Kia Kaha

2012

2012-01-05T12:25:00.002-07:00

Not really sure where to go with all this....the blog I mean...or training and racing for that matter.

I have committed to coaching runners for the Moab half in March. And to be part of the coaching team for the Fast Forward Sports Ironman program.

I am entered in the Moab half...but other than that I have not signed up for anything.

My new hobby/obession is archery. discovered that I love it last Fall. I'm am currently learning to make my own bows. It is a wonderful process. To start with a board or two and end up with a shootable bow. And the act of shooting is also quite enjoyable. It's quite zen and I love the physics of it all as well. A good sport for geeks.

Twanng!

Today's workout: 30 minutes of easy jogging. It's mid 50s out there at the moment, blue sky and no wind. Lovely.

Ki Kaha

Digging this

2011-08-17T16:48:00.001-06:00

Don't Judge, Execute

2011-08-17T13:14:00.002-06:00

Starting Over. Brand new. Writing off the last 2 months and starting fresh. Starting very slow as well. Baby steps.

Breakfast: yogurt and fruit, coffee
light weights and yoga ~20 minutes
Lunch: steak sandwich, small salad and tarter tots

the goal is to pay a little more attention to my diet. and to move a little everyday. For now the exercise will remain light and be focused on range of motion. As time moves on, I'll start to add more resistance.

let's see if I can keep this rolling.

Kia Kaha

2011-07-27T08:34:00.002-06:00

Build step by step. Push yourself, but not too hard. Learn. Keep it fun.

and to go with that

http://chuckiev.blogspot.com/2011/07/happiness-ambition-and-pursuit.html

CdA race recap

2011-07-06T13:01:00.002-06:00

cold water....
swam a good first loop
jammed finger on someones heel. ouch, swelling
onto bike. rode well, negative split, good power numbers
first 6 miles of run on target, second six started to hurt...
kept my head in the game until about mile 15, even though my body (stomach) wasn't responding
jogged it in
grabbed Keri for a kiss in front of the crowd on the way to the finish. It was the highlight of the day.

got back to the house we were staying at. Lost over 5 pounds during the race. too busy driving and pedaling the bike, dehydrated, never caught up.

Same sad story...taking along break

P

5430 Sprint

2011-06-20T08:16:00.002-06:00

Nice time at the sprint this year. felt good the whole way. By "Felt good", I meant I was able to stay on the gas the entire race, it actually felt fairly painful (in a good way). Wasn't even close to the AG podium this year though.

Most happy about my bike, held my power near my last measured FTP. And the run, I was able to negative split the run, out in 10:17, home in 10:00.

the numbers.......

bib number:	531
gender:	M
division place:	9 out of 115
gender place:	30 out of 632
time:	1:17:46

swim:	12:00
t1:	1:48
bike:	42:54 (226watts average)
t2:	0:47
run:	20:17

I'm ready for CdA.

Kia Kaha

2 Weeks out

2011-06-14T08:42:00.002-06:00

to Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

did a race rehearsal this last Saturday. 5 hours on the bike, at 150 watts, 19 mph. % mile run at a final average of 8:42.

Take aways:
Goal watts of 145 for the first hour and 155 after that is good.

I rode too hard the second and third hour (average 160 Watts) and didn't eat enough.
With eating properly, I think holding 155W is reasonable. I must be patient. Better to average a little "low" for 5 hours and then storm home...than struggle that last hour.

Need at least 300 cals per hour. But I knew this. Was chilled most of the morning and didnt' want to stop.

Run was good. Way easy to run too fast, even feeling a little bonky. Took four walks to hold my pace to 8:45s for the first two miles. The third mile was way fast, but it was down hill. I just let it flow a little. All in all, ok, considering how I felt at the end of the ride.

Oh...below 65 degrees = vest and arm warmers. Wear my F4 bike jersey for the ride so I have pockets.

Sunday was a Bare Bones swim at the res. 2.2 miles. Felt pretty great really. Perfect water and no wind. mid 60s. Long and lovely. Was able to find feet and cruise. Pulled away from my group in the last 500. 58 minutes. That's a sub 64min Ironman swim.

Kia Kaha

Stroke and Stride

2011-06-10T12:50:00.002-06:00

not fast, but feeling pretty ready. Swam one hour pace last night at the stroke and stride. Had a terrible transition, but then ran a nice controlled 20:44. Couldn't have gone much faster, but could have held onto that pace for longer.

One more long ride this weekend and all set to taper.

Kai Kaha

Catching up

2011-06-08T14:26:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday:
Race for Your Cause, Boulder Sunrise Olympic. 2:20, 17th place overall. Plan was to swim controlled and relaxed, ride as hard as a could, and run controlled. 200 watts and 23.5mph on the bike course (42k) and then 45 min on the 10k. Ran 23min, then 22 min for the 5k splits. Not a bad day.

Sunday: Swim at Rally with F4. then 56 miles on bike with 4 mile run. I did the first loop with Scott and Michael at 166 watts, and then I soloed the loop at 160 watts. Felt good and in control the whole time. It did get warm, 85 degrees, and I handled that well. Pretty content with where I am for IM. Run went well, 34:40 for 4 miles, had to take 7 walks to hold the pace down.

Monday was a rest day. Tuesday was the last longish run, 11 miles in 93 minutes.

This coming weekend, I'll get in one more long ride. Then it's coast down to IM.

Kia Kaha

Last long run

2011-05-31T14:24:00.000-06:00

2:04, 14.1 miles. not bad. Didn't have my water belt, so had to improvise. Negative split this run. Eating a big lunch now. All is good.

Kia Kaha

Decent weekend

2011-05-31T08:15:00.002-06:00

Good swim Friday morning and Sunday am. Friday's main set was 3500 yards. ended the Sunday F4 workout with an extra 500 pull.

Sunday's bike started out cloudy and overcast. Some drizzle. I wasn't ready to be cold again, but forced an extra 30 minutes. Glad I did, the skies cleared some and ended up with 5 hours. the 3rd hour was at 168 watts, and then last hour was down on the flats at 147watts (and 19 mph). Pretty reasonable ride. Need one or two more of these and I'll be ready.

Kia Kaha

Summer Open Tri...Duathlon

2011-05-24T07:28:00.003-06:00

Decent race. Not a tri this year though. Due to the rain, the res had too much ecoli in it. 4 times the limit. So they switched the swim with a 2 mile run. Not my favorite, but what the heck. Decided to build into the day by building into each event.

Did ok, I suppose. Running first puts me too far behind the competition. The bike ride went very well for my, 24.9 mph at 221 watts (96% FTP). the last run started off rough, but by the last mile (in part thanks to a big down hill) I ran 6:15 pace.

7th of 34th in my AG and 38th overall of 363. Not my best result. I'm taking it as good news though, as the day went on, I got faster. And having the 24th fastest ride of the day, including the elites is a nice boast as well.

Next up is a few long rides this weekend. Then the Boulder Sunrise International in two weekends.

Kia Kaha

stole some pics from skipixs...omg...my form is awful (shoulders are up at my ears and feet are in front of me) on the run and my gut is huge on the bike.

Thursday

2011-05-19T10:07:00.003-06:00

Strange morning....I'm not sure what exactly has changed, but I've found some motivation and I'm going with it.

Did a 2.5 hour treadmill run this morning. The first 3 miles were very very relaxed, lots of walking even. From then on, I slowly got the pace down to 8 min/mile. Most of the miles were in the 8:30 to 8:45 range. Ended up with 16.2 miles. longest run of the year and longest treadmill run EVER.

Tonight is some time on the velodrome with the team. Won't count much as a workout, at most I'll be able to consider it spin/recovery time.

Kia Kaha

39 days to ironman

2011-05-18T14:47:00.004-06:00

So...can't really write about what I'm feeling without sounding melodramatic (or maybe like a spoiled brat)....the short version is I've lost the faith that training will lead to faster times. Yes, of course that doesn't make sense. Maybe its that I'm not enjoying training any longer. The weather certainly isn't helping. I'm pretty much done with cold rain. today is a 2 hour run and we have thunderstorms and 45 degrees :(

Ok..like I said, melodramatic and spoiled.

So...what the heck do I do with this? That's the question I've been trying to answer. I'm in for Ironman mostly because I have time and money invested and I have three athletes racing there.

Ok..so I'm in. Shit...

Here's what I'm thinking. Train the best I can. Don't judge...just do the work. If the schedule calls for zone 1 do it, if it calls for 150 watts, don't think, place value on it, don't think ahead. Ironman will be here whether I worry about it or not.

Wednesday:
Swim with 15 min test, 940 yards. Not a great effort, but decent enough. total of about 2400 yards for the swim

Wednesday after work...was 30 minutes into a 2 hour treadmill run, my long run for the week, when I got a call that the F4 workout was canceled and the meeting time was moved up. That ended my workout. I was pretty upset to be honest. But the meeting was good and it was nice to chat with folks in a relaxed environment.

Kia Kaha

Cautiously Optimistic

2011-04-29T09:16:00.002-06:00

Power test this last weekend and got my highest measured FTP ever.
Smacked it good on the bike Tuesday night. Decent long swim Wednesday morning. Last night was a long trail run, 2:10 and today I'm feeling pretty ok.

Thoughts moving forward:

Develop and practice a detailed, yet flexible plan for IM. (Mostly that means figure out how to have extra clothes and calories available throughout the day)
Practice riding, in aero, at my "target" power for IM
Two or three more long rides
Two or three more long runs
Two race rehearsals to dial in pacing and nutrition plan
Keep cool calm and focused
Race my guts out at the local races and have fun with it

Kia Kaha

Not sure what I'm doing with this blog right now.

2011-04-22T12:43:00.003-06:00

today's workout, 2 hour run, lots of wind, 13.5 miles, pretty relaxed. The last 10 minutes was tough because of the head wind. Other than that...no worries.

Nine weeks out from Ironman. Thinking a lot about it of course. My confidence is on shaky ground after IM Canada last year and then my DNF at IM Arizona. To help deal with this I will do the follwoing:

1. Build as much fitness as possible

Bike like a crazy man for the next 7 weeks. Lots of time in the aero position, lots of longish rides with intervals near the end
Perform a 2+ hour run every other week. focus on posture and turn over
Include fast running during the week. mile repeats and tempo efforts
Swim AT LEAST 3 times per week. One session will include long pull intervals

2. Have a plan for Race day

Develop a simple, thoughtful plan for race day (I have the experiences to do this)
Provide access to extra clothing at special needs and on bike

3. Work, don't Judge.

Keep the faith that the training will bring the fitness and confidence I'll need come raceday.
Early season races should help here

4. Maintain your equipment and test all well before race day.

only new things left to get are tires
set up bike in "race day" trim for at least the last race rehearsal workout.

