Hello Dear Readers!
I received my race pictures for the Iron Star 70.3 Triathlon yesterday. Check them out in my Gallery section of my web site.
Training
Starting to gear back into training now. Did a 20 mile bike ride on Wednesday and have a 1.5 mile swim to do today. You will start seeing more of my training being oriented towards running. I will have some race entry announcements over the weekend to let you know what I am going to be doing in early 2010.
That's all for now.
Tri your best,
Bill
Friday, November 13, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Iron Star 70.3 Triathlon Race Report
Hello Dear Readers!
Wow what a race! As I sit at my computer, my legs are still sore from my swimming, biking and running yesterday. I feel pretty good about my progress this year and my resulting performance in this race. Let's get on to the race report!
Pre-Race
I decided last minute to get a hotel room near the race site on Saturday. Booked a cheapo hotel room and drove out to Conroe area that afternoon. I justified to my wife that I needed the extra hour and a half of sleep in order to perform at the race. Lovely woman agreed with me (Thanks honey).
Checked into the hotel and got all my gear secured. I saw on the horizon the glowing mantle of heaven called "IHOP"! Mentally I said "YES!!!" and got in my car for my pre-race ritual dinner.
As some of you may know, I like to eat a HUUUUGGGGEEEE breakfast as my pre-race meal. So I had eggs, bacon, pancakes, french toast, coffee, orange juice and wheat toast. Here are some before and after pics for you:
And we are done!
After my meal, I rolled myself out the door and back to the hotel where I organized my race gear and settled in for the night. Drank Gatorade and water to make sure I am fully hydrated for race morning. I think I finally got to sleep around 11 PM.
Race Morning
I had my three alarms (yes I am paranoid about those kinds of things) wake me up at 4:30 AM. Had some coffee, a muscle milk and a banana from the hotel. I continued to drink lots of Gatorade and water to keep hydrated. I got out the door around 5:30 AM and arrived at the race site 15 minutes later or so. The weather this morning was kinda nice. Overcast and in the high sixties. I could tell it was going to be a windy day so that could figure into the race some. This race was hosted at the Del Lago resort over on Lake Conroe. The parking area was about a mile from transition so it was a but of a hoof to get to the race site and settled in before they closed the transition area off at 6:45 AM. I was a little rushed but did get a chance to visit the porta potty at least once before I got my wetsuit on. As I walked to the start I chatted up some Bay Area Multisport members I recognized and that always eases the nervousness at the start of a race. My new Garmin 310X was charged and set in multisport mode. My heart rate was pretty elevated (85 BPM) but that was pretty normal since I get gitty at the start of a race.
The Swim (1.2 Miles)
The swim is a beach start with swimmers going off in waves. The first wave started at 7 AM sharp. This was the women's division (white swim caps). We were next at 7:05 (the mens 35-39 + Clydesdale). Funny that the last thing I thought about before the gun went off was that this was the last triathlon I would be doing in that age group. Starting next year I race in the 40-44 age group. Maybe I will be more competitive?
This is a pretty small venue with about 400 racers (Triathlon and Aquabike). Not a huge number of people in my age group, so the start of the swim was not as frantic as at Lake Placid Ironman I did back in July.
The swim course is a little cooky in that you have to keep the buoys to your right instead of your left like normal. This is due to the clockwise course you have to take. Below is a picture of my swim as shown by my GPS. Note that I did not do as much side to side swimming (this is a good thing), but my GPS did not work all the great when it came to the distance it said I swam. But you get the idea (Click to make bigger):
The swim went pretty well for me. I passed quite a few people and I knew I was doing well when I caught up to some of the white swim capped ladies. Of course, ton's of people swam past me I'm sure since I am not the fasted guy out there. It was windy and the seas were choppy, but it didn't bother me that much. Had a few collisions like normal, but nothing too bad. I finished the 1.2 mile swim in 39 Minutes and 47 seconds. Still a little slower than I would like, but I felt good throughout.
Transition 1
I exited the water and a few nice ladies stripped it off me and I ran into transition 1 (T1) to get my bike. I was sort of surprised at all the bikes that were still in T1 but then again I was in the 2nd wave so there would be plenty of people behind me. I took a little extra time to wipe my feet off so that I don't get any chafing or blisters for the bike and run. I exited T1 in 3 minutes and 18 seconds.
The Bike (56 Miles)
The bike course was pretty challenging. Not Lake Placid challenging mind you, but by no means was this a flat course. Had lots of rolling hills. Add the head wind and you legs are hurting! Here is the course as seen by my GPS watch (click to make bigger):
I passed a few people here and there and was passed in turn. It's funny how they put your age on the rear left calf of your leg. I think this is to taunt you into pedaling faster when someone in your age group passes you. Of course, I got mad when some 20 year old would pass me and I would utter under my breath (hey buddy, let's see how fast you are 20 years from now with a job and family!).
I know I hydrated correctly because about 20 miles in I had to go make a call to nature. Of course, if I was really a pro, I would just go as I rode (liquid of course) and not lose much time. But I just could not do it. So at the next water stop I got off the bike and went to the porta potty. I lost a few minutes there, but the relief was great!
The ride was very beautiful. There were sections where overhanging trees would turn the road into a green tunnel. There were some very fast downhills where I hit about 35 MPH. I finished the bike in 2 Hours and 49 minutes. I averaged 20 MPH. Not as fast as the last 70.3 race I did, but that course was very flat.
Transition 2
I got to T2 feeling really good and raring to go for the run. I still had a lot of pep and I was not dehydrated. Got my bike stowed and threw on my running shoes and race belt. Grabbed my running hat and off I went! Pretty fast time through T2 at 1 Minute 53 seconds.
The Run (13.1 Miles)
I started out the run going at a great pace. As usual I started faster than usual, but that is just who I am. First mile was done in 9 minutes and 17 seconds (GPS said so). I still felt good so my second mile was in 8 minutes and 58 seconds. After that it was all gravy. No walking, not even at the water! The run course was pretty gentle with some slight gradual hills (Click to make bigger):
I never hit a wall and I was pretty consistent with my speed. Had a few miles where I did slow down a but and reached the 10 minute per mile mark, but made up for it during other miles. At mile 13 I picked up the pace because some dude was trying to catch me (that was soooooo not going to happen) and did it in 9 minutes and 8 seconds. I ran through the tape with a run time of 2 hours and 6 minutes.
Summary and Race Place
My total race time was officially 5 Hours 40 Minutes and 54 Seconds. I placed 10th in the 35-39 age group (out of 42) and I placed 67 overall! That put my in the top 23% of my age group and the top 28% of the racers. I was really happy with that. Now if I had done the Lone Star 70.3 (which is totally flat) at this fitness level, I am thinking I would have been 20 minutes faster.
Anyway, it has been a great year and this was a great race to finish it off with. Keep tuning into my website for further blog updates as I will be switching to some running races till April of next year. Until then....
Tri your best!
Bill
Wow what a race! As I sit at my computer, my legs are still sore from my swimming, biking and running yesterday. I feel pretty good about my progress this year and my resulting performance in this race. Let's get on to the race report!
Pre-Race
I decided last minute to get a hotel room near the race site on Saturday. Booked a cheapo hotel room and drove out to Conroe area that afternoon. I justified to my wife that I needed the extra hour and a half of sleep in order to perform at the race. Lovely woman agreed with me (Thanks honey).
Checked into the hotel and got all my gear secured. I saw on the horizon the glowing mantle of heaven called "IHOP"! Mentally I said "YES!!!" and got in my car for my pre-race ritual dinner.
As some of you may know, I like to eat a HUUUUGGGGEEEE breakfast as my pre-race meal. So I had eggs, bacon, pancakes, french toast, coffee, orange juice and wheat toast. Here are some before and after pics for you:
And we are done!
After my meal, I rolled myself out the door and back to the hotel where I organized my race gear and settled in for the night. Drank Gatorade and water to make sure I am fully hydrated for race morning. I think I finally got to sleep around 11 PM.
Race Morning
I had my three alarms (yes I am paranoid about those kinds of things) wake me up at 4:30 AM. Had some coffee, a muscle milk and a banana from the hotel. I continued to drink lots of Gatorade and water to keep hydrated. I got out the door around 5:30 AM and arrived at the race site 15 minutes later or so. The weather this morning was kinda nice. Overcast and in the high sixties. I could tell it was going to be a windy day so that could figure into the race some. This race was hosted at the Del Lago resort over on Lake Conroe. The parking area was about a mile from transition so it was a but of a hoof to get to the race site and settled in before they closed the transition area off at 6:45 AM. I was a little rushed but did get a chance to visit the porta potty at least once before I got my wetsuit on. As I walked to the start I chatted up some Bay Area Multisport members I recognized and that always eases the nervousness at the start of a race. My new Garmin 310X was charged and set in multisport mode. My heart rate was pretty elevated (85 BPM) but that was pretty normal since I get gitty at the start of a race.
