Epic Multisport

NEW SITE!!!

2007-11-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks for checking in!
I have been hard at work putting up a new site.
It is finally up and running and you can check it out at http://web.mac.com/epicaj
I have done it all on my own, so please be kind. If you find anything that needs to be fixed
or that you think I should change, please let me know.
Be kind!!

Thanks,

AJ

Catching up

2007-10-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile since my last post. There hasn't been anything too pressing to write about, but I have been having a good time. Overall I have been training a bit here and there, working on some sponsorship resumes and doing some long needed projects around the house.
On the 6th of October, Court and I raced the first FitBeats Metro Mile. My newest sponsor, Fit Beats, put on a great mile around the town of Glendale, just outside of Denver. We both raced for fun and to help out with the race. In addition to the race, the entry fee included entry into the Glendale Raptors Vs. Denver Highlanders in rugby. Glendale has the nicest rugby stadium in the country, and it really is something to see. We watched both games, the first was a tie, and the second was the B game, and they don't keep score. Rugby is certainly a fun game to watch, but I don't think you'll find me on the pitch any time soon.
We also went back to Iowa for the Iowa/Illinois football game. I grew up in Iowa City, and Court and I met there at school. Plus, Court's sister and brother in law went to Iowa as well, so along with Courtney's parents we had a fun trip. Iowa won, we had a great time tailgaiting and we got to see the campus again. Having lived there for 23 years, I like to come back as often as possible. Many things have changed, but in general, it's always the same. I can remember what restaurant used to be where, and where the campus buildings are. I am grateful that I was able to spend my entire childhood, teenage and college years in Iowa CIty.
How about the race in Hawaii this year? What an odd day for the favorites and one huge upset on the women's side. A big congrats goes to Kelly, whom I swim with in the mornings. She won her age group and had another fast day. She posted a 3:19 marathon! Congrats also to Mark, Billy and Scott, all of whom had solid days as well. I really did miss being on the Island. The energy and buzz is something that I love to be around. Not feeling that this year made things difficult at times. I tried not to think about it too much, but I also wanted to keep up with all the news. I will take that feeling with me for the coming season and use it fuel my quest to return to Kona as a pro.
Finally, I hope to be moving this site soon. I am currently working on a new site that will make it easier for me to update and look more professional. I will keep you posted.

Crested Butte

2007-09-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

This photo is from our first trip to Crested Butte. The leaves were suppossed to be peaking so we drove down HWY 285, which is a great drive in itself, and pulled into CB around 5. I was immediately impressed with what I saw. A lot of people on townie bikes, a local community, funky architechture, beautiful mountains and some great weather. Figuring that the town wouldn't be too busy on a Wednesday, we left without hotel reservations. I assumed that a hotel wouldn't be hard to find, but I was wrong. Apparently all of the hotels are up by the ski restort, Mt. Crested Butte. Driving around the town for 15 minutes it was decided that we should have dinner first and ask our sever where we should stay. We grabbed an outside table at the Brick Oven Pizza where the locals were having some beers after knocking off of work. It was pretty easy to spot the locals, old Carhartt work jeans, dirty sweatshirt, beard, hat and covered in saw dust, dirt and/or paint. These are the guys that build the condos/townhomes and mansions in the summer, then ski all winter. Most drive an old truck or SUV that has at least 2 pieces of outdoor equipment on the roof. Most of the locals I saw looked happy with where they were in their life. For some reason I really dig that sort of vibe. These people typically don't have much in the way of luxury but they have what they need to be happy. It's a good lesson to learn. After dinner we asked our sever where we should stay. She recommended a little B&B just down the road. Unfortunately they were booked! The innkeeper recommended a lodge down the road. Thankfully they not only had a room, but a hot tub and a free breakfast. We brought our bag in and hit the hot tub. After a nice soak it was time for some reading and sleep.
We woke up around 7 and made our way to breakfast. It was quite the spread! There was a big round table that seated about 12, several smaller tables and some couches to boot. Breakfast was homemade French toast with thick raisin and cinnamon bread, sausage, hard boiled eggs, muffins, rolls, muesli, cereal and of course coffee. I did my best to not make a pig of myself, but I did sample a bit of everything. After breakfast Court and I went for a little walk on the outskirts of town. It was a beautiful, cloudless day and the sun was out. Most of the locals were heading to work in their trucks, and some of the women were cruising to work on their townies. Next on our agenda was a trip up Kebler Pass. All of the books we read suggested this drive if you wanted to see some good leaves. So up we went and we were not disappointed. We pulled off at several points and snapped away. Back at the hotel we changed into our riding clothes and hit the trail. Court found a trail online that was supposed to be easy and was described as perfect for townies and single speeds. As is the norm, the description was way off. Three or four miles donwn the trail it got pretty sketchy. Court was trooper and got way out of her comfort zone to keep going forward. Fortunately it didn't last too long and we were on a nice open road. After the ride we had lunch, walked around the shops a bit, then headed back home. The trip was a great time and I really enjoy Crested Butte. I will be back there in November for sure. They have a program in the first 3 weeks of November where everyone skis for free. How cool is that?
As for my training, it's been on and off. I am just doing what I feel like, when I feel like it. I'm not too worried as I need to listen to my body right now. It looks like I will race the SilverMan 1/2 IM on Nov. 11, but it's not 100% yet. I am going to take it day by day for now.

New bikes, cross and 2008

2007-09-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

These pics are of Kuota's 2 newest bikes. The first shot is from Paul Thomas, Kuota's National Sales Manager. The Kueen K is Normann Stadler's new weapon for the Ironman World Championships. The bike looks ridiculously fast. The 2nd bike is their new cyclocross bike. I am hoping to pick one up in November.
In the last few days I have learned a lot about recovering from multiple IM's so close together. The first thing I learned was that even if I feel good on the bike, keep it very, very low key. On Tuesday I went for an easy spin. I didn't bring a watch and I ended up going for 2 1/2 hours. It was all easy, but that night I was tired. Wednesday morning I woke up and felt exhausted. After breakfast I tried to get going, but I just didn't have the energy. At 9 I went back to bed and ended up sleeping until 12:30! I would have slept longer too but Court and I had signed up for a class at the Mac store. We learned about iMovie, and Court bought me an early birthday gift, the new iPhone. It is ridiculously cool and I still haven't figured out all it can do. Anyways, so even an easy effort takes a lot out of me. I'm feeling stronger, but I still need to keep it dialed back no matter how good I feel at the time.
That being said, if I feel good I am going to race some cyclocross on Sunday. Court is going to race on Saturday and I will race on Sunday. I am borrowing a bike from my friend and client Frank. The guy is seriously fast on a bike. On Sunday he raced his first cross race and was in 3rd until a flat tire slowed him up. I did a quick wheel change for him and he was able to hold on to 4th. It was an impressive showing.
With my spare time I have been able to do a bit more around the house, get some work things sorted out, and think about my '08 season. My lawn looks good, the garage is clean and I have some great new ideas for D3 Multisport. I was also able to attend a great USAT coaching clinic at the Colorado Springs OTC. It was about running off the bike by Bobby McGee. I have been lucky enough to work with Bobby in the past and he is amazing. The clinic was great and I got so much good information that it will take me weeks to get it all.
I am already looking forward to racing next year. This year was a big disappointment for me and I feel like another season has slipped away. I am searching around for a coach and trying to plan out my race schedule. This year I travelled more than I ever have, and having a coach to see the big picture would have been very helpful. Looking back at the year I see some points where if I had rested, or done some different work leading to IM things may have been different. Or they could have been worse, you never know. I think too many people think that if they had just done something different, things would have worked out better. Maybe, but they may have turned out worse. I get frustrated when I look back and see the mistakes I made. It's tough to know that you have more than your results show. I guess I need to use that to fuel a successful 2008.

More Racing!

2007-09-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

Thankfully I wasn't racing, I was just spectaing. Last Saturday Court and I went to the Highlands Ranch Oktoberfest. Why is it in September? I think it's because by October the weather can be very unpredictable. Anyways, we hit Oktoberfest at 2:30 and quickly grabbed an authentic white sausage, sauerkraut and German potato salad. It was from a place called Helga's, and man was it good. We saw their restaurant menu and they had Radler and ColaWeissen! We grabbed an Erdinger and sat down to eat.
At 3, it was the main event. The ever popular sport of Daschund racing! That's right, they had 16 little weiner dogs race about 10 yards. I guess last year they tried to race about 30 yards, but the dogs couldn't finish or got distracted. There were 4 heats of 4 dogs. One person would hold the dog at the start, while their husband or wife was at the finish line with a tennis ball, hot dog or dog toy. The racing was tight and the winner of each heat went into the finals. The last race went to the wire, and the Daschund that won last year was again triumphant. A true dynasty in weiner dog racing. I can't wait for this event next year.
From there we went to the Parker Oktoberfest! Again, another Erdinger, but no authentic German food. Instead it was Boston Market, not bad, but not great. The great thing about the Parker Oktoberfest was that it was in conjunction with the Parker Crit. So we got to drink, eat and watch some really fast racing. The first race we saw was the kids race. The girl with the 10 speed bike destroyed all the others on their BMX bikes, some with training wheels still. What struck me was the little kid that came in 3rd. When he stopped in front of his parents he was in tears. I thought maybe he fell, but he was upset that he didn't win! He was yelling that he lost, despite the 10-15 kids that came in behind him, he was inconsolable. The parents were trying to show him the kids that he beat, and told him that the 2 kids in front of him were older, but to no avail. I struck me that this kid may just have the attitude it takes to be a champion some day! Thankfully 20 minutes later I saw him running around with his friends with a big smile on his face.
The men's Pro Cat 1/2 race was super fast and was practically in the dark! They started at around 7 and rolled around for an hour before it finished in vicious sprint. Taylor Phinney, the 17 year old prodigy and recent World Junior TT champ showed why he's a talent to look for in the future. He didn't win, but he was certainly up front and pushing the pace.
Sunday was an early day as we both went to the Harvest Moon 1/2 IM. I had 2 athletes racing in preparation for IM Florida and I wanted to support them. Plus, Court was shooting, so why not make a day of it? Both of my clients had strong showings, which was a great sigh of relief. I really get nervous when I watch a client or Court race.
This week I have started to bike a bit and swim. I feel good and will be ready to go for the Soma 1/2 IM in Tempe, Az. on Oct. 28. In between I will be racing some cyclocross events. I started racing cyclocross last year and had a blast. I grew up racing BMX bikes on a local and national level, so getting back to some techincal riding brings me back to the good old days.
Now it's all about having a good time and training when I feel like it. After a full week off I was really looking forward to getting back into some training. The crisp fall air really energizes me and gets me moving. I hope that everyone gets a chance to enjoy this time of year!

Train Safe!

AJ

IM MOO Race Report

2007-09-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

I am still in a bit of shock about my race at IM Wisconsin. Having never done 2 IM's so close together, I didn't know what to expect. I thought that I would be OK in the swim and bike, and then struggle through the run. Honestly, I wasn't even sure I would start the run. The thought of struggling through another IM run and still finish out of the money was not appealing.
Courtney and I flew to Chicago early on Thursday and made our way to her parents house. I put the bike together, got the gear organized and we headed out for a great Asian dinner. Friday morning we started the 2 hour drive to Madison. The weather was good and the trip uneventful. We went straight to the Monona Terrace, which is where the registration, transition area and expo were. I got registered, grabbed a quick bite and went to the Pro Meeting. At the meeting I met up with Paul Fritzche, who I used to train with a bit when we both lived in Boulder. He is now in State College, PA. and I only see him at some races. He looked fit and was ready to race. The big news at the meeting was that wetsuits would not be allowed for the Pro's. The water was over 72 degrees, so by USAT rules wetsuits were out. I was REALLY glad that I grabbed my BlueSeventy PointZero3 before I left.
After taking care of business we drove to the house. Scott, Steve, Sue and Kim were all staying there as well so I knew it would be a fun crew. The house was about 20 minutes away and right on Lake Kegonsa. Right away I notice some "motivational" materials posted on the fridge, and lots of post race goodies. Five of us piled into the rented SUV and made our way around the bike course. I raced here in 2002, so I remembered some sections but was glad to see the course again. It's mostly rolling with some BIG rollers and 2 good climbs thrown in for good measure. It's the slowest IM bike course I have been on for sure. After that we had a great dinner with some wine and dessert. Only 1 glass of red for me and no dessert!
Saturday was uneventful. I got in the water for 15 minutes, and felt good. After the swim I chatted with Ben from BlueSeventy and he hooked me and Court up with some visors and shirts. I went back to the house, had a nice big breakfast, got the gear bags ready, then went for a short bike/run brick. It was only the 3rd time I had run in the 2 weeks after IM Lou.
We drove back to the Terrace to check the bike and bags in. I bumped into Ben again and he asked me if I knew anyone that was still scrambling for a suit. I told him that Paul was in need of one still. Sure I am racing against him, but he's been a great friend and I know what a difference that suit can make. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Bike and bag check in went quickly and I was back at the house with my feet up in no time. I was feeling excited to race. My body had really come around in the 2 weeks since IM Louisville and while I didn't feel fast, I felt strong. It's odd to go into an IM with it not being an A priority race. I had no pressure and wasn't super nervous about what the day would bring. Dinner was some rice, chicken and mashed potatos, yum! My phone rang and it was Paul thanking me for letting Ben know that he needed a suit. Apparently Ben saw Paul at the terrace and handed him a suit to use on race day. I was glad I could help Paul out and told him if he won he had to thank me during his speech.
On to race day! I woke up around 4 and had my usual breakfast of hot cereal, organic toaster pastries, coffee and sipped on some FRS Energy Drink. I packed up the last minute stuff and started the drive. We parked about 2 blocks from transition and made our way to body marking and the bikes. I got to my Kuota, pumped up the tires and went to put the bottles in the cages. But, for the first time in 10 IM's, I had forgotten them in the fridge! Oddly, I wasn't really bothered by this. Quickly I went into damage control and set out to find a solution. Two weeks ago I had ordered a new drink from the makers of Carbo Pro. It's basically a concentrate of 1200 calories in 16 oz! I had tried some the day before as it is a great way to carb load leading to the race. I had never used this stuff before, but right now it was all I had. I had left a bottle in the car that was about a 50/50 mix. So now I had 1 bottle that had around 400 calories. I figured it was the best I could do. I let that snafu go and started to make my way to the swim start. After a short jog and some muscle activation movements got the PointZero3 suit on and hit the water. I felt very fluid and quick from the first stroke. That gave me a lot of confidence that this was going to be a good day for me.
The pros lined up and soon the cannon fired. I had a clean and clear start, like I had my own lane. The pack was moving along and quickly selections were being made. I was in the front pack, but falling off quickly. One athlete went by me and I thought, "these are the feet I need to follow". I tried my best, but didn't have that extra gear. Another swimmer went by and again I tried to stick with him. It didn't happen and soon I was on my own. This was not good. Thankfully I saw another swimmer to my right so I slowed up for a few strokes and tucked in. I stayed there for as long as I could, but then my draft stopped so I would have to do the work. This put me back into the situation I didn't want, but I had no choice. Thankfully this athlete quickly realized that I was not moving quickly and resumed pulling. Starting the 2nd lap I did a backstroke turn at the bouy and saw another 8-10 athletes right behind us. Soon I was swallowed by the pack and thankfully was able to sit in for the remainder of the swim. I wasn't wearing a watch so I had no idea of my time (turns out it was 59:30). There were some other guys around me that I knew like Curt Cheseney and Blake Becker. I took this as a good sign and ran up the helix to T1.
I grabbed my helmet and ran for my Kalibur. I started of conservatively and let Blake go by me with no effort to stay with him. To my surprise Dave Harju went by me around mile 5. From there some more guys went by me, but I stuck to my plan of going easy and getting my nutrition down. My CarboPro mix was tasting good and staying down. About mile 20 a German athlete went by me and I ended up sitting about 15-25 meters back of him for the next hour or so. In Louisville I was racing on my own, so it was a relief to have other athletes around. Plus I could see 2-3 athletes ahead of me on certain sections. I was in good spirits and felt surprisingly strong. I was hoping to bide my time, then go harder on the 2nd loop. Unfortunately when we hit the first big climb I fell back a bit. I realized that I was not going to be able to hold my pace for the second loop, but my nutrition was still spot on. I was taking in gels and the mix for about 400 calories per hour. I had also placed some small Snickers in my special needs bag. A big thanks to my Mother in law for packing the Snickers for me. I usually love them for post race, but I thought I should try something new. Going through special needs I grabbed my 2 new bottles, a gel and my Snickers. That little bar was the tastiest thing I have ever eaten. Unfortunately it didn't go down too well, but it did stay down. My 2 bottles consisted of 1 containing 400 calories from PowerBar Endurance and Carbo Pro powder. The 2nd bottle was something I have used in training, but never a race. I call it the Red Bomb. It is equal parts Fruit Punch Gatorade and Mountain Dew Code Red. Typically, Gatorade doesn't go well for me, but when it's diluted, I can handle it. Plus I like the taste and just a little bit of carbonation.
I had gone through the 1st 56 miles on pace for a 5:05 bike. That was motivating, but I knew I would slow down. Plus, the wind was whipping up and coming from all directions. On the second lap I passed a lot of age groupers, but it was mostly uneventful. I was going back and forth on whether or not to start the run. My legs felt good, but I was worried about doing too much damage. Plus I knew I was well behind the leaders. I had told Court that if I wasn't in the top ten off the bike, I wouldn't start the run. I never dreamed that I would actually feel decent and want to run. Quickly I decided that I would at least start the run. The course takes you into Camp Randall, the Wisconsin Badgers football field, and it's a really neat feature. For some reason I really wanted to run on Camp Randall.
I took my time in T2, got ready and took off. I started easy to find my rhythm. To my surprise I felt strong and my stride was quick and short. Not having a watch on I didn't know my pace, which was a good thing. I just went as hard as I thought I should. I saw Courtney on a motorcycle and just shrugged my shoulders to say " I don't know what's going on!".Soon I was entering Camp Randall. Running on the field is great because the artificial grass is so soft. I grew up in Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa, and I went to college there. As a matter of pride I sang the Iowa FIght Song out loud. It was a little something to keep me having fun. From there you make your to Observatory hill down to State St. which is always lined with people out having lunch and enjoying the day. On that section I saw the lead guys, and Paul was in 4th! I shouted some encouragement to him. There is a lot of energy in the air on State St. and it's easy to feel good on this seciton. After this section it's pretty flat and I was really feeling fluid. My nutrtion was going great. I had eaten another Snickers in T2 and had another at mile 10. In between I was drinking Coke, water and putting down some gels. My plan was to push when I could, then slow a bit to get my nutrtion down. Occassionally I would walk an aid station, slam 3 cokes, some water and set off hard. I was very focused mentally. I have done more than one IM run where I kind of space out mentally. After 7-8 hours of exertion, it can be hard to keep your mind on the job at hand. I was taking inventory of what nutrition I had on me, what I felt like, what I had just taken in, etc. Without the watch I didn't know how fast or slow I was going, but I realized that without the watch the run feels like it goes by quicker. When I would pass a mile marker, I didn't think about how many miles I had left, or how long I had been running already, I just kept focused. Running through Camp Randall the 2nd time, I again sang the Iowa Fight Song, only this time there were others around to hear me. I didn't care since it kept me motivated. I was still having fun. I saw the lead guy go by again, and the next guy was Paul! I was psyched to see him having such a good day and I knew he was going to finish strong. I was really enjoying my run. No one was passing me and I wasn't feeling bad at all. I felt the same as I did in Kona in 2005 when I ran a 3:04. Granted I wasn't running that fast, but the feeling was the same.
When I hit mile 18 I pushed as hard as I could. It hurt, but at the same time it was rewarding to feel that strong that late in the marathon. I have always wanted to feel that good at the end, and I even ran hard up the Observatory Hill. I wanted to keep pushing super hard and turn myself inside out, but I thought better of it. I was still a ways from the finish, and did I really need to damage myself to go 3 minutes faster? After 3 miles of tough running I slowed to get in some nutrition for the last push home. The last miles seemed to go on a bit longer, but I was looking forward to hitting that finish line.
I soaked up the last 1/4 mile and enjoyed the last steps to the line. I never dreamed that I would have a strong run, 10 minutes faster than IM Lou.
Post race festivities were a blast. Court and I found Paul and we ended up eating roast beef, potatos, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, coffee and pastries in the V.I.P. area by the finish line. It was nice to be sitting down with real food and something warm to drink. Poor Paul couldn't go 10 ft. without someone congratulating him and wanting to chat with him. I guess that's a good problem to have though as it means you finished well. Paul had to go and hand out medals to some of the later finishers, so Court and I met up with the rest of the crew. Everyone had a good day of racing and was ready to have some fun. I have never seen the last finisher at an IM. The closest was at Kona 2 years ago when Court and I stayed until 10:30. This time we were in the stands cheering people on. I was really glad we stayed as we got to see 78 year old Frank Farrar cross the line in 16:58. It was truely inspiring to watch this guy cross the line. He even gave a short interview right after and was a funny guy.
I am extremely happy with how the race went. My goals were to solve some issues that plagued me in Roth and Louisville, and I think I did that. My nutrition went well, I was focused for the entire run and I had a fun time racing. I love Madison and will definitely race IM MOO again.
I feel OK right now and am already looking for another race or 2 to finish off the tri season. I will be racing a good number of 'Cross races as well. I raced BMX when I was young so I enjoy the technical riding. I will start looking back and analyzing the season and what I need to do to reach that next level.
Thanks for the support!

Pre Race

2007-09-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

A quick update before IM # 3 for the year. The legs don't feel especially fast, but they do feel strong. So I guess I will take what I can get tomorrow. I am actually excited to put it on the line again. It is definitely odd to be racing an IM without it being an A priority race. It means there is no pressure, so I am going to try some new stuff and see what happens. No matter what goes on tomorrow I will be satisfied with the effort. I had a bit of luck as I remembered at the last minute to bring my BlueSeventy PointZero3 suit. It turns out that the water is too warm for the Pro's to be using wetsuits, so I am glad I packed it. Remember you can follow my progress on Ironmanlive.com. I am # 7, hopefully lucky #7. I will update as soon as I am able!

Yours In Sport,

AJ

The Ideal Taper

2007-09-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

With IM Wisconsin looming this coming weekend Courtney and I headed for the mountains. Before Louisville we planned on heading up to Beaver Creek for their annual Oktoberfest. Why it's in early Sept. I don't know. I love going to Beaver Creek when I can. Courtney and I were married there at Allie's Cabin, up on the mountain. Every time I go back I dream of buying a small condo there so we can be there more often. Plus, this time of the year the weather is perfect. The mountains are green, there is a bit of a nip in the morning air and it seems so fresh.
We head out on Saturday morning, fought a bit of traffic on I 70 and checked into the Hyatt around 1. We immediately made our way to the food, beer and fun. I was a bit disappointed as some of the food stands had tacos and barbecue, not quite the German food I expected. Fortuately there were other stands with some great food. I grabbed a bratwurst with sauerkraut and an Oktoberfest beer. Courtney went straight for the gigantic Stein O' Beer. It was about 24 oz. of beer in a cool Beaver Creek stein. We sat down and enjoyed some Oompa music from a band that came from Austria. They were completely done up in the laterhosen, hats and socks. The beer settled in and we both got tired so he hit the room for a nap. Yeah, we are lightweights!
After a refreshing snooze we went back out, listened to a new band and played some putt putt golf. Courtney whooped me pretty bad. I wasn't happy about it either! Our hotel had a big fire ring going and all the goodies for S'mores! Court had 1, and I tried 1 of the homemade marshmellows with M&M's in it. Dinner was at the Dusty Boot and the halibut was great.
We went back to the hotel where the fire was still going. There were some Adirondack chairs out for everyone to relax and enjoy. We found some chairs and got a drink. Beaver Creek isn't the cheapest place. Our 2 hot chocolates, mine with whiskey, Court's with Schnapps, were 22 bucks!!
My plan for the morning was to sleep as long as possible. That didn't really happen as my stomach was growling around 6:15. Breakfast didn't start until 7, so I snuggled with Court a bit longer. We headed down right at 7, but the day was so nice I wanted to take a stroll first. I love the crisp mountain air in the morning, and the quite feel to the day. I love getting up early to feel that calm energy and the anticipation of what the day brings. We didn't walk too long and soon we were back at the hotel for breakfast. Court was a trooper and sat outside even though she was a bit chilly. My nice warm coffee warmed me up, but she had a Coke. I ordered the Swiss Muesli and the Breakfast Sandwich off the kid's menu. Nothing beats an english muffin with an egg and cheese. I felt a bit silly ordering something from the kiddie menu, but our waitress said it was really good. Breakfast was great and we took our time watching the light come over the mountain. Plus, we could just barely see Allie's Cabin from our seats.
Finally we packed the few things we brought, checked out and headed for the Vail Farmer's Market. It's a pretty big market with all sorts of produce, goods and knick knacks to buy. One of the restaurants had Erdinger Beer on tap, so despite it being only 11, we stopped in for a beer. We grabbed a table outside and ordered. I had a machiato, and Court went with a ColaWeissen, which is 1/2 Heffeweissen and 1/2 Coke. It sounds odd, but if you like Coke, it really is pretty good. Court got addicted to them during our time in Germany, so when she saw the Erdinger on tap, it was a no brainer. We had to explain to our waiter what exactly she wanted, but it came out great. After the drinks we did a bit more meandering and then headed for the SilverThorne Outlets. I was pretty shopped out so Court kept it mercifully short.
All in all it was a great weekend. I like this taper method alot, although I don't think I will be using it too much in the future. The legs feel pretty decent overall, although I have only run once since IM Lou, and that was for a very painful 30 minutes. We shall see what happens on race day!

