Going Mental

Almost two weeks out from Ironman AZ. This is when the mental struggles begin for me. In the past I would have started thinking back on my training and wonder "did I do enough". I also typically start worry about my nutrition plan and my bike setup. I basically start to question everything. This year is a little different, but not entirely. I had a little heart to heart with myself in the sauna yesterday after my run. I had been studying the AZ results from last year trying to figure out what I could do. I think this is ok, but too much focus on the numbers is not good. I've decided to shift my focus now. I have a plan and if I execute it well then my time is what it is. I have confidence in my fitness level this year, more so then I ever have. I have a nutrition plan that I have used on all of my long runs and rides that seems to work well too. Having a power meter on the bike gives me the ability to monitor my effort real time rather then relying on HR and perceived effort alone. So that just leaves the things I cannot control. It looks like the weather is going to be warm. The avg temp over the last few weeks has been ~ 85 degrees. There has been some wind out of the southwest everyday, so those two things will play a major role on the day. But I am ok with that. I feel like I made peace with the wind in Palm Springs, and with a power meter I can manage my power expenditure much easier.
So the next week will be tying up all of the loose ends such as getting my new rear wheel and prepping it. Doing a test run and ride with all of my race gear to make sure everything works. Then comes the packing. It will be nice to have a full week in AZ prior to the race to get settled and make sure we have everything in order. I'm expecting big things out of this race, and by big things I mean I expect to execute my plan to the best of my ability and make adjustments along the way as needed. So I'm still putting pressure on myself, but not based on how fast I go according to the clock, but rather how focused I stay on my plan and how well I push through the "rough" patches. I've learned more this year then ever thanks to a lot of talented people that have been where I want to be. So now I will concentrate on applying all of that and getting it done! Oh ya, and having fun too...

Adjusting...

Last week was tough trying to get back into the groove of work and crappy weather. I know I'm not going to get much sympathy though. Palm Springs was a great week of training and weather but the lack of sleep and transition back was harder then I had anticipated. I think I averaged 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night and during the week most of workouts were only so. Finally by Thursday I started feeling like I was getting caught up. The weekend training went well. I did a 4 hr ride Saturday with 3x45 min race watt intervals all on Sauvie's Island. I was hoping to maintain 250 watts for these intervals, but 240 seemed to be were I settled in. Even at 240watts though I should squeak out a pretty good bike split PR in AZ depending on conditions. Off the bike I had a 20 min transition run that felt much better then expected. My HR is usually a little high going into these but it stayed in zone 1 today even at a 7:30 pace. Sunday was an 18 mile run at Forest Park in the rain. We took it easy on the way out and picked it up on the way back. Spent the rest of the day cleaning the house, making lists for the race trip, and gluing up tubulars. What a pain in the ass that is! It's been a year since I've had to worry about it. Now I have a new tire for my new wheel (Blackwell 100 with a wireless PT hub) and 2 spares (one to carry on the bike and one for special needs). While I had the glue out I decided to throw an extra coat on my front race wheel as well. What a messy frustrating process. I'm sure it's one of those things that gets easier the more you do it though.

This week will be a decent amount of training still, but will also be a lot of packing and rest. It's amazing how many little things you have to do to prep for an Ironman. I do miss the simplicity of just running. Traveling for a marathon meant you needed your shoes and some shorts and a couple different shirts in case the weather changed a little. Now with Ironman we have a 20 ft trailer that will be full of bikes and gear heading down to the race. Jen and I are also shipping a large box of stuff and we have two huge suitcases. It is so much easier to drive to these events! Oh well, I guess AZ is probably easier then an international race.

Less then 2 weeks until we leave for AZ, less then 3 weeks until race day...

You can never have too much inspiration

Today I was looking around on a friends website at some pictures he had posted from our camp last week. On the top of the page I saw a link that said "Fight MS", So I clicked on it. Before I go on let me give you a little more background here. I met Rob about a year ago on an Ironheads group ride. Since then we've become good friends. In conversations we've had I've found we have a lot in common. One of the things is how we got involved in Triathlon. My journey started when I watched my Mother in-law finish her first marathon. Seeing her accomplish something like that made me wonder if I could do it too. And here I am today. Without her leading by example and providing so much support who knows how unhealthy and unhappy I'd be. Rob has a similar story involving his Dad. This is were the "Fight MS" link comes in. Rob is doing the Janus Charity Challenge as part of Ironman Arizona. I've done this a couple of times before and managed to raise a couple thousand dollars for the Oregon Humane Society and for the Phoenix Children's Hospital, so I know how challenging it can be to round up donations. So if you have a sec take a look at his story (http://perkwire.com/fightms.html). It's a good reminder that there are people out there that can face adversity head on and not use it as an excuse to give up.

