Transitioning Transitions

Over the course of two years we make so many improvements in our “game”. We learn how to cut a few seconds off the swim by hugging the buoys or getting on someone’s hip, losing the socks if we are able to on the bike and run, using lock laces instead of tying shoes, but the biggest time saver of all is …

Transition ..

I am not talking about the time it takes, but on how you set it up.

We were talking about this earlier this season, mostly how it seems that we are missing something now when we pack our gear for a race. Especially for a sprint race. It used to be a habit of mine to take a picture of my set up after going through everything for my race. I looked back at a few of those first years races and had to laugh at the amount of things I schlepped into the bike setup for even a short race. It consisted of:

·         Two pairs of goggles

·         Three sets of ear plugs

·         Race cap

·         Wet suit

·         Bike Helmet

·         Bike Gloves

·         Skull Cap

·         Glasses

·         Bike Shoes

·         Race Watch

·         Socks

·         Running Shoes

·         3 water bottles

·         Towel (never be without a towel)

·         2^nd pair of socks

·         50,000 Hammer Gels in Assorted flavors

·         Hat

·         Race Belt (with water bottles … even for a 5k)

In addition Jennifer was known to bring a hair brush and water for rinsing feet off. J

That’s a lot of crap to cram onto a small mat under your bike.

So I looked at the current set up we have. Instead of writing it, I created (cuz I am a nerd) a Visio Drawing (ask you IT guy). See below:

A lot different eh?

I think over time you slowly figure out what you absolutely need and what is “nice to have”. All the rest just bogs you down and creates havoc in transition areas. Because you know damn well someone is going to kick your stuff. Point of fact is during recent Crystal River race I get to my run transition and some put their bike OVER my mat.

That bike met the pavement …

You can read about all of this in many books, and every triathlon coach will tell you the optimum set up (for them), but it comes down to what works for you in the easiest and fastest way possible.

It’s a process after all.

Swim Calm … Bike Strong … Run Steady

We Are Triathlon!

As a whole, triathletes are wonderful people. They are giving, helpful, courteous. They will go out of their way to help another triathlete, or anyone for that matter, who is in trouble on the course. There are so many different types of triathletes, but if you pay attention you can tell where each of them came from as far as their background.

Normally, triathletes come in four basic types. There are the swimmers, the cyclists, the runners, and the new athlete. You can normally tell the discipline where the triathlete came from by the way they are during training, and during races. This, of course, is generalizing, but pay attention to how someone is during your next group ride or race, someone you don’t now, and then ask them what discipline they started in to see how accurate I am in my assessment. Make it a game! J

Swimmers

You would think, as a swimmer, you would find a laid back, beach type of person, who goes with the flow.

Hardly.

Swimmers are tough people, and they have little patience for people in their way (much like the cyclist, as you will see). Also, unlike the other disciplines, a swimmer will be the first person to call you a wimp or p**sy when you say the water is too cold or too rough. They are the ones complaining loudly if there is talk about shortening a swim route due to conditions (or God Forbid cancelling the swim!!). If you train with one they are the ones barking and yelling at you to rotate more, stretch your arms, increase your rotation speed. During a race they have no problem swimming over you or through you if you’re in the way. They will grab your feet for propulsion; they will elbow you in the ribs if you get too close, and kick you in the face with no feeling of regret.

But, they are also the first ones to drag you out of bed to get in the pool, and much like the runners, they will get in the water with you. They LOVE their discipline and will do their damnedest to get you to love it too.

Cyclists

People that come from a cycling background are the hardcore portions of the sport. They have no patience for newbies, will not call out when they are catching you, or if they are on your wheel. I was doing 17 mph in Augusta last year and got yelled at by no less than three cyclists telling me, and I quote, to “get the fuck to the right”. This was, of course, after them not yelling “on your left” so I had no idea they were there. A cyclist will blow through red lights, ride 3-4 side by side on the road even when cars are in back of them (then yell at the car when they beep). The cyclists feel they are the elite of the sport.

But, the cyclist is also the person what will give you a tube when you have a flat and blew your backup, and will refuse money for it. They will pull out their tubes and fix your bike on the side of the road because, to them, it’s “fun”.