The Swim (1.2 Miles)
The swim is a beach start with swimmers going off in waves. The first wave started at 7 AM sharp. This was the women's division (white swim caps). We were next at 7:05 (the mens 35-39 + Clydesdale). Funny that the last thing I thought about before the gun went off was that this was the last triathlon I would be doing in that age group. Starting next year I race in the 40-44 age group. Maybe I will be more competitive?
This is a pretty small venue with about 400 racers (Triathlon and Aquabike). Not a huge number of people in my age group, so the start of the swim was not as frantic as at Lake Placid Ironman I did back in July.
The swim course is a little cooky in that you have to keep the buoys to your right instead of your left like normal. This is due to the clockwise course you have to take. Below is a picture of my swim as shown by my GPS. Note that I did not do as much side to side swimming (this is a good thing), but my GPS did not work all the great when it came to the distance it said I swam. But you get the idea (Click to make bigger):
The swim went pretty well for me. I passed quite a few people and I knew I was doing well when I caught up to some of the white swim capped ladies. Of course, ton's of people swam past me I'm sure since I am not the fasted guy out there. It was windy and the seas were choppy, but it didn't bother me that much. Had a few collisions like normal, but nothing too bad. I finished the 1.2 mile swim in 39 Minutes and 47 seconds. Still a little slower than I would like, but I felt good throughout.
Transition 1
I exited the water and a few nice ladies stripped it off me and I ran into transition 1 (T1) to get my bike. I was sort of surprised at all the bikes that were still in T1 but then again I was in the 2nd wave so there would be plenty of people behind me. I took a little extra time to wipe my feet off so that I don't get any chafing or blisters for the bike and run. I exited T1 in 3 minutes and 18 seconds.
The Bike (56 Miles)
The bike course was pretty challenging. Not Lake Placid challenging mind you, but by no means was this a flat course. Had lots of rolling hills. Add the head wind and you legs are hurting! Here is the course as seen by my GPS watch (click to make bigger):
I passed a few people here and there and was passed in turn. It's funny how they put your age on the rear left calf of your leg. I think this is to taunt you into pedaling faster when someone in your age group passes you. Of course, I got mad when some 20 year old would pass me and I would utter under my breath (hey buddy, let's see how fast you are 20 years from now with a job and family!).
I know I hydrated correctly because about 20 miles in I had to go make a call to nature. Of course, if I was really a pro, I would just go as I rode (liquid of course) and not lose much time. But I just could not do it. So at the next water stop I got off the bike and went to the porta potty. I lost a few minutes there, but the relief was great!
The ride was very beautiful. There were sections where overhanging trees would turn the road into a green tunnel. There were some very fast downhills where I hit about 35 MPH. I finished the bike in 2 Hours and 49 minutes. I averaged 20 MPH. Not as fast as the last 70.3 race I did, but that course was very flat.
Transition 2
I got to T2 feeling really good and raring to go for the run. I still had a lot of pep and I was not dehydrated. Got my bike stowed and threw on my running shoes and race belt. Grabbed my running hat and off I went! Pretty fast time through T2 at 1 Minute 53 seconds.
The Run (13.1 Miles)
I started out the run going at a great pace. As usual I started faster than usual, but that is just who I am. First mile was done in 9 minutes and 17 seconds (GPS said so). I still felt good so my second mile was in 8 minutes and 58 seconds. After that it was all gravy. No walking, not even at the water! The run course was pretty gentle with some slight gradual hills (Click to make bigger):
I never hit a wall and I was pretty consistent with my speed. Had a few miles where I did slow down a but and reached the 10 minute per mile mark, but made up for it during other miles. At mile 13 I picked up the pace because some dude was trying to catch me (that was soooooo not going to happen) and did it in 9 minutes and 8 seconds. I ran through the tape with a run time of 2 hours and 6 minutes.
Summary and Race Place
My total race time was officially 5 Hours 40 Minutes and 54 Seconds. I placed 10th in the 35-39 age group (out of 42) and I placed 67 overall! That put my in the top 23% of my age group and the top 28% of the racers. I was really happy with that. Now if I had done the Lone Star 70.3 (which is totally flat) at this fitness level, I am thinking I would have been 20 minutes faster.
Anyway, it has been a great year and this was a great race to finish it off with. Keep tuning into my website for further blog updates as I will be switching to some running races till April of next year. Until then....
Tri your best!
Bill
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Iron Star is Almost Here! Also new web features at WilliamChoppa.com!
Hello Dear Readers!
2009 In Review
Well the Triathlon season is winding down. In just a few days I will be doing my last race of the year. It's amazing how my journey has unfolded. My fitness has gotten better and better. Of course, there is still MUCH more improvement that I can do. Thanks again to Kevin and the folks at Tri on the Run for coaching me and being a sponsor for my efforts.
Once this race is over, we go into off season training mode. This means a bit more cross training and a more focus on running. I am pondering doing the Bandera 100K race in January. As you might recall, that was the only race I ever DNF'd (Did Not Finish). If I do the race, I will be very very focused on the training and taking this race seriously.
Training
I still love my new Garmin 310X GPS watch. Since it is waterproof, I plan on using it during all portions of this weekend's race. I am now uploading this data to the Garmin Connect page and sharing the details with all of you.
I have been in taper mode the last few weeks so my training log is a little easy and I am enjoying the few days I get off per my training plan.
Website Updates
Big news! I have added a "Training" tab to www.williamchoppa.com
This makes it much easier for you all to see my GPS training data and it also makes it easier for me to share the info without having to update the blog all the time.
Keep coming back to the site often to look at the GPS data. That's all for now.
Tri your best,
Bill
2009 In Review
Well the Triathlon season is winding down. In just a few days I will be doing my last race of the year. It's amazing how my journey has unfolded. My fitness has gotten better and better. Of course, there is still MUCH more improvement that I can do. Thanks again to Kevin and the folks at Tri on the Run for coaching me and being a sponsor for my efforts.
Once this race is over, we go into off season training mode. This means a bit more cross training and a more focus on running. I am pondering doing the Bandera 100K race in January. As you might recall, that was the only race I ever DNF'd (Did Not Finish). If I do the race, I will be very very focused on the training and taking this race seriously.
Training
I still love my new Garmin 310X GPS watch. Since it is waterproof, I plan on using it during all portions of this weekend's race. I am now uploading this data to the Garmin Connect page and sharing the details with all of you.
I have been in taper mode the last few weeks so my training log is a little easy and I am enjoying the few days I get off per my training plan.
Website Updates
Big news! I have added a "Training" tab to www.williamchoppa.com
This makes it much easier for you all to see my GPS training data and it also makes it easier for me to share the info without having to update the blog all the time.
Keep coming back to the site often to look at the GPS data. That's all for now.
Tri your best,
Bill
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
New Garmin Watch!
Hello Dear Readers!
Well I got my birthday present this week. I cannot believe I am going to be in the 40 age group next racing season. Anyway, I bought the Garmin 310X watch. It is totally awesome! Now I can use it during the swim, bike and run portions of my races.
Here is the link to the product itself:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142&pID=27335
Now I can post my activities more easily to Garmin connect. For example, I did a indoor session yesterday and followed that up with a 3 mile transition run. Here are the links to my data:
This is the data from the indoor trainer. Note that there really isn't any distance since I stayed in one place. But I tracked my heart rate.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16786510
Here is the data I did immediately afterword for my run. Felt really good and did some awesome paces.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16786511
The race is quickly approaching and I feel pretty good. Had my last long ride and run on Sunday. Here are the links to that workout:
56 Mile Bike:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16633786
4 Mile Transition Run:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16633782
That's all for now!
Tri your best,
Bill
Well I got my birthday present this week. I cannot believe I am going to be in the 40 age group next racing season. Anyway, I bought the Garmin 310X watch. It is totally awesome! Now I can use it during the swim, bike and run portions of my races.
Here is the link to the product itself:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142&pID=27335
Now I can post my activities more easily to Garmin connect. For example, I did a indoor session yesterday and followed that up with a 3 mile transition run. Here are the links to my data:
This is the data from the indoor trainer. Note that there really isn't any distance since I stayed in one place. But I tracked my heart rate.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16786510
Here is the data I did immediately afterword for my run. Felt really good and did some awesome paces.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16786511
The race is quickly approaching and I feel pretty good. Had my last long ride and run on Sunday. Here are the links to that workout:
56 Mile Bike:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16633786
4 Mile Transition Run:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16633782
That's all for now!
Tri your best,
Bill
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Where's Bill?
