Triathleteguru

Discipline...

2011-12-15T22:11:00.000-08:00

Probably wasn’t a good idea to make a coffee/hot chocolate/rum concoction after 8pm tonight! Lying in bed for a while now, I think I might have slept a little, but got to thinking and decided to sit-up and write a blog post, first one in quite some time!

I have been trying to decide the past couple of days if I should enter the Columbia Multisport Club’s "Biggest Loser" contest that starts at the end of the year. Most people who see me wouldn’t think I need to or that I would even have a chance in a competition like that. However, I entered it in 2010 and lost the 2nd highest percentage of weight lost amongst the guys! I believe I went from 175 to 145 and am pretty sure I could do the same again now, if not better. Well, I’m actually at 165ish right now, but could easily weigh 175 or more by my first weigh in a week from now if I put my mind to it!

Weight loss really is quite simple. Your body burns a certain number of calories every day. You eat more calories than your body burns, you gain weight. You eat fewer calories than your body burns, you lose weight. Yes, some people have higher metabolisms than others, but the previous statement still holds true! Watch the Biggest Loser, some extremely obese people on the show and they all lose weight the same way, through watching what they eat and increasing the amount of calories they burn by exercising. It’s called discipline folks! Something two thirds of Americans lack when it comes to weight...

When I put my mind to it, I can be extremely disciplined. But I can also be rather undisciplined in another area of my life which is pretty similar to weight control, finances. Finances like weight control are pretty simple; spend less than you make and you’ll do fine, spend more than you make, not so good... Hang on, don't most Americans have a problem with finances too? Everyone spending more than they make, buying huge houses they don't really need, or new cars they can't afford... I didn't do the huge house thing, but I obviously have been spending more than I make as I've managed to accumulate some credit card debt.

I need to be disciplined in both things, calorie control and finances. I shouldn’t wait for a competition to be disciplined on my calorie intake and take away from the success of others who truly need a "Biggest Loser" style competition to succeed at weight loss. I also shouldn't focus on one area of discipline while neglecting another which is equally as important. So starting today, I’ll be budgeting and counting calories... and you thought I was frugal before! Racing less is going to be the tough...

Running with Lance – Austin Half marathon recap

2011-03-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Found myself in Austin Texas on February 20th ready to run a half marathon. Hadn't planned this out too far in advance, I think I maybe had committed to running it two months out. Training had been going well and I felt I was in good shape. In fact, based on some of my workouts I was guessing I might even have a chance of reaching my bucket list goal of a sub 1:20:00 half marathon. That was before I drove the course...

Driving the course the night before it didn't take long to realize this wasn't going to be the fast course I thought it was! Turns out there are two big half marathons in Austin, 3M is the fast one, this one isn't. So when the gun went off on the 20th, I had readjusted my expectations and was now looking to just beat my previous half marathon PR of 1:24:45, or 6:28 pace per mile.

Prior to the start, they announced that Lance Armstrong and Joan Benoit Samuelson were running the 1/2 Marathon together. I thought that would be pretty cool to actually run with them, but didn’t have much more than a fleeting thought about it.

The first two miles or so were mostly flat or downhill with the exception of one short steep hill. I settled into a comfortable pace and was at about a 6:20 average when we began a long three mile section of gradual hills. To make matters worse, we were also running into a headwind! When we finally reached the end of this long gradual climb, my average pace per mile had dropped to my previous PR pace of 6:28. At this point I grew quite discouraged. I had driven 14 hours thinking about a goal of breaking 1:20:00 and now I’m not even running faster than my previous PR pace. I seriously considered easing up and turning the race into a training run. I had some serious self doubts about my ability to race anymore. Only several months earlier I had driven to Baton Rouge to run a fast marathon and had instead DNF'd turning it into a long training run. Had I lost my mental toughness? Was I washed out as a runner?

About this time we began a stretch of several miles of gradual downhill. Another runner caught up to me and said a few things in encouragement. So I picked up my pace slightly and began to run with him. It wasn't too much longer when another group of runners caught up to us, and this group just happened to contain Lance and Joan! Within a few short minutes I had gone from being mentally defeated to instead leading a 7 time TDF winner and an Olympic Marathon Gold medal winner in a half marathon. For the next several miles, 6:15 pace seemed quite easy!

Notice the video camera and no bib on the guy behind Lance!

Around 8.5 miles in Lance pulled away from me and the small group I had been running with fell apart. My average was now down around 6:24. I knew the course was mostly flat until the last 5k, so I was now pretty hopeful that I might beat my old PR! It definitely wasn't easy, but I ended up finishing in 1:24:35, ten seconds under my PR. Definitely wasn't as fast as I had thought I might run, but after the mental struggle I had midway through, it was definitely a rewarding result. Lance did beat me in the end, but I led him through more than half the race! The person who finished immediately after me, Joan Benoit Samuelson.

That's a marathon runner next to Lance, switched to the half to run with Lance?

Run Toto Run – 10 Mile Race Report

2011-02-13T12:41:00.001-08:00

With all the snow we got here in Columbia, MO the past few weeks, I had a pretty good idea that this 10 mile trail race was going to be a little snowy! When we started getting emails from the race director about the snow, I knew for sure it was going to be bad... It was bad, but bad can be fun sometimes!

Nine o’clock race start, so the temperature was starting to climb a little. I knew it would be around 30 degree Fahrenheit at race start so in my book that is shorts weather when it comes to running races. I debated over just a tank top, decided to wear a short sleeve dry release shirt under my racing top. I was definitely in the minority, but in my opinion 80% of the field was over dressed, you have to start a hard effort out cold unless you plan on taking a layer off later...

The snow at the start was quite loose and when the horn sounded and we took off, I was afraid I was in for an extra long run. I had positioned myself at the front since the race director the night before had told me that after the first quarter mile or so it would be tough to pass people. One of the few other guys in shorts and a tank top took the early lead with another guy tucking in right behind him. I settled into third place. After the first section was passed and we were onto the actual trail, the snow was no longer quite as loose, for most of the rest of the way it was actually quite hard packed and not so hard to run on.

Start of the race

Once on the trail, the three of us in the lead started to separate from the rest of the field. The guy just in front of me I thought I might pass soon as the up hills seemed to be causing him to struggle a bit early on. Sure enough, around 2.5 miles in on an up hill section he pulled over to the side to let me pass him. So now I was in second place but it was still really early on! As we ran past an aid station, I figured out the guy in the lead was Rick and he must be local since they were cheering him on by name. It must have been around mile 3 that we ran through a really neat stretch of twisting trails. As we rounded corner after corner we ended up doubling back and at certain points you could see the people behind us in the race making some of the same corners only a ways back.

2 miles in

I had kept Rick pretty close, but the constant turns combined with the fast down hills had made a small gap open up. I would guesstimate he had a 20 or 30 yard gap at around 4.5 miles in. We came down a hill with some sharp turns and just around that time began overtaking some of the 20 milers who had started an hour before us. After already passing two, I rounded a corner and saw another runner ahead of me up a hill. It wasn't Rick, so I figured I was catching another 20 miler. It was a definite trail and it looked well used like other runners had gone that way, but as I ran up the hill to him, he was just standing to the side. I figured he was resting; turns out he had gone the wrong way! I dashed back down the hill to discover I had missed a turn, had that one runner not been standing up ahead on the hill, I probably wouldn't have missed it... Once back on route, the course opened up almost immediately into a field and way off in the distance was Rick, the 20 or 30 yard gap was now more like 400 yards!

