Tri to Endure

IMAZ Brief Recap

2010-11-29T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm back and I finished my first Ironman!

I'll work on a longer recap of the race and events leading up to the race, but I wanted to at least acknowledge the successful completion of my first IM distance race.

I finished in 12:42:28. My goal was sub 13 so I’m very happy with the results.

Swim: 1:18:13
T1: 12:26
Bike: 6:19:45
T2: 5:30
Run: 4:46:37

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-11-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

Dick and Rick Hoyt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnrLv6z-mM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRHxHapwirw&NR=1

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-11-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

Your Very Best!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSM1mvMypWU

LA Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon

2010-10-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a "simulation" weekend. On Friday morning I did a 4k swim. Saturday morning was a full 112 mile bike ride using all of my race-day gear, followed by a 7 mile brick run. And Sunday I ran in the Los Angeles Rock n Roll Half Marathon.

The half marathon wasn't part of my training plan, but several people I know were running in this inaugural event so I decided to sign up, and I'm glad I did. I finished in a new PR time of 1:43.33. Over 2 minutes faster than my previous best from 2006! I can only imagine what I might have done if I was fully rested for the race.

The training plan is starting to wind down now. My last really long run was yesterday. Only two more long bike rides this Saturday and next Saturday, and then two full weeks of tapering before the big event! Then I just need to take it easy and try not to go stir crazy!

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-10-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

Ironman Motivation - Just four weeks to go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNnSM7xAZNU

T minus 1

2010-10-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

Only one month left before Ironman Arizona!

A few months ago I ordered a MyAthlete Shadow GPS tracking device from MyAthleteGPS.com and it's scheduled to arrive TODAY! I'm pretty excited about trying it out. If you've never heard of these, they are worth checking out at your next major endurance event. It's a small pager sized device that has a built in GPS and limited cell phone. Every 30 seconds or so, it reads your current location, direction and speed and transmits it via cell towers to the MyAthlete website so friends and family can see where you are on the course in real-time (not just when you pass over a sensor mat on the course). It won't work during the swim, but I think my swim time will be fairly predictable so I'm not too worried about tracking during that portion (though it would be cool if it worked at some point in the future).

I'll be testing it out this Saturday on my first simulation brick (112mi bike & 6mi run) where I'll be wearing and using all of the gear I'm planning to use in Arizona. Two weeks later I'll do another simulation ride/run making adjustments based on this weekend's training.

This Sunday I'm running in the Los Angeles Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon, so I'll test the GPS device again there. I'm very curious to see how I feel on Sunday during the Half Marathon after doing the 112mi ride and 6mi run on Saturday.

Support Crew T-shirts have been designed and ordered for my whole team of Iron Sherpas. They are scheduled to ship this Friday and will hopefully arrive next week. I REALLY hope they look OK. I have a lot of people coming to AZ to help me and I'm sure they don't want to wear lame tshirts all day...

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-10-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

Ironman from the Inside

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuNZQ8uyoIc

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-10-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

Scott Johnson - Ironman Finisher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngvkj3IAb-I

Ironman Perform

2010-10-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

Beginning in June 2010, Ironman branded events started using Ironman Perform Sports Drink in place of Gatorade at the Bike and Run aid stations.

I read so many bad reviews of the drink in Ironman Louisville race reports that I thought I better give it a try on some of my long workouts to make sure I wouldn't have any problem with it at Ironman Arizona.

I'm happy to say that after two weeks of using Ironman Perform, I haven't had any negative issues with the drink on the bike or during my long runs. It's a little bit too sweet for my taste, but I also think Gatorade is a little too sweet, so honestly I didn't find much difference between the products.

I still prefer my Heed/CarboPro mix, so I'll start the bike fully loaded with Heed/CarboPro. But I'm glad to know I won't have any issues with the new Ironman drink when my pre-mix runs out.

3% and 3 Seconds

2010-10-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

Last week (week 12) was my final testing week of my 20 week training plan.

Continuing to use the same route on the bike test, I increased my average power by 3.4% or an average of 9 watts for the 40 minute test.

Prior to start of training plan
223 Average Watts
10.3 mph average
65 rpm average cadence

Week 4 testing
242 Average Watts (+8.5%)
11.5 mph average
74 rpm average cadence

Week 8 testing
263 Average Watts (+8.6% compared to week 4; 17.9% increase overall)
11.6 mph average
74 rpm average cadence

Week 12 testing
272 Average Watts (+3.4% compared to week 8; 22% increase overall)
11.8 mph average
70 rpm average cadence

On the run, I only improved my time by 3 seconds compared to week 8. And really, it was probably more due to stubbornness than fitness. I pretty much have my running speed dialed in, so it doesn't surprise me that I didn't improve much this time.

There's no more testing, but October 23rd is the first of two simulation rides - 112mi bike followed by a 6 mi run. And on Oct 24th I'm running in the LA Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-09-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

My Wife's first Triathlon back in 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzrx3me0KMY

T minus 2

2010-09-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

Just two months to go until Ironman Arizona!

I'm on week 12 of my 20 week training plan. This is the final testing week and the last real opportunity to adjust my running pace and cycling power numbers prior to race day. I'll post the results from my testing later in the week.

The repair of the dam at Tempe Town Lake appears to be on schedule. Crews are 85 percent finished with the installation of Bladder No. 3, 70 percent finished with Bladder No. 2 and about 10 percent finished with Bladder No. 1.

Here's a link to a time lapse video done by the Arizona Republic of the roll out of Bladder No. 1. http://bit.ly/9XXCPr

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-09-20T14:11:00.001-07:00

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman giving "Motivation" to his new recruits.
Beware - there's some harsh language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wijlLEriWYg

Running

2010-09-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

10 weeks of official "plan" training down, 10 weeks to go until Ironman Arizona and the running miles are really starting to add up. Starting this week, my plan has me running every Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Two of those runs are brick runs, so fairly short and easy, but the others are focused runs that leave me a bit drained. Bike and Swim volume are also ramping up each week making rest more elusive.

The good news is I've been feeling really good on my run workouts - especially the long runs. Gotta keep working towards legs that are bullet-proof for that 26.2 mile cool-down run on race day!

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-09-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

The Spirit of the Marathon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8XSit8XyeM

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-09-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

IronWill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8l249bM0FE

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-08-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

Sian Welch & Wendy Ingraham - The Crawl - 1997

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTn1v5TGK_w

Power Up

2010-08-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

Week 8 testing showed another power jump of 8% since my last test on week 4. That's an 18% increase since I started on the training plan.

Using the same 7.5 mile climb as a test, here are the numbers

Prior to start of training plan
223 Average Watts
10.3 mph average
65 rpm cadence

Week 4 testing
242 Average Watts (+8.5%)
11.5 mph average
74 rpm cadence

Week 8 testing
263 Average Watts (+8.6% compared to week 4; 17.9% increase overall)
11.6 mph average
74 rpm cadence

14 seconds

2010-08-27T16:54:00.000-07:00

My week 8 run test was yesterday.

I finished the 5k run in 21:00. That's a 14 second improvement over the same run on Week 4. That's about 1.1% better or roughly 4 seconds faster per mile than I was at the last testing point.

Average HR was 176, with a max of 188.

