One foot in front of the other.
Sir Isaac and Lady Isaac Guidance Trainers
10 Ways to Succeed at Ironman Wisconsin
Seven Weeks to One-Hundred Push-Ups
Simply Stu’s Ironman Wisconsin Course Videos
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Garmin Forerunner 305 versus 405
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Newton Sir & Lady Isaac Review
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Heart Transplant Patient to Run Kona!!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Forgot to put this on the show, but a HUGE shout out to Kate and all the luck and ass kicking in the world this weekend in the America’s Finest City Half-Marathon this weekend in San Diego!!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
[svgallery name="Bobby Ironman 2009"]
This past Saturday, August 1, 2009, my best friend, Bobby Cockrill, became an Ironman.
Bobby was a racer in the twentieth annual Vineman, the oldest independant Ironman distance triathlon held in the continental United States in Sonoma, California. If you’ve read or listened to Brandon’s Marathon in the past then you probably know that I started this site simultaneously with Bobby starting (the seldom updated) Bobby’s Marathon. Over the past roughly eighteen months, Bobby and I have seen each other go from running our first marathon, to our first sprint, olympic and half-Ironman distance triathlons to this, the culmination of hours upon hours of Bobby’s hard work and training.
Bobby raced as a member of the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Lukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. Bobby is one of the most gifted and generous people I know and below is a passage from his website that I think captures that:
We are a drop of water in the ocean of life but if you get enough of use together we can make a difference and I want to be apart of that difference! If we can just drown away one persons worries or sorrows than we have succeeded. “A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove…but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”
All that said, I am not only exceedingly proud not just to know Bobby, but to be able to call him my friend.
2010 New York City Tritahlon Registration
2009 New York City Triathlon Results (I’m bib #4517)
Central Park Underwear Run Video
The Resurrected Runner Running Book Library
Brandon’s Marathon Podcast Live!!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Yesterday, Sunday July 26, 2009 was the New York City Triathlon.
Race morning began with me waking up at the ungodly hour of 3:45am. I had been very careful to make sure everything was already packed and ready to go for the morning, so that all I had to do, was eat breakfast, get dressed and go. This included having different bottles labeled and ready to go in the refrigerator. They were as follows:
So, I gathered my bottles and myself, I headed out the door and down to 72nd St. on the 1 Train. As soon as I got out of the subway it began to rain. Fortunately, I brought an umbrella for just such an event! Myself and a ton of other people were making our way to the transition area on the West Side Greenway at about 76th & 78th Streets, depending on which transition are you were assigned (I was in the Red transition area).
The day before when I dropped off my bike at transition, I had secured a garbage bag over my handlebars. I did this because whether rain or just dew, I did not want to have my grip any more slippery than I knew it would be with water from myself and the copious amounts of sweat that I knew were coming. The rain that had welcomed us to transition that morning quickly stopped, and I got about the business of setting up my transition.
About the transition rack situation: In this transition are, as with most triathlons, this is the type of rack used. In this event, each racer was designated a space which was indicated by a sticker with your race number on it (my race number was 4517). The idea is to hang your bike on the rack by the nose of your saddle (seat), so that each bike was facing in the opposite direction than that of it’s neighbor. It appeared that each bike was being given about 9 inches (+ or -) which does not sound like a lot, but it’s pretty standard and works just fine if the bikes are alternating sides properly. In my transition space however, because I was close to the end of the rack where the supports are located, whomever had placed the stickers had gotten lazy and had not planned ahead. This resulted in my transition area and that of the bikes on either side of me, being crammed into an area about 18 inches TOTAL!! Now, my handlebars are about 18 inches wide, just to give you some perspective! It was ridiculous, and should have been checked over by race organizers and/or transition managers, and I know for a fact that my area was not the only place this happened.
I digress.
The transition area closed at 5:45am and the first wave of professional men were scheduled to start at 5:50am. Due to weather, this time was pushed back about 25 minutes. I still left the transition are at 5:45 and headed in the general direction of the swim start with my wetsuit slung over my shoulder and my bag for the finish line (change of clothes and Ipod and such) in hand. Keep in mind that because the swim for the NYC Triathlon is a straight shot down the Hudson River, the walk from transition to swim start is right at a mile.
