66 Days: Crazy

Triathletes are a special breed. Some would say they are a little crazy...

I don't get it. Everyone loves early Saturday morning brick workouts. Wait...most people don't go to bed early on Friday night just so they can get up at 5:30 and be riding their bike at 6 on Saturday morning? Weird...

What about doing it again on Sunday but with a 2 hour fun-run? No? Oh, I see what's going on here. The people who sleep in aren't normal. Why would you sleep when there are long workouts to be done?

Okay, fine, triathletes are nuts. Crazy. Obsessed. *Fill in your own adjective here*

Call me what you want but I look forward to my 5 a.m. workouts every morning (except Fridays-Rest day!!!!). I look forward to sitting on my bike for 4, 5,or 6 hours on Saturday and then going right into a run. The thing is, I'm not alone. There are other people up at those times. Other people who are logging early morning miles or getting that second workout in after work. People who skip lunch to swim 1500 meters or hop on the bike trainer for an hour.

See, I'm not crazy. Not at all. Just know that the longer the distance of a triathlete's upcoming race, the more dedication they will have. Yup, dedication is not insanity.

Anyone going to meet me on the roads this weekend? I think I'll ride 5 hours before lunch on Saturday.

Happy training!

Drew

73 Days: The Results

Two words can describe the race: hot, windy.

I knew that the wind may play a factor in the race. If I had only known how wicked it was going to be, I may have attached a rocket to my bike.

Pre-race: I arrived at the course (at 5:00 a.m.) with everything but the water and Gatorade bottles I purchased the night before. I use the 24 oz. squirt tops so that I don't have to toss my good bottles while on the bike but am not waiting for fluids after T1. Alli kindly went and picked up on of each while I set up both transitions. My wave did not begin until 7:10 so I had plenty of time to hang around the start and watch the pros come out of the water. To give you an idea, the pro men began at 6:30.

Swim: The 18-24 M and the 35-39 W were to leave together at 7:10. We got into the water at 7:06 and tread water until the horn sounded. I set up in the front but on the outside to avoid the buoy-hugging chaos. As expected, there was a sprint for the first 300 m. Once the wave spread out I was able to settle into a groove and figure out my stroke. Now this was not easy. Due to the high winds, the waves were white capping. The course also took us almost head on into the current. This lead to a slow swim time but I wanted to find a solid groove and just push through. At the turn I experienced some calf cramping which was partially due to fatigue but more to the people slamming down on my calves at the buoy. After the turn the current helped to push you in, but more worked in pushing you off course. The swim ended up being almost 10 mins slower than normal.  TIME: 44:39, 2:14/100m

Transition 1: My transition was slower than normal because I had to put on sunscreen and calf compression sleeves. I put the sleeves on because I was worried with the swim cramps I would experience another bought on the bike. And to top it off, my bike show came off my pedal while mounting my bike which forced me to hop off and pick it up. TIME: 4:08


Bike: I always look forward to the bike. For me, it is normally a peaceful 2:30-3:00 hours of cruising. This was not going to be the case. I should have known when I had issues getting clipped into my bike. I rode out of the park at a solid effort, trying to orientate myself to being on the bike post-swim. As soon as I hit the Clinton Lake dam, my right aerobar elbow pad began to rotate away from me as I settled into an aero position. I thought it was just an loose elbow pad issue and I would adjust my weight slightly forward off of the elbow pad. 5 miles later, I realized the problem was that the clamp connecting the aerobar to road handle bars which meant that shifting my weight would do no good. The clamp became looser each mile I rode, eventually getting to the point where I could not ride in an aero position but was forced to ride like a normal road bike. To make problems worse, I did not have an  Allen Wrench to fix the clamp. I would have to hope that when I got to the next aid station, someone would have a wrench.



I quickly learned that that riding upright was going to crush my legs due to the high winds and rolling hills of the course. I really began to hate on myself for missing that bolt while tightening the bike down. I eventually made it to the second aid station where one of the race directors had the proper wrench to fix my bike. From that point on, I pushed my pace up 23 mph to try and make up time. Unfortunately, this would be detrimental to my run. TIME: 3:26:36

Transition 2: This transition was also a little slow. Due to my IT Band injury in my left knee, I had to wrap it to help my stride during the run. However, it did not add much time because I was well practiced in doing the wrapping. TIME: 2:48


Run:  I knew the run was going to be difficult. I was not bothered by the heat and my knee felt great early on. It was a matter of being beaten down on the bike and the mental struggle that ensued for those 3+ hours. I was upset that my bike failed me and that I had ridden so far off pace but I knew I had to finished. With friends and family in the crowd, I was going to just push through.


