#88: Sun baked, sand blasted and salted: OBX Train-cation

That's about right.

This week was my "train-cation".  As I've mentioned, the idea was to use the family vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina to my advantage getting as much training in the hot (and notoriously windy) terrain that this little strip of beach can offer.  With Ironman in August, I'm pretty much resolved to the fact that it's going to be hot and humid, so why not get a week of real heat tolerance work right?  Well, apparently the environment was more than happy to help out with plenty of heat, crazy humidity, winds from every direction and plenty of choppy ocean water to swim in.


SWIM - choppy, windy and (apparently) not grounded
Prior to the vacation, I made sure there was a local YMCA that offered day and week passes so I could be sure to get some swimming in.  Ocean swimming was my preference of course (how better to open-water practice right?), but just in case of bad weather or unsafe conditions, I needed to make sure there was a pool......that's me, the "planner" type.  Well, here's a critical question I now know to ask:


Q: "Is your indoor pool grounded"?  
A (Nags Head Y): No.


Wait, what? That's right, when it's thundering outdoors, the local Y kicks swimmers out of its indoor pool.  Kind of a monkey wrench in the works for me and one that makes you a little more focused on getting out in the open water.


The following day (Tuesday AM) the weather was better and the water looked reasonable, so I made my way (with Ocean-kayak escort) into the open water for a challenging, but good swim.  There was of course more current and chop than I'm used to, but it was good practice.

Don't I look brave here?

Two days later (Thursday AM), I was back at it, but this time the wind was strong enough to make it white-cap choppy.  This was a very good test for me and although not particularly fast, I felt comfortable and relatively relaxed while swimming.  The wind was changing a lot though, so at one moment I was swimming parallel with the waves (sort of an undulating feel) and the next perpendicular with them getting multiple salty slaps in the face.  Thankfully, despite several deep-blue smackdowns, my kayak escorts stayed the course and I was able to get a solid workout in.  Amazingly, I was actually a little seasick afterward.....I guess an hour in the chop has that effect.  


End result: Despite no black lines to follow and the ingestion of plenty of the atlantic, 2 solid ocean-swims which I think was a real benefit.


BIKE - what it lacks in hills, it makes up for in headwind
The cycling this week was a different animal for me.......flat, flat and more flat.  


Monday - The hope was that I could get enough mileage in combined with heat to not lose any ground on the bike.  I started with a 50 miler - out and back.  The first 25 went fast.....the heat wasn't too bad (93-ish) and the wind was with me.  I got to a good turn-around point around mile 29 (ok, so we'll make it a 60 miler) and was feeling my knees some.....a little post long-run discomfort from the day before.....so I stretched and turned back which is when  WHAM! I realized I had been going with the wind.  Funny how you don't really feel it until you're going against it.  The next 10 miles were work.  Mentally, I was now used to the pace and cadence I was working, but with a fairly substantial headwind, I was fatiguing far more quickly than I realized.  By mile 45 I was really feeling it and had to slow down considerably.....by mile 55, I was beat and had to crawl the final 4-ish home.


Wednesday - There was CRAZY wind.......so I decided to use it to my advantage, doing 6x5 mi intervals.  I had found a loop that was about 10 miles where the "out" 5 miles was with the wind (recovery) and the "back" 5 miles was against it.....power set.  Although not particularly long, it was a really good workout.....and I was happy with my output.

Yeah, that's about right.

Friday - BRINGING THE HEAT......on Thursday Linds, the kids and I made our way North to visit some of my college friends and families who were also vacationing that week.....as we searched for a radio station we heard the local weather for the following day "It's going to be REALLY REALLY hot tomorrow (Friday)......the heat index will be as high as 113 to 120 in some spots......we encourage you to do any "active" hobbies early in the morning".  Well.....what better way to finish off a tough week of training than to have drinks and good times with friends and get up the next day and train in dangerous levels of heat right?  So I did.  I decided that I would do a short(er) brick session of 30 miles on the bike followed by a couple running miles in the heat to cap off the training week.  Similar to Monday the wind was with me on the way out and then the heat AND wind against me on the way back.  Well, for the record, 113 heat index is stupidly hot.  I kept a close eye on my heart rate and although I knew I was hotter than I was used to, I was able to keep it all in check.  By the time I got back and changed into running shoes, it was oppressive.  I went out the door and ran (relatively slowly) out and back a mile or so......just enough to get the benefits of "brick".....but not so much to leave me shot.


