Ironman California 70.3 2007 : Off to the races

I'm signing off for the weekend. I'll be out at the Ironman California 70.3 doing my best not to die. That's right folks, a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run.

All kidding aside, it'll be a blast. Seven of my teammates from my team in training ironteam will be there and we'll be cheering each other on as we pass through transition and then on through the finishers chute and on to glory.

Stay tuned for a race report on Monday. Thanks for reading.
-dean

Humor : Dating a Triathlete...

Original source unknown, but still funny.

When dating a triathlete please note the following translations to commonly heard answers to first date style questions...

"I am an outdoors type of person."
Really means: I train in any type of weather. If it's raining, snowing, 90 degrees w/100 percent humidity, or winds gusting at 30 mph. I don't want to hear any complaints because I will still train in it and you're just a big wuss for complaining about it.

"I enjoy riding my bike."
Really means: with or w/o aero bars, alone or in a peleton, I don't care. If you can't do a spur of the moment 30 miler then you're not my type. I will let you draft, but if you can't hang and I drop you - I will see you later. I am a capable mechanic, but don't expect me to change your flats or tune your bike. You need to learn that on your own.

"I enjoy jogging."
Really means: Let's run hills until we puke. I have just as many shoes as you only mine are better because they are functional and all look the same.

"I enjoy dining out."
Really means: I enjoy eating out, in or anywhere else I can find food. Don't be shy because with the amount of food I eat, you can have that main entree instead of a salad and you will still look as though you eat like a rabbit in comparison. Don't get your limbs too close though as I may take a bite out of you. Most importantly don't expect any taste off my plate unless you can bring something to the party like more food. Eventually though if your not burning 4,000 calories a day your going to plump up and have a terrible complex due to watching me eat deserts and not gain any weight. Friends and family will eventually decide not to dine with us anymore due to my horrid table manners. Oh, and don't ask me any questions during breakfast, Mid Morning Lunch, Lunch, Afternoon lunch, dinner or Recovery Dinner as it does not lend to efficient food intake.

"I enjoy quiet walks on the beach."
Really means: Walks on the beach warming up into an 8 mile run and then plunging myself in the ocean for a 2 miler. If you get in my way you're going to find out what mass start is and let me assure you that you don't want to find out.

"I find fulfillment in charitable work."
Really means: If I am not racing, I am volunteering and I expect you to be there along side me as I stand out in 90 degree weather for 8 hours handing out sports drink to cyclists going 20 mph. Just stick the ol' arm out there and hope it doesn't get taken off.

"I enjoy sharing quiet moments together."
Really means: It's taper time. Just back off because I am strategizing and in a pissy mood because I am worried about my "A" race and can't workout.

"I am an active person."
Really means: Aside from my 40 hour job, and the 8 mandatory hours of sleep a night. 10 hours a week are devoted to me during the off-season and 20 during race season leaving us 4 hours. 2 of which are spent inhaling food and you not talking to me, so let's make the best of the 2 hours we will spend together on average each day. If you are a licensed message therapist or doctor this would make the most optimal use of our time together. Nutritionist is also acceptable, but I probably already know just as much as you.

"I enjoy road trips and leisurely drives."
Really means: You have your choice of Wisconsin, Idaho, Florida, California, Arizona, and Canada, but don't expect to do much site seeing. If I get enough support from you we might be able to include Hawaii in there.

"I enjoy site seeing."
Really means: Lets grab a mountain bike and get our HR's up to 90%. There's plenty of time to look around on the descent as trees and bushes whiz by you at 40 mph.

"I like stimulating conversation."
Really means: while we are running, we can talk about food. Then we can talk about how we decided what to wear on this run based on the temperature at start time versus the temperature at the time we expect to finish, how horribly out of shape we are, how many miles we did last week, and how many we will do this week and next week. Then we can talk about food.

"I enjoy relaxing soaks in the tub."
Really Means: I'm going to stop on the way home and buy two bags of ice, throw them in the tub with some water, and sit in this torture chamber for 30 minutes.

"I'm interested in photography"
Really Means: My camera is permanently perched a tripod in front of my trainer. I obsess over taking photos of my bike position and analyzing them to get the perfect setup.

"I'm into in technology"
Really Means: My HRM and bike computer are my best friends. Until you can give me some hard data that can improve my training, don't bother trying to buddy up to me. You could one day break into the top three if I find you as entertaining on long runs and rides as my mp3 player.

Humor: Once Upon a Time I Feared the Treadmill

I once thought that this would most certainly happen to me... Thankfully, or not, I'm still waiting for the first time this happens to me. I can wait...

Tuesday Swims

I really do enjoy the Tuesday swims with the team. Sure my stomach complains when I get to workouts that it would much rather have my butt in a chair with a sandwich and a drink of some sort, but it is the one time during the work week when I can count on seeing most of my team. Here's what I like about my Team in Training Ironteam:
- Everyone is training for the same event.
- Everyone is raising money to fight cancer.
- Everyone is training to be ready for the same event.
- When the workout is all said and definitely done, we go eat.

