Racing a Half Ironman – 3 Examples

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I was talking with a buddy about preparing for his Half Ironman and he mentioned how he’s working on getting everything to “slow down.”  The first thought that came to mind was my Muncie 70.3 race when I felt in complete control of each event.  Then I started thinking about the two that followed, Goosepond, and New Orleans.  All three had quite a different story and each one has been progressively worse.  I wondered if I looked at them next to each other if it would help me understand and learn from what went right and/or wrong.

PRE-RACE MOOD

Muncie – This was my first half.  I was nervous and unsure of my capabilities.  But I was very focused, as always, afraid to fail, and it helped to have good friends around to calm my nerves.  I didn’t sleep great, but was in bed by 8 the night before.

Goosepond – This race was about 6 weeks after IM Wisconsin and my level of training was somewhere just above zero.  I was WAY over confident and frankly a little cocky after just finishing a full.  It is the strangest feeling, but I can honestly say that I was treating a half triathlon almost like a 10k or something and that is just asinine behavior no matter who you may be.

New Orleans – I pulled into New Orleans on Jazzfest weekend and stayed in a massive downtown condo by myself.  It was the perfect example of being alone in a crowd.  I was the visiting team and frankly the crowd was a bit intimidating.  I was also a bit under trained and indifferent.  The juices eventually started flowing, but it was more like survival than a build and conquer.  I hadn’t ridden outside since Goosepond and was not prepared for what I was about to face.

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THE SWIMS

Muncie – I was very sh*tting bricks about this this swim, but caught a major break when somehow it was wetsuit legal in JULY.  We’d put in a lot of time at the lake, but the turn buoy looked impossibly far away as I surveyed the course the day before.  Oddly, as my feet hit the water in the morning complete calm coursed my veins.  I imagined that is how I would react when faced with ultimate death.  You sink into your zone and accept fate.   I had no intention of hammering this swim and took a very long time to ease into my pace.  By the time we made the final turn, I felt great and churned my way to a pretty nice 37 minute swim.

Goosepond – Did I mention I was over confident and not ready?  I goofed around before the race and did zero warm up other than getting in the water 5 minutes early and taking a few lazy strokes.  I’d just done Wisconsin, this would be a breeze!  About 400 yards into the swim, I was gassed and breathing so hard I had to tread water.  It was not good and these situations are very difficult to recover from.  I’d swim a couple hundred and stop.  It was just a brutal swim.  Two laps and I finally climbed out of the lake gasping for breath with a 43 minute swim.

New Orleans – I was kind of nervous for this race because I hadn’t really swam that much, plus the whole being by myself thing was kind of weird.  Luckily I met a couple guys from Nashville in the line and they helped loosen the mood.  My game plan was to take this swim uber slowly and try to keep it under 40.  Frankly, I swam this race perfectly for the shape I was in and climbed out in 39 minutes.

THE BIKES

Muncie – I felt strong as I ran out of the lake and carried that energy to the bike.  I cruised easily for the first 10 miles but kept a solid pace.  It was smooth sailing for most of the way, but there was a 10 mile patch in the middle that was terribly bumpy and narrow with bikers going each way.  It would have been very easy to settle into the madness and play it safe, but I remember consciously deciding this is where I had to push harder.  I could tell this rough stretch was getting into people’s heads and I did exactly the opposite by embracing the conditions.  By the time we got back to the smoother roads, I was a little battered, but it was pretty easy to keep the pace.  I stepped into T2 with a 20.5 mph average.

Goosepond –  I came out of the water a beaten man.  I was both pissed and embarrassed.  Even though I wasn’t really into this race, I was still determined to beat my Muncie time and the minute I got on my bike, I was a raging madman. I decided if nothing else good came out of this day, I would crush the bike.  It was almost like I purposely punished my legs.  At Muncie I never pushed them to the point where it felt like I was working too hard.  At Goosepond, the entire bike burned.  I was ravaged and kept trying to find another gear.  I did lay down a nice time of 20.9 mph, but that extra .4 mph difference from Muncie absolutely cooked my legs for the run.

New Orleans – This bike ride will forever be a mystery.  I mean, I probably wasn’t “ready” for this ride considering I’d only goofed around on the trainer for a couple months, and rarely rode more than an hour and a half, but by mile 40 I was ready to throw my bike in the swamp.  I was right on the mark for the first 15, but then my brake pad started rubbing and didn’t stop the rest of the ride.  The problem with this was, I KNEW I was having problems BEFORE the race and didn’t address it.  I made a couple adjustments the day before and thought it was fine.  It was a true sign that my head wasn’t ready for this race.  Why would I not get that fixed?  Who rides a Half Ironman knowing their brake is f-d up?  Avg. Speed was 17.4 mph, by far my slowest bike ever.

