Dam to Dam 20K Road Race Report

Initially, my plan for Dam to Dam was to set a PR and run around a 7:45 pace. This was just not the case on Saturday. First and foremost, I'm not one to make excuses - but sometimes things just don't go as planned. I arrived at the race site via bus a bit late than I had planned so I had to hurry to the starting line thus not allowing me to go to the bathroom before the race began. Oh well I figured, I should be fine. The first 3 miles for me were terrible - beause I started toward the back of the line it was hard to pass people and I average about a 9:30 pace. Coming upon mile 5, I started to have some major GI issues which caused me to stop and use the restroom - same story at mile 8- combined lost time about 15 minutes with waiting in lines. Turns out Filipino food, while awesome, isn't a pre-race recommended food. Around mile 7 I decided to turn the run into an LSD (long, slow distance) run and enjoyed the run.

Lessons Learned
1) Start farther up in line in accordance with pace
2) Filipino food as pre race meal = serious issues for race
3) Listen to my own advice for what NOT to eat pre race

Top 10 Reasons to Hire a Personal Trainer

1) Get healthy! - based on your medical history, and current health, a Personal Trainer can prescribe a workout program that meets your needs and do exercises that you enjoy
2) Exercise safety - a Personal Trainer will prescribe the right intensity, weight, and demonstrate the proper way to do an exercise to minimize risk of injury
3) Knowledge transfer - After a specified amount of training, you should walk away with the knowledge to continue to workout safely
4) Hold you accountable - Even when you don't feel like working out, you are obligated to show up with your appointment with your trainer
5) Push you - a trainer has the skill sets to appropriately push you to get maximum results
6) Motivate you - a Personal Trainer has the skill sets to motivate you to exercise and get in shape
7) Add creativity - a personal trainer has access to the knowledge and the latest and greatest exercises to add a little spice to your workout
8) Get you out of a rut - do you feel like your spinning your wheels and not meeting your goals? - a personal trainer will be able to assess your opportunities for improvement and help you get back on track
9) Injury rehabilitation and prevention - a personal trainer can help strengthen muscles after an injury to help rehabilitate an injury and incorporate flexibility training for future prevention
10) Nutrition - a Personal Trainer can provide nutrition guidelines to ensure you are eating right to meet your goals.

Exercise and eating right are the keys to living a healthy life and exponentially reduce the risk of heart disease and illnesses caused by obesity. Exercise has also been shown to improve and reduce the symptoms of stress, ADHD, depression, aging, addiction, anxiety, and greatly improve the ability to learn.

Thanks for reading

Running Race Prep

As Dam to Dam is quickly approaching, or any race for that matter, here are some pre-race and race advice I'd like to offer

1) If you haven't trained for Dam to Dam, DON'T start this week - it's too late - don't try and cram in a 8-10 mile run - there is no advantage to doing this and your chance for injury increases greatly.
2) If you've properly trained, get in one tempo run on Wednesday, and a very light jog on Thursday
2) If you want to carb load, do it 2 nights before the race (so, for Dam to Dam, Thursday night)
3) On the day before the race, avoid foods high in fat and high in fiber and eat a little less than normal
4) Carrry around water and sip on in throughout the day
5) Stay active and loose throughout the day - go for a walk
6) Lay out your race gear the night before
7) Don't stray from your normal gear/food the morning of the race (i.e. new goggles - oops, wrong sport :))
7) Morning of the race, get something in your stomach - whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter and honey
8) Sip on a sports drink leading up to the race
9) Use the bathroom before the race
10) Race within yourself and your limits
11) Better to start off the race going too easy than too hard
12) Enjoy yourself! You've trained hard for this race, now it's time to reap the rewards
13) Fill up on food to refill your energy stores after the race.

Jordan Creek Duathlon Race Report

First and foremost, I thought this race was organized very well. It was easy to park, get your packet, get bodymarked and pick up your chip, and get in and out of transition. The morning started off at a cool 47 degrees, but with little wind. Nontheless, it was a good day for the 2 mile run, 18 mile bike, 2.5 mile run. Here's a pic pre-race in the transition area.