Not as fast as I hoped I would be after four more weeks of training, but faster is faster so I'll take it!

It was also 17 degrees hotter yesterday (99 F) than it was on July 29th (82 F) so maybe that gives me a bit of an excuse.

Bike test is coming up this Saturday.

Tempe Lake Update

2010-08-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

The following was reported by Rick Baldwin on www.iamtri.com in the Ironman Arizona 2010 Group Forum:

According to a very nice City of Tempe official who is overseeing the Dam replacement project. Here's the scoop:

The project is officially 10 days ahead of schedule, keep in mind though that more monsoon rain could cause slight delays in the future.

The lake is scheduled to start filling on 8 October. A cofferdam will be built to allow the lake to start refilling (do not need to wait for arrival of the fourth bladder).

It will take 2 weeks to a month to completely refill the lake depending on the flow rate from source water at Roosevelt Lake.

Bladder 4 is scheduled to arrive mid-October, once it arrives, it will be installed and the cofferdam will be removed.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-08-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

Adidas - long run commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l-xvPF14PE

T Minus 3

2010-08-21T04:24:00.000-07:00

Only three months to go until IMAZ!

I'm starting week 8 of my training plan this week. This is another testing week which means a 5k run for time and another 40 minute FTP test on the bike this week. I hope I continue to show improved numbers.

Check back later in the week for the results from the tests.

Lake Progress

2010-08-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

"Three new rubber dam sections will be lowered into place by a crane on Thursday as Tempe works to restore the empty Town Lake."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38731002

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-08-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

Ironman Hawaii 2008 Motivation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTrrQ9TDMY4

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-08-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

"You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRNqoqFzTi0

More power!

2010-08-04T15:05:00.001-07:00

Scotty we need more power

Last week (week 4 on the training plan) was a testing week, so I had the opportunity to see if my training is resulting in more power on the bike and faster times on the run.

The results were good across the board.

For my run test, I did a 5k time trial at the Rosebowl which has a nice flat and measured 5k loop. My 5k time was 20:39, or about 6:40 per mile. That's about 10 seconds faster per mile than I did in my pre-training plan test. Obviously the run at Ironman Arizona in November is much father than a 5k, but the testing helps me set my Vdot score, and establish challenging training paces.

For my bike test, I did a warm-up ride, then did a 7.5mile climb from the base to the first peak of Little Tujunga Canyon. Prior to the start of my training plan, I averaged 223 watts, 10.3 mph, and 65 rpm cadence on the climb. Since I started my 20 week training plan, I've been using 220 watts as my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) value. Last week I improved by over 8% to average 242 watts, 11.5 mph, and 74 cadence on the same exact climb.

The bad news is, today is interval day on the bike. I had to go and re-work all of my interval numbers using the new threshold value. I'm guessing I'll sleep well tonight after riding with these new training zones today.

Tempe gets OK to start replacing dam

2010-08-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

by Dianna M. Náñez - Jul. 31, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

"Tempe has been given permission to begin replacing the Town Lake dam that burst July 20, draining the lake of nearly 1 billion gallons of water.

The Arizona Department of Water Resources had put construction on hold following the dam's failure."

Read the full story here: Tempe gets OK to start replacing dam

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-08-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Men's 4x100 freestyle relay 2008 Olympics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVZrne7X5ww

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-07-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

Ironman Hawaii Motivation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ9luEvSL_4

Strawberry Fields Race Report

2010-07-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

The 2010 Strawberry Fields Triathlon Festival was last Sunday, July 18th.

I did this same event last year and this year I improved my time by over 10 minutes!

The Swim

Prior to the swim, we had to take a short walk down the beach to the starting point. The swim took us a few hundred yards out, then we swam parallel to the shore before turning back and swimming in towards the beach.

The map below shows the course - don't mind all the squiggly lines and loops - Even though the Garmin 310xt is waterproof, it can't get a gps signal while underwater, so it's constantly finding and losing satellite signal during the swim.

My swim time was not particularly good. I normally expect to finish 1.5k in less than 30 minutes. But it was a relatively rough sea, and I did beat my time from last year by about 5 minutes, so I was pretty happy with it overall.

I also used some TYR anti-fog spray to eliminate the fogging problem I had at the Breath of Life Triathlon a few weeks ago.

Swim distance: 1500 Meters
Swim Time: 35:37
(Last year swim time: 41:17)

The Bike

T1 took 2:40. Not great, not bad. 19 seconds faster than last year.

The bike course is a little short at Strawberry Fields, so the official times always look blazing fast. My bike split this year was 1:04:40. It was about 1 minute slower than last year. Not so surprising since last year was a bike focus year for me, and by July I had just finished training for a double century, so my bike fitness was probably a bit higher in 2009.

The Run

T2 was 0:44:42. About 5 seconds faster than last year.

The 10k run was the highlight of my race. I started out with a 7:15 mile that seemed entirely too easy. I was worried that I might be going to fast, but it felt so good that I just kept the pace - for the entire 10k! My 10k split was 44:42. Almost 6 minutes faster than last year.

Also, as you can see by all the data I collected on my Garmin, I actually figured out how to use multisport mode on the 310xt and captured every bit of my race.

Total time: 2:28:56
(last years time: 2:39:29)

T minus 4

2010-07-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Four months from now, I'll be out on the IMAZ Course.

Hopefully they'll have water in the lake by then!

http://www.examiner.com/x-42562-Scottsdale-Running-Fitness-Examiner~y2010m7d21-Tempe-Town-Lake-dam-bursts

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-07-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

This is the last week of the Tour de France, so please enjoy one more cycling motivational clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdF2lGSJWJ4

Lance is out of podium contention for this years Tour, but I've heard rumors that he's going to do Kona next year. I suspect he'll get his butt kicked there too, but I love the idea of how much publicity it would bring to our sport.

Wednesday Bike Intervals

2010-07-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

Wednesday is Bike Interval day with a short (30 min) brick run after the bike.

Yesterday's assignment was:

Warm Up: 10-15 minutes Easy,
then 3 x 1min intervals with 1 minute rest in between.

Main Set 2 x 12min intervals with 5 minutes rest in between @ FTP
(Basically 12 minutes fast, then 5 min recovery, then repeat)

My current FTP is around 210 watts. (That's the highest watts I can hold steady for 20+ minutes)

Here's the power graph from yesterday's ride.

I marked a red line at the 210 watts mark on the graph. That's the mark I was trying to hit and hold during each of the intervals. So the graph shows about 15 minutes of warm up, then the three short 1 minute intervals, followed by the two longer, 12 minute intervals.

I love training with power. It takes the guess work out of the equation, and I always know how hard I'm working regardless of road conditions, hills, or wind. 210 watts is always 210 watts no matter what the speedometer says.

18.5 weeks to go

2010-07-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

Ironman Arizona training is in full swing now. I'm in my second week of a 20 week Ironman training plan purchased from Endurance Nation.

The typical week looks like this:

Monday - Swim
Tuesday - Interval Run
Wednesday - Interval Bike + Run (Brick)
Thursday - Swim, Long Run
Friday - Swim
Saturday - Long Bike
Sunday - Bike + Run (Brick)

Then every 4 weeks, there's a testing week to check progress and establish new pace and power numbers.