Today was no different really. I showed up to practice and it was threatening to rain on us. But once you're there and dressed, there's really no other option than getting in and doing the workout. (There is another option but don't tell that to my grumbling stomach.)

Today we worked on active recovery, or resting in motion. Makes sense, the impulse after a difficult effort is to come to a stop, recover your breath, take in some fluid, and bring the heart rate down. This is what the body would like, trust me. Instead, following a hard effort we reduced pace kept moving. Very effective in making the body more efficient.

Love it.

Wave Starts

2007 Ford Ironman 70.3 California

Well it's upon us and the waves have been determined. I was hoping that I'd be in an earlier wave but it looks like I'm in the back. Yep, there's nothing like standing in line waiting to get in to the water at the end of winter. The professional athletes will be completely done with the swim and will have been done for close to 40 minutes before I get in the water to start my day.

------------

Wave Starts / Cap Colors

3-minutes between same age-groups and 4-minutes between differing age-groups

Wave No#	Time	Division	Color of cap
1	6:40	Pro M	Yellow
2	6:43	Pro W	Silver
3	6:50	M 40-44	Dark Blue
4	6:53	M 40-44	White
5	6:57	M 30-34	Purple
6	7:00	M 30-34	Neon Green
7	7:03	M 30-34	Red
8	7:07	M 35-39	Light Blue
9	7:10	M 35-39	Dark Green
10	7:13	M 35-39	Pink
11	7:17	M 18-24 / M 50-54	Dark Blue
12	7:21	M 55 + / W 40-44	White
13	7:25	W 18-24 / W 45+	Purple
14	7:29	W 25-29	Neon Green
15	7:33	W 35-39	Red
16	7:37	W 30-34	Light Blue
17	7:41	M 45-49	Dark Green
18	7:45	M 25-29	Pink
19	7:48	M 25-29	Dark Blue

Yep.... Oh well. See ya. -dean

Over the hump part II

For the past two or three weeks I've been in a funk, a training funk. If you had to give it a clinical name it would probably be training fatigue. In looking back over the my training history I found that I'd been more or less in long course training mode for the last 18-months with little or no break. That's a long time. A part of me had lost the spring that usually comes with working out and being on the road. There are still workouts on the calendar both in the things to do column and in the training recorded column. But the stuff that I've done has been really half-hearted, and that's the truth.

To this we add a second major pain, that of my mind against my body. My brain just says, "C'mon it's just a 45-minute run, real low effort." My body on the other hand says, "Hey! Leave me alone and let me just sit on the couch and play a little Madden '07 on the 360. I need a day/week/month off!" For the most part the body wins, but not without stressing out the mind. The mind sees every workout not done as an unraveling of everything that has been accomplished, every goal achieved, and a floating backward from the next sets of milestones.

Here's the hard part. Sit down. Breath in. Breath out. Blink. Repeat. Repeat until the voices are silent. Now think, Training Fatigue. And now ask, do you feel like doing this anymore?...

For me that answer is yes. So like most addicts we deal. I got between my own body and mind and we agreed that we wouldn't quit, everything just had to be dialed back for a few weeks. Maintain less than half the mid-week workouts, and dial back the intensity of the weekend workouts unless I felt good. And with a 2400 yd swim last night as a short sprint workout I feel like I'm back. I got out of the water with my shoulders screaming, and heart pumping, but invigorated from the activity. I might have even mentioned that I felt great, and that I missed the workouts.

One more week of building, two key weekend workouts, and then I have a gate race. The California 70.3 for me is a test, a barometer to see whether or not this has been worth it for me. I think that it has been even if my times are horrendous. I feel like a healthier person. I feel faster than I was last year. I feel that despite my time off so far this year I've been more fastidious to the program than I've ever been to a training program in my life.

I know that there is more in me. I know that my body needed the rest. I know that I love the distances... I know that there is more in me. I know that I'm ready for it.

Small Shops

In any large city you're bound to find a chain store that'll sell you your whole bike setup from helmet & jersey to tri-specific equipment ranging from aerobars and aerobottles to rear mounted hydration gear like the xlab flatwing. More often than not it's a one-stop shop with great deals and loyalty programs. Don't get me wrong they probably even have a discount deal with the local tri/cycle club in the community. I love 'em, have their card and get their discounts and many times they are my first stop.

On the other hand there are the smaller local shops. Many times these are powered by enthusiasts, and independant of chainstore responsibilities. Despite their lower buying power, these shops often have items that you won't find in some of the larger stores which cater to the masses. Many of these shops cater to a particular manufacturer or handle small runs of clothing.
Recently I found a Team Discovery Jersey for $40 instead of the usual $85 or $90 on the sale rack. The combination of a clothing blowout and lack of foot traffic to the store granted me this huge savings. (Love it!)

