Ironman Lake Placid 2010 Race report

Hey all.  The end of months and months training paid off and I can now call myself an Ironman!  I had one of the best days of my life on July 25th- the race was awesome and my support crew was everywhere and unbelievable.  Here is the recap of the days before and after the race along with my official race report...put the reading glasses on, this is a long one.

PRE-RACE
WEDNESDAY
We (my wife and three kids) left for Lake Placid on Wednesday around 10 in the morning and meandered our way through New York, stopping in Watertown for lunch (Panera), and arriving at our motel at about 4pm.  We stayed at the Edelweiss Motel and, besides the very vintage decor, was perfect for our needs- it is within walking distance of the transition/start/finish areas and had a (solar) heated pool that the kids loved.  The lady who runs the place is a nice, old German lady who seemed to like our kids (what's up with that?).  We unpacked and started to get hungry so we hopped into the car to look for restaurants and ended up eating at "Mr. Mike's"; we ordered some pizza (Cate says it is her absolute favorite pizza ever) and pasta- service was a bit slow but we left with full bellies. The kids swam in the pool and then we hit the sack.

THURSDAY
On Thursday went for a 40 minute jog, really slow and easy, and felt pretty good.  I found it hard to follow my taper plan during this last week- everything was in zone 1 (the slow zone) and it was hard to be in good shape and not pound the pavement.  After the run I took the kids for a walk into town and picked up my packet.  This was more involved than I thought it would be; there is a USAT check-in table, an ID check, a medical/personal history form to check, weigh in (151 pounds), poster pick-up, and time chip test.  After all of that was done the kids wanted to check out the free swag at the expo.  They found free face painting, balloon animals, Ironman Perform (drink), PowerBar Chews, snowcones, sweatbands, and race belts (for race numbers).  If that wasn't enough, they also made some sign to cheer me on- one set of signs was put out on River Road (purgatory!) and the other set they kept to hold themselves during the race.  We met up with Jen, after she finished with the bookstore in town (for the first time), and headed to Subway for lunch- yum.  Next, we took the car to the ski jumps and took the chairlift and elevator to the top of the 90 meter jump; you can't believe how high and steep the takeoff is until you are staring down it.  It is amazing that anyone ever thought to build such a thing and even more amazing that people willing launch themselves off of it.  At the bottom of hill, we watched kids doing freestyle jumping on regular alpine skis into an in-ground swimming pool.  It was a nice day and we enjoyed watching the Olympic hopefuls.  As if the days wasn't full enough, we grabbed our suits at the motel and walked to Mirror Lake, where the Ironman swim takes place, for the kids to swim and splash around.  For dinner, Jen and I had Chinese food (pretty good) and the kids were treated to chicken sandwiches from McDonald's.

FRIDAY
On Friday morning I woke up at 4:45 and got my swimsuit on, along with jeans and a jacket (it was only 52), grabbed my wetsuit and goggles and headed for Mirror Lake.  I took my time getting there and enjoyed a beautiful morning for a walk.  When I got to the lake there was no one swimming so I hung out for a bit until some other brave (foolish?) souls showed up.  The three guys already had their wetsuits on so I hurriedly got mine on and jumped into the water.  One of the guys (Jack) and I swam at the same easy pace and did one loop of the course- 1.2 miles; it was one of the prettiest swims of my life and I felt fast and slippery to boot.  I mostly used trees and mountains to sight on during the swim but used the cable (there is a cable in the lake) for a while just in case I found it during the race.  After the swim we shook hands, wished each other good luck and I headed back to the hotel to go for a quick and easy spin on my bike.  I rode to the three last climbs on the bike loop and rode up each very easily and then through town and out past the ski jumps, where the run course also goes.  I left the bike course and followed River Road to the run turnaround (which was much farther than I imagined- but at least I knew where it was and could prepare for it mentally now).  After the 22 mile ride, I showered and we all walked into town to check out the shops; there are lots of nice shops and the crowds were down a little because of some intermittent showers.  I bought a half gallon of milk for breakfast and drank most of it.  We had some chicken burritos for lunch and then went back to the race expo for more snowcones, etc...  Friday night was the athlete dinner and mandatory meeting (so I decided to go).  The food there was OK but I didn't get enough.  The pre-meeting talks were outstanding- we heard about the youngest and oldest competitors, who lost the most weight, and who the "Everyday Heroes" were.  All of these talks were super inspirational and I wish that more of my crew could have listened in.  The meeting part was boring and a little scary, hearing about all of the penalties and infractions that could occur during the race.  Leaving the horse grounds, where the dinner meeting was held, took about 30 minutes so I sat in the van and ate trail mix for a while to make sure I was full before going to bed.

SATURDAY
Saturday! One day to go!  Who's starting to freak out!?!  Actually, I held my cool pretty well for this whole ordeal.  On my easy 35 minute run on this morning, it was a little surreal to think about what was going to go down on the following morning, though.  We all walked back to the race expo area (which is in the transition/finish area and also where the Olympic speed skating took place in 1980- Eric Heiden won 5 gold medals or something) and had a free pancake breakfast; the local churches put this on and I had a bunch of plain pancakes.  After some more expo time (and free stuff for the kids) we finally met up with my parents, sister, and sister's friend, Jodi.  It was great to see everyone (all the way from Colorado)!  They headed into town for lunch and, while having peanut butter sandwiches for lunch in the motel room, Uncle Jim and Bill arrived.  We walked into town and got the crew together to do a pre-race explanation of where the race went and where a good place to be for the various events was.  We ended up down at the beach again and also met up with Mark and Kathy Seastead (friends from college), their twins, and a couple they know from Colorado (the guy did the race too).  We chatted and most of our people went back to Elizabethtown.  As I was pushing Cate on the swings though, I saw Jerri, Paolo, Josh, Ben and Emily wandering around at the beach- great timing! I gave them a quick rundown of the course and Cate and I headed to the motel for my last meal- half a pound of pasta with some EVOO (extra virgin olive oil for those of you who don't watch the Food Network) and spices. While leaving the transition area for the last time, I walked past Michael Phelps!  Super cool. Between my excitement and constantly full bladder, I didn't sleep very well on Saturday night.  On Sunday I awoke before 445 without my alarm but was ready to go...

RACE DAY!!!
I took a quick shower (just because I felt like it), put my race clothes and chip on, made my bottles for the morning and start of the bike, grabbed my race morning backpack and headed out.  Again, I had a nice walk into town (arriving at about 5:30) and the streets were filling quickly with athletes and fans.  First I headed to the bike rack area; I put the bottles in the cages (one Gatorade, one bottle of Ensure Max (vanilla), and left one cage open), pumped up my tires, cleared my computer, spun the wheels... done with the bike and off to body marking.  Sometimes getting marked takes a long time but I only had to wait for one person ahead of me and then got my numbers- 98 was my race number and 38 when on my right calf to let everyone know how old I am.  Next I headed past the beach to drop off my two "special needs" bags- one for halfway through the bike and the other for halfway through the run.  Finally it was time to head to the beach and stand in line for a porta-potty (what else do you do at the the beach?).  By this time, the first of my fans started to arrive: Mom, Dad, Katie, and Jodi.  I have never had such support while waiting for, and coming out of, a potty- this had all the makings of a truly great day!  I then decided to be smart and sat down under a tree for a while, and more people showed up: Jen, Will, Gracie, and Cate. Then the rest of my fans came: Steve, Shelly, Jim, Jerri, Paolo, Josh, Ben, Emily, and even Jake (at 6 in the morning it was actually really late at night for him)!  At about 6:30 I started to get my wetsuit on and gave lots of hugs before heading into the water to warm up a little.  I think I only did about 30 strokes before finding a rock to stand on, I figured that the race was plenty long enough to warm me up sufficiently.

