Monday, March 31, 2014

Oh no, Let's Go... Crazy Brick!

Sung to the tune of “Let’s Go Crazy”, with apologies to the artist formerly known as Prince…

Are we gonna let this brick
Bring us down, oh no, let’s go
Let’s go crazy, let’s get nuts
Lock that pace and nutrition in
So your next Tri will not suck, let’s go!





On a recent Sunday, the coaches of TriAttic (http://www.TriAttic.com) hosted a “Crazy Brick” group workout for area triathletes that really knocked my socks off. (Well, technically I wasn’t wearing socks for this workout, but you know what I mean?!) It was unique enough that I thought I’d share, in hopes that you might want to shake up your workouts with a “Crazy Brick” and will get the same value from it that I did!



First, a “Crazy Brick” is simply intervals/sets of one (1) hour biking and 20 minutes running, doing as many as you would like, repeating up to five (5) times. One of the great things about this workout is that it is scalable for any distance you are training for. Scalable in the number of sets and in intensity (heart rate zone - HRZ). Just to clarify, heart rate zones for each set are the same for the bike and run portion. Here is what you do for each distance:


Sprint/Olympic:

1 Set: Zone 2 - 4

70.3:
2 - 3 Sets.
Set 1: Zone 1 - 2
Set 2: Zone 3
Set 3: Zone 1 - 2

140.6:
4 - 5 Sets.
Set 1: Zone 1 - 2
Set 2: Zone 2 - 3
Set 3: Zone 1 - 2
Set 4: Zone 2 - 3
Set 5: Zone 1 - 2

The transition area had transition racks and a canopy popup tent with a table for additional hydration and nutrition. If you're doing this on your own, the only consideration will be about securing your bike during your run. This transition area was setup in a location that offered the benefit of two (2) bike routes. One was hilly for athletes training for upcoming "hilly" races (IRONMAN Coeur d'Alene, IRONMAN Chattanooga, IRONMAN Augusta 70.3, etc.) and a flat one for athletes training for "flat" races (IRONMAN Florida 70.3, Gulf Coast Triathlon 70.3, IRONMAN Florida, etc.). The run course was a nice, rolling, 2.25 mile loop, allowing you to do and out and back or the full loop as necessary for your 20 minute run sets.

I learned so much from this workout! I chose to do three (3) sets, since my next biggest race will be a 70.3. I alternated the bike courses, going hilly/flat/hilly. This was particularly challenging as set 1 and set 3 were meant to have the lower heart rate zones, but had the most challenging terrain.

SUCCESSES: I felt strong and could have tacked on another set or two. Mental focus was there the whole time. I'm learning that my mental focus is tightly attached to my hydration and nutrition. I felt both were spot on! I never saw a dip in energy or focus!

FAILURES: I was supposed to be in heart rate zone 1 - 2 for sets 1 and 3. Instead, I averaged high heart rate zone 3!!! Why? For set 1 I was too "jacked up". I was simply too pumped up by seeing so many friends out there and being just so excited about the workout. This lead to me pushing too hard. For set 3, it was a combination of the hills and a nice little headwind on the return that picked up and was really taking a bite out of my pace!

Only doing a four hour workout on this day, pushing too hard in the first hour did not lead to a "crash" or "bonk" later in the workout. However, had this been my IRONMAN Florida and I went out that hard, it wouldn't have been pretty. I am very high energy to the point of almost being too excitable at races. I will HAVE to learn to reel it in when I first start the bike and when first starting the run. DISCIPLINE!!! These are places I traditionally have to really work to bring my heart rate down to where it should be so I can finish STRONG! In the future, having the hilly bike route for sets 1 and 3, when I am supposed to be holding a lower heart rate will really be a smart plan. It forces me to work on the discipline I will need to have to keep my effort (HRZ) where it needs to be to have a successful race. For me, a "successful race" is racing at the top of my fitness while being able to thoroughly enjoy the journey and after-party! LOL!


Maybe THAT should be my mantra, "Race Hard, Race Smart, Podium the After-Party!"

Hope you try a "Crazy Brick" and learn lots from it!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

2014 GATE River Run - USA 15K Championship Race Report!

The first "A Race" of the 2014 schedule is behind me and it did not disappoint! This is my 3rd GATE River Run, in Jacksonville, Florida. This race is, hands-down, my favorite running race. It's the outstanding expo, the amazing course, and the first-rate community support that make this one so special!

The GATE River Run is the largest 15K race in the United States and once again served as the USA 15K Championship with America's top Olympic athletes competing! The course starts at the stadium, the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars, runs through the heart of downtown Jacksonville where the race crosses the St. Johns River over the Main Street Bridge, runs through historic San Marco, down Atlantic Blvd to the beautiful and scenic St. Nicolas area, and then crosses the river for the second time over the"Green Monster", the Hart Bridge, and features a one mile downhill to the finish at the stadium.

