Tuesday, June 09, 2009
A new beginning
After IMC, things went bad in a hurry. I didn't understand it for a while but I fell into a depression and managed to add like 40 pounds in 6 months (didn't know that was possible). Since then I have taken off about 30 of the pounds and improved my diet significantly, gotten married, and started work on my certification as a personal trainer.
What I have not done is train. I haven't been in the water since Canada and have logged maybe 200 miles on the bike and 20 miles of running (which amounts to nothing over 2 years).
There were lots of false starts on training but there were always distractions (and by distractions I mean excuses) that kept me from following through. That is very confusing to me because I actually like training (well, not swimming but the rest) and can't figure out why I can't get any traction. i think my problem is the scope. I am so used to thinking like someone training for Ironman that I can't seem to get comfortable with a schedule of 3 hours a week of training (which is where I should be starting after all of this time off).
Anyway, this blog is now going to be my honest sounding board for how I am doing and how i am feeling. When I cheat on my nutrition plan then it will be here and when I bail on my training plan then I confess it here. My wife says that I need to be less hard on myself and give myself more room for misses (and she is smarter then me and has a PhD is Psych) but I feel that knowing that I have to write down my misses will help me to stay true to my gaols. If that doesn't work then I will revisit the plan later but lets see how it goes.
What I have not done is train. I haven't been in the water since Canada and have logged maybe 200 miles on the bike and 20 miles of running (which amounts to nothing over 2 years).
There were lots of false starts on training but there were always distractions (and by distractions I mean excuses) that kept me from following through. That is very confusing to me because I actually like training (well, not swimming but the rest) and can't figure out why I can't get any traction. i think my problem is the scope. I am so used to thinking like someone training for Ironman that I can't seem to get comfortable with a schedule of 3 hours a week of training (which is where I should be starting after all of this time off).
Anyway, this blog is now going to be my honest sounding board for how I am doing and how i am feeling. When I cheat on my nutrition plan then it will be here and when I bail on my training plan then I confess it here. My wife says that I need to be less hard on myself and give myself more room for misses (and she is smarter then me and has a PhD is Psych) but I feel that knowing that I have to write down my misses will help me to stay true to my gaols. If that doesn't work then I will revisit the plan later but lets see how it goes.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Update!!!
So I have finally digested the season and all of its good and bad points... I think.
My plans for this year:
1) I am applying to be a Mentor for the TNT Winter tri season. That would mean a trip to Kona in April for Lavaman in addition to helping a bunch of first time triathletes experience this wonderful sport of ours. The competition for these mentor spots is very tough so I will be sure to let you know how that goes.
2) Wildflower Long course. I don't actually want to do this race this year but after dropping out on the olympic distance swim 2 years ago and missing the bike cut last year, I feel I have unfinished business there.
3) Mid summer I hope to do the Aids Lifecycle, a 7 day, roughly 540 mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. 7 long days in the saddle can only help my cycling and if i can squeeze off some running in between legs then that would be wonderful tri training.
4) We'll see how the season goes, but I am currently sitting on a Canada slot for 2008. Who knows where I will be in 11 months but i learned a lot this year and who knows how i will feel next August. Maybe another try at Canada next year is in the cards :-)
My plans for this year:
1) I am applying to be a Mentor for the TNT Winter tri season. That would mean a trip to Kona in April for Lavaman in addition to helping a bunch of first time triathletes experience this wonderful sport of ours. The competition for these mentor spots is very tough so I will be sure to let you know how that goes.
2) Wildflower Long course. I don't actually want to do this race this year but after dropping out on the olympic distance swim 2 years ago and missing the bike cut last year, I feel I have unfinished business there.
3) Mid summer I hope to do the Aids Lifecycle, a 7 day, roughly 540 mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. 7 long days in the saddle can only help my cycling and if i can squeeze off some running in between legs then that would be wonderful tri training.
