tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66994123952965868722024-03-13T14:09:05.331-05:00Wild Bill's RodeoBill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-22824956571839907272022-12-11T14:43:00.005-06:002022-12-11T14:51:33.601-06:00Clash Daytona- A new PR<p>It's been a week now since I finished the Clash Daytona half iron triathlon down in Florida, and in the last 2-3 days I've finally started walking normally again. But the extreme soreness and hobbling around for days afterwards was worth it to do something I wasn't sure I'd be able to do again after such a long break from higher level training and racing- setting a new personal best time in a triathlon. 4 hours and 19 minutes for the 70.3 distance.</p><p>This race wasn't an Ironman branded race, but it was every bit as well organized and produced. There were even fireworks just before the start, that's a new one for me! And for the entire 56 mile bike course we had a lane to ourselves, totally coned off and separate from car traffic. That doesn't always happen in an Ironman 70.3 race. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhija30dcl-fBakBbpGKU5oifwL38fnZckjqEU1N1s90ZrdyEoZn2HgxWgyK5nLlTWQDCS44fWzS7ApKMzEmCcTM_E3Yt4_N9qtAZ5ED0sNQOSaRYoioFOZQeUoFJeIKQQot-FkFkUhVep9eQ7TrS-FZohQ716Ik9U6LksNrAdkm9YI7GQUKeF2RSDP/s1000/clash1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhija30dcl-fBakBbpGKU5oifwL38fnZckjqEU1N1s90ZrdyEoZn2HgxWgyK5nLlTWQDCS44fWzS7ApKMzEmCcTM_E3Yt4_N9qtAZ5ED0sNQOSaRYoioFOZQeUoFJeIKQQot-FkFkUhVep9eQ7TrS-FZohQ716Ik9U6LksNrAdkm9YI7GQUKeF2RSDP/s320/clash1.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p>The course was centered around the Daytona 500 race track- I've never been to a Nascar stadium, car racing just isn't my thing, but I must admit this was pretty cool. I had no idea how big those tracks are- one lap of the track was ~2.5 miles around, and the 1.2 mile swim portion of the race was held in a rectangular manmade lake entirely contained within the infield of the track. Logistically, everything was really close together which was nice. I stayed at a hotel across the street, so it was an easy 5 minute drive to park, and then the parking lot was basically a few minutes walk from the swim, transition area, expo, registration, and finish line. For the pro race on Friday they did laps on the track for the whole bike and run portions of the race, so it's very spectator friendly and a very fast course. There are too many age groupers to bike on the track the whole time, so we did one lap and then left the track to do a double out and back on a nearby road. Aside from the u-turns which slow things down, our course was also very quick- it was almost totally flat and being Florida, the pavement was super smooth. For the run, we did a couple laps on the track, which they extended to get the full 13.1 distance by also looping us around the infield and under the grandstands, which was the only shaded portion of the run. This is definitely a race I will consider doing again in the future and would recommend to others.</p><p>As for my training leading into the race, it's been pretty good but not great. I took a few weeks off after the Chicago Tri in August to recover from the season, and have been back at it now for about 3 months leading into this race. My training this fall was not quite as good or consistent as it was through last winter, spring and summer due to work and other things, but it has still been pretty good overall and the main training goal for the fall was accomplished- improve my run. In my summer races this year, the run was the weak point every time. It's the one discipline that hasn't returned to the form I had in my late 20s. So, that's been my main focus of the past few months... even if the swim and bike training were to fall off a little bit, I was fine with that as long as the run was improving, which it did. By race day, I had shown recently in training that I can run an open half marathon now in around 1:22-1:23, which I wasn't anywhere close to this summer, or at any time in the past 6 years. But, what remained to be seen was how close to that I could run after a swim and 56 mile bike ride- triathlon running is not just about running fitness, but also about bike fitness and race execution- pacing, nutrition and hydration over a 4+ hour race.</p><p>My run started off great- the first three miles went by quickly and somewhat easily at a ~6:20/mile pace. Stride was feeling smooth and I had just moved into 3rd AG, 10th overall so motivation was high to continue at the pace, which I felt like I could, at least aerobically. But then a bit after mile 3 I started feeling a twitching in my quads which got more frequent over the next couple minutes. Knowing this is a pre-cramp warning sign, I decided to slow down my pace so that I could at least continue running, rather than be forced to walk most of the last 10 miles. Ultimately, I never fully cramped but my legs were tightening up and getting heavier through the middle of the run. When I was running, it was at ~7:15/mi through the middle miles, plus there were some walk breaks through aid stations during that time, and then I brought it down to ~7:00/mi for the last couple miles. I was passed by 4 athletes during that time and got bumped off the age group podium, and finished with a run split of 1:33. While this split didn't quite reflect the running gains I've made this fall, it was a big improvement from the 1:42 I ran in a half iron in 2019, and because the swim (27, 1:15/100yd) and bike (2:14, 25.0 mph) were as good as they were, I was still able to set an overall PR of 4:19, down from my previous best of 4:21. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLn3kdYYNHSFLtY3Olk7OGI3i83jwWBpEPMNGLgX4e-_fhFa2V9NLjni4DiAQePhyJVj6Fgvc4WGKLxf-0qLTru6u446ZPIgDpuhGiBHjh4ZVquvwxxSy7VrwCTsZgRoNGPgINaTAhLP_f0j9daEXgvOmWujyDtV9DDu04G12NbQC1BTutbCxcfhwQ/s750/clash2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="750" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLn3kdYYNHSFLtY3Olk7OGI3i83jwWBpEPMNGLgX4e-_fhFa2V9NLjni4DiAQePhyJVj6Fgvc4WGKLxf-0qLTru6u446ZPIgDpuhGiBHjh4ZVquvwxxSy7VrwCTsZgRoNGPgINaTAhLP_f0j9daEXgvOmWujyDtV9DDu04G12NbQC1BTutbCxcfhwQ/s320/clash2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>So, despite a rough middle few miles of the run, I came away from this race very pleased with how it went and how I've been able to get my fitness back in the past year. And that didn't come easy... I've had to be very disciplined, consistent, and time-efficient (because coaching and my athletes come first before my own training), not to mention willing to push myself to the limit many times over in workouts, while at the same time being smart about recovering adequately and not over-working myself. (easy=easy, hard=hard) But in the end, about a year and a quarter out from being in the worst shape of my life, I was able to put together the best long course race I've ever done, with clear potential for improvement. Still a ways to go to match my best short course performance (20/59/35), which in my 20s I was always more competitive at than long course, and who knows if I'll ever get back there, but Daytona showed me that moving forward into the future, if I continue training consistently and am smart about it, there's still a lot of potential for fast racing and PRs. But more importantly than that, I'm feeling healthier again in the past year, I'm fitter and stronger that I've been in awhile, and I'm having fun doing it. It was also nice to hear from many of my athletes and other friends before and after the race that were following along- that's a good motivation to keep pushing throughout the race, and I hope that my efforts can help inspire others to work hard and accomplish their goals!</p><p>In the past month I've been asked by many "what's next?" I wanted to wait until after this race to think much about that. The one thing that I knew beforehand was that I planned to continue training and build on the progress I made this year- I don't want to lose all my fitness again by taking another extended break. So I'll take a couple easy weeks and then start working again. But now that this race is in the books, next season's plans are starting to come together. Because Nationals is coming back to Milwaukee, I'm going to plan for that as my A race for the summer. I'd also like to race another half iron or two, and attempt to lower my new PR even more. But if I try to race both short and long course next summer at a high level, one or both will end up compromised, since the training should be different for the two. So what I'm planning to do at this point is to focus the spring and summer on short course training and racing. Then after Nationals, I'll shift my training to a long course focus and hit one or two 70.3s in the fall. Maybe I'll be back to Daytona, but there are also a few other good options I could do. So in terms of specific races, things are still pretty up in the air other than Nationals, but the big picture season structure seems to be coming together. So if you're following my Strava, you'll probably see workouts pick back up in a few weeks. Otherwise, I'll probably check back here with a training update sometime in the spring. Thanks for reading, and happy training!</p><p><br /></p>Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-14961808490874802762022-08-14T18:44:00.003-05:002022-08-15T09:27:21.315-05:00One Year Back In It- Age Group Nationals<p>Well, it's now been about one full year since I abruptly ended my 2 year long off-season and tried to get fit again with a goal of training for Age Group Nationals. This past weekend was the race, so I thought this would be a good time to check in with an update.</p><p>As my last post mentioned, starting back up again after so much time off and fitness lost was a bumpy ride and a humbling experience at first to say the least. But throughout this past year my training has been more consistent than it's ever been over the course of a year. I'm happy to report that even since my last post in the spring, that trajectory has mostly continued. And along with the long term consistency in training has come a gradual, steady improvement in training paces, fitness markers, test sets and race results.</p><p>My first triathlon since Ironman 2019 was the Pigman olympic distance race in Cedar Rapids in early June of this year (2022). I was trying to think back to when my last true olympic distance race was where I raced hard, and couldn't exactly remember. 2019 was all long course, so I probably did one in 2018 but I was not very fit that year so it's not the same kind of effort... I suppose the last time I really raced an olympic distance triathlon when I was fit enough to push hard- close to threshold the whole way- must've been 2016. So while training had gone well this year, Pigman was a shock to the system... I hadn't done something like that- staying at ~85-95% threshold for around 2 hours- in over 5 years. But although it felt really hard, it was a good race and I felt strong! 1st 35-39 AG and 5th overall. My swim was strong, I stayed close to the front group until I lost contact when we rejoined with the sprint athletes toward the end and it got crowded. On the bike something got stuck to my tire and kept hitting my bike frame every revolution so that was more annoying than anything, maybe a few watts of drag, but the bike was good and I enjoyed the course. Mid 23mph average, was expecting ~24 but that's ok. On the run I was really feeling the length of the race and didn't perform quite as well as I had hoped or thought I would, but it wasn't bad and was good enough to stay in the top 5 overall.</p><p>My second race was an olympic distance called the Manitou tri in the Twin Cities area. This was a small, local, non sanctioned race that I probably wouldn't have known about except that my brother lives in the area so I was looking for what races were around there so I could visit for the weekend, too. The race started and I was out in front in the swim right away and feeling strong. It was a really windy day though and the buoys weren't staying in place. Buoy drift combined with the sun in my face combined with overconfidence resulted in me swimming toward the wrong buoy, thinking it was the turn buoy. When I got there, I saw the actual turn buoy to my left, ~50-100m away. So I had to detour over there, go around the buoy, and then swim back to where I had just been, which in all added 100-200m to my swim. During that time I was passed but I re-caught him soon after. On the way back in there was more difficulty with figuring out where to go and I came out of the water in 2nd, pretty annoyed with myself for the rookie mistakes. But practicing transitions pays off, as I passed the race leader in T1 and started the bike in first. On the bike I was fighting 20mph winds the whole way while riding a disc wheel and 60mm front. Terrain was mostly open field and sometimes we were riding alongside lakes. So in other words, there was not much to block the wind and I was getting hammered trying to stay in the aerobars. My upper body has never been so tense on the bike in a race. There were a few times I had to back off the gas just so that I wouldn't get blown off the road. I suppose I could've just gotten out of the aero position at times to have more stability like I do on windy training days, but that would've been slower, so not going to happen unless I really felt like I would crash otherwise. Despite the hard conditions I finished the bike with a 24.0mph average, which I was very happy about. On the run, I went out strong and pushed it to the turnaround and a little bit afterward. On the way back I saw that I had a ~10 minute lead on 2nd place, so realizing that he would need to run under 4 minute miles the rest of the way to catch me, I decided to jog in the last 2.5 miles back to the finish. After this race, confidence was high going into July and my final training push toward Nationals.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5XH705h7_Apu6rQZoZk7rlFop_9rkRVwULtyIFofegLWF4rmH29-q6dTq4p2o59EUFiJW9_n6iunrbAwK1rDuw9xKZmNoDTNHs4WqNVhdtfJiN26I58nugT4YSOJQn5LmWJdqJLT8KGKKT6lAyd48RFJRFLnLydWhcAmJJt5M29an-fafZU-kjq0P/s1000/uncle.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5XH705h7_Apu6rQZoZk7rlFop_9rkRVwULtyIFofegLWF4rmH29-q6dTq4p2o59EUFiJW9_n6iunrbAwK1rDuw9xKZmNoDTNHs4WqNVhdtfJiN26I58nugT4YSOJQn5LmWJdqJLT8KGKKT6lAyd48RFJRFLnLydWhcAmJJt5M29an-fafZU-kjq0P/s320/uncle.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">My brother and his family came out to watch the race, which added some extra fun to the weekend :)</div><p><br /></p><p>Early in July I had my first and only real training hiccup of the season. Long story short, I strained my calf muscle during/after a track workout. Over the past year I had gradually built my running mileage up, and for the prior two months I had been sustaining it at ~20-25 miles per week on non-recovery weeks. But, after this, July's weekly running mileage had to stay around 3-4 (after one week of zero running) in order to allow the calf to heal up to be ready for Nationals. Definitely a bummer, but the important thing with stuff like this is that you don't panic, don't get down on yourself, and make the necessary adjustments to make the best of a less than ideal situation. Dwelling on the negative will do nothing good for you, it'll just make things worse, you can't change what happened, so focus on what you can do from here and move forward. For me, besides dropping the running mileage out of necessity, this also meant a lot of muscle work such as massage, dry needling and A.R.T (active release technique). While the running mileage was down I increased my biking mileage to keep my overall workload similar. After a few weeks of all this, it was go time for Nationals and it felt as if my leg would probably hold up for the race. As long as it did and I didn't end up walking on the run, I was confident that I could perform well and push myself from start to finish. So that was the goal going into the race. Before the injury I was aiming for a top-10 age group finish and thought it would be doable if nothing went wrong and I didn't make any mistakes. Now I was a little less confident but still considered that it could be possible on a good day. It was only a 5km run after all, as I was going to be doing the sprint distance.</p><p>Race weekend came and I did some spectating in the morning of the olympic distance race, as a number of my SBR athletes and other friends were competing. My athletes did great, and this was an exciting boost going into my race the next day. Though, there was a lot of uncertainty about the weather forecast. It looked like Milwaukee was going to get hit by storms overnight and for much of the next day. I went to sleep the night before not knowing if we were going to have a race at all the next day, but ready to make do with whatever the day brought. I woke up at 5am and it was raining but not bad. USAT had just announced that the sprint triathlon would be changed to a "Super Sprint" meaning the already short distances were being cut in about half. This was done so that we would be done before the big storms rolled in, as it looked like we were going to get a window of decent weather. The race would be a 385m swim, 6.7 or 6.8 mile bike (depending on which gps mapping app you ask, USAT's app was way off), and a 2.5km run. I've never raced a triathlon this short, though my collegiate athletes have done even shorter ones as part of the mixed team relay at collegiate Nationals. So theoretically I had a good idea of what I needed to do and how to adjust, but I haven't experienced it before myself as an athlete. I'm a bit better suited to the full sprint or olympic distance, the super sprint is a little short for me, but I was still excited to go for it and see what I could do. Ultimately, I ended up having a really good race! 34 minutes of red-lining and it was all over.</p><p>The swim went really well and I couldn't believe how quickly it went by. It felt like we had just started and I was already getting out of the water. I was 2nd out of the water in my age group which is way above anything I've ever been able to do at Nationals. I was quickly introduced to the intensity of the super sprint though, and as I was trying to get my heart rate settled and body ready to bike as I went methodically through the transition area, many of my competitors blew by me in what looked like a full sprint. That was a wake up call, there was going to be no letting up on the gas the rest of the way, no reprieves in the effort except for the one brief downhill after the turnaround on the bike. The bike course was flat, fast, smooth roads and really fun. Wish I could've been on it longer. I loved the completely closed course with two lanes in each direction. It was under 7 miles so of course it was going to be quick, but I've never ridden that fast before. My average speed was right about 26.0mph, a full 1mph faster than I've ever done for an average speed in a triathlon. By the turnaround on the bike I had moved back into 2nd 35-39, but on the way back is when I realized that I had gone out harder than I was able to sustain. I still kept a good pace on the way back, but was passed by 3 riders I had gone by earlier, and came into transition in 5th. In T2 another two sprinted by me, and I started the run in 7th, though only about a minute behind 2nd (to give you an idea of how tight and competitive this race was) and I had a few more hot on my heels. It was going to be a painful 2.5km run, but I was ready to give it what I had and push through to the end. The run started off really well and for the first half I was keeping a strong, sub-6 minute mile pace. Most importantly, my calf felt great, I didn't notice it at all so very early into the run I was confident that it wasn't going to be a problem. After the turnaround I did start having some side stitch and lower back tightness, and the effort was getting to me... my heart rate and breathing couldn't have been higher, so my second half run pace dropped off a bit. The guys in front of me were all running too fast to catch, but at the turnaround I saw a number of guys behind me driving hard and that kept me motived to keep pushing through the discomfort to try to hold them off. In the end, one of them caught me but I was able to hang on to 8th place 35-39! This was my first top-10 finish at Nationals, which was an exciting way to end the weekend at the awards ceremony.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ofyLBWtXUh40qJi07lZb0Ot8Pu9j8x1wmHv_9EjR4eaoYE0VEXHU0PW8jYPn0kdtQJwBwLlBLrIfMkygy6_DHjmoStsX4h-NifZ9WXuVu86jW8pdgbRqpcoQPhXOiReZGnGcjBD8emTc81DWfgoE_iNDUl-LSHWeKhqVXMlrgU5tj5ODnYsuIdBJ/s750/nat.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="750" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ofyLBWtXUh40qJi07lZb0Ot8Pu9j8x1wmHv_9EjR4eaoYE0VEXHU0PW8jYPn0kdtQJwBwLlBLrIfMkygy6_DHjmoStsX4h-NifZ9WXuVu86jW8pdgbRqpcoQPhXOiReZGnGcjBD8emTc81DWfgoE_iNDUl-LSHWeKhqVXMlrgU5tj5ODnYsuIdBJ/s320/nat.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>It's been a nice few days of recovering since the race. I have one more race this summer, the Chicago Triathlon, so the next two weeks are going to be back to the grindstone, and then I'll be able to relax for a few weeks and recover from the season. But I don't intend to take another massive break or lose the fitness I've gained over the past year. I don't yet know exactly what next season will look like, but my intention is to build on the gains I've made this past year. I'm very happy with the progress I've made and would rather not lose it again... This spring and summer in the pool I've set lifetime personal best times in the 500, 1500, 1.2 and 2.4 distances. My open water swimming is now at or better than it's ever been (when I don't go the wrong way, ha), and same with cycling. This summer I put down the best FTP test of my life at 310w (4.5w/kg). I'm still working on improving my aero position so there's speed to be gained there as well. Running is still ~20-30 seconds/mile off my all time bests from ~8-10 years ago, but it has progressed a lot over the past year and is stronger than it's been in a long time. So all in all, a year out from being in the worst shape of my adult life, I'd say I'm very pleased with the progress I've made. For those newer to the sport who are reading this- the only reason I was able to go from (relatively) out of shape to top 10 Nationals AG in one year is because I've been at this level before, which took me over a decade of work to get to the first time around. So I don't want anyone to read this and think "what am I doing wrong? I'm not improving that quickly" If you're seeing improvement over time (or if you're an older athlete, maintenance over time is relative improvement vs your age group) then that's great! You're doing something right. You can't jump from point A to Z without going to B, then C, then D, etc. Fitness improvement takes time and patience and often from one day or week to the next you may not notice much change, but good, smart training done consistently over time will almost always yield good results provided you're giving your body what it needs to adapt (good nutrition, sleep, adequate recovery, not overly stressed, etc). And don't forget to have fun along the way and enjoy the process! Regardless of race results, I'm blessed to be able to do something I enjoy, can do alongside friends and keeps me healthy. </p><p>I guess that's it for now. Thanks for reading. Next update on here will likely be sometime this fall or winter. Good luck to everyone with their end of season races coming up!</p><p><br /></p>Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-69005818425139755732022-03-02T19:33:00.006-06:002022-03-04T07:21:49.578-06:00Hello again<p><span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">Well, it's been awhile. It looks like my last post on here was back in early 2015 as a 29 year old. Now I'm 36, so re-reading all of these posts a couple weeks ago was pretty entertaining to say the least. Sometimes I laughed, other times I cringed, and a few times times I felt pretty impressed with some of my younger self's insights into triathlon training and racing (my break away from and splitting up of the bike pack at the non-drafting Miami 70.3 was tactical genius, can't believe I actually thought of that and then pulled it off). </span></span></p><p><span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">I "found" this blog again when I was bored during a zone 2 trainer ride a couple weeks ago, and since I'm training again this year, and at the nudging of some of you, I'm resurrecting it. </span></span></p><p><span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">So it's been seven years... where to begin? I guess I'll start where I left off- my last post was made at the beginning of my second year as a pro card carrying triathlete. My first pro year had some ups and downs, but due to lack of consistency in my training, I didn't quite match the level of performance that I had achieved in 2013, the year I qualified for elite status. As my last post indicated, I was making improvements early on in 2015, and although my times weren't where I wanted them to be or where they had been, I was trending upward and improving, and mentally I was optimistic about where the season might go. The last sentence of my final post was:</span></span></p><p><span><i><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">"God willing, I should be able to stay on track in 2015 and we'll see where things go."</span></i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">Well, God may or may not have been willing, but I wasn't. Plans soon changed- 2015 and 2016 were big years outside of my athletic life. I had just bought a house, and a few months after writing my last post on here, I got engaged. I married Sharon in November 2015 and in February of 2016 I purchased the majority share of SBR Coaching (now SBR Endurance Performance Center) and became a small business owner. These were all great things that I was very happy about! The business purchase especially was an opportunity that had not been on my radar prior to that time. I had been coaching part-time for a number of years as some of my old posts chronicle, and was really enjoying it. I was also starting to see more of a future as a coach than as an athlete. I didn't want to give up training and racing as a triathlete, but I was seeing that if I was going to continue to improve as an elite triathlete and continue to move up in the ranks, it was going to take a commitment level that I was no longer sure I was willing to make. On one hand, I could totally dedicate myself as an athlete and maybe I would have the potential to eventually become a middle of the pack pro triathlete. Maybe. And honestly, that would be pretty awesome, but it would also come at a cost in terms of time, energy and giving up other things that were becoming more important to me than they had been through most of my 20s. About to turn 30, being newly engaged, and looking at a potential business purchase, I wasn't sure exactly what degree of commitment to triathlon training I was willing to continue to make. Long story short, I chose to prioritize family and my coaching career, and looking back on that decision now, I'm glad that's the decision I made. I'm also glad that I didn't quit training and racing, either (I thought about it a couple times). I had two more years left of elite eligibility before I had to either meet re-qualification or give up pro status. My approach to racing those two years was to train as best I could without sacrificing other important areas in my life and to have fun racing, even if the difference between a good day and bad day was either second to last or dead last pro finisher. I have to say it was fun to tread water next to Hunter Kemper and Greg Bennett before the gun went off to start the Chicago triathlon, even if I only stayed with them for the first 50 yards of the swim.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">As the last few months of my third year of elite eligibility in 2016 were coming around, I made one last training push to see if I could sneak in a re-qualification at the Austin 70.3 (I had to finish within 8% of the winning pro's time). A couple weeks before the race, fitness testing indicated that I was probably at my highest level in the previous three years, and second only to my last season as an age grouper when I had initially qualified. It was a long shot, but I was feeling a little bit optimistic with training having gone really well the prior couple months. But then a few days before I was scheduled to travel to Austin, I got sick. I've only been sick a total of 3 times in the past 10 years, so this was not great timing. Or maybe it was... I was in no shape to race so I stayed in Madison and followed the race online. Turns out the swim got cancelled because of heavy fog... no chance I would've re-qualified without the swim. Getting sick saved me significant money as I was able to get a portion of my travel expenses refunded. But not racing meant that as of the end of 2016 my elite status expired.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">A quick summary of the years between then and now:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">2017- The first year of my second round as an age group triathlete. I might have done one or two sprint races for fun, I can't remember. I didn't really train at all that year. I was much more focused on growing SBR and helping my athletes achieve their goals. In the coaching arena, this was a very successful year.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">2018- After taking pretty much a full year off of training, I thought it was time to make a return to some racing, but knowing full well it was going to be different than before. Fitness was at an all time low to start the season, especially running. I ran so infrequently that every time I did actually run a couple easy miles my legs would start itching after 10 minutes. As the 2018 season went on, I actually started feeling pretty good on the swim and bike. I really didn't have time to train well in all three disciplines, and I just didn't feel like running that year, so I put time into the swim and bike and just didn't run, and didn't care. I signed up for the Door County half iron that year because it's a fun race and I like the course (minus the bluff hill, but we can't always have everything we want in life). I think the run that day doubled my total running miles that entire season up to that point. My results reflected the relative effort I put into my training each of the disciplines. Splits were a 29:04 swim, 2:21:19 bike, and a 1:58:50 run. I came off the bike ~10th and finished 24th, which was honestly better than I thought I'd do, and my final time was about 30 minutes slower than I had raced this course years before. But aside from the last 5km when I was dying up on the bluff, I really enjoyed racing again. And I surprised myself with the level I was able to bring my swim and bike back to after taking a year off in 2017. I think I raced a few other times that year, but Door County sticks out as both the highlight and turning point, when my joy of racing started to re-emerge, and my belief that if I trained properly I still had the ability to race at the level I had in the past.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">2019- One of the best parts about getting involved at SBR is the community that's been built there. Yes they are my athletes but I consider many of them my friends as well. At the convincing of some of my athletes I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin, and training started that February. This would be the second Ironman of my life- my first one had been as a 20 year old college junior in 2006. That first Ironman I finished in 11:39. While Ironman was the big race looming over everything in 2019, I raced a full season that year and tried to (and I did) appreciate each one. Wisconsin 70.3, Door County half iron, the Loop Pursuit Triathlon, and then Ironman in September. Performance-wise, each race got better than the one before it. The season started like 2018- pretty strong swim and bike followed by a sub-par run. But with each race the run got better. My Door County overall time in 2019 was ~20 minutes better than I did it in 2018 (27/2:22/1:42), and I took my first race win in many years at the Loop Pursuit, finishing on SBR's front lawn in front of a "home crowd". Then came Ironman Wisconsin... I could write a whole post about this race alone, but long story short I had a fantastic day, likely my best long course race ever, and finished in 9:53. In one of my blog posts here from years ago I wrote about how when I PR I sometimes imagine what I would have the time to do while waiting for my former self to finish. At the time I joked that I was going to bring a book to my next Ironman... well with an almost 2 hour time drop between 2006 and 2019, that turned out to be a pretty accurate statement. I also loved doing the race in Madison and seeing family and friends throughout the entire day. Lastly I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout-out to my friend Garrett Nelson for training and racing with me throughout the whole 2019 season. Garrett is one of my new friends I've met through SBR and was a big part of my success that year as we did much of our training together, and he kept me motivated. (Garrett is a great athlete who has had strong results already and has quite a bit of potential in both long distance triathlon and ultra endurance running- I look forward to following his race at Kona this upcoming year) Honestly, the 2019 season was probably the most I'd ever enjoyed the sport as an athlete, both the training and racing. Not that I hadn't in prior years, I loved the training and racing, but with the SBR community and training partners that year, this was a year of training and racing that I won't ever forget.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">2020- Covid</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">2021- An intentional 6 month off-season following Ironman turned into almost two full years off due to covid related reasons. Races were returning in 2021 but I didn't do any of them. Literally my only exercise in the first half of 2021 was a 300yd lifeguard recertification test-out swim in February, and riding the warmup and cool down twice a week with my group cycling class at SBR in the summer. Aside from that zero swimming, biking or running was done up until July 2021 when I hopped in the pool a couple times. I had started doing some strength training twice a week back in the spring of 2021 because after over a year of not exercising I was starting to actually feel somewhat unhealthy for the first time in my life in day to day life. But other than that, nothing. I can't explain why, but in August 2021 a switch flipped inside of me. I decided I was going to do Age Group Nationals 2022 which is happening in Milwaukee, and with a year to prepare I started training again. If I thought my fitness was poor at the start of 2018 after taking a year off, this was a whole other level entirely. When I jumped in the pool the first time last July I swam 100 yards in 1:30 but needed 2 minutes of rest to repeat it. After 5x100, each one getting slower than the prior one, I had to get out. FTP on the bike had dropped 100 watts from 2019 Ironman, from just over 300 to just barely over 200. I had to walk multiple times on my first casual 3 mile run, which was done at a slower pace than I had averaged in the 2019 Ironman run. Re-starting training in August was rough, but gradually things started to feel better. Last September I got a Strava account and have been logging every workout there, so if you want to know how my training has gone since then, you can follow me on Strava. After a few re-starting related hiccups, training has been going extremely well- I've been steadily improving and the past 7 months have been the most consistent and well executed training months of my life. I had perhaps my best single week of training of my triathlon career this past January with the UW Tri team in Destin. I'm not at personal best levels yet with my workouts but to my surprise I'm actually starting to close in on some of them. Now that I am a more experienced business owner and coach I am better able to split my time between work and training, where as earlier as a coach I would not have been as good at time management between the two. So we'll see where this year goes. I want to enjoy the process, enjoy the training and racing, and do my best but at the end of the day I'm blessed to be able to do this. I think that's all for now- I'll update the pictures etc on here soon, and I'll probably check in again with another post, hopefully it won't take another 7 years before my next one.</span></p>Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-75843898203346566242015-02-25T18:40:00.001-06:002022-02-18T15:39:02.773-06:00Winter Wonderland, glass half fullThis past Sunday was the final day of the Winter Wonderland Triathlon, now in it's second year. This is an event that kept me very busy for the last couple months as I was race directing, coaching many participating athletes, and racing myself to see where my fitness and speed are going into the season. It's really a series of races, as it's impossible to hold a continuous triathlon in Wisconsin in February, but it's gotten pretty popular. It's a unique way to break up the winter training for many athletes.<div>
