Mack Cycle Triathlon Trilogy II, Virginia Key Beach.

It's not always easy for Gennifer and the boys to come watch me race, so it is always a special treat when they do.  They made it out to my International Triathlon today, which as a race was also a very good outing for me.

A short race report - Intro

The Mack Cycle Triathlon Trilogy, our local summer race series, will have a special place in my heart as the "place it all began" for me in 2011.  I have now raced 19 total triathlons, but my first was Father's Day 2011, the Sprint version of  Triathlon Trilogy, Part I.  That year, they were all held next to Miami Marine Stadium.  Last year, they were held on Crandon Park.  Because everything is all messed up on Key Biscayne (long story), it has moved yet again to Virginia Key Beach, so it has been basically a new series each year.

Pre-Race.  Packet Pickup on Saturday was smooth.  I got in early right after my morning run and it was not crowded at all.  I did my typical pre-race checklist (written), and packed.  Got up pre dawn and was over there just after 5 am, early enough to park, set up and warm up before my 6:45 start.  Of note:  as soon as I opened the door of my car, I was a breakfast buffet to every mosquito on the Key. If you are reading this and doing Part III or the Bonus Round - apply bug spray!.  Oddly when the sun came up, I didn't notice them any more.  I'm no entomologist, so I don't know what that is - vampire mosquitos?  Otherwise, getting marked, getting my chip and setting up transition went fine.  I rode 10 minutes, ran 10 minutes, then went down to the water and swam 10 minutes.

Swim:  the swim went fine.  it was in the bay parallel to the shore of the Key, around 3 buoys.  Typical mosh pit for about 2 minutes, then I found my clear water and just knocked it out.

Bike:  the bike course is four five mile loops with about four hairpin U turns.  I quickly learned that if you want overall speed there is one very long straightaway and that's where you have to do it - put the bike in a big gear and a high cadence and go nuts, because in U turn land, you are always slowing down just as you get up to speed.  The Marine Stadium and Crandon courses included several bridge repeats that would slow you down, this year it was U turns.  Anyway, very happy with my bike, under an hour split with 21mph and change!

Run:  All through the old historical park, 10K in two 5K loops.  My Team Hammerhead buddies were there at the turnaround to douse me with water each time I went around and egg me on to run faster!   I was glad after a hard 20 mile bike at a good hard clip to run 9:30s in the 10K.

Overall.  PR by eleven minutes at this distance!   7 of 16 in my age group!   In the early days of this amateur racing craze I'm on, I'd PR every other time.  As I get fitter, and my goals and priorities have changed (less races, more long distance getting ready for Ironman Florida), they don't come as often.  Today was sweet for that reason.  My last PR at any distance was my fourth Half Iron- Ironman 70.3 Miami on October 28, 2012 (my 6:34 finish beat my PR by just one minute).  It's been a while, and I love how it feels.

#IronManTraining  I did not really need to do this race; it is a father's day thing, a nod to my first triathlon, a chance to go fast, but my priority is and has been for a while Ironman Training.  Thus, I did not taper for this, it is not an A race, and I am not going to take much if any time to recover - just train right through it.  In fact, the day before the race I ran 15 miles in searing heat and humidity, normally not advised.  But this race was going to just be a "timed workout" let the chips fall where they may.  I had no expectations of PRing or even doing that well.  I was VERY pleasantly surprised to find that not only did I have bike legs and run legs, but I stayed within myself the whole time too, didn't really redline it or risk injury.  It is said that "quantity has a quality all its own" - applied here it means that though my training has been mostly aerobic (slower) speed training in large volumes - guess what?  That makes you faster.  In running, the same thing happened, the week after my first marathon in 2011, I destroyed my 5K PR and continued to better it all year, with very little speedwork.  Long slow distance above 5K made me faster at that distance.

Post Race Recovery - backyard BBQ with family friends made for great post race recovery.  Playing in the pool with the kids cooled off the legs, lots of protein carbs and hydration, then I napped for hours in a cool airconditioned bedroom like a madman while my wife caught up on all the gossip with high school friends she had not seen in years.

