2014 - The Year for Racing Ironman

I have always taken the view that my racing is something that is very personal and should be what I find enjoyable. Some years it is about doing the familiar races, other years about destination racing. Over the (many) years it has changed.I started out just running a few 5ks, then I added some half marathons ... then marathons ... then triathlons ... then finally Iron-distance triathlons. This evolution has occurred over way too many years.

My opinion is every season of racing is, and should be, different. While I do have a number of races I enjoy doing most every year, I am not the guy who races the same 6 or 7 races every year. I enjoy a new challenge and I enjoy riding/running a new course.

In 2013 I raced 13 events - 7 of which I do most years and 4 that were new to me, and 2 that I have done at some point in the past. There were triathlons, running races from 5k to the marathon, and even an open water swim.  It was eclectic. It was enjoyable. Maybe I'll do a recap ... maybe not ... I don't know.

2014 is a much different beast. In 2013 I raced what I wanted without much thought about building a season to a pinnacle event. This year is much more focused. My habit of racing more will be put on hold with many more weeks of "just training." The races I have on the schedule have a purpose in the big picture. For 2014 is not just an Ironman focused year, 2014 is about TWO FULL Ironman races.

Ironman Coeur D'Alane, 2008

Such a big year is both exciting and a bit scary. Exciting because I have some big racing on the docket. Scary because I have some big racing on the schedule. The Full Ironman races will be #5 and #6 for me so the distance isn't my issue. My concerns come with keeping focused and healthy for the next 11 months. To stay healthy I need to listen to my body and not overdo it, which is easier said than done. In the past when I had a coach my problem had always been doing what was no the paper for that day/week. If I was sore or tired or a bit nicked up ... it was on the page so it had to get done. This is good, but can lead to really bad stuff - injury, overtraining, dead legs on race day. The problem was never Coach, it was always me.

Since I have been self-coached this problem hasn't been as much of a problem for a number of reasons. First, I have stopped thinking in week time periods and more in terms of the month. By extending my time frame I find I am better able to listen to the body and push a workout off if needed. The next thing I have done is be more out there with what I am doing on this blog. By putting things out there I force myself to stop listening to that little voice inside always telling me to just keep working harder, and listen to what is the more reasonable approach.

That said, the key phrase in that last paragraph is "hasn't been as much of a problem." I still find the voices in my head always wanting to do more, more, more with not though of what my legs feel like. It's a constant fight to stay on track.

Here's what I have planned for 2014:

January 25 - Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon - This 2-loops around Central Park course is not about racing, but about getting a solid, early season 13.1 miles in on a hilly course. I've done this a number of times in the past as a way to get the legs moving a bit faster with no pressure of performing. This time around I have no goal other than enjoy the company of 10,000 other runners, see where my run fitness is, and a great post-run breakfast at the Country Griddle. In other words - a catered training run.

February 15 - Myrtle Beach Half-Marathon -  Heading down South for a long weekend to visit my parents and this race was conveniently happening during my visit. Many years ago I ran this marathon and decided it was way too early in the year to race a marathon. Might use this as a test of my fitness level.

May 17 - Jerseyman Tiathlon (Sprint Distance) - Tuneup race. Two years ago I raced here as a way to go through the motion of swim/bike/run in order to make whatever transition mistakes I had in me at a low-key event. Once again this will be a training race. Located in Clinton, NJ the race is close to home AND close to the Country Griddle (do you see a theme here?).

June 8 -Ironman Eagleman 70.3 - This race comes a few weeks before my early season "A" race and I plan on using it as a tuneup/test for IMCDA. The goal is to race the swim and bike at 1/2 Ironman pace and then run at Ironman pace. If I feel good on the run I'll pick up the pace. Right now, that's the plan. As a side note, why do we call these 70.3s now instead of Half Ironman?

June 29 - Ironman Coeur D'alane - First "A" race. Did this back in 2008 and we loved the venue. The town is great, the people friendly, and the race day temperature featured a high of 73 degrees. The course was to my liking with a hillier bike and mostly flat to rolling run. Right now I have an idea of what I want to do here, but my training will ultimately dictate what the goals are come race day.

