Update

Well, I found out a week or so ago that running long before riding long is not something I do well!  When I last reported, I had a 2 hour run planned, then a 5 hour bike.  The bike did not go well.  I only managed 3.5 hours before I bagged it.  I just break down too much physically when I run long to try to ride long after.  My hips, hamstrings, back...make getting in the aerobars almost impossible.  Oh well...lesson learned...and plan adjusted.  I was able to do another, more productive 3.5 hour ride on Sunday with fellow teammate Matt Pokress.

This past weekend I made a quick (okay it's not quick) trip up to Lake Placid for a one man training camp.  Jenn came with me.  We didn't arrive in LP until close to 11pm due to a late start and traffic.  Saturday's plan was a swim, then ride/run.  LP is like a training mecca leading up to the Ironman....athletes everywhere.  I was in the water around 8am, and the swim went well.  It would have been nice to swim with some others....but there weren't as many people out there as I had expected.  Maybe some went out earlier....also, I think some people did the Tupper Lake Half Ironman which was only a short distance away.  After the swim, I got ready for the long portion of the day.  I headed out on the bike...and felt pretty good.  Unfortunately, around 20 miles in my speed stopped working.  I messed around w/my SRM for the next 10 miles trying to get it to work....then figured it was probably the battery in my speed sensor.  I really wanted to have complete measurements for the ride...oh well.  I saw a couple of BTTers, Elaine and Meg, out on the course on the back section....and chatted with each of them as I continued on my way to finish the first lap.  As I was finishing, it began to rain.  I refilled my bottles...then decided to stop by the bike shop to replace the battery in my sensor (also hoping the rain would stop).  After 15-20 minutes, I realized the rain wasn't going to stop....so off I went.  It really wasn't that bad....not a downpour.  I rode the second half fairly strong.  I felt very good on the bike.  I didn't, however, completely hit my nutrition.  It didn't affect me on the bike, but did on my run.  I headed out on the run and was good for 4-5 minutes...the started to struggle.  Fortunately, I saw Jenn around 25 minutes in...who gave me my Powerbar Endurance mix.  I was bonking at this point.  The PB really helped...and I felt much better.  I finished my hour transition run strong.  Good day!  I then got an hour massage to flush the legs...then off to take my forgiving wife to dinner.  I highly recommend the Brown Dog Cafe.  It was very good (but not cheap).

Sunday was the long run.  I ran really well.  Jenn met me every 30 minutes with PB Endurance, water, salt caps, and gels.  I did an out and back....incorporating the run course for ironman.  I kept the HR low (under 150....but closer to a 143 avg) and managed an average of somewhere between 6:45 and 6:49....for a little over 17.5 miles.  Very happy with this....since this is only my second 2 hour run since Kona last year. 

This coming weekend is my last big weekend....then we'll start to dial it back.   

IM Training....the grind....

Up at 5:45....out by 7am....first 2 hour run of the year in the books.  I freakin hate running more than 90 minutes.  My knee is aching (no idea why), and I'm hurting right now.  You'd think that I'd be able to relax the remainder of my Saturday.  NOPE.  I'm now getting ready for my 4 and a half hour bike ride.  Ahh...the glamorous life of an IM triathlete!  Gotta love eating left over pasta and chicken at 10:45 in the morning to refuel.  I had planned to start the bike at noon....but the way I'm feeling....it looks to be a 1pm start....finishing up around 5:30 or so.

Next week I'm planning on hitting Lake Placid for a one man training camp....if the weather cooperates.

Reflecting on Eagleman

Okay, I've had a day (and a very long drive) to reflect on my race at Eagleman.  I've had some mixed emotions over it.  To some extent, I've beat myself up over what I consider a subpar performance.  But, in looking back at it, it wasn't terrible.  Yes, I would have liked to have done better.  But, 4:31 on that course with those conditions....and a swim that was approximately 5-7 minutes slow, isn't really that bad.  Don't get me wrong....I'm not one bit happy with it.  But, it's not like I didn't compete.  If anything, it showed me some new strengths....and exposed some weaknesses (which I plan to shore up in the next month).  I will say this about it though....that was one of my more painful races I've ever done.  I was in a world of hurt on the run....and I'm paying for it today.

So, what's next?  Lake Placid.  I definitely have some work to do before that race.  No rest for the weary!  Here are some pics from Eagleman (first two are from the Hyatt...and as you can see, the area is just beautiful):

M35-39 Swim Coral

Onto the bike (you can see me fumbling w/my helmet!)