4) We'll see how the season goes, but I am currently sitting on a Canada slot for 2008. Who knows where I will be in 11 months but i learned a lot this year and who knows how i will feel next August. Maybe another try at Canada next year is in the cards :-)
Monday, September 03, 2007
My Ironman Experience
Canada was a wonderful experience as was Ironteam. I started the season with huge and seemingly unattainable goals and I achieved almost all of them. I achieved all of them except actually crossing the finish line in Canada. Naturally I was disappointed to not finish the race but I managed to keep a pretty good attitude about everything. Well, maybe not right at the moment, but shortly afterwards.
For those of you who don’t know me or know my history, it wasn’t all that long ago that I was just short of 300 lbs and couldn’t even conceive of running a whole mile. The journey for me this season was not just a 10 month journey to Canada and an Ironman finish but another year in a longer journey from who I was to a healthier and happier me. This journey was never going to end in Canada and I think that is why I handled my disappointment in Canada so well. Every year I am healthier and stronger and there will be many more chances to earn my Ironman title before my journey is complete. I learned so much this year about my body, fitness, and what works and does not work for me in training. I also learned a lot by watching my teammates complete their Iron journeys last week. I was so inspired by there courage to face the screaming winds and cold temps to push through the accumulated pain of over 140 miles of swimming, biking, and running to cross the line and claim their Ironman medals.
Add to that the teams fundraising success of over $600,000 and the close relationships formed with my team and it is hard to walk away from Canada with anything less then a positive feeling. Besides, Canada will still be there when I come back J
Thanks to my team, coaches, friends, and family for all of your support and sacrifice this year. Without you, the journey would never have happened!
For those of you who don’t know me or know my history, it wasn’t all that long ago that I was just short of 300 lbs and couldn’t even conceive of running a whole mile. The journey for me this season was not just a 10 month journey to Canada and an Ironman finish but another year in a longer journey from who I was to a healthier and happier me. This journey was never going to end in Canada and I think that is why I handled my disappointment in Canada so well. Every year I am healthier and stronger and there will be many more chances to earn my Ironman title before my journey is complete. I learned so much this year about my body, fitness, and what works and does not work for me in training. I also learned a lot by watching my teammates complete their Iron journeys last week. I was so inspired by there courage to face the screaming winds and cold temps to push through the accumulated pain of over 140 miles of swimming, biking, and running to cross the line and claim their Ironman medals.
Add to that the teams fundraising success of over $600,000 and the close relationships formed with my team and it is hard to walk away from Canada with anything less then a positive feeling. Besides, Canada will still be there when I come back J
Thanks to my team, coaches, friends, and family for all of your support and sacrifice this year. Without you, the journey would never have happened!
Friday, August 24, 2007
OMG I'm here!
I am actually in Penticton! I swam in Lake Okanagan today! There is no escaping it because it is actuallyhere!
Surprisingly, I am quite calm about it. I think a lot of my nerves were based on teh anticipation. Now that it is here, I am a lot calmer and feel more prepared.
With any luck, 36 hours from now I will be in T1 celebrating a fabulous swim :-)
Surprisingly, I am quite calm about it. I think a lot of my nerves were based on teh anticipation. Now that it is here, I am a lot calmer and feel more prepared.
With any luck, 36 hours from now I will be in T1 celebrating a fabulous swim :-)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Race Plan
Here it is!!!! How I plan to not only survive Ironman Canada but finish in less then 17 hours :-)
Swim: Goal 2 Hours
My swimming has improved a lot this year and I am confident that I will make the time cut. I am still not a good swimmer so 2 hours seems like the what I should be looking at for a finish time.
Start the swim near the back of the pack to keep the wrestling to a minimum and try to push the pace early. This is sort of a gamble as I usually struggle in the water for the first 20 minutes or so until i get warmed up, but I am hoping to ride the draft of the massive group start for a while. The hope is that if i can push a little bit at the start they will drag me through the first .5 miles fast. Then I can settle in and just maintain through. If I can get a good draft to start, I might be able to finish in 1:45 or 1:50 which would be a huge mental victory. For some reason, the extra 10-20 minutes that would buy for my bike cutoff seems huge to me. If I can get on the bike by 9AM I am very confident that I can make the 5:30 cutoff and that is why I am willing to gamble a bit on the swim start.
