Mid Year Review - Time to HTFU!

While I seem to continually analyse and fret about my training and, to some extent, worry about improving my performance, now that we're more than half way through 2011 (scary isn't it!) I thought that it would be worth writing down my thoughts on the journey so far and plans for the remainder of the year and into 2012.

I sometimes forget that I only did my first sprint triathlon (Outer Banks) less than 12 months ago in September of last year (and have only completed four sprint events to date).   Somehow it seems as if I have been "doing triathlon" for a lot longer than that.  My first month "getting serious" and working with The Puppeteer was last December.  I'm sometimes a bit hard on myself when I look for improvements in performance, but when I use some perspective and realise that I have only been "serious" for about six months I guess that I am quite pleased with myself!   One thing is for absolute certain - this is a lot of fun and I'm very highly motivated to keep at it for a long time to come.

At the very highest level I think that I will make two observations based on my experience to date:

1.   It takes longer than I anticipated to establish a good "base fitness".  I was certainly overly optimistic about "what it would take" but, perhaps more importantly, I have realised what real base fitness is!  Spending time with some of the very cool (and fast!) experienced guys has been an eye opener!

2.  Somewhat related to the above I have definitely already learned to "relish the journey".   I have a much longer term view of things now.  It's not "a race to race" - most of the fun and the accomplishment comes from the training.  I'm not going to get impatient and I'm going to have fun with this over the long term.  I was very encouraged to read Joe Friel (a very well known triathlon coach/guru) say that no matter what age you start at (within reason of course!) you can expect to see improvements in performance for at least the first seven years if you train properly.

So....     what are my observations on the specific triathlon disciplines and some of the other variables and intangibles?

Swim:

Very obviously my weak point.   While I never expected to be in any particular danger of drowning, I did expect my freestyle to "gel" a little quicker than it has.  I still don't have great stamina, but I think that the reason for this is primarily technique rather than any problem with strangth, VO2 max. etc.   Things are definitely starting to improve and I have learned a lot both from books/videos and, of course, from working with The Puppeteer.

Another swim related issue that cropped up in the first half of the year was my minor panic attack after having been kicked and developing a nose bleed during the swim at the White Lake II tri.   I really think that this was an anomoly though, and I've been fine in the open water swims that I've done since then.

Objectives and actions for the rest of the year:   basically "keep working".   I will do pool sessions with The Pupeteer about once a month to help with technique.  I'm also signed-up to do an open water clinic with Bri and Marty Gaal of One Step Beyond Coaching in a few weeks.  I also need to just toughen up and force myself to do longer pool sessions over time.

One day....

Bike:

I'm really enjoying the bike and am getting noticably faster; better able to climb etc.   I think this basically comes down to "TITS' (time in the saddle).   Have been building a better base and now do a local 30 mile plus hilly loop solo at an average speed of well over 18 mph, when it was 16 mph six months ago.  Confident that I can get this to 20 mph in another six months!   Have been doing some technique work and working on (a) riding in the aero position and (b) maintaining a higher cadence.   Both seem to be doing well but I can do better on the former (too easy to blame hills and traffic for riding on the hoods!).

One big positive was getting a professional fitting from Matt Loder (the Cary Cycle Surgeon) earlier in the year -  money well spent!

For the rest of the year it's "more of the same" - get out there and ride!

Speedy!


Run:

What do you know?  I'm getting faster!   Things are definitely "getting there".  When I look back at my trining logs from 12 months ago I was definitely significantly slower!   I did the American Tobacco Trail Half Marathon back in March in just a little over 2 hours and am confident that I can do much better now.   Have been working a lot on faster run cadence and a little on technique.  Recent drills have been largely focused on increasing speed over the 5k distance for sprint races, but I suspect that I will revert to more distance work again soon as I prepare for the OBX Half Marathon in November (see below).   Basically just blind faith in The Pupeteer here and will do as I'm told!   Would like to get a comprehensive run gait analysis at some point - have been reading a lot on the subject recently (including the recent barefoot running craze) and would like to get a better idea of how I actually run currently before thinking about making any changes.

