Lots of rolling, work with softball, work with laCross ball.
Worlds Greatest stretch
Angels, which Ian converted to 10lb dumbell single leg deadlifts, with the roller on your toe. This forced you to move your hips backwards, and put the weight on your heal.
Grace Jones
Core activation, Bear Crawl, back and forth. Ian wanted roller on hips, but I steadied it out
Down to Gym
Skipping, forward arms across, backward arms on the way back.
Single Leg Explosive Jumping, soft deep landing
Fast Feet, CNS activation. One foot up, second up, first back, second back fast as you can
Single Leg Hamstring Curl on TRX, 2 seconds in, 1 hold, 4 out
Decline pushups, 4 seconds down, hold 1, 2 up
TRX 'X', Holding palms up, lean away holding TRX, shoulder blades down ,pull up with hands wide-ish, at hip level.
Single Leg step up, with 2x25lb kettlebells
Planks, 10 each arm extensions, 120 seconds
planks, 10 each leg raises, 120 seconds
Planks, 5 x opposites
Stretch and hot tub
Monday, April 11, 2016
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Ironman Arizona 2015 - Nov 16, 2015
It's been a few months since IMAZ 2015, so it will be fun to remember it
A year in the making, so to speak. We started a year ago, volunteering at IMAZ 2014.
For swim training, Bruce Hagel and I did one really cold swim in Lake Bonavista, 2 weeks after challenge. It was good, but hardly swim training. I did a weekly swim of between 1500m and 2200m.
For running, I did short runs of 10-16k a couple times a week, no hills, no speedwork.
I continued the twice weekly Triathlon Resistance training at Eau Claire YMCA, and our trainer, Ian Colburn kept the focus on endurance.
Travel to site OK, Found a farther out parkade, after getting worried about parking. Look further into parking for next year.
All filled up bike tires and were able to pass the pump to Helen outside. Well executed
Setup was good, but forget water for wetsuit. No warmup means I had to get ready for cold water early. Found some water for wetsuit, want to try cold water on face before swim.
A year in the making, so to speak. We started a year ago, volunteering at IMAZ 2014.
Recovery and Training.
Since Challenge Penticton, I have had good training, but nothing compared to in the summer. It felt really hard to get out for long rides, so the biggest we did was 90km. Training partner Norm Duval and I rode HIghway 22X to Bragg Creek, then north on 22 to the traffic circle and back. It is exactly 90k, and makes for a great ride.For swim training, Bruce Hagel and I did one really cold swim in Lake Bonavista, 2 weeks after challenge. It was good, but hardly swim training. I did a weekly swim of between 1500m and 2200m.
For running, I did short runs of 10-16k a couple times a week, no hills, no speedwork.
I continued the twice weekly Triathlon Resistance training at Eau Claire YMCA, and our trainer, Ian Colburn kept the focus on endurance.
Travel to Phoenix
Pre-Race, and writing on the arms.
Race
Setup
There Early, apparently I am a morning person. Oatmeal for Breakfast, 2x coffee. Rob cooked me a couple of eggs and toast.Travel to site OK, Found a farther out parkade, after getting worried about parking. Look further into parking for next year.
All filled up bike tires and were able to pass the pump to Helen outside. Well executed
Setup was good, but forget water for wetsuit. No warmup means I had to get ready for cold water early. Found some water for wetsuit, want to try cold water on face before swim.
Swim
Water was cold. Crowded. kept bumping into people. pretty ungainly getting into the water off the bleachers. Had trouble breathing, despite like 6 hits of Ventolin. Was getting negative thoughts, and then thought, What would I do to make it better. Decided to focus on form and technique. After a few minutes, sure enough, it got better.
Thought I was way behind the swim, thought what if I donèt make the cutoff, oh well, we would be OK, we tried. Followed this guy with copper armed wetsuit, then realized that it was a sleeveless, his arms were copper.
Got out of the water in 1:34. only 4 minutes longer than average
Transition 1
Slow. Cold. Long. Met Stephen Achilles in the change tent, Only time I saw him all day.
Bike
Got to learn how to pee on the bike. Seriously. Had to go like a racehorse after first lap, could not do it. Stopped at first aid station, only small lineup. From Erin and Helen, I understand that the trick is to get a bottle of water, and spray it on your junk. You will pee whether you wanted to or not.
Didn;t like the taste of the nutrition in the cold, not fueling well. Too cold to drink a lot of water. Worried about dehydration even in the cold. Lots of salt tablets. Switched to Gatorade for fuel. At each aid station, I took a Gatorade, and drank as much of it as I could get down by the throw away zone. Got enough hydration and fuel, but had to pee lots,
Not bad, faster than Penticton, not the 6 hours I wanted. It rained for the last lap, so 2 hours of rain and cold
T2
Cold Cold Cold, and slow. No place in the tent, I asked a volunteer to find me a seat. Lots of Joking. Cold. Hypothermic.
