IM Arizona

I was in Tempe this past week for Ironman Arizona. After a pretty unprepared attempt in '08, and a bike mechanical that had me pulling the plug at IM Canada, this was really my 1st full Ironman. I had trained well, stayed healthy, had a nutrition and pacing plan in place. Of course there were things I could improve going in, and lots I need to improve. But I was fit and ready.

Went to Tempe on Wednesday am, so I could get rested, finish the last few workouts, and not have to rush anything. Tribe Multisport (great shop!) set me up with a homestay, Brandon, right off the IMAZ run course. I had a great time, everyone was very helpful and fun to hang out with. Definitely a relaxed and smooth lead in to the race.

Saturday afternoon, I started to have some problems with my digestion. I'm not sure what the issue was. I've given everything I ate to Jesse at QT2, and we're trying to figure it out. The great thing about the people I work with, Cliff English, Jesse Kropelnicki, Chris Ramsey; we can look at issues and address them, rather than just hoping for the best next time.

Anyway, something was definitely off. I was burping, and was feeling like I was going to throw up that night. Pretty uncomfortable sleep. Got up early to eat breakfast, and felt a bit better. Went back to sleep for a while, then got up to start to head over to the race.

I was feeling quite bloated and uncomfortable pre race, but there wasn't much I could do about it then. Just hoped that I would feel better as the day goes on.

I was surprised how cold the water was, I had raced a few weeks earlier there for Soma, non wetsuit, and now it was 61*...no problem. Started in a good position, and tried to stick to the feet I found early. Uh oh, not happening. Ok, next group, nope...settled into a pack around the turn around, and figured I'd just sit in the rest of the way, but again, no luck. I've been swimming well the last few races, very good for me actually, so I figured this would be the case. I guess not.

Got out in 55 min, right by guys like Jordan Rapp and Trevor Wurtele, who also had rough swims. I knew it wasn't great, but also knew I wasn't out of contention, and it was a long day.

Uneventful transition, and got out with a group I thought I could ride with. Sitting in (legally), I started to try to get my nutrition/hydration in early, as was the plan. The gastrointestinal issues I hoped would subside..nope. Right from the start, nothing was staying down. I won't bother with explicit details, but nothing was staying down. another Uh oh. So when the group started to push the pace above where I wanted, I let them go. And that theme was consistent for the rest of the ride. Got passed by some guys I figured I could ride with, but it just wasn't happening. Cramping on the last lap, but nothing terrible, just uncomfortable.

4:48 ride. I know I'm talking about how poor the ride was, but for me, it was still important that I stayed with it, rode the best I could on the day, and get ready to go run. I have to admit, it's a long distance. I was a little unsure, not that I could finish, but that I could just keep going as best I could, and not give in. A lot of issues for me relate to where I feel I should be at certain points in the race. It's not an issue of pain, or effort, but of expectations. I got off the bike, knowing I was back of where I expected to be, knowing I would get beat by LOTS of people, but just going out and accepting it. If someone beats me, they deserve it. It shouldn't change my effort, or my desire to do my best. So I just started running. I knew I didn't have it, and just ran from aid station to aid station, getting in whatever I could and hoping I could just keep going.

At some point fairly early on the run, I saw my coach Cliff. He asked how it was going. I was pretty miserable, told him I hadn't been able to take in calories, etc...He told me, "hey man, you're still running! I know it sucks, but you're still running. Get in what you can and just see what happens." It was exactly what I needed to hear. I was starting to feel kinda frustrated with how the day was going, thinking, "Crap, 20 more miles of this?" But he was right, I was still moving. And that's pretty good in an Ironman. So I just went with it. There were times when the pace would lift, would drop, but overall I was still running. 2 kind of long bathroom breaks (again, no details needed), but I came out of the porta potty and got back to running.

3:30 run. 9:20:19 Finish time. Well short of the goal, but it's a starting point. I think the pacing/goal plan was right, it was just a matter of execution. I read a Paulo Sousa tweet, "experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." I agree, and this was definitely an "experience" kind of day. Medical tent, a few IV's, and I was feeling better. Legs pretty beat up for a few days, but feel much better now.

Right after the race, the thought was, "well, at least I finished one, I don't have to do that again." Amanda Stevens (also in the medical tent) told me, "give it a week." Well, it's only been 3 or 4 days, but yeah, already thinking of how to improve for the next one. I was happy to finish, but I know it's far from the best I could have done.

