Hangin’ in BOCO to Livin’ in Boise

Thoughts on Swimming & Rockin' the "W" in 2012

2012-01-21T14:21:00.005-07:00

2012 has started with a bang. Training has become more consistent and I am finally beginning to see some fitness in at least one of the 3 sports. I swam this morning with the masters group here in Boise and for the first time in 2012, started seeing some fitness return. It also marks the first time this year I have swam 6 days in a week. Over the last two years as I have seen my swimming elevate, this appears to be one consistent measure that I can count on. Early season swimming consistency over the last two years has proven to bode well for me during the season. Hitting the 6 day/week swimming early has been key for me.

Along with the consistency in swimming that has started in 2012, I was lucky enough to be chosen to the Wattie Ink Elite Team. It has been a long time waiting for me. This has been a hidden goal of mine, to be part of an elite team the since starting triathlon in 2000. Growing up in high school, I participated in team sports and I really enjoyed that aspect. As I caught the triathlon bug in 2000, I transferred to a sport that was reliant on individual effort, but my desire to be a part of a team never waivered. After 11 years in the sport, I am back to “THE” team and looking forward to it. The best part of this national team is the opportunity to meet new friends and for the most part show up to any race nationally and there likely will be a fellow “mate” racing next to me. So for 2012, you can keep trackin of me “Rocking the W” by following my racing on our Wattie Ink Elite Team on Facebook or go to www.wattieink.com .

Along with the new team, I met a fellow local triathlete here in Boise who likes to get up as early as I do and train. Lance has been a trooper over the last few weeks, getting up early for 5AM swim sessions followed by a 2nd workout before work. Lance has taken the past few years off from participating in sport since he competed in high school, but began training for triathlon last year. He came from a swimming background as an age-group swimmer for 15 years.

His swimming experience is much different than mine. I picked up swimming 11 years ago when I started triathlon. I still remember that day, my brother and I headed down to the pool in Nashville, TN and took our splash. A splash it was, I promise you!!! I swam to the other side of the pool and nearly drowned, I remember thinking, I don’t know how the hell I am going to get back.

Over the last decade, my swimming has blossomed as a 1:15:59 first Ironman swim to a 52:51 Ironman swimmer. As Lance and I have swam consistently over the last few weeks, it got me thinking about what lessons I have learned along the way as a “Non-swimmer, swimmer triathlete.” Here are a few thoughts:

1.)Train bilateral breathing – In 2007, I had the opportunity to move to Boulder for the summer and train with Gordo et al. I learned quickly during that year that most of the time I was swimming way too hard. BB taught me effort levels and “tightened” up my stroke mechanics. Its tough to BB, but it ensures that you will be swimming aerobically, not anaerobically, which I was most of the time.
2.)Learn and train all strokes – During that same time, we did a lot of IM work. I learned quickly how weak I was from a swimming standpoint. At that time, I had swam under an hour for Ironman, but barely. Learning and training IM provided a different freestyle strength that I never had before. Later that year at IM Canada I swam a PR in Ironman.
3.)Train with paddles – in 2010 Chris and Marilyn (my coach) came and trained in Boise for the summer. We trained more than I ever had with paddles. I typically would train maybe one session for a few hundred with paddles previously. It was amazing how quickly my shoulders “blew up” with just 500 of paddles. Through out the summer, I swam one session per week with the majority of session with paddles and pull buoy, sometime with band and sometimes without. By the end of the summer, my feel for moving water was much better. Later that year, I went on to swim 53:00 for an Ironman.
4.)Swim at least one session/week in your wetsuit (even if a pool is all you have) – I started this doing this last year as a suggestion from Guy. It never really dawned on me that swimming only in a “wetty” on race day likely didn’t give you the best chance to swim your best. If your gonna be racing in a wetsuit, training in it often is probably a good idea. My pool swimming and race day wetsuit swims never matched up. After a summer staying consistent and swimming in my wetty, I was able to drop that wetsuit race day swim down a 2 more minutes.
5.)Train with Band only - This is my latest obsession. One of my summer training partners, Kate, does this quite often in our training sessions and I have never taken to it, but so far this year, I have began doing small sets weekly with band only. WOW!!! I have a feeling that this will be another small lessoned learned that will elevate my swimming again. I tried swimming a 150 the other day and if there was dirt on the bottom of the pool, I would have been drudging the bottom with my feet. It really exaggerates any poor body position that you may have. I think Kate can swim near here normal 100 aerboic pace with no issues, I gotta a long way to go.

For those out there reading this, I am in no way an expert in swimming, nor claim to be. These tips are solely my experience and have worked for me. One thing I have learned over the years with swimming is that there are as many opinions about swimming as there are people with a#$holes. Choose what makes sense to you and be consistent. As Malcom Gladwell points out in his book Outliers, it takes along time to become good at something. He calls it the "10,000-Hour Rule", based on a study by Anders Ericsson. Gladwell claims that greatness requires enormous time and swimming is no different. At the end of the day, if you want to improve at swimming, do it a lot!!

Rockin’ the “W”
J

2011 IM Arizona Recap

2011-11-21T05:43:00.006-07:00

WOW! 2011 triathlon season has finally come to end. Really looking forward to some time off and have a proper winter here in Boise. Will be on the slopes boarding this year and a bit more skate skiing this year. A quick recap of the race......

Overall, I couldn't be more excited to finally have a good run. It has been quite a journey on the run for me over the last 9 IM's. At IM Coz last year, I ran 4:17, DNF'd St. George, ran 3:48 in IM Lou and capped off a 3:33 run at IM Arizona.

My swim was ok, didn't hurt nor help me, was a bit slower than expected. I still struggle a bit to find my stroke in a wetsuit. It is my fastest swim to date in a wetsuit, but a bit slower than I think I am capable of swimming. I'll keep working on that one, all in all a decent swim.

Onto the bike, early on I knew it wasn't going to be a stellar day. My swim was good enough that I knew there would be opportunity to jump on a few "trains" that would come rolling by which was the game plan. I really wanted to run well in Arizona. There were a few singles that came by early on and I just couldn't stay with them. I was pushing big watts for me, but they must have been drilling it! This was an odd situation for me to be in as typically I ride well in comparison to most of the field, but I didn't have a choice but to let them go. The first group of 4-5 guys came rolling by around mile 14 and this was the group I really wanted to roll with. I hopped on the back and I struggled to stay up as well. A few miles later, I was dropped again off the backside of this group. As we were nearing the first turn around on the highway, I decided I would bridge to "the group" one more time and see if I could hang. Maybe the legs were a bit stuffed and I was hoping they would come around. I gave'er one last try. I caught back up after rolling 33 mph to catch back up. Once again, I stayed there for a few miles and you guessed, spit out the back. The watts were there, but to no avail, I just wasn't able to stay up with them.

I immediately went to plan B for the bike. I put put my power/HR/time away in my pocket and was going to ride off feel for the rest of the day. For whatever reason, it just wasn't going to be my day on the bike. I rode quite a bit slower during the second loop. I have to admit, I was losing my head a bit. Coming into the 3rd loop, I had decided to quite after the bike, save my legs, and race in 2 weeks at the inaugural HITS race in Palm Springs, CA. Well, as this crazy sport of triathlon would have it, things came around with a lil help of caffeine. I got back to riding the way that I felt I should be riding on the 3rd lap and I mentally "got back in the game." I told myself that all I had to do was ride 5:15 and I would be ok. As luck would have it, I buzzed in just before that.

Out onto the run, I was super stoked to get off that freakin' bike. The worst was behind me now and I could focus on what I had come to do which was continue to improve my run. After all, it is the place where I have the most to gain. I pulled my watch back out and closely monitored my pace for the first 2 miles to make sure I didn't get too crazy on my pacing which has been an issue in the past. I opened up the first mile in 7:36, a bit fast for my liking, but I'll take it. 7:45 for the second, again, a bit "spicy," but again I'll take it. By this time, I felt my running legs were with me. I put my watch away again until mile 25 and ran completely off feel. There were two things that I kept telling myself. 1.) FEED THE MONSTER 2.) BE THE MASTER OF MY FATE and BE THE MASTER OF MY SOUL. (From the poem Invictus, see previous post). Through mile 17, I ran between 7:39 and 7:59. I had my first stopping cramp at 18. I managed this cramp for the next 3 miles and my paced slowed during those miles to 8:45-9:18. At mile 22, I slowly returned to pace and finished my last 1.2 miles at 7:33 pace. I finished the run in 3:33 and change, a huge PR for me.

There was so much more accomplished for me than the physical feats. Most importunely, I struggled back mentally to "stay in the game" even though I wasn't having the day that I typically would have on the bike. This has been a big step forward personally as I have not done well in the past when things weren't going the way as planned. If there is any piece of information that I could pass along, it would be, "Stay in the game." Ironman is a long day and it isn't going be easy. If you hang around long enough, your "machine" will eventually come around, it has proven itself in training.

I'll leave you with the second poem that Jeff had written on my other bottle. Now off for some recovery for the next 4 weeks and then slowly get back into things. IM Hawaii has continued to elude me, but I will one day wrestle with the "Lava Gods." They can't stay away much longer. In IM Coz and IM Lou, I had good swim/bikes and at IM Arizona I had the run I needed. Now just gotta get them together, just a matter of when!!!!

My first race of 2012 is Oceanside 70.3 in March and I'll be heading to Ironman Couer d'Alene in June. Until then.......

Stayin' in the game!
J

If by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

IM Arizona 2011

2011-11-19T20:37:00.006-07:00

Well....the season has nearly come to an end and will in the next 24hr regardless of the result. It has been nearly 2 full years since I have taken proper down time from training. It has been quite a journey since that summer in 2010 when I committed to my first IM after a hiatus of 3 years over a dinner conversation with Marilyn.

That race was IM Cozumel and man has there been some up times, but equally as many learning experiences since then. I would have to say that 2011 has been a year of personal best. I have nearly PB'ed in almost all distances across the board since starting triathlon back in 2000. For that reason alone, this year has been stellar thus far, but not without one more chance to give'r one more crack in 2011.

Tomorrow morning at 7AM, I will start my 4th Ironman in less than 12 months at Ironman Arizona. My brother, Jeff, left me with a poem before I left Boise and wrote it on my bottle. The poem is called Invictus

The poem is best understood with a little background of the English poet, William Ernest Henley. At the age of 12, Henley contracted tuberculosis of the bone. A few years later, the disease progressed to his foot, and physicians announced that the only way to save his life was to amputate his leg. After his initial amputation, he continued to have long periods in the hospital because his right foot was also diseased. Henley contested the diagnosis that a second amputation was the only way to save his life by becoming a patient of the pioneering surgeon Joseph Lister . After three years in hospital (1873–75), during which he wrote and published the poems collected as In Hospital, Henley was discharged. Lister's treatment had not effected a complete cure but enabled Henley to have a relatively active life for nearly 30 years. Stoicism inspired him to write this poem, Invictus.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Good luck to my fellow IM triathletes tomorrow, be the Captain of your soul!!!

Unconquered,
Crazy J

IM Race Coverage:

You can easily follow tomorrow by either following me on twitter (@QuadJRanch) or via a GPS device that I will be wearing during the bike and run.

You can follow me at My Athlete Live at the following link: http://track.myathletelive.com/vemap.aspx?name=373956

Racin' and the Honey Badger

2011-10-14T07:13:00.016-06:00

"Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the lion or it will not survive. Every morning a lion wakes up and it knows it must move faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn't matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be moving."

I am sure many of you have seen the youtube video of the honey badger, however,if you haven't, you should watch, it is pretty funny. (click on link above)

Since the last post, I have raced twice and both times back on the east coast. About 4 weeks ago, I particpated in the Angels Race, which is a sprint triathlon back in Winston-Salem, NC, my ole' stompin' grounds. I have done this race before, but not since 2004. It was good to return home and have a good hit out with old buddies. As luck would have it, I squeeked to the finish line first just in front of one of my old training buddies, Keith, in 2nd place. As always, Mick puts on a great race and I was a reminded that NC is very lucky to have the triathlon community it does.

Last weekend I headed to Anderson, SC to do the Rev3 half. This half was put in the schedule just after IM Louisville so that I would stay motivated to keep my training going. I can't lie, right after IM Lou I started to mentally struggle with training a bit and I figured if I got a race on the schedule, I would keep it movin'. So we did and I signed up for Rev3 SC. I didn't have a lot of expectations, but the only pressure I put on myself was to continue with my "PR" season. So far this year, I have set PR's at just about every race that I have done in either the swim, bike, run or overall time. I wanted to keep that streak alive. The only other expectation was to continue to chase the goal of breaking 1:30 in a half off the bike.

Now to be honest, I thought I was going to have a PR swim. Had a good warm up swim the day before and I thought I could creep into the 26:xx "arena," but to no avail that didn't happen. I swam my standard 28:xx. What was a bit frustrating, was that I was in the lead chase group and there were 4 of us. One guy was off the front a bit and then 4 of us in a pack chasing. With about 400 meters to go, I got dropped after some battling for feet and the pace picked up a bit. Not sure what happened, but I lost 25 seconds in that last 400..hmmmmmm. Guess I'll do a bit more work in the pool to sharpen up for Arizona.

Well out of T1 and onto the bike, I was really itchin' to get movin' on the bike, after all, Marilyn and Chris came to the race and she was up the road. Sue is one tough cookie to be chasing, but never the less, it gave me good reason to chase and keep the pace high. Marilyn started 5 minutes ahead out of the water and I thought I would put a minute or two on her in the swim and then have 2-3min to catch up on the bike. I started well and passed the 3 guys that dropped me in the first 10 miles. I kept riding, up the hills, around the corners, looking for "M", but no "M". Hmmmmmm, well, keep hammering! So I did, finally around mile 45'ish, I saw this lil'red bike and up the way and it looked just like Marilyn, all tucked in her aero position hammering. I finally rolled up to her and it went a little something like this:

John: "Heeeeeeyyyyyyy Marilyn, whatszzzz up?!?!"
Marilyn: (in a high voice) "Hey MAN!!!"
John: "Where have you been, I have been chasing you ALLLLL day, damn, your killing it!"
Marilyn: __________________ (she looks at me, smiles, turns her head back up the road, and then proceeds to rip my freakin' legs off!!!)

Apparently there was too much chatter, she told me later it was just time to ride. Nothing like a little tough love from your coach. :) Well, the ensuing 20 minutes was pure pain as "M" dropped me. Thankfully there was a fair amount of downhill the last 5 miles that I was able to catch up. The good thing was it dropped 2 guys that had been riding with me for a bit, so now I was going to enter T2 on my own with no pressure.

Out onto run, I was able to get into my pace early on. On the out and backs, there were a couple guys within striking distance behind me, so I knew I couldn't slow up. Around mile 5, the eventual 4th place guy overall came by me. Over the next 3 miles, he opened up a 30 second gap and it was slowly but surely growing. I kept my head up and kept telling myself to continue with my race, just maybe he'll come back. Between mile 9-10, I closed the gap and caught him at the bottom of the hill at 10. Boy was I stoked. All of the sudden I started to feel better and I couldn't believe that I was actually pulling someone back in....that doesn't happen in my races typically. I probably...PROBABLY.... no I did get a little too excited and when I went by him, I picked it up a bit. You know the usual, hold your breath as you go, hold the best running form you have had all day, nice little smile and look smooth for that split second of the pass. Then, once your by, you can start grimacing again and breathing hard. Well, per my usual issues, my hamstring begain to cramp about an .5 mile after "the pass" and the 15-20sec I gained, well you know how the story goes......I lost it. Grrrrrrrr. At 11, he passed me while I was trying to manage my "issues." Thankfully and not long after, I was able to get back to pace but by this time, he was up the road 25 seconds. So back to where was I was earlier in the day. Well, I kept up, but I knew this time that if I could get back to my race, I could catch him again, he was hurting the first time I passed him and the only reason I was re-passed was because of my own pace, he was still going the same pace. Well, the next 2 miles were pretty exciting, tough, fun, nauseating, and new for me. I began to bring him back in. Hold on, seriously, John bringing someone back in..no way! Well, with .5 mile to go, he was 5 seconds in front of me. At this point, I knew it was going to be a nail biter! I caught him at the beginning of the finish line shoot which was about 50 meters long. I pulled up to him shoulder to shoulder and looked over. I made my move and began my....uhhhhh hmmmmmmm.....sprint, or as some may describe as a cramping, hemiplegic, festinating, spastic shuffle towards the line. He looked again and saw me going, he responded just a bit faster than I and edged me at the line.

All in all a good race. I was able to keep my "PR" season alive with my fastest run split in a half ironman to date, only :19 seconds of my goal of breaking 1:30. My minor cramping issues are getting better. I have seen them show up later in the day in every race, one day I'll get to the finish line before they slow me down!! My bike was solid, the Rev3 SC course is tough, very relentless, so even more happy with my run split of that type of bike.

Now its back to the grind for one more hit out of the season, Ironman Arizona in 5 weeks. Hopefully this race will be the culmination of an awesome season for me thus far and I'll continue on that "PR" streak!

