Why don't you show my pal Lewis some love on his blog? He's writing his first blog and chronicling his 2014
adventures including the London and Berlin marathons and Ironman
Kalmar. You can find it here.
Before I get to the new content, yeah, here is my plea again.
I wanted to bring some attention to the charity I'm
supporting as I ramp up to Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June 2014. Yes, I'm going to keep asking until I reach my goal of $2500 :)
I’m
competing in 2014 as a “Blazeman Warrior.” In 2005, Jon "The Blazeman"
Blais raced the big Ironman, in Hawaii, and completed it even while
suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His family started the Blazeman
Foundation for ALS. I’m raising money for them and in honor of Jon, I
plan on rolling across the finish line in Coeur d’Alene just as Jon did
when he finished. A famous quote from Jon is, "Even if I have to be
rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing," so you often see Blazeman
Warriors rolling across Ironman finish lines.
I also lost an Aunt to ALS so this charity is very personal to me. Any help would be appreciated.
An
Ironman is 140.6 miles so even if you donated just 10 cents per mile,
that would be $14.06. You can donate at the following link:
http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/blazemanJJohnso
Recently, there has been some chatter on my tri-club's Facebook page about race day nutrition, especially coming from people new to the sport. So I thought I'd write a post about it instead of trying to cram it into a Facebook comment.
When I first started, I rather overlooked nutrition as I figured there would be stuff on the course to eat and drink, so what was the big deal? However, I quickly learned (probably the hard way) why nutrition is often called "the fourth discipline."
The epiphany for me was on my first long training ride in 2011 on the actual Ironman Louisville course. I ended that ride in tears and frustration after about 50 miles, nearly 15 miles from my car, with a call to my wife to come rescue me. I was so dehydrated (I think I lost 10+ pounds that day) and had bonked so hard, I couldn't even pedal. I thought my Ironman dream was over. If I can't even manage a 60-70 mile ride, how am I going to manage 140.6 miles? It came down to nutrition and hydration.
So where do you start? The biggest mistake most newbies make is trying to replace calories. Let's say for your weight, you burn 1000 calories an hour on the bike. Should you try to then replace 1000 calories? Simple answer: NO! Your body cannot process that many calories. Most of the research I've read says your body can process about 300-350 calories at the top end per hour. So as a bigger guy, I personally shoot for 300-325 calories an hour while riding but you have to test and practice during your training. Your per hour caloric needs may be SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT so you must do some experimentation to figure this out for yourself.
How do you get those calories? I usually drink about 20-24 ounces of sports drink an hour during typical temperatures. That is about 160 calories. I may supplement with more water if it's a hot day. That leaves about 150 calories that you need to add. This can be nearly anything. It depends on what your stomach can handle and what you enjoy eating. Gels, fig newtons, nutrition bars, potatoes...I've seen it all. The one thing I've found is that over the length of a day, my body's ability to process food gets less and less. So on hour one of the bike, I might be able to have a Bonk Breaker bar, but by hour five, it has to be something more simple like Power Bar chews or a gel.
Once I hit the run, I'll admit I get less formal as I know my body will guide me. Each aid station, I grab a serving of Coke, yes Coca Cola, and water. A serving here is probably 4-5 ounces of each. I also add chicken broth to the mix when they bring it out, which is usually at dusk. For those wondering about chicken broth, it's like crack. A little warm, salty, made of easy to digest calories. Just about the perfect thing.
The last thing you might need to do, especially in hot weather, is supplement your electrolytes as you'll lose a ton of them while you sweat. I personally use Salt Stick but there are a lot of different products out there you can try.
To sum up a typical Ironman day for me (I also use a similar strategy for a half Ironman):
Pre-race breakfast: Bagel and peanut butter, oatmeal, something like that. Some water.
In the hour leading up to the start I sip on a bottle of sports drink.
10 minutes before the swim start: a gel. Pick your favorite flavor. I also take a pre-race dose of Salt Stick.
Immediately after the swim: another dose of Salt Stick and start my eating/drinking plan. I set my Garmin to honk at me every 15 minutes to remind me to drink and eat a bit. For example, if I know I need to eat one Bonk Breaker bar each hour, I try to eat about a fourth of one each time my watch beeps.
At the top of each hour: electrolytes.
On the run: Coke/water/chicken broth at each aid station, depending on what's grabbing you and what time of day it is. I also try to eat a little something every other aid station. No set plan here, just depends on my gut. Could be some crackers, pretzels, a gel, grapes, orange slices, peanut butter crackers, etc.
I hope all this helps!
Until next time...
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Looking Back and Pondering a Big Goal
Before I get to the new content, you know what's coming first!
I have a friend who's writing his first blog and chronicling his 2014 adventures including the London and Berlin marathons and Ironman Kalmar. You can find his blog here.
I wanted to bring some attention to the charity I'm supporting as I ramp up to Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June 2014. Yes, I'm going to keep asking until I reach my goal of $2500 :)
I’m competing in 2014 as a “Blazeman Warrior.” In 2005, Jon "The Blazeman" Blais raced the big Ironman, in Hawaii, and completed it even while suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His family started the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. I’m raising money for them and in honor of Jon, I plan on rolling across the finish line in Coeur d’Alene just as Jon did when he finished. A famous quote from Jon is, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing," so you often see Blazeman Warriors rolling across Ironman finish lines.