I got to the swim start with a TON of time to spare, so I just sat down and stretched a bit and mentally ran through my race. After a while I decided to drop my finish line bag at the trucks that would be transporting them for us. Then I went to do a quick crowd scan for my wife before getting in line in my wave. Danielle did end up finding me with our friend Allie which was awesome to get a last minute good luck!
I started the swim in the water as far to the outside (closer to the middle of the river) as I could, knowing that was where the current was strongest. The start came and we were off! I can’t really say too much about strategy for the swim, because I tend to just rely on raw speed and technique to get it done. I can say that I aimed to stay toward the outside portion of the course to take full advantage of the current. For the record, I don’t think ANYONE should count on current being a help. If you can’t do the distance in a pool, you should not be doing it in open water, it’s not safe, period!
I was first out of the water in my wave and by the time I exited, had passed a lot of swimmers from the five waves in front of me as well. My total time was 14 minutes 53 seconds. This is when the fun started. After coming out of the water, each runner had to then run/walk about 300~400m to the transition area. This had the effect of making the T1 times look very slow, mine was 4:48.
I got all geared up and ready for the bike and then went! I saw Danielle and Allie at the beginning of the bike and it was so great to hear my name being yelled! The bike course ran North on the West Side Highway out of Manhattan and onto the Mosholu Parkway where it made a u-turn at Gunhill Road, then came back the same way it went out, passed the transition area, made another u-turn at W. 57th St. and came back North and into transition. It was awesome having the West Side Highway completely open and not having to worry about vehicular traffic! The course itself, did not present and crazily steep hills, but it was most definitely a hilly course, that did have me coming out of athe saddle a few times.
My biggest problem on the bike were people not watching their surroundings. In the MANDATORY briefing that we all had at packet pick-up, the race organizers were VERY clear about riding to your right at all times, unless you were passing someone. Many, many, many people did not heed this advice. Drafting was illegal in this race (the practice of riding right behind someone to take advantage of them breaking the air for you), but because of the amount of people riding on the left full time, it was impossible not to draft without pulling across the cones separating outbound and inbound racers. I was constantly yelling, and I do mean yelling, “On your left!” just so I could be safe and to keep people riding on the left would not get wrapped up in less observant racers than myself.
The bike as a whole, felt really great, and I felt strong throughout. My total time on the bike was 1:10:24 with an average speed of 21.2 mph.
I got into transition and was out pretty quickly, not feeling rushed in a time of 1:44. Not super fast or anything, but I got everything I needed done, so it’s all good. On the bike course, there were no water or aid stations, and so I relied on my hydration on my bike and my chia. Once the run began, however, there was water and Cytomax right away. It was nice to be able to dump some cold H2O down my back and get something with some flavor in it in my mouth. As I came up W. 72nd St. and headed toward Central Park, I was amazed by the crowds that formed a solid wall of humanity for the entirety of that part of the course, which once again, included Danielle and Allie!!
After entering the park, there were about five miles left in the run/race. I was feeling very comfortable in my stride, not too fast and only a bit slower than I wanted to be. At about 3 miles into the run, my stomach started to rebel against the liquid that I was all of a sudden cramming into it. I felt a tiny bit uncomfortably nauseous off and on for the remainder of the race. Not enough to really effect me, but just enough to make me notice.
I finished the run in a time of 51:34 which make for a 8:19 per mile pace. This is about a minute per mile slower than my general 10k time, but it is faster than I felt like I was going.
My total time for the race was 2:23:20 which put me in 42nd place out of the 443 people in my division (Men 30-34). For my first Olympic distance triathlon, I felt great! I feel like I really like this distance and can’t wait to do another!! Please listen to Brandon’s Marathon Podcast, Episdoe 51 for even more info and impression of the race!!
My Results:
In my excitement and hast to get up Episode 50 of Brandon’s Marathon Podcast, I forgot that I have my first triathlon of 2009 coming up!! It is the 9th annual New York City Triathlon!!
I honestly can’t believe I forgot it!