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Since you can't race bikes outside in February, we used computrainers for the bike portion.</div>
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Most of the participants are collegiate athletes from around the midwest who are preparing for Nationals in April, but it is also an age group race. From a race director standpoint the event went very well. The athletes seemed to have a good time and things ran smoothly. From a coaching perspective it went well too. Lots of my athletes competed between the UW Team and SBR. Many also raced last year and it was a great chance to see the work they've put in turn out a faster time this year. (One in particular cut an absurd amount of time, and I will talk more about him later in this post.) As an athlete, how I feel about it really depends on what context I put it in. If I look at my result compared to my triathlon career and my goals, it was a pretty lousy performance. However, it was better than I expected given the previous year. If I look at it compared to my 2014 season it was actually a pretty good race.</div>
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The last year just wasn't a good year for me as a triathlete... I don't regret it though, it was a good year otherwise and I did learn a lot through it. And some of my athletes had fantastic years, which was more of a focus in 2014. I just wasn't able to put in any significant time training. The only thing that went well, athletically, in 2014 was my strength training. It was a little embarrassing to admit when I was talking with someone about signing up for this race or that race, but there were stretches of weeks on end during last season where my combined weekly swim/bike/run training volume was only about 2 hours. Pretty pathetic for someone with an elite license. But that's life. And the elite license is good for three years, thankfully. Because I do need to step it up in 2015 if I'm going to retain that status.</div>
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Coming out of the weekend, I could easily be discouraged about my performance, but I'm looking at it as a "glass half full" type thing. The way the past year has gone I easily could've gone over an hour. (The winning time was 53 minutes for collegiate and 55 minutes for age group) but I finished in 58 minutes. Last August in Chicago, my swimming hit a career low point and I came out of the water almost 6 minutes behind the fastest athletes in a 1500m. This was half the distance and in a pool, but I cut the time gap per 750m from 3min to about 1.5min against that caliber swimmer. My bike ride on Sunday may have been 40 watts lower than I've ridden that course in the past but it was 20 watts higher than I could do it the last time I rode it in the fall. A couple months ago my legs would itch like crazy after a run because it had been so long since I'd done any running, and Sunday I ran a 17:30-45-ish 5k. It's unrealistic to expect to bounce back in no time so I'm happy to focus on the process of getting back into racing shape.</div>
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God willing, I should be able to stay on track in 2015 and we'll see where things go.</div>
Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-87976805359187364112014-11-19T13:21:00.000-06:002014-12-08T13:24:21.747-06:00Not just a blow dry<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Earlier this year at the ITU World Championships we saw both race winners reach the finish line first in what many would consider unusual ways. First, in the women's race, American Gwen Jorgensen came off the bike over a minute behind the lead pack of 18 athletes but nonetheless proceeded to run her way to first place. It also might not have been possible without help on the bike from teammate Sarah Haskins. Then in the men's race Alistair Brownlee, defending Olympic champion, broke away with two other riders toward the end of the bike leg and built a lead of over a minute to start the run that he held on to despite faster runs by his brother Jonathan and the two Spaniards, Gomez and Mola. Both of these results challenge the stereotype of draft legal racing, which says that in order to win you need to get in the lead pack out of the water, simply stay in it on the bike and then be the fastest runner in that lead pack. Lance Armstrong once called draft legal triathlon a "shampoo, blow dry and a 10k".... others have called them wet 10ks and claim that the bike leg is meaningless.</span><br />
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This is a topic that I've considered writing about for awhile, but now that ITU has announced that it will soon be converting the AGE-GROUP Sprint World Championships to the draft-legal format, it's an issue that suddenly affects a much larger portion of the people who might be reading my blog. The point of this post is to discuss draft legal triathlon and how it fits into the sport as a whole.</span></div>
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">To be clear, I'm not trying to make one type of racing out to be better or worse than another, or to argue that one type of racing is more of a "true" triathlon. Personally, I enjoy racing, coaching and following both formats. The point I want to make is that the different distances and formats are simply different and fans of triathlon should appreciate them for what they are rather than argue about which is better or more of a "true" triathlon.</span><br />
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The first issue I want to address is the idea of what constitutes a "true" triathlon. Many people who use this term watch an ITU race and don't like the fact that the outcome of the bike leg is not solely based on an individual's ability to produce power in a time trial. (which is very true). Because of this, and the fact that the swim becomes relatively more important in determining who an athlete starts the ride with, they decide that the three disciplines aren't equally weighted and conclude that non-drafting triathlons are the "true" triathlons. But here's the problem with that.... please show me a non-drafting triathlon where the three disciplines are equally weighted. I don't know of one.</span><br />
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Let's use the (non-drafting) 2013 Ironman 70.3 World Championship race as an example. We'll look at two big names in triathlon: Andy Potts and Sebastian Kienle. Looking at their split times, Andy swam 8.6% faster than Sebastian. Sebastian then proceeded to bike 3.7% faster than Andy and then run less than 1% faster than Andy. So if that's all I told you, who would you think won? If you said Andy, you'd be wrong. Sebastian Kienle was crowned World Champion and Andy Potts finished 4th; off the podium. Why? Because the swim only accounted for ~10% of the race by total time. Not exactly equally weighted. Does that mean that Andy is actually a better triathlete or that he somehow got cheated? Some might argue yes but I will point out that both athletes knowingly signed up to race a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run event. The approach in training and the approach on race day are going to be different for that race vs a 1.5k swim, 40k draft legal bike and 10k run. To succeed, you have to race these two events differently and you have to train for these events differently. Also some athletes are going to be naturally better at one or the other depending on their skill sets. Sebastian was a faster triathlete that day at the 70.3 distance and format, and Andy would very likely be a faster draft legal triathlete. (In fact he used to race that format very well)</span><br />
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The second issue I want to discuss is the importance of the bike leg in a draft legal triathlon. Is it important? How is it different? Sometimes, when watching an elite WTS event, the bike is neutralized by a large pack that forms soon after the swim which contains most of the field, resulting in everyone deciding not to try until the run. However this is actually becoming more rare due to the tactics of some of the riders (the Brownlees changed the game when they showed up and made everyone else work on the bike), and seems to only ever happen at the very highest levels of triathlon. That's because the athletes are all so good there's not much of a spread in the swim, even over 1500m, so it's harder to get separation. Personally, I'd love to see hillier, more technical courses for the pros but at the collegiate and junior elite level, that is never really an issue. In fact, the bike has been a very important factor in the outcome of the race at every collegiate and junior elite race that I've participated in or coached. Instead of the enormous, 30+ person packs that many think of when they imagine draft-legal triathlon, in reality, when you're not at the absolute highest level of the sport the packs are usually between a handful of riders to groups of 10-20 at most.</span></div>
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">What results is an exciting chase where the bike leg is very important in determining how an athlete does. It's just not the same as a solo time trial. Instead of individual riders making their way through the field and opening or closing gaps, you have motivated packs moving up and down through the field as a group, popping people off the back, swallowing up individual or small groups of riders and small group breakaways throughout the bike. Where threshold power is at a premium in non-drafting triathlon, the skill set of a successful draft legal triathlete involves bike handling and technical skills, tactical skills, teamwork and/or communication skills with the other riders in your group, VO2 and anaerobic power and the ability to recover quickly from hard efforts.</span></div>
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">At the Girl’s Junior Nationals race this year, the four top swimmers worked together to increase their lead from 15-30 seconds out of the water to 2 minutes ahead of the next pack (of 8) by the end of the bike. It took someone from the second pack running a sub-18 minute 5k in order to catch the slowest runner in the lead pack, and those 4 girls finished 1, 2, 3 and 5. The top 3 runners were untouchable to the rest of the field because of how they used the bike leg to their advantage.</span><br />
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In Richmond this year, one of my athletes, Sofi Nehring, came out of the water in a group of 6. Over the 20k ride, her well organized group spit a couple riders off the back, swallowed a couple more individual riders who were caught between packs, and on the final lap bridged up to combine with the group of 10 or so that started the ride ~45 seconds earlier. I use both of these examples to show how the bike can be a very important, even a race defining, part of the event. It's just not in the same way as a non-drafting event.</span></div>
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Of course, it isn't always that way. I used the example of Sofi's very organized group in Richmond, but she had a couple other races where the other girls in her group simply didn't want to work or weren't strong riders, which resulted in a frustrated ride where no time was made up or time was lost vs other groups. That's one of the variables with draft legal racing... who is on the start line, as well as how the athletes approach the race can drastically change how the race turns out. For some people, that's a terrible thing because they like to fully control their own destiny, but others like the unpredictability of sport. Of course, both formats have a degree of unpredictability... we don't race on paper by comparing our fitness markers... but that degree is much higher in draft legal racing.</span><br />
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Think about cycling for a minute... there are 3 formats: road racing, criterium and time trial. All are different, all require different skill sets, all are exciting in their own ways and some riders will naturally be better suited to one vs another. But it would be laughable to claim that one is real cycling and the others aren't. I think that as triathletes, we should look at our sport, with its variety of distances and formats, in the same way.</span><br />
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<span mce_style="background:white;color:black;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10pt" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">As draft legal racing becomes more popular, age groupers will probably have more opportunities to race if they desire. Hopefully this will help athletes decide if draft legal racing is for them. It's not going to be for everyone, but I also hope that more people will drop the negative attitude towards it and learn to appreciate it for what it is... a different, exciting format of triathlon that is not better or worse than any others.</span></div>
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Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-66250623071316626862014-07-29T17:15:00.001-05:002014-07-29T17:15:36.523-05:00Mid season/early season UpdateOn one hand, the season seems to be flying by. On the other hand it's just getting started. For most triathletes who have been racing since June or earlier it's the middle of the season and I'm starting to prepare many of my personal athletes for their "A" races and the end of the season. For me, I just had my first triathlon of the year a couple days ago. <div>
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It's been great to see my athletes in action so far this year. Lots of hard work has been paying off on their part. One athlete was selected to represent her home county of Brazil at the Pan American Junior championships and qualified for Junior Nationals. Another is currently ranked #1 in the state in his age group. Another just finished her first half Ironman triathlon, making huge progress from one year ago. Another just won her age group in a 5 mile open water swim! I could keep going, but long story short my athletes are a constant source of motivation and excitement for me and it's an honor to help them work toward their goals.</div>
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It was a proud coaching moment when Robbie won the overall at Rev3 Dells</div>
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I love coaching and it keeps me busy, and for most of this year I've done a good job of making sure that my own training was balanced in well. By that I don't just mean getting in the workouts. I often tell my athletes that the best way to get the most out of your training, if you had to sum it up in three points, would be this:</div>
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1. Do your sessions as written, when they're written*</div>
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2. Eat well</div>
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3. Sleep enough</div>
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*Given constant communication/feedback with your coach, not blindly following a plan written far in advance</div>
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In my experience coaching, the athletes who do these three things consistently are, practically without exception, the ones who see the biggest and quickest improvements. In my experience as an athlete, I have improved most when doing these things, and have stagnated when I have neglected one or more of them.</div>
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Fairly simple concept, but I also realize and tell my athletes that life happens while you're going through a training plan. Everyone needs to decide where their training falls in their list of priorities. That's something I can't decide for someone. What is going on outside of training effects what goes on with training. Sometimes we control those things and sometimes we don't. I just had an athlete have an unexpected two weeks off leading into a half iron this past week. Was it ideal for her race prep? No. But it was for more important things than triathlon so I don't fault her at all. My job is then to work to try to make any adjustments as smooth as possible and re-adjust race plans if necessary. That's what we did and she had a great race day.</div>
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That's kind of how my recent chunk of the season has gone. As of my last post things were looking good. My threshold power was at an all time high and climbing. I finally felt good in the water again. Running legs were almost back. Then mid June rolled around and from that time till now, one thing after another pulled me away from my well-oiled system. First sleep went, and when that went I wasn't recovering enough to handle the workouts I was doing so they had to be cut back. The past month has actually seen very minimal work on my part and I was feeling it. In the past this would've bothered me a lot. Especially having taken my elite card with the intent of opening up the season better than ever. I think a big difference the past two years that is a big part of why I was able to have a good season last year and start my training off so well this year is that I put triathlon into a little bit different perspective. I feel more secure about what I'm doing and why. I want to be the best I can be. I'm just not willing to sacrifice the rest of my life for it and it doesn't define me personally so if I have a bad race I don't feel bad about myself. I put my training above all trivial things and have learned to say no when I feel pulled in too many directions at once. At the same time when truly important things are going on in life I no longer have qualms about dropping workouts or sacrificing my own training.</div>
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So knowing that my fitness was substantially down going into this past weekend's half iron race, instead of being flustered by it I changed my race plan and was ok with not contending for the top 5 spots. I knew my original time goals I set earlier in the season were out the window, but with a different approach I thought I might still be able to PR. Going hard for over 4 hours was not going to work this time without a self destruct on the run, so instead I decided to swim easy, bike somewhat conservatively and then run hard. I felt I could at least work hard for an hour and a half. </div>
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Basically it seemed like things were going to plan up until mile 45 or so on the bike. The swim was easy and although I was pushing a higher power than I have before for this distance it felt in control and smooth. Then the road quality changed and regular jarring bumps for the next 10 miles had my lower back absolutely killing me by the time I rolled into transition. I felt like I couldn't run and my back didn't let up until I was 10 miles in. At that point I didn't really care any more and jogged it in. Now I do realize that everyone rode the same course and not everyone had this problem. I think my lack of fitness was a part of it, that and I have traditionally struggled with that on flat courses of that length when I'm trying to hold aero for so long. I was actually doing better with it this time until the road changed, probably due to improved strength from my work at FIT this year. Unfortunately it just meant that I finished the race never breathing hard and 10 min off of my PR. Legs were shot though. </div>
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So I'm not going to sit here and pretend that it's the race I wanted to have, but there were some good takeaways from the race. I rode better for that distance than I have before and did it at below my usual half IM heart rate. That tells me that the strength gains I've worked hard for this year have paid off despite a lower current fitness level. It's different for everyone, but for me it takes a lot of work to gain strength and speed but relatively less work to develop endurance. I think it's partly just how my body is made up and partly due to almost 10 years of aerobic training which has built an enormous base. It will take much less time to get my fitness back than it would to get stronger or faster so I feel that bouncing back, while it will take significant work, is something that is definitely possible this season. And for me at least, the season is just starting.</div>
Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-65505130942968862382014-04-07T18:49:00.002-05:002014-04-08T13:40:46.433-05:00Exciting Triathlon Things!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I should be getting back to Madison right about now. It's been a little over 30 hours since we left Tempe and the Collegiate National Championships, but unfortunately some car trouble (not my car) has left me temporarily stranded in Meade, KS for another day or two. If you have no idea where that is, I don't either. I'm writing this at the "Moon Mist Motel" which features a goat chilling out on the front lawn. That's probably the highlight of Meade.<br />
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Anyway, at least the internet has made it out to this tiny town so I can get some work done and write this blog. Although not my ideal way to end it, the race weekend was fantastic and I am really proud of the Wisconsin Triathlon Team for their performance at Nationals. I've been coaching the team for the past two years and with the support and organization of the team officers and the hard work of the athletes, the team has been steadily and kind of quickly rising through the ranks on the National stage. In 2012 our combined (mens/womens) team rank was 27th, in 2013 we were 16th and this past weekend we finished 12th. This has happened at the same time the sport itself has gotten faster. For example, last year a 1:55 in the mens race was 30th place. This year it was 52nd place on the same course. The super sprint mixed relay, which was just introduced last year for the first time, is not included in the overall team score but in 2013 the team's relay finished 26th. This weekend our relay got 5th in a very tight sprint finish (which we won!). Needless to say I'm really excited and couldn't be happier for the team. They've worked really hard this whole year. Team improvements like that wouldn't be possible without it.<br />
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Andrew to Katy at exchange #2 of the mixed relay. This is a very exciting new event in triathlon, and I hope that ITU can get it added into the olympic program. (I'd also like to see a longer course, non drafting event as triathlon grows more popular)</div>
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Some of the team with me in Tempe after the olympic race.</div>
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Coaching at SBR has also been going well. My personal athletes are gearing up for the racing season to start and the swimming group that I've been leading has been looking better and better. The annual Winter Cycling Relay Challenge raised a lot of money for the new exhibit at the Zoo and SBR held the first annual Winter Wonderland Triathlon, primarily a collegiate race but also open to the public. I'm excited for all of the athletes that I'm working with and also looking to pick up a few more for the summer season.<br />
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The Winter Wonderland Triathlon at SBR. 750m indoor pool swim, 20k computrainer ride, 5k outdoor run</div>
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As for my own racing, I officially received my USAT Elite/Pro license in mid-January! At that time my off season came to a screeching halt and for the last 2.5 months I've been hard at work getting back into shape. I didn't let myself get as out of shape as I did prior to the 2013 season, and as of right now I'm happy with how things are going. This past week at Nationals has been less training and more unhealthy eating with the long road trips, but with the exception of this week I have been eating much better, sleeping better and incorporating a good strength program consistently, something that has always fallen by the wayside as things have gotten busy in past years. The result is that I feel better in general, I've gained almost 5lbs of muscle (I'm the heaviest I've ever been in my life, and that is a good thing!) and my FTP is already 5% higher than my previous lifetime best despite starting the season down 20%. Chasing Andrew Nielsen for a week around the foothills in South Carolina a few weeks ago also certainly helped get my cycling fitness back. I'm also setting PR's in the pool like crazy on kick sets, which means it won't be long before I'm swimming better than ever. If things continue to move forward as they have been so far I should be in a good position to kick off my rookie pro season in June or July.<br />
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Training camp in South Carolina with the tri team. It was spring break for them and a (fun) business trip for me.</div>
<br />Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-90484587847079749382014-01-10T09:39:00.000-06:002014-01-10T09:39:27.536-06:00The Holy Grail<!--StartFragment-->
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A few years ago, I was working with
a runner who had come into the store looking for some shoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After looking at his gait, I brought
out three shoes that I thought would work well with the shape of his foot and
the way he ran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’ll try that
one”, he said, pointing to the Newton, “but I’m not wearing those two, they
don’t make you run better.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
explained to him that while this Newton may help him feel when he is running
correctly, it won’t change the way he runs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I explained that he would be able to run well in all three
shoes I brought out if he changed his stride mechanics, but that I brought
these three specific pairs out because they would not cause him major pain in
case he didn’t fix his stride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some other shoes wouldn’t be as forgiving of his stride, which was
exclusively hip movement with no knee bend at all.</div>
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But he had come in to find a magic
cure for his knee pain, and a golden ticket to faster race times without effort
on his part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only willing to try
certain shoes that he had read about in a magazine, each time he would get up
on the treadmill he’d ask if he was running better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each time, I told him his knee still isn’t bending and that
he needs to try moving his legs differently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not believing me, he checked the video I had been taking and
sure enough, his footstrike hadn’t changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He found lots of shoes that felt comfortable, and in all of
them he ran the same way, refusing or unable to change his stride, and refusing
to believe that there isn’t a shoe that would make him run better with no
effort on his part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally he put
the first Newton that I had originally brought out back on and decided that he
felt that he was running better in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I showed him the video that proved he was still significantly
over-striding, but he insisted he was running with better form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I encouraged him to work on his form on
his runs and gave him some pointers and drills to try.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I explained that he was in a good,
comfortable shoe that would absorb a lot of the shock and spare his knees as
much as possible if his current stride doesn’t change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He bought the shoes, but didn’t seem
too happy with me.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is an extreme example of an
athlete looking for that “Holy Grail” of their sport, in other words, that
elusive secret that if it could just be found, would catapult the athlete to
the top of the podium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“After all,
how did the pros get up there?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They must be doing something that I’m not, or have something that I
don’t” the thinking goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unfortunately for those looking for it, the Holy Grail does not
exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, there actually is
something that the pros are doing than some others aren’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it’s not the type of Holy
Grail that many would like because it involves a lifestyle, not a quick
fix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am sure that at least 90%
of elite triathletes have made it to the level that they have because of
consistent hard work over time, a good plan that is followed faithfully but
also intelligently, and the understanding that what they do outside of practice
time can have as great an influence on their race times as what they do in the
pool, on the bike or on the track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For example, most elite triathletes consider their diet a vital part of
their athletic ability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most age
groupers, in my experience, do not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The majority opinion among age groupers is that they train so that they
can eat whatever they want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
majority opinion among elites is that they eat well so that they can support
their training.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I realize that I am making sweeping
generalizations, and there are definitely exceptions on both sides of that, but
it’s largely true overall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also
might make some laugh that I’m preaching the importance of a good diet to
athletes when I have been known for my love for Culvers, among other less than
perfect food choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just want
to say a quick word about that before getting back to the point, so I’m not
accused of being hypocritical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
do love Culvers, it tastes good, and I admit that I haven’t always made the
best nutrition choices… especially during the off-season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has affected my athletic ability
at times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It should be known that
although I might have Culvers or pizza for lunch sometimes, what isn’t seen is
the breakfast of eggs, peanut butter on toast, and yogurt and the dinner of
grilled salmon or chicken, steamed vegetables and a garden salad that probably
goes with it for the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this
past season, my most successful yet, was also my best season
nutrition-wise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But back to the point… elite
triathletes aren’t elite triathletes because of what shoes they wear, or what
recovery drink they use, or what bike they ride, or whether they swim with a
shoulder driven or a hip driven freestyle, or what coach they have, or anything
else of that nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few possess
a Holy Grail in the form of raw natural talent, but that cannot be purchased or
learned, and by far and away most became elite triathletes because they chose
to consistently work hard and make their lifestyles supportive of their
athletic goals.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76WBlaoVKcQSmoeKoOfAastvu6tJKvhwDoJZ1_rtmq1mk4-JxxDizk1edwWPL1jNbNQxFvRapj-x_EXUfWGigEB8JL0EeG3Ln2adnNfMdTUuwCfr76Llj261sK-Za1gjVPSlBGwtTsVc/s1600/Jordan.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76WBlaoVKcQSmoeKoOfAastvu6tJKvhwDoJZ1_rtmq1mk4-JxxDizk1edwWPL1jNbNQxFvRapj-x_EXUfWGigEB8JL0EeG3Ln2adnNfMdTUuwCfr76Llj261sK-Za1gjVPSlBGwtTsVc/s1600/Jordan.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
This goes for any sport. Jordan was known to shoot 1000 free throws after practice ended for the day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
