After years of racing a new goal

I'm going to try something new for my last race of the season.  I am going to try to win.  OK so I am NOT going to try to win the race overall, I am realistic, but I am going to try to win my age group.  I have had some success racing shorter sprint triathlons and duathlons in the past.  In fact, this year I came in second in one and third in another.  But this race has one MAJOR difference, I am training to WIN this race.

What's the big difference?  Normally I go into a race with a goal, sometimes its a time goal, other times it's a training goal, and often it's just an I love to race goal.  But there is a fundamentally different mindset required going into a race with THE goal of being first.  To start, training quality becomes paramount. What do I mean by this?  Every training session takes on a distinct role, as you build toward your higher fitness level.  It is no longer good enough to just get out there.  Each training session has a specific purpose and fits into a specific part of my race plan. Oh and did I mention I have a race plan!  I will approach the weeks and days leading up to this race as a rehearsal.  I will not be satisfied with merely getting fit, I will perfect and practice disciplines I normally take for granted (transitions anyone).

OK, so I put it out there, now I have to execute.  As I write this my training journal is informing me that I have 9 weeks, 4 days, 13 hours, 22 minutes, and 56 seconds until the race.  I already have week one of my training / race plan in the books and it went exceptionally well.  I missed one workout, but I managed to adjust my plan to compensate somewhat.  I didn't stress over missing that one workout.  I have been at this long enough to know that flexibility is just as important as sticking closely to the plan.

My plan involves getting significantly stronger on the bike in the next 9 1/2 weeks.  How will I do this?  With a couple of cool tools!  My Compu-trainer is the main weapon in my arsenal and I have been monitoring my wattage very closely over the last 8 weeks.  As I embark on my race plan, I am just below my best watts / per kilogram ratio and the goals is to hit a new personal best 2 weeks prior to the race.  I am relying heavily on training videos by The Sufferfest (if you haven't used these training videos, you are missing out).  I also plan to drop 3 - 4 pounds which should help immensely.

I am setting my time goal to be slightly faster than the guy who beat me earlier this year.  Now of course, someone faster could show up at the race, but I will tackle that problem during the race if necessary.

My race and training analysis has told me if I am going to win this race, it will come down to the second run.  This has always been my Achilles heel in the duathlon.  Looking at my second place from earlier this year was very enlightening.  I was 1:25 behind the front runner after the first run ,which I ran very conservatively (so maybe I won't do that this time....).  We basically had the same bike time ( I was definitely not at my best in April so I plan to take back some time on the bike) and I out transitioned my nemesis (sounds much better than the guy who beat me) by 35 seconds.  So after the two legs of the race I was 50 seconds behind which means, I would have needed to run about 20 seconds per mile faster than him to win.  Of course that didn't happen and in fact I gave back 1 minute and 16 seconds over the last 5k.  One glimmer of hope in my analysis was that my nemesis ran a full minute per mile slower on the last 5 k where as I ran 38 seconds per mile slower, perhaps I had a bit more left relative to when I started.  This give me hope (although as my boss like to tell me, "Hope is not a strategy").  So it's pretty obvious a big part of my plan will be doing a lot of track work over the next 9 + weeks.

I am looking for some training partners as well, so if you need some very challenging workout (or some really easy ones) look for my posts on Facebook and come join me for a winning good time.

See ya out there......


Robert

Columbia Triathlon Race Report

As a coach I am always telling my clients that they are capable of more than they think they are, but their training is the best measure of what they are capable of right NOW!  I say this not so much to motivate them, but because I think it's true.  Since I am my own coach, I have to remind myself every now and then that it also applies to me.  So before I give you the race report let me give you a brief training report.

Training report: Murphy's Law......

This was a winter which typified Murphy's Law:  "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong".  It made me realize how lucky I have been in previous years.  In addition to a new, very hectic job, I had a bad lingering cold for most of January,  and then was hit with a bad case of patella tendinitis, which forced me into 10 days without running and limited biking.  Even when I came back from that forced layoff, I had to go easier than I had planned for.  My goal race, the Eagleman 1/2 Ironman, was still some months away but my endurance training was a bit behind schedule.  Given that reality, I made the decision to emphasize endurance on the run and swim (at the cost of some speed) and emphasize speed and strength on the bike (since I have a lot of miles on my legs).  I scheduled the Columbia triathlon as a test race 3 weeks out from Eagleman as a checkup.  Here's how the checkup turned out...

The Columbia Triathlon


As courses go, Columbia would have to be called challenging, if not outright difficult. The bike is very hilly and the run is brutally hilly (the last hill is 1/4 of a mile from the finish).  I know this since I have done the race twice before.  I typically train in the same area as the race so I know it pretty well.  While that doesn't make it any easier, it does give me an idea of what to expect and how to pace the course.

