Training Failure - The Good, The Bad, The Stupid

For 6 years I swam with a Masters swim group. Not only did I meet some great people whom I consider to be friends, but I learned a lot about swimming and training. My stroke got better, leading to better swim times. But every swim at Masters wasn't my fastest. There were days I knew I didn't have it and I would seat myself back in the lane or one lane slower. That hard interval workout now became a more aerobic workout by necessity.

A while back the health club I had been swimming Masters at shut down. Tragic, but not surprising. Since then I have been swimming mostly on my own. There are many disadvantages to always being in the pool on your own. One big advantage, however, is the ability to design my workouts to my needs. Takes some work. Takes some effort. But last year I raced faster than I ever have.

Yesterday I had one interesting day of training, full of failure. Failure is not always a bad thing ... and yesterday one of my fails was of the good kind. One. On the way home from LA Fitness I got thinking about my day, which led to contemplating the three types of failure I achieved in one day.

The Good Failure - Now that we are three weeks into the new year I figured I should maybe start to do some work in my workouts. I've been on the bike, both outside and inside, but really not putting high level efforts into it. I've been exercising, but not exactly training. Yesterday was the day I thought to myself, "let's do some kick ass intervals." And I did. After a proper warm up I did three sets of short, very intense intervals on minimal rest. I worked up one heck of a sweat while hanging just the edge of not making the set. By the end my power numbers were down, my legs were shot, and the last rep was just short of completion. Failure!!! Success!!!

About an hour after the early morning trainer session I felt great. The legs had recovered (or so I thought) while my energy level was high. I drove to work, going about my normal day.

The Bad Failure - Around 6:15 I left the office with a swim workout on my mind. Didn't give my legs a second thought, happy that I could find a parking spot fairly quick (January at the gym really sucks). I jumped in the pool and did a fairly standard warm up. After completing my CSS test last week I had a specific workout to do. Today was a fairly straight-forward 9 x 200 on 3:10 (swimming the interval on 2:48). this is a set I have done many times over the years. Being early in the year, and not in the best shape, the interval times are slower for me. No big deal, I'm thinking, as long as I don't go out too fast on set number one. I hit the wall in 2:48 exactly. The next set came in at 2:50 as did #3. Remember that bike workout this morning ... yeah, my legs really weren't feeling good at all.

From there it just got worse. I gave myself an addition 30 seconds after set number four due to a side cramp, then an additional 20 seconds after set number eight because I just really sucked. Like, really, really sucked. I made it (barely) through all nine sets. If the last few were a little slow, OK, that's fine. It's January after all. No reason to be "in shape" right now. This was not a little slow. No matter how you parse the data, this is what a training disaster looks like. Failure. Bad, bad failure.

The Stupid Failure - I am sure that the reason for failure #2 is directly related to failure #1 earlier that day. Which is really just a failure of stupidity, doing too much work in one day. I'm not talking about the double, I am talking about the work I did attempted in the two sessions. I've been around long enough to know that if I do some hard interval work in the morning my evening workout needs to be more aerobic and less anaerobic. Yet here I was trying to do squeeze more into one 24 hour period than I knew I could handle. Rookie mistake.

I hate it when that happens.


Moral of the story? When scheduling your daily/weekly workouts make sure you take into account the big picture. There is more to scheduling than placing workouts into openings in your weekly schedule. Rest and recovery - things many of us totally disregard - are important. Don't get enough recover between workouts and things go awry. When setting up your week, make sure you consider the recovery you need between hard efforts, even those in different disciplines.

When I set up a day with hard intervals in the morning followed by essentially a threshold workout in the evening I should have seen the disaster waiting to happen. Instead, my focus had been on getting the workouts down on paper in a manner that worked for my life's schedule, but not necessarily what would be best for my overall plan. In retrospect, I should have stayed aerobic in last evenings swim workout. Yeah, my legs wouldn't have been great, but the workload would have been doable. Harder than if I were fresh, but doable.

Live and learn for next time.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Diet Cults by Matt Fitzgerald - Book Review

When I was two weeks old I was diagnosed with a condition called pyloric stenosis, which apparently is pretty serious. So serious that Dr. Gluck made the call for surgery, which freaked my parents out but basically saved my life. After all was said and done my folks were told that I would have a larger than normal appetite for a few years. Forty-five years later I still have the appetite of a 16 year old boy.

Clearly I loves me some food. In a past life when my obsession was lifting heavy things and "getting big" I ate a much different diet than I do today. In my day I have eaten more dry chicken and tuna fish from a can than I care to admit. Didn't think of it this way at the time, but I was a part of what Matt Fitgerald refers to as a diet cult.

