Well we just got back from the Big Island.  We arrived there last week for the Honu 70.3 Half Ironman.  This year my wife Debbie was attempting is as well, her first half (she never did an Olympic distance either). 

When we arrived of course it was windy and hot.  Like always.  My training has been off a bit the last couple of months.  Busy with work and SVE.  Plus I was really putting my efforts into training and supporting Debbie.  But reagardless I still wanted a better time or at least a better run.  This place has the toughest run of anywhere I have ever run.

I took Debbie to the swim the very first day we were there.  Wind was howling.  It was rough.  I felt bad for her, she wanted out within minutes.  I talked her through it though.  She swam maybe 1800 of the 2100.  She seemed much better after that.  Swam and ran a few more days.  One short bike ride.

Race morning of course the wind was howling.  The swim was a mess.  I started back a little bit from last year.  I felt like I had a good swim.  I was shooting for 36.  Sighting was difficult after the second turn I felt like everyone went out to sea.  I exited the water and it said 41.  I was shocked.  Swim felt good.  I was upset.  Later I found out that everyone had a long swim.  Pro's were off 4 minutes.  But still..

Exiting transition the wind was so strong blowing down the hill I actually saw people walk their bikes up to the highway.

The bike ride was tough.  The head wind was strong going up to Hawi.  I felt like I was trying to balance making up time versus a good run.  Not enough time on the bike!  I finished the bike in 2:33.  Good for 14th in class (last year I was 9th).  I turned 10-15 more watts this year for 4 minutes slower.  So I know it was windy.  Seemed like bigger guys had an easier time this year at least until the hills.  Drafting was good, I did not see much.  Really clean race. 

Once I got off the bike and hit the first mile marker I basically knew I would not go sub 5.  It's easy to forget how punishing this run is. It's up and down constantly.  I end up wasting 15 seconds at each aid station taking ice, water, anything to cool off.  1:49.  Bummer, but better then last year.

Finished off with 5:11.  About the same as last year.  Last year I had a better swim and bike.  I'm ok with it. 

I saw Debbie on the bike twice and she looked happy and smiled at me.  In the weeks leading up I worked with her on nutrition and taking in salt.  Funny thing is I told her she would feel ok at some point and say to herself "I don't need it".  Well she did.  At mile 10, someone shot her in the legs.  Live and learn.  In Hawaii you need electrolytes.

I waited for Debbie at the finish line and actually had tears in my eyes when I saw her.  I'm very proud of her efforts.  She smoked the swim for a total newbie swimmer.  52 minutes in those conditions.

Great time with Debbie, Mom, and Debbie, and of course my daughter Trinity.  Oh and we met up with Will and Raenee for dinner.  And Lauren had the pleasure of body marking us. 

Thanks for all the support.  It's amazing in this Facebook era.

1.     Step into the wetsuit with the zipper facing behind you.

2.     Pull the legs of your wetsuit about 1-2 inches above your ankle

3.     Raise the wetsuit up to around your waist. Work the wetsuit rubber towards your crotch area until the air pockets have disappeared. For an ideal fit, the wetsuit should feel snug and tight around the waist and legs.

4.     Lift the wetsuit up around your arms or shoulders depending on the wetsuit model.

5.     For a full suit, pull the sleeves 1-2 inches above watch or wrist area. When pulling on the sleeves, pull the rubber between the elbow and the shoulder.

My best half is a 1:32 run at a very fast San Jose course this year.  My half times have dropped over the past year from 1:57 to 1:32.  I even did a 1:39 at Ironman 70.3 World Championships this year.  And I drank a lot.  So I thought I was capable of a 3:20.

The big question was (and always is) run hard or pace myself?  Run 7:00 minute miles or the required 7:40?  Well I decided at the line to run hard and if I blow up, I blow up.  I did forget my salt pills. 

I ran hard from the start, drinking was more difficult.  In San Jose I did not drink at all, because I know I can run 1:30 without food or water in the right temperature.  But this was longer so I had to start early.  The course does not use Gatorade, and right off the bat I did not like the other brand.   But it did not upset my stomach. 

At the half way point I was at 1:33, just a minute off my best half.  At about mile 18 or so the times started coming back to me.  My body would not respond.  I felt like I was running fast, the times were not agreeing though.  I just kept telling myself “fight” and “pump your arms”.

I ended up finishing in 3:18, around 80^th place and 13^th in my class.  Out of 2400 people.  It’s really strange starting  a marathon in the very front!  But very cool.

During the run, I wondered why I do this to myself.  Now just 2 days later, I think I can go faster.  I think the course layout was worth a loss of 2 minutes, and lack of salt and maybe more training 2-5 minutes.  Overall I had a good experience.