Runners

Runners are the good people of the sport. They love to talk while you are running with them, even when you can barely breathe. They are the first to get on the course and run with you, even at a pace that is 10:00 slower than their normal. They encourage and coach and are tough only when they need to be. Runners operate in a pack mentality; all for one … no one left behind. In my opinion, and limited experience, it also seems that those that come to triathlon from a running background transition the best to the sport. When Megan came into the sport over a year ago she was a runner (and basketball player). I told her I thought she would do well, and she progressed fast. I think it’s because runners have the stamina already built in, and the ability to “zone” out over long periods of exercise. They come into it equipped for the pain.

Everyone Else

Then there are the rest of us. The ex-football players. The no athletic background types. The people trying to lose weight. The people running for causes greater than their own. We know we will probably never stand on a podium and it doesn’t bother us. We finish last more often than not (though that does bother us). We get run over in the swim, passed like we are standing still on the bike, and walk a lot of the run. We tend to be wide eyed most of the time. We take in everything we can. We watch everyone. We notice little things (like this blog subject) that probably most don’t notice.

But you know something?

I was watching “Sprit of the Marathon” last night on Netflix. They profiled a number of people preparing for Chicago, including two elite runners. But the interesting part is that the people walking, and hurting, and struggling to make it to the end are the more interesting stories. These are the people working 10 hour a day jobs, raising kids, running a house, and still carving out time for 3 hour runs, or 100 mile bikes.

“Everyone Else”, in each sport, are the heart of the sport.

We are Triathlon!

The Starbucks Observation

While reading through the many Facebook pages and blogs I frequent, and the few podcasts I listen to every day, an idea popped in my head when someone started discussing Starbucks and the Dome drinks (those that have to have a dome lid to add more sugar to the already massive amounts included in the drink) and Non-Domed drinks (basically coffee). The basic hypothesis was that the purveyors of the domed versions were more likely to be overweight than those that chose the no dome versions.

Interesting …

So, since I am a frequent Starbucks customer (my choice is usually a venti iced coffee with cream and two Splenda’s) I decided that when I went in I would start observing for a half an hour (secretly of course) the people who purchased each type and tally whether they appeared to be overweight or not. A few items going in:

1.       This is obviously a judgment call when it comes to overweight (OW) and In Shape (IN). There are, of course, people that are thin but not in shape. I normally focused on the belly region. If the belly is overlapping the belt, you’re over weight.

2.       If the customer appeared to be under 20 years old I did not include them.

3.       Although Domed drink are always laden with sugar of some type (yes even the sugar free is still sweetened), some No Dome drinks are also sugar laden. I acknowledge this going in.

4.       I stopped in three different stores in my area Lithia Pinecrest (LP), Bloomingdale (BL), and New Tampa (NT) and separated them into time frames of 8-12 and 12-4. I also logged whether they were Male or Female, but only for a total process at the end.

Note: This is in NO way a scientific study. It is strictly observational. There are obviously many factors that could be taken into account (activity level, income, etc.) that could not be done this way. Stores in your area may be totally different. I acknowledge that going in.

1.       There were 124 observations made through the course of the week. 81 of the purchases were Domed, with 43 being No Dome.

2.       Of the 81 Domed drinks sold, 75 (92.6% were to females). Of the 75 females purchasing domed drinks, 71 (96%) were classified OW.

3.       Of the 81 Dome drinks purchased, 95.1% were to OW customers. Of the 43 No Dome drinks purchased, 27.9% were OW customers.

Please see below for Charts and Graphs:

So … what does this show?

Nothing really. I think we all know this would be the result, but I was curious to see if a common belief would hold up in an actual observational method. We all see this happening constantly. In the grocery store the people who appear to be in shape have carts full of veggies, and almond milk, and meat, while the overweight couple in front of you have a cart full of Fruit Loops, Coke, and pre-packaged White Castle burgers while three screaming kids are in tow, all the while talking on a cell phone to their friends complaining that they can’t get these out of control kids to settle down.

It’s a mystery …

Getting back to Starbucks, while doing some background reading I saw a couple of interesting facts:

The average human stomach holds 900mL of fluid. A Trenta drink at Starbucks is 916mL. You are basically putting more into your stomach that it can hold.

A Chocolate Chip Scone at Starbucks has more calories and Fat than a McDonald’s Big Mac.