Until then, one foot in front of the other as the weather begins to change here in Boise. Luckily I have my trusty training partners for a few more weeks before they go away for half the year and I'll drag Jeff out for the last few as he recovers from Kona.

Keepin' it rollin',
Crazy J

Learning from the Past

2011-09-09T11:56:00.010-06:00

Its always interesting to look back at my post race thoughts and compare them with the next race see if I am in line with improving my weaknesses. Prior to having a coach, I never really did this. This all began when I began working with my current coach.

Marilyn (see blog on side bar) and I started working together as a coach/athlete pair late last year. Prior to, Marilyn and I have been good friends since 2007 when I had the awesome oppurtunity to train in Boulder for a bit. Marilyn (and her husband Chris) were living in Boise last year over the summer and I had had some consistent training over that time and had this crazy idea to do an IM. I looked on the calander and the only one left that was still open was IM Cozumel. We were 10 weeks out from the race and we sat down and created a plan that would address my weakness and get me ready to PR at the IM distance. This would be the beginning of my new found love of Ironman over the last year. For the record, since that time, I have done 3 IM's in 9.5 months and likely one to close the year out. I have changed quite a bit as athlete in this short amount of time and happily to say that I thnk I still have quite a bit of upside...I hope! :)

In any case, the whole purpose of this blog was to look at my debrief sessions with Marilyn, so here they are, nothing fancy, nothing intricate, just basic. Here are a few questions in regards to IM Coz, San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon, and IM Louisville and my basic thoughts.

IM Cozumel
What did we set out to do?
Have a successful IM performance that concentrated on running “well.” CSI – Runs on Nov 3rd and 7th were good indicators I had the fitness and ability to run well.
What were the actual results?
Swim: 52:51 – felt comfortable and steady
Bike: 4:57:34 – very well controlled, wanted to go harder, comfortable ride
Run: 4:20:10 – felt well early on, half way point, fell apart
What have we learned (Positive and Negative)?
Learned that I probably need to address a few smaller things during race such as electrolytes, starting slower at the beginning of the marathon and use sunscreen during hot races.
What are we going to do?
I would assume increasing my run volume for increased durability early in the season. Cont same swim strategy and maintain what I got on the bike.

San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon
What did we set out to do?
To run the marathon and learn how my body reacts over the distance
1.Run the entire run – completed
2.No mile during the day greater than :30 slower than the first mile - completed
What were the actual results?
Total Time: 3:07:03
Overall Place: 115th out of 8,267
Age Group: 18th out of 740
Splits:
Mile 1 - 7:37
Mile 2 - 7:28
5K - 23:15
5K-mile 5 – 12:56 (avg 6:43pace)
Mile 6 – 6:43
10K - 44:49
Mile 6.2 – 7 - 5:42 (7:26 pace)
Mile 8 – 7:16
Mile 9 – 6:38
Lap 10 – 7:51 (7:07 pace) 48:28
Mile 11 – 6:47
Mile 12 – 7:05
Mile 13 – 6:57
21K – 1:33:17
13.1-14 – 6:05 (6:49 pace)
Mile 15 – 6:54
Mile 16 – 7:07
Lap 18 – 3:32 (7:00 pace)
Lap 19 – 3:17 (6:43 pace)
Mile 18 – 6:59
Mile 19 – 6:43
Mile 20 – 6:39
Mile 21 – 6:45
Mile 22 – 7:00 (Around 21.5, I felt like I began to run with intention, my rhythm slowly began to fade here)
Mile 23 – 7:16
Mile 24 – 7:37
Mile 25 - 7:45
Mile 26 – 7:42
Mile 26-26.2 – 1:42 (7:31 pace)
What have we learned (Positive and Negative)?
1.The effort in the beginning of a marathon that it takes to run a well split marathon is almost laughable. The pace is way more easy than you think. I had planned to run first mile in 8:00 pace and I couldn’t slow down enough to make it happen and settled with 7:37 for first mile. At mile 26, to run 7:42 took all I had to run that.
2.It is easy to manage the physical fatigue of your legs if you can keep the mind fed well with simple sugars (glucose).Began hitting GU(with caffeine) at Mile 18, first sign of negative thought and continued on for the rest of the run some of which included igloo pops which were being handed out by spectators.
What are we going to do?
Hmmmm good question…..I feel that I have put in quite a few years of good base running I feel solid and strong, but I don’t quite yet have the speed. I felt super comfortable to mile 22 which I was very happy about. On the other hand, I couldn’t have gone any faster if I wanted to from a speed standpoint. I feel like from a cardiovascular standpoint, I am fit enough to go faster, I am now lacking the physical strength/speed to go faster. Prior to the race, I was training almost all run around the 7:00 pace, which is 1 minute faster than I had been training. I think the next step is continue my progressive pace downward and learn to run at a faster pace. I think it has taken me 1.5 years of super aerobic running to get to this point where I can begin to accept some faster paces.

IM Louisville
What did we set out to do? PR in the marathon and break 4 hours
-PR’ed in the open marathon this year earlier running 3:07 untapered (SD Marathon)
-Ran 38:14 in a 10K off the bike in a triathlon (Emmett Oly)
-PR’ed in half IM this year with fastest peronal ½ split off bike (Portland Rev 3)
What were the actual results?
Overall Time: 9:48:56 (43rd OA)
Swim: 53:35 (29th OA) – Didn’t expect to have this result, training good, but not as good as IM Coz
Bike: 5:01:40 (11th OA) – A bit better than expected, avg watts for day 207, on par with IM Coz
Run: 3:47:10 (43rd OA) – Learned a lot this day on management of cramps. I thought realistically could have run 3:35, so a bit disappointed, but happy to get the 4hr monkey off my back and PR in IM.
What have we learned (Positive and Negative)?
Positive: Amazed that I was able to run 3:47 and walked 3 different times. Never thought I would be able to break 4hrs if I walked. I was able to keep my cramps at bay by slowing when I felt the urge to cramp, really kept them in check as opposed to the old days of just cont to hammer and then wait for them to fully cramp.

Negative: Still don’t think I am “strong” enough to handle the pounding on the pavement for 3:30hrs. I feel fit enough, just not strong enough. Major hamstring weakness.
What are we going to do?
Wt room 2-3 times/week to specifically work on strength.

I am just short of 2 weeks from my last race and still feeling a bit "off." I have began my healthy lifestyle again, but no training yet :) Hopefully things will come around soon, have a sprint race on the schedule in a week back in North Carolina. The last time I raced this race I happen to win it. A lot has changed since then including my race kit choice. I guess this was the "brewing" of the name "Crazy J"

Until next time!

Crazy J

A look back

2011-08-31T17:09:00.009-06:00

(Jeff and I coming down the finish chute)

Wow....it HAS been sometime since I last got on here. Just got back from IM Louisville and finally had a breakthrough performance. It has been a long time coming which got me thinking all the way back to my first Ironman and the progression it has taken for me to arrive here. So here are a few quick statistics:

(53:35 swim time)

- 9 Iron distance races (2 non-m dot races) spanning over 8 years
- 2 DNF's (Great Floridian and IM St. George)
- 8 IM's to break 4 hours on the marathon
- 8 IM's to break 10 hours in the race
- Still haven't qualified for Kona

(4th AG'er off the bike overall)

Here is a quick breakdown of all my races.

Year///// Race/////////// Swim///////// Bike//////// Run///////Total
2011///// IM Louisville ///0:53:35 ///////5:01:40 //////3:47:10///9:48:56
2011///// IM St. George// 0:57:25//////// 5:28:30//////DNF//////DNF
2010/////IM Cozumel////0:52:51//////// 4:57:34//////4:20:10///10:17:34
2007/////IM Canada/////0:57:43//////// 5:24:51//////4:14:28////10:43:25
2006/////Great Floridian////////////////////////////////////////DNF
2005/////IM Brazil //////1:07:39///////// --- //////////--- ///////11:29:53
2004/////Duke Blue Devil/0:59:30/////// ??///////////??////////10:46:00
2004/////IM Wisconsin// 1:01:48//////// 5:44:38/////5:34:44/// 12:29:53
2003/////IM Brazil //////1:15:59///////// 6:01:36/////4:10:15////11:27:48

It's been an interesting, unique, fun and ever changing journey. In 2008, I began working after school and never thought I would make it back to triathlon as a competative age grouper, much less be less than 10 minutes from qualifying for Kona. I'm still not there, but the "cheese" keeps getting closer.

Planning the next race....

Crazy J

(Couldn't do it without the most important people in my life)

“Big Day Training” Camp in Idaho

2010-03-30T09:50:00.003-06:00

The first “Big Day Training”camp with an adventure twist will take place June 2-6. Go to http://boisebumps.blogspot.com for more information. Join Ultraman World Champion Gordo Byrn & Jeff “Dr. J” Shilt on the quiet backroads of pristine Idaho as they traverse over portions of the most beautiful scenery in the United States, the Sawtooth and Cascade Mountain ranges.

For more info, you can email me at QuadJRanch@aol.com

See you out there!
John

Made it to Sandhamn....

2009-09-05T10:28:00.006-06:00

Beginning of Ferry ride to Sandhamn

Arrived a bit ago to Sandhamn, race start island, via ferry. Got settled in to the hotel and had a pre-race meeting.

Mats Andersson (on left) and Michael Lemmel(on right), race directors, have done an awesome job with making sure things are organized with Ö till Ö.

Picked up our packets with our race singlets and caps. Got our GPS tracking devices, maps and phones that we have to carry. Starting to get "amped" for the race. Gonna be a great and adventorous challenge that is gonna be tough.

Will check back in later....
J

Live Tracking at Ö till Ö

2009-09-05T02:57:00.002-06:00

The link to track us live is HERE.
We are Team SOS.

Will blog once I get to the islands this afternoon and get more info on the specifics of the race.

J

Arrived.....

2009-09-04T21:08:00.004-06:00

Got into Stockholm around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. Met up with Jonas and we went for a nice little 11K run. Stockholm is a cool place.

After our run, went to dinner with Jonas, Bjorn and few other Swedes to a lebanese place. A lot of good convo about the race and what to expect.

Will check in later once I know race specifics in regards to exact website for tracking etc.

God dag!
J

Ö till Ö....links and live tracking

2009-09-03T13:47:00.004-06:00

Well, in the airport getting ready to board our flight to Amsterdam which will connect us to Stockholm. The flight is 10hr15min, so not too bad. Before Jeff and I left, Jeff wanted to go to the drug store to get some T.E.D hose for the flight to keep the swelling down. Actually, I think he is the poster boy, here are shot of his nice legs :)

In any case, I have a pair of compression socks and decided it was a good idea, so here we both are in the airport, Jeff with "thigh-high" stockings and me with "knee-highs" on....I am sure if anyone saw them, they wouldn't believe us...."Yeah....sure you guys are going to a race. Are you sure you not heading down to the Red light district to make some money at your layover?" Good thing we are both wearing long pants over them.

If you are interested in following us, we will have a GPS tracking device on us the entire race and you can go to HERE and track us live. We are Team SOS. This was last years link, so not sure if this one will work, but give it a whirl.

The race website is HERE.

You can also follow me on twitter by clicking HERE. I will be posting updates before and after the race. There should be some good pics along the way that I will post there as well. We are meeting Jonas Colting, his team won it last year when we land. Should be good times.

Well, will try and post again once we get there. Should be a fun and interesting race. I don't seem to be too worried about too much. This is all unventured "water" (no pun intended) so don't really have too many expectations. Going to be a fun journey!!

Will be in touch,
J

A weekend full of racing

2009-07-20T20:23:00.012-06:00

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt

__________________________________________________

Great weekend of racing and training. Earlier this past week, my legs felt pretty tired. After 14 on Monday, Tempo ride and 8 on the run Tuesday, followed up by 16 on the run in 100 degree dry heat on Wednesday, I wasn't quite for sure if I was going to even line up for Saturday's Boise Twiwlight Crit...especially the way I was feeling. I recovered as much as I could Thursday/Friday and basically laid around on all day Saturday until my race started at 4PM. One thing here in Boise, the hottest part of the day is between 2-4PM...and let me tell you, it was freakin' hot. Race temp at start time was 105 DEGREES!!!!!

Wasn't sure what to expect, my first worry was not getting spit out the back. I haven't done any high HR training over the past 3 months and to make myself worry a bit more, I have only been riding 3 days a week.

(I am on the far right of pic in white kit)

The course was your basic 1K, 4 corner crit. I lined up on the near the front, but on the outside. I wanted to to take the first wide so that I could respond to anything that was happening at "gun shot" just in case a break was able to form. The course was short enough that if the right guys got together, the field could be lapped. The first lap was pretty uneventful. They rang the prime bell for the 2nd lap and I was well positioned towards the front and was able to get through corner 2 with a lot of speed and I attacked. I got away on my own and was able to take the first prime. As I came through, they rang the bell again for another prime as the announcer said, "we gonna see who is thirsty out there." Well, since the peloton didn't chase after me, I figured "well hell, I got this small lead, might as well go for another prime." So I stomped on through the first and second turns, kept it steady and took the 2nd prime. Soooooo....here I am, the race is 45 minutes long, I have just blasted myself 3 laps into the race. I came back to the group to recover for my initial fear of becoming "OTB" (Off The Back). Was able to recover and another prime lap was rang, but this time it was after someone was already up the road.

I figured, what the hell, "I am feeling pretty good and recovered, go chase him down and get another." As I attacked after the 2nd turn, I turned around to see who....Jeff. He has caught my wheel and we reeled the guy back in for Jeff to take the prime. Good stuff. Back to the group once again for a little "R&R." To make a long story short, another prime came up and I attacked on my favorite 2nd corner and rang up another. So all in all, 4 primes between Jeff and I. Not a bad day of racing considering.

The Numbers:
-----------
Temperature: 105
Avg. MPH: 25.1
Avg. HR: 173 bpm

Was able to catch both the Pro men and women's racing that evening. Kristin Armstrong, a fellow Boise resident, World Champion and 2008 Beijing Olympic Gold Medalist, was racing and won.

(Kristin Armstrong is in the all white kit)
The Men's race was very exciting. A sole rider went on his own with I think 8 laps to go and was caught by the Team Type 1's train with 1/2 lap to go. Team Type 1 ended up taking 1st and 2nd on the podium. It was pretty incredible watching the team tactics and then seeing TT1 bring all 6 of their guys up front and reel'em in.

Sunday I headed out for my long ride that I usually do on Saturday, but I rescheduled since I was going to race. It was pretty uneventful and I was feeling quite good. On the way home, I couldn't resist the temptation. The Idaho State Criterium Championships were being held in a small town called Hidden Springs and it happened to only be a few miles off my way back home...sooooooo....I made the little detour and decided I would race one more time this weekend.

I have to tell you, I felt really good after racing yesterday and a nice long ride earlier that day. As the race started, I attacked after the first lap and was able to splinter the pack and a total of 6 of us were able to break away. As the day went on, I was able to grab 3 primes. With about 4 or 5 laps to go, I attacked the group trying to get away and unfortunately got into a little "tangle" with one of the lapped riders. Luckily, I didn't hit the pavement. He hit it pretty hard. I stopped as I was a little "razzled." I ended up just calling it day at that point and riding home.

The Numbers:
-----------
Temperature: 90
Avg. MPH: 25.0
Avg. HR: 131 bpm

All in all, had a great weekend of training and racing. I forgot how much I enjoyed bike racing. One day when I quit this triathlon stuff, I will definitely just bike race. Not sure why my average HR was so depressed on the 2nd day, assume it is the fatigue factor or temp, although was still able to put out the work and honestly felt much stronger the 2nd crit.

Until then...back at it. One more build week on the run before a rest week. Will run 60miles this week.

Racin',
J

PS: On my ride on Sunday, I couldn't pass up taking this picture of place called Banducci's.....a coffee shop and tanning salon in one. What a combo!!!!

Rest and Up Hill Runnin'

2009-07-13T15:22:00.007-06:00

"Trust in yourself. Your perceptions are often far more accurate than you are willing to believe."

My training partner...brother...best friend...boss (only at work - haha)...motivation and occassional "pain in my ass" on the run today :-)
___________________________________________________
Yesterday was crazy, haven't slept that much in a long time. I guess Saturday's ride/effort was much more "draining" than I thought. I basically slept from around 7PM on Saturday until about 7:45AM on Sunday, got up in bed and watched the tour until about 8:45 and fell back asleep until 11:45AM. I didn't leave the house at all on Sunday, much less left my bed.

Awoke this AM bright and early feeling well rested and hit the pool at 5AM for an early start to get in an extra K or so before the workout started. Got in almost 4500m before I had to dart off to the J-O-B. My swimming is coming around finally, still not quite as fit in the water as I have been, but close. I am really addicted to this "band only" swimming. It is really hard and difficult to maintain a good position in the water. It really exacerrbates any inadequicies that you have in your stroke.

