Ironman Coeur d'Alene Race Report

3200 miles were driven and 140.6 miles were raced and it will go down as the two best weeks of my life. Granted, I did not qualify for Kona but as many of my friends and team mates have pointed out, the journey is what made the whole experience special, not necessarily the race and it is so true. Even my dream wedding and honeymooning in Australia for two weeks 10 years ago did not compare to the epic road trip I did with my wife and two kids topped off with a "dreamlike" vacation from the vacation in Las Vegas with some amazing people. Wow. Where to begin! Since this is a triathlon blog, I'll stick to the race...

We left Wednesday night to stay in Vegas for a night to avoid the dreaded SoCal traffic. We then headed to Park City, UT the next day to stay with some friends and get a quick glimpse of the beautiful mountain resort town. Thursday we drove to Yellowstone, saw Old Faithful and then drove to Missoula, MT for the night. Between Montana and Yellowstone, we saw some of the most beautiful parts of this country I've ever seen and I've been to every state except five. Breathtaking! Friday we finally arrived in Coeur d'Alene and although it was beautiful it didn't compare to what we just witnessed the day before! The city of Coeur d'Alene seemed like the whole good side of the street/bad side of the street. We were very unimpressed until we got around the resort and Ironman check-in area which was amazing.

Friday and Saturday was very low key. Check in, pre-workouts and getting around were very easy and simple. I was able to spend a lot of time napping, hydrating and staying off my feet. Come Saturday night I felt very rested and very hungry to leave it all out there the next day.

2.4 mile swim: 1:21:02 (2:05/100 yd pace) 141 out of 316 in AG

The day before the race I swam in the lake Coeur d'Alene choppy waters and wasn't so concerned. I've swam many times in Vail lake (local) which is always choppy and over the past month I've swam at La Jolla cove which can also be choppy. Well race day the wind was kicking pretty good. I actually laughed out loud when I saw the lake. We basically had to swim straight into it, make the turn home and then do it again. I told Flanny the day before that if he saw a 1:15 swim split to not be alarmed because I knew it was going to be a slow swim and I was not going to fight through it and potentially ruin my race. It was a "self-seeded" start so I ended up going in the second wave (1:00-1:15) group. There's no delay in between the waves, it's just a rolling start. It was definitely the most violent swim I've been in. Between getting a shiner on my forehead, swam over, and knocked around. I also had trouble siting -- whenever I tried a wave was blocking the buoys. I've learned over the past 4 years of doing triathlons that the best way to get through these kind of swims is to just relax, not force it and actually just smile. So that's what I did. Just took the punches and swam as strong as I could.

I hit the first lap in 36 minutes and was on pace to break 1:15. I was pretty disoriented when I got out of the water to make the turn to go back in. The waves and chop can really make you dizzy. I definitely felt the fatigue going into the current again on the second lap and could tell my pace dropped. I just did my best to get through it and not get overly concerned about it. I knew historically if you swam around 1:15 you still have a shot of a Kona slot. When I saw 1:20 on my Garmin when I came out, I just knew it was time to get to work and figured with my run - a 1:20 wouldn't take me out of the race.

T1: 4:46

First time experiencing the whole Ironman tent changing room. The volunteers were amazing. Got me out of my suit, my bike bag, sun screened me up, went pee #1 of the day and I was on my way.

112 mile bike/4500ft of climbing: 5:42 (AVG 19.6 mph) 46th in AG

The temperature was actually perfect. I went with no arm warmers and felt great. It was the wind that hurt me. It seemed like it continued to pick up momentum as the bike went on. Strong winds for my slender frame really took me out of the race. Based off of the last 8 months of using power, Flanny and I decided 190NP was going to be my magic number to ride a 5:00-5:15 bike split. With all of the intervals, hills, long days, short days etc...we had no doubt that the bike would be a huge advantage for me and I'd be able to run off the bike holding that power and crush this course. Well I held 189NP and rode 5:42 haha. You can check out data HERE. The only variable we couldn't factor in was the wind. I stayed very aero the whole race and did my best to fight through that wind but it just ended up being a day that favored the power riders. The ones that didn't get blown over by the wind on the bike and the ones that could power through the chop in the swim. HOWEVER. I still felt like I was in the race. My biggest maturity in triathlon over the past few years is that I learned times mean nothing in triathlon. There are so many variables in long course that your S,B,R times really don't mean anything nor do they tell the story of the race.

So I just kept eating and drinking, nailing my nutrition plan. I peed three times on the bike and never felt hungry or thirsty. I finally started feeling my efforts for the day right at mile 100. I fought to stay at 190 watts for the last 10 miles which tells me that Flanny's plan was spot on. Hard enough to question whether or not I could run off the bike but no cramping, GI issues or dreading the run. Even coming in at 5:42, I had a feeling that a lot of people's splits were slow so I still didn't throw in the towel, I knew I had work to do!

T2: 3:13

Again, the volunteers were awesome. Found my bag right away, slipped on my shoes, took another pee and off I went!

26.2 mile run/1500ft of climbing: 3:43 (AVG 8:31 pace) 36th in AG

Again, after months of training data - Flanny and I decided that 7:15 pace was going to be the magic number for me. Data found HERE. I got off the bike and that first mile felt a little bit weird. It just took some time to get my running legs off of me. I carried a flask of nutrition and just sipped on it while refueling it at each aid station with whatever sounded good. After the first mile, 7:15's became effortless and I knew I was going to have a good run. I just stayed on top of my nutrition, picked a stronger runner ahead of me in the distance and just worked my way up to them for the pass while staying on my own pace. It's a 2 loop course, basically go through a neighborhood, up the long hill and back x2.