At exit. They were making rain ponchos out of garbage bags, The volunteer who helped me yelled to get running, get my core warmed up.
Run
Ran for First three miles.
Stopped to eat at each aid station. At the exit, I looked at my arm, said "You came here to run". and started running.
My quads and hamstrings were shot. I ran with Glutes and Calfs and did well
I remember giving a guy an earfull. As I went past on second lap. Told him he was doing well, and he said, no I'm done. I turned back to him, told him he was not done. He had to just keep walking like he had somewhere to go, and just keep going. He would get it done.
Back to running, 4:54 run Wow
Finish
Cold, didn;t get warmed up on massage. Got clothes on and started to warm up. Had a pizza sandwich. It was awesome. I loved having Norm and Rob there, and Helen and Erin.
Results
Swim: 1:34:13
Bike: 6:21:37
Run: 4:54:50
Overall: 13:22:50
T1: 16:16
T2: 15:54
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Challenge Penticton 2015 Race Report
I particiated in the 2015 edition of Challenge Penticton. This race proved out to me that you will do well at the things that you practice, and perhaps not as well at the ones that you don't. I have to remind myself that I was supposed to treat this race as a "B" race, and then be able to race IMAZ as an "A" race.
To summarize my race, I had a great swim, 4-5 minutes faster than last year, perhaps with a bit better sighting, and definitely with better form. My bike ride has hard, headwind all the way, but I did very well at the climbs. Richters Pass felt no where near as hard, and Yellow Lake felt easier than last as well. And, even with better climbing, there is no shame in walking an 18% grade.
I did not do as much work on staying in aero, and this cost me in the first 60k, I could not get comfortable, and therefore sat up and put up my huge sail in the headwind. And sore legs after the bike made me walk 3/4 of the marathon. This last problem was caused by not being totally familiar with my equipment setup Sigh.
Thoughts from the day:
Swim
In the water, waiting for the start, I did a practice swim, and then swam over and hung off one of the kayaks, saying "I thought I would get this over early".
When we went back to shallower water, I went up to people and said "I've lost my friend, have you seen him? He is wearing a black wetsuit and yellow cap".
Swim was good, but I tended to zig and zag a little. Hopefully the garmin gives me some insight.
It was nicer with no merge lane with those competing in the half.
On the exit, I went too far left, and had to swim one part that was probably only 2 feet deep with rocks, but it didn't last for long. When I stood up, the watch said 1:24, I was hoping for 1:20, but had the thought during the swim that the sighting issues would knock it down to 1:24. Good guess.
T1
Good transition, but still slow. Peanut butter sandwich was much better this year. I gave an extra shot of chamois butter, missed the chamois a bit, so I had a white layer on the outside of the front of my cycling shorts for the first 60k of the ride. I packed my heavier rain jacket in my T1 bag, and chose to wear it. I was cool/cold/rainy when I came out of the water, so I chose to wear it. My thought was that I had trained for heat, having the jacket in this weather, even if it got nice, would be no worse than a training ride.
Bike
On the Maclean Creek descent, I came very close to crossing the center line, while remembering that it's a DQ offense. Lean and trust the bike. I passed two people on the right, as they were side by side on the descent, one near the center line, the other in the lane near the line. Didn't want to split them or cross center, so I took the shoulder.
Kept passing or being passed by Gabi, she wore the bib on the bike. We introduced ourselves about 1k before the courses split.
Every time I did the mental math on my progress, I came up with 7:30 for the bike time. I was 2:30 to Richters at 60k, and it didn't get any better.
On one climb, HWY 97 north of Osoyoos, I excitedly ask the people I am passing "Is this Richters, Is this Richters?". Many didn't get the joke.
At the bottom of Richters, I passed a woman competitor, standing over her bike, having a last pee before the climb. Yikes.
Only sang one verse of "I Conquered Richters" on the way down the other side. Took a while to gear-out with the headwind.
While pushing hard though the rollers, I had the thought that I was burning matches faster than I thought I was, and I should probably save some.
Almost smoked a couple of teenagers on MTB bikes at the Hwy 3 to 3A turn in Keremeos. I yelled "Heads Up" as they swerved in front of me.
Bike - Special Needs
The out and back was far less soul sucking. I mean, it still sucked, but it was only about 4k out, not long enough to apply full vacumn. I spoke with Legend #7, Stephen Grady, asking "As a legend, how many different bikes had he ridden this course on?", Answer was 2, he thought is should have been more but he really liked the bike he was on. The peanut butter sandwich and Mars bar in special needs was good. Perpetuem bottle was thawed but still cold, so chucked the old, and forgot to take the post-it note label off the bottle. Chamois Butter in a baggie was quick and real nice feeling.