Jeff and I have 2 main run workouts during the week. Our primary run focus is our long run on Wednesdays. We have begun to poker pace on the run for more specificity (If you haven't read the link, it is well worth it). Our second main run comes on Mondays. To specifically train for ö till ö, Jeff had decided we need to do some power running with some down hill portion.

So todays run we had 14 in the "books." We are very lucky here in Boise to have the endless trail system that we have. We took off and the plan was simple...run up 7 and back down 7. As always, photos never do beautiful views justice (Or I should say photos I take) The town that is far off in the picture is Boise. We are 7 miles from the city at about 5300 feet in elevation in the photo.

The Facts
------------
Total Climbing: 2,590 Feet
Total Miles: 14.5
Total Time: 2:16:00
Avg HR Ascending: 142bpm
Avg HR Descending: 146bpm

The run down hill "zapped" me. After about 3 miles , I was ready to be done. As you know, eccentric leg contractions for that long when you haven't trained them causes the usual added consequence of muscle soreness and pain from micro tears of muscle tissues from the "loading."

Will take things on the easier side tomorrow to prep for my long run on Wednesday. Will work on my poker pacing a bit.

Hittin' the sack early tonight,
J

The Grupetto and ride to Ola

2009-07-11T15:54:00.008-06:00

"It never gets easier, you just go faster."
___________________________________________________
The ride to Ola was a great one, but tough. Jeff, Casey, Erin, Kate and I took off at 8 this morning and having never done the ride, wasn't sure what to expect. Having driven to McCall once, I knew that we were in for some climbing in the beginning, but didn't really knonw how much.

It was a basic route, 50 miles out and 50 miles back. (You can see route on previous post) The grupetto started off "peppy" and it really didn't change for the rest of the ride.

The Facts
---------
Total Climbing: 5,921 Feet
Total Distance: 101 miles
Total Time: 5:09:02

Legs up for the rest of the day. Recovery day tomorrow and week number 2 of this running block starting Monday. Gonna be a tough week and really gotta plan as much recovery as possible if I don't want to get spit out the back of the peloton next Saturday at the Boise Twighlight Crit.

J

Below is Casey at our 65 miles re-fueling stop. :-)

MAF Test results

2009-07-10T21:10:00.005-06:00

“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

This was my last treadmill test in Boulder before IM Canada 2007
______________________________________________________
Did a MAF test today, a little disappointing with the amount of running I have done over the past 12 weeks. First 2 miles were at 150 and the last 3 miles were done at 155, my previous benchmark for MAF testing back in 2007.

July 2009
______________________
Mile 1 (150HR) - 7:58
Mile 2 (150HR) - 8:06
Mile 3 (155HR) - 7:58
Mile 4 (155HR) - 7:56
Mile 5 (155HR) - 7:54

I looked at my last MAF test which was done in November 2007 which was right before my fastest open 1/2 marathon and it was quite a bit better. My training schedules were very different in comparison.

November 2007
______________________
Mile 1 (155HR) - 7:10
Mile 2 (155HR) - 7:18
Mile 3 (155HR) - 7:24

Looking at the two, my spread (2009 only 4 seconds compared to 14 seconds in 2007) is much better this year than compared to 2007. I assume it has to do with the amount of base training I have this year versus 2007.

In any case, interesting, but frustrating.

Have 6 in the AM before our 100 miler to a small town north of Boise called Ola. I have never been, but I think there is a fair amount of climbing.

????
Find more Bike Rides in Boise, Idaho

Runnin',
J

Race schedule.....

2009-07-09T16:17:00.007-06:00

"The only limits we have are those we give ourselves"

__________________________________________________________

I know it has been a few months since last checking in. Life has been great, training on a consistent basis and work going well. Things are slowly getting a bit more comfortable, but still have a lot of learning to do.

I finally have a couple of races up on the calendar. Looking forward to racing again. It has been almost 2 years since I was “seriously training” to race. I did a couple of races last year after about 6-8 weeks of training, but well under my previous times.

I start off the summer with a bike race, Boise Twilight Criterium here in Boise on July 18th. I love bike racing and thought I should get my first dip back in with a crit. With the TDF on, I had to get in on a bike race. Plus, it is part of the NRC (National Race Calendar) which is the schedule all of the continental pro teams follow. The first tri of the year is an Olympic distance race here locally. It is called Emmett’s “Most Excellent” Tri . Gonna be a gut buster, will be a nice re-entry to racing.

The second race on the docket is the Utah Half held in Provo, UT. Race is August 15th. My last half ironman was September of 2006, my best half performance to date. Not sure how this race performance will pan out, but hoping to get a “grip” on this run thing and have a descent performance. My goal is to run my fastest half IM run split, we’ll see. I am only biking 3-4 days/week right now, so I am sure my run will depend on how disciplined I will be on race day on the bike.

The next race on the “sched” is a race in Sweden on September 6th called Ö till Ö. Ö till Ö is a unique race. Teams of two race together from island to island (Ö till Ö) and Jeff (my brother) is my teammate. The race takes place on the Stockholm archipeligos which consist of 19 small islands. The swim sections are between 100 and 1400 metres long. We will swim between the islands to get to the next one and then run across to the next swim. There are a total of 38 in and outs. The total distance is 64 kms which is comprised of 10 km of swimming and 38 km are running. There is one 16 km section of biking which will be done on a beach cruiser. Should be fun and interesting. We have begun working on the logistics of the race. We’ll see how it works out.

My run program has been very consistent. I have never ran this consistent since I started triathlon back in 2001. After 9 weeks of slow base training, Jeff and I sat down and ”mapped” out a run program that was going to address my run weakness to give us the best fighting chance at Ö till Ö to do well. We have been gradually building with this week totalling 54 miles of running and the last big week hitting 70 miles.

I have been swimming every morning M-F at Masters. Most squad practices usually are 3500 and on most days, I get in early and try to get the total to 4K. It is finally coming back and getting pretty comfortable in the water again.

Not sure what I am going to do after Ö till Ö. My plan is to finish the year off with a couple more half IM’s in October and November. We’ll see.....

Hope training is going well for everyone.
J

Still runnin'

2009-04-11T16:55:00.006-06:00

"Our greatest joy-and our greatest pain comes in our relationships with others."

Pic was from 2 weekends ago while in Las Vegas at my buddies bachelor party, good times.

_________________________________________________________

Finally starting to get fully settled in. Work is slow, but expected. My learning curve will hopefully be steep. Working with kids is great! I am looking forward to it. I was finally credentialed to work in the operating room which is something I really enjoy doing. Looking forward to that as much as anything.

(Kevin Everett crossing the finish line)
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to be a spectator at the Spring Sprint Triathlon, it was out my back door. Interesting format, they swim in the pool on Friday. Then, on Saturday, the bike and run take place. Everyone is lined up in the order of their swim finish time and then they release you into the transition area based on the split differences between each person. For example, swimmer A swam in 4:32 and swimmer B swan in 4:37. On Saturday, he would leave 5 seconds behind swimmer A and so on. So needless to say, made it quite interesting. I tell ya, not sure if I would want to do this format, it is almost more “balls to the wall” than a traditional sprint. Here you have time to rest and there is no holding back, you only have to bike/run. All in all, it was great fun to spectate a triathlon as always. I always tell myself I should be a spectator more often, tons of fun to watch.

I rode the Boise 70.3 bike course the day after the sprint tri. Tell you what, that is a challenging course. The winds are impressive and can really get to your head if you let them. Tons of head winds, but has some fast sections as well.

My training has been steady and consistent. I am definitely feeling much better on the run, but still slow. I have been able to throw in a few longer runs. My avg HR for my first 9 runs was 158bpm. My HR has dropped to an average of 153 over the last 10 runs with the same perceived exertion.
Run//Time//Avg HR//Distance (miles)
10//45:06 //159//4.9
11//45:37//forgot Strap//5.3
12//45:49//166//5.5
13//1:49:24//161//12.6
14//45:03//144//4.22
15//56:16//137//5.1
16//45:08//150//4.9
17//1:15:00//152//7.66
18//38:48//150//5
19//1:22:04//159//9.43
I have really haven’t picked up my swim training yet, just haven’t gotten myself out of bed in the mornings. Have started biking a few times per week. Mostly trainer rides with something longer on the weekends. No plans for racing yet, we’ll just see. I am sure at some point this summer I will be coerced into racing.
Back at it,
J

First 9 Runs in 10 days

2009-04-01T20:20:00.009-06:00

("Fist-bump" after a run with Frank Shorter)

"Good things come slow - especially in distance running."

_______________________________________________

So here are my first 9 runs. I am 2 runs down on my goal of 60-45 min runs in 60 days. In a couple of weeks, I will add 2-a-days and catch back up. Half of these runs have been on a treadmill, I hate running in cold weather. I would have ran everyday, but this past weekend I headed to Las Vegas for my buddies bachelor party. Needless to say, I didn't run on Saturday AM. I somehow managed a 30min run on Sunday AM before my flight out.

Note: The mileage and average pace are a little goofy. I am using a Garmin watch and sometimes is seems not to recore the proper miles. At this time, HR and time are most important. Distance and pace will come later.

Run//Time//Avg HR//Distance (miles)//Avg pace ===================================

1//45:46//163//4.81//9:30

2//46:13//162//5.13//9:00

3//45:05//163//4.89//9:13

4//45:03//159//4.89//9:13

5//45:12//151//4.89//9:13

6//32:02//157//3.92//8:10

7//45:01//150//4.55//9:53

8//45:05//146//4.89//9:13

9//45:09//170//5.3//8:31

Runnin',

Catching Up

2009-03-31T22:49:00.008-06:00

“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self- satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” - John Wooden

__________________________________________________________

Well, it has been 17 months and 1 week since my last post. A lot has happened since then. I won’t bore you with everything in between (sadly nothing too exciting has happened since then), but just a few things of note. I left my last blog on mission to conquer my running woes and run a few half marathons to see what I could do. I was in the middle of running 31 runs in 31 days and I had planned to continue on for another 30 runs in 30 days. Well, I ran 58 times in 61 days with some great personal results. The 4 days that I didn’t run were 4 days that I took off between my October and November run challenges. I was feeling pretty rocked after October and needed to rest a few days before running everyday again for November.

After completing the challenge, I had two half marathons lined up in early December. The first half-marathon, the Mistletoe Half Marathon in Winston-Salem was on December 1st, 2007. I had been tracking my MAF test and the last one I did right before Mistletoe was 7:10, 7:18, 7:24. A big improvement from October’s MAF test which was 7:37, 7:56, 7:50. So I had this grand idea that for Mistletoe. I was going to test our MAF theory and stick to a heart rate of 155 for the race and see if I averaged out over 13.1 mile a 7:25/mile pace since that is what my latest MAF result was. I knew my time wouldn’t be fast and I was ok with that, I knew was racing down in Charlotte the following weekend in the Thunder Road half marathon. Well, in theory, it sounded good, but realistically, it was a disaster. Looking back at my splits, the only miles that I actually was under 160bpm for an average was the first two miles, not to even think about 155bpm. My real plan was to run the first 10 miles at 155 and then run hard the last 3 miles descending. Even though I wasn’t on my original plan of holding 155 for the first 10, I thought that I was pretty conservative averaging 163bpm through the first 10 running a 7:10 average mile pace. As expected, my result wasn’t anything great, but I almost successfully completed my goal to descend the last 3 miles. I ran 6:39, 6:22, and 6:28 with a finishing time of 1:32:02, a 7:02 pace.

The following weekend, I headed down Charlotte for the Thunder Road Half-Marathon. With the poor results of the previous weekend, I didn’t really have anything to lose. I had put all this time into running and still didn’t have any results. I decided not to worry about a pace or a HR for that matter, however I was still going to keep track with my garmin. The gun was off and I was rolling. I was pretty amped for this race. It was downtown, tons of people and I ran with my ipod during this race to stay as focused on the task at hand. I ran through the first mile, looked down at my watch and was sure that the race was over...I had just ran a 5:58 mile! Well, as I was thinking to myself what I was going to do next, I figured, “hell, you are here to run , so keep on goin’.” I definitely concentrated on slowing down a bit after the first mile and find a pace that was comfortable to hold for as long as I could. Well, long story short, I somehow held on. As you can see from the picture, I was hurting, but it was all worth it. I stopped the clock that day at 1:24:53, a 6:30/mile average pace.

Well that race last race was December 8, 2007. Not much happened athletically after that. I turned to the newest chapter in my life, my job. I started my new job on January 2, 2008. I took at job at PrimeCare, an urgent care in Winston-Salem. Like most new things, I took this job on full force. I worked every shift that I possibly could have and tried to soak up any piece of knowledge that was given to me. Afterall, I was the new guy, but not only the new guy, a new grad. As I began to take on more and more shifts, I began to work out less and less. Before I knew it, my job had taken over and I wasn’t working out at all. It took me about 5 months to realize it. Looking back, I was amazed how much time went by and how cranky I had become to realize that something essential had left my life, my physical well-being.

My best buddy from PA school, Greg (GP), started challenging me in April of 2008 about a race. As we had spoken weekly on the phone, I think he realized that I had not trained once since early December. I must say this was odd as far back as I could remember since I had moved to Winston-Salem in 2000 that I had taken off completely. It seemed in each phone conversation, we HAD to talk about triathlon. I was denying it at the moment, I was copping out saying I was done with triathlon. He would say, “Man, when are you going to start training again?” His continual prying into my brain about my triathlon days got deeper, “Are you ever going to make it back to the sport, have you just given up?” As I was able to fend him off with my nonchalant excuses, he used a different tactic, challenge. At some point, I think he said something along the lines, “Man, it would be sad if I beat you the Lake Logan Triathlon.” Well, to give you a bit of background about Greg, he is a pretty big dude. Former Tight End at Oregon State, I think he was in the 250's during his prime there. Needless to say, he is a Clydesdale. I think he was down to 220, but still, I was thinking, “is he serious, he was going to beat me.” Well, I finally obliged to the challenge. It was on, August 2nd, Lake Logan Triathlon, an Olympic distance race. I was 8 weeks out and on June 1st, I began my daily training. Once I committed, I made an outlandish bet. I figured if we were gonna race, something was going to be on the line. The bet was, if I beat GP by 18 minutes, he would buy me dinner. If I didn’t, I owed him dinner. Well long story short, I lost. I beat him by 12:35 that day, 5:25 off the winning bet time. For excuse purposes :), I ran a 44 minute 10K, pretty slow considering. Had I ran what I have previously, it would have made it for a close race. In the end, it wasn’t about who won or lost, it was about the journey, the friendship and personal challenge to get back in shape. Even though I wasn’t back to the fitness had been previously been in triathlon, it was a start. It was also learning how to balance work and personal life, not an easy task.

Well, September/October rolled along and I found myself slowly creeping back to working more and training less. This time, I realized it much sooner and decided I was going to ride through the winter. I was on fire with riding until about mid February of this year. I had been at Primecare (PC) for about 15 months and I was getting fairly frustrated with our leadership. I didn’t feel like they had me in their best interest. It seemed the leaders at PC were living along the mantra of “working more, paying less.” My interest to look for a new opportunity became greater. First and foremost, I needed to find a job allowed me to train more, which meant to work less. In 2008, I averaged over 55 hours/week, way too much working! There were a few opportunities out there for me to take, but one in particular seemed to put me “back to the good ole days.” My brother had taken a position in Boise, ID. He had been laying the seed for a few months, “it would be nice to have you out here.” Well, in February of 2009, St. Alphonsus offered me a job in Orthopaedics as the first Ortho PA.

I started work on March 23rd and have finally settled in. I think Boise is going to be a great fit for me, tons of outdoor stuff to do and I look forward to cross country skiing in the winter for a different fitness stimulus.

Just as I left the blog 17 months and 1 week ago, I have begun my run challenge – 60 runs in 60 days. I have no race plans for the year yet, we’ll just see how it goes.

Getting it rollin',
John

MAF Test and THE "Project"

2007-10-24T19:49:00.000-06:00

Parental Discretion Advised! The above cartoon has nothing to do with this post and the video for that matter of fact, just had me laughing for a bit, so I thought I would share.

******
This run challenge has been going well so far. I find it nice to track your progress, it is a great motivator to see your numbers drop. I personally track my runs on an excel sheet. It allows me to run the "numbers." Yeah, I am number junkie when I actually record my stuff. It allows me to see what my average mileage is, average heart rate, etc. The challenge for me will come later on when my improvements are far less. So far, I started at 8:30+ miles on my daily runs. Over the past 3 weeks, I am now into the 7:45ish range, not a bad improvement for me. As much as I want to believe that this is fitness gains, the reality is that this is merely a gain of just getting back to baseline. Right now, I have ran 26 runs in 25 days. My unpublished goal (well I guess you can called it published now ;) ) is to run 34 runs in 31 days, we'll see if I get there. My two-a-days are unplanned. If I happen to get an early run in the AM and I have the opportunity or feel the need to get out and exercise, that is usually when I get my second run in. I am only swimming 2 times a week right now and have been lucky to get out on the bike once a week since IM Canada. I told myself that I was giving up the bike in exchange to run, and that was to run often. Over the past few years, I have realized that I have a difficult time trying to do a specific sport focus while maintaining all 3 sports, so that is why I have decided to give one up, cycling for now.

