Overtaken - 4:00

This past weekend I had my first triathlon of the season and it was an important reality check of my base fitness heading into the 12 weeks leading up to the Ironman U.S. Championships in early August.  That's my goal race this season and will be my 3rd IM.  I'm at the point where the workouts need to start more specific to the race - increased volume and more long moderate intensity, particularly on the weekends when I ride 7-8 hours between the two days.  Up until now I've mostly been doing tempo and threshold intensity work along with a occasional long run.  I think I've only gone over 50 miles on the bike twice since last summer and I only got back into the pool about 6 weeks ago after forgetting where it was since Sept.  I scheduled in a half iroman distance triathlon to test my fitness before I shifted gears and got serious into the race preparation block of training.  It was also just a good opportunity for a long training day.

Kinetic Half is held at Lake Anna State Park in Spotsylvania, VA.  I raced this event back in 2008 and finished 4th OA.  It's a single loop swim in the lake, then 2 loop bike on rolling hills (2400ft of climbing total), and finishes with a 3-loop run with 2 tough hills on each climb.  It's definitely a challenging run course but I tend to prefer that to a flat run because it plays to my strengths.  The weather was great aside from some fog that settled down on the lake and delayed the start by 15min.  Once the sun started climbing the fog burned away and we were off.  Swimming is my least developed sport at this point in the season.  I've been hitting the pool 2-3x per week and doing somewhere in the 1800-2400m range for each workout.  The swim at this race is just over 1900m.  I knew I had the basic endurance to not struggle but needed to keep the intensity in check and just accept that it wouldn't be one of my faster swims - my swim times are never impressive anyway.  No issues here and I clocked a 32:17 which was the slowest of the top 15 OA finishers in the race.

On to the bike where I can start to settle in and slowly pull back some time.  I'm on a new bike this season and I haven't had a lot of time on it yet to tweak my position but I think I just about have it dialed in.  Everything felt comfortable and spending 2+ hours in the aerobars didn't kill my neck or back too much.  I did however have a small issue on the ride that I didn't confirm for sure until after the race.  I spent most of the 56 miles playing cat and mouse with one other guy.  It wasn't intentional but we were constantly trading positions because of the type of bikes each of us were riding and our riding style.  He was on a road bike and I was on my tri bike.  The tri bike has more of an advantage the faster you are going because of the aerodynamics.  So on the rolling descents and flats I would tend to pass him but as soon as we get to the incline I'd back off the power and he'd end up passing me.  We probably traded positions 30-40 times.  In this kind of triathlon there are rules about how far you need to stay behind the person in front of you to avoid getting an advantage from riding in their draft.  You also have to drop back a certain distance when you are passed before you are allowed to pass them back.  The official apparently thought I didn't drop back far enough once and I got an "overtaken" penalty which tacked 4min onto my total time.  I don't care about the time but I was a bit pissed that they gave me a penalty when I know they weren't in a good position to judge the distance between us.  This is the first penalty I've ever got in 8 years of racing.  Anyway, I roll into T2 clocking a 2:25:25 bike split.

Check out my Garmin file from the bike on TrainingPeaks.

My new rocket ship for the season decked out in full race kit.  I'm heading out to FASTER in Scottsdale, AZ in 2 weeks to see if I can squeeze a little more speed out of it - stay tuned for a future blog on that experience.

Heading out of T2 on the run there is an immediate 130ft vertical climb up from the lake before heading out into the park and dropping down another hill back to about lake level before climbing out and looping around and eventually down a trail back to transition - then repeat 2 more times.  All total there are 6 climbs of about 130ft vertical and .6 miles each.  The profile is painfully obvious looking the my Garmin file.  I tend to pace pretty well and have a good strategy for dealing with hills but they still weren't fun.  My first lap was a little fast at 6:29/mile average, or I might have over-cooked the bike slightly and paid for it later in the run.  On a flat to rolling course I tend to run in the 1:23-1:25 range off the bike but today I had to settle for a 1:27:47 - 11th fastest of the day out of 350 male finishers.

