I am happy to report a successful race in Louisville, even though I was slightly short of reaching my pre-race goals. 

The race is usually hot (Kentucky in Aug), which aside from the beautiful hills on the bike is one of the reasons I choose this race.  However, this year at 75 degrees for the high, the temps were 15-20deg F less than in the past.  Maybe this is why none of the 8 pros ahead of me has any problems?  For me, the tougher the conditions the better I do.  With my full-time job I have no choice but to train when I have the time, regardless of the conditions.

I had a steady non-wetsuit swim, but the pace was too comfortable, so I knew I could not have been with the pros I wanted to be with (the race contenders).  Tissenk, Zyemsiev, Sundberg etc, who were about 3min ahead and in 3rd-6th and I was riding in 7-8 place.  Since I had the crash on the bike in LP (Lake Placid) I really wanted to have a solid race to “show” my conditioning, therefore I decided a different strategy on the bike.  Unlike my usually aggressive riding- especially on the hills I choose to monitor my watts and take it relatively easy on all up-hills and really work the flats and down-hills.  The difference was that I rode my Trek TTX in 4:48, rather than maybe 4:30`s, but I did so by putting NO lactic acid into my legs. My average watts were 269w and rarely let it drop below 250w.  Note the pavement is VERY rough in places and I actually lost both of my bottles or race nutrition.  The first bounced out at mile 2 and the second would not come out of my carbon aero cage- on the down tube.  I bent the cage trying to yank it out and it finally came out after 10+ tries and bounced into the ditch.  Thanks to 6-7 bottles of Gatorade Endurance I drank on the course, because I had no longer the high cal drink of my choice. 

I began the run feeling fresh and in 7^th overall ~ 5h50, so needed a sub 3:10 to be in the 8`s.  The right glut/ hamstring muscles that were tight in LP were feeling better in KY.  However, this year KY had many IM champs and I knew there was some fast company behind me (like last year’s champ Longree who runs 2:40`s).  Thankfully he did not catch me until 13miles, but it is still disappointing as I was on a sub 3hr marathon pace and getting passed. The run in Louisville is very flat and many find it boring.  I did not mind it, as after the first loop there are always plenty of people on the course to keep one motivated.  After being passed by a Brett Sutton TBB athlete I was now in 9^th and I was really hoping for 8^th (last place in $ and podium).  However, I did not see Neidrig (Andreas now in 8^th) at the loop out/ back and I thought (hoped) he may have dropped out.  It is not a true out and back because there is a small loop where one goes straight to the finish and the other goes right for another complete loop.  Finally, at the last out/ back with 10k to go he was just over 3min ahead.  I knew I was running faster than he was, but my legs were now cramping and speeding up was not an option.  I pushed as hard as I could, but did not see him.  That is until the last turn to the finish when he was crossing about 300m and 50sec ahead of me.  I had given it my all (or so I thought) although I seemed fine afterwards and walked away a little disappointed…hindsight is 20/ 20.  My final time was 9:02 and ran 3:11 after having cramped legs, finishing the first North American overall. Goal of having a solid IM race accomplished!

Next up- NYC Marathon (01 Nov)

Dave

Meeting during the world championships in Switzerland, the UCI management committee has voted to ban race radios.  Please see this Velonews article for details: http://www.velonews.com/article/98391 Yeah, this is going to be interesting as the teams an riders certainly don’t agree…the soft-pedaling-30kph-protest “races” are already written on the wall.

In response to this news, my UW-Madison Cycling teammate agreed with the UCI’s decision with this post to our listserve:

I’d like to throw out a few questions to everyone. Why does it matter? And who cares?

If certain people start losing races due to radios not being there, does it matter? No, it just means someone else will be winning. It’s not like the UCI said, oh we’re done with all technology on this pro tour thing.

I think the UCI’s stance on technology (more specifically the radio) and how it pertains to keeping the sport’s ‘honesty and integrity’, is an effort to maintain a connection with the fans. I do think the radio ban will make races more interesting and test the riders’ ability to perceive the race themselves instead of having the race director calling some (obviously not all) of the moves. It will also make time trials in the pro peloton even more of a test of personal will.

