feeling fresh

4 days to go until the Rocket City Marathon and my legs are finally starting to feel rested and recovered. I have two more short runs to to do of 3 and 2 miles and then it will be race day.

The days leading into this event are always filled with second guessing - even if the training was executed you have no reason to second guess. My goals for this event are to race smart and trust my training. By racing smart it means going out slow! I think if I do this I will be able to hit my goal time of 3:25.

Last minute preparations like picking up a new stick of body glide and some race fuel need to be taken care of, along with making sure all the race wear is ready to go.

Forecast is calling for a 40% chance of rain on race day - I'm hoping it's wrong or it changes!

Almost there...

The Rocket City Marathon is quickly sneaking up on me. I've only got a handful of runs left before the 12th is here. I haven't been feeling the best on my runs lately but I've been trying to stay optimistic about my chances to run a PR. I know I've hit all the important long runs I set out to do which are the most important when prepping for the marathon.

In all of the endurance sports I've done there's always this grey area between the end of your hard workouts and the actual race called taper. More than likely I never feel good during the taper (rest period), until maybe the day before the actual event or even the day of the event. My body seems to go through a restless stage during this period, where it feels like it should be working hard because that's what it's been doing for a while. It always seems to work out though, but is frustrating non the less when I felt better the week I ran 50+ miles than this week where I'm only running 25 or so.

I guess I just need to take my own advice on this from when I was a rowing coach. Rest, Hydrate, eat well and have faith in the taper - you'll feel good on race day, who cares what your workouts feel like today.

30 weeks.

The start of this week marked 30 weeks until Ironman Coeur D'Alene. My "official" training plan was not supposed to start until 24 weeks out (Jan 11th) but I simply cannot wait any longer. I miss the pool and the long bike rides. All of the running for the Rocket City Marathon that I have been doing the past three months is really starting to wear on me. So I tacked on 6 weeks to make my "official" plan start this week. I can really take my time now and build slow easy mileage, I think this will pay off in the end and hopefully aid me in avoiding any type of over-use injuries by going to hard to soon. The extra six weeks will essentially be a scaled back carbon copy of the original first 6 weeks that were supposed to start Jan 11th.

Today I got back in the pool for the first time since probably August. The workout was 1,600 meters broken up into 300 warm up, 4 x 50 drill/swim, 6 x 100 @ moderate intensity, 4 x 50 kick, and 300 cool down. I didn't have any trouble finishing the distance but I certainly am not speedy in the pool right now. Later I'm going to give my revamped tri bike a spin for an hour and start working on dialing in the fit so that it's 112 mile worthy.

I'm in taper mode as far as the running goes. Rocket City is in 11 days! I had a good 12 miler yesterday where I was able to run about 15 seconds under my goal pace very comfortably. I've got an 8 miler this weekend with a few shorter runs in between. Here's hoping the five 20+ mile runs I did in Oct/Nov pay off in those last 6 miles. Which I believe it will as long as I don't get rabbit feet. I'm certainly more mentally read for Rocket City than I was for the Philadelphia Marathon last year. I did 4 out of 5 of those long runs solo, and the last two were 21 and 22 miles respectively for good measure.

rain, rain, go away

Last weeks training went very well. Still focusing on the run, my big workout for the week was a 21 mile run. I planned out a course between here and Suwanee and asked Naomi to come pick me up at the far end of the Suwanee greenway - where my 21 mile jaunt would end. I started early Sunday morning and set off with a fuel belt full of water and shot blocks. This run went very well considering what I had done in the two days prior to it. On Friday I had the day off and the weather was just perfect for a ride. I headed out the door with the intention of doing 25 or 30, but ended up going 45 just because I didn't want the ride to end. I followed this up on Friday with 10 miles at marathon race pace, which is supposed to be around 7:50 a mile. I wasn't feeling so hot during this run so I felt like I had to work for that pace - but I ended up working to hard and averaged 7:30's. I've had a hard time nailing down 7:50 on my pace runs, I'm always 10 to 20 seconds to fast! I guess this is an ok problem to have, but I need to learn my pace so I don't go out to hard in Huntsville. So back to the long run, I started out slow - 8:40's or something for the first few miles. Gradually I felt better and by the half way point when I crested the big hill up Old Suwanee to make my left onto North Price, I started feeling down right fantastic. As I looped around Moor road and Suwanee, I was picking it up ever so slightly each mile. I hit the Suwanee Greenway 18 miles in at L'ville-Suwanee Rd. 3.25 miles to go and much to my surprise Naomi and Scout had run 3 miles out to meet me for my last 3. This made for a really easy finish to a very long run. I finished the 21 miles in 2h 59 minutes. Averaging 8:24 per mile when it was said and done.