More on this later....the short version of all of this is "Calm the hell down and do what I know needs done"

Kia Kaha

long run

2011-03-31T13:51:00.001-06:00

stupid WINDY....but that was a good reason to slow down and just run

12 miles 1:48

Not sure where this is all going

2011-03-30T11:19:00.002-06:00

the dreams are still there....going fast, PRs, etc. The motivation is there (made the pool this morning in the cold)...but I'm not sure the belief is still there. Last year at both my "A" races I either crumpled or otherwise blew it. I had other good results, on the AG podium a few times, 10th in my AG at the Boulder 70.3, even an overall podium. But I'm having a hard time trusting my training and my ability to do more of the same.

Just venting I suppose

training is back on track after a week in Mexico. Decent run last night, 6 miles on the mile, with 4 x 3min on 8% hill. I started with 30 minutes easy on the bike as a warm up. I seem, to run better if I pedal some first.

"It is exactly the impossibility that separates a dream from a goal. Goals can be achieved, when one works for them. Dreams aren't the same way. Athletes shouldn't dream - they should set goals and fight for them."

--Fabian Cancellera

"Athletes shouldn't dream - they should set goals and fight for them."

Kia Kaha

Cozumel

2011-03-20T07:34:00.002-06:00

Interesting Chart

2011-03-15T15:03:00.003-06:00

Found this chart today. Think it fits well with Ironman. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I would consider myself some where toward the high end of the Skill level (maybe not fitness wise, but knowledge wise and skill at handling the bike, swimming in open water, etc). You could look at the challenge level of Ironman a few different ways. Finishing the race is one way to describe the challenge or for some the challenge is finishing in a PR or qualifying for Kona.

Define your challenge...assess your skills, chack the chart. Then make (and follow) a plan to improve your skill level to a point where you fall into "Flow". Easy peasy!

Kia Kaha

More fun

2011-02-16T15:42:00.002-07:00

the strange thing is, hurting is sort of fun...

5 mile run...in the middle was 4 hill reps, about 500m. At 5k pace...hit ~1:56 up and about 2 min down. Jogged the rest of the workout.

Nothing fancy, just getting the work in.

Kia Kaha

Adventures in VO2Max

2011-02-15T10:00:00.001-07:00

ouch

60 min bike
main set was 4x(5x30" (120% FTP, ~265 watts) and 30" (70% FTP ~155W) 2 minutes rest

Kia Kaha

Weekend

2011-02-14T11:31:00.006-07:00

Friday night a 5k on the mill. 20:20 ... VDOT of 48.

Saturday...not much

Sunday, painted living room, extend the new curtains and got then hung. Then 60 minutes on the bike. 2x20'(5') at FTP

(and had chips )

Bike Test

2011-02-10T09:32:00.002-07:00

on the new Quarq

2x20'(2') going for highest average.
Average watts = 220

Pretty happy with that. My last test was 176, but that was on a different power meter. I'm sure some of that increase is due to differences in the power meters. But I am also sure I was able to focus longer and ride harder last night than during my first test.

On the last test, Jan 12th, I averaged 176, rode 184 for the first 20 and 176 for the second twenty. Last night, I rode 220 for the first twenty minutes and then averaged 226 for the second. So at the very least I have improved my pacing and sense of my fitness from a month ago.

I will do a 20 minute test (FTP should be about 93% of my 42 minute FTP) to see if those numbers jive. Then late next week I'll do the 42 minute test again. Hopefully all these new numbers will match up nice. That would go a long way in me trusting the new meter.

Kia Kaha

hill reps for form and cadence

2011-02-07T13:01:00.003-07:00

6 miles total
1 mile easy
then speed to 8:27
3x30"(30" rest) at 7.5 degrees
3x30"(30" rest) at 10 degrees
3x20"(40" rest) at 12.5 degrees
then 2x 1 mile at 7:41 pace with 2 min easy walking in between.

Felt reasonable.

Good weekend of training

2011-02-07T10:34:00.002-07:00

Two good bike rides and a strong run.

Lots of FTP work in the bike. The Quarq power meter seems to be working great. Pretty easy to install and set up. I saw some averages over 210 watts for my 12 and 15 minutes efforts this weekend. Looking forward to my next test Wednesday.

Yesterday's run after the 90 minute went well. Nothing fancy, just set the mill at 8:27 pace and settled in for 30 minutes. My HR settled around 158bpm. My Ironman Hr is 150-155bpm. So I'm pretty happy with that for the beginning of Feb.

Kia Kaha

a couple of workouts and a quarq

2011-02-04T08:18:00.002-07:00

New power meter! It's not even installed yet and I feel faster! :)

Got the new bottom bracket and crank on this morning. Pretty easy install. It look pretty cool. Will try to get it synch'd up with the Garmin tonight and see if I get numbers.

I'll do a power test this weekend once I get it working. Not so much to see if I've gotten more fit, but to get a number from the new set up. It would have been cool to leave the powertap on and ride with both meters. but no biggie, really when it comes down to it, I need to pedal more and pedal harder.

Last night was a run on the mill. 6,5 miles. with 5 at 7:30 pace with 2 to 3 min of walking in between. After 2 reps, HR was reaching 170. that seemed about right.

Kia Kaha

training notes

2011-01-31T10:30:00.002-07:00

Friday...decent bike 90 minutes total with:
2x12'(4') at ~180W
2x15'(2') at ~160W

Sat: meh

Sunday: Good stuff here.
Bike: 45min with 2x15(4') at ~200W
Run: 45 minutes with 2x2miles at 7:30 pace

Kia Kaha

Wednesday Spin

2011-01-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Could feel yesterday's 8 mile run.

60 minutes, main set 2x15' at FTP with 4 min rest.

Kia Kaha

Training....

2011-01-26T10:31:00.004-07:00

Monday:
Run in the mill at work. 1 mile easy, then hills. 3x30" at 7.5% /3x20" at 10%, then 3x20" at 12.5%.
2 x1 mile at 7:20 pace....the running is coming around
Bike in the pm. 60 minutes with 2x15 at FTP

Tuesday: 8 mile run outside, super easy.

Kia Kaha

Not much training this weekend

2011-01-24T09:06:00.003-07:00

bike ride yesterday 90 min mostly easy

helped a friend build a bed for his little girl

...Stoli helped (by help I mean snorted saw dust and chewed wood scraps)

Kia Kaha

Thursday...boring blog entries

2011-01-21T11:19:00.002-07:00

Bike....45 minutes with main set of 2x12'(3') at 190 to 200 watts.

Kia Kaha

Getting it done

2011-01-19T12:38:00.002-07:00

What will it take for me to have an even better year than last?

Nothing new and ground breaking in this list. The theme is "Do the work"
Consistency in workouts
Swim: practice slowly with perfect form (streamline kick, "hindged elbow")...then increase stroke rate with my "perfect form"
Bike: Increase FTP. Lighten and simplify the machine. Improve fit with better suited aerobars
Run: strengthen posture, increase average cadence

Currently in the "Get Fast" phase.
Swim...none....begin in March with a swim block dedicated to imprinting "perfect form". goal 10 focused swims in 2 weeks.
Bike...Lots of FTP work till mid Feb, then a block of VO2Max work.
Run...one run a week focused on posture and cadence (Bernhardt treadmill workout), other two runs have threshold work in them

Keep things simple...do the work.

In late March I'll lay out the guidelines for the Ironman focus.

today's run: treadmill workout for posture and turn over. 4 miles total. 1 mile easy. then 3x20sec (40sec rest off the mill) at each elevation, 7.5 degrees, 10, and then 12.5 degrees...then back down for 1 mile at 1 degree. the last mile is done at a pace 1 minute faster than the hill efforts. so today I warmed up at 8:30. Hills at 8:30 pace, then ran the last mile at 7min pace.

Tonight is an FTP bike.

Kia Kaha

Tuesday Spin

2011-01-19T08:13:00.001-07:00

This blog is going to be pretty much training entries for some time.

Tuesday spin 45 min....with 2x10min(2min) at FTP and then 6min at FTP

New VDOT

2011-01-18T11:49:00.004-07:00

Good weekend of training. Yesterday I tried the 5k on the treadmill again. 21:20, VDOT of 46. I've got another 30 or 40 seconds in me. As I remember what it's like to run faster, it's coming back. And pretty soon, some fitness will start coming back as well.

Also a good ride on Saturday.

It's coming around...slowly

Kia Kaha

ugh....bike test

2011-01-13T12:31:00.001-07:00

wow...a lot of work to do

176 watts FTP

I struggled to maintain focus for the 42 minutes. I figure the next test will go better just because, in theory, I'll be back in the swing of suffering again.

Wow...what a scary low number.

Kia Kaha

Decent run Tuesday

2011-01-12T08:29:00.002-07:00

Had a good run yesterday. 4 miles total...half mile easy, then 2x1.5miles at 7:47 pace on the treadmill. the first rep felt a little clumsey, the second actually felt better and I was able to relax and settle in.

Kia Kaha

Theme for Ironman this year

2011-01-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

Decent weekend

2011-01-10T08:26:00.003-07:00

Friday: had plans in the evening, but squeezed in 3x4min hard on the bike in a 30 minute workout
Saturday: Run test (on the mill). 20 min easy spin, 1 mile warmup, then 5k. Started at 7:30 pace and then got faster as the run went on. Finished in 22:10. First time trying to run quicker than a jog since October. VDOT=44. Lots of room to improve here, but not too worried about the slow time either.
Sunday: basement flooded....dang builders did not connect the exit pipe from the basement lift station (affectionately known as the "poop hole") properly. We ran the washing machine and splish splash we was taking a bath. ugh. got it all cleaned up and got pipe installed correctly.
workout....60 min on bike with 4x8 at ~FTP. Still not brave enough to try a test. Will go for it Thursday.

Wednesday spin

2011-01-06T08:25:00.002-07:00

Nothing too fancy. Main set of 2x8' with 2 min rest. Shooting for FTP effort.

My power numbers are not what they were. But that's ok...for now. It was good to sweat and feel a little burn on the legs.

Kia Kaha

Darn it

2010-12-30T09:04:00.001-07:00

I hab a colb.

No real training. But the new house is coming along nicely. We are getting closet o being unpacked. A few of the rooms are already done. I'll start work on the basement workout area tonight....which shall be forth called the 'Pain Cave'.