In any event, it takes place this Sunday, July 26, 2009. My wave will start between 7:36 and 7:42 AM, EST. It’s funny, as I just wrote that I actually felt a giant bump of adrenaline go through me! This will be my first NYC Triathlon and also my first Olympic distance event. The distances are:
Swim: 1500 meters
Bike: 40 kilometers
Run: 10 kilometers
I feel mostly prepared for this event. About two weeks ago, I took about a week and a half off from swimming. This was not on purpose and when I got back in the pool, I had to face up to the fact that time is not always on my side, and I paid the price. Fortunately, swimming is my “thing”. I was soon back to a very good pace and feeling good in the pool.
As far as the bike; I feel ok about it. What gives me pause just now, is the fact that when I went out for a medium thirty miles this morning, while my speed was decent and acceptable, I felt dead-legged. I made sure to get home and cram down two health scoops of Endurox R4. Over the next couple of days, I will be continuing to down the R4, run, ride or no, as well as stretching quite a bit more than normal before bed.
Apart from the other two, my running has felt really good. I’m not the fastest person in the world, by any means, however, since my interview with Christopher McDougall, I have been re-inspired to look for the joy in my running, and I have found it. That said, I am curious to see what happens if I push my pace…hmm…
The swim start is in the Hudson River (yes, it’s not the cleanest, but it’s what we’ve got!), at West 98th Street. From there it is a straight shot downstream to about West 79th Street. The Hudson is a river which, around Manhattan, does have tides. I have checked the tidal clocks for that day and if I’m correct, my wave SHOULD start on either a very slightly outgoing tide, or a dead calm tide, both of which are fine by me!
The bike (from the NYC Tri website) exits Riverside Park at 79th Street. Athletes enter the northbound entrance of the Henry Hudson Highway, staying in the right lane. Athletes will continue on a moderately hilly course north out of Manhattan, over the Hudson River Bridge, and exit onto the Mosholu Parkway. The course proceeds south on the Mosholu and U-turns at Gunhill Road in the Bronx. Participants will proceed back to the Henry Hudson Parkway and ride south in the Northbound Lane to 57th street where another u-turn will be completed and cyclists will head north and exit the Henry Hudson Parkway at 79th street and proceed back to the transition area. All bicycle traffic will utilize the normally northbound roadway which will be totally closed to vehicular traffic.
The run (also from the NYC Tri website) will exit Riverside Park at 72nd Street and run into Central Park. Runners turn left when entering Central Park and run in a clockwise direction around the northern loop of Central Park. The Finish line is on Dead Road, just west of the band shell on the 72nd Street Transverse in Central Park.
I will, of course, have as much pre and post (and during thatnks to my wife) video and such that I can. I’ll also try to get my video up in a somewhat timely manner (sorry Ari and the Achilles 5 miler, it’s coming!). If you’re in the Big Apple and need something to do, why not come by! Email me and we can figure out a place to meet!
Watch Brandon’s Maraton Podcast Live!!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Brain Surgery Frees Runner, but Raises Barriers
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
NYRR Achilles Hope & Possibility 5 Miler
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Over the past couple of weeks, and to be honest, before that, people have been writing in to ask and comment about finding the time to train. I have to assume that the recent number of these questions and comments is directly related to the fact that it is now “event season”. It’s probably also related to daylight hours being more plentiful (in the Northern hemisphere, sorry Oz!!), and yet we still cannot find the hours in the day to do what we need to.
This week, I find myself in a particularly interesting situation. As you may know, I am an opera singer (tenor) and this week, I was fortunate enough to pick up a gig at the last second. The gig itself is not until November, but the rehearsals are/were Wednesday through Sunday of this week. On top of that, I do have to work during the day to pay the bills in between away jobs. So, my days this week begin at 6 AM and I can usually be in bed by 11PM. To further complicate matters, I have come down with what seems to be a cold. I think I am now over the actual “sickness” part of it (headache, chills, runny nose, etc.) but I am dealing with the after effects, which I find can quite often be far worse than the illness itself. I will get back to my schedule in a minute.
I have come to realize that it is very important to differentiate between a “workout” and “training”. I believe that the difference is largely mental in nature. For me, the term “workout” conjures up an image of doing something as maintenance, while training is done with a very specific end-goal or event in mind. Also, for many people, “training” involves a very specific program that is leading them in the direction of said event. While “workouts” may be very specific and laid out, I look at them as something that is less taxing, simply by virtue of the fact that you can allow yourself to be more flexible with what you are trying to accomplish (in my opinion).