I also lost an Aunt to ALS so this charity is very personal to me. Any help would be appreciated.
An Ironman is 140.6 miles so even if you donated just 10 cents per mile, that would be $14.06. You can donate at the following link:
http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/blazemanJJohnso
Recently, a friend asked me to look for something in my Training Peaks account that I really don't use much. For those that don't use a website like Training Peaks, Garmin Connect, Strava, etc., they essentially do a lot of the same things. They store the data gathered by your GPS, like my watch, and give you all kinds of metrics to go with it, such as heart rate data, pace, calories burned, and so on. Before I got my Garmin watch I was using a Timex and Training Peaks was the place the watch data went. So for all of my first Ironman training, the data was stored there.
So on a lark, I decided to take a look and boy was I pleasantly surprised and a bit shocked at the numbers. A "good" run pace for me was probably 11:30/mile even over a relatively short distance but it wasn't uncommon to find runs at 12 or even 13 minute pace. In July, 2011, I ran a half marathon, albeit in scorching temperatures, in 3:28. This was only 6 (!!) weeks before my first Ironman. I recently did a 2 hour half was upset at the time. My oh my, how times have changed.
From a prior blog post, I recently did a 5 mile run with a seriously hilly first half in 7:59 pace so it got me thinking. If I focused solely on running for a season, could I achieve a Boston Marathon qualifying time? For my age, that would require a 7:49 pace. My pal Ryan, who is a phenomenal runner, even offered to coach me and said if I gave him 6 months and it was running only, we could do it. I'm not so convinced but my gains this year have me at least contemplating it.
Something to ponder....
Until next time.
I have a friend who's writing his first blog and chronicling his 2014 adventures including the London and Berlin marathons and Ironman Kalmar. You can find his blog here.
I wanted to bring some attention to the charity I'm supporting as I ramp up to Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June 2014. Yes, I'm going to keep asking until I reach my goal of $2500 :)
I’m competing in 2014 as a “Blazeman Warrior.” In 2005, Jon "The Blazeman" Blais raced the big Ironman, in Hawaii, and completed it even while suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His family started the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. I’m raising money for them and in honor of Jon, I plan on rolling across the finish line in Coeur d’Alene just as Jon did when he finished. A famous quote from Jon is, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing," so you often see Blazeman Warriors rolling across Ironman finish lines.
I also lost an Aunt to ALS so this charity is very personal to me. Any help would be appreciated.
An Ironman is 140.6 miles so even if you donated just 10 cents per mile, that would be $14.06. You can donate at the following link:
http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/blazemanJJohnso
Recently, a friend asked me to look for something in my Training Peaks account that I really don't use much. For those that don't use a website like Training Peaks, Garmin Connect, Strava, etc., they essentially do a lot of the same things. They store the data gathered by your GPS, like my watch, and give you all kinds of metrics to go with it, such as heart rate data, pace, calories burned, and so on. Before I got my Garmin watch I was using a Timex and Training Peaks was the place the watch data went. So for all of my first Ironman training, the data was stored there.
So on a lark, I decided to take a look and boy was I pleasantly surprised and a bit shocked at the numbers. A "good" run pace for me was probably 11:30/mile even over a relatively short distance but it wasn't uncommon to find runs at 12 or even 13 minute pace. In July, 2011, I ran a half marathon, albeit in scorching temperatures, in 3:28. This was only 6 (!!) weeks before my first Ironman. I recently did a 2 hour half was upset at the time. My oh my, how times have changed.
From a prior blog post, I recently did a 5 mile run with a seriously hilly first half in 7:59 pace so it got me thinking. If I focused solely on running for a season, could I achieve a Boston Marathon qualifying time? For my age, that would require a 7:49 pace. My pal Ryan, who is a phenomenal runner, even offered to coach me and said if I gave him 6 months and it was running only, we could do it. I'm not so convinced but my gains this year have me at least contemplating it.
Something to ponder....
Until next time.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Iroquois Hill Runners Thanksgiving Day Run Report
A couple of items to get to before you see the new content. The first is my continued plugging of my charity for the 2014 season:
I wanted to bring some attention to the charity I'm supporting as I ramp up to Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June 2014. Yes, I'm going to keep asking until I reach my goal of $2500 :)
I’m competing in 2014 as a “Blazeman Warrior.” In 2005, Jon "The Blazeman" Blais raced the big Ironman, in Hawaii, and completed it even while suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His family started the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. I’m raising money for them and in honor of Jon, I plan on rolling across the finish line in Coeur d’Alene just as Jon did when he finished. A famous quote from Jon is, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing," so you often see Blazeman Warriors rolling across Ironman finish lines.
I also lost an Aunt to ALS so this charity is very personal to me. Any help would be appreciated.
An Ironman is 140.6 miles so even if you donated just 10 cents per mile, that would be $14.06. You can donate at the following link:
http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/blazemanJJohnso
Also, a friend of mine from England has started a blog to document his big 2014 including 2 marathons, a half-Ironman, and a full Ironman. His blog can be found here.
