stars have to align to get the experience you are after. One of the things I try to rehearse in my head and hope to practice in B and C-priority races is how to handle tough competition when someone challenges me late in a race. I try to imagine what it will feel like to be 9 hours into an Ironman, and have someone in my age group challenge me for what might be that last coveted Kona spot. This past weekend, I finally got a chance to experience how I might react to such a situation. Although I learned a lot, I hope I respond to the competition better next time.

I did the Playtri Festival half-ironman this past weekend in Irving, Texas, which is a suburb of Dallas. If you're not familiar with the area, all you need to know is that it is FLAT and WINDY. The bike course is two loops. The first 11 miles of each loop were directly into the wind, and I was not patient at all. I hammered through the wind. By the time I got through it the second time around, I had pretty much trashed my legs. As usual when that happens in a long race, I was cramping on the run. Oh well, get to the finish and recover for next time. But then, with less than two miles to go, a guy from my age group passed me. Here was my chance to see what I'm made of! What did I do? I kept trucking along just trying to finish. I made no attempt to stay with him. I finished right at 5 hours, and he ended up beating me (and taking the last spot on the podium) by about a minute. He told me afterwards that he sped up to go by me because he was worried that I was going to challenge him. In other words, he out smarted me.

This is a trick that I have used countless times, but I don't remember it ever working on me. I just assumed he was too fast, so I didn't even try to keep up. Remember that the next time you're racing. That person that just past you is just as tired as you are, and maybe they are simply trying to intimidate you. Stay with them for a minute, and I bet they slow down. If not, well, there's no other way to practice that than to challenge them. How tough are you?

Welcome!

2008-02-26T17:17:00.002-06:00

Welcome to my new blog. Above is my first ironman finish. That was last April at Ironman Arizona. My second attempt will be this June at Ironman Coeur d'Alene. I feel faster and fitter than I did before the Iornman last year, but anything can happen when you race that long. I'd love to take about an hour off of that time. We shall see!!!