On July 19th, 2010, Nikki and I spent some of our vacation going to see Craig Alexander and Mirinda Carfrae. The event was put on by Mark and the other great people at Runner’s High n Tri in Arlington Heights, Illinois. You can find their facebook page here : Runner’s High n Tri Facebook page

It was a great couple days in a triathlete’s life as we were able to watch the Racine 70.3 race on Sunday, where we saw Craig Alexander getting into mid season form along with a great women’s race between Samantha Warriner and Kate Major. Then spending the night listening to Bob Babbitt interview two of the top professionals in our sport. The only thing that could have made it better was actually racing on Sunday ourselves. I hope that we’ll come back to Racine in 2011 to do the race.

The discussion was more about getting to know the athletes and their introduction and involvement in the sport than it was about “how to” do the sport. The flow of the interview was appropriate because it allowed participants to enjoy the discussion without getting too technical. Plus, I imagine that professionals like Alexander and Carfrae are a little quiet about their current training programs and fitness as they get into final preparations for Kona.

Here are some take away thoughts I had after last night:

1 – Ironman is about strength. I don’t mean strength in terms of weight lifting strength, but both athletes talked about how they took time to get into Ironman because they felt they were getting stronger over the years as their experience increased.

One thing they talked about was being able to hold form late into the run, something they both proved last year at Kona.

2 – Ironman can take away from your body. It is interesting that both these athletes have limited full 140.6 distance experience. In fact, Alexander has done 4 Ironman races in his career:

2007 – Ironman Austrailia (3rd place)
2007 – Ironman Kona (2nd place)
2008 – Ironman Kona (1st place)
2009 – Ironman Kona (1st place)

If you look at Carfrae’s Ironman history, she has one Ironman race on her resume:

2009 – Ironman Kona (2nd place) – set the run course record, running 2:56:51

The one thing that age group athletes can learn from this example, in my opinion, is that we shouldn’t be in a hurry to get to an Ironman – if you are interested in racing well at the full 140.6 distance.

One thing that you will find in both of these athlete’s history and current schedules is a lot of racing at the shorter distances. They both raced ITU for Austrailia, then started doing olympic distance races in the U.S. like Chicago, Lifetime Fitness, etc. Then they moved onto racing many 70.3 races. Their current schedules are still set up in this way. They both do many 70.3 races throughout the year and focus on only one Ironman race a year.

Carfrae discussed how she noticed how doing even one Ironman race limited some of the racing she might otherwise do.

The one thing that will be interesting to watch in the future is the path that professional triathletes take with the new WTC rules to qualify for Kona. The new rules will not allow most athletes to focus only on Kona and will require them to race at least one other full Ironman race a year.

Nikki and I have discussed this topic a lot this year as she took the exact opposite approach to getting into triathlon. This is her first year doing sprint and olympic distance races (after a couple Ironman races and many marathons). Therefore she’s trying to learn to go fast. She’s actually picked up the shorter distance racing well, probably from all the years of competitive swimming – but it would have likely made for more successful Ironman racing if she would have learned to race a triathlon prior to trying to survive an Ironman.

Not only has Nikki been on this path this year, but in my own way I’m trying to learn to be “fast” again. One thing that is true within my racing is that my swimming, cycling and running is all slower than it was 6 and 7 years ago, prior to making the decision to try Ironman.

My hope is that after 3 or 4 years of learning to race fast again, I’ll be able to make another attempt at Ironman with a higher ceiling and then lift my Ironman efforts to a higher level. The one change I will make within my training next time around is that I will not be so focused on “the distance” and will spend more time within my training focused on the “strength” and “speed”.

3. Alexander had one workout he talked about doing 4 to 6 weeks out from Hawaii (don’t remember exact timing):

115mile ride / 12 x 1mile repeats on the track leaving on 6mins

He had two training groups for the ride. One group rode the first half of the ride with him, while the second group rode the second half with him. Primarily so there were always fresh legs around him.

This workout would ruin every triathlete I know if they tried such a workout (he is the 2x World Champion) – but it is an example of what he means by having strength late in the run. Most people I know that do long bricks don’t get much benefit out of their off-the-bike runs.

4 – Family is primary focus. After watching Alexander at Racine 70.3 run through the finish line with his daughter, along with seeing his family around him after the race – it is obvious that Alexander puts family first. I lost count of the times that he mentioned decisions he made that included the involvement his family had, the impact it would have on his family and how he structured his career to facilitate family.