Yesterday, for my international friends, was Thanksgiving Day in the United States so several friends and I got together for what has become a turkey day tradition: a five mile run at Iroquois Park in Louisville.
The run takes you up to the top of Iroquois Park, a short loop, then back down. My best ever time at this event, and my best ever five mile run, was 41:42, which I did last year. So I set a goal of 41 minutes or 8:12/mile and programmed my GPS watch to let me know how I was doing relative to that goal. It tells me how far ahead or behind I am in terms of both distance and time.
It was a 9 am start but still cold as heck, especially compared to last year. I think the temperature at the start was right about 22 F so I bundled up in long running tights, a long sleeve tech shirt, a running jacket, a beanie and gloves. My friend Scott, a college buddy, was running with me and we decided to stay together for the entire five miles. It certainly made the run easier and the distance seemed to fly by.
Since the first part of the run, probably two miles or so is uphill, getting worse as you approach the two mile mark, I was expecting to be behind a bit and then make it up but it was going very well. The first mile was 8:12, exactly on pace, while the second was 8:15. Again, wasn't worried, as I knew I was going to be coming back down the hill on the way back. The third mile is relatively flat, and that was 8:09, making up for the 8:15. Now all I had to do was hold an 8:12 or better pace on the way back down. Mile four was 7:42, while the last one was 7:37.
Total time was 40:01, which is the most frustrating part. Since I just had my pacer screen up, I didn't know I was that close to breaking 40 and would certainly have pushed a bit at the end to go sub-40 if I knew I was so close. But I guess that's why we do it, right? There's always a new limit, a new goal, and now I know my goal for the 2014 version!
I wanted to bring some attention to the charity I'm supporting as I ramp up to Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June 2014. Yes, I'm going to keep asking until I reach my goal of $2500 :)
I’m competing in 2014 as a “Blazeman Warrior.” In 2005, Jon "The Blazeman" Blais raced the big Ironman, in Hawaii, and completed it even while suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His family started the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. I’m raising money for them and in honor of Jon, I plan on rolling across the finish line in Coeur d’Alene just as Jon did when he finished. A famous quote from Jon is, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing," so you often see Blazeman Warriors rolling across Ironman finish lines.
I also lost an Aunt to ALS so this charity is very personal to me. Any help would be appreciated.
An Ironman is 140.6 miles so even if you donated just 10 cents per mile, that would be $14.06. You can donate at the following link:
http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/blazemanJJohnso
Also, a friend of mine from England has started a blog to document his big 2014 including 2 marathons, a half-Ironman, and a full Ironman. His blog can be found here.
Yesterday, for my international friends, was Thanksgiving Day in the United States so several friends and I got together for what has become a turkey day tradition: a five mile run at Iroquois Park in Louisville.
The run takes you up to the top of Iroquois Park, a short loop, then back down. My best ever time at this event, and my best ever five mile run, was 41:42, which I did last year. So I set a goal of 41 minutes or 8:12/mile and programmed my GPS watch to let me know how I was doing relative to that goal. It tells me how far ahead or behind I am in terms of both distance and time.
It was a 9 am start but still cold as heck, especially compared to last year. I think the temperature at the start was right about 22 F so I bundled up in long running tights, a long sleeve tech shirt, a running jacket, a beanie and gloves. My friend Scott, a college buddy, was running with me and we decided to stay together for the entire five miles. It certainly made the run easier and the distance seemed to fly by.
Since the first part of the run, probably two miles or so is uphill, getting worse as you approach the two mile mark, I was expecting to be behind a bit and then make it up but it was going very well. The first mile was 8:12, exactly on pace, while the second was 8:15. Again, wasn't worried, as I knew I was going to be coming back down the hill on the way back. The third mile is relatively flat, and that was 8:09, making up for the 8:15. Now all I had to do was hold an 8:12 or better pace on the way back down. Mile four was 7:42, while the last one was 7:37.
Total time was 40:01, which is the most frustrating part. Since I just had my pacer screen up, I didn't know I was that close to breaking 40 and would certainly have pushed a bit at the end to go sub-40 if I knew I was so close. But I guess that's why we do it, right? There's always a new limit, a new goal, and now I know my goal for the 2014 version!
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
More Training Info
Before I begin, I wanted to bring some attention to the charity I'm
supporting as I ramp up to Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June 2014. Yes, I'm going to keep asking until I reach my goal of $2500 :)
I’m competing in 2014 as a “Blazeman Warrior.” In 2005, Jon "The Blazeman" Blais raced the big Ironman, in Hawaii, and completed it even while suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His family started the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. I’m raising money for them and in honor of Jon, I plan on rolling across the finish line in Coeur d’Alene just as Jon did when he finished. A famous quote from Jon is, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing," so you often see Blazeman Warriors rolling across Ironman finish lines.
I also lost an Aunt to ALS so this charity is very personal to me. Any help would be appreciated.
An Ironman is 140.6 miles so even if you donated just 10 cents per mile, that would be $14.06. You can donate at the following link:
http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/blazemanJJohnso
A couple posts ago, I talked about the last big weekend before I taper. For those unfamiliar with the term, a taper is when you decrease your training over a two or three week period leading up to a big event like an Ironman or marathon. So how do you lead up to that big weekend? What does a typical week look like?
