The Chiathlete

Ask the Coach: Do I get a tri bike or road bike?

2011-03-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

DRAFT ARTICLE... more info coming soon!

As a coach of 100+ new/beginner triathletes every year, I get this question A LOT. It is a very difficult question to answer and dependent upon a large number of variables that are very individual and personal to an athlete's personality, goals, needs, desires, and budget.

Typically, this question is also asked with a high regard to budgetary restrictions as well. As always, I'd recommend talking to more than one coach or fellow athlete before making any decision. The best person / people to advise you are also those who currently own AND actively ride both a tri and road bike (and ideally a cyclocross and mountain bike). Don't rely on someone who only has only one bike because you usually won't get an unbiased perspective that way. The best advisor is someone with a lot of cycling experience (both in years and types of events - road races, criteriums, cyclocross races, triathlons, etc.) who currently owns both a road and tri bike AND who knows you as an athlete personally (both your past and future aspirations in the sport). As such, a good personal coach is usually one of your best advisors.

My background (to give you some perspective):
http://www.chi-athlete.com/2011/03/ask-coach-who-are-you.html

Ok, now let's start with the various types of bikes to consider. Keep in mind this article is specific to individuals planning to do either triathlons or long (century) bike rides where hybrid and mountain bikes are typically not a serious consideration. Now, there might always be exceptions to the rule (e.g. if you're overweight and need a heavy duty hybrid or mountain bike to support your weight), but generally speaking if you're a first-time cyclist and someone is recommending a hybrid or mountain bike instead of a road bike, you're probably better off with something inbetween, which would be a cyclocross bike.

What is a cyclocross bike?
A Cyclocross is a road bike with better gearing for low speeds (climbing), with cantilever or disc brakes (better for muddier conditions and thicker tires), thicker tires (better for muddy & off-road conditions), and sometimes includes an additional set of brakes on the handlebar (not just on the brake hoods/shifters).

A cyclocross bike can look almost identical to a road bike, as they both have handlebars with curved "drops" and integrated brake/shifters in one unit (so you can quickly and easily brake and shift). The big difference between a cyclocross bike and a hybrid or mountain bike is that the hybrid/mountain bike will have a flat, straight handlebar while the cyclocroos bike will have a curved "drop" handlebar.

A cyclocross bike is sometimes considered the "swiss army knife" of bikes - one of the best multi-purpose tools you can have in your cycling quiver. It won't help you win a triathlon or bike race, and therefore not the best choice for a competitive cyclist or triathlete, but it'll do the job for almost any cycling situation. If you want a good commuter bike, something that'll work well both on and off-road, and something you can use to race in triathlons, then a cyclocross bike is your best bet.

What is a road bike?
A road bike is just like a cyclocross, with a few distinctions:

A road bike has "higher" gearing for higher speedsThis allows you to reach max speeds up to 30mph or more on flat terrain, and 33mph+ at extremely high cadences and sprints. Road bikes can typically reach 30-40mph in flat sprints, and up to around 50-60mph on downhills (especially with drafting and aerodynamic wheels).
A road bike does not have wide (cantilever) brakesAnd therefore is limited to very narrow "skinny" wheel/tire widths
Has thinner, higher pressure tires than a cyclocross bikeAnd therefore is better suited for riding only on pavement and at high speeds (perfect for long bike rides like century rides and road races).

A road bike therefore becomes better suited for any bike race or event on pavement... triathlons, bike races, you name it. A road bike is also usually a MUST for any group riding situation where you'll be riding in a pack... crowded century rides, bike races, triathlons, etc. A good road bike allows you to maximize your athletic potential without limitations and therefore can be just as fast as virtually any tri bike (just add clip on aero-bars, fast wheels, and get professionally fitted!), so it's perfectly suited for both cycling events and triathlons.

A road bike however is not designed for rough trails (e.g. crushed limestone), or rough city streets with lots of cracks in pavement, or winter riding in rough conditions (the thin tires can slip and slide much easier than a cyclocross bike).... a cyclocross bike will suit you better in those situations.

In short, a road bike has the speed of a triathlon bike, mixed with on-road versatility and nimbleness of a cyclocross bike.

What is a triathlon bike?

A triathlon bike is essentially a "time trial" bike - similar to a road bike in many ways but designed to be ridden FAST and in a straight line while resting on your forearms in a more aggressive and aerodynamic position on "aerobars" (which sometimes can be more comortable too!). It's not designed for casual rides in a "sitting up" position - and in fact, you'll likely cramp your wrists if you try to ride a triathlon / time trial bike like a road bike. The biggest difference between a road bike and tri bike is in the handlebars and the seat post angle. On a tri/TT bike, you are positioned with your center of gravity more forward with more weight over the pedals and handlebars. This is presumed to not only make you more aerodynamic, but also to help you recruit different muscle groups that will leave you less worn out when you get off the bike and start running.

The handlebars of a true tri/TT bike have the brake levers on the far ends of the handlebar (like a road bike), but the gear shifters on the ends of the aerobars. This means while you're riding "in aero" that you cannot quickly reach the brakes in case of an emergency stop (which is why tri/TT bikes are frowned upon in bike races, century, or group rides). Vice-versa, you cannot shift your gears if you're riding in an upright positions with your hands on the brake hoods (e.g. while descending or climbing!). This is why road bikes are considered more versatile with better handling - because you can actively shift gears and brake without the delay of needing to move your hand position. Likewise, this is why triathlon bike are not nimble and safe enough to be ridden on crowded bike paths and city streets - your reaction time to brake and shift gears is hindered.

Also, unless you upgrade components (e.g. a "climbing" rear wheel cassette and/or compact crankset), a tri bike will typically not have appropriate gearing or shifting ability for a very hilly bike course. These are some of the reasons why even many pro triathletes will ride road bikes (with clip on aero bars) on hilly or technical courses (like Ironman Wisconsin or the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Fransisco).

If you're not going to ride your bike in "aero" position for at least 75-90% or more of your ride, a tri bike is typically not worth consideration. A road bike with aerobars is probably more worthwhile and versatile. Tri bikes should typically only be considered if:

you're a pro or elite athlete,
you're a very competitive age group athlete (competing for an age group podium position),
you're planning to compete in an ironman where you'll want to be in a comfortable aero position for at least 75-100% of the day, or
if you already own a road bike and want to spend some extra money to get a very expensive, sexy, flashy toy for your triathlon hobby.
You are certain that you'll only be doing triathlons and have no desire to join group rides, road races, criteriums, crowded century rides, etc.

Also, you should ALWAYS get a full, professional bike fitting when considering a tri bike because it's very easy to be setup in an overly aggressive or uncomfortable position which will only cause discomfort, injury, or disillusion you to the sport of cycling and triathlons... and nobody wants that. Ideally, a properly fit tri bike should put you in a comfortable riding position, specific to the event you are competing in. Unless you're an overly competitive or pro triathlete who is willing to sacrifice a lot of comfort for a little extra performance, you should be fit so comfortably on a tri bike that you'll prefer it to riding upright in a road bike... able to comfortably ride 100+ miles of an ironman. It's also worth the extra money to go with the BEST professional bike fitter in town - typically not only the person with the most certifications, but also the most years of experience, AND the highest number of satisfied customers.

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Ok, now here are some suggestions, based on different criteria, starting with some simple scenarios.

If you're planning to do a triathlon or long bike ride... DO NOT get a hybrid or mountain bike (exception: if you're doing an off-road / Xterra triathlon, you'll want a mountain bike; and if you're overweight, you may want to consider a heavier/sturdier hybrid or mountain bike)
If you're not a triathlete and are just looking to get involved in cycling groups and century rides... get a road bike.
If you're on a tight budget (under $1000)... get a cyclocross or road bike.
If you're getting your first bike... get a cyclocross or road bike.
If you're going to use your bike year round... get a cyclocross bike. It's much safer than a road bike for riding over rough terrain, wet, snowy, and slushy conditions and city streets.
If you're nervous about the skinny tires of a road bike... get a cyclocross bike (over a hybrid or mountain bike)
If you're ONLY going to do triathlons AND you have safe areas to ride (e.g. NOT the crowded lakefront and city streets of Chicago)... then it's ok to consider a tri bike.
If you're going to be a competitive triathlete... get a road bike
If you're going to be an ELITE triathlete... get a tri bike
If you LOVE triathlons and want to fit in with more serious triathletes... get a tri bike
If you have over $2500 to spend... consider buying both a tri and road bike?

(remind me to make a simple chart with these criteria)

A couple good points to consider:

ALWAYS budget a little extra money ($100-$300) to get a professional bike fitting.
The only exception here is if your budget is under $500-$800 and you're strictly looking at used bikes. I recommend spending up to about 20% of your budget on a professional fitting service. Why? Because an $800 bike with a $200 bike fit will serve you much better than a $1000 bike without a professional fitting. Always invest in yourself first with services (e.g. professional bike fitting, a CompuTrainer class, etc.) that will make you perform better, be more comfortable, and remain injury free. You'll enjoy cycling more and in the long run that value is priceless. Most people who get a professional bike fitting say it's the best money they spent - even if their position is not changed significantly (because you'll learn a lot about yourself and your bike in the process!).

Versatility...
A Cyclocross is the most versatile, and a road bike is the most versatile for on-road events where you don't want to sacrifice any performance for versatility.

Budgets...

Under $500... buy a used road or cyclocross bike (craigslist is perfect for you!)
$500-$800... buy a high end used bike (craigslist) or entry level road/cyclocross bike
$800-$1200... buy a high end used bike (craigslist) or decent aluminum bike (with a pro bike fitting)
$1200-$1500... buy a decent mid-level aluminum road bike (with pro fit)
$1500-2500... buy a decent full carbon road bike (with pro fit) or entry level tri bike (if competitive)
$2500-$3500... buy a higher end carbon road bike with race wheels ($800-$1500), possibly a custom bike frame.
$3500-$5,000... now we're cooking with fire! Top of the line components, high quality race wheels, and a fully custom bike frame are all options!
$5,000-$8,000... You might want to consider allocating some $$$ towards wind tunnel testing!
$8,000-$15,000... Tour De France or Kona caliber bike! Give Lance a call, he might have something nice he can sell you.

Here are some other articles to help you decide what kind of bike to buy...

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/bikes/difference.shtml
http://www.powertri.com/roadbikevstriathlonbike.aspx
(very biased towards tri bikes - doesn't explain any of the benefits of road bikes!)
http://www.fitwerx.com/road-bike-vs-triathlon-bike-which-is-for-me
http://ezinearticles.com/?In-Depth---Road-Bikes-Vs-Triathlon-Bikes&id=2453879
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/how-aero-is-aero-19273

DRAFT ARTICLE... more info coming soon!

Ask the Coach: Who are you???

2011-03-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

My background (to give you some perspective)

I'm a coach. I'm an age group triathlete. I usually consider myself a cyclist first and triathlete second. I've competed recreationally in multiple criteriums, road races, time trials, and placed in my age group in a small number of triathlons, duathlons, stair climbs, and running races. I've owned and actively ridden bikes through all levels of my childhood and adult life. I might've been without a bike for a few months at a time, but I don't think there's ever been more than a year without riding since I grew up with training wheels as a small child in Switzerland. When I was three years old, I was known to take a plastic trike up a hill, only to let it coast full speed downhill into my grandparents front yard hedges, head first.

I've been on bike tours, cycling camps, and bike/tri races in nine states (CA, AZ, UT, NV, IL, WI, IN, MA, NY) and two countries (US and Australia) so far as I can recall. I don't race in enough bike races to move up in USA Cycling rankings, but my power numbers probably would place me as a Cat 2/3 cyclist. I stll actively race in triathlons of all distances (indoor and supersprint all the way up to ironman) and last year (2010) I placed top 3 in my age group 9 times including 8 races with top 10 overall finishes, five top 5s, and two overall wins (both indoor triathlons though). I'm definitely no superstar, but I'll usually compete for an age group spot (especially in smaller, shorter course races). I still have not competed in cyclocross races (yet), but plan to as soon as my budget permits!

I've been coaching for 3 years now and always trying further educate myself with new certification levels (USA Cycling, USA Triathlon, USA Track & Field, SPINNING). Last year I directly coached ~150 triathletes face to face on a weekly basis, typically in groups of 6-20 with the shortest training program being 3-6 months long.

Ok, that's the short and sweet version to provide you with a bit of a background and disclaimer from the person running this website!

Ask the Coach: Recommendations on sunglasses for cycling/triathlons?

2011-03-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

There are lots of great sunglass brands out there (Oakley, Rudy Project to name a couple), but keep in mind certain considerations with regard to triathlon and cycling - especially if you plan to use them while riding your bike (particularly in aero position). Most importantly, sunglasses should be a MUST requirement for cycling safety - you don't want road debris or bugs/bees flying in your eyes and obstructing your vision temporarily, or worse... permanently!

Personally, I'm picky about my sunglasses (I've never found a perfect pair for all purposes so I've probably bought about 10-20 different pairs that I keep in a giant box o' glasses at home - different pairs for cycling, running, volleyball, boating, etc.). Anyhow, here are a few suggestions:

Removable lenses are a great value so you don't need multiple pair - use clear lenses at night or when it's dark out, and yellow/orange lenses on overcast/cloudy days
Consider a rimless lens, so when you're in aero you can still see ahead through the top of the lenses while keeping your neck in a neutral position (without having to bend your neck upwards uncomfortably). It'll keep you in aero position longer, so yes - sunglasses can make you faster believe it or not! ... AND/OR...
Get a pair with an Adjustable Nose Piece - meaning you can pinch the nose pads together more so the lenses rest higher up on your nose (again for when you're in aero, like rimless lenses this makes it easier to look ahead without straining your neck).
Make sure they fit snug and tight on your head and they don't slip when you look down at your bike computer / nutrition / water bottles. Rubberized grips over the ears should be a necessity - don't consider cheap lenses that are all plastic over the ears unless they hug your head like a glove!
More expensive sunglasses are usually worth the money - protecting your eyes is an important investment for safety! More expensive lenses will usually have better coatings to reduce glare (polarized) and to not fog up as quickly (lens vents for better defogging/ventilation).

Many local shops carry Oakely and Rudy project sunglasses, so I'd highly recommend trying on a few pair before buying an expensive pair (or ask a friend who already has a pair). If you're part of a cycling or triathlon group like TriMonster, don't forget to ask for and use the club's discount code - it'll save you a bundle!

Do you have any sunglasses recommendations or feedback? Let me know!

Here are a few options at different price levels...

Ask The Coach: What size bike do I need to get?

2011-03-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

What size bike frame do you need?

While the best way to find out is to get a professional bike fit service from a local bike shop, there are two quick and simple options if you can't afford or schedule an appointment.

Method #1) Go to a local bike shop and say hello!
The best method is to go to a local bike shop and have them measure your inseam length, and recommend a bike. Many experienced bike shop owners might be able to eyeball you and approximate the best bike size for you, or simply have you stand over the top tube of a bike to make sure you have at least 1-2" of clearance between your crotch and the top tube. The best bike shops however will either be able to measure your inseam with a handy (but sometimes awkward) crotch saddle device, or they will set you up on a bike (on a trainer) to verify the correct size. Always look for "certified" bike fitters (e.g. Slow-twitch, Serotta, Retul) - this usually means they have folks on staff who have gone through training to learn the intricacies of bike fittings. They will usually advertise themselves as "certified" bike fitters on their website, but you should always ask the bike sales/staff member you are talking to if they are certified or if they have someone on staff who is. Certified bike fitters will also be much better at handling special cases (e.g. if you have shorter or longer than average arms, torso, or legs).

Method #2) Measure yourself and go online!
If you know your height (or better yet your inseam or leg length), you can use a simple conversion chart or online calculator. This is very helpful if you're looking to buy a used bike on craigslist and you want to know what size frame you need (usually measured in cm from 46cm up to 64cm, typically). Here are a few examples of a bike size calculator:

http://www.ebicycles.com/bicycle-tools/frame-sizer/road-bike

... and a bike sizing chart:
http://bicycling.about.com/od/howtoride/a/bike_sizing.htm

Product Review: Drymax socks

2011-01-30T21:11:00.000-08:00

After competing in a ridiculous cross country (XC) race which involved sliding up and down insanely steep hills and trudging through multiple black mud-bottomed icy rivers, I finally decided to look into getting some nicer winter / XC running socks. After hearing a lot of positive reviews about "DryMax" socks in the past, I decided to buy a pair on Amazon.com and give these a go...

So far I have to say I am thrilled with these socks! I've been running in them for about 2 months now and haven't had a single blister while marathon training in sub-freezing temps all winter. I've done one short distance (2.5 mile) snow/ice XC race (Daniel Burnham Open) and about 10 runs of about 10 miles or more (peaking at 16-18 miles) with no blisters or freezing toes. While advertised as designed for "cool to warm conditions" I've used these socks in temps down to about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (in 90+ minute runs) without issue. The socks are fairly thick (probably the thickest I've ever had) and do a great job of wicking moisture away from your feet, helping you stay warm and dry - very important characteristics for winter running socks that need to protect you from snow and slush!

Pros:

Double welted
Made of Drymax fibers to repel water, so when a runner splashes through a creek, the top of the socks stay dry.
Extra padding
Padding around the ankle protects the leg, and seals the top of the shoe to keep out dirt and debris.
Dual Layer Moisture Elimination System
The socks actually remove sweat, sweat vapors, and water from the skin through the inner Drymax layer to the outer absorbent layer. Check out this video demo:

Cons:

Expensive
Priced around $30, these can be an intimidating pair of socks to buy, but at $11 on Amazon.com, you can find them priced much lower.

Unknowns:

Durability
Having only owned these socks for a few months, it's hard to say how durable they are. So far I've washed them about a dozen or more times and haven't seen any issues

For socks that are priced around $30, the $11 deal on Amazon.com was a steal! These socks are quickly becoming my "go to" pair of winter and XC running socks, and I may soon be buying another pair! These make a great gift for any runner so add them to your wishlist! And in case you're curious, I wear size Large... hint, hint! ;-)

(Buy through this link and support my website with a referral through Amazon.com!)

Product Review: Finis SwimSense Performance Monitor

2011-01-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

Being the triathlon gadget geek that I am, when I first heard about this watch and what it does, I did not hesitate to order one of the first 300 ever produced! Since I am a very weak swimmer and therefore not usually motivated to swim much, I figured this would be a great new tool to motivate me to train harder at improving my swim.

Did it work? Yes! After a couple weeks of training with it, I have to say it's living up to my expectations. I'm already visiting the pool more often, pushing myself harder during swim workouts, and seeing my splits improve!

Pros:

Automatically tracks swim distance, laps, and stroke rate - just hit one button to start and then again to end! No more losing track of how many laps and total distance you swam, or what your PRs are!
Automatically distinguishes between freestyle, backstroke, breastroke, and butterly - just swim and it handles the rest!
Hit "Pause" between swim sets and you'll get your rest intervals tracked too!
Great, simple software & website uploading process - stores your data online!
Great customer support
Product will likely only improve with firmware updates
TrainingPeaks.com integration coming soon?
Motivates you to swim better (with the website, you can set goals to decrease # of strokes per lap, hit certain swim splits, log more swim distance, or log a certain number of swim workouts per week or month)
Active blog and facebook pages to provide user updates (e.g. what to expect in the near future)

Cons:

Can't distinguish / measure distance if you're doing drills (e.g. kicks) since it uses accelerometers and needs your arm movement to detect motion & measure distance.
Won't work well in open water (only programmed to work in pools measuring 18y-50m).
Didn't seem to detect my butterfly stroke - measured it as breaststroke instead.
(granted, I'm a weak swimmer, so my butterfly is HORRIBLE... so maybe that had something to do with it?)
Since it only measures certain type of swim strokes (free, breast, back, fly), it didn't seem to accurately measure distance when I was doing some drills mixed in with normal strokes.
(e.g. 125m sets of 25m kick + 50m back + 50m free were measured as 75m?! I would've expected the kick to be missed, but it should've measured at least 100m?)
Inside of screen started fogging up, making it very hard to read** UPDATE COMING SOON
(NOTE: I contacted Finish support, and they quickly responded saying it was probably due to a different welding process they used in the first batch of watches. They quickly sent me a new watch, and even threw in a swim cap & goggles to boot! Great customer support!)
Post to facebook feature didn't seem to work in the included software - hopefully fixed in an upcoming version?

What I'd love to see:

An open water swim mode (even if not completely accurate, at least it could track # of swim strokes)
Better integration with Facebook (bug fix?)
More workout storage & longer battery life (already confirmed by Finis that this will happen in next generation?)
Indiglo or LED backlighting to improve contrast of screen
Vibration or audible programmable feedback (e.g. set a goal of swimming 500m and have it vibrate every 500m to notify you are done)
ANT+ wireless data transfer? (eliminate need to plug watch into cradle to upload data)
I'd love to see all of these features integrated into a full triathlon watch (Garmin, are you listening?)
Integration with TrainingPeaks.com and other online training logs like Dailymile.com

More product review info to come soon... waiting for my new replacement watch to arrive!

