Spindogg Triathlon

2011 Update!!

2011-06-16T11:39:00.000-04:00

I haven’t blogged in over 6 months!! Here’s an update and a glimpse into my world. I am 10 days out from Ironman Coeur D’Alene!!!

Snow, rain, injury, snow rain, injury- this was the theme of my winter. It was hands down the toughest winter I have ever had as a triathlete. First off I had plantar fasciitis since right after Kona. I had felt twinges of it last year but it would quickly go away. This year after the 3 week rest block after Kona my calves got tight and when I returned to running it was a perfect storm to irritate/tear the plantar fascia ligament. Plantar fasciitis is hands down the worst injury I have had in my 20 or so years of endurance sports. It forces you to the sidelines- there is no training through it and if you do it just gets worse. On top of that we had the snowiest wettest winter / spring I can remember. These 3 things made it very difficult to have a positive mood and consistent motivation. It.just.plain.sucked. I switched chiropractic providers to an ART (active release techniques) provider in Williston- Dr Erik Hemmett. Dr Hemmett has helped me so much in a short amount of time. In addition to this foot injury I have had an ongoing issue for over 10 years with my hip/lower back on long bike rides/races. I have not made progress on this issue significantly in years. Dr Hemmett took one look at a video of me on the bike and was immediately problem solving and we need to try this, that etc. The guy is a problem solver and has a commanding knowledge of muscles and ligaments, biomechanics as well as what to do for areas of adhesions. I have made a great deal of progress on both injuries with him.

Race season officially began in May with the Rev3 Half ironman in Knoxville, TN. This was my second year racing it and I am a huge fan of Rev3 races. The best part of the weekend was hanging with my dad, my brother and 2 of my athletes (Jayson and Sean). My brother has got to be one of the best race sherpas out there not just for the obvious reasons of having someone to help carry stuff to transition etc but because he is hilarious and always lightens the mood not to mention he yells at the top of his lungs during the race. He got some flip video footage and you can hear some clips here (stay tuned- will try posting).

The race went well. Swim was loooong- the turnaround buoy got washed down river and we ended up swimming 1.5 miles. Good prep for ironman!! T1 – I took it really slow to take it easy on my foot. On the bike I felt great and was holding goal wattage well (275-280 watts on the flats). I undershot one bottle in my fueling plan and had a slight cramp issue – stupid mistake. No margin of error at ironman for mistakes like that particularly if I want to get back to Kona. My back felt better at this race than any other half or full I have done in the last 5 years!! On to the run I was running people down and couldn’t believe how good I felt and the best part was I had no foot pain!! I was running 6:15 pace on the flats but this course was a bear and was one of the hilliest bike and run courses I have ever done. Came across the line in a time that put me in 7th overall. No complaints other than the missed bottle. Only amateurs were in the half and it was a strong mix of elite age grouper/Kona hopeful guys from all the over the US. My 2 athletes also had killer races and made big improvements!!

I was totally surprised that I felt recovered 2 days later!! It must be the Hoka’s!! One of the other dials I have turned this year is the shoes I have been running in. The Hoka Bondi B is a shoe designed for ultra runners and I have to say it is incredible. They look like moonboots!! Hey – function over fashion!! At only 9 oz it is as light as a good lightweight trainer but it has a HUGE amount of cushion and is very stable (hard to find both features). It was the only shoe that didn’t aggravate my Plantar fasciitis. I have found that I recover much faster in it as well. I can do a 10 mile run in them and 3 hours later feel like I only ran 3 or 4 miles. No BS. They also incorporate the low to heel to toe offset that we are seeing in the natural / minimal shoes. They are 4mm of drop so they really promote midfoot striking, are cushy and are stable. It is very hard to find these 3 features in a shoe.

I went right into my overload weeks immediately after Rev3—good thing I recovered fast! I pulled off a 315 mile bike week right off the bat and around 40 or so run miles. My training metrics were looking really good- I could sit on 250-260 watts and not even go over zone 1 on the bike. These zone 1 watts are up about 10 watts over last year. Due to the run injury I put in a lot of extra bike miles. To be honest this was something I knew I needed to do anyway- I was not riding as fast as I know I am capable of at Ironman. Big decouple from what I could do in a shorter race vs IM. However a good bit of that was from back issues I have had in the past. If I can ride CDA with little to no back issues and pace and fuel to the letter there is no reason I can’t have a breakthrough ride there. Run fitness was about where it was a year ago- running 6:40 pace at the top of zone 1 albeit slightly lower run volume and shorter long runs than last year.

Next race was Mooseman oly. I did this race last year but the swim was cancelled and bike was changed to a 17 mile TT start with a 10k run off it. This year was the full 1500meter swim, 27.2 bike and same 10k run as last year.
Mdot is now running this race so they basically run it in a similar fashion to a 70.3 with wave starts. Back when this was non-Mdot you could get into the Open wave which went first and made for better racing (my 2 cents). Anyhow gun goes off in my wave (second wave). I went out hard and found myself in the front pack. There was only 2 guys ahead of me in my wave and I had thought I was having a great swim but I just didn’t swim hard enough!! No excuses though- need to HTFU.

On to the bike- absolutely hammered the bike- although was a little demoralized when Peter Abdinoor caught me at the end of the swim. He and I were riding at the same level on the day and were near each other riding legally. I couldn’t get away from him and he couldn’t get away from me.

On the run – felt great immediately. Plan was to hold 5:45 pace on the flats and just push as hard as I could. I ran down the couple guys who got out of T2 ahead of me (had to stop and fix my speed laces in T2). Felt great on the run and no foot pain!!

The cool thing was that I ran faster in the Hokas than I did on the same run course last year. This is with 6 weeks of no running due to PF in March.

I ended up 4th overall and had the second fastest bike and run splits. Was psyched about that. Good momentum for Ironman in a few weeks.

Right after Moose I put in one last pretty big week hitting 300 miles on the bike and 37 on the run. This past weekend was absolutely brutal with the rain for both of my big rides. Cold steady rain = BRUTAL.

Anyhow- looking forward to CDA in 10 days!!!!!!!!!

Shoutouts –

My wife for putting up with another IM focused training cycle.

My ART guy (active release technique)- Dr Erik Hemmett for keeping me in one piece and allowing me to make huge progress in not only the plantar fasciitis I had but the back/hip issue I have had for years.

My mechanic- Matt Montross for getting my bike dialed.

My TT bike fit guru- Sean Whipkey at the Skirack BG Fit center for getting me more aero AND comfortable/powerful.

Athletes Honey Milk for helping me recover well after the big days.

Training buddies for making the long rides more fun – Gary Snow, Luke Moore, Jason Frank, Jason Baer, Justin Ryea (when he comes out)

Winter training on the bike- Phil Beard- thanks for helping me motivate to ride all winter at the Confluence Cycling Center.

2010 Feel Good Highlights

2010-12-03T09:11:00.001-05:00

At the end of each season I like to reflect on my best moments in triathlon. Here is my top ten list (although it’s more than 10) of feel good moments of 2010 as an athlete and a coach. They are in chronological order. Every one of these felt like a victory and put me on cloud nine. These kinds of moments are the things that get me through long and hard training blocks. They are confidence building and make all the hard training completely worthwhile. They also leave me hungry for more!

1- Hyannis Half marathon. I ran 1:18 here which was a breakthrough race for me. It was a new PR and was 3 minutes faster than last year on the same exact course- very similar conditions.
2- RunVermont Unplugged half marathon. I ran 1:16:57 here which was another breakthrough and over a minute faster than my last half marathon. This was a USATF certified course and also my Garmin had it at 13.15.
3- One of my athletes ran 2:50 in his first marathon as a 47 year old dad and teacher. I couldn’t have been more proud. By the way- he did zero speed work (because he was relatively injury prone at the time). Just goes to show how fast you can get on aerobic run training (QT2 zone 1). It makes perfect sense since the marathon is 99% from the aerobic system.
4- 3rd overall at the inaugural Rev3 half ironman. Looking to improve there this year and go for the win.
5- 4th overall at Mooseman Olympic distance with the fastest bike split of the day and backed it up with a fast run. I hadn’t had the fastest bike split at any race for years. My bike training was really paying off. Couldn’t have been happier.
6- Ironman Coeur D Alene. I came into this race with a 500 pound gorilla on my back. After many attempts at qualifying for Kona I still hadn’t made it there. At each previous attempt I either had an injury or botched my race execution (pre-QT2 days). I nailed this race and when I hit the final finishing stretch of the run I can honestly say it the most intensely overwhelming feeling I’ve ever experienced in my athletic career. You can see the finish from about a half mile out ---very wide long straight section. The road is lined with hundreds of spectators. With about a ¼ mile to go and knowing roughly what my time was going to be I completely burst into tears. I had left nothing on the table---I raced as fast as I could have on the day and that’s all I can ask for. When I crossed the line and pretty much collapsed- they brought me to the med tent area where I sat down and proceeded to cry as hard as I think I’ve ever cried. I’m talking loud extreme crying- completely uncontrolled that you can’t hold back. All the years of hard work, sacrifice, failed Kona attempts, all the time away from friends and family all culminated in this one moment of severe catharsis. There was a volunteer with me who witnessed this and said “you probably want to call someone”. I said yes and she handed me her phone. This was as close as I’ll ever get to having to a Rocky Balboa moment (yes this sounds cheesy but I don’t care). I called Lindsay who didn’t come to Idaho as we were trying to save money and I was on a sole mission to qualify for Kona. That call was my “Adrian I did it call”. I lost it again on the phone with Lindsay. I really did it. By the way I didn’t know yet if I actually qualified or not but I knew I had the best race I could have had. I found out the next day that I qualified!!
7- VT sun sprint distance- 3rd overall here and went 1:00:52. This was 30 seconds faster than last year and as best I can tell it was the 4th fastest time in the history of this race. Looking to break an hour there next year. By the way- I had done zero speed work up to this point but yet was holding 5:40 pace off the bike.
8- Seeing an athlete of mine break the women’s course records in the sprint and Olympic races at VT Sun. So proud!!!
9- Riding 100 miles in 4:29 (22.3 mph av speed) at ironman heart rate. Breakthrough!!
10- Seeing one of my athletes break 5 hours at Vineman and then backed it up with another sub 5 performance at Timberman.
11- Setting a new bike course record at the Waterbury long Time trial (14 miles).
12- Racing Ironman Hawaii!!!!!!!!!!!!! Need I say more? This was a triathlon orgasm.
13- Seeing one of my athletes finish his first ironman in Florida. So happy and proud!!!
14- Seeing Lindsay absolutely crush a half marathon. She got 7th in a field of 1200 women and broke 1:32 on a certified course which was a PR!! Felt so good to see her nail this race!!
15- Seeing an athlete of mine get second in the world in her age group at the Half ironman world championships (Clearwater). Can’t wait to her see her fly in 2011!!

Ironman Hawaii Experience 2010

2010-10-17T21:36:00.002-04:00

Let me just start by saying this race and this experience were everything I have dreamed them up to be and more. This race is truly the ultimate mental and physical challenge. This is the most competitive triathlon in the world and I savored every second of it (except for the flat- more on that later). It was such an honor to have qualified and it meant the world to me be here, this race is the heart and soul of our sport. Before I get into it though, I need to acknowledge my family who puts up with this lifestyle. It is no easy task to train to race at this level and work 40 hours a week. It is a great deal of training time which doesn’t leave much room for family time. Lindsay- thank you so much for your support, you are my dream girl and my best friend. Brian, Megan, Scott, Ben and Matt- thank you for understanding and not giving me a hard time when I need to train. Mom and Dad thank you for teaching me how to work hard to achieve what I want. Meghan, Jared, Bridget, Molly, Buster, Murphy, Jess, Sean, and Aspen thank you for being patient with me when I need to train when visiting or when you visit us. Sue and Mac- I know you think I’m crazy rolling around in my spandex all the time but thanks for being in my corner.

Over the years I have watched all the coverage and read many race reports about Ironman Hawaii. Through this media exposure I had learned about many special spots in and around Kona. It was thrilling to visit each of these “special spots” during the trip. Lava Java was the first one on my list. I. Love. Coffee. Lava Java is a really awesome coffee shop right on the race course. This sounds corny but I had dreamed of being able to walk in there and have a cup a few days before the race. Once we got there it was everything I had hoped it would be- seriously. You know how some things aren’t as good as you had pictured in your head? Well this was even better. It was very close to the ocean and had outdoor seating that overlooked it---unreal!!! The coffee was the best I have ever tasted- really!! I have tasted a lot of coffee in my life and I can honestly say that 100% Kona coffee is the best there is. Lava Java also had the best tasting 100% Kona coffee that I tasted on the island.

The next “special place” on the list was Dig Me beach—the swim start area and a spot I had dreamed of being able to get in. I got in on Wednesday before the race for a practice swim. Again this was even better than I pictured in my head. The water was incredibly clear and the perfect temperature. There were many brightly colored fish and I was pretty much in heaven. I love open water swimming period and here I am at the race of my dreams swimming with fish!!

OK moving on- the bike check in was Friday – the day before the race. It was quite a production just getting into the transition area. As you walk in there is a long 200 foot section before the entrance of the transition area lined by a fence all along the right side. That fence was lined with at least 100 reps from various cycling related companies, from bicycle companies to pedal companies to components- they were all there. Many of them were sitting in lawn chairs and all of them had a clipboard and pen and were making notes about the bikes as we walked by. This made me feel like a rock star for a moment. The reps were looking at everything- one guy asked me what saddle I had (I have a neoprene cover over it). Once I got into transition athletes are assigned one volunteer who went through EVERYTHING related to transition. My volunteer showed me where to put my T1 and 2 bags and the flow of the transition area. I had never been to a race that did this- very helpful especially with such a big transition area.

The rest of the day before the race was spent off my feet as much as possible and trying to ease the anticipation of the race. I have to say I had more fear built up about the swim start than for any other race. I am a very confident and comfortable open water swimmer but Ironman Couer D’Alene (CDA) was by far the toughest and most physically aggressive swim I had ever done - I had a moment during that swim when I thought I would drown (very choppy waves, cold and big swell and extremely crowded and full contact that didn’t let up). Everyone kept saying wait until the Hawaii swim start—warning me that that it is the most physical and intense swim of all races. In my head I thought if Hawaii is going to be worse than CDA I am in really in for an extremely tough swim.