 I can run.

Splits:

7:08, 6:55,6:55, 7:04, 6:46, 7:01, 7:01, 7:15, 7:32, 7:01, 7:11, 7:19, 7:27, 7:39, 7:37, 7:47, 7:51, 7:49, 8:03, 8:12, 8:11, 7:59, 8:10, 8:20, 8:11

It's been a long year; I totaled up my events for the year:

Road Bike Races: 2
TT's: 3
Running races and Marathons: 4
Duathlons: 3
Short Triathlons: 1
1/2 Ironman's: 2
Full Ironman: 1

My training for the year: (up until 11-15-09)

Swimming: 252,000 yards
Bike: 5700 Miles
Run: 851 Miles
Time: A little over 600 hours

So as I went into this event I was not feeling really up for it.  I felt like I peaked 4 weeks ago at the San Jose half marathon, I was lighter and ran a 1:32 which was 9 minutes faster than my previous best.

We arrived in Clearwater to horrible weather. The wind was about 30 mph from the north.  It was very cold, and the ocean was huge.  Unswimmable for me.  Swimming is my weakest discipline.  The current was so fierce that when I went out for a quick playfull swim, I was pulled down shore about 50 yards and it was very, very hard to get back unless you swam with the current.  I went and bought gloves and arm warmers.  It felt like Cour D Alene all over.

WTC ended up switching the swim to the harbor side of the island the day before.  Thank god.  Now we had a little longer t1 run, but I could live with it.  It was to be an interesting start, TT version.  The initial thought was it would break up the drafting packs a little more on the bike.  NOPE!

Race morning came and guess what?  Hot and Sunny.  Little wind.  I was supposed to be starting at 7:45 with the second wave on my age group.  In transition I went to put my bottles on and check my tire pressure.  I purposely got there a little late since my wave started later.  My rear tubular had a huge gash in it.  A few people said they had the same thing.  I tried PITstop and co2, no luck. So now I'm panicking.  Transition closes at 6:30 and its 6:20 and I have yet to use the restroom.  I pulled my wheel off and ran to the bike shop tent.  They said they could do it. I left it with them and ran to the porta potty lines.  I waited until I was the next person; they then announced transition was closing. So I skipped restroom duty and ran to get my tire.  They had it done.  I ran back to my bike and did the quickest mount I have ever done.  Thank god for rear dropouts.

In my bottles I had 1 500 calorie bottle of Perpetuem and 1 bottle of Coke.  I also had 1 Powerbar wrapped on my frame in case I felt like eating and not drinking alone.  In my bike and run bags I had some extra gels and my salt tabs for the run.

I walked with my awesome family and supporters (I had 11 people go out with us) to the swim start.  I was able to find a porta potty.  At the swim start they ended up having us jump off a dock 2 at a time.  The contact in the water was very minimal.  But navigation was very tough for me.  It's usually easy for me.  I missed a right turn along with a lot of other people.  Swimming into the sun it was very tough to see the buoys. Basically we were supposed to go straight out, right for a few then left, then left again. 
I ended up with a 36:23.  I was fine with it; my goal was 35:00. 

T1 was fine, a little long as I could not find my bag: 3:52

Oh the bike.  Well to say it's flat and fast is an understatement.  The one big hill you hit twice is a bump here.  Never left the tri position on it until the top. Did I draft?  Yes.  I would estimate most people do there.  It's difficult to describe, but the course if very tight and on only city roads.  No urban stuff.  So imagine 1 lane closed on an expressway or busy road like Almaden expressway.  Then fit 2000 riders down it, all released in a bad order.  So you may have slower age groups ahead of the 40 year old men (who can still peddle!).  Well we come up on the slower people going 10mph faster than them. Space is at a premium.  Plus you can also draft off the cars going down the roads.  Draft fest yes.  I was warned once along with a big group.  So I backed off quite a bit, for a while there I thought I might break 2 hours.  It's weird even at 5 meters you can still feel a large pack pull you.  Plus we had a tailwind for the longest, straightest section.  The tight race created some of the worst crashes I had even seen in person.  Twice women were taken down by men hitting them.  I was nearly caught in two of these.  Only missed by inches.  Thank god for Wednesday group Tri bike rides.
Time was: 2:11, goal was 2:15.  Average speed: 25.63 mph.  Interesting my watts were at 190 average (145 lbs).  That's lower by 10-15 from previous 1/2's but not as low as I thought it would be.

T2 was slow.  Tent was a mess, no help.  Potty break. 4:06.