It’s important to be clear on what
I am not saying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not saying
that it doesn’t matter what shoe you wear, or what recovery drink you use, or
what bike you ride, or how you swim, or who your coach is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those things all matter, but they will
do nothing for you if you, the athlete, don’t use them in the right way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I already described how a shoe choice
can support a good stride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A bad
shoe choice can definitely injure an athlete, but the best shoe choice will not
realize its full potential unless you run in it with good mechanics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the best shoe depends greatly on
the individual. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The same goes for bikes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I raced in the Chicago Triathlon in
2008, and due to unexpected circumstances, I arrived at the start line not
having slept at all the night before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite my aero tri bike and aero position, race wheels and aero helmet,
I was passed often by men in their fifties who were seated upright on their
road bikes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just didn’t have the
engine that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My fast bike
setup could only help me when I was fit and strong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately some spend so much time on their bikes shaving
seconds that they don’t have time to work on their engines and lose minutes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It does matter if you adequately
replace your fuel after a workout, and it does matter how you swim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are very important things, and
poor workout recovery or poor swim technique can put a stopper on an otherwise
good training program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if
a person has a perfect diet, they may be extremely healthy but that doesn’t
make them aerobically fit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hard
work needs to be put in to develop aerobic fitness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a swimmer (assuming already has the basics down) finds
their perfect stroke, it will only lead them to minimal gains if they don’t
work to develop the fitness to maintain good mechanics for the duration of
their event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hard work cannot be
faked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Proper stroke technique can
greatly enhance a swimmer’s ability, but cannot replace a strong engine built
over time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPQmj18KcE3HNflVP9SglOrV5EInCCycvTtIvBrfJttsoaP90d9Ae-VgBtyl-y8dZa_QiH9pdTc0_EqrmtDfudUIZstZPavW28YIOF5KbkQLg4MxaEHAQL8a9_mi9DrfLgNJJltsUSZk/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPQmj18KcE3HNflVP9SglOrV5EInCCycvTtIvBrfJttsoaP90d9Ae-VgBtyl-y8dZa_QiH9pdTc0_EqrmtDfudUIZstZPavW28YIOF5KbkQLg4MxaEHAQL8a9_mi9DrfLgNJJltsUSZk/s1600/images.jpeg" height="176" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
If you do search for the Holy Grail, just make sure you watch out for the killer rabbit </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It also matters who your coach is,
but I don’t want that statement to be taken the wrong way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re on a never-ending search for
the best coach, switching each season, you’ll never reach your potential
because there’s no consistency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I swam in high school, I had four head coaches in four years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my opinion, every one of them was a
good coach, and I loved being a part of the team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But from a performance standpoint, it wasn’t the best
situation for the swimmers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each
year, the new coach took at least the first month of the three-month season to
get to know us before much personal attention could be given.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all trained us a little
differently, and we could never pick up where we left off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In track I had a similar situation
with one coach for my first two years and another coach for my second two
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These coaches were both
good, but trained us very differently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a 1600m runner in high school, my coach the first two years was big
on developing aerobic fitness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
worked hard under this system and steadily brought my time down from a 6:00 at
my first freshman meet to a 4:58 at the end of my sophomore year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next two years I trained under a coach
who put a much greater emphasis on speed with less on longer, aerobic
runs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worked hard here too, and
eventually I adapted to this program. I finished high school track running
faster than I ever had, but my entire junior year was a step back from my
sophomore year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe this is
because I had never developed the speed to run well under the new training
plan, and it took time to get there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Had either of these two coaches been my coach for all four years, I
believe I would have run faster as a senior than I did by training under one
style for two years and then another for the next two.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So it is important to trust your
plan, give it time, and trust your coach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As triathletes we can choose our own coaches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my opinion, the three keys to a finding a good coach are
education, experience and personality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The personality component means that the best coach for you might not be
the best coach for someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ideally you will pick a coach that has all three, and if so you have
likely found a great coach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
can probably have some degree of success if your coach has two of them, and
you’ll likely experience only frustration if your coach possesses just
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once you’ve chosen your coach, it’s
important to trust them and allow the plan time to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s also important to take control of
your training, and recognize when something isn’t working to make a
change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it’s clear that
the coach/athlete relationship isn’t working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if you feel that you’re not progressing the way you
think you should be, and your coach has a strong education, knowledge,
experience coaching and as an athlete, and works well with your personality,
you should look in the mirror first before making the decision to change
coaches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make sure you’re doing
everything right before making the decision to switch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is harder for people to do than to
blame someone else, and certainly sometimes a great coach and a great athlete
(in their ability to work with their coach, not their athletic ability) just
don’t fit well together, and sometimes a good coach can do a poor job for
whatever reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I have seen
many athletes stagnate under good coaches and good plans due to their
unwillingness to put in the work or to make lifestyle changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not excluding myself as an athlete
here at some times in the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve seen athletes struggle to understand why they aren’t improving
despite their training, but refuse to give up eating fast food 2-3x per day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve seen other athletes wonder why
they aren’t improving as fast as their training partners are, but neglect to
work on their mechanics despite clear instruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have personally improved at times, and stagnated at
others, on the same plan, depending on my stress levels outside of
practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make sure you are
putting in the work first, otherwise it’s not a fair assessment of a coach’s
ability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Consistent communication is the
number one way to get the most out of your coach/athlete relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I admit that at times in the past I
have failed at this, and it followed that I would perform better when Blake was
getting consistent, specific updates about how my workouts were going versus
times when he just had to assume I was doing them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I understand that sometimes it’s inconvenient to fill out
training peaks on a regular basis, but I assure you that in order to get the
most out of your coach you must do this. (Or use whatever avenue of
communication your coach uses)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
believe that as a coach, I have both the knowledge and experience in the sport
to guide triathletes to success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(I’m by no means the only coach in the area who can say that)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That being said, I’ve had varying
levels of success among athletes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In my experience there has been an almost perfect correlation between
the level of improvement and the amount of data and communication I get from
the athlete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The athletes that
improve the most are those who respond to my emails regularly, enter their pace
data on training peaks for all their workouts, and initiate conversation with
me if they have questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those
who do not see more modest results, almost predictably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As an example, I just had an athlete, who was already at a
high level, complete a round of test sets and in 20min worth of work she has
improved by over 1 minute compared to 3 months ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the same degree of improvement was seen in a ~1hr sprint
distance triathlon, that’s over 3 minutes better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the equivalent of a 30min improvement in a 10hr
Ironman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For most athletes who are
already at a competitive level, I would consider that very successful for an
entire year’s worth of training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This athlete will see higher than average improvement this year because
of her commitment to training and her communication with her coach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She works very hard, thinks about how
her choices outside of practice influence her performance, her diet is
fantastic, she gets enough sleep, she always updates training peaks with
specific data when needed, she asks whenever she has a question about
something, and lets me know on the very rare occasion that she misses a
workout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In those cases I can then
decide how much, if any, to make up and when.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If someone didn’t know the consistent work she put in, her
commitment to the training plan and the lifestyle choices it took to achieve
those results, they might be tempted to try to search out her Holy Grail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Is she training with a heart rate
monitor or power meter?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which
brand?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What bike is she
riding?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does she drink protein
smoothies? Soy or whey?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does she
run with a heel strike or toe strike?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does she run in Vibram five-fingers? Are those zero drop? (they’re
not)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it her coach?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I should change coaches, but I’ve
been seeing improvement with mine…” These are all points that an athlete should
consider in making the most out of their own training, but if they replace the
fundamentals of hard work, consistent training and creating a performance
lifestyle, they will not create the easy gains that the athlete is looking for.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-43448603677167675692013-10-23T17:12:00.004-05:002023-03-20T18:28:27.165-05:00Through the coach's eye<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
About a year ago I wrote a blog post highlighting my three
athletes and their races, also mentioning that I felt like I wanted to make
coaching a bigger part of what I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With the move to SBR I have made that a reality and really enjoy working
with all of my athletes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They each
inspire me in their fitness journeys and accomplishments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since they’ve all finished their 2013
seasons, I’m posting this to highlight their achievements and also to give some
insight into how training can differ from person to person, since the ideal
training plan varies as much as people do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Sofi Firmino is my newest, and
youngest athlete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>15 years old and
having lived in Wisconsin for only the past two months, she has already made
waves in the area in the few races that she has competed in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In her division, which USAT defines as
“Youth” (12-15) she has been completely dominant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In her first two IronKids races, which consist of a 300m swim,
8mi bike and 2mi run, she ran away with the first overall spot, beating not
only the girls but all of the boys, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the end of the season, a month and a half after arriving from
Florida, she raced at the IronKids US Championships and won the girls 15 yr old
division there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not afraid to race
much older athletes, Sofi competed in the final two Madison aquathons of the
series and finished 2<sup>nd</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup> overall, only finishing
behind 3 of the top triathletes in the state (Cindi Bannink, Adrienne Amman and
Summer Ohlendorf).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Sofi, who aspires to race for her
home country of Brazil in the future, came to Madison already possessing
excellent triathlon skills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
transitions are already at an elite ITU level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her bike handling, drafting and open water skills are all
great, and I didn’t have to teach her any of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a testament to the quality coaching she received with
her Florida team and her focus and motivation to excel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since she showed up in the middle of
the season, we’ve been working on speed and power, without pushing her too hard
in the summer since she was racing often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now that the triathlon season is over, we’re focusing on a more long
term plan, which starts by preparing for the Junior (16-19) elite ITU circuit
that she’ll compete in 2014.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sofi
is totally dedicated to her training, both in practice every day and outside of
it with her diet and lifestyle. I’m excited for where this young athlete is
headed, and honored to be able to help her get there.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijgzXhG6qYcw72isY0raP4Xz1XsMvD2PGs5giT5mDCIgNZygUwFy_64IC8o0i7FWsx34As4UvBEsOIEMA78YLs5WvapjXiAkJoCT4HF6zzY9UxmQW2G6kFIxSABY782UvQS_wwKi4H0wg/s1600/1187265_10201297192585796_1380452601_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijgzXhG6qYcw72isY0raP4Xz1XsMvD2PGs5giT5mDCIgNZygUwFy_64IC8o0i7FWsx34As4UvBEsOIEMA78YLs5WvapjXiAkJoCT4HF6zzY9UxmQW2G6kFIxSABY782UvQS_wwKi4H0wg/s320/1187265_10201297192585796_1380452601_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sofi was looking forward to her chocolate donut all week before her race!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
The first time I came across Robbie
Greco was on the results page of the Verona Triathlon back when I was in
college.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I noticed a 14 year old
pretty high up on the overall sprint results, and took note of the name because
you just don’t see that very often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So Robbie joined the Wisconsin Triathlon team last fall. He had lots of
experience as a triathlete, racing a sprint almost every weekend for the
previous couple summers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he
didn’t have experience training as a triathlete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He swam for his high school team during the winters, but his
training during the season consisted of running 3 miles a day and then throwing
everything together on race day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Robbie is a hard worker, and is
determined to race well every time he toes the line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he almost always does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His performances at Collegiate Nationals, and again at
Racine 70.3 and Rev3 Dells were fantastic, with other good finishes thrown in
during the season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Robbie was
Wisconsin Triathlon’s top finisher at Nationals and during the conference
season. He used his strong swim to finish 14<sup>th</sup> at the draft legal
race at Nationals and then followed it up with a totally unexpected similar
performance on tired legs the next day in the Olympic race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also cut his half Ironman time from
just over 5 hours to 4:35 at Racine, among other highlights of the year.</div>
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Robbie at the collegiate conference championships. He didn't notice the speed limit sign</div>
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While it’s good to recognize your
strengths, it’s equally important to identify weaknesses as an athlete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, we found that Robbie does
not swim well in very cold water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Identifying these things will help plan races better to play to
strengths and, when the necessity arises that you have to race your weakness,
you will have a better plan to deal with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was also having some periodic knee pain, which prompted a
running form analysis, which discovered some instability in his hips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s now working on improving that,
which I expect to see the results of in the near future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with all high level athletes, Robbie
loves the sport, and it has shown in his lifestyle, as I’ve observed him making
positive changes to diet, sleep etc over the course of his season for the sake
of his training.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Ansel Hillmer came to the sport of
triathlon from a strong swimming background, but without much experience
cycling or running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a
few seasons on his own including an Ironman finish, he decided to hire a coach
at the end of last season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
year, we have been focusing primarily on the half and Olympic distances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ansel has been making good progress in
training in both the bike and the run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He’s also been swimming very well, continuing to transition from a D1
collegiate butterflier to a long distance swimmer in triathlon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ansel capped off the season with a
great race at the Big Shoulders 5k open water swim in Chicago, finishing in
1:07:15 (1:20/100m, or 6:00/500yd) non-wetsuited.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
His triathlons didn’t go quite as
well, although we still saw PRs this season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ansel’s fitness on the bike and run are both clearly rising,
but triathlon is about more than just fitness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pacing and nutrition are both important, especially as races
get longer, and figuring out exactly what works for you takes some time, and
doesn’t always go perfecty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite nutrition issues causing a death march for the final 5 miles of
the run at High Cliff half this summer done at 4-5min/mi slower than his pace
had been for the first 8 miles, Ansel did manage to PR by a small margin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something like that is bittersweet… it
says a lot about how fitness has improved in a year, but it’s also frustrating
knowing how much more potential there is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But it’s important at times like that to remember that triathlon
training is a process, and with experience and consistency comes results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ansel’s head is in the right place and
I’m confident that the racing experience he gained this year will show in
future seasons in big ways.</div>
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As usual, Ansel leading the pack into the water</div>
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This was my second year working
with Jami Klagos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year she
was very new to triathlon, but nevertheless worked her way up the distances
that year, completing her first sprint, Olympic, half and full Ironman within
the span of 4 months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was very
busy during the school year with other commitments, and wasn’t able to start
significantly training again until towards the end of last school year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year she was signed up for the
same 4 races: Lake Mills, Capitol View Olympic distance, Racine 70.3 and
Ironman Wisconsin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her goal was to
beat her time in all of them, especially Ironman.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Last year, with her training, I
played it on the conservative side, not really knowing how much workload she
could handle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was still Ironman
training though, so she was put through a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Experience is a huge plus, and this year I knew a few more
things about her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For one, I knew
the amount of volume she was able to handle last year and the result it got
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also knew that she was
going to do every yard that I put on her training plan, regardless of how she
was feeling or how busy her schedule was outside of training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is very motivated to train hard
when she decides to train for something. The same issue of not having a base
from the school year was present this year, but I knew I could push her a
little harder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Volume wise, there
wasn’t a big difference from last year to this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bigger difference was in the intensity of training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t worried about her having the
aerobic fitness for Ironman this time around, so we focused more on power
development.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
She also had more race experience,
which helped her perform very well this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She accomplished all of her goals, by large margins, this
season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every race was better this
time around (not a common thing, she knows how to bring it every day).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At Lake Mills 2013, her bike/T2/run
time was 1:15:23, from 1:16:52 last year. (Swim cancelled in 2013). At Capitol
View, she went from 2:56:08 to 2:41:11 this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At Racine, she dropped her time from 6:02:30 to 5:33:26.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And finally, at Ironman Wisconsin she
cut her time from 13:09:48 to 12:26:26.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Jami and Kent at Capitol View</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Kent Klagos is Jami’s dad, and in
similar fashion tackled the Ironman the same way Jami did her first year (first
year doing triathlons).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
Kent, the biggest obstacle was the swim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He had done some marathons in years past, and was used to running most days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However the swim was completely new to
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started working with him in
May, and at that point he was comfortable swimming a mile in the pool with a
pull buoy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a big step up
from the beginning of the calendar year, as he informed me that getting from
one end of the pool to the other had been a struggle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, without the pull buoy things fell apart
quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>100 yards was about the
maximum continuous swimming Kent could do at the beginning of May.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
With lots of work in the pool over
the next month, at least 4-5x/week, I was more confident that Lake Mills,
Kent’s first triathlon would be a success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, race day came and the water did not cooperate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the beginning of a bad luck
streak, water condition wise, for Kent this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was prepared to finish a smooth water 400m in a lake, but
as the couple scheduled open water swims had fallen through the previous week,
he was not comfortable at all with chop and (intelligently) bailed on the
swim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did well on the
bike/run, but his first complete triathlon would have to wait until the next
weekend.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
He was originally signed up for the
Capitol View Olympic distance, but switched to the sprint that week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He completed the swim, and the whole
triathlon at CVT, but again the water kicked up and it was a struggle in the
chop. (Yes, many people stand and walk that swim, but he was under instruction
not to) His time for the 400m that day would have to maintained for the entire
2.4 miles to make the swim cutoff at Ironman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kent’s next race was the Racine 70.3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had put in a lot of work on the
swim, and the other disciplines, since Capitol View and was noticeably stronger
in the water, and had more comfort in open water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, every time Kent gets in a lake for a race it
becomes choppy, and this year’s Racine race had about the worst conditions you
can have without canceling the swim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>2-3 foot waves, currents from all directions and water that smelled like
boat fuel from the reports I got.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He gave it his all but couldn’t handle the brutal conditions and was
pulled from the swim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
mentally that was a big blow, one thing about Kent is that he’s tough as nails
and doesn’t ever give up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Racine experience lit a fire in him and his push towards Ironman was nothing
short of incredible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was able
to get into the last two aquathons, the second of which was the only calm water
swim he had all year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he had to finish the first rough one before he was allowed smooth water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the 2.4 mile Madison open water swim, he finished in
under 2 hours and was gaining confidence back going in to Ironman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ironman day came and in the spirit of
the season, Monona was being kicked up by strong winds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kent pushed through it and came out of
the water looking strong, ready to tackle the rest of the race with plenty of
time to spare before the swim cutoff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Although the swim was the primary
focus of the season, we had not been neglecting the other two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All season, the thought was that as
long as he finished the bike in the cutoff time, we’d be fine as the run was
his ace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, an unexpected
hamstring injury outside of training forced him to go into the Ironman knowing
that he was going to have to walk the entire marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kent pushed it all the way to the end
and ended up running out of time with 4 miles to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kent’s improvement in such a short time was incredible, and
I know that if he wants to give it another go in the future he has the base and
experience for it, not to mention mental and physical toughness.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Brenda Knighton has plenty of experience
as a triathlete, having completed many events of all distances in the
past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was different about
this year is that she was coming off of surgery that affected her running, so
we needed to manage that as she built her training towards Ironman Louiseville.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Because building intensity into the
run would cause issues, we gradually built the volume in a walk/run method in
order to build up to be able to handle the marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The intensity in her training came in the swims and
bikes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because we knew that the
run was going to take more time than it used to for her, our goal was to
improve Brenda’s swim and bike splits to allow more time to finish the
marathon, and build up enough running tolerance to get it done without injury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brenda competed in a few triathlons
this season before the Ironman, and showed that her first two disciplines were
indeed improving, and she was very competitive in her age group through the end
of the bike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
At her Ironman, she had a very
strong swim and bike, and was able to get through the run portion safely and
under the time limit. As she continues to recover from the surgery and her run
gradually gets back to where it had been, she will be able to use her strong
swim and bike to set up better and better finishes in the future.</div>
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At the IM L'ville finish line</div>
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<br /></div>
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Brenda would also probably want all
of you to know that her primary goal of beating her good friend Kitty Cole (a
fellow SBR coach), was accomplished at Ironman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They split the season though, as Kitty finished ahead of
Brenda at an earlier race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listening
to those two trash-talk each other is pretty hilarious.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
I have worked with Emma Kultgen off
and on for a few years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Originally, it was just through the Wisconsin Tri Team when I would see
her at workouts but this year I took her on as a personal athlete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emma is a remote athlete now that she
lives out of state, and the race that she was training for was a 70.3 in
Europe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Emma came to triathlon from a
swimming background, and as she started running and biking with the Ironman in
mind, she did what many long distance triathletes do, and that is a lot of
miles at a relatively comfortable pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She had experience doing speed work as a swimmer, but was not applying
it to running and cycling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
the team started doing a weekly track workout, Emma started coming to those
because they were different and fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What surprised and excited her was that after a year of doing one run
per week with hard intervals ranging from 200-1600m, her long distance race
pace had dropped considerably, without changing anything else about her
training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that year she cut her
pace at the 20k run from ~9:30/mi to ~8:30/mi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
a personal athlete this year, her training plan contained a lot more intensity
than she had done in the past across the board in all 3 disciplines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also incorporated strength training
