Fitness Coaching

Mammoth Cycling Camp June 22-25, 2012

When: June 22 – June 25th, 2012 Registration opens February 7th, 2012
Registration Costs: $270 by March 1st, $290 after March 1st
Registration Details: This cycling camp is not open to the general public. You must know one of our teammates. This ensures a cohesive group of athletes.
Registration will be available in 3 Phases
Phase 1: Any 2012 Online Coached Athlete and any athlete who attended last year’s camp
Phase 2: Custom Training Plan Athletes who did not attend last year’s camp. – March 1st
Phase 3: Remaining spots will be available to any other athlete who has trained with our teammates in the past

Should I run faster than my tempo pace if I can?

Question: Should I run faster than my tempo pace if I can?
Answer: I still want you to stick to your tempo pace even if it’s killing you.  Next week I will do something to add to the challenge.  For the tempo efforts (especially under the 12 minute range) you should almost feel as if you have to actively hold yourself back from going faster – your body will want to “go”.  This is hard to do, but the payoff will be huge in the end.  Think of yourself as a lion stalking its prey.   A lion that pounces too soon will go hungry.  The patient lion who punces at the right time will feast.  Let your speed work(which will be faster) be the pouncing and your tempo be the stalking.

Finding Your Gears as a Runner

Finding_Your_Gears_as_ a_Runner

I am unable to get my heart rate high enough for my VO2 Max intervals on the bike. What should I do?

Question: I am unable to get my heart rate high enough for my VO2 MAx intervals.  What should I do?

Answer: As long as you are going at a pace/intensity that you know you can’t  maintain for more than 3-5 minutes, then you are right where you need to be….when using heart rate.  If you are unable to hit your V02 Max power zones happens while using power as your guide, then you should cut the intervals altogether because your body will be caught in no man’s land and we won’t be developing the system these VO2 Max intervals are designed to target.

Ride to San Diego – March 11th

We will ride to San Diego and take the train back up to Orange County.  Details coming soon.

Glendora Mountain Road – February 18th

Interested in riding GMR with us?

When: Saturday, February 18th at 7:00 AM – we will leave at 7AM – please be on time.
Where: Goddard Middle School 859 East Sierra Madre Avenue, Glendora, CA
Distance: 44 miles round trip. Click here for a route map
Who: All paces are welcome…but this should not be your first 45 mile ride. See below for more details

Our plan is to ride to the Baldy Village and then return along the same route. We will regroup before heading back to the start. There is a spot in Baldy Village to refill water bottles. A ride of this nature makes it difficult to ride as a group the entire way.

**You should be very comfortable riding 45 miles through hilly terrain. This is not a supported ride so each person assumes responsibility for themselves and their bike. Please carry water, food, and a few tubes in the event of a flat.


Are You Making Any of These Running Mistakes?

When new athletes approach me to help structure their training one of the first things I do is gather a thorough background on the athlete. The background gives me information about past performances and training. Here are the three most common training mistakes I see.

1) Too many race specific workouts – This will bury an athlete. Your body cannot always perform at its best and when you ask it to week after week, you are bound to start suffering. This suffering may come in the form of an injury or an inability to improve as a runner. You cannot push every workout. Your high intensity workouts should comprise about 10 – 30% of your total mileage, depending on the time of season

2) Racing too often – If you are looking for breakout performances, you should not be racing throughout the entire year. You need to focus on specific components of your fitness throughout the year. Racing year round will cause you to neglect the other areas that are crucial to success as a runner. It is far more beneficial to supplement your training with an off season strength program rather than just more racing throughout the year.

3) Not enough miles – This will vary from person to person, but I frequently meet athletes who simply are not doing enough base miles in the off season. As the season approaches, this problem is usually compounded because this athlete typically starts to do too many race specific workouts as a way to get ready for their next race. Without the proper base, very little improvement will occur. Gradually build your base over time, increasing mileage by 10 – 15% per week. Remember, you need to phase out your high intensity workouts while increasing mileage.

29 Day Leap Year Challenge

Here’s the challenge – workout or do something to take care of your body everyday for the next 29 days.  Please read everything before you decide you “are in” for this challenge.

Challenge Rules

  1. Workout everyday for the next 29 days. Start date is February 1st.
  2. Enter the challenge by posting on our wall by February 1st.  Post  ”I’m in for the 29 Day Leap Year Challenge” to enter the challenge.  This will let us know how many people are competing so we can determine the number of prizes. If you are not already part of the page, join up here.
  3. Every Sunday (starting February 5th until February 29th) post an overview of what you did for the week on our Facebook page. If you are not already part of the page, join up here.
  4. For each week that you post your weekly summary you receive an entry into a raffle for one of our cool prizes(see below)

Workouts should be a minimun of 40 minutes of activity. Here are some examples of workouts(not an extensive list):

  • running
  • walking
  • biking
  • swimming
  • surfing
  • snowboarding
  • paddle boarding
  • hiking
  • power yoga or pilates

Active recovery can replace a workout 2 days a week since taking care of your body includes recovery. The following are examples of active recovery (must be 20 minutes or more)

  • foam roller
  • deep tissue massage
  • stretching

Your weekly summary can be as brief or detailed as you want, but make sure you include something for each day. Here is an example of a “brief” summary:

Monday – stretch
Tuesday – Surf – 2 hours
Wednesday – Swim 40 minutes
Thursday – Run 5 miles
Friday – Hike 2 hours
Saturday – Bike – 1 hour
Sunday – Deep tissue massage

Here are some of the raffle prizes for “29 Day Leap Year Challenge” participants.   Plus, you can’t beat the odds – one prize for every 10 participants. The more participants, the more prizes.  For every 10 participants, one of the prizes wil be raffled off.

