Hi All! E and I had a great trip to NY and VT for Ironman Lake Placid. We were well prepped for the race and had a great trip. The end, with a B&B stay and then wanderings around Burlington, VT, before our flight home even felt like vacation! The vacation extended a few days here in Boulder as I finished my reading from the plane and am trying to get back to "normal," whatever that is. So nice!
So...... After 7 tries at the iron-distance, I set a small PR (49 seconds!), had my highest placing in my age group (5th), and had a well-executed race where I really have no excuses or interesting happenings to report from the swim, bike, or run. I was excited to have a race where I felt like I gave it everything I had to give.
Unfortunately, I did not earn a Kona slot, and I also missed my goal time, by a lot, so my emotions are a strange mix of elation for a race where I felt I went hard, took risks, and used up all my resources, frustration at the missed Kona slot and final time/place, and confusion at what I could have done differently since my prep was awesome and I thought my execution went pretty well. Maybe I'm just not as fast as I want to think I am? Anyways....
We are moving on now after 5 years of ironman racing. No WTC or ironman in our future for now. I am a bit lost on how to cope without a race of this magnitude to prepare and train for. I know I will need a focus soon, but don't feel rushed to find "what's next" just yet.
This was not meant to be a race report, that is still coming, just a quick update to say we had a great vacation, and I had a good race but one that has me searching for something new to chase. Hopefully that something is a good challenge, but also something I can achieve and find some satisfaction in. The road has been fun to travel on so far, let's see what's around the next bend!
-A
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Friday, July 30, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
The next phase of Progression
February has now ended, and with it the Olympics have opened and closed, the last glass has been raised for stout month, and another Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon has been completed. We got in a good block of training, and enjoyed life.
Now March is upon us and it seems like more than just the flipping of another page in the calendar. Our workouts have more purpose and focus (and are longer in duration!), and free time is getting tighter as both E and I have work obligations ramping up. The athletic focus is Ironman St. George. The work focus is projects that will finally be going Big Time, requiring us, the engineers, to provide technical support to the other staff running the manufacturing-scale equipment (this is just a little stressful, but also exciting to see our projects move into their next phase of progression).
All this has me thinking. Actually, it started a few weeks ago after Mt. Taylor and while the Olympics were still going on, I just haven’t had time to sit and reflect enough on it yet to get something composed enough to post here, but I digress.
Anyways, lately I have been thing about progression and growth. It fist started after Mt. Taylor was done and I noticed the close groupings of my finish times. Each year has its own story (the first year when I was only a few months out from peaking for agegroup worlds in Cancun, the year I got food poisoning AND forgot my bike shoes, the big-headwind-on-the-bike-down year, the “let’s try the ski up with no skins” year, the year of the new bike, etc.) yet all but 2 of the 7 finishes have me finishing within an 11 minute span that falls between 4:41 and 4:52. And I really want to be consistently under 4:30, which I have only done once, and just barely. Despite this fixation on a 4:30 finish time, I have not significantly changed my training, preparations, or mindset going into the race since year 2 (the goal year 1 was to finish and scope it all out). I want to “play with the big girls” without doing the work to move up to their level.
And that, my friends, is the problem: I keep putting the same “variables” in and expect a different output back.
I am a smart and intelligent person. I would never expect to use the same ingredients in a cooking recipe and get a tastier result. I would never expect to run the same chemical process at work and have a better yield or faster cycle time. Why, then, am I expecting to show up to Mt. Taylor with a good fitness base but no real hill climbing work, no snowshoe races, no change in training volume, effort, or composition (ratios of hard, easy, long, etc.) and expect to magically be 15-25 minutes faster than I always have been? Since the mountain is not getting shorter, less steep, or closer to Grants, NM, the only way I will race faster is if I get stronger, faster, smarter, or fitter. None of these changes come from wishing for them, they come with harder and smarter training.
This was a rough realization for me. I honestly had been thinking why can’t I break out of this mold and race faster at the Quad? I did the same things I’ve done every other year, and…… Oh. Yeah……Right. Guess it doesn’t work that way, does it. Well, shoot!
