The Mind of an Endurance Runner

Two weeks before a 50 miler: Another race, can't wait
 A week before a 50 miler: Another race, should be fun
A day before a 50 milers:  I should have put in more miles, but I've done more on less.
Morning of a 50 miler: Oh man, this is going to be a LONG day, I should have trained more.
When the starting gun fires of a 50 miler: I'm just going to have fun, let's take it slow.
1/4 of the way through the a 50 miler:  Man, I'm feeling good.  Maybe I can PR this distance.
1/2 way through the a 50 miler: No way I'm going to keep this pace to PR, but I'll still easily put down a good time.
3/4 through a 50 miler: I think I'm going to die.  Why the hell am I doing this?  There's no reason to run this far.  I hurt, I'm tired, and and this sucks.  Maybe this is enough.  Not sure I want to do another one of these.  I don't even know if I can do the 100.
Near the finish of a 50 miler: Thank God, I'm almost done.  I hope they have beer at the finish line.
After the finish of a 50 miler: Where are my flip flops?  Get these shoes NOW!
An hour after the finish of a 50 miler: Whew, long day.  That sucked, but it wasn't too bad.
The day after the 50 miler: Holy crap, I can barely move.  I can't believe I ran 50 miles yesterday.
Two days after the 50 miler: Meh, the 100 shouldn't be that bad.

Yes, I did a 50 miler two days ago.  And the above is a VERY succinct play of the past couple weeks.  Every long race, I ask myself why I'm doing it.  I never have an answer for it at that moment.  But I keep coming back.

Another 50

I've been battling motivation issues lately.  I've been putting in a bunch of miles, but not the volume I need.  Now that I'm only a little over 2.5 weeks out from my next 50 miler, I can't really afford to be missing runs.  I've got a 50K training run on the schedule for this weekend, so that'll give me a lot of insight on how to structure my attack plan for the 50 miler.  The cooler weather has made it much easier to knock out the higher mileage, so I'm hoping the lower temps stick around.

Pouring on the miles

I've been a bit lazy with blogging since IMWI.  I took a couple weeks off from training, but I'm back on the road putting in mileage.  My weekly mileage is currently in the mid-50s and heading north.  I still feel slow, but the endurance is there.  The plan is to keep increasing mileage and add in some speed work one day a week.  Additionally, I'm attempting to supplement with some swimming, cycling, and light weight training, although I've been lazy on those thus far. 

I've been running 6-10 miles on my weekday runs through the hills of northwest Austin.  The runs are slow because the hills are ridiculously steep, but I'm starting to feel stronger going up.  Last night I got back in the pool for my first swim since IMWI.  I took it pretty easy, but it did feel good to get in a short swim.

I've got a few targets drawn on my calendar for upcoming races, but we'll see what exactly I end up doing.

Deaths in Triathlon

I survived IMWI, so I'm alive to post this article.  Some facts about deaths in triathlon (and a couple marathon figures).  It also dispels a few misconceptions.  Straight from the article:

We can dispel some common misperceptions:

• This is not a problem of beginners and is not a problem with swimming ability.
  
  
• The fatality rate has not increased in more recent years. The number of fatalities has paralleled the growth in participation rate in triathlon.
  
  
• The fatality rate is not related to using/not using a wetsuit.
  
  
• The fatality rate is not related to the type of swim start (mass, wave, time-trial). No particular start method appears to be safest.
  
  
• The fatality rate is not related to the length of the race.

It's almost "Go Time"

A week and a half form IMWI.  The work is done.  Just a few maintenance workouts left and then we head north.  The bike is what is on my mind.  Typically, I look forward to the bike, as I'm fairly strong in the saddle, but this will be the hilliest race I've ever done.  I have to really focus on not burning out my legs, which means taking it easy on the bike.  I have a hard time doing "easy" on the bike.  As a wise man repeated to me today, "there's no such thing as a good bike and a bad run."  I've heard it a million times, but it gets no less true.

I've got a week and a half to continue pounding that into my head...

Finding the podium

  

Yesterday was the first time I've won my age group in triathlon.  Katie, Creighton, and I raced the Georgetown Super Sprint.  When looking at the results for the previous event up there, I knew there was a decent chance that we could do well, and I had an even better feeling that Katie could win her AG or get on the overall podium.  However, we all know it really comes down to who decides to show up.  Adding to that, we weren't doing ourselves any favors for this race, as we were throwing down some difficult training.  On Saturday, Katie and I did a four hour hill attack ride on Saturday (attack any hill, no matter how short), and then managed to stay up/out late due to a dinner party and some friends playing a show downtown.

On much too little sleep, we headed up for the race.  After setting up, we lined up at the pool.  I'm typically a slow swimmer, so I was shocked to see how many people were seeded behind me.  Once in the water, I had a little trouble settling into a rhythm.  This was actually the first time I've done a triathlon with a pool swim.  Stopping to turn at the walls really kept me from getting into a good rhythm and getting my heart rate down.  I ended up passing one person in the pool, and then made my way to the bike.  I took my time in T1, and then headed out on the bike.  I tried to keep the pace somewhat easy on the way out to get my heart rate down and settle in.  Once I felt smooth, I picked up the pace and kept it over 20 mph for the majority of the ride.  I passed quite a few people on the bike and no one passed me.  My quads felt completely dead on the ride, but I continued to crank.  There was one small uphill on the course, but it wasn't anything that took too much effort.  Just before the end of the bike route, there was a roundabout that I made a wrong turn on, as there were several directions to head out of it.  They were not all marked.  I lost a few seconds, but it wasn't that bad.

I took my time in T2, and then headed out on the run.  It was starting to get warm, but with only a 5K I figured it wouldn't be too terrible.  Mile one came up too quickly.  My watch read 6:15.  I knew I wasn't running that fast.  Of course mile two was at around 9 minutes, so it became obvious that the mile markers were off.  I got passed by one runner around the 2.75 mile point, but he wasn't in my age group so I didn't give much chase.  My legs were completely dead, and I was just trying to finish without looking like a total chump.

Katie finished not too long after me.  I was pretty sure she had done well, as I had only seen two women ahead of me, and one of them started the swim long before I did.  I suspected I was ahead of her (I was).  When they finally posted the unofficial results, we had both won our age groups.  I actually finished 9th overall, and the 8th male finisher.  Katie was the fourth female and 17th overall finisher.  Creighton also finished 3rd in his age group for his first podium finish in his second triathlon.  Not a bad morning!

Relentless Forward Progress: Review

I've written tips on ultra running on my humble blog, but I might as well save my "breath."  Just go buy this book.  I've read plenty of books about ultra running, but most of them are composed of stories of runners over-coming challenges in life or compilations of race reports.  Until now, I've not found a good "how to" book on ultra running that really gives great insight on getting started.  Bryon Powell has written a fantastic introduction to ultra running and provides a great book to use as reference.

To a veteran ultra runner, there's nothing ground-breaking in this book.  You already know it.  You've pieced it together the hard way: through trial-and-error, through racing, by reading race reports, and by talking to the runners who have already completed crazy distances.  However, this book is fantastic for someone looking to start running ultras or the person who has just started down the ultra path.  Powell even highlights some training plans.

This book is no substitute for experience.  Reading it a couple times and following the advice won't make you the next Scott Jurek, but it'll go a long, long way to making your entry into the ultra world enjoyable.  If you don't find something enjoyable about suffering through long miles, then you shouldn't be running ultras anyway.  Kudos to Powell for finally putting out a fairly comprehensive guide to the world of ultras.

If you are thinking of venturing into ultras, pick up this book.  See you guys on the trail!

Coming down the home stretch

We are down to 6 weeks.  We've got 3 more long runs and 4 more long rides before Ironman Wisconsin.  Its time to really focus and get some solid training in.  On Saturday, four of us went out to tackle a mock half IM.  We ended up bagging it after 5.5 miles due to the extreme heat, as I didn't see how I was going to benefit from a long slog of run-walking another 7+ miles.  It was smarter to cut it short, recover faster, and re-focus on training.  Even with the shortened event, I got out of it what I needed to know.  I need to really focus more on the bike.  I've not put in near as many miles as I did last year for IMTX, and I think it shows.  I'll have no problem finishing the race, but I'd like to have a respectable showing.

Pre-mock 1/2 Picture

I sat down and revised the final weeks of training last night, and it is going to be grueling. However, I think it'll pay off in the long run.  With the high temperatures we are training through, I'm hoping for a huge payoff with the weather on race day.