THE SWIM
I remember looking at the clock on the dock and saying "Holy crap, there are only 15 seconds to go!"  I gulped and awaited the canon.  Boom!  Off it went, right on time, and I began to swim...hey not so bad.  I started about halfway down the starting line and about 10 people back.  During the start I fully expected to become "almost fully drowned" but that didn't happen- at the start.  I found some open-ish water here and there and tried to settle into my pace and keep an efficient stroke.  This all went away about 10 minutes in, when I started to run into serious space issues.  I thought this might be a good time to try to find the cable in the water, so I wouldn't have to keep sighting, so I headed left.  I actually found the cable and was about two people away for a while but the congestion kept getting worse so I headed back to the right and away from the cable.  Around this time I got kicked in the face and felt a sharp pain in my left brow; this happed 4 more times in exactly the same spot and I was waiting for my goggle to fill with blood but it never did- yay.  Also around this time, I found my  nemesis: a true giant of a guy with feet as wide as dinner plates, shoulders like old growth trees, and fists like 30-pound sledgehammers.  This freaking guy was impossible to get around: I would head to the right for a while- he was there.  I would head to the left- he was there.  Swimming behind him was like swimming behind one of those old Mississippi riverboats with the big paddle wheels on the back (except with sledgehammers attached).   It wasn't until I was heading to shore on my second lap that I finally lost him (except that Steve got a great shot of him running out of the water behind me- thanks Steve!).  After the race I found out that it "poured" during the swim but it was so rough in the water, I wasn't sure if I was feeling rain or my fellow swimmers- that is how crazy the swim was.  I finally got out of the water and looked at the clock to find a time that was faster than I thought I would swim, under an hour and ten minutes!  I got my arms out of my suit and then sat down for a "wetsuit ripper" to yank the suit from my legs; she was good and got it off in one pull.  I grabbed the suit and ran up the street to the transition area to start the next leg of my journey.
2.4 mile swim is done! 130th of 355 in my age group. 789th overall. 1:09:50

T1
I ran into the transition area and found the row of racks with my bike bag hanging on its hook. I grabbed it and ran into the change tent (everyone has to go through the change tent).  It was dark and chaotic.  I hustled over to the first open spot that I found and it happened to be near a corner so some natural light was coming in and that helped me change a little quicker.  Here's what I did: I threw my wetsuit on the ground and dumped the bag next to it; I buckled on my helmet, clicked on my race belt, bit down on the arms of my sunglasses, slipped into my socks and bike shoes; finally I jammed my wetsuit, cap and goggles into the bag.  I consciously decided to skip putting on my arm warmers because it was in the mid-60s and I didn't want to overheat- this turned out to be a good decision because I was very comfortable throughout the ride.  Just as I was ready to run off I realized that I didn't have my bag of salt pills- crap!  I dumped the wetsuit out of the bag again and a volunteer helped me find the salt pills then told me to go and packed my wetsuit back into the bag for me- thank you volunteer!  I ran out of the change tent and started yelling my race number, "98! 98!"  A volunteer heard me and yelled my number into his megaphone and by the time I got to the row that my bike was racked in, it was waiting for me.  I took my bike, ran out of the transition zone, past over the "mount line" and found an open spot to hop on and ride off.
6:22

THE BIKE
Once on the bike I was determined to ride easy for the first 40 miles.  This took some restraint because my legs felt great and people were cheering (including my support squad- thanks again, everyone).  I settled in for about 10 minutes and then started to take in some liquids and two salt pills.  Rode past Carl! Throughout the race I kept up with taking two salt tablets (I use S-caps) every two hours and didn't have a cramp all day.  I took my first gel at 20 minutes in, followed by three gulps of Ensure at 40 minutes, and then about a third of a PowerBar at the hour, along with more salt pills.  I tried to keep on this nutrition regimen but I also added a few banana halves along the way.  I talked with some nice people along the way but rode mostly by myself.  Early on during the bike, I talked with a lady who complained about the same guy in the sleeveless wetsuit that was thrashing around during the swim, so it was good to know I wasn't alone in my annoyance with him.  The downhills were pretty crazy and I'm not a huge fan of speed; I kept my speed at less than 40 mph because it was a little rainy and gusty.  I managed to keep myself under control and not doing any hammering for the first few hours but started to feel a little bloated.  About 40 miles in I had to relieve my bladder and flew into an aid station where I had a volunteer hold my bike for me while I used the porta-potty.  Between the potty break and sitting up to climb the hills my bloating went away...for a while.  I stopped for my special needs bag and refilled my Ensure bottle. I started to ride a little harder but eventually my bloating came back and held me from riding as hard as I wanted to and by the time I got off the bike, I was feeling uncomfortable.  During the last few aid stations I took only water which I drank some gulps of and poured the rest down my back.  Also, I skipped the PowerBar at the 4th and 5th hour.  I got off the bike feeling BLOATED.
112 miles on the bike is done! 135th of 355 in my age group. 681st overall. 6:01:50 18.6mph average

T2
I rode into the bike in area, dismounted before the line, stepped off my bike (leaving my shoes clipped into the peddles), and handed it off to a volunteer who racked it for me.  I ran back down the same gear aisle and picked up my run bag, hit another porta-potty, and stepped back into the same dark and smelly change tent.  This time I took off my cycling shorts (leaving my tri-shorts on), found a chair and had a seat so that I could slip on my calf compression guards, shoes, and visor.  I jammed my helmet and cycling shoes into the run bag and gave it to a volunteer and I ran out to start the marathon.
4:10

THE RUN
Did I mention that I was feeling bloated?  I really think this worked to my advantage and here's why: I ran slowly for the first six miles.  This was my plan all along- to run easy to the first turnaround.  Running slow is really hard to do at the start though because it is almost completely downhill for the first mile and there are TONS of people screaming at you...plus your quads aren't screaming at you yet.  With a fully belly of gas though, running slow is easy; all I had to do was concentrate on burping out the gas that was still up high and using other means of getting rid of the lower gas (to my fellow competitors: I'm really sorry about all the noise!).  I stopped at yet another porta-potty to try to get rid of some gas (which wasn't very successful) and this was the closest I came to passing out; I got a bit unsteady and leaned against the wall for a few seconds but then I pulled myself together. Anyway, by the time I got to the first turn around I was starting to feel pretty good.  I kept my cadence high by singing "Stayin' Alive", by the Bee Gees, along with my left foot strikes.  When I teach CPR to my EMT students sometimes they do chest compressions too quickly or slowly; having them sing Stayin' Alive allows them to keep their rhythm around 100 compressions per minute.  Therefore, using the song during the run (and bike too) kept my cadence high, which keeps my form closer to ideal, and allows me to use less energy.  Thoughts on River Road: it is a mix between purgatory and a death march; I know that it is a pretty road but without anyone cheering, it was a tough haul.  I should say that there are aid stations about every mile on the run and walked through every station except for the last two.  I'm super happy that I ran the marathon- even the steep uphills.  I felt great, especially when I was in town and my personal cheering section yelled at me.  I also saw Shawn, Larry, Marilyn, and Terry that I swim with and they yelled their heads off at me too.  On my second loop I saw Adem and Brittany who drove all the way to Lake Placid from Plattsburg to cheer me on and give me a sweet shirt- thanks! Again, I met a few nice people that I ran with but didn't hang with anyone too long.  I just couldn't believe how good I felt.  I took an Ensure out of my special needs bag and drank most of that.  I also had 3 or 4 gels along the way and drank Coke, Perform, and water at every station- I think the two things that kept me running were the walking and liberal nutrition.  I kept cool by keeping sponges on my shoulders and one under the rear of my visor.  I had to stop and stretch my calf about five times along the run and My quads did start to burn a little around mile 20.  About a tenth of a mile before the end I saw Michael Phelps on the side of the road cheering people on.  I ran up near to him and held my hand out and he gave me a high five- sweet!  I ran into the oval and felt like I hadn't run a step.  About 100 yard before the finish line I heard extra loud cheering and looked to see the majority of my cheering section yelling their heads off for me (I really wish I would have run over and given hugs and high fives) so I waved and kept running and heard the magic words, "Brian McDowell....you are an Ironman!"  Yea!  When I crossed the line I got my finisher hat, medal, and t-shirt then got my picture taken at the finishers' wall and got a piece of pizza and a Coke.  My parents found me and we celebrated a bit before I grabbed my gear and bike and met up with everyone out on the sidewalk.  I didn't realize that Aunt Ginny and David had made it for the finish but there they were.  What a great day, truly one of the best of my life.
26.2 mile run done. 110th of 355 in my age group. 655th overall. 4:11:25  9:36 per mile pace
140.6 miles for the day. 11:33:29 109th of 355 in my age group and 565th overall out of 2611 people.