I’m only thankful had this little self-awakening before doing the next 2 ironmans, for that is something where I am also no newby yet feel like I have not yet reached my fullest potential. And so, with this little gem of knowledge re-learned, I continue on my athletic journey. A journey with a jam-packed 2010!
To keep focused and on track as this busy year progresses, I need to stay keenly aware of the fact that it doesn’t get any easier. The training, the personal choices and sacrifices needed to reach a challenging athletic goal all get harder to do as the bar is raised to a higher, better, faster goal. Exponentially so. Just to achieve past success takes a bit more effort, so any improvement will always require lots of creativity and hard work.
With that sobering, thought, I am ready to proclaim I AM READY. And I don’t mean maybe.
I am taking rest and recovery seriously this year (that almost seems like I’m showing my age, but faster, longer, harder doesn’t cut it anymore, I am no longer a twenty-something…..). I am making true efforts to make our healthy diet even healthier (tonight’s crock-pot dinner of red cabbage, sweet potatoes, apples, vinegar, and summer sausage is colorful, from scratch (except for the sausage), and anti-oxidant rich). I am willing to get on the trainer any night the schedule says to (we finally made peace sometime in February, the trainer and I), but I am also trying to hit target workout times right on the nose, no extras. I’m getting good sleep. I’m scheduling regular massage and supplementing that with good home-care. And I’m dreaming big, excited by the challenge, ready for the journey.
This brings me to my second reflection point of February: why I am an athlete and why I race. I started thinking about this during the Olympics when a high-school friend from long ago mentioned on facebook that she has the hardest time watching the Olympics, or any sporting events, because she finds it heartbreaking to watch people’s life-long dreams shattered in a split second if things go wrong.
While I think she has a point (there is no do-over in the Olympics, no insurance that if you Try Hard you will have Success, no assurance that you won’t get hurt), I also think she has completely missed the point. When an athlete shows up to the Olympics, or to any major event for them, they don’t bring their B-game. They bring their A-game. Something they have thought about, dreamed about, trained for, sacrificed for. Along the way they have grown and changed, shaped by the challenge before them. If the stakes are high enough, they might be a bit nervous, but also in awe of the opportunity they have had to grow, change, challenge, learn new things about themselves and what they are mentally and physically capable of, and now humbled by the opportunity to compete and further test and challenge themselves.
Yes, only one person wins the Olympics. They do not give out finisher’s medals, you have to be top-three to get hardware there. While everyone stating each competition might feel they are worthy of a medal, only 3 people will come away with one. And that can be heartbreaking. But rarely is it will-breaking. Even in defeat, we saw Olympians who were gracious, honorable, and continuing in their journey of learning and self discovery. And when it matters most, like at the Olympics, is when we give the most of ourselves. Todd Ludwig’s performance during the first Nordic Combined race was a classic example. This man had come out of retirement for these games because the US had a chance to finally medal in a sport where they have long lingers at the fringes. During the race he worked hard at the front while the lead pack drafted off of his efforts. In the final sprint to the finish, he ended up forth and was clearly frustrated that he had no medal to show for his enormous effort. Yet his teammate, Johnny Spillane, had hung with him and earned the US its first Olympic Nordic Combined (silver) Medal. And now the bar has been raised and more work will be needed to compete with the best in the world....
Bottom line? This is not a pony-ride, folks. You don’t expect to put in your penny and bob up and down for a few minutes while the music plays, and then have that very thing happen. To dream big, to risk big, is risky business. It can be very rewarding. It can be very disappointing. But, to me at least, it is also very life-giving. Taking that risk is hard, but the journey is oh so very worth it.
Here’s to hoping you all have something worth taking the risk for. Dream big….
-A
Now March is upon us and it seems like more than just the flipping of another page in the calendar. Our workouts have more purpose and focus (and are longer in duration!), and free time is getting tighter as both E and I have work obligations ramping up. The athletic focus is Ironman St. George. The work focus is projects that will finally be going Big Time, requiring us, the engineers, to provide technical support to the other staff running the manufacturing-scale equipment (this is just a little stressful, but also exciting to see our projects move into their next phase of progression).