Katie and are are doing the Georgetown Super Sprint Tri on Sunday for a little extra transition practice.  It should be a fun little event.

Double Century

*note - this is unedited and likely riddled with grammatical errors*


This one was a number of years in the making.  I'd tried planning/riding a Double Century since 2007, but things never seemed to line up.  I decided to give it another try and open it up to some other riders.  In the end, everyone bailed due to injury or other obligations except Katie and me.  Luckily, the weather decided to cooperate, and predicted highs were in the low 90s instead of the low 100s of earlier in the week.  I made the decision to take my road bike for comfort, so I swapped out my wheel sets the night before.


Katie and I got up at 4, quickly got ready and ate some breakfast before heading out.  We jumped in the car and drove to the starting point in Pflugerville.  Lit up like Christmas trees, we were able to get rolling at about 5:15, which was about 15 minutes later than I was hoping.  As we left behind the lights of Pflugerville, the roads were quite dark, which required riding a slow pace to keep an eye out for road hazards.  The first ten miles was along county roads with little traffic.  We turned the wrong direction at one point, but it actually ended up saving us a little time.


As light grew on the horizon, we turned onto 290.  I was a little nervous about riding on the highway, but the shoulder was nice and wide, and the road surface was like butter.  The ten miles we were on 290 seemed to disappear with little effort.  We rolled into Elgin and made our first pit stop at a gas station on the edge of town.  I ate a chocolate chip granola bar and tried to drink a lot of water.  My plan was to stay on top of hydration and nutrition early on, as to not end up in a deficit.


In high spirits, we made our way through Elgin and headed out a Farm-to-Market road.  I had to stop and consult the directions a few times to ensure we were on the right road(s), as a few of the roads went by multiple names.  Along the way, we got chased by dogs a couple times, which freaked Katie out a little more than it did me.  She was riding behind, so she was the one the dogs were after.  As the road we were on went from Farm-to-Market to County Road to just a regular road, the surface got rougher.  I was on the lookout for a right turn where the ended, but instead the road went left.  I checked the directions again, and the road was definitely supposed to go right.  I pulled out my phone and consulted Google maps.  Sure enough, there was supposed to be a right going right, but it no longer existed.  Luckily, it was only a short work around to get back on track.


We turned onto another FM road that had a nice shoulder.  The should on the road would last for a few miles, disappear for a bit, and then reappear.  There were a few rolling hills, but nothing that required a crazy amount of work to get up.  We had another encounter with a dog, which resulted in the dog almost getting hit by a truck.  Katie claims the dog was foaming at the mouth, but it just looked like a normal dog to me.  When we hit the 40 mile mark, I asked Katie how she was doing.  We were still about 5 or 6 miles from Lexington, and we both agreed that we should just push on and take a break there.  We were both dreaming of kolaches.  We rode into Lexington and found a convenience store/grill.  Luckily, they had kolaches!


We each ate two kolaches and filled up on water before pushing off for the next segment.  It was still very humid and starting to warm up.  Luckily, there were patchwork clouds in the sky, so we were getting occasional shade on the run.  We continued on FM 696 for about another eight miles before turning onto CR 324, which turned out to be what might be the worst stretch of paved road in the entire state.  For eight miles we battled potholes, terrible chip seal, rock and tar mixture, and general terrible surface.  During this stretch, I went to shift gears and my pedals started spinning freely like I had dropped my chain, yet I could hear the chain turning.  It quickly caught on the middle chain ring (I have a triple on the road bike) and I chalked it up to needing a tune up.  When it happened again, I made a mental note to check things out on our next rest stop, however, when I glanced down, it appeared as if my middle chain ring was warped.  Over the next couple hundred yards, I studied it.  The chain slipped again, and I pulled over.  


When I hopped off my bike to inspect, I was shocked to see that I was missing 3 chain ring bolts!  When I swapped my wheels the night before, all five were there.  The two remaining bolts were loose and almost ready to fall off as well.  I grabbed my multi tool and tightened the two remaining bolts.  I tried to jiggle the middle and big rings, but they seemed firmly in place.  I shifted the bike into my granny gear, and prepared to make a "bail out" call.  We were only 65 miles into the ride, and I wasn't sure I could make it with only my small ring.  As I contemplated, I realized that it would not only take a while to be rescued, but it would be difficult to describe our location.  With that, I hopped back on the bike told Katie that I only had my small ring, so I couldn't ride very fast.  I'd have to monitor the bolts, but as long as I stayed in the small ring, I shouldn't have a problem, as the bolts had no effect on the small ring.


After a few more miles, we came out on Highway 21 and turned toward Caldwell.  The road had a wide should and a fairly smooth surface.  I was having to ride a higher cadence than I like, but in the back of my mind I thought this mechanical issue could be a blessing in disguise.  First, it was keeping my speed in check and keeping me from doing something stupid like hammering 20+.  The slower pace would hopefully pay dividends on the second half of the ride.  Secondly, it was forcing me to ride at a faster cadence, which is something that I've been trying to work on anyway.  


After a few miles on 21, we stopped at a gas station to take a short rest break.  I had a Tabasco Slim Jim, a Red Bull, and refilled my Gatorade.  Katie had the same, except her Slim Jim was regular flavor.  I checked my chain ring bolts and they were still tight, so I lowered my panic level a bit.  As we continued on 21, I could feel the wind had picked up and we were riding almost directly into it.  We turned off the highway and took a series of county roads, which took us into and then out of Caldwell.  I had to stop and consult the directions and Google maps a couple times on that stretch, as the roads didn't match up with the written directions.  I think we too a slightly longer way, as we ended up in Snook, but it allowed for another rest stop before the final push into College Station.


As we left Snook on FM 60, I started feeling the fatigue in my legs.  The headwind was becoming very annoying and the heat was starting to take its toll.  My general attitude was headed south very quickly.  I tried to push the negative thoughts out of my head, but I really started doubting that I could turn around and ride back to Austin.  We were already over 100 miles and we had not even arrived in College Station yet.  I was hoping a meal would re-energize me, but I wasn't convinced.  The original route included a loop through campus, but we cut that out to ride directly to Northgate, as we had already hit 105 miles.


We made our way into Fitzwilly's and ordered burgers, fries, beers, soft drinks, and water.  The staff at Fitz was super friendly (as always) and inquisitive about our ride.  We chatted with them and answered questions about how far the trip was, when we left, when we thought we'd get back, and other similar topics.  Katie and I both took down a cheeseburger and fries.  I added three glasses of Dr. Pepper and a ton of water to my lunch.  After the foot and some time off the bike, my spirits rose a bit.  I took a look at the map and found what I think was the original route back to Caldwell, so I told Katie we were going to follow that back, as I figured it might cut off a couple miles on the return.


We thanked the Fitz staff and got back on the bikes.  The wind was now at our backs as we headed out of town.  The temperature had dropped a bit and the wind felt cooler.  All around us in the distance were dark clouds and signs of rain.  As we turned off FM 60 to the county roads, I felt a few rain drops and Katie started noticing lighting off in the distance.  I was hoping that if a thunderstorm rolled through, we would be able find shelter somewhere.  We continue to ride through verdant farmland with very little traffic.  As we were about to crest a hill, Katie mentioned that she thought she had a flat tire.  We stopped at the top, and sure enough, her front tire was pretty low.  As we changed the tube, we heard thunder in the distance and spotted more lighting.


Tube replaced, we got back on the road.  It was getting a little uncomfortable sitting on the saddle, but I wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought I would be.  The ride back into Caldwell felt quick.  We made a stop at another gas station and picked up more water and Gatorade.  Katie spotted push-pops, so we snagged a couple of the orange delights and made our way over to a table to enjoy them.  There was one open table, with the rest of the tables occupied by locals, who were staring awkwardly at us.  One of the older men asked us how we were doing in a nice, but suspicious, manner.  As we sat and ate our treats, I tried to ignore the room full of eyes staring at us in our spandex.


I made another change to the route to try and cut a few more miles off, as we were on pace to go over 200.  We went straight through town and took 21 out instead of the country roads that would have dropped us on 21 outside of town.  With the smooth road and tail wind, we were back on the terrible stretch of road called CR 324 in what felt like no time.  The plan was to try and make it back to Lexington before taking another break.  The rough road was really rattling my hands and arms, but it was making sitting on the saddle uncomfortable.  After what felt like way too long, we finally made it back onto FM 696 and headed toward Lexington and regained the tail wind.