Visit the small shops. Support the locals. There are deals to be had.

Race Season : Can you feel it?

Well whether you like it or love it race season is upon us again. Personally I think the Pacific Shorline Marathon (rather the half) on Superbowl Sunday started off my season, but that's just me. Living in Southern California means having access to training weather almost twelve months out of the year. This year we've been hit with a little cold spell. And by cold, I mean there's no reason why a 7 am bike ride should start when it's 37 degrees and I'm standing in view of the Pacific Ocean this close to Mexico.

Kicking off my triathlon season with close to ten of my Team in Training Ironteam teammates will be the Ford Ironman California 70.3 (formally Ralphs California Half). I volunteered at this race last year and it was a tremendous day. A 1.2 mile swim in 54 degree water, a 56 mile bike ride that started off in a light drizzle and ended in sunshine, followed by a beautiful 13.1 mile run. I'm amazed every year by triathletes in general and by those who seek out Ironman or long course triathlons in particular. What can I say?

Our Ironteam had a list of "suggested races" put together by our coaches Paul Ruggiero and Kevin Bradshaw, Ford's Ironman California 70.3 race was/is one of them. I hope that my training comes through. Our Team in Training Ironteam will also be doing the 2007 Wildflower Long Course as a tune up race. Hope to see you out there as well. After that it's on to beautiful Coeur d'Alene Idaho for the Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene. And then it's just naptime. Trust me, it's called naptime.

More importantly this weekend is daylight savings day! I'm sure that's not really what it's called but you know what I mean. One more hour of daylight to train in as the days get longer anyway. Full speed ahead! Good luck to us all.

Whoo Hoo! What a Ride!

To my triathlete friends and readers,
Have you ever gotten that jaw dropping, "You're going to do what?.." When you explain to people that in a triathlon you are going to swim, then ride a bike, then run, no matter how far you're going to go? I know that I have. And of course the popular follow ups, are either

1. That's so cool. I wish I were in that kind of shape
2. Holy *&%$ that sounds hard.
3. Why the *&#@ would you do that.

The first two are nice for the ego. For the third I offer this:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO HOO what a ride!"

I offer up CHEERS, KAMPAI, Salud, and a L'Chiam to the ride. Live it up and leave it all out on the course. -dean

Gear - Motortabs : A Follow up

In the most recent Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI (Oct 21st, 2006) Motortabs were among the nutrition strategy of Michellie Jones, who won the Pro Women's Division in 9:18:31.

See previous post on motortabs

I forgot to point out that motortabs can be found at these online retailers:

• Trisports.com - Discount given for more tabs purchased
• All3sports.com - Motortabs by the box
• Amazon.com - You can even find them on Amazon

Eat, Drink, & Be Triathletes.

Gear - Motortabs

I discovered Motortabs at the end of my triathlon season last year. Motortabs, a fluid replacement system, uses an effervescent delivery system much like an alka seltzer. Instead of powders and scoops, Motortabs are served in foil packets and begin to dissolve when they hit water. In a matter of minutes the tablets, or tabs, dissolve completely in the bottle or cup that they are placed in.

The Motortabs product is available in three easy to drink flavors, lemon-lime, fruit punch and orange. Each tab is 16g of carbohydrates (65 calories per tab) allowing for easy estimation of nutrition needs. Additionally, sodium (250mg) and potassium (75mg) are also a part of the product.

Here’s where I see the Motortabs advantage. The tabs themselves are easy to carry. They taste good. The formula is really simple allowing for easy combination with other nutrition sources. Tabs can be carried and mixed on the fly in aero bottles according to need with water on the course, as there is nearly always water on the course.

That last point was made especially clear to me on a past race. I had premixed bottles of nutrition sitting waiting for me at mile 60 of 112 and after four hours of baking on the hot pavement the stuff was nearly undrinkable. What was missing on my part was the desire to drink as much as I had to to stay hydrated and to keep my energy stores up. All over the course was Gatorade, which for me needed to be cut down a little with water, and cold water. On a hot day nothing, and I mean nothing, sounds or feels better than a bottle of cold water. If I had had an aero bottle and Motortabs I would have been able to mix my drinks as I went, adding cold water and which ever flavor tab suited my fancy as I went. Instead I had to discard over three hours of planned nutrition and do my best with what was on the course. Not what I had planned and far from ideal.

On a personal note I’ve tried several products, am not sponsored by any of them (YET, hint hint!), but have found that this product allows me the greatest amount of nutritional and logistical flexibility over the long course. Couple that with also liking the flavor and not minding the tenth bottle of the stuff over the course of a workout or race and I think I’ve found my product. I’m going back to Ironman this summer and Motortabs are a key part of my nutrition plan for training and racing. With any luck at all, there will be a new PR for me out there. I can’t wait.