During the Offseason...

This post may be mistitled, since I am now back in the full swing of training for the 2015 season. However, I wanted to give an update on all that has happened in my first offseason. Even though I've technically raced two seasons, I didn't really have the luxury of an offseason last year. I went straight from racing all the way through December to racing in March and then beyond. This year, I was able to give myself a few good months off. And wouldn't you know it, they happened to fall right within the holiday season.

October, November, and December were great months because I didn't have to focus on serious volume training. I could relax and spend a lot more time with the family, sleep in, and generally enjoy the holidays. Not that training isn't enjoyable, in fact I began to miss it a lot, but I learned to appreciate the off time more without having to fit in 20 hour training weeks. Additionally, I was able to do more focused work on areas I needed to improve, and improve my arsenal for the coming year. So here's what happened during the offseason...

I Became a Part of the Smart Triathlon Training Elite Team - For the past couple years, since I began my triathlon training, Luis Vargas and Smart Triathlon Training have coached me through great improvements, and have made the process highly enjoyable. When Luis asked me to be a part of this great team, I was honored and jumped at the opportunity. The guidence and support provided at Smart Triathlon Training is amazing for beginner and veteran triathletes alike. I am privilaged to be joining some amazing athletes on this team, especially since I likely have the shortest resume out of the group. I am certain to learn a lot, and up my game for this year.

I Started Riding a Dimond

I have been so impressed by performance of the Dimond bike this past year, and its respective riders. With only about 100 bikes on the road (and surely growing), Dimond Bikes was represented by 21 athletes at Kona. That's one in five bikes, an impressive rate. That's not to say that the bike is wholly responsible for this result, but it does say something for the company and the class of athlete it attracts. The service and support provided by the guys at Dimond is absolutely terrific, and the community of athletes is awesome. The bike itself rides like a dream, and I will post a separate product feature at some point. I feel faster and fresher, which is an important psychological boost. Plus, it just looks incredible. My only dissatisfaction with the bike is that I can't look at it while I'm riding it. Plus, I do get distracted by the envious stares of other cyclists.

I am stoked about the color scheme I chose for this bike because it looks like a bike that Darth Vader would ride if he was a triathlete. Why is that a big deal? Well, when I thought about it, triathlon has been a conduit for positive life change for me, an overcoming of "the dark side". This bike reminds me of this, and only serves to increase my gratitude. I may even call this baby "The Dark Side." Okay, done nerding out... after one last picture...

I Became a Faster Swimmer

Any of you who have followed this blog have known that I am a terrible swimmer. Even in a sport where most of the athletes call their swim their worst event, I am horrendous. I know that if I can be competitive, I have to be closer to the front of the swim pack. A few small adjustments, thanks to the advice of my coaches and my wife, along with tons of yardage, and I am now about 20 seconds faster per hundred. I've also been working a lot on my turnover rate so that I am doing more strokes per minute. As I begin to increase my volume, I hope that I can maintain this pace and hopefully continue improving.

Bottom line is, I am prepared to race strong and it is my season to lose. Everything feels great. My run and bike are improving as well. And as I begin building my fitness for 2015, here is what I'm training for:

Ironman 70.3 Oceanside

Ironman Texas

Ironman 70.3 Boulder

Ironman Boulder

Ironman World Championship (pending qualification)

I will likely throw a few shorter races in there for fun in the summer, but really the two full distance Ironmans will be my A races.

Every day I stare at a post it note on my computer and my refrigerator that list three times: 1:00, 4:45, and 3:15. These are the times that I want to complete each portion - swim, bike, and run - of the Ironman. Including transitions, this would result in a little over 9 hour Ironman. With history as a guide, this is good enough for a top age group spot, and a Kona qualification. These are lofty goals, and I'm not there yet, but they are goals that I feel are achievable if everything goes well. I'll be the first to admit that reaching these goals may be unlikely, but as I've learned over the past couple years, if you reach high enough, you'd be surprised with what you can grab. And the fact is that I am getting closer to this every day. As long as I continue to put in the work and take the next necessary steps, I will make it.

