Christmas Eve Testing

I am quite the scrooge. I told my kids there is no Santa Claus, (the parents of my children’s friends just love me for that one), I don’t buy anybody but my wife and parents presents, and I am annoyed that the pool is closed Christmas Day. So to be true to my scrooge nature I decided to spend Christmas Eve doing some swim and bike testing to see where I am at. My swim speed and bike power have gotten better so I wanted to test exactly how much better.

At Masters I did a 1000 yard time trial in 14:46. That is the fastest I have ever done 1000 yards, but about 10 seconds slower than what I expected. I am lucky to have some great friends who have helped me to get my form better over the last few months. I need to cut another 3 seconds off per hundred before St George. If I can do that I should be able to do the swim in about an hour. I finished my swim with around 3500 yards on the day.

I ate a lot of food and waited about two hours and then I got on my bike. I did a 5 hour bike ride. I warmed up for a half an hour then I started with a 10 minute interval then I did my test interval, 20 minutes all out. I had good power. I was able to increase it throughout the 20 minutes. My first 5 minutes were 369 watts and my last 5 were 399. I averaged 380 watts over the 20 minutes which is my most ever by a few watts. The real good news is even though it was very tough it was not overwhelmingly difficult. My heart rate reached only 173. That is 5 beats lower than my max. This gives me some hope for the future as I think I have room to push myself harder. After my 20 minute test I continued for a total of 2 hours of intervals. Including rest my average power was 310 for 2 hours and my normalized power was 325. Those are good numbers for me considering I started with the hard 20 minute test.

I have major mental problems as this is the stuff I think about all the time. I wish I were more like Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa and thought about how I could make the world a better place. I do think about that stuff as well, but for some reason I am just compelled to think about getting faster, maybe I just need a triathlon intervention.

Ironman World Championship Race Report

Swim
Good: I got really lucky on the swim. I put myself in the middle pretty far back and I didn’t get too caught up in the thrashing. I took a few elbows but I felt like I was able to get some room pretty quick. I took both of the right turns as tight as I could right around the buoy and very strangely everyone else was taking the turns wide so I gained some time and missed the trashing scrum. On the way back in I got on a guys feet and just hung with him for a long time. Then a girl came whizzing by me and I wondered if I should jump on her feet, I decided to jump and hung on her slipstream for dear life till about 100 meters to go when the arch of my left foot cramped and seized up. I just thought I was very lucky it did not seize up earlier. Time 1:10. I’m happy with it.

Bad: Despite my lucky swim it still put me way, way behind.

Ugly: My torque swimskin helped me swim faster. Unfortunately it tore the skin of my arms and lats up pretty good as well. I would recommend anyone thinking of getting a torque to get the pro version not the elite like I had. The elite’s Fabric is closer to sandpaper and the Pro is closer to neoprene.

Bike
Good: I felt in control and under my limit the whole Bike. I think I rode the right pace. The last 2/3rds of the bike were very windy. A lot of people were really struggling to keep their bikes upright. I was bombing down a hill about to pass a guy when we got hit by a huge gust of cross wind. The guy in front of me came very close to biffing it on the bike but pulled out some evasive maneuvers to keep himself up right. If he had gone down I would have nailed him and we both would have been really jacked up. I biked a 4:51 slower that what I thought I could do but considering the wind I am ok with it.

Bad: It felt very hot and I got stung by a bee. The bee got stuck in my race bracelet and stung me. It hurt…Bad.