This is very inspirational as an aspiring family man and father. Family issues and priorities are also the single most important variables that I have to navigate when working with most of my athletes.

Final Thoughts:

It was a great experience to listen to these two athletes. The take away message that I had going away is that while they live at the top of the sport, they still face many of the same issues we all face.

- When to race
- Where to make a living
- What our family has to say about our participation
- Do we have sex before a race (it was a question someone asked)

Listen to Podcast here or go to itunes and search for Endurance Base Camp

An interview with Brendon McDermott, Ph.D, ATC about:

1. Exertional Heat Stroke
2. Hyponatremia
3. Dehydration and impact on performance
4. Sweat Rates
5. Sodium and electrolyte intake
6. When to drink / hydrate

Brendon is an assistant professor and clinical coordinator in the Entry-Level Graduate Athletic Training Education Program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He received his PhD from the University of Connecticut studying exercise science with a research focus on thermal physiology, hydration, and exertional heat stroke.

Brendon’s dissertation was titled “Effect of the Mode of Rehydration on Recovery from Exercise Dehydration: Cardiovascular, Hormonal, and Medical Considerations.”

You can find Brendon’s contact information here: University of Tennesse Chattanooga Profile Page

From the first time I heard about this race I was really excited. Mainly because I have not done much on this end of town, hence my excitement for the Legacy Trail.

Race Morning: Wife and Kiddo to bed earlyish and I thought I would be able to do the same but for some reason I did not sleep well. Woke up around 5 to shower, eat, and get heading towards the race. I wanted to get there around 6 to give myself some time to set up. I was really surprised at all the folks who registered for this race and it was really hopping when I arrived a bit before six. Got unloaded, body marked, timing chip, and headed for the racks. Transition racks are a lot like airplanes, people bring way too big of a bag on the airplane and take up way too much space. There were supposed to be 11 bikes on the rack and when I got to the rack there were three bikes way too spread out on one half and then 6 of us on the other. Got folks to move their stuff and things were fine.

I got talking to a bunch of folks and ended up forgetting to do some preventative maintenance where the trisuit rubbs. Oh well, it worked out ok.

Swim: I listed a time of 7 mins but figured if there was room I could swim about 30 -40 seconds faster. I was seeded 51 but when the race official started letting folks reseed themselves I knew the swim was gonna be a cluster. I got in the water and had lots of room for the first hundred or so but from about then on out it I was just drafting a guy that would not let me pass and then it became about three or four people a head of me who were all in a no passing line for about the last 150. Oh well. Got out of the water and headed to T1.

T1: went fast, was a bit cramped between the bikes.

Bike: I was really excited to start the bike portion since I am riding my new road bike. I did the LTH test last weekend and was really impressed with my fitness and the new bike fit. I knew this course would be flat and fast so I was ready. Was a bit nervous about the shoes because I have switched from the LOOK cleats to Zero SPDs but I clicked in fine and hit the bricks.

I was really excited to pass folks. In maysville I came out of the water 11 and ended the bike at 31. This was much different, I got to pass a good amount of people and only got passed once. I stayed in the drops most of the race and stayed in the big papa ring for most of the ride. The bumpy road (can’t remember the name) really took a tole on my nether region but it was short and I just moved around a bit. There was a goodish headwind coming back towards ironworks pike.

Came in off the bike and into T2 strong.

T2: good fast transition, racked the bike, off with the helmet and shoes, on with the runners, grab the hat and belt and off to the races.

Run: I was less than excited to hear we were gonna be on the grass again. This is 3 for 3 for grass runs this year in the tri season. When I ran cross country it was not a problem because you got used to the strides and had ankle strength. now it is more difficult for me. I stayed strong and made it to the road. I decided to go a head and do a run walk but 30 secs every mile. I wish I would not have done this because I felt strong and did not need it but I still decided to stick to my plan. Hit the first mile at 8:15, second at 8:26 (with :30 walking), and mile 1.1 at 8:55 with :30 walking at the two mile mark. Took in some h2o on the course. Some in me and some over me. I felt like I finished the run strong and I felt smooth and strong for the whole race.

Results, I was super excited to see I had moved up in the age group. usually I am right around 50% but this race I was 6/21.