Here is what I normally do in a given week during Ironman training. I vary it as necessary but for someone like me who typically tries to just finish in a decent time with a smile and has no shot at winning anything, I think there are 3 key workouts a week.
The first is a long swim. "Long" is a fuzzy term I know but as I'm ramping up toward Ironman, I usually work my way up from about 2000 meters in early part of the plan up to 3500-4000 meters as I hit peak volume. This is sometimes accomplished during a swim group.
The second key workout is a long run. Since tri training plans typically use time instead of distance, the first part of the training would be maybe a one hour run leading up to what I posted as my final big run, of perhaps 16-18 miles or about 3 hours at the most.
The last key workout is a long bike, which usually begins with a couple hour ride and finishing with a full 112 mile 6-6.5 hour ride at the end. During these key workouts you must be practicing your race day items such as nutrition. I usually do my long bike on Saturday, long run on Sunday and my long swim in the middle of the week.
Now I understand that my personal training plan is a bit light on swimming but it works for me. Here is what a typical week looks like:
Monday: Rest or some sort of active recovery. Perhaps yoga or a short spin on my bike with very little effort.
Tuesday: Swim set with some drills or harder efforts sprinkled throughout. Short run.
Wednesday: Bike/run brick. Perhaps 30-40 minutes on the bike, 15-20 minute run.
Thursday: Longer swim. This is more of a straight XX meters for me.
Friday: Another "fun" day for me usually. Swim if I'm feeling like it, perhaps an easy ride with the local bike club.
Saturday: Long bike, short brick run.
Sunday: Long run.
Also, as I've learned, missing a workout here and there or feeling the need to take a mental health day isn't a big deal. If you miss a couple weeks in a row, that's a problem but missing something for work or you're just not feeling it isn't going to ruin your big day. Also, being flexible within a week is A-OK. Don't worry if you have to moving things around a bit. For example, every so often, I have to work on Saturday and will move my long bike to Thursday or Friday as needed.
Finally, you have to have recovery weeks. Perhaps every 4th week, should be a serious cut back on volume to give your body a chance to recover. You might try to work these around major work events and such.
Until next time...
I’m competing in 2014 as a “Blazeman Warrior.” In 2005, Jon "The Blazeman" Blais raced the big Ironman, in Hawaii, and completed it even while suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His family started the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. I’m raising money for them and in honor of Jon, I plan on rolling across the finish line in Coeur d’Alene just as Jon did when he finished. A famous quote from Jon is, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing," so you often see Blazeman Warriors rolling across Ironman finish lines.
I also lost an Aunt to ALS so this charity is very personal to me. Any help would be appreciated.
An Ironman is 140.6 miles so even if you donated just 10 cents per mile, that would be $14.06. You can donate at the following link:
http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/blazemanJJohnso
A couple posts ago, I talked about the last big weekend before I taper. For those unfamiliar with the term, a taper is when you decrease your training over a two or three week period leading up to a big event like an Ironman or marathon. So how do you lead up to that big weekend? What does a typical week look like?
Here is what I normally do in a given week during Ironman training. I vary it as necessary but for someone like me who typically tries to just finish in a decent time with a smile and has no shot at winning anything, I think there are 3 key workouts a week.
The first is a long swim. "Long" is a fuzzy term I know but as I'm ramping up toward Ironman, I usually work my way up from about 2000 meters in early part of the plan up to 3500-4000 meters as I hit peak volume. This is sometimes accomplished during a swim group.
The second key workout is a long run. Since tri training plans typically use time instead of distance, the first part of the training would be maybe a one hour run leading up to what I posted as my final big run, of perhaps 16-18 miles or about 3 hours at the most.
The last key workout is a long bike, which usually begins with a couple hour ride and finishing with a full 112 mile 6-6.5 hour ride at the end. During these key workouts you must be practicing your race day items such as nutrition. I usually do my long bike on Saturday, long run on Sunday and my long swim in the middle of the week.
Now I understand that my personal training plan is a bit light on swimming but it works for me. Here is what a typical week looks like:
Monday: Rest or some sort of active recovery. Perhaps yoga or a short spin on my bike with very little effort.
Tuesday: Swim set with some drills or harder efforts sprinkled throughout. Short run.
Wednesday: Bike/run brick. Perhaps 30-40 minutes on the bike, 15-20 minute run.
Thursday: Longer swim. This is more of a straight XX meters for me.
Friday: Another "fun" day for me usually. Swim if I'm feeling like it, perhaps an easy ride with the local bike club.
Saturday: Long bike, short brick run.
Sunday: Long run.
Also, as I've learned, missing a workout here and there or feeling the need to take a mental health day isn't a big deal. If you miss a couple weeks in a row, that's a problem but missing something for work or you're just not feeling it isn't going to ruin your big day. Also, being flexible within a week is A-OK. Don't worry if you have to moving things around a bit. For example, every so often, I have to work on Saturday and will move my long bike to Thursday or Friday as needed.
Finally, you have to have recovery weeks. Perhaps every 4th week, should be a serious cut back on volume to give your body a chance to recover. You might try to work these around major work events and such.
Until next time...
