Friday, July 02, 2010

What’s the Point

I was in the wine store the other day supporting my other hobby other than triathlon when I ran into a guy who also did the Wycoff Triathlon two weeks ago. We got to talking about the good points and not so good points of our races. He asked me where I finished in my age group and I asked him where he finished in his. He ended up winning the men’s 55-59 which is no small feat. I can only hope I’m in the same shape as he is when I’m in that age bracket. I commented that is was nice of the organizers to do the awards in reverse order working from oldest to youngest. He agreed and told me that the previous year the awards had been handed out the traditional way and he had to wait a while for his award. He said by the time they got to his age group there were almost no spectators left, and he felt a little slighted by the lack of appreciation. What I think he lost sight of is that besides him and the two other award winners in his age group, there were perhaps a dozen other athletes in his age group who didn’t win any awards. They simply finished their race, cleaned up their transition area and went home. To me, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Since I’ve started doing triathlons I’ve never been in it for the awards. Yes, at most of the races I do I win an award whether it’s an age group award or an overall award, but so what? As my fiancé will attest, after any race the award becomes just another trinket on the book shelf that needs to be dusted regularly.

To me doing this sport for recognition completely defeats the purpose of doing it in the first place. Some of my best race experiences have come in races where I’m no where near the top of the age group. To me the gratification comes from how I feel I did in the race. If I set a new PR at a particular distance, or my average speed is faster in certain part of the race, then to me that’s a success. It doesn’t matter if I finish first in my age group or last. As long as I improved some aspect of my race that’s a success.

For the ninety nine percent of us who do this sport as a hobby, the reward should be personal. Whether your goal is to improve your time, become more fit, or just tackle a new challenge, the real reward is just crossing the finish line. Even if you’re the last one to cross the line, I guarantee there will be plenty of people there cheering who appreciate the effort you put in to get there. 

-Athlete Ian

 

Posted by Athlete Ian on 07/02/10 at 04:32 PM
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Monday, June 28, 2010

Ian’s 1st Race this season

Last Saturday I kicked off my 2010 season with the Wycoff/ Franklin Lakes Triathlon. Where I live in New Jersey we refer to this race as the Bergen County World Championship. There is plenty of top end talent and given the race date in early june, it is the first opportunity for most to show off the fruits of their off season labor.

I came into this race on the mend from IT band inflammation, but with a much stronger cycling and swimming base than I’ve ever had entering a season. This race was longer than a sprint but shorter than an olympic so it presented a slight challenge. You couldn’t quite hammer all out because the 17.5 mile bike course had a few 9mph climbs, and the 5 mile run course seemed like it was more uphill than downhill.

The swim was straight forward. The water was much warmer than anticipated and looking back I definitely shouldn’t have worn my wet suit. There was about a quarter mile run from the lake to the transition area which gave me an opportunity to pass a couple of guys who exited the water before me.

The only real snag of my race was exiting transition to start the bike. I couldn’t get my right foot into my cycling shoe. I kept trying to flip my shoe up but it just wasn’t working so a quarter mile into the bike I pulled over to the side of the road and amid an impressive array of cursing, unclipped my shoe with my hand, put it on the ground, got my foot in and re clipped. The whole process probably cost me about two minutes. Once safely strapped in I got into a great rhythm and started to make up some ground. Around 2 miles into the bike however some of the dirty lake water I inadvertently swallowed started to haunt me. My stomach started to feel a little queasy which prevented me from taking my gel. It didn’t hurt enough that I had to stop or slow down, but not taking in a couple hundred calories was a little detrimental.

Even with some minor stomach issues I still cruised back into transition with a solid bike averaging 22mph and feeling like my legs were strong heading out on the run. Right out of the gate I started passing guys on the run. The temperature was in the mid 70’s but the humidity hadn’t really kicked in yet. The weather was perfectly clear and there wasn’t a hint of wind. I really enjoyed the run, but was a little frustrated that I just couldn’t push any more out of my body than a 6:05 pace. I think given how hilly the course was and the absence of speed work during my rehab that I ran about as well as expected.

I crossed the line in 1:36, good enough for 16th place overall, and 2nd in my age group. Overall, the first race of the year was a tremendous success. I learned a few things that I can take with me into my training as the season progresses that will undoubtedly help me come November.

-Athlete Ian

 

Posted by Athlete Ian on 06/28/10 at 10:56 AM
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Thursday, June 10, 2010

Rookie Mistakes

The sun is beginning to rise on my third season in triathlon. This past winter brought with it some unexpected hurdles. A nagging hamstring and then IT band inflammation brought some uncertainty as to whether I’d even be able to race at all this summer.