Why the word "cult?" Fitzgerald believes that "cult" is "the best word to identify a way of eating that is morally based, identity forming, community building, and viewed by its followers as superior to all other ways of eating." This, of course isn't new to society. People simply want to believe in something ... and that something should give a sense of identity as well as a feeling of belonging. Science gets trumped by feelings.

Through the various chapters Fitzgerald delves into a number of different eating lifestyles that seemingly vary as much as the reasons people give for being on such diets. He looks at diets you may be familiar with as well as some you may not.

Some of the mainstream diets he looks at are the Weight Watcher protocol, the high fat Atkins plan, and the Paleo diet that came out of the Crossfit revolution. He takes on the chicken and tuna heavy bodybuilder's diet, as well as the exercise doesn't help diet. Even the Vegans, Foodies and Gatorade do not get overlooked!!!

Not only is the overview pretty inclusive, Fitgerald makes sure he speaks with people directly associated with each style of eating. This is good Most people choose a diet on social and emotional factors, and then either cherry pick the science behind the diet (if there is any science), or use anecdotal evidence to justify their food choice. The reader is able to get not just the author's vision, but also those who are actively involved in the specific diets/lifestyles.

So, if Diet Cults are bad, how should we eat?

There are two realities about food and nutrition. First, we all have basically the same nutrition needs. Yes, there will be variations from person to person, but those variations aren't that great. Obviously there are some exceptions. For example, someone with celiac disease will have to avoid gluten, just like one who is allergic to Penicillin has to avoid that specific drug. The other reality is that the human body is an amazing machine that can adjust to almost anything we put into it. This is obvious when you look at the different diets discussed in the book or, better yet, head out to your local Chinese buffet and take a look at what (and the quantity) people are ingesting.

So how should we eat? Here's Fitzgerald in his own words:

"The only conclusion we can draw from the sum of these lessons is that there is no such thing as the One True Way to eat for maximum health. No diet cult is better than the rest, and a person need not join any diet cult to attain maximum health. An agnostic approach to healthy eating that forbids nothing, smiles upon eating for pleasure, and encourages individual choice can do the job just as well or better."

That doesn't mean you can eat sugar out of the bag with a stick of butter on the side and you're all good. No, there is more to eating healthy than just eating food. Fitzgerald's agnostic healthy eating game has a 10 item hierarchy of food that looks like this:

Vegetables
Fruits
nuts, seeds, healthy oils
High Quality meats and seafood
Whole Grains
Dairy
Refined Grains
Low Quality Meats and Seafood
Sweets
Fried Food

He recommends eating more of the foods at the top of the list and few at the bottom. Nothing is prohibited, meaning ice cream, chocolate or even the occasional KFC Double Down is acceptable. OK, that last one may be acceptable but not really (because like everyone else I too will judge your food choices). The first two groups are essential, must eats, the next four are recommended foods (don't HAVE to eat, but should), with everything else listed as acceptable and can/should be eaten in small amounts (if at all). Basically you eat more of what is on the top of the list and less of what is on the bottom of the list.

Who Should Read Diet Cults?

This is a book that is aimed at the person who considers him- or herself an athlete, but really the book is good for anyone who is looking to live a healthy lifestyle. We can all get caught up in believing in this or that diet cult, even if we aren't living that particular lifestyle. Heck, I did it for a long, long time. Fortunately I learned my lesson and enjoy eating while staying healthy all at the same time. Along with pizza and the occasional treat. Imagine that.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon



Resources:

Outside Magazine Interview  with Matt Fitzgerald

Matt Fitzgerald talks to Tawnee at Endurance Planet here

What the Paleo Diet gets wrong 

Paleo Runner, as you would expect, takes exception to Fitzgerald

Well, I Guess the Off-Season is Coming to an End ... Maybe

January - the beginning of  the year to normal human beings, the beginning of a "new season" to endurance athletes - is here. I know this not because I have looked at the calendar, but because I took a peak at both my scale and heart rate monitor last week and noticed the numbers are a tad bit higher than they were a few months ago. If I were a lot of other people I might find this tragic. Both numbers indicate I am "out of shape" ... or "fat" ... or OMG BOTH!!!!

Tragic .............

Or not so much .............

The whole idea of an off-season is built on the assumption that there is an IN-season, or a time where you are shooting for (your) peak fitness. And peak fitness, by definition, is something you cannot hold onto for very long. Peak fitness is why you ask yourself how you ever did a marathon or Ironman three weeks ago when today a 5 mile run feels hard.

