Stalking the Podium

How I Moved From The Middle Of The Pack To The Podium

2012-01-29T11:45:00.001-05:00

When I started competing in triathlons I have to admit I didn't exactly know what I was doing. That's not to say I didn't have structured workouts. I did. I was working out with a local running and triathlon club. I was working hard. I was training hard….and I was improving. As a relative beginner (even, at the time, in my second full season of racing) I was still seeing improvements, but the gains weren't as significant as they used to be. On the flip side, I had moved from struggling to keep up on morning rides to leading the group rides and being able to keep up with the more proficient runners in the lead pack of the group runs.

My improvement overall wasstarting to slow. My wife had been suggesting that I join anothertriathlon club in the area for a workout or two. I'd been invited to jointhem for a group ride, but never acted on it. I was training with a clubthat was more local to me and I was comfortable. But I was honored,actually, to have been invited to join this other group. They were allgreat athletes. The previous year they had five individuals qualify for Kona. Truth be told, I was intimidated.

Finally, after a month or sohad gone by, my wife gave me a good talking to. "You've gotten allyou're going to get out of this club. You need to train with people thatare better then you." This wasn't a dig on the group with which Iwas running, riding, and swimming. They were great people. Ilearned a lot, and improved significantly from when I first began competing in triathlons. But, I'd reached a point where I neededmore. The writing was on the wall: it was time to exit my comfort zone.

I reached out to our mutual friend who had extended the invitation (and ran the club at the time) and arrangedto meet up with him and his club the following Saturday for their regular groupride. Upon arrival, and during introductions, I remember thinking thateveryone was really nice. They were joking around and there was a casualatmosphere. We started our ride easy to get loose and I was feeling prettygood. This seemed relaxed. "Maybe this won't be so bad,"Ithought.

That feeling of confidencesoon departed.

Ten miles into the ride thepace had picked up to what I would have normally, up until a week previous,considered a hard ride. They were all still talking and joking with eachother. I was barely able to get a drink of water without falling off theback of the pack. Five miles later I was trying to figure out how I wasgoing to eat the Hammer Gel in my jersey pocket without beingdropped. My friend Rich, who invited me along, would come back tothe tail end of the pack to check on me. Between gasps I said I wasgood. I remember him telling me: "Stay in the draft - you're doinggreat!" Really? This is "doing great"?

This went on for another 15miles. At one point I knew we were headed back and the suffering wasgoing to end soon (well, in another 10-15 miles). But then we hit thereally hilly section of the ride. I prayed for death. My heart ratewas pushing my theoretical max. My water bottles were empty. Howcan these maniacs keep talking and joking around on a climb like this? How do I ask these people if I can have some of their water? I finishedthe ride, went home, and slept for 3 hours. How was I going to run withthem the next morning? How was I going to convince myself to ride withthem the following weekend? Somehow, I did.

I kept going back. Irefused to let myself be dropped from the pack. As much as it hurt, Iwasn't going to let them leave me behind. I worked my ass off that firstday - and again over the next handful of weekends. I don't know exactlywhen it happened but suddenly, on a typical Saturday group ride, I took myfirst turn at the front of the pack for a pull at the front of the pack beforedropping back to rotate forward again. My average speeds for the 40-50mile rides were now faster than my previous average speeds for 15-20 milerides. To that point, I had more 50-mile rides in my first month oftraining with this group than in my entire cycling career. I had exited my oldcomfort zone and challenged myself. Improvements came.

Running with this group wasthe same. Long Sunday runs were done with more intensity than I was usedto. I had to shorten my first few runs with this new group, but soon I wasable to stay with the pack for the full mileage - with some extra hills thrown in for good measure.

In past races I wouldnormally finish in the middle of the pack of my age group. In my first race after training with my newclub I finished 3rd in my age group. Wait, a trophy? This was agame changer. Suddenly all the races I'd done in the two years past tookon new meaning. Revisiting these races and finishing in a place I'd neverenvisioned myself in was surreal. A first place age group finish was notonly a possibility, but was actually happening. Top 10 overall finisheswere suddenly a possibility. How and when did this happen?

I'll tell you how ithappened. I got out of my comfort zone. Training with a group is agreat way to get motivated and improve your training. You push yourself, as inany sport, by training with people who are better than you. Thisisn't to say that you can't push yourself when training solo. You can -and you actually need to learn how to do so. There will be plenty ofearly mornings at the pool or the track when you need to keep the intensity ata painful level. But being challenged by others - being forced to workharder than you thought you previously could - is what's going to helpfacilitate physical, mental, and strategic improvements that you previouslydidn't think were possible.

It felt great to always be inthe lead on group rides and the strongest swimmer at open water swims with myold club But improvement stopped. By joining a more advanced group Ihad to challenge myself and struggle at the back of the pack again.

My advice? Find thatadvanced club and leave your ego at the door. Leading a group ride feels good. But improving feels better.

A Look Back

2011-12-31T15:15:00.000-05:00

2011 has been an interesting year, to say the least. I began the year in great shape, with big racing plans, and was primed for a busy season. This wasn't to be, unfortunately, as an ankle break in mid-February derailed my racing plans for the year. I did a bit of writing on the topic (I did have a little extra time on my hands) and the following posts pretty much cover the ins and outs of the adventure.

The Dangers of Winter Running - Part I
Plates, screws, and Bone Sutures
Recovery, Rehab, and Thoughts on the ER

Needless to say my training this winter will involve a few more trips to the gym to use the treadmill when the roads might be a little suspect. I don't need a repeat of this:

Ouch

The downtime this year did, however, give me the chance to be introspective and really look at how I want to be involved in the triathlon community moving forward. I've been coaching a handful of athletes for a couple of years and have really enjoyed the time and effort that goes into the process. More to the point, the satisfaction that I get from helping an athlete achieve their goals is more than I could have ever imagined. I also had some time to look back on how I got hooked on triathlons.

How it all Started: How I Became A Runner
From Running to Triathlons

More importantly, I thought more and more about coaching. I took advantage of the free time and became a USAT certified coach.

Hey Coach!
USAT clinic recap

Since the clinic, it's been a busy year. I worked a few triathlons - I think it's good to give back to the triathlon community and marshal / work a local race or two each year. Most notably I was on the race staff for the Toughman Half Ironman. It was a long weekend but it was well worth the time and effort. Triathlons just can't be held without the help of volunteers and the tireless hours of the race organizing committee.

Back on the coaching side of the house, it was equally as busy. While all my athletes did well and achieved their goals, one of my athletes really had a great year. Not only did she take overall Master (and 2nd woman overall) at her hometown race, but she had a PR at Steelhead 70.3.

Clark Lake Triathlon Recap

Her performances this year, along with the accomplishments of my other athletes, confirmed my desire to coach and make this a career. It'll be a long road but I think I'm on the right track. I'm working with a USAT Level III coach who is acting as a mentor and I've also been hired by Team in Training to coach the area triathlon team. For this, I became certified at the Dave Scott coaching clinic just last month. (I have yet to write about that experience - I'll report on that soon enough, I promise.) But, I did get to meet the legend. He's humble and generous with his time.

Dave Scott is on the left. I'm the short guy on the right (just in case you weren't sure!)

And finally, there were some interesting happenings in and around the running and triathlon community that I either experienced or wrote about. So, going back through 2011 (and a couple posts from late 2010), here are a few links that I thought might be worth revisiting.

My Problem here is with the "Noodle"
Managing Life and Triathlons
Support in Injury and Health

And based on my run this morning - and two incidents with drivers who were just not paying attention - I thought this would be worth a second look: Common Courtesy - An Endangered Species

With that, it's now time to put bad mojo behind me and look forward to a busy, upcoming race and coaching season. I hope everyone has a wonderful 2012 - full of health, fitness, and good racing.

Gail's Trail Race Recap

2011-12-11T14:23:00.001-05:00

.....or "What a Difference A Year Makes"

It was a nice morning for a December trail race. 20F at the start up in Redding, CT. People that had run this race before were looking forward to the single track, water crossings, and mud. New participants were asking a lot of questions about what they'd gotten themselves into. Much bigger crowd compared to years past. But more on that later.

I wrote about this race last year and I've had three good years racing at this event. This year, however, not so much.

I didn't bother wearing my heart rate monitor, as I was instructed to "not race" by my lovely wife. She has a good point with that bit of instruction: My ankle just isn't quite up to full 'blasting through trails' fitness yet, so I never planned on trying to duplicate my efforts from last year. I felt calm and relaxed as we warmed up, and was content to just "run" it and have a great time. However, it wouldn't have mattered what my original plans were.

Fitness, or lack there-of, really showed. I never felt good....not even at the beginning. The hills were just crushing. Last year, by the first 'peel off' into single track, I was amongst the top 5 runners. This year as we headed into the woods I might have been lucky to be in the top 20. I just never got into a groove. It's a good thing I didn't wear my hear rate monitor as I'm pretty sure I would have seen my theoretical max today.

By the end I was absolutely ready to stop running. Quads were barking….lungs were burning. I thought of my triathlon this past October and how good I actually felt after an entire season on the bench. Heck, I even had a good result at that race. Have I fallen that far off the fitness wagon? Clearly there's lots of work to do this off-season.

But, let's not stray too far from the facts: This is a great race. The folks over at Team Mossman really put on a nice event here. The course was marked "just enough" for a trail race, and there was plenty of mud and water to keep things interesting. Some of us were a little, what's the word here: Disappointed? Not sure. But the race has grown from a small event with 40-50 die-hards, to close to 150 people this year. While we were sad to see our niche race become more mainstream, this is great news for Team Mossman. Great events will always draw crowds.

Anyway…..I was home by 1000a, and having a nice breakfast and coffee by 1030a. A premium nap followed. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning.

Toughman Half Iron Triathlon 2011 Photo Gallery

2011-10-23T11:15:00.000-04:00

Apologies for the massive delay, but below are a handful of pics from the Toughman Half Iron Triathlon . As previously mentioned I was working over the race weekend, but did manage to get some photos in throughout race day:

Transition area - Athletes are headed to the beach

Athletes on the beach - Race is about to begin

Countdown to the first wave

Elites and M40-44 into the water

First swimmer out of the water

Second swimmer out of the water

First elite / pro onto the run (This guy smoked the course - overall winner)

The fan fave - "Tri-Dog"

Collar reads: "Swim - Bark - Run"

Some of the race staff at the start (I'm on the far left)

I would have had more pics during the bike leg, but we were crazy busy as the athletes came into T2 - controlled chaos in that last 1/4 mile! It was tough to have my iPhone out and at the ready while working and racing around all morning.

Great feedback from athletes post-race as well. Always encouraging to hear kudos from people that are racing. Makes all the hard work and lack of sleep that weekend well worth it.

Cedar Beach Triathlon Race Recap

2011-10-10T09:53:00.000-04:00

The Cedar Beach triathlon is one of the last triathlons of the season here in the northeast - at least in my neck of the woods. I wanted / needed to get a race in after my ankle break this past spring, just to mentally get a boost and to tell myself that I can still race. My running has been good as of late, and I've had a couple good tempo runs, so I was confident that I could race this event and not just coast through it. I've been swimming and cycling regularly, but nothing significant in regards to speed workouts. So I figured I'd give this race a shot and see how I could do.

The Cedar Beach triathlon is held out in Miller Place, NY. This is pretty far east out on Long Island - I had a very early morning as I needed to drive about 90 minutes from my home to get to the event site. In retrospect, this is a long way to drive for a sprint distance triathlon.

Really nice venue for the race. We all watched the sun come up over Long Island Sound as transition area setup was underway. Shortly after, I went for a warm up run with my new buddy Dan. He and I met while working at the Toughman Half Iron triathlon. He's a tough competitor and it was great to hang out with him pre and post race. We ran a mile and half or so easy and then suited up for the swim. The Sound was a bit chilly, so it was a full sleeve wetsuit kind of day.

Being in wave two, I had five minutes to wait after wave one went into the water. There was a bit of "sweep" or current coming in and as we headed out (anti-clockwise swim around a somewhat rectangular course) I could feel the tide working against me. Making the first left turn, I still felt the current, so I figured it was going to be a longer swim for everyone. That said, I was surprised to cross the chip mat into T1 in 10:30. Not too shabby.

In and out of T1 and it was off for two loops of the bike course. 15 miles total (again, this was a sprint distance race). As I hadn't ridden this course before, I checked some maps and elevation charts at home to get as information on the course as possible. I was pretty well prepared for the mile-plus climb early in the loop. Not killer, but it certainly slows things down. The rest of the course is fast. A few smaller climbs, but most of the course is rolling downhill. After one loop there's a great turnaround area: right in front of a huge mass of spectators. 22 minutes and change for lap one. Lap two was good, and I negative split my laps.

I was only passed by two individuals on the bike (yes, I checked their age on their calfs as they went past and, as they weren't in my age group, I didn't worry about it). I was surprised, however, to not see anyone in the mens 40-44 age group as I made my way through the bike course. My swim wave was comprised of everyone 40 years old and older and thought maybe I'd see a few people from my division. I didn't think too much about it, but I did hope that maybe I was having a good day. Off the bike in 43:30-ish and onto the run. (I say 43:30-ish as I don't have the official results available to me yet to confirm my time. And I was an idiot and left my bike computer on the back of my car while packing up. It's now most likely laying in the parking lot never to be seen by me again.)

The run course was a flat, two loop course. All along the ocean and through, for the first half of each loop, a nice nature trail. Paved, but very nice. As I made my way around for my second loop, I saw someone in my age group ahead - but realized that he was on his first lap as he didn't make a move to counter when I passed him. Again, great turnaround area......you loop through a huge spectator area and then run along the side of the transition area. I passed a few people and struggled to keep my form and cadence / stride in check. My lungs were burning from my lack of training and race fitness. I'm pretty sure I sounded like a Sherpa climbing Mt. Everest. I came into the finish shoot and felt good about the effort at the end. 20:30 for the 5K run. I was pleased with the pace and I didn't even think about my ankle once.

When final results were posted, I came in 8th overall and 1st in the mens 40-44 age group. A great way to get my first (and last) triathlon of the season in. Granted, it was a sprint distance race, but I was pleased to have finished as well as I did considering I'm not in peak race fitness. Very encouraging for next season.

This winter is all about base building, and getting ready for next season. I'm still deciding what races to target, but am pretty sure I'll throw in a couple Olympic distance races, maybe a sprint or two, and see how I feel about a late season 70.3 race.

Toughman Half Ironman Race Weekend Prep

2011-09-12T13:36:00.000-04:00

Sunday was the Toughman Half Ironman triathlon. I would have been racing yesterday - my second time racing Toughman - save for the broken ankle earlier this year that has derailed my racing this season. As my good friend Rich is the race organizer and founder I worked as a member of the race staff and, as I did last year found it to be incredibly rewarding. Lots of hard work and lots of hours spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the race site. But just a great weekend overall.

This was a half iron distance race. Just for reference that's a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. I was involved in getting the aid stations for both the bike and run course setup, supplied with product, and ready for the athletes. It was amazing to see how much product is required for a half iron distance race with close to 900 athletes racing:

500 cases of water
3,000 bottles of PowerBar Perform
75 cans of PowerBar Perform mix
4 cases of Enduralytes
80 cases of gel packs
80 cases of canned Coke
30 boxes of extra large trash bags
14,000+ cups

All of our product was stored in a shipping container at the race site. Determining how much product should go where was something I worked out in the weeks building up to the event - yet getting the product out to the aid stations was going to be quite the undertaking. Three bike aid stations, and 17 run aid stations (athletes would pass 8 of the aid stations twice) were on the map and needed to be stocked with supplies.

This past Friday I inventoried all of the above mentioned product. Aside from aid station inventory, there were tents that needed to be erected, hurricane fencing to be placed, and a transition area to be set up. I wasn't involved in all of it, but I arrived that morning and departed for home around 800p. I know there were others that worked much later into the evening ensuring that site was not only ready for the race on Sunday, but that we were ready for the kids racing scheduled for Saturday as well.

We loaded the trucks with the aid station product late Saturday afternoon, but arrival at the race site for me was around 630a to start working on logistics. After numerous other tasks, phone calls, and meetings, I had three box trucks backed up to the storage container. Team members lined up to start the off-loading process and getting the required amount of product into each truck. We finalized product counts per aid station, compared these counts to spreadsheets that I put together, and locked the trucks down for the night. We then drove the course (three teams - one for the bike course and two for the run course) and dropped off tables.

I then had some time to watch the athletes check-in as the day came to a close. The transition area was abuzz with activity with bikes being racked. It was great fun to feel the vibe. I walked the expo a bit - saying hello to a few folks I knew in some of the vendor tents - and finally left to get some sleep. While I arrived home later than the previous night, I again left with an army of people still working to ensure that everything was in tip-top shape for race day.

Sunday is such a blur at the moment. I couldn't sleep much on Saturday night, as I kept thinking of all the things I had to do and wanted to double check. So I was up at 230a on race day, and with coffee in hand drove off to buy ice for some of the aid stations. While we did have ice delivered on race day in refrigerated trucks for finish line and post race purposes, getting ice onto the course was going to be handled separately. (Love 24 hour gas stations...."Hi, I'd like to buy every bag of ice that you have, please....oh, and can I get an extra large coffee?") After dropping off ice at a couple spots on the course, I arrived at the race site at 330a. By 430a all the trucks left with teams of three to four people to hit the course and drop off product at the aid stations. With running headlamps blazing, we left each aid station with all the cases of water, gel, PowerBar Perform, Coke, etc that they needed. Thankfully, all the volunteers - can't do a race without them - setup the aid stations when they arrived not long after. They really did an amazing job.

The first bike aid station - at mile 18 and 36 (the athletes would pass by this location twice) - would have 60 cases of water, and 1,500 bottles of PowerBar Perform endurance drink. The second bike aid station - closer to mile 25 - would have 20 cases of water. All the other product was split up at all the aid stations on the run course. We also put 70 cases of water at the finish line, and had three 7 gallon jugs being filled with PowerBar Perform (continually refilled as necessary as racers finished.) Of course there were bananas, pizza, and bagels for the athletes as they finished and a BBQ at the finish line for all the athletes and families as well.

I left the race site last night absolutely beat. Again, there were crews still tearing down all the infrastructure while I was showering at home and subsequently falling asleep on the couch around 1000p. I woke up this morning to stiff fingers, sore hands, tired arms, an aching back, and sore legs. Oh, and an achilles tendon that's yelling at me for all the twisting and turning done while moving / tossing / placing hundreds of cases of water. Thankfully I'm taking today off of work from my real job so I can recover a bit.

I have some photos from during the race. I'll hopefully get a post with a race recap out later this week.

Weekend Group Training Wrap-up

2011-09-05T10:05:00.000-04:00

I wrapped up a great weekend of group training yesterday. I spent some time with the B-Athletics triathlon club, helping out my friend and fellow triathlon coach, Jeff B. We both have athletes gearing up for upcoming triathlons, with the majority targeting Olympic distance events. But between the two of us we also have a couple of athletes racing the Toughman Half Ironman triathlon next weekend. Our athletes racing Toughman were in taper mode, and had their own rides and workouts arranged. This let us take the opportunity to get our other athletes together, and focus our time with our novice and beginner athletes.

Saturday was the long-ish ride. Approximately 45 miles. The pace wasn't too tough, and we had a couple different pace groups going throughout the ride. We did challenge a couple of the athletes with the climbs of Route 22 in Bedford NY. Those of you who might be familiar with that stretch of road know that there are some good climbs on Route 22 between Rte's 172 and 433 - some sections top out at 10-11% grade (I think!) The climbs aren't long, but they do test you now and again.

It was a great ride from Purchase NY - through Chappaqua, Mt. Kisco, Bedford, Armonk, Valhalla....basically a nice tour of southern Westchester County.

Sunday was brick day. We met a handful of our athletes who are targeting upcoming Olympic distance races for a loop of a local triathlon bike course - approximately 25 miles on the bike followed up with a 3.5 mile run. The athletes were pushed here and there and it was good to see them actually enjoy the run.....well, at least sort of.

I have to admit that the most satisfying thing of being a coach is helping the athletes that are targeting their first big race. Call them novice triathletes, call them first-timers. Doesn't matter. In a group setting, the peer motivation is such a great benefit. Hearing an individual say that they can't go on, or can't do a climb, or "...I just can't do this" isn't uncommon. But as you talk them through their challenge, and with the help of their fellow athletes supporting them, they discover that they actually can accomplish things that were once insurmountable. The look on their face is priceless. The realization that they actually can do something that they previously felt impossible is worth all the time and effort that goes into coaching.

Race Report: Mossman Olympic Tri (Okay, Aquabike)

2011-08-25T16:07:00.000-04:00

Truth be told, I'd never done an Aquabike event before. So when the race director of an upcoming triathlon sent an email stating that the Aquabike division was being offered, It peaked my interest. This would be my first race this year since breaking my ankle back in February. I'd missed five races (that I'd already registered and paid for) so when this option came along - for a race I'd paid for 8 months ago - I really couldn't pass it up. A chance to race, in some fashion or another, was quite exciting.

So, a 1.5K swim and a 40K bike. I was psyched. I'd been swimming and cycling quite a bit, but I wasn't doing a whole lot of speed-work. I was mainly getting out to keep my fitness from going in the crapper while I dealt with physical therapy. But I felt that I could do pretty well - and I really thought that I'd be able to drop the hammer on the bike since I didn't have to run. I thought back to the relay I did last summer and while I was annoyed, at the time, watching everyone head out on the run while I stood there feeling out of place, I remembered how fun it was to just red-line the bike leg. So off I went.

I had a good swim. I was out of the water in just over 20 minutes and across the chip mat at the entrance to T1 in just over 21 minutes. A relatively quick transition and I was out on the bike. Side note: The tide was heading out, so the water was quite shallow at the start. When the officials state that it's an "in-water start", shouldn't people be penalized for running down the beach instead of running in the water? Have a look at the swim course and you'll see what I mean. Nice advantage in running down the beach towards the first buoy. But I digress....

Anyway, on to the bike. The bike course at this race is a little odd. Five laps of an 8K course. Very flat and very fast. But it gets congested - quickly. I won't go into all the gory details, but I don't think I want to race on this course again. Very tough to get around groups of people. Again, I digress.....

All was good and going to plan. I was averaging around 24 mph for the first few laps. A slight change in the wind provided a little extra resistance here and there on lap four. But as this was going to impact everyone, I didn't worry about it too much. With one lap to go, my plan was to drop the hammer and leave nothing in the tank when I was done. My ankle felt pretty good, so why not?!

Well, this is where things started to fall apart. My fitness - while fine for longer weekend rides and weekday morning rides with a few tempo bursts thrown in - failed me at this intensity. On top of that I'm a bit heavier than I would have been had I been racing all season, and.....well.....I watched my speed drop. Drop. Drop some more. I pedaled harder. Focused on my pedal stroke. Hell, I got out of the saddle once or twice. Nada. I watched my average speed fall like a boat anchor over the last 8K and came into T2 sounding like a sherpa climbing Mt. Everest.

Okay, I threw on my shoes and jogged over to the finish line to hand in my chip. 2nd place in the division - to a guy who admittedly ran on the beach at the start of the swim (grumble, grumble) But I'll take it. It was great to get out there and race. I did have a lot of angst while I hung around and watched everyone head out to the run course (a flat, two loop course along the Long Island Sound). I went for a little jog, but my ankle was stiffening up so I bagged it and went to the massage tent after snarfing down a bagel.

The comedic part of this day was during the awards ceremonies. When we were called up to accept the awards for our division, it's the first time I've stood on a podium where the athletes didn't congratulate one another, but instead asked: "...so, what's your ailment?" Needless to say I'm looking forward to being able to do a full-fledged triathlon again.

And speaking of that, what's up next? Well, I'm contemplating doing a sprint triathlon in early October. However, it's the same weekend as my wedding anniversary and I'm not sure it's the best thing to try to squeeze into the plans. My wife has said it's cool, but I may pass in lieu of getting out of town for a couple days.

