Counting Myself Out and Getting Greedy...Road Construction

When you fall flat, you simply have to get back up. Well, this is what I'm telling myself after this morning's swim anyway. Last night I was pumped up with the idea of nailing my 1,000 yard time trial. My first attempt was Monday, but I lost count and I wanted an "official" time, because what I did on Monday was an entire minute improvement over last year's typical 1,000.
The alarm on my watch sounded at 4:30 a.m. and I was ready to get up and get after it.
After a 100 yard warm-up and some stretches, I felt like this was going to be my day. I pushed "start" on my watch and launched myself into the time trial with confidence. Ok, overconfidence. I was cruisin' and feeling good about myself while lapping the guy in the lane next to me.
"This is going to be fantastic," I thought to myself, "I can't wait to prove to myself that Monday's time trial was not a fluke."
I started to feel less-than-smooth and like I wasn't getting the air I needed. I started out too fast. Shoot! The thing was, I couldn't help myself when instead of slowing down and gethering myself, I continued to push to see if I could hang on. This wasn't working out. I ended up cheating on my bilateral breathing far earlier than usual, and way more frequently. "Stay the course," I told myself.
"Uh, yeah, easy for you to say," I responded.
At this point I was thinking more about air and how I had thrown off my rhythm and was more concerned about damage control than concentrating on where I was in the time trial.
"Twenty-two...or was that twenty-three? Wait. When I go this direction, the length is an even number. Crap!"
Typically I find it easier to count lengths, not laps, and I count down, not up. I was somewhere in the middle and I lost count. "Come on! How hard can it be to count to 40! Sheesh! Now your screwed again. You won't know your accurate time, AND you are cooked. Nice."
I held on for dear life trying to settle myself down and to get back on track. I had already conceded that my count was messed up and that I would once again have doubt about my time.
When I finished, my time was almost a full two minutes slower than Monday's time. Throughout the course of my time trial, I think I lost count 3-4 times, so I went with the idea that I swam farther than I should have. This is much easier to take than the possibility that I actually was much slower than I thought.
After my workout I felt depressed about the whole ordeal. I didn't feel strong, for all intents and purposes, I gave up on bilateral breathing, which I did well with on Monday's time trial, I botched my count, I started out too fast leaving me out of breath and feeling flat toward the end. It was not pretty.
I told myself I would try again on Monday and try to be smarter about this, and not get greedy by taking off too fast.
Apparently I ran into contruction on the Road to Ironman Louisville.
Peace,
~Sam

Ironman Louisville: Interview with Age-group Athlete Stacy Tumlin

From Harrison, OH I have a tenacious 35-39 age-group, triathlete Stacie Tumlin who is a 2.5 year veteran of triathlon who is looking forward to hearing for the second time, “Stacie Tumlin, you are an Ironman!” at Ironman Louisville 2011.

TS: How many years have you been doing triathlon?
ST: I’ve been participting in triathlon for 2.5 years.


TS: What got you interested in triathlon?
ST: The dream of finishing an Ironman; with a swimming background and love of running, I signed up for an Ironman, bought a bike (yep, signed up for an IM and didn’t even OWN a bike…lol) and pursued the dream…..

TS: What is your best discipline (swim/bike/run)?
ST: Definitely the swim because of my background in the sport.

TS: Why do you want to do an Ironman?
ST: I LOVE the training and I love how I feel during the race and immediately after.

TS: Why Ironman Louisville?
ST: I competed in Ironman Wisconsin, but Louisville is closer to home, and I hear the finish is amazing.

TS: What do you expect to be greatest challenges in preparing for IMLOU?
ST: Training for hills on the bike; my weakest event.

TS: What would your best case scenario be on race day in general?
ST: Best case would be to finish strong and still have the desire to sign up for another one!

TS: What is your most critical piece of equipment for each of the three disciplines?
ST: Swim ~ Swim cap; I just feel naked without it for some reason. Bike ~ Computer; must know MPH. Run ~ Garmin; gotta’ have it.