One fellow that I passed on the hills stopped and asked me "What did do you do that lets you blast pass me like that on hills?". I passed him one last time on the Yellow Lake climb, with him stopped on the side. "You are not making this a fair race if you are going to wait for me", he replies "Anything to keep you happy man!".
As I leave the out-and-back, I am trying to come up with jokes. The thing that comes to mind is that it is less soul sucking, and I had some left. Therefore, wanted Barry White and Aretha Franklin songs. But when I actually left, the song that came to mind was Willy Nelson, "On The Road Again", I just can't wait to get on the road again....
Bike
On the way up Yellow Lake, the sun came out. I regretted wearing the jacket. Had a good sweat going, everywhere, at the top of the climb. The legs did not burn anywhere as much as last year. Happy about that.
Make the turn past twin lakes knowing the climb is coming. The climb in a hill about 50m long, that peaks at an 18% grade. You cannot build up much speed into it, as there is a slight grade all the way. I made it about a third of the way up before I decided to just walk it. I joked that I put new cleats on before the race, so I could walk this hill without wearing them out. The 18% part is in the last third, so kudos to those who climbed it.
New section was neat and fun, and I want to ride it again. It has lots of twists and turns, and good descents. If I knew it better, I would race it harder. I did get on the brakes for most of the hill, while trying to keep the brakes from overheating.
The plywood and carpet over the cattle gate was nice, and easy. Then we get back on Hwy 97 South into Okanagan Falls. Getting the headwind back, you had to keep pedaling on the downhill to keep any speed.
Leaving OK falls, it all looks familiar, as we are on the old marathon course. After getting through the first climbs, I start cranking it up, using the downhill and tailwind to pick it up, I was going 35-40 for good portions of the 20k back in.
T2
Leaisurely transition, Changed out of bike shorts after I had put runners on. Funny. Volunteer very helpful. Sandwich not as good, no water. Mars bars still tasty.
Run
Running felt OK leaving transition. I know that hamstrings and glutes are sore, but OK so far. Do short runs and walks to bring them back to life and stretch them out. Wife Helen, Cousin Irene, and the In-Laws are there. Hugs and kisses on the outbound. Once we cross the canal, there is pathway south. At a short rise to the top of the berm, I whine to the volunteers, "Oh man, they told me the Run course was flat!". I latch onto people to get running, and eventually meet Carmen, and Physio from Kelowna doing her first marathon on a relay team, and we chat for the first 10K.
While we are running, we pass a fellow, and shortly hear a yelp, and turned back to see him on the ground. Go back and give him a hand, and meet Stephen Achilles, Steve. His knee gave out. We helped him up and got him going. The volunteers that were running up commented to us "great sportsmanship". I told Carmen the story of Rob at the 2008 Calgary marathon, helping a fellow with an ironman tattoo after he fell.
Carmen and I run together, I tell occaisonal jokes, we talk about kids and family and training committments. She has her kids in Hockey (boy) and Swimming (daughter). Daughter was faster than Dad at swimming (Dad did swim leg).
At 10k mark, I say goodbye to Carmen as I have to walk. High hamstring is really sore, as are glutes. I am thinking that a Tylenol would help, and I have some in my special needs bag. I shortly get picked up by Steve, We would "run" the rest of the race together. I introduce him to family, get more hugs, and warn Helen that the rest of the race would be much slower for me.
Steve and I keep doing some running and walking, pushing each other and picking targets. Special needs was a long way away it turned out. At special needs, I look into the special needs bag. There are gels and Mars bars. No Tylenol. Crap. I took a gel and bar, and put the gel in my pouch. When I unzipped, I found the tylenol, with me the whole time. Crap. I was out to the aid station buy this time, so I dry swallowed the tylenol.
I see Rob coming the other direction. Big smile as he says "You met a new friend didn't you? So did I!" we introduced our new friends, lots of smiles and laughs, and carried on.
Saw Bruce, he looks like he is doing great, and says that he is finding it really tough. Couldn't tell by looking, he was hiding it well.
As it was starting to work, legs feeling less sore, I got a pain near top of stomach, that kept me from running. Getting water at the next station didn't make it go away. Kept walking with that.
We passed a house, with timing mats and a bowl of ice and beer. Rules question. We are not allowed to receive outside assistance, but if someone leaves something on the road, and then you pick it up because it is abandoned, is this a violation of the rules? we pass on the chance, we are still outbound, but said we would say hi on our way back.
By the time the pains go away, I have some good blisters going on my feet, which are going to preclude the running.
Shortly after the turn-around, we met a couple of runners, girl had cornrows. As we joked going past, the guy says "Hey, I think I ran with you last year", "Jim!!!!!" Awesome!