into her plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In terms of volume,
we didn’t do anything crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Having seen her respond well in the past to a small amount of speed work
prompted the change in the way she trained.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She responded very well, and her race exceeded any of our
expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emma had done a few
70.3s in the past, and had hovered around the low 6 hour area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately the swim at her event was
cancelled, but had she added her usual swim time onto the bike and run that she
did do, her total time would have been between 5:15 and 5:20, an incredible
improvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her pace on the half
marathon was also just under 8min/mi, showing continued improvement there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people respond better to one type
of training, and others to another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The key is to figure out what works for each person.</div>
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The water doesn't look so bad here...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Tim
Leung is a first year athlete who came to me looking for some help with his
cycling before racing a half Ironman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We started one month before the race, which is unusual, but my goal as a
coach is to help athletes reach their goals as best I can, and I try to work
with each situation individually.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With
very little riding done earlier this year, we weren’t going to have time to
gain a large amount of fitness (some, though), so our focus was primarily on
increasing pedaling efficiency and power through training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tim has more experience running, but at
his first race the bike took his running legs out so he couldn’t use them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With proper pacing, he rode the same
time on a much harder course and ran well off the bike.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
David Mott joined the Wisconsin
Triathlon Team on campus a year ago having done one or two triathlons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David came to the sport with a very
strong running background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
likely he had the potential to walk on to the UW Track Team as an 800m runner,
as he had run 1:54 in high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However he decided to do triathlon because it seemed “more fun” and his
brothers were on the team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite
his strong run, he was a total novice in the other two disciplines, having
learned to ride a bike at age 18 and having no formal swim training since he was 10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew how to not drown in the pool,
but that was about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He
caught on very quickly though, in fact I’m not sure I’ve ever known someone to
improve so fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His raw talent as
an athlete is undeniable, but it was more than just that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He backs up his talent with an
incredible work ethic and a good diet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Wisconsin Triathlon Team doesn’t require practice attendance, but
David only missed one or two practices during the school year, for exam
conflicts, and then took the initiative to email me for the workouts so he
could do them on his own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also
overheard him being made fun of by some of his teammates for eating a lunch in
the cafeteria one day consisting exclusively of tons of spinach and some fruit.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet that’s probably a big
reason why he responds to training so quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After we reviewed the basics of freestyle in the first two
weeks of practice, David was swimming the 500 in about 7:30 (1:30/100yd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A month later he swam 6:46
(1:21’s).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By mid second semester
he swam 10:28 in the 800 (1:18s), and based on his swim times from his open
water races this summer, he is likely in the neighborhood of 1:13-1:14 pace in
the pool now for 800yds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Once a week, I make David bike on snow and ice to practice handling</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
bike was a similar story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
have that much power data for him, but he periodically checked in on the
computrainers and showed continual, overall improvement throughout the
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also went from not being
able to get his water bottle out of its cage while riding last spring to being
able to hold his own in a road race this past July.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David’s racing season was almost derailed as soon as it
begun when he got mono early this summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, he was able to rest it off in just two weeks and get back to
training, a testament to his good overall health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the end of the summer David was hot on his coach’s heels
at more than one race, so I am very excited to see where he can go with another
year of hard work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Liz
Murphy is one of my first year athletes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was beginning to train and work out after some time off, with the
goal of doing a triathlon and eventually some longer distance events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her biggest limiter was that she was
experiencing significant lower back and knee pain, which had kept her from consistent
training for quite some time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
started building fitness very gradually, as to not aggravate anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But fitness was not the main priority
until we could get the back and knee pain under control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We attacked that from a variety of
different angles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After some
evaluations, we identified and started working to correct some form issues that
were likely contributing to the pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We made a few adjustments to the way her bike was fit and put a
different saddle on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Liz
started making some changes to the way she ran and biked. We also looked at the
type of running shoes that she was wearing and made a change there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our evaluations we identified some
muscle imbalances that were causing certain muscles to be overworked and others
to not fire properly, and specific exercises were prescribed to get the
different muscle groups working together properly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also saw a Chiropractor.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
Liz made the initial changes and started incorporating the other techniques and
exercises into her training plan, we started to see a gradual increase in the
length of time she was comfortable running and cycling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t in pain while training like
before, which allowed her to be able to put in higher volumes and intensities
which in turn led to higher fitness levels and strength that she couldn’t reach
when pain used to stop her before that point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the end of the summer, Liz completed a sprint triathlon,
and now we are working towards longer distances in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My
experience with Liz is a great example of how to appropriately deal with
chronic injuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
basically two types injuries or pain in athletics: acute and chronic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rest can make the pain of both go away
eventually, but only in one type is the cause of the injury gone by the time
you feel better and resume training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For example, if a runner sprains their ankle by taking a bad step, that
acute injury can be healed by rest and the runner will not re-sprain their
ankle just in the normal course of running once it is healed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would require another bad step to
cause the same injury to return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the other hand, if a runner is getting knee pain because their hips
are unstable and that’s causing excessive amounts of lateral movement in the
knee, rest will make the pain go away but as soon as that athlete puts the
stress (running) back on it, the pain comes back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this example, rest didn’t treat the cause, it just masked
the symptom Until you identify why the same injury keeps occurring,
resting it will only temporarily help, but the reason your injury occurred in
the first place is still there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
injury and pain continually cut your efforts to work out short, or if you
consistently get the same injury, it is very likely that there is something about
the way you are training, either in your technique or equipment, that is
causing your pain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Summer Ohlendorf is my longest-term
athlete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year she didn’t have
one specific “A” race, but our goal was to use this year to get stronger as an
athlete, gain race experience, and particularly improve the run, her
traditional weakness in triathlon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Summer raced a lot, and her season speaks for itself: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Oceanside
70.3 1<sup>st</sup> 25-29</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
-Collegiate Nationals 10<sup>th</sup>
Draft-legal, 37<sup>th</sup> Non-drafting, 6<sup>th</sup> combined overall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Rev3
Knoxville 1<sup>st</sup> 25-29</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Triple
T 4<sup>th</sup> Solo Senior </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Lake
Mills Sprint 2<sup>nd</sup> Overall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Elkhart
Lake 2<sup>nd</sup> Overall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Rockford
1<sup>st</sup> Overall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Pewaukee
1<sup>st</sup> 25-29</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Rev3
Wisconsin Dells 2<sup>nd</sup> Overall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Midwest
Collegiate Triathlon Conference Championships 1<sup>st</sup> Overall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Rev3
Branson Half 1<sup>st</sup> Overall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Aquabike
National Championships 1<sup>st</sup> Overall</div>
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Summer's run made big strides this year</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
To cap it off, Summer qualified to
race as an Elite/Pro triathlete, which she may do in the future when she feels
the time is right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By any
definition, Summer had a fantastic season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But a season like this doesn’t just happen overnight, or in
one year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like I said, Summer is
my longest term athlete, and as such I have records to look back on to see the
improvement that wasn’t necessarily discernable on a day to day basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Elkhart Lake, a race she had done
for each of the past 3 years, Summer posted her bike splits and overall
times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She chose to look at the
bike because it is not affected by temperature to the same extent as the run
is, and the swim buoy placement and water conditions have room for error from
year to year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2011-
1:24:05/2:42:14. 2012- 1:20:25/2:36:50. 2013- 1:18:02/2:30:21. I also went back
and looked at her overall USAT score in 2009, 2011 and 2013.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a way of standardizing courses
and taking the average of her 3 best races each year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has gone from 87.75 to 90.99 to 94.93.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2010 and 2012 are omitted because those
scores are skewed due to racing the Triple T with a male partner.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s
clear the long term improvement that has occurred since 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, sometimes from one race to the
next, or one week or month to the next, it’s not always obvious, and along the
way there have been numerous setbacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s kind of like when you were a kid, you never noticed as you slowly
got taller, but suddenly you’re 15 and way taller than you were years
earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The key is consistency,
hard work and intelligent training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Summer has trusted the long-term program and the results have followed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cody
Williams is that guy who raced the Birkebeiner cross-country ski marathon
without training and never having had skis on before in his life prior to race
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when he signed up for
Ironman Wisconsin, I wasn’t surprised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact I half expected him to use the same strategy with the Ironman,
but luckily he didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Cody gets very excited about his workouts</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cody
did a lot of short course training during the school year, in preparation for
Collegiate Nationals, and this set him up with a good base and strength to
handle the longer workouts over the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cody is also a time pressed athlete at times, as he is an RA
in the dorms in addition to being a student.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew this meant that he wasn’t always going to be able to
get the long rides and runs in, or all of the workouts during the week, but the
important thing was that I knew that, and wasn’t writing each week’s workouts
under the assumption that previous week’s had been completed in full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can be dangerous for the athlete if
they miss workouts but the coach has no idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going on the assumption that everything is done as written,
a coach can easily push the athlete too far if they don’t actually have the
base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s better for the coach to
know and keep that in mind as future training is created.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cody
trained hard when he could, and his fitness, high natural ability and toughness
to push through discomfort on race day earned him a great Ironman finish of
13:33.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Missy Williams swam in my masters
group for awhile, and then decided that she wanted to do some triathlons so I
started working with her last fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But before I did, something had to be straightened out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a tendency to tell me how slow
she was, so I agreed to coach her on the condition that I didn’t hear any of
that from then on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I
haven’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For one thing, how fast
someone is has never been something I’ve cared about, and I don’t coach
athletes based on that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I do
want in my athletes is the desire to improve their current ability, whatever
that is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secondly, Missy quickly
showed me that she would actually be quite competitive in her age group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t believe it yet, but by
focusing on the positive, it was easier to move forward.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Of all my athletes, Missy was able
to absorb the highest volume in her training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone has a different level of training that constitutes
overtraining, and that is largely based on their ability to recover, which is
in large part based on lifestyle and stress levels outside of training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although she’s completely swamped after
3pm every day with her two kids’ stuff, before that she can dedicate herself to
her training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Missy has a high
volume tolerance, and as such we were able to build a huge aerobic engine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The race we were preparing for was the
Texas 70.3, which would be her first race longer than a sprint.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Going into the race, she told me:
7hrs on a bad day, 6:30 on a good day, and 6hrs on a great day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my head I was thinking more like
6:30 on a bad day, 6hrs on a good day and 5:45 on a great day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well it turned out that she went 5:59 on
a bad day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only say that because
it included a crash towards the end of the bike portion of the race, which
resulted in significant down time and created a large lump on her hip that she
named “Timmy”. Missy exhibited a lot of toughness in continuing through the
crash and crossing the finish line in under her original “best case scenario” time
goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before the crash, she
described the race to me as “pretty easy”, which excites me to see what she can
do in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a lot of
potential here.</div>
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Missy and Timmy after the race. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
In addition to working with
individual athletes, I have also enjoyed coaching group workouts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to leading workouts for the
Wisconsin Tri Team I have enjoyed my group workouts at SBR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This summer I led the PBR (Personal
Best Runner, not the beer) group as well as pool and open water swim
classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s fun to look back at
the end of the session to see the difference in the group as a whole compared
to where they started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only
danger is that sometimes an individual in the group may not feel like progress
is being made because they don’t see a difference in their ability compared to
their training partners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that
is comparing yourself to a moving target, as the whole group is training and
improving together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
It’s been a great first year at
SBR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some athletes, the race
is the end of the road, for others training and racing is more of a
lifestyle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m proud of what all
my athletes have accomplished, and am excited to continue working with many of
them and see what the future brings.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-8178432200546859582013-08-23T08:16:00.001-05:002023-03-20T07:37:08.982-05:00The SpringboardIt was a strange feeling running down the finish chute at Rev3 Wisconsin Dells last week. For one thing, I was in an all-out sprint finish against nothing but air due to the time trial start format of the race. Also, I was pretty sure I had just qualified for my elite triathlon license; my long term goal of the past 5 years, but I couldn't really know quite yet. When I came in off the bike, I counted 5 bikes in transition already. When I got to my rack, I realized that the one next to mine was the bike of an SBR athlete in the race who started behind me. She should still be out on the bike course, something must've happened. Then I passed someone right out of transition, which put me in 4th on to the run. But I had been watching the runners going out as I came back on the bike... there had only been 2 age groupers out ahead of me that I could tell. Either that or someone was so far out in front that they were blending in with the pros who started 10min ahead of us. Unlikely. The other bike must've likely been a DNS or DNF. The only time I thought I could've missed someone was going around the transition area where the runners wouldn't be immediately on my left as I came back in. But once I got out onto the run course, I recognized the person directly in front of me (on the out and back section) as the 2nd guy I saw going out. So I was either in 3rd or 4th, most likely 3rd; however, with the staggered start it was not quite so certain.<br />
<br />
It was raining pretty hard, but once I was off the bike I welcomed it. As long as my bare feet didn't blister in my wet shoes, it was going to help me by keeping the heat down. I couldn't back off at any point during the run. I had worked too hard over the years to put myself in this position to lose it now. I saw a couple guys at the turnaround who were chasing hard, and I couldn't let them back into it. The hilly course didn't suit my strengths as a runner at all... this is usually the type of course that breaks me, but that wasn't going to happen this time. I felt strong the whole way, adrenaline fueling me through the second 5k when my legs would've loved to back down. Once I pulled myself back up to a standing position after crossing the finish line, it was just a matter of waiting for the results to roll in. I needed third, and as time went on, it became more likely that the stagger wasn't going to change things. A few guys came in not far behind me, but I knew that they started within seconds of me. Once the results came in it was official, I had finished 3rd overall and had, therefore, accomplished my goal. I was eligible to apply for an elite triathlon license.<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
1.5mi into the run and feeling strong</div>
<br />
I tell my athletes sometimes that there is probably not such a thing as a perfect race, just racing perfectly. What I mean by that is being able to respond the right way when things happen or go differently than what you have planned or are expecting. I am proud of how I did, not because everything went flawlessly (because it didn't) but because I responded the right way and made the decisions that gave me the best chance of a good finish. One thing that was nice about the Dells course is that it was as much of a "home course" as I could ask for in a qualifier event. I'm used to traveling across the country to get to these events, as they are the bigger races and the only other events in Wisconsin that count are long course triathlons. So I got to practice on the course a few times this year which was very helpful on the bike. Especially when it started raining because I knew ahead of time that there was only one descent that would be affected by the rain in how I approached the turn at the bottom. My threshold power on the bike this year has increased, and based on my practice rides, I was ready to go around a 1:02-1:03 on this course which would put me in a great position. However race day came, and for some reason I couldn't find my legs on the first half of the ride. I must've either tired them out by kicking too hard throughout the swim or I didn't kick enough at the end to get the blood redirected to them. I don't really remember now. I've been swimming very well this year overall, but this was a slightly sub-par swim for me, although compared to previous years it was right on with my better swims.<br />
<br />
I came out of the water in 8th or so, so when the power I started off at felt much harder than it should have, a part of me got worried. A similar thing had happened at Lake Mills earlier in the season. I got excited in the water because of the bad conditions and overdid it in the swim. When I got on the bike, it was killing me to push what shouldn't have been so hard. In my head on that day I was thinking that it's a sprint, there isn't any time to spare, I have to keep hammering. I never let my heart rate get under control and followed that ride with a disappointing 5k run. This time, I thought to myself, just back off for now, let your heart rate drop and get back in control. I rode at what felt like my threshold, even though the power meter was showing 20w below it. I focused on the other aspects of fast cycling while my body was resetting... staying aerodynamic, hitting my corners, descending well. And at this race, staying on the parts of the road that weren't underwater. After the first 10 miles I was starting to feel stronger, and at the same effort, my power started climbing back up. By 20k, I was reeling in the rider that had been sitting the same distance ahead of me for the entire ride up to that point. I caught him at mile 18 or so and saw that it was Robbie Greco, one of my own athletes who was having a great day! That was exciting but not the time to chat, so I pushed ahead. I felt strong from then on and ended up pushing the second 20k at 10w higher than my initial target for the ride. I know that had I tried to force the effort in the beginning, I would've fallen off the pace eventually and probably would've ended up with the same bike split or worse than I actually got, but the bigger difference is that I would've already been shot when the run started.... getting off the bike, I was only slightly off my target bike pace, but I felt great and ready to run hard, having moved myself from 8th to 4th on the bike leg. And even though my final power average was 10w below what I had been targeting, it still ended up slightly higher than my best ride of previous seasons.<br />
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Happy to be done!</div>
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So that's the race. It'll always be one I remember well, not just because of the end result but because of the conditions and how it went down. And also because it has been a long time coming in my mind. There have been many ups and downs along the way over the course of the past 5 years. When I graduated from college in 2008, I had a decision to make. Was I going to look at grad schools, apply for a full time job or chase a pro card in triathlon?, which at the time was quite a long shot... I had seen some potential, but I was still quite a ways away from that level. But at the same time, when I looked back at where I had come from with my athletic background, I had made so much progress that there was no reason to think I couldn't continue to improve if I worked hard and dedicated myself to it. At the same time, I was honest with myself in acknowledging the fact that I wasn't talented enough to earn a pro card while simultaneously going to grad school or working a full time, stressful job. It was going to be one or the other, because if both were attempted together, both would suffer. I'd rather do one well. I decided that I could always go to grad school later in life and that my only shot at professional triathlon would be now. So I gave myself 2 years to earn an elite license.<br />
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5 years later I did it. In that period I made big improvements at times, stagnated or regressed at others, but overall when each season ended, I felt like I was still moving in the right direction... and couldn't give up just yet. I also learned a lot in that time. My initial thought that I would only succeed if I kept from being overtaxed proved 100% true because there were times when I got myself into more than I really could handle with work while still training at a high level. I never wanted work to suffer because I was responsible to others... with triathlon I was really only responsible to myself and my coach, but I was paying him, not the other way around... so triathlon suffered at times. Many times I just ran out of time to train, and once I ran myself into the ground so badly that I developed adrenal fatigue... that was in the fall of 2010. I've kept it pretty close to the chest... I expect many people reading this will be surprised by this admission, but it was noticeable and affected my training significantly for quite a while. It was brought on due to a combination of working way too much between multiple jobs, stressful conditions and a terrible diet due to commuting a lot. I was just tired all the time and really struggled to train well for that entire season. One thing I'm good at is peaking at the right time, so my races were still usually ok, but I couldn't keep that up on a daily basis. I would sometimes only have 1 good workout per week. Since that time it's been a gradual climb back to optimal health, but I can now say that today, at 27, I feel better than I've felt since high school and have more energy in general than at any time since.<br />
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Looking back, I'm glad I made the decision that I did to go for it, even when it seemed like a long shot. I'm also thankful for the journey that it took to achieve it. If I had just had a fantastic season in 2009, earned the license, and moved into the pro ranks then, I wouldn't have half the knowledge about the sport and about myself as an athlete that I do now. Having gone through the trials to get here, I am better equipped to actually succeed as an elite triathlete than I would've been had I made the jump without the journey. But more important than that, I'm more prepared to go about it in a way that isn't just about me. Professional athletics can easily be a pretty selfish thing, especially in a sport, such as triathlon, where it is up to the individual athlete to market themselves to sponsors, etc. In his book <u>I'm Here to Win</u>, Macca says something to the effect of .... <i>wanting to win for yourself will take you so far, but eventually it isn't enough. To get you through the grueling training, day in and day out, year in and year out, you need to be out there for something more</i>....<br />
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So now that I've accomplished my goal, I have another important decision to make. I've qualified to apply for an elite triathlon license, but do I take it right away? In many ways this decision is similar to the decision I was faced with in 2008. At my current fitness level, although I qualified, I would finish in the bottom 5% of almost all pro races. So it's a bit of a long shot if all you're looking at are the numbers. When I was working with Blake Becker, we talked about the possibility of getting a pro card. He didn't want me to think of it as the finish line or final goal. Instead, he wanted me to think of it as an intermediate goal, a benchmark, or a "springboard" which would open doors and push, motivate, or otherwise allow me to move forward in the sport in ways I hadn't before. So I will be taking the card in 2014. The lingering question of whether I could make it is gone, I've always worked best with a deadline, but most importantly I've learned exactly how my body responds to training and what causes it to stagnate. I know what I need to do and how to do it; all that's left is doing it. I don't expect to be winning races next year, but I do expect to race at a significantly higher level in 2014 than I have in the past.<br />
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Last time on the age group podium</div>
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You can stop reading now if you don't like sappy stuff.<br />
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Before I sign off and start planning next season, there are a few people to thank. Ok that's a lie, there are tons of people to thank, but unfortunately I'm probably not going to remember them all. Every coach I've ever had, my family and all of my friends, training partners and coworkers over the years. Even though I risk forgetting someone, I owe it to those who have helped me get to this point to recognize them for all they have done for me:<br />
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My parents of course, for their continual support, whether that means picking me up from swim practice every day before I could drive when it was 0 degrees out, flying to Florida to watch me race (may have been other reasons here as well but still cool), or not letting me know that I was making a mistake for chasing a pro card (even if they may have thought it at times). My sister Cathy and brother John for being awesome... and John for beating my high school swim times to keep me honest. My Seattle family for cheering from afar and even traveling to a few races! My good friends from before I knew what a triathlon was... Derek Powell, Michael Young, Joe Birkett, Ian Sullivan, Nick Miller and Natalie Moser. My good friends I met through swim team Chris McCormick, Adam Jandl, Kevin Ladell, Andy White and Brian Heinz. Brent Vidulich, one of my best lifelong friends who convinced me to do my first triathlon, but more than that motivated me as a young swimmer and runner to aim high and showed me what a real work ethic looked like. Even more importantly, he showed me, by example, that you can be a great athlete and at the same time be a kind, humble person. For four years in high school we were either running, swimming or playing video games together pretty much every day, and if there's one person who had the biggest influence on me as an athlete, it was Brent, and he will always be missed and remembered fondly. Also thank you to my swim coaches Nate, Brad, Lance and Troy... and for a week last year Gary Hall at the Race Club. My running coaches Welhoefer, Hagen--the first to teach me that there's a difference between running fast and racing well--, Beuhl and Hoaglin. (Why do swim coaches always go by first names and running coaches always go by last names?) My triathlon coaches/mentors Tim Gattenby, Eric Bean, Blake Becker and everyone at SBR...Jessica Laufenberg, Kory Seder, Scott McDermott and Kitty Cole. Thanks also to my training partners, friends and older officers/leaders who I met through the Wisconsin Triathlon team at UW-Madison for pushing me, motivating me and/or teaching me about the sport. In rough chronological order...Rachel Penczykowski, Nick Rhoads, Alex Viana, Mike McClean, Kelly Korevec, Jen Lachowiec, Ken Laczkowski, Zeb Breuckman, Aaron Kamnetz--who was with me, and basically kept me alive, through the worst race weekend ever, CNats in Reno '06--, Dan Albright, Emma Kultgen, Hannah Sievers, Spencer Tweed, Ben Pierick, Carl Kaiser, Chase Kettler, Danny Craven, Kory Seder, Antonio Faciola, Jack Dudley, Jess Yurchich, Summer Ohlendorf--who deserves more thanks than a name drop here--, Alex Dean, Andrew Bossler, Will Weggel, Kristin Doster, Sarah Castillo, Michael Lee, Cody Williams, Jim Mott, Ansel Hillmer, Robbie Greco and David Mott. Thanks to everyone at Endurance House for expecting excellence and teaching me a whole lot about running shoes and other triathlon stuff... Jamie and Tara Osborn, Justin Pernitz, Jason Koneczny, Katie Harris, Adam Gibbs, Paul Eicher, Zach Lammers and everyone else. Dr Waters, Lawrence and Kish for your expertise. And lastly to my girlfriend Sharon for all of her support and encouragement this year!<br />