Got The Green Light!

2011-08-13T14:10:00.003-04:00

I had my final follow-up visit to my sports medicine / orthopedist this past Friday. I didn't know it was going to be the final visit until I got there, really. He asked about physical therapy, and how my cycling / swimming / running was going. More importantly, he dug into the details of how long I'm able to run and at what intensity. The good news is, I got the green light from my doc to "go do whatever the hell you want". Well, not exactly. He did say to make sure I listen to my ankle, but he said I could race.

Here's where our conversation became a little comedic thanks to my Type-A kicking in:

Doc:   So, go do a triathlon. You have one scheduled?
Me:   I do, actually. Paid for it about 6 months ago before I broke my ankle. It's on the 20th of August. Was going to race the Aquabike category, though.
Doc:   Really? Just the swim and the bike? Why not do the run?
Me:   Well.....(pause)
Doc:   Wait, you're not doing the run because you know it won't be as fast as you want and you won't be competitive?
Me:   Well.....(another pause).....Yeah.
Doc:   (Laughing)....You sound like my wife. If she gets a flat in an Olympic distance or shorter triathlon, she's done. Won't even bother with it. You're telling me you're the same way.
Me:   Well.....
Doc:   (Shaking head and laughing, still) Okay, okay. Do the Aqua Bike thing. Then just go run 5K. It'll be good for you. Then find a race, a sprint or something, down the road.
Me:   Right on.

With that, I was told that I was done with physical therapy as well. I'm Mr. Happy Guy.

Now, truth be told, I've never done an Aquabike race. Yeah, yeah, not being as competitive as I'd like to be is a lame reason to not do the run. Part of me doesn't want to have a slow run split. The other part of me wants to make sure that I'm smart, take things slowly, and not aggravate my ankle. Anyway, I was signed up for the Olympic distance tri at the Park City Mossman triathlon. But as I know the race director, he was kind enough to move me to the other category (with all the folks with bad knees and ankles that can't run!)

So, while my running still won't be up to the intensity that I would want for a sprint race, I'm eyeballing a sprint tri in early October. One of the last of the season here in the NYC area. I'm psyched. In my excitement, I did a 35 mile ride this morning with a 5K brick run tacked onto the end. Averaged 7:40 min/mile pace on the run. Felt pretty good.

It's exciting to actually have an event or two on the horizon. It's been a long 6 months. Even though I won't be up to full fitness it'll still be nice to go race.

Athlete Race Recap From The Clark Lake Triathlon

2011-07-18T19:50:00.000-04:00

Podium Training Systems athlete Kari Waddington was in attendance at the Clark Lake triathlon in Brooklyn, Michigan this past weekend. She's getting her final shake-out races under her belt as she gears up for Steelhead 70.3 in August. Kari was kind enough to write up a race report for us......

The 27th Annual Clark Lake Triathlon. A very generous 1/2 mile swim, 13.5 mile bike, 4.25 mile run around Clark Lake. Love, love, love this event! It's has had many incarnations over the last, nearly 3 decades: anywhere from a 19-26 mile bike, 4-6 mile run with various start and finish points and a couple of sponsor changes before arriving at the current distances and its affiliation with Elite Endeavors Event Production Company. With about 400 tri/duathletes and multiple wave start, 2011's version was, as usual, an enjoyable race for both veterans and first timers. Jim and Joyce Donaldson of Elite Endeavors always put on a great, well-organized, well-supported, efficient race. And hey, I certainly can't blame them for the mid-July heat greeting us on race morning last Sunday. Boy was it steamy.

Needless to say, with a string of days in the 80s and 90s, the swim was a "no wetsuit" affair. Not something this inefficient kicker likes to hear! But when you've been tri-ing for awhile, you learn to go with the flow. A good strategy, because as it turned out, the 1/2 mile swim turned out to be a bit longer. As I was slogging through the last 200 yards, I thought of my brother, an avowed "non-swimmer" doing his longest open-water swim to date. Fortunately he, and everyone else, got out of the water unscathed and on to the fun, gently rolling bike loop.

From my perspective, the bike was my favorite part. My wave of "older" women, 35+, was the 4th wave of the morning, with two waves of males and another of duathletes starting before us. This made for a steady stream of bodies on the course and provided ample motivation to keep the big ring churning. As the tri-gods have been kind to me over the years, I tried to make sure I had an encouraging word for my fellow athletes as I passed them on the bike (did I mention the bike was my favorite part?). I believe in Karma, and if I hold true to form, more often than not, I will see a few of them again on the run….

This year, for a change, I made a vow NOT to crash and burn on the run. Since I invested in a Garmin Forerunner in the off season, I thought wearing that for the run would keep me honest. My awesome coach Dave Burgess (shameless plug!) thought I should be running 7:30s for a race like this, so I needed a little accountability out there to keep me on track. It was pretty hot out there by run time, but a relatively flat course and the many wonderful Clark Lake summer residents out with their hoses made it tolerable. I managed to run pretty even splits of 7:31 over the 4.25 mile course (well, okay, it took a mad sprint to the finish to make that happen, but still…).

My only small gripe about the whole event was that the results posted called it a 4 mile run, not 4.25 as advertised on the website or verified by my GPS. Yes, it was the same for everybody, which is to say, everyone was equally disappointed at their slow run splits! So here's a little shout out to the Donaldsons: Could ya' please fix that one little detail to satisfy our fragile little egos?!

But I digress…. All in all, it was a great day! I was happy to meet my goals and managed to take home the title of first women's master triathlete, and was second overall woman (by 15 seconds....wish I'd have known that a mile sooner).

Thanks, Dave, for the vote of confidence, and training plan. Hoping to keep building on my fitness level over the next month toward a peak in August…. Happy racing everyone!

Congrats, Kari. That's the 6th triathlon in a row (by my count) that she's finished on the podium. Nicely done. Speedwork at the track is Thursday, right?

A Bike Obituary

2011-07-17T07:33:00.000-04:00

(My recent foray into bike commuting has come to an end - after some idiot stole my rig. I'm pretty sure, whomever it was, won't even know how to use the shifters. I thought it only appropriate to give my late, great, commuter bike a proper farewell)

7 year old 'Tina' - an aluminum Trek frameset, customized commuter bike - "passed away" this past Tuesday the 12th of July 2011. She was last seen at 740a that same morning, but disappeared soon after. After much heart-wrenching thought and introspective discussions, she has been assumed "dead".

Tina (with customized mustache handlebars, fenders, commuter pedals, and candy apple red bar tape) is survived by her "roommates" the Giant sisters Gina (with a "long I") and Trixie.

"She was really a quiet person", states Gina, the Trinity TT bike, who shared the one room area where they spent most evenings. "She worked hard, and no matter what the weather she got the job done. We're going to miss her".

Trinity's sister, Trixie, a TCR Composite, was seen weeping quietly in a corner shortly after it was determined that Tina wasn't coming back. "I just can't believe she's gone! This is so unfair". With that, Trixie was found to be inconsolable and she soon after went out for a 45 mile ride as she needed to "clear her head"

Tina will be remembered fondly. It is unknown when a new foster-commuter bike will be brought in. Family members state that time will be required before any such decisions are made as they don't want the memory of Ms. Tina to be discounted. "We'll have to see what bike frames can be located - really, the right one needs to come along" stated a family spokesperson. "But right now we just need some time to process this loss."

Gear Review - Tommie Copper Compression Sleeves

2011-07-08T08:54:00.000-04:00

As a contributer to TriCrowd.com, I was fortunate enough to be approached to test out, and write a review for, some new compression gear. The excellent folks over at Tricrowd.com dropped me a line and I said that I'd be more than happy to help them out.

For the record: I was provided the product free of charge in return for writing a fair and unbiased review. A favorable review is not / was not guaranteed due to the receipt of the free product. Furthermore, I did not receive any monetary gift or donation to review this product. The only compensation is the use of said product.

Now, truth be told, I'm not a big compression gear user. At the suggestion of my physical therapist, I do have a pair of compression socks that I bought and used when I broke my ankle, to keep the swelling down when I was back on my feet and went back to work. I have to admit, by the end of the day, while wearing them, my injured leg actually felt pretty good and the swelling in my ankle was held at bay. Still, even as I've been able to ramp up my cycling mileage - and looking back to years past - I've never used compression gear as part of my recovery process. I've seen lots of people walking into the transition area before a race wearing all sorts of various compression gear. I guess it served them well or they wouldn't be using the products. But it didn't resonate as something I needed to do.

So, I received my pair of Tommie Copper calf compression sleeves. "Why not?", I thought. I'll see if there's anything that this compression stuff can help with recovery.

So, what's the verdict? What's my impression? To put it simply: I'm intrigued.

I brought the gear along on our annual trek up to northern Connecticut where I'd be getting some good cycling mileage with some significant climbing and elevation gains. I rode a couple days hard and used the sleeves for an hour or two afterward. I then rode a couple days and didn't use them. I have to admit, after wearing the compression sleeves my calves felt pretty good, and they seemed to help keep the "pump" that is the calf muscle working as it helps to flush out fluids from the lower leg. This is something I've become quite familiar with after breaking my ankle. I still get a bit of swelling after working out or physical therapy. The compression socks I mentioned above helped flush out the fluid build-up in my ankle and I saw the same effect with the Tommie Cooper sleeves. Even after an easier ride (still had some intensity, I'll admit) I didn't wear them and my ankle stayed a little swollen. Hmmmm.

What I thought was also interesting was that when I first put them on I thought that I'd ordered a size too large. I followed the sizing chart on the website and ordered size medium as the chart instructed. I didn't feel a lot of snugness and wondered if I needed to go down a size. Just to be sure I washed them up and threw them in the dryer (they're advertised as dryer safe). Seemed to help a little (even if it was maybe a little bit of a 'mental' improvement). Calves felt good, ankle wasn't puffy, and I forgot that I had them on.

The best part about these compression sleeves (Well, okay, maybe not the best part, but for sure a very good reason to give them a once over)? The price. Other brands sell calf sleeves for anywhere from $40 - $55+. These run $20. For the price, you can't not give them a shot.

I've been putting these on after every ride - and will after every run as soon as I'm able to get back out and do that - and have to say that I like the way my legs feel.

Training Camp Week Wraps Up

2011-07-07T09:23:00.000-04:00

The week in Connecticut - in the foothills of the Berkshires - is coming to an end. The bikes got a lot of mileage put on them, and the open water swimming was great. We couldn't have asked for better weather either. Every day was clear, sunny, and temperatures for the morning rides were in the high 60's (ending in the high 70's).

Five days of good mileage on the bikes (again, with a couple of good open water swims thrown in for good measure) along with lots of climbing. Each ride had about an average of 1,200 to 1,500 feet of elevation gain. Not a lot when compared to the Tour de France - which is being viewed every morning after workouts are wrapped up - but these were still some good leg burning climbs that got the heart rate up near 170 on occasion.

Personally, on a bright note, I was able to get a couple of running workouts in. I'm still building up strength in my ankle and while certainly not up to distance and intensity standards that I'd like to be doing, I was able to get a couple of "brick" workouts in. I pulled off 3 X 4 minutes jogging / 2 minutes walking after wrapping up the morning training ride on a couple of days. Certainly not where I'd like to be, but I was just happy to be able to jog/run at a reasonable pace and not have my ankle act up on me.

We're headed back home later today, and I'll most likely head off to the pool first thing tomorrow morning to keep some of the momentum going through the weekend. It's really nice to be able to sleep in a little bit, and by that I mean sleeping until 5:30-6:00 am, go ride or swim and return back and not be rushed to get to work. We're able to sit, stretch, relax, and recover through the rest of the day. Well, and consume a few glasses of wine or beers in the afternoon by the lake!

A Busy Couple Of Weeks

2011-06-26T12:08:00.000-04:00

Two of my athletes competed in triathlons / events over the past two weeks. One is returning to triathlons after a 10 year hiatus, and his comeback to age-group racing is moving along nicely. The other athlete is gearing up for Steelhead 70.3 and had a half-marathon in some pretty hot and miserable conditions. I traveled to the triathlon out in Long Island, New York to support one athlete, and had a few conversations with my other athlete - as she lives in the Midwest - to talk about her race and make some changes to her swimming workouts.

I've also been working out more on the bike and in the pool. My ankle has been feeling pretty good - my setback at physical therapy has sorted itself out and I'm able to start some jogging again. Anyway, I've re-doubled my focus on trying to get back in shape so I can be as ready and fit as possible for an early start to the triathlon season next year. I had some great workouts this week, distances weren't crazy long, but the intensity is getting up there.

Equally as important, my wife asked me to write a three-part "Multisport 101" series over on her food and fitness site: JL Goes Vegan.

This series covers the basics for the individual looking to start out and get fit, or take things to the next level. Last week's post focused on swimming. Tomorrow's post is on cycling and I'll wrap things up in a weeks time with a primer on running.

Next week - the week of the 4th of July holiday here in the US - could be a good week for me in regards to workouts and getting some fresh content up on my site. We're headed to our annual week away in northern Connecticut. Last year's trip had me dealing with a few maladies but this year I'm looking to do some serious cycling in the foothills of the Berkshires as well as some good open water swimming.

Triathlon Mania Comes To NYC

2011-06-15T21:07:00.000-04:00

As many of you may have heard, Ironman New York is alive and among us. It's been deemed the US Championships. Also, as you may have heard, it sold out in less than 15 minutes as soon as registration went live online. I love this sport. Love it. And I'm thrilled that New York City is getting another great triathlon.

This is all good news. But there's a race here in the New York area that's my complete fave. It's held up the Hudson Valley in September. If you haven't heard of it yet, you need to get familiar with it now. And I mean stat.

The Westchester Toughman

The Toughman is a half ironman distance race held in northern Westchester county. It starts and finishes in Croton Point Park, in Croton on Hudson, New York, and is really one amazing race. Why? I'll tell you why:

Location:

Croton Point Park, along the Hudson River, is an amazing setting for the swim start, transition area, and finish line. It's a beautiful park, with campgrounds, easy access to mass transit for those coming up from the city and is easy to get to from most any major city in the tri-state area.

Course:

In addition to the park itself, the course is amazing. The swim, in the bay that is naturally created at the park, is mostly free of river current and provides a great location for the swim. More importantly, for those familiar with the Westchester Triathlon, there are no jellyfish!

Once done with the swim, the bike course is fantastic. Should you be paying attention during the challenging bike leg, it's an amazing course. Hills, flats, big climbs, quick downhills, and rolling sections make this a course that gives you a bit of everything. On top of that, it's an incredibly well supported course (more on that later).

The run course is just like the bike course. Hills, flats, climbs. It has it all. Plenty of shaded sections (some of it trail) and an amazing view as you climb the Croton Dam

And more to the point, there are 17 (yes, 17) aid stations on the run course. Gels, water, electrolytes, Coke, it's all there.

Volunteers and Support:
I can't say enough about the number of volunteers and course support that's provided. Wetsuit strippers at T1, bottle exchange on the bike. Numerous marshals, police, and course patrols on the bike leg ensuring safe passage through every intersection. The run course has, again, plenty of support and volunteers. Bagpipe players push you up the climb of Croton Dam and cheerleaders motivate you as you head back home via the brutal climb at mile 9. (Yes it is brutal, and it hurts, but it's f'ing awesome). If all goes to current plan (per the race director) this year should see close to 1,500 athletes and almost 1,000 volunteers.

Race Director and Event Staff:
This race is put on by a great group of folks. Most importantly, it's put on by people that have done numerous Ironman races and have been to Kona. They know what a race should be like. They know what athletes need and what they don't. They know what effort goes into competing in a half ironman and want to ensure that you're taken care of before, during, and after. this event is build and driven by dedicated individuals who want nothing more than to put on an amazing event, give back to the community, and ensure that everyone has a great time.

Expo and Post-Race:
The expo is great. It's held in Croton Point Park, and there are plenty of great vendors setup over the weekend. Lots of stuff to buy, lots of new products to play with. And equally as important, a couple tents with bike mechanics to help with any issue that you may have.

The post-race festivities are amazing. Full barbeque for all participants. Yep, that's right. When you're done, there's a killer BBQ waiting for you. Along with a huge tent with massage therapists to help keep you loose.

Oh, and for those of you vegetarian and vegans out there - the BBQ (thanks to my wife) provides salad and veggie burgers. Yep, something for everyone.

And how can I forget: Toughkids:

Not only does the Toughman crew put on a top-notch Half Iron race, they also now have a Toughkids series. Multiple races throughout the year, culminating in the the Toughkids race in Croton the weekend of the full Half Iron. It's a complete riot watching the kids race and have a blast.

What are you waiting for?

Check out The Toughman Triathlon ....seriously. If you live in the Tri-State area, it's in your backyard. I've raced this event. I've worked this event. Not sure when I had a better time (okay, I had a better time racing it). It's been growing every year since its inception. $25,000 in awards for age groups and special divisions alone. And it's only going to get bigger and better.

Check out the video here. You'll want to sign up. Really, you will. So click here and do it!

No Racing For Me This Year

2011-06-05T14:18:00.000-04:00

It's official - there will be no racing this year.

Between the recent "setback" I had at physical therapy on Friday, and the sudden (albeit obvious in retrospect) bit of clarity around my situation, I've realized that there's no way I can do any sort of full-on racing this year. Yes, I could do the swim and the bike legs of most any triathlon with the required amount of intensity required. But any run I do will be a jog at best. Even by September or October I just won't be able to pound out miles at a pace that will be competitive.

I have to admit that this past Saturday and Sunday were a bit tough mentally. After the non-PT session on Friday, and with a sore ankle, all I could do this weekend was realize the cold hard facts. I'm disappointed to say the least. But as today has progressed, I realize that this - again - is just the logical outcome to breaking an ankle that I should have come to grips with sooner than today.

Racing come this fall - Wishful thinking? Perhaps. Oh, hell, yeah of course it was wishful thinking. Denial? For sure.

However, with that all said and done, my goal now is to stay fit, and get my running back up in the late fall so that I can hit the triathlon season early next year and make up for lost time. I may still participate in a couple of events, as I pondered a while ago, and just turn in my chip after the bike leg. Not exactly what I was hoping for this year, but considering the circumstances I think that's the best I can manage.

Weekly Workouts And A Minor Setback

2011-06-04T07:26:00.000-04:00

I had some good workouts this week. Monday was an off day (always enjoyable), and Tuesday was an easy ride with one of the athletes that I coach. But Wednesday through Friday had some higher intensity workouts - I was damn psyched as I was feeling good, and was pleased at how my ankle was feeling.

Since a couple folks have asked what kind of workouts I'm doing while my ankle is on the mend - here's a sample from this week:

Wednesday:
21 mile ride.
18.7 mph average speed (Pushed it a bit on this ride. When did I get all Type-A?)
Avg HR 138 / Max HR 162
671 calories burned

Thursday:
3,000 yard swim.
Warm up
400 yards easy
8 x 50 stroke drill
----------
Main set
2 x 400 swim on 5:45
600 pull
2 x 300 swim on :30 rest - descending
----------
200 cool down

Wednesday wrapped up with a late afternoon physical therapy session. A treadmill walk and jog session - which I was really looking forward to. 3 minutes of walking, followed by 4 minutes of running / jogging at an easy pace. Rinse and repeat 3 times. This was followed by 90 minutes of sweat inducing drills, stretches, weights, isometrics, and physical pulling / tugging / torquing. Damn. I was spent.

I won't go into details, but I wasn't limping when I got there. Seriously. More on that in a minute.

Friday:
25 mile ride
17.2 mph average speed (thankfully a more reasonable pace today)
Avg HR 131 / Max HR 164
719 calories burned

Here's the setback - Friday's PT session was reduced to icing and stretching as my ankle is acting up from yesterdays "run". Very sore and very swollen. I'm told we're stepping back a bit for a couple sessions. With that news, all my weekend workout plans have changed. No cycling this weekend. Just one swim workout and multiple icing sessions on the ankle. It's a bummer, but nothing disastrous. I'm told it's nothing major, and we just stepped up the running a little too quickly. More importantly, as the cycling and swimming workouts aren't hurting anything (as they're non-impact) this is just a normal event that's to be expected.

A bit of a bummer, but things feel better already this morning (Saturday). I'll get a swim in this weekend, but today will be spent icing my ankle and watching a lot of TV.

Becoming A Bike Commuter

2011-06-02T08:54:00.000-04:00

I've been talking about it for a while....about riding my bike to the train station as part of my daily work commute. As we're a one vehicle household, my wife JL and I coordinate our schedules so I can be dropped off at the train station to head into Manhattan before she heads off to work herself. Not terrible, but during the morning "rush" in our area, it's just a hassle. And, c'mon, it's just the smart thing to do. I walk to the train when I can (it's only a 15 minute walk) so why not save some time, and fuel, in the process?

I was in no way going to ride my road bike to the station. Nor was I going to ride my TT racing rig (that would just look stupid!) As I was in the basement trying to figure out how to build a commuter bike by cannibalizing an old mountain bike and a slightly used hybrid bike I stumbled on my very first road bike. An aluminum frame Trek with a triple crank-set in front and base / entry level components. Wow, I actually used to ride this thing? Not to be all snooty, but damn.

Okay, I'm off my carbon fiber soap-box.

What a perfect bike to become a commuter rig. The triple crank-set would make the hills to and from the train station easy to deal with (without breaking out into a sweat) and a few additional accessories will ensure that my work clothes don't get wet / dirty / greasy. I made a quick trip to my bike shop and picked up a few things:

Non-folding, cheap, 700 x 25C tires - thick, puncture resistant, with a bit more traction than 23C tires.
Snap on fender kit.
Dual sided flat / spd pedals.
Fresh handlebar tape.

I washed the hell out of the bike - really had to work on the drivetrain a bit - and got it back into a functional state. New tires went on, fender kit was attached, and loud and obnoxious candy apple red handlebar tape finished things off.

I replaced the black road saddle that was currently on the bike with the stock saddle that came with my TT rig. (It was promptly replaced by a far superior ISM Saddle.) This was a good option as it's white on top and I wouldn't have to worry about my pants potentially getting black marks on them. I resisted the urge to 'pimp my ride' by adding a mustache, or bull-horn handlebar to the mix. Although as I type that I think I may need to do that this weekend.

A quick spin around the block and everything seemed in order. The next day was it's maiden voyage to the train station.

Truth be told, I think the trip time was cut in half compared to driving. While I did stop at all the traffic lights (rush hour is no time to blast through a red light) I was able to, on the right shoulder, zip past numerous cars queued up at each intersection and traffic signal. The fenders dealt with bits of gravel and small puddles very well.

Arriving at the train station I circled around to the side with the bike racks and had to find some open space to lock up the bike. There were tons of bikes and scooters already filling up the area. With the bike locked, I couldn't believe how little time this took. Going home took a few extra minutes that evening, as it's more uphill on the reverse route. But that's fine - who cares? No more coordinating schedules or taking cabs - at least until the winter.

AM Ride With A New Guy

2011-06-01T07:59:00.000-04:00

AM ride with a new guy

A few days ago I got an email from a friend looking to hook me up with a 'friend of a friend' to ride in the mornings during the week. Awesome! Sure thing! Email introductions were sent, and after some back and forth we met up this morning for a 20+ ride.

We met up at the appointed time and corner. Matt seemed like a nice guy. Pleasantries were exchanged, and off we went. I noticed that he was in the "big-ring" and as we started out, I noticed that I was too. We both accelerated quickly, got to a pace that was most likely a little too quick considering the lack of warm-up that I had, and started to cruise.

The speed didn't slow. We were talking, asking the usual "get-to-know-you" questions, but the pace was up there. Neither of us would shift out of the big-ring in front, and we kept the pace high. I realized what was happening......it was typical, neither of us wanted to slow the pace for fear of looking like he couldn't hang with the other. Or at least that's what I projected.