I am “training” for Ironman Wisconsin, which takes place on September 13, 2009. Along the way, I will also be competing in the New York City Triathlon, and maybe a couple of other events. On a recent episode of the Running with the Pack podcast (Episode 49), one of the hosts, Allan Gyorke asked me if I was following a training program on my way to IM Wisconsin. Although I answered his question in sort of a rambling “yes and no” kind of answer, the real answer is no. For me, I find that programs make me feel very “locked in”, and if I can’t get in the workout that is scheduled, I get upset or angry with myself and the situation, which leads to me just being more annoyed and then onto bad “training”. That being said, I do read many training programs to get a feel for where I am relative to where they say I should be. Which brings us back to time.
Here in New York City, this June, we have had rain 23 days out of the 25 days so far in the month. This is CRAZY. Of course, that doesn’t really mean that it’s either a soaking rain or an all day event, but it still affects my plans. For instance, I like to ride in the mornings. I wake at about 4:45 AM, have some breakfast, allow myself to wake up for a few, and try to be out the door by 5:30 AM. This has not been happening. Because of the way my day works I rarely get to sleep before 11 PM and when I can manage to wake up and get ready to go, it is always raining. Some of you may be wondering why I am scared of a little rain. I am not. What I am scared of is the usual training route that I ride from Manhattan to Nyack and back is a very heavily trafficked route from the suburbs into the city. When it is raining, not only are my tiny little road tires difficult to handle, but so are the tires on the, much heavier than I, automobiles. That combined with New York’s recent #1 ranking in for most aggressive drivers, and bleary-eyed mornings does not make me want to risk it.
Now, back to this week. I will most likely only be able to ride one day this week, on Saturday morning. Due to my cold, I MUST rest my body or I will be pushing myself through an insurmountable obstacle. As someone reminded me before the Brooklyn Half-Marathon a few weeks back, I need to trust that my cumulative training will do the trick. From now, I have almost exactly one month until the NYC Triathlon, and a little under three months until IM Wisconsin. Once this weekend is over, I will make a real point to get home and get to bed earlier. I will also make a much more significant point of running in the rain if I need to. As for swimming, that is the one thing not affected by weather, and I have not had too much of a problem getting in the water. In fact, that’s where I’ll be this afternoon, in between work and rehearsal.
So, I think the answer to all this is balance. I think it’s taking stock of the time that you have, and realizing that time is finite, and the only REAL necessity in your training (or workout) regimen is REST and RECOVERY. So, maybe you have to make a couple of sacrifices on things that you want to consider as necessary parts of your day, but when you look, you realize that they’re actually indulgences (I mean, do you HAVE to take an hour to watch “America’s got Talent”, or could you be in bed an hour earlier?). Keep training, keep working out, keep sane. Keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Running with the Pack Episode 49 (with me!!)
2009 Patriot Triathlon Official Results
Rio de Jinero Marathon (GO RAPHAEL!!!)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
A Gift For Winter from Athletes for a Cure on Vimeo.
The Revenge of Shrekilocks
Yesterday, June 20, 2009 was the Patriot Triathlon in East Freetown, Massachusetts, produced by Sun Multisport Events. I was a member of the relay team, The Revenge of Shrekilocks, along with my brother-in-law, Adam (run leg) and his best friend, Harrison (bike leg).
The weather report for the day had been changing throughout the week, and the night before we got the good news that any rain would most likely hold off until around 3 pm. Team Shrekilocks met up at the race check in at 6pm on Friday at Cathedral Camp (race site), where we got some decent schwag and headed off to dinner. After a great, if not slow meal at The Pasta Bowl, we all headed back my sister-in-law’s parent’s house in nearby Mattapoisett.
My alarm was set for 5 am, and I popped right out of bed. I usually have a hard time sleeping before any race, but for whatever reason, I slept like a log. We were out the door by 5:50 am, and on our way to the race.