The run felt good for me.  This was my main goal of this race, to prove to myself that I can run. The run was very pretty.  But it was starting to get hot.  We had to go over a bridge 4 times.  That was the main hill.  It was easy to break this run in sections.  I took in Gatorade at each aid station.  Water on my head to stay cool.  4 salt pills throughout the run.  It was very cool running through twice and seeing the family there cheering me on.  I kept picking people off, and trying to keep
my cadence up. I knew part way I could go for a sub 1:40.  So I did not stop other then slow down in the aid stations. Run time: 1:39:59.  7:37 /mile. 

Total time was 4:35:27.  A PR by 35 minutes.  Of course this is a faster course, so I'm not sure how or if it should compare.  Goal for Hawaii next year is 4:45-4:50.

Overall it was a fun time.  It was cool renting a house and hanging out with the family.  Maybe my wife can go next year!

In the weeks leading up, I felt weaker.  Not sick weak, but just strength.  My cycling power seemed to diminish around 10 -20 watts.  My core felt weak as well.  While I still continued to train abs, nothing can substitute for good old fashioned squats.  Plus weight came back on.  I think the metobolism boost that weight lifting gives you is very beneficial.

My weight did not fluctuate a lot, but it did go up 3-4 pounds (152).  But I'm sure my fat % went up.  When I went back to lifting weights my squats fell from 200 pounds to 150-175.  That's a huge drop.

For this next cycle I'm back to lifting to build strenght and confidence again.

I know it's early, I have managed to squeeze in a few bike workouts, 1 run, and a few swim sessions.  I'm also back to lifting weights.

My plan is to go into Clearwater 5 pounds lighter and lose no strength.  So I'm doing whole body circuits to maintain strength while I lose the weight.  Hopefully the weight transfers to a 1:45 or faster half marathon.

I'm also hungry all the time since the Ironman!

We drove our RV to the Northern Idaho with my mom and Earl.  My Aunt and uncle met us there later in the week.  Elliott and his family arrived on Thursday.  Amy arrived on Wed.

When we arrived in Coeur D Alene, the first thing I wanted to see was the swim.  It was windy all week in the mornings.  It looked scary to say the least.  The pictures do not do the swim justice, look at the flags.  I also rode the bike course on Sunday.

During the week I did some light runs, swims, and bike rides.

Friday-Trinity did a kids run and ran a 7:45 mile.  Great job little girl.

Saturday- turned in my bike and transition bags.  Just tried to relax and eat.

Sunday (race day)- up at 4:30.  Ate a medium breakfast, eggs, wheat muffin with almond butter/honey, and an Ensure.  Went down and turned in my special needs bags (never used).  After watching the pros start I put on my wetsuit and went to the beach.  I was surprisingly calm considering there were 2200 athletes around me.  But hey not like you can change anything now! 

Swim- It was rough.  Not only the water with the waves, wind, chop, and helicopter splatter, but there was contact the ENTIRE swim.  Second lap the water was even rougher.  1:21 on the swim and I’m happy with it.  My secret goal was 1:15, but heck with the conditions…

Transition 1- 6:28.  Ok I was slow here.  I did not know that there were people to help you put on the cold weather cloths required for today’s freezing ass weather.  So I sat down and calmly got dressed.  Arm warmers, vest, socks, etc..

Bike- 112 miles.  It actually went pretty easy considering there is 6000 ft of ascent.  I had to take 2 stops to use the port o potty.  I left my vest in one rather than getting a littering flag.  I was warmer now because of the hills.  Head wind back to town.  I liked blasting through town.  The support was great.  Second loop was uneventful.  Just put my head down and stayed steady.  I must admit I was a little disappointed with 5:26 on the bike.  I thought I had a 5:15 in me, but I tried not to push when my stomach acted up.  But I did move from 1100 out of the water to 300, passed 800 people on the bike.

T2- 3:54 much better, I had help getting ready and stopped to use the toilet again.

Run- The first 2 miles I was moving at about 7:45 clip.  But that did not last long, there is a steady hill out of town.  My goal here was under 4 hours.  But I soon realized I wanted to be comfortable running so I stopped 5 more times to use the toilet, a few times waiting for up to 2 minutes.  But the important thing was I was comfortable.  My magic elixir for fuel at each aid station: cookie washed down with coke.  I had a few bananas as well.  It was cold, cold.  I felt bad for people walking it was so cold and rainy.  Anyway I finished the marathon in 4:11.

It felt good to cross the finish line.  When I saw my family and Elliott at the finish line, I almost got emotional.  People were high fiving down the stretch.  It was very cool.  It was very cool to have the whole thing live on the internet and on the jumbo-tron as well.  Makes you feel like a star.