Like most triathletes I tend to be more Type A when it comes to training. And like most unseasoned athletes when I get injured I don’t recover properly. Proper recovery not only entails taking the proper time off from training, but also a carefully calculated return to training. Eventhough Coach Kel always laid out a "come back" plan and tried to prevent the flare ups from happening, it seems my impatience and busy schedule kept me from staying on course.

All too often it’s the improper return to training that inhibits a full recovery. As I learned the hard way, you can’t just get up and start running when the pain is gone. You have to wait past the pain of being pain free. Sometimes it’s a good idea to wait at least one to two weeks before running again. Then, the crucial part is a gradual return to running.

Well, I made the mistake of bouncing straight into a five mile run once my new best friend, the foam roller, had worked it’s magic. Bad idea… I was feeling good and decided to head out for a run. A little over 2 miles away from home the pain slowly started to creep back into my knee. That meant I had a little more than 2 miles to run back home. When I arrived back at my front door the pain in my knee was as significant. It was almost as bad as when I initially took a break and stopped running.

ICoach Kel read my log and after giving me a small tongue lashing, she said she did sympathize with my mind set and eagerness to get back to running. But, she stressed once again the need for patience. She knows the importance of coming back slowly and gradually building running volume through short, frequent runs each week.

As endurance athletes we’re always sold the quick fix. A running or cycling workout that will take 10% off of our 40k time trial or drop 3 minutes off our 10k time, or some supplement that will delay the onset of lactic acid,,,all sounds good, right? The truth with injuries is that there is no quick fix. It is a painfully slow process (no pun intended). Kelly’s program for me involved running 10 minutes a day, 5 days a week. To me, 10 minutes is like a sneeze. Once I could run 10 minutes, 5 days per week I got to increase to 15 minutes, then 20 and so on. While the time seemed minimal, the psychological and physical impacts were huge. I did learn this was effective. Running even a small amount of time pain free for consecutive days was extremely encouraging and good for my body, bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments.

I was skeptical whether or not this program would work. My first race is now a week away. But one month ago, while I was gradually increasing my running time each week, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to race. Well, now I’m up to running 35 minutes a day which is more than I’ll need to get through the run next Saturday.

Rehabbing this IT band is an ongoing process but highlights how much I still have to learn as a triathlete. When you get injured you have to put your trust in the program. Although your body may feel like it can go harder and longer because you’re rested, you have to take the proper time to rehab properly and come back gradually. I guess that’s part of being a newbie. It’s certainly not the first mistake I’ve made in training, and I doubt it’ll be the last.

-Athlete Ian

 

Posted by Athlete Ian on 06/10/10 at 01:54 PM
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Monday, May 17, 2010

How about a wave???

If someone asked a triathlete to describe the multisport community as a whole the terms athletic, and motivated would almost certainly be used. But as a triathlete would you ever describe your compatriots as rude, or inconsiderate?

We’ve all been on a ride or run and been subject to the blaring car horn that comes up behind us like a freight train. Like me you probably use some colorful language to describe the motorist who just left your ears ringing and they sped on undoubtedly talking on there cell phone. I guess I’ve just come to the realization that some people in their cars are just going to be jerks. There’s no other explanation, and I’m okay with that. No body ever said there was anything wrong with being a jerk. What I find disturbing is that this sort of attitude seems to be making its way out of the passing traffic and into our sport.

Now I’m admittedly still what most would consider a new comer to triathlon. I’m only entering my third year in the sport and still have many many things to learn. One concept I’ve never really grasped is the ongoing feud between cyclists and triathletes. I realize there are inherent differences between the two types of riding. Triathlon cycling resembles only one aspect of road cycling. And I’m sure to pure roadies we as triathletes must look like goobers with antenna sticking out in front of our rigs. But that doesn’t explain why when I see a cyclist on the opposite side of the road and extend a hand in acknowledgment I get stiffed in return. Usually by a smug look and sometimes just ignored all together. I mean let’s be serious, we’re not solving all the world’s problems out on the road, we’re riding bikes. And on top of that we’re riding bikes in spandex.

