Lake Placid Training Camp Report

This weekend had been marked on the calendar since Scott and I started working together. It was somewhat of a milestone event marking the last major training weekend before heading into the real thing. I've got a lot of awesome weekends to choose from this year, but this might have been my favorite so far. Everyone said Lake Placid is a beautiful place and they weren't kidding. I didn't get to do too much picture taking because this weekend was all business. Next month I'll spend a little more time taking it all in.

Week Of:

I'd been back from Spain for almost a week at this point and was still feeling like crap. I had done a few runs and rides and could tell I still wasn't right; heart rate and perceived level of effort just didn't match up. I finally decided to go Urgent Care to have it checked out. Turns out I came back from Spain with a bitchin case of severe bronchitis, an ear infection, and a sinus infection. This is not what I needed headed into training camp. The Nurse Practitioner told me I needed to rest for the remainder of the week to which I politely told her to go pound sand and that I needed to be better by Friday (race simulation day). I guess she took me seriously because I left with 5 prescriptions. Then it was time to pack while heavily medicated.

Day 0 - Travel Day:

Tom was nice enough to offer up his Expedition and drive myself, Mel, and Fabrice. He made his rounds and we headed out from Ashburn around 8:15. Leave it to me to ask for a pit stop 10 minutes into the trip so I could get some Starbucks. The trip is long but surprisingly not bad. Perhaps that is because Fabrice had a 4G wifi card and I watched episodes of Archer on Netflix for most of the trip. It might suck a little more next month when I'm the one driving. We finally made it up in about 9 hours of drive time plus a few stops for gas and lunch. The house that Scott and Shelly secured was incredible. There were 7 bedrooms, 4 common areas, massive dining room, and even a creepy, horror movie-esque basement. I got settled into my room and went out for a short run around Mirror Lake. I was supposed to do one loop which was a little over 2 miles but ended up catching up with a guy from Canadia who had just run TTT last month. We struck up conversation and he was telling me all "aboot" his previous Lake Placid experience. I got through my 5+ miles and still felt like crap. My heart rate was still way too high for that distance and pace but it was all good. I had to remind myself that I was still sick and I shouldn't expect much. Finally, I headed in for dinner and took it easy. Of course, this view of Mirror Lake is never a bad way to end a day.



Day 1 - Course Recon:

This was all about going through the course to get a feel for it in prep for tomorrow's race simulation. I had a little extra on my plate and actually had to work most of the day. I woke up and was logged in by 6:30 with our ride starting at 9. I got to a good stopping point and had 10 minutes to change and get out the door. This was not a good start to the day and shocker ... I still wasn't feeling well. I was still having trouble breathing and my legs still felt like lead from taking 2 weeks off for vacation. Scott said my legs would come back and that I'd be fine but I wasn't feeling real confident about it. We got a quick lecture on how the bike course will work on race day and then we all clipped in and headed out. This was a casual group ride so we really didn't push the pace (not that I could anyways). We made it down the Keene descent and headed out to Jay and on to the Ausable Fork out and back. We came back to Jay and headed up into Wilmington, hit the short Haselton Rd out and back and finished the 15 miles back to Lake Placid on 86. We finished the ride in a little over 3 hours and while everyone else was resting up for the rest of the day I had to get back to work. Finally got work out of the way and it was time for one loop of the run course. I was supposed to take it very easy since it was just to get a feel for the course and check out some of the hills. The run course is no joke. The hills on River road aren't bad at all but the last hill back onto Main St is a huge bitch. Tackling that hill at mile 23-ish on race day is going to be painful. The day finally ended with 1 loop of the swim course. I've done plenty of 1 mile swims but the course is basically straight out and back and seems ridiculously long. I have one swim speed so I finished right when I thought I would which is probably what I'll do on race day. Day 1 in the books and time to rest up for tomorrow's race sim.