Ironman Boulder 2014 Race Report

For those of you who don't want to read the full report, this says it all

Finishing Time: 10:37:01, 89th/2,343 Overall, 22nd/300 35-39 AG

Boulder, Colorado is such an entertaining town. It reminds me a lot of Santa Barbara - both are meccas for fit people who seemingly don't work, yet have access to a hidden tree with unlimited leaves of money. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find the tree, but I did find a lot of things to like about Boulder. Most significantly, there is a strong sense of community in this little town. So many friendly people and great support from the locals. Additionally, there is really something for everyone. It is a little bit of urban nestled in rural surroundings. It's flat plains among the Rocky Mountains. It's a place to race, as 2400 of us did this weekend, and become Ironmen.

We opted to stay in the more rural part, East of Boulder, since the hotels in town were pretty expensive. To give you a sense of what it was like, here was our home for the week. It was incredible with some lovely views, lots of chickens, and a turtle. It was also right on the bike course, so I could hop out and train on the roads.

This was the property we stayed at. The little place on center right is the house

Pre Race:

The week of rain and cold and rainy weather had passed and left us with mild temperatures and a cooled reservoir - perfect for a wetsuit swim. Saturday was an absolutely perfect day, with no wind and cool weather. Too good to be true, and I was already anticipating this to be the calm before the storm. Despite the perfect conditions on Saturday, I was certain that the wind would kick in on Sunday, blowing us around on the swim as it did in St. George 2012, and that lightning bolts would take out half the swim field. Those of us who would make it to the bike would be greeted with tornadoes at the far eastern portion of the course. If we didn't get lifted into a twister, we most certainly would have been taken out by a projectile in the form of a triathlon bike. Those things are aero, and they'll take off body parts. I didn't even concern myself with worrying about the run, but the very few that made it there would be pelted with golf ball sized hail stones, or fry in 100 degree heat, but nothing in between. As you can see, I'm always thinking about the worst case scenario. The common theme? All of this was out of my control. I had done everything that was within my control. I was well trained, it was just time to execute.

Pre race ritual of sushi dinner. Hasn't failed me yet!

After a dinner tradition of eating sushi, and a surprisingly good night sleep (4-5 hours), I was up at 2 am on Sunday morning to get some yoga and meditation in. This always serves to give me a little morning flexibility and calm before a swim. Breakfast was a blueberry/banana/quinoa/oatmeal smoothie to be followed by a banana/oatmeal/almond butter smoothie two hours before race time. The whole day would consist of a liquid diet. This keeps it very simple for me, and has given me great success in the past.

We were out the door by 3 am to get down to the high school to catch the shuttle. Well, I was going to catch the shuttle, my wife and kids were going to get more sleep in the car. Just a quick word about that. As Ironman athletes, we have to hand it to our families. My wife, kids, and parents woke up hours before the sun would rise to simply spectate at a triathlon. The times they would see me over the next 10+ hours could probably be counted on one hand, and would be brief. Yet they had smiles on their faces all day and enjoyed the hell out of it. It meant a great deal to me that they enjoyed the race, and that they chose to be there to support me.

At the high school, I noticed that the breeze was picking up. Not heavy, but still a bit breezy. "Oh great," I thought. "Here it comes. I'll be fighting white caps the size of houses out there." I told myself to shut up and focus on execution. This is called "Ironman", not "Porcelain Boy". It was time to grow a pair.

At the reservoir the weather was lovely. Light breeze, cool weather, water temperature of 74. Bike tires were inflated, nutrition was at the ready, toilet was used (about 4 times). All systems were go.

I headed over to the corral where I was sure I would be overwhelmed by claustrophobia among the 3,000 other athletes jockeying for position. That wasn't the case. It was more like walking into a cloud of nervous excitement. As it was in Cabo, it was much like an out of body experience, as if I was watching it from the sidelines thinking "these people are crazy."

And then the cannon fired.

Swim

The rolling start is like a pressure control valve, only allowing a limited number of athletes to enter the water at a time, as opposed to the mass start which is a free for all. The rolling start really helps to spread out the field. I very leisurely followed my group standing within the 1:00 to 1:15 seeding area into the water and my race had begun. Very quickly I moved wide right to stay away from others and get clear water. This was great in that I had virtually zero contact the entire swim. Unfortunately, it also meant that I had no feet on which to draft. However, I knew that at this point my swim was a lost cause. I will focus on improving my swim in the off season, but for now the goal was to survive and get in between 1:15 and 1:20.