This past week I was doing a pretty easy brick with my friend Bryan. Nothing too crazy, 25 mile ride, 4 mile run. He was actually going to tack on more bike miles after our ride and I was going to run alone with my dog, Lucy. On our ride we spotted a group of 4 guys probably about a quarter mile in front of us bunched up in a pace line. Bryan and I both fighting a case of cement leg after a tough riding week decided to try to catch them. As we pulled up to the back wheel of the last rider we realized they were going a little slower than we were and we decided we were going to pass on the left. Bryan and I made our pass and as we passed we both said, "good morning" to each of the four riders. Not one of them responded. As we rode on up the road I commented to Bryan that none of the riders even made a noise. He responded, "yeah that was nice of them, wasn’t it?" Later during my run I had pulled off to the side of the sidewalk so Lucy could do what dogs do as two runners approached from behind engaged in a conversation with one another. I waved and said good morning to the two ladies as they strode by. They both looked at me, said nothing, and not three feet by me started talking again to each other. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t. Lucy and I just went on our way.

My fiancé, Meri, is a triathlete as well. I remember when I first started racing she said how much she loved being around triathletes because they were so nice and down to earth. Both of us having run too numerous a running race to count have had plenty of run-ins with running snobs. It was very refreshing she told me, to be around so many people who looked like they were having so much fun. So why now does their seem to be a change in attitude among triathletes? When did we become too good to acknowledge our fellow athletes?

We, as a whole, started doing this sport because we like to swim, ride our bikes, and run. Not because we find joy in putting our bodies through torture every week just to shave a few seconds off the clock in our next race. I know not everyone’s a waiver, or a knodder, but we are all exercise enthusiasts, so maybe we can just appreciate that about one another.

I was out on a long solo ride yesterday and passed an guy on the other side of the road in baggy clothes on a mountain bike. As he approached he nodded to me first and said, "good morning."

I returned with a nod and "good morning" of my own.

He wasn’t an avid cyclist, just a guys out enjoying riding his bike, appreciating another guy out doing the same. Perhaps we can all learn a lesson from that. 

-Athlete Ian

 

Posted by Athlete Ian on 05/17/10 at 07:59 AM
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Sunday, May 02, 2010

No Free Lunches

A common misconception about triathletes is that we can eat whatever we want whenever we want. Most of the public believe that because we dedicate so much of our free time to training that our bodies are calorie and fat incinerators that can dispose of anything that enters our mouth. On the surface those people are right. By dedicating hours per week to working out with our heart rate in various zones our bodies are in fact very efficient calorie burning machines. Where the disparity lies is in the notion that we can eat absolutely anything we want and get away with it. Admittedly there are some athletes who workout as a means to offset the effects of eating a less than stellar diet. Instead of looking exercise as a way to offset diet we should instead look at our diet as a way of fueling our exercise.

The analogy I use when people ask me about nutrition is this: Do you put low quality gas in your car that could wreck your engine or clean gas that helps your car run better and longer? Just about everybody chooses the latter, myself included. A car is a replaceable item. When it runs out of miles we get a new one, but we still give it the best fuel possible. Our bodies are our vehicle to take us through life. But unlike the car we drive we can’t trade it in for a new one when the miles run out. So why would we not want to fuel a vehicle we can’t replace with anything less than the best fuel possible?

Most Ironman and half Ironman athletes spend a minimum of ten to fifteen hours per week training. Could we polish off a whole pizza without minimal effect on our body? Probably. Would it be smart? Probably not.  It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I started to realize the importance proper nutrition plays in not only overall health but also in athletic success. My “ah ha” moment came when I looked at pictures of myself from a New Year’s Eve party. Until then I didn’t realize how big I actually was. That’s when I decided to make a change. Fortunately I had a roommate who was a competitive amateur body builder who sat down with me and worked out a nutrition plan step by step. Within weeks I was starting to see results.  Not only was I feeling better, I was looking better as well.

We all have those vices that are almost impossible to kick. Mine is ice cream. It’s the hardest thing for me to kick during a training period. Instead of giving it up completely I use it as a training tool. I tell myself I have to earn my ice cream. That means no ice cream on easy days, only hard days. And on those hard days I have to train at an effort that justifies reward.  I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s anything but. Keeping your nutrition on track is in some ways harder than the physical training we do as triathletes because it’s completely mental. It’s okay to still enjoy your favorite foods even while you’re training. But just remember you have to earn your ice cream.