Ask the Coach: Can you recommend winter cycling gear?

2011-01-23T17:25:00.000-08:00

With winter cycling gear, there are A LOT of options. Here are a couple considerations:

Protect your fingers first! This is usually the first thing to freeze up on you. A good pair of gloves is your most important investment.
When you're riding, your body temp rises about 20 degrees
Consider this when deciding what to wear over your torso... a good tip is to wear shirts that can be zipped up and down. Sometimes you'll need more warmth while riding into the wind, and less riding away from it. So, being able to easily unzip your top layer or two (or just unzip a lower layer) is a good way to manage your comfort level while cycling in the winter.
Get quality products, not discounted deals!While tempting to buy a cheap pair of gloves or winter gear, it's usually worth it to spend a little more money to get better gear (e.g. Gore Windstopper, Craft, Pearl Izumi Barrier, etc.). Discounted gear is usually discounted for a good reason. Otherwise you might just end up buying something cheap now and replacing it later on - and as a result spending more money in the long run.
Moisture kills!
Sweat will freeze against your body, causing your core body temperature to drop rapidly - especially if you add a little wind to the mix. Moisture-wicking materials and a good base layer are a must to keep water and sweat away from your body!
Wind & Water Resistant Outer shell A protective, wind and water resitant outer shell is a must in any cyclists' apparel collection. A good outer shell and a good baselayer is sometimes all you really need.
Bright colors! Get products that are bright, visible, and reflective! The sun sets early in the winter time and sometimes you never know when your ride or commute might go long.
Thick Tires
Getting thicker tires for more traction is important. You never know when you'll run into a big puddle, black ice, or a patch of snow in the winter. Ask your local bike shop what the best options are for your bike since different widths might be limited by both your wheel thickness and brake clearance.
Puncture-resistant tubes
They might be thicker and heavier, but "thorn-resistant" tubes work great at retaining their air pressure longer and resisting broken glass and thorn better. You don't want to fix a flat in the middle of winter!
Fix-a-flat Kits
C02 or a full tire sealant + C02 bike repair kit like Pit Stop ($12) might be a worthwhile investment for that emergency situation should it ever arise. You won't want to be stuck in the freezing cold, rain, or snow having to replace a spare tube... so get what the pro's use when in a bike race:
Poor Man's Tips
Latex gloves and plastic grocery bags - put at least 2 of each in your seat back saddle bag. Latex gloves provide fantastic cheap wind resistance as glove liners and plastic grocery bags can be used over your socks to block wind from freezing your toes. That's about $0.50 for wind and water resistance for your feet and hands!

Here is a general shopping checklist for winter cycling gear:

Wind resistant gloves (lobster style for added warmth)
The most important part of your winter cycling gear! Even when the temps drop below 60 degrees, you'll want a good pair of long fingered gloves. Consider that you might be riding 20mph into a 20mph headwind, that's 40mph of winds blowing on your hands which are usually the leading edge of your bike, so completely unprotected from the elements. Gloves that cost $50-60 are usually well worth the extra cost - especially if they are fully water repellant and wind resistant (the $15 Nashbar gloves don't even compare!). I personally love my Pearl Izumi Barrier Gloves - work great all the way down to 0 degrees. Look into "Lobster" style (3 finger) gloves for added warmth - though you won't have slightly more limited finger mobility for shifting gears.
Wool liner gloves
For when it's really cold out (below 15 degrees or so), I add wool liner gloves on my hands before my wind resistant gloves. Another great (and cheap) tip, is to use latex mechanics gloves as a liner - they will block wind almost completely while retaining heat closer to your skin. These work especially well when riding into a strong headwind, when it's wet and rainy out, or when going downhill at high speeds and high elevation (think mountain descents at 45+ mph). I always have a couple pair of latex mechanics gloves stored in my seat back saddle bag alongside my repair kit, just in case.
Balaclava (face mask)For sub-freezing temps with low windchills, protecting your face (nose and ears especially) is vital! A balaclava will work wonders - especially if it is wind resistant and moisture wicking. I personally like the Gore Windstopper Balaclava II:
Shoe Covers
Get water-resistant, and preferably thick/insulated shoe covers to protect your extremeties from the elements. Besides your fingers, your toes are usually the first thing to go. Don't have good shoe covers? Use plastic grocery bages over your socks before putting on your shoes - this is a great tip for extreme conditions (like cold mountaintop descents). Consider throwing a pair of grocery bags in your seatback saddle bag alongside your flat tire repair kit (do it right now while reading this and you'll thank me later because you didn't forget!).
Wool Socks
Thicker or wool socks are a must in the winter time.
Inner Base Layer
A moisture wicking base layer is essential - you don't need something cycling specific, running base layers work great too. Craft makes high quality base layers, but Nike and Under Armour (among others) are great options as well.
Mid-layerA good quality long-sleeve winter cycling jersey or jacket - with pockets for valuables (store valuables in a ziplock baggie!).
Outer LayerWind/water resistant outer shell - preferably reflective as well!
Pants (or thick leg warmers)Leg warmers work great in the fall, but in the winter you should really get a pair of pants - either to put over your cycling shorts, or integrated together (e.g. long john winter cycling bibs).
Rear FenderNothing is more attractive than a wet and dirty patch on your bootie because you were riding out in nasty conditions. Consider an easily removeable rear fender (or a permanent one if you're using a commuter bike)
Bar MittsThey might look funny, but these things work great for extreme temperatures (below 10 degrees) when you'll do anything to keep your hands warm.
Additional LayersWhen it get REALLY cold (below 10 degrees), consider adding an extra layer or two between your baselayer and outer layer. A tight-fitting fleece layer works wonders.
Funky Bike Lights
Get lights that attach to various parts of yourself and your bike - you want to be as visible and strange looking for cars to see you better in case you need to swerve. Strange colors, flashing patterns that look like police cars, and lots of reflectors will cause motorists to slow down when approaching you. Reflective tape, helmet lights, backpack lights, bar end plug lights, valve lights, and spoke lights are all great additions.

Fall cycling gear (45-60 degrees)
When temperatures are not yet below freezing (or about 40-45 degrees when windchills can cause temps to drop below freezing), you may want a lighter set of clothing:

Full-fingered gloves
Protective Outer Shell - wind/water resistant
Toe covers
knee warmers
arm warmers
long sleeve cycling jersey

Places to buyThere are plenty of online shops to choose from, but here are a few of my favorites:

Amazon.com - Bike and Accessories Department Especially for higher end gear, you sometimes can't beat amazon.com. And with their marketplace, you can usually find the best deals for any type of gear
PerformanceBike.com
Decent prices and new special discounts offered every week, Performance is a great all purpose online shop. Join their membership club and get cash back too. Shipping and tax sometimes doesn't get you as good of a deal as amazon.com though.
Nashbar.com
Really cheap deals for generic brand cycling gear and apparel. Higher end products may not be offered at the best prices though.
The Clymb
Think Groupon meets REI. The Clymb is a private membership buyers club that offers weekly/daily deals on high quality outdoor/sports equipment for around 50% off retail. Click on this link to get invited (by me) to join: http://www.theclymb.com/invite-from/ChrisNavin

Ask the Coach: What watch should I get if I'm a triathlete?

2011-01-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

DRAFT ARTICLE - MORE INFO COMING SOON!

While there are dozens of sport watch options available on the market, there are a few clear standouts in my mind for triathletes. You can find plenty of great running watches, swim watches, and bike computers, but there really are only 3 options for a true triathlon watch. The biggest feature for a triathlon watch to look for, is something that is truly waterproof, and has a "multisport" mode - meaning you can combine multiple sports into a single workout. This allows you to track brick workouts, as well as complete races - with your transition splits too!

Garmin Forerunner 310xt ($399) - Simply the best!
This watch is easily the most popular watch for triathletes. Even though it has a high price tag, I've seen many people buy other watches only to buy this one later on, so it should be considered for anyone getting serious about triathlons - even if it seems a bit out of your price range at first. Just think of it as equal to about 3-4 triathlon race registrations... now that's not so bad, right?

Why? It's completely waterproof, has hundreds of customizable display data fields, has a "multisport" mode.... and with the latest firmware update, you can now also measure outdoor swim distance using GPS with relative accuracy! This means you can have your entire triathlon race with accurate time splits and customized displays for each sport (swim/bike/run), including your transition times, speed, heart rate, cadence, power meter data, and more completely downloadable for analysis later on. No other watch compares to this. It also has GPS for accurate bike speed (mph) and run pace (min/mile), heart rate monitor (HRM), run cadence (with additional sensor), bike cadence/speed (with additional sensors), a 20 hour long battery (long enough for ironman events if you think you'll ever upgrade to the distance!). It also can track ANT+ wireless power meters (powertap, etc.) for more serious cyclists and can work with the fancy Tanita wireless body composition monitors (BC-1000) to track a number of metrics like weight, BMI, body fat %, and more.

You'll find this watch at virtually every triathlon race, and for good reason - it's by far the best on the market today because of all these features. The only drawback is it's price ($350-399 w/ heart rate monitor), but if you look around you can occassionally find it for as low as $299 with the latest price drop and coupons/sales. If the price deters you, consider looking at it this way... you'll spend $150-250 on a watch with GPS and/or HRM anyway... on one or two triathlon race registrations fees and you're already at this price. Trust me, it's worth being able to send someone a link to your latest triathlon PR, with a map of all three sports broken out with all the data. You'll not only be able to brag about your awesome swim, bike, and run experience, but you'll also be able to send your results to coaches for analysis of strengths and weaknesses too!

Upgrades to consider (if you really want to get into the sport!):

Run Cadence Sensor - a little attachment for your shoe which allows you to track run distance indoors (while running on a treadmill), as well as see your foot speed (aka "run cadence" in steps per minute) both indoors and outdoors. Focusing on improving your run cadence is a fantastic training tool!
Bike Speed/Cadence Sensor - allows you to get your bike speed while indoors and your bike cadence (RPM) while riding indoors and outdoors. Focusing on improving your bike cadence is a fantastic training tool!

Timex Ironman Global Trainer ($221 w/ HRM)
With built in GPS, this watch rivals the Garmin, but has a few major drawbacks. Most notably, the watch is HUGE and the battery life is relatively short. Despite being branded "Ironman" - if you ever plan to do an ironman race where the time cutoff is 17 hours, this watch might actually die on you by the last few hours of the race. Seriously, if it's an "Ironman" watch, it should last at least 17 hours on a charge if that's how long your ironman race could be. What were they thinking when they designed it? When it was first released, the price rivaled the Garmin 310xt but it quickly dropped in price - and these are the reasons why!

Garmin Forerunner 305 ($128 w/ HRM)
This is the first true "multisport" watch that came onto the market. While much older than the 310xt, this watch is easily the best value on the market, as you can usually find it for around $128 on amazon (the best price I've found), and on sale for around $100-$150 at most other places - with an included heart rate monitor! It has mostly the same features as the 310xt, including customizable data displays. It uses ANT+ wireless to integrate in with indoor/outdoor run cadence sensors, bike speed/cadence sensors, has multisport mode, and has all the usual Garmin features. While the battery is not long enough for an ironman event, the only other drawbacks are that 1) it's not technically as fully waterproof as the 310xt (not recommended for use in more than a foot or two of water for more than a couple mins) and 2) it can't connect to ANT+ power meters and body scales.

Note: The Garmin Forerunner 205 is the 305's smaller sibling. It has the same exact features, but no HRM so it can be found for even less. But if you're spending this much on a watch, just get the 305 with HRM - trust me, it's one of the most worthwhile upgrades.

Other watches to consider:

Garmin has a whole series of watches available today - many of the new ones have great features like faster GPS satellite detection, different color choices, smaller sizes (they look like real watches, not giant GPS units!), but none of them have the "multisport" mode or feature set of the 310xt and 305 that work best for triathletes. That said, here are a few others to consider: www.garmin.com LIST COMING SOON
Adidas Personal Trainer
Nike+ Watches (now with GPS!)
SwimSense Watch (the best for pool swimming!)

Ask the Coach: How do I avoid / recover from Plantar Fasciitis?

2011-01-21T20:26:00.001-08:00

Disclaimer: I am not a physical therapist so I always recommend that my athletes seek professional advice to get their injuries properly diagnosed before continuing to "push through the pain" because while you may think you have PF, you may actually have a worse injury (e.g. a stress fracture). Many physical therapists offer free injury screenings - take advantage of them! You can find advertisements for physical therapists in the back of local sports/fitness/running magazines, or through online searches. In Chicago, consider NovaCare and Accelerated Rehabilitation - two of the bigger chains with multiple locations across the city.

Plantar Fasciitis is a very common running injury. What is PF? Read more about it here. It's a sharp heel pain caused by overuse, rapidly increasing run mileage, and having tight calves (not stretching after runs). The patellar tendon is what helps your leg extend during running or jumping, but that repeated motion can create small tears in the tendon. After years of activity and then a sudden increase in mileage, your body may struggle to repair those tears. Extra body weight doesn't help.

As an aid to athletes who suffer from PF, I've pooled together all the tips and suggestions I've found to be helpful - many of which I've used myself to recover from PF.

To avoid PF, you should:

Always build up run mileage GRADUALLYDo not add more than 10-20% to your long runs or total run mileage from week to week. Build gradually and then schedule "recovery" weeks every 3-4 weeks.
Lose weight
The more weight you place on your feet, and the more weight you have to lift with your patellar tendon, the more tears you'll create and the quicker PF will pop up. Change your diet and consider losing weight through other sports before you pick up your run mileage.
Stretch and massage your calves after runs. Heel lifts/drops are good, but foam rolling your calves is critical! You want all of the muscles in your legs (achilles tendon, calves, quads, hamstrings, etc.) to be loose because PF is frequently caused by adjacent muscles being too tight - and usually it's a tight calve muscle that is the cause.

To recover from PF, you should always seek the advice from a physical therapist and consider:

Rest, rest, rest, rest, REST!
This is usually the only way to completely recovery from PF. Yes you can run through spats of PF (the pain usually subsides after you start running) but if you don't back down your run mileage, odds are the injury will not subside - and only get worse. Consider swimming, cycling, or some other forms of fun cross training in place of your usual runs. Spend a month focusing on something you've been neglecting for a while - your abs and core strength perhaps? Or your swim stroke?
Stretch and massage after runs. Stretch your plantar fascia, achilles tendon, AND your calves three to FOUR times per day! Calf stretches will help. Heel lifts/drops are good, but foam rolling your calves is also critical for your calves! PF is frequently caused by adjacent muscles being too tight - and usually it's a tight calf muscle that is the cause. Search youtube.com for some great videos of PF-related stretching drills.
Massage your feet in the morning before getting out of bed
Those first few steps out of bed are usually excruciatingly painful if you have PF. Your body is dehydrated and your muscles very tight. Sit in bed massaging and stretching out your calves for 5-10 mins before getting out of bed.
Professional Sports Massage
Schedule a deep tissue sports massage with a sports massage expert who has dealt with PF clients before (runners, triathletes).
Kinesio-tape (KT Tape)
Watch these videos to learn how to tape your foot for PF recovery: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1430551071?bclid=6520521001&bctid=6546407001
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x272_NziK2g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge_K98lmUJc
Running Form
Minimize rotation. Work on your running form to minimize pronation... toes should always be pointed forward, minimize rotation of your hips and shoulders (avoid hands crossing over the center of your chest), and make sure the push-off phase of your stride is straight.
Build Strength w/ Squats
Do squats regularly to strengthen your quads, hamstrings, and stretch your leg muscles.
Drugs
Over the counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) will help. Consider using ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), or aspirin.
Heat
BEFORE working out, warm up your leg muscles to help minimize the tearing that makes PF worse.
Icing
AFTER working out, use ice on your heel to reduce inflammation.
Contrast baths
Alternating hot and cold water can also be helpful. Heat alone may make symptoms worse, so always end a contrast bath with a soak in cold water.
Night-time splint
To keep your foot in a dorsi-flexed position, effectively keeping your calf stretched while you sleep.
New insoles or custom orthotics
With more arch support and cushioning!
New shoes
Go get a proper shoe fitting from an experienced running store. Look for shoes with more motion control, arch support, and cushioning. Do NOT go for barefoot/minimalist shoes or walk around barefoot or in flip flops.
Advanced Medical TreatmentsEverything from cortisone injections, shockwave treatments, and surgery should be considered if all else fails and you cannot get rid of PF after 12+ months. This is usually only necessary for about 5% of cases.

Here are some good articles:

Free Garmin 310xt... contest ends tomorrow!

2011-01-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

DC Rainmaker is a triathlete blog - and they are giving away a Garmin 310xt! All you have to do is post a message on the blog comments...
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/01/garmin-forerunner-310xt-giveawayjanuary.html

So Many Reasons to Run!

2011-01-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

Nice little Runner's World article gives you many, many good reasons to motivate yourself to run... today!
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-238-267--13818-0,00.html

While you're at it, check out all of Runner's World's great online tools - they can even recommend what to wear when it's cold outside! More of a reason to run outside today... even if it's freezing outside!
http://www.runnersworld.com/whattowear

From pace calculators to instructional videos, Runner's World has an awesome set of online resources:
http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/tools/0,,,00.html

$20 Amazon.com Gift Card for $10 - that's like free money!

2011-01-19T06:05:00.000-08:00

I'm always buying tri gear and gadgets off Amazon.com, so why not take advantage of this great deal!
https://livingsocial.com/deals/21336?ref=conf-jp&rpi=3922629

Welcome to my new blog!

2011-01-14T23:25:00.000-08:00

Chris @ IMWI 2009

So I've decided to revamp my blog into a new website that serves my fellow Chicago triathletes (aka Chi-athletes). As a triathlon coach, I get asked for a lot of advice on everything from products to races, so I figured what better thing to do than to share my advice online so others can easily find it - and contribute to it! So whether you're a swimmer, biker, runner, or triathlete, I hope you find my updated site to be a great resource... and something you too can help build into a portal for other chiathletes!

If you know of any links I'm missing or if you have info you would like to see featured, please post some feedback or drop me a message directly... I hope to build this site into an resource for all chicago athletes!

I would also encourage you [insert shameless plug] to check out the groups that I help to coach - both the TriMonster Triathlon Trianing programs at www.trimonster.net, and the TEAM TO END AIDS charity training programs at www.t2ea.com - as they are the reason I'm able to do what I love to do and help give back to the multisport community.

Thanks!
-Coach Chris

Syracuse 70.3 game plan

2010-09-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

Well, my last big (triathlon) race of the season is tomorrow. While my own training has been marred by a number of issues and general busy-ness this season, I'm still looking forward to tomorrow. Despite the sub 50 degree air temp in the morning. Despite the sub 60 degree water temp forecasted. Despite the forecasted rain. Despite the deadly and scary fast descents or bike course that tops out alongside two ski slopes with over 1,300ft of elevation gain and about 50% more hills per mile than the oh-so-familiar Ironman Wisconsin course. Some may call me optimistic, but if you plan for the worst and hope for the best, you usually end up with a great outcome no matter what happens.

So, even though my physical condition is plagued by injury and there is no way to PR on a hilly... er, mountainous course like this, I'm optimistic for a fun race thanks to a scenic bike course and a downhill half marathon finish (350ft in total elevation drop from start to finish). I'm also getting to visit by buds JD and Erica (and Betsy) who recently moved to Syracuse from Chicago, so fun times will definitely be had!

Game Plan
OK, so how do you plan a swim/bike/run event you haven't really been able to prepare for? Planning, that's how!

Weather:
48-52 degrees in morning - wear layers and put on wetsuit to stay warm
30-40% chance of rain - hope for the best, plan for the worst (bags to cover gear, umbrella)
62 degree water temp - but felt like 58! Don't have any extra gear so will have to gut it out. Go for a swim before start to prepare for cold water shock (breathlessness)
Winds 2-10mph from WNW/NW - nothing major but head wind on way back uring bike and all of run course

Race Weight:
~170 lbs?

Usual pre-race routine?
3:30am - (4hrs before wave start) wakeup, chug 2x Boost (liquid bfast), glass of OJ, and maybe a banana and bagel with PB
3:45am - get dressed, apply sunscreen
4:00am - jog around to get stomach going, take care of "business in the bathroom"
4:15am - load up car
4:30am - drive to race site
5:00am - (2.5 hrs before wave start) arrive at race site
5:15am - get timing chip, get bodymarked
5:30am - setup transition bike/run gear
6:00am - (1.5 hrs before wave start) go for jog, take care of business
6:15am - put on wetsuit, go for warmup swim
6:30am - take final restroom break
6:45am - transition closes
7:00am - first wave
7:12am - JD starts, wave 4
7:28am - I start, wave 8
8:15am - out of water? (long swim in / transition - run on grass to avoid rocks!)
8:20am - start bike course (start SLOW - average no more than 210 watts; HAMMER the downhills ~250watts to roll up bottom of hills; but SLOW DOWN to be safe as necessary)
11:15am-11:30am - finish bike course?
1:00-2:00pm - estimated finish time? (5:30-6:30 finish time)

Nutrition Plan:
Swim:
1 cliff shot (gu) 15-30mins before swim start
1 cliff shot (gu) during swim in

Bike:
3 shot bloks (600 calories)
1 package of honey tingers
3-4 packs of jelly belly sport beans
1 bottle of ironman perform
1 bottle of gatorade endurance (aid station pickup)
1-2 bottles of water (aerodrink) (aid station refill)
1 bottle of endurolytes (~40 pills?)

