One foot in front of the other.
On my workout/ride home this evening I could see off in the distance a wicked storm brewing to the South of Boulder and heading North which just happened to be right in my line of travel. About 20 minutes into this ride, the wind started and it was swiftly followed by driving rain which brought along thunder and lightening. Good times.
The wind was coming in from my right at about 25 miles per hour and gusting well above that. the biggest problem with this is that my bike has an “aero” frame and as such has a fairly flat profile from the sides. This is great for going straight and fast, but not so great for cross winds that use it as a sail. Again, good times. Now, on top of that, the wind was pushing me on my right side and into the lane of traffic I was trying so desperately to avoid. This made for incredibly hard shifting and some very white-knuckled steering.
With the rain beating down, fighting the whipping wind and doing my best to avoid the cars that outweigh me by a couple thousand pounds, I was reminded of one of my favorite sayings that I seem to forget all too often. Pain is temporary. Even on our darkest days or hardest workouts; even when nothing is going right and the challenges of what we’re involved in at that moment seem to be literally kicking us in the gut, pain IS temporary. Sometimes it may seem interminable and we really can’t see the end of the storm, but it is there, lurking somewhere off in the distance.
Last night my wife and I were watching the premier of the new season of So you think you can dance. Admittedly, my favorite part of watching any show like that (American Idol, America’s Got Talent, etc.) is getting to take advantage of the massive laugh factor that the preliminary auditions provide. However, in the seasons that I’ve watched the show, coupled with the fact that I am an artist myself, has given me a fairly decent eye to be able to recognize really amazing dancing.
One of the girls auditioning last night, whose name escapes me now, really struck me with the way she danced. Many of the stories that are highlighted on that show and others are stories of loss and hardship and much of the time the dancers featured in those stories, while often incredibly wonderful dancers, have quite an obvious sense of that loss and hardship in the way they dance. The girl I’m speaking of did not.
I can’t remember her story, except that she was on the show last year and just barely missed out on the top twenty dancers (either my memory is going or other things are getting pushed out by the words to nursery rhymes). The thing about her was that when she began to dance, she did so with absolute joy. Her face, her body, everything exuded pure, unadulterated joy and it was uplifting just to watch.
It then occurred to me to keep a closer eye on the dancers that were…well…less than spectacular. With the those that just seemed to be there to be silly, there were those who were bad dancers but still danced with joy. Of course, many of them were much harder to distinguish since emoting is one of the most difficult parts of any performance art form…trust me.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about forcing a smile and how it’s actually not going to get you in a better mood. But I don’t think that smiling and joy are entirely synonymous. I think that a smile can be entirely fake and joy can often be read in the most furrowed brow.
So I guess it comes down to this; when I go out for my long ride tomorrow and my long run on Sunday, the temperatures are supposed to be in the middle 80′s with super high humidity, but I’m going to ride and run with joy. My joy will be in the fact that I am physically able to run. It will be in the faces of my family. It will be that this coming Monday, while it does represent a long weekend for many, is to honor those that have fallen so that I am able to go out and run whenever and wherever I want to. So this weekend, and always, whether it’s smiling or frowning, run with joy.
It appears as though spring, or at least the truly spring-y temperatures have abandoned us here in the Northeast. At the same time the humidity has been pumping and making for sweaty workouts and horrible hair days. This is a list of my top five ways to stay hydrated when the mercury begins to rise. This is by no means a complete list so I would love to hear what tricks and tips you have in the comments!
What do you do to stay cool during workouts when it’s hot outside? Leave your tips and tricks in the comments [CLICK HERE!]
Now that most of us have left the super cold winter in the dust, we have all this wonderful daylight to work with! However, along with all this sun will eventually come the scorching summer heat and humidity. To avoid this, if you’re like me, many workouts are shifted to predawn hours to avoid the heat of the day. As always, with any activity when it’s dark outside comes an added necessity of caution.
At its core, the Vis 360 from the folks at Light & Motion is a commuter light, and it has all the accouterments to prove it, but it also functions wonderfully for training rides when the sun sits below the horizon. Coming in at a very light 130 grams, the Vis 360 packs a big light punch in a small package. The front light boasts a 110 lumen white light with powerful amber side lights (hence the 360 part of the name!). The rear light carries four flashing, red taillights. Battery life on the light is dependent upon the setting; high – 2.5 hours, low – 5 hours, flashing 20+ hours. Charging the light is as simple as plugging in your cell phone since the Vis 360 uses a micro-usb plug and can be charged from many cell phone chargers or from any usb device (computer) using the included cable.
Mounting the Vis 360 takes all of 5 minutes, if that. On the front, wearers use the rubber/plastic mounting plat that can be swapped out for a wider disc for split venting on the front of some helmets. On the rear, a velcro mounting plate can be attached either horizontally or vertically depending on the helmet setup. Once the mounting brackets are in place, attaching the lights is as simple as snapping them into place.
I was truly surprised at the weight of the Vis 360. At 130 grams, Light & Motion claims that, “it is
32% lighter than the best selling bar lights on the market”. I haven’t tried every bar light on the market, but this claim sure seems as though it is dead on. However, even with that small amount of weight on your head, you can usually tell that something is up there and it may feel off. I found this not to be the case at all with this lamp. The balance between the front light and the rear light is so well designed that there is effectively no noticeable difference in the balance of the helmet.
Visibility with the light is excellent, though it does take a few times of reaching up to adjust the direction to get it dialed in for your specific preferences. I wore this on both a road bike and a triathlon bike and when in aero position on the tri bike it took a bit of moving of the front mounting plate to get the light right, but that is thanks to the much lower body position while riding. Charging is a breeze and was, for me, as simple as using my phone charger. Big kudos to L&M for really thinking outside the box and going for super easy convenience on that one.
This light is awesome, plain and simple. The visibility it gives you and the visibility it gives you to others is invaluable, especially in more heavily trafficked areas. This is a well thought out light, with excellent run time relative to it’s battery weight. Were it up to me, every athlete whose butt ever hops on a bike saddle should have one.
Click to visit the Light & Motion website | Click to buy on Amazon
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A new study in the Academy of Management Journal shows that people who force themselves to smile at work actually wind up putting themselves in a bad mood which can, in turn, cut productivity. According to lead researcher Brent Scott, assistant professor of management at Michigan State University, “Smiling for the sake of smiling can lead to emotional exhaustion and withdrawal and that’s bad for the organization.” The flip side to this idea is that people who are truly happy and smile as a result of some happy memory or other event have an improved mood that actually makes them more efficient.
Why is this important to athletes? Many of you may remember seeing Chrissie Wellington in her first race in Kona. At the time she was a no name athlete who, from the looks of it, was having a blast on her way to her first (of three) Ironman World Championships. In fact, in all of Chrissie’s races since her smile is one constant thing, aside from blazingly fast speed, that is her calling card.
After watching that race and others with Chrissie, I decided that I would make myself smile during races and training. The thinking was that I would do all this smiling on the run since it wasn’t very practical while swimming and I seem to have some oddly contorted version of a smile while on my bike anyway.
Almost immediately I found that forcing myself to smile was harder than any run I was doing. I’m one of those people who version of getting “into the zone” often involves becoming very introspective, which tends to spill over into my facial expressions. I have become better about this and have learned to become more aware of the world around me and to get out of my own head a bit. In fact, on a ride last night I found myself thinking about kosher energy gels. I don’t know why, I’m not Jewish, but my friend Ari keeps kosher and since we’ve spoken a bit about it before my mind just wandered there.
In the 2009 New York City Triathlon I decided to put the smile thing to the test in a race setting.
Somehow, it just never clicked. In the picture at the right it’s quite clear that while my mouth may be smiling, the rest of me is not. According to this study I was actually in the process of putting myself in a worse place and was killing my productivity.
So, where does Chrissie get it? As the study says, those that are truly happy about something, whether it’s a fond memory or looking forward to something, are going to actually smile and be naturally happier. I was helping someone in a running form clinic recently. She was very much in her own head and had a constant downcast look of pain and laboring on her face while she was running. Aside form the fact that this was destroying her form since it caused her to be hunched at the shoulders and collapse her torso, it also gave her a sense of being defeated by something that SHOULD be fun.
I stopped her and we began to find a place in time where she enjoyed running. I asked her if she remembered being a small child and running barefoot in the summer. When she was a kid, she wasn’t running to fit into some clothes or for any kind of health concern, she was running because it was fun. She was running because at our core we all love that sound of wind whipping by our ears and the breeze on our cheeks. I then had her keep that memory in her mind and pick a point on the horizon which, since were right beside the beach, was easy to do. I ran ahead to let her get into that place for a minute and then she ran. It was beautiful. Smiling from ear to ear and with gorgeous form, it was not hard at all to see the child running because it is fun.
So, how do we get to that place where we aren’t forcing it but we’re truly having fun and enjoying what we’re doing? It is my opinion that we don’t necessarily need to find a specific memory or a mental escape, we just need to find a way to not be so concerned about our activity. Now, if you can do that and smile, great. If not and you find yourself with a perpetual scowl while training or racing, that’s fine too. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s what’s inside (your mind) that counts.
So, go run (or ride or swim or walk or whatever) and take a break from the arduous tendencies we all posses. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, every day we wake up and can call ourselves athletes is a good day.
Legally Blind woman wins the Flying Pig Marathon!
Triathlete stops, mid-race, to save a life.
Man REALLY gets “natural” and tries to run a marathon…NAKED!
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After kicking Haile Gebrselassie’s (and the current standing) marathon world record squarely in the ass, Geoffrey Mutai as well as the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) were lobbying hard for a new marathon world record. Alas, the B.A.A. has decided to let it go.
The Boston Marathon is not eligible for a world record according to the I.A.A.F because it is a point-to-point course and because of the amount of net elevation loss, regardless of its storied difficulty. For now though, Mutai’s time of 2:03:02 will still allow him to keep the $50,000.00 bonus for the best time of the year (but the year isn’t over?).
I wear Swedish goggles when I swim and I have been for the past twenty years (kind of partial to Malmsten). They’re light, cheap and have a great field of vision. Unfortunately they almost always come with a cheap, rubber strap that breaks after about 3 months of use. My solution? The Speedo Universal Oggle replacement strap.
The Oggle is a silicone tube strap that fits my particular brand of goggles perfectly. There is an adjustable spring barrel that makes adjusting them a very quick and easy process. Having taken a look around the interwebs I’ve seen several people saying that the tube shape of the strap doesn’t fit their particular goggle retention setup. To address this, Speedo also makes the Universal Oggle 2.0, but we have yet to try it out.
There’s really not much one can say for a goggle strap review except that it works. I have just managed to snap my first Oggle and that was at the end of 3+ years of faithful service. The silicone is soft enough to be easily worn, yet offers plenty of strength. I have since bought another and I’m looking forward to buying yet another in 3 or so years.
Click here to visit the Speedo website | Click here to buy on Amazon
There is a time when we find ourselves outdoors and in need of something a bit cooler or a bit warmer or maybe something that can keep our skin protected long after sunscreen has abandoned our pasty hides. Pearl Izumi has come at all of those scenarios head on with this very versatile top.
The Infinity In-R-Cool long sleeve top brings comfort and fit right to the forefront when it’s put on. ELITE transfer fabric combined with In-R-Cool allows the top to act as a second skin. As we know, our body cools itself by evaporating sweat from our skin thus cooling us down. Likewise, the fabric technology in this top allows for the sweat generated to evaporate keeping the body cool, even in a long sleeve top.