THE RUNS

Muncie – I felt good and was eager to get off the bike.  My first mile was sub 8:30 including a bathroom break and that may have been what saved my run.  I was using my chrono watch this day (well, every day of my triathlon career) and hitting re-start at every mile marker worked on staying within time “ranges.”  I wanted to be around 8:15 – 8:30 the whole day.  Not much science was involved, but I stayed within myself, kept steady, and breathed.  Nothing distracted me until mile 7 when my feet suddenly felt like I was running on hot coals.  Talk about Zen!  You can’t think of anything else when every step you take feels like broken glass.  I really don’t know how I did it, but it was a true testament to running as a meditation.  1:50 run.

Goosepond – I normally don’t “feel like” running off the bike, but this day I REALLY didn’t want to.  To be honest, I didn’t even think I could.  But, my inside information said it was a nice flat course, so I sucked it up and set my sights on sub 2 hours for the 1/2 marathon.  Well, it took about two miles before I was climbing the first of many hills.  This run course was pretty rough and my body was not happy.  I was completely distracted the entire run.  I had zero focus and all I wanted to do was be out of town.  There were no mile markers so my chrono watch was useless.  I had no clue on my pacing and at mile 10 got a knee pain I thought might be serious.  Somehow I finished at around 2:10.

New Orleans – This was my first absolute blow up on a run.  It took about 1.5 miles before I started walking.  I have never walked more than 50 yards or so in any race ever.  Hell, even in training runs.  Walking was the one thing I would never let myself do.  But I probably walked a third of this course.  Walk, run, walk, run.  It was brutal.  It was hot.  My legs were fried.  No spectators, no nothing.  Walking it in was not an option, or I might have quit.  At mile 9 I saw a guy with a similar look on his face and said, “Okay, man, you ready to run this in?”  He said yep, and that’s what we did.  It was my worst 1/2 time, including my first ever.  I staggered in at 2:20.

POST RACE THOUGHTS

Muncie – This was the boost of confidence I needed.  In retrospect, my race at Wisconsin was almost a carbon copy.  Steady swim, solid bike, consistent run.  I had a million doubts about doing a full, but Muncie put me in the game.  My feet were burning, but my legs felt strong.  I had almost two months to get ready for Wisconsin and Muncie went a long ways toward getting my mind right.  As my buddy says, I “hurried slowly.”  TRT – 5:16

Goosepond – Honestly, after I finished, the first thought I had was, “It’s pretty damn cool to be able to do a 70.3 without training.”  But it hurt like a bitch.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t do a thing for a month.  I’m still not sure why I did a half that close to my first full and in retrospect it was a bad idea.  But in every “failure” there are lessons, and at Goosepond, my lackluster, unfocused swim set the table for a painful outcome.  If I would have stayed true to my plan of easing into my stroke, this may have been a good race.  It still wasn’t bad.  TRT 5:35 (with a 4:00 drafting penalty… yes, I’m still bitter).

New Orleans –  Part of me wants this race again just to find out.  I felt good about the swim, but other than that, it was just a mess.  My bike is my strength and it imploded.  I was a beaten man and thankfully my mom and her friends were there to lift me up.  My lesson from New Orleans is take races seriously or they will eat you alive.  TRT 6:20.

My Half Ironman Training Strategy #IMNOLA

Someone asked me the other day if I was taking a break from Crushing Iron, and I suppose the answer is . . . maybe.  I have been struggling with training and along with that comes an apprehension to write.  But my battles with workouts aren’t so much that I “can’t” do them as much as I’m curious to know how little I can get away with.

Lately, my training has been pretty unique and someday soon I’ll fill you in on the methodology, but for now, let’s just say, “I’m kinda doing what I want.”

While training for IRONMAN Wisconsin, I worked out nearly every day for a year.  I was crippled by guilt if I didn’t.  For this half, it couldn’t be further from the truth.  I am routinely skipping days and frankly don’t feel that bad about it.

And it’s not like I think the race will crush me, either.  In fact, I’m right on the edge of believing I may actually do pretty well.  I’m doing “just enough” to keep my head in the game and am very intrigued to find out if that is enough.

In some ways I’m trying to save my career as a triathlete.  I did very well in my first Ironman, but it beat me up.  The mental high was off the charts, but it crashed on me pretty hard.  The physical remnants of exhaustion are still lingering.

But occasionally, I find a groove, like last night.

I have been going into my workouts with a different perspective.  I set the bar low, then gauge how I feel after 30 minutes or so.  Last night I should have probably biked, but it was nice and I felt like running.  I punched my watch and started jogging into the greenway for a 5-6 mile run.

Every inch after the three mile point was pushing me over six miles, but I was feeling good and stretched my turnaround point to 3.5.  Then, four, then . . . I was in no man’s land.

From my house the end of the greenway is 4.5 miles, then I can take a shorter route back home to make it a 7 mile run, but that didn’t seem like enough.  I kept going into the park and added another couple miles.  Around an hour and fifteen minutes into the run, my watch flipped to 9 miles.  It was unbelievable.

If I had planned for 9 miles I doubt I would have made it, but I was totally going by feel.  I wasn’t forcing anything and it was honestly one of the best runs I’ve had in my life.  Normally I am limping at the 7-8 mile mark, but last night not a part of me was even the least bit sore.  I thought about going for the half marathon, but decided to walk away on top.