The Swim:

As open water swims go, Centennial lake probably falls somewhere in the middle.  Not the cleanest body of water I have ever jumped into, but certainly not the worst either.  This year the water temp was a balmy 70 degrees and felt warm compared to past years. For the first time we actually had good weather for the race!  I was in a rather large swim wave but I stayed near the back since I was not planning on being one of the faster swimmers. When the horn went off I battled through the usual bunch of people who swim slow but start near the front anyway.  Columbia is a U shaped swim, but a lopsided U, with the longest side of the swim being the last leg.  I hate that since it's almost impossible to tell how much further you have to swim, making it more difficult to gauge whether you can pick up the pace of not.  I therefore swam a very pedestrian 36:52.  This was in line with my swim from 2010 (36:39) but still short of my 2009 time (35:45).  I fully attribute this to the fact I was paranoid about not being able to complete the swim in 2009, so I spent lots more time in the pool, where as now, I know I can complete it.  I have just started working with a swim coach, so tune in in 3 weeks and we will see if I can make any improvements.....

The Bike:

This is where I shine.  I do bike power tests and VO2 tests fairly regularly (every 4 to 5 weeks) and my numbers all year have been good despite missing some training time.  I recently broke my long standing 3 mile time trial record by 8 seconds and my power at lactate threshold has been steadily rising ever since I started working out on the Compu-trainer.  My power at threshold was the best it had ever been, when last measured, so I had reason to be at least a little optimistic.  I had a pretty good transition with the exception of my wetsuit getting stuck on my ankle due to my timing chip.   When I got on my bike, however, my glutes felts really tight.  My plan was to hold back for the first 25% of the bike before I picked up the pace.  This is in line with my plans for racing Eagleman.  I planned to take it easy before settling into the rhythm I want to maintain for the entire race.  Even though I was not full bore on the pedals, I was steadily picking off riders ahead of me.  I wanted to wait until about mile 8 where the road flattens out a bit before I really turned on the power.  I absolutely LOVE going fast on my Colnago Flight!  When I get in the aero position, I can easily pick up a 1/2 mph with the same amount of power.  I stayed in my aero tuck except on a few of the rollers where I got out of the saddle and punched over top.  I was going so fast at one point I actually had to slow down because a car on the road was going too slowly! Right before the 12 mile mark, the course kicks up again in a series of very nasty rollers.  This is the make or break point for a lot of racers.  If you burnt your matches earlier on the course, this is where you will really suffer.  This series of seemingly endless rises continues for the next 6 miles or so.  This is where I passed a bunch of racers.  On this series of climbs riders bunch together as if looking for comfort in numbers, so I guess misery really does love company.  I paced this section really well and when I got back on the flatter portions of the course it was full gas until the finish.  I knew with a concerted effort I could get a bike split PR.  As I the made the turn back onto MD 108 I needed to make it back to transition in 9 minutes or less, 8 minutes later I was hopping off my bike and heading for the run course, a new bike PR by about 1 minute!  I was psyched!  Now I mentally prepped for the hard part.....

The Run:

The Columbia tri run is the hardest I have ever done. It is an almost endless series of short steep inclines.  A mere, 1/4 of a mile out a transition you hit a brute of a hill and that sets the tone for the rest of the run.  I ran the first 2 miles in just under 18 minutes.  This was slower than I wanted but I knew the worst was still ahead.  Slowly but surely the continuous hills and rising temperatures began to take their toll and I slowed mile after mile.  I was never tired really, I just had no OOMPH.  I was missing that extra gear that you need to maintain your pace as the hills keep coming at you.  This is where the lost training time really took its toll.  My speed and power or the run was missing from lack of speed work and interval training.  I know I need to get some of these in before Eagleman so I will not fade in the much longer (and possibly hotter) 1/2 marathon that awaits me that day.  I reverted back to my 2009 run form, but more from insufficient training time than to the inexperience I had the first time I did the race.  All in all a decent race, I mean you can't PR every race, right?

Post Mortem:


Although Columbia is often the toughest race I do all season I encourage everyone to come and experience it first hand.  The race is extremely well run, has a great history, lots of pros show up, and it is right in our back yard!  I think this is the premiere race in our area and we need to come out and support the excellent organization that puts it on!  Hope to see you all on the start line next year, I know I will be there, looking for a better swim and a much better run!

Peace and keep training....

Rob

Run, walk or crawl, but get to the finish....

By now most of you have heard of the tragedy at the NYC triathlon. Two fellow triathletes lost their lives while competing. While these types of events are always tragic, it should be noted that you are far more likely to die on the car trip to the race, than in the race itself. My condolences go out to the families and friends of these athletes, though I didn't know them personally, I know the apprehension we all face when we jump into an unfamiliar body of water; none of us are immune from these possibilities.

While many triathletes (and one Tri Unify member) were up north tackling the raging Hudson river, I opted to stay close to home and compete in a brand new race. The Du the 2 Duathlon had its inaugural running this weekend in Howard county. As it turns out I was talked into doing this race by my training buddy Miguel. I had finished my race program for the year, and initially when he suggested we do this race, I actually developed a training plan specifically for the race. But then malaise set in and I decided I had enough race fitness left over from my previous training to just wing it. Now I should know better. Actually I do know better. I should have just done the race as a long training day, but as the my wave start approached, the competitive juices started flowing and well, I'm sure you can guess the rest........