Run:
1 gu packet at start of run
1 cup of gatoradeat every other aid station (6 cups x 4oz = 1 bottle?)
1 bottle of endurolytes (~40 pills)

Finish:
Rehydrate w/ 2-4 small water bottles & protein/carbs of some sort ASAP

Pacing plan:
1. Swim - as hard as I can w/o causing injury pain
2. Bike - easy on uphills... first 8-10 miles = over 1,000ft climbing?; go hard on downhills & uphill rollers; SAFETY first (unknown roads)
3. Run - easy first 0.5 mile; use the downhills to pickup speed w/ high cadence; maintain 7:45-8:00min/mile goal (best case) or aim for 9:00min/mile (if feeling bad).

Other notes:
- Smile for photos!
- Look for Betsy at mile 3.5
- Look for friends at finish!

Race Report: United 5k @ Network of Strength's Mother's Day Walk to Empower

2010-05-10T02:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I knew the weather would be nice and cool with little wind, but I sure didn't know what to expect from my body. On Saturday we had our big TEAM TO END AIDS triathlon training kickoff event (aka "First Day of Training"), and I got little sleep on Friday due to preparations for the event. After the kickoff, I had trouble falling asleep on Saturday night too due to anticipation for next week's new load of athletes and training dates and locations, so I figured I wouldn't have much energy to run fast. But you never know until you give it a try, right?

I signed up for this event for two reasons 1) It was an event on Mother's Day that made me really think about and appreciate how important my mom is to me and 2) the event raises money for a great cause - breast cancer support and awareness - and since I have an aunt who has recently gone through treatment for breast cancer, this cause was near and dear to me and my family.

Start:

I jogged over to the start, running into a good friend who I hadn't seen in a while. We chatted briefly, but since I was running a little late, I had to sprint over to pickup my race bib and drop off my gear bag. Luckily there were no lines for my bib pickup or gear check (how rare is that???) so I actually made it to the start line with 10 minutes to spare - what I usually aim for to guarantee enough time to move up to the front of the start line!

The 5k run was actually part of a 5k walk event, so out of 15,000+ walkers, there were only about 1,500 registered runners - still a pretty big crowd for a 5k! While not as competitive as most 5k runs however, it was still a great event and good crowd. Though I will say that going into the start corral I was cutoff by a guy entering with a baby stroller, and 20 feet back from the start line I found myself standing behind a guy carrying a tiny puppy, several folks wearing sweaters, and others sporting MP3 players (rare at the front of a race)... this was definitely not your typical 5k race!

Mile 1...

The race started without the usual star spangled banner, but we were led out by a pace car and several harley davidson motorcycles (one of the sponsors). I quickly sprinted around the slower runners and found myself in about 15th place after the first 100 yards or so. I knew I could probably sprint closer to the front, but I wanted to try an even pacing strategy to better ward off lactic acid buildup in my muscles, so I kept myself right around 6:00 minute per mile pace. I passed by one runner who had his bib on his back - with the timing strap still on it! I really wanted to tell him he needed to put that one his shoe to get an official start & finish time, but I was too out of breadth to be able to talk. Slowly I started passing runner after runner and by the end of the first mile, I had moved up to about 5th place!!!

Mile 2...

With the pace car and race leader still in sight, we made our way up the first hill and back onto Columbus Ave where all 15,000 walkers were still getting started. A couple unattentive spectators were still crossing the road in front of us, but they gave way as we past by several thousand cheering mother's day walkers! I kept my pace steady but started moving up on a few of the runners who went out too hard... and soon I found myself moving up into 3rd place!!! A quick check of my heart rate showed I was pretty high (~185 bpm), but not too hard to be blowing up... yet?

Mile 3.... it's gettin' lonely!

Coming up behind the 2nd place runner, I noticed this guy was wearing headphones and listen to his MP3 player! I find it really hard to pace myself well in a short 5k race and be able to listen to my body when I have music pumping in my ears like that, so I figured he would probably start blowing up. Sure enough, on the hill up Columbus Ave and onto Randolph, he couldn't hold his pace and I surged into 2nd place! At this point the first place runner was too far ahead to catch, but being in 2nd place was a real thrill unto itself! Unfortunately that didn't last long as another runner soon came up behind me and gradually passed me going down Randolph street. Looking over my shoulder, I didn't see anyone else coming up so I began to wonder... could I really find myself in a top 3 "podium" finish???

Mile 3.1...

Coming down the home stretch I saw the clock tick just a bit over 18 minutes and at this point I knew I had a great chance to set a PR so I kicked it up and sprinted home as they announced me as the 3rd place finisher - my best finish ever in a 5k race!!! Jumping up to slap the finish line banner (which I barely missed, oh well!), I was absolutely ecstatic!

Unfortunately I would find out my Garmin measured the course at about 3.07 miles or 0.05 miles short (which I verified mapping it out online too), but that's pretty close and would've been a PR for me anyhow. I would later find out that another runner who started later would end up beating my time, so I actually finished in 4th place overall, but I can't complain since that's still my best finish ever!

Race Results:

http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?orgID=234623&rsID=92759

Garmin GPS Data:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32818700

Splits...

Mile 1: 5:57.17 min/mile @ 175 bpm heart rate

Mile 2: 6:12.77 min/mile @ 185 bpm

Mile 3: 5:59.11 min/mile @ 188 bpm

Mile 3.1: 4:45 min/mile @ 192 bpm (max 193bpm)

Race Chip: 18:27 total time (5:57 min/mile)

Garmin GPS: 18:29 total time (6:00 min/mile)

I don't think I'll be beating this PR anytime soon! This was a PR by nearly a full minute and was a full minute faster than my 5k race just 1 week prior (CPD Run to Remember 5k where I placed 49th overall)!

What a Weekend!

2010-03-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

What a weekend!

2010 Fight for Air Climb - Presidential Towers

After a long indoor triathlon post-race party (aka 7 hours of food, drinks, and flip-cup), I plopped in bed only to wake up 5 hours later to head over to the Presidential Towers stair climb race! I raced this event last year, finishing in the top 25 (barely), so this year I was actually able to get a seeded start at #14 overall... which allowed me to start in the "elite" wave #1!

Granted, while it was nice to be in wave #1 where you don't have to worry so much about having to slow down to pass people in the stairwell, having to arrive at a race site at 6:45am the morning after a long night out was not ideal!

While my quads and calves were still hard as a rock and sore from the previous days' double indoor tri "all out" PR performance and series win (woohoo!), I decided I'd just pace myself with a steady heart rate and see what happens.

Tower #1:

Starting in wave #1 with the "elite" climbers was an interesting experience. While I would be handidly beaten this day by most of these folks, including two 50+ year olds named "Carlson" and "Wigglesworth," it was interesting to see how serious some people take this event. One guy was warming up with a spider-man style wall-climbing crawl in the front lobby. Another was wearing a full-body (and very tight!) skin suit. At least 2 or three guys were wearing Vibram five-fingers shoes (a great idea since they are really lightweight shoes!), and many of the elites were wearing gloves (I'm assuming for better grip on the railings to pull yourself up). Definitely an interesting scene and I'm sure the camera men from the media had a fun time with all this! I lined up in the back and took in the atmosphere while trying to learn what makes these guys so fast!

I started in the back of the wave since I didn't want to be run over by some of these guys, and decided to pace myself, knowing that I would have 3 more 45-story towers to climb up after the first one! I used a Heart Rate monitor to watch my heart rate, trying to keep it around 180 bpm as a maximum (about 93% of my max heart rate). With each climber spaced out about 15 seconds apart from each other, I could quickly hear the foot steps and gasping breadths of the runners behind and in front of me.

Once I got to the top and crossed the timing mat (which pauses your race time until it restarts at the bottom of the next climb), I grabbed a couple cups of water and waited for the elevator to take me back down for the next climb... Result: 4:32 @ 165bpm avg heart rate

Tower #2 - rinse & repeat:

Once the elevator took us down from the first tower, you had to cross a timing mat and sprint to the bottom of the next tower. They include the run time between each tower, so it's definitely in your interest to run (not walk) between the towers. After a couple dangerously sharp corners in the run, I used my run momentum to take me up the first flight of stairs before settling back into my rhythm all the way to the top... result: 5:06 @ 170bpm avg heart rate

Tower #3:

I can't recall if it was tower #2 or tower #3 but once I finished the climb, one of the top female runners (who was just two people behind me) ran into a woman smocking in the stairwell! Realize the irony here... this is the "Fight For Air Climb" fundraiser event for the American LUNG Association! This woman must've been coming home from a long night out and must've had no idea what was going on in the Presidential Towers this day... completely ridiculous! Result: 5:30 @ 171bpm avg heart rate

Tower #4:

By this point I was pacing myself right in front of one other guy who was wearing bib #15. With each climb so far he was hot on my heels, and with a little sportsmanlike camaraderie, we were always congratulating each other after each climb for helping to push each other. On this fourth climb however, he really made up some time on me as I could hear him going all out across the final 10 flights. This really pushed me to up my effort level and max out my heart rate... crossing the finish line I was quite light headed... and he went so hard that he collapsed when he crossed the timing mat! He was ok... just exhausted! Result: 5:11 @ 171bpm avg heart rate (182 bpm max)

Good times!

Anyhow, the results were not immediately available, but I did get a print out of a couple of my tower splits before leaving which appeared to list me as 14th overall (same as my bib number) for the four-tower climb. It wouldn't be until the next day that I would find out that I placed 10th overall out of 448 climbers (97th percentile)!

In hindsight, I guess I probably would've wanted to push myself harder to see if I could max out my heart rate to at least 190bpm at the end, but 10th overall is not bad for a sleep-deprived, dehydrated, post-triathlon "recovery" weekend workout!!!

What a weekend indeed!

Lessons Learned:

Maybe next year I'll get in some actual practice (I did 3x 20 floors in my apartment building on Friday night, but that was it for actual training for this event), I won't race a double indoor tri the day before, and maybe even get some vibram five-finger shoes, climbing gloves, and some real rest & hydration so I can push myself a little bit harder next time!

Results:

10th/448 overall, 2nd in age-group (19-29) for 4-tower climb (20:18)
169 bpm avg hear rate, 182bpm max
http://www.theracershub.com/files/350-831.txt
15th/668 overall, 3rd/80 in age-group (19-29) for tower 1 climb (4:32)
http://www.theracershub.com/results_view.php?id=832&result_type=db&f[6]=&f[7]=M1929
2:46 (~12%) improvement over last year's "Climb Chicago" event:
23:04, 25th/286 overall, 7th in AG for four towers
5:08, 29th/494 overall, 7th/58 in AG for tower 1
http://www.theracershub.com/files/230-453.txt

Race Report: Shamrock Shuffle 8k

2010-03-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well, spring is officially here and so is the unofficial start to the running season in Chicago thanks to the Shamrock Shuffle 8k!

While virtually just as cold as last year (about 30 degrees at race start?) with the threat of rain or snow, we were spared of any inclement weather this time which meant nice cool conditions for running fast!

Pre-race...
This year I qualified for Corral A (right behind the "Elite" corral) and got to start about 50-100 feet from the official start line, which was absolutely awesome and a necessity for a fast 5-mile race of 36,000 runners! Consider this... corral D and the open corral had to wait a whole 25 minutes before they got to start.... and by that time, the overall winner of the race had already finished the whole race!

As with most races that start in my front yard here in Grant Park, I slept in, woke up late, and left my door with barely 15 minutes to spare to get to my start corral. I decided to jog (actually sprint, since I was running late at that point!) past the Hilton hotel where I knew some of my Team 2 End Aids (www.t2ea.com) pals were going to have a very nice indoor gear check / aid station setup. Having spotted a few of them through the window, I decided to pop in and drop off my gear with them instead of the Fleet Feet Racing Team tent near the race finish (which would run the risk of being a mob scene at the race start!). After stashing my gear, I then had only 5 minutes to get to my corral, so I booked it and sprinted through and around about 20,000 people,... making it just in time before they closed off the corrals!

Strategy...

Not having run many short distance races since the Chicago Marathon last fall, my only point of reference for a similar distance race was running a 10k as part of the Pleasant Prairie Triathlon on a relay team last August, where I recalled running about 7:10-7:15 minutes per mile (despite still being bruised and bloodied from a criterium bike crash 4 days earlier). I figured I was in good shape, so I would start out around 6:45-6:50 minutes per mile and see if I could finish under 7 minutes per mile as a "reasonable" goal. My stretch goal would be to try and negative split the run and see if I could go for a 6:45 minute per mile average if I could keep my heart rate around 180bpm (what I knew I could hold for at least 40 minutes). But having bashed my knee on a SPIN bike 3 days earlier, I wasn't sure how I would really feel at that pace.

The start....

While still a bit crowded even at the front, I had plenty of room to run my own pace, and was only occasionally slowed down by other runners in my way. Corral A was definitely a must for this event if you want to run fast - as Corral B and below must've been nothing but crowded mayhem I imagine. My only slip up was forgetting to disable the "auto start/stop" feature on my Garmin ForeRunner 305 watch, so as soon as I was in the lower Columbus Drive underground section, my watch auto-stopped and I had to fudge around to disable that feature and hope I still would be able to clock an accurate time!

Mile 1...

I couldn't really tell what my pace was at the start, considering both the uphill/downhill of Columbus drive over the river and my GPS watch losing signal between the tall skyscrapers. But when the Mile 1 marker flew by, i saw 6:50 tick by and figured I had probably started about 15 seconds behind that, so I was right on track if not a little bit fast (as usual).

Miles 2-4...

The next couple miles I just kept checking my pace and heart rate, trying to keep it no higher than 180 bpm or right around that. I also tried to keep my foot speed (cadence) high so that I wouldn't start fading too fast. I slowed down a bit on the uphills (letting a few people pass me) and then really let gravity take me on the downhills (passing a lot of people) which helped keep my heart rate in check. The new course had a few more turns than usual, but all in all it was a good run. I actually started to overheat a bit by the 5k mark and removed my winter running cap since there was not much wind while running through the downtown Chicago loop streets.

Mile 5...

Coming back to Michigan Ave, I could finally begin to feel the wind hitting us head-on off the lake from the east, so I started drafting behind a few other runners. Turning onto Michigan Ave, I saw some of the T2EA cheer squad (Kari, etc.) freezing along the sidelines, and gave them a good "Yeah T2!!!" as I ran by. The cheered back and gave me an extra boost in my stride. Rounding up the Roosevelt "hill" I could really feel the headwind at this point, and tried to push hard while still saving a bit for a final Columbus Ave finish line sprint. Putting my cap back on and going all out at this point for last the final couple hundred meters, I sprinted past a good number of runners and crossed the line at 33:59 (clock time)... realizing that I had run my first non-5k race at sub-7 minute mile pace - what a thrill!!!

My official results showed 33:48 as my final time (since I started about 11 seconds back from the start) giving me a 6:46 min/mile average pace... and a pretty steady pace with a negative split finish! Even though I started out a tad faster than I wanted to, I was able to practice what I have been preaching as a triathlon coach (for the most part) with the negative split from miles 2-5 (despite the hill at the end). All in all, I was really glad to see this strategy pay off so well... giving me a PR over last year by over 4 and a half minutes (though that year it was a snowstormy mess)!

Mile Time Pace HR
1 6:37 6:37 171

2 13:31 6:54 179

3 20:26 6:55 180

4 27:14 6:48 180

4.97 33:48 6:34 182

Avg: 6:46 min/mile

765th overall out of 25,559 finishers (97.0th percentile)

670th male out of 11,516 (94.2% percentile)

198th in my age group out of 2,605 (92.4% percentile)

Next year? I'll be gunning for 6:30min/miles and under 33 minutes baby!

Photos:

http://www.marathonfoto.com/order_my_photos.cfm?RaceOID=12852010W1&LastName=NAVIN&BibNumber=1354&Language=en&Mailing=24141&BFI=dazlm28lv2&Frames=true&Flash=true&FlashVersion=10&Height=1200&Width=1920&Index2Home=true

2010 Race Calendar

2009-12-14T20:36:00.001-08:00

What races to do next year?! That's always a big question. I've begun to jot down my list, but wanted to start by reviewing some goals for 2010:

Bike Faster - Break 1hr in a 40km bike (time trial or tri)
Run Faster - Break 19mins in a 5k
Run Faster - Break 1:40 in a half marathon
Run Faster Long - Break 3:30 in a marathon
Tri Faster - Break 2:30 in an olympic distance tri
Win more - Win at least one FFC indoor tri (overall & age group)
Win more - Win my age group in an outdoor race (tri/du/5k/etc) with more than 10 people in AG
Win More - Finish in top 10 at an outdoor race (tri/du/5k/etc) with more then 200 people
Swim Faster - go under 30mins for 1 mile swim, finish in top 50%tile
Increase cycling Functional Threshold Power (FTP) in a 40min SuperMax test to 300 watts (from 287 watts) and corresponding power-to-weight ratio over 4.00 watts/kg

Planned 2010 Race/Event Calendar:

1/23/10 - USAT Camp
1/30/10 - FFC Indoor TriMonster Swim Meet
1/31/10 - Step Up for Kids Stair Climb
2/13/10 - FFC Indoor Tri - Gold Coast
3/6/10 - FFC Indoor Tri - Union Station
3/21/10 - Shamrock Shuffle 8k
3/27/10 - FFC Indoor Tri - East Lakeview
3/28/10 - Climb ALA Presidential Towers
?/?/? - Indoor TT at VQ?
4/5/10 - John Frasier Memorial Outdoor TT
4/17-24/10 - VQ Santa Rosa Cycling Camp (already registered)
5/1/10 - CPD Memorial 5k
5/2/10 - Pittsburgh marathon (maybe)
?/?/? - Monsters of Midway Criterium
5/16/10 - Chicago Spring Half Marathon
?/?/? - JPMorgan Corporate Challenge 3.5 mile run
5/22/10 - Galena Duathlon - OR - American Triple-T
5/29/10 - Soldier Field 10 Miler
5/30/10 - Bike the Drive - go for double or triple loops?
6/6/10 - Leon's "World's Fastest" Triathlon
6/13/10 - 131 Marathon - OR - Bike MS - OR - Madison-Chicago Relay
?/?/? - Sherman Park Criterium
6/20/10 - Cutting Edge Half Classic
6/27/10 - MetLife Duathlon
7/3/10 - Firecracker Tri
?/?/? - Chicago FireFighter's Run for the Kids 5k
?/?/? - Chinatown 5k
7/10/10 - Insane Terrain Challenge
?/?/? - ABR 2-person Time Trial
7/18/10 - Door County Half Ironman
?/?/? - Chicago Criterium
8/1/10 - Rock 'n Roll Chicago Half Marathon
8/7/10 - South Shore Tri SuperSprint
?/?/? - Double Bong 40km Time Trial
?/?/? - Elvis is Alive 5k
8/14/10 - Dairyland Dare 300km
?/?/? - Pleasant Prairie Tri
8/29/10 - Chicago Triathlon - spectate or race?
9/4/10 - Mayflower Tri
9/11/10 - Lake Geneva Tri (IMOO spectate next day)
9/19/10 - Ironman Syracuse 70.3
?/?/? - Chicago Beachathlon
?/?/? - Blackhawks 5k
?/?/? - Susan G Komen 5k
9/26/10 - Apple Cider Century
10/3/10 - Bucktown 5k
10/10/10 - Chicago Marathon
?/?/? - Pumpkins in the Park 5k
?/?/? - Trick of Treat Trot 10k
?/?/? - Carrera De Los Muertos 5k
?/?/? - Hot Chocolate 15k
11/7/10 - New York Marathon (entered lottery)
?/?/? - Rudolph Ramble 8k
?/?/? - SkyRise Chicago Stair Climb

Any suggestions???

Race Report: Pleasant Prairie Triathlon... Relay?!

2009-08-18T03:18:00.000-07:00

August 16th - Yes, I know it's shocking... I competed in a relay instead of the triathlon or duathlon at Pleasant Prairie. But what's even more shocking is that I wasn't even doing the bike leg!

Since I crashed my bike last Wednesday at the Soldier Field Criterium (see previous blog entry), I didn't have a working bike... but that wasn't even the reason I didn't take up the bike leg of the relay team. Even though cycling is my clearly my strongest tri leg, I wasn't the strongest rider in my relay team!

