On Sunday morning I arrived at my volunteer spot at a place called Cross Plains, which was one of the bike aid stations at mile 40 and mile 80 on the course. The day started off w/ us(30 people) removing the plastic caps and protective seal on about 1000+ gatorade bottles and then taking off the plastic caps on 2000+ water bottles. I'm not going to lie, this part is not fun at all. There were 2 gatorade stations, 3 water stations, and 1 food station(bananas, gels, bars). We heard from the lead volunteer director that the first racer was 5 miles out so we quickly got our respective aid stations and got ready. It is pretty nerve racking to hand a water bottle to a guy going 25-30 mph on a bike. After a little practice it became easier. After a while the amatuers began coming through the aid station. It is really inspiring to see all these athletes, young and old, large and small, pouring all their energy into this race and fighting through the pain and fatigue to finish. Volunteering this year made me realize how crucial it is to have volunteers in the race, and Ironman wouldn't be possible without them. It also made me realize how grateful the athletes are for the work volunteers put in - they were very gracious with many thank yous and appreciative comments.
I also enjoyed being able to sign-up for the '09 race in less than 1.5 hours the next day. Can't wait until next year!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Ironman Wisconsin '08
This weekend I am heading up to Madison, Wisconsin for 3 reasons:
1) Cheer on athletes competing in Ironman Wisconsin
2) Volunteer on race day to do my part in helping this great race
3) Sign up for Ironman Wisconsin 2009.
Ironman has become so big in the past few years that for most of the corporate sponsored Ironmans, you need to be on site to get in. If you volunteer, you will get first dibs for next year. I was lucky enough to get registered for Ironman FL online for '07, but I doubt I could do it again. This will be my first time actually watching a race vs participating but I'm excited because the atmosphere and energy in Madison is a feeling you can't describe. Whether you want to race or volunteer, I would recommend participating/volunteering in any race to get a sense of the incredible amount of work by the race coordinators, amount of training an athlete does for an event, and the opportunity to feel the energy these races create.
Thanks for reading.
1) Cheer on athletes competing in Ironman Wisconsin
2) Volunteer on race day to do my part in helping this great race
3) Sign up for Ironman Wisconsin 2009.
Ironman has become so big in the past few years that for most of the corporate sponsored Ironmans, you need to be on site to get in. If you volunteer, you will get first dibs for next year. I was lucky enough to get registered for Ironman FL online for '07, but I doubt I could do it again. This will be my first time actually watching a race vs participating but I'm excited because the atmosphere and energy in Madison is a feeling you can't describe. Whether you want to race or volunteer, I would recommend participating/volunteering in any race to get a sense of the incredible amount of work by the race coordinators, amount of training an athlete does for an event, and the opportunity to feel the energy these races create.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Finding Balance
One of the hardest things that I face everyday is how to find balance in my life. If I'm focused on my family, my my web development/business, work, coaching and training lose their focus, and vice versa. I can always find some way to justify myself that where I am at is right. My focus is usually driven by motivation, not necessarily what is the right decision at the time. Obviously my priorities are family, coaching/business, training, and work. Yep, work is last, though very much needed to support my family. Often I justify that if I can get the business/coaching off the ground now, I will have more time for family. Suffer now and reap the awards later - not necessarily the case, but I certainly hope so. My logic is I want to put 100% into everything I do an dedicate myself to it 100%, but in reality, I can put 100% into it 30% of the time. Wouldn't change what I have for the world - I love the challenge and the fulfillment I have going to bed completely spent. How do you find balance?
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Steelhead 70.3 Race Report
Woke up at 5:00 AM, loaded up my Perpetuem and aero drink, and ate my PB and J before making the 1/2 mile trek down to the transistion area. I had an hour and a half before the transition closed so I had plenty of time. I stepped out into the cool morning breeze and walked down to the race site. I heard some rumors that the lake was pretty choppy, but I put those thoughts in the back of my mind as I set up my area and sipped on my Gatorade. As the sun came up I headed down to the lake. WOW, they weren't kidding, there were 2-3 foot swells and the boats were having a hard time moving through the water. Oh well I thought, it is what it is and it should be a good challenge as I began the 1 mile walk down the beach to the start line. Just as I reached to race start the race director had decided to cancel the swim and replace it with a 2.1 mile run. I was a little disappointed because the swim was going to be challenging, but relieved for those who have little open water experience.