Rick

A bit discouraged and frustrated, I tried to pick up my pace to close the gap a little. I think for me that open field was the toughest part of the race as I could still see Rick, but the snow was really loose in this stretch so putting more effort into my running didn't result in much increase in speed. Once finally past the loose snow, my efforts were rewarded with a nice stretch of uphill running, I knew I risked popping if I tried too hard at this point so I reined things in a little. I never did see Rick again until the end, but fortunately I didn't see anyone behind me as well! With only a week until my half marathon in Austin, taking that wrong way was probably one of the best things that could have happened. Had I maintained contact with Rick, I would have buried myself to stay with him, once he was out of sight I ran controlled and at a pace that hurt, but that I could maintain.

Lots of CMC members at the race...

The second half of the race was pretty uneventful. I had no idea how far back I was from Rick or how far back third was from me. At one point on the trail, I had just passed some boats in a parking lot or storage area of some sort when I got worried since I didn't see any pink course markings in front of me a ways. Concerned I had gone the wrong way again, that maybe I had missed a turn by the boats, I began backtracking until I came around a corner and saw a runner I had previously passed along with a pink flag, I was going the right way! Just another minute lost; no biggie...

One of the many climbs...

Finally, after dealing with I think the two toughest climbs coming in the last mile, I was at the finish line, total time of 1:27:16. Rick had finished in 1:23:38 so he had beaten me by 3:38. There’s no way to know exactly how much time I lost with my two course errors, I would guess maybe two minutes but certainly not more than three. I wouldn't have beaten Rick; I only would have hurt my time next weekend...

Race director w/top 4 overall

Definitely an awesome race, I think I could be happy running trail races every weekend! Looking forward to this event next year, the big question will be what distance should I do?

Froze Nose and Nut Race recaps...

2011-02-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

I guess it is appropriate that I write a recap for these two races together as they were both run under less than ideal conditions. The night before Froze Nose I stuck screws in my shoes for traction for the first time. The morning of the Nut Race I added screws back to the same shoes to replace ones I had lost, plus some additional screws as there were 2 or 3 inches of fresh snow on the ground that we would be racing through! So both these races were definite winter events!

Froze Nose was a brand new event taking place at Albert Oakland park the morning of January 22nd. We had just gotten a decent amount of snow the week before so there was concern over the condition of the course. The original course ended up being altered since some of it was on a trail that was completely covered and was actually hard to locate!

I arrived on site with plenty of time so I decided to drive the course to check out the conditions. The roads actually didn't look too bad, some ice and slush in areas, but better than I was expecting. The worst section was the first 1/4 mile or so at the start and finish which was 2 or 3 inches of snow pack.

I didn't notice anyone that I knew would be fast at the start, so mentally I prepared for running solo. Sure enough, as the race started and I took off no one really went with me, my biggest competitor in the race would be the conditions and the course. The screws in the shoes worked well and I was able to take the 6 ninety degree turns with no problems despite the slush. The first mile was definitely the easiest with only some slight up hill but mostly downhill and flat. But, the second and third mile both had significant hills in them. I ended up running a 5:54 opening mile followed by two 6:15s with a final average of 6:02 per mile after I picked it up in the closing tenth of a mile. 18:44, not a time I would be excited about on a flat and fast course in better weather with competition, but for a cold and hilly course running solo I was pretty happy! Earliest in the year ever to get a win, so that was kind of cool too...

Nut Race

After taking the following weekend off from racing, this weekend was time for the Nut Race. Of course, as if the blizzard of 2011 hitting us on the Wednesday before the race wasn't enough, we woke up this morning to another 2 or 3 inches on top of the 18 we had already gotten! The sight of the new snow reminded me I had lost several screws on my last icy run at Rockbridge and that if I wanted to run well today I had better add some back. So, after a quick trip to Westlake's, I arrived on site with drill in hand and proceeded to screw my shoes some more...

Once the screws were in place, I jogged to the start as I didn't really have enough time for a warm up. A few quick striders and I was ready to go. The roads were in pretty bad shape, several inches of snow covered most everything, my plans from the night before of dipping under 18:00 were not going to happen!

The race starts with a downhill so I naturally let myself go and pulled out to a quick lead. After a few seconds, Marc Keys and Bill Stolz both pulled up behind me. I slowed the pace down a little, the snow and ice were definitely hard to run in, each step gave some and pushing the pace too much was not a good idea this early on with Marc and Bill right there.

Providence was probably the worst stretch as the side of the road was really slushy but the traffic wanted to use both lanes even though there was hardly any traffic. I tried to ignore the cars as much as possible and ran in the clear section of the road forcing a few cars to move over into the next lane. As we rounded the corner at the top of the hill for the first time, Marc pulled into the lead and I was more than happy to follow at this point. The next time up that section, Marc put in a surge. Fortunately I had been running relatively comfortably and was able to match it. I felt pretty good on the downhill and flat stretches and figured my screwed shoes were a definite advantage, provided I could stay with Marc one more time up the hill. Our mile splits were 6:21, 6:13, and 6:04 with my final .10 5:39 pace, so Marc was definitely picking up the pace as we went. Fortunately I managed to stay with him on that final hill and I actually began to think I had a chance!

With about half a mile to go I put in a surge and took the lead. Marc matched it and stayed right on my shoulder. Things were starting to hurt and I began to worry I had gone too soon. I decided to put all my chips on the table and surge again; a small gap began to open! Of course, I then thought that he’s bluffing, he’s got a huge kick left and I’m done for... where is that dang finish line?! Fortunately the finish line got there before my muscle collapse did, and I won, beating Marc for the first time ever. A little bitter sweet as my total time was 19:19, probably one of the slowest winning times on that course. However, Marc Keys went under 17 minutes in a 5k twice last year which is one of my goals, so today served as reinforcement that it is an achievable goal! Now, when is that warm weather getting here?!

Story behind the 4:49 mile... and is it legit?

2011-02-02T22:41:00.000-08:00

July 4th of 2009 I went to Jefferson City and ran the Firecracker mile with the goal of breaking 5 minutes. The previous month, my friend Adam Beston and I had come up with a list of athletic goals we want to accomplish, what I'm now calling my "athletic bucket list".

- Sub 3 hour marathon

- Sub 1:20:00 half marathon

- Sub 1:00:00 10 miles

- Sub 35:00 10k

- Sub 17:00 5k

- Sub 1 hour 40k bike

- Sub 1:00 100yard swim

- Sub :30 50 yard swim

- Sub 2:00:00 Olympic distance triathlon

- Sub 4:30:00 Half Iron

- Sub 10:00:00 Ironman

- Sub 1:00 400 meters

- Sub 5:00 1 mile

- Sub 15 hour 50 mile

- Sub 36 hour 100 mile

A year and a half ago I thought I would do it, thought for sure breaking 5 minutes was a done deal. Instead, as I ran those final 10 yards that day I saw the clock tick past 5:00 and register 5:02 before I finally crossed. I won the race, but had fallen short of my goal.

The Firecracker Mile started with a steep 2 or 3 hundred yard downhill and then was mostly flat the rest of the way. In 2010 I skipped the Firecracker Mile and instead ran the Big River Macklind mile in St. Louis thinking more competitive runners and a longer downhill stretch would help me break 5. Instead, I ended up running a 5:05 in 2010 in what was a much more competitive field and an easier course.