Days 9 and 10 and camp summary

We made it! Camp is officially over. I am sitting in the Palm Springs airport now waiting for my flight to arrive so I can head home. Here is the low down on the final two days of camp.
Day 9:
The day started early with Mitch picking us up at 6am. We headed to Palm Springs and did the same group ride as last Saturday. This week I decided early that if I was feeling good I was going to try to hang with the lead pack of the A ride. As we headed out of the town we turned onto a long uphill with a 20 mph headwind. The group quickly broke up. I tried to hang on but the gusts of wind were coming in at an angle so I wasn't getting any draft from the riders in front of me. I dropped out of the pack and took in some nutrition. Decided to try and hold 300 watts and see how long I could last. I quickly started catching others who also dropped from the lead pack. Once we reached the top of the 20 min, 4% climb I turned around and found I had been pulling about 10 people. As we approached the right turn that signified the top of the hill two guys stood up and sprinted by me. My competitive instincts kicked in and I went with them. I passed them as I rounded the corner and dropped into my aero bars. I looked down and my watts were at 860 and my HR was at 180. I looked back and the guys were about 25 yrds back. I could see the lead pack about a 1/4 mile in front of me so I continued to push until I reached them. It took me about 5 mins and I only caught up because they were not pushing it. Once I got there they started to surge again. We were on a long section with little rollers. We had a tailwind and were cruising at about 35mph. I hung with them and we were taking turns pulling. Once it was my turn to be in front I pulled up and was ready to go. Just then I hit a bump and my bike started making a horrible noise. I had to pull over. I watched as they quickly rode out of site. About 5 mins passed before the rest of the group came by. Mitch stopped to help me. My rear derailleur had broken from the impact of the bump. Mitch was able to bend it out of the way enough so I could continue on. Once we joined back up with the IH group we headed out to a long stretch of flat road for our 60 min time trial. The goal was to ride 60 mins while holding zone 4 watts. Based on this and one other TT my zone 4 watts are between 285 and 300 watts. We had a 20 mph tail wind on the way out the same headwind coming back. It was the best ride of the week for me. We finished with 81 miles. Later in the day we did a steady 5 mile run.

Day 10:
After a late night of drinking and dancing at a local bar I was up early to finish packing. Those of us with later flights drove to Palm Springs and ran from there since it was about 15 degrees warmer then it was in Yucca Valley. We did 18 miles then hit the shower at the pool before heading to the airport.


Camp Summary:
The numbers –
Bike – 391 miles
Run – 69 miles
Swim – 19800 yrds
Total hours of training – 35:52

These last 10 days have been amazing! Mitch runs a great camp. The food (all of which is provided and included in the price) was outstanding. Most of the main meals are home cooked when time allows. The weather and the terrain have been ideal for IM AZ prep. I think for the best part has been getting to know the other IH’s that were also here. It’s hard to find a group of 10 people that you can spend that much time with and not get tired of any of them. I am sooo looking forward to the upcoming season and of course IM AZ. Based on what I saw this last week the Ironheads are going to kick some major ass! And that’s all I got to say about that… I’m looking forward to getting home and wrapping up training. We head to AZ in 3 weeks.

Days 6, 7, and 8

Sorry for the intermittent posts. The internet access here at the Yucca Inn is occasional at best. So I thought I would combine the last couple of days into one update. On Wednesday we took a break from the pool and rode from the hotel out to Joshua tree to do a 50 min TT. The goal was to hold Zone 4 watts for the 50 mins. This for me turned out to be 285 watt avg for the 50 mins on a road that had a slight grade on the way out. It was an out and back so it was hard to hold a low cadence on the way back and still keep the watts up. It was also at about 4500 ft elevation so my breathing felt high but my heart rate was only in mid zone 2. Later in the day we did a 6 mile steady pace run also from the hotel.