POST RACE
We all hugged and I recapped some of the highlights for the day (bloating!) and I walked back to our motel for more pizza (thanks Katie!) and some stretching and eventually sleep.  I woke up at 6:30 on Monday and felt pretty good.  I showered and walked back to the beach area to get my special needs bags then back to the motel.  We packed up the van and drove to meet up with everyone else in Elizabethtown at the biggest house I have ever stayed in (think: "The Shining") for two very relaxing days.  Aunt Ginny cooked the heck out of Monday night's dinner and it was a great night.  My legs felt tight and going down stairs was harder than going up because of my quads but all-in-all, I felt great.

A nod to Katie and Steve who flew home and found it less than efficient- Katie took a day and a half to get to Colorado and Steve took almost a day to get to California.  A super huge thanks  to all of my family and friends who cheered me on during the race and/or encouraged me to keep training over the last year.  But the biggest thanks goes to Jen and my kids for putting up with me either not being home all the time or falling asleep at 8:30.  Thank you so much!!!!!!!

I had trouble embedding pictures so that is why there are all of the links.  There are a few more pictures here, in case you are interested.

One of my ES students stopped by my motel just now to wish me good luck tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a good day. Thanks Devon!

My last meal.

Getting my last minute exercises in with my training partner.

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Iron-dinner.

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Transition area on Friday.

Mirror Lake, T-49:20.

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At the ski jumps.

I've been watching the countdown timer for almost a year- today is 5 days to go! #imlp

What I'll be wearing- ketchup and mustard

Here are pictures of what I'll be wearing, so that you can spot me and yell at me.  For the bike (1st picture), I might have black arm warmers on or, if it's really cold, a bright yellow/green long-sleeved shirt.  For both the bike and the run (2nd picture), I will probably have sunglasses on but hopefully that won't throw anyone off.  If I'm really slow on the bike I might look closer to the third picture when I'm done.



































I've logged a bunch of miles in training so far this year.  Here are my totals:
Swimming- 56 hours and 172,650 yards
Running- 100 hours and 738 miles
Cycling- 169 hours and 3,301 miles

...and I still feel like I should do more.  Oh well!  I'm about done with my taper now and only have 8 days left to go until race day- 8 days!  Here is what my taper has looked like:

The longest ride (green) was 122 miles, then 100, then 85, then 60, and today I did a 50 mile ride.  My run taper started a little later (because of my calf) and I did my long run (19 miles) about 2 weeks ago.  Swimming has been pretty steady but I've added a little quick stuff in here and there.

sorry this is messed up, i'm done

Lists

Why lists? When entering the transition zone from the swim, you are handed your bag of gear for the bike. Then halfway through the ride you can take your "special needs" bag (if you want to).  After the ride is over, and you are back in transition, you get your run bag and halfway through the run, the run special needs bag. You have to pack all of these bags with your stuff and I don't want to forget anything, so hopefully people will comment on what I missed (plus I will have my lists here for posterity's sake).

START
Gatorade bottle (x2- one for morning, one for bike)
Bottle of Ensure (3 bottles for bike)
PowerBar
Gel
Tums
Salt tablets
goggles
wetsuit
earplugs
HR strap
HR watch
TIMING CHIP!!!
tri shorts
cycling shorts (I'm wearing two pairs of shorts on the swim so that I will be comfy on the bike)
swim cap
body glide
albuterol
tire pump
ribbon
Check this in AM: bike tires inflated, bottles on bike, computer reset and working, tires spin, bike bag has helmet and shoes, run bag has shoes.

BIKE BAG
helmet
shoes
socks
sunglasses
race belt
arm warmers
ALS bracelet
number
salt pills 14
phone
albuterol
bag to put shoes in if it rains

BIKE SPECIAL NEEDS BAG
tube
CO2
2 Powerbars
4 gels
bottle of ensure
salt pills 6

RUN BAG
shoes
visor
salt pills 12
"Take off your shorts!" note (to remember to take off my cycling shorts)
calf guards
wet wipes
spare sunglasses
wrist sweatband
Ensure

RUN SPECIAL NEEDS
Ensure
duct tape
bandaids
Salt 6
socks
wetwipes
superglue
sweatband

AFTER THE RACE
t-shirt
boxers
shorts
crocs
sweatshirt

What did I miss?

Official spectator guide and road closures

Click here.

Bib number

I'm number 98...ain't it great?

Athlete guide

In case anyone gets really bored, here is the 2010 Athlete Guide.  Enjoy!

Spectator information

Please check back here before race day because I will post updates, if needed.


The Ironman Lake Placid page has tons of information (more than you need to know) and lots of useful stuff. Specifically, here is the link to the turn-by-turn directions for all of the routes. Here is the map that I made for our motel location, etc.. And here is a list of road closures.

We will be arriving in LP on Wednesday the 21st and will be staying at the Edelweis Motel.  Here is how I see race day unfolding: I will be at the transition area around 5:30 to do last minute checks on my bike and transition bags, then will go to body marking.  I will have my wetsuit on around 6:30 and be down at the beach at Mirror Lake.  The race starts for me at 7am with two swim loops; when I exit the water between the first and second loops I will yell "Bazinga!" so that you will know who I am (everyone copies me and wears the same swim cap and a black wetsuit).  The swim should take me somewhere around 1 hour 15 minutes and then I'll run up the street to the 1980 Olympic speedskating track (the transition area) to grab my bike and hit the roads.  MAP

I'll ride the two loops in around 6 hours (total) and this might be a good time for people to hit downtown LP and check out the sales at the Gap and get a bite to eat.  If people are really into spectating you can see me ride through downtown around 3 hours after I leave.  If you really want to see the "good stuff", you can go to 86 and Northwood Drive and head north a bit to see some of the hill climbing; I think I will be through here about 2.5 hours after I start the bike.  To get here, go past our motel on 86 for about a mile and you will be there. MAP

After the bike (probably 2 or 3 o'clock, but maybe later) I'll start the run which has two loops and two turnarounds- this means that you can see me 4 or 5 times during the run.  The finish is on the speedskating oval and the crowds are crazy (you will all fit right in).  MAP

If I have the energy (and think I will be able to get back up) I will try to "roll the line" in memory of Jon Blaise- a guy who had ALS and finished the Ironman Championship in 2005.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrEUyIiApus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Blais

Here is what my game plan for the race will be:

http://endurancenation.blogspot.com/2007/12/en-four-keys-to-ironman-execution.html

I can't say enough about how much your presence in Lake Placid means to me.  I thank you all a thousand times!

