Cool, Powerful, Prepared, Smart, and Smooth!
Cool, Powerful, Prepared, Smart, and Smooth!
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Saturday, October 31, 2015
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Sunday, September 13, 2015
SC 70.3 Race report
Felt like perfect fueling
Dinner Pizza and Steak 13hr before race
Ate more than normal for SC and VM and I think it helped
Minimized fiber day before
Banana
2 lg Starbuck double shots (3hr before, 1.5 hr before)
1 Ucan 1 hr before
1 Biestmilch tab 45min before
Bike
2 Bottles Coke, 1/2 bottle water
1/2 gel every 20-30 min (3-4 total)
Run 1 bottle coke
The Race
Swim 32:xx
Goggles lens popped out in warmup
Thats why I carry 2 to the start line
Choppy conditions and below avg swim. Others seemed to have similarly slower times compared to prior races
Bike 2:26:xx
NP 266 IF 0.8
Given my current fitness this was the goal and best case scenario so thumbs up!
Mechanical chain stuck under chain catcher. Nightmare!!!! Not sure how I managed to do this but feel lucky I got it out. Cost me a few minutes right out of T1. Stuck with it and focused on power.
Need to get mechanics dialed in
Need to work on fit
Run
1:27:xx
6:52 avg pace very even split
Felt really good off the bike. Maybe it's the Dimond. I maxed out the drop of my TT bars as well.
5th AG Going to Australia 2016!!!!
Sunday, June 28, 2015
IMCdA aquabike. Report is longer than my race.
My A race going into the season was IMTX however after a cold-induced fatigue funk and poor Oceanside showing, I decided IMCdA would allow me more time to prepare. I don't regret that decision one bit.
My preparation for IMCdA was by far the best I have ever had going into an Ironman. Kevin, you work magic! Bike power was solid and I logged over a dozen 2hr runs. Swim was in maintenance mode but I wasn't looking to win the swim. My goal was to have a solid smart race and I truly believe if I was able to do that a Kona spot would be in reach. I have been within 90 seconds of that golden ticket and going into this race I felt prepared to take it to the next level.
Race week
On Friday I started to get total body muscle cramps. That night I was breaking out in cold sweats. I tried to keep the positive MOJO flowing so chalked it up to caffeine withdrawal. The night before the race I was up with a dry cough that I convinced myself was dry air or allergies.
Swim 60:xx
This was the best part of the day. My buddy and teammate, Andrew, and I started together and came out of lap 1 side by side. Felt like team ITU racing. Fist bump and we were back at it for lap 2!
This is where my day started to unravel. Cough came back with a vengeance. I was having trouble keeping my breathing consistent and then came a wicked headache.
Bike
Immediately my power was down. Felt like a struggle to push my goal power. I kept telling myself that it would come because I've had similar feelings in the past and after a bit my power would be up. I dialed it back slightly and stuck with my hydration and nutrition plan. Things seemed to be on the up when the gradual climbs felt ok. I was staying hydrated and had a good pee. Around mile 45 stomach cramping started then up it all came. Vomited breakfast (eaten 3.5 hrs before race start) and 2 bottles of coke all over my right leg and right arm. M2 rinses off well BTW. Trying to give my stomach a rest I got out of aero and didn't take in anything for about 30 mins. Still cramping I needed to get something in or I would be done regardless so I tried water. Up it came. A gel, up it came. More time then tried again. Same results. My friend and coach, Kevin, passed around mile 60 and despite his encouragement I had nothing left. My stomach shut down, my legs felt like jello, and my entire body felt achy. I entertained the thought of lying on the side of the road to rest and then try again, but it didn't seem worth the risk. So, I decided to head for the hotel, feeling defeated and shameful.
Right around this time I saw Andrew riding on the run course and I rode on over (yes this is how we got 4min/mile run splits). He had crashed and had abrasions all over him and a busted up bike. I felt broken and the sight of Andrew literally broken made me want to tear up (which I actually did when I found out Kevin had to pull out too).
Keeping perspective can be hard when so much is dedicated to a single day, aiming for one shot at perfection. It turns that I was sick with a virus from before the start of the race. It's been a week of fevers, night sweats, coughing and green phlegm. I'm just now getting over this. It wasn't the heat or race nutrition related stomach issues. My immune system was very likely compromised from a combination of any or all of these factors: dropping too much weight too fast, excessive heat training, sick exposures at work and working night shifts. Wouldn't have started if I was feverish on race morning. I feel fortunate I was able to toe in at all.