So that brings me to 2011. Around three weeks ago, several friends and I ran three one mile repeats indoors at the Hearnes center. In between running the miles, we did some major core exercises, pull-ups, pushups, and sit-ups. Despite the core exercises, we still pushed each other and I ran a 5:36, 5:26, and faded a bit on the third with a 5:38. Then, several weeks later I ran a 1:03 400 solo on the indoor track followed by three sub 1:15 400s with Bill Stolz. After reading about this workout, my friend Adam suggested I give the sub 5:00 mile a shot. At first I was wanting to go for the sub one minute 400, but after checking out the outdoor tracks in town and finding them all snow or ice covered, I decided I would give the sub 5 minute mile a shot.

Both the Firecracker Mile and the Macklind Mile are downhill miles and I had failed in both to break 5. Ultimately the goal is to run a sub 5 on a track, but if I can’t do it in a downhill mile I’m not going to do it on the track either! With that in mind, I headed this past Saturday to Rockbridge State park. I drove from the bridge just before the entrance to Devils Ice Box up the road to the Pierpont store, exactly one mile. So I drove back down to the Devils Ice Box parking lot, parked the car and warmed up by running to the start.

Basically, the mile I was about to run is on a narrow winding road that starts out mostly flat for about half a mile, then has some gradual downhill, and then for the final 1/3 of a mile it is fairly steep downhill, about 7 or 8% grade. The only drawback about the course is the 50mph speed limit and the fact there are no shoulders. Oh well, I figured if I ran against traffic I should be ok!

The only thing tougher about a road mile is you don’t have the instant feedback of checking your pace every 200 yards like on a track. But, using a Garmin I was able to get a fairly good idea of my pace. I started out by running a 1:12 first 1/4 mile with my heart rate topping out at 174. The next 1/4 was a 1:14.39 and my heart rate was up to 189. The third 1/4 was 1:14.69 with a 190 max heart rate. At this point I was struggling, but fortunately knew the rest was downhill and that if I kept on pace I was guaranteed of breaking 5. That final downhill quarter I covered in 1:08.69 while maxing out my heart at 191 bpm! Total time of 4:49, a new 1 mile PR by 13 seconds.

Adam and I had not gotten into the specifics of our “athletic bucket list”, but I had a feeling a downhill mile wasn’t going to fly in his opinion. Sure enough, he cited some USATF rule regarding the max amount of elevation loss per x distance or something... Fine, so maybe this isn’t a legit mile by USATF standards, but for the time being it is legit for me! I finally went under that elusive 5 minute mark, I did it early in the season and by myself without the competition of a race. I did this run for me and in my book it is legit, but just to be sure I’ll do it again on a track, just give it a month or two and maybe then all this dang snow will be melted!

2010 Year in Review

2011-01-27T01:38:00.000-08:00

Here we are, almost a month into 2011 and I still haven’t written my annual year in review! Guess I ought to get on the ball... For 2009 I wrote a fairly lengthy review: http://triathleteguru.blogspot.com/2010/01/2009-year-in-review.html I think I will be briefer and more to the point this year, focusing strictly on my year of racing.

The year began as normal with several running races. I performed on par with previous years, no indications that 2010 would be any better or worse than previous years. I happened to get my first win of the year at a small 5k on February 13th, the “Erase Hate 5k” with a time that was nothing to write home about, 18:50. The next race for me was an opportunity to race a long course duathlon in Phoenix AZ. My results in that race were average at best, only 6th in my age group, but I think the almost 2 hour race experience helped with my early season fitness. This race was followed by an off road team triathlon and then a weekend bicycle training camp with Big Shark in Nashville. I didn't realize it but all these early season experiences were setting me up for a break through stretch!

While I competed in a triathlon as a kid in 1989, I only did one event; my next was 13 years later in 2002! So I consider 2002 as my start in multisport and 2010 was my 9th year competing. That first multisport event I did in 2002 was the Buffalo Wild Wings Duathlon which later became the Shakespear's MaxTrax Duathlon. I did the shorter sprint race, came in 2nd overall and I've been trying to win that race ever since! It has been oh so tantalizingly close with 3 2nd place finishes and 3 3rd place finishes. Finally, 2010 was my year as I was able to grab the lead in T1 with an 8 second transition and extend my lead the rest of the way for a 2 minute win.

Following this win, I got a free entry to the St Louis half marathon and ran a disappointing race there. In reality, I wasn't trained for as fast as I tried to run and hadn't been doing the long runs that would justify even running a half marathon, the allure of “free” had gotten to me! The following weekend was much better with a 4 mile race for the win in the “Cigs” race and a 1 mile win for $50 the same day. It was an early peak for me in 2010 as I went on a 5 win streak in April and early May culminating with winning the TriZou Triathlon(non-elite). TriZou (formerly Race for Sight) was another race I had been competing in for the past 9 years; my previous best there had been 5th overall.

I wouldn't repeat any of those early season successes through the rest of the year, though I did continue to race throughout. By the end of 2010 I had raced in over 40 races, the most for me in one season by far. It was probably a little too much, because while I was having fun, my training lacked depth as did my performances as a result. Eventually, I got a bit burnt out and decided I had too much money tied up in multisport, especially since I had some debt accumulated. A “tri-gear liquidation” sale ensued, even going so far as selling my beloved “tripod”, the teardrop trailer I had purchased the previous October. I continued to race multisport on my road bike and discovered trail racing which began to re-invigorate my competitive drive.

So here I am, just about one month into the 2011 season. I’m running faster than I was at this point last year, this has the potential to be my best season yet! However, by taking the time to write this, I hope to avoid repeating the mistakes made in 2010. My seasons are marathons; I've got to pace myself so I don’t burn out and drop out half way through...

Dogwood Canyon 25k Trail Run 10/31/2010

2010-11-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

I ran my first 25k trail race at the Rockbridge Revenge 25k back at the beginning of October, had a blast, it was an awesome event. I figured I would like it; after all, my favorite place to run is an eight mile loop at Rockbridge. Rockbridge is familiar; I run it all the time, Dogwood Canyon not so familiar! I had heard about the race sometime at the beginning of the year, kind of forgotten about it. But following RB Revenge I remembered, signed up, and now here I am on race day morning, ready to head off into the unknown!

So, first thing different with Dogwood is that I am totally unfamiliar with the course, other than that I hear it is tough. But another big difference between the two, prize money! The Dogwood 25k has $250 for the winner,$125 for second, both male and female, double that for the 50k. Needless to say, the lure of prize money has brought in decidedly tougher competition.

Beautiful weather today, sun is out already, but it feels kind of cold, the radio said lower 40’s at start time. I’ve got a tank top and shorts on as I’ll warm up quickly, except for the hands so a lightweight pair of gloves is in order.

Lined up for the start and following a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner we are on our way. Dogwood canyon is a private nature area; I’ve heard it said that it is owned by the owner of Bass Pro Shops. People pay money to come and ride bikes or get hauled around on tours, past waterfalls, pools, caves, cliffs, and all kinds of cool scenery that we’re going to get to run through, only I’ll probably being paying less attention than most!

There are two races happening here, the 25k and the 50k. Both races cover the same course going out together until the very end at which point the 25k runners head toward the finish and the 50k runners do a loop and head back to do the route in reverse. The bib numbers are colored based on which race you’re in. Of course I’ve been checking things out all morning, so I have a pretty good idea who to watch now that the race is under way.

This first stretch isn’t so bad, we’re cruising along at an easy 7:30 pace and I joke to the guy next to me "This isn’t so bad; I thought this thing was supposed to be hilly!" I probably should have just kept my mouth shut...