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<i>And we rejoice in our trials, knowing that trials produce endurance, and endurance produces character </i>-Romans 5:3<br />
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<br />Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-31011314495665622982013-05-26T23:45:00.001-05:002013-05-27T11:05:41.452-05:00Back in Business<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, it's been awhile since my last post... there's been a lot going on, both in and out of triathlon since last October when my bike seat dropped on me and ruined a perfectly good race. Uh oh, that sounds like I'm making excuses, which I hate... but it's relevant because...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I got a new bike!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This was one of the many changes I made in the past half a year. It has been great so far... the Guru dynamic fitting process was fantastic, the bike itself is fast and comfortable, and no mechanical issues after 5 races! And not that it matters, but I have to say it looks pretty slick too.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My favorite part of the bike. Thanks Guru for the sweet custom paint job! I'll post more pics in a few weeks</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Besides getting a new bike, there's been a lot going on and many changes during the off season. As a few of you know I took quite a long off season this past year. For three months (Dec-Feb) I did next to nothing as far as workouts go. I probably biked for 30 minutes once a week, but other than that I did nothing. And I got pretty out of shape. Some of you won't believe me, but seriously. I felt pretty lousy. My FTP on the bike dropped by 25% and when I jumped in the pool with the Wisconsin Tri team in early March for my first swim in months I had to stop after 350 yards (we were doing a 500, and not fast either) to let the whole lane lap me. And if they hadn't been lapping me I still would've stopped because my heart rate was out of control. I know it's relative but I haven't felt so out of shape in over 6 years. I always take an off season but this was extreme.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, I honestly wasn't worried about it. It was a good thing for me because it gave me time to focus on other things. The biggest changes that have affected my season in a positive way this year came out of that time and it might surprise some that the most important positive changes weren't to my training plan or equipment or anything else sport specific for that matter. I'm entering this season with a slightly different perspective and motivation to train and race. There was actually a period of time this past winter, and very few people knew this until now, that I was debating with myself if I was going to keep doing triathlon (as a competitive athlete... I will always enjoy swim/bike/run for fun). I wanted to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons. And the right reasons for me might not be the same as the right reasons for someone else. Another big difference is that I have made some more significant dietary changes and am eating much better overall.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Quinoa and chicken parmesan that I cooked between races at the Triple T. Quinoa is my newfound favorite carb base (it's the only grain that has complete proteins as well as far as I know)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I started training in early March but for three weeks I couldn't handle more than one light-moderate workout per day. My first actual hard week where I felt like I was actually starting to get back in shape was the spring break trip with the Wisconsin Triathlon Team in South Carolina. I'm not sure if it's sad or awesome, but this was the 9th consecutive spring break trip I've taken with my former team. Although actually it's my team again this year as I was named their Head Coach for the season, which has been a lot of fun and very successful. That week was great for me to get back into things since I had nothing but training, sleeping and eating to do. And it was good timing because I only had 4 weeks to train once I got back before my first race of the year, Rev3 Knoxville.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Don't ask why, but this was the highlight of the trip for a couple of the guys... speaking of nutrition.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is what we actually did all week. Prepping to enter the 55 degree lake in our backyard that I swam in every day that week. Actually proved to be helpful for the most recent aquathon (see bottom of post)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I arrived at my first race not sure what to expect. I had found a new energy in the preceding month. I had been working the swim and bike very hard and seeing big gains but given the short training block to prepare I had kept the run on the back burner and was only running about 10mi/week max. I have the most talent of the three sports in running (ok it's the only sport I have any natural talent in) so I figured my limited time was best spent on the other two. When I left for Knoxville it was raining hard. When I got there it was still raining hard. It didn't stop until I got back to Madison. The Knoxville bike course had small rivers running across it and had some pretty technical descents. Having only had 2 days outdoors on my tri bike, I played it very conservatively on the downhills and braked a lot. This killed any chance I had of placing near the top, as I probably lost at least 5 minutes slowing myself down but I'm glad I didn't take the risk. The season was just starting and I wasn't comfortable yet, not to mention the fact that I was shaking uncontrollably in the cold rain on the bike whenever I stopped pedaling. However apart from that it was a very promising race as far as the rest of the season is concerned. My swim was strong, my power was high on the bike and my 37min 10k run split was surprisingly fast for the little time I put into it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I made some improvements to my swim technique since last season, which is why my swims have all been strong so far this year. In November, just before I took my 3 months off, I travelled down to Islamorada, FL in the keys to the Race Club to be a swimmer for a week. My coach was Gary Hall Sr: Olympic gold medalist, elite swim coach and a pretty laid back guy, too. But when it came time to swim, it was all business and I learned a lot. In general and about what I was doing specifically. One thing that he was really great at was complimenting you while at the same time motivating you to do better... or reminding you that you have a lot to work on. Kind of like backhanded compliments except with no negative intent. For example, he has all his swimmers do a pretty intense stretching series every day, and while we were doing this one shoulder stretch he said to me "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You have extremely flexible shoulders... I usually see that in 10 year olds, not 27 year olds. You could've been a pretty good swimmer... still could be I guess" or another time it was </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"That was a good 3 strokes... if we can get you to do that all</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffcc; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">time you're going to look like a</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffcc; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">race</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffcc; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">club </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">swimmer instead of a wisconsin triathlete" Anyway I swam ~35,000 yds that week and felt really good in the water by the end of it. Like I never have before or since. And then I proceeded to come home and stop training for 3 months. But I remembered everything we worked on and have been putting it into practice for the last 2 months. And my swim times are beginning to show the results of the changes so far this season.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Definitely a Wisconsin triathlete...</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsKpXoZDqh3jbFtGTP0YmzIB56wpSOBcAvQfA2tekKeXvmAR2xKmdUHDwL_MknOecG9S_g-ARzSkr-amzvPxcuvm_r9Nx8yGM1juC1h7IibxF63OaskQypbN2N-1LrOBwYosnLfUynMU/s1600/0-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsKpXoZDqh3jbFtGTP0YmzIB56wpSOBcAvQfA2tekKeXvmAR2xKmdUHDwL_MknOecG9S_g-ARzSkr-amzvPxcuvm_r9Nx8yGM1juC1h7IibxF63OaskQypbN2N-1LrOBwYosnLfUynMU/s320/0-1.jpeg" width="320" /></span></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's where we swam... in November</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And here's the view from my window</span></span></div>
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Around the time of Knoxville it dawned on me that the Triple T was in just a couple weeks. I had been so focused on Knoxville that I had pretty much forgotten about it (it's like forgetting about an Ironman) and certainly hadn't been preparing for it. I'd been doing high workout frequency, but no single workouts had been over 2 hours and most hadn't been over 90min. So I did one 4hr ride that next week, called that my endurance training, and drove down to southeastern ohio for a weekend of mental and physical exhaustion. And fun! </span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wanted to get some speed work in, so I took the super sprint as hard as I could. I made a few mistakes, like apparently forgetting how to take my wetsuit off quickly, but I ended up beating my time from last year and finished in 10th, the first time I had broken into the top 10 at any of the triple T races (This year was my 3rd, and probably last, time doing this event and my first as a solo). The second race, the morning olympic distance, started well and I had a surprisingly fast swim and bike considering the relatively low effort I was putting out, but then somehow my body didn't remember how to run. I couldn't push myself; I was just wiped out. I was hoping it was dehydration or low salts because then at least I could fix it by the afternoon race. If I was going to run like that all weekend it was going to be rough... luckily it must've been just that because I came back in the afternoon like I was back from the dead. I had a great second oly (minus the swim... how are you supposed to swim after a hard bike with cramping calf muscles??) and finished 8th solo senior. I think.. the results page online is kind of screwy and it keeps getting changed. I had pushed that third race quite hard on the bike (40k watt PR) because it was the least technical course and I wanted to have one great ride that weekend. I pushed the run hard because I was upset at myself for the morning's performance, so between the two I probably went a little too hard with the half Ironman on the horizon Sunday morning.</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The half, or the "race that matters" as coach Kory Seder would say, was next. On the swim the strategy was simple. Swim straight and give it whatever's left. I had a great swim and came out of the water as the lead pros were just getting on the bike. That's new. On the bike my legs were feeling tired but seemed to be able to maintain a reasonable effort, so I kept the power up on the climbs and flats but was a little cautious on the fast, twisting, blind-cornered downhills. It was a two loop course though so I made some mental notes of which hills I could actually bomb safely on lap 2. I finished lap one in an unexpectedly quick split. I didn't need to go that fast on the bike so I decided I would let my power drop to save it for the run. The interesting thing is that even though my lap 2 power dropped by 20w my split time ended up being the same as lap 1 because there were 4 descents I could take more confidently. It really showed me how much time I was losing by tapping the brakes. I can sort of ride these technical courses well once I know the course and can practice them. When I got to the run I was glad I lowered my power on the second lap... my legs were dead enough as it was. It was a real struggle trying to finish off the 27 mile run weekend when I hadn't done anything close to a 27 mile week all season. But even though the uphills seemed to never end, I could lean forward and spin my legs down the hills and that gave me enough recovery to get through it half decently. My overall time in the half was a very surprising 5:03 which is fantastic for me on that course. That got me 5th or 6th solo senior and 10th overall solo senior (they really make me feel old with their senior division, haha)</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ice baths in the river after each race. Recovery is the name of the game at Triple T.</span></div>
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From here I'll be racing a lot of the local sprints and olympic triathlons for the next couple months, and hopefully continuing to break new ground. Everything feels like it's clicking now and each week I feel stronger and smoother. Even this past Thursday, although it's a small race, I hit a personal milestone by finishing first overall at a Madison aquathon series race (1k swim/5k run) for the first time in the coldest water I've ever competed in (49-54 depending on who you asked).</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">See you on the race course!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-65314477594655636852012-10-30T13:15:00.002-05:002012-10-30T14:56:50.356-05:00Two steps forward, one step backwardThe time since Ironman has been very busy and uncertain but also exciting. In the midst of preparing for the Miami 70.3 this past weekend, the last couple months have been a gradual process of making some fairly major choices and changes in my life in general, some of which are still ongoing. The most relevant to triathlon is my job change which was just made official last week. I'm going to start working for SBR Coaching, a local triathlon coaching company starting next week. I'm really excited about this opportunity and feel honored for the offer. On one hand I'm going to miss Endurance House. I enjoyed my time there and I think they have a great thing going. However all things considered I believe this move is going to be a good thing for me and create a better situation in many respects. For one thing, I am excited to be able to take on additional coaching clients in the future and help pass on what I've learned from study and experience to help others reach their sport and fitness goals.<br />
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My new job!</div>
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It's been a busy time but I have been determined since Rev3 to stay on top of sleep, getting my workouts in and eating well. My diet continues to improve, and I can feel when I slip up for a few days which helps to stay on track. A few workouts had to get scrapped in favor of sleep (can't get anything out of your training if you're over tired) but all in all I am happy with my preparation for my most recent race. The most important thing was that I arrived in Miami on Thursday well rested and ready to go.<br />
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Getting on the plane I wasn't sure if we would get all the way to Miami or if we'd have to land early because of Hurricane Sandy which was in the general area. It turned out to be totally fine, although Friday was a little rough down there. That was the worst day for the storm, and packet pickup was cancelled that day. I didn't want to get blown over on my bike or sick outside so apart from a rather large trip to the grocery store, I stayed in my hotel all day doing things like relaxing, eating, relaxing, building my bike, relaxing, reading the bible in the hotel room, relaxing and sleeping.<br />
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Big storm, luckily we didn't get hit too badly</div>
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Saturday was a little more eventful and I got out for a short test ride on the bike. Everything was in working order except for my Powertap which was not getting a reading on the joule. The racing wheel hub most recently worked at Ironman, but I'm wondering if maybe it needed a new battery. I discovered this pretty late at night so there was no time to fix that, but it's ok. I've been training with power all year so I have a pretty good feel now for efforts. Not ideal but something I can roll with.<br />
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Race morning came and just a little bit of wind remained from the storm but nothing more than what we regularly experience riding in the Madison area in the fall. It was going to be a headwind on the way out, tailwind on the way back. I felt fortunate that the storm had passed just in time. With weather conditions seemingly worsening on a yearly basis and more triathlons being threatened with swim cancellations all the time, I wanted to make sure that I enjoyed and made the most out of this day.<br />
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The swim started and I was out in the top group of 4 in my age group wave. I felt good sitting in the group and as we approached the first buoy, 200m in we ran into the back end of the previous wave that left 4 minutes earlier. Our group split up to weave through and wasn't able to come back together so the rest of the way I was on my own. Now I don't blame any other swimmers and certainly don't feel ill will towards them but I do wish that Ironman would put an elite amateur wave in their 70.3 events. It would make the event both safer and more competitively enjoyable. I did an ok job sighting but there was a current in the bay so at times I found myself a little off course. There was also a time coming back into shore when I saw a gigantic barge being towed into shore, ~300m away from us going parallel with the swimmers. It was at least 100m long and uncomfortably close to us. I didn't realize there was a canal going into the city that it was aiming for so I stopped a couple times to make sure that it wasn't going to turn into us and kill us all. My swim time of 28:15 didn't quite reflect my fitness, but I probably only lost about a minute or so, so not a deal breaker.<br />
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After an average swim I hopped on the bike and had the ride of my life, at least at this distance. Starting in wave 14 there were literally over a thousand people ahead of me on the course. Combine that with a pancake flat, fairly narrow course and it was a recipe for large packs to form on the bike. This was a ride where you had to be on alert the whole time. The way out of the city was pretty turny, and with so many people everywhere it was impossible to really push hard or corner fast. At one point I had to slow to ~5mph to navigate a small lake that was forming in the road due to an open fire hydrant. The water fully submerged my 65mm rims. I just took the race as it came, made sure I didn't hit anyone and got through it the best I could. Once we got onto the main road, a 20 mile straight shot to the turnaround, things got interesting. I had picked up a couple cheaters who latched on just inches behind my back wheel. Another guy had passed me and was sitting about 6-7 bike lengths up and was beginning to pick up tails as well. I got frustrated and went to pass, but when I did he pulled up behind my group and before I knew it I looked back and I was pulling a train of about 20 riders. About half were in my age group (we were split into two waves, I was in the second) but there were also plenty of 40+ guys and even a few girls. Normally I don't see women blatantly cheating like that. Every time I got ahead, the group would catch and pass me. I had to basically coast for 30 seconds to allow people to go by until I was on the back end of the train, hanging 4-5 bike lengths back. I was the only one allowing any space at all. I could still feel a bit of a draft but I was within the rules. As it got too easy on the back I'd pass the entire group only to be caught again once I was facing the full headwind and they were trading pulls like an organized paceline in front. This went on for a very frustrating 10 miles. I was clearly one of the strongest riders in the group but not strong enough to pull away from all 20 of them on my own.<br />
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It's cool if it's the ITU and you signed up for a draft legal race. Not cool if it isn't.</div>
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At that point I decided I had to do something about it. I didn't want to do anything that would compromise my race, but at the same time if we hit the turnaround with this group intact, there would be no way to split it with the tailwind and I was looking at coming off the bike with 10 other guys in my age group. Since I was aiming for top 3 overall amateur, this was not an option I could allow. I started by making my way to the front and accelerating the pace of the group. Not fast enough to pull off the front, but I wanted to make everyone work a little bit harder so that the strongest riders would naturally end up in the front, or in other words I wanted the 4-5 strongest riders to be the 4-5 guys immediately behind me. I pulled at this accelerated tempo for 5-10minutes to let things settle out behind me. Once I thought the group was comfortable at this pace, I started to slow down ever so gradually. My goal was to frustrate the strong riders right behind me and tempt them to try to drop me. This worked, and gradually, one by one, someone would ride around me and get about 5-6 bike lengths up the road. I let the leaders get further and further ahead, very gradually, until there were 4 guys about 10 bike lengths ahead of me working together. I looked behind and everyone else seemed comfortable sitting in behind me, so it was time to make the move. I turned on the small amount of fast twitch muscles that I have, dropped the group and within seconds I was sitting ~4 bike lengths behind the faster riders with a big gap behind me. The main group tried to bridge up but couldn't and fell apart in their efforts. Two of the faster guys up by me couldn't maintain the pace for long and I hit the turnaround with one other guy (the original one who passed me at about mile 5).<br />
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As I turned around I could see the remains of the large pack, which was now about 3-4 smaller groups which made me happy. The field had thinned out drastically by then so I could now put my head down and really just ride my race without worrying about everything else going on. With the tailwind I was flying. I was likely going about 30mph for 20 straight miles. Things were going great until mile 50 when we crossed train tracks that were covered with a mat. I hit a jarring bump and something wasn't right. I had a moment of deja vu and realized that my saddle nose had dropped, just like the last time I was in Miami. I rode the last 6 miles sliding off the front of my seat, which was over stretching everything in back and cramping up everything in front of the hips. With 2 miles to go I went through the water section again, which was now much smaller, however I hit a concealed pothole or something that I couldn't see which dropped the seat more and also this is likely where I flatted my rear tire. I didn't recognize the flat tire at the time because all I could notice was the seat position which was so messed up. The last 2 miles were pretty slow and very painful but I came off the bike last April and had a good run, maybe I could do it again.<br />
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This is not a fun way to ride, even for short times</div>
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My bike split was 2:20, or 24mph average, which is a 56mile PR by a good 2 minutes. I was aiming for a ~2:18 and think I would've been right there if not for the mechanicals in the last stretch. I am psyched about my ride, especially considering the circumstances. There were certainly times when I was riding a little faster than I would've been totally on my own, but there were also times I was going much slower than I would've on an open course so I think things evened out. I also came off the bike as the 15th overall amateur which I'm happy about considering how many were drafting out on the bike course. However it turned out that even though I was able to run well enough off a 40k earlier in the year with this seat problem, after the longer ride I just wasn't able to overcome it. The first couple miles were ok. They felt slow and tight, but apparently I was running mid 6's. Then at around mile 4 everything in the hips started to cramp. I suffered though it for awhile but was running 8s and the pain was getting worse and worse. I knew that my goal run time of 1:25 and/or pro card was now unattainable but there was still a chance if I could get rid of this that I could at least PR. When I turned around I seemed to come around and started running in the 6s again. I was getting excited that I might be able to break 4:20 for the first time but it was not meant to be. The cramps came back stronger than ever at about mile 7-8. Once a PR was impossible, I decided to throw in the towel. I could feel things pulling in weird ways so to avoid injuring myself for nothing I walked the next 15-20 minutes or so. I jogged the last mile just because I didn't want to walk across the finish line. Final time was 4:38, with a 1:45 run split.<br />
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It was a humbling experience but I'm not upset about it. I know I did everything I could control and raced smart. I made a big step forward on the bike, however now that the season is over I will need to address this saddle issue. I haven't had any problems with it at all since April. I tightened it down as hard as I could before the race, too. However because my bike is slightly too long for me I've had to slide the seat very far forward on the rails which puts my weight in front of the pivot point. It wouldn't be a problem if the seat was further back and my weight was directly over the seatpost. I either need a different attachment system or a different bike. But right now I'm most excited about the off season and taking some time to relax, if only for a short time.Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-82785628247440432832012-09-10T22:58:00.000-05:002013-09-23T17:23:32.058-05:00Re-ignitedAs every triathlete around the area is already well aware, yesterday was Ironman Wisconsin. This is an unusual post, as this race report isn't one for me, as I was watching the race from the sidelines. No, this is about 3 other athletes and their journey towards this day. I am honored to have coached these 3 athletes over the past 3months-3years and even though I personally much prefer racing the Olympic distance over the long stuff, yesterday's full day of spectating and coaching brought just as much of a thrill for me as any down to the wire sprint finish or perfectly executed race I've been in myself.<br />
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The three athletes I helped to prepare for this race are Summer Ohlendorf, Zach Lammers and Jami Klagos, listed here in the order I began working with them. In this post I want to summarize and highlight each of their races, as well as give some insight into what each of them had to go through to get to this point and what different strategies were used for each one of them and why.</div>
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I've worked with Summer for the past 3 years. This Ironman was her 2nd, as she did one 2 years ago in 2010. That year was her second year as a triathlete, which meant second year as a cyclist/runner also as she had been a swimmer for a long time before that. That year she finished in 11:58. To many that would sound like a great time, but she felt that she underachieved, so she basically has had a chip on her shoulder for the past 2 years. I agreed that she had the ability to go faster, but that's no guarantee it would happen and this race isn't purely about fitness, it is just as much about race execution.</div>
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We figured that with two years of almost year round training, dropping somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-30 min would be pretty doable just with the increased fitness she would have. But that wasn't good enough, she was determined to cut a full hour off her time. As a grad student studying for a phD, she just doesn't have the time to train like a pro athlete and drastically increase fitness in relatively short periods. The fitness would be sure to build gradually but in order to accomplish her goal it was going to take more than that. When she toed the line yesterday she was not only a fitter athlete, but a smarter, wiser athlete with a better plan. </div>
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That plan was executed to a T on race day. I don't understand how it happened, but her swim was the exact same as in 2010, a 1:00:55. We were expecting a 58-59 but some chop and wind on the back stretch and going a bit off course derailed that. However, this time she was instructed not to look at her time coming out of the water, since the difference between a good and bad swim didn't really matter for her. It was only going to be a 3-4 min swing at the most. The only thing the swim could do was affect her mentally for the rest of the day, and it was key to put the swim behind her no matter what. Because the key to the bike ride was pacing and putting out very even power on the hilly course. This is something that is hard enough to do, but is made even harder if you are worried that you have time to make up after a slow swim. Training and racing with power and understanding how that effects not only your ride but also your run has been a huge part of Summer's preparation. Lots of practice keeping the wattage consistent over varying terrain helped her to nail it on race day. I won't say what her wattage was :) but I will say that her average power was the same for the last 56 miles as it was for the first 56. When she told me in a surprised way, "I still feel good" at mile 90 of the bike, I knew it was going to be a good day. 2 years ago she could barely acknowledge my presence at that point.</div>
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Summer killing it on the bike</div>
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The thing about triathlon in general, but especially Ironman is that while having a good plan is important, what really makes the difference is being able to adapt, and to make the right decisions at key points in the day. Something will inevitably go differently from what you planned, no matter how meticulous you are ahead of time. How you react is what will determine the outcome of your day. One of the biggest problems with Summer's Ironman 2010 race was nutritional, which caused her to walk a fair amount of the marathon. One example of reacting to the situation was that during the run this year, her primary fuel source was Coke for much of the run (easy to digest sugars when blood to the stomach is lowest) and salt tablets for electrolytes. She was using more salt than expected and ran out with a ~10k to go, so made the decision to make the switch over to sports drink towards the end. Blindly sticking to the Coke plan would likely have resulted in the last 3-4 miles run at a considerably slower pace. In the end she hit all her goals. Although her swim was the same, she had faster transitions, her bike went from 6:10 to 5:49, she felt much better starting the run and dropped her run from 4:37 to a 3:53. Her final time was one hour and 6 minutes faster for a 10:52. I'm pretty sure that chip is gone. </div>
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Zach was the youngest competitor in the race. So they don't get sued out of their minds, WTC requires everyone who does the Ironman to be at least 18 so they can sign for themselves. I've worked with Zach (literally, I mean we are employed at the same store, Endurance House) for a few years, and I started working with him as a coach last season. Since he's been in high school, I'd work with him over the summer, then if he was in cross country or swim season we'd take a triathlon break. With Zach's training, a theme that seemed to come up again and again was injury management. Coming off of a cross country season there was a stress fracture, early in this season we had a long running race to train for and after the race there was another stress injury. As we built the run volume up again he was hit with a knee injury this time. After the initial stress fracture in cross country we looked at the shoes he was wearing and his running mechanics. This was around the time he started at Endurance House too, which was nice to have the equipment to look into this. There were some things to clean up with the mechanics, and he did a great job of making those changes. His form was better and he was running better without pain, but when you want to run an ultra marathon and you get a late start due to an earlier injury, you have to ramp mileage up faster than would be ideal to get through the race. We played it as conservatively as we could and he got to the finish line but was back to resting it afterwards. Not a full stress fracture, but another setback on the run.</div>
