Peak Endurance Coaching

Let me preface this report with saying that I am two time ironman with both if those being in Arizona. Have said that I also feel I have a very good idea of what a great race is.

If I had to give IMAZ stars, I would give it 4.5 stars. Even though I have not YET been there I am thinking that the true 5 star Ironman would be Kona.

IMAZ has potential to be one of the fastest courses around. It can also be very punishing as I am sure that anyone who raced with me in 2010 was agree. Water temperature this year was 62 deg compared to 61 last year. Air temp at swim start was around the same so jumping in really didn't feel too bad this year. It is a water start with up to 3000 of your best friends for the day, which means you spend some time floating in the cold water before the gun. I think I got in about 13 min before start because I wanted to be up in the front. Very straight forward out and back swim that has easy sighting and land marks if you do your homework before the race. The only thing I would add is a coffee boat at the turn around;)

This is probably one of the most spectator friendly courses you will find. It has a three lap, out and back bike. Depending on where your cheering section is sitting they could potentially see you 6 times. That is very motivational when you are spending that many hours in the saddle. I found that one thing that this helps with is also making you want to stick to your personal race plan. You don't get wrapped up in what other racers are doing because you really don't know what lap they are on and where they are in there race. Also if you are like me and like to break your race into 3rds then this race is perfect and you know exactly where you are at and what is coming up next. This is a very easy race to preplan for ( wow, never thought I would say the word easy when talking about Ironman)! My two complaints this year for the bike are, in the prerace info it said that there was suppose to be powerbars on the course and that is what I planned on using for most of my bike nutrition. I never saw them until the run. Luckily I had brought two bars with me just I case. I was able to supplement that with Ironman perform, gels and bananas which were easy to pick up because the aid station because the volunteers were so awesome! The second problem, which personally I did much better with this year was each aid station had three or four portojons. I think there should be about 10 per aid station so that you don’t have to loose time waiting in line.

There is no way there is a more spectator friendly run course. It is a figure eight style loop with so many options to see runners. For the runners there is never a lonely stretch where all you have is your own thoughts to motivate you. It is also three loops so you always know where your at. It can be mentally painful when you finish your first lap at just under nine miles and realize you have to do that two more times. Seriously though, isn't the mental challenge of what Ironman is a huge part of what the reward is!

Aid stations at this race are amazing. Not only are they well stalked but also staffed with the most motivated people you can ask for. A couple of then have themes as well that make you laugh despite the pain you are in at the time. Speaking of laughs, this race happens right in the middle of Movember! My brother –in-law told me the night before the race that when the suffering gets tough, just think of Ron Burgendy;) With Movember in full effect and thoughts of Ron Burgendy going through my head all day I had plenty to laugh about!

 The finish, I really don't know how to describe an Ironman finish. You just have to be there. Even if you have no aspiration to do an Ironman, I would still recommend just going, watching and experiencing the finish line for yourself. If it does not inspire you to set some kind of a goal for yourself then I don't know what would!

My race:

I PR'd this year by taking over 27 min off last years time so I would say I had a good day! I did have a few struggles and hurdles throughout the day which is to be expected. As my pal Travis say before the race, "take what the day gives you". Also, as my other pal Casey said before the race, "leave nothing on the course"! What great advice especially when you put those two things together. ( I think I will have to steal that and use it with my own athletes)

My swim started out better than ever. I turned around at the 1.2 mile point and was at 28 minutes by my watch. I was so excited about having a chance of maybe going under one hour that I started to pick up the pace. When I got under the first bridge on the way back my right calf cramped. Soon after that my left cramped. This forced me into swimming without kicking the rest of the way home. This put me out of the water in 1:07 which was a little disappointing after the start that I had.

As soon as I got on my bike I noticed the muscles in my lower back where knotted up. I think this was from arching while swimming to sight so often. So self training tip: spend more time sighting in the pool to get those back muscles ready for that. Anyway, I had to sit up  the entire first lap of two hours to get my back loose enough to get into my aerobars. So that was two hours of sitting up in an inefficient position on the bike. Laps two and three the winds kicked in which I'm sure slowed my bike splint some. I think I was able to stick to the power zones I lined out for myself pretty well though an that really showed when it came to how I felt on my run!

