Ironman Coeur d Alene 2006: Training Diary

Thurs 7/6

Well, I decided to wait a full 10 days to start. Wont mean anything in another 2 weeks. I feel I needed the rest. Doing absolutely nothing since Sunday feels great, but it's time to get going again.
My hamstring is still tight, with pain when I stretch just a little bit. I stretched very lightly in the hot tub this morning. Will continue to not run for another several days, then start with very short slow runs and see how it goes.

My new blog to Kona is posted at
http://tryall3sports.blogspot.com/

"There will come a point in the race, when you alone will need to decide. You will need to make a choice. Do you really want it? You will need to decide."

Rolf Arands


HR summary for CDA.

Zone 1 = 58' 30"(9.6%)
Zone 2 = 5:15 (51%)
Zone 3 = 3:19 (32.4%)
Zone 4 = 34' (5.6%)
Zone 5a= 1' 30" (0.3%)
Zone 5b= 40" (0.1%)

Zone 4 was the final 10K of the marathon, zones 5 were the final 800.
Zone 3 was most of the Swim and last half of the marathon
Zone 1 and 2 on the bike, although held only around 5 beats into zone 2 on the bike.

Overall, in retrospect, a good race for me. Considering the conditions, and the number of very good age groupers that dropped or no where near their PR, coming within 30 minutes of my PR was acceptable.

Today I will start swimming and working on the hamstring.

Breakfast: Large coffee and cinnamon roll from starbucks. God that coffee tastes good. Any coffee tastes good.
Lunch: Turkey and swiss on wheat, 2 oz bag of kettle chips, diet shasta.
Afternoon: coffee and a hershey bar, yes...chocolate. It's my second candy bar in a week.
Dinner: 2 BBQ chicken sandwiches, low fat ice cream bar and 2 beers.
1.5 cups shredded wheat squares before bed.

Monday 7/3/06


Yeah, CDA is over and secondary goal accomplished. Hopefully reasonable conditions at Kona but in that race, anything can happen. Right hamstring is still tight, and I will start slowly stretching tonight.
Took a week off after CDA. Drove the Oregon coast tuesday last week. Then Mountain biked down in Bend, OR 5-6 hours easy on wed. Thursday, white-water rafted the Deschuttes river in Maupin, OR.
Drove to Hood River, OR thursday night. Climbed Mt Adams friday morning (12,276) starting at the trailhead at 5000 ft. Summitted in record time for me (my 4th climb on this one) in 8:20, despite getting lost twice for about 20 minutes on the way down. Very tough to see trail since everything still covered in snow down to the trailhead. Heavy winds blew over other's tracks by the time the descent was over. Glisaded about 3000 feet both off the true summit, and off the false summit all the way down to lunch counter at 9000 ft.
Drove back to Portland on Friday night. Did a nice 30 mile skyline hill ride (2600 ascent) on saturday morning. Then took sunday off. Ate alot of crap last week...it felt great.

The good: Kona third consecutive, I am pretty damn lucky. Podium 2nd straight. Thats just guts.
The bad: Temps hit triple digits. Felt like kona, only hotter. One of the highest drop out rates of any Ironman other than Wisconsin in 2005.
The ugly: Not a good idea to start and IM on a nagging injury.
What the hell, my parents, sister, best friend from high school all flew out to watch. I had to start. I had to finish for Ann. I want to be holding her hand treading water in Kona in October.

Some stats:
4800 ft of climbing on the bike. Still the same course with mulitple switch backs on the downhill and 90 degree turns at the bottom of most of the hills. Too many to count slow 90 degree turns on the flats.
Temps: 60's at the start, high 80's by the 70 mile mark on the bike, 97-100 at 4pm depending what part of the course you were on.
Wind: Negatively affected everyone. Wing out of the NE is the worst case condition for CDA. You are with the wind through the heavely wooded trees on the hills, and get no benefit. Then the 12 mile stretch along the highway and back to town it is wide open and exposed. We had 15 with 20 mph gusts for the first 12 mile span, 10-15 mph on the second loop.