I was very pleasantly surprised by the wide open layout of the transition area. In race past, I have become accustomed to some rather cramped racks and such, but there was no less than 15 feet between rows of racks and often times more. We had plenty of time to set up being that our wave began at 7:30 am, and at about 7:15, we all headed over to the swim start in Long Pond.
Our wave included; relays, aquabike, clydesdale and athena racers, which numbered probably about 30 (give or take). It was an “in the water” start, which was great in my opinion because it allowed me to walk in to about waist deep so that I could start swimming right away rather than having to deal with any running/jumping into the water. I managed to get myself to the front of the wave (in my shiny, new Xterra Vortex 3 sleeveless wetsuit) and the start went off without a hitch.
There were some swimmer-looking guys that I was a bit concerned about, but I passed them pretty quickly. I got out of any pack and on my own out in front pretty quickly. Then, at about the half-way point, as I rounded a buoy, someone came up on my left. Now, at about this time, I had begun to pass people from the other waves and I thought that this was just someone else I was passing and had missed seeing. Then I noticed that I wasn’t gaining any ground on this person! I looked and saw that they had on the same cap color that I did, as well as…PINK GOGGLES!!! There was a chick keeping right up with me!! Now, not that I am incapable of having my ass hand to me by a woman, but I was just not expecting it from my wave! So, I decided to just pace with her and I believe she decided to do the same. We stayed side-by-side until the turn back in toward the beach. We came up on someone from an earlier wave, and she went to the inside, right next to the buoy and I wound up getting bounced way out to the right. I had to pause for a second and make sure I hadn’t been thrown too far off course (which I kind of had) and during that little pause, the other swimmer gained about a body length on me.
At some point, as we made our way back in toward the beach, she crossed behind me and began to go wide right. Again, I paused to make sure I was on course, which I was, and decided that she was veering way off. As I hit the beach, I didn’t look back and hauled some serious ass around the transition area to the swim entrance. One thing I thought was nice, was that the timing pad, which picks up your chip and thereby your swim time, was right by the water’s edge. This was nice because it gives you a more accurate idea of your swim time. I have been in races, where the timing mat was about 100+ yards from the water!!
As I ran through the pathway that was set up to funnel swimmers to the transition, I had to kind of cram myself around some people that were taking up a LOT of the path. I got to the transition, found my rack almost immediately and made the switch-off to Harrison. About the time Harrison was heading out, someone behind me asked if it was me who was first out of the water (for our wave). Turns out, it was the woman who had been pacing me. Her name was Tracy and she was so very nice. We got to speak for a long while and I gave/give her unlimited kudos on the swim that she turned in!!
My goal for the swim was to be the fastest swimmer in the race, a goal which I made to myself but didn’t share with anyone other than my team. I did not accomplish that goal. My swim time was 18:32 which was fourth fastest, the fastest time being 18:09. I must admit, I am a bit annoyed by this fact, but I can’t rewind time and push it now!! That being said, I do not believe that the swim was a true half-Ironman swim distance. Especially since the fastest swim time last year was 27:58. I mean, I would be happy if I went that distance in 18:32, but being realistic, I would also then have some sort of record!
After changing into dry clothes, I went down to the bike course to wait for Harrison to come around on the first loop of a two-loop course. Prior to the race he had been downplaying (in my opinion) what his pace would be. He called this “expectation management”. So, we expected him to show up at maybe about an hour and a half from the time he left. Instead he came riding by at an hour and twenty-three minutes!! His total time on the bike was 2:47:06 (58 miles, so more than a half-iron!!), with an average speed of 20.8 miles per hour (we’ll call it 21!). As a matter of fact, Harrison came running into the transition area so fast that he almost crumpled from his legs cramping, and at the same time had an insanely fast transition time of thirty-one seconds!!
Before his run leg, Adam, my brother-in-law, had to pee about 4 times inside of 30 minutes! I don’t blame him, seeing as before my swim, I went to pee and by the time I had walked directly from the porta-john to the swim start, I had to go again. Due to some significant humidity and heat, he decided to run in just his compression shirt rather than that, plus a tech-tee over top. He also made good use of my hat that was courtesy of Newton Running. We couldn’t see Adam at any point on the course, but we knew that he would be in at approximately one hour, forty-five minutes from his start. Sure enough, Adam’s run time was 1:45:00!! It took a minute for him to be able to talk (as it did for all of us!!), but when he did, he was very satisfied with his run (as were we all!!!).