Day 2 - Race Simulation:

This was the most important day of the camp. The plan was to do 2 loops of the swim course, transition to 2 loops of the bike course, and then a 4-6 mile run just as we would on race day. This meant preparing a "special needs" bag that I'll have access to at the half way point as well as testing out our race day nutrition. I woke up finally feeling a little better but was moving pretty slowly around the house. I got everything ready to go and headed down to the lake. Like I said, I have one swim speed and that's basically how I swam for 2.4 miles; maybe a little slower. I exit the water and get ready for the bike. Shoes, helmet, nutrition, and sunscreen (not enough apparently). I take off and just try to settle in knowing it was going to be a long day. I made it through the first loop feeling good and rode up to Slake and Shelly at special needs. I grabbed new bottles, drank a coke, and ate my clif bar just as I planned. Off I went for the second lap with Mel in tow who I talked into cruising with me for this lap. I was sticking to my plan and all was well up until mile 85 or so. After 4.5-5 hours on the bike I was getting really tired of my sports drink. Note to self, mix it up a little bit; 6 bottles of the same thing gets old fast. I got to the point where I just didn't feel like drinking it anymore even though I needed to get the calories in. I trudged on but started to fade because I wasn't taking anything in. I forced down one last gel for tackling the Bears and cruised back to the house. I was supposed to run but my stomach was very unsettled so I didn't. There was lots to take away from the swim and bike and I have adjustments to make before race day. Overall the day was a complete success because of what I learned. Finishing the day's workouts also meant it was time for beer. Day 2 in the books.

Day 3 - Group Ride:

The hard part was over. Now it was time to hang out and have some fun. On tap for the day was another 100 mile ride with different places to turn off and shorten the ride. Of course, no casual group ride would be complete without a flat in the first 30 minutes of the ride. FAIL!

Thanks to Mel (helper), Fabrice (picture taker), and Super SAG Slake (tire pumper upper). Seriously, Slake must have some sort of 6th sense when SAGing. I flatted and within a minute or two he had already turned around and was back to help. Flat fixed and we headed out towards Saranac Lake then climbed part of Whiteface Mountain and descended into Wilmington (I hit 45 mph without even trying). We regrouped and refueled in Wilmington before heading down to Jay and out towards Ausable Forks to eventually make it Lake Champlain.



We left Wilmington with our next stop being the Ausable Chasm (below). The best part about today is that I finally felt like myself again. The drugs had worked! Ben and I decided to push the pace through Ausable and I felt great. Then Baldwin rode up and said that we should catch up with Fabrice and Bill who had ridden off the front. Sure, why not? Being able to sit on his wheel after all the miles we'd already ridden put me on cloud 9. I also have to give credit to Tom who hooked me up with a different nutrition setup for the day after my burnout the day before.



Photo opp at the Chasm complete and we cruised the rest of the way to Lake Champlain. After a quick dip in the water we were ready to go home. My ride was set to end in Jay. Tom, Mel, and I set the cruise control and rode the 20 or so miles where we caught up with Andrew and called it a day. Another 83 miles in the saddle. Finally back to the house and out for a quick swim. I was supposed to do another lap but turned it into drafting practice with Mel as well as some pointers on my stroke. Finally, done for the day and time for some beer.

Day 4 - Long Run:

6:30 came pretty quickly after finishing my last beer at 12:30 or so. But finally, last day of camp and all I had to do was run. On tap was a 20 mile on most of the run course. I ate my usual bagel with peanut butter and nutella and drank a cup of coffee. I slowly but surely got ready, loaded up my dorky fuel belt with Ironman Perform which I'll get on race day and headed out. My legs were definitely tired at this point but I was intent on executing my race day run strategy: E pace + 30" for the first 6 miles then E pace after that. At the start E+30 was just fine and I even wondered how I was going to speed up. The legs warmed up and I started to feel good and actually settled into E Pace and even a little faster at some points. I drank water and sports drink at each mile just like I will on race day. I finished up on River Rd and headed back into town. There are two hills on the way, the second being the nasty one back onto Main St. Hill accomplished and it was just another half mile back to the house. Long run complete and I treated myself to the last 2 cokes that I'm going to drink until mile 13 of the run on race day. Overall the run felt great and I nailed my pacing which is another confidence booster. Time to pack up and head home.

Take-aways:

This was a hugely successful trip. Not only because of all the training I got in, but because of what I was able to learn while I was there. Each night we had lectures on some aspect of the race; one night was on nutrition and another about the course it self. There are still plenty of surprises that can pop up on race day, but the course isn't going to be one of them. I know what where the next turn is and how many miles before I'm there. I know all of the climbs and how long I'll spend on them. I know that running back into town at mile 23 is going to be the worst part of my day and I can mentally prepare for that. I learned that my bike nutrition needs to be overhauled and I want a different rear hydration set up. After Saturday and Sunday I feel like I'm ready to go.

