Hill training

Living in Houston, aka “The Flatlands”, really puts me at a disadvantage at most races because of the hills, or lack thereof.  I never thought about it much until my first race.  I thought I was going to die on the hills.  I think at one point I had to get into my lowest gear, and even at that I wasn’t sure I was going to make it up the hill without having to dismount first.

I’ve been determined not to let that happen again, so I changed my bike route to take in the only hills around.  That has served me well for the races so far this year, but only because the hills in those races were pretty minor.  I hope it will be enough for my next two races, but am concerned about the final triathlon of the season in Austin.

It’s time for plan B'!  A few weekends ago I traveled to Austin to ride (and run) in the hills.  I rode a bit easier not knowing what to expect.  Yes it was difficult, but it didn’t kill me.  In fact after the bike ride I felt like I could run much further than I needed to.  I think I was fooled because most of that run was in the shade and pretty flat.  I also ended up riding much slower than I would have back home on my familiar hills.  The run was difficult, but not something I couldn’t handle.  I remember thinking while going up hill:  “Holy cow, I’m doing this!”  That said, both my run and bike times were slower than normal, but these were different hills.

This weekend I’m off to Kerrville to stay with my parents and try out some of their hills.  Dear old Dad has set me up a course for a long bike ride and run.  Let’s hope he hasn’t overestimated my abilities and scheduled a couple of killers.

These are the only out of town hill training sessions I will get before California in 2 weeks, but I plan to get in several more before Austin.  I also want to do a couple of training rides/runs on the course I will tackle in October.

This past weekend I changed my route up to try out some new roads.  I didn’t expect much difference, but either I was sandbagging it or by not being familiar with the road I didn’t ride as fast.  Now I understand why Lance rides the TDF rides so many times before the actual event!

I love Houston, and have lived here most of my life, but I sure wish it wasn’t so flat!

Swimming, part 2

The swim training for a triathlon is BORING!  When I run or ride my bike I can look around at the scenery (rarely), get a drink or food, stretch, and even daydream.  When I swim I get none of that.  I stare at the black line, turn, and repeat, many many times over.  The big difference between swimming and the other two events is that I have to count to keep track of my workout.  If I daydream I forget where I am, and then get frustrated because I feel like I’m cheating my workout.

So I count.  I count laps within my intervals, and the intervals.  “Is this the second lap on my third interval or my third lap on my second interval.

In addition to counting, I must focus on the actual swim itself.  How fast am I supposed to be swimming?  Is this a drill lap, speed, or focus on distance?

Finally I have to think about breathing.  You might think this is a silly requirement, but I’m not comfortable enough that if I were to stop thinking about breathing I might miss my breath stroke.  Perhaps some work on breathing other than every three strokes would be helpful.

With my workouts now lasting over an hour, during which time I am constantly counting, I get absolutely bored.  Every now and then I think briefly about how sore or tired my shoulders are, but those thoughts are very brief (I don’t want to lose count).

I wish I lived near a lake where I could train some in the open water.  At least then I would have time to think about whatever I wanted!

From not drowning to swimming

I still remember the first day I jumped in the pool to practice my swim for the first race.  My pool has a rope tether you attach to your waist so you can swim forever without having to do laps.  I lasted only a couple of minutes and was out of breath and had to stop.  Within a couple of days I stretched that to 5 minutes and then to 20.  I figured I was home free!

I went to a lake to try out my new wetsuit and try to swim 1500 meters.  The manager told me what constituted 400 meters in the water, but I didn’t really understand her.  I swam one loop and was sucking wind.  Even in the wetsuit I was having a hard time.  I think I did 2 more laps before calling it quits.  Finishing in less than 30 minutes (stopping at least once a lap to breath) I knew I could do the swim.

Everything was different at the race.  First and foremost the distances look daunting.  If you go to a track and look at it from a swim perspective it doesn’t look that bad.  But if you imagine a loop four times as big it does.  I was pretty freaked out, and my heart was pounding before the swim.  It took me a long time and I had to stop at least once to regain composure.  Note to self, that was not 400 meters at the first lake!

Now fast forward 9 months and things are very different.  I swim for an hour or more twice a week.  I can still get my heart rate and breathing up pretty easily, but by the end of the swim it is my arms and shoulders that are tired.

I try not to think about how long a swim looks come race day as I know it is intimidating.  It’s pretty simple really:  put your face in the water, start swimming, and stop at the end of the loop.  I focus on keeping my breathing under control, and not burning out my arms too quickly.  I figure I could go about an hour like that, although it does get kind of boring!