The Hart Bridge, a.k.a. - The Green Monster

While my training has been going well, I just didn't know if I would be faster, this year. The real hesitation came when I began developing a head cold/sinus infection on Monday afternoon, only a few short days before the race. Being that this was the first "cold" I've had in quite some time, I was duly concerned. So concerned that I actually skipped a few workouts to rest up. (Those knowing me well will understand the gravity of the situation when I'm skipping workouts! LOL!) Fortunately, I w
as feeling better by Thursday and decided to go ahead and do a short, ~3 mile run just to see how my lungs and legs felt. Everything checked out and I thought there might be a chance to make my goal.


My amazing coach, Coach Sandy Holt, of TriAttic (http://www.triattic.com/) was either hedging her bets or trying to motivate me to greatness by telling me, in my race plan:
"Ron - you will have to work for a PR on this one. But you CAN do it! Have fun and race hard!"
I don't know if I was reading between the lines or not, but in my head, that screamed, "Yeah, you probably can't do it!" LOL! So, that is where my head was. However, I was feeling like I was probably over the cold and headed into race weekend with at least a chance.

Just me and 15,500 friends!

Race morning arrived after a night of fitful sleep to reveal PERFECT conditions. It was sunny, mid-50s, and hardly any wind. This allowed for the optimal clothing of a singlet and running shorts without having to be concerned with arm warmers, gloves, etc that another 5 - 10 degrees colder or windy conditions may have dictated.

My coach has me training by heart rate. My 15K was broken up into three 5k "races". No higher than 173 HR for first 5K, no higher than 180 HR for second 5K, and let 'er rip for last 5K!
I wrote my goal heart rates for the 3 segments
of my race on my hand before the race.

After reviewing the Garmin data, I could not WAIT to post my workout for my coach! The data showed my first 5K average of... 173 (!!!) and my second 5K average of... 180!!! That's right, NAILED IT!!! YES!!!

The end result was beating my GOAL of 1:14:30 with a 1:12:28. That's an improvement of ~3:30 over last year, too!

I beat my seeding of 1291 by finishing 1,176/15,500 overall. 98/753 in my 45 - 49 Age Group. 947/7151 out of all Males.

This just reaffirms that I need to keep doing what my coach tells me and the results will follow. I'm also hoping that this is a harbinger of what the rest of this year will be like?!


Just a few of the AMAZING athletes from Tallahassee's Gulf Winds Track Club,
 who also participated in the 2014 Gate River Run!!!






Monday, March 10, 2014

Wrapping Up the USAT 2013-2014 National Challenge Competition!


A couple of months ago, I wrote about the USA Triathlon (USAT) organization's National Challenge Competition. This is the competition that the USAT hosts to keep triathletes motivated and active during the “off-season” by inviting triathlon clubs from around the country to go head-to-head from December to February by logging training miles in all three disciplines.
There are three sessions, Swim (December), Bike (January), and Run (February. During each session everyone trains in all three disciplines, but awards are given for the team and athletes with the most mileage for that month’s discipline and again for the overall competition.

First, I have to say that the competition works as the USAT would hope for me, personally. I do find that I am more motivated to complete my training because it will benefit the club! Evidently, a good number of my fellow Division 1 (The largest division in the competition!) club members felt the same way! I’m happy to report that the team I was on, Gulf Winds Triathletes Team 1 (We were large enough to have two teams this year!), recorded the following finishes:


Swim: 4th Overall with 8,842.09 weighted Swim miles.
Bike: 6th Overall with 14,638.56 weighted Bike miles.
Run: 4th Overall with 10,848.78 weighted Run miles.

And drumroll, please…. Overall: 3rd with 93,619.03 weighted miles.

Again, I think the NCC was great motivation to keep training and I’m happy to report I contributed the following, unweighted miles:

28 Swims: 34.56 miles.
29 Rides (Bike): 560.09 miles.
36 Runs: 204.08 miles.

I am probably most pleased to report that the overall winning athlete of the entire competition was my team’s very own, Chuck Kemeny, with 10,448.20 weighted miles. If you start to ask yourself how someone could put up that many miles, you have to understand that it was done on his way to a Ultraman World Record performance of 21:38:32 at the inaugural Ultraman Florida, February 21 - 23, 2014! 

And… if you’re unfamiliar with what an “Ultraman” is, that’s 6.2 miles swimming, 261.4 miles biking, and 52.4 miles running across three days!!! Just… WOW!

See ya next “off-season”! LOL… “off-season”!!!