For additional cooling the top also includes a Direct-Vent mesh panels running from the base of the neck, down the back and to the bottom of the shirt. An eight inch zipper with an ergonomic pull allows for further, adjustable venting on the chest. The semi form fit makes for a top that moves with the athlete and become hardly noticeable.
Pear Izumi cycling has a series of ads comparing wearing their gear to being naked (see picture at
right). Putting on this top is kind of like that. The fabric is extremely light weight and supple and it really did disappear to my touch shortly after putting it on.
What interested me the most about this top was seeing how it would hold up in warmer weather. One of its biggest selling points is that it offers full UV protection, but along with that comes a price in many tops. The warmest day I’ve been able to run in with the Infinity top was about 73 degrees. Normally in that temperature I am in shorts and a sleeveless top but I wanted to see what the In-R-Cool fabric could do.
The cooling effects of the fabric and design did their jobs very well, keeping me sweaty but comfortable (which I would have been anyway). After opening the zipper to further cool myself, there was a bit of flopping of the collar. I tried to remedy this by tucking the collar under but since the fabric is so supple and silky it wouldn’t stay.
The cooling effects on my arms, which were the most obvious place to pay attention, was significant. The wicking action of the fabric did a great job dissipating heat. The thing I missed most was the air on my skin. I know this sounds like it may be turning into some weir prosaic novel but it’s true. While I fully admit that it is a point of preference, I am one who prefers to be free of sleeves of any kind in warmer weather (PI does make an Infinity In-R-Cool singlet that looks flippin’ awesome).
This top delivers and would be amazing for those with super sensitive skin that needs constant and consistent sun protection. This is a versatile piece that is perfect for transitional seasons and is a welcome addition to my running wardrobe.
Click here to visit the Pearl Izum website | Click here to buy on Amazon
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Geoffrey Mutai wants his world record
Haile Gebrselassie weighs in on the marathon world record (sort of)
2011 Boston Marathon is not Kara Goucher’s day
Ironman Louisville gets five more years
2011 Ironman World Championship Lottery Results
A closer look at “balance” bracelets, necklaces and the like
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Leave a comment HERE to be enterer to win a free pair of Stuffitts!
Natural running clinic in Milwaukee THIS WEEKEND!
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Sally Meyerhoff killed in cycling accident
Black Diamond Sprinter headlamp
Kara Goucher declares, “I’m back”
2011 Abu Dhabi International Triathlon Women’s Odds
2011 Abu Dhabi International Triathlon Men’s Odds
2011 Boston Marathon adds a third wave to the start
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Recently I’ve been getting some not so nice comments from a couple of NCAA swimmers. At least, I think it’s more than one, it might just be one. Aside from being dangerously close to violating the NCAA Code of Conduct by harassing me via the comments section of this site, they’ve completely skipped past the real meaning of a couple of swimming posts that I’ve written.
The post in question is the post I wrote in August of 2009 entitled “Life in the Fast Lane”. The point of this lane was not to point out my personal speed in terms of the elite swimming world at-large but rather to make a statement about what my speed is relative to the people against whom I am competing. Now, if I were to go head to head with one of these commenters in the pool I would no doubt get my ass kicked, and I’m ok with that. Of course that assuming they can pull their chlorine addled heads out of their butts long enough to step up on the block. I have no illusions of grandeur about my speed and when I said, “My average 100 meter swim in a race is around 1:05 (+/-)” I realize fully and completely that if held up next to any NCAA swimmers and even most competitive highschool swimmers, that is not so speedy.
All that said, when I hop into the pool where I workout [side note: one of these ass-hats ridiculed me for swimming at a Bally's, which I do because it is a 50 meter pool that is a 30 second walk from my office.], which is FOUR lanes, I am in FACT the fastest person in that pool 99% of the time. I thought that was clear enough in that post, but if not, that is what I meant.
If you line me up in a triathlon, chances are I will be in the top 2% of the swimmers out of the water (30th out of the water overall (including pros) in Ironman Wisconsin, 2009). Moreover, I want to help others be faster and I am not so arrogant as to go to someone’s website that is trying to be encouraging and leave cowardly, anonymous comments.
I’ve been deleting these comments because I don’t really want to engage in a pointless debate with a prepubescent moron who cannot pick up on the real meaning of of an article. Also, the list in the “Fast Lane” post is not meant to be sarcastic, it is real. It may sound sarcastic to people who are fast swimmers, but it is really only meant for those who truly may not know better.
I hope none of you encounter a-holes like these guys. I’ll be on the lookout for their IP addresses and email addresses so I can inform the NCAA and their schools if I need to. If I do, I’ll let you know! It would be a shame for talented swimmers to lose any scholarships and/or positions on their teams.
Probably one of the biggest complaints of people doing long training swims is good, old-fashioned boredom. I’ve heard more people than I can count wishing for music of some sort, be it from underwater speakers or from some sort of personal player. Some devices out there are essentially waterproof cases for your existing device (Ipod, etc.) but many of use are a bit hesitant to put our expensive, digital companions into water, no matter how impregnable the case claims to be. Other, stand-alone devices are built exclusively to go in the water and use a semi traditional ear bud that is meant to keep water out of your ear. However, often these can lead to water that sneaks by being held in the ear.
The SwiMP3 from FINIS is a personal, water-proof MP3 player that has gone to the next level in with its method of sound delivery. The SwiMP3 uses bone conduction technology rather than more traditional headphones or earbuds. This particular model, the 1G, holds 1 GB of music which equates to about 15 hours (or about 250 songs) worth, so for most of us this will be more than enough. It is compatible with MP3 as well as WMA music files and has an easy drag-n-drop operation and can also be used with Itunes. The SwiMP3 is mounted to your goggle straps with hydrodynamic clips that keep the business end of the SwiMP3 resting firmly against your cheekbones.
I readily admit that I am one of those people who cannot wait to get a new toy out of the box and working. That said, my patience for complicated things is sometimes more short-lived than I’d like. The first thing I wanted to do with the SwiMP3 is get some music on it and see in action what I’d heard about for a while. In all honesty, I expected the music transferring procedure to be complex and annoying, boy was I wrong. Anyone can download and view the instructions [LINK], or you can just follow mine:
That’s it. Really. I was amazed. I digress.
There are no extra parts, except the USB plug cap to the SwiMP3, just the unit itself so there are no more wires to add to your ever growing collection of clutter
(or maybe that’s just me). The USB plug, which takes care of the charging and data transferring is part of the SwiMP3 itself and stays out of the way when in use.
Once I had music on the SwiMP3 and I got a good charge on it (charging happens via USB) I fired it up. Now, I was out of the water at the time, but again, I lack patience when it comes to new toys. With the unit in place and the “speakers” in the right place on my cheekbones I hit play. Right away I was kind of taken aback at the odd feeling that I wasn’t so much hearing the music with my ears as I was hearing it from some oddly and pleasantly ethereal place. The controls on the SwiMP3 are minimalist and consist of a total of four buttons, so operation was simple and straight forward.
My first swim with the SwiMP3 was interesting. In all my years as a swimmer and out of all the miles I’ve logged, none have been with music pumping in my ear, much less my bones. It was a very cool feeling though I do admit that I found myself being lulled into an almost trance like state. While this may be a welcome change for some it was a bit distracting when it came to counting laps and paying attention to sets. With that being said, if I was doing laps with no specific count in mind, this would be perfect, but I was swimming with specific sets and intervals.
Now for the sound quality. I expected to just get the idea of a song as opposed to being able to actually hear everything. I was pleasantly surprised when every word, and phrase and even spoken word on some podcasts that I uploaded were clear and present the whole time. The one exception was only on some particularly aggressive push-off’s that managed to push the “speaker” unit away from my head for a split second.
The SwiMP3 is easy to use, light weight and allows swimmers that have a generally hard time with the boredom of long distance training, going back and forth in a pool an easy and pleasantly audible companion. Should you need it FINIS has a ton of support and how-to’s on their website though the SwiMP3 is so easy to use, if you ever visit the support page I’d be surprised. If you’re in the market for a reliable, in the pool method of entertainment, this is the way to go.
Click here to visit the FINIS website | Click here to buy on Amazon
Sorry for such a short episode guys! The new (for the next few weeks) live streaming time will be at 8 PM EST on THURSDAYS!! To join in go to: ironbrandon.com/live
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The Boston Athletic Association announced this morning a new registration procedure as well as new qualifying times. Both of these things will begin with the 2012 and 2013 races.This is in response to the record sell out time of the 2011 race which sold out in 8 hours.
First, the registration process will be a rolling admission whereupon the fastest qualifiers will be allowed entry first. Second, starting with the 2013 race all qualifying times, across both genders will be lowered by five minutes.
My two cents
While I don’t have too much of an opinion on the registration procedure, I think that the time standard change sucks.
I don’t necessarily have a problem with the open time (3:10 changed to 3:05) being lowered, though five minutes will be tough since just getting to 3:10 is tough enough. What I have a problem with (if I offend any women with what comes next, I don’t mean to. It’s nothing against anyone personally) is the RIDICULOUS notion that the women’s open qualifying time of 3:40, which will be 3:35, is somehow equal in its difficulty to the men’s qualifying times. The HALF HOUR time gap was a completely arbitrary number when it was established and is based on NOTHING. This is incredibly infuriating!
One suggestion that was being floated was to make the time difference between the men’s and women’s times the same gap between the respective world records (Men: 2:03:59, Women: 2:15:25). Hell, even make it an even 15 minutes! This is LUDICROUS.
(side note: The BAA website is getting slammed with traffic, so much so that I can’t pull up the story!)
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Happy Monday and happy Valentine’s day! Today is the beginning of a very interesting period in my life and I thought I’d take a minute to share some thoughts on where it began this morning and where it may be headed. It does have something to do with running, triathlon and the like so, read on!
Achilles
A few weeks back I mentioned that while out on a run on a day with a lot of ice on the ground I
over-extended my trailing leg and “tweaked” my achilles. Since then I’ve had to kind of knock back the intensity of some of my runs and, to be completely honest, I’ve not run 100% pain free since. I’m not sure that I’d call this a true injury per se, but rather a small stumbling block.
I had a run last Friday where I was feeling my oats a little bit and so I took it out quicker than I have been. I wasn’t in pain while running, but I was aware of the tweak. After my run (about 8.5 miles at about 7:00/mile), as soon as I stopped at the front door of my building and began walking in the hallway, my achilles lit up. P-A-I-N. It seemed that the pain came not really when I put pressure on it but rather when I took it off.
I stretched immediately but couldn’t take too much time since I still had to get to work (yes, I managed to make it out for a pre-dawn run). Throughout the day I forced myself to alter my walking gait so as to avoid any pain. I guess I looked like I was limping a bit but it was a self imposed limp rather than my body NEEDING to limp, so that has to be something.
On Saturday morning I headed out the door for a 2.5 hour brick workout. I had spoken to Coach Jeff the night before and he told me to just do the ride and to forget about the run. So my ride, which was scheduled to be 1.5 hours got upped to 2.5 hours. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to ride outside so this was a welcome change from the monotony of the indoor trainer. Upon getting on the bike my achilles, which had been largely immobilized and set in ice for most of the previous day, was feeling quite tight and sore. I made and effort to gently stretch it out when I could and after about 30 minutes of riding it loosened up and even let me ride some large-ish hills harder than I thought I’d be able to.