It has taken my 3 years to finally be somewhat motivated to train my run. Quite honestly, I hate running. Talking with my brother 100 millions times about my run in general and trying to assess why I am poor at, I have come to at least one conclusion. So here goes my ramble....if you are sick of listening, I would suggest to scroll to the numbers NOW :)

In the beginning when I started triathlon "seriously" in 2001, my motivation to train was often fueled by positive reinforcement. I was reasonably successful in the North Carolina Triathlon Series (NCTS) in my age-group. For 3 years, I was on the podium probably 90% of the time that I raced. I had a goal by the time I was 25 that I wanted to race in the NCTS elite category and I did. Let me tell ya, that was a tough year for my head. Going from good results to well, uh......Anyways, it was a big jump going from age-group to the elite wave. We have some very competitive elite age-groupers here in NC, which makes it fun to race now, not back then. My motivation to train was much different than the first 3 years....DON'T BE THE LAST ELITE GUY and don't get "chicked." Needless to say, I think I was the last elite a couple of times (well, more than just a couple) and I was "chicked" probably in almost every race. Not cool in the "The Cool Book of Triathlon."

My second year as an elite was a tad better. By this time, I had some minor success in the swim. I wasn't getting smoked from the get go and I was able to get out onto the bike towards the front of the race. During the first few races while towards the front, I wasn't able to stay with some of the uber bikers, so it quickly became motivation to become fast on the bike. My thought was simple, if I can continue to improve on the swim, then get out on the bike in the lead, THAT would be COOL and I could re-establish my "coolness" according to the "The Cool Book of Triathlon." As this was occurring, I wasn't really paying much attention to my run, doing the bare minimum and at times running hardly at all. My motivation solely for the last 2-3 years was to keep getting faster on the swim and bike and just hold on for the run. While this bipolar approach has its ups and downs, its not all that stable for results. I have been lucky enough to do well in a few races because I have had a descent swim/bike combo and held on for the run, but I am over that. I think the reason I hate running so much is that I have poor results as a result of my poor training. If I would just put in par training for the run as I have for the swim and bike, I might feel much differently about running. After all, results are a great motivation for me.

So what the hell does all this "ramble jamble" have to do with my running....well here I am today, 26 runs in 25 days later, 6 years after I have started triathlon, attempting to give myself a chance. I have spent much of my triathlon race days always looking behind me, waiting for the inevitable, THE PASS in hopes that my S/B combo was enough to hold them off. I have done 6 IM's, never breaking 4 hours in the marathon. How could I ever expect anything better than a 4 hour marathon when I have never come close to putting in the time that it would require to run less than 4 hours, I surely have catered to my swim and bike and I have seen results. Hopefully this season my site will stay in front of me, no more looking over the shoulder.

So I will go ahead and create that public expectation of myself, something that I think many of us fear. We fear because we are worried that we may not deliver what we say. My plan is to finish this month of 31 runs in 31 days and continue on into November with the same challenge. Jeff has challenged the TriCoWS in the month of November to be a swimming month. 30 swims in 30 days. Each swim must be at least 2K to count. My run challenge in October defined a run as 45 minutes. The November 30 runs in 30 days run will be defined as at least 60 minutes. In October, I have been training around 10-11 hour a week, mostly running. Next month, I hope to see 14-15 hours of training per week spread between swimming and running.

Here are the last few runs since my last post and my MAF results. Comparing my MAF test which was right before I left for Canada, I ran 7:51, 8:02, 8:05 at the same HR of 155 for miles 1, 2, and 3 respectively.

Run//Time//Avg HR//Distance (miles)//Avg pace
====================================
18//40:16//158//5.4//7:27
19//51:05//149//6.44//7:56
20//44:42//163//6//7:27
21//50:33//159//6.44//7:51
22//1:04:55//150//7.82//8:18
23//57:39//154//7.58//7:36
24//50:00//155//6//7:48
25//50:00//154//6//8:14
26//49:01//151//6.1//8:00
******
MAF Test - Run 24
LAP // TIME // AVG HR
==================
1 // 7:37 // 155
2 // 7:56 // 155
3 // 7:50 // 155

Until next time my friends,
J

IM Hawai'i and "THE" project

2007-10-15T16:27:00.000-06:00

Well first off, congratulations to all that raced at Hawai'i this past weekend. It was a blast to watch you guys. Great job Dennis, BDC, Kate, Teresa, Dave, Marky V, and Billy. Here's a quick recap:

- Dennis had a killer day going 9:16, freakin blazing!!

- BDC has been waiting for this moment. He went to Vineman in shape to win and had a flat that put him out of contention. Recovers, trains hard and finally gets a well deserved result, 9:26 with a 3:16 run.

- Kate had a steller performance for her pro debut in Kona taking 24th and a killer run split of 3:17

- Our favorite local, Dave, kept his vibe alive finishing another IM, I think he is close to 15 or 20, a great example for us young triathletes.

- Teresa took 2nd in the 45-49 women

- Marky V had the fastest swim split of the day and led all amateurs through mile 10 of the run... Impressive bro

- Billy has had a spectacular year as a pro and finished in Kona with a great result running 3:10.

******

The running is still going. I am officially half way through the month and I have ran 17 runs in 17 days. Quads don't feel bad, but my calves are feeling it quite a bit. I tend to get calve tighness and soreness with high volume/frequent running. I have always complained of this when I ramp up my run frequency/mileage. It has never (knock on wood) caused me to stop running, it is just uncomfortable at times. This is the time that I usually start strectching quite a bit and it usually alleviteates the achilles/gastroc tightness/soreness. So here are the updates of the runs since my last entry.

Run//Time//Avg HR//Distance (miles)//Avg pace
1//46:37//158//5.4//8:38
2//48:08//155//5.4//8:55
3//45:53//160//5.5//8:20
4//48:49//161//6//8:08
5//46:14//171//6//7:42
6//1:00:09//147//7.25//8:18
7//48:13//162//6//8:02
8//43:10 + 1:55//156//5.4//7:59
9//42:35:00//150//5.4//7:53
10//46:05//155//6//7:41
11//1:32:15//155//11.25//8:12
12//47:25//150//5.5//8:37
13//48:48//159//6.55//7:27
14//58:32//158//7.6//7:42
15//41:00//156//5.4//7:36
16//47:46//139//5.5//8:41
17//45:41//156//6//7:37
******

On a side note and as much as I am afraid to admit it, I went to "So you think you could dance" tour with Jeff and Erin's two girls, Kenzie and Laney. We had a blast, talk about people knowing how to dance....maybe in my next life.

Massaging the calves,
J

Project 26.2 update.....

2007-10-12T13:23:00.000-06:00

"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"...I think that is how it goes. Here is a pic of TGG's 3 monkeys. BOCO, GOOD TIMES!! Just a glimpse into our schinanigans over the summer. This is Denny's "bad boy" with Chris, Mat and JD at our farewell party.

********

Here is my run summary so far for my 31 run in 31 days of October. I have ran 11 times in 12 days. Later in the month I will do a few more "two-a-days" and will catch that up. Not feeling too bad yet. We'll see though, ran my first long run today after a run this morning.

Run//Time//Avg HR//Distance (miles)//Avg mile pace
1//46:37:00//158//5.4//8:38
2//48:08:00//155//5.4//8:55
3//45:53:00//160//5.5//8:20
4//48:49//161//6//8:08
5//46:14//171//6//7:42
6//1:00:09//147//7.25//8:18
7//48:13//162//6//8:02
8//43:10 + 1:55//156//5.4//7:59
9//42:35:00//150//5.4//7:53
10//46:05//155//6//7:41
11//1:32:15//155//11.25//8:12
******
On a side note, I just passed my medical boards to practice which is quite exciting. Been a pretty big internal stress in my life lately, so it is nice to get that gorilla off my back. Now its off to the races and hope to get my state license soon. Still interviewing at quite a few places and looking pretty much anywhere, so if you know of a great Orthopedic office that is looking for a PA, let me know.

Will check back soon,
J

Attempting Balance.....

2007-10-07T10:06:00.000-06:00

It been a while, so I thought I would update what I have been doing over the past month. But first I want to say good luck to the TGG's in Hawaii. BDC, Dennis and Billy are racing as well as Kate, Marky V and Teresa. JD is racing in Florida as well. Good luck to you all, will definitely be keeping an eye on you on Iromanlive.

Training has definitely been put on the back burner as I have been preparing/interviewing for jobs and studying quite a bit. I was however able to fit in a couple of races since IM Canada, all for fun. The trip back from Canada was pretty uneventful, but long. I think it took my brother and I about 6 days to drive from Penticton to Winston-Salem. We stopped over in Kansas City for day to spend time with family. It was definitely nice to see my middle brother and his family. I don’t get to see them much and Kellan and Jaden are growing so fast.

Once I got back, I did a local sprint triathlon here in W-S called the Angel’s Triathlon. It is directed by one of our TRICOW club members Mick Gunter. He puts on a great race for a great cause. This year was special because it also kicked off a great foundation called the AJ Linville Foundation. The AJ foundation was started by another one of the TRICOW club members Aubrey Linville. They started Team AJ which was created to help spread the word about the AJ Foundation and also promote a healthy lifestyle by having them compete in their first triathlon. I think something like 50 people from Team AJ were doing their first triathlon. Lastly it was my birthday, can’t ask for too much more than being able to race for fun.

I hadn’t really done much training since it was 3 weeks post IM Canada, so I was out there to have some fun and see everyone that I hadn’t really seen all summer. I had started running a little about 2 weeks post Canada which was earlier than I have ever done, but it truly was at a snail pace, just to get my legs moving again. As for biking and swimming, I think I had ridden about 2-3 times since and swam about 4-5 times since the big day. So I was ready for a rude awakening, or at least my lungs and heart were. I hadn’t raced much hard stuff this summer, well none at all to be exact, so it was going to be fun to see what would happen. Well, nothing to exciting other than it hurt like hell and for the first time in a while, I asked myself “why did I like sprints?” Finished and hung out with all my “amigos.”

A week later, a buddy of mine Curtis asked me if I wanted to join him on a team with his wife, Paige (I went to PA school with her), and another classmate of mine Ann to do this event called the Marine Corps Ultimate Challenge Run.>
The Ultimate Challenge Mudrun consists of 4 person teams. The 4.2 mile course is an all-terrain race conducted on dirt roads, improved and unimproved trails through the training area. This trail includes mud holes, walls, trenches and other obstacles that require swimming, crawling, climbing and jumping. It was down in Columbia, SC so it was a bit of drive, but I was like what the heck.

Let me tell you, it was one of the most fun things I have ever done. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, it was just a total blast. We were a coed team and we actually did really well. I think we took like 73rd out of over 600 teams. It was pretty sweet. Depending on where I end up taking a job, I am definitely in for doing this again next year.

On the training frontier, I have begun to think about a running program. Project 26.2 needs to get started. Jeff posted a challenge to all the TRICOWS for the month of October to do 31 runs in 31 days. I thought this would be a good start to my running program. So far, I am 6 days into it, have done a minimum of 45 minute runs. I missed two days in a row while I was at an interview and the rule is supposed to be you can’t miss 2 days in a row, but I will make them up by doing a couple of two a days later in the month. I think I am going to stay off my bike for the winter for the most part and concentrate on running while maintaining a swim. All in all at this point, my main focus is getting the J-O-B. Here are my runs for the past few days:

Run//Time//Miles
1//46:37//5.4
2//48:08//5.4
3//45:53//??
4//48:49//6
5//46:14//6

Will be in touch,
J

IM Canada Race Report

2007-08-30T23:28:00.000-06:00

Let me first warn you, this is quite long. Hope you enjoy!! I will add photos later, just don't have any back from the digital cameras yet.

######

First and foremost, I have to say thanks to everyone that has helped me along on this journey. Jeff and Erin have been a tremendous help with everything. Without them, I wouldn’t have even dreamt of doing it. They allowed me to stay at their place in Boulder for the summer and help me with anything that I need, triathlon or not. Next, my parents for making the trip to Penticton for our Ironman. Something that they have always done and probably will always do as long as they can make it. Their relentless support and unconditional love to always be there physically or mentally for us is priceless. And of course all my friends that have sent emails, texts, or phone calls this whole summer wishing me well on race day. A big thanks to you all, its awesome to hear from you and believe me, you were all a part of my day at some point. In addition to my old friends, all my new mates that I have met on this journey. I have learned a ton and can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate the part you have played. THANKS AGAIN!!

First, I want to say that even though the result of the day wasn’t what I wanted nor expected, I accomplished many of the goals that I had set out on race day, 6 of 7 to be exact. I have learned so much over the past 3 months here in BOCO. My race/training arsenal has gotten quite large, unfortunately I wasn’t able to use any of my big guns on race day. My day will come, I am convinced. I have a couple of thoughts why my run failed again, but first let me tell you about my day from start to finish. My goals were pretty basic, I will share those with you at the end as well.

Got up as usual at 12:30AM and drank 4 slim fast and a smoothie that had about 500 calories. I started doing this after my 2nd IM at Wisconsin. I had read in an article that we can go for about 4 hours without eating before we begin to use our glycogen stores for energy (my disclaimer, you can’t hold me to the information until I go and research it for certainty on the numbers), so I thought it would be a good idea to never go longer than that the entire day before the gun goes off without eating, including late into the night. I figure, if I can keep my glycogen stored topped off, it would be one of the small things to help me through the day. Got ready, reviewed my race goals, said a prayer that Greg had sent to me that his college football team used to say in college before games, looked at a quote that Denny had sent to Team Good Guys from General Patton, looked at an email that Gordo had sent us a little before race day that reminded us, #1 Give yourself every chance to succeed and #2 Let the other guys make the mistakes, an email that Kevin Purcell (KP) had sent me earlier this year when I wasn’t completely believing, and then headed out the door. It was imperative that I review this few things. They would keep me sane and if I felt any urge to deviate from my race plan, the would be countered by any of these messages. As you can see it was quite a stacked arsenal. I believed in all of them, so all I had to do is recite them in mind and the “fire would be put out.” So out the door I was, running a little later than normal, but got there with plenty of time to get my stuff done. Met up with Jeff and hit the water around 6:15AM.

The water was quite chilly at first, but after a minute or so, it came out to be perfect. Did a short swim out for about 15 minutes and then headed back to shore before the pro start at 6:45. The water was calm, so I expected a good swim. Caught back up with Jeff and we stood in the water not far from where the pros were starting and took in the moment. There were so many people along the beach yelling and Mike Reilly had the crowd going. This was my first IM start since starting PA school two years ago, so it was fun to be back out there. The pros went off and Jeff and I got situated where we were going to be. It was very comforting have my bro by my side. Just another form of support to keep my plan in tow and spend a little time with him, just him. I don’t remember speaking to him much, but there was plenty of communicating going, just not verbal. I kinda felt like it was just him and I out there, and not much anything else mattered. It is those moments in time that I won’t ever forget, not sure if too many other people get to have those opportunities with their siblings, I am glad that I am just one of the lucky ones. I wanted to be towards the outside of the buoy line to have a little more clear water. Wasn’t really in the mood to be hacked and slashed in the beginning of the swim. Once we were situated, we were looking at the massive crowd and believe it or not, we actually found my parents, Erin, and Kenzie, their daughter. They were waving a sign they had made us and we waved back. Then, with no warning, BOOOOOM, the cannon went off. I was like S&^%, I guess the race started. No time to get anxious now, we’re swimming.

The course is a triangular shape out and back course. We went 1612m out, 450m across, and then 1800m back in. At the two turns, there were boathouses. My plan was to take the first leg out bi-lateral breathing, switch over to breathing twice on the right to every breath on the left across the short back side, and then go to breathing every stroke at some point on the 3rd leg back. Staring out wide, I had all the clean water I wanted. I stayed smooth and easy and veered my way into the line of buoys and caught the feet of a woman who seemed to swimming pretty hard. Well it seemed as much as she had a huge kick, so it made it easy to stay on her feet. Swam on her feet for about 10 minutes or so. I was swimming very comfortable and it was exactly the feet I was looking for at the moment. It was just her and I about 7-10 meters from pack/buoys. After about 10 minutes, I really wanted to get a little closer to the buoys where the bigger pack was, so I gambled and left her feet and started cutting in. Once in the group, I started moving effortlessly pass quite a bit of people. Made my right hand turn for the short 2nd leg and realized the pack was thinning or I was moving up. I was feeling quite peppy by this point. Rounded the 2nd right hand turn at the boat and realized that I was up in the front of a pretty large pack. There was a girl not far up the way in the water and she had been there for quite a while and I decided that I should bridge up to her since we were obviously swimming at the same speed, so I did. We swam the rest of the way in changing leads at the front. I wasn’t for sure exactly where I was in the field, but I was at the front of some big pack and there wasn’t anyone in front of us that I could see for at least two buoys or about 200 meters. This of course energized me to stay on pace and knew I was going to have a great swim. Swam as far as I could until my hand hit the sand, stood up, peeled the top of my wetsuit down, and headed straight for the wet-suit strippers (One of my most favorite parts of the day. Whoever came up with that idea should get a Nobel). On a side note, as I was heading out of the water, I looked down and my heart rate strap was not on my chest. I guess it had fallen off when I was peeling my top down. For a split moment, I began to think I was “hosed,” but remembered an email that Justin had sent a couple of days before the race, and for some reason a three word phrase stuck out in my mind, “trust your instincts,” that is all I could remember from that email. His words of wisdom were meant to be I figured. So that is what I had to do for the rest of day. It would be a true test of what I learned in BOCO. So I thought “No Worries,” got my bag on the way to the change tent and proceeded to make a full change. I didn’t wear my white uni in the water for fear of it turning another color. T1 was a little longer b/c of the full change, but it was also meant to serve as a “relaxer” of which it did. Got my bike and headed out for the ride.