Getting "out of shape" enables the body to do two things: destress (is that even a word?) and heal itself. Over the course of months of hard training the body starts to get nicked up at the micro level, regardless of your awareness or denial of the situation. Taking some down time allows the body to heal the trauma it has had to endure while simultaneously keeping the athlete (you) from pushing yourself further down the path to injury. We all on some level believe we are the exception and can beat our bodies endlessly without repercussion, but deep down we should all know this is just not true. The desire to keep pushing and not back off is more about our own insecurities ("I'll lose my fitness forever") or simply ego.

Circling back to me, I feel like the off-season has been a success. After peaking for Ironman Florida on November 1 I stopped training and cut way back on the amount of exercise I do on a daily/weekly basis. The result of all this is I have had more free time on my hands, I have slept more, read more books, and have given my body a chance to heal itself after a rather interesting year. The other side has been the 7-8 pounds I have put back on along with the loss of pure fitness that comes with more couch time.

Right now at the beginning of the new year I feel good. Mentally I am fresh; Physically I am starting to come around. After a week of doing nothing, followed by a few weeks of doing close to nothing, I have slowly morphed back into a general routine. I have a rule for the month of December where I only do what I want to do, when I want to do it. So if I don't feel like getting up and going for a run, I stay in bed. If I get up then decide I would prefer to read and stretch instead of sitting on the trainer, I read and stretch.  In the past few weeks the desire to do more has been there.

The one consistent over the past few months has been the move back into the weight room, something I quite enjoy. A year ago my goal was to get stronger for the 2014 triathlon season, which never happened due to injury followed by surgery. I am very happy with being able to race like I did in 2014, but never felt like I physically was where I wanted to be. Last year became more about getting back than moving forward. For 2015 the goal of being a stronger, better athlete remains.

SOOooooo here we are the first full week of the new year and time to start some serious training ... or maybe not. For 2015 I am almost 100% sure I am not going long (read: no Ironman) and not even sure about the 70.3 distance (other than racing Eagleman in support of my buddy Ant). I have never concentrated on shorter racing - Sprint and Olympic distances - or doing some straight up bike racing. Realistically I'm starting to get freaking old, which mean if I want to get a fast season in I need to do it sooner rather than later. And if I want to race my bike, no better time than the present.

I haven't given a whole lot of thought to my race schedule other than targeting the Philly Triathlon as my A-race for the fist half of the year. Being that it is the last weekend in June, January seems a bit early to start cranking things up. No need to be "in shape" in February or March.

Bottom line: Yeah, I'm back in the rhythm of working out but not real serious. For now, sessions will be short and intensity moderate at best. There will be a time to start cranking. That time is not now.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Swim Speed Strokes for Swimmers and Triathletes - Book Review

Like many people, when I was a kid I learned how to swim. It was the 1970s and back in my hometown - Lakewood, NJ - we didn't have a pool at the high school or down at the rec center like you see in many communities these days. We were old school and learned how to swim in Lake Carasalgo. At one point they literally put us in a boat, took us out to the middle of the lake, the tossed us off the side to swim to shore. Apparently I lived to tell. Like I said, we were old school.

These days I am a triathlete and not a swimmer. Yes, I can swim. In fact, if I do say so myself, for a non-swimmer I can swim pretty darn good. But the swimming we were taught back in the day was more about learning to stay afloat and move forward, not win state titles. No big deal until I decided I wanted to do triathlons. All of a sudden a swim program would have been more helpful than Doc Lipzen tossing me off the side of a row boat.

Learning to swim as an adult is hard. Like many age groupers I am not, never have, and never will consider myself "a swimmer." I didn't start perfecting my stroke before my 4th birthday. Also like many other age groupers, I am basically a self-taught swimmer. I have had some help along the way (thanks Bill, thanks Steve) but for the most part I have changed my stroke by figuring things out on my own. Figuring it out has meant purchasing books, reading blogs, and watching YouTube videos.

In my pursuit of a faster, less taxing swim split about a year ago I came upon Sheila Taormina's first book, Swim Speed Secrets. This book focus is on just the freestyle stroke, which is perfect for a triathlete looking to work on the main stroke you will use come race day. While I got a lot form the book and highly recommend it, I have wanted to be more than a one-trick pony in the pool. According to my swimming friends, doing different strokes will make you a better overall swimmer. The other strokes, I have been told, work your body different, taking some of the stress off the muscles used in freestyle. On a different note, swimming all four strokes (or at least more than one) helps break up the monotony of  staring at the black line doing the same stroke over and over and over.

Just in time for my off-season Sheila (may I call you Sheila?) came out with her follow up book, Swim Speed Strokes for Swimmers and Triathletes. The book is a fast read that should be read slowly. I could have blown through this is a few days time, but took the better part of two weeks to sift through the material. This not a cheap novel ... there is a lot of information here that you should really take in. That said, let's take a look under the hood.