TS: What triathlon professional(s), if any, inspire you?
ST: Chrissie Wellington ~ she is simply amazing.

TS: Other than Ironman Hawaii, what is a major “bucket list” triathlon on your radar?
ST: Ironman Wisconsin; I have a DNF on that course, the only DNF on my race “resume”. IMWI ’09; my first attempt at Ironman: My gear cable snapped at mile 48 of the bike course, while climbing a hill; therefore, leaving me in my easiest gear ~ not gonna’ work for me. I had to stop three separate times to get it fixed. It never really worked correctly after that. I lost way too much time, barely made it to the halfway checkpoint; rode as hard as I could for almost 40 more miles knowing that my chances to make the next checkpoint were slim-to-none. I didn’t make it. I was pulled from the bike course at mile 95. I had missed the time cutoff by 13 minutes. I was devastated. That course owes me something, so I will be there in 2012 to take what belongs to me

TS: Which would be a better triathlon rig, a classic Big Wheel or a strap on roller skates with wooden wheels? Why?
ST: The Big Wheel because it’s more closely related to a bicycle than roller skates.

TS: Which would be worse, losing your cycling shoes in T1 or your running shoes inT2?
ST: I would have to say that losing cycling shoes in T1 would be worse. I would not be able to bike at all without my cycling shoes, but I could still manage the marathon with no shoes. Don’t get me wrong, this would not be easy, but, I think 112 miles of cycling without shoes would be harder than 26.2 miles of running without them!

TS: Which is more important, the finisher’s t-shirt, or finisher’s medal?
ST: The finisher’s medal is definitely more important to me. I like to collect and display the medals; they don’t get worn out like the shirts do.

TS: What song or artist would you love to hear blaring at mile 20 in the Ironman run?
ST: VanHalen’s “Right Now”. This song inspires me for many reasons. I love to hear it during a race.

TS: Who will you contact first to let them know that you are an Ironman?(Given they are not in attendance)
ST: My sons.

Stacie, go get it.
“Right now…Hey! It's your tomorrow
Right now…Come on, it's everything
Right now…Catch your magic moment
Do it right here and now
It means everything.” -VH

So...I'm 40, Now What?

So, I got up this morning at 5:40 a.m. to ride my indoor trainer for an hour. It was a great gift because this is what I do for fun.
Today is my 40th birthday. Yeah, yeah, yeah, happy birthday, blah-blah-blah. Seriously, I appreciate it, but birthdays to me either represent a continued year in a given age-group, or a chance to step up to the next one. For the 2011 season I will begin my journey in the 40-44 age group. I'm officially a Master's Athlete. Funny, I don't feel masterful. I feel like I'm still in progress. Eh...so it goes.
I remember during my earlier years in triathlon when I was in my 20's seeing several 40-somethings blow by me on the bike. I thought, "Man, I hope I'm that fast when I'm that old." Then, realizing they were smoking my a** right then, I changed my perspective. I thought, "Wait! I wish I was that fast right now!"
Here's the thing, when looking at results of the 'old guys'. Yeah, you know who you are. You are 40 and older. Oh...that's me now. I'm an 'old guy'. I digress. When looking at the 'old guys' results in the past I would think, "If I can keep moving at least at this pace, I should be a solid Master's Triathlete."
Well, my peers apparently were on that same wavelength because there are a whole lot of us 'old guys' who are faster than shmick! Did these other guys not realize that I was supposed to be 'The Man' when I turned 40? They were supposed to have fallen to the wayside with burnout, career and family commitments, and even though I don't wish this upon anyone...injuries. I was supposed to be the guy to rise to the top and hold the 'old guy' trophy and paycheck above his head. ...jerks.
Ok, I don't feel that way about my peers. Let me just be honest, they are simply amazing athletes.
So here's the deal, now I'm checking out the 'older guys' results. If I can just be that fast when I'm older. Wait! If I can just be that fast now! Yeah, the 'older guys' are fast hombres as well.
Huh, here we go again. The good news is that it's fun staying in the mix and looking forward. Furthermore, now that I am in the 'old guy' category, there is bound to be a 20-something that I'll be passing out on some course who will be thinking, "Man, I hope I'm as fast as him when I'm his age." Then he will pause for a moment realizing I'm passing him...in this race...at this moment, and he'll adjust his thought process and say to himself, "Wait! I wish I was as fast as him right now!"
Here's to another 40 years of living life, enjoying the journey, swimming, cycling, and running, and of course, traveling The Road to Ironman Louisville, 2011.
Peace,
~Sam

Here's the 'old guy'...and he's not too shabby. 