Thursday: After a morning 3500 yrd swim the plan for today was to ride out to Idyllwild. The first 15 miles of this 100 mile ride consist of about 3500 ft of climbing. The avg grade felt like it was 7 to 8%? Not sure exactly, but it wasn't terrible. The hard part was the 40 mph wind gusts that were hitting us head on and sideways. There were 3 different instances where I was slowed down to less then 5 mph and almost went into the ditch. Once at the top those of us that made it waited for everyone else. After about 20 mins of waiting we knew something was up. With no cell service where we were we Mitch rode back down a little. It turned out that everyone else decided not to continue on because the conditions were not safe. This was totally understandable since I am one of the largest people here and I almost got blown over multiple times. So those that weigh 70 lbs less then me could have easily been blown into traffic or off the road. So one of the coaches went back down and got the van and we loaded up and rode from the bottom of the hill back in and around Palm Springs and Palm Desert. Ended up with just over 50 miles total. After the ride some did a quick 30 min transition run. Then a stop at Rubio's for fish tacos!!

Friday: Another morning swim of 4500 yrds then an easy 25 mile ride from the pool. We were going to head out to the north valley area (I think it was north) and ride by all of the wind mills. There are 3000 wind mills out there. So I guess it would be a surprise that it was a bit windy out there. Once out of town on the highway the wind kept getting stronger. We lined up in a single file line and were taking turns leading 2 minutes at a time. We did this for 15 minutes and only made it about 2 miles. We decided to turn back at the point when I was leading. I was generating 300 watts and going 6 mph. When the gusts would hit I would slow to 2-3 mph and almost fall over. Going back however was well worth the effort to get out there. On a flat road I was coasting at 42 mph. We traveled the two miles in a couple minutes. It was rad! After that we just cruised around town. Then we ran for 40 mins at race pace. It was another hot day, about 83 degrees. Yesterday felt like it close to 90. It's going to be hard to transition back to low 50's when I get home. Here are a few pictures from the last couple days:

The top of the climb on the way to Idyllwild:

Chill'in at Mith's before after the Joshua Tree ride on Wednesday

The windmill farm:

Day 5 - EZ Day

Another 8:30 am swim. More technique work today. I can really feel improvement based on the feedback I've been getting. After the swim was a 60 min run with a 1 minute pick up to zone 3 heart rate every 5 minutes. It was 82 degrees and sunny. Felt good starting out but about 15 mins in the heat started to raise my heart rate a bit. I backed off the pace a little and was able to stay within my ranges for the workout. I think over the course of the run I managed to average about 7:30 min per mile. After the run in was bbq for lunch then back to the hotel for a nap and laundry. Oh ya, and some blog updates too.

Day 4 - Hot and dry!

This morning was an 8:30am 4k yrd swim at the Palm Springs pool. Did some threshold 100 repeats with the coaches watching. I got some great feedback on my stroke that I think will help me tremendously. After the swim we headed out on a 4.5 hr ride. The course was flat, hot and flat. It was a perfect practice ride for the race. It gave me a good chance to get in my aero bars and try to maintain a constant power range. I kept it easy though knowing that we have a lot more riding to do. Everything is going and feeling good though so far. I feel like I am starting to get some what acclimated to the dry hot climate. Today was 85 degrees on the ride but it never felt intolerable. We'll see how the run goes tomorrow in the heat.


In unrelated news... On the way back to the hotel tonight we got rear ended in the van we ride around in. It wasn't major, but hard enough to leave a large dent in a pretty thick steal bumper. The worst part is as we pulled over to get the guy's info he took off. So we took off after him but couldn't keep up. We managed to get his plate number and called it into 911. I'm not sure if they've caught the guy yet, but the CA hwy patrol just called my cell to get my account of what happened for the police report. Exciting stuff.

Here is a picture of the pool.

Day 3 - Joshua Tree

Sunday morning was up early and on the rode by 7:30. It was a relatively short drive to the park. What a strange (in a good way) place. The landscape looks like something you would see in a roadrunner cartoon. We parked and hit the road running. We ran on paved roads for the first 40 mins before turning off onto a dirt road. This part of the run was at about 4000ft. At the end of the dirt road we hit a trail. It was steep and very technical with mostly loose rock. It was a lung burner to the top of the hill (about 5000ft). Once there the view was amazing! Unfortunately I didn't carry my camera... But the Perkins' did. Once I get them I'll post them. After taking in the scenery we headed back. A few of use pushed the pace n the way back down. It was one of those runs where one wrong step would have been a bad fall of a sprained ankle, but it was too much fun to resist. The run ended up being just over 2 hrs. Here's a few pictures from after we finished.

Later in the day we did a 2 hr, 30 mile ride up into the hills behind the hotel. It was a pretty tough little ride with the short steep hills and the headwind. On the way back Chris V. took a detour and 10 mins later rolled into the motel parking lot with a KFC drumstick in his mouth and a box of fried chicken stuffed in the front of his jersey... I'll have to post the picture of that too once I get it.

