The Journey to T3

Polar Bear Triathlon Report

2012-01-30T12:10:00.001-05:00

It's been five months since I had a "race morning", so it was kind of like learning from scratch. I had everything packed up the night before so that all I needed to do was put my bike rack on my truck, put my bike on it, and go. One problem...my bike rack doesn't fit on my new truck. Fortunately, I was able to put the third row seats down and get my bike to fit in the back with only taking the front wheel off.

So once I got all of that situated, I was on my way. In my typical fashion, I arrived very early to the race. I had plenty of time to set up my transition, check-in, get body marked and start to warm-up. It was pretty chilly setting up transition. I don't mind running in the cold, but just standing around is not fun.

Jessica and the kids showed up just before the start of the race. It's awesome to have such a supportive family...I know it wasn't easy to get them both up, dressed, fed and to a race 30 minutes away by 8:15am!

As I mentioned in the race preview, this race was in reverse. It started with a 3K run. The short run took us from the park entrance into the park and back. The route had a few small hills, but it was over so fast that it was hard to think about it too much. Since we all started together, I was able to see what place I was in. I hung with a group of two other guys most of the time, before passing one of them near the end. I finished the run in 11:22, which is a pace of 6:05 per mile (3rd fastest in my Age Group)...about 15-20 seconds per mile faster than I thought I could do.

I entered T1 in 12th position. Although I had never done a run to bike transition, I went over it in my head a few times and managed to get out of there in exactly 30 seconds, which was the third fastest transition in the field. My quick T1 moved me up to 8th place starting the bike leg. However, I once again had trouble getting my feet in my shoes after I started going and had to stop to get this right...cost me at least 10 seconds and I was passed by one guy while sitting still. I clearly need to practice this!

The bike portion of the race was a 6 mile loop of rolling hills. The bike is usually my strength, but I was struggling. I haven't had Flash out on the road since Ironman...and it showed. The trainer just cannot simulate hills, or maybe I haven't done much hill training. Either way, I was hurting! My legs were screaming at me the whole time to slow down. I knew it was a very short ride, so I just pushed through the pain. I did the 6 mile ride in 17:23, which averages out to 20.7 mph (2nd fastest in my Age Group). I never did catch the guy that passed me early on and I was passed by another guy heading back into transition (I was slowing down getting ready to dismount and he went flying past me, then locked up his brakes - almost falling off of his bike). So I came into T2 in 10th place.

I took my feet out of my shoes and took my gloves off while riding into the park entrance. I also did the run and bike in my tri shorts, so I didn't have any pants to take off before the swim. I believe that I was the only one in shorts, but it paid off with a T2 time of 53 seconds, the fastest in the field. With this quick T2, moved me up into 6th place entering the water.

Thanks to a recommendation fellow triathlete Bill Marks, I had stashed my goggles inside the pool area. I originally had planned to put them on while running from transition to the pool, but hadn't thought about how they would fog up after going from the cold outside to the hot/humid indoor pool. So I threw them on and jumped in for the 400 yard swim. My legs were burning and my lungs and heart did not want to cooperate. I was trying to focus on good form because I knew I was tired and trying to swim faster would only slow me down (if that makes any sense). I was passed about half way through the swim and just didn't have the push to hang with him. During the final lap, I passed someone else and ended up back in 6th place overall. I did the swim in 7:11, which is a pace of 1:47 per 100 yards (fastest in my Age Group)...but very slow by my standards and at least a minute slower than I could do if the swim was first. It's weird for me to say that I'm not happy with a swim that was faster than anyone in my age group, but I've been working hard on my swim and I know that I can do better than this. Fortunately, there is only one more of these races where the swim is last, because it's not fun!

My 6th overall finish was good enough for 2nd in my age group. The winner of my age group turned in the fastest run of the day and despite being faster on the bike, swim and both transitions, I couldn't catch him. He ended up beating me by 30 seconds. That almost minute and a half lead he had after the run was too much for me to overcome. In my defense, his pace was 5:19 per mile...no way I'm touching that kind of speed!

Next race is in three weeks and the distances are a little longer, time to get back to work!

Polar Bear Triathlon

2012-01-27T13:18:00.001-05:00

It's January, which is when most triathletes are enjoying their off-season. It's the perfect time of year to work on your swim stroke and get in some good miles on the bike trainer while watching some movies or sports. For me, it's the perfect time of year to get back into racing. I haven't been in a race since I crossed the finish line at Ironman Louisville exactly five months ago. To say that I've been anxious to get that race-day adrenaline going again is an understatement.

This Sunday I will toe the line for a Sprint distance triathlon in Shelbyville, KY. This is the first of a four-race series that takes place each month through April, this one has been given the name "Polar Bear Triathlon", for obvious reasons. The races vary in distance, with this month's being the shortest. It consists of a 3K run, 6 mile bike and 400 yard swim. Forecast for Sunday morning is calling for mostly clear skies with temperatures in the upper 20's...man that bike is going to be cold!

Those distances were not listed in the wrong order. Due to the outdoor temperatures, the swim is moved from first to last in the race. No one wants to go out into freezing temperatures soaking wet and get on a bike going 20 mph! This would result in lots of hypothermia. I'm pretty sure that a loss of motor skills would make it tough to bike or run.

I've never done a triathlon where the run was first and swim was last, so it will be interesting to see what it feels like to get in the water after running and biking.

This will also be the shortest race ~~on the face of the earth~~ that I've ever done. With a run a little less than 2 miles, it will pretty much be an all-out sprint. Same on the bike. A six mile bike ride isn't even enough time to warmed-up. Maybe I'll just stand and mash the pedals the whole time. The swim is in an indoor 25 yard pool and will consist of "snaking" 8 lengths of the pool. Needless to say, this entire race will be less than 45 minutes and I will be at or near lactate threshold the entire time...completely opposite from Ironman. If Ironman is a marathon, this race would be a 100 meter dash.

With all that said, I'm really excited to get out there and race. With everyone starting at the same time (swim first races will be time trial starts), it will be fun to know what position you are in the whole time...making for some fun head-to-head racing.

I've never done this race before, so I'm not sure what I should expect for my time. I'm guessing about 13 minutes for the run, 17 very cold minutes for the bike and 7 minutes for the swim. Add in some time for transitions and I'm thinking I'll finish somewhere around 38-39 minutes. Last year's winner finished in just over 34 minutes...don't think I'm quite that fast!

It's been a long time since I gathered all of my gear for a race...better print out a list!

What Limits Your Performance?

2012-01-17T10:07:00.000-05:00

The two guys that I trust more than anyone else when it comes to the sport of triathlon are Joe Friel and Ben Greenfield. Both are very accomplished coaches and authors and when it comes to endurance training, I consider them to be two of the best resources available. Both Joe and Ben, through their blog and podcast, have recently discussed a topic that I find very interesting...what is your primary limiter?

There are several theories as to what keeps us from going faster or farther. At some point during a race or hard workout, you will begin to slow down, fatigue, or what some people call "bonk". You just cannot sustain the effort you want to and your body forces you to reduce your speed or intensity. So why does this happen?

After crossing the finish line at the 2010 Cardinal Harbour Half-Ironman.

The theory that is most common is that exercise stops when something catastrophic occurs to your body. In this theory, fatigue is caused by physiological reasons...like the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles, or the depletion of glycogen in an endurance athlete. This theory proposes that when these situations occur, the body is physically forced to slow down.

Another theory, which I find more intriguing states that fatigue is physiologically based. This is known as the Central Governor Theory. This theory originated from PhD Tim Noakes and states that fatigue occurs in the brain, not the muscles.

In this theory, the body is constantly sending signals to the subconscious brain regarding the current status of the working muscles. At some point, the brain makes a decision, based on perceived exertion, to slow down. Essentially, this theory says that brain regulates all performance, and will not let you get to catastrophic failure.

Dr. Noakes doesn't see fatigue as a physical phenomena, but purely as an emotion. When you feel like you have nothing left, it's just your brain playing a trick on you. Once you understand this, it becomes much easier to push yourself past that point where you want to slow down or quit. Under this theory, you can teach your brain that it can cope with the extra efforts.

So what do I think? I know that the physical training that you do builds your muscles so that they can handle the workload...while also training your body to function at a high level. But I believe that your brain plays a roll that is just as important, if not more, as your physical body.

I know from personal experience, that there have been times during my workouts and races that I was able to dig deep and continue my pace and effort despite being in physical pain. This extra effort that I found came from my brain telling my body that the reward (winning my age group, or setting a PR) was more important than the risk (catastrophic muscle failure).

The more I learn about the Central Governor Theory, the more I try to push through the tough spots in a workout, training my mind to overcome the fatigue. While doing this I think about the old rap song by the Geto Boys, "My Minds" Playing Tricks On Me". Try it, it works!

Zero Calories Drinks

2012-01-10T14:46:00.001-05:00

If you watch much TV, your are going to see commercials for zero calorie, zero sugar drinks. A few examples are Coke Zero, Pepsi Max and Powerade Zero. They all show, fit, active people enjoying the taste of their favorite beverage without any guilt...because there's no calories! Woo Hoo!

It's not a news flash that most American's are overweight. In an effort to lose some of the unwanted pounds, a lot of people have turned to diet soda instead of the regular soda...which is understandable if you've ever read the nutrition label on a non-diet can of anything. Diet soda's have been low or zero calories for a long time, but apparently people began to get the message that diet soda's weren't helping people lose weight. So now the marketing geniuses have introduced these "zero" drinks...and they are selling like crazy!

So what's so bad about these new zero calories, zero sugar drinks? Stop and think about this for a minute. If you are drinking something other than water and it has zero calories, what exactly are you putting into your body?

The answer is not good. Let's look at the ingredients in some of these drinks. We'll start with Coke Zero:

Entire list of ingredients
Carbonated Water
Caramel Color
Phosphoric Acid
Aspartame
Potassium Benzoate
Natural Flavors
Potassium Citrate
Acesulfame Potassium
Caffeine

Yummy! So let's look at some of this stuff. Nothing wrong with carbonated water and although the caramel color is something artificial generated in a lab, it's probably not all the bad for you. The one that you should be alarmed about is Asparame (aka NutraSweet). It's an artificial sweetener/sugar substitute that's considered by many experts to be one of the most dangerous food additives on the face of the earth! It's frequently associated with cancer, neurological disorders (Parkinson's and Alzheimer's), and other health issues in test animals. Read all about it here. You can find some studies that show Aspartame is fine for human consumption, but if you do a little digging, you will see that all of the research that deemed it safe was funded by corporations with financial ties to Aspartame. Meanwhile, over 90% of the independent (non-corporate funded) research found that it was unsafe.

Aspartame happens to be found in these sodas, but all artificial sweeteners are bad, as I discussed here.

Aside from all of that good stuff, artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame have been shown to release gastric hormones when consumed - fooling your brain into thinking that there is food present, when there isn't. This leads to an appetite craving around 30-60 minutes after the stuff hits your stomach. So by making you hungry shortly after drinking it, how exactly do these drinks help you lose weight?

We also find Phosphoric Acid in Coke Zero and Pepsi Max. Does acid sound tasty to you? Me neither. It dissolves tooth enamel (leading to cavities and yellow teeth), it damages your stomach lining (leading to ulcers), it damages your bones (leading to osteoporosis) and it upsets your body's natural acid-alkaline balance.

What else do we have here, Potassium Benzoate. This is put in there to prevent the growth of yeast, mold and bacteria. You don't want mold or bacteria in your soda, right? One potential problem with this stuff is that when combined with Vitamin C (which you consume in lots of fruits and vegetables and some of the zero calorie sports drinks), it forms benzene...which even the FDA acknowledges is unsafe.

I won't go into "natural flavors", but since no one regulates what can be called "natural", there's no telling what this actually is.

Just so I don't seem biased, here are the ingredients in Pepsi Max:

Carbonated Water
Caramel Color
Phosphoric Acid
Aspartame
Potassium Benzoate
Caffeine
Natural Flavor
Acesulfame Potassium
Citric Acid
Calcium Disodium EDTA
Panax Ginseng Extract

Notice that the first five ingredients are the same for both Coke Zero and Pepsi Max. In case you were unaware, ingredients on a nutrition label are listed in order of quantity. The higher on the list, the more of this ingredient there is in the food/drink.

I did notice that caffeine is higher up the list on the Pepsi product. A little research shows that Pepsi Max contains 69mg of caffeine - that's almost double the amount found in regular Pepsi. Caffeine in itself is not dangerous in moderation, but if you feel the need to have a caffenated drink to stay awake and focused during the day, you have some underlying health problems that need to be addressed.

So what I'm trying to tell you is that no soda, regardless of calorie or sugar content is ever good/harmless for you or your health. That being said, if you eat a healthy diet and exercise, feel free to enjoy a soda once in a while, but you are better off drinking the "regular" stuff...with real sugar and a lot less chemicals!

2011 Stats

2012-01-05T13:01:00.000-05:00

So even though my training/race season doesn't exactly follow the calendar year, it's fun to look back each January and see the total amount of time and distances I logged the previous year. So here's what I did in 2011:

Swim - 90hr 5min (149.64 miles)

Bike - 156hr 15min (2,963.62 miles)

Run - 83hr 3min (599.88 miles)

TOTALS - 329hr 23min (3,713.14 miles)

Time spent lifting weights, aqua-jogging and other random cardio activities (elliptical, rowing machine, etc.) are not included in these numbers.

Just for fun, I looked at how far I could have gone from Louisville with each discipline. If I jumped in the Ohio River at downtown Louisville, 149 miles of swimming upstream would take me 20 miles past Cincinnati to a little town called California, KY...population 86 (it exists, look it up).

As for the biking, 2,963 miles would get me from Louisville to Los Angeles, then up the coast to Portland, Oregon...all on roads that can be ridden on, no Interstates.

Running south 600 miles from Louisville would have taken me to Jacksonville, Florida...or if I wanted to go northeast, I could have made it to Philadelphia.

These numbers may look crazy to a non-triathlete, but I would venture to guess that they are very low compared to most people that did an Ironman and two half-Ironman races last year. Hard to believe that I spent more time in the water than I did in my running shoes! The IT Band injury kept me from running for 7 weeks before IM and then the 3 weeks after, so I lost 10 weeks of running, which really hurt my running numbers for the year. For comparison, I ran 940 miles in 2010 and 632 in 2009.

2011 Race Results:

2/25/11 - Anthem 5K - 46th in AG, 269th Overall
3/12/11 - Rodes City Run - 53rd in AG, 325th Overall
3/26/11 - Papa John's 10 Miler - 65th in AG, 346th Overall
4/17/11 - Shelbyville Sprint Tri - 1st in AG, 7th Overall
4/30/11 - KDF miniMarathon - 61st in AG, 408th Overall
5/14/11 - Taylorsville Lake Tri - 5th in AG, 23rd Overall
6/5/11 - TriFest Tri - 2nd in AG, 10th Overall
7/9/11 - Cardinal Tri - 8th in AG, 35th Overall
8/28/11 - Ironman Louisville Tri - 112th in AG, 661st Overall

2011 was a very exciting year and with completing an Ironman, it was obviously my most accomplished year since I started doing triathlons in late 2008. Shifting to shorter races in 2012 has me excited to work on speed and not endurance...which am I better suited for? I guess we'll find out!

Swim Stroke Analysis

2011-12-29T14:23:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, our local triathlon club, The Louisville Landsharks, held a 100 x 100 swim relay challenge. Teams had to complete 10,000 yards as fast as possible. Our team was able to complete the challenge in around 2 hours and 20 minutes (1:24/100yd avg. pace) and finished in second place out of eight teams.

At some point during this relay, I was video taped by fellow Landshark Jeremy Brown with his cool underwater camera. I finally had a chance to download this video and take a look at my underwater stroke mechanics. I'm sure a trained swim coach would be able to pick this apart better than me, but I did notice a few things that I need to correct.

Here's the full video. It consists of two segments, I'm in the black/white shorts.

So the first thing that I noticed was that my legs are separating when I rotate to breath. Here's a screen shot of what I'm doing:

Here's what it should look like:

Looks like I'm over-rotating a little as well.

Next thing I noticed was that whatever side I am breathing to, my opposite arm pull is crossing over my mid-line. In the picture below, I just completed a breath on my right side, my left arm is crossing over my body's mid-line:

Here's what it should look like:

If you look at my right arm pull when breathing on the right, it's a whole lot better:

Looks very similar to the ideal position:

So I would love to have some more feedback on my stroke. If you or anyone you know has any pointers, please leave a comment below. Thanks!

Food Guide for the Holiday's

2011-12-22T10:24:00.000-05:00

So this time of year it's easy to pack on a few pounds. Everywhere you look, there are homemade candies and cookies. Not to mention all the holiday parties with all the food and adult beverages. Plus, that Santa guy is around so much, he just makes you want to be fat and jolly. So how do you survive without gaining weight? Here are a few tips...

Don't try to lose weight between Thanksgiving and New Years. Maintaining your current weight should be a goal...it will be hard enough just to do that!

Set aside 10-15 minutes, 3-4 days a week to exercise. I'm not talking about going for a walk or getting on the treadmill for an easy jog. In order to get the most out of the short amount of time that you have, do some quick intervals. Such as jumping jacks, burpees, running in place, quick push-ups, quick squats, mountain climbers, etc. Do these repeatably for 10-15 minutes with only about 20 seconds rest between each. Burns lots of calories (6 times more than aerobic exercise).

Don't over-indulge. It's easy to go back for a second or third helping when everything tastes so good, but try and limit yourself to one plate full.

While filling up your plate, make smart choices. Eat only your favorite foods and don't stuff yourself with things that you can do without.

Save some room for a dessert. Don't eat until you are stuffed. If you are eye-balling a piece of pie or a gingerbread cookie, leave some room for it...try to avoid that feeling of being uncomfortably full.

Going crazy at one or two meals over the course of the holidays is ok. If you want to go all out on Christmas dinner or if the food at your work party is the best thing you've ever tasted...go ahead and eat. One large meal won't make you gain weight...just go light at the next few meals after your indulgence.

Most importantly, enjoy the holidays...knowing that come January 1st, you are going to eat healthy and exercise on a regular basis. If you limit yourself now and don't enjoy any holiday sweets, it will make eating healthy in January harder.

True Financial Cost Of Doing an Ironman

2011-12-16T15:10:00.000-05:00

So people are always asking me how much I trained for Ironman. They want to know how many hours a week I devoted to swimming, biking and running. I spent about 12-15 hours a week training...which is about half of what the majority of Ironman triathletes do. I've shared my training strategy before, so I won't go into it now.

What I want to cover here is what my family sacrificed financially for me to train for and complete an Ironman. So here's quick rundown of my triathlon related expenses from 2011:

Supplements/Fueling
Hammer Nutrition products (mostly gels and Perpetuem)- $270.10
Recover-Ease - $79.98
Athlytes (electrolyte capsules)- $46.96

Gear
Bike Gel Flask & Spare Flask - $ 28.66
Swim Jammers (shorts) - $ 20.94
Tri Shorts - $70.00
MyAthlete Tracking System - $44.95
Scape Sunscreen -$26.98
Goggles - $49.27
KT tape - $43.85
Race Number Belt - $12.76
Foam Roller - $42.95
Spare tubes, CO2 cartridges - $18.57
Indoor Bike Trainer - $289.77

Race Registrations
USAT Membership - $39.00
Shelbyville Sprint - $45.00
Taylorsville Tri - $100.00
Cardinal Tri - $125.00
Ironman Louisville - $603.75
Ohio River Open Water Swim - $35.00
TriFest - $70.00

Miscellaneous
Triathlon Dominator Training Program - $97.00
Swim Coaching - $280.00
Bike Fit - $175.00
Deep Tissue Massages - $150.00

So the grand total ends up being $2,765.49!

Worth every penny!

This list doesn't include my new Argon E-112 bike, which I probably wouldn't have purchased if I wasn't doing Ironman. I needed a true TT/Tri bike anyway, but I most likely would have put it off another year. The bike ended up costing me a little over $2,000.00 - so factor that in if you want.

What I also don't have shown here are all of the things provided to me at no charge by my sponsors. This includes three pair of running shoes, socks, tri jersey and shorts, six PT sessions, and straight cash. So without Swag's, Dr. Rudy Ellis Sports Medicine Clinic and Air Equipment Company, this would have been much worse!

Doing Ironman was a fantastic experience and I loved ~~ever~~y almost every minute of the training and racing. I will do one again someday I'm sure...just not in 2012!

Ironman World Championship on NBC

2011-12-07T10:01:00.001-05:00

This Saturday NBC will air their coverage of the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship. The actual race took place on October 8th in Kona, Hawaii. Why someone (NBC, ESPN, Fox Sports, Versus, etc.) can't seem to find a way to show a live broadcast of this race, I have no idea. I understand that NBC wants to show you all the back stories and be able to show human intestest pieces, but why can't they do both. Someone could broadcast the race live and then NBC could do their production to be shown in December, as it always is. It's not like those really interested in the race don't already know who won and how it played out. Ok, I'm off my soap box now.

Here's some of what you will see at 4:30pm on Saturday:

The amazing story of cancer survivor Teri Griege. She completed the 140.6 mile race despite going through chemotherapy for the majority of her training and having with 12" of her colon and much of her liver removed.
Legend Lew Hollander. For anyone that has watched this broadcast in the past, this name should be familiar. Lew is 81 years old. If my memory is correct, he's completed this race 22 times now. His goal is to live to be 120...he's well on the way.
Another guy in the 80+ age group is France Cokan. He came to the US as an immigrant in 1959 with $11 in his pocket. This IM was is 44th!
23 year old Firefighter Jonathan Roth. He was diagnosed with Familial Polyposis at age 16. He had to have his entire large intestine removed. For those layperson, the large intestine is where all the nutrients from food is absorbed by the body. I could see where this would make doing an Ironman a challenge! Not only did he finish the race, he did it in just over 10 hours!

Along with these stories, they will also show some of the pro race. Spoiler alert! Here's how that went.

Here's a preview of the NBC broadcast. I recommend you record it. I know I will...and I will watch it several times over the next few months. I find it very motivating!