Intentionally, I started off the run at a pretty easy pace, as I didn't want to blow up on the bike or the final run. It was a two loop run around the Jordan Creek mall. This was relatively flat and a fast course. I finished the first run around 16:23 - which average out to a little over 8:10 miles. I came into transition feeling nice and warmed up and ready to ride. As I got to my bike I realized that I didn't unvelcro my shoes, so I had a hard time getting them on which added uneeded time in transition.

The bike course was a flat, fast ride, with one 3/4 mile hill - it was fun going out, but pretty long coming back. I felt really good on the bike, and stayed areo the entire time, trying to keep a good pace and keep in mind that I had a 2.5 mile run ahead of me. As I came back into transition I hopped off the bike I ran into transition. I was trying to unbuckle my helmet, but my hands were frozen. I ended up just pulling the helmet off my head and slipped into my running shoes. Bike: 49:12 - 22 mph/avg

The last 2.5 mile run was just about pushing through the pain and getting to the finish line. The first mile my legs felt like anchors after the bike, but loosened up by mile two. I felt good going into the last 1/2 mile and enjoyed the rest of the race. It was a good start to the season!
Run: 18:56 - 7:35/pace

Here's an after race pic w/ the family:

Overall: Total time: 1:27:02
Run Pace: 7:35
Bike 49:12 - 22 mph

Week of 5/11-5/17

This week started off well with training, but the past few days have been lackluster to say the least. I hope I can get out of this funk before the Jordan Creek Duathlon on Sunday. I am considering this a 'C' race and am not doing any tapering for the event. In fact, I have a 10 mile run scheduled a day before the race. This is certainly NOT recommended if you are considering this an 'A' or even 'B' race. The distances are: 2 mile run, 18 mile bike, 2.5 mile run. My goal is to start off easy - around an 8:00 minute mile pace, then ~20 mph bike, then 7:45 minute miles for the final leg of the race. I am using this race to a)practice transitions, and b) get a high level evaluation of my bike/run fitness. Below is this week's workouts

Monday - weightsTuesday - 1 hour bike, 45 minute swim
Wednesday - tempo run, 30 minute swim
Thursday - 45 minute bike
Friday - 30 minute swim
Saturday - 10 mile run
Sunday - duathlon, tentative - 2 hour bike

Due to working 2 jobs right now, plus family my training volume is down a little bit. On June 1st that will all change! Happy Training!

Props to Athletes

I'd like to congratulate two athletes in my 7 Flags triathlon class, Angie Veenstra and Stephnee Leathers on recent PRs. Stephnee PR'd her Wildflower (70.3) Half-Ironman swim by 5 minutes earlier this month and Angie PR'd and came in 1st in her age group, and 5th overall in the Klompen Classic 5K Run/Walk in Pella, IA.As a coach, I am extremely proud of their efforts in class that has transferred onto the race scene. Nice job ladies!!

New Career!

My apologies for not posting sooner, things have been a little hectic. After careful thought, and consulting with my family and close friends, I've made the decision to quit my 8-5 job and become a full-time personal trainer/endurance coach. On the surface, this was a pretty easy decision to make - do what I love to do, what I have a passion for, and the positive effect I can have on other's lives. Digging deeper in the decision, there are a lot of unknowns, fears, and unforeseeable challenges that I will face. I am willing to, and excited to take on this new challenge to help people, share my knowledge, and be a leader in showing people how to live healthy, and reach their personal goals. I am also thrilled to have the opportunity to dedicate myself to helping athletes reach their endurance goals, whether it be run a 10K or complete an Ironman. This will also give me an opportunity to dedicate more time to my other passion, efitnessperformance.com, a web site dedicated to knowledge sharing and fitness tracking/logging. I will be starting my new adventure at 7 Flags Fitness Center on June 1st. For information on what I can do to help you, contact me at mgetting@7flags.com