Ironman Los Cabos 2014 Pre-Race Check In

So a little more about Los Cabos that we didn't already know. We already do know that it's a constant party, which especially "heats up" during Spring Break, it's a popular hangout for Sammy Hagar (and people that look like Sammy Hagar), and that it's a fabulous fishing destination for those that are so inclined. A lesser known fact is that "Los Cabos" is composed of two towns separated by a 20 mile corridor. Cabo San Lucas, which sits at the very tip of the Baja Peninsula and fits the description above, is an absolutely stunning locale, which is no stranger to drunken college students and poor decision making. San Jose del Cabo, the lesser known and more respectable sister, is a bit sleepier and yet is also a very picturesque resort destination. Many also don't know that San Jose del Cabo is the staging ground for the second annual Ironman Los Cabos, to take place on March 30, 2014.

While I've never been to San Jose del Cabo, my previous experiences with Cabo San Lucas and Mexico in general have been less than respectable. No additional detail is needed, this pretty much sums up my previous trips south of the border.

This year, however, is going to be an entirely different experience. While thousands of spring breakers will descend on Los Cabos to experience a tradition of debauchery, I will be coming to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 (yes, in Mexico they use the metric system, but I choose to stick to imperial, since listing the distance in kilometers seems much more daunting).

The Course:

The swim begins at Pamilla Beach, a few miles from San Jose del Cabo, and takes one rectangular loop into the ocean to finish a short distance from where it begins. The water temperature historically averages about 72 F in March, but lately it has been around 74. Hopefully it doesn't creep up much higher, as the wetsuit cutoff is 76.1. At that temperature, we will not have the luxury of additional buoyancy (not to mention jellyfish protection) a wetsuit provides.

Ironman Swim

From there, we will run, jog, walk, or crawl up a quick hill to where our bikes wait for us. From what I've seen, the view here is absolutely gorgeous, but we won't have much of an opportunity to appreciate it, since I will have to commence punishing myself for another 112 miles. The bike course takes a scenic tour of the Los Cabos Corridor, grazing the Easternmost end of Cabo San Lucas and Westernmost end of San Jose del Cabo for a total of 3 round trips. The challenges here will be the hills and the wind. I have done my best to acclimate to the heat by wearing ridiculous amounts of layers on even the warmest of training days, but not much can really prepare you for the wind. Tailwinds and headwinds are okay because at least it balances out a bit. The crosswinds we are likely to face are another story, since more energy is then exerted just trying to keep the bike from flying across Mexico 1.

Ironman Cabo Bike Course

We bike into transition 2, which will be located (I think) in downtown San Jose del Cabo. From there, we say goodbye to our bikes and don our running shoes for the marathon. This will be my first marathon, and I'm not sure what to expect from the course. It is supposed to be hot, which I've done everything I can to prepare for. It's also supposed to be three "laps", which from what I've seen by the looks of last year's Garmin files will resemble more of a Cabo pub crawl rather than a marathon. In all seriousness they did their best to condense 26.2 miles into a small town, which will require a lot of switchbacks and turnarounds. The biggest challenge here, aside from finding the energy after a long day of swimming and biking, will be purely psychological. I will have to run by the finishing chute three times before actually being able to "finish" the race.

Ironman Run Course. Not quite complete or accurate. Hopefully there will be a little more direction once I'm there!

The Trip:

I arrive in Cabo on Tuesday, March 25th, a few days before the race. The intent is to acclimate further to the heat, and get a feel for the race course. My wife and my bike will both be arriving Friday, my bike via TriBike Transport. We will be staying at the host hotel, Barcelo Grand Faro (formerly Hola Grand Faro, formerly formerly Crown Plaza). That is where most of the pre-race expos and meetings will be held, so it should be a prime location.

I have a few workouts scheduled during the week, but Wednesday and Friday are rest days so I won't be missing my bike too much. I do wish that I could have it for my Thursday workout, but that's not meant to be. I'll have to settle for a really quick pre-race bike ride the day before the race. Bike check in will be on Saturday, where we leave our bikes and transition bags at Punta Pamilla.

