Kokua Multisports

Chicago Marathon MANIA

2012-02-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

This past week the Chicago Marathon filled up in just about one week. My friend Mike, who writes for Bloomberg news (and is a 10:20 Ironman in his FIRST Ironman) wrote a great article here.

Combine the crazy increases in race entry fees fueled by "bucket listers" and you get a closed race in no time. This is both good and bad.

Good - races will take more planning to give the value and "customer experience", small, local races will get more entrants boosting grass roots races, you can demand better from races - better courses, better swag bags, better perks.

Bad - race fees will go up with demand, you may get shut out of races.

One (several) thing(s) for sure...

I refuse to pay entry fees over what is "reasonable" to run the race.
I'll support races that are well put together versus crappy convenient races.
I'll avoid (and encourage others to avoid) garbage races that are unsafe.

On a positive note, the fees in New York have kicked a lot of people into action for other races like Chicago and the coaching industry just got a lot busier - I have 25 people as of today in my Chicago Marathon training program.

Triathlon is Changing: The Lance Factor

2012-02-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

Unless you live under a rock, by now you've seen Lance Armstrong racing in the Ironman 70.3 Panama. Lance beat some pretty big names - and beat them like a drum. To me this is a testament to a few things: 1) Lance's talent - the guy is a gifted athlete who works his ass off. (That part usually gets left out.) When talent and preparation combine you get great results. 2) Triathlon is changing. It's getting a shit load (technical term) faster. If you intend to be in the pointy end of any field (pro or your age group) you had better have some speed behind that endurance. 3) This is very good for the sport of triathlon and cycling. (As well as the debate of who is fastest between all of our comrades in these different sports.)

1) Lance Armstrong is good for triathlon and will bring sponsors, media and positive attention to the sport. In my opinion, this is excellent. This is critical for prize purses to grow and television audiences to grow. Lance as a personality, is good for the sport. Face it - he is exciting to watch. Even my mother knew that he was racing the Ironman 70.3 Panama and she asks me to help her "turn on the Internet, but not the world wide web part". (Love you mom.)

- with attention to the sport - it brings fans - fans bring money - money brings sponsors and ultimately live television. Imagine watching Kona live... all day, from anywhere in the world.

- the sport of triathlon gets better whenever a great athlete enters. Even a not so famous one.

- prize money will continue to grow. Extremely important if the game of triathlon is going to come out of the "fringe sport" view of the popular media and into the main stream. This had been starting to change a few years ago, but now is building into a tsunami.

- Kona, post Ironman, went back to being a fishing village known for marlin fishing. Now, it is a training destination where triathletes are showing up on a regular basis from all over the world. Post race "after parties" are big events. Even the "TGINR" party is huge - (Thank God I'm Not Racing). Face it - Kona is evolving.

2) Last October in Kona we saw the pros set new levels of competitiveness. What I noticed is the age group races now require an athlete to be well balanced and fast. For example, if your goal is to be on the "podium" of the Kona stage - hope you can run a Boston Marathon qualifying time after swimming 2.4 and cycling 112 miles in 137 F temperatures.

Fast is redefined.

3) Training must change. Pro or age group you'll need to change "what always worked". This is the really cool part about sport. Don't change? Become irrelevant. Stay on the cutting edge and keep pushing the envelope? Keep winning.

As an athlete, marshal and local race director - I think Lance racing is great. The marshal in me doesn't give a shit (technical term) who is racing. When I have the marshal stripes on - I only see bodies and actions. Ask my friend Jeremy who got a penalty in Kona from me. (It was legit. Left side riding until we caught him while he passed nobody. That is a text book position foul. Gotta call what I see mate.) Even Jeremy admitted he had no idea what the hell he was doing at that moment.

This begs my final question for you:

How have you changed as triathlon has evolved?

Perception of Training Performance

2012-02-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

Something seldom talked about is the perception of "good training" versus actual "good training".

What I noticed is that I feel good if I do a little more than half of my scheduled workouts (53-65%), but I'm not getting the complete training stimulus that I need to make measurable jumps in progress.

I'm a metrics guy. (Data to most.) The data never lies. It's raw and emotion less. An objective eye combined with data- watts, heart rate, miles, times and things like weight, own index and body fat tell me right where you are (or where I am). When I take all the data and objectively look at them together (along with consistency of training sessions) it give me an accurate view of what's going on.

During winter, you have to look for every marker to adjust your workouts and this is best done by a coach, advisor or someone who won't believe your BS that you are "hitting all my sessions". If you are hitting them all, you'll start to see progress very quickly.

I love hearing from athletes who aren't consistent and then tell me about what a great training session they had. (not really) They had a great session because they have been resting. I like the kind of call I got this morning. A female athlete of mine who works a ton and is coming off some stomach flu called. She had a "breakthrough session" where her sets just "felt easy". Now, her data has been consistent (even with bathroom breaks during training sessions) - not endorsed by the way. Her data had a bit of a dip during her illness, however, not my more than 1-3% in all three sports. That's exciting.

That said, none of this is "easy". Make sure you don't miss a critical marker in your training.

If you have the right coach or advisor and you pay attention you can be the next big thing. Don't take 2-4 days off and then tell your coach how great you are doing. It's a false "reading" of performance.

Expectations

2012-01-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine recently blogged that she was struggling with her expectations. Her own expectations of herself as well as other people's expectations of her and her expectations of others.

My opinion on this has changed as I've gotten older.

Expectations of Self

This relates back to your goals and if you truly buy into your goals and 'dreams'. You can say you "are all in", but the true measure of if you are in with all your heart comes at 4:15 am on a cold morning when you are extremely tired. Do you hit the snooze? Do you get up and go? It's that simple. If you believe in your dreams and goals - you go with no hesitation.

Expectations of Others

As a coach and consultant, I cannot truly know your expectations of self until we get to that point when you have every legitimate reason to say, "Not today." It's on those days that your workouts happen at 3 am or 11:30 pm that tell me if you have bought in to the statements you've made regarding your goals and dreams. You can discuss this and be and shoved in the right direction, however, ultimately, my client decides. My expectations must be based on the data that is returned to me. From here, I make expectations of my client's season and results. This is somewhere a coach and consultant can only hope to influence the client. I cannot do the work for you. It's moments when I tell a client to meet me for hill repeats at 5 am and I arrive at 4:45 am and they are already warming up that puts a smile on my face. This "no excuses" attitude is what gets you to your goals.

My expectations are that people show up and try their hardest.

It's that simple. Don't use 'time predictor' apps or any bullshit like that. Just show up and do the session to the best of your ability in the here and now. When we race, you do the same thing. What you've got, here and now. Let me (your coach, advisor, consultant) figure out the rest. You might just shock your own "best possible" prediction. Don't put a cap on your ability. Especially when you believe in yourself.

There is a story that my club swim coach Ed Richardson used to tell us LONG before Senior Championships or Nationals. He'd say, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to consider the possible. Someone at this championship is going to be the talk of the meet. Someone is going to swim so fast, that nobody saw it coming. Someone is going to swim so fast, that they practically swim out of their suit. Will you be that person who everyone will be talking about?" I've had several times when that was me. I remember one particular meet where I swam the 100m breaststroke championship in 1:06 something and got a very respectable 5th or 6th in state. The next day in the prelims of the 200m breaststroke I took it out in 1:05.5. I only remember it because we have video and Ed was ready to kill me. ONE - for not going 1:05 in the 100 the night before, and TWO - for making him stress that I was taking out the 200 too fast. I didn't. I won that prelim heat by about 65 meters and set the fastest time that would last all the way until the final heat in the prelim. That night in the finals, I went a little faster and wound up on the podium - top three. The top four guys all broke the long standing state record. I heard that Ed told the story of how hard I worked and how I believed I could do well to every team he coached from that point on. I wasn't one of the most physically talented guys on that team. No doubt about that. I was certainly just one of the guys who was working to get better. This is why a coach like Ed was perfect for me. All Ed every asked was that you give your best. He treated the state champions just as well as the guy or gal who was last on our team. The common denominator - we all gave our best. To Ed, we already were a champion regardless of the race results. I feel the same way about my athletes.

NEVER put a cap on what is possible.

Other's Expectations of Me

To be honest, I really don't care what your expectations are of my athletic performance. I do what I feel is important for my family right now, and I don't expect you to understand. I would never share my athletic goals on a blog or otherwise. This is learned behavior from my swimming days. You don't talk about it, you do the best you can and see how fast you can get.

Time waits for no one.

Time never stops.

Time is arguably the most precious thing we have.

Spend it wisely.

I will compete at certain events, but not at the expense of my family's happiness. We plan the race season together. I even plan annual vacations when we don't workout or race. I know... shocking. While I workout more than the average Joe, I understand the things that need to change and I work on them. I don't use words like "limiter" or "weakness"; they let the negative creep into your thoughts. I believe there are things you do well, and things that need to change.

Tomorrow is promised to no one. Spend your time as YOU see fit. (Kinda like voting. Who do YOU like? You don't need to tell me. I just want you to vote YOUR conscious without any influence.) Live your life the best that you can and tell anyone who doesn't like what you do to go to hell. Only YOU know what is right for you at this time in your life.

Whatever you choose, it will be right for you and your ethics, morals and values.

Now, get after it.

Show Up Every Day and Give it All You've Got

2012-01-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

I tell my athletes to do one thing: consistently show up to workouts and try their best. Training for any athletic event is never all rainbows, ponies, ice cream, cake and balloons. It requires effort. It's why most people choose to sit on their couches for hours and WATCH someone else play a game / do an event than EXPERIENCE their own life and do it themselves. The later is much more challenging, but amazingly rewarding regardless of any result in any competition.

I remember the first time my buddy Ross and I watched EcoChallenge. On a couch. Eating Doritos out of the bag and drinking Miller Lite. My wake up came when Ross was yelling at a guy who just punctured his lung with a tree branch on a single track, high speed descent with three hours sleep over the course of four days. (His team was winning until that point.) Something snapped me back to being an athlete that I am at my core when I watched this guy from Team Nokia (a team I would later become a part of - the "E" team anyway. These guys and gals make the best Ironman athletes look like rank amateurs. A quote from training camp, "3:18 marathon? Not bad. What do you think you'd do with a 60 pound pack on your back?" Yes, he was serious) trim the branch that stuck THROUGH his ribs and in his lung with a bike multi-tool. He then told his team. "It hurts and I cannot really breathe, but I'll be alright." Thankfully, the nurse on his team told him to park it and he got helicoptered to the nearest hospital. He was there and going to give everything he had until he passed out from blood loss.

The military calls this "putting out". The mind will want to quit before the body will. Think about it. When was the last time you went to the gym or a workout and felt awful. You showed up. You applied yourself the very best you could. Then you left feeling awesome and you just MIGHT have put in some pretty solid efforts. Interesting. So, if you get your mind into the right state before training... it matters.

It's as simple as that... show up every day (and sometimes, twice a day) and give it all you've got.

A great example is this morning (for me). I am dog tired. It's one of those weeks. Had a funeral to put a cherry on top of everything going on as well. ZERO workouts missed. ZERO dog walks missed. You know what? The fatigue isn't that bad. I'm kind of enjoying the soreness and "fog" of fatigue. Funny thing... this morning I also had an outstanding swim coming off of a run. That is a rare occasion by itself, let alone considering the conditions of the week. The "main set" was 1500 yards. I can only hope to swim that strong (or better) at my next half Ironman. The workout finished with 3x 50 sprints. I was going to do IM (individual medley) order (fly, back, breast) when I thought about the butterflier next to me. One look and "it was on". Then I swam some respectable times (if I was a sophomore in HS) 33.0, 32.6, 31.8 for three 50s. While the times may not be very good, this is what I had today. The heart rates I finished these 50s at was appropriately high for a strong effort. I still have a long way to go, but I'm getting there. Generally, I don't put times in the blog entry, but these were "noteworthy swims" and proove my point.

Show up every day and give it all you've got.

To all of you who are LIVING your life instead of WATCHING images of others live their life on a box in your house (maybe while eating Doritos and drinking beer) I give you this as we close out January of 2012.

The road to the podium is longer than the rest, and there is only one route. One lap of the pool, track or cycling route/routine at a time, over and over and over until you’ve done so many, you’ve lost all track of time and distance. And still you’re not there. There are more laps and endless kicks and strokes and breaths and turns and pedal strokes, and footfalls. So you keep training, and training, training, because you know that one day you will arrive at your big race, and you will climb the podium.

Welcome XTERRA Wetsuits!

2012-01-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

Today, Kokua Multisports and XTERRA Wetsuits agreed to a sponsorship deal for all my athletes in 2012. We are extremely excited to welcome XTERRA Wetsuits to the Kokua family.

It Ain't Rocket Surgery

2012-01-20T10:09:00.000-08:00

In 2006 (when I last took working out and eating seriously) I did group personal training with a guy named Mark. He was a bit older. Owns several companies and is a hard core foodie (long before it was popular or "in".)

Mark really isn't the best training partner. He is normally 5-8 minutes late - although may also arrive 40 minutes EARLY and wonder where you were. (Never more than 8 minutes.) The best part of Mark is that when he works - he really works. Having a training partner who is NOT a triathlete is great. Who cares what race you are doing or what your "speed" is! How fit are you at THIS task? Kinda a cross fit mentality. If I grab 135 lbs. for walking lunges, Mark grabs 140. If he cannot do the same weight as me, Mark makes sure that my form is spot on and will openly (and loudly) mock me in the gym.

When people ask me what they should do to get better at triathlon (or any sport) my answer remains the same as it did years ago:

1) Find a group that will challenge you. A group that won't except your bullshit excuses for stopping short, showing up late, and failing to "put out" (effort into the session).

2) Work with people who are better than you are. I swim with people who are faster than I am. I ride with people who are stronger. I run with people who LITERALLY run loops around me during a long run (their easy run).

3) Seek out the best in exercise and recovery and ask them questions. They are just people too. I'm no longer amazed when a "big name" sends me an email, tweet, Facebook message or phone call after I ask them a question. "When the student is ready the teacher will appear." - Confucius

4) Show up. Yes, it's that simple. Show up to every session and try. One day you may just find yourself at the Ironman World Championship pier and wonder, "How did I get here?" One of my clients had that moment when he WON the USAT National Long Distance Duathlon Championship (M30-34). He still doesn't believe he really did it.

5) Have a positive mental attitude. 99% of your worries won't come true. Stop thinking about the negative and wonder "what if...." There are tons of people who will tell you you "can't" or that "you suck". Ignore them. Concentrate on what you can do and do it to the best of your ability. Find and hang out with positive people. Stay away from the negative people. They are a giant energy vacuum. Remember who told you 'you can't' and enjoy "shoving it up their ass" when you do it. One of my HS running coaches once told me, "You'll never be a good athlete." I'll never forget the look on his face when I told him I had just returned from NCAAs or when I saw him in O'Hare the moment I got off the plane from Kona with a giant silver medal in my hands. PRICELESS!!!

6) Follow the plan. Stick to your plan. Ignore the group and listen to your wattage and heart rate monitor (or pulse if you are in the pool). If it sounds too ambitious, it probably is. Error on the side of caution and FOCUS on your "A" race. Especially if you are doing an Ironman race - LESS is more. Most fast guys I know, when they do Ironman, they do only four races in a year FOUR. Including whatever Ironman they are doing. Choose them well.

Now... get to work. It's not complex, but it also isn't easy.

It ain't rocket surgery.

Winter Running Tips - Revisited

2011-12-29T08:09:00.000-08:00

Chicago has had a fantastic start to winter. (If you don't like snow and cold temps.) It was icy in this 'hood this morning and I thought to post some tips on cold weather running.

This is February in San Diego.

This is February in my area of Chicago.

Neighbors...

"If Chicago had weather like San Diego there would be 40 million people living here." True, but we don't have that kind of weather in Chicago. Unless you bounce between San Diego and Chicago, well, you better learn to dress for the cold. Running outside in Chicago isn't as horrible as many would have you believe. No need to retreat for the "dreadmill" unless you are doing a specific session. Running in this cold actually lends to several advantages.

Cold doesn't seem to bother these Chicago area runners.

Deal with the Cold

Tony Robbins teaches about starting with your mental state. If you are saying to yourself, "This is going to suck. This is going to suck." Guess what? You may get done and feel it sucked. Start off positive. I run with a fun group. Regardless of the weather I wake up thinking, "Man, I can't wait to see John and Dean and tell them that joke I heard." My first 20 mile run was done at -10 F (warmed up to -2 by the time we were done); I've never laughed that hard in my life for that long. (Thank you Pat and Bill.) I didn't feel super tired until 18 and then we only had two miles to go. The thought of warm coffee and bagels kept me going. Laughing at breakfast and shooting coffee through my nose wasn't in that visualization - but it was fun none the less.

It is what you make it.

This is "spring" in Chicago. "Hey, its 38 F! Wow, is it warm!" Tragic.

There is no bad weather, just poor clothing choices and excuses.

Earlier in this blog I told you my first 20 miler was at -10 F. It isn't that hard. Dress in layers. Tech clothing is coming down in price and you could always add an old sweatshirt and cheapo windbreaker. You don't need to be decked out in Craft Wind Stopper head to toe. That said... I LOVE the Craft wind gear. 2XU makes a great cycling vest. Pearl Izumi has some awesome wind stopper jackets and gloves. Find what works for you and ask for it for Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries - whatever. You'll be glad you have that gear when the first spring rides start out at 40 F or if you go to San Diego and it is "cold" in the morning before Swami's ride. After a few runs you will be amazed at how "warm" 20 F feels.

Start a little cold

Dress for temps about 15 degrees warmer than the current and expected outside temperature. If you are too warm you will sweat a ton and that puts you at a greater risk of hypothermia AND in the end you will feel COLDER for dressing warmer. I use a glove that allows air to pass through. Once I've warmed up I really don't notice the cold.

Warm up

In spite of being cold at the start, allow your body to warm up. Don't start off at 6:00/mile pace and slow back to aerobic pace. Everything is cold. It's only a few minutes of cold. Suck it up.

Light up

Leave the cigarettes in the car, that's not what I mean. I'm amazed at how stupid so many runners are. My car doesn't have an infrared windshield. I don't own infrared glasses for night driving. I don't know you are out running at 6pm in 10 F weather. Wear a reflective vest. Get reflective tops, gloves, hats and lights. I'm partial to the Pulsar lights by RoadID and the headlamp from Petzl. These might just give you that extra split second to dive off the road when "Happy hour Harry" or "Harriet") heads home. **When I'm out on the road I assume EVERYONE out there a) cannot see me b) is homicidal c) is drunk and high d) has a loaded weapon in the car.** I live where there are no street lights. This is mandatory equipment unless you have a death wish. Lastly, be smart. Where I live and where my in-laws live there have been coyote attacks. Don't think that a few hungry coyotes won't try and take you down. Last spring I had three following me out of the forest preserve. My easy run turned into a hard cross country run as I hoped a fence and got onto the road ASAP. They ended their pursuit. These animals are trying to make it through the winter. Late December through late February they need food. My running vest was hanging next to the dog food AND I found a few puppy cookies in the back pocket.

Addition, the trail by me now has multiple coyote tracks in the mud. I'm guessing that there is a pack of at least three by the debris on the trail (carcasses of smaller animals/geese and feces). Sounds like a fun trail huh? Leave the iPod on the table at home. It will help you hear the coyotes just off the trail.

Trails, Snowshoes, XC Skis and Soccer Fields

Frozen trails can be just like asphalt and concrete. Go off roadin'. I run around flood control "hills" and fields a lot. It keeps me off the same old streets. Try snowshoes. They will get your heart pumping. I XC ski a lot in the winter. I live right off of a long trail. It's wonderful fun and my dog can sniff the bushes at the side of the trail too. Soccer fields... not just for soccer, but also running across them in the winter will get you strong.