Last long run

I got a 2.5 hour run in this morning and it was hot!  Calves felt pretty good so I'm going to wish for a hot day for IMLP.  18.5 miles will have to suffice...

updates

School is finally out and we seem to be as busy as we were during the school year.  My year ended in a whirlwind but our exam results were good so all is well there.

Since my last post (over two weeks ago) I have run 9 times for a total of 66 miles (with a long run of 15).  Calves are still tight but stretching during the runs seems to keep them loose enough.  I'm hoping for one more long run before tapering- hopefully a 2.5 hour run on Tuesday.

On the bike, I've ridden 337 miles in the last 2 weeks, with a long ride of 100 miles last Wednesday (after an early morning swim and correcting exams at school, it was a long day.  Today I had a nice 85 mile ride on a very pretty morning; somehow I was faster, by 1 mph, than I was last time I did the loop- maybe it's my aero helmet?

Swimming has be pretty good. I had a good swim yesterday where I felt good, swam easy but seemingly fast, and tracked straight. I've swum/swimminged/propelled myself through the water/swam over 10 miles in the last two weeks.

The race is three weeks from tomorrow and I'm super excited.  I can't believe how many people are going to cheer me on personally or will be there for the event itself but will cheer me on- I will need every cheer I can get.

On the home front since school ended three days ago, I've painted three ceilings, ripped up molding, filled wall holes, started to rip up carpeting, bought paint for walls, bought new flooring, bought a new lawn mower, and had a picnic.  Summer is always busy!

Happy Fourth of July and thanks for reading.

Great training day in Lake Placid

Here is the deal.  I left Rochester at 8:30 at night and it is a 5.5 hour drive to Lake Placid.  I didn't want to load up on coffee because I was worried about sleeping when I needed to so I had a little Coca-Cola Classic (more on that to follow).  I drove about 1 hour past Watertown and then needed sleep.  Luckily there are a lot of pull-offs on Route 3 (which goes all the way to LP).  So at 1AM I pulled over and slept for 2 hours, then woke up and drove to LP, arriving at 400AM and I slept for another 2.5 hours in the Aubuchon Hardware parking lot (my favorite parking lot to sleep in).  Feeling rested, I woke up at 630 and drove to the municipal parking lot which happens to also be on the bike course.  I switched to my race wheels, packed my jersey with enough calories for one loop (56 miles), put 3 water bottles on the bike, and was off by 7AM.

It was only 50 degrees so I had a vest, arm warmers, cycling gloves, and calf guards on for warmth- it was a good combo for the beginning of the day.  I rode one loop of the course in October so, when I realized that I forgot the directions and map in the van, thought I would be just fine in following the course on my own.  Luckily there were lots of other "IM hopefuls" on the course too and it made the day much easier to have company here and there.  So, I made the first major turn in Keene and headed North on 9N and was looking for the left on 86 (in Jay) but must have been eating or zoning out because I missed it.  I was riding along for a while thinking "maybe I'm off course" but decided to ride around the bend in the road (I actually did this about 4 times) before I decided to pull over.  I wish I had a smartphone (but I don't) so I called Jen to have her look up the course on the internet but just as she was doing this, two other riders came along and said that we were on course. Great!  I hung up with Jen and caught up with my new friends and we were off on our misguided journey (although we didn't know it yet).  So, we were chatting it up- they were from Maine, 1st IM for Jeff, second for Carrie, etc... when we saw the sign for a junction to get on Interstate 87.  Interstate 87?!?  We were off course by a lot.  Jeff pulled out is iphone and found out where we were- a little over 16 miles off course.  Well, we took off our cool weather gear because the day was heating up nicely and headed back to the course- another 16 miles.

How could I have missed this?

We decided to skip the out-and-back section and instead followed the major loop back to LP.  This took us over some decent climbs but nothing crazy.  The problem was that by the time we were 10 miles from my van, I was out of food and water- not a huge deal but not ideal.  Anyway, instead of the first loop being 56 miles, it ended up being 75 miles.  I hit the van, refueled/refilled my bottles and pockets and took off for the second loop.  This time I made the turn in Jay- yea!- and did part of the out-and-back to see if the bridge (that is currently out) would be done for the race- I think it will.  I did the climbs again and they were a little tougher on the second loop and, again, I ran out of liquids as the day was heating up nicely.  I was hoping to do 90 to 100 miles on the bike but got a little over 121 miles in.  All done with the bike!

This is what a 6 hour 36 minute ride looks like on a graph- thrilling!

I stuck my bike and shoes in the van and switched into my running shoes and visor.  I was feeling a little over-heated so I dumped some water on my head drank my Coke from the night before (I told you there was more to come on the pop) an instantly felt like a new man.  Leaving the parking lot, I headed down to about the first mile of the course, turned around and climbed back up to the transition zone and headed down to the second turnaround of the run course.  All told, I ran 5 miles and my legs felt awesome- so stopping to stretch or tightness.  I think I might have my calf figured out, all I have to do is ride 120 miles on a hot day (with calf guards on) and they are fine.  Seriously, I think a big warm up helps them; I've moved my runs to the afternoons this week and it has seemed to help.

I took a quick dip in Mirror Lake to cool off and rinse the salt off and headed back to Rochester.  It was a great day of training.

Running again (a little)

I've gotten a few miles of running in during the last few days.  Swimming and cycling are coming along nicely- I did a hard 40 miles on the bike yesterday and seemed to be recovered.  School is super busy as is soccer and baton are too (for the kids).  I'm heading to Lake Placid for a bike ride this weekend and hopefully I'll run a little there too.  New fund-raising total: $3,282.92!  Hope to post more stuff later. 

RIP Emmit

He was a very good dog but age caught up with him- especially in the last few weeks.  We love you Emmit.

Official Race results

At least I made the first page.  Click here to see the mass of data.

Starting the day with a swim.

Keuka Lake Triathlon 2010 Race Report

Took Saturday off to rest and only did an open water swim on Friday after an 85 mile ride on Thursday.  I didn't get into be on Saturday night until 11pm- too late but that was as early as I could manage.  I packed the car on before heading off to bed.  Woke up at 4am on Sunday to an absolute downpour which lasted for most of my drive to Keuka Park; I didn't even feel like I could safely drive the speed limit and took a little longer to get to the race than I had planned.

I got a great parking spot which was pretty close to the start/finish/transition area and headed to get my numbers and swim cap.  Packet pickup went smoothly and I was happy to get a hat, meaning I registered in the first 600 for the race (which includes all races: olympic, sprint, relay, aquabike...).  Heading back to the car I found more rain showers and, I should mention, the temperatures were in the upper 50s for the start- during the run it got warm for a bit but then we got a nice downpour again to cool things off.  I changed in the car into my race shorts and top, pumped up my bike tires, packed all of my race stuff up, and headed to the transition area.  Race numbers dictate where you bike goes in a row and I found a spot at the end of a rack with a little extra room to set up my running shoes and eventually drop my wetsuit.  By this time it was raining again so I put my socks, running shoes, visor, gel for the run, and sunglasses (yes, I'm am optimist) into a Wegman's bag to keep them dry; my bike shoes were already clipped into the pedals.

By now it was back to a steady downpour and getting a wetsuit on when you are already wet is tough so I headed under an overhang, with some other smart people, and put my wetsuit on in relative dryness...then to the swim start.  I actually got into the water and had some time to warm up before the start (which is new for me).  Water was warm and had a visibility of about 6 feet or so.  I tried to practice for Lake Placid by getting "in the mix" for the swim start but there weren't enough people to get the right feeling- a little bumping but nothing bad.  I didn't swim very straight but I think my swim was OK after I got into my groove.