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Luckily he was very proactive and thinks outside the box. We brainstormed different ways to approach figuring out what was going on. After seeing massage therapists and chiropractors the consensus was that there were some significant muscle imbalances going on. Work was done to balance it out, and although it didn't become pain free until the end of this July to start running again, it has been better ever since. Because of all of this the longest run in Zach's Ironman build was only 13 miles. This is not usual but the primary goal was to get to the starting line injury free and rested.</div>
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The nice thing about triathlon is when you have an injury in one sport, you're not reduced to sitting on the couch thinking about how screwed your season is. There are two other sports to train and while his run was resting we were hammering the swim and bike. Particularly the bike. Zach had a good amount of time to train once school got out for the summer and is very motivated. He'll consistently get up at 5am to get his long workouts in if he has to be at work later. We made huge fitness gains on the bike, and it showed as his races improved significantly throughout the season. The gains on the bike translated well to the run. I wasn't actually too worried about his running ability because that is his primary background.</div>
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Race day came and he was calm, ready and had a good plan. I always try to steer first time Ironman participants away from getting caught up in race times. Until you've done it, you really have no idea how your body will react and what you are capable of. I had ideas of course, based on training, but if you're wrong and overestimate your ability you will pay dearly in this race. Best to play it conservatively. Zach's strong and steady approach paid off and he blew away all expectations. I was thinking in my head 10:30 on a good day, 10:50 on an average day, and who knows on a bad day if his knee gave out (although I didn't tell him this). He told everyone he would be happy with an 11hr time at the banquet when they called him on stage as the youngest competitor. He ended up going a 10:13. Even the announcer said something about it at the finish line. His lack of run volume showed in the second half of the run when his form started falling apart, but his mental toughness and overall high fitness level kept him going. Most importantly of all, he is feeling no pain after the race, which based on past experience likely means the injury problem is solved. An Ironman marathon would have surely set it off earlier in the year.<br />
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Zach at the finish line</div>
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Jami contacted me at the end of May. I had never met her before, and she was referred by my friend Jess who works for Jami's dad. I think Jami's dad was looking for a coach so she would stop asking him what to do, haha. I met up with Jami to talk about potentially coaching her at the beginning of June. I knew she was signed up for the Ironman, and it would be her first one and that's about all I knew. One of my first questions was what kind of experience did she have in the sport. The answer was a little surprising... "I'm doing my first one this Sunday". Under most circumstances if someone came to me 3 months before an Ironman and had never even done a triathlon of any distance before I don't think I could take them on. It's just not enough time to put together a good training plan for a race of this distance and I don't like to do things half-assed if at all possible. I know that every situation is different though, so I was interested to hear what her background was. While not a competitive runner, she had trained for and run a marathon last year and had been on a swim team when she was younger but it had been years. Normally I don't consider running a marathon to be a prerequisite for doing the Ironman but in this case it was a huge plus. Her swimming experience at least meant that we could start right away with building fitness rather than swimming lessons. She was an athlete in non endurance sports, so she came in with some good strength. She had been putting in pretty consistent training, although without a clear direction and no where near enough volume. But what really swayed me was her clear excitement about the whole thing and willingness to work hard. Well, maybe this could work...</div>
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The summer was a crash course in triathlon, both in terms of training and education. She got her sprint out of the way right away which gave us benchmarks. An olympic distance race the following week gave a good opportunity to put the lessons learned from race #1 to the test. Gaining as much race experience as possible was key, so she raced a half Ironman in July and another olympic in August. Total training volume couldn't get too high at any point in the season as she didn't have the base for it and there was nothing we could do about that. Instead we focused on weekly key long workouts on the weekend that progressed throughout the summer with very focused, intensity-based training during the week to help improve strength and O2 capacity. These workouts were for fitness but also for learning what it would feel like during the Ironman. There were a few rough ones but overall things progressed very well.<br />
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Jami with her dad on one of the hills</div>
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As such a rookie triathlete we were not focused on race times. Jami's only goal as far as that was concerned was to not have to worry about making the 17hr cutoff. At first I was concerned she would have to worry about it, but after her half Ironman in July I knew things were going in a good direction and that wouldn't be a concern unless something very bad happened on race day. She ended up finishing in 13:09, no where near the cutoff and actually fast enough to finish 5th of 17 in the 18-24 age group. </div>
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I totally didn't expect all 3 of them to finish in the top 5 of their age groups and get called up at the awards, although I think it's pretty awesome that it played out that way. This is a testament to each of their individual work ethics and attention to detail. These are two of the most important qualities I like to see in athletes and it always makes a coach look better when they get to work with those types of athletes.</div>
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I started coaching awhile ago and have always enjoyed it. At first it was easy, I had no other commitments and could put my full attention to it. I love working with driven athletes, those wanting to work towards a goal and willing to put in the work to do it. However, motivation and enthusiasm can fade when you start dealing with time strains, other commitments, politics of sport, athletes who don't want to be there and other stresses. I've continued coaching in smaller capacities over the past year or two so that I could give those I do work with the attention they deserve. My love of coaching has slowly started to return, and after spending the day darting around the course following my athletes at Ironman, I feel like I have sparked a renewed passion for it. I got a message after the race that said "That was the best day of my life". I won't say which one sent it but it's that kind of thing that really makes it all worth it. What this all means for the future, I'm not sure yet but I know that I want to make coaching a larger part of my life again. </div>
Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-9004236105906038562012-08-16T11:53:00.001-05:002012-08-16T11:53:40.033-05:00Rev3 I've heard good things about Rev3 over the past year as they've been growing more and more. When I heard they were adding a race in the Dells, I jumped at it as there aren't that many bigger races close to home. Talking to some friends earlier in the year who have done Rev3 races they told me to prepare for a tougher course. As a Rev3 official mentioned, they don't go out of there way to make the courses hard, but they don't purposely avoid hills either.<br />
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Racing close to home allowed me to ride the course a couple times this summer. That was an advantage, especially with a course like this. I got to work on the technical sections and prepare for the hills. When race day came and it was only in the mid-60s, I got to experience a much easier course than the one I remember training on when it was in the mid-90's. <br />
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The race started in a time trial format, which is good and bad. Good because it reduces swim congestion, although generally if there is an elite amateur wave that solves that problem for me. Bad because when you're on the course you don't necessarily know if you're ahead or behind the people around you. I started near the back so I could be confident that anyone around me was actually behind me as the day went on.<br />
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My swim was just not that good. It wasn't the worst swim I've ever had; I did swim my lines well but I just didn't have energy in the water. The barely wetsuit legal temp probably didn't help but I didn't feel quite like myself in the water. Probably had to do with my recent swim training, or lack thereof, so I'm not surprised. Luckily this race turned out not to attract many swimmers outside the pro field, so I exited in a good spot.<br />
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On the bike I started to feel better. I was having trouble pairing my powertap computer to the hub in the morning so I wasn't getting a reading on watts, so the bike was all based on feel this weekend. After all my training and racing with the powertap this year, I actually think I did a good job with pacing and holding back where I need to. This was verified with my good run off the bike. The roads were uncharacteristically smooth for this area of Wisconsin, and I felt strong the whole way. It wasn't easy, and I feel like I wasn't putting out quite the same power that I did at High Cliff earlier in the year, but I rode steady and started the run in a good spot after a killer T2.<br />
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Early in the run I was caught by a group of 3 and stuck with them for almost the first 5k. At that point I wasn't able to keep the pace anymore. I had to let them go, but hung onto the hope that they would fade. They didn't, but I ended up having a very good run nonetheless. Not an easy run; I was suffering the entire way but I was able keep the turnover high which led to a 1:26 on a very hilly course. The uncharacteristically slow swim times overall were made up for with the disproportionately large number of very fast runners at the race. I finished as the 9th overall amateur, with 5-10 coming in the span of just a few minutes. As of writing this on Thursday following the race, I'm finally walking normally without extreme soreness in my legs. The relentless hills definitely beat me up. <br />
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Overall I am very happy with the way I raced, given my preparation. What I need to do better is my preparation. I feel, and showed, that my training going into High Cliff/Pleasant Prairie was much better than it has been for the past month. Things slacked off for a variety of reasons, but I just need to do a better job of staying on the horse no matter what else is going on around me. Rev3 was the last race I was signed up for this year, so the last few days I've been looking around at races and deciding how I want my season to wrap up. I've decided to head down to Miami at the end of October for the 70.3 race. That gives me a little over 2 months to refocus and sharpen back up. I still have my huge base fitness from earlier in the year so this should be doable. I'm getting to know that area very well by now, and the course should suit me very well. Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-72412619930581235572012-06-24T18:59:00.000-05:002012-08-16T11:26:33.435-05:00Unpleasant PrairieHave you ever had one of those races that goes by without flaw for the first 95%, only to go completely to hell? That's the kind of day it was at Pleasant Prairie this morning.<br />
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Had some great things happen this morning:<br />
-First time leading the race out of the water<br />
-First time with a 25.0+ mph average on the bike in a triathlon<br />
-Personal best "10k" run off the bike<br />
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But I'm getting ahead of myself here<br />
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My coach Blake and I decided to try something different this year and block races back to back, so a week after the High Cliff Half I was back out there racing an olympic distance. Back in January he told me if I was really fit by this time I could pull off two great races but the key would be recovering between. This proved to be spot on. Truthfully I felt terrible after high cliff. I hardly did anything until Wednesday of this week training wise, just active recovery for 30min at a time. That was the plan though, so I wasn't too worried, I just felt so fatigued when I was out there. I started coming around Thursday but my first jog of the week didn't go well, so I didn't run again until race day. I was tired constantly and took naps W/R/F when I didn't work and that helped. I was also constantly hungry all week (more than usual). I just tried to listen to my body and give it what it was telling me I needed. This weekend I finally felt pretty good.<br />
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This swim course was unique in that there was a turn buoy just 10meters into the race. Yes, that's right 10 meters into the race meaning you have all the 29 and unders running in from the beach and they are all aiming for a small space. Getting out to and around this buoy was going to be critical. I decided to go for it, started front and center, and at the gun sprinted as hard as I possibly could into the water, dove forward, used my pool swimming background to get a good breakout and took a good 4 strokes without a breath and I was at the buoy at my first sight. I was first there and as I used my corkscrew turn to get around it quickly I saw that just at my feet were 5 guys already running into each other, some going vertical behind them. I easily opened up a gap of a couple body lengths coming off that buoy in the glass smooth water, took a few easy strokes to recover from my sprint, then settled into my pace. I sighted really well and held my lines today, except for some small issues sighting into the sun on the way back in but it wasn't too costly at all.<br />
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One guy managed to pull up to my feet in the second half of the swim and coming out of the water he passed me as I took off my wetsuit. Without a wetsuit on my legs, I quickly overtook him again by the time we got to our bikes and he still had to take his wetsuit off. I got onto the bike first and started going. T1 was flawless.<br />
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On the bike I had my watt numbers I wanted to stay near for the first lap, and did it very well. I also hit my turns well and held speed through them. I've been working more on that since triple t exposed that weakness. Just after the turn around for lap 2 I was passed by Chris Meewes but he didn't get too far ahead of me. I kept him in sight until the final mile and came off the bike about 1:20 down, but well clear of the rest of the field. The most important part was that I felt good coming off the bike. The course was short due to construction on the original course causing a change, but my time of 52min for 21.7mi gave me a 25mph average which would normally put me just under an hour on a true 40k, something I haven't done before.<br />
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T2 was great and I was off running. I felt good, and after about 800m we got onto the long highway stretch and I could see Chris off in the distance. After about a mile I decided that it looked like I was getting closer. Once we hit the turn around he saw me and it seemed like he started going faster, or maybe it was just my imagination. I was making slow progress towards him at this point and it was hard to tell if I was making progress at all, but one thing I know is that no matter how fast I'm running I do it at 90 footstrikes per minute rate (single leg) +/- 2. So when he passed a cone I'd count how many times my right foot hit the ground until I got to that cone. First time was 45. Then 42, 38, etc.. so I was gaining and eventually I had closed the gap to 5 sec. This was at about mile 3.5. So I had put almost 1:20 into him in that time. I don't race with a watch but he was and afterwards told me he was running ~5:55's which means I was going about 5:35's or slightly faster up to that point. Yes it was hard but didn't feel like I was drilling myself to just run 5k.<br />
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Once I pulled up behind him I eased up a little to sit on him while I recovered a little. I wanted to make the pass decisive so he wouldn't be too tempted to go with me. We ran at this just sub 6 pace for about a mile then I felt good enough to go so I ramped it back up and made the pass at 4.5mi. I knew I didn't have it won yet, but I had just moved back into first, was running fast and felt like I could hold it to the end. Then I started to feel a twinge in my side and within two minutes it felt like both sides were splitting open. I tried to lose the cramps, but my pace was slowing to somewhere around a 7min/mi and in the last mile Chris ran by and ended up taking the win 25 seconds before I crossed the finish line.<br />
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Some might say I took it out too hard, and maybe I did. Or maybe it was residual from High Cliff or maybe a little of both. Regardless I'm glad I went for it. I'd rather challenge for the win than take a comfortable 2nd. At the finish line we were 4min clear of 3rd and another 4min ahead of 4th. While tough to see the race slip away at the end like that, all in all I had a great race and I can hardly say that 2nd with a $250 payday (I've never been paid for racing yet) is terrible. Frankly I was pretty pleased with the day and happy to have raced well two weekends in a row, basically my best ever half followed up by my best ever oly.<br />
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So why did I say it went to hell? Because when I looked at the posted results it showed that I ran a 32 min 10k. I felt fast, but not that fast. Knowing the bike was short, I asked the race directors how long the run actually was. "10k exactly, we measured it twice". Not wanting to call them liars, but in my mind thinking they're wrong, we started going over the course. That's when I realized that I had totally missed a .6mi out and back section between miles 4 and 5. I cut the course. <br />
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To be fair to the race directors, they had a sign there and had volunteers signed up at that turn who were supposed to be there to direct. To be fair to me and Chris, the volunteers were late so there was no one there when we went through (second week in a row leading a race has had it's issues with late volunteers) and it was an odd intersection as we were supposed to make a hard u-turn around to the bike path while the sprint athletes took a shallow left. There were sprinters there and I was likely looking over my right shoulder to see where Chris was so I totally missed the sign and followed the sprinters in. I could've not said anything and they may have missed it, but I couldn't accept an award knowing I had cut the course so I reported my missed turn, hoping they'd be lenient and add time but I was disqualified from the race, along with Chris and 3rd place who had a run time of 26:45 listed (no idea what happened there but that would've won the Track and Field olympic trials this past week). I understand that it is by the book the thing to do, it's just unfortunate that even with 5 extra minutes which is more than what it would've taken to run that section we still would've had 1-2. Oh well. It is the athlete's responsibility to know the course, and I did on paper, but I had a one track mind at that point. I don't care too much for not being listed in the results or getting the medal (I know how I did) but the mistake cost me $250, it cost Chris $500. This would've been my first overall podium at a race offering prize money which is the more frustrating part. At least I'm not in this for the money though, so it's just more fuel for the fire now. My run pace ended up being 5:50/mi for 5.6miles, which translates out to a 36:30, which would've been my best off the bike 10k. If I can not cramp like that in the future I should be well into the mid 35's which would be spectacular. <br />
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Next up for me is a focused training phase before my next race in August. I'll try to get some non race report posts up in that time. Thanks for reading<br />
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*Edit- 8/16 title changed, credit goes to Kayla Moses for the idea<br />
<br />Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-12395689987711592192012-06-21T18:03:00.000-05:002012-06-21T18:03:31.117-05:00High Cliff HalfLast Saturday I travelled not too far north to the High Cliff Half Ironman triathlon. If you don't count the Triple T, which I don't, this was my first half since last September down in Branson. While I did well there, finishing 5th amateur, over the last couple years I've mostly been "dabbling" in halfs while maintaining focus on my olympic distance racing which has been my bread and butter for the last 6 years. It was harder for me to train for halfs in the past, as my longest rides were pretty much the races themselves. I put up some good finishes, but my strength was still clearly in the short course. In 2012, with my new schedule that allows increased training volume and recoverability, I felt ready to tackle the distance with more confidence and show that I can be just as competitive in the long course as the short. This year I'm doing about an equal number of short and long course races.<br />
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The swim is held on Lake Winnebago, which is the largest lake in Wisconsin. It's also a pretty shallow lake apparently which means it can be easy for the wind to kick up waves. We got a pretty windy day, so despite looking relatively calm from shore, once we got out there the swim was not easy. I didn't know what to expect for a time as some years the course is as fast as 17min for the top finisher and other years closer to 30. I felt like I was out there for awhile, and despite a recent good streak of sighting well and holding my lines, I was all over the place out on the course. I missed the front pack as I wasn't ready for the sprint that occurred out of the gate, and that group slowly but steadily pulled away from me over the course of the swim. A few times I had to stop and make sure I was still going the right way since I was being pushed off course by the chop. I also had some uncomfortable wetsuit issues that needed to be addressed mid-swim, but that's all I'll say about that...<br />
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Coming out of the water I took a short break from my race mentality as there was a person getting put onto a stretcher on the beach. I would've stopped to help but there were plenty of medical personnel attending so I just wanted to stay out of their way. Once I was around, I started running up to transition. My swim time of 29:57 was 3-4 min slower than I was expecting but it turned out to be a slow day for everyone. That's why I don't wear a watch when I race, because no two courses are the same.<br />
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After a very quick T1 I was out riding in about 6th overall position. Early in the ride I passed two of the fast swimmers and then was in no man's land for awhile. The course was flat, fast but the day was windy so that made it more challenging. I felt great on my new CycleOps race wheels that were making their debut. I saw two guys in the distance and after a 5-10mile chase finally caught them. This was the part of the ride when all the action happened, because as I was about to make the pass, I was overtaken by someone (Dana Reiderer) and then a couple minutes later again (Mike Lavery). Then it was no man's land again for the second half of the ride. I was happy to have my powertap on so I didn't get complacent riding alone. My goal was to ride a steady effort that was challenging but low enough that I wouldn't get off the bike feeling shot. I missed water at the second aid station because I didn't slow down enough, but decided to press on as I still had enough to make it to the third and final aid station. Unfortunately, when I got the third station no one was staffing it and the water was underneath the table in boxes. Frustrated, I kept going, now totally out of fluids with 12 miles to go on the bike. The temp was picking up and it was probably in the mid 80s. I made the decision to dial back my power by 20 watts for the last 12 miles so as not to completely dehydrate myself. It probably cost me a minute or two on the bike but it was the right decision, as I pulled into transition in a state that could still be salvaged without losing major time on the run. My bike split was 2:22, which is my fastest half bike, despite backing off and the extra .7miles. But no bike split matters if you can't run afterwards...<br />
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I came into T2 and was out soon after. I ended up having the fastest combined transition time of the day. I was told I was about 3 minutes behind third place off the bike. Going out on to the run I felt good, but the spring in my step didn't last long as we hit the large hill going up to the trails that we'd be running on for most of the day. At the top I remarked to the volunteers that it was much easier to ride up a couple hours ago. After a couple more minutes my legs got back under me and I started clipping along at what felt like a pretty good pace. There were lots of twists and turns, and some sections of poor footing, but I enjoyed the trail run. Not as fast as a road, but different and it's nice to mix it up. The sections in the prairie were uncomfortably hot but I was wearing a hat that I would dump water on and stick ice inside so it kept me on the right side of the ledge. Getting into the shade again you could feel your pace quickening without meaning to. I passed Mike Lavery around mile 4 or so and he tried to go with but was having some cramping issues so I moved into third.<br />
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The second lap of the run was more crowded as there were many athletes getting started with lap 1. My first lap was pretty quick, and the further I got into lap 2 the more I started to feel the fatigue. I think I could've pushed on at my pace if pressed hard, but it was becoming more obvious all the time that no one was going to challenge my current position. I was also too far behind second place to make a realistic shot at it, so since I was racing again in a week I decided to limit any muscle damage and ease up on the gas (periodically checking back just to make sure). The last couple miles were not pain free though, as I had some decent blisters forming on my feet. I was happy no one was around on the descent into the finish line so I could spare my knees a beating similar to the one they got at Door County two years ago in the dive bomb to the finish to hold off my co-worker.<br />
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Descending down to the finish</div>
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My run split ended up at 1:31 which was one of the better times on the day. Maybe it was the trails but only 2 guys ran under 1:30. One was my friend Paul Eicher, who used an incredible ride and strong finishing sprint to hold off a hard charge by Dana Reiderer for the overall win. I came in third overall, which is my best finish in an elite amateur field. I'm very happy with my time of 4:25 on a course which slowed things down for people in a lot of ways. There is hardly such a thing as a perfect race but I feel I raced smart and it paid off with a good finish. There are things to improve on and I'll have to perform better in future races with more on the line, but this was a good step in the right direction.<br />
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The downside of the day came after the race when I heard the news that the participant who was pulled from the water had passed away. At the time I was hearing drowning, but it has since been discovered that it was a heart attack. I don't know any more details than that and don't want to presume anything, but I want to send my condolences to the family and friends of Doug Witmer. It's a terrible thing when something like this happens in this or any sport that is meant to be a fun, positive experience for the participants. Speaking as both an athlete and race director, please be safe out there everyone.Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-46275301189393341132012-05-23T12:42:00.001-05:002012-05-23T13:30:55.229-05:00Triple TThis past weekend I travelled down to the Portsmouth, Ohio area for the Triple T triathlon tour, or so I call it. This is a unique event that I have done once in the past. Here are the specifics and rules:<br />
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Race #1- Super sprint Triathlon. 250m swim/4mi bike/1mi run. Start time 5pm Friday evening. Individual Time Trial.<br />
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Race #2- Olympic Distance Triathlon. 1500m/40k/6.55mi. Start time 7:30am Saturday. Individual Time Trial<br />
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Race #3- Olympic Distance Triathlon. Start time 3pm Saturday. Format Bike/Swim/Run. Those on a 2-person team may draft off of each other on the bike. Slowest teammate's time is recorded.<br />
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Race #4- Half Ironman Triathlon. 1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi. Start time 7am Sunday. Those on a 2-person team may draft off of each other on the bike. Slowest teammate's time is recorded.<br />
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For teams, results are figured out by adding the times of each person on the first 2 individual races plus each person on the team is given the slower time and then those are added to the total.<br />
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So this is not the type of event I normally do, or one that I have trained specifically for. For the last 4-5 years my training has been geared primarily towards the Olympic distance and to some extent the Half distance this past year. However just the years of consistent training have helped to increase my aerobic and muscular endurance so I was confident I was going to put most of my 2008 times to shame this weekend.<br />
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This weekend in my mind was a training camp. And for the price (only $200 for all 4 races, and they feed you well after each) it's a very cheap but effective training camp. I wasn't rested for it and didn't bring my race wheels. I wanted to use the powertap to help pace the race and also to gather data and useful info for the future.<br />
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The last time I came down I had just graduated from college and my training was not the best that final semester. After a strong 2007 season, I came into that weekend a year later relatively unfit. Thank god I partnered with my friend Carl who pulled me through the last day, as I pretty much broke after #3 that time. The first time I heard of this event, I figured everyone there was either crazy fit or just crazy. That's not too far from the truth. It's a very challenging event, and not just because of the distances. The terrain is VERY hilly and technical, it's usually over 80F by noon, and the water is usually very cold (53 degrees in '08, coldest I've ever raced in). This event tests not only your fitness, but also your strength, skill, smarts, and mental toughness. Depending on how you race it, you can make this much harder on your body than an Ironman.<br />
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This year I was on a coed team with Summer. Because of our relative strengths and weaknesses, our race strategy was different than when I did it with Carl. At the time between Carl and I, I was a little stronger swimmer, Carl was a little stronger on the bike, and we were pretty close on the run. So we intended to do the whole weekend at a steady paced effort and help each other out on the swim/bike by drafting. With Summer and I, I'm stronger in all 3, but she can stick with me on the swim and bike with a draft for the most part as long as I don't hammer the climbs. The run is our biggest difference. We knew her run speed was our limiting factor for the weekend as a team, so we constructed our strategy around getting her to the half marathon on Sunday with the freshest legs possible while I tried to drop some time on the early races.<br />
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Everyone had to wear the same top. It was kind of like everyone was on the same team.</div>
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Race #1- We lucked out on the swim this year. The water was in the low 70s. Since it was only a ~4min swim, most people decided not to wear their wetsuits. I did wear mine and it was a great decision. The tri tops we had to wear created a lot drag and while I started 23rd (5 second intervals every 2 ppl) I was in the top 10 out of the water. Once I got my feet into my shoes on the bike I started hammering. It was only going to be a 10-12 minute bike ride so I was thinking I'd be ~350 watts. I turned on my powertap but didn't look at it for ~30 seconds. I biked by feel, it didn't feel horrible, then I looked down and saw that I was averaging well over 400 watts. Knowing full well I've never even been able to ride for even 3 minutes over 400, I dialed it back down to 350. This got hard fast and by the end my normalized power average was under 330. I had been intending to use my powertap to pace longer distance races this year, but wasn't sure about whether to use it for olympic distance races. This was a very strong cue that it would probably be helpful in keeping me from going overboard during 40k races as well.<br />
