The Becker Buzz
August 19, 2007
“Pre Ironman Race Sandwich”

My last race seemed like an eternity ago and since then a lot has happened, so I thought I would update everyone as to what I have been up to as Ironman Wisconsin approaches. I have put all of my ‘eggs’ in the Ironman basket this year. My training called for me to hold back for a huge portion of the year, this was something that was new to me and was also something that proved to be move difficult than I thought. But my coach, Luis Vargas, assured me that there would be a time to go hard and that it would pay off.

Well that time came and we decided to insert two races into the schedule. The races were treated as HARD training sessions. They would follow a big training block and would be preceded by 3 easy days. Here is a results summary, with details below.

Iron Abe Olympic

July 29, 2007

Swim: 22:27 Bike: 56:58 Run: 36:46 Finish 1:57:22

2nd Overall

http://www.onlineraceresults.com/pdf/5997.pdf

Pleasant Prairie Olympic

August 19, 2007

Swim: 19:13 Bike: 58:05 Run: 35:11 Finish 1:54:44

1st Overall

http://www.pleasantprairietriathlon.com/raceresults/index.asp

I found the Iron Abe Triathlon just a little over a week before I needed race. It was about a 4 hr drive south to Springfield, IL (birthplace of Abraham Lincoln…thus the name “Iron Abe Triathlon”) and I seemed like a good race. Oh yeah, it gave an opportunity for a small paycheck as well. Anyway, I stayed with a friend in the area and before I knew it I was getting set up on race morning.

The water was WARM, so there would be no wetsuits. But I had my Blue Seventy Pointzero3 speed suit. Through some testing done in the pool by myself, as well as another teammate, I knew that this suit could save a few seconds per 100m. The gun went off and I found myself gapped by a few meters, at the first buoy. I really try to build my swims to allow for me to have a few options as things sort out. In doing so, I was able to close the gap by the turn and decided to sit comfortably in the group. About ¾ of the way through the swim, I realized that there was another swimmer off the front!!! I had sworn that we were the first group, but there was another swimmer about 75m up. I tried to lift the pace, but it just wasn’t worth it.

I hopped on the bike and just tried to get into a good rhythm. The ride was flat, so I could see the lead rider just ahead. I was steadily clawing back time and the gap was down to about 40sec at the turn around. The roads were not all that smooth, but one really nice feature of the TTX is that the carbon really eats up the vibration from the roads. On the way back I got within about 20sec, when a car that was stopped at an intersection, decided to do a Y turn right in front of me. I nearly lost it, but managed to squeeze through. It was a bit frustrating, as the gap was now back to about 40 sec.

After a quick T2 I was out on the run about 30s down. I felt ok, but legs were just not there. I had only been doing speed work for a few weeks and I didn’t have the turn-over that I needed. Daniel Bretscher, a very talented short course guy, took the overall win and I cruised in about 2min back. It was a solid day, but I knew that I could do more.

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In the 3 weeks after the race I put in my most intense IM specific block of training. I was a little MIA at times, but I got through it. Ironman is so much more than just how many watts you can push and what pace you can run at what HR. There are so many unknowns that need to be addressed. This was where my focus was over these weeks and while I reached new levels of fitness, I also answered all those questions. I was now hoping for a good “fitness pop” before I start to taper.

After 3 lighter training days, I felt ready to give a good effort. I awoke to POURING rain….which was beginning to feel like the norm. We have had almost 10 inches in the last week alone and it wasn’t looking like it was going to stop for the race. I drove an hour to the race site from a relative’s house and was debating turning around, just about every exit. I arrived, parked and rode my bike from the remote parking to the race site…in the POURING rain. The buzz around the race site was that they would make an announcement soon. Well, somehow the weather let up and they decided to give things a go.

After a quick set-up, I put on my Helix…aka, “Second Skin” and jumped in the water for a good swim warm-up. I jumped out and we all lined up on the beach for the downhill FAST start. The gun went off and we sprinted for the water. I went out strong to find some feet and it worked out well. I was fourth in line and we were alone. Only problem is that the two guys directly in front of me popped, one-by-one. I pulled around and worked it solo for the remainder of the swim. I held the gap of about 15seconds and hopped out in a new PR of 19:13.

I got onto the bike and didn’t feel great right away, but tried to stay smooth. My Timex HR Monitor showed that I was where I needed to be, and my Powertap SL showed good power. I knew that it was just a matter of time until I felt better. I never got into a groove, but did hit the wattage that I had hoped for.

I came off the bike with a good lead, but still tried to push the pace as much as possible. I wanted to see if I could make a good improvement in my run split from my previous race. I came through mile 1 in 5:26 and felt good with a HR of 168. I knew that my training was working and pushed, but also enjoyed the rest of the race. I crossed in 1:54:44.

