Mont Tremblant Race Report - How To Blow a KQ

Step 1: Spend close to three hours trying to figure out why your darn power meter won't calibrate hours before bike check in. Never got power meter calibrated prior to race.

Step 2: Forget HR monitor at condo on a hot and humid day, when having HR as a 2nd metric would have probably been very helpful. Katie got the HR monitor for me out on the run course, but it was probably too late at that point.

Step 3: Wear a sleeved black suit on a hot and humid day, when there should have been a 'Plan B' if the weather was not ideal. Not change into running gear at T2.

Step 4: Get injured during training and miss three weeks of running. Pool running and the elliptical machine simply don't replace real running.

These are things that I'm thinking in hindsight that led to my second failure to KQ. In 2013 I was oh so close to qualifying, and I felt that this time I would be better off, knowing the course, and having learned from the past. However, it was not to be.

IMMT 2015 was my fourth time racing at Tremblant, and I felt this was a big advantage. I knew the course, the transition zone, the area, and felt it would play in my favor. I was feeling as good in the water as I did a few years ago, and my bike felt even stronger than in the past. I had a bit of a running setback in early June with an Achilles injury that forced me to take off three weeks of running, but after that I had eight solid weeks with good running. I also made the point of nailing down a specific nutrition plan and felt like it was my time and my race.

The day began with the a unappetizing breakfast of 3.5 cups of unsweetened applesauce, a scoop of whey protein and 1/4 cup of raisins all mixed together. This was my second time with this breakfast, and by the 5th or 6th spoonful it's fighting a gag reflex to down it all. By the time I was done I was hoping finishing the breakfast was the hardest thing I'd do that day.

In my three previous Tremblant races we've stayed in the village, and had a very short walk to the transition area. This year Katie's folks were coming and they got us a timeshare condo just out past where the run course heads onto the bike path. We saved a good chunk of money, but looking back, I think this was detrimental to my race. Each time we went into the village (packet pickup, bike drop off, day of race drop off) I had to walk a good deal farther than was ideal. All of this extra walking in the hot conditions probably wasn't helpful. If I race IMMT again I'll definitely stay in the village.

Katie and I left the condo at 4:50 and she dropped me off right around 5:00. I got into transition, dropped off my special needs bags (wouldn't end up using either one), then loaded the bike with nutrition and my bike computer. The Powertap still wasn't calibrating, but it was giving me power numbers. I was a little concerned, but couldn't do anything about it.

The walk to the swim is quite long - around 1/2 a mile, and I chatted with a teammate on the way over. The porta-pottie line was very long, and I only had around 15 minutes after getting out to pull the wetsuit up, toss my morning clothes bag into the back of a dump truck, and get down to the start. I had a few minutes in the water to take a few strokes, then headed to the start.

Other than a few points of contact, the swim was pretty uneventful. I found a few folks who were swimming at a similar pace to draft off at points. My open water swims had been going pretty good of late - 1:22-1:25 avg pace, so I was hoping to be in the 1:03-1:04 range, but I only came out of the water a few seconds quicker than two years ago in 1:06:28. I know it wasn't a big deal and quickly had the wetsuit off curtesy of the strippers, then headed to T1.

I tried to be a little quicker than two years ago, and was able to be out on the bike in a shade under 5 minutes. I settled in and let just about everyone fly on by, keeping power under 240-250, even on the first few hills. I was using Best Bike Split to guide me, but as the time went on, the intervals seemed way off. For those who are not familiar with BBS, it's a website that factors in weather, course, bike, rider, etc to predict a time. You can also download the ride and it tells you what power to target for each segment. In my case, the entire ride was broken into 161 segments, but they were off and the ride 'ended' at mile 103 with some beeping and a congratulatory message. Not quite! I hit 'start' and rode out the remainder of the course.

Anyway, back to the first portion of the course. IMMT is a pretty hilly course, but there are only a few real steep sections. Nearly all of the course can be ridden in the aero bars, and I tried to stay as aero as possible throughout the day. BBS had predicted a time of 4:53 on 244 watts. As I didn't have my HR monitor, I decided to be a bit more conservative, and targeted around 10 watts lower for the first loop. Once I got out to route 117 there was a steady climb for a few miles before a steep descent. After the descent it was essentially a pretty flat out and back to the base of the hill that we just went down. Again, I let folks go on the hill, knowing they'd come back to me.

Eventually, I made my way back past the transition zone and realized that I was going to have a pretty fast first loop. Going up the steeper stuff I was glad I'd opted for the 11-28 cassette and was able to keep power at or just above FTP on even the steepest grades. After the turn around I ended up finishing the first loop right around 2:24. I was pretty shocked with the time as my average power at that point was around 232 watts. I was feeling pretty good and taking in hydration and nutrition. I realized that a bike time of around 4:50 wasn't out of the question.

The second loop got quite a bit warmer, and I made a point of taking a bottle of water at each aid station, spraying most over my body, then taking a few squirts before tossing it. My power was slightly lower on loop two, but I knew it was getting hotter, I didn't have my HR monitor, and I didn't want to overcook things. I still felt like I was being smart and riding well within my means. As I neared the end of the second loop I was still feeling good and knew I was near the front of the AG. My A goal had been coming off the bike right around six hours, and it turned out to be 6:02 when I entered T2, riding a 4:51:01 bike split on 228 AP, 235 NP. I was 3rd in my AG.

 

My legs felt just ok as I ran to the transition tent. There was only one other person in the tent with me, and I was out and on my way in just under two minutes. Immediately, I knew that my run legs weren't happy. In my race two years ago I felt great off the bike and averaged around a 7:35 pace for the first six miles, but made the mistake of taking in no nutrition. This time I was targeting a 8:00 - 8:10 pace for the first six miles and taking in nutrition. I wasn't feeling great, and had to stop to massage my left hamstring right after the first mile. My pace for the first five to six miles was where I wanted, but it didn't feel like a jog. I knew I was still in a good position relative to the AG and began to think that if I could average 8:00-8:10 I may be ok. However, having this mindset so early on in the race and 'hoping' to simply maintain what should feel like a real easy pace was not a good thing.