Finish time was 11:10.  Good for 78 out of 362 in my class and 382 out of 2300 overall.  No I did not qualify for Kona, but I still have the 70.3 Worlds later this year.

I could not have done this without the help and support from my wife, Debbie. The support of my family and work were very important as well.  Elliott and Paul Thompson are also responsible for pushing and training me.  Thanks everyone

Greg

1/2 Marathon- 4th (PR on time)
10k - 4th (PR on time)
Duathlon- 3rd
Triathlon- 2nd

And a couple of bike races, 4th in the Fiesta Island TT, and a DNF in a road race.  I did race one other road race for fun in the mud.

I was scheduled for a 70.3 last weekend and an adventure race on the 17th.  I blew both those off, time to concecentrate on Honu 1/2 Ironam (30th), and Couer D' Alene in June.  Too mcuh threshhold work was wearing me out.

Another note, I have stopped lifting weights finally.  Seems like now I have tons of time for cardio.  Weekly long runs are now 18 miles.  Total running is about 30-32 miles.  Long bike rides are about 90 miles, total of 150-180.  Swimming is sitting at 12000-14000 yards.

Still does not help those mass starts.

When we started I thought his coaching methods were a little foreign (no pun intended).  I was used to pushing with each bike ride I did.  I never had a coach before but I did have a Powertap!  He set me on a slower pace initially to build a better base.  Now it's paying off on the run as well.  My previous best half marathons were about 1:55 to 1:57.  Three weeks ago he paced me on a pretty hilly course to a 1:43.  Then on Saturday I entered a Xterra trail half marathon.  On the hilly, technical course I ran a 1:42.  And I believe I can go faster.  I feel good too!

My threshold on the bike has jumped from 221 to 277 and could be even higher.  At a recent time trial I turned 319 for 30 minutes.

I continue to hit the pool to address my weakest link.  I have substantially upped my yardage from last year.  This week I'm sure I'll go over 13000 yards.

I'll post an update next week after the marathon.  Oh by the way I raced a 10 k 2 weeks ago and set a personal best of 45 minutes.  Much better then a year ago where running was really hurting my times.  I think I can get to a 42.  Thats about it for a 40 year old.

It was difficult to compare apples to apples because the kelp in the bay was so much thicker this year you could not get a decent stroke going.  But I did manage to knock 5 minutes off my swim.  31:00.  (I still think I have a 28-29 in there).

I took about an extra minute in transition this year because I had to wear socks.  I damaged my feet a week ago setting a 10 k PR.  Bummer.  Anyway I averaged 22.3 MPH over the 24.8 miles.  Great ride.  And I held back for the run.  1:07.

T2 was very quick at a little over a minute.  Slipped my racing flats on and left.

On the run, I let loose on the second lap.  I have really been working hard on my running.  Last year I averaged 9:20's per mile and almost died when it was over.  This year I averaged 7:30's. And I could have kept going.  It was like a long workout.  48 minutes.

My total was 2:31 (12th out of about 90).  Bested my record there by 20 minutes.  By the way, I did not eat much the morning of.  I did eat everything in site for 3 days leading up to the event.  Small dinner the night before.  2 Ensures the morning of.  I felt perfect.

Now the real story of the weekend was my wife running her first.  The morning of the race she said she was fine, but I knew she was scared.  She is terrified of the water let alone a swim in the freezing ocean with kelp everywhere.  She went down to the beach to warmup with the other girls.  I walked down to check on her.  She said she was fine.  After she finished her swim (yeah).  I saw her mount the bike.  After the first lap, I had tears in my eyes for her.  And I'm not the emotional type.  Anyway she finished the event strong clocking a 1:21 (13th).  After she was done I gave her a big hug.  She told us that she was crying at the start line.  I felt so bad for her, I had tears in my eyes again.  Any way great job by her.  I'm very proud of her.

On another note, we are looking into donating time for a Kids Marathon in Las Vegas.  The Kids have to run a whole marathon over 7 weeks.  They finish at Las Vegas.  We will see.

5. Drafting in Trathlon should not be allowed, period.  Come one people this is a test of the person, it should not come down to team tactics and the run.

Just one mans opinion.

http://www.inwithfitness.com//webresources/resources/triathlon_training_flowchart.pdf

I hope it is useful.

Greg

Sunday: Bike with brick
Monday: Run intervals for about 6 miles.  Swim 1500
Tuesday: 1:20 minute ride.  Usually a TT. Swim 1500
Wednesday: Long run 1:30.  Swim 1500
Thursday: Mountain Bike for 2:20.  Major hills.
Friday: Hill runs.  1000 ft asc, 5 miles.  Swim 1500
Saturday: Long bike 3-4 hours.

