If You're Not Fast, Then Race Smart. To Race Smart, Train Smart & Recover Smart

After my first triathlon I was hooked. But I was super slow, so I got myself a coach and a training plan. 

However, I would wake up at 4am and do my assigned workout. Then, after not stretching properly, I would blast a shower, slam 2 cups of coffee and run for the train.

What I have learned is how important it is to take a few minutes to absorb the workout. By not stretching, nor paying attention to recovery, I was cheating myself. I justified it at times by thinking I was only doing Half Ironman races. But, after an injury from snow shoveling, I found that this all caught up with me as I tried to train through the injury. Core and stretching are important and without them we can often compensate in ways that lead to further niggling injuries. I will not make that mistake again.

Nutritional recovery is also super important. 

But let two athletes that have won 5 of the last 5 Kona World Championships say it better than me:

Chris McCormack: Macca video on how important it is "to absorb the training session"

Click here to watch video

Watch the video -- His Key points:

• After a session make time to "absorb the training"
• Hydration
• Protein or protein shake
• Fruit and anti-oxidents

Craig Alexander: I have seen Crowie speak in person twice. This year he mentioned that as he gets older he has better endurance, but it takes longer to recover and he has to manage the intensity very carefully. But I take great delight that he set a Kona course record last year at age 38. In fact, both he and Macca are among the oldest competitors, but they have won five of the last five. Clearly they are stretching the boundaries of what we used to think was possible.

Crowie told folks here that he used to be hungry all the time and ate cereal to blunt this hunger. But after being sponsored by Core Power (formerly called Athletes Honey Milk) he now drinks several bottles a day and they replace the protein and nutrients he needs to recover properly. Even better, he gained lean muscle with Core Power.

Here is a great article by a well-known Chicago athlete on Crowie and his focus. He does the small things to be champion that most of us don't or won't do.

As part of my 2013 Long-Course season prep I am doing core exercises and trying to stretch properly around my workout sessions. I'm also drinking Core Power as a high protein recovery drink to help "absorb the session" as Macca advocated after most of my sessions.  Core Power has been hard to find locally, but a deal they signed this summer to get distribution through Coca-Cola will make it available at up to 10,000 stoes nationwide over the next year. I suspect the price will fall too as Core Power ramps up volume.

Core Power not only sponsors Crowie and Laura Bennett, but also cyclist Tom Danielson and is active at many local and national races.

I suggest you give Core Power a try! We love the Chocolate light flavor. It is really, really tasty, with no chalky taste. It gets you the right ratio of carbs and protein right when you need it. And remember that recovery is something that older, wily Kona champions use to get an edge. If it works for them, I will try it, too!

It's September! Time for Ironman Wisconsin!

Well, Fall weather is beginning to settle in here in the Midwest; it's my absolute favorite time of year. That slight chill in the air is so much better than oppressive humidity! Early September is also a time for the Ironman 70.3 Championship and my favorite sports event of the year, Ironman Wisconsin!!

My wife and I did a surgical strike of spectating last weekend, waking up at 3AM, leaving our house in the Chicago suburbs before 4AM, blasting past Lake Geneva and through the beautiful pre-dawn Wisconsin farmland as the sun rose to make the IMWI Swim and Bike transition. One cool thing about Wisconsin is you can spectate form the top of Frank Lloyd Wright designed Monona Terrace, which gives you a stadium view of the swimmers as they pass. I remember in 2008 when I first attended being shocked at the sound that 2200 swimmers make when all swimming at the same time. It sounds like a waterfall! Magical!

The swim course was altered this year to a single large loop instead of a 2 loop, which helped spread out the field but which made spectating a bit different. Nevertheless, the weather was absolutely gorgeous and when Mike Reilly fired up the crowd before the gun it was as amazing as ever.

As the bikers begin running to start the ride, the crowd shifts to the back side of Monona Terrace, where T1 is on top of the parking deck. Again there is a stadium effect as the crowd screams to their friends and the whistles bounce off the tall buildings overlooking the deck. As bikers run down their aisle to the mount line before heading down the Helix it again gives you goosebumps.

I got some great pictures of the lovely Ms Bop2Mop as we scooted around the course. My favorite is one of her standing in the yellow Penalty Box tent!! Hahaha! Thank God she is a good sport about tolerating my triathlon obsession!

I had about 40 friends or teammates racing this year so it was fun to yell for them and to track them all day. Most people had a great race, with lots of PRs on legs and overall. As usual, IMWI spectators were amazing with supportive and humorous cheers and costumes.