End result: Intensity UP (heat & headwind helps).....volume down.  Glad we're starting to taper.


RUN: So this is what it feels like to run in a sauna?
After Sunday's long run (20 miles in a steam bath), I knew I didn't want much in the way of dedicated run miles to avoid doing more harm than good and with Monday's long ride, Tuesday presented the best opportunity for a run.  AM swim, PM intervals.  I set out to do 8 x 800m sprints in the heat.....warm-up jog a mile, 8x800m sprints and cool-down jog another mile.  


Warm-up mile?  Check.
800 m sprint x 1? Check.
800 m sprint x 2? Check.
Man, the bottom of my feet are really sore....I wonder why?
800 m sprint x 3? Check.
It sort of feels like my feet are burning.....wait, holy hell the pavement is HOT.
800 m sprint x 4? Check (in the grass)
Ahh.....much better, except.....I really don't think I should do another 4 of these.....I'm already drenched with sweat, my heart rate is off the charts and my pace is considerably slowed.
Hang your head a little, head home and cool-down mile?  Check.


After looking at the heat-index (well over 100 AGAIN!) I realized that this may have had a role to play.......30 minutes of intense work in the heat was enough.


Two days later I did the (previously mentioned) short brick and today I found myself back on the hills of Hunterdon for a "welcome back" 10K after a critical power session on the computrainer.  I was really relieved to feel fresh and (relatively) fast on the run course, which I specifically chose for the hills.  The weather clearly was the X-factor, 80 and overcast being WAY WAY different than 97 and humid; but it still felt good to be running at a more "normal" pace.....here's to hoping it'll be similar in 13 days.


___________________
Where from here?
Oooh.....it's getting close.  The long hours are generally over and now it's time to crank up the intensity and drop the duration.  This means hard, but generally short sessions turning the dial slightly toward recovery emphasis over training emphasis with the goal to hit the starting line fresh, strong, rested and ready to GO.


Almost there,


Mike E.

#87 Last long run, Hell Week and some Train-cation

This week was slated to be the biggest, baddest, and most difficult week of the training season; the first of two weeks of "over training" - the kind name endurance athletes use for the blaring wake up call to those final few fibers of muscle and connective tissue that aren't currently being used to get to attention and fall in line.  Hell week for tired muscles.


My goal going in was to have high volume AND high intensity, but unfortunately, that didn't go exactly according to plan......the intensity was good, but the volume was hard to capture.  But at this point in the training season, what goes exactly according to play anyway right?


Monday started solid - 2:36 minutes of cycling, with 2 hill sections and a hard flat section where I emphasized pace.  The session went well......but I was darn tired when I wrapped up with those last few hills.....so the week was well underway.


Tuesday things started still on track - 40 minutes of high cadence cycling followed later that day with a goal for a long run......except.......the environment decided it wasn't so enthused to play along.  I stepped outside late in the afternoon figuring I'd run for 2+ hours - it was 97 degrees and the humidity left the air thick (heat index = 102).  Well, I figured, the race will be super hot too, so why not just give it a go?  And I did.  My plan was do 4 mile out and back x 2......and the first four miles went pretty decently.....but I could feel the heat.  It sounds sort of stupid looking back, mostly b/c either is pretty crazy from training purposes, but I can distinctly remember thinking to myself, man, the gap between 95 and 102 is pretty wide.....pretty big difference really.  I hit the turn and went about another mile before the heat really started to win the battle.......it was like running in a furnace.....the wind, although there, was so hot it actually made it harder to breathe and made me feel hotter not cooler.  YUK.  By mile 6 I was reconciling to myself that perhaps 10 more at this temperature wasn't going to be a huge help for me......and by 7, I was overheating enough to be forced into a walk.