I began thinking about my uncalibrated power meter and wondered if I had actually put out a higher wattage. I was making a real point of staying on top of nutrition and hydration, but it didn't seem to make me feel any better. The run plan was to have a Cliff Block every two miles and a gel every 45-50 minutes with a Saltstick, as well as 4-5 oz of Gatorade at each aid station. It was around mile seven to eight that I began being passed by folks in my AG. It was demoralizing to see them running off at a pace that should have been easy for me to hold. Maybe it was the heat getting to me, simply not having the running miles that I needed due to my injury in June, over biking, but I was feeling like complete garbage and just not mentally there. I made it back to the village for the end of the first loop in 1:48. Again, I told myself that if I doubled that I'd run around what I ran two years ago, which was still a crappy run time of 3:35.

However, things continued to go downhill and my pace crept up towards 9:00 miles. I tried to think of all my long runs, where I felt great and where 7:30 pace felt like a walk in the park, but it did no good. The second loop was the typical death march where I simply went from aid station to aid station, walking the aid stations. The one positive thing out on the run course was my family. On the second loop I saw Jackson and he had a huge grin and was waving at me - it picked me up for a bit and Katie said I ran off much faster than on my approach. Moments later I simply wanted the race to be over and get back to the finish area.

The last 4-5 miles were run around a 9:30 pace. I crossed the finish line dejected, but glad to be done, finishing with a run spilt of 3:50. My total time was 9:54, good for 13th in the AG, 69th OA, and actually a two minute improvement on two years ago, but still not remotely close to what I expected. Had I been able to hold an 8:00 pace I would have finished 2nd in the AG. In the finish area I sat down and tried to have some chocolate milk. This was not the best idea, as soon I was feeling nauseous, and soon had medical staff around me. I ended up throwing up, and was taken into the medical area. I was weighed and blood was taken to check sodium levels, but everything was fine. I was worried that Katie wouldn't know where I was, and had one of the medical staff text her. Eventually, Katie figured out where I was, but couldn't come in. After around 1 1/2 hrs I was released and hobbled out to see her. We gathered my stuff, got my bike, then walked out to a location where I could wait. She rode her bike back to the condo, and around 45 minutes later was back with the car to get me and my gear.

 

                      Trying to look good for the camera around mile 23, but felt horrible.

As I mentioned at the start, there are many things that I did that contributed to my failure to attain my goal of a KQ. The power meter will be a question in my mind. All of my long rides, and I did six rides of 100+ miles, were done at 235-245 watts AP. 228 watts should have been an easy ride, and my only thought is that by being unable to calibrate the power meter I was actually putting out more watts than was displayed. Combined with the heat and humidity, wearing a black suit, and not knowing my HR, I could have been over doing things, and didn't really feel it.

Two years ago I had a 5:06 bike split on 232 AP. I'm just wondering how I was able to go 15 minutes faster on lower watts. Yes, I made a few changes to my bike and wore an aero suit, but to go that much faster I'd think I'd have to have a higher wattage. In 2013 I had no injuries and was more consistent in my running. However, I don't think this would have led to such a drastic slow-down on the run. I averaged 30-35 miles per week of running for a good chunk of time. However, maybe I need to increase this a bit in the future to have a better run split.

My thoughts going forward, are to tackle shorter distances for the next few years, maybe taking on another IM when I age up into the 40-44 in three years and am the young guy there. I need to become a better runner and am thinking I'll target PR's in the 5k, 10k and half marathon over the next year or two. Next year I'm thinking I'll race two HIM's, possibly Patriot and Timberman, as well as a few Olympics and sprints to work on my overall speed.

Lastly, I'd like to say a huge thanks to my family for their support. Katie has been very supportive of my racing and training. The long Saturday rides are very hard, being away for so long, and I'm now looking forward to having lots more time to spend with Katie and Jackson. We are actually headed off today to Europe for a week, visiting Ireland, Spain and France, and staying with Katie's brother in France for four nights. It should be a fun end to the summer before the school year starts up again.

I'd also like to thank Colin Cook at Peak Tri Coaching, who believed in me and crafted a training plan that put me in a good position to get to Kona. I simply didn't execute on race day. Leslie Why was also very helpful in creating a nutrition plan and race plan for me to follow.

It's now time to rest for a bit and rise another day. I still feel like I have a KQ in me, it'll just have to wait a few years.

Seconds Count!

In my last crack at qualifying for Kona I came to realize that seconds matter no matter the race distance. I won a sprint tri a few years ago by three seconds and I missed a KQ by seven seconds two years ago at IMMT. This time around I'm going into the race with the mindset that every second matters. This means everything from setting up a clean, aero bike to dialing in how and when to take in nutrition.

I've grown in the past two seasons since what I deemed a failure in 2013 at IMMT. My goal for that race was very simple - qualify for Kona, and I felt that based on training it was a forgone conclusion. However, Ironman is a very long day, and little mistakes can have big consequences. I came off the bike in 2013 feeling great, so great that I neglected to take in any nutrition for the first six miles. I was running my goal pace and feeling awesome. However, between mile six and eight I quickly realized that not taking in calories was not a wise decision. I ended up with a run that was 15-20 minutes slower than what I was capable of. That will not happen this year.

I'm working with Leslie Why, a nutritionist who is a coach with PeakTri Coaching. I've altered my diet over the past several months and have a nutrition plan laid out, starting with race week nutrition and correct carbo loading. Race day breakfast and a clear hydration and nutrition plan for the race are mapped out. I really feel that this is my missing link that I lacked two years ago.

I spent a lot of time after IMMT two years ago thinking about those seven seconds. There are so many ways to save time over the course of an Ironman, and it took me quite some time to get over my 'near miss.' I feel that I have planned for this race much better than in the past. I plan to be at least one minute quicker in overall transition time. I won't rush, but will be deliberate and have absolutely no down time. I took a little over seven minutes in transition two years ago, while the top AGers were around 60-90 seconds quicker.

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I've made several changes to the bike, which should result in big time savings. These include: lowering my front end about an inch, adding a TriRig front brake, getting a new saddle, changing out my aero helmet, getting a sleeved race suit, removing my cadence sensor, and changing my BTA bottle and Garmin mount. Of course, the engine has to do most of the work, and I've been feeling very good on the bike. The goal is somewhere in the 240-250 watt range on race day. All of this should result in a faster bike split than in 2013 (dependent on race day conditions, of course).