After running a mile or so of mostly paved flat stuff, we soon found ourselves on an old rocky road. Then the creek crossings started! Over the next three or four miles I counted 12 different creek crossings! And the hills, did I mention it was hilly? The first one was gradual; at first I thought "this won’t be much different from Rockbridge" as I ran it. Then the next hill came, and it was steep! By this point I had already written off first or second place and the $125. Even if I was leading, I still think I would have walked the steep hills, everyone I saw did. I actually didn’t get passed on the uphills, but the downhills were just as steep and somehow people managed to run down them much faster than I was. The number of leaves on the trail camouflaged the rocks, so racing fast downhill was out of the question for me.

This continued for the next 8 miles or so. Occasional short flat stretches followed by steep uphills and downhills. The course was mostly old roads or "double track" as they're called in trail running. Leaf covered, so that made it difficult, that and the pitch, but definitely a scenic run. On several occasions we broke out of the trees to cross under power lines; you could look back and see across to a previous ridge with runners crossing it a 1/4 mile away.

After 9 miles or so, the course reached a paved section of the park. I was running by myself at this point. It is really hard to tell in a trail race if anyone is close by, but once on the pavement I could see three of four people ahead of me. At this point I figured I was at best 15th or so, but I was feeling decent and since I had a flat paved section I picked things up a little. After a quick mile, I was ready to get back on a softer trail and fortunately we did. Of course, it was another steep hill, but I could see 5 people ahead of me walking it. So I ran a little further than I normally would have and then walked taking long strides. By the top I had passed three of them and before too long I passed the other two.

When I had reached the paved section, my average pace was around a nine minutes per mile, but with the fast flat pavement, I had lowered it to around 8:45. Now that there was less than a third of the way to go and I was feeling good, my new goal was 8:30 average by the end.

Somewhere around 14 miles, I passed Andy Pele who was on heading back from the 50k out and back. He was looking great, but unfortunately since there was a funky loop the 50k’ers were doing, I had no way to tell what position he was in. After a quick yell of encouragement he was gone and I pushed onward.

The final half mile or so was downhill, not quite as steep as other downhills had been, so I was able to keep lowering my average pace. Just prior to the finish was a switch back and I happened to notice I was barely ahead of another runner! But I could hear the finish line noise and after one more turn I was there, I was done! 2:11:49, 6th overall and I had just edged out the guy right behind me for second in our age group! Average pace, 8:31...

Can’t say enough good things about this race, definitely a must do for anyone slightly interested in trail running. I paid $52 for the race, ended up with a long sleeve Brooks Technical event tee, a finisher’s towel, finisher’s fleece jacket, a huge second place AG award, and an excellent post race meal.

I expect to see a lot more of my friends there in 2011!

New York Marathon and Serena Burla

2010-11-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

For anyone that didn't know this, the New York Marathon is this Sunday. There are some pretty big name Americans running, Ritz, Meb, and it is the marathon debut for Shalane Flanagan who is expected to do well. Somebody a little less known, but who's story is very inspiring is Serena Burla. I first saw Serena (a Mizzou graduate) back in 2005 when I was running the Columbia Half Marathon. I was running with Stephen Taylor, we were only a mile or so in and probably running around 6:30 pace, when Serena ran passed us. I remember thinking how bad her running form looked (her own words: "I have this fling where I run more like a duck"). Steve and I decided she was probably running the relay or else we would soon be passing her back. We didn't see her again until the end after she had soundly beaten us both.

I think that was one of her first attempts at a distance longer than 10k, she went on to run a 1:10:08 in the 2008 USA Half Marathon, second only to Shalane Flanagan. Earlier this year, she found out she had cancer in her right leg. Now, nine months later she's racing the New York Marathon!

Here's a "brief" chat with her: http://racingnews.runnersworld.com/2010/10/a-brief-chat-with-serena-burla-3.html

Not sure if she'll cross the line first on Sunday, but I'll be cheering her on and she's already won in my book!

Lance Armstrong...

2010-07-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

He just rode his last Tour... Granted, we all thought he was done back in 2005 after he won his 7th Tour De France and retired the first time. Heck, I though he was done back in 1996 when I first heard he had cancer. I've been a fan of Lance ever since 1993. You see, I was a huge fan of Greg Lemond and followed the Tour de France as a teenager through the late 80's and the early 90's. In 1993 Lance won a stage in the Tour and he also won the World Championships. Lance quickly became my new sports hero replacing the one I had lost when Greg Lemond retired.

I lost interest in cycling for myself and sold both my bikes around the same time Lance was first diagnosed with cancer. It wasn't until 3 years later with Lance doing well in the 1999 Tour that I considered taking up cycling again. I told myself that if Lance were to win the Tour, I would buy another bicycle. He did it; I bought a Trek Y-frame mountain bike. I don't have that bike any more, but I do own as many bikes as Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France. I also have every Tour de France on video since 1985 and multiple books on the Tour and about Lance Armstrong. You could say I'm a Tour junkie and also a huge Lance fan.

Now, here come the...

however...

I believe Lance Armstrong doped.

I still believe what he did was a great accomplishment. I still appreciate what he has done for the cancer patients and survivors out there. Heck, I appreciate what he has done for me. He was my inspiration to get back out on a bicycle. I've competed in well over 100 runs, multisport events, and bicycle races and I owe a good portion of the motivation to get back out there to Lance Armstrong.

Since Lance Armstrong started winning the Tour, I switched to Computer Science as my major and graduated with honors in 04'. I appreciated the logic in Computer Science as opposed to the subjective grading found in less objective classes. The subjective side of me wants to believe in Lance, but the objective side knows better.

I know there are thousands or even millions of people out there unwilling to take this objective approach. They'll repeat the line "He's been tested 100's of times and has never failed a drug test". Lots of people smarter than me honestly believe this means something, it doesn't. Lots of admitted dopers never failed drug tests.

Here is a list of objective reasons why I believe Lance doped to win 7 consecutive TDFs:
- The high number of Lance's closest competitors during his 7 wins that have since confessed, been caught, or suspected of doping
- The high number of Lance's teammates from his 7 wins that have been busted or admitted to doping
- The high number of Lance's teammates or ex friends/acquaintances willing to testify under oath Lance doped or admitted to doping
- The fact that twice Lance has actually failed a doping test, once for EPO and once for testosterone
- The inhuman increase in average speeds during the 7 year span that Lance won the TDF
- That Lance was able to out climb and time trial so many admitted dopers during his seven year reign. To dominate in both specialties is superb, during an era of doping, unbelievable

Each and every one of those reasons is worthy of 5 or more pages, but I've gone on long enough as it is. Bottom line for me, Lance Armstrong doped in an era of rampant doping and was the best cyclist of his time. I'm still a fan of his for all he does in the fight against cancer. I still can put any of his 7 TDF victories in the DVD player and enjoy every moment of it. Fortunately, I never have looked to Lance Armstrong for any type of moral guidance; rather, he's been an athletic motivation to me. As a moral guide, he's about as good as Bernie Madoff is for financial advice.

I'm curious to see what the future holds. Will Lance admit to any wrong doings? Will he plead the 5th when asked to testify? Either way, life will go on for me. I might sell a bike or two, but it no longer has anything to do with Lance Armstrong, I just need the money! Thanks Bernie Madoff...

Topeka Tinman Race Report

2010-06-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

Wasn't really expecting much going into this race. Training has been suspect as of late, the tri bike hadn't even been touched since Triple T! I still haven't written race reports from those races yet, but in the races with biking following the long swims, I felt really uncomfortable to be in the aero position. I forgot that I needed some time in the aero position, it wouldn't take long on the bike to remember! But I'm getting ahead on myself...