Here are some other pics:

Let the camp begin

We arrived yesterday only to find a large bright sphere in the sky that made my eyes hurt. I think it's called the sun? Ok, I guess that's not fair. It' been pretty nice in PDX the past few weeks. But the warmth was foreign to me. Low 80's with a light breeze. We went straight from the airport to the local pool for a swim. It's so nice to swim outside! We did a good 3500 yrd group workout. Felt great. Then headed to Yucca Valley to the hotel. Yucca is about a 30 min drive up the hill from Palm Springs. I think it's about 2000 ft higher in elevation so the temp is about 10 degrees cooler.
Home sweet home. We are staying at the Yucca Valley Inn. It is a "rustic" motel. It has a lot of character. Here is a picture from my doorway. I took this yesterday
and it is still there. Good stuff. Click on the pic for a full size view. Last night was a tasty dinner at Mitch's and back to the hotel for bike assembly and bed. By the way, the bike made it safe and sound. For those that didn't know the Isaac is too big to fit in a conventional bike travel box. So... Dave at Athlete’s Lounge had to make a custom cardboard travel case. It worked great. The only issue I faced was the teasing from the other Iron heads as my "ghetto" bike case rolled down the conveyer at baggage claim.

Today was a 67 mile 3.5 hour ride with the local bike club. It was a good ride of about 60 to 70 people. Three of us got split up from the rest of the campers and ended riding with the slower group. The plan was to ride with the A group for a more challenging pace and course. It worked out though. After about 47 miles we met back up with the rest of the group and continued on. We rode up a nice 45 min climb to a lookout on one of the sounding hills. It was a great view... Right after ride was a 35 min transition run. What a shock to the system to run in mid 80's and sun. My heart rate was pretty high. I think it was a good reminder what AZ will likely be. Tomorrow morning is a 2hr 20min run in Joshua National Park on some trails that lead to an abandon gold mine. Then a 2 hr ride in Yucca Valley later in the day. Stay tuned...

4 cans of Pabst, 1 mile, and Superman equals...

The beer mile! Saturday night was my first ever attempt at the beer mile. I have to admit I was expecting the worst. For those not familiar the format is 1 12oz beer then one lap around a 1/4 mile track, repeat 4 times. There were 11 men and 4 women competing. The first Pabst went down smooth until I started running. I think I burped all the way around the track. I was a little disappointed with my time (7min, 31 sec). I was about 15 seconds off of what I thought I could do. But I definitely under estimated how challenging it would be to chug a beer after sprinting a 1/4 mile. It's hard to breath and drink at the same time! It was fun though, the winner (Jay) did it in 6:22. Oh, and Superman came in 3rd (that would Dave E in a Superman costume). It always sucks to get beat by someone in a costume! Oh well, Dave's fast, so that takes a little of the sting off. At least he wasn't wearing a fairy costume (probably next year).

I was a little concerned going into this because I had a 2hr 40 min run scheduled for Sunday morning. SO my plan was to purge after the race in hopes of by passing the after effects of 48oz of beer in 7 mins. Can't say I didn't try! I even stood next to others that were honking their brains out and I couldn't get nothing to come up. Within about 10 mins I could start to feel it. I had a good buzz for most of the evening but hit the water hard (and the pizza). Was in bed by 11 and up by 7am on Sunday. Feeling tired and little hung over Jen and I headed to Forest Park. I managed to squeak out 21 miles in 2:42 and felt surprisingly good. Headed home for a hard nap and a 4500 yrd swim later in the day. Tough swim, 4x1000 IM race pace with a little warm up and cool down. Half way through I was invaded by a beginner swim class of about 15 people. It was chaos all round me. It reminded me of the scene in Caddy Shack when the caddies invade the pool at the country club. Total anarchy for about 20 mins! People in t-shirts trying to do the butterfly. Some dude in an American flag print Speedo. I guess it was good practice as I tried to stay focused on my form and pace. Saturday was a 70 mile ride with 2x25 mile race watt intervals. Rode out to Sauvies and did them there. Ran into one pretty good shower, but only the one. Rode with some Ironheads I came across on the island for about 30 mins. It was a pretty good ride overall. Totals for the week:
Bike: 146 miles
Swim: 16200 yds
Run: 44 miles
Total: 18hrs 21 mins
Friday I fly to Palm Springs to start the CPC camp. I think it is going to be a very rewarding week of training! I bought a new camera yesterday and I' taking my laptop so I'll post pictures and updates regularly.