The Plan:

From everything I've heard, a well executed plan is the best recipe for a good race day. I've already done all the training that I can do, there is no more that I can do to improve my fitness before race day. The best I can do is to fully taper and focus on the plan.

So what is the plan? In a nutshell, it's to finish looking closer to this...

Than to this...

I'm pretty certain I'll fall somewhere between the two.

It is easy to fantasize about the best possible race, but probably not necessarily best to focus solely on that vision. If I have the best swim I can, the best bike I can, and the best run I can, there is a chance I can be Kona-bound. But for that to happen, absolutely everything would have to go well (including some of the fittest people not showing up to this race). However, I do not have the luxury of a cushion at this point. That is to say that I'm not a "tip of the spear" athlete, so much of what it would take to do well enough to secure a Kona slot would be pure luck, and therefore it can't be part of my race plan. I have to plan to have my best race given the conditions and my condition. Being my first Ironman, there is a lot I don't know of what to expect. Therefore I will be happy to finish and have a good time.

As far as nutrition on race day goes, I will start my day with one of my signature smoothies, which includes bananas, fruit, and oats. On the swim I plan to drink a ton of sea water. I don't want to, but it's likely that I will, so I'm just planning on it. To avoid getting punched in the face, I will line up a few rows back from the front on the right hand side. If I do end up freaking out, I can swim out into open water and have a tantrum there, not in the middle of the melee. If all goes well, I will be out of the water within an hour and a half.

During the race I plan to carry two bottles on the bike. My bottle on the aero bars will hold water, which I will refresh at the aid stations as needed. My bottle on the seat tube will hold my specialty blend of 140.6 Fluid Energizer (developed by team Mark Allen). I will have one bottle with about 1,150 calories when I start the race, and one waiting for me at special needs (at mile 56). This will amount to about 375 calories per hour. Within that bottle of sugary goodness will be about 1,100 mg per hour of sodium (mixed with magnesium and potassium) so that I can maintain electrolytes. I sweat like a wookie in a sauna, so replenishing my salts is a must. So what does this taste like? Imagine a very concentrated 7-Up without the added burden of carbonation, and voila! I will do my best to take a swig of this blend every 20 minutes with a very healthy gulp of water, a very important step as I've tried just drinking the concentrate and it gives me stomach issues (yes, Mom was right about too much sugar - but if you want to eat 3,000 calories of pure sugar, do an Ironman and you'll be golden!). If I get GI issues, it could be game over. My nutrition plan is based on a 6 hour bike ride, since I figure if it takes any longer than that, it's already not going well, so what's a little malnutrition on top of everything?

On the run, I keep it just as simple as the bike. Many people like to have variety because they get bored easily with the same nutrition over the course of 10+ hours. I like to keep it simple. I will be diluting some Honey Stingers in water and keeping them in my fuel belt. For the run I will be taking in about 300 calories and 1,000 mg of salt per hour. My nutrition plan is essentially "less is more". Based on my experience, I would rather be calorie deficient than bloated and gassy (for the benefit of other racers as well. There's enough good food in Mexico to give me the latter). I've trained for the past year in becoming a fat burning machine, so I'm putting that to the test, and hoping I don't have to rely too heavily on carbohydrates. If it turns out I do need more calories, that's what aid stations are for. That's plan B.

I will say that I know exactly what my plan is immediately following the race. It is to fill my face with an enormous burrito as quickly as humanly possible. Yes, I know that a burrito is not authentic Mexican cuisine, but I don't care. At that point I will want someone to stuff as much food as possible into a flour tortilla and hand it over to me for immediate consumption... But I suppose I'll settle for whatever's available.

Next week when I do arrive in Cabo, I will be posting more frequent updates. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, thanks again to everyone for all the support and well wishes. Regardless of the outcome, it has been a blast, and we raised well over $3,000 for some good causes! This will certainly be a celebration of that generosity.

Leaving my bike for TriBike Transport. See you in a week!