(Note: I promised myself when I was 30-something that I would do my first Ironman when I turned 40. This August will be my third. Go 'old guys'!)

Playing the Role of Idiot

My wife took this shot at the 2010 Timberman, Ironman, 70.3. I wanted to test to see if I could copy/paste a photo into a post. I chose this one. You might recognize her.

Boy...I JUST figured out that if I click "compose" when I'm posting that its a HECK-OF-A-LOT easier than when I post in "Edit HTML" mode. DUH! I'm not really an idiot, I just play one on my blog. I think I'm about to learn much more.
Peace,
~Sam

Road to Ironman Louisville, Episode 5

The next installment of the video series, Road to Ironman Louisville, Episode 5 is up. Click on the link on the right. You may have to scroll dowan a tad.
Peace,
~Sam

Ironman Louisville: Interview with age-group Athlete Fred, "The Cube" Mehrer

Fred, “The Cube” Mehrer, is a 45-49 age-grouper from Newnan, GA who has been doing triathlon for six years. He has done events ranging from sprint to the half-ironman distance and he has become addicted to triathlon, like so many of us have. He determined it was time to toe the line at an Ironman, and in August 2011 he will do just that at Ironman Louisville.

TS: What got you interested in triathlon?
FM: When I turned 40, I wanted to try a sprint distance for my birthday. I ended up doing three that first summer and I have been hooked and 30lbs lighter, ever since. I’ve completed five 70.3 and half iron distance races. In 2008 I completed Ironman Florida 70.3 in 6:16. This followed up in 2008 by Ironman Florida 70.3 and Ironman August 70.3 in 5:57 and 5:29 respectively. Last season I competed in the Macon Rock-n-Rollman ½ in 5:49, and then bettered my Ironman 70.3 personal record in Augusta with a 5:10:16.

TS: What is your best discipline (swim/bike/run)?
FM: The bike is my strongest on my Argon E-114 baby!!

TS: Why do you want to do an Ironman?
FM: I said after my first 70.3…never! But after five 70.3’s, its time…I want that tat!!

TS: Why Ironman Louisville?
FM: It was between IMLOU or IMFL because of where I live. So I had to pick and I weighed my options: IMFL = cold/rough swim, windy cool/flat bike, flat run….or IMLOU = Swim with current in a smooth warm river, rolling bike (what I train on everyday) and a flat HOT run. Again what I train in everyday in Georgia in the summer….so Louisville it was.

TS: What do you expect to be greatest challenges in preparing for IMLOU?
FM: My biggest challenges will be finding a new coach if I lose mine with NTTC. Fitting in all the training around my work schedule (International Flight Attendant, train a lot in international cities), and having enough money in the bank to pay for it all!!
TS/NOTE: Fred has since found a new coach and is ready to rock.

TS: What would your best case scenario be on race day?
FM: I would like things go like “Just another training day” and I that finish standing and under 13hrs!!

TS: What is your most critical piece of equipment for each of the three disciplines?
FM: Swim = goggles; Bike = tires/tubes (no flats PLEASE); Run = shoes (love my Kswiss)

TS: What triathlon professional(s), if any, inspire you?
FM: Jessica Jacob. She’s on the Sport Beans/NTTC Team with my wife and I. We met her at Chat Waterfront in July. In October she was in Panama City training for IMFL when we were doing a local sprint. She invited us and a few teammates on a “easy” training ride on the IM course AFTER we just did a sprint (I took 7th overall out of 124 and ran 6:48 per mile in the 5k). Needless to say, it was not EASY as we averaged 23 mph for the 60 miles. Fortunately, we were able to hang/draft. We had to call a buddies wife to pick us up at a gas station, but Jess rode the whole course that day and went on to WIN IMFL three weeks later. Great person, so down to earth!