There's an internal battle that goes on during training sessions where this occurs......I'm sort of pissed at myself because I feel like I'm wimping out somehow; even though I know better......it's simple physiology really, when the body temperature gets high "enough" (whatever that is), you will slow down.....or.....you will stop.  So I opted for slowing down.  After a minute or so, I was back on the jog for mile 8.  When I got back to the base of the driveway, I came to the conclusion that to gut out another 10 miles would be a disaster.....and really any additional miles would probably not be super helpful for me.....so I cashed in my chips on the day and moved on.


Wednesday I decided I'd make the emphasis cross training to give my legs a chance to freshen up some.....and after 2 hours of labor ("landscaping duty") in the somehow even hotter temps than the day before (105 heat index), I completed a session with one of the trainers at Pro-Activity emphasizing strength and power......where I proved to myself exactly how weak endurance training has made me.......very.....confirmed by soreness.....lots and lots of soreness.


Thursday it was back on the bike for a double session - 12 miles of hill repeats and then a 25 mile "rolling" ride with some of the group of cyclists that ride out of BaseCamp31. Both were good sessions and felt the day was a success.


Friday I was back in the gym for some lunges and squats (OK, many). With only my arms were feeling stupidly sore, I would never want my legs to feel slighted....mission accomplished.  Great session that I think helped me with the goal of waking up the remaining glutes.....all awake now.  I did a slow shake out 5K afterward knowing that the next day I'd be sitting in the car for many hours getting stiff and sore.


Saturday - well - many hours in the car getting stiff and sore.  We packed up the kids and headed south for some R&R in the Outer Banks of NC.....sort of.  I had previously decided that mine would be a "train-cation" where I'd spend a good chunk of my time (as in the hours I'd normally be working) training.  Seems like a good plan right?  Definitely a plan I questioned as we made our way through torrential downpours only to sit in a few hours of traffic waiting to get over the final bridge.   Well, plenty of time to get stiff.

So comfortable.....

Who doesn't need one of these?

This AM (Sunday), after looking at my training log and noticing that I had achieved the intensity, but not the volume I was looking for, I decided this was the best opportunity I had for my last long-run of the season.......minimum 15 and possibly up to 20 depending on how I was feeling.  I headed down Route 12 that goes through the Cape Hatteras state park, essentially a high-speed 2 lane county road with minimal shoulders......but there was no standing water from the rain.....so that was nice.  My plan was to go out 5 miles, turn toward home for a water stop and then do it again (potentially).  The first few miles went pretty well.....at a pace I was happy with.  However, this was definitely more than just another long slow run......with the humidity in the air and the steam coming up from the quickly heating asphalt coupled with the long & straight road with NOTHING to see in either direction but marshy brush this run was quickly becoming a sensory deprivation experiment.......just the kind of test I love......for a little while anyway.  By the mile 5 turn I was drenched with sweat both shirt and shorts and knew this was going to be draining.  I made the turn and headed back toward the house still running at a decent pace.......nothing beyond the boring so I found myself focusing on my cadence and breathing.  5 more miles down and I was back at the house.....for the moment of truth.  I took a good long pull from my water bottle and let the thought of stopping right then and there creep into my head.  Nope......get moving.  I put the bottle down and headed back out for round 2.  I told myself that I'd do 3 out, which would make the run 16 by the end.....but when I got to the 3 mile mark, I found myself thinking "you're good for another 1, get to mile 4"........and I kept chugging.  4 must have come and gone without me hearing the beep of the mile split on my watch as when I looked down I noticed that I was at 4.4 mi.  "Oh well, might as well go to THE (there was 1) intersection"....got there and the watch was telling me I was at 4.9, so why not get the .1 so I could make it an even 20 miles on the day right?  So I did.  By that point I was beginning to hurt though and I knew the final 5 back home was not going to be much fun......I took my "wick" style shirt off and wrung it out.  With a loud SPLASH the pavement looked like someone dumped a 20 oz cup out......and I trudged along.....in some pain.  My quads and glutes (still very sore from Friday's workout) had had enough.