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I now have three weeks until Ironman Wisconsin and I feel like I am right where I want to be. I have a great team, coach and support system to hopefully let everything fall into place on Sept. 9. I will check in again as we get close. Thank you to everyone for their support. Please visit my website for more info, www.blakebecker.com

My Coach Luis Vargas: www.luisvargas.com

Saris Cycling Group – www.saris.com

Timex Team Site: http://teamtimex.timexblogs.com/

Madison Trek Bike Store: www.trekstoremadison.com

Fleet Feet Madison: www.fleetfeetmadison.com

Blue Seventy Wetsuits: www.blueseventy.com

Last weekend I raced in the Charlottesville International Triathlon, a race put on by the Charlottesville Triathlon Club.  Even though I’ve lived in Charlottesville for a two years, this was my first shot at this race and I was excited to be racing in C’ville.

The day started fine until about 30 minutes before the start when we were informed that wetsuits would be allowed.  This was a bit of a shock but upon hearing this I lubed up, pulled on the Helix, and headed to the lake.  After the start one of my training partners, Chris Morrow, and I broke away pretty quickly and were out on our own in no time.  However, I wasn’t feeling great and Chris was able to open up a gap on me.  Thinking back on it, I realized that I had pulled my wetsuit on too quickly and that it wasn’t fitting properly.  This is a great lesson for wetsuit wearing: make sure you don’t rush it!  This is especially imperative with a suit as precisely designed as the Helix.  So back to the race, Chris gapped me on the first buoy and never looked back, which left me second out of the water.

As I started the bike my focus was on trying to go really hard since the run for this particular race is on a single track MTB trail.  Because of this I had to make sure that no one passed me on the bike so that I could have a comfortable lead on the run.  After 15 minutes or so I had caught Chris and for the rest of the ride I was just concentrating on pushing hard up the hills and really opening it up on the few flat sections in order to maintain or increase my lead.   

Coming off the bike and into T2 I was still in first so I was able to cruise the run and not worry about going too hard.  As I mentioned before, the run is on a single track mountain bike trail which is very technical and therefore not very fast.  Aside from the up and down of the hills, the roots and rocks can cause numerous impediments to fast running.  Because of this my strategy was to go hard up the hills and take it easy on the way down so as not to seriously hurt myself. 

Luckily I made it through unscathed and ended up having a great time.  Its amazing how quickly the time goes by when you are focusing on the trails rather than how much you are hurting.  However, while it was fun, I was still glad to take the last turn and head into the finish to take the win in a time of 1:59. 

Overall, the race was very well run and I have to give a big kudos to race director Steve Policastro who volunteered for the position and did a great job of organizing the race while also getting ready for his PhD proposal.  The bike course was fully staffed with police and volunteers at every corner, the run was clearly marked with large arrows, and there was a nice selection of bagels from Bodo’s, fruit, cookies, Gatorade, and water at the finish. 

So if you decide to travel down to beautiful Charlottesville, VA for this race next year don’t expect a fast time.  As I mentioned before the bike is hilly and the run is hazardous.  However, if you don’t like running on the roads because they beat up your legs too much, this race will be a lot of fun. 

There was also a very nice article by Sean McLernon in the Charlottesville Daily Progress and the awesome pictures were courtesy of Jason O. Watson Photography.  Jason is a fellow grad student here at UVa but does some awesome work with his camera as well.

Ok, somebody pinch me!!  It’s been 4 days and still does not seem real, I have to keep checking the results to make sure it wasn’t a dream!!

 I drove over from Burlington, VT to Lake Placid on Thursday evening.  It felt very odd packing my car to drive to an Ironman.  No need to box up my bike or make sure my bags weren’t over weight!  It was also really exciting knowing that because this was a “local race” there would be tons of family, friends and Green Mountain Multisport team members there.

I had high expectations for this race, knowing full well that I needed to execute the perfect race to meet my goals.  I always try to focus on race execution rather than time or placement and I find that the time seems to almost take care of itself.  Being the women’s professional championship many of my friends had told me that I was going to be first across the line, but anyone or anything can happen on race day and I wasn’t going to expect anything, I just wanted to execute. 

The weeks of cloudy and rainy weather leading up to race weekend were beginning to get to me and I was starting to get down, along with the usually woes of taper.  However, race weekend came and the excitement of Lake Placid quickly lifted my spirits as well as the break from the gloomy weather! On race day there were sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70’s - 80’s…not ideal, but I’ll take it!  The days leading up to the race were filled with meeting other athletes, sponsors and participating in the Timex panel on IMTV, which was really a lot of fun.  Especially since I was able to share my pre-race meal and admit to my pre-race psych up music (80’s hair bands!!).  My fiancé and I ended up staying in Wilmington, a good 12 miles from town, so it was a little tough driving back and forth, but it was also nice to be out of the chaos of downtown LP on race weekend.

I’m the kind of athlete who would prefer way too much time on race morning rather than not enough.  As a result Ash (my awesome fiancé) and I arrived downtown at about 4:50am race morning.  I usually can’t sleep anyway, so getting going early is actually easier than lying in bed.  I was able to get body marked, check my bike, walk through transition several times, hit the porto potties and be at Mirror lake at 5:30.  I put on my tunes, laid down, closed my eyes, relaxed and visualized my day for about 30min, which is a pre-race routine I highly recommend!