Hello Dear Readers!
It's been a while hasn't it. The fourth quarter is such a busy time for me. Long hours at work, not much time to train (unlike the summer when I can train almost as much as I want). So suffice it to say, I HAVE been training, but it's been a little spotty the last three weeks or so. On top of that, my right knee has been bothering me AGAIN. I went to my coach to see what he can do to help and when he inspected my knee, he saw that I must have injured my right quadricep. He said it was so tight, that it was pulling on the ligaments of the knee on that leg and that is why I had pain when I ran. So we started doing the foam roller every other day. Oh man, does that hurt! But it is doing the trick.
Yesterday I ran 8 miles at a pretty good clip and I had very little pain and was really excited about it! Of course today I am supposed to ride 70 miles. Guess what, I got called into a work situation and it looks like it may be all day. So I guess I will do some kind of ride this evening on the trainer indoors.
I think I am still basically ready for the race in November. I have not trained as consistently as I would normally like, but I am confident I will get through the race fine, barring any mechanical issues on the bike.
Other things that are going on with me these days:
My Teeth
I am really bad about taking good care of my teeth. My job doesn't offer dental insurance so I rarely got them cleaned. I noticed a few weeks ago that somehow I broke a tooth and decided to bite the bullet and pay for personal dental insurance. I went to the dentist expecting to hear that I had lots of cavities etc. Oh yeah, the cavities were there, along with multiple root canals and crowns. Had the major work done last week and am going to have more done tomorrow. So on top of all this, my mouth and jaw are very tender.
Lone Star is now officially a Ironman 70.3 race!
This is from Iornman.com's press release:
"World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) continues its expansion of the Ironman 70.3 Series, with the announcement of two additions to its 2010 event series. The former Lone Star Half and Mooseman Half Triathlons boast new names as official Ironman 70.3 events. The races, now known as Ironman 70.3 Lone Star and Ironman 70.3 Mooseman, will continue to be produced by Race Director, Keith Jordan and Endorfun Sports and become part of a series that includes nearly 40 races worldwide. Each Ironman 70.3 qualifies athletes for the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 taking place each November in Clearwater, Fla."
That's all for now.
Tri your best!
Bill
It's been a while hasn't it. The fourth quarter is such a busy time for me. Long hours at work, not much time to train (unlike the summer when I can train almost as much as I want). So suffice it to say, I HAVE been training, but it's been a little spotty the last three weeks or so. On top of that, my right knee has been bothering me AGAIN. I went to my coach to see what he can do to help and when he inspected my knee, he saw that I must have injured my right quadricep. He said it was so tight, that it was pulling on the ligaments of the knee on that leg and that is why I had pain when I ran. So we started doing the foam roller every other day. Oh man, does that hurt! But it is doing the trick.
Yesterday I ran 8 miles at a pretty good clip and I had very little pain and was really excited about it! Of course today I am supposed to ride 70 miles. Guess what, I got called into a work situation and it looks like it may be all day. So I guess I will do some kind of ride this evening on the trainer indoors.
I think I am still basically ready for the race in November. I have not trained as consistently as I would normally like, but I am confident I will get through the race fine, barring any mechanical issues on the bike.
Other things that are going on with me these days:
My Teeth
I am really bad about taking good care of my teeth. My job doesn't offer dental insurance so I rarely got them cleaned. I noticed a few weeks ago that somehow I broke a tooth and decided to bite the bullet and pay for personal dental insurance. I went to the dentist expecting to hear that I had lots of cavities etc. Oh yeah, the cavities were there, along with multiple root canals and crowns. Had the major work done last week and am going to have more done tomorrow. So on top of all this, my mouth and jaw are very tender.
Lone Star is now officially a Ironman 70.3 race!
This is from Iornman.com's press release:
"World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) continues its expansion of the Ironman 70.3 Series, with the announcement of two additions to its 2010 event series. The former Lone Star Half and Mooseman Half Triathlons boast new names as official Ironman 70.3 events. The races, now known as Ironman 70.3 Lone Star and Ironman 70.3 Mooseman, will continue to be produced by Race Director, Keith Jordan and Endorfun Sports and become part of a series that includes nearly 40 races worldwide. Each Ironman 70.3 qualifies athletes for the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 taking place each November in Clearwater, Fla."
That's all for now.
Tri your best!
Bill
Monday, September 14, 2009
Iron Star Training 9/1/2009 -9/14/2009 Plus Ultramarathon Thoughts
Hello dear readers!
It seems that I am getting into the habit of posting my workouts in every two weeks. I apologize. Work has really started to get crazy and by the time I'm done with work, then my training and family time, it's well past midnight and I have no desire to post. Of course, if I just posted daily, then it would be a lot easier. We'll see what we can do about that! Anyway, after the Iron Star triathlon in November, I am thinking about entering some 50 mile and 100 KM running races. I'll see how I feel and if my coach is up to keeping my training focused on these races, I just might do them. Next year, I would really like to do a 100 mile running only race. Now THAT would be something. With that said, on with the training logs:
Bike Trainer/Run Session Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
This workout was a 25 mile bike session on the trainer followed immediately by a 4 mile run. The bike session was done as:
10 MIN WARM UP
6 min. at middle Zone4 / 3 min easy
8 min. at mid to high Zone 4 / 3 min easy
6 min. at hi Zone 4-5a / 3 min easy
8 min. at Zone 5a / 3 min easy
10 min. cool down
The run was done at a 9:35 minute per mile pace.
Swim and Bike Session for Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Today I had two separate workouts. The first was 20 miles on the road with the aero bike in heart rate zone 2 (140 beats per minute). Then later that day I swam 2000 meters in the pool with the pull buoy.
Run and Weight Training for Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
Today I had a 6 mile run. This was done as:
1 mile warm up
3 x 1 mile in 8:30
w/ .5m rec. jog between each
1 mile cool down
Then that evening I did weight training for my lower body.
Swim Session for Friday, September 4th, 2009
I swam 2500 meters today in the pool. This was done as:
Warm Up: 500 easy
Main Set: 5 x 300 all on 30 sec. rest, moderate to hard
Cool Down: 50 kick/400 choice easy pull/50 kick
Run Session for Saturday, September 5th, 2009
Today was a long run. I ran 12 miles at a 10:10 minute per mile pace. It was really hot by the time I got going, but felt pretty decent.
Bike Session for Sunday, September 6th, 2009
This day was a long bike ride of 60 miles, followed by a 4 mile transition run. This was done as:
Zone 2-low3
@88-95 cadence
w/ 20 miles in low Zone 4
Run Transition
4 mile at 9:40, 9:45, 10:10, 10:10 minute per mile paces.
Swim Session for Monday, September 7th, 2009
Today's workout was a 2500 meter swim session done as:
Warm Up: 5 x 200 as: 2 free/ 1drill/ 1 kick on 25 sec. rest
Main Set: 8 x 100 free on 15 sec. rest, 4 x 100 drills on 20 sec. rest
Cool Down: 300 choice easy
Then I did a upper body weight training session.
Bike/Run Session for Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Today I had a combo bike/run combination workout. The bike was done for 20 miles inside on a trainer and the run was mixed with it. This was done as:
15 MIN WARM UP
12 min at Hr#4 low
Run 1-2 miles at Moderate pace (30-40 sec. under easy run pace)
10 min at Hr#4-5a middle
Run 1 miles at Moderate pace
8 min at Hr#4-5a high
Run 1 miles at Moderate pace
15 min. cool down
Bike and Swim Session for Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
This was another day of 20 miles on the road biking in heart rate zone two. In the evening I swam 2000 meters straight with the pull buoy.
Run session for Thursday, September 10th, 2009
This was a tough workout. This was SUPPOSED to be done as:
Run
6 miles as:
1 mile warm up
3 x 1 mile in 7:40
w/ .5m rec. jog between each
1m cool down
w/ drills at end
I had to run 6 miles but at a very much faster set of paces. It killed me and I couldn't keep up the pace after the first few miles. Still ran faster than usual though.
Swim Session for Friday, September 11th, 2009
This day was scheduled as a Swim. This was done as:
Warm Up: 600 easy to moderate free
Main Set: 30 x 25 (5 drill, 15 free, 10 free fast w/ 10 sec. rest),
20 x 50 (alternate 5 drill, 5 free fast w/ 15 sec. rest)
Cool Down: 200 cool down
Long Run Session for Saturday, September 12th, 2009
Today was another really long run. It was for 14 miles at a 9:25 pace. It was pouring rain so I went to the gym and did it on the treadmill. Felt OK, not great, but OK.
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
I felt like garbage today. I was supposed to ride 70 miles and do a run afterwords. I got up late, it was raining, the plant in the field needed to be harvested, then my cows milk went sour, there was a fire, an explosion...it wasn't my fault!!!!!!