2.1 mile run - After an hour delay, the run was on. I was in wave 12 and there were 4 minutes between wave starts. The run was a hilly run and I decided to take it easy and not go all out, especially because I had about 69 miles ahead of me. I did see a lot of people going all out which I didn't understand at all. Toward the end of the run we had to run through about 50-100 yards of sand which makes things much more difficult. Time - 16:35
Bike - I was impressed with the bike course overall, a few of the roads were a little rough, but had great scenery. I felt really solid through the bike course and kept the effort at a 5-6 RPE and focused on a smooth pedal stroke and kept the nutrition and hydration plan. I do thing the course was short by about 2 miles, but beat my previous time by about 15 minutes - time - 2:52
Run - I think I may have pushed too hard on the bike or wasn't in the condition I wanted to be for the run because I really struggled here. I started running for the first mile then walked/ran for the next 12 trying to get my bearings. The legs were really tight and aching at this point. After running the first loop I decided to suck it up and cranked out 4 miles at a 9:00 minute pace - after that I knew I only had 3-4 miles left. The last few miles were a combination of a walk/run and a battle to get to the finish line. The last 100 yards of running in the sand was brutal, but on the horizon was the finish line. As I crossed the finish line I felt relieved. The course was hillier than expected. Time - 2:35.
Overall - 5:50, PR'd by 45 minutes!! (of course there was no swim so that would factor into this)
Much improvement from last year, but still more to go. Overall it was a great race and one I will consider doing in the future.
2.1 mile run - After an hour delay, the run was on. I was in wave 12 and there were 4 minutes between wave starts. The run was a hilly run and I decided to take it easy and not go all out, especially because I had about 69 miles ahead of me. I did see a lot of people going all out which I didn't understand at all. Toward the end of the run we had to run through about 50-100 yards of sand which makes things much more difficult. Time - 16:35
Bike - I was impressed with the bike course overall, a few of the roads were a little rough, but had great scenery. I felt really solid through the bike course and kept the effort at a 5-6 RPE and focused on a smooth pedal stroke and kept the nutrition and hydration plan. I do thing the course was short by about 2 miles, but beat my previous time by about 15 minutes - time - 2:52
Run - I think I may have pushed too hard on the bike or wasn't in the condition I wanted to be for the run because I really struggled here. I started running for the first mile then walked/ran for the next 12 trying to get my bearings. The legs were really tight and aching at this point. After running the first loop I decided to suck it up and cranked out 4 miles at a 9:00 minute pace - after that I knew I only had 3-4 miles left. The last few miles were a combination of a walk/run and a battle to get to the finish line. The last 100 yards of running in the sand was brutal, but on the horizon was the finish line. As I crossed the finish line I felt relieved. The course was hillier than expected. Time - 2:35.
Overall - 5:50, PR'd by 45 minutes!! (of course there was no swim so that would factor into this)
Much improvement from last year, but still more to go. Overall it was a great race and one I will consider doing in the future.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Steelhead 70.3 - Nutrition Plan
This weekend I'll be embarking on my first Half-Ironman of the season, Steelhead 70.3. This race is located in Benton Harbor, MI and includes a 1.2 mile swim in Lake Michigan, a 56 mile bike ride through rolling hills and a 13.1 mile flat ran. Today I begin to prepare nutritionally for the race. Yesterday the weather channel was predicting 90s for highs, now somewhere around 81. So, who knows what the temp will be by Saturday.
I will start hydrating myself for the race with a 12 oz glass of water every 1-2 hours. For lunch I'll include some protein and carbs. Tonight will be my carb loading session that is relatively low in fat (grease) - whole grain noodles in a veggie meat sauce with a piece of whole grain toast. Throughout today I'll also continue my normal intake of 2 yogurts and string cheese.
Tomorrow will begin with a bowl of cereal and a piece of fruit, a mid-morning yogurt, chicken breast and broccoli for lunch, yogurt and string cheese for mid-afternoon snack, and a light pasta feed held up at the race site for dinner - kind of an oxymoron, I know.
Saturday morning I'll have my usual PB and J on white bread and a yogurt while sipping on a Gatorade before the race.
Now for the race - after the swim I'll wait 20 minutes before I intake anything - a lot of times you can have some gastrointestinal issues if you ingest anything after being horizontal for a while. After the 20 minutes I'll intake 8-10 ounces of water every 15 minutes and 3 gulps of Perpetuem every half hour (Perpetuem is a caloric rich drink) to take in more calories of carbs, a little protein and small amount of fat. The bike is where I'll be taking most of my calories and hydration.
When I get to the run I'll take water every aid station, and if it is really hot I'll take some (Endurolytes) salt pills. I will only drink Gatorade for a 'change of pace' from water, not as a replacement. Depending on my energy level I will have gels with me to take. If you take gels make sure to wash them down with water.