In other news, I did run that Santa Sprint 5K last Saturday. I started out too fast (6:31 first mile) and then struggled to hang on. My lungs and legs were burning like crazy the last mile and I nearly vomited at the finish line. My time was 21:41 (6:58 min/mile pace) - my GPS showed 3.14 miles...I could have done without that extra .04! I'm not sure how this fared overall or in my age group. It was a small race, so it might be a few weeks before results are posted.

Santa Sprint 5K

2011-12-02T12:38:00.001-05:00

It came to my attention last week that the company I work for was one of the sponsors for a little 5K here in Louisville. So even though I'm not exactly in shape to run a 5K (been training for endurance races for over a year and I'm still about 10 pounds heavy), I'm going to lace up the shoes in the morning and run 3.1 miles.

The race is called the Santa Sprint. Although I can't find a map of the course, it's described as being "flat"...which would be nice. The race runs along historic Frankfort Avenue in the Crescent Hill and Clifton neighborhoods and is celebrating it's 16th year.

Proceeds from the race go to United Crescent Hill Ministries. UCHM is a community outreach group that offers programs for youth and seniors as well as providing for the underprivileged on Thanksgiving and Christmas. If it wasn't for this great organization and my company being a sponsor, there's no way I would be doing this race...I'm definitely not feeling fast!

Depending on the weather, I may or may not be pushing my 2-year old in a stroller. If I do, I have no clue what my time will be. If it's too cold and I end up running solo, I'd like to break 22 minutes...a far cry from my 20.03 PR.

In other news, the dates for the spring Shelbyville Triathlon Series have been released. The four-race series will take place on January 29th, February 19th, March 25th and April 15th. I usually just do one of these races, but this year I'm planning on racing all four. Riding outdoors in January and February should be interesting!

Check Your Finger Lengths

2011-11-23T09:45:00.001-05:00

There have been numerous studies over the last few years that focus on "digit-ratio". All of these studies involve the length of your index finger (2D) vs. the length of your ring finger (4D). In women, the length of both fingers is usually equal. In men, the ringer finger is usually slightly longer.

No that you've examined your finger lengths (you know you did), I'll tell you what the research has shown.

Apparently, our fingers hold information about how much testosterone and estrogen we were exposed to in the womb. So, the longer one's ring finger relative to one's index finger (small 2D:4D), the more testosterone you had. And that testosterone has an effect on the brain, and on the body. If a boy has an increased amount of testosterone before birth, he is likely to be born with a very efficient heart and vascular system.

A few of these studies even looked at fetuses as early as nine weeks gestation and found that the ratio was already established and did not change...even through puberty.

Another researcher found that men with smaller ratios also had higher mental toughness, optimism and aptitude towards sports.

Some people are even starting to look at finger lengths of young people in an attempt to predict future athletic ability. I'm sure there are some coaches out there somewhere that are already sneaking a peek at a recruit's hands.

Some of these studies even related one's sexual preference, musical abilities, and the likelihood of having autism or getting cancer to their digit ratio...but I won't go into any of that here.

Think I'm making this stuff up? Do a quick internet search for "index and ring finger length" and see what you find!

So the good news for me is that my ring finger is indeed longer than my index finger (see picture to the right).

All of these studies are quick to note that simply having a relatively long ring finger does not necessarily guarantee either talent or success in sports. Many, many other factors play important roles in developing your full potential.

So there's your conversation starter for those awkward moments around the Thanksgiving table!

Off Season Weight Lifting

2011-11-14T13:22:00.001-05:00

I'm finally getting back into a routine. I've settled into doing short, high-intensity training sessions. Right now I'm swimming once a week, while biking and running twice a week. Most weeks I end up taking two days off completely...hope to cut this back down to one soon. In addition to my triathlon specific training, I'm doing something new this off season - power lifting.

After my 30-45 minute training session each morning, I hit the weights. I'm focusing on doing what are traditionally known as power lighting or Olympic style lifts. I use heavy weight and only do 3 sets of 6-8 reps of each. Here's what I currently do in a typical week:

MONDAY
Swim (30-45 minutes of intervals)
Lifting (bench press - flat or incline, dumbbell flys, dips, abs)

TUESDAY
Bike (Spin class or 45 minute of interval work)
Lifting (squats, leg press, stiff-leg dead lift, calf raises, hip abductors)

WEDNESDAY
Run (30-45 minute tempo or fartlek run)
Lifting (military press, upright rows, bicep curls)

THURSDAY
Bike (Spin class or 45 minute of interval work)
Lifting (Deadlift, clean & jerk, lat pull-downs, rows, abs)

FRIDAY - off

SATURDAY or SUNDAY
Run (30-40 minute run at steady pace)
No lifting, stretching and hip strengthening exercises

So what benefit do I expect to get from doing this type of strength training (other than getting some muscle back that I've lost)? To build a stronger foundation for power and strength in the water, on the bike, and on the pavement.

I know that a lot of triathletes and runners shy away from this type of heavy lifting because they don't want to pack on too much muscle. After all, added weight will only slow you down, right? While there's definitely a fine line between being strong and being too heavy, 3 months of this type of lifting isn't going to get me so big that my neck disappears.

I'm constantly amazed at what the human body can do and how it can adapt. Triathlon and other endurance events use slow twitch muscles. As a result of spending 9+ months training my slow twitch muscles for Ironman, my fast twitch muscle fibers have shrunk. The days of me sprinting up and and down a basketball court or playing racquetball are years on the past...and it shows. While I was in the best shape of my life while training for Ironman, I doubt I would have been able to play a full court game of basketball or even jump high enough to grab the rim. I plan on doing (as of right now) lots of shorter races next season. I will be calling some fast twitch fibers into action for these races, so I'm trying to wake them up now!

Another benefit to this type of lifting is to rebuild the tendons, ligaments and joints that took a beating this past season. This will hopefully reduce the risk of injury in 2012.

IMPORTANT NOTE!

If you plan on implementing some or all of these lifts into your off season routine, please follow the links above and concentrate on your form by doing them in front of a mirror. I started using very light weights to get my form down before stepping up to the heavy stuff. Doing these lifts with incorrect form will always result in an injury.

A Comparison: Ironman and Natural Childbirth

2011-11-09T16:18:00.001-05:00

Ok, so based on the title of this blog, I'm sure that I already have some women ready to give me a piece of their mind. Obviously, I have never, and will never, experience child birth first hand. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way saying that I could even do it...but just hear me out on the similarities. By the way, I have discussed this with my wife on several occasions and she agrees with me (for the most part).

I've had the privilege of witnessing my awesome wife deliver our two beautiful children. I was right by her side from the moment the contractions started until we were holding our newborns. I went to every single Obstetrician appointment with both children (I even call her our OB). I didn't miss a single Bradley Method class before our first child was born and coached her through both labors. I've witnessed it all...up close and personal.

I've also completed an Ironman triathlon. I trained for 8+ months and completed a 2.4 mile open-water swim, 112 mile bike ride and then ran a full 26.2 mile marathon...all in 12 hours.

All three of theses events (birth of my two children and Ironman) were life-changing experiences for my wife and I. Both required a great amount of physical and mental strength. It's really hard to put into words what it takes to get through labor without pain medication or to complete an Ironman. You can't adequately describe it to anyone that hasn't done it themselves and you aren't even sure if you can do it yourself...until you do. Once you do it, you love to talk about it and to hear other people's stories about how they did it.

Some other similarities between natural childbirth and Ironman :

You train/plan for 8-9 months for both
The anticipation build-up is almost too much to handle
Learning to control your breathing and muscle tension is critical to success
Somewhere along the way, you will question yourself and your preperation
You are going to have to go to the bathroom at some point. It will most likely be at an inconvenient time.
It's a long journey...somewhere between 10 and 16 hours are typical for both.
Support from friends/family is essential
Both have "transitions". Ironman transitions are much easier!
The worst part is right before the finish, but you know that you are almost there, so you push through the pain
Whatever pain you had to endure is quickly forgotten once you see the end is in sight
The experience makes you amazed at what the human body is capable of
Both are accomplishments that you can brag about for the rest of your life
Within a few days, you forget about how hard it was and are ready to do it again
You will probably walk and little funny for a few days afterward
Nursing injuries will be required for a few weeks once it's over

Feel free to add any other similarities that you can think of.

One HUGE difference is the prize that you get at the end. All I have for Ironman is a hat, shirt and a medal. My wife got real, live babies!

Running Myths

2011-11-01T11:42:00.001-04:00

The more you run, the more you want to know about how to improve your stride, increase your pace, extend your distance and prevent injuries. You start to read articles online and in magazines. You pick up tips from other runners that you talk to. Heck, maybe you even read a blog or two! With all this information, you are going to come across lots of things that are just not true. So what are some of the bigger myths that are floating around the world of running?

> Stretch before you run. FALSE! If you want to avoid injuries, I beg you...do NOT do static stretching before you run! Stretching muscles before they have warmed up is a recipe for disaster. While the jury is still out on whether stretching at all is beneficial, there is no debate that by stretching muscles after they are warm and loose drastically reduces your risk for injury. I prefer to do active stretching prior to a run. Some skipping, kick-butts, grapevines and single leg swings. Save the toe touches and quad stretches for after your workout!

> Strength Training is not important. FALSE! If you follow this blog, you know that lack of strength training led to an injury four months ago that I am still dealing with. Sure, running makes your leg muscles strong, but using resistance or weights adds even more strength...improving performance and helping to avoid injuries that result from unknown weak areas or overuse.

> Running is hard on your knees. FALSE! This is one myth that has been out there for a long time. Non-runners or people that jumped into running too quickly will tell you that it will destroy your knees. I challenge you to find a study that proves this. You won't find one, it doesn't exist. You need to do cross-training and strengthening exercises in addition to your running, but I promise you...done correctly, running is not detrimental to the life of your knees.

> Minimal shoes will cure all injuries. FALSE! You knew this one was coming. If you go out and buy a pair of barefoot or minimalist shoes and start to run in them, you will actually increase your chance of an injury. It's the latest craze, so people believe the hype. These types of shoes help to improve your form, but it's nothing that can't be done while wearing your "normal", cushioned shoes. In fact, new research even shows that heel-striking isn't even bad as long as you land under your hips. I'm not saying that minimalist shoes are bad, but use them in moderation...especially at first!

> Long Slow Distance running is the only way to train for a half or full marathon. FALSE! I've done eleven half marathons and two full marathons (include those as part of triathlons). I've trained for these several different ways. I've also written training programs for other runners/triathletes that are doing these long distance races. I can tell you from experience that you do not need to go out and do long, slow runs in order to get the stamina necessary to run 13.1 or 26.2 miles. If you go out and run slow during your training, all you are doing is training yourself to run slow. The majority of your workouts should consist of fast running (intervals, tempo runs, fartleks) and hill work. You can do a long run once in a while to test your fueling or just prepare yourself mentally for running a long time...but even these runs are not necessary to prepare for a long race.

> Cramps are caused by dehydration or low sodium. FALSE! This is going to fly in the face of just about everything else you read, but I've recently come across some interesting data. Muscle cramps or spasms are most often caused by fatigue, not lack of water or sodium. While staying well hydrated and nourished is important, studies are now showing that if you drink before you are thirsty, all you are doing is adding water weight. You should only drink to thirst. Drink only when you are thirsty, not every time you see water. This is a lot easier to do if you carry your own water with you and don't rely on the aid stations. The human body also has an amazing ability to retain sodium. If you are seeing salt in your sweat, all you are doing is excreting the excess sodium that your body is holding from the food that you have eaten recently. Don't believe Gatorade or Powerade...your body has more than enough sodium/electrolytes to make it through a marathon. Don't get me wrong, I've believed that you needed a certain amount of sodium intake per hour during long runs (I took electrolyte capsules during all of my half and full Ironman triathlons this year), but I now think that this was unnecessary. More on all of this in a future post. If you think I'm crazy, check out this link.

Popular Gear

2011-10-27T14:56:00.000-04:00

Each year, during the Ironman World Championship race in Hawai'i, a count of what gear everyone is using is done. I find this interesting, so I thought that I would share it.

Speed Suits:

TYR - 411

Blue70 - 316

XTerra - 96

Aquasphere - 51

Bikes:

Cervelo - 488

Trek - 185

Felt - 124

Specialized - 122

Scott - 96

Cannondale - 79

QR - 61

Argon 18 - 57

Kuota - 55

Orbea - 53

Shoes:

Asics - 337

Saucony - 247

Kswiss - 209

Newton - 187

Brooks - 143

Nike - 100

Mizuno - 96

Zoot - 86

Adidas - 86

New Balance - 38

If you want to see the full lists, they can be found at LavaMagazine.com

There are some interesting things at the bottom of these lists. For instance, one person apparently wore Crocs? I find it hard to believe the someone ran a marathon in Croc sandals!

There was also a misguided runner that did the full 26.2 miles in Vibram five-fingers. They must have just finished reading "Born to Run". If the race were on grass, I would understand this more.

There was also someone that rode the 112 miles on a mountain bike. I've seen lots of newbies on mountain bikes at sprint distance races, where you are riding anywhere from 12 to 16 miles...but to ride one for 112 miles? Why? Who are you trying to impress?!?

Personally, I ride an Argon 18 and run in Asics. I'm not cool enough to own a speed suit!

Finding Your Ideal Racing Weight

2011-10-24T13:47:00.003-04:00

In August of 2006, I weighed 206 pounds. I was lifting pretty heavy backthen and was doing very little cardio (doing triathlon's was not even on my radar). I didn't eat very good andalthough I thought that losing a few pounds would do me some good, I couldhave never imagined myself weighing 38 pounds less (168) as I did five yearslater on the morning of Ironman Louisville. I felt "healthy" backthen, but I felt like a lean, mean, fighting machine this past summer whiletraining for IM.

In the 8 weeks since IM, I've managed to gain 17 pounds. It's pretty easy todo when you aren't working out very much and you eat pretty much whatever youfeel like. My weight has actually stabilized around 185 now and I have no doubtthat once I get back into training for next season, the extra weight will comeright off.

So the question now becomes, what is my ideal weight? While I felt reallyfast racing at 168, I also felt that I lost a lot of muscle getting down tothis weight and I lacked the power on the bike that I had two seasons ago whenI was weighing in around 180. I searched the internet and referenced sometriathlon and running websites to find a formula that could tell me what myoptimal race weight is.

The "ideal weight" calculator most used by non-athlete's in the BMI(Body Mass Index). This calculator works ok, but it does not factor in bodyfat/muscle composition. Having 5 pounds of lean muscle is obviously healthierthan carrying around 5 pounds of fat. At my current weight of 185, I havea BMI of 26.5...which puts me in the "Overweight" category. Even atmy IM race weight of 168, I'm at the top end of the "normal" category.So obviously, this calculator is useless to athletes.

So what other calculators are out there? There's the waist to hip ratiocalculator (WHR). You simply measure the circumference of your waist and thelargest point on your hips and divide the two numbers. I'm going to be in a friend's wedding,so I was actually just measured for a tux last week. My waist measurement is a32 and my hips are a 41. This gives me a ratio of 0.78 (32/41). Anything below0.95 puts you at low risk for health problems related to obesity. Nice info tohave, but it still doesn't tell me what my ideal weight is.

Another option is to compare my weight to other 33 year old males that aremy height (5'10"). I found a website that let's youplug in your age, height and sex and then tells you what the average weight isfor others in this demographic. Mine came out to be 173 pounds. This seemspretty reasonable to me, but the "average" person is not an athletetrying to compete at a high level.

If you have been following this blog for over a year, you know that Ifollowed a training plan outlined by Joe Friel for my 2010 triathlon season. Iremembered seeing a blog entry from Joe some time ago that discussed findingyour ideal race weight. A quick Google search led me right to it. Inthis blog post, he discussed how much extra force is required to ride a bike upa hill or run when you are carrying extra weight. I can tell you that the runsthat I've done since IM have not been as easy as those I did this summer.Imagine going out for a run carrying a 15 pound dumbbell! Joe goes on to give acalculation to find what your ideal racing weight might be, that perfect combinationof weight and power. To find this weight, start by taking your weight in poundsand divide it by your height in inches. For me, this currently looks like185/70 = 2.64. The typical, high-performance, male triathlete is in the 2.1 to2.3 pounds per inch range. Females are in the 1.9 to 2.1 pounds per inchrange.

In order to excel with a weight that puts you above the ranges listed, you would need to have a higherthan normal power output. So what would my weight need to be for me to race inthe range Joe describes? Amazingly it is 147 to 161 pounds! I honestly cannotimagine myself getting down to this weight, and frankly, I'm not an elite-leveltriathlete, so I don't have to!

So what am I going to do with all of this knowledge? I'm going to try andfind the optimal combination of power and speed. I'm going to hit the weightsthis off-season and put on some muscle for added power. Then, come January,I'll start to get lean and lose any excess body fat that I have. I imagine thatthis will put me in the mid 170's...where I was most of 2011. Check out myweight chart below from the past 10 months.

It's obvious that there isn't an ideal weight calculator that works foreveryone. Depending on what your ultimate goal is, you can train and race in awide weight range and still be successful. As for me, I'm enjoying myoff-season weight and don't plan on giving up my second helpings at dinner ormy bedtime snack anytime soon...especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner!

Why This Ironman is WEAK

2011-10-18T16:21:00.000-04:00

I've never considered myself weak. Before I started training for triathlons, I lifted weights. I was one of those dudes in the gym that loaded up the bench press or squat rack and pushed out some reps while grunting uncontrollably. In fact, if my memory is correct, once upon a time I could bench press 335 pounds and squat over 500 pounds. Impressed? Yeah, I was "on swole".

A lot of triathlete's and runners have never done strength training. Though I didn't hit the weights nearly as hard once I decided to train for endurance races, I still mixed in some free weights a few times a week. I knew the importance of keeping your muscles and joints strong.

So when I first noticed the pain in my IT Band 6 weeks out from Ironman, I was surprised when my Physical Therapist told me I was weak. To be more specific...my hips were weak. So how do weak hips translate to a knee injury?

Weak hip muscles cause a runner's form to fall apart. The hips can't adequately control the motion of the legs...especially after several long runs in a row (which was my critical mistake). When your hips are not strong enough to keep your legs in line, it places stress on the knee and it's surrounding joints, ligaments and tissue. After logging over 50 hard miles in a ten day period in July, my IT band was swollen, inflamed and too tight to do me any good. I couldn't even run 2 minutes without being in pain. Weak hips can also lead to Patellofemiral Pain Syndrome (PFPS), which is that pain just below your knee cap...a very common injury for runners.

So what did I do to get ready for Ironman...where I was expected to run 26.2 miles? I slowly started strengthening my hips, glutes and core. Along with doing these exercises, I was using my foam roller almost nightly and doing lots of stretching.

In the days after Ironman, my IT band hurt just walking down steps. I took a complete month off of running...while continuing to do my hip and glute strength training. I'm the only male at the gym that ever uses the hip abductor and glute machines!

Over the last two weeks, I've had three short runs with very little pain in my IT band. The running hasn't been easy due to the fact that I'm about 15 pounds heavier than I was just 6 weeks ago, but running without pain is a great feeling.

So don't make the same mistake that I did. Even if you are doing strength training already, add in some hip strengthening exercises to your routine. I used (and still use) the five exercises outlined in Ben Greenfield's The Bulletproof Knee.

Ben charges for this program, so I'm not going to give away his secrets for free. If you don't want to pony up the cash to get his program (worth every penny...not running for almost two months because of an injury is horrible), you should be able to find some hip and glute strengthening exercises online somewhere.

As for my recent training, after a month of taking it easy and packing on the pounds following Ironman, I'm back into a little bit of a routine. I try to swim, bike and run at least once a week now. I'm hoping to up this to twice a week over the next few weeks. I'm doing lots of interval work in the pool and on the bike trainer - I'm done with the long, slow stuff! My 2012 season is starting to come together, more on this later.

2011 Ironman World Championship Recap

2011-10-10T16:24:00.001-04:00

The race started at 1pm Eastern Time, so I had my laptop all set up and ready to view the race live on IronmanLive.com. I was able to catch the entire swim and the start of the bike leg while the kids were napping. Once they woke up, we headed out to Harvest Homecoming (if you are not from the Louisville area, this is a little vendor fair in southern Indiana). By the time we made it home, the pro men were about 5 miles into the run...perfect timing.

After getting the kids to bed, I sat back down with my computer and was able to watch the last hour or so of the race. It was nowhere near as exciting as last year's finish, but there was plenty of drama.

Chris Lieto had a six minute lead off of the bike...and we all knew what was going to happen. Lieto always leads off of the bike. He's a dominant rider, but then he just can't hold a fast enough pace on the run to hold off the stronger runners. By mile four, Craig Alexander had passed Lieto for the lead. By the halfway point of the marathon, Alexander was up over two minutes on Andreas Raelert and Peter Jacobs. Alexander stretched the lead and by the 20 mile mark, it was going to take a miracle for anyone to catch him. The commentators were doing the math and knew that if he kept his current pace, he would be close to breaking the course record! With just under two miles to go Alexander stopped. He reached down and grabbed his feet, stretching out his hamstrings. He started to run again...then stopped to stretch. Was he cramping? Did he know that the record was within reach? After stopping a third time, he lowered his head and sprinted home. He crossed the line in an amazing time of 8:03:56, twelve seconds faster than the record set by Luc Van Lierde in 1996. This was Alexander's third Ironman World Championship, putting him in an elite group.

Pete Jacobs passed Raelert for second. Dirk Bockel was fourth and Timo Bracht rounded out the top five. For the record, I correctly predicted two of the top three and also had Bracht to finish 8th.

The women's race was a little more exciting. Chrissie Wellington had a bike wreck while training last week. No one knew the extend of her injuries. The road rash on her elbow was obvious, but if you've ever found yourself lying on the pavement next to your bike, you know that lots of other things are going to hurt. Wellington came out of the water almost 10 minutes behind the leaders...a lead too big for any ordinary triathlete to make up in the World Championship. Julie Dibens and Caroline Steffen took off on the bike after having great swims. As I watched the ladies exit the water, I kept wondering, "where's Chrissie?". I was thinking that maybe she was injured more than anyone knew and had a shoulder injury that was hampering her in the water. When I returned later in the evening and picked up the action at the end of the bike leg, she was over 20 minute behind Dibens!