  • 4 weeks of personal online coaching for a runner($160 value)
  • Team FC – racing style cycling jersey($55 value)
  • Team FC Headsweats Visor($23 value)
  • $30 discount off any service we offer
  • Team FC Shirt ($18 value)

Calling it a Day

Today I went on my scheduled 20 mile run and didn’t make it too far. About 3 miles into my run I stopped to loosen up my shoulders because I felt a lot of tightness. As soon as I lifted my hands into the air, I felt a muscle grab in my upper back. It felt like something was torquing on my back and so I slowly lowered my arm back down and felt the tension ease up, but the damage was done. Upon each shallow breath I could feel the deep muscle of the back. I tried to run, but I was far from normal. My arm swing had to be modified in order to make it comfortable. I decided that this tightness would not get any better so I opted to turn around and walk back. My 20 mile run turned into a 3 mile run followed by a 3 mile walking cool down.

Turning around and abandoning my scheduled run was an easy decision, but it hasn’t always been this way. I learned a valuable lesson in my mid 20′s( I’ll save that story for a later time) that I believe has helped to keep things in perspective when it comes to staying healthy. Anytime I am faced with a nagging pain or unusual tightness I remind myself of my goal – to continue a lifetime of exercise and fitness. I am not in this for the short term and sometimes a day or two is all it takes to get me back on track. Ignoring the small issues can become big issues that turn into chronic pains and injuries. Chronic pain related to exercise will most definitely lead to a shortened lifetime of fitness and you will be taken out of the game, not by choice, but because you have to. That my friends makes abandoning a scheduled workout an easy decision. Most likely I will be back to normal in a day or two and by next weekend I will feel like I never missed a step.

Today’s Speed Intervals?….Wow!

Today’s speed session was very impressive.  Each of you completed your intervals and pushed through the entire workout.  As I watched each of you complete the intervals, I knew this was a successful workout in progress.  When I got home and reviewed your splits in more detail, I was even more blown away by what happend.

Here’s a summary of the workout  -
 1.5 -2 mile warm up
1 mile tempo pace
2 x 1 mile repeats with easy jogging in between
4 x 1/2 mile repeats with walking and jogging in between
Cool Down: 3/4 mile up to 3 miles for many
Total mileage – 7.5 – 10.5 miles

1) Mentally, you were all there today. Nobody felt sorry for themselves during the workout and all of you pushed each other through the end.
2) You followed the directions of the workout. I could see so many of you holding back those first few repeats and this is what allowed you to progress through the workout. I mentioned to all of you before, but I’ll say it again – to tap into your full speed potential you need to hold back a little at the beginning so that you can unleash the beast in the latter stages of the race. Practicing this skill is paramount to your success.
3) Camaraderie was in full effect – I think each of you surprised yourself a little today, right? Having teammates out there to drive and push you to your limits is so important. Sometimes just looking into the eyes of a teammate who is suffering just as much as you is enough to get you through the next repeat.
4) Numbers don’t lie. Almost each person ran their intervals slightly faster than the previous one. The two who did not only missed the mark by one second.

You really pushed yourself today – I could see it in your eyes. Part of the satisfaction of coaching is watching athletes succeed in their workouts and races. I am well aware that this was not the only successful workout that you have completed, but it stands out in my mind because I rarely have the opportunity to coach all of you at once and to watch the workout unfold in front of me. All of you were so focused, determined and successful this morning. Great job everyone. See you next week.

My Fitness is Gone

It’s been about a 43 days since I completed Ironman Arizona and I can honestly say that I am now just starting to feel normal again.  The initial soreness and obvious fatigue was gone by the first week after the race. However, I knew that I was still not close to being back to normal.  When you consider the taper going into the race, the demands of the Ironman itself, and the subsequent recovery, it’s no surprise that your body is not the same after an Iron distance triathlon.

I had 11 Ironman athletes complete Ironman Arizona and I decided to write this as a follow up to the overriding concern – “When will I feel normal and fast again?” So many of my Ironman athletes expressed concerns about their loss of fitness post Ironman.  First of all,  I want to reassure everyone that this is normal and expected.  Secondly, this flat feeling will pass.  Finally, be patient and allow yourself to rebuild slowly.

A true peak in racing form results in a loss of fitness after this peak is achieved.  Sure you can aim for multiple peaks in a season, but Iron-distance triathlons make this feat a little more difficult.  You have to accept this loss of fitness otherwise you will drive yourself crazy.

You will not get back to your Iron-distance speed anytime soon.  Please don’t expect to feel the same way you felt the weeks and month leading into the Ironman.  Think about how long it took to feel like it was “normal” to ride and run as long as you did.  We built up volume and intensity over time and only time will allow you to rebuild your fitness.