On race morning I made my way down to the start with Lindsay and some QT2 team mates. Lindsay was the ultimate race Sherpa!! Body marking – this is the only race I’ve been to that stamps the numbers on—very cool. I just want to point out that the volunteers at this race are incredible!! I heard there were about 5000 volunteers. Thank you a million times over to all the volunteers. We met several of them after the race that flew in just to volunteer!! Now that is cool!
Once I got my new Blue Seventy swim skin on I headed toward the Dig Me beach swim entrance. Out of the sea of bodies appeared my training buddy Jason Frank! It was very cool to hang with him in those last few minutes before the start. We were the only Vermont men in this race!

Once in the water I made my way up toward the front. This was a deep water start (probably about 30 feet deep at the start line). The sun was on its way up at this point. I positioned myself way up front and to the left near the floating Ford car (yes there was a Ford floating on a big buoy platform). I was way on the left side and about 2 rows back. The plan was to go out very hard and try to get ahead of the masses (something I didn’t do at CDA). I felt this would reduce the craziness for my swim as well as set me up for a good swim split. The swim splits tend to be much slower than at other IM swims due to no wetsuit and the currents. We treaded water for about 8-10 minutes although it wasn’t too bad at all- not as bad as the Lake Placid deep water start which is more crowded. The salty water makes us very buoyant. There were people on surf boards and referees paddling back and forth across the line to make sure no one crept up too far. By the way, I want to point out that the refs in this race were awesome. They made for clean hard racing. On the bike there was a ref on a motorcycle visible at all time for at least the first 30 miles on the Queen K highway. They gave out many penalties. Ok back to the swim- the cannon was about to go off. There was no warning and then BOOM!!!!!! We are off- I was super aggressive and went out hard- usually I back off when there are people all over me and next to me. I didn’t care, I pushed hard and felt great. I swam at sprint distance race pace for about the first 400 yards at which point I found myself with clear water on either side of me and feet ahead of me. I said to myself I must be off course or something- sighted- nope right on course. I can’t believe I am not getting beat up. I thought OK it’s going to get worse- I am going to get beat up bad—just be ready for it. I hit the boat turnaround in 30:30 holy shit I am flying. I forgot there was likely a current helping me but still I was psyched and felt great. My main focus on the swim was pulling water with perfect form. I focused on holding as much water as I could with a strong catch and long powerful strokes. Really I felt great. I pushed hard on the way back and it did feel a little like we were swimming a bit slower. I hit the sand and looked at my watch 1:06:30. YES!!!!!!!! This is a great swim for me and I was very much in the mix! The CDA swim was waaaay harder than this!!!

Out to transition as fast as I could and put my socks and shoes on. Once on the bike I took an extra 20-30 seconds and put on my new SCAPE sunblock. I highly recommend this product. My training buddy got severe burns last year at Hawaii and I really didn’t want to take any chances. This stuff stays on!!!! I didn’t get burned! The sun here feels hotter and stronger than anywhere I’ve been including Mexico. Out on the bike- it was chaos for the first 30 miles or so. There were so many of us!! Refs on motorcycles everywhere. I had to stay focused to make sure I was always moving forward through a draft zone or not within one ahead —just the slightest lapse in focus would be a penalty. I had to waste a little bit of energy to always move through a draft zone and get ahead and it was way better than getting a penalty. It was just a necessary evil at this point. By mile 40-50 I was averaging 22+ miles an hour with heart rate in zone 1 and felt great.

Once we got into the windy section of the course- I couldn’t believe how strong these cross winds were. Unbelievably strong gusts that would come in hard and almost knock me off the bike. I couldn’t ride aero through this section. I could see how
riding the course ahead of time would be good- learning how much to lean and how to anticipate these winds in the aero position would have helped. I had to stay sitting up through most of this. It was extremely difficult and amazingly hot.
Around mile 60 or so (about a half mile before the turnaround in Hawi) I feel a thump thump thump. I looked down and realized the worst, a flat tire. This was the most gut wrenching feeling- here I am in the biggest race of my life and I have the first flat in over 10 years of racing. I was really upset. I got off the bike and start changing it- doing my best to keep my composure. My mentor and QT2 founder Jesse Kropelnicki rode by and said In a very calm confident tone- “it’s a long day, you’ll be fine”. This definitely helped. My training buddy Jason Frank went by going the other way and yelled “stay calm John” stay calm”. That helped too. Got the flat fixed and it seemed like I pumped it up too much with the CO2 so I let some out (this took some extra time to take the valve extender off again). I got the wheel back on and start back on my way. Mentally I felt beaten at this point. I was so mad and disappointed. I had been riding so well and feeling so great. I pretty much didn’t get my head back on straight until I started the run. The last 40 miles of the bike were just plain brutal. The winds were insane- mostly the cross winds- I couldn’t ride aero through this. Also my glutes and lower back started hurting. This is an ongoing issue that is much better than it has been in the past but is still affecting me. My heart rate was low and legs felt OK – no cramping or anything. I was nailing my fueling and hydration. It was so hot that I drank 3 x 24 oz bottles in the first hour and still didn’t pee. I drank at least 2 bottles an hour and never peed once on the bike!! Now that is hot! Anyhow I definitely lost more time over the last 40 of the bike due to my back. I am going to get this fully corrected by IM CDA 2011. I was eager to run and just told myself I would let the race come back to me.
On to the run- I felt amazing. I felt like I hadn’t even biked—not kidding. Between the flat and then not being able to push as hard as I can due to my back my HR had been pretty low during the second half of the bike. I looked down at my run pace and found that I was running low 6 minute pace!! And my heart rate was only at the top of zone 1. This is insane. Second mile was 6:10, third mile was low 6. HR was still low. I hit mile 9 in 1 hour flat and was just blowing by people. Once we hit the climb up Palani I started feeling like I had gone out too hard. I continued to run steady and strong but just not with the same fervor I had in the first 10 miles. I was still pulling people back and feeling pretty good. No cramping, no stomach problems. Moving well. The first out and back on Alii drive were by far the hottest on the run course. Once we got onto the Queen K- the heat really wasn’t too bad at all. I think this is why there were so many fast run times this year. As I brought it in the final mile-I was just trying to savor this experience. The crowds were amazing. As I made the turn onto Alii the crowds got deeper and louder! I was very happy to break 10 hours despite the flat tire. It only fuels me to want to come back. I cross the line in 9:56:04 and a 3:17:00 marathon.

It was great to be there with the QT2 Systems crew. We qualified 13 athletes this year! QT2 is the reason I have made progress over the last few years. Up until 2007 I was plateauing. If you want to learn how to race Ironman and not just slog though it come see what QT2 does. There is a reason QT2 athletes run so well off the bike. The real highlight for QT2 at Kona was Cait Snow getting 8th overall woman. She was the top American and ran the second fastest marathon in the history of Kona (2:56:04). Her marathon time was faster than Mirinda Carfrae’s course record set in 2009. Miranda ran 2:53 this time around. All of the QT2 men broke 10 hours this year with a handful of sub 3:05 run splits. Way to go QT2!!! It’s all about the run!!

All Systems Go! - Hawaii Training Update and Half Ironman Race Report

2010-09-02T11:55:00.001-04:00

All Systems Go

This past Sunday I raced the Vermont Sun half ironman. This race fell at the end of a rest week (modified B taper for Kona) and was a perfect test to see how my Hawaii training has served me. I just finished up an extended base phase where all workouts were kept in zone 1. I am pretty aggressive with zone 1 training on the bike and run and tend to push as hard and as fast as possible without going that Z1 heart rate. This lends itself to continued adaptation at my body’s own rate as well as frequent feedback on my aerobic outputs (pace or wattage) which tell how I am progressing or not progressing. The last 8 weeks of training have been some of the best and most consistent I’ve done. I had many confidence boosting workouts and felt great in general. Some of the highlights over those 8 weeks were- 100 mile time trial at Ironman heart rate (zone 1 top on flats +5 beats on the hills) in 4:29 / 22.3 mph avg speed. This was a breakthrough ride. You ever feel like superman in a workout? Well this was my superman day. I felt unbelievable all day. I ran off the bike and by mile 2 was holding 6:30 pace in zone 1. Very good day!! The other great check I had was at our open water swim course (560yds) in Waterbury where I set a new personal best there in 7:09 (1:16 ish pace per 100yds) albeit my swim buddy John Wullf helped pace me (we pacelined!!). Anyhow I was feeling great coming into this half iron. Hoping to break 7 there next week!

Race day-

Swim- Got out fast and was in the front pack around first buoy. Felt great immediately! Had some issues with my goggles- may need a new pair. I love Aquaspere but the nose piece stretches out over time. Held steady in clean water until someone went by and I jumped on their feet. Had a nice set of feet for most of the swim even leap frogged a few times and bridged up to another swimmer. Very happy with how my swim is progressing as this is usually a liability for me and I have lacked consistently good swims in races. I was 4th out of the water in our wave.

Swam 26:32 for 1.13 miles. Yup the swim course was short. This equates to a 28:18 swim on an accurate course which is a PR.

Bike- Within the first 5 minutes former pro cyclist and National team member Kevin Bouchard Hall (KBH) goes by me at 28 mph. Unreal. I decided to keep him in range for about 10 minutes. I could not believe how fast he was riding and backed off to stick to my pacing plan. I just hoped I wouldn’t lose too much time to him by the end of the bike. Another guy Mike Wynn and also Dave Connery went by. It’s really pretty amazing the quality of cyclists we have in this area. As an example when I do a big 70.3 like Florida or Rev3 I almost never get passed on the bike. These guys up here can ride. However a good bike is nothing without a good run to back it up so I just stuck to my plan. The bike is the one area on the day that I don’t feel I executed as best as possible. I just actually rode too easy in the second half. HR was sometimes at IM pace which is too slow for a half. I ended up riding a 2:24 high and had the potential to ride 2:21-2:22 on the day based on my data which at this point is rock solid.

Bike 2:24 (56.32 miles)

The run- I started the run 10 minutes down to KBH. I just said to myself think of all the QT2ers who have been in this scenario and then ran everyone down. Wow this is a tough run course! I can’t believe my buddy Chris Casey ran a sub 1:22 on this last year. That is off the charts! Anyhow I felt good immediately on the run- on the flats I would look down at my Garmin and I was holding 6:00 min pace!! Felt great! The hills were really pretty tough- I would say this is the hilliest half iron run I have done. I was on a hunting safari triathlon style. I hunted down studly biker Dave Connery and went by him around mile 5.5 or so he looked pretty good and was having a great race. As I neared the turnaround I could see someone ahead and thought it was Mike Wynn- what! It’s KBH??!! I was pretty surprised I didn’t think I would catch him this soon. He looked like he was really struggling. I went by and said to hang in there and eat/drink as much as you could. At this point it was 85+ degrees. Mike Wynn went by going the other direction and it looked like had 2-3 minutes on me at that point. I had meant to start my timer when he went by so I could see how far back I was. I went as hard as I could in the second half and continued pulling Mike back but it was not enough. The dude is legit! At mile 11 I was down 2:30. At that point I knew I was going to have to settle for second- not enough real estate to hunt him down. I then decided I would focus on trying to break 4:20. I knew it was going to be very hard. I crossed the line in 4:20:02 !!!! So close !. A hair under 2 minutes back of Mike and good for second overall.

Run 1:27:18 (13.15 miles)

All in all – this was a great day for me. I ended up the day with the fastest run split (go QT2!!) and also had my best swim all season. I had no pain from some of the slight nagging things I’ve had over the last few weeks- this was a victory in and of itself. My durability has really improved! Also since it was hot- it was a great test for Hawaii.

I do need to point out how lucky I am that I have a patient family who supports these crazy dreams of mine. They put up with more than they should (especially with me having to train all the time).

Ironman Coeur D’Alene 2010 Race report- part 2

2010-07-08T09:51:00.000-04:00

What a beautiful place to race! I think CDA has got to be the most beautiful place I’ve ever raced. Additionally the town supports this race like no other. There were 3000 volunteers!! Everywhere you went there were local businesses with signs saying, “Welcome ironman athletes”. You never felt like you were intruding which is something I’ve felt before at big races.

The number 1 goal for this race was simple- execute my plan. Once you have trained properly for a race like this it really is all about how well can you carry out the plan on race day. How good are you at holding back the first loop of the bike when everyone is blowing by you? How good are you at drinking and eating a huge amount of fuel on the bike? How good are you at calculating how much fluid and electrolytes you still need at mile 90 of the bike? The answer to these questions often determines how far up the results you are.

Number 1 goal was accomplished! I nailed my execution at this race and couldn’t be happier. Outside of the execution plan my mission at this race was to get a Hawaii slot. I wanted it bad. However on race day none of that mattered- the goal was to nail my plan as closely as possible.

Swim – The CDA swim is known to be a tough swim. It’s a huge lake that can be very choppy with big swells not to mention cold. The first 20 minutes of the swim were the hardest of my whole day (with the exception of the last 3-4 miles of the run). It was quite choppy with big rolling swells but the main thing that made it very difficult was swimming with 2400 athletes at the same time. I just couldn’t get into a rhythm – I was getting kicked or bumped into or arms on top of your arms nonstop for the first 20 minutes. I just couldn’t get clear water. After about 3/4th of the way through the first lap things opened up a bit and the remainder of the swim wasn’t bad at all. When I got out of the swim and looked at my time- I was pretty surprised- 1:07. This was the second slowest I’ve ever swam in an ironman. My fastest was 1:01 in 2007 but I have done several 1:02-1:03 swims. I simply let it go and just stayed present and focused on executing the bike as best I could.