We continued. The pace continued. Yes, we both turned into "that guy". Neither one of us would let up. We started out hard, and kept it hard. Big-ring all the way.

Avg pace for 20+ miles was 18.5. Not too quick for a flat loop, but this loop has some hills. And yes, neither of us would get out of the big-ring for the climbs either.

All hills were attacked. Out of the saddle climbing. The conversation continued on the climbs. Granted the questions had to be kept short - as did the answers - so you could keep breathing and avoid passing out.

Me (on a short, steep, hill. Out of saddle in the big-ring): "So...(pause) *heavy inhale and exhale*....you from Texas originally?

Matt (on same short, steep hill. Out of saddle in the big-ring): "No...(pause) *heavy inhale and exhale*....New Hampshire"

Finally, with 2 miles to go to the end of the loop where we would split off, there was one last small-ish climb. I got half way up and my legs cried "no mas". I shifted out of the big-ring, and announced: "that's it - I'm done". With that, Matt immediately slowed, shifted down, and relaxed. Damn it. All I had to do was say that 8 miles ago?

You get the point. We turned into total Type-A jackasses.

And we're riding together again on Friday.

Pre-Ride: Check Your Equipment

2011-05-31T16:47:00.000-04:00

I was out on a training ride with one of my Podium Training athletes this morning. It wasn't going to be a long ride, this athlete is gearing up for a sprint distance triathlon in a couple months, and I think 16-17 miles was in the cards today. Anyway, all was good - about half way into the ride, and we're picking up the pace a little. My athlete was down in the aero-bars, and we had a nice stretch at tempo pace.

Suddenly: Bonk. My athlete has dropped back on a fairly flat stretch so I start to slow.....slowing some more.... Um, still slowing..... What's going on? We went from a nice pace to maybe 10 mph (not kidding).

I was informed that they just lost their mojo. Okay, no problem, we'll spin easy for the rest of the ride. But as we continued on, even at a slow pace, my athlete was just dragging. Finally, I was informed - while their legs felt like rubber at the moment - that a "rubbing" on the front end of their bike might indeed be coming the brakes. We pulled over and, sure enough, the brake pads were so tight that they were rubbing against the rim of the front wheel. The calipers had the brake pads just about locked down on the rim. I could hardly spin the front wheel when I took a look. No wonder this person was spent - this ride must have felt like doing hill repeats for ten miles.

I did give this person a mild scolding for not checking out their equipment before rolling out that morning. Everyone should do some basic checks on their bike before heading out. Even if it's for a short ride. Spin the wheels: any wobble or brake rubbing? Check the brakes: stopping power is good? Spin the crank arms and shift gears a few times: All shifts are crisp and no issues with the drivetrain? Check the handlebars: Able to turn without cable or headset issues? Tires are inflated and you have spare tube, air / CO2 / tire levers?

All in all this takes about 2 minutes - Max.

Granted, we got a laugh out of it in the end. If this were race day, that would have been one tough bike leg.

More importantly my next concern was about the bike shop that was being frequented for the maintenance on this athlete's bike. I say this as I know it just came back from the shop for a basic tune-up. How could a mechanic, any mechanic, let a bike leave their shop with the brakes adjusted down this tightly? Didn't they check things over once (or twice) before taking the rig off the stand and signing off on the work? I was sort of stunned, as I know what bike shop was used, and I had thought them to be a pretty good place to go. That opinion has changed a bit.

The moral of this story? Always, ALWAYS, check your bike before heading out on a training ride. And, make sure you've got a good mechanic whom you trust at your bike shop.

You can always do what I do once you do find a reputable shop and mechanic: Buy your mechanic a case of excellent micro-brew or craft beer a couple of times a year and make sure you're on a first name basis with the entire staff by doing the same. It does wonders when you need a quick tweak on your rear derailleur and it's a busy Saturday at the bike shop.

More Progress

2011-05-23T07:07:00.001-04:00

Three months after breaking my ankle, I'm finally allowed to jog (or is it "yog", with a soft 'J'?) Granted it's only for two minutes at a stretch, but I'll take it.

Support, In Injury And In Health

2011-05-20T08:27:00.000-04:00

I was out riding this morning, enjoying the fact that I'm able to be out riding after breaking the old ankle. Granted, I've been swimming and cycling for a while, but I'm still having that little bit if euphoria every time I get outside on my bike. Sorry, I digress. Anyway, I was out riding this morning, thinking about how quickly, really, this rehab has been going. I then started to think back to the accident itself, the surgery, etc, and realized I was pretty lucky - for a number of reasons - all in all, but more so that I had a great support system at home.

My wife JL was amazing during the whole broken ankle thing. And I'm not just talking about taking me to the ER and then to the Orthopedist. And then for an MRI. And then back to the Orthopedist. And then to the hospital for surgery and getting my prescriptions filled.

I'm talking about having someone at home who understood that this was a major deal for an athlete. She understood that this was going to really be a mental strain on me as well, and did an amazing job of keeping things in perspective. Yes I was fortunate the accident happened in the winter. And I was also fortunate that I could keep swimming almost immediately after the hard cast was taken off post-surgery. But she really kept an eye on me and made sure I was following doctors orders and also made sure that I was being smart:

She made sure that I ate healthy, fiber-rich, foods. Breakfast was usually a whole grain English muffin, fruit, and sometimes a veggie juice or a smoothie. She also knew that without the exercise levels my body was accustom to, I needed to watch my food intake.

She'd scold me for trying to do too much around the house - insisting that I keep my leg elevated. Her favorite saying during the 3-4 week period of mostly immobility? "Don't be a hero, get back on the couch".

When the desire to just sit back and have beer to drown my sorrows of not being able to go out and run would come around, she'd make sure I didn't. "Stay off the hooch so long as you're taking painkillers".

Oh, and did I mention that she made sure that I didn't overdo it on the Oxycontin? Granted I only used one or two of those (I found one of the other painkillers - a less addictive one - a more effective solution) but she made sure that I wasn't overdoing anything.

She'd even (on one occasion early on) put some chicken and veggies in a crock pot for me so I'd have lunch and dinner lined up for a couple of days. And for a vegan to cook chicken, well, you know what I'm talking about. That's devotion.

I know she was pretty damn happy when I was able to start carrying my own dinner to the table (when I could get around on one crutch). And she was damn near ecstatic when I was able to navigate the stairs to the basement (I tend to do the laundry, and she wasn't happy about having to add that to her repertoire).

The point here? (Yes, there's a point): It's good to have a support mechanism at home. Not just when you get injured, but in general.

Triathlons, marathon training, whatever - you need to have someone who understands what you're going through, and why, and is supporting you in your endeavors. I'm lucky to have someone who, on all accounts, is behind me in my training and mania. I think I balance my life with triathlons pretty well, and it helps that she does triathlons herself. But I'm pretty sure that without someone at home to support the early mornings, keep me in check when I'm overdoing things, and to cheer me on at T1, T2, and the finish chutes, well, I just wouldn't enjoy the sport as much.

Looks Like I'm Racing.....sort of

2011-05-09T08:13:00.000-04:00

Not long ago, I wrote about my racing dilemma this upcoming season. As I am already registered for a few upcoming races, I was contemplating whether or not I should race them in a diminished capacity. By that, I mean do I do the swim and the bike legs of my upcoming triathlons and then withdraw from the race (as I most likely won't be able to do the run with any mojo what-so-ever)?

A couple people commented on that post, and I was encouraged a bit by what was said. It seemed like a reasonable thing to do - and it would allow me to get out and do something while trying to build my fitness back up.

I've been getting in some good swims workouts in lately, and the even better news is that I've been getting in some good training rides. Outdoors. Yep, I've officially turned the corner and am no longer resigned to spinning away on the bike trainer inside. Paired with the fact that I can get around sans crutches now, my ankle is strong enough that I can go out and ride confidently. Granted, I'm tragically building up my mileage and fitness at this point. This compared to last year when I was already racing and would have had at least one 1/2 marathon under my belt and would be gearing up for a triathlon in just a few weeks. Anyway, I digress.

I was still on the fence about this short term racing plan. Was waffling back and forth on the pros and cons of it all. Then my wife returned home from a work trip that took her to Arizona. She was in Tuscon during the USAT Duathlon National Championships and, on the flight home, was the seat-mate of a sponsored elite athlete that had raced that weekend. They apparently talked about racing and triathlons a bit, and my racing and current situation came up. I was pleased to hear that the response from an elite athlete was that I should absolutely do the swim and bike legs of my upcoming races. That I shouldn't feel any apprehension about not doing the run. I've paid the entry fee, and people are responsible for their own race. I can't take, nor should I take, ownership or responsibility of the race strategy of another athlete.

With that pleasing input tipping the weights solidly in my direction, I'm re-targeting the Mossman Sprint Triathlon and the Park City Olympic Triathlon in July and August. These will help me get my fitness up and potentially be able to do something constructive at the Toughman Half Iron Triathlon in September. Do I think that I will be able to run 13.1 miles by September? Ehhh, most likely not with any sort of intensity at all. And to be honest, it might not be the smartest thing to do - but who can say!? Regardless, if I'm able to get out and swim and ride competitively it will be a big mental boost.

With that said, I've been scouring the internet for fall triathlon in the north-east. Not many to choose from once September wraps up. I'd like to think that I could squeak out a sprint or Olympic distance race come October. If anyone has any good suggestions, please speak up.

The Mental Aspects Of Recovery

2011-04-30T11:58:00.000-04:00

Just read a great article on the Competitor website. It was titled: Mental Aspects Of Recovery and was written by Melanie McQuaid . Anyone who knows who Ms. McQuaid is knows that she very well might know her stuff.

This is a great article. It hits on all the key points that are critical to resting, recovery, and periodization during any serious training program.

What caught my eye, however, was point #2: "Do I feel like doing this?" This could also be phrased: "How do I feel?" I mean, I can't count the number of times that, upon waking up at 400a, I'll feel just fine physically. But I sure have a hard time convincing myself that I want to ride for 2 1/2 hours before work. Mentally, we need to be strong to overcome the desire to sleep in. More importantly, we need to be able to distinguish between 'wanting' to sleep in vs 'needing' to sleep in.

As a coach, it's critical to always be checking in on how our athletes feel - both mentally and physically. Feeling tired physically; being agitated or irritable, or being overly negative about a performance or recent training session, are all potential signs that an athlete could be fatigued and in need of additional rest.

During the USAT Coaching Clinic, I found that one of the questions that all of the presenters / coaches ask their elite athletes throughout a training cycle is "How do you feel?" Not only are they looking for input regarding their physical well-being, but they're assessing the mental state and attitude of their athlete as well.

I don't think we focus on rest and recovery enough in training. A common trap that athletes can fall into is basing workouts on "how many miles / hours did I train?" We should be focusing on quality workouts, with good intensity and periodization. This will allow our bodies to rest, and recover adequately while at the same time allowing our bodies to efficiently acclimate to all the hard work that we've done. You have to incorporate adequate rest into your training plan in order for all the hard work to pay off.

Check out the article here. It's good food for thought.

Serious Workouts Return

2011-04-24T11:54:00.000-04:00

I had my first significant / serious workout since my accident today. I headed to the gym around 7:00a and hit the pool. I'd been getting to the pool somewhat regularly to do some nominal swimming - but it was more part of physical therapy and targeted at getting more flexibility back in my ankle. Likewise, I'd been on the bike trainer here at home for short stretches of time - again with the goal of getting some range of motion and strength back.

Today I decided that I needed to get things back in form. I'm feeling pretty good in regards to my rehab, so today was the first day of me "getting back at it". From this point forward, all swims and bike trainer sessions will take on a new level of intensity. My goal is to be ready for some sort of racing come the fall.

Today's swim workout:

400y warm up.
2 x (1 x 50, 1 x 100, 1 x 50) stroke drills on :15 rest
4 x 100 pull (pull buoy and paddles) on the 1:40
1 x 50 easy
4 x 100 pull (pull buoy) on the 1:40
3 x 200 on 3:15
200 cool down

2,400 yards - :45 minutes. Nothing too crazy today in regards to intensity or distance. I felt a little tight towards the end of the 200's, but was pretty pleased overall. Flip turns still require me to push off with only my right leg, but I'm able to kick with equal force on both legs. Very exciting indeed!

Upon arriving home, I revisited my long-lost friend the training calendar. I immediately removed all the workouts I was "supposed to do" in preparation for a half iron triathlon in September. These were replaced with new swimming and cycling workouts. And in regards to my cycling workouts, based on my last physical therapy session it's very likely that I'll be outside riding in a couple of weeks which will make me very happy. At that point I'll be able to crank up the intensity another notch.

Hopefully everyone is having a good holiday today. And hopefully you all got in a workout before the chocolate bunnies come into play.

Weekly boredom update and fave posts

2011-04-22T17:14:00.001-04:00

I haven't trained heavily this week - save for physical therapy. I did swim....and I did get some time on the bike trainer. Alas, this *#@*&$# ankle is still not letting me get outside and run and jump and play. So, I've been reading about other peoples training and, well....while I don't like being injured, at least I'm reading more!

Okay, enough of the smarmy feel-good stuff. I'm crawling out of my skin. I'm beyond impatient and NEED to be out running. Swimming is great. The bike trainer is great. But I'm not 100%, and I won't be until my ankle is back to normal. Obvious, I know, but I had to get it out there. I'm going stir crazy and I'm man enough to admit it. So aside from drinking more beer, I'm beginning to become angst-filled. Sort of like week 2 or 3 of a taper.

So, aside from reading a bit more and drinking more beer than usual, I thought I'd cover a couple quick items:

First - I was looking at my site analytics, and was very curious about one of the Google search entries that led someone to my blog:

"Triathlons and the wealthy"

What the heck did I write that caused that search to cause a hit on my site? No idea. Moving on.

Second - I wanted to share a couple of the good posts I've stumbled on in the last week or so.

Self-Talking Our Bodies Into Submission
The Endurance Athlete's Scrapbook

You might have noticed, however, that both posts are from Susan Lacke. Yep, that's right.....I have a blog crush on Susan. I do. Can't deny it. My wife approves (actually, I think my wife has a blog crush on Susan as well. Hmmm, competition).

Susan is cool. She's funny. If she lived closer (and I don't really know where she lives to be honest) I'd be inviting her and her family over for dinner.

Read her stuff.

Progress

2011-04-10T12:12:00.000-04:00

So, do I just hand in my chip?

2011-04-04T10:11:00.000-04:00

My ankle is feeling better, thank you very much. I'm not in the big black walking boot anymore - I'm in a much sleeker, and aerodynamic brace now.

Which one would you rather wear?

The great thing is I can wear a regular shoe with this new brace. It makes getting around on crutches much easier. My Orthopedist did say that I'll need to wear this brace for 6 more weeks. But, the crutches can go away as soon as I'm strong enough to walk comfortably without them. This made me "Mr. Happy Guy" last Friday. Great news as far as I'm concerned. Six weeks post ankle surgery and I could be off crutches within another month. Maybe.

The timing of this news was good. A couple friends from the usual morning running crew dropped me a line to check in and see how things were going with my rehab. This was great info to have as I provided updates. So, with all this on my mind, my first thoughts over the weekend were: "When do I think I can race next?"

Suffice it to say that the North Face Endurance Challenge 1/2 Marathon in May is out. So is the triathlon in June I was targeting. That one bums me out as I had a top 10 finish / 1st in AG podium last year. I was really looking forward to getting on that course again.

I'm also not going to be able to do the Stamford Olympic triathlon this June as well. I had some redemption on my mind after I received a time penalty at this race last year which bumped me from an age-group podium finish. No redemption this year, apparently.

So now we're into July and August. I'm registered for two races during these two months and I'm pretty sure that, while I may be able to jog with some nominal level of discomfort, I won't be able to run with any great intensity. Same goes with the Toughman Half Iron triathlon in September. I just don't know what I'll be able to muster on the run.

This isn't to say that I couldn't do the swim, the bike, and then just jog easy through the run. I could. But that would suck, in my opinion. I have enough Type-A / OCD triathlete in me to know that if I was having a great race and then jogged the run I'd be a mental wreck.

What's a person to do? Hence my opening question. Should I do the swim and the bike and then turn in my timing chip? Could I do that? I mean, of course I can. But the question is, should I?

I say "should I" as I'm a bit conflicted. Not all these races have an Aquabike category. And for those that don't, what impact will I have on other athletes? If I were to pass someone on the bike course - and they see that I'm in their age group and, as I would, attempt to reel me back in - this person is going to burn a bunch of extra energy. More to the point, they're going to burn energy chasing down someone who was never going to be a factor in their race. I'm sure I could sit here and dream up all the reasons that I have a valid plan in the works. Heck, I can justify almost anything if you give me enough time.

I want to race as soon as possible. Dare I say I NEED to race! I'm going absolutely stir-crazy not being able to get outside and run or ride. Swimming is great. But 15 minute sessions on the bike trainer are getting old. I know that as soon as I'm able to ramp things up, I'm going to want to race as soon as possible.

So, again, what's a person to do? I need input here folks. If there's no Aquabike category at a race, do I pull a DNS (did not start) and volunteer? Or do I do what I can and turn in my chip once I get to T2?

USAT Coaching Clinic Recap

2011-04-02T09:17:00.000-04:00

I was in Baltimore last weekend for my USAT coaching clinic. What an experience. There was just tons of info and it was really inspiring to listen to all the presenters. Most of them are coaching athletes, elite and otherwise, and to hear about their approach to coaching was really educational. This weekend really solidified my desire to coach. I know deep down that I can do something here that benefits athletes of all levels.

The good stuff:

Anything that was covered by Bob Seebohar and Justin Trolle. I know that sounds hokey, but I'm serious. The day and a half that these two alone spent with the group was simply amazing.

Building a proper training plan

Great content from all the Level III coaches, and hearing how they train their athletes and build their workouts.

Great ideas all around on how to improve transition times and mental prep.

The discussions on nutrition were amazing. I could have spent hours on this alone.

The "me being critical" stuff:

The swimming presentation left a little to be desired. Now, most of the other participants thought the lecture was very good, and that there was a lot of good information shared. I'm being overly critical as I have a swimming background, and there was just nothing new that I hadn't heard before. I thought it was a little light in content.

Wait, no SWAG?!

The "are you kidding me?" stuff:

The apparent lack of basic knowledge of triathlon fundamentals shown by a few of the participants.

Individuals, who are currently coaching athletes, showing a lack of understanding of how specific workouts impact a training session.

Future colleagues dozing off and simply not paying attention. Obviously, these individuals won't endure the test of time, as athletes will eventually see their shortcomings.

As I said earlier, there were two presenters that really stand out in my mind: Bob Seebohar and Justin Trolle. These guys gave, in my opinion, the best lectures and presentations. These two individuals are an absolute wealth of knowledge. They're coaching elite and national team athletes and they were nothing but inspiring. This isn't to say that the other coaches and presenters weren't up to snuff - far from it. But Bob and Justin were just tremendous.

In the end, it was very exciting to gain a new understanding of applying some theories, training techniques, and more importantly the building of a proper annual training plan. I was embarrassed at how poorly I'd built my own previous 1/2 Iron training plans after seeing what Bob and Justin put together on a regular basis for their athletes. Moving forward, while more complicated, my training will be taking on a whole new format.

More to the point, this clinic made me think again about how some coaches put together a plan for you with next to no pertinent information. Based on what I heard, saw, and digested, there is simply no way you can build a customized training plan - with periodization and proper fitness testing - without spending a significant amount of time with the athlete in question. Having someone fill out a web form just isn't going to give you the information required.

And where I thought I was doing proper step-back weeks, and getting the rest I needed - wrong again. Where I was sure that my plans had all the quality workouts cooked in without overdoing it on quantity....hmmmm, not exactly.

Next up, CPR certification, and the USAT test for certification. Then, a business plan!

Hey Coach!

2011-03-22T20:11:00.000-04:00

I'm heading off to a USAT Coaching Clinic this upcoming weekend. I thought long and hard about signing up - did I really want to start coaching people? Did I think I could really help somebody become faster, more efficient, and improve? I think I can. While I've been self-coached (mostly) for most of my triathlon career, I did swim competitively up into the college ranks. I've been coached by a number of individuals, and I'd like to think that I know what to do, what not to do, and how to work with people to get the most out of their time. I've trained with a lot of top-flight athletes, a number of whom have qualified for Kona, and know what their time, training, and sacrifices have entailed. All of this information hasn't gone to waste.

I've actually built 1/2 Ironman training plans for a number of individuals. I have to say I really had a good time creating them. I found it fascinating to delve into their previous performances so I could better understand their abilities. I enjoyed working with them to get an idea of what their schedules look like, how much time they could devote to training, and how this all impacted their overall goals. It was actually quite a bit of fun working with them to understand their running and swimming pace so I could formulate speedwork on the track, and targeted swimming workouts.

Building an overall training plan, with periodization, pull back weeks, and taper, as well as incorporating strategically placed races, is more complicated than I originally thought. There's a nice challenge that goes along with this process. No two plans are alike. Sure there may be a template that is used, but to do things correctly there's a lot of personalization involved.

What I found to be the critical piece of the training puzzle was working with these individuals to incorporate training into their real-life existence. These folks work for a living. One has multiple kids. Training has to be scheduled into windows of opportunity. Quality workouts need to be the norm. As I work full time, and train in whatever spare time I can muster during the week, I found that a key to building these plans was understanding how much time was available for training. Then, and only then, can a truly personalized plan be formulated.

I just don't see how, via some coaching services I've seen online, filling out a web-form with minimal information can yield a detailed training plan that is tailored to the individual. A cookie cutter approach isn't the best solution here. There are of course some coaching services that are detailed and thorough, but some just don't look to be worth the price of admission.

But I digress. At the end of the day, it's thrilling for me to see people get excited about training for a big race. To listen to someone become animated, looking forward to long brick workouts, four hour training rides, and speedwork, is really satisfying.

As I said, I've built some 1/2 Iron plans. My biggest challenge to date, however, is building a training plan for my wife.

JL asked me to build a sprint triathlon training plan for her. Not a problem! This was going to be great, as I know what her paces are, I know what her schedule is, and I can easily customize a plan for her for the summer race she's targeting. This was before she decided to take most of the winter off from training. So, I'm going back to the drawing board on this one.

Looking at the agenda for the upcoming clinic it looks like a very full 3 days of training this weekend. I'll try to provide an overview of the sessions when I return next week.

Managing Life and Triathlons

2011-03-12T08:23:00.000-05:00

I read a good post the other day on TriCrowd.com. It was titled When Life gets in the way of Tri (click the link and give it a read) and it reminded me of the time-management, structure, and sometimes sacrifice that can be required for triathlon training.

Unlike the author of the post, I don't have kids. While that makes it much easier for both me, and my wife, to train and race, I do work full time. I'm not sponsored to race, or independently wealthy enough to work part time (or not at all) and train full time (reminder to play the lottery tonight). What this means is that longer workouts during the week require starting the ride or run du-jour early in the day. Usually in the dark.

I remember fondly (yes, fondly) my training for the Toughman 1/2 Iron triathlon just a summer or so ago. I needed to get long brick workouts into my schedule, and for some strange reason my brick days fell on Thursday mornings. (For anyone who isn't quite sure what a brick workout is, check out this link from Ironman.com on brick workouts and training). To get in the workout I needed - a 45+ mile bike ride, followed immediately by a 6+ mile run - I would set my alarm for 330a. Some toast and peanut butter, a banana, a little coffee.....air in tires, bars and gels in the jersey pockets, water bottles filled with a mix of Perpetuem and Sustained Energy, and I was out the door by 400a.

Upon returning home from the ride, and then subsequently the run, I'd log my workout, shower, get dressed, eat a giant bowl of cereal or 3 or 4 eggs and toast, and be downtown in my office by 900a. Usually Thursday nights were a very low key affair. After dinner it was a guarantee that I'd be asleep on the couch by no later than 800p.