I really wish I would not have walked because I think I could have finished roughly around 4/21 in the ag but I could have moved up about 10 spots in the overall.

I thought the race was great and there are few complaints. I am glad we did not have to run on the main driveway because that would have been too tight, so I understand why we were in the grass. My only complaint is I would have liked for the seeding to have remained the same and avoid all the confusion and folks moving up.

I think this race has great potential in the future. I would like to see a longer bike and run portion since there is the space for it.

Here are my details off my watch, the HFP results for me are a bit wonky.

Swim 7:43 (out of pool)
T1: 1:17 (out of pool)
Bike: 40:43 20.6mph
T2: 45
Run: 25:33 8:15 mph

Listen to the podcast here or go to itunes and search for Endurance Base Camp

In this podcast we talk to Saori Hanaki-Martin about her endurance sport background and then go into her amazing performance at the New Orleans Marathon back in February, 2010.

You can read her race report here: Saori’s New Orleans Race Report

You can see her Garmin race file here: Saori’s Garmin Connect Data

Listen to the podcast here or go to itunes store and search for Endurance Base Camp.

This podcast is a recap and race report of my attempt to run a sub 3 hour marathon at the New Orleans Rock-n-Roll Marathon. I discuss how things felt when the feeling of doing great quickly turned to not-so-great. There is a lot of discussion about my heart rates, paces and nutrition.

You can find my Garmin 305 files at Training Peaks here: http://tpks.ws/6Cdd

Last night was our opportunity to host Jordan Rapp here in Lexington.  It turned out to be a great event for local triathletes interested in training and racing, especially for long distance triathlon.

Jordan focused his talk on Nutrition, Racing and Pacing.  After going through his talk he spent almost 2 hours answering any question athletes had for him.  One of the topics that came up was his thoughts on what the long run should look like during an Ironman training program.

Jordan’s thought:  The long run should not be longer than 2 hours.

Athlete Question:  Why should the long run not be longer than 2 hours when marathon programs have you train for 2:30, 2:45 or longer?

The response that Jordan gave was – biomechanics.  The idea is that when a runner runs too long they begin to break down from a run mechanics point of view, which in turn has a negative impact on the training outcomes.  The proposed benefit of running “the distance” is not of any benefit when the person can not maintain pace and form.  The concept of nothing over two hours is just an observation that he’s made reviewing training habits of age groupers and their ability to remain strong towards the end of a long run workout.

Athlete Question: Isn’t that what Ironman is about, trying to be strong while you are beginning to break down?

The reply to that line of thinking was – We don’t need to practice breaking down, that is something we can all do. In training we are trying to become more fit and improve running ability. When we continue to run after breaking down in the long run, we are not providing a training stimulus that helps us become more fit. We also start to create poor habits and patterns in our running when we go “too long”.

My thoughts on the subject

If you follow my coaching and training thoughts, then it probably doesn’t come at a surprise that I agree with this training principle 100% (the idea of not running too long).

Many of the coaching principles that I use (and that take time to convince and educate athletes on) are centered around this very concept. I have found over the years that most age groupers think they can run longer then they really can and that they put too much emphasis on the value that running long has on their overall training program.

This is such an important issue in marathon and triathlon that my very first podcast was on the subject: http://www.endurancebasecamp.com/001-the-long-run-in-a-marathon-program/

Principles that I use for coaching runners and triathletes include things like:
1. Double long strategy
2. Run / Walk strategy

Both of these are used in order to provide the athlete with a quality run experience and still obtain run volumes that they may need to meet their racing objectives. This is true for marathon runners and also true for triathletes.

How this applies to other parts of triathlon training:

Don’t do all of your run training off the bike! Brick workouts are important (very important) but you also need to have runs within your training program that will improve your running fitness and your running economy/mechanics.

The mistake I see too many triathletes make (especially at half and full Ironman distances) is that they schedule the long run, they schedule some brick workouts, then they fill in their run schedule with “easy runs”. A major problem unless you already have significantly more run fitness than swim and bike fitness. But even if that is true, many triathletes would benefit from scheduled time in their week where they work on run mechanics.

How often do you do drills when you have a swim workout? Many people do swim drills 2 or 3 times a week, if not more. Why are you not working on your run technique?

Going back to the point of running while tired, it is very difficult to practice running well when you are always running tired.

Final Thoughts:

Quality of training matters! My father used to have a saying:

Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect!

