Sex, Drugs and Rock-n-Roll; just kidding, I'm a triathlete and go to bed at 8pm

Writing fun articles for a triathlon blog while plugging away base training on the bike trainer or treadmill isn’t possible.  At least for me and my loathsome winter brain, writing such articles isn’t a possibility.  (If you have the ability to write a fun bike trainer article I think you’re a sadist, but who am I to judge?)  However, the important takeaway is I’m back, I’m writing, I’m excited for a new season of endurance racing and I hope to update more frequently this year.  Now that I’ve made most normal readers click off my page thanks to my incessant rambles, I should start really writing before the rest of you leave.  

First, welcome back to my blog!  I have 13 weeks until we line up at the shore of Mirror Lake and start racing Ironman Lake Placid 2015.  This year’s blog is going to follow my prep, training, things I learn, pearls of wisdom and probably a few heart breaks during these next 13 weeks.  So far, I’m feeling good.  Not great, but good.  My confidence is building and for the first time I’m honestly feeling I can complete this race.  I do need, NEED to be much more diligent in my preparation.  I’ve still been putting people and things before my training.  Truth, hearing that we are just 13 short weeks from race day has my butt hole puckered tighter than an alter boy at a priest convention.  I’m petrified!  I’m not ready but I know with my new level of motivation and determination I’ll be ready on race day!  

Right now my I’m training 6 days a week and resting one day every week.  My coach, call the cliche police I couldn’t not type “my coach,” in a post, has me building and we start my race season this week with a few races.  Wednesday I’m doing a brick/du with my triathlon club, thursday night I’m going for an open water swim, saturday morning I’ve got a long bike ride outside with a fellow Ironman Lake Placid competitor, Saturday night I’m racing a 5k and Sunday I’m running a half marathon (the 5k + 1/2 marathon combo is called the NutJob, so it only seems fitting for me.)

I’m incredibly excited to mention I’ll be working with a ROCKSTAR nutritionist for this season!  Elizabeth Inpyn and Alex Collins of INPYN Nutrition have been gracious enough to accept me into their family of athletes.  I’m humbled and excited to be working with them this season.  I feel like as lonely as triathlon can sometimes be the team you assemble (support, coaching, nutrition, friends, training partners and family) are what really help you get from starting line to finish line on any given race day.  I’m lucky, I’m blessed and I’m thankful to be heading into the 2015 season with the greatest support group any man walking this planet could ask for!  I thank all of you who impact me daily for your support.  “When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.” -Japanese Proverb

Thanks again for reading this post and I hope you’ll check back through the season for updates and screen shots from my season.  Questions or comments, please feel free to drop me a message in the comments section or email me.  Have a great week and happy training!  

Recovery Update 1

I'm shifting my mindset from injury to recovery! Tomorrow I'm back in the game. 9 months until Raleigh and 11 months to Lake Placid, it's time to get to work.

I'm starting to think my injury is a blessing in disguise. For the first time in 2 years I've been forced to rest. I've caught up with friends, ate food I don't allow myself when training and I've lived a chaotic lifestyle with no set schedule. It's time to end this chaos, get on a schedule and feed myself on a plan. 

If I've learned anything it's to try and incorporate more balance in my life. I need to still include things I enjoy outside the training realm. I'm poor at balance, I'm an all or nothing guy, so this will be something for me to strive toward. 

I'm meeting with my coach Wednesday for a full discussion of recovery and return to my offseason plan. For now I know I'll be moving for about 30-45 minutes tomorrow, getting back to an eating plan and Wednesday morning at 5:15am I'll hit the YMCA pool for 6 x 100, all just testing the calf! 

Hopefully I'll be back to normal soon! 

Injury Update

I'm finally walking, with a limp, but I'm walking without pain!! If I move too fast the calf let's me know but overall, for having this happen last Tuesday, I feel I'm making progress. 

I'm going to start back to activity next Monday as long as I keep recovering. I spoke to a friend who offered to try some interesting therapy ideas. I'll discuss this more as I find out more information.

Just wanted to give a quick update! Still looking like an eternity before I can run or ride the bike again. :-(

On the Shelf

For years I've kept myself busy during the winter by playing indoor tennis. I've played tennis since I first started taking lessons at the local club when I was in first grade. I played on my high school and college teams winning the Maryland JuCo state tennis championship in 1999. 

I've played USTA leagues for years and last year finished as runner up in our local mens doubles tournament. Like normal, I started getting ready for tennis season this week. Sadly, this year didn't go as planned.