Kia Kaha

Week of 12/20

2010-12-22T10:00:00.001-07:00

Not much in the way of training. Keri has the flu...it's a nasty little bug. She's doing better now, on the mend. I ended up with a stomach bug. So nothing much in the way of training.

We close on our new house Thursday and have the movers show up on Friday. That should pretty much fill up the weekend.

2011 Plans and thoughts and so forth

2010-12-14T17:41:00.003-07:00

First a quick recap....2010....one of my best and not so great years at the same time.

Now, I'm limiting this lists to triathlon and racing ans such...not my whole life. On the scale of a whole life is was a great year. Keri said yes! We are buying a house and we are healthy. So...back to racing/tri

Made the age group podium at the Summer Open Sprint (with Scott and Dirk) and at the 5430 Sprint (with Scott and Win). Third in my age group at the 5430 sprint is probably my best result ever. Finished 10th in my AG at the Boulder 70.3 with a Pr of 4:44. I also won a race. The Race for Your Cause Sprint in June I was the first to cross the finish line. Oh, and a race PR at Lubbock 5:00:00 on a nice bike ride and solid run in the heat.

For the not so great...there was Ironman. In Canada, I got caught in the cold rain on the Yellow Lake climb and decent and it froze me. I've never been that cold...ever. I pulled it together and finished in 11:05. Then I got the chance to race in Az at the end of December. I ended up with a cold and strep two weeks before the race. Come race day I was over the cold, but certainly not ready to race. It was cold and raining again! And it lead to my first DNF at the ironman distance. It took me a bit to get past it, but I'm ready to move on and get rolling again.

For 2011.....Major goals:
Have fun training and racing my guts out*
A perfectly executed day at IMCdA

* 'training and racing my guts out' = smart, consistent, productive training and well executed race day plans. And when the time calls for it, embracing the pain.

I'm going to try blogging again as well. I think the transparency is good for me. Granted only three others read my blog :) But it's still about putting it out there.

12 weeks of get Fast! Improving my FTP on the bike and my 5k time.
3 weeks of Transition (and resting of Get Fast block)
12 weeks of Ironman focus (add Far to my Fast)

Improve bike equipment (lighter power meter, lighter bars, better fit)
Improve training consistency

Kia Kaha

change of plans

2010-09-13T14:37:00.002-06:00

Is it an obsession or just taking advantage of a unique opportunity????

Late last week I was given the opportunity to tru ironman again this year. I took it. Ironman Arizona, November 21st. 10 weeks out.

Why....to prove I can execute and make the absolute most of my fitness.

More soon
Kia Kaha

Canada ... and moving forward

2010-09-09T09:57:00.001-06:00

Canada did not go the way I pictured. Enough said.

Moving forward:

Take aways:
Trust my gut instinct. (I had a vest and arm warmers in my T1 bag but didn't take them as it was fine out after the swim) Next time in Canada I'll have a rain vest/cape taped to my frame.
Take the time to fix issues as soon as they arise. (at the top of Yellow, I stopped to force 300 cals in, but I also should have grabbed a trash bag and put it under my jersey to cover my chest/core for the descent. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly at that point)
Don't F__ with the VDOT. (my VDOT of 51 says I should have been able to run 8:22s...yet I ran on perceived effort and ran the first 5k in 24 minutes....felt great, but wasn't eating....crashed and burned at mile 14 or so, eventually recovered enough to finish up fine, but by then my run was trash)
PATIENCE I lost mine when the bike ride went south. I was angry and upset and lost my patience.
Never Give Up. My body is tougher than I thought. My body recovered from the cold just fine, better than my head did. Looking back, a nice slow start to the marathon may have lead to a run PR. But I gave up that chance by getting in a rush and running emotionally.

ALWAYS have a watch of some sort of the run. I ran without a watch. My "perceived effort" is useless on the run at IM. I need at least my mile splits to make adjustments from. I really felt like I was running easy those first 6 miles.

and My Fiance Rocks! (at least I was smart when I picked her)

Rough plan moving forward:

Off/Easy until Sept 20^th

Sept 20 – Oct 11 – get running again, strength training focus (core)

Oct 18 – Feb 28^th – Out Season:

5k time of 18:40 or faster (very challenging goal)

FTP on bike of 250watts or higher (pretty reasonable goal)

Mar7 – Mar 28 – back off on intensity and build volume

Apr 04 to Jun 20 (Race Day) ironman focus

Guiding thoughts for this next year (borrowed from a blog entry by Chuckie V)

The Art of Ironman

1) If you want post-race peace, be ready for war. You must prepare accordingly and carry out what the race and your race goals demand of you. As it is in the original Art of War, the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare. Victory belongs to those best prepared. Come to terms with this before you come to blows, or you will blow your chances.

Create challenging and acheiveable training objectives to help keep motivation going throughout the winter.
Select/target additional “fun” events (like snow shoe races) to help keep active and movtivated.

2) Be sure you have secured the proper army of supporters to back you: confidants, guides, medics, scouts, and the like. Though triathlon is contested amongst individuals it is generally those with the greatest support network who rise to the top. Build your forces to the utmost or you will be fighting a losing battle.

Fiancé – the most important person in my life. Take care of her and our relationship first! All else will fall into place
Strength trainer - with plan to build strong core/foundation
Swim coach - to help maximize existing fitness with improved form

3) Concern yourself only with yourself and your forces. Disregard the politics of war or what your adversaries claim to be doing, except when it furthers your cause (rarely does it further your cause). Utilize scouts if groundwork is deemed essential; focus upon your personal responsibilities.

4) Strive to be ego-free and humble. Laugh at yourself more than you do at those arrogant souls who take themselves too seriously and incessantly sound their battle cries. Then, so as to obtain the last laugh, be sure to quietly kick their ego-ridden ass. Let your performance stand on its own ass-kicking legs as you batter their battle cries into them.

5) Divulge only appropriate information (e.g., training details; race plans; secrets; beliefs; principles, practices, etc). Reveal only that which returns to assist your cause, or the cause of your allies. If a training partner can be of benefit, forge an alliance and share with them as they do unto you, and not a scintilla more. If not, abstain from the "assistance", as he may be an infiltrator.

6) Be intimately familiar with your competition, particularly that which lay inside you, but also in others. (This may sound incongruous with Rule #3 but it is not; you must know your competition's capacities and believe them to be comparable to yours.) Cultivate relationships in accordance with the aforementioned rule (Rule #5), with the understanding that ours is an 'every-man-for-himself' affair once the cannon is fired and war is waged.

7) Whether you win, lose or draw, respect your rivals. For it is when you least respect them, so too is it when you least expect them. In a historical perspective you must also respect those who've fought the hard-fought battles long before you. (This relates to the first seven words in the last line of Rule #9.) Moreover, you must absolutely respect those who will come to replace you; for if not, they will come to do so that much sooner. The bottom line: respect your competition, for without them, there can be no winner.

8) Be intimately familiar with every element of the battlefield: the rules, the swim currents and/or tide, the transition areas, the wind, the potholes, the layout of the land, the finish chute, the element of surprise, the potential problems, the possibilities...or you may end up a causality in the medical tent.

9) Nourish yourself accordingly: nutritionally, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and cognitively. Put the "stud" in study; be a student of the sport and all that it entails. Learn from those who have "been there" and from those who have not.

10) Choose your battles carefully. Fight when all your reserves are in place. Entering a war ill-equipped to defend yourself may precipitate your demise, if not engender post traumatic stress disorder. Know precisely why you are fighting and what you are fighting for. If you fight merely to preserve ego (by "cherry-picking" for example) know that you're ego is not prepared for the true hardships of battle. (See #4 above.)

11) Choose your weapons wisely. Be intimately familiar with each of them, but do not overestimate their need. Use your internal weaponry and aim high.

12) Play fairly when winning or while being monitored by race marshals! Humor aside, you must strive to fight the good fight, both in deliberate practice and on the battlefield.

13) NEVER apologize for waging war. Whether victory is all but lost or completely secured, be sure to fight for all you are worth. The corpses of your enemies always smell sweet. Pummel them all.

14) Limit your mistakes, for they may be fatal. Understand too that he who has committed no mistakes has not fought for very long; exploit him.

15) Finally, you must come to terms that the war will not---and does not---last forever. It is an ephemeral affair, and one day (soon) you may come to miss fighting the good fight. Fight hard. Fight well. Fight to the bitter end. (Do all this and there shall be no bitter end.)

Kia Kaha

Canada, eh .... one week out

2010-08-23T08:49:00.003-06:00

Feeling fit and ready. Gear is packed up with bike and is getting dropped off today. Feeling good about this one. I have a pretty solid understanding of my limits this season and have been racing to them well. Predicting a finish time is always more a guess than science. There are too many things out of ones control (wind, heat, flat tires, etc)....but here's what I'm thinking
The overall plan is to stay in my bubble until mile 18 of the run.
Race my race, not others until mile 18. If the bike is fast for me, and the running is going well, and that places me at mile 18 of the marathon in 9:01 or better....then it's a RACE :) As they say...all bets are off :)

Swim: Calm, smooth, find some feet and enjoy. 1:05
T1: Slow is Smooth, and Smooth is fast. <4 min
Bike: Easy first hour, find the other F4 guys. Calm, Relaxed until the out and back, then work it home. Power average = 150 watts, time ???? really don't know...could be 5:45 and could be as fast as 5:25 (based on B70.3) I think 5:30 is a safe estimate.
T2: Slow is Smooth, and Smooth is fast. <4 min
Run: Easy first 6 miles ~8:30/mile. then settle in toll mile 20. Run time 3:35.
So that's 10:20. But really, any finish time under 10:43 (current PR) will be nice :)

If racing in "my bubble" puts me on the run course at 6:30 into the race, then I'm on the Kona bubble. Then the next check point would be the half way of the run at 8:18...next check point is mile 18 in 9 hours...then it's Game On. I need to stay at "My Pace" until then though.

We'll see how it goes :)

Kia Kaha

Boulder 70.3

2010-08-12T14:23:00.002-06:00

Keeping this short.

Race went great. 4:44...6 minute PR and a new bike PR. I negative split the bike 1:15/1:13. And even split the run. I was quite pleased with my run. In Lubbock, I ran 1:45...Sunday I ran 1:39:21.

No pictures yet. I'll add some when they show up.

92nd overall and 10th (of 350) in my A.G.

Canada is three weeks out now.