The swim was relatively uneventful. It consisted of two turns, which made it very easy to navigate and break into parts. I would focus on getting to the first buoy, then the second, and then the finish. I counted my strokes and sighted every 20 - 40 strokes. This was effective and made for a pretty straight swim. Since I wasn't sighting very often, I accidentally jammed my finger tips into some poor woman's neck. She was resting in a vertical position, and my right hand came at full force like a Vulcan death grip into the back of her neck. She screamed in pain, and all I could do was apologize. I felt so terrible about that, but I really hope the rest of her race went well!

After the second buoy, we ran into a lot of weeds. My arms had to come way up to avoid getting them tangled, and most of the 1,000 athletes which had already passed through had ripped it all up so that it was getting onto my face. The issue was very brief, and I continued to swim toward the exit. Getting up from the swim I saw my time and was disappointed, but it was what I expected. On my feet I felt very fresh for the bike leg.

Swim Time: 1:20:53, 1,089th/2,343 Overall; 177th/300 35-39 AG
Garmin File

T1: 5:38

The first transition was a bit disorienting. Since I'm a slow swimmer, yet still want to go fast for the rest of the race, I am very out of place. Most of the people coming out of the water at this point are taking their time. I, on the other hand, want to get on my bike as quickly as possible where I can start to race strong. This is 100% my problem, so I have no right to be rude or pushy to those who are going slower. Once again, it just comes down to the fact that I have to improve my swim.

I ran to the transition bag area and couldn't immediately locate my bag, and the volunteers were busy with other racers, so I had to backtrack a bit to get it. Running toward the tent, I noticed a lot of people changing outside the tent. I decided to follow suit, on the assumption that the tent was full of people. I got my helmet on, and nearly forgot my glasses (had to backtrack for those too) and carried my shoes toward the tent. It was my intent to run through the tent and get to my bike, but someone in front of me had other ideas. Note that above I mention that I don't want to be pushy, but in the middle of a race, if you're going to stand and rest for a while, don't do so in an active runway. I said "coming through" no less than three times before finally nudging my way by him. He wasn't too happy about that, but hopefully he had a little more consideration on the bike course. Blocking is against the rules. No matter, I was off and on to the bike.

Bike

Over the past year, cycling has become my strong event. There are some difficulties associated with being a fast cyclist and a slow swimmer when there are over 2,000 people racing. I finished the swim behind nearly half the field of racers. I had a lot of passing to do. The rules state that once you enter a person's draft zone (within 4 bike lengths) you have 20 seconds to complete the pass. Additionally, once you enter the draft zone, you can't drop back again, you have to make the pass. This means that a lot of energy has to be exerted to make a pass on another racer, since you can't sit side by side with someone and take your time making a pass. I passed over 900 athletes on the bike leg, which came to a rate of one racer every 20 seconds or so. Essentially, over the first 60-70 miles, I was constantly in passing mode.

Perhaps I was biking too hard at the beginning but I was feeling good. Around mile 40, I ended up losing one of my aero bar pads. After going back to retrieve it (which cost me about 2 minutes), I realized that the Velcro was completely gone. I would have to ride the next 75 miles with no aero bar pad on my left side. Fortunately, it didn't bother me too much. If that was the only issue on the bike I was going to have, I would take it!

Since I was going pretty hard at the beginning of the bike, I noticed my stomach nausea starting to pop up around mile 50. Fortunately at this point I was beyond the big packs and could back it off a bit. I dropped my heart rate back to the high 130's to let my digestive system catch back up. After this I found a really good rhythm.

You couldn't have asked for better conditions on the bike course. It was sunny, but mild with not much wind. The wind we did have only gave a slight benefit as it was never really a head wind, and thus helped to propel me forward. The support out there was absolutely great. In the middle of nowhere we had people in lawn chairs cheering us on. This is what makes this sport fun.

In the later miles of the course I was beginning to be all alone, which is how I like it. It was actually really nice and peaceful out there. I made it up the last couple hills, descended into town, and headed toward T2.