Bike-
I felt like a million bucks out on the bike. Started drinking immediately and was nailing my QT2 fueling plan (worth its weight in gold, without it I would not be going to Hawaii). The first lap I stayed below my zone 1 top (yes this was very conservative). I let people blow past me that first lap. I was riding easier than most of my training rides. Jesse and I agreed it was best to be extra conservative on the bike. By the end of the first lap people were no longer passing me. Second lap I held the same HR and also allowed an additional 5 beats on the hills. I was pulling people back left and right. Only one person passed me on the second loop. I was nailing my fueling, I felt strong, no stomach issues and no cramping. I want to point out that a few years ago I could not eat as much as I was doing here (400-450 calories an hour). Several years ago my gut would just shut down. Training with QT2 has shored up my aerobic system and I can go relatively fast at much lower heart rates than I used to – this REALLY helps digestion. I felt like I could eat a pizza out there on the bike!!! In the last few miles I was so looking forward to running (pretty sick right?). I really was – I knew my bike was conservative and I would need to throw down a solid marathon if I was going to get a Hawaii slot. Bike split- 5:17

Onto the run- by the end of the first mile- my legs felt amazing!!!! What!! I felt like I hadn’t even ridden. I tried to keep my HR down but it settled just above my zone 1 top hovering around 139/140 with the effort level feeling similar to the majority of my training runs (most of my training runs are run around 6:30-7 min pace). I looked down and see 6:40 pace and HR looks good- what!!! This isn’t happening. Yes it is. I was blowing by people left and right. My mile splits were around 6:50/6:55 the first half of the marathon with a few slower ones in the hills section. I simply felt great. I was nailing my fueling and hydration as well. Here’s where it gets interesting- at mile 22 (no one had passed me up to this point) I get passed by a guy – and he’s in my age group. You’ve got to be kidding me- I am not going out like that. I duke it out with this guy for a while but he got the better of me. I just tried to stay as steady as possible but he did get away. At mile 24 I get passed by another guy – and he’s in my age group!!!! You have got to be kidding me – let’s just make this as hard as possible. I dug deeper than I can remember over the last 2 miles- turned myself inside out and shook that guy. I stayed ahead of him to the line running myself into a Hawaii slot!!!! Run split 3:16 Overall time 9:47

Mission accomplished!

I am so happy to be heading to Hawaii in October. I couldn’t have done this without the support and understanding of my family and friends. Thank you. I am so lucky to be able to compete and train like this.

Ironman Coeur D Alene 2010 Report – Part 1 / What Kona means to me

2010-07-04T10:57:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wanted something so badly that it just shadowed you everywhere? You just couldn’t shake it. Everything reminded you of it.

I couldn't shake how badly I have wanted to go to Ironman Hawaii. It haunted me. The H word was not even spoken in my house for fear of jinxing but rather referred to as the "special place”. When I would see the word Kona or Hawaii I would have a flash of how bad I wanted to qualify and I would quickly re-direct myself so as not to bring up bad feelings. As a kid I dreamed of being like Mark Allen and Pauli Kiuru (look him up if you don't know who he is - SIZU). After many years of doing shorter triathlons I began racing Ironmans in 2005. The last 5 years of ironman racing were littered with many disappointments and failed Kona attempts that came close to breaking my spirit. Why do I want this so bad? Kona is the only real world championship in our sport. It is the most competitive triathlon in the world. All other world championships in our sport do not even come close to the depth and quality of athletes that race on the big island. I wanted it bad. When people would ask, “oh have you raced Hawaii?” “Oh my cousin, brother, sister races it every year…” – you might as well stick a spear right through my heart. It is mind blowing how difficult it is to get to Kona.

In 2008 after having to walk half the marathon at Ironman Lake Placid (due to an injury), I was so upset I was ready to quit the sport. 2007 had been a DNF at LP. The morning after LP 2008 when I woke up next to Lindsay and looked in her eyes and saw how deeply upset she was, she was crying and couldn't believe how all the hard work I had done could just get washed away in the blink of an eye. Seeing her cry like this made a deep imprint on me and a motivation to succeed like I had never felt before. I wanted this for us. She wanted me to get there as much as I wanted to get there and this meant the world to me, I wanted us to get there. Most people don't realize how hard ironman training is on the spouse of the iron athlete. It is simply ridiculous. Our sport is very selfish there is no denying that - but it is a necessary evil to do well. Ironman racing requires a great deal of very difficult and time consuming training.

The last half mile of ironman CDA was just one of the most overwhelmingly emotional, satisfying and exhausted moments I've ever experienced. I started crying in the final stretch as I pumped my fists in personal victory. I knew I had gone as fast as I could on the day and the tears were in recognition of all I sacrificed to reach this one moment- all the times I had to miss out on hanging with family to train, missed out on beers with friends, and missed out on late night concerts. Once across the line I could hardly walk or stand up- they brought me to the med tent area where I proceeded to cry harder than I can remember. All the hard work, all the sacrifices I made to reach this moment. I did it. I just kept saying I did it. The volunteer at the med tent asked if I wanted to use her phone to call anyone. I immediately called Lindsay. We did it babe. We did it.

2010-05-13T08:50:00.009-04:00

Rev3 Half Iron Race report 5-9-10

What a great weekend I had!! Not only did I get to hang out with my Dad, my brother and my step mom I got to race an inaugural event put on by a relatively new race organization and I have to say Rev3 put on a top notch race!

This inaugural event was held in Knoxville, Tennessee. The focal event was an Olympic distance race with a $50,000 pro prize purse. They had a deep field of pro men and women. They also put on half iron distance event which only had amateurs- this is the race I was in. The race fell at the end of a rest week and was perfect timing for a half iron before Ironman Cour D Alene on June 27.

Knoxville is pretty cool place to hold a race. If you’d heard anything about the Rev3 in CT held last year – you know how tough the course was. Apparently Rev3 likes to find tough courses—good call! This venue had us swim in the Tennessee river- first upstream then downstream. Next we rode through downtown Knoxville (read up and down, up and down) and out of town through some very rural areas. This bike course had very little flat—you were either going up or going down. The run was a rolling course with a lot of it on a bike path.

Race morning –

At 5am promptly I had my 3 cups of unsweetened applesauce as written in my QT2 fueling plan. My dad took me to the race site where we scored a perfect parking spot. I have to point out that my dad was the ultimate race sherpa and host this weekend. I am so lucky to have such a giving dad—he really went out of his way to make sure things were good for me while I was there. Thanks Dad!

Transition set up went well- all things were looking good. In a word my area was: simple. All I had to do upon exiting the swim was put my helmet on and go. For T2 all I had to do was put shoes/socks on, race belt and grab my Garmin and fuel. That’s it---no frills. I’ll get to why this was key below.

The swim –

Over the last few months with work and coaching my swim volume has been lower than planned and to account for this I’ve increased the intensity of my swimming. The swim was an area I wasn’t carrying as much confidence as I have with bike and run fitness currently. Gun goes off- I started off with perfect pacing- not too hard, just right. I had a set of feet almost instantly and was not even getting beaten up! That’s a first. Things spread out quickly and before I knew it my arms just felt really tired- aerobically I felt like I was barely working but my muscles just couldn’t stimulate enough power. I just need to get in more swimming. I tried to hang tough but I just wanted the swim to be over. Finally I make it the dock in 30:50—OK I thought- that’s not too bad. I hit the timing mat at 31:20. I just kept saying – let the race come back to me, let the race come back to me. I exited transition with the eventual winner who I went back and forth with all day. By the way- the eventual winner swam over a minute faster than me but I started the bike with him. Do the math—see my comment about my transition area!!

The bike-

I settled right in at half iron wattage—legs felt great. I was flying. The first 2 miles were some of the only flat sections of the bike- I was holding around 26mph!! We then went up a steep climb and then dropped right into the city. From there it was all up and down with fast technical turns. This course rewarded solid bike handling! I was swooping in and out turns and just simply hauling ass.

At around the 20 mile mark – a guy at an aid station said I was in second! I could see a guy ahead of me who I was rolling up on fast (the eventual winner was no where in sight behind me). I caught and past that guy and was wondering if I actually was in the lead. I kept sticking to my pacing plan although I was going more by heart rate (QT2 zone 2) since after the first few miles my power meter stopped working – I think the batteries are dead. Anyhow as we get within a few minutes of the turnaround I see the guy who was actually in the lead absolutely hammering and is way out in front. Where is the turnaround? How could this guy be so far ahead? You’ve got to be kidding me! This guy was flying. After the turnaround I could tell I had a good gap on everyone behind me—I just kept plugging away. By mile 45 or so I got caught by a guy (the eventual winner) and let him get up the road a but kept him in a safe distance. He went really hard on the most significant climb we had in the race—similar to the hard side of Duxbury gap. I stayed even with him on the climb but had to dig a bit to do so. Coming into the city again we had a series of short steep climbs- he punched it hard on those and I decided to let him go thinking I would run him down.

I was off the bike in third, no back pain and I was ready to run!!

Run-

Once my Garmin synced up – I looked down and was running 6:12 pace! Great – that’s perfect. I was feeling good. I could tell I was pulling back the guy in front of me. By mile 6 or so I started getting IT band pain—what??! This was a somewhat new issue that hasn’t bothered me until recently. I had to back off a bit- - I just couldn’t run really aggressively like I wanted to –for instance on the short downhills I held back. I also forgot my shot blocks but instead grabbed a gel at each aid station and had half a gel every 2 miles to mimic my protocol with the shot blocks. I also drank about 3-4 oz of sport drink at every aid station. I got passed by a hard charging dude from Atlanta and moved into 4th. Then around mile 10 I caught the guy who led off the bike and had obviously cooked his run legs by riding too hard. He was going backwards and not looking good. I moved back into 3rd.

I crossed the line in 3rd overall and 4:29:33. I couldn’t be happier. Even with the IT band issues I ran 1:25 on a rolling course which I’m happy about.

Overall Rev3 put on a first class race on par with (and even exceeds) any Mdot race I’ve done. There were so many little details that just made the experience great. The transition area had little placards with your name on it; they had ice baths at the finish, athlete tracking, and 2 great t-shirts. The venue was huge- big staging area, huge finish chute with megatron video screen. They take your picture at chip timing pick up and then post it on the big screen as you cross the line. The volunteers were amazing. There were plentiful aid stations, I never once felt like I was wishing there was a closer station. Each station had 10-15 people!! They had gels/sport drink etc. Everything was first rate- I highly recommend checking out some Rev3 races. These guys are the real deal.

On the flight home I got to hang and chat with Jasper Blake (he was 9th overall in the pro race) in the airport and on the flight. Really nice guy and killer athlete. It was great to pick his brain on a number of training topics and just shoot the breeze with him.

RunVermont Half Marathon and the QT2 four part system

2010-04-12T12:12:00.008-04:00

This past weekend I raced the RunVermont half marathon. They changed the course slightly this year to meet USATF certification standards. The course was very accurate, my Garmin read 13.14. All of the mile markers were also spot on. As always RunVemont put on a first class event and this was no exception (RunVemont is the organization that puts on the VT City Marathon). If you asked me even a year ago if I thought I could be running as fast as I am now I probably would have said no. I truly can not believe the progress I am making as an athlete. I wanted to dissect this a little bit and put the performance into a context using QT2s four part system. This performance was a direct result of using QT2 training protocols. These are the same protocols I and the other QT2 coaches use with all of our athletes as well as with ourselves. At the RunVermont half marathon I ran 1:16:57 and took about a minute off my previous best set in February. I also have not done any tempo or speed work yet as my zone 1 (top of which is aerobic threshold) pace was still improving steadily.

At QT2 we use a 4 part system to elicit athlete progress (training, nutrition/body composition, fueling, and pacing) when all these come together they set the stage for great performances. The first part is training. Included here is correct training intensity, consistency, adequate training stress and well timed restoration. I want to point out that in my experience training intensity is very commonly incorrect in many athletes. Some athletes are training too hard/fast and some are training too easy/slow. Getting this area correct is a hallmark of what we do and one of the reasons our athletes make progress. Training intensity is a key reason why I PR’d this weekend. 95% of my runs were right at the top of zone 1 (6:35-6:50 pace). For a deeper rationale why training intensity is critical see my last blog post.

The second part of the system is nutrition/body composition. We live the core diet like it is our religion. If you need to brush up on the core diet go to our QT2sytems website (see link to the right) and scroll to the bottom right for the article by Jesse. In terms of body composition I am currently 157 pounds and 9% body fat. I’ll be looking to be at 6% for my ‘A’ race of Ironman Cour D Alene at the end of June. The reason body composition is critical is that it allows an athlete to make good use of all the training they have done and not be limited by excess weight that is only going to slow them down. 3 seconds per pound per mile are the gains an athlete can find in running for instance. Additionally these athletes can handle hot weather races better as well. Coming into this race I was in a good range for body composition and my overall diet has been great. Lots of nutrient dense food, lots of protein from lean meats and also fueling my workouts appropriately before, during and after.

The third part of our system is fueling. We use a specific fueling protocol for race breakfast and repeat this at each race. Every athlete who gets a fueling plan will have their exact race breakfast articulated and time stamped for how many hours prior to the race. The fueling plan also includes how much fuel to take on during the race. For half marathons we use shot blocks. I nailed the execution of my fueling completely. I also want to point out something. For miles 4-10 I was running side by side with another strong competitor. We were sitting in 3rd and 4th while my buddy Justin was up ahead about 30 seconds and having a great race. I nailed my fueling protocol each 2 miles. The competitor running next to me was not taking in any fuel. At mile 10 he started dropping back. (By the way my 10 mile split was low 58 minutes which was a PR in itself!!). 10 miles is a long way to go without fuel—this also corresponds roughly to when glycogen stores (stored carbohydrate) will tap out and be pretty much empty if you haven’t fueled (AKA bonking!!). Again by nailing my fueling I was able to outperform someone who did not fuel. Of course it is entirely possible his dropping back had nothing to do with fueling but I have to say after seeing how strong this athlete was running to all of a sudden just start dropping back with no pace changes my money is on a lack of fueling on his part for why he dropped back.

The 4th part of our system is pacing. All of our athletes get specific pacing strategies for every race so they set themselves up to race at their potential. In the first 3-4 miles there were guys ahead of me who I knew first hand should not be running as fast they were (you know who you are!!). It takes a great amount of restraint and patience to hold back and pace correctly but it is a critical piece to racing well. I nailed my pacing exactly. Based on recent aerobic training metrics I knew my goal avg pace was 5:50. I did my first mile in 5:51 and my overall avg pace at the end of the race was also 5:51. Nailed it!!