Kia Kaha

Boulder Peak 2010

2010-07-13T10:45:00.002-06:00

Decent day. Swam well, rode well, held ok on the run. Not much else to talk about :)

2001 - 29:08 / 1:59 / 1:17:06 (20.2) / 1:19 / 49:00 (7:54)/ 2:38:31 - 70 of 172 / 352 of 1199
2002 - 27:10 / 1:52 / 1:15:47 (20.5) / 0:39 / 50:08 (8:05)/ 2:35:37 - 63 of 165 / 314 of 1195
2003 - 27:42 / 2:02 / 1:16:37 (20.3) / 0:39 / 47:56 (7:43) / 2:34:58 - 52 of 157 / 322 of 1338
2005 - 29:22 / 1:23 / 1:18:48 (19.7) / 0:59 / 48:49 (7:52) / 2:39:22 - 54 of 163 / 325 of 1408
2008 - 25:46 / 1:17 / 1:13:12 (21.3) / 0:53 / 44:32 (7:11) / 2:25:53 - 23 of 165 / 114 of 1296
2009 - 28:23 / 1:06 / 1:09:35 (22.5) / 0:44 / 43:41 (7:03) / 2:23:26 - 8 of 148 / 59 of 1379

2010 - 25:48 / 1:11 / 1:09:44 (22.4) / 0:55 / 43:57 (7:06) / 2:21:31 - 11 of 163 / 76 of 1412
(oh, Pnorm for the bike was 210watts)
Kia Kaha

2010-07-05T17:33:00.004-06:00

Sat: 45 min swim, 2 hour ride. Then a trip to the Renn Faire. Huzzah!!!!

Sunday. 4 hour bike ride and some napping afterwards :)
Monday. 3.5 hour hike at Walker Ranch and then LarkBurger! Visited the house.

From the third floor

From the second floor

Life is good.

Kia Kaha

Buffalo Springs Half

2010-07-01T09:55:00.007-06:00

Lubbock....Take 2

Decent trip. Team did well. Lots of fun texts with Keri.

The race plan was pretty simple. Swim moderate (~29 min, course was a little short). Calm on the bike and then turn the power up every 30 minutes or so. and finish with an even split run. Just about nailed it. 5:00:00 finish time, about 6 minutes faster than last year on a much hotter day.

The good news was that I had a solid day. Rode very well and had a solid enough run considering my training and the heat. The not so encouraging news is that I was only 20th in my AG. If on a Pr day for me, I'm still 35 minutes from qualifying for Clearwater or Kona...it might be time to put those dreams to pasture.

Below are some pics hijacked from AIS and below that are my bike numbers.

Kia Kaha

and below we see the ever popular "man-bra" look

Here are the power numbers from my ride. (I didn't use the lap function, so these splits were taken manually off the graph)

First 30 minutes
30 min ; 10.8 miles; 21.6 mph; Pn= 173 (VI1.06) Pa= 163; If =.783 ; TSS = 30.6; Ca = 88 rpm

30min to the end of the decent of the Corkscrew
1:19:45 min ; 28 miles; 21.1 mph; Pn= 183(VI1.06) Pa= 174; If =.829 ; TSS = 91.3; Ca = 91 rpm

head wind home to park entrance
40:01 min ; 13.3 miles; 19.9 mph; Pn= 189(VI1.02) Pa= 186; If =.854 ; TSS = 48.7; Ca = 91 rpm

easy into T2 (did lots of coasting, unclipped and stretched legs, etc...so that's the reason for the high VI)
12:05 min ; 4 miles; 20.2 mph; Pn= 172(VI1.25) Pa= 138; If =.779 ; TSS = 12.2; Ca = 87 rpm

Totals
2:42; 20.8 mph; Pn= 182 (VI1.06) Pa= 172; If =.824 ; TSS = 183; Ca = 90 rpm

Pretty much as planned. Going in the game plan was to start off smooth and easy and then turn the screw as the race progressed. I did loose my patience and temper riding into the wind though :) I really wanted to be off the bumpy road and out of the wind. If this was ironman, I would have forced myself to chill. But since I knew my run fitness isn't really there this year, I figured, might as well see how the legs handle a harder return trip. I don't think it hurt my run too much. Definitely took some snap out, but not a ton.

Run:
Not a lot of data here. I was trying to keep the pace consistent. I power walked the big hills. And walked the aide stations. First mile was an 8 min mile, made it to the turn around at 52. Came home in 54 for a 1:46 something. One bad mile, 8 to 9 was 9:30. Made it to the mile nine aide station and got a gel and that got me home (back to 8min/miles). I was mentally and emotionally done at about mile 8. The last 5 miles was all "acting". I was pretending to be fit and fresh and run with good form. Apparently I was did a good job, quite a few folks said I looked great coming in. So that's good re-enforcement, even when I feel flat and empty, I can focus on form and still move along ok.

bib number:	587
gender:	M
location:	Westminster, CO
division place:	20 out of 116
gender place:	112 out of 614
time:	5:00:00
swim:	28:46
t1:	1:49
bike:	2:41:29
t2:	1:59
run:	1:45:56
penalty:	0:

Hijacked Pic day

2010-07-01T09:52:00.003-06:00

From the Boulder Sunrise race

5430 Sprint

2010-06-21T14:42:00.002-06:00

Good day at the races. Podium, 3rd in the 40-44 age group behind Scott and Win. 34th over all.

Bike numbers....Pn-210watts and Pavg= 206watts. Ran 20:37

more later,
Kia Kaha

Swim test

2010-06-15T08:58:00.001-06:00

1010 yards in 15:00 (short course yards at East Boulder rec)

I know everybody else loves swimming out side....but East is empty right now in the am, very nice.

Boulder Sunrise Sprint

2010-06-08T15:58:00.002-06:00

The short version....it was a good day. Crossed the line in first place. :)

More details soon.

* OVERALL MALE *

Place	Bib	Name	Div	Swim	T1	Bike	Rate	T2	Run	Pace	Official
1	303	Philip Mazza	M4044	14:14	1:03	43:19	23.5	2:27	21:09	6:50	1:22:10.0

Wed 6/2/2010 FTP test

2010-06-04T13:24:00.002-06:00

20 minutes easy
3x30sec' fast

then 2x20'(2' easy)
average for the entire 42 minutes is a good approximation of your FTP.

42min
VI=1.03
Pnorm = 221 W
Pavg= 216 W (1st 20min = 211, 2min= 155, 2nd 20min = 226)
CADavg = 89rpm
Speed = 23.6 mph
distance = 16.5 miles
(no heart rate data as my powertap won't pick up the hr strap tonight)

Pretty happy with the way the ride went. Glad I had a 11-25 on the back (50/34 up front). VI of 1.03 is good considering the hills we rode on.

Assuming this average was what I was at 2 weeks ago at the race...that means I rode at 91% of FTP that day.

I am surprised at the speeds I can ride at versus the power that my powertap is reading. But I guess as long as it reads consistently, it's all good. I did not have my aero front wheel on today or my aero-helmet. For the race this Saturday, I'll be all aero'd out....and I'm going to ride as hard as I can, run be damned....then run with what ever is left :) Not the smartest racing, but good training ... I think anyway.

hijacked pics from the Summer Open

2010-05-28T10:15:00.001-06:00

Thx SkiPix

Summer Open Sprint Tri

2010-05-24T07:43:00.004-06:00

Went really well. May have hurt myself though. Left foot is super sore, feels like a bruise (or maybe something worse) in the outer most metatarsal. Icing, Vitamin "I", and we'll see.

The race went really well. Lots of F4 were there and that makes it more fun. Water was chilly (~61) but tolerable. The new wetsuit worked great. Hit the beach in 11 :02, I'm guessing the course was short, but I'll take it :)

On to the bike. left transition with 3 other F4 athletes. We hauled the mail for sure. We had the 19th, 25th, and 26th fastest bike splits of the day. Then onto the run, I got past by two of my team mates (in my age group as well). They really run well, including the elites they had the 13th and 14th fastest runs of the day. I gave up a little over a minute on the run. They took first and second in our age group and I grabbed third. An F4 sweep of the 40 to 44!!!

Here's a pic of the awards .... I look like a real triathlete....or at least a half sized model of one :)

The numbers:
Bike: Paverage= 197W ; Pnorm = 201
22 out of 356 including the Elites

Some training

2010-05-18T08:18:00.003-06:00

Last weekend was the first "real" long ride for the season. 70 miles in 3:40. Pretty fun stuff. Out and back on highway 52. I like it out there. Not that I like it for the views or atmosphere, but once you get past I-25, there's nothing to do but put your head down and work.

First hour easy with Win, Dirk, Ron, Michael and Doug. Doug peeled off. Second hour was 3x15'(5') at 80% (half ironman pace). made it way past Fort Lupton, 37 miles out. Then we turned around. Coming home, testosterone took over and we did 5 to 10 min pulls hard. I got dropped at some point. They let me back on though. When I was dropped, I was riding at 200 watts and they were pulling away.

We made it home in 1:40. Flyin'

Kia Kaha

The Week So Far

2010-05-13T14:14:00.002-06:00

Sunday was a rest day. As much for my mental health as physical.
Monday was a rest day too...cause well, I wanted it to be :)
Tuesday: I went to the Dash&Dine in the evening. It was raining and cold (high 30s). I knew I wasn't going to race, but I figured I had to be there for F4, so I might as well buck up. I did the 5 mile loop around the Res. It was actually way more fun running in the rain and cold than I thought it would be. Kind of fun to run without an agenda, just run. Met up with F4 for warmups and an easy mile and then watched the start of the race. I was soaked through with rain though and the cold won out. I headed home right after the start. Props for the folks brave enough to race in that weather.
Wednesday: slept in and missed the BAM swim. Hit Rally at 6pm with F4 for a spin workout. Nice workout, 1:15 total with a main set of 2x12'(3') at FTP and 12' at 80%.
Thursday: got to work a little early and then headed out for my "long run". These aren't really "long" yet. Maybe I should call them my "longest run so far". 10 miles in 1:25. Even split the run, but started out too hard. Need to let go and really relax that first 30 minutes. Use the energy at the end of the run to pick up the pace rather than just hang on. but a good run none the less.

Week and Barking Dogs

2010-05-10T08:18:00.004-06:00

Weird week

sore throat Monday and early Tuesday. 20 minutes TT toward Jamestown Wednesday night. 225 Watts...times 95% = 214Watts for FTP....same as Haystack Mtn TT.

Took Thursday off due to crazy work, and Friday tried for an easy 4 mile run, that turned into a 3 mile trot with a mile walk home.

Saturday, Barking Dog Duathlon in Cherry Creek. Considering how I felt, it was good I even went, much less raced. Numbers are below. On the bike I averaged 190Watts. Felt horrible for the first 1.5 mile of the run, but then loosened up and ran ok. (fyi, it was 3 mile on the run, not 5k)

A few notes:
HAVE to force breakfast down on race mornings.
Don't think, just Execute!
A little easier start on the bike...always!!!!!