In closing -  I've dropped  well over 10 pounds since this started, three this week alone, and I am not dieting!   Which led me to the following thought - apologies to Jeff Foxworthy:  "If you eat everything that isn't nailed down, and you're still dropping weight more than you ever have, you might be #ironmantraining!" 

Thanks for your attention!  Adelante!

18 Weeks Out!

Eighteen weeks.  123 days.  Somehow that feels significant.  Four months and change.  I have never really stopped training; I rolled right from training for and completing the Miami Marathon into training for IM 70.3 FL, six weeks ago, then it became Ironman training exclusively.  That half iron race gave me a base to work from, but there's a lot of work to do, and that much time left to do it. 

The View from the Train:  It's a lot of time, and yet it's no time.  The first eight weeks have been a roller coaster ride.  The days are starting to blur together, a familiar pattern of short workouts during the week, with a rest day thrown in (my schedule says Monday usually, sometimes Friday), and long workouts on the weekend.  This past weekend was like a Mini-Ironman:  a 1.8 mile long open water swim, 15 miles running (over two runs) and 67 miles on the bike.  In all, about two thirds of the race over a three day period.  I am very smoked, but not injured.  During the blur of these first few weeks, it is almost like I didn't have the luxury to feel anything about it other than relentlessly dragging my rear end to one training session after another - the "just do it" mindset.  After this big weekend, and a good night's sleep I find that I can take a wider view of things and realize the whirlwind of emotion that started when I signed up is still there, it was just suppressed by discipline and physical exhaustion. 

Confidence and Fear, (at the same time):  I find myself feeling two contradictory things at the same time, yet both quite strong.  On one hand - confidence!  What a confidence booster that weekend was - makes me feel like I've got this.  On the other hand, fear!   I realize how compressed the next four months is going to be; how several weeks of disciplined effort has paid off, but is there enough time left to do the work I need to do to have the race I want to have?  All that is really nothing but fear.  I am not sure if that is even good or bad.  Confidence is good.  Overconfidence is bad.  Fear that holds you back is bad.  Fear that motivates is good.  Where's the line?  I don't know.  I do know one thing -- this train is going full speed now, and it ain't stopping until I cross that finish line on November 2; it's not even slowing down.  I will occasionally comment on the passing scenery here, and share it with friends, family, training partners.  In conclusion, I trust the wisdom of my mind and body acting together, fully awake - they've taken a look at the mountain ahead of me and said - now! now's the time to buckle down.  There is time to do the work that remains to be done,  It can be done.  I will do it.  This is going to be a hard life to live from here to Nov., like a monk or a Spartan.  Wake, Train, Work, Family Time, Sleep.  Lather, rinse, repeat 122 times = Ironman. 

If you want it you can have it, just look at me:  I am no star athlete, just an ordinary guy who happened to be gifted, not with a fantastic serve or jump shot, but strong legs and a seemingly extraordinary capacity (and willingness) to endure pain - the sport found me, if you will.  Maybe someone is wondering if they can be an Ironman and one day they will wonder if it's normal for their feelings to be all over the map.  Well, if I am normal - it is!

Day in Day Out:  What's the biggest challenge - doing the workouts day in and day out whether I feel like or it not.  A healthy fear of this race has proven to be the thing that has finally gotten me consistent like I've never been.  But guess what?  It's tiring.  Faced with the day's workout I say to myself "training?  again?  really?  didn't we just train yesterday?"  and then I am dragging my rear end into yet another workout.  Usually I feel pretty good about it after.  It mitigates the fear and feeds the confidence.

Have Goggles, will Travel:  I travel like a gypsy with various items of gear in my trunk, ready to catch a quick run or swim when my schedule opens up.  I change in my car like Clark Kent and I've gotten pretty quick and discreet about it.  I finally have begun to look at food as fuel, and crave blueberries, bananas, walnuts, lowfat yogurt, ground turkey, kale.  Don't get me wrong, Casola's Pizza is not going to go bankrupt for lack of my business while I train - (but I'll burn it off!).  I am often heading to bed before Gennifer (who's of the early to bed, early to rise persuasion, where I've always been a night owl), and getting in workouts before any of them wake up sometimes.  I am learning to be present wherever I am, to give my full attention to whatever I am doing, because I have no time to waste.

