Final Prep and Run Test

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
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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....

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.)

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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

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.

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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…

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.”

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……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

<
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 :)

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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

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....

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