Me Vs the Sisters, 2010: Ron 3-sisters 0

So my A race this year is the silverman 1/2 iron again. Voted by Triathlete magazine as one of the 3 hardest races in the world. The reason is mostly the bike course. The pros have commented that if it was an IM event it would be hardest race course on the circuit. It is also the race course for the ITU 2011 World Championships. Got it? Its "challenging." One of the reasons it is challenging is around 40-45 mile mark or 100-105 mile mark for the full is a set o3 climbs called the 3 sisters. Last year I had 8 (count em) 8 training rides and the 9th was the race itself. I climbed one sisters one time. On the race I saved my energy and didnt even attempt them. I am not happy or proud about that. In fact, I remember the loads of people there who had looks on their face that was less than impressed at the race last year. I am probably projecting that onto myself but I was embarrassed. That isnt happening this year. I took one step towards that this week. Here is how my week went. This week was difficult or several reasons. No excuses just life. Heat, my wife (who is a twin) birthday WEEK started, and slight taper for Strawberry Fields next week.

Tuesday-Softball started back up.

Wednesday-Hills....climbed all 3 sisters. I even kept 9 mph or faster on them. I am pumped. 16.4 miles in 1:20 elevation gain 1064 ft. Can I do it after climbing lakeshore and northshore? Thats another question. But this small victory builds confidence. As I look back on this time last year I am going longer and faster. After Strawberry Fields I am going to start going very long out by the lake. I did have some slight cramping and fatigue. I wasnt hydrated or nourished like I should be for this ride. My first midweek big ride. It was nice and hot too.

Thursday-Pushed a swim.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long run of 8 miles in 1:28. I wanted long and slow. Thats what I got. It was nice and hot out with some humidity too. My mind is playing tricks on me. I have to work on my mentation. Funny how that is the hardest thing about this whole triathlon thing. I would like to mention that Julie (my wife) and Andi (best friend-in-law) are more than prepared for an olympic race on Sunday. I am pumped that it will be my first REAL Marathon bar event. I will be geared up with bars/coupons to hand out. It will be a challenging swim. My first open water OCEAN swim. What will the current be like? What will the waves be like? Salt water? I am shooting for 35ish min. The bike will be flat and fast. I am shooting for under 1:30. As close as I can to 20 mph. The run will be flat and fast too. Sub 60 min? Whole thing under 3? Should be fun. There is a possibility there will not be a medal and wife is gonna freak out. There is a compression sock giveaway going on here. I have been researching these garments and the literature is mixed. Some say they help with recovery, some say they dont, they all say they do not help with performance. I would like to review some, so I hope I win. Quote:

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

Nelson Mandela

What hills have you climbed?

Elevation training and a fun bike ride...

The training schedule is chalked full of races, I am pumped. One of my most important races is Ragnar relay in Utah. This race begins in Logan, UT and ends in Salt Lake City, UT, including a stop over in Park City. So can someone say elevation? Logan's elevation is 4535 ft. Park city is 7000 ft. Salt Lake Cities elevation is 4330 ft. The closest place I can get some elevation is Mt Charleston. It has an elevation of 770o ft. So its pretty high. A 45 min drive to a trail called bristlcone trail. It is a 6 mile or so loop. It was gorgeous. It was gravel. My lungs burned for the first 2 miles. We were not able to make the whole loop secondary to snow, dangerous path, and the cold. May in Las Vegas is normally very hot. It has been very mild and quite windy (more on that later). Therefore the snow has not fully melted. The wind was freezing. I wasnt dressed for the cold wind. I sucked it up and ran. My legs felt strong. If it wasnt for the lung burning I could have killed it. This run tested all my fitness and it felt great. Our run ended up 7 miles and I did not have an issue. My watch did not seem to be functioning correctly but when I look back i does not seem like bad information. The elevation change on my run was about 920 ft. Can I handle another 150 feet? I think so. After all, my first leg is 7.4 miles and has a net 1156 elevation gain while on gravel. The other legs are easy compared to this leg. A 4.2 mile leg and a 3.0 mile leg. One cool thing is if I do both Utah and Vegas Ragnar I will get the "saints and sinners medal." I am diggin that.

The other races include; San Diego Marathon Relay (Im gonna do the hilly leg), a 5k or 10k or so, Wasatch back (Utah Ragnar), a new race announcement, and then finally Silverman half iron, agian. New announcement: Strawberry Fields Olympic distance triathlon. It will be an ocean swim in Oxnard, CA. Should be a fast one. I welcome that since all I got around here are super hilly races. It will be fun to get loose on a flatter course. Even better my wife is going to do it too. Andi will be stepping up to the Olympic distance as well. Should be a great time.

A few weeks ago there was a request for my performance goals during the Silverman this year. There has been several bloggers who have posted goal setting posts. I like to set multiple goals and when I consult with other racers I try to get them to do the same.

My A goal: Sub 7 hours. 6:59:59 or better. This is quite lofty for me since it will be a 1 hour 10 min PR. Last year I walked soooo much of the run and stopped a few times on the bike because of cramping. So in order to do this I have to keep the same swim. The swim is going to improved regardless of what I do but all it has to do is stay the same. The bike needs to go to 3:30. That would be 45 min faster. No stopping and improve a few miles per hour. Im already doing most of that. Then run a competitive 1/2 marathon. Last year I walked probably 2-3 miles of it total. Can I shave 15-20 min off a 2:50 1/2 when I am capable of a 1:52 (according to VDOT)? That is yes. My best race will be better than 6:59:59.

My B goal: Nail nutrition so I do not have any cramping/nourishment issues. This means that my weight must be down and my eating must be right on as the race gets closer. I will be 30 pounds or so lighter than last year. That should help.

My C goal: Finish happy and healthy and ready to do it again next year. My Marathon experience is the only wrench in my program. Its the only race Ive done that has left me not wanting to do it again. It clouds my Ironman thoughts and I dont know what to do with that. How do you sign up for an IM anyway? I think if i do go for it, it will have to be AZ. My IRON readers please comment giving me advice on how to get in, I heard its hard. Here is how my week went:

Mon: Softball

Tue: Softball plus 3 mile easy run

Wed: Pushed a bike for my buddies state championship volleyball match, hes the head coach.

Thurs: 4 mile run. I was very tired and not feeling great so I went slow.

Fri: Rest

Sat: Bristlecone Trail run.

Sun: Very windy 39 mile bike ride on the ENTIRE river mountain loop trail. My first time. It was epic although very very challenging with the wind. The wind was at least 30-40 mph. The climbs were steep with a headwind. It took every bit of fitness I have. I was quite slow but I grinded it out. I know this time last year I would have crashed and burned. I did well today. Quotes I like 2:

“I just want to see how long I can keep this thing going. The easiest thing is dying. Living is a a pain in the butt.”

Jack Lalanne

“Running has never failed to give me great end results, and that's why I keep coming back for more!”

Sasha Azevedo

Keeping coming back is a pain in the butt!