It all happened when I got a call just a day before registration for the Pleasant Prairie Triathlon was closing. Asked by some of the Vision Quest gang to join a relay team for the weekend's festivities, and without even knowing who my teammates would be, I said sure, why not! But at this point, I didn't even even know if I would be able to run well with my recent injuries still oozing blood and pus!

Well lucky me, I got partnered up with a 15 year old boy wonder swimming prodigy Connor Gillespie and the one and only VQ female cycling marvel Leigh Thompson - who happens to be the 2008 USA Cycling Masters National Time Trial Champion! You can read about her here and here. Yes, I was recruited for my run, not biking, ability and yes it was a girl who replaced me on the bike. But if there's any girl to be replaced by on a bike leg, Leigh was definitely that person! In fact, I felt honored just to be on the same team as her!!!

Well, with that type of firepower on our team, I knew I had my work cut out for me. I still had several cuts and bruises and a sore hip, it was going to be a hot day, and I hadn't even run a 10km only run race in a long time (years?), so I had absolutely no idea what pace to aim for. I figured I'd go slow at the beginning and pick up my pace if I was feeling better. At least that was the game plan.

So how did we do? Well, with no previous relay experience amongst our team, no real preparation for this race, and not meeting all of my teammates until 10 minutes AFTER transition closed the morning of the race, we still managed to kick some ars!

But before the race, we had another VQ team competing against us for fastest coed relay team, so that added some nice friendly competition! The best part, the other team's swimmer was our swimmer's sister, so we even had some cross team sibling rivalry going on!

The Swim...

Connor rocked the swim in 23 mins flat, edging out his sister by 8 seconds. I spotted him coming into T1 and paced him over to Leigh where I helped swap the chip for them where we had Leigh strategically positioned as close as possible to the bike out.

The Bike...

Leigh took off quickly but without having an opportunity to spin and warm up her legs, she was passed by our VQ relay team rivals within the first mile or so - uh oh! Apparently she wasn't passed by anyone after that though, as she absolutely hammered the 40km bike course. The course had 19 turns in it and Leigh was using her road bike with clip on aerobars added to it last minute. She also didn't have any deep rimmed aerowheels, so she was telling us not to expect anything amazing. Well, even though she was beaten slightly on the bike course by our VQ coed team rivals who arrived a few minutes earlier, she still managed to hammer out the fastest women's bike split of the day... and by nearly a minute and a half! Just imagine what she could've done with a disc wheel, tri bike, and a warmup! Wow - truly impressive!

The Run...

I spotted Leigh at the bike in (she was in time trial mode and forgot that in triathlons you have to dismount before the crossing the chip timing mats - oops!), and quickly ran up to her to get the chip off her leg. Slapping the chip on, I quickly ran the length of the transition area and headed out on the run! Running on "fresh legs" and being in the last wave of the olympic distance race, I had the nice luxury of passing nearly everyone on the run course. Getting caught up with excitement and adrenaline though, my heart rate skyrocketed and never recovered back down.

Going into the first mile, I missed the turn for the olympic distance out and back. There was nobody signaling which way to go and the sign was blocked by someone at the time I came up to that area, so I didn't even realize there was a split, instead following the runners in front of me. After about 100 or so yards, I noticed people running out on the main road and remembering the course which I luckily glanced at quickly before the race, I began to realize that I was probably on the wrong path! I also recalled the spray paint on the road which I had passed numerous times on my training rides in Pleasant Prairie, recalling the "Olympic Turnaround" point on this other path. So still not 100% certain, I took the gamble, ran across the field, leaped over a fence and made my way back on to the course. I'm sure I must've confused some people by doing this, but oh well! Anyhow, I lucked out because the path I took ended up not really adding much if any distance to my total race.

At this point I still didn't know if I was on the right course though, until I saw the mile marker, as well as a few of my fellow VQ athletes who had just started their run a few minutes in front of me. Hungry for the win, I kept pushing hard, hoping to catch up to the other VQ relay team. I quickly made up the time and right before mile 2 or so, I managed to pass the other team and take the lead!

I kept hammering hard despite the heat, thinking "it's only a 10k, it's only a 10k!" Eventually I was finally passed by one other athlete who was doing the olympic distance tri. He came up slowly behind me, paced off me for a while, and then we chatted for a bit before he slowly took off up ahead.

Trying not to lose too much on my pace, I kept watching my heart rate to make sure I wouldn't overheat and collapse.

With half a mile to go, I picked up the pace and sprinted the final quarter mile, crossing the finish in just over 43mins!

Results!

So how did we do you ask? Well, with only 10 teams in the coed division, we won 1st place overall in the coed division!!! In fact, our time was good enough to have been 2nd overall if we had competed in the all men's relay division! Check out the results...

23:00 swim - 2nd fastest coed team swim split, 4th fastest overall team swim split, 32nd fastest overall including individuals (out of 658) - wow!!!

1:28 T1 - 4th fastest coed team T1 split, 8th fastest overall team T1 split, 10th fastest overall including individuals - very nice!

58:09 bike - fastest female bike split of the day by 1:29, 3rd fastest relay team bike split, 11th fastest bike split of the day overall - and Leigh wasn't even using a tri/TT bike or deep rim wheels - WOW!!!

0:49 T2 - 2nd fastest coed team T1 split, 5th fastest overall team T1 split, also 5th fastest overall including individuals - very nice!

43:13 run - fastest coed team run split, 2nd fastest overall team run split, 56th fastest overall including individuals - looks like I'm the slacker on the team with that 56th place ranking!

2:06:36 total time - fastest coed team, 2nd fastest team overall, 16th fastest overall time including individuals. WOW!!!

There were 640 total olympic distance athletes and 18 relay teams (10 coed).

Being the fastest VQ relay team and fastest overall coed relay team of the day, we earned some nice bragging rights! Next year we break 2 hours??? ;-)

Race Results: TBD

Race Photos: TBD

Race Report: Double Bong 40km Time Trial

2009-08-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

August 9th - I just finished my first time trial ever! Even though this was my recovery week from my third half ironman of the season (Steelhead 70.3), I signed up for this time trial on a whim just the afternoon beforehand. I figured it was worth a shot since I had always wanted to do a time trial and hadn't had a chance to do so this season. Additionally, one of my goals (for this season or next) is to break an hour in a 40km time trial, so why not fit one time trial into the training schedule to see what it's like?

The only previous measure of comparison I've had to gauge my 40km pace is last year's Chicago Triathlon where I recorded a 1:09:32 bike split over 40km for 21.45 mph. Armed with an aero helmet, disc wheel cover, and two recent half ironman 90km performances at 21.7 and 23 mph (though with zipp wheels), I figured I should be able to hit at least 23-24 mph, if not more if conditions were ideal. I would need nearly 25 mph to break the hour mark though.

Equipment:

No race wheels, but I did use my Wheelbuilder disc wheel covers on my powertap training wheel for this event. I also sported my LG Superleggera aero helmet (with visor), despite the forecasted sweltering heat. It's only 1 hour, so I shouldn't overheat too much with an aero helmet, right?

Weather:

Conditions were anything but ideal. My start time was 8:57:30am and it was already well into the mid 80s with 17 mph steady winds... and it only got hotter and windier from there. Checking weather.com after the race, they recorded about 70% humidity and 83 degrees ("feels like" 88) at the start and 85 degrees ("feels like" 92) at the end, with wind increasing from 14/17 to 21mph. An hour later it "felt like" 96 degrees with steady 23 mph winds...

http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/outdoors/pastweather/hourly/USWI0354?stn=0&when=080909

Nutrition/Rest:

Besides two short 3-3.5 mile runs and an easy hour long group ride, I had done very little in terms of workouts as this was a recovery week from the Steelhead 70.3 half ironman. I also had been out late imbibing and gorging on food and drinks with friends. The night before resulted in little sleep (3-4 hours?) because I was out late at the Lollapalooza music festival in Grant Park. Long story short, I definitely did not prepare myself in an ideal manner for this event. It was more for fun and the experience than real competition.

The Race:

I started out hard, covering the first mile at 24 mph despite a bit of head wind. The first 6 miles heading into the wind, I averaged around 22 mph and 280-290 watts. Barely a quarter of the way through the time trial, I already realized that there would be little chance to break an hour with the wind so strong since I would need to average about 25 mph to do so. The next 7 miles or so with a tailwind I pushed about 25mph but dropped to about 260 watts while closing out the first 20km loop, bringing my average speed to around 23-24 mph.

With sweat dripping down my aero helmet's visor, I knew the heat was getting to me. I started easing up, planning to save a little energy in order to go hard over the last few miles. The next 5-6 miles into the wind, my pace dropped to just barely over 20 mph on 250 watts with my heart rate recovering just a tad to 173 bpm (from 175 bpm). Then I turned into the tailwind and gradually picked my speed back up... 22, 23, 24, 25 mph... with only a couple miles left it was time to drop the hammer. But with the heat wearing on me, I could only get back up to 270, 280, 290 watts... 300 watts was just too elusive. Cranking out 27-28mph over the last 3 or 4 miles with my head down and a heavy splashing of sweat all over my visor, I saw the hour mark pass me by with about a mile and a half to go... finally crossing the line at 1:03:12.

While pleased with the performance, I realized that a lack of threshold (and above threshold) working out is leaving my body without a strong top end power level. I feel like I should be able to push close to 300 watts in a 40min threshold test, yet I only averaged 265! Perhaps the weather has a big effect on average wattage... I wonder if anyone has ever done a study on that? Anyhow, today was a great realization... I need to get back indoors and hit the computrainer more often in this last month before ironman!

Results:

Distance: 40km (My Garmin Edge 705 measured 24.54 miles whereas 40km should be 24.855 miles, so the course may have been a little short)

Time: 1:03:12 (Garmin)

Time: 1:03:16.160 (Clock)

Speed: 23.29 mph

Max Speed: 31.6 mph

Avg HR: 175 bpm

Max HR: 180 bpm

Avg Power: 265 watts (my threshold is at least 20-30 watts higher)

Max Power: 471 watts

Cadence: 96.8 rpm

Now the only remaining question... can I shave off over 3 minutes with a tri bike, race wheels, better weather, and more rest / better prep? I'd like to think so! So with that confidence boost in mind, I'm actually pretty happy about this performance!

Hmm... I wonder if I might be able to hammer out 40km in under an hour at the Chicago Tri in a few weeks if I get that tri bike and sport those zipp wheels... probably not since by then I will already have completed a sprint tri earlier in the day, having signed up for the triple this year. But hey, you never know, right???

Race Report: Elvis is Alive 5k

2009-08-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 6th - Another day, another race. Instead of our usual TriMonster triathlon training group brick workout at the gym, we had an early pilates session followed by a 5k "fun" race.... The Elvis is Alive 5k. The event was not chip timed, but for a Thursday evening race where folks get awarded for "best dressed Elvis," that really didn't seem to matter for most.

Being a costume friendly race, I had to part take and so I suited up with a very crazy Elvis wig and glasses. It was quite a nice look for me, I must say! ;-)

The Start...

But of course a race is a race, and knowing how crowded the race was last year, I decided to line up close to the front of the pack. I was maybe 20 rows of people and about 50-100 or so feet back from the start line, crossing the start line about 5-8 seconds into the race. But unfortunately I wasn't close enough! Right from the start I had people fighting for position and elbowing for more space, so I shuffled my way through traffic and off to the side of the path, running on the grass and dirt instead of the pavement. Seriously, it's not practical to start a race of 2,000 people on an *open* bike path that's probably less than 10 feet wide!

Mile 1...

Despite the overcrowding, I managed to start out fast, clocking about a 5:55 first mile. About a half mile in, space had opened up and after a mile I pretty much had the whole road to myself, trailing a few runners several yards ahead of me. I knew I wasn't in top form coming off a half ironman just a few days earlier and still a bit sore, but since I felt relatively "ok" I just kept hammering away. I checked my heart rate (183 bpm) which frightened me quite a bit since I knew I would probably overheat due to the big wig smothering my head.

Mile 2...

About halfway through, heading into the turnaround I saw a guy in a full body elvis outfit doing what must've been about 6 minute miles... impressive! While following him, I hear people yell "you're the fastest elvis... keep it up!" then as I followed "you're the second elvis!" I didn't want to kill myself, so I trailed him for a bit, waiting for the right moment to pass.

As we came into the final southernmost corner to turn back north, I took the inside path through the turn and passed the fastest elvis! I thought it would be cool to be the fastest elvis, but since I only had a wig and glasses, and not a full outfit, I figured I probably wouldn't be eligible for the award... but that didn't stop me from trying!

Mile 3...

Through the final mile I just hoped I could hold on to a decent pace. I knew I was slowing down and kept looking over my shoulder to see if the fastest elvis was gaining on me... he wasn't. Pushing hard through the finish, with my usual slap of the finish line banner, I surprised even myself with a 19:14 finish, averaging 6:11 minute miles and tying my previous best PR! Not bad considering the crowds, heat, and Elvis wig!

I got a couple nice high fives from some of the other top runners, including who I think was the fastest female who had been running alongside me for a chunk of the race. I then waited around for some of my fellow TriMonsters to finish and gave out a couple more high fives to the other "flying" Elvises.

Post-race:

I probably didn't stretch enough after the race... instead drinking several bottles of water, a banana, a package of pretzels, some trail mix, and a couple frosty beverages. The night turned out to be a long one, as I hung out with our fun TriMonster crew for a good while, soaking up the nice weather with some tater tots and a couple more drinks while closing out The Green in grant park. Overall, a very nice night!

Garmin Data:

Distance: 3.11 miles

Time: 19:14

Pace: 6:12 min/mile

Avg HR: 183 bpm

Max HR: 193 bpm

Splits:

Mile 1: 5:55 174 bpm

Mile 2: 6:11 186 bpm

Mile 3: 6:33 189 bpm

Mile 3.1: 5:40 193 bpm

Photos: http://fotojack.com/photo/?race=1205&sid=d2c6a5c90ecd45926738955f2e6a31fb&pg=1&val=19&submit.x=31&submit.y=9

Results: Not chip-timed

Race Report: Soldier Field Cycling Series - Race 3

2009-07-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

July 29th - This was my third race in the Soldier Field Cycling Series (I missed one race so far this season), but probably my most successful criterium so far!

The Cat 5 (Heat A) race started quick and I moved near the front of the pack to stay out of trouble. After a few high paced laps, I broke off the front with a small group of riders who managed to stretch out the peloton into two groups. I made the break to hang on to the lead group, which would eventually lap the slower group... the first time I've ever done that!

I felt good a couple laps in and even went for a prime! Saving my energy, I sat in third wheel while we made the final turns, building speed and getting ready for a jump. One rider quickly broke off the front and I decided to try and bridge to his wheel to see if I could draft off him before sprinting around him. Unfortunately I was too far back to get into his slipstream and ended up wasting a lot of energy for 2nd place for the prime. Completely tanked at this point, I let the lead pack catch back up to me, draft off me for a bit, before I slowed down to sit on the back of the lead group's draft.

I ended up sitting on the back of the lead group through the finish, averaging a whopping 290 watts over the course of the race!!! My 40min threshold was last tested at 287 watts, so this was an above threshold workout for me - a first because I've never pushed myself this hard in a race before - wow! This was also the first time I was even in the running for a prime and so I had a great time enjoying the experience being in the front of the peloton.

Race Stats:

Time: 26:54

Avg. Speed: 25.78 mph

Max Speed: 30.26 mph

Avg. Heart Rate: 177 bpm

Max Heart Rate: 185 bpm

Avg Power: 290 watts

Max Power: ???

Avg Cadence: 99.9 rpm

Race Report: Chicago Criterium

2009-07-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

July 26th - Even though I planned and completed a 113-mile training ride up in hilly wisconsin the day before this, I still wanted to race "for fun" and see what happens at the 2nd annual Chicago Criterium.

At this point in the season last year, I competed in this race as only my second criterium race ever. Back then, I was so nervous I got virtually no sleep, couldn't eat anything for breakfast, and ended up pulling the entire field for an entire lap (only 1 or 2 laps into the race). I quickly fizzled on the Balbo hump and then got dropped like you wouldn't believe. I then spent the rest of the race working with all the others who were dropped, trying to scrape back into the race and avoid being lapped. I finished way back in the pack.

But this year, with tired legs from the day before, I decided to take it easy and just sit in the middle of the pack and see if I can hang on. Several laps into the race, I was suddenly feeling ok and decided to move up a few spots as we passed the start/finish line yet again. Building up some good speed, I moved all the way to the front at the same time 2 or 3 other riders decided to push hard. Low and behold, I found myself in a 5 man breakaway which then became a 9 man breakaway. Unfortunately my legs could not produce any top end speed, so I couldn't help push hard and we eventually got swallowed by a chase group about a lap later. Nevertheless, our lead group of approximately 20 managed to stay in front and I sat back finishing in 19th place... much better than last year and not bad considering this was on tired legs! I also averaged 275 watts over 30 minutes which is the most I had ever done in an outdoor ride or race!

Race Stats:

Time: 31:10 (includes an extra 5 min of cooldown laps?)

Avg Speed: 24.7 mph

Max Speed: 31.2 mph

Avg Heart Rate: 169 bpm

Max Heart Rate: 180 bpm

Avg Power: 275 watts

Max Power: 850 watts

Avg Cadence: 95 rpm

5 sec Power: 724 watts

30 sec Power: 434 watts

1 min Power: 386 watts

5 min Power: 299 watts

Race Results:

http://www.explorechicago.org/etc/medialib/explore_chicago/mose/chicago_criterium.Par.39966.File.dat/Cat5Heat1.pdf

Race Report: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman

2009-07-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

July 19th - What a race! You could not have asked for better conditions for a triathlon race day! Having one half ironman under my belt already, I had a much better idea of how to pace myself going into this one, and so I decided to really hammer the bike leg, then see what I had left for the run. The end result? I cut nearly a full hour off of my previous (and first) half ironman, setting quite a personal best!

Weather:

High of 74, mostly cloudy, Winds 6-8mph, water temp 64 degrees

Swim:

Boy was this a pleasant surprise... the first quarter mile was basically in waist high water! After getting passed by people WALKING, I decided to walk for a bit as well. Eventually I recalled the "dolphin dive" technique to push off the ground and used that to pass by all of the walkers and then a good number of swimmers too! But after a quarter mile of that, I started swimming at my usual (slow) pace, getting passed by a good number of folks from the waves behind me. The distance of the course also seemed a little short (I think the 1.2 mile swim distance included the 0.1 mile walk from the beach to transition!), but there was also a little current too, so I can't complain too much as I PRed my swim as a result!

Bike:

The bike leg was very fast and despite being in one of the first waves of the day, I passed a good number of riders through the first 20 miles. Then the peloton hit... yes, believe it or not, a pack of 20-30 riders suddenly comes out of nowhere - all drafting off each other! It was nice to have some competitiveness with folks wanting to leapfrog each other constantly, but this was absolutely rediculous! I would later find out that nearly 200 penalties were awarded so nearly 1 in 10 atheletes got some sort of penalty, and most of them for drafting. I also saw Adrienne Saeger on the course in the pack a few times and she turned out to be the overall women's winner! Granted, most people benefitted from a lot of "legal" drafting, but the 3-4 bike length buffer was definitely being tested by many a rider out there. I was worried about getting a penality because at several points I was swallowed up by a couple packs who ended up blocking me. I dropped back whenever I was too close, but did get frustrated enough when these draft packs slowed down, that I had to cross the double yellow line (once) to get past them and back into my pace.

Around mile 40 I ran into another problem. The roads were very bumpy and as a result, my aerobars came loose! I could no longer fully rest in aero for the last 15 miles or so and as a result, definitely lost a good deal of time. I considered reaching into my seat back pack to get my mini tool and fix the aerobars while riding, but I was too concerned that I would fall off the bike trying to fix it while going over 20mph! To compensate, I simply sat up quite often and tried to rest one arm in aero and one arm on the brake hoods for stability over bumps to ensure I didn't snap the aerobars off and go flying off my bike. It didn't help that the last 15 miles were pretty much constant bumps either! As much as I liked this fast course, I'm not sure I will do this race again next year due to the road conditions. For 56 miles, that's a lot of bumps to absorb!

Avg. Speed: 22.8 mph - Zip 808 wheels + perfect weather + lots of *legal* drafting = a personal best average speed at any distance! The race results said I averaged 23.0mph!
Cadence: 92.9 rpm - solid, but could've been better. Too much coasting when passed by drafting packs
Power: 225 watts - about 25 watts higher than Effingham. Max Power: 706 watts.
Heart Rate: 158 bpm avg, 171 bpm max... I probably could've pushed harder?

Run:

Compared to Effingham, the run was awesome! I ran the whole way (except walking for a few seconds to take in nutrition/endurolytes at one or two aid stations. The only downside... my Garmin Forerunner battery died with about 1 mile to go! But the end result was actually a half marathon PR, averaging an 8:03 min/mile pace! I might have been able to push a little harder, but I can't be dissappointed with this result, especially considering the distance of the event!