Our total time was 4 hours, 52 minutes and 24 seconds (4:52:24). Now, while we were hanging around and gathering our belongings after the race, results began to go up. We saw that we had come in fourth place (not bad out of 11 teams!!) and decided to head out to grab some food. Later that night, I checked to see if official results had been posted. It turns out, due to a 4 minute penalty by the third place team, we had bee bumped into third place!!! We’re not sure if we get an award or anything, but we should!!
As for the event itself; it was very well run. The check in was smooth and all the staff had most of the answers to any questions, and if they didn’t, then they knew who to ask. The transition are was AMAZING!!, It was more wide open and comfortable than any I have ever been in. The water was perfect and the waves had just enough people to be competitive, but not crowded. Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend the Patriot Triathlon. We have even begun talking about plans to come back next year!!
If you would like to see the official results of the 2009 Patriot Triathlon Click here!!
As always, I will have a further race review on Brandon’s Marathon Podcast later this week, so be sure to check back on Tuesday!! And also, a HUGE shoutout to our cheerleaders; Danielle, Kate, Kathy, Christian and John!! Thank you all for making the EARLY trek to encourage us!!
Xterra Wetsuits (50% off until the end of June!!!!)
Patriot Triathlon (Go Shrekilocks!!!)
Dreamfar Triathlon Team (Thanks guys!!)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Here is some amazing video coverage of the Ironman Boise 70.3 that took place yesterday, June 13, 2009. Inside of ONE MILE to go, Craig Alexander ran down and passed Chris Lieti who lead off the bike. If you look closely, you can see the killer shoes that Crowie is rocking across the finish line!! (Newtons, in case you can’t see)
Thanks to KBCI-TV in Boise for the coverage.
As you may or may not know, next weekend, June 20th I am doing the swim leg in the relay team Shrekilocks in the Patriot Triathlon. It is a half-Ironman distance event that will be taking place in East Freetown, MA.
Over the past few days I have been bumping up my timed distance in the pool. The swim distance is 1.2 miles, which is about 1930 meters. Yesterday, I did 1000 meters in about 14 minutes, which is over half the distance. So, if I even split the swim (go the same time in the second half), that would put me at right about 28 minutes. If I go that time, it would put me very close to last year’s fastest swim time of 27:58.
Here are some of the variables in this:
So, all of those things in mind, I will see by the beginning of next week what my rough, full time will be. I am very excited to be a part of this team, made up of my brother-in-law (run) and a good friend (bike). Not to put any expectations on us, but I think we have a reasonable shot at being in the top 3 for relays!!
Check back for updates!!
Bobby’s Wildflower Half Ironman: 6:53:26 (official)
Ari’s New Jersey Marathon: 3:52:54 (official)
Megh’s OC Marathon: 4:16:23 (official)
Shelly’s Eugene Marathon: 3:32:25 (official)
Carrie’s Wisconsin Marathon: 3:54:19 (official)
Allison’s Indy Mini: 2:17:35 (official)
Justin’s Indy Mini: 1:35:38 (official)
Zach’s Salt Lake City Marathon: 5:03:13 (official)
I will update any unofficial results with official ones as soon as I can.
De Soto Cool Gear (scroll down the page)
Soldier passes away in Country Music Half Marathon
Wildflower Triathlon (Bobby Cockrill)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
I just saw this video from someone I follow on Twitter, @erin337. Even if you’ve never done and Ironman, or a triathlon at all for that matter, this will get you fired up!!
Brandon’s Marathon on Twitter!!
Buckeye Outdoors Podcasters Contest— JOIN MY GROUP!!!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Brandon’s Marathon Gear Page!!!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
You Bar (enter the code: Bmarathon at checkout)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Richmond Sprint Tiathlon (Link to stats is on the page)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
A friend of mine was telling me today about Levain Bakery, a bakery here in NYC that was founded by two women that were training together for an Ironman event. As their site says, they were “starved for calories and dreaming of delicious things—they discovered they not only shared a love of serious competition, but they also shared a love for food.”.
