It is with great sadness that I officially declare the 2011 triathlon season over…at least for me.
As you all can tell, I haven’t been posting much. There are several reasons for my lack of postings. No access at work and general laziness are certainly two of the reasons. But one of the primary reasons is frustration. Last season by all accounts was very good. I showed great improvements. I went into the off season on a fairly high note despite the cancelled swim at Halfmax.
The off season was a mixture of emotions for me. I made some good progress and made some mistakes. Overall it was mentally draining. But despite the mistakes, I was coming into this season in better shape than I had ever been in. But as many of you read even last year, I was slowly having trouble with my back/hip/SI joint.
Here is what I believe occurred that has led me to this point. For me, things are seldom simple. I don’t just fall and break a bone. I make a change that creates some kind of muscle imbalance that creates an injury in an odd body part and the diagnosis takes months while I suffer through my workouts. That appears to be the case here.
So last season I went on got my bike fit completely changed. That is when my back troubles really began. Early on I was told to suck it up, muscles are working different. Perhaps that advice was correct, or perhaps my seat was too high. The pain was very mild and never impacted my running. As I got into the off season and did short but extremely intense workouts, I didn’t have any trouble. But later in the off season I made some fairly large bike fit changes myself. All in an effort to get more aerodynamic. Well if my bike seat wasn’t too high before then, it was after I changed things.
As time went on after those changes I started having more pain. My personal belief is that it was all muscle pain at that time due to my poor bike fitting skills. Essentially I ignored that pain. I believe that created a muscle imbalance on my left side. My glute, piriformis, and hip flexor were all having trouble…and I pushed forward despite the pain. This brings me to about March. The pain would come and go to a certain degree. Stretching and other things would help to a point.
At some point in April/May two things occurred that I believe pushed my small problem into a full blown problem. Both were typical me. First, I was at the Y after a swim with the group and I fell right onto my left side. It was pretty much straight down onto my left butt cheek. I landed hard on the bone…hard enough to essentially knock the breath out of me. I had to sit there for several minutes before I could really move again. As my hip/glute was hurting prior to that fall, I couldn’t tell if there was a problem or not.
Prior to that fall the pain would come and go with my riding. After low mile days/weeks my back was much better. After high mileage, it was sore. To me, that indicates a muscular issue. Several days after the fall, perhaps a week I went for my long run and decided to push through the pain instead of stopping early. The next day I couldn’t walk without a pronounced limp. I have never recovered from that day. Both biking and running have suffered dramatically to the point of seeing both a chiropractor and orthopedic surgeon and having an MRI taken. I suspect the muscle imbalance and then the fall made me more susceptible to this type of back issue and the running just hammered it home. So what could have been a minor thing had I fixed my bike fit became a bigger deal.
The results of the MRI show a bulging disk in my back between L4 and L5. The bulge is minor but is apparently allowing the joint to aggravate the nerve. The disk is not herniated or hitting the nerve, so that is VERY good. But the problem is bad enough to require cortisone injections into my back to bring down the swelling. I had my first one on Thursday. The doctor has asked that I not run for about 3 months.
At the moment the diagnosis is somewhat ambiguous. If this first shot eliminates all my pain then the Dx is pretty clear. If, however, I am still in pain, it is possible that the Dx is incorrect and that the cause of my problem is something entirely different…or, I just need a second shot. So while the doctors are fairly confident, there is room for error.
What does all this mean? Assuming the diagnosis is correct; it means my triathlon season is over for the summer. The prognosis for a full recovery is very good so long as I let things heal, and I know for a fact I don’t want to be dealing with back trouble the rest of my life. So I will let this heal up. In the best case scenario that I am aware of at the moment I might be able to start running in very late August.
If the diagnosis is incorrect, I don’t have a clue. I will still probably lose the season as I am still unable to run or bike with any frequency.
It is my hope that if nothing else, I’ll be able to ride and swim this summer. I’d like to be outside working out. Otherwise I’ll be stuck on the elliptical all summer and at the gym. I just don’t think I can handle that. Granted I’ll be doing a lot of rehab work to make sure the core muscles are very strong to prevent this in the future. But I’d much rather be outside once we get some summer weather. Hard to believe its almost July and we’ve had maybe a handful of days above 80 degrees and everything else has been 50’s-60’s. Plus I can work to build a really strong swim/bike combination.
It’s a shame really, I was in fantastic shape. Prior to the injury I was weighing 196 and the weight just seemed to be falling off me. But I might be able to get in some winter racing if I am willing to travel.
The obvious question is what to do after learning such news. I don't know about the rest of you, but I went out on Friday night and got drunk.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
And the season kicks off with a ... dnf
So I figured I'd have to write something sometime. Since most people I know are racing Elkhart Lake, I figured now would be a good time to write.
But wait you may say...aren't you supposed to be at Elkhart Lake Eric? That's a great question.
The short answer to that is yes I was...but no I am not.
So lets get into it.
Race report for Triple T. DNF.
Prior to heading down my SI joing and hip had become a real problem. the pain was very sharp and it wouldn't go away. I had taken some rest and was hopeful driving down.
Friday was the super sprint. Everything went well but when I did the 1 mile run my hip was a bit sore.
Saturday I got up, did the swim and bike...but during the bike my hip got very sore. first step into T2 and my leg couldn't take a lot of weight. stopped right there.
On the bright side, my swim has really gotten good. I suspect TTT was a touch short, but I still got out of the water in 17min and hit T1 at 17:45. There was a long run into T1.
Since then I tried to work through it. Fail.
Since last week I've been on absolute rest other than swimming. I was all set to go and race at Elkhart knowing I'd bust loose on the swim and hopefully win the $100 swim prime. Then I'd just noodle the bike and probably walk the run to come in DFL.
Unfortunately we recieved word late last night that Aimee's uncle passed away suddendly from a heart attack. While racing is something of a priority in my life, its not that much of a priority. So I came home to be with Aimee.
I was supposed to race high cliff next weekend. DNS. My hip has not improved to the point where I can bike or run yet. I suspect I'll be taking this coming week off as well.
My thoughts are turning to end of season races now. Its frustrating, but I did it to myself by messing with my bike fit. Now I get to deal with "LoEID" Lack of Exercise Induced Depression.
Until next time.
But wait you may say...aren't you supposed to be at Elkhart Lake Eric? That's a great question.
The short answer to that is yes I was...but no I am not.
So lets get into it.
Race report for Triple T. DNF.
Prior to heading down my SI joing and hip had become a real problem. the pain was very sharp and it wouldn't go away. I had taken some rest and was hopeful driving down.
Friday was the super sprint. Everything went well but when I did the 1 mile run my hip was a bit sore.
Saturday I got up, did the swim and bike...but during the bike my hip got very sore. first step into T2 and my leg couldn't take a lot of weight. stopped right there.
On the bright side, my swim has really gotten good. I suspect TTT was a touch short, but I still got out of the water in 17min and hit T1 at 17:45. There was a long run into T1.
Since then I tried to work through it. Fail.
Since last week I've been on absolute rest other than swimming. I was all set to go and race at Elkhart knowing I'd bust loose on the swim and hopefully win the $100 swim prime. Then I'd just noodle the bike and probably walk the run to come in DFL.
Unfortunately we recieved word late last night that Aimee's uncle passed away suddendly from a heart attack. While racing is something of a priority in my life, its not that much of a priority. So I came home to be with Aimee.
I was supposed to race high cliff next weekend. DNS. My hip has not improved to the point where I can bike or run yet. I suspect I'll be taking this coming week off as well.
My thoughts are turning to end of season races now. Its frustrating, but I did it to myself by messing with my bike fit. Now I get to deal with "LoEID" Lack of Exercise Induced Depression.
Until next time.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Off-Road Adventures.
As many of you may recall, last season was marked by several “adventures” during races.
First was Lake Mills where I fell on my ass trying to get on my bike.
Then was Elkhart Lake where I fell on my face trying to get off my bike.
Then was Pleasant Prairie where I strained my knee on a steep entrance to the water.
Why should this year be any different…well it shouldn’t.
And with that, I give you the Jhawk Early Bird Sprint Triathlon.
Originally I was not going to do this race. I never have in the past and typically like to ride more outside before racing. The main reason is that I am not a real strong bike handler normally…early in the year it is worse. Scott managed to talk me into it.
The Jhawk is a very laid back and relaxed race in general. It is a 500yd pool swim followed by a 13+ mile bike ride and a 5k cross country run.
The race director started all the faster swimmers at around 11am. As it turns out I was in the same lane as Scott Bowe and Robbie Greco. We all knew we’d be swimming pretty close to one another. Scott started out first, I was second, Robbie was 3rd, and there was a 4th guy in our lane.
The swim started about right and we were holding a good pace. We started 5s apart and I got right on Scotts feet and drafted. At about the 200yd mark I was about ready to pass Scott when my foot was touched. My first reaction was WTF? I didn’t know Greco had gotten fast enough to pass at this pace…and wasn’t sure why he’d want to leave my draft. I quickly realized it wasn’t Robbie, it was the guy who started in the 4th position and he was motoring right along. He passed me with gusto and then proceeded to pass Scott as well. At that point I didn’t bother making the pass. Looking back I should have. I came out of the water and wasn’t even breathing hard, I could have probably gone a solid 20s faster. Granted I would have dragged Scott and Robbie with me…but 20s is 20s.