For funsies here are my totals for the camp: 4.5 miles swimming, 250 miles biking, and 38.5 running.

Whats Next:

I get a much needed recovery week then we will do one more "big" week. After that its 3 weeks of taper.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

4.5 weeks to go ... starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel

May Recap

May was hard. I repeat, May was hard. Lots of racing and of course, traveling to said races. 

There really isn't much to recap since I raced White Lake and TTT and have already reported on both.

Between the two race weekends Scott and I went out for another 100 mile ride which went much better than my first a month or so earlier. I bonked pretty hard that first time and on this ride I was actually able to push the pace for the last 15 miles. 

Non ironman related was my trip to Spain which came at a really good time. After punishing myself for the last few months, the trip was supposed to be nice and relaxing and an opportunity to absorb all the miles I've logged so far. Well, the trip was awesome but definitely not relaxing. I barely slept the entire trip and half way through I got sick which turned into bronchitis (more on that later). We set up base camp in Madrid and went to Ibiza, Toledo, Segovia, and finally to Aldea Santillana for Victoria and Jeff's wedding. It really was a great trip but I'm pretty sure I came back more tired than before I left. 

Next up .... FeXY Coaching Lake Placid Training Camp. This will be the last real beating that I take. After camp will be one more relatively easy build week and then TAPER! Holy shit, seriously this entire experience has gone by so fast. 

American Triple-T Race Report

Background:

I set off with Scott, Shelly, Slake, Ken, Amy, Leslie, and Chris to take on the American Triple-T in Portsmouth, Ohio. For background on the race, Scott wrote up a nice blog on over on the FCS website. The quick and dirty is that it is 4 races over 3 days and totals around 140 miles, basically doing an Ironman over the course of the weekend. This was on the schedule for obvious reasons and was my plan was to treat this as a "training camp" more than a race. I'm not going to lie, the week leading up to the event was BAD. I had just come off a weekend with another 100 mile ride and a 14 mile run. I was tired and didn't feel like my legs were recovering like I thought they should. On top of that I was dealing with a bunch of other logistical nightmares for other upcoming trips. All of this led to my first full blown Come Apart on Wednesday and KWed had to talk me off of the ledge on Thursday. Of course everything was squared away but by Friday morning my motivation to race was in the crapper. I never realized how much of an affect being stressed out had on the body. Friday finally comes and we take off and get in to town around 3 with the first race starting at 5. It wasn't until I was walking up to registration that I got excited to race. As KWed put it, I found my mojo.

I picked up my packet and jersey (everyone wears the same jersey for the entire weekend) and headed back to the cabin to finish getting ready for the first race.

Note: Usually in race reports I'll put my place against the competition for each segment, but this was a training weekend so I'm going to list how I did against my plan and summarize each race. Oh yeah, this is going to be long.

Race 1: Prologue / Super Sprint (250 M Swim, 4 mi Bike, 1 mi Run)

This race was just fun. The only annoying thing about this race (all of them for that matter) was the 2-person time trail start when there are over 400 people in the race. The races took forever to get everyone on the course. with this first race being so short people were already done before I even started my swim. Even though the race was short I felt no need go full throttle so I cruised through. Nice and easy on the swim, then bike was a short out and back to the main highway and then uphill for a mile or so and then flying back down to transition. Again, I cruised up the hill in an easy gear and didn't work hard. I wanted to run a little faster than I did but my legs didn't weren't feeling great as a result of feeling crappy the whole week. Total time for this race was 26:59.

Race 2: AM International (1500 M Swim, 40 K Bike, 6.55 mi Run)

After a nice dinner and a couple of beers everyone headed to bed for an early morning. We were up and at the race site by 6:45 for a 7:30 start. With the rest of the weekend in front of me, the plan for this race was to keep it nice and easy, maybe push the pace a little bit, but stay in control and not "blow up." Waiting for my turn to start the swim, Baldwin came out to start his second loop of the course and yelled over that the course was short. After getting my shot at it, it definitely was. My swim time was around 25 minutes which was 3 minutes faster than Rumpus. I haven't improved that much in a month. I get out of the water and on to the bike. I didn't get there in time to do any course recon so I was just winging it. This wasn't that bad since I was riding to a particular level of effort and not for time. The bike course was challenging with all of the hills and one big climb at "Thompson Hill." As always, the best part about going up is that you get to come down. The descents through the park's fire roads with switch backs really made you stay focused.