As Alexander was pulling away in the men's race, the attention quickly turned to the women. Wellington came off the bike running sub-6 minute miles and was cutting into Dibens lead at an alarming rate. In fact, it only took 8 miles for people to catch Dibens. First it was Caroline Steffen. Then Dibens was then passed by Leanda Cave and Rachel Joyce...before dropping out. Steffen and Cave were now both in the sights of Wellington. Chrissie's pace was just too much. She overtook Steffen with around 7 miles to go and quickly extended her lead to over two minutes. Mirinda Carfrae (last year's champion) had been running down the competition all day as well, but despite having the fastest run ever, she couldn't catch Chrissie and finished second. Cave held on for third. Rachel Joyce and Caroline Steffen rounded out the top five.

If you are keeping score, I also correctly predicted the top two women. I had Cave coming in 6th and Steffen fourth.

Fun and exciting race, I can't wait to see the NBC broadcast in December.

On another note, congrats to my two local buds, Scott and Mike. They finished in 13:15:21 and 10:56:55 respectively. Awesome race guys!

Ironman World Championship Predictions

2011-10-06T11:01:00.001-04:00

It's the "Super Bowl" of traithlon, so of course I'm going to pick a winner. To my knowledge, Vegas has not yet made it possible to wager on this race...so I'm going to make my predictions by giving my odds on the top pro men and women crossing the line first. Of course, all gambling is for entertainment purposes only.

MEN
#1: Craig Alexander (AUS) -- 5-2
#10: Andreas Raelert (GER) -- 3-1
#6: Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) -- 4-1
#3: Tim O'Donnell (USA) -- 7-2
#2: Raynard Tissink (RSA) -- 9-2
#5: Faris Al-Sultan (GER) -- 8-1
#25: Chris Lieto (USA) -- 9-1
#9: Timo Bracht (GER) -- 12-1

My wager would look like this:
Trifecta Box: 1-6-3
Show bet: 3, 25
Longshot to win: 9

It's going to be an exciting race. Last years champion is not racing on the mens side, so it will be interesting to see if Craig Alexander can capture his third title or if someone new will take the crown.

WOMEN
#102: Chrissie Wellington (GBR) -- 5-4
#101: Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) -- 5-2
#124: Linsey Corbin (USA) -- 3-1
#103: Caroline Steffen (SUI) -- 4-1
#108: Julie Dibens (GBR) -- 5-1
#107: Leanda Cave (GBR) -- 7-1
#128: Mary Beth Ellis (USA) -- 9-1

My wager would look like this:
Trifecta Box: 102-108-103
Show bet: 107
Longshot to win: 128

Chrissie Wellington won in '07, '08 & '09. She dropped out the morning of the race last year because of an illness. Her races since then have indicated that if anything, she has improved since her 2009 race in Kona. It will be a surprise if anyone can hang with her. Mirinda took advantage of Chrissie's absence last year to win, but her time was around 4 minutes slower than what Chrissie ran in 2009.

You can follow the race live on Saturday starting at 1pm on IronmanLive.com

Happy Kona Week!

2011-10-03T10:03:00.000-04:00

If you have been involved in the world of triathlon for any period of time, hearing "Kona" only means one thing...the Ironman World Championship. If you are not immersed in triathlon, than Koan probably brings thoughts of coffee, a restaurant or maybe just place in Hawaii. A race this Saturday on the big island will crown the 2011 Ironman World Champion. If you want details on the race, you can check out the blog posts I did before the race a few years ago:

History of the Ironman

Swim

Bike

Run

Last year I discussed who gets to race in Kona and how they get there. Most of the 1800 athletes qualify, thus making it a true World Championship. You can qualify at any full Ironman distance race and few half-Ironman races. There were a total of 65 people that qualified for Kona at Ironman Louisville,this year 43 men and 22 women. Qualifying spots are rewarded based on where you finished in your age group. Usually the top 2-3 from each age group get a spot in the big race. I finished 112th in my age group, just two hours and twenty-three minutes behind the final 30-34 year old male qualifier. Those slow transition times killed me!

The other way to get to the starting line in Kona is to enter and win a lottery. There are only 200 spots awarded to lottery winners each year. This year, the winner from Kentucky, Scott Panella, happens to be someone that is a member of our local triathlon club and someone that I've gotten to know pretty well this year. Scott completed a half-Ironman earlier this season to satisfy the requirement needed to start the race this Saturday. He has never finished (only did the swim and bike by choice at IMLOU) a full Ironman race and I'm sure that he's excited to make one of the toughest in the world his first!

I also know a local triathlete, Mike Hermanson, that qualified for Kona by running a 9:32:50 at IMLOU...yeah, he's fast. He's not a pro, but beat lots of them and came in 18th Overall here in Louisville. Yes, that's correct, 18th overall.

Good luck to both Scott and Mike...represent The 'Ville and enjoy the race/vacation!

Performance Level Percentages

2011-09-28T15:13:00.000-04:00

I have a subscription to a magazine called Running Times. I'm not sure why or how I get it, but once a month it shows up in my mailbox. It has some good articles, but like most magazines I get, I can blaze through it in about 20 minutes.

I typically save my magazines if I know that I have a trip coming up that involves flying. Having a stack to read through while waiting at the gate or on the plane makes the time go by faster.

On a recent flight to Cleveland I started reading the October issue of Running Times. I came across an article titled "Advanced Math" by Rachel Toor. The article talked about Performance Level Percentages (PLP).

Using these percentages is a great way to see how compare with runners your same age. Sure, races have age group categories and you can see how you stack up to people in a 5 year range, but your results will vary greatly depending on what race it is and how many people enter. The author of this article compared using PLP to grading on a curve. I like the comparison.

The PLP formula uses 100% as world-record class. 90-100% is world class; 80-90% is national class; 70-80% is regional class; and 60-70% is local class. Below 60% doesn't mean that you should toss the running shoes in the trash, it simply means that your time for the given distance is not in the top 40%.

I know that some people just run for fun and could care less about how their times compare to their peers. I'm not one of those people. I love to run and while I have no false hopes of becoming a world class or even national class runner, I do like to see my times improve through training. I also like to see if what I'm doing is respectable for my age.

I looked at some of my road races from back in the spring. Here are my percentages:

Time - 20:03

PLP - 65.1%

70% PLP time is 18:39

10K

Time - 44:07

PLP - 61.6%

70% PLP time is 38:48

10M

Time - 1:14:00

PLP - 60.2%

70% PLP time is 1:03:41

Half-Marathon

Time - 1:37:27

PLP - 60.9%

70% PLP time is 1:24:44

So, I'm a "local" class runner in all categories (by the skin of my teeth!). I don't really care about the label, but now that I've found this tool, it will be fun to see if I can hold or improve the percentages as I get older. Other than setting PR's, I would like to get closer to 70% in all of my races. I like setting big goals!

There are several PLP calculators available online. Here's a link to the one that I used:

http://www.compuscore.com/agegrade/calculator.php

Books I'd Recommend

2011-09-24T21:30:00.004-04:00

Most people read books while lying in bed at night, using it as a way to unwind. Training for any triathlon, much less an Ironman, takes time. During this past year, sleep has been very important to me. If I could get an extra half-hour, heck, even fifteen minutes...I would take it. So I didn't do any reading before bed. There were still lots of books that I wanted to read, so I got creative.

I listened to books instead of reading them. I would download the book as an MP3 from iTunes and listen to it while on the bike trainer, or I would buy/borrow the audio book on CD and listen to it in the car. I also have a transmitter that allows me to listen to those MP3 files through the car stereo.

So despite having almost zero "free time" this year, I've been able to get through several books. I feel like I've made really good use of my time while driving and riding...and it's not like there's any good music coming out these days anyway!

So here's a quick look at some of the books that I would recommend:

UNBROKEN

By Laura Hillenbrand

This is the only book that I listened to that caused me to sit in my car for another 5-10 minutes several times after I reached my destination. I just couldn't wait to hear what was going to happen next. This book combined two of my favorite things, running and American history. If I didn't know that it was a true story, I would have been irritated that someone made up such an unrealistic story. The book follows Louis Zamperini from childhood mischief, to his high school track team, then on to college, where he set NCAA records for the mile. He made it to the 1936 Olympics and competed in the 5K. Soon after that race he joined the army and was off to World War II. He was assigned to a B-24 bomber and flew numerous missions in the Pacific. I won't ruin the story, but as if what I've told you already isn't enough to make a good story, it all pales in comparison to what happens after his plane is shot down. I highly recommend this book! All I can say is that Louis Zamperini is some kind of super-human. By the way, he's still alive - he's 94 years old and still does motivational speaking! If you can only read one book on this list - read this one.

UNTHINKABLE

By Scott Rigsby and Jenna Glatzer

Scott Rigsby was the first double-leg amputee to complete the Ironman triathlon in Kona, Hawaii. This book follows his journey from age 18, when he was involved in the accident, all the way through this Ironman race in Kona. Scott was age 39 when he completed the Ironman, so needless to say, the road that lead him to compete in a triathlon was a long one. Great book for anyone that feels sorry for themselves. You think that you have been dealt a bad deck in life? After seeing all that Scott goes through, your perspective will change!

BLINK

By Malcolm Gladwell

This book is one that I borrowed from my Dad. It's not a book that I would probably pick up in a book store, but I'm glad he recommended it. This book has nothing to do with sports or history, but I found it to be really interesting. It's about snap judgments. What your mind does in the first two seconds when you encounter a person or a situation. How does you mind make these subconscious decisions and should you rely on them. The first half of the book had me convinced that we should always trust these snap decisions that we make. Then by the time I finished it, I was convinced that these instant decisions are usually incorrect. If nothing else, I learned a lot about reading someone face. With enough studying, you can tell what someone is thinking without them saying a word. I would love to be able to do this...especially with my wife!

What the Dog Saw

By Malcolm Gladwell

Since I liked Blink so much, I decided to read another book by the same author. This book also covers lots of things that effect your daily life that you have probably never thought about. He spends a lot of time talking about a legendary pitchman. He describes how this pitchman was able to understand how humans think and feel on such a high level, that he was able to know exactly how to sell them whatever product he was pushing at the time. The book also describes how a dog trainer was able to develop the same understanding of how canines think and feel. Later in the book he goes through the events that led to the Challenger disaster and the Enron failure. Could both of these been avoided? He thinks so, and tells you why. Cool stuff!

I'm Here To Win

By Chris McCormack and Tim Vandehey

Chris McCormack is the two-time winner of the Ironman World Championship. I bought this audio book on iTunes a few weeks before I did Ironman Louisville...for obvious reasons. Although I had no illusions of winning IMLOU, I wanted to hear what McCormack had to say about the mental aspects of the race. This was a really cool book and while I knew a little bit about the author before I started this book, I learned just how talented and smart he is. He's a true competitor in every sense of the word. He loves the mental game as much as the physical, which was key to winning his second Championship in 2010 at age 37. He takes the reader through his entire triathlon career and even gives some interesting stats from several of his pro seasons, including miles traveled and training volume. This book could also be used as a training guide. McCormack outlines his typical Ironman training plan and gives lots of details on how to complete the workouts. Warning - his workouts are no joke. I trained hard for my Ironman, but his workouts are designed for a pro...seriously.

50/50

By Dean Karnazes

This book describes Dean's journey as he completed 50 marathons in all 50 states, in 50 consecutive days. Read that sentence again. Yes, you read it right. He ran a full 26.2 mile marathon in 50 consecutive days, while traveling between states on a bus. Lots of crazy adventures in this one! Dean fights through sleep deprivation, injuries, fatigue, rain, snow, heat, mountains, desert and crazy fans. Lots of good tips in this book for anyone that runs. You don't have to be an endurance freak to know the importance of knowing how to recover quickly, keep from cramping in the heat, eating on the go and what do you when you hit the wall during a run. Fun book to read and good motivation to get out there and run!

Born To Run

By Christopher McDougall

Some people (including me) credit this book for being the start of the "barefoot" running craze. The book is full of cool stories of endurance races, both organized and ones run by crazy athlete's that could care less about getting recognition for their talents. I liked the adventures of the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico, Caballo Blanco and Barefoot Ted. Because I have already researched this topic myself, I was a little annoyed by the break the author took right before the best part of the book to talk about all the "science" behind running without shoes and how it's the only way to run without injury. I rolled my eyes a few times as he talked about Harvard scientists and what they "discovered" about the human runner. It was kind of like getting mad when your favorite TV show goes to commercial right before they reveal whodunit. Either way, it was still a good book and it even had me looking up some of the characters on the internet to see what they looked like and what they were up to know.

So those are a few on the books that I got through this year. If you have read or do read any of them, let me know your thoughts.

My Final 2011 USAT Ranking

2011-09-21T10:56:00.000-04:00

According to USA Triathlon's rankings for 2011, I'm ranked 1567th out of 5897 in my Division (Males, ages 30-34). That's in the top 26%, so it's not too bad. I was ranked 1539th last year out of 3133 (top 49%). So while my ranking was lower, there were over 2700 more athlete's this year and my score was also higher (78.53 versus 74.47). If you want to understand what this score means, read this post.

Because the race director didn't turn in the results, two of my races were not included in the rankings. Neither of my Half-Ironman races were included. I'm not sure if these races would have helped or hurt my overall rank, but I finished 5th out of 10 in my AG at Taylorsville and 8th out of 28 at Cardinal...so it's probably a wash.

The three races that were included in my rankings were the Sprint race I did in the Spring, the Olympic distance I did in June and the Ironman race last month.

Shelbyville Sprint - Score = 80.97

TriFest Olympic - Score = 77.07

Ironman Louisville - Score = 77.66

On another note, I recently passed 20,000 views on this blog. I know what your thinking, but no, I don't get on my own blog several times a day to increase my stats! It was cool to meet several people at races and events this year that follow my blog.

I know that I haven't posted much in the month that's passed since Ironman Louisville, but I honestly haven't had much to report on. I've only had a hand full of workouts since then and my IT band is still hurting when I run, so I'm not even training for any road races this fall. I'm going to get back on a ~~strict~~ more strict workout routine next week. It will consist mostly of weight training, lots of stretching and some light biking and swimming. The cooler temperatures have me itching to get out and run, but I have to get this IT band healed now so that it doesn't effect my 2012 season!

Ironman Louisville Video

2011-09-13T09:17:00.000-04:00

Pictures and video courtesy of:

Jessica Powell

Lorna & Alan Powell

John & Kira Powell

Becca Hill

Chris Haragan

The Key family

Ironman Louisville Race Report - Part 4

2011-09-06T15:25:00.001-04:00

7:10pm

After crossing the line and becoming an Ironman, I was immediately given my finishers medal and a hat and shirt. I was then greeted by a volunteer that asked me how I was feeling (that's him in the white visor). I don't remember what I told him, but he decided it would be a good idea to hang out with me for a few minutes. I put my hand on his shoulder and we walked over to have my official finisher's photo taken. In the video (I'll post this later), you can see me looking in several directions and giving waves to people as I heard them yelling my name. I don't remember who I saw...not a clue. I do remember looking for Jessica and then seeing my parents standing to the left just past the finish line. I walked over and gave my Mom and hug. As I stood there talking with them, my legs began to get weak and I was getting a little dizzy. I turned around and my "escort" was standing right next to me. He then suggested that we take a walk down to the Convention Center and get some water and maybe a massage, or maybe stop in and get checked out by the medical team. At that point, I would have walked anywhere that this guy wanted to lead me.

7:15pm

As we were walking down the finish shoot I realized that I had just turned and walked away from my parents, without telling them where I was going. None of my family or friends that had come to the finish line were going to have any idea where I was. I thought about telling my escort that I needed to go back and tell them, but I didn't have the energy. We walked up to the Convention Center and through the front doors. As we walked past the room where the Medics were, he asked me if I wanted to have them check me out or if I wanted an IV. I took a look at the people sitting there waiting for medical attention and decided that they were worse off than I was. So I declined medical attention and opted for a walk down the hall to the massage room.

7:25pm

Once I signed in for my massage, my escort left. He was a really nice guy and I wish I could remember what we talked about. As I sat in my chair waiting for my name to be called I started to look around. It looked like Night of the Living Dead in there. People were just sitting there, staring straight ahead...like zombies. I started to chat with the dude sitting next to me. He was from California and flew in to Louisville just for this race. Notice that I'm starting to remember stuff? It was right around this point that I started getting cold chills. Despite being in the mid 80's and humid outside, I was freezing. This is a sure sign of heat exhaustion. My core body temperature had gotten high enough that sweating was not doing the trick. I sat there for a few minutes shivering, then asked a volunteer for a Mylar blanket. Other than making me look like a superhero, this metallic blanket did a good job of regulating my body temperature. After about 5 minutes, the chills were gone. I took off my shoes and socks to assess the damage. Big blister on the ball of my right foot and my big toe and the guy next to it on both feet were about to lose their toenails. Needless to say that I was walking very gingerly.

7:35pm

Jessica had seen me ~~walking~~ stumbling towards the Convention Center and eventually found me. She took my fuel belt and finishers shirt and hat...which I was sure to leave sitting there. I was really glad to see her and knew that she would tell everyone what was going on.

7:50pm

Finally laying on the table getting my massage. It was nice, but by this time, my muscles were tight and this short massage didn't do much. My back and legs were aching, I would have needed another 30 minutes on the table to do any good. I really regret sitting there for over half an hour waiting for this massage! I would have much rather been outside with my support crew.

8:00pm

I stumbled out the Convention Center door to be greeted by a round of applause. By my count, I had between 18 and 20 people there to great me. Very humbling. I was really excited to see both of my children there. It was past their bedtimes and we rarely make exceptions in this department. I guess this was a good excuse to keep them up late! I was holding them both when I guy from a local TV station (Wave 3) asked me if I would do an interview...lots of media attention for me these days! Here's the link to the article that ran in the local paper the day before the race.

8:05pm

As I'm standing there holding my son in one arm and my daughter in the other I was told that there had been a death during the swim portion of the race. The interviewer then asked me what my thoughts on this were. See the picture below for my reaction to this question. I did about a 5 minute interview with the guy, but after contacting the station this week, I was told that the footage didn't make the air and the video has been trashed. I guess I was too much of a smart-ass for them to air my response.

8:10pm

Now it was picture time! Lots of pictures with everyone...I felt like a celebrity. I was feeling much better at this point (an hour after I had finished), and was excited to start sharing my race story with anyone that would listen. As my support crew started to dispurse, I walked Jessica and the kids to her car and gave them a kiss goodnight. I had planned all along to stay at the finish line until midnight, to see the final participants cross the line.

8:40pm

I made my way to a restaurant called Sully's. It's located just feet from the finish line and my local triathlon club, the Louisville Landsharks had rented out a sweet spot outside on the patio. By this point I was starting to get hungry, so I ordered up a grilled chicken wrap and fries (yes, I ate fries). I sat around and chatted with one of my training partners, Bill Marks. We had started the day together at the swim start and now almost 14 hours later, we were sharing our race stories.

9:30pm

After I ate, I stood around watching people cross the finish line. It's a pretty awesome experience. You can see the struggle/relief on people's faces as accomplish their goal of becoming an Ironman. Every person has a unique story and I would love to hear them all!

10:00pm

I walked over to another restaurant, an Irish pub called Ri Ra. This is where Brendan, Jaime and Tim (remember them from the swim start?) were hanging out. I stumbled in and ordered up an endless glass of water. We did what everyone else was doing and told the successes/failures of the day. They had already looked up my splits online and I spent a few minutes catching some ridicule for my times in T1 & T2. Granted, they were about twice as long as they should have been, but once I explained that I wasn't taking a nap...actually they still thought it was funny.

11:00pm

We made our way out to the finish shoot to watch the final hour of Ironman Louisville. If you don't cross the finish line by midnight (17 hours after the race starts), it doesn't count...so things get pretty exciting at the end of the night. We watched person after person come in. Most of which looked like they had been walking for a while based on the amount of energy they had left. Lots of jumping, skipping, spinning, giving high fives, etc.. As it drew closer to midnight, Mike Reilly came down on to the finish shoot and started to encourage people to finish.

Check out this video that I shot. These are the last people to finish the race, literally seconds before the midnight cut off. Watch Mike Reilly (in the red shirt) run down and convince a guy to continue. He had stopped about 100 feet short of finishing. Listen to the crowd roar once he starts moving again. One word...awesome!

Gear used:
Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles
Pearl Izumi Elite Tri Top and Shorts
Tifosi Dolomite sunglasses
Argon 18 E-112 Triathlon bike
Asics Gel Foundation running shoes

Nutrition used:
Pre-race:

NUUN tablets (1 each in two 18oz water bottles) - sipped for the hour leading up to race start
Clif Shot Blocks - ate about 30 minutes before race start

Bike:

Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem (6 scoops in one 24oz. bottle of water for 3 hours, same for second 3 hours) - took two sips every 15 minutes
Two 24oz. bottles of clear water to start and then replaced as needed at aid stations
Hammer Nutrition Gel (3 gels in one 4oz. flask - replaced at half way point) - one big gulp every hour on the 50's
Millennium Sports Athlytes capsules (4 per hour - 24 total) - two every 20 minutes

Run:

Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem (2.5 scoops in each of the two 8oz. bottles on my fuel belt - mixed with water at first aid station) - two sips every 20-25 minutes - only got through 1/4 of this before stomach started cramping
Powerbar gel - 2 gels (had to spot taking these around hour 3 due to more stomach cramps)
Cola - took a full drink of cola at every aid station during the last hour and a half - it's all that I could handle
Two cups of clear water at every aid station
Millennium Sports Athlytes capsules (4 per hour - 16 total) - taken two at a time at aid stations every 30 minutes so that I could take them with water
Filled my hat up with ice twice to help keep cool
Took ice-cold sponges at every aid station and stuffed them down my shirt around my stomach

Nutrition plan worked well. Complex carbs early in the race, simple carbs as the race went on. I was well hydrated all day. My stomach started to cramp during the last few miles on the run, but I think this was due to the heat, not inadequate nutrition.

Ironman Louisville Race Report - Part 3

2011-09-05T06:42:00.000-04:00

2:40pm

If you follow my blog or have been around me much the last month, you no doubt know that I've been suffering from ITBS. The IT Band in my left knee has been very tight and in the six weeks leading up to Ironman, I hadn't run more than a few miles. To say that I was nervous about running a full marathon is an understatement! I figured that since I hadn't run in several weeks, I would at least be able to get a few miles in before I had to walk because of the pain. Controlling the physical aspect of this injury was something that I had been doing for over a month now, there was nothing else I could do on that front. The mental aspect however, was a different story. I refused to let my brain get in the way of my completing an Ironman. As I started the run, I decided to only focus on the first 5 miles. I would run for the first five and then reevaluate the situation. I felt great coming out of T2, but I knew that I had to resist the urge to run fast. I had to keep my HR in the 140's.