This was the first IM I have attempted while injured, and it went as well as I could have hoped considering. I felt strong going into the race, except hamstring twinging as I walked around. Right quad still sore to touch at the start, from massage on friday morning. Some feable attempt by a "therapist" to massage the opposing muscle in an attempt to loosen up my hamstring. I have always received massage 2 days out from the race, but in the future, will keep it much less aggressive.
Start: 7am, already in the 60's. Record mass start, I think just under 2300
panic attack insued after 4-5 contiguous mouthfulls of water. When I let up to breast stroke, another mouth full as I was taking a big breath, then people swimming over me. I thought "you gotta be kidding, I am going to drop at the start". That was a split second thought, then I told myself to take control, calm down, just get out of the way. I breast stroked about 10-15 yards wide for about a minute, slowly caught my breath, then started swimming. I kept it wide, by myself the entire race. PR'd at 106 with a neg. split second half.

T1: PR, no problems. The tape straps on the aero helmet saved some hassel and time. Foot powder in socks allowed for extremely easy slip on.
Bike: Very crowded for about 2 miles. Ave speed around 16. By mile 20 I was up over 23. Hamstring was tight from the first 5 miles or so, but stable. Just like in my workouts. Hills were no problem for me. I dropped my ave to 22.8 going into the head wind. Then dropped speed to 18-20 for 40 minutes to stay within 5 beats into zone 2 through the wind. By the time I got to special needs at mile 62, my speed ave was back up to 22.5, which didnt matter because my hamstring was pulling tighter and tighter. I had decided to pull back and shoot for around a 5:15 so I could hopefully finish the marathon. I was worried at this point, so at mile 70 in the second set of hills, I pulled back, coasting and stretching on every single downhill. I dropped my pace to something in the 20's which dropped my ave down to mid 21's. I was happy with this because even though my leg felt painful, it was stable. The rest of my body was ready to race, and I am certain a sub 5 hour would have been on this day, but that's life. You take it like it is, adjust your goals if you have to. As the temps climbed to 90 my entire head and face became very hot. Major problem with Aero helmet is no ventilation. I mean major problem. I was spraying water on my face at every station to try to cool off. I will take it to kona, but doubt I will wear it. Heat dissipation from your head is a primary source for cooling your core in hot weather. The bike geeks that create these great accessories arent concerned with minor details like that. I am sure its great in a wind tunnel and a 25K though. Urinated 5 times on the first loop, 3 on the second. Never got out of aero position during this...I have this one down.

T2: On PR pace but I took 30 seconds to stretch my leg out on the grass. I was worried just jogging into the tent. Quad felt ok considering the pain at the start, I was pretty happy with that.
Came out of T2 with around a 5 minute PR. Pretty happy considering the big slow down the final 40 miles

Run: Tried to run 7:30's for the first 4 miles to "test" the leg. Failed the test. Leg just got tighter and tighter. I calculated quickly in my head that if I could hold onto 8 min pace I would probably get a podium slot. I slowed to 8's, held for about 4 more miles and the pain returned but a little worse. Slowed to 8:30 and figured if I held I would be around 10 hours or so, and that should get the kona slot, but no podium. My only goal at this point was to get to kona to start with Ann. This is the single reason I stayed in this race. I knew I would not be ready for Canada if I didnt get a slot here, as my leg would take 2-3 weeks to heal after this one.
I was dumping ice down the back of my shorts, and water over my head by mile 6. This is the first time I urinated while running. I am pretty sure it was the cup-fulls of ice on the perineum from dumping it down my shorts. I will talk to a nephrologist about this next week. I urinated 4 times on the run.
Now the temps are around 95 at my mile 12. I start to bonk mentally, physically, spiritually, ect. I thought, "not another kona 04". Then just talked myself down and told myself it was ok. I just slowed down and ran 3 10 min miles. Took an expresso GU at mile 13 and my drink at 15. Took a drink of chicken broth at mile 13. Took a full glass of water at each. Then resumed my routine.
By mile 16 I was running 8:30 min miles again. Leg hurt but I figured I needed to get to mile 22 so I could be in the positon to pass all those dying in my age group the final 4 miles.
I saw Ann at mile 17, I think she was at 10. She looked great the first time I saw her. I was coming back from the 6 mile mark and she was at mile 2. Only 4 miles behind me. She yelled "will you be upset if I dropped" I yelled back "drop, you're already in Kona, this is not the day". Then I repeated that to make sure she heard me. A group I was passing as I yelled this said "she is already in kona? What the hell is she doing out here!" Our goals for Ann were to PR, not to beat yourself up and end up with a 2 month recovery just to get a podium slot. She's already been there, and its not a big deal. A PR in kona is extremely unlikely, but you still have to be able to train just to run within 30-60 min. of your PR there. I found out later her hamstring and calf were hurting... she made the right decision. This is just part of her evolution as a very young, second season athlete. Its very hard mentally, but you have to have the discipline to know when to stop. Most dont have this, and most dont have this when training unfortunately. I think I have some handle on it but I am not perfect. It took me 15 years to understand this concept, and out of around 25 marathons, I have dropped 3...its tough. I dropped out of the Wineglass marathon at mile 21 when I was in 3rd overall back in 1995, I know how tough it is. Then came back to finish 18 at mens marathon nationals a few months later. She'll be OK.