I set out at a 9:00 min/mi pace for the first two miles but that pace quickly slowed down as the cramps crept into the legs. The way the run course was set up through the Clinton Lake camp grounds did make sure that the run was somewhat enjoyable, even with all the struggles. There were many friendly faces, positive encouragements and ice cold spray hoses. TIME: 2:36:43

RECAP: So in a nutshell, the race was a disaster. My swim time was 10 mins slower than goal, my bike time was 40 mins slower than pace, and the run was 40 mins slower than pace.

I was frustrated, upset and annoyed that the weight I had lose and increased fitness had not paid off in my finishing time. How could I take nearly 20 lbs off since my last race, yet add 45 mins?

However, I finished. I persevered. I realized that this race was not the main objective. I reminded myself that I have a goal farther down the road. That goal is completing Ironman Louisville; a 140.6 mile monster that is quickly approaching. Ironman Kansas 70.3 prepared for the heat and showed me that I can push away my physical and internal struggles.

I want the Ironman to know I am coming for it and that I will conquer it.

Happy training!

Drew

78 Days: Ironman Kansas 70.3

I am not sure if I mentioned it but tomorrow I am racing a half-Ironman just outside of Lawrence, KS. I have wanted to do this race for some time but it never worked with my schedule. I figured I would post to let you know what my day-before feelings are.

I have a pretty structured idea of what I wanted to accomplish today. I planned to get up at 7, get a 15 min bike in and a 15 min run, pack and get to Lawrence, go to race check-in, then mope about the rest of the day.

I hopped out of bed right at 7 AM. It is much easier to get up after 9 hours of sleep and with the sun above the horizon. I drank a pre-workout drink then headed out on my ride. This was my last chance to feel the bike out before the race tomorrow so I made sure to run through all the gears, press on the brakes and check my aero setup. Following the ride, I got my shoes on and took off on a nice run up the road. The legs felt great and I was finished before I ever got too comfortable.

This is the first time where I have done a HIM (half-Ironman) where I didn't have to fly or drive 12 hours to get to. I had not packed a single thing until I looked at my stuff this morning. It's getting fairly easy to remember exactly what you need for each leg of the race and it turns out everything was exactly where it should have been. The only thing I had to hunt down was GU Energy Gels and I picked those up once I arrived in Lawrence.

Getting to the race site was easy but parking was a mess. I ended up have to park the truck about a half mile away from check-in. This is also when I realized that T1 and T2 are in different locations. That meant another half mile walk to get my bike checked in. Now, don't call me a whiner but the last thing I wanted to do today was to walk around in the heat for two hours. It was not on the agenda.

Once I got the bike in place and hopped back in the truck with Alli, we made a dash for a light afternoon snack and headed back to her house. Another benefit of racing in Lawrence is that the different lives here. Therefore, not hotel cost, low gas cost and a home cooked dinner.

For dinner we had chicken, rice and potatoes. Oh, and a few pieces of chocolate. The key to the pre-race dinner is to eat it early enough in the night to allow for it to digest while you sleep. You would not want to have to use the rest room 3 hours into the race. I could not think of a more unpleasant experience.

The rest of the night has been dedicated to stretching, massaging and compressing. It's all about relaxing and that is very easy to do in a familiar place.

Tomorrow is looking to be a warm day with a lot of sunshine. If the wind can stay calm, the bike could be fast. My goal is 35 min Swim, 2:45 Bike, 1:55 Run for a total of 5:30. I think that would be an excellent race.

I'm off to bed; 4 AM will be coming soon.

Happy training!

Drew

83 Days: The Next Half-Ironman

This weekend is the Ironman Kansas 70.3, located just outside of Lawrence, KS. I have wanted to do the race for two year now due to its close proximity to Kansas City and the fact that I was attending the University of Kansas. But alas, two years ago I was not into triathlon yet, only half-marathons, and last summer I was living in Barcelona. But now I am fully prepared for the race.

Now you may be wondering why would I stick a race right in the middle of my Ironman training regiment and to that I say 'Why not?' Races are great checkpoints to test your fitness and progress from the last few weeks or months and can help you to gauge what you need to do to improve. This race for me is all about racing in front of family and friends. It is a race that is close enough for the majority of my big supporters to come and cheer me on and see why I enjoy triathlon so much.

