Date: September 17, 2006
Event: Ironman 70.3 Cancun
Location: Cancun, Mexico
Racers to Watch: Kimberly Hager, Kim Loeffler
Website: http://www.ironman.com

This year’s ironman WI was my primary race of the season. I had set goals of breaking the 10hr mark and qualifying for Kona 2007. Although I didn’t meet either one of those goals, I came away satisfied with my effort and even hungrier to come back and improve again next year.

I got to Madison on Thurday evening. I would be staying out in Verona, which allowed me to get away from all of the craziness downtown and relax and get some good rest.

On Friday, I did a easy 2.5 mile run in the morning, and then ventured downtown to check out the Gatorade morning swim. I had been feeling good with all of my workouts this week and these were no exception. I felt rested and ready to go for the race. After getting my workouts done for the day, I got registration done, had my bike tuned up, and tried to stay off of my feet as much as possible.

On Saturday, I did a 40min morning bike ride followed by a good stretching session just to get the legs warmed up and keep them loose for sunday. Although Friday’s weather was absolutely beautiful, Saturday started a downward spiral that would be a ugly weekend of weather.

Well, the morning of the race was finally here and I had high hopes for the day. After my staple morning breakfast of oatmeal, banana, Gatorade nutrition shake, and (of course) coffee, I was set to go. It was a cool morning, but no rain as of yet.

I got into the water at 6:45, which gave me 15 minutes to swim around and get warmed up as well as find my ideal starting position. With the dark cloudy conditions I had opted to go with my clear Aqua Sphere goggles which turned out to be a perfect choice.

I started out the swim with relatively little congestion and found a good lead group to trail behind. The backstrech of the rectangular course proved to be very difficult, going straight into a headwind, and seemed more like swimming in a ocean than in an inland lake. After making my way through some lapped traffic on the second loop I came out of the water in 54:30, right on schedule!

Onto the bike and then came the rain. No sooner had I got down the helix of the terrace and onto the bike course, did it start to drizzle. This would turn into downpours at times, which would not end for the rest of the race. I had decided prior to the race that I would wear my one piece Ironman Activewear uni and armwarmers on the bike. This turned out to be a bad decision, as I was regretting not having more clothes throughout the bike. I could feel my hands and feet turning to ice cubes and my core body temperature slowly dropping.

The terrible conditions would have a major effect on bike splits as I came in over 13 minutes slower than my time on this course 2 years ago, in a 5:26. Only 1 person on the day would break 5 hrs, which on a good day is not easy, given the climbing that this course offers. I tried to hold my nutrition plan but that proved very difficult to do because eating and drinking when you are so cold is just not appealing.

Starting a marathon when you can’t feel your feet is not exactly ideal, and to top that off my head felt like it was hovering about 2 feet above my body (unattached)! I was sitting in 15th position overall coming off of the bike, and hoping I could hold off at least a few people on the marathon, which is my weakest aspect of the race.

The first couple of miles I took at a conservative (to me) but steady 8:30 pace. This was truly longer on race time following 2 much needed bathroom stops. Halfway through the 1st 13 mile loop, I was feeling the effects of the cold and had to slow to a walk briefly. I finally got to an aid station and took in 2 Powergels and some Gatorade. This gave me a much needed lift and I continued on.

After that, I took in as much nutrition as possible at each aid station and that seemed to do the trick, as I finally started to feel a little less dizzy. I knew that I was not moving fast, but I just kept thinking positive. My goal was to run a 3:30, but at the halfway mark I knew that would not be possible.

So I told myself to keep it steady and not to fall apart. This is what I did to come in with a 3:52 marathon (although not quite my goal, it was still 40 minutes faster than last time!).
In the end I ended up with an overall time of 10:22 and 54th overall with 5th in my age group. I was only 5 minutes short of qualifying for Kona (3 slots) and 15 minutes short of our age group winner.

Despite the terrible conditions, it was another great Ironman, and I can’t wait for the next one! Although I better be able to walk without pain before I start training again (not to mention walking down stairs)!!

A special thanks has to go out to Keith Meyer and Ben Harper for all of the help over the weekend and all season, as well as Doug Berner for setting me up with the best working bike out there. The volunteers and fans deserve some recognition as well, for putting up with the worst conditions imagineable.

Date: September 10, 2006
Event: Ford Ironman Wisconsin
Location: Madison, WI
Racers to Watch: Curt Chesney, Kimberly Hager, Heather Haviland, Jamima Iley, Joshua Ritchie, Brian Schaning, Lara Shaw
Website: http://www.ironman.com

So here we are, at the beginning of September, and only a few more months and another triathlon season will be in the books for most of us. Some of you might have an Ironman (or two) still left on your plate, and your training is in full swing. Since I usually race an Ironman at the end of my season, at this time of year I always find myself training more and training long.

Swimming is one sport that I feel needs a little spark to make my swims for effective for an Ironman. Currently, I swim twice a week, Tuesdays & Thursdays each for 2 hours. One question I always face as I stand at the pool’s edge at 5 AM is what sets should I swim that will prepare me for that famous 2.4 mile swim in Kailua Bay? Or for any Ironman swim for that matter?

Below are some sets that I use in my training and might help you as well. Sure, they might not seem that fun, but trust me, they have certainly worked to get my mind and body ready to tackle that famous swim. Enjoy and best of luck to you…

SET #1 (4000 yds)
4 x 1000 as follows:

#1 – 200 FAST/600 steady/200 FAST 45 sec rest
#2 – 400 FAST/200 steady/400 FAST 30 sec. rest
#3) – 300 FAST/400 steady/300 FAST 15 sec rest
#4 – 200 FAST/600 steady/200 FAST

(Time yourself with your spiffy TIMEX watch for each 1000. Keep your focus on technique for #4)

SET #2 (3100 yds)
50-100-200-400-800-800-400-200-100-50

Take 45 sec rest in-between the 800’s, all other rest should be 10-15 sec.

SET #3 (2700 yds)
9 x 300’s as follows on 3:40

1-3 First 100 FAST
3-6 Middle 100 FAST
7-9 Last 100 FAST

SET #4 (3000 yds.)
30 x 100’s

1-5 on 1:25
6-15 on 1:20
16-20 on 1:30 (pull optional)
21-28 on 1:15
29-30 on 1:10

(adjust interval accordingly to your own pace)

I went to a large party recently and, after a while, noticed I felt out of place. I didn’t know why, it was a nice party and I was wearing appropriate party clothes. Then I got it – I was the only one I could see wearing a plastic watch.

At first, I worried that this stamped me as some sort of fiscal under-achiever, everyone was wearing expensive watches. Then, I hoped that my plastic OVA Ironman stamped me as something else, a triathlete.

In a room full of people with watches designed to make a personal statement of affluence, I thought my watch said something else about me. Or maybe posing as someone who swims, bikes and runs all the time is just a different way to say the same thing.

Nonetheless, the anti-bling of my $55 watch made me feel left out. Would two carats in each ear plus the Timex equal the dress for success impact of a Rolex, or don’t gentlemen wear jewelry?