The Race

So the race starts and I tell myself, "Hold back a bit". I check my watch after 1 mile and I'm running 7 and 1/2 minute miles, WAY TOO FAST! I slow down and finish the first 2 mile run in a very respectable 15 minutes and 49 seconds, but not exactly holding back. Still, I didn't feel to bad and I zipped through T1 in 1 minute.

The Bike

So one of the reasons I agreed to do this race was because I train regularly on the course. Many of my training rides criss-cross the bike course so I was intimately familiar with every hill and turn and I figured this would work to my advantage. Since the bike course consisted of two laps, my plan was to take the first lap relatively easy and then pick up the pace for lap 2. The idea was to ride a negative split for the bike course, finish strong and still have a little in reserve for the last 4 miles of the run. Well I started fairly easily, and I got passed by numerous people in the first 2 miles. All the while I'm telling myself I will catch these folks later in the race. I also was aware of a very stiff climb that was coming up around mile 3.

I yelled some words of encouragement to folks struggling up the climb as I went past and then as I crested the hill my plan totally when out the window. I developed some sort of "bike racer tunnel vision" where every cyclist in front of you is merely someone to chase. While it was fun for the next 10 miles, I averaged 19 mph for the first lap, when I hit the first tough climb of lap 2 I immediately realized I was about to pay for my efforts. For the first time all year I felt tightness and pain in my lower back from all the climbing (1345 feet to be exact). Coupled with the pace I was trying to keep I was seriously beginning to doubt the whole negative split thing. I soldiered on, but my second lap was almost 2 minutes slower than the first.

The Dreaded 2nd Run

This is what makes the duathlon special. You get to run again. In a triathlon, you can spare your legs and generate power with your upper body, but since a duathlon starts with a run you've already used up some of your run energy by the time you get to run #2. I was in good position coming off the bike, probably top 10th in my age group when I started the second run. Then I felt the old heavy legs syndrome kick in. Now I fully expected this, after all, I had just hammered for a little over 26 miles, and by a 1/2 mile into the run my legs started to feel a little better. That lasted until I hit the first uphill on the run. Then the wheels (or perhaps my legs) fell off. I experienced what can only be called a full system shutdown. No power in the engine room. My legs felt like barrels of concrete. From this point (about 1 mile in) it was merely a matter of will whether I would get to the finish or not. At mile 3 I did something I hadn't done for many races. I walked. No shame there, you do what you must to reach the finish, and my training dictated I start walking. The walking actually helped, and about a minute later I started running again. It was short lived, however. I took another walk break and then I just decided I was going to run to the finish if it killed me. Be careful what you wish for, I got to the finish feeling more than a little spacey. I needed a full 15 minutes just to recover from that last 1/2 mile of running. Of course this should have been no real surprise since my training had been woefully short of long runs in preparation for this race. So much for winging it! I lost at least 7 places in my age group on the run and ended up finishing 17th.

Post Mortem

I still have a ways to go about being disciplined when racing. I had a plan, I just failed to execute it. Having a plan was good, not being disciplined enough to follow it, not so good. I also suffered a sore right knee (probably from lack of distance training) and a sore Achilles tendon. Now had I just ridden this race as a training ride, I probably would have finished unscathed. One more reason to race to the level of your training. So now I have some forced rest before I start working on my next race build up.

Coaches Corner

I was talking to some athletes this week about their opinions of their race performances. Many were unhappy with their performances, DESPITE having achieved personal bests! So why might this be? Well it seems lots of athletes THINK they can achieve times in racing, that they don't do in training. They go into races with unrealistic time goals. One athlete asked me how I determined my time goals. The answer was simple. I go back and review my training diary. If I didn't run 6 minute miles in training, it is pretty unlikely I'm going to run them in a race. On the other hand, if I have run 8 minute miles frequently in training, it's a good bet I can repeat that feat while racing. Keep your training journal accurately and you will know what to expect on race day.

Random Notes:

I raced this duathlon with a power meter which yielded a plethora of information. Power meters are fast becoming the preferred method of training intelligently. They are fast supplanting heart rate monitors as the "scientific" means of training. While heart rate monitors are still very useful, power meters give you unbiased information about your race. No excuses! I hope to use this data to race better in the future (such as knowing exactly what power output I can sustain for say 25 miles.) In a future post I will show you how to use a power meter to improve your performance.

Keep tri-ing out there and I hope to see you on the road/track/pool.