Bring Water, Gel and a Towel

I'm amazed at how many folks don't bring water on a run in the winter. If GSSI taught me anything, they taught me to always have something to drink and extra in the car. I normally have extra drinks in the car. I always have a gel with me. A nice, big, dry towel in the car afterwards can make you feel a lot better too.

Get Loopy

Instead of running a hard loop like the Home Economist (Fisher Nut) in Barrington, IL - run the out and back first. If you can handle that a few weeks then go for the full run. No sense in getting eight miles from the car and realizing you are bonking badly or can't run another step and now will freeze solid as you walk back to the car.

Eat Right

When you are expending energy to stay warm your bodies immune system will need more fuel to fight illness. Taking something like Zone Diet's fish oil, vitamin C and CoQ10 will help you stay healthy at a cellular level. Think this is a joke? Look at the people around you who eat like crap relative to those who don't. Who is sick more? Who has more energy? Who is happier? Additionally, there was a recent British study that found taking fish oil helps cure the winter blues.

Lastly, when you run outside in the morning and the sun starts appearing earlier and earlier you will feel better in the spring having toughed out a winter running season in Chicago.

Stupid Human Tricks & Workouts

2011-12-28T08:51:00.000-08:00

Honest, R rated reading ahead. You've been warned.

A lot of folks have these last two weeks of the year off (or take them as vacation to travel/be with family). I think its great. What I'd like to warn you about is being roped into dumb workouts that could end up slowing your progress as an athlete.

1) 100 x 100 on the 100 or any other long, boring set.

This is a swimming workout of 100 yards or 100 meters (depending on your group) where you swim 100 repeats of 100 yards/meters on an interval. Skip this workout.

There are many reasons: 1) If you haven't been doing (aka: going) 6,000 - 8,000 yards in a long session for several weeks, you risk injury or strain on your shoulders 2) Long slow distance equals long slow athlete 3) Monotony 4) Mental engagement in the session. Monotony does not equal Ironman success.

Personally, If I am going to do 10,000 yards - I'd like some thought behind the session. Trust me. In college, my coach was all about big volume. Volume is good to a point. But then you need to BLAST out of that steady rhythm and funk. Swimming is a great place to do it, if done wisely. 100 x 100 or 40 x 200 are good sets if used properly and there are intervals that CHALLENGE you mentally as well as physically.

You still want to do 100 x 100 because "you've always done it"? Fine... try this:

10x 100 Warm up - 100 swim, 100 back, 100 kick, 100 pull, 100 swim (repeat); no rest into the next set

10x 100 @ 30 sr 100 free, 100 IM (still part of the warm up); no rest into the next set

10x 100 @ 30 sr 100 free, 100 back; no rest into the next set

10x 100 @ 20 sr pull, breathing every 3/5 by 50; no rest into the next set

10x 100 @ 10 sr build each 100

5:00 rest / bathroom

10x 100 @ 40 sr; long and smooth - every 4th lap any stroke but free

10x 100 @ 30 sr; every 3rd lap head up 25

10x 100 @ 20 sr, build each 100

10x 100 @ 10 sr, strong

10x 100 @ 5 sr, all out

Or...

20x 100 Warm up @ 15 sec rest (swim, kick, IM, pull, swim)

40x 100 build 100s to fast 1<5 6<10 etc @20 sr

5:00 rest / bathroom

40x 100 - 2 hard, 1 easy @ 10 sr

There... that is a much better (and interesting) 10,000 yards.

DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN PROPERLY PREPARED. YOU WILL GET HURT.

2) Going "balls out" during an endurance cycling workout.

I teach a 2 hr computrainer workout on Saturday's. There are a few guys who are riding TOO HARD. I have spoken to them. I've lowered their wattage. I've slapped heart rate monitors on them. They still ride with their ego (euphemism) for their brain.

Long sessions are just that... your long ENDURANCE session. Now, if you haven't been used to holding a certain wattage for a 2 hr session, then you should build into that now shouldn't you?

I swim approximately 3,000 - 5,000 yards before the long computrainer session. Once looking at my heart rate on the warm up sets, I lower my wattage accordingly so my power AND my heart rate are in the "right zone".

Make no mistake... I WILL be cracking down on the macho men/women this in January sessions.

3) Running HARD with the long run group.

Similar to the Saturday computrainer macho men, I see this every long run to. I do my long run on a different day now thanks to my coach. (Yes, I have a coach too. I believe coaches who coach themselves are just like a lawyer who advises him/herself - they have a fool for a client.)

There is a guy who tries to hang with me on my long run. Now, before the usual people get all excited about what I just said, I'm not exactly setting land speed records. I'm running my pace for "base building" type workouts. This clown comes out around the same time EVERY long run and when he gets around me... he surges. Go for it. Then he slows down and says, "Come on. Let's go fast." (After he takes his iPod out of his ear. YES... I think iPods are stupid when you are running outside. If you use one outside... stupid is as stupid does. That is a blog entry for another day.) I refuse every time. "I'm doing a base workout. Have a great run." I encourage him to go on. Alone.

4) Eating because you did _________ workout.

I call this justification eating. I did a (fill in the blank) workout, therefore, I can eat like a 16 year old. Those days are gone you dusty old fart. Trust me, I know. My waistline resembles lazy eating and NOT workout out. I don't see many Jenny Craig or WeightWatchers commercials with an ab like mine. Well... its not that bad. I have a "five pack". Unfortunately, I'm three abs short.

Get your shit together. Some days it's a bitch and a bummer. This is what it takes. No food or drink tastes as good as fast feels.

No excuses.

Losers say, "I'll try my best."

Winners go home and have sex with the Prom Queen / King.

Fitness

2011-12-22T10:01:00.000-08:00

In a few days, the gym will be packed. People will be trying to get "fit". Looking for the pump. Or to get into a certain sized swim suit for spring cruises (or at least not look 40+ in their current swim suit.) It's interesting I think of fitness and racing. I say how I think about it because who is to say if I am right? I think I'm right. You be the judge for yourself.
A long time ago, a former athlete started lifting a lot and got really strong, impressive looking muscle. He drank protein powders and ate nothing but steamed broccoli and baked chicken. He was ripped. Then, a girl he met at the club challenged him to try an aerobics class. He did it! It was fun. It nearly killed him. The next day he decided to run one mile "warm up" before starting his lifting routine. When he returned to the gym, he was completely shot and could barely finish his lifting routine. Hmm, he thought. Maybe I should start swimming in the 20 yard pool again. The former athlete eventually figured out that being strong does not consittute "fit".

This went through my head when a good friend (who was always overweight in the "old" days) emailed me saying he had opened a supplement store in another state and that he was lifting and participating in natural bodybuilding competitions. He is ripped! I was shocked. He looked like a head on a picture of Arnold Schwartzeneggar's body. I asked him if he wanted to go for a short run before lifting (as I was headed to the gym too) and he said, "Oh, I don't do any cardio." When pressed on this subject, he stated he was worried he'd loose "mass" and his "shock and awe" factor of his size. We talked about his strength relative to his fitness and it was very interesting. He can bench 300 lbs. like it is nothing, but he cannot do a set of bench then 10 push-ups and another set of bench. Interesting. Same for every muscle group. So let me get this straight... you can bench 300 lbs., but only if it is in a gym and you haven't done other exercise?

Lame.

Any real world exercise is better than a 'gym exercise'. Think Rocky IV....

Yes, even chores can be a workout.

We talked about cross-fit, triathlon (and other real world events like the Death Race or Urbanthon). I think races like the "Urbanthon" will become more popular - and quickly. It won't be about who is fastest or strongest, but who can combine strength and speed in the real world.

Without getting into my methodology in coaching cycling or triathlon - there are certain sets and types of workouts that need to be done at certain times of the week or in a specific workout. Missing those sets and their timing hurts your fitness.

In the end, racing is about fitness. More fit. More able to handle heat, cold, wind, waves... you name it. Fit, is more than just lifting a weight or pushing a pedal. It's about moving mass. I am not in shape and look like a "gamer" next to my friend. However, I was able to knock out some impressive bench sets of 15 reps (while doing push ups) as I waited for him to do six reps. All this AFTER swimming 4,000 yards and then running 6 miles in about 50 minutes at aerobic pace.

So... who is more fit?

Viva Las Vegas! 1/2 Marathon Race / Week Report

2011-12-13T21:17:00.000-08:00

Wow... what a week. 15 athletes. Everyone running in different directions like marbles on a cement floor.

The race itself (Rock 'n Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon - Las Vegas) was fine. A bit crowded and a zig zag at the finish were interesting - but at least not lonely. Fun crowd.

Pre-race I had a brush with greatness. I got to briefly talk to Meb Keflezighi in the hallway. Seemed like a very nice man who was genuine.

What went well -
1) Day pre race - had fun. No stress.
2) Race pacing was solid. x:xx as per the goal.
3) Found some of my athletes on the course.
4) I ran 19+ miles. Not all at goal pace - but 13 of them were. I turned around and went back out to find my athletes and run with them. I'll take that right now. My "long" run was 8 miles going in. (though I did several 8s in a week and a lot of swimming and cycling) Still... a long way to go before I'm even "awful" at running again. Next year... I'll meet everyone at a restaurant/bar.
5) Running Vegas at night was FUN!

What I'd change -
1) I'd bring my laptop. Pre-race the RD (in my opinion) didn't give us good enough information regarding the location of gear check and other logistics. Knowing what to expect now... I'd like a rematch.
2) I'd have all the folks meet the first night we got to Vegas.
3) We'd have team race kits.
4) Arrive earlier. Too many people squeezing in and out of the race venues.

In all, I'd endorse the Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas 1/2 (not the marathon). The half was fun and reasonably under control. The full marathon (unless you are under 3:45 pace) was not a real fun race for many. Crowd movement was a bit of an issue. A drunk woman ran into me at mile 8 holding her beer.

Post race - more restaurants at the hotels need to be open. After a shower, it was 10pm and Sunday night (even in Vegas) restaurants were closed.

Decent race that I would do again.

Any takers?

Penn State & Childhood

2011-11-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

An Internet "blogger" friend wrote a very good blog about his childhood and how sports and watching sports affects him and his life. He wrote it so well - I will just post the link. My dad did his best with my brother and I. We didn't have much, but we didn't know the difference because our mom and dad cared about us. In that respect we were very well off.

Lorrie and I don't have children. We do have many nieces and nephews and friends with kids. We love kids and bought our house assuming we would have kids. That won't happen for us. When we see abused kids it rips out our heart. Our dog gets more love and attention than a lot of kids - and we treat her like a well cared for dog - not a kid.

I challenge you to read the entire 23 page indictment of Jerry Sandusky here. At this time 17 victims have come forward; and this thing is still expanding. Remember... Mr. Sandusky started his "charity" in 1977. There is a lot more coming out. My blog and sports junkie friend Pat (who works for DCFS in IL) told me that the AVG pedophile assaults 117 kids. Mr. Sandusky's situation wasn't average.

If you are still with me, you understand this isn't about winning college football games.

While Mr. Paterno did what was "legally" required the DA in Pennsylvania clearly called him out that he didn't do what was ETHICALLY correct. Same for the wide receivers coach and "witness". If you see a 10 year old boy getting assaulted are you going to make a phone call to someone other than 911? There appears to be a lot of blame to go around and with PSU being a state run university - that puts the state and trustees in the legal line of fire. This is why Mr. Paterno (and anyone else around) should have been fired. If the university doesn't fire him - they are accepting his judgement and legally the university is certain to face civil legal action. This is a risk management move.

When did we stop being human for the sake of "the program"?

We see similar reactions in business. People protecting bad managers because they are a friend. A real friend would get them training while hiring or promoting a qualified person.

Go hug your kids. Talk to them about the types of people they may see. Explain why they need to be aware of where they are (as much as a kid can). This is an atrocity that all people should be disgusted at - regardless of which football sweater you wear.

There is more to life than sport.

This 'n That

2011-11-09T15:35:00.000-08:00

Very busy getting new athletes up and running. This time of year is the most exciting as many athletes are dreaming of future finish lines and accomplishments. This is the time of year we work on form, diet and strength while building that aerobic engine.

Downtown Chicago at 5:15am headed east.

Last weekend I went to Annapolis, MD to attend the celebration of one of my athlete's and friend's wedding. I've blogged about Ken before. Ken is one of several clients who have become family. I've coached Ken since he was in the US Naval Academy. If you are in his age group you should be nervous - very nervous. We had a great time. I got to meet Noelle (now, Ms. Ken) and her family as well as get speak to Ken's family again. I hadn't seen them since 2005 at Ironman Wisconsin! It was a very enjoyable weekend. I even got to run around the US Naval Academy and downtown Annapolis.

A US Navy fly over as part of pre-game festivities.

USNA Football team lining up for an extra point.

Downtown Annapolis.

The evening was a great time meeting other friends and family of Noelle and Ken.

Upon my return... Greta was ready to play. I managed to snap this shot just before she hit the camera with her nose.

Triathlon isn't everything in life. Get out and live it. "How do you know a triathlete is at a party?"

- Don't worry. They will find you and tell you.

Early Morning Triathlete Experiences

2011-11-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

It strikes me as funny how some people always want to get into a pissing match with you regarding your training (time, distance, power) and groups. This morning I was running (before masters swim practice) and had an Ironman knit cap on. To be completely honest - I didn't even remember it said "Ironman". I grabbed it because it had my two top requirements for a run at 31 F: 1) it was clean 2) it is a warm hat.

It's too damn early...

Out on the trail (remember, it's 4:10 am - even the freakin' coyotes are asleep) a guy runs up to me where the trails merge. I'm not talkative at 4:10am. Ever. Hi. (I wave.) I'm doing intervals. I won't get in your way. Go ahead. You ever do Ironman? Yes. I'm gonna do Ironman Wisconsin next year. Cool, fun race. Wanna go with me on this interval? No thank you, this is an easy run for me. Come on. Let's see what you've got. This is recovery for me. I need to stick to my plan. I did a tough session last night. Oh, not in shape? (Now I'm getting pissed. Get the hell away from me dude. I want to listen to the wind in the trees and not your yapper at 4am.) We run all the way back to the parking lot. He was telling me all about his "master plan" for Ironman and how he knows "so much" about Ironman. (This came with more and more breaks in his speech.) We get back to the car and he puts his hands on his head. "That was a hard interval." I look at my HRM - 137 heart rate at 8:30/mile pace. Hmm. He tells me who his coach is (a well known pro who charges about $600/month). I tell him good luck with his training and before I can close my car door - he is telling me how he is going to qualify for Kona in his first Ironman. I wish him luck again. Want to go to breakfast? Thank you, but I'm going swimming now. WHAT?! (he exclaims) I'm going to swim with a masters swimming group. Where do you swim? Oh, I don't need to swim masters - I swam in HS. I swim "my" (his words) Olympic distance mile in 28:32. (This dude looks about 38 and I don't have the heart to tell him it was .9 miles for the OLY.) I told him that I was a coach and had a lot of athletes in IM Moo last year and if he wanted he could train with us. Oh, I always stick to my training plan.

A guy... (later this morning)

I'm leaving a business establishment and run into someone I met in triathlon circles I am in. Guy doesn't recognize me. No problem - he looks at me and says - I know you from somewhere. I say I'm "x's" friend. We met two years ago at his party. Oh right. He then asks me if I'm coaching. Yes I am. Cool, maybe I'll call you to look at my swim stroke. I don't swim with a masters group because I'm faster than all of them. (ALL MASTERS GROUPS! -->Inner monologue) Oh, I see. I'm a better athlete than all these people coming out of "that" club. Sometimes training on your own is more productive. I always train alone. Nobody can hang with me. I'm a 26 minute swim in an open water mile. (Oh dear Barbara, here we go again.) Solid swim. I told him about the swim group I am part of. Oh... I'm faster than everyone there. (No you aren't... I'm faster than you and in there I'm not the fastest. --> inner monologue again) Do you do CompuTrainer? No, I have really high watts and I want to stick to my plan. (ugh!) I explain how in CompuTrainer classes everyone rides to their FTP. Oh... well, I'll just go too fast. Besides, I'm focusing on my running. Cool. I run alone because nobody can hold my pace. (Uh, oh.) Yeah, I run 9:40s for a 10k - SUSTAINED. Ah, well done. You're on the road. Good luck in your preparation.

OK... I get it. You're competitive. Wonderful. You know what? Everyone has something to work on. EVERYONE. I honestly hope you do great, stay healthy and enjoy the time. Just don't go around comparing yourself to everyone else - You are a unique person. (I totally sound like my mom here.) I coach xx people currently - NOT ONE of them is alike.

Focus on YOUR numbers. What were YOUR watts per kilogram in the CompuTrainer class last night? What was your heart rate? What pace did you hold the 10x 100 freestyle on today @1:30 interval? What did you hold per mile on your long run? ...do you enjoy your life? That is the real question. If you didn't enjoy being out there then it doesn't matter what you did. How was the camaraderie during and after practice? Did you look at the weight room floor and have your entire lane sing "Dude Looks like a Lady" when a guy who looks like Fabio meets Lindsay Lohan (with a 3:00 shadow and rumpled shirt from sleeping on the couch) walks by the pool window to flex in the two way mirror? (really) How many folks did you high five and encourage today? Did you laugh in your workout?

No matter who the athlete is... my conversation is always about improving THEIR number. They are the ONE focus. I don't compare them. How fast can I get this athlete (and their unique challenges) faster, stronger, thinner, more endurance, etc.?

Talk to people (maybe after 6am). Just leave out the numbers.

Foot Exercises with Greta

2011-10-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I was doing foot exercises as my nightly "pre-hab" routine. Greta (for reasons known only to "The Great Gretski" and other canines - dogs - to the layperson) attacks my feet when I do these exercises. Well... not really "attack" but it does get her riled up. Check out this video. She keeps bumping my feet as if to say, "come play with me".

The Older I Get

2011-10-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

My perspective has changed a great deal since getting into the multisport world.

20s:
Beat people. Workout until exhausted. Race. Race. Race.

30s:
Beat people at key races. Workout smarter. Race. Race. Race.

40s:
Workout at every opportunity. Races are whenever I say they are and they don't necessarily have a "start and finish" line.

At the end of my CompuTrainer class last night at Village CycleSport we started a good conversation about athletes and their "focus" on themselves and perspective (or lack there of) of importance of various events in training, racing and life.

My philosophy -
1) You train/race to your ability. The best you can do given your circumstances in this thing we call life.

2) You keep in mind that every person has their own limits. The celebration should be on the ability to be healthy enough to be out there versus who is faster/better/stronger. (Read: there is always someone faster, stronger, smarter than you. Nobody is perfect.)

3) You are considerate to communities and people in which we race and train.

4) You give back to the sport in volunteering for races/charities and helping those who can never repay you. (More Than Sport, War on ALS, Cancer, MOvember, CAF - whatever motivates you.) There is no wrong answer here as long as you contribute to someone other than yourself at least once or twice a year.

5) Stay humble. You are just a human being like everyone else. This is something to gain strength from too. In the end, all living things pay the same debt (death). Not to be morbid, but having that perspective will change how you communicate to everyone.

6) Stop self pity. Everyone struggles. A friend recently told me, "Everyone feels pain. Suffering is optional." Make sacrifice your ally.

7) Never compromise your standards and opinions to "win" friends. - Woody Hayes

8) Feel the power of a smile, a friendly wave and some encouragement of others. The power of attitude can change your future.

9) Commit to excellence - everyone wants to be associated with people who set and maintain high standards.

Be great - at any age.

Happy New Year

2011-10-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

In the triathlon world (according to me anyway) the year ends in Kona / Maui - Xterra.

Ironman is a spirit. You don't have to toe a line somewhere to be one. I know a lot of folks who work very hard and don't workout very much who I would call an Ironman. Hopefully you guys get what I'm saying. The single mom who does a 5k or sprint triathlon while raising two kids with a deadbeat dad, working two jobs. Ironman. The husband who does an occasional half ironman and works a full time job while maintaining a normal family, house and vacation schedule. Ironman. The volunteer who has been at EVERY Ironman - but has never been seen on by most athletes in any given year or ever on NBC. Ironman.