This was my 4th run of 20 miles or greater since the beginning of October and I am certainly feeling comfortable with the distance. Nutritionally the thing that seems to work the best for me during the run are Cliff ShotBloks in Cola and Margarita flavor. They sit on my stomach just right and don't cause any gastrointestinal distress like gels or a mixed high calorie liquid fuel. They also come in neat tube like packaging so they are easy to manipulate while running. The cola has 1 shot of espresso in it and it seems to really perk me up mentally and helps me focus in the later stages of my long efforts. The Margarita flavor provides some much needed sodium and electrolytes. I eat 3 to 4 packs of these over a 3 hour run - about 600 to 800 calories, so about 250 calories an hour. As far as hydration I've just been sticking with plain water - about 40 ounces per 20 mile run in the fall weather we have been having.
I have the day off work today so I had planned a 5 mile run and also to get on the bike, but just so happens there's a tropical storm moving through the state. If the rain would just slow down a little bit I could get the run in, and then sit on the trainer for an hour later this evening.

fighting something

The past week or so I feel like I've been fighting something off. I've been on the verge of getting sick but have somehow just avoided it. I feel achy and dehydrated even though I've been pounding the H20.

During my 10 mile run this morning my legs felt fine, but I was feeling hungry and dehydrated the entire time. I ate my usual pre-run breakfast of a bagel with creme cheese and a banana but I may have waited to long after breakfast to start running. It certainly wasn't the worst run I've had but it wasn't the best.

I've got a couple of days off from work so I'm hoping the extra time will help me get to feeling good again.

I've got a concrete plan now on what to do between now and January 11th as well, so that is comforting. I'll be getting back in the pool next week and hopefully getting on the bike more consistently. I'm beginning to become restless with just running. This is why I don't think I could ever been just a swimmer, cyclist, or a runner again. I get bored quickly! The constant mixing it up while you train for tri's suits me just fine.

My ATP (Annual Training Plan) through the Ironman looks something like this right now:

November and December:
- Off season base building/maintenance
- 2-3 workouts per week in each discipline
- 6-8 hours a week total training time
- Low intensity on all workouts

January 11th
- Begin 8 weeks base phase
- 3 workouts per week in each discipline
-7-10 hours a week total training time
- Mostly low intensity with some controlled interval work mixed in.

March 8th
- Begin 8 weeks build phase
- 3 workouts per week in each discipline
- 9 to 14 hours a week total training time
- Mix of low intensity key long workouts and high intensity short interval work.

May 3rd
- Begin 8 weeks peak phase
- 3 workouts per week in each discipline
12 to 17 hours a week total training time
- Longest workouts and middle distance workouts at threshold intensity

strategizing

Tonight I laid out the first 8 weeks of my official Ironman training program. After going over a number of sources and thinking about how my training has gone in the past, I settled on a plan out of Matt Fitzgeralds book Triathlete Magazines Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide. All of the research I read pretty much pointed me in the same direction, being that the key workouts are your long efforts.

The plans out of this guide are very specific and written out day by day. It follows a building progression through several distinct phases of training and incorporates races as workouts -which I love. The plan I'm working off of uses 9 workouts per week. It works in three phases of 8 weeks each: Base, Build, and Peak - which are then broken down into four week blocks with which there are three "on" weeks and then one recovery week. To me it's a very logical progression. It's a structure that I am very familiar with through coaching rowing. When applied correctly I believe that this type of structured training is the only way to effectively peak for one sole event and be at ones best.

Other than the above state reasons, I'm choosing this particular plan because I think it is very manageable and gives me the best chance to be successful on my long workouts. When I was training for Gulf Coast this past year, I chose a more aggressive plan that incorporated 10 workouts per week. I struggled to stay on course with it and was often exhausted for my key long workouts. Most of my recent reading gave me a new perspective on what the most important workouts are when training for an Ironman and how to approach and manage them so that I gain as much as possible from them. I guess the theme here would be quality, not quantity. Any numb skull can go out and destroy themselves with a bunch of mileage - been there done that! I'm going for the right workouts at the right times done at the right intensity. Above all I need to develop a keen sense of recovery to gain the most out of the long efforts.