Even on the weekends early start times are still the norm. On the road for a Saturday long ride by 700a at the latest. Home by 1100a or noon. Sunday long runs guarantee a couple of hours on the road or trails. And this is only for a half Ironman. Even without kids, I'm not sure how I'd double things up to do a full Ironman. There's just not enough hours in my day. Well, that's not true. There are. People do it all the time. It just requires more discipline and time-management. A few people from my triathlon club went to the world championships in Kona last year. One is a guidance counselor at a elementary school in Connecticut. You can read about his training in this article.

Triathlons require structure, dedication, and a lot of drive and desire. They sometimes require sacrifice. I think it's worth it.

Back in the pool - First workout in over 3 weeks

2011-03-09T07:35:00.000-05:00

My first workout post injury is in the books. This past weekend I was able to get to the pool and managed around 30 minutes of swimming. Yeah, only 30 minutes.

Upon getting in the water I wasn't comfortable at all and this was a little disappointing. It took about 5 to 10 minutes for my ankle to loosen up enough so that I could swim somewhat normally without constantly thinking about it. It was amazing to really feel what sort of flexing goes on in that joint even when not kicking. Just the natural friction and resistance from the water was enough to make me well aware of how tight my ankle is.

I couldn't use a pull buoy. My ankles kept clipping together and I can't use my left leg to push off the wall. This was working out really well so far. So I resigned myself to just letting my left leg drag behind me while my right leg did as much kicking as I could manage. It took a lot of effort to keep my body streamlined. My core muscles were engaged the whole time trying to keep my legs from sinking. It was tiring.

In the end I felt pretty good. I didn't get in nearly as much swimming as I would have liked, but as the pool became a little crowded I cut things short as I was being overprotective of my leg and was unnecessarily afraid of some kind of collision occurring. It felt great to be in the water, though. I'm sure that as things progress at physical therapy I'll be able to increase the intensity in the pool (flip turns will still out for a while) as well as the duration. I think that as soon as I begin to get some strength back I'll be much more comfortable in the water.

Next up: the bike trainer. I'll be chatting with my physical therapist tonight and might give a short, no resistance, spin on the bike trainer a shot in the near future. Here's hoping my ankle doesn't blow up like a balloon. I might actually have to show some patience and restraint.

Commuting in NYC with a Broken Ankle

2011-03-07T07:05:00.000-05:00

Well, it's not really broken anymore.

Suffice it to say, getting around while on crutches is the toughest part of this recovery. Well, that and the fact that I'm not able to currently run or ride. Not being mobile is really frustrating. Please don't get me wrong, I know there are people out there that deal with being physically challenged every day - and they manage it famously. I applaud them for their perseverance and tenacity in getting around New York City without blinking an eye. I, however, am having a difficult time with this.

Normally, on any given day, once I've arrived at Grand Central Terminal (coming in off the Metro North commuter rail) I can walk to my office in just under 15 minutes. If the weather is bad I can take the subway and if I'm lucky in my timing I can be at my office in just under 10 minutes. This past week my commute from Grand Central Terminal to my office, via the subway, took upwards of 40 minutes. I had a learning curve as I navigated the New York subway system looking for elevators, ramps, and handicapped facilities. There were a couple of times where I was forced to navigate stairs as not all subway entrances are equipped for wheelchairs, and to get around one needs to navigate to an alternate subway entrance and backtrack. Being impatient, the stairs seemed quicker at the time. In hindsight I'm not so sure.

Save for being exhausted, and a bit sweaty, navigating the mass transit system isn't all that terrible. It's just overly time consuming. For the most part people are accommodating and patient as I try to stay out of everyone's way. My fear of navigating the subway being on par to participating in the 'Running of the Bulls' in Pamplona was thankfully proven wrong. Well, not exactly. If I avoid rush hour, it's not too bad.

There was, however, one trip this past week where I had an interesting experience. I boarded the Metro North commuter rail train, one towards the end of the morning rush hour to avoid the heavy crowds, and was greeted with a very full, standing room only, rail car. This isn't uncommon on the Metro North lines as anyone who frequents the trains can attest to. But I was now faced with balancing on my right leg for most of the trip down to the city as I can't yet put a lot of weight on my left leg. I stood in the vestibule, grabbed one of the railings, and waited for the train to start moving.

A few minutes into the trip I wondered if anyone would potentially offer me their seat. Now, let me preface this with I didn't really need to sit down. I'm not in pain, I'm not in a hard cast, and I can at least put my left leg down to help balance myself. My fear, though, was should the train stop in a hurry or lurch to the side if we changed tracks quickly, I would have been hard pressed to stay stable. Anyway, short version: Nobody offered me a seat. Lots of people looked at me, looked at my crutches and walking boot, and then went back to their reading or what-not. A couple people even made eye contact - some on more than one occasion - and turned away with a sheepish look. One woman did wave to me from her seat and motion to me, asking if I wanted to sit. I declined. First because I just didn't feel that it was necessary to take a seat from an elderly lady. Second, she was in the far middle of the rail car, and there were people standing in the aisles. In a moving train, that's like an obstacle course. I never would have made it there without causing some level of carnage.

Was I irritated at this whole scenario? A little. I'll admit, had the younger guy who couldn't stop looking at me during the trip offered his seat - which was about 2 feet from where I was standing - I would have taken it.....well, maybe. Honestly, had most of the folks in the vicinity offered their seat I most likely would have smiled and said "thank you, but I'm fine". It would have been nice to have had the offer made, though. It would have reinforced my belief that people are genuinely good and somewhat thoughtful. My theory on the non-existence of, for lack of a better term, chivalry? I think that when people looked up they saw a fairly fit person and perhaps made a judgment call on what they saw - and looked past the injury.

I guess what makes me curious is that I'm not sure I know what demographic people are looking for before they offer up a seat. What ailment, age, malady, or severity of injury is required? Considering that each and every time I've been on the subway in the city people have asked if I wanted a seat, I found this all to be very interesting.

Physical Therapy Begins

2011-03-05T08:17:00.000-05:00

As scheduled, physical therapy started up for me this week. This past Wednesday and Friday were my first two appointments and, true to what my Orthopedist had stated, the focus for the first week or so is indeed on flexibility, stretching, and range of motion.

Each session has started out with some pretty standard stretching for my hamstring, achilles, and calf. It's amazing how tight everything has become. What's more amazing, and disturbing, is how much my left leg has atrophied in the 3 weeks since my accident. I'd hazard a guess that I've lost about 1/3 of the muscle mass in my left calf. It's really quite deflating to be honest. I know that this will come back once we start doing some weight bearing exercises, but realizing how weak this leg has become is just an added mental strain.

The real fun of these first two sessions really starts when all the preliminary stretching is completed and the work on the ankle itself begins. Ummm, ouch. The areas where the tendons / ligaments were repaired are very tight, to put it mildly. And the muscles that support the ankle are equally as tight - still in 'defense' mode, as my new best buddy, Garry the Physical Therapist, calls it. When the muscles all contracted at the time of the accident - attempting to keep the ankle from being damaged - there was certainly some tearing of those muscles due to the force of the incident. Now, they're sore, tight, and not all that willing to give up a lot of ground when it comes to moving my ankle.

My first session was pretty easy and I hobbled out of the office a little disappointed. Not so much yesterday, however. My ankle is still sore, and it was almost a full 24 hours ago that I had my 'workout'. Gary did a his usual twisting, pushing, and pulling on my ankle, but he paid a bit of extra attention to the tendons and ligaments on the medial side of the joint. I mentioned to Garry, half jokingly, that the procedures du-jour might have "left a mark". I was quickly told that this is nothing compared to what's coming once we start weight bearing exercises at some point next week - and this all lasts for at least a month and half. I've had a few people mention to me that the recovery process might be just about as painful as the break itself. Based on my experience yesterday I'd have to say that there might be some truth to that assumption.

On the bright side, a lot of the fluid buildup in my foot and ankle is dissipating and I was able to see some improvement in the overall movement of the joint in just a few days. I'm having a tough time keeping my impatience in check, though, as there's no way to fast-track this process.

I'm headed to the pool tomorrow to get in some laps and water walking. I can't wait - I miss the cardio, and I'm hoping that I can keep up some base level of fitness while rehabbing. In the meantime, I have a date with some Ibuprofen and an ice pack this morning.

Next Up: Physical Therapy

2011-02-27T09:50:00.000-05:00

I returned to my Orthopedic Surgeon this past Friday to have the cast removed from my leg. It had been 15 days since I broke my leg, and ankle, on a morning run, and 11 days since my ankle was operated on. From both a mental, and emotional standpoint, I was really looking forward to having the cast removed.

I arrived at the office, was shuttled back into the office pretty quickly, and a Medical Tech had the cast off in no time.

Wait, staples? I knew there would be stitches, but not staples. And surely not 16 of them. You can't see them all here - but on the lateral side of my ankle is what looks like big zipper. I'll come back to that later. In the meantime I checked out the old ankle and it didn't look as bad as I had anticipated. There was some bruising, but nothing that made it look like a prop from a bad horror movie. And the swelling was no worse than the day I went in for the surgery. Next it was off to X-Ray for a scan:

Very cool indeed! A plate, 2 screws, faint shadows where the doc drilled through both bones, and "buttons" where the bone sutures were anchored. My Orthopedist said everything looked great and we were moving on to next steps.

Initially, physical therapy will be non-weight bearing for the first week. The focus will be on stretching and flexibility. Week two will then introduce weight bearing exercises to start building up strength. The really good news is that I can start swimming and water walking as soon as I'm ready. That was quite exciting to hear.

My obvious first question for the Orthopedist: "So, am I swimming with these staples, or is something else going to happen here?"

Yes, the staples were removed

Once we begin to introduce weight bearing exercises I can get back on my bike trainer and spin with minimal resistance. The flexing of the ankle will be good and I'll start to use my calf muscles again. However, like everything that's good for you, moderation is key. If the ankle swells up and becomes painful, well, I'll need to pull things back a notch or two.

I'm set to head back to the Orthopedist in 4 weeks for a follow up consult. At that time he'll decide how much longer I need to keep the boot on. Maybe an additional two weeks - it all depends on how quickly things progress in physical therapy.

So, I'm making headway. Things feel better every day, and I was quite happy to sleep without a cast or walking boot last night. I'm well past feeling sorry for myself. Not that I don't long to be outside running or cycling, but things are moving along quicker than I expected. Tomorrow I'll schedule my physical therapy and start getting the strength and flexibility back.

Not knowing anyone who has gone through something like this, I'm dealing with the learning curve of this adventure with no real knowledge base. However, just this morning I discovered an individual who went through a very similar experience. After reading about her injury, and how she worked through it, Cortney certainly registers as pretty tough in my book. The recovery bar has been set pretty high.

From Running to Triathlons

2011-02-25T08:23:00.000-05:00

As I was saying in my previous post, things snowballed quickly and the running thing really took off in my house. My wife JL and I were eating better (thank you, JL, for seeing that we were indeed in need of a dietary makeover) and we both benefited from losing a lot of extra weight. We thrived, and still do, with this new active lifestyle.

I became totally engrossed with running. I still am. I love to run. It's what gets me out of bed in the morning (well, the coffee maker actually does that). It gives me energy, and makes me feel great. Running the trails with my good friends Tom, Mark, and Matt is always a highlight of any given weekend.

The club that JL and I joined - the Sound Shore Running and Multisport Club has a regular Saturday club run that we used to attend on a religious basis. On one particular Saturday, 5 or 6 years ago, a few of us were chatting it up, talking about what we did - in regards to athletics - back in the day. At some point the conversation came around to me and I mentioned that I swam through high school and into college. Someone then immediately asked: "Do you own a bike?" I didn't, and their immediate response was: Why not? I can't recall who it was that said this, but the conversation flowed into how I would have two of the three legs of a triathlon down pretty well, there were numerous cyclists that belong to the club to help get me started, and maybe it was maybe worth thinking about.

A little time went by, and JL and I were out to lunch on some random Saturday. At that time we had actually been toying with the idea of buying a couple of kayaks, as a friend of ours had recently taken us out into Long Island Sound and we had really enjoyed it. We thought that it would be an interesting way to continue to be active and to be outdoors. I then mentioned the discussion that took place on my run the previous week, and our conversation soon turned to focus on bikes and triathlons.

Well, 2 glasses of wine later we were at a bike shop near our town browsing and asking questions. After an endless litany of questions, and a few test rides, and we had purchased road bikes, shoes, helmets, shorts, gloves, and were heading home.

Yes, we're big fans of immediate gratification.

I fell in love with cycling. I loved the speed, I loved being outdoors, and this was opening up new doors for for both of us. We started to ride with the cycling group within the club on a regular basis. I had thought I was pretty fit, but I was struggling to keep up with these guys. They pushed me, and drove me to get stronger on the bike. More importantly, they taught me the in's and out's of road cycling.

Soon after, we signed up for our first triathlon. That was the whole point of this exercise anyway. It was coming up at the end of the summer - a sprint triathlon - and a few folks from the club regularly raced it. I borrowed some clip-on aero bars for my road bike and started to get used to them. JL and I went to another local sprint tri a few weeks before-hand to look at the transition area and to see how everything goes down on race day. Yes, we're a bit OCD.

Long story short, race day came, and it was awesome. I finished in the middle of the pack but had an absolute blast. I was hooked. It didn't take long for the type-A personality to set in, however. The next season I was determined to run the same race faster than before. They hold multiple triathlons on this course throughout the spring and summer, and low and behold I came in 3rd in my age-group in the June early season race. Well, that sealed the deal. I started working harder, started getting more AG podium finishes, started doing Olympic distance tri's..... Yeah, I had the bug, and bad.

And it helped that my wife was hooked as well. Weekends were soon devoted to long runs and rides. And there was no guilt from either party when the other headed out for 2+ hours on a Saturday or Sunday morning. This was really working out well.

Soon, my wife (very smartly) suggested that I start training with the Westchester Triathon Club. Our friend Rich heads it up, and he had been inviting me to join them for their Saturday rides and Sunday runs for quite some time. I finally joined them on a Saturday morning group long ride and promptly had my ass handed to me. These guys (and girls) were tough. But, over time, I became stronger and faster. My endurance improved. I was training with some big-dogs (this past year alone, 4 folks from the club qualified for Kona) and it was paying off. I never dreamed that I'd be regularly getting age-group podium finishes and placing in the top 10 overall at competitive tri-state races. But it's amazing what happens when you train with people that are stronger, faster, and just plain better than you. You raise your game up a notch.

Well, just like with running, this too snowballed into a completely engrossing endeavor. My road bike (well, my upgraded road bike) is still in the basement, right next to JL's upgraded roadie and my Time Trial rig for racing. We now do more laundry that contains racing and workout gear than we do regular clothes. We joke on the weekends that we not only do our regular grocery shopping, but we now hit our favorite running and triathlon store, Westchester Road Runner, for gels, bars, drink mixes and supplements - we call it our 'real' grocery shopping for the week.

The triathlon community is great. The people that I met are wonderful and all just as addicted to a healthy lifestyle, being fit, and racing hard.

So here I am: My leg up on pillows (still), my ankle in a cast, waiting to get back out there. I realize I have a lot of physical therapy to do before I'm back on the roads, but I really miss training and am going to miss racing the early season races I had on the calendar even more.

As my wife says: Have patience.

How it started: How I Became A Runner

2011-02-23T12:07:00.000-05:00

As I sit here with my leg propped up on some pillows, waiting patiently for Friday to arrive so I can have this damned cast removed from my leg and start rehabbing my ankle, I was thinking back to how all this running and triathlon stuff started. As I get in the 'way-back' machine and think back to 2001, I wasn't fit at all. I sat behind a desk all day (still do) but wasn't active in the true sense of the word. I was about 35-40 pounds heavier than I am now, I ate like crap, and my fitness routine was a once a week football (soccer) game on Sunday mornings.

I began to run (well, jog) as a way to get ready for Sunday League football (soccer). Sorry for the Euro-phile phrasing, but as this league was composed mostly French guys, along with some Germans, Brits, Spaniards, and Turks, it was called football. I figured I'd hit the treadmill at the local gym and get "in shape" for the upcoming spring and summer Sunday morning run-arounds. I think I might have run about 3/4 of a mile on my first attempt. I was destroyed. My wife said I look like I was going to die - my eyes were sunk in and I had the complexion of non-fat milk. But I kept at it. Once or twice a week I would torture myself on the treadmill and I was proud of the accomplishments, albeit small ones, I was making. So much so, that I started to talk about my forays into running with a friend of mine at work. I knew he ran - at least I knew he ran more than I did - and we started to bond.

My friend at work, Brian, was great. He was supportive and kept egging me on. "...just run for 5 minutes longer next time. You can do anything for 5 minutes" This continued for a while, and I was soon pushing 2 - 2.5 miles on the treadmill. I thought this was great. Then came his next challenge: Get off the treadmill and run outside.

That changed things. Running was much harder. Wind, elevation changes, concrete. This was terrible. But I kept at it - always trying to run just 5 more minutes on my Sunday "long runs". I hurt more than I did on the treadmill, but I still ventured outside 3 or 4 days a week.

What I wasn't aware of is that Brian not only ran, but he ran a lot. Marathons? Check. Ultra's? Check. Why didn't he share this with me before? I would have been a bit more cautious in what directions I took from him.

Finally, one weekend I ran 6 miles. Then a few weeks later I ran 8. Slow, but 8 miles none-the-less. That apparently sealed the deal for Brian. The next thing I know, with Brian looking over my shoulder in my office, I'm on the NYC Marathon web page and I'm registering for the New York Marathon lottery. I was also instructed to sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon, as a backup, just in case I didn't get into NY. Whoa. How did I get here!?

Low and behold - I got into New York. Now, mind you, I'd never run a 'race' before. Ever. Not even a 5K. Now I have to train for a marathon. I promptly went to the running store and got some better shoes. The ones I had been wearing were 3 year old running shoes that I bought because they looked cool at the time. I got a beginner's training plan from Runners World Magazine and plotted out my training schedule. I can't remember how many months I had to get ready - it seemed like a long time, but it flew by.

My training for this first marathon, first race, wasn't good by any stretch of the imagination. There was no speedwork involved. I didn't know what that was. I ran the same speed - every day, every run. I just assumed that the "marathon miracle" would occur and I would somehow just be faster on race day. I still ate like crap but figured since I was running, I could. Nutrition and hydration on long runs? Both inadequate I'm sure. If there was a public service announcement on how not to train for a marathon, I would have been the poster boy.

Cut to race day. It's mostly a blur as I think back. But a few things do stick out, and I have memories of certain things that oddly seem quite vivid:

I remember the surreal atmosphere at Fort Wadsworth waiting for the race to start. So many people there that looked very serious and I hadn't a clue what I was doing. It took me a while to figure out why the roads were always sticky after passing a water station. I vaguely remember entering Central Park and people yelling "..you're almost there". I remember thinking that they should just be quiet because I really hurt, and 4 miles to go really isn't "almost there". It took a lot of effort to keep running the last 6 or 7 miles. Math was impossible. I remember seeing the 22 mile mark and saying to myself, "okay, just 4 more miles....wait, is it four? 23, 24, 25, 26 (visualize me counting on my fingers)...is that really 4?"

I finished in over 5 hours. But I finished. My legs were just solid knots, and walking took much more effort than it should have. I took the subway back to Grand Central Terminal to catch a train home. I had no long pants, or dry clothes to change into in my gear bag - I wasn't prepared. I had no thought of packing clothes for after the race. I was wrapped in a post-race heat blanket the entire trip home.

My wife JL picked me up at our train station. I limped to the car and whimpered my way into the front seat. That night I swore I wouldn't do that again. Well, we all know how that goes. I ran a handful more marathons. I worked my marathon PR down to a respectable 3:30-ish (I honestly can't remember what the exact time is off the top of my head). Things snowballed from there. JL started to run. We joined the Sound Shore Runners and Multisport Club to get involved with the local running community. I was introduced to speedwork thanks to my good friend and first running coach , Joe G. I started running more races: 5 milers, 5K's, 10K's, 15K's, 1/2 Marathons. We started eating better at home. My race times started dropping - I started to get faster. Things really took off.

I then discovered the drug that is triathlons. I'll cover that in my next post.

Recovery, Rehab, and Thoughts on the ER

2011-02-17T10:02:00.000-05:00

Allow me to preface this post with an apology. It's very possible I'm in a bit of a Percocet and Toradol haze. As my editor isn't available at this moment, there might be a typo or disjointed sentence (or 4) floating around somewhere.

It's day 3 after my ankle surgery. I have to admit it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Granted, when the nerve block on my lower leg wore off the other night I was popping Percocet like they were Chicklets. But it's manageable. I'm not all smiles and full of cheer, to be sure, but I'm experiencing pretty much exactly what was explained to me.

There's pain and discomfort of course, and I do have periods of time where the discomfort is a bit troubling. But I'm finding a groove, so to speak, in getting around the house and am getting the hang of navigating the kitchen with a cast and crutches. Sleep is fitful, but depending on what meds I'm taking I nap enough through the day and 4-5 hours of sleep at night is about all I can muster.

I really don't have room to complain too much.....really, I don't. I'm very fortunate to be able to run, swim, and cycle - and compete in triathlons. As a dear friend said to me yesterday, if this is the worst sports injury that I've had, then I should consider myself lucky. If all goes well I'll be starting physical therapy in the next 2 to 3 weeks, and then it's just a question of how hard am I willing to work in conjunction with the healing process.

My wife JL has been great. She makes sure that I have water, fruit, snacks, laptop, etc all ready to go on the coffee table in the living room before she heads to work. She's been keeping an eye on me since the incident happened a week ago, and without her here at home I would have been in a spot of trouble for the first few days. But I think a corner has been turned and the healing process is underway. I'm now looking forward to getting the hard cast off and getting PT started.

I'd like to jump back a bit, and comment on our observations on the ER, the Orthopedist, and the care that was given throughout this wonderfully fun past handful of days.

I'll start by saying that everyone in the ER was great. We were checked in quickly, and I think we might have waited 10 minutes in the waiting area before being brought back into triage. There was a bit of aloofness (for lack of a better word) at the beginning. Not that the physicians assistant and the resident docs weren't friendly, competent, and direct. But there wasn't any real urgency in moving things along as fast as I would have liked, or thought they should have been. But I'll touch on that in just a moment.

The on-call Orthopedist for the ER was at her practice at the time, so we saw her there on the way home. The next day I met with the Chief of foot and ankle surgery - with a sports medicine background - for that practice. Both were great. Very informative, and very to the point. If we asked questions, they listened and gave answers. This isn't to say there wasn't a little of the usual "quickness" in their answers, but follow-up queries were accepted without being talked over. They both wanted to understand what my expectations were, and explained very clearly the time lines and process for recovery both with and without surgery. Once it was decided that surgery was required, the Orthopedic surgeon rang me up and told me exactly what he was going to do and again listened to all my questions.

The day of surgery was very business-like. I think that sums it up best. The nurses in the prep area were all business and didn't mess around. My attempts at joking with them fell mostly flat. My surgeon, the Anesthesiologist, and physicians assistants were actually very upbeat, direct, and offered suggestions and input during the planning process for the day. I was put at ease by their attitude. No complaints at all. I will say, however, that an improvement in communications while I was in the recovery room would have been helpful. There were a few gaps where more information and communication to both my wife and I would have been helpful on a number of fronts. In the end, nothing major. If that's the biggest complaint we have for the day then so be it!

So, as I said, there was kind of a strange vibe going on in the ER when we first arrived. I was in a hell of a lot of pain, and there was just a bit of a lackadaisical approach with the people we spoke with. I just felt that, while competent and being thorough, nobody seemed to think things were all that bad. they kept talking about a 'bad sprain' in my ankle and that I'd 'be fine'.