August 11 - Steelman (Olympic Distance) - This is one I race every year with the same two goals. First, I want to finish in the top-10, which requires me to have a good day, but as an old man is a good challenge I have been mostly successful at in year's past. The other is to have a top-3 bike split, which I have accomplished once. Coming off IMCDA I should have plenty of fitness this year. (2013 Race Report)

August 31 - The Great Six Flags Triathlon (Tentative) -Did this race in 2013 and loved it (race report) ... with the sole exception being the 1/2 mile run from the swim to T1 (seriously, that's a long way to run with a wetsuit on). They moved the race from the 3rd Sunday in September up to the end of August. It fits, I just haven't made a decision on doing it or not. If I do race this, it will be right before I start gearing up for IMFL. I will be racing this all out, looking to make up for the tactical mistake I made on the bike in 2013.

September 14 - Rev3 Pocono Mountains 70.3 - WTC put this race on for two years before deciding it didn't fit with their agenda. Rev3 revitalized the race and moved it from early October to the second weekend in September. The weather should be pretty good and I hope to race well on a short taper as part of race prep for IMFL in November.

November 1 - Ironman Florida - Final race of the year and the second "A" race on my schedule. This will be an interesting challenge for me as I have never raced two full Ironman-distance races in the same year. I worry about two things - motivation to put the swim training in the Fall and being mentally prepared to race this distance so very late in the year.

So that's what my year is going to look like. I am looking forward to the challenge of not just racing two full Ironmans, but also staying fit, fresh and healthy.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Rule #5: Harden the F#$k Up

"Embrace the suck." - Chris "Macca" McCormack

The Queen comes into the kitchen this morning and asks me if I rode my bike this morning. I tell her I did ... in the basement,on the trainer. Hard intervals. She responds with three words: Rule Number Five.

I'm pretty sure my wife just called me a wuss for staying inside.

All endurance sports are hard, both physically and mentally. If you race a 5k it hurts a lot, but only for a relatively short period of time. Race an Ironman or a 100 mile run and it still hurts, just in a really different and sadistic way. Add to that conditions - heat, rain, snow, wind - or hilly terrain ... it doesn't get any better. No matter the distance, if you are looking to find your limit you are going to suffer.

So harden the f#$k up.

The point of racing and training is to push/test your limits and see what you have inside you. You CANNOT do that if you keep backing off when things start to get a bit uncomfortable, in both training and racing ... which is the exact opposite of what you want to do. When you hit that point you want to just push right through to the other side. Put your head down and get 'er done.

Chris McCormack has referred to this as embracing the suck. I say harden the f#$k up.

Hardening up is simple. Maybe not easy, but really simple.

1. Train outside whenever the weather conditions allow, using personal safety as the limiting factor to move a workout indoors - Limiting conditions include 10 inches of snow; sub-zero and windy conditions; a hurricane; icy roads; flooding. There might be something else I can't remember right now. The point is, you race in whatever the conditions are on race day unless there is a very compelling reason for the race to cancel (like a hurricane). In 2009 me and 20k other people ran the Boston Marathon in a Nor'easter because that's the day we got.

2. Stop complaining and/or finding excuses - We all get tired from time to time, just as we all have days where we just aren't our best. That's life. Deal with it and keep going. If you wait for the "perfect" day to do your track workout you might not get there. Cut the complaints and you will be more consistent with your training, which will make you a fitter athlete.

3. When it is time to up the intensity in training, hit it hard -  Interval training can and should be hard. Just like racing, the short stuff will hurt bad but for a short period, while longer intervals are that grinding kind of suffering. Whatever it is, hit your numbers and hold on for your dear life. And remember, fitness gains come on the last interval (or set) and not the first.