As coach Colin frequently says, "Swim and bike for show, run for dough." He has done a fantastic job of embodying this saying, and I aim to join him. I plan to be smart on race day, and know that based on previous results that a time around 9:30 has been 2nd in my AG the last three years. I plan to be conservative on the run, and will target a pace in the 7:40-7:45 range for the first half of the race. This should put me in a good position to finish the race strong and be near the top of my AG. I also hope there will be no need to make a porta-pottie stop late in the race (90 seconds there at mile 19 two years ago!).

An Ironman is a long day for everyone, be it near 8 hours for the top pros to 17 for the midnight finishers. Regardless of time, seconds do matter. I aim to save as much time as possible on race day be being smart (not rushing) so that I can look back at my race and be pleased with how I executed my plan.

13 Watts, 13 Minutes

IMMT is now just over three weeks away and I have one last weekend of heavy training before the taper begins. I'm feeling strong and pretty confident about how my training has gone. For this post however, I'm going to focus primarily on the bike, which is my strength, and where I feel I underperformed two years ago at IMMT.

In 2013 I biked a 5:06 on 232 watts. My goal for 2015 is to bike 4:53 on 245 watts - 13 minutes faster on 13 more watts. If it was strictly the same setup as before, this would be hard to attain by simply pushing 13 more watts. However, I've made several little changes that I feel will add up to a significantly faster bike time on only 5% more power.

A few things have changed on my bike that should make me a bit quicker. I've changed out my front brake to a TriRig OmegaX, which has a smaller front profile. I've swapped out my Adamo saddle in favor of a Dash one, which is a savings of around 300 grams - nothing aero there, but, with climbing, any weight savings help. It took me close to three months to adjust to the minimal padding of this saddle but I now love it. I've also dropped my bars by about an inch, slightly lowering my frontal profile to get a bit more aero.

In terms of clothing, I'm wearing a PI Octane suit this season and have gone from the Lazer Tardiz helmet back to the Giro Advantage2 helmet. My flat kit will be split in two parts - the tube and levers jammed under my seat and CO2 and inflator in the tail of my helmet. My bike will be free of most crap that people throw on for an Ironman - as aero as possible. I'll also be running latex tubes inside my Continental GP 4000s tires.

On race day I've decided to use the on-course nutrition for the bike, which is Gatorade. I'll start the bike with two pre-mixed bottles so that I won't have to visit an aid station over the first 30+ miles. I'll be taking SaltStick caps due to the lack of extra sodium in the regular Gatorade - I keep them hidden behind my BTA bottle in a M&M's mini container that's velcroed to my stem.  I'll be concentrating gels in a small watter bottle that is in a cage zip-tied under my seat - again out of the wind and as aero as possible.

Based on riding a 2:18 on 275 watts at the 70.3 WC at Tremblant I feel that 30 less watts should result in a time of around 4:53 - about eight minutes slower per lap. I've also used Best Bike Split, and, depending on wind, temp, and other conditions, the prediction on my time is in the 4:53-4:55 range. One thing I'll be doing is printing out and taping a piece of paper behind my bike computer that simply says: STAY AERO! I'm amazed how many people don't remain in the aero position during an IM. I've noticed that I tend to come out of aero around 16-17 mph when starting to climb - if I can remain in aero down to 12-13 mph it can pay big dividends come race day.

Finally, I've decided that on race day I'll be shaving any exposed hair. This means in addition to the usual legs I'll also be going smooth on the arms. Videos posted by Specialized regarding time savings (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_C8K9x47q0) have shown that simply shaving arms can be good for over one minute saved during an IM - if eyebrow shaving would result in time saved I just may do it. Overall, I feel that all of these small changes should result in a big chunk of time saved.

Pushing 13 more watts is a decent change from two years ago. I've had longer rides this year than in 2013 and am feeling very strong on the bike. Just yesterday I did a 3 1/2 hr ride and averaged 264 watts: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/842006462. The middle 2 1/2 hours were at a average of 272 watts, and my HR was only 143 for the ride. 245 watts is a number I'm capable of and I should be able to have a strong run to follow.

Finally, I'm feeling pretty good in the water of late. I had a swim this morning in Echo Lake near Jackson, NH, where I did 5 laps of the small lake. The swim resulted in 4600 yards swam in 1:03: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/843128861. If I can have a swim close to this at Tremblant it will be a good start to the day!

Nantucket Triathlon Weekend

This past weekend I traveled to Nantucket, where I grew up, to do the weekend double of a Saturday sprint and a Sunday Olympic. It was nice to see my family, and my brother, who lives in SF, was home as well. I got to the island on Thursday morning with Jackson and Katie came on Friday evening. On Friday evening NEMS members doing the race had a nice pre-race dinner together - Jackson did a decent job and managed to stay in his highchair for nearly 2/3 of the meal!

The sprint is a much larger event, with 750 racers this year. The Olympic generally only has around 150 participants. Having not done any short course racing in nearly two years I didn't know how things would pan out. Overall, the results were what I expected: solid swim, good bike, no speed on the run (plus an odd cramp on the Olympic run).

The swims are in salt water at Jetties beach with a rather long run to transition (~300 yards). I feel that I had decent swims in both events. On the bike I was hoping to have the fastest times, but came up just short on both days to Lucas Pozzetta, another NEMS member who is looking to lay down a real fast time at AG Nationals in a few weeks. Power was 315 watts (26.4 mph) for the sprint and 295  watts (25.9 mph) for the Olympic. The Olympic was the first race I've gone under an hour on the bike (57:56 was my time). The sprint run was decent (6:05 pace), but during the Olympic I had a nasty side cramp that forced my pace close to 7:00 for the first 2.5 miles. By the time I was able to recover I had a hard time making up lost time, and finished with an avg. pace of 6:44. I nearly caught the guy ahead of me during the last 100 yards, but lost out in a sprint.

Overall, I placed 6th in the sprint and 5th in the Olympic, winning my AG on both days. Times were 1:08 for the sprint and 2:09 for the Olympic. For the middle of IM training, I consider these decent results and look forward to getting back to training. It was also fun to catch up with other NEMS members doing the race and to chat with Coach Colin about pacing at Tremblant.