When you take all 4 of these parts and put them together you create scenarios where athletes have breakthrough performances!! I would consider my run this weekend a breakthrough performance no question.

Here's a link to the results-
RunVermont Half results

Keep it rolling, keep the rubber side down, train smart and have fun!!

Half marathon PR with Zero tempo or speed

2010-03-01T11:15:00.003-05:00

Over the last few years I have become somewhat jaded about writing race reports, who wants to actually read these things? This report is more for the athletes I coach and the athletes in my community. I will keep it short and to the point. First off one must acknowledge the information that exists which identifies just how “aerobic” our sport is. Unless you are running a 200 -1500 meter race (see chart below) then the contributions are going to be coming predominantly from the aerobic metabolism. So why are athletes spending huge amounts of time training their anaerobic system when their event has 90% of the energy contributions coming from the aerobic system? Good question. Whether you are a Nordic skier, runner, triathlete, cyclist chances are you can benefit from further specific aerobic training. Most people are training at too high of an intensity and consequently have an underdeveloped aerobic system and over developed anaerobic system—you’d think these athletes were training for a 5 minute race. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen marathoners doing pure speed work 12-20 weeks out from their goal race. In my experience these athletes are the ones who bonk easily in long races, are not efficient and simply get out performed as the distances get longer.

To illustrate my point consider my training over the last 12 weeks. I have done ZERO tempo or speed work over the last 12 weeks. I have no running over my zone 1 heart rate top (aerobic threshold). Essentially I have spent all my run training time around 20 beats below the heart rate that corresponds to lactate threshold. Training under this number does draw on both aerobic and anaerobic systems but the great majority of the system targeted is the aerobic system. If I was to train consistently above that number I would be using glycogen as my primary fuel source (see chart below) and would not be teaching my body to efficiently utilize fat as a fuel source and spare glycogen.

Yesterday I set another PR at the Hyannis half marathon 1:18:08, good for 9th overall! My Garmin has the distance at 13.20 so actually my average pace was 5:55. My zone 1 pace at the top of the zone coming into this race was 6:45 per mile.

Keep in mind I am not advocating for no tempo or speed but rather have it timed well. Typically around 80% of the annual training year is specifically targeting the aerobic system and 20% of the season is addressing the anaerobic system.

I could not be happier with the progress I’ve made as well as the progress I’ve seen in my athletes using the training protocols that QT2 Systems and Jesse Kropelnicki have developed.

Yesterday our QT2 team put 5 guys in the top 11 in a field of 2700 runners!

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/10/ma/Feb28_Hyanni_set6.shtml

(charts below)

Source
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni1a4.htm

Women's moguls: Kearney wins first U.S. gold

2010-02-14T15:02:00.002-05:00

"Pressure is just a made-up thing," she said. "There's no such thing as pressure. I remind myself sometimes that I'm skiing because I love to ski. I'm not skiing for airtime on NBC. I'm not skiing for the fans at the bottom. I'm skiing because this is what I want to be doing." - Hannah Kearney

Video | Women's moguls: Kearney wins first U.S. gold | NBC Olympics#kearney+clutch+first+u+s+gold

Way to go Hannah!!! Vermont is so proud of you. You worked so hard and are an inspiration to us all.

Check out this note that Hannah's strength coach gave her on the morning of her Gold medal day. From USSkiteam.com

Saturday February 13, 2010
Coach Reminds Kearney She Was Prepared

CYPRESS MOUNTAIN, BC (Feb. 13) - On the morning of her gold medal day, U.S. Ski Team strength coach Alex Moore gave Hannah Kearney a notecard. On it was a collection of statistics of the work she had done leading up to this day. It was a reminder of the lifetime commitment she had made leading up to a stormy, blustery night on Cypress Mountain.

The notecard, which had a lightning bolt on the front, included over 1,000 water ramp jumps, 200 hours on a bike, 1,400 squats, 480 pullups, 14,000 jumps and 170 recovery sessions, and more - all since Kearney turned off her World Cup title season last May and focused on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010.

"He gave it to me just to give me the confidence to know I had done everything I could and had prepared for this day," said Kearney.

Moore worked with Kearney nearly every day - not in the gym, but online through the U.S. Ski Team Sport Science department's Visual Coach Pro software. The online logging system allowed Kearney to train at home in Vermont, while sending data back everyday to the Team's Center of Excellence in Park City, UT.

According to Moore, no one was more detailed than Kearney in staying on top of her conditioning program day in and day out.

THE Pool

2010-02-05T19:24:00.005-05:00

One of the things I love about being a triathlete is that you get to be a part of 4 different athlete communities. You're a part of the triathlon community that's a given but you also become a part of the swimming, cycling and running communities as well. If you're like me you spend a good amount of time not only with triathletes but the single sport athletes I mentioned above. As triathletes we start to love the same things that our single sport counterparts love. We love getting new running shoes just like runners. We love getting new bike gear like cyclists and we love going to new pools like swimmers.

I had been hearing about this amazing pool in the White River area for quite some time. My swim training partner had been to it and had raved about it. Apparently it uses little to no chlorine and instead uses UV rays somehow to keep the water clean. I was working with a school in the area today and decided to check it out. What an amazing pool!! This place was legit. There were US Masters swim banners up. Several different swim teams. 11 lanes 25 yards and then the pool can also be switched to 25 meter lanes going the other way. Anyhow I highly recommend checking this pool out. It's called the Upper Valley Acquatic Center.

As I was walking out I see Tim Rollings!!! I haven't seen Tim in several years. Tim used to be CEO at the Burlington YMCA and is now the CEO at this Acquatic Center. It was great to catch up with him. Tim is an amazing cyclist and former 2:20 marathoner.

2010 QT2 Team announced

2010-02-04T13:37:00.000-05:00

Team QT2

Run for Charlotte

2010-01-19T15:09:00.001-05:00

Run for Charlotte

One of those times that the endurance can make a difference. See you there!!

Who wants to open water swim?

2010-01-05T13:55:00.001-05:00

Now that I’ve got your attention---there are still some slots open for the triathlon swimming clinic I’m putting on this weekend (in the pool!).

Ever wondered why some fast pool swimmers don’t swim fast in open water?

Have you ever been to a swim practice that solely focused on the individual needs of triathletes? How do you draft? How do you sight and still swim efficiently? How do you swim well with bodies bumping into you? What about tactics in open water? How should a right side breather do something different than a left side breather? How do you dolphin? How do you swim straight with no lane lines?

These are skillls that traditional swim coaches typically don’t cover or practice. When I first got into triathlon 12 years ago these were some of the things I struggled with and wished I had some specific instruction for. Well here’s your chance to shorten the learning curve. Especially for those of you who are still somewhat new to the sport or maybe you’ve been in it for a while and still stuggle with these things. I will pull from my experience of racing over 130 triathlons, over 7 years of swim coaching, a background in education and methods to ensure learning, and 2 years of mentoring with one of the top triathlon coaches in the country, Jesse Kropelnicki.

The clinic is this Sat 9-11 and next Sat 9-11. During the week of 1/11 there will be a wiki (website) which participants will get access to and receive additional coaching and resources. This will help solidify learning and then athletes will come back the following week. I am trying to keep the cost reasonable as well—it’s $100 for the whole clinic for non members of SFE. If you’re a member it’s $90. Attached is the flyer.

To register call 879-7734 ext 2 or for more info email my coaching email address- john@qt2systems.com

ANNOUNCEMENTS

2009-11-05T11:04:00.002-05:00

Central Vermont athletes rejoice!! We have a new gym in town. The Confluence is a Vermont nonprofit organization bringing affordable, high quality sports and physical fitness opportunities to people in Central Vermont. Think of a Confluence between not only all levels of athletes but all levels of people who simply want to get in shape. It's an alternative to a typical gym setting check it out.

Confluence Gym

Also check out QT2 systems-- QT2 Launches Mission Plans!!

QT2 Mission Plans

Execution

2009-10-22T09:45:00.007-04:00

"The difference between a mediocre performance and a remarkable one is usually the difference between what you know and what you do with what you know." (Mark Sanborn

I really could not be happier with how my season unfolded this year. It was a blessing in disguise to forego Ironman Cour D Alene this year. In doing so I lifted all of my fitness my markers and set PRs at many distances and even won a few races. I did this all the while healing/learning my nagging back issues that affect my long bike rides.

The quote above sums up why I was able to set PRs and win some races this year. As an athlete we spend a huge amount of time training and preparing physically for our races but that is really only half the battle. Once you’re fit you can still perform badly if you don’t execute well. What do I mean by execute? Well this is a backbone of the QT2 systems protocol and I believe it was missing in me before I came to QT2 and I see it missing in many athletes. Execution = informed and disciplined pacing, informed and intelligent fueling /hydration, intelligent nutrition decisions, and simply thinking clearly on race day while not letting emotions control you.

For me it took a while---this year the turning point for me was the Hyannis half marathon in February. I had all the numbers and information to make an informed pacing decision but I still let my emotions get the better of me because many of my friends/competitors were there and I wanted to stay with them. I knew what I was supposed to do but I didn’t do it. I proceeded to run 5:40 pace for the first few miles only to completely explode and run under potential (1:21 finish time). It was after that race that I made a conscious decision to never botch my pacing again (to the best of my ability). Thanks also goes out to Tim Snow for the “come to Jesus” meeting. At every race after that I executed as best I could and subsequently exceeded my goals.

I have wanted to break 1:20 in the half marathon for years and I didn’t do it until I learned how to execute properly. Recently I went 1:18 on a certified course-- big PR!!!!

I never had been first out of the water at a triathlon period. This year I won an open water swim race and also was first out of the water at a Shelburne sprint tri. This was from pacing properly. I used to waste a great deal of energy in the first 200 yards.

Coming back to the quote—my point of this post is that it is not always about fitness but what you do with it (execution). I’ve seen less fit athletes outperform fitter athletes because they executed better.

Now hopefully you’ll be asking yourself how can I “out execute” my competitors?

2009-09-14T16:41:00.002-04:00

Burlington Triathlon- 9-13-09

Got the overall win!!

More shots--

Updates

2009-09-12T11:35:00.003-04:00

Season update

Doing only local races this year has been really fun and a great way to save some money. Next season I'll be back in the MDOT scene racing Ironman Cour D Alene in Idaho (June 2010). We close on our house in a week (as long as the seller doesn't terminate the contract---again).

I raced the "Race to to the top of Vermont" 2 weeks ago. This was a mountain run up Mt Mansfield- Vermont's highest mountain. They also had a mtn bike option. It went straight up the toll road (dirt) and finished at the top. 4.3 miles and around 2500 ft (maybe 2200 I can't remember)of vertical ascent. There was a very deep field there with Eric Morse one of the best mountain runners in the country along with some other very studly runners like Eli Enman and Scott Loomis. I tried to stay super calm at the start and just conserve as much energy as possible.I alsmost half asleep at the start--very mellow. Gun goes off---I just eased into it. The first half mile was the steepest on the whole course so I knew if you blew up there--you are going get dropped big time. I just tried conserve but stay near the front. Next thing I knew I was running in 3rd/4th and feeling great!!! Somehow I was ahead of Eli Enman (arguably one of the best runners in Vermont). We pulled back Scott Loomis (another very studly athlete and I believe Olympian nordic skier) and by that point we had about a mile to go. We were passing lots of mtn bikers who had started about 10 min earlier--that was pretty fun. I hung on for 4th only 8 seconds out of 3rd place overall. My time was within 15 seconds of last years winning time by Dave Dunham --very elite mtn runner. Anyhow this was probably one of the best run races of my career. I performed at a much higher level than I do on flat road races. I definitely am going to try and get some more mountain run races next year!

By the way the fastest time up the mountain was from a runner this year not mountain biker!! Jim Johnson from NH crushed the course record and beat the first biker by roundabout a minute or so.

Stream of Endurance Consciousness

2009-08-11T09:16:00.010-04:00

One of the reasons I haven’t been posting a lot here (other than not having enough time) is that I don’t think people want to read just another race report and quite honestly this sport is selfish enough so the last thing I need to do is talk more about myself. So basically the reason I haven’t been posting boils down to a lack of creativity on my part. I can’t seem to put together a post that I think people will enjoy. At any rate here’s my attempt at something different.

First off you’ve got to check out my buddy I ran x-c with in college. It’s Tellman Knudson and he is a total bad ass. He’s running across the country…barefoot!!! He’s raising money for homeless youth. Runtellmanrun

Anyhow I’ve been doing a lot of local races and fitness has been progressing quite well. The key principals we use at QT2 systems continue to pay off with PRs and either overall wins or high overall finishes. I’ve been writing “Whitfield” on my hand for all races lately. Check this video out and you’ll know why. If you saw triathlon at the Beijing Olympics you saw how Whitfield was running in a select lead group on the run. He proceeded to get dropped and then mentally pulled himself back up to the group. This happened several times. The last time he made it back into the group he then stuck it to them with an amazing sprint and got the silver medal. Well if you saw that race and liked it—you’ve really got to see this one. The same things happened at the Des Moines ITU world cup with $200k on the line. The lead group on the run had almost the same players but with an even better outcome than Beijing. The mental toughness it took for Simon to pull it together like that amidst extreme suffering is truly inspirational to me.

Whitfield-Des Moines ITU

Here’s the video –it’s pretty short. You have to click Hy Vee and then click the video at the top. It doesn’t show how Simon got dropped and pulled himself back in but the long sprint finish at the end is amazing.

Simon is also Canadian and I happen to be married to a Canadian (and a very proud one at that—read-she has the Canadian flag tattooed on her quad). Simon is a true hero of our sport and an inspiration to everyone. You know what he said when he won $200k at that Des Moines race? Now I can buy my daughter that fancy doll house she wants!! He’s the man!!