Get it? I hope so.

The new (triathlon) year brings new hopes and goals. Take steps to learn from what you just experienced:

1) Pull your data together and sit down with your coach / friends. Anyone who will call you on your own bullshit.

- Evaluate your coach
- Evaluate yourself as an athlete (Did you listen to your coach?)

2) Review your diet

3) Get a full physical.

- The whole shebang; EKG, running stress test, blood work, blood pressure, prostate/breast exam - TOP TO TAIL

4) Identify areas for improvement (I call these 'deltas'.) What would you change if you could go back and do things differently?

5) What did you do well? (Really well - triathlon magazine type stuff.)

6) Celebrate

- Take time to celebrate the year with your family and supporters
- Eat bad food (once or twice)
- Take a vacation that doesn't involve a training camp or race

7) Set new SMART goals and submit them to your "team".

- I hate the word "team" but I concede that it does apply

8) Get back to work.

- I read a lot about "Ironman blues" and other mamby pamby crap. Get a goal and start working on it

Next year is here.

Photos from Ironman (Kona) Week

2011-10-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Follow the link.

2011 Kona Wrap-Up

2011-10-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

2011 was my fourth Ironman Triathlon World Championship that I was asked to marshal. This was my sixth time to Kona for the Ironman. 2000 when I raced. 2005 when I had several (three) athletes racing - I was a volunteer on the pier and as a bike catcher. (I'm all over the video of the race.) 2008-2011 I've been a race official. I extended my time in Kona by a few days in order to visit with some Hawaiian friends (still managed to miss some) and get a few days of "vacation".

I flew out on Tuesday so I'd be able to be in town on Wednesday. I flew ORD to LAX and had a long 5 hour layover. I found some decent sushi in the LAX airport and it turned out to be right by my gate. I was able to charge up my phone and computer and met up with Ed and Candy (marshals from Galveston, Texas). The flight to Kona was with a couple of Ironman legends that aren't in many books. I don't think I said more than eight words the entire flight to Kona. I just listened to their stories.

On arrival into Kona I felt at home. I love the experience of being around the race. I consider it a privilege to be trusted as a marshal such an important race in the triathlon world. As a coach (although, I didn't have any athletes in this race) it is an important week to be in Kona. There are many things to learn by watching and paying attention to detail. Kona is significant and seems to get bigger every year. It seems that more and more people in the business of triathlon understand that Kona is significant and the leaders of the sport are all there. You cannot move in Kona without bumping into a triathlon legend and no matter who you are - there is always someone more fit than you. People I talked to: Dave Scott, Mark Allen, Natasha Badmann, Heather Fuhr - Ironman Champions all. Cowman, Tom Knoll, Bob Babbitt, Jimmy Riccitello, Mike Reilly, Tom Ziebart, Andrew Messick (CEO of Ironman), Ken Glah, Virginia Tinley, Tony Kannan, Tara Costa, Scott Rigsby, Rajesh Durbal, Bob & Maryann Blais, Troy Jacobson, Tim & Tony DeBoom, Cam Brown, Timo Bracht, Chris McCormick, Missy LaStrange, Richard Hill and others.

As much as I try to be a leader in my community in triathlon, I'm just another guy in Kona. Every person involved in Kona is serious enough to be there on race day. That is serious commitment. Every person is a leader in their community in some way or form. Honestly, I think we are all leaders in the sport of triathlon. We represent the sport to folks who don't know about triathlon. What is interesting is who thinks that they are a leader and have the attitude that their "shit don't stink"versus those who try to lead by helping others. Those who work on educating people about the sport. Others showing folks that you don't necessarily need to do an Ironman (or win anything) to be a leader. You can be a leader by helping people who have no chance of ever "repaying" you. Even someone who may never meet you or know you were there. You can be a leader by encouraging folks at your local gym. A simple "You can do it" goes a long way. After all, negative people who tell you you suck or aren't good are never in shortage. It's the random person who tell you to "hang on" in a spin class or encourages you in the weight room that make the difference. You don't have to be in Kona. Aloha lives in many people.

Some of the Ironman folks give me a bit of props for doing things with charity (ALS, Cancer, CAF), trying to bring better marshaling and education around marshaling to athletes in our area as well as offering quality coaching for good rates. I won't go into who said what to me, but I'm very proud to have earned their respect. It has nothing to do with my athletic ability - but who I am. If I've learned one thing in my time on Earth - I know I can make a difference if I use my talents and abilities wisely. I got "big timed" by a few people too. "Big timed" means folks who talk to you or friend you when you can help them but ignore you when other "big" people are around. It was disappointing, but never unexpected. I'm usually good at predicting who is going to "out credential" me or "big time" me or me and Jay.

If your happiness depends on your pleasing other people, you are going to be one unhappy person.

Wednesday, I went for a six mile run along Ali'i Drive. It is extremely hot. I love it. On the run I saw a lot of folks who were in the race going extremely hard. Every year you see "panic training" - people doing extra workouts in Kona because they don't feel fit enough; and, workouts that are way too hard.

Thursday was a full day of fishing with Glen, Ed and the boys. We got into a school of Aku tuna which we then turned into bait for marlin. We had a nibble from what we think was a marlin, but the hook never set. I was next and hooked a 7' ~200 lbs. bronze whaler shark. It took about 30 minutes to bring her in and then release her. What was it like? Put your car in neutral about 400 meters away and try and pull it in. Every 10 seconds or so have the person in the car hit the brakes and when you get 15' from the boat... put the car in gear and go out another 400 meters. I was soaked in sweat and every muscle in my body was completely exhausted.

Friday was a meetings and preparation for race day. We went to breakfast and it took 45 minutes to get take out; so we were a few minutes late to our first meeting. At 12:30pm, we went down and helped with bike check in as it seemed a lot of athletes had questions. We started informally asking questions and soon everyone was asking questions. I think we helped because there was no line to wait for bike check in which is normal. This seemed to help reduce the stress a great deal.

Saturday wake up was at 5am. Even as a marshal, I find I wake up at 3:30, 3:45, 4:15 and just watch the minutes roll by. Got a shower. Breakfast and off. Arrived 15 minutes early at our staging area and now we wait. There is very little chance of seeing the swim start in person, so the best way is to listen for the cannon as soon as the helicopters appear. My regular motorcycle pilot (Ken) wasn't in Kona this year due to work. It's been a tough year for everyone. I did get lucky in getting an experienced rider and cool guy Deek. He was great!

From the staging area for marshals, Jimmy Riccitello had me sending out marshals at intervals and we could tell it was going to be a busy day. In all, we penalized about 10% of the field - so we certainly made a difference in making the race more fair for everyone. It may seem like a lot, but it really isn't. One other ref had 28 penalties. We were in the bulk of the field. This field is really fast and nobody wants to let anyone go in the early stages of the race. I wrote 22 penalties for drafting, 2 for blocking and 2 for position (one for an acquaintance of mine who was riding in the middle of the road not passing anyone). I don't think he recognized me when I penalized him - he was that out of it. It may seem mean to even penalize my 'friends', but my view is that there are no warnings and no breaks for anyone. Fair is fair. A penalty is the same for everyone. Once I look that it is a call - it's a call. I don't' even look at the race number or athlete to see if I know him or her. It wouldn't matter. Fair and impartial are a must. When I race - that's what I want from the officials. Just let me race a fair race. I hope others feel the same way.

At the end of the day I was given a motor scooter to ensure that everyone was legal on the course. They were. I came across Tara Costa and she was out there talking to everyone and encouraging people with all the power she could muster. Then I saw Rajesh who was out of it, but any triple amputee who finishes Ironman Hawaii in 13 hours and change is one tough dude (to put it mildly). Then I saw Scott Rigsby a double amputee. He looked great. Tara, Scott and Rajesh are very genuine people. I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet them. Hey, it's Kona... you never know who you'll meet or run into.

At the turn around in the Energy Lab is a "cheater mat" - a timing mat that records all competitors at the farthest point out on the run. Those folks are out there all day and well into the night. The atmosphere of ohana is palpable. Jay and I were out there and asked if they were ok or needed anything. I couldn't blink before Richard, Maria and their friends had a homemade pork chorizo tacos with fresh cilantro and an ice cold Pepsi in my hands. It was amazing! We stayed with them and talked about how awesome Ironman is, family, Hawaiian culture and life and our lives on the mainland. If I am racing or marshaling - I will make it a point to see them every year I am in Kona. These folks are amazing. Their kids were great, young examples. I'll look forward to hearing about their life experience as they grow up. Maybe it's corny, but suspend your cynicism for a few minutes. What an experience!

We returned the scooters back to the hotel and Ironman race operations. Then we went to the finish line and a bit past the finish line - out by the church. To cheer for finishing athletes and remind them to smile, soak it in, zip up their team kit for their picture at the FINISH LINE. We got a lot of smiles. The last minutes of Ironman were awesome. The 80+ men's race had the top three finish within minutes and at times they were all running together! I hope to be chewing solid food and going to the bathroom by myself at 80. Doing an Ironman is simply incredible. The last finisher missed the cut off by 4 seconds. 4. Lousy. Seconds. There was an audible AWWW NO! at the finish line. Next year.

Sunday I was able to hang with David and Sarah Fix, Scott Guilfoil and others at the banquet. I hadn't been to an Ironman awards banquet since 2005 and a Kona dinner since 2000. It's even more professional than it was back then. Really well done. We didn't get into the KSWISS after party - our "connections" didn't have extra invites - so we just went back to Humpy's and had a beer and talked. It turned out to be great; talked to folks from AUS, SUI, GER, CAN, MEX, JPN, and USA. Very fun and relaxed. Prior to the dinner I got to meet Molly, Jeff, Nigel and Shirley at Humpy's - a bar/restaurant on Ali'i Drive. Watching NFL football at 7am is odd. Watching Sunday night football at 2pm is bizarre.

The flight home was pretty awesome too. I met a very cool couple from Toronto who's father/father-in-law did Ironman. They had never seen the race until this year. A lot of friends were on the flight. Some marshals from Australia too. Get this... they flew Kona to San Francisco to Sydney. UGH! Suddenly my connection from KOA to SFO to ORD wasn't bad at all. One of the German officials was on the plane too. No names mentioned... but he was quite hung over. His girlfriend won her age group. Hey, sounds reasonable to me. I hope we keep in touch - he is a riot! I love the German sense of humor and hard core attitude. When the Aussies and Germans drink - just stand back and watch because we are all amateurs by comparison. Then in SFO, I was speaking to Bob Scott - 81 year old from Naperville.

Going to Kona is always a reward for good work. I hope to be able to go back as an athlete, but it may take a lottery slot to get me back. I'll hope to continue to go as an official and volunteer as often as I can. It is inspiring and good for the soul. Just leave any bitterness and sarcasm at the airplane door.

Mahalo, A hui hou kakou

CompuTrainer Sessions Start SUNDAY at Village

2011-10-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hi folks -

It's that time of year again. The CompuTrainer Classes at Village start on Sunday. This winter - I'll be teaching on Thursday night, Saturday morning (special 2 hr endurance session designed for Ironman type athletes) and Sunday morning.

Last year, my classes sold out for the year very quickly. Don't be left out.

CompuTrainer Class Details - 2011 with errors (I'm a Cat 2 USAT ref.)

Why Do We Go Crazy for Kona?

2011-10-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lot of 'haters' on different websites going after celebrity slots and lottery slots. This is all I have to say - Triathlon - and especially Ironman Triathlon - is considered a "fringe sport". While those of us who do it are keen on every nuance of the sport - most people have no idea how far the damn race is. So, in my opinion, if you can let a former pro baseball player in and it brings more press and awareness to the event- DO IT. If a reality TV show star brings an audience to your sport - DO IT. The people and sponsorship dollars they bring in pay the bills. I think it makes a lot of sense. This begs another question. If YOU owned Ironman and had to get the general public interested in your sport - how would you do it?

Off the table as options (because they are already done):
1) let the everyman in via Lottery
2) let celebrities (of all sorts) in via "celebrity slots"

OK... GO!

I am cross posting something from my friend Steve Fleck. Fleck is a Canadian and owner of Nineteen Wetsuits. Great guy who keeps it real.

Why do we go crazy for Kona?

What is it about this one race? Why do young and old, vets and newbies become transfixed and obsessed by this one race in the sport of triathlon? What is the attraction?

Despite the spread of Ironman races around the world, this is the one Ironman that everyone wants to do.

It's the race that we all seem to want to talk about. It's the race that we all want to handicap and speculate about.

Why is that?

http://stevefleck.blogspot.com/2011/10/kona-crazy.html

Comments here or at the blog are welcome.

Aloha!

Steve Fleck
http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com
http://stevefleck.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/stevefleck

How to Not be a Dork in Kona: The Rules

2011-09-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

Kona is the big dance. The show. The grand daddy of 'em all. The Super Bowl of triathlon. Pick your analogy they all pale in comparison to the race and week(s) leading up to the race itself. If you are a triathlete, I hope that one day you get to race in Kona. It is amazing. As awesome as the recap show is on NBC television - it is one tenth of what goes on during the week and a snapshot of the day.

Things have already started as some pros arrive earlier and earlier to adjust to the heat as best that they can. It seems that this is now an age group thing too. I know one guy who has been in Kona since September 9th and he is from Germany. Kona is a bit different than your standard Ironman. Knowing that going in is something to consider.

Rule #1 - Don't judge a book by it's cover.

When you get off the plane, you will see tons of people and everyone will seem to be in shape. You cannot know how much someone trained or is "all there" mentally. You will just see the physical appearance of people. Three years ago - EVERYONE in Kona looked like they needed a cheeseburger. Thin was in. Times were a lot slower. If you are racing, I promise you this... a) you will beat someone who is "more ripped" than you on race day, b) a grandmotherly type WILL pass you somewhere on the course and will not even be breathing hard. In 2000, I was in a "drag race" with the women's 55-59 champion.

Rule #2 - Respect the Hawaiian people and the island.

The Hawaiian people are allowing this race on their home. They are good people and amazingly kind if you aren't a jerk. Say "Aloha" and "Mahalo" (thank you) when you are in a restaurant and on the street. I am blessed to call several native families ohana (family). I helped a Hawaiian guy who had a tire blow out on the Queen K once and it turned out he was a police officer who had his phone go dead. That year (2005) I was a volunteer and he got me through to the family area to see one of my athletes (Cedrick Dujon) finish. When another policeman said, "Who is that?" (pointing at me) My friend said, "It's my cousin. Can't you see the family resemblance man? He's alright. Let him in." I am looking forward to catching up with him and his family next week.

The island... where to begin. The big island of Hawaii is the most amazing place on Earth in my opinion. The tropical water with green, pink, black, white, and red sands. Lava pouring into the ocean - DAILY. A mountain larger than Everest (when measured from the ocean floor). Dolphins, turtles, rays. Appreciate the place... there aren't many like it on this planet. It is so amazing, that even the hardest non-believer comes home believing in God. It is a spiritual place.

Speaking of... Madame Pele is the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes and fire, and Ku, god of war. Madame Pele is one bad-ass, touchy deity. Placate her and everything should be cool. Piss her off - and you are in for a long string of bad luck. How else would you explain miles of homes being devoured by lava and only ONE being spared when Uncle Charlie (a native Hawaiian religion deacon of sorts) says a prayer on the roof of the home and lava starts moving the other way? **More about him in a moment.**

Legend says that Pele rules over everything hot on the Big Island. Fire, volcanoes and the leeward side of the island. Pele worship is alive and well near the active craters where lava is one of those "uninsurable" risks. Pele is said to appear as a beautiful young woman on the volcanoes. Down the slope, away from her home - she is said to appear as an old woman with flowing white hair, dressed in white and often accompanied by a small white dog. If you see such a woman, it is custom to offer her a ride and water if you have any. If you see either hitchhiking on Highway 11 as you approach the national park, you are advised to give her a lift...and anyone who has seen the Brady Bunch knows that you should never take any lava rocks from Hawaii.

Madame Pele is said to have a taste for gin. On race day, or in race coverage, take notice of the lava pyramids adorned with leis, offerings in ti leaves, anthuriums and ho'okupu. If you want to be more to the point, a couple of bottles of Tanqueray poured over your lava pyramid and a prayer should do the trick. Building a lava pyramid is common practice of racers. BE ADVISED THAT LAVA IS SHARP AND WILL CUT YOU DEEPLY HANDLE IT WITH CARE.

Subsection A, Rule #2 - if Uncle Charlie asks to drink with you - you drink.

My friend brought me to meet this living legend at 9am on a Monday. Uncle Charlie, upon meeting me, stood up and announced that we were going to have a drink. I was informed that this was a tremendous honor and drank whatever he gave me. My wife wound up driving us back to the hotel. I was hammered, but at least it was 3pm in Chicago.

Rule #3 - Pro athletes, seals and turtles - leave them alone.

Imagine if during the most important week of your work year you had people everywhere asking you for your time, autograph and picture? Early in the week - no problem. As you get closer to the race... give these folks their space. Their faces are 100% game face by Thursday.

Turtles and coral - while they look pretty and strong - they are both fragile. Admire them from a distance. The Honu turtles are an endangered species. Hawaiian monk seals are known to be aggressive from time to time. Leave them alone.

Make sure the only thing you leave behind are foot prints in the sand. If you see garbage or plastic in the water, remove it and throw it away or into a recycling bin.

Rule # 4 - Prepare and expect the worst.

In 2000 and 2001 there was a 8' sea swell, high temperatures and category one hurricane force winds - ideal for a triathlon right? In Kona they won't cancel the swim for white cap waves. You better be ready. Well... if you are here, it probably won't bother you that much. In 2006, there was crazy heat (137 F heat index) with a STRONG thunderstorm in the early evening. Expect HARSH weather conditions. Anything easier is a blessing.

**Best race to simulate Kona conditions? Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3 in late June. Lubbock, TX

Rule #5 - Lighten up Francis. You may never be here again.

While this is all that it is cracked up to be, don't be a jerk. After the race you'll have to go back to work and 99% of the world's population still won't be exactly sure how far that Ironman is. Keep it in perspective.

Changing Seasons

2011-09-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

Took half a day off yesterday and went fishing near my house. Took Greta for an extra long walk and dodged some rain. Kept thinking how the weather will be dramatically different next week. Current temps hovering around 48 F.

I'm very excited about next weekend. What we do as marshals has to be taken very seriously. No two years are alike. Triathlon is very different from when I first started. The personal challenge isn't to beat any person, but to get myself in condition. Perhaps if I am fortunate enough to get to the FOP again I will have some rivalries that mean something. For most of us - the most important rivalry is with the clock.

I'll be blogging about what I see, hear and experience. I consider it a privilege to be a part of the Ironman World Championship - yes, even as a marshal. This will be my sixth time at the "big dance" of triathlon. Pale by many in comparison (I realize) but every trip I learn more, meet more people and see new things. Only in Kona can this be experienced.

Good luck to my amateur friends who are competing. You earned it. Now enjoy the opportunity (if not the pain) that you have before you. Don't break a rule, because friend or not - I will tag you with a penalty. THAT is my job. A true friend (like the ones going) understand that.

Lastly, I am really excited to watch the CAF guys. Scott Rigsby and Rajesh Durbal. Scott lost both legs in an accident when he was dragged behind a truck and lost both legs. Rajesh was born with some issues that caused amputation of his legs and one arm. BOTH... will beat "QUALIFIERS who earned it" who have two arms and two legs. Last year, Raj swam 1:17 with one arm. He's in better shape this year... 1:17 - one arm and no legs.

Triathlon's post season is here. It's time.

See the beauty if the opportunity that life is presenting to you.

I missed the HUGE buck behind this tree, but centered the tree in the frame.

A fine largemouth bass on this early morning trip to the river. 15.5", ~ 2.7 lbs.. No fish were harmed in this photo.

Looks like someone sprayed the top of the trees with red paint.

Rain moving through.

Sun is back.

We must take time to stop and smell the daisies.

