2014 Update

Since its's been awhile since my last entry I thought I'd share an update. Before IMWI last year I decided to not pursue an ironman in 2014 unless I had qualified for Kona. Since I missed by about 20 minutes, I am sticking to that decision. Kristin and I are getting married in 6 weeks from today and I knew upfront that I would want to be available to help with the many details. (I am incredibly excited to start our life together!) Training for a full ironman can be incredibly selfish at times and while Kristin is incredibly supportive of my dream to race in Kona one day, I wanted to be supportive of her in the coordination and planning of our big day. Helping seal the decision was the wear and tear the training can have both physically and mentally. Both mind and body need a break.

I have been fortunate enough to be selected for the PowerBar Team Elite 2014-2015 squad. I'll continue to spread the wealth to my friends, family, and fellow racers throughout the season. I will also be racing for [MICHIGAN AWESOME] this year. They are a cool apparel company that takes pride in our amazing state. With lots of fast people on the team, I am looking forward to racing in training with them.

We're two weeks out from USAT Long Course nationals, which will be the first A race of the season for me. The second will the USAT Olympic Distance nationals in August. While targeting these two races, I will focus on more purposeful workouts vs. just grinding out distances/times. Over the winter I have spent a number of ours riding the turbo-trainer indoors while actually following an interval/workout. The results have been noticeable already. Another focus will be gaining some foot-speed with track sessions and intervals, rather than heading out and just running. I have a tendency to just go run as fast as I can sustain over a prescribed distance, which is a bad habit and can result in injuries and fatigue.

Speaking of injuries, I'm also working on good habits: foam rolling, stretching, and using my newly acquired "space-boots" (Norma-Tec). So far, I've seen an uptick in quality efforts while actually holding a similar volume to both 2012 and 2013. I also am hoping to form good habits with eating. A lot of days it seems dinner will consist of snacks vs. something well-balanced. As much as I love chips and salsa, it is not the meal to fuel a Kona qualifier on a regular basis.

Tomorrow is my first race of the season, Bear Lake Olympic Tri, more of a warm-up effort for the half-ironman in two weeks. I'll have an update for that as soon as I can. Until then, keep chasing your dreams!

Ironman Wisconsin Race Report

Finally, the payday for all of my training, recovery days, support from friends and family, early bed times and early mornings. Treading water, 6:57 a.m., at the head of 2,600 ironmen-to-be. What is usually a beautiful sight with the rising sun, calm water and blue skies, is now gray, windy, cloudy, and most notably: 2-3' chop in the lake. Nervous energy of those around me. Millions of hours of training culminating into 140.6 miles over the next 17 hours. No holding back now, with countless hours ahead of me but zero time to think about how hard this will be. BOOM! The cannon sends what little calm water is left into a fury of arm stokes, kicks, and otherwise flailing appendages.

We headed to Madison on Wednesday night to get situated. One of the things I love most about Ironman Wisconsin is the town. Pretty easy to get around, great restaurants, athletic-minded, and great beer. Rode the course on Thursday with my folks. Of course, I would flat my tires trying to pump them up pre-ride.Turns out my valve extenders were failing. Very glad that happened on Thursday so it wasn't race morning. Bought replacement tubes with long valve-stems to fit my Reynolds race wheels. Next up, my front brake would go out. So another trip to a bike shop and a replaced brake cable. Again, glad it was pre-race. I can only imagine hurtling down Timber Lane at 45mph with no brakes. With bike problems remediated, rested up, relaxed, ready to race. Or so I thought.

I thought it would be a good idea to get a pre-race swim in the lake just to loosen up. Turns out it was choppy that day as well, and I would stress a muscle in my shoulder. Quite painful, so much that I couldn't raise my left arm over my head. Thankfully I have some amazing friends who have a Chiropractic office in Grandville who came to cheer me on. Dr. Ronda from Dynamic Family Chiropractic is certified in ART and worked some magic. After a couple sessions, much better. Can't say thank you enough to her and JR for coming and willing to do some extra work to enable my big day. Deserving of more than this plug, but if you're in the GR area, you should check them out.