When there are strategically placed ambulances at the bottom of descents, there is normally a good reason why. I made it through the bike feeling fine; 25 miles in 1:22:00 with an average HR of 153. This was half iron pace and right on plan. Next came the first shot at the run course; an out and back on gravely fire road with a stupid amount of climbing for such a short course. My goal here was to run conservatively and get a feel for the course since I had to do it again in the afternoon and twice the next day. The climbs seemed to go on forever and the descents were amazing. I also paced the run to an "easy" level of effort as opposed to a particular pace. The best part about this run is that it was a lot harder heading out to the turn around meaning the return trip was easy in comparison. This would play a huge role on Sunday when I kept telling myself "just get to the turn around." Scott estimated my time for this race at 2:40:00 and I came in at 2:43:18, right on target.

Race 3: PM International (40 K Bike, 1500 M Swim, 6.55 mi Run)

This is where the weekend started to get weird. After the first race every one went back to the cabins and got some food and laid down. I tried to nap but couldn't so I just laid around and watched tv. Its one thing to do a half iron distance in a day, but to do half and then break for 3 hours and then ask your body to do it again is difficult. The other added level of difficulty is the format for this second race. Instead of a traditional swim/bike/run we were biking first, then swimming, then running. Now that I've completed it I understand why the afternoon race is done that way. With the race starting at 3:00 it was frickin hot outside. Jumping into the water after the bike was one of the most amazing feelings of the entire weekend. I digress. The afternoon bike course was different from the morning and was a long out and back with really only one major climb. The morning ride was short, steep climbs. The afternoon ride was a long, gradual climb that seemed to last for days. Here is the elevation profile.

My plan was to go a little easier on this ride and I did in the morning. I came in off the bike 2 or 3 minutes slower. I ran into T1 to put on my wetsuit and swim. Note: plastic bags over your feet allow your wetsuit to slide on effortlessly. I was in my suit in a matter of seconds and headed to the water. Once again the swim was fine as I took it easy. I also had the same approach on the run as I did in the morning. I'm not sure of my specific splits for the afternoon (they aren't posted yet and I did something wrong on my garmin) but I came in at 2:47:00. I was happy to basically have even splits across the board for the day. Time to go back and get ready for the real fun.

Race 4: Half Iron (1.2 mi Siwm, 56 mi Bike, 13.1 mi Run)

I was pretty tired (but not buried) after the Saturday races. I didn't have an appetite but forced myself to eat some chicken and plain pasta. I didn't sleep well at all and 6 am came pretty quick. Packed up all my stuff, ate my usual pre-race food, and got all my nutrition ready for the race. I was a little concerned and feeling like I didn't have enough gel and sports drink for the bike. I headed down to the start for one more go at this and was not even close to feeling great. This day was going to be as mentally challenging as it was physically demanding. The nice thing about this race was that I didn't have to wait at the back of the line to start. By this point no one cared if we started in order so all of us started close together within the first 50 people or so. My swim was steady again and actually felt better than I did swimming back to back days at Rumpus. I got out of the water at 33 minutes. Again, the course HAD to be short. I did not improve by 5 minutes from my last half iron in White Lake. I got on the bike and headed out for the 2-loop course. Within a few miles I hit a false flat and really slowed down. This was crushing considering I was barely into the ride and had a long way to go. I pushed through it and was then greeted by a ridiculous climb that never ended. I made it up and looked at my watch, not even 10 miles in at this point. UGH. I kept moving and took free speed when I could and gave it back when I had to. The descents seemed harder than the day before and I found myself braking more than usual. For the next hour it was climb, descend, repeat. I finally finished the first lap and then my shoulders sank when I realized I had to do that all over again. I could tell I was low on nutrition and had to ration what I had left for the rest of the bike. I got lucky a little over half way through the second lap. I was really starting to fade and had caught up to 2 riders working their way up a hill. We starting talking for a minute and I casually said that I would love some solid food. Next thing i know the guy hands me part of a chewy granola bar and you'd swear I just won the lottery. I could of eaten more but it gave me a nice little boost and I pressed on. The second lap actually seemed a little easier since I knew what to expect and had land marks to tell me I was almost done. Elevation gain for the half, 4350 ft.