Well you get the idea. I slept in, relaxed. Did some weights at the gym with an hour of the elliptical trainer. Sometimes, when your body says to rest, you have to listen to it.
Swim Session for Monday, September 14th, 2009
Felt much better today and I went to the pool and did 2500 meters of swimming as:
Warm Up: 600 easy to moderate free
Main Set: 30 x 25 (5 drill, 15 free, 10 free fast w/ 10 sec. rest),
20 x 50 (alternate 5 drill, 5 free fast w/ 15 sec. rest)
Cool Down: 200 cool down
Felt really good today and in hindsight, it was a good decision to basically skip Sunday. Well that's all for now!
Tri your best,
Bill
It seems that I am getting into the habit of posting my workouts in every two weeks. I apologize. Work has really started to get crazy and by the time I'm done with work, then my training and family time, it's well past midnight and I have no desire to post. Of course, if I just posted daily, then it would be a lot easier. We'll see what we can do about that! Anyway, after the Iron Star triathlon in November, I am thinking about entering some 50 mile and 100 KM running races. I'll see how I feel and if my coach is up to keeping my training focused on these races, I just might do them. Next year, I would really like to do a 100 mile running only race. Now THAT would be something. With that said, on with the training logs:
Bike Trainer/Run Session Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
This workout was a 25 mile bike session on the trainer followed immediately by a 4 mile run. The bike session was done as:
10 MIN WARM UP
6 min. at middle Zone4 / 3 min easy
8 min. at mid to high Zone 4 / 3 min easy
6 min. at hi Zone 4-5a / 3 min easy
8 min. at Zone 5a / 3 min easy
10 min. cool down
The run was done at a 9:35 minute per mile pace.
Swim and Bike Session for Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Today I had two separate workouts. The first was 20 miles on the road with the aero bike in heart rate zone 2 (140 beats per minute). Then later that day I swam 2000 meters in the pool with the pull buoy.
Run and Weight Training for Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
Today I had a 6 mile run. This was done as:
1 mile warm up
3 x 1 mile in 8:30
w/ .5m rec. jog between each
1 mile cool down
Then that evening I did weight training for my lower body.
Swim Session for Friday, September 4th, 2009
I swam 2500 meters today in the pool. This was done as:
Warm Up: 500 easy
Main Set: 5 x 300 all on 30 sec. rest, moderate to hard
Cool Down: 50 kick/400 choice easy pull/50 kick
Run Session for Saturday, September 5th, 2009
Today was a long run. I ran 12 miles at a 10:10 minute per mile pace. It was really hot by the time I got going, but felt pretty decent.
Bike Session for Sunday, September 6th, 2009
This day was a long bike ride of 60 miles, followed by a 4 mile transition run. This was done as:
Zone 2-low3
@88-95 cadence
w/ 20 miles in low Zone 4
Run Transition
4 mile at 9:40, 9:45, 10:10, 10:10 minute per mile paces.
Swim Session for Monday, September 7th, 2009
Today's workout was a 2500 meter swim session done as:
Warm Up: 5 x 200 as: 2 free/ 1drill/ 1 kick on 25 sec. rest
Main Set: 8 x 100 free on 15 sec. rest, 4 x 100 drills on 20 sec. rest
Cool Down: 300 choice easy
Then I did a upper body weight training session.
Bike/Run Session for Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Today I had a combo bike/run combination workout. The bike was done for 20 miles inside on a trainer and the run was mixed with it. This was done as:
15 MIN WARM UP
12 min at Hr#4 low
Run 1-2 miles at Moderate pace (30-40 sec. under easy run pace)
10 min at Hr#4-5a middle
Run 1 miles at Moderate pace
8 min at Hr#4-5a high
Run 1 miles at Moderate pace
15 min. cool down
Bike and Swim Session for Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
This was another day of 20 miles on the road biking in heart rate zone two. In the evening I swam 2000 meters straight with the pull buoy.
Run session for Thursday, September 10th, 2009
This was a tough workout. This was SUPPOSED to be done as:
Run
6 miles as:
1 mile warm up
3 x 1 mile in 7:40
w/ .5m rec. jog between each
1m cool down
w/ drills at end
I had to run 6 miles but at a very much faster set of paces. It killed me and I couldn't keep up the pace after the first few miles. Still ran faster than usual though.
Swim Session for Friday, September 11th, 2009
This day was scheduled as a Swim. This was done as:
Warm Up: 600 easy to moderate free
Main Set: 30 x 25 (5 drill, 15 free, 10 free fast w/ 10 sec. rest),
20 x 50 (alternate 5 drill, 5 free fast w/ 15 sec. rest)
Cool Down: 200 cool down
Long Run Session for Saturday, September 12th, 2009
Today was another really long run. It was for 14 miles at a 9:25 pace. It was pouring rain so I went to the gym and did it on the treadmill. Felt OK, not great, but OK.
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
I felt like garbage today. I was supposed to ride 70 miles and do a run afterwords. I got up late, it was raining, the plant in the field needed to be harvested, then my cows milk went sour, there was a fire, an explosion...it wasn't my fault!!!!!!
Well you get the idea. I slept in, relaxed. Did some weights at the gym with an hour of the elliptical trainer. Sometimes, when your body says to rest, you have to listen to it.
Swim Session for Monday, September 14th, 2009
Felt much better today and I went to the pool and did 2500 meters of swimming as:
Warm Up: 600 easy to moderate free
Main Set: 30 x 25 (5 drill, 15 free, 10 free fast w/ 10 sec. rest),
20 x 50 (alternate 5 drill, 5 free fast w/ 15 sec. rest)
Cool Down: 200 cool down
Felt really good today and in hindsight, it was a good decision to basically skip Sunday. Well that's all for now!
Tri your best,
Bill
Monday, August 31, 2009
Time Trial (with graphics!) and Iron Star Training 8/18/2009- 8/31/2009
Hello dear readers!
Wow! Where has the time gone? I was getting ready to blog today and I realized that I missed an entire week of workout blogs! Yikes! Training is going well for the Iron Star triathlon in November. I'm fully recovered and back into the full swing of things. Since this race is only a 1/2 (as if a 70.3 mile race is easy!), the distances are much more manageable and I actually have gained some weight with the reduced amount of super long distance training. Here is a recap of my workouts:
Tuesday's Bike and Run Transition Session 8/18/2009
This was a combination of a bike workout on the indoor trainer and a run immediately following after:
Bike Session
10 MIN WARM UP
2 x 1 min fast spin/ 30 sec. easy
4x (2min. Zone #3 to high 4 w/ cadence 80-100 / 2min. easy
4 x Hills = 1min big gear (80rpm)w/hr#3/1min. standing (70-75rpm) w/ hr#4 / 1min fast spin (100+) w/hr#4-5) w/ 2min easy between sets.
4 x 30 sec. SLD
10 min. cool down
Run Session
4 miles at a 9:35 minute per mile pace
Wednesday's Bike Session 8/19/2009
Twenty mile road bike training in Heart Rate Zone 2
Thursday's Run and Weights Session 8/20/2009
Ran 4 miles in the morning at 10 minute per mile pace.
In the evening I did a lower body weight training session at the gym.
Friday's Swim Session 8/21/2009
I swam 200 yards at the pool. This was done as:
Warm Up: 8 x 75 w/ 15 sec. rest as: 4 free / 4 stroke / 4 kick
Main Set: 4 x 200 free, 8 x 25(1stroke/1free), 8 x 25(1kick/1free), 5x 50free all w/10-20 set rest
Cool Down: 300 pull buoy swim
Saturday's Run Session 8/22/2009
I ran 10 miles on this day at an easy pace. This was done in about 1 hour and 45 minutes. It was a really hot day that day.
Sunday's Bike Session 8/23/2009
I rode 50 miles this day. Felt really good and rode with the Tri On The Run team as usual. Average speed was 19 miles per hour and was a little tired but otherwise pretty happy with this.
Monday's Swim and Weight Training Session 8/24/2009
Swam 2500 meters today as:
Warm Up: 12 x 50 as: alternating drill/kick on 15 sec. rest
Main Set: 2 x (300 free easy, 4 x 50 back on 20 sec. rest) 200 pull easy
Cool Down: 16 x 25 choice easy on 5 sec rest
In the evening I did a upper body weight training session.
Tuesday's Bike and Run Combination Session 8/24/2009
I did a combo session of biking and running today. The bike session was performed on an indoor trainer as:
10 MIN WARM UP
6 x 30 sec. SLD / 1 min easy
8 min. steady at 100+rpm and HR#4 / 3 min easy
6 min. steady at 100+rpm and HR#4 / 3 min easy
4 min. steady at 100+rpm and HR# high 4-low5 / 3 min easy
6 x 30 sec. SLD / 1 min easy
10 min. cool down
This totally kicked my butt!!! Getting into a high 4 and low 5 heart rate is very challenging for me that is a heart rate of 158 beats per minute sustained!
