Racing, Injury and Life Updates!

After a good month off in May, some great training in June, and a few life changes thrown in the mix, life is better than ever!

#1 I think I have temporarily solved my heel problem.  I don't think anything can fix it until I take a few months off and seriously put some time into rehab and strengthening.  From my earlier post, my achilles tendinosis comes and goes with increases of run mileage.  Not quite the sharp pain I was feeling in the beginning of the year, but definitely a mental block keeping me from putting some hurt on my body while running.  Enter Hoka One One!  

Slowtwitch had an great review on these shoes last year, but at $170 and legs feeling great, I had not interest in trying them out.  Enter 2012 injury desperation and theclymb.com having them on sale and I was sold.  Getting the trail version first at a discount and running in them, I was sold from the first mile.  The extra cushioning was either a placebo, acting as the heel lifts recommended for my injury, or just held my feet better and removed much more impact.  I don't know and don't have anything scientific for you, but after putting in 10 miles with the Mafate 2, and then buying the Bondi B's the next week and getting a 16 mile day in, I was free of the second day soreness in my heel I had been experiencing.  This revelation lead me to be extremely excited for my race at Vineman 70.3!

#2 Always a great time up on the Russian River.  I have a perfect setup with one of my longest, best friends buying a cabin just west of Guerneville that I get access to.  Nice 5 mile warmup ride to the start.  Bike racked, business taken care of and ready to rip up the river.  Little disparaged about the late wave, 7:50 after a 6:30 start to the race, but everyone has to deal with the same, so I get over it.

Into the water for a little warmup, they guys in my 35-37 AG wave are definitely friendly for a change and some good banter while we wait for the start.  Waiting wasn't the right word as all we hear is this Charlie Brown teach voice say something, then "GO!".  Half the wave lets out a "Really!?"

Love my Fit2Race

Probably better that way, and keeps everyone honest.  I had clean water and kept to the middle of the outbound traffic for most of the upstream half.  Not much drafting, but clean water was suiting me as we encountered many people from earlier waves.  Some shallow spots where my long arms hit gravel too.  At the turns, people were wading, causing a log jam.  I navigated this fairly well and no standing.  Heading back toward Johnson Beach and I finally get some good feet to draft off and we make great time back, with good navigation as well.  Pushing hard to the finish and a good run up the beach I know it was a good swim, for me at least.

Swim Time: 30:36 - 250th Overall 37th AG - Full minute improvement over last year.

The bike went as planned from a race perspective.  Navigating wave traffic on my way out River Road, trying to be nice, but still having to yell "ON YOUR LEFT" a few times.  Luckily everyone except for one lady obliged with courtesy.  I won't repeat what she yelled back.  The course is a great one on the 70.3 circuit with the exception of 5 miles of really crappy 1960's concrete.  You have two big climbs and plenty of rolling vineyards.  Never boring with bends and it can be a task to stay aero at times with some of the 90 degree turns.  While overall the course is not "difficult", it can be a technical course with lots of gear shifting and turns to make bike handling skills a very large benefit.

One strange thing that I still can't figure out is the loud hissing I heard right before Chalk Hill.  I thought I had blown a tire from what it sounded like, so I even slowed down, but wheels were rolling true and no mushy feeling either.  Figured a CO2 popped, but both were sealed afterwards.  Nobody around me pulled over to fix a tire either.  Thinking back, there were a good deal of either live or dead snakes on the road there, and maybe I had a close encounter?

Taking Chalk Hill hard, flying down the hill and my one tragic event occurs.  My last bottle of water violently ejects off my back wing.  I'm down to maybe a quarter bottle of perpetuum for the last 10 miles of the bike.  I pretty much say screw it, and drive my body into dehydration for those last few miles because I wanted a stellar bike split.  Hammering away at 300-320 watts the whole way, I wanted to close hard as running was not going to be the strong suit for the day.  Hoping I had kept up on my drinking I was expecting the worst when I go back into transition and off my bike.