Before the race Scott told me to shoot for sub 6 hours for the half. I was at 4 hours going into the run which meant I needed 9 minute miles or better to go sub-6. Having run the course twice the day before I knew what was ahead and I wasn't happy about it. I made it to the first aid station and chowed down on some pretzels and oreos. I needed real food, no more gel. I got another boost on the way out when I saw Ken, Scott, Leslie, and then Shelly. I made the first turn around headed back. I was feeling ok but felt like I was barely moving. I eventually caught up with Shelly near the end of the first lap and we ran in together. You can tell neither of us were very happy.

Shelly told me to go ahead so I did. Finally, one more lap, 6.55 to go and I was DONE. I tried to keep moving the best I could but eventually one of the hills got the best of me. The burning in my quads was unlike anything I've ever experienced so I stopped to walk for a few seconds. I only took a second because I was not going to lose my shot at sub-6. The reason why you never walk is because starting to run again feels worse than before you stopped. It hurt, tough shit, man up and keep running. I made it up the hill and got to cruise to the turn around. The return trip is a piece of cake compared to heading out and once I crested the hill I just came down I knew I was home free. I found whatever it was that I had left and took off. When you realize your that close to finishing nothing hurts anymore. I came off of the trail and made the turn for the finish. I passed 3 more people on my way to the finish and got high 5's from my FeXY teammates who had already finished. It was an amazing feeling to finish what was the most brutal race of my life. Somehow my run was 1:53:00 for an 8:37 per mile and right on "E-pace" with a race time of 5:53:00. And this is what the brutal, spawn of satan run course looked like.

Take-Aways:

No, this was not an Ironman; that is still 9 weeks away. But it was sure as hell a great training weekend and a huge confidence booster for IMLP. My total time for the weekend was 11:50:00 and I'm very pleased with the way I paced myself and how I held back in the earlier races knowing there was still a long way to go. The biggest take away from this weekend is the built in mental toughness training that comes from asking your body to race then rest and then repeat 3 more times. At least at Ironman its just one really long day. I also still need to fine tune my nutrition. At the level of effort I was putting in on the bike, I easily could have carried solid food with me and been fine to eat it on the course. This very well could have cost me a few minutes. I also need to make sure I take in more salt on the run.

Next Up:

Now that this is over its time to take a break. Time to let my body absorb all the miles I've put in this year. No better place to do that than in Spain for Victoria's wedding.

But then its time to get back to business. Less than a month till peak training weekend at the FeXY Coacing Services Lake Placid Training Camp.

Almost there ......

White Lake Half Iron Race Report

Background

This race was prep for Ironman Lake Placid (shocker). Also, after all the training time I’ve logged this year I was interested to see what kind of improvements I have made from Eagleman last year. Since this wasn’t an “A” race we really didn’t taper going into it. Well, I took the previous Saturday off completely and then had a standard light race week to recover and be as fresh as possible for the race. I also worked with Scott and approached this race with a specific nutrition plan; both pre-race and during. Before the race my plan was to take in around 800 calories. This was in the form of a bagel, 2 bananas, an apple sauce cup, a Clif bar, and a bottle of EFS. I was supposed to take a gel about 30 minutes before the swim start but didn’t. I’ve never eaten this much before a race so it either was not going to sit well or it would actually do its job and I wouldn’t lose energy as fast as usual.

Swim/T1

As a means to build more confidence with swimming in crowds (something I’ve always avoided until now), I lined up towards the front of my wave and dead center. Strategically this isn’t ideal, but everything I’m doing is to prepare for Placid. My wave was pretty big since it was Men 34 and Under. My swimming has improved a lot this year so I found myself near or passing people the entire swim. I’ve never been a strong swimmer so it was a nice boost to catch people after the second turn as we headed into the swim finish. This year I’ve improved to a middle-of-the-pack swimmer and about where I was when I exited the water. I looked at my watch as I waited to get up the ladder to the dock and it read 38:15 which was right where I was hoping to be. There was a short run up the dock to get to T1 so my official swim time is a little longer. I entered T1 and got ready for the bike. Swim and T1 were 39.28 and 1:52. (23/42 and 1/42)