When not chasing my daughter and packing/cleaning, the rest of the day was spent, leg elevated and on ice. Sunday’s run was also canceled and we’re now in some odd stasis waiting to see how I feel this week. I don’t have a run scheduled until Wednesday and then I hope my patience and wisdom don’t lose out to ego and pigheadedness. There’s no point in sacrificing an entire season for a few missed runs.
As an aside, and not to go down the technical road; when I was home and able to, I spent the ENTIRE weekend in just socks. I even walked my dogs in just socks on Saturday night. When I was barefoot, I hardly felt anything at all. Today I decided to wear a pair of Newton Gravitas‘ to work since they’re effectively flat and thus far, I’m doing well.
The Subway
I got on the subway this morning (the ever so pleasant downtown 1 train) at my usual stop. The train was not very crowded and I easily got a seat at the end of a row. I tend to go for those seats since that means that I’ll only have one person squeezing in beside me rather than two. The train went from my stop (215th St.) to about 110th St. without incident, or even that much of a crowd. At 110th St. a bunch of people got on the train including one of those people who like to stand IN the doorway and block the door for those trying to get on and off the train even though there is plenty of room to stand elsewhere.
It was this door-standing, super classy individual that started my day off on the wrong foot. This guys elbow was just about level with my ear. Since he was holding onto the rail attached to the seat I was sitting in, this is not out of the ordinary and no big deal. However, as the doors would open, he would lean basically into my seat (yes, I’m aware of the sometimes overstated “American bubble” that we prefer and are spoiled with. That said, I’ve been on a subway in Japan at rush hour and I know what “close” really is). Each time he did this he was coming about 9 inches across where he needed to be and he would push, not very hard but just inconsiderately so, his arm into my head. He did not say, “I’m sorry” or even acknowledge this annoying and obvious invasion of my space.
Now, had this been simply an invasion of my “space” and not an actual instance of me being touched repeatedly in the head by some stranger, I would not really have a problem with it. At about 72nd St. there was a rather aggressive push of my head with this guy’s elbow. So, I put my hand on my head, in between my head and his arm and gently moved his arm away and said, “Excuse me, your arm keeps hitting my head.” I didn’t say this loudly of in any kind of a rude tone. The rest of the conversation went like this:
Douchey McA-hole: Don’t touch me again.
Me: I’m sorry?
Douchey McA-hole: I said, don’t touch me again.
Me: I’m sorry but you’ve been hitting me in the head with your arm for the last forty blocks.
Douchey McA-hole: I’m just trying to let people on and off the train.
Me: Well, you could go stand somewhere where you won’t have to do that and hit me in the head.
Douchey McA-hole: Don’t touch me again.
Me: If you don’t touch me again then we won’t have a problem.
Douchey McA-hole: Don’t touch me again.
Me: Or what?
Douchey McA-hole: *silence*
He got off the train at 59th St. (Columbus Circle) without further incident. I don’t like confrontation, but when I’m put in that situation, with someone literally standing over me (since he was standing and I was sitting) my hackles rise very quickly. However, I did maintain a calm demeanor which was bolstered by the very nice woman next to me who was encouraging me to ignore him since he was clearly “that kind of person”. I just don’t get it. Why do people have to be like that? I was tempted to stand up and just stare at the guy since I had about 20 pounds and 3 inches on him, but I figured that would only serve to exacerbate an already tense situation.
So, Douchey McA-hole, have a happy Monday and I’m not hoping at all that you get dropped like a sack of potatoes by someone with less patience than I have.
Looking forward
Danielle and I are going to Milwaukee this week to sing Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Skylight Opera. Being there will be a nice break from living in New York for a while, though I must admit that I doubt it will instill in me the affection that some feel for this town.
While there I hope to take Gearist TV on tours of SRAM, Saris and Trek Bikes. Gearist is doing well and is further expanding passions of mine that have been emerging for a while. Upon returning from Milwaukee, we will be looking to the future. Our lease is up in October and we are moving. We don’t know where just yet but to us, anywhere is better than here.
The spring and summer will be spent training hard and racing. The biggest race of the season of course, is Ironman Canada. I’m still toying with the idea of doing a 24 hour live podcast to help raise money for Athletes for a Cure (PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE!!). If I do do a live 24 hours show I am certainly going to need people to call in and stop by to keep me awake!
I’ll be touching more on the reasons and desires of our move in the coming months as well as the direction we’re moving in. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.
Photo: Donald Miralle/Getty Images
This is Kelly Gneiting. He is a sumo wrestler. He currently weighs 410 pounds. He is a marathoner.
In 2008 Gneiting completed the Los Angeles Marathon in 11:52:11. At the time his weight was about the same as it is now, and should have put him in the Guinness Book of World Records. However, the guidelines for this particular record, according to Guinness, say that the entire race must be filmed and that the runner must be weighed immediately before as well as immediately after the race.
The current record stands at 275 pounds, though after searching the Guinness website I don’t seem to be able to find it (if you are able, please send me the link). Training every day, with a long run of 6 miles on Saturdays, Gneiting hopes to complete the 2011 L.A. Marathon on March 20 in somewhere between nine and eleven hours.
Sites like dailymile are great for several reasons. They’re an easy way to track our training. They’re a wonderful place to be part of a large and encouraging community. They also have this great feature that puts your workout summaries on Twitter automatically (if you have that feature enabled). The coinciding tweet gives a link to your workout as well as the first few lines of detail. If it’s a swim workout, the display says something along the lines of, “@IronBrandon swam XXXX meters in XXX Minutes…” followed by a link. When I see this it really makes me wonder just HOW people are swimming.
A small disclaimer before I begin go on a tear about what I think about swim training: I have been a competitive swimmer since I was about 6 years old and am very used to true “workouts” in the pool. Now, that aside, here’s what I think a workout is; just like any other workout, there are sets and cardio work and long steady work and sprint work and tempo work and on and on. I truly hope that I’m reading all this wrong but I don’t think I am. Much of the swim training that I see seems to be people just getting in the pool and swimming laps for as long as they can take it without being bored to death. This is NOT a swim workout.
It’s true that distance training has its place in swimming, especially if you’re training for a specific long distance event. But, if your training is just a bunch of laps and you wonder why you’re not seeing any speed improvements, you’re not going to see any until you begin to mix it up. The irony is that most of us are aware that we cannot just go out and run without doing something with the run. Whether you add in something as simple as a fartlek or you’re doing a complex step-up run, we know to throw different things at our body so we improve. Swimming is no different.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to a real workout is that many of us don’t have a coach or someone to guide us through a session. Even if you do have a coach, there’s a good chance that they may not be there for your workout and thus the responsibility for pushing yourself has to come from you. You have to be willing to push yourself and to be honest with your times and effort levels. If you cheat, you’re the only one who might truly know, but at the end of the day, your speed and endurance will not progress as they should.
So, where can I find some workouts? There are some great resources online that can give all levels os swimmers a great workout. Here are a few:
So, go swim! Stop just doing laps! Push yourself and get faster. Grab a simple watch and get in the pool, you’ll be amazed what actually WORKING in the pool will do for you.
TriSports.com Phoenix Triathlon
Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island
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So I’m pretty sure that some of you will read this and mark me a certifiably insane, which is fine.
Yesterday evening as I was in the middle of a ride on my indoor trainer, I looked to my right where there was a mirror. The set I was doing was 8 x 6 minutes in heart rate 4-5a zones, hard effort with 2-minute recoveries, so needless to say I was whipping up a mighty sweat.
See, over the past few weeks I have had an extremely difficult time getting motivated to train. I’ve never been affected by seasonal influences before, but the shear amount of darkness and gloom this winter seems to have gotten a bit of the better of me. I’m not depressed by any stretch, but I just don’t “feel it” when workout time comes. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I wake up at 6 AM, leave my house by about 7 AM and sit in an office with no direct windows until about 5 PM. This gives me a grand total of approximately 30 minutes of sunlight in a day, which consists of my walks to and from the subway and my walk to and from getting lunch.
By the time I get home in the evening I just want to take the hour and a half that I have to spend with my daughter to do just that. After that if I have a run scheduled, it seems like the last thing I want to do is go out into the freezing cold and dodge snow and black ice for an hour. If I do run, my dinner doesn’t meet my stomach until 8 PM at the earliest and since I try my best to at least be in bed by 10 PM, you can see that my day gets exactly zero meaningful progress done, with the exception of spending minimal time with my family.
“Why don’t you just run in the morning?” Good question. I’ve never been that much of a morning person to begin with. However, morning is usually the coldest part of the day and to get in my workout, eat breakfast, walk the dogs, shower, move the car (depending on the day…NYC parking sucks) and get ready for work, that means I would be waking up at 4:30 AM.In the summer I do this no problem though I’m not entirely sure what the difference is. Maybe it’s that I don’t like the idea of going from a nice warm bed to sub-20° temps?
Back to the point.
So I looked to my right, into this mirror, and I started outlining my goals…out loud…to myself. Then I went over the uncanny ability I have to “logic” my way out of being motivated (see above). I talked to…me about what a waste any given day was when you’re perfectly capable of getting up and killing whatever challenges try to tear you down that day. I told myself that not being motivated doesn’t yield any results and that motivation begets motivation. That with each workout if I just relaxed and did what my body was ready to do, then that would in turn provide the energy and in turn the motivation for my next workout. I spoke to myself about how things had gone last year and the positives and the overwhelming negatives.
As I said all this, the me in the mirror listened intently and then said back to me, “Well, what are you wasting time being pissed off for? Get your ass in gear and get moving.”
Few workouts have burned so good. Now it’s time to get moving.
After a very public doping scandal following the 2010 Tour de France, Alberto Contador has officially been stripped of his title and suspended from competitive cycling for one year. Since being provisionally suspended by the UCI this past August, the Contador case has been in a kind of limbo while the cycling powers that be decided what course of action to take.
Contador’s suspension is the result of testing positive for trace amounts of clenbuterol, which is used to promote muscle gain at the same time as weight loss. Contador maintains his innocence saying that the chemical, which is also used in cattle, showed in his system as a result of eating tainted meat.
Contador has ten days to present evidence and appeal the decision.
[Contador suspended one year, stripped of 2010 Tour de France title]
I know it’s a strange time of year to be thinking about hot weather but nonetheless, here I sit, thinking about the dog days of summer and how to better deal with oppressive heat and humidity. I guess that temperature acclimation can be applied to both heat and cold. After all, I’m always reminded by friends from colder climes than mine how lucky I am that I don’t have to deal with below zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures for four months out of the year.
As I sit here, I’m getting ready to go to the pool. It’s actually quite chilly in my office and every now and then I give a little shiver. However, I am resisting the almost overwhelming urge to put on the fleece sitting about a foot to my right. Why? Well, my thinking is that if I acclimate by body to being a bit chilly then it won’t be such a shock when it comes time to strip down to my Speedo and jump in the pool.
This past summer I was speaking with Ian Adamson (7 X World Adventure Race Champion) about his preparation for the 2010 Badwater Ultra Marathon. In that race Ian won the master’s division in a time of 34:32:38. In case you’re not aware, Badwater is 135 miles through Death Valley and up Mount Whitney which is some 8,000+ feet. In preparation for the race, athletes often put themselves in training for not only the run, but the temperatures which can easily top 115° as a high during the day, and about 95° as a low. Ian told me about driving around in the summer with his windows rolled up and the heat going full blast…while wearing layers of sweats.