Kia Kaha

PLACE	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	AGE	SEX	SEXPLC	DIV	DIVPLC
55	PHILIP	MAZZA	41	M	49	M40-44	10

RUN1 RANK	RUN1	RUN1 PACE	T1	BIKE RANK	BIKE	BIKE MPH	T2	RUN2 RANK	RUN2	RUN2 PACE
80	0:20:11	6:44	0:01:32	47	0:57:25	21.5	0:01:01	80	0:21:23	7:08

TIME	EVENT
1:41:29	5K-34K-5K DU

Sunday April 25th Earth Day 5k

2010-04-27T17:15:00.001-06:00

...in Boulder.

Started the day with a ~3000 yard swim at Rally with the F4 squad. Then off to Research Park. We ran three laps of the 5k course, so about 4 miles and then the race. Ran 20:10. (VDOT = 49) Not too bad. It was windy and that definitely took a little spring out of my step. Then after the race Win, Dirk, Tom, Michael and I ran another 30 minutes.

Finished with a quick soak of the lower legs in Boulder Creek (holy cow that was COLD).

Good training day.
Kia Kaha

Dash and Dine #2 4/20/10

2010-04-21T09:03:00.002-06:00

Little 5k, followed by a bbq. Out at Coot Lake. The thunderstorms held off so I went out to use this as a threshold workout. Got in 4.5 miles before the race. Saw a ton of F4 folks out there. And my buddy, Steve, from work came out to race as well.

started out under control, by the 3/4 mile mark things had settled down. Hit the turn around (a little over half way) and the "work" had started. I just focused on keeping my feet moving quick, staying "tall", and "leaning into it". My form broke a few times, but it all went well. 6:40, 6:40, 6:31. Finished in 20:35.

These are nice little races. Here's the link.

Kia Kaha

Here we go...2010!

2010-04-19T13:16:00.002-06:00

Haystack Mtn TT - April 17, 2010
Individual TT, 12.1 miles

Citizens

2nd of 24, time =

27:26.9 (26.4 mph)

Pavg = 223Watts
VI = 1.01 (pretty happy with this...the closer your Variability Index is to 1.00, the more "even" your effort)

Not a bad effort. Including the TT, got in 37 miles on the day. The speed is high because it was a down hill course.

On Sunday swam with F4. Got in about 2000 yards. Then ran with Win, 11 miles in 1:35. We Ran/Walked the whole time. Started with three rounds of 6minR/1 min W (6/1) and then switched to 9minR/1minW (9/1). Good Stuff.

Kia Kaha

weekend workouts

2010-02-14T10:35:00.002-07:00

Saturday : R ...outside and everything. 7.5 miles 60 minutes...just sort of ran, some fartlek, mostly just running.

Sunday B: trainer, 3x10 min(3')...hit Pavg of 223, 218, and popped on the last one and hit 206 as my average. That's my new FTP. So I'm pretty happy with this workout.

Kia Kaha

Feb FTP test

2010-02-10T08:27:00.004-07:00

2/9/10 Easy 20 minute jog home from the office, then on the bike for the FTP test. I was nervous about this one.

15 minute warmup
2x20min with a 2 minute easy spin between, shooting for highest average for the 42 minutes
Results
Pnorm = 206 Watts
Pavg = 205 Watts

Died a little bit at the end. Was trying to hold 210 to 215 on the monitor...the number you see on the computer vs the resulting average always seems to be about 5 to 7 Watts off. So when I get outside and want to average 170 watts, I should be looking for 175 on the monitor.

Last test was late Dec.
Pnorm = 195 watts
Pavg = 193 watts

Using Pnorm ... that's a 5.6% increase in 6.5 weeks. I didn't get a good test at the beginning of the out season because the powertap wasn't calibrated correctly. But last year at this time I tested at 202. I know for a fact that I'm riding in a higher gear than last year. I'm not trusting that my powertap is giving me consistent readings against last year. At least that's what I'm going with. I'll know more when I get outside and racing again. But right now, I'm feeling pretty good about my ability to go faster than last year.

Racing is the ultimate test.

Kia Kaha

Weekend Workouts

2010-02-08T05:51:00.002-07:00

Saturday - 6.2 miles, treadmill. 1200, 400, 1600, 800, 1600 all at 6:44 pace.
Sunday - Brick: B: 45 min w/ 3x(4x1'(220+W)/1'(~150W))...2 min rest between sets...
then R: treadmill, 3.5, starting at 7:30...down to 6:27 for the last mile

Woke up Monday morning from a dream of Ironman Canada. I'm a little bummed I'm dreaming about a race that's 30 some weeks away. Anyway, in the dream, things were gong great and then I got to the out and back of the bike. There was a deli there, yeah, I know, weird. Like a big old grocery store deli. Anyway, I got off my bike and futzed around and was down and had given up. I finally got back on the bike, and got going and made it to T2 in 12:47 race time. But for some reason that was only 47 minutes past my goal. Which makes no sense as the T2 cut off time is 10:30.

Anyway....let the head games begin. I think I need to focus on a closer race.

Kia Kaha

Window Bench Project

2010-02-07T20:32:00.004-07:00

Keri made the stain glass door inserts and I built the frame. It took both of us to get the doors hung. And, as you can see from the pictures below, we had help from Stoli and Milo.

Thursday lunch run

2010-02-04T14:41:00.002-07:00

on the mill cause I wanted pace...5.8 miles in 51 minutes with
3x 1200, 400, 200 at 6:44 pace (zone 4) with full rest.

Felt bad when I started, crampy gut, twingy left hamstring/glute...so I walked for a bit, then a jog, then finally got going.

Note to self...always at least try your warmup...even if you don't think you can handle the workout...after the warmup you may find you've got enough mojo for the workout after all.

Kia Kaha

Thursday 2/4

2010-02-04T08:26:00.002-07:00

This blog isn't exactly rolling along anymore. Right now the motivation to track workouts, and thoughts for that matter, isn't too high. Maybe it's cause I feel like I'm just buying my time until the weather breaks. Not that the weather has been awful this winter, so that's probably just another excuse. :)

Sat : easy run ~4.5
Sun : easy ride ~40
Mon : easy run home from work ~4.5. This one felt better than I thought it would. averaged around 8/mile just running along.
Tues : bike 40 min with 2x12'(4') hit 206watts and 211watts for the intervals. Will retest next Tuesday. Last test was 196 Watts for my FTP.
Wed : 7am Master's at East. 2600 yards with some 200s. Came in on the 200s in around 2:55. 2:50 for 200yards is 1 hour pace at IM.

Looking at the calendar....
15 weeks to my first tri (Summer Open)
7 more weeks of the Out Season. So that's 7 more weeks to raise my FTP and 5k pace. After that, I need to start adding some distance....but.....Canada is still 30 weeks away....I figure I only need about 12 weeks to ramp up the volume to give IM a good shot. (Last year, 12 weeks out of IM Lou, I was riding 3 hours with lots of FTP and zone 3 work. And my long run was 1:30)

So really what it might be is:
7 weeks out season : working purely on FTP and 5k paces
11 weeks build : adding volume to get to 3hr hard ride and 1:45 fast run....which would also leave lots of time each week to continue working to improve FTP and 5k paces.
12 weeks IM prep : add remaining volume (which won't be much) and start dialing in nutrition, pacing, and race practice. Oh and race!

Not ready to talk about race goals yet. Even though I think I know what they are. the short version is, if I train the way I know I can...I will podium for my age group in one of the Boulder races.

Enough rambling for now .....

Kia Kaha

mid winter break .... it's over!

2010-01-29T08:36:00.002-07:00

Lasik was a success. I have 20/20 vision now. It's pretty wild to wake up in the am and be able to see the clock! I need a few days off after the surgery to let things heal up, but I've extended that to 10 days. I am a creature of habit...of momentum. An object at rest stays at rest until acted upon by an unbalanced force.

and you definitely need to be unbalanced to try ironman.

So tomorrow we get the wheels rolling again.

Kia Kaha

Weekend

2010-01-19T09:17:00.002-07:00

Saturday...ran a little 5k in Westminster...little, like maybe 20 people. ran 6:40 for 2.85 miles on muddy, slippery and frozen trails....so not bad.

Sunday, had a break down and didn't accomplish my workout. GGGrrrr

Monday...better day. 1:30 on the bike with 55 minutes of FTP work, then 20 minutes on the mill at 7min/mile or faster.

Wednesday I'm getting Lasik. So no real workouts for 7 days. A forced rest period. Better now than July.

More later,

Kia Kaha

More workouts

2010-01-15T09:33:00.003-07:00

Thursday Lunch run...on the 'mill. 4x200/2x800/4x200/2x400 at 6:18 pace. 44 minutes total. Went well. Was able to settle in fairly comfortable like during the 800s.

Friday morning Masters ... 2300 yards. some some faster times today (36 sec for 50), 1:22 for 100. another nice thing about this morning was that I stayed in the water for the whole workout. I didn't have to get out early. I still didn't complete the workout properly, I had to shorten a few of the intervals to get extra rest and not fall behind the others in my lane.

so it's getting better.

Kia Kaha

Week so far

2010-01-14T08:57:00.004-07:00

Not sure if I want to start counting my weeks....but if I did...
18 weeks till my first tri (Summer Open), 33 to Canada.

Canada is definitely too far to start counting now. But I'm really getting the itch to race. I did some looking for early season tris, but they all involve a lot of travel. And traveling with a bike is a pain in the a__.

Race schedule for the year (bold = registered):
4/17 (?) HayStack TT, Boulder
5/8 Barking Dog Du, Cherry Creek
5/16 Summer Open Sprint, Longmont
? 6/5 Boulder Sunrise (almost Oly), Boulder Res
? 6/6 Deuces 1/2 IM, Show Low Az
6/20 5430 Sprint, Boulder res
6/27 Buffalo Springs 1/2, Lubbock, Tx
7/17 or 18 IM race rehearsal
8/1 (?) Anthem Sprint, Broomfield
8/8 Boulder 70.3, Boulder Res
8/14 or 15 IM race rehearsal
8/29 Ironman Canada

Monday was a rest day. Tuesday I ate something bad at lunch and spent the night with a monster in my gut. I named him Oliver. ugh.

Last night was a bike. 3x(5x30"/30") at 240W/120W and then 5x1'/1' at 240W/120W. The minute on/minute off is the new time. I'll do those instead of 30"/30"s tomorrow night.