-Athlete Ian

Posted by Athlete Ian on 05/02/10 at 10:24 AM
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Swim Until You Like It

Part of the recommended recovery process for IT band inflammation is rest. Plenty of rest. When I’m travelling this equals plenty of free time. I think it takes almost as much inner strength to sit and rest, ice and stretch an injured body part as it does to grind through a tough tempo workout. Work brought me to Quebec City last week and as I watched the walls of my hotel room close in around me on a cold, rainy Canadian spring day I stumbled upon an interesting documentary among the four English TV channels the hotel received.

This documentary was about a man named James “Doc” Counsilman. For those unfamiliar, Doc Counsilman was the head swim coach at the Indiana University. He was considered one of the top swimming coaches in the country. He was also the oldest man to swim the English Channel. This film titled “Making Waves” followed Counsilman during his training for and through his channel crossing.  His training was not to unfamiliar to Ironman triathletes, lots of volume. He talked about the importance of volume over tempo and about setting up periodic stages of training which in the eighties was considered radical. What seemed radical to me was how much Counsilman said he enjoyed training. There were scenes of him training in the IU pool at night because he said he liked to train at night and alone. He talked poetically about how calming it was to swim at night when the water was calm.

I wish I shared Doc Counsilman’s joy of swimming but I don’t. There’s just no other way to say it. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t grow up swimming, or because I never received any sort of formal swim training.  Combine that with the fact that I liken swimming lap after lap in the pool to running on a treadmill which I equally dread. Then there’s also the fact that swimming hurts. It’s the only sport we do that provides active resistance. There are few things I like less than the feeling in my lungs on the last wall of a 500 when they feel like they’re going to light on fire.  It’s also the only sport where you can’t stop and rest. When you run you can always walk if you get tired. When you’re riding you can coast and the wheels still roll. Can’t do that in the pool. Stop moving forward and you sink. I think that’s why they put it first. I’ve always wondered how swimmers can like swimming so much.

My first swim back after my trip I was fortunate to share a lane with a gentleman who did grow up swimming and like Doc Counsilman, loved to just swim. I asked him what he liked so much about it and he told me he liked the felling of sliding through the water and the felling of being able to escape to his own world while he stared down at the black line. It sounded an awful lot like what draws me to running and I love running the same way he loves swimming. The next time I went to the pool I tried to adopt this principle. I didn’t focus on going fast I focused on other things like my upcoming wedding and work stuff and about my plans for the rest of the day. Much to my amazement I not only swam a little faster but I found my swim very enjoyable. I didn’t worry about trying to make the perfect stroke or anything swimming related.

I realized that day that you don’t have to be a swimmer to love swimming. You simply have to enjoy getting into the water and letting your mind wander, and I can definitely do both of those. 

-Athlete Ian

 

Posted by Athlete Ian on 04/20/10 at 09:04 AM
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Saturday, April 10, 2010

A Little Goes a Long Way

Again I’ve been bitten by the injury bug. Prior to the last six months I’d only had one significant injury in the past 4 years. Now I’ve had two injuries that have required time off since November. The first was a pulled hamstring suffered at the top of a downhill in a 5K. The second one that just happened about 3 weeks ago was the infamous IT band strain. Normally these injuries are the result of over training or muscle imbalance. In my case it was neither over training nor a muscle imbalance that put me on the shelf, it was something much simpler: lack of proper stretching.

When I first started running four years ago I followed the out dated standard of stretching before and after every run.  Later I learned what is well known among experienced athletes: static stretching before exercise can actually increase the chance of injury. So I changed my routine to include dynamic stretching before and static after.  Then I read an article that said there was no real percentage increase or decrease in the chance injury in athletes who stretched versus athletes who didn’t. So, like a fool I pretty much stopped stretching all together. Sure when I finished a workout I would stretch if something felt tight or not quite right but more often than not my post workout routine was more like, protein, shower, done.

Nowadays we live in a twenty four hour world where we try to cram as much as we can into every minute of every day, and I am no different. Usually my schedule consists of two to three days off per week.  I know a four day work week may sound like heaven to some, but the difference between my schedule and about ninety nine percent of everyone else’s is that those three days that I’m off are the only three days I’m home every week. What most people view as having twelve days off per month I view as being home twelve days per month. And because I’m only home twelve days a month I have to cram a lot into not a lot of time. As an athlete I like everyone else am always looking for every legal competitive advantage I can get. If it shaves off another fraction of a second I’m all for it. Where I made a crucial mistake was carrying that way of thinking into my non training and non racing life. I thought if I can save another five or ten minutes out my day by not stretching, that’s five to ten minutes I have to do something else that I need to get done.