I have yet to make my way over there, but you can be sure that a visit is not too far off! Be sure to check out their site to try out some of there baked awesomeness!
So, my buddy Jason gave me this really cool page that shows a visual elevation comparison of several major Ironman events, including my race, Ironman Wisconsin. I have tried my darndest to insert the working chart into this post but I cannot for the life of me get it to work. So click the link below to check it out!!
Running in the Center of the Universe
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Strong Island Results (To see full results, just click “Get Results”. To see MY results, search for bib #32.)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
My Run for Central Park Results
Full Run for Central Park Results
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Strong Island Rookie Triathlon
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Since I did my first triathlon a few weeks ago, I have become addicted. Yes, it was a singularly painful event, but it was such a rush. Now that I am back in NYC and I am looking back on the event, I have done some analysis of what I can do in and out of the race to make myself better. The first of these things is slimming down a bit.
Right now I weigh about between 207 and 210 lbs.. Ideally I would like to get down to about 185-190. However, as you may or may not know, I a fairly muscular guy and I refuse to lose mass, so my goal is to make the mass I have or will gain, more lean. This will take stress off of my legs and joints and make every event I participate in that much easier, even the Richmond Marathon. Here is the rough outline of the workout I will adopt beginning today:
Monday: A.M. 2 hour bike ride down the west side bike path (this always takes about 2 hrs.)
P.M. 1 hour lifting; 1 hour treadmill run (this will change to road running once I get back into it.)
Tuesday: A.M. 2 hour ride, down to 70th St. and then to Central Park to do “The Loop” no fewer than 4 times.
P.M. Swim, no fewer than 1400 meters (building 100 m a week.)
Wednesday: A.M. West side ride.
P.M. 1 hour “light” lifting; 1 hour treadmill run.
Thursday: Off
Friday: A.M. Central Park ride.
P.M. Swim (1400+.)
Saturday: Saturday Morning Clown Ride (to Nyack, NY and back, approx. 55 mi.)
Sunday: “Hard” lift; 1 hour treadmill run.
I am sure this will change, based on how my body reacts. I will also fine-tune it to get the most out of each workout. Check back in the coming days for details of the workout. I will try to do a post on each portion that includes all the nitty gritty.
During the Redondo Beach Triathlon this past Sunday, in the bike leg of the race I drafted for about 30 seconds. It has since been brought to my attention by Jeff of Road to nowhere that drafting may be illegal in some triathlons. So, I checked the official USAT rules (USA Triathlon) and Jeff is correct, at least for age group racing.
Drafting is basically where one rider rides very close behind another. The advantage of this is that the front rider creates a “hole” in the air and the rider or riders following fit into that “hole”. This makes for a smooth and easier ride for the rider in the back.
Drafting is not only allowed in cycling, but is, in fact, the norm. In triathlons however, the USAT states that only athletes in Olympic qualifying and professional races may draft, thus allowing them to ride close together in packs. In age group racing, which is what most races are (like Redondo), USAT rules say that riders must maintain a distance of at least three bike lengths between them and the rider in front of them.
I would like to say that I was not aware of this rule prior to being told by Jeff (Thank you!!) and I am really sorry that I performed an illegal maneuver, no matter how brief.
San Diego Rock ‘n Roll Marathon
Redondo Beach Triathlon results
Bobby crosses the finish line at clock time 5:18:27 (click here for the video!)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Here are the details:
First; about 3 days before the race I was riding a bike to the store. The bike has SPD pedals, but I was wearing flip flops because it was just to the store and back. Somewhere along the way the pedal rolled and I cut my the high part of my heel (almost near the bottom of my achilles). No real damage, but there went any hope of not wearing socks.
Days before:
I kept up regular, but lesser workouts up until the Friday before the race (race was on sunday). During the day on Saturday, I went to the check in/clinic they had for the event. Got to take a look at the course and so on. On Saturday night I had a big plate of penne with pears in a gorgonzola cream sauce. Went to bed at 10 pm.