Finish:

Sprinting down the final stretch, I finished in 4:46:46 - almost exactly a full hour faster than my last half ironman! I figured I had a chance to break 5 hours, but this was nuts! Virtually everyone I knew who competed that day ended up PRing by about 30mins on average. I guess I can thank the weather as well as the race organizers for making the swim a little short and for spacing the waves out insufficiently which resulted in a lot of legal drafting benefit. Too bad this means I won't likely (if ever) break this new half ironman PR I set today!

Nutrition recap:

I didn't eat all of my allocated shot blocks, as I didn't feel the need to do so.

Hydration:

I didn't use all of my water on the bike course, drinking only 1 aerodrink, and about 8 or 9 tenths of my gatorade bottles. It was a cool day, and I didn't feel like I needed too much water.

Race Results:

Race Photos: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=51639&BIB=608&LNSEARCH=1

Race Report: Crystal Lake Splish Splash Dash Open Water Swim Meet

2009-07-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

July 11th - This was a last minute, morning of decision to race. I was originally only going to watch my training buddy Erin race this event on our way out to a training ride in Wisconsin. I was worried a little about my sore shoulder (water skiing the week before left some shoulder pain), but Erin convinced me that I needed the swim practice. I wasn't looking forward to finishing in last place, so I opted to do the 1-mile race while she did the 2-mile race.

I treated this as a nice, easy open water training swim and didn't go very hard, finishing in a (below?) average 41:29.7. I finished in 74th out of 99 swimmers, so not last place, but definitely in my usual bottom 25th percentile.

Funny thing though... there were only 4 swimmers in my age group and I wasn't in last, so I actually won a 3rd place age group award - how ironic is that to win an award in my weakest and least favorite event! It's doubly ironic because had I done the 2-mile race, I probably would've swam at least 2 minutes per mile slower and finished in dead last place!

Race Results:

http://www.crystallakeparks.org/Programs/Race-Info/SPLISH1O.HTM

Race Report: Bigfoot Triathlon

2009-06-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

Half Ironman recovery week = do another race?!?!

On a sort of last minute whim (a day or two before registration closed?) I decided to sign up for an olympic distance triathlon in Lake Geneva, WI to test out my post frist-time half ironman legs. Joining my friend JD and a slew of other Vision Quest and Chicago Tri Club athletes, this looked to be a "fun" race... even though one friend wanted to make a bet and race hard. Irregardless, I figured what better way to add a "fun" Olympic distance "test" to my ironman training season... even if it means running on my now black toenailed post-HIM feets! Some quick notes...

The Good:

Homemade pasta!
Nice homemade pasta dinner the night before with my friends JD and Erica!
Weather (well, at least the temp!)
Temperature was a "cool" 70-80 degrees compared to previous week's 113 heat index in Effingham! Windy though... 15-20mph made the swim CRAZY!
Aero!
Aero-helmet and visor worked nicely. I stayed aero pretty much the whole time even on hills and most turns. Felt light and cool - I love this helmet!
Disc wheel success

The $100 investment in a disc wheel cover seemed to work ok. it was a little hard to get up to speed since the wheel now weighs a TON with the powertap hub, disc cover, and puncture proof tubes (about 3lbs overweight), but with wind on my back it was easy to go and stay fast... I even averaged 30mph over a 1 mile split at one point! That said, with my aluminum bike (aka "THE TANK") now weighing a whopping 25-50% more than most 16-20 lb. tri bikes at a lofty 25.2 lbs (without nutrition, water bottles, etc!), I'm going to need to find ways to reduce some weight. Next time - scrap puncture-proof tubes and save 1 lb in weight!

Solid Bike
42nd place out of 535 = ~92-93% percentile on the bike leg... pretty sure I'm one of if not the fastest riders on both a road bike and a non-carbon (aluminum) bike. I could be wrong, but pretty sure I'm up there since I only got passed by a small handful of riders (and they all had carbon tri bikes with fancy race wheels).... I guess that means I now have to bite the bullet and get the tri bike to see how I would really rank!!! A fellow triathlete who had been riding behind me for a while said a nice congratulatory "strong biking!" while we passed each other in transition... that made me smile. :-)
High cadence
Should've been higher though! 93rpm average seemed to leave my legs fresh for the run.
Pull not push
Pulling up on pedal strokes over the last mile or so seemed to help keep my feet & legs fresh too.
Bike Stretch
Stretching out torso for just under 1 min before jumping off bike helped avoid the muscle "shock" from going from aero to running.
Had Fun
Played tag and chatted up with another VQ rider while on the bike... that was fun.
Fast bike!
Managed high speed turns well - something I was worried about with the disc wheel covers!
HRM in water
Tested out wearing my heart rate monitor under my jersey under my wetsuit... and it worked like a charm... so that will save me some transition time!

The Bad (and ugly):

Wave #1 = bad?
Being wave #1 when winds are 15-20mph is not good - buoys got blown away and half of the wave swam in different directions and off course quite a bit since we had no one to follow.
Swim course = badly managed?
Not enough buoys... waves of triathletes going out were crashing into waves going in. Not enough lifeguard boats either? Super windy and super choppy! Last 0.25 mile or so was waaay to close to shore (waist high) since I could touch the bottom with my hand with each stroke! Many people were walking instead of swimming. This could've been because of the windy conditions, but race directors should've been prepared for the problems
The ugly... I got punched in the face!!!
Halfway through the swim while swimming with no one else around me, some dude with giant arms comes up on me slowly at an angle (I had just spotted and was swimming towards the correct buoy, he was not!) hits my leg with one stroke, torso with the second stroke, then punches me in the eye and knocks my goggles off with his third stroke! Not sure what I did to deserve that, since usually people are polite and back off once they realize their are encroaching your space, but I guess that's what happens in triathlons sometimes... especially with dudes with HUGE arms! Maybe I was just so small in comparison, he didn't even notice I was there? I stopped and tread water while fixing my goggles and stared him down though he just kept going. I actually caught up with him later and drafted for a bit but then realized he was going off course again so I let him be and went back on my own. Swim rage... so not worth it.

The other ugly... crash on my bike!?
Just a couple hundred yards out of transition, I was speeding past a girl who swerved into me as another rider pinched me in from the other side.... neither of us fell, but defintiely a scary moment! I think she took the brunt of it and I feel it's mostly my fault though... she didn't know I was coming up on her and I was riding too close because another rider was on the far outside hogging the lane. I need to yell "on your left" more often and be patient to pass on the left... even if the cyclist on the left is going slow in the passing lane which he shouldn't be doing! I hate having to slow down because of other riders getting in the way! :-(
Nutrition went bad
I didn't eat any nutrition until 30mins into the bike... oops! My garmin gave me the 15/20min reminder but I ignored it since I was preoccupied at the moment and then simply forgot. I need to make a mental note to consume goo packet while running out of the water into transition (before mounting bike). Goo goes down easier at a high heart rate, so this should be ok. Maybe I should consider swapping out shot bloks for a custom mix of endurolye powder + something else too? This would make taking in nutrition simpler and easier!
Need more sleep!
I didn't get enough sleep on friday night (less than 5 hours) at home and saturday night (less than 5 hours?) sleeping at a friend's place.
Need to carbo load for lunch instead of dinner?
Didn't carbo load for lunch (something I'm trying to do instead of carbo loading for dinner) - chicken sandwich at a bar instead. Had carbo load pasta dinner 2 nights before though, so that's good. I'd like to avoid fiber after noon the day before race day and stay with more liquid and easily/quickly digested foods going forward as I think that might help quite a bit.
Post Half Ironman pace?
Found myself defaulting back to "bike/run/swim forever" and "slow down if you feel pain" ironman pace a lot - I had to remind myself it's an olympic race and to go faster! Bike was close to PR time, but wattage was well below treshold (245 watts vs 287?), and run pace was a minute slower than I should've run. Finished the race with a lot left in the tank.
"Blah!" Stomach = slow run
Felt like I had to pee after putting on my wetsuit right before my wave started lining up, but I blew it off and figured I didn't have enough time anyhow. Then I really had to pee coming out of the water, but blew it off again and held it in for 2 hours while on the bike & run! Had minor stomach discomfort on bike (nothing major), but felt a lot worse on the run and purposely ran slow as a result... I wanted to run 7min miles, but instead ran just over 8min miles to make sure I didn't cramp up more. Taking endurolytes seemed to help (sodium helps body process sweat faster perhaps?), though maybe that was just mental? Next time be sure to COMPLETELY empty fluids before putting on wetsuit and lining up!!! How to improve?... Well, sometimes putting on wetsuit creates a lot of compression on your gut, so put wetsuit on early for a while to see if that makes you feel like urinating, then try to pee even if you don't have to in order to ensure no cramps later on... just in case!
Didn't win raffle
I didn't win the raffle for the $9,000 Trek TTX bike... so now I HAVE to buy a tri bike!

I have a lot of takeaways from my first olympic distance race of the year. I improved my olympic distance tri PR (though as expected with ironman training) despite a windy day, choppy waters, and a harder trail run... but the course was short (bike was 2k short as publicized, run was only 0.04 mile long according to my garmin, though advertised as 0.2 miles long?) so hard to compare. Looking forward to hopefully doing another olympic race (Pleasant Prairie perhaps?) before the Chicago Triple to see how I would do with proper preparation & planning (instead of signing up last minute just for fun the week after a half ironman!)... and with a little more time to work on my swim!!!

Takeaways:

Need to do more speedwork training if I'm going to improve short course times!
Need to do more swim training!
Need more core and strength work (felt flat post half ironman, didn't do much during "recovery" week)
Remove puncture proof tires... 1 lbs is too much extra weight!
Try custom nutrition mix?
Get more sleep
... and don't get punched in the face next time!!!

Pre-race nutrition/timeline:

~7-8pm - Pasta Dinner

10:30pm? - Go to Bed

3:00am - wake up

3:15am - Breakfast - yogurt, 2 x boost, vitamins, 2 x FRS chews. Forgot to eat a bagel & peanut butter. Oh well.

3:30am - leave for race site

4:45am - eat banana

5:15am - arrive at race

6:30am - purge system

6:45am - eat 1 goo packet

7am - race start (I'm in wave #1)

Swim stats:

Time: 40:43 = 2:43 min/100m - Yes, I am a baaad swimmer, but it was also very WINDY, CHOPPY, and a complete MESS of a swim course!!! Still improved a tad over my Accenture 1.5k swim last year (though that includes a much longer transition run?).

Bike stats:

Distance 23.29 miles
Time: 1:05:42 on garmin (official race time says 1:06:07)
Cadence 92.9rpm, best mile 97.0rpm but going only 16.69mph into a head wind (mile 10)
Power: 245 watts, best mile split: 296watts (mile 1), 599 max.
Calories burned: 1474 (Garmin)
Energy burned: 969 kJ (Powertap)
Heart rate: 165 bpm, highest avg mile: 175bpm (mile 1)
Speed: 21.27mph, max 34.11mph (on last mile), best mile 29.77mph (mile 19)
# of mile splits over 25mph: 7 = great
- but due to winds on the "back 9"?
# of mile splits under 20mph: 9 = bad (miles 1, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18)
- but due to strong winds on the first half of the bike leg?
# of mile splits below 230 watts: 2 (miles 13, 17, 18, 19, 21)
- seems to imply I eased up towards the end... went too easy on the downhills perhaps?

Run stats/splits:

Mile 1 = 8:42min/mile - 157bpm
Mile 2 = 8:13min/mile - 159bpm
Mile 3 = 8:03min/mile - 161bpm
Mile 4 = 8:13min/mile - 164bpm - walked to consume water/endurolytes here?
Mile 5 = 7:50min/mile - 165bpm
Mile 6 = 7:59min/mile - 164bpm
Mile 6.24 = 7:16min/mile - 166bpm - short sprint at the end
Total time: 50:43 (garmin and official race results identical), 8:07min/mile pace
Avg heart rate: 162bpm (low?! I could've pushed much harder!)

Goal for next olympic if all goes well... sub 2:30? Improve swim 5 mins (faster wetsuit and practice!), improve bike 1-2mph/3-6min (tri bike and race wheels!), Improve run 1min/mile (assuming no cramps and not a trail run!).

Other notes:

I ordered a sleeveless wetsuit... should help me swim with a better reach and quicker stroke!
Looking forward to July's Tour De France Challenge on Map My Ride... should help motivate me to get in a lot of good hard miles on the bike!!!

The Longest Race of My Life!

2009-06-22T13:41:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I successfully completed my first half ironman - the longest endurance race of my life so far!!! And boy is the Cutting Edge Half Classic Triathlon in Effingham, IL going to be a memorable one!

The water temperature was 82 degrees (just below the 84 degree cutoff point for using wetsuits), and thanks to virtually no wind, and virtually no cloud cover later in the day, the heat index rose up to 105 degrees!!!

The tar on the roads was melting before noon and about 25% of the 180 triathletes bailed out of the race and got DNF (did not finish) race results.

Pre-race Dinner:

I had carbo loaded a lot the preceding days, but still had a smaller sized pasta dinner at the only half-respectable restaurant in Effingham (TGI Fridays) with a large group of my friends and Chicago Tri Club members. Oh yes, and a medium chocolate frosty at Wendy's after driving the bike course.

Pre-Race Breakfast:

Wake up at 5:30am... 2 bottles of boost (chocolate), 3/4 of a blueberry bagel with peanut butter, 2 FRS chews, vitamins/supplements, and that's about it. 6am out the door, 6:30am transition setup, chip pickup, and body marking... 7:15am course talk and 7:30am race start (I was in the first wave!).

The Swim...

Knowing how hot the water was going to be, I decided to go slow. I was probably one out of maybe 10 people who actually used wetsuits, but being the weak swimmer that I am, I knew I needed every bit of extra bouyancy I could get!

This was probably the best half ironman race to do as a first race for many reasons. Not only because it's a small field (~200 athletes), but also because as a weaker swimmer, the swim course was very beneficial since it's a 2 loop course where you actually get out of the water, jog past a bouy on the beach to call out your number, and then re-enter the water... just enough to give your arms a little break.

So while I had some trouble going a bit off course, I did a better job than usual keeping a straight path and was able to find a decent rythm for the most part. I did my first loop in about 22mins and jumped back in for lap 2. My arms began to tire a bit in that second loop, mostly because I have not been doing enough swim or strength training. The longest I've ever swam was 1 mile and that was last year! This year the longest I swam nonstop was only about a quarter mile! So while 1.2 miles is not that much more than 1 mile, it was the longest distance swim I had ever done (even with the break in the middle).

The Bike... Zipp, Zipp, Zipp...

I rented a pair of Zipp 808 race wheels with a powertap hub in order to test out the rental option from Vision Quest and I have to say that those are some sweeeeeet wheels!!! Not only are they super aero-dynamic with the deep 82mm rimms and aero tires, but they also have amazing bearings in the hubs... you spin them and they just keep going and going... Total weight of the wheels was 6.8 lbs, or 3100g (1230g front, 1870g rear with powertap hub).

So once I got these wheels up to speed, it was relatively easy to keep the bike going fast. But since this was my first half ironman, I knew I needed to go easy, pace myself, and save some energy for the run. So I kept looking at my speed and heart rate, staying at around 160bpm average heart rate and 21-22mph on the flats. There were a few, short hills which were nice since it allowed me a break to get up out of my saddle, but for the most part this course was quite flat.

The aid stations were very helpful, but they ran out of water later in the day and only had regular gatorade (which has too much sugar for me and causes my stomach to cramp up), but I did benefit from about 3 bottles of water and 2 bottles of gatorade in addition to the water I had in my aerobottle and 2 bottles of gatorade endurance I had on my bike. I also ate all of my nutrition (5 full packs of shot bloks, ~40 endurolytes), as well as a banana I picked up at one of the aid stations.

I kept a strong pace and passed a lot of people, being passed myself by only 2 or 3 riders (two of which I'm pretty sure I passed later on). My bike time would be about 22nd overall, averaging a nice "easy" 20.6mph. I think for Racine and Steelhead, I'm going to push a little harder and shoot for 21-22mph if conditions are good... and especially if I can get a tri bike by then.

The Run... aka the "Effing" Death March Massacre...

When I started out in the run (a 6 mile out & back loop), I heard a spectator call out that I was in 30-something place overall... I was totally shocked!!! At this point, I thought to myself... even if I have to walk a lot, as long as I can stay strong and only let a couple people pass me, I could finish in the top 25%! This really motivated me because I was not expecting to do so well at my first half ironman distance race!

At this point, it was well over 90 degrees and the sun was beating down hard through any clouds that remained in the sky. One of the race officials also yelled as I ran by... "GO SLOW AND HYDRATE more than you think is necessary... we already had one top runner drop out due to overheating!" Rumor has it the heat index actually hit somewhere between 105 and 113 degrees!!

With aid stations approximately every mile, I planned to jog a 8:30-9:00 minute per mile pace and then walk only at the aid stations for about a minute, keeping my average pace under 10 minute miles. This strategy is a common one and works well at most long distance races. But as the weather got hotter and hotter, I began to stop at each aid station, then walk until my heart rate got down to around 140bpm. Each aid station rest then became longer and longer. I would dump about 2-4 cups of ice water over my head to cool down, drink 2-3 more cups of water and gatorade, pop 2-3 endurolytes, take 1-2 slices of oranges or bananas, store some ice cubes under my hat and in my back jersey pockets to keep my lower spine chilled, and keep going for another mile. Once or twice I had to stop and walk between aid stations as my stomach cramped up a bit, but for the most part I was able to keep up a jogging pace between 8-10 minutes per mile (not including the aid station stops).

By the time I started my second loop, I'd say at least half the people had given up on running and were simply walking. I was only passed by a couple runners and I passed by many, many more. It was nice to see other runners from the Chicago Tri Club and from my TriMonsters group out there - even if we were all suffering, at least we were suffering together! I lucked out at one point where a group of spectators opened up a cooler for us to pick out some ice... I grabbed a handful and kept going. Passing one CTC runner, I even reached out and handed her a few of the cubes I had stashed away for later on. When it's that bad out there, you have to do whatever you can to survive, but it's always nice if you have a chance to help out someone else in whatever little ways you can.

The Finish...

Seeing a group of spectators near the finish was great, and it was even better when I spotted my training buddy Erin cheering me on "you're going to make it under 6 hours!!" I think she got everyone to cheer extra hard for me and that gave me a little boost to pick up the pace down the final 100 meter stretch. Sprinting to the finish, I still had enough energy left to jump up and smack the finish line banner at 5:47:10 - beating my goal of 6 hours despite the grueling heat!!!

This was yet another great confidence booster for me... I paced and raced well despite the heat and even improved my swim pace a little bit!

Results Recap:

Swim - 46:02 - 124th/180 (31st percentile)

I shaved about 2 mins off my Chicago Tri 1 mile PR split, so I was happy here. I improved my long distance swim pace from 2:37 to 2:23 min per 100 meters. I'm usually in the bottom 25th percentile, so being in the 30-something percentile is a nice little improvement for me! I still need to work A TON here though... and someday turn this weakness into a strength!

T1 - 2:26 - 104th/180 (42nd percentile)

I took a little long to take off my wetsuit since it was my first time racing with it this season! I could've done better here, but part of the reason I ranked so low here is because I was one of only 10-20 people who had wetsuits they needed to peel off first - everyone else just had to put on shoes, helmet and go! But even with the wetsuit, I definitely could've gotten this under 2 mins, maybe even 1:30.

Bike - 2:43:28 - 20.6mph pace - 22nd/180 (88th percentile)

My garmin measured 55.5 miles at 20.4 mph and 89.9 rpm cadence at 159 bpm average heart rate. The PowerTap hub measured 20.41 mph and 55.9 miles and 87 rpm while averaging 197 watts, so not that far off from the Garmin. I usually can get in the 90th or even 95th percentile in the bike leg of most tris, but I wanted to play it safe and not burn myself out with a half marathon to look forward to after the bike leg! 88th percentile is ok, but I know I could've gone a good deal harder. I only averaged 197 watts for 1,943 kJ of work, so the Zipp 808 wheels definitely helped me save energy for the run without sacrificing too much speed!

T2 - 1:59 - 62nd/180 (66th percentile)

I took my time to dry off, rehydrate, etc, so I definitely could've done better here.

Run - 2:13:16 - 10:10min/mile pace - 29th/180 (84th percentile)

At the end I felt like I maybe could've pushed harder if I didn't stop at all the aid stations, but I was happy playing it safe in order to not risk DNFing or bonking in my first half ironman.

TOTAL - 5:47:10.45 - 23rd/180 (87th percentile)

I also placed 3rd in my age group (out of 12 total, including 2 DNFs) for a 75% percentile age group finish, but since you can't be eligible for awards if you wear a wetsuit over 78 degree water temp, I conceded my award trophy to the next person in my age group.

My confidence is high, so my goals for my next half ironman (and all triathlons) are now going to be:

90% percentile or better on the bike (95% long term)
80% percentile or better on the run (85% long term)
75% percentile or better on transitions (85% long term)
40% percentile or better on the swim (50-60% long term)

Racine, Steelhead, Chicago, and Wisconsin... here I come!!!