Peace

Coach Rob

Duathlon, the step-child of multi-sport

Duathlon, the name brings fear to triathletes everywhere, or so it would seem. Whenever I ask one of my fellow triathletes to join me in doing one I am greeted with answers like "I hate to run". This surprised me, since for most of the triathletes I know, the barrier to the sport was swimming and NOT running. Yet it seems that once triathletes come to grips with the whole "getting in the water" thing, then running becomes the dreaded sport (to date I have found only 1 triathlete that hates the bike portion, but I concluded that's because the bike is the only leg of the race where you can rest and still make forward progress). So I began to wonder, what is it about the duathlon that strikes fear in the legs of otherwise fit multi-sport athletes?

It could be confusion, the sport used to be called the biathlon (way back in the 80s), which made sense to me, but obviously confused the powers that be in the Olympic community, since they already have a biathlon, which is comprised of skiing and shooting (really, can you confuse these two sports?).

It could be that the really good runners show up to duathlons, since (for obvious reasons) they have a better chance to excel.

It could be that the uber bikers, for a change,have less of an advantage in the duathlon, since the running portion of the race now takes up a larger percentage.

Or it could be the fact that training for a duathlon necessarily means a change in one's training program, always a tough thing of the self coached athlete.

But there are some very good reasons to make a duathlon part of your racing (or training) program:

1. As a way to get new athletes into the multi-sport arena (just think, no anxiety about drowning).


2. As a means to improve your run, use a duathlon race to focus on your running for a few weeks as a means to improve your triathlons.


3. As race pace brick training, duathlons give you two bricks and two transition practices.


4. Much less stuff to bring to your race, no wetsuits, goggles, towels, swim cap etc.

I have traditionally used the duathlon as a way to get in shape for my A-race triathlons, since the duathlon helps improve my running. This running focus 4 to 8 weeks prior to an important triathlon, has helped me feel much stronger during the run portion of the race. Give it a try, you may find that your runs improve quite a bit.

Coaching Corner

Since I have finished the bulk of my own racing for the year , I have been hanging around a lot of new triathletes. I love their enthusiasm for the sport and I try to allay whatever fears they might. I have noticed these new entrants to the sport race a lot! I understand their desire to race and improve at their new found sport. I think, however, these new athletes miss the importance of training! When you are racing constantly, there is a great need to rest, i.e. recover from the stresses of racing. With such frequent racing, new athlete's bodies may not have the opportunity to adequately recover. In addition, I have noticed a lot of "cramming", trying to squeeze in more training, since the time between races is so short. This ultimately leads to fatigue and poor race performance. I love the enthusiasm, I just wish they would temper that with some patience. Their love of the sport would increase that much more.

Race Expectations:

I often hear athletes talking about how they would like to improve in races. This is normal, often the reason people compete to begin with is to improve. One thing that strikes me is the often unrealistic gains athletes expect to make from one race to another. When I ask them how they expect to make these gains, it often comes across that they do not have any metrics to confirm (or deny) their expectations. This is why a training journal is so crucial. Your training journal will tell you what you can expect in your next race. If you plan to run 10 minute miles after riding 25 miles on your bike, then your training journal should confirm that you have done something similar (or better yet, exactly). I can't tell you how many times I have had an athlete tell me they want to run "X minutes per mile" in a race and when I ask them how many times they have done it in training they tell me zero. If you want to excel in a race you must excel in training first. Your training tells you what your race will look like, so make sure you record your training accurately so you know what to expect.

In the month of Auguts I will be hosting 3 free coaching clinics aimed at beginners. The clinics will cover the following:

1. How to use a heart rate monitor.


2. Basic bike maintenance.


3. How to use your gears.

Clinics 1 and 3 will be accompanied by a brief ride. Dates and times will be posted on Facebook in the TriUnify group and on my website http://www.clarencecycling.com .

Random Notes

I started out as a bike racer, and although I haven't done a bike race in a while, I decided to have a go at the Greenbelt park training race series. It seems I had forgotten how brutal bike races are. It was very humbling, but not without value. I got my heart rate up above anything I ever see in a triathlon, which for better or worse, was interesting, if not painful. I also got some critical power data, so if I decide to go back and race again at least I'll know what power I need to compete. Speaking of power, I just got a new PowerTap laced to a Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL. The PowerTap works great (a review is coming soon) and when paired with my Garmin Edge 500 cycling computer, makes a nice system for gathering data. The wheel does feel a bit heavy though, which may be the result of riding mostly with the Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels which are over 1/2 a pound lighter. I know it may not sound like much, but when racing uphill every gram hurts. Being able to accurately train with power on the road is worth the sacrifice however.

Keep tri-ing out there and I hope to see you on the road/track/pool.

Peace

Coach Rob

Race Report - Tri 2 Win Sprint Triathlon

While most of my tri club (TriUnify) was down in Washington D.C. braving the Potomac's waters, I opted instead to head north to Westminster, Maryland and participate in the Tri 2 Win sprint triathlon. This race is special to me for a couple of reasons. It was my first triathlon and it also raises money for melanoma research which means by participating I can give back to those in need. This race has become a staple event on my race calendar and I usually bring a few friends along. This year I brought a couple of my old training partners, Mike and Melissa, plus two new participants. One was my boy, fellow Tri Unify member, and first time triathlete Dustun. The other friend, Sean, I met at a Tri Unify training event I led, and he caught the "fever" when he heard us talking about participating in the event. He was so excited he signed up on his iPhone as we spoke! Sean had been out of the tri game for a few years but after his great experience at the training event he decided to get back in the game. Welcome back Sean!