I think I’m going to try to move my general temperature threshold higher as we move toward summer months. The problem is, I am someone who abhors the heat and humidity. I hate to sweat (ironic, no?) and hate the feeling of being sticky. however, toward the middle of last summer I could tell a marked difference in my tolerance of heat. I found myself making my way home without sweating at all…this may not seem like much, but when you consider that my commute includes NYC subway stations which routinely top out at about 100° and the walking I had to do, that’s saying something.
So I guess we’ll see! I hope my plan works and I hope I can get my body used to warmer temperatures to the end of being able to tolerate them better in a race setting. We’ve got enough environmental factors to cope with during a race so I may as well try to move one of them to my favor.
What do you think?
I know that by now we’ve probably all read a thousand lists like this, so I figured I’d add my voice to the chorus of advice. This winter, the bite of cold air and snow is making its way to parts of the world that aren’t used to this much cold and I’ll bet that some of those people are wondering what to do since it’s not quite as balmy as usual! I could probably write a huge list of tips but for now I’ll limit myself to 10. So, here we go:
Lance Armstrong has officially pulled out of his much anticipated re-entry into triathlon. Juan Pelota, Armstrong’s swimming, biking and running alter-ego has said that he will be pulling out of the January 29th Blue Lake multisports festival in New Zealand due to a sore left knee.
Regardless of his knee situation, Lance will be riding in the Tour Down Under (January 16-23) which has has said will likely be his last professional cycling race outside the US.
Hopefully the layoff from running won’t last too long for Lance since his long time coach, Chris Carmichael has already said that the seven time Tour de France Champion will indee be toeing the line at the 2011 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in October. I know that I’d certainly like to see what Lance can do in the triathlon world and based on all the buzz, I’m far from alone!
[LINK]
Newton Terra Momentus (Men's)
The natural running revolution has been gaining a huge head of steam over the past couple of years. The funny thing is, people are treating this way of running as though it’s something new. It’s not. In fact, as long as feet have been around, so has natural running. Over the past 13 years or so, Danny Abshire, Newton’s co-founder and Chief Technical Officer, has used his passion for running smart and healthy to be at the forefront of the move back to the way things should be. Along with co-founder Jerry Lee, Danny has taken the logical principles of Sir Isaac Newton and applied them to the way we run.
The Terra Momentus marks Newtons first foray into the world of trail shoes. The Terra is built on the same basic chassis as the Sir Isaac model. Thus, it is a transitional shoe that can be run in by those well versed in natural (also known as forefoot/midfoot) running as well as those who are in the process of transitioning to the technique. As is dictated by the definition of natural running the Terra Momentus has a minimal heel-toe drop of around 3%, making it effectively flat. To give a little more insight into why that is important, think about the heel-toe drop of your bare foot on a flat surface. The drop in that case is zero. Since the Terra (which actually has the most drop among the Newton models which range go as low as 1.3% and an upcoming MV2 model with zero drop) is effectively flat, it is closer to running in bare feet, i.e. natural.
Having run in every other model of Newtons available, including the Sir Isaac, I feel that I had a great barometer for running in the Terra Momentus. This
Newton Terra Momentus (Women's)
shoe comes in as the heavyweight in the Newton lineup at 11.2 ounces (per pair, men’s size 9). That fact did not go entirely unnoticed, but I don’t feel that it affected their performance, or mine, in any way. Perhaps the biggest difference for me between this and the performance trainer series is the beveled leading edge of the actuator lugs under the forefoot.
Before I go any further I’ll take a very brief second to explain the lugs. These raised rubber ridges act just as the metatarsal heads in your foot do. They operate independent from one another, compressing a rubber membrane that reduces impact shock by some 44%. The then return that stored energy like a loaded spring reducing fatigue, allowing for greater mobility and less injury.
Back to the beveled lugs; on the performance series, both trainers and racers, the lugs are very square. Ideally, this is because the performance series are set up to be run in with a very natural, “land-lever-lift” technique whereupon the foot lands on the ground squarely atop the lugs, the body and leg lever forward over the lugs and then the foot lifts cleanly away from the ground. In the Guidance trainers, Terra Momentus and Sir Isaac, the beveled lugs gently suggest normal roll forward of the foot to enhance the “lever” action. Even though I primarily run in the performance series I haven’t had a single problem with the Terra Momentus. In fact, the beveled lugs are a welcome departure sometimes that reinforces good natural technique.
Newton Gravitas Lugs
Newton Terra Momentus Lugs
The body of the shoe itself allows for plenty of room throughout the upper. This allows for freedom of movement on trails without being overly constricting. While there is ample room inside the shoe, that isn’t to say that the fit is loose or out of control. The banding (the dark green stripes on the outside of the shoe) gave me a ton of support exactly where I wanted it. Each of the bands tops coincides with a contact point for a shoelace. This allows for clear customization of the laces if you’re like me and like to lace your shoes tighter in one spot and more loosely in another.
The sole of the shoe is a bit harder than that on any of Newtons other models offering it a bit more in the way of durability and traction on rough terrain. True to the Newton theory, you definitely feel the ground under your feet but not in a remotely damaging way. Landing on your forefoot/midfoot gives a ton of stability already and the balanced base of the Terra Momentus compliments the balance wonderfully.
The Terra Momentus is billed as a trail shoe, but I think that is misleading. This shoe handles just as well on roads as it does on dirt, rocks and gravel. In fact, using it on a road surface isn’t calling upon all of it’s offerings so why would it be anything but great there? The upper of the the shoe is a very breathable yet closed fabric which is a departure from the majority of Newtons other shoes which are largely a very open mesh. This also makes for an excellent cold weather running shoe though, keep in mind that with the exception of spiked shoes, no shoe is slip-proof on ice.
The Terra Momentus is certainly an awesome next step in the evolution of natural running. Newton has taken a lot of time and research to develop this shoe with a very close eye to its natural running ideals. If you’re looking to transition to a more natural technique, this is a wonderful shoe to start with. On top of that the price tag of $139, which is a current low for Newton, is a small price to pay for faster, more efficient and healthier running.
One more thing; mileage. While I haven’t worn through these shoes yet, I can tell you that with solid, natural technique the amount of mileage out of a pair of Newtons can be massive. Currently, I have two pairs of Newton Gravitas that have 700+ and 550+ miles each and both have plenty more miles left on them. So, before balking at the price tag, keep in mind that if you’re getting twice the mileage of a “normal” shoe all of a sudden, $139 isn’t so much to pay for a premium technology.
Click here to visit the Newton Running website | Click here to learn more about natural running
When seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong toes the line in his return to triathlon in January, he will certainly have to bring his A-game and then some to step up to the competition. New Zealand pro Bevan Docherty will join Lance at the Blue Lake Multisport Festival as well as long distance pros Bryan Rhodes and Kieran Doe.
Not that anyone expects the competition to lay down for Lance, but one has to wonder if he thought he’d be facing athletes of this caliber when he hinted to this event under his alter-ego @JuanPelota when he tweeted:
“I’m thinking the first tri is here… 38°12′S 176°20′E”
If you’re wondering why I keep referring to this as Lance’s “return” to triathlon, it’s because before he was the yellow clad cyclist we know now, he became a professional triathlete at the age of 16. In fact in 1989 and 1990 Armstrong was the national sprint course triathlon champion.
He’ll also be in Kona next October, so this race marks the beginning of a very exciting chapter in his sports career. Oh, and the name “Juan Pelota”? Google translate and a little bit of humor helps.
I think it often slips our minds. I think we all forget far more than we remember that every day of the year the United States Armed Forces are placing themselves in harms way. I think we forget that that fact is not political it is simply a fact. I think we forget that even in times of relative peace, we are enjoying that peace because someone gave their life to help make it possible.
Often at this time of year we see images of our troops abroad sending messages to loved ones back home. These are messages of love and hope. Hope that families will be reunited soon and that God will see the person on the other end through another day safely. We take for granted the fact that many families are unable to have such virtual conversations because the soldier who should be wishing for home has laid down his or her life in the ultimate sacrifice of millions of Americans who will never even know.
Throughout the days, months and years politicians, organizations and individuals use our Armed Forces as a bargaining chip or as an idealogical standard. The fact of the matter is, it doesn’t matter which side of the spectrum you come from, our troops protect all of us. If someone doesn’t believe in having a military at all, that person’s right to stand up and yell that is protected daily by the same troops that are the focus of their ire. If a soldier is homosexual or heterosexual, whether you agree with it or not, they still bleed and they still die. Whether you like it or not our troops are , in fact, sacrificing their lives for us all.
During this season of love, joy, peace and fellowship, we should all strive to keep in mind that thousands of families won’t be together because someone is standing vigil over our freedoms and the freedoms of others. Someone is taking up arms and willingly standing in front of a faceless enemy that wants nothing more than to wreak havoc on peace. Mothers and fathers, sisters and brother, friends and spouses, every one of the members of our armed forces knows what could lay in store for them, yet still they protect and defend us all.
It is with gratitude and profound humility in my heart that I say to the members past and present of the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force, United States Coast Guard and all those in the United States National Guard and Reserves; thank you. Not just this season, but in all seasons, on all days. Thank you, merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and happy new year.
Brandon Wood
Yeah, I know I wrote a post about the off season last week. However, I may be thinking that’s more about racing than training. Even then, I have two races that I know of right now, so is it even off season at all?
Anyway, with the recent spat of cold temperatures spilling across much of the United States a lot of us were thrust rather abruptly into winter. Still others are already digging out from under monumental amounts of snow! Here in New York City wind chill temperatures have been shoved well into the teens for about a week straight so far and it’s only December!
So, how’s your winter training going? Leave a comment HERE and let us know!
We’ve arrived at that time of year (Ok, I’ve arrived at that time of year). The major marathons are over, triathlon season is hanging on to the last vestiges of warmth in the Northern Hemisphere and many of us are still digging our way out of a Thanksgiving and football induced coma. We have arrived at “The Off Season”.
As I look back at the past few months, since the remnants of the previous off season gave way to flowers and warmth, and I begin to lay out the next few months of my schedule, I’m actually quite surprised at how much “on season” stuff I’ll be doing. If you read or heard my race report from the 2010 Philadelphia Marathon or the comments that followed, you may have noticed that I really didn’t race that much this year and now that I’m not in über hard core training, I actually find myself wanting to race more.
2010 began well enough with a new half marathon PR in the Manhattan Half Marathon (part of the New York Road Runners half marathon series). That race marked a few firsts; the first time I had someone pacing me (thanks @RunningLam!), the first time I felt like I really “raced” a race of that distance no matter how humble my actual time was and also the first time I went into a race with a very distinct plan and was able to stick to it. I found that this race also got me moving in a solidly good direction in terms of my running. In fact, less than a month after this race I broke my PR time of 1:35:20 quite easily by over two minutes…during a workout!
The next race up was Ironman 70.3 Mooseman in June. Seeing as I had not been in an actual race since June, I was already falling into a pattern of training and not racing. Mooseman went quite well all thing considered such as the torrential downpour, hills that I was not quite expecting and the mud pit that was transition. Little side note, I set a new half marathon PR of 1:35:08 which should tell you something about the direction of my fitness since that was after a 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile, HILLY bike ride.