T1 was uneventful. Got on the bike and started riding. The day was VERY windy and a little chilly. Pretty close to 50 degrees.
The ride was going well and Robbie, Scott, and I were all 1-2-3 for a little while. At some point in the ride we were making a right hand turn. I had recently passed Robbie who got out of T1 a little ahead of me. As I made my turn I thought I had pulled straight and took a quick look back over my shoulder to see where Robbie was…I looked back forward and gave a little yelp as I was heading towards the edge of the road and into the ditch. NOT GOOD. By the point my brain engaged, it was too late. I was in the gravel, then riding down into the ditch. I was very fortunate that the ditch was dry and solid…and not loaded with bigger rocks. In any case, I was up on the pedals and managed to bring my bike back to the left and up onto the road. At that point Robbie passed me. At least I wouldn’t have to look over my shoulder to see where he was. I was still 1-2-3 with Scott and Robbie...but Scott was a much further ahead #1.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. I passed Robbie back and took a couple minutes out of him. But it was really windy and rarely seemed to be a head or tail wind, rather a cross wind that was gusty. I never really got comfortable, especially after going into the ditch once. Most of the turns were taken very slowly. Scott finished about 3 min in front of me, which is actually pretty realistic compared to our other rides. So he must have taken the turns fairly slow as well.
T2 was uneventful.
The run was interesting. I’ve been dealing with a hip problem for the last month or so and it has really hampered my ability to run fast. I’ve been running, just not comfortably. Due to that, I really wasn’t sure what to expect on this run. To top it off, I had never done this course and had no idea what to expect. Plus the course was cross country on very uneven terrain. Something I had never really done before.
Overall the run was fun. We were in and out of the woods, up and down hills, going through some mud, through people’s back yards, and all over the place. As I was running I was a little disappointed to see my splits being so slow, but as I thought about it, the course was rather hilly and certainly challenging. The wind made it interesting as well. At one point I was running up a hill and the wind hit me straight in the face, it felt like I went from running to a complete standstill. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I slowed to a 12min pace up that hill it got so brutal.
Anyway, I finished pretty strong. Robbie managed to pass me back on the run. I hate runners. As it turns out I finished 10th overall and won my age-group. Not a bad showing overall.
My swim time was a 5:51. Solid overall, could/should have been better.
The bike was 38:20 or so. Considering the wind, not bad.
My run was a 22:30. Considering the course, not bad.
All in all a good race…and hopefully I can ride outside a bit more in the coming days.
Lessons to remember:
Pay attention to where you are riding. Don’t worry about those behind you.
Don’t be content to draft in the swim.
Bring water in my T1 bag. I was a bit parched prior to the race start.
Use sunscreen, even for a race that only lasts an hour.
First was Lake Mills where I fell on my ass trying to get on my bike.
Then was Elkhart Lake where I fell on my face trying to get off my bike.
Then was Pleasant Prairie where I strained my knee on a steep entrance to the water.
Why should this year be any different…well it shouldn’t.
And with that, I give you the Jhawk Early Bird Sprint Triathlon.
Originally I was not going to do this race. I never have in the past and typically like to ride more outside before racing. The main reason is that I am not a real strong bike handler normally…early in the year it is worse. Scott managed to talk me into it.
The Jhawk is a very laid back and relaxed race in general. It is a 500yd pool swim followed by a 13+ mile bike ride and a 5k cross country run.
The race director started all the faster swimmers at around 11am. As it turns out I was in the same lane as Scott Bowe and Robbie Greco. We all knew we’d be swimming pretty close to one another. Scott started out first, I was second, Robbie was 3rd, and there was a 4th guy in our lane.
The swim started about right and we were holding a good pace. We started 5s apart and I got right on Scotts feet and drafted. At about the 200yd mark I was about ready to pass Scott when my foot was touched. My first reaction was WTF? I didn’t know Greco had gotten fast enough to pass at this pace…and wasn’t sure why he’d want to leave my draft. I quickly realized it wasn’t Robbie, it was the guy who started in the 4th position and he was motoring right along. He passed me with gusto and then proceeded to pass Scott as well. At that point I didn’t bother making the pass. Looking back I should have. I came out of the water and wasn’t even breathing hard, I could have probably gone a solid 20s faster. Granted I would have dragged Scott and Robbie with me…but 20s is 20s.
T1 was uneventful. Got on the bike and started riding. The day was VERY windy and a little chilly. Pretty close to 50 degrees.
The ride was going well and Robbie, Scott, and I were all 1-2-3 for a little while. At some point in the ride we were making a right hand turn. I had recently passed Robbie who got out of T1 a little ahead of me. As I made my turn I thought I had pulled straight and took a quick look back over my shoulder to see where Robbie was…I looked back forward and gave a little yelp as I was heading towards the edge of the road and into the ditch. NOT GOOD. By the point my brain engaged, it was too late. I was in the gravel, then riding down into the ditch. I was very fortunate that the ditch was dry and solid…and not loaded with bigger rocks. In any case, I was up on the pedals and managed to bring my bike back to the left and up onto the road. At that point Robbie passed me. At least I wouldn’t have to look over my shoulder to see where he was. I was still 1-2-3 with Scott and Robbie...but Scott was a much further ahead #1.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. I passed Robbie back and took a couple minutes out of him. But it was really windy and rarely seemed to be a head or tail wind, rather a cross wind that was gusty. I never really got comfortable, especially after going into the ditch once. Most of the turns were taken very slowly. Scott finished about 3 min in front of me, which is actually pretty realistic compared to our other rides. So he must have taken the turns fairly slow as well.
T2 was uneventful.
The run was interesting. I’ve been dealing with a hip problem for the last month or so and it has really hampered my ability to run fast. I’ve been running, just not comfortably. Due to that, I really wasn’t sure what to expect on this run. To top it off, I had never done this course and had no idea what to expect. Plus the course was cross country on very uneven terrain. Something I had never really done before.
Overall the run was fun. We were in and out of the woods, up and down hills, going through some mud, through people’s back yards, and all over the place. As I was running I was a little disappointed to see my splits being so slow, but as I thought about it, the course was rather hilly and certainly challenging. The wind made it interesting as well. At one point I was running up a hill and the wind hit me straight in the face, it felt like I went from running to a complete standstill. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I slowed to a 12min pace up that hill it got so brutal.
Anyway, I finished pretty strong. Robbie managed to pass me back on the run. I hate runners. As it turns out I finished 10th overall and won my age-group. Not a bad showing overall.
My swim time was a 5:51. Solid overall, could/should have been better.
The bike was 38:20 or so. Considering the wind, not bad.
My run was a 22:30. Considering the course, not bad.
All in all a good race…and hopefully I can ride outside a bit more in the coming days.
Lessons to remember:
Pay attention to where you are riding. Don’t worry about those behind you.
Don’t be content to draft in the swim.
Bring water in my T1 bag. I was a bit parched prior to the race start.
Use sunscreen, even for a race that only lasts an hour.
Friday, April 29, 2011
2012 Season
So once again it has been a long time since I’ve written. As the season gets closer, I am sure I will write more.
For the most part, things have been going really well. I started swimming in January but then got sick and had a very sick pet. As a result I had to take several weeks off of swimming and then started back up in mid/late February. Since then I’ve been swimming a lot more than normal. Typically I swim a minimum of 4 days per week and get in about 3k yards. Sometimes I add a 5 day of swimming to swim with the group at the WAC. Right now I am already faster than I was at my fastest last year.
I swam a 5:45 500scy at the WAC the other day…I was swimming alone with no motivation, so that was a pretty good time in a very slow pool. With jhawk coming this weekend, I will have a good opportunity to swim a good 500 with come faster guys. We’ll see what happens.
Biking has been going very well recently. A few weeks back I purchased a new stem and dropped my front end down quite a bit. Unfortunately I do what I always do and got carried away…rode really hard and wasn’t ready for the new position. That really screwed up my back and hip for a while. My running took the brunt of that mistake. I then followed it up with a fit that had the seat too high. As a result my hip and back stayed sore for quite some time. In fact it is still sore as I only corrected my fit a couple days ago. I noticed a dramatic increase in comfort right away. I am hoping that this will simply fix the problem. I have recordings of my fit I need to review. I tend to sit closer to my right leg, which gives it just a little extra reach in the pedal stroke. With a higher seat I suspect my left leg was having to reach farther than it wants to. As a result my entire left leg was a bit tight causing this issue.
My running, well I don’t really know. All off season it was going really well. I was on the edge of breaking a 20min 5k. And then I got sick, and my pet got sick, and I hurt my hip on the bike…and before I realized it I’d lost quite a bit of training time. I never took an extended time off of training, only a couple small spurts of 4-5 days off. But until this past weekend I really felt like I lost a lot of fitness. Until Sunday every run felt poor. That seems to be going away now as Sunday was a fantastic run for me.