As I said before, the support was ridiculous. The community really gets behind this race, and it was a great experience. My homestays Brandon and Steve (who again, went out of their way to help), Tribe Multisport, everyone else I met in Tempe that week. My sponsors, Scott and Justin at Ameriprise Financial, the David, Chris, and everyone at PACE, Sean at Quietly Fierce Media (who raced AZ as well), Garmin and Powerbar. My coach Cliff English, who had me ready, and knew exactly what I needed to keep going, and my nutritionist, Jesse Kropelnicki, whose advice gave me the ability to work through my issues, where as I would have been in a lot of trouble otherwise. And of course my entire team at Athletes Lounge, who work so freaking hard and allow me the freedom to train and race and keep trying to improve.

The biggest thanks go to my family. My wife, Sarah, who does all the heavy lifting at home and never gives me crap for training (though she does give me a hard time when I miss a session), and my parents who support what I do 100% and have always been supportive and encouraging. My boys Jack and Bennett, who give me all the motivation I need to keep at it.

I'll take a short break, then get back to training, start planning for next season. I'll keep everyone updated on the schedule when I know.

Thanks for reading.

New Bike

Custom Steel time trial bike from English Cycles (www.englishcycles.com). I'll take and post more pictures soon. Internal Di2 (battery is in the seattube). The 2nd picture shows how you charge it, a USB port, you just plug the bike into the wall. ENVE 6.7 rims with custom English aero hubs. Custom mount for my Garmin Edge 500. Quite a bit of adjustability built into it as well. My Argon is officially done, a pretty significant crack in the frame. Time to get dialed on the new bike!

I'll be posting some news soon on Coaching, Nutrition, and Sponsorship/Marketing. Not advice from me, but who I'm working with in each area. Triathlon demands being good at a lot of things, in addition to swimming, biking, and running. I'm smart enough to know I need plenty of help in these areas. Having a great support team is critical, and I'll try to give them their due.

Interbike later this week. Most new bikes/gear/equipment has made the rounds on the internet by now, but there's always a few surprises.

Fear and Anger

"Fear and anger are motor inhibitors...You've got to let it all go and do what you love and %#* the rest" -Greg Jackson

The biggest issue for many guys in the sport is long term goals of training and getting slightly better. I know it's hampered my improvement at times, just wanting everything to come together right away. Racing with expectations of "proving yourself", doesn't really do anything (for me, at least). Last year, I had done a good job of just going out and racing, seeing what happens. And I had some good races. But then there was an attitude change. Seeing the positive results, led me back into that "proving" mindset.

The last few races (since Bennett was born), I've just gone out and raced. And had a great time. I think in the past, even just earlier this year, I wouldn't have been satisfied with my results. But I see it as a point in time, right now. It's not an indictment of my potential, or anything else other than just where I am, right now.

The anger part hasn't been a big issue in racing (at least not since I was 21), but this past weekend was a good example of how that can affect you as well. From my previous post (and subsequent complaining to friends and family), I'm even more aware of letting anger affect a positive outcome. I felt I lost 2-3 positions on a questionable call. But I was coming off a pretty good 10k in my last race, and some very quality run workouts between. On the bike, I was excited to run fast, in a positive, attacking mindset. But after the penalty, that changed. I just wanted to finish the race and file a protest. If I would have just run to my ability, I think I could have stayed "in the money", my goal in the race.

It's a common theme you see in guys who consistently perform well. They get upset, they get bad calls, but they can compartmentalize it, save it for later, and just deal with the task at hand. It's another lesson, and I look forward to learning from it, as well as racing again.

Racing is fun, racing is why I'm still in the sport. Why make it something it's not?

"the key to doing well in competition is to accept. Accept you can lose, you can not perform. Take this big bag of rocks out of your backpack, take the pressure off, and you'll do better. Once you understand that, man, you can do well" - Ricardo Libori0

Race Report

Well, that was interesting. Some really good, really frustrating events, but overall a great race and fun time. TriStar Minnesota is a 1st time race in the U.S., it's a pretty popular series over in Europe. 1k swim, 100k bike, 10k run. My goal was to have a good swim, solid but controlled bike, and run fast. 2 out of 3 is ok I guess.

Good swim for me. Got out and onto Maik Twelsik's (very strong athlete, led the bike at Hawaii and has won a few Ironmans) feet. Had to fight a bit, but got out with him, Damon Barnett, and Devon Palmer. Had a little trouble in transition, my zipper on my swimskin got stuck, so I ended up ripping the suit apart to get out of it. Pretty funny, the shoulder is completely ripped off, but hey, I got it off.

On the bike, I rode with Damon and AJ Baucco, and the 3 of us settled into a nice groove. Damon missed a turn, we screamed at him but he was in the zone, so then just me and AJ. at ~92k, a guy in a van got very aggressive with us. The pro rules had a stagger rule in place, which means you cant ride behind the rider in front of you, no matter how far he is. At the meeting before, they specifically said they would make concessions for safety. Well, with the van still in front of us, and a left turn coming up, I just moved all the way to the right, and dropped way back. Right then, 2 minute stand down. Which lasted closer to 3-4 minutes, with the referee taking a long time to get off the bike, pull out his pad, get my #, then start the watch, even though I had unclipped and gotten off my bike.