The first lap (1/2 marathon) I was enjoying myself. Smiles, giving some fist bumps to the awesome house parties going on and just clicking off the miles. As I went through the first loop I saw my family, gave them a wave and saw that I clicked off a 1:34 half. Right on pace! Then like almost clock work the next mile I started getting some serious taste fatigue. Everything I tried to eat or drink I just spit it out. I tried drinking a lot of water and eating some pretzels to rinse my palate like I was drinking wine or something but with no such luck! I just gradually started bonking. Whenever I tried to force food down I felt like I wanted to puke. Not because of GI issues but because of the sweet food/taste fatigue I had going on. Everything was just gross. Sweet, salty - didn't matter. So my great pace eventually turned into a slow jog. I just did my best to keep form and stay positive. Those last 6 miles ended up being one of the toughest things I've ever been through. I was so stubborn and refused to walk and just forced myself through it.

Ironman isn't easy. These past several months haven't been easy. So when I arrived to that long finish chute it was almost like my mind just replayed pictures and videos of all of the good and bad in my life leading up to this race. I choked up big time. When you are in a lot of pain you become very vulnerable. With each step and high five I gave heading into the finish I was very proud of myself. Not just of the race but the entire "Kona Journey" that I've been on over the past year. It took every ounce of discipline mentally and physically to get there and even though it hurt that I did not qualify, when I crossed that finish line - that wasn't what was on my mind. My family was there and as I looked at their faces with watery eyes, I looked up into the sky and became an Ironman.


Final Result: 10:55:01, 36th in AG, 161st overall.

Thank you all for the amazing kind words and encouragement; this was truly an experience that I will never forget.

Thanks for reading-

2014 Ironman Oceanside 70.3 Race Report

It's been a crazy week on so many levels. Some personal stuff, getting sick the week before the race (see post on that HERE), and the actual race itself. Everything just happened at once but my coach gave me probably the best advice I've ever received before the race. Flanny said I'm prepared physically to have a great race but my performance will have everything to do with how I perform mentally. It actually took a lot of pressure off because I trust his judgment on my fitness and it was up to me to prove that mentally I can stay strong for 4 1/2 hours and 70.3 miles despite all the challenges against me.

[caption id="attachment_2752" align="alignright" width="300"] Armed w/the best sponsors![/caption]

Two-three days before the race is when I finally started feeling like myself again and just tried to wrap my head around giving everything I had on race day. Race check-in went smooth, The Bike Shop once again had my Slice ready to go and during my last few workouts I finally felt some pop in my legs, something I hadn't felt in a long, long time. With us living 30-40 minutes away from the race I was able to sleep in my own bed and get to the race in plenty of time to get my new 2014 Wattie Ink kit - thanks Dusty, Karin and Chris for all the support! Race morning I didn't have the usual pre-race anxious bathroom pit stop which told me mentally I was already heading in the right direction. I was relaxed and really ready to embrace the day. It was all about hanging out in transition with friends and then chillin with my fellow team mate Mo until my wave went off, which happened to be one of the last wave starts...

AG 35-39: 333 Athletes

1.2 Mile Swim: 35:57 (AVG 1:51/100 pace) 84th out of the water

So a couple of things going against me here which didn't help since the swim is my weakest discipline. A lot of people make the big mistake in triathlon of judging performances by time when place is the only thing that matters. Especially since triathlon courses are rarely measured accurately or held accountable for the correct distance. For this particular race the swim course was long. To give you perspective last year 52 athletes in my AG broke 30 minutes for the swim. This year it was 11. Yes, I looked it up. This race was an important gauge of fitness for me leading into IMCDA so I needed to do my homework. I know I'm not a 36 minute swimmer and the fact that only 11 broke 30 minutes tells me this swim was 3-5 minutes slow. Distance wasn't the only thing that slowed our wave down. We had a lot of traffic to navigate, the chop picked up and we had horrible sighting issues when we made the turn back home with the sun directly in our eyes. Excuses? Nope. Again, gauging fitness accurately is important and you have to include all of the variables to make an educated guess of fitness. Just like science class! I did my best to draft, navigate traffic, kick as little as possible and keep my level of exertion as even as possible. All this said, when I exited out of the water and saw my time, my heart sunk. I couldn't believe my eyes and I really thought my chances of cracking the top 10 in a very tough and talented age group would be impossible. By the time I got through transition and onto my bike - my mind shifted to "I'm going to do whatever it takes to crack the top 10..."

[caption id="attachment_2740" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pissed off about the swim...[/caption]

T1: 3:24

Long run to T1 from the boat dock, stuff my wetsuit into the bag and got outta there.

56 mile Bike: 2:31:00 (AVG 22.3 mph) 1800ft elev. 9th fastest bike split in AG (passed 69 to move up to 15th place going into T2)
SRM Power file HERE.

For the first time ever in a triathlon I got on the bike and had some pop in my legs. I can't believe how much the SRM power meter helped me too. Our target watts was 230 (I ended up averaging 218). Since it's pretty much impossible to stay right on target watts the entire ride I tried to stick as close to 220-230 the whole time because I knew I would go over that quite a bit with the climbs. I was actually surprised my normalized power was 218 as I was afraid I was going to be more like 238! I really didn't want to ride too hard as I knew I could make up a ton of time on the run with some good legs as opposed to hitting more watts and making up just a little bit of time. My only struggle during the ride (which you can see in my power file notes) was trying to pee on the downhill's. There's about four of them on the ride and it took me until the fourth long downhill to finally go. Sorry if this grosses you out but if you want to podium in Ironman, you have to pee your pants haha. Last year I had no issues going twice but I guess I was a little shy this year and it cost me a lot of time and speed (possibly a podium) because I didn't pedal at all on all of the downhill's.

[caption id="attachment_2743" align="alignleft" width="300"] Coming into T2[/caption]

Another goal on the bike this year was to close strong. In the past two years I've always struggled after making that final turn to head back to transition. It's a false flat and usually you have quite a bit of headwind and you're tired. This year I made up a lot of ground on this stretch and power numbers were strong. All of Flanny's ridiculous trainer work helped big time here and I ended up passing a lot of people along that stretch. My time goal was to break 2:30 which I may have done if I had my urine issues handled...