The Tri 2 Win triathlon is a lot of fun and a good event for those just starting out. The pool swim takes alot of the anxiety out of a new triathlete's first event, and for that reason I highly recommend it for those looking to get into the sport. The event has a wide range of fitness levels, so no one will feel intimidated by the field of athletes, while at the same time those looking for good competition will find that as well. Since the event is always on Father's day, there is a nice family aspect to the competition as there is a father/son and father/daughter competion in addition to the indiviual age groups.

I have been doing this event for about 5 years now and I have been steadily moving up in my age group, to the point I can now start looking to get on the podium. I had finished 5th and 6th the last 2 years and since I had limited training time this year I decided to make this my goal race for the year. After carefully studying my results and the results of the last couple of years I figured I would need to do about 1 hour and 17 minutes to make it on to the podium. After having a great outing at the "Flat as a pancake triathlon" 2 weeks prior, I thought I was ready. Although I should note that Tri 2 Win is definitely NOT flat as a pancake.

The Swim:

One of the victims of my reduced training schedule this year has been my swimming. Since I had less time to train early in the season (due to my future triathlete son crawling all over the place), my swimming, which is my weakness, probably suffered the most. I tried to rationalize that since the swim is only 400 meters in this race, its effect would not likely be the deciding factor. I would reassess this point of view during my post race analysis. So as you might have already guessed, I swam slower this year. Not a lot slower, just 18 seconds off last year's pace, but still, I hate to regress. I got out of the pool and hustled my way over to the transition area.

The Bike:

After a fast T1, I hopped on my bike ready to make up some of the time I was sure I lost during the swim. I had ridden the course the day before, so I knew where all the hard climbs were, and I was relying on all the hard work I had put in over the winter and spring. My cycling has seen a noticable bump in terms of power output and coupled with the new bike I worked all spring to get comfortable on, I was sure I could better last year's bike time. The question was, by how much? I averaged 19.3 mph over the 13.5 miles and while that was a nice bump from last year I knew I had my work cut out for myself on the run. I was going to have to run right around 21 and a half minutes for the 3 mile run to get me around the 1:17 time goal. I was trying to not think about that as I entered T2, because I know the last time I ran a 5k that fast I was about 10 years younger (if not more). I had my work cut out for me.

The Run:

I left T2 (after briefly running the wrong way trying to get out of the transition area) with an ominious feeling in my left quad. I've had this before, it's that feeling you get right before your muscle cramps. It's kind of like a warning signal, telling you to slow up or else! I ignored it. Quad be damned, if it was going to cramp so be it, I was going to run hard, until I couldn't run hard any longer. I was feeling pretty good until I hit the steady 1/4 mile uphill on the run. That and the "I'm gonna cramp, I mean it" feeling took a bit of wind out of my sails. I knew right then 1:17 was probably not going to happen, but I remained focused on maintaining my pace. As I hit the turn around, I heard heavy breathing coming up behind me. So far, no had had passed me the entire race, but I knew now someone was definitely trying. With about a mile to go in the run said heavy breather moved past me. I tried to pick up my pace and stay with him, that worked for about ohhhh 15 seconds, nope he was running WAY TOO FAST! I dropped back down to my original pace and held steady to line. A pretty good run, faster than last year and I didn't cramp, despite the warning.

Post Race:

I got some food, as well as some water, to ward off any impending cramps and try and replenish my energy stores. All in all, I felt pretty good. I knocked about a minute off last year's time, but I was about 3 minutes shy of 1:17. 6th place again. Not bad, but after looking at the times of those who beat me the biggest disparity was, you guessed it, the swimming. In fact, the 2rd place finisher in my age group and I had almost identical splits throughout the race but his swim time was over 3 minutes better than mine! I know where I will be spending a lot of time this winter! After a bit of recovery, I watched as my friends came in and cheered them on to the finish. When everyone was done we traveled over to Great Sage restaurant in Clarksville for a great nutritious post tri meal! Hopefully some of you will join us next year for this great race!

Coaches Corner:

I just want to give a shout out to one of my athlete's (and TriUnify member) Derrek Sanks, who broke the 3 hour mark at the Columbia Triathlon. Columbia is a challenging race and Derrek worked hard over the winter and spring to achieve this goal. I also want to wish him a safe return home as he prepares for a deployment in Afghanistan. My thoughts are with you and your family Derrek.

It's been a while......

It's been a while since I last wrote, over 9 months, which is an interesting observation since that is approximately the length of time it took my new son to arrive, but more on that later.

So what happened in the interim, well it went something like this.......