An educated public is a dangerous thing. There was a recent study online that also compared Subway to McDonald’s and showed that Subway is just as unhealthy as the Evil McD Empire, yet Jarred is a hero. Since really delving into this area the information I have found is scary, because I used to buy into these things too.

Splenda is better than Sugar? A recent study has linked Splenda to diabetes.

Subway healthier than McDonald’s? Nope.

High Carb/Low Fat is better for training? Not even remotely close.

Vinnie and Anna were talking about “belief systems” on their recent podcast, and Lord do I see this in abundance. People cling to these beliefs as if their life depended on it too. My mother was visiting recently  (which is always fun because I refuse to buy crap that she is used to eating) and she asked me on the first night why I put whipping cream in my coffee. I told her that it was better than half and half, less carbs, keeps me full, etc. and she stated “Oh I can’t eat that … I am already fat enough”.

<<Face Palm>>

I tried to explain to her that fat doesn’t make you fat, and that eating low fat items actually has more sugar. Even my 19 year old son, who usually is very contrary to anything I say because, well, he’s my son, says “Grandma, you need to listen to Dad. He knows what he’s talking about.”

After I pulled myself off the floor I tried to explain to her how fat is processed and how sugar is processed. Like talking to a wall. My mother is almost 69 years old, is now blind from diabetes, and has feet that look like, to quote Pink Floyd, “two balloons”. I stopped trying to convince her. Little does she know, though, that she drank full fat coffee the entire week she was with here. I refuse to buy with my money things that are hurting her. I can be stubborn like that.

Go figure

A Most Unpleasant Man

The past week I have been thinking about writing ideas, but nothing was fleshing out enough to feel like it was worthy as a blog post (yes, believe it or not I do put some thought into what I post). I had a discussion with an old friend regarding weight issues and how it not only affects the person who is heavy, or is in the process of becoming heavy, but also how it affects the people around this person. I was reminded again of this fact by another “blog-friend” over at the “Diary of a Feisty Latina” blog. Her post today was about her re-visiting the NSNG lifestyle after becoming aware of what sugar was doing to her moods. This made me start thinking about how I was before changing my eating style.

I am honestly not sure how people put up with me.

When you eat crappy foods, and by that I mean food that have no nutritional value to your body (i.e. fructose) it affects not only how your body feels, but how your mind feels. Imagine how you are when you are sick. I know the old jokes about how men are babies when they get sick, and that is probably true, but the fact is that everyone gets testy and “short tempered” when they are not feeling well. So, imagine you are not feeling well all the damn time. You may not think you’re not projecting this to others, but you are! It’s along the same lines as when you wife/girlfriend says “Nothing” when you can tell there is something wrong and ask them (we know something is wrong, and we know we are probably the reason, so just tell us for God’s sake!). J

There are some that I have trained with (I won’t mention names because she reads this and I don’t want to hurt her feelings…again) who complain all the time about GI issues when they run, yet continually posts pictures of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Oreo cookies, and Foursquare check-in’s at “Cherry Berry”.

Is it any wonder why they feel like crap?

I spent much of my adult life after my cancer diagnosis using the cancer as a reason for my weight gain. Yes, my weight was affected by the removal of my thyroid. Yes, my energy level was affected by the removal of my thyroid, but NO there was something I could do about it. I just chose not to. It was too hard to will myself off the couch. The extra weight hurt me when I tried to run. So I sat my ass on the couch, with potato chips on my expanding belly, watched the Biggest Loser on TV, and felt sorry for myself as my weight went from 185, to 220, to 260, and peaked at 303.

I was miserable. And I was not easy to be around. I don’t know how people could stand me.

This of course was not known to me at that time. This is hindsight. I was unhappy … in my job(s), in my life, in my marriage, in everything. I blamed everyone else. I was, as E says on his 1993 CD “Broken Toy Box”, a “Most Unpleasant Man”. I have changed much of what I am recently, especially the past two years, with a lot of help from friends and people I call friends that I have never met in person. They have not only given me the information I needed to move forward, but supported me when some that I should have been able to rely on for support chose not to. It goes along the line of “I am miserable so I want you to be miserable too”. Something I am ashamed to admit I used to do as well.