So today for example, I have a 1hr bike interval session with a 30 minute run off the bike. I do the weekly bike interval sessions on my CompuTrainer so I can set the exact interval difficulty and duration

Last week I completed a 1.5k swim on Monday
Half-mile hill intervals (running) on Tuesday
1.5k swim and 17miles of interval work on the bike on Wednesday
1.5k swim and 80min run on Thursday
Friday was a rest day for me (which is why I added the extra swim on Wed)
68 mile ride on Saturday
and a 30 mile ride followed by a 10k run on Sunday.

The volume is still relatively low (about 11hrs for week 1), but the intensity is pretty high. Those interval workouts are especially killer.

I'm capturing all of my run and bike workouts on my Garmin 310xt. By capturing all of my bike and run data, I'm able to see a Training Stress Score (TSS) for those workouts. The TSS is calculated by Training Peaks Software and basically factors in the intensity and duration of a run or bike and assigns a score. As my fitness increases, I adjust my baseline numbers in TrainingPeaks so the Intensity Factor (IF) is adjusted. As the weeks progress, I need to go faster or farther in order to earn the same number of TSS points.

I'm looking forward to the first testing week so I can gauge my progress.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-07-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

Lance is no longer a contender, but the Tour continues...
Enjoy "The Beauty of Cycling"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4dS5jsl7tc

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-07-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day! Enjoy these 40 motivational movie clips in 2 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wRkzCW5qI

Breath of Life Olympic Triathlon Race Report

2010-07-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I finished the Breath of Life Ventura, Olympic Distance Triathlon.

The 30-39 mens age-group was the first wave and we started promptly at 7:15am. I love it when races start on time!

The swim was in a protected harbor, so other than the fact that we were swimming in salt water, it was more like a lake swim than an ocean swim. It was a relatively easy 1500k out and back swim. My only problem during the swim was my goggles kept fogging up, and it was pretty overcast so I had to stop several times and de-fog my goggles to make sure I was heading in a straight line.

Swim time: 28:31

T1 was uneventful, but the transition area was long and narrow so it took a little while to get from one end of the transition area to the other.

T1 time: 3:09

The bike section was flat, fast and fun! There was a short out-and-back section on Harbor Blvd with a 3-loop circuit in-between for a total of just over 25 miles (a little longer than a standard 40k course).

I averaged 20.4mph on the bike section with each loop of the circuit faster than the previous.

Bike time: 1:19:42

T2 time: 1:13

The run was also flat and fast. My average pace was 7:44 and I finished the (slightly long) run in 49:46.

My finishing time was 2:38:00. That put me in 179th place overall. This was an age-group championship qualifying race, so there were a LOT of fast athletes out there.

The only two problems I encountered during the race were my fogged goggles, and the fact that I didn't put my Garmin 310xt into multi-sport mode so each lap was tracked as "Other" instead of correctly labeling each lap as Swim, Bike, or Run. Since both issues are fixable, I really can't complain.

Next race is Strawberry Fields on July 18.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-06-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

The Tour is coming! Enjoy this celebration video from 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6KMZJb-puA

T Minus Five!

2010-06-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

Today is June 21st. Exactly five months until Ironman Arizona!

Next weekend I have my first Triathlon of the season - the Breath of Life Olympic Tri in Ventura. I did the sprint triathlon there a few years ago and it was a great event. I'm looking forward to doing the Olympic Distance event this year.

Last year I did just one Olympic distance triathlon in 2:39:29 so I guess I'll shoot for a better time next weekend. This will also be my first open water swim of the year. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to get out to the beach to do some open water swimming. But I've got several open water swims under my belt from previous seasons so it should not be a problem.

The main thing I hope to accomplish is to make sure all my equipment is still functioning well and get a baseline time for this distance. If I have any equipment issues or need to make any purchases this will give me plenty of time to take care of them and get used to whatever I buy.

In about a month, I've got the Strawberry Fields Olympic Triathlon on July 18th so I'll have an opportunity to make some adjustments and focus on a faster time if needed.

July 5th, I start my 20 week IM training plan and two-a-day workouts become a regular part of life.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-06-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

Inspirational Video On Increasing Your Confidence!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

(Embedding is disabled for this video so you have to click the link)

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-06-14T15:59:00.001-07:00

Never Give Up: An Inspirational story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcLvPkn1i_U

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-06-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

Training 24/7 The Life of a Triathlete

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8RrtppCAeM

Training transition

2010-06-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

With less than 24 weeks to go until Ironman Arizona, it's time for my training to make a transition. So far, I've filled the year with generic endurance training and endurance events like centuries and half-marathons. My focus has been on building fitness, but not specifically on triathlon training.

Now it's time to transition into Ironman specific training.

It's time to start spending more time in the pool.

It's time to start running after every bike ride.

It's time to bring out the wetsuit and get some ocean swims done.

Goodbye road bike. Thank you for your service this year.

It's time for you to take a break so I can focus on riding my tri bike

and goodbye hair-pants. It's time for silky smooth triathlete legs.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-05-24T16:55:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

T Minus Six

2010-05-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Only six months to go until Ironman Arizona! Does it seem close to you? It certainly does to me.

I've found myself searching for and reading DNF (Did Not Finish) Ironman stories on the web lately. Not to be negative or pessimistic about my chances of finishing IMAZ in November. I just found I can learn more from folks who had races that didn't go so well. Sometimes the picture perfect race reports aren't very informing or even that interesting. It does tend to create a little bit of paranoia though. The more stories I read, the more I see how many things can go wrong - especially on the bike. Even though I expect the run to be difficult, it will be nice when I get off the bike and onto my own two feet where the chance of an equipment failure ruining my day diminishes significantly.

On a more immediate note, this weekend is the San Diego Century. I'm driving down to Encinitas CA tonight after work, for an early morning start tomorrow. I completed this ride last year so I know exactly what to expect. It's a challenging course with a fair amount of climbing, but nothing out of the ordinary. I expect it to be a fun training day.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-05-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

From Service Dog to surf-ice dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGODurRfVv4

Upcoming events

2010-05-12T23:27:00.000-07:00

It's a little bit more than 6 months until IMAZ, and I've got some endurance events on the upcoming calendar.

On May 22 I've got the San Diego Century. I did this ride last year. It's a challenging century ride with a good amount of climbing. It should be a good training day.

June 13th is the Valley Crest Half Marathon. I haven't signed up yet, but I probably will. I've done this race before too. It's not the flat and fast half marathon I'm looking for, so I don't expect to be anywhere near a PR, but it's a very hilly trail half marathon, and should help build strong legs for Ironman Arizona in November.

And my first Tri of the season will be on June 27th at the Breath of Life triathlon in Ventura.

But most importantly, I'm taking this weekend off from training to go camping with my son and his Cub Scout Pack. It should be a great weekend.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-05-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

Running on the Sun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-e4bOLAuXg

Feeling Sluggish

2010-05-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

For almost two weeks I was feeling really sluggish on my run workouts. Even on short runs I'd feel like I was running a minute or two faster per mile than I actually was.

I think it had to be lack of sleep, because the last two nights I went to bed earlier, and sure enough, on my run today I felt great and my pace was back up where it should be.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-05-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

Never give up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx796zSg5gs

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-04-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

The Triathlon Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Fw1GdRKkc

T Minus 7

2010-04-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ironman Arizona - November 21, 2010 is only 7 months away!