Generosity and a new mission

2007-08-29T10:48:00.001-07:00

This year I have been the recipient of countless acts of generosity from friends, family and even complete strangers.
It occurred to me that in all of my travelling to different races, I have yet to stay in a hotel on my own. In Texas I stayed with the group from BeginnerTriathlete, at WildFlower I hooked up with a crew from RaceAthlete, I stayed with a client that I coach for EagleMan, had a fantastic homestay in Germany, slept at Billy's for 5430 in Boulder and for IM Louisville I stayed with Keith and Kelly at a friend of Keith's. This stay was particularly great because of the location and the pad itself. It was a super nice condo that was literally a 3 minute walk to transition! On race morning I went to transition, got set up, and went back to the condo to put on the race gear and stretch. At WildFlower the R.V. was a short walk to where I took a water taxi to the transition. In Roth we were a 15 min. walk to the start. When I stayed with Billy for 5430, it was just a 10 min. drive to the start. All of this makes a hard day of racing a little bit easier.
I am very grateful to all of these people who opened up a spot in their home, RV and condo to me. It allowed me to go to races and see places that I would not have been able to otherwise. I hope to be able to do the same for other triathletes in the near future. I like to think that this sort of generosity is part of the sport of triathlon. Since triathlon is more of a lifestyle than just a sport, I think triathletes of every ability have a bond. Triathlon is also a social sport and triathlete's like to share the joy, frustration and fun of training and racing. This year I have also had tremendous support from my sponsors. Some of my sponsors I have been with for a few years, and others are new, but they have all been there to help me with equipment, training and racing. Marco at Descente, Haley at FRS, Paul at Kuota, Guy and Ben at BlueSeventy, Jamie at Saucony, Erik at Oakley and Mike at D3 Multisport. All of these people have helped me get to where I am now, and I hope that in a small way I can repay their faith in me.
Of course there are the behind the scenes people that may not be a "sponsor" but who are vital to me. Courtney, my parents, my in laws, and friends like Kim, Scott, Kelly, Billy and a host of others. Thank you to all of those who helped me in my journey this year.
The journey isn't quite over yet either. Two weeks ago I contacted the folks at NAS and signed up for IM Wisconsin. It sounds crazy I know, but I feel like taking on this challenge. In keeping with the theme of generosity, Scott, who is racing, is letting Court and I crash at the home they are renting. Plus, Sept. 9 is not only the day of the race, but it's Court's birthday. Add in the fact that her parents are in the Chicago suburbs and would love to see her, and it was an easy decision. I raced Wisconsin in 2002 as my first IM, so it has some special meaning for me. I am not expecting to set a PR and will just take the day as it comes. I think the swim and bike will be OK, but the run may be a struggle. Then again, anything can happen during an IM, so I will keep a positive attitude and go as fast as I can.

Disappointment in Louisville

2007-08-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

IM is hard. Hard on the body of course, but often it's more hard on the mind. I race the inaugural IM Louisville on Sunday and posted my 3rd slowest IM time ever. Certainly not the result I was after. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. Not just in how the race went for me, but in a general sense as well. I had some great weeks of training leading up this race, and I worked on the mental side as well. In my heart and head I believed I was capable of a top 5 performance.
The race actually started well for me as I posted a new IM swim P.R. coming out in 52 and change, and that's for a non-wetsuit swim! Granted we did have a nice current pushing us in for just over half the route. Looking at the clock when I exited I was excited for the rest of the day. I had drafted for almost every stroke and felt fresh heading onto the bike. At the time I didn't know it, but I was 9th or 10th.
The bike starts with a flat section of 10-12 miles. This section was a bit odd for me as I was all alone. I passed Heather Golnick early on, and set out to catch the front guys. My PowerTap wasn't working at all in the days before the race, and race day was no different. I was OK with going by feel. I have raced enough to know about my exertion rate, heart rate, etc. My HR was steady at 145, right where it normally is. There were very few spectators on this section, so it was hard to just keep pedaling and not act like it was a training ride. We hit the short out and back where I finally saw the other guys. TJ Tollakson was leading, followed by Chris McDonald, and then a group of guys I didn't recognize. But I was able to see that I was well up in the standings which bouyed my spirits. I really felt like I was in this one, and that I was finally going to have the day I was capable of. On the way out I could see I had some good time on other guys in the field. I decided that I would take a bit of a rest, then hit the first section of the loop pretty hard. The course had us doing 2 loops, then returning on the road we came out on. I had driven the course on Friday and knew what to expect. However, each climb seemed a bit longer and steeper than I remembered. Where I wanted to push, I couldn't. I kept seated and tried to spin up the rollers to save some power in the legs. Well, that wasn't happening. It was just like in Roth, the power was gone and my HR was plummeting. We hit a flatter section that was into some wind. I was hoping that I could take another rest and regather my strength, but the wind took out that option. I just kept going as hard as I could. At this point the mind starts to go funny. The thoughts about why I'm out here, what's the point, and general bad vibes just kept coming at me. I did what I could to keep positive. I was able to turn it around a bit in Roth I thought. IM is too long to give in I said. Then Patrick Evoe went hammering by me. On the out and back section I had close to 3 minutes on him, now he was gone in the distance ahead. I was expecting a whole gang to go by, but I was just back on my own again. Starting the 2nd loop we encountered the AGer's and the course was really crowded. There were some dangerous points as well. On one section Heather G. passed me, looked at me, and asked if I was OK. That wasn't too uplifting. I watched as she crossed the yellow line to get around a car that was in the middle of the road behind some slower cyclists. I ended up having to do the same. Billy went by me and as he did so he smacked my backside. I knew instantly it was him and I didn't even flinch. Mercifully, the last 30 miles or so were relatively flat and we had a bit of a tailwind. I was hoping to make up some time, and let the legs recover. Once again I was on my own, with no crowd support. Looking at my watch I knew I was headed in for one of my worst bike times ever. I was hoping to get off in 4:45 or 4:50. My time was 5:21.
In the change tent I mentally re-focused and figured my total time may be shot, but I can still shoot for a good run. I took my time, got everything set and went for it. My first miles felt good and I was right at 6:30 pace for the first 4 miles. The run course was really a big out and back that we did twice. The course had a lot of slight 1-2 % grades, but nothing steep. I was feeling strong and just wanted to keep my rhythm. But soon I was slowing, and by mile 7 I was averaging a 7 minute pace. I was drinking Coke and water and every aid station. I would walk a few, slam 2-3 Cokes, then run for the next 3-4 miles. The run was the most up and down run of my life. Just when I thought I was done, I would feel OK and pick up the pace. Then there would be a slight rise and I was hurting again. I hit the half way point in 1:37, on pace for my standard 3:15 marathon. At the turnaround I saw my parents so I stopped and kissed my mom and hugged my dad. Then 200 yards up I saw Court and gave her a kiss as well. I considered pulling the pin and stepping off right there, but I felt a little re-energized and I pushed on for the 2nd loop. That loop was brutal for me. I felt like I was going fast, but looking at my watch I could see I was only doing an 8 minute mile. Which in the grand scheme of thing is fast I know, but it's not the sub 7 pace I was hoping for.
I basically gutted out the last miles and finished my 9th IM in my 3rd slowest time, 9:54:55, well off the 8:50 I was hoping for.
When I crossed the line I knew I would just seize up if I stopped, so I just kept walking. Court and a volunteer walked me the 2 1/2 blocks to medical where I took in an IV and some watered down Gatorade. I had peed once during the race, at the end of the bike, so I knew I was pretty dehydrated. I got really cold and needed a blanket to stay warm. I guess my eyes were pretty bloodshot as well. Finally I got up, found my parents and we went for some food. I downed some fajitas, chocolate milk and a few bites of a brownie with ice cream. I was pretty bummed with how the day went, but sitting down with my parents and wife, I felt a bit better. Having a support system like that definitely can help take the sting away from a letdown.
The next day Court and I walked back to the finish area and had a buffet breakfast at the Hyatt. There must have been 20 other athletes there and I think we ate everything they had. We hooked up with Billy, who finished strong in 9:18, and cruised to the awards banquet. The winner, Chris McDonald, lives in Boulder and Court and I met him during our Roth trip. After Roth I did a few rides with Chris and Billy and the rest of the crew. We all wanted to hear his speech so we could give him grief about it later. He actually gave a great speech that went beyond the usually thanking of sponsors, race organizers, etc. After that I went to the Hawaii roll down hoping beyond hope to snag a spot. It was the most nervous I have been in a long time. There were 3 slots available, and I think the guys in 6,7 & 8th all took them. So no Kona this year. It hurts for sure, especially since some guys that I would love to hang out with will be there, like Billy. Nex year I guess. After that disappointment we bumped into Chris and went out for a beer with him, his brother and Billy. It was just the 5 of us hanging out in Louisville on a Monday afternoon sipping on some beers. Not too bad I guess.
Court and I rushed back to our place, threw our stuff in the bags, called a cab and went to the airport. Two flights later we were back in Denver and home. Another IM down, another learning experience.

FLAT!

2007-08-22T08:26:00.001-07:00

Thankfully that's not how I feel, but that word can describe my day on Tuesday. It really began on Sunday during an easy spin to prep the legs for a short run. About 30 minutes from home my rear tire went flat. I pulled over, yanked out a nice big hunk of metal from my tire, changed the tube and off I went. Well Tuesday comes around and I find that my front tire is flat! Checking out the tire I see a small staple lodged in there. So the front tire gets changed and I am going to get on my way. About 50 yards from home I hear a slight noise from the rear tire and see that the tube is bursting out of the side. Two seconds later... BOOM, there goes the tire. I roll back to the garage to see what the heck is going on. I change the tire and everything looks good. I double check to make sure the tire is seated properly and I roll out for the second time. Then about 1 mile from home I hear that noise again! I quickly stop and see that the tube is bursting out again! I realized that the bead on the tire is shot and can't hold on the rim. So I deflate the tire to about 20 PSI and gingerly make my way home...again. Since I use a Zipp 303 w/ a PowerTap, I don't want to just throw on another wheel, I want the power data from this ride. I take the tire off an old rim, throw it on the Zipp and hope that I finally have it all straight. After 5 thorough checks I'm off. It took about 30 minutes in total, but I was finally on my way. The good news is that I had a great ride, the bad news is that later that evening I noticed the rear was flat! Another piece of road debris had punctured through my tire! I haven't had a flat tire in about 3 months, now it's 4 flats in 2 days. I am hoping that all of my techincal difficulties are over and everything goes smoothly on Sunday.
I feel ready for race day. My legs are strong, I'm well rested and my mind is in a good spot. A few more good hit outs to keep things sharp and then I head for Louisville on Thursday. That will give me time to acclimate to the heat and humidity. In general I do well in those conditions, so I'm not as worried as some others. The day will give you what it will and you have to do the best you can with what you have at that moment.
Thanks for the support and I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Train Safe,
AJ

GOODIES!!

2007-08-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day for me. I had a strong workout and got some great new gear from some sponsors as well.
I started with a swim at the Chatfield Res. at 7 30. I woke up around 5 30 to get my breakfast down and get ready. I experiment a bit with my pre race nutrition, so I use these sessions to see what works. I always have oatmeal or some hot grain cereal, but it's what I have with it that I mix up. I have done everything from bagels or toast to fruit. Lately though I have been using organic toaster pastries. They are basically health Pop Tarts. They taste great and pack 200 cal. per pastry. It worked well at the 5430 1/2 IM, and it worked well today.
I hit the water in my new BlueSeventy Pointzero3 suit. It's the over suit that is legal for non-wetsuit swims. It provides just a bit of bouyancy, and has a drag coefficient of .032 (hence the name). That is 50 times lower than bare skin! These suits are in super high demand for a reason. If you check out Blueseventy.com, you will see there is a link to pre-order then. The only people in Kona that won't have this suit will be those that didn't order it in time. Needless to say the suit rocks. I really noticed a difference from Wednesday when I swam at the Res in just my Descente shorts. I feel higher in the water and smoother. In an unscientific test, I found that it took me just over 1 minute less time to go the length of the pond, which is about 900 yds. That's about 4 minutes in an IM swim! A big thanks goes to Guy and Ben at BlueSeventy for helping me out with the suit.
The plan was to get on the bike right after the swim, but as I geared up I realized that I left my PowerTap at home. DOH! Without my PT I am riding without knowing my watts, and that's not good. Especially during the taper when I want to be doing specific intervals. So I drove home and started my ride. In total it took about an hour from when I got out of the water to when I started the ride. That's one slow transition time.
The good thing was that the bike was great. It wasn't long, only 1:45, but I did 2x20 min. hard, with 10 minute recovery, then one last section of 5 minutes HARD! I held 265 watts for the first two intervals, and 300 for the last one. The legs felt great, and my HR was steady at 135. At 5430 my HR average was 135, and my watts were 245. It goes to show what some rest can do. So I felt smooth and confident, right where I wanted to be. Getting off the bike I went for a short run. It was just 20 minutes, but it was steady to fast. Of course my Garmin went dead after 3 minutes (not my day technology wise), so I went by perceived exertion. I basically did 1 mile at IM effort, 1 mile FAST, and 1 mile at IM effort. Nothing crazy, just some solid speed work.
Back home I made my recovery shake, stretched and poked around on the net for a bit. Then it was time to run a fun errand.
I drove out to meet Erik, my contact at Oakley. He had some gear for me and it was right on time for IM Louisville. I picked up a few pairs of shades, including the new LiveStrong Radars, an ENORMOUS luggage bag, a watch (Court's B-Day present, which is still 3 weeks away!!) and some sitckers. Erik has been really good to me this season and I always look forward to seeing him. Another great guy I look forward to talking with is Paul Thomas, my contact at Kuota. I rung him up yesterday and we chatted a bit. He asked about my training and how things are going. Paul was one heck of a duathlete back in the day and he knows the Boulder area well, though he is now in California. So when I tell him I went up Mt. Evans on my Kalibur, he knows what I am talking about. Plus, last week I emailed Haley at FRS and they are sending me out some of their new stuff like the powered mix and a sweatshirt. I have started to use the FRS on my rides, not just as a pre-training or pre-event drink. Lance Armstrong is now on the board, so they should be getting bigger. That's a good thing for them, but I hope my competitors don't start to use it!
It's great to have such supportive sponsors and it doesn't hurt that all of their products are top notch. I know it's easy to say "well, you are sponsored by these guys, so you HAVE to say good things about them". But I really do think the products from Kuota, Oakley, BlueSeventy, FRS, Zipp and Saucony are top notch. I have put thousands of miles on my Kalibur while rolling on Zipps, and being protected by my Oakley's. In addition the great guys at BV Aurora have given my bike all the love it needs. I've run just over a thousand miles running in Saucony's, thousands of yards in the pool looking through BlueSeventy googles and have downed countless bottles of FRS while training and racing. All the gear and goodies have helped me in the day to day training that it takes to be successful, and I thank the people that support me.
Tonight we are going over to our friends Heidi and KIm's place to celebrate Heidi's birthday. We are going to have a BBQ and then go see The Bourne Ultimatum. I may not be home until 10:00! It's a big night out for me!

Taper Mode

2007-08-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

This shot was taken at Roth during a BBQ a few days before the race. It's probably the best shot of the 2 of us that I've seen. Just looking at it makes me smile and remember our great trip.
So I am in taper mode, which is always strange for me. I have my routine and what I am used to, so being home at 1 with nothing to do is hard to deal with. I've watched some good movies, read a few books and surfed the net way too much. I feel strong and ready for a good day. I will probably race without a watch, just my powermeter for the info. I think I need to just race from the heart and let the chips fall where they may. This race is all about breaking through mental barriers and pushing the envelope. I've finished 8 IM's, the past 4 have been between 9 12 and 9 24. It's time to break 9 hours! I know I can do it, it's just a matter of letting it happen. You can't force a great day. You just have to trust your training, be focused and go for it on race day. I am looking forward to this opportunity to go after what I have wanted for years.
I have been reading a mental skills book and it has helped me to realize my own mental blocks, fears and shortcomings. Facing those issues has been both difficult and rewarding. To analyze yourself honestly and to actively seek your flaws exposes you as a person. The flip side is that it makes you a stronger and better person for that. I hope that what I have worked on will be with me on race day. I feel like I have the physical tools to meet and exceed my goals, it's just a matter of getting my head right.

COVER SHOT!!

2007-08-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Isn't this a GREAT SHOT?! It's Courtney's cover shot in Australian Triathlete Magazine. Plus there are about 8 photos inside pertaining to the article on the Quelle Challenge Roth. When she first got the mag she wouldn't let go of it all day. I am very proud of her for what she's accomplished. She has had many shots in magazines, but this is her first cover. It took her awhile to get the contacts and shots needed to break in, but I think this is the start of good things for her.
For me, it's IM Louisville countdown time. Surprisingly I felt really good after the race and was able to knock out a strong swim and bike yesterday. Today I wanted to get some steady hours in, but the legs were a bit cashed so I called it at an hour. I was able to get in a great open water swim later in the day. There won't be any wetsuits at Louisville, so I have been doing my open water swims sans wetsuit. I called the guys at BlueSeventy on Monday and have their awesom PointZero3 suit on the way. I felt strong and had a good feel for the water.
The next few days will be spent getting things ready for race day. A complete bike tune, new tubulars, a new saddle (mine started to fall apart last week!), getting the nutrition straight, printing the relevant paper work and plenty of rest. I have found that the earlier I start this process, the better off I am. Over the years I have gotten this routine down pretty well. When I look back at my first IM preps I remember how I packed EVERYTHING! My bike case was probably 100 pounds! These days I can get the case to under 50 pounds. Considering the case is nearly 20 pounds itself, that's not bad. I stuff my bike case full of all sorts of stuff. From my helmet, wetsuit, and nutrition to books, clothes and shoes. I figure if I have to pay the $75 to get it on the plane, then I am going to make it worth it.

5430 Race Report

2007-08-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

So I raced the 5430 1/2 IM yesterday. It's a great race, and being so close to home it's hard to pass up. This year Court and I stayed with Billy Edwards, who lives about a 10 minute drive from the Res. We went to Boulder early on Saturday. I worked the D3 booth and Court went for a bike ride. At noon I went to the Pro meeting. The rules were explained ad nauseum as we were racing with the Stagger Rule. It gets complicated to be honest, and some of the Australian athletes who haven't raced under these rules were confused. I don't blame them either. After everyone was satisfied we got our packets and off we went.
We went back to Billy's around 4 and I started to gather things together for race day. I went for a 40 minute spin to make sure the bike OK and to flush out the legs a bit. Back at Billy's I showered and started some dinner. Billy had another racer staying with him, Matt. Matt was racing the ITU race in Longmont on Sunday. It was a big race with 70 Pro's! Strange to think there were 2 big races in the same area on the same day. Anyways, I started the spaghetti and cooking up the turkey and chicken sausage. We all chowed down and finished every bit of food that I cooked. I started to think about the race and what I wanted to do. I was a bit conflicted as I wasn't tapered for this race at all, and I have IM Louisville in 2 weeks. Still, it's a race, my home race, and you always want to do well. I didn't want to drain myself too much and end up being flat for the 2 weeks until IM day. I figured I would take it as it came and see where I was. Plus, with the hot weather forecasted, it was going to be a roaster.
Race day started at 4 AM for me. I had my 2 packets of oatmeal, 2 organic toaster pastries and some coffee. My gear was pretty much all packed and ready to go. We were out the door at 5 and parked at the Res by 5:20. The Pro's have their own racks and I found a free rack and spread out. We had a lot of room, which is nice. I started to sip on my FRS drink, put on sunscreen and got everything in order. After a short jog and stretching I went over everything one last time, finished my FRS and put on my suit. The water was too warm for wetsuits, so I used an old 1 piece oversuit I bought years ago.
In the water I felt really smooth and strong, a good sign. The pro field started to line up and get ready. The field was about 30 strong and I looked around to see who I wanted to draft off of. The field was kind of split between an inside line and an outside one. I chose inside. The gun went off and we hit the water. I had a clean start and good draft right from the start. At Roth I had some issues swimming straight and I wanted to work on that. I got on some feet and stuck to them all swim long. Too often I have lost feet in the swim either due to lack of concentration, or a surge. This time I countered every speed change and swam straight. All swim long I felt smooth and strong, like I could have gone another 1.2 miles. Getting out of the water I could see it was Ben Hoffman who I drafted off of. He's not really well known, but he was 3rd at WildFlower and a strong athlete. I didn't bother to look at my watch as the day was not about time, but execution.
Getting on my Kuoat Kalibur I felt good. The course is rolling to flat and can be fast if there is no wind. It starts out with a false flat and I just settled into a rhythm and held around 250 watts. Thankfully there were some clouds in the sky and the weather was nice and cool. Curt Chesney went by me, and I know he is a strong rider and just let him go. Fifteen minutes later Kirk Nelson went by me as well. Again, he is a strong rider and I just stuck to my plan. My goal was to negative split the 2 loops of the bike and have a steady run. The ride was pretty uneventful, which was good. My nutrition and hydration were great, I was feeling strong and I focused on smooth pedaling and good positioning on the bike. I achieved my goal of negative splitting the bike by about 2 minutes. I had decided to wear some new shorts I got from Marco at Descente, and I was happy I did. They are not even for sale yet, but when they hit the market, be ready to grab some They have great compression, and some serious technology behind them. They were super comfortable all day long. Getting off the bike I knew I was well back, which was fine with me. I knew I wouldn't be in the hunt up front.
After racking my bike I threw on my visor, FuelBelt and Saucony Sinisters. The Saucony's are more of a light weight trainer, not a real racing flat, but with all the running I've done my feet are a bit sore. I wanted a bit more cushioning and the Sinisters were a perfect choice. The run is 2 loops on mostly dirt roads and paths. It's open, with no shade and hot. The clouds had dissipated somewhat and it was heating up. I settled into my rhythm, again not looking at my watch for a pace. There is a short out and back where I saw that Brad Seng ( a great runner) and Billy (also a strong runner) were right on me. I knew they would both catch me, but again, I was OK with that. Brad went by me sooner than I thought, but he was on his way to the 3rd fastest run of the day. The only hiccup in the day was I had to make a pit stop at mile 4. I haven't ever had these issues, and now it's 3 races in a row. I need to figure that out. Anyways, my stop was short, but Billy was now right on my heels. He passed me and just kept going. I had decided that I would run hard from mile 5 to 8, then go steady from 8 to 10, and finish the last 3 miles hard. I downed my first gel at mile 5, which may have been a bit late. I stuck to my run plan and felt good. When I hit mile 10 I wasn't too enthused to push for the last 3 miles, but I visualized being in Louisville and being strong. After the first hard mile, I found that I relaxed and was able to push pretty hard. I had some nutrition coming back up on me, but I only had 10 minutes to go. I crossed the line in 4:17, 14th pro overall.
While my placing wasn't good, it was a good confidence booster for Louisville. I feel like I am in a good spot, and the day didn't drain me too much. I quickly got on my recovery drinking plenty of fluids and getting a good massage. I had brought a watermelon with me and cut into that for some juicy goodness. I hung out in the D3 booth chatting with friends and clients.
Back home we did some grocery shopping and I had a great dinner, did some more stretching and called it a day.