The next 5 miles were me bargaining with myself.  "C'mon, run 1 mile and walk a tenth.....you can do that.....It's only 5 miles."  And, even though it was a really crappy 5 miles of overheat and slower than usual pace......I eventually got there......and the relief of having my last long run in the books was nice.  A few hours later (as I sit here) the legs are feeling near recovered and I'm planning out the next several days of train-cation.....the last big week.


Wastin' away in Margaritaville,


Mike E. 

#86 Get some rest sleepy-head

Yes.  Like that.

Coming off of the solid, but draining 1/2 Iron weekend in Providence last weekend, I decided that I would follow through with my plan to take this week to freshen up a bit with some recovery and rest and let the training hours drop substantially off.  As a tactic, this is tough because the natural instinct (at least mine) is to worry about how much you're losing......when the truth is, you're gaining and gaining big.  My theory here is that by taking a few days completely off and then building some intense but short sessions in, I would have some time to recharge the physical, mental and emotional batteries enough to hit the last 2 weeks of hard training, well, hard.....and then use the final 2 weeks to peak out right at the right time.  Of course, this is just theory and so much can still not work out as planned......but I'm feeling like if I can get a few things to fall in place, I'll be able to enter race day knowing that I've done everything I can to prepare and just let go......this trust in my training is super important and although there's always SOMETHING more that can be done, for me it's about getting to the starting line healthy and with every cylinder ready to fire.

If I could only grow a beard like that

On Monday and Tuesday, the training order was pretty simple really - get sleep......as much as possible and have the local bike shop take a look at the crash victim to make sure I'm not doing more harm than good riding it.  I did NOTHING on Monday......NOTHING.  This was super weird and Lindsay had a good time watching me milling around like a lost soul trying desperately to find something (non-work-related) to do.  I'm sure the "one flew over the cuckoo's nest" quality about it made it funny to watch....just sort of pacing like I couldn't find the bread crumbs home.


Tuesday - I got a short strength session in just to stay loose and stretch out some.  I also took the bike in; and with a little bit more pacing, this time like someone in the hospital waiting for "the news", Gardner simply said (as he tightened a screw)......"These things are tougher than people think......it's not as pretty as when you got it.....but it's OK".  WHEW!  That would've been a huge setback and instead a relief.  Luck changing?


Wednesday was the last day of "easy does it" for me, so I snuck in a 45-ish minute Elliptigo session.  Enough to get the blood pumping, but certainly not intense.  I love watching the people as they see me heading their way and then the "wait, what?" look on their face as they realize it's not a bike.  Great recovery device and perfect for my goal that day.


Thursday I got some easy riding in, about 35 miles of it.  Not terribly long but a good way to gently let the legs know that it was time to wake up.


Friday I was pressed for time, so what better way to get some work done than mile "cut-downs" 2 x 3 miles.  This little gem of a workout is pretty simple in concept, go out for a run and every mile, cut the pace down (i.e. go faster) by some reasonable percentage.  AMAZING what fresh legs can do.  I went out at what I thought was a reasonable pace (turned out faster than race pace) but at the 1 mile mark I decided I'd still try to cut it down by 15-20 seconds per mile.......it turned out I cut it down by nearly 35 seconds....whew fresh legs!  But, I was this far, so I might as well give it a try to cut it down another little bit......I really didn't think I could cut it down and keep it there for another mile.....but I DID!  Dropped it down another 10 seconds per mile for the 3rd mile.  Although I was pretty tired by the end of that mile, I was feeling really really good about the pacing.  Short lived though, b/c it was time to do it again on the way back.  This time I took mile one REALLY EASY to make sure I could keep it together......but the workout went pretty well and I managed to push out another 3 miles at a pace I was happy with.  Sessions like this are a good boost for the psyche and reinforce to me that if I can keep a positive rest balance and frame of mind, I should be darn near where I want to on race day.