Ugly: I normally POUND the calories on the bike and I did that in this race also but it was hard. My stomach did not want anything in it. I had to force down the Gu and Ironman’s new drink called perform. My stomach bothered me a lot and kept telling me to stop putting things in it but it was so hot that I thought I really needed to drink a lot in order to keep from dehydrating. I ended up taking in too much and paid for it on the run:

Run
Good: I felt great I was able to run fast and my heart rate was lower than what I expected. I was able to cruise a majority of the time (other than the steeper hills) at between 6:30 and 7:30 miles. The Heat didn’t bother me too much. My time was just under 3:27

Bad: I had some major Gastro Intestinal distress. At mile 3 I stopped at a Porta potty. After that I was ok until around mile 12-14 I suddenly had to go again. I was between aid stations and I slowed way down to see if I could keep myself from going but then it just came. I diarrhea’d myself right there on the Queen K. I walked for a little bit and thought about what I should do and then I thought “Duh stupid” I better just keep running. A few miles later it happened again. I was close to a porta potty but didn’t make it. I got about half in my shorts and half in the porta potty. I kept running and I think it happened one more time… maybe not...I can’t remember for sure. Looking back I could have pushed myself harder on the run. I had gas left in the tank at the end and I guess I paced myself too conservatively. I would like to have changed two things on the run. First I would have liked to push myself to my limit and held a faster pace. Second I would have been wiser with my calorie intake on the bike thus avoiding the GI problems on the run. I think with these two changes I could have had a better run time.

Ugly: My shorts and Socks. I started the run with white socks and ended it with brown socks.

Overall My time was just under 9:35. It was an awesome experience. Racing against the best in the world was really cool. It was neat to be here with my friends. Keena, Jay, B.J. and Doug all had great races. Sean and Michelle also came to support us. It was great to have the support from all my friends at Power Tri. My final overall feeling when it was done is that I need to improve. I hope that I can get better at this whole thing.

Kona Outlook

Body Weight: I have been eating a lot of cucumbers and green beans and I’ve lost some pounds. I’ll try to lose a bit more before the race.

Bike: I am in good bike shape. I had a good indicator workout Friday the 24th, I did a ride with a two hour average power of 335 w.

Run: Hooray, my calves are not injured. I have gotten in 3 months of solid running so my run is looking better than before either of my other Ironman races. I had a good indicator run Saturday the 25th, I did 10 miles in 60:45.

Swim: Please pray for lightning because I will probably be 1,756th out of the water. Unless I suddenly gain Michael Phelps type ankle flexibility I am going to be way behind.

Overall: I have a broad expectation range. I think that if things go my way then I could have a good day. If I can minimize my losses on the swim, really hammer the bike and deal with the heat ok on the run then hopefully I’ll do good.

Utah Half Race Report

I was very excited for this race mainly because of the competitors that were racing. Going into the race B.J. Christensen was definitely the guy to beat. He has established himself as the top over all Utah triathlete. He wins almost every event he enters and is close to untouchable at the Ironman and Half Ironman distance. Also in the mix to win were Heath Thurston and Dantley Young who both have their pro cards and race professionally. My buddy Casey Robles is another competitor that had a shot if he had a good day.

I swam as hard as I could, when I came out of the water my boy Grant told me I was 9:30 behind Heath. That is a LOT of time to make up on the bike. Heath is a strong biker. (The only other time I have raced Heath was at Ironman Florida and over that 112 miles on the bike I only gained 5 minutes on him.) I got out on the bike and started pushing it. I was surprised to catch Casey within about 5-6 miles. I caught Dantley just before the overpass at about mile 9-11 then I didn’t see a soul until just before the turnaround I caught B.J. I was happy with that. I know that the only way I had a chance to beat B.J. was to have a huge lead off the bike and then have a fast run. I didn’t catch Heath until I got back into town. I caught him on the last turn with just a mile or two to go. He had a faster T2 and so we basically started the run together. We were running right about my planned pace. I ran a 1:27 last year on this course averaging 6:40. I wanted to average a 6:27 and be under a 1:25 this year. Unfortunately I just couldn’t hold that pace. After about a mile I watched Heath steadily pull away from me as he held a 6:33 average and ran a 1:25. B.J. caught me around about mile 8 or 9 on the dirt road. At that point I knew that I wasn’t going to catch Heath or B.J., I had a tendon in my right calf that hurt and I knew that no one else was close to catching me so I didn’t want to risk that tendon so I saw no point in pushing hard to the finish. I ended up having a disappointing half Iron run split averaging 7:00 minute miles. I finished 3rd 5:45 behind the winner which I thought would be B.J. but when I crossed the finish line I found out Heath had been able to hold him off and win by a minute.