A good dinner, now a good race

2007-08-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was treated to some good sushi. Our friend Amy was offered a job and she took us out for sushi to celebrate. I love Asian food, especially sushi. Plus the sodium from all the soy sauce should help on race day.
It's going to be hot for the race, which is good and bad. On the plus side, it's good heat acclimation for IM Lou. The negative is that it could really drain me more than I want. I guess we'll see what happens on Sunday.
Overall I feel OK. I don't like the taper period as it throws of my rhythm and routine. But it's a must and I have found ways to cope with it. I had a good swim in the morning. I went to the Masters program since Friday is sprint day. I put in 3500 yds and got out feeling strong. Then it was a big breakfast, some work around the house and a track session. I did 5x1k w/ 200 walk/jog between. I held 5:30/mile, which is OK, but I would have liked to have felt better. Sometimes I just feel stiff and off. This is what the taper does to me. Back home I gathered up my race gear, got the bike all jazzed up and looking good and did some visualization. Before I knew it Court was home and we were off to dinner.
I will be at the D3 Multisport booth Saturday and Sunday, so stop by and say hello! Good luck to everyone racing. Stay cool and race smart.

I am a sweaty pig

2007-08-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

In order to get acclimated to some serious heat and humidity in my IM Lou prep, I rode my CompuTrainer today. No fan, multiple layers of clothing and a constant river of sweat draining off me. It was only 90 minutes, but it was hard. I did 30 minutes of warm up including some 1 legged pedaling. Then it was time for the good stuff. 3x10 minutes at 250 watts w/ 5 minute recoveries, then 1 last 5 minute interval at 275. My heart rate was up there and my legs were turning over furiously. During the hard sections I kept the RPM's up around 95. I have found that this really helps with my leg speed on race day. There are several pro athletes including Peter Reid, Luc Van Lierde and SImon Lessing that use motor pacing to up their leg speed. Since I don't have the scooter, or someone to drive it for 2-3 hours, I simulate it on my CompuTrainer. Anyways, so by the time I finished I was soaked from head to toe. During the ride I took in about 80 ounces of fluid, 1 PowerBar and still lost 5 pounds! It's not uncommon for me to lose a serious amount of weight during my rides, despite taking 35-45 oz. of fluid per hour. It's especially bad on the run. I have lost upwards of 2 pounds in a 1 hour run, despite taking 40 oz. of liquid. It's something I manage on a daily basis and make sure to drink often.
It was a good session and I finished off the day with a 30 minute run with 5x(2x2). The legs were a bit stiff, but they felt great at the end. A strong core/weight session at home and then some dinner. I am feeling good and ready to race.

My mind hurts!

2007-08-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

Looking back at my log for the past few weeks, here are the hard numbers. The week of the 23rd was the week that I did the 2 150+ mile rides, thus the large jump in miles. The following week was a run focused week and I handled it pretty well physically and mentally.
Week Swim Bike Run Hours
7/16/200 22380.84 243.11 42.84 27.5
7/23/2007 16381.89 453.99 44.03 36
7/30/2007 20616.8 246.38 76.81 29.7

Overall I feel confident with those 3 weeks under my belt. There was quite a bit of hard efforts in each discipline. The solo ride to Mt. Evans, run intervals with Simon's group, the group ride to Wiggins, the 2:15 run with race pace efforts and the 6k speed session in the pool will all come to bear on Aug. 26th.
Today is my first full day off since I got back from travelling on July 12th. Normally I don't really like taking days off, but I know that when I am looking forward to a day on the couch, I REALLY need it. Of course I knew my legs would hurt, what really hurts is my mind. The mental energy it takes to not only get in 30 hours of training per week, but to make them count and go hard when you should really taxes the mind. If you can get through it though, the strength gained in the mind is as valuable as what is gained physically. There's nothing like lacing up the shoes or putting on the helmet knowing that what is ahead of you is going to hurt. Getting through those sessions takes as much out my mind as it does my legs. When I walk into my kitchen it's all I can do to make my recovery shake, stretch and relax. It's during this time that group sessions can be incredibly valuable. For instance, last Tuesday I did some hard intervals with Simon's group in Boulder. There is no way I would have been able to push myself that hard, but trying to chase down Simon and Michael I had to reach a new level. Then when I am on my own, I know I can go to that next level. A great example is yesterday's swim. I swim with a Master's group on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Monday is a distance day, and great for me. Practice starts at 5:45, and I am usually in the water 10 minutes early to warm up. I didn't feel particularly good, which didn't surprise me at all after the past 3 weeks. We warmed up with some drills, 200's and 25's totaling 1400 yds. I was barely making the interval in warm up and was not looking forward to the main set of 400 swim, 5x100 on 1 40, 300 swim, 4x100 on 1 30, 200 swim, 3x100 on 1 25, 100 swim, 2x100 on 1 20, a total of 2400 yds. Instead of getting down and thinking about how much it will hurt, I made a deal that I would get through the main set as best as I could. Plus I have more than once come around after feeling terrible in the beginning. I believed that I could get it done, and get it done well, so while everyone else grabbed their pull gear for the 400, I left mine on the deck. It's a very good chance that the IM Louisville swim will not allow wetsuits, so I wanted to swim it all on my own. As I believed, I felt good on the 400 and found my rhythm early. The 100's were easy, then I swam the 300 hard, even catching the swimmer in front of me who was using paddles and a bouy. At this time I knew I could do it, so I pushed even more. With each 25 completed I felt stronger and meaner. I was looking forward to the last 2 100's where I would go all out to see what I had left. I finished strong and had enough left to do some kicking, and pull a 500. So, at the beginning of the set I was just hoping to get through the 3800 yds. but I ended up with 5500 yds. instead. It's those workouts that not only help you get stronger in the swim itself, but makes you strong in the mind.
I have worked hard on my mental training and prep leading to IM Lou. I will test it out to some degree this weekend at the 5430 1/2 IM in Boulder. There's a great Pro field, it's an honest course and it's going to be hot. My goal is to have the best race I can and not drain myself too much. Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. Be strong and break through!

10k race, steep grades and shoes

2007-08-05T19:09:00.000-07:00

Today I ran my first 10k in many years. It started up in Evergreen at about 7500 ft. and gradually wound it's way down to 7100 ft. So it wasn't bad, but the first 1/2 mile was steep, then it leveled out a bit. The run was great overall. Even though I felt stiff warming up I quickly found a rhythm around 5:45/mile and just hung tough. What I was happiest with was how I raced it. In the first mile I was around 10th, with a pack of 4-6 other runners. Usually I am content to be with the group and just hang in there. Instead of playing it safe, I put in a little surge and caught a few runners ahead of me. At the 5k mark there was another runner about 10 seconds up on me. Again, I decided to surge and pass right then rather than sit on him for a bit and wait. It was good for me to get out there and race a different strategy. Too often I find myself getting comfortable and rationalizing that I need to really pace myself to finish strong. Listening to some other guys after the race in Germany I realized that they weren't pacing themselves to finish strong, they were pushing all the way. One guy, who was in the top 5, was describing how his gums went numb and he couldn't feel his body. His next sentence was about how good that felt, even when his quads blew and he struggled the last few miles. I need to push the envelope more, and this 10k was a great place to start. The last 2 miles seemed forever, and I promised I would not look back until I could see the finish line. You never want someone to sneak up on you in the finish chute! With a quarter mile to go I looked back and I was in the clear. I ran it in for 5th place overall, and 1st in the 30-39 age group. I don't know what I won, as awards will be mailed. My time was 35:55, which really surprised me. I would have been happy with anything under 38, so I beat that handily. The only disappointment was after the race. The website said there would be an "informal brunch" at the finish. I was hoping for fruit, pancakes, juice and muffins. Instead it was cut up bagels, jelly, and bagel sandwiches consisting of egg, cheese and ham. I love those sandwiches, but after a hard run they were a little hard to take down. I only had two of them. Courtney also ran, which was great. Our friend Amy, who has been living with us while she interviews for jobs, ran with her. Court and I don't normally race together and it was fun to see her at the start of the race getting ready to go. I was making my way to the finish to see her, but she had just crossed the line and I missed it. I felt bad for not being right there. She is always at the finish line for my races and I wanted to be there for hers. Sorry! I will make it up to her this fall when she races cyclocross for the first time!
After some food, streching and relaxing we made our way back to the car. I had brought my Kuota with me and got on for a 3 hour ride home. It included some of the steepest climbs I know of. I was putting out 350 watts and doing 6 MPH! My quads were screaming and there were times when I thought I wouldn't be able to get the pedal over! After about 90 minutes of riding through the mountains I was finally on the flats and powered home. No time to rest though as I threw on the shoes for another run. This one was only 40 minutes of steady work, but the first 10 minutes hurt. After that I found my rhythm and just pounded out the miles. Sometimes the training is more mental than physical. All I wanted to do was lay on the couch and put my feet up. But if you want to win an IM, that doens't cut it. You have to know and believe in your mind that you can get it done when it's hard.
One key to this period has been consistency. In order to put in hard rides, runs and swims you have to be ready for each session. A few things I have focused on has been drinking more fluids. In the past I would finish my session, have something to drink, then eat a bunch. Now, I drink a lot more and have a smaller amount of food. The first thing I do when I get in the door is make my recovery shake and start drinking. Stretching has been helpful as well. I don't do a lot of stretching, but I do stretch to some degree after every single session. I'm not trying to get super flexible, just keep a good range of motion. During the past week I have done a lot of running and having multiple pairs of shoes has been extremely beneficial. I am a Saucony sponsored athlete, so all of my shoes come from them. I use the Tangent, a lightweight trainer, the Sinister, a new shoe that has a plate in the forefoot, and even the FastTwitch, a race flat used for 10k to marathons. By rotating the shoes you make sure that you are putting in the miles on good shoes. Plus, with different weights and levels of support, it keeps my feet in better condition. I would suggest to every athlete that they have at least 2 pair of shoes, even 3 during run heavy weeks. It may save you from a frustriating injury.

Running Man

2007-08-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I did the running man. No, not that terrible dance from the 90's, or the Stallone movie either. It was more like Forrest Gump... all day long " I was RUNNING"!
It started with an easy 30 minutes in the morning. While the pace was easy, it certainly didn't feel easy. Whenever I run first thing in the morning I always feel stiff and labored. This run was no different, but I expected that and just kept putting 1 foot in front of the other. I kept thinking about the big breakfast that awaited me at home.
Back home I fixed up my favorite meal of the day, a big breakfast. It consisted of what I call a hybrid cereal, some cut up fruit, a hard boiled egg and some tea. Hybrid cereal is basically when I take 2,3 or 4 cereals, put them all in the same bowl and chow down. This time I mixed it up a bit even more, I made some oatmeal, added some muesli, some dried fruit and honey. It was fantastic. As I let that digest I got ready for the next run. Some drinks, some food, multiple pairs of shoes and plenty of sunscreen.
I drove out to the only real flat trail in the area. The Highline Canal runs forever, is basically flat and has a nice soft surface. Perfect training for the flat IM Louisville course. I planned on going out and back twice so I could reload my FuelBelt. I cruised out easy for the first 30 minutes. The legs were good and the stiffness from the morning was well gone. After the warm up I picked up the pace and ran hard for 30. I kept the pace at 6:10-6:30 pace during this block. My legs were really turning over well and I found a good rhythm. Then I cruised for another 20, went hard for 20, cruised for 10, went hard for 10 and cooled down easy for 15. All in all it was 2:15 with 1 hour of that at sub 6:30 pace. The best part was that I didn't feel totally wasted afterwards. I probably could have gone longer, but the quality would not have been there. I chose to shut it down while I still felt good. Some stretching and re-hydration was in order. I always bring a recovery shake with me when I know I won't be finishing at home. It's an absolute rule for me to have a recovery drink within 15 minutes of ending a hard workout. I tend to lose a lot of weight on hard days, espcecially runs. I have lost upwards of 2 lbs. in an hour run, even when I take close to 40 oz. of liquid during the run! So it is imperative for me to replace those liquids as quickly and effectively as possible.
On the drive home I decided to stop and do some grocery shopping. In general I detest shopping, but for certain items I don't mind it. Put me in a bike shop, running store or nice grocery store and I am a happy man. The place I stopped was The Sunflower Market. It is knew to Highlands Ranch, but I have shopped there in Arizona and California. It is an awesome place to shop. It's mostly organic food, fresh veggies and fruits and a great bulk foods selection. It's like Whole Foods, but much cheaper and without some of the uppityness you may find. It's even cheaper than the big chain stores. As I shopped I chugged down a chocolate milk, wonderful stuff for recovery. I went a bit nuts and bought all sorts of stuff. From veggies and turkey to some great wheat crackers and spelt muffins. I expected the total to top the 100 dollar mark, but to my surpries I was well under that. I love that place!
Back home I put away the groceries, had some fruit and more liquids. The weather was looking a bit cloudy, so I decided to get out for my 3rd run of the day before the weather went bad. It was just a steady run with plenty of rolling hills. Since I didn't have a long lay off from my long run, my legs were still feeling good. Settling into my rhythm I focused on my form and using my core to generate a smooth gait. Just over an hour passed and I was back home. Time for some tire pulls! Tire pulls are where I use some MTN bike tubes as a harness and pull a small car tire behind me. It helps with form and power, plus the neighbors give me great looks when they see me go past. Taking off the harness it was more recovery fluids, some fruit and time to go to the pool. I love to hit the pool after a long day, especially a long run. It really helps me the next day. So I covered 2k in the pool. The first 1k was just a straight steady swim. The 2nd k was a mix of pulling with and without a bouy and paddles.
I was finally home for some dinner that Court and nicely picked up. It was the Chicken dinner you get the grocery store. Every once in awhile I crave that, as does Court. It tasted so good. I finished the evening with some cookies and milk.
I woke up today expecting to be very sore, but surprisingly I felt ok. I was up at 4:45 so I could make the morning Master's swim practice. Friday is speed day and it's a day I need to be there for. I gingerly went downstairs, had my espresso and went out the door. My swim went very well even though I didn't have that "top end" speed. I hung tough and drilled out 4500 yds. Overall it was great swim and I was happy with my effort. On my drive home I thought briefly about heading out for an easy 2-3 hour ride and maybe a run. After breakfast (more Hybrid cereal, fruit and eggs) I realized that was not going to happen. I went upstairs, read for a bit, and took a nice 90 minute nap.
At 12:30 I decided to head out for an easy 1 hour spin. It was good to get the legs moving, but the rain wasn't too appreciated. It was mostly sprinkling, which felt nice after the heat we've had lately. Then it really started pour and I got soaked. Thankfully I only had 10 minutes left so I just put my head down and got home.
A hot shower, turkey sandwich, some crackers and hummus and some hot chocolate really hit the spot. The rain was still pouring down. Lightning was all around and one bolt hit so close it set off the smoke detector in the house. I sat on the couch, read the rest of my book and enjoyed a nice day off. Rarely can I say that a rainy day, when I didn't feel too great was really a good day. Recovery days allow an athlete to make that next jump in fitness. So the next time you feel like you need a rest, trust your body and find a good book.

IM Louisville

2007-08-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I am in for IM Louisville, or Luvl as the locals pronounce it. I am certainly not making fun of the residents, I find it funny how that name is pronounced differently across the country. In Louisville, Colorado it is pronounced with an S sound rather than the hard E sound. Some towns names can be pronounced a myriad of ways, so talk to the locals and find out what the "real" pronounciation is.
Anyways, so it's another IM in just over 3 weeks. The course looks to be fast with a rolling bike and flat run. The 2 concerns will be weather, hot and humid, and the water temp, very warm. The first is not a big deal to me. I like heat and humidity and typically do well in those conditions. Warm water temps give me a bit of concern though. I tend to heat up quickly in the water and this can cause problems down the road. I have already spoken with Guy and BlueSeventy about a sleeveless suit for race day. It will be the same for everyone though, so no complaining.
My training has continued to go well. Monday was slow with an AM Masters swim, a few hours spent working at Bicycle Village, then a short ride to the pool, some drill work, a short lifting session and ride home. I initially wanted to get in 2,000 yards, but that wasn't happening. I got out after just 750 of floundering and flailing. No sense in engraining bad techinque. The lifting session was short as well.
Tuesday I was back in Boulder for a tempo run with a group. We did a random fartlek run around the Res. It turned out to be just over an hour, with 20-25 minutes of that hard. The hard stuff ranged from 5:30 to 6:30 pace depending on topography and who was leading. I like that run and it has done well by me in the past. After some stretching I got in the car and drove to Amante Coffee. For those of you not famililar with Amante, it is THE place to see and be seen by cyclists. Amante is located on North Broadway just before you hit 36. It's a great place to start a ride. The inside is all Euro, with plasma screen TV's showing soccer matches, the baristas wear all black and the menu includes Gelato. It is also decorated with plenty of cyclng gear as well. This time there was a Cannondale, Pinarello and Scott bike hanging from the ceiling in addition to several pro jerseys. The bike were all the top of the line models and it looked pretty neat. I woofed down some type of Gluten/Wheat free coffee cake, a double espresso, watched some of the match and then hit the road.
My route was up Lee Hill to Left Hand Canyon, up to Ward and the Peak to Peak HWY, along the Peak to Peak, down to Raymond and St. Vrain, into Lyons, out 66, right into Hygeine and in on 75th. This provided me with plenty of climbing early and then a chance to power on the flats and the 5430 bike course. The legs felt strong from the start and I averaged 240 watts up Left Hand. Most of that was in the aerobars, big ring. I even sat the last 2 miles where the pitch gets steeper.
On the flats I did 3x10 at 275+ watts w/ 5 min recoveries. Again I felt strong and the effort was hard, but not killing me. After the ride I changed, stop by the Gondolier to pick up some pasta for Courtney, it's her favorite, and drove home. Then around 5 I went for another easy run. I was feeling good and even felt better as I went. I was surprised that my legs weren't stiff from the efforts and the car ride. I'll take it every day!
Today started with a big 5500 yd. swim. Wednesday is usually an IM day at masters and today was no different. Plenty of fly, back and breast stroke. The set was about 3500 yds. total, but I added on some pulling and fast 50's to get to 5500. I got home and ate a ton as I was really hungry from the swim and yesterday's efforts. I took a short nap, got up, did some dishes and house work then headed out for an hour run. My plan was to just go steady, but I felt good so I added a hard 25 min. section on some rollers and also went hard for the last 2 miles. The run got extended to 75 minutes as I felt strong and just went with it. Back home I took in plenty of fluids, stretched out and checked some email. Then it was time for a lifting session. I do mostly 1 legged work and all of it is based on working specific muscles. I use the Swiss Ball, medicine balls, tubing and balance boards for the majority of the session. I figure the more the muscle-heads look at me in confusion/contempt, then I must be doing it right! The session only lasted 45 minutes and then it was on the bike for some big gear work. I find a lot of value in doing big gear/climbing sessions right after a weight workout. It takes the muscles you just worked and helps transfer that to swim, bike or run. Try it out for yourself.

More Manimal Training

2007-07-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was another big, big day. This time it was a group ride and I certainly needed the company. I drove to Boulder last night and stayed with Billy Edwards, an awesome IM athlete you will be hearing about soon. We rolled out from his house at 6:30 and met up with the rest of the crew. It was Gordo, Chris, Dennis, Jeff, Matt, Justin, John and the lone female Marilyn. The route was to go out East to Wiggins, about 75 miles out on rollers, with a stop in Hudson on the out and back. Our plan was to stick together on the way out, and until the last stop in Hudson. After that, there were no rules and everyone was on their own.
My legs were good, but I could not get comfortable in the saddle. All day long I was shifting and moving, trying to find the sweet spot. After 4 hours we were in Wiggins and stopped for lunch. I stuck to some Fig Newtons and Gatorade while others loaded up with sandwhiches and cookies. We pulled out and headed home. There were no attacks, but Chris put in a big pull and we were motoring along. At one point I was on the front and the pace just kept ramping up. I knew I couldn't hold the pace so I peeled off to grab onto the back. Well, apparently some other guys wanted to keep the pace high and I was popped. I struggled the last 30 minutes back to Hudson where the group was already enjoying their assorted goodies.
We had about 2 hours left and now it was everyone for themselves. Surprisingly it was tame for the first 30 minutes, but then the attacks started coming. No one really got away thanks to some well timed lights and general fatigue. I was able to hold on, and even cover some attacks myself. I took some chances late in the ride, knowing I could blow up at any moment. It was a risk worth taking as I figured what's the point of just sitting in for the last bit of the ride? Billy and I peeled off to go back to his place. We hit his house after 159 miles and just over 7 hours of pedaling. Billy had some errands to run, but I headed out the door for a run. I planned on 30 minutes, but I felt good so I went for 45 instead. I was able to hold some sub 7 miles at the end feeling steady.
Another strong day under my belt for sure. I showered up, threw the bike in the car and headed home. All I wanted was to relax so I put one of my favorite frozen pizzas on the grill, had a drink (juice) and relaxed in our backyard. It was a great way to end the day. I was surprised that my legs weren't sore or stiff at all.
Today I woke up still feeling good. I was hoping to get another 3-4 hours on the bike, but after 30 minutes I could tell the legs weren't quite there so it was just over 2 for me. I did throw in some harder sections, 1 hour at 225 ave. watts, then a few 5 minute jumps holding 250 watts. Off the bike it was a 90 minute run with the first 45 being very hilly and lots of climbing. I pushed the last 45 working on a high cadence. It hurt at the end, but I thought "It's IM training, it's supposed to hurt!"
After a shower and nap I am hoping to get to the pool for an easy recovery swim. It's hard to get out the door sometimes as all I want to do is put the feet up on the couch and relax. I guess I have the rest of my life to do that!

Manimal Training

2007-07-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

WOW! That one work pretty much sums up my day today. 160 miles, 13,000 ft. of climbing and 9 hours of chamois time. I rode from home, up Mt. Evans, which is about 10,000 ft. of climbing right there. It took me 2 1/2 hours and about 4,000 ft. of elevation gain just to get to the start of the Mt. Evans climb. From there it was 32 miles uphill to just over 14,000 ft. As I went up I could see the clouds getting darker and some lightning in the distance. It was a gamble to keep going up, but I had to get to the top. I have been in Colorado for almost 9 years and have not climbed a 14er. This was my chance. I upped the tempo in an effort to beat the weather. I knew I could blow and end up flailing to the peak, but I had to take that chance. My gamble paid off and I felt strong all the way. I finally topped out after 5:20 from when I left home. No time for pics as I quickly threw on my arm warmers and vest for the descent. Descending can be fun, but I was cold, I got rained on a bit and after 20 miles my hands were numb. I finally reached the bottom and was able to peel off the arm warmers and vest. I continued on towards home with some more climbing to boot. I even added some extra miles on the flats around the Chatfield Reservoir. The whole ride I felt strong and in control. My nutrition and hydration were spot on. I felt so good at the end that I threw on the shoes and went for a 30 min. run. Again I felt strong and held 7 minute miles fairly easily. My stride was quick and light, making the run easier and enjoyable. The only bummer is that my PowerTap went dead after the first hour. I replaced the computer head battery a few days ago, but I think the hub batteries are out. Very annoying, but I decided early to forget about it and not let it bother me. The fact is, with or without the data, the ride is the ride. It still will make me stronger, faster and fitter. These long days, combined with hard days and rest make you a man eating man animal, a Manimal! The coolest part of the day was seeing some undercover Mercedes Benz's being tested at altitude. They had about 6-8 of the SUV's and wagons and one heavily disguised sedan. I talked with one of the guys around the cars and he told me that they were testing a new diesel engine and that each vehicle had the same engine in it. The sedan was the new C Class AMG version. It looked pretty sweet and the engine noise was fantastic. The funny thing is that the guy who I spoke with, a German, loved my Kuota Kalibur! He hadn't seen many of them and asked me all sorts of questions. While I was taking some shots of the cars, he took a shot of my bike! I told him that I would trade him my Kuota for one of the vehicles, but he didn't bite.
Before I went for my run I asked Court if she would order up some Nick N' Willys pizzas for dinner. I am a fiend for the Earthborne, a veggie delight of goodness. Being the fantastic wife that she is, she agreed. When I got home we made the pizzas. It was everything I hoped for and more. To make it even better, she bought me a ice cream sandwich at our local creamery yesterday and kept it a secret as a present for me after the ride. The ice cream sandwich made everything worth it.
Tomorrow is an easy day, Friday will probably be moderate and then it's another long ride. The plan is to meet up with some guys in Boulder and ride 150 miles or so. This time though it will be flat and I will have company. I'll keep you posted!