All I thought about from mile 16-22 was "get to 22...just get to 22". When I got there, I "took off". This is more of a mental thing. I took off, meaning I held pace as I was passing everyone walking. And I mean almost everyone. It made me think how many people changed their race day stategy because of the heat. Newby-Fraser's response when someone asked her in the pre-race meeting about soduim? She said she took 2 caps of sodium every other mile on the run in a race once, and temps were in the 60's. What the hell is she talking about...you only can absorb a a small percentage, nearly a fixed amount of salt that you intake. You will eventually absorb all sodium you take in but taking a concentrated solution only delays absorption of carbs if the osmolality becomes too high (over 300). Thus you have to pump water into your bowel to dilute the solution, which can further dehydrate you. If its hot, taking more salts doesnt lead to increased absorption. In fact, taking too much sodium is much worse then taking too little. Coaches should know this, world class athletes should know this. I wonder how many people bonked, and took way too much sodium because it was hotter than usual. Its a bonking cycle. Your kidneys sense high salt in the blood they then preferably reabsorb water and excrete the sodium, and then you stop urinating.
Anyway, when I came across those in my age group the final 10K, I asked in a friendly way "it this your second loop?" to every 40-44 yr old I passed. If they said yes, I would reply "just bring it home man, its almost over". I passed 14 on their second loop in my age group in the final 4 miles. 8 of them in the final 2 miles. Either walking or running 12 min pace.
As I knew at the 12 mile mark. The kona slot would be taken in the final 4-6 miles of the race. I knew this because I saw people on their second lap walking already, those that kicked my butt in the swim and bike. I saw 4 guys walking at the 23 mile mark when I was at 18, 5 miles behind them, and I caught them at mile 25. All 4 were in my age group. The kona slot is either taken in those final miles, or you have to be strong enough to hold your slot and maintain pace in those final miles.

Thats what it will come down to. If you have a shot at a slot, never give up. Always adjust if you have to so you are ready for that final 10K. If you are bonking, you have to know, and catch it early, and slow way down and fix the problem. Get yourself ready to run that final 10K. This is the only part of the race that's reality.

Erin held strong for her first race. She is used to feeling dead and still running...she's a marathon runner. Rob had to pull out off the bike. I feel bad that their first race had nearly 25 miles of head wind and hit 100 degrees, but these races are about things you cant control. I failed Rob as a coach by not reiterating what you do when you bonk. I mentioned it to them briefly but should have been more firm in explaining how to recover from a bonk. I recovered in Kona in 04 with 4 consecutive 12 min miles and proper nutrition. I recovered in CDA 06 by slowing and focusing even more on maintaining nutrition, without over-doing it. I think if Rob would have walked a mile, kept the nutrition going, he would have been able to run slow. However, he would not be happy with a 14 hour race. I know him. He will come back on another day.

Number 5 for me in 2 years. It doesnt get any easier. If Kona is a good day, I will hammer. If not, I wont. Figuring out what a "good day" is at Kona is the key. This is what I will teach Ann this summer.