All this has me thinking. Actually, it started a few weeks ago after Mt. Taylor and while the Olympics were still going on, I just haven’t had time to sit and reflect enough on it yet to get something composed enough to post here, but I digress.
Anyways, lately I have been thing about progression and growth. It fist started after Mt. Taylor was done and I noticed the close groupings of my finish times. Each year has its own story (the first year when I was only a few months out from peaking for agegroup worlds in Cancun, the year I got food poisoning AND forgot my bike shoes, the big-headwind-on-the-bike-down year, the “let’s try the ski up with no skins” year, the year of the new bike, etc.) yet all but 2 of the 7 finishes have me finishing within an 11 minute span that falls between 4:41 and 4:52. And I really want to be consistently under 4:30, which I have only done once, and just barely. Despite this fixation on a 4:30 finish time, I have not significantly changed my training, preparations, or mindset going into the race since year 2 (the goal year 1 was to finish and scope it all out). I want to “play with the big girls” without doing the work to move up to their level.
And that, my friends, is the problem: I keep putting the same “variables” in and expect a different output back.
I am a smart and intelligent person. I would never expect to use the same ingredients in a cooking recipe and get a tastier result. I would never expect to run the same chemical process at work and have a better yield or faster cycle time. Why, then, am I expecting to show up to Mt. Taylor with a good fitness base but no real hill climbing work, no snowshoe races, no change in training volume, effort, or composition (ratios of hard, easy, long, etc.) and expect to magically be 15-25 minutes faster than I always have been? Since the mountain is not getting shorter, less steep, or closer to Grants, NM, the only way I will race faster is if I get stronger, faster, smarter, or fitter. None of these changes come from wishing for them, they come with harder and smarter training.
This was a rough realization for me. I honestly had been thinking why can’t I break out of this mold and race faster at the Quad? I did the same things I’ve done every other year, and…… Oh. Yeah……Right. Guess it doesn’t work that way, does it. Well, shoot!
I’m only thankful had this little self-awakening before doing the next 2 ironmans, for that is something where I am also no newby yet feel like I have not yet reached my fullest potential. And so, with this little gem of knowledge re-learned, I continue on my athletic journey. A journey with a jam-packed 2010!
To keep focused and on track as this busy year progresses, I need to stay keenly aware of the fact that it doesn’t get any easier. The training, the personal choices and sacrifices needed to reach a challenging athletic goal all get harder to do as the bar is raised to a higher, better, faster goal. Exponentially so. Just to achieve past success takes a bit more effort, so any improvement will always require lots of creativity and hard work.
With that sobering, thought, I am ready to proclaim I AM READY. And I don’t mean maybe.
I am taking rest and recovery seriously this year (that almost seems like I’m showing my age, but faster, longer, harder doesn’t cut it anymore, I am no longer a twenty-something…..). I am making true efforts to make our healthy diet even healthier (tonight’s crock-pot dinner of red cabbage, sweet potatoes, apples, vinegar, and summer sausage is colorful, from scratch (except for the sausage), and anti-oxidant rich). I am willing to get on the trainer any night the schedule says to (we finally made peace sometime in February, the trainer and I), but I am also trying to hit target workout times right on the nose, no extras. I’m getting good sleep. I’m scheduling regular massage and supplementing that with good home-care. And I’m dreaming big, excited by the challenge, ready for the journey.
This brings me to my second reflection point of February: why I am an athlete and why I race. I started thinking about this during the Olympics when a high-school friend from long ago mentioned on facebook that she has the hardest time watching the Olympics, or any sporting events, because she finds it heartbreaking to watch people’s life-long dreams shattered in a split second if things go wrong.
While I think she has a point (there is no do-over in the Olympics, no insurance that if you Try Hard you will have Success, no assurance that you won’t get hurt), I also think she has completely missed the point. When an athlete shows up to the Olympics, or to any major event for them, they don’t bring their B-game. They bring their A-game. Something they have thought about, dreamed about, trained for, sacrificed for. Along the way they have grown and changed, shaped by the challenge before them. If the stakes are high enough, they might be a bit nervous, but also in awe of the opportunity they have had to grow, change, challenge, learn new things about themselves and what they are mentally and physically capable of, and now humbled by the opportunity to compete and further test and challenge themselves.