Despite that, I have been training way more than in previous years. Scott Bowe is assisting in my coaching and he’s attempting to teach me discipline and how to control my efforts. Every workout isn’t a crushing workout requiring recovery time; I now have easy workouts too. I’ve found that I am able to spend much more time working out doing this. I’ve taken a look back at some workouts last season, in particular 3hr efforts on the bike. Last season I’d typically do 3hr rides at an average of 360 watts and then go do an hour run faster than I should. As a result I’d get home and collapse…requiring a couple days off. This season has been quite a bit different. My longer rides have been at lower wattages allowing me to work out more often. It has been a welcome change as I am not a complete disaster after my longer rides.
Overall I suspect I am quite a bit faster than I was last season. But we won’t know until this weekend. I am confident in my swimming and biking, I am just not sure where my run will be.
I have a pretty fun race schedule for the year.
Here is what I am doing this year…
May 1 – Jhawk
May 20-22 – Triple T
June 11 – Elkhart Lake
June 18 – High Cliff
July 24th – Tri-ing for Children
August 20 – Pigman
September – N/A
October – N/A
November – Worlds in Vegas?
I was originally planning to do the Racine 70.3. But with Pigman being my A race for the season, it makes more sense to skip it this year and train through.
Jhawk is a little sprint race.
Triple T is a 3-day 4-race weekend of hell.
Friday night is a super sprint race. Saturday morning is an Olympic distance race. Saturday afternoon is an Olympic distance race that goes bike, swim, run. Sunday morning is a half ironman. I don’t really know how I let myself get talked into that insanity.
Elkhart Lake is an Oly race I’ve done every year. The change this year is that I signed up in the Elite wave. I won my age group last year, plus I want a shot to win the swim overall and take home some money.
High Cliff is a half Iron race. I thought it would be a good idea to get in a stand-alone half iron distance race as practice for Pigman.
Tri-ing for children is a fun Olympic pretty close to home.
Pigman is in Iowa. It is my only chance to qualify for the ITU World Championships. I need to score a top 5 in my age group 35-39. If my run starts coming around quickly, like I really think it will…I am pretty sure I can do this. Last year at Halfmax I ran a 1:46. But realistically I completely cooked myself on that bike by pushing way too hard early in that ride.
By the time Pigman gets here, I am hoping I can run a stand-alone half marathon pretty close to 1:30. If that’s the case, I should be able to run a half Iron around 1:35…assuming I pace things properly. That should be pretty realistic especially if I drop the weight I need to. My weight is currently sitting right where it was at the end of last season, pretty close to 200-202. With all the training I am doing, I only need to watch what I eat for a few weeks to drop some weight. I just need to put together a plan to do that.
Anyway, that is it for now.
For the most part, things have been going really well. I started swimming in January but then got sick and had a very sick pet. As a result I had to take several weeks off of swimming and then started back up in mid/late February. Since then I’ve been swimming a lot more than normal. Typically I swim a minimum of 4 days per week and get in about 3k yards. Sometimes I add a 5 day of swimming to swim with the group at the WAC. Right now I am already faster than I was at my fastest last year.
I swam a 5:45 500scy at the WAC the other day…I was swimming alone with no motivation, so that was a pretty good time in a very slow pool. With jhawk coming this weekend, I will have a good opportunity to swim a good 500 with come faster guys. We’ll see what happens.
Biking has been going very well recently. A few weeks back I purchased a new stem and dropped my front end down quite a bit. Unfortunately I do what I always do and got carried away…rode really hard and wasn’t ready for the new position. That really screwed up my back and hip for a while. My running took the brunt of that mistake. I then followed it up with a fit that had the seat too high. As a result my hip and back stayed sore for quite some time. In fact it is still sore as I only corrected my fit a couple days ago. I noticed a dramatic increase in comfort right away. I am hoping that this will simply fix the problem. I have recordings of my fit I need to review. I tend to sit closer to my right leg, which gives it just a little extra reach in the pedal stroke. With a higher seat I suspect my left leg was having to reach farther than it wants to. As a result my entire left leg was a bit tight causing this issue.
My running, well I don’t really know. All off season it was going really well. I was on the edge of breaking a 20min 5k. And then I got sick, and my pet got sick, and I hurt my hip on the bike…and before I realized it I’d lost quite a bit of training time. I never took an extended time off of training, only a couple small spurts of 4-5 days off. But until this past weekend I really felt like I lost a lot of fitness. Until Sunday every run felt poor. That seems to be going away now as Sunday was a fantastic run for me.
Despite that, I have been training way more than in previous years. Scott Bowe is assisting in my coaching and he’s attempting to teach me discipline and how to control my efforts. Every workout isn’t a crushing workout requiring recovery time; I now have easy workouts too. I’ve found that I am able to spend much more time working out doing this. I’ve taken a look back at some workouts last season, in particular 3hr efforts on the bike. Last season I’d typically do 3hr rides at an average of 360 watts and then go do an hour run faster than I should. As a result I’d get home and collapse…requiring a couple days off. This season has been quite a bit different. My longer rides have been at lower wattages allowing me to work out more often. It has been a welcome change as I am not a complete disaster after my longer rides.
Overall I suspect I am quite a bit faster than I was last season. But we won’t know until this weekend. I am confident in my swimming and biking, I am just not sure where my run will be.
I have a pretty fun race schedule for the year.
Here is what I am doing this year…
May 1 – Jhawk
May 20-22 – Triple T
June 11 – Elkhart Lake
June 18 – High Cliff
July 24th – Tri-ing for Children
August 20 – Pigman
September – N/A
October – N/A
November – Worlds in Vegas?
I was originally planning to do the Racine 70.3. But with Pigman being my A race for the season, it makes more sense to skip it this year and train through.
Jhawk is a little sprint race.
Triple T is a 3-day 4-race weekend of hell.
Friday night is a super sprint race. Saturday morning is an Olympic distance race. Saturday afternoon is an Olympic distance race that goes bike, swim, run. Sunday morning is a half ironman. I don’t really know how I let myself get talked into that insanity.
Elkhart Lake is an Oly race I’ve done every year. The change this year is that I signed up in the Elite wave. I won my age group last year, plus I want a shot to win the swim overall and take home some money.
High Cliff is a half Iron race. I thought it would be a good idea to get in a stand-alone half iron distance race as practice for Pigman.
Tri-ing for children is a fun Olympic pretty close to home.
Pigman is in Iowa. It is my only chance to qualify for the ITU World Championships. I need to score a top 5 in my age group 35-39. If my run starts coming around quickly, like I really think it will…I am pretty sure I can do this. Last year at Halfmax I ran a 1:46. But realistically I completely cooked myself on that bike by pushing way too hard early in that ride.
By the time Pigman gets here, I am hoping I can run a stand-alone half marathon pretty close to 1:30. If that’s the case, I should be able to run a half Iron around 1:35…assuming I pace things properly. That should be pretty realistic especially if I drop the weight I need to. My weight is currently sitting right where it was at the end of last season, pretty close to 200-202. With all the training I am doing, I only need to watch what I eat for a few weeks to drop some weight. I just need to put together a plan to do that.
Anyway, that is it for now.
Friday, December 31, 2010
The offseason
So it has been a very long time since I have posted anything. There are a lot of reasons for this. The primary reason is my new job as the company has internet access locked down. As a result I don’t tend to think about the blog that much. It also means I don’t read others nearly as often. The second reason is that it is the off-season. And while I am training hard, it just isn’t the same as having race results to talk about.
Health:
Anyway, here is what is new with me. As those of you reading this may recall, during my last few postings I was having a lot of issues with the Crohns disease. After several discussions with the doctor and several problems we made an increase to one of my medications (Humira) and did another short round of prednisone. I am happy to report that I have been off the prednisone for a couple months and I have not had a single flare up. For that I am very grateful. I had sworn off salads and rough veggies for a while, but am back to eating the occasional salad to try and maintain a somewhat healthy diet.
Weight:
On another good note, I have avoided gaining 10-15lbs like in other off seasons. This year I had gained no weight up until my trip to Mexico where I gained about 3-4lbs. I am now sitting at about 206. This is also very good news as my weight loss effort usually gets serious in January. I know I said I was going to start right away…but I think we all knew that was total bullshit. It’s the off season. My plan of attack for the last several weeks has been to eat all the junk I can so it is removed from the house. I will not purchase any more junk moving forward. My only concern on the weight loss front is my workouts. Due to my new coaching I have more recovery time and less calorie burning time. I’ll discuss that in more detail later in the blog. Anyway, the push to get to 190 is starting slowly this week…but once the holidays are over it will be in full swing.
I have no real injuries to report at this time. Considering the workouts I am doing, this is a success. I do have some lingering tightness in my hip and ankle, but nothing serious. Both respond well to stretching.
Races:
I have come to set my actual race goals for next season and a little beyond. After just missing the qualifications for the ITU World Championships the powers that be decided to give folks another chance. Pigman in Iowa will be another qualification race. To qualify I need to get top 5 in my age-group and top 10 gets a roll-down slot. Last year 5th place was near a 5:15. I could do that without any trouble right now. But I suspect the competition at the race next year will be a bit tougher. It was also REALLY hot last year, so the times were a bit slower. For a realistic off-season goal I’d like to be under 4:30…and realistically that should get me qualified.
So my basic plan for the race season is to do Triple-T in May. This is 4 races in a 3-day span. A Super sprint on Friday evening. Two Olympic distance races on Saturday. And a ½ iron on Sunday. In total it is a full Ironman distance race broken into pieces. I won’t like, I am intimidated.