T2: 1:24

In and out of there. Only thing that slows me down is putting on socks for long course, which I have to until I find a shoe that doesn't tear me up for weeks after.

[caption id="attachment_2744" align="alignleft" width="300"] Love the new kits![/caption]

13.1 mile Run: 1:25 (AVG 6:33 pace) 3rd fastest run split in AG (passed 7)
Run file HERE.

So they changed the run course this year. One of the cool things about the run course in the past is that it's always been 12.5 and it makes you look fast (again, times don't mean sh*t in triathlons) but this year to decrease run traffic and make it truly a half marathon they switched up the beginning of the run course. Past two years I ran 1:23, 24 and now this year 1:25. So technically this was my best half marathon off the bike ever because it was the full distance. The first mile I kind of felt like garbage but then miles 2-6 felt amazing and effortless. I just locked into a pace and it felt fairly easy. I was only taking in cola and water and I think that's where I screwed up. I hate taking in nutrition on a run, my heart rate is sky high and I hate breaking up momentum. Miles 7-10 started to hurt and then that last three miles the wheels fell off and all of my 6:2x's became 6:4x's and I just did my best to stay focused, keep my form intact and finish strong.

[caption id="attachment_2745" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Running up a wall[/caption]

This was a very emotional run for me. There's a lot going on in life right now and I broke down about four miles in and then again at the finish. Its weird how competing hard and giving it everything you have can make you very venerable to life's challenges. My buddy Dusty said it best. "Sometimes we race for more than just the clock."

4:37, 8th in AG, Qualified for Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Mount Tremblant Canada. [hr]

Here's coach Robert "Flanny" Flanigan's coaches evaluation of my race:

Oceanside was going to be a make or break day for James. In the weeks leading up to the race he started to show uncharacteristic signs that he was cracking. After a successful training camp with him in San Diego he ran into an emotional wall that started with a unexpected result at Desert Tri and strung into a few weeks of training that was not what I have come to expect from James. We circled back and managed to get him in a better mindset after some good sessions and a fresh perspective on training. We had some great momentum rolling when he was hit with some personal challenges that would have broken most athletes. We worked together daily to make sure that his focus was in the right place (and that wasn’t necessarily training and racing). The day before the race we reviewed our race plan one last time and I stressed the importance of racing his race….no matter what.

James was in a good place mentally the night before the race and if he could pull off a good result in light of all that was happening around him, I knew he would have what it takes to see his seasonal goals become a reality.

James came out of the water slower than we expected but was able to shake off that result and get to work on the bike. He executed the ride just as planned and set himself up for a solid run performance on the now honest 13.1 Oceanside course.

The result of this race, the time, placing, and Worlds Qualification were not the standout result of this day. James showed the ability to be mentally tougher than most any athlete I have worked with and that will be the take away from this race that we build on.
-Flanny[hr]

I can't thank Flanny enough. He's been instrumental in keeping my head screwed on straight, getting me to perform at my best and being a great friend.

I thank my warrior of a wife for all of the support with all we've been through along with our two amazing kids. I truly couldn't do any of this without you or them!

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Wattie Ink, Herbalife, Powerbar, Blueseventy, Rudy Project, Spidertech, Reynolds, ISM, Speedfil, and my personal sponsors SRM, OG's and The Bike Shop!



So now I have the 70.3 qualifier in my hip pocket if for some reason I don't qualify for Kona at IMCDA. I have to admit, I wasn't too optimistic about my chances at Kona until I raced Oceanside. I did my research and a lot of the competitors in front of me and behind me are really really fast. I'm unhappy with my time ONLY because it doesn't justify how good of a race I really had.

The confidence is there now, now it's just time to do the work.

 

 

 

Desert Tri RR - Training Log (Feb 24-Mar 2)

Well my first triathlon of the 2014 season is in the books and it didn't quite go as planned...That's one thing I've learned about triathlon - that this "not going as planned" happens often and the real challenge is how you get through it DURING the race and how you respond to it AFTER the race. My coach always tells me that I'm too hard on myself but I have to say for this race - I'm proud of how I got through it and my attitude about it all. It was one of the harder AND easier races I've ever done. Let me explain.

[caption id="attachment_2702" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Love the Desert![/caption]

The big "storm" of 2014 hit SoCal on Friday before the race. The rain was dumping which was much needed in a long drought we've been facing. Amy woke up not feeling so well on Saturday and with the rain pouring outside she decided that it would be best to stay home with the kids. So I headed out solo and as soon as I got out of Temecula heading east, the rain went away completely and the sun was shining. I was in high spirits going into this race. I had just finished up three solid weekends which included a half marathon, a hard century ride/relay run, capped off with Wattie Ink / BDR Training camp last week. I don't know what it is but I've been recovering really well lately -almost giving me an invincible feeling each morning. No matter how hard I went the day before I've been waking up without any soreness or mental fatigue - something I've NEVER experienced as a triathlete. So needless to say I was ready to start the season off with a bang and had high expectations of proving I'm ready to lay down this year.

[caption id="attachment_2699" align="alignright" width="300"] New Asics Gel Noosa TRI's![/caption]

Woke up and went through my usual pre race routine:
1. Sweet potato with sea salt, and a banana with almond butter 2-3 hours before race start.
2. 10-15 minutes of meditation. Just a chance to visualize the race one more time, prepare my body for discomfort / mentally prepare for the race and enjoy the day.
3. 10 minute bike warm up to make sure all systems go
4. 15 minute run warm up, stretching, light plyometrics, 5 strides
5. Take in pre race energy in T1. I've mentioned it before, T1 and swim start is my favorite part of triathlons. You can literally feel the glow and excitement from other athletes. You get to see a lot of friends, the sunrise is in full effect, the water looks amazing and there's no other place you'd rather be.
6. 10 minute pre race swim. I just like to get in the water, pee like 3 times (like everyone else does), put in a few 50 yd efforts, familiarize myself of where all the buoys are and just soak it all in. Again, no place I'd rather be.
7. Find the right place for me at the swim start. Depending on the race, I always have a plan of where I want to line up. For some reason I chose a terrible spot, especially since the plan was to go out fairly conservative then finish strong. I lined up 2nd row, middle which ended up being a bad choice!