On Saturday training was boxed out by other commitments, which I let go pretty well with the idea that - this was it - last weekend I could really do that.


Today, I managed to get in a tough 30-ish miles on the bike (>2500 feet of climbing in 30 miles), but that was the idea.....beat up the legs and run after.  The last 10% of the ride was with some drizzle, which although cuts the speed down for safety some, wasn't entirely unwelcome (we need it bad).....until I got off to run.  STEAM BATH.  Fortunately the real thunderstorms, you know the kind that drop the temp by 10 degrees in 10 minutes didn't roll through (until now as I type), but the wet roads and hot humid air makes for a seriously unwelcoming environment.  


Overheat Much? 
I ran 5 miles pretty hard and it went fine, however I was a sweaty mess when I was done and feeling sort of burnt.  I made my way into the bathroom and ran the cold bath.  It was the first time (ever) that I got in and within 30 seconds it felt "refreshing".  It usually takes the first 3-4 minutes of what sounds like some sort of personal Lamaze class for me to get in chest deep.....today, not so much.  Well......first hot AND humid training session of the season.  Let's hope 8/11 is NOT like that.


And now, 26 days out from the big-race and staring at 2 weeks of the good stuff.....over training......the cherry on top.  It won't be easy, but this is the stuff great race experiences are made of....and so, it's head down and work hard.


Ready for anything,


Mike E.

#85 Road rash, Olympic send-offs and INSANITY

Remember Crazy Eddie?  Yeah, like that.

This week has been a wild ride.  It shouldn't have been really.....my training schedule had lightened up some to allow my body to catch up prior to the Amica Ironman 70.3 in Providence, RI we had a short week professionally due to the Independence Day holiday and because the holiday was mid-week and that throws many a schedule off, I was able to plan in an office day......sort of luxurious by my standards.

But then there was this other thing.....our friend and Pro-Activity co-worker (trainer/coach) Julie Culley did something sort of impressive....as in super-extraordinary crazy, nutty impressive......she out-kicked an American record holder to not only meet her goal and make the US Olympic team, but to "come out of nowhere" (of course we know better) and WIN the 5K US Trials in Eugene, Oregon.  Freaking Red-iculous.  Well clearly, this kind of thing deserves a little send-off....which if you know us, you know that we RARELY are satisfied with small and relaxed.  So....we decided to try to make it really special for her.....and after a week of planning and crazy ideas we decided that with some work, we could make it cool.  That translated into a quaint gathering of 250+ members of our community, music, food, autographs, good luck wishes, pictures, etc. (If there was only enough time to arrange for her to arrive on an elephant DARN!).  The only hitch (for me) was that I had this other little thing going on that same morning nearly 5 hours away in Providence.  But if I raced well and timed it just right, I MIGHT be able to get back for some of the festivities.....game on.


Amica Ironman 70.3 Providence - Welcome to Summer School
So I got a few easier sessions in and let my body recover enough to race well.  Not tip-top, but well enough.  I hydrated, carb-ed and was ready to go....and as the alarm went off (+/- 3A) I reminded myself, as I sometimes have to, that I was CHOOSING to do this.  Pre-race proceeded as planned although I found myself surprisingly chilly prior to the swim start (no wetsuits and I think the water was warmer than the air).  Finally my wave was called and 3-2-1.....we were off......