TS: Other than Ironman Hawaii, what is a major “bucket list” triathlon on your radar?
FM: 70.3 Pucon Chile, IMWI, IMFL (2012).

TS: Which would be a better triathlon rig, a classic Big Wheel or strap on roller skates with wooden wheels?
FM: Big Wheel, I had one and it started the cycling love that I have today.

TS: Which would be worse, losing your cycling shoes in T1 or your running shoes inT2?
FM: Hands down cycling shoes, because you’re done on the IMLOU bike course without cycling shoes (to hilly). You can always walk the run and wrap your feet with paper towels or something to get to the finish.

TS: Which is more important, the finisher’s t-shirt, or finisher’s medal?
FM: The finisher’s medal because t-shirts wear out, but medals don’t. Personally, I want them to go back to the horseshoe medal design…very cool.

TS: I'm with you on the medal design.

TS: What song or artist would you love to hear blaring at mile 20 in the Ironman run?
FM: George Thorogood’s,” Bad to the Bone” because at that point, you are six miles from being one M-F-ing Badass!!!

TS: Who will you contact first to let them know that you are an Ironman?(Given they are not in attendance)
FM: All my Facebook peeps!! And my Coach!!

Well, if I happen to catch a blur from a wicked cool Argon E-114 zipping by me on the ride in IMLOU, I just might know who it was. Good luck Fred, I'm confident you will reach your goals.

Random Thoughts Along The Road

If you haven't checked out IronMin's blog, you should. Incidentally, she is not from Minnesota, but from Wisconsin. Her style is both entertaining, interesting, and inspiring. Anyway, she inspired me with her writing. I'm feeling like I need to raise my level of literary application. This post won't meet this new standard, but I'm just sayin'.

Last night we had a snowstorm which was great because every teacher and student I've been around, myself included, needed a day off. The words snow day bring joy to hearts of many. The upside to a snow day is that I have more time to train. The downside is that the pool is closed. Of course this is fine because our bitchin' 1996, Ford Taurus probably wouldn't make it through the snow to get there anyway. What I was able to do however was ride for an hour on my indoor trainer, lift weights, stretch, and ice. A snow day tomorrow would be like bonus points, but that's just greedy.

I had pretty solid swim workouts this week. Monday, after warming up, I managed a 900 yard steady effort. My intention was to swim as relaxed as I could, but not slog along. I wanted to know how my time would be relative to my 900 yard time trial I did the week before. Unfortunately, the trend this year for me is that I lose count during my workouts. Again...I lost count. When I thought I was done, I looked at my watch and thought, "No, that can't be." So, I swam another 50 yards and my time seemed more reasonable. The first time trial I did was 14:33. This time around, I landed on 14:44-ish. I was actually quite pleased with this. It told me a couple things. One, I can swim at a decent clip without expelling much more energy than when I'm intentionally expelling energy to get a fast time. I also learned that I am gaining confidence and proficiency with bilateral breathing. So, I'll take my gains, and put them in the books.

I'm pretty well dialed into my GURU now...I think. Did I mention that in an earlier post? I don't recall. We'll see as time goes by, but I think my GURU and I are starting to work together now. I'm looking forward to taking it to the roads once the weather is nice to see what I can do on it. Notice I have GURU in bold. It's worth bolding. I'm just sayin'.

Ironman Louisville enters my mind every day. It's a sickness I'm sure, but I'm not looking for a cure. I also think about what events I want to do next year, and the year after that. Again, I'm not looking for a cure.

While shoveling the foot-deep snow out of our drive-way this morning I was thinking, "Huh, in about a month and a half, the weather should allow me to ride outside...awesome!"

I'm hoping to get Episode 5 of my video series out in the next few days. I know, I know, you can hardly wait.

Peace,
~Sam