IMMT Training

Ironman Tremblant is now six weeks from tomorrow, and I'm feeling quite strong. I just finished my longest ride of the year on Mount Desert Island, ME. The ride was 5 1/2 hrs, 110 miles and had 8,500 ft of climbing, including going up Mt. Cadillac, and was followed by a short 30 min transition run. I was on the bike at 4:50 am, and able to avoid most traffic. This was my third 100+ mile ride, and I have two more 5:30 rides scheduled leading to IMMT. Both of those rides will be done at home, and should have a lot less elevation!

As I was nearing the in-laws house I was a few minutes short of 5:30 for the ride, and decided to do a very short out-and-back. Turning around on a hill, I somehow managed to end up falling on my left side, having lost momentum. No real damage was done, save for a little lost skin. At least there was no traffic and I don't think my graceful fall was witnessed!

I'm very happy to say that my Achilles seems to be back to normal (knocking on wood!). After getting the three EPAT treatments in May and June I eased back into running, and have been able to get in two longer runs over the past two weeks. The run on Sunday of last weekend was done in the basement on our treadmill due to real nasty weather, and I was able to knock out 14.3 miles in 1:45 with zero pain. Tomorrow I have a 1:50 run after an easy hour on the bike. This run will be done in a portion of Acadia Nat'l Park, and goes along some very picturesque shoreline areas.

My swim still needs a bit more work over the next several weeks. There are times in the pool where it seems to click and I can knock out some good sets, and other days I feel very 'blah.' I had a decent OWS yesterday morning in Echo Lake, getting in about 4000 yards in 1:01 - two loons welcomed me to the lake! (It's hard to make out the 2nd one - right where the tree shadows meet the water) I think that with some quality swimming over the next month I should be able to have a similar swim to IMMT in 2013, where I swam 1:06. Coach Colin feels that my swim is fine and that putting in the extra time in the water wouldn't be worth it - that time should be spent on the bike or run.

Baring any further setbacks on the run, I feel that if I can execute a strong race at IMMT. With good conditions, I know that a sub 5:00 bike is realistic, and I should be able to have a much better run than two years ago, when I didn't take in any nutrition for the first 7 miles of the run. I'm working with a nutritionist, and feel that I now have a plan for the run. In previous years, I kind of 'winged it' on the run, but that doesn't fly at longer distances. I'll be using the on-course nutrition for the bike and Cliff Blocks and gels on the run. I just need to execute the training leading in to IMMT and I know good things will happen!

I want to acknowledge that my training has been very hard on Katie and Jackson. She allows me to put in the training hours and be away from home for long hours on the weekends. I'm really looking forward to when the season ends and I can sleep in and spend weekend hours with the family. However, it would be kind of nice if the season didn't end until mid October ;) If I do qualify for Kona, I'm thinking that the training won't be as intense, especially with the school year beginning two weeks after Tremblant.

Katie, Jackson, and I are heading off to France a few days after Tremblant to visit 'Uncle Ted.' We have a 12-hr layover in Dublin, which should be fun. We fly in to Barcelona, and will be away for a week. We are really looking forward to this trip right before the school year begins again.

I'll end with two pictures - one, a gorgeous view on a hike Katie and I did up in Acadia, and another of Jackson with a yet-to-be-determined superhero name - any ideas???

Challanege Quassy & Beyond

On June 7th I competed in my first Challenge event. It was well run, and I enjoyed the day. The race, which used to be a Rev3Tri event, was held at Quassy Amusement Park in Waterbury, CT, and was a great venue to bring the family to. Jackson, who is now a little over two, had a blast on Saturday during packet pick-up, bike check-in, and a brief swim I did. We were also able to get a few rides in on Sunday after the race.

Going backwards a bit, training had been going very well up until about a month ago. I had built up to close to two hour runs, and was getting in rides near 100 miles on Saturday mornings. However, after a longer 17 mile run, I noticed that my left Achilles hurt a bit. This was the same place that I had an injury four years ago, and I didn't want to take ~9 weeks off from running, as I had in the past.

I immediately called my foot doc, Neil Feldman, a 2x Kona qualifier, who is currently training for the Leadville 100 run. We started up EPAT shockwave therapy, and after three sessions the Achilles felt much better. Four years ago I went through 8 weeks of Graston Technique - that was quite painful. I'm happy to say that I've begun running again over the past week, albeit only up to 35 minutes, but so far things are fine. This coming weekend I have an hour run, and I hope that goes without any issues.

So, at Quassy I decided to forgo the run, essentially making the race an aqua-bike. I could have switched to the official aqua-bike, and would have won that by around ten minutes. However, the change fee was $25, and I felt it wasn't worth the cost. I chatted with Coach Colin, and suggested a short transition run after the bike at IM pace. I ended up doing 3 miles off the bike around 7:30 pace.

On race morning, Katie dropped me off around 5:15, then headed back to our hotel. She and Jackson were able to get about two hours of extra sleep, then return to watch me come off the bike.

I opted to start in the elite wave, which, in hindsight, probably wasn't the smartest thing considering where my swim currently is. There were 12 guys in the elite wave, and I came out of the water in around 9th, swimming 34 minutes. Last year I had my swim down to 31, and need to put in some good volume over the next two months leading into IMMT. Without anyone to really draft off I was pretty much on my own. After the 1st turn buoy I had a hard time sighting directly into the sun, and probably lost a little time there. I had been hoping to be maybe two minutes faster, but it didn't happen. I was passed by quite a few fast swimmers from the wave behind me as well, so coming out of the water, I wasn't where I hoped I'd be.

This season I picked up a PI Octane suit, feeling any extra speed would help with a KQ. Upon taking my wetsuit off I quickly realized that the 'male' side of the zipper on my Octane had torn off - awesome! I spent 2-3 minutes in transition just standing there trying to fix it - time I shouldn't have wasted, but I knew I wasn't doing the run. Still, not the best decision. As it stood, the open top was probably less aero than my old suit.

Onto the bike, I was shooting for a NP of around 300 watts since there wasn't going to be much of a run. However, I found that on such an undulating course hitting that wattage was very hard. I also had a strange pain in my left glute that bothered me for the ride - that needs to be resolved soon!