In practice Tuesday night I got hurt on the first play of my practice match. I hit a forehand and moved toward the net. I've don't this millions of times in my tennis career. This time, I felt a tear and was in agony instantly. After investigation, I have a grade 2 tear of my right calf.

I'm done will all activity for 1-2 weeks. In 3 to 4 weeks I can start walking on a treadmill and swimming with no walls. No running or biking for 8-12 weeks. 

That's why I haven't posted this week, I'm not good at being injured. But I'm trying. I'll post more with a plan next week. Right now I'm just disappointed. 

An Early End to a Great Year




Running on empty

  "The best laid plans of mice and men aften go awry," is a great desciption for the end of my 2014 racing season.  I'd love to tell you I have a great reason for ending things sooner than expected.  I'd love to tell you I have a great excuse.  I'd love to tell you anything.  The truth, I'm tired.  I'm not tired in the, I need a day off, way.  I'm not tired in the, that was a great workout I'm exhausted, tired.  I'm tired in the total body, I'm exhausted to the bones, my skin is even sleepy, kind of tired. 

Two years ago when I started this journey I never expected to achieve a quarter of what I've achieved.  My goals were simple, I wanted to lose weight, I wanted to get healthier and I wanted to run a 5K.  In the past year I've run a 5K, run a 10K, run a half-marathon and finished my first triathlon.  I've lost considerable pounds and I've decreased all of my health metrics into healthier ranges.  I've accomplished everything I've set out to do and my body is demanding a break.  I'll happily oblige.  My heart isn't in training right now and I'm afraid of half assing a race prep because I don't want to injure myself. 

I've been spending a lot of time horizontal, bonding with my couch, watching television, splurging on some bad food choices and even finding time to get back into my love of photography.  The break is doing me well.  My body is starting to feel good!  I enjoy not living my life by the schedule in my Training Peaks calendar.  I enjoy sleeping without an alarm set to get up for training.  I enjoy pizza! 

Like all good things this break too, will end.  I'm starting to miss the structure of a training schedule.  I miss the regimen of planned meals and healthy nutrition.  I'm starting to carry a few pounds and my face is bloated with some extra water weight.  All things that will go away as soon as I start training again.

I've been on my break for three weeks now.  I had three more races on my calendar but they are out of my picture now.  One I have deferred to next year.  Right now the Raleigh Half-Ironman and the Lake Placid Ironman are directly in my cross-hairs.

I'm happy to report I'll be changing shifts at work this coming Monday.  I'm going to stop working night shift and change to dayshift.  I'm excited to start sleeping at night!  With this change in shifts I expect I will also change back to a more structured lifestyle of training and eating.  I like things neat and tidy and making the changes at the same time seems to make sense.

My short term goals are to start rebuilding my endurance on all phases of the triathlon (swim, bike and run) while also incorporating some strength training back into my plan.  I'm going to follow a nutriton plan based on the principles of metabolic efficiency and nutritional periodization.  (see I've also been using my time constructively doing research!)  Planning will still be left to my coach, I'll just show up and do the work, as usual.

Overall I'm happy I decided to end things and take a break.  I won't miss the races I didn't race and the rest will probably benefit me more than the races.  The last two years have put a lot of miles on this body of mine and I'm happy to reward it with a break.  I'll be back to training soon but for now I'm going to enjoy the rest -- and maybe a couple of beers!   

Save the Date; No Turning Back Now

(Before you start reading either have a listen to THIS song or read the lyrics HERE.  I'm embracing this as my battle tune for the next year.  I'm a bit of a metal head, always have been, so if you're not really a fan of metal I suggest the lyrics.)

 

Ironman Lake Placid Logo

I hope you were able to read my last blog post about the weekend I spend in Lake Placid watching the Ironman and volunteering.  If not you can find the link here and I suggest you start with that entry.

After the weekend and the volunteering I stuck around for Monday morning.  My efforts as a volunteer earned me the reward of early registration for Lake Placid Ironman 2015.  Working the late shift from bike checkout earned a volunteer sport for early registration but it also earned me the right to a speed pass, so I was able to register before ANYONE else, volunteer, online or in person.  Speed pass registration was scheduled to take place at the office of the visitors bureau beginning at 7:30am.  I'm normally an early person.  I got up around 5am on Monday, finished packing, showering and putting all my stuff in the Jeep for the journey home.