How often do we do that in Ironman training?  Leave the pool, climb off the bike, or walk away from a run when we feel good?  For me it was rare, but I think it might be the only way I will keep training for triathlon.

So, as I close in on NOLA, let’s hope this strategy is working.  I don’t expect it to be a masterpiece of a race, but have a more important goal . . . to enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

 

Triathlon and March Madness

My March Madness started last Friday morning in Indianapolis at the Big 10 Tournament.  I left Nashville at 4:30 am and drove north 5 hours to meet my college buddy, Petey, who drives 5 hours south.  It’s quite the reunion.

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We checked into the Wisconsin Badgers home hotel and quickly sold our afternoon session tickets before noon.  I was on a taper for the St. Patty’s Day 4 Miler on Saturday, so after lunch I took a nap.  Around 5:00 we saw Bo Ryan’s Badgers off from the Lobby and walked to the arena Minnesota beat down.  We stayed for part of Michigan State/Northwestern, but the Iowa fans sitting next to us were a little salty, so we left at halftime.

Wisconsin Badgers Basketball

After the big win we went back to the hotel and rubbed shoulders with all the Wisconsin big shots, including Henry the trainer, several of the player’s parents, legendary Wisconsin band director, Mike Leckrone, and the Emperor, Barry Alvarez.  The mood was optimistic, but I couldn’t get the next morning’s 4 Miler out of my head.

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The race was at 10 am, and Petey and I dragged our old man legs to Monument Circle around 9:15.  I grabbed my bib, then photo bombed a few of my own pictures.  (That’s me in the lower left hand corner).

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Quite simply, I wasn’t feeling it.  Driving so far, staying up late, and losing my juicing rhythm all took away my legs.  I still managed a 30:10 four mile run and finished in (what appears to be) the top 3 of my age group and 108th out of 1448 total runners.

After lunch we went to Wisconsin game and they got punked by MSU.  It was a bit deflating but as I watched that game I thought Michigan State looked like the best team in the country, and apparently am not alone.

Things weren’t quite as festive back at the hotel, and the team flew back to Madison at 9 o’clock. We cheered them off to the plane, then settled down with big time season ticket holder, G-Dogg.

The Big Ten 5K was looming for me in the morning and I once again missed my bedtime.  It was a 10 am race (pretty late starts for both days and likely why I signed up) and the weather had gone from perfect on Saturday to 25 degrees for Sunday’s race.

I checked in, warmed up a little, then took off through the streets of Indianapolis just like I did two years earlier in my first ever 5k.  I was hoping for sub 22 minutes, but by mile 2, I knew that was a pipe dream.

The first mile was 7:30, the second 7:10, but then we hit a gale force wind.  The kind of wind that makes your eyes water and forces you to lean forward or you won’t move.  I could barely keep mile 3 under an 8 minute pace and wound up crossing the tape at 23:21 for 4th in my age group and 83rd out of 592 runners.  My pace for the 4 miler and the 5K were almost identical at about 7:30.

I don’t want to say I’m disappointed, but it makes me wonder if an 8 minute pace goal for the run at New Orleans 70.3 is realistic.  But, if Wisconsin gets to the Final Four, I’ll guarantee sub 1:45 for the 1/2 marathon.

 

IRONMAN New Orleans 70.3 is Lurking

My buddies are beating me up about making a decision on IM Louisville, but I have a pretty big fish waiting to be fried on April 13th.

Signing up for New Orleans 70.3 feels like a good and bad decision.  On one hand it has forced me to kick things into gear, on the other, it is very soon and I’m nowhere near ready.  This will have to be the perfect storm, or I will just have to accept it as an early season training day that also happens to be a race that will forever shine an internet glow on a potentially awful time.

I’m not really a fan of bad times, though.

My thinking is, that if I’m gonna do this race, I might as well crush it.  I mean, this is Crushing Iron after all.  But it could easily be Crushed By Iron if I don’t get my ass in gear.

One mental road block is this damn swim course:SWIM2I mean, I don’t even know why it freaks me out so much, but it just looks like trouble.  I can practically feel my body contorting on those hair pin turns and sighting seems like it may be tricky.  But, really, sighting would be tricky for me if the landmark was a mountain.

Then I hear the real problem isn’t the swim course, it’s the wind.  It looks protected, but I guess Lake Pontchartrain is pretty choppy.  And the bike course can allegedly get very windy as well.  Add that to the fact I’ll be in that retched aero position 80% of the time and my back is already tense.

I’m actually looking forward to the run.  I did the 1/2 marathon in NOLA last year and it was pretty cool to run in and around the French Quarter.  I’m planning to play one of my buddy’s favorite Bourbon Street games, “Homeless or Hammered?” while I run.

But really, that’s as funny as the pain I’ll likely be in by that point.  How much of a base do I have from training all last year for an Ironman?  Does it really “leave” or just take a while to access again?  I’m waiting patiently, but NOLA is lurking.