4. When things get hard, turn the mind off - If there is one thing that will kill me it is when I start to think late in a race. The mind is a powerful thing. That's good and bad. I have found as soon as I start thinking about the finish line ... or breakfast ... or how much whatever it is I'm in the middle of sucks, I'm toast. I'm not talking about when you get grumpy at mile 80 on the bike (you need to eat). I'm talking about when you start telling yourself that your done. For me I start doing the math: "If I run at x pace I'll be home in x:xx:xx stuffing my face with chips." Turn the mind off immediately and get back into the moment.If that doesn't work, try getting this song stuck in your head:

With all that said, you need to stay on the correct side of the smart/stupid line. The best way to do this is to know your body.  Recognize when the pain is bad pain, such as a strained muscle, twisted ankle, or severe dehydration. Understand when the weather just isn't conducive to training. There is a fine line between being tough and being stupid. Better to live to fight another day than put yourself on the sidelines with an injury. I've been on the wrong side of the smart/stupid line and it never works out well.

Here's an example of how to do it wrong:

Years ago I was out on a 20-mile run during a July heatwave with Lo-Jack down at the towpath. We got started late (around 11 am) and never even gave it a second thought that there we saw literally no one else on the path.We thought it was hot (90+ degrees) but we had tree cover. On the last 5-mile stretch things were getting ugly. Really, really ugly. The pace slowed and we were both clearly dehydrated. We finally stopped running when we saw his son who was going fishing. We got some water from him but it didn't matter. A few minutes we started to walk because our bodies forced us to stop. Barely made it back to the cars; wasn't back to being right for about a week.

A few years later, I did it right (kinda):

Again, I'm out on a hot Summer day doing a long run. I was working hard and felt good, all things considered. Around mile 12 I started to feel less good. By mile 14 I started to feel bad. Then I realize that I wasn't sweating, which is not ideal. In fact, it's really not good at all. Fortunately I realized this and stopped. I had water stashed about a mile away and walked to it. Drank the whole bottle, walked the mile and a half back to my car, lived to fight another day.

And that's that.

Getting back to me being a wuss this morning ... I did stay in, that is true. But I live in Eastern PA, not SoCal, and we have 8 inches of show and the thermometer reads 11 degrees as I write this. But after hitting the intervals hard, I think I held to the intent of Rule #5.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Off-Season Training Done ... Bring on 2014

After completing the Philadelphia Marathon on November 17th I consciously shut down my training and racing in a very real way with a simple goal - refresh the body and mind. For the first time in a long time the plan was to embrace the off season. I have a big agenda for 2014 (separate post for that) and I wanted to make sure I started the year in a good place, ready to put in the work.

In order to put the Type-A personality aside I had to consciously deal with the reality of being "out of shape," a bit heavier, and without the endorphins associated with my normal workout routine. And deal with it I did. As I write this, I am nowhere near peak fitness and five pounds heavier than I was six weeks ago. So, congratulations to me, I can successfully get out of shape!!! As for the feel-goodness that comes from training ... let's just say I'm ready to get out there and get 'er done.

Source: www.illustriationsource.com

But just getting "out of shape" wasn't the point. The point was to get ready for racing in 2014. These six weeks were not just the end of 2013  but also the beginning of 2014. There were four things I wanted to accomplish in my down time - heal the body, take a mental break, get other stuff done, get stronger. How did I do?

Letting the body heal itself - With one exception my body feels better than it has in a few years. My legs are the exact opposite of heavy; most all of the minor aches and pains have gone away; I haven't needed the services of my chiropractor for 5+ weeks and counting. Even the shoulder strain that happened while moving a desk at work in late November is long gone. The problem is, the one exception is a recurring calf issue that has me away from running for almost two weeks now. It's a whole lot better but not 100%. Thus, I'm not running and will continue to fight the urge to run until it is completely healed. Better to miss a few weeks of running in December and January than in April or May. Due to injury I give myself an Off Season Mark of C.

Taking a mental break - For 5 weeks I trained when I felt like it with little or no intensity. I swam a little, ran a little, and rode outside whenever I could. Last week I started to get it together and did keep to a truncated training week schedule. On Thanksgiving morning I ran the Pumpkin Pie 5k in 27:xx, with no Garmin and no heart rate monitor. The only "mistake" of too much intensity was at the xMas City 5 Mile Run where I ran faster than I promised myself I would. It didn't feel bad and it was maybe 90 seconds slower than I could have done if I really pushed it. Being that I am ready to get to work, I give myself an Off Season Mark of A.