 For the first hour or so I was around 275 watts AP, but close to 290 NP. I was hitting a little over 300 on all of the climbs, but having power drop on the downs. I decided to not target a certain wattage, but to just ride the hills hard and let the wattage be what it was. For those who haven't raced Quassy, it's a pretty hilly course, with very little flat terrain.

I ended up at 260 watts AP and 274 NP, quite a bit lower power than what I usually ride for a HIM. However, the lower than expected watts resulted in the 2nd fastest bike split of the day. 2:31 sounds like a slow bike split for a HIM, but I was four minutes faster than a few people who have out-biked me in the past, and only out biked by the overall winner.

Arriving in T2, I was in 6th overall. Once off my bike I handed my timing chip to a Challenge staff member, and got ready for a leisurely run. It was quite commical as I headed out - I took a right to avoid going onto the run course and I had 10-15 people begin screaming I was going the wrong way. Without a race bib I thought it was obvious I wasn't racing anymore, but I had to explain I was nursing an injury.

After my run I was able to find Katie and Jackson and spend a little time on the rides before packing up and heading home. I'd love to give Quassy another crack in the future when I'm fully healthy. I feel that this course caters to my strength on the bike, and I think that a time close to 4:30 could be attainable.
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Looking forward, I have just over nine weeks until IMMT. My bike fitness is where it was two years ago, so I feel confident in my ability for a sub 5 hr ride. I've made a few tweaks to my bike and equipment in hopes of being a bit more slippery to the wind. As mentioned before, the new suit should help. I've also gone back to the Giro A2 helmet, which I feel is probably faster than my Lazer Tardiz. This week I installed a TriRig Omega X front brake - not a big change, but everything adds up. With a 2:18 bike split at the 70.3 WC at Tremblant, I feel that going under 5:00 should be a reasonable and attainable goal.

I'll need to increase my swim volume over this time period. I think my swim fitness is there as I swam a PR of 5:32 in 400 yds this week - I just need to ramp up the volume to make that IM swim feel relaxing and be ready to come out of the water to have a strong ride.

The real question mark will be my run. Can I bounce back and get some quality long runs in over the next two months? I'm doing everything I can to help the Achilles - lots of calf drops, rolling with TP tools, and using KT tape. Fingers are crossed that the Achilles will be happy and training will be uninterrupted heading into IMMT!

April Musings

It's now April, and tri season is rapidly approaching. The crazy amount of snow that we accumulated over the winter is finally beginning to recede and the thought of actually riding a bike outside is no longer a wishful thought. My run fitness is slowly beginning to return after the long bout of ITBS I had last season. It's not quite back to where it was two years ago, but the goal is to get there within a few months.

2015 Race Schedule & Goals

The two main races of 2015 will be the Quassy Half on June 7th (which is now run by Challenge), and IM Mont Tremblant on August 15th. Quassy is a challenging course with lots of hills, and it will be a good test of my overall fitness in a little over two months. I will also be racing the same weekend double (sprint & Olympic) on Nantucket that I did last year in mid July. Several teammates will also be heading out to the island, and it will be fun to be racing on home-soil.

My overall goal for the season is quite simple - get a spot for Kona at IMMT. However, I really feel that I have a shot at an AG win there, and will be gunning for the top spot. Based on my bike time at the 70.3 WC at Tremblant (2:18), I feel that I can go well under 5:00 on the bike course and back it up with a solid run.

Early Season Racing

I've done a few recent events that have tested the fitness I've worked on since I began working with Peak Tri Coaching in January. Colin has given me quite a bit more biking than I'm accustomed to at this time of the year, but it has paid off, as I feel that I'm stronger than I've been at this point in previous seasons. 

Three weeks ago my run training was put to the test when I ran a half marathon in New Bedford. This race is notoriously fast, with close to 200 runners each year running under 1:20. I knew I wasn't quite in 1:20 shape, but figured I could aim for a 6:12-6:15 pace. As it turned out, I finished in just over 1:23. A headwind over the last 3-4 miles derailed my chances of finishing around 1:22. Given what happened at this race last year (ITBS flared up and I didn't even finish), it was a step in the right direction, with room for improvement over the next few months. 

My bike improvement was shown recently at the TriMania event, held at MIT, where I came in 2nd overall in the 10k indoor TT. The heat I was in also had Julie Dibens, who was the key note speaker at the convention. I was hoping I could beat her, and it came down to an uphill sprint finish, where I eeked out a .02 second win in the heat. At the end of the day I was beaten by 15 seconds by a rider in the final heat. My power was also higher than in previous years at this event.

Colin, Julie, Me, Dave & Karin after our heat:

A day after the Multisport Expo Katie and I headed down to the south shore to Cohasset to run a 10k that we've done several times. Although a pretty hilly course (nearly 300 ft of elevation), it's the course I set my 10k PR on a few years ago. My goal was to set a PR, but a slightly different one. I was running with our little guy Jackson (who just turned 2) in the Chariot, and the goal was to break 40 min.

Heading into the race I e-mailed the RD, checking if a running stroller was ok. She was cool with it and on race day I headed to the front, but all the way off to one side. I got quite a few 'looks' from other runners, but knew times from previous years warranted starting near the front. As usual at the start of any road race, about half the runners in the front went out far too hard. At the .5 mile mark I had close to 100 people in front of me. By mile 2 I'd passed 70 or so of them, often getting a double look as Jackson and I went on by.

A bit after the half way point of the race the course swings inland and has a series of little punchy up and downs. I quickly realized that pushing close to 50 pounds pretty much sucked on the up hill sections. On the downhills all I could do was hang on, hitting 4:30 pace on some downhills. In the end, we nearly went under 39 min, finishing in 39:07, good for 15th overall. Without the stroller I feel I would have come pretty close to my PR of 36:34 from a few years ago. Still, it's a stroller PR!

Happy, post-race with Jackson and Katie, who set a PR in 49:08.

Between now and Quassy my sole focus is increasing my overall fitness. My swim isn't where it needs to be, but with the school year winding down, I'll be able to increase my two swims per week to three or more. I have high hopes for this season and look forward to what I can accomplish. 