Race Report: Soldier Field Cycling Series - Race 1

2009-06-17T23:24:00.001-07:00

So, I know it's probably not wise to race 4 days before a half ironman (especially one's FIRST half ironman)... and especially by doing a "high risk" criterium race no less. If you're not familiar with what a criterium is... think NASCAR but on a bike - high speed closed-circuit loops, sharp corners, bumping and crashing... you get the idea.

But how could I resist participating in a new criterium race series that's in my back yard... in the shadows of Soldier Field with the amazing Chicago Skyline in the backdrop!

Dragging my 21.2 lb brick of an aluminum bicycle into a race of 16 lb carbon featherweights, I knew I wasn't going to win anything. I also wanted to play it safe, treating the race as a training ride (after all, they advertise this series as a less competitive "development" series), so I simply wanted to stay out of trouble and avoid crashes.

I started just 1 row back from the start line, hoping to stay near the front of the pack to avoid any pileups... but surprise, surprise... as I hold my line in the FIRST turn, someone cuts the inside corner and then comes wide... right across my wheel! Our wheels overlap and rub for a solid second and I get knocked way over almost into another rider! These are the risks of Cat 5 "open/beginner" level racing... you get a lot of testosterone mixed with a very, how shall we say, "wide variety" of bike handling skills. Luckily I was ready for anything and managed to stabilize myself without crashing. Unfortunately though, this cost me several spots as I had to slow down and got stuck in the middle of the pack.

About 6 laps later... going into the dreaded tight 90-degree turn 3, a rider goes crashing down HARD, flipping over his bike and then again rolling over his own head... OUCH!!!! I was only 2 riders back from this guy, but managed to slow way down and work my way around the pileup. But at this point, the front of the pack had sprinted away and created a HUGE gap. I didn't want to get dropped into the chase pack, so this was when I started to drop the hammer! Knowing that this would be a long effort, I tried to pace myself, pushing "only" 350-400watts max. Little did I know this effort would have to last 4 laps!!!

I kept hammering hard, trying to work with other riders, but those I caught up to simply were dropped seconds later. A couple other XXX-Racing team riders grabbed onto my wheel, but refused to take turns to work together and catch up to the main pack. I gave them a few signals, but they just stayed back there. One of them kept yelling "C'mon, GRAB ON TO HIS WHEEL" so I knew they were struggling to hang on and were not going to take turns pulling much. I kept getting closer and closer to the main pack and by then a few riders who were drafting off me made the jump to bridge the gap, as I eventually would as well. But when I finally did catch up to the main pack, I was COMPLETELY spent. My legs were full of lactic acid and I could only hold on after that.

A couple miles later, I managed to gain a couple more spots before crossing the finish line at the back of the lead pack, but probably somewhere in the middle overall. Nevertheless, I was happy because this was simply supposed to be a *safety first* training ride and I did what I thought would be impossible by bridging that BIIIG gap with some very solid power numbers (for me).

I caught up with another rider wearing Vision Quest gear (Jason?) after the race and he was telling me how he was right behind me at the crash, but couldn't bridge the gap like most other riders who were caught behind the crash. I guess I jumped and dropped the hammer at the right time!

When I got home I checked my powertap and low and behold, I broke nearly all of my peak power records for everything from 5 seconds to 30mins!

Other stats:

Heart Rate: 174bpm (Max: 185bpm)
Cadence: 97rpm
Avg Speed: 24.9mph (Max: 30.02mph)
Calories Burned: 773 (in 29:03 mins)
Kiljoules Burned: 494Kj
Max Power: 949 watts (at race start)
Power (5sec): 778 watts (10.16 watts/kg)
Power (30sec): 460 watts (6.00 watts/kg)
Power (1min): 390 watts (5.09 watts/kg)
Power (5min): 329 watts (4.29 watts/kg)
Power (10min): 306 watts (3.99 watts/kg)
Power (30min): 267 watts (3.49 watts/kg)

Those power numbers would put me in the low end of Cat 3 and high end of Cat 4 racers.... similar to what my last 40min FTP showed with 287watts (3.8 watts/kg). Now if only I didn't get stuck behind that crash and had a lighter weight carbon bike with a lightweight set of wheels! Oh well, there are plenty more races to be had with this series taking place every other Wednesday night through the rest of the summer!

Let's just hope there aren't any more crashes!!!

How to make your bike more aero...

2009-06-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

With a little duct tape and a lot of free time, you too can make your bike much more aerodynamic...

... so much cooler than sporting an aero helmet!

Race Report: San Diego "Rock 'n Roll" Marathon - Mission Accomplished!!

2009-06-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I tried to redeem my horrendous first marathon experience in Chicago last fall and inject a little confidence boost by attempting another marathon early on during my ironman training season. I was in better shape, smarter about mutrition and pacing, and had several strong long training runs under my belt this time around... and I was determined to shave at least 30 minutes or more off my first marathon time.

Travel:

I was in a bit of a rush running errands all day and packing before catching my flight to San Diego and didn't get to sleep much, but besides forgetting my cell phone charger and being "unplugged" all weekend (not such a bad thing?), everything went pretty well travel wise. My flight arrived early and I got to sit with my friends JD and Erica, eventually meeting up with my good friend Aash who flew in from NY to hang out for the extended weekend and watch me and JD, as well as our friends Betsy and Sarah run in the marathon. A fun trip planned by fun people!

Pre-Race Dinner:

Home made pasta & chicken on Friday night at home. Pasta with seafood and a pizza (shared) on Saturday night before the race. I know, seafood is probably a somewhat risky pre-race dinner, but since I rarely get fresh seafood in Chicago, this was a risk I was willing to take! Good carbo loading overall since I started 2 days early (it's good advice to start carbo loading more than 1 day in advance!).

Pre-race Morning:

After a good night's rest (6-7 hours of sleep?) at the hotel Solamar, I awoke around 5:00am and immediately ate a blueberry bagel with peanut butter, a banana, a glass of chocolate milk (instead of boost), a glass of OJ. I forgot to take my vitamins and supplements, as well as FRS energy chews, and I didn't have a yogurt, or ensure/boost either... so all in all I probably did not take in as much fuel as I should've on race morning. I did not drink much water or gatorade either, perhaps a glass or two at most, but I hydrated well the day before with gatorade and water, so I wasn't too worried about hydration. I try not to drink too much on race morning in order to avoid too much liquid slushing around in my stomach at the start of the race.

Race Time!

JD and I caught a cab and made it to the race with about 20-25 minutes to spare before the 6:30am start, so we had plenty of time to stretch. In hindsight, I should've gone to the restrooms at the start, but the lines were insanely long so I decided to "hold it in" for a few miles and see how things go. I definitely do not recommend this race tactic!

The weather was nearly perfect for a marathon - about 60 degrees, slight breeze, completely overcast with an occassional misting of rain (very, very light mist). The humidity was a little high, but other than that the conditions were nearly perfect. This was a complete surprise from the "sunny and dry San Diego" weather we were expecting, but hey, we couldn't complain for having this great marathon weather!

The Race:

Mile 1...

I started in a packed section running alongside and then slightly ahead of my good friend JD. He asked me right before the start if I was going to shoot for making it under 4 hours and I told him I think I felt I could possibly pull it off if the weather stayed nice. He said he would aim for 4:20 so we knew from the start we'd probably lose each other quickly. Nevertheless, we both were rocking bright yellow shirts and were pumped up for a great race!

The pack of runners began to spread out after a few miles and I took advantage of some downhill sections by letting gravity pull me along as fast as I could go without having my heart rate spike above 160 bpm. My first few miles were fast as a result, and even though I wanted to start slow, I wasn't worried since I kept my heart rate in check. Besides, I was going to need every second I could get before having to head back up the hills!

Miles 3-5...

I kept checking my heart rate, trying to determine what pace I wanted to try and stick with... 9:00 minutes per mile? 9:15? 8:45? Before I knew it the first few miles were behind me. My heart rate was in check and I felt good... a strong pace and a little faster than I had planned, but I was still in control of avoiding a buildup of lactic acid in my legs and that's what was most important. We passed through the downtown area, past the aircraft carrier and a few groups of spectators before I smelt something peculiar....

Mile 6...

BACON!?!? Yes, around mile 6 we passed the barbeque restaurant/bar where they filmed the famous bar scene from Top Gun and I could smell the lovely scent of my favorite pork product... BACON!!! I glanced around sniffing the air - like a puppy getting a whiff of freshly cooked bacon from across the room - hoping that someone might've set up a makeshift rest stop for marathoners to pick up free bacon samples.... but sadly I was out of luck!

This made me salivate and become quite hungry, but it also motivated me to run hard so that I could reward myself with some bacon later!

Miles 7-10...

This section was basically all uphill, though thankfully it was a very gradual incline. Thankfully, my friends Erica and Aash were trying their best to spectate and spot us in the crowd of 13,000 other runners during this stretch. They told me they would be at mile 9 on the left hand side.... and sure enough, there they were with big smiles and a giant sign that read "JD, Chris, Betsy, Sarah - Hurry Up! We Want Tacos!" I too was looking forward to the nice big fish taco lunch we planned to go for after the race, so that put a nice big smile across my face! I picked up the pace and pushed it hard another mile or two up the hill.

Miles 12-13...

I watched my Garmin Forerunner 305 with great frequency as I approached mile 12 to 13, trying to figure out how my pacing was doing while heading into the halfway mark. Sure enough 13.1 miles came and went, and I was looking great... 1 hour and 54 minutes! Uh, oh, perhaps a little too fast? This was only about 5 minutes off my HALF-marathon PR pace! I wanted to go slow for the first half, knowing that there were big hills to overcome, so this concerned me a little. But then I figured that if I'm going to try and break 4 hours, I need to have a faster first half since I will inevitably slow down during the last few miles when I'm worn out. Besides, I made up for the long uphills by letting gravity push me faster on the downhills for a reason... I had a goal to achieve! So I took this split time as a confidence booster and decided I would go for it.... 4 hours, here I come!!!

Mile 14...

Then I ran into a problem. I had been holding in going to the bathroom for over 2 hours now and I still had to go! At this point it was just getting too painful to hold in and right at the Mile 14 mark, I decided I couldn't "hold it in" any longer and jumped off course to get in line for a couple porta johns. Unfortunately there was a line of only about 3 people in front of me (compared to a line of at least a dozen people at the previous stop), so I ended up losing about 2-3 minutes standing in line and then going to the rest room. Once I got back into the race, it took me a little while to get back up to speed too. I had debated whether to try and hold it in for the whole race since I really wanted to shoot for 4 hours, but I figured I had a couple minute buffer to risk and the pain and annoyance probably would've slowed me down more and more while draining me mentally. Anyhow, I got it out of the way without losing too much time and starting building my pace back up to speed. Lesson learned however: AT ALL COSTS go to the restroom before the race - especially if it's a long race like a marathon!!!

Mile 15-19...

The next few miles went well, but I witnessed 2 people take stumbles into the dirt and pavement... ouch! I also got a nice boost from a few friendly spectaters who handed out peeled and sliced oranges and watermelon over the next few miles. I LOVE orange slices and was happy to get that boost while running into a few more steep but short hills.

Mile 20...

This one mile felt like it took forever to arrive and as soon as it did, I noticed my body starting to hurt more and more. I checked my watch and realized that I could still break 4 hours even if I slowed down a little, so I listened to my body and heart rate and dropped my pace down 15-30 seconds per mile to keep my heart rate from spiking too much. My feet were sore, my little toe was chaffed and likely bleeding at this point, I was low on energy, and everything was hurting just enough to be irritating. They say the 20 mile mark is halfway, and boy, I couldn't agree more!

Miles 21-23...

A few more inclines in the form of bridges and overpasses felt like a cruel whip crack on my calves, and cut into my pace more and more. I was hurting.... but I REALLY wanted that sub-4 hour time! I kept telling myself, if Sarah Palin (3:59:36) was able to run a sub-4-hour marathon... I HAD to be able to do the same... BEAT PALIN!!!

For the next few miles I kept telling myself.... only 6 more miles, only 5 more miles, only 4 more miles, don't stop!... only 3 more miles... all the while I was trying to think of what my PRs for those distances were and what mile splits I would have to run to be able to stay under 4 hours. "I can run a 5k in under 20 minutes, so doing it in under 30 minutes should be easy, right? Nevermind the fact that you've already run 23 miles as a warmup, you can still do it!" I started feeling stronger and stronger with less than 3 miles to go as I reminded myself about how much harder I run during 5k races. Even if I was in pain or wanted some water during those short distances, I knew I could just push it through the last couple miles without stopping.

Miles 24-25...

Those last few miles are a real mental head game because your body is telling you that you are in pain and you need to stop. But if you can distract yourself mentally, and stay in that "runner's high" zone where you can ignore all pain, then you really can push those last few miles.

Mile 26...

I kept running harder and harder, faster and faster.... I turned into the Marine Corps center where the finish line was (past Marines who were checking bib #s to make sure only registered runners were allowed into the base), and started sprinting harder and harder... not a single runner passed me as I blew past everybody I could see...

Suddenly I could see the finish... and the clock was barely at 3:56! I was going to make it under 4 hours!!!

The Finish...

I slowed down as I approached a line of other runners that I couldn't pass at the finish line. I took a leap to try and touch the finish line banner as I always do and put my hands in the air in celebration... I did it!!! Whoops, I may have just barely missed tapping the banner.... but I didn't miss my 4 hour goal with a 3:54:01 final time!!!

Post-Race:

I quickly drank two bottles of water, one bottle of cytomax electrolyte drink, and ate a banana. I also grabbed a bottle of cold chocolate milk, two more bottles of water, and other assorted goodies (a bagel perhaps? I can't remember...). I then proceeded over to the aid tent and got both of my knees wrapped in packs of ice thanks to some very quick and helpful volunteers, then threw a heat shield over my shoulders and headed over to the post race area to wait up and meet my friends. I collapsed on the grass and sat there for a few minutes, then started stretching as best I could while eating and drinking everything I had in hand... another banana, bottle of water, chocolate milk, etc.... because that post race protein is vital for helping those muscles recover quickly!

My feet were painfully swollen (as expected since I used very light and barely cushioned running shoes), but I had no blisters thanks to my form fitting nike socks! I covered my chaffed pinky toe with a blister pack (which also work great for preventing nipple chaffing, by the way!) and before I knew it my friends Erica, Aash found me. Then my friend JD arrived - in an equally impressive 4:15 (beating his 4:20 goal by five minutes!), followed by the Wille sisters Betsy and Sarah who also beat their Chicago paces considerably (by over 11 minutes!). Everyone had a great race thanks to the great weather - even though none of us Chicagoans were used to hills like that!

All in all...

I really couldn't have asked for a better race! My ironman training confidence is high yet again... and the marathon run at the end of the ironman race now seems much more surmountable! Now I just need to shift my focus on to that dreaded (and so far heavily neglected) swim!!!

By the numbers...

3,525 calories burned
26.46mi (my Garmin measured a little long?)
154bpm average heart rate (182bpm max)
3:54:05 garmin time (Chip Time 3:54:01)
8:51 min/mile average pace
Consumed 1 bottle of endurolytes and 1.5 slit pack
Dropped 1 shot bloks pack, consumed about 5-6 packs (approximately 1 every 30-45mins starting 30min in)

Splits (note that my Garmin measured about 0.1 mile extra early on, building to about 0.2 miles extra while probably getting innaccurate satellite readings between downtown buildings around miles 3-6):

Mile 1 - 8:47 min/mile - 147bpm
Mile 2 - 8:38 min/mile - 153bpm - slight downhill?
Mile 3 - 8:33 min/mile - 152bpm - slight downhill?
Mile 4 - 7:37 min/mile - 152bpm - steep downhill?
Mile 5 - 8:23 min/mile - 151bpm - slight downhill?
Mile 6 - 8:43 min/mile - 150bpm - heart rate settling down on flat downtown area? I smell bacon!
Mile 7 - 8:55 min/mile - 149bpm - slight uphill?
Mile 8 - 9:10 min/mile - 149bpm - slight uphill?
Mile 9 - 9:07 min/mile - 152bpm - slight uphill?
Mile 10 - 8:53 min/mile - 152bpm - slight uphill?
Mile 11 - 7:49 min/mile - 154bpm - heart rate spikes going into downhill
Mile 12 - 9:19 min/mile - 151bpm
Mile 13 - 8:33 - 153bpm
Mile 14 - 8:34 - 156bpm - heart rate going up while in pain needing to find restroom!
Mile 15 - 10:41 - 149bpm - includes waiting in line for rest room (~2mins break)
Mile 16 - 9:06 - 155bpm
Mile 17 - 8:29 - 158bpm - heart rate getting too high?
Mile 18 - 9:01 - 157bpm
Mile 19 - 8:57 - 158bpm
Mile 20 - 8:48 - 157bpm - heart rate still high!
Mile 21 - 9:39 - 153bpm - re-gauge pace, slow down a bit, heart rate drops
Mile 22 - 9:20 - 156bpm - picking it back up
Mile 23 - 9:20 - 157bpm
Mile 24 - 9:08 - 157bpm
Mile 25 - 8:47 - 160bpm - only 2 miles left, I pick up the pace!
Mile 26 - 8:31 - 165bpm - getting faster, almost there!!
Mile 26.2 - 7:16 - 175bpm - final 0.46 mile sprint (Garmin measured 26.46mi)

Photos of me:

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=45790&BIB=6060

Video of me (bib #6060 - the 4th yellow shirt to cross the line):

http://www.rnrmarathon.com/elite/webcast/sd/archive.html

Race Report: Soldier Field 10 Miler

2009-05-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

So I knew going into this race that I could break my PR because I've been working out a lot, lost a good amount of weight (5-10 lbs), improved my running efficiency, and got a new pair of racing shoes.... so the only question was by how much will I break my PR???

My previous best was 8:00min/mile pace for 10 miles, but last fall I did a 15K race (roughly 9.3 miles) at a 7:22min/mile pace. I told myself that if I could match that pace, I'd be REALLY happy because that was an end of season race when I was in great shape as well. So my plan was to go easy at the beginning doing 7:30min/miles for 2-3 miles, then step up to 7:15min/miles for 4-6 miles, and then recover during the last 2-3 miles at a 7:30min/mile pace.

Pre-race...

I only got about 5 hours of sleep. Woke up at 6:00-6:15am, drank some orange guice, ate half a bagel, banana, took vitamins and 2 orange FRS chews, purged a bit of my pasta dinner from the night before and went back to bed. I then got up around 6:50am, purged my system again as best I could (the acidity of OJ tends to help with that!) and then I put all my running gear on. I left the house around 7:10am but had to quickly turn back around agian... I forgot my heart rate monitor!!!

The race started at 7:30am, so now I had to jog pretty quick about a mile to get to the race Start at Soldier Field. I arrived with 6 minutes to spare but it was super packed and crowded! I tried my best to run through the crowd, dodging people left and right, and ran into TriMonster coach Hootie who directed me to the where the entrance to the Corral A was. I made it with 4 mins to spare before the start and (ambitiously) entered just behind the 7:00min/mile pace sign! A little bit of light stretching and I was ready to go... but I forgot my pre-race goo packet! Oh well, the weather is nice (high 50s to 60, sunny, and wind only 3-6mph) and I'm ready to go!

The Race...

BLAM the race begins! It was a little tough at the start with a lot of slow runners (why do these people line up with 6 and 7 min pace groups?!), but I started out fast averaging a 6:57min first mile... I still seem to have trouble going too fast when the excitement of the race hits me and I panic about being stuck behind slower runners who ruin my pacing.

My heart is pumping high because I didn't have a lot of time to cool down before the start, but I manage to find a comfortable pace and stick with it. I glance at my Garmin every so often, but try to pay more attention to how I feel. Mile 2 is 7:11min/mile... nice and fast but I'm not hurting too bad.

As I hit the first aid station around mile 2, I decide to grab water because I'm a bit dehydrated. I pop 4 endurolytes (I only wanted 2-3 but fumbled an extra one out of my pouch by accident), down a couple ounces of water, and continue on... this will probably be my only water stop of the race.

The rest of the race was happily uneventful. I found a couple girls wearing Fleet Fleet Racing Club shirts which motivated me to keep up with them. Eventually one of them kept going a little a head of me and then a little behind me and by mile 3 or 4 we started running side by side. I lost her for a bit as I wanted to keep my pace as steady as possible, but eventually we got back together and paced really well side by side. We chatted for a bit here and there and when she told me she was aiming for a 7:15min/mile pace, I decided to stay by her side and aim for that because at this point, that was pretty much what I was averaging anyhow!

The Finish...

We run stride for stride together, passing a good number of people and eventually make it back to soldier field where I sprint to the 50 yard (side)line and finish in 1:11:37 (according to my garmin). I high fived my new running buddy after the finish and quickly went to go re-hydrate!

Post-race Analysis....