Once the 4min penalty got tagged on my official time was 4:32:27.  I would have been 8th OA without the penalty.  I'm not thrilled with my times but not disappointed either.  I've barely been doing long enough workouts for this race distance so it was really my tempo and threshold work pulling me through.  That gives me a decent base to start layering on some volume.  Within about 8 weeks I'll be consistently riding 200 miles a week, running 35-40 miles, and getting 2-3 60-90min swims.  I don't have a particular time I'm shooting for at the IM. I prefer to approach races like that with goals based on executing my pacing and nutrition plans perfectly rather than chasing splits.  You show up with a certain amount of fitness and all you can do is use it wisely and see what that gets you.  My best guess is that it's going to take a sub-10hr finish to have any chance of grabbing a Kona Qualifier spot in my age group.

Ready to rock

I spent the past 6-8 weeks basically preparing to train for my primary goal race this season - Ironman  US Championship in New York City (actually it's mostly in New Jersey but who would sign up for Ironman New Jersey?).  Ironman is a long day even if you are relatively fast - I expect to be in the 9-10hour range but the pros can go sub-8hrs.  If you want to be at all competitive you need to do more than simply put in a lot of volume.  The race prep phase needs to include a good amount of high quality threshold and tempo work layered on top of the necessary volume and long sessions.  With about 12 weeks to go I need to already have the basic endurance and fitness so I can start turning up the heat.  Basically, I've been training to train the past couple months.  I did a lot of running and put in a lot of time on my bike trainer through the cold dark months.  It hasn't been too long that I've been getting outside for longer rides and I just got back to the pool 4 weeks ago after forgetting where it was since early September.

That brings me to today, the end of a solid 8-day training block that essentially ends my "getting ready to train" phase.  I really hit it hard and had some challenging workouts but managed to nail everything including most of the little things like doing my run form drills, plyometrics, and dry-land stretch cord exercises.  This last week was a sort of peak just before I take a few days break from training and get a little mental rest for the weekend down in 'Nawlins' taking in Jazz Fest (FOO FIGHTERS!!!).  When I get back on Monday I'll hit a couple quality sessions and then benchmark my fitness at the Kinetic Half.  I don't have any particular goals for the race except to execute well and see where I'm at. 

Here's a summery of the last week of training:

Thursday 4/26 - 90min tempo run with 3 miles @ 6:30, 2 miles @ 6:20, 1 mile @ 6:10.
Friday 4/27 - long endurance swim, easy run finish with drills and plyos
Saturday 4/28 - 4hr ride including 2X15' @ FT and 3X20'  @ 90% FT
Sunday 4/29 - 90min trainer ride with 3X25' (2') @ 85% FT
Monday 4/30 - easy run finish with drills and plyos, Tempo interval swim
Tuesday 5/1 - 60min run with 3X 1 mile @ 5:55
Wednesday 5/2 - 60min trainer ride with 10' @ FT, 20' @ 95%, 10' @ FT, moderate intensity endurance swim
Thursday 5/3 - 2.5 hour long run finishing with 3 miles of tempo.

Between the tempo run last Thurs and the long run today I really feel like I'm over the hump of a 2.5-3hr run needing to be all basic endurance pace.  After 15 miles of relatively easy running today I was feeling pretty good so I decided to drop a few miles in the 6-6:15 range then shut it down for a couple of easy cool down miles.  I could have racked up another 5+ miles at 7:30ish pace without struggling if I wanted to.  It was nice to finish a long run with some quality and not feel totally spent.  That's how I know it's time to start layering on that tempo and threshold work consistently through the week.  I'm looking forward to the next 12 weeks of specific race prep although I know I'll be happy when the early weekend mornings are over and I get to enjoy the second half of the summer with at bit more leisurely lifestyle.

Here's today's run

DNS vs DNF

I've never DNF'd a race and I don't enter races just to go through the motions.  I'm either testing my current fitness, have a specific training purpose, or I'm racing to push my limits and compete.  That's why I've only run a few marathons total and why I decided to DNS IM Arizona in 2010.  With few exceptions, simply covering the distance doesn't motivate me.

Boston Marathon 2006 with dad.