Next up was the New York City Triathlon in the middle of July. It was a reasonably good race though I managed to swallow about half the Hudson River during the swim only to almost puke it up on the bike. Going into this race I had the goal of getting my elite time (2:15) and I did get that time…by 15 seconds. I’ll take it but I know that I can do better and while I’m not scheduled to race the NYC Tri this summer, I will be back and I will kill it.
By this point in the year I had only done three races and was training far to hard. Now, I don’t want this to appear as though I was being told to train as hard as I was. In fact, coach Jeff was constantly telling me to reign it in on my workouts and I and my ego didn’t want to listen. Yes, I was going faster and farther but I was in the process of peaking far too early. About a month before my biggest race of the year, Ironman Louisville, my body shut down and refused to go. For about a week I simply could not put together any solid workouts at all. During this time and in the rest of the lead up to Louisville, coach Jeff deserves a massive amount of credit from bringing me back from what could have easily been the end of my season right there.
If you’re not already aware, my Ironman Louisville ended in a medical DNF. This was due to still unexplained cramping throughout my whole body. Shortly after IML, I resolved to get back and do something and so I signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon and shortly following that, I went to the Chicago Marathon with Newton Running (GREATEST RUNNING COMPANY/SHOES EVER) and while there had the opportunity to pace my brother-in-law in his first ever marathon. The run was amazing and I had a blast but I wouldn’t exactly call it a race.
Last weekend when the Philadelphia Marathon rolled around and I wound up in the porta-jon at mile 11, my race quickly switched from the full marathon to the half. This led to countless conversations since then about WHY. The answer that seems to be coming around was racing. See, in 2009 I raced in 15 different events and this year (2010) only 6.
Maybe I’m wrong about why Philly went bad and maybe it’s something that we’re all missing. I also have to give a big, unsolicited shout to Newton Running and to Jeff for keeping me injury free for so long (knock on wood)!
For now I’m going to race more. I’m going to have fun and I’m going to just enjoy the “off season” and really, REALLY use it to build strength. Hopefully when I come out on the other side of this period of the year it won’t feel like an off season at all but will have me itching to swim, bike and run FAST. Meanwhile, I’ll also be doing the stuff that winter allows for; skiing, hiking, camping, cross country and introducing my 8 month old daughter to the amazing world we live in.
How does your off season look so far?
Disclaimer: This post, while not too gross, will be WAY more than I ever wanted to share. Here’s to painful honesty!
For me, the 2010 Philadelphia Marathon was something of a redemptive race. I ran the race last year and after stopping to pee at the halfway mark had a vasovagal episode which found me puking up all of my nutrition and messing up the rest of my race. It was also an important race since it would be my first race since my medical DNF at Ironman Louisville in August. I did run the Chicago Marathon this year on 10/10, but that race was run with me as pacer for my brother-in-law so while I had a blast and a great run, it wasn’t “my” race. So, Philly 2010 was important to me.
@RunningLam and I would be driving down together since he would be going to Philly for his second consecutive shot at the half marathon. The way the races are set up is that the racers for both event start and run the first 13 or so miles together and then the half marathoners split off to the finish line while the marathoners keep going [COURSE MAP]. We drove down on Saturday morning and got into town just in time to meet up with several online friends for a great lunch at the Marathon Grill. Special thanks to @EricaSara for organizing everything.
After lunch Lam and I headed to our hotel to check in and then made our way to the Pennsylvania Convention Center for the expo. Check in was very easy and quick with plenty of volunteers and staffers helping guide racers to the correct place. The expo itself was not so great. I think the problem is that Philly is kind of a second (or so) tier marathon and is after all of the big races. It also happened that it took place on the same weekend as The Running Event in Austin, Texas and Ironman Arizona so I’m sure a lot of exhibitors may have chosen those larger events over this one. We probably spent about an hour total at the expo and decided to head back to the hotel to rest for a bit before going to grab dinner.
I think now would be as good a time as any to address food. For my races, especially for dinner the night before a race, I tend to call Coach Jeff to ask what is best for me to eat. For lunch on Saturday I had a nice blend of protein and carbs in the form of a very well made burger for lunch and for dinner I had a grilled chicken salad with a side of rice. I was feeling absolutely fine and was hydrating well. When I was about to go to bed I remembered that I had not (get ready for the over-share) used the bathroom that day…let’s just say #2 (blush). I didn’t think anything of it and just figured I would go in the morning.
I slept well and woke up as usual before any race, with plenty of time to wake up in the shower. Before getting in the shower however, I tried to do what I had not had to do the night before. Still a no go. Still feeling fine and not worried about it, I showered and finished the rest of my race morning rituals. I had a whole grain English muffin with sunflower butter and jelly and water.
Since we were literally 2 minutes from the starting area we didn’t have to brave to cold too much beforehand. As we got to the corrals Lam and I wished each other luck and parted ways. I got into my corral and was right with the 3:20 pace group. The wheelchair racers went off first shortly followed by the elite field. When it was my turn there was surprising little traffic. Yes, there were still a lot of people but I think since I was much farther up in the corrals than last year there was a much more down-to-business approach with the faster group and people seemed to hold their lines much better.
I was feeling great and pleasantly surprised at the good pacing being done by the pacer (last year’s 3:30 pacer was running 7:15/mile at about mile 14). I actually had to reign myself in a couple times to keep from going too far off the front. The temperature, which was a cool 38° F at the start had come up a couple of degrees and felt fantastic. I was having a wonderful time and running well.
At about mile 5 I started to feel like I had eaten a huge bowl of gnocchi and got a little uncomfortable. I pushed this feeling out of my mind and focused on the fact that I was otherwise feeling great and running well. As the miles wore on this feeling did not go away and began to become increasingly uncomfortable. Miles 6-10 (approx.) are hilly, both up and down and are deceptively so when looking at the course map and elevation. The last, longer hill just before the 10 mile marker put the hurt on a lot of people and agitated my stomach big time. I quickly realized that it was important that I get to a bathroom SOON.
I stopped at a bank of porta-jons somewhere near mile 11. I felt awful. That’s all I have to say about that.
Upon leaving the restroom I quickly realized that I had to make a decision. I could finish with the half marathon group or I could stop at porta-jons for the next 15 miles. My stomach quickly told me which option to choose and I laid down 2 very fast miles (about 6:15′s) to the finish line of the half. I kept running past the finish and directly to the restrooms…again.
I’m not quite sure yet how I feel about this race. Part of me thinks that I should just call it a solid half marathon and leave it at that. Another part of me says, “Yeah, but you signed up for the marathon.”. I will say this though, at least I can kind of put my finger on what went wrong and why. Moving forward, I’m going to aim to race more. This past year I haven’t raced much. I have trained a LOT, but I have neglected the short, local races that allow athletes to get into the often hazardous and elating head-space of racing.
The race as an event is a really great production. While it is a smaller race, the energy and the way that the city of Philadelphia rolls out the red carpet is really heartfelt and wonderful. The temperature the past two years has been optimal for running a marathon. I’m not sure that I’ll do this race again any time soon simply because of the bad experiences that I’ve had, but those experiences were mine alone and should in no way reflect on this race. I had a great time and after getting of two days worth of food sitting in my stomach I felt like a millions bucks, bruised ego aside.
This morning I read the below linked article from Runner’s World. It references entry into the 2011 Boston Marathon. If you’re not familiar with the incredible deluge of unhappy BQ’ers this year, I’ll give a brief summary.
In years past registration for the Boston Marathon has taken months to fill up for those qualified runners. However, when the registration for the 2011 running of the famous race opened on October 18, the race filled up in about eight hours. Obviously this angered many of those who had qualified to run but were knocked out simply by timing.
At the time the Boston Athletic Association came out and basically said, “Sorry“. Well, apparently now they’ve decided to extend entries to some of those that reported having “problems” registering on October 18 that prevented them from entering in time. Sounds to me like they still don’t have their ducks in a row, but I guess it’s better than nothing.
Fourteen months ago 1st Lieutenant Ryan McGuire lost his leg in a boating accident on Lake Amistad. The wind caught an inner tube sitting next to him, and the rope attached to the tube yanked him from the boat and he flew out at 40 miles per hour, dislocating his hip, fracturing his pelvis, and mangling his foot. Since that day, McGuire has undergone rehab with a prosthetic leg, run in the Air Force Marathon, and competed in the Warrior Games in his Newtons. It is remarkable to see someone focused enough to make such a quick recovery. You can read the full story here.
McGuire is still determined to become a pilot, and was approved to return to training on October 29th. We wish him the best of luck!
After all that went down last week with the whole Ironman Access debacle, you’d think that Ironman (WTC) would really be making sure to be on their best behaivior for a while. Not so.
Ironman 70.3 Miami was this past weekend and according to many reports it was replete with problems. The complaints included (but were not limited to) the run course going over the same bridge EIGHT times. Bad layout and road conditions on the bike course. Also a amazing lack of water along the bike course leading some racers to pull over and try to fill their bottles with the remains of discarded bottle on the side of the course.
To be absolutely fair, Ironman did not produce this event themselves, rather it was put on by Paramount Productions, though the race was licensed and branded by WTC as an Ironman 70.3 event. Now however, Ironman has stepped in and will be running the race moving forward.
In response to this latest flop, Ironman has offered entrants in the race a complimentary entry into one of several 70.3 races next year. See the link below to read the full press release from Ironman.
Taking a brief look at Ironman’s (WTC) Facebook page today, I was not entirely shocked at the vitriol that continues to permeate the triathlon giants’ wall. If you’re a lover of multisport and you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of days, I’m referring to the following:
World Triathlon Corporation (Ironman) Announces “Ironman Access”
Ironman Rescinds the Ironman Access Program
Now that we’re all caught up, I suggest you click on over to Ironman’s Facebook page yourself and take a look at what others have to say. The positive comment are there, but they’re far outweighed by the negative. They even include the point that the Ironman World Championship next year will be held on October 8, 2011. What’s the problem with that you say? Well, that’s Yom Kippur and as a non-Jewish guy, I’m even a bit annoyed that this seems to be a non issue to the powers that be.
I don’t know. It does seem, however, that Ironman (WTC) tends to leap before looking. This has been a pattern that seems to be increasing. Their seemingly blatant disregard for outside parties is quite shocking. IronBrandon’s Podcast interviewee, one Jordan Rapp (@rappstar), took to his twitter to point out a couple more issues that seem to be getting largely swept under the rug:
Things seem to be snowballing over at Providence Equity Partners (Ironman & WTC’s owner). Maybe it’s time to go back to what you set out to do: triathlon.
Yesterday you (WTC) announced the “Ironman Access” program. By now, a mere 24 hours later, you may be having second thoughts about this (almost) universally condemned revenue tactic. I have not seen one comment, tweet or blog post that is supportive of this new program though I say “(almost) universally condemned” because I’m sure there is some M-dot sycophant out there who’s already bought in.
Ironman started and thrived as a sport of endurance and pushing oneself to strive for something great. The fraternity of Ironmen and Ironwomen is one that most people will never have any concept of, yet year after year, thousands of people around the world sign up to push themselves to the limits of human endurance. That was before.