I had a pretty quick T1- wetsuit came off quickly, socks went on well, helmet clipped on, and I was off.  I ran with my bike out of the transition area, crossed the mount line, and stepped on my shoes and then slipped into them while pedaling and building up speed.  Knowing my calf would slow my down on the run, I decided to push on the bike more than I normally would.  I passed a few people, ate three gels and drank almost a whole bottle of PowerBar drink (which is what will be on IMLP course).  Some of the roads were terrible, just as they were last year, but I managed.  New-to-me wheelset seemed fast and light and great in the wind we had in the face on the top of a ridge.  I rode by myself almost the entire time but found a good rhythm on the uphills and kept my cadence around 90.  Maximum speed was around 38.

Dismount from the bike went well and T2 was quick- rack the bike, slip on shoes and visor (sunglasses needed now), and clipped on the race number belt.  I found my run rhythm quickly, set my cadence at around 90 again, and chased a few people down as a few chased me down.  I had a couple of miles at 7 minute pace but had to back off to 730s and 8 minute pace as my calf tightened.  The calf didn't hold me back as much as it could- I didn't have to walk- but I was definitely not going as fast as I wanted to.  I ate a gel at the halfway turnaround and finished strong.  I ran with a guy from Massachusetts for a while which helped passed the time.

At the finish area I talked to, and was evaluated by, a chiropodist doctor and he have my calf a little of a massage and suggested that I get a massage from a true massage therapist.  I then headed, with my stuff, to the van to dump stuff off and put on some new calf compression sleeves that I just bought yesterday and headed out for some more running.  Again, I fell into a good zone and got another 4 miles in to up my run miles to 10, on a day that I was supposed to run 12- oh well, at least I got some running in.  The calf guards did seem to help so I will run with them on Tuesday.

Post-race meal was pretty good.  I stopped at Dunkin' Doughnuts on the way home for a large coffee and drove through the rain most of the way home.  All in all, it was a good day.  Now it is 10:10 and I'm heading to bed so that I can get up and be in the lake at 6 tomorrow morning. I didn't proofread so let me know if this is confusing.  7 weeks to go...

Race results to follow but I was something like 37/199 overall and 7/39 in age group- ok for a slow run.

Race is done

It went well. Ok swim, solid bike, and painful but manageable calf on the run (slowed me way down though).  More to follow...I need a shower.

Resting Saturday for Sunday race

The important stuff:
Cate lost her first tooth and did it at school.  Jen and I didn't even know that it was that loose but out it came. She is pretty proud of herself!

Now for the triathlon stuff:
I moved some stuff around this week because of the Keuka Lake Triathlon on Sunday.  I didn't want to do my long ride the day before (Saturdays are usually my long ride day) so I signed off the ambulance so that I could do it Friday after school and not be too sleepy.  Then we looked closer at the calendar and realized that Friday was Gracie's last soccer game and I didn't want to miss it.  That moved the long ride to Thursday.

I got on the road a bit before 3pm and had a beautiful day- mid-70s and mostly sunny, not too windy.  I headed west to route 19 then took it south through Brockport and down to LeRoy then headed west on route 5 to Batavia then north on 98 to Albion and home from there.  It rained pretty hard for about 45 minutes toward the end but it wasn't too bad and it kept me nice and cool.

I figure I took in about 1700 calories.  Here's what I had: 4 gels on 20 min, 2 bottles ensure on 40 min, 1+ powerbars on hour (made me a little full), 2.5 bottles gatorade/ powerbar perform, 2 salt tablets at start then 1 on each hour.   My legs got little crampy at 2 hours in but some nutrition seemed to kick in and they felt strong at the end. I also got a little full (gastric distention and all) for a while but I tried to wiggle my stomach around a little to get this moving and digesting and it seemed to work.  bport leroy batavia albion. 45 min of rain near end of ride.  All said, I got in a little over 85 miles.


Swimming:
Luckily someone else showed up to swim in the lake this morning so I got an easy swim in before heading into school.  My calf is definitely better due to not running this week but not all better.  I think I'll look into getting a massage next week to see if that helps.  Now for a day of rest before Sunday's race...

quick one

First, a shout out to my little sister and Murphy- thanks for the donations!  You keep me going.

Second, here is my tweet from Saturday: After stomach bug on Thurs & not eating much on Fri, today's 50/3 bike/run brick was tough. Done though. That wasn't a lot of fun but at least it happened quick and didn't interrupt any workouts.

Third, my right calf is still tight and I had to do a lot of walking on my "long run" on Sunday so I'm going to skip two runs this week and hopefully it will loosen up.  I'm planning on an 80-mile ride on Thursday (in the rain) and maybe an easy jog on Friday which leaves Saturday as a rest day and Sunday is an olympic distance triathlon (Keuka Lake Tri).  Fortunately, the bike helps with the run (but not vice versa) so if I had to stop anything, running would be my choice.

Last, I did my first open water swim on Monday in Lake Ontario (in my new wetsuit) and it was great.  I'll be back in the lake at 6am tomorrow but right now I'm off to swim 4000 yards in the pool.

Hope all is well with everyone. Time is getting closer- next month is the race! Crazy.

2 months to go!

Lately, I'm finding that I'm doing just what is called for on my training plan and nothing extra (perhaps a few extra miles on the bike but not much).  A few months ago, I used to do extra on most of my workouts but now I can't find the time and my energy is getting a little lower too.  I need to go to bed earlier but can't seem to be mature enough to actually get in the sheets before 10:30 or so. 

My right calf has been tight the last few weeks which is disappointing because I thought I had it figured out.  My long-ish run on Sunday was a little slow because of it and my speed workout on Thursday consisted of some strides on a grassy hill instead of any real speed work.  My 8 mile run this morning felt better than my run on Sunday so hopefully the calf is on the mend- luckily swimming and cycling doesn't seem to bother it at all.

My legs didn't feel exactly fresh when I finished my last recovery week on Sunday but I'm trying to keep things in perspective.  My recovery week long run was only 10 miles but I guess 10 miles is still moderately long.  Perspective is hard to maintain when I'm in the middle of things (like it is for anyone).  Last month I told my office-mate that I only rode for 3 hours on the trainer and he laughed that I said "only"- comparing that to what is ahead, it is only a 3 hour ride.  Fortunately, there are a few other IMers that I follow on the internet so it is nice to see that they are going through the same things I am.  One guy posted a video of himself trying to walk down the stairs after a long ride (which wasn't very graceful) so that was nice to see.  I haven't had any workouts that have put me into the "jello legs" category yet but I know they are coming. 

I can't believe it is 2 months from today!  I am trying to curb my excitement for the race (although I won't be "racing" but rather competing).  I'm also trying to not worry about the things that are beyond my control (weather, flats, etc...) and am instead trying to concentrate on what I can control (training, sleep, nutrition, clothing/equipment).  Something that has put me at ease was our final decision to keep our motel room (which is walking distance to transition and start/finish so that I won't have to worry about where I'm sleeping the nights before and the night after the race.  Hopefully all will be good but if the motel doesn't work out it is great to know that I have a couple of backup options (Elizabethtown and an RV). 

Sounds like I should have around 20 people at IMLP to cheer me on and I couldn't be happier!  Thanks all!

I feel like a kid again...

...I fell asleep at the dinner table last night.  Jen was on the treadmill and I was eating pasta with the kids and must have been pretty tired because I heard Cate ask me, "Daddy, what are you making that silly face?"  That woke me up and now I realize that I have a funny look on my face when I sleep- oh well. 

Today the article about my fundraising and training came out in the paper.  Jeff did a nice job.  Check it out here.

Getting closer...