Bike/T2

At the start of the bike I was more concerned with my nutrition plan than I was with how fast I was going. I did notice that my heart rate was in the 160s as I headed out. My race plan was to stay in low zone 3 for the ride, which for me is the low 150s. I took a few minutes to soft pedal and settle in so my heart rate would drop a little. In my previous Half Iron I bonked hard on the bike mostly due to lack of nutrition on the bike. I had a plan (300 calories per hour) and I was going to stick to it. I was going accomplish this by taking 2 Hammer gels and drink a bottle of EFS each hour. This worked well as I had no troubles taking in the calories or getting through the EFS. I took in additional water as I came through the aid stations. Volunteers were handing out full water bottles so as I rode through, I’d grab a bottle drink as much as I could in a few seconds and then toss the bottle. There was a 15-20 minute period on the back half of the ride that was annoying. I was stuck behind another rider who got me out of the sweet spot I had settled in too. If I tried to pass, I would use too much energy; if I continued to sit back I’d drop out of zone 3. I ultimately decided to use this time to my advantage. Since the course was pancake flat there weren't any breaks on descents and I was in aero the entire time. I used my time behind this guy to stretch my legs and come out of aero for a few minutes. Then I got tired of playing around so I passed him and settled in again. The second half of the bike was a few minutes slower than the first but this was to be expected with the slight headwind that we faced. I got off the bike and really felt good going into the run (for once). Bike and T2 were 2:37:54 and 1:46 (6/42 and 10/42).

Run

My run plan was to start off at a decent pace for the first half and then see what’s left in the tank and pick it up to the finish. It didn’t quite work out that way. My first half was exactly on plan (7:40-7:45s) but I could feel myself wearing down finally. I had decided I was going to carry a different type of gel with me on the run. At the second aid station I went to take my first swig of it and it tasted like the most disgusting cough syrup I’ve ever had. I immediately tossed the entire flask with the knowledge that there would be hammer gel on the course. My stomach was starting to become unsettled and I didn’t feel like anything but water. I hit the turn around and kept telling myself that the race was almost over. Finally at mile 8 I had to take something besides water. I spotted the hammer gels on the table and grabbed one along with an orange slice. I bit into that orange like it was the last one I was ever going to have. It helped but didn’t give me that boost I was hoping for. I was really starting to tire at this point and my breaks at each aid station seemed to get a little longer with each mile. At mile 9 I drank of couple of sips of flat coke and another orange slice. The second half of the run was about 4 minutes slower than the first half. Nutrition on the run really hurt me here. With some calories every other mile or so I might have been able to maintain pace for the entire run or post a negative split which was the plan all along. Overall I had a very acceptable run at 1:44:41 (3/42) and I’m not going to complain about the 3rd fastest run split in my age group.

Overall

What limited me from doing better? Without a doubt it is my swimming. While I’ve made big strides this year there is still room for lots of improvement. My biking and running has become competitive in my AG but my swimming remains around 5 minutes behind where it should be. This will definitely be the focus of my off season. Ok, now the good part. I couldn’t be happier with the way the race played out. The last Half Iron I did was 11 months ago and I finished in 6:16:32. I absolutely smashed my times in each discipline and finished this one in 5:05:40 which was good for 4th in AG and 45th overall. All of the training and coaching have really paid off and the results are showing it. Next up is a big test: American Triple-T!

April Recap

Bad cliché forthcoming … you’ve been warned.

Time flies when you’re having fun, right? April is over and this was definitely a fun month. The month started off pretty easily as I had my first “recovery” week. I’m sure this wasn’t a recovery week by most people’s standards but it was fewer hours than the 2 previous weeks so I was happy with it. The following weekend was Rumpus Double which I’ve already written about. These “race” weeks are great with maybe 5 hours of easy workouts leading up to the weekend.

After Rumpus we went straight into 2 more build weeks and this was hard. Baldwin talked me into my first 100 mile ride (oh which there will be plenty more in the next few months) which went well. We knocked out a decent bit of climbing and I felt ok. My nutrition wasn’t the best again and I resorted to eating a Natures Valley granola bar with 6 miles to go just make it to through. Top that off with a 30 minute run, quick nap, and then suiting up for dinner and going to Ozio for a friend’s birthday. That was definitely a good day. That Sunday was nasty out and all I wanted to do was stay in bed but was told that I needed to go to the FeXY Open Water Swim Clinic, so I did. The water was warmer than the ambient temperature; there should be rules against this, but no matter, it was a very beneficial and I picked up some helpful information.