In early 2010 my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I spend a lot of time traveling back and forth to CO spending as much time with him as possible.  He passed away in late July that year and I just couldn't focus on the quantity and quality of training that's necessary to race IM well.  I certainly could have trained enough to finish without a problem but it still would have been a big investment for a marginal outcome.  So I decided to eat the $500 entry and change gears to something that I thought I could actually accomplish something with what was left of the 2010 season.  I found a regional half iroman race in late October, cut my training back to something I could stay focused on and actually enjoy, and ended up winning the race and setting a new PR.  From the moment I decided to pass on IMAZ I immediately knew it was the right decision and don't regret it for a second.  I still went out to Tempe and got to watch Chrissy Wellington set a new world record - smiling the entire time.

That brings me to April 2012 and my ultimate goal this season to race well at the inaugural IM US Championship in Aug.  I started he year running a lot, had a blast doing the Ragnar FLK relay, and set a World Record for a tethered team marathon at Shamrock - fun start to the season.  I also put the Virginia 24hr Run for Cancer on my schedule as both a challenge and something unique.  It happens to be a quick drive from VA Beach and a friendly format for ultra running - 3.75 mile loop on a flat dirt and gravel trail.  I ran JFK50 back in 2009 and did fairly well (34th overall) despite my pace bombing the last 10 miles or so.  I set my goal for the 24hr event at 100 miles but I've been training as a triathlete, not a runner.  That means only 2-3 runs for roughly 30-35 miles per week.  I fully realize that isn't optimal to run 100 miles but I still felt confident that I could do it - 24hrs gives a lot of buffer.  But the problem is that I basically consider anything less than 100 miles a DNF.  For whatever reason I don't see anything short of 100 miles as being any sort of milestone past the 50 I've already done.  So I had 2 options for the 24hr run - go for it and run myself into the ground to hit my goal, or DNS and spend my weekend training to be the best triathlete I can be this season. 

As I'm finishing this post I have several friends 15 hours into the run - I'm at home with sore legs from running 18 miles yesterday and riding 65 miles today.  I'm bummed that I'm not out there with them.  I wasn't raising money for a charity or anything but I was looking forward to "running for cancer" for my dad.  But I'm happy that I made the right decision - Ironman is 111 days away and it's time to get serious.  I wouldn't have been able to give my best at either event if I ran the 24hr this weekend.  Instead I'll swim/bike/run my ass off for the next 4 months and dedicate this IM to my dad.

Mission accomplished

There I was, standing in the starting corral with 4 other dudes tethered to my waist with a few feet of rope.  In a couple minutes we'd be off for a running tour of the Virginia Beach oceanfront complete with an excursion through Fort Story and stroll down the boardwalk.  I posted a while back about this Guinness World Record attempt.  We planned to run under 3hrs but unfortunately had a couple of injuries on the team and had to make some late substitutions but we were still in great shape for beating the current record (3:26).  We figured on being right around 3:03-3:05 so we set out to run 7:00 pace and nailed it up through mile 16.  I was feeling great and everyone else seemed to be holding steady.  Mile 16-18 is when a marathon starts to get serious and if you are running at your limit things get tough.

You might be able to tell who is on cruise control and who is working hard at this point.

We needed to back off our pace to 7:20-7:30 for the last 8 miles to keep the team on track but there was never any risk of missing the record.  The last mile was all about guts and I'm proud of everyone for hanging tough and kicking the pace back up for a 6:57 coming down the boardwalk to the finish.  Our official time was 3:06:04, crushing the previous record.

This wasn't my fastest marathon and it wasn't the fastest I could have run on this day - I figure I was good for a 2:48-2:50 - but it was tons of fun.  For the first 15 miles we had a pack of clingers just sitting on our heels.  Maybe they liked our 7:00/mile pace or maybe they just wanted to hang with the cool kids.  All the spectators gave us great support and it was a really nice day to run a marathon.  Maybe next year we'll come back and knock out that sub-3hr unfinished business.

