A weekend in Utah

Me and JK from TCSD drove out to Utah this weekend to attend the Endurance Corner Ironman St. George training camp. This was organized by Gordo Byrne, a super nice guy, fantastic athlete, top tier triathlon coach, and co-author of the handbook for long distance triathlon. This was possibly the single most important thing I've ever done to improve my training. The weekend basically consisted of workouts, followed by meals, followed by meetings. The meetings were not your typical "guy with a powerpoint talking at you" coaching lectures. These were more like support group round tables where we broke down our days work, and discussed nearly anything with the coaches. The coaches consisted of Chris and Marilyn McDonald, Kevin Purcell, and of course Gordo. As an age group athlete, it was a privilege to train and learn from some of the best in the world.
On to the camp itself, which started thursday night with our first meeting. It was very introductory and got us acquainted with the coaches and each other, and laid out the plan for the weekend. Friday the real work began. 6am breakfast, 7am meeting, and a short drive to the aquatic center for a 9am swim. This was an endurance swim - nothing intense, but a LOT of distance. When coach KP gave us the warm-up (1400 yards!) we all sort of looked at each other and smiled. I swam in the 1:40 per 100yd lane, which was sheparded by Marilyn. She was nursing a hamstring injury and swam with a pull buoy and without kicking. It was impressive to watch her hit the 1:30 target each and every time (giving us 10 seconds rest) like clockwork. We ended up doing 4700 yards that morning, though many of the group called it quits a little early. An afternoon of rest, then we hopped on the bikes for a optional "fun ride". The route was up Snow Canyon, which is not part of the IM course. It was about a 5 mile slightly uphill warmup followed by a 5 mile climb. It wasn't impossibly steep, but it really got me a little nervous. I certainly couldn't do that for 112 miles! At the top of the hill Chris and Marilyn did a quick lecture on descending technique - which we used immediately to bomb down the hill. Chris (the course record holder at IM Wisconsin) was amazing to watch, he flew down the hill faster than anyone - not sure how he did it since gravity was pulling us all down the same! I brought up the rear, I'm still pretty squirrelly on descents. I can't tell if my bike is shimmying or if it's in my head - but I get real nervous these days at speeds above 35MPH. I used to hit 50MPH in my aerobars, but lately that's been too much for me. Anyway, after flying downhill for 10 miles it was out to dinner with the crew, and early to bed.

Saturday was the big day, 90 hilly miles on the bike course. The race course is lollipop shaped, with a 22 mile handle followed by two 45 mile loops around the "candy". We did the loop twice, but skipped the 22 mile prologue. It's basically uphill for 22 miles, but it's a false flat for most of the way. There are 3 or 4 spots that are steep enough to be out of the saddle, but mostly it's just a grind. The road is chip and seal, and it sucks. Not only is it bumpy and uncomfortable, but it also slows you down quite a bit - probably at least 1MPH. Also, you need to stay away from the edges of the road. There is gravel lining the sides that is the same color and consistency as the road, and there are no lines marking the edge. Stray too far over, and you've just sank your wheels into the gravel, and probably crashed. Once you reach the end of the last climb you are rewarded with - nothing. More flat for what seems like forever. Eventually the pavement returns to real blacktop, which is your indication that you've reached the downhill section. The downhill is screaming fast and straight - no switchbacks - and it's quite a nice respite. It doesn't last long though, and soon you're back to the loop start. For me, the first loop went surprisingly easily, and the second loop destroyed me. On top of that, the flat sections at the top of the course became windy as the day went on. Overall, this is a tough (but not impossibly so) bike course.
Sunday was 6am breakfast followed by a 13 mile run - one loop of the out and back marathon course. I am a weak runner, and was in the back from the start of the workout. The course starts out on a false flat, maybe 1 or 2 percent uphill grade. It then turns uphill and you climb for what seems like forever. Then you hit the 8% grade hills. Up and down. Repeat. It's mostly uphill during the first 6 miles, with plenty of up and down along the way. Then you turn around and do the same thing in reverse, which is brutal. You need to learn how to run downhill - I found it incredibly difficult, and was running very slowly even downhill once tired. The run course is extremely tough, and I expect almost everyone to have trouble with it - even the pros.
Here's what Chris had to say on his Twitter:

@Cobrada bike if wisco was a 8 St G would be 9 run if wisco was a 5 St G will be a 10 bike is challengeing run is hard about 9 hours ago from web in reply to Cobrada

I have raced IM wisco,france,placid,NZ,AUS,arizona,canada and many more and St george looks to be the toughest/slowest course so far 2:13 PM Nov 14th from web

great ride today on the St george course. that is one tough sun of a B!

He even went so far as to say that he would consider walking the steeper portions! Though, he also said he can walk at 10 min/mile pace.

Great experience learning the course, soaking up knowledge, and hanging out with some real Tri geeks. The course is scary, but I can't wait to race it! I'd recommend these training camps to anyone - but maybe not the Epic Camp!

The spirit of Ironman is about not quitting - at any speed, that is a lesson worth learning.

Gordo Byrne, from his blog 8/28/2009

2010 comes into focus

I had some free time finally to sit and work on my training plan, it's much tougher than I anticipated. When you're first starting out things are easy - you struggle just to do the bare minimum suggested training. You ignore all the "fine points" and advanced topics, and just focus on getting yourself to the start line prepared to finish the distance. I'm learning that as your expected performance increases, the amount of detailed planning required increases correspondingly.
Tonight I broke down IM St. George prep. Today was the first day of week 30, meaning I have 7 months of time to train, which should be plenty. Here is the rough breakdown of volume for that time:
Preparation:
Preparation: Weeks 30 through 25: 12 hours
Base Phase 1: Weeks 24 through 21: 16 hours
Base Phase 2: Weeks 20 through 17: 17 hours
Base Phase 3: Weeks 16 through 13: 18 hours
Build Phase 1: Weeks 12 through 9: 17 hours
Build Phase 2: Weeks 8 through 5: 16 hours
Peak Phase: Weeks 4 and 3: 12 hours
Race Phase (taper): Weeks 2 and 1: 10 hours

This is a slight increase over my volume from IMAZ in 2008, which is exactly what I want. However, it's a huge increase over the last 5 months - where I've been pretty lethargic. I'm having a hard time imagining how I'm going to fit 12 hours a week into my current schedule. I've started a new job recently, I'm addicted to the NFL (again), Curb Your Enthusiasm is back on the air, and I have an amazing girlfriend whom I'd love to not abandon. It will all work out, I'm just not sure how.
So now I know my overall volume, what's left to do? I need to:
- figure out how each weeks hours will be divided among the three disciplines (plus weights)
- figure out the intensities for each session
- identify the key workouts (Probably will include some races)
- identify my short term goal deadlines
- schedule my monthly test workouts
- somehow fit it all into my calendar

Anyway, today was the first day of my six week Prep phase. My main goal for this period is to get back into a regular routine, and to get my body ready for the wringer I'm about to put it through. This means some long/slow bike rides, working on cadence and some technique drills. It also means starting the process of re-learning to run, and building up some run endurance. I haven't run more than a few miles in months - and I'm just plain out of shape. So tomorrow morning will be a 30 minute jog, focusing on posture and using a metronome to keep my turnover high. How am I going to get 12 hours in this week when I have 0 on Monday and 0.5 on Tuesday? I don't know yet, but that's why it's a "prep" week!