Most bright rainbow I've seen in a very long time.

My office mate and I are constantly playing tug of war.

Tired puppy - think long run tired.

Since When...

2011-09-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

I'm back in town again. Feels nice to wash my dishes. Speak to my wife in person and not over FaceTime or Sykpe. To walk, brush and feed my dog. She's pretty stoked about it too. Greta has been sleeping on my feet every night since my return. During the day, she seems to spend time between Lorrie and I in our respective offices in the house (Lorrie prefers the downstairs "study" and I prefer the upstairs headquarters.)

I got to see my chiropractor. Dr. Crunch as he is known in our house (actually a misnomer because he isn't one of those adjustment happy stereotypical chiros.) Dr. Crunch is known for his brutal honesty, root cause analysis and fixes. I think my past athletic success is directly due to his unique exercises targeting the smallest of muscle imbalances. His balance of eastern and western medicine has really gotten me back in the game.

Dr. Crunch is from New York. His practice is in Oak Brook. That means for me to see him it is a 1-1.25 hour drive one way. So when I go there - it is because whatever he does works. He has fixed virtually every joint in my body and throw in my back for good measure. My last trip gave me the wake up call I was needing.

"Bob, I've known you for 10 years. Since when do you take three days off in a week during the season?" He wasn't done. "How much do you weigh? Is this the fattest I've ever seen you?" Yes it is. Thanks for noticing. "When the hell are you going to make a difference in this weight? I want to see you before Kona and I want four pounds off you." We then proceeded to review my workouts for the next two weeks and plan my diet accordingly. Two pounds down. Two to go. "Since when are you a fat ass?" Jeeze, its one thing to point it out and another to wallow in it. "This is bullshit. You need to get back to being competitive."

Even Greta got in on the intervention. (Thanks for the deal on the sweet all weather jersey David.)

Cannot argue with a word he said. Since when do I stay up since 10:30pm? Miss workouts? Forget how to upload my watch?

So, I've had my off season. It's lasted about five years. Five years of putting everything in front of the workout schedule. It's time to get back. It started today. I booked myself into my own CompuTrainer classes. I'm teaching AND riding - ALL of the sessions. I'm swimming masters again. I'm running again. The results will take time.

The next "since when" will be a bit different.

ITU Marshaling and the USAT Elite Nationals - Buffalo, NY

2011-09-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

Friday I flew out to Buffalo, NY to get my first ITU marshal experience. The planes flying out of Chicago were packed with New England Patriot fans; didn't know so many lived in Chicago. What's interesting is a nickel had gotten caught in my jeans pocket and I got the TSA pat down. When I turned my pockets inside out the nickel came flying out. So yeah... something that small was found. GOOD! Got to the hotel about 9:30pm and caught up with my roommate Graham Wilson.

Saturday was an early start. Up at 5:00 eastern time - my normal wake up time on a work day at home - we were in the car by 6 after another briefing on the ITU expectations and some breakfast. We prepped for the elite women's race and before you know it the gals were checking in. We were checking bikes to make sure that they were legal with UCI and ITU standards. Another person was taking pictures of the front and back of the uniforms of the gals. (This was kind of creepy. An older guy taking pictures of women in a tent of their front and back sides- a ITU uniform check for the placement and correctness of the triathlon uniforms. I thought a female should have been taking those shots.) The USAT folks came in and asked me to start getting birthdays for the women who were 23 and under. I felt really old when the first gal told me her birthday was 12/9/1991. That is the day I graduated from college. This person could be my daughter. Damn... I'm getting old.

The race went well. I called a penalty on #2 (later learned it was Laura Bennett) for mounting before the bike mount line. She was clearly 3-4 meters behind the line. She was even out of the camera shot that we take for each area in ITU. 4-5 pedal strokes on the bike before the line. That is a :15 second penalty. Laura kept going and ultimately served her penalty on the last lap of the run. She won the race by 6 seconds.

The men's race was a little later and a bit larger. In the video that Mary did check out how much the dock is leaning. The race was a bit less dramatic with Hunter Kemper winning by a wide margin.

All the athletes at this race were true pros. Those who were penalized or DSQ (that's ITU for DQ'd) were very professional. It was a really great format for racing. I think the US amateur athletes could learn a lot from watching ITU professional athlete behavior. No crying or bitching about a penalty. Take it and move on. (The coaches can appeal/bitch up a storm. If they protest a call $50 for the officials to review it. If an athlete complains about a penalty - the clock doesn't start until they stop bitching. I kinda like that.)

Went out for wings and ITU talk (when in Buffalo - try the wings) Saturday.

Sunday was another review of the ITU methodology and philosophy. Then lunch with my USAT bosses before jumping back on a plan to Chicago. On my plane was Andy Potts' coach. Had a conversation with him and then we were off.

On the taxiway into Chicago, some guys from Buffalo who were headed to Las Vegas and had a tight connection got up out of their seats seconds after we landed and started walking toward the cockpit. The flight attendant pinned them into the kitchen area. We were about 15 minutes behind schedule due to the rain and winds aloft. Then the karma train came to visit... the jet bridge was malfunctioning and EVERYONE had to wait another 5 minutes. The Vegas people made their flight, but it was fun seeing some self centered jerk offs have to wait. My only hope would be for them to get a fine too.

Here is the video Mary shot and some shots I put together.

Something about the clouds reflecting off the water that is awesome.

Hello Winnetka!

Chicago in the distance.

Happy puppy! 48 hrs away was very tough on her. PS: Lorrie was glad to see me too.

A Conversation with Tara Costa - Biggest Loser to Ironman

2011-09-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the pleasure of speaking with Tara Costa. Tara was a contestant on NBC's show "The Biggest Loser" which is about teaching people that exercise and eating right is part of daily life and an active choice. The contestants go to a ranch in southern California to work with trainers, doctors and dietitians where they work very hard to achieve amazing levels of transformation. It just shows you (the audience) what can happen with help from trainers and smart food choices. Tara lost 155 lbs. going from 294 lbs. to 139 lbs. in 18 weeks.

Even experienced Ironman racers and trainers can learn from the show. I DVR the show and watch it on the bike trainer or treadmill at my house. For myself, I really connect with some of the people on the show. I think there are similarities in all people and seeing this play out on a reality show is interesting. The best part is that these folks are learning to move and eat again. To believe in themselves. Trust the process and change their lifestyle forever.

In the end, folks on these shows need to sustain what they learned in their day to day life. Just like anyone who is overweight, you have to diverse yourself from the old ways and pathology of what got you to that weight. If you want a lifestyle change then you have to change your lifestyle. You cannot "train to eat" which is what I hear so much today. You need to start small and change what you can. Right here. Right now. Reprioritize your life and put yourself on top of your important list. I often tell my clients that in an airplane if the cabin loses pressure they must secure their oxygen mask first and then help their children. Same goes for diet and exercise. You first. World second. If you die because you are obese, your children will still be here. Better make sure you aren't obese then right? Same goes for other medical issues. Get them fixed. It's only 30 minutes four to six times a week. You can do that. Even if you have to get up early before everyone else to make sure it happens. By taking care of yourself you will make yourself available for a longer time.

CB (Coach Bob): Hi Tara. Thank you for talking today. How do you manage your diet these days?

TC (Tara Costa): Hour to hour. Day to day. I plan just for today. The key is to keep me focused on the important things I need to do. I also keep certain foods away from me. Frozen yogurt, Oreo cookies... sweets in general. If I want it, I make myself DRIVE to get those things.

CB: Then it becomes a conscious decision to eat those things.

TC: Right! I'm an unconscious eater. I make sure I'm eating with a knife and fork versus eating with my hands. This means I must sit down and prepare my food and portions (and calories). No grabbing of food. What happens is I eat a bunch and I don't remember how many I had. I don't eat anything out of cellophane bags. If it is in a bag, there is a strong chance that it is bad food. I always have an apple in my purse.

CB: How has Ironman training been?

TC: You know, the hardest thing is eating enough with these long workouts. I'm not used to eating that much. A six hour bike ride has a lot of calories in it. I'm not used to eating that much. Last week I was hit by a car on a training ride. Minor accident, but it required a trip to the chiropractor and a couple of adjustments. Other than that, I've been knocking down the longer sessions.

CB: Are you excited about Kona?

TC: Kona is a blessing. It has led me to a new lifestyle. I've met so many kind people and a tremendous diversity of people. I'm really excited.

CB: What would you tell people to do eating-wise if they are in a social situation (party or going out)?

TC: I like a good beer from time to time, but I haven't drank at all since starting to train for Kona. If I go out now, it might be club soda with orange and some cranberry. Maybe a splash of vodka. I am going to have a beer after Kona for sure.

CB: What do you tell yourself when you get in a rut?

TC: This too shall pass. I go back to reading notes about what I want to achieve. My goals. Another is, 'When a door closes, open a window. When all the doors and windows are closed, break a window.' I reorganize myself. It usually starts with cleaning. Clear my surroundings. Clear the mind. Put pen to paper and write - what would make me feel better? Then go do it.

From Tara's website... what a difference she made in her health.

When you get into the proper eating and exercise patterns the body becomes more efficient. Like putting good fuel into a Maserati.

CB: What are you doing today?

TC: I'm working as a weight loss coach for obese people. What I see most is the "reward appetite" people everywhere. People who say, "I burned 1,500 calories doing a 10k so now I'm going to eat whatever I want." It doesn't work that way.

I save 1/4 to 1/3rd of what I eat for what I want. For example, if I burned 1,000 calories at an event, I might eat 250 calories of a treat ONE TIME.

CB: Is there anything else you'd like people to know about?

TC: Yes, I'm doing a raffle with my Inspire Change Foundation, which will run until September 23, 2011, it is raising money to support Kicks 4 Kids, a program aimed at providing active footwear to children grades K-8 who otherwise would not be able to afford them. The mission of the Kicks 4 Kids program is to get kids back on their feet and active from an early age! In addition to supplying kids with new kicks, every child will be given a playbook that parents and children can utilize to make sure they get in their 60 minutes of activity per day. The Kicks 4 Kids program will officially launch in Kona, HI this fall when I race in the Ford Ironman World Championship. Here is the link: http://www.tararaffle.com/

CB: Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much) for talking to the athletes and readers of Kokua Multisports. You have a lot of great information that you shared with us today. I wish you the very best in Kona. Remember... no drafting. I hear the marshals are really mean. (laughs)

TC: Thanks talking to me about Kona. I'll do my best.

CB: Hope your finish photo looks better than this... my fist pump finish was after this was snapped. Then again... I didn't even recognize my catchers (Tammy and Jill - my friends and training partners for three years prior to this race... or my brother, who was with them.) I noticed Mike about 20 minutes later.

We Will Age Differently

2011-09-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

I've been hanging out with some of my old swimming buddies. I'm re-invigorated and going after my own fitness. You know why? The swim folks I've been hanging with KNOW we will never be as fast as we were in our 20s. Or will we? Well, what the hell? Let's give it a shot! The best part is that these swimming folks are very different than triathletes and their cliques. The self medicating Ironman/ultra distance types. The anti-social cyclists who must drop and crush everyone into dust.

They are having fun and encouraging each other! Shocking... I know. A friend of mine who is an Olympic champion invited me to a masters swim meet. Me! We've kept in contact after racing against each other 20 years ago. I told him, "Dude, I'm in no shape to race the big boys." His response, "Nobody is. Come on out and swim anyway. I think this may get everyone going and change masters swimming and racing forever." As usual. He is right. Screw the fitness. I'm going to race. My breaststroke is still good (even out of shape). I'll make a run at the breaststroke and perhaps the IM races. What's the worst that could happen? I get "housed" by a bunch of great swimmers? The upside potential could be having great fun and really reconnecting with people who get it over a few swim races and probably several beers after the races are over.

It's about racing ME. My best times. I've always said it is about doing the best you can do at THIS POINT IN TIME.

This is what has been missing in my triathlon experience since 2006. The groups I was training with pre-2005 were about getting everyone faster and racing well on race day. The same local groups are about "winning" the sprint to the end of the street. Carbon wheels and skin suits are now common place at the same rides where "in the old days" people would make fun of you for drafting. This weekend - I found my out of shape, 200# butt pulling people into the wind on a 40 mile ride - until the sprint to the sign before the parking lot. Congratulations... you won... NOTHING.

This same group was complaining about "former pro triathletes" now racing as amateur athletes in Ironman (specifically Kona). My opinion on this has always been - open to all. Is it a tough break to show up to a race and be next to Troy Jacobson, Gordo Byrn and Bruce Gennari? Yep. Does it mean that they will "beat" you that day? Not necessarily. They have full time jobs (or aren't training 40 hours a week like they used to). Is it fair? Probably not. I think an athlete would want to race against the best. If you know that Peter Reid could drop into Ironman Canada and be in your age group (Pete and I are the same age) - wouldn't that fuel your will a bit more? Would he beat me? Probably. What if... I caught my taper just right. What if he was tired? Had a mechanical? Winning or qualifying isn't everything. If I was able to push one of those guys in an age group division I'd call that a victory.

Enter in people like Phyllis. Mother of two. 49 years old. Going back to school for another degree with two years of eligibility left? Why not walk on? At Pepperdine no less! Holy cats! NCAA Division I swimming is really tough. EVERYONE is great. Tough physically and mentally. Going back to swim competitively takes a lot when you are 18-22. At 49, it is taking it to another level.

I hope you join me rooting for Phyllis.

http://www.goldmedalmel.typepad.com/mel/2011/09/49-year-old-former-model-walks-on-.html

We won't age the same as our grandparents. We won't age the same as our parents. Things will be different. Just how different will be up to us. What level are you going to take it to? Medicine is different. Food is different (not necessarily for the better.) At least we are more aware of better food choices we can make. I would add in the 1950s through 1980 how many 5ks, triathlons, etc. were there? Not many. Here in Chicago you can do a 5k through marathon running race ANY weekend day.

We are aging differently. I recently found a results sheet from a race I did in 1988. There were 13 40-44 men. Same race this year... 256 40-44 men.

I'm really excited about other swimmers "coming back".

Janet Evans -- Here she is doing an 8:59 800 LCM free at age 39.

Ian Thorpe "The Thorpedo"

Dara Torres

This is great stuff! You are as young as your will. My mother-in-law hits a "milestone" birthday next Monday. She doesn't look like that number at all. Her spirit is a lot younger. As I say to everyone, you have a choice to LIVE your LIFE or watch other people LIVE while you fade away into a grave.

This will make us ALL better athletes. The days of 1:05 Ironman swim and then bike and run are LONG gone. This is a good thing. I tell my athletes to "Be an athlete, not a triathlete."

An old saying from the Schaumburg Park District - Life. Be in it.

Ironman Recovery - Don't be Stoopid

2011-09-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

Julie Moss feet from the finish line.

Post Ironman Wisconsin I've had a lot of questions about recovery. Recovery is very individual. It will depend on your fitness, stress, diet and a few other items mixed in just to make it interesting. After finishing an ultra-distance or Ironman triathlon, there are things that you should avoid and items that will greatly aid your recovery. This is where you can maximize your Ironman training and effort for the following triathlon season. This is also where you can get injured and sick. My recommendation is to relax. Take time to celebrate getting to the starting line and finishing what you had the courage to start. Don't run the Chicago Marathon after Ironman Wisconsin; to what point and purpose? Some people can - doesn't mean you should. Give serious thought to events and their timing post Ironman racing

1. Right after the race take a full day of complete rest. This is assumes no other medical issues or injuries. Go walk to the Kona roll down. I'm amazed at how many people don't go to the roll down. Nobody there means you get the slot - even if you are dead last. One of my athletes got the flu from a long international plane ride. Dead last in her age group by more than two hours and a personal worst of 3.5 hours. She finished. Kona slot - none of the other women in her age group could afford the time/expense of Kona. In Kona she beat her "qualifying time" by five hours.

The first week NONE of my athletes do workouts longer than 50-60 minutes.

2. Get a massage. A great massage (or even a bad one) will help the body flush the body and get the blood flowing.

3. Do a "Plus Delta" of your race. A consulting review technique; what went well (plus), what would you change looking back at the race, training, diet - anything (delta). Save this and review it before your next Ironman / ultra distance triathlon.

4. Call / thank those who supported you. Even if you never took them up on it. Let them know how much you appreciate their sacrifices and share your success with them. In Hawaiian this is expressing your "kokua" for them (using it in the slang for "consideration"). Don't overlook this. When I did Ironman Canada I brought back maple syrup for my friend Kim who roller bladed next to me on my long runs. A simple gift of consideration.

5. Eat right. I'm not saying to avoid comfort foods. Go ahead and get a cheeseburger and shake (or beer). As a whole you need to eat good fuel to repair itself and bounce back.

6. Don't do a complete stop of training. You need to move. This will help you with maintenance of your fitness and keep you impervious to injury.

7. Post Race Depression or Post Ironman Blues - the reality of "life" and a career now demanding payback for time away (along with the lack of exercise induced endorphins) can be really sad. It doesn't have to be.

A) Plan the next season. Look at races (if you aren't already signed up) - look at the course profiles. Consider your strengths and the race.
B) Keep celebrating! Put the finish line picture on your desk. Plan a night out with your training partners and drink a beer (or two) and the first person to talk about triathlon has to buy the next round. **NOTE: most triathletes cannot stop talking race stuff. Keep your mouth shut and talk anything but racing. Easy way to get free beer.**
C) Sleep in - wake with no alarm - really. See what it's like on the "other side" for a change.

8. Work on your weakness and start to improve. Every year I make a road trip to see the nutritionist and bike fit guy, run form coach, swim coach.

9. Fix the injuries - if you have something that "just ain't right" - Fix it NOW. Chiropractor, doctor, dentist, whatever. You cannot race at your peak when you are worried if a part is functioning at full capacity.

Chris Leigh at Ironman World Champs in Kona. He never made the finish line.

10. Build the base. Start building the large base of aerobic fitness. Most people fail to go "fast" at Ironman because they don't have enough of an aerobic base to "push off from".

11. Build power. No... I'm not (necessarily) talking about the weight room. Bike power. You can keep the heart rate down AND do power work on the bike inside. It's my favorite way to watch college football.

This finish started in 1997. Two major mechanical problems, forest fires and 94 F heat couldn't beat great preparation.

The biggest lesson you learn with every Ironman "finish" line you may be fortunate enough to cross - this is just another mile marker. The race is over, but your life is not. You have seen what is possible in your life. This was an opportunity to learn and grow as a person.

The choice is easy. Watch other people live life or fade out of life. It doesn't have to be racing in Ironman races. It could be teaching kids, raising money for a charity, cleaning up your neighborhood or as simple as being the best person you can in your own family and enabling great things at home.

The choice is yours. Life is waiting.

If you are a Garmin user...

2011-09-15T13:16:00.001-07:00

If you are a Garmin user you should read this blog entry by Ray.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/09/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know.html

I am an SRM dealer and I'm looking at this with very excited anticipation for March 2012.

More Pictures from Madison

2011-09-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

The Sun Prairie water tower.

Buy local!

View of my 9% grade hill that most days - I had to myself.

Best sushi in Madison is on the EASTSIDE! Inexpensive and lots of it.

Jerks are here too.

Great thunderstorm east of Madison had an impressive cloud structure.

Office visitor one morning.

2x Olympic gold medalist Beth Botsford

Yes... a measured 9% grade hill!

The base of 9% hill.

9% base

"trail head" for my night runs

More trails

A F1 tornado came out of this storm it only touched down on the lake (thank you very much).

When in Madison...

Odd road hazards on the way home from Madison.

29 options of agave nectar - outstanding.

Now, it's a party

Yes... that is BLUE hair at the HyVee.

Orafice view looking west

Pre- Ironman start

Ironman Wisconsin Helix

What I did on my Summer Work Trip

2011-09-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, I spent the entire late spring and summer in Madison, WI. So much time in fact, that I was deemed worthy of now being considered an "honorary Wisconsin resident". Ya hey der! In this economy, you go wherever the work is. It certainly was in Madison.