Beyond that I am sure I will do a small race or two while training for Pigman as that race isn’t until August. Should I qualify at Pigman I will then be finishing my season with the ITU WC’s in November. That race is in Las Vegas Nevada and is a 4k swim, 120k bike ride, and a 30k run. It is considered one of the most difficult courses in the world and features 9700ft of climbing on the bike and 2000ft on the run.
In essence I will be training for 2 ½ Iron distance races and a full Iron race. ITU is a bit shorter than a full Iron, but the course is challenging enough to require the fitness of a full Iron.
My goals for beyond this year are simple. 2011 is a springboard to IMWI 2012 where I would like to qualify for a Kona slot. That will take some work.
Bike Fit:
One of the things I knew last season, but didn’t know how to fix, was my bike fit. While the fit was very comfy, it was slow. It was my original fit to this bike when I had ZERO fitness, ZERO riding background, and NO idea what I was doing. Since then I have gained a lot of fitness and some knowledge. After my race in SC I had Scott and Matt come over for some end-of-season beers. It took them all of 5 minutes to look at my bike and ask if I actually rode it like that. Matt’s comment was something to the effect of “you’re like a big sail, you have zero drop!”. (Drop is basically seat height to the aero bar pads) More aero positions typically have your aero bar pads below the height of your seat, dropping your torso down. It is more complex than that…but that is the gist of things. In my case I had zero drop.
That is one VERY good reason for why my race times did not reflect my power output. Working with Matt and Scott I made couple changes. First they yanked all the spacers beneath my stem. That dropped my down by about 8cm.
After that change I rode against them outside and my FTP instantly dropped 30 watts. BUT, I was also only 4-5 minutes behind them in the time trial. So despite the power loss I was as close to them as I would have been in-season. It just happened that my first ride in that new position was the TT with them.
After that I also bought a new stem with a steeper down angle. That dropped me down about another 3cm. And recently I added new aero bars with a lower profile. I kept myself about level with that change but could easily drop another 3-4cm if I want. I do my best to post before and after pictures in the near future. The change is VERY dramatic. I am somewhat anxious to get back outside just to see what the difference in aerodynamics means from a time perspective.
Training:
My real Off-season (Out-Season) began November 1. Prior to that I had taken a little time off. At that time I had become a full member of Endurance Nation. Last season I had read a lot of their materials and built my own training plan based on their guiding principles. Compare to years past I had a LOT of success. But I made a lot of mistakes as well. I did some very foolish things and fried myself on many occasions. I never had a real clear cut training “plan” or goals. Now with EN I have those plans and goals. Scott B. has also been like a 3rd coach to me. I have a nasty natural tendency to bury myself…he talks me off the ledge. When I need to be treated like an idiot, he does that too.
The first 8 weeks consisted of threshold work. A lot of 15-20 minute sets at a very hard effort. Running on the track at zone 4 type pace. Here are my results.
In week 1 I tested my fitness and found my FTP was 270 in the new aero position. I was not happy with how low that power number was, but that’s just the way it goes. The aerodynamics will lead to time improvements just as much as increased power will. All of my riding is on the aero bars. Last season I was very disappointed in the difference of my FTP rides sitting up vs. races while aero. I don’t want to repeat that, so all intervals are aero and the wattage numbers are lower in that position. I am sad to report 350 watts by the end of this OS won’t happen in the aero tuck. But I am still hopeful I’ll bump up to about 310-315. That will represent a significant speed increase in my new position.
In the week 1 run test I really struggled. I finished with a 5k time of roughly 21:00. I wasn’t in the greatest running shape, that’s just how it goes after a little break.
In week 8 I retested. Due to the fit changes I was a little concerned about my bike testing and progress. I just wasn’t sure my body was acclimating to the new hip angle. I was wrong.
My FTP went from a 270 to 286. I probably could have squeezed another watt or two with better pacing. That is about a 6% increase in speed and all things being equal is about .6mph according to the calculator. Overall I was pretty happy. With slightly better pacing I might have been able to get a couple extra watts.
For the run test I went to the Petit track. I was using my new Garmin foot pod and went a 20:18. I was happy in the sense that this was a lifetime PR. I was a little aggravated because I REALLY wanted to break 20 minutes. Again, it is what it is. It is still a pretty significant improvement.
All in all I was happy. The training is obviously working and I am getting faster. Losing the last 10-15lbs should make a really significant difference in my run speed. In fact 15lbs might give me an additional 30s of speed per mile dropping my 5k to 19:45. Especially since the last 15lbs are all around my belly and not muscle!! We’ll see what happens.
The next 6 weeks consist of V02 work. And the final 6 weeks are more threshold work. It will be a challenging 12 weeks of hard work, but I am already looking forward to the season.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone. I will try to post a little bit more in the future.
Health:
Anyway, here is what is new with me. As those of you reading this may recall, during my last few postings I was having a lot of issues with the Crohns disease. After several discussions with the doctor and several problems we made an increase to one of my medications (Humira) and did another short round of prednisone. I am happy to report that I have been off the prednisone for a couple months and I have not had a single flare up. For that I am very grateful. I had sworn off salads and rough veggies for a while, but am back to eating the occasional salad to try and maintain a somewhat healthy diet.
Weight:
On another good note, I have avoided gaining 10-15lbs like in other off seasons. This year I had gained no weight up until my trip to Mexico where I gained about 3-4lbs. I am now sitting at about 206. This is also very good news as my weight loss effort usually gets serious in January. I know I said I was going to start right away…but I think we all knew that was total bullshit. It’s the off season. My plan of attack for the last several weeks has been to eat all the junk I can so it is removed from the house. I will not purchase any more junk moving forward. My only concern on the weight loss front is my workouts. Due to my new coaching I have more recovery time and less calorie burning time. I’ll discuss that in more detail later in the blog. Anyway, the push to get to 190 is starting slowly this week…but once the holidays are over it will be in full swing.
I have no real injuries to report at this time. Considering the workouts I am doing, this is a success. I do have some lingering tightness in my hip and ankle, but nothing serious. Both respond well to stretching.
Races:
I have come to set my actual race goals for next season and a little beyond. After just missing the qualifications for the ITU World Championships the powers that be decided to give folks another chance. Pigman in Iowa will be another qualification race. To qualify I need to get top 5 in my age-group and top 10 gets a roll-down slot. Last year 5th place was near a 5:15. I could do that without any trouble right now. But I suspect the competition at the race next year will be a bit tougher. It was also REALLY hot last year, so the times were a bit slower. For a realistic off-season goal I’d like to be under 4:30…and realistically that should get me qualified.
So my basic plan for the race season is to do Triple-T in May. This is 4 races in a 3-day span. A Super sprint on Friday evening. Two Olympic distance races on Saturday. And a ½ iron on Sunday. In total it is a full Ironman distance race broken into pieces. I won’t like, I am intimidated.
Beyond that I am sure I will do a small race or two while training for Pigman as that race isn’t until August. Should I qualify at Pigman I will then be finishing my season with the ITU WC’s in November. That race is in Las Vegas Nevada and is a 4k swim, 120k bike ride, and a 30k run. It is considered one of the most difficult courses in the world and features 9700ft of climbing on the bike and 2000ft on the run.
In essence I will be training for 2 ½ Iron distance races and a full Iron race. ITU is a bit shorter than a full Iron, but the course is challenging enough to require the fitness of a full Iron.
My goals for beyond this year are simple. 2011 is a springboard to IMWI 2012 where I would like to qualify for a Kona slot. That will take some work.
Bike Fit:
One of the things I knew last season, but didn’t know how to fix, was my bike fit. While the fit was very comfy, it was slow. It was my original fit to this bike when I had ZERO fitness, ZERO riding background, and NO idea what I was doing. Since then I have gained a lot of fitness and some knowledge. After my race in SC I had Scott and Matt come over for some end-of-season beers. It took them all of 5 minutes to look at my bike and ask if I actually rode it like that. Matt’s comment was something to the effect of “you’re like a big sail, you have zero drop!”. (Drop is basically seat height to the aero bar pads) More aero positions typically have your aero bar pads below the height of your seat, dropping your torso down. It is more complex than that…but that is the gist of things. In my case I had zero drop.
That is one VERY good reason for why my race times did not reflect my power output. Working with Matt and Scott I made couple changes. First they yanked all the spacers beneath my stem. That dropped my down by about 8cm.
After that change I rode against them outside and my FTP instantly dropped 30 watts. BUT, I was also only 4-5 minutes behind them in the time trial. So despite the power loss I was as close to them as I would have been in-season. It just happened that my first ride in that new position was the TT with them.
After that I also bought a new stem with a steeper down angle. That dropped me down about another 3cm. And recently I added new aero bars with a lower profile. I kept myself about level with that change but could easily drop another 3-4cm if I want. I do my best to post before and after pictures in the near future. The change is VERY dramatic. I am somewhat anxious to get back outside just to see what the difference in aerodynamics means from a time perspective.