Thanks for all the love and support! I'm grinding my teeth thinking of my next plan of attack!
Best,
Jan
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Oceanside Race Report 2015
Goals
#1 Have fun.
Check! Had a blast racing with old and new friends!
#2 Have a well paced run.
Not even close. Cramp city
Swim 29:28
Started off steady, not hard, and got into a groove. At the turnaround ran into a bottle neck of previous waves which turned the swim into a slalom. Sun on the way back also made sighting tricky. My swim yards are down this year, YTD averaging 8500 yards/week, so happy with an easy sub 30.
T1 4:08 (lost about a min on my closest competitors)
LG suit sleeves tough to put on when wet which is where I likely lost my time. Noticed lots of triforce guys swimming with octane sleeves up. Will try sleeves on for the swim.
Bike 2:28:xx
Started off super easy to bring hr down.
Around mile 4 things got interesting. Massive bump launched all 3 of my bike bottles (2 UCAN, 1 Water) in what seemed like slow motion. I didn't hear any crashes behind me but I sure hope I didn't hurt anyone. Thought about turning around but stupidly didn't. At the time it seemed dangerous to slow down and try to retrieve a bunch of bottles. UCAN'T drink it if you don't have it. This has never happened on any of my training rides. My solution was to bum a gel off another athlete. Soon I rode up along Sven who handed me a delicious piece of chocolate cake. Thanks Sven!
I realized I had some time till the first aid station around mile 14 where I could get some goodies so I kept it easygoing. Over an hour without hydration was not the start to my race I had in mind. I restocked with water and Gatorade and carefully tried to catch up on my hydration. In total I had 4-5 salt tabs, 4 bottles of water, 2 bottles of Gatorade (320 calories), 1 gel (100 calories), and 1/2 peice of chocolate cake (delicious calories). Breaks down to 210ish calories/hr. Actually felt fine with that, even on the run, however I don't think I would have been able to sustain that approach for a full IM. Energy level wise no bonk but not ideal and not enough hydration.
Best Bike Split projection at 80% FTP 2:24:xx at 256 avg power, 266NP, 0.79IF.
Actual time 2:28:xx, 231 avg power, 254NP, 0.77 IF, 144 avg hr.
Yes the Dimond is fast! Dragging my fat ass around that hilly course in under 2:30:xx at 231watts is ridiculous!
Power was closer to that of a full IM and it felt easy. Although I would have liked to have pushed it harder I also felt strongly about sticking to my power caps and coasting on descents to set up for my goal of a strong second half run. Found it challenging keeping my average power up without going over caps given multiple no pass zones, speed limits and lots of congestion on the road from previous waves.
T2 3:00 (very close to my competitors)
Run 1:37:xx Cramp city
Started out around 6:50 and this felt slow but I held back knowing things would change soon. At mile 5 I started to get hamstring cramps that worsened with each mile. Never had leg cramping issues before and I'm fairly certain it was related to my lack of hydration and diet/nutrition. Some fun blisters in Hoka Cliftons (for me a narrow toe box). These didn't pop up in training but wet socks, sweaty feet contributed. I slowed to a shuffle between cramps and foot issues. Given the amount I held back on the bike I am fairly disappointed in my run, my slowest HIM run since 2012. Going into race day I thought if I held back on the bike I could blast out a 1:26:xx. Typical statement of an overzealous triathlete but we gotta aim high right? Although I would like to point at hydration/nutrition/fatigue/being distracted by beautiful scenery as my excuses I believe at the root of it is a need for more mental toughness. This shit is hard and is going to hurt! Excited to make some changes and get back at it!
Total time 4:42:xx
A note on diet
7-10 days leading into the race I experimented with high fat, low carb diet in an effort to maximize my fat burning efficiently. I loved the diet and felt my appetite was easy to control and my energy levels were very consistent. I read and heard some athletes have issues with low sodium and cramps on this diet so I was supplementing sodium in the form of bouillon cubes.
Takeaways
- Embrace the suck!
- Strongly consider going back for dropped nutrition and I need to find a reliable nutrition plan
- Cramps are real and can hurt (first experience with true leg cramps)
- Caution with diet changes before a race... duh!!! Would like to do more strenuous and longer training days on the high fat low carb diet to see if the cramping I experienced was related to the diet or poor race day fueling/hydration.
- Do bike shakeout in morning the day before the race. Allow for time to make small fixes. I did my easy ride in the afternoon and found I had a touch of rear brake rub that wasn't present during my last ride prior to leaving for So Cal.
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