Over the last month I've logged a half marathon and a hilly century into the IM training bank.

I'd still like to find a good, fast half marathon course so I can try to set a new PR this year.

I've got the San Diego Century coming up on May 22, and my first triathlon of the season is at the end of June.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-04-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

Dr. Randy Pausch on the Oprah Winfrey show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9ya9BXClRw

The Breakaway Ride - Race Report

2010-04-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

The Breakaway Ride - Stage 8 was last weekend (Sunday, April 11, 2010).

There were 3 options for the ride. Short ~ 36 miles, Medium ~ 62 miles, and Long ~106 miles. I signed up for the Long ride which included 4 circuits around the Rock Store Loop.

According to the race director, 900 cyclists signed up to ride in the event. From the website count, it looks like around 200 of those signed up for the long ride.

The long course was designed to roughly mimic Stage 8 of the Tour of California - though it's not an exact duplicate since the pros wont start or finish where we did.

The major uphill section of the loop climbs from around 720ft to around 1950ft with the curviest section of the ride known to local motorcycle riders as "The Snake"

Major climb repeats 4 times at mile 20, 42, 64, and 86

Now for the results.

My official time is listed as 8:01:25. My worst century result as far as total riding time. A full two hours slower than my sub-six hour effort in Palm Springs My total riding time was 7:31:23. The other 30 minutes were spent at rest stops along the way, or stuck at stop-lights and stop signs.

As I was descending Decker Canyon after finishing my second climb, it started to rain and I seriously considered heading back to the start and just skipping the final two loops. I was cold, and I was not looking forward to finishing two more difficult loops in the rain. But then I snapped out of it and remembered that these events are all just deposits in the Ironman training bank. And if I DNF during my training rides, how can I expect to finish the real deal. Race day might be windy, hot, cold, or raining, so I figured I needed to stick it out and gain the experience and finished what I started. Luckily, the rain never hit full force and the roads never became really wet or unsafe. In fact, after that brief rain during the second loop, it didn't rain again.

During the race we wore a timing chip (which are common in triathlons and running events, but not too common in cycling events). At the bottom and top of the Rock Store climb, they captured times so they could give out a KOM (King Of the Mountain) award to the fastest male, and a QOM (Queen Of the Mountain) award to the fastest female climber.

My climb times were as follows:

#1: 18:58
#2: 20:12
#3: 23:06
#4: 22:31
for a total KOM time of 1:24:50

Climbing The Snake on my 3rd loop

For comparison, the fastest male climber posted times of 12:48, 13:33, 14:06, and 15:04 for a total KOM time of 0:55:33.

The QOM winner posted times of 19:32, 19:21, 20:09, and 19:46.396 for a total time of 1:18:50

Of the 200 who entered the Long course event, 70 DNS (Did Not Start), and 57 DNF (Did Not Finish) the full distance.

Overall I was 60th out of 73 finishers, which doesn't sound too good. But I honestly feel really good about the day because of how difficult it was and the fact that I stuck it out and finished the ride.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-04-12T10:23:00.001-07:00

A tribute to Ironman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ragbcOPm_w

Breakaway Ride

2010-04-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

This Sunday is the Breakaway Ride which duplicates Stage 8 of the Tour of California.

I'm signed up for the 106 mile long course, which is four loops around a very well known and hilly local loop called the Rock Store loop.

Stay tuned for a race report after the ride!

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-04-05T06:54:00.000-07:00

I bet I could get more of my friends to help me train if I used this technique

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk

Chesebro Race Results

2010-03-31T16:01:00.000-07:00

The 2010 Chesebro Half Marathon was a great event. It's actually just one part of The Great Race of Agoura Hills. The whole event is made up of two separate half marathons, a 10k, 5k, and a kids 1 mile run.

The Chesebro Half wanders through Old Agoura, down Chesebro Road and onto the Cheeseboro Canyon Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. (Yes, the road is Chesebro and the trail is Cheeseboro).

I finished the race in 1:46:39

That's an average pace of 8:07 per mile
82nd place out of 1038 participants
10th out of 86 in my age group

My goal was 8:00 minute miles which would have been a new PR. I was about 2 minutes slower than my goal and less than a minute slower than my Half Marathon PR of 1:45:48

It was mostly trail running with a couple miles of street running at the start and finish of the race. The first 8 miles were mostly uphill, with steep climbs at the 8mile and 10 mile marks.

I'm so close to a PR at this distance. I'm looking for a flatter 13.1 course in April or May that might be a good candidate for a breaking my record.

Here are my mile splits for the race:

Split Time Distance
1 0:07:27 1
2 0:07:49 1
3 0:08:00 1
4 0:08:03 1
5 0:08:02 1
6 0:08:47 1
7 0:08:43 1
8 0:10:08 1 (Steep climb here really killed my time)
9 0:07:34 1
10 0:07:28 1
11 0:08:16 1
12 0:07:29 1
13 0:07:54 1
14 0:00:56 0.14
Tot 1:46:41 13.14

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-03-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

West Texas piano player Doug Smith has had a passion for music his entire life. This video documents his struggle to once again play after a paralyzing car accident.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA0LoIhjnkc

Half Marathon Race Plan

2010-03-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

The Great Race of Agoura Hills - Chesebro Half Marathon is tomorrow morning at 7am.

My race plan for tomorrow is simple.

I'm going to start out at about an 8 min mile pace and try to hold that pace the entire run. I don't actually think I'll be able to maintain a steady 8 min mile pace over the hilly, off-road terrain, but my goal tomorrow is to be fatigued in the last several miles and see how I'm able to deal with it, and push through it mentally and physically.

If I'm not struggling to hold 8 minute miles on the trail, then I'll pick up the pace. I really want to struggle in the last several miles and see how well I can hold the pace at the end.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-03-22T05:47:00.000-07:00

More basketball themed motivation in honor of March Madness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-EyRUgp9Mk

T Minus 8

2010-03-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

March 21st - Eight months until race day and about 15 weeks until the real training starts.

The next three weekends are event heavy:

Next Saturday is the Great Race of Agoura Hills Half Marathon.
Saturday, April 3, is the Santa Clarita Century.
Sunday, April 11th, I'm planning to ride in the Stage 8 Tour of California Breakaway Ride.

AND, Congratulations to all my endurance runner friends in LA who finished the 2010 LA Marathon today. It looks like the new Stadium to Sea course would be fun to run. Maybe I'll put it on the calendar for 2011.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-03-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

In honor of March Madness, here's a little motivation Bobby Knight style.

(If you don't want to hear profanity, don't click on the link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw7KijRfU-c

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-03-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

Here's part two to complete last weeks Motivational Movie. This is where the work pays off!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ7ZpLgkVxA

Kids on the Run - 10k

2010-03-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

The Kids on the Run 10k charity event was last Sunday, February 28th.

The 5k and 10k events both started at the same time and ran on the same course. The 5k runners did one loop, while the 10k runners did two loops. The race started right around 9:15am with roughly 500 runners - most of them (around 375) in the 5k event.

I knew it was a fast course. It's the same course where I set my 44:01 PR in 2007.