It was shortly after the radiology results came back that we had our little epiphany (well, JL did - I wasn't thinking much at all at this point). As soon as word got around the ER that I had one, possibly two fractures, the physician assistants, nurses, and ER docs who all saw me from the beginning (saying that it could be a bad sprain) all started to circle back and, with great surprise, state "...it's broken? Wow, you really did it up right!" or "...oh my god, you broke you leg?" We think, and this is just a guess, that they see so many weekend-warriors come in with sprains and muscle pulls that it was just assumed that I was another type-A, 40-something out trying to relive his childhood. But when word got around that I really did screw things up, their tune changed a bit. We could be reading into things, but in hindsight their attitude did go from somewhat aloof and indifferent to enthused and attentive.

Don't get me wrong - I'm absolutely not knocking the nurses, PA's and doc's that were in the ER. They were great. And I'm sure that, if I had been in their shoes, I would have had the same initial attitude: Some knucklehead 40+ year old out running in 20 degree, icy, miserable, weather? Really?

Plates, Screws, and Bone Sutures. Oh My

2011-02-15T13:45:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was quite the day. Surgery day on my ankle. Looking back on it now, it was quite the surreal experience.

We arrived at the hospital in the late morning for check-in / registration and waited around for about 90 minutes to be called up. All the usual stuff here - some additional forms to fill out, gown on backwards, useless booties on the feet, IV put in, and another hour of waiting. My Orthopedist came in, and we discussed what he was going to do:

An incision would be made on the outside of my left ankle - a plate would then be put on my fibula. Two small incisions on the inside of my ankle would be made, where he would go in to thread bone sutures with the tibula from the plate. He was, again, very upbeat and straightforward and told me in no minced words what the procedure entailed and what I could expect in the days to come. We had another in-depth discussion around the topic of anesthesia and pain management. While the Anesthesiologist hadn't yet arrived, my doc suggested, should it be offered (and he said it would be), that I get a spinal. His rationale? By doing this - and being numb from the waist down - it would require less sedative in the OR, and my recovery afterward would be easier as I would become awake and alert quicker. I was a little apprehensive to be honest. I can be a bit of a hamster at times like these. More to the point, I'm sure it was more a mental fear of the unknown.

My wife Jerri Lynn was there with me as I was getting prepped. While I was having these discussions with my Orthopedist, she could clearly see that I was getting a little overwhelmed. We chatted a bit when everyone had come and gone and she talked me off the roof, so to speak. The reality of what was going on had really set in. Everything had happened so fast over the past handful of days that, as I lay there, I was coming to grips with the fact that I was going to have a fairly significant procedure to fix a pretty significant injury. All the fears that you can imagine were running through my head: What if it's worse than the doc thinks? What if they can only do so much and my ankle will never be the same? But, as I said, my awesome wife - always the voice of reason - kept me as cool and calm as she could. She's a rock-star.

Anyway, it's all a haze from when I left the prep area to when I hit the OR. They started doping me up in the prep area and I could feel it kick in pretty much immediately. I remember getting the spinal in the OR (bizarre!) and then remember them start to put the tourniquet high up on my thigh - then that's it. I drifted in and out at times, and they had a screen up so I couldn't really see what was going on (thank goodness). I started to come around when they were finishing up the cast but only saw that for a moment or two. I came to, officially, in the recovery room, and it was a bit disconcerting to not be able to move my legs at all. They said it would take a couple of hours for the spinal to wear off - but in reality it took over 5!

After about an hour in recovery, the "pain doc" who I met to discuss my earlier spinal, came by to do what my Orthopedist had suggested we do post-op. Similar to the spinal, he was going to block the nerves in my lower left leg to allow for maximum comfort for the next 24 - 36 hours. As I type this I still can't feel my ankle or foot, nor can I move my toes. I have control of my left knee and the muscles above, but it's a tad weird.

My legs (well, right leg) finally began to tingle and come around shortly afterward. I could start moving my toes and legs and was feeling okay. But, in the interest of full disclosure, overall this was a bit of a humbling experience. All the feelings and reactions that your body deals with as a spinal wears off can be odd and off-putting. Even though all the nurses in the recovery room said that everything I was experiencing was completely normal and to be expected it was a very strange, and sometimes humiliating, 5 hours. Finally, everything worked itself out, and I was discharged. We started the day arriving at the hospital around 1030a ET and arrived home around 830p ET. A long and crazy day.

I head back to the Orthopedist in two weeks to have the hard cast removed (originally one week, but now two....Hrmph) and then things speed up. PT starting sometime in week three. Swimming as soon as the surgical wounds heal (but no pushing off with the left leg for a while). And cycling on the trainer (no resistance) in 3-4 weeks. I'm told that my ankle will "blow up and be painful" through all this, of course, but the sooner I get back to strengthening things up the better.

So, I sit here on the couch - with my leg elevated up on pillows - trying to keep up with work.....sort of. Mostly I'm surfing through bad daytime television programming, and managing discomfort from cast pressure points and pain from now returning feeling in my leg and ankle. I have 4 prescription bottles lined up on the coffee table, along with a Sigg bottle of water, my mobile phone, iPad, MacBook, remote controls, Kindle, and - again in the interest of full disclosure - an apple core, a bag of nuts to munch on, an empty bowl of soup, and one very nosey cat.

Winter Running - The Aftermath

2011-02-13T08:06:00.000-05:00

The Orthopedic Surgeon gave me a call yesterday (Saturday) around noon, after reviewing my MRI. Monty, what's behind curtain number 2?

A torn deltoid ligament, a cracked / broken syndesmotic joint, and most likely damage to another ligament (I have which one written down somewhere, but I just can't remember everything he rattled off to me at the moment.) Bottom line he said that it's very unstable, and he'd be very reluctant to start any physical therapy on that ankle for at least 6 weeks. His words as I remember them: "I wouldn't want anyone cranking on that joint for a while". So, his suggestion was to stabilize the ankle with a plate and some screws to stabilize the joint and speed healing.

The good news with this is that after a week of a hard cast, he'll remove that and I go back to a boot. Then, a week or so after that, we start talking physical therapy. If all goes well, 3 weeks after surgery I could start swimming (as soon as the wounds from surgery heal) so long as there's no discomfort in doing so. Cycling on the bike trainer could happen shortly after that. Running? Not sure I remember exactly what he said, but it's certainly sooner than without going under the knife.

Will I be ready for my Half Iron triathlon in September? Most likely not. That could be pushing it. But there's a lot of individual variance in recovery here. I'm not setting my hopes on anything, but am hoping to be at least swimming and easy spinning on my bike trainer in a reasonable amount of time. Hell, if I can walk comfortably (somewhat) in 6 weeks I'll be stoked.

Monday at noon I'm scheduled for the fun and games. Should be home by dinner - which I'll sleep through I'm sure. Tuesday, if all goes well, I'll be on conference calls for work from the comfort of my living room. I'm sure that if I'm not liking this walking boot thing, that I'll most likely despise the hard cast. But it's only a week of the hard cast, so that's not bad.

The Dangers of Winter Running - Part Deux

2011-02-12T09:57:00.001-05:00

So, as I was saying, the Orthopedic surgeon was great. He gave us a lot of detail yesterday. And most importantly, he didn't pull any punches and was very to the point and up front. He explained that my recovery time, without surgery, would yield 6 weeks before I could put any significant pressure on my leg and even think about swimming or cycling. However, with the surgery, that time would be cut to 3 weeks before I could swim (individual results may vary), maybe cycle, and physical therapy would start after 2 weeks. My knee-jerk reaction was, of course, then why aren't we just doing the surgery!? But, my wife, the ever-logical one, jumped in stating that going into my ankle if the damage doesn't warrant it could very well be risking unnecessary complications. * heavy sigh* Anyway, as I wrote yesterday, an MRI was in order so the doc could make a fully informed decision.

So, I had the MRI last night (Friday). I have the DVD of the images, but I of course have no idea what the hell I'm looking at. The tech that did my MRI said he looked at them - I of course asked if it was truly a car wreck down in my ankle or what? His response: "...I'm on a low-res display, and there so much fluid in there that it's all fuzzy". Great.

Oh, and after he asked me what I did to myself, and how it happened, his retort was: "You should take up rowing".

I'm currently awaiting the Orthopedist to ring me up. He said he'd call on Friday night or Saturday after he reviewed the MRI, and we'd talk about options. In the meantime, the swelling in my ankle is out of control and there's really not any position now that is comfortable. My wife has dubbed it the ankle that ate New York

Ironically, my wife - JL goes Vegan - had a guest post from Matt Frazier, of No Meat Athlete who wrote about winter running tips on Friday morning. I think JL received his post via email shortly after I arrived in the ER.

Again, more to come.......

The Dangers of Winter Running - Part I

2011-02-11T15:04:00.000-05:00

Thursday morning was an interesting one. It started out normal enough - up at 445a to get myself together for a usual morning run. Depending on the day, the number of us running could be as many as 8 or 9, but yesterday it was just my good friend Tom and I. We met at 530a at our usual spot and headed off on one of our regular running loops - about 6 miles total for me round trip.

Cut to: about 3 miles into the run, we came to a section that had a lot of piled snow. It's in a section of a small subdivision that is bisected by creek - the snow is piled up around and on the bridge that lets us cross. Again, this is one of our regular loops, so we knew it was coming, and started to navigate our way over it. We got to the other side of the bridge (only 15 feet or so) and as we half jogged, half walked, over the snow section I hopped over the last small mound of snow to get back to clear roads.

As soon as my left foot went down, I knew I was in trouble. It only took a second but it felt like forever.

I hit a patch of ice, and my left foot twisted and pronated in. At the same time my leg twisted around the ankle - still underneath me - and all my weight came down on my left leg. I had a flash in my mind of "oh, this is not good" and I went down hard. I hadn't felt pain like that in a long, long, time. I was on the ground, grabbing my lower left leg and trying to keep it from flexing and torquing in the middle of the shin / calf. I calmed down enough to lay still, and could flex my foot - sort of - so I was beginning to think that it was just a bad sprain and in a few minutes the pain would start to go away. My friend Tom had his hand on me, telling me to relax and take my time. Eventually we tried to get me on my feet. That was a short lived exercise. As soon as I put weight on my left leg I went down again in just as much pain as before. I remember Tom saying "oh my god" a few times and then we had to figure out what the heck we were going to do.

The pain was tremendous in my ankle, and strangely up high on my shin. Hence, every time my leg would flex or torque, it would hurt everywhere. I had no idea what this meant at the time, but I was just happy to be able to flex my foot.

Tom did a nice 5K (roughly) sprint home to get his car. I lay on the ground, in lovely 20F weather, and was just starting to get cold when he made it back. I hopped into the front seat of his car and he got me to my house, and inside, and into a chair. Tom told my wife JL, what happened. She hurriedly got her things together and we headed to the emergency room. All this before JL had her 2nd cup of coffee!

It wasn't yet 700a when we got to the ER. Check in was quick and everyone was great. It took a bit of time to get me through the triage process and I sat in the hallway in a wheel chair waiting for radiology to come get me for some scans.

Waiting for the Radiologist

The radiology tech was great. He was taking the scans, and being careful with my leg. At one point, I was trying to convince myself that it was just a bad ankle and / or high ankle sprain. You hear about some athletes getting these and it sounded good to me. However, after one of scans, I realized he was on the phone talking to someone and I heard my name mentioned. He came back to me and said he "saw something" higher up my leg, where half the pain was, and wants to rescan the ankle now to double-check something else. The radiologist on-call came in, and they talked for a bit longer while I remained on the X-Ray table.

He then broke the news that he saw a fracture on my fibula and "something" in my ankle.

The first words out of my mouth? "Oh, Fuc# me!" I apologized for the outburst, to which he replied that he'd heard that one a few times before and not to worry. I was wheeled back out to the hall in the ER where JL was holding station, and I sat and waited with an ice-pack on my ankle. I told JL what he saw and said. I was just beside myself. The doc stopped by and said they were calling the Orthopedist on-call to review the scans. She had office hours that morning, so shortly after 900a she called back - had looked at the scans - and asked that we should drive over to her office immediately.

So, with crutches and a lightweight ankle brace, we headed to the Orthopedist office. Upon arrival it looked like a lot of the docs at this office are sports medicine docs. That was comforting in some way. Long story short here - more scans, and a bit of a more revealing diagnosis.

It looks like, most likely, the ankle twisting and pronating, combined with my leg twisting around it, snapped the tendon that holds the fibula and tibia together in the ankle. This allowed the two bones to snap apart and causing a chain reaction up my leg that caused the fracture high up on my fibula just below my knee. And tragically there was indeed a fracture in my ankle.

Lots of talk about "gaps" and "spaces" in my ankle. Then the statement that I needed to come back tomorrow (well, today) to talk with one of the surgeons about the potential need to put a couple screws in there to get things back together. Awesome.

Day 2: What, this isn't a normal ankle size?

So, we've been back to the Ortho to speak with the surgeon. He didn't see enough "distance" in the gaps between some bones on my ankle X-Ray to be certain of next steps just yet. And after torturing me on the table asking "does it hurt when I do this? (and then proceeding to twist my foot and ankle) he needed more information. He ordered an MRI - stat - to determine if the ligaments and tendons (primarily the deltoid ligament) were damaged to the point of needing repair or if they're just stretched.

I'm booked for surgery on Monday, as he can get me in, and his opinion is that if it's needed, let's do it now. He'll cancel it if need be based on the results of the MRI. So, I'm scheduled for the MRI later today, and they've been instructed to call my Orthopedist as soon as it's done. He said he'd call me later tonight or tomorrow and we'll make our final decisions.

More to come.......

Longing For The Good Pool

2011-02-06T12:11:00.000-05:00

As I've been ranting and raving about recent swim workouts recently, I was thinking back to some of the better swims I've had over the past year. I love open water swims with my triathlon club and once in a while get in a good pool workout at the local gym. But last summer there were two great mornings that I recall fondly.

I was in Indianapolis last summer for work - just a few days, but enough to have to work training into the schedule. Yep, the few days during the week was just enough for the old type-A / OCD to kick in and I began to worry about getting in my workouts. The timing was pretty crappy, as I recall. It was in early June, and I had two races coming up that month. I can run almost anywhere, but where the heck was I going to get in a swim workout? I went to Google Maps to locate my hotel, and saw that across the street was the NCAA Collegiate Athletic offices (cool), the NCAA Hall of Champions (still cool) and the National Institute for Fitness and Sport. I didn't really know what the NIFS was, but it had to do with fitness and sport so I was thinking that this was getting cooler by the minute. Anyway, as I mapped what looked to be a good running route through the Indiana University campus, I stumbled across my savior for the upcoming week:

The IU Natatorium at IUPUI

Okay, the cool factor just went up a notch. Time to pack the swimming gear.

I checked their hours for lap swimming, and the first morning I was in Indy, I walked the 10 minutes from my hotel to the pool. Paid for a day pass, and headed to the lockers. Interestingly, the locker rooms that were open to the public were fairly spartan - they reminded me of my high school swimming locker room. I had to assume that the locker rooms for the IU team were a bit nicer! Anyway, not to worry I thought. I'm here for the pool. I hurriedly changed and got out to the deck.

I wasn't disappointed.

Oh, the joys of a long-course (50 meter) competition pool. Deep all the way across (9-10 feet) and 8 lanes wide. Waves were non-existant. And while there were a fair number of people there, there was never more than 2 people a lane, and in a long-course pool you were never held up.

Cool water temps (they advertise that water being maintained at 72F at the time, but it felt cooler) meant you never felt overheated like I do at my local gym. On top of that, they had an instructional pool (25 yards) in another area, and a full diving well with boards and platform tower.

Man, this was great!

In the pool they have a wall covered with the names of all the swimmers who have set records in that pool: 101 American records and 15 World Records. Walking back out side in the main hallway are photos of all the greats - too many to list, but needless to say I was a little late for work that morning (and the next!)

I write this having just come back from my local gym / pool. Battling for lane space and grumbling about it to myself all morning.

The Transition Area

2011-02-05T12:16:00.000-05:00

I read a post the other day from someone who, in one of their first longer distance triathlons, got to T1 and realized they had forgotten a few important items and had left them at home - HR monitor, nutrition. I'm assuming it had to be pure oversight and a bag got left behind. I suppose, similar to getting ready for ones first ever triathlon, that in your first long distance triathlon (a Half-Iron / 70.3 for instance), one might have their nerves a bit on edge.

My first triathlon ever had my nerves frazzled beyond belief. The thought of just setting up my transition area was frightening. As I recall, my wife and I went to a local triathlon a couple weeks before our race just to watch people come into T1 and T2. It did help to see a transition area "live" and to realize that it's not rocket science. But, I packed and re-packed my transition bag a dozen times before that first race. And I'm pretty sure I brought waaaaay too much stuff for a sprint tri.

When I came out of the water and got to T1, I recall - not so fondly - a 'deer in the headlights' moment (or, four). I stood there, frozen, staring at my transition area not knowing what to do first. Looking back I'm surprised I actually found my way to my bike. It's overwhelming the first couple of times you get into the transition area. It's effectively a fenced in area of controlled chaos. People running in and out, bikes being un-racked and run to the "bike-out" area. It can be intimidating for the first-timer - or even third-timer. And heaven forbid you look up and see a veteran come in and out of T1. For the new triathlete, to see someone get in and out of the transition area as fast as some do can be shocking and humbling.

I've said many a time that I'm by no means an expert, but I've done this enough to know what works - for me at least - and I've found over the years that it has gotten easier to pack for my transition area on race day. That's not a surprise, as practice does make perfect (or approaches it at least). What I find more interesting is that it's also become more of an exercise in minimalism. Over time you do begin to understand what you need for a race, and pack only the necessities. The main thing that changes is the amount of nutrition that you bring based on the distance that is being raced.

The best advice I received for packing for, and practicing, transitions was simple and obvious. When you're doing your brick workouts (bike to run, most commonly) lay out your gear in your garage or basement and simulate T2. You'll realize if you forgot something (hat, gel, whatever) and after doing this enough times, packing your transition bag will become quite easy.

This isn't to say that you won't forget something on race day. My first 70.3 event a couple years ago felt intimidating. I can pack for an Olympic distance triathlon in minutes. But this felt different. In the end, the biggest difference was nutrition - more to the point the amount that I had to pack was different. But, I was thrown off none-the-less and had a few moments of pulling everything out of my transition bag and triple checking everything.

By the way, I didn't pack enough nutrition for that Half Iron race. I bonked badly on the run. Oops.

The Joys of Lap Swimming

2011-01-31T07:45:00.000-05:00

I hate to be that guy.....that lap swimmer snob.....that guy who thinks that he's been there - done that - and that everyone else is just an annoyance during his regular foray into the pool for a workout. But I hate to admit, I'm treading into deeper water in regards to being "that guy".

Before I go on......I grew up swimming. I swam through high school and college. This isn't to say that I'm an expert in lap swim / pool etiquette, but I think I have a pretty good handle on what people should do when confronted with a crowded pool and they're forced to 'circle-swim' and deal with more than two individuals a lane.

So, cut to Sunday morning. Generally it's crowded, and it's always a roll of the dice as to what you're going to encounter. With all that said, I had the best experience at the pool yesterday that I've had in a long time (save for that one morning where there were so few of us that we all had our own lane).

I had a workout planned. Not a huge amount of yardage, but 2,500+ yards to be done before life got in the way and errands had to be run. I was sharing the lane with another individual (a solid swimmer I've seen before - gender will remain anonymous as it's irrelevant to the topic) and we were each taking a side of the lane. The pool was quiet, and I thought we were in good shape. However, as things inevitably turn out, the pool got busy.

At some point during the end of my second warm up set, another individual was at the edge of the deck asking if we could circle swim. "No problem" I answered. The person said they already got the attention of the other person in the lane, so I headed down the right hand side of the lane and prepared myself for the worst. You know what I'm talking about: people have varying abilities, which is totally fine of course, but inevitably people are cutting laps short, or sprinting to pass others before the turn. I figured it was going to be one of those days and was mentally thinking about my workout and how I could change things up to accommodate the situation.

Much to my surprise, it wasn't necessary.

Everyone in our lane understood circle swimming. When one was doing a kicking set, they waited for people to do their turn before continuing on and holding people up. If someone was on a rest interval, individuals would ask if "....you want to go?...." before they headed off into the next leg of their set. People waited at least 10 seconds before pushing off behind you for their next repeat or interval.

Bottom line: It was a good pool day. I've had days where the lifeguards have taken pity on a couple of us and let us swim in a lane normally designated for kids swim lessons when it's a madhouse in the lap swim lanes. More to the point, almost every weekend swim at the gym is a trial in patience and perseverance.

I know, the pool snob is coming out in full force. Sorry about that. But I think anyone who spends some time at the local pool trying to get a workout in knows what I'm talking about. Heck, there's even an article in the February Triathlete Magazine on the etiquette for lap swimming (p.46 Checking In section).

Today, was refreshing. I was so pleasantly surprised at the awareness and courtesy of everyone in the pool today (at least in our lane) that it made the workout today go that much easier.

Halfway Through the Cleanse

2011-01-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

I'm at the half way point of my twice yearly dietary cleanse which helps me get my eating (post holidays) back into a healthy groove. As usual the first week wasn't bad at all. Jill - the nutrition counselor that my wife and I follow the advice of - plans our meals during our cleanse: What foods we'll eat, what our snacks during the day look like, and ensures, or tries to, that I drink all the water that I'm supposed to. (Which doesn't always happen. Long story, but it's a rarity for me to drink enough water during the day). So, week one is in the books and I feel good.

The first week was full of whole foods, lots of vegetables, and everything was as minimally to non-processed as possible. No caffeine, no alcohol.....just water. Everything is done with a focus on detoxifying the body. This weekend, however, began the 3 day period of raw foods and juicing.

I'm not opposed to raw foods - heck, I like apples! And juices? Sounds yummy.

Here's an excerpt of my Saturday menu:

Day 7 Juices

8am: Energizer: apple, ginger, beet, lime juice
10am: cucumber, spinach, parsley, spirulina, kiwi, lemon
12pm: carrot, apple, beet, grapefruit, ginger
2pm: cucumber, carrot, celery, kale, parsley, lemon
6pm: carrot, apple, celery, zucchini, lemon

Wait, I'm juicing kale? I don't even know what kale is! Well, that's not true, I do. But I'm pretty sure I don't want to juice it. And can I just say that my 1000a juice yesterday was, well....how can I put this delicately?.....a little tough to take.

I should have taken a picture of it - it was green, sludgy. The image is forever burned in my brain.

I'm really poking fun here (mostly) as a lot of the above mentioned juices are actually quite tasty, filling, and I still have energy and mojo. When I say I'm "mostly" poking fun, it's because there are a couple things on there that I just had to substitute. (I'll leave it to you to decide what got tossed off the recipe list).

In the end, however, I'm feeling good - had a good session on the bike trainer the past couple of days, and I'm headed to the pool shortly. And with less than a week to go I know that I'll be feeling refreshed and will once again have a firm grip on my diet and the ridiculousness of the holiday season consumption will be behind me.

'Tis the Season (For Indoor Training)

2011-01-22T08:25:00.000-05:00

Upon waking this morning, the weather forecast on the morning news show informed me that it was 12F (with a 'real feel' of -2F). Combined with truckloads of snow and ice, it looks like it's another day on the indoor trainer or treadmill. Yep, it's winter in the northeast, and 'tis the season for indoor workouts on the treadmill and bike trainer - AKA the dreadmill and brain drainer.

This isn't to say that I'm opposed to running or riding outdoors during the winter. I've been outdoors to get in a workout numerous times this winter with my usual running crew and rode quite a bit outdoors last winter. But, heading out the front door when it's below freezing to run is not my favorite thing to do at 515 AM. I know there are a number of people out there who live in areas where it's much colder than this and get out to run and ride......my hat goes off to them. I guess as I get older my threshold for suffering in cold temps has diminished.