Thurs 6/22

morning resing HR 36, weight 160.8, body fat 5.4%

Day off
Pilates abs/low back 30 min. Then final Sauna treatment, 15 min at 190 degrees.

Every big race I have my fears and doubts, but I knew it would happen. I woke up and my legs feel stonger then ever.

Breakfast: 1 cup rolled oats, raisins and bwn sugar, herbal caffeine free tea
Lunch: Tai wheat noodles, light oil, grilled chicken, veggis, salad. Diet shasta
Afternoon: 2 oz bag pretzels, caffeine free herbal tea.

On the road to CDA at 5:30. Will eat carbs. May not have internet access until after the race on sunday. Plan is pancakes friday morning. light lunch. pasta in evening. Saturday, more carbs breakfast, lunch, and copious rice for early dinner.

" I'll run without stopping.

Until heart and feet fail,
or until I cant stand...

Be, and be not afraid, to reach for heaven."


Traci Chapman

Just as the tumultuous chaos of a thunderstorm brings on a nurturing rain;
that allows life to flourish.
So too in human affairs, times of advancement are preceded by times of disorder.

Success comes to those who weather the storm


I chang no. 3

Wed 6/21

6:30 am: Swim 1500
500 pull wu in 7:40
4 X 100, 50 breast between each + 15 sec
2 in 1:21 and 2 in 1:20
100 of single arm drill
200 cd in 2:52

Run 5:45 pm: a bit under 6 miles, 45 min.
easy with 4 X 30 sec strides after. Legs feel very sluggish. Didnt loosen up until final 2 strides.

Breakfast: 3/4 cup oats + 25 g whey protein and bwn sugar. caffeine free herbal tea, water.
Lunch: Baja fresh bowl with chix breast, black beans, rice, vegi's. Extra side of black beans. Diet fresca.
Mid afternoon: small bag of pretzels (1180 mg salt), 24 oz water, caffeine free tea.
Dinner: big plate of pasta with mushrooms, garlic, onions.
Before bed: 200 grams of malto dextrin mixed with 50 grams protein. Taken over 30 minutes.

Adversity leads to inner strength

Tues 6/20
Came out of Hypoxic tent last night.
Weight 161.8, body fat 5.2%, morning HR 36

*Legs feel fresh this morning. Passed stair test with flying colors.

6 a.m. Core, pilates abs/low back, 30'
6p.m.: Bike 73 minutes. Skyline, 4 X 90 sec hard efforts final 30 minutes. Some climbing but didnt work unless on a 90 sec spinerval.
Massage after


Breakfast: 1 cup oats w/ bwn sugar, 16 oz water
Mid morning: 1 apple
Lunch: Salad with vegi's, chicken breast, low fat dressing. Small bag of pretzels, diet sierra mist.
Mid afternoon: decaf coffee, cliff protein bar, 2 oz bag of baked lay's
Dinner: Pork-chop, plenty of rice-a-roni, corn on the cob. A couple of handfuls of gummi bears before bed and a beer.

Some notes
Pre-race:
Transition bags:
There will be 2000 bags laying out on the grass. Helpful to tie a streamer or small flag or balloon to your bag. Anything to make it distinguishable to you. On race day you will see a couple of people running down the rows that cant find their bag. They will be in order by number, but they tend to get stacked onto one another.

1) In you swim-bike bag. Put 2 CO2's with a wedge and valve adapter with tube and patch kit into a small plastic zip-lock bag. For tubulars, no need for a tube but may want to put a razor (covered edge) into your bag to help cut off the tire if needed. Lay each one of your socks into your bike shoe so you can easily pull each on out and put it on. You can put some corn starch or foot powder into your socks, lightly coat them. This will help with sweat and keep feet dry for quite a while. Place this plastic bag into one of your bike shoes in the transition bag on top of one of the socks so its the first thing you grab. Just stuff the plastic bag in your uniform rear pocket and your done. Put your biking glasses in the other shoe, on the other sock. Its good to use 2 pieces of scotch tape to tape your helmet straps to the side of the helmet so you can just throw on the helmet, then pull the afixed straps down over your chin. This avoids the staps from getting tangled and twisted in your bag. Make sure your race belt (if using one) is easily accessible. Put your glasses on before your helmet. The helmet straps help secure the glasses. When you get off the bike, you tend to rip your helmet off. If the glasses are on the outside of the helmet straps, they will go flying.