More of what?

2007-07-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

More is better...sometimes. In triathlon it seems that more is ALWAYS better, but the question is more of what? For the IMer's out there the obvious metric is distance. Riding multiple centuries each month and long run seem to be the norm for IM athletes. What I have come to realize lately is that for myself, right now, I need more speed work. I'm not going to start trying to qualify for the Olympics or anything, but I am going to cut down some miles and add in more tempo stuff and LT work. For instance, today I started out on my ride with the goal of 3 hours strong. I decided instead to do only 2 hours, but I did some very hard intervals, something I don't do often. Plus I ran off the bike doing 2x10 min. hard w/ 10 min. cruise between. I have done 9 IM's, so I know I can cover the difference, so now it is really time to up the speed. Speed is relative though, especially on the run. Doing some hard efforts on the run means that I will dip under the 6 min/mile mark. For a good distance runner, that's really not all that fast. But if you can hold 6:30 on race day, you would end up finishing the marathon in around 2:50. The hard stuff will hurt you in a different way than going for a 2 hour run or 6 hour bike. When your system is filling with lactic acid and your body is trying to clear it, it hurts! What these efforts do is teach the body how to handle the harder efforts and not be drained. It gives you the ability to bridge a gap, go hard up a hill or run someone down without totally exhausting yourself. Plus, by going harder than race pace at times in training make race pace seem a bit easier when you are out there. So if you have finished a few IM's and are looking to lower your time, try adding in more "speed work". It hurts, but it works!

Tasty water and another solid day

2007-07-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

Check out that pic! It's in Ward, just below the 2 little stores. It's just a pipe coming out of the ground, but the water is some of the cleanest, coldest, purest water I have ever tasted. I love to fill my bottles there, plus it's free. When I lived in Boulder I would drive up there with those big plastic water containers like they have at the office and fill them up. Now I get my fix when I ride up there on occassion.
I had a pretty good day today starting from my morning swim to my weight session at the end of the day.
My swim was really strong. I got back into the faster lane today as I felt up to it finally. Surprisingly I was flying and had not trouble keeping up. My stroke was fluid and fast and I felt like I was gliding along effortlessly. Even my pathetic kick was feeling better.
After the swim I had some food and worked on catching up with some friends. I got out the door for my run but felt slow and sluggish. I had some hill repeats to do and I wasn't looking forward to them. Then I re-focused my energy. Lately I have been reading a book on mental skills and I used some of the suggestions I read about. I put a picture in my head of a past good run, saw myself very vividly performing well, then I moved the "video" forward to the present. I focused on each step, having good form and being strong. Rather than struggling through the workout, I acceled. The power of the mind is incredible.
After another short break I got on the bike for a steady 2 hours. Again I was tired mentally and I rode mostly into a headwind. Again I stayed focused and worked well. I knew I was going to ride the 2 hours no matter what and I asked myself what I wanted to think when I got home. Did I want to say "that sucked"? Or did I want to climb off the bike feeling like I did something productive. So I just worked on smooth pedaling, staying aero and keeping the cadence high.
A short break and I hit the weight room. I like lifting and I think it helps in all 3 sports. I focus on functional strength, not just "curls for girls". Having played tennis in college, I was lucky to work with a strength coach that was very in to swiss balls, medicine balls and core work. I do a lot of single leg training, upper body work with bands and core work that focuses on activating the core, not just doing a bunch of crunches.
The weekend should be good. Plenty of training and watching the Boulder Peak Triathlon on Sunday. Good luck to all those racing.
Next week will consist of a bunch of riding. I plan to ride to Boulder on Tuesday, ride from Boulder to SteamBoat Springs (approx. 150 miles) on Wednesday, and then ride 4 hours back before climbing into the car. Court is going to meet me in the Springs on Wednesday so it will be a little get away for us.

Training

2007-07-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

Things are pretty much back to normal for me now. It's always hard for me to get organized again after a trip.
It takes me way to long to do my laundry, put away the race gear, catch up on the mail and all the little things that get left behind. Yesterday I spent an hour installing a new part on my grill. Don't ask what I did, but I ended up having to order a part from Coleman, take apart the grill, install the new part and put it back together. What's frustrating is now only 1 of 3 burners lights. Now there is another chore I have to do. Too much wasted time.
The training has been going well though. I rode to Boulder from Morrisson on Tuesday and averaged more watts than the last time I did it. I felt really strong, so I went for a swim afterwards. Of course after 1k I was told I had to get out due to lightning. That was frustrating as well. I was feeling great and the water felt so nice after a long, hot ride. I ended up going swimming again in Highlands Ranch after driving home and still felt good.
I have a big bike block planned for next week. It will include riding to Boulder on Tuesday, from Boulder to SteamBoat Springs on Wednesday, and then 4 hours back on Thursday. Throw in some running and swimming and it should be a great block.

Home Sweet Home

2007-07-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

So you know that song by Johnny Cash that starts with " I've been to" and then he lists all these cities.
That's how I feel. In the past 6 weeks I have spent at least 1 night in 9 different locations. It was great and I didn't mind living out of a suitcase. I was worried that I would miss some things dearly, like my espresso maching and pillow, but I never thought about them. The trips and travel were so much fun that I didn't miss home. Being routine oriented it was good for me to get out of that rut and embrace a more hectic, helter skelter approach. Don't get me wrong, I did some serious workouts and stayed focused, but I opened up to new ways of approaching my training and life.
It's good to be back home although everything seems so much bigger and frantic. The SUV's, malls, subdivisions and general sprawl seem much worse than when I left. Of course those things haven't changed, it's me that has changed. Now that I have seen what it is like to live where there isn't a Starbucks, McDonalds, WalMart, Home Depot or any other chain store within 10 minutes, I miss it. It's hard to ignore those mega stores because they push everything else out. A good example is that I wanted to go have a nice meal, sit outside, enjoy the weather and have a gelato. The problem was that in my area, that doesn't exist. Yes, some places have outdoor seating, but sitting next to the parking lot isn't quite what I am looking for. But it does no good to whine, so I will make the best of what's available. There are some nice spots, but they require more driving than I care for.
The training has been decent, but tough. Being down from altitude for 6 weeks has left me winded. My first efforts were slow and painful. My throat was on fire and my legs were burning. Things are turning around though and I am feeling better every day.
Next on the schedule is the 5430 Half Ironman August 12th in Boulder. It's nice to race close to home after so much travel. The coming weeks will be filled with plenty of training and getting things organized at home.

Waaaay up North

2007-07-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

OK, so there is internet access at the lodge, but it is insanely slow so I will make this brief. I am up in the NorthWest Territories, which is the northern most province of Canada. How North you ask? Well, we are wearing pants, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts and shell parkas on the water. The water is maybe 50 degrees. TO get here we flew from Chicago to Edmonton, took a charter plane from Edmonton to Hay River, and then a pontoon plane that landed on the water to the Brabant Lodge. If you have seen the new show Ice Road Truckers on the Discovery Channel, that is where we are. The bugs are insane. They don't really land on you so much as just buzz right in front of your face. We have head nets to keep them out of our ears and mouths.
Here is the routine. 7 AM is breakfast. Today it was pancakes, muffins, coffee and juice. On the boats at 8, fishing until 12. Today we trolled for Walleye first, then went after Northern Pike. Lunch was on shore and consisted of the Walleye we caught earlier, with potatos, baked beans and homemade donuts (I had only 1, but it was the BEST donut ever). The fish, potatos and onions were all fried in a big skillet. We talked the guides into cooking 2 fillets in tin foil so we didn't have to eat so much grease. After lunch it was back on the boats until 5. 5 to 6 is spent BSing around the table and eating fried Pike. 6 is dinner time and tonight was salad, chicken parmesan and chocolate cake. At all the meals all you have to do is ask for more and out it comes. At 7 it's back on the boats until around 10. It's optional really and tonight we came in early around 8 30. The group is 18 guys and it's 2 guys per boat plus the guide.
It's a lot of fun and I have never fished at all really so it's all new to me. The best part is so far I have the biggest fish of the group, a 20.5 pound, 43 inch Pike I caught this morning. Tomorrow we are all going to where the Monster Fish are, so my standing is in jeopardy for sure.
I head back to Chicago on the 11th, and fly out of Chicago the 12th to finally return home. It's been just about 5 weeks since I've seen home, and to be honest, I didn't really miss it. Court was with me most of the trip, and living with a great host family in Germany made all the difference. I was surprised that I didn't miss my routine, and living out of a suitcase never really bothered me. I am starting to like the idea of not having material things tether me to any spot. Plus I realized that things I thought I could not live without don't really matter that much. It will be interesting to see what sticks when I return home. I may fall back into the old patterns, or start anew.

Cheers,

AJ

Back in the States

2007-07-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hallo all! I am writing this quick update on AJ's blog as he is up in the Northwest Territories of Canada fishing till late July 11th. He has no internet or phone access.

We have made it back safely to the States. We know all good things come to an end but we are still missing Germany greatly. Quelle Challenge Roth is almost full for next year and we have confirmed with Felix, the race director, that we will be returning next year.

Right now we are trying to come up with reasons and scenarios to get us back to Gemrnay as soon as possible. It is a different way of life and a different way of training there and AJ and I see us living there some day.

Hope you enjoy the photo of the Furnkas' family (our homestay) and us.
AJ and Courtney

Post race parties

2007-06-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

With the race over it has been time to let the diet go and stay up later than normal. The day after the race we hit the volunteer party with a special invite. The food was great and the drinks were free. I only had 2 drinks all night. I am not much of a drinker to start with and my stomach was still off a bit from the race. Others with our group, and some other pro racers stayed late drinking in the tent. After the beer was gone we walked to a bar and things went nuts from there. I wont tell any details, but Court and I left at midnight and were the first ones to leave. Some guys didnt leave until 4 AM. We have also had a small private party with all the people that helped out with The Triathlon Experience. It was low key and lots of fun.
Today we went into Munich with Hans. He had to run some errands and Court and I walked around the town. Munich is very expensive with many high end stores like Burberry, Armani, Rolex, etc. We saw a lot of men and women decked out in nice suits and outfits, some riding old school bikes but still looking stylish. We had a nice buffet sitting outside and toured the famous Hofbrau Haus. Its a big beer hall with all the classic German food and music. My favorite part was going to the Olympic Stadium. I saw the pool where Mark Spitz won 7 gold medals, and the track where Lasse Virren won the 5k and 10k, what I think is the greatest running accomplishment in Olympic history.
On the way home Hans let me get behind the wheel of his Audi A6 3.0 Diesel S Line. Its one sweet ride. Super smooth, quiet and quick at high speeds. I hit 210 KM, about 130 MPH, and it felt like 70. I wasnt the fastest car out there either. The roads are so smooth that you can drive so much faster. Plus, slow cars stay left, unlike the US where people sit in the left lane blocking traffic for miles.
We stopped at the Edeka (grocery store) and loaded up on good chocolates. White chocolate, rum and raisin chocolate and other great sweets.
Tomorrow I am going to hit the pool and cruise around on the bike to work it all off and enjoy the countryside some more.

Cheers,

AJ

Race Report

2007-06-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

WOW!! Thats really the only word I can think of right now to describe Sundays race.
My time was right where I did not want to be, but I am not really dissappointed with my race. It was the most up and down IM I have ever had and I had to fight harder than ever for every second.
The day started at 3 30 AM due to a 6 20 swim start. I had my oatmeal, some bread and jam, and a warm cup of coffee. I packed everything up the night before so after a quick quadruple check it was time to start walking to the start. As I wrote in previous posts, my homestay is about 500M from the start so there was no need to deal with driving, parking and all that nightmare. I found my bike under the giant yellow bag they gave us when we checked the bikes in on Friday and started to prep. Air the tires, clean the chain, put the shoes in the pedals, water up the front drink bottle and wipe some of the moisture off the frame. Everything was smooth and soon it was time to start put on the wetsuit. I did my usual stretching, put on the new Helix suit from Blue Seventy and got ready to go. I got in a short warm and started the bobbing for position at the front. Then the cannon fired.
We were finally off. I had a decent start and didnt get too clobbered. The swim is an out and back and there were 500 in our wave. I found a good draft for a bit, then saw another pack up front and surged to it. Eventually I was on some good feet and stayed there for quite some time. I need to work on swimming straight as too often I would find that there were no feet in front of me and that I had drifted to one side. As we hit the turnaround bouy there was a surge up front and everyone worked to stay together. Instead of sticking next to the bouys on the way back, we all went WAY right, next to the canal bank. I found out later that the reason for this is that the subsequent wave start 35 minutes later creates such a wake that staying way wide is actually faster. I was feeling OK, but it seemed harder than I wanted as well as slower. Hitting the exit I was expecting to see 58 and change so when I saw 54 I was a happy man. I grabbed my bag and hit the change tent. With all my nutrition tucked in my Descente race kit I headed for my bike. There were thousands of people crowded to see the pro rack and it was insane. I grabbed the Kuota and headed out.
Many people think the bike course is super fast and even short. Those people have never seen the course. It has plenty of hills, some rollers, wind and yes, some very fast sections. But it is the crowds of crazy fans that keep you going hard. The legs were good and the first section is a slight downhill and flat. I was touching 30 MPH early, and I was going back and forth with 4 or 5 other athletes. Hitting the first grade I was expecting to have to go to the little ring, but to my surprise I felt good in the big ring and powered up. We then hit the first real climb into Heideck. This is a short but steep sucker where you can stand up and stretch a bit. The sun was out and the winds were light so I decided to go hard and see what I could do. I was feeling strong and had pulled away from my early pursuers and had caught some other guys as well. After a a rolling section there is another, longer slight downhill to flat section where you can get a rhythm and absolutely haul. My HR was low, watts low, but speed was 28 plus. I got in some calories at this point at the second half of the loop is more rolling and potentially windy. Coming into Graeding I got ready to suffer. Graeding has a 1.5 mile hill that starts out VERY steep for 200M then levels off just a bit. Its little ring the whole way. Again, I felt better than expected. Maybe it was all the people screaming and blowing horns and waving banners, but I was rockin' it! At the top I could tell the wind was light, and it was more of a tailwind to boot. I took off and again was going 25 plus. I rolled steady back to Hipoltstein and to the famous Solarerberg. This point of the course is a gradual climb through town and is about half a mile in total. We were told that this place would be the craziest thing we have ever seen at a triathlon, and it was. When I saw it there were litterally people over the entire road. I pedaled right into the crowd and at the last second they parted. For the next 3 to 4 minutes I had 25,000 crazed fans yelling all sorts of encouragement. At this point I was around 30th place so I think the fans gave a bit extra. The only worry was getting knocked off. I had maybe 2 inches on either side of me, there were spectator in the road taking photos and would dodge out the way at the last second. I have never in all my athletic carreer seen or experienced anything that can compare with it. At the top of the hill I had 4 guys catch me. I think they had been working together for some time. Maybe legally, maybe not. I stuck with them for the loop out and then back to town. Starting the second loop I was feeling good, but the group I was with pulled away. Quickly I found my legs were gone and things started to go south quickly. My stomach felt queasy and my watts dropped from 230-240 to 165! I dont know exactly what happened, but I was in an ugly place. When I tried to push, the watts got to 200 and my HR was at 110. The 2 hills early in the loop that I had felt strong on the first time were torture. I did my best to keep a rhythm and not loose too much time. On the longer slight downhill and flat section I tried to recover, but it wasnt happening. I couldnt eat and I forced down some liquid calories. At one point I put a bar in my mouth, chewed it for 3 seconds, realized I would puke if I swallowed it and spit it out. On the climb up Graeding I was worried that I would have to get off the bike and walk! Then I remembered a bar I had tucked away. It was a bar that I had used a bit in training and brought it with me to see if it worked on race day. It sounded like the best thing ever so I pulled it out, stuffed it in my mouth and the next thing I know, my power was back! My watts came back, my stomach settled and I felt awesome. I took off after the many guys that had passed me in the 20 miles where I suffered. I was drinking and putting down calories trying to make up for the lost calories. Usually at the end of the bike I just want off the bike, the end is not close enough. Now however I was flying along and nailing it. I was doing a bit of math in my head and I thought I was going to bike around 5 20, when I saw the turn for T2 I realized I was going to be just over 5 at 5 05. This really lifted me as I thought if I can run a 2 50 or 2 55 marathon I can still crack 9 hours!
In T2 I had a quick change and got out to the run. On paper it looks flat, but it is a slight uphill for much of the course. You basically run along a canal into a small town, run back, past where you hit the canal, out to another turnaround, back to the canal and to the finish, like a big T. The canal is a dirt and gravel path with little shade. I took off hard knowing that I could not leave it to the end if I wante a sub 3 run and sub 9 IM. I used some FRS in a small bottle and it was perfect. The only issue I had was that my Garmin would not pick up a satellite reception. I put it on in T2, but it wasnt getting a signal. So I had no watch at that point and I couldnt tell exactly what my pace was. Usually I have some type of issue going on at this point. Either a stomach issue, a cramp or twinge, but at this point I felt fresh and better than ever. Up to the 12k mark that is. I hit an aid station and had to walk. I saw some watermelon and had a slice. Than I saw IT. Tanner had told me about these small little desserts they have on the course. Its like a milk/pudding bottom with some chocolate and coconut on top. I popped one in and it was the GREATEST thing I had ever put in my mouth. I had 3 more and took off a rejuvenated runner. I finally got to turn off the canal and head into a little town. The streets were packed, there were bratswurst and beer everywhere and an announcer as well. The aid stations were often, well stocked and well manned. They had kids and adults handing everything out. The kids really wanted you to take what ever it was they were offering and I think they started to cry if you didnt take their sponge or cup of water. I didnt have a single station where I did not get exactly what I wanted or had to slow down to grab something. Water, Coke, pretzels, melons, sponges and of course the desserts. At every aid station I had at least 2 cokes and 2 waters. I was running back and forth with another athlete. I passed him at the 15k mark but he was hanging close and got by me a few times at aid stations. On the canal headed back my stomach started to object to the obscene amounts of sugar I was pouring into it. With no port a potty around I walked a few steps of the course and took care of business as quickly as possible. I didnt want the guy stalking me to catch me again, so I was quick! Back on the canal it was getting hot and packed. There was little shade or wind. Plus the path is just big enough for 4 to 5 people and there were spectators, people on bikes, dogs, motos and racers all on the course. It was the sort of scenario that would make a race director in the States cringe. I came through the special needs and grabbed my other bottle of FRS and prepped for the 2nd half. After what seemed like forever, it was about 3 to 4k, we finally turned off the canal again. We went through a small town where there were hordes of fans sitting at a beer tent drinking, cheering and making a general ruckus. I walked anther aid station and sucked down some desserts, coke and water. We headed off on a small gravel road through the woods thankfully since I needed another bathroom break. We turned off the road and into another town. The turnaround was at the 30k point, so that was a relief. I told myself I was running the entire last seciton, no stopping. That lasted until I was on the gravel road when I had to go into the woods again. I hit the canal for the last time, put my head down and ran for the left turn that signaled 3k to go. Making the left back onto pavement I did a quick look back to see if I needed to kick it in and there was no one back there. I did see 2 guys up ahead and I caught them both when they pulled up and started walking. At the 40k mark I saw Hans, who was just starting the run for his relay team. It was great to see him. There is one short steep hill of 25M that you have to climb up which sucks a lot, but its short. Before I knew it I was in the finishing stadium. They loop you around the whole thing, about a 200m loop on nice carpeting. As I passed into the stadium there were kids handing out bouquets so I grabbed one. Then about 5m after that I saw one of the big zellow hands they had passed out to spectators. It has the Quelle logo on it, so I picked it up and started waving it around. I finished with flowers in my right hand and this crazy yellow hand in the other. Looking at the finish I saw Felix, the race director, looking at me like 'what the heck are you doing'. When I crossed he put my medal around my neck, something only a handful of atheltes got. He asked about my race and I told him that it was OK, but that this race was truely amazing.
The post race organization was unreal. There were showers, massage and the most incredible spread of food I have seen. Huge sandwiches, pastries, desserts, yogurt, coffee, chocolate milk, cracker and fruit were all in abundance. I took a minute in the med tent, then had a shower and ate plenty of food. I saw Tanner coming through and we sat down to the usual post race talking and eating.
The rest of the night was spent at the Triathlon Experience's tent near the finish. It was food, chatter and drink until the last finisher came through around 10 30. Unlike other IM events, there is no official cut off time for the finish, so whenever the last person crosses, that is when the clock stops. After the finish there was a great fireworks display as well. We finally got in the van and got back home around 11 30.
While my race time wasnt what I hoped, I am as happy with it as I am my PR in Kona last year. I pushed the pace, paid for it, but fought through it and recovered to finish pretty strong. I had thought that if I blew, my race was over, but that proved to not be the case. Other positives were that I have dialed in my nutrition a bit more, proved to myself that I can break through that comfort level, and that I can fight a lot more than I thought. More than ever I am now sure that I can go sub 9, even sub 8 30. I put up my 2nd fastest IM bike ever on an honest course and having an hour where I felt like death warmed over.
Since the race I have eaten too much junk and my system is telling me to stop! The morning after the race I hopped on the scale and it read 69 kilos, about 151 pounds. I am normally 158, and I must have eaten 3 to 4 thousand calories post race! Today we are heading for Nurnberg to do some proper shopping. Court has some great pics of me from the race and I will post them up as soon as I can. Thanks for the support.

Cheers,

AJ

SUB 9

2007-06-23T00:35:00.000-07:00

A short post before the big day. Overall I feel ready to race. My short swim this morning went well and that is always a good sign. I have done a lot of visualization and driven the bike course twice. The course is not as fast as everyone thinks. There are plenty of rollers and some good climbs that can hurt you if you are not careful. The fast times are due to the tremendous crowd support, not the topography of the course. I cant wait to hit the Solarerburg climb with 25,000 spectators going crazy. Chris McCormack commented that the crowd makes you do things you regret the next day, but it pushes you to another level.
The goal for the race is to race hard all day and keep pushing the boundary of what I think I can handle. I want to break 9 hours, so there will be no recovering or easier sections. Its go hard all the time. With the crowds, course and atmosphere my chances are good. If it blows up and I walk the marathon, so be it. Beer tent or Med Tent, but no in between! I have finished 7 Ironmans, so I know I can get it done, now the question is can I reach that new level and enter a different atmosphere in my racing. We shall see.
Thanks for reading and the support. I will get a race report up as soon as I can afterwards. In the mean time, committ to your goals 100% and you will not fail.

All the best,

AJ

Going International

2007-06-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

It's been great the past few days. We have had some great food, tasty brews and a wonderful time. Hipolstein is a small town and we have been biking everywhere. The pool is a 5 minute ride and I pass all the small children walking or riding to school. It's great to see kids on the way to school that aren't being shuttled in a minivan. Everyone bikes around town and bikers are given a lot of respect. Today on my easy spin and elderly woman started cheering SCHNELL, SCHNELL, (faster, faster). I also saw an old man on a bike that probably dates to the war, WWI, riding with a pitchfork in his hand! The pool is outdoors, 50m with a metal bottom and it uses bromine instead of chlorine. It is the cleanest, clearest pool I have ever been in.
Me being a car guy, I am loving all the Mercedes and Audis and BMW's that we don't get in the states. Plus there are Opels, Renaults, Seats and other brands not available in the US. Wagons are the vehicle of choice, with 4 doors being a close second. I think I have seen 3 SUV's and 1 truck. It's all smaller cars and lot's of diesel engines.
I had breakfast today as part of an "unofficial" pro meeting breakfast. It was organized by The Triathlon Experience and it was a breakfast for there athletes and they could ask the pros questions. On hand were Luke Dragstra, Pete Jacobs, Bellinda Granger, Chris McCormack and myself. Most of the questions were for Chris naturally, but I got to say a few words about racing overseas and the benefits of living at altitude.
This will probably be my last post before race day. It's time to focus in and get ready to go hard. The bike course is hilly and hard. The fast times are a result of the incredible crowd support, not the topography! I can't wait for the gun to go off and see what the day brings.