MiTi Half-Iron Aquabike Race Report

August 25, 2013

The pursuit for my first overall win continues...

This race was slated to be my last big training day before IMWI. Perfect location close to home, awesome swim venue, and a relatively hilly bike course to sharpen my skills once more. The day before I had met AG Silver front man Jon Ornée and 2BContinued stud Phil Jones for an up-tempo ride. We cruised up to Grand Haven at a spicy 23.5mph average. Phil and Jon both had their TRI bikes, while I road my new road bike, "the stinger". I definitely was at a disadvantage, but it was good for me to push my heart rate trying to keep up. We ended up "slowing down" for a milder 22.2mph overall average, my HR average was high. I hopped off the bike and suffered through 8mi of running. This was a perfect example of what happens when you hit your lactate threshold early on in a workout: your performance will suffer as your continue. With that fresh reminder, I went into this race with a "practice" mentality, meaning I would ride by heart rate, not by speed, to ensure I don't hit that threshold.

The swim went without a hitch. No goggles again. I don't know if I will ever go back unless it is a salt water (Kona!)  or questionable water swim.  30 minutes and a little over 1.2mi. No complaints, other than having to swim around the slower half-iron athletes who started 5 minutes before us.

A relatively quick transition once I figured out where my bike was (oops- I made no note of where it was relative to where you run in from the water...) and I was off. I spent the first 6-7 miles getting my HR under 150, well below my threshold so that any spikes from climbing would keep me safely under. Then I turned up the speed a bit. I passed my friend Nenad and he indicated that JR was just up the road. About 5 miles later, there was JR. We rode together for about a mile, then I took off on a hill. He would only lose about 4-5 minutes to me after that, a solid ride for him on a windy day. He would end up in 3rd overall.

The course underwent impromptu construction the day before the race, so there was one sketchy section on an uphill. Thankfully the race directors it down some roofing sheets and it went without a hitch. With approximately 7 miles to go, I decided I would start to push and let my HR pick up. With about 4 miles to go I really started hammering to see if I could catch the guy who was in first place. I wasn't successful, taking 2nd by just over one minute, but am very satisfied with how I was able to control my effort yet still perform inline with my target pace for IMWI. Nutrition-wise, I think I have my game plan set. Mixing PowerGels in with my drink has a lot of positives, including not having to hassle with opening them on the bike and dropping the wrapper. Very happy to have PowerBar on board for the final push!

Time to start tapering!

Fremont Tri-4-Fun Race Report

Saturday August 10, 2013

The pursuit of an overall win continues...

Let me start by saying that I love this race. On a Saturday, in the afternoon, low key, inexpensive, yet competitive. After finding out that the 2012 winner would not be present, my hopes were high of an overall win. It wasn't going to be easy, but I knew I had a chance. That is, until Jimi Minnema showed up. Jimi, a local pro, rode his bike from GR to the race. I knew immediately that I wouldn't be able to win, but had a solid chance at taking 2nd still. Local studs Eric Zane from the Free Beer and Hotwings Show and Phil Jones from my 2BContinued team were also there, but I knew I had a shot.

The swim was extended from last year, meaning it would take 3 minutes instead of 2. When the race started, I took off from the beach and hit the water. I started swimming right away instead of trying to run through the knee deep water. Need to save those legs for later. By the first buoy, I was clear of everyone and off into the lead. Again, swimming without goggles, I had not problem sighting. Take note triathlon world! I was first out of the water by 20-30 seconds, nearly ran over a kid eating ice cream in the middle of the sidewalk we had to run up (move it kiddo! Where are your parents and why don't they have you corralled away from the race in a safe manner?!).

T1 was quick. Jimi would make up his ground here but deferred to me on the way out of transition. The volunteers yelled at us because we were riding our bikes already, but as we both pointed out, the race director instructed everyone to do so. I technically beat Jimi out of transition and was first on the bike, albeit by only a fraction of a second.

We popped out onto the bike course and started climbing the only hill. I led him up the hill and turned onto the main drag. Then, like a flash, he went by and was gone. I focused on recovering my HR just a little so that I wasn't red-lined, then put the hammer down.

I should note that I was using our team's disc wheel, which looks awesome. I think it was about as fast as my race wheels on the flat course, but renting it for the race meant a donation to a great cause, the LIVESTRONG foundation, which in the aftermath of the Lance debacle, continues to provide cancer navigation services to all affected by the horrible disease. 

Back to the race. At mile 6, I had worked my average up into the high 24's but was starting to tire. I hadn't been training to race this distance/speed all year. Then, the course turned left to head back to T2...into a very strong crosswind. It was all I could to to put my head down, clench my teeth, and push forward. Somehow I had the power to stay above 20mph, but it was 9 minutes of pure suffering back to T2. The wind was so strong that I didn't want to turn my head to look back at any pursuers, so I hit T2 and transitioned as fast as I could.

Into T2, they didn't let us ride straight back to the racks. Instead, I had to run in my bike shoes. I dislike doing this, solely because the plastic cleats take a beating and it is quite inefficient to do so. Oh well. Wracked my bike, collected my shoes that had been scattered, and took off.

About a half-mile into the run was the first chance to look back, and of course when I did, I saw a guy about 500 feet behind me. That might seem like a lot, but visually on the open road, you can almost hear footsteps. I upped my tempo and was suddenly running fast than I had all year. Thankfully my legs let me open up my stride and keep my infamously high cadence rolling along. At each turn, I would take a time check and figure out the gap to this guy. After a 6:30 mile, he was 30 seconds back. I was struggling, but knew I could hold him off. The next mile was a little faster, and the gap grew by a few seconds. Finally, we made the turn to head back to the finish. At this corner, with 3/4 miles to go, the gap was up to 40 seconds. I opened up my stride a bit more and pushed forward. Finally, I saw my dad and was told he couldn't see him. I cruised down the hill to the finish and hit the line. 2nd overall for the 2nd straight year. Jimi congratulated me and said I had a hell of a swim. I'll take it. Congrats, Jimi on your win!

Very satisfied with the race overall. Great to be healthy and in my final training phase for IMWI. Thanks as always to my ironmate, Kristin, for putting up with my pre and post race nerves and for the unending support. To Jill K for taking pics and cheering loudly. To my parents for supporting and cheering me on (great race, mom!). Lastly, of course, to PowerBar for providing the best nutrition out there.

Keep dreaming...

Lumberman 70.3 Race Report

This past weekend brought us to Cadillac, MI for the inaugural Lumberman Half-Iron Distance Tri (they've hosted Oly and Sprint for a few years). The plan for the weekend was to get a barometer for how IMWI training is going and see if there are any areas that need specific attention (any of the 3 disciplines, nutrition, technique, etc.). We were also hoping for nice weather as we were staying with several friends in a lakeside cottage (thanks again, Tim and Molly!). The weather never came, but the race still went on.

Lumberman '70.3' - July 27, 2013
We woke up Saturday morning after a very short night. Made coffee, ate breakfast, and packed up to drive to the race. We were late. Not entirely, but the line for the porta-potties was way too long. So we made a brash decision to bolt to a nearby gas station, leaving Timmy in the line without any triathlon-ing gear. Sorry, Timmy! Ended up that it was a good decision, but then we only had 10 minutes to set up in transition. My dad helped and got us a close parking spot. Thankfully, the weather cooperated with our tardiness and caused the race to be delayed for 30-45 minutes due to fog. It would end up being dreary weather all day, but the cooler temperatures would allow for faster racing.

The swim:
Turns out the lake is filled with zebra mussels and their empty razor-like shells will destroy your feet. Thankfully we all figured this out before the swim start, and none of our group personally. We were finally set to start the swim and we hear the race director announce "1 minute to go". I spit in my goggles to keep them from fogging up and put them on. As soon as I do, SNAP, the strap breaks. I had enough extra strap to fix it, but without scissors and more than 45 seconds I accepted the fact that I would have to complete the 1.2 mi swim without goggles. I stuffed them in my wetsuit and the horn went off. Timmy and I pushed through a few people and made our way to the front by the first buoy. I soon realized that I might prefer swimming without goggles. Seems like a strange concept, but after years of playing water polo (without goggles), I found that it was easier to sight buoys without! The rest of the swim went smoothly. We kept the tempo up but certainly wasn't a hard effort. Using the knowledge of the razor-sharp shells on the bottom, we swam all the way to shore, even when the water was only 1-2 feet deep. Out of the water in first place, 29 minutes flat. Good swim.

T1:
Wasn't too bad. It was concerning that it was drizzling rain, that's the only thought I had: Hope I don't crash on the wet roads.

The bike:
Hmmm...1 mile in, I nearly crashed. My sunglasses were completely fogged up/wet and I could hardly see. I saw a right turn coming and started to coast into the turn to try to take it somewhat quickly. After all, I was in first. I wanted to try to keep it that way. I pulled my glasses down a bit and realized that there were a lot of potholes and bumps in the corner. I tried to brake, but in the process locked up both wheels. I thought it was the end. Carbon wheel meets curb. Fly into the grass or get nasty road rash. Yet, somehow I managed to stay upright and make the turn. Perhaps it was the road construction cone that I ran over that slowed me down? Either way, it shook me up a bit and didn't help with getting my heart rate down.

Finally, after a few miles, I settled in. I got passed by a couple guys and found a steady, more sustainable pace. The hills weren't too bad. The wind and rain was a bit cold, but allowed for a faster pace. We hit the turn around and I checked my average: 21.9 mph. Not bad. That's against the wind, but slightly net downhill. At this point I made it my goal to hold 21.5 mph overall. I saw Timmy a few minutes back and thought, he's having a good race, sticking to his guns (i.e. running like a mad man). This is where nutritionally I started to tangent from my plan. I had no gels, no salt tabs, just energy drink concoction made up of PowerBar's Ironman Perform and a couple of PowerGels in each bottle. This was working well except it was cold out and drinking wasn't as enticing as I needed it to be. So, I neglected it. Wen the road started climbing back up it got harder and harder to hold pace. I was getting frustrated. Maybe I went out to hard. Maybe I don't have the fitness. Maybe....amazing how the negative thoughts pile up. Then I thought...maybe you should take some nutrition!!! Brilliant. After guzzling half of a bottle, I quickly recomposed myself and got back on track. I hit the olympic tri turnaround and knew the ride would be net downhill for the rest of the way. I kept looking down at my Garmin and seeing 24-25 mph, sustained for mile after mile. This was going to be my best bike split, ever. I felt great. Cruised into T2 with my bike split at 2:33:33 (21.89 mph average).

T2:
This was tough. My hands and feet were nearly numb and I had no dexterity. This made changing my shoes very difficult. Fortunately, I had swapped out the laces on my Saucony Kinvaras to an elastic set. I wisely grabbed salt tabs and my PowerGel flask and took off running.

The Run:
Maybe the most mentally defeating part of a longer distance triathlon are the early miles in the run discipline. Mile 1, 12.1 miles to go, mile 2 drags on, then mile 3, still 10.1 miles to go. Likely that it feels this way because you haven't found your stride yet. Thankfully the route was along Lake Cadillac, which helps take your mind off of the distance to go. When I hit the aid station at mile 2, the kids were very encouraging. "You're doing awesome, in 4th place!" That caught my attention. I had lost track of how many people had passed me on the bike. I began to ponder how hard I would have to work to get into 3rd and on the overall podium. My left leg was tight and I didn't want to have to deal with an injury this late into Ironman Wisconsin training, but as I kept knocking off the miles around 7:20 pace, I thought I could give it a go.

At mile 5, one of the aid station workers said that I was about a mile behind 3rd. Maybe he said first, but this was a little disheartening. I kept pushing, hoping to get a better update from someone else. The run course takes you around the lake, then back out the way you came for another 10k out-and-back. This meant there was a chance I would get to gauge the distance myself, too. I saw 1st place, then 2nd. Before I could see 3rd, the course separated for a small loop. I hit the turn around to start the out-and-back. Kristin, Korrie, and Molly were there. Kristin yelled at me "142". Funny, all I wanted to know was how far ahead the 3rd place guy was. So I yelled back, "What? How far ahead is 3rd?!". Apparently, that's what Kristin was saying, but my mind was not 100% there. Sorry, Kristin. You are amazing for anticipating me wanting to know that, thank you for doing so! Molly clarified and said, "about 2 minutes, he's way ahead!"

When I turned the corner to a long straightaway, I could see 3rd place ahead, walking! I slowed down. I wanted to be able to have some energy left in case he was just walking an aid station. He would run for a few, then walk, then run. I was making up ground quickly. With about 4 miles to go, he turned around and saw me, just a few meters behind. He tried to pick up the tempo, but I was full of energy and he had cracked. I offered him a salt tab as I passed, but he declined and said good luck. We hit the turn together, 5k to go. When he walked again I knew I had a good shot at holding him off. Then I saw Timmy, barreling down. He was about 1/2 mi behind and charging. Suddenly, I felt my podium spot was not secure. I gave him a high-five and some encouragement to go get 4th place. As the final miles reeled off, I kept looking behind me to ensure that it wasn't going to be a sprint to the finish. I felt great but my legs were very tight at this point. I didn't want to have to sprint to the line. Thankfully, I didn't have to. I crossed in a total time of 4:42:32, but the official time at 4:42:42. I was ecstatic. Tim crossed in 5th, a few seconds behind 4th. He could have caught him, but wanted to do the robot on the finish line. There's photographic evidence to come, just need to find it.

Overall, this was a great race, 18 minute PR, a podium finish, and surplus fitness to boot. It would turn out to be a half-marathon PR as well by 3 minutes. Guess I need to run an open half-marathon! The weather may have provided some upside, but I'm very happy with where I am.

Thanks again to Tim and Molly for hosting, Steve, Korrie, Nenad, Kristin, and my parents for the company and cheering, and to PowerBar for providing us all with nutrition for the race!

Back to pursuing the Kona dream....

3rd Annual Hoogie Half-of-a-half Backyard Tri

Grand Haven, MI -- July 14, 2013

Once again, my parents graciously opened up their home to host the 3rd Annual Hoogie Half (of-a-half) Backyard Tri. Again, free PowerBar products for everyone this year, which is always nice to be able to do. Had some new products and also an assortment for everyone to try new things.

We headed down to the Lake Michigan beach and started walking the 1km or so to where we would start swimming. My dad had already gone out and fixed up a buoy for us to sight, which was great. After a day of very strong east winds, the big lake was freezing cold. Very glad I had a wetsuit! Once we were all in the water, we wasted no time getting started. Everyone wanted to get out as soon as possible. My dad kayaked along with us, and JR was long gone. I swam in on the sandbar most of the way, under the mental game that the shallower water would be warmer. Ha! Ultimately, it ended up meaning more time in the water since the buoy was back out in deeper water. On well. Glass-like conditions are rare, so no complaints here.

After climbing back up the dune, I made a quick transition, told Kristin thanks for watching the bikes while we swam, and took off after JR, who was easily 2 minutes ahead.

I quickly realized that I did not have the power in my legs to fully pursue JR, but I wanted to at least make up some ground. I ended up averaging 21mph on the way out, which I was pleased with. The 2 hours I spent the day before battling the wind back from Grand Haven definitely taxed my legs. After the turnaround to head back north, I saw how close Phil, Matt, Tim, and Jeff were. I thought about sitting up and letting them catch up so that we could work as a group (the HHH is "draft legal"), but this is part of my training and I decided to see how long I cold hold them off. Turns out, that was another 4 miles. When we grouped up, I had been solo for 18 miles at 21.1 avg., which I was happy with. We grouped up and chased after JR. It took a lot of short pulls at high pace, but we finally managed to pull him back with 1 mile to go. This meant I would be battling Tim for the win on the run.

After another quick transition, we were off running. Tim closed the 5 second gap in no time, and we ran together for the rest of the way, both trying to concede to the other. Tim had run 25km the day before, so his legs were just as tired as mine. Why do we do these things to ourselves? We hit up the cooler my folks kindly placed out on the run course, waited for Phil and Jeff, and headed off for the last 4 miles. Phil and Jeff dropped off again, so Tim and I ran it in together. In the end, Tim would win the battle of conceding and I would take the win by a couple strides.

All in all, a fun race. I was very glad that my legs held up on the run! Just 19.5 more miles for an ironman marathon! Sigh...

Post race festivities were great as always fun for all the families and significant others to get to relax, eat, swim in the pool, etc.together. Makes the triathlon world smaller and smaller.

A huge thanks again to my parents for hosting, for everyone who came, and to PowerBar for being an awesome sponsor.

Next up: Lumberman 70.3 in Cadillac,MI.

Bear Lake Sprint Triathlon

Two days after the criterium in Zeeland, it was time for the second triathlon of the season. The day brought us to North Muskegon, MI for the Bear Lake Sprint Tri. In order to drum up some friendly competition amongst teammates, this is the second race in the point series we created. With potential do get on the overall podium, we showed up ready to rock.

Bear Lake Sprint Tri, June 23, 2013
Race morning came very early, after spending most of the previous day traveling to my niece's 1st birthday party. Couldn't miss that, so take the travel fatigue and put it aside. Tim and I had plans of opening up a big gap on the swim and trying to lead the race wire to wire. We were successful, after a few weeks of panic swim training, we were out in front after the first buoy. Unfortunately, the swim is only 750m. We had approximately a 30 second gap out of the water.

My transition was fast, and I was out on the bike in first place. What a cool feeling that is, following the lead motorcycle escort. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. After approximately 3 miles, I was passed by 2 athletes. Soon after, a third. None of these were Tim though, so from a point series perspective, I felt okay. I also recalled that one of the guys was over 60 and had done the same thing last year. He doesn't run well (he told us that last year), but he sure is a strong cyclist! There is one big hill on the bike course that you climb and descend right before the turnaround. You then go right back over. At this point, all four of us were very close. Tim was close behind as well. My hope was that we would get a little relief from the wind on the way back, but it was almost worse. My legs were zapped from training, but I kept my head up and pushed home, coming into T2 in 4th.

After another quick transition, I was out on the run. I had no idea what the gap was to Tim behind me, but I knew if I held him off that I could finish 3rd overall. But, the gap wasn't that big. A half mile in and I heard footsteps. Tim was flying. I would later find out that he ran 6:09 avg/mi, while I struggled to get under 7. That was okay though. I moved back into 4th and cruised home. There are much bigger goals for me this year, and I was relatively satisfied with the race. Given my issues with quad injuries, finishing the run without any pain was a success!

After the race, I would head out for 40 more miles on the bike. Have to keep doing work and keep my short-term goals in check, there's a world championship in Hawaii to qualify for!

(A huge thanks to Jason Lavelle of Absolute Photography for taking pictures for the 2BContinued team!!!)