Locally Grown

I thought it had been a while since I posted anything about our experience with the Tower Garden and our efforts to grow our own fruits and veggies, but then I realized I haven't posted anything about it at all. It seems to happen frequently with me that I intend so much to do something that eventually I assume it already happened. That excuse doesn't get me very far at work or with family. However, before I get into that I have a few brief updates and shameless self promotion to bore you with, so thanks in advance for bearing with me!

First and foremost, I am honored to have had an article posted by MindBodyGreen.com. If you haven't read it already, here is the link. I am truly grateful to have had my article published on a site ripe with talent and expertise. MBG is a great site because it reaches broadly across many aspects of health and wellness, and presents itself in a positive, uplifting, and inspirational fashion. With so much negativity on the internet, it is a welcome oasis, and it is my goal to exude the positive on this site as well. Thanks to all who have read the article and have found this site as a result. Welcome!

Second, I have made a lot of progress on my swimming as of late. Today I woke up at 4:30 am to do an iron distance (2.4 mile) swim. This is the longest distance I have ever swum, and psychologically one of the most significant milestones to surpass (one of the others was swimming in open water). When I first began seriously swimming (not just swimming to get back to my surfboard, or showing off in front of the kids), it was intimidating to think of swimming a few hundred yards, let alone over 4,000. I was frequently out of breath after a few laps. I could not even fathom (unintended pun win!) doing a non-stop 2.4 mile swim. But the power of persistence pays off, and I achieved that today. To get beyond our negative perceptions, and the "I can'ts" running through our heads, we need to break through a number of barriers, physical and mental. For me it was slowly increasing the yardage while swimming through the intimidation. Where once I was standing at the end of a pool intimidated by the idea of swimming 2,000 yards, I can now confidently do more than twice that, and 2,000 now appears easy. Our perception about certain challenges (in this case distance) begin to change as we break through barriers.

One additional note on the swimming. In the beginning I had resigned myself to the fact that I would likely not be able to swim any significant distance at a pace under 2 min/100 meters. After all, I am a "sinker" with a bad shoulder. However, today I completed my swim at an average pace of 1:45/100.

So now to switch gears completely and break all the rules taught to me by my writing teachers (well, I guess I've already done that many times over. Especially with my overuse of parentheses), I'm going to talk about something completely different. Home grown food.

With the idea in mind that we wanted to source our produce locally, we began getting a weekly delivery from a local organic farm (as described in "So THAT's a Parsnip... Do You Eat It?..."). That has been working well, since it is affordable and abundant, but there are some shortcomings. First, we get whatever is given to us. This is okay in theory, but it also turns into a lot of uneaten potatoes and ears of corn in our fridge. Also, sometimes the fruits or veggies go bad before we have a chance to eat them. Therefore, we came to the conclusion we should begin growing some of our own. Besides, you don't get more locally grown than in your own backyard!

The Tower Garden was our first purchase. Essentially, it is a hydroponic system that provides water and nutrients via a pumping system. We set it up and began growing veggies in early June. Here is what it looks like now.

What you can't see is the tower itself as it is covered by a tropical rainforest of monstrous vegetation. We had about a 80% success rate with the seedlings, and have thus far been able to harvest chard, kale, two kinds of lettuce, cucumber, squash, and zucchini. Still yet to bear fruit we have tomatoes, lima beans, brussels sprouts, and broccoli. The produce is delicious and fresh, as we cut it off right when we need it, and it has thus far been plentiful.

A few weeks ago, we increased our production capacity of veggies by building a raised garden bed. The dimensions are 4 ft by 8 ft, and the total cost to install was just around $250. The cost was definitely justifiable, but the undertaking was proven to be most adventurous. We needed a little more than a cubic yard of soil to fill the thing, which put us in a tricky situation. The local supplier of organic soil mixes would not deliver a quantity that small, so we had to pick it up.

There were a few things I underestimated when I thought of left to pick up a cubic yard of soil. First, it the company was located quite a ways up the Ortega Highway, probably about 45 minutes away from home. Second, I didn't realize how much a cubic yard of soil actually is. This was made abundantly clear when the bulldozer dropped the atomic load into the rented U-Haul truck. The F-150 quickly turned into a low rider, and I became terrified that I may become the not-so-proud owner of a broken down U-Haul. Fortunately, the Heavy-Duty did it's duty and made it home.