Reflections on 2014

This year was one of frustration, learning and patience. After last season's failure of qualifying for Kona I had high hopes for 2014. I had put my plans for Kona on the back-burner and would focus on two key races: the Boston Marathon and 70.3 World Champs. The first race ended with many painful miles of walking to finish and the second finished quite well considering how the rest of the year had gone.

I felt that given my improved fitness last year that I could have a good result at Boston, hopefully close to 2:50. Training, which began in December, was promising. Coach Steve had me doing some workouts that included long runs with several 5k's in the middle, and I was hitting those in around 19:30. The pace felt hard, but sustainable. However, on a long run in February things came to a crushing halt.

I was on a portion of the course in Wellesley, when my left knee began to hurt. Initially, I brushed it off as one of those strange pains that seem to come and go while running every once and a while. However, after a couple miles it was getting painfully obvious that this wasn't going away. I began to walk, realizing that it was my IT Band that was the culprit. I'd had some ITB issues about four years ago, but this seemed to come from nowhere. Mileage was lower than for previous marathons, but my body wasn't happy with how I was running.

Over the next several weeks I began doing some strengthening exercises and also started to see a chiropractor for Graston and ART. Without running the leg felt fine, but when I did try to run things would start to hurt after around 40 minutes. I played with doing two shorter runs a day, but the pain persisted. As the marathon got closer I decided to try a cortisone shot, as I felt there wasn't much else to do. The shot helped a bit, but it only got me to around mile 14 before the pain returned. The last 9-10 miles of the race were pretty ugly, as I walked from the 95 overpass to Boylston St, attempting to run several times, but only making it a few hundred yards at a time. For those who have had ITBS, you know the pain. If you haven't experienced it, an easy way to picture it is having a sharp object stab into your leg with each step - fun times! Here I am saying bye to Katie and Jackson around mile 15 - it would be walking most of the way after this.

I was frustrated, and honestly didn't know what to do. After the race I took a good chunk of time off from running and tried to focus on getting my hips and glutes stronger. I also began seeing a PT instead of the chiropractor. My first triathlon didn't take place until mid July when I was on Nantucket visiting my folks. I did a sprint and an Olympic back-to-back and ran the farthest I'd run since February in once session! I only had some mild pain and felt a little hopeful.

As the rest of the summer progressed I was still optimistic. The Olympic on Nantucket gave me hope that things would get better. At the same time I was a bit depressed, and every time I saw someone running I felt a bit jealous. As mid August rolled around I was planning on racing Timberman in NH. Going into the race my longest run was 8 miles the weekend prior, and my leg hurt for the last three miles. However, on race day things went relatively well. I had a decent swim and bike and my leg only hurt mildly during the race. Of course, my pace was much slower than in the past simply due to a lack of speed and endurance - duh!

Three weeks after Timberman was the 70.3 Worlds in Tremblant. It was my third time racing at Tremblant, and I had renewed confidence after Timberman. I got in a little training between races, then Katie, Jackson & I headed up to Quebec just a week after school began (using my two personal days for the school year up in the first week!).

Race day came, and I feel things went as well as they could considering my injury and lack of training throughout the year. I had splits of 31, 2:18 and 1:33 for a 4:30 finish. Going into the year my goal was a top 25 finish in my AG - that would have meant a time of around 4:20. What if's are hard to back up, but I felt I could have been quite close to that time if the year had gone well. Here's the bike racked and ready to roll.

I feel that injuries are a time of reflection, and a time to learn something knew. In this case, I learned that my body has limitations and that I need to listen to what my body is telling me a bit more carefully. As I get older I'm realizing that it's probably a sensible idea to mix in some specific strength exercises a few times a week to target certain areas. I plan on trying to also do one yoga session each week to work a bit more on flexibility and core strength.

After Tremblant my sights were set on another race six weeks later, the Marine Corps Maraton in VA. It was to be Katie's first marathon, and my 5th. I wrote up a 18 week training plan for her, peaking with around 45 miles and two long runs of 2:40 or so in duration. I felt that she had a chance to run under 4 hours, but that pacing would be important.

In next six weeks I managed to get in a bit more run volume, and the IT Band finally seemed to start responding to my persistent strength exercises. I was able to get in around 35-40 miles a week for four weeks, including a long run of 15+ miles. I was honestly a bit more worried about getting through the marathon than for Katie to finish in a good time.

The race was to be our first night away from Jackson, and it was a little hard for Katie. We had contemplated taking Jackson and having him stay with friends in Alexandria for the day, but we are happy that we decided to have him stay at home. On race morning we were up early, and were bussed to the start near the Pentagon. We ended up being a little rushed and had to jog to the start to be on time. The race went as well as it could have, and Katie finished in 3:56. Below are the splits for the day - we actually negatively split the race. This was undoubtedly my proudest moment of the year. I can see why coaches get excited when their athletes are successful!

Since the end of October training has been pretty minimal, trying to let my injury get 100% better. I averaged around 5-6 hours a week for November, and have only recently gotten up to around 8 hrs a week. In January I'll start working with my good friend Colin Cook at Peak Tri Coaching. Over the past few years Colin has taken his own racing to an elite level, and I want a piece of that. He is also coaching a number of athletes on Northeast Multisport, my tri team, and many have set PR's under his guidance. I'm looking forward to being under his tutelage in 2015.

Back in July we bought a new house, and we moved in right after the Marine Corps Marathon. We put on an addition, redid the kitchen, refinished all the floors, and repainted most of the house. Of course, the project took around five weeks longer than 'estimated' by our GC, but everything turned out ok in the end. One of the things I was psyched about was having the space to set up a workout area that could be permanent. Here is a shot of what I've got so far.

The treadmill is new and has already come in handy on some nasty weather days when I otherwise wouldn't be able to run or would have gone the gym in the past. With a little guy in the house it's a lot easier for one of us to jump on the treadmill for 30-60 minutes at a time rather than head outside. I imagine I'll be spending a good chunk of time here over the next 3-4 months before the weather outside gets better. In a way I'm glad I'm not doing any marathon training over the winter - I've done up to 17 miles on the treadmill, but that's pushing it. I definitely prefer outside for my long runs when possible. 

