I Got 99 Problems...

With apologies to Jay-Z…

If you’re having IRONMAN training problems, I feel bad for you son… I got 99 problems and motivation ain’t one! That’s right… 99 days until the biggest physical challenge of my life, IRONMAN Florida 2014. A 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike, and a 26.2-mile run. Panama City Beach, Florida! November 1! Do I look and sound excited?!

I am in the last week of my base phase and the build phase is coming. I can feel all of the hard work I’ve been putting into my base. I can feel it under me and know I’m ready to build upon that in the coming weeks. 

I know that I will not always feel this good or this “up” during this journey. The long rides and runs already feel long enough. They will only get longer. Not only will I continue to build my body and my knowledge, I will continue to grow my willpower and continue to feed my motivation!

The ace up my sleeve for when things do start to get low is that I have an incredible support system of coaches, family, friends, and fellow athletes. I am not too proud to reach out for a little lift, when things do begin to get dark. So, be ready, friends… the “reaching out” will be coming!

And for the rest of you training for big races, I hope you’re training smart and also looking around to figure out who YOU can lean on when things get rough? Don’t wait until you’re in crisis-mode to start figuring out who to call on! Build that mental list now and have it ready to go so there’s no delay when you need it most!

And you know you can all call on me! My triathlon-training, rap-based, motivational, interpretive dance routines are pretty much legendary among triathlon’s elite...

Giving Away A Million Dollars!!!

I know I will deeply regret this, but I am going to give away a million dollars. Well... a million dollar idea at least...

With my training for IRONMAN Florida 2014 ramping up, I do NOT have time to develop, test, and bring this idea to market. Judging from the INSANE cost of anything associated with the sport of triathlon, selling just a few of these should make you an overnight millionaire! Make them out of carbon fiber and I am sure they will sell even better and you will become a billionaire! Rather than keep this stroke of genius to myself, I feel compelled to share this with you!

But first, there is no debate about the importance of fueling during a long ride or run and especially during something like the 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run portions of a full IRONMAN. Trying to take in calories every 20 - 30 minutes means I'm going to be fueling 18 - 24 times during the course of my IRONMAN?!

I find fueling to be much easier if I use a variety of products (flavors and consistencies). I am just not cut out to consume a single type of nutrition (gels, chews, blocks, bars, wafers, etc.) for all of those servings. My preference is to alternate gels (Hammer, Gu, PowerBar, and/or Honey Stinger), waffles/wafers (Honey Stinger), chews (Honey Stinger, Gu, Powerbar), and bars (Bonk Breaker). Those, along with my hydration (Gatorade, Perform, Fireball Whisky), give me all of the calories I need to perform.


Now we come to the problem. Convenience of dispensing nutrition!


GELS: I have long since learned that a Gel Flask is the most convenient way to take in gels. The flask is scientifically proven* to be 1,037% easier to use than tearing open those dastardly gel packets. AND... no trash to deal with/get you disqualified for littering! I prefer to use a Hammer Nutrition Gel Flask (http://shop.triattic.com/accessories/hammer-flask-5-serv/) in an Ultimate Direction Bike Mount Gel Flask Holder (http://shop.triattic.com/accessories/bike-mount-flask-holder/). This thing is the BOMB! I LOVE IT! They make one for your run hydration belt, but I have yet to try one out.



WAFFLES/BARS: These are a little easier to manage, but the packaging can be a pain. I find that simply cutting the waffle or bar in half and slipping it into a Ziploc Snack-sized bag is sufficient. This creates easier to manage portion sizes and LESS trash to deal with.

These things will print $$$!

CHEWS/CHOMPS/ENERGY BLASTS: Ahhh, the delicious Gummi Bears of athlete nutrition! OR are they simply unmanageable, sticky, globs of frustration?! As much as I enjoy them, they are difficult for me to manage on the bike.

Enter the most glorious idea to ever cross my** mind! THIS is the million/billion dollar idea! Simply pick up a bunch of 4" lollipop sticks (~$5 for 150 on Amazon), skewer your chews, slip the "chew pops" into a Ziploc Snack sized bag, and off you go. About half a bag of Honey Stinger Chews (pictured) will fit onto one, 4" lollipop stick, allowing you to break up your servings, as needed. This allows you to easily unwrap and partake of the glorious chews without getting insanely sticky!



"How do I turn this into a million/billion dollar product?!", you ask? Like everything else, marketing! Get these things made of carbon fiber, cheaply. Then, get a good celebrity endorsement! Get Rinny, Sharky, or that dude with the goofy sunglasses that always wins Wildflower! Plaster their picture on the label, package them 3 to a bag, and sell them for $10, $15, or $20! They will sell like hotcakes! Take a look at some of the stuff being sold and TELL ME I AM WRONG?!?!