Here is a little of my training experience I would like to share with you:

I started completing short workouts about 6 days after the Ironman.  I have gradually added distance to these workouts.

Run - None of my runs so far(now we are at about 43 days post IM) have been close to my average Ironman marathon pace.  Sure there have been times that I have run faster for a mile or two, but my average pace for every single run so far has been slower than my race day Ironman marathon pace.  I accept it, embrace it, and tell myself to be patient.  Today was the first day since IMAZ that I have felt like I have a little “spring” in my step.  I can see the upswing in my future.

Bike - I recently completed two field tests(20 minute all out time trials one on a computrainer ) to establish my baseline power zones so that my training will reflect my current fitness.  Keep in mind that this is on a computrainer so  variables such as wind and terrain are eliminated and it just measures power in watts. My power numbers are depressing compared to what the same test showed in the months leading up to the Ironman.  My two tests show a 20 – 23% reduction in power – that’s pretty significant.  I accept it, embrace it, and tell myself to be patient.

Maintaining peak fitness cannot be done year round.  That is,  unless you want your year round fitness to be a scaled down version of your full potential.  Accept it, embrace it and be patient.

Ironman Arizona athletes, December is going to be the slowest you will be all year, January will be your slow come back, and by February you will start feeling like you can race again.  Hang in there.

Joby

Glendora Mountain Road – January 21st

Interested in riding GMR with us?

When: Saturday, January 21st  at 7:00 AM – we will leave at 7AM
Where: Goddard Middle School 859 East Sierra Madre Avenue, Glendora, CA
Distance: 44 miles round trip. Click here for a route map
Who: All paces are welcome…but this should not be your first 45 mile ride. See below for more details

Our plan is to ride to the Baldy Village and then return along the same route. We will regroup before heading back to the start. There is a spot in Baldy Village to refill water bottles. A ride of this nature makes it difficult to ride as a group the entire way.

**You should be very comfortable riding 45 miles through hilly terrain. This is not a supported ride so each person assumes responsibility for themselves and their bike. Please carry water, food, and a few tubes in the event of a flat.

Do I Need To Prepare for the Downhill?

One of the most overlooked challenges of a hilly course  is the demand the downhill portion places on your muscles.  Of course, you have to prepare for the uphill and most people seem to do this well.  However, you also have to prepare to run downhill.  The uphill, although difficult, is not what sets you off.    When you run there are concentric and eccentric contractions occurring in the leg muscles.  Running downhill requires significantly more forceful eccentric contractions than running on flat land.  After the repeated nature of these eccentric contractions, your legs will begin to lose contractile force, resulting in a slowdown and heavy legs.  That is, unless you specifically prepare for this in your training. The key is to incorporate small amounts of downhill running (at race pace) into your weekly runs.  Your body gradually begins to buffer this accumulation of eccentric contraction warfare on your legs.  How much and how often will vary greatly from runner to runner.  In general, this should be progressive in nature.

Don’t ignore the demands of your next race.  Training should be purposeful and specific to the course you plan on racing.

New Year’s Day Ride – Santiago Canyon

Interested in riding Santiago Canyon with us? Kick off the New Year with a nice bike ride.

When: Sunday, January 1st 8:00 AM
Where: The ride will start from Mission Viejo.  We will meet at Mission Viejo Youth Athletic Center right off of Marguerite and Olympiad.  Here is a map showing the parks in Mission Viejo.  .
Distance: 37 miles or less, depending on how far beyond the canyon you ride.
Who: All paces are welcome…but you should be comfortable riding in a group.  The group usually divides into two groups.  The first group will range from 17 -22 mph in speed and the second group will range from 15  - 18 mph.

The Route: - Will will ride an out and back section of Santiago Canyon.  If you click on the map link,  you’ll notice a small loop before heading back into the canyon.  If you want to cut the ride a little shorter or if you need to reconnect with the group, this is a good spot to cut the mileage.  Here is the route map.

** This is not a “supported” or “coached” ride so each person assumes responsibility for themselves and their bike. and the route.

2011 IMAZ Race Report – Laura Booher

Laura Booher’s November 20th, 2011 Ironman Arizona Race Report

Our friends and family called us crazy for doing a Full Ironman, our triathlete friends new better. On Sunday 08/28/11 completed 1st Ironman distance ever in Canada. On Monday, August 29th, 2011 we were starting to think about getting into Ironman AZ, which was less than 3 months away. Now everyone NEW WE WERE CRAZY. Hey, we were already trained and felt great.