Bike Time: 5:12:00, 21.5 MPH
Garmin File

T2: 4:55

After a flying dismount on the bike, I ran into T2, which was located in the Boulder High School stadium. After I handed off my bike to a lovely volunteer, I proceeded to run through the bag transition bag area. One of the things I don't think the race director's anticipated was the fact that the sharp, black running track would be hell on racers' bare feet. They were on mine. It felt hot and sharp, but I didn't really feel it until I got into the tent (with adrenaline and all). It was at that point that I noticed a couple blisters forming on each feet from the track. It was beginning to feel like walking on needles as I began to run out of transition. Uh oh...

Run

After running out of transition, I decided that bloody feet were bloody feet and that I would push it as much as I could. Again, this was supposed to hurt!I felt great initially, and headed downhill along the creek path. The initial miles were good, and I was running low 8's while trying to keep my heart rate below 150. At this point on the run I was pretty much all alone. I became a little worried at one point and had to ask if I was going the right way. Thankfully I was, and I continued. I anticipated that the second time down this course it would become much more crowded.

I was able to see my family about 4 times on the course which was awesome. I was really stoked that they could be out there to watch me suffer. They seemed to be enjoying it too! :-)

High fiving my kids

At the bottom of every hill you have to run back up, and that's just what we had to do after the first 10K. I decided to pace myself on the way back up and make sure I stayed hydrated. It was about here that I started to walk the aid stations also. I was beginning to start hurting early. I was able to keep my heart rate down, but I was just having trouble firing my legs. But, I kept running, albeit at a slower pace. With the punchy hills and false flats, this was truly a tough run course.

Once at the top of the creek again, I was able to turn around and enjoy another downhill, but I was still hurting. Once at the bottom of the hill around mile 17 or so my legs were starting to shut down. I was having a lot of trouble getting my calories in simply because the honey stingers mixed with salt began to taste like bile. I did what I could, but at the remaining aid stations I began to take in coke.

I was looking forward to the aid station on Pearl and Foothill because a video was supposed to play of my wife and kids at the Newton Running Lab. Unfortunately, my video didn't get triggered so I never got to see it. But the good news was only a 10K to go. 10K left was a place I was fantasizing about getting to at the beginning of the marathon, but once I got there I was dreading it. The next 4.5 miles would be up a gradual hill which ate me up the last time I climbed it. This time it would destroy me for sure.

The marathon of an Ironman destroys your spirits. In each race, here and in Cabo, I got the feeling that I was blowing up and not feeling well at all. It was a demoralizing feeling that it would be impossible to finish with even only a small relative distance to go. But that's how this marathon is different and more significant than any other marathon. This marathon is all about a person's ability to suffer and persist. In this marathon you are going to have pain, you are going to feel like crap, you are going to want to quit. But you don't, and that's what makes you an Ironman. It was at the trough of this hill, looking at a 4.5 miles of uphill that I finally remembered this and continued to push through the pain. Even though there was 10K to go, I took it an aid station at a time, walking it and then running between them. People said I looked strong, and I wondered who they were looking at, because it certainly wasn't me.

The last little hill was the hardest. It was about mile 24 that brought us to the very crest of creek path. At the top of that hill was a golf cart which signified the last turnaround and the last couple miles to Mike Riley's silky smooth voice. At the top of the hill I broke into sprint as I went downhill. I began to feel reinvigorated and full of energy. The pain had left me and I kind of felt a bit cheated, like I wish I had felt like this for the rest of the run.

Once back at the high school, I hit the fork in the road with the two signs going to the left and right, "2nd Lap" and "To finish". As I turned to the right the people cheered me on as if I had won the race. Turning onto Arapahoe I saw the mass of spectators lining toward 13th and the finish line. I saw nobody ahead of me as I approached 13th. As I turned left toward the finish I looked behind me. Nobody. I was going to have this moment all to myself!

I began to tear up at that moment. Thinking about all that I've been through to get here. The poor decisions I've made in the past, as well as the decision to improve my life culminated in this moment. This finish line was not a finish line at all, but a celebration of all that was accomplished. The big "Ironman" arch that I began to approach didn't signify an end, but a continuation. A doorway to a greater chapter of life.

I heard the cheers and took it all in with a final spin at the finish line. I couldn't quite hear what Mike Riley had said, but it was along the lines of "a few years ago he was out of shape and abusing alcohol, but today he's an Ironman." It wasn't the trademark "You are an Ironman!", but it's a better message, and more personal. It reminded me of why I had done this, and hopefully inspires people that they can make a dramatic and positive change in their lives.