Anyway, hope you find this little trick helpful and this post finds you training hard and training safe! If you do make a bunch of money off of this... I really would love a new tri bike. And a new wetsuit. And maybe one of those really cool aero helmets. And a new tri kit or three. Or, if you want, you could get me a few pairs of running shoes, too. Some straight-up cash for all of the IRONMAN Finisher gear would be nice, too...


* - No science was actually used in the determination of this number. 100% of people who use percentages are liars.
** - This incredible idea was not mine. The credit truly goes to fellow-triathlete and my wife, Michelle Harrison. Thanks, Bitsy Pookums!

Feeling the Sting of Triathlon's Risk-Reward Ratio!

A "Risk-Reward Ratio" is: A ratio used to compare the expected benefits of an investment to the amount of risk undertaken to capture those benefits.


A theme in my last post, "Dealing with the Monster!", centered around burning off nervous energy before a race by focusing on organizing my transition bag. The energy I pour into that helps me be organized, but more importantly, helps take my mind off the actual race... allowing me to relax.



Some might see the time spent organizing my transition bag as time wasted (Risk). To me, the organization, distraction, and resulting relaxation it provides (Reward) is well worth the effort. In that example, I end up on the positive side of the equation. My actions during the recent Army Strong Triathlon (sprint-distance triathlon) put me on the other side.

The Army Strong Triathlon was an important race for me. As an Army veteran, I always like to do well at this race. The past few years have seen me finish 1st and 2nd in my age group. I hoped for another good showing this year. However, for as important as this race is, being relaxed and having a good time with my friends takes higher precedence. For this reason, I made a concerted effort to not worry as much about the details of race. The usual time I would spend (Risk) setting up my transition spot and going over things did not seem worth the relative benefit (Reward).




In shorter distance triathlons, I perform what is called a flying mount. That means I leave my shoes clipped into the pedals of my bike. Coming out of the swim and into T1, I put on my helmet, simply grab my bike, and exit transition. I mount my bike and then, once underway, slip my feet into my clipped-in shoes, tighten the straps, and begin pedaling. This usually allows for quick transitions and allows me to get underway quickly.

At this year's Army Strong Triathlon, my usual mediocre swim was followed by a speedy transition and I was off on the bike. That is when it happened. The strap on my shoe pulled completely out of its slot and I spent the next ~1:30 (one minute and thirty seconds!) trying to avoid other athletes and wrecking while re-threading it back through. While there are probably several lessons to be learned here, like "Why didn't I just hop off, put the shoe on, and continue?!", I'd like to talk about lessons learned and the Risk-Reward Ratio.

But first, let us step aside and look at this cool image. This is data from my ride. All of the lines of data tell the story, but the most interesting is the gold line that shows my cadence (how quickly my pedals are turning). My normal cadence is well above 90 rpms. As you can see from the data, I am pretty much at zero for over 1:30. The only time it bumps above zero during that time is when I give it a few one-legged turns to keep from coming to a complete stop and falling over! Notice the falling heart rate and the blazing, sub-13 mph speed?!?! Awesome, huh?!

Anyway, the story here is not about something that went wrong on race day, but about something that has gone wrong for me before and could have been prevented. This was not the first time this has happened to me. During training, I've learned that loosening my strap up too much can lead to the strap pulling out of its slot. Normally, this is something I would probably check and double-check, along with ensuring I clipped the right shoe onto the right pedal and the left shoe onto the left pedal! (SIGH... Yes, I mixed them up once... during a race... on my birthday. DOH!) For this race, though, I valued staying relaxed and not sweating the details of the race more.

Now, for another aside and where our story gets painful. I went on to have a decent race and finished 2nd in my Age Group. How far ahead was the person who beat me??? You probably guessed it was less than 1:30?! It was 1:24!!! I was beaten by LESS than the amount of time I spent fixing a mistake I could have avoided. Does this REALLY mean I would have ended up getting 1st had this not happened? Maybe. Maybe not. The person who bested me may have simply had more in the tank at the end of the race and would have brought that to bear, outsprinting me to the finish. I did not put myself in a position to find out, though.

The thought here is that each athlete simply has to perform their own "Risk-Reward Ratio" analysis. If you are doing triathlons for fun, spending too much time on your transition setup may be counterproductive. If you are competing for a podium finish, not spending enough time on your transition setup may be counterproductive. The key is that you need to find that healthy balance where YOU can be OK with the consequences of how much time and effort you put into the sport! Who cares what other people, who have other goals and aspirations, think?! As long as you are OK with your decisions, that's all that matters!



Am I OK with missing out on first place? For THIS year... yes.