Going for SUB 9,

AJ

Hipoltstein

2007-06-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

We are finally here in Hipoltstein, Germany. After a 7 and a half hour flight to London, one missed connection, a short flight to Frankfurt, a train ride to Nurneburg, our homestay Hans picked us up and drove us the 50 kilometers to Hipolstein, just outside of Roth. Hans, his wife and 2 kids took us for a walk around the town and out for dinner. In less than an hour we saw a beautiful lake, great 50m outdoor pool, hiked up and went into a castle built during the 9th century, into a gorgeoous church and then we had a great dinner. We crashed out around 10 and I was hoping to be up at 7 and hit the pool early.
Well, I rolled out of bed at 9 45. I had some muesli, bread, a small piece of apple streussel and walked the 10 minutes to the pool with Court. The pool was outdoors, 50m and had a metal bottom. Pretty cool.
Then Christine (sorry if that is misspelled) took us out to 3 markets to get some food. It was quite an experience trying to figure out what things were. Cottage cheese and peanut butter were hard to find, but wurst, cheese and yogurt were everywhere. Without her help we would have wound up buying all the wrong things.
I have never really experienced not being able to understand a conversation that someone is having. I feel frustrated and need to really learn my Deutsch better. I don't want to have to com>municate with hand gestures and pointing at things on the menu. Nor do I want them to speak English, it is my responsibility to learn their language. So I am working on it whenever I can. I have learned to say my race number, bicycle, tire and a few other words that you normally dont need. I do know how to count, how to say some basic phrases and some fun words as well.
I also got out on the bike(farrad in German) for a short spin and hit the roads for a short run as well. All in all I feel better than I thought I would. The legs feel recovered from the race, and they aren't too stiff from the travel. Fortunately the house is right on the bike course and only 500m from the swim start and portions of the run. I couldn't ask for more, even the bike shop is 200m away!
That's everything from Hipoltstein. I will try to update more, but my internet access is limited so be patient. And if there is a z where there should be a y, it's the keyboard.

Danke,
AJ

Racing, IV's and a special dinner

2007-06-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well, EagleMan was a bit of good and bad. The course is dead flat, but usually windy. On Sunday it was calm, cloudy and ripe for PR's. The swim was OK. There was a bit of chop out to the turn around bouy, but it was a nice current on the trip back to shore.I found a decent draft early and worked my way to a 24 and change swim. On to the bike I was with a few guys, one of which I know is a strong biker. I wanted to stay with him, but had a lapse of concentration and let him get away. At the time I didn't think much of it, but now I really regret letting him go. It was a great place to push and see if I have brought up my cycling. A great opportunity and a smart risk just rode away from me. I did put in some surges trying to make up some time, but it was a bit late. Then at about mile 45 I started to get a sharp pain in my left quad, right above the knee. It was something new for me and I didn't know exactly what to do. I poured some cold water on it and shook it out and that helped a bit. I only had a few miles left so I just toughed it out. Into T2 I tried to work out the leg immediately. It was holding up so I just tried to forget about it. Early on I was at a 5:45-6:00 per mile pace. When I tried to pick it up a bit, both quads quivered and nearly seized. This was new to me as I rarely have any cramping issues and it wasn't particularly hot. I caught a few guys, but kept pushing and was hoping to go under 4 hours for the race. At the turnaround I knew that sub 4 was not in the cards, but with Germany coming up, I wanted to keep pushing and see if I could resolve my issues. In the end I was a few minutes over 4 and the legs never stopped being on the verge of cramping.
After crossing the line I went straight to the med tent. When I laid down on the cot and put my feet up on a box I could see both quads were in complete spasm. They were quivering like a bowl of jello. The nice folks in med offered me an IV, and I took it. At one point I had a doctor asking me questions, a massage therapist rubbing my legs and an EMT putting an IV in my arm. After the IV I felt better and walked out to get some food and do the usual post race milling around. I think every athlete I talked to set a PR.
So, the race wasn't was I wanted. Again I had a physical issue that kept me from racing 100%. It's frustrating that it's something different every time. I am thinking about Germany and what I need to do to race to my full potential.
One great experience was our dinner with the Blazeman Foundation. Kevin Long invited Courtney and I to the CanvasBack restaurant for a dinner with other Blazeman Foundation Members and friends and family of John as well. There were 14 people and we went around the table telling a bit about ourselves and how we got involved with the Blazeman Foundation. With John's recent passing it was very emotional at times. We shared stories and rememberances all dinner long. For those interested in joining the foundation, check out WaronALS.com to find out what you can do to help fight this disease.
Tomorrow we board a flight for London and connect to Frankfurt. From there we will take a high speed train to Roth. I just hope we make our connections, have a relatively smooth flight and enjoy the journey.

Ready to Race

2007-06-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we leave for Cambridge, MD. for the EagleMan 70.3. I feel good and iffy. At some points I still feel tired, but then others I feel like racing right now. One big element missing is the coffee element. I haven't had a cup since LP Camp and I can feel my true level of fatigue. The massage yesterday helped and I still have 2 more days to come around 100%. I am confident that on race day I will be all systems go. With some coffee and FRS, I will be ready to toe the line.
The race wheels are on, the race suit packed, nutrition dialed and shoes laced. It's time to put the fitness on the line and see how much I have improved. My main goal for the race is to go into the unknown. In looking at past events, I have held back just enough so I would finish strong. My fear being blowing up and suffering to the finish. In order to improve, I have to test my boundaries and see how far I can go. I have tried to implement this in my training, but it is on race day that you see if you are truly willing to take that necessary risk and step into the void. I have a feeling that I am not going into a void so much as I am opening the door to new and undiscovered places where I can push through previous boundaries. To walk into that space and let it consume me is what I am after. I have had a few races where I was so focused and so in the moment I can't remember any details. That is where I want to be again. It is a scary idea to push that far, but the reward is great. You will always finish knowing you gave it everything you could. If I win great, if it all goes pear shaped, fine. I need to feel the physical effort replaced by the euphoria of speed, pain, exertion and accomplishment.
So, next time you are out there on the bike, or on the trail, think about what it truly holding you back. Is it physical? Or is it fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of discomfort or maybe even fear of success? My fear is to look back and say "I could have done more".
I will try to write up a race report as soon as I can. Thanks for reading.

All the Best,

AJ

Camp summation

2007-06-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

IM LP Camp 2007 is over! What a great 3 days we had. The weather called for rain each day, but it never really materialized. Our camping spot proved perfect for what we wanted. My body held up well and we put down some serious chow!
In all we had 2 open water swim sessions, 2 bikes, one a hard 3 hours, one steady 6, and 2 runs, one being a hard brick after the hard ride, and one being a 2 hour steady session. I was happy to nail my sessions in terms of watts and pace. Being at 1200 ft. rather than 6000 ft. makes a huge difference. At the end of my long run I was able to hold just under 6:30/mile and keep my HR in zone 2. That's the result of years of base training, not any one particular hard session. Consistency is the key and I feel like it's starting to pay off for me.
The long ride on Saturday was fantastic. The only bummer was that Matt and I got separated after about an hour and a half. I was up front a bit and missed a turn. From there we were on our own. Matt headed North towards Canada, while I stuck around the town and did a few loops. There were a lot of other triathletes out on the course getting ready for race day. My ride was 108 miles and about 4000 ft of climbing, which is flat for around here. My watts were steady and I was even able to put in 2 20 minute surges in the last hour. The best part was my stop at a gas stationg in Lake Placid. I was wandering around the store looking for that one perfect item. I was 4 hours into the ride and wanted a little pick me up. The doughnuts looked tempting, but then I saw it, 2 pieces of cinnamon raisin bread wrapped in plastic wrap for 75 cents. The beauty was next to the bread was an amazing spread of peanut butter, jelly and ice cream toppings like like chocolate sauce, carmel, sprinkles and even marshmellow fluff. So I tore open the wrapper and spread one piece with peanut butter and carmel, the other had strawberry jelly and pineapple topping. It was absolutely glorious. It gave me the strength to pedal out those last 2 hours when all you want to do is cruise back home. After the ride Matt and I took the 2 minute drive to the stream to soak the legs in some icy cold water. It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, but it did the trick!
Sunday's run was solid as well. We started a bit out of town on the run course, down the big hill, took the left that's pretty flat with gorgeous views, turned around, back to the car to refuel, then a loop through the town. 2 hours in total averaging 6:50/mile pace. A great sign for me was that I had less than 2 minutes in zone 3 HR, the rest was all zone 1 and 2. Efficiency and endurance, that's the key. On the run I must have seen 20 people out doing the course as well. The majority were part of the Multisports.com camp. I can't escape these guys! When I did a 3 day camp in Tempe, guess who was there leading a camp for IM AZ? Oh yeah, Multisports.com. They had sag vehicles and water stops, it looked really plush to me. But I wasn't there to chat or make new friends, I was there to train.
So that was the camp. I am now back at Matt's in Harriburg, Pa. I will be resting up for a few days, and then we head out in THE ELEPHANT again for Cambridge, Md. and the EagleMan 70.3 race. After the past few days I am looking forward to a good result.

All the Best,
AJ

Lake Placid and the Elephant

2007-06-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Lake Placid yesterday. Matt and I drove from his house in Harrisburg, PA. and about 8 hours later we were parked in the Lake Placid KOA. We didn't drive any old vehicle, we drove THE ELEPHANT. As you can tell from the picture, it's massive. About 13 ft. tall, 38 ft long and 12 ft wide ( with the slides out). It's bigger than my first apartment. It has 2 TV's with in-motion satellite, a washer/dryer, full kitchen and separate bathroom and shower. It is by far the most impressive thing on 6 wheels, 2 in front, 4 in back. Having plenty of room and all the comforts of home plus the feel of the outdoors is great.
We started the day with a nice swim in Mirror Lake. The water was crystal clear and we did 1 full loop taking it nice and steady.
Then we had some breakfast, I put my bike together and we were off for a 3 hour bike with some hard intervals. For those not familiar with the Lake Placid area, it is all up and down. We managed about 4,000 ft. of climbing in 60 miles. I put in 2 20 minute sections holding 280 ad 290 watts, right where I wanted to be. After another solid hour of riding, I traded the bike shoes for runners. A fast 30 minutes averaging 6 10/mile was just what I needed to finish the day. I am not used to the humidity here though and I was sweating like a pig! It's not really that humid, but since Colorado is so dry, anything over 40% feels humid to me. I actually like it though so it didn't bother me.
Back in the Elephant it was stretching, downloading info and eating. Tomorrow is another swim, a long steady bike and maybe a short run. I will try to get some photos along the way since this area is as beautiful as anywhere in the country. There are so many trees, streams, hills and cliffs that it's hard to concentrate on the road and what you need to be doing. I am already thinking that I have to do IM USA next year. My wife loves this area, so I know she won't mind at all. I really would like to get in some fly fishing, but that will have to wait until another time.

Big Thanks

2007-05-29T05:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who communicated good vibes to the Federal Passport Information people. I talked with them first thing this morning and my passport will be here in the next 2-3 days. Just in time!
Speaking of thank you's, I have a lot of people to thank for helping me along the way, and for this trip in particular. Of course I have to do the obligatory thank you to Mom and Dad. They have been supportive of all my athletic endeavors. From running, BMXing, soccer, baseball, tennis and triathlon, they have been there 100%. I have done 7 IM's, and they have been to every one of them. I love having them there, it helps take the stress out for me. My dad is always helping me by driving me to the swim or expo, dropping me off on race day or helping with my transition bags, but he won't touch the brakes on my bike (inside joke). My mom sews extra pockets into my race jersey, takes in headbands on visors that are too big and helps organize all the meals, trips, etc. Seeing them at IM Hawaii in the finish chute was a great highlight for me.
Another big thank you to my wife, Courtney. She puts up with me on a daily basis, which is pretty easy most of the time, but I certainly have my moments. It is a fact that I loathe laundry. Quite often I have multiple piles of laundry scattered upstairs. I can't help it, it piles up so fast! But Court keeps it to herself... most of the time. She does a lot of little things like the grocery shopping, picking up stuff I need from the store, waiting for me to finish a ride or run. For my East Coast trip she got me a MasterCard gift certificate so I can buy all the little things you need when you are on the road. Her support means the world to me. Often when I am training I think about the day when I will be able to support her and a family with my racing carreer. It would be a dream to train and race and have Court be able to do what she wants. She is a special ed teacher and loves it, but I want her to be able to do whatever she wants. Plus, if I want to do a training camp in New Zealand in the winter, or in Europe, I want her to be there! Big dreams require big committment.
A few more thank you's go to the buys at Bicycle Village. I work there once a week (it's a rough schedule) and they are always asking about my racing or training. Scott is the manager and multiple IM finisher as well. It's great because when I walk in the door with my butt dragging, he knows what it's like. There are a few other guys at the shop that have done IM, or are doing their 1st IM this year. It's great to be around other guys that get the sport. Plus, I get great deals on equipment, have made some unbelievable contacts, and enjoy talking to newbies about triathlon. I also have my bike well maintained by world class, world reknowned mechanic Aaron (pronounced Double A Ron) Docter. The man is gifted with the wrenches and is a true Dream Killer.
Thanks to all of my sponsors as well. Marco at Descente for all the training and racing gear, Steve, Paul and Patrice with Kuota, the Kalibur is unreal, Haley at FRS, I can't get enough, Erik at Oakley, the Radars and Flak Jackets are perfect, Jamie with Saucony, the Tangents, Triumphs and FastTwitches are a dream to run in ,Guy with BlueSeventy, the Helix is super fast, and Mike with D3 Multisport and the Blazeman Foundation for letting me stay with him in Boulder and the good training advice. All of these people have put their faith in me as a person and athlete and I hope to repay that faith with good results and good representation of their respective products.
Their are other people who may not be "official" sponsors, but deserve a thank you as well. Dave with Zipp, Neal at the Boulder Center for Sports Med for helping me build a training pland and keep my head from exploding, my in-laws for their support and unbelievable understanding of what I am trying to do, and to all my clients for their understanding with my schedule to come.
The training has been great as well. More hard days in the saddle, pounding out the yards and hitting the trails. On Memorial Day I did a great 5k swim that was mostly continuous, a group of 500's, 400's and 300's. I did some pace work, steady state and strength building work. Then on the bike I did some big gear work up hills and into the wind. The wind seems to be theme for me lately. I was being buffeted in all directions and I swear the wind direction was changing by the minute. After the ride I went to a barbeque that our friends Shane and Carie had. I ate my weight in pasta salad, fruit and the most delicious home made oat/brown sugar bar ever made, thanks Heidi!
Today was a hard run. 20 minutes of warm up, then 2 minutes hard, 2 minutes moderate, done ten times. This workout is harder than it looks. My hard was at a 5 40 pace, right where I want to be. In the afternoon I hit the pool for the mid day masters. A good mixed pace 3500 and it was time to go home and eat more. The trainer was in order as the weather turned rainy and I spun easy for 45.
I am 90% packed up now. The Super Shuttle will be picking me up at 8 AM and the first leg of the trip starts at 11:30.
I will do my best to keep the blog updated, but I make no promises. I hope everyone has some good training, racing and a good time in general. In the meantime, be safe, have fun and committ yourself to your goal.

All the Best,
AJ

Training and Travel

2007-05-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

It's been some good hard training lately. Some good hill run intervals, bike intervals, weights, a moderate 5 hour ride with a great transition run. Today was a strong 2.5 hour run building as I went, some errands, an easy bike on the trainer and a well earned massage. I continue tomorrow with some biking in the hills and Tuesday will be a hard interval run. Then on Wednesday the great trip of '07 begins!
The ride yesterday was the tale of 2 rides. Jon and I started from Chatfield Res where I did a steady 30 minute swim. We went out HWY 105, which is dead South and goes for about 25 miles with no turns, lights or stop signs. It slowly stair steps up from about 5500 ft to around 7200 ft. It's not bad, and normally I can big ring it and stay aero. But on Saturday we had a nasty headwind. For the first 10 miles it was OK, then it was a little ring grind. Mentally it was as hard as it was physically. The ride bike was worth it though! Jon hit 48 MPH! It was a solid century for me at just over 20 MPH and around 180 watts. The run was awesome! Steady zone 1-2 and my pace was around 6 45/mile. It felt smooth and great. It's very encouraging to have that kind of long steady day after some hard interval work.
I am excited to get going with the trip. It's been a long time planning and I am ready to get moving! 6 weeks is a long time to be away, and it's hard to pack for, but I am sure it will be a great time. The only worry right now is the passport! I have been reassured that it will be on time, but cross your fingers for me.
Have a great Memorial Day!

AJ

OWIE!! My finger hurts!

2007-05-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

My left ring finger is killing me! Why you ask? Well, I did an LT/Watts test at the Boulder Center for Sports Med. yesterday and during the test they draw blood about 8-10 times. To keep the pain in one area they prick one finger over and over. So, my left ring finger has 9 little holes in it and it's sore. Please, stop crying for me.
The good part is the test went well, unlike last time when I went into the test completely shelled and it was a waste of time and money. I had rested up for 2 1/2 days before the test so I was relatively fresh, a TSB of around 0 for those familiar with CyclingPeaks. My watts at LT are up to 275, and with some more threshold work coming in the next 3 weeks, that will rise another 5-10 watts before the Quelle Challenge Roth. After the actual test I sat down with Neal and we went over my plan up to race day. It's a good mix of distance and threshold work. I will be doing a 12 day block culminating with a 3 day camp at Lake Placid. Then it's some rest before Eagleman 70.3. Another 2 days of rest before hopping on a plane for Germany. A few easy days, a few days with some pickups and accelerations, then it's time to RACE!! I am really getting excited and nervous.
Packing for this trip has been tough. I leave the 30th of May, race twice, then have a week in Germany. Add to that the fact that from Germany I fly to Chicago to spend the 4th with my in laws, then leave the 6th with my father in law and nephew for a fishing trip in the Northwest Territories, and I won't be home for 6 weeks! Try to figure out what to do with racing and training wheels, regular and aero helmet, nutrition, it's exhausting. If anyone knows how to ship wheels internationally for a reasonable rate, please let me know. The cheapest I found was around $400! I'm sure it will all work out though. As long as my passport comes in time. I called and it is still in process. They put a note on it to speed it up, but we'll see. Cross your fingers for me.
OK, a quick post as I have some hill repeats calling me, then it's the noon time masters, a quick spin, an easy 2nd run and some yoga to finish out the day.

All the best,
AJ

Boulder Weekend

2007-05-20T18:13:00.000-07:00

Keeping my promise to update more often, here's a recap of the weekend.
Saturday started with a good swim on my own. I did 3x1k, with the 1st as negative split, 2nd was 4x250 build and the last was 500 pull, 500 all out. I did some hard 50's and headed home. After some muesli and toast I packed up the car with my bike, shoes, helmet, food clothes and Court's Cross bike. The idea was to meet with some guys at Amante in Boulder at 10:30 for a good ride, hang out with Mike and Mel who let us stay at their place, then do a long run on Sunday on Magnolia Road.
We pulled into Amante at 10 and had time to check out the scene of riders getting their espressos before their ride. Things got a little screwy, but Jon and I headed out finally. We went out towards Carter Lake, but with clouds rolling in we headed back towards Boulder. From there we hit 66, went East, headed South on the I 25 frontage road and steered back to Boulder on 52. We hit the cars at 3:45 and Jon went for a run while I pedaled back out for another hour. Court met up with us back at the cars after her run.
Court and I went to Safeway where I grabbed 2 yogurts and some trail mix and a small Jamba Juice. I put the yogurt in a cup, mixed in some of the trail mix and chowed down. After eating both yogurts, all the mix and half the Jamba Juice I realized I had just put down over 1,000 calories. Man, it was good. We drove to MIke and Mel's where I showered up and relaxed a bit. The four of us headed downtown to D'Napoli's for dinner. I ordered a great pizza w/ sundried tomatos, mozerella, feta, spinach, garlic and some italian sausage. I added a glass of wine and enjoyed a great night.
The morning came soon and I met Billy Edwards at the Flatirons Athletic Club. We drove up to Magnolia Rd., which is about 8500 ft. in elevation. It's a rolling dirt road where all the top triathletes and world class marathoners go. Sure enough, we saw Gordo, Chris McDonald and Jorge Torres (a former CU runner and world class 10k runner). It was a solid 2 hour run. No speed, just steady strong running. From Magnolia we went back to the FAC for a 2k swim. The water was great and the legs felt much better afterwards.
It was a good weekend of training. Monday and Tuesday are for resting, then it's an LT test in Boulder to see where I am at on the bike. Things are looking good for Roth!

Dialing it in

2007-05-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

Another long delay between posts, but believe me, it's not by design.
I have been super busy this past week with training, logistics for the BIG trip and life in general.
My travel schedule is off the charts as I leave May 30th and do a IM LP prep camp for a client, stay in PA for week, head to MD for the Eagleman 70.3, chill in DC for 3 days, fly to Frankfurt and race the Quelle Challenge Roth June 24th, July 2nd we leave Germany and go to Chicago to spend the 4th with Court's parents, then on the 6th I leave Chi Town and go fishing in the Northwest Territorries and finally back home on July 12th. It's crazy that I will be gone for about 6 weeks.
I am having to figure out what to do with bills, reserving cars, hotels, (thankfully I have a homestay in Germany) and getting everything straight before I leave. It's exhausting! The most nerve racking event was booking the overseas flight. That's a big one and you don't want to screw it up. Thankfully it's over and pretty much settled.
The training has been going very well. I am upping the intensity on the bike and run to bring up my fitness. I had a good meeting with Neal Henderson of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and realized that I am spending a little too much time in the "gray zone". Right now I either need to go easy, long and easy, or HARD! No middle ground. Neal showed me some training of a top cyclist, a young gun that will be in Europe next year. You should see his easy days. We are talking 25-30% of what he is capable of. He is recovering with rides at under 100 watts. The average person over 80 can do 100 watts for an hour! It goes to show that TRUE recovery is the most important thing, not what you write in your log.
Quality is my main concern at this point as I have put in the majority of miles needed. The weekend will be a long ride in Boulder with some strong guys, with a short brick run after. Sunday is a moderate run on Magnolia Rd, a rolling dirt road at 8500 ft. I love that road as it's peaceful, quite and hard. You may see the Kenyans, Japanese or a Pro triathlete up there on any weekend. My training has consisted of a 12 day block that will end on Sunday, with 2 easy days. I have found this really works for me when I am building in the intensity. After Sunday it's a few days of VERY EASY, then another block leading to a short 5-6 day taper for Eagleman 70.3.
I am looking forward to racing again after Wildflower's disappointment. I think the course suits me pretty well. It will be a great last tune up for the Quelle Challenge and nice trip to the East Coast as well.

Training, buses and the # 11

2007-05-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

Since Wildflower things have actually gone pretty well for me. On Tuesday I was so spent I went to the pool just to move around a bit. After aquajogging for 5 minutes I was tired so I decided to try some backstroke. I could barely do 25 yards without feeling near death. I got home a threw in an Amy's Organic pizza, made a salad and chowed down. Hitting the pool was a good idea as it got things moving around again.
On Wednesday I decided that I needed to get out on the bike for an easy spin. I planned on 90 minutes of easy spinning. After 45 minutes I actually started to feel pretty good. My watts were coming up so I decided to put in some efforts and see what happened. Amazingly the legs were great and I did a hard effort averaging 275 watts for 6 miles up Deer Creek Canyon. It helped that I had a roadie behind me that I kept trying to drop and finally did at the end. I used the short decent to recover and pushed back home. The watts were at 245 and the legs were still there. I made a final push up the last steep hill 3 miles from home. Often I try to average 275 up this 1/4 pitch. I punched it early hoping to go hard early and just hold on. Well, I averaged 340 watts! I was completely shocked. I finished the day with an easy 2k swim.
Thursday I started off with a steady run. The legs were a bit heavy but it felt good to push the pace. Then I hit the pool for the 11:30 master's swim. My swimming is still a bit off, but that's ok. I started my ride from the pool intending to do some steady work but again the legs were ready to go. I didn't go as hard as Wednesday, but kept it steady with a few harder digs here and there. It was a great ride until my near death run in with a city bus.
I was only half a mile from the car when a bus turned right in front of me. The bus had to have seen me on the road as just previously I pulled next to it at a stop light where we both turned left. As the bus pulled level with me I remembered that this bus either has a stop near, or it turns right. So when it pulled level with me I put my hands on the bull horns and sat up. I figured there is no way this bus is going to pull over on me. Sure enough without hitting the brakes the bus starts a right turn. Immediately I start screaming, hitting my brakes and quickly deciding what I need to do. While I'm braking I start to dive into the turn hoping that there's not a bunch of sand that is going to wash out my front wheel. If I had put my left hand out I could have touched the bus, that's how close we were. I came to a stop and the bus slowed as well. The driver just looked at me, put his hand up in the universal "sorry" manner and motored on. Thanks.
Today was more fun. AM masters of 4k of speed work. Right from the pool I drove up to Boulder and did some hill repeats up Mt. Sanitas. It was a beautiful day for a run. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the views were great. After the run I met up with Mike and we went for an easy spin together. Most often I do my recovery days on my own so I don't get pulled into going too hard. But Mike is too smart for that, plus he's been on his bike twice since IM AZ so he was in no mood to hammer.
The drive home was horrible. From the Boulder Turnpike all the way home was stop and go traffic. No less than ELEVEN, ELEVEN times I was in first gear. On a highway, the speed limit is 55/65 MPH, and I'm in first gear. How do people do this with any regularity? I wanted to jump out of the car and run down the highway. Thankfully Courtney took me out for pizza at Via Baci. It's a great pizza place that makes a great thin crust Italian style pizza. Life was much better after I inhaled dinner.
Have a great weekend of riding. The weather here is going to be great and I hope you all get out to enjoy it.