With the above nutrition plan I'm confident I will have a successful race and will meet my goals. It is always important to train with your nutrition plan ahead of time to make sure you don't encounter any unforeseen issues and adjust accordingly before the race.
I will start hydrating myself for the race with a 12 oz glass of water every 1-2 hours. For lunch I'll include some protein and carbs. Tonight will be my carb loading session that is relatively low in fat (grease) - whole grain noodles in a veggie meat sauce with a piece of whole grain toast. Throughout today I'll also continue my normal intake of 2 yogurts and string cheese.
Tomorrow will begin with a bowl of cereal and a piece of fruit, a mid-morning yogurt, chicken breast and broccoli for lunch, yogurt and string cheese for mid-afternoon snack, and a light pasta feed held up at the race site for dinner - kind of an oxymoron, I know.
Saturday morning I'll have my usual PB and J on white bread and a yogurt while sipping on a Gatorade before the race.
Now for the race - after the swim I'll wait 20 minutes before I intake anything - a lot of times you can have some gastrointestinal issues if you ingest anything after being horizontal for a while. After the 20 minutes I'll intake 8-10 ounces of water every 15 minutes and 3 gulps of Perpetuem every half hour (Perpetuem is a caloric rich drink) to take in more calories of carbs, a little protein and small amount of fat. The bike is where I'll be taking most of my calories and hydration.
When I get to the run I'll take water every aid station, and if it is really hot I'll take some (Endurolytes) salt pills. I will only drink Gatorade for a 'change of pace' from water, not as a replacement. Depending on my energy level I will have gels with me to take. If you take gels make sure to wash them down with water.
With the above nutrition plan I'm confident I will have a successful race and will meet my goals. It is always important to train with your nutrition plan ahead of time to make sure you don't encounter any unforeseen issues and adjust accordingly before the race.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Lifetime Fitness Olympic Race Report
Below is my race report for the Lifetime Fitness Oly from July 12, 2008.
Prerace: My family and I arrived in Minneapolis on Friday afternoon after a 4 hour drive from Des Moines. We went and picked up my packet and walked around the expo for a while to pass a little time. After packet pickup we went down to the race course so I can familiarize myself with transitions, swim course, bike course, and run course. The swim was just a triangle and didn't look too intimidating. The bike looked pretty technical with a few quick steeps climbs and quite a few sharp turns. Some parts of the bike course needed a little road work as well. The run course was a 2-loop trail that was flat. After the review of the course we grabbed some dinner at Perkins - I had grilled chicken on top of rice with a side of broccoli - not too bad for a franchised dining establishment.
Race morning: Got up about 5:00 and ate my PB and J sandwich and yogurt and got ready to head out to the course. I got my bike set up and headed out of transition as it closed at 6:45. It was a wave start so I wasn't slated to go until 8:00 - nothing like standing around waiting to go - I was more anxious than nervous. My wave didn't end up starting until 8:45.
Swim: As I stated earlier it was a wave start with 3 second intervals between athletes. As I headed into the water I made sure to start slower than normal and build up speed as I got going. I felt very relaxed as I approached the first turnaround and only ran into a few swimmers heading out. There was a bit more traffic as I rounded the turn and got kicked right in the face, but nothing too terrible. As I rounded the 2nd turn to head back to the beach I picked up my speed and ran into a bit more traffic and started to get a bit tired with 400 meters to go. Managed to make it to the beach OK and PR'd my swim - 33 minutes. I was really happy with the swim and my sighting was right on target for the course.
T1: my bike was clear at the end so it was about a 400 yard run to my bike. Nothing too eventful here except I had a little difficulty getting my wetsuit off and putting on my bike socks/shoes. ~4 minutes
Bike: I started the bike by some quick spinning to get my legs back and then set into a solid pace. I didn't have any liquid or food for the first 15 minutes as I wanted to make sure my stomach readjusted from being horizontal for the past 30 minutes. This course was pretty technical and had a lot of sharp turns. My speed would range from 26 miles and hour down to 12 mph throughout the course. It was a very scenic course as we rounded the lake, across the Mississippi River, and through the neighborhoods and park. Bike time - 1:21 - 18 mph
T2: Off the bike and into T2 I felt great - hydration was good and took in some calories on mile 20 on the bike. This year I wore a trisuit so I was in and out of transition in 2:40
Run: The run was a two loop course through the park on the trail. Heading out on the course I started with quick short strides to get my running legs back. I looked down at my Garmin and realized I was going at an 8:45 pace, which for me is pretty quick. The pace felt good and I made it a point to maintain this pace and only walk through the water stations. I felt great during the run and was enjoying every minute of it. 54:25 - 8:47 pace
Total: 2:56 - a new PR by 5 minutes
A special thanks to my parents for coming up to the race and their relentless support. I couldn't do it without you!