Here are the details and I'll also include previous years splits for comparison.

Swim - 1200 meters / 21:43 (Avg 1:39/100yd)
2013: 20:09
2012: 21:56

The water this year was the cleanest I've ever seen it. You could actually see your arms in the water and it didn't have that horrible fishy smell that it normally has. It even tasted good - which is odd. However, it didn't feel very good with copious amounts in my belly. At the swim start I got thrashed around a little more than usual and drank some water. No big deal, nothing out of the ordinary as I've swallowed water before in the nastiest of lakes. I started out fairly conservative and gradually increased my effort and pace as the race went on - something my coach and I have been working on. It was working by the time I made the turn to head back to shore ~500 meters in I started passing a lot of guys in my age group that went out too hard. We also started passing athletes from previous wave starts. I tried my best to navigate through the traffic but in one instance I had a wall of 5 swimmers in front of me. Instead of going all the way around I decided to just plow through them. I've done this before with no issues but on this occasion I ended up swallowing A LOT of water that stopped me in my tracks. I immediately started throwing up. Have you ever thrown up while trying to tread water? It's almost impossible as your body kind of controls you with the contractions. I felt like I was going to drown! I was a disaster; goggles fogged up, snot and puke everywhere, swimmers running right into me. I was just trying to gather myself and move on.

I finished the rest of the swim with a few if-y burps but actually finished strong, something I've never had before and was definitely one of the few positive take-aways from the race. Even though I was about a minute down from last year, I easily lost a minute with my issues...

T1: 1:37

[caption id="attachment_2703" align="alignright" width="200"] Rolling into T2 after a BRUTAL ride[/caption]

Bike - 40k / 1:02:23 (AVG 23.9 mph)
2013: 58:24
2012: 59:28

As soon as I got out of the water and stood up I could tell my stomach was not happy and my heart rate seemed through the roof. I threw on my Rudy Project sunglasses, hopped on my ISM saddle and as usual I took a few minutes to gather myself, get some Herbalife Prolong down the hatch and then lock into my pre-planned SRM wattage plan. About a minute after I took some fluids in it came right back up. I was in aero position and throwing up literally swerved me off the road and into the dirt. It scared the sh*t out of me and thankfully I was able to recover and get back on the road as a fellow racer went by asking me if I was getting some cyclocross training in. I gave him a look and then moved on. About 5 minutes later some acid came up which was quickly followed by some more puke and swerving on the road. Sorry if this is TMI, just telling you like it is. 

The rest of the bike was the same story. Losing all those fluids had my heart rate sky high and my wattage very low. I'm so stubborn that I refused to let this take me down and I pressed on. I just tried to stay as aero as possible and keep cadence high as there was no power in my legs. I was only able to average 180 watts which is what I average on my long rides! I am actually very pleased with my bike split despite what I was going through. I know a lot of people would have pulled the plug at this point. I still managed to average ~24 mph for the ride and I contribute a lot of that to my new Reynolds race wheels. It was my first time racing in them and not only did they handle fine in the dirt but also on these huge potholes and they gave the beautiful "hum" that I love hearing once you get going fast.

T2: 1:16

 

[caption id="attachment_2697" align="alignright" width="180"] First lap struggling...[/caption]

Run - 6 miles / 41:50 (AVG 6:58 pace)
2013: 32:10
2012: 34:02

Immediately leaving T2 I dry heaved annoying loud in front of everyone. It was very embarrassing and kind of funny. I felt absolutely horrible but I pressed on. I couldn't keep any fluid down, nor was there any left so the dry heaving commenced. Finally by the 3rd mile I figured out how to make it subside and that was settling into a 7:30ish pace. The heaving went away and the rest of the race was just this weird feeling like I was on a training jog cheering on all the competitors that passed me. I knew I was no longer in the race and I had peace about it. I was proud of how I fought through this and I know this is going to help me once I race the real challenges in Ironman. I crossed the line, had a few more dry heaving spells - said congrats to a few team mates (congrats to David Lipke and Dusty Nabor 1,2 - two great friends and I wish I could have joined them on the podium!). I quickly packed up and went straight back to the hotel to clean up and collapse. I was toast. I made it home, slept for 3 hours then slept for 13 hours that night, took a 2 hour nap the next day and finally started feeling normal again!

[caption id="attachment_2698" align="aligncenter" width="200"] 2nd lap, at peace, cruising and proud that I fought through a tough day[/caption]

Results: 2:08:51 / 9th AG, 78th Overall
2013: 1:54:02 / 1st AG, 14th Overall
2012: 1:57:56 / 2nd AG, 22nd Overall



 

Training Log (Feb 3-9) + 2 RR

Last week was one of the busier weeks I can remember and I'm feeling it, literally. I got sick for the first time since last May and I saw it coming a mile away. Ironman training with a full time job and kids is very unforgiving. You can't let your focus slip even for a day or two otherwise it will bite you and it has. I have a full blown chest cold infection which means zero exercise for 7-10 days. It's very frustrating to say the least. My training has come along really well and I'm in an important build leading up to Ironman 70.3 Oceanside which is a short month away. This last week was a testament to that fitness and although I'm really excited of where I'm at, I know I'm taking a step back with taking this much time off. Especially with my swim fitness. I was so close to getting back to where I was and yet, another set back which has been very common with me. This goes back to what my coach has been preaching about my training all along. How important it is for me to stay consistent - something I've always struggled with whether it be to illness, injury or just stupidity.