Normally after a HIM (Half-Ironman), I take the week off. Due to the structure of my Ironman training plan, I believe this will not be the case for next week. I will take Monday and probably Tuesday off from training, but Wednesday will be my day to get back in the groove. My only concern with the quick recovery time is it may lead to injury or strain but I will be sure to build slowly through the week. I simply do not want to take too many days off.

I came across this article on Men's Health; read for some reasons as to do a triathlon.
http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/20-great-reasons-do-triathlon?fullpage=true

Maybe one of those will push you into doing one if you haven't already!

And on a side note, I finally received my new race wheels! Check them out!

And in case you are in the area this weekend:
http://ironmankansas.com/

Hope everyone is doing well!

Happy training!

Drew

91 Days: Time

Time management.

It has always been something that has factored in to my life with significant priority. Those that know me realize that I like to be early (10 mins or so) and I dislike change of plans. Now I say that, but some days I have nothing planned so any 'change' is welcome.

Now the whole purpose of writing a blog is to keep those who read it up-to-date with what is going on with my training and offer any advice that I could see being useful. What good is the blog when it is not updated for about three weeks? You nailed it; it's not very good.

People have any number of reasons for being busy: work, school, kids, etc. My reason for not updating the blog was due to laziness. After working out each night, following work, the last thing I would want to do is type out something not worth reading.

So what am I getting at here?

It's okay to be busy! Don't fret over missed workouts or workouts that don't go well.

Realize that you are probably not a professional athlete and may never be. You are not expected to hit every workout on schedule. Flexibility is your friend. Accept being flexible (I am working on this). Do your best to get your workouts in  and work hard but don't stress out. It will do no good.

I will post again soon. Promise!

Happy training!

Drew

110 Days: Getting Back in Form

I love my bike. Is that weird for me to say? To those of you who spend as much time on the bike as I do, I would hope your love for your bike is the same. There is just something about the wind and the road and the alone time. During my afternoon workout on my bike I fully realized just how much I enjoy riding my bike. I even gave Jamis a solid cleaning afterwards.

I am also beginning to realize the effect of finishing an Ironman would have on my life. To me, an Ironman is one of the top physical accomplishments any one person can achieve. Even with all the other participants, it comes down to you and the clock. 17 hours is what you get and hopefully is 5 hours more than I need. Finishing would show myself that I can go out and accomplish anything I set my mind to. There were people who said I was crazy for doing a few half-marathons, and I was crazy to do a few half-Ironmans but now others are starting to believe in me. They have seen what commitment I am willing to put into this goal and can see that it means a lot to me.

Author Howard Thurman once said "Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

My passions have changed throughout my life but this is one that required money, organization and discipline. One that challenges the participant to give it their all, no matter if the weather is hot and muggy or cold and rainy. It's very hard to explain unless you've gone through a race doubting whether you can finish. Trust me, many of those moments come about in a half-Ironman and I guarantee they will in Louisville in August.

You have to persevere. You have to dig deep. You have to finish.

You can't fake passion.

Happy training!

Drew

115 Days: Reality of Keeping A Blog

I started out writing this blog with the intention of posting everyday. However as you may have noticed, the week has lacked posting. Not to mention some of the articles have included simple workouts, with no other significant information. This is going to change.

I am going to update the blog hopefully twice a week. It will include information on my diet and weight progress, key workouts that are to be completed and just about anything else I see fit.

I will be away from home for the next 3 days due to a bachelor party. The previous week I had been out of town for a business conference. I was able to keep up with my run training during these past days but I don't plan on doing anything but beer curls for the next few days. The diet will be in shambles and the legs will be aching to run but this is how the days will be.

While in Tempe, AZ I was able to get a couple good 30-60 min runs in before my sessions began each day. The weather was much dryer than I am used to and along with the heat and wind, you would barely develop a standing sweat. I would get back to my hotel room and still be dry because the sweat had been pulled away so quickly. It was strange but nice to not have a soaked shirt hanging off of me.

The hotel did have a long pool but not one that was suitable to swim laps in. I tried but after each flip turn and rise back to the surface I'd be 4 strokes from the next wall. There were also a number of shops in the area that rented road bikes but with an inconsistent schedule, I was hoping for a spin bike or the like at the hotel. The gym ended up only having an older recumbent which was something I have no interest in.

So you can see that this 10 days stretch is pretty hard on my workout schedule. But it'll be okay; I've got 115 days until the Ironman and 38 until my next half.

Happy training!

Drew