The following week was hard. It was a classic example of trying to do everything. It was another build week but I had Bryan and Rita’s wedding in Annapolis that weekend. The week didn’t even come close to going as planned. By the time Wednesday’s track work came around I was getting concerned about the weekend and I was really feeling drained from the previous 2 weeks. I made it through Wednesday but had 2 hours on the bike Thursday of which I did 1:20:00 minutes. I felt like death and fell over on my bed immediately passed out for 40 minutes or so. Friday was even worse. I took off from work so I could get a long ride in and thankfully Chris G rode with me. I was supposed to do 5 hours and we made it through 50 miles and 3 hours. I could barely keep up with him and my legs felt terrible. I didn’t run after and was on the verge of my first “come apart” (KWeds term for an adult temper tantrum). Luckily, I didn’t have much time to focus on it because I had to get ready for the rehearsal. There was supposed to be another long ride on Saturday, but after talking it through I decided that I was going to skip it and take the day off completely. I had a lot to do to get ready for the wedding and I didn’t want to be rushed. I needed this. BADLY. I don’t like skipping workouts or cutting them short but I had no problems with it this time. The day turned out great and the wedding was a lot of fun. With a decent run on Sunday I might have done half of my hours for this week. I was buried and needed to recover a bit. All is well.

Overall it was another great month and they are just ticking away. April had far more ups and downs than previous ones but it’s all good. Next month is pure craziness with White Lake Half Iron, American Triple T, and then Spain for Victoria and Jeff’s wedding.

"I remember a year ago I was standing in the crowd waiting for my chance to break through ... Now it seems I've found ... what it takes to make this dream come true, we'll be here till the end."

Rumpus International Race Report

Training: I wasn’t training for this race specifically as everything I’m doing is preparing me for IMLP. Rumpus is most peoples first race of the season and after an entire off-season and 3 months of pre-season training everyone is ready to drop the reins and cut loose. I know felt this way. With all of the work I’ve put in I knew I was in much better shape than I’ve ever been and was ready to see what kind of race I could put together. Baldwin always says “its all about the bike.” I’m really starting to believe this as prior to this race I hadn’t done any brick workouts but have done plenty of multiple hour workouts so my legs should have been able to handle a harder effort for less time. This turned out to be correct. Other workouts that really benefitted me were my FTP based interval spins and improving my ability to work longer at harder efforts. Lots of swimming also.

Pre-Race: I’ve noted before how I usually make really stupid decision on the nights before races, which lead to me being tired and surely impacting my performance. There is too much riding on this year to continue that trend not to mention nobody on the team would actually let me do it. This meant securing a place in the team house and heading down to the venue the night before. Everyone had a little fun but went to bed at a decent hour. I actually woke up Saturday morning before my alarm, which was a nice feeling. Got my normal morning coffee and bagel and got the rest of the stuff ready to go. Everyone headed out and made the 5-minute drive to the race site with 1.5 hours to go before race start. There are always last minute things that you remember to do and that was taken care of but the best part of the morning never feeling rushed or stressed out. Of course, being able to chill out under the team tent with everyone else who is racing always helps. Finally we all decided to head down to the race start.

Swim: (28:40 / 38 of 70) To be completely honest, I was a little nervous before the swim. I know my swim volume is ridiculously higher than it’s ever been so I wasn’t worried about the distance but more so about wearing my full sleeve wetsuit. I’ve done 2 races in it and each has been miserable. My arms got tired very early on and I always felt like I was struggling. Besides getting in the water a little late I felt comfortable the minute I got in the water. There was a minute or two when the suit filled with 62 degree water where I held my breath but that quickly went away and I was ready to go. I made it to the line and made sure to position myself in the middle of the wave. I’ve always avoided the mass of people and never wanted to get hit or fight with people. Since I’ll have no choice at the mass swim start in Placid I knew I needed to start getting used to it now so it’s not a shock to me in a few months. The gun goes off and I head out. I immediately felt like I was moving at a pretty good clip without using too much energy. Instead of fighting with trying to breathe every 3rd stroke and feeling uncomfortable I went straight to every other breath and was able to settle in almost immediately. It’s the swim so there was nothing eventful till I got to the end. I looked down at my Garmin and it read 28:15!! I had absolutely destroyed my previous best time in a 1500 m swim. I was pumped up as I ran into T1.