Again, I learned from my mistakes. I planned ahead of time to just let go for the weekend and have some fun - because you know, I earned it! Well, come to find out - when you are pushing your body and your time to the limits, there isn't any room for error. No nights to skip on sleep, or eat terrible, drink to much and skip on hydration. Especially when you are throwing down tough workouts. And this is what I did! Here's how the week played out:

Monday: 1 workout

BlueSeventy Recovery Swim: 45 mins / 2500yds
3 x 800 m
1st Easy Swim
2nd Pull
3rd Pull w/ paddles


Post workout notes: This workout was all about recovering from the half marathon. I was a lot more sore then I thought I'd be. [hr]

Tuesday: 1 workout

Recovery Run: 40 mins / 4.5 miles / 8:53 pace

Flanny’s workout: 40 min recovery run w/ 8-10 x 50 m strides at completion.

Post Workout notes: Open half marathons tear me up just as much HIM's do. I really struggled to run those first 10 minutes. Finally I loosened up, but at the end I was still unable to do the strides because of the soreness. [hr]

Wednesday: 2 workouts

BlueSeventy Masters Swim: 1:30 / 4k
500 wup, 4x100 on 1:40. 4x50 on 50
Main set all done on 1:30b:
8x150 (100steady 5" 50hard)
Masters min
8x125 (75 steady 5" 50 hard)
Masters min
8x75 (50 steady 5" 25 hard) Fins and paddles
c/d to 4k

Post workout notes: STILL feeling fatigued from the half, I struggled through this one. I barely made the intervals and had to throw on fins and paddles to get through that last set.

SRM Bike Trainer: 1hr / 16.5 miles / 16.5mph

Flanny’s workout: 90 mins: 3 x 8 min Big Gear 2min Z4 on 2 min rest

Post workout notes: Tonight was when the stress started for the week. Basically Wed-Sun was a whirlwind. I know this session was going to be key to try and get my legs back from that race but sometimes things come up. I was only able to get in one interval and then had to call is quits.

[caption id="attachment_2649" align="alignright" width="300"] Directors getting the green screen treadmill ready to go![/caption]

Run: Steady State Run- 70 mins / 9 miles / 7:47 pace

Flanny’s Workout: Z2+ w/ Strides at completion

Post workout notes: This was a long day. Drove to San Diego 1 hour. Worked all day the drove to Temecula (1 hr) for a quick wardrobe change. I quickly got my run in then I then drove to Los Angeles in rainy traffic (2.5 hrs) for a Boston Marathon commercial shoot. This was a really cool experience running on a treadmill with a green screen. Watch for the commercial to run during the last week of the Olympics (next week). Then it was back home in even worse traffic ~3.5 hours totally 8 hours of driving for the day. I was done! [hr]



Friday: 0 workouts

Post workout notes: This was another crazy day of driving down to San Diego, working - headed home, quickly packed and headed off to Redlands for a pit stop and finally to Palm Springs to check in for the century ride and meet up with Eric and Kim for a fun weekend! As much as I wanted to get the prescribed 90 minute bike spin and Masters in, there was no way today to do anything. Sometimes you run out of time. Looking back on it though, I should have woken up at 4:30 and put in a swim before work. Failed planning = part of the learning process.[hr]

Saturday: 1 workout

[caption id="attachment_2639" align="alignright" width="225"] Start of the Century![/caption]

Post workout notes: This was my only 2nd time ever going over 100 miles. My first was a 150 mile crazy weekend with Masi / Nabor a few years ago. I really didn't know what to expect. My last long ride over 50 miles was Vegas I believe. We've just been doing a lot of intensity (with the volume to come). I think the numbers show that not doing a whole lot of volume doesn't affect me like I thought it would. Sure they are skewed, I was hanging in and out of large packs about 35-40% of the time. However, I HATE riding in large groups and this was no different. Sorry to the roadies out there but there is very little benefit of riding with a large pack when it comes to IM fitness. Even the climbs, you can tuck right in and cruise up. You get such a harder workout riding solo if you can push yourself and that's why the majority of the time I ride solo. Each time I got caught up with a pack, I'd bail out after awhile then TT solo until I caught up to another larger or smaller group. I did this the entire ride, maybe said 3 or 4 words the entire day. I just wanted to hammer and see what I could do, not BS with a bunch of arrogant roadies. With about an hour to go my buddy Mike Hebebrand (KQ'er) came by with a strong group. Just what I needed to break the 4:30 mark! We rode hard the rest of the way home and I felt fantastic. It's January and I could have got off that bike and put down a solid marathon which excites me in my Kona qualifier pursuit. With a ride down to the start and it being a little long, I got in a solid 107 miles for the day. Stoked!

The rest of the day included one too many beers, lots of laughs, great food and very little water and sleep unfortunately. I woke up that night with a really bad sore throat, dreading the race the next day.



[caption id="attachment_2638" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Great dinner, Great friends[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2637" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Bad idea...[/caption]

[hr]
Sunday (1 workout)

Palm Springs 1/2 marathon relay (5.5, 3.1, 4.5)

My leg, 4.5 miles - Splits: 5:25, 5:37, 5:38, 5:50...and change
Total: 25:21 (5:38 pace) / Total team time: 1:21:4x
1st Place Co-Ed Division / 8th place Overall


[caption id="attachment_2643" align="alignright" width="225"] Bringing it home![/caption]

Post workout notes: My initial plan was to just watch but after Amy hooked up with a relay team and then my friends Eric and Kim were thinking about doing the relay, I decided to jump in and see how the legs would respond to a tough century ride the day before. Let's just say I wasn't feeling so hot and neither was Eric. Our fun from the night before was not so much fun anymore. I tried doing a warm up but almost threw up so I opted to do some stretching instead. Eric brought it in to the check point flying and in first place (in our division). He said he was dry heaving during the race haha - he still averaged 5:40's! Kim took off for her 3.1 mile leg and before I knew it she was flying in and it was my turn to take it home. I definitely went out a little hot (5:25) but felt surprisingly good and passed about 6-7 people and then from miles 2-4.5 it was just a time trial with me all by myself. I hit 5k sub 17 and then the wheels fell off big time. My quads were locking up and felt like someone put a hammer to them. I was super dehydrated and needless to say, I was ready to be done! I was surprised how much that little 4.5 mile race hurt but I was very pleased with the results. I'm in (was) the best shape of my life hands down for triathlon.  We hung around a bit for results, picked up our medals, had an awesome lunch and said goodbye to the fun weekend.