Kia Kaha

Weekend Update

2010-01-11T09:24:00.002-07:00

Good Stuff...at least training wise.
Saturday am - BAM at East...~3000 yds. Main set started with 5x200 on 3:10. I hit about 2:58 for these. Pretty happy with that. I definitely have NO swim fitness right now, this was all on form. after 5x150, we had 5x100....I was done by now and this turned into a straight swim as I barely made the interval. Only in the swimming world is 10 seconds considered adequate rest after 3 minutes of exercise! I can fake 50s though and was hitting 38-40 seconds on those. All in all a good swim.

Saturday afternoon- 5.5 miles on the mill...w/ 3x1 mile @ 6:44. These actually felt pretty easy.

Sunday's workout. 1:40 on the bike with 50 minutes of threshold (FTP) riding) intervals and then 35 minutes on the treadmill. Got 5 miles in 34:43 on the mile. Sub 7 min/mile off a decent bike ride....in JANUARY! Pretty happy with this as last year at Peak I ran 7:03 per mile.

Monday is a rest day.

Kia Kaha

2010-01-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

"Cowards never started and the weak died along the way."

Unknown pioneer reflecting on completing the long,
hard trek known as The Oregon Trail.

Kia Kaha

Tuesday/Wednesday

2010-01-06T12:48:00.002-07:00

Tuesday: Easy run, 5.93 miles in 47min (7:55). This was a little harder than 'easy, but not by much, I had to keep telling myself that it wasn't a race day. I need to work on this a little, the ability to just go run along for an hour. Save the hard efforts for hard days and races.

Evening Spin, inside on the trainer. 40 min w/ 4x(5x30'(240W)/30'(120W)) with 2 min easy between sets. took the last round up toward 300w. Moving to 3x(4x1min/1min) for Thursday

Wednesday am: Master's at East ~1800yards...nearly made it through the workout. :)
lunch run on the treadmill as it's FREEZIN' outside again. 4x200, 4x400, 4x200 at 6:18 pace. 40 minutes total. Felt pretty good actually.

Strange things, so far, this week...
Monday's swim...got stuck behind a fat, hairy man in a tiny speedo... not the most pleasant sight to be seeing.
Wednesday's swim...just about ready, locking up my locker and a guy walks in from the shower, stands at his locker and pulls on surgical gloves.....I didn't stick around to find out why.

Oh and the floor in the East Boulder Rec center is NASTY....wear your flip-flops people...safety first!

Kia Kaha

Monday 1/4

2010-01-04T14:41:00.002-07:00

Master's at lunch time. Didn't make it through this workout either....I'm giving myself a month and then I'm going to be pissed at myself for not being about to get through the workouts. The timing, rest intervals are kickin' my butt. Seems that part of getting fit in the water is just to survive the workouts. This will actually be a nice land mark...finishing the workout. When I can complete a workout in decent shape, then I'll know I've made progress.

Kia Kaha

Master's

2010-01-03T11:28:00.002-07:00

Went to Master's this morning at North Boulder Rec....got my butt handed to me. It was about perfect. Got up there early, had a coffee at Amante. Then to the swim. 1600 yards, some fast sets, and 'pop' goes the Mazza. I didn't make it through the workout, but then again, I didn't expect too. This is a long term project. I feel confident enough in my form and secure enough in my abilities to know when to call it done. I plan on getting the most out of these workouts. I joined for several reasons:
1. company and constructive peer pressure
2. it was good deal as I get 'regular' access to the Boulder Co Parks and Rec Centers, pools and the Res for $58/month
3. I needed something new and different to get me going again
4. I want to swim 1 hour at Canada, setting me up for a shot at my stretch goal of a 10:10 finish time.
(this one leads to another blog entry...but I'll save this one for the future)

It's only the third day of the year and I've already been all over emotionally and motivation wise. It's going to be a long winter. But Spring usually brings me around...just got to breath, find a rhythm and pattern to life to get me to May.

Happy New Year
Kia Kaha,

FTP test

2009-12-26T07:14:00.002-07:00

First test with the newly calibrated powertap. WAY different from the first test. But based on the gear I was pushing and the perceived effort, it felt like a good test. 10 minutes easy with a few jumps. Then 2x20 minutes with 2minutes easy spin, shooting for the highest average and a low VI.

42 minutes
Pnorm = 195 watts
Pavg = 193 watts
VI = 1.01
mph = 17.9
cad = 75

I'm ok with these numbers. Last year my highest indoor test was 200 watts. That was in March, so I'm ahead of the curve at this point. The cadence was a little low, I'll start paying attention to that more over the next few weeks.

I did the test at about noon. Then at about 4 I jumped on the treadmill for 4 miles. The run felt better than I imagined it would. Started a 10 min/mile and ran the last mile at 6:50.

Kia Kaha

More numbers for future reference:
first 20
Pnorm = 198
Pavg = 196

middle 2'
Pnorm = n/a
Pavg = 122

second 20
Pnorm = 196
Pavg = 196

Hill reps and Motivation

2009-12-15T08:09:00.002-07:00

30 min run yesterday with 3x 25 sec hills reps. Can't say I was eager for this workout. It was sunny out which was good, but the wind was cold. And I was stiff and creaky from Sunday's long workout. As I headed out the door and jogged to the hill, I gave myself a talkin' to. Actually, I tried to put words to why I was doing this workout. What I settled on made it pretty easy to get through the hills and get back home.

"A great race in Canada is made today"

Sort of cliche I know, but it's what I've been needing lately to get rolling again. While none of my workouts these next 12 weeks are long, almost everyone of them includes some pain and discomfort in the form of LT or VO2Max type work.

If i skip these workouts and "just go run", I'm looking at a repeat of last year. Over the winter is the time to get faster. Raise the top end now. A rising tide raises all ships. Then take this higher top end into the Spring and add distance.

Kia Kaha

Sunday in the Pain Cave

2009-12-14T08:56:00.002-07:00

2 hours

bike
20 min warmup, some 30 seconds hard reps
2x14'(4') at FTP
1x7'(5')at Z5 ~250watts
2x15'(2') at 200watts....this was interesting, 200 watts was easy to hit, the challenge was holding it. I would settle in, but then my focus would drift and I would back off. as long as I focused on the task, I could hold this effort.

Then onto the treadmill. 3 miles in 21 minutes...started at 7:09 and worked my way down to 6:18 for the last quarter. Pretty happy with the run considering I had just spent 1:30 on the bike with some quality work there.

Kia Kaha

Wednesday's workout

2009-12-10T14:19:00.001-07:00

Still freezing outside.

4.5 miles on the treadmill...w/ 3x1 mile zone 4. 7:03 ; 6:53; 6:40 ran the last quarter at 6:18 pace.

nothing fancy, just getting some work in.

Kia Kaha

Freezing out

2009-12-09T09:42:00.002-07:00

-8 this morning...NEGATIVE 8...that's just stoopid cold.

Not sure what happen last week after the 1/2 marathon. got home with a very sore lower back. Crazy tight quads and hip flexors and psoas were pulling on my lower back. took 5 days to get it all worked out. Even then, I couldn't get myself rolling again. I'm very dependent on the sun and temp it seems. All I want to do is stay warm and eat. But staying warm and eating will not do much to help with next season.

So after failing miserably at Sunday's workout...I gave myself a good talking too.

Monday's workout: 1 hour on the bike, 2 miles on the treadmill.
2x10'(4') at ~230 watts
1x5'(4') at ~250 watts
1x15'(5') at 190 watts
then onto the mill for 2 miles
started at 7:30/mile and sped up to 6:18 for the last quarter.

Good to sweat again.

Kia Kaha

Space Coast 1/2 marathon

2009-12-02T09:45:00.004-07:00

Did a race in Fl over Thanksgiving...here's the short word...

1:41:26 (7:45)
first 10 in 1:19:55
last 5k in 21:31 (6:56/mile)

I knew I wasn't ready to "race", so I treated this as a workout. And an experiment. I followed the Galloway run/walk timing for an 8 minute mile pace. Galloway suggest that a run/walk timing of 4 minutes of running then 35 seconds of walking will lessen the impact and cost of holding an 8 minute/mile pace. I tried this for the first 10 miles and was able to hit 8's spot on. Then moved to running tempo and ran the last 5k just sub 7s.

It was a good day. I'm not sure about run walk thing for IM though. I think for IM, sticking the 20-30 seconds walk at the aide stations is the way to go. Maybe for the 2 miles, throw in extra walks, but after that, the aide stations make sense for the other walks.

It was a good workout and it was perfect for testing the run/walk thing. I think it helped me through this race for sure. I think for much more than 8 mins/mile pace though, the running interval would have to go up, maybe 7 minutes of running for 20 seconds of walking. But that takes us back to just walking the aide stations.

Kia Kaha

Brighton Turkey Trot

2009-11-23T10:12:00.002-07:00

Well, something is working...ran a 5k on Saturday morning. Nice little race, the 25th Brighton Turkey Trot. Burritos and coffee for after the race, nice goody bag. It was a Chilly morning, so took a little extra time to jog before the race. got out a little fast, settled for the second mile and tried to pick it up over the last 1/5 mile. All in all a nice day. My training is still focused on the LT stuff, so spending time at my current 5k/10k speed. In another few weeks, I'll complete a block of training where the focus is running faster than 5k pace. It will be interesting to see if that comes through in race times. I'm looking forward to it. Numbers for the race are below.

an email from the race :
Results for Philip Mazza:

You placed 15th out of 413 finishers in a time of 19:31 for a pace of 6:17 per mile.

Out of 203 men you finished 12th. The winning time for men was 15:38.

For 40 to 44 year old men you were 3rd out of 15 finishers. The winning time for your age and sex was 18:36.

Your net time was 19:28. (not sure how my net time can be faster than my chip time?)

Working As Designed

2009-11-11T10:40:00.002-07:00

Nothing too big to report. just kind of getting it rolling again. Tuesday was 5 mile run with some short fartlek efforts at lunch. Then in the evening, 45 minutes on the bike with 3x8'(2') at FTP.

I did have a bad thought while riding though. On the wall near the trainer I have my race bib from Louisville. IM Lou went about perfect for me. I still can't quite believe how perfect the day unfolded and my finish time. Last night I had the bad thought of "what if I can't do that again?"

I let it roll around in my head for a little. Then I decided that I didn't have any evidence to suggest it can't. I tabled the thought until next next summer. By then I'll have some new race results to use as evidence that I've got another good performance in me. I'm sure the thought will pop up again. but I'll do my best to let it go and not dwell. I figure without any hard performance data, any guesses on performance are just that guesses.