Many firsts

2007-05-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

Well, Wildflower was this past weekend and what a weekend it turned out to be.
I left on Thursday arriving into LAX at 10. I was hooking up with the RaceAthlete.com crew of about 20 people. We had 4 RV's rented for everyone. The plan was to for everyone to be in by 1, so I had plenty of time. I grabbed my bags (no bike thanks to Julia for driving it out), and headed up a tucked out of the way escalator. When I got to the top I took a left and there not but 15 feet from me was Bono! I have been a U2 fan for some time, and my wife is a huge fan. I know Bono when I see him, and this was not an impersonator. I fumbled with my phone to get a good pic. I didn't want to be in his face, but he saw me and gave me this cheesy smile. I walked up to him and said that I had seen him multiple times and that Courtney had seen him on every tour since Joshua Tree. He was polite, shook my hand and asked me if I knew what the big hold up was in the line. I snapped a few more pics and headed out to call Courtney. The strange thing was that no one else recognized him and he was just hanging out in line with everyone else. It was a great way to start the trip.
The drive to Lake San Antonio took a bit longer than expected. We took the 101, but we should have taken the 5. The good part was that we found this little out of the way shack that had some decent food and great atmosphere. We loaded up with groceries as well and made our way to the site. We didn't get in until 10:30 and we were shocked to find most of the camp sites filled. After some debating and putzing around we got the RV parked and settled in.
The next morning we jumped in the lake from where we were. The race start was 2 miles away so no sense in riding there just to ride back. Plus it was a hilly route and there were plenty of hills for race day. After the swim and some breakfast I went for a short spin to make sure the bike was working fine. It was, until I punctured the rear tire. Great, one more thing to deal with. The expo and registration were all together, plus I had to drop my bike off at the Kuota booth since they wanted it there for display. I got a ride down, got the tire taken care of and went to register. Since I initially registered as an age grouper, I did not have a number yet for the Pro division. I was told I would get it at the MANDATORY pro meeting at 5.
Back at the camp site I got organized and took a little nap. Then it was back to the expo/race start for the meeting and some dinner at the VIP tent. Laurent with SBR Organization had given me a VIP pass, as well as one to Julia, a client of mine, and an extra one for her friends. I got another VIP pass since I was a Pro and gave mine to Dave with Zipp. It worked out great. We had dinners and lunches and snacks all weekend in the VIP tent.
Race morning came and I felt ready. I wasn't nervous since this wasn't an A race, but you always want to do well. I picked my bike up from the Kuota booth, got setteled into my assigned rack and started my warm up routine. Before I knew it I was putting on the wetsuit and heading for the water. My plan was to hopefully come out with the second pack, hit the bike hard and just see what happens on the run. Well, that plan came undone about 3 minutes into the race when the pack left me behind. I had picked a bad starting spot and got caught behind some slower guys. I worked like crazy to get on the back of the pack, which I did. But then 30 seconds later I found myself off the back with one other guy. We worked together a bit, but it was not good. I hit land in 27:40, about a minute slower than I hoped, and 1 minute behind a big pack. I worked hard early on in the bike and picked off some racers here and there. At mile 5 or so Josiah Middaugh went by me. I knew he was 8th last year, so I thought if I can stick with him I can claw my way back in to the top ten. That plan was working great. Josiah was 20-50 yards up on me, but never pulling away. At times I was making up good ground too. Then my race really took a turn for the worst. A moto pulled up beside me and told me to stand down. I had no idea what I had done to get a penalty. I was at least 20 yards behind Josiah and there was no one behind me. I was told I was being penalized under the stagger rule. We were racing under the stagger rule and as I understood it, it was a 10x2 meter box. Since I was well back of 10m I thought I was OK. It turns out, as Charlie Crawford explained to me while I sat there, that the stagger rule is an infinite distance. So, whether you are 11m or 111m back, you need to be 2 m to the left or right of the rider in front of you. A hard way to learn that lesson for sure. Under the stagger rule you are allowed to pass on the right or left, so there is no blocking fouls.
The 2 minute penalty hurt. I tried to put it out of my mind and get back to work. My rhythm came back pretty quickly, but I knew my chances of a top ten were gone. The bike course is all up and down. Add in the winds that we had and it made for a really tough day on the bike. The last 10 miles were a struggle since you were either going into a wind, or uphills. Mentally it was pretty draining.
Coming into T2 I figured I would just run as hard as I could and give an effort I could be proud of. 20 yards in Billy Edwards went by me. He is a very strong runner, so I decided to hand on with him as long as I could. The legs were actually OK and I thought I could still have a fast run. Then I hit the hill at mile 4. It is steed and dirt and both hamstrings started to go. I wasn't catastrophic, but I had to stop. Now Billy was well ahead of me and I was all on my own. I lost focus a bit and trudged through the next few miles. The course flattened out a bit and I started to push again. I focused on my cadence and not letting my mind wander. Even though I was pushing and felt good, 2 more athletes went by me. This really hurt mentally. I kept trying to find another gear, but it just wasn't there. My HR was at 138-145 when it is normally at 155+ for a 1/2 IM run. The last miles were sort of depressing, but I finished.
It was not what I had planned on, but it was what the day gave me. I knew on Thursday that I was a bit tired and didn't have any snap, but you put that out of your head and tell yourself you will have it on race day. Well, I didn't and that's how it goes some times.
The next day I watched Julia who is a client of mine race the Olympic Distance. I felt nervous watching her then I did for my own race. Thankfully she had a good day and posted her fastest 10k run ever. The sun was out and the temp climbed quickly. I was able to even out my tan lines a bit, which is very important. I also spent a lot of time at the Kuota booth talking with athletes about these awesome bikes. We had about 6 to 8 bikes and the booth looked great.
The trip back was pretty funny as well. I didn't fly out until Monday, so Stu and I dropped off the other 3 people in our RV and ended up parking near the beach for the night. In the morning I went out to the beach and put my feet in the water. I love the ocean and any chance I get I try to take it in. Since the RV had to be back at 9 I ended up at LAX around 10:30 and my flight wasn't until 2:40. I found an outdoor bench near some grass and read my book, On the Road. Finally I was on the plane and headed back to the Rockies. Seeing Court when I came up the escalator was a great feeling. It was good to be home. We drove home, I had some dark chocolate, a glass of red wine and went to bed.
Looking back there are some things I would change in my training, but I took a risk wanting to get more miles in for Roth. WIldflower was not the big race for me, but I still wanted to do better. There are some positives to take away from the weekend and that is what I will do.

Resting, Dinner and WildFlower

2007-05-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have been a bit tardy with my updates. Not much has been going on in the training department. With Wildflower this weekend it is time to rest. The legs feel good so I am hoping for a good day on Cinco De Mayo!
The most exciting thing lately is picking up some new gear from my sponsors. I met up with Erik from Oakley and was set up with a sweet new pair of the Radars and the Flak Jacket. Both pair are awesome and the lenses have a new hydrophobic coating that keep water and sweat off the lenses. I also picked up a new race top from Descente. They have been great to me and the new top looks fantastic. I am stoked to have the new stuff in time for race day.
The race should be a fun time. I am in an RV with a bunch of people from RaceAthlete, Nuun, Zipp and other places. We have a total of 4 RV's rented, and around 20 people. Good times are sure to come. I will be hanging out at the Kuota booth and meeting up with Paul Thomas, the VP of Sales for Kuota. Plus, I will get to meet Laurent from SBR Organization. Check them out for your next tri travel plans.
Other than that, it's been pretty mellow here. On Saturday we had some friends over to celebrate their great races at IM Arizona. I invited Kelly, Steve and Scott over. They were other three people that I did the Tucson training camp with.Kelly was the top AG woman, and 4th overall! Scott had a solid day coming in at just under eleven and a half, and while Steve didn't have the race he wanted, he still finished and did the Tucson crew proud. There was plenty of food, beer and wine for all.
There is still some last minute packing for me, so I will sign off for now. When I get back from Wildflower I will type up a full race report. Until then, stay focused and be productive.

Cheers,

AJ

MACS RULE!!

2007-04-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

So I have been thinking about buying a new MacBook for some time. I grew up using Mac's and until about a year ago never owned a PC. Some of the best training software out there, like TrainingPeaks and CyclingPeaks were only PC compatible, so my hand was forced. Now they are coming out with Mac versions, thank heavens. But Mac was even one step ahead of them. The new Mac's have an Intel Duo Processor that allows the Mac to run Windows. This would solve my dilema and allow me to have one computer for everything.
So on Tuesday Courtney and I headed to the Mac store and came home with a new black MacBook. Yes, it rocks. The only hiccup was my inability to purchase the correct version of WIndows. At first I bought just an upgrade version, then I repeated that mistake (don't ask), then Courtney bought a Vista Home Premium, but you can't run that on Parallels, the third party program that allows you to run both OS's at the same time. So, today I finally installed WIndows XP and now can run PC and Mac program simultaneously.
Some may remember that I couldn't get my CompuTrainer to work. Well, a new Mac solves all. I installed the CT software on WIndows, plugged it all in and we are ready for lift off. It was a glorious moment for me. I am not the most technically savvy person, buying 4 versions of Windows proves that, so for me to get this straight in two days was a monumental feat. I also set up the new Canon printer we got for $10 bucks after the rebate and have it running via a Blue Tooth connection. It is like Heaven on earth.
I feel good too. I am definitely tired as my Wednesday ride was crap. I cut it short to 2 hours and ran only 20 minutes, all of which sucked. When you feel like that, follow your body's signals and either cut it short, or stop altogether. Mark Allen once said something to the effect of "you have to know what the signals your body sends you mean, and have the courage to follow them" That can be a hard thing to do. What opened my eyes to that was a run that I cut short in my lead up to IM AZ 2 years ago. It was my last long run, but 1 mile in I just didn't have it. I turned around, went home and went to bed. Doing that was one of the hardest things I did in training, but I trusted my body. On race day I was 100% ready and cracked 10 hours for the first time. Since then I have been much better at shutting it down when needed, no matter what the schedule says or how nice the weather is.
Today was much better. My swimming is better than ever and I am holding 1:15/100 yd. pace easily in the pool now. Of cource I am 3rd in line and getting a nice draft, but faster is faster. I went for an easy ride today as well. Heading out the door I thought 2 hours easy would be good. I cut that to just over an hour, stretched and took a nap. I didn't feel tired, but I was dead asleep for an hour.
I hope everyone in the Denver/Boulder area is enjoying the weather, we deserve it. Have a great weekend, but if you are tired, listen to your body, go layout and even out your tan.

MORE SNOW!!

2007-04-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it! We have about 9 inches of snow on the ground and it's still snowing. It is one of those super wet, dense snows that covers everything. The roads are complete slush. Tomorrow's 4 hour ride will be on the CT for sure. I plan on spending as much time as needed to get it up and running at 100%.
Tonight I got on the CT for an hour just to spin the legs out. I wasn't motivated at all, but I received an email today that I used to get through it. The email was from USA Triathlon confirming my status as a Professional Triathlete. Finally, it's official and the dream has come true. I did race Ironman Arizona last year as a Pro, that was during the USAT/IMNA riff. When the 2 governing bodies got back together, my status was reduced back to an AG'er. That put me in an odd position. This time it is 100% official from USA Triathlon. Now I need to talk with the good folks at Wildflower and change my status with them. I am excited to race the big boys and put it on the line again.

Riding and Running Uphill & PHOTOS!

2007-04-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

First off, I have put up a bunch of photos on picasaweb.google.com/epicmultisport. It has some photos from last week in Boulder, this week's ride to Boulder and some fun photos I found.
So, let's get right to it. Normally Saturday is my big ride day. That was put off until Sunday due to my having to work at Bicycle Village on Saturday. We had an awesome Tri Expo featuring Joanna Zeiger and Michellie Jones both talking about racing and training. Michellie was there all day and lead an easy morning run. She's cool and VERY fast. So my Saturday was more laid back than normal, but I did get in 3:15 on the bike before heading to work. I thought it would on the CT since it would be chilly at 7 AM, but it was pretty warm so I went outside. Boy was I glad I did. I rode into Castle Rock. There is a small cafe there, the B&B cafe that I love. It's an old restaurant that has been family owned for something like 70 years. The inside is cool and has a great nostalgic feel. The place was packed with the Saturday breakfast crowd. The best part is that every time I have stopped there for coffee, it's always on the house! Back on the bike I really had a great rhythm, the weather was great and I felt super strong. I kept it under control though, the big stuff was for Sunday. After work I got in an easy 1500 yds. working on my form and just moving through the water efficiently.
Sunday morning came and I was excited. I was going to do a route that I had wanted to do all last year. Plus, it would take me up Golden Gate Canyon, a climb I hadn't done in years. The plan was for me to leave around 8 and meet Courtney and Amy, a good friend of ours who was in town, in Boulder so I could change and do a short brick run. I figured the ride would be about 6 1/2 hours total putting me in Boulder at 3 PM. I left on time with my pockets stuffed with food. I was tired of bars and gels, so I had some organic toaster pastries, Fig Newmans (thanks Paul!), a PB&J and some cookies plus 4 gels and 2 whole grain bars. I was wearing my D3 kit, which is all red, white and blue. I call it my Captn. America kit. Getting to Golden Gate Canyon was pretty straight forward and boring. I had to ride on the C470 trail for about an hour total. I hate riding on paved bike trails, it just bores me. After 2 hours I was finally at the climb. I settled into a rhythm and knew I was in for a long slog up. While I hadn't ridden the climb, I had driven it on my way to Eldora Ski Mountain for some XC skiing, so I was familiar with it. It climbs steadily, but there are 2 steep descents that you then climb back up the feet you lost. The end is deceptive and goes on much longer than you think it will. Mentally I was prepped and the legs were great. I put my Power Tap on AVE Watts to keep it steady. The computer was reading 238 and not moving much, which meant I was keeping the watts even and not spiking and slipping, just what I wanted. I lost a few watts on the descents, but after 1:30 and just over 4000 ft of vertical gain later I popped out on the Peak to Peak Highway. This highway rolls East/West at 7500-9000 ft. in altitude. It's great for getting that aerobic engine built up. After putting my cap, gloves and vest back on I headed North for Rollinsville, Nederland and Ward. It started to snow a bit, not bad, just the occasional flake here and there. It made the ride more interesting to think that here I was in April, riding my bike and getting snowed on. The legs were still feeling great and I was motoring on. I kept my RPM's high and tried to keep the momentum going over the rollers and hills. I made it to Nederland and stopped to eat my PB&J and some cookies. It was 4 hours into the ride, the legs were good, my mind was on straight so I was ready for more. After some quick calculations I knew I was right on schedule. I tried to call Court to let her know all was well, but I had no signal. I pressed on to Ward knowing that once I hit Ward it was all downhill to Boulder. I decided to push this section as it would be my last chance to really do so, and I only had about 10 miles to go. I could see my AVE Watts coming up slowly which kept me motivated. The last time I had been on these roads I suffered like a dog and now here I was killing it. Coming into Ward I stopped quickly to put on vest and gloves again and made the 17 mile descent to Boulder. When I hit the bottom I finally had a signal and called Court. She was going to meet me at Dakota Ridge. She was shocked that I was right on time, normally she has to wait 20 minutes to 2 hours for me (sorry!). From the bottom of LHC to Dakota Ridge it's a series of rollers and I tried my best to keep the watts at 225 and up. I accomplished that and finished the ride at 6 hours total, 102 miles, 9200 ft of climbing and 195 AVE Watts. Not bad. Quickly I threw on my running gear and headed out to Wonderland Lake for a few loops. My legs were great and I was able to settle into a sub 7 pace with ease. After 30 minutes and 4.3 miles later I was done.
Court, Amy and I headed to Pearl St. met up with Amy's friend Rick and had dinner at the Gondolier. I had the seafood lasagna which was excellent. Amy drove us back home where I proceeded to eat a bowl of cereal then go upstairs and pass out.
Monday morning came quick as my alarm went of at 4 40. Downstairs for a small breakfast, coffee and off to swimming. Monday is a distance day so I was ready. My body felt good, no aches at all. The water was the perfect temperature as well. I banged out 5250 yds. feeling strong. My swim has really come along since I moved up to the faster lane.
I drove home, said goodbye to Amy and made 5 waffles w/ jelly, honey and brown rice syrup plus some bananas, blueberries and strawberries on top, YUM.
After some emailing I headed up to Rampart Range Road. It's where I climbed up the other day on my bike. The road is the main way to get to all the motorcycles trails, but due to all the snow, the road is closed to vehicles for fear of too much erosion. However, it is solid enough for mtn. bikes and runners. At 8000 ft altitude in Pike National Forest and no one else around it seemed like the perfect place for a 20 miler. I decided to do 2 out and back loops so I could refuel at my car. I had run up there once before and remembered it was a fair bit of climbing for many miles, then all back downhill. My memory was correct, the first 5 miles out had 1165 ft of climbing alone. Then it was rolling down hill back to the car, but still with 600 ft of climbing as well! In 20 miles I climbed 3525 ft! My ave. HR was 120 and my pace was 7:42. Overall it was a great run that challenged me physically and mentally. After getting home and getting some food in me, I did 20 minutes of core work, took a hot shower and headed to my 90 minute massage. My therapist, Merlin, is great and I feel fine now.
Tomorrow is light, then it's back at it on Wednesday. Wildflower is coming up and I am going to be ready for all those hills!

INDESTRUCTIBLE!

2007-04-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

Well, the past 2 days have been great. The weather has cooperated which helps the motivation big time. Wednesday started with a good 5k swim. It was a good mix of some steady work, IM work and speed. I have been working on my position in the water and it is really paying off. Then it was home for a breakfast of waffles, fruit and a great latte with cinnamon. I got on the bike earlier than normal as the wind was supposed to pick up later in the day. If you guessed that I rode into the mountains, then pushed on the flats, give yourself a pat on the back. I took a route I hadn't taken in quite some time. The route goes along some rollers, flats and then up Highway 67. The main reason I don't go up there often is that the cars on that road don't really appreciate bikers. Highway 67 is the main road to Rampart Range Road, where all the motocross and ATV riders go to tear up the National Park. Mixing bike riders with big trucks towing trailer is not a good mix. The last time I went up there a local stopped me to politely tell me it's not such a good idea to riding there. The problem is that it's a GREAT climb! The climb is steep at the top, then it undulates a bit before turning to dirt. It ascends almost 2000 ft. in five miles. The views are great, mountain tops and wide green valleys. I took the risk going up there for two reasons. One, Rampart Range Road is closed to vehicles, so the MX guys aren't going up there and two it was Wednesday and I assumed the traffic would be light. Thankfully the ride up and down was uneventful. Just a handful of cars and no issues. The descent was screaming and I used it to work on my leg speed. Try keeping your watts up at 200, your RPM's at 110+ and your speed at 35 MPH+. It's tough, but will put some snap in your legs and make them burn! I finished with a bit more climbing and then hammered home on the flats. I had a big tailwind and at points I was doing 30 MPH and the legs were a blur. Off the bike I went for my classic 10k hilly loop. I do this loop alot and it tells me quite a bit about where I am fitness wise. To start I went out hard and hoped to hold on. There are some longer climbs and short steep climbs as well. In 6.4 miles it climbs 675 ft. which would be about 2500 ft. for a marathon, not bad. If I can run this loop off the bike in under 45 minutes I'm a happy camper. I did it in 44:15, with some sections into a 20+ MPH wind. The day ended with an hour of yoga and an early bed time.
Today I woke up a bit stiff so I started with half an hour of yoga. Just some nice easy poses to get moving. Then it was on the CT (still NO COMMUNICATION) for 30 minutes to warm up for my hard run. The legs felt good on the ride so I took that as a sign that I was going to have a good run. Again, I went out hard hoping to hold it together for 90 minutes. My first loop was rolling with about 1000 ft. of climbing in 10 miles. Along the way I fell into a rhythm and got into that indestructible mode. Every once in awhile I will be in the middle of a workout and feel like I could do anything. It got in my head that today was a good day to do some extra work. I was feeling strong an invincible Then it was on to my favorite dirt roads to do two loops as fast as possible. I am typically around 10:30 for each 1.6 mile loop. I was right on with the first loop at 10:39 and the second at 10:29. Since I felt strong still I decided to go right to the gym and get in some weight work. I downed a recovery shake, some cereal, and a toaster pastry with jelly. At the gym I did about an hour straight of weights. I mix up my routine and will do front squats, lunges, ball squats and lots of stability and 1 leg exercises. I do them without stopping so it goes something like this: 15 front squats, 12 lunges, 15 step ups, 12 front squats, 12 cable machine hamstring curls, etc. Mix it up for an hour and there you go. Amazingly, I was still feeling great, so when I got home I had another little shake, a bar and got on the bike. The sun was out so I went on a hilly course near home. Another 2000 ft. of climbing in 90 minutes with the majority of the climbing done in a big gear and low cadence to take that weight room strength and turn it into usable bike power. Off the bike it was time for 1 more. I wanted to work on leg speed so I ran a course with a bit of downhill to start. After 30 minutes I ended up back at the dirt loop I did earlier. You guessed it, one more TT around the loop to finish strong. Unbelievably I went through in 10:15, my fastest loop of the day! I cruised home and ate some leftovers from the previous night. If that wasn't enough I ended the day with an hour of yoga. All in all it was 90 minutes of yoga, 2 hours of cycling, 2:15 of running and 1 hour of weights. Almost a 7 hour day under my belt and I feel good. The key is staying with it mentally, focusing on where you are at that one point and good nutrition. Throughout my workouts, and in between, I fueled up with good sources of carbs, protein and recovery oriented shakes.
I hope you know the feeling I had today. Sometimes it all comes together and the day just unfolds perfectly for you. I hope that I feel this good at Wildflower in a few weeks. This weekend I am hoping to get in a HUGE ride and run to really top things off. I'll let you know how it goes

Racing, the weekend and Boulder

2007-04-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

Congrats to everyone that raced IM Arizona on Sunday. Mike, Kevin, Scott, Kelly, Steve and Jeremy all rocked. It was a good showing for all. A special congrats goes to Kim Nickel as well. He raced Boston today in some horrible conditions. His time was just a few minutes over his goal time, so in my opinion he nailed it!
For my weekend I decided against the Boulder Roubaix since the conditions were going to be cold and muddy. Not what I need right now. I did some cyclocross racing in the fall and loved it, but now is time for specific training. Instead, I did my favorite thing, head up to the mountains. I rode my Kuota on the flats for about an hour, then headed up. My watts were right where I wanted them and I actually had to hold back a bit in the beginning. After a good 3 hours of going up and down I got back on the flats and hammered out another hour. I like using the climbing to get myself tired, then on the descent I keep the RPM's high and work on leg speed. Try doing 30+ MPH, putting out 200 watts with a cadence of 110. It's not easy, but it trains the legs to turnover quick and smooth when you are tired. Then when I hit the flats again, I work on race wattage and being efficient. The ride had a total of 6200 ft. of climbing with an average wattage of 205 and my HR average was 120. I ran for 30 minutes right off the bike and felt great. On the flat sections I was holding 6:30 pace no problem and I was strong on the hills also. All in all a great day. I finished the day with a nice Salmon burger, some mashed potatos, corn and a small glass of vino. Courtney and I watched The Good Shepard (great movie), had some ice cream and called it a night at 9:30.
Sunday was long, but fun. I started with an easy jog for an hour. Nothing fast at all, just cruising. Then I had a huge breakfast of pancakes, fruit, and tea. The weather was great and Court and I jumped in the car and drove to Boulder. We stopped at Amante coffe, THE place to start your ride. Very Euro, good coffee drinks, cool atmosphere, cycling friendly and outdoor seating. Plus you can get on 36 in 2 minutes. We were tracking the progress of IM AZ on our phones, how cool is that? After a doppio (double espresso) I headed out for a 3 hour base ride. The reason for the huge breakfast was because when I eat a lot before a ride, I can't go very hard. This is one of the ways I make sure I go easy on my easy days. When my effort comes up, so does breakfast. It's not pleasant, so I make sure I go easy. The other trick is to ride with some mellow tunes going. Try hammering when Pink Floyd or The Beatles are playing. You can't!
I rode up LeftHand Canyon to Jamestown keeping the watts just where I wanted them and didn't care about the groups going by me. I think everyone that owns a bike in Boulder was in LeftHand Canyon on Sunday. It was a logjam! Back on the flats I just putzed around and enjoyed another great spring day.
I met Court back at Amante. She had a good run on one of her favorite trails and had got plenty of sun. We walked around Pearl St. for a bit and grabbed a snack. After some more shopping, mostly for home stuff, we had a slow dinner at Pasta Jay's. The whole time we kept checking the IM AZ updates. It was great to be able to see how everyone was doing. It seemed like a super long day, but it was lots of fun. I truely love being in Boulder. We lived there for almost 5 years before moving and hope to move back in the near future. With all the rides, run, facilities and the whole athletic vibe, it just puts me in a great state of mind. If you dig organic food, coffee shops, and crazy Tibetan knicknack stores, it's the place for you. Plus, I like to watch the hippies, the hipsters, the mountain jocks and college kids all collide in one place. The mix is perfect. If you want some cheap food, or an 80 dollar glass of wine, you can find it in Boulder. A perfect day for me involves an early swim, nice breakfast at The Walnut Cafe, a big ride up to Peak to Peak, a run on Wonderlake Trail, chilling with Court on the Pearl St. mall and dinner somewhere fun. Oh to dream a perfect dream.
This morning I was a bit tired still and wasn't all too motivated at the pool at 5:30 AM. Thankfully Matt, our coach, wasn't there and I was able to cruise a bit. I still got in my 4k though. A small breakfast and some emails were all I had time for. I got on the CT, which is still reading NO COMMUNICATION, and spun for 30 minutes warming up for my long run. A short change and I was off on my first loop. Climbing was the order of the day and I started out hard. I have tried a new strategy for my long runs. Instead of building into them, I go hard and then hold on at the end. The idea is that you don't negative split an IM run, so why do it in training? Overall it was a good run and I felt pretty strong throughout. The last miles hurt, but they are supposed too right? After the run I made up a recovery shake, did 15 minutes of core work, took a quick shower and headed off for a massage. Now it's time for some dinner, I gotta go!