The recent arrival of a decent treadmill will definitely help in the winter months.

Equipment:

I now have all of the major equipment that I need and have been pleased with my purchases.  Most expensive, of course, is the bike (Cannondale CAAD 9-5 roadie) which I love.  Wetsuit is good and I have upgraded my running shoes to include a lightweight pair of Brooks for races and shorter distances.  My Garmin 310xt suits me well and gives me the info. I need.

So there's nothing that I really "need", but the cool gear is part of the fun!   If I happened to have some money burning a hole in my pocket at the end of the season I'm not sure how I would spend it.  In common with all beginner triathletes, of course, I would love a swanky new tri bike to go with my roadie, but would that be the best use of my money?   Perhaps new race wheels?  A computrainer?   Powermeter for the bike?  Aerohelmet?   Hmmm....   Looking for input on that one!

Drool!

Nutrition & Weight:

I have made some definite improvements in nutrition and have lost about 8 lbs since the start of the year (and about 14 lbs over the past 12 months).  Hopefully there has also been some "redistribution"!   If the need to put extra holes in my belts is anything to go by, I'm doing OK.  Would still like to lose another 8-10 lbs though - I'll never be a "skinny triathlete" because of my bone structure/build/age (and I'm fine with that!), but I see my "race weight" as being somewhere in the 182-185 lb range.

I will continue to take things slowly on this - certainly no crash diets for me!  I am cutting more carbs from my diet and trying to reduce "empty calories" from alcohol.  I'm eating breakfast regularly now (skipping it was a bad habit that I had previously) and have had no problem adapting to smaller portions.  Trying also to spread calorific intake better over the day and, especially, to shift proteins earlier.

Core and Flexibility:

The key attributes of core strength and flexibility are important in all three triathlon disciplines and I'm lacking in both!   This is where it's time to really HTFU and have some self discipline - washboard abs by Christmas!  (I can dream!).  I now have a TRX system at home so for the rest of the year on a roughly every-other-day basis I will work on core strength and flexibility on top of my scheduled work outs.  The Dominatrix is working on some TRX exercises for flexibility as well as strength and I will re-visit the core workouts in Verstagen's book.  No excuses here - just "get 'er done!"



Fitness Assessment:

I need to sign-up for a VO2 max. and lactate threshold test at the University of North Carolina.  This basically entails having face mask and all sorts of electrodes attached to you like some sort of lab rat and running to virtual exhaustion on a treadmill.    The data generated will serve as a baseline against which to measure future progress and also allow more accurate setting of "heart rate zones" for training.   Hopefully I can get this scheduled during August.



It's going to hurt!

Race Plans:

Race plans for the rest of the year are changing, primarily because of my poor swim.  Both Lake Logan (August) and Outer Banks (Sept.) have been converted from Olympic to Sprint distance and I have dropped the Beach-to-Battleship half ironman distance in favor of the OBX half marathon - no pride here - I'm going to do this thing properly and if that means waiting to move up to the longer distances, then so be it!

Next Year:

Still a long way from setting next years race calendar, but I certainly want to train hard over the winter so that I'm ready for some longer distance races and I have also chatted to The Puppeteer about doing a full marathon in the Fall - watch this space!  There won't be a change in focus to one of the three disciplines over the winter months - it will continue to be working on all three.

By the way, for those of you not familiar with "HTFU", it stands for "Harden The F*ck Up" and is also now a brand of sports clothing and accessories.

Tough Hombres.....

I have developed an utter fascination with the Tour de France over the past several years, and this year is no exception.   I'm completely in awe of the power these guys generate on the bike and the speed they can maintain (as well as the magnificent French countryside).

Perhaps even more amazing is how they can survive horrendous crashes (there seem to have been more than usual this year) and continue on in the race.

Cases in point....

Laurens ten Dam, who did a face plant, smashed his nose to pieces and is still riding....

 

and Johnny Hoogerland who was forced off his bike into a barbed wire fence at about 30 mph by a French TV car in a well publicised accident, but who finished the stage before going to hospital to be stitched-up...