My Garmin measured 10.03 miles, so pretty much spot on considering I zig zagged around a few folks... so that gave me a 7:09min/mile roughly. I'll have to check for the official results tomorrow, but I was really happy about this overall (even though I didn't follow my strategy perfectly) because my pacing was really, really steady - check this out.....

Mile 1 - 6:57 min/mile - HR at 162 bpm - a little fast out of the gates running around slowbies

Mile 2 - 7:11 pace - 170 bpm

Mile 3 - 7:11 pace - 172 bpm

Mile 4 - 7:02 pace - 176 bpm - a little too fast, better slow down...

Mile 5 - 7:11 pace - 176 bpm - heart rate is steady, nice...

Mile 6 - 7:15 pace - 176 bpm

Mile 7 - 7:12 pace - 178 bpm

Mile 8 - 7:13 pace - 177 bpm

Mile 9 - 7:17 pace - 177 bpm

Mile 10 - 7:02 pace - 182 bpm (max 189 bpm) - I always finish with a strong sprint!

With the exception of the first and last mile, all of my miles were within 15 seconds of each other and if you exclude mile 4, they were all within 6 seconds of each other. I remember looking down at my Garmin throughout the race and seeing 7:11 min/mile pace almost every single time, so I knew I was pacing well. Wow, I've never paced this steady in a race before! And this is almost 50 seconds per mile faster than my previous best 2 years ago! I think this Ironman thing is paying out great dividends!!!

From now on, 7:11min/mile will be my target pace for races of this distance because I felt I could lock in and keep it going at the "7-11" pace. I will call this my "Slurpee Pace" (because I always loved coke slurpees from 7-Eleven convenience stores)!

Confidence is high going in to the San Diego Marathon next weekend...

Photos:

http://www.fotojack.com/photo/?race=1203&val=84&sel=2&sid=f11a0f88c4499833b3b3415997fb789b

Race Report: Run to Remember 5k - scary fast!!!

2009-05-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this past Saturday I just ran my first 5k race of the year - the Chicago Police Memorial's Run to Remember 5k down by Soldier Field (http://www.cpdmemorial.org/run/). This is one of my favorite races for a few reasons...

It's right down the street from me - 10min jog
They start the race with a Chicago Police helicopter doing a low flying buzz over the start line, then following the race from above with sirens blaring - it makes you feel like a pro athlete being followed by a TV helicopter!
The post race food/drink spread is AMAZING - water, all flavors of gatorade, brownies, apples, bananas, english muffins w/ Jam, blueberry muffins, Oreo cookies, Pizza... you name it, they have it!
It's a CARA and Fleet Feet event, so you can get discounted registration (even though the even is already pretty inexpensive to begin with)!

Anyhow, I digress from my RACE REPORT...

Pre-Race Mood is Good

Despite my usual lack of sleep, I felt strong and decided I had been working out enough to warrant an attempt at a PR at this race. My friend Mia also got me some new lightweight Mizuno shoes that I had just taken for a few runs, felt great on my feet, and were much more geared for racing than my old, heavy New Balance shoes which had way too many miles on them already. So, I knew this would be as good a time as any to go for it! New lightweight shoes + being in great shape = great formula for a good race day, right???

The Start...

I lined up near my usual spot... closer to the front (to avoid fighting my way around slower runners who always mistakenly line up near the front for some reason), but at least 50 feet back from the start line so that I'm not starting out of my league with the real sprinters.

BLAM!!! The starting gun fires and we're off!!!

Apparently even though I thought I was near the front, I must've started too far back as I quickly found myeslf passing people, running a blazing sub-6min/mile pace. I quickly reeled that back after realizing I was going way too fast for my own good as I passed the first mile marker averaging a 5:57min first mile! My heart rate was increasing fast... averaging 171bpm on the first mile! Focusing on a fast but efficient stride, I tried hard to hold on to a good steady pace, dropping a bit down to a 6:18min second mile to keep my heart rate from exploding. Unfortunately it kept rising... 183bpm on mile 2.

I tried my hardest to keep the pace up without giving in too much, thinking about all the pointers I had learned a few weeks back from my Well Fit running assessment with Sharone Aharon... quick strides with a high cadence, land on your toes directly below your body, lean a little (but don't bend your waist) forward, kick back, lift your ankles, look towards the ground about 15 feet ahead of you and let gravity push you forward. Feeling a little cramp on my side, I tried to reel it back a little more even though I knew I was still running pretty well.... I could still see the race leaders rounding the Shedd Aquarium as I was running along Monroe Harbor just a few minutes behind!

Final Stretch...

As I approached the 3 mile mark, going around the Shedd Aquarium and through the brand new lakefront bike path's underpass at Solidarity Drive (which had just opened the day before), I did a quick check on my watch. I had dropped to a 6:36min pace and my heart rate was still increasing way up to a 185bpm average on mile 3! But I also realized that I had a great chance to set a PR if I could just keep it up a little longer! In fact, I knew I might even have a chance to break the 20 minute mark that I've always wanted to achieve!

The Finish...

Re-energized mentally, I sprinted the final tenth of a mile uphill, past two more runners, pushing a hard 5:35min/mile pace with a 190bpm heart rate thumping right out of my chest... I crossed the finish line just as the clock ticked 19 minutes and 39 seconds - a new personal best!!!

A Happy Runner I am!

After hanging out briefly with fellow TriMonster-triathlete-in-training Clare after the race to cool down and stretch, I quickly jogged home since I had to meet my Ironman training buddy Erin to head up to Wisconsin for a bike ride. I may have looked strange while jogging with 2 bottles of gatorade, an apple, banana, and blueberry muffin in hand, but I couldn't have had a bigger smile on my face that morning!

Race Results...

The best news came when I got back from Wisconsin on Sunday night and checked the race results online... I finished 14th overall and 3rd place in my age group!!! To top it off, this qualified me for an award (though I left the race too early to stick around for the awards ceremony?), including a $5 incentive reward from the Fleet Feet Racing Club for taking a podium spot in my age group!

Finally... am I a "real" Athelete?

Does this mean I'm now a "real" athlete because I've won money while racing??? Even though I won an indoor triathlon series before (which only had 20-30 competitors) and received a gift certificate for $100 for a new pair of shoes, this pretty much takes the cake as my best race finish ever since it was in a race with over 1,400 other runners!

I'm running on a really nice high this week!!!

A special thanks to Mia for those new Mizuno shoes... they rock!!!

The dangers of being a triathlete...

2009-05-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

... if you're spending 5+ hours sweating in the sun, you better watch out for skin cancer!!! Here's a useful guide for self assessment from the American Academy of Dermatology at http://www.melanomamonday.org/

http://www.melanomamonday.org/documents/08_402%20Melanoma%20Monday%20Mole%20tear-Off.pdf

Of course this would never replace having a dermatologist check you out, but awareness and knowledge about this stuff can't hurt!

THE ZONE!!!!

2009-04-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

I found it! Somewhere out there along the misty Chicago lakefront running path I finally found it... I finally found "the zone"! I'm talking about the type of "runner's high" one can only experience after consuming about a dozen endurolytes (sodium/potassium supplements) and 18 clif shot blok... when you're over a half marathon into a long run and you begin to feel like you've morphed from flesh and bones to gears and metal, from mortal man to machine... to ironman!

It happens when your body is worn out, but you somehow begin running faster and faster, mile after mile... 8:43min on mile 14, 8:41 mile 15... you begin feeling stronger but don't understand how... 8:30 mile 16 and 17, 8:19 mile 18... you were planning to stop there, but your legs still feel fresh so you just keep running and running... 8:12 mile 19... and before you know it you're running those last few blocks that you usually walk home to cool down... sprinting the last half mile at a 7:42min/mile pace...

I think it's safe to say I just had that type of a breakthrough workout tonight! My confidence going into my last month of marathon training (I recently signed up for the San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon on 5/31) is very, very high... as this was quite possibly (dare I say?) my best run ever!!!

I really felt like I nailed the nutrition in a perfect run, even though it wasn't as much as I thought I would need. The weather was equally perfect for evening running... 60 degrees dropping to 53 with a calm 7-10mph cross wind. I drank about 6 oz of CytoMax Citrus (similar to Gatorade Endurance?), and about 24-48 oz of water at abot 6-10 different water fountains. I averaged 150bpm heart rate (170max) and burned about 2,627 calories (5.0 lbs of sweat, not including fluid intake which would've mean about 8.0 lbs of sweat?!). I briefly stopped 2 miles into my run to purchase IMAX tickets to next week's Star Wars movie release, but other than that I finished what was supposed to be an 18 mile run doing 19.53 miles in 2:47:01 for an 8:33min/mile average pace. For comparison, the last time I ran this far (excluding my Chicago marathon blunder in the heat last year) was during the CARA Ready to Run 20 miler where I ran/walked the last 7 miles averaging over 10:00min/mile, finishing in 3:11:57 for roughyl a 9:30min/mile pace... so that's almost a full minute per mile that I shaved off my run compared to last year!!!

Shaving a full hour off my Chicago marathon time from last year might actually be a possibility this fall if I keep this up... Sarah Palin and Oprah Winfrey look out - I'm gunning to beat your marathon PRs!

I'm reallly stoked and looking forward to tapering into a nice easy week of running while I ramp up my cycling this weekend!

For reference, I need to recount my nutrition plan before I forget....

- 1 package of shot bloks (2 servings, 6 pieces) roughly every 45mins (3 total), chewing slowy while running about 0.25 mile each time, drinking a small amount of water to wash it all down.

- About 12 endurolytes, roughly 2 every 2 miles starting about 4 miles into the run.

- No nutrition after mile 15 or 16, just small amounts of water.

I'm going to try the same strategy on my next 20 mile run to see if this same trategy works... wish me luck!!

Why is it so hard to have a consistent training schedule in Chicago?

2009-04-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here is one reason why...

The weather is 31 degrees at 11am on a Thursday right now (feels like 20 degrees with 15mph wind chill)... and yes, it's sunny out and only 20 degrees fahrenheit!!

Tomorrow and the next day... the forecast is also sunny and windy (20mph+ steady winds), so you'd think it would be relatively the same, right? Wrong! ... it's supposed to be (and "feel like") 80-81 degrees the next two days!!!

How crazy is that? Imagine if you didn't check the weather forecast for just one day and just looked out the window to decide what to wear for your daily run or bike ride around the same time of day... one day you'd be frostbiten and the next day it would be over 50-60 degrees warmer while you're sunburned and sweating buckets!!!

I don't know many other places in the world where the temperature swings so rapidly. I recall a 1-2 day period last summer where the temperature swung 80 degrees... yes, 80 degrees in less than 2 days!

Crazy!

Nutrition alternatives?

2009-04-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

Some products I'm curious to try... picked up off the Tri Talk podcast and Rod Riley's (Highland Park Trek Store) twitter stream...

e-Gel electrolyte energy gels - http://www.cranksports.com/products/eGel/
Motortabs (sports drink tablets) - http://www.motortabs.com/
Myogenesis - http://www.myogenesis.net

Anyone else have suggestions on endurance nutrition alternatives?

Wow!

2009-04-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

Not that I would ever try anything even remotely close to this, but how much fun would commuting to work be if you had bike skills like this?!...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o

... found of Robbie Ventura's twitter stream.

Week 3... time to think about nutrition!

2009-04-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

Watch my weekend long ride on Garmin Connect...

http://connect.garmin.com/player/3930943

This week I went back up to the fine farm country around Pleasant Prairie to get in 66 miles of riding and 3.1 miles of running. Totalling 4 hours of exercise and 4,500 calories burned... it was a real test of nutrition! This week the new addition to my nutritional arsenal was the softflask, and it seemed to work pretty well! Think goo packet, only about 6-8 times the size size... annd it fits nicely into your jersey back pocket!

http://www.venturedesignworks.com/softflask.html

So with the softflask in mind, let's think nutritional strategy for a minute. One of the resources I really like is Gordo Bryn's Endurance Corner Library excerpts from his book Going Long (2nd edition):

Intereting tidbits:

Unless you have prior success, avoid protein, lactose and fruits/vegetables on race day and the preceding 24 hours.
SLOW DOWN-this is key. As your heart rate rises, blood is shunted from your intestines, effectively stopping absorption. An average hr of 140 that includes several periods of 170, will shut your gut down more than a steady average hr of 145.
Belching and reflux can be a sign things are backing up. Flatus or “passing gas” is usually a sign that the digestive tract is moving things in the right direction.

Based on this, as well as other resources and personalization, I'm planning the following race day nutrition plan (to be practiced during long runs/rides)...

Pre-race (breakfast, 3 hours before race, followed by stretching):

1 banana (150 calories)
1 blueberry bagel w/ peanut butter (500-600 calories)
1-2 bottles of Boost or Ensure (depending on length of event) (230-690 calories)
1 bottle of water (0 calories)
1 glass of gatorade endurance (16 oz, 100 calories)
2 FRS healthy energy chews (40 calories)

Supplements:

1 Centrum Performance Multivitamin
1 Fish Oil, Flax, Borage
2 Glucosamine Triple Strength
2 Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium
1 1,000mg Vitamin C
1 Echinecia

That's a total of 970 to 1,200 calories. For longer distance races, I might add another bottle of Boost.

Pre-race snacks (1-2 hours before race):

1 bottle of Boost per hour
1 bottle of gatorade endurance per hour (12-24oz)
12-24 oz water

Race start (1 hour before race):

Only drink water

During race (running/cycling, goal 200-600 calories per hour):

A good goal would be 200-600 calories per hour with 1,000mg of sodium (according to Gordo?), so I'll plan to alternate the following every 15mins (or double the amounts every 30mins)...

4oz gatorade endurance, 2 endurolytes, 1 gel packet (1.25oz)
6oz water, 1/2 clif shot packet

This would give me an hourly total of... 430 calories, 650mg sodium, 280mg potassium, 40g sugar in the form of...

4 endurolytes = 160mg sodium, 200mg calcium, 100mg potassium
2 gel packets (hammer, orange) = 180 calories, 50mg sodium, 4g sugar
1 pack cliff bloks = 200 calories, 240mg sodium, 40mg potassium, 24g sugar
8oz gatorade endurance = 50 calories, 200mg sodium, 90mg potassium, 12g sugar
12oz water

Is this enough for an endurance event like a marathon or ironman? If I really need to try and take in 1,000mg of sodium, I would need another 350mg, or roughly 8 *more* endurolytes per hour (for a total of 12 endurolytes per hour!)... but would this be too much sodium with not enough water?! Should I also stick to just hammer gel or clif shots? I don't know... but what I do know is that I'll need to do a lot of experimenting!

Next week...

We head to Verona, WI to ride one loop of the hilly ironman bike route with the Vision Quest group... how exciting!!!

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/wi/verona/279124020046355662

Transition from bike to run like a pro!

2009-04-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Check out this clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH6Bc3kiVGM

Week 2 is in the books!

2009-04-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

Finishing week 2 with a solid 16 mile long run in 32 degrees is not exactly what I had in mind... especially when the forecast was for 50 degrees with calm winds! But somehow Mother Nature decided to have some fun, bringing in thick clouds and nasty increase in headwind on my way home.

You know, you never fully realize how painful a headwind can be when you start your run with a srong wind on your back... because when you turn around and get a 30-40mph change in apparent wind, you really feel how brutal wind can be! Especially when you are 7 miles from home and it's already cold out to begin with! Gloves would've been a good idea today, but oh well... I simply stretched thelong sleeves of mytechnical shirt over my fingers and toughed it out! I guess the lesson learned is to always plan for the worst and bring gloves whenever the weather forecast is below 45 degrees! So this will be my friendly tip of the week! And here are a few more...

Runner's World - 10 Tip for Running in the Cold

Runner's World - Cold Weather

Sunday's long run summary

For those of you who like numbers... 16.46 miles, 9:17 min/mile (2:32:51 total time), 142 bpm heart rate (158 bpm max), 2.4 lbs lost. Weather... in 32-42 degree temp w/ 10-20mph winds). Nutrition... about 40 oz of water, 1 pack of clif bloks, 4 clif shots, and 8-10 endurolytes.. for a total of 600 calories in 6.5oz of nutrition (and 40oz water). If I consumed about 3 lbs of water & nutrition while losing 2.4 lbs overall, that means I must've sweat/burned off 5.4lbs! I finished the last 2 miles strong, but not enough for a negative split overall... the headwind over the last 7 miles was just too much to overcome!

Friday/Saturday... 54 miles of power!

On Friday, I shelled out way too much money for a new wheel for my bike... with the PowerTap SL+ power meter hub! This special wheel (which actually costs more than my entire bike alone!), now let's me measure my power output in wattage while cycling - and it sends the data real time to the Garmin Edge 705 that my mom bought me for Christmas!

What's the big deal about measuring power? Well, for one I like numbers and it let's me measure my workouts with a more meaningful number than just speed or heart rate that effectively compensates for terrain (hills, wind, etc.). Secondly, this wheel is important because it'll help me determine how best to pace myself during long rides... like the ironman! Since I probably have to cycle for a good 6-7 hours nonstop to complete the 112 mile bike leg of the ironman race this fall, it's crucial that I know how much energy to exert without burning myself out before the marathon. I can't imagine a worse feeling than being completely worn out coming off the bike, only to realize that I still have a full 26.2 miles of marathon running ahead of me!!!

On Saturday, I went back up to Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin for another long ride with my IM training partner Erin. So how did my first "power" ride go? I generated 201 watts over 3 hours and 10 minutes. Or in other words, my workout was a solid 13 (compact flourescent) lightbulbs! I guess that's also enough power to keep a low-power PC running for 3 hours... not too bad! Maybe I should build one of these bike machines and hook it up to a power generator and see if I can cut down on my electric bill:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cjmAt96WEI&feature=related

Other stats on my ride... a nice easy 17.1 mph with 146 bpm heart rate average (160 bpm max) over 54.07 miles averaging a 84.3 rpm cadence. Max speed was 34.2 mph on a long downhill. I didn't push it too hard and tried to pace myself as I would for the ironman... and I hit my target threshold heart rate (145 bpm) almost dead on even though I averaged about 10 watts more than my target as based on my VQ Blood Lactate test a few weeks back. I wonder if this means I got 10 watts stronger during the past couple weeks, or if that VQ test has a 5% margin of error, or perhaps a little of both? I guess we'll see how things go over the next couple long rides.

It's still too early to forecast my ironman performance, especially considering that I still haven't ridden the actual bike course of the race, but after week 2 I feel like I could probably push a little harder and average 17.9 mph for a 6 hour 15 min bike split for 112 miles. Am I being too optimistic? Perhaps. :-)

Video blog of week 2... coming soon!

4.6 pounds of sweat!

2009-04-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

So I ran 9.02 miles today in 1:12:42 (8:03 min/mile pace) with a solid pick-up in pace over the last 3 miles. Heart rate averaged 158 bpm with a 175 bpm max and the temperature was 53 degrees with 9-17mph winds.

Now, I thought last week's 3.6 pounds of sweat lost over 10.15 miles was an anomaly, but today I lost a whopping 4.6 pounds of sweat!!! That sets a new record of 0.51 pounds of sweat lost per mile!!! Tell me that doesn't seem crazy to you! I think I'll have to measure this more and call this my new "spm" (sweat per mile) ratio!

I also decided to do a little research this time and stumbled upon this article from Runner's World:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,ssss6-242-302--10084-2-1-2,00.html

According to this guideline, I should've been drinking 5.1 ounces of water per mile for a total of 46 ounces of water, yet I only drank 5 ounces in total.... so yeah, I might need to work on that hydration thing a little more! According to my weight loss (73.6 ounces) and water consumed (5 ounces), I should be drinking 8.7 ounces per mile to maintain my weight! Man, something tells me I sweat a lot more than the average person!

Where to shop for bikes & tri gear in Chicago?

2009-04-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've been asked this question a lot in past weeks, so I decided to blog about it for future reference. I'll start with a few tips and then provide some links...

Tip #1 - Check store websites for special discounts and sales.

Village Cycle Shop posts coupons on their website. Kozy has special discounts on their website that you can't get in store sometimes. Find shops using the Chicago Bike Shop Database website.

Tip #2 - Sign up for Bike Shop Email Lists

Often times shops will send out announcements on upcoming sales & events (free bike maintenance sessions, etc.). Find signup forms on the shop's website.

Tip #3 - Join a club for member discounts!

The Active Transportation Alliance (formerly the Chicago Bicycle Federation), Chicago Tri Club, and other similar groups get regular 10-15% discounts of new bikes and apparel at most bike shops in townl. Some gym memberships provide discounts as well. This is especially useful when you're buying a new bike when a $50 annual membership fee to a club could save you over $100 on a new bike! Here are some examples:

- FFC gym members get 10-15% off at Kozy

- Active Transportation Alliance gets 10-15% of Village Cycle Shop

- Chicago Tri Club members get 10-20% off at Get A Grip

Tip #4 - Price compare online!