That’s all I have for you today—Take care, train smart, recover well and repeat

Check out this cool Vermont race!! Kingdom Triathlon

2009-07-20T09:55:00.003-04:00

Kingdom Triathlon

July 12th VT Sun Triathlon "Smackdown"

2009-07-06T09:47:00.005-04:00

Last year it was laser focus on trying to get to Hawaii while I fed my overuse injuries a steady diet of mega mileage. This year it's all about beer and local bragging rights (and getting rid of injuries so I can come back stronger next year). We have a "July 12th smackdown" email thread going around---slowtwitch style. Thank you Dev Paul (slowtwitch forum stud) for teaching me the art of triathlon smack talk before IM Montreal in 2007. Triathlon smack talk is all about complete respect for your competitor while at the same time letting them know they are going to have to turn themselves inside out to beat you... and if they beat you on the day--you're buying beers!!

So who's coming to the July 12th smackdown?

Justin Ryea
Gary Snow
Luke Moore
Chris Coffey
Dave Connery
Me

We're hoping Kevin Bouchard Hall can make it but I think he's already got other plans.

Maybe I'll do a tale of the tape UFC style as we get closer to race day.

Getting (the) back on track

2009-06-04T12:01:00.000-04:00

6-4-09

Getting (the) back on Track

I’ve been way off the blogosphere over the last month +. Lots of things happening. First off I decided to pull the plug on Ironman racing for this season. I’ve have had a chronic back injury (since my mogul skiing days circa late 1990s) that has progressively got worse on the bike over the last 5-6 months especially. It really affects my ability to ride at race effort over about an hour. At that point I get excruciating lower back pain that I was trying to just “deal with”. It was kind of like hitting my head against a wall. Once the pain sets in I just can’t access my fitness which was frustrating to no end. I have to sit up stretch and sometimes stop if it’s really bad. It happened at Cali 70.3 this year and also at Jerseyman (dropped out because of it). Jerseyman was really the final test to determine whether I would psuh through for Ironman Cour d alene. So anyhow after Jersey my focus has changed completely. The focus now is going to be on short course and get healthy. The short hard rides don’t aggravate and running also feels great. Long periods of being hunched over is where I need to be careful.
I’m also going to stay local and try to save some $ (we just went to contract on a house!!!!!). My work with QT2 systems continues to grow and I am just so happy to be learning from the one of the best coaches in the sport (Jesse Kropelnicki). Also my mentor and pro triathlete Tim Snow with QT2 has taught me a great deal. So here’s my plan forward—

June 9th catamount 5k (tentative)

June 11th Elmore practice tri (tentative)

June 20 Shelburne Sprint tri

June 28th VT Sun Tri

July 4th Clarence demar 5k – GMAA or shelburne sprint (tentative)

July 12th Vt Sun sprinr or black fly tri

Aug 9th VT sun Oly

http://www.qt2systems.com/Coaches/coaches.htm

Motivation

2009-03-19T11:29:00.002-04:00

A lot of people ask me how I stay motivated to train the way I do. I thought I’d share some thoughts on this. I think there are a few layers to this for me. There are a few things that are like the internal fire for the motivation and then there are layers that feed themselves.

For this first layer of what motivates it goes pretty deep into what my overall goals and dreams are. It comes down to some pretty core concepts for me which serve to feed the fire to keep me going day in and day out. Here they are:

1. I want to qualify for Ironman Hawaii.
2. I want to win races, whether it’s an age group win at a big M-dot race or overall wins at smaller New England races.
3. I want to be the fastest athlete I can be at the Ironman distance.
4. I want to execute races like a pro.
5. I want to be at a pro level for Ironman distance.

In order to get to Hawaii in my age group (30-34) I need to be at a very elite level. Most Kona bound guys in my age group are well under 10 hours for ironman. This basically means I need to train as close as I can to what is typical of a pro. With my work schedule my sustainable volume is only around 20 hours a week whereas many pros are hitting 35 + hours a week. My training plan is designed to get me as close to critical volumes as possible in a safe manner.

So back to motivation- how do I get myself to get out of bed for 5am workouts? Or figure out a way to get my workout in during times of really crazy logistics with work or family. The above principles are the internal part and then there are other layers—

I have found that simply turning off emotions (very hard for me) and thinking clearly with a focus on simply “getting the work done” is very helpful. If I want to meet my goals I need to get the work done plain and simple. I also have a very very supportive wife and family who understand and support “getting the work done.” Yes I am extremely lucky and not a day goes by that I do not give thanks for this.

So then there are other things that serve to feed the motivation and it falls into this concept of “training is testing, testing is training” that Dr. Andrew Coggan made famous.

Basically every workout I do I know where my fitness is. I always know whether I’m improving or not and this is hugely motivating for me. For example my zone 1 pace (aerobic threshold) was 7:45 in Dec and it’s now 7:06. Same exact HR but much faster paces with zero tempo or speed. I hit the 7:06 level the week that my base phase ended and am now in a build phase so I am doing some tempo and hill bounding. Just seeing the fruits of my hard work translate to faster paces or power is really motivating.

Overall training update-

Threshold swim pace is around 1:20 / 100yds
20 min power on the bike is 330 watts
FTP is 315 which puts me at 4.5 watts/kg
Run zone 1 pace top (aerobic threshold) is 7:06 (this is roughly 20 beats below Lactate threshold)

Hyannis Half marathon 2-22-09

2009-02-23T10:43:00.005-05:00

This was the first real race of my season. One of my goals this year is to come into every race injury free. Well I’m happy to report that the nagging issues that have bugged me over the last year were non-existent on race day!! This is in large part from the great work of Dr Travis Hart over at VT Chiropractic and Sports Therapy. Thanks Travis!!! Today I'm a little tender but things are looking good on the injury front (knock on wood).

I drove down with Lindsay and my training partner Justin Ryea. Man the weather down on the Cape was beautiful. Sat was dry, sunny and 40+ degrees. Race morning was around 40 degrees and dry. Perfect. I couldn’t believe how big this race was. Much bigger than I thought. There were 4000+ runners between a full marathon, half and 10k.

Overall I’m happy with my performance. The fitness is obviously there but I did make some significant pacing mistakes that slowed me down 1- 2 minutes overall. This is an area for me that I have really struggled with, for most of my endurance sports career. If I‘m going to be good at Ironman as an athlete and as a coach I need to tame this pacing beast. As Lindsay said, I have too much heart on race day and not enough brain. I get so competitive that I don’t use my head and stick to my plan.

My plan was to run 6-6:05 first and second miles and then just hold that as long as possible and lift it in the last 3 miles if I felt good. Well I ended up running the first mile in 5:47. Deep down I knew I was not doing the right thing but I didn’t listen to it—big mistake. This season—I’m going to focus 100% on race day execution (nutrition, pacing, sticking to the plan, trusting it). The pacing part is really the missing link for me as I’ve made a lot of gains with fueling. My QT2 team mates / fellow coaches totally killed it today. They were all perfect examples of how proper pacing equates to running very fast. Tim Snow ended up winning the whole thing in 1:15, Jesse was 4th in 1:16, Cait Snow won for the women in 1:19 and Pat Wheeler went 1:19 as well. My buddy Justin also had a great day coming in 7th with a 1:17.

I cracked the top 20 with a 1:21:04 (2044 athletes in the half).

Here are my mile splits-

Mile 1 – 5:47
Mile 2- 5:45
Mile 3- 6:00
Mile 4- 6:07
Mile 5- 6:07
Mile 6- 6:05
Mile 7- 6:10
Mile 8- 6:20
Mile 9- 6:20
Mile 10- 6:20
Mile 11- 6:22
Mile 12- 6:20
Mile 13- 6:20

Link to results-

Results

2009 races (Updated)

2009-01-21T16:54:00.000-05:00

2009 races

Team Psycho indoor TT, Boston 2/1/09

Hyannis Half Marathon, Mass 2-22-09

Ironman California 70.3 (near San Diego) 4-4-09

The Jerseyman half iron (New Jersey Multisport) 5-9-09

King Pine Tri (sprint) NH 5-31-09

Ironman Cour D’ Alene, Idaho 6-21-09 (Ironman Hawaii qualifier)

Marlborough triathlon (sprint) or Massachusetts state triathlon (sprint or Olympic) 7-26-09

VT Sun Olympic distance August 9th

Pumpkinman half iron 9-13-09

2009 Team QT2 on Xtri.om

2009-01-15T16:37:00.000-05:00

QT2 on Xtri.com

Skiing Trapps

2009-01-05T20:55:00.012-05:00

My friend and pro triathlete John Hirsch was up this weekend from NYC. I took him for his first nordic skate skiing endeavor at Trapps. Check out his recollection of the experience. Great read!!!

http://www.johnhirsch.org/?p=1354

2009 QT2 Systems Elite Team

2008-12-18T13:01:00.023-05:00

Check it out!!

http://www.qt2systems.com/Team_Elite/team_elite.html

QT2 Coach in training

The road to Ironman is now

2008-12-12T06:29:00.003-05:00

2009 training began last week. Primary goal is to qualify for Hawaii at Ironman Cour D'Alene in Idaho in June. Primary objective is to come into every race injury free. I'm still trying to heal up some plantar fasciitis right now.

Currently in base period -lots of aerobic and strength work. Lots of drills in the pool also.

I have discovered how amazing yoga is!! I found a class and instructor that is simply amazing. Will try to get this in once a week all season.

Over the next few weeks I'll likely substitute some weekend cycling for nordic skiing.

We just got around 10 inches of snow--skiing should be good this weekend.

2008 Season Summary and look forward

2008-11-11T14:46:00.002-05:00

2008 Season Summary

4-5-08 Run Vermont Half marathon; 5th overall; 1:20:39

5-4-08 Green Mountain Triathlon, 1st overall; 1:16:02

5-18-08 Florida 70.3 Half Ironman, 16th amateur overall, 4th in 30-34 (Podium!!; 4:31

6-8-08 Mooseman Half Ironman, 10th overall, 4:27; 98 degrees on the run course!!

7-20-08 Ironman Lake Placid, Finished!; Was injured for this race;very disappointed;

8-13-08 Waterbury Time trial (Stowe Bike Club); 2nd overall; 29:19

8-23-08 Vermont Sun Half ironman; 2nd overall; 4:39; run course was extra long;

8-30-08 Northfield 5k,15th place?; 18:04;note to self:don’t 5k the week after ½ iron

9-13-08 Montreal Esprit ½ iron; 4:11 !! New PR; Run course PR of 1:25 off the bike!!!

10-5-08 Leaf Peeper’s half marathon; 9th overall!!1:20:00;39 second PR hilly course!

10-26-08 Cape Cod Marathon; ? overall; stomach disaster—portolet stops x 9; 3:13

2009 races
A few ski races TBA (discuss with coach)
Hyannis Half Marathon 2-22-09
New Bedford Half Marathon 3-15-09
New England masters Swim Meet 3-28-09
Ironman California 70.3 4-4-09
Devilman Half Ironman 5-3-09
Ironman Cour D’ Alene 6-21-09 (Ironman Hawaii qualifier

2009 goals
Stay injury free
Get Hawaii slot at Ironman Cour d alene
Run 1:23-1:25 off the bike consistently in half irons
Swim 27-29 consistently in half irons

Running For Grampie!! Cape Cod Marathon report 10/26/08

2008-10-28T13:36:00.005-04:00

In loving memory of Harold Sargent 9/23/23 – 10/21/08

(click photo to see the memorial bib)

After Grampie passed away last week I initially was thinking I’ll just do a different race. When I found out that there were no conflicts with the race and the funeral I decided I would still race and I would do it in honor of Grampie Sargent. I was able to see Grampie a few days before he passed away and had a moment with him that I will remember forever. His funeral was such an honor to him and the life he lived. He touched so many people’s lives through community service that it blows my mind. I was simply in awe during the funeral to see and hear from all those who’s lives were touched by him.

I was going to run 26 miles to honor Grampie. After the funeral I met up with my training partner Justin Ryea somewhere north of Boston where Lindsay dropped me off. Race morning was typical. I felt pretty good. My plan was to go out and run 6:30 – 6:40 as long as I could shooting to go under 2:55 as my recent performances suggest that is realistic.

Once the race started I knew something was wrong even by the end of the first mile. I had to use the bathroom!!!! I think I didn’t clear out enough before the race. There was no place to go so I kept running until there was a porto-let. I was holding right with the plan still as far as pace and it felt comfortable. After the first portolet visit it just got worse. My stomach was a mess and I needed to do my business another 8 or 9 times. Sometimes in the woods and sometimes in a portolet. I think I lost a good 1-2 minutes each time. I felt awful, stomach was a disaster and I didn’t seem to be digesting my shot blocks. If I wasn’t running for Grampie I think I would have considered dropping out. I went into survival mode and just H’dTFU. I made it to the line in 3:13 and a pretty good deal of disappointment but happy that I finished for Grampie.

This race capped what I feel was a great season. I set new PRs for half ironman (4:11), run split in a half iron (1:25), and open half marathon (1:20:00). This marathon was the first race in over a year that the GI problems were an issue, I just need to hone in on the cause.

Leaf Peeper's Half marathon 10-5-08 Top ten and new PR!!

2008-10-13T11:17:00.002-04:00

I was so psyched to race this as it’s right in my back yard basically and it’s a very well run race. I can walk to the race and the course is on the road I train on. I knew the course like the back of my hand—a very cool feeling as most of the races I do, I’m not that familiar with the course other than driving it.

I was using this race as an indicator of where my injuries are and to make a final decision about whether or not I’d race the Cape Cod marathon. I had my QT2 breakfast at 8:30 with an 11 start. Walked to the start---great to see so many friends!! This is a very large half marathon (by VT standards) with around 6 or 700 runners. The race is so popular that it fills up each year. I’ve been shut out of this race before due to it’s popularity.

I knew all the big guns would be here and I would have to PR to even crack the top 10.

The gun goes off!!! My execution plan was to hit the first mile in 6:05 and no faster. Ultimately I wanted to produce as little lactate as possible in that first mile as I tend to go out too fast and this negatively impacts the aerobic system especially at longer races. If you go anaerobic your body won’t settle into an optimal fuel burning state. For these longer races you really want your body to spare glycogen as much as possible. If you go way over your lactate threshold (especially early on) you’re going to burn up a lot of glycogen whereas if you build into it starting under LT your body is going to use a better ratio of fat to glycogen.