3:30pm

The five mile mark came somewhere around the University of Louisville. My first five mile splits were 9:03, 9:16, 9:57, 10:16 and 10:41...see a trend? By the time I got to mile five I was starting to feel some pain in my left knee. I played around with it and realized that the slower I ran, the less it hurt. I also noticed that my HR was staying in the low 130's and I felt like I had plenty of energy left...so I was just going to have to increase my pace and deal with the pain. I started the run with my fuel belt full of Perpetuem. I like to drink this mix as long as possible because it's the most complete fuel available. However, I knew that there would come a point where my stomach could no longer break down this more complex carbohydrate and I would have to switch to something else. I was only about an hour into the run when my stomach gave me a warning cramp...telling me that I better quit drinking the Perpetuem. At the next aid station, I dumped both bottles out and filled them with clear water.

4:00pm

I picked up the pace for miles 6, 7 & 8. My splits were 10:14, 10:06 and 9:55 for these three miles. I knew that my parents were going to be at Woodlawn and Southern Parkway, which is around mile 7.5. I was excited to see them and I was very surprised to find not only my parents waiting there, but a full cheering section! My wife Jessica, good friends Bridgette and her daughter Aleah, along with Kelly, Jen and Brooklyn. It's an awesome feeling to see that many people there to support you. For a moment, I forgot all about the knee pain. I had decided before the race that I would walk every aid station and drink water. Even though I didn't feel too hot at this point in the run, I was also taking two ice-cold sponges at every station and stuffing them down my tri shirt to keep my core cool. At the next aid station, I would swap them with some fresh ones. Since the Perpetuem was no longer an option, I decided to try some gels. I grabbed my first one at the aid station at mile 6. Once I cleared the aid station and started running again, I ripped it open and shoved a mouthful in. Yuck! I looked at the package..."Double Latte". What the %&$*! I hate coffee and anything coffee flavored. This was the only point during the entire day that I almost vomited. Lesson learned...look at the flavor before eating a gel!

4:10pm

The turnaround at the end of Southern Parkway is at mile 8.5. After making to to the 5 mile mark, then to see my support crew at Woodlawn, I decided to make my next goal the turnaround. I would keep running until then and once again reevaluate. My knee was still hurting and as I continued to try different things to ease the pain, I found that running in the middle of the street helped. The road slopes down on each side and even this very small slope caused my left foot to hit the ground slightly below my right food. This small difference caused some pain. So from this point forward, I ran the entire race smack dab in the middle of the street.

4:20pm

After the turnaround, it was just another mile back to Woodlawn. I decided to keep running at least until I saw everyone again. I was also starting to pass a lot of people walking by this point. My confidence was soaring because I was feeling good from a fitness standpoint. My heart rate was low and I knew that I had a lot left, the only thing that would lead to me walking was pain in my knee. By this time, I was running with a gel (Raspberry Creme flavor) in each hand as a reminder to not clench my fists. Focusing on keeping loose is key during an endurance event. I made sure that I wasn't holding any tension in my face, arms or hands...all of my energy needed to be going to my legs! I sucked down a gel about every half hour or so. I didn't particulalry like the flavor, but it was better than the other option (Double Latte)!

4:45pm

Miles 10 through 13 were tough. My socks were complete soaked by the water from the sponges running down my legs. Not only was I still dealing with knee pain, but I could feel a blister forming on the ball of my right foot. I was still chugging along, but my miles were slowing down...I just wanted to get to the Special Needs Bag at the 14 mile mark and get some dry socks and some BioFreeze! My splits for miles 9 through 13 were 10:18, 10:15, 10:39, 10:50, 10:54.

4:50pm

Finally made it to Special Needs. They grabbed my bag and I sat in a chair. As I opened my bag a volunteer came over to see what I needed help with. I told her that I was ok and I started to take my shoes off. She said "you putting on fresh socks?" I told her I was and she immediately squatted down in front of me and said "let me do it". Huh? This total stranger was going to take off my sweaty socks and put new ones on for me? "It's ok, I'll do it", I told her. "This is what I'm here for", she responded. I didn't have the energy to argue, so I let her do it. She was then kind enough to open my sample pack of BioFreeze for me. She helped me clean it off of my hands after I rubbed it on too! I was, and still am, amazed by the generosity of this person. I've volunteered at Ironman the last two years, so I know what they ask you to do...but what she did for me was above and beyond what is expected. I wish I would have caught her name. Either way, I'm sending an email to the Volunteer Director to let him know about my experience!

5:00pm

Much like my three stops on the bike, this time at Special Needs added several minutes to my run time, minutes where the clock was running, but I wasn't. Changing socks and numbing the knee pain were necessary for me at this point in the race though. Mile 14 is probably the hardest on the course. You are back downtown at this point and you literally come within 200 feet of the finish line before having to turn around and do the whole course again. I remember seeing Nancy, one of my swim coaches, on the sidewalk cheering people on. I also remember telling her that "this is torture!". I was referring to the fact that I could see the finish line, but still had over 12 miles to go...she probably thought that I meant the race in general was torture. Well...that too!

5:20pm

By the time I made it to the University of Louisville again, I was on mile 17. By this point, I was beginning to think that I was going to be able to run through the pain and complete the whole marathon without walking. It wasn't a given yet, but the positive thoughts were there. I was getting hot now and my stomach had started to reject the gels, so I had to switch to an even more simple carbohydrate...Coke (it was actually Sam's Choice Cola brand from Walmart - I saw the 2 liter bottles). For those of you that know me, it seems ridiculous for me to drink Coke. It's literally been years since any form of soda passed my lips. I know that you are not supposed to try anything in a race that you haven't practiced during training, but I was out of options. I needed the calories and my stomach wasn't doing well with anything else. So I started taking a drink or two of Coke at every aid station. It's really weird. I would feel a little boost about 30 seconds after drinking it...then it would fade after only a minute or two. So every mile or so, I would get a brief jolt of energy. I felt like a junkie, I needed my Coke fix!

5:55pm

Mile 20 was my third pass by the intersection of Woodlawn and Southern Parkway. Mentally, I was gone at this point. I had been eagerly awaiting seeing my family and friends again for miles. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, trying to get to where they were. When I got close to the spot where they had been on my first loop, I didn't see them. I have to admit, I was upset. At this point in an Ironman, it's almost all mental. Seeing that they were not there, I had a brief mental lapse and considered walking until I got to the next aid station. This was the first time in 19 miles that this thought crossed my mind. Just as I began to have an argument with myself about walking, I saw my parents. They had moved! They were just a few blocks further south. They were joined this time by my brother John and his wife Kira. I stopped when I made it to them and slapped on my final coat of BioFreeze. I decided at this point that I was going to throw caution to the wind and see if I could up the pace for the remaining 6 miles. My splits for miles 14 through 20 were 12:10 (2 minute stop at Special Needs), 10:31, 10:52, 10:39, 10:45, 10:34, 11:17 (stop to put on BioFreeze).

6:25pm

At the 23 mile mark I decide that I would stop walking though the aid stations. The increased pace over the three previous miles had led to some more intense knee pain, and while the walking was a temporary relief, I wanted to leave it all on the course. I had switched my watch off of heart rate mode, so I was no longer trying to keep my HR below 150. My average HR for the run ended up being 131 bpm. My splits for miles 21-22 were 10:04 & 10:05.

6:30pm

I scrolled though my watch to find my total time for the entire day. At this point, mile 23 of the marathon, I was sitting at 11 hours and 40 minutes. This was the first time that I realized I was going to be close to finishing at 12 hours, which was my original goal when I started training back in December. I did some quick math and realized that getting to the finish line under the 12 hour mark was going to be tough. I would need to run 8 minute miles for the rest of the race. I didn't know what I had left, but I decided to find out. I ran mile 23 in 9:06, mile 24 in 8:57...yes, my fastest mile of the day came at mile 24! When I reached mile 25 I hit the wall. I was pushing as hard as I could, my breathing was so far out of control that I couldn't even take in a drink of water. I could tell that my form was a mess. I was using my entire body to try and propel my legs forward. I knew that 12 hours was out of the question, so I set a new goal of finishing under 12:10:00. I ran mile 25 in 9:31. I saw a friend, Chip, and his family somewhere around mile 25, but all I had enough energy to do was give a slight wave, really just and extension of my fingers.

6:55pm

That last 1.2 miles seemed like 5 miles. I felt like I was running at a 6 minute pace, turns out it was closer to a 10 minute pace. I was mentally and physically spent. I ran the mile 26 in 10:03.

7:06pm

As I made that final right hand turn onto 4th Street, I could see the finish line. I dug deep and pushed it down the finish shoot and heard Mike Reilly say "Luke Powell, you are an Ironman!". Running down the finish shoot is kind of a blurr. If it weren't for the photo's and video, I doubt I would be able to tell you what I did after hearing Mike say my name. Apparently I extended both arms into the sky and pointed (see picture to the left), then I decided to do a double flex before putting my arms down as I crossed the finish line. It was all emotion at that point! It was official, I WAS AN IRONMAN!!

....to be continued...

Ironman Louisville Race Report - Part 2

2011-09-04T09:10:00.002-04:00

8:18am

The 112 mile bike course starts out fairly flat. It took a few minutes for my watch to pick-up my heart rate monitor strap, but once it did, I saw that my HR was in the low 120's...perfect. The goal was to keep my HR low during this first flat stretch and not let my speed get out of control. I kept looking down at my bike computer and noticed that I was in the 18-19 mph range. I've spent lots of time on my bike over the last year and I pretty much know how fast I'm going at any given point. I was a little surprised by the speed because I felt like I was going a little faster. I didn't let it bother me and I just held a pace that kept my HR below 140.

8:35am

I had a very precise nutrition plan for the 6 hours I planned on being on the bike. A drink or two of Hammer Perpetuem every 15 minutes, two electrolyte tablets at 20 and 40 past each hour, a gel at 50 past each hour and sips of clear water from my aero bottle every few minutes. So once I had been on the bike around 15 minutes, I reached back and grabbed my bottle of Perpetuem for my first fuel since eating my Shot Blocks over an hour and half earlier. As soon as the liquid hit my stomach I knew I had a problem. If you read Part 1 of this race report, you might remember me mentioning my pre-race routine. Part of this routine was missing the morning of Ironman...and I found it at mile 5 of the bike! I had the sudden urge to find a port-o-pot!

9:25am

Unfortunately for me, the first port-o-pot didn't make an appearance until KY-1694, which is around mile 24. From the time that I had the urge to "go" until I made it to a place where it's acceptable to do so, it had been almost an hour! Despite the stomach/intestinal cramps, I stuck to my nutrition plan. I knew that missing fuel at the beginning of the bike would lead to big problems later in the day. I had a volunteer hold my bike while I took care of business. I'd like to think that I was able to do this very quickly, but it still took me around 3-4 minutes...time where the clock was running, but I was sitting still. Once I got this out of the way, my stomach settled back down and didn't bother me the rest of the ride.

10:15am

I knew that my wife Jessica and daughter were going to be at the intersection of KY-393 and KY-146 in Buckner. I would pass this location twice, once at mile 35 and then again around mile 65. As I came down KY-393, I was looking for the red shirts that we had made for everyone. I saw my brother John first. He didn't see me until I was about 20 feet away and by the time he told his wife and Jessica that I was there, they barely had time to get their camera's up and snap a quick picture. They were unaware of the fact that I had started at the front of the line and swam about 10 minutes faster than I had expected. They had planned (because I told them) on my being at this intersection between 10:30 and 10:40am. Good thing they got there early! They stayed around and were able to get some good video and pictures of me on the second loop.

10:20am

After seeing Jessica, John and Kira (my daughter decided to stay with her Mimi), I just settled in and rode. By this point it was obvious to me that my bike computer was not working right. They had mile markers at random places on the course and my bike computer was showing I had gone a few miles less than the signs indicated. Normally I would trust my computer more than the signs, but since I had to reset it that morning, and I didn't feel like my speed was accurate, I knew it was off. So without my bike computer as a constant check, I had to rely on feel. I have a feeling that I would have pushed it a little more if I had known my average speed was under 19 mph. I was keeping an eye on my HR, but I know that I can keep it below my aerobic threshold of 140 bpm and still average 19 mph on this course. My average HR for the bike ended up being only 122 bpm.

12:15pm

Around mile 66 they had the Special Needs bags. I stopped, grabbed my bag and got to work. I had a volunteer hold my bike while I refilled my bottle with another 3 hours worth of Perpetuem mix, swapped out gel flasks, rubbed some BioFreeze on my knee and stretched my hip flexors. I was still feeling good at this point, but a little preventative maintenance can go a long way. So while this stop added another 5 minutes or so to my time, I still think it was a good idea.

12:45pm

I know this bike course very well. I know the parts that I like, and I know the parts that I hate. The 2-3 miles on Ballard School Road is a stretch that I hate. During the second loop, around mile 75, I found myself at the base of a steep climb...in the wrong gear. I don't know why I forgot to shift, I knew it was coming. Either way, I knew that climbing this hill in the wrong gear would trash my legs, so I attempted to shift from my big ring to my small ring, while already on the hill. Any experienced rider can probably predict what happened. A nasty noise and then a loss of all tension on the crank...my chain had come off! I quickly unclipped my feet to keep from falling over. I looked down and saw the carnage. At first glance, it looked like I had broken my chain. I instantly got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I moved my bike over to the left side of the road to asses the damage. Fortunately, the chain was just twisted, not broken. So I very carefully untwisted the chain and fed it back through the ring. I ran through a couple of gears and was very relieved when things seemed to be working correctly. With a mailbox as support, I climbed back on Flash and started my ascent up the hill.

1:10pm

I made the final turn onto US-42 and was headed back towards Louisville. While attacking the last big hill on L'Esprit Road, by quads started to cramp. I knew that my nutrition and hydration was on target (I peed 4 times on the bike), so this was a muscle fatigue issue. My IT Band had also started to hurt a little (which it never had before on the bike). Because of this, I decided to try and stay seated as much as possible during the final 30 miles of the ride. Fortunately, there are not many steep uphill climbs in that stretch. After focusing so much on my knee during T1, I failed to slap some chamois cream on, so by mile 90, by underside was a little sore.

2:20pm

I kept my cadence high during the final 10 miles or so in order to give my legs a rest. As I pulled into T2, I saw that I was a few minutes over the 6 hours that I had hoped for on the bike. The three stops that I made no doubt cost me a good 10 minutes, so I wasn't too upset at my official bike split of 6:08:01. Ironman breaks the bike into four segments for their athlete tracking. Here's how I fared on each:

Bike split 1: 23 miles - 1:12:48 - 18.96 mph

Bike split 2: 17 miles (40 total) - 0:55:44 - 18.30 mph - includes port-o-pot stop

Bike split 3: 30.5 miles (70.5 total) - 1:41:26 - 18.04 mph - includes stop for special needs bag

Bike split 4: 41.5 miles (112 total) - 2:18:03 - 18.04 mph - includes stop to fix chain

2:25pm

I handed my bike off to the bike catcher and ran down to grab my Run Gear bag. Once in the changing tent, I pulled off my helmet and bike shorts. I put on another pair of tri shorts, my fuel belt, fresh socks and my running shoes. I also took a few minutes to stretch some more, put on another layer of BioFreeze and pop a few Ibuprofen. I also took a dab of the community Vaseline and rubbed it on the bottoms of my feet (blister prevention). My 11+ minute T2 is embarrassingly slow, but once again I felt that any preventative maintenance I could do on my knee before starting the marathon was worth the time.

2:35pm

I headed out of T2 and began the third and final segment of Ironman - a 26.2 mile run!

...to be continued...

Ironman Louisville Race Report - Part 1

2011-09-03T07:14:00.000-04:00

3:00am

Alarm goes off. To my surprise, I was able to sleep well the night before the race. This night is usually filled with tossing and turning as my brain goes over the plans for the race and what I need to do in transition. With this being my first full Ironman race, I expected a sleepless night. I think having packed my transition bags and dropping my bike off the day before the race allowed me to relax.

3:15am

Two medium sweet potatoes and a large glass of water down the hatch.

3:30am

Water bottles for the day (at least the start of the bike) filled with lots of ice and water. I filled my aero bottle and a 24oz regular bottle full of clear water. I filled a second 24oz bottle full of 3 hours worth of Hammer Perpetuem mix. I took another two bottles of water with NUUN tablets with me to drink while waiting for the swim start. I also filled my gel flask with 3 gels to cover me for the first half of the ride.

4:00am

Water bottles and Morning Clothes Bag in hand, I head out the door.

4:20am

Arrived at the Hyatt parking garage. I debated about the best place to park considering that the race start and finish were a good 5-6 blocks apart. I chose a location closer to the finish, figuring I wouldn't feel like walking far at the END of the day.

4:30am

I run into my friends (and training partners) Brendan and Tim right outside the transition area. We walked over together and waited in line for them to open transition.

4:45am

Transition is open. We set a plan to meet back up in 10 minutes or so to head down to the swim start. I made my way over to my bike. I placed the water bottles on my bike and then began to fidget with my bike computer. While dropping my bike off the day before I noticed that my bike computer was not picking up the signal from my wheel. More than likely this meant that the battery in the transmitter (mounted on the fork) needed to be replaced. I had picked up a new battery at Walgreens and made the change...still wasn't working. I began to feel my pulse rise as I knew that I relied on my bike computer during my rides and I would need to today more than ever. I took a break from messing with it an borrowed a pump to top off my tires. The recommended pressure is 115 psi, but everyone tells you to inflate to slightly less than that to avoid a blowout as the tubes expand in the heat. I remembered hearing tires pop while I was a volunteer in T1 last year, so I decided to inflate them to around 105 psi.

4:55am

Back to the bike computer. I needed a pen or pencil to push the reset button on the computer...which I didn't have. I ended up using the clasp on my watch to get it to reset. After resetting the computer, it appeared as if it was working again. I breathed a sigh of relief and then headed down to find my transition bags and drop off my Garmin watch and GPS receiver from MyAthleteLive.com

5:05am

Met back up with Brendan and Tim and hitched a ride with Tim's wife (Lauren) down to the swim start. It's only about 3/4 of a mile, but getting a ride saves time and legs. Luckily for me, our friend Jaime had been down at the swim start since around 4:15am and was holding a spot for us. I was about 10th in line! I was fully expecting to be somewhere in the middle of the line...around 1000th...not 10th! I stopped on the way down to the line and had by body marking done. "1255" on both arms and "33" on my left calf. I have to mention that the woman that did my body marking did an excellent job - very neat, well-sized numbers. For whatever reason, I like having good looking race numbers!

From left to right: Brendan, Jaime, Tim and Me

5:20am

The wait begins. Not only had Jaime saved a spot, she had set up shop...complete with a blanket and chairs. We took turns walking down to the port-o-pots and just sat around chatting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more. I ran into by buddy and swim training partner Bill on the way back from the bathroom and told him to follow me and sneak into the prime spot at the front of the line.

6:30am

I was on my second water bottle with NUUN and since it was about a half hour from race start, I went ahead and ate my Cliff Shot Blocks. These blocks just give me a little boost of energy at the start of the race. I don't normally eat of drink caffeine, so when I do, it has quite an effect!

6:45am

One last trip to the bathroom. Brendan and I sweet talked our way onto one of the houseboats that was docked at the swim start. I knew I needed to "go #2", but I couldn't make it happen. I have a pre-race routine in every sense of the word and part of my normal routine hadn't happened yet...

6:50am

The pros start.

6:55am

The playing of "The Call To The Post" from the bugler from Churchill Downs. Then the signing of "My Old Kentucky Home" and "The National Anthem". I'm still not sure why the waited until the pro's had started before doing all this. We all wished each other luck and pretended that we weren't nervous.

6:58am

My Ironman began! This is the time that I crossed the timing mat according to my watch. I jumped into the river feet first and started swimming that familiar stretch between Towhead Island and the shore. I swam this 3/4 of a mile stretch the last three Tuesday mornings with Brendan and Tim, so I knew it well. Things were a little crowded at the beginning (they are in every open water swim). I caught an elbow to the face pretty early that moved my goggles down a little on my face. It made them slightly uncomfortable, but no water was getting in, so I didn't stop to adjust them.

7:18am

Once I reached the spot where we normally stop and head back (around 0.8 miles) on our Tuesday morning swims, I looked at my watch. It was somewhere between 19 and 20 minutes, so I knew that I was swimming at the pace I wanted. This was the only time during the swim that I looked at my watch. I made an effort to stay in line with the buoys. There are lots of "experts" when it comes to doing the IMLOU swim. It's a very unique swim in the fact that it's a time trial (one at a time) start and it's in a river. People will tell you to head out into the middle of the river because the current is stronger there. People will tell you that the buoys are not the quickest route because they follow the turn of the river and do not make a straight line between the turn around point and the finish. I listened to all this advice and then decided to follow the buoys anyway. Just about everyone else kept the buoy's to their left, I swam on the other side, with the buoy's on my right. It was much less congested and I believe that it was a slightly shorter route.

7:58am

Somewhere around this time, about an hour into the swim, I passed under the first of two bridges (The Big Four bridge). At this point, I decided to start drafting. Starting at the front of the line means that I was being passed by faster swimmers constantly by this point. As a faster swimmer would come past me, I would tuck in right behind them and swim on their feet as long as I could. Most of the time I could only keep up for a minute or two, then I would look to both sides, find another person passing, and do the same. I did this for the last 15 or so minutes of the swim. I'm not sure how much this helped my time, but I felt like I was able to maintain my pace without using as much energy.

8:10am

I had run into my Manny, my swim coach, while waiting in line at the swim start. He told me that he would be at the swim exit, helping people get out of the water. As I approached the swim exit (a set a stairs), I was looking for Manny. I spotted him and put my head down for the last few meters. As he helped me out of the water, I glanced at my watch. I was expecting to do the swim somewhere between an hour and 20 minutes and an hour and 30 minutes. Much to my surprise my watch read 1:12:23 as I crossed the timing mat at the top of the stairs. My first thought? I must have accidentally hit the lap button on my watch about 10 minutes into the swim and this 1:12:23 was the time since then.