Training:
My real Off-season (Out-Season) began November 1. Prior to that I had taken a little time off. At that time I had become a full member of Endurance Nation. Last season I had read a lot of their materials and built my own training plan based on their guiding principles. Compare to years past I had a LOT of success. But I made a lot of mistakes as well. I did some very foolish things and fried myself on many occasions. I never had a real clear cut training “plan” or goals. Now with EN I have those plans and goals. Scott B. has also been like a 3rd coach to me. I have a nasty natural tendency to bury myself…he talks me off the ledge. When I need to be treated like an idiot, he does that too.
The first 8 weeks consisted of threshold work. A lot of 15-20 minute sets at a very hard effort. Running on the track at zone 4 type pace. Here are my results.
In week 1 I tested my fitness and found my FTP was 270 in the new aero position. I was not happy with how low that power number was, but that’s just the way it goes. The aerodynamics will lead to time improvements just as much as increased power will. All of my riding is on the aero bars. Last season I was very disappointed in the difference of my FTP rides sitting up vs. races while aero. I don’t want to repeat that, so all intervals are aero and the wattage numbers are lower in that position. I am sad to report 350 watts by the end of this OS won’t happen in the aero tuck. But I am still hopeful I’ll bump up to about 310-315. That will represent a significant speed increase in my new position.
In the week 1 run test I really struggled. I finished with a 5k time of roughly 21:00. I wasn’t in the greatest running shape, that’s just how it goes after a little break.
In week 8 I retested. Due to the fit changes I was a little concerned about my bike testing and progress. I just wasn’t sure my body was acclimating to the new hip angle. I was wrong.
My FTP went from a 270 to 286. I probably could have squeezed another watt or two with better pacing. That is about a 6% increase in speed and all things being equal is about .6mph according to the calculator. Overall I was pretty happy. With slightly better pacing I might have been able to get a couple extra watts.
For the run test I went to the Petit track. I was using my new Garmin foot pod and went a 20:18. I was happy in the sense that this was a lifetime PR. I was a little aggravated because I REALLY wanted to break 20 minutes. Again, it is what it is. It is still a pretty significant improvement.
All in all I was happy. The training is obviously working and I am getting faster. Losing the last 10-15lbs should make a really significant difference in my run speed. In fact 15lbs might give me an additional 30s of speed per mile dropping my 5k to 19:45. Especially since the last 15lbs are all around my belly and not muscle!! We’ll see what happens.
The next 6 weeks consist of V02 work. And the final 6 weeks are more threshold work. It will be a challenging 12 weeks of hard work, but I am already looking forward to the season.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone. I will try to post a little bit more in the future.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Why resting sucks!!
Apparently resting is no good.
During the season I had my share of problems. No big deal, you work through like everyone else. I had a couple weeks of down time planned before starting a training plan again. I wanted to do some light stuff, but nothing much. A couple light trainer rides and some jogging for fun. Nothing big, nothing hard, most importantly, nothing over 60 minutes!! Right off the bat, problems start hitting. And since one of my favorite hobbies is poking fun at myself, I thought I’d share. "They called me Mr. Glass" Samual L Jackson - Unbreakable.
First, my Crohns flares again. Frankly I am getting tired of this annoying little disease. I don’t know what the problem is. My diet is fine, my health is fine. But this disease just won’t go back into remission. Called the doc, we’re increasing my other meds. Unfortunately that is more of a long-term solution. In the short term I have another call into him today because I’m irritated with the continual problems. I am aggressive by my nature and want to pound the disease into submission…even if that means a month or two on prednisone. I want to kick its ass back into remission and then keep it there!
Then I went to my Rheumatologist for a checkup. I have rheumatoid arthritis (caused by the crohns), but it has been under control for years. So this is just a formality with some blood work. I typically get worked up to see him because he nags me about my blood pressure. Apparently I was more than a little worked up. 150/100 – NOT GOOD!! I think he suspected I might have a stroke right there! He made me promise to see my General Practitioner. CRAP!
Went and saw the GP, and we can add another med to the list. An ACE inhibitor which should not have an effect on athletics. Wonderful.
By the way, I hate medications. All medications have side-effects. They all screw with your body. I prefer a more natural approach. Unfortunately I don’t have much choice in the matter as my BP isn’t a diet thing, weight thing, or stress thing. It is most likely a genetic thing.
Third, I start running and my calves are tight. Not just a little tight…but really tight. The kind that doesn’t seem to warm up. I sleep with the boot, I stretch, I foam roll. Nothing seems to help. I don’t know what I was going to do about it because then I sneezed…and the FOURTH ailment to hit in a 2-week span is a strained lower abdomen. It was bad enough, and in a sensitive enough location to make me think I had a hernia. No joke. It was bad enough to get me back to see my GP 2 days after seeing him for my BP.
Doc, you are welcome, please enjoy your visit to the Cayman Islands on me!
“Haywood leads the league in most offensive categories including nose hair. When this guy sneezes he looks like a party favor!” - Major League.
The good news is my tight calves don’t have to run. I can’t run with my ab strain…I can hardly get out of a chair. What a wimp!!
What self respecting athlete sneezes and strains their abs? Seriously?! I can handle pain. With Crohns that comes with the territory, especially if I am ready for the pain. The abs hurt badly. I couldn’t sit or stand easily. Lying down or getting up – no good. Sneezing or coughing was like death. They still hurt and I can’t train at all. Once again my body’s way of making sure I rest.
There was a quote from the movie “Twins” with Ahnuld Schwarzenegger! It went something like this...the doctor was talking to Danny Divito and Ahnuld…I can’t remember the character names.
“Ahnuld you are perfect in every way. We took the best genetics from all of the donors and gave them to you.” *looks at Danny Devito* “And you were all the sh*t that was left over!!” In case you're wondering I'm Danny Devito in that little depiction.
I’d like to take this time to thank my parents for giving me all the sh*t left over!! Does my sister have any of these problems…noooooo. Of course not!! She had to wear glasses, that’s about it. She always was the perfect little angel. @#!**#!
Allow me to list my ailments starting with the most severe and getting to just plain silly.
I have Crohns, high blood pressure, and rheumatoid arthritis. We’ll get those out of the way now.
I had bad eyesight requiring lasiks surgery.
I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth. Ouch!
I had a giant bunion on my right foot…that required surgery.
I had a hammer toe because the bunion – also needing surgery.
According to my wife I have poor hearing. (I think she mumbles)
My teeth required years of braces..almost a decade!!
Plantars warts - @#$!& pool decks.
My second toe is too long and buts up against my socks. It hurts.
Lastly…I’m balding.
The balding thing is really just spiteful.
On the bright side I'm approaching 10 surgeries of some vareity. At 10 I think I just become bionic and don't have to worry about this crap any more.
Thanks mom and dad!! You’re the greatest! To their credit, I almost never get sick. When I do catch something, it is gone in 24 hours or so. That's a plus I guess.
Does that sound like the prototypical athlete to you? I say NAY! I think it sounds like someone that should be in a group-care facility. Perhaps a facility with a short yellow bus. I think it’s a miracle I wake up some days. Haha. I’m surprised I’m a functioning adult and not hooked up to a machine clinging to life. (I guess the adult part is up for debate!)
If you can’t tell I’m a bit cranky. There is a good reason for that, today I decided it might be a good idea to go without my morning energy drink. I don’t really care for coffee, so I have a hot chocolate type drink with caffeine and guarana. It is probably worth 3 cups of coffee in one. Typically I only take it during the week anyway, not on weekends. But I thought with high blood pressure and all it may be a great idea to stop this drink and see how it impacts my BP.
I won’t go so far as to say that was a mistake on my part. I will however say I am shocked at how dependent I am on that morning drink. I have a headache, which is pretty rare for me. And while I have been very good about not having soda this week, I am quietly confident that I will be getting a bladder busting mountain dew shortly to make up for this.
A few weeks back I scolded Scott for this same thing. He however gave up on caffeine during his taper for IMWI. I can’t even imagine. If his withdrawal was anything like mine is now…no wonder he was a slobbering emotional mess…tapers suck with caffine. Don’t forget folks…caffeine is a drug like any other. Withdrawal SUCKS. So yes, I am crabby.
Anyway…this post is meant to be funny as one of my favorite hobbies is making fun of myself. Hopefully people take it as such. If you think I’m being a whining little baby…you don’t know me that well.
My training ramps back up in November. Time to nurse myself back to health...and get used to this no caffeine thing. blah!! At least on the weekend I won't think about it.
During the season I had my share of problems. No big deal, you work through like everyone else. I had a couple weeks of down time planned before starting a training plan again. I wanted to do some light stuff, but nothing much. A couple light trainer rides and some jogging for fun. Nothing big, nothing hard, most importantly, nothing over 60 minutes!! Right off the bat, problems start hitting. And since one of my favorite hobbies is poking fun at myself, I thought I’d share. "They called me Mr. Glass" Samual L Jackson - Unbreakable.
First, my Crohns flares again. Frankly I am getting tired of this annoying little disease. I don’t know what the problem is. My diet is fine, my health is fine. But this disease just won’t go back into remission. Called the doc, we’re increasing my other meds. Unfortunately that is more of a long-term solution. In the short term I have another call into him today because I’m irritated with the continual problems. I am aggressive by my nature and want to pound the disease into submission…even if that means a month or two on prednisone. I want to kick its ass back into remission and then keep it there!