I felt great right from the start and was holding back big time. I was trying to stay as relaxed as possible, no wasted energy.
First mile was hit in 5:52. Definitely faster than planned but yet I was relaxed and heart rate was relatively low.
I settled into a front pack of Sam Davis, Joe Mcnamara, Tom Thurston (neighbor and training partner), and 2 other guys I didn’t know. I was completely humbled running right with Sam and Joe. These are 2 of VT’s most accomplished runners and 2 guys I’ve looked up to for years. I was running right in the pack with them which really gave me a rush. I felt amazing. I couldn’t believe I was hanging with these guys.

There were about 3-4 guys off the front of our pack but they were all spread out. My buddy Justin Ryea was about 50 yards off the front of our group by himself for the first 8 miles or so when he started lifting the pace.

I hit the 3 mile mark in 17:37 ! We were moving!
5 mile split was 29:32 ! Whoa. I couldn’t believe how fast we were going. We were holding sub 6 pace. I still felt good but was right on the edge.
6 mile split was 35:35
8 mile split was 47:58
10 mile split was 1:00:48
My 8 and 10 splits were the fastest 8 and 10 I’ve run ever!! And I think the 10 included one of the 2 big climbs on the way back. I definitely slowed on those 2 big climbs.

Around mile 7 or so, Sam Davis and I got dropped from the group. Then Sam dropped me. I hung about 50 yards behind him for the next mile or so and when we hit the first big climb I decided to really hammer it and catch back up to him, it worked!! I caught him by the top of the first climb. We ran together up the next one. Then this guy came out of no where (I later found out he’s the top x-c runner for Norwich U). I jumped right on him like I was in a bike race. Sam got dropped at that surge. I hung with the guy for a bit and then got dropped by him. About a mile later I reeled the x-c guy in and then he attacked and dropped me. He stayed about 10-15 seconds ahead of me for the remaining 2 miles.
I crossed the line in 9th overall and 1:20:00 !!! I sprinted so hard at the end trying to get under 1:20 but just shy of it.

This was a 36 sec PR, top ten result and I was psyched!!! No pain from the overuse stuff I’ve got going as well, which means Cape Cod marathon!! Thanks also to Skirack and Mizuno for the great award!!!

Lindsay had a killer race in the 5k!! She was 4th overall in 20:xx.

Montreal Esprit Half Ironman – 6 minute PR and ran out of my head!!

2008-09-15T15:35:00.007-04:00

How do we find meaning in endeavors that can ultimately crush or heighten you? This is something I have been trying to get my head around while bouncing back from Ironman Lake Placid. What I have come to grips with this year is that anything can happen ---especially with ironman and the training that accompanies it. I have learned that my results don’t define me and that the more I give back to my sport the better I can bounce back from disappointment. I have learned the importance of deep tissue massage in noticing problem areas before they become full blown injuries. I have learned that humility is what keeps you honest and at the same time can push the inner drive to take things to the next level. Racing informs me of the naked truth about where my fitness is. There is no guessing, no estimating, just plain old fashioned truth. Race day reveals a truth that force feeds humility and keeps one honest.

This race report is dedicated to my wife – Lindsay and my family- mom, dad, Karen, Brian, Megan, Ben, Matt, Scott, Colin, and Kai. You guys have so supportive of me and my racing---thank you.

I also want to thank my coach, Jesse Kropelnicki and my sports chiropractor Dr Keith.

The Montreal triathlon festival is truly a unique event among triathlons. Staged at the Olympic rowing basin (where we swim) and formula 1 race car track (where we ride) it stands on its own as far as triathlon courses go. It is also very well organized.

The swim was a very physical 1.2 miles and I was about where I thought I would be---pretty far back. After Lake Placid my swim training just simply wasn’t happening at the level it had been. I was only swimming about 2-3 times a week and probably barely getting 4000 yards a week. I was just burned out on swim training. Anyhow quick transition and off to the bike.

I was really moving on the bike course but remembered that my coach had told me to back off a bit on the bike from my usual go all out pace. I was riding well within myself and still averaging about 25 mph!!! This course is just ridiculously fast. My left glute issue seemed to be making a visit and I had to back off a bit to stretch it periodically. This is the one post Lake Placid injury that I still don’t have a good handle on. Anyhow I nailed my nutrition and hydration (although I did one less bottle than normal but it was very cool temps for the bike so sweat rate was low). This was the 5th or 6th long distance race in a row where I had no GI issues what so ever. The race fueling plan that Jesse at QT2systems did has been invaluable. All of my races this year were properly fueled and race fueling appears to no longer be a limiter for me.

I got off the bike with a 2:11 bike split!! And at 2:44 cumulative time.

Onto the run, I didn’t run like a bat out of hell through T2 but rather just relaxed through it and tried to get my body fully upright and get my form dialed back in after being super hunched over for 2 plus hours. Once my form was dialed, I felt amazing. Every stride just felt better and better. I was really moving, holding somewhere around 6:30 pace. I have never felt like this in a half iron run. I was flying, pulling people back almost constantly. I really tried to savor the last lap of the run as I knew this was my last triathlon for the season and I was feeling so good. I hit the finish with a 4:11:55 which is a 6 minute personal best!!! My run split was also a PR with a 1:25:32. I still can’t believe I ran that fast. I have wanted to run this fast in a half ironman for a very long time. I’m so psyched right now. This also gives me some good momentum for the Leaf Peeper’s half marathon and the Cape Cod Marathon.

Thanks for reading!!!
results can be found here:
http://sportstats.ca/display-results.php?lang=eng&racecode=44022

Vermont Sun Half Iron - 2nd Overall!!

2008-08-27T14:46:00.016-04:00

Hi to anyone reading this. I really thought people didn't read this stuff until several people said hey John you haven't updated your blog in a while. So here I am first race back after the Lake Placid nightmare. I have a very hard time bouncing back from bad races particularly if it was an Ironman which (as an age grouper) you have to put all your eggs in one basket. I've been rehabbing my injuries (plantar fascitis and a groin strain) and had a handful of pain free runs prior to racing this half iron. I want to throw a shout out to Donna Smyers my PT and Dr keith my chiro for getting me back on track!!

The goal coming into this race was to simply race pain free, have fun and get back into my routine of racing. The venue at VT Sun is a very special place for me and my wife as that is where we met 8 years ago. We also had our legal wedding there (at Branbury State Park) with a JOP followed by the actual wedding a year later at Breadloaf.

Pre race festivities involved hanging out with some of my favorite people (Pat Berry and Brook Jette and the kids Quinn and Willam). I also got to jam out to some very good sound quality Grateful Dead. It's all I've been listening to lately. Anyhow back to the race.

Swim start-- thrashing chaos I was right in the mix after the first turn buoy. My only mistake on the whole day was missing the front swim group in the first 400 yards. There was 6 or 7 guys that I know I could have got on their feet had I swam harder in that first section. Instead I got dropped and was in no man's land until I found some feet to get on. Those feet ended up swimming all over the place too so I would let him veer off and then he would come back. I would say it was an OK swim considering my swim volume has been down.

Onto the bike I was probably in around 10th or so in that first wave. I started hammering the bike right away. I caught several people pretty quickly. About halfway through the first lap I moved into about 4th by the end of the first lap I was in the lead. I led for 5-10 miles and got caught by Dave Connery who was smoking the bike course. This guy is a Cat 2 cyclist and was riding super strong. I actually decided to try and ride with him for a while. I rode 4 bike lengths beihind Dave for about 20 minutes or so and decided I didn't need to ride that hard so I let him go. I actually felt great but knew if I wanted to have a strong run I should back off. Dave got off the bike around minute to 1:30 ahead of me. Bike split was around 2:28 which I was surprised. The course is fast but I thought it was actually a faster course (I was thinking around a 2:23 ish course for me). Those rollers really slowed your speed quite a bit.

Here's a pic of me on the bike
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?evgroupid=0&userid=mgy44&gallery_id=1240116&image_id=37

On the run I moved back into the lead around mile 3 and then shortly thereafter was caught by Peter Konecny from Ottawa Ont. This guy was flying holding around 6:30s and I just couldn't hang with him. I actually felt strong considering my run mileage has been very low. This run course was extremely tough with a climb around mile 4 which was a headwall and about 1/2 mile long. We hit another tough climb before the turnaround as well. I would say it was one of the toughest run courses I've ever run.

Overall I had a great experience and am very happy to have raced again. I know my fitness isn't where it was in June but I executed very well. I nailed my fueling and hydration which I am really happy about, I had no cramping or stomach problems at all.

Here's a link to the results -

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/08/vt/Aug23_Vermon_set1.shtml

Next up--- 5k race this weekend, Montreal Esprit Half ironman on Sept 13, Leaf peeper's half marathon on Oct 5th and possibly a late fall marathon

Don't let 'em take the fight out of you

2008-07-25T22:12:00.003-04:00

I just heard this song by Ben Harper and it kind of sums up where I'm at right now. I have a hard bouncing back from bad races when it's a one shot deal. There's really no other chance to qualify for Hawaii as an age group athlete right now because all the races are full. This is one of the reasons I want to race as a pro (among many). As a pro you don't have to put all your eggs in one basket like an age grouper. Pros can register for a race whenever they want even when the race is full and it can even happen on race week!! Anyhow I'm looking forward to making use of the fitness I built up and do some half irons and oly dist races.

Don't let 'em take the fight out of you.

The other side of Ironman racing--Post Ironman Lake Placid 2008

2008-07-23T22:17:00.002-04:00

This is all I got right now. it is really just a venting of disappointment. I want to be positive but this is the other side of what can happen in ironman racing even if you do everything perfectly. I am happy that I finished this race though and toughed it out to the finish.

I did everything right. I got in my early morning swims. I got in countless rides over 100 miles. I ran 35-50 miles a week all winter. I ate right and slept a lot. I was lean, fit and strong. I corrected previous mistakes. I had my race fueling dialed in and I practiced it day and day out for almost a year. I sacrificed and I sacrificed some more. I lived ate and breathed ironman training for the last 7 months. I put my wife through hell while training for this and for what? I had my race plan dialed in and all I needed to do was execute. I executed my plan perfectly on race day. How could things turn out so badly? Where did I go wrong? Why am I cursed at Lake Placid? I don’t why I do this to myself over and over. I worked so hard only to have it crumble in front of my eyes on race day. I don’t know what I did wrong. Should I have taken some more time off when my groin pull bothered me in February? Or when that heel issue came up, should I have stopped running for a while? I went to my chiro guy every week and had the knots worked on. I constantly worked on my own trigger points and stretching. Why was I in so much pain on race day? Why did this happen? Was it the cold weather? All that hard work and it didn’t amount to anything, I feel like quitting this sport. I can’t believe how much I put Lindsay through as well as my family while training for this. I wanted to go to Hawaii so badly it burned my blood.

I will come out of this a better athlete. I will learn from this and continue to move toward my dreams.

Perspective

2008-06-06T10:00:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to post something that I have been thinking about a lot lately. It's something that I seem to always come back to but get easily off track. It's perspective. Just the mere fact that I and my fellow triathletes can participate in this great sport is a gift all on it's own. Just the fact that our basic needs are being met to the point that we can actually focus on somthing as luxurious as getting fit and fast. This is something I am truly thankful for. How the hell am I so lucky that I can do this stuff? There are people who don't know how they will get their next meal or where they are going to sleep tonight or that just lost a loved one. I admit that I often go down a road of laser focus with blinders on while I train like crazy. When I'm in this mode it's easy to lose site of the big picture and get hung up on small challenges and hurdles. I would like to get better at balancing the laser focus with the above perspective which yields a ton of gratitude.

I also want to give thanks to-

My family for being awesome and working through challenges together
My wife for putting up with me when I get that laser focus and don't hold up my end of the deal (i.e., being a dead beat husband)
The people around me who try to act from the heart in a world of bureacracy
The people that are trying to help our planet even at the smallest act of just trying to drive less.
This could go on all day.

Stream of consciousness over now

IM Florida 70.3 Race Report

2008-05-29T09:46:00.005-04:00

The week leading into this race was totally crazy with Lindsay not sure if she was going to race because her sister hadn’t had her baby yet. Well all the stars aligned and the timing was perfect. Meghan had the baby which is now no longer called “Spawn” but Bridget and Lindsay was able to see Bridget and still do the race. We flew out together on Friday and crashed with some GMM tri friends from Vermont while down there which made it a lot more fun.

Race morning

I had my QT2 systems breakfast at around 4:20 for the 7:20 start. Applesauce, banana, bottle sport drink, and scoop of whey protein and some Starbucks. I was ready to rock. This race was huge with a transition area that seemed to be about a half mile long …crazy. My wave was second to last ---I wasn’t too happy about that as I hate going late like that mostly because you don’t really know where your competitors are. This was a non wetsuit swim as well. The gun goes off and I quickly found a nice set of feet to sit on. I was moving pretty good and tried to pass but I couldn’t get past him so I just stayed on his feet. I actually felt very comfortable probably too comfortable but I kept trying to see if I could get past him and I couldn’t so I knew I was moving at a good pace. I got out of the water in around 33 minutes which is way slower than my PR but I had anticipated this and knew the swim times would be slower on the day with out the wetsuit. I later realized that it really was a solid swim relative to my competitors. I used the new Xterra velocity speed suit----thanks Xterra!!!

I went as fast as I could through transition and saw lots of bikes still on my rack (all people who started in my wave or ahead of me) which is a good sign.

Bike

I was absolutely hammering the bike and feeling great, I’d look down and be going 26 mph and feeling super comfortable. I was flying. It was a constant stream of bikers out on the road and I was passing people for the whole 56. There was only one guy that I yo yo’d with for a lot of the bike who started in my wave and went on to be second in my age group and one of the top amateurs. I hit the 25 mile mark in 59:xx. Booyah!!!! I was cranking. I held a little over 25 mph avg speed until around 50 miles or so when I started getting a cramp in my left quad. The only mistake I made on the day was not drinking the 4.5 bottles recommended and only drank 3. Even though felt like I was drinking constantly –I just need to drink more (majority of my electrolytes come through my sport drink). The last 5-6 miles I had to back off because of my quad so I lost a bit of time the last few miles. I got off the bike in around 2:19 and my bike was the only one on the rack---that’s really cool.