[caption id="attachment_2644" align="aligncenter" width="225"] (click on pics to enlarge)[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_2633" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Post race Pina Colada![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2634" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Post weekend nastiness - trying to get better...[/caption]

Now it's all about taking this time to get healthy and recharge for the work that lies ahead. I'm excited to get into full on Ironman training mode. I'm off to a good start with my training and excited to see how March goes with the Desert Tri and Ironman 70.3 Oceanside to start the year.

Totals (2 swims, 2 bikes, 3 runs)
Swim: 6,500 yds /2:15
Bike: 123 miles / 6:03
Run: 21 miles / 2:20
Strength: 1 hr
Total hours: 11:38

Surf City Half Marathon Race Report

This picture sums up how I felt at the race!

I am no longer a runner, but a triathlete.

I'll keep this short and sweet, getting right to the details.

Going into the race I texted Flanny and wrote I could see myself running 1:12 and I could see myself running 1:17. I didn't really have any idea where I was. I just know that two years ago I kicked down a 1:14 and am in way better shape then I was then. Why wouldn't I go faster? Well, it's true, I would kick that little 1:14 runner's ass from two years ago anyday...in a triathlon. The single biggest thing I learned this weekend is that I am no longer a runner. I'm not built that way anymore, I don't train like that anymore and now...I FINALLY I don't think that way anymore. I know Walsh and Flanny both tried to get that through my thick skull but like a lot of things in my life over the years, I had to learn it myself. So as soon as I got over the major disappointment of running my slowest half marathon to date (4 total) of a 1:18 and running 5 minutes slower that I thought I would - the light bulb came on and I am completely content with the result now.

Pre race: Good friend and Wattie team mate Chris Masilon lives 5 minutes from the starting line so him and his amazing family took me in, fed me and let me crash for the race the next day. I slept good, woke up, put on my Spidertech tape and ate a Powerbar and banana two hours before the race and just sipped on some Powerbar Perform leading up to the race. After a quick 10 minute warm up and some strides I was ready to rock! I felt very relaxed and confident of the day to come. The sun started coming out, the beach smell was in the air and everyone's energy was radiating off of their body. I absolutely love the start of a race. All that hard work ready to be paid off. Time to have some fun!

Race: 13.1 miles / 1:18:42 / 6:01 pace / 7th in AG, 24th Overall (out of 15,447 runners):

Our plan was simple. Hit 5:40-45's for the first 10k and then race it from there. I settled into the 3rd pack which was quite large. We all took turns leading and tried to block the two women who were leading their race from the wind. This race was HUGE. Television camera's, helicopters flying overhead - it was a pretty cool experience. Since we held the leading women we got quite a bit of attention. The course is rolling with a lot of false flats. My splits for the most part where right on where I wanted to be:

After a bunch of zigzagging through some residential neighborhoods we popped back out onto the Pacific Coast highway, turned around and BAM. We hit a nasty headwind for that last 10k. The pack immediately started to dissipate and I did my best to hang on. It was a bit of a crosswind so it was hard to hide from. Before I knew it I fell off the back and had to run solo into that wind all the way back. I haven't hurt that bad in a race in quite some time. It got to the point where I wanted to walk but I just fought through it. It reminded me of some of these running nightmares I have where I am running the hardest I can but the wind is so strong it has me running in place, going nowhere. I started to see my pace fall, started to get passed and my legs just got heavier and heavier. I did my best to try and stay relaxed and keep form. I'll mention it again...I haven't hurt that bad in a LONG time!

Eurostar made his debut appearance with about 800 meters to go and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't even crack a smile. I was in some deep pain. I crossed the line, wiped my brow which felt like sand paper from salt, wobbled through the chute and tried to pull myself together. After seeing a few fellow friends/triathletes in the chute, I got out of there as fast as I could with my tail between my legs...I was pissed and just wanted an IPA. Tired legs, wind, blah blah blah - stupid excuses, I hate them and don't want to come across that way. The reality is, I'm built to run a half marathon off the bike now, not crush an open one. My goal is to actually run a 1:18 off the bike this year and if you bring my pacing down to 6 minutes - I certainly think that's doable - especially since I've run 1:22 off the bike before.

To wrap things up, I am in a good place now. I learned more from that race then any other race I've done before. To let go of that runner I've been clinging so hard onto the past three years and accept the fact that I'm a triathlete now. I really enjoy triathlon and I didn't have anywhere near the same amount of fun at this race compared to the fun I have at triathlons....and that's what it's all about. Having fun!

Thanks for all of the support and I want to apologize for coming across like 1:18 is a slow time. I just have very very high expectations of myself and I didn't mean to come across as arrogant in my social media posts after my race. Thank you for reading and cheers to the 2014 triathlon season!

12/6 Hrs of Temecula MTB Race

So I gained 9 pounds during my 2 weeks "off" haha. Boy that comes on fast when you are eating/drinking whatever you want and being lazy! During this time Wattie team mate and friend Dusty asked if I wanted to join him on the 6 hr - 2 man team relay at So Cal Endurances 12/6 hrs of Temecula. It's like 15 minutes from my house, how couldn't I!?? The only problem was I was fat and out of shape. So the weekend before the race I decided to get back on my mountain bike and try and get some legs back before the race. It was a lot of fun to get back on my bike and hit the trails.