Bike Time: 2:22:42 40th Overall 7th AG - 1:30 improvement over last year

Slow transition because with my new Hoka One Ones, I haven't had a chance to dial in the speed laces, so having to tie them up took a minute.  Up and out of T2, slamming down as many cups of Gatorade and water I could gram and I'm out on the course.  Amazing friends Stefan and Virgilio are waiting half a mile down screaming and I'm feeling good.  Definitely a lot left in the tank, but since I hadn't tapered for this race, my bike suffered slightly, so I couldn't put myself into the red out there, or on the run.  My heel puts a mental limiter on my for the run anyways, so off on the road and I'm clipping away at the miles between 6:30 and 7:00 pace on the way out.  Rounding La Crema Winery and still strong running at sub 1:30 HM pace.  The route home was changed this year to "Help Traffic".  I guess its neighborly, but I love seeing everyone on their way out and cheering for people I know.  Now you run a short downhill/uphill out and back, where I can see my competition eating up time on me.  Definitely the 1st place AG'er from two waves back charging.  The legs are cooperating and letting me drop the hammer a bit more for the last three miles.  Virgilio was out on his bike yelling for Mike and me, giving splits to where our competition was.  I knew I was 3rd or 4th in my wave at that point, and so a near miracle for a podium.  Still wanting to push and get a good time I see Stefan cheering, and some other SF Tri Peeps along the finishing mile so I'm stretching my stride and pushing all the way in.  Eric Gilsenan gives me a great welcome over the PA and I'm happy with a new Vineman PR!

Run Time: 1:27:16 50th Overall 5th AG - 7 sec improvement over last year

Total Time: 4:27:10 28th Overall (removing Pro's) 8th AG

Very happy with the result as this was a test race to see where I was and make sure everything was a GO for IMNYC.  Happily, two weeks later, my heel has been holding up, and another great training week is in the books.  One last weekend, then its on to some taper and recovery before the big race.

#3 Amazingly as a triathlete and the world of Ironman, something even bigger has happened in my life recently.  The girlfriend has been creeping into posts, we moved in together, and she is an amazing person in my life.  On a beautiful summer day up on Mt. Tamalpais while hiking up to West Point Inn (site of our first hiking adventure), I proposed to Whitney and I was lucky enough to receive a yes.  Full story here.

There aren't many things to compare to some of our adventures in racing, but this tops anything I've done in life.  Whitney and I are looking forward to a long, healthy life together.


Sorry for the shackiness, but I asked some random MTB'ers to act like they were taking a picture with my camera, but I had it set to video.

What takes me to the finish line - Bike Edition

There is no single way to fuel or prepare for an Ironman, or let alone any race so please take what you can from this post as the last thing you want to do is derail your own preparation by thinking you are off base with the equipment or product you use.  In getting ready for a race there is always something you can look at to improve so I'll go over most of the things that I feel made my race day a better experience and why.

Here we go!

Bike - Cevelo P2 - Ultegra
Wheels - Williams Cycling - Wheel System 85
Computer/Power Meter - CycleOps Joule 2.0 and Power Tap PRO+
Saddle - ISM Adamo Racing Saddle
Shoes - Pearl Izumi Tri Fly III
Helmet - Rudy Project - In the market for a new one, but have a big noggin that is hard to fit.  Let me know what you like.

The Cervelo P2 was the best fit for my 6'5" body.  Nothing else was as comfortable and smooth when I tried it.  At around $2,500 it was the best bang for the buck when I got it tw years ago as well, and there hasn't been anything else in the price range (except maybe a Speed Concept $$$$) that really turned my head since then.  Reviews say it has incredible straight ahead speed, and I agree, but they also fault it a little for handling which I disagree with.

The Williams wheels are 85 mm deep (4 mm deeper than a Zipp 808) and they have worked flawlessly so far this year.  At Wildflower with 20-30 mph crosswinds, there was some "fun" moments, but that was expected.  In Texas the 10-20 mph winds didn't grab the wheel very much, and the second half of the course was into a headwind which the wheels cut through as I passed much of the field.  At half the price of other aero wheel-sets, I can't believe I was the only sporting these on the course.