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The bike course was basically flat for a couple min, then a huge climb, then flat for a couple min, then a fast decent back down to transition. I had been passed by a couple people early, but also passed one more on the way up, but then lost about 8 -10 places towards the end of the bike leg as I wasn't comfortable bombing down this hill without brakes. So in an 11 minute bike ride I learned 2 very important things that will help me in the future. Working on my descending skills will be very helpful and using a powertap will not only help me in long course racing.<br />
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I started running feeling like I hadn't biked. Having coasted the final minute of the ride I felt almost as good as I would in an open road race. I ran hard and passed a handful of guys, giving me 14th overall for the sprint.<br />
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2008-26:32<br />
2012- 22:49<br />
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Race #2- Swim felt great again. I held my lines perfectly and didn't add any distance, which is a big deal for me. Everyone was wearing a wetsuit now, but I continued the trend I started Friday and moved up lot. I think I got passed by one guy. Getting out of the water I had a quick transition and got going on the bike.<br />
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This bike course was the most technical of the 4, and included the steepest hill about 10 miles into the ride. Since this was the last individual time trial before the team races, I was planning on going hard, but holding back just enough so that I could push again in the afternoon. On the flats and most climbs I was riding around 260 watts which isn't too far off of my projected 40k power. It was a tough ride but not horrible. Definitely could've pushed a little harder but I'm glad I didn't. It was nice to have the powertap again because with the climbs and false flats it was easy to spike up over 300 without intending too, so I could catch myself and dial back. Normalized power ended up at 249 since there were about 4-5 miles of coasting downhill. <br />
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Again a big weakness was exposed in my descending skills on these roads. I didn't realize it was a big problem because I usually race flatter courses and don't notice if I lose time on my competition, but if I can improve my cornering by 3-5s per turn that would make a big difference even in my typical races. I got passed by many going downhill, but in particular I remember the pro Christine Anderson who I originally passed a few minutes into the ride on a hill. I remember because 1. she was the only female on the first bike rack, and 2. she had a pink aero helmet I could see from a long ways off. After passing and putting her out of my mind, she shot by me so fast on the next descent a few minutes later that I almost lost sight of her, but could see the pink helmet off in the distance. I chased that pink helmet for a good 5-10minutes, slowly reeling her back in. Then we hit the steep grade where you have to totally disregard the powertap, I made the pass, and we had flats for awhile. After some switchbacks and couple more fast descents I was back at transition and again she passed me on the dismount line, over half an hour after the big climb.<br />
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The run felt a little bit more like a brick than day 1, but once I got into it after the first mile I felt good. I'm not a very good uphill runner and the course was very hilly, so the climbs hurt a lot but unlike on the bike I can fly on the downhills. I don't like to do it except in races because it puts a lot of pounding on your knees but at least it was off road. That helped with the stress but you had to watch every step so you didn't turn an ankle on the rocks that were everywhere. I ran hard but was careful to hold back some for race 3/4. No finish chute sprint this time.<br />
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2008- 2:31:22<br />
2012- 2:20:03<br />
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Race 3- It was getting hot. It was 92 when we started the race, which opened with the bike. This time Summer and I got to draft off of each other. The plan was that I would pull about 80% of the time to save her legs for the run. This worked really well and we had a great ride. It wasn't as technical as the morning race so we didn't lose a lot of time there. The only mishap was when Summer's joule computer popped off her bike and we had to stop, go back and get it. That probably cost us a minute or two but we still had a very solid bike split.<br />
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I like this one.</div>
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Putting the wetsuit on was part of T1, which is something you don't normally try to rush. I got into the water and just felt terrible. I swam strong the first 2 races, but this time every pull hurt. After the first half of the swim I was spending so much effort pulling that I couldn't even really kick. The plan had been to swim just ahead of Summer so she could catch my draft, but even though she later told me her swim felt really bad too, she was dropping me. This was unexpected but there was nothing I could do. I came out of the water ~30s back but luckily she had a good sense of where I was and knew how to adapt to the situation properly. She left transition without waiting for me, which was absolutely the right thing to do for the team.<br />
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In transition I put on my fuelbelt stocked with water, gels and a lot of salt. Then I took off to catch Summer. It took me about a mile to catch back up, and from there it was an interval run. My job on the bike was to pull us along and deliver Summer to the run with fresh legs, then act as a mobile aid station during the run. So I'd run with her between aid stations, then as we got there she would go through, grab what she could but keep moving. I'd stop, refill what we needed and then push the pace until I caught back up. It was very hot, but since we always had whatever we needed at all times, we kept a steady pace and didn't fade in the heat. At this point we were starting to see some hanging heads, blank faces and fast guys walking, but the real carnage never happens until Sunday.<br />
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2008- 2:30:53<br />
2012- 2:37:55<br />
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Race 4- This race weekend is all about how well you can take care of yourself and recover between races. Having suffered the consequences of screwing this up last time, I took it seriously. As soon as one race was over, it was food, water, ice bath in the stream, compression socks on, cooldown ride back to the cool cabin, then rest and foam roller and more food. You can't eat too much during this event. I had no problem doing this after races 1 and 2, but because 3 was so hot, even though I felt good during the run my stomach started going south that night. I had to force feed myself even though everything looked gross to me. I went to bed early without getting my stuff ready for the next day, then in the spirit of the event I got up just an hour before race 4 started and very quickly organized and packed my stuff.<br />
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Our strategy for the half was basically the same as it was for race 3, except the swim was first again and I was pretty much going to pull the entire bike ride. After race 3, I wasn't sure if my swim was bad because I put the wetsuit on too quickly, because I biked first in the aero position, or just because it was the 3rd race and I was getting tired. Well the swim on race 4 felt way better than 3 so I'm sure it was just something to do with riding first. We swam well; Summer got my draft for most of the course, and then we rode well together. I was going through food on the bike much faster than usual. Everything I put in was just getting immediately burned up. I was almost out by the end of lap 1, but luckily they had cookies and pretzels at the aid station (the only aid on the bike). That sustained me, along with some extra that Summer had with her and didn't need.<br />
<br />
When we got towards the end of the ride Summer yelled up that her legs felt better than they did at the beginning of the ride! I certainly couldn't say the same thing... I pushed hard to do it but this was the best possible spot we could be in entering the 13.1mile run. The run was the same strategy as the day before. It was hot again by the time we were off the bike and my "intervals" didn't have the same snap as they did Saturday. My legs were definitely feeling it, but I just made sure to stay focused on my nutrition. Even though I'm a faster runner, I am perfectly capable of blowing up and becoming our limiter on the run. It was either that or spraining an ankle on the trail that I had to make sure I didn't do. I actually took a couple mis-steps late in the run but nothing came of them. Summer ran steady, strong and stayed just under the point where she'd blow up. She suffered well out there and we crossed the line as the 4th overall co-ed team with a big PR on this course for both of us.<br />
<br />
2008- 6:07:16<br />
2012- 5:32:35<br />
<br />
The weekend was a great training camp. The biggest positive was my swimming, although there were lots of positives. I also go away from it with some things to address and work on in the future. I'm not nearly as sore as I expected to be a few days later, either. I'm excited to carry this momentum into my upcoming races in June.<br />
<br />
<br />Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-87897318237118425782012-05-11T13:29:00.002-05:002012-05-11T13:29:46.332-05:00Fear"I've never met a champion who was afraid to lose"<br />
<br />
This is a quote from Gary Hall Jr, and if you don't know who that is just do a quick google search or talk to a swimmer. It's very true, you just can't reach your potential if you're afraid to put yourself out there. From personal experience, I have seen many athletes much more talented than me fall victim to the fear of losing. Take swimming for example. Most swimmers get into the sport before they are 10 years old. There are many who are successful at a young age, when everyone has the same amount of training under them (zero), but then at some point winning becomes harder. For some it's high school, others college or as a professional. Talent can take you to a point, but it is a poor indicator of long term success. Those who are afraid to fail tend to quit or lose their passion for the sport when the going gets tough. If they do stay in it, it's likely they won't ever achieve all that they're capable of.<br />
<br />
I think one reason I've stuck with the sport and have reached the level I have is because I'm not afraid to lose. (Please don't confuse that with not wanting to win) I used to lose all the time, so I know that I'm not going to explode, the world isn't going to end, etc. I became a swimmer at age 11, well after many of my friends and on top of that I had no natural talent whatsoever in the water. It was 5 or 6 years before I legitimately won a race, and generally I got beat pretty handily. In fact, I used to sign up for the butterfly at dual meets, even though I was terrible at it, because there were usually fewer than 3 people in the race so even if I got last (almost guaranteed) I'd still get a ribbon as long as it was legal (questionable at times). This was impossible in freestyle, where everyone raced.<br />
<br />
Don't let your sport define you as a person.<br />
<br />
I'm a triathlete; I compete in triathlons and I take them seriously. When I'm on the starting line I want to do the best I can, I want to do better than what I've done in the past, and I want to win if possible. If I win, it means I won the race, nothing more. It doesn't make me a better person outside of sport just because I was fast. I'm not somehow more important than those I beat. If I lose, all it means is that. I don't think of myself any less than I did before, and no one else better, either. When people define themselves by their success in their sport, that is when you get all sorts of other complexes I see all too often in athletes. Arrogance, under-confidence, dislike for those who push themselves to try to be competitive (never understood that one) or even various levels of depression sometimes. <br />
<br />
On a mostly related note, I was once asked by a friend before a race, "So are you here to have fun, or are you going to try to win?" Unfortunately this is an all too common thought process, as if somehow you have to choose one or the other. My answer, "Both" was immediate and automatic because it is how I always approach events. Pushing myself, working hard, improving and competing is enjoyable to me. It wouldn't be though if I was constantly afraid of what might happen. If that were the case, competition would oftentimes be a very unpleasant and uncomfortable experience.<br />
<br />
I've come a long way as an athlete, which has actually helped me come a long way as a person, although it's not because of what I've accomplished, but what I went through to accomplish it. As I progress and get faster, it's becomes easier to fall into fear of losing, because of expectation. However it's still just racing, the same as it always has been. When you remember how you got somewhere, by being fearless, then you know how to move forward. Don't let your accomplishments or burden of expectation hold you back by worrying about what other people think.<br />
<br />
While I have never succumbed to the fear of losing in racing, I realized late last year that I did have some deep seated fears involving triathlon that were holding me back. I didn't even fully realize it until I really thought about it and tried to identify it, but once I did it became obvious.<br />
<br />
As I've made public for some time now, my current short term goal in triathlon is to earn an elite license and race as a pro. These were my two primary fears-<br />
<br />
1. How long is it going to take? I've been at this for awhile now.<br />
2. Once I turn pro, will I be able to compete and/or continue to improve?<br />
<br />
Since the sport has improved along with me, it's taking me longer to accomplish this goal than I originally expected. I've given up a lot to chase this, and I was starting to try to rush things. By reminding myself to focus on what I can control, try to improve a little each day, and to realize that it will happen when it happens was huge in freeing myself from this self imposed anxiety.<br />
<br />
The second fear was probably the more important of the two. I know that I can eventually make it into the elite field, but when I do I'm going to go from the top 5% of amateur athletes to the bottom 5% of pro athletes. It'll be a humbling experience and I don't know what potential I may have to move higher than that. Because of this I realized that I was hanging onto the side of the pool as I jumped into the deep end, so to speak. I wasn't going for it 100% because I was worried about failing as a pro. Then it hit me that this is just a different form of the fear of losing that I considered myself immune to.<br />
<br />
I remembered that if I had told any coach, teammate or teammate's parent back in high school that I would some day wear a USA uniform for any sort of athletic event they would never have believed me. (with one exception) The only reason I have is because I went for it despite evidence that I would probably not make it. So last year I decided to make some changes, put myself in the situation that I need to succeed, and go for it with no tether holding on to the side of the pool. And to finally put this fear to bed, I reminded myself of why I got into the sport, and why I want to race at the next level. Because I enjoy the competition and have fun with the sport. I don't know what my ultimate potential is, but that doesn't scare me anymore. If I never progress beyond the bottom 5% of the pro field, who cares as long as I'm competing and enjoying myself. But you better believe that I'm going to give it everything I have to see how far I can get.<br />
<br />
<br />Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-8200028442050105702012-04-03T16:04:00.001-05:002012-04-03T16:09:42.997-05:00Welcome to Miami, where the heat is onI'm in South Carolina now, mostly relaxing after an eventful weekend in Miami. I went down for the Nautica South Beach Triathlon held Sunday. After getting a bit sick early in the week (bad timing...) I was feeling good except for a lingering cough. Now I've done many triathlons but this one was unique in many ways. For example, have you ever been on your warmup run at 5:30am race morning while music is still blaring from some clubs and there are more intoxicated people walking around than triathletes? Driving into South Beach at 4:30am it was like rush hour traffic with all the people leaving after a long Saturday night of partying.<br />
<br />
South Beach was a great venue for the race. The ocean, while choppy with large swells the day before, was almost completely calm on race morning. I actually was hoping for more chop, since it doesn't bother me one bit swimming in 4 foot swells while many of my competitors can't say the same. We swam a point to point course, which ended up being either long or against a current, as my time of 25min is well off of my usual 19-20. I know it wasn't a bad swim though, because even Cam Dye and Javier Gomez were over 20min, and I came out of the water 7th Elite Amateur, which is a few spots higher than I usually am at a race of this caliber. However, I was nowhere near 7th out of the water in my wave because for the first time I've ever seen or heard of, they started us in the same wave as the pros. While good for me as I got to do some drafting with the slower pros, I would've been a bit upset if I were racing for the $40k prize purse and had to cut through the amateur athletes.<br />
<br />
T1 was slow... I was quick at the rack but it was a long run on the sand which tired me out, so I used the run to my bike as recovery time. I performed a flawless mount (or so I thought at first) and was off riding. Energized to hear from Summer and my mom, who came to watch the race that I was in 7th, I was excited to try to pull some spots back on the bike which I've worked so hard on this off season.<br />
<br />
At first I felt good, we were only on the island for a minute or two before getting on the long bridge to Miami. This is where the hills were, and where I caught my first two riders. I passed them without much effort. I was really making a conscious effort to hold back the first 5-10min of the ride since that's when I tend to overdo it. The effort felt reasonable and I made the passes fast and put them behind me. As I crested the first hill I got back in aero and that's when I felt like something was off. My shoulders were really tense.. did I really swim that hard? I'm in an aggressive position, but I can usually just relax my upper body. It took me a few minutes to realize that my shoulders were tensing up because they were trying to stop my hips from sliding forward on my saddle, which was tilted much too far down. My best guess is that it slipped down on the mount. Wish that would've happened in one of the many practice mounts I did in the preceding days so I could've known the bolt had loosened.<br />
<br />
I gave the nose a tug upwards but it didn't do anything noticeable. After the second hill I was off the bridge and riding the flats of Miami to the second bridge back to the island. Here I started struggling more. I think the nose was continuing to drop over time because it was feeling worse. Not only were my shoulders trying to keep my body up but I had to use my pedal strokes to push back on the seat. I just wasn't getting much leverage anymore and a couple other guys caught and passed me in this stretch. They disappeared up the road and I started pushing harder. Coming off the second bridge both hip flexors suddenly cramped (never has happened before) and I had to coast for awhile to work them out. This was about 20k in, and it was apparent that there was no way I could continue riding hard like this. So I got my butt off the seat and pulled up on it as hard as I could. I was ready to stop and fix it if possible if this didn't work. Luckily it did (mostly) and I was able to ride normally the second half. Unfortunately my legs felt a lot worse than they should've by this point and a couple more guys came by, although I kept them in sight for much longer.<br />
<br />
Even though I knew I was slipping down the ranks, I kept telling myself to keep pushing because you never know what might happen up the road. I came into T2 and got some encouraging news... even though I had fallen to 11th I was still only ~3min out of 3rd. So I ran as hard as I thought I might be able to sustain out of T2. I was immediately passed by a guy who was seemingly sprinting full out off the bike. The funny thing was that he was in running shorts, no shirt and I would've thought he was a relay participant if not for the fact that they didn't start till the end and he had an "E" on his calf, signifying that he started in my wave. Figuring there's no way I could run that pace and wondering who the heck this guy is, I just forgot about him. At least until we were 200m into the run and he started coming back. I caught him by 400m and then the strangest thing that's ever happened to me during a race occurred. He starts talking to me... "Ok, let's work together. We'll trade leads, 30 seconds on, 30 off" I'm breathing too hard to talk but even if I could I wouldn't know what to say. So he takes off again, though not as fast this time. He puts about 20m on me and then starts coming back. "We're going to catch a lot of guys at this pace, you're up". I just keep running my pace and I think he realizes I'm not going to play his game so he "pulls" again. Another 20m and 30 seconds and I'm back on his shoulder. Another pull, he gets 10m up on me and suddenly stops, bends over clutching his knees and I run past him. That's the last I see of him, but I make a mental note to do some more research on interval racing and drafting during the run.. perhaps it would be in my benefit to keep my aero helmet on next time...<br />
<br />
Just when I think the distractions are over, the course changes to wet boardwalk where I can feel a little slip under each step. Also, while the bike course had lanes closed for us, the run course did not. On the boardwalk it was an obstacle course with all the people out for a Sunday morning jog/walk/stand/skateboard/bike/piss you off. At mile ~1.5 I saw 3 people running at me on the other side... a woman pushing a stroller, an older guy with headphones in, and Javier Gomez running about a 5minute mile cutting through them. The one thing I said all race was "Go Javier!" as he ran by, while realizing that the World Champion has put almost 20 minutes on me as we started together. Wow. It was odd seeing a world class race going through basically a busy, public area. I'm sure there will be complaints about this.<br />
<br />
Despite the distractions, I was running well and making up ground. The turnaround was slippery, and I saw one guy eat it and heard of more. Coming back I started to fade a little bit in the last mile, but overall I ran very steady. I ran into a girl who tried to cross the path without looking. She had her ipod in so didn't hear me yell to move. I think she stayed upright but there was only a half mile left so I didn't look back. I finished in 8th, and held about he same distance from the top guys as I had at the end of the bike. My 10k was in the 38's which isn't good for me but considering 4miles were spent slipping around and dodging people on the boardwalk I'll take it. I had a friend running ~15-20 seconds per mile slower on the boardwalks according to her garmin. <br />
<br />
Overall I'm happy with my performance. I felt like my fitness was there and I felt strong on the swim and run, although my legs were definitely more fatigued than they should've been on the run. I raced well and didn't make any mistakes. I just hate the feeling of knowing it could've been better if not for factors out of my control. Now lots of mechanical problems are failures to prepare, or lack of knowledge about the bike, but Summer and my mom can both confirm that I had checked, double checked and tested everything multiple times so my bike was in perfect working order when the race started. Getting my bike out of transition, I noticed that the front brake was rubbing the wheel. I have no idea when this happened... it was either in T1 if someone knocked it accidentally while trying to head out on the bike or it was back in T2 or after the race. I may have been riding the brake slightly the whole time, but I'll never know. The aero drink was in the way and I couldn't hear anything. While happy with a top 10 finish early in the season, being just over 3 minutes off 3rd is frustrating, because I have no idea how much time the mechanicals cost me. Maybe it was only a minute. But maybe not, could've been more. I hate to say what I would've/could've done so I'll just save it for the next race. There's always another...Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-71560893600329687272012-02-26T18:58:00.003-06:002012-02-29T08:24:41.116-06:00I really need to stop calling this a raceThat was probably my most frequently spoken sentence of the weekend. I mean, technically the Kortelopet is a race, and plenty of people are racing it just as seriously as I race triathlon... but is it really a race if you're not even sure how to ski properly? After racing competitively for so long, it was nice to do this event just for fun. S's and G's, as we said. It's a strange feeling to just go out at the start of the race at a relaxed pace, but a good feeling. I had no pressure, no competitive aspirations and could just enjoy myself the whole time. I just kept calling it a race out of habit...<br />
<br />
As the "race" got closer I was asked by a lot of people what I thought I might be able to do for a time. Fair question, except I've never been timed on skis, never tried to go fast, and really had no clue. I'm quite fit from my other training, but if you've ever seen a runner try to swim for the first time, you know that being generally fit really doesn't necessarily matter at all. I didn't know how hard I could push myself in a sport I haven't been taught how to do by anyone other than myself or trained for (ok, I got out twice this year, once for 20 whole minutes) Actually, there were lot of things that I wasn't quite sure about, which became more obvious as the weekend progressed. The most important being:<br />
<br />
1. How long the race actually was<br />
2. Where Hayward actually was<br />
3. How to wax my skis<br />
4. How to XC ski uphill<br />
5. How to XC ski downhill<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPpLtrdztJ9wvwKbkyiqpQajiAQTgZA0FH1jiPBNf9_QbqU0CiHzbeVsw-qN9IITHvD-WFIntBSt5E4SmA5CvJh63u2RoNicMOIRBq7pQLG61lmppI6GUqSBQjEoJ7fH0S24hPxMJQKI/s1600/429750_10150659598104873_577989872_9120812_414548660_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPpLtrdztJ9wvwKbkyiqpQajiAQTgZA0FH1jiPBNf9_QbqU0CiHzbeVsw-qN9IITHvD-WFIntBSt5E4SmA5CvJh63u2RoNicMOIRBq7pQLG61lmppI6GUqSBQjEoJ7fH0S24hPxMJQKI/s320/429750_10150659598104873_577989872_9120812_414548660_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Trying to wax my skis 15 minutes before I started.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Cheapest wax kit I could find and I have no idea if I did it right.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As for the length of the race, in my mind I thought of it kinda like a half marathon. Although now I realize that the times only equate in fast runners vs fast skiers... the drop-off in skiing is way higher than in any half marathon due to the technique component. Thinking of it as a half marathon on skis was fine up until I got the the 20k point in the race... so how far do I still have to go? At that point it makes a big difference if you have 1k, 3k or 5k left. Turns out it was 23k, and when the trail though the woods spit us out into the open finish area, it caught me off guard with way too much energy left. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Did you know that Hayward, WI is a 6hr drive from Madison? I do now. I knew we were going north and I wasn't in charge of directions, so keeping in line with the theme of the weekend (unprepared) I didn't look at a map. Turns out we were going deep into the northwoods where some of my friends in school would go for deer hunting, trips to their cabin etc but that somehow I had managed to avoid this whole time. It was a neat experience... our group of 7 triathletes that went up together stayed at Michael Lee's cabin. This definitely enhanced the overall fun factor of the weekend vs staying in some hotel. We also drove by the Namekagon River, which is cool because it's the only other time I've seen that name except for when I look at the street sign on the road I grew up on.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1fcqCi-0TxXevyT1D4RAw2fDL3pkq1NfSIc4FBVAATvaPbRq_ZId0sqKyoJs4y3ZefjrrY6CjB9I3NuLYBM8a7hx5wpVc5wTdjSlXKUSrls-SruyqR9DoeaE5_zXtYcOpyD6ZpKjdL8/s1600/406977_10150659596404873_577989872_9120803_336900149_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1fcqCi-0TxXevyT1D4RAw2fDL3pkq1NfSIc4FBVAATvaPbRq_ZId0sqKyoJs4y3ZefjrrY6CjB9I3NuLYBM8a7hx5wpVc5wTdjSlXKUSrls-SruyqR9DoeaE5_zXtYcOpyD6ZpKjdL8/s320/406977_10150659596404873_577989872_9120803_336900149_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our "family photo" at Michael's cabin, including Camping Bear</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I mentioned that I skied twice this year. That brings my lifetime total up to 5 times going back to last February. This was helpful, and definitely better than putting on my skis for the first time ever this weekend (more on that later), but the places I ski at in Madison are very flat. The Birkie trail is not. At all. I could've probably walked up some of the hills faster than I did with skis on, and all I can say about the downhills is thankfully I did a lot of downhill skiing for fun in middle school. However not having metal edges and different bindings that lift up in the heel on the XC skis makes it different enough that my overall stability on descents is not really good. My number one goal for the weekend, above finishing, was don't get injured. I accomplished this goal and actually didn't crash once.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKCQ1eThLqMHT5m9WOl8IZqsdLHP6X5GzWsa3JFDhDmdqtrOohSH96XsSmS2HJzVHdJ6a-j4PHQJ7JNXaDbALTFew38vMX2AbZ9mHubAvrr-He0KV4d9fWKlLRvFvFbICFbIL3piebUU/s1600/431188_10150659597249873_577989872_9120807_1763269751_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKCQ1eThLqMHT5m9WOl8IZqsdLHP6X5GzWsa3JFDhDmdqtrOohSH96XsSmS2HJzVHdJ6a-j4PHQJ7JNXaDbALTFew38vMX2AbZ9mHubAvrr-He0KV4d9fWKlLRvFvFbICFbIL3piebUU/s320/431188_10150659597249873_577989872_9120807_1763269751_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our first adventure of the day was pushing my car out of the snow in the driveway as we were leaving the cabin</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">One cool and unique thing about this race is that as I fatigued, I got faster. I have so little experience doing XC skiing that I was actually learning and improving my technique as the race went on. I started pretty sketchy, but got used to the skis more and just stayed completely non-competitive for the first 5k or so. Around that time I was getting comfortable enough that I felt like pushing the pace a little bit, and basically built my effort as the race went on. My legs, feet, shoulders and hands were getting sore (I didn't realize how much the poles can fatigue you on the climbs) and I should've been slowing down but my form was improving so I was actually gliding more with each push. In the second half as I got more comfortable my competitive nature took over and I even tried to race a few people who were going about my speed. I didn't really care about the outcome of these races though, and when we'd come to a bottleneck on the climbs in the narrow trails I just relaxed and waited patiently until a spot opened up to go through. I slowed down to chat with a couple friends as I went by the on the course, something I never do in triathlon. I started in the last wave so there were literally thousands of people ahead of me. I was having a lot of fun and in the finish field I actually sprinted into the finish and got someone on the line who I'd been chasing on and off for about 1k.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It turns out my time was 1:49 and that put me 13/41 in the M25-29 for the Kortelopet Skate. Actually quite a bit better than expected. I had a lot of fun and I think I will likely do it again next year. I'd like to beat my time, and I think I can take quite a few minutes off in the future. Now that I have a seed time, just starting in an earlier wave will shave a couple due to less congestion.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Someone else who will probably beat his time if he ever does this again is Cody Williams. But that's a big if. Cody signed up for the full Birkie. That's a very hilly 31 miles. Cody had also never skied before. Ever. This was a highly entertaining theme of the weekend for the rest of us, and I think for Cody also, at least until the race started. I imagine this must be comparable to doing an Ironman having never ridden a bike. Pictures sum it up best:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1moOejbIFx6tQYb7eXIdPUOjgyelHQUrNkYEbF4G65qVtOkUVGnHBatvl__eKpJzCGVu0LXHfdpeqpaeLH6EfGSWDWHH2JRKmQ0XAyLQohwOWW8D_OEqrwtZNHR5TE9WCNRL38BouY8/s1600/421646_10150659597814873_577989872_9120810_1488822007_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1moOejbIFx6tQYb7eXIdPUOjgyelHQUrNkYEbF4G65qVtOkUVGnHBatvl__eKpJzCGVu0LXHfdpeqpaeLH6EfGSWDWHH2JRKmQ0XAyLQohwOWW8D_OEqrwtZNHR5TE9WCNRL38BouY8/s320/421646_10150659597814873_577989872_9120810_1488822007_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pre-race, Cody is on the far left</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYuJTmBIEBhQP5ljEocErgnVYIFzZ8mUkBUrxLMbJROTVXUYx-ZFRJZSE2GwVEolu9d5btLbOTbq0U-mQmonSudS_LKvCYXNmoW60nbhjIqpcqqYX3kSr89GrrgX9AqfGagq7lqvK7mk/s1600/424278_10150659599874873_577989872_9120823_525285513_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYuJTmBIEBhQP5ljEocErgnVYIFzZ8mUkBUrxLMbJROTVXUYx-ZFRJZSE2GwVEolu9d5btLbOTbq0U-mQmonSudS_LKvCYXNmoW60nbhjIqpcqqYX3kSr89GrrgX9AqfGagq7lqvK7mk/s320/424278_10150659599874873_577989872_9120823_525285513_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Finished, probably wondering what just happened</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8072jORikHHztSXPPU8Vh6cmzAMA-hlj2wll9JlR7pGhINyqvWj5Wb_tpgVPh0Zc1RQ-j9D8Gmt36aKK-SHIc0kcNtKxWnNI1OnkXik1KAJBv8d_BA9epkbrJH9bggtLv962J8dr3Zk/s1600/426322_10150659664964873_577989872_9121061_82310664_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8072jORikHHztSXPPU8Vh6cmzAMA-hlj2wll9JlR7pGhINyqvWj5Wb_tpgVPh0Zc1RQ-j9D8Gmt36aKK-SHIc0kcNtKxWnNI1OnkXik1KAJBv8d_BA9epkbrJH9bggtLv962J8dr3Zk/s320/426322_10150659664964873_577989872_9121061_82310664_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Back at the cabin with a pot of puppy chow</div><br />