Of course I immediately ran 4 miles afterword at a 9:15 minute per mile pace.
Wednesday's Off Day 8/26/2009
This was an off day in preparation for my Thursday time trial.
Thursday's Running Time Trial 8/27/2009
I had a tough day today. I had a time trial that was supposed to be done on the track. Unfortunately, no track was available due to school now being in session and two football games occurring after school. So after driving around to 4 different schools I gave up and went home to do the time trial in the neighborhood. This is bad because now I have an inconsistent surface AND I have to watch out for cars. All well, I did the time trial as:
2 Mile Warm Up
2 Miles at 100% effort
1 Mile Warm Down
How did I do? Well I did improve on my last time trial by over a minute. I was happy with that. Took a total time of 14 minutes and 17 seconds. Here are the graphics for my heart rate and speed as seen by my GPS watch (click image to make it bigger!):
This graphic shows the speed (blue) and my heart rate (red) over the entire 5 miles. Need to work on keeping my speed consistent.
Friday's Swim Session 8/28/2009
I swam 2500 meters as:
Warm Up: 5 x 200 as: 2 free/ 1drill/ 1 kick on 25 sec. rest
Main Set: 8 x 100 free on 15 sec. rest, 4 x 100 drills on 20 sec. rest
Cool Down: 300 choice easy
Saturday's Run Session 8/29/2009
This was a easy 8 mile run. I ran it at a pace of 10:07 on average. Not bad for a slow run day.
Sunday's Bike Session 8/30/2009
I was supposed to ride 40 miles this day. I wasn't feeling all that well in the morning and decided to do a full body weight training session at the gym instead. As my cool down I did 30 minutes of the stair climber at a very difficult level. Felt really good to change things up a bit.
Monday's Swim Session 8/31/2009
Today I swam 2500 meters as:
Warm Up: 12 x 75 w/ 15 sec. rest as: 4 free / 4 stroke / 4 kick
Main Set: 4 x 200 free, 8 x 25(1stroke/1free), 8 x 25(1kick/1free), 5x 50free all w/10-20 set rest
Cool Down: 500 pull buoy swim
And now you all are up to speed as to what I've been doing lately! Until next time...
Tri your best!
Bill
Wow! Where has the time gone? I was getting ready to blog today and I realized that I missed an entire week of workout blogs! Yikes! Training is going well for the Iron Star triathlon in November. I'm fully recovered and back into the full swing of things. Since this race is only a 1/2 (as if a 70.3 mile race is easy!), the distances are much more manageable and I actually have gained some weight with the reduced amount of super long distance training. Here is a recap of my workouts:
Tuesday's Bike and Run Transition Session 8/18/2009
This was a combination of a bike workout on the indoor trainer and a run immediately following after:
Bike Session
10 MIN WARM UP
2 x 1 min fast spin/ 30 sec. easy
4x (2min. Zone #3 to high 4 w/ cadence 80-100 / 2min. easy
4 x Hills = 1min big gear (80rpm)w/hr#3/1min. standing (70-75rpm) w/ hr#4 / 1min fast spin (100+) w/hr#4-5) w/ 2min easy between sets.
4 x 30 sec. SLD
10 min. cool down
Run Session
4 miles at a 9:35 minute per mile pace
Wednesday's Bike Session 8/19/2009
Twenty mile road bike training in Heart Rate Zone 2
Thursday's Run and Weights Session 8/20/2009
Ran 4 miles in the morning at 10 minute per mile pace.
In the evening I did a lower body weight training session at the gym.
Friday's Swim Session 8/21/2009
I swam 200 yards at the pool. This was done as:
Warm Up: 8 x 75 w/ 15 sec. rest as: 4 free / 4 stroke / 4 kick
Main Set: 4 x 200 free, 8 x 25(1stroke/1free), 8 x 25(1kick/1free), 5x 50free all w/10-20 set rest
Cool Down: 300 pull buoy swim
Saturday's Run Session 8/22/2009
I ran 10 miles on this day at an easy pace. This was done in about 1 hour and 45 minutes. It was a really hot day that day.
Sunday's Bike Session 8/23/2009
I rode 50 miles this day. Felt really good and rode with the Tri On The Run team as usual. Average speed was 19 miles per hour and was a little tired but otherwise pretty happy with this.
Monday's Swim and Weight Training Session 8/24/2009
Swam 2500 meters today as:
Warm Up: 12 x 50 as: alternating drill/kick on 15 sec. rest
Main Set: 2 x (300 free easy, 4 x 50 back on 20 sec. rest) 200 pull easy
Cool Down: 16 x 25 choice easy on 5 sec rest
In the evening I did a upper body weight training session.
Tuesday's Bike and Run Combination Session 8/24/2009
I did a combo session of biking and running today. The bike session was performed on an indoor trainer as:
10 MIN WARM UP
6 x 30 sec. SLD / 1 min easy
8 min. steady at 100+rpm and HR#4 / 3 min easy
6 min. steady at 100+rpm and HR#4 / 3 min easy
4 min. steady at 100+rpm and HR# high 4-low5 / 3 min easy
6 x 30 sec. SLD / 1 min easy
10 min. cool down
This totally kicked my butt!!! Getting into a high 4 and low 5 heart rate is very challenging for me that is a heart rate of 158 beats per minute sustained!
Of course I immediately ran 4 miles afterword at a 9:15 minute per mile pace.
Wednesday's Off Day 8/26/2009
This was an off day in preparation for my Thursday time trial.
Thursday's Running Time Trial 8/27/2009
I had a tough day today. I had a time trial that was supposed to be done on the track. Unfortunately, no track was available due to school now being in session and two football games occurring after school. So after driving around to 4 different schools I gave up and went home to do the time trial in the neighborhood. This is bad because now I have an inconsistent surface AND I have to watch out for cars. All well, I did the time trial as:
2 Mile Warm Up
2 Miles at 100% effort
1 Mile Warm Down
How did I do? Well I did improve on my last time trial by over a minute. I was happy with that. Took a total time of 14 minutes and 17 seconds. Here are the graphics for my heart rate and speed as seen by my GPS watch (click image to make it bigger!):
This graphic shows the speed (blue) and my heart rate (red) over the entire 5 miles. Need to work on keeping my speed consistent.
Friday's Swim Session 8/28/2009
I swam 2500 meters as:
Warm Up: 5 x 200 as: 2 free/ 1drill/ 1 kick on 25 sec. rest
Main Set: 8 x 100 free on 15 sec. rest, 4 x 100 drills on 20 sec. rest
Cool Down: 300 choice easy
Saturday's Run Session 8/29/2009
This was a easy 8 mile run. I ran it at a pace of 10:07 on average. Not bad for a slow run day.
Sunday's Bike Session 8/30/2009
I was supposed to ride 40 miles this day. I wasn't feeling all that well in the morning and decided to do a full body weight training session at the gym instead. As my cool down I did 30 minutes of the stair climber at a very difficult level. Felt really good to change things up a bit.
Monday's Swim Session 8/31/2009
Today I swam 2500 meters as:
Warm Up: 12 x 75 w/ 15 sec. rest as: 4 free / 4 stroke / 4 kick
Main Set: 4 x 200 free, 8 x 25(1stroke/1free), 8 x 25(1kick/1free), 5x 50free all w/10-20 set rest
Cool Down: 500 pull buoy swim
And now you all are up to speed as to what I've been doing lately! Until next time...
Tri your best!
Bill
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Ironman Training and Lake Placid Photos!
Hello dear readers!
As I said in my previous entry, I am back in the swing of things. Here was my swim workout information:
Swim Training 8/17/2009
Had a pretty good workout this day. My shoulder was bothering me a little from sleeping weird I guess, but got through it fine at the prescribed effort levels as shown below:
Warm Up: 2 x 300 free w/ 10 sec. rest;
Main Set: easy, aerobic – 2 x 100 / 2 x 200 / 1x400 / 2 x 100 all easy free on 10-20 sec. rest
Cool Down: 8 x 50 (3free/3drill/2kick)
Ironman Photos and Gallery
I have finally received my photos from ASI () and they look pretty good. With this being a non-profit site and with my efforts to raise funds for the CCFA, they are kind enough to work with me as long as I give them credit on the photos themselves. You can find the Ironman Lake Placid 2009 photos in the Gallery page at .
That's all for now!