My computer and power meter are my newest best friends.  Heart rate isn't quite enough to be able to control the effort put in during the bike, and spikes in effort can just kill your run.  The CycleOps computer and power meter keep my effort smooth and make sure I am on the right track on the bike.  The biggest benefits I've found are in varied terrain where your head would think you are on target because your speed is where it should be, but because of hills or wind you are actually putting too much or too little effort and not reaching your potential.  The watts never lie.

Guys have to protect your junk.  That is the endless battle riding a bike.  While the ISM saddles, with their double nose doesn't look like it would protect a guy, it does a very good job of keeping the nether regions safe from harm.  When riding over 100 miles there will always be some soreness down there, it was drastically improved when I moved to this saddle and I'll don't see any other seat on my bike in the near future.

The Pearl Izumi shoes are great.  They don't break the bank, and are are comfortable for the whole ride.  They have good ventilation with the open construction too.  I wear them with socks, but without would be great with their lined upper. They work with SPD and Look pedals.  I use Look Keo's, but will probably change these out for something better soon.

Wildflower Training Weekend - SF Tri Club

DAY 1

This time of year is always fun.  My club, SF Tri Club, heads down to Lake San Antonio for a slugfest and debauchery.  Lots of people I haven't gotten to see in a while, and all the new faces to the club were coming down so it was set up for a great time.

Training day weather was perfect at 60-70 degrees, but night time lows were heading down to FREEZING!  We were all doing what we could to stay warm.

Morning came and nasty fog put a delay on our swim until the afternoon.  Swim Art was great to lend us one of their coaches for an overview of the course and swim tips.  He had some great insights to share along with overall ideas for a better race day.The sun finally broke and it was time for some hammering around the Long Course bike.  This was the first time out on my new Williams wheels, and they look sweet, and hopefully they were as fast as they look!  I also go the Power Tap Hub on the rear, so many new toys to play with this weekend.

Swim Art coach sharing wisdom

Anyone who is familiar with the Wildflower Long Course bike route knows its not pretty.  Well, its really amazing scenery, but lots of rollers along with BIG climbs and steep descents.  Road conditions improve every year, but there is one section that just grinds you down around 25 miles.  Wish they would repave it, PLEASE!

I really need to get out on these wheels a bit more to get used to the deep rim on the front.  85 mm takes some hits in cross-winds when you go over 35 mph and it made for some interesting descents.

We had a huge crew from SF Tri, and four or five other clubs doing recon on the course this weekend.  Made for a festive time out on the course and meeting people from all over the place.

My "buddy" Adam decided Nasty Grade repeats were a good idea.

Little crazy on the wattage.  Really good to see how inconsistent things are.  Managed it fairly well on climbs, but really need to concentrate on the flats and rollers to smooth out my effort.

Getting back to the campsite, time for a "fun" brick run.  After two miles Dan and Adam drop me like nothing once we hit a hill.  Legs were like lead, hopefully just from racing Oceanside last week.  Grinding away at 7 hilly miles, back to camp, a small bite to eat and a nice swim.

DAY 2

Up early and its a bit warmer than yesterday making everyone happy.  On tap is the Long Course run.  This run is almost constant harassment of hills, but almost all on trails making it nice on the legs.  I'm up for a good pace today, but again, Dan and this time Tim decide to punish and drop me hitting the first set of hills.  Very content to push the pace and have fun anyways, its time to be the teams mobile Photog.  I really recommend people get out to enjoy these trails to run and enjoy outside of the actual race.  Its great countryside and perfect to get out of your comfort zones.

Long Course Run

Long Course Elevation - Started 3 miles into the loop, 1,300 feet gain.

Wrapping up the weekend with a mile swim in the lake.  Finally felt good to get some sun and cool off as the temperature got above 70 for once!  Great weekend with the friends and feeling good about the coming races.