8:12am

I ran from the swim exit, up the shoot to transition. I was handed my Bike Gear bag and headed into the changing tent. I pulled my tri shorts off and put on my bike shorts (carefully, so I didn't pull the tape off of my knee or hips). I put on my socks, bike shoes, heart rate monitor strap and pulled my tri shirt on. I took a minute to stretch my IT Band and hip flexors before grabbing my helmet and sunglasses and heading out to the bike racks. I knew that my transition time was going to be slow, but I felt that changing shorts and doing some stretches would make for a much more enjoyable 112 mile ride.

8:18am

As I was exiting transition, I noticed that the large "official race clock" showed a time of an hour and twenty minutes. I immediately knew that my swim time of 1:12:23 was legitimate and I immediately became excited about the rest of the day!

...to be continued...

Ironman Louisville - Check In Video

2011-09-02T12:51:00.000-04:00

Here's a video I shot last Friday at the Ironman Check-In...it was actually pretty seamless...they have this perfected!

Full race report coming this weekend!

Ironman Louisville - Enhanced Results

2011-09-01T15:59:00.000-04:00

I promise that I'm going to get around to typing my race report, just haven't had time yet.

In the mean time, here's some cool stats from Slowtwitch.com

Luke Powell

Bib # 1255

Overall Place: 661

Gender Place: 559

(yes, I was "chicked" by 102 females...including pros)

Division Place: 112

Total time: 12:08:39

SWIM

Time: 1:12:23

Pace: 1:54 / 100 meters

Overall place: 828

Gender place: 662

Division place: 137

Time: 6:43

Overall place: 979

Gender place: 750

Division place: 140

Total Time After T1: 1:19:06

Overall place: 808

Gender place: 653

Division place: 135 (+2)

BIKE

Time: 6:08:01

Pace: 18.3 mph

Overall place: 851

Gender place: 746

Division place: 142

Total Time after Bike: 7:27:07

Overall place: 812

Gender place: 707

Division place: 138 (-3)

Time: 11:25

Overall place: 1695

Gender place: 1275

Division place: 24

Total Time After T2: 7:38:32

Overall place: 849

Gender place: 731

Division place: 142 (-4)

RUN

Time: 4:30:09

Pace: 10:18 / mile

Overall place: 624

Gender place: 508

Division place: 101 (+41)

The things that stick out the most are my transition times. There's an easy explanation for these...I was stretching and putting on BioFreeze in the changing tents during both T1 and T2. Without the IT band injury, I would have been 4-5 minutes faster in both transitions. I also stopped three times on the run to put on more BioFreeze to numb the pain. So I have no doubt that I could have done a sub 12 hour race if I was completely healthy. I don't want this to come off the wrong way - I'm completely happy with my race and it went better than I expected. I just felt the need to explain why my transition times were so slow.

Ironman Louisville Official Results

2011-08-30T14:00:00.001-04:00

Official 2011 Ironman Louisville race results:

2.4 mile swim

1:12:23 (1:54/100m pace)

137th out of 366 in my age group
828th out of 2439 overall

T1 - 6:42

112 mile bike

6:08:01 (18.26 mph)

142nd out of 366 in my age group
851st out of 2439 overall

T2 - 11:25

26.2 mile run

4:30:08 (10:18 min/mile pace)

101st out of 366 in my age group
624th out of 2439 overall

140.6 mile total

12:08:39

112th out of 366 in my age group / 661st out of 2439 overall (Top 27%)

I'm very excited about the results and I can't wait to share my very lengthy race report. It will be up in the next few days...once I get caught up with work (yeah, that thing that I actually get paid to do!)

Ironman Louisville...It's Here!!

2011-08-27T20:04:00.000-04:00

"Ultimately, triathlon is about pain. Enduring it, knowing when it will come, and persisting through it. No matter how much you love being a triathlete, at some point a race is going to really, really suck. You don't play triathlon. You play soccer, it fun. You play baseball. Triathlon is work that can leave you crumpled in a heap, puking by the roadside. It's the physical brutality of climbing Mt. Everest, without the great view from the top of the world." - Chris McCormack, Ironman World Champion

Track me during Ironman Louisville by going to IronmanLive.com or the following link from MyAthleteLive.com (http://track.myathletelive.com/vemap.aspx?name=376835)

See you on the flip side....

Ironman Louisville Week - Gear Check

2011-08-27T13:53:00.000-04:00

Basically every piece of triathlon gear that I own is in one of these five bags:

Ironman Louisville Week - 250 days

2011-08-25T13:20:00.000-04:00

I started my Ironman specific training program way back on December 20, 2010. That was 250 days ago. It's been quite a journey. I suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain less than a week into my training. I healed up from that and felt great during the long, hard training sessions this summer. The long running workouts compiled and I've been dealing with ITBS for the last 6 weeks, no doubt caused by overuse. I've logged a lot of laps and miles over the last 250 days. He are some of my stats:

Swim

122.11 miles (that's 8597 lengths of a 25yd pool)
76.11 hours

Bike

1,982.03 miles
105.47 hours

Run

350.93 miles
49.44 hours

Bricks (additonal biking and running miles not accounted for above)
444.39 miles
28.56 hours

Races

207.47 miles
18.85 hours

Other (Aqua Jogging, Rowing, Elliptical, etc.)
51.36 miles
8.43 hours

TOTALS:
3,158.29 miles
286.86 hours

Most Ironman training plans call for 12-14 hours a week of training - that just wasn't feasible for me. I happened to come across a training program that promised to get the same results with only 8-10 hours a week. Instead of long swims, rides and runs, it incorporated more high-intensity interval work. Don't get me wrong, I still did an hand-full of 2 mile swims, 100 mile rides and 20 mile runs, but not nearly as many as most people training for an Ironman attempt. I spent a lot more time at the track and on the indoor trainer doing sprints than most. My average volume of training per week was 8-9 hours. I had a three 14 hour weeks and a few in the 12-13 hour range, but not many. I really enjoyed the training program and even without seeing the end result, I would recommend it. You can find it at TriathlonDominator.com.

Now for a list of people that I must thank for making this journey possible.

Jessica, Kate & Adrian

My family. While they weren't in the pool, on the bike, or pounding the pavement with me all those early mornings, they made sacrifices just the same! My wife is way more understanding than I deserve. She put up with me being out of the house literally EVERY Saturday morning (sometimes into the afternoon) for the last 9 months. She completely altered the way she cooked to help me eat healthier. She taped up my knee and ~~hip~~ butt when I was injured. After the birth of Adrian in March, she put her goals of getting back in shape on hold so that I could continue to train every morning. She's encouraged me throughout the whole process and kept my thoughts positive throughout my recent injury. She's heard about my training literally every day of this journey and never once acted like she was tired of hearing about it. In fact, most days she asks me how my workout went before I even get around to telling her. I love her so much and I will never forget how she helped me get to the starting line! I think she should start a "Ironman Wives Support Group" to help other wives of Ironman wannabe's deal with their husbands! As for my children, Kate and Adrian, they have missed mornings with their Daddy and while they don't know the difference, they have made sacrifices too. They've come out to races all season to cheer me on and I can't wait to see them all at the finish line on Sunday!

Mom & Dad

They've been nothing but supportive since I started this thing called triathlon three years ago. They come to nearly all of my races and have encouraged me numerous ways over the last 9 months. While I know that they don't like the beating my body has taken and of course my mom thinks I've lost too much weight while training for this Ironman, they've never once told me that I was "doing too much" or that I was "crazy". The way that they raised me gave me the self-discipline to set this goal and accomplish it.

My Mother-In-Law - Mendy

She was there for the first triathlon I ever did - a Sprint race back in August of 2008. Even though I don't think she really understands what all of my races are, or why I do triathlons, she' always been supportive. She offers to help out in any way...which most of the time means staying with one or both of our children - allowing Jessica to either get things done while I'm off training or come to my races. While she always says that there's no need to thank her for spending time with her grandchildren, it needs to be said. So, thanks!

My Physical Therapist - Kevin Reichmuth

Kevin has been my go-to-guy for any and all injuries over the last few years. I've spent countless hours in the Dr. Rudy J. Ellis Sports Medicine Center lately. And while their new location is pretty nice, it's not somewhere that I enjoy going to hang out. Over the last three years, Kevin has helped me recover from a knee contusion, runners knee, a sprained ankle, plantar fasciitis, piriformis syndrome and IT Band syndrome. While this may sound like a lot of injuries, most were pretty easy to recover from and didn't keep me out of training very long thanks to Kevin. One day I hope I can repay all the favors that I now owe!

My Swim Coaches - Manny Nieto & Nancy McElwain

My wife got me an awesome Christmas present last year. A punch-card for 12 swim sessions with the Train Smart group. When I first started triathlon I couldn't swim. I literally swam 25 yards and was dead. I worked with both Nancy and Manny back then and they taught me the fundamentals of swimming. I have to admit that I was a little nervous (doesn't happen very often) when I first started swimming with this group on Wednesday mornings back in January. I considered myself an weak swimmer and I assumed that everyone in this group was an expert. With the coaching of Manny and Nancy, my swimming has come a long way over the last 8 months. They've tweaked my form and helped me shave almost 10 seconds per 100 meters off of my "race pace". It's been lots of fun swimming with these guys and I look forward to continuing it after Ironman...and some rest!

My Massage Therapist - Dee Dee Diamond

Most of my injuries are a result of muscle tightness and imbalance. I came to realize this after lots of time on the PT table with Kevin and the massage table with Dee Dee at the Training Studio. I would like to say that the time spent getting deep tissue massages was enjoyable...but it wasn't. They are supposed to hurt - and they do! The hour long sessions of wincing while she dug deep into my muscles and fascia trying to release all of the tightness were rough, but they helped me. She was able to find all of my "trouble spots" and show me how to stretch and work these areas on my own. These sessions have also helped me learn how to "zone out" when I'm in pain...maybe that will come in handy on Sunday!

Swag Hartel

Swag is pretty well known in Louisville for owning Swag's Sports Shoes. Over the years, I've gotten to know Swag pretty well and I always enjoy dropping in his store and talking with him about everything from running to politics. He has an opinion on everything - just ask him about something and you'll see what I mean. He agreed early in the year to sponsor me this season and it's been a real blessing. He's hooked me up with some awesome gear, including a tri top and shorts, multiple pairs of running shoes, socks, hats, shirts...basically anything that I needed, he gave me. What's he getting out of all this? His logo on the shirt of a middle-of-the-pack Age Grouper. I've been a loyal customer for years and I will continue to be.

Chris Haragan & Chip Summers

These two guys are the owners of Air Equipment Company, where I've been employed for the last 10 years. They are not only great guys to work for, but they have been supportive of my Ironman journey in several ways. They agreed to sponsor me, which helped me out a great deal because this sport can be expensive. But their support goes far beyond monetary. I've had to make trips to my PT, the Massage Therapist, the bike shop, the shoe store, etc. at times during the day...and they've never once hassled me about it. They've asked countless times how my training is going and they just genuinely care. Great guys!

I'm sure I've left some people out that have been very key in getting me to this place and I'm sorry, but the old saying about raising a child holds true for making an Ironman..."It takes a village!"

Ironman Louisville Week - Course Preview

2011-08-24T14:10:00.000-04:00

Living here in Louisville gives me the advantage of getting familiar with the course over the last ~~year~~ years of training. I've been able to spend lots of time in the river, on the bike course and I've actually run the majority of the marathon route several times over the last 10-12 years....so yeah, it's familiar!

SWIM (2.4 miles)

Unlike most Ironman races that take place in a lake or ocean, the IMLOU swim happens in a river...a big one. Because of this, it's not possible for everyone to start on a beach and go charging into the water together like most Ironman races start. IMLOU starts with everyone lined up single file and then jumping into the river. The line breaks into two at the very end, meaning that two (or more) people are jumping in at a time. You cross the timing mat right before jumping in, so your official time starts when you enter the water. From the video's posted online and talking with people, it goes pretty fast. The last person will be in the water 20-30 minutes after the first person gets wet.

Once in the water, you will swim upstream between Towhead Island and the shore. You go out past the end of the island and veer towards the middle of the river. The turn-around buoy is approximately 8/10ths of a mile from the start. Once making this left-hand turn around at the buoy, you will swim downstream the remaining 1.6 miles - finishing at Waterfront Park. There are about 5 or 6 steps that you have to climb up to exit the water, but there are volunteers everywhere to help you navigate these.

After exiting the water, you will have to run several hundred feet to get to the transitions area. This is never easy after being horizontal for over an hour. You will be given your T1 bags and then head into the tent to change into your bike gear. Most triathlons have transitions that are out in the open and you put on all of your bike gear while standing next to you bike. Ironman races are different. You are not allowed to sit anything on the ground next to your bike, so everything goes in a bag and you put it all on in a tent and then run out to your bike. As a volunteer the last two years I've been in this tent...it's not a pleasant place! I'll be in and out of there as fast as possible!

BIKE (112 miles)

The 112 mile bike course starts out heading east out of downtown Louisville on River Road. The first 8-9 miles are flat and it's tough to hold back. Coming off of two weeks of easy workouts, my legs are going to be fresh...and my adrenaline is going to be sky high. Going too fast at the start of the bike would lead to big problems later, so I'll make a conscious effort to keep my heart rate and speed under control here. Once you turn left onto US-42 off of River Road, the hills start. The first one at mile 10 is a monster. It's a very steep hill followed by some longer climbs. From mile 10 to 18 you will climb 280 feet.

Then you'll take a right onto KY-1694. This is the out and back portion of the course and is only 5 miles out and 5 miles back but it's exciting! You go straight down a hill, then up a hill to the turn-around...then do it all going the other way - down, then up. These downhills are very fast and the course is still pretty congested at this point, so getting up to the speed I normally do might not be the best idea...but I probably will anyway (Flash likes to go fast)!

Once you turn right back onto US-42, there's a couple of rolling hills before starting the loop portion of the course. This starts with a right turn onto KY-393, then a left onto KY-146. The next 10 miles is almost all uphill. This portion includes going through the small town of LaGrange. They have a huge festival set up and there will be people on both sides of the street cheering and ringing their cowbells. Going through here will be fun. After getting through LaGrange, you hit a nice downhill portion before turning left onto Ballard School Road. Ballard School Road sucks. No other way to put it. It's a narrow road and you spend most of it moving from standing, back to sitting, then standing again. Once you finally hit a good downhill, you have to ride the brakes because you make a hard right hand turn at the bottom of the hill.

At the end of Ballard School Road, you turn right onto Old Sligo Road. You only spend about two miles on Old Sligo (mostly downhill, except for a very steep, short hill) before taking a left onto L'Esprit Pkwy. This is another tough stretch. While it's only 3 miles long, it's all uphill and there is no crowd support. At the end of L'Esprit, you will take a left onto Pendleton Road for a just a few miles before turning left back into US-42.

Once onto US-42, you will finally see some sustained downhill action. The turn onto US-42 is around mile 50 and you don't start on the second loop until mile 61 or so...the majority of this 11 mile section is downhill. The bad news is that once you get back to KY-393, you take a left and do the whole 393, 146, Ballard School, Old Sligo, L-Esprit, Pendleton loop a second time.

Once you hit US-42 again on the second loop, you are at mile 81 and you are over 400 feet above the elevation where the bike course ends...so it's pretty much all downhill the last 30 miles. There are a few climbs, but nothing that will require you to get out of the big chain ring. Going back down River Road to the finish is a good feeling, but even the flats feel like hills at this point!

It's going to be cool to hop off the bike and just hand it to someone. Ironman has "bike catchers" that will take your bike from you as you come into T2. Once you hand your bike off, you run down and grab your T2 bag before heading back into the tent. A quick change into your running gear and you're off to complete the final leg of the race!

RUN (26.2 miles)

The toughest part (other than the last 24 miles) of the run is the first 2 miles. You exit T2, then after a short run on Main Street, you climb the on-ramp to the 2nd Street bridge...run across the bridge and back. For the most part, this is the only hill you will encounter. The run heads south out of downtown, past the University of Louisville, Churchill Downs and out to Iroquois Park. Thankfully, the course turns around at the park entrance and doesn't torture us with the massive hills hiding in there. After turning around at mile 8.5, you run back up the same route into downtown. Here's where the course designers decided to play mind games. At mile 14 you come up 4th Street and you can literally see the finish line ahead of you. When you get about 100 feet from the finish line, you turn right and do the whole thing again! I'm sure that I will be struggling at this point and seeing the finish line will either inspire me or piss me off.

The main chunk of the run is on 3rd Street and Southern Parkway. I grew up in the south end of town and I've run on Southern Parkway more times than I can count. I know every cross street and every landmark. You could literally drop me anywhere on this street and I would know exactly where I was. I'm hoping that this will help me mentally during the race. The familiarity of the course will keep me from having to figure out where I am and what lies ahead.

Seems like everyone that I know who is volunteering at an aid station will be on the run course. The support will be critical at this stage...I just hope that I'm able to recognize everyone, no telling what physical/mental state I will be in!

The finish shoot is the place where dreams come true...and IMLOU has one of the best in the business! Other than the World Championship finish in Kona, Hawaii, the finish shoot at 4th Street Live! is second to none. The background of this blog shows a picture of what triathletes will see right before crossing the finish line and hearing Mike Reilly say "...you are an Ironman!". It will all be worth it at this moment!

Ironman Louisville Week - Women's Field

2011-08-23T10:30:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I took a look at the professional men that will be racing here in The 'Ville on Sunday. Today I'll give a quick overview of the pro women's field.

As of today, there are 14 Pro Women racing. Seven of these ladies have experience with this race, including 2009 winner Nina Kraft (pictured to the right). She also came in 2nd in 2007, and has several other wins at both full IM and half IM races over the years. The German athelete is unfortunately most known for having the 2004 Ironman World Championship title stripped from her after testing positive for and admitting to using the drug erythropoietin (EPO). She was banned from IM racing for two years following this ugly incident. But this was 7 years ago and to her credit, Nina has never turned her back on this portion of her career and after serving her suspension, came back and showed that she didn't need the drugs to be one of the top athlete's in the sport. After a DNF here last year, I'm sure Kraft is ready to reclaim the title. It's not going to be easy, she has some tough competition.

The athlete with the most experience on the IMLOU course is Canadian Marie Danais. She came in 6th in '08, 10th in '09 and 8th last year. She finished in the top 10 at IM Lake Placid earlier this year and with her experience her, I'd say that she's in line for a podium finish.

Another pro that I think is a contender is Kelzie Beebe. This American is putting together a great 2011 season with a top 10 Ironman and a few top 10 finishes in 70.3 races. She finished 5th here last year and looks like she's primed to make a run for the title this year.

The athlete that probably has the most motivation to win is Jacqui Gordon (pictured to the left). She is very close to qualifying for the IM World Championships in Kona and a win here would solidify her spot. She's coming off of a 5th place finish at IM Lake Placid, a 6th place at IM 70.3 Steelhead and has experience here in Louisville - coming in 7th in 2008. She's still chasing that title of Ironman Champion and I think Sunday could be the day for the triathlete based in New Jersey.

Other women that have finished here before include Terra Castro from Texas (10th in '10), Maki Nishiuchi of Japan (7th in '09, DNF in '10) and Californian Jocelyn Wong (6th in '10). Of this group, I'd say that Maki is having the best season and could be a factor this weekend. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm no expert and lots can happen on race day, so I won't be shocked no matter who breaks the tape!

UPDATE: I just found out that Jacqui Gordon had a bike crash over the weekend and broke her clavicle...so needless to say, she will not be racing this weekend! Really sucks for her, not only will she miss IMLOU, but now racing in Kona for the World Championships is out of reach. With this recent development, I'm going to put all my chips on Kelzie Beebe.

Ironman Week...It's Here!

2011-08-22T14:40:00.001-04:00

The big race is now less than a week away. I'm going to try and make a post every day this week leading up to Sunday's Ironman Louisville.

Today I'm going to take a quick look at the professionals that will be joining us amateurs out on the course this year.

While this list is subject to change (pros have the advantage of deciding to do a race last minute), it's likely that there will not be anyone else racing.

The men's field consists of 13, and features a mixture of guys that have raced in Louisville before and a few that are going to experience it for the first time. Most notable is the defending champ, Paul Ambrose from Great Britian (pictured above). Interesting fact I learned about Paul is that he's a training partner with Chris "MACCA" McCormack...the current Ironman World Champion. Paul dominated the field last year by having the fastest bike and run splits. His total time of 8:29:59 was 12 minutes ahead of the second place finisher. Paul just raced a half-Ironman (Lake Stevens) on August 14th where he finished 2nd...and after IMLOU, he heads to the Ironman 70.3 (half-Ironman) World Championships in Las Vegas on September 11th. So Paul's schedule is pretty full. Based on this schedule, I don't think is body will be up to the task to defend the title.

Patrick Evoe also returns to Louisville trying to improve on his 4th place finish a year ago. He raced the inagural IM Texas (his home state) earlier this year and came in 8th. He's also coming off of a 3rd place finish at IM 70.3 Racine, so I think he's probably looking good for a top 3 finish come Sunday.

Tim Snow is another American that is coming back to Louisville. He finished 14th last year, but has improved his Ironman times with two solid races already this year. Hiroyuki Nishiuchi, Dave Harju and Bojan Maric also raced last year. Let's just say that they are returning to conquer a course that conqured them last year.

Romain Guillaume from France hasn't raced here before, but he's put together some fantastic IM distance races this year (2nd in IM Bolton) and looks to be in good shape to challenge for the podium this weekend. Plus, the dude rides the same bike as me, so he's got an advantage there!

Chris McDonald is a name that might sound familar. The Australian won the inaugural IMLOU back in 2007 and came in 2nd to Max Longree in 2008. He didn't race here in '09 or '10, but is back on the roster this year. His nickname is "Big Sexy" and he's had some great races already this season (including a 4th place finish at IM 70.3 Steelhead) and seems to be coming into form. He's who I'm putting my money on this year.

The rest of the men's field is Ivan Albano Jr., Daniel Bretscher, Justin Daerr, Logan Franks and Richard Wygand. Only one of these guys has raced here before, and some of them are having great seasons...but their lack of experience on this course will make it hard for them to win. But then again, I'm no expert...so it's anyone's race.