Tri your best,
Bill
As I said in my previous entry, I am back in the swing of things. Here was my swim workout information:
Swim Training 8/17/2009
Had a pretty good workout this day. My shoulder was bothering me a little from sleeping weird I guess, but got through it fine at the prescribed effort levels as shown below:
Warm Up: 2 x 300 free w/ 10 sec. rest;
Main Set: easy, aerobic – 2 x 100 / 2 x 200 / 1x400 / 2 x 100 all easy free on 10-20 sec. rest
Cool Down: 8 x 50 (3free/3drill/2kick)
Ironman Photos and Gallery
I have finally received my photos from ASI () and they look pretty good. With this being a non-profit site and with my efforts to raise funds for the CCFA, they are kind enough to work with me as long as I give them credit on the photos themselves. You can find the Ironman Lake Placid 2009 photos in the Gallery page at .
That's all for now!
Tri your best,
Bill
Sunday, August 16, 2009
William Choppa, Back Online!
Hello Dear Readers,
Wow, what a time! Since the Ironman Lake Placid race, I have been laying low, recovering, recuperating, rejuvenating and renovating! As most of you may already know, recovery is very important, especially after a extreme race such as Ironman. So my workouts have been short, light and infrequent for the first week back from New York. Don't worry I DID take a few days off here and there, but as you all know it is impossible for me to completely turn off my addiction to exercise and triathlon.
Sunday 8/16/2009
Today is the start of my third week back since the race and now we I am full on back into training. I will start posting more regularly again, now that I am back on my normal schedule.
As stated in the news section, my next race is the Iron Star 70.3. It's a half Ironman near Lake Conroe in Texas. Unfortunately that distance is as long as they for for Triathlon in this state. Hopefully some day, there will be one, but until then halves is where its at!
In any case, thanks for reading!
Tri your best!
Bill
Wow, what a time! Since the Ironman Lake Placid race, I have been laying low, recovering, recuperating, rejuvenating and renovating! As most of you may already know, recovery is very important, especially after a extreme race such as Ironman. So my workouts have been short, light and infrequent for the first week back from New York. Don't worry I DID take a few days off here and there, but as you all know it is impossible for me to completely turn off my addiction to exercise and triathlon.
Sunday 8/16/2009
Today is the start of my third week back since the race and now we I am full on back into training. I will start posting more regularly again, now that I am back on my normal schedule.
As stated in the news section, my next race is the Iron Star 70.3. It's a half Ironman near Lake Conroe in Texas. Unfortunately that distance is as long as they for for Triathlon in this state. Hopefully some day, there will be one, but until then halves is where its at!
In any case, thanks for reading!
Tri your best!
Bill
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Ironman Lake Placid Race Report
Hello Dear Readers!
Whew what a race! I have to tell you, this was the hardest race I have ever done. It kicked my butt up one side and down the other and then it came back and kicked me in the head again! Let's get started...
The Swim (2.4 Miles)
The swim was really interesting. Everyone had to line up along the beach and go through the timing chip station at the start to get in the water at around 6:30 AM. The pros started at 6:50 and we started at 7 AM. The water was cold, but I knew from my swim there a few days earlier that I would warm up once it got started. The sky was pouring buckets of water on us and we thought we were in for a repeat of last years race. I could see from the looks on people's faces who was a first timer and who was experienced. The air was totally electrified with nervous and excited energies. I spoke with a kid from Canada (who was a first timer) and he was really nervous. He asked me for some pointers and I let him know to keep calm and relaxed and don't think of this as a race but a really really long training day. He told me a little about his preparation and I didn't have the heart to tell him that he might not be prepared for what he was in for. But hey, the guy was in his early twenties so he may have made it fine. You could see people bobbing alone and some huddled together holding o to each other for buoyancy. And yes just about everyone went pee in their wetsuits so a rule of thumb is to not get water in your mouth at the start (oh gross!). It's a mass start so imagine over 2200 people in the same section of a lake all starting at once when the cannon went off. It was beautiful chaos!
I positioned myself somewhere in the middle and did my best to fight my way towards the buoy line (which you could conveniently see under the water). Yes, you get hit from all directions and surprisingly people were pretty cool if they hit you. I've been hit and kicked and pulled on a lot harder in much smaller races. It is hard to get into a swimming rhythm at the start due to all the stopping and starting when you run into someone. I just always kept sighting the buoy line and looking for a open line to swim in.
One thing that was interesting was that as I went along I saw that they had divers below us watching for swimmers in distress. Kind of creepy to see someone staring up at you while you swim above him/her. It doesn't happen often, but there have been some deaths during the swim. Something about getting a cardiac arrhythmia due to the cold water and heavy exertion. The divers make sure the people who need help can get it quickly. Also there are several kayaks all over the place with watchers keeping an eye on the swimmers on the surface.
I did the first loop in 40 minutes and we exited the water and then went back through the timing chip mats and back into the water for another loop. I finished the second loop in pretty much the exact same time. As I exited the water, a volunteer stripped off my wetsuit (of course I had my racing outfit on underneath, the skies started to clear and I thought to myself that this may be a great day after all! I finished the swim in one hour and twenty minutes.
Transition One
The run from the swim to the bike transition is really long for a Ironman. You have to run up the beach, along a sidewalk and across the street to get to the Ironman Village (see pics from my previous blog post). I grabbed my bike gear bag and went into the changing tent. I felt really good and took my sweet time making sure my feet were dry before putting on my socks and bike shoes. There were tons of volunteers there helping us get from point a to b. It was a little chaotic getting my bike out with all the other racers doing the same thing, but again the volunteers were there to get your bike when your race number was called when you exited the changing tent. I got to the mount line made sure my helmet was already on my head and bucked (there is a major violation for not doing so). I got out of the transition area in twelve minutes and on we went!
The Bike (112 Miles)
The road was still wet from the downpour, so you had to be really careful at first. A newbie was walking her bike to the side and I almost hit her because she didn't realize she was blocking everybody coming out of transition one. She had the deer in the headlights look about her, but I did successfully maneuver around with no issue and started to hammer out of town.
Everyone I spoke to about this race warned me that it was a very challenging ride. I thought to myself, "Eh, I grew up in the mountains, it will be tough, but I am tougher!". Oh boy, they were not kidding when they say this is a tough bike. In fact I even heard some say it is harder than the Hawaii Championship due to the long steep climbs. This bike course is two loops of 56 miles each. The same loop twice basically. The first big hill was pretty steep but I didn't think it was a big deal and it was followed by a really long descent that scared the caca out of me. I looked down at my bike computer and it said I was going over 45 miles per hour! That's the fasted I have ever been on bike and it was even faster than the posted speed limit. And guess what, I wasn't even pedaling! My crushed time trial helmet must have made a difference because I kept catching up to people ahead of me. I even had to brake a few times to avoid first timers who were riding their brakes during the descent but not realizing that there are other people on the course who may need to go by on the left. I got upset but didn't really say anything since I was there once myself. I did see one bad crash. A woman was across the road being attended to by the ambulance, I heard she was put in the ICU, not sure what here status is, but I hope she was fine.
After the long descent was a series of climbs and flats for the next 30 miles or so. The only issue I had was my chain falling off during one of the steeper ascents. Not really a big deal, had to stop and put it back on, but no matter. Some hills were steep some not so much, ALL took their toll on my flat lander legs. Remember, I have been training in Houston, Texas where the only mountains are the overpasses and bridges in the Houston area.
Once I turned left on route 86 to go back into Lake Placid, I thought to myself, "That wasn't bad". Oh was I wrong. The last 20 miles or so of the loop was basically ALL UPHILL ALL THE WAY!!!!!! I guess it makes total sense since we had that long descent, there had to be a corresponding ascent with it to get back into town. This is where the suffering happens. I remember chatting with other people and we kept joking about how we would look down at the real wheel to see if we had another gear to switch to. But unfortunately, you can only gear it to the last set of teeth and that is as easy as it is going to be. So I just dug in and tried my best to keep going at a reasonable speed and not let my heart rate get too high (uh, not going to happen). In fact, for those of you who tracked my at Ironman.com, you will notice that the first 36 miles of the loop had a great average speed and the last 20 miles....well let's just say not so much. When I rounded back to Lake Placid, I stopped at the special needs station and got some Muscle Milk, nutri-grain bars and so forth. It was then that I realized that I was going to have to go through this all again!
So we all got going again for loop number two. One interesting thing I learned from this race is that it is really hard to drink and eat your salt tablets while going up a steep incline. So now I had to start worrying about getting dehydrated. The sun stayed out and it was starting to heat up. A lot of racers were complaining about how hot and humid it was and I just laughed and let them know about my 112 degree heat index rides and runs in Houston.