Run

It was already crazy hot and humid. My quad was locking up/cramping pretty bad, I kneeled down to try and get it to release. I took 2 salt tabs (thermotabs) and kept saying “release” while I was running through the locked up quad---definitely some pain going on here. HTFU was repeated several times. In fact the whole run needed a pretty constant stream of HTFU’s because it was just brutal. No shade, 90 degrees, humid, lots of people were walking. After the first mile my quad released and I tried to get the tempo up. I hit the first few miles in 6:30-6:40 then struggled to hold 7s. The heat and the grass just made it hard to really stay light and fast. Half the course was on grass in kind of open field area that we did an out and back part of 3 loops. It was brutal. I got into bike racer mentality and decided that most people were suffering the most on the grass section so this was the section I would work the hardest. I really really suffered through those sections and then cruised the pavement section and went back to pushing the grass section each lap. Apparently I caught more people overall and in my age group on the run---that’s very cool as I usually lose a few spots on the run. Run times were slow with the heat and grass. I was around 1:34.

Finish was super satisfying, there really is nothing like finishing a long race after putting in your best effort. It was the kind of effort that I felt like if someone went faster than me on the day then my hat goes off to them because I was hammering and racing strong. I came in at 4:31. It wasn’t the time I was hoping for or near my PR but relative to my competitors it was solid.

I ended up 4th in my age group out of 254 and 30th overall out of around 2000. I was also 16th amateur. I am definitely happy with this result. I’ve never finished this far up at a big M-dot race. I want to thank my coach Jesse at QT2 systems for helping get this strong.

Lindsay also had a solid day in her second half ironman ever. She was 12th in her age group out of 86.

Green Mountain Triathlon Race Report

2008-05-05T11:31:00.009-04:00

I raced the Green Mtn triathlon yesterday (5/4/08)in the Rutland area and got my first victory of the season! This was a low key pool triathlon put on at Green Mtn College by the adventure program students. It was very well organized and had great volunteers as well---thanks guys. Lindsay and I did this race back in 2002 but the course was different this year. Lindsay by the way decided to train this weekend instead of race as her masters program had dug into some of her training time over the last couple of weeks. The weather this past weekend had been pretty bad---cold and rainy. I almost didn't do the race. I was at the end of a recovery week so the timing was perfect to get in a race specific workout. I'm about 2 weeks out from the Florida 70.3 (half ironman). 2 weeks out from a half iron is excellent timing to get in some sharpening from a high intensity effort. When I got to the race site and checked in I saw a friend/competitor Paul Fronhofer from Ney York. Paul and I have raced together several times and we duke it out pretty closely on the bike. He is a very strong cyclist posting one of the fastest bike splits last year at Ironman Lake Placid. I think he went around 5:10 or so. Anyhow I greeted him and said "so we're gonna duke it today eh?" He said he was only doing the swim and bike because he had a fracture in his foot and can't run right now. I hope he heals up well. He mentioned a guy named Pat O'keefe would be here who won Lake George triathlon last year. Paul said Pat would swim about a 5 min 500 yard swim, wow that is crazy fast. Pat apparently was a division I swimmer in college. He was second out the water last year Ironman Lake Placid with a 47 min swim!!! Sick! I was actually relieved though that there were some strong guys here to really race it with. The head to head compettion is one of the things I love about this sport and I was going to get a chance as Paul, Pat and I would start near each other on the swim. The faster swimmers went last and each person had their own lane and there was maybe 50 or so people total and only 5 lanes. We were able to start the race around 10:40 or so. Paul ended up starting a few minutes ahead of me but Pat and I got to start at the same time which I was psyched about as he was my key competition on the day (but I was also competing with Paul on the swim and bike). We start and Pat is absolutely flying 2 lanes down from me. I think he lapped me once. I knew the lap counters were off when I hit the 250yard point and they didn't put in the half way card, they did on the next 50. I wasn't too happy about this but just shook it off. I hit 500 per my count at 6:20 but did the extra 50 anyway. I got out in 7:00. I knew this was off because all winter I was hitting 6:30 and 6:40s for 500 splits in my 800 time trials. Pat had gone around 5:10 or so and I needed to chase hard. Once on the bike my legs felt amazing---Jesse those BST sets on the bike are incredible. I have never felt so powerful on the bike. Mentally I was trying to keep it together as I let an additional 40 seconds go on Pat by doing that extra 50. I was going so hard on the bike but still not seeing anyone ahead of me. I just kept telling myself to recognize how good my legs feel and keep pushing as hard as I can. Finally I saw some people in the distance. I kept pulling them back and eventually passing them it was Pat and one other person. Awesome but then I realized Pat's twin brother was here racing too(no kidding) and I was hoping it was acutally Pat (it was). I caught him around mile 12 or so and had another 6 miles to keep putting time into him. Once on the run I couldn't belieive how good my run legs felt---I felt like a gazelle. I was absolutely flying faster than I've ever run off the bike. I hit the first mile in about 5:30!! I felt great. My coach is a genius!!! Once we got the results I had figured that Paul Fronhofer had beaten my bike split but it turned out that I outsplit him by 20 seconds!!! I couldn't believe it. The race was very well organized for this type of event. Nice job to everyone who raced!!! There were lots of people doing their first triathlon. I love seeing this and feel so humbled by their courage to take on a new challenge.

Here's the stats

1st overall
swim 6:20 / 500 yards
bike 48:31 / 18.5 or so miles
run 18:05 (on my watch)

Running out of my head

2008-04-25T11:02:00.004-04:00

So I haven't posted in a while and am going to get things rolling here again. I will post a race report soon from the Run Vermont Half marathon (5th overall with a 1:20 personal best on a course with a mile of snow). Anyhow I am extremely happy with where my fitness is right now. I have worked harder and smarter than ever before. My coach is a genius and I should have started working with him earlier. My run is where I think I've made the most noticeable improvements although my swim TTs show I'm ahead as well. My bike fitness feels great but I don't have a powermeter to really gauge things and haven't done a bike TT yet. I know I'm averaging around 21 mph at aerobic threshold (Ironman race pace) so that is good. On the the run--- people have been asking me what have I done differently and I want to summarize that in this post. Basically Jesse got my heart rate zones dialed in correctly. I had previously thought my lactate threshold on the run was around 175-178 but this was way too high and not correct. My run LT is actually 161-164. So once that got fixed my aerobic threshold (AeT) was calibrated correctly. Once I had this number (141 on the run), pretty much every single run for 16+ weeks was run right at that HR. I was not allowed to go over it unless I was racing (once a month). What happened was jaw dropping, makes me speechless kind of stuff. Every single run was focused on running as fast as I can without going over 141. I had to keep perfect form and restraint to not go over that number. I had to walk up hils early on. My pace at 141 kept improving and is still getting quicker (although at this point I'm wondering if some of it is from a fried peripheral system). Anyway here are the avg paces I ran at 141 since Dec. This heart rate point is about 20 beats below my lactate threshold. As my pace at AeT lifts, so does my pace at LT without even doing speed work!!

Dec 7:45
Jan 7:30
Feb 7:05
March 6:50
April 6:34

With a 6:34 avg pace at aerobic threshold that predicts some scary fast times. It predicts 15:59 for 5k!!, 1:14 for half marathon and 2:36 for the marathon. This is out of hand and too good to be true. I will need to race to prove it to myself.

I also want to add that in addition I have had a much bigger focus on nutrition this year (way more fruits and veggies) and different timing of my carbs. I am following what Jesse calls the "core diet". Check it out on his site www.qt2systems.com

Limits and Learning

2008-01-11T13:56:00.000-05:00

I’m going to just ramble on about a few things here so bare with me. One of the fundamental things that I love about triathlon is related to the quote by Lance above. I am totally driven by the fact that when you put the training time in, your body adapts to the stress and gets stronger. I have been able to see firsthand that when I work hard I am rewarded by my body being able to go faster and farther. This is one of the most satisfying experiences. I am constantly (or at least at certain times of the year) realizing that the limits I thought I had are actually higher than I thought. This inspires me to push into new territory and explore whether or not I can handle that level of training or push that fast at a race that’s maybe 4 + hours long. When I first started racing long distance triathlons in 2005 I was very tentative and did not push very hard. I now go about as hard in a half ironman as I do in an Olympic distance race. I am constantly wondering where that cap is of reaching the highest point of fitness I can reach. I feel like physiologically I haven’t even scratched the surface.

I also find endless satisfaction in helping others succeed in this sport. Many people have helped me greatly over the years and I have a learned a lot and am still learning (something else I enjoy---learning more). I coach a masters swim group at First in Fitness in Berlin, VT. Right now we have about 10-12 people who regularly swim on Thursday nights. We have a wide range in abilities from folks who are new to distance swimming up to a guy who used to swim with Sheila Taormina and can hold 1:10 pace per 100. This guys swims about half a length underwater each push off. At any rate it’s a really fun group and I give folks an individualized look at their technique and point things out to them, give them appropriate drills that will address their limiters. When people say how much something helped or they had a moment where something I said clicked for them---these are some of the times that I feel rewarded 10 fold and it only motivates me more.

I also am still learning and I find a lot of enjoyment in it. Some of the people I have learned a great deal from (either personally or via reading)particularly around training protocols are: My coach- Jesse Kropelnicki, Kurt Perham, Paulo Sousa (via his blog and long time as a slowtwitcher; www.thetriathlonbook.blogspot.com , Gordo Byrn, Joe Friel, the teachings of Arthur Lydiard, Matt Fitzgerald, Greg McMillan, Dr Romanov of pose running, Mark Allen, Mike Llerandi, Tim Snow, Tim Watson, Dan Empfield, Kyle Bujnicki of vitamin connection, Jonathan Caron (via slowtwitch). These are just a few I have learned from. I am constantly reading everything I can on this topic and also love discussing it. My take is that there will always be a reason to learn more.

2008 Race Schedule - Through July

2007-12-13T14:22:00.000-05:00

2008 Races

December 31, 2007 First Run 5k (Montpelier)
Jan 26 FASTSPLITS Winter Triathlon, Boston
Feb 24 Hyannis Half marathon
March 9th Spring Fling 10k
April 5th Vermont City Half marathon
May 5th GMAA Partners race 5 miler
May 18th Ironman Florida 70.3
June 8th Mooseman Half iron
June 29th Shelburne Sprint tri
July 20th Ironman Lake Placid

What's with all the Rocky stuff?

2007-12-04T21:53:00.000-05:00

The people who know me well know that for me, Rocky is more than the cliche workout BS but at the same time I play it out because it's funny. I'm almost half mocking Rocky in the same breath that I'm secretly right there with him in Rocky 3 while he goes through a transformation to deliver a beat down on Clubber Lang (Mr T). I relate to how Rocky came to be. He was a nobody and made himself somebody. I am kind of in the middle somewhere along that continuum. I'm not nobody but I'm not somebody but I have big goals----you following me?

I believe that I have earned enough street cred to play the Rocky card and have it not be too cheesy, but I don't care if it is.

Here's the dues that I've paid that may give me some street cred to not be linked with all the cliche BS that people use with eye of the tiger and associating themselves with Rocky.

At 9 yrs old and no music system other than one of those old tape recorders that lawyers probably used back in the day, I would hold it up to the TV and record eye of the tiger so I could listen to it and listen to it and listen to it.

I had a car named Rocky that wasn't named Rocky right away but actually earned the name. After making 2 cross country trips in it with no problems at all my 1994 Nissan Sentra became Rocky because it was just tough as hell and could take a beating.

At my wedding as a joke we played eye of the tiger when Lindsay and I walked in. We all had a really good laugh but at the same time we were secretly totally into it and ready to go workout or spar with each other... OK maybe I was the only one who felt that way.

At my last ironman, my brother who used to watch all the Rocky's with me would say "aint so bad" "aint so bad" when I would run by referring to when Rocky was mocking Clubber Lang and tiring him out prior to handing out a major can of whoopass...my brother might as well as have given me speed because this pumped me up so much that next thing I knew I was seriously Hardening the F*** up.

Yeah it is pretty cheesy I admit it.

Rocky

2007-11-16T11:41:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3wuXyOUKJw

"It 'aint about how hard you can hit.... it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done..."
- Rocky Balboa -

Montreal Esprit Ironman 9-15-07 Race Report

2007-09-24T09:01:00.000-04:00

This race meant so much to me after having a hugely disappointing DNF at Ironman Lake Placid due to major nutrition plan mistakes (not enough calories and hydration) and poor mental prep. I was at rock bottom after LP but learned so much from the whole experience. I needed to go through all of that disappointment to learn. Everything happens for a reason.

I could not have raced at the level I did in Montreal without the support of my amazing wife Lindsay. She has been so patient and understanding of the sacrifices I made to train adequately for Ironman. I think that the significant others of Ironman athletes are the real heroes of our sport. Without them we would not race at our potential. I also want to thank my family for all their support and encouragement.

This race was on the Ile Notre-Dame in Montreal. Basically we were on an island and the swim was in the Olympic rowing basin, the bike was on the F1 race track and the run was 9 laps around the basin. This course is normally really fast but this year it was 50 degrees, rain most of the day and a headwind on each lap of the bike (41 laps). HTFU (Harden the Fu** up) was my mental toughness strategy, I had it written on both hands and my aero drink.