When I first started training/racing triathlon and started a blog back in 2010 I thought I wanted to race Xterra's. So my first bike was the same mountain bike that I rode last weekend, a Cannondale F5. It's just a solid (as in very heavy haha) entry level hardtail mountain bike. I raced the local Kenda Cup's and even upgraded to Cat 2 before I raced my first and last Xterra. The Xterra West Championships in Vegas. That race made me realize I was a rodie haha. As much fun as I like hitting the trails on the MTB and trail running, I don't like RACING on the trails. Huge difference. However, this last weekend - honestly I had a lot of fun and miss the whole vibe that comes with mountain biking. Most triathletes are so intense, dress dorky and are usually a-holes. Mountain bike races there are more beards, beer and camping involved. Nobody takes themselves so seriously. It's definitely more my style but let's not get carried away, there's no way in hell I'm going to go back to racing off road!

[caption id="attachment_2452" align="aligncenter" width="381"] Race Start[/caption]

Karin (another Wattie team mate) and Dusty rode down race morning to perfect weather and serious Tough Mudder traffic which was held the same day only miles away. It made logistics a little tricky at first but we figured it out - damn joggers that like to splash in puddles (a-hole triathlete)! Got checked in, hung out and before we knew it the horn went off and Karin and Dusty were off!

[caption id="attachment_2449" align="alignleft" width="300"] Dusty having fun![/caption]

With my rusty fitness going into this race I was hoping to only put in 3 laps and let Dusty take care of the rest. He ended up putting in 3 3/4 laps which worked out great as I don't think I could have done another lap. This course was tough! I have pre-ridden the course the past few years just for fun and there's no doubt this was a lot harder. Even the race director announced they added some tough sections they've never put in before. The course was simple: 1st half - fast & fun, 2nd half - hard & technical. Before I knew it, Dusty came flying in and I was off.

Even though I was a little out of shape I pushed that first section pretty hard. I was telling Karin and Dusty the dangerous thing with me is that I am in better shape than I am technical - which is not a good combo in mountain biking. I found myself in a ditch within 15 minutes lol. I had a little too much pressure in my front tire that first lap and it slid out on me, over corrected, rode in a bush for a few seconds then over the handle bars and rolled down into a ditch. I was literally laughing out loud to myself. I got up with just some minor scrapes, carried my bike back up to the course where a little kid rode by and said "Are you OK mister?" I chuckled and got back to it. After passing the "baton" back to Dusty I saw that Karin took a spill too in her first mountain bike race. She did the 1 lap race and ended up winning - no big deal!

I stripped down to dry out the clothes, grabbed a bunch of food and drinks like I had all day until Dusty came in. It's amazing how fast 45 minutes come. I felt like I sat down for one minute before we decided it's probably a good idea to get to transition. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful for the most part. It just got harder and harder. We floated right between 10th-13th place most of the day and ended up placing 12th overall which I was kind of shocked as a lot of talent goes shows up to this race. It was Dusty's first mountain bike race too and with his MTX/off road back ground he handled the course really well and killed it! After my 3rd lap I was told that I was done. Best news I heard all day. Beer me!

We capped off the day with dinner/drinks at my favorite gastropub in Temecula, The Blackbird Tavern. Amy and I got babysitters and enjoyed great company with Karin and Dusty. One of my favorite things about racing is sharing it with others over a beer. After each beer the race becomes harder then it really was and you become faster -it's awesome! We had a blast and maybe someday when my Ironman days are over I'll get back to racing on the mountain bike.

Race stats:
12 813 Wattie Ink 7 5:19:11
0:32:48 0:45:30 0:45:04 0:46:53 0:49:23 0:49:43 0:49:47
My splits are in bold. We had very similar splits, glad I didn't slow him down!

My average heart rate for lap 1 was 175! I thought I screwed up but was able to maintain an average of 172 HR for the entire race. Fitness and ability to hurt is ready to get this Ironman training started!

Here's a short little video I put together, enjoy!

2013 Soma 70.3 Race Report

Soma marked my last race of the year and also last as a 30-34 AG'er. Next year I'm moving up to the hardest age group (in my opinion). Every year it seems the fastest guys are 35-39 which tells you how different our sport is to other ones. It takes years to get that swim technique down, years to get the power on the bike and finesse on the run. I'm looking forward to being the "young" guy now in my age group.

[caption id="attachment_2399" align="alignleft" width="300"] Love AZ sunrise & sunsets[/caption]

This is the 3rd year in a row that I've done Soma. It's in Tempe, AZ - Amy and I have friends there that are so gracious to put us up in a 2nd home to stay and it really does feel like a vacation and Arizona is so pretty this time of year. We rolled out on Friday with the kids in tow and I ran an easy 30 mins with Eric in the foothill trails to shake the long drive out and after some stretching/strides and my legs felt good.
I probably didn't have any business doing this race. With all of my energy and focus devoted to the 70.3 World Championships, my LACK of focus for this race really showed its colors. I ran into a soleus injury a few weeks ago, then hurt my wrist/arm which really set me back in preparing for this race. However, I signed up for it and the chance to hang out with friends became more appetizing than ripping a PR on a deceivingly hard course. However, when race day came I was ready to bury myself and see what happened. The biggest reason why I did this race was to get another 70.3 under my belt and once again, I learned a lot and am glad I did it. Here's how it went down...

First of all, The Bike Shop hooked me up with some race wheels and I am so grateful for how much they supported me the past few years. Without any race wheels I've been bumming off of friends (again, thanks so much everyone) and when The Bike Shop had some, they loaned them to me with no questions asked. Needless to say, race wheels can have a huge impact on your bike split and your overall time and I can't thanks them enough for loaning me these sweet Normatec wheels which rolled me to a 2 minute PR bike split.

Swim: 1.2M 36:46 (AVG 1:44/100) -25th in AG

So before you think how slow of a swimmer I am, there were only 2 AG'ers that broke 30 in the swim so it was obviously long. Then when you get out of the water and go up the stairs you have wetsuit strippers then a 100 meter run to T1 where your timing chip finally goes off - so needless to say there were a lot of slow times. As I've mentioned before in triathlon - times are not the important factor, placing is. To much emphasis is put on time and often times it can let you down. In this case, I was 25th out of the water where normally I am in the 30's-50's so I was pleased enough with my swim.