January

On the day of my last entry (January 4th, 2010 for those of you who forgot) I started the season by taking my first test, a 3 mile all out effort on the trainer. This is a test I use to get a general idea of my fitness. I was a little under the weather that day and turned in a pretty poor time (for me anyway). This was my first wake up call of the season. I knew I had a lot of work to do to get ready for my goal race in May, the Columbia Triathlon. Last year I did Columbia (a great race,you should try it!) in 3:02:29. I remember thinking after the race, that if I had known I was so close to breaking 3 hours I would have pushed a lot more on the run. So my goal for 2010 was to break 3 hours. Everything was going to be secondary to that until I found out my wife was pregnant!

When the good news arrived, I knew breaking 3 hours would be even more of a challenge. My goal was made even more challenging by the unseasonable cold weather we got this winter. I started January with a bit of a cold, but I managed to get in a fair amount of training. In particular, I added some strength training and yoga to my training regiment. After a few weeks I began to feel much stronger,particularly in the pool.

February

February arrived and so did huge amounts of snow and morning sickness! My wife was suffering through a bad bout of nausea and with the huge snow fall the trainer was my only sanctuary, until of course we lost power! This was a really challenge, no power, no way to leave home, and a wife swamped with nausea. Thank goodness for out next door neighbors who helped us through this tough time. Since the first week of February was lost to all the various impediments to training, I was looking forward to restarting my training when the roads were cleared. Once again I turned to my 3 mile time trial and knocked 16 seconds off my January time. More importantly I recorded a 7% increase in average power. This assured me that my training was progressing in the right direction. I spent most of February concentrating on swimming since it is definitely my weakness. I was looking for a swim coach but my work location made finding a convenient coach virtually impossible. I was resigned to getting better so I picked up a copy of "Total Immersion" and studied the book and tried to follow the suggestions as best I could.

One of the real challenges being a self trained swimmer, is that you can't see yourself! Unlike running or cycling where I can get on a trainer or treadmill to critique my technique and position, this is almost impossible to do while swimming. I did come across a pool once with mirrors on the bottom of the pool in one lane, but even then its hard to keep a good head position, while trying to see if you legs are dropping too much. Just one more reason to get a coach.

March

So March rolled around and it's time to take another test and get an idea of where my fitness is. I tackle my 3 mile TT test and knock another 21 seconds off my last test and my average power has increased another 9%! I also noticed my heart rate for the effort had dropped by 10 beats per minute, a sure sign that I was now more aerobically fit as well! Armed with these numbers I decide some racing was in order. When I first started cycling seriously, I used to race in the NYC Spring series, a series of cycling races in Brooklyn every weekend. So I signed up figuring this would push me. I had no intention of trying to win this race, I just wanted to hang with the field and get some tough miles in. I managed to hang on for about 1/2 the race before getting unceremoniously dropped on the only hill in the race. Still, the race provided a good hard effort much like I would need when doing the Columbia Triathlon (especially the last 10 miles of chasing alone! and no I didn't catch the field....).

April

April was my first big volume month as the weather was finally improving. I hadn't planned on doing any races this month, I just wanted to focus on training. One of my good friends, however, wanted to race a 13 hour mountain bike race but needed another team mate. Now I dabble in mountain biking, but strictly for fun. So when she approached me about racing off road, for 13 hours at that, I was a little apprehensive, especially since my mountain bike hadn't been off-road in the better part of 3 years. Not wanting to disappoint, I agreed to help out. This turned out to be the toughest workout all year. Almost 5 hours on a hard tail mountain bike over tough terrain was more than draining, but it a great experience, even if I never want to do it again..... The picture at the top is a look at my first (and last?) foray into competitive mountain biking. After taking a little bit of a recovery after the race, I decided now was a good time to re-test myself. My time dropped by 22 seconds and average power increased by a little over 11%! I am on a roll! At this point my power on the bike was about 5% above what it had been in 2009 right before I did the Columbia triathlon. I was feeling pretty good and I still had about a month of training left. So now it was time to fine tune my training.