Missing from this year's race are two pro's that everyone around here likes to see. Most notably is Max Longree of Germany. He won here in '08, finished 4th in '09 and 3rd last year. He clearly does well here and is known for wearing all white and eating a cheeseburger from the Hard Rock Cafe immediately after crossing the finish line (see picture to the left). I'm not sure what's going on with Max...I can't find any races that he's even done this year.

Also missing this year is John Flanagan from Hawaii. He's ALWAYS the first guy out of the water, breaking swim records everywhere he goes. His 6th and 13th place finishes the last two years point out the fact that the dude can bike and run as well.

One reason that I feel that this field isn't full of stud athlete's is because there is a competing race. Ironman Canada is held on the same day and offers a larger price purse ($75K vs. $25K) and more World Championship qualifying points (2000 vs. 1000) than Louisville does. There are more than twice as many pro men toeing the line in the race up north this weekend. I thought that the fact that IMLOU is one of the last races available to get points to qualify for the Championship in Kona this year would mean a larger field...I guess everyone planned ahead and isn't as desperate as I thought they would be.

I'll look at the women's field tomorrow.

Heat Acclimation

2011-08-18T12:16:00.001-04:00

It's no secret that Ironman Louisville is one of the toughest races on the planet. I went into some details as to why on this previous post. The weather plays a large factor in the difficulty of completing the race. Here's what the weather has been like for the first four years of IMLOU:

2007 - 92° F and high humidity

2008 - 93° F and high humidity

2009 - 75° F and moderate humidity

2010 - 94° F and high humidity

So as you can see, with the exception of 2009, it's been down-right nasty. What will it be like this year? The extended forecast (still 10 days out) is calling for "extreme heat" with a temp in the high 90's!

I think everyone understands why this heat poses problems for endurance athletes. Studies have shown that heat in the 90's can lower the body's ability to perform by 7-10%. The average finish times for IMLOU in 2010 (94° F) and were over 45 minutes longer than in 2009 (75° F).

Exercising in heat also makes your heart rate higher than normal, increases your core temperature to dangerous levels, causes lactic acid to build more quickly (causing muscles to shut down), and can ultimately lead to heatstroke.

I've witnessed first-hand my wife carry and give birth to both of our children. I know that the human body is incredible! Believe it or not, your body can adapt for any condition, including extreme heat. Exposure to warmer conditions causes the body to become more efficient in keeping core body temperature low. Here's how your body adapts:

Sweating will start at a lower body temp (cooling starts earlier)
Sweat rate increases to help keep the core cool
Blood plasma levels increase, allowing the heart to beat slower and the body to sweat more before performance decreases.
Your thirst mechanism improves, causing you to drink more
Salt loss through sweat decreases

There are several methods out there to acclimate your body to heat. Most methods claim that it takes about two weeks for the body to achieve the items listed above. The method that I had planned on using required 90 minutes of exercise outside in the afternoon heat 3-4 times a week for the two weeks leading up to the race. I had planned on doing all of my runs in the afternoon and even a few bike sessions. However, due to my IT Band issues, there's no way that I'm going to run 90 minutes this week or next.

So the other option that I found involved something a lot more mind-numbing...sitting in a steam room. With the recent break in the temperatures here in Louisville, it's only been in the low to mid 80's in the heat of the day, so I'm not sure running outside would have done the job anyway.

The gym that I go to has both a dry sauna and a steam room. While the dry sauna actually get's hotter, there's no humidity involved. So I've opted for the steam room, which is plenty hot enough. Although I'm not exactly sure what the conditons are in the steam room, a little research online shows that they are typically around 110° -115° F with a humidity close to 100%.

So starting this week, I've been sitting in the steam room for 30 minutes at a time. If I'm the only one in there, I'll do my hip strengthening exercises and some stretches for the first few minutes. For the remainder of the time, or if it's crowded, I'll just sit there...and suffer. I'm not going to lie - it sucks. I sweat more than I thought possible. I wear my clothes (unlike most people in there), and they are completely drenched within the first few minutes. I continually sip on my water bottle and watch the time move very slowly. By the time I get to the last 5 minutes or so, every minute seems like ten. I'll try to get in 3-4 more steam-room sessions in the next 7 days. It's brutal...but hopefully it will help me come race day.

Despite the fact that I live in the same city as the race will be held, I don't feel like my training has prepared me for extreme conditions. I do just about all of my training in the morning, so with the exception of a few long rides, I haven't spent much time at all training in the heat of the day. The heat acclimation that I'm doing wouldn't be necessary for someone that lives in this area and has been training in the afternoon all summer.

Side note: I've seen some interesting things in the steam room. I just don't understand why a guy thinks it's ok to be in there totally nude with other men around....or put on lotion...or sit spread-eagle on the bench. It's not cool, stop doing this stuff. Keep a towel on and just sit there and sweat! There's also a guy that feels it necessary to cover up the humidity sensor and cause more steam to spray in the room every few minutes, making it hard to even breathe. You are not smarter than the guy that designed the room dude, just leave it alone!

Side note 2: If you are one of those guys in the club that sweats all the way through his "club shirt", you might look into some heat acclimation. You aren't going to pick up any chicks covered in sweat.

RECENT WORKOUTS:

8/5/11 Aqua Jog - (7.0 miles in 1:00:00)
8/5/11: Weights - Round and Round - 4 sets
8/6/11: Bike - Endurance Ride (67.54 miles in 3:24:36)
8/8/11: Bike - Power Ride (14.00 miles in 45:00)
8/8/11 Aqua Jog - Intervals (7.0 miles in 1:00:00)
8/9/11: Run - Easy Run (2.06 miles in 16:59)
8/9/11: Swim - Open Water Swim - Ohio River (1936yd in 36:01)
8/10/11: Weights - Body Blaster - 4 sets
8/10/11: Swim - Train Smart Group Swim (3200m in 1:14:19)
8/11/11: Run - Easy Run (4.22 miles in 34:24)
8/12/11: Bike - Power Ride (14.00 miles in 45:00)
8/12/11: Weights - Round and Round - 4 sets
8/13/11: Swim - Open Water Swim Race- Ohio River (2.4 miles in 1:25:16)
8/13/11: Bike - Brick ride after swim (31.23 miles in 1:30:59)
8/15/11: Bike - Recovery Spin (19.00 miles in 1:00:00)
8/15/11: Weights - Body Weight Only I - 4 sets
8/16/11: Run - Easy Run (1.12 miles in 10:03)
8/16/11: Swim - Open Water Swim - Ohio River (1936yd in 35:03)
8/17/11: Swim - Train Smart Group Swim (2800m in 1:02:30)
8/18/11: Double Brick - Bike (5.5 miles in 18:00), Run (1.34 miles in 10:00), Bike (6.0 miles in 18:00), Run (1.12 miles in 10:00)

Ohio River Open Water Swim Results

2011-08-15T11:56:00.002-04:00

Saturday morning provided a good opportunity to get in 2.4 miles in the Ohio River prior to Ironman Louisville. The water temperature was actually warmer than the air temperature, which is a weird feeling. After getting more body marking than I thought was possible (both arms, both legs, top of my back and on my swim cap), all of us doing the 2.4 mile swim waded into the water an waited for the starting ~~gun~~, ~~horn~~, beep.

There was the normal kicking and pushing at the beginning that comes along with an open water swim. As we started, I knew that I was going to have a problem seeing the buoys. I couldn't even find the first one. We were to following red buoys on the way out and yellow buoys on the way back. These red and yellow buoys were around 2 feet in diameter. They look easy to see until your eyes are only a few inches out of the water and there are people in front of you splashing around. I'm not the straightest swimmer in the world, and not being able to find the buoys until I was about 20 feet from them made for problems during the whole swim. At the start, turn-around and finish, there were larger orange buoys that were easier to see (shown in picture above). Good news is that IMLOU uses huge buoys, so I shouldn't have this problem in two weeks.

Other than the zig-zagging route that I know I swam, the current made a huge difference.The two loop course meant that we had to swim upstream twice. Here's what each of the two loops looked like for me:

Loop 1
Upstream - 25:26
Downstream - 15:59
Total for first 1.2 miles - 41:25

Loop 2
Upstream - 26:47
Downstream - 17:07
Total for second 1.2 miles - 43:54

Total for the 2.4 miles - 1:25:20 (official time was 1:25:16)

This translates to a pace of 2:12 per 100 meters. In a pool, where I swim straight with the aid of the lines painted on the bottom, my endurance pace is 2:00 per 100m. So if I would have been swimming straight, I could have done this 2.4 miles closer to 1:18:00.

I know that I said my goal was to finish somewhere between 1:30:00 and 1:35:00; so while I'm happy with my time, I know that if my sighting would have been better, I could have knocked around 5-7 minutes off of this time.

I finished 13th out of 28 males and 17th out of 47 triathlete's that did the 2.4 mile swim. If you count all of the other swimmers (USA Swimming and Masters), I was 30th out of 63 total.

This picture shows me exiting the water, looking at my watch. I look really pale compared to everyone around me. I guess that Scape sunblock is working!!

After the swim, I hoped on Flash and did a quick ride. I rode 31.23 miles in 1:30:59 (20.6 mph) with an average HR of 137 bpm.

Ohio River Open Water Swim

2011-08-12T14:34:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the 3rd Annual Ohio River Open Water Swim. The event is put on by the Lakeside and the North Oldham High School swim teams. As usual, they are offering races of 1/2 mile, 1.2 miles and 2.4 miles. I did the 1.2 mile swim two years ago and it was a struggle! My swimming has come a long way since then and I'm looking forward to tackling the 2.4 miles in the morning. I've also been meeting some fellow triathletes for swims in the river the past two Tuesday mornings, so I'm very comfortable in the mighty Ohio.

The 1.2 and 2.4 mile distances may seem a little strange if you are not a triathlete, but these are the distances, respectively, of the swim portions of Half-Ironman and Ironman triathlons. Since I'll be competing in Ironman Louisville in two weeks, this 2.4 miles in the same body of water that I'll be in on race day seemed like good practice. Current water temperature is a warm and cozy 85° F!

However, all 2.4 mile swims are not created equal...especially when a river is involved.

Tomorrow's course will look something like this:

It's rectangle course. One loop equals 1.2 miles, so I will swim two loops around this course. This means that I will spend half of the race (1.2 miles) swimming against the current.

Now take a look at the IMLOU swim course:

This course starts out going against the current for approx. 0.8 miles, then you make a turn and swim with the current the remaining 1.6 miles to the swim exit.

So the swim tomorrow will consist of more swimming against the current, in theory making it a harder swim. Of course, there will be several thousand fewer people in the water tomorrow, so maybe it's a wash!

I'm hoping to complete the swim tomorrow in the 1:30:00 to 1:35:00 range. If the rain holds off, I plan on getting in a 2 hour ride right out of the water...we'll see how it goes!

IT Band Update

I went out for an easy run yesterday morning before catching an early flight up to Cleveland for some work duties. It felt fantastic! Granted it was 4:30 in the morning, but the temperature was in the mid 60's and it felt awesome! What didn't feel awesome was my knee. I had only planned on going about 4-5 miles, but right at the 4 mile mark, I started to feel some pain in my left IT band again. So I shut it down and walked back home.

I made a trip to my PT this morning and had him work it over good with the Graston tools and hit it up with a "cold laser" to help with the inflammation. Strength work, stretching, foam rolling and icing protocols will continue. He also showed me how to tape it with kinesio tape, so I'm going to give that a try early next week and see how it feels. Two weeks to go...really wish it was 2 months so I could heal up!!

Supplements

2011-08-09T15:33:00.000-04:00

Supplements are one of those topics that I hear/see come up pretty often on podcast that I listen to and articles that I read on-line or in running and traithlon magazines. It seems like no matter what you are trying to accomplish or prevent, there's a supplement out there that someone advertises will take care of it. I've always been pretty skeptical of supplements and for as long as I can remember, the only pill I popped was a multi-vitamin.

In fact, as recently as 6 months ago, I was still only taking a multi-vitamin once a day with my breakfast. Once I started getting into the longer rides and runs as part of my Ironman training, I began to look into other supplements that would help me sustain energy and recover faster. The number one criteria for all of my supplements is that they be 100% natural. So here's list of what I currently use and why:

DURING LONG WORKOUTS:

If you read this blog, then you know that I love Hammer Nutrition products. They do not use artificial ingredients and they make easy to digest stuff.

On rides and runs lasting over an hour and a half, I use Hammer Perpetuem. I mix various amounts of this powder with water depending on how long I'm going to be out. Perpetuem contains complex carbohydrates, GMO-free soy protein, healthy fats, and other key nutrients that help maximize stored fat as energy and prevent muscle fatigue. I like the Orange-Vanilla (dream sickle) flavor.

Along with the Perpetuem, I take a Hammer Gel once an hour on long rides. It's one of the only energy gels out there that does not add any refined, simple sugars and has no artificial colors or flavors. One gel provides me with an extra 90 calories that I need to reach my goal of approximately 350 calories per hour on the bike. I've tried lots of flavors, but I've been stuck on Apple Cinnamon for a long time now...tastes like an apple pie!

While some new research that I've been reading about has me questioning their necessity, I also take an electrolyte supplement during my workouts. After trying several different electroyle capsules, I landed on the Millennium Sports Athlytes product. Their capsules provide both electrolytes and sodium to replenish what is lost sweat. I've experimented with taking between 2 and 6 per hour and I've decided that 4 per hour (700mg of sodium) is what I need.

AFTER LONG WORKOUTS:

About three months ago, I started taking a post-exercise supplement made by Wicked Fast called Recover-Ease. This all-natural supplement blends 8 ingredients that the body uses to repair damage following intense exercise. It helps repair tissue damage in the muscles and lungs. I'll take 4-6 capsules after a hard workout and 8 after a long (100+ mile) ride or a race.

From time to time I'll also mix up a smoothie with some Hammer Recoverite after a long workout as well. Strawberry goes well with a fruit smoothie and chocolate tastes good mixed with almond butter and bananas!

WHAT I TAKE DAILY:

As I mentioned before, I have been taking a multi-vitamin on a daily basis since I was able to chew. The brand has differed over the years and particularly when I was in college, I would just get whatever was the cheapest at the grocery store! What I've learned since then is that these cheap multi-vitamins are full of fillers and additives. I also realized that if I'm eating a healthy, balanced diet, I shouldn't need to take a multi-vitamin. They are good for people who are lacking critical vitamins in their diet, but for the most part, everything found in a multi-vitamin can be obtained through food. Your body will just flush out excess vitamins, so why waste the money? I stopped taking a multi-vitamin about a month ago once I ran out of the ones I had. If I decide to take them again in the future, I'll definitely go with a brand that is all organic, such as those made by Garden of Life - the brand we give our 2 year old.

What I do take on a daily basis is a Fish Oil supplement. Fish oil has proven to be beneficial for a wide range or reasons. One of the reasons that I take it is ability to reduce inflammation. It also improves your skin health, reduces post-workout fatigue, and lowers the risk of heart disease. Like the multi-vitamin, you have to stay away from the cheap brands. Make sure that the fish oil you take has EPA and DHA in it. I can't think of the brand that I take now, but I got it a Whole Foods.

The supplement that I started taking most recently, as in this week, is digestive enzymes. I take Raw Enzymes made by Garden of Life. These enzymes help the body digest foods that you may have an intolerance to, such as dairy, grains, nuts, seeds, beans, etc. They also help your body absorb nutrients from foods, allowing you to utilize all the natural benefits found in raw foods. These raw enzymes also boost your immune system and act as an anti-inflammatory (which is always good). I take one before breakfast, lunch and dinner.

About two or three times a week I will also put 5-6 drops of Oil of Oregano under my tongue before bed. I drink a full glass of water to wash it down. It leaves a nasty taste in your mouth, so I do it right before I brush my teeth. So why do I do this? Here's a list of some of the healing powers of this herb. It treats allergies, it's an anti-fungal, it contains antioxidants, it eases pain from arthritis, works to heal bacterial infections, eases diarrhea and aids in digestion, helps cure eczema, boosts your immune system, works as a natural pain killer for headaches and muscle soreness, clears up sinus and nose problems, and skin rashes. Another buyer-beware on this stuff. These health benefits are only found if the oregano is in it's true form. There are products out there called "oil of oregano" that are comprised of thyme or marjoram oil. So don't buy anything that is less than 70% carvacrol (found in wild oil of oregano). The brand that I use is Source Naturals. It has a handy dropper in the cap.

So that may seem like a lot of stuff, but on most easy workout days, I'm only taking the fish oil and the enzymes. As I said before, there's nothing that can replace all the nutrients your body gets from eating a healthy, balanced diet. These are called "supplements" for a reason. They are meant to supplement your diet, not replace it or give you an excuse to eat junk!

In other news, I set out for a run this morning. My first run on dry land in 12 days. I logged just over 2 miles at an easy pace. No sign of pain from my IT band. While this was really encouraging, the fact that my heart rate was 10-12 beats higher than it should have been at this pace is a clear indication that I've lost a significant amount of my running fitness over the last 4 weeks. I'm also not really sure where to go from here. With Ironman Louisville just 18 days away, do I try and continue to run more and up the mileage until my IT band hurts or do I just keep doing my therapy and rest it? I think I'll consult my PT...

Ironman Bib Numbers Published

2011-08-05T14:28:00.000-04:00

Bib numbers came out today for IMLOU. THIS JUST GOT REAL!

The numbers are doled out based on age and gender, so the youngest females have the lowest number. The Pros get numbers 1 thru 34, then it's all the females, starting with the youngest. The males start at number 676 and go up to 2800 something. I was given number 1255. There are 360 other competitors in my age group, which is Males, age 30-34. There are over 3-1/2 times more dudes than chicks racing.

On August 28th, I'll be doing my best to take a clean piece of paper that will look something like this...

...and turn it into a shred of it's former self. It will be covered in sweat, water, Hammer Perpetuem and gel (my fuel of choice), urine, possibly blood, and possibly tears by the time I cross the finish line.

Feel free to make large posters and signs with my name and number on them! If you feel so inclined, you can rent out some billboard space somewhere near UofL - I'll be needing a boost when I get to that point!

T-Minus 23 Days...

2011-08-04T16:56:00.003-04:00

Ironman Louisville is a mere 23 days from today. It's hard for me to believe that the day is almost here! Although my training has been derailed by ITBS, I'm still really excited about competing in my first Ironman and I'm anxious to see how my knee responds once I start the marathon. I've been logging some extra time in the pool this week and doing lots of strength work, foam rolling, stretching and icing.

Pre-race meetings with event planners have begun and some interesting info has leaked out of their most recent meeting:

The 2011 edition of Ironman Louisville will have more first time Ironman racers than any other IM race in North America! Somewhere between 40-50% of the athletes (including yours truly) will be attempting their first 140.6 mile race.

The race was capped at 3,000 athletes. At present, with some early withdraws, there are around 2,850 registered.

I can't imagine what being in the water and on the road with over 2,800 other people is going to be like...should make for an interesting day!

RECENT WORKOUTS:

7/21/11: Brick - Bike (3.50 miles in 12:00), Run (0.76 miles in 5:47), Bike (5.00 miles in 15:05)
7/22/11: Swim - Endurance Swim (3200m in 1:04:50)
7/24/11: Bike - Progression Ride (67.57 miles in 3:27:21)
7/25/11 Aqua Jog - Intervals (3.5 miles in 37:11)
7/25/11: Swim - 100-75-25 (1800yd in 34:48)
7/26/11: Bike - Mile Repeats (18.00 miles in 55:00)
7/26/11: Weights - Extreme Core I - 4 sets
7/27/11 Aqua Jog - Sprint Intervals (4.5 miles in 43:28)
7/27/11: Swim - Train Smart Group Swim (3300m in 1:20:53)
7/28/11: Bike - Skills (19.00 miles in 1:00:00)
7/28/11: Elliptical - Easy (2.50 miles in 20:00)
7/29/11: Elliptical - Distance (6.20 miles in 1:00:00)
7/29/11: Swim - Short Intervals (1100yd in 20:13)
7/30/11: Bike - Long Ride (112.21 miles in 5:55:20)
8/1/11 Aqua Jog - Sprint Intervals (5.00 miles in 45:00)
8/1/11: Weights - Body Blaster - 4 sets
8/2/11: Swim - Open Water Swim - Ohio River (2464yd in 48:30)
8/3/11: Swim - Train Smart Group Swim (3600m in 1:18:58)
8/4/11: Swim - Speed Sets (2800yd in 47:37)
8/4/11: Weights - Extreme Core II - 3 sets

Last Long Ride

2011-07-31T15:45:00.001-04:00

Yesterday marked my last long bike ride leading up to Ironman. With just 4 weeks to go, my workouts will now be more of the high-intensity, low-volume nature. Wheels started turning at sunrise and I rode longer and further than I ever have. I completed the exact 112 mile course that I will ride in 28 days. I did my best to ride as I plan to on race day, keeping my heart rate in aerobic zone as much as possible and not letting my legs suffer too much on the climbs.

While my legs felt good the whole time, my backside was definitely tired of sitting in the saddle after almost six hours! Here are my stats for the ride:

Distance - 112.21 miles

Total Time - 5:55:20

Elevation gain - 4755'

Average HR - 132 bpm

Average Speed - 18.9 mpg

Top Speed - 43.0 mph

Calories burned - 7,580

I also made it a point to practice my fueling exactly as I plan to during the race. I drank from my Hammer Perpetuem mix every 15 minutes, I took two electrolyte capsules at 20 and 40 past every hour, I took a gel at 50 past every hour. I also constantly drank clear water from my aero bottle. I stopped four times during the ride to buy more water. I added it up and I drank a total of 208 ounces of water, which equals around 34 ounces per hour. I peed three times during the first 4 hours of the ride, but didn't have the urge at ll during the last two hours, which meant that I was dehydrated. Bottom line - I'll have to drink more on race day!

My IT band didn't bother me at all on this long ride, but I've made the decision to take this next week off of running and cycling in order to try and let it heal. Just swimming, aqua jogging and strength training for the next 6 days...and of course all my rehab and therapy!!