HTFU:  In sum, this process is turning me into the athlete I've always wanted to be - hardening my body- focusing my mind - but be careful what you wish for.  Working out six days a week is NO JOKE.  Then you do it again.  But I can already see that I'm getting "gears" I've never had.  You can't mentally "tough" out 140.6 miles with a body that's not ready.  Mental toughness without physical fitness = the medical tent.  But I know I will do this task - with a tough mind and fit body.

Is it worth it?  I expect it is; I do know these hundreds of dollars and hours I am spending on this are not merely directed to acquire a piece of metal and a memory.  I hope and expect that a different person will wake up early on Sunday Nov. 3 to buy a finisher jacket.  An Ironman, who knows something new about himself, by going to and through some pretty dark places inside and nevertheless seeing it through, with relentless forward motion, one stroke, one pedal and one step at a time, who knows, from experience, that "Anything is Possible!"  It will have been worth it. 

Good Tired

After a solid week of training capped off by a long open water swim Friday evening, a long run Saturday morning at a good clip, and a long bike/short run on Sunday morning, I feel generally tired all over (mitigated by a good night's sleep last night) but not sore or injured, and I'm mostly happy and confident from having completed another weekend of training.  Trust the process:  others have done this before and codified what I need to do in a plan -- if I keep adding eggs and milk and sugar at the right time and in the right amounts, I have to trust that the recipe will turn out!  A friend shared with me "train now, find the motivation later."  That's about right.  Got to drag myself out of bed and get to the session, and then I'm glad to have done it.  What is really going to make this fearful is if I shuck the training or half step it.  I feel very strongly this cannot be "winged."  I know this is going to hurt and at times even be miserable, but I can control how well trained I am to face it.

Riding That Train....Triathlon is the Fountain of Youth

Riding that Train:  Signing up for Ironman Florida 2013 was like buying a train ticket.  The months that followed were full of a mixture of excitement, fear and other emotions swirling around the fact that I have irrevocably committed to undertake the hardest challenge of my amateur racing career.  Like standing on the platform, watching the trains, being excited to take a ride.  And I had a lot to say about those feelings.  Well, I am on the train now, and there's less to say, but lots to do.  I am working out six days a week, going to bed earlier than I ever have, losing weight (10 lbs.) and slowly building the foundation that will take me through to the finish line in November.  So now that the train has left the station and the scenery is whizzing by (20 weeks to go), there's not as much to say.  Just training hard, trying to stay healthy, and I am pretty much tired, hungry and sore all the time.

Becoming Fitter than Your Younger Self - Triathlon is the Fountain of Youth:  People would be less inclined to call us "crazy" if they knew how fun it was to get better at something physical as you get older.  My friends that do this loco stuff all look 10 years younger than they are, too.  Keep that a secret, or we'll never get into a big race again!  I am much fitter than my 43 year old self!  What prompted that thought was...

EZ Heart Rate 10K Run Today, Alternatively known as 2010 10K Race Pace Run!:  After my 6.2 mile (10K) run this morning at a nice 10:09 clip in Heart Rate Zone 2 (aerobic), for a total time of 1:02:40, driving home I reflected that relatively easy run was faster than my first three 10K races in 2009-2010, that I flat out raced, in Heart Rate Zones 4-5 (anaerobic)!  In fact, I did not break 1 hour for the first time in a 10K until November 2010 at the Turkey Trot, again going flat out.  So, that was encouraging.  This is a year when I have not been racing much, more like going long, building a foundation, but I do have fears that the lack of racing is making me slower.  Not so.  But I think I am going to run a July 4 5K just to see what I've got in the tank!

Photos from Ironman 70.3 FL

Gear laid out!

The finish line and Ironman Village the day before.  Calm before the storm.

Racked in transition

Pre-race with friends and teammates.

The scence at IM village during the race.

Just finished!

 Mom and Dad came and visited my loco world!