I usually get weights in at least 3 times as well. 

What's interesting this time of year is how much weight I lose during training.  I easily lose 4-7 pounds over 2 hours.  I feel like I drink enough and usually do not feel bad afterwards.  By bedtime I'm usually back to 150.  Strange because I do not appear to have any place to lose weight.

I have not run over 6 miles at a time since the half Ironman in June.  Today was my first time at 9 miles during an extended lunch.  It felt good.  I ran at a slower pace then normal.

Many studies have confirmed that you have more energy and eat less throughout the day if you eat a balanced breakfast.  You will also raise your metobolism.

I have went from 180 pounds to 150 pounds in a little over a year.  I'm much healthier and my weight suites my sports.

I eat either Oatmeal and a wheat English muffin with honey or Eggs and a wheat English muffin.  For me it depends on my carb needs.  I always eat a Bannana around 10.

She did really well.  I'm proud of her.  First because she finished.  But mostly because she had fun and said she would like to do more.  She finished the 15 mile event in 1:15.  1.5 mile run, 11 mile bike, and 2.5 mile run.

I should note though that I did not feel like the even was very organized.  I'm not sure if I'm biased from larger events, but they had no one at certain corners on the run so I saw people go the wrong way.  They also had no timing mats at certain points allowing for course cutting.  But most important they had no bike security.  Simply grab anything and leave!

Other then that it was fun to support all the women out there.  My daughter Melinda and her friend also finished the event.  Their first as well.

Good job to all the women competing.

Pre Race-

Arrived at the Mauna Lani on the Sunday before the race. Spent the week getting used to the heat and humidity. I ran twice during the week, less then 5 miles each time. I also worked out in the gym once. Just light stuff. We stayed in a condo so we could control our food pretty well. I also swam the swim portion 4 times during the week since it was my biggest concern.

The Swim- 46:13 - 1.2 miles

I do not trust my swimming so I started at the back of the pack. I ran into a lot of people pretty quick, just tried to stay calm. Since this was not a wave start the first buoy was a joke. Scary. Dead stop for maybe 2 minutes. My breathing always bothers me about 500 m into the swim. I feel much better after my heart rate get's up. But I was close to calling it a day. I could not get control. After the third buoy, I relaxed and was able to bi-lateral breath plus one breath on the right. The rest was cake.

The Bike- 2:41:36 - 56 miles

Never left big ring. I was going much faster then I planned. But I figured what the hell, hammer the bike. The hill up to Honu was my only tough part. I was so happy to be out of the water! I was going so fast and the wind so bad, I did not eat anything. Just did not feel like it. Paid for it later. Only drank 2 of my 4 bottles.

The Run- 2:19:10 - 13.1 miles

Well, I never cramp. I was beginning to think I could not cramp. I never really knew what it felt like. Boy did I learn in the first 5 miles. Each leg took a turn. Each muscle group took a turn. I had to walk a bit, and throught the aid stations. 1 bathroom break because I was very bloated. I'm a better runner, but not this day.

Total: 5:54:31 - 70.3

Overall great first half Ironman.  I'm happy.   

More information here:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=118450&posts=1&start=1

I hope this does not affect my training for the Miami Triathlon.

Anyway to today I decided to start working hard over 20 - 25 miles on the bike.  When I work hard I ride near threshold the whole ride.  Well today kicked my butt.  I started out into a head wind for 10 miles.  That put a hurt on me right there.  By the time I got home I was happy to be off the bike.

Obviously I need more fast time.

And my tri seat hurts my butt more then my road bike.

So this weekend I have a half marathon to run it.  Shooting for 1:50.

Thank god this is my -40 % week.  So today I have a simple 40 minute bike ride.

Going to try something new on Wed.

Greg

My goal is to get down to 160 before the race.  I have been training for the last few weeks and I'm already down to 165 from 172.

I'm following this program:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=31

It is pretty tough so far.  I'll keep you updated.

Well I decided to try something different since I could not get results with their methods.  I decided to attack the back and make it stronger.

I typically have always done ab work.  It may not look like it but I do.  You always read the crunches are all you need because situps may hurt your back.  Well I started to Hyper Extensions for the lower back and floowing it up 3 times a week with incline bench sit ups.  I do around 75.

My back was sore (along with my abs) for a week or two, but now I feel really solid.  I have raced with no issues, and sleep well.

I went back to my doctor to discuss the results, and he said that they cannot recommend that type of workout for 90% of people due to fear of injury.  Personally I think that they are overly cautious.  If you can handle it and a little pain, build a muscle shield around your lower back.