Over the past couple of years, Ironman (WTC) has become nothing more than a money hungry leviathan that is rapidly shedding it’s mystique as something great to strive for and picking up the mantle of something to save your pennies for. The $550+ entry fee is already an amazingly high price for any event. Now, as someone who has competed in Ironman events, I am aware that they are generally quite well run and well supported. However, the people that staff these events are, by and large, volunteers, and thus unpaid. I just don’t understand the numbers so maybe you guys could break that down for everyone. (Send links to me at info@ironbrandon.com)
Now for Ironman Access. For the price of a mere $1000 dollars, here’s what we get:
This program is a joke and mark my word, you will lose athletes because of it. It seems that separating the proverbial wheat from the chaff is all you guys are focused on these days. Starting with the professional 8% rule (way to go back on that one) and now this.
I have one M-dot on my calendar next year, and after that, I think I’ll be taking my desire, will and drive to race elsewhere. You guys may be the biggest and oldest game in town, but you are not the best by FAR. It’s sad to see such a venerable institution slide down a money lined slope toward mediocrity. Enjoy the ride.
The following article was written by Danny Abshire, Newton co-founder, and covers the mind-body connection necessary for natural running.
Learning to run with natural, efficient form isn’t just a physical endeavor. It is a whole body movement, coordinated by an instinctive mind-body connection. The many motions your body makes when running are choreographed and orchestrated by the brain as it continually tries to rebalance your body with gravity.
When running naturally, two major factors allow us to default to the healthiest, most efficient running posture. The first is maintaining a posture that is neutral or balanced with gravity. Stand up barefoot and notice if your feet and pelvis are level, and if you are lined up vertically from the head through your shoulders, hip and knee through the center of the foot.
Second is the sensory input derived from your feet, specifically the forefoot. The brain is a proficient computer that instantaneously responds to input from the foot by making the micro adjustments needed to keep your legs, arms, torso, shoulders and head positioned to be balanced with gravity. And thanks to the harmonious mind-body connection we have, it can all happen without us thinking about it.
Through gait analysis patterns and scientific studies we know that when running naturally or barefoot humans will instinctively touch the earth with a midfoot or forefoot landing, and we will touch with less impact than a heel-strike landing. When running naturally, your forefoot senses the ground the instant it touches down and starts a kinematic chain that propels your running mechanics into the most efficient and effective position for the terrain you’re on. Subconsciously, you alter your form slightly on different types of terrain and in different conditions — slippery, wet, dry, rocky, muddy, steep, flat. Why? Because your brain takes the sensory feedback from the forefoot’s interaction with the ground and positions your body accordingly.
Your brain helps the body make adjustments to find the proper balance with gravity, no matter what compromises it has to make. For example, something placed under a portion of the foot which puts it out of a level, balanced position will cause the whole body to react and make micro adjustments to center itself.
A common but detrimental example of this is running with shoes where the heel is lifted 12-15mm higher than the forefoot. The ramp angle caused by this lift (which can be found in most traditional training shoes made in the past 30 years), forces the body to make adjustments to become balanced with gravity. Knees become locked instead of the pliable spring suspension systems, hips tilt forward, the lower back arches and the upper torso tips backward. This results in more pressure put on the knees, hips and lower spine. In other words, the mind-body connection puts us in balance with gravity, but the whole body kinematics will be such that we’re trying to move efficiently from a very inefficient (heel-striking) position. Worse yet, the soft cushion of foam in the built up heel sends the incorrect message that it is safe to run with an inefficient heel-striking position.
It’s easy to see that this is not an optimal. Running from this position, your body must continue to compensate with all of its movements. With each stride, it’s trying to return to a compromised balanced-with-gravity position. The most common result is a heel-striking gait rather than the more efficient midfoot or forefoot footstrikes. The braking motion involved with heel striking allows your body to quickly get balanced with gravity, but it demands more muscular force to regain the momentum lost while braking at the start of each stride.
That’s why some runners — many whom have been running for years — will say, “I’m a natural heel striker,” or “I heel strike when I get lazy.” The truth is, it has nothing to do with being natural or lazy and has everything to do with the mind-body connection. Your body is compensating for the compromised starting position in shoes with a built-up heel, which is not sustainable for most people.
If you’re starting in a position in which you are balanced with gravity and your feet are flat on the ground (or in shoes with only a slight ramp angle – less than 3%), your body doesn’t have to compromise at all. With a slight forward lean from the center of your mass, you will start to fall forward. Lift your leg and place your foot level back under your body, and you’re running naturally. Meanwhile your uncompromised mind-body connection will position your head, arms, torso and hips so you can move as efficiently as possible. It’s what our body knows from the time we’re born and it’s the most efficient form of running. And it’s what allows our muscles, heart and lungs to exert the least amount of effort while running at any given pace.
So, I heard this morning and was also informed by the one and only @stplatt, that one of the Chilean miners recently liberated from his earthen prison has been invited to run in the ING New York City Marathon. I have to admit that when I heard this, the news was met by an immense eye roll. I think it’s cool and I think that it’ll be like many things are these days, a big payoff in terms of publicity. The semi problem is that this will bring all that many more people to apply for an already overloaded lottery.
I guess I’m still on the fence about how to feel about this. Especially considering the fact that I’m a THREE-TIME NYC Marathon rejectee. What do you guys think?
As an aside, it turns out that the miner in question, Edison Peña, is also a triathlete (Read more here)
As outdoor lovers and athletes we all know that versatility is key to being comfortable in any situation. We’re also not big on having a bunch of overly bulky, uncomfortable and unnecessary “stuff” weighing us down. Cyclists in particular are sticklers for this type of thing. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve headed out for a longer ride where temperatures have started off too cool for just a short sleeve jersey and have rapidly gotten far too warm for a long sleeved jersey of jacket.
Having a good pair of arm warmers in your gear, whether for cycling, running or whatever, is one of the smartest and most affordable things you can do. I have been using SmartWool‘s arm warmers for the past few months(excluding Summer, of course) and am in love with them. Honestly, like a lot of people, you hear “wool” and itchy comes to mind. I’ve worn and continue to wear SmartWool socks all the time, but my arms seemed like they would be something much more susceptible to itchiness. I was wrong.
The thing about these arm warmers and most of SmartWool’s stuff is that it’s so lightweight but you don’t lose the insulating factor. At the same time, it’s super breathable and you don’t get that potentially closed off feeling. The welt at the wrist and upper arm (the thing that holds them in place) is hardly noticeable and has no silicon or other gripping material to annoy your skin. Even when I’ve left these on longer than I should and they get a bit sweaty, the weight of them when I take them off is so super light that I don’t notice them, whether they’re down around my wrists or in a pocket.
The only possible drawback is a tiny bit of shrinking that occurs length-wise after washing. My arm warmers shrank maybe three quarters of an inch and that was easily remedied by doing a quick stretch before using them.
I would highly recommend SmartWool arm warmers. They’re a versatile and lightweight option on days where the temperature keeps you guessing.
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Click here to visit the SmartWool site | Click here to buy on Amazon[/box]
For the past few months, I have had the opportunity to use the Suunto T6C Red Arrow. Along with the unit itself, the folks at Suunto were kind enough to let me try their “triathlon pack“, which includes:
Suunto Foot POD
Suunto Road Bike POD
Suunto Cadence POD
Suunto Memory Belt
Suunto Dual Comfort Belt (included with unit)
The first thing that I noticed about the T6C is it’s size. In the past, I’ve had a Garmin FR 305 as well as currently using a Garmin FR 405. The T6C is roughly the same size as the FR 405, but whereas the 405 feels to me like a computer in it’s rigidity, the T6C feels like a sports watch. The band is the same flexible yet durable rubber I’ve become used to on my Timex Ironman (which, as fate would have it, bailed out just before I got the T6C).
The face of the T6C is large enough to not have to (if you’re me) bring it within 2 inches of your fading eyesight. The display has three main lines or fields of display; top, middle and bottom. The middle display field is the primary and largest of the three. The top and bottom lines are significantly smaller, though still plenty visible. There are three buttons on the right side (lap, mode and light) and two on the left (start/stop and view back).
Unlike other units, the T6C’s battery is extremely easy to remove, not that I’ve had to remove it though since the battery has yet to die. It is very lightweight and equipped with ANT+ wireless technology. However, while it is capable of using ANT+ to sync to your computer, there is also an available USB method which, since I do not have their “Movestick“, is my preferred method of syncing. On a side note, I think Garmin really dropped the ball when they went to an ANT+ only sync. There have been several times with my FR 405 where I had trouble syncing with ANT+ and would have given anything for USB capability (see: Garmin FR 305).
I have used four heart rate belts in my time (did I just sound like an old man?) and this belt is by far the most comfortable. Traditionally, HR belts have a flexible plastic front and are about a foot wide until the attach to a soft, elastic strap. This belt is entirely soft and elastic with the exception of the plastic circle right at the front, which is hardly noticeable (note: Garmin has since come out with their own soft style HR belt).
In the past the only kind of foot pod-esque thing I’ve used is the Nike+ system. Since I stopped using that, I’ve used the GPS function on my Garmin FR 305 to tell me distance, pace and such. One of the issues I have with foot pods is calibration. First, I have a quick foot cadence that has the potential to throw things off a bit. Second, mine and everyone else’s foot cadence varies depending on the type of run and the length of a run (i.e. the more tired you get, your stride might become shorter or may stretch out).
The Suunto foot pod is very light and attaches fairly quickly. Calibration was and remains a slight issue, and at some point it actually seems to have gotten whacked out of calibration and had to be redone. The way I figure it, there is up to about a 1-2% margin of error over the course of a ten mile run.
The Suunto Road Bike Pod has probably the coolest method of attachment of any cycling speed I 
have seen. The front skewer IS the speed sensor! All you have to do is remove your own skewer, replace it with the Suunto Road Bike Pod skewer, attach the included magnet to your spoke in the proper place, enter your wheel size and go. That may seem like a few too many steps to be called “simple”, but it truly is and all totaled takes maybe five minutes at the most. Calibration is no issue and with the exception of having to replace the battery once, this has worked flawlessly (after pairing which I will address later).
Since first seeing this, I have discovered that Mavic has an almost identical product to this. If that works as well as this, I imagine it’s also a great idea.
The cadence pod is one of those things that, until you train a ton on the bike and realize that watching your speed is NOT the way to go, you may not see the value in. This cadence pod it meant to attach via zip-ties to the seat tube of your bike, just above the bottom bracket (how far above your BB is of course dependent upon the length of your crankset, mine is 175mm). The huge problem that I ran into is that my frame is “aero” and as a bladed seat tube. This presents two problems; first, the included zip-ties were barely long enough to fit around the right place on my frame. Second, since the back side of the seat tube of my bike is essentially cut to the exact size of my wheel, there is simply NO room, even for the thin zip-ties. After riding for only once, I discovered that dirt and such was building up between my tire and frame and the zip-ties were scraping my tire. Not good.
How did I get around this? Well, since I still had/have my Garmin bikepod (which incidentally contains both the speed and cadence sensor) attached to the non-drive side chainstay, that option was out. the only other option that I could see was to attach it to the underside of my drive side chainstay, essentially putting inside of the chain’s circuit. This worked out fine, though I’m certainly glad I never had my chain come off and either get tangled in the sensor or break the cadence pod itself.
The Memory Belt is probably one of the coolest toys in this bundle. The belt itself is similar to traditional HR belts with a flexible plastic front and elastic strap. What makes the memory belt so cool is that it’s a completely contained unit when it comes to recording data. In other words, let’s say you want to go for a ride or run without your T6C or other compatible unit, the Memory Belt itself will record all of your data for downloading later. According to the Suunto website, it can record for up to 24 hours without stopping. On top of that, the belt can give you real time feedback through the Suunto Monitor, part of the Suunto Training software.