After my chores I took off for downtown Lake Placid with a small stop by the McDonalds for a cup of coffee.  After my drive I found a parking lot on Main Street and payed my parking money.  Magically, rain began to fall - AGAIN!  A quick shower turned into drenching rain.  I was glad I'd worn my rain jacket again as a precaution.  I "mostly," stayed dry for my three block walk to registration.

When I found the visitors bureau the time was about 6:30am and I thought I'd have a good chance of being first in line!  My hopes were quickly destroyed as I bound the steps toward the third floor.  Much to my shock many other triathletes are also OCD early risers who like to stand in lines for an hour.  I was, by my quick count, 30th in line to register!

The wait to register

Fortunately, the registration process kicked off early and we began to register at 7am instead of 7:30am.  I inside and registered for 2015 in what seemed like instants.  The process was easy because Ironman had at least 25 volunteers registering people.  I was in the second wave of registrants and third in the door.  A quick look at my drivers license, the volunteer asked for my email address and I confirmed my info.  Next she asked for my credit card and $740ish dollars later I was an official Ironman Lake Placid 2015 participant!

My unofficial, official registration form
I still needed to complete online portions

After finalizing my race confirmation for 2015 I walked to the section of Main Street where the swim course of Mirror Lake is visible.  I pulled one last selfie with Mirror Lake to use as a reminder I have this race on my schedule.  I'll be back to Lake Placid to train, often, but its nice to carry a reminder!

Mirror Lake Looms

Quickly after registration I was on the road home.  When I got home I stopped by to show my coach my registration and talk Lake Placid.  We're both confident in my swim.  We'll get it faster and we know I can get through the two laps with little problem.  We also know I should be ok on the run.  I ran the first loop of the course last weekend and I'm confident I'll get through.  We both worry about my bike ride.  I need to have enough time, energy and climb left in my legs for the second loop.  My exact instructions for preparation and race day, "when you head out of T1 remember to take it easy on the first loop.  Everyone is going to speed out of T1 with excitement and fly up the first climb.  Trust your power meter and our numbers.  Let all the other assholes go, they're either going to blow up and you'll pass them or they were just better than you anyway."  My coach is the best!  I'm sure we'll tweak all this, play with it, train for it and eventually kill this race!  I have high expectations and I'm full of excitement.

When I get back from vacation this week we'll be full steam ahead into my races left this season but Ironman will be the major target on my calendar.  We'll see what improvements I can make for the rest of this season and I'm definitely not mailing anything in.  All my focus has just shifted to the future and the big A race circled on my calendar for next July!

Lake Placid Ironman 2014 - Race Weekend Recap

First, I apologize for not posting this update sooner but the last week has been crazy!  I left for Lake Placid Thursday, came home Monday night and left for Chicago on Tuesday morning; less than 10 hours after getting home.  I’m currently writing this at 41,000 feet in the air on a Southwest Boeing 737-700 on Wednesday morning at 6:20am heading east.  As mentioned, crazy!

The photo that best describes Ironman
Lake Placid 2014 weekend; wet

Last week I arrived in Lake Placid for Ironman as an official race finishing triathlete but also not really knowing what to expect.  If local sprint triathlons are rookie ball then an Ironman event is the Major Leagues.  The enormity of the Ironman event is intimidating to me.  I’m glad I decided to go watch an event before actually competing in a full Ironman.  The huge field, the hype, the transition area, the course, the mass of spectators and the fanfare made me think, “this is what fighting in the Roman Coliseum must have been like.”   The experience was awesome and I’ll try to do the event justice in my recount.

I arrived in Lake Placid after a night of work, being awake for almost 35 hours and having driven for 9 hours.  Dunkin Donuts coffee and bathroom stops (4 XL coffee and 3 bathrooms stops - the final tally) were the prevailing theme of my drive.  The first thing I saw driving into Lake Placid were the ski jumps and a lot of people out training on the Ironman course.  Bikes and runners were abundant.  

I checked into my hotel and lucky for me, my hotel was within walking distance of downtown.  As soon as I dropped my luggage off in the room I hoofed the mile-ish walk to the transition, finish, Ironman area that would serve as home base for the event all weekend.  My goal was to see transition at the Olympic Speed Skating Oval and look at the coveted Ironman Finish line!  After seeing the line, and being so excited and overcome with happiness I may have peed a little,  I walked over to see Mirror Lake.  My first impression, “Wow, that swim course is long as hell!”  Honestly, I got a little intimidated.  I’m definitely going to need to go to Lake Placid to practice and train on this course to ease my nerves.  Confidence goes a long way in triathlon and I need to know I’m ready!