Flo heading out on the run

Coming into T2

Coming in to the finish

Collateral Damage....we'll almost.

Okay, just a quick race report.  This race did not go as planned.  Although I kept it to myself, I had a "feeling" going into this race that something was going to go wrong (I had the same feeling going into LP 2006)....and it did.  It was a no wetsuit swim...which didn't bother me.  I've been swimming well in the pool and felt good warming up.  But, I just didn't swim well.  I have no explanation for it.  I'll have to look into this more as I get ready for LP.  My T-1 was a disaster.  I had trouble getting my team jersey on.  I decided not to wear it during the swim (as I had forgotten to bring my speed suit)...and didn't want the pockets to catch water.  Anyway, it took some effort to get it on.  The bigger problem was my helmet.  When I put it on, it was seriously loose.  I realized that the internal support snaps had come undone.  I fumbled with it and resnapped everything in and put it on.  Onto the bike.....unsnapped again!  There was just no way that I was going to be able to ride 56 miles w/my helmet loose on top of my head.  So, about 3/4 of a mile in, I stopped to fix it.  It took me some time to get all of the snaps connected.  Note to self...recheck equipment in transition!  Back onto the bike.  Look down at my power....no SRM!  HOLY SHIT!  My SRM must have bounced off.  This had to be my fault.  I must not have completely secured it...because if it was secured....there's no way it would have come off.  I actually turned my bike around and rode back to the spot where I fixed my helmet.   Not there....and, what the hell was I doing?  I turned around and decided to get back in the race....mentally.  It was tough though....knowing an $800 piece of equipment is somewhere on the road.  And, the fact that I was going solely on heartrate and feel.  I had no power, cadence or speed.  After this fiasco, I actually rode well.  I would have liked to know what I would have rode w/out the technical issues.  I definitely lost a few minutes (including transition time) due to the problems.  Oh well.  Oh...I forgot to mention....this was one of the more difficult Eagleman bikes I've done.  It was pretty damn windy out there.  Pushing harder on the bike really took a lot out of me.  Off the bike and out of transition (no issues this time!)....I got passed immediately by a guy in my AG.  He was moving.  No way was I staying with him without completely blowing up.  I dialed it back to keep my HR in check.  I reeled in a bunch of guys.  This run was much like 2 years ago....slow.....but everyone was slow because of the mid 90s heat.  I hit the turn around and made my way home.  Around 9 miles I passed teamate Flo who knocked some sense into me.  I was cooked at this point and ready to throw in the towel and finish.  But, Flo told me that there were some AG guys not too far in front.  So, I went to work.  I caught 4 guys in the last 3-4 miles.  My last mile was probably my fastest.  I thought I had finished 5th or so.....but after viewing the results...a very unsatisfying 9th in the AG.  The AG was stacked.  The only good thing is that even with a perfect race, a Kona slot would have been tough.  It went to 1st and 3rd in the AG...or 1st and 6th amatuer overall.  The saving grace of this race is that my SRM power unit was found...thankfully!  Time to get ready for Lake Placid.  But, first, I'm off for a few beers!

On the Eastern Shore...

We arrived in MD yesterday.  The weather is beautiful right now....but they're calling for Tstorms and rain tomorrow.....but low 90 degree temps.  We'll see.  Everytime I come to this race, I'm just in awe of how beautiful the area is.  I mean....it has it's bad, financially stricken areas.  But, the water...and the wildlife preserve are just awesome.  I got out on my bike today...and things feel good.  My father-in-law help me construct (okay he constructed!) a new SRM mount on my bike.  I can now really see my numbers while riding.  I have a feeling I'm the only one racing with anything like this!  It's shaped so it fits into my aero drink bottle. I'll try to take pics at some point.  I also did a quick run.  Afterwards I chatted up w/Brian Shea of Personal Best Nutrition (a NJ guy) and young pro Andrew Yoder....who should be first off the bike tomorrow.  Funny story....back in 2005 I did a local NJ sprint in Hammonton.  I finished 3rd.  But, there was this young 14 or 15 year old kid nipping at my heels.  I was like, who is this kid.....thinking there's no way he should be on my butt like this.  It was Yoder.  Now I don't feel so bad...since this kid has been tangling w/the likes of Potts, Macca, Reed, Bennett, to name a few.  Anyway, at this point, I'm not really sure how I feel.  Not much I can do about it now anyway.  My warmup w/outs are done.  My huge Denny's Grand Slam breakfast is sitting in my stomach....all that's left to do today is kick back and rest up.  Routine, routine, rountine....