AZ quest to get in:
This race has been sold out race, since last year. No problem, let’s get in through a Foundation slot. Minor detail these have also been sold out for awhile. “Where there is a will there is a way”. Adrienne worked a couple of companies and we thought we had a shot for all 3 of us. Then it may be for 2 slots, then maybe 1 slot. You know when you have great friends and teammates, when they each give up their opportunity at a slot to let you have it. Thanks Adrienne and Jillian, you will never truly know what that meant to me. Calling me a little obsessed at the time was an understatement. My boyfriend was going to kill me. Oh, didn’t give him a clue of what I was trying to do till a few weeks after returning from Canada and I was on my way out of the house heading to Blythe, CA (borders AZ). Driving to Blythe I started working the phones and asked for a little help from dad. Oh yah, dad swirls in the winds of the desert in AZ. The minute I got to my destination, I received a return call back from Cameron at Carmichael’s Training. He already told me they didn’t have any slots and didn’t have any other ideas on how to get in. I told him my sob story and begged for his help, he never had a chance . Not only did Cameron find some entries, he found enough for all 3 of us plus a few extra, which Carol was the recipient of later on (obsessive people suck others in-wasn’t me). I immediately texted Jillian and Adrienne and then called them back to back, so I could get back to Cameron on how many we really wanted. I was excited the girls were in shock. “Where there’s a will, I will find a Way” .

Doing 2 Ironman within 3 months is probably not a good idea, especially, your very 1st two. We had asked permission from our lovely coach Joby while we were still in Canada (Jillian didn’t really want any part of it, YET) and he said we could discuss it when we came back. I don’t think he thought we were really serious and that we would ever get in. Sorry, Joby you trained us so well this year and set our Canada plans up so we could do what everyone said we should do and Have Fun during our 1st IM. We wanted more (silly us). Once, we found a way to get in, it set in how crazy this really was. More training, different training, speed workouts, what the ?&$%% were we thinking of. Oh yah, it’s AZ, we are trained and we are obsessed. Probably the best part of this additional training is that we finally got to do long distance training with our other teammates who were doing IM AZ. We would see them for a few minutes here and there over the year, but we were all on separate training plans. My new run buddy for long runs became Bill Davis. Loved our runs and he helped me stay on pace and have someone to chat with along the way. Yes, chat, because of our slow pace we could do that. At least, until we had to pick it up and then I couldn’t catch Bill. Look out for Bill, he now flies on the run, as well as, the bike. Also, really met Marie for the 1st time on our 20 mile Halloween run. Thanks to my IMCA partners in crime and to all my training partners for the encouragement and help along the way. Ok, so I still don’t all the names of the guys that would chat with me on Santa Ana River Trail. Met Matt and there were 2 others that I would run into from Yorba Linda/Anaheim area. Thank you, to the guy from Yorba Linda/Anaheim (I am so bad with names) for changing my tire on the Santa Ana River trail during my 105 mile ride. He saved me.

Ironman Arizona 11/20/11 Race Day
Swim 2.4 Miles, Bike 112 Miles, Run 16.2 Miles
Goals: Swim just get through it 1:40, Bike 7 hours, Run 4:30 to 5:30
Total Time to completion expected to be 13:30 to 14:30 of by 9:30pm. I wanted to try and race this course, except the swim of course. 
Absolutely beautiful weather, NO rain in the forecast. High of 60’s with cloud cover, who could ask for anything more. All friends and family members set up in 1 area that we called tent city with all the pop up tents. Thank you Paul for letting my mom camp out under your tent.

SWIM: Water start. Love water starts. Swam out with Jillian to the start. Got kicked a couple of times in the calves and the race hadn’t even started. Here we go. Wore Neoprene cap under race cap, full wetsuit opted out of booties. Water temp 61. Swim was crowded, couldn’t see in the water. Gun went off and there was just bodies everywhere. Kept calm and knew this was how it was going to be for most of the way. Stayed in the middle of the river and looked for the buoys. Just made it to the turnaround and some guy literally smacked me up side the head and then pushed me under. Really, there was plenty of room. After I regained my composure, I got mad and then started looking for the guy. Why, who knows but it kept me occupied and helped me move a little faster. The 2nd half of the swim seemed so long. Finally got to the end and what, you have to pull yourself out of the water up some stairs that didn’t start till the top of the water. I had looked at my time and it was better than Canada at this point. On the 3rd try I finally had a leg up and pulled myself out and ran for Transition. Wet suit strippers are amazing, they yanked my wetsuit off me so fast. Love these volunteers.

T1: Grabbed my bag and opted to sit on the grass and change into bike gear (no clothing changes). Quick restroom break and ran through the changing tent to get my bike (scary in that tent, but felt good to be in the warmth for a couple of seconds).

Bike: Three loops. Coach instructed me to feel my way through the 1st loop, go by feel for the whole ride and watch out for the wind and don’t get discouraged when it slows me down. Saw Adrienne on the side with a flat, oh no. Yelled to see if she needed anything. Took it semi easy on 1st loop. Watched my mph drop on the false flat and hill, but did the math and made up for it on the down hill. I wanted to average 16mph and did math in my head during the entire ride to make this happen. Knew Adrienne would fly by and yelled at her, what took you so long when she did fly by. Start of the 2nd loop heard our cheer section, especially Tina. Thank You. 2nd loop, where did the wind come from, oh my. Started to get frustrated, but remembered what Joby said. Saw Yen, Jackie and Stacey cheering us on. Thank You. I wanted to race this 2nd loop as best as I could, wind made it very challenging. I starting feeling sick to my stomach on the 2nd loop, not sure why. I took a couple more Enduralytes, just in case. Not sure it helped, but couldn’t hurt at this point. NO stopping. Grabbed my 2nd nutrition bottle from Bike Special needs and kept going. On the way to the turnaround for the 3rd and final loop, right knee kicked in and started to hurt, shoulders kicked in, right groin muscle (I guess that’s what you call it) hurt, oh no I was falling apart. 3rd loop, new goal, get through it as fast as possible and get off this bike. Things started to loosen up as I spun a lot more to ease the pain. It worked and last few miles other than right foot hurting for awhile (loosened shoe and felt better) felt great. I had more fun on this ride then any other ride. For the 1st time ever, I got to see all my teammates participating in this Ironman, including our coach Joby Gutierrez, who was racing this course. I couldn’t believe when I got off the bike that I did 112 mile bike ride under 7 hours. NO WAY!!!