Finally, I underestimated the amount of time it would actually take unloading the material. It took me a solid two to three hours of digging and dragging to get all the material out of the truck and into the garden bed. Lesson learned, it's always best to outsource this work to the experts. I was grateful that I was able to clean the truck out completely and return it in one piece!

After a couple weeks, we have some growth in the garden bed with room to spare. We have pinto beans, beets, carrots, and kale. We haven't harvested it yet, but it's doing very well, and I'm fairly proud of the results.

While the initial costs of installing the Tower Garden and the garden bed was pretty steep, I believe that within a year, once we have a good rotation of veggies growing in both, we will break even and then begin saving money on produce. Additionally, our veggies will be fresher than anything we have ever purchased at a store, and we will have the satisfaction that we have benefited from our own hard work.

I don't want to sugar coat it, it's important to note that it is not easy to be self sufficient with regard to growing all our own food. On the contrary, it takes a lot of time, energy, and planning. It requires us to plan the seasons so we know what to grow when, it requires that we replace the water and nutrients in the Tower Garden multiple times per week, and that we keep those pesky varmints away. But like anything else, it's mostly a change in behavior.

It's all in the question of what's most important to you? With everything we choose to spend time on in our busy lives, what many of us choose to put at the back of the list is health. Many of us spend little or no time looking at where our food comes from, how it's prepared, or even how long it's been on the shelf (or how it's even able to stay on the shelf that long). When it comes to our health, nothing can be more important than what is going into (and thus what is affecting) our bodies. A little extra work can make a world of difference. Until next time, be in good health!

More Support for Slowing Down

It's been about six months since I began devoting at least 90% of my training to low heart rate, fat burning training. In contrast to how I felt when I was exercising with higher exertion (granted, while also drinking heavily and eating unhealthily), I have more energy now, my form is better, exercise is far more enjoyable, I'm leaner, and I am now much faster.

In case more evidence is needed to support this, I decided to do another MAF (maximum aerobic function) test this past Tuesday. The MAF test is performed by running at your target aerobic heart rate for a few miles on a flat course and recording each mile pace. The result is then compared to previous months.

It has been a few months since I've tested my pace, since I had some injuries from a couple of bike accidents which I thought had slowed me down, and I didn't want to discourage myself. However, yesterday I was pleasantly surprised by the results:

As you can see, at my aerobic heart rate of 142 (the same heart rate I've been sticking to for the last few months), my pace has improved dramatically. I have posted my first miles under 8 minutes ever. Even when I was exercising at high exertion, I was never able to consistently stay below 8 min/mile over multiple miles. Here I have done it through 5, with more in the tank to run farther and faster if necessary. I'll say again, running at this pace is easy because I am doing so at a low heart rate.

The patience and humility from a few months ago have paid off, and I can say with absolute confidence that this type of training is highly effective. I will reemphasize the need for patience. For this to work, it is vital to have patience at the beginning when the pace is painfully slow, and patience throughout the course of training when you hit a variety of plateaus that seem never ending. Eventually, with enough persistence, you will break through the plateaus.

345

In case you're wondering, that is my first official bib number for a triathlon. When I read the email from the officials at the Carlsbad Triathlon, I looked for any radical significance to the number aside from the obvious sequential nature, but of course I could find none. The only result I could find was that it happens to be the area code to the Cayman Islands, so I imagine that number is used pretty heavily during crackdowns by the Securities and Exchange Commission. There is also a Biblical reference, Lamentations 3:45 - "You have made us scum and refuse among the nations". Nice.

I guess the best significance I can draw from the number 345 is that it happens to represent the place in order where my name alphabetically falls on the participant list for the Carlsbad Triathlon. I think that's a pretty worthwhile significance. Why? Because I earned my spot at this premier race. Yes, technically anyone can register for a fee, but I worked hard, and this race represents a celebration for the work I put in to improving myself. I look forward to wearing 345, and I will own it.