Friday, November 22, 2013
Ironman Louisville Event Report
I'll continue with my training advice next week but a few people have asked about my Ironman Louisville experience so here it goes...
Ironman Louisville 2013 would be my 3rd go at the full iron distance. I'd previously done IMLou in 2011, finishing in 15:55 and feeling like I could have gone all day so perhaps leaving something on the course, and Rev 3 Cedar Point full in 2012, finishing in 14:38 but with the pain of about 45 minutes lost due to a bike mechanical.
With those results in mind and with a good feel for the course and conditions under my belt, I was really thinking I might be able to pull off a sub-14 hour finish this time. Without boring you with the details, I was thinking in these general terms:
I see my first familiar faces, Kim, Jessie, Megan, Carlos and others who are body marking and doing a great job pepping up the 50+ tri club members we had doing the event. It was a welcome sight and then I was on my way over to the swim line. (Remember that Louisville is a time trial start instead of a mass swim like most events.) The rules are set up to prevent you from saving places, having family members hold spots, etc. but a spot in the line is important for a lot of people as the time in line counts against the 17 hour time limit. So as I started walking from the front of the line toward the end, I bump into several Landsharks and just happened to slide into line with them undetected. So instead of waiting until 7:10-7:15 to be in the water, I was swimming at 7:01 or something like that. It was nice to be in the water so quick.
Didn't have a great swim, partially because I have never been able to get a strong kick sorted, but I've really focused on that as I've worked with my swim coach over the last few months. I've also started doing some strength training, which I rather ignored during the last few years, so perhaps that's helping. Final time for the swim: 1:33:52. Not too terrible relative to my goal and faster than the 1:41 I had in 2011. I was a bit faster at Rev3, but I was wearing a wetsuit there.
Into T-1 I go, where I've decided to change into a tri-kit. I had worn my normal swim jammers on the swim. First crisis occurs when I can't find one of my socks. After me and the helpful volunteer searched frantically, we find it...in one of my cycling shoes. In my bike gear bag, it had somehow wound up in my shoe. So it was on with some anti-chafing cream, socks, shoes, helmet, sunglasses, and gloves and I was on my way. Most of the time I don't wear gloves, but the "pads" of my hands have been sore recently on long rides so decided to wear gloves. Quick stop for some sunscreen and I was on the course. T1: 10:50, so a bit longer than goal.
With a goal of about 6:40, I was hoping to average about 17 mph. I don't know if it was a nice cool start to the day or perhaps going out a little fast but I was having the Ironman bike of my life. I did see a gnarly crash on the out and back, which we all know is dangerous on a normal day, let alone with 2500 riders, but beyond that the bike was rather uneventful. Saw many friends, my wife twice, while I was on the course. I felt like I kept my hydration good, my calories consistent, but probably went a bit fast. Grand total: 6:20:16. That compares to a 7:32 in 2011. I knew I was in better shape but wasn't expecting that.
Into T2 where things started to go a bit sideways. I don't know if it was the early morning cool weather and it was now heating up but I could tell I was a bit dehydrated. I was starting to get that "tunnel vision" and knew I was in a bit of trouble. It manifested itself when I was convinced in the changing tent that I had lost the GPS tracker I was using so my friends and family could track me. I probably wasted 4-5 minutes trying to find it. I finally gave up and heading out to the run after another complete change into running gear(more on the tracker later). T2: 13:04. Faster than 2011 but not what I wanted.
The first couple miles of the run were great but then the dehydration really got to me. On the advice of a pro, Chris McDonald, who spoke to our tri club a few days before the race, I started taking Coke as part of my regular hydration/calories from the start. But even with that, I was forced to walk. It probably took me nearly the entire first lap, or half marathon, to get enough hydration in me to feel better. Luckily, as you've read earlier, my walking pace is quite fast so I was able to keep up a good pace, even while walking. Somewhere in the middle of the marathon, I was trying to find something in my running shorts pocket and what do I discover? The lost tracker. It was on an elastic belt but had slipped down into my shorts. The dehydration I was suffering as I left the bike definitely had me losing my mind. The run was fun because I got to run with so many of my tri club buddies, many of them first timers, and experience the joy with them. The second lap was definitely more running than the first. Run total: 5:53:58 compared to 6:12 in 2011. The best part was that I got faster over the course of the marathon with my fastest segment coming as I finished. So even though I wasn't pleased with the total, overcoming my hydration issues and having negative splits made up for it.
Final total for the day: 14:12:00. Not quite my sub-14 goal, but still beat my prior IM Louisville by 1 hour 43 minutes and my Rev3 time by 26 minutes. I think a sub-14 is in my grasp if I keep at it!
Ironman Louisville 2013 would be my 3rd go at the full iron distance. I'd previously done IMLou in 2011, finishing in 15:55 and feeling like I could have gone all day so perhaps leaving something on the course, and Rev 3 Cedar Point full in 2012, finishing in 14:38 but with the pain of about 45 minutes lost due to a bike mechanical.