T1: I would love to say 5 minutes but I plan on putting on Bike shorts here. Riding for 8-8.5 hours in tri shorts just sounds needlessly painful. Add to that the disorientation coming out of the water and i am assuming 12-15 minutes in T1
Bike: Goal 8 Hours
8 hours just feels like a tight limit for me on this course but when you work out the math it should be easy to make it. We'll just have to see how it works out but here is the plan.
The course description I found online suggest that the first 40 miles or so are mostly flat with a few rollers, one quick climb and a tail wind. This is the tricky part because I am walking the balance between saving energy for later in the day and putting in some quick miles to buffer against any issues I have later in the ride. Depending on the wind and terrain, i am looking to do 16-18 mph here sustained. Hard pace for me but sustainable. When i get to Richter, I just need to watch my cadence and conserve my way to the top. I will lose time here but I just need to stay steady. Its hard to guess a pace without a good feel for the grade of the climb. Then I just bomb down the back side as fast as I can ride comfortably. I need to take advantage of the downhills as much as possible with out risking a bad fall.
Now the course is described a long stretch of flat rollers and a strong head wind (I hate headwinds). This will be where all of that time spent getting comfortable in my Aerobars will really pay off. The goal here is to maintain around 15 mph but that is very weather dependant. The ride down the out and back to the special needs tent is apparently down hill and with a tailwind. This is approaching the 80 mile mark of the ride and from experience, I will be starting to feel the miles at this point so a nice downhill ride will be nice. Off the bike for a quick restroom break and top off my supplies at the special needs tent and then right back out. Hopefully the break will help me ride back up the out and back which has been described as an "uphill wind tunnel".
Back on the main road, I need to build back up some momentum after the long climb up from special needs. I need to buffer some time before I get to the climb at Yellow lake. I just have to drop in and grind out the long climb up which is described as not very steep but long. This will very likely suck as we are nearing the 100 mile point of the ride. Must remember how close i am to the top and then there is just the long fast descent to the finish to keep me moving through this. When I reach the top, it is only about 30 minutes to transition give or take and I should be able to relax and recover a bit on the descent to rest for the run (unless it is around 5 and then I need to push down the hill to make the time cut).
T2: Hopefully the easy descent into transition will help me get through T2 quickly. I need to change into my running shorts but hopefully, i can be out the door and on the run in less then 10 minutes.
Run: goal 6:30
I usually feel like crap coming off of the bike but i am usually fast coming off of the bike. We'll see how that goes on race day :-) My run plan involves breaking the race up into 4-10 km pieces (I know there are still a leftover 2.2 km but we are ignoring that for now). The first 10k I just need to get through like brick workout. Shooting for a 13.5-14 minute pace here. The 2nd 10k should be a little more comfortable and i hope to maintain closer to a 13.5 minute pace. If I am successful at this then i will be reaching the 1/2 point at around the 3 hour mark and would have about 3.5 hours+ left to finish. Very achievable. The 3rd 10k will definitely suck. I will be tired and it will be dark and i will likely feel like death is not such a bad option (based upon my feelings during the triple brick). My goal for this section is to do a lot of walking with a purpose and to try to maintain a 16.5 minute average pace here (about 1:50 to the 3/4 mark, leaving me with just over 90 minutes do the last 6.6 miles. That will of course be just pushing through to the finish, driven by the clock to run more then I really want to run. The worst part is that, just like Nike marathon in SF, the end of the run has your run basically to the finish line and then turn the other way and run away from the finish for a short out and back. That is just cruel. To be close enough to see and here the finish but then having to run away from it... they couldn't have found another out and back to add distance to?
Anyway, if the race goes that way, i will finish before midnight and there will be much rejoicing :-)
Swim: Goal 2 Hours
My swimming has improved a lot this year and I am confident that I will make the time cut. I am still not a good swimmer so 2 hours seems like the what I should be looking at for a finish time.