I started pretty well and for the first few hundred meters (+/- 10-20%) I felt on track for a good day.  I felt my pace slow some (pretty typical) and felt a pack of swimmers coming up on me.  This is a little odd b/c usually by then the slipstream has formed......it was at that point that one of the wheels fell off.  My goggles got bumped and filled with water.....annoying, but no biggie.  I reset and pulled a little to the side but from that point on, I COULD NOT sight a straight line.  I was all over the place and it seemed like every time I picked my head up I was way off course.  At one point I had to be redirected by a kayaker....."you've got to go R, you're going hit the rocks".....and sure enough, when I put my feet down, there they were......and the day sort of went like that for a while.  

A classic.

After weaving back and forth, I finally got out of the water, completing (time-wise) the worst swim I have had in a Triathlon (somewhere around 11 sec per 100m off my last effort or 3.5 minutes off my predicted).  Doesn't sound like much, but racing nearly 10% slower is a pretty big swing.  Knowing that I pretty much SUCKED in the swim, I tried to hurry through the run from water to transition, get my things on and GO.... 3:04 later I was on the bike....could have been faster, but not terrible.  As I rode out of the park, I realized that my Garmin was not working......and not entirely ready to NOT have my cadence and heart rate in front of my face, I started to fiddle.  I eventually realized it was "frozen" at 3:24 AM......the time when I took it off the AC power source that AM.  CRAP!  Not super easy to reboot your watch while riding, but it started back up....."OK, now settle in".....and I did for the next 25-ish miles.....when......I slowed to go through the water stop and had a pretty terrible exchange with the volunteer.  I don't really know how it went wrong.....but having seen a bottle get dropped just before I got there, I'm thinking the volunteer didn't want to let another one slip and decided to hold it a bit more securely.  MISSION accomplished.  I grabbed for the bottle and it sort-of felt like she didn't let go.  My arm jerked backward just enough to yank my front wheel off center.  ABORT! Or so I tried, but when I went back to right myself, there was no correcting.....wheel cut sharply L and KA-BOOM!  Over the top.  I was.....how shall we say.....not so happy?

Site 1 of 7 (L knee) post race

ME: (yelling): "SON-OF-A-EXPLETIVE" getting up examining the fallout and noticing my knees, elbows and L shoulder were starting to bleed some and feeling both shoulder blades and my R hip talking back.  
ME: (yelling) "BLEEP" looking across the road to the completely slack-jawed (literally mouths hanging open) volunteers 
ME: "Am I OK?"......
Volunteers: no response.......mouths hanging open
ME: (now yelling again) "Am I OK, someone talk to me" 
Brave Kid: "Do you feel OK?".....
ME: (thinking but not saying) "WTF kind of bull-expletive question is that?" (OK, not exactly the help I was looking for)......
ME: (getting more angry and yelling) "AM I BLEEDING Profusely anywhere.....are there bones sticking out anywhere?" 
Levelheaded Adult Woman....."No....just road-rash....I think you're OK".....
ME: (thinking while mounting my bike): "Thank GOD for you level-headed woman"
ME: (saying) "thanks"......and off I went.


Yeah.....so that was the sort of day I was having....Awesome.  Get it all out of the system now right?  Or something.  But from a pacing perspective, the ride was going relatively well....my heart rate was under control and I was working, but not burning up in the heat......I thought about the need to respect that I now had exactly ZERO calories (about 600 less than I would've used) and ZERO water (about 25-30 oz less than I would've used) to make it to the next water stop......


And yet, we press on
The bike leg finished without further incident and looking back, I was almost at my goal pace of >21 mph (20.9).....so considering my little snafu and unintended caloric-restriction, I was feeling decent.  Tried to speed through transition 2 to make up a little more time and got to the sunscreen volunteers...... sun-baked road rash not being the delicacy you might imagine, I opted for some.


ME: "Great, I'll take some.....but please be careful for the.....Yeee-ooow (feeling the sting of the sunscreen in the open cut on my shoulder blade)...."
Volunteer:  "Oh" (realizing what he just did) "road-rash.....I'm so sorry"
ME: "No sweat...thanks".....and off I ran.