No Easy Way

Tomorrow I race for the first time in 3 months, a sprint race put on by my favorite crazy people - TCSD. After taking an unplanned sabbatical from training this July, I'm finally getting back to normal. I rode the bike today. It was only 50 miles, but that puts me at 90 for the last 8 weeks - so it was a big deal. The rest of the afternoon I spent re-reading Joe Friel's books, and creating the skeleton of a training plan for the first half of 2010.
I've tried to be positive about it, but the reality is that 2009 has been complete shit as far as my racing and training. 2010 will be about consistency for me. I'm going to create a schedule and stick to it, which is a plan that worked brilliantly for me in 2007. Why I ever went away from that formula I'll never know. Training by feel just doesn't work for me when the other two pillars of my life start demanding more attention. Training with a group worked exceptionally well in 2008 - but it's hard to assemble a group like that. So it's back to structure and discipline and long lonely training days. Not glamorous, but it works.
Five hours until I need to be up, eating my pre-race oatmeal and getting the race jitters out of my spine. I don't expect to be fast. In fact, I'm a little scared about how embarrassing it's going be - I've fallen a long way. But for the first time since July 19th I'll be swimming, biking and running - and that's step 1.

2010 Training

I signed the papers (technically I clicked on a LOT of liability waiver "I agree" buttons, and one "submit") and am scheduled for IM Wisconsin 2010. The date is in my calendar, I have a reservation for Jiminy with TriBike Transport, and I've got airline sites searching for plane tickets. I wish I had been there yesterday, but that's done and over with now - time to move forward. With most of the logistics taken care of for IMWI, at least for the next 10 months or so, moving forward means preparation for the inaugural Ironman St. George.
I've got a lot of ideas about how to prepare for St. George, in the next week or so I'm going to make them gel into an actual training plan. That's right, no more ad-hoc training - I'm going to follow an actual plan with regular workouts and meaningful milestones. That doesn't mean I won't do the occasional 200 mile bike ride to Arizona, just that if I do it there will be some method behind the madness.
For now this means I have a lot of reading to do. I've trained for two years now for Ironman races, so I know enough to get me through. This time however I'm not just going out to finish, hear Mike Riley call my name, smile for the photo and collect my medal. This time I'm going to race.
There's a whole mess of ideas on my whiteboard regarding how I'm going to do that, but it boils down to a few big points:

Nutrition: I'm going to hire a nutritionist to help me improve my diet. I eat poorly, and get away with it because IM training burns a lot of fuel. But if I used better fuel to begin with...

Swim: I need some coaching. I want to get more efficient, turn my 1:08 swim from IMAZ into a sub 1 hour swim, and do it without coming out of the lake exhausted.

Bike: My strong suit, but still plenty of room for improvement. I need to nail down calorie and fluid intake while riding, and improve my power. I'm shooting for a Watt/Kg ratio of 3.0 or higher. Lots of climbing - Utah and Wisconsin aren't flat!

Run: I'm a train wreck in racing flats. This is the area I need the most help with, and unfortunately also the area I have the least clue what to do about. I've read Chi Running, Evolution Running and Pose Method. They're all pretty much the same (good posture, lean forward, lift your heels, midfoot strike, fast turnover) which I guess is good - there's no "magic secret", you just have to do it. I plan on doing more technique work, as well as running with a metronome to help with cadence. There's plenty of time before my next race, so it's quality over quantity with the running.

In addition to the big ideas listed above, I'm also attending a course preview and training camp in St. George Utah this November. The camp is put on by Gordo Byrn's Endurance Corner and should be a great chance to see the course and soak in some interesting lectures from people who know IM well.

I've got a BUG

I'm in sunny San Diego today, but my heart is in Madison WI. Today is my first DNF, and boy is it a doozey. Not only did I not finish, I didn't even make it to the start line - I didn't even make it onto the plane. Tomorrow is registration for the 2010 Ironman Wisconsin, and I'm going to be clicking madly to get my spot. There is one race I need to take care of before I get a second swing at WI, but make no doubt about it - I'll be in Madison next September. I plan on washing this bitter taste out of my mouth with fine Wisconsin cheese curds in the finisher's tent.
Today is a tough day for me, my mind is full of all kinds of things I could - or should - be doing. I've got BUG's galore dancing through my mind - Gordo's Big Unreasonable Goals. I've been a little complacent in my training, partly due to things out of my control, and partly due to my own selfishness. Today I start back down the lonely road that defines being an endurance athlete. Today, my eyes shift focus squarely onto May 1st 2010 - but the back of my mind will be occupied with getting back to Madison - and finishing what I start.