Last year I got off my bike and could hardly walk let alone run a marathon walk. That put me into survival mode on the run. This year I came off the bike excited about the run. My goal was to hold a 9 min pace until mile 20 then lay it all on the line for the last 6 miles. I did a great job sticking to my plan. As I picked up the pace at mile 20 I started realizing that my pace was staying the same but my perceived exertion was going up. At least I knew I was giving it everything I had left. I was hoping for a sub 4 hour marathon but have no complaints with the 4:06 I threw down!

Then there was the finish: Well like I said, you have to get out there and experience it! Thanks for reading and a huge thanks for all the support I received before, during and after the race!

Longmont Sprint Triathlon: 525 yard swim, 12 mile bike, 5K Run

            This was the perfect race for my first triathlon.  The swim was inside in a lap pool which was nice so I didn’t have to swim outside but it was a little bit difficult too, since you can only pass people at the wall and there are about five people to a lap lane in this race.  The swim transitioned nicely to the transition area and the bike course was 3 loops through the surrounding neighborhoods.  It was a really nice course with lots of people everywhere for support if needed.  The run portion of the race was also done in the neighborhoods and was for the most part pretty flat with a few uphill areas that were easy to pass over.  Overall the race was great and it was the perfect race for a first time event, I would recommend this race to anyone who is looking to get started in an environment that is not intimidating at all. 

State Games: Colorado Springs, CO Sprint Triathlon 750 meter swim, 20K Bike, 5K Run

            This was the first race that I did in an open water area and it was very difficult.  The end of the swim was not clearly marked and it was confusing where to actually exit the water.  The bike ride was 4 loops around the park and a little bit through the neighborhoods; there were some awkward turns but otherwise a nice ride with some easy uphill areas.  The run was flat for the most part with another area that was not marked very well that made things a little bit confusing as well.  The race did not seem to be very well organized but the price was very reasonable and the location is good so I would still consider doing the race in the future.

Boulder Iron Girl: Boulder, CO  Sprint Triathlon ¼ mile swim, 17.2 mile bike, 3.1 mile run

            This event was fantastic.  It was very well organized and the distances for the race were perfect.  Since I am not the best swimmer I loved that the swim was a little bit shorter than most races it was ¼ mile in the Boulder Reservoir and the temperature was perfect, I used a wetsuit this time but I don’t think it was necessary.  The bike course was 17.2 miles which is a little bit longer than any of the other races that I have done but it was just one long loop through the outskirts of Boulder.  The view was beautiful and the race course was hilly in some areas but for the most part pretty flat.  The run went along the reservoir for a bit and was also for the most part flat, there was one or two small inclines but not too much.  As a person who is new to racing triathlons this was my favorite race that I have done to date and I plan on doing it again in the future. 

Cheyenne Mountain 50K report 04/24/2011 4 Comments   Yesterday was the inaugural Cheyenne Mountain  50K Trail Race. With never having run that distance before and going into it without specifically training for this race I was not sure what to expect.  So I guess you could say I went into it with little performance expectations (or so was the plan). What I was really hoping for was the Colorado Springs weather to cooperate and to have a great long day of trail running.  Race day for me is great because there is no other plans that day or worries about being out for too long. Not that my great wife and biggest supporter has a problem with my long days, but as a Dad of 4 it is hard to stay away for hours at a time when I am not doing it to support the family.  I guess that is more of an internal struggle that most endurance athletes with families deal with.  Anyway, this race was supposed to be family friendly. The plan was to have three different events for kids. A kids fun run, a kids guided hike and last the zoo was going to have an exhibit set up. What an awesome idea!  Well, by no fault of the race director who did an amazing job setting this up, I guess the Colorado weather had other plans. When I woke up it was 34 degrees at my house at 6 am.  When I got to the race sight (only 30 minutes from home) it was 7:15 and had warmed up to a nice 39 degrees.  No worries though, there was still 45 minutes until start time for the sun to come out.  Unfortunate for all the kids the sun didn’t really make an appearance. I think the reason was the weather but all the kids activities were canceled. I have to say, my wife and kids were troopers and made it through the whole day.  The weather was ok for running but not for standing around waiting all day!