Yes, only one person wins the Olympics. They do not give out finisher’s medals, you have to be top-three to get hardware there. While everyone stating each competition might feel they are worthy of a medal, only 3 people will come away with one. And that can be heartbreaking. But rarely is it will-breaking. Even in defeat, we saw Olympians who were gracious, honorable, and continuing in their journey of learning and self discovery. And when it matters most, like at the Olympics, is when we give the most of ourselves. Todd Ludwig’s performance during the first Nordic Combined race was a classic example. This man had come out of retirement for these games because the US had a chance to finally medal in a sport where they have long lingers at the fringes. During the race he worked hard at the front while the lead pack drafted off of his efforts. In the final sprint to the finish, he ended up forth and was clearly frustrated that he had no medal to show for his enormous effort. Yet his teammate, Johnny Spillane, had hung with him and earned the US its first Olympic Nordic Combined (silver) Medal. And now the bar has been raised and more work will be needed to compete with the best in the world....
Bottom line? This is not a pony-ride, folks. You don’t expect to put in your penny and bob up and down for a few minutes while the music plays, and then have that very thing happen. To dream big, to risk big, is risky business. It can be very rewarding. It can be very disappointing. But, to me at least, it is also very life-giving. Taking that risk is hard, but the journey is oh so very worth it.
Here’s to hoping you all have something worth taking the risk for. Dream big….
-A
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Setting Goals
So, I (Eric) started writing this in early June, but never finished the post. The reason I started it in the first place was to figure out what my goals are for Canada. Now that we have gotten a lot more of our training done, I can set more realistic time goals. In the end they aren't what's most important (doing everything i can in training and racing to go as fast as possible on race day), but they are helpful to have in my mind. Uncontrollable (weather, injuries, etc.) can have a major impact on the day, but getting through those is part of my main goal.
First off, my IM history
Canada '05
Three weeks before, I sprained my ankle bad (popping sound, major discoloration, swelling, etc.). For the week after the sprain, I believed that my chance for racing was about 0.1%. The next week it rose to 10% and I wasn't sure if we would even make the trip. We ended up making the trip and I got myself to the start line, but my plan was to continually evaluate the ankle and if necessary, quit. The swim was the worst with my ankle being hit about 19 billion times, but I made it to the bike which was pretty good on the ankle. My T2 was 20 minutes as I went to the med tent to get it taped and the run went pretty well considering I had 0 degrees of inflexion with the ankle and you need -6 degrees to run normal. Overall, I was thrilled to finish, but I never had any time goals for the day.
Canada '06
My second IM went horrible during the run due to nutritional mistakes (nutrition in my view is very controllable, but takes making mistakes to really learn). My swim was just slow due to a lack of swimming over the summer. I also wasn't very happy with my bike time as it was only 12 minutes faster than the previous year, but I hadn't biked as much as the previous year. The disappointments from this race made Amber and I realize we needed a coach.
Canada '07
My third went well but pit stops and headwinds on the bike were the uncontrollable events. My swim improved by 8 minutes as I swam regularly starting in April. I dropped 8 minutes off my bike time (16 without the pit stops on the bike), which is some progress but still not satisfied with it. I had my first solid IM run, although not really fast (a few months having my first solid HIM run at Buffalo Springs). Starting the run, I calculated I needed a 3:43 to finish in 11 hours and ran the first half at the exact right pace, but couldn't keep the pace on the way back. I may have been able to finish a few minutes faster if I had taken it more conservatively on the way out, but at least i tried.
Arizona '08
My fourth went well but a flat on the bike (staple in sidewall) and the heat (93 degrees) were uncontrollables. Swim improved another 6 minutes (steady swimming since IM CA). Bike was eight minutes longer then CA last year (flat at AZ took about as much times as the pit stops at CA). Biggest reason was a lack of time on the bike this spring. Maybe too much XC skiing, maybe too crappy weather, but only one century before the race wasn't enough to be strong throughout. Run was 2.5 minutes slower than CA, which given the heat at AZ may be a better effort. Better hydration through the run would have helped, as i zoned out a bit on that on the first lap.