Understanding The Why

Just as she did in Swim Speed Secrets, Taormina starts off with "Understanding the Why" of swimming. Unlike some other books on the subject, she wants to make sure that the student understands the background of how the swim stroke has developed over time. Now, this may seem like a waste of  time for the Type A, just tell me what to do type of athlete, but I would disagree. I found it very enlightening to understand the science behind the stroke. For me, having an understanding of the why helps with the practical execution of a (hopefully) better stroke.

Swimming well is a complicated thing. The next three chapters are dedicated to breaking down the different areas of importance - lift and drag; the kick, core movement, and connection; stroke data - with a deep dive into the what and why of swimming. Again, to some this may seem like a waste of time ... just show me how to swim!!! ... but I assure you it is not a waste of time. Once I read in detail about the catch or the core, or the kick, I found a heightened self-awareness every time I entered the pool. Did I start to over think some things? For sure. But with self awareness of your faults comes the ability to fix the problem at hand.

Pictures, Pictures and More Pictures

Fortunately, the book is not just talk about what one wants to do. For me, the hardest part about trying to improve in the water is seeing exactly what I need to do. Others have shown me with varying levels of success. Here, what you have is some of the best swimmers in the world modelling the form they developed over millions of meters over many years. One of the things I noticed was just how many similarities there are between the four strokes. Different, but built off the same platform. On each chapter dedicated to an individual stroke the detail is as good as it gets.

Why Would Benefit From Reading This Book?

The book is an excellent read and I would recommend it to anyone who would like to improve their swimming. If you are a swimmer I think this book is a no brainer. For the triathlete, there is even a nice section dedicated to open water swimming worth the price of the book. Apparently I've been sighting in an inefficient manner for years. Who knew!!!

And for the triathlete who doesn't feel the need to go beyond freestyle, learning the "other" strokes can be helpful in the long run. If you become a better swimmer you become a better triathlete. As a former one-trick pony I understand where you are coming from, but can tell you that diversifying your strokes makes sense. 

You can purchase Swim Speed Strokes for Swimmers and Triathletes here. 

Disclaimer: I purchased this book on my own.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Rule #12: The Post-Ironman Decision Rule

In the world of endurance sport Ironman is a different beast. There are other incredible endurance challenges (Ultraman, Badwater, Leadville 100, Race Across America) for sure. These events are small in size and really only available to a small number of elite athletes. Completing an Ironman, however, is achievable by Joe or Jean Average if he/she has the desire to pay the entry fee, put in the work, then go the distance. Nothing is quite like an Ironman.

Completing 140.6 miles of swim/bike/run in 17 hours or less is a huge accomplishment, taking months of dedicated training and personal sacrifice in the pursuit of crossing the finish line to Mike Riley's voice pronouncing you an Ironman. Those last few hundred meters are emotional for everyone - from first-time finisher to grizzled veteran. For some it is the highest of highs, for others it is pain and frustration. I've yet to meet someone who crossed that line and said "eh, that's was OK."

Ironman Florida Finish - 9:37 finish (swim cancelled race)

Post-race, the emotions continue for sometime. For some the immediate thought is they have checked the Ironman box; for others it is a high like no other. In race terms, one either wants to get back out and race tomorrow, or never, ever go the distance again.

Over the course of the next 4-5 weeks an interesting thing happens. The day after the race everyone is walking around town in their finishers hats and shirts while the best of the best get the opportunity to punch their card to Kona. Once home it continues on with friends and family congratulating you and asking about your race. The emotional highs (or lows) just keep coming as you tell your Ironman story.

And then it happens ... life get back to normal. You are no longer Joe Ironman, but simply Joe once again. Now, after a few weeks time, you can finally get some perspective. What went right? What went wrong? Do I want to give 140.6 miles another try? After about 30 days time one can truly reflect back on race day, get a grip on what happened and decide on future racing.

The rule then is this:

Any decision on racing a future Ironman-distance race should not be made until at least 30 days have passed since your last Ironman race.

Exception #1: The professional triathlete who is racing for a living and KPR points.

Exception #2: The injured triathlete who already has a second Ironman scheduled for the year can decide to opt out of race #2 if physically necessary.

One month ago, on November 1, I crossed the finish line at Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach, for my fifth Ironman finish. Since then I have embraced the off-season, keeping active but without any structure. Mentally I'm starting to get back into it. On Saturday I felt motivated to do a short swim workout, which is a good sign. It was short and sucked, don't get me wrong, but it is good to once again start coming out the other side of the Ironman experience.