Officially, there are 68 days until IMLP and I am still super excited and motivated to train.  I'm currently in my last recovery week.  When I tell people that I'm in a recovery week they usually think that I get a week off from training (which would kill me), but instead the recovery week lets me ease back a little on the mileage so that I can heal and recuperate before the next round of increasing mileage begins.

This week's schedule calls for 7000 yards of swimming (140 laps in the pool), 85 miles on the bike, and 24 miles running; contrasting that to last week's efforts of 5650 yards in the pool, 125 miles cycling, and 38 miles of running and I should be feeling pretty rested in a few days.  As you can see, my pool distances are increasing and I will add a third day in the water soon.

I was surprised to see that this was my last recovery- because I thought I would get one more, but no such luck; my tapers starts four weeks out from the race (and is a pretty strenuous taper, I think) which leaves five weeks to build, build, build.  Eventually, when I reach my longest week, I will do 12,725 yards swimming, 190 miles cycling, and 43 miles running- then the taper starts from there.  Right now I'm pretty excited to get into the long stuff but I'm sure I will get pretty beat up but at least the end is already in sight.

I'm trying to pay extra attention to my nutrition because I feel like I have to always be eating but want to make sure I'm getting enough protein.  I usually do fine with my carbohydrate, fat, salt, etc... but when I review my diet at the end of many days I think I could use another salmon burger here and there.  I have taken a liking to a vanilla protein powder (conveniently sold at Wal-Mart) and am trying to remember to mix it with a glass of milk after each round of exercise lasting an hour or more, which, when I think about it now, is every workout this week (with the exception of a running speed workout) and every workout for the next 9.5 weeks.  Note to self: buy more protein mix.

It is raining again but the weather is supposed to get sunnier and warmer  in the next few days, so I won't have to bundle up as much on the bike.  I ran this morning (8 miles) and will swim tonight (80 laps or 4000 yards) but right now I'm thinking about dinner and trying to stay dry (until I get in the pool, of course).

quickie

Last recovery week coming up for Ironman Lake Placid! Ran 15mi on Saturday and rode 60mi and 5mi run today. Feelin' the flow. 70 days to go.

Starting to get a little tired

Well, I'm feeling like I'm training for an Ironman this week.  I'm trying to get more sleep and have been moving my workouts to the afternoons when possible so that I can sleep until 6 instead of getting up somewhere around 4:45.  I think so of the longer, more intense workouts lately are taking longer to recover from.  I'm looking forward to a fairly relaxing weekend when we only have a garage sale to contend with. 

The weather still hasn't been cooperating- yesterday I ran in the morning in a typical winter outfit- hat, mittens, windbreaker top and bottoms...  The weather is supposed to improve as we go into this weekend which will be much welcomed.  Today's high temperature is forecast to be 48 and I'm going to ride 30 miles, with some speedwork, on my bike (then a swim later).  We have really had a pretty great spring for training so I can't complain too much.  Also this afternoon, a reporter from the Democrat and Chronicle (D&C if you're a cool Rochesterian) is coming to the house to take some pictures so that he can put an article in the paper next week. Fundraising is up near $2500!

Happy Mothers' Day

As I've said, Jen makes my training possible by getting up with the kids when I'm out training in the morning, during the day by washing my smelly clothes, and at night by making dinner...you get the picture: she makes our home function.  My mom took the same care of me when I was growing up and I thought I could still here her yelling my name when I was running this morning.  Happy Mothers' Day to all moms!

Speaking of my morning run, it wasn't the nicest morning to be out there.  I think I made the smart decision and headed into the wind/snow/hail for seven miles and then turned around to have it at my back for the last seven.  This way I didn't catch a chill by heading into the wind when I was sweaty from running with it.  My eyes froze shut a couple of times and but the hail was worse and more painful.  Anyway, I'm glad to have it done and "under my belt" because the conditions for the IM will most likely be better so I can look back at today and know I've run in worse conditions.

Yesterday I did a brick workout, which is when you do two disciplines back-to-back.  I did a bike-run brick where I rode 50 miles and then did a two mile run.  I knew it was going to be a windy day but was shocked when I got up at 5:30 to find fairly calm conditions, so I hoped on my bike an headed west (where I knew the wind would eventually come from).  My ride back was pretty fast because the wind was about 25mph sustained by the time I arrived back home.  Later in the day we went to Jake's graduation from UB (congrats!) and felt some big gusts and found that our power had gone out for a period of time while we were gone.

Hopefully the weather will be better this week.  Next weekend is our garage sale on Saturday.

Happy 10th Birthday WILL!

Got 50/2 ride/run brick in before the crazy winds started. #ironman #imlp #triathlon

I'm short on time!

I am feeling pretty well but the miles are starting to catch up with me a little.  The daily schedule seems to be increasing greatly as we get farther into spring- soccer games for the kids, mowing the lawn (stop growing, already!), parties, graduations, end of the school year stuff...  Anyway, here is a picture I took with my phone (not too shabby, phone!) when I did a 15-mile run on Sunday morning while opening the cottage.  It was taken just as the sun was peeking over the clouds and fog and includes a cow or two who don't seem to have seen a runner before.

News 10 NBC did a nice job covering the fundraising and training

Check out the story and video.  They did a great job.

15 mile run yesterday then water skiing (water was brisk). Easy 20 ride this morning. Feeling the love. #ironman #imlp

Getting on the bike #imlp

8 mile easy run- goodbye recovery week. 3 months from today= Ironman Lake Placid. #imlp #ironman

Recovery week almost over

Amazingly, my recovery week coincided with my spring break from school and I took full advantage of resting up enjoying the family.  I did almost the same number of workouts as I usually do, except for a swim (because the pool didn't have the normal schedule), but my distances were decreased.  I feel pretty good right now and am afraid to look too far forward into my schedule because I know the last few weeks of June are killers.  Next week I'm entering into the "speed phase" of training but I have been doing speedwork once a week for each discipline since January, so I'm not too worried about increasing the intensity of my workouts.

Speedwork might seem like a foolish endeavor in Ironman training but, as I believe I've written before, challenging the body at lactate threshold levels is a great way to increase your fitness- it's also a good way to bring on an injury, so it must be done carefully.  I try not to do too much reading about training because there are so many contradictory opinions that my heads can spin quickly, but I recently read, from a trusted source, that only about 20 minutes per week in each event should be spent near or above the lactate threshold level; this helped me to realize that I don't have to "sprint" for 12 miles but instead to a nice long warm up, do the speedwork, then do a nice long cool down.  The speedwork should be distinct, intense, and short-lasting.  Another way to increase fitness is simply by doing long, slow distances but the time it takes to increase fitness this way takes forever- carefully done speedwork is the way to go.  Hopefully all of the speed work will allow me to average around 20mph on the bike and a 9 minute pace on the run during the Ironman.

In fundraising notes, I wrote a little about this last week but will elaborate: News 10 NBC came out to school last week and filmed me teaching, followed a few of my students around the lunchroom as they sold bracelets and then interview them, interviewed me and then Aunt Ginny, and finally followed me outside to film me cycling and running.  It was a fun experience and I look forward to seeing what makes it on the news compared to how much they filmed.  They will also re-air the story (with updates) during the Jerry Lewis Telethon on Labor Day.  Hopefully it will get the word out to help with donations (which are coming along nicely- thank you, all!).

People always ask me how I have time to do all of the training and I answer that I get up early on many mornings to get the workouts in but this is obviously not the whole story.  Jen really is shouldering a lot of the family load (as she always does) to allow me the luxury of going on three-hour bike rides followed by 4-mile runs (next week- eventually I'll do a few 6-hour rides followed by 45-minute runs). Thanks to my lovely wife!