Second Worst Time To Have An Injury

2011-07-25T11:44:00.000-04:00

I have an injury. A pretty serious one. One that will keep me from running between now and Ironman (which is in just 33 days)! I say that this is the second worst time to have an injury because the only time that I can think of that would be worse would be the day before the actual race. That would leave no time for rehab or rest.

If you are friends with me or follow me on facebook, you already know all about my "situation". If not, I'll fill you in.

When it happened

I was out on a long run a week ago this past Thursday (7/14/11). It was to be the second to last long run before IMLOU. I was scheduled to go 16 miles. I felt a little twinge in the outside of my left knee about 4 miles in. It went away. I felt it again around 5 miles. This time it lingered. It wasn't enough to make me stop running and it wasn't hampering my form, so I continued to run at a nice easy pace. By the time I got to mile 6, it was starting to hurt. I know not try and push through injuries, so I stopped. I walked a little bit, did some stretching and then attempted to run again. No dice. The brief stoppage made it worse and it actually hurt when running now. I turned around and started to head back. I walked some more. Tried running again. Very painful, so much so that my running gate was altered. I made a few phone calls and was fortunate enough to have someone come get me and drive me the 5+ miles back to my car.

What is the injury?

Although I've never had this specific injury, I know all about it. There are articles written online and in every running magazine about it. It's very common among long distance runners. It's called IT band Syndrome (ITBS). IT is short for Illiotibial. The IT band begins in the hip attached to the glute muscles. The fibrous band of tissue goes down the thigh, crosses the knee joint along the outside of the patella (knee cap), and then attaches to the tibia (shin bone). The IT band functions as a primary stabilizer during running, keeping your legs straight as it absorbs the impact from hitting the ground with every stride. The injury typically starts out as tightness and progresses to the point where the pain is debilitating. I'm sure my IT band was tight, but I didn't have any warning signs that the pain was coming until it was there. The tightness/pain comes from the IT band losing it's strength (usually from overuse). The band becomes inflamed and often rubs on the knee bone, causing the pain.

Everything You Need To Know About Hydration

2011-07-20T13:54:00.000-04:00

It's summertime. It's sunny. It's hot. It's humid. None of this is a news flash, but how your body reacts while exercising in these conditions may surprise you.

I download triathlon and running related podcasts from iTunes all the time. I listen to these while on my indoor trainer or driving in the car. I recently came across one that featured an interview with Brendon McDermott. Brendon has a PhD in Exercise Science with a research focus on thermal physiology, hydration, and exertional heat stroke. So needless to say, this dude knows what he's talking about when it comes to hydration! The interview was conducted by Jay Martin, who runs a website called "Triathlon Mind Training", where he also sells a DVD by the same name.

Staying hydrated is very key to any athlete this time of year, but especially those that have endurance events (such as IMLOU) planned that take place in the heat! The information that I learned listening to this interview seemed important enough to share with my fellow athletes...so here goes.

First of all, let's define dehydration. It's the excessive loss of bodily fluids. For most people, they think that this just means sweat. While it's true that the majority of fluid loss comes from sweat when we are exercising, we can also lose fluids through urine and respiration. That's right, every time you exhale, you are losing fluids. This fluid loss through breathing can actually become pretty substantial during endurance events.

So the first step that many people take is trying to determine how much bodily fluids they lose during exercise. The simple way to do this is to weigh yourself naked before a long ride or run, keep track of all fluids that you take in, then weigh yourself naked again when you are done, adding a pound for every 16 ounces of fluid you consumed during the workout. It's important to weigh yourself naked because your clothes will hold sweat. Just don't use the scale that's out in the middle of the gym! One pound of weight loss equals 16 ounces of water loss. For example, let's say you weigh 1 pound less after a one hour run and you drank 16 ounces during the run. You lost a total of 32 ounces (16 x 2). So you should try and drink 8 ounces of water every 15 minutes while running.

Since this fluid loss rate is very individualized, don't assume that you are the same as someone else your same size and age. It also varies depending on exercise intensity, fitness level, environment, heat acclimatization and how much sodium you have in your body at the time. So do this fluid loss test several times and get an average.

I'm sure that we've all exercised in a state of dehydration. It's nearly impossible not to. Most people cannot physically take in the same about of fluids that they are losing per hour. But trying to stay as hydrated as possible is important. Even just a 2% loss in body weight due to dehydration can have some very negative effects on your performance and your brain. To find what your baseline body weight is, weigh yourself naked (yes, there's lots of nudity in this post) first thing in the morning. As with the fluid loss calculation, do this weigh-in several days in a row and take the average. Once you get this weight, multiply it by 0.98 to get your weight at 2% dehydration. The goal should be to not weigh any less than this after your workouts. Also note that your body's thirst mechanism kicks in when you get to 2% dehydrated. So don't let yourself get thirsty!

I'll use myself as an example. Although my weight fluctuates depending on what period of my training I'm in, I usually check in around 175.

175 x 0.98 = 171.5

This means that I shouldn't weigh any less than 171.5 after my runs or rides.

So what exactly happens when you are more than 2% dehydrated? Bad things man, bad things. According to a study done last year by the Journal of Athletic Training, runners who started a 12K race dehydrated on an 80° F day, finished about two and half minutes slower compared to when they ran it hydrated. Why does this happen? Research shows that for every percent of dehydration (body weight) you are down, there is a direct correlation to increase in your core body temperature. During exercise, what is compromised to keep the body temperature down? Performance. Measuring your body temperature after a workout or race doesn't tell you much. You may finish the race with a lower body temperature, but your performance suffered.

Exercising in a dehydrated state also causes your mind to play tricks on you. As if endurance events weren't mentally taxing enough, before you even get to the magic 2% number, your cognitive reasoning decreases. As you continue to lose hydration, reasoning decreases even more. So your judgment, perception, awareness and intuition all suffer. Ever tried to figure out what your finish time will be based on your current pace? Ever tried to estimate how much energy you have left? Ever tried to figure out what mile your are on based on landmarks? All of these things become more difficult when you are dehydrated.

So other than drinking water while exercising, what else can be done to slow down dehydration?

Take in electrolytes. I use a product called Athlytes by Millennium Sports. They are little capsules that contain a full spectrum of electrolytes without the sugar and artificial junk found in sports drinks (which my stomach doesn't do well with). If you don't like taking pills, try dissolving some electrolyte tablets in your water. Both Hammer Nutrition and NUUN make good products.
Carb load before an endurance event. I've followed a carb-loading protocol in the week leading up to my last two half-Ironman races and I've never once felt thristy or extremely dehydrated during the race. Carb-loading alone will not keep you hydrated, but it can help you retain water. You may feel bloated standing on the start line, but your body will use this fluid retention during the race.
Monitor hydration in the 2-3 days prior to your event. Try and consume between 70 and 90 ounces of water daily prior to your event. Your urine should be almost clear. However, if you find yourself heading to the bathroom more than once every two hours or so, you should cut the water consumption back - you are well hydrated.

One last thing that was mentioned was what to do after a long workout or race. Multiple studies have shown that ingesting oral fluids after a race rather than an IV is better for you. While this method obviously takes longer, you will recover more quickly. So don't go straight to the IV after your marahon or Ironman race. Try and slowly drink some fluids first. If you can't keep them down, then try and find a vein!

Dehydration is a big concern for me heading into Ironman Louisville next month. There's a reason why this race has the highest dropout rate of any Ironman on the planet...it's hot and humid here...people do not keep up with their hydration and they reach a point where their body can no longer move. They go into survival mode. When your body is starting to shut down from extreme dehydration, ~~running~~ walking is not an option! I learned a lot from listening to this podcast that I plan on using on race day, I hope that some of this information is beneficial to you, whether you are doing IMLOU or not.

RECENT WORKOUTS:
7/6/11: Swim - Train Smart workout - solo (3400yd on 1:05:03)
7/8/11: Brick - Bike (9.46 miles in 28:53), Run (1.92 miles in 13:45)
7/9/11: Race - Cardinal Triathlon (70.3 miles in 5:50:22)
7/11/11: Bike - Recovery Spin (18.0 miles in 1:00:00)
7/11/11: Weights - Extreme Core II - 4 sets
7/12/11 Run - Speed Work at track (10.42 miles in 1:42:46)
7/13/11 Run - Recovery Run (3.82 miles in 33:00)
7/13/11: Swim - Train Smart Group Swim (2450m in 55:23)
7/14/11 Run - Long Run* (Planned for 16 miles, only ran 6.52 miles in 56:44 due to IT Band issue)
7/15/11: Bike - Intervals (14.50 miles in 45:01)
7/15/11: Swim - 100-75-25 intervals (1400yd in 29:09)
7/16/11: Bike - Long Ride (80.53 miles in 4:05:56)
7/18/11: Bike - Long Intervals (19.00 miles in 1:00:00)
7/18/11: Swim - Endurance mile (1776yd in 29:48)
7/19/11: Bike - Hill repeats (23.00 miles in 1:15:01)
7/19/11: Weights - Extreme Core I - 3 sets
7/20/11: Swim - Train Smart Group Swim (3300m in 1:14:56)

* - I suffered an IT band injury about 6 miles into this run. I've been doing everything I can since then to try and get to the point where I can run on it. I've been using lots of ice, my foam roller, had a deep tissue massage and I'm going to see my Physical Therapist today. I'm really bummed about not being able to run right now, especially when I only have about 4 more weeks of good training before Ironman!!

Cardinal Triathlon Report

2011-07-12T15:41:00.000-04:00

The day before a race I typically look over the bike and run courses, print out my check list, pick up my race packet and load up on carbs. The day before this race was a little different. I started out the day sitting on the pavement with Flash laying in the road beside me...and no, this was not planned. I spent the rest of the day crossing my fingers that my bike would be repaired in time for the race the next morning. Thanks to the guys over at VO2 Multisport, Flash was as good as new by the end of the day and ready to roll on race morning.

I arrived at the race around 6:45am. Despite running a little later than I like to, I was able to grab a good spot in transition...right near the bike exit. I set up my transition area and then headed down to the water to see what the swim course looked like. The swim was in the Ohio River and it was two loops of a 0.6 mile course. The first 0.3 miles were against the current, then your turned around and swam 0.3 miles with the current...then did a second loop. See that 4th buoy in picture below? That was the turn-around point.

I did a quick swim to see how the water felt and it was pretty comfortable. We started in three waves. First was all males under 40 (yes, that's me). Then the 40 and over males, followed by the women and aquabike participants. After wading in the water for a few minutes and fighting the current, we were under way. The mass of arms and legs was pretty typical for an open water race. I was kicked a few times, but nothing that messed up my rhythm too much. Once I got out away from the shore, I noticed the current fighting me. I tried to increase my stroke rate, but still felt like I was going nowhere. Once I got to the turnaround, I could tell an immediate difference. I looked at my watch at the halfway point and it was 22 minutes and some change...not good! I began to swim harder than I had planned. I could tell my breathing rate was increasing and could even feel my lungs burning, but I needed to make up some time. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. After pushing it harder on the second loop, I still ended up getting out of the water in just over 45 minutes. I was very disappointed in my swim, but knew that I had time to make it up on the bike and run. The swim exit was interesting. There were three extension ladders tied to the dock extending down into the water - you can see a guy climbing out behind me in the picture below.

Official Swim time - 45:36.70

15th out of 28in my age group and 90th fastest swim out of 170 total

After having issues getting my feet into my bike shoes during the last two races, I decided to leave my shoes unclipped this time. I put them on in T1 and clipped in as I started to ride. I can't imagine that it cost me too much time doing it this way. Since this was a long course race, I took my time in T1...putting on my HR monitor, tri top, socks and shoes. I try not to worry about speedy transitions in long races, it's more about not forgetting anything. I also got to see the family as I was in T1. It's always good to have a personal cheering section! My wife is extremely understanding when it comes to my triathlon training and racing; I'm very lucky to have her!

Official T1 time - 2:31.9

6th out of 28 in my age group and 73rd fastest T1 out of 170 total

I'm very comfortable on Flash these days. Spending 4-5 hours at a time in the saddle will tend to help you get this way. I know the bike inside and out...and something didn't feel quite right as I started the 56 mile ride. It felt like something was holding me back - I honestly thought that maybe the back brakes were rubbing the wheel. I looked back and everything was spinning freely. I even noticed that going down one of the big hills I only got up to 40 mph. I've been clocking 43-44 mph on this hill during my training rides. I know that in addition to replacing the base bar, VO2 had to do some work on my rear derailleur and replace some cables. Were one of these adjustments slowing things down? I had no way of knowing or doing anything about it, so I just kept riding. I was taking in my fuel and keeping a close eye on my water consumption. I picked up a bottle at both aid stations and when I got back to transition I was completely out of everything, which is perfect. Somewhere around mile 40 things started to feel right again and I hammered it home, passing lots of people in the process.

I was the 58th person out of the water (including a few of the older guys and even a woman or two that made up the time difference on me). Coming back into T2, I was in 37th...meaning I passed 21 people on the bike course - this is a nice benefit to having a bad swim! My bike time was 2:54:53. The course was a little long, measuring 57.75 miles on my bike computer, giving me a average pace of 19.8 mph. Avg HR on the bike was 141 bpm.

Official Bike time - 2:54:53.20

8th out of 28 in my age group and 37th fastest bike out of 170 total

I had a pretty quick T2 since I didn't see the need in changing my socks. I slipped my feet out of my bike shoes as I coasted in, took off my helmet, put on my running shoes and fuel belt, grabbed my hat and Garmin watch and was on my way to conquering the 13.1 miles of hills and scorching asphalt.

Official T2 time - 0:53.60

3rd out of 28 in my age group and 12th fastest T2 out of 170 total

I felt good coming out of T2, but as soon as I hit the first hill...let's just say I knew I was in for a miserable run! There was a guy about 10 feet in front of me that had a "30" on his calf. This meant that he was 30 years old and in my age group. I told myself to just hang with him for the first few miles and see how I felt. I ran right behind him for about 2 miles and then I passed as he slowed down going up one of the endless hills. I drank two cups of water at every aid station and was sipping on my fuel mix when I felt the need. The hills were relentless. I only walked for a few seconds at each aid station just to get the water down, then I immediately start running again, not giving myself the opportunity to think about how good continuing to walk would feel.

I could go on and on about how difficult this run was, but I just kept my feet moving and passed lots of people walking along the way - especially on the second loop. Believe it or not, I actually found a second wind around mile 9. My last 4 miles were all under 9 minutes. I'm not sure how or why I felt this good, but it was a big boost to my confidence as Ironman grows closer. The run course actually measured a little long too, at 13.85 miles. My time of 2:06:26 works out to be an average pace of 9:07 min/mile. Avg HR on the run was 157 bpm.

Official Run time - 2:06:26.70

7th out of 28 in my age group and 43rd fastest run out of 170 total

I cruised to the finish line with a total time of 5:50:22.10, good enough for 8th in my Age Group and 35th overall. After talking with other competitors, it seemed like most people were about 30-40 minutes above their average Half-Ironman times. Chalk this up to the very difficult run course and the heat. My time was 31 minutes longer than the Half I did back in May. All in all, I'm pleased with my race. I learned a lot about ~~how to~~ trying to stay cool during a race in hot weather (90° F during the run)- priceless information come August 28th!

Official Time - 5:50:22.1

8th out of 28 in my age group and 35th out of 170 total

Thanks for the continued support Mom and Dad!

Gear used:
Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles
Pearl Izumi Elite Tri Top and Shorts
Tifosi Dolomite sunglasses
Argon 18 E-112 Triathlon bike
Mizuno Wave Alchemy running shoes

Nutrition used:
Pre-race:

Hammer Nutrition Fizz tablet (1 in a 24oz water bottle) - sipped for the hour leading up to race start
PowerBar Energy Blasts - ate about 30 minutes before race start

Bike:

Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem (6 scoops in one 24oz. bottle of water) - took two sips every 15 minutes
Two 24oz. bottles of clear water to start and then replaced at both aid stations
Hammer Nutrition Gel (3 gels in one 4oz. flask) - one big gulp every hour on the 45's
Millennium Sports Athlytes capsules (4 per hour - 12 total) - two every 20 minutes

Run:

Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem (2.5 scoops in each of the two 8oz. bottles on my fuel belt - mixed with water at first aid station) - two sips every 20-25 minutes
Two cups of clear water at every aid station
Millennium Sports Athlytes capsules (4 per hour - 8 total) - taken two at a time at aid stations every 30 minutes so that I could take them with water
Filled my hat up with ice twice to help keep cool
Took an ice-cold rag at mile 6 and alternated hands holding it until it was warm (keeping hands cool helps cool your core!)

Nutrition plan worked well again. I pretty much have it dialed in now. I didn't feel sluggish on the run and had the urge to pee during just about the entire bike and run, so I was well hydrated. My stomach started to cramp during the last few miles on the run, but I think this was due to the heat, not inadequate nutrition.

Cardinal Triathlon Results

2011-07-10T19:33:00.002-04:00

Here's the official results of the 2011 Cardinal Half-Ironman Triathlon:

Swim (1.2 miles)
45:36.80 (38:00 min/mile pace) - 15th out of 28 in age group (90th out of 169 overall)

T1
2:31.9 -6/28 (73/169)

Bike (56 miles)
2:54.53.2 (19.2 mph) – 8/28 (37/169)

T2
0:53.60 – 3/28 (12/169)

Run (13.1 miles)
2:06:26.7 (9:39 min/mile) – 7/28 (43/169)

Total
5:50:22.15 (8/28) (35/169)

Full race report coming in the next few days...it was an extremely hard race!!

Cardinal Triathlon Preview

2011-07-08T14:34:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow will be my second half-Ironman on the 2011 season. Given the challenging course and the added heat component, topping my race at Taylorsville Lake is going to be tough.

While this race has been in existence for several years, this year marks a change in the venue. The race has moved from Cardinal Harbour (a community located on the Ohio River) to Captain's Quarters, a restaurant and marina a little further downstream on the river. While Cardinal Harbour offered a flat run course, the 1/4 mile or so walk from the spot where we had to park, to the transition area was not ideal. The new race location offers it's own challenges (described below), but it will be a much more spectator and participant friendly atmosphere both before and after the race.

As much as I would like to forget about it, I did participate in this race last year. It was a horrible day. If you like to read about other people's miserable race experiences, click here for my race report.

The 1.2 mile swim will take place in the mighty Ohio River. Will the water be warm? Yes. Somewhere around 80° F...so no wetsuits required (or allowed). Will it be dirty? Yes. It always is...especially the day after it rains...which it ~~did~~ is today.

The swim course will be two loops of 0.6 miles (approximately) each. So we will swim 0.3 miles with the current, turn around, swim 0.3 miles against the current...and then do it all over again. I did last year's swim in 51:35.9, which is slow. Improving on that should not be a problem.

After pulling myself out of the muddy river, I'll set out on a 56 mile bike ride full of hills. The route takes place on some of the same roads that IMKY will follow, so I know the course fairly well. It's going to be challenging, but I've yet to do a training ride without hills, so I'm ready. Here's the elevation profile of the bike:

So yeah, there are some big hills. But as much as it sucks going up them, it's fun to come back down! I did the bike last year in 2:49:44 (unofficial). I would be very happy with a similar time tomorrow.

After the bike is where this race will get very interesting. By this time, the temperatures should be in the upper 80's and the sun will be beating down. The 13.1 mile run course for this race has been pretty much flat in the past. Now that the race location has changed, it's no longer flat...in fact, it's pretty friggin' hilly! The first mile and a half is straight up a hill. I'm sure that my legs will be loving this after 3 hours on the bike! Then you go down a hill, up another hill, then a long steady descend back to transition. But wait...that's only 6.5 miles. So let's just do the whole thing again! Yeppie! Here's the run course elevation profile:

I've done a lot of running on hills too, but this will be challenging to say the least. I love challenges though, so I'm ready to spend some time in the pain cave tomorrow! I'll be happy with a total race time between five and a half and six hours.

Speaking of pain, I had a first this morning. While I was out for my quick brick session, I lost control of my bike going around a curve and did my best baseball slide across the wet pavement. Fortunately I wasn't going too fast and I only have some minor scrapes and bruises...but I can't say the same for Flash. She's at the bike shop as I type this getting a new base bar installed. This was my first wreck in three years of triathlon training and I feel very lucky considering the stories that I've heard. Flash and I will both recover and be ready to rock in the morning!

Left a little skin on the road.

Yeah, it's not supposed to bend that way!

Sunscreen Review

2011-07-05T15:31:00.000-04:00

Despite all of data showing that the sun's ultraviolet rays (UVA and UVB rays) damage the skin, people still spend long periods of time outside with no skin protection. This leads to lots of wrinkles, spots on your skin and even cancer. If you have been around me long enough you will at some point have had the privilege of hearing me preach to you about the dangers of too much sun exposure and if I hear about you going to a tanning bed...well, it won't be pretty!

I've used lots of different types of sunscreen over the years, but I've had limited success with finding one that can hold up to the type of training that I'm doing now. Before I get into the particular brands that I've tried, I want to explain the difference between sunscreen and sunblock.

Sunscreen contains chemicals that protect your skin by absorbing and reflecting UV rays while allowing a certain range of UV light to be absorbed into the skin. Sunblock is a physical barrier on the skin that reflects UV rays and acts as a wall between your skin and the sun. Hearing about chemicals being absorbed into or painted on our skin doesn't sound like something that I would promote, but the benefits far outweigh and potential risk. Over 1 million people get skin cancer every year. It's a no brainer.

So here's a picture of some of the products that I've tried:

Let's start with the NO-AD Sunblock lotion (second from the right).

PROS

Protects against UVA & UVB
Contains Aloe Vera and Vitamin E

CONS

Only lasts for about an hour (label says 80 minutes)
Claims to be water and sweat resistant, but it runs when wet
Sunblock layer prevents the body from being able to sweat as much = overheating
Only SPF 30

Anther lotion that I tried was the Coppertone Sport (third from the left)

PROS

Protects against UVA & UVB
Contains antioxidants
Sweatproof (actually stays on pretty well)
SPF 50

CONS

Longevity - needs to be reapplied after 1 hour
Stains clothes

Now let's talk about the aerosol sprays. They are an alcohol based spray from an aluminum can. They are obviously very popular because they are easy to apply. After doing some more research, I've learned a few things about them that I don't like. First of all, the alcohol dries your skin. It also increases the amount of chemicals that can penetrate your skin. These sunscreens also contain chemicals that are very hard to pronounce...and they get into your body.