My swimming took a turn at the last race.  With the extra experience I was able to think a little bit more about what was going on around me.  I actually drafted off of a couple of people.  Once, when I was getting kicked too much, I moved to his 8 o’clock, which is the ideal draft position.  People talk about drafting on the swim, now I can do it too!

I’m pretty confident in the water, at least with a wetsuit on.  At least one of my next two races will be too warm for a wetsuit.  I look forward to that challenge because now I know I can swim!

Running scared

First let me clearly state that I am not afraid of running.  I enjoy running.  Well, maybe not long runs in the brutal heat, but I do enjoy running in general.  It flushes my system, and allows me to think clearly.  It’s amazing how many problems I’ve solved on a run.  Mostly though, it just feels good.

No, what I refer to in today’s entry is a general fear of the half ironman.  In the wake of my failed attempt at that distance in Galveston I have trained even harder.  I’ve been healthy which really helps.  I’m also already ramped up in my distances.  Before Galveston I just barely got to this level a week or two before the race.

Then what exactly is the problem?  The problem is that running off of long bike rides really hasn’t gotten any easier.  To be honest I should say that I’m riding much harder than 2 months ago.  Even still, I expect myself to be able to do my training bricks without this much pain.  A 65 mile brick shouldn’t leave me feeling so tired.

I just re-read those last couple of lines.  My son would tell me I’m being ridiculous, “Did you read what you just wrote?”  Maybe those aren’t realistic expectations.  I should feel tired after a hard workout, otherwise I didn’t work hard enough.

What has me scared is how tired I am, and how much further I will have to go on race day.  If I am that tired after only a couple of miles, how can I expect to run 13.1?  Heck, thinking back to my last race, I was very tired on that run and it was an Olympic distance, half of what I have coming next month.

In conjunction with Coach Kelly and Ironman Betsy, I’ve formulated a plan.  They have repeatedly assured me that I am physically fit enough for this race.  They also say that the conditions will be the same for everyone, though I’m not sure how that helps me.

My plan is simple. 

1. Do the training miles.  I’ve got to do whatever coach has scheduled for me; rain or shine, hot or cold.  It doesn’t matter so much how fast I am at the end as long as I finish.
2. Train in the heat.  I’ve been trying to get my harder workouts done earlier in the mornings to miss the worst heat of the day, but no more.  When I race in California, I will probably be starting the run between 11 and 12.
3. Drink more water on the run to get used to the sloshing feeling.
4. Experiment with some sort of salt tablets.  As much as I sweat, I’ve got to get some salt back in me.
5. Have water available to pour over my head on the training runs.

Finally, I’ve got to remember that what I’m trying to do isn’t easy.  That’s why they call the finishers Ironmen!

Too much time on my hands

Sixty miles alone on a bike gives one lots of time to think.  My runs provide a similar opportunity but to a lesser extent, and the bricks, well they give me LOTS of time!  The question is what do I think about?

Rarely do I think about or look at the scenery.  I recently drove one of my run routes and was amazed at the houses.  I could identify every rise, turn and crack in the road, but never really saw the houses.

I try not to think too much about how I feel at the moment.  I’m afraid I will realize how tired I am.  I’ve also gotten away from thinking about how far I’ve gone relative to the total planned distance.  I think that could have contributed to my undoing in Galveston.  Now I only think about what I can see.

If I don’t think about the obvious, what does that leave?  Honestly, I think about my blog.  Specifically, I think about new topics to write about, or work out the details on my next entry.

This past weekend was no exception.  With 5-6 hours of training time I worked on my next entry or two.  Without giving away too many details, one is my first entry on swimming, and another on the difficulty of endurance training.

Stick around, you won’t want to miss this!

My Dad is “Old and Fat”

It’s been a number of years since I overheard my son whisper that to his friend.  Looking back I don’t know that I would agree with him, but his words stung none the less.  They stung enough that I remember them to this day.

I took pause to think about his words several times this past week, the first time as I was shopping for some new shorts.  It seems that with all of my race training my waist has shrunk a bit.  I was pretty excited to pick up the size I wore 10 years ago.  On a whim I picked up the next smaller size and carried them both to the dressing room.

I tried the bigger size first, it’s best to get the bad news over with early.  They fit, and with some room to spare!  I eyed the smaller pair, and with a bit of trepidation tried them on for size.  They not only fit, but they fit well.  I’ve lost over 2 inches in my waist in the last year!  And the best part of all, I now wear the same size pants as my 17 year old son!

This morning I jumped on the scale.  We recently bought one of those new fangled scales that measures all kinds of things besides your weight.  My biometric age came in at 12!