Preparation for this race couldn't be going any better in my opinion. Despite the obvious speed bumps (in the form of bike and knee crushing automobiles), my swim is getting pretty strong, my bike is pretty fast, and my run feels good. The doctor has given me an all clear, officially diagnosing the injury as a sprained MCL, which should heal fully in 8 weeks.

I look at this next Sunday, July 14th, as another milestone to cross before going to Cabo to compete in an Ironman. Over a year and a half ago I was unhealthy, depressed, and dependent on alcohol to ease my pain and boredom with life. Since then I have crossed many milestones - becoming sober, improving my perspective, finding my spiritual path, repairing and healing from injuries, learning to eat clean and healthy, improving my physical condition, becoming competent at the bike and the swim, the list goes on - and along that path I have conquered many fears. It is amazing how much fear prevents us from doing things from which we can thrive. But I have committed to charge through them and have found grace in the process. My one true hope is that others begin to believe they can too.

This weekend I approach the milestone of competing in my first sprint distance triathlon. While that may not be much, it is a step in the direction of greater things.

Home from Paradise

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." - Colossians 3:23

I've returned from my time in paradise refreshed and rejuvenated, with a renewed motivation to more effectively balance work, family, and training. I've also reaffirmed my commitment to give and be in service as much as I can, as I firmly believe and have experienced that the greatest joys and fulfillment come from giving of who you are and what you have. This has certainly been true for me, and I would highly encourage everyone who feels they are missing something out of life (and those who feel they're missing nothing for that matter) to give freely of themselves, and experience grace in return. I was once told by someone much wiser than me that everything we have is on loan to us, entrusted to us, so none of it is ours. We will benefit more from being good stewards of what has been entrusted to us. I frequently fall into the trap of becoming frustrated or angry because I feel I don't have enough of something or something is being wasted, when the truth is I have everything I will ever need.

While it was an indulgence, to say the least, our recent trip to Kauai has been very beneficial to my outlook and inner peace. In my last post I expressed frustration over how slow I was in my run, and concern that I was not biking. Before I left, I lacked a sufficient amount of confidence in the swim, especially open water swimming. It is becoming clear that there is a lot of faith involved in endurance training because there are many aspects that you can't control. At times your heart will beat as fast as it wants to and there isn't much you can do to control it but slow down. This is what I had to do in Hawaii, and I thought I was regressing. However, I became accepting and just remembered to enjoy the run, occasionally stopping for pictures. Below are some shots from my last run, just before leaving for the airport.

Sunrise along a sugar cane access road

Panoramic photo of the sunrise

Mahaulepu Beach - The end of the trail

What I discovered upon my return was very significant. Faith, humility, and acceptance in training appeared to help me improve despite going slower in a hotter, more humid climate. I got back on the bike the day after our return and did a 3.5 hour ride, consistently holding a 19-20 mph pace (although an extreme hill at the end of the course slowed me down and wore me out - one of the unfortunate side effects of living beyond a number of hills). Just today I was able to do a bike/run transition, holding my fastest bike and run splits to date, and I feel great (bike avg. on flat course 19.5 mph for 45 minutes - HR at 135 avg.; Run avg. on flat course 8:34 min/mile for 30 minutes - HR at 141 avg.). Most importantly, I have developed comfort and speed in the water. I am able to swim up to 3,000 yds in a session without being fatigued, and am down to 2 min/100 yds (not great, but good for me). My form feels more natural, and I have confidence in the open water.

Things are definitely improving, and I can see that the focus I am taking on my training (focusing on aerobic heart rate, being humble and accepting, as well as the improved diet) is actually working very well. At this point I think I finally have the confidence to say that I could finish this thing and hopefully do fairly well. But I won't get ahead of myself.

So today, here's where my weekly training is at. 

• Swim: Three times a week, 3,000 yards per workout
• Bike: Two shorter rides, one spin, one long ride per week, about 100 miles
• Run: Two one hour runs including short intervals (picking up the pace to get my heart rate to Z4), two half hour runs transitioning from the bike, and one long run, about 30+ miles
• Two strength training sessions per week

I know what you may be thinking, and the answer is a lot of 4 am wake up calls. But it is worth it for the time to be with God in meditation, and the energy it provides throughout the day.