Well, crazy as that was you've got my respect for life for getting through it. For me, it's time to recover from the weekend and zero in my focus for my first triathlon of the season in just a little over a month. I'll think more about dropping my Kortelopet time in about 9 months.Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-16735476605802116272012-02-19T21:17:00.000-06:002012-02-19T21:17:15.281-06:00Winter EventsFor the past month, training has been going very well. Volume is up 60% in swimming, 50% in biking and 40% in running from this time last year. One might see those numbers and scream, STOP, cliff incoming! But I am very aware of the possibility of overtraining and the importance of recovery so that doesn't happen. In fact, I feel better maintaining this greater training load now than I did a year ago. I haven't sacrificed training intensity for higher volume either. Of course there are day to day fluctuations, but the downs aren't as low, and the best workouts this year are better than my best of last winter.<br />
<br />
What I have been doing to handle the higher training loads-<br />
-Nutrition is much better, not perfect but it is improving.<br />
-I'm getting ~9hrs of sleep a night. This is up ~2.5 from last year<br />
-I have the time after workouts to make sure I get in calories immediately, and post workout stretching and using my foam roller are now the norm, not the exception. It's nice not running immediately from one thing to the next all the time.<br />
-Overall stress levels are just lower.<br />
<br />
This has only been my new schedule for about a month and a half, so I am excited that I can feel some differences already, however I am much more excited for what is to come with consistency in training over a period of months. I am absolutely more fit than I have ever been, I have no question about that and have shown it multiple times already with my ability to put in strong efforts back to back with little recovery (Not a one shot athlete this year!). Fitness is different than speed, though. Speed is slower to improve but it is coming along nicely.<br />
<br />
Here's a quick recap of this winter's events so far:<br />
<br />
Winter cycling time trial series- I use this as a weekly threshold workout, but each week I've been doing a 35-45 minute time trial on the computrainers on varying courses. The cool part about it is there are 8 centers; 4 in the US and 4 in Canada; that group all the weekly data together and spit out an overall spreadsheet, complete with GC (General Classification) series standings, sprint points (no hope for me there) and KoM points (more competitive here). There's been about 100 riders for each stage, and it has been nice to see my place steadily move through the ranks from ~30 in early January to ~10th the last couple weeks. My w/kg has climbed from ~3.4 to 3.9 over this time.<br />
<br />
Indoor Triathlon- Pinnacle hosts these each month through the winter and they consist of a 10min pool swim, a 20min spin bike ride, and a 10min treadmill run. Not the most realistic triathlon, especially because you can't shift on the bikes (think 130+ rpm) but they're laid back, fun events. In the past I've done the full series but so far I've done just one this year, in early Feb. I was running late from out of town for this one and unfortunately was also really hungry and the only food access I had before the event was Arbys 30min before the start... it was that or nothing. Spoiler alert: might've been better off w/nothing. I managed to keep my unbeaten streak alive at the indoor tris, but came close to losing my dinner on the treadmill.<br />
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24-hr Indoor Cycling Relay- This was a self inflicted torture fest. The event was set up as a fundraiser for charity, and 11 teams put together groups to come out and ride for 24hrs. Someone from each team had to be riding at all times. I did 3 1hr time trials... Midnight, 3am and 11am the next morning. Since I couldn't fall asleep after the 3am trial, the 11am was absolutely miserable. I was cold, hungry and nauseous all at the same time. But this is where my fitness showed and I was able to actually ride pretty well, whereas last year I would've completely fallen apart. After lunch, a 5hr nap, dinner and another 10hrs of sleep, I woke up and went BACK to SBR for the winter time trial series ride that week. Incredibly I put down my best ride of the weekend, however once it was over I was a wreck for a few days.<br />
<br />
UW Triathlon Team Time Trials- Today's annual trials occurred one week after the 24 hr relay, and as of Wed I wasn't too optimistic I'd be fully recovered. I felt like a couple times I was on the verge of getting sick but I kept it at bay. My legs started to come around on Thurs during the recovery week and felt pretty good going into today's event actually. The swim was ok, not quite my best at the 800yd distance but was within the realm of normal day to day fluctuations. The important thing was that I was easily within reach of the leaders after the swim.<br />
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Even though I'm not a student, and therefore not eligible for Nationals (this is their selection race), as a workout leader for the team I can race and like to, for the fun and competition, which is always high. Specifically, I knew that Alex Dean would be racing, and he always pushes me when I get the chance to go head to head. I will say that my entire race strategy was built around beating him specifically (nothing personal Dean, I just figured I have to beat you in order to win overall). Here are the facts: Alex and I have raced 5 or 6 times head to head. I've beaten him only once (our first race, and he had a mechanical with 400m left on the bike), and every single time he has out-run and out-swam me. So... of course my strategy was to try keep the distance manageable on the swim, take the bike, and then depending on what cushion I had, run as hard as I had to in order to hang on for the overall. At least that was best case scenario. <br />
<br />
With only a 5 second deficit after the swim, it was looking good. On the bike I went out too hard, but I knew it. I expected to slow down, I just didn't expect to slow down so badly. Alex pushed me too hard for too long, and I cracked. It was ugly, and all I could do was put my head down and try to limit the time lost. After a 10min (mandatory) transition, it was onto the run where I had to form a new strategy, my only chance left. Go hard from the gun and hope you have the legs. My strong fitness showed again and it actually worked, and I out-ran Alex for the first time in my life. I couldn't get enough time back from what I lost on the bike to win, but I really surprised myself with a strong, sub 18min run on a hard course to finish less than a minute overall out of first.<br />
<br />
I'm not upset about my strategy... given the same pre-race knowledge I'd do it again but hindsight is always 20/20. Turns out I should've sat in on the bike and gone for it on the run. Oh well. My singular focus on one athlete and self destruction on the bike opened the door for someone else, a newer triathlete Alex Kraft, to slip by for 2nd with a really strong overall performance. The UW Tri team looked very strong this weekend and I am excited to support them on their way to Nationals this spring!<br />
<br />
Next week is my first XC Ski race ever, the Kortelopet... basically a half marathon on skis. That should be interesting...Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-59205394488912404532012-02-16T10:45:00.001-06:002012-02-16T10:47:14.427-06:002012 Race ScheduleI've almost finalized my race schedule for this coming year. I may add or change a couple races as the season goes on, however these are the bodies of water you'll likely be seeing me in this year.<br />
<br />
These are in order:<br />
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So there you have it. Oh and did I mention that the first person to guess 100% correctly will receive a $20 Endurance House gift card? You can facebook message me so your guesses don't appear here for anyone else to use.<br />
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See you at the races!Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-64534534045715256302012-01-01T21:48:00.003-06:002022-02-18T15:34:57.262-06:00The New YearWhen I logged onto Facebook this morning, I saw lots of friends posts on their New Year's resolutions, plans and summaries of their NYE festivities. Well, I didn't have a very "exciting" NYE (spent it at home watching a movie), but I guess you could say I have some New Year's resolutions. Although it's not really because of the New Year; all that happens between Dec 31st and Jan 1st is you put up your new calendar. It's not like there is anything specific about this day that makes it easier to keep promises to yourself. However, this seems to be the time when people like to state their short term future goals and planned changes, so I will do the same. <br />
<br />
Cut out Soda<br />
<br />
Eat better<br />
<br />
Sleep enough<br />
<br />
Train smart<br />
<br />
Recover well<br />
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As you may notice, most of these are lifestyle goals, not sport specific goals. Of course I have race goals, season goals and workout goals, but those are secondary to these. Why? Because I don't want to make the mistake that many athletes do, and that is mentally separating their sport and training from their lifestyle. Having coached high school sports I have seen example after example of this mistake being made. "I work hard at practice, why am I not getting better?" (because your diet consists exclusively of soda and pastries, you average 4 hours of sleep per night, you go directly to other activities without eating, you made snow angels in your speedo and got sick... the list goes on).<br />
<br />
If you watched the Olympic Games in Beijing, you may remember Ryan Lochte was famous for eating at the McDonalds in the athlete village every day (every meal most days). Now he's an amazing swimmer and obviously had success. However, since that time it is apparent that he was shooting himself in the foot. His diet has supposedly changed, and I'm inclined to believe it because in many of the National and World Championships since the Beijing games he has been establishing himself as the swimmer to beat, not Phelps. Many of his times have been as good or better than Phelps' times in Beijing. Now I'm not trying to bash anyone here, all I'm saying is that how you live your life outside of your actual time racing and training will affect how well you do those things. It's not my opinion, it's physiology. My opinion is that it is up to each athlete to make sure that their goals align with their lifestyle, or make sure that your lifestyle aligns with their goals.<br />
<br />
Put another way, if you're trying to squeeze every ounce of athletic performance out of your body, there is no room for poor nutrition, poor sleep habits or any other activity which jeopardizes that. Not to say that you can NEVER have a sugary snack, but you need consistent good habits. However, there are a lot of sacrifices that can come along with elite athleticism; I don't think you'll ever hear an elite athlete say that he or she hasn't made sacrifices to get to that level. And whether those sacrifices are worth it is up to the individual athlete.<br />
<br />
Getting back to my "resolutions"... it's not that these are brand new. I'm not flipping a switch on Jan 1, 2012 and making extreme changes. In fact, the entire past year has been an exercise in working to improve in these areas, and I have definitely been making progress. However there is more progress to be made and I am at the point where those gains are going to be very difficult to make without some other changes. One thing that is beginning on Jan. 1st is a change in my duties, responsibilities and hours at work that will be both in my benefit and that of Endurance House. <br />
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I also have a stronger motivation for this season than I ever have before. Unfortunately, the reason for this is very sad. Recently, one of my best lifelong friends was killed in an automobile crash. We grew up together and were best friends in childhood. He was my best training partner for years of swimming and track as a high school athlete, and got me started in triathlon. He was also one of the best athletes I've ever known who could motivate me with his accomplishments or just by running together. Since high school, he was always very supportive of my athletic endeavors in triathlon. While it's tough to come to terms with what happened, one way I intend to honor his memory is to train and compete in his honor.<br />
<br /><br />Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-56257454132119725282011-11-23T10:30:00.005-06:002022-02-18T15:27:20.716-06:00Time Off<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">Every athlete needs some time off every now and then, just not every athlete knows it. The word "recovery" has been thrown around a lot in the last few years in triathlon and sports circles. So what does that mean? I think some athletes take it too far (including myself at times), while others neglect it completely (including myself at times). I'm not going to spill all of my thoughts about recovery, time off and their effect on training now, because that is not really what this post is about. I just want those triathletes out there reading this to think about what they are doing during their off season to best prepare for 2012. Are you sitting on the couch, eating pizza and playing Mario Kart for 8 hours a day (ah yes, I remember fall 2008)? Did you start training the day after your last race this year? Or maybe something in between? During the off-season, ask yourself why you are doing what you're doing, and how that is preparing you for next season. If you can find a good answer to that question, you're on the right track.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilbCV10uf-WMqVbxHcc2ZkBRbe2Hhguv4evMlBXwO6vJaXPDMmuIehk061HtTorScxPIUMUt7hHeQIDQeB6lK8zsLGRt-YUpPquzbhspLhU0EeL8QihI01idXzpopRAxktuJ3s6I0Ht4U/s1600/yoshi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilbCV10uf-WMqVbxHcc2ZkBRbe2Hhguv4evMlBXwO6vJaXPDMmuIehk061HtTorScxPIUMUt7hHeQIDQeB6lK8zsLGRt-YUpPquzbhspLhU0EeL8QihI01idXzpopRAxktuJ3s6I0Ht4U/s1600/yoshi.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman">Yoshi is totally the best character in Mario Kart<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">It's also been quite some time since my last post here. It's not that I haven't wanted to write. It's not that I haven't had anything to write about. And it's definitely not because I wasn't happy with my final races: 1) I was. 2) I'm not afraid to write about a disappointing performance, just as I'm not afraid to put myself in a race where I'm the underdog. So if anyone has been compulsively checking my blog for updates on a daily basis </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 16pt;">J</span><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I've been very busy with other things going on... training, racing up until October, working, and figuring out how I'm going to structure things for this coming year. There's really been a lot of news over the last few months, so I will try to get it all up here, although it may span a couple of posts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">I think the best place to start is where I left off, with my final races of the 2011 season. After Lifetime Fitness, I had three left on the calendar, and they were all important, travel races:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">Age Group Nationals- Late August<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">Age Group Worlds- Early September<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">Branson 70.3- Mid September<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">From a training perspective, the challenge was to get myself ready to race well at all three of these races, despite the fact that they are too close to peak for individually, yet too far apart to peak 100% for all 3. It was decided that the training peak would be planned for the Worlds/Branson combo, since they were only a week apart, and Nationals would have a smaller recovery leading into it. From an organizational perspective, the challenge would be just as much if not more. The races were in Burlington, VT, Beijing, CN, and Branson, MO. The Beijing to Branson week was going to be key to get right, since I would be trying to fend off major jetlag in addition to all of the travel stress.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">Nationals:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">This race went well, but not very well. I felt really good in the water for the first time in a while, but then proceeded to follow a group off course. I realized it before the rest of my group, but unfortunately I probably swam 200 meters out of my way. It's really hard to put that mistake out of your mind as you are trying to focus on the bike and run, but I did a pretty good job of it. I definitely was able to focus more in the moment than the other race this year with a major swim mishap (Texas 70.3 and the goggle disaster).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">On the bike I felt strong and was riding well. I ended up probably not riding hard enough, as I felt a little too good coming off the bike. My run was solid that day, but I started to fade as the temps rose. I ended up finishing well enough to re-qualify for Age Group Worlds with a roll-down spot. However, for the first time that I’ve qualified, I won’t be going. More on why later.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">Worlds:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">This was my third time at Worlds, and each time has been a unique experience. I enjoy testing myself against great competition, meeting triathletes from other states and countries, and also traveling to new places. Beijing did not disappoint. I was looking forward to this trip even more than my previous Worlds for a few reasons. First, while Germany and Australia were great locations, China was going to be completely unlike anywhere else, and, unlike the first two, I’m unlikely to ever go back if not for a future race. There’s so much history there, and a completely different culture than what I’m used to. As far as the race itself, in Germany I was ecstatic just to have squeaked into the race. In Australia I showed some promise but couldn’t put together a complete race under pressure. Going in, I was confident in my abilities and felt I was ready to put together a great race on a big stage. Did I think I could win? Unlikely, but I was ready to compete with the top group of guys.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzfaVyRL2vcvQY4rQMOoEy_EPW7rmczLMvR3gmYAeVzM-hk6_BWxC7hfs-pyphFNd7ImUXU0bvDxNR4-p_h6wnxw0RJK6BEzsJo9hrrkL-TUOf1YQlPTHue4-tyKjPfnX2VHkKRoj-Do/s1600/china.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzfaVyRL2vcvQY4rQMOoEy_EPW7rmczLMvR3gmYAeVzM-hk6_BWxC7hfs-pyphFNd7ImUXU0bvDxNR4-p_h6wnxw0RJK6BEzsJo9hrrkL-TUOf1YQlPTHue4-tyKjPfnX2VHkKRoj-Do/s1600/china.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Times-Roman">The Great Wall was my favorite sightseeing destination</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">Racing on the 2008 Olympic course was incredible. It was quite a rush.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">And then I crashed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">It was pretty surprising. I realized I was going to hit the fence a few seconds before I did, but I was expecting to fall sideways into it. I didn’t expect to flip over the handlebars and land on my back on the road. At 25mph. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">It could’ve been worse. I saw another guy later who did pretty much the same thing as me in about 5 different casts and wraps with cuts everywhere. And we were in China. So I was counting my blessings that I came out of it with only a small cut on my forehead and a scraped and sore left shoulder. The first two thoughts in my head as I hit the ground were “Holy shit, that just happened!” followed immediately by “I need to get off the road before someone runs me over!” So I stood up, grabbed my bike and walked over to the side as riders screamed down the hill by me. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">A race doctor ran over to me (“Great, so they expected crashes here…”) and asked me if I was ok, pointing at my head with a weird look on his face. “Yeah…” Then I took off my sunglasses and used them as a mirror and sure enough, there was a stream of blood running down my face from my forehead. I felt fine, but wanted to make sure I didn’t have a concussion, so I sat there for a few minutes just thinking about stuff. I seemed to be fine, so I wiped the blood off, the doctor rubbed some iodine on it and covered it with a band-aid, and then I looked down at my bike. It had landed upside down so the saddle and handlebars were bent in odd positions, but that was fixable. A few minutes later I got back on the bike and took off, to many cheers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">From then on I was riding like a total wuss, braking on all the downhills and corners, just thinking that my main goal was to get to the finish line intact. After an uncomfortable, slow ride I got off and actually ran pretty well, despite an increasingly sore hip. I felt proud of myself for fighting through everything and getting to the finish line. I wouldn’t have been happy just to jog in, though. If I was going to do that I’d rather throw in the towel after the crash. I pushed hard to the end, competing the best I could along the way. For the first time in 5 years, I was actually proud of myself for finishing a race.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOf2CWB24P0ZUl33Pp4KoXj9TdZ94OqJUKDX7hBTjV2_-rvks5EkRGEU3gPhdfuuQnrPIBF447KN46sNqvc0PaHf33o6427jHjpvCv5cU_HFW2rys_wSkxL-3MOFCbHtMIhHjA7QMmQuA/s1600/crash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOf2CWB24P0ZUl33Pp4KoXj9TdZ94OqJUKDX7hBTjV2_-rvks5EkRGEU3gPhdfuuQnrPIBF447KN46sNqvc0PaHf33o6427jHjpvCv5cU_HFW2rys_wSkxL-3MOFCbHtMIhHjA7QMmQuA/s1600/crash.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Times-Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span">Crash aftermath</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">Branson 70.3:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">This race was all about overcoming obstacles. I’ve read about that before. Every time Ironman comes around you read articles about someone who overcame something just to get to the starting line, or who dropped 100lbs training for the event or something similar. You hear a lot of these people say that the event means so much more to them because of what they overcame to start or finish it. Well, I’ve never really felt like I’ve overcome anything too significant before or during a race. I used to be much slower and less skilled, and have steadily gotten stronger and faster, but there has really been nothing specific until this fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">First there were the expected obstacles. Jetlag, travel and post-race soreness from Worlds. I admit that signing up for Branson only one week later was not ideal for racing well, but I did it because I figured most of my competition would be thinking that as well. The thing is, I selected Branson because of when it fell on the calendar. ITU Worlds was the week before, 70.3 Worlds was the week before, Hy-Vee US Championships was 2 weeks before and Kona was only a couple weeks later. My thought was that anyone who was racing any of those events wouldn’t want to do Branson.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">Not that I shy away from competition, but when you’re trying to meet qualifications it’s important to choose your races to give you the best chance of success. I knew there would still be good athletes there, just less depth in the field. And I was right. I had looked at the 2010 athlete guide and saw that last year the prize purse was large enough to make it a pro qualifying race. Prior to Worlds, I thought that despite racing in China a week before, I could recover and race well enough to qualify. I did a great job timing when I would sleep on the plane so that jetlag was minimal when I got back.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">I didn’t expect not to be able to swim after Worlds, though. My shoulder got worse and worse for a few days and it wasn’t until Friday that I could even swim down the pool. I was sweating it, the race was in two days and my shoulder was still really sore. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">Then on my drive down I got the news that came closest to breaking me. The new athlete guide had just come out (yes, only days before the race) and the prize purse had changed. It didn’t change in a good way, and now the race was no longer an elite qualifier. I was doing this for nothing. “What’s the point? I’m tired, sore and slightly injured. I don’t need to prove I can finish this thing. Even if I win it doesn’t matter, I can’t use it for anything. I’ve raced a lot and have had a long season. The weather is horrible, it’s not worth it” These are the thoughts that went through my head upon hearing this news.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">It would’ve been really easy to just go through the motions, or even easier to just turn around and drive back to Madison. Luckily, I had a great support crew who talked some sense into me. My girlfriend had decided to come with me down to Branson and while she was disappointed too, she encouraged me to give it my best shot. After all, it’s not worth doing something if you’re not going to give it your best, and we were already here. I’ve come this far, it’s time to finish what I started.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">And so that’s the mindset I went into the race with. While it didn’t have any future implications, this was a race and just like any race, an important one. I’m a triathlete, I signed up for this race, I'm here, so I should just do it. It doesn’t matter what I’ve done in the past, or what the future holds. When the gun goes off, the only thing that matters is the task at hand. It's an opportunity to hone my skills and gain experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">I’m not sure how, but I was able to swim the entire way. My shoulder felt 90% and I biked well. If it weren’t for my electrolytes flying off my bike halfway through, this may well have been the breakout race I’ve been looking for. While things went downhill from there, I managed to hold it together well enough for a 5<sup>th</sup> overall finish. While the depth of the field wasn’t as strong as some races, I am very happy with that result and even more so because of what I had to overcome to do it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: 16pt;">As a side note, my sister wrote a great article about the China trip, which USAT actually put in their newsletter and posted on the front page of their website:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Times-Roman" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 21px;"><a href="http://www.usatriathlon.org/about-multisport/multisport-zone/my-story/articles/world-class-triathlon-experience-110811.aspx" target="_blank">USAT Article</a></span></span></div>Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6699412395296586872.post-10639197803322774452011-07-11T17:51:00.002-05:002022-02-18T15:24:30.883-06:00Lifetime Fitness7/9/11- Minneapolis, MN<br />
<br />
The race started from the beach with all the elite amateur athletes charging into the water. Since I am more comfortable breathing on my left I positioned myself near the outside right of the group with a straight path to the first turn buoy. The first 200m went by quickly and I was feeling good. I noticed that the main pack was veering way to the left, so much so that I spotted a few extra times just to make sure that it was them and not me drifting. Lucky start, I thought. "Seems everyone else wants to swim further... fine by me." The water was a balmy 82 degrees and thus we were not wearing wetsuits. This was something else I figured would be advantageous. <br />
<br />
After feeling strong for the first section of the course, I rounded the turn buoy and that's when I met Mr. "I'm a horrible drafter". The rest of the swim was the most annoying 15 minutes of my life. He was swimming on my right side with his head about 6 inches from my hips and was literally running his left arm into my ribcage every single stroke. That made it really hard to hold my body position, not to mention at this point my stroke wasn't feeling good anymore. Because I was not going to swim off course I had to put up with this guy ramming into me the whole back stretch. After the second corner I was really getting sick of this so I tried to sprint a little. At first I thought I lost him but then he started tapping my toes every single pull. I veered right, he followed. Veered left, same. I didn't want to red-line the last 500m of the swim so I settled back into my pace and again he was on my side. I somehow lost him in the final 50 meters so I didn't have a good chance to punch him in the face when we got out of the water. Oh well that probably wouldn't have worked to my advantage in the grand scheme of things...<br />
<br />
Coming out of the water, my mom, who travelled up to watch the race (Thanks!) told me I was in 9th. That got my spirits up, since even though my swim felt slow (and it was but so was everyone's) I remembered that last year I got out of the water in 11th at this race. So I hopped on the bike excited to put the swim behind me and hammer the bike.<br />
<br />
Getting on the bike I passed a few guys in the first miles, but soon found myself struggling to find the power that came easily just 2 weeks ago in my workouts. I don't race with my power meter and I'm glad I don't know what my average was because I don't think I would be very proud of it. The bike course was technical, which didn't bother me, and it was on poor quality roads, which at least I was ready for and set my tires to 110psi instead of 120 like normal. As the ride went on it became more of a struggle... there wasn't any specific part of me that really hurt, and my breathing wasn't out of control, but I just felt achy all over and was having trouble finding strength. I came off the bike with a split of 1:04, which is my slowest 40k in awhile. Last year was a 1:01 on the same course.<br />
<br />
Again, going into the run I thought if I could find my form that I could have a good run split that would get me back near the place I thought I could be. It was a flat, fast run course so a 36 should've been doable, and in the back of my mind I knew I could run a 35 on a great day. However, it soon became apparent that it just wasn't my day when my turnover and stride length just weren't there. I ran a low 39 and finished with a 2:09. I gutted it out the best I could but there was no snap in my legs this weekend.<br />
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Initially I was pretty disappointed, but not because my time was bad... a 2:09 is a good time. I was bummed because I had been biking and running much better during workouts a couple weeks ago than I did on race day. After going back to the house I was staying at for the weekend (Thanks Dave!), passing out for a few hours and then hanging out at the Mall of America for the rest of the day, I had plenty of time to reflect on the day and the season so far.<br />
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This race had been high on my priority list for this season since it started. I knew the course well and was in the middle of my season. I was fit and motivated going into it and thought that this might be the time when I break through to the next level. I track my workouts and the trends were all there. I don't think I did anything wrong on race day or race weekend. Actually my race plan was executed very well. I think, and more so after talking with Blake Becker, that I pushed my workouts too hard recently. I, like many athletes, am very motivated to train hard and sometimes I can overdo it. It's tough because the days you feel the best are sometimes the days you need to hold yourself back the most in training. After a long season, which this has been (I started training in earnest back in January) you need to make sure you are giving your body adequate recovery time. Blake tells me this a lot, and I know it too, but it's always easier said than done. <br />
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While I wish every race I do would be one of my best efforts, that will not always be the case. The really important things for long term success are how you progress in your training, the consistency and adequate recovery time. Basically it is a lifestyle. Lifetime Fitness. I haven't gotten to where I am by training hard during workouts and then having an unhealthy lifestyle outside of training. My good overall health is a huge part of my continual improvement in this sport. To reach your true potential you have to live it. That does NOT mean that triathlon or sport should be the only thing in your life. I would consider that unhealthy and many athletes who take that path don't last long. Some do but sacrifice so much outside of sport to do it.<br />
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As I was lining up on the start line, they introduced the woman who would be the honorary race starter. She was 93 years old, and at the age of 89 completed this triathlon. Very inspirational.<br />
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I didn't perform my best on Saturday, but I am not worried at all because I know that once I rest up I will be back stronger than I have ever been. I know this because I have seen myself improve this year in key workouts across the board and have had some of my best races ever. I also know this because it is a lifestyle, and will continue to be. I don't know if I'll be able to do a triathlon at age 89 but I certainly intend to have lifetime fitness.Bill Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905684404690656163noreply@blogger.com0