Next Friday is the ALS Gala at the Fingerlakes Racetrack (for horses).  I'm looking forward to getting all dressed up and hanging out at a posh event.

$5 for an unlimited duration massage

I'm holding my own with keeping the back of my legs happy- they are still tight but definitely manageable.  Besides adding a few yoga poses to my post-workout stretching routine, I added a daily massage.  How can I afford my own masseur? Easy, I do it myself.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I bought (and still use) The Stick, but that doesn't seem to go deep enough to hit my sore muscles (I am abounding with muscles).   Then I found a sports therapist's site about how to do your own deep muscle massages using a large pool noodle.  It looked like it would work, so I headed to Target and first went down the "yoga" aisle to find a $25 foam roller- too expensive for me.  Fortunately, Target seems to think that summer comes to Rochester in the middle of March and they already had pool noodles on sale for only $5.  I bought one that was about 6-inches in diameter and 6-feet long and brought it home.  I cut it into a shorter lenghth of about 2-1/2 feet wide which is much more manageable.  Now I try to roll the back of my legs   once a day and it really seems to help by getting the deep knots out of my hamstrings and calves.  I recommend the investment to all.

Now for a fundraising update: Last Friday I went on the Hilton High School anouncements (which are televised- so cool!) to say that I was selling bracelets with all money collected going to fight Lou Gehrig's disease.  I also sent an email to staff members telling them about the Ironman and asking them to donate to the cause.  I was nervous that the 200 bracelets I bought would end up collecting dust, but boy was I wrong.  In one week, the students and staff donated $721.92 and the donations are still coming in!  Go Hilton!

100 days to go!

Holding on to a few extra pounds?

• Here is a question from a friend (who is faster than I am in marathons):

I have to check in with my technical trainer, lol. This happens EVERY year late in my marathon training, I hold on to a few pounds. It drives me crazy. I always drop it before the race but it makes me mad that I'm running 40 miles a week and have gained a few! Do you know what is going on?

• Here is my feeble response:

I don't have any facts for you but here is my hunch because I think I do this too. First off, I try to stay away from the scale because I really think my body (or anyone's body) finds the correct weight if I'm exercising a lot and eating well- the body will do what it needs to do. I have been stepping on the scale lately much more often to make sure I know how much I'm losing during a workout so that I can guess on my nutritional needs that I'm not meeting through during-workout eating.

From watching bits and pieces of "The Biggest Loser", I'm guessing that your body is reacting to an increasing exercise load but hanging on to some additional fuel in case the going really gets tough and it needs some additional resources to draw energy from. When you begin to ease up on the workouts in your taper, your body can get rid of the extra weight because it isn't under and increasing workload anymore. Of course, this is all speculation and isn't really mor than just a guess.

What would be interesting would be to see if your body got rid of the extra pounds if you maintained 40 mile weeks for a month or two because you would have reached a mileage plateau and aren't calling for increasing duration. Want to test this idea for me?

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

Technical Trainer Brian signing off (really I'm just talking out of my behind)

• Anyone have anything to say to confirm or deny my ideas?

12mi morning run + 12min afternoon nap= a good day. #ironman #imlp

Sleep?

In the book Ultramarathon Man, the author uses the quote, "sleep is for wimps".  I laughed when I read it a few years ago and I keep trying to remind myself of it being a dangerous way of thinking: the body needs rest.  That said, I usually go to sleep between 10 and 10:30 but my wake up times seem to be creeping earlier and earlier into the wee hours of the morning.

This week we had some good weather at the start so I slept in on Monday until 6, which is my normal time to get up for the school day, and rode for two hours (40 miles) in the afternoon.  Tuesdays and Wednesdays are double workout days when I like to be rested for my evening swims, therefore I try to run or ride before school.  This week I got up at 4:45 on Tuesday to do a steady ten-mile run and 5:00 on Wednesday to do a one-hour speed workout on my bike trainer in the basement.  On some Thursdays I run in the afternoon but we had a play to attend that Gracie starred in this week; so, Thursday turned into a 4:30 wake up for a 10 mile run with a speed workout in the second half.

I try to listen to how my body is feeling but hearing what it is telling me is sometimes difficult to discern.  On some days we will have beautiful weather and I will feel like running or riding longer than planned for; on other days I feel like wimping out and cutting workouts short.  This is where a training plan comes in and, fortunately, mine is custom tailored and I'm trying to follow it the best I can.

Sleep can be difficult to judge too.  I'm usually tired in the afternoon after school but seem to get a "second wind" around bedtime; I try to avoid naps because then I'm definitely not ready for bed at a reasonable time.  However, on Thursday I snuck an nap because I volunteer on the overnight shift at Greece Volunteer Ambulance and sleep is never a guarantee.  We only had one call on the shift so I felt pretty rested on Friday, which also happens to be a rest day so everything worked out well this week.

Saturday is a long-ish ride (3 hours) and I think I'm going to wimp out and ride in the basement due to the cold temps.  Sunday is a 12 mile run and then Monday starts the whole thing over again.  Hopefully my sleep duration and rest days will work for the rest of the training plan (knock on wood).

On another note, I started the push for fundraising at school today and am truly humbled by the generosity of both staff and students- what great people.  Next week the fundraising continues and News 10 NBC visits to do a story on how my students are helping me out.

One more week until spring break, but who's counting?

Holy Heat, Batman

Summer arrived on April 1st!  We have had a beautiful spring by anyone's standards but it has been exquisite by Rochester's standards.  This warm up took us into the mid-80s and we broke at least two high temperature records.  Anyway, it was great to get out on the roads with my bike and not be all bundled up.

Yesterday (Friday) I went out for a long ride in summer attire and it felt great.  Alex, who made my training plan, said that, on the trainer, I should ride an hour for every 15 miles; so if I had to do a 30 mile ride, I would ride for two hours.  Yesterday's plan called for a 40 mile ride which would mean I would ride for 2 hours 40 minutes on the trainer but since I was riding outside I decided to ride for the duration and not the distance- I rode out for an hour and twenty minutes (which took me to Albion) and then turned around and rode home.  On the way out I kept it in the small chain ring and  kept my heart rate at around 130, which is at the top of my zone 1 / bottom of zone 2, meaning it was an easy ride.  I averaged around 18 mph into a headwind and felt pretty good.  When I turned around and headed home, I shifted into my big chain ring but kept my heart rate and cadence the same as the first half.  This was the fun part of the ride because I was easily holding 23 mph and still felt great.  I ended up riding a bit over 54 miles and felt good.

I wasn't ready for the heat and only brought one water bottle, but didn't even end up finishing it, which I definitely should have done.  I ate a Powerbar, a banana, a few salt tablets, and an Ensure Plus.  Once home I could tell that I was a little dehydrated and it took a few hours to get enough fluids back in for me to feel back to normal; here is what I had: two glasses of Gatorade, one glass of protein shake mix, and 3 or 4 glasses of water.  I think the ride took a little bit more out of me that it should have (even though I felt strong the whole way) because of the heat but also because I did a hard 8 mile run the day before that included 30 minutes of hill repeats at my threshold heart rate.

I can't remember if I've explained threshold training, so here is a little... Everyone has a lactate threshold (LT) heart rate at which above they will produce more lactic acid than the body can process.  The lactic acid builds up and you feel the burn in your muscles which can't handle this for too long.  Below the LT the muscles process the lactic acid efficiently enough and even make energy out of the acid.  The trick is to continue to train so that you can do more work at your LT; this means you can go faster but use the same energy which means you are in better shape.  Challenging the body near or above the LT is a great way to build fitness but it must be done sparingly because it is an easy way to over train, burnout, and/or get injured.