The bike is a one loop course with 2 significant climbs, Richter Pass and Yellow Lake, respectively. Going through the town was awesome, but difficult. With all the people lining the street and yelling, it was totally hype. I will say, I had probably 15 people pass me in the first 4 miles, a difficult thing for me to do. But the race plan was to let that happen. Gordo and Marilyn had warned me that this would happen, but said that I would be seeing those people after the turn around right before Yellow Lake. So relaxed riding I did. Between the relaxed T1 and taking it easy, I began taking nutrition on the bike after about 5 minutes. About 15 minutes into the bike, I started getting a side stitch. I figured it wasn’t much and continued on. Then of course, I began to think about that stupid HR strap that I didn’t have and my zones that I was supposed to be in. What was I going to do now!?!?!?! But I quickly extinguished my negative thoughts and remembered back to the last month or so. I had been training with no HR monitor anyways because mine had broke and I sent it back to Polar, so I knew I could do it. Besides, Justin’s email said,”trust your instincts.” The side stitch continued for the next hour and half. At one point right before we started the Richter climb, I was trying to think of reason that I had this nagging stitch and thought my one piece was pulling funny on my side or something. So I unzipped my top and pulled it down to my waist. I rode like this for about 5 minutes until I rode by the penalty tent and got yelled at by one of the officials. I was so irritated b/c my side hurt so bad, I think I yelled something back, but figured I better go ahead and get my top back up since unfortunately it didn’t relieve the stitch anyways and the last thing I needed was to be thrown in the next penalty box. That would have been a kicker!! The stitch had not slowed my pace down, it just assured me that I wasn’t going to do anything stupid, it definitely was a perfect governor, just an annoying one. At this point, I had taken a full bottle of my nutrition and half of my 2nd one. The plan was to have the 2nd bottle done by the bottom of Richter, but with my nutrition issues, I didn’t. So I tossed the bottle and began my climb. After about 20 minutes of taking no nutrition at all, my stitch started to go away. As I began to climb, things began to pro-cess (that is pro-cess pronounced like PRO athletes, eh) if you know what I mean. Continued to keep things easy up Richter and continued to have people pass me, but again, I remembered to just smile and stay relaxed, there was so much more time in the day. At this point, I decided that my stitch was coming from my nutrition, so I abandoned my bike nutrition for the rest of day and stuck to what they had on the course; Gatorade, power gels, and water.

Side note about my nutrition. I had changed to Infinit about 3 weeks before the race. I have used Carbo-Pro mixed with powdered Gatorade for the previous 5 IM’s and I never had problems, but it didn’t really have a good balance of electrolytes. I was a little worried that it might get a little hot in Penticton. So after speaking to Jeff about it, I decided I would give Infinit a go. It never really gave me problems in training, it just wasn’t very palatable. But I figured, if it had what I needed, I should just deal with it. Lesson learned, if you can’t drink it all or it is giving you GI issues, it doesn’t matter what’s in it, electrolytes or not, you better off sticking to good ole faithful.

Got to the out and back portion and rode pretty steady for the first time of the day. Got to the special needs bag at the end of the out and back and just kept rolling through. I saw my brother on the way back out, he wasn’t too far back. At this point, I was getting ready for what I had been waiting for all day. Were the folks that I saw blowing by me in the beginning going to re-appear? Once heading through the rollers to Yellow Lake, I began to raise my effort from what I had been doing all day. I actually rode this portion completely by myself, there really was no one around me. Things were feeling great and I was excited and in good spirits at this point. As I began to near the bottom of Yellow Lake, I could see a stream of people up the way. I thought, “Yes, perfect, the plan has worked!” I hit the bottom of the climb with all the people lining the road. They were fantastic!!! I started passing people. I can’t explain what happened at Yellow Lake, but it seemed everything that I was conserving all day as I had been told to do was all coming out at that moment. I knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to ride this portion. I knew as soon as I go to the top, I would have about 20-25K’s of descending, so definitely plenty of time to rest and fuel up. As I was rolling on, my cadence kept getting higher and higher, my legs kept feeling better and better, and I kept passing more and more people. At some point, I hit the steepest point of Yellow Lake and there were people lined on both sides of the street. It was Tour de France style. The fans had created a little pathway for the riders to ride up. They were yelling, cheering, playing loud music, banging on things, you name it. It was awesome!!!! At this point, I was so focused on keeping whatever I had going that I don’t remember much. I think for about 20 minutes, I repeated, “Relaxed and Smooth” to my cadence. I was in a rhythm.

Once I crested the major portion of climbing at Yellow Lake, emotion overcame me. I have never really had anything like this before, but I almost started to cry. I was elated!!! race execution is something that I have not done very well in Ironman. Part of this is lack of patience and lack of believing in the plan, but I was determined, I was here to execute, not do what I have done at every other IM I have done, BLOW UP. For the first time, I had gotten to a point later in the race and realized that I had so far done exactly what I had set out to do; paced appropriately. It was truly and big accomplishment for me. Not much happened the last bit home. Descended and made it back to the town where all the people were. Saw my family and gave them a smile and a wave and got ready for T2.

Coming in on the bike, all I could think about was not screwing up what I had done so far. The plan for the run was to run the first 3 miles around 9:00/mile pace and then steadily drop the pace down until I got into the 8:20’s range where I would hopefully keep that pace for the rest of the day. I knew it would be difficult, but was up for it. The most difficult portion was going to be the last 10K. (You hear that the race really begins with 10K to go on the run and that’s where you really want to run) I knew for me, I wasn’t going to be able to raise my effort that far out from the end, but I was gunning for the last 3 miles to give it all I had.

Out on the run, as each discipline has started that day, I had so many people passing me. It seemed even harder this time b/c there were so many people lining the streets and who wants to be the slowest dude in relative terms out there running with all these people passing you. But again, I knew, it wasn’t these 3 miles that were important, it was the last 3 miles that were important. I convinced myself it was a trade off, “You pass me now, and I’ll pass you back the last 3.” Fair enough right?

The first 2 miles were a little faster than I should have run, even then I thought I was really running slow.
1 - 8:38
2 - 8:19
I felt really good at the point of the race. Jeff passed me a little before 3.5 miles. From there, I just kept it steady and tried to keep a close eye on my pace since I didn’t have an HR strap on. Here are the rest the of my splits.
3 - 9:08
4 - 8:34
5 - 8:35
6 - 8:34
7 - 9:54
8 - 8:23
9 - 8:31
10 - 8:24
11 - 9:33
12 - 8:25
13 - 8:34
14 - 8:45
15 - 9:59
16 - 8:59
17 - 9:20
18 - 10:10
19 - 10:36
20 - 10:25
21 - 13:03
22 - 12:41
23 - 13:11
24 - 14:20
25 - 9:07
26.2 - 10:09

Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where it all went to pieces. It came over me so quickly, as I felt very solid through 16 miles. It was like I had just walked off a cliff. All of the sudden I just hit the wall and as you can see, I struggled and eventually was humbled to a walking pace by mile 24. At that point, I rallied everything I had and just shut my mind off and decided that I was going to run in the last 2 miles as hard as I could. I was able to return close to my pace and finish strong.

All in all, it wasn’t what I would have expected, especially seeing 12-14 minute miles. I thought at worse I would see maybe an 11 if I blew, but not a 14:20. As I have reflected on what could have been the reason, I have come up with a couple of things. But first, I would like to say that what I did this summer I feel was appropriate. I wouldn’t have changed anything I had done, it taught me what I think will be what I need to do for run training for the next IM. So hear are my “theories.”

#1 – One thing that I realized during the melt down retrospectively was my inability to mentally fight through the “wall.” As I have thought about my running over the last 5-6 years, I must say that I haven’t done a ton of long run training outside of my IM schedules. I hadn’t visited “The Wall” too many times. I thought about Jeff’s running history and he has logged a few ultra marathons, did some adventure racing for a short period of time that required long runs with backpacks on and generally has had very consistent running. This leads me to believe that I might have poor mental tolerance of dealing with run pain, something I think that comes with doing those long runs and learning how to fight through that mentally. Supporting my thoughts that there is a mental toughness component was the fact that I was able to lift my pace for the last 2 miles. It took quite a bit of personal mental build up, General Patton’s poem, and the crowd on Main St to lift my pace of which I did. Something that will be addressed in “Project 26.2.”

#2 – One thing I would like to try is do some run training that extends my longer runs to 26 miles. I think everyone is individual when it comes to this. I think there are those who can get by with running 21-22 miles for their long runs and it is enough for them to run a marathon. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those runners who need to actually run the distance that they plan on running b/c they can’t assume 26.2 mile fitness from a 21 mile run. I suspect that I am on the latter end of the spectrum. For me, I think I need to run 26-30 mile runs for my legs to adapt. Over the summer, I think the longest run I did in one session was about 19-20 miles. If I look back at my splits and see where things started to detonate, it was around mile 17 and I completely lost it at mile 20. I will say, this is completely my theory, I will have to talk it over with the “wizards” and see if they agree. This could be a change in my program next time around.

All in all, I didn’t have the exact day that I wanted, but I am not un-happy about it neither. I learned a ton this summer and without these this race experience, I wouldn’t be able to make the appropriate training changes for me. That is what this is all about, finding out what works for you. Here are my splits for the day:

Swim - 57:43T1 - 3:45Bike - 5:24:51T2 - 2:40Run - 4:14:28Total: 10:43:25

So as I said in the previous blog that I would post my race goals, well here they are.

IM Canada Race Goals
August 26th, 2007

1. Finish
2. 10:45 or less
3. Smile every time I see my parents and have fun
4. Swim under :58
5. Stay relaxed on the bike
6. Ride under 5:30
7. Run 3:45

I was able to complete 6 out of 7 of my race goals, not too shabby.

I will also share the prayer that my buddy gave me and the quote that ultimately got me running again at mile 25 that Denny shared with TGG’s. I don’t thing either one of them would mind sharing.

The Prayer
In the eyes of God, we are the greatest. We put forth God's faith, in every moment of play. If we lose, we shall not greave, and if we win, we've done a good deed. Win or lose, all our praises go to God, for allowing us, o take part in this race.
Amen

The Quote
“Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell The mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind Could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired…You’ve always got to make the mind take over and keep Going.”
- George S. Patton, Us Army General and 1912 Olympian

Not exactly sure what my race plans are for the rest of the year. I decided that I would make no race plans until next year, but that doesn’t mean that I may not race, just nothing set in stone. In the mean time, gotta get back to the real world. Jeff, my Dad, and I are making our way back across the country in the Yukon and in the meantime I am currently applying for jobs. Not for sure where I will end up, I am always open to new opportunities. Until then, recovering for the next month and then getting the engine started up again.

1 IM wiser,
J

IM Canada: RACE DAY

2007-08-26T08:50:00.000-06:00

Race Day Coverage...
There will be periodic updates...ignore the "Posted by" time at the bottom of the blog.

Gordo out of the water around 10:40 EST

John and Jeff are both off the bikes, through T-2 and on the run!!! (see updates under Mrs. Shilt)

First age-grouper out of the water around 10:50 EST (age-grouper wave left 15 minutes after pro wave)

Here is an interactive map of the race course: http://www.ironmap.com/ironmap/ironmagnifier.htm

SHILT, JOHN - Looking strong through T-1 with a big "THUMBS UP!"
00:57:43 Swim
05:24:50 Bike
10:43:25 Run
10:43:25 IM Canada Time

SHILT, JEFF - Steady and trucking through T-1...keep pushin' hard Jeff!
01:03:03 Swim
05:24:52 Bike
09:54:28 Run
09:54:28 IM Canada Time

BYRN, GORDO- Pro
00:55:37 Swim
04:51:54 Bike
03:11:52 Run
09:03:48 IM Canada Time

Per Ironmanlive- Gordo is currently around the 6-9th place (4 hours in). It is speculated that if he can be within 20 minutes of the leader going into T-2, he will run him down (estimated -2:50:00 run).

Currently, he is 16 minutes back at the 85-mile mark.

Gordo is now 21 minutes back of Kieran Doe...come on Gordo...push it! Represent for Team Good Guys!

DAERR, JUSTIN- Pro
00:57:25 Swim
04:56:06 Bike
03:02:43 Run
09:00:21 IM Canada Time

Mrs. Shilt (Jeff and John's Mother)- "They are both looking good and strong and both gave a quick wave as they took off. They seem to be enjoying themselves. It's a long day and we hope things turn out well for both of them."
"John arrived about 10 minutes ahead of Jeff and had a smile on his face. He is still looking good. Jeff looks focused heading out on his strength."

Erin Rowe (Jeff's wife)- "Everything is going well so far. We're keeping an out for them. They're both looking good!"

CONGRATS TO JOHN, JEFF, JUSTIN, & GORDO FOR COMPLETING THE RACE. YOU FOUR ARE IRONMEN!

Anything Is Possible....

2007-08-25T22:24:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple of pics of the gear right before I put the bike in. Heck, if I can't be fast, at least try and look it. :) Titanwear did an awesome job with the uniform. Thanks Jason!

“Ability is what you are capable of doing, motivation determines how well you do, attitude determines how well you do it.”
######

All has been well over the last two days. Just getting ready to hit the sack. Got my bike checked in and everything in order. Did a little swim and bike today and made sure all was well. The water was quite calm, hopefully it will be like that tomorrow. Looking forward to a fun day out there. Looks like it will be quite cool in the morning. It is not supposed to get above 72 for the day, so it will be nice not to deal with 90 degree weather on the run.

Not sure how well www.ironmanlive.com will work tomorrow. In the past, it has been tardy on getting times up for athletes. So my buddy Greg will be phoning my peeps here at the race and putting live updates on Team Good Guys. Hopefully it will all work out. So check back regularly throughout the day. If it doesn’t work, Greg will post on here so you don’t have to waste your time. Pro’s go off at 6:45AM and the “agers” start at 7:00AM. We are on west coast time here, so all you “easterners” are going to have to wait 3 hours.

Send me some good energy,
J

(yeah, thats Greg, big dude eh?)

Keepin It Mellow

2007-08-22T23:11:00.001-06:00

Today was a pretty mellow day, didn’t really do too much other than train and hang. Jeff and I went down to the swim start around 8AM and swam for 30 minutes. There was quite a bit of chop today, definitely the most I have swam in since I have been here. Took it easy for the first half of the swim and was very comfortable and smooth. On the return leg, I decided I would give it a “punch” and see how I felt. I felt great!!! The only thing was that I was going into the waves. Even though I was battling the waves, I felt very strong in effort and in control.

Got some lunch and headed out on a spectacular ride of the country side where all the vineyards were. If you are ever here and want a good two hour ride, you should definitely check this one out. Basically headed Northeast out of town toward Naramata. There are probably like 20 wineries on the way. I think I will be visiting them on Friday with Erin (Jeff's wife) and my parents. No tasting of course, probably will end up being the DD. :) The route takes takes you along side of Okanagan Lake. The scenery is amazing! I tried to catch a pic looking back towards Penticton.

I didn’t run today, just wasn’t up to it. Felt my swim and ride was enough.

Ironman Village opened today. Town is starting to get a tad busy. I was reading in the paper that this will be the biggest Ironman start in history. There are over 2700 athletes registered for the 25th anniversary of this race. This will be the 2nd time that Jeff and I have raced at "biggest IM start." Back in 2004 at IM Wisconsin when we raced, it was the biggest start in IM history at that point as well. Gonna be crazy at the swim start. I wish they have people to hold up “time sticks” in the water so that people could get themselves in the appropriate place, kinda like a huge marathon where they corral people. I think it would help with such a huge race.

Ohhh...I almost forgot, but I got my race suit today in the mail!!! Thanks to Jason at Titanwear for getting it together. It is awesome, I am totally psyched to wear it. Maybe I’ll post a pic in the next day or two of the race day equipment. To give you a little hint, it is all white with red stitching. That is my theme this year, all white. Don't ask. :) It will be perfect to match my newly painted machine.