Got home from work a little later than intended, hooked up the "Tri-pod", packed, and loaded the car in under 30 minutes, a new PR! After several segments of road construction, I got into Topeka and to packet pickup with 10 minutes to spare. Packet pickup was at HyVee wich worked out great, I was able to pickup a heaping portion of Chicken Fetuccini Alfredo for $2.99 as well as some breakfast snacks.

After driving to the race site, I headed out to drive the bike course. The race site was slightly different than in 2004 when I won the duathlon, but once out on the bike course it seemed about the same, rolling hills with lots of rough pavement! In general, I think Topeka had some of the worst pavement I've seen in the US! After driving the course, I arrived back at the race site and started thinking about where to camp. After a short trip to McDonald's for dessert, I decided to camp in the athlete parking area under some trees. Around 10:30pm as I was doing some work on my bike (after neglecting it since Triple T) when a park police officer stoped, I fully expected I was going to be told I couldn't stay. Indeed, he told me that camping wasn't allowed, but since the campground were full, he said I could stay! Awesome...

4:30am and the alarm goes off... 4:39, it goes off again and I'm up. After airing up my tires, I grab my stuff and head to transition. Only several other bikes are set up so I get a great spot. After setting things up, I head back to my trailer for a 50 minute nap. For the next hour or so I verify everything is set to go prior to the close of transition at 7:30. Transition closing an hour prior to the start of a race is a big pet peeve of mine! I sort of understand the logic behind it, but it isn't necessary in my opinion...

Anyway, at 8:30 my race starts. Wasn't really sure what to expect after the previous weekends 800 meter swim at Eureka Springs Xterra race where it had supposedly taken me 16 minutes! Supposedly the swim was wetsuit legal, but I chose not to wear one as everyone was saying the water was too warm. I focused on relaxing, but ran into problems when multiple times I couldn't see the bouys, I decided then and there I needed new googles!Overall, the swim felt good and I finished with a 26 minute swim. Once to my bike, I had to remind myself that I was racing as I found myself taking my time in transition!

As I mentioned earlier, it didn't take me long to realize how uncomfortable I felt in the aerobars! I actually found myself looking forward to the hills as it meant I could get out of the aerobars! After passing several people, I found myself getting passed by several of my fiends I really wasn't expecting to pass me on the bike! It kind of served as a wake up call and over the next several miles I concentrated on getting comfortable in the aero bars. Finally, around half way through the ride I felt decent and was able to concentrate on picking up the pace a bit. Ended up averaging 20.8 mph on the bike, nothing to get too excited about.

Had a decent T2 and was out on the run quickly. Felt good, but had to remind myself how hot it was. Ran a 6:55 opening mile and then a 6:35, but then things started to deteriorate. The next miles were 7:17, 7:43, 8:55, 8:18, and 5:47(.9 mile). It was hot, hilly, and humid!! Fortunately, there was plenty of cold water and ice on the course. Several cups of ice went down the front of my speedo in an attempt to regulate my core body temperature. Indeed, I actually felt like I was recovering during the last 2 miles and made an attemp to reel in two competitors ahead of me. Unfortunately I was unable to do that, but did end up getting first in my age group so catching them turned out not to be too important.

So while I did end up winning my age group, I finished in 15th place, over 20 minutes down on the winner, Joe Company. After earlier success this year, it was hard not to be disappointed with this race. Fortunately I didn't have high expectations coming in and will make sure this race serves as inspiration to: train smarter, get better swim goggles, and loose some weight!

Time for a come back!

2010-05-11T16:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time, time for a come back! Not for me, but for my beloved Cervelo P3 seen here following my infamous impact with a van back in 06'

I've picked up a "new" P3 frame from my friend Drew Greaves, just happened to be the identical size and color, so it really feels like my bike is making a come back! Not that there's anything wrong with the Felt S22 I've been riding for the past 4 years, I've just always felt the P3 is a faster bike. The problem was, I haven't wanted to spend the money for a new one! So when the opportunity came to pick up a used one for $500 I jumped at it... Just got to swap components out between the two and get things ready for the come back!

Training Pays Dividends - 25" Improvement in Nut Race...

2010-02-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

With the increase in running I've been doing in the past month along with the weekly track workouts, today's "Nut Race" was a perfect opportunity to gauge my progress. My previous best time on this course was an 18:55 back in 2008. Today was a fairly small field, 42 runners braved the 32 degree weather and the stiff 5 - 10 mph wind out of the north. Being a small field and all from Columbia, I had a pretty good idea who I might be competitive with but wasn't real sure how fast I could run as the last 5k I had raced was back in July!

The course starts out with a fast downhill followed by about half a mile of flat and then around a 1/4 mile uphill into the wind. Ryan Hauser took an immediate lead and rather quickly began building a gap on the field. I tucked in behind Stephen Bourgeois and Joe Company as we quickly settled into a 5:30 mile pace. As we rounded the corner to head up the hill and into the wind, I stayed tucked behind Stephen being sheltered from the wind. Stephen cut the tangent around a corner that Joe didn't so we pulled slightly ahead up the hill, but once to the top of the hill and into the start of the second loop, Joe Company picked up the pace and passed us both. I hung back for a second and then decided to go with Joe, hoping to catch back up to him and draft him into the wind and up the hill. The plan worked and I finished the second loop tucked in behind Joe.

As we approached the hill for the third and final time, Joe pulled away from me so for the final climb I was on my own. This third and final mile was my slowest of the race, but eventually I was up the hill and only had some downhill and flat left to run. Mile splits were 5:53, 5:55, and 6:10 with a final time of 18:30 and a 5:58 average. 3rd overall with a nice jar of peanuts as my prize, this being the "Nut Race" after all!

Back in 2003 I ran this race 33" slower and then went on that year to run my PR in the 1/2 marathon at the Drake Relay's, a 1:24:45. I'm hoping to run a new PR in the 1/2 in a little over a month, today gave me confidence that I'm on the right track!

First Multisport Race of the Season Approaches...

2010-01-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

Just thought I should post a quick update on my blog... I signed up for my first multisport race of the season this past week, the Desert Classic Duathlon in Phoenix AZ. It just happens to be taking place the weekend before a conference I have to be at in Phoenix so I'll be taking the teardrop out for a road trip! A race followed by a conference mixed in with 7 quality workouts in the Arizona desert!!

Three weeks following my first multisport event of 2010, I'm tentatively planning on running the Suntrust National Marathon in Washington DC. I say tentatively because I'm considering switching to the 1/2 marathon instead. Running a 1/2 fits into my overall plans of the year during which I hope to put up some fast time in a few 1/2 Ironmans. Training my body to run longer and slower doesn't seem like a great idea. Also, 2 weeks following the marathon I'll have the MaxTrax Duathlon where I would like to do well, recovery from a marathon is longer than 2 weeks! Would love to get my readers opinions...

Finally, it looks like I've made USAT Honorable Mention for the first time in my triathlon "career"! What that means is that out of the 3,968 USA Triathlon members in my age group (35-39) that completed at least 2 USAT races, I'm in the top 10%. It's something I've been disappointed about not making in the past, but I really wasn't expecting to this past year what with everything else that went on. It's a definite encouragement and helps me realize with the proper training and focus there's no reason an All American ranking (top 5%) isn't possible! Now, time for some sleep so I'll get up and train in the morning!!

Can I Shave Now?

2010-01-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

I made a vow, I said I wouldn't shave my face or cut my hair until I win my next race. I posted this sometime in the beginning of December. I thought I would run the "Ring In New Year" one mile race in Jefferson City on January 1st, figured it might be an easy first win of the year clearing the way for a shave and haircut... if I so desired... Turns out, the weather was cold and I stayed up a little too late New Year's Eve, I skipped the race. When the results were posted, the winning time was 6:13, I'm pretty sure I could have won!