As for next year ... time to start making some decisions.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Related Posts:

Rule#1: Hard is Hard, Easy is Easy

Rule #2: Be Consistent

Rule #3: Don't Become a Slave to Sports Technology

Rule #4: The 20 Minute Rule

Rule #5: Harden the F#$k Up

Rule #6: Don't be "That Guy" ... NOBODY likes him

Rule #7: If You Are Out Training in Horrible Weather, You Are a Badass. Period.

Rule #8: Don't Think, Free the Mind and the Legs Will Follow

Rule #9: When You Train or Race, Dress Event Appropriate

Rule #10:  It Doesn't Suck, It's a Challenge, It's an Opportunity

Rule #11: When It's Time to Take an Off-Season, Take an Off-Season

Don't Panic ... It's the Off-Season

For most serious or semi-serious endurance athletes there is a goal race (the "A" race) that a season is focused on. This could be an Ironman and a try for a Kona slot, or it could be stepping up to the 1/2 marathon distance for the first time. Whatever your big race is, the question always arrives: What do I do now? How do I train once all the training for the year has been done?

Welcome to the off-season. 

A little bit of this ain't such a bad thing.

There are a number of approaches that people take to the end of season. Some, just continue on after a short break or no break while others make their couch and a beer their new best "training partners" for a few months. There is a middle ground between these extremes, of course, and I fall squarely into that middle ground. Hell, I believe in having a true off-season so much I made it a part of The Rules (specifically Rule #11). If you follow the link you can get a bit more in detail, let's break it down into three words - Fat, Dumb and Happy.

Fat - After a season of racing the body needs a break away from rigors of trying to reach peak fitness. Putting on a few pounds this time of year is not only likely (think Thanksgiving pie and Xmas cookies), it is suggested. Staying at race weight year round puts undue stress on the body. Check the ego, do what's right for your long-term health.

Dumb - No, I'm not saying go out and do something stupid. What I'm saying is, no matter how good or bad your year turned out, now's the time to let it go and just get some easy training in for the sake of training. What happened happened. Let. It. Go. And while you're at it, forget about structure, and intervals, and data file, and anything else that makes you think about your past racing or the racing you will do in the coming year. For a few weeks do what you want, when you want to do it. Your body will tell you when it is time to start thinking about getting serious again.

Happy - This is a different kind of happy from that which you get from a 5k PR or finally getting the Strava KOM you have been trying for all summer. This is the happy you get from a little r&r; the happy you get from an extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning; the happy you get from a ride with friends where you enjoy hanging out on the quiet back roads without concern for your average pace or how far you went. All that stuff you neglect because you have a 20 mile run to do at 6 am on Saturday morning? Yeah, that.

With that said, if your goal is to be better in 2015, there are things that can and should be taken care of during the downtime. Everyone is different, but there are some things that are universal. Here's my list of constructive things to do during your down time:

Heal Those Little Injuries - That little niggle in your calf? Give it time. Same for the tight hamstring or shoulder. Take the time to do what is necessary to feel 100% going into your base training phase.

Strengthen Up the Body - If you trained and raced hard you have broken your body down to some degree. hit the weight room, start taking a TRX class, or start doing the core work you "didn't have time for" the past few months.

Like this but different.

Let the Mind Relax - Peaking for a race takes mental focus. Racing hard takes mental toughness. Give yourself a break or risk being checked out mentally when you really need to be there next year.

Embrace the Non-Training Side of Life - If this isn't self explanatory I really can't help you.

Plan for Next Season - If you consider yourself a triathlete, a cyclist, a runner, or any kind of endurance athlete your personality almost certainly runs somewhere from Type A to obsessive Type A. If you have actually managed to take some downtime you need something sport related to fill your head. Set your goals, determine your limiters, research what you need to do to get better, and plan out your race season.

____________

For me these down weeks are different than in years past. After sustaining a knee injury I never completely gave the injury a chance to really rest. With an Ironman on the schedule I returned to the pool and riding in less than two weeks after surgery. Running took some more time to ramp back up, but by Summer I was back building mileage. I made it to Florida ready to race, but now I need to give the body proper care. Here's what I expect to be doing during the off-season, into the early part of 2015:

Unlike years past I will NOT be doing any racing for an extended period of time. Will I be at the Pumpkin Pie race on Thanksgiving? Yes, weather permitting. Will I be racing the Pumpkin Pie race on Thanksgiving? No, no, no, no, no. Plan is to participate and support a good cause. (Imagine that!!!) There are some other races I might participate in ... after all, it's a great excuse to grab some breakfast with friends!!! Participate is the key word.

As I tried to do last off season I will be focusing in on getting stronger. Over the years I have been a high volume guy, building up as much aerobic endurance as I could. Twelve months ago I came to the conclusion that my strength had become more of a limiter than anything else, so strength workouts were on the agenda. Once circumstances changed what I could and could not do, I did what I could. So heading into 2015 I will be focused on something I wanted to concentrate on in 2014.