The win was great for Heath. He has been a good friend of mine and has helped me with my swim and given me some valuable advice. He raced a smart race and had a lot of grit to finish with his fastest career half Ironman run split. He also had his fastest overall half iron time. It shows that he is improving and is doing some things right.

I wanted to win this race real bad but…..oh well.

Utah Half Testing

I've done my Utah half test workouts:
Bike Friday 13th: I did the Utah half bike course as part of my long bike. I pushed real hard for 30.5 miles of it and was happy with it. I had an average power of 336 over those miles and had good speed as well.
Swim Wednesday 18th: I did a 1000 meter time trial at masters. Diane put me as the first person in the second lane instead of being the last person in the fast lane so "bummer" no drafting for me. I wanted to do between 16:40 and 17:00 and ended up doing a 17:03 so I guess that is OK.
Run Wednesday 18th: I did a 10 mile descending tempo run as part of my 19 mile long run. miles 1-4 at 6:00 pace, mile 5 at 6:27, mile 6 at 6:40, miles 7-8 at 6:53, and miles 9-10 at 7:03. Miles 1-4 were really hard but the rest was cruising. I wanted to do 6 miles at 6:00 pace but didn't have it in me.
Conclusion: I think I have an outside chance at the Utah half. I would love to come in first. But Heath and B.J. are both such awesome, complete triathletes that it makes me a long shot.

Swim lots and lots and cross my fingers

I am a terrible swimmer. My swimming used to fall in the category of "is that person drowning?" but luckily with the help of some of my friends like Keena, Heath, Diane, and others I have drastically improved my form and raised my swimming ability up to the "stinks" level. Without their help I would still be drowning. In an effort to raise my game above the "stink" level I have decided to increase my swim volume. Last week I got in 27,000 meters/yards with 15,000 of the 27,000 being high intensity. I plan to do between 27,000 and 32,000 for the next few weeks and see if I improve. (Previous to this I would do between 15,000 and 20,000 a week). I hope that this will jump start my swimming and boost me up to the "average" level.

Stansbury Triathlon

I raced the Stansbury Tri this last Saturday.
Swim: I was happy with my swim. I came out of the water in 10th place which is new for me (I am usually much further back than that). Time 21:35? I think. It was probably a little short.
t1: My wetsuit came off surprisingly easy so I had a fast transition
Bike: flat course with only 288 ft of climbing, the course did however have a lot of turns and had two around the cone u turns. I was able to catch everybody on the bike and came in to t2 a few seconds behind the leader. The course was short at less than 21 miles. Bike was 46:10? I think. I was happy with my bike speed. It makes me feel like I will have a good Utah half bike split.
t2: With the orthotics that I am using I had to put on socks but despite that tremendous obstacle I had another surprisingly fast transition.
Run: right out of t2 as I went to put on my Garmin it exploded in my hands and fell to the ground, luckily Jameson was close by and I astutely spat out "JAMESON MY WATCH!". He understood and picked it up and had it for me at the finish. Thanks Jameson. Two guys passed me on the run so I ended up 4th. I did a 39:10? I think.
Overall was 1:48:something. I'm happy with the race. I look at it as a great high intensity workout while practicing my pre race routine and transitions.

Utah Half Course Ride

Big thanks to Coach Keena for setting up a Utah Half ride today. It went well. I was able to average 304 watts and 25 mph on the flat fast course, with a heart rate of 148. I hope that when I add the MAGICAL powers of race wheels, aero helmet, a bit of a taper and no slowing down for lights/stop signs that I can have a good Utah half bike split.