Somewhere in the whole mix of things, I got busy working on my house. Took two weeks completely off from exercise! I can't remember the last time I did that. No working out with no change in diet = weight gain. Fortunately, Columbia Multisport Club has put on a "Biggest Loser" weight loss competition the last few years and they decided to do it again this year.

Now if you ask most people, they would probably say I have no business participating in a weight loss competition. What people don't realize is as someone who works out one to two hours a day during the season, when winter sets in and training levels decrease, extra weight can creep on regardless how "fit" or "thin" I might look. My weight after holidays and two weeks off from working out had climbed to 17 lbs over my low weight from this past season! That's 17 lbs that I know I can loose.

Around this same time, I also signed up for the Suntrust National Marathon in March, a week following our final weigh in for the Biggest Looser. So combine training for a marathon or lots of running, with loosing weight. Those two things go together like two peas in a pod!

We're one week into our Biggest Looser competition. For this first week, I just went back to training like I should be for a marathon and cut down on the food a bit. I knew the first few pounds would come off easily. I weighed in Sunday evening following a 2 hour run in the snow. I was shocked to see I had lost around 9 pounds and was even more shocked to see the email to the club the following day with me in the lead amongst the guys! Does that count as a race? Can I shave now? Hmm, I suppose that was just a mile marker... I'm that guy who takes off on a mad dash for the first mile, gets his moment in the spotlight, only to fade when the Kenyans blow by him...

2009, the Year in Review...

2010-01-01T21:45:00.000-08:00

2009, The Year in Review...

Another year has come and gone. It's been an interesting year. Hard to decide athletically if it was a successful year or not! Overall, I had a great year, lots of great experiences, but many of the highlights from 2009 aren't from races...

The year began living in an unfinished house and ended the same. However, at this time last year I did not have a functional kitchen but rather was in the process of hanging the cabinets. While I failed to finish the interior of the house, I made great progress and for the most part have enjoyed the process. Well, enjoyed might be stretching the truth... It has been a rewarding experience and I have learned a lot in the process. I've documented the whole process through pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/triathleteguru/sets/72157604338199425/

Two months into the year, I was able to get my house re-appraised at $40,000 which was double the purchase price from 9 months earlier. This allowed me to get a fixed home equity loan and pay off the credit cards I had purchased the house with. This also freed me up financially to take a trip to Indonesia to visit my sister and her family where they were living as missionaries. The trip to Indonesia was definitely the highlight of the year and included two 100+ mile bike rides with my brother-in-law while there. Bike riding in a foreign country has to be one of the best ways to see the country!

Taking Shelter from the Rain in Indonesia

Despite the bike riding while in Indonesia, I returned in relative poor physical fitness and was sick for a week on top of that. So once the multisport season started up with Max Trax Duathlon, I wasn't nearly ready for it and decided all I could do was hope to race myself into shape. This included a spur of the moment decision to sign up for and race the Duathlon National Championships in Richmond VA. In late April I headed out there with my friend Delbert Marriott. It was a fun trip; however neither of us did well as we ended up racing in 100+ degree weather which was a heat wave, especially in April! Nevertheless, it helped jumpstart my fitness and I had some decent race performances in the following months.

What I would consider my highlight race of the year was the Republic Tiger Triathlon in mid August. I ended up placing 5th overall but what makes me consider it my best race was that I came within 32 seconds of beating Jay Orr, my Ultramax Series Championships rival! I started the swim directly behind Jay, caught him in the pool, and came out of T1 ahead of him. He caught and dropped me shortly into the bike, but I dug deep, caught back up, and ended up coming into T2 within seconds of him. I managed to beat him out of T2, but within less than half a mile he had caught me back and ended up pulling away from me a mile or so into the run. Jay would end up winning the Ultramax Series while I ended up second, for the third year in a row!

The lowlight race of the year would have to be Rockbridge Revenge. A nice little headfirst dive into a log resulting in a tooth through my lower lip and 10 stitches!

Rockbridge Revenge 2009

2009 was a great year, here are some random pictures of my year (note, I like to have a little fun at times...)

Kitchen at the beginning of the year

Updated My Races for the Year...

2009-11-18T19:56:00.000-08:00

Not sure if this really counts as a worthwhile blog post, but since I post so seldomly, posting anything is probably better than nothing at all!

Decided I should take the time to update my race results from the year, considering the last race result I had posted was from back in early August. Turns out I've been racing a lot this year, though quite a few of them are multiple bike races on the same weekend, so it's easy for them to add up... This brings up the question in my mind, quantity versus quality, which is better?

Should I skip a few races in favor of better quality training sessions on some weekends hoping that will lead to better quality results in races? Or, do I forgo the dreary and long training sessions in favor of entering lots of races where I get to enjoy competition as well as the socializing that comes with racing? There's also the financial aspect of entering and traveling to races that can't be overlooked...

Regardless the decision, keeping your race results online is a simple tool to track your performance over the years. Now, if only I did a better job tracking my training as well...

http://www.triathleteguru.com/results.php

Has it been so long?

2009-10-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hmm, lots of stuff I could write about, lots has happened since my last post! However, I'm just posting something, looking for motivation to do more. Motivation to train, motivation to get out of bed at 5 am when I set my alarm. It has gotten really easy to roll over, reset my alarm for 7 am, and fall back to sleep. So I don't really have the motivation to updated my blog either...

Don't worry, this is pretty normal for me. I go through phases, I think we all do. Mine might be just a bit more extreme. Sometimes it's easy to get up quickly, easy to head out the door 15 minutes after getting off of work for a two hour training session. Right now it's not. I need some down time.

This past week, I ran once, Wednesday night track workout. I biked once, Tuesday night cyclo cross practice. These were group workouts, easier to go to group workouts. My two other group workouts, the Tuesday/Thursday workouts, it was raining for those and with my motivation levels the bed won on those mornings.

So I signed up for Rockbridge Revenge, a cross country race in a local state park. It's my favorite place to run. The race was Sunday, I really didn't feel like racing per se, just thought I could use it to jump start my motivation. Go out, run a 7 mile tempo run through my favorite training location in Columbia, and use it as a springboard to jump start my running. Diving headfirst into a log might not have been the best approach for jumpstarting my running!

I came up to a log across the trail. Decent sized log, probably 2 or 3 feet high. As I approached, I tried to decide if I should hurdle it, or step on it to get over. I decided to hurdle, but just before I did, as I was analyzing the width and other side of the log, I tripped over something in the trail and went headfirst into the log. First thought was the teeth, are they all still here? They were and since I had another two miles to go and a runner to catch who had just passed me, I collected my wits and glasses and started running again.

Turns out my tooth had gone clean through my lower lip. After finishing, Tom Hall told me my lip was still hung up on my tooth. Thinking a quick tug would do the trick, I was shocked how hard I had to pull up and stretch my lip to get it unhooked! Eventually I was convinced to go to the ER where I ended up needing a total of 10 stiches...

So did it work? I didn't feel motivated to train any harder today. My alarm went off at 5:45, I reset it for 7. Of course, I did wake up several times during the night from my fat lip and sore neck, I probably needed the sleep.

I was able to talk myself into a 4 mile run after work. It's not much, but I'm further along than I was at this time last week. Sometimes when you aren't motivated, you just have to do it and hope the motivation kicks in after you start. Kind of like this post I wasn't motivated to write...

Just Not Enough Time!!