As I have always done I will continue to focus on longevity in sport. I really, really enjoy swimming, biking, running and competing. I did my first race, the Chili Pepper 5k in 1995 (still have the unwearable, heavy cotton t-shirt) with not a major injury for almost 19 years. I have been the guy who is always there for training runs/rides. Consistent because I remained healthy. Not doing too many stupid things has helped, but focusing on health and wellness during this time of year is a huge contributing factor.

I will be ramping up much slower than I have in years past once the new year is upon us. It makes no sense to be in 5k or marathon shape in February when the races I care about will be much later in the year. I have a few goals I would like to hit next year and can't be concerned with the noise or wear that comes with a long race season.

I will be planning my 2015. Change is good and 2015 is looking like it will be a bit different than year's past. 2014 turned out to be a much different year than planned, but a good year nonetheless. The challenge I faced was not the one I expected. The unexpected twist has inspired me for the new year. I want to stick with some of the old but add a few new twists into the equation. Not much more to say about this right now.

As for the official start of my training year? Meet me for the annual mountain run on New Year's Eve day to see just how Fat, Dumb, and Happy I've become.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Related Posts:

Rule #11: When It's Time to Take an Off-Season, Take an Off-Season

Ironman Florida Race Reivew - 140.6 miles of ... err 138.2 miles of fun

On November 1, 2014, approximately 3,000 people stood on the beach in Panama City Beach, Florida in anticipation of the start of Ironman Florida. The wind was blowing and the Gulf of Mexico did not look happy. Around 6:40 am, just 10 minutes before the professional men were set to start their race day the official announcement was made - due to unsafe conditions the swim was cancelled. The event would go off as a bike-run only with a time trial start beginning at 8 am.

And so my fifth try at the Ironman distance began, not with a swim, but with a walk back up to my rented condo. My 2014 triathlon year has been an interesting one, starting with a major injury, a DNS at Ironman Coeur d'Alene, a planned DNF at Eagleman 70.3, some solid racing over the Summer months, and now this. Really, I shouldn't be surprised. Nothing went as planned all year, so why should this be any different!!!

Ironman Florida was originally intended to be an experiment. I have never done more than one 140.6 distance race in a year and this would be #2 in 2014. I figured what the hell, give it a shot and see what happens. Honestly, this is not a race I would normally consider doing because the race course doesn't really fit me. Yes, the course is flat. Really, really flat. Which means that the course is "fast," or so the theory goes. But there are issues with as much undulation as you get on your bike trainer.

For a certain type of athlete - the big unit - this is an awesome course to be competitive on. I am not a big unit. Me likes me some hills. Lots and lots of hills. My previous four efforts were in Lake Placid (twice), Wisconsin, and Coeur d'Alene. What do all these races have in common? Climbing on the bike.

The other issue I have with flat terrain is what it does to the body. Specifically, sitting in the aero position for 112 miles and one gear is not fun and hard on the back. Yes, you can get up out of the saddle and stretch out, blah, blah blah, but not what I would consider ideal for Jon. Making matters worse, I know how I am and what could happen ... that moment of saying "eff-it" and laying down the hammer at mile 50 of the bike is much more likely when the road is flat than when I know there are hills down the road that need to be climbed.

This is what flat looks like.

Must. Fight. Inner. Urges. Must. Fight. Inner. Urges.

This race ended up on my schedule because a friend wanted to do it, and she wanted someone to do it with her. Obviously, the list of people most of us know who can and will do an Ironman is not the longest list. I made the decision to help her out and do it, which with the way my season worked out did give me the opportunity to race 140.6 miles this year ... or so I thought.

Anyway ... before I get into how the race day went I want to be perfectly clear about something: WTC and the local race officials absolutely made the correct decision in not proceeding forward with the swim. There was no way in hell it would have been safe to put us out there for the swim. There was a rip current that made it hard for the boats and nearly impossible for the kayaks to get in place. What do you think would have happened to the weak swimmers? How many DNFs would there have been if we ran into the ocean at 7 am?

The weather reports leading up to race day had been getting more sketchy by the day. We arrived on Wednesday, but The Queen and Shelly didn't come down until Thursday. This worked out well as I called The Queen before she left for the airport to have her retrieve some arm warmers I left behind because, really, who needs arm warmers for a race in Florida?

The picture below is what the ocean looked like on Friday morning, 24 hours before the start of the race. This is also what it looked like 24 hours after the race. Oh, what could have been.