Four days until Eagleman...

Well, my first "A" race is almost here.  Actually, it's not only an "A" race...but one of my first races of the year.  I'm really getting ansy.  And watching my friends race at Mooseman in NH last weekend didn't help.  It made things worse.  I haven't really slept well the past few nights.  I'm not sure if it's nerves or what.  I have some specific goals for this race...but I'm going to keep those to myself until after.  I will be approaching this race very differently from past races, from a preparation and race standpoint....so it will be interesting to see how it unfolds.  I'll post some updates once we get down to Maryland.

Random thought of the day...okay...more of a venting than a thought...so I do most of my track work at track in Watertown, MA.  It's a decent track that doesn't seem to get much use by schools and teams....which is why I run there.  But, what kills me are the walkers who feel that they must walk in lanes one and two....side by side.  The sign at the track gate clearly states that walkers are to stay out of lane one...not to mention there's a thing called track etiquette.  So, when I do my workouts, I'm constantly squeezing by them....or going on the inside...and sometimes zigzagging through.  You'd think they'd get the picture...but no.  I guess that if they can't read the sign....then they're not going get a subtle hint!  But, I guess I can understand....they want to make sure they hit their 5 minute 400 splits:)  Please people...be considerate!

-P

The Collection....

Since I'm in the process of pulling my equipment for Eagleman, I thought now is as good a time as any to show off my running show fetish...er, collection (yes, people, I have a problem)!

Top row (from left to right):  K-Swiss Kruuz; Saucony Fastwitch 4; Saucony Grid Type A2; Mizuno Wave Ronin; Saucony Kinvara;

Second row:  Saucony Fastwitch 3 (Kona shoes '09); Saucony Fastwitch 3 (Kona shoes '08); Asics Magic Racers (I have another pair laying around somewhere too); Fila track spikes; Fila XCountry spikes (these were actually made for Adam Goucher...but he never got them, so I did!);

Third row:  Inov8 X-Talon 212 (trail racers); Nike Lunarfly (new trainers....I love these); Nike Lunarglide; Nike Lunar trainer; Nike Free.

These are all shoes WITH running miles left on them.  And, they don't even represent my entire shoe repertoire.  This picture is missing an older pair of Fila Racers; a couple pair of Nike Lunar trainers; a pair of Mizuno trainers that I won (but hate); Oh...and I have a box in the garage that has shoes in it that I haven't even uppacked from our move a year ago.  But, as you can see, my true fetish lies with the racing flats.  Eleven of the above are basically racing shoes.  As I said, yes people, I have a problem:)

T- 7 Days...Eagleman!

7 days until Eagleman....my early A race.  I'm getting excited.  I love this race.  To me, there's something exotic about travelling to a big race.  Maybe it's the long travel....it makes me feel more invested, I don't know.  But, today I'll start pulling all my gear and laying everything out.  We leave on Thursday afternoon.  But, until then, I have a few workouts on the schedule....

This past week was, again, very tough.  The workouts weren't ridiculously tough....but work was busy (usual theme) and I really struggled w/fatigue from last weekend.  Last weekend looked like this:

Saturday- 4:10 ride w/75 minute tempo and a 30 min tempo built in at 1/2 iron pace, followed by a 20 minute run as 5 minute Z1, 5 min Z2, 5 min Z3, 5 min Z1.

Sunday- Travelled to Maine to run the Pineland Farms 25K.  See previous post for race report.

Monday- 2 hour ride w/20 min. TT/Power Test outside (at the Charlie Baker TT course in Concord).

The cumulative caught up w/me on Wednesday when I had a 15 minute run TT on the track.  I started out okay...at 1:19 for the first 1/4 mile...then got progressively slower.  I bailed at 2 miles, which was timed at a very pedestrian 11:17.  I ran an ez lap, then did another mile at 5:36 (again very slow for me).  I was just a running mess on the track.  It all came to a head on Friday night....when I basically felt like walking death....in a complete haze.  Fortunately, I was able to get a little extra sleep this weekend due to the fact that my schedule is a bit lighter as I get ready for Eagleman.  We did however, adjust my workout on Tuesday which called for 4x 1 mile repeats, to get ready for next weekend.  I'm now only doing 6 x 400s.  I don't mind the repeat miles....but I want to be fresh for Sunday....and those take a lot out of the legs.  So, now it's all about next weekend.  Today is a race simulation. Tomorrow is off....w/massage, ice bath and recovery.  The rest of the week is relatively mild.  Time to get the legs back, so I can try to unleash something special on Sunday.