Steve and I decide that once we are on the downhill into the finish, about last 4k, we were going to do some running, and get this done. About that time, we meet Helen, and she has to run with us. We decide that we will run to targets instead of time, and walk to the next target. First target. Traffic lights, and we pick another target to walk to.
During one stretch of running, I feel one blister open up a new area under my foot. Ouch, stop running for a bit.
Once we get to the grass in the park, we run all the way across it. I tell Steve that I am going to let him go first, and he should get a good finish line pic, and I will then run across with Helen. On the way around the hotel, the finish line song changes to Neil Diamond, Sweet Caroline. I sing it as "I hate this song, bump bump baaa".
The finish line are is wild, and a party. Awesome. Helen and I picked up a random drunk woman, and run across the finish. Bruce is right there as well, and lots of hugs for having got it done. Great medal.
Finished
Food after was good, great company. Walking the bike home was slow with the blisters.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Race Report - Magrath 'I Swam The Dam' Triathlon
I competed in the Magrath 'I Swam The Dam' triathlon this past weekend. My results were as follows:
53 place overall
Bib #462
Category OLY40-49M
Swim: 00:44:34.00 was 73 overall and 10th in category
Bike: 01:18:27.45 was 39 overall and 8th in category
Run: 00:55:24.40 was 41 overall and 8th in category
Overall: 02:58:25.85, and 9 / 10 in category
The swim was both better and worse than last year. I am showing some progress, and that makes me happy. My friend Gina helped with supervising my only open water swim before the race. we discussed what was making me get wound up and panicy during the swim, and discussed ways for me to handle the swim. What we came up with was a longer warmup, lots of time in the water blowing bubbles before the race starts. Do at least one sprint, so that I can get my heart rate up, then bring it down again. After 20 minutes in the practice swim, I was fine.
So, I made it to 500m doing a combo of front crawl and breast stroke. Was feeling really good. then I got hit by three swells in a row, where I was breathing water instead. I had practiced not getting excited, but just waiting for the next chance when I had a splash in the pool. but the three in a row did me in. I tried to switch to breast stroke, and couldn't do it without getting water in my mouth. Tried backstroke, same thing. I was panicing. I was ready to say 'I'll take the DQ thanks, come get me'. waved a kayak over. They gave me a kickboard. 'I am allowed to use this?' I ask. 'Sure' comes the response. Not like I was in any danger of winning.
So I finished the swim with a kick board. Its not easy to swim this way, so the fact that I beat last years time by 2 minutes tells me that I was doing really good on the swim before I cratered. One other thing I did differently was using both neoprene cap and ear plugs. I felt good, tired but good when I finally came out of the water. No dizzyness like last year.
Finished 73rd of 75 for the swim, keeping alive my triathlon streak, never last in the swim, but 2nd or 3rd last every time. I think I was talking to 74 (Niki Kearl) and 75 (Jacquie Brezovski) at the start, we were the ones hanging out in the back, being nervous about the swim.
Through T1 was fairly quick I thought. Body-glide on socks works like a hot damn. Had minimal T1 anyway. My T1 equipment list is Bike, shoes, socks, helmet, sunglasses, mesh cap, race bib, and garmin. Stowed 1 package of Shot Chomps in the tri-suit, f0r 180 calories on bike.
The bike ride was great. There was a little bit of a breeze from the west, so we had a little headwind on the outbound 7k. This was fine by me, as I was not in the mood, or shape for that matter, to want to crank it up anyway. Had to stop once on th eoutbound, because I could hear the speed sensor magnet making contact with the sensor itself. These sensors dont have a good way to hold position on this bike, so shit happens.
So after the turn-around, I was ready to crank it up. This was first ride of the year on the TT bike, and I love it even more. I had tuned it up a little, to correct 2 problems from last year. First was that I dropped the chain twice when shifting to big ring, and I had some trouble with the Speedo, more on that later. Now, on big ring shifts, you have to just slightly slow the cadence to get it to grab, and had no problem with that adjustment. Now I could go to big ring with confidence, and I did so many times. On two downhills, I hit peak speeds of 60 kmh. I briefly remember thinking that if anything went wrong, I was likely a dead man. but it felt great, and not at all scary. I also removed the bento box, and did not have it bumping my knees, so there was nothing annoying about the bike. Other than some saddle soreness, as I did not have enough time in this saddle before the race.
I also had one 5k segment where I averaged 45kmh. I had a smoking ride, and fun too.
The run was what it was. I knew when I was cranking it on the bike that it would affect the run. My hamstrings were sore, and I was spotted by someone I knew when I was stretching. Funny how those moments catch your brain and say 'hope that doesn't happen to me', and 'been there done that'. Anyway, I was able to keep a reasonable pace, with some walk breaks to stretch it out. I had to pee when I started the run, and decided that I would need it later. Was I ever right. It was Hot Hot Hot. I did not drink anywhere near enough on the bike, and had a constantly dry mouth on the run. Still ran a 55 minute 10k, which is OK by me. I saw Debbie Scott somewhere before the turn-around on the run, and made a valiant effort to catch up to her on the run. Finished a mere 3 seconds behind her. Kudos to her, she had a great race.