Save the Landreth's!

When I started training for triathlon in the winter of 2006, I went to my local RoadRunner sports and hopped on their magic foot analyzing machine. I'm pretty sure I didn't run on it the way I normally run, but it spit out that I needed a "neutral" shoe, and the helpful sales girl put me in the 2007 Asics Landreth 3. I did not know it at the time, but this would end up being my favorite running shoe. I ran in the Landreth 3 all winter, and raced in it all through the 2007 season. I probably put 1000 miles on the shoes - which is NOT recommended by anyone who knows about running footwear. When they finally bit the bullet, I went back to RoadRunner to pick up a new pair. I was told that the shoe was discontinued, and that Asics was notorious for that, and they put me in the "replacement" shoe - the Asics Cumulus 10.
My first run in the Cumulus 10 was disappointing, the shoes felt clunky. Heavy. After three months of running in them I had shin splints, a severe ankle problem, and knee pain. I hated those f'ing shoes.
I decided that Asics wasn't going to work for me if they discontinue their shoes that often, and that RoadRunner maybe wasn't as trustworthy as I thought. I went to a local high end running "institute" and got an evaluation. They also determined that a neutral shoe is right for me, and put me into a pair of Brooks Ghost, which are strange. They have weird posts on the forefoot, but I ended up liking them. I did Ironman in them, and have probably put 1000 miles on those as well - they are completely worn out right now.
I was dreading finding a new shoe, and started doing some research. I discovered that the Landreth line of shoes had NOT been discontinued like RoadRunner had told me. In fact, there was a Landreth 4 that was created in 2008 and a Landreth 5 for 2009. Fantastic! I was floating on cloud 9.... for about 2 minutes. Then I read more about the Landreth series of shoes. It turns out that my favorite shoe, the Landreth 3, was a stark departure from the Landreth 2 - and was quite unpopular. L3 was 20% lighter than L2, and the thin cushioning made most people hate it. So L4 got more cushion, and a complete re-design of the upper part of the shoe - and it gained weight. L5 was another huge change from L4, and again it gained weight. The weights are hard to verify, but the best info I can get (from Asics web site) says:
Landreth 2: 10.6 oz
Landreth 3: 8.5 oz
Landreth 4: 11.3 oz
Landreth 5: 11.9 oz
Cumulus 10: 11.8 oz

So the light neutral shoe I loved in the L3, has morphed into the same nearly 12 oz piece of crap that I hated and injured me in the Landreth 5. Eff me!
I looked online, and while some stores showed the Landreth 3 in the catalog, none of them had them in stock. I finally ebay'd the last 3 pairs in my size on the planet (possibly exaggerating this) which you can see here - next to my original beloved pair.

Good news is that I have about 18 months of happy feet in the nearly extinct Landreth 3's! The bad news is that 18 months from now, you'll have to read about how miserable I am that I need to go shopping for running shoes again.

When is a good day a bad day?

Participated in the Carlsbad sprint triathlon this Sunday, and I'm having mixed feelings about it. First, the good stuff:
- It's a really well put on race in a beautiful city
- Lots of fans to cheer you on
- A good pro field, I've raced with Michellie Jones and Kate Major since 2007
- A flat bike course!
- A bike course that is two traffic lanes wide, making it MUCH safer with all the beginners that do sprint distance races. I'm looking at you Solana Beach triathlon - I won't be coming back until you take safety more seriously on your course.
- I beat my race time goal of 1 hour, 30 minutes!

And the bad stuff:
- I didn't do my 100 mile ride the day before the race. I've felt horrible on every run that I've done for two weeks, and woke up Saturday dehydrated and feeling awful. I took a Saturday off for the first time in what feels like 3 years.
- My pre-race jog didn't go well. I did one mile, and was dripping with sweat afterward. For some reason my sweat-rate has gone through the roof lately. I can't keep hydrated and I'm seeing spots/getting dizzy after less than 5 miles of running.
- I poked a hole in my wetsuit trying to pull it on over my sweat-drenched skin. Luckily the fantastic service at De Soto fixed it within hours.