Kia Kaha

more from la playa

2009-11-03T07:37:00.002-07:00

Still Livin' Large

2009-11-02T06:29:00.003-07:00

Went snorkeling at the Mariatas Islands....very fun.

a few more

2009-10-31T17:28:00.001-06:00

More pics from Puerto Vallarta

2009-10-31T17:17:00.003-06:00

Puerto Vallarta

2009-10-31T07:58:00.004-06:00

Fun so far, and a little scary at times as well. Not used to folks walking up to us to sell us things. That's very different from the US. The hotel is fantastic though and the views aren't bad.

Weekend update

2009-10-26T12:38:00.002-06:00

Saturday : Ride : 45 min w/ 3x10'(3') @ FTP

Sunday : Rest

Monday : 5 miles in 45 min. Felt awful running so after 5 minutes I switched to 4min of running then 35 seconds of walking. The loop I ran normally takes me about 43 minutes. So the walking only added about 20 seconds per mile. I'm not sure about the PE of the run as I'm not feeling my normal self today.

More interestingly than the run/walk thing...I'm pretty sure I saw a tranny on a cruiser bike today while I was running. We life in curious times my friends....curious times indeed.

Kia Kaha

Thursday

2009-10-23T07:13:00.001-06:00

Just a run today...some of it was fast, some JRA (just running along). 42 minutes.

Tuesday

2009-10-21T08:30:00.003-06:00

4.5 miles with George and Steve. Felt decent enough. Weather is changing, was chilly.

(wednesday morning is was raining/snowing)

oh and in something completely unrelated to anything....this is my new favorite blog

http://colormekatie.blogspot.com/

"Come on everybody...Let's Squish our fruits together!"

Still not sure what I'm doing with this blog.

2009-10-19T10:51:00.002-06:00

but, Sunday ran a 5k (well, 4.85k) in Brighton. I think I was one of maybe 25 people. I think only 5 of us actually ran. Easily the smallest 'race' I've ever run. Finished in 19:30....or 20:04 if it were actually 5k. Not bad, felt fine throughout. I'll crack 20 on the next try out.

I think I'm going to set the goal of sub 19 for the spring. And then sub 40 at Bolder Boulder, or another 10k in the late spring. It would be nice to have that kind of pace going into the ironman build that starts in June.

More later...maybe
Kia Kaha

Ironman Louisville Race Report

2009-09-03T15:13:00.005-06:00

Ironman Louisville '09

At a bit of a loss as to what to write about this race and this season. My blog has a lot of the details as far as numbers go. And I have a lot of numbers from Louisville (pronounced 'LuhVul', as one syllable). But those don't really tell the whole story.

The days leading up to the race were uneventful and went well. No real stresses. Being my 6th IM, and having a fair amount of confidence I was well prepared for this one, helped quite a bit.

Got to Lou Thursday evening. My buddy Wes was already there. Keri came in on Saturday with good friends of ours, Megan and Erik. The rest of the F4 folks were already there. Got settled in and relaxed. On Friday, did all the race check in stuff, blah, blah, blah, put on numbers, got weighed, etc etc

Let's just jump to Race Day shall we :)

Swim :
In line a little before 6 and was a good 1/2 mile from the swim start down the line. Ugh. In the dark on the sidewalk, no facilities. IM really needs to address the logistics of this swim start. The line moved fast once the cannon went off and I was in the water ~ 7:30am.

The swim felt long, but really was uneventful. I did get a kick to the jumblies that hurt quite a bit, but did my best to shake it off and keep swimming. Actually, it was a real ouch. But what are you going to do, just keep swimming. My mind wanted to wander and I found myself dreaming of "fast finish times". I'd catch this and give myself a mental slap on the wrist and remind myself to stay in my box, focus on what I can control.

Eventually, I made it to the steps. 1:11 something. No biggie, got up, took off to T1

Got through T1 as relaxed and quick as I could. Took some extra time to sunscreen and was off. One the way out, to the mount line, I heard my folks yell. I ran back a gave them hugs and kisses. They have always supported me with this crazy sport. They were there for my first IM, which was a tough day, and it was good to have them there for this one.

Bike:
Started out easy and brought it down a notch. :) Not a lot to say here. Just tried to keep things under control for the first few hours. The bike course was very pretty, lots of green, grass, trees, rolling farm land. Since I started so far back in the field there were lots of folks to pass. Aside from a few folks refusing to ride to the right (I don't understand why this is so hard for some people to do), the traffic wasn't that bad. I didn't see much drafting going on either which is a nice change from the last few ironmans I've been at.

Things were going smooth until about mile 80. I noticed my stomach was a little upset and taking in more calories seem to make it worse. I was on the back side of the LaGrange loop and headed home at this point. I knew the course was pretty friendly here and originally had planned to pick up the effort here. But with this stomach thing going on, I went to plan 'B'. Plan 'B' in this case was to shut it down and soft pedal home. I sipped water and rolled along as easy as I could. I hit my target power numbers going up the hills, but then let off the gas for the downs and flats. I kept telling myself that the race didn't start until mile 18 of the marathon. I was hard to let my "fast finish" plan go, but the day is bigger than bike split.

The last 10 miles felt like they took forever, but eventually, I rolled into T2 with a bike PR and my stomach in decent shape. I was, however, super stiff. My neck and upper back were killing me from all that time in the aero bars. (Note for the future, this is an aerobar course for sure, the hills are plentiful, but fast).

T2: I wasn't sure how this was going to go. I was moving very slow off the bike and walked to my transition bag. Into the tent for a costume change, med tent for ibuprofen for my sore neck, and a stop at the blue closet. 8 + minutes later it was time to get'r dun.

Run:
Wow....I really can't believe how well this run turned out. Started stoopid slow per my plan. Took off out of T2 and heard Keri yelling, stopped for a hug and kiss. It was one of the highlights of the day actually. I'd been looking for her on the bike, so it was super to catch her there. Out on the run I went. Came through the first mile at 9, perfect....but off the bridge and through town I ended up running too fast. Five miles came along fast, 41 minutes. WAY too fast for this early in the run. I backed off a little and took some extra time in the aide stations for the next few miles. I was rolling past people very quickly. It was sort of fun to be "that guy". Normally I'm the one running and getting pasted thinking "who was that guy running so quick". At ten miles I was still feeling decent. At 13, I saw 1:50 on my run split and decided that sub 11 was going to happen. At 18, I saw Rich and Patrick from EN and they yelled "race starts here!". I started my 'road kill' count and got to 283 people passed some where near mile 24. I lost track after that as the race finally got tough. I kept the pressure on, kept walking the aide stations, eating and drinking, and was able to hang on for the rest of the run. Proper and realistic pacing brought me to a 45 minute run PR.

Finish:
Hard to explain what it feels like to finish an ironman. This one was specail to me as well. My folks were there. My girlfriend, who gave never ending support and kindness was there. I ran down the chute feeling like I was graduating. I am proud of this race and of my season. And being able to perform on the biggest race of the year was the perfect ending to the season.

General Thoughts:
*Keep it real. If you haven't done it in training, you can't do it race day.
There's no such thing as 'race day magic'
*The solution to most problems is 'slow down'. Take a few minutes to fix a problem
when it appears, rather then waiting until the problem is out of hand
* Stoopid slow on the first hour of the bike and first hour of the run. Start off easy and then back it down!
*Patience. Let the race come to you. Don't attack the hills on the bike, let them come to you, don't push on the run, the run will get hard enough on it's own. Patience
*Passing people is FUN :)
*This ironman was different in that, I decided when it was going to be tough. I made proactive decisions on pace and effort rather than reacting to fatigue and conditions.
*Another difference was that I had a very solid idea of what my race day paces could be. since my goals were realistic, I was making decisions on realistic data, rather than "swags" or "would be nice"s. In other words, I was truly in control of my 'box'

Below are the numbers and such for reference purposes. so if you are a data geek, read on. :)

OVERALL PLACE : 209
TOTAL TIME : 10:43:39
LAST NAME : MAZZA
FIRST NAME : PHILIP
RACE DIVISION : M40-44
DIVISION PLACE : 30
SWIM OVR PLACE: 411
SWIM TIME : 1:11:57
SWIM 100M PACE: 1:52
T1 : 4:36
BIKE OVR PLACE : 337
BIKE TIME : 5:38:05
BIKE PACE : 19.9
T2 : 8:42
RUN OVR PLACE : 171
RUN TIME : 3:40:18
RUN PACE : 8:25

The last Kona spot in my age group went 10:12, finishing 12th in the AG.

If I ever want to go to Kona, I need to get faster on the bike.

Power numbers and pictures to follow shortly.

Kia Kaha

For future reference: Power Tap numbers for IM Louisville 2009

Note. I think my IF numbers (% of FTP) are high as I was using a test from the beginning of the summer. Not sure why I didn't test more during the Ironman build. Fear I suppose. I'll be better about this aspect of training next year)

0 to 56 miles
Time: 2:48
TSS : 161
IF : 75.9%
Pnorm : 169 watts
VI : 1.08
Pavg: 156 watts
Cad: 93rpm
Spd: 20.0

56 to 112
Time: 2:48
TSS: 137
IF: 69.9%
Pnorm: 156 watts
VI: 1.1
Pavg: 142 watts
Cad: 92 rpm
Spd: 20 mph

Total
Time: 5:37
TSS: 300
IF: 73.1%
Pnorm: 163 watts
VI: 1.09
Pavg: 149 watts
Cad: 92 rpm
Spd: 20 mph

This tells more of the real story....rode too hot for the first 80. Not eating enough...figured this out later than I should have. The course was faster from here on in to the finish though. This was plan 'B'. I figured if I got in trouble, just make it to ~85, then soft pedal in, fixing whatever problem I was dealing with. It worked out ok.

First 82 miles
IF: 75.6%
VI: 1.08
Pnorm: 169 watts
Pavg: 156 watts

last miles 30
(Shut it down here. Focused on getting home in good shape. Worked the hills, coasted as much as I could, just rode the avg speed, anything over 22mph and I let up)
IF: 63.9%
VI: 1.11 (worked up the hills, but then coasted as much as I could. used the down time sip water and take in a few additional calories)
Pnorm: 142 watts
Pavg: 129 watts

2009-08-17T19:16:00.000-06:00

Did it go well, depends on how you measure "well"?

99 miles in 5:09 on the bike and then 5.75 in 49min on the run. Over all, I felt in control and was in fine shape when it was all finished. So on from that info, I'd say the day went great. But....