When the gun went off, I started out a little fast to stay ahead of the masses. I counted 13 runners in front of me, and then tried to settle in at a 7min mile pace.

Here are the splits

Mile 1: 6:56

Mile 2: 6:55

Mile 3: 6:47

Mile 4: 7:08

Mile 5: 7:21 (this one was a struggle)

Mile 6: 7:01

Final .3 miles: 1:59

(per my GPS reading, the course was a little longer than 6.2 miles)

I took 2nd place in my age group with a finishing time of 44:07 - just 6 seconds slower than my fastest 10k. I also placed 8th overall.

It's still early, so there's plenty of time for new running PRs before this year is over. And of course, I'm guaranteed a new PR at Ironman Arizona this year as long as I can finish the race.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-03-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

"You think you can give the same effort day in and day out for the next five months?"

"Sir, I have no doubt"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnPxOttpVdI

Kid's on the Run - a new PR

2010-02-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

There was a new Personal Record set at the Kids on the Run charity 5k/10k event today in Pasadena - but it wasn't me. It was the youngest Wrigley - my daughter, Katelyn, with her very first 1K Run.

My son Kyle also ran the kids K run in the 6-10yr old division.

I ran the 10k event. But this post is about the kids, so check back in a day or two for my race report.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-02-22T09:29:00.000-08:00

Jon Blais - The Blazeman. Watch this video about the ALS warrior poet and get inspired.

After being diagnosed with ALS, Jon Blais finished the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon with a total time of 16:28:56 in 2005. He died from Lou Gehrig's disease on May 27, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vrjp2P0GlE

T Minus 9

2010-02-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

February 21st - Nine months until race day! tick-tock tick-tock...

February was a good month with two organized races - The Rose Bowl Half Marathon, and the Tour de Palm Springs Century. I might also run the Kids on the Run 10k next Sunday, but it will probably be a race morning decision.

My long ride was rained out yesterday morning, so I did a high intensity 10k run instead. Today I did interval work on the bike for about an hour. I'll be doing intervals at least once a week to try and increase my functional threshold power (FTP) which is currently at 210 watts.

March has a couple of possible running events, and one that I'm already signed up for:

3/7 - Ventura Half Marathon
3/20 - Pasadena 5k (there's also a sprint reverse tri, but the tri distance is so short that I can't justify the $85 entry)
3/27 - Chesebro Half Marathon (already signed up)

Tour de Palm Springs - Results

2010-02-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

Right after the finish of the Tour de Palm Springs

I have a new PR for an organized Century ride. My previous best was 6:04 for the 2005 Solvang's Finest Century. My new record, from the Tour de Palm Springs, is 5:58.

Now, the reality is, it's hard to compare the Solvang ride and the Palm Springs ride since they are completely different rides. Unlike a running race, Century rides are not typically an exact distance. In fact they can vary by as much as 10 or 20 miles and still be considered a Century. If I recall correctly, the Solvang Century was actually a 100 mile ride, whereas the Palm Springs Century was 102 miles. 2 miles might not seem like a big difference, and it's really not, but even at a fairly quick 20 miles per hour pace, that extra 2 miles adds an additional 6 minutes. The Palm Springs ride also seemed to have a lot more stop lights than any other Century ride I've ever finished. At one point, around mile 65, I thought I might finish as early as 5:45 - 5:50, but I struggled a bit towards the end, and I also hit a string of lights in the last 10 miles that not only added a lot of "stopped" time, but also lowered my average speed because I had to slow down, stop, then speed back up at each light. On the other hand, the Solvang ride had more climbing, so that probably evens things out a bit.

The total time of 5:58 breaks down to roughly 20 minutes of 'stopped' time, and 5 hours and 38 minutes of riding time. The 'stopped' time includes refilling water bottles, picking up food, a restroom stop, and traffic related stops for red lights and stop signs.

There were a total of 5 SAG (Support And Gear) stations along the course. I rolled through the first SAG station at mile 15 without stopping - but there was so much congestion, that I still had to get off the bike and walk it through. Since I didn't actually stop, the timer on my computer kept ticking away, so the congestion here just lowered my average speed, but didn't count towards the 'stopped' time.

The second station was at mile 27. I stopped at the second station for less than 3 minutes just to fill up a water bottle and roll out.

The third station was at the 51 mile mark. I finished the first half in 2hrs 50min. The first half of the course contained most of the climbing, so it was good to be half-done in under 3hrs. SAG #3 was at the mid-point of the course and it seemed like everyone was off the bike and relaxing - sort of taking a lunch break, so it took a while to get through it. By the time I got back on the road, I had spent almost 6 minutes at station #3. I didn't really need that long of a break, but it was impossible to move through there any faster than I did.

SAG # 4 was at mile 71. This one had very little congestion and was easy to get in and out of. I'm sure I spent less than 3 minutes at this one.

The last SAG station was at mile 90. I rolled in to station #5 after 5hrs and 12 min of total elapsed time, for a very brief stop to tighten the bolts on my water bottle cage which had somehow loosened up. I had 48 minutes left finish the ride in under 6hrs, and 51 minutes left to finish and still PR the ride. It actually seemed easily doable since I could average just 16mph and still make it, but because of the number of stop lights in the last part of the ride, it proved to be more challenging than I thought it would, and I barely made it under 6hrs.

Although the final results and a new PR were good, the execution of my plan was not. I wanted to take the first third of the course pretty easy, but after analyzing the ride data after the race, I can see I actually did the opposite. The most accurate way to measure effort on a bicycle is to measure watts. That tells me how much work I was doing, regardless of weather, incline, speed, or other conditions. Speed is not a good indicator of effort on a bike, because riding downhill or with a tailwind can increase speed by quite a bit even though it requires little to no effort.

During the first two hours of the ride, my average power was 191 watts with large sections that averaged over 200 watts. During the next two hours, my average watts dropped to 165. And during the final 2 hours it bumped up a little to 171 watts. During the Ironman, I'd much rather have average watt splits that are much less varied, and I need to start out easy, and pump up the effort later IF I know I can spare the effort without hurting the run.

My power graph (smoothed for easier reading)
from the Tour de Palm Springs

I'm fairly new to riding with Power, and this was my first Century ride with a PowerTap, so it was a good learning experience. I'll keep working on increasing my available power during my training rides, and regulating my effort during Centuries and races leading up to IMAZ. My mission is to make sure I'm fully dialed in and have my power strategy completely figured out by November 21.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-02-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

Any Given Sunday - Half time speech

Tour de Palm Springs

2010-02-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

The Tour de Palm Springs is tomorrow morning at 7am.

My plan for the 102 mile ride is similar to my strategy for the Rose Bowl Half Marathon. Basically I will break the ride into thirds. The first 34 miles will be at a relatively easy pace. The second block of 34 will be a bit faster, and the final 34 miles will be at a more aggressive pace.

My current PR for a century ride is 6:04 from back in 2005 in Solvang. Century rides can be a bit tricky because the streets are not closed down to vehicle traffic, and cyclists have to obey traffic lights and stop signs. So it's not exactly like running in foot-race or most triathlons where we don't have to deal with traffic laws. But even with traffic lights and rest stops, my goal is to finish the ride tomorrow in under 6hrs for a new PR.