I know what you’re thinking and you’re right, it is an incredibly stupid way to think. I guess my only rational was that for a while it worked. I was able to balance everything and remain injury free. What I failed to realize was that as we age that becomes harder to do. Male athletes start to lose the ability to recover as quickly after the age of twenty eight. Perhaps that was something I should have taken into account a year and a half ago when I turned twenty eight. Instead I just kept right on going with my routine.

It’s unfortunate that it takes something like a significant injury to change one’s ways. However; maybe that’s the only way we can ever really learn. As dedicated athletes we all, with few exceptions, posses type A personalities. We think we know what’s best for our own good. Usually we’re right. But when it comes to the importance of stretching maybe I can be an example of how taking five minutes before and after a workout can either make or break a season. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to see my new best friend, the foam roller. 

-Athlete Ian

Posted by Athlete Ian on 04/10/10 at 08:55 AM
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Thursday, April 01, 2010

It’s all about technique

Most of us have seen that guy in the pool who might not be in the best shape but when we hop in to share a lane we can barely stay on his feet while he bangs out 100’s on a 1:15 pace. He’s the guy who proves that triathletes come in all shapes and sizes. To me it proves one thing, that proper technique has as much of a place in this sport as anything else.

Back in college I was on the cheerleading team. One of my teammates was about twenty pounds lighter than the rest of the guys on the team yet he could so some lifts that none of us could. I asked him one day at practice, “Jon, how can you be so skinny and do some of the stuff that you do?”

His response was, “Well I’m not as big as y’all so I have to rely on technique.” He was from west Texas.

He was a few years older than some of us and therefore had spent more time perfecting his lifting technique. He told me you can be the strongest guy in the world, but if you don’t have the right technique it doesn’t amount to anything.

I didn’t grow up swimming, so I like ninety percent of the other athletes out there, I find swimming to be the most energy draining. A few of the guys I swim with at masters are the opposite. They did grow up swimming and even swam in college. Their message was the same, proper technique is the most important aspect of swimming. One of these former college swimmers even told me that without good technique you were just wasting your time. He showed me some drills to help make me more efficient in my body position as well as in the catch and pull phase of the stroke.

I know what you’re thinking, drills are boring. And you know what, you’re right! Drills are boring. They’re also very affective. Nobody likes getting up super early to squeeze in a swim before work just to work on drills. At least I know I don’t. But that’s how you get quicker in the water. Not by doing lap after lap after lap. As Coach Kelly says, efficiency equals speed, not the other way around. The most important are those that improve body position and those that teach the proper catch and pull. Doing drills that emphasize proper technique will not only make you stronger, they’ll also make you a more efficient swimmer. And a more efficient swimmer is the one who gets to T1 first.

-Ian

Posted by Athlete Ian on 04/01/10 at 02:27 PM
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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Long Time Coming

This spring marks my third season doing triathlon. Having enjoyed early success in the sport of running I thought I would enjoy the same results when I started competing in triathlon. Boy was I wrong! My first season was spent getting passed left and right both in the water and on the road. I learned real fast that I indeed had a lot to learn. Most of the guys I was competing against were far more advanced than I. They were riding faster equipment, had fancier wetsuits and way more experience. I was a little discouraged to say the least. I couldn’t figure out why I was spending way more energy but going a lot slower. I had to constantly remind myself that I had a limited swimming back ground and absolutely no cycling back ground. I knew nothing about gear ratios, pacing in the water or on the road, or nutrition.

I asked the guys I trained with what the secret was to becoming a better cyclist. What was the magic fix? I was sure I was just missing something simple that could be easily adjusted. What I was told surprised me. “Be patient.”

That was it? Surely there had to be more than that. How could patience make me a better cyclist? The explanation was quite simple. Kelly, my coach, told me it was all a matter of time. Unlike running where there is no machinery to aid you, when riding a bike you have to learn to do so efficiently. That requires lots of miles in the saddle and constantly adjusting position to find that optimum “sweet spot” where power and comfort are maximized. There is also the training of smaller muscle groups that help stabilize the hips and legs to make you a more powerful and more efficient cyclist. All of that she told me just takes time. By “time” I didn’t know she meant years. I thought it would all happen in a season or two. I guess that shows how much of a rookie I still am.

I like to think of myself as a patient person. I think my friends and co-workers would describe me as such. But when it comes to exercising I’m anything but patient. This was fostered by my early success in running. My expectation was to excel on the bike and in the pool and when I didn’t I got frustrated. My patience was running out but I listened to Kelly and stuck with it. Then this winter it all clicked.