The 24 weeks to glory kicks off on January 11th! I can't wait! Until then I'm using the marathon to maintain general fitness and hopefully improve my long run pacing and training tactics. Bike and swim workouts are building to develop base fitness in all three disciplines until I go full on in January.

ironman bond

Today at work I had a customer who was doing his first Ironman next week. He is headed down to Panama City to do Ironman Florida. It was interesting that when I revealed that I was doing my first Ironman in June, we seemed to have a million things in common. The more engrossed I get into the sport of triathlon, the more I realize that it is kind of like belonging to a fraternity. The faster I get and the longer races I attempt - the more respect you get from your fellow triathletes.

Through my friend Mark Helton (the first Ironman I ever met in person), I have a group of people that I have met that compete in Ironmans. They all live and train in the area. Seemingly as soon as they found out that I was doing Couer D'Alene they have mentioned that I should do long rides and runs with them etc. As if the key to gaining acceptance to their group was to step up to the magical distance of the Ironman. Half Iron?...that's kiddy stuff right? I haven't even completed an Ironman yet...but by accepting the challenge and daring to go for it, I already feel the Ironman love. The culture of Ironman is a pretty neat thing and being around those who share that some bond really get's me going for what the next 8 months will bring.

Training Update:
Training is going very well for the Rocket City Marathon. I've done three twenty mile runs and have two more to go. This week is a recovery week with a shorter long run of 12 miles this weekend. Then I'll go up to a 50 mile week with a 20 miler for the long rung, the recover, then back up for one more long week with one last 20 miler, then three weeks of building down to the race. I'm starting to build into some base mileage on the bike and am planning on bringing in some swimming next week.

the long and the long of it.

Today I did my third of five 20 mile runs in preparation for the Rocket City Marathon. By all standards, it went exceedingly well. I would dare to almost call it easy. The loop I did covered pretty much everything between here and Suwanee. The weather was cool and crisp fall weather, just perfect for a long run. It was my third run in my new shoes that I purchased earlier in the week. The shoes I bought through work a few months ago just weren't working out. So I headed over to Fleet Feet to get some advice on what to do. My ankles had been bothering me and I didn't see myself making it through 3 more twenty milers in uncomfortable shoes. The new kicks have been serving me well. They are still a neutral shoe but have a lot more cushioning. I think they are really paying dividends with all the concrete surface running that I've been doing.

Getting the the point where 3 hour runs seem easy is pretty much what I want to achieve by doing the Rocket City Marathon this December. Learning how to pace through it is also a goal of mine that I think will translate well to Ironman. I'll probably never be a competitive marathoner. It's more of a personal thing to learn how to get through the distance with out feeling like I got hit by a car in the last 6 miles of the race. So far I think I'm adapting well to the mileage and learning to pace myself for an even effort through the entire run. The next trick is going to be to tack a century bike ride on before hand.....

confusion

Of recent I've been scouring over a few books trying to figure out how to lay out a training plan for an Ironman. The book that I used to get ready for this past summers Gulf Coast Triathlon, Triathlete Magazines Week-by-Week Training Guide by Matt Fitzgerald, is a strong contradiction to the book I'm reading now. That book being Going Long by Joe Friel and Gordon Byrne.

While I consider the Gulf Coast race a success, I'm not so sure the training methods that I used from Matt Fitzgeralds book will get me through 6 months of training and ultimately to the finish line of a 140 mile race. Both of these books seem to prescribe to the same philosophy of periodization, they seem to differ mostly on how you should space your key long workouts and organize your recovery periods. The training plans in Fitzgeralds book require you to do back to back long workouts on consecutive days. For example, a 3 hour run on Saturday followed by a 5 or 6 hour ride on Sunday. Going Long refers to this as a "monster weekend" and stresses that they should be avoided. The idea being that you won't build the type of muscular endurance if you are so fatigued from your previous workout.

I laid down a lot of "monster weekends" while I was getting ready for Gulf Coast and do remember feeling that my planned recoveries after these weekends never seemed to get me "recovered".

Potentially the answer lies somewhere in between these sources. Possibly modifying or molding them into one to get the best fit for me. One thing is for certain though, you have to log the miles. That seems the same in everything I read. You need a good number of long run, ride, swim, and brick efforts spread out over a long period of time to make it work.

What would really be great is an experienced coach. I've looked into this and it is pricey - but could be worth it. Someone who has trained and raced themselves and also trained others may be the ticket. There's something about real life experience that you can't seem to get from a guide or a book. My fear is that I choose the wrong plan or I modify it incorrectly and end up either under or over trained. In the end if I do end up being self coached for Couer D'alene then I'll just have to rely on what I can learn from research and my own personal experiences.

going Dean Karnazes all over Kennesaw trails

This morning I woke up early and met with my friend Daniel to do a 20 mile run at Kennesaw mountain. Daniel is a more gifted runner than I so it is always a task to go the distance with him - but it provides good motivation for the tough long runs.