2009-08-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, I guess I really don't expect any sympathy from you. It's not like I have a family, kids, or other responsiblities that many of you have. I do have a house that's an ongoing project, but it's not like I'm putting much time into it these days! Just posting a quick note about the sacrifices one makes when attempting to improve in endurance athletics, don't ask me right now if it is worth it!

I'm biking a lot these days. Last night I got off of work and got home around 5:15. Found my ankle reflectors, rear light, mounted a headlight on my bike and headed out on the road about 5:45. Around 8:30 I was rolling back in after a 45 mile ride. Didn't leave a whole lot of down time before I was in bed resting up for another day.

Today was even more full. Up at 5am for a 10k run, followed by a 1,200 yard swim. The run was an easy paced run because I knew tonight I would be riding with the local bike racers on their fast paced Tuesday evening ride to Hallsville and back. So once again, shortly after getting home from work I was out the door for another ride. This ride was much faster than last nights, 21.5 mph average for 45 miles. Considering that my average after the first 7 miles was around 16 mph, the last 38 miles were fast!

The nice thing about riding faster was getting home around 7:30 and feeling like I had all kinds of time left in the evening. That is until I realized I needed groceries. Since I really didn't feel like using chocolate milk again on my cereal like I did this morning, a trip to the store was in order. Between going to the store and fixing dinner, the night was gone.

So now it is a little past 10 and since I plan on getting up at 5:30 to swim, I really need to head to bed. A quick post to my blog (http://triathleteguru.blogspot.com/) and then off to bed recharging for another round in the morning!

Republic Tiger Triathlon Race Report

2009-08-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

I actually have three other race reports I’ve neglected to write, so I’m going a little out of order here! However, I had a really great race this past weekend, probably my best performance of the year and I feel like writing about it while it is still fresh in my mind, maybe I’ll write the other three later...

I've been chasing one person all season in the Ultramax Series, Jay Orr. He and I are two of four people who have done all the races in the series so far and every time we've raced head to head he's beaten me, usually by two or three minutes. He is leading the Ultramax Series while I'm sitting in second. Exactly one week ago, at the Kansas City Octomax Race, Jay Orr had taken second overall to my fifth, finishing two minutes and thirty-eight seconds ahead of me. This week my goal was to make it a much closer race!
The Republic Tiger Tri is a pool swim with a self seeded time trial start. Since Jay and I are usually pretty similar in the swim, I decided to line up directly behind him meaning I would start exactly fifteen seconds after him. If I could catch him in the swim I would have fifteen seconds in the bank for later in the race...

We were lined up about fifteen people back from the first swimmer so in a little over three minutes Jay jumped in the water and fifteen seconds later I was after him. The swim distance was a little over three hundred yards, down and back five lanes with a left hand turn at the end of the fifth lane to the end of a shallower kids pool about forty yards in length. On each length of the pool I could see that I was slowly making up time on Jay and could also tell the person behind me was falling further back. By the fifth lane I had caught up to Jay's feet and settled down to enjoy a draft for about the final sixty-five yards. Jay came out of the water and sprinted into transition with me right on his feet. I got through transition smoothly and quickly, a split second ahead of Jay.

Once out on the bike Jay passed me within the first mile. Unlike the previous week, I was determined to keep him within sight! The bike course at Republic is quite hilly with a lot of turns, some of them sharp and steep. On the flat and downhill stretches, Jay would start pulling away slightly, but on the up hills I would stand and try to maintain as much momentum as possible and the gap would shrink. At the end of the first lap, I was back about twenty-five seconds to Jay, but more importantly I felt the gap was shrinking and if I kept at it I could pull him back all the way! While I never did end up passing him back, by the end of the second loop I was right on his tail and as we came into T2 I knew a fast transition would put me out on the run ahead of him. With an increased sense of urgency, I had the fastest T2 split of the day, outspliting Jay's T2 by nine seconds and was out on the run.

For the time being, Jay is a considerably better runner than I am. Even though he has been racing with a bum knee all year, he has consistently put about fifteen seconds per mile into my racing pace. So while I had at least a fifteen second lead heading into the run, I knew that lead wasn't likely to last. About a quarter of a mile into the run he caught up with me. For a while we ran side by side and despite the fact that we were competing head to head, he tried to encourage me and my running, suggesting that I relax my running. Somewhere shortly after the first mile, he began to pull away. For the most part I continued to keep him in sight, but eventually he had pulled far enough ahead, my fifteen seconds had been spent!

Final time, 58:03 and 5th out of 319 overall. Jay Orr had beaten me by thirty-two seconds, the smallest margin of the year, even smaller than a stand alone 5k we had raced back in July. Interestingly, looking at the bike splits from the race, the top six finishers in the triathlon had the top six bike splits in the same order as their respective finishes! I had improved by 2:37 from the previous year, moved up from 8th to 5th overall, and had biked 1:52 faster. All very positive results, but most importantly I had achieved my goal of a much closer race with Jay Orr!

Mental Toughness...

2009-07-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

I don't have it as often as I would like, or at least not as much as I want. This morning my alarm went off at 5:45am, but I lacked the mental toughness to get out of bed until a little after 6:00. The main meat of my swim this morning was 10 x 100 yards on 2 minutes, coming in under 1:30. This isn't a tough swim by swimmers standards, but for me after 3 of them I was so tempted to shorten things to 5 x 100! I did manage to dredge up enough mental fortitude to stick it out and got all 10 in. I swam 1,500 yards this morning, that was tough but nothing compared to swimmers who swim 5,000-yard workouts! Talk about mental toughness…

I think this is the biggest inhibitor of my athletic performance, not enough mental toughness. This past weekend I did a track workout, 10 x 800 meters at sub 6:00 pace with 400-meter recovery jog between each. I made it through 8 of them and then called it a workout. It was still a great workout; it took a lot to make it through 8 but not as much as it would have to make it through 10!

It's not just in training where lacking mental toughness affects me. Its times like when I planned to eat half a Jack's frozen pizza and instead ate the whole thing! Or breaking down and buying a soda yesterday at work. It's my lack of mental toughness that keeps me from reaching my optimal racing weight.

Fortunately, mental toughness is something that can be worked on and strengthened. Improving mental toughness in training will pay multiple dividends in races. The higher intensity training will improve fitness resulting in faster times and it will also help in pushing through those tough spots in a race when you feel like slowing down. It is important to note that mental toughness becomes stupidity when one ignores injuries or warning signs and toughs out a workout/race.

Suggestions for improving mental toughness:

1. Training log (I fail here!)
2. Accountability, having someone hold you to your goals, training, etc.
3. Proper rest and recovery
4. Rewards for goals, successful workouts, etc.

Would love to have others suggestions posted as comments

New Town Triathlon Race Report

2009-07-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

When I saw this race at the beginning of the season, I told myself I wanted to be in peak fitness and do awesome at it. At some point in the past few months I forgot about that goal, lost my desire somehow and found myself going into this race thinking I would be fortunate to even make the top ten. Sunday morning found me un-enthusiastically getting up at 3:00 AM to make the two-hour drive to the race site.

I really didn't think I would be the first in line to enter transition, which opened at 6AM, but somehow I was, though by the time transition opened a line of 50 or so athletes stretched out behind me. Having studied the flow of the transition, I quickly headed to what I had deemed the best spot and unloaded my gear. Since I was number 178, it would be a while after the 7:50 start time for me to go, so I took my time and relaxingly setup my stuff. I'm kind of a solitary guy, triathlons are an individual sport, and this race was a good reminder of how nice it is to not have someone who needs me to hold their hand while they gets ready for their race!