When I started my build this winter I saw immediate improvements both in the water and on the trainer. It was very motivating to see. Finally the countless reps of single leg pedaling and one arm swimming are paying off. The gains are tangible now which I think makes a difference for any one. It’s a lot more motivating to see big results rather than small but it’s the small results that lead to the big results. It’s kind of like building a sand castle on grain at a time. All you need is a little patience and a whole lot of time.

-Ian

Posted by Athlete Ian on 03/28/10 at 02:10 PM
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Sunday, March 21, 2010

Listen Up

Just when I thought I was on the right track, yet another leg injury has set me back. This time it’s my right knee. It’s not an overuse injury but rather a fluke. I was running with my dog and took a bad step behind her causing my knee to twist a little. Once again I was forced to shelve the running shoes in favor of the bike and the pool.

In the back of my mind I was a little worried. Now it’s March and we are no longer in the building phase of the season. Those early season races are just around the corner for most of us, and as much as we say they’re just tune ups in the back of our minds we know they’re more than that. This is our opportunity to see just how much fitness we’ve retained and even gained over the winter. It’s also a chance to see how the competition that we’re likely to see at all of your local races is doing.

For most of us group rides and runs are getting ready to start up again, and the last place you want to be is holed up in your house unable to participate. Eventually after a couple days the pain subsided and I was able to walk pain free. I thought, “Well I can walk pain free, I should be able to run again pain free.” WRONG!!! Three steps after I took off I stopped and walked back in my front door a little dejected. Kelly told me to hold off on running but of course I thought I knew my body better. I learned a very important lesson real quick, listen to your coach! It seems basic doesn’t it? Listen to the person who other than you knows your body better than anyone. I guess what I was thinking is with every day that goes by I’m becoming less and less fit while everyone else is preparing to drop me in the closing miles of the run.

Kelly helped me realize something very important. She helped me realize that these early races are just what they’re supposed to be, tune ups.  The only real goal this year is to get from the starting line to the finish line in Panama City Beach in November. So what if I’m not in top shape in a couple weeks when we start group workouts again. The important thing is running pain free, and if that means taking a few extra days off from running now in the spring so that I don’t miss a whole season with serious damage than that’s ok.

As a triathlete we all have the one discipline we excel in. It comes as no surprise then that we enjoy training that discipline the most. When we can not do it due to injury it makes our training as a whole a little less enjoyable. What’s important to remember is that whatever our best discipline is, we lose fitness there more slowly because we’ve spent more time doing it and our muscle memory is stringer. Keeping that in mind, if you get hurt in your go-to discipline, make the most of your time getting in extra sessions in the other two. It’s paid dividends for me. On my first outdoor ride this year I rode out group ride loop and rode it 2 miles per hour faster at a lower heart rate than I rode it last year. I’ve also saw my times in the 500 come down 10 seconds in the week I was off from running. Three days ago I went back out on the roads again, and this time I was pain free, and to my surprise, but not to Kelly’s, my running pace hadn’t suffered at all.  I guess when a good Ironman Athlete who is also your coach gives you advice, you should probably listen. Lesson learned.

 

Athlete Ian

Posted by Athlete Ian on 03/21/10 at 08:55 PM
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Sunday, March 07, 2010

Endurance Questions

Ah, finally it’s March and spring is around the corner. The days are getting longer, and ever so slowly the ground is beginning to become visible from underneath its blanket of snow here in NJ. This is also when we, as triathletes transition from base training to building strength and endurance for the upcoming season.

This transition began for me last week. And it hit me like a brick wall. My leg is feeling better and now the heavy lifting is starting. My swim workouts have doubled in length, and my bike workouts have not only lengthened, they have also become more intense. It was during heavy interval workout last week that I really began to question whether or not I’ll be ready for Ironman Florida in November. Sure, November is still a long ways away. At least that’s what I tried to tell myself as I tried to maintain my cadence as I pedaled through quick sand.

“This is only February,” I was telling myself.  “If I’m struggling now, how am I ever going to make it when the length and intensity of my workouts double from what they are now?”

Even more daunting than this interval workout was the twenty five minute run off the bike that followed. I was thinking, “I just hope I can walk after this let alone run. And if I’m struggling after an hour and a half, how am I ever going to do this after five or six hours.”

Surprisingly, I came off the bike and was still able to hold a 6:40 pace at a relatively low heart rate. During my run I was thinking, “Hey this isn’t so bad, I can do this.”