Ban the radios.

Ban the dope.

However, as a technology enthusiast, I am a triathlete too after all, I disagree.  My response:

I’m just respectfully disagreeing here…

Part of the excitement of cycling for me, and for many other fans and racers, is the innovation.  Radios are a part of that.  They are simply a tool to improve communication, and I doubt that banning them would significantly alter a race outcome.  The UCI pro-tour is made up of the top several hundred riders in the world–the top 1% of the top 1%.  Cyclists simply don’t rise to that level in the physical chess-match that cycling is without being smart.  Pro-Tour cyclists are not mindless drones waiting to be told what to do by their director.  For example, in the break-away shake-out that defines the first hour of most races, teams instantly have to decide if the break has the right combination of riders:  are any of the riders a threat to the GC; are all the major team represented; how does the break impact our objectives today…pull it back or let it go? As the Director Sportif is stuck in the caravan behind the peloton, and can’t see the break forming, this decision is often left to the riders who must react, or choose not to, instantly.  While this may seem like an easy task for those familiar with Collegiate and USA Cycling races, that’s because in comparison to UCI racing, it’s happening in slow motion.

I was fortunate to race–or more accurately, get my ass kicked–at the UCI Tour de Leelanau last year with ISCorp.  An eye opening experience.  The race was comprised mostly of domestic teams and Cat 1 amateurs.  The shake-out was ridiculous and FAR more aggressive that any race I’ve ever done.  The peloton cruised along rolling hills at 27-30 mph, with a constant barrage of attacks at 35 mph.  It was chaos.  Maybe a radio would help it that situation, but by the time you radioed your DS to say these riders are off the front and have a 100m gap, I think it would be too late.

There’s also the argument that radios make races safer because Director’s can inform their riders of road hazards, etc.  But I won’t go into that.

Technology and innovation are a part of nearly every sport, and why shouldn’t they be?  If you take the all technology out of cycling it’s called running. So for you “purists” out there, go ride your penny farthing on a gravel road.  But for me, I like carbon and titanium and my Trek Madone and TTX for the “pure and simple” reason that going faster is simply more fun.

However you’re ridin’, keep on ridin’,

Bean

“But the quickest way for U.S. athletes to get good is that they have to run a lot. They have to run aerobically at high intensity and have quite a lot of accumulated mileage. That is the only way we are going to catch up to the Africans, because they are so far ahead of us. So it’s got to be large volume, but not just that; it has to be long, hard stuff that raises threshold.”-Brad Hudson, former coach of Dathan Ritzenhein responding to a question about whether Ritz’s marathon training led to his recent breakthrough 5k PR.

While Hudson was talking about runners, IMHO it is even more applicable for triathletes.  Too many people love to go to the track and sprint 400s even though, functionally, this isnt helping them much for a triathlon.  Even people who only race “sprint” races are still participating in an endurance sport and are limited by their aerobic efficiency.  Greater gains come from running at a slightly lower pace for a much longer time, either through tempo runs or long intervals with short rest. Doing copious amounts of work at this intensity will allow you to drastically increase your fitness with a much lower risk for injury. In addition to Hudson’s quote above, Jack Daniels emphasizes the same principles in his bible, Daniels’ Running Formula.  He recommends lots of work around your “threshold” or maximum lactate steady state (MLSS) for the most time effective improvement fitness.

So what doest this mean?  The next time you go to the track, instead of running 8 x 400m w/ 3min rest, try something like 2 x 3200m (2miles) with a 3min jog in between, shooting for the highest speed you can maintain without blowing up (should be 10k race pace or a little faster).  Have fun!

I’ve never been to Oklahoma City before, but this weekend worked out in terms of my Kona preparation and personal schedule, so I thought I’d see what I could do at this years USAT Long Course National Championships.  I drove in from Denver on Friday afternoon, asked a ton of course related questions, got to bed extra early, and felt very prepared for my race. 
 