Canada '08
Looking forward to #5, in order to improve my time I know that I need to 1) follow my nutrition plan 2)bike faster 3) run stronger and 4) maintain/improve my swimming.
Swimming
Although swimming is my weakest event, I'm not that motivated to reduce my times significantly. If I was focused on Olympic distance, I'm sure that would change but my potential time gains on the bike and run are much more. Based on this, my training goal is to keep swimming. Come race time, I need to find good feet and stay relaxed. Race goal of 1:09 (minute faster than Arizona)
First off, my IM history
Canada '05
Three weeks before, I sprained my ankle bad (popping sound, major discoloration, swelling, etc.). For the week after the sprain, I believed that my chance for racing was about 0.1%. The next week it rose to 10% and I wasn't sure if we would even make the trip. We ended up making the trip and I got myself to the start line, but my plan was to continually evaluate the ankle and if necessary, quit. The swim was the worst with my ankle being hit about 19 billion times, but I made it to the bike which was pretty good on the ankle. My T2 was 20 minutes as I went to the med tent to get it taped and the run went pretty well considering I had 0 degrees of inflexion with the ankle and you need -6 degrees to run normal. Overall, I was thrilled to finish, but I never had any time goals for the day.
Canada '06
My second IM went horrible during the run due to nutritional mistakes (nutrition in my view is very controllable, but takes making mistakes to really learn). My swim was just slow due to a lack of swimming over the summer. I also wasn't very happy with my bike time as it was only 12 minutes faster than the previous year, but I hadn't biked as much as the previous year. The disappointments from this race made Amber and I realize we needed a coach.
Canada '07
My third went well but pit stops and headwinds on the bike were the uncontrollable events. My swim improved by 8 minutes as I swam regularly starting in April. I dropped 8 minutes off my bike time (16 without the pit stops on the bike), which is some progress but still not satisfied with it. I had my first solid IM run, although not really fast (a few months having my first solid HIM run at Buffalo Springs). Starting the run, I calculated I needed a 3:43 to finish in 11 hours and ran the first half at the exact right pace, but couldn't keep the pace on the way back. I may have been able to finish a few minutes faster if I had taken it more conservatively on the way out, but at least i tried.
Arizona '08
My fourth went well but a flat on the bike (staple in sidewall) and the heat (93 degrees) were uncontrollables. Swim improved another 6 minutes (steady swimming since IM CA). Bike was eight minutes longer then CA last year (flat at AZ took about as much times as the pit stops at CA). Biggest reason was a lack of time on the bike this spring. Maybe too much XC skiing, maybe too crappy weather, but only one century before the race wasn't enough to be strong throughout. Run was 2.5 minutes slower than CA, which given the heat at AZ may be a better effort. Better hydration through the run would have helped, as i zoned out a bit on that on the first lap.
Canada '08
Looking forward to #5, in order to improve my time I know that I need to 1) follow my nutrition plan 2)bike faster 3) run stronger and 4) maintain/improve my swimming.
Swimming
Although swimming is my weakest event, I'm not that motivated to reduce my times significantly. If I was focused on Olympic distance, I'm sure that would change but my potential time gains on the bike and run are much more. Based on this, my training goal is to keep swimming. Come race time, I need to find good feet and stay relaxed. Race goal of 1:09 (minute faster than Arizona)
Biking
Biking has gone pretty well over the last few months as we have done a lot of climbing, racing back in Minnesota, and some long rides in the mountains. I was able to get out even while I was sick (keeping the heartrate low). My main goal in Canada will be to stay hydrated, fueled and not overheated, but I think I can do that and be at 5:30.
Running
My background is rooted in running and I can run pretty fast (at least for an IM athlete), but need to keep getting stronger with my running so I can hold pace for the whole race. Right now, even with missing two of the last three long runs due to being sick and heat exhaustion on the 4th, I feel stronger than last year. My goal is a 3:40. If I make all the times listed with 8 minutes total for transitions, that's a 10:27 overall. A 40 minute or so PR, but that's without pit stops or flats or whatever.
Nutrition
Be consistent. Set a watch alarm.
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