Getting other stuff done - I'm a pack rat. For years I've held onto stuff that I really didn't need to and this off season I changed most (some) of that. Over the past six weeks I went through the mess in the basement closet and got rid of a lot of the unnecessary clutter. Along with the cleanup I managed to read a few books, get caught up on my Feedly read list, visited the Weavers Way Co-op Grocery Store, better organize my digital life, got my money's worth of my Netflix subscription, and get caught up on my sleep. Not everything I want to do, but more than I realistically expected. Off Season Mark - A

Time to focus like it's game 7 of the World Series

Get strong - A few days after the marathon I got back into the gym and started the process of rebuilding some strength. As a former gym rat doing this has never been a problem. Over these last 6 weeks I have slowly increased the workload, sticking with mainly the big, multi-joint exercises. I'm stronger than I was last year at this time and almost back to where I was in 2013 when the strength work took a back seat to more specific triathlon training. Off Season Mark - A+

Overall - Starting the year feeling genuinely refreshed is a good feeling.This calf thing is a real bitch. I really find that I'm fighting my inner urge to just start training, assuming that it will just work itself out. Because that always works. Overall Off Season Mark - A-.

So here we sit at the beginning of 2014 and I enter my base training feeling really good, but not yet running. While it sucks, I'm trying to be ok with it. It feels like taking a step backwards will help me move forward and reach my racing goals this year. Time to focus like Andy Pettitte in Game 7 of the World Series.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Book Review - Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, andMove with Confidence

Back pain sucks. Not only does it suck, but it can suck the life right out of you. For me it all began when I was 19 and spending many hours in the gym lifting weights. First it was a small twitch. Then it was a little more. Shortly thereafter I was at a chiropractor trying to correct my issues. I did get the problem corrected - even if just temporarily - but, like many other people, have dealt with periodic back pain for a long, long time.

After moving on from heavy strength training to Ironman training it can still be an issue for me. Don't get me wrong, it is not the chronic pain many people deal with. But it is there and, while core work has helped, having pain still sucks.

In 2013 I was having more trouble than normal with my back, specifically when in the aero position on my bike. I was looking for a positive solution to the issue when I heard Ben Greenfield mention the book Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, and Move With Confidence during an Endurance Planet podcast. Greenfield described the book as a different approach to both core work and reduction of back pain. I decided to make the $17 investment and see what the fuss was about.

Foundation is a very fast and informative read for 288 pages. The book's author, Dr. Eric Goodman, was a young athlete who had problems with back pain that was much more debilitating than my own. In his search for a solution he developed what eventually became the core idea of the book - that lower back pain comes as a result of overloading smaller muscles due to poor mechanics.

Essentially, we can get lazy with the way we move, causing bio-mechanical issues. When this happens, the body needs to be reconditioned to use the correct muscles while moving through the world. Based on a series of 10 simple but powerful movements, Foundation teaches you how to properly load your muscles and move. The focus turns to the large muscles of your posterior chain - glutes, hamstrings, middle back, hips - to take the pressure off of the smaller muscles that have become overworked.

Going through the routine takes less than 10 minutes. For those of you who have done some basic yoga you will recognize some of the movements. Goodman does change the focus of the specific movements to create the desired effect.

In the few months I have been incorporating these movements into my routine I have noticed a number of positive changes. First, my posture is much better. Like many others, I had become lazy without noticing. The change is not just when I am standing, but when I am sitting, running, or biking. When I swim I feel like it is easier to maintain a streamlined position (or at least what is streamlined for me).

The second big change is a noticeable decrease in lower back pain. As I began properly loading up my glutes, hamstrings and middle back with the stress of swim/bike/run - even standing and sitting - I became more comfortable, my body more stable. While I know I will never be 100% pain-free, I am as close to it as I can be. A nice side benefit has been not needing to see my chiropractor for quite some time.

The approach that Foundation takes to core training and/or back pain is both different and more effective than anything I have ever come about. I feel better when sitting at the office, and I feel better while exercising. If you have chronic back pain I highly recommend giving this approach a go. All you have to loose is $17 ... and that chronic pain in your back.


Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, and Move With Confidence can be purchased at amazon.com here.

You can find more out about Dr. Goodman and Foundation Training at his website.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Rule #4: The 20-Minute Rule

Ever have one of those days. Maybe you didn't sleep real well, or just had a stressful day at work. Whatever it is, you just don't feel like working out. Sure, you have a 3,000M swim workout on the schedule but man, hitting the couch and watching some tv sounds like a great option.

Then you remember reading somewhere about overtraining. Not so sure exactly what the advice was, but "everyone" knows overtraining is bad. So you head straight home, convinced that you are in a state of overtraining and need "rest" to avoid digging a deeper hole.

But is this the right thing to do? Maybe. Maybe not. If you are deep into a training cycle, pushing your personal limits, it is a real possibility you may have pushed beyond your recovery capabilities. A few days of active recovery or even straight up rest could be the right course of action. A seasoned endurance athlete will know exactly what this feels like. It is different than your normal heavy legs or dragging at the end of the day. And true overtraining and adrenal fatigue are a completely different beast that can happen. You can read more about that here.

Source: 

So, assuming you haven't been beating down your body for weeks/months without adequate rest and recovery, my experience tells me that lack of desire to train is more of a mental thing than a physical one. Thus, the 20-Minute Rule.

When you are having THAT day, go and start the workout. Using the 3k swim workout as an example, get to the pool, stretch out, and get in the water. If you're anything like me, not so hard getting in the water, a challenge to actually get your head under water and push off for the first length.

Suck. It. Up.

After warming up, give yourself a minute and start your main set, whatever it may be. One of two things will happen - you will either start the main set, hit your expected times and start to feel better, or you won't. After a few reps in the main set - about 20 minutes into the workout - you will know where you're at, and you will know what to do.

Still feel like crap, not performing well? Get out of the pool, shower up, call it a day.

Hit your times? Continue on. Finish the workout as planned.

I've been here more than I care to admit with all three sports. Of those, I can count on one hand the number of times I called it a day. Every other workout, once I got moving I started to feel better, sometimes even great, and was able to get the scheduled work done.

Properly training for your "A" race is a process that takes months of hard work. Over that time you won't always feel great, and you won't always have that gung-ho attitude every time you swim, bike or run. Give it a go for 20 minutes and see what happens.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

You can find the first three rules here, here, and here.

Off Season Update

It's been almost one month since I started my off season and things are going well. For once I have decided to embrace it and can honestly say that I have lost some fitness, gained a little weight, and caught up on the sleep I had been neglecting. I have also gotten some of the stuff I had been putting off completed ... but not nearly as much as I (or The Queen) would like.

Weavers Way Bulk Bin Maddness

Quick side note: I did have the time to head down to Philly last week for a gathering of local co-ops as a representative of the Bethlehem Food Co-op and visit the Weavers Way Grocery Food Coop. Neat little store with really, really awesome bulk bin section (which was really the entire upstairs). The selection was amazing. Can't wait to get our store up and running in Bethlehem. If you are interested in keeping your food spend local, supporting your community farmers, and/or higher quality food for your family, you should check out our website, come to a meeting, then become a member.

The one big problem I have this time of year - even when I'm faking an off season - is a lack of focus. I love my routine, which means I fall apart when I don't have a clear, well-packed agenda when I wake in the morning. But maybe it's a good thing that I'm as relaxed about it as I am ... maybe that's the point.

Physically I'm feeling pretty good. Most all of the nagging little things have gone away and the legs have some life in them. The one little hitch has been the strain in my right shoulder, a result of moving some furniture last week. While it sucks, at least it happened in December and not January.

I've also been enjoying my time back in the weight room. Yes, there are some who feel that strength and power needs to be developed specifically for the bike or the run, which is an argument for another time. What I will say is, I believe in the power of straight-up strength training, the basic, multi-joint exercises variety. No better way to get stronger and add power than some good old fashion squatting and deadlifting. As a side benefit, both these exercises, when performed correctly, are probably the best way to build core strength.