Looking ahead, with Katie's blessing, I've decided to give Kona another crack in 2015. I have registered for IM Tremblant again. My goal isn't to simply qualify, but to win my AG. Of course, this is dependent on who shows up. I know there are plenty of folks in my AG that are faster. However, I feel that if I am able to execute on race day, including nutrition (which was lacking in 2013), there aren't many people who I can't beat. I'm all to aware that IM racing can come down to seconds in terms of a KQ, and I'm hoping that this time around I won't be concerned with such a small fraction of the race day determining my end goal. One thing I've learned is that time goals in IM are pretty meaningless. It is who finishes first at the end of the day, and I plan on being damn close to that. 

I was surprised a bit this year by my ability to come close to a HIM PR in Tremblant given my low overall training volume. Here are the training volumes for the past two years:

                  SWIM                BIKE                RUN

2013:    510,000 yds        4,750 miles     1,660 miles

2014     298,000 yds        3,160 miles     1,190 miles

The overall number of hours is nearly 200 less this year. I guess that consistent training over the previous four years was able to help me out a bit. Numbers should rebound next year to be closer to the 2013 levels. 

I want to thank Steve Johnson of DarkHorse MultiSport for coaching me in 2013 and through September of 2014. His insight was helpful and I have become a better athlete as a result of working with him. THANKS STEVE!!

Here is to a happy 2015! I hope that I am able to take the lessons I've learned, move forward, and become a more resilient athlete in the future. 

Europe, Timberman & 70.3 WC

Looking back, it's been a little over three months since my last post. Many things have transpired since then. First, we took a two week trip to England, Scotland & Iceland, which was amazing. We managed to see Wimbledon, Henley, and the Tour de France on three consecutive days while in England. Scotland was quite the contrast as we were staying in a mountainous area, and all of my runs were quite hilly. I also managed to swim in a chilly Scottish Loch. Our two days in Iceland were breathtaking, and is definitely on our list of places to revisit. 

Here Jackson and I are waiting for the peleton to ride by in Ripon on day 1 of the TDF:

While on our trip we were constantly in contact with our bank and lawyer, as we were selling and buying a new house on the same day. In the end everything worked out, and we closed on both the sale and purchase on July 31st. During this period of time we traveled down to visit my parents on Nantucket Island, where I did a weekend double of a sprint on Saturday and an Olympic on Sunday. On limited fitness, I was able to win my AG in both races, but was a far way off from where I would have liked my fitness to be. Having not biked for our two weeks away, having limited swimming, and battling an IT Band injury, I took the races in stride.

I was able to get in a decent five weeks or so of training prior to Timberman in mid August. My long rides were up to around 3 hours, but my runs were short, getting in 20 or less miles per week. My longest run was 8.5 miles a week prior to Timberman, and that was cut short because my IT Band hurt. I wasn't going into the race with much optimism.

TIMBERMAN:

Race day arrived, and I drove the hour and half from the in-laws condo in Jackson, NH to the race site, where I'd racked my bike the previous day. My swim time was a shade over 33 min - probably about what my swim fitness warranted, and I got on the bike feeling like it was time to hammer. Normally, I'm able to average in the 275-280 watt range for a HIM, but my bike legs still hadn't returned, and I averaged 256 watts, still giving me a 2:22 ride. Not awful, but I had definitely been hoping to be around 2:17-2:18.

Heading into T2 I had no clue how my body would respond. This was to be my longest run since April. The run course at Timberman is some rolling terrain with some flatter sections at the turnarounds. I was hoping to be in the low 1:30's, but my pace gradually faded and I ended up with a 1:36 run. My IT Band didn't hurt that much and really played no role in my run. The lack of run fitness and overall run volume was the main culprit here. My total race time was 4:35, good for 8th in the AG and 56th overall.

I felt like Timberman was a good test for Tremblant three weeks later. I had a little confidence in my run getting a bit faster if I was able to be relatively pain free. In between the two races, school started up again and Katie and I returned to the classroom, both of us teaching 3rd grade this year. Jackson also returned to daycare and the days of less sleep returned.

After two weeks of school, we headed up towards Tremblant on a Thursday evening, spending the night in Burlington along the way. We arrived in Tremblant around noon time on Friday, and I waited in the long registration line. Eventually, we were able to get into our hotel, which was literally feet from the run course and about a two minute walk from transition. I highly recommend staying in the village to anyone who is racing the 70.3 or 140.6. This was our third time there for a race, and it's very convenient to park your car and be able to get everywhere by foot.

I got in a short run Friday evening, then a short swim and ride on Saturday morning. I was able to catch up with Colin a bit on Saturday, and I've decided that I'll be working with him in 2015. My goal for next year is quite simple - get to Kona. Two main areas of focus going forward will be strength, especially working on getting over the IT Band issues, and nutrition for IM racing. Of course, there will probably be a fair bit of training thrown in there as well.

70.3 World Champs at Mont Tremblant:

Race morning arrived, and I headed down to breakfast, which opened at 5 AM for athletes. With the 8 AM pro start, I was actually able to go back to bed for an hour before heading to transition to set up my bike. Next stop was back to the hotel to say bye to Katie and Jackson and put on my wetsuit. It was only around 45 degrees, so I wanted to have my wetsuit on for the walk to the beach.

The start at this race was cool as usual. The fly over by a fighter jet was quickly followed by the pro start. I got in a short warmup then headed to the start with some of the fastest guys in the world. Strangely, I wasn't nervous. Maybe it was because I had no real expectations or because I had an injury plagued season. My plan was to stick to the middle of the swim course and try to find some feet to pull me around the 1.2 miles.

Swim:

It turned out being my best HIM swim to date - I felt nice and relaxed and was able to do a little bit of drafting. With most racers being better than me it wasn't hard to find some feet to try and hold on to. I was pretty happy to come out of the water and see 31 min on my watch. Hopefully next year I'll be able to get down to around 30 min.

Look at all those people exiting the water who got to draft off me!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/585515112

Bike:

The run into T1 was pretty long, but I was able to pass a few folks, get my things on relatively quickly, and get out onto the bike course, where I quickly realized my bike legs were going to show up. The bike was pretty uneventful and I was pretty happy with the bike ride. I was about 4 min faster than on this course two years ago on similar power. I think I was smarter about my power output since this was my third time on this course (70.3 and 140.6 in last two years).

