Monday, July 28, 2008

Pain, nutritional errors, lack of bike fit adds up to poor mental attitude

Bad idea number 1...... On Saturday, I was scheduled to do 5.5 hours on the bike. I was excited to be back on my TT bike after not being able to ride it for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, those two weeks had rides of 4.5 and 5 hours and I did those on my road bike and I had not done more than 3.5 hours on my TT bike prior to Saturday.

Bad idea number 2..... Friday night, I mixed my bottles with the usual maltodextrin with Crystal Lite for flavour. I got a bright idea, since I needed to have some electrolytes, to put a scoop of Hammer Nutrition's Heed. Well, looking back on it, VERY bad idea. First off, the bottles tasted so sweet, I didnt want to drink it. Secondly, and I should know this already, there was not enough of the desired electrolytes to make a difference. I think I drank one bottle in 3 hours, about 600 calories then I replaced it with water I bought. I had also taken some watered down Hammer gel in a flask. All told, I had two bottles of fuel, one flask of gel, and one large water, one Cliff Bar and most importantly, no salt. Guess what Im doing today?

Bad idea number 3......... So, around 11am, I put my bike in the truck, drove down the hill to the gym and got geared up to ride. I have two kinds of Chamois Butt'R, the original one and one called "European". That means there is some cooling agent or something like that in it, kind of like Assos cream. I brought the original one and should have brought the other as it seems to last a lot longer.

I felt pretty good when I started out. I got aero a few times but for the first 25 minutes, I have to go through traffic, lights, stop signs, etc so it was pretty much sitting upright for the first 10 miles. I got down to Marine Drive, got up to speed and went in the aero bars. I stayed that way for about 6 miles. I still felt pretty good. I got to the first of my 40 minute climbs around 17 miles. Its not a terrible climb, just long. I guess there were a few parts that were more than 6% but probably averaged 5%.

I got passed by a skinny kid from Rubicon/Orbea, he obviously didnt recognize me (Im their team doctor) but I was too beat to even call out to him. I crested the hill almost right at 40 minutes then began the descent towards Multanomah Falls. It was a windy, fast descent, lots of fun. I was starting to get sore in the shoulders and neck and was contemplating just going back on the flats instead of climbing back up to get my second 40 minute climb. Well, I have at least two 40 minute climbs coming up at IMC so I figured I would just get it done. In general, I hate climbing, Im too damn big. My 230lb body, grinding up a 10km hill at 5-7% doesnt sound like fun but I have to do it to finish my second Ironman. I turned around and headed back up the windy hill. This one hurt much worse. I got to the top, absolutely knackered and was beginning to feel the time I had spent in the saddle in obvious places, and the time in the aero bars in my shoulders, neck , and lower back. I was having trouble getting aero down the hill and then on the flats, I had nothing.

I got back onto Marine Drive and started to ride around the Troutdale Airport. My phone started buzzing in my back pocket. I first contemplated letting it keep vibrating since it kind of felt good on my LB but I picked it up. Apparently I had just passed my friend Frannie. I needed a break so I turned around and had a 15 minute break while we talked. I took some of her water and some salted nuts. That was mistake number 4. Within 10 minutes after getting back on the road, I felt kind of sick. So, on top of all the pain in my back, neck, and ass, now my gut was not being cooperative.

I rode the rest of the way to the 205 bridge then to Home Depot and grabbed a couple of waters. I wasnt finished my time on the bike but mentally, I needed to go home and forget this horrible experience. I dumped the remaining malto/Heed mixture and filled my bottles with water. I had some gel, drank some water, and painfully, began the journey back to the gym.

Normally, I can ride the 205 bridge at 11-12mph but didnt manage more than 9 the entire distance. Every time I stood up to pedal, my inner thigh would cramp. I geared down and tried to spin faster. It helped a little. Every bump in the path was amazingly painful. I had my phone, I was going to call home and get picked up at the top of the bridge but I didnt. I persevered and made it back to the truck.

I was supposed to do a 40 minute run afterwards but running didnt appeal to me at all. Walking was all I could muster.

I guess this is what training is for. I took pics of the bike afterwards and was going to put it on Craigslist or Ebay but i thnk I might try and have a good fit done before I do that. This late in the season and this close to IMC, there isnt much left in my size. I need to work with a team that rides Cervelo or Devinci, I like those...........

Monday, July 21, 2008

5 minutes

Yesterday was my long run, 2.5 hrs. Its actually 1.5 running, 1 walking (30wu run, 3x(20walk 20run)). I actually like doing these Sunday runs because not long ago, I couldnt run, even short distances, without tripping.

Stacey is new to triathlon this year and just finished her first open water swim. She was a little nervous and didnt have the best swim time. She is capable of a much faster swim but she had some issues and did some back stroke and finished in about 22 minutes. Anyway, we talked about her nerves in the water and we decided to go to Battleground Lake in the AM so she could practice some OW swimming. AFter that, I was going to run while she took the kids to hang out with Papa at a train show. That didnt happen and we went home. She got an itch to go shopping for some new bike shorts so I stayed home with the boys while she did that.

When she got home, it was 5pm. Where did the day go?? I was not looking forward to running for 2.5 hrs. I started to get ready then asked her what her plans were for the next morning. I had a day off training and could do my run in the AM, 5AM instead of PM. She then told me to get my ass out there and give it at least 5 minutes before I made a decision....... Damn I hate when she does that to me because she is usually right. I got my big butt into the truck, drove down to the trail, and started my run. Five minutes came and went and before I knew it, I was at the end of the trail. 50 minutes down, 4.5 miles, pretty respectable I think.