New aerohelmet

As a guy working two full time jobs (multisport coach and independent consultant) I work whenever work presents itself. This summer there was no shortage. My average day started at 4:15am - kind of typical right? But never ended until 11pm (or later) most nights. I had the biggest crew doing a single race ever nine at Ironman Wisconsin. Two considerably large projects at my client in Wisconsin and life without my wife and dog five days out of seven. How much was I away? Well, one of the women who works at the extended stay hotel I stayed at trusted me to watch her newborn daughter for 10 minutes while she helped a guest. I went running with the boyfriend of one of the front desk women. I'll be getting upgraded at a certain brand of hotel for the next 12 months as well.

That guy is here again and I'm going to lick his head.

That guy is home again?

The most positive things that happened to me are re-finding the love of running. I was running really awesome grass trails daily. (Even if it was only 1.5 miles starting at 10:30pm.) Swimming - I completely retooled my freestyle and backstroke under the instruction of Beth Bothsford (1996 Olympic gold medalist). Beth's college coach now coaches where I swam in college. I've been "maintaining" whatever level of fitness I had in May (read: not good), but I've been working a ton and was away from home. I did manage to do two races this summer. I was MOP, but had a lot of fun. I haven't had this much fun since 2003.

My athletes have been a great deal of fun this summer. Really great results. By results, I mean my athletes have done more personal records and first time qualifying for different events in several sports. It has also enhanced my enjoyment of the coaching experience. It's not all rainbows, puppy dogs and ponies. We've had DNFs and disappointment too.

Where does the journey go from here? Not sure. I'm considering opening up a storefront gym with classes and group training. Yet, more consulting clients continue to call.

Next up - getting a large group ready for the Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon. I'm up to nine athletes (far from the 80 that were supposedly going to sign up). No matter what the number... we will have fun.

See you at the gym, pool, trails, dog park or playground.

My God daughter Lauren (4th Birthday) and her little brother Mitchell.

Top 10 Mistakes at Ironman Wisconsin

2011-09-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

1) Going Too Hard - Madison is alive and the race is a very exciting and loud venue. Being a virtual "home game" for so many athletes, it is often too exciting to resist listening to your RPE, heart rate monitor or power meter. For some, it starts in the swim. For others, their highest heart rates are on the run to T1. Think a bit folks. Going anaerobic on the run to change and get to your bike isn't where you'll win the race. The only reason I did "well" at this race in 2005, was because I paced myself properly. This is primarily true on the bike. Walk just one mile... and you gave all that effort back.

2) Bad Drinking Strategy - So many people arrive dehydrated let alone finish... well, at all. In Wisconsin, you gotta "pee by Verona". I know, not the same as "pee by Hawi" but the concept remains the same. If you haven't been drinking enough (but not too much) then your marathon may be a nice long walk.

3) Bad Fueling Strategy - Eating too much. Eating too little. Eating odd foods near or during the race. Make a mistake and you are a resident of Bonk City. Many coaches are starting to add training while fasting to people. This will help (mentally) get through those hard times, but you'll still be needing fuel. Start taking on fuel at the very first aid station on the bike. My athletes have a plan for each aid station (or general plan) and adjust as conditions warrent them. Make sure you can handle Pepsi or Coke (or Sams Club Cola) and run. This should be experiemented with on long runs as well as chicken soup.

4) Making Last Minute Changes to ANYTHING Before Race Day - I have a friend who would order new shoes, saddle and aerobars and change them the week before the race at every Ironman. Then he'd ask me why he "just didn't feel right" on race day. No changes a minimum of three weeks out. (I prefer six.)

5) Race Week / Taper Over Training - 21 days out and under... you can only screw up all your work. Rest. Relax. Sleep. Save it for the marathon junior. Stay away from athletes who are freaking out. Only a short visit to the expo - 2 hours MAX. Get away. Get off your feet. Get relaxed.

6) No Run Plan - You have to plan to run the marathon - not just survive it. This starts with your fitness, but extends to your plan to actually execute on race day. My athletes have individual pacing strategies (depending on their ability and experience). Make sure you have a plan that works for your current level of fitness - AND - have a contingency (read: back up or "if the worst should happen") plan. Hey, you can always walk or walk/run.

7) No Race Strategy - This has to do with every part of your experience; hotel or condo? Restaurant or cook for yourself? What time will you get up on race day? What tires will you use? Wetsuit? Race kit? Shoes? Socks? Aero-helmet or regular helmet? Wisconsin can be hot or cold. I have my athletes prepare for both mentally and physically. Better to drag some extra clothing along and be warm before the race than be cold (or catch a cold). You'd also be smart to prepare for high heat. In 2005, this race was 96 F and high humidity. In 2006, it was 43 F and raining. Be ready for anything. Be prepared. This planning starts when you enter the race.

8) No Ability to Adjust and Move On - The military calls is the OODA process. I've never had a long or ultra distance race go entirely my way. How will you react when you get a flat tire? How about a second flat? Mentally, be ready to adjust. It's the person who can shrug off whatever comes their way who will be a) a finisher b) successful in reaching their goals. In my IM persona record I had - 1) two flat tires (nails/tacks on the course by an angry local), severe stomach cramping which had me stopping at port-a-johns six times and included roughly and 11 minute T2. This combined with 95 F heat made the day interesting. Hey... it's Ironman. If it was easy we'd call it something else. Mental toughness training starts on day one.

9) Not Warming Up Properly - Yes, even in an Ironman you need to warm up. I'm amazed that so many people do not warm up. Swing the arms. Take a short jog. Stretch. Plyometric jumps. Get the blood pumping.

10) Over or Under Training - Overtrain and your torn down. Undertrain and you'll be hitting the wall early. If you must do one, undertrain. I'm amazed at how many people overtrain and aren't healthy on race day. Their drive to race won't let them listen to their body. Likewise, I'm amazed at people who think that doing several 3-4 hour bike rides but "doing them hard" will be the right training for an event that will be longer than 10 hours for 95% of the athletes. Getting to the starting line healthy is the goal. Many athletes will not be 100% healthy when the cannon goes off.

Coach Bob Mitera is an associate coach with Triathlon Academy. His athletes have finished hundreds of races all over the world. He prides himself on his athletes balancing their life, work, training schedules while achieving great results. Bob currently coaches athletes who have lost more than 50% of their body weight as well as professional triathletes.

Late Season Update

2011-08-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Whats up everyone!

Working (coaching) a TON. When I'm not coaching, I'm marshaling. When I'm not doing that... usually, late at night. I'm TRAINING. I'm a big fan of late night/early morning running. Getting cold these days. It was 48 F the other morning. NUTS! I LOVE running in the heat. Can you believe the summer is nearly gone? Neither can I.

Coaching just got a lot more fun and cutting edge. I just got a new software that allows me to put points on a video and then watch the form of my athletes - this is really great. A real improvement over what I was using. Also picked up an underwater camera which records in HD. Amazing pictures. The combination really helps show an athlete what is going on.

I've got a training group for the Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon in December. Originally, I was going to coach for a charity but I didn't like the rules and I was going to miss too many of the mandatory workouts. Not fair to everyone - so I had to decline and move on. If you are going to be a coach - BE THE COACH and be there. I was going to miss 8 of the 16 workouts. That is unacceptable in the service I demand I deliver.

I'll be marshaling the PRO race at this weekend's Lifetime Fitness Chicago Triathlon. This is always a fun and challenging race to marshal. The athletes are FLYING and all the big shots (read: Charlie Crawford and Bill Touth - my bosses for USAT marshaling) are with me all day. No pressure.

Got a call to marshal an ITU race coming up. It will be my first time marshaling for the ITU. Should be a great experience. Lastly, I'm marshaling in KONA again this year - PRO field again. Not sure if it will be men or women. Women's field is always challenging because of the amateur men. Doesn't matter what I do... because I'm WORKING IN KONA.

I will do some product reviews here in a few blogs upcoming. Just need some time to do them.

Be great.

Madison - Ironman Wisconsin Lake Temps and Stuff

2011-08-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry to not have blogged in a while. Busy times coaching, working and trying to train as well.

1st - the water temp in Lake Monona is 81 F - that's not a typo. I'll measure it again this weekend.

Riding on the IM Wisconsin course -

Since Madison is relatively close to Minneapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee - Madison gets a TON of weekend traffic for people to ride their bikes "on the course". While I believe there is some benefit to having a feel for the course and to have seen it a couple of times before the "big day", the current situation is insane.

Madison is being over run EVERY WEEKEND by the weekend warrior/age group triathlete and cyclist. I've seen groups of 80+ riding 4 abreast on a two lane road with traffic backing up behind them. Three weekends ago, Cross Plains, WI handed out 71 tickets, 150 warning tickets and many stern warnings about: 1) Littering 2) Public urination/defecation 3) Failing to stop at stop signs 4) Failing to signal turns among others.

I'm not asking for athletes to do anything other than to clean up their own act. Signal. Stop. Use a restroom instead of someone's front yard as a toilet. Ground breaking thinking - I know. By doing some common sense things, hopefully the growing anger about weekend warriors will stop and we won't lose a great race close to home.

This Sunday I'll be speaking at the Ironman Wisconsin swim start with two time Olympic gold medalist and Univ. of Arizona swimmer (1996) Beth Bothsford. Beth will speak about swimming efficiency and how to help for open water/triathlon with a few minor changes in thinking/application of force. I'll be taking you through the Ironman rules as well as what to expect on race day in Madison.

There is an open water swim that we are associated with. The cost is $10 if you register ahead of time. $25 on swim day. All the buoys will be on the IM course AND there will be SUP and lifeguard support - just like on race day. So, if you are freaking out about swimming on race day... here is your LAST chance to swim the course before race day with full support.

An Evening with Sally Edwards - Sporting Legend

2011-07-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

When Runner's High 'n Tri announced that Sally Edwards was coming to speak it wasn't on a convenient day for me (which is quite an understatement). Sally is a legend in sport; the women's sports "movement", the first Olympic Women's Marathon, among the first women to attempt and finish Ironman Hawaii, founder of Fleet Feet stores when stores like that didn't exist, founder of the Danskin Triathlon Series, creator of Heart Zones training systems. All this before Title IX. All this before large NCAA schools started using Title IX as the excuse to cut "non-revenue" sport and re-apportion money to football and basketball. Wonder how that will work out for us in future Olympic games? (I know how this will end.) Getting back to positive - Sally wants participation for everyone. Pretty cool.

I found her delightful and energetic.

Her goal? Get America fit. Sounds so simple.

She gave 13 items that I thought were note worthy (as did she). I found Sally inspiring and refreshing in this "everyone knows everything" environment. I think the fact that many people except those long into the sport have no idea who she is contributed to the smaller crowd. It made the session perfect for bouncing questions off of a living legend.

1) Your sporting success: 50% DNA, 50% YOU

2) Running isn't easy. It's an endurance game. Learn and become a student of running & training.

3) When was the last time you did something for the first time?

4) "Target Fixation" You accomplish what you focus on.

5) Your competition is your best friend. Your competition makes you a better runner.

6) The person who starts the race is not the same one who finishes.

7) You have to believe in yourself because you can do it. (This wasn't as rah-rah as it seems. We talked about execution toward goals.)

8) The competitive weapons - HRMs, GPS, iPhone apps, Power Meters.

9) Never give up.

10) First to worst - when Sally started she was winning everything - in new and different events don't be afraid to be worst or last.

11) Follow your heart and success will follow. I'm planning on leaving corporate life to be a full time trainer and coach. Where are you going?

12) "365-fit" to be fit enough and ready to participate in any sport on any day 365 days a year.

13) Identify what you love and fill your life with it. MOST people DON'T live here.

Words to live by.

CLEAR to Workout

2011-07-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

Got the call. A great call. No meds. Start working out - easy and consistently. Get back into working out. I have an "athlete's heart". This means a slightly enlarged heart. Very common. A giant relief.

What do I change?
Shorter runs - for now. Diet is strictly being watched. Meaning - clean protein sources (usually grilled or baked) with veggies. CHO (carbs) come from fruits and veggies. In 2003, I watched my weight in a balanced, intelligent manner and toed the line at IM USA at 157 lbs. I think I could have gone lower, but I was burnt out from preparing for Ironman for four straight years and doing a ton of travel for work. (Burning the candle at both ends.)

While I'm working my tail off... I have learned how to balance things much better.

See you on the trail

A Day of Testing the Heart

2011-07-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

I love to workout. I really do. Jump on my bike with a group of friends and ride around Lake Geneva or a long swim outside. A hot early Sunday run finishing by dumping cold water over the head before heading to grab a bagel with the "old guys" who run the same route. You either "get it" or you don't. There is no middle ground. Those who don't, all seem to be miserable to me. Lacking self confidence or a belief that you can do anything if you set your mind to it. Additionally, those folks miss the spirituality of an early morning run and wild life or an amazing sun rise - or even a wall of snow or rain. One step in front of the other. One at a time. It moves you toward the goal. All that may need to change pending the results of Friday's tests.

Emotionally, this has been a little rough. Of course, the weather has been ideal for training and I have the bug to train in the worst way. I'm not going to be concerned about it because I'm much more than just a triathlete, although my athletes might not appreciate the scrutiny of their power, rpms and heart rate numbers that I'm giving them this week. This week I've put in a lot of thinking about "what if". What if I'm not "allowed" to swim, bike or run again? More about that later.

Thursday night, after my week off of training and putting in 34 hours at my client in three days; I felt like this original test was bullshit. I'm fine. I'm going to treat this test like a performance test.

Friday came and off to the hospital I went. Walked into the Cardiac Testing center of the hospital and then it got real. Once changed and ready to go, I got the chest shaved for the heart leads. So many, I didn't count. This was a nuclear medicine test. This means running with a catheter in my hand. OK, just like the GSSI lab. This also meant injections while running. That's new. This means that I got a shot of an isotope 10 minutes before the running began. Fast forward roughly 20 minutes (16.5% grade and 8.9 mph), and I told them 1 more minute. Where I got 1 more shot of isotope (while running the same speed). I forget the max heart rate to be honest; something around 197. The scary number that I saw (the only bad thing all day) is when I was running at slower pace - my blood pressure was 220 over 90. That cannot be good. What is interesting is the faster I went, the better the blood pressure got. At 183 heart rate I recall hearing that my BP was around 190 over 80. Cardiologist said, "This looks fine" and abruptly left. Dude... what about the frickin' blood pressure? What's up with that? I'm not sick! I feel fine! Why the hell is this going on? Hey! Off to get a scan to look for blockages. Got a ride in a wheelchair - 'hospital policy' to the nuclear medicine area of the hospital. 13 minutes of scan - "Don't move your chest - but breathe normally." When I breathe normally... ok, whatever. I just tried not to move around a lot.

I now had 1 hr 15 minutes of "down time". Off to lunch in the hospital cafe. Soup and a bowl of fruit. Back to Nuclear Medicine. The saline "push" before another injection of isotope was cool. The isotope itself was cold this time. 10 minute wait and back for another 13 minute scan. I was counting heart beats between movements of the machine. Roughly 24. Kinda like counting swim strokes - only not nearly as fun (and I hate counting swim strokes).

The last test of the day was an echocardiogram. It was very interesting. I know enough about anatomy to understand some things about function better than the "general public". The tester was nice, but not allowed to tell me anything for fear she could say something wrong followed by a freaked out patient and legal action. I just want to know what is going on so I can get on with our life. No holes in any veins or arteries. Valves all working; opening and closing fine with no noticeable back-slosh of blood. Blood volume was hard to follow. She recorded them so fast I couldn't see what they were. There were no, "OH SHIT! Get me a doctor" or "CLEAR AN ER STAT!" calls. After all, that wouldn't instill confidence in their patients. I got a $5 gift card for "free" soup/coffee in the cafe for waiting an extra hour in the prep room. The gift card has replaced the lollipop for good behavior at a doctors visit.

What to do? Well, I've had some quality fishing time. Some fun with Greta in the lake. Thoughts of, what if I can race again? Then what? Where? Why? What new event can I try? (When was the last time you did something for the first time?) What about riding a bike across country? Not necessarily in a race... just to do it. What next? What will happen to my health? Maybe another degree? Maybe coaching a large group for a race?

What next if I'm not allowed or physically able to race anymore? 1) Well, I didn't forget how to train people. I'll be able to start a new chapter in coaching and take on more people. 2) We can travel more. Going to see a race like the Tour de France in person.

Hope to see you tomorrow.

Thor de France & Independence Day Thank You

2011-07-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Our annual watching of the Le Tour got real exciting really fast. During the team time trial Lorrie knew to the second what Thor Hoshovd needed to get into the yellow jersey. As I'm typing this, Lorrie is on the edge of her seat (literally) hoping for a another day in yellow for Thor.

Have a great Independence Day. Thank you to all the friends we have in the military fighting for our freedom, namely: Ken, Tommy, Justine, Nate, Danny, Jeff, Dan, Andy, Lisa, Janet and Chris. Looking forward to seeing you all at a starting line again ASAP. No pictures of the special forces or Navy Seal guys.

Ken in Iraq with the owner of a restaurant who he had to take an AK-47 from. They later became allies.

Ken doing his first Ironman finishing with "only" military training and 21 days of cycling before the race.

Tommy finishing the Pro race in Chicago. Great swim. Great bike (until a flat halted him). Mailing in the run (won the following week in Washington D.C.).

Justine and Tommy in Tucson. Justine was 3rd overall. Tommy won his age group at the Tucson Sprint on day three of our training camp.

Y'all know who that is right? Neighbor in Kona.

Medical Answers in the EKG

2011-07-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well... now we know. After doing significant miles, watching the diet and other changes to my own personal training habits (without results) I have a (partial) answer to the root cause.

A full work week at a desk job had me doing 58 hours in four days. I work a lot as an independent coach and management consultant. An "average" week is 60 hours + coaching (20 hours) + training 15 hours - there are 168 hrs possible in a week. I also spend 2 hrs commuting (each way) to my client unless I get a hotel. In this economic depression, you work when there is work. Coaching and management consulting first and all else second. I did manage to swim three days and run three days (even if I was only able to average ~3 miles - it was better than nothing). Friday, the long awaited physical from an actual MD. Not a physician's assistant. Not a nurse. Not a cardiology tech with golf on his mind testing for a large beverage company. A real doctor looking at me and some of the experiences I've had recently. He actually took the time to look at my experience and combine the factors.

I joked around (I admit nervously) with the nurses. When they weighed me I flexed and said, "This is how they do it before big Vegas prize fights." When asked about my height I responded with, "5' 8" with the afro." I had several other jokes that had the nurse cracking up. Including singing "Moon River" - watch Fletch if you don't get that one. Hey, I'm the last patient of a holiday week and I am a full physical. The office was cracking up. My doc is next to a funeral home. I joked, "Hey, if we get the diagnosis wrong at least you don't have to roll my body too far." That got a nervous laugh understandably. I even managed to ask, "Will I be able to play the piano after this test?" The nurse said, "Sure." I responded, "Cool, I've always wanted to play piano." Took her totally by surprise.

I don't take any supplements with regularity. This includes vitamins. In my build period I was great about taking Vitamin D, fish oil and a veggie replacement along with eating right. Are those supplements? Technically yes. They aren't in my diet. I haven't taken the time to figure out what is legal and what actually works. I like coffee, but only drink it once or twice a week. I made it through overtraining in college without it. I'm not a soda hound. It's cheaper to drink water. I'm cheap about certain things. Sugar water that is one.

You ever get a (fill in the blank) ? I hate when that happens.
I started really training and watching my diet in September of last year. Balancing my diet to the calorie versus workouts. Training in the right zones - lower even. Consistency at the levels rivaling 2003 Ironman training. I felt something may be wrong when I didn't see more than an eight pound fluctuation in my weight. Hmm, this can't be right.