At the time I wasn’t quite sure what it meant, but I tried to use that idea as I practiced my TaeKwonDo forms over and over and over. I didn’t really accept the idea that being perfect was required even in practice, but I tried use the principle as I shot 1000’s of free throws and 100’s of three pointers at the church gym or on the playground.

As a coach that tries to motivate individuals to run better and race smarter, there is a lot of value in learning how to run – and not just running to log minutes and miles. To start learning to run better, you don’t need to break yourself down first.

I originally saw this video over on strengthcoach.com in an article discussing the importance of the initial acceleration in athletics.  While the ability to accelerate from 0 to 10 meters is not of importance for a triathlete or marathon running, the principles of good mechanics are not lost on the long distance runner.

The wall runs are a variation of drills we do with our athletes and runners, while I’ve never used a weighted sled with any of our runners, we do use harnesses to help coach body posture and lean.

I hope you learn something from the video!

[note]: Jessica originally posted this report on her tumblr blog, you can go here to find it. [end note]

Well, I will finally write down my thoughts regarding the Lexington Half before I forget it all. Forgetting it is not that likely though.

I have been training for this half since mid December. On every run I have visualized running the Lexington Half and finishing well. I was so excited for this race! I woke up at 6 and met up with my brother a half hour later. I ate a bagel and a banana for breakfast so I thought that was good for a race breakfast. My brother and I headed over to Fasig Tipton… and met a huge line of traffic. I work downtown so I’m used to traffic but it really worked up my anxiety. This was my first big race, I had only done one 5k before this. I started freaking out a little bit. So I called Nikki and she gave me a pep talk. She told me to be conservative in the beginning and to not worry about getting there.

The race time was delayed due to the traffic but that was a good thing for us. When Chris and I lined up to start I saw Brad, he trains with Gary and Nikki too. I gave Chris some Luna Moon gummies and even though they are for women Chris was glad I thought of him when I bought stuff for the race. The gun went off and we were running!

I hit my first mile at the 12 min mark almost to the second. This was a good pace for me in the beginning and I planned to keep it up for the first five miles or so. I was amazed at how I was able to keep my pace, sometimes I think I fluctuate too much. I hit mile 2 at 24 min and it kept going. Chris stayed with me the entire time. We saw Gary while going up Newtown Pike, it was exciting to hear someone call my name! Once we entered the horse park the view got to be so pretty and the rain didn’t bother me so much. I really started to enjoy the run. We saw the first people passing us on their way back to Fasig Tipton and I cheered for them! It was so cool to see someone running so fast! I started telling Chris, “We’ll see Nikki soon, we will!” I didn’t know how fast she would be going or even her goal for the race but I knew I would see her before the course split in the middle of the park. I saw her and yelled at her. I was happy I spotted her, she looked great running and I had confidence in what I was doing once I saw her.

Around the 6 mile mark there were porta potties set up and Chris said he had to go and that he would catch up. Once I got a little past the halfway mark and close to the 7 mile marker I knew he would not. I teared up a little because I was tired and I didn’t want to run alone. I didn’t bring an ipod or anything so this was my longest run on my own without music. There were nice people running near me but I didn’t feel like talking. I just focused on my pace.

I hit the 9 mile mark around 1:45. I thought to myself, “45 minutes to run 4 miles, I can do that!” My confidence soared. I ran really well out of the horse park, one of the spectators yelled, “you look great!” Running down Iron Works was steady for me, not too bad. I saw Gary there again I think, he told me I was looking good and I knew I could complete the race at my goal of 2:30. I turned the corner and headed back down Newtown.

At the 12 mile mark I started to get really tired. The rain was stinging me and my body just wanted to walk. So I walked an extra minute. I was so bummed I couldn’t just keep going at my run 8 walk 2 plan but I needed the time to mentally prepare myself. I started to tell myself it would be OK if I didn’t get under 2:30 and I could feel myself slowing down. Then, I stopped walking and started running. I figured I had worked really hard to do this and I had to try. If I didn’t get under 2:30 at least I got my time running hard towards the finish. So I got to Fasig Tipton and ran hard. I don’t think I passed many people, so I might not have been going that fast but I was giving it all I could. I covered my watch and just ran. Once I crossed the finish line I felt so great and I looked down at my watch. It said 2:29. “What?” I couldn’t believe I had done it! I knew I could but actually standing there looking at my watch while my tag was being cut and actually looking at my medal was an incredible experience. I didn’t cry though because I was really dizzy haha.