Just as we rolled into Lexington, we hit the 155 mile mark.  Katie had begun to get a little down on herself somewhere around mile 130 or so, but once we got over the 150 mile mark, she seemed to taste the possibility of actually pulling off the feat.  She was really, really uncomfortable in the saddle.  We had already covered 75 more miles than her longest ride ever.  We took a break at the same grill/store as we had eaten kolaches in that morning.  I'm sure they thought we were crazy coming back through, but we didn't really care and joked about it.  We split a cosmic brownie, which tasted absolutely out of this world (pun intended) and then reluctantly climbed back on our bikes.  I eased my butt back onto the saddle as the pain slowly returned.  The next stop was Elgin, and from there we would be in striking distance from the finish.


As we set out for Elgin, my legs were actually feeling strong.  If I had more gears, I could have easily picked up the pace, although Katie and I were in it together.  After 15 miles, we made a quick stop to take in a little fuel and get off the saddle for a short bit.  We split a pack of power gel chews and then started pedaling toward Elgin again.  The sun was getting close to the horizon, so I mentioned to Katie that we'd need to turn out lights back on when we made our next stop.  Once we turned onto 290, we had a nice headwind and that smooth, smooth road surface, which allowed us to ride at 18-20 mph.


We made our final rest stop at a gas station where we split a nutrigrain bar and each had a Red Bull to power us through the final 20 miles.  We were at 182 miles.  The only thing that could stop us would be a catastrophic mechanical issue, which I was praying wouldn't happen.  I tried my best to push those negative thoughts out of my head.  Tail lights on, we set back out on 290 and cruised along in high spirits.  We turned off 290 with 10 miles to go and the sun waning.  Headlights on, we worked our way north on the same county roads we had ridden in the dark that morning..  After starting in the dark, it was only fitting that we'd finish in the dark as well.  We had a quick celebratory yell at the 200 mile mark and pushed on toward the finish.


Seeing the car in the parking lot was a very welcome sight.  We pulled in with huge smiles on our faces and celebrated finishing 202.36 miles.  I had just logged 77 more miles than my longest ride ever.  Katie logged over 120 miles more than her longest ride ever!  I was both impressed and proud of her for getting through the challenge.  Doing a ride of this magnitude should be a huge confidence booster for her going into IMWI.  For me, it was finally checking off a challenge I'd been trying to accomplish for a number of years.  It felt good to finally knock this one out.


What's next?  Who knows.

Capt'n Karl's 30k Race Report

cross-posted on flotrail

Saturday night we drove out to Pedernales Falls to do the first of the Capt'n Karls series from Tejas Trails.  The races begin at 7 pm for the 60K, 7:15 for the 30K, and 7:30 pm for the 10K.  Katie ran the 10K and took fifth overall and three place female.  I signed up for the 30K, electing not to do the 60K, as we had a long ride on the schedule for Sunday.

I did very little prep work for this race.  I'd only run a handful of times since Comrades, and I didn't even look at the course description.  Luckily, about 5 minutes prior to the start I asked how many loops the race was.  One.  Oops...better go grab my headlamp and stock up on nutrition.

The temperature was in the upper 90s when we started, but luckily, there was a little bit of shade on the course.  I was expecting a pretty technical race, as much of the footing on trails around Austin is pretty gnarly.  Surprisingly, the vast majority of the course was very, very runnable.  The goal was to take it easy and just log the miles, which wasn't hard to do with the heat.  The first part of the race descended a down to a rocky creek bed and then turned into a long, gradual climb along the fence that marked the park boundary.  I really didn't feel that great for the first hour of the race.  My legs felt shaky, I felt low on energy, and pretty lethargic.  I walked the steepest of the inclines and jogged the easier ones.  Eventually the course wound back through the woods and followed some flats and downs.

Somewhere around the one hour mark, I started feeling really good and picked up the pace.  Uphill or downhill, it didn't matter.  After the first aid station, I looked to my left and saw an amazing sunset.  The sun was enormous and was a nice hue of orange.  I soaked in the fleeting moments of sunlight as I started bombing down a service road with some steep descents.  As I flew down, I tried to push thoughts out of my head of running back up.  After we turned off the wide service road, the course continued to slowly wind down on mostly smooth single track.

Eventually we started climbing again.  I walked the steep descents, turning on my headlamp as darkness was finally taking over.  Around the 2.5 hour mark, my energy was completely gone.  I slowed my pace considerably and concentrated on not falling.  Although the trail was still very runnable, the darkness provided the opportunity to easily trip over the few rocks out there.  Just as I was mentally getting exhausted and ready for the race to be over, I heard the commotion from the finish line.

Overall, the race was well-organized (as all of Joe's races are) and very runnable.  The biggest obstacle was the heat.  I got the feeling that I'm still not 100% recovered from Comrades.  The downs and flats felt fairly easy to run, but when I tried to run uphill, my legs felt heavy.

I highly suggest hitting up one of the other races if you have the opportunity.

Mule Shoe Bend 7/21
Colorado Bend 8/11
Reveille Ranch 9/1

Scott Jurek

I had the pleasure of running with Scott Jurek last night and then listening to him speak at Book People here in Austin.  I've been a huge fan of Scott for many years, so it was a pleasure to finally meet him.  If you don't know who Scott Jurek is, do a quick google search and you will likely be blown away by the things he has accomplished.  He's down-to-earth and a very personable guy, who is very accommodating with his fans.  He did a short reading and then answered questions for the large group of people.

Although, a fan of Scott, I was a little cautious going in, thinking that he might be a little preachy about plant-based diets.  While he did highlight what he believes are the advantages of a plant-based diet, it didn't come across as preachy or elitist.  Scott mentioned that he respects those who choose all different types of diets, and even mentioned some advantages to a paleo diet.  I left even more impressed with the man than I already was.  Most professional runners and triathletes are down-to-earth and likeable, but Scott Jurek is at the top of that list.  A complete class-act.  I only wish I had more time to pick his brain.

BCS Marathon + Half Training

Train with City Coach in Austin for the BCS Marathon or Half Marathon.
Whether it’s your first or fiftieth marathon, we’ll get to the finish line or set your new PR.
What you get:

• 18 week training program
• 3 in-person group workouts a week (Tues, Thurs, Sat)
• Access to coach for advice and feedback
• Racing tactics and strategy
• Potential field trips to run on the course on select game weekends
• Social Events
• Access to other team workouts and cross training

Cost is only $100.  Similar programs in Austin cost up to $300+.

One-on-one coaching is also available.  Please inquire about pricing.

For more information, please contact Scott, call 512.666.4741, or visit our Facebook page.

Back to Training

After two weeks of vacation and a week recovering from Comrades, I hit the lake last night for an OWS.  It was as if I'd forgotten how to swim.  My stroke was off, and my sighting was terrible.  I had expected tired shoulders, so at least that wasn't a surprise.  I toughed out 1500m, although I'm sure it was much more than that with all the zig-zagging I ended up doing.  Hopefully, I have my bearings, and I will swim a little more normal tomorrow night.

Comrades Tracking

The race isn't until June 3rd, but I leave on today, so you probably won't be seeing many posts until I return.

You can track the race here:

http://results.comrades.com/default.aspx

I'm bib 47580

I'm not doing this total unprepared, but I'll be gutting it out, at least in the latter miles. Due to nagging injuries earlier in the year, I didn't get in the type of training base I wanted. I've run an 18 and a 20, but nowhere near what I'd want for a 56 mile run. Luckily, I've been on the bike and in the pool a lot, so the cardio base is there. I've also toughed out some pretty brutal races in the past, so I'm prepared mentally. Add in the downhill year and cooler temps and I think I'll be ok, but I won't lie that I have a slight fear of not making the 12 hour cut-off.

The race starts at 5:30 am local time, which translates to 10:30 PM (June 2). In reality, I guess you can just check the results the next day, as I'll have to finish by 10:30 am Texas time.

Training "Camp" weekend

Yesterday we wrapped up a training camp weekend.  Katie had to work the majority of the weekend, but Ben drove down and we made the most of it.

Friday evening, we headed over to Pflugerville Lake for a splash and dash.  Somehow both of us left our goggles behind, so it ended up just being a dash.  And by dash, I mean slow 3 mile jog.