This is my biggest issue with this product. Suunto’s Training Manager (and included Suunto Monitor) software is ONLY PC compatible and I am a Mac guy. According to Suunto’s forums they are “working on” a Mac version, but the software has not, from what I can tell, been updated since October of 2008. Of course, I did get the always present answer of , “you can run Parallels or
something”, when trying to find a solution. So, I did run it with Windows via VMware Fusion, but I felt that to be more trouble than it was worth.
The best solution that I have found and one that Suunto has worked hard on is Movescount.com. Movescount is a FREE web-based “sports community”, but the upload tool and available data from workouts is hugely substantial. While the data is not as entirely in depth as it is in the Training Manager software, it does go much farther than most people will need. Syncing with Movescount is both Mac and PC based and works easily via the Moveslink software.
Out of the box the T6C itself is pretty intuitive in it’s initial setup. I had mine setup with the time, date and personal information (age, height, weight, etc.) inside of ten minutes. The more info you give the T6C, the more useful info it can put out. As with any device like this, it pays to be honest in entering things like fitness level.
Then came the pairing. Pairing, for those of you who may not have ever had to do it is setting up one device to work in conjunction with another. In this case, I had to pair all the pods with my T6C (foot pod, cadence pod, etc.). Pairing all of these things was a seemingly impossible task. Not because of the number of devices, but because they would not pair! I probably spent two hours total getting things to connect to each other. Part of it was a bit of impatience, but part of it was the seemingly unnecessary methods (this pod must be upside down for pairing to occur (??)). All this said, since my initial pairing I have not had any pairing problems even when faced with having to change batteries.
Each of the pods delivered with flying colors in terms of ease of use. As I mentioned above, the foot pod left a bit to be desired in terms of accuracy, as most foot pods/pedometers do. So far as battery life goes, I have only had to change two batteries in the three months (give or take) that I’ve been using the Suunto system. The first was on the Road Bike Pod and the second was on the Memory Belt.
The Memory Belt is quite an amazing tool when it comes to “running naked”, which is to say, training without a constant eye on the clock. With that comes a bit of complexity that can be admittedly frustrating in the middle of a particularly long or difficult workout. The Memory Belt beeps. That is all fine and good as it different beeps denote different status updates. However, on more than one occasion I found myself having to remove the Memory Belt because it would not stop beeping at me. Additionally, different beep and flashing light combinations mean different things. For instance:
You can see where keeping all this straight in your head could be challenging. After a while of dealing with beeps on what seemed like every other workout, I reverted to using the sound-less Dual Comfort Belt and am much happier.
The T6C unit itself measures ascent and descent during training. However, there were several times that I noticed my T6C recording my total ascent in the 25,000 foot neighborhood. Granted, I was on a long ride, but the likelihood of me climbing 25,000 feet in one ride is fairly low. Another feature that I don’t quite get is the fact that whenever the clock is stopped and then restarted, a new lap is started as well. For instance, if I pause to take a sip of water and stop the clock and want to keep track of my true lap time I cannot because upon restarting, the lap timer starts anew. This becomes particularly annoying during swim workouts where I stop and start my timer several times during a workout. To be honest, this may be a feature that I can disable and just have not had the time to look into, so if I find that it is simply a setting, I will update this review.
The on-board memory of the T6C leaves something to be desired. I won’t venture a guess as to the exact amount of workout time and the number of workouts/events that the T6C can hold, but suffice it to say that it is not a lot. This is likely for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the T6C is a small device for its capabilities. Also is the weight, which comes in at a not-so-whopping 55 grams. As I mentioned earlier, I have taken to wearing my T6C as my every day watch and even though it has indeed been put through its significant paces, I have yet to change the battery.
This is by far the most significant obstacle to buying a T6C. The T6C unit itself currently retails for $282 on Amazon (Suunto T6C Personal Trainer Heart Rate Monitor
When I began using the T6C I freely admit that I had a slight learning curve coming from using the Garmin Forerunner series. However, along the way I have really come to enjoy my T6C. It is a solid, feature rich device that gives the wearer the flexibility of an every day watch that doesn’t have to be changed out for something else when workout times comes. There is also something to said for not having to worry before every other workout if you’ve remembered to charge the battery enough to make it for the entire time.
If you can get around the price point, the T6C is a great device that goes the extra mile in giving you real time feedback. I see this in my gadget arsenal for a long time to come.
Continued from: 2010 Ironman Louisville: Race Report Part 1 – Before the race
On race day, August 29, 2010, I woke up at 3 o’clock AM. The reason I got up so early was too afford myself the time to follow my usual, daily routine. I know it may seem silly to some, but for me having the time to wake up, eat breakfast, shower and basically just give myself the time to get in gear is imperative.Also, since the transition area opened at 5:30 AM, I wanted plenty of time to get there, park and get to my bike.
I arrived at the transition area at about 5:10 AM. Already there was a huge mass of people waiting to be let in to transition in order to make final adjustments and nutritional additions to their bikes and transition bags. In my past experience, people are always early for these types of pre-race tasks, but due to the nature of the swim start, it was especially important in this race. You see, the swim start for Ironman Louisville is a time trial start. The reason for this is that the swim was taking place in the Ohio River, and the first third of the swim led athletes upstream in between Towhead Island and the shore. Therefore, there was not nearly enough room for the traditional Ironman mass start.
As it turned out, we were allowed into transition a few minutes early. I headed straight to my bike to fill my Speedfil (filled with 3 hours worth of my custom blend from Infinit Nutrition) and to top off my tires. I had done pretty much everything I needed to the day before, so I was all prepared and headed with the a boat-load of other people on the 3/4 mile walk to the swim start. As I walked, there were people literally hauling ass by me to get a decent place in the line to start. The reason for this (and a HUGE complaint for me) is that the line for the swim start had ABSOLUTELY NO RHYME OR REASON. It was entirely first come, first serve. I will go into this more in my review of the parts of the race that I experienced later, but as you can guess, I think the way it starts is crap.
I, like many others, had someone holding a place in line for me. While I imagine that had I not been fortunate enough to have this, I would have been furious at those who did. However there was/is no rule against it and that opportunity presented itself, so I took it. I was placed very close to the front of the line and knew I’d be in the water quickly once the cannon sounded.
As time drew nearer, volunteers were gathering morning clothes bags about 45 minutes before the actual start. This was a problem for many (including me) because it left us standing there, with no water, clothes or anything else we may want for 45 minutes (again, I’ll go into this more in my review later). I did run to the bathroom at one point, which meant going quite a way from where I was standing (many thanks to my line buddy for holding my spot). This was sort of easy, though the bathrooms were situated right beside the line for going in the water so it looked like some sort of spandex-clad M.C. Escher drawing.
I picked my way back to my spot in line, past a throng of not-so-pleased athletes, and waited. The professional start was right at 6:50 AM and we were to go off ten minutes later. In that ten minutes, a very talented trumpeter played the Star-Spangled Banner as well as My Old Kentucky Home. Then things began to get energized.
When the cannon went off, the lines we were in moved super fast. I put on my cap and goggles and watched my fellow competitors jumping off two separate docks. Swimmers were going in two at a time off each dock basically one on top of the other. It was actually quite dangerous looking and you really had to be careful not to jump on the swimmer in front of you.
I walked out on the dock and jumped.
To be continued…
There are so many tips for beginner cyclists floating around the internet that to cover them all could be a complete website unto itself (and probably is!). This list is the top ten things that I think every beginner cyclist should know (assuming you’ve already got a bike). Please leave your own beginner cyclist tips in the comments!
Again, this list is by no means comprehensive. Please leave your tips in the comments!
I headed out my door this morning at 5:30 AM. At that time, it was 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 85% humidity. My run was to be:
Keep heart rate in zones 1-3 on a rolling course. Allow heart rate to gradually rise to zone 3 as pace builds, but don’t force it up. Duration 1:30:00
As I began, I felt decent if a little tired from waking up at 4:30 AM. I started on my favorite route and by the time I got about 1.25 miles into it I noticed that I was literally pouring sweat. This continued until I got about 27 minutes into my run when I decided to turn back. Up to this point, my sweat rate had been epic and this is considering the fact that I am a heavy sweater to begin with. My heart rate had also been jumping far higher than it should. Basically, my effort was far more than it should have been.
Once I turned around, these things were only compounded by my mental state and the fact that I even found myself walking a couple of hills (not sure if the walking was an effort thing or a screw it thing). Once I got home, it took me ten minutes of standing in a cold shower with my clothes on to get my heart rate under 100 and to get me to a point where I didn’t feel like I was going to overheat. This run officially ranks as #2 on my list of all time worst runs (just behind my first marathon) and is certainly my worst ever workout run (that I can remember, I’ve never walked part of a workout).
This brings me to my question. How do you mentally recover from a bad workout? I’m not worried about the physical part, I don’t have time for that. It the mental thing and the fact that I can’t say, “well, I’ve had worse runs”, because I haven’t had worse runs. So what do you do?
This isn’t going to be some long, drawn-out diatribe about what kind of “strike” is best. I just wanted to take a quick second to make an observation.
The buzzword when debating this topic is “footstrike” (see also: foot strike, foot-strike, Fuß strike and mul strejk). At the same time, those doing the debating, or rather stating (of which I too am guilty) speak mainly of the way our feet land on the ground while wearing shoes. That being the case (most of the time) I think that the term “footstrike” is a misnomer.
You see, when wearing just about any shoe (before anyone goes commenting on this, please not that I said JUST ABOUT ANY, which means, not all), the heel is higher that the metatarsal area (of the shoe not the foot). So, essentially, we are running on a wedge. Now, there are varying degrees of “drop” in shoes and there are racing flats which are not flat at all. In all of these shoes, when we try to take pictures and videos and such and analyze the footstrike of the runner, we are limited by several things. One, they are wearing shoes and we cannot see the bottom of their actual foot. Two, the amount of movement that takes place in someone’s footfall in the last couple of millimeters is huge and it is all but impossible to tell how someone’s SHOE will actually land when it is still an inch or so off of the ground. Three, even in high speed video, which Pete from Runblogger.com has done a great job of compiling, you’re largely still looking at feet IN SHOES, and thus we cannot see what the FOOT is doing (though Pete does have some fantastic barefoot videos in slow-mo).
So I propose this, in this eternal debate, full of hard-headed type-A’s (sometimes including yours truly), we try to agree upon something. When the “strike” you happen to be debating is in shoes, call it “shoestrike” (see also: shoe strike, shoe-strike, Schuh-Streik and sko strejk). When speaking of something where you can actually see the FOOT, NOT THE SHOE (yes, this likely means barefoot, which is an entirely different topic), then and only then, should we call it “footstrike”.
What’s wrong with this picture? Well, apparently, the saying on the t-shirt is what’s wrong. Yes Lance is 38 years old, and yes, BFD. However, when this photo was taken, that saying was not on Lance’s shirt. In fact, there was nothing on Lance’s shirt. It was just a plain, blue t-shirt.
Up to now, Lance’s history with Outside Magazine seems to have been a very good one with the seven time Tour de France winner appearing on the cover over ten times. But is this possibly the last time? Yesterday afternoon, Lance addressed the photo on his Twitter with the following:
On top of the falsified photo, perhaps Lance is a little less than thrilled about the blurb on his right: “His Age, New Rival, the Latest Scandal. Is This End For Lance?”