T1: (1:30 / 4 of 70) Heading into T1 I had something new I needed to try. This was my first race with a swim and wearing my Garmin. After asking around I was told that the easiest way to get the wetsuit off was to disconnect the face from the band, hold it in my mouth, pull the sleeves down and then reconnect the face; all while running into transition. This worked rather well and I headed to my bike. I took a second and grabbed some water, ditched the wetsuit, grabbed what I needed and I was out.

Bike: (1:06:21 / 31 of 70) The bike started off well and I was interested to see what I could do on the course since I have put in so much time in the saddle. The race strategy was to go at near 100% FTP or zone 4 heart rate; basically max effort for the whole ride. I wasn’t sure if I could maintain that level of output but really wasn’t bad at all. I took free speed when I got it on downhill’s and gave some back on the handful of rollers that were out there. The best part about the bike was that I felt fast. Towards the end of the first lap I took a gel which was definitely necessary and decided to take one about half way through the second lap so I didn’t get that same “crap, I need a gel” feeling. It was also great having other FeXY’s out of the course and spectating and cheering as we came through for each lap. Overall I was pleased with the bike.

T2: (1:02 / 17 of 70) The usual; ditch the bike and helmet, grad race number and shoes and get the hell out of there. Which would have been great had I left it at that. However, I decided to eat a few shot blocks. Note to self – never again.


Run: (43:09 / 14 of 70) Trying to chew and swallow the shot blocks at the beginning of the run didn’t go well. I had a difficult time trying to chew and it was like I never fully swallowed the blocks. I tried to control my breathing and get my HR down a little at the beginning but was difficult to do so. After a few minutes I was finally able to settle into the pace I wanted. It was pretty hot out at this point and I wanted to drink some water but the shot blocks still weren’t sitting right and made me not want to drink anything. At the half way point I wanted to push the pace a little bit but my stomach just wouldn’t let me so I had to stay where I was and ride that to the end of the race. I’m not upset about the run at all considering it’s my fastest 10K in a race, but I think I could have gone a little faster had I not eaten the blocks.


What Was Good: Everything about the race was good. Getting a good nights sleep, not having to drive far the morning of, having an entire team of people to hang out with, and putting up my fastest times across the board.

What Was Bad: There really wasn’t anything bad. I know now that in a short race like that I’m not going to eat anything before the run.

3 Months .... Almost Halfway Home

So March has come and gone ... seemingly as fast as I've typed this first sentence. As expected, it was a hell of a month too. It started off with regular weeks (about the same number of hours as Jan and Feb) and I got to run the 2 races which i've already written about. Then the real fun began and I was introduced to my first "building phase." Pretty self-explanatory stuff, we added more volume and more hours; added in longer rides, a couple extra runs and swims and next thing you know, I'm entering very unfamiliar territory. The two build weeks went really well. I was tired (as to be expected) but I made it through all my workouts and hit some new milestones. Besides the marathon and half mary that I raced, the rest of my weekend long runs were all 13.5 miles or longer. For some reason I found it cool that I ran a half mary every weekend in March.

The coolest part was the Saturday team rides that started up. I still don't know how I'm going to get an aerial photo of this, but riding 2x2 in a row with 20 or so riders all in FeXY gear is an awesome sight. On back to back weekends I hit my "longest" rides of 75 and then 96 miles. The latter came with a nice little climb up Mt. Weather and a total of 4,000 ft of climbing. This ride really wore me down and I need to take in more nutrition on these rides. Overall these rides were great and a huge learning experience. Since they are supposed to be done at an easy level of effort there is lots of time to carry on conversation and I've picked up so much useful info along the way.

This month wasn't all fun and games though. These two build weeks really did a number on me. I've never put my body through that kind of effort and really felt terrible for the next few days. This wasn't just feeling bad as in sore muscles, but mentally. I don't know how to explain other than I was in a funk. Luckily enough it only lasted a few days before I snapped out of it and finally had my first recovery week.

Overall great month ......

Finally, no its not actually the half way point to IMLP but it is half way to the FeXY Lake Placid Training Camp which will be my highest volume and most intense week(end) of training. After that I'll have a few more solid weeks but overall will start coming down for final approach to race day.

Next month I finally get to start racing and put all of this training to use.

"I AM AN ATHLETE because I value and respect my body. It will whisper to me when I've done too much. And if I choose to listen to that whisper, my body won't have to scream in pain later on."