2) Bike-run bag. Running shoes. I would put a fresh pair of socks on. Can use a light layer of foot powder or corn starch in the socks if you want. I have done this for marathons for years, and it helps. I have never had a blister since doing this. Lay one in each shoe. Its 10 seconds, but its comfortable. If you are taking a caffeine tab during the marathon (I suggest around 16 miles), put the tabs into a small zip lock bag and put that bag into your shoe on your sock. Then its the first thing you pull out. Put this bag into your uniform rear pocket. You can take out your bike bag from your pocket before this so you have plenty of space. Put a visor or hat into the bag. Put both of your nutrition flasks into your shoes also so you dont forget them!! 2 six ounce flasks per 13 miles is all you need. If wearing a belt, that's fine.

Night before: Rice for dinner, dont eat dinner beyond 7pm or so. Light on the meat and vegi's. High sugar treat after is ok. around 9pm, drink down a recovery drink. 100 grams malto with 25 g protein for men, 70/25 for women. Make up your race drinks the day before. You will have time to put into your swim-bike transition bag in the morning. You will dump off your T2 bag in the morning also. You will dissolve your salts into your bike and run bottles so you wont have to carry any tabs.

Race morning.
1/2 cup of oats with sugar and perhaps a banana, 2 hours before the start. Carry water around with you sipping the entire morning. 90 minutes before start, take 200 mg caffeine. If you are not in the porta-jon within 30 minutes, take another 100 mg. 60 minutes before start, keep drinking. Its ok to take 1 endurolyte tab. 30 minutes from the start, no more drinking. If you are on my carbo plan, you only need to put 4 gels into your uni. Keep them for the bike and run just in case you loose your bottle. Or if you want some caffeine, you can substitute a gel for one of your drinks around 1/2 way on the bike or run. You can put the gels in your uniform before the start, as your uniform will be under your wet suit. Put on 25 spf waterproof sunscreen after your body marking dries. Dont forget the back of the neck. Childrens suncreen works good for the face, it doesnt burn the eyes when it drips down off your forehead when sweating.
In your special needs bags. For bike you will have your 2 new nutrition bottles, for the run, 2 new nutrition flasks. Optional to place plastic ice packs (pick up at drug store) into your special needs bags. Ann did this, and having your new drinks cold makes a big difference on a warm day.

Swim:
1)Start wide unless you plan on contending for the lead. There is plenty of room. Moving down the beach 20 yds only adds on 15 seconds but you wont get beat up at the start.
2) Dont go crazy and cut into the bouy with the other 1000 people. All you have to do is swim about 5-10 yds wide of the first 2 bouys on the corners and you will avoid breast stroking for 30 seconds and avoid getting kicked and risk your goggles being torn off.
3) Put your goggle under your swim cap. If they get kicked, the cap helps them stay on your face. If they do get kicked off, just relax, turn over on your back, shake them out and put them back on.
4) Dont sprint out of the water on the first lap, and dont sprint down the beach on your way to the second lap. This will shoot your heart rate way over max. Just relax and jog easy,its only 10 seconds.
5) They will rip your wet suit off you. Get it started as you jog or walk up to the T1 area by unzipping it and if you have time, peel it off to your waist. If no time, thats ok...there are 2-3 people assigned to you that will rip it off. Carry your wet suit to T1 after getting your bag.

Bike:
!!!!) Weight means alot. Carry only 2 bottles. In triangle if possible. If not, a single bottle holder on the rear seat works great. If closely taking in nutrition using marked bottles, this works best. Using the strap-on bottle on the aerobars is ok, but you can take the preise amount of carbs every 20 minutes. No need to carry extra water, you will have stations every 10 miles. If you get on your bike and you HR monitor doesnt function. Shut if off and re-start it. You will have your total time at the finish. You need to know your HR limits during the race.