Personally, I think it’s not cool to make it appear as though Lance approved of the saying on the shirt (his historically colorful language notwithstanding). I’m also not a huge fan of Photoshopping in general in publishing, but I understand that it’s a part of the game.
What do you think about all this?
Since I began this site I have tried out quite a few products. These things range from a cold weather headband with headphones built in to tech clothing and everything in between. You’ve probably actually heard me on my show or in posts on the site mentioning these things and what I think of them. However, every now and then, something has a huge impact on me and then I feel it is incumbent upon me to let you know the circumstances of that impact and how greatly I was affected.
This past Sunday during the Ironman Mooseman 70.3 triathlon in New Hampshire, it rained. In
fact, it started raining just before the start of the race and did not stop until I was driving on my way home about 30 miles away from the race. With the skies falling out the way they were, there was no way to avoid being completely soaked through on every inch of your body (at least not without taking the time to put on rain gear). This meant that my feet, the things which would be receiving the most punishment throughout the event, would be completely soaked for about SIX AND A HALF HOURS (including warm-up swim and standing around after the race).
Now, excuse the details, my feet have come to be able to handle a lot of punishment, but almost all of that comes when they’re dry. Once I hit the bike in this race, I was worried about any callouses becoming soft and the skin on my feet breaking down, which would the destroy my ability to run. This, however, never happened.
In my cycling shoes, which are admittedly not the best you can buy, I have Sole Thin Sport Custom Footbeds. These are custom in that you put them in your oven for a couple of minutes and upon taking them out, place them in the shoes you are using them with. they then conform to YOUR foot. During my race, where any wiggle (by way of looseness or stretching from being wet) of my cycling shoes likely would have resulted in skin being worn off my foot and/or blisters, my feet remained cradled and right where they needed to be.
I don’t wear any footbeds, other than what is already in my shoes, when I run. However, I’ll have these footbed in my cycling shoes for a long time to come.
Not only have I tried and approved of the Sole Thin Sport Custom Footbeds, I heartily recommend them.
Continued from: 2010 Ironman Mooseman 70.3: Race Report Part 2 – Race Morning…
Beach starts in triathlon tend to be a full contact affair. This is especially true just behind the front of the pack. If you’ve placed yourself in that spot, there’s a decent chance that you’ll get kicked in the face by the guy in front of you and/or punched in various parts of your body by the guys on either side of you and/or dunked and swum over by the guy behind you who may be faster than you. All accidents, of course.
Since I expect to be one of the faster swimmer in any race I enter, I always place myself at the front of the pack in both water and beach starts. In triathlons I’ve done that have pool swims it is incredibly frustrating to be relegated to swimming behind people who’ve WAY overestimated their speed, and having to pass them. So, for this race I was at the front of the pack when the horn sounded.
The run into the water was fairly smooth with the bottom dropping off to swimming depth in probably about ten feet. The pack broke up quickly and myself and a few others pulled away off the front. The swim course itself was a rectangle (see picture) and was protected from and waves kicked up by wind by the shoreline to the East. As we reached the first turn, quite a few waves appeared, I have to assume because we had come around from the lee side of a point of land, and the wind was now kicking up a bit.
At about the halfway point, I noticed that another swimmer from my wave (I could tell from his powder blue cap like mine) and I seemed to be staying right with each other. Shortly after I noticed this, my opponent disappeared and I assumed that I had dropped him. By this time, I had been swimming through swimmers from waves that had gone off ahead of me from about the 1/4 mark on. Every now and then, either I would accidentally run into one of these swimmers or they would run into me. This is when I noticed that someone kept hitting my heels. I snuck a peek back and saw that the swimmer with whom I had been dueling had taken a comfortable spot in my wake and was now drafting along and taking it easy. While drafting is illegal in the bike leg of a triathlon, there is nothing wrong with drafting in the swim. I guess I didn’t mind so much and I wouldn’t have even known the difference if it weren’t for the fact that my heels were getting tapped every thirty seconds or so. Annoying.
The concern I had coming into this race with regards to my neck never really came to fruition. To be honest, I was being a bit conservative (which is evident by my less than stellar time) and definitely felt fatigued in my shoulders more than I usually would, but true pain never affected me.
Swim time: 27:17
Swim pace: 1:25 per 100 meters (boo)
Age Group Place: 5th
Overall Place: 28th
Most of us are aware of the potential dizziness that comes with standing up too fast. I have even fallen over several times because of this. In a triathlon, the same thing takes place. You’ve been swimming for however long, thus you’ve been essentially laying down. All of a sudden, you ask your body to stand up! This problem can be compounded by the fact that your upper body is doing most of the work on the swim and so most of your blood is hanging out there to supply your muscles. Further, if you’re wearing a wetsuit, there is a bit of compression being applied to your lower extremities which keeps your blood even more focused in your upper body. So, when you then stand up to run out of the water, all that blood suddenly drops, and sometimes you do along with it!
As I stood, I was ready for the dizziness and I was not disappointed. Upon exiting the water, there was about a 20 yard (if I remember correctly) run to the wetsuit strippers. This is not some weird, wetsuit fetish exotic dancing area but rather, a group of race volunteers whose job it is to get you out of your wetsuit as fast as possible. All you have to do as a racer is flop on your back on the ground and they will grab your wetsuit and peel it off of you in a flash. The problem with this is the dizziness thing. You’ve just come out of the water, gotten dizzy and then after a few seconds, you throw your body back to being flat again for a few seconds (legs in the air, mind you) and then pop up AGAIN. This makes for a rather world-spinning few minutes.
I made my way into the transition area and found my belongings in fairly short order. By this time, it had been raining for about thirty minutes and everything was wet. I removed my socks from their dry sanctuary inside my cycling shoe, inside that grocery bag I spoke about. Now let me paint you a picture of what I was doing. I was trying not balance on one foot at a time, while my head was spinning, putting dry socks onto wet feet (try putting on sock directly out of the shower some time), while desperately trying not to step into the mud and puddles that now surrounded me. All this time, my head refused to stop spinning. Good times. I eventually got my crap together, even having to literally DUMP water out of my helmet, and was on my way out of transition. Slow.
Transition 1 time: 4:14 (Dear LORD, that’s awful)
To be completely honest, a lot of the bike portion of the race is a blur. It rained the entire time, often very hard. For the beginning six or so miles on the bike, I let my legs warm up well, pushing, but not pushing to the point of exhaustion. At about mile seven or so, the climbing began.
Leading up to this race, I had checked elevation charts and was not prepared for what I encountered. The first, largest and longest of the hills that we encountered was awful. First, we were climbing this hill in the rain, which gave you the appearance in spots of riding upstream in a river with an asphalt bottom. Second, this hill went to gradients of 16% for large sections at a time. To give you an idea of what a 16% grade is, the famous Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France has an average gradient of “only” 8.9%. Many people were forced to walk this hill and I must admit that I glanced at them with envy, but I stayed on my steed.
Several of the descents on the course were long and sweeping and gave you time to rest your legs. Other descents were so dangerous even without the rain that the officials had told us the day before that they would be strictly enforcing a 35 mph speed limit.
Apart from the 16% S.O.B. hill, there were a couple other climbs in excess of 10% as well as some deceptively “flat” sections that seemed to sap energy from the legs. The road conditions were only OK. You were forced to stay constantly aware of the pavement in front of you due to the fact that for 99% of the course there was a large crack (hastily patched but still pitted) meandering across both sides of the road.
Somewhere around halfway through the bike, my Garmin 305 went haywire. I went to take a peek at my heart rate and the screen was flashing from display to display, and not making any sense. I tried to turn it off and couldn’t. So I took it off and put it in my jersey. Now, for the rest of the race, I would have no idea where my pace of my heart rate were. I would be running purely on feel and perceived effort.
The toughest part of this bike course was grinding through it the first time and knowing you had to come back and hit it again. 16%’er and all. My nutrition, which if you know me, you know I have struggled in the past with this, was perfect. I had three hours worth of my “blend” from Infinit Nutrition in my Speedfil and rotated water bottles from aid stations in my one bottle cage. I finished my Infinit blend with about six miles to go on the bike, so, just to be safe, I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade Endurance Formula and dropped a bottle of water into my Speedfil. I also grabbed a banana at some point during the bike (can’t remember when) just because I knew it wouldn’t affect me adversely and it just looked good.
I didn’t do exactly what I wanted to do on the bike, in terms of speed, but I was consistent and I think that is just as important. I also learned a lot of what I need to do moving forward.
Bike time: 2:57:16
Bike pace: 19 mph
Age Group Place: 44th
Overall Place: 217th
By the time I hit T2, my feet had been soaked for over three and a half hours, but were holding up fine (I actually have a lot to say about my Sole insoles on the bike that I’ll write about later). However, I though it would behoove me to put on dry socks. This was frickin’ stupid. It was still raining and I was still surrounded by mud and puddles. I have no idea why I thought that changing my socks would make a single bit of difference, bu I did anyway, and again, I had a terribly slow transition.
I grabbed all my gear, which wasn’t that much after I got my shoes and dry (dumb, dumb, dumb) socks on. This included my new Fuel Belt H2O, which was holding two bottles of my Infinit blend, each with an hours worth of nutrition. As I ran out of transition, my shoes were wet and muddy within thirty seconds.
Transition 2 time: 3:26 (Oy to the vey)
I was really looking forward to this run. I have been running really well off the bike and I planned to make no exceptions on this run. The course itself was quite beautiful, albeit seen under cloudy skies that were still ridding themselves of any moisture they held, much to our detriment. It was fairly flat to rolling. The biggest obstacle(s) came in the form of a nasty little hill that was about 1/3 of a mile long at about mile 2 or so and again at about mile 8.5.
Because my nutrition and hydration had been so good on the bike, I had to pee almost as soon as I began to run. I waited until the first aid station at mile one and stopped to answer nature’s call. I actually ended up having to pee twice, and it bears mentioning that it went well (it bears mentioning due to my previous experiences during races when I’ve stopped to pee).
The course was two loops of an out and back that had as it’s outside turn around point, about a half mile of dirt (read: mud) road that ended in a cul-de-sac. On this stretch of “road” there were some incredibly nice and supportive volunteers and even a barbershop quartet in one of the driveways serenading the runners as we went by.
I felt great on this run. I did struggle a bit with not being able to tell my pace of heart rate. Because of this, I laid off a little on the third quarter of the run, before picking it back up a bit on the home stretch. I didn’t want to wind up completely gassed for the run in. I passed a lot of people wh had passed me on the bike and that was quite good for my morale. The rain never really let up, but I felt solid nonetheless. I truly think I would have been able to do more on the run had I known where I was in terms of pace.
Run time: 1:35:08 (1/2 marathon PR by 12 seconds)
Run pace: 7:15 per mile
Age Group Place: 22nd
Overall Place: 104th
(more detailed splits to come once they are available)
Overall Time: 5:07:21
Age Group Place: 34th
Overall Place: 132nd
Thanks so much for visiting my site! My name is Brandon Wood and I am the social media manager and a customer service rep for Newton Running. This site and podcast follow my adventures on the way to competing in and training for all kinds of endurance events, especially triathlon and running. Click the "About Me" tab for more info!
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