We could not swing it to stay until midnight and hoist a beer at the Great Dane with tired happy victors this year as we had to get home, but next year I again plan to take a few days and make it a 4 day weekend Triathlonpalooza event. IMWI is my favorite sporting event of the year!!

On the personal front, we have been attending High School cross country meets to cheer on Daughter Two and also I have started a streak of running. After realizing the Strava 100 miles in 15 days contest was probably not wise as I work my way back, but still trying to stay motivated and get ready for Outseason training, I joined a 5x50 charity contest where you do a 5k every day for 50 days. Not only will this keep me motivated, but I can work my way up from slow to faster running during this 2 months and be ready just in time for the start of Outseason training. Two years ago Daughter One and I signed up for the local Hot Chocolate 15k race and that kept me engaged all Fall in purposeful training. And I find that running is better for me than a bike focus, which I did last year. I have found I need some kind of structure to help motivate me..I will post how it is going as we get further into it; so far so good!

Hope your Fall is going well and that you get out and enjoy those glorious Fall days!! Whether on the bike trails or chugging around the Lake, you just cannot beat it!

It's Official!! First 2013 Race Entry

Inspiration and Recovery

One of the things I am thankful for is that in 2010, when I completed my first Half Ironman, I was able to attend two meetings where World Champions Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington spoke. If you ever had the opportunity to hear either of them you know at least part of their success is due to the strength of their characters. I cannot think of two more worthy World Champions in any sport. At the time, in the immediate afterglow of finishing my first 70.3, these events motivated me to continue with my own journey.

I recently had the opportunity to hear Craig Alexander again at Runners High and Tri in a Q&A format moderated by Ironman legend Dave Scott. One of the points Crowie made was that we get older our endurance improves but we need to pay much closer attention to Recovery and intensity. I know that I often barely get my scheduled workout in at 5AM, then ignore my stretching and Recovery in my haste to catch the commuter train. So this year I intend to focus more on these intangibles that I know are important. If you are smart about your "Recovery Window" it can really help. To date, I have been more the 5 hours of sleep, eat on the run, don't stretch kind of athlete. And it shows. The schwag bag had a bottle of Core Power, a protein drink formerly known as Athlete's Honey Milk. Apparently, with his super high metabolism and large training volumes, Crowie was always hungry. He used to try to eat bowls of cereal but found that several Core Power bottles daily not only helped take the edge off his hunger but more importantly got him the right nutrients to recover properly and help the body build lean muscle. This is especially important for Long Course triathletes and runners doing over 90 minutes of exercise, as they have depleted their on-board glycogen stores. I will definitely be trying Core Power in the Out Season as part of improving my nutrition and recovery.

A 2 Man Team with more Heart than the whole NFL

"It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or the doer of deeds could have them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the Arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but he who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great devotion; who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who know neither victory nor defeat." -- Teddy Roosevelt

I love this video. As any Back-of-the-Packer knows, triathlon is about victory over yourself. No matter where you start, you can get better and anything is possible. If you have ever been at an Ironman Finish Line as the Midnight cutoff approaches and seen the incredible lovefest between those BOP finishers and their fellow competitors who finished hours ago and have already showered, eaten and come back to the finish to cheer them in then you will know what I mean.  There is just as much human drama, if not more, at this tail end. This is what makes Sport special. But you have to get off the couch yourself and get on the field of battle. Over the next year I intend to make that effort to get better. Tune in for the journey.

A One Year Project

How fitting that I am creating this blog as our Family watches the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

This blog will follow my progress as I attempt to move from the back-of-pack to middle-of-pack for the 2013 Long Course triathlon season. As a two-time finisher of Ironman 70.3 events, I am done with the "just finish" stage and I want to really develop my skills for 2013. At my age (54) I figure I need to be able to finish in about 6:30 to do that, which is a real stretch goal for me, but doable.

In my favor I have a couple years of experience, great coaches and teammates and a supportive family. On the downside, I have been fighting a hip/back injury the last 18 months incurred from snow shoveling. I also am too heavy. So my first tasks are to get me injury addressed and lose some weight and regain my fitness in preparation for OutSeason training this winter.

This year I am going to stop trying to do it my way and listen to my coaches, and see where it takes me.

My goal is to make triathlon a lifestyle and continue to do it another decade. I really love the sport, even the training. I would love to try Oceanside70.3, Hawaii70.3, Boulder70.3 and Galway70.3 as Bucket List races. Maybe even an Ironman someday. But to be truly fun, I need to get better. Not necessarily good enough for a slot to the Las Vegas 70.3 World Championship. Just up to my personal potential and middle of my Age Group. Follow along as I give it a serious try. My A race is next July 2013, so I have a year.