Run Time: 3:53:35, 8:54/mile

After the finish line I found my wife and hugged her and cried. It was a long and hard day, especially with the run, but I had done it. More than 2,000 others would do the same that day for their own reasons, big and small.

I had hoped that I could run a 3:30 marathon, but it wasn't my day for that. The run course was just too tough. I know that a lot of people had a hard time with the run course, and the times reflected it that day. I am very happy with my time, and only hope to continue to improve over the next year so that I can meet Mike at the finish line again in Kona. By my math, I was about 6-7% off of a Kona time at this race. Looks like 10% improvement is still in order!

A big thanks to everyone who supported my fundraising goal for charity:water. Also, to my wife, kids, and parents for coming out to support me. Boulder was a wonderful city to host this event, and I'm sure it will only improve next year. I am signed up and will see you then!

Ironman Boulder 2014 Part 2: Settling In

We've been here in Boulder for a week now, and the locals have shown us tremendous hospitality. From the sharing of the roads, to the generosity shown by most of the people here. It takes a lot of patience to deal with 3,000 strangers who do not know the local customs, so I for one am grateful!

The last week has been a wonderful experience of riding and running beautiful roads, and swimming in reservoirs to get used to altitude. Fortunately, while my swim pace is down significantly from it's already dismal levels, I am not feeling the affects of the altitude at all anymore. Acclimation happened rather quickly, and I am more confident than ever going into this race.

So a few highlights from this week. Well, it rained... a lot. Unusual for Boulder this time of year, but it was actually very welcome. It cooled down the reservoir so that the swim will most likely now be wetsuit legal. Also, the enduring effect is that it is much cooler than expected (in the 80's instead of the 90's) which will roll into race day. I won't jinx it by being overly optimistic, but all indications say that it will be a pretty nice day. That said, I will welcome a little wind on the bike as I seem to do pretty well in those conditions.

Most of the festivities began yesterday, with athlete checkin and the expo opening at the Boulder High School grass field. Made for a nice "Woodstock" type of feeling with all of the mud in the expo area. But #257 is officially checked in (and, by the way, registered for next year's race).

I had heard through the internets that none other than Apolo Ohno would be making an appearance at the Newton Lab while the expo was going on. Since this was the third race in a row where he was in attendance, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to meet him. Of course he was very nice and looks like he's in good shape for Kona.

Following the expo, we decided to ditch our pants and join the first annual (I'm guessing this will be a yearly thing) Boulder Underpants Run. This is really meant as an opportunity for the athletes to ease the tension before a big race. They do it in Kona every year. Surprisingly, it got some pretty big publicity, even making the local Denver news. I'll admit that I was a little intimidated about running it at first, since my wife and kids opted out this year, but it ended up being a lot of fun.

My wife appearing overdressed for the occasion

Thank goodness we ended up where we started. It would have been an embarrassing walk back to the car. But I guess if I were to stay on Pearl St. we would have fit right in.

One of the reasons I am truly blessed to do this sport is the support I get from family and friends. My wife and kids have been putting up with my diva-esque mood swings and finicky behaviors, yet they still choose to be with me this week. Additionally, my parents decided to fly out to watch the race. The night they flew in, we attended a very well put together opening ceremony which really served to inspire and provide confidence to all of us. Emceed by none other than Mike Riley himself, they went through the history of Ironman, and had interviews with a number of athletes, including Dave Scott. It was a great way to motivate me for the coming race.

The next day would be a full one. Later in the day I would check my bike and gear in, but first things first. My kids were going to become Ironkids. At the Boulder High School, the kids were going to run the track (Sarah for a half mile and Zack for a quarter). Once again, Mike Riley announced the event. I am truly impressed with this guy. Virtually every weekend this guy goes to Ironman locations around the world and works his butt off all week long, culminating in 17 hours of keeping the energy high. If there is an Ironman, he is certainly it.

Back to the kids' race. Sarah's half mile run began after the milers finished up. She went out really fast and we were worried that she would lose steam during the run. However, she held on and finished as one of the top girls in the entire group. She was a very happy girl! Zack did great as well, and Mom was allowed to run with him. They both got medals and felt very proud of themselves. Best of all, it kept my mind of the race the following day and allowed me to settle my nerves a bit (but don't worry, they came back later!).

