Better late than never: Rio Salado Race Report

The coolest club ever...

Another race underneath the proverbial belt! It's been 8 days since Rio Olympic Tri based out of Tempe Town Lake (TTL), and this one was actually a triathlon withvthe lake finally in swim shape...so I'm calling this the first Tri of the season for me. With this year heavily focused on Kona (Oct 8) and IM AZ (Nov 20), right now I'm just focusing on staying in good shape ready to hit the hard stuff once we hit the heat, and the build to Kona. In the same sentence though, racing "for fun" with my ONE teammates keeps the fire burning to improve on short distance/local events...so here's my Rio Salado Olympic Tri race report!  Rio Salado Olympic Results

So to start off, I forgot to put is race in my workoutlog, so Chris AIMP Coaching was unaware of it until the Monday before the race---when he gave me a pretty daunting week leading into the race not only with zero taper, but with a 3 hour bike/90 minute brick run on Friday...and raceday was Saturday. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday all had swims of 4000+ yards, with a bike after the swim on tuesday and a run after the swim on wednesday---yikes!  This has been the norm for the past few weeks..really working monday, tuesday, wednesday, with active recovery on thursday, then a tough weekend starting friday.

Just a cute pic while on a date with Sophia

Bikes were racked friday afternoon---and enjoyed some time with Dan Cadriel, John and Cyndi Dean before heading home to hopefully recover from the friday workouts.  I usually don't have sleeping issues the night before the race (I consider myself lucky!)---I take the mindset into the race that I am "overtrained" for any event other than an IM at this point---and it works for me.  I was up at 4 ish, eating my normal breakie:  scoop of Ultragen, serving of steel cut oats, flax seed powder, craisins, almond milk (about 700 cals total).  I also worked in some EFS and my daily consumption of MultiV and Optygen HP all from First Endurance...can't live without any of it (and I have tried!).  I got to transition decently early, and actually was pretty fired up to race---there was going to be a swim finally!  I had my normal tunes going, my breakfast was treating me well, and I was ready!  Well, ready to race, but I hadn't really worked out a "game plan" yet.  As I warmed up, I sipped on Pre-Race and EFS with water, of course!  I was very excited to have Jenny AND Sophia coming to this race---I love their support and cheering, and it gives me something to look forward to as well as a break in the action on the course.

Transition...

Swim: 23:43...10th overall, 1st in 35-39
I almost forgot my timing chip (thanks Brandon!!!), but managed to slide into the ONE Sailfish wetsuit with moments to spare.  I jumped in and decided I was going to start on the right side---I wanted to see what was happening.  I knew I would go out decently hard, and breathing on my left gave me a full view of who was where once things sorted out after the first 200 yards.  A quick Hi to Jenny and Sophia (yes, they spotted me as I grabbed a quick seat on the docks to adjust my goggles, another Hi to my ONE teammate Anthony Hirschman, and the horn sounded.  I liked the line I was on, and was going stroke for stroke with Kevin Taddonio for the first portion of the "long" out section, then decided to drop in on his feet as we were literally making eye contact on every other stroke (always an interesting situation!).  We hit the first turn and I was settling in well...I think Kevin may have made a bit of a "line error" heading a bit too far to the inside---although my goal is to always swing just a bit wide so I don't have to stop while I make a broader turn.  I ended up losing Kevin at this point and was alone basically till we hit the steps...I was 4th out of the water in my wave (which was male below 40, male pros), and 1st in my division (didn't know this yet).  Thanks Bill...you are becoming a professional spotter!!  My plan on the swim was to stay near the front (whatever that means...), and I was feeling good about the swim.

T1:  0:51.2 secs  I did have a transition plan...keep it abnormally simple!  Helmet on, shoes already clipped in (thanks LG for the helmet and shoes BTW!!!!)...grabbed a couple gel blocks and threw them in my mouth, and I was off---happy with it!

Bike: 62:37...14th overall, 2nd in 35-39

Coolest LG helmet...thanks LG, and Andrew for the shot!