So, all in all, I am happy with the results, given the non-specific nature of my training, and knowing that the swim still has my number. I have the following take-aways:
Still have to look at the garmin traces, and I will update if I find anything interesting.
Update: I walked for between 15 seconds and 1 minute each kilometer.
53 place overall
Bib #462
Category OLY40-49M
Swim: 00:44:34.00 was 73 overall and 10th in category
Bike: 01:18:27.45 was 39 overall and 8th in category
Run: 00:55:24.40 was 41 overall and 8th in category
Overall: 02:58:25.85, and 9 / 10 in category
The swim was both better and worse than last year. I am showing some progress, and that makes me happy. My friend Gina helped with supervising my only open water swim before the race. we discussed what was making me get wound up and panicy during the swim, and discussed ways for me to handle the swim. What we came up with was a longer warmup, lots of time in the water blowing bubbles before the race starts. Do at least one sprint, so that I can get my heart rate up, then bring it down again. After 20 minutes in the practice swim, I was fine.
So, I made it to 500m doing a combo of front crawl and breast stroke. Was feeling really good. then I got hit by three swells in a row, where I was breathing water instead. I had practiced not getting excited, but just waiting for the next chance when I had a splash in the pool. but the three in a row did me in. I tried to switch to breast stroke, and couldn't do it without getting water in my mouth. Tried backstroke, same thing. I was panicing. I was ready to say 'I'll take the DQ thanks, come get me'. waved a kayak over. They gave me a kickboard. 'I am allowed to use this?' I ask. 'Sure' comes the response. Not like I was in any danger of winning.
So I finished the swim with a kick board. Its not easy to swim this way, so the fact that I beat last years time by 2 minutes tells me that I was doing really good on the swim before I cratered. One other thing I did differently was using both neoprene cap and ear plugs. I felt good, tired but good when I finally came out of the water. No dizzyness like last year.
Finished 73rd of 75 for the swim, keeping alive my triathlon streak, never last in the swim, but 2nd or 3rd last every time. I think I was talking to 74 (Niki Kearl) and 75 (Jacquie Brezovski) at the start, we were the ones hanging out in the back, being nervous about the swim.
Through T1 was fairly quick I thought. Body-glide on socks works like a hot damn. Had minimal T1 anyway. My T1 equipment list is Bike, shoes, socks, helmet, sunglasses, mesh cap, race bib, and garmin. Stowed 1 package of Shot Chomps in the tri-suit, f0r 180 calories on bike.
The bike ride was great. There was a little bit of a breeze from the west, so we had a little headwind on the outbound 7k. This was fine by me, as I was not in the mood, or shape for that matter, to want to crank it up anyway. Had to stop once on th eoutbound, because I could hear the speed sensor magnet making contact with the sensor itself. These sensors dont have a good way to hold position on this bike, so shit happens.
So after the turn-around, I was ready to crank it up. This was first ride of the year on the TT bike, and I love it even more. I had tuned it up a little, to correct 2 problems from last year. First was that I dropped the chain twice when shifting to big ring, and I had some trouble with the Speedo, more on that later. Now, on big ring shifts, you have to just slightly slow the cadence to get it to grab, and had no problem with that adjustment. Now I could go to big ring with confidence, and I did so many times. On two downhills, I hit peak speeds of 60 kmh. I briefly remember thinking that if anything went wrong, I was likely a dead man. but it felt great, and not at all scary. I also removed the bento box, and did not have it bumping my knees, so there was nothing annoying about the bike. Other than some saddle soreness, as I did not have enough time in this saddle before the race.
I also had one 5k segment where I averaged 45kmh. I had a smoking ride, and fun too.
The run was what it was. I knew when I was cranking it on the bike that it would affect the run. My hamstrings were sore, and I was spotted by someone I knew when I was stretching. Funny how those moments catch your brain and say 'hope that doesn't happen to me', and 'been there done that'. Anyway, I was able to keep a reasonable pace, with some walk breaks to stretch it out. I had to pee when I started the run, and decided that I would need it later. Was I ever right. It was Hot Hot Hot. I did not drink anywhere near enough on the bike, and had a constantly dry mouth on the run. Still ran a 55 minute 10k, which is OK by me. I saw Debbie Scott somewhere before the turn-around on the run, and made a valiant effort to catch up to her on the run. Finished a mere 3 seconds behind her. Kudos to her, she had a great race.