The swim was a time trial start; every 5 seconds a swimmer would run onto the dock and jump into the lake. I spent the first 10 minutes or so watching the first 120+ swimmers start. Finally it was my turn and I sprinted down the dock and jumped in. I quickly realized how nice a time trial swim start was compared to a wave start where I'm typically kicked and elbowed dozens of times! While it is impossible to say for sure, I didn't see anyone pass me but I found myself passing quite a few swimmers. For having only been swimming an average of 500 yards once or twice a week the past several months, I actually felt like I was having a pretty good swim. Ended up averaging 1:35 per 100 yards, not exceptional but definitely not as slow as I would have expected!

That's me in the background by the water

The swim to bike transition went well, my decision back in June to cut the leg length to mid calf has really helped speed things up! In about a minute, I was out of T1 and onto the bike.

I purposefully have my bike computer miss-calibrated. It tells me I'm doing 23 something when I'm really closer to 24 or faster. Not sure if it really helps, or if it's just a silly gimmick like setting your alarm clock ahead to try and fool yourself you need to get up quicker. Anyways, the course was flat and fast. Biggest complaint I would have is all the left hand turns. A left hand turn is inherently unsafe in a bike race or triathlon, it means you're crossing a lane of oncoming traffic, plus if you take the corner too sharp with an oncoming vehicle it's head on collision time! Despite all the turns, I was pleasantly surprised to see I had averaged 24 mph for the race, my fastest bike split in a triathlon in since 2005!

I had actually thought going into this triathlon that I would take it easy on the bike and really focus on running sub 6:00 pace for the four mile run. However, once out on the bike and having a constant stream of earlier starters to chase down, taking it easy on the bike wasn't really an option for me! Coming in to T2 though, I figured I might as well give the sub 6:00 pace goal a go. A super quick T2 wasn't in the works as a fellow competitor had racked their bike on my transition gear and I lost a couple of seconds having his bike so I could grab my race belt. As quick as possible I was out of T1 and running.

It just so happened as I was heading out for my first loop, Drew Greaves and Kim Earnest were both finishing their first loop and heading out on their second. I considered slowing down slightly and seeing if I could help either up their pace. But then I realized Kim was a full two miles ahead of me and I couldn't quite figure out how many minutes ahead she had started. Since I knew I would never hear the end of it if she beat me, I pushed on, redoubling my effort for sub 6:00 pace. According to my Garmin, my first mile was 5:56 and it felt like sub 6:00 was doable. The following mile was considerably slower, a 6:07 and then a 6:11 and I felt my goal slip away. But I had noticed the loop was slightly less than 2 miles and since I'm flexible, my goal changed ever so slightly: Not a true sub 6:00 minute pace, but sub 6:00 pace in the results!

Final result, 10th overall, 24mph on the bike and 5:58 pace on the run! I had achieved my flexible goal, my real goal I missed having run 6:07 pace according to my Garmin… L Maybe my Garmin was wrong? Turns out Drew Greaves beat me by fifteen seconds and I was only two minutes and change ahead of Kim. I'm sure Drew will finish ahead of me a lot in the years to come and if I'm not on top of my training, Kim will too. All in all it was a great race, I was really happy with my performance, especially with my training in perspective.

Hopefully my mentioning a lack of training doesn't come across as a lame excuse. Truth of the matter is I probably train similar amounts as what others do. Only I tend to dream big and start the season out thinking I'll be running 60 miles, biking several hundred, and swimming 10k every week. Naturally I'm let down when I reach mid season and am running 30 miles, occasionally breaking a hundred on the bike, and swimming 1k weekly. So I tell myself right now, next year will be different; I will build a huge base this winter and smash the competition next season!

Have I mentioned that teardrop trailer I'm going to build after I finish my house?

Twilight 5k Race Report

2009-07-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

Following my half hearted attempt on Wednesday to run sub 5 minutes for the mile, I decided it would be fun to run a 5k the following night, the Twilight 5k in Kirksville. I had no expectations as I had run 1,000 meters Wednesday morning hard plus the Wednesday evening track workout, including a 5:26 mile. Knowing I planned to race a 5k that evening, Thursday morning I did the 5:30 am run and just did the 6 mile B route at an easy 7:30 average.

Despite not expecting a fast time, there's always a chance when doing a race in Kirksville that a slower time could still win the race. I was figuring to run around 18:36 (6:00 pace) and when I saw the pack of about 6 or so high school cross country runners I knew it would take more than 6:00 pace to win.

The gun went off and true to expectations a pack of younger runners surged off to the lead. I was wearing my Garmin GPS watch along with the heart rate strap and decided to run as close to 6:00 pace as I could, maybe some of the guys ahead would slow down.

The first mile was tough as I knew I could run faster and move up from the 10th or so position I was in. But I also knew the course and knew a hill was coming up at around the midway point and things would get considerably tougher to keep my 6:00 pace. So I let the gap continue to increase and ran the first mile in exactly 6:00.

Around 1.25 miles or so into the race we made a right hand turn onto La Harpe and headed up a nice little hill. I had already passed 3 of the guys who had been ahead of me and was in 7th place. At this point I wasn't holding back, it was taking everything I had to keep my pace around 6:00 and the runners ahead were coming back slowly. I passed 5th and 6th on the hill and the 4th place runner I caught and passed shortly after turning onto Osteopathy. 3rd place was around 100 meters ahead of me, 2nd was also in sight but out of reach, 1st was probably a quarter mile down the road on his way to the win.

Eventually I managed to pull even with 3rd but had spent too much energy to catch him and he gradually pulled back away from me to finish 10 seconds ahead. I finished with a time of 18:01, but the course was definitely short, my watch showed 2.98 miles. Mile splits were 6:00, 6:03, and 5:59 (but since that wasn't a full final mile, my pace was actually 6:07) with an average pace of 6:03.

At some point in the last mile, my heart rate reached 193; the race average was 181. A final place of 4th overall, but more importantly I felt like I had run a smart race and probably as fast as was possible given my training. For the final mile, my average heart rate was 190, probably not going to be able to get much more out of it than that! Now I will do some targeted training to increase my efficiency, raise my VO2 max, and raise my anaerobic threshold, sub 5 is going down!

My Quest for Sub 5!

2009-07-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

I ran a mile race on Independence Day. I watched the clock ticking as I approached the finish line. Slowly it counted up to 5:00 and then clicked twice past it before I crossed. 5:02, those two seconds were probably those two chocolate chip pancakes I ate two hours before the race that felt like a brick during.

On the trip back to Columbia from Jeff City that morning, I was talking with a friend and for some reason I bet I could break 5:00 within the following two weeks. This morning was my first attempt and it was a miserable failure! I made it all of 1,000 meters at 5:00 pace before I could feel my legs bogging down, possibly I haven't quite recovered from my 5k this past Sunday, or more likely I'm just not ready for a sub 5 minute effort.

I followed up my 1,000 meter effort this morning with the usual Wednesday evening track workout. First up on the schedule that Teddy Z had for us was a 1,200 at 5k pace. I decided since I hadn't run a full mile in the morning, I would make up for it. Ended up running a 5:26 mile, leading for the full 1,200 and running the last 400 solo. Not quite a sub 5 effort, but for a hot July evening a good effort.

What boggles my mind is that there are elite runners who can run a full marathon at sub 5 pace! If they can run 26.2 miles at that pace, I sure hope I can run one!

I'm going out on a limb here and will say, before the year is up, I will run one mile at a pace faster then the current world record marathon pace.