With those results in mind and with a good feel for the course and conditions under my belt, I was really thinking I might be able to pull off a sub-14 hour finish this time. Without boring you with the details, I was thinking in these general terms:
- 90 minute swim
- 6:40 hour bike
- 5:30 marathon
- 20 minutes in transitions
- Grand total: 14 hours
I see my first familiar faces, Kim, Jessie, Megan, Carlos and others who are body marking and doing a great job pepping up the 50+ tri club members we had doing the event. It was a welcome sight and then I was on my way over to the swim line. (Remember that Louisville is a time trial start instead of a mass swim like most events.) The rules are set up to prevent you from saving places, having family members hold spots, etc. but a spot in the line is important for a lot of people as the time in line counts against the 17 hour time limit. So as I started walking from the front of the line toward the end, I bump into several Landsharks and just happened to slide into line with them undetected. So instead of waiting until 7:10-7:15 to be in the water, I was swimming at 7:01 or something like that. It was nice to be in the water so quick.
Didn't have a great swim, partially because I have never been able to get a strong kick sorted, but I've really focused on that as I've worked with my swim coach over the last few months. I've also started doing some strength training, which I rather ignored during the last few years, so perhaps that's helping. Final time for the swim: 1:33:52. Not too terrible relative to my goal and faster than the 1:41 I had in 2011. I was a bit faster at Rev3, but I was wearing a wetsuit there.
Into T-1 I go, where I've decided to change into a tri-kit. I had worn my normal swim jammers on the swim. First crisis occurs when I can't find one of my socks. After me and the helpful volunteer searched frantically, we find it...in one of my cycling shoes. In my bike gear bag, it had somehow wound up in my shoe. So it was on with some anti-chafing cream, socks, shoes, helmet, sunglasses, and gloves and I was on my way. Most of the time I don't wear gloves, but the "pads" of my hands have been sore recently on long rides so decided to wear gloves. Quick stop for some sunscreen and I was on the course. T1: 10:50, so a bit longer than goal.
With a goal of about 6:40, I was hoping to average about 17 mph. I don't know if it was a nice cool start to the day or perhaps going out a little fast but I was having the Ironman bike of my life. I did see a gnarly crash on the out and back, which we all know is dangerous on a normal day, let alone with 2500 riders, but beyond that the bike was rather uneventful. Saw many friends, my wife twice, while I was on the course. I felt like I kept my hydration good, my calories consistent, but probably went a bit fast. Grand total: 6:20:16. That compares to a 7:32 in 2011. I knew I was in better shape but wasn't expecting that.
Into T2 where things started to go a bit sideways. I don't know if it was the early morning cool weather and it was now heating up but I could tell I was a bit dehydrated. I was starting to get that "tunnel vision" and knew I was in a bit of trouble. It manifested itself when I was convinced in the changing tent that I had lost the GPS tracker I was using so my friends and family could track me. I probably wasted 4-5 minutes trying to find it. I finally gave up and heading out to the run after another complete change into running gear(more on the tracker later). T2: 13:04. Faster than 2011 but not what I wanted.
The first couple miles of the run were great but then the dehydration really got to me. On the advice of a pro, Chris McDonald, who spoke to our tri club a few days before the race, I started taking Coke as part of my regular hydration/calories from the start. But even with that, I was forced to walk. It probably took me nearly the entire first lap, or half marathon, to get enough hydration in me to feel better. Luckily, as you've read earlier, my walking pace is quite fast so I was able to keep up a good pace, even while walking. Somewhere in the middle of the marathon, I was trying to find something in my running shorts pocket and what do I discover? The lost tracker. It was on an elastic belt but had slipped down into my shorts. The dehydration I was suffering as I left the bike definitely had me losing my mind. The run was fun because I got to run with so many of my tri club buddies, many of them first timers, and experience the joy with them. The second lap was definitely more running than the first. Run total: 5:53:58 compared to 6:12 in 2011. The best part was that I got faster over the course of the marathon with my fastest segment coming as I finished. So even though I wasn't pleased with the total, overcoming my hydration issues and having negative splits made up for it.
Final total for the day: 14:12:00. Not quite my sub-14 goal, but still beat my prior IM Louisville by 1 hour 43 minutes and my Rev3 time by 26 minutes. I think a sub-14 is in my grasp if I keep at it!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Blog Refresh and Some Info on My Training
Yes, I've not written much on here in quite a long while. No, I didn't even write an Ironman Louisville re-cap. I promise to get to that, but I wanted to re-start this blog with something I often get asked about. How do you do it? I want to try an Ironman (and trust me, anyone can do it if I can do it), but where do I start? Trust me, this advice isn't for someone who is out to qualify for Kona. But it has worked for someone who's initial goal was to finish with a smile.
Before I begin, I wanted to bring some attention to the charity I'm supporting as I ramp up to Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June 2014.
I’m competing in 2014 as a “Blazeman Warrior.” In 2005, Jon "The Blazeman" Blais raced the big Ironman, in Hawaii, and completed it even while suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His family started the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. I’m raising money for them and in honor of Jon, I plan on rolling across the finish line in Coeur d’Alene just as Jon did when he finished. A famous quote from Jon is, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing," so you often see Blazeman Warriors rolling across Ironman finish lines.
I also lost an Aunt to ALS so this charity is very personal to me. Any help would be appreciated.