T2: Got off the bike and volunteers took my bike. YEAH!! Grabbed my bag changed into run gear and ran to the bathroom. Stomach still not sitting well.

Run: 3 Loop Run. I looked at my pacing plan for the first few miles of the run. HMM, can’t seem to get there, ok I will just take it easy the first few miles and go by feel. Saw Robin and she looked great. Really wanted to stay with her, but we all have to do our own race. Walked with her a couple of minutes and headed out. Calves cramped up right on schedule after mile 1, they usually release between 3 to 5 miles, so I just sucked it up. After mile 5, calves still not happy, so kept pushing and went by feel. Finally after mile 6 calves loosened up and right knee kicked in. NO!! This wasn’t how it was suppose to go. I wanted to own this run course and race it, now I was doing calculations on how long it was going to take me. Looped around tent city and waived to mom and she saw me, YEAH!! I wanted to at least finish the 1st loop before it got dark, barely made it before all the light was gone. 2nd loop did a run walk and saw a few of my teammates. YEAH!! Stomach was still upset, so I periodically ate chips and pretzels. They tasted so good. I knew from the start, I would be one of the last ones in from our team. Those darn youngsters and speed demons.  Saw Joby and Mia rounding my 2nd loop and knew I didn’t look good, I was really limping by that time. 3rd loop, darn darn darn. Now run walk wasn’t working so well. I walked a lot on this 3rd loop. Pace ranged from 17 ish to 19 ish walking and 15ish running, if you want to call it that. I decided to chat with others who were walking and enjoy the venue. Met a lot of nice people out on the course and the volunteers, they were just as crazy as we were for being out there all day. Started thanking all the volunteers on the 3rd loop and enjoyed the music. Finally, saw the girls notes on the reader board on this 3rd loop. THANK YOU. In this dark area by a park I heard LAURA. Well after awhile it hurts to turn around and I figured it was just another runner about to pass me. Boy I was wrong, it was Marie and her friend. You Go Girls. I really wished I could have run with them, they were looking great. Ok, I hardly ever take bathroom breaks during a marathon, it’s a rare thing. Even, in IMCA I only used the facility once. I probably used the restroom at least 4 times on the run course. The last few miles I walked with a gentlemen who lived in the area, but was from England. Very nice man and we chatted until I left him with a mile to go to end this day. I had to, Once again I heard LAURA, again I thought it was someone in the crowd, just couldn’t turn around again and say thank you. Of course, it had to be, there is no one else it could be, it was Tina yelling and running of all things with Robin. Oh my goodness Robin looked great. I so wanted to run ahead of her, but opted to watch her run by with that huge smile on her face. AMAZING. Robin did it!! YEAH Robin!! Figured I better get it in gear, so no one has to wait for me any longer and tried to run it in, ok limped it in. I didn’t feel sorry for myself, I did the best I could and enjoyed the day. I slapped the kids hands as I came through the shoot and was elated to be done. I finished 15 hours 8 minutes and who cares about the seconds, which was still faster than my overall finish time in Canada.

Swim Time: 1:41:45 / T1: 7:49 / Bike Time: 6:50:44 / T2: 4:49
Run: 6:23:40 / Total Time: 15:08:47 / Experience: Priceless
I wasn’t last. I was 119 out of 148 in my age group that started the race

Thanks mom for coming with me, it meant the world to me. Thanks to Paul and Jeff for watching over my mom, taking her to a private bathroom in the building and taking her to the bike portion to see me. I really appreciate you both taking the time to watch over her. Thanks to all of you who came out to cheer us all on. Thanks to those who volunteered and cheered us on from the race course, especially, Yen, Stacey and Jackie. It was great seeing you 3 on the bike course. Yen, I really appreciated your help, support and Sherpa duties. I can’t thank you enough for being there for me for both Ironman races. I owe you many thanks and drinks. Thanks to all my teammates/friends.
Joby and Mia you are the best and we all know it took both of you to help us through are training and mental states Joby, there is no way in the world I could have done and IM, let alone 2 in a short period of time without you. I would have never been able to do this, let alone dreamt this, if it weren’t for your training plans, kindness, patience (you definitely have a lot of patience), encouragement, support and willingness to listen to a bunch of crazy triathletes freaking out about IM monthly, weekly and at times daily. THANK YOU

Adrienne and Jillian thanks for everything. We made it through another one and have more than earned a rest. 2013 starts all over again for IM!! Ok, I still didn’t hear Laura Booher, You Are an Ironman from the Finish Line announcer. Next race I am putting in on my entry form, I NEED TO HEAR THIS.