Unbelievably frustrating, I always try to ride clean, and felt like I was. I lodged a complaint after the race. The official said, yes, it was a tricky area, and I was "absolutely not gaining an unfair advantage", but it was still a "judgement call", and I can't protest a judgment call. Considering they paid top five, and I was 30 sec out of 5th, it was dissapointing.

All that said, I have to take all of the blame for my way sub-par run. I was very mad, and couldn't let the call go, that late in the ride. I just didn't have the focus and I didn't fully concentrate on my form and cadence. That's all me, any issues outside of my control shouldn't affect what I can control. That said, I had a good hard race, finished 6th overall, and have a good kickoff to my Ironman training focus.

The results were pretty messed up, with some people cutting the course (accidentally, it was a little tricky on some spots). it had 5th place as 13th overall, with me at 9th...hopefully corrected soon. With a few frustrating exceptions, this was a great race. The pro purse sponsors, Urban Tri, a new tri shop in Minneapolis, have been awesome. Redistributing money to more men with the small women's field. The race was well put on, great announcing, great post race food, I'm planning on coming back next year, as are a lot of the other pros there.

Bike file...

TriStar Minnesota by chrisbtri at Garmin Connect - Details

early Ironman prep ride by chrisbtri at Garmin Connect - Details

http://connect.garmin.com/

early Ironman prep ride by chrisbtri at Garmin Connect - Details

I'm working with Garmin now, and just got onto Garmin Connect. Basically, if you have a Garmin, you sign up for the free account, then plug in your Garmin (or just bring it near the computer if it's a wireless connection), and it downloads all you your data. It gives you a complete view of the workout, including your power and heart rate at every point in the ride, averages and max efforts by lap and the entire ride. It also maps the course you completed, which is great for exploring new routes, or riding with others where you might not be paying attention.

I've been familiar with Garmin, and using their products for a while, but now I've really made a commitment to learning the product and using it (close) to it's capacities. downloading the workouts to Garmin Connect allows me to share my workouts and race breakdown with my coach, as well as followers of this blog. I haven't always been very good at tracking my workouts, but the more intuitive the product is, it makes it that much more likely I'll use it regularly.

Racing next weekend at TriStar 111 in Minnesota. Unique distance, with a 1k swim, 100k bike, 10k run. Should be fun.

Training

Good training day. Got up and swam in the AM with Chris Bagg and Damian Hill. Both were coming off hard efforts, so I got a chance to push the pace. They've been working me pretty good in the pool lately, so that was nice.

Out to Rocky Point Rd on the bike for 3x's up. Increased the HR on each effort. Finished with 40 minutes, biggest gear on the flats, and similar climbing heartrate.

Almost 2 hours (out of 3:15) at effort, felt great. Chris Bagg was just getting ready to head out to run when I got back, so it was ideal to get me going and finish my transition run strong.

It's interesting how different you can feel from one session to the next. Two days ago, I felt awful, could barely get through a workout, then things just turn around. That's what great about training. I hate deciding before the workout how I feel, whether I should do it, change it, etc...You never really know till you get out there. Somedays, the best decision is to just pull the plug, relax, and get ready for the next one. But there's only one way to find out.

My favorite Oregon training quote

from Jerry Schumacher:

"Oregon is fantastic for training. I've only been here for a year, but its outstanding. You can run on soft surfaces year-round. It's not too hot, not too cold. I like the blue-collar skies. If it was sunny and 80 every day I don't think that'd be good for training. There's a blue collar work attitude to distance running. You've got to be willing to look ugly. In that dark moment of a race when things are really tough, you don't worry too much about what you look like or whether you have spit in your face. Being a distance runner is tough. So, rainy, overcast skies, bring it on."

Love it.

New blog

Hey,

Starting with this new blog. We'll have it linked through Athletes Lounge website, Facebook, our twitter feeds. Racing/training updates, pics from races, the family, etc...

Raced the Subaru Sooke Pro Chase yesterday....fun, tough(!) course. Probably the hilliest Olympic Distance race I've done, racing a bunch of young guys from the NTC in Victoria. 13th, not a great result, but happy with the effort on a course that doesn't suit me well. I made a good move early on the bike, but lost it later. Still ran 34 min 10k, which wasn't bad considering everything.

Hung out after the race a while, then got back home by that night. I think a lot of people were surprised I raced, with a 1 week old boy at home, but Sarah runs things here and did fine. Great start to the second 1/2 of the season, I know what I need to work on, and excited to be at my best by October/November.

"Restlessness is discontent—and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man—and I will show you a failure."

Thomas Alva Edison