1) Start your 20 minute nutrition cycles 20 minutes after you are on the bike. Dont take anything at all the first 10 minutes or so. At 10 minutes, you can have a sip of water if available.
2) Take your nutrition every 20 min. Take about 1/3 water bottle of water at each water stop. This should give about 26 ounces of fluid per hour total. If temps are above 80 or it feels hot, or you feel thirsty, take more water at the water stations. If you miss a nutrition cycle, or are late by 5 or 10 minutes, DO NOT try to make it up. Just take the nutrition and start a new 20 minute cycle from that point forward. You dont have to worry about taking water with your bike nutrition (like on the run) because its already diluted into 5-6 ounces of water.

!!!!) At the water stations, do NOT just swing out into the path of cyclists after grabbing your bottle. Some will be skipping the station and flying up on the left. Pedal straight through and check your left rear quickly before merging back into the main road.

3) Once you are finished with one of your nutrition bottles, throw it away at the next water station and use the water station bottle in its place on your bike. This will give you a source of water, and you can skip a water station if you have 1/2 full water bottle on your bike.
4)Pee on your bike.

!!!!) If you drop a nutrition bottle and it has more than one drink left, go pick it up!!

5) At special needs, someone will be holding a walkie-talkie or megaphone. Yell your race number at him loud and twice so he hears you. He will tell the special needs people that you are coming. As you pull up to special needs, yell your number loud so someone hears you and is waiting for you with your bag. There will be about 20 people standing with bags, all different race numbers. Yelling your number out will alert the person holding your bag and they will flag you down. Dont freak out...just pull over, stop the bike, and change out your nutrition bottles for your 2 new fresh ones. Again, do NOT just yank your bike over onto the race course, you will get hit. Bike straight until you have a little speed, check your left rear, then pull back onto the course and get back up to speed. All this takes 30 seconds.
6) On the hills, do not stand up if at all possible. This raises your heart rate about 10 beats. Do not stay in your aero position, this puts too much strain on your hip flexors. Just sit up hands on the bars or pads and spin up. You can take your HR into zone 4 temporarily but no higher.

!!!!) If you have some thigh or quad cramping on the bike. Pull over for 30-60 seconds and just stretch it gently. If Hamstrings or calf are cramped, you can stretch on the bike.

7) Final 5 minutes on the bike, take time to stretch your calfs and hamstrings...lightly. Do not drink anything within 10 minutes of getting off the bike. Get yourself ready to transition.
8) They will grab your bike for you. Take off your helmet as you jog to the T2 tent. Your glasses will be under your straps so they wont go flying off your head. Dont sprint. Keep your HR below threshold.
9) You dont have to bike 112 miles: On the down hills, coast for a little while and stretch. Pedalling like a bat out of hell will get you 10 second lead on the guy coasting and stretching behind you. Do this on 5 hills for 2 laps and youve just coasted a mile. You CAN draft. You have 20 seconds to pass. As you pull up to someone, get in their draft and coast behind them for about 5 seconds, then pass them. If you do this to 200 people during the bike, you have saved 1000 seconds. Thats 16 minutes you are not pedalling over 112 miles. Thats 5 miles!If you see a line of riders of course, you dont want to weave in and out of each one because thats not efficient and you will lose time. If you come upto a line of 5 or 10 cyclists, just drift past them all. However, when coming up to that single rider ahead...use his draft.