So now I'm all checked in. Bike is racked. T1/T2 bags are in place. Nutrition is set to go. Alarm is set for 2 am. Now all I have to do is wait patiently and rest. I've done all I can, the rest is out of my control. But it will be a blast.

I want to thank everyone who supported me throughout the past year and longer. It has been a great experience and I've really grown from it. Thank you to everyone who supported the fundraiser for charity:water. With your help, we were able to raise $1,500 for clean water projects all over the world. This is a cause I will continue to support for a long time to come.

To all who are racing tomorrow, best of luck! I will see you at the finish line!

Ironman Boulder 2014 Part 1: It's Acclimation Baby!

Well, we made it. After a 11:pm wake up call and one final assurance that the car was packed and ready for a 1,000 mile trip we left our home in San Clemente at a God forsaken hour to head out to Boulder Colorado.

I tried to use my experience with Ironman to soften the blow of the impending 15 hour drive through relation. "It's like a long Ironman triathlon". And certainly a drive like this with two kids would be a test of endurance. But why leave so early? Well, as with any endurance competition, you want to try to control everything you can and brace for what you can't. In this case, leaving at midnight would give us a few hours of "peace" while the kids slept in the backseat.

Fortunately, we arrived without incident, and the kids behaved marvelously. We are renting a very nice little house on the outskirts of Boulder overlooking the town and the mountains. In fact, I can just jump on my bike and be on the bike course. It's absolutely amazing. Since we arrived 10 days prior to race day, I would have plenty of time to get to know the course.

What seems like an extended vacation is actually a purposeful attempt to acclimate as much as possible to the mile-high altitude of Boulder. A month ago, while attending a training camp here, I experienced the effects of altitude first hand and found that the bike and run were manageable, but the swim was very difficult. In fact, I was on the verge of panicking a number of times. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of experience in the open water before race day.

After getting settled in and having a very, very good night's sleep, I woke up the next morning to do a 3.5 hour bike ride. Having been on the course the month prior, I was very excited to get back out there, and it was absolutely a gorgeous day for a ride. In fact, I was surprised to find very few athletes on the course that day. I knew a week later that would be a different story.

Empty Roads most of the day. I'm so not missing Southern California!

The house we are renting is right off of 95th St., two blocks south of 52nd, which is between miles 80-90 of the course. I chose to just jump on there and immediately brave the most challenging climb of the course on 79th St. (affectionately referred to as "The Three Bitches"). It was here that I could tell that the altitude was affecting me. Or maybe it was the sleep deprivation and 15 hour drive the previous day. Probably both. Hard to tell. But after that climb it was all descent back into town toward the race start where I then rode up the foothills on the first part of the course. Ended up doing about 60+ miles. Pretty good for a long taper ride. Here's a link to the Garmin file.

The next day I attended the organized Boulder Masters swim at the Boulder Reservoir to conquer my reignited fears. Those fears were further compounded by the idea that the race may not be wetsuit legal due to rising temperatures. Now "not wetsuit legal" is a bit misleading, since at temperatures above 76.1 degrees one can still wear a wetsuit, but not be eligible for awards or Kona slots. While I am not so optimistic to think that I may be part of that elite fraternity of athletes, I am also not one to back down from a challenge. It is an Ironman after all. So big deal? What good will a wetsuit do anyway? The answer, for me, is that it will give me the security of knowing that I won't die come race day.

You see, I sink like a rock.

Correction: I sink like a rock tied to a pile of cinder blocks. Yet despite my handicap I have spent the last year and a half training to cover 2.4 miles without any added buoyancy. However, all that non-wetsuit work was done in a pool, not the open water. All of my open water swims have been wetsuit legal. Hence the fear being compounded.

On Saturday morning at the reservoir I decided for my own sanity not to elevate my fears beyond working to get over the altitude adjustment. I donned my wetsuit and set out to swim a couple miles. Success! I ended up completing the swim without having a diva-esque panic attack in the middle of the reservoir, and I was only about 10 minutes off my Ironman Cabo pace.