Race day:
I woke up at 5 am, had two eggs with cheese and a banana. I wanted to be checked in and in the transition area by 6:15, but made it at about 6:20. I had plenty of time to set up my transition area just right. I was wearing a one piece tri suit by TYR, and a Zoot Fuzion, full wetsuit (which I will never do again, I’ll explain later). I had two bottles of water set to hose the sand off my feet and everything ended up working out just right.
The start:
The day was overcast, so not so hot and the water was about 62 (f-ing cold). I was in the 3rd wave, which I think was the biggest (34-14 y/o). I got near the front of the group.
The swim:
Had a clean start and got into the mix right away catching multiple feet hands and elbows to my face and other parts. I am sure I also returned the favor. It took me about 5 minutes to pull out in front of the big pack. There was one guy that just took off and ended up out of the water about 30 seconds ahead of me. I pulled way out and I think I was third out of the water for my wave. The reason I will never wear a full sleeve wetsuit again is that it created resistance to my stroke. I had to work harder to get my arms out of the water and this ended up killing my breath. And let me tell you, I am feeling it today.
Coming into the breakers was fine. I caught a couple nice wave that gave me a great push, but I also caught one that broke under my legs and almost flipped me. Once i was standing, I had about 20 yards of water to run out of, which was SOO hard. Once out of that, I had about 75 yards to go to the transition. The real problem was that the entire run up the beach really was UP the beach. By the time I hit the boardwalk into T1 I was in so much pain. I got to my area ok, took a drink of FRS and got my socks and shoes and helmet, etc. on. I then tried to get on my bike before they reminded me that I had to run out of the transition. All in all, I think I was in the transition for about 45 seconds to a minute.
The bike:
I was riding a Cannondale R5 with Look Keo Sprint pedals. It is a road bike and not a tri-bike per se, but it did a great job, and since I train on my own road bike anyway, it is what I am used to. I did rather well on the bike and I believe I only lost about 4 places to guys that were definitely seasoned triathletes and riding $5,000+ tri-bikes. I took advantage of drafting and using it even passed one of the guys that had passed me. I made it into the transition very well and got my cycling shoes off and my running shoes/hat/glasses on in about 30 seconds.
The run:
I was using Yankz for my shoe laces so I saved a lot of time with that and the fact that I had socks on made my shoes go on even faster. The run was a 2 mile course, that was on a lot of boardwalk, which was nice and easy on the legs. However, running is by FAR my weak point and I lost probably about ten or so places to guys that were crazy fast. At mile one there was a set of about 5 stairs that burned like hell. Just beyond that was a water station. It was at that water station that I discovered the bad side of drinking water from a cup while running (I choked). I also dumped the remainder of my water on my head, forgetting the fact that I had a Nike Dri-fit hat on and it would push away any water that hit it! Oh well. The final 30 yards included a hill (up) which sucked and then a nice sidewalk.
My official time was 52:48 and I finished 6th in my age group. I am not sure about my overall place, but I will let you know once they post that info (if they post that info). Overall, I was extremely pleased with my performance. I need to work on my running, no doubt, but I hung in there and it felt awesome to finish.
I just got back to Bobby’s apartment after completing the Redondo Beach Triathlon. I finished 6th in my age group (30-35) in a time of 52:48. That’s all I know right now, but I will post the official results and links and such soon.
At 7:30 tomorrow morning, my start wave (wave 3) will begin the Redondo Beach Triathlon!
Check back for the results!!
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!
Who: This contest is open to anyone and everyone in the U.S. and Canada (also APO)! Tell your friends!
What: Stuffitts! I have spoken about these simple yet awesome shoe savers in the past. Click here to read more about them. I cannot say enough how great they are!
When: Starting NOW! This is an ongoing contest that will be every month, or until every person on the planet has nice, fresh smelling shoes!
Why: Because Stuffitts are awesome! The folks at Stuffitts are being SUPER generous and I also want to give you guys something that I think is a great addition to any athletes arsenal!
How: On the last podcast episode post of each month (example: Episode 99 on June 28 HERE) entrants should leave a comment (however long you'd like). On the following week's show (the first show of each month) I will draw, by random number generator, one winner! That's it!
Good luck!
Twitter
Digg
StumbleUpon
Youtube
Facebook
Email
Delicious
FriendFeed
FourSquare
Flickr
RSS