First, a bit of family history. My mom's mom - is from a region of Italy (Italian Alps) where people have high HDL cholesterol and no heart problems. They have other heart problems. Many live into their 100s with: "heart flutter" (symptom #1 for me - not all the time), #2 occasional profuse sweating - sitting at a computer - I keep a towel in my work computer bag, #3 numbness in my arm (occasionally - lately, daily - but normally - once in a blue moon), #4 extreme fatigue - ask Lorrie - I can sleep 12-14 hours any day of the week no matter how much I've slept. #5 The last one is a elevated blood pressure. 130/90 - odd because when I'm training this much I'm usually down around 105-109/58-65. #6 This plus the incredibly odd heart rates and power numbers I've had led me to seek out a new doctor who. One who went from "keep an eye on that" to "Let's test this now. You're a better athlete than this." Helps to have a doc who actually talks to his patients and participates in athletics. Doc left me with this, "If you had any one of these symptoms and it was 2003, we would slap you on the back and wish you well. These days - we are more careful. I don't want you dropping dead in a training session or race."

Both of my Italian grandparents had heart issues, but lost battles to cancer. Same side of the family, same region of Italy, my uncle Gino passed away at 106 in his sleep. My aunt Mary walks to mass every day at 103 - she will be 104 in August. My father's side of the family - grandfather had congestive heart failure - smoking unfiltered cigarettes won't help you much. He passed away at 76. My grandmother just passed away of "old age" - in her sleep. I believe her heart just quit as a complication of other factors.

This winter I trained at the "Mark Allen" prescribed 137-139 heart rate and did miles. Running, cycling and swimming - check the ego at the door. Get passed by 75 year old women kinda "check". I ramped it up in the pool and a little on the bike as the running numbers just didn't work out properly. The training response wasn't there.

In the Florida 70.3, my heart rate was either in the 120s or 160s. 160 felt like 210. I averaged 158 for 6:30:00 in Florida. For the record, I've always been able to get my heart rate up to "crazy high" numbers. Research seems to show that if you were trained as a runner or swimmer as a kid - you can do this as an adult. For example, I "warm up" in the pool around 150-160 (6 second count starting with a 0 measuring at the pectoral - rounding the heart rate - so, a warm up would be a 15 or 16 count in 6 seconds). I'm "working" at 180-190 and can hold that for most sets. For all out efforts it is not difficult for me to be at a 21 count. Going into Florida - I DID the training. I really did. I heat acclimatized in my office by jacking the heat up to 94 for the month before the race. 10 hours a day - heat and humidity. Explains why on race day I felt great - just lethargic. It was the heart (if this is not just a bad test).

What does it all mean?
Worst case scenario: In short, my doctor tells me that the left side of my heart "could be" miss firing. This means that all the blood the right side is pushing out to the body could be more. Left isn't getting enough blood into the lungs for oxygenation. This explains why I'm out of breath all the time. Why recovery is taking days and not hours. Why when I use compression gear - I feel much better. To look for a positive... I could be in much better shape and something in my body is misfiring and not allowing me to achieve like I'm used to when I try.

OR...

It could be too much or too little of something in my diet. Too much potassium would give us the same result. Not sure yet. I'm hoping it is a diet thing.

Rx for now - "take it easy" - no hard training sessions, no hills, walking instead of running, no races. I've got more medical tests to do.

Someone asked me, "What will you do as a triathlete who cannot train or race during the peak season?" I told them (and don't take this the wrong way), "Well... first of all, I'm way more than just a triathlete. Triathlon is part of my life, but it is not the only part of my life. Maybe Greta and I are supposed to go dominate 'dock dog' competitions now. Perhaps I'm supposed to go into full time coaching and develop the first Olympic champion from the USA. Maybe I'm just supposed to be more grateful for the physical abilities I have and I need to take care of myself better than I have. I fish really well. Perhaps the Pro Bass circuit is in my future. How about another degree? Just a 'triathlete'? Hardly."

Time to go workout - for dock dogs.

My family's youngest athlete.

Supplements & Life Focus

2011-06-24T03:20:00.000-07:00

One of my athletes asked me, "What do you take?" I laughed out loud. "I don't take anything. If I did, I should ask for my money back. I'm not exactly 'tear'n it up' these days."

So, what should someone more focused on their athletic endeavors take? I'm no doctor. However, my advice would be this. Talk to your doctor. Get a blood test. If you are low in iron - adjust your DIET. Just about the only thing that I would endorse is fish oil, a multi-vitamin and maybe a "super food" type tablet - one for getting all your fruits and veggies if you don't eat well.

Don't take anything that you don't need medically.

Me? Well, I'm going to a new doctor. I think he even has a medical degree. Seems to be a good guy. Doesn't like the pre-cancerous spots on my arms and blasted me with a liquid nitrogen spray which felt like a thousand needles stabbing my arms and then a torch. My skin boiled up with massive blisters (sexy) which started to pop and ooze. (Painting a picture for you am I?) A few band-aids and it didn't look too bad. Until Greta the golden retriever took her leash (on our walk that very afternoon) wrapped it around my arm and ripped all the blisters off along with the skin. Sure, it stung a bit. (read: a lot) I can't get mad at her. She is a puppy (sort of) still. She gave me an apology lick and all was forgotten. Until 20 minutes later... when she ripped the other arm's blisters off. Could you be mad at a face like this?

Time at my in-laws.

The "pre-cancerous" stuff is freaky. It may be more than a little "pre". More follow ups to come. Not knowing is worse than knowing right now. Out of my control. The funny thing is... I always wear sunscreen. I've been eating right - and still cannot achieve certain blood levels and other health markers. Something "ain't right". Some other medical issues going on which explain a few other things when I train, race and my inability to lose weight in spirt of eating right (even if I am not exercising a ton). This needs to get fixed - pronto.

I always tell my athletes to get healthy first. So 2011, will be a chance for me to get physically healthy and career healthy. Be that staying in what I'm doing now, or changing to full time coaching. The most important thing is to be healthy. Physically. Mentally. Career. Family. Spiritually. I have a few bold moves up my sleeve. Nobody ever looks back and wishes they did more work in some BS job versus their passion.

I care about my family and friends, as well as those friends I have yet to meet. Haters... well, I'll just delete your messages once I tack them up on the motivation bulletin board.

More Greta...

Lake in the Hills Sprint Triathlon Race Report

2011-06-23T20:02:00.001-07:00

A few weeks old, but why not?

It was a rough week(s) leading into this race. The goal was to just get a workout. Met the goal. The weeks before the race I was working in Madison, Wisconsin. Living in a hotel. Eating out for every meal (if you count a cafeteria as eating out too). No pool. No bike. Just some running shoes. So leading into this race I had zero workouts since 5/15 (the FL 70.3) - except two times 2.0 mile easy "sanity" runs. Long hours. No training. Watching people ride by the client site in the aerobars or running on the trail is killing me.

Friday night I drove to Elkhart Lake to marshal. Went to bed at 11:40pm. Up at 4am. Marshal. Drive home. Up at 4am. Race... (I'll sleep when I'm dead.)

Expectations were low.

The swim:
Pre-swim, I joked with Paula Hewson as she helped me with my wetsuit that "they need to make wetsuits that don't shrink." Never mind that wetsuit was perfect when I was 165 lbs. 35 lbs more today... it was "snug". The plan for the lake was to just swim "comfortably". Remember, I hadn't swam since May 15 - my bad. I don't have enough money to train. Had to work. Swim (turtle slow as it was) was still respectable.

The bike:
No power. Hadn't been on my bike in a month and it felt like it. It was fun to be riding. Had the 60-64 woman's "champion" drafting my ass the whole way. I blew snot. Farted. Nothing... she stayed right behind me. A veteran racer. Then I gave her a squeeze of water as I put some on my helmet to cool off and sprayed her. Damn... didn't know she was that close.

The run:
T2 was a joke. The inserts in my shoe needed to be fixed - twice. So much for a "sprint". The four mile run was like breathing through a straw. Still, it wasn't as horrible as I had expected. Races - even sprints - are hard when you don't train. Even at slow speeds.

Did hear a few folks cheering for me. That was unexpected and nice. It was a fun day. Any day racing is a good one. Even if I'm embarrassingly slow, fat and out of shape.

There is only so much time. The current economic conditions mean I must work as much as possible. NOW. Training is taking a back seat... for now.

Racing, Racing in the Heat & the Potential for Death

2011-06-06T04:42:00.000-07:00

Coming off of the very sad tragedy on Saturday at the Chicago 13.1 I read through the comments on various web sites criticizing race organizations, runners and the "safety" of races. I think anyone who is simply human will keep Mr. Gregory and his clients, co-workers, friends and family in their thoughts. After all, any one of us could be the next Mr. Gregory on any day - in any workout. Sadly, he won't be the last death this season.

What do I mean by that?
Races are not safe. By their very nature, racing - no matter what the speed - we are putting our bodies under stress. That stress has health risks. Risks which need to be taken seriously by all of us, no matter what your age and family history.

Tragically, as we enter "race season" we will also see more deaths to people who had no idea that they shouldn't be racing or should get some kind of treatment. Every year we find out that people drown or had a heart attack during a triathlon swim and never made it out of the water. Large race fields, which make races profitable, also make it hard for lifeguards and officials (if there are enough) to monitor the water. Some races have OUTSTANDING coverage in the water - Elkhart Lake Triathlon is a great example.

A very good friend and former client of mine - five time Ironman and three time Boston Marathon finisher, multiple sub 3:00 - marathoner; had open heart surgery at the age of 37 to replace a valve. How did he find this? He broke his toe a few weeks before the Chicago Marathon and went to get it checked. Thankfully, his doctor said, "You know... this could be nothing. However I'd feel better if you check in with a good cardiologist." He did and there was no Chicago Marathon for him last year. The "signs"? Just the signs of taper - fatigue, hunger late in the day, heavy sweating during workouts.

When I found some melanoma on my arm - the "signs"? Some rough skin. Nothing unusual except in the way that it didn't improve with time. Skin cancer is one of the largest killers of younger people due to the fact that most people "blow it off" until it is too late. It's also the most treatable.

Get a complete physical with a FULL blood panel, a running stress test, an echocardiogram - the full shot. No race or race series is worth dying for.

Another topic... race rules and safety preparations.

PS: later this week - the blog I promised on supplements.

Before You Throw Stones at Lance...

2011-05-27T05:20:00.000-07:00

I'm about fair. I want to believe Lance is clean. Society tells me to not believe. There are a lot of people against him, but in this country public opinion doesn't convict you. (Yet.) So let's just wait and see what comes out before we get the lynch mob out. Yes, I'm asking for patience in a world where people take supplement pills instead of eating right.

The list of people accusing him is getting longer, but again - that evidence thing gets in the way. Have you ever been accused of something you didn't do? How did that make you feel? All I'm saying is to wait for the facts before we convict the man. Does it look bad? Yeah, a lot of what David Walsh found and George Hincapie said are the most damning. Let's do this thing under oath.

I think another damning thing I see is that he beat guys who doped. All of them. Maybe he was just smarter at doping. I don't know. I wasn't there. As much as I've seen Lance on TV, read about him in books and magazines, I don't know him. At least he has been consistent in his communications and has promoted better drug testing in sport - where the testing process has been a joke. Additionally, he didn't test positive and then say it was Jack Daniels whiskey or a "silent twin" or some other bullshit.

May I be proven wrong? Probably. Begs the question, if a guy in a sport with poor doping controls (at the time) beats all the guys who were doping - was doping himself - does it matter? He is still the best of the best which is the goal of the competition - find the fastest guy. If everyone is doping - didn't we find our champion? Cycling has been like the SNL skit "All-Drug Olympics".

Mary Eggers had a fantastic blog about it which adds to this at http://ironmomma.com/2011/05/24/i-believe-in-lance/

As a person who battled cancer myself (skin) and who has lost members of my family to cancer, I think we at least owe the man his day in court.

FL 70.3 Race Report

2011-05-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday was my 7th finish at the Florida Half Ironman... now, the FL 70.3.

Pre-race was great. Saturday afternoon we got quite a storm through. I thought we might get lucky with weather. Nope. Sunday, I awoke to thunderstorm and heavy rain. After looking at the radar, I thought we'd have a slight delay and planned for it.

Swim-
Due to lightning, we weren't allowed near the water to warm up. At least, I was told I couldn't warm up. This is one of the problems with the FL 70.3. Cannot swim in the lake before the race (days before - even the day before) and the warm up is usually beach. The plan was to cruise the swim. Relax. Just beat the last three times there. I did. By about 2 minutes. Even with the wind and waves (which weren't that bad) I swam 36:12 (I think) and it was totally easy. Looking back... I'd pick up the pace once I warmed up. I think I went too slow. I saw a guy who cut a DeSoto T1 down to look like a speed suit - I'll post a picture when I can pull it off the web. In all the swim was a bit physical and I don't remember swallowing that much lake water on an easy swim in a long time. Once I think I coughed up a mouth full.

T1- uneventful, other than having five people jogging to T1 and I couldn't get around them. FINALLY, people got tired and I was able to run around them.

Bike-
I trained to be able to push a 56x11 this year. I'm running 170mm cranks for the first time in my racing career and it was a very good choice. As I have aged as an athlete I've seen changes in my flexibility and other items. As an aging male athlete, I'm different versus when I was younger. Gear wise, a 56x11 on 650c wheels is closer to what the big boys push. I've got very strong legs (if not fast) and this is an asset I choose to use. I was able to push the 56 the entire race at 85-112 rpms the entire way. Good watts too - especially relative to heart rate and heat index. It was a smart ride.

The plan (again) was to be very comfortable on the bike. I cruised it. No, cramping. No hurting quads. (**I'm saving it for the run.) The wind was pretty awful. It seemed like it was in our face in every direction. Only once for about 30 seconds did I feel a tailwind. Stick to the plan. I'm a runner today. Different race strategy. When we went into a straight headwind, I attacked on the bike. This is when I would pass a ton of people. I did this three or four times. I love the bike too much to not do a little hard work. The guys who won my age group went by in a pack. I passed them on the swim and they caught me about mile 3-5 on the bike. I know this because they had ITU type race kits with their name on them.

**READERS NOTE** I've come to find out that the guys who were around me had same last names and team kits. I wasn't with the leaders early on in the bike.

One older guy (62 I believe)... on a tight section of the course. Moved into the left to pass slower traffic right and then sat up and took a drink. I didn't say anything at first. I figured he'd move over. Nope. When he reached for his water bottle a second time I said, "You now have 12 people behind you. It is not time to drink in the left side of the lane." It was the nicest thing I thought of saying. Others behind me weren't nearly as nice. The marshals nailed a lot of people on the bike. I think they were kind of effective. Five marshals for 2900 people isn't nearly enough. The bike goal was to ride comfortably and just beat my time from the last three years. I did.

T2- Two big dudes got in a shoving match as I was leaving T2. I got knocked into a tree as they escalated their "discussion". My back cramped as I left T2. Even as slow as I rode... I realized after the race that I didn't do enough big power work in the aerobars. While my legs could turn the gears well, my funky back didn't like being stretched that long. Lesson learned. PS: Bob Olson from Wheel Werks fixed a few things on my bike that I couldn't get right and some other mechanics were screwing around with - this was only the third race where I had perfect gears/mechanics on the bike.

Run (ish) - The first four miles I limped along with my back LOCKED up. My back anatomy, fatigue, still not being in great (read: good) shape, heat and getting knocked into a tree on the exit... made the first loop of four miles an excruciating slog. I stopped five times when I saw medical and had them work on me in the first four miles. I thought I might have to DNF. I could barely walk. On a positive note, they changed the run to be a ton easier. Not as much "trail" and actual shade for one stretch of the run.

The last medical person (from Chicago by the way) fixed my back (mostly). I was able to run the last 10% of the first loop. Alright... let's try another one. Second loop, I was able to run about 75% of the loop at a slower pace - but running is running and the thought of DNF was gone. I'm going to make it. I saw Coach Jeff and told him that I was finally "better". He told me I was running around 10/mile now and to see what I could do. The last loop I was able to run 90% of it - stopping only to ensure that the back cramp wouldn't return. My last mile? 8:45 So I went from 15:10 and giving serious consideration to DNF to 8:45 in 13 miles. Oh... and before I forget - the marshals on the run course were great! They nailed the two people I saw with iPods with stand down penalties! It picked up every one's spirit.

How hot was is? Not horrible - 103-104 heat index is what I hear. "Average" However, how many places have you been where it rained HARD in the morning and a brush fire broke out? Yeah... it happened on the run course. They had to close the course early because a FIRE broke out and Mickey's fire department had to bring three trucks out to put the fire out.

I beat my goal by ~4:00 and learned some lessons on my own training. While I'm not "happy" about 6:30:00 - it is faster than all of the last three years. I found several things I can take from this race as positive change that I've made. Once I get to better condition... I think I can be back down around 5:30 again.

Nothing to really celebrate, however, I can smile about it.

Grateful for the Chance

2011-05-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

Didn't want to have to deal with this today... but, I am being forced to make important career decisions; just what you want going into a race. While there are taper checklist items to be checked - I have to choose a direction. NOW. One decision I could make is to not make a decision at all. Then I'd be like many executives in Chicago and would be allowing the market decide what I'd have to do. That's not me.

So... in summary - I'm grateful for the chance to be here; on the cusp of major career path decisions and racing. On to race "stuff"... (it's a triathlon blog after all).

My swimming is the strongest it has been since 2004. (That right there is a statement.) It is not what I would call "good", but for a M40-44 triathlete it is good. Cycling is what it is - all base. Power is there - we'll see how long I can sustain it. I am finally fit enough to turn the 56x11 for an extended effort without blowing up. Running - better. I'm "trail ready". I've run on nothing but "trail" and grass since March. While I'm not sure how fast I can be - my goal isn't to be "fast". It's much more simple. The goal is to "just run"- big thanks to my running coach Janet for keeping it simple. This is the plan for the entire race - take "just" and tack on "(swim/bike/run)". Don't over think it.

I don't give a shit if I'm dead last. All the other people will be in my race against my last three years of being a pile of goo. If I make my goal versus the clock - this race will be a success. That goal should be achievable.

I'm grateful for the chance to do this race for the seventh year.

2010 Most Violated Rules & Penalties in Triathlon

2011-05-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

Here is my attempt to give you a better understanding of the rules and the ten most violated rules from 2010 in USAT. I'm a CAT 2 USAT marshal. A PRO WTC marshal and have marshaled the Ironman Triathlon World Championship the last three years, major Ironman and 70.3 events (as head official or as a staff official) and many large prize purse events several times at the elite level. I believe in a fair race. Period. Paragraph. If you doubt me on that, ask my friends and family who have had penalties from me. Race hard. Race clean.

I hope this helps you in your 2011 races. My comments will be in royal blue.

2010 MOST COMMONLY VIOLATED RULES & PENALTIES

1. Helmets:

Only helmets approved by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may be used in USAT sanctioned events. Helmets must be worn at all times while on your bike. This means before, during, and after the event.

Penalty: Disqualification

This is a silly penalty. Make sure you have a legal helmet. You have only one head. No race is worth your life. Yes, we all know which helmets are legal and which are not. We are trained to know what the valid, legal stickers look like. The fine for an illegal helmet (to the bike shop that sells you one) is $10,000 per occurrence.

At the Chicago Triathlon, had a guy who was recently featured in Chicago Amateur Athlete bring a homemade aero helmet. He used a skateboard helmet and fashioned the faring out of model making material from his engineering firm. He was DQ’d and after he lied to the head official – suspended from USAT events. Dumbest thing… he had a brand new $580 LEGAL aero helmet in his transition bag.

2. Chin Straps:

Chin straps must be buckled at all times when on a bicycle. DO NOT unbuckle your chin strap unless you are off your bicycle.

Penalty: Disqualification on the course; Variable time penalty in transition area only.

This too should be filed under “silly penalty”. On a racecourse I once witnessed a guy unbuckle the strap when he had an enormous lead. Instant DQ. I felt bad, but there is no wiggle room on this penalty. “Click it or ticket.” Death and dismemberment is forever.