The Kennesaw trails are mostly rolling with a few longer climbs here and there, but nothing major. It is mostly double track and well groomed with not a lot of roots and rocks. The leaves are just beginning to change so the run was very scenic along with the orange hues provided by the crystal clear sun rise that greeted us in the first few miles.

My rules for my long runs are as follows: 1. Slow down. 2. Your probably going out to fast so slow down. 3. Slow down. These are my rules not Daniels, he was nice enough to humor me through most of the run at the easy going pace of 8:30. My plan for the Rocket City Marathon is to log five runs of twenty miles. In order to accomplish this and not have my body fall apart, they need to be run at 30 to 90 seconds above my goal pace for the race. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing we ran the last hour of the 2h 50min excursion around 8:10-8:15's. I was ok with it because I felt fantastic and we were very conservative in the first half of the run. My recent long runs at the slower pace seem to be paying off. My legs are not giving out on me quite so early in the 2+ hour efforts.

So I've got two twenty milers down, and three to go. The idea of running a Marathon this fall is more an endeavor of self discovery rather than a quest for speed. I'm trying to figure out how to train and fuel myself to develop the best training and race plan for an Ironman finish. What does my body respond to the best to keep it going for as long as possible? I'm figuring it out one long effort at a time.

no mans land

In terms of training in mind for a race that's so far away but so monumental, I'm pretty much in no mans land. Just like the race, I have to temper my training so that I don't over load to early in the year. At the same time I don't want to end up out of shape by the time the first of the year comes around.

So what does one do during the off season when your planning on an Ironman next summer? You run a Marathon...of course. December 12th I'm running the Rocket City Marathon (Huntsville, AL...I know, space camp) along with Naomi and our friend Lauren. It will be a good confidence builder if I can complete this one with out looking or feeling like death in the last 4 miles like the Philadelphia Marathon last year. I have to find a way to make the different events that make up an Ironman seem less intimidating - so Marathons and Century bike rides are in order. This will hopefully help me wrap my head around the Ironman event as something that I am actually capable of.

Right now everything is pretty much maintenance training except for the 20 mile runs every other week. I'm looking forward to building in some swimming soon along with the biking and running. I'll be on a holding pattern of training 6-9 hours a week until January 11th - when my 24 week Ironman specific training plan will start. I'm currently doing some research on some strength training that will be beneficial in the off season as well.

Today was a good (or bad depending on how you look at it) preview of winter. I sat in the garage on my bike for an hour on the trainer while the rainy weather persisted outside. I try to avoid using this awful machine as much as possible - but no doubt there will be some nasty days where I just have to get the ride in - but going outside is not an option. Tomorrow is a 9 mile run at an easy pace, hopefully the rain goes away!

The Goal.

I actually did it. Over the summer I signed up for the 2010 Ironman Coeur D'Alene. With everything else going on I had kind of forgotten about it for a while. Recently I've had to start thinking about it again, with it being only 8.5 months away and all. I've got to come up with a plan to be ready for it on so many levels - physically, mentally, and logistically. I've been researching and pondering what to do over the next 3/4 of a year to make sure I cross the line in less than 17 hours. 17 hours being the cut off for an official Ironman finish.

Perhaps the most important piece of information that I have read has to do with my goal. Often times endurance athletes set a basic goal for themselves - especially on a first attempt at a given challenge - and then as that event gets closer they start changing the goal. It starts out as I just want to finish strong and run my own race, and before you know it you want to qualify for Kona or rip off some fast time. This has even happened to me during a race - you somehow convince yourself to make a last minute goal change, even though you've prepared with a completely different goal in mind. If this happens I usually get outside of my training and limits and the race unfolds in an unfortunate struggle to the finish, where as if I would have stayed patient with what I originally had as my goal I would have ended up a few minutes faster. (case in point = Gulf Coast 2009)

My goal for Ironman Couer D'Alene is to simply just finish it. 12 hours? 14 hours? 16 hours 59 minutes? I'd take any of the above. Maybe if I do a second Ironman we can start talking times, but until I finish the first and experience the distance, I don't plan on tempting fate with a endurance effort of this distance. To be extremely conservative is going to be hard for me. I'm a hammer. Meaning that I like to go as hard as I can until there is nothing left. That may work for a Half Iron, but I'm pretty sure they'll be pulling me off the course on a stretcher if I try to pull that kind of thing in June 27.