Check online stores and mail order catalog shops like PerformanceBike (even though they have a shop in chicago as well, their online store has a greater selection), Bike Nashbar, etc. You may be able to find a good deal online but negotiate and get a price match at a local shop!

Tip #5 - Read reviews online!

Depending on what you're shopping for, look online for reviews before you buy! Websites like www.roadbikereview.com and www.bicycling.com have databases of reviews on bikes and gear. Most shops only cary specific brands of bikes, so especially if you're in the market for tri bikes, do your homework online to learn about other options, then you'll be well informed when shopping at your local bike shop.

Tip #6 - Used = big discount!

If you need something real cheap and don't mind older bikes, check local bike recycling/donation centers like the Working Bikes Cooperative where you can get bikes for $50-$100. For a bit more you can also search www.craigslist.org for local postings (great for used tri bikes!), or search bulletin boards.

Tip #7 - Wait for big annual or garage sale events!

Springtime brings several large sale events to most bike shops. Village Cycle Sport in the suburbs just had a garage sale last weekend and the Trek store in Highland Park has a big joint garage sale with Vision Quest coming up the weekend after next:

http://www.visionquestcoaching.com/general.php?id=1047

Anyone else have good suggestions?

Ok, now here are some links. You can find most of these on the right side of my blog under Triathlon & Bike Shops

- Chicago Bike Shop Database - Google map of shops w/ reviews

- Yelp.com - Google Map of shops w/ reviews

- Active Transportation Alliance (ATA) - Member Discounts

- Chicago Tri Club (CTC) - Member Discounts

- Chicago Tri Club (CTC) - Forums - Classified

- Craiglist.org - Chicago - Used Bikes

- Working Bikes Cooperative - Refurb Bike Shop

Specific Shop Comments:

- Kozy - multiple locations, large selection, great discounts on prior year model triathlon shorts & shirts, discount for FFC members. Coupons on website. Good place to buy your first road bike.

- Village Cycle Shop - huge inventory of bikes, discount for ATA members. Good place to buy your first road bike. Coupons on website.

- Get A Grip - great staff at a smaller shop on Irving focuses on higher end bikes including nice selection of tri bikes, great discounts for CTC members (10-20%). Great place to buy a higher end bike - great loyalty perks. They also run their own racing team.

- Trek Store of Highland Park - New shop with discounts for Vision Quest members! Joint partnership with VQ provides services like RETUL pro fitting, computrainer sessions, threshold tests, etc.

- Element Multisport - smaller triathlon specific shop carries models not found in other shops. Runs RETUL pro fitting, computrainer classes, and functional threshold tests ($20). Think smaller version of Get A Grip w/ Vision Quest - part bike shop, part bike fit studio, part cycling workout studio.

- Mission Bay Multisport - triathlon specific shop recently reopened (under a new name... MOX?). May soon have discounts - website still to be reopened.

- Trek Store on Michigan Ave - smaller shop, nice service deals. Discounts for ATA members. Right near lakefront bike path for test rides! They run group rides on Sunday morning and Cat 3 racing team rides on Mondays at 6:30pm.

... I hope this helps!!

Week 1 is done!

2009-04-06T01:43:00.000-07:00

What better way to end the first week of ironman training, than by playing some beach volleyball! Granted it was 30 degrees with 30mph winds and hailing... but if you're going to be a true "iron" man, you can't let a little bad weather stop you!

Chicago had the international olympic committee (IOC) in town to evaluate the city for hosting the 2016 olympic games, and setup several free events for the public to participate and show their support (hence the picture of me by the olympic triathlon sign). I joined in a free supported run event in the morning to get a nice long 15 mile run in (even though it was below freezing, windy, and sleeting a bit). The run went well considering the weather, I averaged a 9:22 min/mile pace and 149 bpm heart rate, but I'm hoping for better next time because I slowed down in the second half of the run too much (sub 9 min/mile first half and 9:50 min/mile second half). Though perhaps that decrease in speed could be attributed to the 20mph wind that I had at my back on the way out but as a headwind on the way back! My fingers nearly froze off, but it was well worth it for the free Chicago style hot dog and can of coke at the end... yum!

After that, I participated in a free beach volleyball event at North Ave beach with my friend Oscar. We played until the freezing sleet turned into pelting hail... check out that picture of the hail!

Overall it was a great first week of training, even though I didn't get enough swimming time in... and that's what I need to work on the most! Oh well, maybe I can make up for it in week 2? I can only hope...

Week 1 video recap:

Listen to your Heart!

2009-04-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

Thinking more about heart rate, which is absolutely crucial for long endurance races, I begin to wonder how exactly I should listen to my heart. I know I need to keep my average around 145 bpm for long endurance rides according to my Vision Quest Fitness Perfomance Test on my blood lactate levels (though I think I could push 150 bpm without much trouble). Averaging 140 bpm over 40 miles on the bike this weekend was easy, so I'll need to crank it up a bit next week to see what type of strong pace I can keep without building up too much lactate!

That said, since I'm supposed to train using heart rate "zones" let's look at this a little more. I've seen several charts on heart rate zones, so let's compare two of them... my Vision Quest zones and those suggested by "Start to Finish Ironman Training: 24 Weeks to an Endurance Triathlon" by Paul Huddle and Roch Frey (2004).

VQ Zone | VQ HR | IM24 Zone | IM24 HR

Zone 1 Recovery ->105bpm Easy ->70% = 136

Zone 2 Endurance 105-130 Medium 71-80% = 137-155

Zone 3 Tempo 130-150 Tempo 81-90% = 157-175

Zone 4 Threshold 150-165 Hard 91% MHR = 176

Zone 5 VO2 Power 165-170 N/A

Zone 6 Anaerobic 170+ N/A

I find it interesting that these zones vary so much. Firstly, Huddle&Frey don't have Zone 5 and Zone 6, so I can understand their compressed zone chart being a bit different than VQ's, but the fact that a "Tempo" pace can be considered so different is very interesting (Huddle&Frey's Tempo is equal to VQ's Threshold?). I personally like VQs better as it really focuses on your Lactate Threshold which I think is the most important zone to be aware of - and differentiates it from your VO2 Max and Tempo zones.

Now let's compare this to HR zones suggested by "Going Long: Training for Iron Distance Triathlons" (Joe Friel & Gordo Byrn, 2nd Edition, 2009). They actually break out zones into 7 categories by discipline (swim/bike/run) with heart rates based off of your Functional Threshold (FT) pulse. But what is my FT pulse? According to vision quest, my Lactate Threshold (same as functional?) pulse was only 145 bpm, but during my last 40min supermax performance test, I averaged nearly 169 bpm. That's a big difference!

Friel&Byrn do note that for swim, they use pace instead of heart rate since it's not practical for most to use heart rate monitors while swimming. And for the bike, they suggest using power based testing to determine your threshold heart rate, so let's take a look at their zone chart for me based on my WellFit & VQ functional threshold power (FTP) tests of approximately 253 watts (averaged between 255 watts on my 30min WellFit test and 253 watts on 40min VQ test).

HR Zone| CPZone | Descriptn | PZ | % FTP | My Power | VQ

Zone 1 1/2 CP12 Easy 1 ->56 ->142 ->135

Zone 2 CP180-240 Steady 2 56-75 142+ 135+

Zone 3 CP90 Mod-Hard 3 76-90 193+ 185+

Zone 4 CP60 FT 4 91-105 231+ 220+

Zone 5a CP30 Hard-Very 5 106-120 269+ 255+

Zone 5b CP6 VO2 Max 6 121-150 307+ 255+*

Zone 5c CP0.2-1 Max Effort 7 >150 381-1104 295+*

Interestingly, they use a chart that converts heart rate zones to 7 power zones (PZ in my chart above) which closely match VQ except that Friel&Byrn have an extra category/zone between FT and VO2 Max. Interestingly, if you look at how I extrapolated my VQ power values (*), I had to use the same value for Zone 5a and 5b to fit this in. "My Power" was calculated using my FTP average of 254 watts broken out by Frield&Byrn's % of FTP for each zone. "CPZone" is the critical power zone which means an all out effort for X minutes (e.g. CP30 = all out effort for 30 mins). All in all, it looks like VQ and Going Long (GL) use very similar scales, subject of course to my rough approximation and interpretation of my threshold tests to date.

HR Zone| CPZone | Descriptn | PZ | % FTP | My Power | HR**

Zone 1 1/2 CP12 Easy 1 ->56 ->142 ->138

Zone 2 CP180-240 Steady 2 56-75 142-192 138-151

Zone 3 CP90 Mod-Hard 3 76-90 193+ 152-157

Zone 4 CP60 FT 4 91-105 231+ 158-168

Zone 5a CP30 Hard-Very 5 106-120 269+ 169-172

Zone 5b CP6 VO2 Max 6 121-150 307+ 173-178

Zone 5c CP0.2-1 Max Effort 7 >150 381-1104 179+

The chart above shows my target HR zones (**) based off GL's chart which uses my cycling functional threshold power test... as best I could determine (I used my 169 bpm average heart rate from my 40min VQ test which was actually measured during the last 30 mins of my VQ test). I really like this chart because it feels accurate. I typically recover around 130-140 bpm on my bike and only exceed 170 bpm during very hard efforts with 180 exceeded only very rarely for brief periods of time.

GL suggests racing at the bottom end of Zone 2 for novice athletes and up to 5% above Zone 2 for elite athletes. This is pretty much exactly what my VQ test told me (aim for 190 watts and 145 bpm on the bike for best performance). I'll have to test this theory out during long practice rides (starting next week?).

Thanks Mom!

Thanks to the Garmin Edge 705 bike computer that my mom gave me for Christmas this year, I just programmed in these heart rate zones so now 1) I can not only display my average heart rate while cycling so that I can average an effort as closely to the middle of zone 2 as possible (145bpm), but 2) I can also program in heart rate zone alerts so that I don't go too slow or too fast and have a perfectly paced race... how cool is that?!!! It's like having mom on my bike with me coaching me along the way - "Don't go too fast or you'll hurt yourself!"

In summary, all of this "scientific" heart rate stuff appears to be a bit subjective depending on who you're using (or reading) as your coach(ing aid), but the more sources of information I seek out, the more I'm learning about myself and what I'm capable of for an all-day race like the ironman. And since I have a tendency to go out fast and burn out, learning these limits (and using technology to coach me through the race using these limits!) is oh so crucial to my efficiency and hopefully maximizing my potential and overall experience at Ironman Wisconsin in 23 weeks!

Nice easy 40 miles in farm country

2009-04-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Rode 40.42 miles on the bike today up in Pleasant Prairie, WI with my iron(wo)man training partner Erin!

The weather whas chilly (think frost on the ground, patches of snow, freezing fingers and toes, etc.), but overall it was a nice easy first weekend long ride averaging 17mph (excluding a few stops to fix a flat, eat a quick snack, etc.). Ran into some horses while changing a flat with Erin and apparently a dog chased after my but I didn't even notice... maybe my ears were too frozen! Heart rate stayed well below threshold at 140 bpm average with 159 max. Chris' Cadence: averaged 84 rpm - I'd like to see that up over 90 rpm and it probably would've been but I spent the last 7 miles or so mostly out of the sadle doing slower cadence work... my butt was just too sore to stay seated for that long! Maybe I should try a new bike saddle?

We finished with a nice 2.3 mile transition run (right after biking). Did a nice easy 8:37 min over the first mile, 7:56 min on the second mile, and 7:35 min/mile pace over the final 0.3... solid negative split. My heart rate averaged 150 bpm (144 / 155 /159 each segment)... overall a nice & easy first weekend. Confidence is high for the bike & run!

Next weekend: Steady 50 miles with more speed and nutrition work... and maybe stretch it to a full 5k transition run afterwards so that I don't go too hard. Going shorter just doesn't make much sense anymore!!

Hmmm... it's supposed to cold and rainy tomorrow but my marathon training plan (for the San Diego marathon which I still haven't decided if I should do) calls for 15 miles. Ugh, tomorrow could be painful!

Vision Quest Supermax Test

2009-04-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

Just did a VQ Supermax Test this morning (40 min all out effort on virtual hills using a computrainer) to measure my Lactate Threshold Power (LTP). I believe the Blood Lactate Test I did exactly 1 week ago only approximates LTP, so I'm thinking this is a more accurate measurement of my threshold power. It also more closely matches a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test I did with Well-Fit a few weeks ago where I averaged 255 watts (though that one was only for 30 mins on an all flat course)...

Test: VQ 40 minutes Supermax Test

Course: VQ Morgal Bismark II

Date: 3/4/2009

Lactate Threshold Power (LTP): 253 watts

LT Power to Weight: 3.2 watts/kg

Weight: 175 lbs (79.5kg)

I was averaging about 250 watts for the duration of the test but cranked out an extra couple watts at the end with a hard, out of the saddle effort for about 2-3 minutes.

I weighed myself at home without gear on and I was only 171 lbs, so that would put me more realistically at 3.26 watts/kg. But that's still a far cry from where I'd like to be though... at least 3.5-4.0 watts/kg!

This also changes my Training Zones a little bit:

Training Zone | Power | HR(bpm)| RPE | Duration

Zone 1: Recovery ->140 ->105* 1-2 5+ hrs

Zone 2: Endurance 140-190 105-130* 3-4 4-5 hrs

Zone 3: Tempo 190-230 130-150* 5-6 2-3 hrs

Zone 4: Threshold 230-265 150-165* 7-8 30-60mins

Zone 5: VO2 Max 265-305 165-170* 9 1-5mins

Zone 6: Anaerobic >305 >170bpm* 10 ->1min

*Not sure what my heart rate should be because other than my average heart rate (169) those levels weren't measured during the test, so I just copied the same heart rate zones from my fitness test last week. Note however that if this Supermax Test was in the Threshold Zone and my heart rate averaged 169, then the HR zones above should probably be increased by at least 5bpm.

Vision Quest Performance Test

2009-04-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

I received my full Fitness Performance Test Summary in the mail today from Robbie Ventura!

Body Fat = 14.4% (Average)

I knew I could use a little improvement to get my winter gut slimmed down! "Pounds to lose" to get to 10% body fat is 8 lbs... let's see where that is in a month or two!

Body Mass Index (BMI) = 25.2 kg/M2 (Overweight)

People never believe me when I say I'm overweight, but this number puts me just slightly into the overweight category - ouch! Time to hit the gym a little more!

Blood Pressure = 60 Diastolic / 114 Systolic

Resting Heart Rate = 76bpm

Lactate Threshold = 245watts @ 162 bpm

My lactate threshold range (aka "1 hour power") is between 238 average watts @ 160 beats per minute hear rate and 245 watts @ 162 bpm. Not bad, but someday I'd like to break 300 watts! My graph showed blood lactate content at a steady 1.6 all the way up to 190 watts @ 145bpm and then started increasing at the 200 watt breakpoint...

190 watts @ 145bpm = 1.6 Lactate (breakpoint = 200 watts @ 150bpm)

220 watts @ 155bpm = 2.6

250 watts @ 163bpm = 4.3

280 watts @ 170bpm = 6.8

310 watts @ 180bpm = 11.2

Peak Explosive Power = 1104 watts (Excellent)

After the Lactate Threshold test, we did an all out effort to determine peak power. This was actually 1104 watts (not 1108 that I previously thought) which puts me in the "Excellent (800+ watts)" category - very nice!

Watts/kg = 3.1 (Average)

My watts generated per kilogram of bodyweight was 3.1 Watts/kg, just "Average." I know I can boost this up once I lose some weight and train some more!

My training zones break down as follows with power (watts) , heart rate (bpm) and rate of perceived exertion (1-10 scale)...

Training Zone | Power | HR(bpm)| RPE

Zone 1: Recovery ->135 ->105> 1-4

Zone 2: Endurance 135-185 105-130 4-6

Zone 3: Tempo 185-220 130-150 6-7

Zone 4: Threshold 220-255 150-165 7-8

Zone 5: VO2 Max 255-295 165-170 8-9

Zone 6: Anaerobic >295 >170bpm 10

Interesting stuff! Another final comment in my report: I need to develop a better evening ritual and sleep more!

This is the Ironman

2009-04-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

Frightening? Maybe. Motivating? Definitely...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EokseUskyDI

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"
width="425" height="350">

The Triathlon Song

2009-04-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

Check this out, it's funny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Fw1GdRKkc

Sweat it out!

2009-04-01T15:49:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder how much you sweat? I know I sweat a lot, but what is "a lot" really? Well let's start measuring it! I just finished my midweek long run (10.15 miles) and weighed myself before and after... and I just lost 3.6 pounds! I knew I sweat a lot, but holy cow, could this be accurate? I wonder what a normal amount is... perhaps something else to research!

Training with Power!

2009-04-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

I just joined Vision Quest Coaching ($165/month) to further enhance my ironman and cycling training by using power measurements. I'm also caving in and buying a pricely little CycleOps PowerTap power meter for my bike ($1,300?!). Many of you know how analytic I can be and how much I like numbers.... so what better way to workout out than by adding a scientific approach to it all! The only number I don't like if how much money this all costs!!!

I guess we'll see if it's all worth it... right now my max power on the bike is about 1100 watts, functional threshold power (FTP) is 245 watts (30-40 min max effort), and Lactate Threshold Power (LTP) is 190 watts. If I spend about $2,000 on all this power equipment and training ($1,300 + $165 x 4 months), what would be a good return on investment (ROI)? Let's say I improve 10% (about 25 watts to 270 in FTP), then I'd be spening about $80 per watt. I think I'd like to see at least a 40 watt (15%) improvement, so $50 per watt perhaps? But is that really worth it??? Ask me again in about 4-6 months and let's see how things go, shall we??

FYI - I've heard that technology will change and get less expensive... maybe someday soon they will have cheaper power meters for your cycling shoes so you can have a power meter to use on any bike you have or even during spin class at the gym too - how cool would that be???

How to Train with Power
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/power411.aspx

Inspiration!

2009-03-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

So I just watched a video my brother made in Boston about the "Bikes not Bombs" program. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q7AgfPqnuU

It inspired me to look into volunteering for the same type of thing in Chicago and look what I found... working on bikes = my type of volunteerism!

http://workingbikes.org/volunteer

I think I may have to look into this... in fact, I just signed up!

My Goals... for 2009 (or beyond?)

2009-03-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

So what better place to post goals than a blog where others can hold you to them? So here goes, my goals both big and small for 2009 and beyond...

1. Survive the 2.4 miles of the Ironman swim!

2. FINISH IRONMAN WISCONSIN on 9/13/2009 (come cheer me on!)

3. Finish a marathon under 4 hours (San Diego Marathon 2009?)

4. Finish a 5K race under 20 minutes

5. Finish a half Ironman in under 6 hours (Steelhead 2009?)

6. Finish a 100 mile bike race under 5 hours (Tour De Tucson 2009?)

7. Finish a 40km cycling time trial under 1 hour (average over 24.86mph... next year?)

8. Finish an olympic distance triathlon in under 2:30

9. Finish a sprint distance triathlon in under 1:20

10. Finish a half marathon in under 1:40

11. Increase cycling Lactate Threshold Power (LTP) to 200 watts (currently 190 watts)

12. Increase cycling peak power output to 1300 watts (currently 1108 watts)

13. Increase cycling Functional Threshold Power (FTP) to 300 watts (currently 245 watts) and power to weight ratio over 4.00 watts/kg

14. Complete the Navy Seal Physical Fitness Test in competitive classification

... any other suggestions???

Shuffling through the snow...

2009-03-29T09:03:00.001-07:00

The running season kicked off here in Chicago today in glorious fashion with the Shamrock Shuffle 8k (4.97 miles) race. It was a nice "balmy" 32 degrees which felt like 20 degrees (-7 Celsius) with the 20-30mph winds and lots of snow and slush. Even with 3 layers of clothes, a warm snow cap, gloves, etc., I could feel my freezing wet toes and extremities going a bit numb. Needless to say, I wasn't setting any PR today, but still managed to push a little and finish in 38:30 (7:42 minutes/mile pace). My heart rate averaged 176 bpm with a max of 186bpm, which made me think about how exactly I'm going to pace myself for an ironman.

Well, thanks to my Fitness Performance Test at Vision Quest with Robbie Ventura two days ago, I learned that my Lactate Threshold (LT) heart rate is about 145bpm when cycling, so now I'm wondering if I should translate that over to running and create a personalized LT "iron heart" chart, mapping out what pace I can run while maintaining my LT heart rate at different temperatures. This could give me realistic goals to estimate marathon performance based on outdoor temperature. Granted, I'll have to factor in 112 miles of cycling and 2.4 miles of swimming beforehand somehow too... ouch!

Logging the Beats of my Ironman Journey

2009-03-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

So here we go... 24 weeks to Ironman Wisconsin! In 168 days I'll be jumping into a lake with thousands of glory seeking athletes, attempting one of the greatest single day challenges of physical endurance. Will I survive over 12 hours of nonstop swimming, cycling, and running to complete the 140.6 mile race? I know I can... but only if I really stick to the next 24 weeks of endurance training with an iron will and one very steady, strong cadence.