In any case, off to hit the sack. Check in tomorrow. Will go and pick up my race packet after my short SBR.

Snoozin',
J

5 Days......

2007-08-21T21:41:00.000-06:00

This is a pic of us crossing over into Canada at Border Patrol.
######

First let me say, Penticton is a unique and beautiful place. Driving in the entire way we were surrouned by orchards on both sides of the road. Having only been here for two days, it is everything people say about it. It is a quaint little town of about 30,000. Tons of great rock climbing venues, it is a wine country with tons of vineyards, awesome mountain biking and hiking trails. Not to mention the two huge lakes that the city sits in between. A true haven for outdoors.

We settled in on Sunday after we arrived here and I swam in the lake on Monday morning. It is spectacular! The water is almost a little “Hawaii-esque.” It is amazingly clear. Definitely the best IM swim I will have done. The only difference is that you look at ugly vegetation 12 feet down and not yellow and purple fish. The water temp seemed to be perfect, not too hot and just a tad on the cool side which is perfect for me.

(This is the first step of Richter Pass)

The training that I did the summer is all starting to finally make sense. Swam a little over 4K this morning in the pool and then headed to the track to do a MAP test. The structure was exactly like the last one I did. Warm up well and then do a 3 mile run on the track recording each mile. Instead of using a HR of 155 like I did last time, I used 145. I didn’t expect to get too much info from this run except to help me determine what I was going to be doing for the first 30-45 minutes of the run. My results were as I would expect, not necessarily what I would like. But as always, I have to keep reminding myself that this is “project 26.2,” it’ll come with time (hopefully).

LAP // TIME // AVG HR
=====================
1 // 8:15 // 145
2 // 8:56 // 146
3 // 8:36 // 146

After the run, Jeff and I headed out to the bike course to do the small, 16.5 mile out and back section. It is around mile 67’ish or so. Let me first say, the course scenery is amazing. Very difficult to justly describe the beauty, hopefully the pics will help. All the climbing I did this summer will pay off. The climb to Richter Pass, the first big climb, which is about 11K long is broken up into basically a 3-stair fashion. After the climb, you descend for sometime to the out and back section and then onto the 2nd big climb of the day, Yellow Lake (YL). YL is about half as long, but steeper. Once up Yellow Lake, it is a 20-25K descent home. Quite a perfect time to re-fuel and rest a little for the run.

I am feeling quite good these days. I can usually tell things are going well when I just want the race to be over. I want it to be here tomorrow! I feel solid in the swim, patient on the bike, and reserved for the run. I believe its gonna be a fun day. My parents arrive late Thursday, can’t wait for them to be here.

I will swim tomorrow for about 30 minutes at the lake and then do a brick in the afternoon.

I am trying to get something set up so that my blog will have close to real time updates on race day for the four of us racing here. I will let you know if it works out.

Lastly, thanks to everyone that has written me an email. I really appreciate your thoughts, they truly go a long way.

Chill’axin,
J

Here is my play list for the transition area. The highlighted songs are “J’s Hype” songs.

Make It Work // Ne-Yo
The Best of What’s Around // Dave Matthews Band
Stay Fly // Three 6 Mafia
Hypnotic // Craig David
The Real Slim Shady // Eminem
Fill Me In (Remix) // Craig David
Life is a Highway // Rascal Flatts
I’m Coming Out // Diana Ross
Hit Me with Your Best Shot // Pat Benatar
The Way I Are // Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson
Down Under // Men At Work
Glamorous // Fergie
If Everyone Cared // Nickelback
Encore (Remix) // Linkin Park ft. Jay-Z
Summer Love - Set The Mood Prelude// Justin Timberlake & Timbaland
Sandstorm // DaRude
Another Chance // Roger Sanchez
Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song) // Safri Duo
Dance Hall Days // Wang Chung
The Sweet Escape // Gwen Stefani
Sexy Love (Duet Remix) // Ne-Yo ft. Candace Jones
Changes // Tupac Shakur
Margarita // Pharrell ft. Big Boi
Rockstar // Nickelback
Stand // Rascal Flatts
Animals // Nickelback
Hard as a Rock // ACDC
Bartender // T-Pain ft. Akon
Forgot About Dre // Eminem ft. Dr. Dre
Little Things // Bush

#261

2007-08-19T09:50:00.000-06:00

(Me, Jeff, Brandon, Gordo, Billy, Mat, Denny Not Pictured: Justin - he had already left for Canada)
######

I will be toeing the line as 261.....there are only 4 of us from TGG's that are racing here in Canada. Brandon just finished Vineman and Denny is training for Kona. The other 2, Mat and Billy are heading to IM Louisville. Good luck to the fellas.....

Gordo #1

Justin #18

Jeff # 918

For those of you that don't know, you can track our race day by going to http://www.ironmanlive.com/ and choosing IM Canada. Then find the "Track An Athlete" and put in our race number or last name.

Say "hi" if you see us...

Life is like a box of chocolates......

2007-08-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

We officially left Boulder today for Penticton, BC. All packed in the Yukon, Jeff, Erin, Laney, McKenzie, myself and of course the dog Luna are headed to Bozeman, MT to catch up with one of Jeff's medical school buddies. As we drove out of town, it began to stir all the awesome memories of what got us here and those we had here. The first memory that came to mind was planning the trip. Being on this earth for 27 years, I have been lucky to experience a lot of the world. The opportunities that I have been given are priceless, things that I will always hold in my heart. The opportunity to train here in BOCO is no different. At first when the idea arose, I was very apprehensive as it would fall right after I graduated. It seemed that I should do what everyone else was doing in my class, go get a J-O-B. BUT, once again, as so many times it has happened, my brother offered to take me along with him. He granted me the opportunity and see a different side of life, a gift that he has given me. He convinced me it would be something that I may not get to do again and thank God for his wisdom, he was right. (Its back to real world after this.) It would fulfill one of my dreams...go to Boulder and see how the “big boys” do it. With the actual oppurtunity, it always is necessary to have support.

As it seems to be a common theme of the blogs lately, at least those in the squad, these opportunities would not be happening without the support of family. As you would expect, Mom and Dad have always supported me no matter what. I can’t tell you how many times I have spoke to them about some crazy idea that I wanted to do or had, but as always, they patiently listened and have never discouraged me. This time was no different. They shook their heads smiling and comforted me with their full support. It’s always nice to get on the phone with them, they genuinely love to hear what we do day to day, it sure is good for the soul.

My other brother Jason, who lives in the Midwest and unfortunately I don’t get to see him and his family often b/c of distance, gave me one of my first memories of running. I was probably about 12 years old, and he was in college at the time. He came home to visit and for some reason we went running around the neighborhood. I remember distinctly to this day what he told me as we went running that day, “Breath in through your nose and exhale out through your mouth. Keep your hands relaxed.” Little did I know at the time, that these basic principals of running relaxed would be useful to me 15 years later. Thanks bro, wish you could have made it up here to Canada.

And of course, my oldest brother Jeff. I couldn’t be more appreciative of the person he has been to me. For the last 8 years, he has been a role model, a brother, a motivator, the DEVIL (LOL, just kidding), but most importantly a best friend. Always encouraging me to strive higher and better, giving me endless support in every fashion. This journey with him is another one for the books, always excited what the next one will bring. But for now, we are once again on this journey together and we have some goals to meet. Watch out for that guy at IM Canada, he just might be one of the fastest age-groupers on two feet running 42K…stay light on your feet, see you at the finish line.

######

As for race day, I am currently writing down my top goals for the race. I am not sure if I will make them public, but will definitely share them once the race is over. It was a suggestion from Kate, one of the stellar triathletes I have gotten to meet while here in Boulder. All in all, I am staring to feel better each day. Not as “peppy” as I want to be, but I don’t need to be for 10 more days.

As some of you may not know, I found 2 cracks in my head tube about 5 weeks ago on my bike. I had to send it off to get repaired in hopes of getting it back quickly for Canada. Thankfully, G let me borrow his extra bike, a Cervelo P3SL. About one week later, my heart rate monitor went dead and I had to send that off as well. With no power meter or heart rate monitor, the last handful of weeks I have been training off of feel. The plan was that I would get my bike with about 3 weeks to go and my watch would be returned within 7-10 business days. As luck would have it, neither one of those time lines were met, not even closely. I got my bike back yesterday and my watch came back 2 days ago. Needless to say, my levels were a little high in the anxiety department. But, as of now, I couldn’t be any happier to have them here, better late than never. Along with the repair of my bike, they had to strip the chili pepper design and re-paint. For time sake, I changed my color scheme and this is the new facelift for the race machine. I must say, I am very happy with the change, it is very pristine looking. Here she is...

######

As for Team Good Guys (TGG), thanks to the fellas for an unforgettable summer of training. Not only a talented group of guys athletically, but stellar guys in general. Here is a group pic of TGG’s speedos. Yes, it says “Team Good Guys” on the back.

We will be arriving to Penticton on Sunday. Until then…

Building from within,
J

Thought I would share my IM morning playlist. I’ll put this playlist on random and get the morning rolling before I head down to the trasition area. I will post my transition area play list on my next blog.

Song // Artist
Something Sexy About the Rain // Kenny Chesney
Flake // Jack Johnson
My Wish // Rascal Flatts
Take Me or Leave Me // Rent Soundtrack
She’s Everything // Brad Paisley
Mr. Jones // Counting Crows
Message in a Bottle // John Mayer
These Days // Rascal Flatts
Bless the Broken Road // Rascal Flatts
Me and You // Kenny Chesney
Stand // Rascal Flatts
Where the Green Grass Grows // Tim McGraw
She’s Got it All // Kenny Chesney
Something Like That // Tim McGraw
Mayberry // Rascal Flatts
My Maria // Brooks & Dunn
Key Lime Pie // Kenny Chesney
Check Yes or No // George Strait
Track 3 // Sinclair
Big Girls Don’t Cry // Fergie
Public Affair // Jessica Simpson
Because of You // Ne-Yo
You Know What // Craig David
Bartender // T-Pain
When You’re Mad // Ne-Yo
High Love // Steve Winwood
All Night Long // Lionel Richie
Your Body is a Wonderland // John Mayer
Hold Me // Fleetwood Mac
Betty Davis Eyes // Rod Steward
Brand New Day // Sting
Beautiful Day // U2

Quality Sessions.....

2007-08-08T15:52:00.001-06:00

The last two days have been some very good quality sessions for me prepping for Canada. Yesterday, I had a “front-half” simulation day and had a lactate test on the run. The plan yesterday was to do 5 loops at the res (~900m/loop) exactly how I would swim on race day, including warm-up. As quickly as possible, get changed and onto the bike for a 60 mile sim ride. Practice my patience early on in the bike, get fueling, and stay calm. Once off the bike, transition again as quickly as possible and then out the door for a 5.3 mile run. Here is how they went:

Swim – 63 minutes (~4500m – 5 laps)
Felt as in control as I could ever be of my pace. Felt pretty relaxed and didn’t “feel” any high rates, pretty steady swim. Took the first two laps bilateral breathing, then gradually switched to 2 breathes on right for every 1 breath on left. The last lap I then switched over to every side breathing about half way through. As fast and strong of a swim I have all summer. Grade – A
T1 - ~8 minutes or so. (Hopefully faster on race day)

Bike – 2:45:09 (57 miles)
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/co/boulder/693889688

Seemed to be quite a bit of wind today, didn’t feel like I got to many breaks. I had to take 4 “relajar (relax in Spanish) timeouts,” 2 scheduled and…..well…uh…2 unscheduled. The timeouts are for me to reassess my pacing and how I feel to make sure that I am pacing correctly to run the marathon of my life. The two scheduled were 1 on the way out and one on the way back. What I usually do is stop pedaling completely, sit up, and roll for about 10-15 seconds. I ended up adding two more b/c I felt they were necessary. I needed to settle back in and realized that this ride wasn’t the full monty and I needed the reigns pulled back a little.

All in all, the ride was ok, not quite as fast as I would have liked, but was definitely in the ball park of the pacing I needed to be in. Grade – B-

T2 – 5:09

Run – 45 minutes (5.3 miles – 8:29/mile)
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/co/boulder/689600224

Legs felt great! I really concentrated on making sure to take it out slow, really slow. I was somewhat forced to as I climbed a gradual hill up to Fourth street from Kalmia. All in all, regardless of how I felt on the bike, it must have been just about right. I still felt very “peppy” by the end of the run and felt like I kept my HR down the entire run. Grade B

Today I had a scheduled lactate test on the treadmill for my first data points. I haven’t had one done in probably 5 years. I was able to really give it a go, saw my HR at 190. Ended my test after about 35-40 minutes running 5:30/mile pace. The test helped confirm that I might have made some ground into my marathon goal when comparing it to my last MAP test. I will be doing another MAP test again when I get to Canada. Finished the day with a 3K easy swim.

All in all, great simulation day and lactate test. I found being on my own sometimes was difficult on the bike as I didn’t have any electronic feedback to gauge how fast I was going and I didn’t have anyone around me to gauge my pace. Probably a good exercise for me, since I need to race my race, not anyone else’s.

“Its better so slow down when you decide, rather than when the race decides for you” - Gordo

J

If you are looking for a great read, Alan wrote a great article on run development in the Alternative Perspectives section at G-World.

Learning, Understanding, and Believing

2007-08-05T19:14:00.000-06:00

This post will be some what random, just a few thoughts on my mind over the last couple of weeks. As for the pic, G has become the new honorary member of the TRICOWS.

##########

It’s been a couple of weeks, figured it was time to check in. Started my two week block, went home for 6 days, returned and finished the remainder of the block, all except my last long run, which was post-poned. Of note on the training side of things, we did that Wiggins ride again, 150 miles. We had a few different faces on the ride this time, Chris McDonald, Marilyn MacDonald, and AJ Johnson. With Chris being such a strong rider, the dynamics of our group would change, basically, he could keep people on edge with a pull at any moment. And indeed he did. Everything was pretty casual until the return ride once we got to Wiggins. Last time, attacks weren’t allowed until we got to Hudson, which is about a 1.5 hour ride from home. This time, things got heated not too long after the halfway point. With 60 miles to go, the attacks began. As usual, my self discipline went out the window. As the attacks began, I followed. I might have even attacked a little myself (bad move). I probably don’t really need to finish the story as how the ride ended up for me. You have already read that my long run the next day was post-poned for 2 days. I almost made it back with the group, but just about 3-5 miles from the end before I finally got dropped, and truly DROPPED. Spit out the back like a bad habit. I would say for the last hour, I was truly in survival mode. I was as “knackered” as I have been in a long time, I was pretty drilled. I think the combination of poor nutrition late in the ride coupled with the bolstering 1000w+ attacks by Chris that put me in the hole...a dark hole it was that I might add on the way home. To make things rather comical now that I look back, I was about 2.5 miles from home and there is a fire station there. Now, remember, I was 2.5 MILES FROM HOME and I stopped in there to get a coke just to make it back. I probably wasn’t thinking to clearly and I was obviously in need some simple sugars, but quite funny as I look back. G reminds me of this ride when I am getting a little “ant-sy.” It is a memory that I will take with me on race day.

##########
Attempting to understand fitness versus endurance.

This IM quest has been such a learning experience personally, well beyond the physical gains. Jeff and I were discussing his newest training concept, Poker Pacing (an article will come soon). I began to realize my ignorance about a few basic definitions of our sport; fitness vs. endurance. This is merely an educational bit and I am sure everyone’s definition will be different. How do you define fitness and endurance?

Here are a few comments, one from a forum and one from a coach.

“I think you define them collectively and that is that. We like to make distinctions between "types of fitness" that are not different at all for any event lasting more than a few minutes. If you can run a marathon in 4:00 but you can't run one in 3:00, it's not a type of fitness that you lack but an amount.
You could make a distinction in types of fitness between sports - ie. you have the fitness to bike 4:30 at IMH, but not the fitness to run 2:40. VO2max does not translate perfectly between sports. But the "type" of fitness you need for a 10k versus the "type" that you need for a marathon are at least 99% the same
When I say a different "type" of fitness, I mean that you have to be good at a different thing. Like the difference between biking and running, or skiing and chess. You would need a different kind of fitness to succeed in each of those. But the type of fitness that you would gain while training for a 10k is identical to that which you would gain training for a marathon, if you were training correctly. The same holds true down to about the mile, where different energy systems have to be emphasized. Even then, training is substantially the same.
If I can be absurdly reductive for a minute, it might help to think of it this way: what would you change about your training between a 10k and a 15k? A 15k and a half marathon? Half marathon and 20 miles? 20 miles and a marathon? The race distance is certainly more daunting as you move up, but the "thing" you have to be good at is still long distance running for each one.
Surely a scientific explanation exists out there, but absent that at the moment maybe it would be enough to say that there is a pretty great correlation between 10k times and marathon times among trained runners.”

- “Lets use the example of an athlete of mine. She eventually was 4th as WPRO at IM Wisc and did ultra runs (3-6hrs) prior to taking up IM. In her first IM ever she went 11:15 and got a Kona slot as an AGer. When I asked her what her strength in IM was, she responded "endurance". I told her that her greatest limiter was "endurance". She was still 90min away from what I thought she could do in IM. She quit after going 10:06 in Brazil but her endurance was much higher than when she went 11:15.
Endurance (in IM) is being able to race for 8 to 11hrs with efforts at AeT to AeT+10 without your pace and power declining. Short course guys are fit. You were a very fit runner back when you ran track, however, your run endurance was relatively low compared to elite IM.
What we see in IM, are athletes who think "speed" is fitness. Because they train moderately hard so much, they never really develop the lower end AeT type fitness that is needed over a 10hr day in IM. I have coached several short course guys and gals who won their AGs in short course and flamed out in IM. They couldn't slow down in training and their underdeveloped, steady, aerobic fitness hounded them. What I saw was this huge gap in pace from AeT+10 to AeT. Sometimes almost 90sec! It should be nearer to 30sec.
You can probably run under 3:15 in a marathon, but an IM requires an 8-10hr effort strategy. That is endurance relative to IM.”

Just something to ponder....

##########
Believing, much harder to do than said.

You gotta believe. Not believing is something that I think we all have done or still do as race time comes around. We all question if what we have done is enough? If we have failed to accomplish a goal and choose to go a different route, that we are not accustom to, is it right? We all are faced with these dark rooms with no light on and sometimes we just have to be fearless and believe that the PLAN is going to work. It is the execution of the plan that I personally have struggled with, the fear that I am going to swim 15 minutes off of my best swim, the fear that I am going to bike worse than my first Ironman by 20 minutes, and the fear that I am once again going to reduce the IM run, into the IM walk which ultimately leads to the IM shuffle. How many times do we have to experience poor race results until we finally figure out that if we stick to the plan, treat the day like a training day, that we will come out successful, only to turn that dark room into a room with shining light? For me personally, these are thoughts that run through my head constantly. Sometimes it takes longer for us to figure out or actually listen to those who have already made the mistakes. Often we have to make them on our own until it sticks....and that would not be me of course!!! :) So as I begin to prep for IM Canada, the mental plan has begun. My swim at the Res the other morning got it jump started, I was somewhat relieved and excited that I swam the 4 loops (loop was somewhere around 900m – Gordo will confirm at next LCM swim practice) at the Boulder Reservoir in 53 minutes. The swim was comfortable, bilateral breathing, and relaxing. So there I was at the end of the swim thinking, “If I just swim like this, I am going to swim alright, Boom, fear #1 down.”

Out onto the ride, while speaking with G, he reminded as many have so many have. I was expressing my “FEARS” about my results on race day and he said, “Why worry, what if the swim is long and for the matter of fact, what if the swim is short? Your time will be your time, just race your fitness/race. Remember, under perform for the first two events, 26.2 miles is a long way to run, much less after a swim and bike. Personal meltdowns and utter shreddings of oneself in a workout are good reminders to carry on race day.” (hint, hint, Wiggins Ride)

So here I am today, my workouts lately have been strong for me, much more than when I first arrived. My swim set yesterday of 5K+ was not necessarily the fastest I have I have swum, but definitely one of the strongest. I fell off the descending sets and settled into my basic rhythm of just swimming approximately IM pace and my bilateral pace still was a 1:30/100m, which was a good sign. Last week, we road up to Ward, which is a 16 mile climb. It is the strongest I have rode thus far. I had a 2:10 run 2 days ago, again, as strong of a run that I have had since I got here. One thing that I can say for the most part is that I have been able to successfully finish the plan given to me, each session (well, maybe had a couple of demon days), each day, and each period. There were times that I didn’t believe and I shook my head, but I just kept on, walking into that dark room unsure of what was going to bring.

My hope for this IM is to erase all of the fears of “times” that haunt me. Begin a new approach to IM and continue to successfully build on what I have been taught this summer.

“Your belief determines your action and your action determines your results, but first you have to believe.”

##########

(Dennis, Chris, JD, BDC, me, Mark, Mat)

Only have a couple of weeks left here in Boulder. I am definitely going to miss this place when I leave...but then again, who knows what opportunity will come next, I never thought I would have been here in the first place.

Thought I would throw a pic in of the lads while out on the town, while we work hard most days, we definitely have had some fun as well.

J

Final Prep and Run Test

2007-07-15T18:35:00.000-06:00

Not much has gone on this week. Being that it is a rest week, just been keeping it constant everyday, nothing hard, just keeping the blood flowing. The one important thing on the schedule this week was the MAP run test. The MAP test is to objectively measure aerobic improvements during training. As you plot your data, over time you hope that your aerobic speed increases at the same aerobic heart rate.

But before I go on, I would like to congratulate BDC for an awesome race up at the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon this past weekend. He raced as and elite amateur and took 2nd overall with a blistering run of 35:40. Way to represent Team Good Guys....

So the plan was to warm up for about 15 minutes, run 2 loops on the track to get my HR steady at 155 and run 3miles on the track tracking each mile’s time. So why 155 HR? Well, nothing really too scientific. Gordo initially instructed me to use 150 and more recently has given me a 155 cap on my long runs. In addition, when speaking with Jeff about this run test, he asked me, “Do you think you can run 155 late in the marathon?” Embarrassing as it is to admit, I don’t really have any run data and considering the trend of my “typical” HR’s, I decided that #1 – I need all the beats I can get and #2 – Being a little on the younger side, it seemed reasonable.

So I ventured on my way to Boulder H.S. track, but before I left, I made sure to shave, this was going to be treated like a race. I wasn’t going to leave any seconds behind. LOL So, as I began to run, my mind became cluttered with dismal thoughts about what my results were going to be, what I was gonna do about my race day plan if they were indeed poor, how was I going to justify my time here Boulder if I can’t run when I leave here? It then was countered with, “This is just the beginning John, you can’t expect results in 3 months...besides, don’t forget about project 26.2, it’s gonna take a couple of years. Just use it as a data point and let it motivate you to become an aerobic machine (as G’s says).”

So, what were my expectations? Given my insecurities on the run, I didn’t expect much and prepared myself for the worst. The only partial-run data that I do have and which isn’t much, is the Boulder Res run a few weeks ago. I ran 8:30’s/mile and I figured with my efforts to run that, I would be seeing times in that range, probably a little more close to 9:00/mile. As I ran out the door, Jeff encouraged me to focus on running smooth and keeping it steady. So off I was...

I ran for about 12 minutes in the 130 HR range until I got to the track. I proceeded to run my two "buffering" loops to get my HR steady at 155. Punched my start time and started rolling. The first mile was somewhat difficult and my breathing was somewhat a little labored, but my HR was right at 155. Knowing my background, I knew it would take a mile or so to relax. I began to focus on a few things. My run form, my breathing, and relaxing. For my form, Gordo gave me a few “Running Resets” to think about at the last running clinic. First, chin down, to help shift things up top more forward. Secondly, my arms. Make sure they are in the appropriate position at my side and that I am pulling backwards with my elbows relaxing on the frontward swing of the wrist. In addition, don’t swing across my torso and keep the wrist in the vertical plan. The 2nd lap I began to feel quite a bit more relaxed and more toward that “running sweet spot” that Bobby talks about during run clinic. I will say this is the most focused on the run that I have been in quite some time. To be honest, really as long as I can remember. It brought back some of those track memories and I began to realize that track running wasn’t all that bad. I must have forgotten a little over the past 6 years. It was nice for once to remove many of the external disruptions such as up-hills and down-hills, the pressures of my pals running in front of me or behind me (hold on, I am the caboose on the squad, so just those running in front of me :-)), fatigue, etc. The 3rd lap I finally got into a rhythm and felt very at peace and comfortable running my pace. There were two positive images rummaging in my mind and they oscillated between the pic you see above which is part of G’s article about "The Quest for 2:45" (which you can read by clicking on it)and the other image was Bobby McGee (BM), a reminder to maintain form. Actually, it was BM that made the corrections that you see on G’s running form, it only seemed appropriate.

Having the internal feeling that my first lap was way too fast even though my HR was on, I decided that I would do another mile and use miles 2-4 as the “real” run data. I just didn’t feel right for that mile and it only seemed appropriate to keep it movin’ for one more. So here are the results…..

LAP // TIME // AVG HR
==================
1 // 7:23 // 155
2 // 7:51 // 155
3 // 8:02 // 155
4 // 8:05 // 155

So what does this all mean? Well, first of all, not as bad as I thought, but still quite a bit from my run goal of 3:29:59. I am happy that I did not run in the 9:00 range as I had worried about. Realsitcally, I really needed to be more near the 7:30/min range, so off about :30 secs. Typically when you do a test like this, you add about :30 seconds to your mile time. Your mile time plus :30 is most likely what you can hold on the IM marathon, pending you don’t shell yourself on the bike. I will test one more time before Canada. Realistically, I am not going to gain :30 seconds between now and then, but even if I can 10, I’ll take it. That will put my marathon fitness around 3:40. Much better considering I have never broken 4 hours in IM.

Tuesday will begin our final prep block for IMC. It is very race specific and is going to be a blast. I will be heading home Thursday for a few days for Jen’s birthday, but will continue on the plan there. For me, the only thing that I really will be missing is the Team Time Trial on Thursday. Last time, it was about a 60-mile ride with 3 hard efforts going at your max with the 2nd effort and all out effort to the last man standing. To make it fun for the boys, Gordo has offered up a $5 KOM Bonus preme for the first person to a point decided by him. That $5 is just not $5, it comes along with some bragging rights, so you can imagine the carnage that will be left on the road that day. It probably is an omen that I am not going to be here, last time I saw a HR of 181. For this block, I will need all the HR’s that I can save to finish this block successfully. Needless to say, high end is not my limiter, so instead, I will be home running easy at an aerobic effort, much more beneficial for me.

6 weeks to the day,
J

Taking it easy....

2007-07-09T09:57:00.001-06:00

This is a the last rest stop on the Wiggins ride. (From L to R: Gordo Byrn, Dennis Meeker, Justin Daerr, Brandon Del Campo, Brent Sheldrake, Billy Edwards, myself.)

####

You know you have gone somewhere in Boulder on a bike when one you can: #1- no longer see the mountains or #2 -you have ridden high enough to be above all the mountains. That’s how you know you gone somewhere here in BOCO. On Saturday, we WENT somewhere!!! As you can see, this was what I saw for 150 miles, looked like were were in Kansas.

So this training block is over and it was a success. I completed all my workouts and actually had a great swim this AM. The ride was long, took about 7 hours on Saturday. I then backed it up with a 2.5 hour run on Sunday. As for the ride on Saturday, it made my Sunday easier since I rode within myself. I hung on and made it back with the lads despite becoming the permanent caboose after about 190K. On the flats rolling back, my HR was perfect, but I was having some difficulties keeping it down when climbing the rollers, so it forced me to stay in the back. Bringing up the rear in the last 60K is what allowed me to have a solid run on Sunday, I am sure of it. This is a new concept for me, looking beyond the workout that I am currently doing. I think so often I would thrash myself in a workout and then wonder why I was having a tough time going to the workout from being tired, but more importantly having a good one. Riding a 80-100 mile bike ride with sections that you HR was at 170 is NOT ok. You pay for that, I promise you. This is a key point for me, especially trying to attack this Ironman stuff. Be patient, workout within yourself at YOUR fitness, regardless of anyone elses. All in all, when you mess up, no one else has to pay for it except you. Besides, it is a lot more fun when you aren’t grumpy b/c of the previous workout.

I'll leave you with a few pics. This is what I ate at the last stop. Needless to say, things were probably on there way south. All you gotta do is look at what your fellow riders are eating, I am sure they knew I was getting close to the dog house.

As for Justin, he kept this rice krispy treat in his shorts for the right time....seems to work for him. It is always good to have some humor after about 110 miles on the bike knowing you still have over 40 to get home.

So I'll be resting for the next 7-8 days, unloading from the past two weeks to do it all over again, this time faster.

Tranquillo,
J

So you have probably been wandering where Mat is. Well, Mat unfortunately got hit by a car a little over a week ago. He is doing well, nothing major. He has a nice size bruise on his right hip/butt and a few scrapes from going through the windshield on his forearm. Check out his blog here.

Brent Sheldrake(click on his name for his website) just moved to Boulder not too long ago and trains with us a few times a week. Was a short course guy until he was diagnosed with lymphoma. Talk about a classic guy that has been through it all. A true sportsman at heart.

I'm Le Tired

2007-07-04T19:34:00.000-06:00

I didn’t really have a great pic for this entry, so I put the pic of this funny cartoon. You definitely need to watch it, it is hilarious. Plus, it will then make more sense of my title. It is called End of the World, click here.

####

I am in the middle of this monstrous week and I am as tired as I have been so far here in BOCO. Let me catch you up on what has been going on the past couple days since the Boulder Res run.

On Monday, it was a rest day after the big run and all I did was ride for a bit. On Tuesday, I had a track session in the morning. Plan was to 6 x 800m, descending each one. Let me tell you, this were killers. I haven’t ran this hard since my short college stint doing the 800m in track. I will say, I definitely don’t miss them. So this is how my 800’s panned out...

(time-Avg HR-MaxHR)
1-3:05, 164, 173
2-2:57, 169, 181
3-2:50, 175, 187
4-2:46, 177, 187
5-2:47, 176, 187
6-2:46, 176, 188

The goal was to get near my max HR at the end, which I accomplished. I will say that I was a little disappointed in my times, but I’ll take what I can get. Back in the day, I wasn't fast by collegiate standards, but my fastest time was 1:59. Crazy to think that I used run this 45 seconds faster. Although with my dissappointment, I was quickly reminded by the mates that I shouldn’t be disappointed running a 5:30/mile pace considering I just finished my long run at 8:30/mile pace. Maybe there is an upside...we’ll keep digging.

After the track session in the morning, we went on a 4-hour ride towards Ft. Collins. The ride wasn’t too bad, but I definitely felt the track workout from the morning. I definitely took a nap yesterday and still proceeded to hit the sack early.

Today, we got up to swim at 6AM. Did 3K and then on the road at 8AM for a 6.5-hour ride. I have been waiting for my melt down and today I had it. It was a big climbing day. I am not for sure how much climbing there was, but I would say that we climbed for close 40% of the day, which for me is painful. I am not for sure how long into the ride we were, probably around 3.5-4 hours, but I lost it. It reminded me of Brandon’s tantrum at the Winter Park mini camp we did. You should check out his blog, mine was much the same. At some point as I was looking up at the switchbacks and Jeff was up the road, I completely stopped and got off my bike. I was sure I was done for the day, not only the day, but I was done with triathlon. I was miserable, my legs were killing me and I was wondering why in the heck would I come out here to Boulder to train like this and be so miserable. I was on the verge of putting my thumb out to get me to the top of the climb. Not sure if it really would have mattered, b/c no car would have driven me 30 minutes up the road to top anyway. Well, after a little “come to Jesus” with myself, about 8 oz. of coke, some GORP, and some i-tunes, I was back in the saddle grinding away. It is quite interesting how just a little “self-session” can make a difference. The rest of day was uneventful and I actually finished the last hour of the day with a strong TT home.

All in all, I am pretty tired right now. Legs are pretty tired as I have accumulated over 13 hours so far this week. Massage might be in the near future, there happens to be a massage school here in Boulder and it is only $35/hour.

Tomorrow is a rest day, have 5x1000 in the pool. Friday is a medium day with 1.5 swim, 1.5 bike and hour run. This weekend will be epic as we are doing a 150-mile ride on Saturday to Wiggins and long run on Sunday. Will check back in the next few days.

Hope everyone is doing well. If anyone has any suggestions or anything they would like to hear about, email me at QuadJRanch@aol.com.

One foot in front of the other,
John

Run Goal Check in…

2007-07-02T11:47:00.000-06:00

Well, as you can see in the pic above, my run pacing is right on. ;) As you can see, Tim DeBoom and I were running together at the Boulder Reservoir. And if you didn’t look closely, Tim was grimacing at the blistering pace I was setting as I had a smile on my face...oh and this was the 3rd lap of the 5.25 course around the “res.”

####

……BOOOOOOMMMMM, WHAAAAAMMMMMMM dream, reality check. Yeah right, the pic that I haven't included was about 1 minute later. I think if I would have gotten a pic, he wasn’t actually even in sight. It is interesting how pics tell a thousand words. The Bobby McGee running clinic we do weekly has been great, but I have some much more technique to work on. Just take a gander at the pic. Look at the difference between a true runner at the IM distance and a wann-a-be. Foot strike, drive, arm position, upper body slightly tilted forward, vertical movement of the arms instead of across the body horizontal movement...just to a name few. All of these things are techniques we work on at Bobby’s clinic, but they have been very difficult for me to put in to “play.” I hold quite a bit of running stress in my upper back/lower neck b/c I am not relaxed up top. This can be helped by getting rid of the horizontal/across the body arm motion that I have a bad habit of doing. I remember from time to time, but just not automatic yet. Another thing that happens when I get tired and something you can see in this pic is I “brake” with my heel. My center of gravity shifts backwards, I run more straight up instead of a tad of forward lean, and I loose effective push off for the next foot strike. Now let me say first, this are my interpretations and I may not be totally correct. But I can tell you, my pic confirms a few bad habits. It is always interesting to compare what you think you are doing and what you actually ARE doing. This is also very effective teaching tool in swimming. In any case, I am working on it, we’ll see what I look like later this summer.