May

With my goal race now in site, I started tapering, working on my transitions, and planning to ride the course, you know, all those little things that can screw up an otherwise good race. The one thing I didn't plan for was lack of parking and pouring rain the day of the race. When I arrived at the race site, traffic was backed up for a good mile and it was pouring. I dropped my buddy Mike at the entrance since he went off in an earlier wave then me, and then drove back to look for parking. I found a spot about a mile away and then made a mad dash to get to transition before it closed. The soggy conditions and bad weather just added to the mayhem that is race morning, and in a big race like Columbia it was compounded by all the people. I managed to get my transition area set up just as the transition area closed. Unfortunately in my rush, I forgot to use my Body glide to put on under my wetsuit. I was resigned to having a bad neck rash after the race, when I saw a woman spraying herself with Lemon PAM. I had always heard people used the stuff, but this was the first time I had ever witnessed it. I decided now was as good a time as ever to give it a shot, so I asked her if she could spare some. She gladly obliged and I was lemony fresh and relieved to not have to worry about having a sore neck for the next week. I ambled over to the swim start and waded into the water a few minutes before my wave was set to start. Getting into the water initially is always the worst part of a triathlon for me. It took me a good 3 minutes to get over the initial shock of the cold water and after exhaling under water a few times I started to feel better. The gun went off and I waited for most of the insanity that is a wave start to go out ahead of me and then I started my race. I remained cool and calm for most of the swimming, feeling OK, if not great. I just wanted to get out of the water and onto my bike. I went badly off course in the second part of the swim, which cost me some time, but I recovered and head for the swim exit. I had a brisk transition, and I was happy to notice the rain had stopped as I mounted my bike. Since, Columbia is a fairly hilly bike course, and the course was wet, I decided to forgo aero bars and just use my standard rode bike. I felt the extra comfort and better handling would make up for the lack of an aero advantage on certain parts of the course. I powered my way to a bike split that was 3 minutes better than the previous year. As I was leaving transition to start the run, I noted I had a little less than 1 hour if I wanted to break the 3 hour mark. I had fueled well on the bike and I planned to go with gels every 30 minutes on the run. I knew staying properly fueled would be a necessity if I was to break 3 hours. Columbia has a notoriously tough 10k run. I knew I would have to push a little in the first 5k to stay on my goal pace. At the 2 mile mark, I was concentrating hard when I heard a blood curdling scream! It was Shelly from my tri club at the water station cheering me on! I couldn't help but chuckle inside! That really bolstered my resolve to keep my pace up. I was well on my way to a good 10k time at the 4 mile mark which is where some of the toughest hills in the course come up. I managed to maintain a decent pace and when I hit the 5 mile mark I turned on the jets in the knowledge I had little more than 1 mile to go and a mostly downhill run to the finish. As I crossed the line I looked at my watch and thought Mission Accomplished! 2:58:06. My main goal of the year accomplished, I now decided to enjoy the good fitness that I had acquired over the previous 5 months.

June

In June I started my Thursday evening rides we call Thursday thunder! We try to hit just about every hill in Rock Creek Park. It a leg searing, gut busting hammer fest for most of the ride with breaks at the top of the tough climbs to let people catch back on. It's usually fun too and has most of the elements of a fast group ride. About this time my wife was finally starting to show, for the first 5 months, you could barely tell she was pregnant. So trips to the doctor were becoming more interesting, especially since we were adamant about not wanting to know the sex of the baby. I had but one race planned for June, my annual sprint triathlon, Tri to Win, which raises money for melanoma research. I hadn't trained specifically for this race, but I was confident since fitness had been sky high during the previous weeks. A number of my friends were also doing the race, and this made the event all the more fun. Since it was a sprint, my goal was to push as hard as I could for the duration of the race and see what I had in the tank. Who knows, maybe I could even snag an age group award. I pushed my way to a course PR and just missed an age group award coming in 5th. Oh well, maybe next year!

July

By the time July rolled around I was starting to feel pretty burnt out. My fitness was still high but I had come down noticeably from my peak. As a result, my training tapered off quite a bit from late June to early July. Some due to the impending birth of my child and some from lack of desire to train. Normally this would have been fine, except I had registered for the NYC Triathlon on July 18th! I was not really motivated to do this race but once I pay for a race I'm going to do it unless a meteor strikes. So I traveled to NYC, and was greeted by absolutely the worst humidity I had raced in in a while. One of the reasons I really wanted to do this race was the allure of swimming in the Hudson River (although allure might be the wrong term). Growing up as a kid in Brooklyn the Hudson was always maligned as too nasty, too dirty, too dangerous to swim in. I was also intrigued by the fact that the race director GUARANTEED everyone a swim PR! Well he could not have been more right. Watching the pros the morning of the race, it looked like they were hydroplaning in the water they were swimming so fast! I found out why when my wave started. The race director gave you the option of starting the race in the water, but he noted as soon as you jump in grab the rope attached to the dock. I jumped in and went under, immediately I could feel myself being pulled downstream! It felt like I had rocket propelled flippers on the current was so strong! A couple of guys who jumped in had to be grabbed before they were swept downstream by the current. Of course, the highlight of the race had to be the tire I spied floating by at the 600 meter mark! At least I didn't have to swim through it! Getting out of the water 15 minutes faster the usual was great! Then came the back course which was typical NYC, and by that I mean badly paved! It was so badly paved somewhere on the course I lost my trusty Garmin Forerunner, making this the most expensive triathlon I have ever done! By the time I got to the run it was blazing hot and the humidity was oppressive. I struggled through the run, but still posted my best ever triathlon time. Now I could schedule some down time for the season and get ready for the really tough stuff, having a child!

Hope to see all of you out there in the pool, on the road, and on the track......

Peace

Rob...

P.S. Part II of the season soon to follow.

Happy New Year! Now Let's Get Started!

