Endurance Corner Camp & "Bronzin' " in the dirty "T"

So my plan of writing a daily blog was kiboshed from day one. After 5.5 hours of training the first day, I was in bed by 7:30PM!! I flew into Tucson, late Friday PM and got to bed by midnight. I tried to sleep in, but my typical 4:30 internal clock tends to get in the way, but I managed to get a little extra sleep and was up at 6:15. I laid there and did actually get back to sleep until 7:45. First workout was a ride with Chris and we rolled out a bit after 9AM. 4 hours was on the docket and we ended up with 3:45. (I guess that is what happens when you ride with a sub 4:30 Ironman bike split)
This is the norm here in Tucson, there are alot of open ranges

I have to say, after being on the trainer all winter, man it was a treat to be out on the road. For some reason, I had better power numbers on the road that I have had all winter on the trainer. Now this could be from a number of things, rested, excited to be outside, or riding with the "big man." All in all, it was a good ride and ended up the back side of Gates Pass (GP). If you haven't ridden GP, it is fairly short climb, about 10 mins, but man does it kick up at the end.

The beginning of Gates Pass

So the "REAL" reason I came to Tucson is to get a good tan. I mean, heck, there isn't much better of place to get to train and have awesome weather. Just kidding, but really, I am working on it. I forgot to put some suntan lotion on before the ride and this is what I got. I guess I need to work on those lines throughout the week.

After the ride, Chris and I headed out for a nice little 40 min jog. Shortly after, Marilyn, Chris and I headed to the University of Arizona pool for an hour session. Needless to say, it was a pull bouy and paddles day. My legs to say the least weren't cooperating. Its been a long time since I have had my legs cramp kicking off the wall. That being said, it is hands down one of the best pools I have swam in.

Dinner shortly followed and then an early bedtime. One thing here in Tucson that you notice right away is how dry it is. My throat and lungs were burning by days end of the workouts. The other thing, is you can get dehydrated quickly. My lips are a feeling quite chapped.

Day 1 Totals
Bike: 3:45
Run: :40
Swim: :60
Total: 5:25

Today wasn't much different. This time Marilyn and I rolled out for 2:15 ride. However, this time I learnt my lesson and applied the "red head" sun block...SPF 55!!!

Once again, we ended up the back side of GP and.... IT DIDN't GET ANY EASIER!!! After a short break, I ran down to Jeff's hotel and Gordo, Jeff and I took off for a 45 min stroll on the river path. Keeping the theme of "Bronzin'," I of course ran in just shorts, I'm gonna have that tan evened out before I leave!!! At the last minute, G, Jeff and I eneded up swimming 2K in the hotel pool which happen to be 25m long, a nice little treat.

As a part of the training week, I will be help with the Endurance Corner training camp that Gordo and Justin Daerr put on. We had dinner this evening with all the campers. As always with triathlon, one of the reason it is such a great sport is all the people you get to meet from across the country, camp will be no different. There are athletes from coast to coast, all different abilities, all different backgrounds, coalesced in the dirty "T" for one week of training. Its gonna be a fun week.

Day 2 Totals
Bike: 2:15
Run: :45
Swim: :30
Total: 3:30
Tomorrow, camp starts off with a 1000 meter time trial in the pool, followed by a run and then a couple hour ride with a 5 mile all out effort time trial again.

Livin' the dream!
Crazy J

Tucson Training Camp

It's that time of year when fitness is beginning to peak its little rearing head out and inside training sessions begin to get a little old. For me in Boise, going outside for a ride at this time really isn’t an option in my “playbook.” The trick for me during this part of the year is increasing my riding consistency as opposed to my ride single session volume. Consistent riding isn’t necessarily a choice because the sad truth is that I just can’t sit my arse on the saddle in front of the TV for more than about 2.5 hours at any one time. So my early season fitness is dependent on getting consistent training sessions on the bike 4-5 days per week between 1.5-2.5 hours per session.

However, this year I am heading to Tucson for a week to play in the sun. I haven’t done many big training camps as a triathlete over the past 11 years, so I am looking forward to this time. My first big training camp that I ever attended was Epic Camp with Gordo Byrn and Scott Molina in Australia, that was in 2005. That camp was defined by ignorance…..ignorance in the sense that I just really didn’t know how much one could train, but I found out afterwards the body has the ability to train a lot, more than you think. I don’t remember the numbers exactly, but I think we in the range of 45 hrs in a week, it could have been more. It was pretty crazy, nearly excessive, but I learned a lot…..a lot about BONKING and a lot about recovery!!!! Oh and that drink in a red aluminum can called Coke. I had never trained with coke, nor caffeine for that matter. I learned the benefits during that camp. I’ll have to save that story for another time. Molina introduced me to Coke on a training ride one day and man was that a funny day. But in any case, I don’t think I will be hitting those volume numbers this week and I hope that I won’t be bonking as much neither.

My second camp was in 2007 and my brother and I headed to Tucson with some buddies. This was the last “bigger” camp that did. We definitely had a much more moderate schedule, but never less good in terms of boosting fitness. As I head back to Tucson in 2012, I am excited to get back to living like a “pro” for a week. With Oceanside 70.3 in 5 weeks, it was almost a necessity so that I could get some road riding in. This weeks camp maybe the only rode riding I will get in prior to the race, so I’ll be taking advantage of it. I’ll be posting through out the week, it should be a good time.

Did I mention the weather is supposed to be in mid 70’s the whole week. Stoked!!

Livin’ the dream,
Crazy J

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

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

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

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

"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

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