On Saturday night a front came through the Panama City Beach area. By Saturday morning the temperature was 44 degrees, the wind was howling at 20-30 miles sustained with gusts, and race day started to look like an interesting little adventure.

This is what the ocean looked like on race morning:

Source

So back up to the condo to take the wetsuit off and figure out what to wear for 44 degrees and windy conditions. Also, I started to consider how this changes the dynamics of the race. With a TT start and no swim, there would be a much different mix of people out on the course around. Being the 2696th person to start, there would be a lot to consider, as well as a lot of weaker cyclists to pass.

Swim  Pre-Race

Around 8 am Emily and I got back to transition. I had taken in a gel around 6:30 in prep for the swim that didn't happen. Back in transition I was unsure of exactly what to do from a nutritional standpoint. I drank water, a bit of EFS, and hit the port-o-john twice. After Emily went off around 8:40 I found a semi-wind-free area to sit. Not exactly warm, but not unreasonably cold. Around 9:45 I finally could jump on my bike and start my day.


Bike - 112 miles 5:23:17 20.7 mph

The original game plan for the bike was simple: ride steady, stay within my abilities, stick with my nutrition plan through the entire ride, and get off the bike ready to run. With the change in the race I contemplated what to do. During the almost 2 hour wait in transition I decided to take things out a bit harder than the original plan. Without the energy burn of the swim and the expected headwind during the first hour plus, I felt the extra effort would be OK.

So after sitting around for almost two hours I took the initial minutes of the bike to get clear of the people immediately around me and get some blood into my legs. Without a 2.4 mile swim as a warmup the start felt more like the beginning miles of a long training ride than an Ironman ... except for the log jam of cyclists out in front of me. With conditions being less than ideal, I made sure to swing wide when passing, worried about swirling winds causing a crash.

The first 7 miles of the bike took us west along the coastline before making a right hand turn due north, almost directly into the NNW winds for the next 16 miles. These miles were harder than ideal conditions would have handed us. While fighting the winds I kept reminding myself that we would be coming back this way with the wind in our favor.

Then it happened. Just before making the turn to the east, somewhere between mile 21 and 22 it happened ... the train came rolling through. Not two. Not three. But four guys in my age group came riding by, sucking wheel, blatantly cheating.

I nearly lost my $hit.

I picked it up, passed by with a few choice words for the three wheel suckers before informing the dude up front that he was escorting a group of douches. Felt bad for the guy as he was working hard. Well, not too bad as he knew what was happening and he did nothing about it. They passed me back and I let them go. Then I made the decision to let it go, worry about my race, and make sure I had legs for the run.

F'em. Let the cheaters cheat. Get your head back in the game.

The pace picked up when the wind was at my back but, honestly, I really didn't feel good. The downtime in transition had me feeling a bit tight. Didn't feel bad, but didn't feel good. Around mile 30 this all changed, suddenly feeling like my legs were finally ready to ride.

The ride here is nothing special. The roads are flat, there isn't a whole lot to see, and the biggest worry is the traffic on some of the roads and the rough road on the out-and-back from miles 53 to 58. I continued to ride along just staying in my zone thinking about running well off the bike.

Around mile 47 I did something I have never done during an Ironman, then again around mile 72 - I got off the bike to pee. I saw this as a great sign that I was doing what was necessary to set up a good run. And yes, I know that you don't necessarily need to stop to take care of business, but it was windy and cold. Better to "lose" a minute for the stop than freezing up the junk. Just sayin'.

Bike Data via Garmin Connect

Other than the woman who crashed at mile 58, I had no real drama on the bike. After my mile 72 pee break I felt good and pushed a bit into the wind before making the turn south around mile 83. By mile 100 I finally had little company as I passed most of the riders I would pass for the day while the faster riders were up the road. For a good 40 minutes or so it felt like it was just me and my bike.


T2 - 6:11

Coming off the bike I felt better than I did at my first 4 attempts at the Ironman distance. I was hydrated, fueled up and ready to run. I had my own volunteer in the tent who helped me prepare for 26.2 miles of running. I could have been faster, but wanted to make sure I took care of two important things before starting the run - get a new layer of suntan lotion applied, and pee.

Run - 26.2 miles 4:07:53 9:27/mile

How the legs will react in the first few miles of the run is always the great unknown. More so this time around as my run training had been limited all year. Heading into the race my longest run logged all year had been just under 17 miles. With the low run volume heading into the race I had a simple plan: head out easy, take a walk break through every other aide station (approx. every 2 miles), and stay on top of nutrition by taking in some EFS gel and water at every aide station.