Swim: 54:11  I got in the water and warmed up for about 10mins right after the pro women started at 6:25.  Then I found a spot to hang onto the end of the dock for the next 20 minutes.  By 6:50 the water and dock were ridiculously crowded with people hanging onto people hanging onto the dock!  With about 5 minutes until race start I moved away from the dock and positioned myself as best I could right at the front and on “the line” to swim the shortest distance.  The gun went off and the pummeling began.  I received quite a few blows in the first few hundred yards and continued to have quite a bit of contact for the first lap.  I was able to cruise with ease and spot really well as my Blue Seventy goggles and Helix worked perfectly and were amazingly comfortable.  I swam hard and made sure I was always in someone’s draft, trying not to work too hard, but just cruising.  The second lap I caught onto the feet of the swimmer leading the second major pack and went along for the ride as he bridged up to the next group, we only caught them toward the end of the second lap, but none the less I was pretty happy with my swim.  I got out of the water in 24^th place.

T1:  3:18 As many of you know you have to run about a 1/4mi from mirror lake to the oval and then through the transition area.  I had practiced my transitions in person and in my mind multiple times and it paid off with the fastest T1 of the day and I began the bike in 10^th place!

Bike:  5:17:54  The bike was tough for me, I was never able to get into a rythum and go.  Honestly, I thought given good conditions I should be able to bike 5hrs.  I had done quite a bit of training on this course and knew it would be a tough, but realistic goal.  The first lap felt ok, but never the way I wanted it to and as I passed back through town completing the first loop in 2:33 I was hopeful I could make the second lap just about as fast.  However, the wind began to make an appearance as there was a head/cross wind from LP to Essex and then a head wind from Essex to Jay along the flat and “fast” section of the course.  As I began climbing the hills out of Jay I came to the realization I was not going to bike 5hrs.  But I kept telling myself  “that’s ok, it’s a long day and I still have to run a marathon.”  I kept my cadence high and relaxed and made sure not to push too hard on the return back to town.  I got off the bike in 5 place about 12:30 down from the leader.

T2:  1:04  Again rehearsal and mental practice paid dividends as I swiftly moved through transition to make up a minute of my deficit and claim the fastest T2 of the day.

Run:  2:59:36  My fiancé was waiting for me at the beginning of the run and yelled “you’re in 5^th place 11:30 down, RUN!!”  As I ran out of town I thought to myself, “it’s a long day anything can happen.”  I ran at a comfortable pace and at about mile 2 moved into 4^th place.  I began to see a lot of friends and spectators out on the course, who were giving me splits and telling me that I looked great and the guys ahead were fading.  As I made my left turn onto river road at about mile 3 I saw Belinda Granger with the lead biker and gave her a big cheer, (she’s awesome!).  But I had work to do and I remained focused.  At about mile 11 I moved into third position, right in the middle of town.  Being the under dog everyone was cheering for me and they were amazing, I felt like a rock star!  I used the energy of the crowds to push me and I moved into second at about mile 16.5, I was running steady and giving encouragement to everyone out there to help keep my mind-set positive.  At the turn around on river road around mile 19 I saw the Timex team manager, Ben Harper and he informed me with a big smile on his face that I was 28 second behind the leader.  At mile 20 I moved into first place and turned in on a little bit and was too afraid to look back!  My goal for the entire day was to run a solid last 10k and that time had arrived.  Up until this point I had been running “moderate-steady” knowing the last 6.2 miles were critical.  I had been sipping my concentrated calories from my awesome new Helium Fuel Belt since the start of the run and now was the time to use that energy.  I began to pick a pace that was slightly out of my comfort zone and just went.  I began the “short” out and back on Mirror lake drive, which seemed very long this time around, and the crowds were amazing!  With one particular spectator shouting “I knew you were going to catch them, I knew it!  You look awesome!!”  As I entered the oval I could hear Mike Reily calling my name and I was overjoyed!  I finished in 9:16:02 as the Ironman Champion!!!

As I crossed the line and 4 days later I am still filled with so much energy and gratitude for everyone who helped me get to that finish line.  My coach Kurt Perham, my fiancé Ashley, the Timex Multisport Team, all my sponsors and most importantly all the people out on the course, friends, family and random stangers!!  It sounds really cheesey, but I said it at the finsh line and I’ll say it again, it does not take a person to win an Ironman, it takes a community and I have the best community I could imagine!

Thanks!

Alex M-M

www.alexmmtri.com 

Overall Win for Mroszczyk-McDonald at the 2007 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid

Lake Placid, NY. July 22, 2007

Alex Mroszczyk-McDonald of the Timex Multisport Team scored his biggest win to date with an overall victory at the 2007 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid.  The Burlington, VT resident used a sub-3 hour (2:59:36) marathon to capture the overall title with a winning time of 9:16:02.

Canadian Marie Danais battled through foot issues and achieved a 9th place in the women’s only pro race with a total time of 10:17:01.