Feeling Good, Hoping for a Breakthrough

My Heart rate is completely back to normal, and I am not feeling tired at all. My thyroid problems are long gone. I am able to run fast now in training, and have no calf trouble at all. I am swimming much faster than ever. My power on the bike is on the rise; I did 12 minute intervals yesterday and ended it with 12 minutes at 370 watts. It was a hard effort but when the 12 minutes were up my heart rate wasn’t that high and I was able to continue the rest of my workout doing shorter intervals without trouble. I am feeling good about the direction my training is headed in and I am hoping for breakthroughs in all 3 disciplines in the coming months.

Back to running and Thyroid update.

I ran 3 really slow miles each of the last two days and will try to run another 3 today. This is the first running I have done since injuring my calf a little over two weeks ago. Hopefully I can keep doing 2 or 3 easy miles each day this week and then start some longer and faster runs next week. The doctor thinks my thyroid should sort itself out soon. He thinks that a virus zapped it but that I am on my way to recovery now. I'll have my blood retested at the end of the month to see if I am back to normal. I still feel really tired and my heart rate is about 20 beats higher than normal. It is a great excuse though. I just blame everything on my thyroid. If Megan asks me "why arent the dishes washed"? I just point to my thyroid, give a sad look and shake my head.

Thyroid trouble

About a week ago I felt a pain in my neck and it has continued to get worse so I went into the doctor yesterday. He had some blood work done and called me back today and said that I have an overactive thyroid......weird.

I hurt my calf with about a mile to go in the daybreak triathlon. I didn’t put on my compression socks because I thought it would take too much time. Bad idea. With a mile to go my calf started hurting. I thought I would just push through till the end. Bad idea. My body gave me warning and I didn’t head it. So then my lower calf hurt real real bad. I was forced to stop and it even hurt to limp to the end. I’m a loser baby….so why don’t you kill me.

St George Ironman

My swim started off great, I felt like I was at a really good pace until after the second turn buoy at about the halfway point in the swim. I began to feel very very cold. My jaw started to shake and I felt my body shutting down. My pace slowed and I started to get passed by a lot of people. I ended up swimming a lot slower than I had planned and came out at 1:12. When I got out of the water I was extremely cold my body was shaking uncontrollably. I had planned very poorly and didn’t have a jacket or anything else to put on to keep warm. I got on my bike and the wind blowing on my already freezing body took me to a whole new level of cold. For the next hour and a half I shivered and shook and thought about how stupid I was to not have a jacket and/or arm warmers and hoping for a flat tire so I could stop and get warm. The other problem the cold created was my hamstrings started to cramp. I am a big time wuss when it comes to cold water. I think I’ll wear two wetsuits in my next cold water tri and then a giant winter coat on the bike. At around mile 30 of the bike I noticed I wasn’t shaking anymore. I was able to start pushing it on the bike and I was able to pick up my heart rate. By the halfway point I felt great and the rest of the bike ride felt almost effortless. My only issue being that my hamstrings started cramping when I got out of the aero position to punch up a hill. I finished the bike in 5:09, a disappointment as I had planned on being under 5:00. On the run I settled into a pace just a little slower than my planned pace. I was worried about my hamstrings cramping on the run. They felt like they were on the verge of cramping but luckily they never actually seized up during the marathon. The run was definitely tough but I never felt black hole terrible. I ended up with a 3:40 marathon. Overall I wanted to go under 9:45 and ended up at 10:07. I didn’t manage my race as well as I could have. My mistakes dealing with the cold water cost me some energy and time. On a positive note I think that my nutrition worked out great and really saved my race. I was able to take in about 3300 GU calories and probably around another 2000 liquid calories. I think that this was the reason that I always felt like I had enough energy. Post race I felt ok. I thought my legs would be thrashed after the tough course but I actually felt pretty good. Towards the end of the marathon I had the thoughts of “why” “why am I doing this stupid, painful, pointless race” but it only took an hour or two after I finished before I was already getting excited about my areas of improvement and my training for my next race. The triathlon addiction continues, it’s a hungry beast that can’t be satisfied.