These days my son doesn’t tell his friends his Dad is “Old and Fat”, at least not where I can hear him.  What he does do is send me a message before a race wishing me luck, and asks me afterwards how it went.  He has also asked me several times about the various distances of a half Ironman, presumably to tell his friends what his Dad is up to.  Personally, I like what I see!

CapTexTri - smoked it!

Just 24 hours ago I was standing on the banks of Town Lake in Austin, nervously wating for the start of the race. Several hours later I was as high as a kite, and the euphoria got better as the day went on. Once again I’d made a few mistakes, but I still had a super race. This was the result I’d hoped for after 9 months of training. Here is a brief recap:

There was a sign near the start warning of increased bacteria in the water due to recent rains. It ended with “swim at your own risk”. I could have done without seeing that sign! At 68 the water was cold, even with my wetsuit. Another deep water start meant we had to tread water for 5 minutes before the race started. I think that was the worst part of the swim, because once I got going I didn’t notice the cold too much until the end when my lips weren’t working as well. The water was pretty clear, but had junk floating in it. Several times I got seaweed caught in my goggles. Note #1: This lake has several areas with large submerged boulders. When I came across the first set I thought I’d drifted too close to shore. The second time I knew better, and then proceeded to run right into a swimmer standing on the rocks to adjust his goggles. A quick appology and big gulp of water and I was back on my way. I felt like I was passing more people than were passing me, so I was satisfied with my progress. As I stumbled out of the water, climbing up the ramp I was unable to unzip my wetsuit. It took me a minute to realize it was already unzipped. Just how long it was like that I don’t know, but if I was swimming like that I’m sure it slowed me down a bit.

Glancing at my watch I was way behind schedule, and knew then that my target time was shot. That was a good thing, as it helped me put time and the swim out of my mind and focus on the task at hand. I tried to be quick in the transition, but my feet were muddy and I knew I wouldn’t be comfortable on the run with all that junk in my socks. I don’t know why, but the bike mount was a long way from the racks, and running with cleats on isn’t all that fun.

Finally, I was on the bike. It was four loops around the city. With the elite racers somewhere ahead of my I knew I would get passed a bunch in the beginning, and I did. You can tell those guys because they are just so much faster than the rest of us mortals. Instead of getting down on myself I just put my head down and rode hard. There were a couple of small hills, but nothing like the rollers I’ve been training on. Each time I would stand up and pass a couple of people struggling to get up the hill. By the third lap I was passing a LOT of people. Passing is a kind word, I flew by them like the elite riders had flown by me. I didn’t think about this at the time, but I’m pretty sure I had more bike left in me. I don’t think I could have ridden double the distance at that pace, but I bet I could have done another loop without much decline in my pace.

Getting off the bike I was again excited about my potential time. I’d done much better than I’d dreamed, and more than made up for my slow swim. A sub 3 hour race was once again within sight, all I needed was a 1 hour 10K. I laugh as I write that, I should be able to do that without breaking a sweat! Not so in a triathlon. My legs weren’t all that tired, but I was. Throw in that it was hot and not a lot of shade and that makes for a long run. There were a bunch of water stops, so I dumped cold water over my head each time. I also managed to drink double my normal amount of GU/water mix. Still, there was one section I found particularly brutal: a long trek, in full sun, and a hill around the corner. It almost stopped me the second time around, but I continued to the aid station up the hill where the douse of water gave me renewed energy. The other memory I have is of seeing my wife as I finished the first of two loops. At the last second I decided to run over for a hug and kiss. She might not have appreciated the sweaty hug, but I did, and it gave me something to think about. She told me everyone thought it was so sweet, but it was an entirely selfish gesture, stealing energy from a spectator! I remember later looking at my watch and seeing that I had 15 minutes to make it to the finish to break 3 hours. I thought that if there was less than 2 miles left I had a shot (that’s right, there were no mile markers on the course!) Somehow I’d decided that I could run two 8 min/miles to finish the race, clearly the thoughts of a delirious person! I passed a tall guy with about 400 meters to go. I don’t think he liked it, so he passed me back with about 100 meters left. I’ve always thought my reaction was tacky, but with the finish line in sight I decided to pass him back. I don’t think he heard me because he had no reaction as I passed him two steps from the finish.

I ended up finishing the race in the top 1/3, beating my target time and setting a new personal record by 20 minutes! This was a far cry from last year where I finished next to last and then almost collapsed at the end. At the end I knew I could have run another 5K if I’d needed to, but 10K would have been pretty ugly. I really enjoyed this race and this distance. We will see how the rest of the year goes, but next year I might cut back to focus on the Olympic distance. Who knows, I might someday get on the podium!