Then I went to my Rheumatologist for a checkup. I have rheumatoid arthritis (caused by the crohns), but it has been under control for years. So this is just a formality with some blood work. I typically get worked up to see him because he nags me about my blood pressure. Apparently I was more than a little worked up. 150/100 – NOT GOOD!! I think he suspected I might have a stroke right there! He made me promise to see my General Practitioner. CRAP!
Went and saw the GP, and we can add another med to the list. An ACE inhibitor which should not have an effect on athletics. Wonderful.
By the way, I hate medications. All medications have side-effects. They all screw with your body. I prefer a more natural approach. Unfortunately I don’t have much choice in the matter as my BP isn’t a diet thing, weight thing, or stress thing. It is most likely a genetic thing.
Third, I start running and my calves are tight. Not just a little tight…but really tight. The kind that doesn’t seem to warm up. I sleep with the boot, I stretch, I foam roll. Nothing seems to help. I don’t know what I was going to do about it because then I sneezed…and the FOURTH ailment to hit in a 2-week span is a strained lower abdomen. It was bad enough, and in a sensitive enough location to make me think I had a hernia. No joke. It was bad enough to get me back to see my GP 2 days after seeing him for my BP.
Doc, you are welcome, please enjoy your visit to the Cayman Islands on me!
“Haywood leads the league in most offensive categories including nose hair. When this guy sneezes he looks like a party favor!” - Major League.
The good news is my tight calves don’t have to run. I can’t run with my ab strain…I can hardly get out of a chair. What a wimp!!
What self respecting athlete sneezes and strains their abs? Seriously?! I can handle pain. With Crohns that comes with the territory, especially if I am ready for the pain. The abs hurt badly. I couldn’t sit or stand easily. Lying down or getting up – no good. Sneezing or coughing was like death. They still hurt and I can’t train at all. Once again my body’s way of making sure I rest.
There was a quote from the movie “Twins” with Ahnuld Schwarzenegger! It went something like this...the doctor was talking to Danny Divito and Ahnuld…I can’t remember the character names.
“Ahnuld you are perfect in every way. We took the best genetics from all of the donors and gave them to you.” *looks at Danny Devito* “And you were all the sh*t that was left over!!” In case you're wondering I'm Danny Devito in that little depiction.
I’d like to take this time to thank my parents for giving me all the sh*t left over!! Does my sister have any of these problems…noooooo. Of course not!! She had to wear glasses, that’s about it. She always was the perfect little angel. @#!**#!
Allow me to list my ailments starting with the most severe and getting to just plain silly.
I have Crohns, high blood pressure, and rheumatoid arthritis. We’ll get those out of the way now.
I had bad eyesight requiring lasiks surgery.
I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth. Ouch!
I had a giant bunion on my right foot…that required surgery.
I had a hammer toe because the bunion – also needing surgery.
According to my wife I have poor hearing. (I think she mumbles)
My teeth required years of braces..almost a decade!!
Plantars warts - @#$!& pool decks.
My second toe is too long and buts up against my socks. It hurts.
Lastly…I’m balding.
The balding thing is really just spiteful.
On the bright side I'm approaching 10 surgeries of some vareity. At 10 I think I just become bionic and don't have to worry about this crap any more.
Thanks mom and dad!! You’re the greatest! To their credit, I almost never get sick. When I do catch something, it is gone in 24 hours or so. That's a plus I guess.
Does that sound like the prototypical athlete to you? I say NAY! I think it sounds like someone that should be in a group-care facility. Perhaps a facility with a short yellow bus. I think it’s a miracle I wake up some days. Haha. I’m surprised I’m a functioning adult and not hooked up to a machine clinging to life. (I guess the adult part is up for debate!)
If you can’t tell I’m a bit cranky. There is a good reason for that, today I decided it might be a good idea to go without my morning energy drink. I don’t really care for coffee, so I have a hot chocolate type drink with caffeine and guarana. It is probably worth 3 cups of coffee in one. Typically I only take it during the week anyway, not on weekends. But I thought with high blood pressure and all it may be a great idea to stop this drink and see how it impacts my BP.
I won’t go so far as to say that was a mistake on my part. I will however say I am shocked at how dependent I am on that morning drink. I have a headache, which is pretty rare for me. And while I have been very good about not having soda this week, I am quietly confident that I will be getting a bladder busting mountain dew shortly to make up for this.
A few weeks back I scolded Scott for this same thing. He however gave up on caffeine during his taper for IMWI. I can’t even imagine. If his withdrawal was anything like mine is now…no wonder he was a slobbering emotional mess…tapers suck with caffine. Don’t forget folks…caffeine is a drug like any other. Withdrawal SUCKS. So yes, I am crabby.
Anyway…this post is meant to be funny as one of my favorite hobbies is making fun of myself. Hopefully people take it as such. If you think I’m being a whining little baby…you don’t know me that well.
My training ramps back up in November. Time to nurse myself back to health...and get used to this no caffeine thing. blah!! At least on the weekend I won't think about it.
Monday, October 11, 2010
2010 in Review -- Part Duex
2010 Goals:
For 2010 I had several different goals. I can’t remember if I listed them out on previous blogs, but I will list them here now.
1. Do not get an overuse injury from running/cycling
--Accomplished.
2. Lose 20 pounds by end of March to assist in this injury free endeavor. (easier on the legs and joints if I am lighter)
--Accomplished. I started the season at 220 and dropped to 200. At my lowest I was 197.
3. Run a sub :43 at an OLY this year.
--Missed/Accomplished. I came very close to doing this. Unfortunately for me, my fastest Oly race of the year was Pleasant Prairie where I sprained my knee. In that race I ran a 43:45ish but honestly had no urgency in that run as I expected to DNF after the swim.
I did Tri-ing for children’s but between a half Iron the week before and a new bike fit, I was wasted and did not race well.
I have zero doubt in my mind that if I were to race an Oly tomorrow I could hit this goal. But because I switched from Oly focus to ½ Iron, I didn’t actually do it. Having said that, it turns out this was a very realistic goal for me this year and one that is essentially complete. So while I did not actually hit it, I am going to check it off the list for the sake of re-writing my goals for 2011.
4. Break 1hr 40K bike ride.
Missed – This was a bit optimistic. But was it?? For almost the entire year I was riding on a very un-aero and improper bike fit. Between my trainer riding sitting upright and my aero position being very sloppy, I never put my best foot forward on race day. I raced many flat courses with very little wind. At my power output I should have been close. But I never was.
While I will be working on building freakishly strong biking legs this off season, I need to address my aero position as well. I did part of that with a new bike fit from Bike Doctor, but I think it is time I suck it up and post some pictures on Slowtwitch for some aero critique. I have little doubt I’ll get called fat and they’ll make fun of whatever they find…I can take it. I’ll have to get Aimee to snap some pictures.
While I did not hit this goal during the season I will say this. The fact that I hit 22.7mph on my bad fit at Racine 70.3 on a calm flat course on 250 watts speaks to the slowness of my fit. I say that because I hit 23.1mph at Myrtle Beach on a flat but very windy course. For much of that ride it was a direct head wind with no shelter. While my ride was 20watts higher, the wind is a HUGE factor and should have slowed me down more with a bad fit. So I know my new fit is better, I just need to get used to it and see what happens on shorter courses.
Matt and Scott have made some changes, I’ll need to evaluate those as well.
5. Break 2:05 at an OLY race this year.
Missed – I missed this for a couple reasons.
First, my bike splits never got fast enough due to the fit and power. Without breaking an hour on the ride, going under 2:05 is tough…especially with my run. If I were a sub 40minute 10k runner, it would be different. But my swim/bike needed to make up for a slower run and they weren’t fast enough.
Second, Elkhart lake was my A race and it was a 45k bike, not 40k. It’s also very hilly. I had a chance at Pleasant Prairie but hurting my knee blew my shot. My swim was slow, my bike was decent but on the slower fit, and my run had no urgency due to the knee. I don’t think I ever hurt (except the knee) during that race. On that relaxed effort I ran a 43:45ish. At Tri-ing for Children’s I just didn’t have it.
If I had done an Oly distance race in later September or gone to USAT short Course Nats, I really think I would have had a shot at making this goal. I might not be quite there yet…but a 19:15 swim followed by a 1:02:15 on the bike leaves me 43:30 for the run to break 2:05:00. I think all of those are within reason when I am in peak form. The bike being the toughest part of that, and I’ve really improved since my last Oly. Unfortunately it will have to wait to next season with my new goals.
6. Qualify for AG Nats.
Complete – both Oly and ½ Iron distance. I almost qualified for ITU World Championships as well.
7. Break 4:50 in a HIM
Complete. Granted I didn’t actually do it. I did 4:53 at Racine. But at Myrtle Beach my times with no swim was a 4:15. You can’t tell me I would have been slower than 35 minutes in the water. With a properly measured swim I should have been near a 26. Add in some transition time and a better paced ride and we’re looking at a 4:45…since I wouldn’t have blown up on the run. (I would have followed my plan).