The rest of the weekend was a real confidence booster for me. I ended up doing another 50 mile ride (Garmin File) with a much higher power output at a lower heart rate. I also got in a couple runs and another open water swim. The swim felt much better, and I completed 2.5 miles in just under 1:20. Not great, but for a land lubber like me, I'll take it.

The weather for this week could really be anything. It's supposed to cool off and get really stormy out here. The cool weather will be a God send. However, with thunderstorms a real possibility, it will be interesting to see what will happen come race day. What to do? Well, as with the 15 hour drive from California. The best thing to do is control the things I can, and not worry about what we can't. Regardless, August 3rd is going to be epic!

Marie and I just crossing over the Vail Pass. Already huffing and puffing.

MarkAllenOnline Boulder Training Camp

Leading up to an out of town race, a lot of the concerns that arise are related to the "unknowns". This is especially true of Ironman Boulder, where the uncertainties of the affects of altitude hang heavy on my mind. Having only been to this area once, and having gone there when I was much more unhealthy than I am now, I remember gasping for air at every climb of the stairs and feeling generally exhausted throughout the whole trip. Needless to say, this had me nervous about trying conquer 2.4 miles of open water swimming, 112 miles of cycling, and a full marathon. On top of that, my only impressions of the course were the 2D images provided courtesy of Google Earth, which never do any justice to hills, heat, or wind.

I've been less worried about the hills, heat, and wind due to my recent experience at Ironman Los Cabos. No longer were these variables "unknown" to me, and so I knew that I could at least overcome them. The altitude, however, was still a bit scary. If only there was some way to get some experience on the course, to see how the altitude would affect me during the swim, bike, and run, and how I might better prepare to face on these effects.

Enter the MarkAllenOnline Boulder Triathlon Training Camp. Coach Luis Vargas hosts this camp every year as a means to give athletes an opportunity to work up close and personal with a word class triathlete, and coach of world champion triathletes. This year, the added incentive was that the camp would help athletes to prepare for Ironman Boulder, which would take place 5 weeks after the camp. The timing could not be more perfect. I jumped at the opportunity to attend and hopefully quell my fears.

The trip itself was a great opportunity to meet some new and like minded people with varying hopes and expectations regarding their respective events. While in most triathlon clubs you have a variety of skill levels and people training for different events, this camp was specifically geared for iron distance races, thus everyone was somewhat on the same wavelength. Furthermore, everyone had a great story, and I really enjoyed being inspired by everyone's individual journey.

Luis' training over the weekend was fantastic as well. In addition to experiencing the course first hand, we had lectures where Luis shared valuable insight and experience from his years as a Ironman triathlete, and his knowledge about racing at altitude. Having this setting to learn from his experience was priceless. I would highly recommend this camp for anyone wishing to get to the next level in Ironman, or simply to meet and train with some great people.

Bike Training

The bike training was my first introduction to training at altitude, and it was a "head first" introduction. The morning after I arrived in Boulder, we would take on the entire 112 mile bike course. I would very quickly get to experience how going from 0 to 5,000 feet would affect me. Fortunately the pace was not fast, rather it was rather leisurely throughout the first half. I was expecting a noticeable spike in heart rate, but that was not the case. In fact, my heart rate was in a very comfortable 110 - 130 range all day. I even felt as if I was able to go faster with the thinner air, but I certainly didn't feel any effects of the altitude playing a factor on my ride.

While the altitude wasn't much of a factor on the bike, the weather itself proved less forgiving. The majority of the ride (as demonstrated by the photos below) was absolutely perfect. But about 70 miles into the ride a storm descended on us rather abruptly. Large hailstones and lightning was all around us. Fortunately, Luis had a trailer in which we were able to hunker down for the half hour the storm was upon us. The very next day riders reported winds gusting at 60 mph, thus making the course more challenging. This was demonstrative of how the weather can change abruptly on this course.

Riding the course early gave me a chance to think about race strategy as well. Since the course has a lot of false flats and straights, the impulse will be to go out hard and fast. However, since the first 30 miles is where most of the "hills" are located, it will be best to take it easy at the beginning, and then build throughout the ride, paying close attention to the fact that there will still be some climbing in the last 15 miles of the course (oh, and a marathon too).