An Ironman is 140.6 miles so even if you donated just 10 cents per mile, that would be $14.06. You can donate at the following link:
http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/blazemanJJohnso
I'll start with what NOT to do. You don't need a $10,000 tri bike. You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on other gear. You do need a bike, running shoes, a helmet, etc. but that's it. I've seen people on basic roads bikes finish iron distance events and in some cases, in hilly terrain, a road bike might even be better suited for the task.
So where do you start? What does a typical week look like? I think it's best to start from the end. I can't remember the source, but when I first signed up for Ironman, I scoured training books and websites for information and something that really stuck with me was that at first you are doing the entire distance over say a month or six weeks, then over two weeks, then over a week, then over a weekend, finally doing it all in a single day.
I try to schedule a big weekend about three weeks before the event. Over this weekend, I like to swim the full 2.4 miles on Friday, ride a full 112 miles on Saturday (with a short brick run after), and then my longest run on Sunday. The Sunday run for me is usually 16-18 miles.
The big Saturday ride gives me a chance to give a final test to my nutrition plan and pacing. Now you might be thinking, what nutrition do you use? Each person is different, with a different palette and a different stomach sensitivity, so I hate to say that it depends, but it does.
For me personally, I shoot for about 300-325 calories per hour on the bike, along with about 20-24 ounces of hydration per hour. Don't forget to include the calories in your liquid as part of the total. I am one of the few that has no problem with a drink called Ironman Perform, which the official Ironman race serves on race day. That has about 160 calories per bottle so I try to get another 150-175 calories per hour from another source. I use Bonk Breaker bars, Clif Shot Blocks, Honey Stinger Waffles, etc. depending on what sounds good. I also set my watch to yell at me about every fifteen minutes to remind me to eat and drink. At the top of each hour, I also pop any supplements I'll be using such as additional electrolyte tablets. As you might expect, it's hard to keep track of all this so I keep my extra supplements in these little bags. They fit perfectly in a jersey pocket or in your bike's top tube bag.
The Sunday run has many of the same goals. I test nutrition, hydration, pacing etc. I usually carry a hand bottle and take a good long drink of sports drink after each mile. I also try to get some nutrition about every two miles. Nothing huge, but start eating a little bit each time. I'll talk more about my actual race day nutrition in a later post.
So that covers the last pre-taper weekend. You'll still be doing some training in the last 3 weeks but it really lessens in volume as you want to reach the big day refreshed.
In my next post, I'll cover what I do leading up to that last big weekend and what a typical week looks like for me.
Before I begin, I wanted to bring some attention to the charity I'm supporting as I ramp up to Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June 2014.
I’m competing in 2014 as a “Blazeman Warrior.” In 2005, Jon "The Blazeman" Blais raced the big Ironman, in Hawaii, and completed it even while suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His family started the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. I’m raising money for them and in honor of Jon, I plan on rolling across the finish line in Coeur d’Alene just as Jon did when he finished. A famous quote from Jon is, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing," so you often see Blazeman Warriors rolling across Ironman finish lines.
I also lost an Aunt to ALS so this charity is very personal to me. Any help would be appreciated.
An Ironman is 140.6 miles so even if you donated just 10 cents per mile, that would be $14.06. You can donate at the following link:
http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/blazemanJJohnso
I'll start with what NOT to do. You don't need a $10,000 tri bike. You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on other gear. You do need a bike, running shoes, a helmet, etc. but that's it. I've seen people on basic roads bikes finish iron distance events and in some cases, in hilly terrain, a road bike might even be better suited for the task.
So where do you start? What does a typical week look like? I think it's best to start from the end. I can't remember the source, but when I first signed up for Ironman, I scoured training books and websites for information and something that really stuck with me was that at first you are doing the entire distance over say a month or six weeks, then over two weeks, then over a week, then over a weekend, finally doing it all in a single day.
I try to schedule a big weekend about three weeks before the event. Over this weekend, I like to swim the full 2.4 miles on Friday, ride a full 112 miles on Saturday (with a short brick run after), and then my longest run on Sunday. The Sunday run for me is usually 16-18 miles.
The big Saturday ride gives me a chance to give a final test to my nutrition plan and pacing. Now you might be thinking, what nutrition do you use? Each person is different, with a different palette and a different stomach sensitivity, so I hate to say that it depends, but it does.
For me personally, I shoot for about 300-325 calories per hour on the bike, along with about 20-24 ounces of hydration per hour. Don't forget to include the calories in your liquid as part of the total. I am one of the few that has no problem with a drink called Ironman Perform, which the official Ironman race serves on race day. That has about 160 calories per bottle so I try to get another 150-175 calories per hour from another source. I use Bonk Breaker bars, Clif Shot Blocks, Honey Stinger Waffles, etc. depending on what sounds good. I also set my watch to yell at me about every fifteen minutes to remind me to eat and drink. At the top of each hour, I also pop any supplements I'll be using such as additional electrolyte tablets. As you might expect, it's hard to keep track of all this so I keep my extra supplements in these little bags. They fit perfectly in a jersey pocket or in your bike's top tube bag.
The Sunday run has many of the same goals. I test nutrition, hydration, pacing etc. I usually carry a hand bottle and take a good long drink of sports drink after each mile. I also try to get some nutrition about every two miles. Nothing huge, but start eating a little bit each time. I'll talk more about my actual race day nutrition in a later post.