Run:
1) Putting on dry socks is important. Yours will be sweaty and wet with urine.
2) T2 is fast, only 2 minutes or so. You can take your bag of bike accessories out of your shirt in T2 also, just throw your plastic baggie into your running bag.
3) You will run too fast the first mile. Thats ok. Just slow down after that. Extremely important you run your designated pace. 90% of all athletes feel great off the bike. This is because you've been sitting for almost 6 hours. Trust me. Stick to your pace. You will be wishing you did at the 20 mile mark.
4) Take a drink of water at every stop. Take another cup and throw on your head if its hot. If hot, you can throw a cup of ice down the front of your shorts or down your back. If wearing a hat, you can put ice in your hat then put the hat back on. If its not hot, dont cover yourself with water. Its more comfortable to run in dry shoes/socks if you can.
5) Your nutrition will be concentrated into 2 ounces. That means you have to time it so you take your nutrition at the water stations. Every 15-20 minutes is fine. As you see the water station coming, get your flask out and ready. Drink your 2 ounces of carbs as you enter the station and put the flask back in your shirt or on your belt. Then take about 4 ounces of water. As long as you take water within 30-60 seconds, you'll be fine. The water will dilute the concentrated carbs in your stomach.
6) If you start to get a side stitch. #1 thing is to just slow down 15-30 sec. per mile for a few minutes to bring your breathing down. Breath in a nice deep breath every 30 seconds or so and breath out easy. This usually takes care of a side stitch. Take care of it on the spot so you dont run the whole race uncomfortable. You can skip a water stop or just take a small sip of water if cramping. You can also skip a nutrition cycle in you have a cramp and its time to drink carbs. All you do is wait for the cramp to subside, then take your carbs at the next water station, and start your new 20 min. cycles from that point onward.
7) The special needs on the run is easy. You will be able to run while getting your new nutrition flasks (if you arent wearing a 4 flask belt). Again, yell out your number loud and twice so they hear you and can start looking for your bag before you get there.
8) The final 10K can be the best experience of your life. Maintain your cardiac and goal pace and you will pass at least 100-200 people those final miles.
9) Remember to pose as you finish, they are taking pictures. If you focus on hitting your stopwatch at the finish, your finishing photo will look pretty funny as you are looking at your watch. Just wait 5 seconds after you cross the line, then shut your stopwatch off. You should be spending your time crossing the line with your arms in the air, yelling at the crowd in that final stretch as you here your name.

I remember Hannes, Erin, and Rob last year. What they were, and what they have become. Hannes severely bonking in the final climb up Mt Scott on a 60 miler, Rob walking his bike. Erin, working long strenuous hours day after day...still finding a way to complete the workouts. Sometimes I would call and they are just getting to the pool, at 8 pm. It's difficult for me now to remember them as they were just 12 months ago. The athlete in all 3 of them has become is so definable when you look at them riding the hills, and running off the bike. The relentless hours they have sacrificed is hard to compare to anyone who has trained for their first Ironman.

Friends Todd and Dan. Todd, who came to me several years back at 230 pounds and told me he wanted to run a marathon. I laughed for a while, then said "lets get started". Now his first Ironman, after his first Olympic distance last Summer. With his strenuous hours and a new family, he has still found a way. Dan, his independent thinking and always pushing himself in the workouts, going beyond what is necessary at times. That's his drive. Dan will become an Ironman on heart alone.

For myself, I remember the isolation of the workouts I needed to do alone. When hammering the last hill, the final 10 miles of a TT legs on fire...glasses fogged up with tears, as I visualize reaching my goal. I woke up the other morning sweating from a dream I had. I saw the clock at 9:29.09 as I ran down the shute at CDA. It was so real, I thought I was there. It may not happen, but I will go down fighting.

I remember my first IM at CDA, drifting through the hundreds of athletes on the marathon. Floating down the final stretch, seeing Ann and my parents screaming "your top 30". My contacts were covered in debris, and I could barely make them out as unfocused images, hearing their muffled cheers echo as I passed, and lifting me up even further.

I remember the final stretch at my first Kona. The disbelief that I had actually finished that course after so much pain and suffering. Never have I had such a battle with demons wanting me to give in to the race and quit. Then, after over 11 hours in the heat and wind, I turned and saw the flood of light in that final stretch. To be completely absorbed in the overwhelming screaming of spectators, floating the final 100 meters, the incredible emotion. Vague memories of falling into Ann's arms at the finish, being carried, unlike anything in life I've experienced.

Then there's my most vivid memory, Ann in her first season last year. Ann, hammering up the final 50 meters in IM Florida, the aura of light coming off her; she was radiating achievement. The way it was pouring out of her in those final moments...that was the most incredible marathon I have ever seen. Ann found her identity that day, she became the athlete I always knew she was. I will never forget that moment.