The start was pretty calm when comparing it to worlds. Thank goodness it was a wetsuit legal swim so I was rocking my custom Blueseventy Helix along with my Blueseventy Element tinted goggles. I got on some feet all the way to the turn around, I peaked at my watch at 1000 yds and I was 15:xx so right on pace for a 31-32ish swim which is where I thought I'd be with the lack of swimming I've been doing lately. Well I lost the feet and swam most of the 2nd half solo and I was really fatigued by the time I got to the finish. I had issues getting up the stairs and just felt like I was in slow motion in T1, totally out of it and expended waay too much energy to start a 70.3.

T1: 1:27

Bike: 56 miles 2:28:45 *bike split PR (AVG 22.6mph) 4th fastest AG

This bike course is slower then you think it is. There's only 1500ft of climbing but the difficult part is there are 30 U-Turns and a ton of dangerous/slow turns. So you are constantly breaking rhythm and burning matches each time you get back up to speed. It's a 3 loop course and my plan was simple - 3 even splits. I didn't quite know what those splits would be so I just rode hard on my ism TT saddle out of the gate to see what that first lap split would be and it ended up being 49 mins. So for the next 2 laps my goals was to just match or beat that. I ended up going 49, 49, 50.

[caption id="attachment_2402" align="alignright" width="199"] Rolling in with my sweet Kask helmet[/caption]

My biggest problem of the whole race came on the first lap of the bike course. There are some huge bumps on the course and one of them ended up knocking my Speedfil R4 (which I love) rear mount bike cage right off. I heard it fly off with my water and realized getting water for the rest of the ride was going to be difficult as all my calories were in my concentrated bottle below me. I ended up having to grab water at the aid stations and holding it/drinking it for a bit and having to ditch it which really set me back on water and eventually sent me into dreaded cramps when the run came.

The biggest take away from this race was from the ride. Flanny decided to put me on 800 liquid calories on the bike which I'd never done before, I've always done food. It was a mix of Powerbar Perform, CarboPro and more electrolytes from my Recovery e21 tabs. Even with the lack of water to wash down that concentrated bottle, my gut handled it fine and my energy levels where a lot higher then they've ever been in a long course race. BINGO! By the time I was finishing up the 3rd lap my legs started seizing up a bit but not too bad. I kind of took 5 mins to gather myself and get ready for the run (hence the 50 min lap) and was trying to get as much water into me as possible as I knew I was dehydrated which was causing the cramps.

T2: 1:12

Run: 13.1 miles - 1:32 (AVG: 7:03 pace) #1 Run split in AG

Usually you can tell what kind of run you're going to have within the first mile. Leaving transition in my FuelBelt and KSWISS Kwicky Blade Lights, my energy levels were up and my legs felt pretty good. My first mile was 6:34 and it felt very easy. In my head I was thinking "Dang, this might be my day where I finally break 1:20 - I'm feeling good and..." Ahhhh CRAMP. Literally as I was thinking those thoughts in my head I cramped up real bad. Quads and Hamstrings locked up. I stopped and stretched them out as best as I could. I was carrying some Perform in my FuelBelt bottle and I had a salt tab in there which I started sucking down quickly. The cramps finally released but as I tried to get back up to speed it felt a lot more labored and every time I'd get my pace below 7 minutes the cramps would come on again.

So I basically went into survival mode and drank as much Gatorade and water as I could at the aid stations. Run hard, cramp, stretch - repeat. This went on and on. It's a flat 2 loop course and as I fought my way through the first lap and I didn't see too many runners. My AG started 4 mins after the pros so it was pretty lonely out there. Just me and my cramps :) I finished the first lap in 44:30 and and still had the goal of breaking 1:30 at this point. After all, the first step in breaking a 4:30 HIM is a sub 2:30/sub 1:30 which I had never done before. I also think its a good gauge as to whether you over-biked.

[caption id="attachment_2404" align="alignright" width="204"] Running scared![/caption]

Well the cramps got worse and my sub 7 min miles turned in 7:15's, 7:45's - total survival mode. Then (of course) with about 1.5 miles to go I pass a guy in my AG. I hadn't passed too many throughout the race and I had no idea where I stood. I did the math in my head and thought I'd be right around 4:37-4:40 so I thought this might be a battle for the podium. I'm not going to lie, I hate it when I pass someone from my AG late in a race when you are freaking HURTING. It really does make your willingness/ability to handle pain come into play. How bad do you want it? It was pretty hard to dig deep - especially for how much of a dark place I went into for worlds. I did my best to pass him with authority and after a few turns I could tell I wasn't really shaking him. Each time I'd try and pick up the pace I'd start to seize up so I did my best to not stop and stretch them out. That last mile seemed sooo long and I was very happy to say the least when I made the final turn towards the finish.

As I rolled in I kept looking back to see if I shook him and he was no where in sight. That last final push got me on my first 70.3 podium and although I didn't PR and am not happy with the time, this goes full circle about what I talked about earlier. Time doesn't matter, the podium does! With a 1:32 being the #1 split in my AG, I realized how hard that run really was, doesn't look good on paper but I'll take it.


Total: 4:40:39, 3rd in AG, 23rd Overall, 19th Amateur

[caption id="attachment_2406" align="aligncenter" width="199"] Out of it[/caption]

So that's a wrap on the 2013 season. I can't thank Wattie Ink enough, my team mates, sponsors, friends and most importantly Amy and the kids for supporting me throughout the year. It was definitely a success and a break through from last year. Time for some R&R to recover the beaten up body and mind.

Cheers to another break out season next year! Here's a few more pics from the weekend:

[caption id="attachment_2407" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Kids having fun with Trenton![/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] My biggest fan :)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2409" align="aligncenter" width="300"] He took a photo of the podium[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2411" align="aligncenter" width="225"] 2 Green Flash West Coast IPA's will get rid of any post race discomfort![/caption]