So, all in all, I am happy with the results, given the non-specific nature of my training, and knowing that the swim still has my number. I have the following take-aways:
- neoprene cap + ear plugs are excellent accessories
- spending time with the bike, and fixing problems was nice
- need to practice open-water swimming, and also some strategies for handling swells.
- my minimal transitions worked fine
- need to hydrate more on the bike. way more. Did not finish 1/4 of my areo bottle, and its only 750ml-ish. Drank most of a dose of e-load heat formula.
- e-load heat formula, despite the name, tastes gross when its warm.
- Electing to not use sunscreen resulted in some painful radiation burns on my shoulder and arms.
Still have to look at the garmin traces, and I will update if I find anything interesting.
Update: I walked for between 15 seconds and 1 minute each kilometer.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Coaching philsophy.
Had an interesting chat while swimming with Debbie, in our Tri/SwimFit group.
She ran the Red Deer marathon on May 22, and had what she felt was a terrible race. I asked her what feedback she got from her coach, and the reply was "Nothing". Her coach had given her workouts, and little else, unfortunately.
As I am building my personal philosophy for coaching (and my focus is the late onset athlete, like myself), I think this this is an important point. I believe that a coach should guide you to the best race possible. and you can't start by making assumptions, like the most common, Lack of Fitness is the problem. Workouts is the solution.
A coach/athlete relationship should begin with a discussion and examination of the athletes goals, including examinations of past goals, and achivements or failures, and some quick evaluation of the potential causes.
Then you start with inventive goal setting.
One thing I found to work well for me is inventive Goal Setting. For example, when I started running marathons I had no specific goal, other than upright and smiling, and perhaps more injury free. As I got faster, I starting setting goal times, that ultimately were not based on my fitness level. Then I got a little inventive, and starting making the goal "run a good last 10k".
First time I succeded at this, I ran a huge PB, and near boston qualifier.
The larger point to be made is that coaching the late onset athlete requires you to look at fixing specific problems, that are keeping the athlete from reaching the goals. Look at all the areas. Diet and nutrition should be discussed, if a problem the athlete is dealing with is Gastric Distress, and Bonking. Sloshy Stomach is not caused by having the wrong fitness level, but it will make the athlete run slower.
She ran the Red Deer marathon on May 22, and had what she felt was a terrible race. I asked her what feedback she got from her coach, and the reply was "Nothing". Her coach had given her workouts, and little else, unfortunately.
As I am building my personal philosophy for coaching (and my focus is the late onset athlete, like myself), I think this this is an important point. I believe that a coach should guide you to the best race possible. and you can't start by making assumptions, like the most common, Lack of Fitness is the problem. Workouts is the solution.
A coach/athlete relationship should begin with a discussion and examination of the athletes goals, including examinations of past goals, and achivements or failures, and some quick evaluation of the potential causes.
Then you start with inventive goal setting.
One thing I found to work well for me is inventive Goal Setting. For example, when I started running marathons I had no specific goal, other than upright and smiling, and perhaps more injury free. As I got faster, I starting setting goal times, that ultimately were not based on my fitness level. Then I got a little inventive, and starting making the goal "run a good last 10k".
First time I succeded at this, I ran a huge PB, and near boston qualifier.
The larger point to be made is that coaching the late onset athlete requires you to look at fixing specific problems, that are keeping the athlete from reaching the goals. Look at all the areas. Diet and nutrition should be discussed, if a problem the athlete is dealing with is Gastric Distress, and Bonking. Sloshy Stomach is not caused by having the wrong fitness level, but it will make the athlete run slower.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Race Report - Scotiabank Calgary Marathon 2011
I ran the Calgary Marathon yesterday, and now that I have had a day to think about the results, here is my race report.
- Getting to the start line on the day
Yikes, another boondoggle with getting to the start line. By the time to were getting to the zoo parking lot, it was closed off for the race! After looping around a few times, we finally drove downtown, parked at a hotel, hopped a cab, and had him drop us off at the memorial drive LRT overpass.
- the start
Not the best start. I usually have this routine that I go through, chatting up the fellow competitors, and then having the pre-race Gas-X, 2 Advil and a Gel. well, we started, and I was getting to the bridge over memorial, past first K before I realized that I had not done that yet. So the process of getting a Gas-X opened while wearing cloth mitties was fun. Finally had to take them off to get it done. This was a good thing, as I had to do the 2 advil and the gel, and they would have been tough with gloves. Way to get your mind into the race.
no sign of the pace bunny, probably a good thing, after my experiences with last years.
- First 10k
Not a lot of chatty people this year. Tried to strike up a few conversations, but nothing coming back. Shut up and run.
Saw a homeless guy with a bag of bottles try to cross the race route in front of me. He actually did quite a good job of dodging runners, and altering his path to keep out of their way, until he found the guy who was running and looking at his feet. Heard a single swearword behind me, so I pretty much knew what happened.