Every triathlete has moments like this. They are those times during training when our minds are trying to remind us of what an utterly silly idea it is to punish ourselves for hours a day in pursuit of a new personal best.  We need this though. We need to push ourselves more than we think we’re capable. If we don’t, we can’t improve ourselves as athletes or as people. Answering these questions gives us more confidence in our abilities. As a friend of mine told me, “it’s better to have those questions answered now when there’s snow on the ground, then when you’re standing on the beach with a number on your arm."

That workout was a turning point for me. Gone was any self doubt about my ability to push myself to the limit and sustain that effort. It made me look forward to getting in those long outdoor rides, and to going further than I’ve ever gone in the pool. I’m confident that what seems hard now will seem easy in a few months. I’m sure there will be more mountains to climb along the way as well. It’s the confidence you have in yourself that get’s you over those mountains. And it’s pushing yourself to the edge when no one else is around that makes you say, “I CAN do this.”

-Athlete Ian

Posted by Athlete Ian on 03/07/10 at 08:37 PM
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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Pure Joy

With a few exceptions, none of us grew up saying, “I want to be a triathlete when I grow up.” Like me, you may not have grown up wanting to do any of the three disciplines. Sure, I liked to swim, I liked to ride my bike, but I hated running. Then a few years ago the strangest thing happened: I had the urge to go for a run. I set a modest goal...to try to go one mile without stopping. I thought this strange feeling would only last a day or two but I was wrong.  Running became my escape. Whenever I was stressed, or mad, or sad, or even just bored, I would go for a run. To me, running is a cure-all.

It was through a running injury that I found triathlon. A stress fracture just above my ankle sidelined my running for two months.  To rehab I was allowed to swim, and bike. I found that by doing the other two sports not only did I not lose any running fitness but it actually improved. The cross training hugely benefitted my running and became a staple of my training program. That’s how I found triathlon. I was doing a lot of swimming, a lot of biking, and a lot of running so I figured why not give this triathlon thing a try.

Though I’m very passionate about triathlon, swimming and biking still seem like work to me. That’s not to say I don’t love doing each of them, they just don’t come as naturally to me as running. I’m constantly refining my technique in search of an extra gear on the bike, or a few seconds less per hundred yards in the pool. Similarly when I talk to swimmers at masters practice, or my fellow riders at a group ride, they all seem to have the same sentiment about running.  I love to hear riders talk about epic rides that seem to fly by, or swimmers talk about 10,000 yard workouts that seem like a breeze. To me, no swim workout is a breeze, and no ride seems to fly by.

This winter I’ve been nursing another leg injury that has put my running on the shelf. I’ve dedicated this pre season to improving both on the bike and in the pool and have had a lot of fun seeing the results. I just recently started back running again and now focusing on shorter and consistent runs to build back up. My first real run was a couple weeks ago.  Just like when I started running, my goals right now are modest. Even though I was on the treadmill during a snow storm it was one of the most fun runs I’ve ever done. I was just cruising along listening to the rhythm of my feet underneath me. I felt a joy that I haven’t felt in a long time. I’m sure pure swimmers feel a similar joy when they get back in the pool after a long layoff. Bikers the same when they can get back outdoors after a winter locked on the trainer. 

As triathletes we all have that one sport we hold near and dear to our hearts. For me that’s running. I know some if not most people share my passion for running, but whatever you’re cure-all sport is, make sure to take some time to enjoy it.  Too often we get wrapped in the sometimes endless training cycle and forget why we first started doing multisport. It’s not until we are unable to do our favorite discipline that we realize just how much we miss it, and feel the pure joy to either swim, bike, or run just for fun.

-Athlete Ian

 

Posted by Athlete Ian on 02/25/10 at 09:09 PM
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Monday, February 15, 2010

Where is your focus this winter?

The holidays have come an gone, the ball has dropped in Times Square and supermarkets have started selling Peeps, (one of my favorites) marking the unofficial start of spring.

Yes, there is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel that is the perpetual grayness of winter. Like everyone else my training days have been filled with hours on the trainer, or watching the miles tick by on the treadmill, or wondering if there really is an end to that black line on the bottom of the pool. Mentally it is also a period of transition. It’s time to switch from a maintenance mentality to a sharper, more purpose driven focus.

They say during triathlon that you shouldn’t focus on what’s ahead of you, that you should live in the moment. That may work during a race, but in the winter it couldn’t be further from the truth.

My high school football coach used to say, "championships are won in the summer." What he meant was you had to put in the time in the off season to excel in the regular season. That’s the approach I’ve been taking this winter.