2011 Goals
Since many of my goals were either met, or I’m so close to them now it doesn’t make sense to keep them, it is time I began to think about new goals. I plan to do things a little differently. On the bike I will no longer be focused on specific time goals other than breaking an hour in the 40K. That is a big cycling benchmark and I need to break that next season. Call me cocky, I just don’t see it as a problem so long as I remain healthy and address my bike position. My run goals will be pace/time based as that’s all I have to work with. My swim goals will remain static. I want to swim and not destroy my shoulder. I will be doing rehab all off-season in the hopes of a pain-free next season. I think I’ll begin swimming in January or so due to a race in late May that will require a lot of fitness, Triple-T. I will list specific race benchmarks…they all assume good race-day conditions.
Swimming:
Pain free swimming. Rehab shoulder and get back to my happy place.
Biking:
· I want to build my FTP to 375.
This is a LOFTY goal…and I want to get my logic out there so people don’t start to heckle me. First, I have only ridden hard for one year. Years prior I simply went out and rode with no goals, no intervals…all easy stuff. Last year was IMWI, all long slow training.
This off season I trained hard and had a lot of improvement. I know my body and how I react to training and how I built my speed in swimming. I really don’t think I am anywhere near my potential on the bike yet. Second, I hit an FTP of 320 early in the season sitting upright. Aero I am at 305 as I never did any intervals on the aero bars in the off season. My training was very haphazard all season due to my own mistakes, and I really feel like getting back to 320 will be a fast process. After that, going from 320 to 375 is a 17% increase. If I hit 350-360, I’ll still be pretty happy…especially if I weigh 185lbs. (That’s 4.47 w/kg, a crazy high number)
Like I said, it is a lofty goal. I might plateau somewhere in there. I may get too tired with the run program mixed in. I don’t know, but plan to have fun finding out. Call me sick, I love intervals on the trainer. I love hitting number oriented goals. It is translating that to the road where I sometimes struggle. And that is a big part of why I think I can do it. Some hate the pain, I love it. I used to love power lifting and being sore because I knew I worked hard. That translates perfectly to crushing workouts on the bike.
· Goal two is a time goal - break 1 hour in a 40k Oly Race. (not a standalone TT) -Realistically speaking, if I have a truly aero position and am able to hold 365-370 watts, I should be really fast on the bike. By that I mean breaking an hour should be easy.
But this heavily relies on bike handling and aero position. So far my speeds on the bike do not match up with my power outputs. This can only be caused by a couple things…bike handling and aerodynamics. If I want to be at the front of the pack I need to act like I belong there when racing. That means being aggressive on the turns. The final piece is being as aero as possible while maintaining my power. I think my position is un-aero, Matt and Scott agreed…now I need to learn how to correct that.
That is what makes the goal lofty (and fun), power is great…but to see the results on race day coupled with great handling and position.
Running:
Goal #1 – 10k in under 40 minutes, in an OLY race, not stand-alone. I think this is very realistic as this is my current 5k pace. Ideally I will be at this pace by the end of January.
Using Jack Daniels formulas I am currently sitting at a Vdot of 48. This is from my half marathon split of 1:36. I took off a couple minutes because I could have gone much harder early in the race. This tells me that my threshold pace is around a 7:05, and that is reasonably accurate. If I am going to compete and not get completely crushed on every run I need to get to a Vdot of about 55.
Vdot 55 would get me to a standalone 10k of 38 minutes. I think that is a pretty reasonable goal. My half marathon would be around a 1:25. And my half iron run splits should be in the neighborhood of 1:28-1:32 (assuming I don’t do a 30 minute FTP set at the beginning of the bike leg. Duh!!)
As this will be my 2nd year of real running I am expecting some pretty significant gains. But the biggest factor in my favor is my weight. My Vdot is a 48 at 200-205lbs. If I drop to a lean 185lbs that is a 20lb drop – according to many people that will take 40 seconds per mile off my pace (2s per lb per minute). I could potentially drop from 6:30’s to 5:50’s for my 5k splits based on that alone.
General goals:
Weight – 185-190. This will be look and feel based. I do not think this will be an unhealthy weight for me. This will be one of the biggest factors in hitting my bike/run goals as well. How I look and feel will determine if I drop from 190 to 185.
Injury free – Same as this year. Train smart, avoid over-use injuries. I’ll try not to face-plant myself again too. This goal is a really big deal to me because it encompasses so much. It means my Crohns stays under control. It also means I can train consistently for another full year. The biggest and bestest way to get fast is through consistency. I’m really excited to see what I can do.
Get proficient at the cycle-cross mount and dismount. –No more face plants.
The biggest and final goal of all is going to come in the form of race results. All the run pace and power numbers don’t mean a thing unless I can put it together on race day. So while I won’t put in race result goals right now…my general goals are going to be simple. Race to the potential I know I have, and what my training proves I can accomplish.
Race time goals are a funny thing. If I take my new goals and add them all together for a race time on a flat course, here is what it looks like. 19 swim, 59:40 bike(25mph), and 39:50 run(6:25 pace). That gives me a time of 1:58. Add in transitions and we’re looking at a 2:01 or so. When I look at my goals individually I can see it happening. While they will be very tough, they don’t seem completely unreasonable. But when I put it all together and realize I could potentially go under 2 hours at an Oly. Well let’s just say that sounds a little more unreasonable.
Let’s face it; I’d love to say things like I’m going to beat Matt, Scott, Joe, Justin and other elite triathletes in the area. But I need to be a little realistic too. The advantages I have on the swim and bike over normal age-groupers are completely negated by these guys.
While I could possibly put in the extra yardage and take Matt and Scott in the swim…what would that buy me? Even with a 15s lead out of the water, their run is so much better they’d pass me in transition just getting to my bike. Sadly, that isn’t an exaggeration. In a sense I’m in a bit of a no-man’s-land. I love competition and really enjoy racing specific people, but I don’t know who to choose. Most of the elite GG’s I would enjoy a rivalry with are a couple steps (and years) ahead of me, especially running.
If I am being honest with myself, as painful as it is, it is unrealistic for me to expect miracles like that. Running speed takes time and consistency. Until this season I’ve had neither. Breaking 40 minutes in an Oly 10k will be a big accomplishment for me all by itself as I can still remember running 10min/mile.
The only way I can see getting faster than that is if I lose the 20lbs pretty quickly and have my run times improve by 40s per mile as a result. At that point the rest of my off-season running would be spent improving from a threshold of 6:20 or so. Again, somewhat unrealistic. Having said that…the weight loss plan starts on Monday. J So we’ll see just how unrealistic it is.
So my biggest race goal will be to hit my personal expectations. Should I meet someone who is pretty close to my speed, perhaps we’ll start up a friendly rivalry. Ideally I’d like to qualify for the 70.3 world championships. I am a little torn about accepting a roll down slot. M35-39 is a really hard age group and taking top 2-3 would be quite a race for me. It might take something as crazy as a 4:20…and I doubt I’ll get to that speed that fast. But who knows…a 4:20 comes down to a 26 minute swim, a 2:22 on that bike, followed by a 1:32 run.
I can do a 26 minute swim.
On a calm day I would have easily done a 2:22 bike.
That leaves the run…I can’t do a 1:32 yet, but by the end of this off season I should be able to!
Who knows…one step at a time is a bit easier to deal with than talking about a 4:20.
For 2010 I had several different goals. I can’t remember if I listed them out on previous blogs, but I will list them here now.
1. Do not get an overuse injury from running/cycling
--Accomplished.
2. Lose 20 pounds by end of March to assist in this injury free endeavor. (easier on the legs and joints if I am lighter)
--Accomplished. I started the season at 220 and dropped to 200. At my lowest I was 197.
3. Run a sub :43 at an OLY this year.
--Missed/Accomplished. I came very close to doing this. Unfortunately for me, my fastest Oly race of the year was Pleasant Prairie where I sprained my knee. In that race I ran a 43:45ish but honestly had no urgency in that run as I expected to DNF after the swim.
I did Tri-ing for children’s but between a half Iron the week before and a new bike fit, I was wasted and did not race well.
I have zero doubt in my mind that if I were to race an Oly tomorrow I could hit this goal. But because I switched from Oly focus to ½ Iron, I didn’t actually do it. Having said that, it turns out this was a very realistic goal for me this year and one that is essentially complete. So while I did not actually hit it, I am going to check it off the list for the sake of re-writing my goals for 2011.
4. Break 1hr 40K bike ride.
Missed – This was a bit optimistic. But was it?? For almost the entire year I was riding on a very un-aero and improper bike fit. Between my trainer riding sitting upright and my aero position being very sloppy, I never put my best foot forward on race day. I raced many flat courses with very little wind. At my power output I should have been close. But I never was.
While I will be working on building freakishly strong biking legs this off season, I need to address my aero position as well. I did part of that with a new bike fit from Bike Doctor, but I think it is time I suck it up and post some pictures on Slowtwitch for some aero critique. I have little doubt I’ll get called fat and they’ll make fun of whatever they find…I can take it. I’ll have to get Aimee to snap some pictures.
While I did not hit this goal during the season I will say this. The fact that I hit 22.7mph on my bad fit at Racine 70.3 on a calm flat course on 250 watts speaks to the slowness of my fit. I say that because I hit 23.1mph at Myrtle Beach on a flat but very windy course. For much of that ride it was a direct head wind with no shelter. While my ride was 20watts higher, the wind is a HUGE factor and should have slowed me down more with a bad fit. So I know my new fit is better, I just need to get used to it and see what happens on shorter courses.