2011 IMAZ Race Report – Bill Davis

Ironman Arizona
2011 Race Report

Introductory Remarks
First, I want to thank my wife for tolerating another year of Ironman training – anybody that has done this knows that the training is a major time commitment and the family is the one that is making the sacrifices. It helps that she is an accomplished triathlete and has completed distances up to 70.3, but there were still a lot of missed time together and activities that were planned around triathlon. Next I want to thank Joby for bringing me to the start line of my second Ironman distance race without injury and prepared to do this distance. Thanks to my Son Eric and my parents for coming out to support me and take pictures and endure the entire day. Also, my friends John and Cindy Higgins – they had never been to a triathlon, marathon or any other type of endurance event – I know this whole thing amazed them and I am thrilled that they would come all the way to Arizona just to watch me. I want to thank all of my teammates that were out there on the course with me – Matt (first to pass me up), Carol (2nd to pass me up), Jillian (3rd to pass), Sean, Michelle Foo, Kyle, Marie and Vickie, Robin, Lisa, Adrienne. Special thanks to all of the FC Supporters that were out there until the end – I saw Paul on every lap of my run cheering hard . Local OC volunteers/spectators – Julie, Tina, Vickie, Stacy, Yen (Tri La Vie), Jacquie, Danielle (Tri La Vie), Jody. Finally, Scott – we did it again.

This was my second Ironman race and it was on the same course that I did last year. Arizona is a great venue for racing/spectating – the energy is very high and the excitement level is everything that you would expect from an Ironman race. Last year I had an outstanding race for my first attempt at this distance and this year I had very high expectations for improvements. Last year I was very relaxed and confident that I could achieve my goal to finish the race – this year I was more nervous and felt a lot of pressure to perform. My race season this year had been a string of PRs, a podium finish and some top ten finishes so I felt confident that I could make major improvements in my IM numbers vs last year. My training was also outstanding, with regards to the times that I was posting and the distances that I was covering. Overall I achieved a significant improvement in my time – 13:23:45 (2010) vs 13:00:58 (2011). This was a 22:43 improvement over last year’s time and it was also good for 23rd place out of 82 in AG and within 17 % of the first place time. Last year I was 75th out of 150. When I reviewed my times for each part of the race, it was obvious that all of the improvement came from a faster cycling time, however, multisport endurance racing is not just the sum of the parts. It is an integration of all five parts (transitions count too) that interact with each other. Although my swim time and run times were nearly the same as last year I was able to make a 28 minute improvement on the bike and still swim strong and run strong and that was the real improvement for the race.

Finally, there is this issue of 58 seconds. It was a goal of mine to break the 13 hour mark in this race and I felt that I could do it easily based on my training results and racing times that I had posted this season. Whenever you are this close to the goal and you don’t hit the mark you have to ask yourself if there was something else you could have done to make up that time. I can say this with confidence that I left everything on the course and on this day and these conditions I could not have improved my time.

Pre Race Activities
Thursday – We arrived in Tempe late afternoon on and checked into our hotel – the Best Western on Scottsdale Rd. We went to our room and as we approached the room we could smell cigarette smoke in the hallway and when we opened the door the place reeked of smoke. We went downstairs and had our room changed – this is a non-smoking hotel so the manager apologized profusely and fined the previous person $250.00. I went out for a 3 mile run following part of the run course that takes you to the venue – I purposely did not go through the finishing line (has to be bad luck to do that).

Friday – The next day we went to the Expo and, unlike last year, I only spent $23 on a visor (way too expensive for a visor). Several of us went out for a 15 mile bike ride and survey of the bike course. I was feeling the wind out there and knew that it would probably be there on Sunday. Later in the day we found my parents and took them down to the venue so that they could see where the race was taking place and also so they could figure out the train system to take to the race on Sunday. We went back to the room and I got all of my bags together and did a check on my bike. I was borrowing Brian Conn’s Aerojacket wheel and I found that the spindle for the rear wheel was loose causing lateral movement of the wheel. Now I wasn’t sure if I would be able to use this wheel so I took the cogs off and put them on my rental wheel until I could get it checked out somewhere. I put the usual ‘emergency only’ things in my special needs bags – I have never stopped at special needs and I hope I never have to as the things that I have in there are for major problems – spare tire, tubes, cartridges, wrenches for the bike bag and extra gels and clothes for the run bag.

Saturday – Today is the day that you can swim and check out the water at the lake, then you turn in your bike and run transition bags. First I needed to go to the bike mechanic and have my wheel checked so I got there early and was first in line. They have really high prices for the services at the expo and so I was worried about how much this would cost to fix. I handed my wheel to the mechanic and in less than a minute he tightened it up and said have a good race.
We were all supposed to meet at 10:30 to go swim and I finally got a little antsy and just went in. I swam out to the inside buoy near the start and checked out my site line and then swam back to the exit. We all gathered for a group picture and then it was time to go get some lunch before heading back to the room to put my feet up.