Swim Training

Noticeably my weakest sport, and one which I need the most work, still I wasn't necessarily too concerned about how the altitude would affect my swim. That is, until we got into the reservoir to practice the second morning of our trip. The wind started blowing pretty early, and created a bit of chop in the water, but nothing I don't often see in other open water swims. This swim, however, I was having a really hard time finding a rhythm. I felt like I couldn't get a full breath in, and consequently, I started panicking a bit. I completed one 600 yard lap feeling a little uneasy, but halfway into the second lap is where I began feeling panicky. Rather than try to complete the loop (as the buoy became dislodged and began to drift in the wind) I decided to call it a swim and get toward shore.

Boulder Reservoir

I felt quite defeated after this swim, and a little embarrassed, however, Luis got us into the pool later on to do some drills. I was able to get through the workout, but felt more winded than ever. Demoralized, I went back to considering my race strategy, specifically my swim time and pace.

I was dreading the next day's swim. Luis said that he was going to work us hard in the pool, and after the previous day's performance, it wouldn't be pretty. Fortunately, a little more volume and a bit of a challenge was all I needed to regain my confidence. He had me in a lane with faster swimmers, which forced me to push the pace, but it also helped me to work through my issues with rhythm. That and the technique drills were most helpful in giving me a way to improve my swim over time. All this swim work at altitude gave me a good amount of confidence for the Ironman swim, and made me realize that I will need some daily swim training when I arrive for the race 10 days early.

Run Training

I had a three hour run scheduled for this week, so I planned on doing it on the Ironman Boulder course. The course runs right along a shaded creek path, which makes it a little cooler than the expected "exposed" temperature we'll get on the bike. The only exception is the Easternmost part of the course which leaves the creek and is unprotected from the sun. The Northeast section has a bit of a climb which we'll have to hit twice on each loop. Unfortunately, this will happen around miles 18-19, which is where I melted down in Cabo. Not to promote a self-fulfilling prophesy, but a meltdown here would not be fun.

The altitude affected me slightly on the run, but not significantly. I was about 20-30 seconds off my pace, but it felt more due to lethargy (from a 8 hour bike ride the previous day and excessive travel) than altitude. Furthermore, the run was all on paved concrete, which played terribly on my calves. After 20 miles, I was in quite a bit of pain and had to slow significantly to avoid injuring myself.

It's not a hilly course, but there are a few punchy sections, specifically some of the bridges and overpasses, which will chew up the legs quite a bit. But the important realization was that the East to West portion of the course is a false flat (naturally, since the river flows Eastward). It will be necessary to pace myself heading West, but the pace can increase pretty significantly going East.

All and all a great trip and camp, which provided a lot of insight and confidence for race day. Today I feel as prepared as I will every be for this race, and am excited to experience the joy not only myself, but through the others that I met who will be experiencing this as well. A big thanks to Luis Vargas for a great experience.

Ironman Boulder Fundraising Campaign - Charity:Water

By trade I work for a company that, in part, supplies chemicals to water treatment plants so that the water that is supplied to our homes, businesses, and communities is safe and free of disease. I know from my experience within this company the type of infrastructure required to support our communities is vast. Needless to say we take safe drinking water for granted.

At no time during any of my races did I ever stop to think "man, am I lucky to have all of this water so readily available to me". In fact, during the recent Ironman in Los Cabos I expected that water would be literally handed to me for my consumption, or dare I say, to simply pour over my head for a quick cool down. And why not? There's plenty where that came from after all!

But in many places in the world, too many to count, people would cringe at the idea of pouring much needed water over their heads.. In fact, in some communities they don't even have safe or clean water at all. Some have to travel for hours just to find any water at all. And even then they're putting their lives at risk.

For Ironman Boulder, I choose to race for +charity: water because not only are they a stellar charity with high marks on Charity Navigator, but because this is a problem that is solvable. This is not a problem with supply (there is plenty of water on the planet so that nobody has to go thirsty), it is a problem with infrastructure. A problem that charity:water is working to solve one project at a time, one community at a time. Please watch the video below to view how they try to change lives through accessible water.



Charity:water projects are not just saving lives, and providing water to those that thirst, they are literally building opportunities within communities, creating resources, and promoting health. This is truly a worthy cause, and one I hope you'll contribute to.

You can reach my fundraising page here to donate. It is my goal to reach $1,500 by August 3. If we can do better then great! Thank you for your support!