But no longer …

I will be 50 years old in two months. I don’t feel 50 in my mind, but there are days that I feel every bit of 50 in my body. I suppose that is inevitable as we get older, and perhaps it’s my penance for disgracing my body for20 years. There are some things I will never get back I know. My football injury will always be an issue. My knees will always hurt. My arthritis will always be there (though the swelling has subsided somewhat with the new eating style). My eyesight is not going to get better. So, I set my sights on what I can fix; my weight, my endurance, my strength, my willpower. All have improved and can improve more.

So as the song goes, for those of you knowing me for 50 years …

“Remember me
Not as i am
But how i was
As your truest friend
Remember me
Not as i am
How did i ever become
A most unpleasant man”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxmjdeMTblE

Building an Ironman

It is best every once in awhile to reassess your goals to see if you are on the right track, both for what you want in your life to what you able to do. We all know that feelings, and goals change, and sticking to the same track you set for yourself years ago may be the wrong thing for you at the present time. Life has a way of screwing up the best laid plans, and you have to reassess where you are at.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this the past few weeks, especially since getting that eye opening email from my coach concerning reigning it back in as far as the goal to get to a full Ironman in my 50th year. Even before I got that email I knew that it was out of reach. I got off track, trying to move forward too soon instead of building the base training I would need to get me to that goal.

In my first season I did 5 triathlons, with one DNS. All of them sprints (Escape from Fort DeSoto, Top Gun, Crystal River 1 &2, and Madeira Beach). I finished in last place in every one of them, though I did see improvements in time. In season two I did 8 triathlons (Fort Desoto, Crystal River 1, 2, & 3, Nature Coast Twilight, St. Anthony’s, and my first Half Ironman in Augusta Georgia).

I finished last in every one of them (by last, by the way, I mean in my age group/Clydesdale), and saw my times get worse, especially in the run.

This season, my third, I started off with a Half Iron Distance race in Ocala in March (HITS 70.3) and ran the thing injured (“ran” being a kind word for “walk”). I completed St. Anthony’s once more, and have Crystal River 1 competed.

I finished last in each of them.

I know what you’re thinking … “it’s an accomplishment to just finish these races” and I do agree with that to a point, but also at some juncture you expect to improve. The only discipline that has improved is my swim, and I tend to think the improvement there is mostly mental. My bike is about the same as it was last season, and my run is still bad. In fact, every time I try to push myself on the run in order to improve I end up injured. I will be seeking some other guidance at the advice of KC, but there has to be something to this that I am not seeing.

I used to think it was the "lack of Killer Instinct",as I wrote about in the past, but I don't think that's it any more, because I do push on these races and in training. As you can tell, I am a little frustrated. I have a great coach (and group of coaches through TNT), I have a great partner, and I have a great group of people surrounding me when we train and race. A part of me feels like my lack of improvement, and my constant injuries, is letting them down. I know they would never say that, but that’s how it makes me feel. I was listening to Jon Smith’s Fit Fat Fast podcast (a very good and informational listen and I highly recommend it) and he and co-host Debbie Potts were talking about the fact that obese and morbidly obese people are completing triathlons all the time (a point that Vinnie and Anna also bring up quite often at their podcast). He made the point that just because you can will yourself through this type of race, not something that should be taken lightly; it doesn’t mean you are healthy. There are many “skinny fat” people around, people that are thin or appear healthy but eat junk food and smoke and drink. They are just the “lucky” 20% that can get away with it (for a time … because it catches up to everyone eventually. But you are not going to find the opposite, the “fat skinny” or the “healthy fat” people. I have finished many races now, but I am overweight, and I am not healthy.

So the goal this year is to stick with the Sprints, add some 5k’s, 10k’s, and work on almost starting over. We still have Augusta at the end of the year, which will be a decent barometer for the progress made (or lack thereof). Ironman will have to wait.

And I’m OK with that …

Racing Blind : Crystal River 1 Race Report

Ready to get this started

Win or lose, in every race you learn something.

If you do well you learn what worked for you in order to keep doing it. When you have a bad race you learn what mistakes you made in order to not repeat them.

Unless you’re like me of course, stubbornly clinging to bad habits like luggage, dragging it from race to race and then wondering why my results are not improving.