Amazing swim

2007-04-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day. We were supposed to get hammered with snow overnight, up to a foot. Peaking out my window in the morning I was relieved to see that not a single flake had fallen! The storm went South and while it was cold, it was dry. For the first time this year we got lucky with the snow and it's about time.
Typically my Friday's are light, just an AM swim and maybe a light stretch or yoga. But this Friday was different. Two weeks ago I signed up for the Colorado State Master's Meet at the DU Pool. I decided to do the 1650 and then the 500 on Sunday. I wanted to do the 1000 as well, but it was scheduled for right after the 1650.
Having no thoughts of winning the meet I decided to still swim in the morning, but kept it to 2500 yards. It was light and easy and I felt good.
Then I had an appointment with Dr. Nick Studholme. It was my first visit to him and he came highly recommended. It's hard to say exactly what he specializes in, it's a mix of chiropractic, muscle imbalance, strength, flexibility and nutrition. In my 1 hour visit he tested my balance and strength and he had me do some 3 dimensional stretching, made some minor adjustments to my feet and re-tested me. The difference was phenomenal! He got some glute muscles firing and right away I felt better. The goal is to get my body to fire in a different sequence to be more stable and powerful. We ended up taping my feet to add support and help my calves, quads and glutes fire more clearly. I like his approach as it's not predicated on multiple visits a week and his goal is to get me to where I don't need to come in at all. I am excited to work with him as I love getting my body to work at it's optimum level.
After that I got really tired. Maybe it was the weather, cold and gray, but thankfully none of the 6-12 inches of snow we were slated to get. I answered a few emails and then took a 90 minute nap that I really needed. I woke up at 1 and left for the pool at 2:30. I got to the pool in the middle of the 5th heat, and I was in heat 7, so just enough time to get ready. I wasn't feeling into the swim mentally at all. There was no nervousness or anticipation at all. Even during the "fun" events I still have a few nerves usually.
As I watched the heat in the water progress I saw what I might consider to be the toughest, most impressive physical feat I have ever personally witnessed. The woman in lane 5 swam the entire 1650, one mile, BUTTERFLY!! As she hit the wall the last time everyone in the stands and on deck started clapping. My shoulders ached just thinking about doing that! If you're not a swimmer, or even if you are, try swimming fly for as long as you can to see how that might feel. I hope she has a good orthopedic surgeon!
Before I knew it I was on the blocks waiting to start. The gun went off and I hit the water clean. I started out conservative and just cruised to start. I still wasn't focused, and I didn't really feel like I was racing. If it weren't for the other people in the pool, the counters and timers, it felt like a normal easy swim. Around the 500 mark I began to focus a bit more when I realized that I wasn't getting any benefit from this swim. I started to think about pushing off the wall stronger, streamlining more and increasing my kick. My stroke felt good and long. When I counted my strokes I was at 18, right where I normally am. I was able to peak at my time at the half way point seeing 10:47. That was faster than I thought and motivated me more. As I have said before, I felt like I could go forever, but if I picked up the pace I would blow up in 10 minutes. I decided to nail the last 500. Working on using my lats and kick to finish strong I was able to go through the last 500 in 6:17, only 15 secs slower than my best open 500 time. My final time was 21:07, not too bad.
Overall it was a good time and something I would like to do again, with more motivation. The rest of the weekend is up in the air due to the weather. I am hoping to do a group ride on Saturday and Sunday rather than the bike race. With the cold and rain I think the conditions would be ripe for an accident or getting sick, something I don't need.

NO COMMUNICATION!!!

2007-04-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long delay, but there really hasn't been much to report. I took most of last week easy and recovered from my race effort. It definitely took a lot out of me and I needed the rest. Plus, the weather wasn't so great. I spent more time with my wife and enjoyed every bit of it.
Now, it's back to the grindstone and I am excited. This week is shaping up to be pretty good. I received my CompuTrainer today and got it up and running, mostly. I can use it in the ERGO mode, but I get a NO COMMUNICATION sign when I try to run it on my computer. I am pretty frustrated with that as I have little tolerance for spending that kind of money on something and not having it work right, plus I'm not the most PC literate guy there is. If anyone lives nearby and wants to earn a buck or two, just stop by.
The weekend will be packed with racing. The Colorado State Swim meet is this Fri, Sat and Sun. I am racing the 1650 on Fri., the 500 and 200 on Sun. In between I will race the Boulder Roubaix which was cancelled last week due to the snow and ice. Right now the weather looks good, 50 and sunny. I like the idea of racing into shape and I am finally doing some of the races I have always said I would do. It should be a fun weekend and it falls in line with the idea of getting out of my comfort zone for sure.
I will keep you posted on how it goes with my CT and the racing, I promise.

AJ

Back to back racing

2007-04-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Well, my first 2 races of the year are under my belt. This past weekend was spent in Galveston, TX. for the LoneStar Triathlon Festival. It was put on by Keith Jordan at EndorFun Sports. They run the Timberman, Mooseman and several other triathlons and runs on the East coast. My racing consisted of a Sprint race on Saturday and a 1/2 IM on Sunday. I haven't raced a sprint in about 6 years, so I thought why not do something different. Plus, with the travelling down I wanted to get as much racing in as possible, especially on my new Kuota Kalibur. It would be my first chance to try it out with the full race set up.
Saturday was an interesting day to say the least. The forecast was for rain, heavy rain, but not until 10. I was in the first wave and we headed off at 7:30. The .3 mile swim was done before I even felt warmed up. I was 2nd out of the water about 20 sec. back. On the 12.5 mile out and back bike I felt good, but didn't have that extra gear for the short course speed. I lost some time and came into T2 about 1 minute down. Heading out for the run I didn't think I had a shot at catching the leader, but spectators kept telling me I could catch him. The course was very twisty, and I didn't see him until I was about 50 yards back. At around mile 2 I overtook him and went into the lead. Crossing the finish tape first was cool, but I knew there were fast guys in the waves behind me. Sure enough 4 guys pipped me and I was relegated to 5th, about 2:15 back of the winner. The bright spot was that I had the day's fastest run posting a 15:55 for the 3 mile course.
On Sunday I woke up at 4:45 AM, had my breakfast of hot cereal and a banana, did some yoga poses, some extra coffee and headed down to the race. Setting my gear up in transition I checked over my Kalibur, laid out my nutrition, put my shoes on the pedals and started warming up. Making my way to the swim start I was visualizing myself having a strong race and feeling strong on the entire course.
I was in the third start wave and finally I was in the water and racing. The swim felt great and I had a good rhythm from the start. The only problem was that I didn't have an extra gear to really move. I felt like I could go further, but not faster. Oh well, I just need more speed work in the pool. I exited the water in 28 and change, slower than I hoped, but I didn't let it get to me. On the bike I was able to get into a rhythm early and settle in for a tough ride. The course was an out and back done twice. On the way out it was slightly uphill and into a nasty headwind. I was putting out 275-300 watts and doing only 20 MPH. The reward was a screaming ride back at 30+ MPH. The bike was great and I was happy that I felt comfortable for the whole ride.
Getting to the run, I knew I had to make up some time on the guys from the waves in front of me. Normally I start steady and build into the run. This time I decided to go out hard and hope for the best. I grabbed coke and water at every opportunity and kept the legs turning over. I went through the half way point in roughly 36 minutes. I was feeling good, but the sprint on Saturday was really starting to kick in. I felt like I did on the swim, I could have gone longer, but not faster. I slowed a bit on the second loop but hung tough and finished strong. Overall I ended up third and again I had the fastest run of the day with a 1 15 and change.
Thanks to the guys at BeginnerTriathlete.com. They let me crash at their beach house for the weekend and were great hosts. Ron and the gang of about 20 also ran an aid station for all 3 races.
EndorFun Sports put on a great series of races. There was Mavic support at transition and on the course. The course was well marked, accurate and there were plenty of aid stations. Registration, the expo, awards, volunteers, it was all top notch. Anyone looking for a good early season race should definitely check this race out.
I am now back in Colorado and resting up. My next race is the Wildflower 1/2 IM May 5th. From now until then I will be concentrating on building power on the bike and upping my tempo/speed work. With plenty of base it's time to work on speed.

The weekend

2007-03-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

I hope you had as good a weekend as I did. Mine started a bit early on Friday due to the weather. Normally I would ride long on Saturday, but with rain in the forecast I moved things ahead one day. After a good speed session in the pool totalling 4k I had a small breakfast, a double espresso and drove the 20 minutes to Waterton Canyon. Waterton is a very popular place since you can run, hike or bike up to the Colorado trail which runs North/South through Colorado. Or you can run into Chatfield State Park and hit some great trails. As I did, you can also start a ride from there and in about 5 miles make a left and start climbing.
Keeping with my theme as of late, I did a lot of climbing on the Kuota. This time there wasn't so much time down in the aerobars though. I have been wanting to do a loop that takes me up High Grade, about a 13 mile climb, to HWY 73 and into Conifer, down for about 20 minutes, then back to High Grade. At the top of High Grade, there is a little school that puts out coolers that are sometimes filled with water and Gatorade. You never know if they will be full or empty, especially on the weekends. They have a little can for you to drop your dollar or two. It's a great little stop as the photos shows.
All in all it was 85 miles, 5500 ft. of climbing, and a hard 30 minute TT when I got back on the flats. The best part was during the ride I stopped at a gas station to refuel. The Gatorade was on sale, 2 of the 32oz bottles for 3 bucks. Since the big bottles don't fit in the cages, I filled up one bottle and then snuck around the corner and stashed the second bottle behind the power meter and some bushes. Sure enough, when I came back about 90 minutes later the bottle was still there waiting for me. Chalk one up to the broke but creative triathlete. After the bike I put on the running shoes and headed out for a nice rolling 5 miler. I felt strong and quick and it was a great way to end the day.
Saturday was even better. Since it was raining I got up early and put in a steady 3k in the pool. Then it was on to breakfast with my wife. I love having breakfast out with her. It is such a relaxing way to start the day. We got home and changed into our pajamas, put in Raising Arizona and just snuggled on the couch. It even started to snow big fat flakes! It was so nice to just relax and do nothing and get to spend some chill time with Courtney. We went out for lunch, soup and salad, then it was back home and in the PJ's for more couch snuggle time. We finished the evening by going to a friend's house to celebrate his 40th birthday. A great day.
Sunday the weather had changed and it was sunny and warm again. I went out on the bike for 30 minutes to get the legs warm for a nice long run. I ran a hilly course that had 2k ft of climbing overall. The legs felt light and quick. I could have run another hour easy. I felt so good that I went to the gym after the run for a light weight session and an aqua jog. The legs just seemed indestructible.
I am really feeling strong for the coming race this weekend. I leave on Thursday for the Lonestar Triathlon Festival in Galveston, TX. Saturday I will race a sprint and then on Sunday I race the 1/2 IM. Nothing like back to back races to kick off the season.

Doing well

2007-03-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well, my trainging has continued to go well. I am really enjoying my new training and work schedule. It is allowing me more rest which is allowing me to go harder on the hard days. Wednesday was more mountain time trialing with a strong transition run after. My watts came up immediately and I was able to keep them right where I wanted. It makes a huge difference getting off the bike knowing that you did exactly what you were supposed to do and have no doubts. That's the beauty and value of a powermeter.
Today I drove to Boulder and did a strong 90 minutes with a group of 4 other guys. The first 30 are flat and a nice warm up. Then we head up hill on a trail and push this section a bit. We roll back down and meet up with the same roads and trails we came out on. The last 30 is just a TT back to the cars. Since I didn't do the Tuesday interval session like the others, I felt great. I was holding 6:15's and then drilled it down to 6:05 for the last 15. With the terrain being flat, it's all about a quick and light turnover. My cadence was at 96+ footstrikes per minute. I was tired at the end, but not wasted. All the easy paced base work I did in the winter are starting to pay off.
After the ride I met up with Mike, the owner of D3 Multisport and we went out for a 90' recovery spin. It was good to get out on a bike and just chill with another rider. The effort was low and that's just what I needed.
I drove home, checked some email, ate some rice, veggies and turkey then headed for the gym. I am now in a phase where I am doing low weight but lots of reps. I will do something like 20 lunges, 20 front squats, 20 hamstring curls, 20 single legged lunges, and 20 squats, all in a row, no stopping. It BURNS at the end, but it also builds great muscle endurance. After the lift I went down stairs for a 1 hour yoga class to get in some core work and relax.
Tomorrow should be off, but with bad weather coming on Saturday, I am going long again. Keep you posted.

Mountain rides

2007-03-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's ride was great. It's been a long time since I took consecutive days either off or easy, and now I know I need to do that more often. The total time was just shy of 5 hours, and most of that was climbing. I am a big believer in climbing in your aero position, so that's pretty much what I did all day. I went out to the main climb in the area, Deer Creek Canyon. It's a nice climb that after 4 miles forks. If you go left, it's a steady climb totalling about 17 miles. If you go right then you hit some descents, but still get to roughly the same altitude of about 8000 ft. I went to the right as I wanted to do some tempo and some easier sections. After about 2 hours I stopped at the gas station to refill. From there it was more climbing. The roads are clear, there's little traffic except locals and not many cyclists know about it either. The quiet and solitude really let me focus on what I need to do. Plus I can either climb for 20 minutes and then make a left and loop back to the gas station or head off on another climb, or I can go to the STEEPEST road I have ever been on. I have to stand alot and sometimes I can barely get my pedal over. Good stuff. Yesterday I took the steady route as I didn't feel the need to blow up on my first real day back. The pic you see is from that climb. Look at all the snow still. What was really great was the temp was in the high 60's and I was in bibs and a short sleeve jersey. It was strange to be so warm with so much snow around. Anyways I made a long descent down, only to climb back up one of the steeper back roads, City View. At times I was putting out 325 watts and doing 6 MPH! After getting back up I descended all the way back down, which takes about 25 minutes. I did some tempo riding on the flats and pushed it back home. From where I live, it's a 6 mile steady climb back to the house. So essentially all of my rides end with 25 minutes of aero bar climbing. It's not bad, sometimes I can big ring it depending on the wind, but right at the end there is a 1/4 mile pitch that hits 8-9%. Nice to have when you are just 10 minutes from home.
I got off the bike and went for a 35 minute run. Nothing fancy, just a steady paced run around the dirt roads. The weather was still very nice and on these dirt roads when I am headed West my view is of the snow capped Rocky Mountains. As I come over a rise the mountains slowly reveal themselves and I am still amazed by it after running it 2-3 times a week for almost 3 years.
Alright, enough for now, I need to go run. The sun is up and shining and I am ready to get out the door.

Good things

2007-03-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I am feeling so much better now that I have had some rest. I took this week easy and got some other things done. So my garage is organized, my bikes clean, workout room set up right and espresso machine descaled. It's nice to have that stuff taken care of since the big miles are coming up again. Being organized and having your stuff in order can make a difference when you are fatigued.
I didn't tell you about my easy run on Sunday. It was just a 20 minute jaunt around the dirt roads near my house, but it was perfect. It was around 7 AM, bright blue sky, nice weather and quiet. The dirt roads make a 1.6 mile rolling loop with dead end off shoots and links to trails. The houses out there are mostly older homes with horses and sheep. It was just the right place and the right time. So I stopped and thought about where I was and how I got to this exact place. You don't have to be fast, professional or even in great shape to get outside and enjoy a great moment.
Another great moment, or effort, came today at the pool. I had been wanting to move up a lane, and today was the day. Friday is a speed day for our Masters program, so with shorter intervals I thought I would be OK. Since I was rested, I thought why not today?
I felt good and kept right up with the lane. We did a series of 200's and 50's for a warm up. The main set was 4 rounds of 3x50 on 1 descending, 2x75 on 1 15 as 25 FAST, 50 cruise, 100 FAST on 1:30 and 50 ez on 1. The intervals gave plenty of rest and paces were good. The 50's were 35, 33 and 30, the 75's were at 55 and the 100's were at 1 12, 1 11, and 1 08. I was very happy with that effort and will continue to stay in that lane.
I was most happy that I got out of my routine and took a risk. I think too many athletes fall into their comfort zone and stay there. To really gain in fitness and life, you need to take some calculated risks and break your daily or weekly mold. I have found that by breaking even the smallest routines I have opened myself up to new methods and ideas.
So evaluate your life and see where you could benefit from taking a chance. Do you always plop in front of the TV after dinner? Maybe you always ride the same loop, or run the same hills. Familiarity is OK, but get out there and get away from your comfort zone.
There is also a new sponsor for myself and D3 Multisport. Check out sbrorganization.com. They are a travel group that has some great packages for races like Wildflower, NYC and the LA triathlon. They can also help you with your plans for other races as well. Laurent there will definitely take care of you.
Tomorrow will be my first big ride back. I am going into the mountains to do some climbing in the aero position. The weather looks great, 60's and 70's and my motivation is high. I will tell you all about it later.

Thanks,

AJ

I'm Back

2007-03-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's been almost a week since my last post, sorry! It's been quite a hectic week and there is a lot to tell you.
First, my sister Kathy welcomed Jax William Kimball into the world today just before 8 AM. Everyone is happy and the little one is doing well.
Funny enough, I received the call while I was in the middle of my LT test at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. So we both had doctors poking and prodding at us. How did the test go? One word, TERRIBLE!! I actually felt better than I thought I would though. See, on Tuesday I went to Boulder and ran some hard tempo intervals with THE GANG, then a short rest, and went hard on the bike. Wednesday was a hard swim, moderate/hard bike and Thursday was a long run of 90 min in Boulder with THE GANG again. We started pretty fast at 6:45/mile, then some of us, myself included, backed off to a more reasonable pace. We did finish hard though with the last 20 minutes at 6:20/mile pace. After a short rest and some espresso at Michael Stone's place, thanks for the pick me up Michael, I rode up LeftHand Canyon, a 17 mile climb, back down, and then some more intervals on the flats. Add in some big weights on Tuesday and Thursday and I was COOKED. I woke up Friday and felt like death warmed over. Friday's swim was cut way short, I did nothing on Saturday, Sunday was a 20 minute run and Monday was a 30 minute swim. Even after 4 days off easy/off I was still in the hole.
It was stupid to do. I knew I had the test coming and I should have backed off on either the run or bike. Doing both of them at the same time led me to a nasty place I have rarely been. So, the test was not necessarily a throw away, but it did not really show what the 12 day Arizona trip did for me. Oh well, we learn from our mistakes. Plus, I now have Neal Henderson of the BCSM checking in on me weekly to give me advice and keep me from doing stupid things. We set up a weekly schedule for me to follow and will adjust as the race schedule dictates.
The weather here is AWESOME! Just over 70 degrees today, but I am still resting until Saturday. That's OK, it gives me time to organize my garage and weight/core room, work on the bike, do some grocery shopping and keep the blog updated.
I have really dialed in the position of the new rig as well. I am running about 13 cm of drop and love it. I feel so strong and powerful when I am on the bike that it is hard to keep it in check!
That's the past week in a nutshell. I promise not to have another long lapse like that. This weekend I plan on hitting the mountains so I will post some pics from that.

Keep Learning,

AJ

Putting in the work

2007-03-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

OK, a short post tonight, I need to SLEEP.
This has been a tough week already. Tuesday I was in Boulder for a group tempo run around the Boulder Res. There were 6 guys total and it was a strong group. We basically did it so each guy controlled 1 interval and went through the cycle twice. 55 min and 18 or so of those at about 5:30/mile pace. That's some good threshold work and I was feeling it at the end. But, no rest for the wicked. After a short stretch I headed over to Amante Coffee for an espresso and banana bread.
I downed an FRS Energy drink that I brought with me for an extra pick me up. If you haven't tried this stuff, you should. It's not like Red Bull at all, no Chinese herbs or massive doses of caffeine. It has a bunch of vitamins and green tea extract that give me a subtle, long term pick me up. I don't' get jittery or hyper, my body just seems to function that little bit sharper. Check out the link to the right.
So it was on to the new steed again for a hard ride. I headed out to Carter Lake, did some loops around Berthoud, up the backside of Carter Lake and back. It was a great day with some sun and no wind. The bike felt awesome and the seat stayed in place the whole ride. It was my first ride where I averaged over 20 MPH, so that's not bad for 85 miles after a hard tempo run. After driving an hour home, downing 2 bowls of cereal I headed to the gym to gain some strength. Front squats, leg press, dead lifts, hamstrings curls, it all makes you stronger.
Today was a good 4k swim w/ some IM in there for fun. Then it was more biking. This time it was a steady tempo the whole way except 2 short climbs where I punched it. Again, I averaged just over 20 MPH, so I was stoked.
The run afterwards was difficult at best. My quads were Jello to start, but they came around after 20 minutes. I did a lot of uphill running to take the strength gained in the weight room and transfer it to the roads.
Now it's time for bed. Tomorrow I go to Boulder again to run with the group. It's a longer, "slower" run, so about 90 minutes at 6:30/mile. Then if I can still stand it's up Left Hand Canyon for some climbing. It should be FUN!!

Maiden Voyage

2007-03-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

That is a pic I took right after the bike was put together. I got about 10 minutes on it in the stand before I had to leave to meet friends for dinner.
I took it out for the real maiden voyage today. Thankfully Scott G. let me off work a bit early so I could get out while the weather was good and the sun was shining.
The bike rode great for the first half, but I had some issues on the second half. Of course it was due to my inability as a mechanic and certainly nothing to do with the bike. I didn't have the seat clamped all the way down and all the while the seat was sliding further and further back. I left with the seat very forward, I came back with it all the way back!
With the seat in the proper place, the bike is an absolute DREAM! My previous bike was carbon free, so switching to this all carbon, double diamond of speed was quite a shock. From the first mile I could tell this bike would be very comfortable. It is plenty stiff in the bottom bracket as well. I did a little test on a hill near my home and the bike passed with flying colors. The position is a little different from my previous bike, mostly in the drop from the seat to bars. There is about another half centimeter of drop, which is OK with me. The general rule is about 10 cm of drop, I have nearly 13 cm. I will have to keep up my flexibility and yoga routine!
Tomorrow will be fun as I am heading up to Boulder to do my first run with a group that just started. I got an email from one of the bigger names in Boulder about a Tues/Thurs. run group so I figured why not go and get my butt handed to me? It's an hour fartlek run from 8 to 9 AM, so I will grab a bagel and coffee, rest up a bit and then head out on the bike again for another test run. I do love the riding in Boulder and it's been awhile since I have been able to get on those roads so I am ready to roll.
OK, it's time for me to eat a little snack and head out to the garage to get the bike ready for tomorrow. First on the list is to tighten down the seat clamp bolts.