We picked out a restaurant for dinner and planned to meet my parents, Eric and John and Cindy there for dinner. Eric and John and Cindy were driving into town that day and were scheduled to arrive around 4:00 – they both reached Scottsdale Rd exit at the same time, but the ASU vs Arizona football game was scheduled for that night and the streets were gridlocked. We could not get out of our hotel and it took them over an hour to reach our hotel. We had to cancel dinner plans and walk across the street to a semi fast food place for dinner – not what I had in mind, but I managed to get a rice and chicken burrito that seemed to be an OK prerace meal – no salsa.

Race Day
Preparation – I had a very poor night of sleeping – I fell asleep around 1 AM and got up about 3:30 AM. I usually sleep well the night before a race but I could not sleep this night. I had 2 packages of oatmeal and 2 yogurts for breakfast and then we packed up our things and headed over to the venue. We paid to park at Monti’s because it is close to the race finish and I knew I would not want to walk very far after the race. I went to transition and pumped up my tires – the aerojacket requires 2 people. I also, needed to tape the aerojacket around the perimeter so that it wouldn’t flap in the wind. I needed to get Vickie Smith Mindy’s Garmin because she needed something that would last through the race. I thought I had a lot of time but I was feeling very rushed. I found Vickie and I was going to show her how to use the device and we really didn’t have time – also we couldn’t get the HR monitor to synchronize because there were too many people with monitors on. I finally got over to the restroom and made one stop and then it was time to put the wetsuit on and get in the water. It seemed like I had a lot more time last year.

2.4 mile Swim
2010 time – 1:38
Predicted time – 1:30
Actual time – 1:40
Difference – +8:00
Place after swim – 60th

I jumped into the water right away and swam out to the start buoy – I had a tip from Denise Bardsley that this was the best place to start. When the gun went off I started swimming right away and there were arms and legs hitting me for at least 500 yds. One person grabbed my leg and started pulling which I thought was uncalled for so is kicked my feet and caught some bone – I think it was a jaw. I felt very strong swimming and I thought I was going at a good pace for the distance. On the way out I stayed pretty close to the buoys and swam towards the far right of the bridge. I made it under the far bridge and it seemed like it took forever to get to the turn buoy. Then I swam across the lake and hit the turn bouy that would take me back to the finish. The day before the race I had walked out onto the bridge and I thought I had a pretty good sighting point for the return trip, but I think it took me wide and added on a lot of distance. When I made this turn it seemed like everybody was swimming back towards the middle and I stayed pretty close to the side of the lake. I followed this path all the way down sighting off of an electrical power pole. When I got out of the water I felt like I ahd a good swim and I was hoping to see something in the 1:20s or low 1:30s, but I saw 1:39 and by the time I stepped on the mat it was 1:40. I was pretty disappointed and this kind of affected my transition as I was upset and distracted from what I needed to do.


T1
2010 time – 6:25
Predicted time – 6:00
Actual time – 7:17
Difference – +:52
Place after T1 – 54th

This was an OK transition but should have been better. I let the strippers get my wetsuit off and made sure they didn’t take my timing chip and then made the run to where my bag was located. Last year they had it out for me and this year I had to find it. I took the bag to one of the picnic benches and put my bike jersey, helmet, gloves, glasses and socks and shoes on. I had a great spot near the bike out and I heard the volunteers calling out my number and by the time I got to my bike rack they had my bike waiting in the aisle. I pushed it out to bike out and started my ride.

112 Mile Bike
2010 time – 6:07:57
Predicted time – 5:40:00
Actual Time – 5:39:24
Difference – -28:33
Place after bike – 19th

I got on the bike and headed out Rio Salado listening to everybody cheering as I left on the long ride. I saw my family and friends John and Cindy as I left. My cadence sensor was not working so I had to spin by feel and speed. I started out just spinning and not paying much attention to speed – my HR was elevated and I was trying to get it to go down, but I was really excited and it stayed high all the way through the fist loop. My plan was to negative split each loop and hopefully be under 6 hrs for my total time. As I made the first left turn onto McClintock I spotted Adrienne on the side of the road fixing a flat tire. I quickly asked if she needed help, and I felt like I should stop, but this is a race and I knew that she could fix her tire. As I made way out to the Beeline Hwy I noticed that there was not much wind. When I hit the turnaround at the top of the highway I pushed my lap button and recorded 1:04:44 – this looked good as long as the wind isn’t blowing. I rode back to the first loop turnaround in :48:28 for a total first loop time of 1:53:22. I was thinking that I would break 5:30 if I continued to drop the time.

On the second loop I started to feel the wind and as I was going up the highway I could tell that I was going much faster than the first loop and I wasn’t working very hard. I passed Robin, Sean and Jillian on this loop. The time to the top of the highway was 56:28 which was 6 minutes faster than the first loop and I was thinking that was too easy. Then I turned around to go back to town and the wind was right in my face blowing very hard. I had some gusts that made the bike a little unstable and I had to hold in tight. I made it back to the end of the send loop and the crowd noise was very loud and exciting. I saw Mindy and Eric and the rest of my friends and family there. My total time for the 2nd loop was 1:52:42 and so I had negative split this loop even though the ride was completely different because of the wind.
On the third loop I was being careful not to push too hard because I knew it would get me on the run. I took advantage of the wind going up the highway and tried drop my time as much as possible and at the turnaround I measured 54:17 compared to 56:28 for the second loop. This was right in line with what I wanted to do. I ran into Kyle at the turnaround and he rode with me for awhile but dropped off along the way to stop at special needs. I had somebody blatantly drafting on my wheel going down the highway and while it bothered me to a certain extent, I knew he was liable for the penalty and I was getting some advantage with him on my tail. My time to return to town from the top of the highway was 57:09 for a total time of 1:51:26 making a perfect negative split on the three bike loops. The interesting thing was that I negative split the first half of each loop by comparison and positively split the second half of each loop by comparison. This was the affect of the wind on the ride. Final bike time was 5:39:24.