The race started at 6:30.The sun wasn’t even up yet and the gun was about to go off. Once we started the 2 lap swim we had the first lap all to ourselves and then we would be joined by the half iron racers. I started out nice and relaxed, long smooth strokes trying to keep my technique perfect and as relaxed as possible. I found myself swimming with the front pack with one guy off the front of it. This was really cool because I am never in the front pack but since this is a small ironman race (only 100 athletes allowed for the full) I was right in the mix. Lap one I was at 30 minutes flat---perfect I thought as I was right where I should be and feeling relaxed too. The swim was a lot like Lake Placid—there was a cable and you had to get out and run to start your next lap. As I exited with a pack of 5 or 6 guys the half iron gun goes off and we jump in the water at the back of the half iron athletes. This is where it got tough. I had to be really on it as I was trying to stay on a guy’s feet that I had swam on the first lap and didn’t want to get dropped. I stayed on his feet as he weaved through slower half iron swimmers (ironman had different swim cap so I could see him). I couldn’t believe I stayed on his feet as we went in and out of slower swimmers. This was where HTFU was really helping. It was hard to stay with this guy but I knew I would be faster if I stayed on his feet rather than try to find a straighter line. I was really happy getting out of the water in 1:01. Swim split-1:01.

The bike was very hard mentally because it was cold (50 degrees), raining pretty much non stop and we had a headwind each lap. You just couldn’t get very comfortable. Lindsay was my lifesaver and was able to give me my GMM 180s jacket and 180s gloves and a hat. Without this I don’t think I could have ridden the whole thing. I couldn’t feel my feet for the whole bike. My only goal coming into this race was to nail my nutrition and hydration plan. I was totally committed to executing my plan to the best of my ability and I have to say I really came through on this!! I had energy the whole day and no stomach problems. I want to say thanks to Jesse Kropelnicki at http://www.qt2systems.com/ for writing me up a custom fueling and hydration plan and to Tim Snow for convincing me
to recognize what I don’t know (IM nutrition) and let someone who knows what they are doing do that for me by writing me up a plan. I highly recommend QT2 for anyone struggling with nutrition in triathlon. The plan was amazingly comprehensive breaking down race week nutrition, and specific race day nutrition which included the timing of all my calories and type of carbohydrates as well as hydration (which was based on a sweat test).

About half way through the bike my family arrived. I slowed to say hi and they all were wearing t-shirts with my picture on them and it said team Spinney!!!! I about cried I was so moved by this. At this point I said to myself I have to have a great race now---no excuses just race, execute, and HTFU. I paced the bike very well keeping my heart rate around 130. I was feeling great and averaging about 21.5 mph. I can only imagine what it would have been without the wind and rain. The winner’s bike split was about 25 min slower than last year so the effects of a really fast course were negated by Mother Nature. I got off the bike in 5:12 which is a PR by about a minute over my IM Florida time. Without wind and rain this would be an extremely fast bike course. Bike split: 5:12

On to the run I was feeling great. I couldn’t believe how good I felt. The fueling plan was working really well. This was the first IM that I ran with my bottle holder. I think I will always use it now at IM. Part of the reason I’ve had problems in the past is due to having a very high sweat rate and inadequate hydration. On the bike I drank about 1 and half big bottles an hour and on the run a little more than a 20oz bottle each hour. All of sport drink no water. I was eating every half hour too (either gel or half a bar). It was pouring rain hard the first half of the marathon. My brother Brian knew HTFU was my mantra and he took it further with a Rocky 3 analogy I had been talking about. He kept saying “aint so bad!!! aint so bad!!!” Anyone who’s seen Rocky 3 more than once or 30 (like my brother and I) knows this. It’s in the second fight against Mr T (Clubber Lang) and Rocky is on fire. He’s enticing and tiring out Mr T by telling him to hit him while Rocky isn’t hitting back but just saying to Mr T “aint so bad, you aint so bad”. The analogy was that the rain and wind “aint so bad” and I needed to HTFU and beat Mr T/this race. This fired me up more than anything anyone could have said to me. Full body goose-bumps that make your hair stand on end. I was running about 7:30 pace for most of the first half and started falling off that around mile 18 or so. This is where my lack of run volume was affecting me. I had passed a few other IM racers and at about mile 20 or so I passed a guy and he said “you’re in 3rd now”. I was surprised by this and kept pushing. At about mile 23 I had a hamstring issue and needed to stretch a few times and got caught by that guy putting me in 4th. I tried hanging with this guy but my hamstring wanted no part of it and I was forced to slow. When I had one lap to go Lindsay said “you could go sub 10 !!!”. I was really surprised to hear this and asked her how long these laps were taking and did some quick calculations and realized if I ran strong I could do it. She fired me up with sort of a tough love reality check that really reminded me how bad I wanted to go under 10. That last lap was the most pain and suffering I’ve ever felt in a race because I pushed so hard and wouldn’t let myself off the hook. Somehow I dug deep enough to run hard that last lap. HTFU right to the finish. Run split: 3:35 I crossed the line ecstatically in 9:55!!!!! This was a huge PR and my first time going under 10 hours!!! I am really happy as I have been underperforming at this distance.
I’m just plain really thankful I can do this and my family is so supportive. I could not maintain this kind of lifestyle that I love so much without their support. Thanks guys.

Latest news

2007-09-20T14:50:00.000-04:00

4th Overall at Montreal Esprit Ironman in 9:55!!!
This was one of the best races of my careeer.

Quotes and thoughts

2007-09-18T17:34:00.000-04:00

"What we have is based upon moment-to-moment choices of what we do.In each of those moments, we choose.We either take a risk and move toward what we want, or we play it safe and choose comfort. Most of the people, most of the time, choose comfort. In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or brilliance.They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reasons why not."~ Anonymous

"A man is not old until regrets take the place of his dreams" John Barrymore "I am not only still dreaming, I am living my dreams." -Emilio De Soto II

"Fear is probably the thing that limits performance more than anything - the fear of not doing well, of what people will say. You've got to acknowledge those fears, then release them." --Mark Allen

There is advantage in the wisdom won from pain" -- Aeschylus "

In my failures, I saw the darkest part of myself, where I was weak, where expectations did not meet reality. Until you face your fears, you don't move to the other side, where you find the power." -- Mark Allen

Life, to me, is a series of false limits and my challenge as an athlete is to explore those limits."—Lance Armstrong

I was told once that the best people to judge a persons status is yourself. You are your own baromoter and any defined limits are nothing more than a form of someone elses nostalgia.

The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn't matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark.
- Barbara Hall

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." -T.S. Eliot

Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

“The arrow that hits the bulls-eye is the result of the one hundred previous misses.”

A person fails to reach their potential when they fail to pay the price.

"Do not dedicate your life to your sport, but rather, dedicate your sport to your life. Dan Millman

"When a man says 'I cannot', he has made a suggestion to himself. He has weakened his power of accomplishing that which otherwise would have been accomplished." ~ Muhammad Ali

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake"-H.D.Thoreau

"Concentrate on the process and the outcome will look after itself." Trust and execute the plan to the best you can

If you think you can, or you think you cant - Your right.

"Wasting that opportunity because 'it doesn't matter' makes me wonder if when you're old and tired and winding down will you wonder what if? What if I had let it matter? What was I afraid of? Was I afraid that if I let it matter I'd risk failing?" – Q

Apply the potential to believe to believe in your potential – SC

"All the miles of a hard road are worth a moment of true happiness" - Arnold Lobel
Apply the potential to believe to believe in your potential

"Truth is narrowed down and made a plaything for those who are weak, for those who are only momentarily disenchanted. Truth cannot be brought down. Rather, the individual must make the effort to ascend it. " -Krishnamurti

"Most people would rather be right, than effective. We should think about that as we surf the internet searching for threads to reconfirm our biases."

"I'm pretty shocked, but at the same time, I trained so hard," she said. "Some days the training was harder than the race was today." Desiree Ficker after her 2nd place at Kona 2006

The people that do "well" consistantly in really long triathlons like an IM do several things that puts them in a better position to do well: 1. They go in with some loosely defined place/time goals, but with an open mind. 2. They know when to shift from pace/time/nutrition plan A, to plan B and in some cases plan C as conditions change or fate deals them some unfortunate news. This is absolutly key! 3. They remain optimistic throughout the day. 4. They know that more often then not it's a race of attrition. It's not about hammering here or making a big move there. 5. They keep plugging away and letting the "race" come back top them. Read the tortise and hare fable, over and over and over. This is what it's about. Fleck

And digest their food really well.

"If you are good, be better. If you are better, be the best. If you are the best, find something else to be good at.""Excellence is caring more than others think wise; risking more than others think safe. Dreaming more than others think is practical and expecting more than others think is possible."

If you can't back-it-up daily then you are going too hard. - Gordo

“Technique sets the upper limit to where your fitness will take you.” – Unknown

“A life spent defensively, worried, is to me a life wasted…life, to me, is a series of false limits and my challenge as an athlete is to explore those limits.” ---Lance

“Obsessive is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.” ---Unknown

Never follow the program of a champion because you never know if they are a champion because or in spite of their training program.

In order to get things you never had, you must do things you never did.

If you are good, be better. If you are better, be the best. If you are the best, find something else to be good at. Excellence is trying more than others think is smart, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than what others think is possible.

Be your own hero.

Some of the greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible. –doug larsenAbove all, train hard, eat right, and avoid television and people with bad attitudes. –scott tinley

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again>and expecting different results."

Endurance training is exactly like turning a Styrofoam cup inside out. So long as you take it slowly you'll be able to do it. Try to rush things and - rip - you'll tear the cup. You are the cup. -Gordo

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit" Aristotle

It's simple, but it isn't easy.

Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess and worth doing well.

Success is maintaining your enthusiasm between failures." -Winston Churchill

"they told me it was impossible, I told them it was inevitable"

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal."

Fortitudine Vincimus (By Endurance We Conquer) -- Ernest Shackleton

Cycling is a blue-collar sport. You gotta do the miles. ~Jonas Twenty miles of hope and six miles of reality. ~Cam Brown

There is no failure, only feedback." - Mark Allen

"I once mentioned to my wife that I wish I could play the saxophone as she does. She turned to me laughing and said, "apparently not bad enough to learn how." She was absolutely correct. ~Kevin Purcell aka CoachKP.com

"Triathlon, from the outside looking in you can't understand it, and from the inside looking out you can't explain it."

I got two 1) Always Be Closing ." A.B.C" 2) Hustle and Flow

"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?" "If the best time to have done something was yesterday, the next best time is right now!"

Going numb is Ironman foreplay"

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there......but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement." - Steve Prefontaine.

"Some dream of great accomplishments, others stay awake and do them."

"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.-Og Mandino

Gordo-----
How many people in the world, know what it's like to truly achieve their potential in anything? How many people in the world have even tried? Truly dedicated themselves to it -- shed all distractions, moved into a plastic bubble, spent all day thinking about it, answering questions on it, trying to learn about it, baring their whole lives to the world so that there is no question/no doubt about what it takes. We can debate about the GI of wheat germ, on drafting, on whether 85kb of code is showing off, on whether to use 10K or 5K race pace for intervals -- or we can buckle down and train all day, every day.
So, our "potential" is a moving target. What I do is try to train myself (and my crew) to the best of our ability. Then we work on mental skills and race execution so that we are able to race to the maximum potential of our fitness. True satisfaction comes from working towards a goal and then performing to our potential given the circumstances.
In training, build race mojo.Don't spend it. -----Gordo

"Nothing in life ever just happens. Calculated progression insures your strength."

"If you are always allowed to stop training whenever you feel discomfort, you will find it too easy to give yourself permission to quit." - Attributed to Jet Li

“Dignity is when your mind doesn’t allow your body to be as soft as it would like to be.”

If it’s hurting me , it’s killing them

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. --Marcus Aurelius

"Don't argue with a fool. The spectators can't tell the difference." - Charles Nalin

To push the limits, and then some more...crash or crash through. One of my greatest fears is not meeting my own expectations. It's a high risk approach but as the Dalai Lama says, "Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk..."
But the intrigue and appeal of IM is that it's so hard to get right...to have a perfect race. Or to even have 90% of a 90% perfect race. There's just so many potential uncontrollables. However, it's been the quest to conquer and control these so called uncontrollables that has inspired me to do my utmost best to prepare for what race day might serve up. In doing so, it's exposed some of my soul and tested just how strong my inner will and desire actually is. IM race day does the same, except on that day it's multiplied and magnified many times for everyone to see.
Anyway, I was in Port Macquarie with some self expectations...which in itself should have been a warning sign. For me I find that expectations come when I take my eye off the ball and lose focus of what I'm actually doing. And in an IM particularly that spells danger, and I should have known it. But ignorance is bliss. My very learned swim coach always says "Concentrate on the process and the outcome will look after itself." I should have tattooed this to the inside of my eyelids.
These expectations were born out of a combination of exhaustive preparation; experience from 4 previous IM’s; and a bit of a purple patch in terms of recent race results. So despite some earlier running injury problems, I was there to race...and therein lies the key to my epiphany; treating an IM as a race is the biggest mistake of the day. And I hate not racing.For me, a race is where you can eyeball your competitors during a race and then bust your ass trying to drop them before the finish line. It's the adrenalin, power, competitiveness, testosterone and so much more that makes lactic acid like an addictive drug. I thrive on the feeling of battling on the edge of control...holding on by a thin thread. It's a sign of a successful race...to just maintain a grip on reality. But IM doesn't let you do that. It requires you to let go, with a leap of faith, and hope the cards fall the right way...or else your day will end up as a grovel.

Campbell maffett 9:38 IM aus 2007

The Huichols are a very simple people who live high in the Sierra Madre mountains in central Mexico. They have a rich spiritual tradition that has been developed over thousands of years. They never had a warrior class, so all of their efforts went into peaceful spiritual endeavors. The Huichols value a lot of things that are so synchronistic in helping a person achieve excellence in our sport. They value the ability to quiet their minds so that the big answers to life’s questions can come through, the answers we cannot come up with through a logical thinking process. This was absolutely essential to coming up with the answer of how to beat Dave Scott when he was surging well below a six minute pace halfway through the marathon in Kona. They have a saying that says “it’s not over until it’s over,” which again for anyone who has raced Ironman knows is a perspective that can give hope in even the most impossible looking moments. This one saying is a phrase that says stick with it no matter what, because even if a goal seems unattainable in this moment, in the next it just might turn around, and that was absolutely key for me to keep going in my final Ironman when Hellreigel was over 13 minutes ahead of me off the bike.

Work in progress

2007-09-18T17:21:00.000-04:00

This is my new site. Stay tuned