I finished up, went home, and thought that I was pretty lucky to have someone kick my rear every once in a while to get me going. Thanks Stace!!

Running....... right in the middle

A few months ago, my team mate Dave, wrote about staying out of the middle. After reading the first sentence, I thought he was talking about the middle of the lane when he was doing lap swims, but after reading on, it was apparent he meant training zones. It was an interesting read and on all my long runs, I think about that.
I have a good coach and follow his workouts as closely as possible. I have only really been running for the past year and its a whole new experience for me. I cant actually tell where the "middle" is for me since it all feels difficult. I can tell my fitness is better as my HR is lower when I am running and when I feel like Im going harder, the HR stays lower than it did back in Janurary. Having said that, I dont feel tired, but I also dont feel like I can go much faster for very long. I did a 2.5 hr run/walk session yesterday (30min warm up run followed by 3 sets of 20 min walk/run) and on the 20 minute runs, I was maintaining 11min/mile pace. My ave HR was 149 for those sets and to me, that is in the "middle". When I push it a little harder, I can only maintain that for a short time so I just stay where Im at and finish the run. What can I do to go faster? I would love to run with someone but no one I know that runs does less than 8-9 min/mile so that wouldnt be much fun for either of us.
For IMC, that will be fine but for Canadian Nats, I want to be able to do a sub 60 minute 10k. Unfortunately, if I try to push that, I think I might be hurting myself for IMC but I guess I wont know til Aug 24th. On that note, I think this will be my last IM distance for a while. The training schedule is tough and I think I have proved to myself that I am able to do the distance already. I dont mind the HIM and OLY distances, they are fun to train for but 20 hr training weeks are hard on me and my family.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Why I hate training alone and why I train alone....

Except for Saturday mornings when I swim with the group, I usually do all my training alone. When I was training for IMF, I would sometimes ride with the group after swimming but often get dropped pretty much right away after we warmed up or the pace would be something I could handle but my HR would spike and coach said not to do that. Im sure I could have had a faster bike split in Florida if had kept up with the rest of the group but then again, I might have suffered some overtraining injuries as a result. Who knows, I just know I pay my coach for a reason so I should follow his program.
So, I went on my long ride with a couple of friends. We did fine for the first hour but after that, I began to lose the wheel of the person in front of me and I was struggling to keep up. My HR was going way too high for what I was trying to accomplish, 4 hour endurance ride, so I backed off. We were doing an out n back so I slowed down to reduce my HR and watched as they rode off. I didnt have my computer so I couldnt see how fast I was going but when I got dropped, our pace was up around 25mph (tailwind), unfortunately, I cant keep that up for very long. They stopped to wait for me, which brings me to the point of why I train alone. I appreciated the fact that they waited for me, but I dont like to make people wait, particularly when they are training for something as well. I like out/back's because then people dont have to wait for me. We regrouped and talked about keeping the pace down to around 20mph but I think we went over that but into a headwind, who knows. I couldnt really get a draft from either one of them so about 10 minutes into it, I suggested they go on without me and I would catch them on the other out/back section. I felt bad that I couldnt keep up, probably more frustrated than anything. Then again, I probably couldnt have kept up with them with two good legs either, both are very fit and very strong.
The day before, I had a 40 minute run to do and decided to do it with Stacey and the kids (on their bikes). We left the car, she had Koda in tow, and they ran past me. We were supposed to do a family activity but I ended up run/walking for 20 minutes by myself before I found them at the park. I was mad that they didnt wait for me but after I finished being mad, I realized that I should just do my own thing, even though it is hard to train alone, its easier on me mentally. I hate getting dropped, its very lonely.
Having said all that, I appreciate my friends and team mates waiting for me and not leaving me behind, even when we have an out n back section so dont get me wrong and read this thinking I dont enjoy riding with you, cuz I REALLY do.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Training in humidity and heat

So, I got back from World's, worked a couple days, then got on the plane for a much needed vacation to Mazatlan. We had been looking forward to this vacation for a looooooooong time as we usually go there some time between January and March but this year, with Stacey's brother being gone, we waited for his return. We went 5 days before the rest of the family and had a great time. Both of us are training for something so we took turns watching kids and swimming or going for a run.




The biggest issue (which we couldnt wait for actually) with our trip being in June is the heat and humidity. We left Portland when it was in the mid 50's with minimal humidity and landed in Mazatlan in high 80s with almost 90% humidity. Kind of drastic change. I was trying to get my run's in early but happy hour got the best of me most nights so running before 8-9am didnt happen. I thought that I would aclimate (like to the altitude in New Mexico), but by the end of the trip, I was still having trouble running for longer than 20 minutes without my HR spiking into the 170's on a flat, easy trail. Nonetheless, out of 12 days, I think I ran 7 times but only swam a couple of times.




Swimming had to be done early as the pool got busy after 9am. I got in one good swim of about 45 minutes, around 2000m, and another shorter one, but all in all, I spent on average 5 hours a day in the water. My boys probably spent 9 hours a day in the water; either the pool or the ocean, which meant Stacey or I had to be in or near the water at the same time. I had originally planned to swim in the ocean but with three shark attacks in a month (yeah, I know, Acapulco is 1000k south), I got a little nervous about that. Better safe than sorry. Stacey, on the other hand, was swimming every second or third day, what a trooper!








Well, I never did aclimate to the heat, not a good sign for me as both Nationals and IMC are in the Okanagan, a very hot BUT dry place. Having said that, we are starting to get normal weather here so I am trying to get out in it as much as possible, usually at the hottest part of the day, so I can get used to it. All in all, it was a great trip, but I missed my bike :)