It's tough for me to to get over the mental hump of accepting that getting mileage in on a treadmill is just as good as being outside. Most of that opinion is due to the fact that there's no wind, the treadmill mat is moving and not providing the resistance you'd get on the road and, well, it's really boring. I can't get more than 6 miles on a treadmill under my belt before losing my marbles. Tragically I know a few folks that can get in two-plus hours on the treadmill. Amazing. I'd rather be outside.

A friend of mine, Joe G, wrote about running on the treadmill just recently. It was a bit of a relief to read as I had just been on the treadmill that morning and, in addition to being bored out of my mind, was sure I was working harder, and at a faster pace, than what was represented on the on the treadmill display. Low and behold it quite possibly was - due to the combination of a particular gyms ability to keep the equipment calibrated and a number of other factors it seems that the speed displayed on a treadmill display is very likely slower than your actual pace. Great, another thing to factor into my indoor workouts.

As I said, my capacity to suffer through cold weather has diminished over time. So now I deal with having to suffer through boredom (whether on the treadmill or bike trainer - both offer zero change of scenery). I'm not sure which is worse, but the bike trainer is starting to edge ahead in the boredom factor

It doesn't matter what I do...... throwing in some "hills" and tempo / threshold repeats, watching TV, listening to tunes on my iPhone / iPod, I just can't wait to get off the damn trainer. I put in a two hour ride on the trainer last winter - had to stop half way through for a short mental break. The bike trainer is something that I am happy to have during the winter months, but when I'm on it, more often than not, I can't wait to get off. Again, I'd rather be outside.

Looking at my upcoming racing calendar for 2011 I know that all I need to do is just ensure that my base mileage is well maintained over the winter - I don't need to do any crazy mileage - and I'll be able to ramp up training, distance, and time, come March and April. Hopefully spring will come early this year. And let's face it, the treadmill and bike trainer are part of the deal during the winter - they're both a necessity.

And as I wrap this post up, I'm about to head into the "office" for an hour or so of time on the good old brain drainer.....I mean bike trainer. At least tomorrow will be a pool day and that will be a bit more exciting.

Preseason is upon me - getting the old bod ready for racing

2011-01-15T08:47:00.000-05:00

It's the preseason, so to speak, and I'm trying to get over the holiday consumption blues. I'm looking ahead to my upcoming races, planning my base-building mileage, and getting in as much running, cycling (on a trainer, mostly) and swimming as I can. Every year I tell myself that I'm going to be cautious during the Thanksgiving to New Years time period and not overdo the eating and drinking so, when the preseason does come along, I'm not fighting a battle of trying shed the holiday consumption pounds.

And every year it never really works out like I planned.

I always, always, have some extra weight on me come January. I've talked before about how OCD some athletes can be about their training and racing weight. But this is just more of a common sense thing.....I was stupid over the holidays and ate a lot of crap (well, not crap, really. Just a lot of delicious stuff). Anyway, It's not that I'm suddenly overweight and am now grossly out of shape. But I just feel sluggish.

Enter the cleanse. My wife introduced this to me last year. My wife is a vegan (I'm not - yes it's interesting in our kitchen) and was dealing with some niggling health maladies. Her yoga instructor, Jill, is also a holistic nutrition counselor. Long story short, the cleanse was introduced to my house. To summarize (from a guest post from Jill on my wife's blog) "We cleanse to put our bodies back in balance". You can read more here and you can check out Jill's web site, but in general it's two weeks of eating whole foods, eliminating caffeine and alcohol, and purging your body of toxins.

For me, the cleanse does two things: First, it reminds me what eating healthy and proper portion sizes are all about. Second, and this is important, it makes me feel better - inside and out - and is really invigorating. This isn't a weight loss method. Yes, some pounds do come off, but without proper eating and diet guidelines those pounds will come right back on.

For me, this gets me back on track for the triathlon / running season and gives me the kick in the pants needed to refocus. Now, one could argue that if you just ate right year round, with smart choices and healthy foods, you wouldn't need to do this crazy things. Well, maybe. To Jill's point we're always ingesting things into our body that we perhaps shouldn't be - whether by proxy or by choice. And my wife, JL, brought up a good point last year when we did this for the first time: "After a year of racing, looking back on all the gels, powders, energy bars, and Sunday night pizza and beer binges after races, your body could use a little clean-up."

Anyway, I'm not evangelizing anything here, and I'm not trying to do any advertising for anyone. It works for me, I like it (although it is a tough two weeks) and it's how JL and I start out our year. It's not for everyone, and I suggest that anyone who's interested should reach out to a certified nutrition counselor.

Now, as this cleanse starts tomorrow, (Sunday) today is my last day of indulgence. So, pizza and beer for dinner?

2011 Goals and Racing Resolutions

2011-01-01T08:36:00.000-05:00

After my disappointing 2010 racing season - cut short by the fact that I'm getting old and medical maladies are becoming more and more common - I'm looking ahead to the upcoming year and I'm targeting races and setting goals. Actually, I've been thinking about my 2011 races and goals for months now. Is it OCD to start planning your races more than 12 months in advance?

First things first, however. My first goal of 2011 is to do more weight and strength training. I'm confident that my knee issues would not have been as much of an issue had I done more leg work at the gym. It's difficult to get to the gym during heavy training weeks, but if I want to avoid another injury plagued season I'm going to have to suck it up and hit the weights more often.

So, with that out of the way, here's what's on my racing schedule for 2011:

Weekend of May 08: North Face Endurance Challenge 1/2 Marathon

As I stated in my 2010 year in review, I had a lackluster performance at this race last year. I'm certainly going to need to kick things up a notch at this event this spring. According to the North Face web site, they've confirmed all their races for 2011 and registration will be opening shortly.

In case you're interested in getting in on this (and I highly recommend it) there are races at Bear Mountain, NY; Washington, DC; Madison, WI; Atlanta, GA; and San Francisco, CA. There are race distances ranging from 10K to 50 miles, so there's something for everyone. Check out their site for dates.

June 12: Sleepy Hollow Triathlon

Also mentioned in my year in review I need to, as my wife so awesomely says, "defend your AG title". I had a great race there last year and will be hoping for a repeat performance.

June 26: Stamford KIC IT Triathlon

All I'll say is that I need finish this race without a time penalty. Absolutely targeting the AG podium at this race. (Yes, I'll say it again, I should have been there last year).

It's an interesting race as it's a 2 transition area event. Having done it last year it's not that big a deal, but it does add an additional logistical wrinkle to your race morning plan. Post-race food and entertainment is good, and it's a quick drive from my house! No need to get up at 330a for this race.

July 10: Mossman Sprint Triathlon

After coming off some of my adventures in modern medicine last summer, I did the bike leg of a relay at this race in 2010. I'm thinking this will be a good race to use as another tune-up event - the bike course has a nice climb to deal with, but the run is pretty flat along the ocean. Should be a fast race.

August 21: Park City Mossman Triathlon

This was a race that I missed last year and really regretted it. It's an interesting change from most races around the tri-state area: Both the bike and run courses are pancake flat, with the bike leg taking place on a 5 loop, 8K course. No rest for the weary here.....you're pedaling constantly save for the turn-arounds at either end of the course. Really a great test of ones fitness. Once off the bike it's on to two flat 5K run loops along the Long Island Sound.

The Mossman group puts on a great race. I highly recommend any of their events.

September 2011: Toughman Half Iron Triathlon

A great race. My good friend Rich is the race organizer, and puts on one hell of an event. The volunteers are amazing, and it's one of the most well supported events I've raced. And they don't call it the Toughman for nothing. The bike and run courses are challenging to say the least. Sneaky hills, and a couple big climbs (on both the ride and the run) make this race one you'll need to do your hill repeats for.

Early October 2011: Paine to Pain Trail 1/2 Marathon

Are you noticing that all my running races are pretty much trail races? Love em'. My friend Eric has worked really hard at getting this race off the ground. 13 miles through lower Westchester County trails. Nothing crazy technical, but enough rocks, twists, and turns to ensure you keep your focus. The last time I raced this was in 2009 after the Toughman 1/2 Iron. My legs weren't quite back to 100%, but it was still a load of fun. And as the race organizer so often says: "...mud is a feature"

December 2011: Gail's Trail Race

Yep, another trail race. This is a race that I run every winter. I did a race report not too long ago, so you can read all about the race there. But really, what's not to like? Winter, trails, water crossings, cold mud. Need I say more?

I mean, really - what's not to love here?

I hope everyone is gearing up for a great 2011 racing season.

My Problem Here Is With "The Noodle"

2010-12-30T12:14:00.000-05:00

I recently read an article / post titled Dangers of Triathlon Competition: Tips to Increasing Your Personal Safety. I have to admit I found this article really, really, annoying.

I know, opinions are like....well, you know...everyone has one. And I'm not ranting here as a triathlete who's taken offense to someone criticizing the sport. I'm annoyed because a number of the statements made are just so off the mark.

The main point of the article states that the swim leg of the triathlon is the most dangerous of the three, and that while training for a triathlon is a great way to get in shape and improve your cardiovascular health, the sport has a higher death rate than one might expect - mostly attributed to the swim leg.

I'm not going to go into all the details here, so you might want to give the article a read but as I said, some of the points made - allegedly to show how dangerous a triathlon can be - have almost nothing to do with the sport itself. Some of the "widely known" deaths in triathlon races include:

* A man who died of a stroke, followed by a heart attack, during the swim leg.

* A man who died of cardiac issues during the swim leg. He had recently lost 100 lbs, and was down to 300 lbs (from 400 lbs). He was competing in his first triathlon and was unable to reach support before his heart gave out.

* A woman died near the end of the swim leg - complaining of chest pain. An autopsy showed she swallowed too much water during her swim.

* A man was bit by a great white shark during a triathlon.

Is it just me, or are some of the deaths outlined simply the result of being in the ocean in general (ie. the shark bite), while others are examples of individuals who weren't strong swimmers - or weren't physically prepared - and perhaps shouldn't have been competing in the first place?

What really got me, however, were some of the suggestions provided to ensure that you don't become a statistic of the dangerous world of triathlons. Granted, some were good:

"..confer with your primary care physician or sports medicine professional before entering triathlon competition..."

And some were just, well, you'll see what I mean:

"Some races allow less strong swimmers to use noodles. It may not seem sporty, but it's better than drowning."

Wait. Hold on......a noodle? Really? Then you can't swim! Perhaps you should sign up for a duathlon.

Sorry, that last line was a little snarky. But seriously, if you - even for a moment - think that you need a flotation device to get through the swim leg of a triathlon you shouldn't be anywhere near the water before a mass start is about to go off.

In summary: If you can't swim, don't do a triathlon.

Additionally: If you don't have your doctors approval, when you really should, don't do a triathlon (or any other sport for that matter).

Okay, I'm off my soap-box. (Really? A noodle?)

2010 End of Year Recap

2010-12-28T17:25:00.000-05:00

2010 was an interesting season. The main challenge for me this year wasn't any particular race or event, but rather it was staying healthy.

I had a summer full of medical adversity (you can read all about it here and here) that effectively ended my triathlon season in early July. That's not to say that my early season racing was poor. Quite the contrary, I was racing well and was feeling that I was going to have some good results later in the season. I had a great pre-season and my running was vastly improved thanks to running with the maniacs. My cycling and swim training was more quality and intensity focused - as opposed to quantity - and I was feeling strong.

But alas, it wasn't meant to be this year. I never really got around to doing race reports for any of my early season races, so as I look back at the 'season that wasn't' I thought I'd do a quick recap of the events I was able to participate in:

The North Face Endurance Challenge 1/2 Marathon

This race was great. A half marathon up and down Bear Mountain, in Harriman State Park. Lot's of elevation - both climbing and descending. Weather that day was clear, but very cold and windy for the month of May. My friend Tom had run it the year previous and I remember him detailing how crushing the course was. The race organizers made it clear that they had made some changes to the 1/2 Marathon course this year, but I still went out cautiously at the beginning.

Some great single track, some nice fire-roads, and some brutal climbs up rocks and boulders to a flat-top peak, and then down the other side. Really great stuff. I had one incident where my timing chip got ripped off of my shoe going through some scrub. I wasted a couple minutes getting it knotted back into my laces, and watched 3 or 4 guys that I worked hard to pass earlier retake their positions. In hindsight I should have just stuffed it in my glove.

Tragically, I left a lot in the tank at the end of the day. Most everyone I knew there went out too easy. Not a stellar performance.

Sleepy Hollow Sprint Triathlon

My wife was originally signed up for this tri, but her knee was giving her some trouble and she had to back out. Thankfully, the race organizers allowed us to swap the entry and I thought that this would be a great early season test. It was early June, and I had an Olympic distance triathlon just a couple of weeks later. I figured this would be a good fitness test.

This was my first sprint distance triathlon I'd done in years. I've been focused on Olympic and 1/2 Iron distances for the past 2 years or so, so this was going to be a nice change - just red-lining the heart rate for an hour or so without worrying about pacing.

The swim was great. I came out of the water 1st in my AG (all the M40-44's were in one wave) and as I came up the wood and dirt "staircase" from the river to T-1, my wife yelled out that I was the first out of the water from my wave. That gave me a good boost and I figured I'd really try to keep the hammer down on the bike.

The bike course was actually quite a bit of fun. Hilly (up-hill) for the 1st half of the loop and hilly (downhill) for the 2nd half. I passed a handful of people heading out, and was passed by one person, the overall winner, just before the turnaround. I heard him coming, took a look to my left, and saw a guy wearing a Speedo go cruising by. Really? A Speedo and no top? Was this his way to give a shout-out to the guys racing at Kona in the 80's?

Yes, the photo is a proof

Anyway, I hit T-2 and was realizing that it was a perfect day for racing. Overcast, not too warm. Quite ideal. I headed out for a somewhat hilly 5K and finished feeling excellent. I passed a few folks, but was just not 100% sure about my position. I didn't think anyone passed me on the bike from my AG but I couldn't be sure. Had a nice 5K split - 19:06, and when results were posted found that I did indeed hold 1st in my AG and had a 6th overall placing.

6 Dave Burgess 17:23 1:30 29:59 0:57 19:06 1:08:54

Stamford KIC IT Olympic Triathlon

This race had all the earmarks of being another great race for me. And in reality it was. However, as I posted previously, this was the race where I received my first time penalty. I'm still upset about it to some extent, but only because that 2:00 minute penalty kicked me off the AG podium!

I'll keep this report brief - The swim was more of a run / swim. The tide was out at the start and there was about a 1/4 mile slog through the water, both at the beginning and end of the swim. There were a lot of folks with cut feet from shells and rocks as I came into T-1..... It was a long run from the beach to the transition area, and there were lots of bloody footprints to follow on the way in.

I hit the bike and had a nice effort. Not my best, but overall I was happy with it. I had seen my friend Rodney before the start, and was wondering when he was going to catch up with me. He's a stronger cyclist than I, and I figured it was only a matter of time. Sure enough, with about 4 miles to go, someone smacks me on the left thigh (yes, while we're racing) and yells "OY". There he was, the crazy Aussie friend of mine. We were side by side for the remaining few miles and went into, and out of, T-2 together.

I hung with Rodney for the first 4 miles of the 10K. We were running about a 6:40 pace and I was pretty happy with that. He started to pull ahead and I had to let him go with one mile left.

5/56 M4044 D Burgess 2:17:33 21:36 2:04 1:09:40 0:59 41:15 6:40 2:00

Considering the penalty (that dreaded "2:00" at the end of the results line) it wasn't a bad day.

Gail's Trail Race

I wrote up a race report for GTR not long ago. Great racing - always on my race calendar for a end of year romp through the woods.

I hope everyone had a great year of racing. I'm now enjoying the holidays, as I hope you are as well, and getting my 2011 calendar in order.

Gail's Trail Run Race Report

2010-12-13T15:51:00.000-05:00

This past weekend (well, yesterday) was the annual Gail's Trail Run. This is a great event, hosted by the Mossman Triathlon Club that, in honor of Gail Connor (wife of Team Mossman's first swim coach), benefits the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Normally this event is held at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Westchester New York - a 10K loop with 2 water crossings, a couple of challenging climbs (one aptly named 'The Anthill') and depending on the weather it can be muddy and wet, or snow covered - icy - and…well….wet. (The second water crossing is about waist deep)

Exiting the second water crossing at Gail's @ Ward Pound Ridge 2007

But for logistical and permit reasons, this years GTR was held in Huntington State Park, in Redding CT. A bit of a shorter course (only 5.5 miles) but looking back, it was well worth the hour or so drive to get to the race.

Cut to: Dumping rain. Temps are in the high 30's and the rain is just not letting up. We (my good friends Tom O, and Greg S) hustle from the car to the registration tent, get ourselves checked in, and run back to the car (I know, wimps) where we waited for the race time to arrive - which we knew was upon us when one of the race organizers honked their car horn to get everyone out of their vehicles and to the start line.

We shuffled along with everyone else over to the start area and got out last minute instruction - basically telling us to watch for the flags marking the course, and to have fun with the water crossing. With that we lined up and the race was on.

Immediately from the start there were about 5 of us out front. As the first mile had us on a fairly well groomed carriage trail we were holding a pretty good pace. Someone in our small group was wearing a Garmin and I heard him say "...6:20-6:30 pace" as he pulled back. Ooops! Anyway, at one point one of the runners surged just before we hit the first section of single-track. I thought about going with him, but I didn't want to press the pace too much this early - and the guy who I was side by side with wasn't having anything to do with me passing him. So I stayed on his shoulder and ducked behind him into the heavy trails. Kind of a mistake.

Come to find this guy, while quick on the flats, wasn't too technical a runner (not that I'm all that great technically myself) and really slowed up on the up's and down's over rocks and roots in the single-track section. I realized that the leader was suddenly nowhere in sight, so I yelled to the guy ahead of me "…we're losing him - he's getting away"….but much to my chagrin he was content to hold his position.

Then we hit the water crossing. I was about 5 yards behind the guy ahead of me and wasn't sure why he was entering the water so gingerly. I decided that this is where I'm going to get around him and plowed into the water - Mistake #2. There was a thin coating of water covering a nice layer of ice. On the fast approach you just couldn't see it. But as I hit it, I crashed through,gashed my shin open a little bit, and staggered to keep my chest above the water.

Post-race souvenir

Soon after came the first serious climb. The climb went on for at least 3 or 4 minutes - about a 1/4 mile or so (it felt like more) and I realized that I was putting some distance on everyone. As we were at about the half way point of the race I decided that this was the time to make a move. While I sounded like a Sherpa in the Himalayas I kept my pace on the rocky, muddy, climb and was able to put a bit of a gap on the group. By the time I hit the second climb I was finally able to see the leader about a minute ahead of me up the hill. Still a little bit away, but at least I could chase him.

At the end, while I kept my gap on everyone and held my position, the leader was too far away to reel in. I crossed the finish line in 2nd place and was pretty darn happy with the result.

Kudos to the Mossman team for another great race. Gail's is one of those events where you wonder what the hell you're doing while you're in the middle of it, but you can't wait to do it again next year.

Running While on the Road

2010-12-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

We've all been there - traveling for work, or personal, reasons and squeezing in a run (outdoors or on a treadmill) or ride (usually on a stationary bike in a hotel gym) in a desperate attempt to keep your training regimen on schedule. The Type-A / OCD person trapped inside me finds it all very inconvenient. On the other hand it's a nice way to shake up the normal routine that can sometimes settle in.

Sometimes it's a great opportunity: Running in San Diego along the waterfront doesn't suck. Neither does running along the Embarcadero or in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

I've also done some running in London (not bad early in the day) as well as outside of london near Maidenhead / Ascot (very nice countryside). Seattle was a nice place to run, although the day was a total cliche' and it was dumping rain the last time I ran there.

I must say that my least favorite place to run (so far) is in Columbus.....in February. Having grown up in the mid-west I knew what I was getting into when that work trip came along. Day one was a 4 mile slog outside in frigid temperatures with snow and ice blowing at me from every direction. Subsequent morning runs were performed on the treadmill at the hotel boring myself to death.

I've been lucky on occasion and have been in a city where there was a gym that my membership here in the North-East gave me privileges. Taking a spin class in the middle of the winter while on the road was kind of nice.

That's all work (mostly) related running. There are times when running while on holiday comes into play, and this can also be a difficult, albeit a somewhat fun, situation. Take last week over Thanksgiving........

My wife JL and I headed down to Barbados to avoid the "Three F's" of Thanksgiving ("forced family fun"). Not that we don't love our families, but it's kind of our thing around Thanksgiving. We do our best to escape, just the two of us, every year over this US-only holiday. We love Barbados, and tend to stay in roughly the same area while there. Having been there a handful of times, I've got a nice 5.25-ish mile loop that I can run. The trick is trying to get out early enough to avoid traffic - most of the roads aren't the most friendly to runners as there's not much shoulder to speak of. And the heat is an issue. Getting out at 700a still provides sun, 75F temps, and about 70+ humidity. But then there are the hills.

Now, truth be told, I could keep it simple and run up the H1 - along the coast - either north or south and keep it pretty flat. But it does provide a challenge of traffic and safety. Not to say that the drivers in Barbados are bad. My experience has been that most drivers there are very considerate of runners (and cyclists that I've seen) and give a friendly little honk as they're coming up on you, and a wave as they go past. Or it could just be the novelty of seeing a white dude running in the heat, sweating up a storm, in short running shorts and triathlon top. But I digress.

The loop that I usually run is great. Hills, some flats, more hills. The downhill section is equally as tough, as my quads are usually barking at me by the time all is said and done. But that first mile and quarter or so.....brutal.

In the graphic above - see all those nice, pretty, dark colors in the elevation chart? yeah, tough way to start things off. I think I averaged about 13-14 minutes for that first mile-plus up to the first left turn on each run. My heart rate is cooking along at a nice average of 150+. Oy. Hill work for the month of December? Check.

In the end, it's a good burn. I can cook off some calories from the rum consumption of the previous day. And it helps facilitate a nap in the sun later that morning.

Fun stuff, running in the islands. Tragically the past few years we've missed the Run Barbados festival. Full marathon, half marathon, 10K, and a 5K. Very nice looking race weekend of events. I took a look at the course maps (just in case we decide to schedule our retreat next year to incorporate the race weekend) and thankfully they're all along the H1 - nice and flat.

Getting out on the road, while on the road, is a pain. But it seems much less so when on holiday in the sun with the ocean just a stones throw away.

Common Courtesy - An Endangered Species

2010-11-13T09:46:00.000-05:00

What's up with motorists suddenly (or not so suddenly) ignoring pedestrians, crosswalks, and eschewing common courtesy? I say "not so suddenly" as I've been seeing this lack of motoring etiquette for some time. But lately it seems like it's moved on to another level.

I'm not even talking about the common, combative, vitriol laden relationship between cyclists and motorists. That's a whole other post in itself. I will say, after just coming into the house today from a Saturday AM ride, that it was event free. And even with the mid-morning rush of a Saturday, with people heading to little league soccer, Home Depot, or wherever, it really wasn't too bad of a ride.

But when I'm running, or even walking (to the train station to commute to work, for example, which is only a mile away from our home), the idea of motorists actually stopping at a stop sign, yielding to pedestrians in a crosswalk, or actually being aware of ones surroundings, seems like too much to ask lately. Case(s) in point:

While walking to the train one recent morning, I approached a corner where cars were waiting to turn right - I would have been approaching them from their right. I made eye contact with the elderly woman in the lead car, and proceeded to cross. She decided that it was more important to take advantage of the gap in traffic and - had I not jumped clear - her left front quarter panel would have clipped my leg. Her dismissive wave of her hand was icing on the cake.

During a typical morning run, I was coming up to a gas station where a car (I heard him before I saw him) came roaring up to the exit drive. Thankfully I heard him coming and was able to stop short, because the dude behind the wheel never once looked in my direction and when I yelled a sarcastic "thank you", as I stood blocked by his car in the middle of the sidewalk, I was greeted with his middle finger.