T2 Bike to Run
2010 time – 3:36
Predicted time – 3:00
Actual time – 3:35
Difference – -:01
Place after T2 – 16th

Last year this was a good transition for me and it was a good one this year too. I ran to my spot where my T2 bag was located and a volunteer handed me the bag. I sat down on one of those picnic benches (I have never been in the changing tent – this year or last year). I started getting changed and a volunteer came over to help collect my things. I changed my shocks, shoes, put on my Exceeding Expectations visor compliments of Cheri Gruenfeld and headed to the run exit. I thought I had removed my bike race belt but it turned out that I left it on – people kept coming up to me on the run and saying go Bill and I didn’t know how they knew my name.

26.2 Mile Run
2010 time – 5:27:02
Predicted time – 5:00:00
Actual time – 5:30:23
Difference – +3:21
Place after Run – 23rd

I started my running with my legs feeling good and my cardio felt good so I thought I was going to meet my expectations on this run. As I headed out towards the bridge at Priest Rd I started feeling very tired – it sort of felt like I was going to fall asleep. I wanted to lie down on a bench and sleep for about 10 or 20 minutes, but I knew that if I did that somebody would probably come and take me off the course. I kept going towards the 2nd aid station and I saw Adam there – I also saw some other person screaming my name, but I didn’t recognize her. On the second loop I realized that person was Rose. I stopped to use the restroom at this aid station and realized that this was the first time that I had to go all day – it also was the only time that I went all day. I was grabbing grapes and oranges at every aid station and that was my primary source of nutrition for the run. I did use some e-gel that was left from my spare flask for the bike, but mostly I ate fruit. As I came back around to the venue I saw all of the supporters near the aid station and heard my friend John yell out “put your foot into it Bill” which is something that he always tells me when we are playing music together – it means keep the beat and timing right.

I made my way out on the second part of the first loop Matt came up behind me. We chatted for awhile and then he went ahead. As I was making my way to the aid station right before the big hill I came upon Chris Davis from OC Tri Club. To my surprise he was walking and seemed to be struggling, although he was on his 2nd or 3rd loop of the run already. He has done more than 15 IM races and is usually at the top of his AG. I stopped and walked with him a little and then I started running again – he passed me going up the hill. I was stopping at each aid station and trying to keep my pace around 11:00-11:30 but I could tell that I was not going to hold the pace that I expected. I still felt very sleepy as I finished the 1st loop.

Somewhere during the second loop I started to slow down to a pace in the 13s – I never stopped and walked, except for the aid stations, but I really could not make myself pick up the pace. I felt OK and I never felt like I was in any danger of stopping, but I just wasn’t going very fast. I was really hoping that the second half of my run was going to move down into the 10:30-11:00 range and I knew I didn’t have that energy level left. I settled down into about 13:30 for most of the second half of the run.

At about mile 18 Sean and Michelle Foo passed me up and I assumed that was the last of our group that would go by me. I started to calculate my pace and remaining time to break 13 hours and I could tell that I was going to be close. At mile 20 I knew I had a 10K left and I know what my pace needed to be to break 13:00. I decided that I could not afford to stop at anymore aid stations and I would have to pick up my pace a little above 13:00 to make it. I was able to get through the aid stations without stopping and I tried to pick up my pace – I was banking on the adrenaline rush that I got last year to help me in the last 2 miles. When I hit the mile 24 mark nothing seemed to change and I could not get my legs to turn over any faster. I pushed very hard in the last 2 miles and when I got to within .3 miles I saw Paul and Tina and they were cheering me on and I was pretty sure I could not get in under 13:00, but I kept pushing to the Finish Line. I saw the clock as I got close and I tried not to look disappointed because I didn’t want to ruin my picture, but I was not happy with the final time 13:00:58. I put my arms up and ran through the line to the volunteer that was assigned to me. It was over – my second Ironman race.

Post Race Thoughts
I have now completed 2 full Ironman races and I am ready to take a break from this distance. The distance is more than twice the difficulty of the 70.3 and it is much larger than the sum of it’s parts. Each leg of the race takes a toll cumulatively on the following legs and when you reach the run it starts to become unbearable. The training is a major intrusion on your life and it consumes all of your time and thoughts for at least 4 months if not longer. However, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything that I have done in my life and I am grateful that I have been able to do this without injury and with respectable finishing times. I made major improvements in may race this year and I am pleased with the outcome – I will probably always be looking for those 58 seconds, but I know that didn’t leave them on the course.