My hat's off to these guys - no once can say that cyclists aren't tough athletes!

Flying the Flag and Curt Schilling Impressions

At my swim session this morning The Puppeteer delivered me my new Triangle Multipsports triathlon top, whic goes with the shorts that arrived a few weeks back, so from now on I will be "flying the flag" at my upcoming events.

SWMBO made fun of me for having my name plastered across my butt, but what the heck! 

As a huge Red Sox fan who still has very fond memories of 2004 I also need to post this picture...

At the Triangle Tri this past weekend I ran (and biked) without socks to shave a few extra seconds in T2.  The bike was fine, but I got a pretty good rub on my heels during the run and after the 4 miler I did yesterday I was proud to be sporting a "Curt Schilling"!   Go Sox.

In future I need to spread Bodyglide on my heel and inside my shoe before I start!

Triangle Triathlon - Race Report

Well, I'm a bit sore today, so that's a sure sign that I raced yesterday!  The Triangle Triathlon (sprint distance) is in the books - my fourth one completed - and I'm pleased to be able to report that it went significantly better than White Lake II, despite a harder course and some significant heat and humidity!

The event http://www.setupevents.com/?fuseaction=event_detail&eventID=1622 is held at Lake Harris Country Park, just southwest of Raleigh.   Parking is at a premium, so I was determined to get there early and set my alarm for 4:10 am.

I packed my bags and loaded my bike on the car the previous evening, so after a breakfast of English muffins (no bagels in the house!); fruit; coffee and one bottle of Ensure, I headed out for the 45 min drive to the race site and was there in plenty of time to get a good parking spot.   After checking my tire pressure and giving my bike a quick check over I enjoyed the walk down to the transition area in the early light with other "early arrivers".   Even then I could tell that it was going to be a hot one!  I could probably have awarded myself a little longer in bed, but I have "a thing" about arriving early, giving myself plenty of time to set-up my transition area, get my bearings, survey the landscape and do some warm-ups.

I'm getting pretty proficient at setting-up my transition area now, and didn't forget anything, so it didn't take long to get organised...

....and pretty soon the transition area started to fill-up.

I was pleased to have a low number (116) which meant that I was close to the bike exit and, therefore, only had a short distance to run with the bike when exiting "T1".  It wasn't long before I ran into The Puppeteer setting-up her transition area in the pro ranks...

Isn't it amazing what a humid day will do for your hair!   (I'm sure I'll pay for that!) and what's with the lady in the  blue top in the background who looks as if she's about to jump over the rack and kick my ass?  :-)

After picking-up my timing chip and going to "body marking I walked down to the lake to take a look at the swim start and finish.  The water was pretty murky and very warm (I'm guessing 85 F) so it was going to be a bit like swimming in soup!    Quite a few people were amused by the "no swimming" sign located right at the point where six hunded plus lyca-clad triathletes were shortly going to be emerging after the 750 M swim!

Now it was time to warm-up.  I started with a 20 minute ride on the bike including a few "spin-ups" and sprints.  After re-racking my bike and making sure that it was left in the right gear and that the shoes were properly held-up off the ground using rubber bands I went back down to the swim exit and did a few practice starts and swam for a few minutes.   Finally I put on my running shoes to go for a short run on some of the park trails.  The Puppeteer suggested not using socks for this event (even though I usually wear them) so I went without and it felt fine.

Finally 7:30 am rolled around and the pros and other racers in the open category were first to go, followed by everyone else in waves according to age group category at about 4 minute intervals.  Based on the fact that I'm getting pretty geriatric, I was in the second to last wave and so had plenty of time to think about my swim while watching younger and fitter people disappear in a maelstrom of foaming water!