Let's start with the Coppertone Sport spray suncreen (first on the left)

PROS

Continuous spray is easy to apply, espeically on the hard to reach areas of the back and shoulders
Waterproof
Dries quickly

CONS

Leaves a film on your skin
Prevents you from sweating
Contains alcohol...lots of alcohol

The second from the left is made by Ocean Potion Suncare

PROS

Continuous spray
Highly water and sweat resistant (does not wash off)
UVA & UVB protection

CONS

Contains alcohol
Needs to be reapplied often

The other spray shown is just the Equate (walmart) brand of the Coppertone spray. Same basic ingredients and pros/cons

So big surprise, none of these worked for me. If you are just going to be sitting outside relaxing, then maybe one of these is right for you. But if there's any sweating or activity going on, these aren't going to cut it. None of them last long enough and most of them prevent me from sweating enough.

After doing some research, I came across a sunblock that was made for what I intend to use it for...rigorous training in the sun and heat. The product is called SCAPE (pictured on the far right). SCAPE is an acronym that stands for Skin Cancer Awareness Protection and Education.

The one thing that sold me on this product was the fact that two-time Ironman World Champion, Craig Alexander used it while racing the Ironman in Hawaii. He put it on before the race, then swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 and ran 26.2 in the blazing sun...without ever reapplying it...and finished the race without a single tan line from his tri jersey or shorts!

The sunblock has been formulated to stay on the skin, but at the same time allowing your body to sweat. It uses an ultra-thin gore-tex layer to hold the sunblock in place, while keeping it breathable...so your body temp doesn't rise.

The only drawback is the price. I paid $14.95 + shipping for a 4oz bottle of SPF 50.

I've used SCAPE now on two long rides (80 miles and 100 miles) that kept me out in the sun for over four and five hours. The results...no tan lines and plenty of sweat making it through. Good stuff!

RECENT WORKOUTS:
6/23/11: Bike - Sprint intervals (18.7 miles in 45:00)
6/23/11: Weights - Extreme Core I - 4 sets
6/24/11: Bike - Drills (19.0 miles in 1:00:00)
6/24/11: Swim - Pace Test (1008yd in 18:06)
6/25/11: Brick - Bike (20.78 miles in 1:01:13), Run (6.04 miles in 47:15)
6/27/11 Run - Fartlek (3.75 miles in 28:30)
6/27/11: Weights - Extreme Core II - 4 sets
6/28/11: Bike - Sprint intervals (15.0 miles in 45:00)
6/28/11: Swim - Drills with fins/paddles (1500yd in 30:11)
6/29/11: Swim - Train Smart Group Swim (2650m in 1:11:03)
6/30/11: Bike - Hill intervals (14.5 miles in 50:00)
6/30/11: Swim - Endurance 500's (2400yd in 44:36)
7/1/11 Run - Long Aerobic Run (20.26 miles in 2:53:22)
7/2/11: Bike - Long Aerobic Ride (100.52 miles in 5:17:50)
7/4/11: Bike - Recovery Ride (13.5 miles in 45:00)
7/5/11 Run - Recovery Run (5.13 miles in 44:08)
7/5/11: Swim - Recovery Swim (1008yd in 18:13)

My Feet and My Shoes

2011-07-01T13:05:00.000-04:00

I already know that I'm going to stir up some controversy with this post. There is a large group (growing every day) of runners that believe that a minimal shoe is the answer to all of those nagging injuries that runners face. I for one, do not believe this to be true. In fact, I've seen articles written that talk about the increase in running injuries due to people running in these shoes. In full disclosure, I will admit that I have never run in a minimal shoe. Why not? Because of my feet.

In his infinite wisdom, God gave me feet that are flat. I don't mean that I have a low arch, I mean that I have NO arch! They are so flat that the Army may not even take me. Flat feet are not ideal for running. When my foot hits the ground, the lack of an arch causes my foot to roll inward. This inward roll is known as pronation. The more the foot rotates inward, the more the leg internally rotates. Most people's feet only pronate a few degrees, mine rotate more in the 10-15 degree range. Excessive internal rotation of the legs (tibia) leads to a chain reaction, affecting the knees, hips, IT band and shins. It can lead to serious problems like stress fractures and degenerative joint disease.

When I first decided to run back in the late 90's, I went and bought a pair of Reebok running shoes from a sporting goods store (I cringe just typing that!). I trained in these and ran a half marathon...through pain. I assumed that the pain in my knees and shins was normal for new runners and just sucked it up. My Dad found out that I was running in these shoes after the race and immediately took me see someone that could fit me with the proper shoe. I'll never forget what Swag said to me when I showed him what I had been running in. "I can't believe you've been running in those bloody shoes." He's from across the pond, so the word "bloody" is part of his typical vocabulary. He fitted me with some good stability shoes and I've never looked back.

Based on my knowledge of what my flat feet and overpronation can lead to, there is no chance that I am going to throw on a pair of running shoes that does not offer the arch support I need. I like to run, I don't like to be sitting at home nursing an injury!

So this is why I do not think that Vibram Five Fingers or Newton's are for everyone. If your foot is biomechanically correct, then these types of shoes will probably be fine for you to run long distances in. I understand that wearing these shoes over time will strengthen the muscles and joints in your feet, ankles and legs; but they are not going to magically create an arch for me. I also understand that they force you to land on your mid-foot as apposed to your heel..giving you a much more efficient stride - but you can train yourself to have a mid-foot strike without wearing a minimal shoe...I've done it.

So why do I bring all of this up today? It's because this morning was my first long run in my new Mizuno's. I've run in Asics exclusively for the last three years. I've probably been through six or seven pair of Asics Gel Foundation shoes. These are what Asics has to offer for sever over-pronators and has the support that my foot needs. I've had zero problems with them. So why do I now have Mizuno's? Because I waited too long and put too many miles on my Asics before finally making time to get some new ones. When I finally made it out to Swag's store, my timing couldn't have been worse. They were awaiting a shipment of the newest model of the Foundations, but they were out of the current model. So I was stuck. I was afraid to run another step in my shoes because they were already broken down and I had a gut feeling that an injury would result in more use. So Swag suggested that I try out the Mizuno Wave Alchemy (see picture). This shoe is what Mizuno offers for stability and it's had great reviews. So I reluctantly walked out of the store with a box that didn't say Asics on it.

I've worn the Mizuno's for some shorter runs and they felt good, but today's 20 miler was the true test...and they passed with flying colors. Will I go back to my Asics once I've worn these out? Probably...but your never know. The point is, if you make the effort to go to someone that can properly fit you in the right shoe for your feet, it doesn't matter what brand it is, how cool it looks, or what other people tell you to run in. Your body will thank you for it.

I have lots more I could say on this topic, but I'll just leave it at that for now. Happy running!!

Not Months, But Days

2011-06-28T15:35:00.000-04:00

The countdown to Ironman Louisville started when I registered back on August 31, 2010. At that moment it seemed like I had a lifetime to prepare. I found a 36 week training program (Triathlon Dominator) that I wanted to follow and it didn't even start until the week of Christmas...which felt like an eternity.

Time has flown by (this happens with two small children) and I am now just 60 days away from the big race. These next 8 weeks are very critical to my training. I've got several very long swims, rides and runs to do...along with some very important heat acclimatization and nutrition planning in the two weeks leading up to the race.

I told someone the other day that I was getting a little burnt out from all the training. I couldn't believe the words as the came out of my mouth. I instantly thought to myself that it wasn't true. I'm not sure why I said it; maybe because I've heard of other athlete's reaching that point while training for Ironman and I thought that I should be there. Truth is, I'm still excited about all of my workouts. I'm planning a long run (19-20 miles) on Friday and a long ride (100 miles) on Saturday and I can't wait! What I'm really worried about is the low that will come when the race and training are over.

Thanks to TrainingPeaks, I'm able to take a look back at what I've done over the first 28 weeks of training for IM. Since December 21st, here's what I've been up to:

Swim - 56.66 hours / 88.75 miles

Bike - 70.81 hours / 1,318.43 miles

Run - 41.49 hours / 296.63 miles

Brick (Bike/Run combos) - 25.02 hours / 384.80 miles

Races - 13.07 hours / 134.67 miles

Crosstrain (elliptical and rowing machine) - 2.10 hours / 9.10 miles

Strength training - 10.28 hours

Grand total - 219.43 hours / 2,232.38 miles

The other thing that I like to take a glance at once in a while is my Performance Management Chart

TSB - Training Stress Balance - represents the balance of training stress or how well I've been juggling my training load and my rest periods. A positive number (see vertical axis on the right side) would mean that I have a good chance to performing well because it means that I'm both fit and fresh. A negative number means that I'm most likely tired from a high training load and will not perform well. The very low negative numbers recently have been right after my long brick workouts.

My training load can come in many ways, but this chart looks at both recent and long term training. The ATL - Acute Training Load - looks at only my training load in the most recent days. The CTL - Chronic Training Load - looks at my training over the long term and how it is impacting my performance now. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm looking for a gradual increase in CTL leading up to Ironman...so far, so good.

Stretching

2011-06-24T10:51:00.000-04:00

I generally love everything about training for endurance sports. I actually enjoy my early morning workouts in all three sports, I like seeing gains, I like researching ways to become faster and stronger...what I don't like is stretching. Despite everything that I know about it's benefits, I just never have made stretching a consistent part of my training over the last three years.

Just to be clear, I'm not talking about stretching before runs or rides. I do dynamic stretching before every run and most rides to get my muscles loose. The stretching I'm referring to is that static stretching that you are supposed to do after the workouts, when your muscles are good an warm. I've never been flexible. In fact, I'm probably considered very inflexible. My hamstrings, quads, shoulders and back always seem to be tight.

Think about what happens when you stretch. Your muscle fibers are forced to lengthen when you stretch. As you increase the angle of your stretch, those fibers will eventually (very quickly for me) reach a point of maximum elasticity. While these fibers are being stretched, something called your muscle spindle is also being stretched. The spindle records the change in length of the muscle fibers and how fast that change occurs and sends signals to your spine and brain and triggers a stretch reflex. This reflex keeps the fibers from stretching too far and tearing.

Along with stretching, using a foam roller or massage therapy to work the fascia that surrounds the muscle fibers is important. If the fascia (connective tissue) is in bad shape, it will keep your muscles from stretching, no matter how flexible the fibers are. Since having (painful) deep tissue massages after my last two races, I know that my fascia is all jacked up in my legs and shoulders. I've made and effort to spend some time on my foam roller for 15-20 minutes a few times a week in the evenings.

So why is all this important? Having more elastic muscles protects them from injury. Tight muscles pull and tear...pulling and tearing are bad.

So what are some good stretches for triathletes and runners? I turn to none other than "The Man", six-time Ironman World Champion Dave Scott to get the answer. I've seen ton's of video and picutres from Dave's epic races in the 80's. Here's what he looked like then, rockin' the mustache and the short shorts:

Here he is in present-day, showing six great stretches. He's the dude standing in the back of some of these screen shots:

#1 - Lying Leg Crossover (targets hips, glutes and lower back)

(Little TMI there dude, get some longer shorts!!)

#2 - Hip Flexor Stretch

#3 - Periformis, hip, glute stretch

#4 - Hamstring stretch (use a towel or elastic band if you don't have a partner)

#5 - Quad Stretch

#6 - Shoulder, back, lat, pec stretch (so pretty much the whole upper body)

Seeing pictures of these stretches doesn't give the full explanation of how to do them properly. Check out the video here for all the important details.

I did a few of these stretches this morning after my workout and I can tell you that I have very little range of motion on most of these. I'll make an attempt to do these several times a week, you should too!

Combining Engineering and Swimming

2011-06-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

During the five years I spent pursuing my Mechanical Engineering Degree (so what if some people do it in four years), I had at least one course that focused solely on Fluid Mechanics. I believe that this was a 300 level class that I took sometime during my Junior year...although it's been 10+ years, so who knows. Without going into too much detail and causing you to stop reading this, I'll just say that we learned about fluid motion, fluid dynamics and the effect of forces on fluid motion. Fluid dynamics is the study of how objects in motion flow through fluids, such as water.

Figured out where I'm going with this?

When someone swims, they are attempting to move their body through the water. Water is more than 700 times denser than air. If you have ever tried to run in waist deep water, you understand what 700 time feels like. As you swim, you have to try an overcome this force and propel yourself through the water. I used to think that using brute force was the best way to become faster in the water...just muscling through every stroke. Fortunately, I learned this was incorrect before I did any damage to my shoulders.

Streamlining your body is the best way to combat this force and reduce the amount of drag that you are creating. If you've ever seen what the water in front of a barge looks like compared to a speed boat, you understand this concept. Reducing the amount of your body's frontal area that comes into contact with the water is key. I understood this concept for the most part, keeping my head down, hips and legs up, and lead arm extended - but I didn't take it into account during the most important part of the stroke, the pull (aka the catch).

After seeing some underwater video of myself two weeks ago, I learned (thanks to Coach Manuel from Train Smart) that I extend my arms almost all the way during the pulling phase of my stroke. This means that once my arms enter the water, they stay pretty much straight all the way under the water until I pull them out to start another stroke - this is no good! By extending my arms, I was significantly increasing the amount of frontal area coming into contact with the water. After seeing this in the video, I've been trying to train myself to bend my arms at the elbow once I start the pulling phase of my swim. Not only does this reduce drag, it also allows me to use my hand AND forearm to pull through the water - effectively making a larger "paddle". Doing this also engages my back muscles (lats) instead of my arm muscles (triceps), which are much larger and stronger.

After swimming with my elbows high for five swim workouts, it still feels very unnatural. I've been doing lots of drills (swimming with fists closed, paddles and single arm) to try and create some muscle memory. It's coming along, but I feel slower even though my times are about the same or better. Despite the fact that I've only been swimming for three years, it's hard to change the way I "comfortably" swim. Over time, I'm sure that this change will show up in my speed and efficiency in the water.

Unfortunately (fortunately for me), I don't have the actual video of me swimming to post here. I did find these two images that show what a good pull should and shouldn't look like:

Here's an example of what I was doing - dropping my elbow, making my arm almost straight:

Now here is what a good pull, with a high elbow looks like:

RECENT WORKOUTS:

6/15/11: Swim - Train Smart Group Swim (3100m in 1:28:53)
6/16/11: Bike - Intervals (18.5 miles in 57:00)
6/16/11: Weights - Extreme Core I - 4 sets
6/17/11: Swim - Easy mile - focus on form (1776yd in 32:57)
6/17/11: Brick - Bike (50.0 miles in 2:30:38), Run (7.00 miles in 1:04:23)
6/20/11 Run - Mile Repeats (8.65 miles in 1:22:34)
6/20/11: Weights - Extreme Core II - 3 sets
6/21/11: Swim - Aerobic sets (3300yd in 1:07:21)
6/22/11 Run - Hill Repeats (2.22 miles in 19:15)
6/22/11: Swim - Train Smart Group Swim (3100m in 1:14:25)

Dehydration

2011-06-19T07:11:00.000-04:00

I did one of my first long workouts in the heat on Friday. I headed out around 1:15pm for a 50 mile bike followed by what was supposed to be a 8-10 mile run. It was 87° F without a cloud in sight. I weighed myself before and after the workout so that I determine my sweat rate.

Weight before my ride/run = 169.8
Weight after = 165.0
Weight lost = 4.9 lbs!

Fluid intake during workout = 64 oz on the bike, 10 oz in transition, 14 oz on the run = 88 oz total (5.5 lb)

Time - 2:30 (Bike), 1:04 (Run) = 3:34 total

So I take the amount of weight I lost (4.9 lbs) and multiply it by 16 to convert it to ounces. This comes out to be 78.4 oz. See how that Engineering degree paid off right there?!

I then add my water intake (88 oz) to that number and get 166.4 oz....this is the total amout of fluid that I lost through sweat. Crazy.

I then divide this number by the length of the workout (in hours), which was approx. 3.5 to get how many ounces of water I need to take in per hour during exercise.

166.4 oz / 3.4hr = 47.5 oz/hr

That actually seems pretty reasonable to me. I'll do this test again next time I workout in the heat and have this dialed in before Ironman.

It also explains why I bonked about 2.5 miles into what ended up being a 7 mile run. I only took in 14 oz during the hour that I was running. I need to find a way to carry 33.5 more ounces of water per hour on my runs. Actually, the 64 oz that I took in on the bike wasn't enough either. Although I felt good on the bike and even on the start of the run, the effects of dehydration had already started to set in.

Hard to believe the heat makes this much of a difference in my sweat rate...but the proof was there. I was struggling to hold 10 minute miles at the end of my run.

I drank over 120 oz of water in the first few hours after my workout and didn't have the urge to pee until right before I went to bed. I even had a bit of a headache when I woke up Saturday (another sign of dehydration). After eating breakfast and drinking lots of water on Saturday morning I weighed myself again and I was back up to my normal 174 lb.

Bricks / Group Rides

2011-06-13T13:08:00.002-04:00

Brick workouts (bike followed immediately by a run) are going to be part of my weekly routine from now until Ironman. Getting your legs used to running after being on a bike is something that takes time and that your legs will forget how to do if you go too long without reminding them!

This past Saturday I did the same 80 miles of the Ironman course that I did two weeks prior. That ride was supposed to be with a group, but I ended up going solo. This week I was invited by two fellow triathletes to join them on their ride. I know these guys...they ride hard. I was a little worried about being able to keep up, but the bike has always been my strongest discipline, so I looked forward to the challenge.

We met up at 7:00 am and headed out. As usually happens in a group of riders, we took turns riding out front. I wasn't sure exactly how fast they wanted to go, so I let them take turns leading for the first 15 miles or so. I jumped out in front right before a big hill and hammered it up the hill pretty good. I looked back once I reached the top and they were several hundred yards behind me. I slowed a bit to let them catch up and after a few comments about how I rode the hill, they took off...I knew I was in trouble!

I spent the rest of the ride trying to keep up. I was able to hang with them on the uphills, gain ground on the downhills, but the flat/rolling hills were a struggle. I kept an eye on my heart rate and it wasn't getting too high, but higher than normal.

When it was all said and done, I had completed 79.01 miles in 3:55:05, for an average pace of 20.2 mph. My avg HR was 135 bpm. In comparison, I did pretty much the same route (82.86 miles) two weeks ago in a time of 4:22:51, with an average pace of 19.0 mph and an average HR of 132 bpm.

So the moral of the story is that riding with faster riders makes you faster! I'm sure that they will let me tag along again if I want...I just need to make sure I eat my Wheaties before we ride!

I jumped off the bike and did a short run to complete my brick workout. I had planned on getting in 6-8 miles in my aerobic heart rate zone, but I just couldn't keep my HR down. I need to be around 150 bpm and I was in the high 150's - low 160's the whole run. I don't know if it was the heat or that my body was fatigued from the ride. Either way, I managed 5.27 miles in 44:19 (8:24 min/mile pace) with an avg HR of 158 bpm.

Buying Organic Foods

2011-06-08T14:22:00.000-04:00

Research over the last few years shows that pesticides, hormones and other chemicals that are used on/in the foods we eat have a link to various cancers and other serious health problems. Plus, we now know that our government is even failing to test meat for the harmful chemicals that it's supposed to by law! Armed with this knowledge, more and more people are looking to buy organic food.

In the US, federal organic legislation defines three levels of organics. Products made entirely with certified organic ingredients and methods can be labeled "100% organic". Products with at least 95% organic ingredients can use the word "organic". Both of these categories may also display the USDA organic seal. A third category, containing a minimum of 70% organic ingredients, can be labeled "made with organic ingredients". In addition, products may also display the logo of the certification body that approved them (there's lots of certification bodies). Products made with less than 70% organic ingredients can not advertise this information to consumers and can only mention this fact in the product's ingredient statement.

So look for 100% Organic or the USDA Organic symbol on the packaging.

Also keep in mind that just because something is organic, doesn't mean that it's healthy. Lots of things that may be labeled organic are unhealthy. Examples - macaroni and cheese, ketchup, chips, cookies, etc.

Beware of farmer's markets as well. Just because it is grown/raised locally doesn't mean that it's chemical free!

Buying organic is not cheap. Unless you are raking in huge amounts of cash, you can't buy everything organic. So what foods should be at the top of your list?

MEAT/EGGS - chickens, cows, pigs...they are all raised using hormones to speed up their growth, antibiotics to resist disease and feed products that contain pesticides and chemicals. All of this stuff is eliminated when you buy USDA Organic meat. Grass-fed is the best.
MILK - Pesticides and other man-made chemicals are found in most dairy products. With the amount of milk that children and pregnant/nursing Mommy's drink (trust me, I know), this is one product that you do not want to skimp on if you have children!
CELERY - Because it has no protective skin like most other vegetables and fruits, it is impossible to get all of the chemicals out/off by washing. If you eat celery...which you should, buy organic.
PEACHES/STRAWBERRIES/APPLES - Not only do humans like these fruits...so do insects. You can find these fruits year-round. If you buy them out of season they most likely are imported...from a country that probably doesn't have regulations on pesticides!
BLUEBERRIES - I separate these from the fruits above because they are treated with more pesticides than any other fruit when grown in a conventional orchard - over 50!
PEPPERS - While they have a skin, it doesn't provide a very good barrier to pesticides. They are also imported heavily.
SPINACH/KALE - These leafy greens are something that I try to eat a few times a week. After finding out that they are usually sprayed with almost as many pesticides as blueberries, I'm going to start buying them organic!
POTATOES -Because they are a root vegetable, they absorb just about everything that's in the soil...like the chemicals used in fertilizer. Washing a potato just isn't going to remove the chemicals that have been absorbed.
GRAPES - I ~~grew~~ tried to grow grapes a few years ago. After leaving them alone for the first year, insects destroyed them before they could ripen on the vine. I resorted to using a mild insecticide...and I can only image what large orchards do! Grapes have a very thin skin and no amount of washing or even peeling will eliminate contamination.

So when buying organic, you don't have to get the most expensive offering. There are some companies that do only organic and they have a name that you will see all over the place in a health food store. Nearly every large supermarket (walmart, Kroger, Safeway, etc.) has a store-brand organic option for many foods. Look for the non name-brand organic food, it will save you some money while saving your health. You can also find coupons for organic milk and yogurt, so use them!