The Rose Bowl Half Marathon - Results

2010-02-08T20:04:00.000-08:00

Clear blue skies on race morning

The Rose Bowl Half Marathon was on Sunday, February 7, 2010.

My race plan called for an easy start - running 10 minute miles for the first four miles, then bumping the pace to 9 minute miles for the next four miles, 8 min/miles for miles 9,10,11 & 12, and a full speed run for the final 1.1 miles. Done exactly right, my finish time would have been 01:55:00.

My actual finish time was 01:51:23.7

I arrived and parked my truck at 6:30am. I figured out where the start line was and used the restroom, then quickly got back in the car and ran the heater until 7:30am because it was too cold to walk around (apologies to anyone living where it actually gets really cold).

The race started on time at 8am sharp. I love it when race directors are organized and start on time!

I lined up about four rows back from the start, and when the gun went off I tried to jog at my 10 min/mile pace. Dozens of people were passing me, and it was hard not to speed up, but I tried to stick to the plan and jog. The first mile was on paved road, and slightly down hill. I got to the first mile marker and checked my watch - 8:10.50. Whoa! Too fast. Gotta slow down.

Mile 2 - 8:27. Still too fast. Gotta slow down.
Mile 3 - 8:43. Better, but still need to slow down.
Mile 4 - 9:13. Still not anywhere near 10 minute miles, but the effort on the first four felt really easy, so I let it go and prepared to run the next set of 4 miles at a 9 min pace.

Mile 5 - 8:54.14. Pretty close.
Mile 6 - 9:01.41. Nailed it!
Mile 7 - 9:17.54. A little slow, but this was actually the hardest mile on the course. There was a very steep trail climb right at the beginning of mile 7, and once I crested the top I had to really pick it up to get the mile done in 9 minutes.
Mile 8 - 9:08.06. Not bad. Mostly downhill now for the remaining 5.1 miles

Mile 9 - 8:09.48. A little slow.
Mile 10 - 8:00.56. Perfect!
Mile 11 - 8:15.49. Close
Mile 12 - 7:42.82. By now I'm passing people left and right, but there's a heavy breather right on my tail. I've got just over 1 mile to drop him, but he's sticking to me like a shadow.

Mile 13 - 7:32.13. I tried to pull away from the heavy breather, but he's still right behind me.
Last 0.1 mile into the Rose Bowl - 0:48.42.

It came down to a sprint between me and the heavy breather as we entered the Rose Bowl and ran onto the grass. I ran fast as I could, but he was able to edge me out and cross the finish line a split second before me. It made for a really fun finish.

I'm sure without him pushing me (and vice-versa) we both would have been several seconds slower. Right after we crossed the finish, he turned around and shook my hand and thanked me for pushing him the final 2 miles of the course.

Here's my Garmin GPS info for the race. I accidentally started my watch again for a few seconds after the race was over, so ignore lap 15. That's just me standing by my truck.

In the men's 35-39 age group I was 16th out of 54

Out of all men, I was 87th out of 355

And overall I was 109th out of 635

Overall I think it was a great run. I sort of blew my plan for the first 4 miles, but stuck to the plan the rest of the way. Since I was able to hit my pace goals, even after a fast start, I was obviously too conservative on the plan in the first place. My main goal was to negative split the run and I did. The first half took roughly 58 minutes, and the second half took 53.

Effort wise, it's exactly how I want to run the marathon portion of Ironman Arizona. The only difference is I don't actually expect to speed up in the Ironman marathon. I just expect the effort to ramp up as I get into the later parts of the marathon, while I try to hang on and maintain my speed.

Next up, Tour de Palm Springs this coming Saturday.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-02-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

Ironman - You Will Do This

The race plan

2010-02-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

The Rose Bowl Half is coming up this Sunday, so here's the plan.

First of all, the Pasadena weather report shows a 50/50 chance of rain on Friday and Saturday, but perfect running weather for Sunday with 0% chance of rain. I hope the report is right.

I plan to break the race down into 4 segments:

Mile 0 - 4 at a 10min/mile, easy pace
Mile 5 - 8 at a 9min/mile pace
Mile 9 - 12 at an 8 min/mile pace
Mile 13 at sub-8 min/mile

That should get me to the finish line in less than 2hrs, but there's a bit of hill climbing and trail running to contend with, so I don't know how well the plan will work in real life. My PR for the Half Marathon distance is 1:45:48. I don't really have my eyes on a new PR, but I always like to know the number just in case things are going really well and I want to push it.

According to the official elevation chart, I'll be climbing pretty steady from mile 2 to mile 8.5. Luckily those miles correspond with my slower pace miles, but the climb could be tougher than I anticipate and might hurt my pace later in the run. The good news is I should be able to lean forward and get some extra free speed after mile 8.5 on the downhill. Downhill running tends to be tough on the quads, so I suspect I'll feel a little bit of the burn on Monday morning!

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-02-01T10:59:00.001-08:00

Don't say you can't

Fear of getting sick

2010-01-29T16:57:00.000-08:00

I caught a cold this week. It's not really that bad, but every time I get sick, I worry that it could happen during the critical training period right before Ironman, or even worse, I could be sick on race day.

But with two school age kids, I'm not sure I can really do anything to guarantee I don't get sick. I guess I'll just continue to make sure I'm getting enough rest between training sessions, wash my hands often, keep eating right, and keep my fingers crossed.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-01-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

These guys are so unbelievably fast!

T Minus Ten

2010-01-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a reminder from my friend Don, I realized two months have already gone by and it's ONLY Ten months until Ironman Arizona. Time keeps ticking away.

On a more current and pressing note, there's only two weeks until the Rosebowl 1/2 Marathon, and three weeks until my first Century of 2010.

The 1/2 marathon will be more like a training day, not a race for me. My plan is to take it out slow and try to negative split the run. The century on the other hand has PR potential with relatively little climbing, and a large number of participants to draft behind. So I plan to push it a little bit on the ride and see how it goes.

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-01-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

Fast before Long

2010-01-15T09:19:00.001-08:00

I spent quite a bit of time researching and studying different Ironman training methods and training plans in 2009 to prepare for the training I'd have to do this year. After a lot of reading, listening, and watching, I settled on a 20 week training plan from Endurance Nation.

There are several things I like about EN, but there are two main reasons I selected the plan from EN:

1. I agreed with and liked the way the coaches at EN break down their "Four Keys" to Ironman

Success on race day is about Execution, not Fitness
A successful race = a good run. Nothing on race day really mattters until you reach The Line which is normally around mile 18 on the run
Race within a Box defined by what you CAN control
At some point your body will want to quit. Be ready to convince your body to keep going with The One Thing that brought you to Ironman - whatever that might be.

2. I also like their idea of going Fast before going Long. The typical outseason guidance is to go long and slow during the off season so you can build a bigger engine—then make that engine faster when it matters: closer to the race. The coaches at EN turn that upside down and suggest spending the winter working on speed, so when you slow down, that "slow" pace is not as slow as it was last year. I like this idea since it's hard for me to do long training during the winter when it's colder and it gets dark so early. But it's pretty easy to make time for interval workouts and shorter, high-intensity work.