There is no price you can place on experiences like this. Its the pursuit of these moments that drives us, the personal growth that comes with self induced suffering in pursuit of a goal. Carving out who you are, and becoming the person you know you can be.

This is the road to Coeur d' Alene. This is the road to life. Nothing defines it more than becoming an Ironman.

Mon 6/19

Finally the Mt Hood Aquatic Center 50 meter pool is open!
Swim 1 hour, got in 3400 meters. Felt ok. Quite a few people in the lane since it was opening day. My legs feel 90% strong. The 50 meter makes a big difference on how the arms feel after. They were worked.
Sauna 190 degrees 15 min


Breakfast: 2, 6oz vanilla yogurst's, orange, caffeine free tea, diet fresca
Mid morning: 1 apple, water
Lunch: Baja fresh burrito bowl: grilled chix, rice, black beans, lettuce, tomato. Diet 7-up
Afternoon: 1 apple, cliff protein bar, and a low fat bran muffin. Decaf coffee- yuk
Dinner: Stopped at Ringside and had 8oz prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and bread. shared a shrimp cocktail and crab cakes for app. 1 beer. 2 bites of Ann's creme brulet.
Before bed, after sauna, low fat fudge sickle. Water.

Taper week, 6/19 - 6/24

If you did Sauna training on saturday: Do sauna 15 min. Mon, tues, thurs.
If you did Sauna trainign on sunday: Do sauna 15 min. Mon, tues, thurs.

Mon = 45-60 min easy swim. Should be about 5 sec/100 slower than usual per 500 split. If normal 500 is 8 min. Then try to go around 8:20-30 during long swim.
sauna 15 min
Tues = 60 minute bike ride. 4 X 90 sec. fast cadence spinervals final 20 minutes.
Wed = Swim 1500 in morning. 500 wu, then 4 X 100 with 50 yd breast stroke after each for rest. Then cd 300 pull.
Afternoon: Run 40 minutes, incorporate 4 X 30 sec. strides in final mile or so.

Thurs: Sauna in a.m. Otherwise, off.
Friday: Bike 30 minutes in CDA with 4 X 90 sec intervals, brick run for 30 min after. Easy-slow run with 4 X 30 sec strides final mile.
Saturday: Morning, before breakfast. 30 min ride with 2 X 90 sec spinervals, then 20 min run with 2 X 30 sec strides final mile. In early afternoon, get on wet suit and swim 10-15 minutes on the course.

Week of 6/12 - 6/18

Total Hours = 11:48
S/B/R Hours = 10:03
core/sauna = 1:45

Swim: 9800 (4 sessions) Time 2:41
Bike: 89 miles (2 bricks) Time 4:19
Run 26 miles (long run + 2 bricks) Time 3:03
core: 45 min. 2 sessions
sauna: 4 X 15 min. at 180-190 degrees

*Fairly happy with week, with 2 peak workouts (bricks) during the week. Swimming didnt feel good until saturday, when I finally felt good in the water again. All stems from the big brick on tuesday (TT 63, run 8). My legs didnt come back until saturday's 14 mile run and 4K swim.

*My legs feel tired but stable. I know this feeling. They are pleasantly fatigued without over-trained. Will feel 100% by thursday.
* Coming out of tent completely tonight. 7 days out. Have been somewhat out this entire week, at only 6-7000 ft.

Sun 6/18

Work 7a-7p, then on call

6:15, 30 min of Pilates abs/core
6 pm: Sauna 15 min at 180-195 degrees, 16 oz water


Breakfast: 7 eggs (egg beaters) with chopped vegis, a little olive oil, salt. Herbal tea, caffeine free, water.
Mid morning: 2 x 6 oz vanilla yogurt's
Lunch: Big salad with vegi's, 2 hard-boiled eggs, low fat italian dressing. Diet sierra mist.
Afternoon: Cliff protein bar, water, hot caffeine free tea
Dinner: 8 oz steak with noodles on side. Salad with ceasar dressing. Angel food cake with raspberries after. 1 beer.