I rededicated myself to the gym this off season. Last winter I neglected it and it showed during the season. I didn’t feel as fit and as strong as I thought I should be. I managed to grab a couple top 5’s and even managed to win a race, but in the big races I was average at best. I had put in the volume, done the intervals, but just couldn’t keep the pace. The difference in my mind was the off season prep work. That changed this year. I used last season’s results to motivate me to get into the gym. I remembered what it felt like getting passed by guys and knowing I didn’t have another gear to dial up. Now I fully understand and appreciate what my coach was trying to instill.

PR’s and podium finishes aren’t made on race day. They’re made now. They’re made in the frigid pre dawn hours spent on the trainer, on the treadmill, in the pool, and in the gym when it would be easier to hit the snooze and go back to sleep. It’s the early season base building that wins awards. That extra mile per hour you gain on the bike, or the 3 seconds per 100 you drop in the pool, or the 10 seconds per mile you drop on the run here in the winter will pay dividends later on this summer.

That’s been my motivation this winter, hopefully your winter has been just as productive. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share some feedback on what your focus is this winter!

-Ian

Posted by Athlete Ian on 02/15/10 at 05:16 PM
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Monday, February 01, 2010

Free Time

It’s been just over 3 weeks since the Disney World Marathon, and after some much needed rest I am back to building my aerobic base for the upcoming season. After the race I took one full week off from training. During that time I realized something that we, as age group athletes may tend to overlook....

Just like everyone else I have to find time to squeeze training in around work, family, friends, and life. I never stopped to realize just how much time we spend in search of that next PR. I was amazed that once I took training out of the daily equation my days were a lot less hectic. During my rest week I found that I had hours, yes literally hours, of free time each day after work. Weekends themselves seemed like they were a week long because I didn’t start my day with a three hour ride, or a long run. My fiancé and our dog of course loved it.

They loved it because I was around. I wasn’t glued to the trainer or out pounding the pavement or staring down at that never ending black line. All too often I think we may lose sight of how those closest to us share in our pursuit. They allow us to sacrifice time with them in order to train. They also make sacrifices of their own in support of us. They sacrifice their time to drive with us to our races hours before sunrise, and then depending on the length of event, spend hours occupying themselves while we race only to get a smile and a wave as we exit the water or pass them on the run. They do this out of the goodness of their heart and their love for us, knowing we’re out there doing what we love to do.

So the next time your enjoying that post race siesta or that much needed break in training, don’t forget to thank those around you who let you do what you love by giving them the best gift of all, undivided attention.

 

-Ian

Posted by Athlete Ian on 02/01/10 at 10:06 PM
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Sunday, January 31, 2010

Road Warrior

Some of you may have seen my name a few times on the Energy Fitness Coaching website and in the EFC newsletters. I was a non runner who was in marginal shape and never thought that I could finish a marathon. After all, I hated running growing up. It made every part of my body hurt, plus it was hard! 

 

Well, about four and a half years ago I decided to give running another shot. First goal: 1 mile without stopping (really). After a few months I gradually made my way up to a half marathon, and then decided to go for the full 26.2. That was in 2006. After a knee injury I started swimming and biking which led me to the wonderful world of triathlon. My name is Ian Seeney, or as Coach Kelly calls me, "Athlete Ian."

Since joining the EFC team in 2007 and training with Coach Kel, I have run the Chicago Marathon, the New York Marathon, and am a two time Boston Marathon finisher with a 2:42 PR. I’ve also competed in numerous Ironman 70.3 events including Newfoundland, Longhorn, and Providence, with a PR of 4:54. I have also raced a variety local half iron, olympic and sprint distance events.

Throughout the year this blog will chronicle my journey to the shores of Panama City Beach on November 6, 2010 when I’ll compete in my first Ironman, Ironman Florida. Like all of you, I have to find time, and sometimes struggle to find time, to fit training in around life. What makes my journey different than most is that I’m usually on the road away from home 4 days a week as a commercial airline pilot. I end up in a different city every day. Couple that with a rotating flight schedule and sometimes the training environment is less than ideal.

I hope in the coming months my blog will serve as inspiration, motivation, and maybe as a helpful training tool, or at least just something interesting to read. I’m definitely not an expert but hopefully some of the insight I provide will help you in your journey, where ever it may lead.

 

All the best,

-Athlete Ian

Posted by Athlete Ian on 01/31/10 at 12:01 AM
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