The 2nd loop went similar to the first, but a little slower this time. I could sense the toll the hills were taking on my body. I have been racing enough years to know that my gas tank was going to be really close to empty when I got to the marathon portion of the race. I saw a few heartbreaking scenes during the second loop of the bike. One that is still in my mind was of a guy on the last long ascent into lake placid, with his bike leaning against the guardrail and the guy sitting there with his hands over his face sobbing. I don't know if he had had enough or if he was just trying to gather himself to get to the finish. I hope it was the latter. Anyway, I kept plugging away at it though and kept focused on my form, nutrition and now that I had done the loop once, I even enjoyed the scenery. If it wasn't for the pain I was enduring, this would have been a really sweet touring ride, because the sites we went by were some of the most spectacular I've ever seen. Rivers, water falls, majestic mountains, trees over a hundred feet tall. It felt wonderful to be alive and competing and despite the suffering, I was really having fun! I finished the bike in six hours and fifty six minutes.
Transition Two
I finally got back into town and successfully dismounted at the proper line. A volunteer took my bike and I ran into the transition area to get my bike to run gear bag and headed into the changing tent again. A volunteer sprayed my now very sunburned shoulders with a new layer of sunscreen. I correctly judged that the marathon was going to be a tough one, because I had expended so much energy during the bike. I left transition two in seven minutes.
The Run (26.2 Miles)
This is always the hardest part of Ironman for me. It's also where most people drop out and get the dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish). As I said before, I knew I was running on empty at this point. The run course is two loops of 13.1 miles. I originally had a goal at the start of the race to finish between thirteen and fourteen hours. From the way I was feeling at the start of the run, that goal was now to finish in under seventeen hours (the official cut off time).
I knew I had to pace myself and started out at a nice and easy trot. At this point your joints are all starting to hurt and it takes a bit of effort to remind yourself that you have done this before and that the pain is only temporary. I knew that I was a little dehydrated because I only had to go to the bathroom once during the bike. This is usually bad news, so I focused on getting as much water and Gatorade in me as possible during the first few miles to get myself back in balance. The first 6 or so miles went fine. They were hard, but manageable. At about mile seven, I hit the proverbial "Wall" spoken of fondly by marathoners. Unfortunately, instead of the wall hitting me at mile twenty, it was mile seven.
I have been here before and I knew what I had to do: WALK! Yes, dear readers, the man who is made of Iron had to walk part of the marathon. Hey, even pro's do it. I took the time to gather myself, hydrate, eat some more calories and soldier on. I ran into a guy from New Jersey (Scott) who was in the same boat as me. Actually at this point in the race, almost everyone had to take walking breaks. They call this the "Death March" for a reason. It was still pretty hot outside and while I was used to it, it still was taking a toll (people passing out, etc). So we walked and talked about all sorts of things. Family, training, jobs, you name it. We just had to keep our minds off of the pain in our knees, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, you name it, it was hurting.
This was Scott's first Ironman and he was really motivated to finish before the cutoff. I was starting to feel better and since I knew that my original goal was shot to pieces, I decided to make sure Scott was going to make it. I made a deal with him to walk a while and then run a while. This is a great strategy to keep your energy, allow yourself to recover and make your average pace better. He was a trooper I tell ya. We did this for quite a while and finished the first loop and again stopped at the special needs station to get our special foods, etc.
Scott had lost all his salt tablets and I had more than enough so gave him some of mine. That helped him a lot during the second 13.1 mile loop. It was starting to get dark and he got to hurting worse. I told him my story from the first Ironman I did where my good mentor Thomas told me that as long as there is life, keep putting one foot in front of the other.
At around mile 15 I was really starting to feel better and hydrated and more recovered. Based on Scott's current pace, I knew he was going to get in under the 17 hour mark with a lot of time to spare. Of course, there was tragedy all around us as well. Ambulances carrying people off the run course, people who were forced to quite when their body just wouldn't cooperate anymore. I remember a guy sitting in one of the race vehicles looking at us go by knowing that all his time and preparation just weren't enough. It's such a tough race and I respect anyone who even attempts it, regardless if they finish or not.
Another buddy of mine from Connecticut (John) ran by and I decided to make up time and run with him. It took me a few miles to catch up, but we planned to run the last 7 miles together to the finish. At around mile 22 he started to slow down, but told me to keep going since I was "in the zone" and had me go on at my current pace. I told him thanks and ran ahead and on to the finish area.
The last few miles of the Ironman is what makes all the pain and misery worth it. Imagine thousands of people cheering you on as if you were a rock star. That's what it feels like. Your name is printed on your race bib so people were yelling out things like, "Bill, you are awesome!" "Bill, your pace is great!" etc. Men, women, even children holding their hands out to high five you as you run by. I think I ran those last four miles or so at a under 9 minute per mile pace and at that point I had such an adrenaline rush, I was feeling no pain and was even accelerating!
When I hit the 26 mile time chip area, I was sprinting past tons of people. I crossed the finish line at 14 hours and 46 minutes. Considering that the marathon took me around 6 hours and 9 minutes, that was pretty good. Imagine if it was a flat course and I was fresher for the run and not trashed from the bike!
I crossed the finish line and was immediately wrapped in a thermal blanket, given my finishers medal and taken to the photo area for my "trophy" picture. I saw my wife right afterword and she was really proud. She said she was worried because people were throwing up and passing out at the finish line. I was tired, dehydrated and feeling the pain, but most of all I felt really really happy that I completed one of the hardest courses Ironman has to offer.
Thanks to everyone who helped me prepare for this race (Kevin and the team from Tri On The Run) and of course my wonderful wife Denise. I also wanted to say a special thank you to all who donated to the CCFA in my name before, during and after the race.
I will post pictures to my gallery once I get them from the photo company. That's all for now!
Tri your best!
Bill
Whew what a race! I have to tell you, this was the hardest race I have ever done. It kicked my butt up one side and down the other and then it came back and kicked me in the head again! Let's get started...
The Swim (2.4 Miles)
The swim was really interesting. Everyone had to line up along the beach and go through the timing chip station at the start to get in the water at around 6:30 AM. The pros started at 6:50 and we started at 7 AM. The water was cold, but I knew from my swim there a few days earlier that I would warm up once it got started. The sky was pouring buckets of water on us and we thought we were in for a repeat of last years race. I could see from the looks on people's faces who was a first timer and who was experienced. The air was totally electrified with nervous and excited energies. I spoke with a kid from Canada (who was a first timer) and he was really nervous. He asked me for some pointers and I let him know to keep calm and relaxed and don't think of this as a race but a really really long training day. He told me a little about his preparation and I didn't have the heart to tell him that he might not be prepared for what he was in for. But hey, the guy was in his early twenties so he may have made it fine. You could see people bobbing alone and some huddled together holding o to each other for buoyancy. And yes just about everyone went pee in their wetsuits so a rule of thumb is to not get water in your mouth at the start (oh gross!). It's a mass start so imagine over 2200 people in the same section of a lake all starting at once when the cannon went off. It was beautiful chaos!
I positioned myself somewhere in the middle and did my best to fight my way towards the buoy line (which you could conveniently see under the water). Yes, you get hit from all directions and surprisingly people were pretty cool if they hit you. I've been hit and kicked and pulled on a lot harder in much smaller races. It is hard to get into a swimming rhythm at the start due to all the stopping and starting when you run into someone. I just always kept sighting the buoy line and looking for a open line to swim in.
One thing that was interesting was that as I went along I saw that they had divers below us watching for swimmers in distress. Kind of creepy to see someone staring up at you while you swim above him/her. It doesn't happen often, but there have been some deaths during the swim. Something about getting a cardiac arrhythmia due to the cold water and heavy exertion. The divers make sure the people who need help can get it quickly. Also there are several kayaks all over the place with watchers keeping an eye on the swimmers on the surface.
I did the first loop in 40 minutes and we exited the water and then went back through the timing chip mats and back into the water for another loop. I finished the second loop in pretty much the exact same time. As I exited the water, a volunteer stripped off my wetsuit (of course I had my racing outfit on underneath, the skies started to clear and I thought to myself that this may be a great day after all! I finished the swim in one hour and twenty minutes.
Transition One
The run from the swim to the bike transition is really long for a Ironman. You have to run up the beach, along a sidewalk and across the street to get to the Ironman Village (see pics from my previous blog post). I grabbed my bike gear bag and went into the changing tent. I felt really good and took my sweet time making sure my feet were dry before putting on my socks and bike shoes. There were tons of volunteers there helping us get from point a to b. It was a little chaotic getting my bike out with all the other racers doing the same thing, but again the volunteers were there to get your bike when your race number was called when you exited the changing tent. I got to the mount line made sure my helmet was already on my head and bucked (there is a major violation for not doing so). I got out of the transition area in twelve minutes and on we went!