Prerace: My family and I arrived in Minneapolis on Friday afternoon after a 4 hour drive from Des Moines. We went and picked up my packet and walked around the expo for a while to pass a little time. After packet pickup we went down to the race course so I can familiarize myself with transitions, swim course, bike course, and run course. The swim was just a triangle and didn't look too intimidating. The bike looked pretty technical with a few quick steeps climbs and quite a few sharp turns. Some parts of the bike course needed a little road work as well. The run course was a 2-loop trail that was flat. After the review of the course we grabbed some dinner at Perkins - I had grilled chicken on top of rice with a side of broccoli - not too bad for a franchised dining establishment.
Race morning: Got up about 5:00 and ate my PB and J sandwich and yogurt and got ready to head out to the course. I got my bike set up and headed out of transition as it closed at 6:45. It was a wave start so I wasn't slated to go until 8:00 - nothing like standing around waiting to go - I was more anxious than nervous. My wave didn't end up starting until 8:45.
Swim: As I stated earlier it was a wave start with 3 second intervals between athletes. As I headed into the water I made sure to start slower than normal and build up speed as I got going. I felt very relaxed as I approached the first turnaround and only ran into a few swimmers heading out. There was a bit more traffic as I rounded the turn and got kicked right in the face, but nothing too terrible. As I rounded the 2nd turn to head back to the beach I picked up my speed and ran into a bit more traffic and started to get a bit tired with 400 meters to go. Managed to make it to the beach OK and PR'd my swim - 33 minutes. I was really happy with the swim and my sighting was right on target for the course.
T1: my bike was clear at the end so it was about a 400 yard run to my bike. Nothing too eventful here except I had a little difficulty getting my wetsuit off and putting on my bike socks/shoes. ~4 minutes
Bike: I started the bike by some quick spinning to get my legs back and then set into a solid pace. I didn't have any liquid or food for the first 15 minutes as I wanted to make sure my stomach readjusted from being horizontal for the past 30 minutes. This course was pretty technical and had a lot of sharp turns. My speed would range from 26 miles and hour down to 12 mph throughout the course. It was a very scenic course as we rounded the lake, across the Mississippi River, and through the neighborhoods and park. Bike time - 1:21 - 18 mph
T2: Off the bike and into T2 I felt great - hydration was good and took in some calories on mile 20 on the bike. This year I wore a trisuit so I was in and out of transition in 2:40
Run: The run was a two loop course through the park on the trail. Heading out on the course I started with quick short strides to get my running legs back. I looked down at my Garmin and realized I was going at an 8:45 pace, which for me is pretty quick. The pace felt good and I made it a point to maintain this pace and only walk through the water stations. I felt great during the run and was enjoying every minute of it. 54:25 - 8:47 pace
Total: 2:56 - a new PR by 5 minutes
A special thanks to my parents for coming up to the race and their relentless support. I couldn't do it without you!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Little Bit of History - Part II
I digressed from my history with the Hy-Vee Oly report. As I went through the 2007 season with the Oly, Half-Ironman, and Ironman I discovered a renewed passion with endurance sports. I knew this is something that I needed to be involved in for many years to come - it was in my blood, and the passion and desire to learn, grow, and conquer was thriving. After the Ironman I knew I wanted to increase my knowledge of triathlons, as well as athletic nutrition, exercise, health, etc. Knowing that this was a path I was ready to go down I signed up for a USAT Triathlon Coaching certification class. I also began to prepare to become an ACSM Personal Trainer and later a Certified Level III Cycling Coach.
As I thought more about this, and tried to figure out where this passion resided, and tried to understand why I had this need to get so involved - I needed to find the underlying purpose of the passion - and I discovered it was the need/desire to help people. With the growing obesity problems in the US today, especially with children, triathlon is a great segway into leading a healthy lifestyle. If I can be a catalyst to this change, I would feel that I'm doing something that is making a difference in people's lives - a positive difference in people's lives. So, this is where the journey begins.
As I thought more about this, and tried to figure out where this passion resided, and tried to understand why I had this need to get so involved - I needed to find the underlying purpose of the passion - and I discovered it was the need/desire to help people. With the growing obesity problems in the US today, especially with children, triathlon is a great segway into leading a healthy lifestyle. If I can be a catalyst to this change, I would feel that I'm doing something that is making a difference in people's lives - a positive difference in people's lives. So, this is where the journey begins.
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