The Mental Game
The first 2 miles of the run course were straight up a pretty decent hill. clearly meant to break you mentally.....and it almost did.  I got about 60% to the top and started seriously questioning if I could run today.....my pace slowed pretty quickly and I started to feel the miles without fuel or water......"it's only 13 miles" I thought......"you've done worse" and so I trudged up the hill making it to a water stop.  I grabbed some cold sponges and stuffed them in my shirt, slugged back some flat Cola (there IS a use for this mix of sugar-salt and other generally terrible things......just not as a daily regimen) and felt a little better.  I grabbed a couple of handfuls of ice just to hold and try to stay as cool as possible.....and by the mile 3 turn, I was feeling a little more upbeat. I found my legs and started to run more my pace.....my heart rate was elevated, but not crazy and the cola and ice was helping.  I avoided the GU pack in my pocket figuring I was too dehydrated and I wouldn't have enough water to process the carb-shot.....and just kept moving.  By the 6.5 mi turn (i.e. second loop) I was starting to feel decent and I knew if I could get over that hill once more, the hard part was over.....I got to mile 10 (over the hill) feeling good and now had only one more tough section to go (hot, exposed, quiet stretch b/t 11 and 12.5)......slowed a little but went target to target finding people to pass.....and then finally got to the shoot where I heard a big


"Congrats to Michael ELLs-heart, number 617" from the announcer.  


"Whatever" I thought......I don't know why these guys butcher Eisenhart so much.....but it didn't matter.....I was ready to collect my gear and beat it back to Jersey to catch the Culley-extravaganza. My time of 5:07:33 earned me #20 of 141 in my age-group and 115th overall of around 1100..... I was hoping for sub-5 hours....but overall, given the day's events, I was pretty happy with the finish and hopeful I can add just a bit more for the next race (30 days).

Great send-off!

With the exception of needing to stop and stretch my (now stiffening) legs, 5-ish (weekend traffic) hour car ride home left me feeling about as good as 5 hours hard exercise and skin removal followed by 5 hours of sitting in a car can leave you feeling.....but I made it to the party.  Really, really awesome showing.  More than 250 people, a proclamation by the Mayor, a really cool video that Eric created (below) and AMAZING job by the whole team and their families as well as some of our closest clients (who we had to recruit to help) refreshing food and drink, giving out "In Pursuit" T-shirts for anyone willing to set a personal goal, an absolute CHAMP in Julie signing autographs and taking pictures and hustling their asses off to make the day remarkable for everyone involved and something that will (hopefully) help Julie find that extra gear in London.  So cool.


Yes......this has been a really wild week.......and after a few days to RECOVER.....it's back to work.


ME: "You probably didn't have the time to read this far......"
YOU: "CRAP.....you got me....I should have NEVER read this RED-iculously long blog...I've got a lot to do and now I'm late"
ME: (winking) "Bye",


Mike E.


VIDEO

#84: Are we there yet? NO.

This was my down week, the 1/2 step back before my final training push.  With Ironman US Championships a mere 40 days away, I'm basically gearing up for 4 weeks of high intensity AND high volume (overload) work, prior to 2 weeks of "peaking" in order to have everything come together just at the right moment.  With that focus, I used the extra time not required for training this week (somewhere around 3-5 hours) to take a mental inventory of where things are at.  
The simple answer is - I've come a long way this training season and I've got a lot to be happy about:

• my fitness is arguably as good as it has ever been,
• my body composition (weight & body-fat) is stabilizing near where I want to be on race day
• my resiliency has improved (although I have nicks & bumps, I'm keeping the more severe issues at bay)
• my nutrition strategy continues to come into focus
• my heat tolerance is improving

This all bodes well, however, I am by no means THERE yet.....and these next 4 weeks will likely be the determinant in a solid "A" race and the very best I can do.  Given that I'm a "very best I can do" kind of person.....the main objective this week was to stare at those realities (as compared to what I need to do to meet my ultimate goal) and then crank up training another notch to close the gap.  Seems simple enough, however in the context of giving more than what already feels like the most I can give...... and (of course) not overdoing and winding up injured, burnt-out or mentally fatigued and therefore not able to focus on raceday and it's increasingly difficult to keep things simple.