The Bike (112 Miles)
The road was still wet from the downpour, so you had to be really careful at first. A newbie was walking her bike to the side and I almost hit her because she didn't realize she was blocking everybody coming out of transition one. She had the deer in the headlights look about her, but I did successfully maneuver around with no issue and started to hammer out of town.
Everyone I spoke to about this race warned me that it was a very challenging ride. I thought to myself, "Eh, I grew up in the mountains, it will be tough, but I am tougher!". Oh boy, they were not kidding when they say this is a tough bike. In fact I even heard some say it is harder than the Hawaii Championship due to the long steep climbs. This bike course is two loops of 56 miles each. The same loop twice basically. The first big hill was pretty steep but I didn't think it was a big deal and it was followed by a really long descent that scared the caca out of me. I looked down at my bike computer and it said I was going over 45 miles per hour! That's the fasted I have ever been on bike and it was even faster than the posted speed limit. And guess what, I wasn't even pedaling! My crushed time trial helmet must have made a difference because I kept catching up to people ahead of me. I even had to brake a few times to avoid first timers who were riding their brakes during the descent but not realizing that there are other people on the course who may need to go by on the left. I got upset but didn't really say anything since I was there once myself. I did see one bad crash. A woman was across the road being attended to by the ambulance, I heard she was put in the ICU, not sure what here status is, but I hope she was fine.
After the long descent was a series of climbs and flats for the next 30 miles or so. The only issue I had was my chain falling off during one of the steeper ascents. Not really a big deal, had to stop and put it back on, but no matter. Some hills were steep some not so much, ALL took their toll on my flat lander legs. Remember, I have been training in Houston, Texas where the only mountains are the overpasses and bridges in the Houston area.
Once I turned left on route 86 to go back into Lake Placid, I thought to myself, "That wasn't bad". Oh was I wrong. The last 20 miles or so of the loop was basically ALL UPHILL ALL THE WAY!!!!!! I guess it makes total sense since we had that long descent, there had to be a corresponding ascent with it to get back into town. This is where the suffering happens. I remember chatting with other people and we kept joking about how we would look down at the real wheel to see if we had another gear to switch to. But unfortunately, you can only gear it to the last set of teeth and that is as easy as it is going to be. So I just dug in and tried my best to keep going at a reasonable speed and not let my heart rate get too high (uh, not going to happen). In fact, for those of you who tracked my at Ironman.com, you will notice that the first 36 miles of the loop had a great average speed and the last 20 miles....well let's just say not so much. When I rounded back to Lake Placid, I stopped at the special needs station and got some Muscle Milk, nutri-grain bars and so forth. It was then that I realized that I was going to have to go through this all again!
So we all got going again for loop number two. One interesting thing I learned from this race is that it is really hard to drink and eat your salt tablets while going up a steep incline. So now I had to start worrying about getting dehydrated. The sun stayed out and it was starting to heat up. A lot of racers were complaining about how hot and humid it was and I just laughed and let them know about my 112 degree heat index rides and runs in Houston.
The 2nd loop went similar to the first, but a little slower this time. I could sense the toll the hills were taking on my body. I have been racing enough years to know that my gas tank was going to be really close to empty when I got to the marathon portion of the race. I saw a few heartbreaking scenes during the second loop of the bike. One that is still in my mind was of a guy on the last long ascent into lake placid, with his bike leaning against the guardrail and the guy sitting there with his hands over his face sobbing. I don't know if he had had enough or if he was just trying to gather himself to get to the finish. I hope it was the latter. Anyway, I kept plugging away at it though and kept focused on my form, nutrition and now that I had done the loop once, I even enjoyed the scenery. If it wasn't for the pain I was enduring, this would have been a really sweet touring ride, because the sites we went by were some of the most spectacular I've ever seen. Rivers, water falls, majestic mountains, trees over a hundred feet tall. It felt wonderful to be alive and competing and despite the suffering, I was really having fun! I finished the bike in six hours and fifty six minutes.
Transition Two
I finally got back into town and successfully dismounted at the proper line. A volunteer took my bike and I ran into the transition area to get my bike to run gear bag and headed into the changing tent again. A volunteer sprayed my now very sunburned shoulders with a new layer of sunscreen. I correctly judged that the marathon was going to be a tough one, because I had expended so much energy during the bike. I left transition two in seven minutes.
The Run (26.2 Miles)
This is always the hardest part of Ironman for me. It's also where most people drop out and get the dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish). As I said before, I knew I was running on empty at this point. The run course is two loops of 13.1 miles. I originally had a goal at the start of the race to finish between thirteen and fourteen hours. From the way I was feeling at the start of the run, that goal was now to finish in under seventeen hours (the official cut off time).
I knew I had to pace myself and started out at a nice and easy trot. At this point your joints are all starting to hurt and it takes a bit of effort to remind yourself that you have done this before and that the pain is only temporary. I knew that I was a little dehydrated because I only had to go to the bathroom once during the bike. This is usually bad news, so I focused on getting as much water and Gatorade in me as possible during the first few miles to get myself back in balance. The first 6 or so miles went fine. They were hard, but manageable. At about mile seven, I hit the proverbial "Wall" spoken of fondly by marathoners. Unfortunately, instead of the wall hitting me at mile twenty, it was mile seven.
I have been here before and I knew what I had to do: WALK! Yes, dear readers, the man who is made of Iron had to walk part of the marathon. Hey, even pro's do it. I took the time to gather myself, hydrate, eat some more calories and soldier on. I ran into a guy from New Jersey (Scott) who was in the same boat as me. Actually at this point in the race, almost everyone had to take walking breaks. They call this the "Death March" for a reason. It was still pretty hot outside and while I was used to it, it still was taking a toll (people passing out, etc). So we walked and talked about all sorts of things. Family, training, jobs, you name it. We just had to keep our minds off of the pain in our knees, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, you name it, it was hurting.
This was Scott's first Ironman and he was really motivated to finish before the cutoff. I was starting to feel better and since I knew that my original goal was shot to pieces, I decided to make sure Scott was going to make it. I made a deal with him to walk a while and then run a while. This is a great strategy to keep your energy, allow yourself to recover and make your average pace better. He was a trooper I tell ya. We did this for quite a while and finished the first loop and again stopped at the special needs station to get our special foods, etc.
Scott had lost all his salt tablets and I had more than enough so gave him some of mine. That helped him a lot during the second 13.1 mile loop. It was starting to get dark and he got to hurting worse. I told him my story from the first Ironman I did where my good mentor Thomas told me that as long as there is life, keep putting one foot in front of the other.
At around mile 15 I was really starting to feel better and hydrated and more recovered. Based on Scott's current pace, I knew he was going to get in under the 17 hour mark with a lot of time to spare. Of course, there was tragedy all around us as well. Ambulances carrying people off the run course, people who were forced to quite when their body just wouldn't cooperate anymore. I remember a guy sitting in one of the race vehicles looking at us go by knowing that all his time and preparation just weren't enough. It's such a tough race and I respect anyone who even attempts it, regardless if they finish or not.
Another buddy of mine from Connecticut (John) ran by and I decided to make up time and run with him. It took me a few miles to catch up, but we planned to run the last 7 miles together to the finish. At around mile 22 he started to slow down, but told me to keep going since I was "in the zone" and had me go on at my current pace. I told him thanks and ran ahead and on to the finish area.
The last few miles of the Ironman is what makes all the pain and misery worth it. Imagine thousands of people cheering you on as if you were a rock star. That's what it feels like. Your name is printed on your race bib so people were yelling out things like, "Bill, you are awesome!" "Bill, your pace is great!" etc. Men, women, even children holding their hands out to high five you as you run by. I think I ran those last four miles or so at a under 9 minute per mile pace and at that point I had such an adrenaline rush, I was feeling no pain and was even accelerating!
When I hit the 26 mile time chip area, I was sprinting past tons of people. I crossed the finish line at 14 hours and 46 minutes. Considering that the marathon took me around 6 hours and 9 minutes, that was pretty good. Imagine if it was a flat course and I was fresher for the run and not trashed from the bike!
I crossed the finish line and was immediately wrapped in a thermal blanket, given my finishers medal and taken to the photo area for my "trophy" picture. I saw my wife right afterword and she was really proud. She said she was worried because people were throwing up and passing out at the finish line. I was tired, dehydrated and feeling the pain, but most of all I felt really really happy that I completed one of the hardest courses Ironman has to offer.
Thanks to everyone who helped me prepare for this race (Kevin and the team from Tri On The Run) and of course my wonderful wife Denise. I also wanted to say a special thank you to all who donated to the CCFA in my name before, during and after the race.
I will post pictures to my gallery once I get them from the photo company. That's all for now!
Tri your best!
Bill
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