Lake Placid Swim Course

After seeing the finish line and the lake I called it a day, or a few days!  Like the rockstar I am I was in bed before 8pm and slept until my alarm went off at 4:30am.

Me and the Finish Line!

The second day I planned to head out early and run on the course so I’d have an idea what I am getting myself into with the plan to race Ironman Lake Placid in 2015.  At 5:15am I was dressed and heading out the door for my run.  First impression, wow its cold in Lake Placid!  I was severely underdressed for temperatures where I could see my breath.  After a few minutes run I was warm and enjoying the views.  Mirror Lake at sunrise might be the most beautiful place I’ve ever watched the sun rise.  Its spectacular!  For being in a town full of endurance and endorphin junkies I was surprised to find I was the only person out running at this hour!  (truth be told I’m wearing the fact I was the first one on the roads as a badge of honor!  I think I made the fraternity with that one)  My time was nothing spectacular for all the pictures I stopped to take along the way but I covered nearly 8 miles of the course - most of the first loop out to the ski jumps.  

Mirror Lake morning run

Mirror Lake at sun rise

After my run I changed, showered and had some awful coffee.  Lake Placid does not know how to make coffee, anywhere, at all.  Every establishment made the worst coffee I’ve ever drank.  Note to self: take coffee maker next year!  I spent the day taking photos, shopping and absorbing my environment!  We had our Mid-Maryland Triathlon Club group picture (which I stole from someone I don’t know on Facebook) and then had lunch with a few club members at the Lake Placid Brew Pub.  I feel I have a grasp of what to do at Ironman events just by watching, talking to racers and experiencing the happenings surrounding this event.  Again, this rockstar was in bed early and ready for race day!

Race day I was up at “way too early still dark outside-thirty,” and got ready for what I expected to be a long day of spectating, cheering, volunteering and photo taking.  I left my hotel at 4:45am and joined the already in progress, lycra clad, procession of black toe-nails down Main Street on our way to transition area.  The morning air was crisp and cool on race day but the prevailing theme was an eery calm quiet  as racers made their way to the oval.  I found a nigh vantage point and watched the participants prepare before making my way to Mirror Lake Drive for a good vantage point of the swim.  

Transition: race morning

As the swim began very menacing clouds began to roll across the mountains.  As I moved down toward the transition area to watch the swimmers exit it started raining.  Then it started raining harder.  Soon, it was pouring buckets of huge rain drops!  I was soaked to my underwear in seconds.  Next came the sideways, blowing, stinging yours skin hard rain accompanied by thunder and lightening.  My friends were on their bike rides by this point and I was concerned for their safety.  If you’ve never seen it, the decent into Keene is no joke, downhill, technical and fast.  Not a good combination for wet roads and speeding triathletes on bikes.  Oh, did I mention sections of the road are in dreadful states of disrepair?!  (thankfully all my friends made it through safely!)

Literally the calm before the storm

The storm signaled my time for breakfast and a much deserved nap before my volunteer shift.  When I got up I packed my gear and packed the Jeep.  I wouldn’t be taking any photos in these conditions so I may as well prepare for an early exit the next day.  

I headed back to transition for my volunteer meeting.  I had my meeting, received my shirt and watched the first group of racers across the finish line!  I saw both of my friends cross the line!  congrats to Ginny and Dan, you guys did awesome!  Your awesome races in such horrible conditions are incredibly inspiring to me!  Great job!!!

My volunteer shift began in bike checkout and before I could blink the race was over!  The last finisher crossed the line.  The lights went out, Mike Reiley went home and the crowd dispersed.  But the night wasn’t over.  At about 12:26ish while we were finishing our volunteer duties one lady, driven by determination and her support group, came around the oval toward the finish line.  This lady was not to be denied her finish!  The remaining spectators and volunteers gathered and welcomed her back with applause!  She may not be an official Ironman finisher but she is the most inspiring person I’ve ever seen!  I’m so glad I got to stay to see her, I’m getting chills just typing.  She is the person I respect.  When you start something, you finish!  I hope I can have half her courage and determination when I race my Ironman next year at Lake Placid.  

Overall Ironman Lake Placid is an amazing event!  Lake Placid itself is an incredible destination.  I hope I get to spend some time there over the course of the next year while I train.  I did register for next year’s race but I’d like to discuss that in a post all to itself.  I’d like to elaborate on the registration process and expand my personal thoughts as they apply to my race in one specific post later this week.  Thanks for reading!!!  

Mid Maryland Triathlon Club
representing and supporting 

Watching my friends finish