3. Outside Assistance: No assistance other than that offered by race and medical officials may be used. Triathlons and duathlons are individual tests of fitness.

Penalty: Variable time penalty (See grid below)

This penalty can be someone running next to a competitor and encouraging them. See this a lot at Ironman Wisconsin, can result in a DQ and loss of a qualifying slot for Kona. Have also seen families setting up a “private aid station” for their athlete. If the race didn’t set it out… don’t take it. In Kona, we see a certain husband (pro) and wife (pro) who have people or each other on a bike out in the lava fields giving outside assistance. They were penalized.

Another story was a woman who was having a real tough day at an Ironman, but was still top 20 when she started the marathon. Her husband ran the marathon with her; encouraging her the entire way. They were even photographed together at different places on the course. Her RIVAL racers called this to the attention of the race marshals and she was disqualified (had qualified for Kona). Additionally, she was due to race Kona as her next Ironman that year - she was kicked out of Kona AND was suspended for two years from ALL Ironman events. Again... her local competition called the marshal and pointed that out.

4. Transition Area:

All equipment must be placed in the properly designated and individually assigned bike corral. The wheel of the bicycle must be down on the side of the assigned space. All participants must return their bicycles to an upright position in their designated bicycle corral. No person shall interfere with another participant’s equipment or impede the progress of another participant. All bar ends must be solidly plugged. No participant shall bring ANY glass containers into the transition area.

Penalty: Variable time penalty(See grid below)

This is a silly penalty too. (Wow, a trend.) Basic set up of your transition area means no chairs, tubs of water in the middle, buckets in the middle (tubs, chairs, buckets and foot baths are fine IF YOU PUT THEM UNDER YOUR GEAR AS YOU PREPARE TO LEAVE TRANSITION – most people don’t do this… penalty. Besides… do you want to be the dork with the foot washbasin and the bucket walking into transition? If you have a medical reason why you need this – talk to the head official and the race director. PS: it is WAY easier to bring an extra water bottle and squirt your feet if you are worried about sand on your feet.

Bar ends – EVERY year people ask WHY they need them – until they see a person who lost a plug with their handle bars in their abdomen taking a liver core sample on themselves. I’ve seen it. The guy almost bleeds to death right in front of me. If you don’t have one – use quarters and tape – officials allow that.

How many things are wrong with this picture?

5. Drafting:

Drafting--keep at least three bike lengths of clear space between you and the cyclist in front. If you move into the zone, you must pass within 15 seconds. ***NOTE: WTC- 20 seconds***

YES, even on a hill. You may not get called for it – but I cannot speak for all officials. Depends on the wind direction and how long you are camped out behind someone.

Courses don't draft. Athletes draft. Take accountability for your actions.

Position--keep to the right hand side of the lane of travel unless passing. You will get a penalty if you are out there longer than 15 seconds. ***NOTE: WTC- 20 seconds***

YES, even on a hill. Every year the pro men at Ironman Wisconsin are lapping age group athletes and one day there will be a collision. At Racine, a certain world champion nearly got a position penalty from me as he kept swinging out to look back to watch a particular rider. I think he would have saved a lot of energy and distance (zig zagging back and forth) if he had stayed on the right. I counted him up to 19 three times, 18 four times, 17 three times and 16 four times. That’s a lot of movement in 56 miles. It wasn’t 20 seconds and he did win so perhaps his strategy worked.

The guy in blue "didn't want to draft" and stays left. Creates other situations - blocking the person in the middle, maybe a passing on the right, and forcing a faster rider to cross the center line to pass safely.

Blocking--riding on the left side of the lane without passing anyone and interfering with other cyclists attempting to pass. YES, even on a hill. Every year the pro men at Ironman Wisconsin are lapping age group athletes and one day there will be a collision.

In Kona 2008, I gave a penalty to a German pro for blocking several other racers on the descent from Hawi. He didn't pass anyone in 30 seconds and stopped several guys from trying to pass. It was very dangerous as well - amateur athletes were starting the climb to Hawi, media vehicles were there blocking the center of the road. Four other pro men sat up and started yelling at him to "move over" and "on your left".

Overtaken--once passed, you must immediately exit the draft zone from the rear, before attempting to pass again.

YES (guys), even if a chick passes you. Ladies – pass guys hard and move over once you are clear.

Penalty: Variable time penalty (See grid below)

6. Course:

All competitors are required to follow the prescribed course and to stay within all coned lanes. Cutting the course is an obvious violation and going outside the course is a safety issue. Cyclists shall not cross a solid yellow center line for ANY reason. Cyclists must obey all applicable traffic laws at all times.

Penalty: Referee's discretion

This INCLUDES the swim buoys. We are seeing more course cutting on swims as well as “crowd avoidance” by going on the inside of buoys. Even if you “go around the corner buoys” you still aren’t “on course”. Depends on your head marshal and boat availability regarding enforcement. Can result in a silly penalty or DQ. If you are a person who swims “inside” the buoys to avoid the crowds – you are gaining an unfair competitive advantage and will be penalized. Don’t do it.

Look, everyone has to swim through the traffic! Fair start.

EVERY race we have people trying to cut the course. I'll let you in on a secret... there are timing mats out on the course for a reason. They are referred to as "cheater mats". Guess who they catch? Yep... cheaters! Last year in Racine we had a 46 year old man and a 26 year old woman tell me they out ran Craig Alexander. You know what else we've got? The Internet! On this magic Internet, we can look up your past results. Cool stuff, huh! Bad if you are a cheater. Other favorites of mine are they guy claiming he did the entire bike course at 40+ mph. The woman who swam 1.2 miles in 18:01- but curiously, she came out behind the pros even when they swam 24 minutes and she started 5:00 behind them. Gee, that's odd. I also like the guy who finished with a 15 minute 5k when he had averaged 9:00/mile for the whole run segment of the race. Magically, he missed a timing mat in the closing miles. Must have been a chip malfunction. That or he took a short cut.

The all-time great has to be a guy who swam one loop at Ironman Wisconsin. Sat in an aid station for four hours. Then ran a legit 3:18 marathon - he went from missing EVERY timing mat to hitting them all - tried to claim an Ironman World Championship "Golden ticket". We stopped him.

PS: I've gone off course in a race too. At USAT Nationals for the Ironman distance, seven guys went two miles off course. The only way back... run the two miles back and rejoin the course. So that day at least seven of us ran 30.2 miles. Know the course. That mistake cost me big. You have to think for yourself when racing.

7. Unsportsmanlike-Like Conduct:

Foul, harsh, argumentative or abusive language or other unsportsmanlike conduct directed at race officials, USA Triathlon officials, volunteers, spectators or fellow athletes is forbidden.

Penalty: Disqualification

My delineation on this is if your language is directed at any person – DQ. No excuses. No mercy. I gave a pro (leading an Ironman) a penalty for drafting the media motorcycle. (A friend from the pro’s hometown was driving the motorcycle and letting him draft.) I told the moto that if he was close again I’d penalize him. Told the pro to “tell them to stay away from you” as I initially couldn’t tell if they were working together. I dropped back to the chase pack and saw the lead pro duck into the draft of the moto about 5’ behind it. When I penalized him he yelled, “AW that’s bullsh*t!” No DQ. If directed it toward me (or the another person) – DQ. Other refs may be stricter. I give a little leeway for racing “heat of battle” moments. (Hey, I race too.)

FYI - Failure to stop for a penalty is a DQ at WTC events. If you *think* you got a penalty- stop. Its better than a DQ after 8+ hours of racing.

8. Headphones:

Headphones, headsets, Walkmans, iPods, mp3 players, or personal audio devices, etc. are not to be carried or worn at any time during the race.

Penalty: Variable time penalty (See grid below)

Dangerous and clearly cheating. Scientific studies have shown that an athlete can run faster and longer with music. At Ironman Wisconsin, I caught a 55-59 female using an iPhone to get updates on her competition and then she lied to me when I told her to give me the phone, saying she was tucking in her kids for the night. Little did she know that I heard the entire conversation as I was behind her for about four minutes. I can run significantly faster with music blasting in my ears. Leave the Brittney Spears music at home or save it for pre-race.

Guys use iPods too. They are super easy to spot - even if you try to hide the ear piece.

9. Race numbers:

All athletes are required to wear race numbers at all times during the run. Numbers must face the front and be clearly visible at all times. Numbers may not be cut or folded or altered in any way. DO NOT transfer your number to any other athlete or take a number from an athlete that is not competing.

Penalty: Variable time penalty for missing or altered number (see grid below), Disqualification and one year suspension from membership in USAT for transferring a number without race director permission.

How much do you think trimming your number down saves you in aerodynamics really?

10. Wetsuits:

Each age group participant shall be permitted to wear a wetsuit without penalty in any event sanctioned by USA Triathlon up to and including a water temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water temperature is greater than 78 degrees but less than 84 degrees Fahrenheit, age group participants may wear a wetsuit at their own discretion, provided, however that participants who wears a wetsuit within such temperature range shall not be eligible for prizes or awards. Above 84 degrees, wetsuits are prohibited.

WTC has DIFFERENT temperatures – 76.0 F is the cut off for wetsuits. This aligns with FINA open water racing rules. As Ironman is an international race series, it makes more sense to align with international rules versus USA rules.

This has yet to be an issue, but it’s just a matter of time before we have a race at 76.1 F where age groupers freak out because they cannot wear a wetsuit woobie.

11. Abandonment:

All personal equipment and belongings taken out onto the course must stay on the athlete the entire time. No garbage, clothing, etc. shall be thrown on the course.

Penalty: Variable time penalty (See grid below)

Every race someone gets nailed for this one. Many races disappear due to towns and cities failing to renew venue permits due to litter. Leave nothing behind except footprints. Act like you are racing in your front yard.

A friend of mine, Jeff, was winning the Springfield (IL) Ironhorse race and launched a water bottle out of his rear bottle cage. He didn't know he lost the bottle. (If he knew, he could have turned around and picked it up (no penalty for picking up what you drop). Jeff won the race by 3:56. With the penalty, he lost by 0:04 seconds - 1st place cash? $800. True to Jeff's nature, the second place guy (also a great guy) said to Jeff, "Here is the money for first. You beat me." Jeff said, "No, I got a penalty. You won." I only hope I am as classy if that ever happens to me.

Distance Category

USA Triathlon Penalties - Including 5150 and Rev3 Events
1st Offense
Sprint	Intermediate	Long	Ultra
2:00	2:00	4:00	6:00
2nd Offense
Sprint	Intermediate	Long	Ultra
4:00	4:00	8:00	12:00
3rd Offense
Sprint	Intermediate	Long	Ultra
Disqualification	Disqualification	Disqualification	Disqualification
*USAT rules regarding wetsuits and equipment apply to all races - wetsuit legal temp 78.0 F

WTC Triathlon Penalties 70.3, Ironman Events DRAFTING ONLY
1st Offense
70.3	Ironman
4:00	4:00
2nd Offense
70.3	Ironman
4:00	4:00
3rd Offense
70.3	Ironman
Disqualification	Disqualification
* Penalties other than a "red card" (drafting) are a "yellow card" and that means you go to a penalty tent on course or in transition and sign your name and race number before continuing on. **WTC rules regarding wetsuits apply (wetsuit legal temp 76.0 F)

***NOTE*** LEGAL WETSUIT TEMP FOR IRONMAN is a cut off of 24.5 degrees Celsius/76.1 degrees Fahrenheit and 28.8 degrees Celsius/ 83.8 degrees Fahrenheit, with the understanding that they will not be eligible for awards and/or World Championship slots. OVER 83.8 F / 28.8 C you will NOT be allowed to ENTER the water with a wetsuit. (Too hot / unsafe)

Are neoprene swim socks illegal?

Neoprene socks are allowed ONLY when the water temperature is 18.8 degrees Celsius/65 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. Gloves are NEVER legal.

http://ironman.com/faq/rulesfaq#axzz1LPya7OvK

http://ironman.com/faq/rulesfaq#ixzz1LPzFdvRY

For a complete list of rules, please refer to the most up to date USA Triathlon Competitive Rules at:

http://triathlon.teamusa.org/content/index/1684

Closing the Gap

2011-05-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

Two weeks out from my first serious race and now time is flying. There is all kinds of stuff going on - but I won't go off track. This is a triathlon blog.

I'm not in great shape. Heck, I'm not even in good shape, however, I am in better shape than I was a year ago going into this race. (This only took some consistency and discipline.) In several ways, I've closed the gap back to good fitness.

Down 23 pounds (good start)
Power up a little in watts (+ weight loss means my sustained w/kg is much better)
Swimming consistently again, I'm almost competitive as a swimmer again (I would have been if I would have gotten my Masters State Swimming paperwork done a week earlier anyway.) After swimming in college, competitive swimming certainly lost some luster. I need to swim with FUN people who don't take themselves too seriously while they are swimming VERY HARD. If I do go back to "meets" then I'm going back with a vengeance. Nothing less will be acceptable. I've set my sights on a high goal for my open water swimming. It will be fun to see if I can do it and not experience a complete meltdown on the bike and run
Speaking of running- its coming along. I'm working with a running coach for the first time since high school and I'm understanding how weak I had become. Can't go back and change things, so let us move forward. My big running goal comes in my last race of the year
Heat - I'm sitting in my home office with the space heater cranked... all day. It is 90 F in here from 8am to 8pm as I write out workout plans and talk to clients. Will it help in Florida? Maybe, maybe not. I'll say this, 50 F doesn't feel very warm to me anymore as it did two weeks ago

So what's left?

Plenty! This is why I love triathlon. As an athlete I have to balance many things: diet, sleep/recovery, strength, endurance (in three sports). It isn't showing up to the pool over and over for a beating. Physically - I still have much to improve. I'm a much better athlete than I have shown. The haters will be out and commenting on that for sure. The important thing is that I completely understand and apply what an old pro told me about competition; "It's you against the clock. Everyone else can go to hell." In a more emotionally intelligent answer I would rephrase it to, "The only performance that matters is the one you are putting in." As a Type A personality (or a person with Type A aspects of their personality) I think it is important to understand what you can control and what you cannot.

How will I do in Florida?
God only knows! I feel better prepared than the last several years. I have no pressure on me; not trying to qualify for anything or do a certain time. I just want to race. That's all. Just go out and see what I can do right now.

I like much of my preparation this year. That's more than I can say for the last six years.

Yeah, But Are You Healthy?

2011-04-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Is triathlon growing? Are races growing? Who qualified for what? Who has an Ironman tattoo and on what cheek? Who beat whom on the third repeat of 400s at masters swimming? Facebook and Twitter statuses proclaiming "epic" training sessions and "great sessions". Wonderful all.

Are you healthy?

While the younger triathlon crowd enjoys their "iron fever" - the I'lldoanythingjusttofinishanIronmanandputatattooonmyassbecause'everyone'isdoingit crowd. The athletes who have more than a few races (and some with a larger understanding) have figured out that racing, just like life, is a marathon - super, ultra marathon at that. This is a lifestyle and not a "one and done" adventure.

Just because you can... doesn't mean you should.

I have a good friend who tries to get me to enter an Ironman every year. He's nuts. "You can finish it. What are you worried about." My standard response is, "I have finished an Ironman. Five times. I know I can finish. That isn't the question. When I go back and return to Ironman racing - I won't be going just to finish. I'll be competitive in my age group." This pisses him off to no end.

Honestly, there are larger issues in play. The economy - while my work as a coach has flourished my other money making ventures have taken more time and yielded less money. My family's (mental) health - while some people don't care about anniversaries - last year my wife and I traveled instead of going to races. Last year was a "big" anniversary for us. Racing will always be there. My wife and I won't always be here. Driving to every mud pit race in the midwest/mideast is not my idea of fun. I like new races and new places in good locations where my family can enjoy time away from home too. Life is too short. My family's (physical) health - between lymphomas, breast cancers, skin cancer, car crashes and general aging - I'm going to take care of my family and I really don't care what your opinion is.

These last two and a half weeks I've been dealing with the virus that has put most people in the hospital for a few days. Luckily, I've only needed one course of heavy antibiotics. My last two tune up races - aborted. Illinois training camp with friends? Scrapped. If the doc is right, I should be 100% by 5/3. This gives me another 12 days before the race I'm doing to get my body right. I'm not planning on "crushing it" at the race in terms of competition. I know where I am. My only goal centers around the clock. Even that goal may be unrealistic depending on how I bounce back from this sickness. Last year I raced with a 102 fever. Smart? No... the opposite. Did I keep my "streak" alive? Yes. Was it worth it? That's debatable. I'm not the only one who gets sick...

Alexander out of IM Aussie due to illness.

2011 is more about getting healthy. Back to zero. I told a close friend - I'm training to get ready to train. When those benchmark sets are back - I'll consider racing Ironman again. First priorities: blood profile, blood pressure, cancer progress (not saying who's), heart health, weight, and family member health.

Once that is in line... let's get ready to race. Health first. Race second.

How to Keep the Rubber Side Down on Your Bike

2011-04-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning it was nice. Well, nice enough for a Chicago area "spring" day: 44 F and the sun trying to break through with light rain. The main roads by me are 50-55 mph and the other ones are 40-45 mph because they have a higher risk of wild life on them. I like to say, "My neighborhood speed bumps have hooves." If you hit one of these guys they will probably wreck your car and give you a dirty look as they bound back into the forrest by the river. We have several extremely large deer that already have antlers.

As I entered the turn lane off of IL-59 (50 mph) onto Miller Road in Lake Barrington - half a cycling team came FLYING through the intersection against the light. The BMW 750 in front of me skidded sideways as he slammed on the brakes. The other half of the team (thankfully) slammed on the brakes (and into each other) versus taking their chances agains a BMW 750 at 50+ mph. I had visions of that crash in Mexico that had bodies strewn all over the road.

This graph is courtesy of http://thinkbicyclingblog.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/

Here are a few other things to consider while on your bike - especially in the spring.

Generally - Stay alert. Assume nobody sees you. Assume everyone is drunk, high, updating Facebook and Twitter while they are driving, heavily armed with a huge inferiority complex. My neighbor judge friend tells me that due to the 24 hour nature of work shifts in the USA and drugs and alcohol use/misuses, 3 of 10 drivers at ANY TIME OF THE DAY are so wasted that they cannot speak their own name. That number goes up to 7 of 10 after 11 pm (to 4 am) during the week and 10 pm to 5 am on the weekends. So that mid-summer bike ride that starts at 5:30 am... yeah - some of those drivers coming at you are baked.

Ride straight - relax your upper body and ride a straight line. Look up the road for potential risks. Your body will follow where you are looking. A great way to practice is to try and ride next to (not ON) the road striping on the side of the road.

Look behind you safely - relax the opposite arm of the way you are looking. Relax your right arm, look over the left.

Corner better - hold the handlebars in the drops for better control. Move your rear to the back of your saddle and lower your upper body toward the top tube. Stand on the outside pedal. Raise your weight slightly off the saddle and shift your weight onto the pedal - this is, of course, AFTER you signaled the turn for vehicles behind you.

Look ahead into the corner - Is there sand, gravel in the road? Is there a pot hole in the road? Is the corner banked or off-camber? Are there stains (aka: Like an OIL stain) on the road? Is the road wet? Are manhole covers in place? Sewer grates? Cattle guards? Don't brake hard at the last minute to reduce your speed if you've overcooked the corner. Braking while the bike is leaned over causes the brake pads to grab and "chatter" thus decreasing your ability to control your bike.

Descend safely - we have a few hills around here that will allow you to hit 50+ mph. Know your limits. Just because your buddies went down the hill with their hair on fire doesn't mean you have to. Never go faster than your comfort factor allows. In Lake Placid in 2003, I was feathering my brakes on the big downhill out of town because I felt 45 mph was "fast enough" in the pouring rain. I could feel my bike hydroplaning down the mountain. On the second loop, I would have crashed badly (I only lost control for a little while and skidded through a corner) if I hadn't pealed a bit of speed off. Keep your crank arms horizontal in general. Scoot back on the saddle and stick your butt in the air so your weight is on your feet and hands. Anticipate animals and children running out in front of you. Hold a bit back in practice. You can take more risk in some races - however, be advised that kids and dogs don't care that you are racing in their neighborhood and will run out in front of you at any time.