Start the swim near the back of the pack to keep the wrestling to a minimum and try to push the pace early. This is sort of a gamble as I usually struggle in the water for the first 20 minutes or so until i get warmed up, but I am hoping to ride the draft of the massive group start for a while. The hope is that if i can push a little bit at the start they will drag me through the first .5 miles fast. Then I can settle in and just maintain through. If I can get a good draft to start, I might be able to finish in 1:45 or 1:50 which would be a huge mental victory. For some reason, the extra 10-20 minutes that would buy for my bike cutoff seems huge to me. If I can get on the bike by 9AM I am very confident that I can make the 5:30 cutoff and that is why I am willing to gamble a bit on the swim start.
T1: I would love to say 5 minutes but I plan on putting on Bike shorts here. Riding for 8-8.5 hours in tri shorts just sounds needlessly painful. Add to that the disorientation coming out of the water and i am assuming 12-15 minutes in T1
Bike: Goal 8 Hours
8 hours just feels like a tight limit for me on this course but when you work out the math it should be easy to make it. We'll just have to see how it works out but here is the plan.
The course description I found online suggest that the first 40 miles or so are mostly flat with a few rollers, one quick climb and a tail wind. This is the tricky part because I am walking the balance between saving energy for later in the day and putting in some quick miles to buffer against any issues I have later in the ride. Depending on the wind and terrain, i am looking to do 16-18 mph here sustained. Hard pace for me but sustainable. When i get to Richter, I just need to watch my cadence and conserve my way to the top. I will lose time here but I just need to stay steady. Its hard to guess a pace without a good feel for the grade of the climb. Then I just bomb down the back side as fast as I can ride comfortably. I need to take advantage of the downhills as much as possible with out risking a bad fall.
Now the course is described a long stretch of flat rollers and a strong head wind (I hate headwinds). This will be where all of that time spent getting comfortable in my Aerobars will really pay off. The goal here is to maintain around 15 mph but that is very weather dependant. The ride down the out and back to the special needs tent is apparently down hill and with a tailwind. This is approaching the 80 mile mark of the ride and from experience, I will be starting to feel the miles at this point so a nice downhill ride will be nice. Off the bike for a quick restroom break and top off my supplies at the special needs tent and then right back out. Hopefully the break will help me ride back up the out and back which has been described as an "uphill wind tunnel".
Back on the main road, I need to build back up some momentum after the long climb up from special needs. I need to buffer some time before I get to the climb at Yellow lake. I just have to drop in and grind out the long climb up which is described as not very steep but long. This will very likely suck as we are nearing the 100 mile point of the ride. Must remember how close i am to the top and then there is just the long fast descent to the finish to keep me moving through this. When I reach the top, it is only about 30 minutes to transition give or take and I should be able to relax and recover a bit on the descent to rest for the run (unless it is around 5 and then I need to push down the hill to make the time cut).
T2: Hopefully the easy descent into transition will help me get through T2 quickly. I need to change into my running shorts but hopefully, i can be out the door and on the run in less then 10 minutes.
Run: goal 6:30
I usually feel like crap coming off of the bike but i am usually fast coming off of the bike. We'll see how that goes on race day :-) My run plan involves breaking the race up into 4-10 km pieces (I know there are still a leftover 2.2 km but we are ignoring that for now). The first 10k I just need to get through like brick workout. Shooting for a 13.5-14 minute pace here. The 2nd 10k should be a little more comfortable and i hope to maintain closer to a 13.5 minute pace. If I am successful at this then i will be reaching the 1/2 point at around the 3 hour mark and would have about 3.5 hours+ left to finish. Very achievable. The 3rd 10k will definitely suck. I will be tired and it will be dark and i will likely feel like death is not such a bad option (based upon my feelings during the triple brick). My goal for this section is to do a lot of walking with a purpose and to try to maintain a 16.5 minute average pace here (about 1:50 to the 3/4 mark, leaving me with just over 90 minutes do the last 6.6 miles. That will of course be just pushing through to the finish, driven by the clock to run more then I really want to run. The worst part is that, just like Nike marathon in SF, the end of the run has your run basically to the finish line and then turn the other way and run away from the finish for a short out and back. That is just cruel. To be close enough to see and here the finish but then having to run away from it... they couldn't have found another out and back to add distance to?
Anyway, if the race goes that way, i will finish before midnight and there will be much rejoicing :-)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Confessions from a man on the verge...