I wanted to sit down but I promised my brother that whichever one of us finishes first will be there waiting for the other. So I stretched near the finish line. A couple minutes later I saw him, really running hard! I yelled and I was so proud of him too. I don’t know how he has been training for the event but he certainly did some hard work to finish so well. We got some food but I could only take one bite of everything and we drove home.

I’m already thinking of other events I can run. I think it helps my training if I have a date and event in mind. However, the Lexington Half will always be my first half and I probably won’t ever get the same feeling of accomplishment as I did here today. For the last 3 months I have told people I was going to do this and they looked impressed while on the inside I was nervous and not 100% confident. Running that last mile even though everything in me just wanted to take it easy is one of the best things I have ever done for myself.

I want to thank Gary and Nikki Ditsch (especially Nikki) for encouraging me to be a runner and for giving me the training tools I needed. If you want to know more about what they do click here. I think that the people organizing the Lexington Half did a great job, you should run it next year!

Image Courtesy of Peter v Cook

I blame the Kentucky men’s basketball team for my not running a 1:39 at the half marathon. So UK played West Virginia in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament the night before the half and LOST! Well, apparently this upset me so much that I didn’t fall asleep until 2am. That’s just not enough sleep when the wake up call is at 5am.

So I got up race morning and it had rained, but it was not raining as we drove to the start. It began raining slightly as we headed to the start, but nothing too bad. I love running local races with all my buddies. At the start, I lined up with Beth, Eric, Neeley, Elissa, Jill K, Jill H, Alan, and Mary. I had planned on starting the race with Beth, Eric, Jill K, Jill H, Neeley, and Elissa. We decided we’d start together and see how we felt. Beth had told me she would run the race with me at my pace. I don’t think I could have better friends. So around mile 3, the group around me was Beth, Eric, and Neeley. Then the skies opened up. We turned out of Fasig-Tipton to head out to the Kentucky Horse Park in a strong downpour and heavy winds. My pace team lined up in V formation with me in the apex. Spoiled little ducky? Yes! The heavy rain did not last long, but it continued to rain the rest of the race. We were holding around 7:33 pace to the horse park. I really wasn’t sure if I could hold that pace for the whole race. We decided to walk 30 seconds through every aid station which worked out well since they were about every other mile. I think we totaled 5 walks through the whole race.

As we got to the horse park I found myself only able to talk on the downhill and not feeling so great on the uphill. Nothing was too steep, but the park had some pretty good rollers. I was surprised how quickly we got there, did the loop and got out. I was thrilled to see Kristin and Kathryn cheering at the park. As we left the park I was still feeling pretty good, and I was definitely enjoying the company. I am considering hiring the Atnips for all of my race pacing. Around 10-11 I started to feel it. I watched Beth and Neeley float up the hills as I felt like I could barely drag up them. Only 2 miles to go, but I was falling off pace. I was just hoping I wouldn’t fall off too much. The straight road back in seemed like a long slight incline and the wind was again in my face. This didn’t make much sense to me because it seemed to be in my face on the way out. I tried to hang on to Beth and Neeley’s heels, but I was fading. I just kept concentrating on my form and keeping it together. One mile to go, and I was hurting, but it didn’t seem to take longer than any of the other miles as we entered Fasig-Tipton. Beth slowed down a bit to finish with me as Neeley kicked it in. She looked strong! I was so grateful for Beth’s encouraging words as I gave it my all towards the finish line. The finish was great! There were a lot of spectators and it honestly sounded like hundreds of people were yelling “Go Nikki!”. Maybe it was just one loud person, but it was great! I crossed the line happy and spent. I caught my breath and looked at my watch. 1:40:06. A new PR by over 3 minutes. I was hoping for 1:39, but I am pretty darn happy with 1:40.

Thank you to everyone who helped me get there!!! Especially thanks to all the volunteers for helping out in such horrible weather, and everyone who toughed it out to cheer for the runners. Congrats to all the runners! Everyone mentioned earlier had great great races. It was a wonderful race, and I highly recommend it to anyone local or not. Come run the Lexington Half Marathon!

Here is another race report that I got after our team went to New Orleans to do the Mardi Gras Rock-N-Roll Marathon and Half Marathon.  Here’s Elissa’s break down:
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