My most recent race, Crystal River 1, was supposed to be my “rebirth” from last year’s disappointing results. It was supposed to be proof of what training my ass off results in. It was supposed to be under 1:45:00. But with all my training, all my nutritional gains, someone forgot to fix my head.

Where the head goes, so goes the race.

Like I said though, each race brings a learning experience, and I have learned from this one as well.

I learned that my RPE (Rate of Perceived Effort) is WAY off. I had to race this race “blind” due to my Garmin crapping out on me and still waiting for it to be returned fixed. I thought that I should be able to tell, by reading how my body felt, what pace and speed I was at. I was wrong, but more on that later.

I learned that I have used my weight as a crutch; a reason to not perform better on the run. That stops now.

I learned that I need to accept the fact that I am going to hurt during a race and to learn to deal with this pain and push through.

I learned that all of those laps in the pool seem to be paying off finally. At least one good thing came from this race.

I learned that my nutrition pre-race and during the race is not right.

So with all that said, let’s do a race report.

The day started out great. No nerves at all. We got up early, had everything ready to go. It’s the best thing about this race series, because I know it’s a doable race. The only issue I had was the pre-race plan for nutrition. I had it in my head to make a fat coffee (which I failed to do) and then before that, on the ride to the race site, drink water with 1 scoop of Generation Ucan. This did not happen either. I have a problem eating or drinking anything in the morning, especially at 5:00 AM, and I think this might be adding to my race performances, or lack thereof.

We got to the race in plenty of time, got a great parking spot right by check in, got our numbers and set up transition. As per plan, we grabbed our swim gear and headed to the water. The air temperature was 70 degrees and the announced water temperature was 82 degrees. Very nice. It was the same as last year, where we end up staying in the water to keep warm. Nice change of pace from other races we do. This race was also the first one I tried to do wearing contact lenses, and besides the fact I had the right one in backwards the whole race, it went very well. A good decision on my part, being able to see the entire time was nice.

The swim was great. I had a personal best of 9:07 (2:14/100m pace) which was good to see since the rest of my training has not been translating the same way as the swim. The good part of this is that I think I can go even faster. My objective as I stood waiting for my wave to start was to catch someone in the previous wave. I caught 5 of them. My next goal will be to catch 8.

I came out of the water feeling good, even though I did not have a clue to how fast I was at the time. I took way too long in T1, so next time I go sockless. Another lesson learned. I need another type of shoe as well. I currently use Scott Python’s, which I love, but in transition they slow you down by having to crank them tight. I have a pair of Maverick triathlon shoes, which are great because they have one strap, but my feet cramp when I wear them. Not so bad on a Sprint race like this, but after 56 or so miles it hurts like hell. I need to look into this more.

Mistake #1 was evident on the bike immediately. I forgot water. What kind of idiot forgets water for a race?

This guy!

I was also racing blind, as I had mentioned before. I felt like I had hit a great stride, and joined in

with a group of three that seemed to be going the pace I was ok with, and started zoning out. Big mistake. About 4-5 miles in Jennifer caught me (I had beaten her in the swim by 3-4 minutes and she caught me that quickly). She yelled something at me as she flew by (I think it was along the lines of “get your lazy slow ass moving JC or you’re walking home, you Bastard!” but I could be mistaken) and I realized I was going much slower than I thought I was. I asked the guy behind me what his speed was, and he answered “a little above 14 mph”).

Shit!

My normal pace is between 17-18 mph, and have been training at a much higher pace, so I knew at that point my splits were done. I pulled out from behind them and started cranking as hard as I could. I never caught her, but no one after that passed me. By that point I know my bike portion was messed up. This is where I need to get better for certain. I need to be better at perceiving my speed regardless of my access to a watch or other electronic. I worked on this during my ride yesterday. I had a Motorola on my wrist, but would try to guess my speed at certain intervals then would check the watch. I sucked at first but was getting better by the end of the ride. I will keep working on this through the summer.

As an FYI, my training ride yesterday was 18.04 miles and my pace was 18.2 mph. Proof once more that I can do this speed.