Walking home from the train station is just as bad as walking to it. While crossing at a corner a car, thoughtfully, stopped and motioned for me to cross. Giving a nice wave I proceeded to do so. However, the car behind the nice young lady thought that this was a ridiculous situation and proceed to lay on his horn. When I was clear, and the cars were rolling, he yelled out his window "get the fuck out of the way".

Now, as I said, this isn't the animosity that I see at times when I'm out on my bike on training rides. That again provides enough ammunition for a whole other post (or three). And I will say that there are "good cyclists" and "bad cyclists"....just as there are good drivers and bad drivers. But when did the old saying "pedestrians have the right of way" go by the way-side? Are people in that big a hurry that waiting for 10 seconds for someone to cross a street is such an inconvenience?

My wife and I have a saying that we commonly say at least twice on the occasion that we're out for a ride together. It's not unusual for a car to tearing by us at a ridonkulous rate of speed - or for a car to ignore a stop sign, etc. We usually joke that "...there better be someone giving birth in the back seat of that car..." as there's really no other reason to be so obnoxiously exceeding the speed limit in a residential area. JL has also noticed this now more common phenomenon of motorists beginning to despise pedestrians.

And it really wasn't like this even 2 to 3 years ago. It's been just recently (the past 12 months perhaps) that this behavior has been increasing to become more commonplace. Even our early morning rides and runs (500a start time) now have risks - given by the example of the idiot coming out of the gas station. It used to be that one could run down the middle of the road at that time of day and not encounter a car for miles. Now, everyone is out earlier, in a bigger hurry, and patience is a rare commodity.

The encounters that I listed above should not be considered a complete list of transgressions by any means. I could go on and on. I just don't understand why common courtesy has been given up in lieu of trying to beat the rush at Starbucks on the way to work.

Why are the roads so sticky?

2010-11-07T08:48:00.000-05:00

I was out for a run this morning and thought about the handful of friends that I know who were down at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island waiting for the New York Marathon to start. It was a chilly day, the sun was out, pretty good race conditions all in all.

So, as I was running I thought back to my first marathon. It was back in 2002, and I wasn't really what I would consider a good runner at the time. I had actually started running to try to get into shape (I wasn't very fit back then). A friend of mine at work, when I told him of my attempts to run, was quick to add support and motivation. He helped me get my mileage up to a whopping 4-5 miles. Then up to 6. Before I knew it I was running 8 miles on my long runs and wasn't feeling too terrible.

Then, one day my friend is in my office and before I knew it I was signing up for the NYC Marathon lottery. Mind you, I had never run a race before - ever. Not a 5K or 5 miler. Nothing. And I was a little apprehensive to say the least when I discovered that I had made it in. So I kept on training, adding miles to my long runs, but looking back I had no idea what I was doing. I had no idea what speedwork, or tempo runs were. I ran at the same pace all the time. All in all it was really a terrible training plan. But, before I knew it I was on a bus heading to Staten Island for the start - wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into.

This is where everything becomes a blur. I ran 4 marathons after this first one (New York again 2 years later, then Chicago and Nashville ). I can recall quite a bit from those races, as I think about it. But my first marathon - my first race of any kind - I can't recall much at all.

I remember being in Fort Wadsworth trying to stay warm. And when the announcements were made to start making our way to the start, that's where it all pretty much goes fuzzy. I don't remember much of the start on the Verazzano Bridge at all. I remember absolutely nothing of running through Brooklyn, or crossing the Queensborough Bridge. And while I recall it on my second NYC Marathon, I don't remember the huge crowds on First Avenue as you come off the Bridge into Manhattan. Even running down 5th Avenue and coming into Central Park is a vague memory. Hell, the finish is something I can't even remember much of at all. (Although I do remember being really happy that I could stop running!)

What I do remember, the only thing that I can clearly remember, is wondering why the hell the road was so sticky through the water stations? Having never run a race of any sort before I had no idea what was causing this. Every water station, by the time I got there, was a sticky mess. Every mile or so I was so confused as to why the road was sticky. I could hear it with everyone running through. I could feel the soles of my shoes sticking to the road. It made no sense at all.

It took me 18 miles or so to realize that it was the Gatorade from the water stations that was spilled all over the road from discarded cups.

That's it - that's the only memory of my first marathon....my first race ever.....that I can recall. The sticky roads.

As I thought about this this morning I got a good laugh out of it. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing as I trained for, and participated in, that race. Nutrition on long runs? Nope. Hydration during long runs? Average at best. Pre-race nutrition? Pretty poor. Nutrition during the race? I think I carried 1 gel with me for the entire race. I'm not sure how I got through it to be honest.

Oh how times have changed.

I'll be watching the live coverage of this years marathon this morning and I'll be tracking my friends online. Good luck to everyone who's racing today.

A Ride, a Run, and an Opinion

2010-10-03T15:44:00.001-04:00

Seeing as my knee has been feeling better (thankfully) I was signed up for Grete's Great Gallop 1/2 Marathon - a race in New York's Central Park put on by the New York Road Runners. I was pretty excited to race this after almost an entire summer off of racing and competing. My running in the week leading up was good, and I threw in a tempo run on Tuesday to see how my pace and endurance was.

It was terrible.

My heart rate was through the roof, and I was going 30 seconds slower than I was during tempo runs in July. It was quite demoralizing. Not that I should have expected miracles to occur, but I thought I would have been in a better place than this.

Saturday morning arrived, and my wife JL (also running the 1/2) and I were mustering around the house getting ready for the race. JL has been having some IT band issues, and long story short she wasn't up for race. As I had resigned myself to using this as a training run instead of a full-on race, I had no problem bagging it and staying at home. I figured I'd run on Sunday (today) and get a good ride in the books instead of running on Saturday (yesterday).

Great ride. Weather was perfect: cool, slightly overcast, and low humidity after a week of tremendous amounts of rain in the New York City area. My road bike and I really enjoyed the morning (my TT rig is in mothballs for the off-season). On the home stretch, about 5 miles from my house, I saw a guy walking his bike on the sidewalk. I slowed down and asked if he was okay. He said yeah, but his rear tire was flat. I stopped and asked if he needed a tube or anything. He waffled a bit, explained that he thought he damaged the valve at home pumping up his tires, and that he was fine and only had 3 or so miles to go before he was home. He didn't have a spare tube and was fine walking.

I decided that the right thing to do was to up my karma ante for the fall. I got of my bike and told him to get the rear wheel off. As I gave him a once-over while we introduced ourselves I noticed that, while he was wearing bike shorts, he was wearing a cotton t-shirt, running shoes, and had flat pedals with toe straps. It was a decent Specialized road bike, but he was most likely new to the whole cycling thing. No problem. 5 minutes later I had burned a tube and a CO2 cartridge, but he was up and running and on his way. Come to find he's the village Judge for my little hamlet. Hopefully he remembers my name if I ever get into a spot of trouble.

Anyway, Sunday (today) came and I got in a good run. Only 8 miles on the trails, but I didn't feel like I needed to do any more than that. I was out for just under an hour and it was great looping through the Leatherstocking Trail section near my house. The Paine to Pain trail 1/2 Marathon was being held today - I ran it last year, but again, no more racing for me this year - and as I'm familiar with the course it was fun to see all the marking and signage up ready for the athletes.

A nice hot shower later (again, cool temps today) and I did some bike maintenance: new tires on my road bike, and I swapped cleats from JLs' old road bike shoes to her new ones. A busy, busy weekend!

Oh, and an opinion

This past week, in two days time, I experienced not only an idiot driver on my morning ride but also an idiot cyclist while on the way to work. The idiot driver, while acknowledging that he saw me, felt it prudent to do a u-turn in the road requiring me to lock up my brakes to avoid hitting his car. At the light that he was then stopped at I asked him if he even saw me (yeah, I got a little lippy). He said "...yeah, there was plenty of room....shut the f*** up". Okay, thanks pal - have a nice day! And to make matters more interesting there was a village police cruiser right behind me during this whole thing. Clearly not interested in the illegal u-turn or the fact that there was almost an accident.

The next day on the way to work I was crossing the road (with everyone else in downtown Manhattan) outside of Grand Central Terminal. We had the right of way, and the walk sign was lit. Yelling to the left of me caused me to pause, as a cyclist in a full racing kit comes weaving through the crowd of people yelling at us to stay out of the way. Excuse me? Really?

In the battle between cyclists and car owners, EVERYONE needs to play nice. It's unfortunate that the idiots on both sides of the argument make it difficult to find a happy, medium, ground.

Toughman Half Iron - Recap from the Bike Course

2010-09-16T13:24:00.000-04:00

As my knee injury earlier this summer caused me to pull out of my last few races this year, I decided to help my friend Rich and I worked the bike course for the Toughman Half Iron triathlon this past Sunday. I've know Rich for a number of years, and train with his tri club. Rich is also the race director of the Toughman triathlon, and the mastermind behind it's inception 3 years ago.

It was a little tough mentally on Saturday as we were out marking the bike course - putting up signage and chalk-painting the roads. I had a few moments where I would think back to last year (when I raced the Toughman) and would think that I should be home resting and hydrating. But, alas, not this year.

So, Sunday morning my wife JL and I headed out early to our section of the bike course and awaited the other volunteers so that I could assign duties and positions along our section of the bike course. It was really a perfect day for racing. Cool. Overcast. Dry. Really just about idyllic conditions. My volunteers started to arrive and once we were all gathered I went over the key points that were covered in the race captains meeting the previous day: What corners were going to be troublesome, where traffic was going to be an issue, and what corners we would have police assistance.

I sent everyone on their way, and JL and I waited with another volunteer at our section for the race to get underway. We were located at about the 24-25 mile mark of the bike course. I had a sheet of the estimated arrival times for the leaders, both overall and for the subsequent waves, and as the time for the estimated arrival of the leaders came upon us, we split up and headed to our stations.

Here came the leaders. Damn….these guys were really moving. The leader came by and I barely saw him as I stopped cars from coming out of a parking area and waved him through. He was just a blur with the sound of his disk wheel announcing his arrival. The gent in 2nd place at the time came through a few minutes later and was really dropping the hammer as well. Ah, to hold a Pro Card and to be able to devote more time to training!

Then, things got nutty. As the bulk of the athletes came through it was an hour-plus of constant activity. Cars and traffic (not everyone as understanding as I would have liked) were getting thick. We were stationed just outside a popular deli - a favorite oasis for us on long rides. But also apparently a favorite early Sunday morning stop for coffee and a New York Times. When I said that people weren't always as understanding as I would have preferred, I wasn't kidding. A few people, when I asked if they could park across the street instead of in the parking area directly in front to avoid delays and for the safety of the athletes, looked at me as if I'd asked them to chop off one of their hands. Upon their departure they were quick to spin their tires and spit gravel up as they departed to show what a massive inconvenience the extra 2 minutes had cost them. No matter. The primary objective was the safety of the athletes and that's what drove every action that morning.

In the end, even circling our section of the course behind the sag-wagon to pick up signs was fun. We got back to the race site and were able to see some of our friends who had raced (a couple nice finishes, including a first place AG win for my good friend K.C.) and had a chat with our friend Rich - who finally looked much more relaxed as his 3rd year of Toughman was shaping up to the biggest and best so far.

Bottom line: If you're an athlete and you compete in running, triathlons, bike races, whatever…..you need to volunteer for some local races. Not just for the fact that it's good to pay back the effort that others have put in so that we can race safely, but for the fact that it's actually a fun and rewarding experience. I can't tell you how many athletes, while zipping by at 20+ mph would give a quick "thanks" as they went by. Even one of the top 10 through my zone gave me a thumbs up as he screamed past. It's important to realize that races of any size can't go on without volunteers.

A final congrats to my friend Rich. The Westchester Toughman was a great success, again.

Helping a Brother Out (Sub-plot: Scoring Some Long Run Karma)

2010-09-03T17:19:00.000-04:00

We were just getting ready to head out of town for the Labor Day weekend - my wife was out running a couple of last minute errands and I was, well, sitting around doing pretty much nothing. I ran early with the usual crew (thankfully, the knee is feeling pretty good, so I'm thinking I'm back in the saddle so to speak) and was just relaxing.

When JL (my wife) got home, she said that there's a guy in running gear on the side of the main road a few blocks away. He's on his mobile phone and had his thumb out while he was running trying to hitch a ride.

JL said that she stopped and asked him if he was okay.... His response was that he was a pilot, staying a couple of towns away, and got a call that he was to depart earlier than anticipated. He had about 5 miles to go to get back to his hotel and he was trying to get a cab or have the hotel send a shuttle. JL wasn't 100% comfortable just picking him up and giving him a lift by herself (smart girl) and he said he understood. She told him that she'd tell me what was going on.

I grabbed my keys, jumped in the car, and found him about a mile further on. He was really moving, He had his cell phone to his ear (still trying to arrange a car or pickup) and looked to be almost in full stride. I honked, pulled over, and when I looked in the rear view mirror the look of relief on his face was apparent.

The car must have looked like a safe haven for him. He was wearing tri-shorts, Fuel Belt and a tri top. Our car has USA Triathlon stickers and Giant Bikes stickers in the back window, and my time trial bike was mounted on the bike rack for our weekend away.

He was very thankful, but was apprehensive of getting in the car as he was pretty sweaty, (it was pretty humid). I told him to just jump in and not worry about it, this car has seen much worse on race weekends. Turns out Alex is a pilot for private clients, and the client du jour was looking to leave about 3 hours earlier that they originally planned. He was in a jam and as he usually doesn't stay down this far away from the Westchester County airport he didn't know the area well enough to know cab companies, etc.

He was 6 miles into a 12 mile run - training for Ironman 70.3 Branson - and with his flight schedule (7 days on, 7 days off) he does what he can while on the road. He asked about a couple local races - including the Toughman Half Iron triathlon. As my friend Rich is the race director for this race I gave him my best marketing pitch for him to do it next year.

Anyway, I got him to the hotel as quickly as possible. Nothing really exciting about this morning except that it made me remember that it's important to give a little good karma back when you can.

Triathlon Swimming Techniques - Redux

2010-08-24T08:30:00.000-04:00

Since my recent post on triathlon swimming versus competitive swimming, I figured I'd be remiss if I didn't do some sort of non-scientific experiment, and actually see if I could employ some of the triathlon specific techniques into my next pool workout. I would have toyed around with things this past Friday during my open water swim but, due to the ridiculous amount of jellyfish bobbing around, changing my stroke wasn't the first thing on my mind.

I'll again preface this with the statement that I'm not an expert, and that any suggestions here are my own - my own opinions - and you should do your own research, etc. blah-blah-blah.....

Well, it was an interesting swim workout on Sunday. Typical warm-up, some stroke drills, normal stuff. During a pull set of 200's I started to think about the front quadrant discussion and how I wasn't , most likely, doing that. I also thought about (as I watched myself do it) the "S" stroke and how most swimmers now don't utilize that technique.

So I figured, what the hell. I did the next few 200's focusing on front quadrant technique, no "S" stroke, and keeping my stroke long and extended.

I have to admit, it was difficult at first. I was fighting muscle memory and habit. I had to work harder to keep my stroke even and consistent. All of which I understood, but it wasn't pleasant. Eventually, however, I started to get the hang of things and sort of got into a groove.

I felt my forward momentum become more constant - there were no gaps in the force being applied and subsequently there were no gaps in the drive forward. My stroke began immediately upon my hand entering the water, whereas with an S stroke it seemed as if there was a slight delay. That could be imagined, but the feeling of forward momentum was much more consistent here.

To make matters more interesting (or worse), I checked my stroke count. I swear it was 1 to 2 strokes less per length than my normal stroke count (on a typical 200 with standard effort).

Again, I'm not saying that this is a full-on scientific breakthrough, but I'll certainly be spending my next handful of pool workouts focusing on changing some stroke techniques.

Triathlon Swimming Techniques - A Discussion

2010-08-19T18:48:00.000-04:00

Let me first state, as clearly as possible, that I'm by no means an expert in triathlon training. All the opinions expressed in this mighty blog are mine (as well as my friend Steve's) and those of the websites referenced. I'm sure that, had I dug deeper, I could have found differing opinions to varying degrees and I urge everyone to research, and train, with the methods that best suit them.

A month or so ago (when I was still racing and my season hadn't yet gone down the tubes), I was standing around after a triathlon and struck up a conversation with a swimmer from a relay team. He (Steve) did the swim leg for a friend of mine who runs and trains with the Sound Shore Runners and Multisport Club. (Great club, by the way - it's where my wife and I got our start in competitive running and triathlons). Anyway, it was post-race and we were talking about how we both swam in college and we ventured onto the topic of the differences between competitive swimming, and swimming for triathlons.

I mentioned that I had trouble with implementing a lot of the 'best practices' for triathlon swimming as I have the muscle memory from my days (years) of age group, high school, and college swimming. By best practices for triathlons, I mean:

Streamlined body position: Looking down, not forward. Rotation of shoulders is key in both, but keeping shoulders high and 'out of the water' isn't necessarily the best approach for triathlons (more on that below).

Front quadrant stroke technique: Where the current technique is to always have one hand / arm in front of our body when swimming, I was brought up on the "S" stroke with high elbows. While we did catch-up drills to keep our stroke as even and balanced as possible, the words "front quadrant" didn't exist back in the 80's (at least where I grew up). As I understand it the "S" stroke isn't what most great swimmers practice anymore.

You can see in the above photo progression how the left arm stroke doesn't begin until the right arm has entered the water. Hence the term "Front Quadrant" stroke technique.

We discussed how, back in college, the goal was to look forward, with the waterline breaking on your forehead and your shoulders and back as far out of the water as you could get them. This cut down on drag and made you faster. It also burns energy. In a triathlon, you don't want to burn up all your mojo on the swim leg. Here, focusing on torso rotation during your stroke is key to keeping drag to a minimum.


You can clearly see the difference in the head position of the competitive swimmer (above) and the triathlete (below)

Breathing is also (or can be) a little different. In a pool, you can turn your head just a little bit - sometimes with half of your face and mouth still under water - and sneak a breath in the pocket of air that is formed behind your wake as you move forward. Minimal exertion of energy again being the point. In open water, waves (and in some cases surf) may not make sneaking a breath like this possible.

None of this is earth-shattering news. But it was great to talk with someone who grew up with the same training techniques as I did and to discuss how they differed from some of the triathlon swim training tips that are on the web and are taught, rightly so, by numerous coaches.

Steve and I went back to discussing the S Stroke and he started to mention a book written by James E. "Doc" Counsilman called The Science of Swiming

This book was written in the late 60's, and the techniques and methods were still the de rigueur in the 80's when I was in high school. Apparently they are still highly regarded now. While I realize that there are many differing techniques that are taught currently, a lot of the basics are still the same. It was amazing to me that this book is still looked upon as a benchmark for swimming technique, training, and theory.

Okay, enough walking down memory lane. Tomorrow morning is open water swim day with the Westchester Tri Club. I'll try to disregard all my old swimming habits.

This just isn't my summer / Amazing performance

2010-08-17T06:57:00.000-04:00

My knee has been feeling better, and I was just about ready - in a couple of days - to lace up the shoes and go out for an easy run to test out the old meniscus. Tragically, however, that's not to be.

Back in July I mentioned that I had a fun procedure at my doctors office. Well, I had to pay my doctor another visit yesterday, and another in-office procedure later guarantees me another 5-7 days off from training.

This just isn't my summer:

Late June: Root canal procudure #1
Early July: Painful procedure at 'man-doctor' office
Mid-July: Root canal procedure #2
Early August: Left knee / Meniscus issue
Mid-August: Another procedure at 'man-doctor' office

I'm not sure, and I'm trying to be optimistic here, but my racing season just isn't going as smoothly as I'd like. I've pulled out of the Mossman Olympic and Toughman Half-Iron triathlons. The Steamtown marathon is most likely going to be bypassed. My new target will be the Philly marathon if things start to go smoothly.

Ah, the joy of getting older. Okay, that's all of the self-pity that I have to offer. Taking today off from work to lay on the couch and relax.

On the flip side, I've been following one individual this past week who's doing some amazing stuff out there. Check out the blog following Jamie Patrick as he swam a double crossing of Lake Tahoe (44 miles).

Someone run a few miles for me this week!

Toughman Half-Iron Triathlon

2010-08-13T20:00:00.000-04:00

It's been a year since I did this race. I won't be racing it this year due to my stupid meniscus, but I'll be on the bike course with my wife volunteering for my friend Rich who's the organizer and race director of the Toughman Triathlon.

Last year’s race was fantastic. Rich, who I've known for years training with the Westchester Triathlon Club, had a goal to make his race the best run race in the region. He's a veteran of numerous full Ironman triathlons and wanted his Half-Iron distance race to have all the same support and amenities that you'd receive, and come to expect, at a full Ironman distance race. And he's doing just that. More bands on the course, cheerleaders on the tough climbs of the run, wetsuit strippers as you head into T1. Really top notch amenities.

Packet pickup: One of the most well run I've been to. Incredibly well organized and very quick "in and out". And let's just talk about the SWAG. Great stuff. Tech shirt from Zoot, water bottle, Hammer products. Very nice.

Vendors and race village: Having massage therapists on site for pre-race was nice. A nice, easy rub down (no deep tissue the day before a race please) was great. Lots of local vendors, including Westchester Road Runners, was a nice addition. Everyone in the greater New York area knows about Andy's store in White Plains. In my opinion, the best running store in the tri-state area.

To top things off in regards to pre-race, the Toughman triathlon had a few training camps that allowed for open water swims, bike and run clinics, all on the actual race course. A great opportunity to become acclimated with the course with water stations, sag wagons, and elite athletes there to help more novice athletes - or those new to the Half-Iron distance - with transition area tips, racing insight, and be available to answer any questions that may come up.

Race day proved to again be one of the most well organized events I've participated in. The location is easily accessible from anywhere in the tri-state area. To that point, racers coming up to Croton Point Park in NY from Manhattan had the option to have their bikes shipped up to the race site, and back down to Manhattan, via a local bike shop that the race organizers partnered with. This allowed participants coming up from the city to take the Metro North mass transit to within a mile of the transition area and not have to worry about their rigs.

Pre race again was great. Local bike shops were on hand for repairs and emergency blown tube replacement. Marshaling of waves was painless and efficient.

The race itself? Well, let's just say they don't call it the Toughman for nothing. The bike course by itself - a great loop with some challenging climbs and technical sections. And a conveniently positioned water bottle exchange is always a welcome site. The run course, again by itself, is a great course with some tough climbs and nice shaded trail sections. Aid stations with water, Heed, and gels are plentiful. However, when you put the two together it becomes an amazing test of fitness while still allowing one to really enjoy the day.

Personally? I felt great on the swim and felt just as good on the bike. But whatever I neglected on the bike (not enough Heed or nutrition) the run handed my ass to me. My legs just didn't come around like I thought they should. The bike was a little more taxing that I thought it would be - even though I'd ridden it a few times before race day.

Bottom line, this is a must do race. I'll be towing the line next year when I'm not nursing a knee that's keeping me of the roads, as I need to improve my 13th AG (32nd overall) place last year. And you'll need to register early. This is only the 3rd year that this race has been held (this year’s race is set for Sunday 12 September) and the number of athletes has grown exponentially every year. Rich looks to have Toughman max out at 1,000 athletes. It's anticipated by race organizers and staff that registration for Toughman will be closing out on or about Friday 27 August.

My Latest Workout

2010-08-12T09:18:00.000-04:00

As my knee still isn't quite right - and I'm unsure if I'll really be able to avoid going under the knife - I've been working out recently by lifting 12oz bottles of beer and icing my knee

Rehabbing my knee and getting my vegetables all in one sitting

If all goes well, and according to my Orthopedist's plan, another week of Naproxen (500mg twice daily), ice, and a no running regimen will have me ready and eager to get back on the road. If that plan doesn't work, it's an MRI and potential arthroscopic surgery to clean up whatever mess is brewing in there.