So here's how my year is broken down at a very high level:

Nov 23 - March 14 - 16 weeks of Fast training

March 15 - July 4 - 16 weeks of Long training

July 5 - November 20 - 20 week Training plan/General Race Prep

November 21 - Ironman Arizona!

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-01-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

Updated Events

2010-01-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

I decided NOT to sign up for the 13.1 Los Angeles half marathon, instead I'm signed up to do the Rose Bowl Half Marathon on February 7th.

I'm also confirmed for the Tour de Palm Springs on February 13th and the San Diego Century on May 22.

I am also seriously considering Student run LA 18-mile Friendship run on February 21, and a return to the Cruisin' the Conejo century again this year on May 8, 2010 and the

Motivational Movie Monday

2010-01-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

Motivational Movie Monday

2009-12-28T06:23:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T05:25:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Wrigleys

Motivational Movie Monday

2009-12-21T07:33:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the Art of Cycling

Hawaii Ironman World Championship

2009-12-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

NBC will be showing the 2010 Ironman World Championships at 1:30 Pacific Time today.

Event Calendar

2009-12-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

Time is just absolutely flying by. It's only a week until Christmas, and it's been almost a month since I signed up for Ironman Arizona. I really need to get some endurance events on the calendar so...

I'm going to sign up for the 13.1 Los Angeles half marathon on January 10. I'm not really prepared to run a fast half, but I need to get something on the calendar to get me out on the road, and I know I can finish a half without much trouble.

I'm also going to sign up for the Tour de Palm Springs Century ride on February 13th. My brother-in-law is going to ride this one with me so it should be a good event. I've heard it's a very fast and flat event so maybe I can also get a PR on the 100mi distance.

Motivational Movie Monday

2009-12-14T08:10:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's Monday again. Sorry for the lack of posts last week.

Here's a motivational movie from an age group competitor in this year's Ironman Arizona

Motivational Movie Monday

2009-12-07T08:18:00.000-08:00

Here's a motivational clip from 1964

Spunky Canyon Ride

2009-12-05T21:11:00.000-08:00

Saturday will typically be my long ride day.

Here's the Garmin Profile info for the 46 mile ride we did today.

Spunky Canyon 46 mile loop

Ironman Arizona Registration

2009-12-01T10:07:00.000-08:00

Apparently, when you register on-site, it's just a place-holder. Sometime between November 30 and December 14th, on-site registered athletes need to go online and complete the registration process.

My registration is complete!

Dear Jeff,

Congratulations! You are now registered for 2010 Ford Ironman Arizona. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.ironmanarizona.com

2010 Ford Ironman Arizona

Website: www.ironmanarizona.com

Contact info: arizona@ironman.com

Please notify arizona@ironman.com immediately if your information changes.

Thank you and good luck!

Ironman Athlete Services

Registration Details

Date & Time:	11/21/10
Location:	Tempe Town Lake (Map)
Purchased at:	12/01/09
Team:	Jeffrey Wrigley
Category:	On-Site Registration
Name:	Jeff Wrigley

Motivational Movie Monday

2009-11-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

Here's a fun motivational commercial featuring one of my favorite cyclists.

Race Day Jersey

2009-11-29T10:32:00.000-08:00

I spent a little bit of time watching cyclists go by during the 2009 Arizona Ironman race last weekend. I was trying to determine what color jersey and helmet would stand out and be easy to spot on race day.

Most people wear different combinations of black, blue, red, and white - making people wearing those colors more difficult to spot. The only color that really seemed to stand out to me, was yellow. It didn't have to be a completely yellow jersey - just some yellow stripes were usually enough to make the jersey stand out. So my new mission is to find a race-day jersey with some yellow in it. Ideally the yellow will be up in the shoulder, sleeve, and chest area where it will be most visible while riding. I also don't want to wear a jersey that advertises for a different race or a cycling team.

Here's one I found online at http://www.bicyclinghub.com/ that fits all of my criteria. It's also a racing cut jersey (tighter fit), so it might be perfect!

Volunteering at the 2009 Arizona Ironman - Third shift

2009-11-27T11:03:00.001-08:00

After my second shift ended, I took the opportunity to go run a full loop of the run course. The marathon portion of IMAZ is a 3-loop course, so by running one loop, I was able to preview the whole course. It was a fun run because the course was all setup with cones, motivational signs, chalk drawings, and directional arrows, but no athletes. It was great to be able to see the full marathon course, exactly as it will be on race day next year.

My third and final shift on race day was from 7pm - 9pm.

I arrived around 6:30pm for my final volunteer shift of the day. I was expecting a relatively easy shift. My assumption was that there would just be a handful of volunteers 'standing guard' at the gate, making sure only athletes or people with the correct 'ticket' were allowed in to transition, and then checking again to make sure that that number on the gear bag matched the number on the wrist-band or ticket.

The reality was quite different. When I strolled over at 6:30pm, there was a HUGE line of athletes waiting to get their bags. I'm not sure if they were worried about a stampede, or theft, or maybe a combination of both, but the athletes (or their designates) were only being allowed into transition if they were escorted by a volunteer. So here's how it was working:

Athletes lined up at the gate
Volunteer checked the wristband on athletes, or tickets on non-athletes to ensure they were allowed to enter
Each person had to wait until a volunteer could escort them in
Another volunteer checked to make sure their race number matched the bag number when they left

So, I was one of several volunteers escorting folks to their bags.

About half of the people in line were athletes that raced that day. The other half were people with a ticket allowing them to pick up the bags for a specific athlete. I always tried to line up with and escort an athlete so I could talk to them about the day.

Whenever I escorted an athlete, I would ask them if they wanted to walk with me to get their bag, or if they wanted to wait by the exit and I would get it for them. It was about 50/50, with half asking me to please go get it for them because they were having trouble walking, and half saying that they wanted to walk or else they might stiffen up too much. Whenever they wanted to wait - I would run to get their stuff so they didn't have to wait too long. Whenever they wanted to walk, I would ask them how they did, if they ran into any problems, and congratulate them on their day.

Although it was slower when they wanted to walk, it was very cool to get to interview all of those athletes right after they finished an Ironman. I talked to one guy who was thrilled with his day even though he had three flats on the bike course, and only had enough equipment to change two flats. So he ended up waiting for the course mechanics to help him fix his third flat for almost 45 minutes! I walked with two different pros - one who finished 12th overall, and one who didn't even start the run because he said he was having such a bad day. I talked to several first timers, and just as many multiple-finishers. I got advice on everything from where to line up for the swim start, to what to put into my special needs bags, and what to eat before, during, and after the race! But the coolest thing was that every single athlete was so thankful for the help. And not just the help I was giving them, but the help they got all day from the 3000+ volunteers. It was very gratifying to receive thanks on behalf of all the volunteers that helped make the race happen

Volunteering at the 2009 Arizona Ironman - Second shift

2009-11-26T14:23:00.001-08:00

My second volunteer shift was immediately after the first.

9:30 - 12 noon:
By 9:30am, the transition area was clear of all athletes and everyone who was still racing was out on the bike course.

During the first transition, athletes come out of the water, take off their wetsuits, grab their bike gear-bag, and then change into cycling clothes. The wetsuit, goggles, towel, cap, and any other equipment or clothing from the swim get stuffed into the T1 bag and tossed in one of several large piles and bins.