Matt and Scott have made some changes, I’ll need to evaluate those as well.
5. Break 2:05 at an OLY race this year.
Missed – I missed this for a couple reasons.
First, my bike splits never got fast enough due to the fit and power. Without breaking an hour on the ride, going under 2:05 is tough…especially with my run. If I were a sub 40minute 10k runner, it would be different. But my swim/bike needed to make up for a slower run and they weren’t fast enough.
Second, Elkhart lake was my A race and it was a 45k bike, not 40k. It’s also very hilly. I had a chance at Pleasant Prairie but hurting my knee blew my shot. My swim was slow, my bike was decent but on the slower fit, and my run had no urgency due to the knee. I don’t think I ever hurt (except the knee) during that race. On that relaxed effort I ran a 43:45ish. At Tri-ing for Children’s I just didn’t have it.
If I had done an Oly distance race in later September or gone to USAT short Course Nats, I really think I would have had a shot at making this goal. I might not be quite there yet…but a 19:15 swim followed by a 1:02:15 on the bike leaves me 43:30 for the run to break 2:05:00. I think all of those are within reason when I am in peak form. The bike being the toughest part of that, and I’ve really improved since my last Oly. Unfortunately it will have to wait to next season with my new goals.
6. Qualify for AG Nats.
Complete – both Oly and ½ Iron distance. I almost qualified for ITU World Championships as well.
7. Break 4:50 in a HIM
Complete. Granted I didn’t actually do it. I did 4:53 at Racine. But at Myrtle Beach my times with no swim was a 4:15. You can’t tell me I would have been slower than 35 minutes in the water. With a properly measured swim I should have been near a 26. Add in some transition time and a better paced ride and we’re looking at a 4:45…since I wouldn’t have blown up on the run. (I would have followed my plan).
2011 Goals
Since many of my goals were either met, or I’m so close to them now it doesn’t make sense to keep them, it is time I began to think about new goals. I plan to do things a little differently. On the bike I will no longer be focused on specific time goals other than breaking an hour in the 40K. That is a big cycling benchmark and I need to break that next season. Call me cocky, I just don’t see it as a problem so long as I remain healthy and address my bike position. My run goals will be pace/time based as that’s all I have to work with. My swim goals will remain static. I want to swim and not destroy my shoulder. I will be doing rehab all off-season in the hopes of a pain-free next season. I think I’ll begin swimming in January or so due to a race in late May that will require a lot of fitness, Triple-T. I will list specific race benchmarks…they all assume good race-day conditions.
Swimming:
Pain free swimming. Rehab shoulder and get back to my happy place.
Biking:
· I want to build my FTP to 375.
This is a LOFTY goal…and I want to get my logic out there so people don’t start to heckle me. First, I have only ridden hard for one year. Years prior I simply went out and rode with no goals, no intervals…all easy stuff. Last year was IMWI, all long slow training.
This off season I trained hard and had a lot of improvement. I know my body and how I react to training and how I built my speed in swimming. I really don’t think I am anywhere near my potential on the bike yet. Second, I hit an FTP of 320 early in the season sitting upright. Aero I am at 305 as I never did any intervals on the aero bars in the off season. My training was very haphazard all season due to my own mistakes, and I really feel like getting back to 320 will be a fast process. After that, going from 320 to 375 is a 17% increase. If I hit 350-360, I’ll still be pretty happy…especially if I weigh 185lbs. (That’s 4.47 w/kg, a crazy high number)
Like I said, it is a lofty goal. I might plateau somewhere in there. I may get too tired with the run program mixed in. I don’t know, but plan to have fun finding out. Call me sick, I love intervals on the trainer. I love hitting number oriented goals. It is translating that to the road where I sometimes struggle. And that is a big part of why I think I can do it. Some hate the pain, I love it. I used to love power lifting and being sore because I knew I worked hard. That translates perfectly to crushing workouts on the bike.
· Goal two is a time goal - break 1 hour in a 40k Oly Race. (not a standalone TT) -Realistically speaking, if I have a truly aero position and am able to hold 365-370 watts, I should be really fast on the bike. By that I mean breaking an hour should be easy.
But this heavily relies on bike handling and aero position. So far my speeds on the bike do not match up with my power outputs. This can only be caused by a couple things…bike handling and aerodynamics. If I want to be at the front of the pack I need to act like I belong there when racing. That means being aggressive on the turns. The final piece is being as aero as possible while maintaining my power. I think my position is un-aero, Matt and Scott agreed…now I need to learn how to correct that.
That is what makes the goal lofty (and fun), power is great…but to see the results on race day coupled with great handling and position.
Running:
Goal #1 – 10k in under 40 minutes, in an OLY race, not stand-alone. I think this is very realistic as this is my current 5k pace. Ideally I will be at this pace by the end of January.
Using Jack Daniels formulas I am currently sitting at a Vdot of 48. This is from my half marathon split of 1:36. I took off a couple minutes because I could have gone much harder early in the race. This tells me that my threshold pace is around a 7:05, and that is reasonably accurate. If I am going to compete and not get completely crushed on every run I need to get to a Vdot of about 55.
Vdot 55 would get me to a standalone 10k of 38 minutes. I think that is a pretty reasonable goal. My half marathon would be around a 1:25. And my half iron run splits should be in the neighborhood of 1:28-1:32 (assuming I don’t do a 30 minute FTP set at the beginning of the bike leg. Duh!!)
As this will be my 2nd year of real running I am expecting some pretty significant gains. But the biggest factor in my favor is my weight. My Vdot is a 48 at 200-205lbs. If I drop to a lean 185lbs that is a 20lb drop – according to many people that will take 40 seconds per mile off my pace (2s per lb per minute). I could potentially drop from 6:30’s to 5:50’s for my 5k splits based on that alone.
General goals:
Weight – 185-190. This will be look and feel based. I do not think this will be an unhealthy weight for me. This will be one of the biggest factors in hitting my bike/run goals as well. How I look and feel will determine if I drop from 190 to 185.
Injury free – Same as this year. Train smart, avoid over-use injuries. I’ll try not to face-plant myself again too. This goal is a really big deal to me because it encompasses so much. It means my Crohns stays under control. It also means I can train consistently for another full year. The biggest and bestest way to get fast is through consistency. I’m really excited to see what I can do.
Get proficient at the cycle-cross mount and dismount. –No more face plants.
The biggest and final goal of all is going to come in the form of race results. All the run pace and power numbers don’t mean a thing unless I can put it together on race day. So while I won’t put in race result goals right now…my general goals are going to be simple. Race to the potential I know I have, and what my training proves I can accomplish.
Race time goals are a funny thing. If I take my new goals and add them all together for a race time on a flat course, here is what it looks like. 19 swim, 59:40 bike(25mph), and 39:50 run(6:25 pace). That gives me a time of 1:58. Add in transitions and we’re looking at a 2:01 or so. When I look at my goals individually I can see it happening. While they will be very tough, they don’t seem completely unreasonable. But when I put it all together and realize I could potentially go under 2 hours at an Oly. Well let’s just say that sounds a little more unreasonable.
Let’s face it; I’d love to say things like I’m going to beat Matt, Scott, Joe, Justin and other elite triathletes in the area. But I need to be a little realistic too. The advantages I have on the swim and bike over normal age-groupers are completely negated by these guys.
While I could possibly put in the extra yardage and take Matt and Scott in the swim…what would that buy me? Even with a 15s lead out of the water, their run is so much better they’d pass me in transition just getting to my bike. Sadly, that isn’t an exaggeration. In a sense I’m in a bit of a no-man’s-land. I love competition and really enjoy racing specific people, but I don’t know who to choose. Most of the elite GG’s I would enjoy a rivalry with are a couple steps (and years) ahead of me, especially running.
If I am being honest with myself, as painful as it is, it is unrealistic for me to expect miracles like that. Running speed takes time and consistency. Until this season I’ve had neither. Breaking 40 minutes in an Oly 10k will be a big accomplishment for me all by itself as I can still remember running 10min/mile.
The only way I can see getting faster than that is if I lose the 20lbs pretty quickly and have my run times improve by 40s per mile as a result. At that point the rest of my off-season running would be spent improving from a threshold of 6:20 or so. Again, somewhat unrealistic. Having said that…the weight loss plan starts on Monday. J So we’ll see just how unrealistic it is.
So my biggest race goal will be to hit my personal expectations. Should I meet someone who is pretty close to my speed, perhaps we’ll start up a friendly rivalry. Ideally I’d like to qualify for the 70.3 world championships. I am a little torn about accepting a roll down slot. M35-39 is a really hard age group and taking top 2-3 would be quite a race for me. It might take something as crazy as a 4:20…and I doubt I’ll get to that speed that fast. But who knows…a 4:20 comes down to a 26 minute swim, a 2:22 on that bike, followed by a 1:32 run.
I can do a 26 minute swim.
On a calm day I would have easily done a 2:22 bike.
That leaves the run…I can’t do a 1:32 yet, but by the end of this off season I should be able to!
Who knows…one step at a time is a bit easier to deal with than talking about a 4:20.
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