Race morning was great minus the few sprinkles that turned into a steady (and miserable) rain right before the start.  There were full Ironman and half Ironman distance races held together on Saturday so there were a lot of worried athletes to say the least.  Roughly 1000 were in attendance.  Apparently, there was a lot of water accumulating on various parts of the bike course and there was speculation about cancelling the bike and making it a swim/run race for all athletes!  After about an hour after our original start time, the race director told us the bike course was safe to ride on, but we had to be careful of ”knee deep” water at mile 6.  Before I knew it the gun went off and I was on my way!
 
I really tried to go hard the 1st 200 meters or so to distance myself from the pack in my Aqua Sphere Icon Wetsuit.  Me and one other athlete did just that and soon caught up to the other athletes from the full Ironman wave. We finished together and began the wet, rainy, slippery bike course.  I went as hard as I could on my TTX yet still tried to remain very cautious in the rain.  I pulled away from the other athlete and soon found a good rhythm, and the water at mile 6 was lower by the time I got there.  My new Bontrager Race X Lite Aero TT tires were great on the wet roads but still remained very cautious since I was the first athlete to be on the course.  I luckily made it back to T2 unharmed with a 5 min lead over 2nd place. 
 
After coming into T2 I was relieved and nervous at the same time.  Relieved because I completed the bike safely, but slightly on edge because I was in the lead and had a chance to win.  I just told myself to run strong, enjoy it, and to trust my body. After all, it’s rare for me to be able to run in the rain, and its usually a lot of fun.  I knew what I had to do and pushed the pace.  After the 1^st loop I saw my lead was getting bigger, so I kept pushing on and before I knew it I was running down the finishing chute as the 2009 USAT Long Course/Halfmax National Champion!  I ended up getting a new course record in 3:59.25 and a new PR run time in a ½ Ironman of 1:16.53.  Full results can be found here.

After cleaning my red dirt covered bike (I guess this is why they call it the Redman) and spending a fair amount of time sorting out my 100% soaked race bag (yes, everything was soaked), I went to the awards and one of the things I won was a gift card for meat from Cusack Meats.  Although I am not a meat eater I thought it was very cool and appropriate since we were in Oklahoma!

It was a great race and I was happy with how everything turned out.  I got in the car, drove home and made it into Denver at 1:30 AM, with a special pit stop celebration treat at McDonalds for a Big Angus 1/3 pounder burger.  It was heaven.  Andrew Hodges, I knew you’d be proud of me!  I arrived with plenty of time for some sleep and Sunday morning church with the family. 

I feel very confident for Ironman Hawaii in less than 3 weeks, and hope my body will deliver great things.  You never know what’s going to happen out there, but up to this point I feel ready and am very excited for #11 on the Big Island. 

 Be sure to check out Timex’s history with Ironman and Kona plus an update on the Timex athletes racing in Kona 2009 at TimexIronman.com.

 Aloha—

 Tim

I traveled out to Santa Monica, CA this past weekend for a coaching clinic. The day prior to my trip, I received an e-mail inviting all attending coaches to an open water swim the morning of our first seminar. The swim was scheduled to take place at Tower 26, near the Santa Monica Pier.

There would be a workout and the swim was organized and directed by Gerry Rodrigues.

I was a bit late to the workout due to a little navigational issue on my part. However, once I landed, I experienced a fantastic, organized, and energetic open water swim session. I would encourage anyone traveling out to that part of California to look up Gerry. He’s a phenomenal swimmer and a great coach. Gerry also coaches at the Trifit Multisport facility in Santa Monica.
It will be well worth it to get involved in one of these open water swims. I took full advantage of the area and swam every day I was out there. I witnessed a few dolphins swimming around the same buoy we were using for our course. That sight sent the heart rate climbing at first, when I saw a single fin, until I realized the fin was coming from a dolphin and not those other swimming machines.
Swim Link