Today I did an easy 12 mile run on legs that didn't exactly feel fresh at the beginning but I felt strong throughout.  My right hamstring is still tight but I'm hoping that I will be able to massage it out in the next few weeks.

Here is my training for the week. The left side is planned, the right side is actual.

Now for a rest day and major eating on Easter Sunday.  Happy Easter.

Some little updates

Here are some current odds and ends:

Recovery week is going well and almost over.  I worry that I took it too easy but I know if I rest now I can go harder later.  My calves are still a bit "twingy" but the yoga is definitely helping.  I'm going to try some hamstring strengthening exercises using an exercise ball- I guess cycling builds a muscle imbalance because the quads get stronger than the hamstrings.  

This week I got a great deal on a new wetsuit.  This one is a full wetsuit and will replace my sleeveless one.  It also boasts better flotation, warmth, and is supposed to be pretty slippery in the water.  Full suits are faster in the water than sleeveless suits and especially no wetsuit at all.  I should be able to get in the open water a few weeks earlier than I would have with my old suit.

I'm starting to begin my big fundraising push at school and online and am trying to get everything ready to go.  I ordered some "Never Give Up! No ALS!" bracelets which should be made and delivered within two weeks so that I can sell them at school.  

I was contacted by a local news-person, Rebecca Leclair, this week about getting some of my training and fundraising filmed to be used during the Labor Day MDA Telethon.  Hopefully some cameras will come out to the school and film me teaching, my students collecting money (they are psyched about this), and then a little bit of my riding and running out on the roads.  More details to follow on this.

And finally, I bought two of these little LED strobe lights from Lowe's and attached them to my reflective vest for running in the dark.  The lights attach to anything via a magnet and they are only $10 a piece.

Starting a recovery week and some words on nutrition

Well, I made it to a recovery week and I was really looking forward to it.  As the last few week wore on I felt a little more tired than I was in the beginning of the training plan and I'm sure this will continue until July.  Last week I swam twice covering 6500 yards, ran thrice covering 32 miles, and rode thrice covering 123 miles.  This week calls for 4000 yards of swimming, 24 miles of running, and only 65 miles of riding.

I think I wrote this before but I don't feel like checking so... the training plan will continue building for three weeks (by adding distance and intensity each week) followed by a recovery week.  These four week periods get the body ready for the demands of racing an Ironman without beating you up too badly.  I keep reminding myself of the phrase "pain is speed entering the body" and just try to get through my workouts with a little energy left over.

Something to file in the "meaningless milestones" folder: After Saturday's long ride on the trainer I crossed over the 100 hour mark for riding on the trainer for this winter.  This is really not a big deal since I have been in the basement since October but I'm hoping the time will pay off once I'm out on the roads again. Here is a little bit of trivia for you: Madison Square Gardens was built as a velodrome venue because bicycle racing was so popular back in the day; racers would compete in six-day races and ride hundreds of miles.

People keep asking what I am eating while I am training so here is a typical day of eating for me.  I usually get up and ride or run, if I ride I usually have at least a banana while riding and sometimes an Ensure plus (350 calories) if I'm riding or running long.  For breakfast (at school) I have a cup of coffee and eat a bagel and cottage cheese as well as throwing down some vitamins: vitamin C and E, glucosamine, fish oil, and a multi-vitamin. During the pre-lunch period I have an apple, two clemintine oranges, and three bananas along with a liter of water.  For lunch I might have a few sandwiches on whole wheat bread or whatever leftovers we have from the previous night's dinner (pasta, anyone?).  I finish another liter of water by the end of the day and then ride by bike back home where I usually have a snack (like a bowl of cereal) and then have a dinner which varies in size depending on whether I am swimming later.  After I swim I usually have another bowl of cereal before bed so I'm not famished in the morning and don't have energy to exercise before school.  After a long ride (over 2 hours) or a long run (over 1.5 hours) I will have a glass of Gatorade as well as a scoop of protein powder mixed with milk.

In my rudimentary calculations, I figure I am burning around 2000 calories by just doing my normal daily activities and then around 850 calories an hour running, 900 calories an hour riding, and 550 calories an hour swimming.  So, if I do a 2 hour ride in the morning and a 1 hour swim at night, I will have consumed 4350 calories for the day.  Two weeks ago I check to see how many calories my heart-rate monitor calculated I burned only while exercising and it said 6538.  If I eat a typical day's diet as I describe above, I'm coming in at about 3800 calories (not including Gatorade and protein shake) and I have been holding my weight about where I want to.  I will probably drop a couple of pounds in the month before the Ironman so I have less weight to drag over the 140 miles.

Well, this turned out to be a long post and I hope I didn't bore you with my ramblings.  Thanks for reading.

Nice weather we are having

I finally made it on the road with my tri bike today for the first time this year.  All felt great except for a nasty side wind.  Time to get some color back into my arms and legs.  Speaking of legs, they are still feeling great.  I did a decent speed workout this morning without any problems; this is especially exciting because I rode hard yesterday morning.  I still have a little hamstring tightness when I'm on the bike but I hope to get rid of that soon. More on training hopefully coming this weekend.

I should have just listened to Aunt Ginny

So, my calf cramping problem has been bothering me both physically and mentally- I have been trying to figure out why I was only cramping in the first hour on long runs and not on other shorter runs.  I arrived at two possible causes: one, I was dehydrated from my long bike ride the day before; and/or two, I was tight from riding the bike.  Either way I am thinking that the bike is the culprit.  Also, a trigger point (an area that cramps and then continues to cause cramps in the future) in my right hamstring, that I have had since last summer, has started to get a little worse and my left hamstring is starting to bother me too.

I did a few searches on the internets and found that cycling causes tight hamstrings and that could in turn cause tight calves which in turn could cause plantar fasciitis (pain on the sole of the foot, which I have had some episodes of in the last few months).  Further digging turned up some yoga stretches (that Aunt Ginny suggested months ago) that focus in on exactly what and how I need to stretch; I'm now working on "opening up my pelvis" because a tight pelvis causes tight hammies, etc...  Fortunately, a lady that I teach with is a yoga instructor and showed my how to do the pigeon pose correctly.  I did the pose last night and then this morning before and after my 14-mile run and I had no cramping!  Yea yoga!

So, between running long the day before riding long and moving yoga into my weekly routine, I'm cautiously optimistic that I have found a cure for my calves and hamstrings and will be able to focus on training and not nursing moderate injuries.  This morning's run was in 39-degree air with a stiff wind out of the east and a little rain, but the day actually felt warm; geese were filling the fields around our neighborhood by the thousands and made for a noisy morning.  The biggest problem I had was that the dogs stole my banana from the front porch, that I was going to eat at the halfway point- this problem I can handle.

1st 14 mile run i have done this year. Felt pretty good. Easy 8:30 pace. #ironman

The milage continues to increase

Another early morning ride on the trainer- I was on my bike at 4:35 and got a decent 2 hour ride in while watching October Sky (good movie).  Instead of keeping Friday as a rest day I ran 12 miles, then did my usual long ride (only 2.5 hours actually) on Saturday morning, which allowed me to take Sunday as my rest day to walk around on the ice at the cottage.  Today my legs feel great, not like they did last week when the back of my legs felt like the muscles were too short.  I've been trying to do a little more yoga and have definitely been more hydrated so hopefully that will be my answer to tight legs.  I'm also thinking I will try to keep my long runs on the day before my long ride which seemed to work well this week. 

On the race logistics front, the plans are starting to come together thanks to Aunt Ginny and David.  They got a place about 40 minutes away from Lake Placid that sleeps at least 18 people so it looks like I will have a crowd cheering me on (and carrying me home- literally).  

Well I'm off to teach.  I think training would be easier if I didn't have to work but money seems to have some value in my life.