Pacelines - be predictable. watch the saddle or rear-end of the person in front of you - NOT their rear wheel or cranks. Give yourself some space. Communicate loudly to the other riders. Know which way the wind is blowing. Stay OUT of the aerobars.

Music - personally, if someone shows up with an iPod I try to drop them, fall far behind them or go a different direction. Music on a long ride is asking for death.

Here is some information on bike crashes in Madison, WI. As many people flock up there to "train on the course"... keep this in mind.

From Jeff Hiles, Wright State University http://www.wright.edu/~jeffrey.hiles/essays/listening/ch3.html

Madison, Wisconsin (Ross, 1992). Madison is a college town with a significant network of bike lanes and bike paths. As one might expect, the Class D overtaking accidents among this sample of 774 bicyclist-motorist crashes is the lowest of any of the five studies—just 4.1 percent of the entire class.

Two other classes were unusually high, though: Class C (motorist turn, merge, drive-through, or drive out) and especially Class F (motorist unexpected turn). An on-coming motorist turning lift into the path of a straight-through cyclist made up a whopping 23.3 percent of Madison’s crashes. In the Cross-Fisher study, this type of crash accounted for only 7.6 percent of the sample. In Madison, bicyclists traveling in a contra-flow bike lane on University Avenue made up 36 percent of the victims of this type of crash. A contra-flow lane runs against the direction of traffic. In this case, it runs down the left side of a high-volume, multi-lane, one-way arterial next to the University of Wisconsin. Motorists turning left off University Avenue cross the contra-flow lane. Motorists entering the avenue from side streets turn left across the contra-flow lane; their attention is focused on the motor traffic, which comes from their right, while the bicyclists come at them from the left.

One-eyed folks of either pro-bikeway or anti-bikeway persuasion may be tempted to draw unwarranted conclusions from Madison’s unusual distribution of crash types. Pro-bikeway advocates might point to the fact that classes A, D, and E are all quite low (see Figure 2 on page 22), and that all of these kinds of crashes might be reduced by bike lanes and bike paths. Type A (bicyclist ride-out from driveway, alley and other mid-block location) may be reduced because bicyclists would ride onto a bike path or bike lane instead of into a car lane. Type D, of course, would be reduced because bicyclists would be separated from overtaking motorists. Type E crashes (bicyclist unexpected turn, swerve) would be reduced because bikeways make cyclists ride more predictably, or give cyclists room in which to “swerve” free of threat from overtaking traffic. Pro-bikeway advocates might say that classes C and F appear to be large, but that this is because bike facilities have reduced other classes to relatively small portions of the total. Even if C and F did increase, proponents might add, these two classes are the two least destructive—the fatality percentages are much lower than the non-fatal (see Figure 1). An increase in less destructive crashes may be a fair price to pay for a decrease in the more deadly ones.

A B C D E F G

Madison	3.8	8.3	29.8	4.1	5.1	33.4	23.3

Anti-bikeway advocates might point to Madison’s inordinately large Class C and Class F and charge that these are crashes they would expect to see increase because of the bike paths and lanes. These facilities give motorists and bicyclists a tendency to pay less attention to each other, it might be argued, and “hide” bicyclists from view. Worse yet, they complicate crossing and turning interactions between cyclists and motorists. These critics might argue that bike facilities have made these crashes so inordinately common that other types are dwarfed and therefore make up a smaller than normal percentage of the whole, even though they may not be significantly reduced in number. It is not possible to tell from the Madison study whether the city has an unusually low accident rate for classes A, D, and E, an unusually high accident rate for classes C and F, or some combination of the two.

The one seemingly solid specific problem, the University Avenue contra-flow bike lane, is not so cut and dried either. We might expect bicyclists riding against traffic to have a higher risk of tangling with motorists. Motorists tend to pay most attention to the primary flow of traffic: other motorists. Bicyclists whose movements don’t match the patterns of motorists on a roadway risk eluding motorists’ awareness. Wachtel and Lewiston (1994) found that bicyclists crossing intersections while riding on the wrong side of the street were twice as likely to collide with cars as right-way cyclists. They also found that wrong-way cyclists riding on sidewalk-like bike paths were about four times more likely to clash with cars while crossing intersections than were those riding with traffic.

A contra-flow lane would seem to be a mistake. University Avenue, though, is a major route to the university. Many bicyclists would have to expend extra time and energy if they took an alternative route. As a result, Madison would probably see a lot of wrong-way bicycling on that road, even without the contra-flow lane. Those bicyclists might be at an even higher risk without the bike lane. Moreover, University Avenue has a high volume of both motor and bicycle traffic, so there are more opportunities for car-bike collisions than on most streets, and we would expect higher numbers of crashes there than on less-traveled roads. Once again, we can't tell from Cross-Fisher-style studies whether bicyclists have higher or lower risks per mile in different locations.

The one thing we can say with confidence is that crash types in Madison appear to differ from the typical American city’s. Without more information, we cannot say for sure why there is a difference. It could be from bike facilities (for better or worse), from the city’s unusually large number of adult cyclists, from peculiarities in the street patterns of the city, or from any combination of these or other factors. We can’t even say if the difference we see is for better or for worse. If we saw Madison-like distributions in other towns with similar networks of bike lanes and paths, we might conclude that the facilities were a factor, but even this would not tell us if they were a good factor or bad, only that they had made a change in the relative distribution of crash types.

In another study the conclusion was this; "The two most frequent ways in which bicyclists contributed to causing crashes were “failure to yield” at 20.7 percent and “riding against traffic” at 14.9 percent."

From Chapter five of this document, some interesting data: Most frequent car-bike collisions by age

Adult-urban
Motorist turning left Traffic light changed too quickly Motorist turning right Motorist restarting from stop sign Motorist exiting commercial driveway
Adult-rural
Motorist overtaking unseen cyclist Motorist overtaking too closely Motorist turning left Motorist restarting from stop sign Cyclist swerving around obstruction

Source: Forester, 1993, p. 269.

Lastly...
Signal. Smile. Wave with ALL five fingers. Ride single file. Drive your bike like you would your car. No wait. Drive it better than your car.

Hope this is a sobering amount of data that will keep you alive during your training rides. After all, studies have shown that if you're dead... you don't race very well at all.

Go Mental

2011-04-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

A lot of hate flowing around here lately. Snide remarks, slanderous comments, and backhanded compliments and I could care less right now. One comment to my face was interesting, "Oh, you're Bob. I've heard about you." My response was, "Well, I hope you form your own opinions before forming a judgement about a person you don't know." This was followed by a comment from a guy who said, "He's the guy who is stopping me from doing a 1/2 Ironman. The rules say I cannot listen to music and he says that he enforces it." (So does every other triathlon ref in the USA.) I cannot control what you think. Nor do I want to. Think for yourself. Live your life. I told the guy who said that, "Use the music. The first time in a 1/2 IM is a 4:00 penalty. The second is 8:00 and the third time is a DQ. If you don't care if you get DQ'd or for your personal safety - do what you want. Why does it matter if you are DQ'd if you want to do the race with music? Do it with music. Just understand the potential consequences of your actions - possible DQ or death if a car goes through a barricade and you cannot get out of the way in time because you cannot hear the vehicle. If that doesn't bother you, do it. I'm not stopping you from anything." The looks on the faces of these two said it all.

I have enough to concern myself with my own life. I have clients to manage. Races to prepare to marshal. Training clinics to run. 2012 training camps to plan. Athlete data to sift through, and - just like everyone else - training that I want to do. Everyone has their own issues and lives to deal with. I don't care what anyone thinks (to a point - that point is when it starts to hurt my reputation and business. Then I might get up in your grill and maybe even litigious.) Most of those types are as fragile mentally as the Vancouver Canucks.

An extremely important lesson I learned over 25 years ago... do YOUR best. Don't sweat your competition, they'll be there in the end if they take care of their own business. I try to impress this upon my athletes. (*MLB could learn from this too.) Take care of the home fires first. You have enough to deal with. This is where things like Facebook suck the life out of people already distracted by television and other "entertainment" medium. Anyway...

Don't fixate on one person or group of persons
Don't fixate on a pace/mph/power number
Be an athlete
The only race that matters is the clock versus you

The pursuit of the perfect race is the dream. That's the race that you win by a lot and set a new personal record while setting a new world record. Or is that the "perfect" race? What if I told you the perfect race is one you learn from? (Lots of grey area in there isn't it?) Ah, now I'm bending your noodle a bit, eh?

What if you focused on one person / group and they have a bad day, meanwhile, in another part of the race - someone completely different "brings their 'A' game" and you lose? You beat the person you focused on - but you lost the race. Allow me to explain:

1) You beat your person or group of persons

2) You don't do your best

3) You lose

Talk about major disappointment.

Now... what if:

a) You race / prepare / train as hard as you possibly can

b) On race day (test day) you do an amazing time

c) You fail to win / meet a certain (unrealistic) goal time / qualify for whatever

Did you win? I would say 'yes'.

For a real life example, I give you Bill Cregar, University of Georgia swimmer. Bill had issues with some of his earlier races at NCAAs in prior years. He kept his head this year. He knew what he needed to do in order to swim his best and he executed on those items; if you haven't seen his winning 400 IM from the 2011 NCAA Division I swimming and diving champs this year - you need to see it - a thing of beauty. Seated at a "disappointing" 3:44.97, Mr. Cregar came back and swam a "slow" 3:40.97 400 IM and won the NCAA Championship. Funny thing is that the three guys in the middle of the pool were so concerned with each other's moves that they didn't swim their best race and thus LOST the event to the guy who just let it fly and went for his best. At the finish two of the guys just looked at each other incredulously that they lost the race.

As we open the 2011 racing season I ask one thing from you, my readers; do your best. Whatever the heck that is. "To do any less is to waste the gift." - Steve Prefontaine If I have an athlete who has a "best possible" of x and they meet or exceed that time; that is a win. I don't care where they finish in the standings. Don't worry that you may be lugging extra pounds around - address it. Don't worry that you aren't "in shape"; not everyone can be in the shape of their life at every moment of their life. That's OK. It's allowed. Work hard. Go to work / play / life each day and bust your ass.

"This is your life not some dress rehearsal." - Jon Blais - ALS may have beaten his body but it didn't "win the war".

What if there weren't any races? What would you do? I bring this up because a few years ago in Kona, the day before the Ironman World Championship - on Friday. I met a guy who was "racing". I met him and his entourage on Friday morning as he prepared to take on the race course completely ALONE un-noticed by the throngs of people preparing for Saturday. He did the course and just before 13 hours (as I walked off to dinner) he finished into the arms of his family and friends in an incredibly emotional scene. He said that "He'd never qualify or win the lottery. Now, was the time in my life to try to cover the distance." He "did" Kona. No t-shirt. No finisher's medal. Plenty of heart. Dream accomplished.

There will always be detractors if you try anything. Choose to ignore them and proceed toward your goals and dreams.

Should you Train if you're Sick?

2011-04-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

What do you do when this happens? Train anyway or not? This is where I am. I'm four weeks out of a big race and I have last week's training volume of an off season rookie. Headache, fever, stuffy nose, tired, chest congestion - it sucks. On the positive side... most people who have had this ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. So far, so good - I'm at home. I haven't been sick for a long time. Now I feel like this dog below.

Generally, here's what I do and advise. If the illness is in the head and not chest - keep the workout under one hour and keep it pretty easy to aerobic pace (max).

If the illness is in the chest - go home and rest. You know the drill from here. Fluids. Chicken soup. Hot bath. Woolie pjs. A shot of liquor or perhaps some Nyquil. Whatever you do to shake illnesses or whatever your doctor says.

When do you go back to a "normal" schedule? (Normal for triathletes...) I watch my am resting heart rate. When it is within 10 bpm (beats per minute) - I get back on schedule. I'll admit to sandbagging those first one or two workout sessions though. Just get moving again.

(Hope to) See you in the pool or on the road soon.

The Secret to Fast Triathlon Swimming

2011-04-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend, in my flu induced haze of Vick's Vapo Rub I watched a lot of swimming. In the haze of vaporizer mist and between checking my diastolic I realized I have the secret of great swimming.

Shhhh... the kick.

The femoral artery is one of the largest in your body. When you kick, a lot of blood is flowing to the legs to keep up with the work load. The bad news is that good kicking hurts - a lot. The good news is that like everything else - it can be trained.

Triathletes are usually getting in the water with completely fried legs. Go to any masters workout from California to New York and you see all the pool toys; Zoomers, pull buoys - you name it, its been used as a crutch. The "trick" to swimming (and triathlon racing) better is to have stronger legs. So, though your legs may be burning like a hot blast furnace (used to make iron- no shortage of irony there) you need to work through it.

I've always worked hard at kicking and have seen my results vary based on my swimming kicking work. The more kicking I've done - the better the season. Interesting. Should be an interesting year given how much kicking I've done this winter. Measured in miles. Do you suppose it is a coincidence that my swimming times have dropped significantly since last fall as my kicking fitness has increased? Me either.

This weekend I watched the Men's NCAA Division I swimming championships. Race after race I saw the same pattern. They guy with the strongest, sustained kick won. Go ahead. Watch it. You'll come to the same conclusion. What was interesting is that this carried over to the Michigan Grand Prix. EVERY race - male and female - where the kick was strongest - boom shaka-laka = win. When Michael Phelps lost to someone else - his massive, underwater kick off the walls was missing = loss.

When my kick was strongest I had my best Ironman swim. Coincidence? I think not. My Ironman PR (on a full course) was Lake Placid. **I did a 46:09 at Great Floridian, but there was low water level that year and we probably ran 400 yards in 18" of water on each loop. ** At Lake Placid, I had the ability to hold a four beat kick the entire way and be completely aerobic. On the first loop, I had three people on my back; that is how strong my kick was. Here is a video clip of Grant Hackett of Austrailia in the 1500m free. Watch his kick...

Arms and form do make a difference too. Don't get me wrong. I'm just saying that the tipping point of good to great swims was the strength of the kick.

Watch any triathlon or elite swimming competition. You'll see the same thing over and over. Here are Ian Thorpe of Austrailia and Michael Phelps.

Now that you know the secret - what are you going to do about it?

Training Camp & Las Vegas

2011-04-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

Wow... that was fun. Sorry for not blogging out west, but with the "magic of the internet" I prefer fewer folks know if I'm gone.

World's greatest taco shop

This is what my garden looks like in March too! (liar)

Loaded backpack - ready to climb after a swim and a run. I swear it felt like 40 lbs.

Almost to the top. That's our car on the far right of the frame.

We made it! Fingers courtesy of another hiker.

In years that I've been fortunate enough to participate in some kind of camp, I've normally been completely wrecked when I come home. This year I have a deep fatigue, but I'm not wrecked. I was concerned about that until I added up the numbers.

I balanced out the training very well. While some of my friends and coaching colleagues think that CompuTrainer classes are "too hard" for the winter - well, I think I proved that if you ride the power sessions intelligently that you come out of the winter incredibly strong. I'm living proof. This winter I swam masters (in earnest) starting in January. I was too inconsistent to say I was swimming masters in November and December. I swam with some bad ass athletes in California and managed to hold my own. Especially on longer distance sets, short sprints as well as anything breaststroke or IM related. The "swim of the week" was a 400 IM I did on Thursday (a hard ride day) that had me in at 5:00.85 (coach confirmed - 400 yards). That swim wrecked me for the rest of the day/night. When you look at the splits - nothing too impressive; until you string them together. Kinda like my triathlon racing. Swim is OK. Bike is alright. Run is "normal". Together - fairly competitive. Let's hope the trend back to fitness continues.

Left in California - most notably 4.5% body fat (9 days) along with several pounds.
Picked up in California - confidence and self discipline.

The big day on the bike was the climb of Mt. Palomar.

'Cyclists in excellent shape, with bikes in top-flight working order, and a willingness to share a steep, switch-backed roadway with auto traffic can try a very strenuous 27-mile, 3000-foot elevation gain loop.'

The loop around Lake Henshaw will have to wait for another time.

My time was limited the day I did Palomar, so I intended to climb it and get back so Lorrie and I could go hiking (life balance after all). I parked the car where I thought I'd get a decent warm up (and not get towed). South Grade Road seemed to be where the climbing really began. In about 7 miles the road went UP about half a mile. According to GPS, nearly a constant grade of 7%. Did I mention it was warm? Yeah... in my planning my attempt on Palomar I wanted warmer weather. I got it. 90 F-ish in the valley. Wow! Sweat was pouring off me on the hottest day I had experienced since last October.

I made it! My watch had a "brain fart" somewhere on the climb (or when I was taking pictures - user error?) Near as I can tell - I rode up in about 1:30 (including picture time) at aerobic pace (roughly mid-zone 2 for me) and my power was nice and steady.

This ride was one of the highlights of the trip. Mainly because I did it completely alone (apologies to my friend Dean S. who's email I missed and who would have rode with me) I think I saw him headed up when I was zooming down the mountain. Sorry dude! Next time! It would be a lot more fun. In trying to get back to Lorrie, I did a few longer intervals once off the mountain. I made it back about 20 minutes early.

I'm most proud of the running I did in California and Nevada. Not because it was "epic" by any stretch (I did run the longest and the most I ever have at any camp - ever), but because I was totally alone with the exception of the run I did with my friend Dan in Anaheim. Dan made me work. GPS says we were running (m:ss- not going to put that in!) - I felt it too. Most cool was that I felt great running off the bike. Even with the extended rides and climbing. Don't get too excited... I'm not booking Kona or Vegas tickets just yet. In 2011 I can say this... I won't suck as in the past three years.

Saturday, I was a guide/marshal on the Oceanside 70.3 run course for the pro men. Wow are they fast! They ran so quietly. No "flop, flop, flop" of feet hitting pavement. Just the occasional clearing of a throat and calls for aid at aid stations.

From here, it was off to visit Marit and Nate. It was good to see them and talk in person (we solved all of the world's problems in about 30 minutes)! The "house monster" even came over to me and allowed me to pet her and did NOT attack me. Must be my way with animals.

LOVE the mountains leaving California - Lorrie on the pictures.

NOT a soul on the road, going downhill... slow down Gordon!

World's largest (broken) thermometer in Death Valley.

LOOK! A CAR! Listening music out of The Hangover

That ther' is Nevada.

You know you are out in the middle of nowhere when you can see both ends of a ~2 mile long train from a long way away.

Welcome to Nevada!

Viva Las Vegas! Is this road ALWAYS under construction?

Vegas was great. The training was still there, but less brutal. Running was only 3-5 miles a day and swimming was up. Did alright in the casino. Nothing to write home about. I did appreciate one dealer (who I was tipping well because I was winning) who kept calling the pit boss over to watch me play cards and was saying, "This guy is cool. Can you get him a villa?" Pit Boss: "No." Dealer: "How about a suite then?" Pit Boss: "No." Hey... that's the first time someone asked for me. Kinda cool. That same night were the Country Music Awards. Saw some interesting people and a few singers. Played blackjack with a guy who performed... I forget his name. Nice guy though.

Once at the airport, back to reality. Our flight was grounded due to mechanical issues. The second flight left four hours later, so much for returning earlier to avoid a red eye flight.

My cousin Vinny (Vince) and Lorrie about to head into the Bellagio casino. Time to recover and five weeks to the next race.

Welcome Tri-LifeGear

2011-03-21T05:48:00.000-07:00

A new sponsor for my readers and athletes is Tri Life Gear of Troy, Virginia.

I have extended family and friends in Charlottesville, Virginia, so I already knew about the shop. Hit the website for your triathlon, cycling, running and swimming needs and get a 15% off when you use the password: "Kokua".

Wes and the TriLifeGear staff pride themselves on customer service. Rest assured that they will do everything as soon as humanly possible to help you with your needs.