6:50 or Bust

Actually, 7:49 would be sufficient to avoid a complete bust.  What the hell am I talking about?  6:49/mile is the average pace to finish a marathon in 2:59.  My PR is 2:53 and change so why does going just under 3 hours matter?  Well on Sunday, March 18th, I'll be part of a 5-man team attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the  fastest marathon by a linked team at the Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA.  The current record is 3:26:15 - just over 7:49/mile.  What would be better than breaking the record?  Going sub-3hrs of course.  A 3hr marathon is one of those benchmarks for serious recreational runners - an invisible line that many have on their radar.  Some can only dream of a 2:59:xx marathon, others train diligently for years hoping to crack the barrier just once, and even fewer are lucky enough to push themselves even faster.  In the bigger picture of marathon running it isn't all that fast.  After all, the world record is approaching 2hrs flat (currently 2:03:38) - an average pace for 26.2 miles that is faster than most people can run a single all-out mile.  But in terms of mere mortals it's still challenging and a very respectable time.

As I mentioned, our original goal was to break 3hrs and we had a team with the credentials to do it.  Unfortunately, running often involves dealing with injuries and we lost one of our teammates just last week which left us scrambling for a replacement.  Being only 3 weeks out from the race didn't leave many options because we obviously needed someone who was already in marathon shape, available, and willing to be tied to the rest of us for a few hours.  Luckily, we've got a good running store in the area with a few guys up to the task with only a couple weeks notice.  We may have to adjust our expectations slightly but I think we'll still be close to the 3hr mark.

In addition to myself, the other team members are Tommy Neeson, Drew Midland, Steve Speirs, and our newest running fool teammate Mark Manny.  We're coordinating with J&A Racing as well as the folks at Guinness World Records and we've decided to support a local charity - Preston's March for Energy.  So T-minus 18 days until we toe the line and run for a record.  Check out our Facebook page and keep an eye open for another blog post after the dust has settled.

Biffle Dinked!

Say what?  Yeah - Biffle Dinked.  I just returned from a short trip to Key West.  It's definitely a cool place to relax for a few days and punish your liver but this post is really about the journey to get there.  It all started Thursday when I arrived in Miami and met up with Jim, Tommy (Timmay), Bill, John, and August.  Collectively we make Team Biffle Dinked and we were running the 198 mile Ragnar Relay from Miami to Key West. I was the new (and young) guy on the team but I think I fit right in.  They put me in charge of the pre-race lodging in Miami so I promptly booked us rooms at the Embassy Suites...more on this later.  The basic concept of the relay was, well, a really long relay.  There were 36 legs mapped out varying from about 2 miles to just over 11.  Since we only had 6 runners we were considered an ultra team.  Most teams were 12 people but that's just weak sauce IMO.  And because everyone but me was old we were technically classified as sub-masters.  So you rent a big van, load it with Gatorade, water, peanut butter, and gels, then hop-scotch your way from one exchange zone to the next swapping out runners as you go, creeping ever closer to the finish at Duval St.

Intro - why a blog?

I thought I'd kick this off with a little about why I decided to start a blog and what you can expect to read here.  I'm not huge into the social media thing - I don't Tweet and have no idea what that Google+ account I have is supposed to do - but I am on Facebook.  It's been great for finding old friends but aside from that I consider it mostly a novelty - a place to share random thoughts, post fun photos or YouTube vids, joke with friends, and pass the time while you wait for the work day to end, but not necessarily to share every detail of your otherwise mundane life.  Honestly, I don't really care that Boots the cat just got her shots or that you just went the gym (again).  And that brings me to my point here.  I'm going to use this space to talk about stuff that doesn't fit the mold of "novelty" for FB - my forays in triathlon and running, maybe some traveling, and definitely beer.  Those of you that are my "friends" on Facebook should know that micro brews are a sort of hobby of mine - drinking them, not brewing them.  This isn't going to be a training log so don't expect to see my detailed daily workout but I will be posting about my journey through the season building up to the inaugural Ironman U.S. Championship in August and some fun events I have planned along the way.  Stay tuned, I'm kicking off 2012 by joining up with 5 other idiots to run (yes, RUN) from Miami to Key West Jan 6-7.  I'll also throw in some posts with more of my background in running and triathlon and how I got to the point of wanting to race Ironman distance or spend 24hrs running solo.