Had my water bottle with e-load. That stuff does not actually taste good, I decided during this race. I did not finish it all by the 10K mark, and actually was still drinking it up to the Shaganappi hill, finally pitched it at the last aid station before the hill. The nice thing was that it let me skip the water stations for the first almost 15k of the run. They are always chaotic and crowded, and once you get rid of the rabble of the halfers, they become much more civilized.
- Shaganappi Hill
I think I managed the hill very well again this year, slowed down so that my heart rate did not climb more than 10 BPM, and I think I saw a peak of 156 BPM, well below threshold of 165.
- Fun in Varsity
The up and down of the little hills did not seem to bother me much this year. I will say that by this time, I was not paying so much attention to the Garmin, and I distinctly remember one steeply banked curve in the residential area, thinking that any velodrome worth visiting would be proud to have banked turns that steep. Luckily, there was only one that silly, and it was not that long, so didn't cause too much bother.
There is one part where the road goes through a golf course, and we ran past several golfers coming across the road. I yelled "thats what I should have done this morning, gone golfing instead of running." They laughed, and asked our pace, which was now headed for a 3:30. They seemed impressed.
I chatted with a fellow runner after this, as he confirmed that we were about on pace for a 3:30. My real concern at this point was whether I had to pick up the pace at all in order to get that 3:30, as I was starting to get more pains than I should have in this area. This was leading back to the 31K mark and the Shaganappi hill.
- Down the hill, and the last 10K
No bonkage!!!! I was wondering if I would feel any bonking, or symptoms during this race, and none were to be seen. Of course, this is when my weird knee pain started, and I think it was starting before the downhill, so I can't really blame it on that. My pace down the hill really didn't get better than 4:50, which surprised me, being downhill and all.
- Happy to be finished
Seriously thought about picking up the pace to a tempo run at the bottom of the hill. Really. The engine was fine. but the various pains would not let me go any faster. Kept saying to re-evaluate at 7k and 5k, and got the same answers from my body. Not Today.
Yikes, that last 3k was hard. I had lots of pains showing up everywhere, the knee was feeling weak rather than painful, as if it would give out if I landed wrong. Pushing the pace was difficult, and I did the best I felt that everything would put up with, which was luckily about my 5 minute pace to get me in for the 3:30.
I managed to get my water and keep running through the last aid station. surprised me, but then only a little went in my mouth, and the rest on my head.
Got my medal from Shawn DeFo :-) gave him a big hug for the honor. Geoff and Helen were at the finish line screaming for me. But first, I had to stand in the mist for more than a little while.
Quote of the day, courtesy of Rob Mott: "You can't fake a marathon. You can fake a 10k, and perhaps even a half marathon, but not the marathon."
Oh yeah, and his other quote. Response to 'How was the race'?
"Ouchy"
- Final thoughts
Eh, it was good and bad. Ran only 2 minutes slower than my PR, so thats good. But the whole race felt like work, as I never found that easy stride that I usually have.
- Getting to the start line on the day
Yikes, another boondoggle with getting to the start line. By the time to were getting to the zoo parking lot, it was closed off for the race! After looping around a few times, we finally drove downtown, parked at a hotel, hopped a cab, and had him drop us off at the memorial drive LRT overpass.
- the start
Not the best start. I usually have this routine that I go through, chatting up the fellow competitors, and then having the pre-race Gas-X, 2 Advil and a Gel. well, we started, and I was getting to the bridge over memorial, past first K before I realized that I had not done that yet. So the process of getting a Gas-X opened while wearing cloth mitties was fun. Finally had to take them off to get it done. This was a good thing, as I had to do the 2 advil and the gel, and they would have been tough with gloves. Way to get your mind into the race.
no sign of the pace bunny, probably a good thing, after my experiences with last years.
- First 10k
Not a lot of chatty people this year. Tried to strike up a few conversations, but nothing coming back. Shut up and run.
Saw a homeless guy with a bag of bottles try to cross the race route in front of me. He actually did quite a good job of dodging runners, and altering his path to keep out of their way, until he found the guy who was running and looking at his feet. Heard a single swearword behind me, so I pretty much knew what happened.
Had my water bottle with e-load. That stuff does not actually taste good, I decided during this race. I did not finish it all by the 10K mark, and actually was still drinking it up to the Shaganappi hill, finally pitched it at the last aid station before the hill. The nice thing was that it let me skip the water stations for the first almost 15k of the run. They are always chaotic and crowded, and once you get rid of the rabble of the halfers, they become much more civilized.
- Shaganappi Hill
I think I managed the hill very well again this year, slowed down so that my heart rate did not climb more than 10 BPM, and I think I saw a peak of 156 BPM, well below threshold of 165.