Team Hammerheads won a team prize!

Here's the prize

Ironman 70.3 Florida Race Report

Sunday May 19, 2013, I raced and finished Ironman 70.3 in Central Florida.  Official time - 7:09.  The numbers don't tell the tale.  I ran my first 4 half irons all under 7.  Yesterday, though, for me was not about time, it was about survival.  The temperature rose to 98 degrees on the run, and I quickly gave up any notion of gunning for time; I just wanted to finish. 

Prerace:  I had no problems arriving in Haines City, checking in and racking my bike.  I went back to the hotel and did a quick 55 minute warmup in all 3 disciplines - 15 min swim, 30 min bike, 10 minute run.  Pasta and shrimp for dinner and early to bed. 

Race day:  No problem getting to the race site and setting up transition.  Checked the tires and went down to the beach of Lake Eva for the swim start.

The race;  The open water swim took place in Lake Eva, which was murky, but that didn't matter at least to me.  I sight above water anyway.  I had no real issues - out of the water in 46 minutes feeling fine.  On to the bike around rural Polk County.  It was hilly, but not too bad.  I tried to save some leg strength for the run, and the downhills give a nice rest from the uphills.  Off the bike and into the running shoes, and that's where it got ugly.  You run 3 4.4 mile loops around Lake Eva, and there are two big hills in the first mile.  With tired legs from the bike already a limiter, the heat coming off the road was nearly 100 degrees.  It was all I could do to plod through it.  My splits show me going 12 something on the first loop, 13 something on the second, and 14 something on the last one.  And I can run 9 minute miles over a standalone half!    My mind kept dialing up my body and ordering up some more speed, and my body just wouldn't do it! 

The good news is that the execution of the race was smooth and flawless - I had no injuries, no cramping, no flats, crashes or other bike issues.  That was my secondary goal, and that was achieved.  In previous half iron races, I have had trouble with cramping on the run leg, but I think the hydration/nutrition plan kept me out of trouble this time.  Namely, I took in enough nutrition and fluids on the bike leg to get me through the run.  I've had bike issues in two Olympic triathlons - a crash in Nautica 2012 and a flat in Nautica 2013, but knock on wood, not in a half, and that held true for this race.

I knew that my primary goal of beating my time from last year (6:35) was dependent on course conditions and might not be feasible.   My reason for doing this was to set the baseline for the beginning of Ironman training.  In that regard, it was a bit of a wakeup call.  However, my second goal, to run a flawless race (technically), meaning no injuries or cramps, a disciplined nutrition plan, and no bike issues (flats, crashes or otherwise), was accomplished just fine.  More time racing = more experience that will be useful in November.

There is a lot of work to do. 

A Journey of 140.6 miles ....

officially begins with a single step, or in my case a single swim workout, on May 6, 2013. 

When the Iron Year began, I calendared Monday, May 6 2013 as the Day One of training for the actual Ironman Race.  That's because it is 26 weeks out and not only is that symbolically important as a half of a year, or six months, but also it was the duration of the training plan I had planned to use, Gail Bernhard's "26 weeks to an Ironman" in her book Training Plans for Multisport Athletes. 

As the event approaches, I have come across other plans of 30 weeks and 24 weeks.  I may use elements of all three, so 26 weeks is arbitrary.  Another couple of  reasons it is kind of arbitrary are 1) that I have been training up to this point, so it's not like I am actually "starting" to train as such, just more like designating a day to be day one, and 2) these early weeks of all three plans are base building, relatively low intensity work to build the aerobic system, and finally 3) I actually have a race on May 19, Ironman Florida 70.3.  That Monday, May 20, 2013, I will be 24 weeks out with no major races (except one Olympic) between then and November. 

But me being who I am, I need to announce an official "Day One" of Ironman training, and I like the symmetry of a half year, so - there it is - Ironman training is officially underway (actually week one is complete, this is the first day of Week 2).  The base building of weeks 2 and 3 will dovetail nicely with "tapering" for IM 70.3 Florida this week, and "recovering" from it next week. 

NOTHING TO IT BUT TO DO IT!