For now I rest, drink beer, and gain weight. (Perhaps I should hit the pool and at least swim so I don't feel like a complete sloth.)

Body Image

2010-08-08T19:25:00.001-04:00

My wife and I were heading up to northern Vermont this past weekend for some R&R. While getting ready to leave on Thursday morning - and packing, loading the car, getting our road bikes on the car rack - we had the Today show on in the background. At some point JL, (that's my wife!), said to come check out the TV. On the Today show was Caitlin talking about her new book, Operation Beautiful. So I came into the office, listed for a few minutes, was intrigued - thought this was pretty cool stuff - and went back to getting my crap together. The goal of Operation Beautiful is - and I'm summarizing here - to end the negative self-talk or "Fat Talk". You should really check out the web site for a full idea of what Caitlin is doing - it's worth the trip to her site.

Anyway, it wasn't until a day later that I started to actually have some thoughts about this, and JL and I had a very good discussion around my thoughts.

It's interesting that I train with a triathlon club where a good majority of the members compete at a very high level. I've mentioned before that a number of them qualify for Kona every year. And along the topic of weight loss, body image, and an almost obsessive / compulsive drive to maintain ones "race weight" a number of common phrases and questions can be heard throughout the season:

"Dude, you're getting lean. How much more weight do you have to lose?"

"I'm off carbs for two weeks to lean out for my race. I need to drop 5 pounds"

"A few more pounds and I'll be at my optimum power to weight ratio."

"I saw (insert name here) at dinner before race day this past weekend. No salad dressing, no wine. He/she looked lean."

Suffice it to say. Weight is a common discussion thread during long group rides and runs. And I hate to admit, I've been a part of those discussions and have, during heavy training periods - with a big race on the horizon - been completely OCD in regards to my weight. Daily weigh-ins and ensuring that I stay within a reasonable window of my 'race weight' being a priority. I can't train with a bunch of lean, Kona-bound fiends if I'm not lean myself. Not that I necessarily would go over the edge and start limiting what I ate, but at some window of time before my target race I'll stop drinking wine, and be careful to eat lean meats, etc.

Do we need to be concerned with our weight? That's a loaded question. One could argue that to ensure as competitive a race as possible, one needs to be at an optimal weight. But, considering the amount of miles that we put in on a weekly basis, maintaining a good racing weight isn't really that difficult to do! Regardless, it's a common discussion point, and is almost always paramount on my mind as a target race day looms in the future.

The point is that issues around body image don't discriminate by race, gender, or how 'fit' or athletic you are. What we see in the mirror every morning isn't necessarily reality, and the more we concern ourselves with our weight, the more that image becomes distorted. It's no mystery that we all see a skewed version of ourselves in the mirror. Myself included.

You should all check out Caitlin's web site: www.healthytippingpoint.com and www.operationbeautiful.com

She can also be found on Twitter via @caitlinhtp.

Food for thought (no pun intended).

Me and my Meniscus

2010-08-03T20:47:00.000-04:00

So I just got my marathon mojo back. And behind curtain number 2? Another mild set-back.

My left knee has been bothering me for a while. It was most annoying first thing in the morning, and after an hour or so of movement the discomfort would go away. My GP initially said it could be the beginning / early signs of arthritis (or something along those lines). I could accept that. I'm a big fan of Advil and Aleve. But then the pain started sticking around longer and longer. Finally it was bad enough that I was limping during the day and actually decided, on my own, that it was a bad idea to run. It was time that I sucked it up and visited an Orthopedist.

Just got home from my appointment and am drinking my 3rd glass of wine. Not terrible news, but not great either. There's fluid in my left knee, most likely due to "...a slight tear in the meniscus". And according to my new best friend the Orthopedist, "....there shouldn't be any fluid in the Cathedral that is your knee". X-Ray's were clean, so after a lot of poking, prodding, pulling, tugging, and torquing on my knee, that was his expert opinion.

Let me preface that last bit with this. After looking at my X-Ray and eyeballing at my knees. He smiled, laughed a bit, and said "you runners and triathletes are all the same. You'll suppress the pain for as long as you can, won't you?"

Um, yeah.

So, I still didn't know exactly what all this meant. I was waiting for him to say something along the lines of "...so, we'll shoot you up with X, Y, and Z, and you'll be good to go!". But that's not exactly how it went.

He started out with this question: "I'm assuming I have a deadline to work with, right?" I told him yeah, a triathlon next weekend. He shook his head.

So I countered his head shaking with the date of the Steamtown Marathon in early October. He said "...okay, I can work with that."

Basically, I can't run for 10-14 days. But I can still ride and swim, which is a relief. My Ortho said that "....you should feel welcomed back to running after a couple of weeks..." This was encouraging! But he followed it up with "....if not, then we do an MRI and I most likely see some things that need to be cleaned up".

Hmmph.

So, I'm on Naproxin (500mg) twice a day. No running. Will be riding and swimming tomorrow. I'm not ruling out the Steamtown Marathon and my bid to qualify for Boston. But the Park City Mossman Triathlon is out of the question next weekend. I can't lie, I'm bummed about not being able to do the triathlon. It's a great race and I was in peak shape for it. But the fall marathon is still in play.

Oh, the joys of be an aging athlete.

(P.S. My niece Paige is an RN - recently passed her boards. She was visiting this past weekend, and after hearing a 30 second description of my knee issues, told my wife that she didn't think it was an arthritis issue like my GP had thought. She was concerned about my meniscus. She's a smart little RN, isn't she?)

The Lure of Boston

2010-07-30T07:44:00.000-04:00

It's been 5 years since I last ran a marathon. When I became completely addicted to triathlons, my focus shifted away from all running all the time, to become a 2 sport athlete. I still ran some 1/2 marathons, and had some 15+ mile training runs when I gearing up for a half Ironman distance tri. But I have to admit, in the end, I didn't miss running 20+ miles on any given Sunday.

The lure just wasn't there anymore. I had been hooked on marathons for a handful of years, and was always looking forward to the next one. But while I say I was hooked I don't think I was 100% hooked. The Boston Marathon was just never something that was that big a deal to me (I know, I know). For some reason I never had that urge, that "need", to run Boston. I have a number of friends that I run with that have qualified for, and run, Boston. There has always chatter around who we knew that qualified and who was running it this time around. I knew that running Boston was a goal that most marathon runners have, but for some reason I just didn't have that itch. So I was happy with my triathlons and running a 1/2 marathon here and there. And the last two triathlon seasons have been full. I've kept plenty busy training for Olympic, and half Ironman distance races.

Something changed this past winter and spring. The group of maniacs that I run with during the weekday mornings are a great bunch of guys. Matt P, Mark M, Tom O, Rodney C, and Mark T all show up multiple mornings a week for runs: Tempo, track, trail, you name it. Rain, snow, heat, humidity....whatever the weather they were there. And almost all of them were running Boston this past spring. As their workouts became more intense, so did mine. As they started to get excited about Boston, so did I. It couldn't be helped. The mojo that was Boston was infecting me in ways that it never had before. My running was getting better as these guys really pushed me to the edge of my running envelope. My run splits in my first two triathlons were quicker than I'd ever imagined. I was liking this new speed and endurance that I'd picked up - it pays to run with people who are faster than you. And when I say faster, I do mean faster. A couple of these fine gents run a sub 2:45 marathon and are blazing fast at 10K and 1/2 marathon distances.

It wasn't long after the Boston marathon this year that I was listening to the post-race chatter during one of our usual morning runs. Tales of all the standard Boston Marathon stuff: The bus ride to the start....the fans from Wellesley College....Heartbreak Hill. The talk, again, was infectious.

I got the bug back. The itch was there. I needed to run another marathon, and more importantly I needed to qualify for Boston.

I immediately changed my race schedule - I had to find a fall marathon to run. I needed one that was somewhat close by and easy to get to (I didn't want to travel across the country if I could help it). I also wanted to find a marathon with a course that wasn't going to be crushingly difficult (so obviously Big Sur and Mont Blanc were out of the question). I had heard about the Steamtown Marathon. Rumor is it's a great Boston qualifier. So, a few clicks of the mouse later, and I was registered.

I removed a September triathlon or two from my calendar and replaced them with a lot of running workouts. I can't say that I'm completely thrilled about reducing my season by a triathlon or two. It's been difficult checking my ego at the door - it's easy to tell myself that I can do a half Ironman 3 weeks before a marathon. I know people who have done just that and run very well. But I'm trying to be smart about this and ensure that I have as good a marathon as possible.

I know I have the speed to qualify for Boston. I'm confident of that. 3 years ago maybe not, but after the last two years of hard work I know the speed is there. But marathons are an odd beast. You can't fake the training for it, and it's certainly not like a 10K, or even a half marathon, where you can maybe muscle your way through the race if something isn't quite right. But with a marathon, if something is off on race day, 26.2 miles is a long way to go if you're dealing with a cramp, an upset stomach, or whatever the issue may be. The last thing I want to have to deal with is heavy legs after a rough day at the triathlon office a few weeks previous.

So, in a few weeks I'll be in full blown marathon training mode. I'm gearing up for the Park City Mossman triathlon in mid-August. After that it's all about running. I can't quite commit to completely giving up the swimming and biking workouts. I enjoy those two disciplines and will consider it cross training. However, the primary focus will be running.

I'm now looking for a late season triathlon, of course, to add to my race calendar.

Unsolicited opinions

2010-07-28T20:52:00.001-04:00

What a douche-bag.

Sorry - I'm a little agitated. I'm going to do my best to not divulge the identities of some individuals key to the story today.

I received an email from a friend last week, forwarding a thread of emails between himself and another individual that I know, that contained race results and training maps, elevation gains on training rides - you know, the usual stuff that you forward along after a good week of training. Anyway....

....as I read down the email thread I stumbled onto a section that I think my friend forgot to delete. And I quote: "....I wouldn't worry too much about what Dave is doing. He doesn't have kids and he's, in my opinion, about to begin the downward slide in his performance...."

Um, WTF?

I know this individual, but haven't seen or spoken to him in years. And this is his opinion of my performance gains and AG finishes over this same period of time? It's all due to the fact that I don't have kids? And on top of that I've peaked and I'm about to start getting slower?

Well, allow me to retort.

First: Having kids or not having kids, I think, has nothing to do with things. When I'm doing heavy brick workouts (for some reason they usually happen on Thursday morning) I'm up at 3:15-3:30a. I'm home by 6:30a. We all make sacrifices and do what we have to do to get the job done. I have a friend who gets up at 2:30a on Monday morning so he can do his long runs in preparation for his upcoming marathon. I run multiple times a week with Mark M, Matt P, and Tom O. All are fathers of beautiful kids. And they all run like deer. They're fast and are getting faster. I also know a number of people that have qualified for Kona and the Ironman World Championships who have kids. It can be done.

Second: I'm about to decline in my performance? Based on what empirical evidence? Because I'm now in my 40's? BAH! I have a good friend, Joe G who (no offense, Joe) is about 10 years older than I and is a much faster runner. He's been continually impressive in his running over the years and never fails to amaze. Age has had nothing to do with his performances over the past years. He's a gifted athlete who works hard and shows no signs of slowing down.

The point being, kids or no kids - it doesn't matter. You make the sacrifices necessary to train and compete as you'd like to. Age? Immaterial, everyone is different.

Will we all slow down over time? Yes. Is there a specific age at which this happens? No - it's an individual thing.

I haven't seen, or spoken to, the individual who made these comments in years. I'm not sure what spurned him to make them. We all work hard, train hard, and race hard. We do the best we can. We all make sacrifices - or not. The decision is ours and ours alone. We all have to live with those decisions, like them or not.

This rant is over. Thank you for listening.

Friday morning ride

2010-07-23T08:20:00.001-04:00

It's great getting out early in the morning to ride. I couldn't help but stop a couple of times to grab a quick pic:

Saving my A** (With an ISM Saddle)

2010-07-22T18:50:00.001-04:00

When I started riding seriously, when the triathlon bug had really set in, I began to experience some serious issues with my saddle. It wasn't a good relationship, so to speak. To be nice, I'd say I had "soft tissue" issues. To be blunt, almost every saddle that I tried rubbed me the wrong way. Blood flow would be cut off to key areas of my anatomy, and my prostate felt like it was the size of a bagel.

I went through a few saddles:

Sella San Marco

Fiz:ik

Bontrager

(sorry, couldn't find that one in the basement).

Heck, I even tried using the saddle my wife had used at one point:

WTB

I had a good stretch on the San Marco, but on longer rides it was still not the most comfortable thing to be perched on for three-plus hours. I did enough research to know that I needed a saddle with a cut out, and the San Marco just wasn't working well enough.

I don't know how I stumbled onto the ISM saddle - I'm sure it was a late night session surfing the internet cursing the tingling (not in a good way) in my nether-regions.

ISM Road

This saddle is the most comfortable I've ridden. I first put one on my road bike last season (an ISM Race saddle). The relief was immediate, and the comfort is amazing. There was no question that my recently purchased TT bike would need an ISM saddle as well. I went with the ISM Road model as there's a little more padding and is much more comfortable on long days down in the aero-bars. I can ride for hours and not have any of the inconvenient side effects that were plaguing me in the past.

I can't imagine riding on anything else. What are you riding on?

Stating the Obvious

2010-07-19T19:52:00.005-04:00

I was thinking back over the past few years as to what caused the improvement in my performance. Not just in triathlons (although that was a major concern), but in running and cycling individually. It has to be group training. And by that I mean training with a group filled with people who are stronger, faster, and better than you.

I was a strong middle of the pack finisher a few years ago. I was doing well, and training with some folks from the Sound Shore Runners and Multisport Club. It was a great group - it was the first running club that my wife and I joined when we moved to the Northeast. We wanted to find people who we could run with during the week and for long runs on weekends. As I had been training on my own up until then I improved quickly as I now ran with people who were faster than I. This improved my performance and I became a stronger runner, thanks in large part to Joe G who introduced me to the pain and joy of hitting the track for speed-work.

The same is true of my cycling. There were a few cyclists and triathletes in the club, but not many, and my cycling improved as I rode with people who were, again, stronger than I on the bike and I learned what I could from them while I was chasing them down during our morning rides.

At some point my performance leveled off. I knew it had....I knew I was capable of more.....and I knew that I wanted to perform better. I worked harder on my own and at one sprint triathlon a few years ago placed 3rd in my AG. Without boring you with a lot of minutiae and drama, it was apparent that it was time to move on and find another group to train with.

I had been invited a few times during these past few years to join my friend Rich on a group ride with the triathlon club he founded. The men and women of the Westchester Triathlon Club were Ironmen. And I don't say that just to add emphasis in a gratuitous fashion. I mean it literally. Every year a handful from this great group of athletes qualifies for Kona. Race after race (Olympic distance, 70.3, full Ironman) there are people placing, and winning, their age group. Needless to say I was terrified to join them and gave Rich excuse after excuse as to why I was unable to join them.

My wife finally convinced me to join them for a Saturday ride. So I sucked it up, filled two water bottles with Hammer Heed, threw a gel or two in my jersey pocket and clipped in for a leg burning, lung draining, bonk inducing, 3 hour tour.

Group rides pushed me to limits I didn't know existed. Group runs, and speed work, challenged me to the point where I thought I was going to puke. But I couldn't let them know that I was hurting (although I'm sure it was apparent during the first few months) and I had to finish the ride or run with the pack. Falling off the back and slowing down wasn't an option. Just as it was with Joe G when I first did speed-work, I knew that if I could keep up and push myself it would pay off.

It wasn't long after joining the WTC that I began stalking the AG podium on a regular basis.

Many of us who started out at Sound Shore Multisport have moved on to other running and triathlon clubs. But I'll never forget the friendships and lessons learned. I still train with a few folks from there now and again, and that's something for another post.

I'm stating the obvious when I say that training with people faster than you will help you improve. It's just hard to check the ego at the door for the first few workouts as you get your ass handed to you.

The Triathlon Relay - Not My Cup of Tea

2010-07-18T11:14:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine was in need of a cyclist.

My friend Greg - he's a runner (a very quick runner at that) - really enjoys doing triathlon relays. He loves the team aspect of it, and he really likes the vibe of being at a triathlon. His good friend is a great swimmer - he was All-American while in college - and they typically do very well overall. However his regular cyclist couldn't race for some reason or another. So, I got a phone call and decided to help a friend out.

All in all it was a good day. The bike course was a two loop course, and I have to admit it was sort fun to go out there with the mind-set of leaving nothing in the tank. With the Tour de France in full swing, this was my own personal individual time trial. Legs were burning, lungs were burning, and it was really a blast to just hammer it and not have to worry about the run afterwards.

However, as I finished the bike leg and stood around with our swimmer, Steve, I really wished I was doing the run. More to the point, I really wished that I was doing the entire race. I didn't like watching people leaving T2 to start their run while I wasn't. And I really didn't like watching everyone finish, being completely shattered after punishing themselves in all three disciplines, when all I could think of was that I should be doing the same.

I don't have anything against the triathlon relay, per se. Lots of people enjoy them for a number of reasons. It allows friends who aren't triathletes, but rather runners, cyclists, and swimmers, to compete in an arena that they maybe wouldn't normally enter into. I've seen family's field teams and have a great time doing so. And with all of that said, it does expose people to the sport, and community of, triathlon.

But it's just not for me. I couldn't believe how much it bothered me to not be racing the entire distance. I was almost beside myself with, well, I don't know what......but I had a deep-rooted feeling that I should have been racing as an individual.

In the end, I helped a friend by filling in. But I can't say for sure what I'll say the next time a request like this comes my way.

Fitness, Training, Rest, and Recovery

2010-07-16T16:07:00.000-04:00

Just a brief follow up to my most recent post. Not to beat a dead horse here, but I read a great article on the Daily Triathlon site not long ago regarding the typical type-A response that most triathletes have when they're not able to train for a few days. You know, they freak out, complain, and worry that all the hard work from previous weeks will be lost. Well, at least that's what I do.

The article discusses the difference between "fitness" and "performance status" which is an interesting comparison by itself. It also discusses the need for rest and recovery, and that taking a few days off will more than likely do more to help you, rather than hurt you, in the long run.

Have a look: The Fitness Fallacy

In the end it's all really just common sense. Which is something that I know I, personally, don't always use enough of when it comes to my training. It's far too easy to get caught up in the "more is better" school of thought in regards to weekly mileage. I've actually changed my training this year to be a little more quality over quantity focused. I'd like to hear what everyone else is doing.

When life gets in the way

2010-07-08T12:13:00.000-04:00

I was at the peak of my training for the year - and I was going to ride the wave of "good mojo" into one or two more triathlons and then focus on the Steamtown Marathon as I target a Boston qualifying run. My running has been great this year if I do say so myself (many thanks go out to Matt P, Rodney C, Tom O, and Mark M for pushing me harder than I've been pushed in years past.) My cycling has been great as well (many thanks to the Westchester Triathlon Club and my good friend Rich) The timing and training was lining up to perfection.

That was up until last Thursday.

Without going into the details that would make most men squirm, I had to pay a visit to my doctor last week. (Read: I visited a specialist, one whom most men really don't want to visit if they can avoid it.) Long story short, and one in-office procedure later, I was granted a one week vacation from training whether I wanted it or not.

And I really didn't.

It was five long days before I could get on a bike again. And even then I was forced to ride easy. After seven days I was able to jog. And by jog, I mean "JOG". Not even close to my normal training pace.

What does all this mean? It means that once in a while life gets in the way. What is one to do? Nothing. All you can do is suck it up and deal with it.

One could say that the timing was perfect. My lovely wife and I were set to go on holiday up into CT for a week. What better location (on a lake, in the foothills of the Berkshires) to take a week and enjoy some R&R.

On the flip side, one could say what a terrible week to be off of training. On a lake, in the foothills of the Berkshires, a perfect training ground for long rides, hill work, and premium training runs.

Perspective is a fickle beast.

So, a couple easy rides and a jog later (or a "yog….with a soft 'J' " as Ron Burgundy would say) I'm on track to be back on the roads soon. Again, what does this all mean?

We all have to play the hand that life deals you. I've had an achilles tweak shortly before the New York Marathon that forced me to withdraw. We've all had some freak injury that has forced us to change our plans and race schedule. Heck, my wife had a knee issue that derailed almost her entire triathlon season last year.

Training is hard. Triathlons are hard. Running is hard. Life is hard. But our health is precious. I've had a number of introspective conversations with my good friend Tom O on some of our early morning runs. The human body is a fragile thing - and you just can't take it / things / our health for granted. When a challenge comes along, you have to deal with it and, at the same time, realize how fortunate you are. There are many, many, people who aren't fortunate enough to be able to swim, ride, and run as most of us do. I don't mean that in a condescending way. I mean that there are many people with ailments and physical limitations that prohibit them from doing what most of us love to do day in and day out.

Life and racing require a delicate balance. Enjoy it. Embrace it. But don't take it for granted.

My first time penalty

2010-07-04T08:10:00.002-04:00

My second triathlon of the season - the Stamford KIC IT Triathlon - was last weekend. Well organized, well supported, good competition, and great result. But......

At mile 6 or so, I realize that there's a motorcycle riding next to me with a USAT official writing on his clipboard. I did have a water bottle eject from my saddle cage on a bumpy downhill section about two minutes previous and I thought for a moment that I was going to be penalized for dropping equipment.

Alas, after the race I found out that I penalized for overtaking - a position foul - under USAT rule 5.10(g).

5.10 g. Being Overtaken. When the leading edge of the front wheel of one cyclist passes beyond the front wheel of another cyclist, the second cyclist has been "overtaken" within the meaning of these Rules. A cyclist who has been overtaken bears primary responsibility for avoiding a position foul and must immediately move to the rear and out of the drafting zone of the passing cyclist. The overtaken cyclist shall first move completely out of the drafting zone of the other cyclist before attempting to re-pass the other cyclist.

h. Exceptions. A participant may enter the drafting zone without penalty only under the following conditions:
(1) When entering the drafting zone from the rear, closing the gap, and overtaking all within no more than 15 seconds.
(2) When cyclist reduces speed for safety reasons, for course blockage, for an aid station, for an emergency, when entering or exiting a transition area, or when making a turn of 90 degrees or more; or
(3) When USA Triathlon or the Head Referee expressly excludes a section of the bicycle course from the position foul rules because of overly narrow lanes, construction, detours, or a similar reason.

** You can download the full PDF of the USAT rules here: USAT Rules

Now, I won't bore you with the reasons why I think I shouldn't have been penalized. In the end, what I think doesn't matter on this one. What is significant is that this is the first penalty I've received while racing triathlons. Ever. What's also significant is that this penalty took me off the 40-44AG podium.

Here lies the crux of my situation. Two years ago I was a middle of the pack racer, content with placing in the top 10 of my age group. Last year that started to change after an AG podium finish in an early season race. Now, I'm training harder - and becoming more Type-A and OCD I suppose - and I'm disappointed when I don't place well (either overall or within my age group). The point is, I now need to really pay attention to the USAT rules more than I used to.

What I mean, and I'm making an assumption here, is that two years ago I wasn't a big concern for the officials. Now it seems that I'm racing in the area where the USAT officials are paying more attention, and have more concern for, to ensure that rules are abided by.

My lovely wife who's also a triathlete (JL Goes Vegan) thought it was fantastic that I was penalized. To her point, I'll be hyper-aware of this rule moving forward, and at upcoming races I'll do everything possible to ensure that I don't receive the same penalty. She's right, of course. My next race is the Park City Mossman triathlon and I'll need to be uber-cautious on the bike (5 loops of an 8K, flat, course).

I very well may take a little crap from some of my training buddies over at the Westchester Triathlon Club with whom I do a lot of my training. And I might get a little talking to from my good friend Rich who is really one of the primary reasons that I've improved as much as I have over the past two years. But that's okay - there's a first for everything, no matter how painful and ego damaging it may be.