Our job during this second shift was to clean out the changing tent and gear bags area of any trash or misplaced equipment. Then re-collect all 2500 T1 gear bags, and put them back in order from 1 - 2500 so the athletes would be able to recover them at the end of the day.

This shift wasn't nearly as fun as the first shift, but since there were so many volunteers, we had the tent cleared out, and all the gear bags in place and in order by 10:30am. Since nobody would finish the bike section of the course before noon, it meant the second shift was essentially over and all the transition area volunteers went and ate lunch together in the volunteer tent.

Volunteering at the 2009 Arizona Ironman - First shift

2009-11-25T21:24:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Arizona Ironman was held on November 22 this year.

I volunteered to work in the transition area, handling Gear Bags

GEAR BAGS: Like Bikes, athletes are required to rack their gear in separate bags the day before the race. These bags will be checked in the day before the race as well as race day retrieval and assistance to the athletes with these transitions. Volunteers will help get athlete bags and help re-rack the bags so the athlete can retrieve it post-race.

All the gear bags, lined up and ready for racers

I signed up and worked three separate shifts on race day:

7am - 9:30am

The gear bags transition area is a mad house during the morning swim-to-bike transition. I specifically picked this time slot because I wanted a high energy, exciting volunteer job.

The race starts at 7am, and the transition area is right next to the swim start. So all the volunteers in the transition area walked over to the swim start to watch the start of the race. If you've never seen the start of an Ironman, it's definitely something to put on your to-do list. Over 2500 athletes are treading water, just waiting for the gun to go off. When it does, the relatively calm morning lake is quickly transformed into a churning, white water river with feet and elbows flying everywhere. It's really amazing.

Around 7:50am, the fastest swimmers start to come out of the water. These are mostly the pro athletes, and since there aren't too many of them, it's pretty easy to spot them as they come up the chute and have their gear bag ready as they run by.

At 8:10 it's starting to get really busy. Numbers are being yelled out by the volunteer with the bull-horn as we rush around trying to locate bags for each person as they come through.

By 8:20 - the age-group athletes are coming in 100's at a time. At this point, it's better to get out of the way and just point the athletes toward the right section because there are so many of them coming through at the same time. Luckily, this mad rush only lasts about 10 minutes, and then it slows down enough to be manageable again.

This video is taken during the 'rush'. Posted on YouTube by govenice

By 8:30, the massive wave of people has started to slow down a little, and over half of the bags have been handed out, making it easier to find bags for the remaining athletes.

At some point during the mass of people coming through during the last 10-15 minutes, one guy picked up his bag and went into the changing tent to get ready for the bike. Several minutes later, he came back out to the gear bags area in a bit of a panic because he was missing one of his cycling shoes. Our volunteer captain announced that we had an athlete missing a shoe, so all 30 of us quickly searched our area to see if maybe it fell out of his bag and was lying on the ground. Unfortunately, it was nowhere. We even started looking in the remaining bags to see if we could find a matching shoe - but no luck. I can still see the look on his face, and I remember thinking how that might just be the most horrible way to end an Ironman attempt. It was pretty clear that the shoe wasn't in the gear bag area - so I could only imagine two possibilities: 1) the guy didn't pack his shoe, or 2) some other athlete ended up with the shoe in his bag and brought it into the changing tent. So I immediately ran over to the changing tent and started scanning the floor for a single SIDI genius, size 10.5 shoe. After only 30 seconds of looking, I FOUND IT! I asked the guy standing next to the shoe if it was his, and it wasn't. Then I picked up the shoe and held it over my head. "Is this anyone's shoe?" I yelled. No reply. So I ran it back out to the gear bags area and shouted to the athlete, "Is this it?" His face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. I really felt like I saved his day. I wrote down his number (#837), so I could keep track of him online and make sure he finished (he did).

By 9am, most athletes are through transition and on the bike. The few athletes that are still coming through get lots of help because the ratio of volunteers to athletes is very good at this point.

9:20am is the swim cut-off. From transition, I can hear the announcer at the edge of the water encouraging the swimmers who are close to the stairs to hurry up and get out before their time runs out. Then he announces that the swim is cut-off. Anyone still in the water is DONE. After the cutoff, I took a rough count and there were around 40 gear bags still left in the transition area. That's 40 people who paid close to $600, and probably trained for the better part of a year, and didn't finish the swim.

Overall, it was an awesome experience. I only got yelled at by one athlete when I mis-heard his number and held up the wrong bag for him. I thought I heard 1054, but he was 1064. So I quickly switched bags and he was on his way. I didn't take it personal - he was jazzed and racing. Everyone else was very thankful and polite. And finding that shoe for #837 was the highlight of the morning.

Things I learned during the first shift:

Tie a ribbon or use bright colored tape on your gear bag so it's easy to spot. I'll probably be coming through transition during that 8:20-8:30 rush, and the bags with a ribbon tied on them were much easier to spot.

Go into the gear bags section in the morning before the race and figure out where your bag is (which aisle and which row) so you know exactly where to go after the swim.

Yell your number to the person with the bull-horn as you come through the chute. He'll relay it to the volunteers, and they'll have your bag off the ground and ready for you.

Pre-open sunscreen bottles before you pack them. I saw some athletes struggling to open the foil cap on new bottles of sunscreen.

Cinch the top of the bag closed to make sure nothing falls out. Around half of the bags were not cinched closed. I'm honestly surprised only one athlete lost an important piece of gear.

Stay calm and smooth going through transition. Some people were really acting like a chicken with their head cut off and it just made then slower, not faster. "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."

Motivational Movie Monday

2009-11-23T04:51:00.000-08:00

The countdown has started! I'm heading back over to the Arizona Ironman finish line area this morning to sign up for the 2010 race.

It may seem a bit crazy to take time off from work, vacation in Arizona, and wake up at 5am every single day of your vacation just to sign up for a race that costs over $500 to enter, and might take as long as 17hrs to finish. The truth is, it often seems crazy to me. But I've had this event in the back of my mind for over 20yrs. My first exposure to Ironman was back in the early 80's on a show called Wide World of Sports. Take a look back to 1982 and the televised race that started it all for me.

Getting ready to get ready

2009-11-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

It's less than two weeks until the 2009 Ironman Arizona race in Tempe Arizona.

For those that don't know, an Ironman is a combination of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run - all completed in one day, in 17hrs or less.

I'll be heading out with the whole family on Friday November 20th. Volunteering at this years event on Sunday, November 22nd. Then signing up for next years event on Monday, November 23rd.

The goals for this years Arizona trip include:

Sign up & pay for next year
Volunteer - handing out gear bags during the T1 transition
Book a hotel room near the event for 2010
Ride one loop of the bike course
Take a look at what food and drink is offered at the aid stations, and how efficiently the bike course hand-offs are made at aid stations and special needs
Scout the course for the best spectator spots
Figure out what athlete colors are easiest to spot on the bike and run course
Figure out how to keep the kids occupied and entertained during the race
Try to track an athlete using GPS to see how accurate it is

I've started to put together a loose annual plan. Roughly 4 -months of speed work, 4-months of distance work, then a much tighter schedule during the last 4-months specifically training for the 2010 Ironman Arizona event.