This race was set up with a 25k race and a 50k race. The course was set up in a figure eight shape. One lap was 25k so it was a two lap race for the 50k racers. The 50k started at 8 am and the 25k started at 8:30. I think there were 5 elite level runners in the 50 k race and they started with us amateurs which was kinda cool! Each lap was set up with two lollipop loops so depending on where you were on the course you had a chance to see the elite runners or your friends on the course, kind of. I say kind of because for me this was a very lonely race. The groups in this race broke up pretty quick. I think by mile 8 I didn’t have anyone in front of or behind me.  On the lollipop loops you would see people but it was hard to tell who was racing the 25k and who was doing the 50. The trails were amazing. This is a state park so I believe the funding to keep it up is pretty good. Throughout the course you run through a lot of Colorado Springs has to offer. You start the course in a main parking lot and head west and up up up up hill. You run through scrub oak and then up into a lot of Ponderosa pine. After you climb about 1200 feet you head back down through the start area and out through some open grass land. Oh, the wind really likes this grass area too. Most of the course the wind is blocked by tree cover but the grass is pretty open and I would guess we had about 20 mph wind on the east side of the course. But right away you are climbing the second half of the first lap back through the scruboak and into the ponderosa again. And also back up anther  1200 ft.  Lots of opportunity to see the local wildlife as well.  I saw tukey and one rattle snake. Theirs is also deer and bears in the area but I am guessing they were all scared off by the 300 racers in the area.

Aside from the race start and a couple road crossings the course was almost all single track trail. There was quite a bit of technical running with the trail being very winding with a lot of natural obstacles along the way. Their was also a few areas that were more like walking paths but I would say you really had to be on your game for 90% of the course.  That was apparent by the couple racers I say still going on with bloody faces.  So lesson learned, Don’t loose focus! They did a great job of marking the course as well. There was one unmarked Y in the trail but if you were paying attention the sign at this spot said “overlook” on it so that really means “Dead End”. The aid stations were well stalked.  The race was sponsored by Hammer so that’s what they had for gels and drinks. They also had BBand J’s, pretzels, chips, jelly beans, m&m’s  and cola. Their might have been more but that’s all I remember. 

I brought my own hydration. I used three packets of generation Ucan mixed into a 20oz. hand  held bottle. The first two were without protein and the last was with. Next time I might even do the last two with protein as my muscles were pretty trashed from all the climbing pretty early in the race. One lesson learned was, don’t give up your bottle at an aid station. I put my last packet of Ucan in my bottle and the volunteer took it, filled it with water and set it on the table where it fell over, dumping out a lot of my drink powder. I’m not knocking the volunteer because without them the race would probably not happen. That was more of a note to myself to fill my own bottle.  I took in one Hammer gel every 45 minutes for the first 3 hours.  After that I was getting hungry so started taking PP&J’s and pretzels as I passed the aid stations. With the way the course was set up you passed the aid stations 6 times per lap. I did take in one last gels around 5 hours. I could tell I was really fading from try to run on only Ucan and PPJ’s. I probably had a total of one PPj sandwich. It did take away my hunger but didn’t do enough to fuel me.

We did have light snow and sleet on the course and like I said I went into the race with low performance expectations. I say that but as soon as the gun went off I was in race mode and felt like competing. I can’t complain about my results. I ended up 22nd place overall with a time of 5:45:00. I also know that I reached my limited that day for distance with that kind of elevation gain (Total elevation gain was 5000 ft.) When I go for 50 miles I will have to train specifically for that distance and not just do it on a whim!

Look in my training Blog to find a picture blog of this race!