More Bling

2007-03-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

On Thursday I drove the hour up to Boulder and met with Marco, the Sponsorship director at Descente. He handles all the CSC Cycling stuff as well as other athletes like Cam Widoff. People think he has a great job since he gets to travel to the team camps and Tour of California, but it's pretty much all work. At the ToC Marco was pulling 12-15 hour days, so it's not pedaling around with the guys asking if they like the clothing.
Anyways, we chatted about the coming season, and went over some of the changes to the summer and fall gear. I can't say anything specific, but watch out for some of the aparel coming down the pipeline at Descente. It's cool stuff designed by guys that acutally ride and race. Marco has an IM P.R. of around 9 15, so he knows what it feels like to be at hour 4 on the bike or the back haf of the marathon. I signed a contract and then it was like a shopping spree! I felt like a bank robber at the end since we had to use a duffle bag to put all the gear in. Jerseys, bibs, vests, socks, jackets, warmers, and casual stuff was all thrown in. I can't thank those guys enough. I am the type of guy that gets really motivated when a company is willing to put it's faith in me to promote their gear. I guess I feel a responsibility to repay them, and to prove that their faith in me was a good choice. Even if my results aren't great, I can still do a lot to effect their financial bottom line. That is the real point of sponsorship from a company's point of view. If you have great results, but no one likes you and you don't promote the product well, what good are you. If you are a decent athlete but can really get the name out there and get people to actually purchase the product, than you are valuable. Results help, but they alone won't get you sponsored for long.
Today I woke up early, 5 AM and I couldn't get back to sleep. So I did some coaching work, cleaned the kitchen a bit and then headed off to the pool for a 5k swim. The main set was 5 rounds of 4x100 done with some change of pace stuff.
The rest of the day was spent building up the new bike. It took me quite some time as I am not the most qualified mechanic in the world. I will post some pics of the build process and final bike in the next few days.

NEW BLING!!!

2007-02-28T19:33:00.000-08:00

IT CAME TODAY!!!
My new ride from Kuota was delivered while I was getting a massage today. To compare it to Christmas would not due it justice. I tore into the boxes to find the frame, fork, seat, components, cages, bottles and a sweet riding kit just waiting for me. I really love the paint job. The black and white reminds me of a killer whale, which is good. On Friday I will take it into Bicycle Village and build it up, and the weather looks good for a Sunday maiden voyage. The frame has internal cable routing, a seriously short head tube (which is good for me), an aero seat post and a seriously big bottom bracket. If it rides half as nice as it looks I will be an incredibly happy man. A big thank you goes out to Patrice at Euro-Spek, the North American distributor for Kuota. Check out Euro-Spek.com to see the whole line of Kuota's bikes. He has put his faith in me and I hope to repay that faith at each event I am in.
To top that off, I am heading up to Boulder tomorrow to meet with Marco, my contact at Descente Athletic. I was with them last year and they really took care of me. Custom race outfits, gear and race support meant a lot to me. Plus since they are local I can just make a short trip to see them, pick up gear and rummage through their small warehouse for cool goodies. Add in the fact that Marco is a cool guy and a heck of a good triathlete and it's a great situation.
If you have some extra time to peruse the internet, check out my article that is up on triathletemag.com. It's about using the trainer year round as an effective training tool. The trainer is certainly not a glamorous piece of equipment like aero wheels and cool carbon frames, but it is a great tool to help you get faster.
In case you were wondering, today was a good rest day. I hit the pool at 5:30 AM for my usual Master's swim. My form felt great, but I could tell I was tired. I got out early after only 2k and went home for pancakes. After getting some work done it was off for a short 30 minute run. Unlike Arizona, it was cold here and the snow was coming down. Thankfully the run was short and I felt better than I thought I would.
I had scheduled a 90 minute massage and man did I need all 90 of it. Despite 2 massages during the camp I needed some major body work. My therapist really worked out the kinks in my back, glutes, hips, quads and hamstrings. I will feel it tomorrow, but tomorrow will be light as well. Making the night complete was dinner at Jason's Deli, one of my favorite places. They have all natural/organic ingredients in ALL their food. For 10 bucks I can get a great salad, turkey wrap w/ lots of veggies and a side of fruit. You just can't beat that!

Home Sweet Home

2007-02-27T09:38:00.000-08:00

I took this pic on my way down Mt. Lemmon. I love that climb and can't wait to get back to it soon. Sunday was my last full day and I put in another 7 hour day. 1 hour of running, 4 of biking, 1 hour in the pool and finished with an hour of weights. Thankfully Andy, who was my roommate in Phoenix, offered to let me stay at his place in Flagstaff for the night. That cut 2 1/2 hours off my drive, thanks Andy! I still had plenty of time to think on the drive home though. Like, why is it that I can sit on a bike seat for 5 hours and be comfortable, but sitting in a car for 10 hours kills me?
If you have ever driven on I 25 in that area you know that there is little in the way of civilization for hundreds of miles. While the cities and 'burbs continue to get more and more crowded, these open plains and hills remain desolate.
It was an uneventful drive thankfully and I stopped for a great breakfast burrito in Old Town Albuqurque. I couldn't stomach the idea of Subway or worse, so I got off the beaten path a bit and found Cafe Au Lait. I was the only customer there, it was 10:30 AM, and sat down to breakfast, a small coffee and the paper. Yeah, it added time to the trip, but I needed it.
So now I am home and ready for some rest. The rest of this week will be spent doing some easy workouts and then in 2 weeks I go to Boulder to do some physiological testing. I did an LT test about 2 weeks before I left, so it will be interesting to see what the 12 day camp did for my fitness. The weather is a bit touch and go at the moment, but that may help me to keep a lid on it and not go out for another 6 hour hard ride.
As you can see, I have finally posted a pic from the camp. I took a lot of photos with my phone, but couldn't get them to the computer until I got home. I will post some more later.

Getting Strong Now

2007-02-24T19:18:00.000-08:00

OK, so that's from Rocky, but it definitely applies here.
Today was another monster day. It started at 6 AM with a breakfast of coffee, english muffin, fruit and more coffee. I hit the pool for a moderate 3k with some pulling and fast 75's. I love 75's and 100's when I am going well. I wasn't going too well today though.
Back at the hotel it was time for more food. The hardest thing for me to do is to not eat so much at breakfast. Give me oatmeal, fruit, cereal, bagels, pancakes, eggs, muffins, anything with syrup and I can't help myself. I have to force myself away from the food. I worked on emails and got the bike prepped for the day while the bagel, egg, oatmeal and more coffee worked it's magic.
I really like to do a quick clean and lube of the bike before a big ride. It gives me a sense of purpose and it ensures that my bike is ready for the miles.
Today's route was much like yesterday. Out the Bee Line, which is part of the IM AZ course, but this time I went past Fountain Hills. I climbed up in a big gear and dropped into Saguaro National Park. The last time I was there was 3 years ago. I was staying with friends and joined a small group ride. The group was myself, three guys I don't know, Chris Baldwin who was riding for Navigators at the time and was the National Time Trial Champion, and Robbie Ventura, who was riding for Postal and who is now Floyd Landis' coach. It was a great ride although I popped a bit at the end. Chris was such a great guy that he dropped back and paced me back up to the group. I was very impressed by that gesture and have been a fan of his ever since.
It got me thinking about how far I had come. Three years ago I was on these exact roads and thought I was just hammering it. How wrong I was! I guess I was perceiving what I wanted to, rather than the reality. When I look at where I am now, and how far I have come, I feel a great sense of both satisfaction, and the desire to go even farther.
The ride was great and I did some high wattage sections at 260+ watts. That's just over IM wattage for me and really the first time I had tried to produce those watts over a period of time. It felt great and the numbers were right were I wanted them to be.
Off the bike it was another run around Tempe Town Lake. It's not a bad run at all. Relatively flat with some soft surfaces as well. I was surprised to feel good on the run and I held 6 43 per mile! I was shocked to go so fast at the end of such a big push, but I will definitely take it.
FEELING STRONG NOW!!!

2007-02-23T13:20:00.000-08:00

It's been a few days since my last entry and I am now in Phoenix. I drove up on Wednesday night to meet up with a crew of guys from D3 Multisport. They are all gearing up for IM AZ and wanted to train on the course in good weather. I am still pretty much training on my own however.
Speaking of training, it has been going really well the last few days. Wednesday the weather in Tucson was great and I put in a ride of just over 6 hours. I did some rolling terrain for 3 hours, then climbed up to the 14 mile point of Mt. Lemmon. It took me 90 minutes to get that far! I love that climb though. It starts out exposed and open and then gets into some trees and the scenery is constantly changing. I must have seen at least 20 other cyclists on the way up. Most of them were passing me, including one guy in all Team USA gear. I don't know who exactly he was, but he was FLYING!! It was a great 6 hour day in the saddle and I backed it up with a 45 minute brick run at just under 7 minute mile pace. I wasn't expecting to feel good, but I did so I ran with it (pun intended). After a shower, stretch and recovery food I headed North to Phoenix.
Thursday was a strong day as well. It started with 4k in the pool, then back to the hotel for some grub. The weather was nice and sunny so it was on to the bike for a good 4 hours with 2 1/2 at tempo and above. It surprised me to feel so good and I was very pleased with my effort for the day. The day wasn't over though. My strength training has been a bit neglected the past week, so I hit the weight room to finish off the day. A nice dinner of salad, Ahi tuna steak and a sweet potato put and end to my day.
Today was more fun starting with a 1:45 run in the morning. I wasn't sure how I would feel after the weights yesterday. It took some time, but I finaly came around after 30 minutes. The run was a 30 minute warm up and then it was supposed to be 2x30min at 7:00 pace with a 15 minute cruise between. Well, I got going so I said to heck with the 15 minute cruise and just went for it for the entire hour. I even managed to negative split it, though I think that was due more to terrain than anything. The run was a great confidence builder. After putting in so many miles and being able to comfortably hold a 7 minute pace I am definitely stronger than ever.
Next on the workout agenda was to hit the pool for a long swim. My thought was to get in near 8k, but I had to settle for 6750. The main set being 1x800, 2x400 pull,4x200 as 1 moderate, 1 hard, and 8x100. Being able to swim outside in the sun really makes a difference! Big training days are only as good as your ability to back it up with another solid day. Two big days are good, but if you have to take off 3 days to recover, you are defeating the purpose. Of course you reach a point where you just can't back it up, and that is when you rest, rest and rest!
I have decided to banish the words tired, exhausted, shattered, whatever adverb you like to describe your personal level of fatigue. These words just reinforce a negative feeling. Instead of something like "Man, I am totally scribbled after that run." I now say, "I am getting stronger every day." It's much more positive and keeps me strong throughout the training.
So, to get even stronger, I ran again today. It was an aerobic paced run for an hour. Nothing stellar, just good form and keeping the mind focused. I find that double run days, and double swim days, really help up the strength factor in that sport. The key is making the second session as quality as you can. This would elude to my earlier post about not just getting yards or miles in, but making them worth the time spent. Sure, I can slog out another 2k in the pool, but what did I accomplish? That should be what you ask yourself during the second session. What am I accomplishing, and is it conducive to achieving my goal?
A quick dinner of a salad, spaghetti with tomato basil tofu, some fruit and tea. Now it's off for a short half hour massage to get ready for tomorrow. It's going to be a nasty day, so I am looking forward to it! Read all about it tomorrow, or the next day if I am too tired to type!

AJ

2007-02-19T18:43:00.000-08:00

Today was more fun in the sun. I did a nice 4k swim in the A.M. with the Master's. Those guys really bang out the yards, no screwing around. At home I had some pancakes, coffe, cantaloupe and a banana. While I let that digest I cleaned the bike a bit to get ready for another day in the saddle. The wind was picking up and clouds rolling in. The forecast called for rain late in the day so I wanted to get out the door quick.
My ride took me out to Mt. Lemmon for the first time. It was an hour and forty five until I hit the climb, so I wasn't going to the top. Even if I wanted to go to the top, the big sign saying that there is ice at mile 12 told me I wasn't going to. So I pushed up to mile 5 and turned back down. The wind was nasty on the return trip and it was a 2 hour push just to get home. I kept it steady and just ignored the wind. Coming into the house I wanted to dive into a bowl of cereal. Instead I got out the door for a solid hour. After struggling through the first 30 minutes, I reached for my gel only to find that I had forgotten it at home! My world practically came apart. I made it home to a salad with chicken, some recovery drink, a nice shower and a bowl of
cereal. Then it was the best time of the day, time to go for my massage!
Ah the sweet smell of massage oil. Mark at Massage Envy was my hero today and really put me back together. Sometimes you get a therapist that is all about the fluff and buff, not Mark. He knew what I meant when I asked for a good flushing and not too deep. It was just what I needed.
Dinner was some salmon, red potatoes and yams, sauteed veggies, and 2 salads. Green tea and a small glass of red wine topped it off. It's going to be an early night as tomorrow is another early morning of swimming.

Running and Cookies!

2007-02-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

Got up at 6 and HAD to eat. My stomach was grumbling and in pain. So I got up, had some tea and steel cut oats with some honey and a banana. Then it was back to bed for another 30 minutes of precious sleep.
When I checked my email this morning I had 2 great messages. The first was my Daily Motivational Email from my wife. She wrote that recovery is just as important as the training, so I need to make sure I am doing everything I can to recover day to day. What a great message, and very true. I find the biggest mistake most athletes make is that they don't do the little things to recover well, so they can't put in the consistent hard days.
The second email was from Patrice, who is the head of North American distribution for Kuota bikes. My bike is shipping tomorrow! I am really excited to be with Kuota this year. It's pretty obvious that they make some awesome bikes and I hope to do the bike justice.
With those 2 messages I was motivated for my first run of the day. I drove the 5 miles to Catalina State Park to start. The terrain was very hilly, with the first section as steep as anything we have in Colorado. After bombing back down my quads were not too happy. Well, Ironman racing is all about going hard when you are tired. I once read where a former pro had said "Ironman is about how fast can you go when you are exhausted?" I think that's pretty much true. So, as I wrote yesterday, I figured here was my opportunity to push hard and gain fitness. I did a total of 5x15 minutes at a hard pace. With the terrain I couldn't go by pace or HR, so I just used perceived exertion. My recoveries were 15 minutes each. All in all it was a solid 95 minute run. It certainly wasn't fast, but it was one of those strength building runs that are great for this time of year.
At home it was a cup of coffe, some fruit, a small bowl of cereal and 1 piece of toast with an egg. All good stuff. I checked out some emails, took care of some work and headed off to the pool for an easy 3k. I warmed up with 750 then did 2 rounds of 500 pull, 5x100 and cooled down with 250. My pace was slow and I was tired, but I really focused on form and made sure that every stroke was done correctly. Too often athletes will just space out and just get through a workout to say they did the alloted time or distance. I have found that when I get really tired the key is to keep focused mentally. When I can do that, even if my pace is off I know that I am accomplishing something more than just banging out the time.
I came back from the pool, had a salad, some cereal and made some phone calls that I had neglected to make. Then it was out the door for my final workout, another 1 hour run. The first 10 minutes were tough. But I worked on keeping my form tight and finding a rhythm. Sure enough, at 25 minutes in I started to feel much better. I threw in a 10 and 15 minute interval to get the legs really moving and the heart rate up. As I cruised up the drive way I felt a great sense of accomplishment. Not only had a done all the training I wanted, but it was focused and productive.
Dinner was fun. Scott and Kelly ordered a pizza. Kelly had the cheese and Scott had onion and sausage. Man did that look GOOD! Steve (who eats a gluten-free diet) had some potatos which he claimed were sent from heaven and pork. I had some wheat pasta with chicken basil sausage and veggies sauteed in garlic and olive oil. Everyone was happy with their choice. For dessert Scott and Kelly made some chocolate chip cookies! The first batch came out a bit burnt as our oven seems to cook a little on the hot side. No worries, the second batch turned out great.
It's off to bed now for some well earned sleep. Tomorrow is another big day and I am looking forward to coming back to the house really tired and really happy.
Thanks for reading,

AJ

Another Great Day

2007-02-17T16:20:00.000-08:00

Today was another great day. I started with a good 3k swim w/ the Tucson Masters club. The main set was 4x100 w/ 20,15,10 & 5 seconds then a 400 straight. Follow that with 4x50 on 1, :55, :50 and :45 followed up with a 200 straight. A 600 yd. kick set was followed with 2 round of 4x50 with the 1st one on 1', the next 3 on :45. It was a concise and purposeful set, just what I like.
I drove back to the house and had a great breakfast. Some cut up pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries and mangoes with a small bowl of cereal, a small bowl of oatmeal w/ an egg white in it, and a nice cup of Kona Coffee. I let that settle and then it was out the door for the ride.
The weather was great, mid 70's and sunny. I had a headwind for the first 90 minutes, which I didn't mind as I did a low cadence/power set into the wind. I held the aero position for the entire 45 minutes. After that I did some tempo sections holding 200-225 watts. There were some good climbs in there as well.
During the ride I thought about upcoming races, my wife, trying to break 9 hours and other things. Timing really is everything. At one point late in the ride I had a tough section where I wanted to hold 250 watts. I saw a sign that reminded me of my wife and it just motivated me to nail it. I really dug deep and just let it rip. Some times fatigue just has to be pushed aside and you have to step through to the other side. Many times I have been suffering like a dog one minute only to be loving it and feeling like a million dollars the next. The door just opens up, and you have to be ready and willing to walk through. That's what I love about training. A bad day and turn good in a flash.
Fatigue is a funny thing. It is a sign that you are really working and pushing the envelope. What you do when you are fatigued is the key. Right now I am trying to put in the volume with quality, so fatigue is to be expected. As I see it for right now, being tired is just an opportunity to push past what I think I can do. It's a challenge to not let the whole, "I am so tired I can't go harder" mentality creep in. I am tired right now, and I will wake up sore and tired tomorrow. But when I step out the door for my run, I won't thing about being tired, I will focus on nailing the run and dealing with the fatigue later. Fatigue can also indicate when to shut it down. Where you are in your season will dictate what you do when you are tired. If I had a race coming up, I would back off and start a taper. Where you are in your season is really the guide to what to do when fatigue sets in.
I forgot to mention how fantastic my wife has been. I have been gone more this winter than past years, and she's been supportive through it all. But for this camp she took it to another level. On Thursday I received an email from her entitled Daily Motivation Email #1. In it she wrote some lines about training and what to focus on, keeping form together, pushing beyond my limits to reach my goals. I can't begin to tell you how motivation it has been. Every morning after my swim I get on my phone and check my email to see her notes.
OK, so it's time for dinner and bed. Tonight will be marinated chicken, potatoes and yams cooked w/ rosemary, thyme, balsamic vinegar and garlic. Add in a spinach salad w/ pine nuts, gorganzola cheese and cranberries and you have yourself a great meal.
I am looking forward to tomorrow. A 2 hour run in the AM, mid day swim, then another hour run. Right now I am tired, but tomorrow I won't be concerned with that. I will wake up and be anxious to get on my run because it will be a great opportunity to break through.
Thanks for reading,

AJ

Arizona Camp

2007-02-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posting but it's been a hectic few days. I drove down to Tucson from snowy Colorado on Valentine's Day (sorry sweetie). It was a 13 hour drive, which I don't mind. I spent the night in a crappy hotel by the freeway. The continental breakfast did not have French toast, English Breakfast Tea, or Belgian Waffles.
On Thursday I went for a short 45 min run in the AM then found the house that I will be staying at. I am renting a house with three other people from the Denver area. They are getting ready for IM AZ so they wanted to get some warm weather miles in.
The house is awesome. 6 bedrooms, 4 bath, a pool and all the amenities we could ask for. The first thing I did when I got in was to get the bike ready and head out for a spin. I went for about 3 1/2 hours with some tempo sections thrown in. It was so nice to be riding in shorts and a jersey again. It's amazing how the sun and warmth can rejuvenate you. After the ride I went for another run, just becacuse it was still light out and warm.
Steve, Scott and Kelly got in around 6 so they dropped their bags and we went out for some good Mexican food. When we got home we all decided on who would take which room, planned out some of the coming days and headed off to bed.
On Friday I went the Masters Swim workout. I was told it started at 6, but when I got there practice was in full swing. Apparently they start at 5 30. Oh well. I jumped in and still managed to get in 4k. After a nice breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and of course some coffee (thanks sweetie for the Kona!) it was out the door for another ride.
It was supposed to be relatively mellow, but I ended up having to go harder than I wanted due to the terrain. Tucson is NOT flat. I went out to the Saguaro Nat'l Park, up Gates Pass, turned around and came back. The roads are definitely deigned for carbon bikes. If you don't have any loose bolts on your bike before the ride, you will after. I think I chipped a tooth! Off the bike it was another steady run of 45 minutes. I found a little loop near the house and had a great run.
The whold crew then went to Sprouts Market to load up on groceries. We got all we needed for 175, cheap! Plenty of fruits, veggies, cereal and chicken. The meals are set for the rest of the time, so that is all taken care of.
That's a long post, but I had a lot to write. That catches you up on where I am now and I will keep posting as I roll along. The camp ends on Tuesday, but I will be going up to Phoenix to hook up with another group of guys that are also doing an IM AZ camp. It should be fun!
Thanks for reading and remember, Train Hard, Rest Harder, Race Hardest!

COLD AGAIN

2007-02-13T06:22:00.000-08:00

Well, it started to rain/sleet last night, so my hopes of an early morning run were quickly erased.
Instead it will be a small breakfast, work on some athlete schedules, and hit the Dreadmill for the 50th time. I am not a big fan of running inside, but I am not a big fan of slipping around on icy ground either.
I am packing up for my trip to Tucson/Phoenix. A group of friends that are doing IM AZ wanted to do a camp, so they rented a house in Tucson over President's weekend. So I will be in Tucson from the 15th through the 20th. Then, I have another group of friends from D3Multisport that are also doing IM AZ. They decided to book some hotel rooms in Phoenix from the 21st through the 25th. So I figured why not just make a 10 day camp out of it? I have been to Phoenix on several occassions, but I have never been to Tucson. I am excited to go up Mt. Lemmon, swim at an outdoor pool and run in shorts.
Between the bike, tools, clothes, food and all the acutrements needed, it seems to be piling up.
I was talking with a friend yesterday, she suggested that if I wanted to extend my stay, I can camp at the KOA campgrounds. If you have never done this, it is a great way to go. For 50 bucks you get a small heated cabin that will sleep 3 people, a small desk, and 1 electrical outlet. The bathrooms are shared, but have always been clean. It's a perfect solution since you don't have to bring your tent, sleeping bag, pad, etc. Plus, you can leave your bikes safely inside when you head out for a swim or run. They are all over the country, so check it out.
OK, time to finish my espresso, pound out a few emails and get to the gym.

WELCOME

2007-02-11T18:25:00.000-08:00

This is my first blog, so please be kind.
I hope you enjoy my writing and find it helpful in your own life and training.
Today there wasn't much training. Just an easy 2k swim in the AM and and strong tempo ride in the afternoon. Thankfully the weather here in Highlands Ranch has come around and the roads are dry. After 8 weeks of snow, it was nice to finally get out on the bike without having to put on every piece of clothing I own.
The past weeks I have done a lot of volume, 25-30 hour weeks. It's been a mix of swimming, running and cross country skiing. Biking has been at a minimum and mostly on the trainer. After talking with Neal Henderson of the Boulder Center for Sports Med, we decided it was time to cut back the volume and up the tempo work. I was surprised at how good I felt the first time I really went hard. I had a great ride and it was very motivating.
On Wednesday I will be heading to Tucson for 5 days and then I will go to Phoenix for 5 days. More warm weather riding is in order, as is working on the tan. I will keep you posted on how it all goes.

Cheers,

AJ