I haven’t written anything here in ages and there is a reason for that. I have been in denial. There was no way to write a blog entry without facing the fact that the race is right on top of me and facing what that means, but the question is, what does that mean?
It means that I am a mess. I haven’t been able to sleep through the night in a week (so I am a zombie now), my eating schedule is all screwed up (either starving or no appetite), and I am terrified of this race. I put on the happy face and tell everyone that I am ready but to be honest I have never felt like this before a race. I have been under trained before and I’ve been unprepared before but even when I couldn’t swim I was never this nervous pre-race. The odd thing is that I don’t know why I am scared. I have my race plan and I have done all of the visualization exercises to prep for the race. Finishing the race is something that I really think I can do and even if the worse case happens and I don’t finish, I really think that I can be satisfied with all of the progress I have made this year -I improved my swim PR in the Olympic Tri from 2 hours to 56 minutes, I’ve done my first 100+ mile bike rides, I’ve learned to use my Aerobars, and I no longer fear open water swimming at all.
What is the absolute worst thing that can happen? Well I guess I could be attacked a pack of wild dogs while on the bike, but barring that the worst thing that can happen is that I don’t finish. While that would suck, it would not be the first time that I failed to finish a race, so what’s the big deal?!?!
I don’t know but I really think it is the anticipation... the waiting and dreading. I really think that once I am there and the waiting is over I will feel better but until then... I guess I will just focus on the advice that I got from Tri-Geek Kahuna's blog "enjoy the hell out of the experience, enjoy the hell out of the day. It's your day. You are the star. Enjoy"
It means that I am a mess. I haven’t been able to sleep through the night in a week (so I am a zombie now), my eating schedule is all screwed up (either starving or no appetite), and I am terrified of this race. I put on the happy face and tell everyone that I am ready but to be honest I have never felt like this before a race. I have been under trained before and I’ve been unprepared before but even when I couldn’t swim I was never this nervous pre-race. The odd thing is that I don’t know why I am scared. I have my race plan and I have done all of the visualization exercises to prep for the race. Finishing the race is something that I really think I can do and even if the worse case happens and I don’t finish, I really think that I can be satisfied with all of the progress I have made this year -I improved my swim PR in the Olympic Tri from 2 hours to 56 minutes, I’ve done my first 100+ mile bike rides, I’ve learned to use my Aerobars, and I no longer fear open water swimming at all.
What is the absolute worst thing that can happen? Well I guess I could be attacked a pack of wild dogs while on the bike, but barring that the worst thing that can happen is that I don’t finish. While that would suck, it would not be the first time that I failed to finish a race, so what’s the big deal?!?!
I don’t know but I really think it is the anticipation... the waiting and dreading. I really think that once I am there and the waiting is over I will feel better but until then... I guess I will just focus on the advice that I got from Tri-Geek Kahuna's blog "enjoy the hell out of the experience, enjoy the hell out of the day. It's your day. You are the star. Enjoy"
Monday, July 09, 2007
Aero Bars are COOL!!!! (supposed to be in the title but for some reason I can't type up there)
I've had them on my bike for over a year but never really felt very comfortable using them so I never did use them. Now I am feeling like my Pilate's is really helping my core strength and flexibility and my bike fit is better tuned so I started dropping down into my aero more often and who knew just how much faster that made you? Now i know why everyone uses them :-)
Still a bit of a struggle getting in and out of them but that is just a lack of handling skills and i will get over that someday, but i feel fast and comfortable in them. I need to develop a feel for what climbs and descents are too steep for me to be in them but it is another boost to my confidence about my race! If only it wasn't 7 weeks away!
I've had them on my bike for over a year but never really felt very comfortable using them so I never did use them. Now I am feeling like my Pilate's is really helping my core strength and flexibility and my bike fit is better tuned so I started dropping down into my aero more often and who knew just how much faster that made you? Now i know why everyone uses them :-)
Still a bit of a struggle getting in and out of them but that is just a lack of handling skills and i will get over that someday, but i feel fast and comfortable in them. I need to develop a feel for what climbs and descents are too steep for me to be in them but it is another boost to my confidence about my race! If only it wasn't 7 weeks away!