Looking at the powertap numbers:
TSS: 280 (IF = 0.74)
Pnorm = 165 W
VI = 1.11
Pavg=148W
Cadavg=91
Spd=19.4

A VI of 1.11????? Where did this happen? I won't have guessed this at all. I did ride into Boulder, so lots of lights, stops and starts, a few sidewalks, etc. So I knew this and my avg power would not look so good. I really felt like I was chillin and not hammering the hills and accelerating off the corners and lights hard. I do a much better job of this on race day (at 5430LC my VI was 1.05 (IF=.799)) I will tape an extra big note to the handlebars for race day reminding me to be CALM.

In races, I'm down below 1.05 for the VI, so I'm going to chalk this up to the route I took through town with all it's stops and starts.

So overall, according for the powertap, I over cooked the bike....again. Seems I'm too dumb to go Stoopid easy.

Seems I'm in the same boat for the run. I took off and tried running at my stoopid easy pace. It as tough to settle in there. I would tell myself "Relax"...but that just served to speed myself up. Felt good the whole way though and was tempted to run further. :) (like I said, I'm not terribly smart sometimes :) )

So lessons learned:
* I'm pretty fit for me this season. That's good for my head and confidence
* I've learned that I need to really focus on not over cooking the bike. EASY for the first hour..."no Phil...STOOPID Easy for the first hour" :)
* Nutrition is dialed in. I've had crazy weather: hot, cold, rainy, windy, and I've done well at adjusting my nutrition on the fly. When in doubt, slow down and eat and drink more.
* The best race day goals are all about execution not resutls. Be an Execution Ninja and the results will take care of themselves.
* focus on form and nutrition and speed with follow (stay in your box)
* I'm smarter and better prepared for this ironman than I've ever been

I'm excited for this Ironman. I would like to give a big think you to Endurance Nation and the forum/team for all the help and support this season. I'm looking forward to meeting you all in Louisville.

Kia Kaha

2009-08-14T09:41:00.001-06:00

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

5430 Long Course (half IM) Race Report

2009-08-10T10:43:00.002-06:00

This was my best long course race ever. Solid effort across the board. Pretty much everything went as expected.

Swim was uneventful. Focused on keeping my head down and arms light, set my catch and use my hips. I miss my faster swim times from last year, but I’m going SO much faster on the bike and run, I’m ok with it. Hit the beach in 33:30.

The bike was decent, The goal was to take it easy on the first loop and along 36 the second time. Then pick it up after hitting the high point of the course (on 36) during the second loop. Was a minute faster on the second loop of the ride. Took in 700 calories on the bike. I did have to back off a few minutes on the second loop to get those last few calories in.

The thing I don’t get on the bike is the power numbers for first and second loop. The perceived effort was higher on the second loop, and the speed was higher, but the both the average power and normalized power are a smidge lower. I know the last 1.5 miles into the res are downhill and fast (and we didn’t ride this direction on the first loop). But 1.5 miles doesn’t seem like enough time to nake that kind of difference. One the second loop, I was pretty focused on keeping the pedals turning over smoothly, even when I had the wind or slope in my favor. I wonder if that kept the speed a little higher, even though the power was a little lower. Oh, and I rode a 12-23, ten speed cassette in the back with my 50/34 compact chain rings up front. I would spin out at about 34 mph. By giving up the 11 tooth ring in the back, I picked up the 18 tooth ring. So from 12-19 in the back, I have one tooth jumps. It was perfect for the rolly bits of the course yesterday. This will be a good gear setup for me for IM. (For next years sprints however, I’ll be looking at 52/36 up front and 11-23 (or 11-25) in the back)

Unfortunately, in T2, I need a porta-jon stop, so T2 was a little long.

My gps never picked up on the run so it was all by feel and checking my mile splits. The splits are below. The run went well. Ran the first 3 in 23:08. Stayed calm and relaxed to mile 9. Then let it go some. My last 3 miles went by in 22:18. Not having the GPS ended up being a good thing. It showed me that I have a pretty good sense of pace and effort.

The best part of the race was keeping my head together. That's a big improvement for me. I ran a smidge slower than Lubbock, but this time, the run was after a faster ride and in much hotter conditions.

Lots of good things today. Good head space. Good job at transitions. Paced well, negative split the bike and the run. Did well with nutrition and hydration. Good stuff for head.

The numbers:
bib=476, age= 40, gender=89, M40-44, age group= 12,
Swim Time=34:48, rank= 249
T1= 1:25
Bike Time= 2:31:38, spd= 22.2mph, Rank= 136
T2= 2:59
Run Time = 1:39:25, pace= 7:36 min/mile, Rank= 102
Total = 4:50:14 (this is a ~15 min PR)

Age Group: 12 (out of 125 in M40-44)
Overall: 114 (out of 1132)

PowerTap Numbers:

Duration: 2:31:27
TSS: 161(If=.799)
Pnorm= 178
VI: 1.05
Distance:56.2
Pavg: 170
Cad avg: 92
Speed: 22.3

1st half
Time: 1:16:30
VI: 1.04
Pnorm: 179
Pavg:172
Spd: 22.0

2nd Half
Time:1:15:32
VI: 1.05
Pnorm: 177
Pavg: 168
Spd: 22.5
keep spinning on long down hills, low power, but kept the speed higher longer (I think)

Run
Total= 1:39:15 (7:35/mile)
1: 7:30
2: 7:33
3: 8:05 (w/ walk through aide station)
4: 7:37
5: 7:45
6: 7:40
7: 7:38
8: 7:52 (w/ walk through aide station)
9: 7:42
10: 7:21
11: 7:11
12: 7:27 (w/ walk through aide station)
13.1: 8:05 (7:40pace)

Sprint Race and some long training

2009-08-06T07:59:00.003-06:00

Anthem Sprint (Saturday Aug 1st)

Rode to the race site. Did you know it's now dark at 5:15 am. Had to rummage around to find my bike lights. Ended up with a headlamp zip-tied to my helmet. Actually worked pretty well.

40 minutes or so of easy riding got me up to the Anthem neighborhood. Hung out, jogged a little, was in the pool at 6:50.

Started second in the lane, hung back for 200 and then pushed a little. The swim felt really nice. Supposed to be 525meters. But if it was a meter pool, then it was a 23 meter pool. So even in a pool, race directors have a hard time measuring courses. :)

Took off on the bike and wanted to really go for it. the course was about 4 miles of up and false flat and then a mile of rippin' down hill, two laps. powertap data is below. I was one of the few to break 30 minutes for the ride. and also had a race first for me, I was first off the bike!

but....i was in such a hurry to get into and out of T2, I went through the wrong entrance. it cost me, more on that in a minute.

run was a Dr Suess course on the the crazy crooked and twisty side walks. No one was out there, the volunteers weren't set up so there was a lot of guessing as to which turns to take. Thankfully it was pretty well marked. Decent run for me especailly considering the way I rode.

Had another first for me at a race, I was the first to cross the finish line! but....remember going in the wrong way to t2. that forced me to run the length of the parking lot with my bike and then run back again to get to the run exit. I ended up third on the day, by 13 seconds. Ouch.

It was a good training day though. I really do like racing short course.

Duration: 29:24
Pnorm=221
VI = 1.04
Distance = 11.44mi
Pavg = 213 --- Pmax=446
Speedavg=23.4mph
Cadenceavg = 93 rpm

3rd overall (out of 181)
1st in 40-49

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Race Rehearsal (Sunday August 2nd)
5:21 of riding over 5:38 (stops for water and potty)
TSS: 282(.727)
Pnorm: 162 Watts
VI: 1.14
Distance: 104miles
Poweravg: 142 Watts
Cadence avg: 91rpm
Speed: 19.5mph

Then 3.7 mile run in 37 min (10 min miles)

Lots to write about and nothing much at the same time. Some notes for myself:
high of 86, drank 2 gallons of water and still lost weight. ~300 cals seems right. Took electrolytes with each bottle of water. That seemed about right, ~350mg for each tab.
Pedaled angry from my mistake at the race the day before, hence the VI=1.14. Was over cooked for the run for sure. And still had a hard time running slower than 9s to start out.

Note, start of the run is STOOPID EASY. Painfully easy.

Good ride, but bad race rehearsal. Get another try on the 23rd

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Long Run Wednesday Aug 5th (5:15pm start)
19 miles 2:49 total
Ran out at Tom Watson Park with the F4 crew. It went really well. Spent most of the run trying to keep things slow and easy.
first 5 in 44:15
last 5 miles in 43:15

first 7 in 1:04:45 (9:16) with water refill and pitstop
last 11 miles in 1:33:30 (8:31)

Very happy with this run. It's my longest training run. Felt in control the whole time. the 2:49 includes two water stops and two portalet stops.

Also ran in new shoes. Nike LunaGlides. Butt-ugly...but worked well and they will be my racing shoes for 5430LC and IMLou.

and I'll have to wear them if I do a Halloween 5k.

Kia Kaha

Kia Kaha

2012

Digging this

Don't Judge, Execute

CdA race recap

5430 Sprint

2 Weeks out

Stroke and Stride

Catching up

Last long run

Decent weekend

Summer Open Tri...Duathlon

Thursday

39 days to ironman

Cautiously Optimistic

Not sure what I'm doing with this blog right now.

long run

Not sure where this is all going

Cozumel

Interesting Chart

More fun

Adventures in VO2Max

Weekend

Bike Test

hill reps for form and cadence

Good weekend of training

a couple of workouts and a quarq

training notes

Wednesday Spin

Training....

Not much training this weekend

Thursday...boring blog entries

Getting it done

Tuesday Spin

New VDOT

ugh....bike test

Decent run Tuesday

Theme for Ironman this year

Decent weekend

Wednesday spin

Darn it

Week of 12/20

2011 Plans and thoughts and so forth

change of plans

Canada ... and moving forward

Canada, eh .... one week out

Boulder 70.3

Boulder Peak 2010

Buffalo Springs Half

Hijacked Pic day

5430 Sprint

Swim test

Boulder Sunrise Sprint

***************** OVERALL MALE *****************

Wed 6/2/2010 FTP test

hijacked pics from the Summer Open

Summer Open Sprint Tri

Some training

The Week So Far

Week and Barking Dogs

Sunday April 25th Earth Day 5k

Dash and Dine #2 4/20/10

Here we go...2010!

weekend workouts

Feb FTP test

Weekend Workouts

Window Bench Project

Thursday lunch run

Thursday 2/4

mid winter break .... it's over!

Weekend

More workouts

Week so far

Weekend Update

Tuesday/Wednesday

Monday 1/4

Master's

FTP test

Hill reps and Motivation

Sunday in the Pain Cave

* OVERALL MALE *