Saturday, the three of us headed out to tackle the Dam Loop (plus a little on Parmer) to cover 70 miles of wind, heat, and hills.  I felt ok until about the 60 mile mark.  We turned around on Parmer to head back, which was directly into a stiff wind.  I bonked.  I bonked hard.  I think it was a combination of not taking in enough calories, the heat, the wind, and the hills.  Additionally, I likely should have take in more water.  Regardless, we got in 71 miles, which turned out to be Katie's longest ride ever.

After Katie headed to work, Ben and I drove over to Pflugerville Lake (this time remembering goggles) for an open-water swim.  The wind had picked up, so the water was less than calm.  Not quite white caps, but rough enough to provide the occasional mouthful of water when trying to breathe.  I hadn't been out to Pflugerville in almost a year.  The lake seemed much less weedy than last year, and I was happily surprised by the addition of a couple buoys.  We only swam for a little over 20 minutes, but I think we were both still a little fatigued from the ride.

Based on dead legs, I re-mapped our Sunday run to remove a few hills.  I had 20 on the schedule and Ben had 18.  By mile 4 or so, I realized the flat version of the run was still pretty hilly.  The heat made the run pretty difficult, but we both toughed out our respective runs before head to to get Mexican food and some beer.

All-in-all, it was a great training weekend despite the heat and wind.  I'm looking forward to the next one in early August.

Open Water and a little running

Having the lake a Pure is an enormous training asset that I think will pay huge dividends on race day.  I'm putting in work in the pool with the masters class to clean up my stroke, but the bi-weekly practice in open water is invaluable.  In the past, I've had a lot of trouble even remotely swimming in a straight line, even with sighting.  After a few weeks of regular open water swimming, I've noticed that I'm swimming in a much straighter path, which is resulting in less sighting.  Less sighting means faster swimming.  I have a ways to go to really get my swim in line, but I'm already swimming at the same pace I did IMAZ and I've still got months of training to go.  I'm cautiously optimistic about the swim at IMWI.

After the swim, I knocked out 7 miles at a fairly easy pace.  With my fitness going back up, my easy pace is starting to get faster as well.  Everything is encouraging, let's just hope I don't come out of Comrades with any ailments.

Raining? Take your training indoors.

Roads were wet last night, and not wanting to clean road gunk off bikes, Katie and I took our training indoors.  After one of the spin classes cleared out, we posted up on a couple spin bikes in the back and prepared for the boredom that was about to ensue.  I have a passionate loathing for treadmills and stationary/spin bikes.  My tolerance level for them maxes out at about 15 minutes, and even that is a stretch.  To break up the monotony, I came up with some intervals to keep us distracted and make the "ride" hard since it was supposed to be our hard effort day on the bike.  We powered through an hour of intervals, with a quick break at 30 minutes for a drink of water.

I prefer to do my riding and running outside, but if you end up relegated to the gym due to weather or other factors, try varying resistance or speeds to break things up and distract yourself.  Personally, I need to change something everyone minute or so in order to keep from getting too bored.  Figure out what works and use it instead of skipping your workout next time there's bad weather.

Comrades

One month from today I will be toeing the line at the Comrades Marathon alongside my good friend Francis Laros.  It's really tough for me to sum up how I feel about this race.  This is one of those races I've dreamed about for years and years, so its a bit difficult for me to believe that I'm actually going.  I'm excited for the trip to South Africa in general, but this race is one that means a lot to me.  Its a race that I probably put even above Boston.  I've been held captivated by fascination as friends have regaled me with stories from the race.  Maybe its the exotic location.  Maybe it's that it's the largest ultra in the world.  Maybe it's the rich history of the race.  I'm really unsure.  All I really know is that for me, this is one of my "bucket list" races.

I wish I was going into the race with a better training base, but at this point I'm just going to have to manage.  I have a big cardio base to draw off of, and I've muscled through some pretty tough races in the past.  I know I'll have to run/walk this race, but I'm really there for the experience.  I'm not trying to break any records.  Luckily it's a downhill year.

Finally feeling like I'm getting back into this running thing

Katie and I got a nice brick in tonight.  We rode 64 minutes on the bike and then hopped off for a 6 mile run.  We did the first 1.5 miles at an easy pace and then picked it up for three miles, dropping a 6:34 pace for the second half of that, and then doing another 1.5 mile cool down.  We had a little trouble with motivation to get out the door, but I felt fantastic after knocking out the workout.

Heat Training and Adaptation

As temperatures in Texas creep into the 90s, we wave goodbye to the fantastic training conditions of late fall, winter, and early spring.  Soon, the weather forecast will look the same every day until November:

High: 102
Low: 80
Sunny with 10% of scattered thunderstorms

Everything will turn brown, the ground will crack, and just about every conversation will turn to the topic of how bad we need rain.  As hot as it will be, there is a little silver lining, especially for those of us who are training through the heat of the summer and then heading north to do a fall race.

With heat training comes some adaptations that can really pay off on race day.  You've seen it before.  Remember that first cool day of the fall where you felt like you just dropped the hammer and crushed your workout...and it felt effortless?  Lower temperatures helped, but there were some other factors that played into it.

As your body adapts to heat, it has a better control of body temperature.  You begin to sweat sooner and your body activates more sweat glands, which means you get a jump on cooling and keeps your core temperature down longer.  Additionally, your sweat has a slower transit time, which allows for re-absorption of some electrolytes.  Heat adaptation also increases your blood volume, which means there more blood (oxygen) available to your muscles.  And finally, your heart rate increase while exercising is less than that of someone who is not acclimated.

Even if you aren't headed north for a race, remember as your body adjusts, those hot runs will get easier.  You aren't going to be setting any PRs, but things will start to level off if you follow a few tips.

It takes time for the changes to take place, but some changes can be seen as soon as a few days.  When heat training, you should consume extra fluids and electrolytes.  Also, dial back the intensity of your workouts, especially in the beginning, and know the signs of heat illnesses.  Run in the shade, in the morning or at night.  It will take a minimum of 5-10 runs of an hour to start feeling even a little better.  Cardiovascular adaptations can start happening as quickly as 3-5 days, while sweat rate changes will probably take 10-14 days.

Luckily, for those of us that live here, we do get to train as the seasons change, so we aren't thrust directly into 100 degree heat.  Still, be careful and try to remember, you are building your infrastructure for a successful fall/winter race.

Wind and rattlesnakes

It was a tough weekend for training, that's for sure.

When I woke up on Saturday, the winds were brutal.  I rolled back over and went to sleep.  When I woke back up, the winds were just as bad.  I checked the weather and the wind was predicted just as bad on Sunday, so I got my stuff and headed out on the bike.  The wind was coming from the south, so instead of riding Parmer, I decided to do the Dam Loop.  That would mean I would fight the wind on the way out, but should have a tailwind on the return.  The added bonus was the extra hill work I'd get.

Immediately, I was struggling to pedal and keep the speed over 10-12 mph.  When I finally turned onto 360 and started the descent toward Spicewood, the wind was gusting so hard that I was only doing 9 mph downhill, while pedaling.  As I came over the 360 bridge, I caught a crosswind that nearly knocked me off my bike, and on Bee Cave, I experienced the same in several places.  I thought that once I made the turn onto 620 to come back north, it would be all tailwind and smooth pedaling, but that wasn't the case.  As I went over the Mansfield Dam, the wind shifted, or maybe it was channeled.  I don't know, but it was coming almost directly at me from the north.  I yelled a few choice words to no one and continued grinding against the wind.  In the end, it was 60 of the toughest miles I've ever ridden.

On Sunday, I had to squeeze in my 10 mile run before the Spurs game started at noon.  I decided to run on soft surface, so I headed up to the Goodwater Loop at Lake Georgetown.  About a mile and a half into my run, I was picking my way along the single-track trail through wait-high weeds when I spotted something moving that brought me to a dead stop.  I heard the distinctive rattle and slowly started to retreat, keeping a close eye on my nemesis.  The snake was doing the same.  The snake was following the trail, so I decided not to try and wait it out and turned around and ran back finishing my run on the south side of the lake. 

Open Water Swimming

With IM training in full-swing, its great to get some open water practice.  Katie and I are fortunate enough that our gym not only has a pool, but has a lake as well.  It's nice when this is behind your gym:

I've been swimming laps in the pool for a couple months, but I finally got in the lake yesterday, as the temperature has crept up to the low 70s, which is a great temperature to swim and not have to bother with a wetsuit if you don't want.  There's a 750m loop set up with buoys, and a few other measured distance.