Greetings to all! I hope the new year finds you happy, healthy and fit! I am looking forward to the upcoming season and I am hoping to make serious strides in each of the three disciplines we triathletes engage in. I also hope to re-acquire some skills in my first true love, basketball! More on that later.........

Improving each discipline

While I did well last year with my fastest ever Olympic distance race, a careful examination of my training, showed the need for improvement in each discipline. That's not all bad news however, since some of my necessary improvements just require missing fewer workouts. Taking a look at both your strong and weak disciplines can be very enlightening.

The Swim.

After last year's efforts I learned two things:

1. I'm a much faster swim
2. But not necessarily a much better swimmer.

How did I come to this conclusion? Well I posted a personal best of 35:45 at the Columbia triathlon knocking almost 6 minutes of my best swim time. Along with that however, I had quite a bit of shoulder and arm pain. After talking with my chiropractor it was determined to be due to my habit of only breathing on my left side. I was determined that by my next Olympic tri I would be a bilateral breather. It was so hard to change this habit that I learned some 30 years ago, I actually took 2 months off from swimming and when I went back to the pool I was determined to only swim by breathing on both sides. After about a month and many mouthfuls of water later I had become comfortable, if not proficient, at breathing every 3rd stroke. I should note that while I was making the transition I didn't focus on any other aspect of my swim. All I worked on was being able to breathe on both side comfortably. I didn't track my pace, worry particularly about body position (except how it affected rolling to my "other" side) or worry about stroke count. I was actually prepared to become a slower swimmer, with the idea that the better technique would suffice in the long run. When I was finally comfortable, I went back to one of my standard workouts, and lo and behold, I was actually faster! Without doing anything other than going to bilateral breathing, I had actually picked up between 10 and 15 seconds per 100! I attribute this to 2 things, I now breathe every third stroke which I believe enables me to keep a better body position throughout the course of my swim. Second, I believe my swim is more balanced, i.e. I swim on my side more as a consequence of having to roll to the other side to breathe. I have also noticed I swim straighter and I make fewer corrections to remain on a straight course. I was somewhat skeptical that bilateral breathing would have such a profound effect, but I never write anything off until I at least try it. In this case trying paid dividends, always a good feeling.

The Bike

In general I had a good year on the bike. While I did lament not having the opportunity to participate in any bike races, I felt I had a successful season. One area I found lacking was the amount of intervals I did over the course of the year. I was generally really good at the beginning of the year in preparation for early season races, but afterwards I was slacking a bit and allowing some fast group rides to substitute for interval sessions. This isn't always a bad idea but in general group rides don't always fit into the type of training you may need for an upcoming event. I resolve to be a bit more disciplined this year and hopefully I will be able to reap the benefits.

The Run

OK, let's be frank, I don't really like running all that much. Most workouts that I blow off are run workouts. I love cycling, I need swimming, but really I just tolerate the run. So this year I plan to make sure I don't miss any of those run workout (or at least not as many). I noticed that last year I really didn't do nearly enough speed work either. Speed work, for me anyway, is far more mentally taxing that physically taxing. Once I get out there I'm OK, but actually getting out there is the problem. I'm gonna work on that, but I think I need a partner (any takers????) .

Other stuff

I joined a tri club, Tri Unify which has been great. Meeting like minded people of color who also take an interest in a healthy life style is AWESOME! Check them out at Tri Unify.com

Among other things Tri Unify has open water swim practices, meet and greets, and a wealth of highly motivated people of all levels so no one has to feel intimidated or left out.

Every few months I get an uncontrollable urge to go back to the sport of my youth, namely basketball. One thing I like about triathlon is, no matter how hard the race it is essentially a non-contact sport. Not true of basketball! After just about every game, something is cut, scratched or bruised! The other thing about triathlon is essentially you are always going straight ahead, basketball is about going in 20 different directions, one right after the other, or even at the same time. This requires some specialized preparation since I rarely need to practice running backwards or side to side to prepare for a tri. Anyway, I have caught the bug again and I am about to play in a league or two this winter, I'll keep you posted and let you know how the body holds up.

The Season

I already have 3 races scheduled on my calendar and I am considering whether to step up to the half ironman distance in the second half of the year. A lot depends on how the first half goes, so I figured I would re-evaluate after my sprint triathlon on June 20th. Since we are being hit by unseasonable cold weather I see a lot of indoor training in my future (and yours too!). Don't let this ruin your season, hop on a bike trainer, treadmill or into a spin class somewhere. If this doesn't do it for you get in the pool more often and work on all those things you never work even though you know you should.

As some of you may know I am a personal trainer and I am applying for my USAT coaching license. I will be creating a 16 week training program for the Tri to Win sprint triathlon which is on June 20th. The program will include group training on the weekends and a training schedule for the entire 16 weeks leading up to the race. The training program will be aimed at first time triathletes and those with no experience following a training program. I will be hosting an information session later this month. The training program is schedule to start on March 1st. If you are interested please e-mail me at robert@clarencesoftware.com.

I hope to see all of you out there in the pool, on the road and on the track......

Peace

Rob