Yesterday's test? B-
Yesterday I made the trek north to see where things stood.  The plan was to ride north from Ross Dock (Fort Lee, NJ where the race transitions) into NY state on a road that closely mimics the bike route for a total of 50 miles (i.e. 1 loop of the course) and then run 7 miles in the park (i.e. 1 loop of the harder 1st 1/2 of the race course) to get a feel for the course there.  My real focus was the run b/c although the bike course is going to be challenging, the real game (for me) is coming off the bike and running strong.


Well, I took the bike relatively easy.....and then transitioned to the run.  I got started feeling strong but by mile 4 of 7 it was a very different story.  Bad frame of mind, hurting body and the ugliness that starts to creep in when you enter what triathletes so lovingly refer to as "the pain cave".  Hmmm.....Pain cave within 4 miles after only 50 (relatively easy going) miles on the bike and 0 swim?  Not so good from a performance perspective, but so good from a motivational one.  It forced me to think seriously about my pacing, my goals, etc.  And for me, it's the thinking that matters.....because (I believe) that only way I can get where I want is if I'm willing to match the Red-iculous effort I've been able to put in to training with an equally Red-iculous effort into my racing strategy......and this little kick in the teeth will motivate me to do so.


Now, in fairness, there were some key details that I DIDN'T get right yesterday that I can't lose sight of:

• I didn't put nearly the emphasis on my nutrition and hydration that I will on race day (maybe 800 calories and 70 oz of fluid, which is somewhere around 30% short on calories and 80-90 oz short on water).  No measured intake, no specific strategy.....just sort of a roll with it day.  Pretty lazy actually and this can't be minimized.....especially in light of the temperature
• When I got back from my run the car thermometer was reading 97 degrees for the next hour.....and although my gut says don't trust that, weather.com tells me it was around 93 at that time.....so I'm figuring somewhere in b/t the two......which is DARN hot.  As an aside, when I looked at my Heart Rate monitor data, my heart rate reached 195 beats per minute on the run.......which is somewhere around 10 beats higher than my predicted maximum achievable......no wonder I was hurting.

Still, this is not the kind of performance I am looking for, so it's time to get really serious about my racing strategy and EXECUTE, EXECUTE, EXECUTE my nutrition and hydration schedule.  It has to be clock work and I need to put the effort there too.

Where from here?
Intensity - it's time to find that "extra gear" - which means an emphasis on power in all aspects of my training.  I'll be putting at least 1 session on the bike and 1 on the run per week that emphasizes power (hills, speed work, etc) and I'll add in a vomit-inducing, monster-session for core muscle work and lower extremity power each week.  I've decided it's time to put one of those unique resources that I have (coaches and trainers that know the topic of power and core control up, down, sideways and backwards) to work.....so I've "hired" our M360 group to put me through my paces.  I figure if they're good enough to help guide some of the RED-iculous Track Stars of NJNYTC along the journey to their lofty goals (PR after PR including an Olympian), I can probably benefit.


Final Race Test - Providence 70.3 a week from today.  This will be a good test of my fitness, but I have to also make sure I don't get caught up in the race and "leave it all out there".  I need to have a strong swim and transitions, I want to have a solid bike, and then pace myself on the run (maybe a negative split?) in hopes to finish in the top 20%.


Train-cation?  You've heard of vacation, and even now "stay-cation" has become popularized......but this summer I'll have my first experience with a "train-cation"......just weeks before the event, a chance to focus on only 2 of the big 3 currently in my life (Family, Work and Training)......it will be a real blessing and I'm looking forward to it.....but I'm also expecting to get a lot from it.


Gettin' after it,


Mike E.