Swim:

After the debacle at White Lake (nose bleed; goggles kicked-off; minor panic - see earlier post) I was determined to put in a better effort.   Having watched the previous waves go off I decided to start at the back and on the inside of my wave.  The start was from waste deep water and after the horn went off I fairly quickly found some (relatively) open water and a reasonable rhythm for my freestyle - a few bumps and thumps, but nothing out of the ordinary.   The swim was point-to-point, following roughly three sides of a rectangle.   I managed what I thought was reasonable freestyle to around the first buoy but, as usual, started to feel a bit tired and my stroke starting to fall apart a little.   As planned I switched to breaststroke for a while - this is very "uncool" for a triathlete, but it sure beats drowning!  Unlike White Lake I at least started doing a "decent" breaststroke and was keeping-up with many around me doing freestyle.  I then switched back and forth between breast and free for the rest of the swim and, while not super fast, I at least finished feeling strong and ready to get on the bike.

Time:   17:14   Age group rank:  19th out of 30.
[Age group best:  11:42] 

Could have been a lot worse and I know that I can get stronger and have that freestyle nailed soon!   After the race I was chatting to The Puppeteer and Bri Gaal from One Step Beyond Coaching http://www.osbmultisport.com/ and I'm going to take one of their open water swim clinics soon and really looking forward to it.

T1

As usual the transitions are the one area that I do pretty well at!   T1 was pretty uneventful.  No wetsuit to deal with this time.  I did have slightly more trouble than usual getting my first foot into my bike shoes, but nothing very serious - probably lost 5 seconds or so.

Time:  02:25  (11th of 30)
[Age group best:  01:44]

Bike:

Having shown some performance improvements on the bike recently and having driven the relatively hilly course the day before, I was looking forward to the 17.5 mile bike loop.   I felt that I rode pretty hard and used the gears well and, while I wasn't dissatisfied in the effort I put in, I was again disappointed that so many guys in my age group are so much faster and how much time I lost on the bike.   The good news is that it's an "opportunity rich environment" for improvement!

Time:   55:38 (25th of 30).  Avg. speed:  ~18.1 mph
(Age group best:  45:19 - A whole 10 mins faster - gulp!

T2:

Again uneventful.

Time:  01:28  (12th of 30)
(Age group best:  01:09)

Run:

A difficult 5K course and it was getting pretty damned hot by the time we "late starters" got there!  The course started on the road but soon turned through a gravel parking lot and then became essentially a trail run (primarily grass and gravel) for all but the last 200 M or so.  It also featured a longish gradient and some small rollers, so it was by no means easy.

I focused on keeping my turnover high and seemed to be passing more people than were passing me.   The Puppeteer instructed all of her athletes to give it everything when we hit the paved section at the end.  I certainly tried, but if you were to look at this picture you might not think so!

Time:  26:37  (18th of 30)

(Age group best:  20:56)

Overall:

Time:  01:43:22  (20th of 30)

(Age group winner:  01:24:11)

Much happier with this than White Lake!   Not particularly impressive with respect to ranking, but I feel that I gave it pretty much everything and I need to remember that some of these guys have been doing this for years.   I also feel (see previous post) that I raced, for at least much of the race.   I certainly chased some people down on the run but, in particular, I raced a guy from my age group down on the bike...  he first passed me on the climb coming out of the country park and I could see via the number on his calf that he was in my age group.   I stayed in touch and then passed him on the downhill section of Friendship Road, only for him to pass me again on the climb up the other side.  This pissed me off, so I gritted my teeth and passed him again about a mile later - thankfully not to be seen again - felt good!  :-)

Pleased to be finished!  When did I get so bloody old?

It took me a while to cool off, but there was a great selection of drinks; pizza and fruit to help revive me and I was soon chatting to The Puppeteer and The Snitch (and family).

With Heather (who completed her first tri) and The Snitch. 
Why do they look so cool and composed when I'm such a mess?  

I need to note that The Puppeteer rocked the women's open division and won in a time of 01:19 - awesome!  And The Snitch put in another great performance to finish 5th in her age group.   It's good to be associated with talent!

Is she really giving the finger to her competition on the podium?

Finally, if you're interested..... Raleigh News & observer photographer Ray Black took some  great candid shots of the event and you can see them here:  http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/07/10/1335045/first-look-triangle-triathlon.html

Finishing, Competing and RACING!