So for a check in on my current run pace. My goal is to run 3:29:59. That is an 8:01/mile pace. I did my long run yesterday at the Boulder Reservoir (BR). It is a 5.25 mile loop. The plan was to run no longer than 2 hours with a heart rate cap of 150 since we have had such a large training week. Instead of start at the “res” with the fellas, I chose to run to the “res” and then do two loops. Here are the numbers.

Time Distance(miles) Avg HR Pace(min/mile)
House to BR 42:03 4.75 137 8:51
Lap 1 45:28 5.25 146 8:40
Lap 2 43:19 5.25 152 8:15
Totals 2:10:50 15.25 8:34

So what does this all mean? Well, number one, I am way off pace as of today. Number two, the amount of effort it took to do Lap 2 was quite high. It was difficult and took quite a bit of focus. I was talking to Nick yesterday about my run and I told him I feel like I am about 10K behind pace from where I need to be. If Lap 2 was a Lap 3, I will feel a little more comfortable. That would put me at 21 miles and I think with time, I would be able to "huff" the last 5. The problem is, I am 10 miles out at my current running fitness. To be honest, I am quite worried that I won't get there to drop well over 30 seconds per mile. This might be a goal for the next IM. I think it is just going to take time and consistency over the next year to get the durability necessary to run this strong. Never the less, it is my goal and on race day, I will try and give myself the best shot at being successful. If I don't, no worries, it will roll over to my next IM.

One nice thing that we have near our house is a the Boulder Creek. The creek is a great place to go post-workout and go for a small dip. Not quite as cold as a true ice bath, but close enough.

Resting up,
John

Catchin' Up

2007-06-30T14:35:00.000-06:00

<
The picture above of Jen and I was at the Denver Aquarium in Denver. Outside my family and equally important, she has been as much as a supporter as I could have asked for. I have been lucky to have her come out for the past couple of weeks. Not ready for her to go, but she starts work soon. Heck she has probably had enough of my grumpiness anyways…… j/k :)

#####

Well, let me catch everyone up on the last couple of weeks. Had quite a bit of training and was up in Winter Park for a little altitude training camp 2 weekends ago. We did an IM sim ride to give us a reality check on our current fitness status and race prep.
Winter Park is around 9,000 ft and happen to cross the Continental Divide a few times. The ride was very informative as we were to ride exactly as it would on race day. Something everyone should definitely plan in their training schedules, you can really learn a lot. The ride was 110 miles and I found out that I can take in more calories than I thought previously, only as long as stay within my HR zones. It seems that I can only digest if my HR is under 145’ish, anything else above, it sits in the belly. Then did an hour run after the ride. Well, I would love to say a lot about it, unfortunately, there is nothing to say except…..DEAD! I think I was running over 10 minute miles, perhaps it was the altitude, right?!?!?! Well that will be my excuse.

Jen came into town right after that. Got to run around see Boulder and Denver a little more with her here.
We went to a Colorado Rockies game with Adam, Sara, and Lyndsey, a quick re-group of the the graduated PA's from Wake that are all in Colorado. We went down to Pearl St., which is the “walking” street downtown and quite a bit of entertainment there. The street performances are truly awesome. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was chosen as we were watching one of them to help.
This fella was quite talented, juggling fire, swords, hatchets, etc. I was chosen to come out and help him as used myself and another guys to stand on our arms that were crossed across our chest and then juggle, 1 flaming torch, 1 sword, and 1 hatchet. Yeah, I was a little nervous having all of those deadly objects flying around above me. In any case, he was pretty awesome. We then caught up with this lad called the “Zip Code Man.” Now, this was a site. He created an outline of the United States with a big yellow chain and would ask the crowd to give him your zip code. He would be able to tell you what city you were from and something interesting about it. For instance, if there was a famous statue or something. He then started asking people for zip codes out of the country, anywhere in the world. Jen gave him 27103 and he was able to name W-S.
He was able to tell one person from Germany what city they were from and one guy from Japan. Pretty amazing.

We also got to go and hang at Boulder Creek
which is an awesome water way through town and ride mountain bikes up the steepest paved road here in Boulder. As if things in Boulder aren’t steep, but to climb the steepest paved road is quite a task.
We had hopes of doing a little hiking, but when it takes you about an hour and a half or more to go 3 miles, the plans to hike are quickly dismissed. It was a blast though. Talk about someone who can spin, Jen rocks at it! She was kicking my but up the road, seriously!!!

Yesterday, we went to a fun park and played some putt-putt, go karts, and did a human maze. Talk about feeling like a rat. It was fun and challenging.
I could go on and on about the things we’ve done, but I won’t bore you. I am currently in the 2 biggest training weeks for IM Canada prep. I have almost survived the first week, only have a long run tomorrow until I am done. Will run a trail called Switzerland Trail which is 15 miles, but it is at 8,500 ft. It took me two hours and twenty minutes to do it last time. We’ll see how it goes……should end this week with over 25 hours of training. What I have found here is that the volume is necessarily as high as you would think, but the sessions that we do are very structured. Easy days are still easy days and really almost more important, the harder days just get harder. This is an important concept here to understand. It is easy to bury yourself here.

Day in and day out,
John

The "New" look

2007-06-28T18:00:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone is doing well. I see the TRICOWS are holding up. Per the race results in the series, looks like everyone is doing well. I have been here in Boulder for 21 days now. Let me first say that if you ever get a chance to go and hang in the Boulder area, it is well worth it. The scene here is downright awesome. From the backdrop of the mountains, the limitless amount of running trails, the climbs you can easily get to just a short ride a way and just the general feel and attitude here, it is truly a triathletes dream. The scenery is just spectacular, very difficult to put into words.

I am currently training a little over 20 hours a week. This time will gradually get longer. We are just finishing our first of three blocks. When Gordo asked me what my goals were for IM Canada, I told him that I wanted to run the run. My goal is to run 3:29:59. In doing so, my schedule will have me consistently running 6-7days/week. By accident, I have swam almost everyday here. I have only missed one day since I have been here. Talking with the other lads on the team and G, the plan is to make me a swimmer and in G”s words, “convince me not to use it.” This will help me conserve energy for the run. I am currently swimming 20,000 plus meters a week with one set a week over 5K. As for the bike, I haven’t been riding as much as I thought I would be, but I think that will come. What I have found so far is that resting has been the key ingredient to all of this. I have been quite tired but things are starting to come around. I ran 20+ miles yesterday and my recovery from the run has been pretty quick. The volume so far has been tolerable.

In addition to the volume of running, we are also participating in a run camp once a week with Bobby McGee (www.bobbymcgee.com) who is an internationally recognized run coach as one of the best in the sport. These 1.5 hour sessions every week are vital. He is the type of guy that can make you faster on your current fitness through form. Totally awesome guy and so much to learn from.

I’ll leave you with my latest adventure.....my haircut.

Just another day....

2007-06-28T17:40:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning as usual at 5:30A to get some breakfast and coffee. Hit the road at 7:00A for my usual hour or so run. I have been running this route, which is called the “Frank Shorter Route.” Jeff calls it this b/c of the statue at the half-way point. It is a nice and flat run that runs along Boulder Creak with some trails.
It is a great benchmark run as I am acclimatizing. So the ritual is, to run to the Frank Shorter statue, give it a fist bump, and head back.
He is the half way point. The nostalgia behind this run and the fist bump is Frank Shorter won gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Olympics and took 2nd in the ’76 Olympics. He not only was the marathon champion, but also a 10K national champion, which is quite impressive considering the distances are very different. He is one of the most decorated runners of all time. For me, I need all the help I can get, so good ole Frank gets the “bump” every time.

Today was the first time I swam with the group. Our coach is Jane Scott, who is Dave Scott’s sister. For those who don’t know who Dave Scott is, short and simple, he won IM Hawaii six times and was the first inductee into the Ironman Hall of Fame. He nickname is the “The Man” and he is and IM legend. So back to Jane. As they say, the fruit doesn’t fall from the tree, and it is true. Much like her brothers work ethic, she works us in the pool. Long story short, I swam 5,200 meters, the 2nd longest I have ever swam in a set, but by far the hardest swim I have ever done. To put things in perspective, I typically swam 3-5 days a week and at most 3,000m in a day. The fellas say that we at least swim 5,000m once a week. I have never been so beat in my life.

After a large rest period, Jeff and I headed out on an easy 30 mile ride to finish up the day. On our way out on the ride, we happen to converge with some pro cyclist from the Navigator Squad.
One of the cool things here in Boulder is the amount of world class athletes. I guess it never gets old, I am always start struck every time. I guess its the kid in me!

I took a picture of this sign b/c I thought it was interesting, I wish we had these signs up in W-S, especially the bottom part.

Well, that’s about it for today. Feeling much better everyday with the altitude. Won’t probably be doing any big workouts for a few more days. When those start are when the stories come. My last pic is of the award that Gordo won at Ironman Brazil...SAHHHH-WEET!!

Keepin it moving,
J

Progress

2007-06-28T17:31:00.000-06:00

The pic above is of Jeff and I at the top of our run at Chautauqua Park. Quite an awesome trail
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“You can only work with what you have been given. If you are progressing, then you should be happy. The only time that you are unhappy is when you are comparing yourself to someone else.”

This quote is from Justin Daerr. Very smart guy with a lot of insight. I was talking to him about my running and how I unsatisfied I was with it and that I never seemed to get better. This was his quote to me. Basically if we are progressing forward, then we should always be satisfied with that. It is only when we go backwards that we should “raise a brow.” Our unsatisfied feeling comes when we compare ourselves to others. In any case, just thought I would share because I think it can apply in all facets of life, not just running or training.

Well, the past couple of days have definitely gone a lot better with altitude. I still continue to struggle with the run, but the swim and bike are definitely improving. I think my run is a two-fold problem, one we are at altitude, but it is compounded by the fact that I came here in poor running shape. I will be doing a benchmark running test soon to see where I am at and then will do it again a few weeks later to see how much I have improved.

If you are interested in what I am doing day to day, I am logging my workouts on www.athleticcore.com. You have to create a logon, but once you do, you can click on my name to the left and it should bring up my calendar. In any case, I have sort of funny story. I guess it is not necessarily a story, but just a quick lesson about the ways of the people here in Boulder. I was out on an easy ride for about an hour and half. I was keeping my heart low, just kind of spinning. About 20 miles into the ride, I see a rider up the way, but not much to think of it. Eventually, I catch up to him cruising along and pass him pretty briskly. About 5 minutes later, I had this funny feeling that someone was behind me. So I turned around and it was this older fella riding on my wheel. He pulls up next to me, breathing pretty hard, and we have a short conversation of 30 seconds and he pulls back behind me. Now mind you, when I went by this guy, I was going quite a bit faster, so for him to catch up took some work for him. Well, not thinking much of it, cruising along there was another fella up the road. I roll by him much like the first guy and the same situation occurred. I went by him with my new buddy in tow and before I knew, I had two new friends. That guy road up next to me, “Nice bike, blah blah blah,” and then back to the back. The story really ends here, but I guess what was quite comical to me was people here in Boulder are quite competitive....at all ages. These guys were about to cough up a lung riding in tow and I am not for sure why, but hey, it gave me a good laugh for ride. I told the story to Gordo and Monica (G’s wife) and they chuckled. G said, “You think that is funny, try being a girl riding by, they would almost die before they would let that happen.”

Well, that is all I have for now. Tomorrow we are heading out to a place called Carter Lake, should be about an 4 hour ride.

Hope everyone is doing well and good luck to those fellow classmates that haven’t taken PANCE and a congrats to those that have finished.

Until next time,
J

"Cast Members"

2007-06-28T15:36:00.000-06:00

The following are the team members and their links if they have one. Check out their blogs, they are pretty insightful. These are the guys that we mostly train with. As Justin likes to call us, Here is "Team Good Guys."

Gordo Byrn - aka "G"
http://www.gordoworld.com/

Justin Daerr - aka "JD"
http://www.justindaerr.com/

Brandon Del Campo - aka "BDC"
http://www.brandondelcampo.com/

Dennis Meeker- aka "Denny"
Dennis doesn't have a blog to my knowledge. To give you a little insight to his strength, he won the 5430 Iron distance race here in Boulder back in 2001 going 9:14:48. Since then, he has posted some impressive results going top 15 in Ironman Wisconsin and Coeur d'Alene. He can ride a bike like a V12.

Billy Edwards -
Billy doesn't have a blog or website neigther. So here is a little about him. He is a Marine Billy had a PR at IM Coeur d'Alene this past weekend along with his first top 10 finish as a pro going 09:16:09. SOLID!!! He was also has been top 20 at IM Arizona.
NO PIC OF BILLY YET!

Jeff Shilt - aka my brother.
http://mdotdoc.blogspot.com/

Mat Steinmetz -
http://msteinmetz.blogspot.com/

Keepin' it rollin',
John

Rollin' to Boulder (BOCO)

2007-06-27T18:54:00.000-06:00

The next few post are catching up on the new site.
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Well, my friends, arriving to Boulder has been great so far. The scenery is spectacular, difficult to put into words. So here goes my first update, hopefully I will send more as the time passes.

The trip to Boulder was long. Adam and I drove 17 hours to KC and then stayed at my brothers house for a few hours, some dinner, and then back on the road again for 10 hours. While in KC, got to meet up with one of my long time friends, Courtney. She is like a sister to me.
In any case, we arrived safely. Let me tell you, Adam is an uber-driver. I think out of the whole trip, I drove for like 2 hours. He drove the rest!! We arrived on a Thursday morning, slept a little at Sara's(Adam's GF) and her sister was home from work. Well, did we get lucky. She just happens to be a chef on a yacht, so that means she can cook.....and she did. After some awesome lunch and dinner, I made it to Boulder that evening to Gordo's house.

My first day of training was on Friday. WOW!!! Thats all I have to say. I went out for an hour run easy pace. Gordo has put a limit on my HR for the first 2 weeks. I started out on flat terrain running ridiculously slow thanks to the altitude. I made it to a park and ran on a pathway, that was freakin awesome. Nothing like running up into the mountains next to a running stream. I guess that is one nice perk of running slow, you get to enjoy the scenery. I will say, I am in for a good couple of weeks on the run. Just to give you perspective, a 2 hour nap followed that run.

I wanted to ride later that afternoon, so Gordo sent me out on a "flat" 2 hour ride. It truly was flat, but I must say once again, altitude definitely is real. We are at 5,430 ft here in Boulder. I think we are like 950 ft in W-S. About an hour and thirty minutes into the ride, I was gasping for air and this was supposed to be an easy ride. Finally made it back and was pretty tired.

On to today(Sat). G made the schedule for today and it was pretty tame for the most part, but for us who just arrived, it would be a good/challenging day. Another guy Mat just moved here from Indiana and is working for Gordo. So the plan was that Mat and I workout today together since we are both just arriving and would be training rather slowly.

Morning started with an 1:30 swim. Swam pretty well and with another fella named Justin Daerr. He is an up and coming guy, I expect to hear his name on the top of podiums in a couple of years. We then were to leave about an hour later on a 3 hour ride with a 16 mile climb up to Ward. Holy SHIT!!! Ward is at 9,200 ft, did I mention I just arrived and 5,430 ft was kicking my ass. After about 1:30 of climbing up, we made it to the general store and hammered the way back down to finish with a "3 hour intro ride," as G put it. Ate a snack and ended the day with a 30 minute SLOW run.

This "trip" is gonna be a blast. It is going to be a great opportunity to learn from the best in the sport. Already have learned a ton just listening to G and Justin so far. Attached are a few pic from the trip. The horizon pics are driving through Kansas.

Hope everyone is doing well. Until next time,

John

Givin' Boulder a TRI.....

2007-06-27T18:12:00.000-06:00

I have been "playing" around in triathlons for about 6 years now. It all started when I was 19 and living with my brother Jeff in Nashville. He coerced me into running, almost literally starting with a mile. His ability to convince me to run to this day is still a mystery. We had some melt downs that summer running, but by the end, I ran my first 5K. At the same time, we started swimming at the local pool. Those were the days when 25 meters was breath taking. He gave me my first bike, a Fuji, and the rest is history. 5 Ironman's later, I was once again given the opportunity by my brother to move with him and his family for a few months to Boulder to train. I just graduated from the Physician Assistant program at Wake Forest University, but I guess that will be on hold temporally. In the meantime, I will try to keep track of this journey, not only about Ironman, but the little life lessons from those around me.

Livin' the Dream,
John

P.S. The pic above is of my mother and I, one of my best friends/supporter/biggest believer in me.