So that covers the last pre-taper weekend. You'll still be doing some training in the last 3 weeks but it really lessens in volume as you want to reach the big day refreshed.
In my next post, I'll cover what I do leading up to that last big weekend and what a typical week looks like for me.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Ironman 70.3 Muncie Race Report
After last year's abbreviated Muncie 70.3 due to an extremely hot stretch, we were given a discount code to use for this year's race, so several of us decided to head back. This included a couple first timers. I think a total of 21 of my tri club members headed up for the event including Ken, Megan and Jessie (first timers at the 70.3 distance), Carlos, Bill, Scott, etc.
Since my first and only half Ironman went so horribly in 2011, I felt like I was almost guaranteed a PR. The weather appeared to also be cooperating including a likely wetsuit legal swim, something none of us expected. I really didn't have any set goals heading in as I was still pointing my season toward Ironman Louisville in late August. For reference, last year was a 1 mile swim, a 30 mile bike, and a 10K run. My splits were: 49:24, 20.33 mph, and 1:13:11. I figured the swim had to be better without the heat and a wetsuit, but I wasn't sure I could keep up the pace on the bike.
I decided to go in a sleeveless wetsuit in order to avoid any potential overheating but had to wait almost an hour after the first wave, as my age group was near the end. This did have one benefit, though. I was able to target some earlier wave folks to help motivate my swim. My swim time was 41:41, a huge improvement over a .2 mile longer distance. Super pleased with that. My T1 was 6:03, not great, but I did stop to pee and get slathered in sunscreen.
We knew from local reports that miles 20-35 on the bike were going to be very rough and we weren't disappointed. I've seen items thrown off bikes on rough roads but never full aero bottles, water bottles still in expensive carbon cages, etc. It was total carnage over that section and it really seemed to kill a lot of cycling speed. As I neared the two hour mark, I looked down at my Garmin and saw I was averaging 18.3 mph. After some quick math, I realized that 18.6 mph would put me at a sub-3 hour bike split. That's something I couldn't imagine pulling off. So as we got back on the smooth, slightly downhill part of the course, which also include a bit of a tailwind, I hit the gas to see if I could do it. Bike split was 2:59:03 meeting that sub-3 target. T2 was a bit better than T1 at 4:49. Also included more peeing and sun screen.
I was now on to the run and the temperature was starting to climb. I knew I was in for some rolling hills and with the heat, wasn't really sure what to expect. I also made a big mistake leaving T2 without electrolyte tabs and felt like that hurt me, especially after the run turnaround. I think the run splits show this. I did the first 6.6 miles in 1:09 but the second in 1:25, much slower. I also probably went out too fast and paid for that later in the run, which included a lot of walking toward the end. Total for the run: 2:35:14.
Grand total for the day: 6:26:50, a 2 hour PR! Obviously my other half-Ironman was total rubbish but I was certainly proud of myself and the improvements I've made.
Since my first and only half Ironman went so horribly in 2011, I felt like I was almost guaranteed a PR. The weather appeared to also be cooperating including a likely wetsuit legal swim, something none of us expected. I really didn't have any set goals heading in as I was still pointing my season toward Ironman Louisville in late August. For reference, last year was a 1 mile swim, a 30 mile bike, and a 10K run. My splits were: 49:24, 20.33 mph, and 1:13:11. I figured the swim had to be better without the heat and a wetsuit, but I wasn't sure I could keep up the pace on the bike.
I decided to go in a sleeveless wetsuit in order to avoid any potential overheating but had to wait almost an hour after the first wave, as my age group was near the end. This did have one benefit, though. I was able to target some earlier wave folks to help motivate my swim. My swim time was 41:41, a huge improvement over a .2 mile longer distance. Super pleased with that. My T1 was 6:03, not great, but I did stop to pee and get slathered in sunscreen.
We knew from local reports that miles 20-35 on the bike were going to be very rough and we weren't disappointed. I've seen items thrown off bikes on rough roads but never full aero bottles, water bottles still in expensive carbon cages, etc. It was total carnage over that section and it really seemed to kill a lot of cycling speed. As I neared the two hour mark, I looked down at my Garmin and saw I was averaging 18.3 mph. After some quick math, I realized that 18.6 mph would put me at a sub-3 hour bike split. That's something I couldn't imagine pulling off. So as we got back on the smooth, slightly downhill part of the course, which also include a bit of a tailwind, I hit the gas to see if I could do it. Bike split was 2:59:03 meeting that sub-3 target. T2 was a bit better than T1 at 4:49. Also included more peeing and sun screen.
I was now on to the run and the temperature was starting to climb. I knew I was in for some rolling hills and with the heat, wasn't really sure what to expect. I also made a big mistake leaving T2 without electrolyte tabs and felt like that hurt me, especially after the run turnaround. I think the run splits show this. I did the first 6.6 miles in 1:09 but the second in 1:25, much slower. I also probably went out too fast and paid for that later in the run, which included a lot of walking toward the end. Total for the run: 2:35:14.
Grand total for the day: 6:26:50, a 2 hour PR! Obviously my other half-Ironman was total rubbish but I was certainly proud of myself and the improvements I've made.
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