When I did my first triathlon (Outer Banks Sprint in September of last year) it was really all about the experience.  I wanted to see what this "triathlon thing" was all about; to get some specific race experience; to enjoy myself and, yes, to finish.   The same was true, to a large extent, at my second sprint tri a month later.   At this point I was hooked and decided to try to get serious (and fit!) and hired The Puppeteer last December. 

Since then my focus has changed a bit to "competing".   Primarily with myself - improved performance over time - but also wanting to put in a reasonable showing in my age group category.   I'm not delusional - I have a long way to go before I can beat many of the highly experienced and super-fast age groupers out there - but I think that I can be "competitive" over time.   Since the White Lake Sprint tri back in May, however, I have been thinking a lot about my mental approach and getting serious.  I have started to apply myself and to push more in my training and now I'm determined to go into Sunday's Triangle Tri with a new and tougher attitude....    I'm going to race!    Interestingly The Puppeteer sent out a message to all of her athletes this week about racing and leaving it all out there on the course - ideally "tossing your cookies" as you cross the line because you've given everything you have!  



Racing.....


What does all of this mean?   It's nothing particularly to do with your physical fitness - it's about mental toughness and grit.  Pushing for every last ounce of peformance, no matter that it hurts.  The pain is only temporary!  Instead of competing with yourself, or against the course, racing is about beating other participants.  Getting to the line before that other guy.   I think that this is particularly true in sprint distance events.   In the long events you have to worry more about proper nutrition and pacing and keeping yourself healthy so that you can get to the finish line ahead of the next guy - you may not see your rivals for long periods, but in a sprint it's much more akin to side-by-side racing and very often those other guys in your age group category (not to mention all sorts of other competitors) are in you line of sight.  

For me it means really focusing and it will be somewhat of a challenge for me this weekend as I can't afford to go "Balls to the Wall" on the swim - I need to pace myself and not get crazy and make it to the first transition in reasonable shape.   Once I'm on the bike. however, I need to lay it on the line and start chasing people down - even more so when I'm on the run.   It's only sprint distance and there is absolutely no point in leaving anything in the tank!  On top of this, we are all going to have to find our way to push ourselves through the heat and humidity on Sunday.  It's mental, mental, mental.....     have to push harder....

Have I got it?  We'll see, but I'm determined to go in with the right attituude and give it hell!  My age group is one of the last groups to go out in the wave starts, so there should be no shortage of "targets" out there.   As The Puppeteer puts it...   "race fearless!"

The Puppeteer's new recruiting poster?

Excitement, Anticipation and Trepidation....

Set-Up Events Triangle Triathlon (sprint distance) is coming-up this Sunday at Harris Lake Country Park here in the Triangle Region of NC.  http://www.setupevents.com/?fuseaction=event_detail&eventID=1622

Training has been going pretty well and I'm especially pleased with progress on the bike.  This will be my first race since the swim debacle at White Lake back in May (see earlier post) so I'm excited to "see what I've got"!  

I submitted my race plan to The Puppeteer yesterday.  Basically it comes down to "survive the swim; go hard on the bike and put everything you have left into te run".   Not exactly scientific, but it's a sprint distance (750 M swim; 17.5 mile bike; 5K run) so  how bad can it be?   :-)

The swim, of course, is what gives me the most pause.  I wouldn't say that I'm nervous about it, but I do have a certain amount of trepidation.   My form has undoubtedly been improving, but I'm not so sure about my freestyle stamina - we'll see.   I'm not going to beat myself up if I have to throw in intervals of breaststroke, but (unlike White Lake) I am going to make sure that it's good, strong breast stroke!   The water will be too warm for this to be a wetsuit legal race, so that should help!   If I can finish middle of the pack in my age group for the swim I will be happy.

Hopefully this won't have to become standard issue for future open water swims!....   positive thoughts!  :-)

The bike course is described as "rolling", which I think plays into my strengths, so hopefully I can put in a good performance.

The run?....   well, it's the run.....    I'm getting faster, but I'm no gazelle.  I need to tough it out and keep run cadence high.  Find some targets and try to run them down.  It's going to be hot and humid, so I'll need some mental toughness here.  

Will keep you posted.