Of course, I immediately had breathing issues when I started swimming.  I'm fine in the pool, but as soon as I hit open water, I have problems.  At this point, it has to be a mental issue, so that just means more open water practice.  Now that the lake is warm enough for regular swimming, I really don't have much use for the pool.  You'll find me in the lake several times a week.

IM Training is in full swing

The swim is slowly coming along, the miles are carefully and slowly creeping up on the run, and the bike is getting a lot of love.  Now that Katie is done with Boston and has started IM training, I finally feel like my training has now officially started as well, even though I'm about 4 weeks in.

I knocked out 50 miles on the bike yesterday, and although I was a little fatigued at the end, I definitely had plenty of miles left in my legs. I'm not looking forward to the temperatures rising, but I am looking forward to the long rides as the summer approaches.  There's something fantastic about a really long ride.

But if you really want to know how I know I'm in full swing of IM training...the tan lines.

Start of Ironman Training

And so I begin another round of Ironman training.  Today marked the first day of training for IM Wisconsin.  The whole idea started probably a year and a half ago as I slowly convinced Katie to do an Ironman.  I really don't think it took much convincing...more coaxing.  She had it in her all along.  I told her if she signed up for an IM, I'd do it with her.  Katie decided she wanted to do IMWI and raise money for the MS Society in honor of her mother.  Naturally, I told her I'd join her not only for the race, but in the fundraising efforts.

Last September, we traveled to Madison to watch some of the race and sign up for the race.  We met up with my friend Ben, who also traveled in from Dallas to volunteer and register for the race.  Katie and I waited in line for a couple hours and then signed up on-site for the 2012 race.  Next, we contacted the Wisconsin chapter of the MS Society and got a fundraising page up and running and set a goal of $15K.  Feel free to visit our fundraising page and make a donation.

All that seemed like forever ago, as Katie has been training for Boston and I've had other races on my mind.  But now here we are a little over 5 months out and training started today for me.  Katie has a couple more weeks to go, as she will begin her training after Boston.  I'm really looking forward to Ironman training again.  This will be IM #3 for me, but it will be Katie's first.  I look forward to working with her (and Ben) to get them both through their first Ironman race.  The Wisconsin course isn't easy, but I think I can help them both get prepared to tear it up on race day.  While I'm helping Ben with his training schedule, I'll be taking a more active role coaching Katie on a day-to-day basis.

Personally, I'm looking forward to IM training for multiple reasons.  I can't wait to get more fit again, and IM training will definitely get me there.  Additionally, I love doing long rides on the bike, so Ironman training really gives me an excuse to hit the bike hard.  Not only that, but it allows me to push myself on the run in a way in which marathon and ultra training don't.  Lastly, the swim is and probably always will be a challenge for me, so it gives me something to really work on.

As for my first workout of this training cycle, tonight was only a 30 minute swim.  However, amazingly I made a breakthrough tonight.  I've been working on my form and breathing for as long as I can remember.  Ok, well a few years anyway.  Somehow tonight things came together.  The reach a caused the rotation and the more efficient stroke allowed me to breath every other stroke on one side rather than every stroke.  It's really incredible how I've been trying to find this form for a couple years, yet never been able to put it together.  I've made it through two IMs and a ridiculous amount of training miles in the pool without being able to figure this out.  Then, out of nowhere, it just works.  It amazes me.  I had a similar breakthrough while training for my first Ironman, where freestyle just came together for me one day.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm still slow and I'm still probably inefficient.  However, I'm slightly faster and slightly more efficient. That makes a big difference over 2.4 miles.  Hopefully I can make more progress before race day.

Austin Bike Map

If anyone is interested, here is a bike route map for Austin.  It took a bit of digging to find, so I figured I'd share.

Route Map

I'm big on The Weather Channel

So my aunt was watching Cantore Stories about the Badwater Ultramarathon on The Weather Channel yesterday, and happened to catch a quick glimpse of me on screen.  In 2009 I was out at Badwater crewing/pacing for Pam Reed.  Little did I know they were filming for this show.  I actually didn't even realize this show existed until yesterday, however, I was able to find it online with some quick help from Google.  No big surprises that Dean Karnazes found his way into some serious face time on this one.  If you are interest in the piece, here it is in two parts.  And my cameo is at 1:54 on part 2.

Dear A$$hole(s),

(to steal a category from coach cane's humble blog)

When there are only four lanes at the pool, all the lanes are already being shared, and multiple people waiting for lanes, it's not a good time for the two of you to stand in the pool at the end of the lane and talk about the shiny new watch one of you just bought.  It would have been one thing if the two of you were having a brief conversation resting between sets, but when you are still talking almost five minutes later, don't get upset when something is said to you.  You are worse than the idiot hanging out on the machine/bench in the weight room.  At least there, someone can do alternate exercises.

Sincerely,

Me...and the other people staring daggers at you last night at the pool

Full Goodwater Loop

Yesterday I went back up to Lake Georgetown to tackle a full pass of the Goodwater Loop.  Although there are extended sections of the the trail with nice footing, much of it is jagged, rocky, and capable of turning your feet into hamburger.  Since the footing wasn't challenging enough, I decided to trip and fall at mile two.  And it wasn't fall.  I was able to target some small thorny vines that were hiding under the verdant foliage covering the ground.  I landed first on my leg and then rolled over to sufficiently cover the other side of my body.  The thorns on this particular plant were small enough that they were not visible to the eye or noticeable to the touch.  However, they felt like fire under my skin with every new footfall.

I briefly contemplated turning around and heading back to the car, but going home wasn't going to make the spines hurt any less.  A couple miles later, I approached the first creek crossing, so I was able to wash the mud off my hands and attempt to cool the burning sensation with the water, to no avail.

After three days of rain, I was expecting sloppier conditions.  Nevertheless, I found enough mud and water to splash through that it kept me happy.  I honestly went out of my way many times to trudge through the mud.  I made a quick stop at Crockett Gardens and Falls to take in the waterfall and snap a couple pictures.

I completed the south side of the trail and made my way over the dam, where I passed more people than I'd seen the entire day to that point.  Once I passed Overlook Park, I only saw one group of boy scouts that I'd previously encountered shortly after starting my run.  My energy levels were falling quickly as I finally made the jeep road on the north side.  There's little cover along this part of the trail, so the sun was sapping what little energy I had remaining.  I hobbled through the final 4 miles or so, alternating between a quick walk and a slow run, both of which were likely the same pace.

Almost twenty-four hours later, the crawling, burning sensation has finally subsided and given way to soreness.  I'll take the soreness over the pain from those tiny vines.  I have no idea what type of devil those vines grow from, but I'm pretty positive they contained poison of some sort.  Still, I completed the 26+ mile loop, so vines didn't defeat me.

Next time maybe I'll dive into prickly pear.

Climbing

I've been climbing at the gym once a week for the past few months.  Over the years, I always loved to go rock climbing when i got the chance, but I'd never been able to go on a consistent basis, so when I joined Pure, I figured I'd take advantage of the rock wall.  Its a good upper body workout and its definitely helping to strengthen my core.  Climbing inside has nothing on climbing outside, but I still enjoy it.  Additionally, its still fairly challenging, as most of the climbing I've done over the years has been crack climbing, which is quite different from an indoor wall.  I've been working on a specific route for a couple months, and I'm finally getting close to mastering it.  Once I get under the ceiling, I keep losing it at a certain point, but I'm getting close.

Katie and I are hopefully going to hit the rock gym in the near future to get more variety and challenge ourselves a bit more.

Mammoth Weekend

I threw down some serious mileage this weekend, doing my first back-to-back long runs in a very long time.  I did a combined 8.5 hours of running between Saturday (4 hours) and Sunday (4.5 hours).  I really have no idea where I get my endurance from, or more importantly, my tolerance for the endurance.  For some reason, I can just go.  And go.  And go.  What I lack in speed, I more than make up for in endurance.

Anyway, on Saturday, I simultaneously reminded myself whey I don't run at the greenbelt and why I need to run at the greenbelt more often.  The interstate highway of a trail that is the main artery of the greenbelt is ridiculously busy on a nice Saturday.  Its not my idea of a good trail run.  However, I went and explored the trails across from the Hill of Life.  I'd always known there were some trails over there, but I had no idea of the extensiveness of the trail system over there.  I spent just over 4 hours on those trail and rarely retraced a step, while not even covering everything out there.

Yesterday, I went back up to Lake Georgetown and explored the south side of the Goodwater Loop, after a quick three mile out-and-back on the north side to scout out a low water crossing.  I've previously covered almost the entire north side of the loop, and I have to say, the south side is definitely the more scenic, interesting, and fun side.  There were sections that made me feel like I wasn't even in Texas.  With all the recent rain, everything was green, so short sections reminded me of being in the Catskills or even the Adirondacks.  As usual, traffic away from the trail heads was extremely light.  Crockett Gardens and Falls was a nice little treat to see.  I did miss a trail marker on my return, which lead me down the wrong path adding mileage to my run.  It wouldn't have been that bad, but it caused me to run out of water before I finished.

Overall, a great weekend of running, but I'm glad to have a day off from running to let my legs recover.  Sometimes it hurts to go long, but it's a good hurt.

New PR!

...for my blog.

I was looking over the numbers/data for my blog, as I always do--that's the triathlete part of me coming out--and as of today, I've hit a new high for traffic in a month.  I realize my blog traffic numbers are still crap compared to the "pros" out there, but it seems as though I'm gaining steam.  I'm going to keep rolling and see if March can keep up!

2012 Race Schedule Shaping Up

After only doing 4 races last year, partially due to injury, I vowed to do more races in 2012.  It looks like the schedule is starting to fill up, which makes me happy.  I may not end up doing all these, but I should end up at most of them.  The ones in bold are ones I'm already registered for or completed.

2/19 - Austin Marathon
4/7 - Hells Hills 50M
4/14 - Possible race
4/22 - The Maze
4/28 - Fat Ass style run (details to come)
5/5 - CB&I Tri
5/13 - The Loop
6/3 - Comrades Ultramarathon
6/17 - Pflugerville Tri
6/23 - Captain Karl's (brick?)
7/15 - El Scorcho 50K
7/21 - Captain Karl's (brick?)
7/29 - Mock Half IM
8/11 - Captain Karl's (brick?)
9/9 - Ironman Wisconsin
?/? - Fall/Winter Marathon?

I might go broke with registration fees.  Anyone feel like sponsoring a "just ahead of the middle of the pack" runner?

Goodwater Loop long run

Today I make the trek up to Georgetown to do a little scouting of the Goodwater Loop at Lake Georgetown.  I've portions of the loop many times, but I'm making it a point to scout sections I've not been on before in order to prep for a full loop and possibly multiple loops some time in the near future.

I set out from Jim Hogg Park and ran counter-clockwise.  I had previously covered the section from Jim Hogg to Russell Park, but I got plenty of new ground covered on the sections past Russell Park.  I ended up doing about 2:47 on the out-and-back.  I had originally planned for two hours, but then felt pretty good and decided to go for an extra thirty minutes.  Then on the way back, I took a detour on a side trail that added the extra 17 minutes.

I'm hoping to set out from Russell Park next time and see if I can cover a significant amount of new ground, and then possibly just go for a full loop on the following outing.

Saucony Kinvara 3 - Wear Test/Review

Last night, I was one of the lucky few to wear test the Saucony Kinvara 3s through an event with Rogue Running.  The event was a pub run sponsored by Saucony, who was very liberal with giving out free gear...mostly to encourage people like me to blog about it and give them good press.  Hey, it worked.

I got a vest, a running shirt, some arm warmers, a couple pair of sun glasses, and a set of beer mugs.  Not to mention, free beer.  We took to the streets decked out in bright orange Saucony gear and ran down Sixth Street to a few bars, spent some time at each bar, and then ran back to Rogue for some post-run refreshments.

I'll preface with the fact that I've not run in any of the previous version of the Kinvara, so this was a new experience for me.

We were all outfitted with all-black versions of the Kinvara 3.  This shoe drops on May 1, so it was interesting to get a sneak preview of the shoe.  Weighing in at 7.7 oz, the Kinvara definitely made me feel light on my feet.  The shoe had the classic Saucony fit: snug around the heel and roomy in the toe box.  I'm a fan of the Saucony last.  Theirs and Brooks both seem to work well for my foot shape.  The sizing seemed pretty true, as the shoe fit similarly to other brands in the same size.    My first instinct was that the shoe felt like a lighter, less cushioned version of the Cortana (read my review).  To me, it feels like what the DS Trainer was to the Nimbus--a lighter, sleeker version.  While not as soft as the Cortana, the Kinvara still had ample cushioning and felt like a smooth ride.  The flex grooves give the shoe a decent amount of flexibility, which was nice because I'm not a big fan of stiff shoes.  Some of the material in the upper felt similar to what the original Nike Lunaracer consisted of.  The heel-to-toe drop in the 3s remains the same as the 2s (and the Cortana) at 4mm.  Lastly, I noticed that the heel was beveled, which leads me to believe the shoe is a little more heel-striker friendly, although still geared toward mid-foot striking.

The price looks to be going up to $100, but the Kinvara is still a great value at that price point.  I'm not sure it would be my daily runner, but it would be a great shoe to do tempo and track work in.

Mental Training (part 2)

In the second part of mental training, I want to look at my first Ironman race as a case study of how a an amateur, such as myself, employed the same tactics Chrissie Wellington mentioned in her article to achieve an optimistic goal for a race.

Going in to IMAZ, I knew how to run, but that was about it.  I'd spent a lot of time on my bike, but I had no idea what it felt like to race 112 miles.  And I was a terrible swimmer.  I worked with Jonathan Cane on my physical training to prepare for the event, but I really had no clue what to expect.  I sat down and planned out my race strategy, my nutrition, and, in the end, checked off on every point Chrissie mentioned in her article as well.

My goals going into the race were:

• Primary goal - Cross the finish line.  Walk, run, crawl, whatever.  Just get across.
• Secondary goal - Finish in under 14 hours.  I figured if things went well, this one was attainable for me.
• Optimistic Goal - Finish under 12 hours.  This was the "everything goes right" goal.

In the end, I notched an 11:46, despite several things going wrong over the course of the day.  I was able to persevere because I had prepared myself mentally during training to overcome obstacles.

I'm going to take each of her points and relate them to my preparation and how they helped me to achieve my goal.

Have a mantra and/or a special song to repeat

My mantra stemmed from my fear of the swim, but I applied it to the entire race.  I wrote "KMF" in Sharpie on the back of each of my hands.  The acronym stood for "Keep Moving Forward."  My goal was to keep moving forward regardless of what happened during the race.  If I couldn't run, I'd walk.  If I couldn't keep my head under the water, I'd roll over and back stroke.

When the gun went off at 7 a.m., my heart rate skyrocketed, and I went into full panic mode.  However, I kept forward motion in the water while I settled myself down over the course of the next 15 minutes, all while repeating my mantra.  Eventually, I settled down and got into a groove.

I had made a rookie mistake and left my drop bags at the hotel that morning.  It threw off my plans for the bike and the run, but I decided what was done, was done, and kept moving forward.  When I got terrible calf cramps on the run, I found a comfortable pace and dealt with running slower than I wanted to.  When the cramps became relentless, I walked.  However, I kept repeating my mantra and always kept moving forward.

"KMF" was so ingrained in my head that by the time I got to the starting line at IMAZ, there was nothing that was going to keep me from moving forward toward the finish line.  Figure out what your mantra is and use it.  Or maybe it's a favorite quote.  Or a line from a song or movie.  Everyone is different, but I promise, when you find that piece that keeps you going, it works.


Keep a bank of positive mental images

For me, the "bank of positive images," consisted of recalling past successes.  I could recall a moment on a training run where I was bonking hard to the point of my vision was blurry.  I was miles from home and I wasn't even sure how I was going to take another step.  I took a quick break, got in some calories and slowly eased back in.  By the end of the day, I had run another 20+ miles through a severe thunderstorm.  I had come back from the brink of failure to finish.  Over the course of my athletic "career," I've had many moments where I was able to succeed despite tough circumstances.  I used the images of those successes to propel me forward as things got rough.  It was an "if I can get through that, I can get through this" type of thing for me.

Maybe you are somewhat new to racing, so you don't have the athletic successes to look back on.  You can still employ this tactic.  Think about other facets of your life where you've overcome adversity and apply it to your situation.  I've seen cancer survivors use their battle with the horrible disease as the positive.  "If I can beat cancer, I can beat this race."

Maybe still, your positive mental images are beautiful scenes from nature.  Everyone is different.  Use what works for you, and visualize different things until you figure out what it is that works for you.