Heading out of transition all was good. After getting my nutrition right on the bike, I felt energized, hydrated, and ready to run with a smile on my face. As I headed out I was greeted by cheers from family and friends. The first mile had a supportive crowd, a group of Captain Americas, 10 people dressed as Chiquita Bananas, and a crew of young ladies dressed for Halloween. All were nice distractions as I settled in.

During the first loop I found a sustainable pace between 8:00 and 8:30 per mile early on. All was going to plan and by mile 10 my pace had slowly moved up to a steady 7:50ish pace. Unlike previous efforts at this distance I made it to the halfway point without an unplanned walk break.

Around mile 13 the runners return to town where you get some love from the crowds and a chance to get your run special needs bag. Which leads me to kudos to the volunteer who not only had my bag ready for me when I reached the bag area, but he ran in stride with me, handing off my gel flask on the move. Thanks for taking the extra effort.

Heading out onto the second loop I remained steady ... and then ... it happened. My first (and only major) mistake on the day. Stomach problems.

Somewhere along the line I started burping. Nothing unusual, but it is a sign that you aren't processing the nutrition you are taking in. Solving it is simple - stop taking in calories while taking in water until it passes. The sugar isn't getting into you so there is no reason to take in anything but water. Once the burping stops you are good to resume calorie intake. Where I got into trouble was ignoring the blatant sign.

For the next 45 minutes or so I ran when I could, walked when I had to, while drinking as much water as I could manage, hoping this would eventually pass ... which it did ... in the way that it always does ... with a few huge farts. Suddenly my gut felt much relief and running could proceed. Shortly after I began running I could take in nutrition once again.

And for those of you who may be wondering, yes, this is a thing. This whole process is eloquently referred to as the burp-fart method.

Back to the race: at this point the sun had gone down and it was getting pretty darn cold. The second mistake I made on the day was leaving my gloves in T2, figuring I wouldn't need them. My hands were freezing. Completely forgetting the early sundown time in early-November and that I started running around 3:30 and not 1:30, running in the dark and cooler temperatures weren't the consideration they should have been.

From mile 20 on in I ran slow, walking in spots, enjoying my best marathon off the bike. It became clear that the inability to put more run miles in were an issue. Nothing I could do except keep on moving forward to the best of my ability. Yes, a 4:07 isn't a super fast time, but a 59 minute PR. This represents not only how well I held it together on the day, but how piss poor I have done in the past.


Overall: 9:37:27 43rd in AG 45-49, 286th overall male, 320th overall finisher

When it comes to Ironman racing the race you imagine is never the race you get. Something always happens, even for the best. There is never that perfect day. But my day here turned out to be pretty good. My bike split was 13+ minutes than my best effort (a 5:36 at IM Wisconsin, 2007) and my run split 59 minutes faster than the 5:06 I ran in Lake Placid in 2011. While you can't just throw a best-guess swim time in front these results and say I would have gone XX:XX:XX, I think it is safe to say this effort turned out to be my best one to date. Still, there is an asterisk next to these results, because without a swim ...

Overall Impressions and Final Thoughts

As I stated previously, IMFL is not a race I would have chosen to do on my own. I prefer to race a hillier course and am physically more suited to that type of terrain. I signed up to help a friend out, get another Ironman under my belt, and try and get a PR. Due to the cancelled swim, the PR will have to wait. I did help out a friend and I do have race #5 under my belt. With the highly competitive nature of my age group and my lack of physical gifts, my best bet to getting to Kona is likely to come from either the mother of all days or, more likely, a legacy spot after 12 finishes.

Would I come back to Panama City Beach to race again? Maybe, but not because I disliked the race. The area is nice, the race venue is very user friendly, and the host hotel condo we stayed in worked out nicely for the two of us racing as well as our support crew. (Please note: if you are going to stay at the host hotel, pay up for one of the condos, which is a much better experience IMHO than the basic hotel rooms). For the big unit or the person who doesn't want to deal with hills, I would most definitely recommend this race.

For the 1000+ first timers I feel a bit sad. After months of training to have the swim cancelled is a hard thing to deal with. Yes, you crossed the finish line. Yes, you have your finishers medal, t-shirt and hat. Not sure if you really can say you checked that box off without the first 2.4 of the 140.6. It's tough, for sure, but with the conditions being what they were, better to not get the swim in than to see 100s of people DNF on the swim, or something so much worse. Safety first. WTC made the correct decision.

As for me, I am deep into my off-season doing very little in the way of swim/bike/run. Last week I started back up with the strength training, looking to build my strength back up. I will be at a few local running races in the coming weeks in participant-only mode. There's a time to stress the body. November is not that time.

Will there be another Ironman on tap for 2015? Maybe. I don't know. At some point I will contemplate what I would like to do next year. Now is not that time. The Ironman experience is too fresh to think clearly about next year.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.

Jon