Anyway, my training has been sticking with the plan and rules I laid out here. I haven't raced since Philly and don't plan on racing until February. Mileage has been low as has the intensity. And yes, I have been training outside in the cold weather, caught the snow storm on Tuesday (both by choice), but I have avoided the cold rain and have avoided riding outside for weeks.

Swimming has been completely put on hold due to the shoulder strain. I really haven't been consistent in the pool since September, lacking motivation, so this really wasn't a big deal ...until it was a big deal. Funny how this works. Now that being out of the pool isn't by choice, the motivation to swim has started to come back. I'm now thinking of the injury/timeout of the water as a good thing.

Starting this week my training volume will slowly increase into the new year. My plan is to put in a solid run base starting in January, so, by design, the next few weeks will see most of the increased volume go to the run. Any biking I've done has either been on my $400 mountain bike, in a spin class (believe it or not), or some easy spinning on the trainer. Hopefully I will be back in the pool next week for some short, easy yardage.

As usual, we are planning on welcoming in the new year by running South Mountain on December 31. I think this is the 12th time, maybe. Always a lot of fun, with the added benefit of knowing just how out of shape you've become over the holiday season. The run is about 10 miles, starting at Sand Island. The loop takes you over the mountain via Hayes Street, through the Stabler arena area, then back over on Mountain Drive South. If you are local and are interested in the deets let me know.

Finally, Mrs. Claus had her annual visit to Casa de Soden with the annual cookie delivery. And when I say cookies, I'm talking 86 varieties made from scratch, freshly baked two days ago. I question my ability to make a batch of cookies from a mix and she does all of this. Always appreciated at home, then by the Magellan Financial crew at work.


Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

The Joy of Running

Before I called myself a triathlete - and after my weight lifting days - I viewed myself as a runner. Training for a marathon I would follow Pfitzinger or Jack Daniels (the coach, not the whiskey) in my pursuit of whatever the time goal was this time around. Chasing a goal is motivating. Running in heat, cold, rain, snow was fine with me, just get me to the race fit and with happy legs. Training for a race gives purpose. Training for a race gives focus. There are goals, both big and small.

And then it happens ... the race arrives and the season ends. All of a sudden there's not a race on the schedule. Well, not a "real" race anyway. After the big goal race, racing becomes more a social thing. More like a hard workout than something I was training to do. With no structure, nothing to point at for motivation, motivation can be hard to find. At this point in the season, many people have trouble getting out the door. I am not one of those people.

As I have discussed recently this is my off season, which I describe as a time for easy workouts, when and if I'm motivated to do them. Every year, so far anyway, a strange thing happens. Every year I'm motivated to run.

This morning I left my house at 5:45 am in the dark of the morning for a run. It was early, but it didn't bother me one bit. The pace was casual. I wore my Garmin, but didn't look at before hitting the stop button. I ran my favorite route; the one I am most comfortable with;  the one I refer to as my "home course."

If you don't have one of these you should. My home course is 8 miles, but I can shorten it to as little as 5 miles or extend it to 10 miles.I know these roads better than the township road crews that care for them. I know the tangents and I know ever mile marker. I run these roads enough to have a waving relationship with the school bus drivers as well as the regulars on their way to work. There's even a long distance runner who drives to work about when I'm out there, Dunkin Donuts coffee in hand, who raises his cup to me when we pass.

I'm not the only regular out there either. "Old Man Ed" was out walking today, as was "Bike Guy" on his way to work. "Bike Guy" made me think for a second that I should be on my Madone. That feeling quickly passed.

Funny thing about these roads - I think of them as mine. I got really upset when the chipped and tared a section a few years back; I cheered out loud when they properly paved that same section six months later. Come springtime, when the fair-weather athletes start to hit the streets again, I admittedly get a little offended that they are on MY ROADS. Where were they on that cold, windy days in February?

Running is my gateway drug and the reason I ended up an Ironman.

Don't get me wrong, I love riding my bike and I (for the most part) enjoy hitting the pool. But at the end of the day, it all comes back to the joy of  running ...

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon