SILVERMAN: My Race Report, and blog name change

In the days leading up to the race I felt like a high energy dog with no where to use all this pent up energy. I just knew any minute I was going to get into trouble with chewing on the couch or digging holes or something. I did not expect to sleep the night before but I did. I woke up with a sense of calm and confidence. However, since there are many details to consider as far as equipment and 2 transitions areas I was reluctant to let myself roll with that confidence. I get to the lake and I am greeted with very calm water, beautiful weather, and very well organized event. My plan was in action and I made the decision to let it all go and enjoy myself. Im ready. Lets do this.

SWIM

When I looked at the swim set up at the Lake I realized that the area between the buoys and the marina was very slim. That meant that if I am in the sprint to get through the bottleneck I may go out too fast and if I get lagged back then I might have a slow swim OR I could get into the mix. Buzzer goes off and I mixed it up baby. For triathlons that means the washing machine of arms, legs, water, and jockeying for position. I mixed it up. It was the first of my 4 races this year I had the confidence to stick my face in there and swim. I made people swim around me or through me. As i get through the bottle neck its a clear shot to the first buoy. I started to think as I swam my ass off. I thought about BoBs 3 words and I came up with my theme for the race. STRONG, MOXY, BELIEVE, (I added a 4th), and GRIND. I repeated it over and over. Its funny how that came to me and funny how those words dictated my behavior the rest of the day.

I like it when training translates to performance. The groove I find myself in occasionally came quite easy. I killed this swim. I was not afraid of anyone. I let myself go all out. I figured I would let it all hang out. When I sat down to discuss goals for the race, I decided that since I have routinely been around 50 min at this distance in training that I would set 45 min as my goal. The rest of the swim went very well. Sight, swim, and stick my face in there. I didnt "rest" like I have in other races and put my best foot forward. I exited the water ready for the bike. Im gonna have a good day.

1.2 mile swim in 44:09.

T1

My goal was to get nutrition, get a smidge of rest, and make sure that I have everything I need. The bike has been my hardest discipline to get up to par and I wanted to perform well. I had never been in a changing tent so I didnt know what to expect in there. I have never done an event like this so the entire day of nutrition would be a learning process. Out in 7:52, a little slower than I thought but for me this would not be a day of seconds and a few minutes.

Bike

I exit transition with the mindset of get to the run. Once I get to run I will make it just fine. There is a nice climb right out of transition so as I climb Im thinking boy I feel strong. My legs are fresh and I am going to get after it. This course if grueling. Many experienced triathletes around here questioned this as my first 1/2 iron. I wanted this one though. As I made it through my first checkpoint I am 15 minutes ahead. I take inventory and I feel great. I am climbing well and descending quickly. I am passing fitter looking people with much more elaborate bikes. The next checkpoint comes and I able to keep this pace. I look around and I realize that it is very hot. Id guess 80 degrees. Even though I am 30 miles in and feeling very strong will I be able to hold it? Then the cramping begins. Quads, hamstrings, and adductors slowly locking up. Uh oh. When I stand on the pedals they cramp. I dont have any climbing legs. The 3 sisters are OUT then. I didnt even attempt them. I felt so much better not even going there and it turned out to be a good race strategy. I ended up passing 4 guys that tried and failed to climb them. I didnt see them the rest of the day. Through 45 miles I am now a bit slow on my timeline. I dont have the high gear I need for speed, but I grind. I trained into this plan. Get off the river mountain loop trail in a position to grind it out. I have visualized this so many times that I am very relaxed knowing where I am going with this. STRONG. MOXY. BELEVE, GRIND. I am 15 min slower than I wanted to be at this time and I decide to take T2 very slow. Rest, cool off, let this sugar get to my legs. Regroup.

56 mile bike, 4:15:42

T2

Regroup. I am changing and I am considering my options as far as nutrition goes. What do I need? Water, gatorade, electrolytes, salt, and sugar. So this transition area took a lot longer than I wanted to. I thought if I rest now that will translate to turning these legs over to running legs. I was out in 8:19.

RUN

Just get to the run. Here I am on the run and now what. Im tired, crampy, hot and tired. Here I am on my most confident discipline and given my last race experience I can get through anything. This is nothing compared to that day. So I decided to enjoy it. Im gonna finish but in how long? Im not close to my goal time and it is an automatic PR, so enjoy it. There is not one flat surface on this whole course. Brutal. What was the worst part about it was that there were no spectators(except for MY people but I will get to them soon enough). I am slow for a 1/2er and the very fast full-ers were the only ones around. Translation, lonely. I ran as strong as I can, I showed some moxy and I didnt let the pain influence my experience, I believed that I belonged there, and I grinded out a very hilly course on a hot day after a lot activity. Was it slow? Yeah. I dont think I ran an entire mile without walking from start to finish. I would get about 1/2 to 3/4 a mile and start to cramp. The aid stations saved me. I would be good for a while then cramp. I spent the whole run in pain and cramping but I never quit. I have mentally visualized the silverman carpet now for a year. This was the first time on top of it. It was the culmenation of all my hard work. I earned it and I am proud I finished.

13.1 mile run: 2:55: 16.

Total: 8:11:17

WHAT CAN I DO BETTER?

Get fitter. Before that I need more strength. I am going to keep up the running and the time I spend on my fitness will not change (except for a little break). I will concentrate on strength building and running. 2010 will have some triathlons but it will have at least 1 marathon. May be multiple 1/2 Iron with a plan on Ironman in 2011? I dont know and I think it is too soon to decide. Faster 5K? faster sprint or olympic? I am proud of where I have come from but at the same time I am not content. I have some nutrition and health issues to work through since I did not lose a single NET pound in 2009. That influences my performance. I am not happy at the end of the age group/clydesdale list. May be a cycling coach? I need some training partners too. Long rides and long runs to run with.

THANK YOUS:

The volunteers were phenomenal. The race was well organized. The weather was awesome except that heat part. My friends and family literally lit up the race course. As far as I am concerned the support I received from them and having them in my corner is on par with my race. There was NO ONE out there except the "Gallaghers Groupies." The had a boom box, they sang, they danced, and they had many athletes comment how they changed the race for them too. They had a sign contest. They were flat out awesome. There is something to be said for them participating in my daily life and supporting me on a regular basis. Thank you guys, I could not ask for more support and I could not have finished with out you.

Karl (who you can get to from my list) is a huge source of support. He is always level headed and smart. His brain works so scientifically and is not as emotional as me. He helps me tremendously from a personal and performance standpoint. I would not have changed my life if it wasnt for his leadership. He is a model man, husband, father, physical therapist, and runner. We may just hook up for a relay some time.

My wife. She was the ring-leader for the groupies. She knew how much this meant to me and out did herself. She is my rock and my inspiration all year long. She put up with me when I made quirky decisions about fun vs training. She always supported me when I had to sacrifice. She had to sacrifice right along with me and she did it because she loves me. Every step of the way she has been there to encourage me and support me. I want her in my foxhole any day of the week. I know that I can count on her. I LOVE YOU honey. Quote:

"We live in deeds, not years: In thoughts not breaths; In feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best."

David Bailey

Whats important in life? Friends, family, and living life to the fullest. 1/2 Iron-CHECK.

Note: I am totally stealing Karls idea or he gave it to me....I have been thinking about changing it for a while. He just gave me the spark I needed.

Plugging away....

Since the disneyland half marathon I have not needed any rest. My legs are not sore but lack the extra punch they most often times have. I am getting very comfortable with my new nutrition plan and I feel great. I am noticing that I am not hungry throughout the day. I am never jittery and my brain function seems to be in control. (when my blood sugar is low I am a bear). My training feels different with it. I am using virtually no sugar pre or during like I was. Really helping. Here is how my week went.

Tuesday-Recovery run, no watch, not timed. Felt a little overall fatigue but legs felt great. Softball practice went well too.
Wednesday-21 mile bike ride in 1:25. I rode the run course of the Silverman twice the second time not the flat easy parts. It will be somewhat hilly but the hills are in the middle. I will be running this course right after word since the biggest hill is only 2 miles away. Hmmmm hill repeats anyone? My legs felt stronger today. I am climbing a lot better. I am hoping for another date with the 3 sisters this weekend. See how my climbing is going.
Thursday (today)-6 mile easy run. I am happy to say that I had a great run tonight. Not because I felt good or anything because my brother ran the first 2 with me. He is beginning to change his lifestyle and get more fit. SInce he has moved in with me in 6 months he has lost 70 pounds. He is going to try a sprint distance triathlon in October called Pumkinman. I am so proud of him. i got my six in. Tomorrow easy swim. Saturday brick swim/bike, hoping for 45ish miles all on the race course. Sunday 6 or so mile. Its next week I go for 14 miles. Ohh and pictures are on the way from Disney...just give me some time. QUOTE:

Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.
Brian Tracy, Eat that Frog

feelin the heat?

last post before my date with MICKEY

Yes that is right I have a date with mickey this weekend, I am running the Dinseyland 1/2 marathon. My original plan was to strive for my fist sub 2 hour half but I may be hanging with my wife and taking some pictures. Just enjoy the race. So here is how my week went:

Monday-Long swim. I am in a recovery block so my long swim was 1500 meters. It was slow. I didnt feel like swimming. I got in the water and did it. 40:11.
Tuesday-Recovery run. 3 miles without a watch and right before softball practice. It went well.
Wednesday-Ride on some hills. I found a new hill to repeat on. I went a total of 21 miles in 1:25:34 . I felt the best I ever felt on the bike. The hill I climbed to start was 3 min faster than the last time I biked on it. It felt fresher and faster. My ave was slow at 14.7 but I took it easy as I could on the down and pounded the ups.
Thursday-Swim easy. I decided that I just wanted an easy swim. I did some weights and then swam for 20 min straight. Just get it done.

My next block is going to be big again. I have 2 big blocks planned and I am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to it because I am starting feel like an endurance athlete. I began this journey without any specific goals. I had let myself get very out of shape during physical therapy school. Then I starting getting winded with the littlest things. I decided I would walk. Walking turned into running and running started me on a journey to see how far I could go. Can I do a half-marathon? 10 years ago I would have said hell no. A year and a half ago I would have said may be. Then I did the Palos Verdes half. It was brutal. Not the intro to halfs you like. VERY VERY HIlly. Then we decided to try another one. Disney. While training for Disney I still didnt believe that I could do it. Then something funny happened. I was running last years disney and I got mile 10 or 11 and I was dying. I was cramping and I was tired and not having fun. I looked around and said to myself...you know what? I dont feel so bad and I started to push it, and I pushed it and I finished with confidence. I reached down deep and I found something inside me that said I can do this. As my brain drifted off I thought about pain and training and what that does to your brain. I have let my old soft ways rule my life, training, and my perception of what I am capable of. It was then that I decided I wasnt going to limit myself anymore. It was at Disney last year that I fully bought into my new lifestyle.

When I say new lifestyle I mean NEW. The life I live today is light years more healthy and active than I have ever lived. As I sit here reading IM race reports I am excited, encouraged, and jealous. What would I be doing now if I didnt have a few years of "break time." Would I be an IRONMAN now? My new lifestyle constantly evolves. I lost 50 pounds and then my weight just stuck. I havent lost any weight in 8 months. Until this last week. I had an excellent nutrition consultation (thanks MARNI) and have received some excellent information that has resulted in a 7 pound loss. You would think that given the training load that weight loss would come right with it. NOPE. Now I feel in control of my body for the first time in my life, All the baseball, football, basketball, running, cycling, and swimming I have ever done was limited by what i put into my body. If I grew up with these tools what would have gone different? I was never thin. I remember being embarrassed about husky jeans. I played lineman, I hit homeruns, I got rebounds....RUN? Thats for punishment. How much weight in the weight room can I push? How far can I hit the ball? Box me out? i dont think so. Triathlon? Ironman? THATS NOT ME. I CANT DO THAT. THATS FOR LITTLE DUDES. Stick to what I do....power. Here I am reading triathlon blogs and writing one myself. I am running my 5th half marathon and in the midst of training for a 1/2 iron distance triathlon. Im going to use this half marathon as a TRAINING RUN. What? 13.1 miles as a training run? Yes and I am going to train right through it and make a push to silverman. Im going places and as I sit here ranting I am proud of the distance I have traveled. I have a lot more to accomplish and each step of the way brings on more knowledge about how to go about this active life. I love it. My body and brain are the healthiest they have every been and I am just getting started. My next entry will be the happiest race report on earth. Thanks for the rant. QUOTE:

“A healthy body is a guest chamber for the soul: a sick body is a prison”
Francis Bacon, Sr. quotes (English Lawyer and Philosopher. 1561-1626)

Boy it feels good to be free.

Coasting mode.....

I have had a good week and I feel like I am starting to coast. I am really enjoying my daily challenge. I am getting good rest and eating very well. Here is how it went this week:

Monday-easy recovery swim of 1000 meters (20 laps). 26:12. As I am swimming an easy pace I am simply wondering....what the hell am I getting out of this? I mean it is nice to shake the soreness out by getting in the water but is there a better idea? I decided that I would rework my plan and drop easy recovery swim day and add another bike day. After all the bike is my limiting discipline. So for every 10 days I will do 4 bike efforts, 2 swim efforts (long and interval), and 3 running efforts. The distance change of the Olympic distance swim and half iron swim is not very different.

Tuesday-Easy recovery run. 4 miles in 37 min. Decent pace easy-to-slightly moderate effort. No pain which is a good change.

Wednesday-Low mileage/hill repeats. 13.75 miles total. I rode 5 miles to the hill that was about 8% grade and roughly 0.46 miles from where the start was to where I turned around. Ok, 5 miles there 4 X up or on and 3 times down, after the 4th just headed home. Here are the splits:
1:10 on, reaching 23 mph/1:32 active recovery,
1:31 on, 24 mph/1:38 active recovery,
1:17 on, 21 mph/1:25 active recovery, and
1:37 on, at 22 mph. Finished with 5 miles home. Legs where tired but I got home in OK time. I might have gone for 1 more but it was getting dark and I didn't have my head light. It hasn't been dark here at that time. Must be getting to be fall...my favorite time of year.

Thursday (today)-Long swim. 2000 meters. As I started I decided to set my bar for this distance swim. My best friend Karl proposes that 6 weeks of interval training will demonstrate huge benefits. I am going to try that. I did 8 sets of continuous 250 meter increments (5 laps.) Here are the splits: 5:32, 5:48, 5:53, 5:53, 6:56, 6:25, 6:57, and 6:42. For a total of 50:09, ave 6:16. Remember a few weeks ago when I wondered how many sub 6 min/250 meters I could do? I did 2 then and today I did 4. But then today I pooped out. I just wanted to see how many I could do during a long swim. I definitely could pace that better so the second half is more consistent but I wanted to go out fast. While I was swimming I was thinking that in the beginning of the year 2000 meters would be more than my weekly total. Today I was able to swim that consecutive with no breaks and even go fast. Im happy with where my swim is at today.

One of these weeks I am going to give you some literature review. I have pulled a total of 5 articles/studies of different topics but just haven't sat down to read them. My man Karl (and clay too) put together a heckuva presentation on interval training and all the physiology that is involved. I pulled a few of those articles. QUOTE:

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

Dale Carnegie quotes (American lecturer, author, 1888-1955)

by the way I DO WORK was supposed to be funny....I cracked up....I GET BUSY