- Fun in Varsity
The up and down of the little hills did not seem to bother me much this year. I will say that by this time, I was not paying so much attention to the Garmin, and I distinctly remember one steeply banked curve in the residential area, thinking that any velodrome worth visiting would be proud to have banked turns that steep. Luckily, there was only one that silly, and it was not that long, so didn't cause too much bother.
There is one part where the road goes through a golf course, and we ran past several golfers coming across the road. I yelled "thats what I should have done this morning, gone golfing instead of running." They laughed, and asked our pace, which was now headed for a 3:30. They seemed impressed.
I chatted with a fellow runner after this, as he confirmed that we were about on pace for a 3:30. My real concern at this point was whether I had to pick up the pace at all in order to get that 3:30, as I was starting to get more pains than I should have in this area. This was leading back to the 31K mark and the Shaganappi hill.
- Down the hill, and the last 10K
No bonkage!!!! I was wondering if I would feel any bonking, or symptoms during this race, and none were to be seen. Of course, this is when my weird knee pain started, and I think it was starting before the downhill, so I can't really blame it on that. My pace down the hill really didn't get better than 4:50, which surprised me, being downhill and all.
- Happy to be finished
Seriously thought about picking up the pace to a tempo run at the bottom of the hill. Really. The engine was fine. but the various pains would not let me go any faster. Kept saying to re-evaluate at 7k and 5k, and got the same answers from my body. Not Today.
Yikes, that last 3k was hard. I had lots of pains showing up everywhere, the knee was feeling weak rather than painful, as if it would give out if I landed wrong. Pushing the pace was difficult, and I did the best I felt that everything would put up with, which was luckily about my 5 minute pace to get me in for the 3:30.
I managed to get my water and keep running through the last aid station. surprised me, but then only a little went in my mouth, and the rest on my head.
Got my medal from Shawn DeFo :-) gave him a big hug for the honor. Geoff and Helen were at the finish line screaming for me. But first, I had to stand in the mist for more than a little while.
Quote of the day, courtesy of Rob Mott: "You can't fake a marathon. You can fake a 10k, and perhaps even a half marathon, but not the marathon."
Oh yeah, and his other quote. Response to 'How was the race'?
"Ouchy"
- Final thoughts
Eh, it was good and bad. Ran only 2 minutes slower than my PR, so thats good. But the whole race felt like work, as I never found that easy stride that I usually have.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Las Vegas Marathon - 2010 - Rock and Roll Baby
This is going to be a short race report.
I had the pleasure of running part of the race with Scott Jurek, ultra-endurance runner extraordinaire. I had seen him the day before at the fitness fair, and had read an article about him in Runners World, so I recognized him. I had made a few comments about the race to him, and chatted a bit. I then said that it was rare that, running the pace we were running, the he wanted to talk at all, and that everyone was so focused. He immediately apologized for sucking up my oxygen! My response, oh no not at all, and if he would let me, I would talk his ear off during the race.
What was nice about talking to him is that we kept the pace up. Usually when I get to talking, the pace falls off, and then when I recognize it, i really have to make up time. So that made the first half just seem to fly past.
I believe that my time for the first half was 1:40, so I am right on track to my 3:20. Then the second have hit. When you round the corner, you see the first hill, which is the freeway overpass. Its not a bad hill, its just psychological. but it looks big. and it feels hard. I slow down.
The second half was tough. lots of trying to keep pushing, but not keeping it up for long.
I finished in 3:28:27, so in reality, I ran the second half in 1:48, which is a decent half-marathon time. I had higher hopes. It is only 13 seconds slower than my PR, a race in which I ran the last 7K at threshold pace. There was no threshold pace to finish off this race.
I had the pleasure of running part of the race with Scott Jurek, ultra-endurance runner extraordinaire. I had seen him the day before at the fitness fair, and had read an article about him in Runners World, so I recognized him. I had made a few comments about the race to him, and chatted a bit. I then said that it was rare that, running the pace we were running, the he wanted to talk at all, and that everyone was so focused. He immediately apologized for sucking up my oxygen! My response, oh no not at all, and if he would let me, I would talk his ear off during the race.
What was nice about talking to him is that we kept the pace up. Usually when I get to talking, the pace falls off, and then when I recognize it, i really have to make up time. So that made the first half just seem to fly past.
I believe that my time for the first half was 1:40, so I am right on track to my 3:20. Then the second have hit. When you round the corner, you see the first hill, which is the freeway overpass. Its not a bad hill, its just psychological. but it looks big. and it feels hard. I slow down.
The second half was tough. lots of trying to keep pushing, but not keeping it up for long.
I finished in 3:28:27, so in reality, I ran the second half in 1:48, which is a decent half-marathon time. I had higher hopes. It is only 13 seconds slower than my PR, a race in which I ran the last 7K at threshold pace. There was no threshold pace to finish off this race.
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