Practice visualization beforehand

This one is simple, and I alluded to it in part 1.  You simply visualize the finish or tough parts on the course.  Visualize yourself crossing the line or cresting that tough hill.  For me, I was lucky enough that Universal Sports was airing the previous year's IMAZ race coverage.  I put my bike by the TV and watched the coverage, imagining myself on the swim, bike, and run on the course.  I saw my bike next to the other riders on the course, and imagined being right there with them.  When I arrived in Tempe, I'd never set foot on the course, but I already knew what I was getting myself into.

I also googled finsher's photos for IMAZ to see what the finish line looked like and imagined myself crossing as Mike Reilly yelled, "Scott Towle, YOU are an Ironman."

Break the race up into smaller, more manageable segments

Another simple thing to do, but something a lot of people don't think to do.  My first ultra was a 60K that consisted of nine loops.  Instead of thinking of it as 37.2 miles, I thought of it as 9 segments.  After three I was 1/3 of the way done.  After four?  Almost half.  Six? Two thirds!  Eight?  One left.  That was much more manageable mentally than thinking 16 miles down (four loops), only 21 more miles.

I applied the same thinking to IMAZ.  Trying to think of covering 140.6 miles over 12-17 hours was too much to wrap my head around.  First, I divided the race into the three disciplines.  Then I sub-divided each of those.  The swim was one big loop, so I essentially considered it an out and back.  I just had to get to the far end of the loop, and then it was "downhill."

Once I got out of the water, the swim was done and didn't exist anymore, nor did the run.  I had to concentrate what was at hand.  The bike was three out-and-backs, so I tried to ignore mileage and think of it as 1, 2, 3.  On each loop, I divided it in two--a long climb out and cruise back to town.  Three of those and I was done.

Once on the run, the swim and the bike didn't exist.  It wasn't going to do me any good to be bummed about having a bad swim start.  The run was four loops.  Again, four is much more manageable than 26, so I thought of it in quarters.

How you divide the course is up to you, but it tends to be a lot easier to tackle things in small chunks.

Remember that training is about learning to hurt

This one is pretty straight-forward.  You push yourself in training so that you know what it feels like to hurt on race day.  You progressively overload your system so you can adapt.  The mental part of this comes in on race day when you are hurting or struggling and you can think back to a time when you were hurting during training.  You already know that feeling and know how to get through it.

When I was starting to fatigue on the bike around mile 90, I thought back to a couple of the really tough rides I did with my friend Francis and how I was able to finish out rides with dead legs.

Get people to support you

Again, straight-forward.  The more support you have, the easier it makes things.  I was lucky enough to have my parents out on the course for support.  The more people you have on the course, in my opinion, the better you'll likely do.  It's a bit of an emotional/mental lift to see familiar faces on the course and can many times be what you need to pick the pace back up.  There was a point on my final run loop where I was getting very down.  What kept me going was that I knew I'd see my parents soon.  Once I passed them, I knew the next time I would see them was the finish, which is what helped propel me to the end.

Another thing to consider is that when you are feeling down, and you know you are coming up on family or friends, you'll keep pushing.  No one wants their support staff to see them walking.  For this reason, I like to have a few people on the course that I know where they are going to be, and a few "surprises."

If people can't accompany you to your race, the support can come from emails, text messages, phone calls, even social media sources.  I can't even begin to recount how many people texted me the day before the race offering support.  Just be sure to let everyone know you are going to bed early.  It sucks when you finally fall asleep and then you get a text from someone wishing you "good luck."

Mentally recall inspirational people - 

Chrissie mention in her article, "You might want to consider dedicating each mile to a special person in your life."  I did exactly that.  I wasn't able to finish the list, but the idea was there.  I dedicated each mile of the race to a different person for different reasons.  There were key miles that I thought back to during the race.

Another way I mentally recalled people who inspired and helped me a long the way, was to associate people with the things I had with me in the race.  For example, I bought my wetsuit through Jackrabbit Sports in NYC where I worked once, so I was able to recall all my friends from the store when I was on the swim.  My friend Roz gave me some Roctane gels she didn't want, so when I took those gels, I imagined Roz's smiling face with me on the course.  I associated people to almost every time I had with me, so I always felt like I had my friends and family there.

Consider racing for a cause that is bigger than yourself

This is the only point I didn't hit head-on while doing IMAZ.  I've done races for charities or in memory/honor of people before, and I can say that it definitely helps push you further and longer.  When you are doing something for someone else, the race becomes bigger than you.  Once the race is no longer about you, then it's easier to push pain and fatigue aside.  One thing I always went back to when I was riding with Texas 4000 back in 2004 was that I wasn't riding for me.  When I was tired after battling a head wind for 80 miles and I just wanted to get off the bike, I looked down at my top tube and saw the names of my grandmother and a close family friend, both who lost their battles with cancer.  I knew that regardless of how tired I was or how much my ride was sucking, my worst day was still better than what they had to go through during chemo and their battle with cancer.  I had nothing to complain about.  Put your head down and keep moving.

I was able to combine the elements Chrissie highlighted, along with some solid training, to achieve my optimistic goal, even with several things going wrong over the course of the race.  Next time you are zeroing in on an "A" race, do some mental training.  You'll reap the benefits on race day.

With all that being said, as important as mental toughness and training is, you still have to put in the physical work or you won't see the finish line.  Success on the course is the result of mental and physical preparation (and some luck).  I'll end with a quote from Bobby Knight:

"The key is not the will to win... everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important."

Mental Training (part 1)

(I'm splitting this into two pieces, as the post was getting quite lengthy, look for part II tomorrow)

At this point almost everyone has probably read the CNN article about training your brain written by Chrissie Wellington. (if you haven't, check it out here.  There's some great advice in the article)

None of the things she mentioned in the article are incredibly groundbreaking.  In fact, they are the same things I've been told by coaches over the years, and the same things I tell people I'm working with.  Even if not groundbreaking, the advice is still solid, and if it takes a professional athlete of Chrissie's caliber to get people to listen, then so be it.

I'm sure you've heard the saying "running is 90% mental" a thousand times, and that's essentially what Chrissie is saying.  However, mental preparation is one of the most often overlooked parts of training by both athletes and coaches.  It won't guarantee success, but the mental aspect goes a long way to capturing success.  An athlete toeing the line with doubt in his mind will likely slow or fail at the first signs of trouble or fatigue, whereas an athlete who is mentally prepared is much more apt to fight through and persevere.

I tell athletes two things all the time:

• "You can only train your body so much.  After that, it's all about your head."  I say that more to people entering the ultra world, but I think its really applicable anywhere in endurance sports.  Once your body is trained physically, race day comes down to your mental state.
• "Your body is dumb.  It will do what your brain tells it to do." Again, I use this as advice for ultra athletes, but its applicable for most distances and disciplines.  The human body is capable of amazing things, but it is your brain that has to power those feats.

Steve Prefontaine claimed that he was successful because he was able to endure more pain than his opponents.  That's a classic example of mental preparation.  When he began to hurt, he knew his opponents were hurting as well, which only drove to him to make them hurt more.  He turned a negative (his pain) into a positive (making his opponents suffer).  His strategy wasn't always successful, but I think his running legacy speaks for itself.

Mental preparation is more than just race strategy and having a positive attitude.  Recently, my sister ran her first half marathon.  When she was recapping the race for me, she mentioned that during training she visualized crossing the finish line.  Spending time visualizing crossing the finish line or conquering the biggest hill on the course can go a long way to helping accomplish your goal, especially if you are unable to train on the course you will be competing on.  Google pictures of the course, look at course maps, and visualize yourself at those points on the course.  It's not the same as training on the course, but it prepares you for what you will encounter on race day.

When mental preparation is mentioned, I immediately think of Christopher Bergland.  He told me while training for Ironman World Championship, he would not only put on the same clothes he was going to wear on race day, but he would even put on the same sunscreen, even when training on a treadmill indoors.  The idea was that he was forming positive neural pathways during his training sessions.  He talks about this and a lot more in his book The Athlete's Way.

To sum it up succinctly:  Give me two equal runners who physically trained equally, however, only one went through mental preparation.  My money will be on the runner who mentally prepared every time.

In Part II, I will break down my experience and plan going into my first Ironman and relate it to the points that Chrissie made in her article.