My goal here was to simply not kill myself , both with the amount of effort and the course itself (it was technical with all sorts of tight turns and hairpins...).  I knew I wouldn't have a lot of "extra" power for this due to the training week, but I held my own (somewhat)...looking back though, this is where I lost the race.  I rode the bike pretty much completely alone (of course Kevin T blew by me half way through the first lap...he is a beast on the bike!  He's a swim away from being sensational...)  Outside of the 3 gel blocks, I had no nutrition plan, and took in a bottle of water on the bike as well (needed more water and could have used some more calories).  My plan was for the big breakfast to carry me through the race---it IS only an Olympic!  ;-}}  Inside the final mile, I backed off the intensity just a bit (thus letting Bryan Dunn (eventual winner) catch me from the wave behind) and "spun it out" getting the legs ready to run (meaning: high cadence to simulate high running turnover).  I did beat Bryan into transition at least;-}  he had some "issues" with his shoes...and I have to say he is a pure joy to race with (not against!)...I think we are both out there for the same reasons---to test ourselves, but also have fun!

T2:  0:44.3 secs--again kept it simple, but I always feel like I am forgetting something, so I hesitate before heading out (some day I'll get it!)..shoes were off in the final 100 yards of the bike  (still on the pedals..), helmet was off running to my "spot,"...running shoes on, belt, glasses and watch in hand, then RUN!!!

Run:  38:31...5th overall, 1st in 35-39

Our ELITE Oakleys, courtesy of Airpark
Bikes...they ROCK!!!  Thanks guys!
I wore these on the run...

Onto the run...again no real plan in place other than to first settle in (and not blow it up!), then keep pushing to almost failure.  Everyone was there...the Folts brothers, the Focus Tri Guy (don't know his name), another guy from Tri Sports, then me, with Trevor Sehr and Bryan Dunn right behind me.  Of course I don't count Lewis who was out of sight, and Kevin (both pros) who was within sight , but also can hammer the run.  I was waiting for Bryan to pull up on my shoulder, but that never happened (T2 issues!!!!).  I basically settled in while watching the guys in front of me---the Tri Sports guy quickly dropped off (meaning: he hammered the bike---he was in the wave behind me and passed me, but he was cooked for the run---bikers ;-}  About 2/3's of the way through the first of 2 laps, I caught the Focus Tri Guy, but was also passed by Trevor Sehr (I don't know most of these guys here, but I am learning who to look out for now!).  I realized only at this point that I was in first in the 35-39...cool...just keep it going I thought.  I picked up the pace a bit at the finish of lap 1, but Trevor was having nothing of a battle with me today---we did pass one of the Folts brothers, and trevor was watching me like a hawk 10 yards ahead of me...I knew it would take a huge effort to overtake him, so I stopped thinking I could, and just stayed on him as a pacer not knowing or looking behind for any competition.  I had to take in water throughout the run due to a lack of water intake on the bike (or, next time carry a bottle out of transition dummy), which slows me just a bit, but otherwise I felt pretty good about this run...maybe some gel calories would have suited me better...but I am not complaining!

On the run...

Overall:  2:06:28....4th overall, 1st in 35-39...2nd place was Russ Brandt 2:07:04...phew!
So Ill take it!  All in all feeling pretty happy about the results, finding out who my competition is for future races, but really only caring about challenging myself, enjoying the celebration of my training, and having my family and ONE friends around as well!  BTW, to my ONE teammates volunteering---awesome job!  I saw you everywhere---wetsuit stripping, ice cold water on the course...you rock!!  And Bryan, GREAT WIN!!!  Like I said above, being on the race course with you, Dan Cadriel, John Dean, Super Sue Meno, (missed you Carlos!)...make racing a blast for me!

Nike LunarElite +2...ONE edition (not even
customized!)

Training with Power! (no it's not an engine!)

Being a week later, I have made some changes in my arsenal...thanks Carlos for the SRM hookup and to Airpark Bikes for their continued support of my insanity!  Oh, and check out the newest edition to my Imelda collection:  these are for "wearing around town"...I dunno if I will dare dirty them up!

Road Trip with Dan to Carmichael Training Systems in Tucson....and more...

That Orange is Me!

Pat's Run

ASU Stadium Finish

Last friday was the most important day of this year (so far!) for me when it comes to Triathlon...Blood Lactate Threshold Testing (LT) at CTS in Tucson.   Dan Cadriel (aka Ponch, the Mayor of Triathlon in Phoenix...) is now coached by CTS, and luck would have it, he was needing some testing as well...road trip!  We met up in Ahwatukee can made the journey to Tucson chatting about all sorts of things---Dan is an amazing guy and a stud of an athlete, and I cherish his friendship.  He is gearing up for IM Coeur d'Alene on June 26th, and HE WILL be making the trip to Kona with me---positive thoughts!  It would be so cool to share my first trip to Kona with him, and I can already see Dan, Carlos Mendoza, and I working through the pain together out on the marathon course over there...no pressure Dan!

When it comes to testing, I am more nervous than on any race day morning---testing is scientific, and the numbers never lie.  Last LT was done in September...and we had to pretty much throw out the results because I was overtrained--I couldn't get my heart rate over 135!  Obviously the overtraining worked (right after that testing I rode 400 miles in 3 days from SF to Santa Barbara---OVER over trained!), but now there are no excuses as we are in pre season, Chris has a firm idea on where I am, and it is up to me to execute the workouts
correctly (which sometimes I obviously don't).  So if these results were not successful, I would be writing and entirely different entry here about how stupid I am and how I am just wasting time training harder not smarter (well, I hope I am training harder AND smarter!).  These races like Pat's Run were worrying me, because I throw them in without much thought, and when the workout for the day is really a 2 hour ride with a 90 minute run to follow, I am obviously shooting off course, not knowing what the fallout will be (but I had to do it...the girls at work entered and I really enjoyed seeing them on my second lap on the course!).

Raw Data

Okay, so on to the testing.  How this works is I ride a stationary bike (in this case called a Velotron--see pic on the left!).  After a 10 minute warmup, we increase the power/wattage 25W every 3 minutes (side note: Chris likes every 4, but I didn't want to rock the boat...but will next time!).  The goal of the test is to see how Lactate builds up in my blood as the wattage increases, and this is checked with a prick of my finger near the end of every 3 minute interval (no rest in between, the W simply goes up at a defined time)..they also record Heart Rate at this time to have a HR reference to the wattage.  There is too much data from this test to write here (think Krebs Cycle), but here are the basics: at what wattage & heart rate do I reach Lactate Threshold?  With this data, we can precisely set my heart rate zones (the 220 - your age thing DOES NOT apply!).   So, as you can tell from above, the testing went well (I even got a text from Chris "great numbers!").  Lactate Threshold is simply the point at which you start to accumulate Lactate as your body now cannot keep up with removing "the poison."  Looking at the graph, I can now push anything less than 275W and be in a somewhat "comfortable" effort---if you don't know, that's is PLENTY of power ;-)

So what does "great numbers" mean?  Here is the science behind it:

"Z2" 175-225w l 110-120HR//run 120-127HR  (previously: 180W was Z2; HR is lower)
"Z3" 225-260w l 120-130HR//run 127-135HR  (previously: 200W was Z3; HR is lower)
"Z4" 260-290w l 130-160HR//run 135+  (previously: 220W "ish")

Carmichael Zones

Data Graphed...

The basics of this mean that at the same heart rate, I am able to produce more power (stronger...) on the bike, and with the run zones coming down a bit, I am also more efficient.  What the numbers don't show: I can also work more efficiently at lower heart rates, so if I was running a 7 min/mi pace before at 135, I am now running a 7 min/mi at 127.  The "ah-ha" on that is, before I was running 7:00 in zone 3, and now I am in zone 2 at the same pace (zone 2 obviously being easier than zone 3).  Don't read into the CTS zones as I follow Chris's philosophy as I know it works for me and everyone else he coaches.

So what is next?  Looking at the graph, the goal is to get the Orange Line to move to the right (getting LT to occur at a higher wattage), and to get the portion of the curve that starts the upward trend before the Orange Line to flatten out a bit (we want a steeper curve, but a longer flat section before the line).  Essentially what that means is that I want to not build those small increases of Lactate up before I hit LT as that disturbs my ability to work below LT.

So there you have a very simplistic interpretation of what the LT Test is for---OVER simplified!  I could go into detail on what your body is doing before and after LT (think Krebs Cycle, ATP, Pyruvate, Lactic Acid AND Lactate (HUGE difference!)...)

Knowing now where my zones are, it's time to focus and nail the workouts!  Saturday was a 4 Hour Bike/75 minute Run Brick with intervals on the bike (3 x 30' in Zone 3)...all was great!  If I can just 1) stay healthy/injury free 2) avoid burnout 3) avoid over-trainng 4) keep home life great 5) keep work busy....I am good to go!  It sounds too easy!  Next stop, Rio Salado Olympic Tri on May 7th...

I will follow this entry with some photos and video from the testing itself in the next few days...stay tuned!!!

PF Changs Marathon Race Report

First of all, I had a blast!  Yes, marathons are painful with intense misery thrown in, but being able to run with friends is my new prerequisite for future marathons.  I ran with a good friend (Dan Cadriel), and his buddy Craig Morton.  Dan has done PF Changs consecutively for years, all around the 3 hour range...some under, some just over.  Craig is newer to endurance sports, and was looking to improve 45 minutes from his first marathon...the goal time was 3 hours for those guys, and I decided to jump in with them about a month ago.  I based my goal time on two things...first, I had someone to run with, and second, 3:00 is 20 minutes faster than IM AZ marathon (which is the goal "standard" between the two "types" or marathons).   I have been using First Endurance products religiously leading to the race, and Pre Race helped me out at points through this race (I carried a fuel belt flask for the entire race with Pre Race and EFS mixed)---their products are always amazing, and may be why I was able to get to this day feeling fast and fresh and have the day that I had for this race.
My training was pathetic---only 2 runs of 2 hours, and both were failures---GI problems on one, and was just too tired from a long day at work on the other (Brick workout: 9 hours of work straight into 2 hours running...the hardest brick!!).  Neither one was faster than a mid 7 minute pace---and I'm going to try to run 6:52/mile?  This was going to hurt or break me, or both!  So, the 3:00 goal was a pipe dream in my mind going in...last weekend I considered switching to the half, and I had delusions of just quitting half way through because I feel so "out of shape" for trying to run this hard.  I didn't feel like I was doing the right thing by trying to run 3:00 with the big year ahead, but I am not one to back down from the challenge---one of the many things I learned from this race!
So here's the Report:
I met up with a bunch of buddies, including John Dean, who was running the half with his daughter Amanda (how cool that must have been---Sophia and Jenny, we're doing that in 15 years!), Dan, Bryan Dunn and his wife, Craig, and Derek. We warmed up in the "Warm Zone" provided by Red Rock Co, which made the morning very pleasant in a 70 degree tent versus the 44 degree start line.  My GI system was in full working order, as I made a "pit" stop with Craig as we guarded for each other, if you catch my drift ;)  Off to the line, we met up with more buddies...so it was Dan, Craig and myself going for 3:00, James Bruce going for 3:20, and Chris Bergeron going for 3:15, as well as Michael Sullivan with a friend of his whom he was "pacing."
The gun fired, and we were off!  Good news through the first mile:  7:00 on the dot.  It is soo hard to hold back at the beginning of races with all of the energy a race gives you.  In the first 10 miles I was a little ahead of Dan and Craig as I latched on to a group of 4 (all from high elevation country in Colorado).  The miles flew by, I was feeling decent!  Pace was right on target for every mile, averaging 6:52/mile through 10. (10K: 42:38/6:52 per mile)  The "GI" system acted up again as I rounded the corner at 24th St & Camelback in the Biltmore...so it was off to the porto potty at the next aid station.  Let's skip that minute, and then I was back out there, and thankfully Dan and Craig were about 30 yards up the road---perfect!  So this is where the fun began!  I caught up to them with a bit of an "interval," and was feeling light ;)))   We were now heading into the part of the course I hate (and Dan too)...but first, we hung a right onto 44th St---actually a nice downhill, down wind section where the half way point is: (half marathon stats: 1:30:25/6:54per mile)--considering the bathroom stop, I was good, but we were behind!  Worse yet, the left hand turn onto Oak St and then working our way up Indian School is just tough---from mile 14 to 18 you just have to put your head down and dig in.  Thankfully, we saw some local triathletes along the way (Karen Lewis, Brian Henry, Tracy Britton), and when running with Dan, it seems like someone every 1/4 mile was saying "way to go Dan"....he is truly a celebrity!  Two years ago, this is where I started to fall apart after going out in a 1:28 for the first half, so the demons were there (finished 3:28 that year---2:00 second half, ouch!  A big blister was the culprit on the ball of my right foot).

New Shoes!  Nike LunarEclipse---AWESOME
for longer runs I hope!

So Dan, Craig, and I made it through this section with some grit---the end of this section being the right hand turn off of Indian School and down "the chute" of downtown South Scottsdale.  We were starting to pass a bunch of people at this point, which continued all the way in to the finish--great pace!  At the same time, this is where we started to lose site of Craig, and we just couldn't risk waiting for him to catch back on, so we elected to just go.  By this time, the sock in my right shoe was starting to feel like sandpaper---I knew a blister was brewing in the same spot as it did in 2009, but this was not going to slow me down this time.  The miles were taking their toll, and at mile 20, we calculated that we needed a 42 minute last 6.2 miles to go under 3:00...very tough, but in reach.  We saw other friends, the Fullers (conspicuously hanging out at Zorbas Adult Shop...hmmm), which gave us a boost (for about 10 feet), and then it was back to the insanity that this part of the marathon brings.  There is just something about this distance and the miles after 20 that just get to your head---I think the marathon does not begin until mile 20---the pain and muscle fatigue just goes through the roof.  Add the now quarter sized blister on the ball of my right foot (again! exactly like in 2009), and I was at war.  Dan is strong, period.  Without him, I think this is where I would have cracked, and I actually did at mile 23.4.  BUT, this was a very important part of the race---and the part of the race that I will forever take with me when the going gets tough.  We were coming up to an aid station and I mumbled to Dan that things were just getting "mental."  I tend to slow to a jog to get liquids down, and decided that I really needed this aid station---I took in a Gu as we approached, then slowed to take down 2 cups of water along with 2 over the head...I was in deep---well past previous limits I had not crossed in this lifetime.   Dan now was 25 yards ahead of me, looking solid as ever, and I had a decision to make---and I chose to push through even further into my psyche. I rounded the corner leaving McClintock behind and onto University...the home stretch was upon us.  Steve "Fresh n Loose" Rink was there yelling at Dan, and I knew it was time to go---Steve got sight of me and started yelling at me.  I knew he was going to be out there, and at least 3 times through the day I told Dan that we were going to need him, and that was an understatement.  I was in 5th gear, and now I was in overdrive--and with 1.2 miles to go.  I skipped that final aid station and just focused on catching Dan---I just wanted to cross the line with him after all we battled through---a finish line pick of us together drove me to his side as we made the final turn into the finishing 0.2 miles...the clueless spectators who cut in front of Dan didn't help his mojo :((

good news about running in brand new shoes---tread data!
 I was landing right on that blister line!

We made it!  We went to battle with that course, and I came out of it with a lot of things, but most importantly, an unspoken bond with Dan Cadriel....he's just a SOLID guy, in every way.  I'm sure I will use the memories in Kona when it starts getting ridiculous, and I hope I will have Dan there to battle with me (no pressure Dan, but you WILL qualify at IMCDA--your run is already there, and your bike is not far behind---work that swim!).
I went into this race totally unprepared; from a lack of training, to no specific nutrition plan, to GI issues because of it, to running in shoes I hadn't run more than 200 yards in (see below)...but I came away with so much "data" personally that I feel like I broke through some boundaries I thought were unbreakable---and I don't recommend following this game plan!  I've heard it a thousand times: pros are able to deal with the pain better than the amateurs.  With that being
said, one of my goals for endurance racing and in life, is to handle
what life throws at you--and come out a better person...hopefully!

Post Race in my 2XU compression tights...another
part of the ritual.

Chris told me going into this one:  "Don't expect much" ...I didn't, but
I came out of this one a better athlete and a stronger person for sure.

It's now 2 days post race and I'm feeling back to normal, the blister has
given in and I'm looking for to the build for Tri season!

              

Distance	MAR
Clock Time	3:01:52
Chip Time	3:01:39
Overall Place	127 / 5062
Gender Place	107 / 2874
Division Place	21 / 439
Age Grade	69.4%
Pace	6:56
Agegrade	69.4
Placeagegrade	261
Ttlrace	5062
Ttldiv	439
Ttlsex	2874
10K	42:38
Half	1:30:25
20 Mile	2:18:34