The run was, well, the run. This is where my “come to Jesus” email with KC came from. I use my weight too much as the reason I cannot run, and I need to stop it. KC pointed this out to me in her Sunday spanking email. As she so eloquently pointed out, there is a difference between pain and injury. I can no longer use my weight nor pain as an excuse. Only if I am truly injured. I am going to do my best. Run my hardest. On that note, though, let me say this. I recently got an email from Jon Smith of Fit Fat Fast and he made a good point to me. It is hard to understand the pain we have when running if you have never had to do it. I am not going to use it as an excuse any longer, though.

What is the takeaway from this race? It is based in nutrition, being prepared, and driving more during training. The bottom line, though, is mental. I need to get harder (I know, I know … “that’s what she said”). I need to get tougher. Jennifer and I had the discussion after the training yesterday. The question is, can you change yourself in that way. I had written a blog post last year called “Killer Instinct” addressing my lack of it. Can you develop one at this time in your life if you’ve never had it? Jen pointed out that I had developed one in the swim, which has always been the hardest part for me mentally. I now stare at the wave divisions and know I am not letting anyone by me in my group, in the group behind me, and that I will catch the previous wave. So if I have developed that mentality in a discipline that previously scared the crap out of me, why can’t I develop it in the other two that I have never been scared of?

As far as nutrition, I have some other thoughts but will save it for another post.

Hope you enjoyed the read!

Swim Calm … Bike Strong … Run Steady

Crystal River Racing

When we started this process all we had our sights on as far as races were concerned were sprint distances, with the culmination being the Olympic Distance of St, Anthony's. After three years this has turned into Half Iron distances of 70.3 miles with the eventual goal of a full 140.6, hopefully in the next couple of years. One thing has remained constant, however, from year 1; the sprint races in Crystal River.

Why, you may ask?

Because, at the core of it, they are fun races.

Crystal River Triathlons are a series of three races run by DRC Sports scheduled around the summer holidays of Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day, with an extra one called Crystal River Twilight near the end of July that is started at 6:30 PM. They are held on Saturdays, which is great because you don't have to go to work the next day (normally), they are inexpensive (especially if you buy all three in the series at once near the beginning of the year. They averaged out to be around $35 a race.), and they have a fun, relaxed, party atmosphere. The number of racers are limited to around 300 or so, which gives an excellent chance to place (Jennifer placed in one race last season) in the many divisions they have, and the awards go 5 deep.

I am not saying they are not challenging. We have had easy races here and we have had harder races (this is subjective of course) but what once were target races have now become part of our summer training routine, and I see no reason to alter this in the future.

For one thing, the race is short and fast. This is a good thing for beginners as it doesn't present obstacles that

The normally calm waters after Debbie hit last season

are too great to overcome. The swim is 400 meters in a clockwise direction, in brackish water that is usually around 83 degrees. Since it is a mixture of salt water and spring water, it sometimes can give an odd smell, but normally it is clear and calm (except for the race after Tropical Storm Debbie which churned it up pretty good). The current can be a challenge at times, but normally not anything that can't be over come. The bike is 15 miles (7.5 out and back) out and back along a flat smooth road. The drawback here is because it's the only road in and out of Fort Island Beach it is an open course and we all know what asses some motorists can be. The good thing about that is you can get behind a car or truck and draft the hell out of the ride. The run is 1.5 miles out and back, for a total of 3 along the same route as the bike. It can be a HOT race, especially into the middle summer months, and the Twilight race, although fun at night, can provide much needed blood supply for the mosquito population (bring bug spray, especially for the run portion).

We use these races as "training" races. Mostly to get our transition speed down and learning how to push hard for an entire race. I still race in the Clydesdale Group, and this year there are 13 of us in that division, and only two in my age group, which means I have to beat 8 people to place 5th. I have never placed higher than second to last. I have my goals this year of being through the swim and bike in under 1 hour (10:00 swim and 50:00 bike), giving me a lot of time for the run. With correct conditions I think this is doable, but we will see. I angered the Tri God last season by taking Crystal River for granted as an "easy race" and got progressively worse with each race, including the miserable performance in CR2 after Tropical Storm Debbie churned up the normally clear swim route and provided choppy water. I won't make that mistake again.

So if you are a newbie, or just someone wanting to have some fun, I highly recommend this race. I have known elite level triathletes, like Kelly Ann and Jim Jenkins run these races and still managed to have fun, so come on out.

Tell the the Fat Slow Triathlete sent ya!!