On to Austin

I just finished out a rainy, 26 minute shakeout run.  Tomorrow will be my first stand-alone marathon in 14 months.  It's hard to believe its been that long, but Ironman Training and injuries will do that.  I will be able to handle the distance, but there's not sense in me trying to even remotely push the pace, as I just don't have it in me.  Instead of suffering for 26.2 miles, I'm just going to go have some fun.  This will be my second Austin Marathon, but the first on the new course.  I ran Austin back in 2001, when I had little idea of what I was doing, although I was way better off than my first marathon.  It should be fun to run through my hometown.

Lance's Tri "debut" - and some insight

As you may or may not know Lance Armstrong has gone back to his roots and is doing triathlons again, but this time he's concentrating on long course, with the ultimate goal of qualifying and competing in the pro ranks at Kona.

In the ESPN article, I noticed this quote from Bevan Docherty, who was the eventual winner:

"I thought Lance would absolutely cream us on the bike, but he was probably in a similar position to me where he wasn't too sure how to pace himself," he said. "He certainly looked like he was holding back and that was probably why he ran so well off the bike."

Lance raced smart.  He could have hammered the bike and blown everyone away.  Then he likely would have fallen apart on the run.  However, he held back and had "fresh" legs for the run.  His 1:17 run split was a lot faster than what a lot of people predicted he could do.  It's going to be interesting to see what Lance does as the year progresses.  I'm not going to say he's going to win in Kona, but he'll be in the mix.

Also, the quote brings up a good point.  If you want to run strong, you need to ride strong.  However, you can't overcook yourself on the bike or you are screwing up your run too.  The key to running better is getting stronger on the bike.  Its a delicate balance though, as you don't want to hold back too much on the bike.  Lance only lost by 31 seconds.  Did he hold back too much on the bike?  Its something most struggle with, but its similar to negative splitting in the marathon.  Sure, you can go out hard on the first half (the bike) and hope to hold on, but not many are able to.  Not only that, but you typically feel miserable in the late miles when you are trying to grasp at strings.  Instead, go out strong on the first half (the bike) and put yourself in a position to finish the second half stronger (on the run).  It's bad enough to suffer the last 8 miles of a marathon after the wheels come off at mile 18 because you went out to fast.  Now think about going out too fast on the bike and having to suffer for an entire marathon.

The simple version is, the stronger you are on the bike, the faster you can ride and still feel "fresh" for the run.  How do you figure out how hard to run off the bike?  Bricks are a start.  Experience from doing races is priceless.  After a race, sit down and really think about how you felt on the bike, coming off the bike, and on the run.

Some of this I learned from experience, some of it was pounded into my head by Jonathan Cane, and some of it I'm still trying to teach myself.

Last "long" run

I knocked out a muddy 10.25 miles in Walnut Creek Park this afternoon. Its was a little cold, but the just meant I (mostly) had the trails to myself. I ran it at a really easy pace, although the course wasn't always the easiest. There are a few gnarly hills out there. I felt good throughout the run, although it was only a little over 10 miles. I'm confident in getting through Austin, but it sure won't be any time I'll brag about.

I'm pretty sure this is what I look like when I swim

Last Long Run, New Trails

The Austin Marathon is in a short two weeks.  My training has been compressed a bit, so I shortened my taper since I'm not trying to race the marathon anyway.  I was having trouble getting motivated, so I decided to take a risk and see if I could find my way from Balcones District Park down to Walnut Creek Park.  I'd never run at either park, and I definitely had not explored in between.  However, I'd seen some hints of trails between the two from the train windows on my way to and from work.  Additionally, I looked at google maps and noticed that some of the propsed Walnut Creek Greenbelt hike/bike path had been constructed.  From the knowledge I had, I was pretty sure I could get from one to the other without stepping foot on a road, although I did have a backup plan in case I hit an impasse.

I ran for about 40 minutes in Balcones District Park first to get good and warmed up.  This was a good thing, as I chose to shed my gloves and hat before forging into the unknown.  Once I left Balcones, it was fairly easy to find my way down to Walnut Creek Park.  It took a few creek crossings and some exploration, but connecting was actually fairly easy.  I hit a few dead ends, but it was always easy to find an alternate path.  This is roughly how I got there:

Once in Walnut Creek Park, I couldn't believe I'd never run there before.  The trails felt endless as I tromped through the mud and water that covered most trails.  I got completely lost in the park several times, but I didn't really care, as I was having a blast running down the sloppy trails.  There wasn't a lot of elevation overall, but there are several places that you can definitely do some serious ups and downs if you want/need it.

With both of these parks being in easy striking distance, I'll definitely be adding this route to my arsenal.  I ended up doing 3 hours and 20 minutes without really repeating any trails except the out-and-back between the parks.  There are definitely more miles of trail in Walnut Creek Park I didn't even get a chance to explore.  I can't wait to go back next weekend!

8 Bloody Miles

No, I'm not English.  I managed to trip over some uneven concrete and fall last night.  I feel directly on my hand, then shoulder and knee.  As I laid on the ground in the dark, I slowly rolled over and tested the movement in my wrist and fingers praying I hadn't broken anything.  Once full movement was confirmed I stood up, checked my knee and should, and walked to a lighted area.  I looked down at my and to see a nice section of skin missing and blood running down my hand.  The pain was pretty severe, but there wasn't anything I could do about it but finish my run.

Neverland 5K at Disneyland

Thanks to the good people at runDisney, I was given a comp entry to the Neverland 5K Fun Run in Disneyland last night.  The race took place at 10:30 pm and went through the park.  I hadn't been to Disneyland since  I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, so the experience was sort of interesting.  Everything was much smaller than I remembered.  As a kid, everything seemed so huge and and overwhelming (in a good way), but perspectives change as you age.  I went by Splash Mountain and didn't even recognize it initially, as it seemed so much smaller.  Nevertheless, the run was a lot of fun and something not many people will ever get to do.

My only complaints were that the course was so crowded that it was difficult to actually run.  I had to keep reminding myself that it was a fun run and not get frustrated.  However, I still wanted to run the event.  There was plenty of on-course entertainment and characters to thoroughly entertain everyone.

The run was an insane $109 to register for if you had to pay it, but that included a pass to the park, so its not as bad as it sounds.

Seven Tasty Post-Run Beers

BEER!

I tend to go for a super cold Dos XX, but it really depends on the time of year.  I can't imagine trying to choke down a Ruination after a run.  What's your choice after a run?

Goal Abandoned, but progress nonetheless

I had set a goal for myself to run at least a mile for a certain number of consecutive days.  I was feeling pretty beat up and decided to forgo the goal and rest.  In the end, it seems to have paid off and a lot of the small aches and pains have subsided, and I seem to be progressing toward getting some sort of fitness back.

Yesterday, I knocked out three hours on the trails.  It wasn't easy, but I toughed it out.  My allergies have gotten so bad that its hard for me to breath when I heart rate elevates (ie. i go up a hill), so it pretty much relegated me to walking up most of the bigger hills.  Nevertheless, I made it through the run and actually feel pretty good today, aside from being congested and sneezing every three seconds. 

I still have two more long runs and one semi-long run before Austin.  I have no expectation of posting even a decent time, but I should have the miles in my legs to get through the race without killing myself.  The race will get me my qualifier for Comrades with is all I need out of it.

Austin Marathon

Through work I was able to get a comp entry to the Austin Marathon.  I'm not going to be in any sort of peak shape by mid-February, but this race will accomplish a couple things:

1. Somewhat replaces Houston as my winter marathon, although, unfortunately, I won't be setting any PRs.
2. Gives me my qualifying race for Comrades

I ran the Austin Marathon in 2001, which was my second marathon.  This was back when the race started at the Arboretum and descended to downtown.  I was having a lot of knee pain leading up to the marathon, so on race day I suffered horribly.  I managed to tough it out and finished in 4:19:xx.  Even in terrible shape, I feel like I can beat that.  

Day Ten

Day Nine - 1 mile recovery/rest day

Day Ten - 3.13 mile easy run.

Total Mileage for 2012 - 35.09

Day Eight (and catch-up)

I missed a few days, so I'll just do a little catching up now.

Day Five: 3.21 miles
Day Six: 1 mile
Day Seven: 4 miles

I went out for 2.5 hours on trails today, but I mixed in a decent amount of walking. I'm trying to use the walk breaks to increase the time on my feet/mileage in order to build my base quickly. I know I'm not going to get my speed back this way, but it should get my endurance back up and then I can introduce speed again down the road.

Day Eight: 12.65 miles

Total Mileage for 2012: 30.96 miles

I'm getting close to revealing what I'm working toward...