There were tons of draft packs that formed with 50+ riders in them. Luckily I was able to avoid them, but kind of disappointing to see.

This course has rolling hills for a majority of the ride. There is a seven or so mile stretch that is slightly uphill on the way out and downhill on the way back. On this section I was able to cruise at around 24 mph on the way out and 28 or so on the way back. On the climbs I tried to keep the wattage below 350, but that was pretty hard, especially on the steeper stuff in the last 10k out and back near the village.

Right around the time we passed the village and headed out for the last little turn around I was passed by 5-6 guys who were riding strong. I decided I'd do my best to stick with them, and I ended up riding legally with them, passing on some of the downs and being passed on the ups. Chris Thomas was one of the guys, and I hung with him on this last bit. He has won his AG at worlds before, so being able to ride at his pace for the last 20k was kind of cool.

Bike Profile:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/585504546

I went through 28 miles in 1:07, but knowing the course, realized I had no shot at a 2:14 split. The second half of the ride has more elevation gain, and I rode that part in 1:11. Looking back at the data I probably could have been slightly above 280 watts and still had a similar run - my avg HR was only 154, and it is usually in the upper 150's for a HIM.

Power Profile - Notice how I only had around 10-12 spikes of 400+ watts over the first 45 miles, but nearly 15 in the last 11 or so miles where there were some steep, punchy out of the saddle climbs:

I came off the bike feeling good, but had no clue how the run would go.The overall time on my watch heading into transition was around 2:55.

Run:

I decided to target a 7ish pace, and was able to hit that for the most part on the first loop. The run course was changed for this race from a single loop to a double loop. By doing this they essentially doubled the elevation, as the omitted part was virtually a flat 3-mile out and back. Each of the two loops included a nasty little hill near the lake that was hit in both directions, and a steep climb in the pedestrian village.

At the end of the first loop I was right around 45:30 on my watch, and had the hope that running the same time for the second loop would sneak me under the 4:30 mark for the day. Two years ago I went 4:35 in the 70.3, so I was confident I'd be able to beat that time. Unfortunately, on the second loop my lack of run fitness caught up to me and I ended up around 47 min.

I feel that if I hadn't been injured a good run on this course would have been around 1:25-1:27 and a time in the low 4:20's. However, I was still pleased with my overall race given my fitness and lack of training this year compared with last year.

Slightly Bumpy Run Profile:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/585515159

My overall time was 4:30:27, good for 60th in the M35-39 and 366th overall. My goal at the start of the season had been a top 25 AG placing at this race. Looking at times, 25th in my AG was 4:20. Had training gone well this season, I could have been a little quicker on the bike and with a solid run I think I would have been pretty close to that time.

Right as I crossed the finish some guy sprinted by and did a flying karate kick, and ended up sliding down the finish ramp on his knees. Quite the photo bomb!

Moving forward, I'll be running the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October, pacing my wife Katie in her first marathon. My run training will be quite light over the next six weeks, but I should be able to get through the marathon, hopefully getting Katie a finish somewhere in the 4:00-4:30 range.

November and December will be a time to begin to really focus on working on strength training, getting my injury dealt with, and looking forward to starting to train for IMMT in 2015. I'm definitely hoping that 2015 is a much better season than 2014 has been.

Injuries and Setbacks.....

Well, here it is close to the end of June, and my season has been one to forget. Going into 2014 I had high expectations of having a fast Boston Marathon that would lead into a great tri season. Instead, the injury bug got me in February, and really hasn't let up.

It all began with a slight calf issue that developed on a longer treadmill run due to crappy winter weather. About ten days off seemed to alleviate the calf issue, but just a few weeks later I developed some IT Band pain on a long run on the Boston course. Several years ago I had a slight IT Band issue, but it resolved itself and hasn't returned since. However, this injury was here to stay. Going into Boston I was severely undertrained and was receiving Graston and ART twice a week. I even ended up getting a cortisone shot a week before the race.

I was also doing strengthening exercises for my hips and glutes, but nothing really seemed to help. I was able get a bit farther than expected without the knee pain associated with IT Band issues setting in. As a result, I ended up walking the last 9 miles, not wanting to drop out. My time of 4:38 was quite pathetic. I had been hoping for a 2:50-2:55 time based on results from last year, but it wasn't to be.

After Boston we headed off for five days in Bermuda, where I took it very easy, just swimming and getting in a nice mountain bike ride. Under Steve's guidance, I took off four weeks from running, then began to ease back into it slowly. However, after about ten days I got the pre-pain feeling on my IT Band. Thereafter followed another three weeks without running, where I ramped up my biking and swimming. I slowly began running again about two weeks ago, but only 15-20 minute runs, and still no pain - yeah!!!!

My first tri of the season, Patriot HIM, became an aqua bike. However, ten days prior to the race I came down with a nasty sinus infection and what may be allergies. I was prescribed Benadryl, Amoxicillin, Zyrtec, Flonase, and Sudafed. Quite the assortment of pills! I wasn't able to swim for that period leading into the race, and it showed. I had a crappy 36 min swim and jumped on my bike, looking forward to a 56 mile TT. I was doing well, averaging a bit over 25 mph when I got a rear flat around mile 27.5. I fixed it quickly, but only four miles later got another rear flat. It turns out my rear tire was rubbing on my chainstay and the sidwall of the tire was worn to the tube. Dejected, I began trudging back to transition and was luckily picked up by the bike support truck.

That leads into where I am currently, ten days post DNF. We are headed off for a two week trip to England, Scotland and Iceland in two days. I hope to increase my run volume while away and also hope fo find some pools to swim in. What I'm most excited about is seeing the TDF, which is starting in England this year.

I'm hoping that the trip will be a turning point, and I'll be able to attack the second half of my 2014 season, starting with a weekend double on Nantucket in mid July. After that it's Timberman 70.3 in August, then 70.3 WC three weeks later. I really hope that I have my run legs back by September and am able to place reasonably well in my AG.

Things won't be that easy training wise, as we are selling our house and closing on a new house at the end of July. We'll be moving in with the in-laws for a short time while some work is done on our new home. Hopefully, it'll be a reasonably short stay and the work on our new house gets done without any major issues.!!!