So how'd the race go? Confusing. I started in the first wave, along with the Elite males and females. You kind of get intimidated when the woman in front of you at the starting line has finished in the top 10 in Kona 5 times. The swim was a little rough, I got punched in the goggles at the beginning, and several times had the guy swimming next to me run into me because he couldn't swim straight. There was a lot of kelp in the ocean, which was gross but didn't really slow us down much. I got clear of the main group, and had clear water for most of the swim. I could see the fast group in front of me (waaay in front of me) but nobody else - I wasn't able to draft at all. I hit the shore and glanced at my watch, I had done almost exactly what I had thought, around 15 minutes. I had forgotten to put my bike in an easy gear for the steep hill out of the bike transition, but it worked out for me OK. The guy in front of me wasn't so lucky and tumbled over as he tried to climb a 12% grade from a dead stop while in the big chainring. The bike course was fun. Being in the first wave I knew everyone I passed was a legit pass - and the same was true for anyone passing me. I did get passed by a few people, which I don't enjoy, but I let them go and instead focused on keeping my power at 200 to 250 watts. I had quite a bit of saddle pain during the race which is weird for a 15 mile ride, and after the race I was chaffed pretty badly. I only drank half a bottle of Accelerade (12 oz.) during the bike which was a little light, but not too bad. I couldn't choke any more down because I was breathing hard, and swallowing just made me breathe harder and my heart rate spike. Off the bike and into running shoes, then the race took a turn for the worse. The run begins by going along the beach seawall. I tried to focus on form and foot turnover, but it was a bit of a struggle. After about 1km you run up a very short steep hill to get from ocean level to street level, and that's when I decided I had nothing left. I never recovered and felt like I limped the rest of the way around the run. I couldn't even muster a sprint in the finish chute with all my TCSD friends cheering me on - it was pretty embarrassing. After crossing I nearly fell over as my vision narrowed and I got very dizzy. I had to find a chair quickly and took some rest. Things got better quickly, but how does a 3 mile run do this to me? How am I ever going to run 26 miles in September?!

Another great thing about Carlsbad is that I've done it every year since I started training, so it's a good way to check my progress. Take a look at how I've done:

YEAR	AG PLACE	OVERALL	SWIM	T1	BIKE	T2	RUN	FINISH
2007	32/88	269	18:23	?	47:44	?	26:24	1:32:31
2008	40/89	309	19:35	02:59	47:16	01:19	25:10	1:36:19
2009	24/93	180	14:54	02:08	43:36	01:46	24:28	1:26:52

Not bad! I met my goal of under 90 minutes, and I've improved greatly. If you compare 2009 to 2008 then I made up 04:41 on the swim! I also gained 1 minute in T1 - this is because I swam with my tri-top on in 2009 instead of trying to put a dry shirt on like I did the previous year. I also skipped putting on my heart rate strap this year. T2 I lost 30 seconds, probably because I had to tie my shoes this year - definitely need speed laces for these short races. I improved by 03:40 on the bike in 2009, but this is misleading. In 2008 I had to stop and get off my bike when the saddle bag fell off - so I think I'm about the same speed as I was last year. On the run, I improved by 42 seconds - but I don't believe this number. I ran really poorly this weekend, my guess is that they're measuring from a different spot this year.
My friend Rachel mentioned to me (and to my shock she is correct) that I'm a swimmer! In terms of how I do versus my peers, I'm a better swimmer than a cyclist! I'm not sure how I feel about that. I know I'm not the cyclist I want to be - but the reality is that I'm good enough that if I want to continue being a triathlete then I'm better off working on running.
So when is a good day a bad day? When you PR a course, beat your pre-race expectations, and still feel like you're nowhere near ready for your next event.