Turkey Trot

I ran in my annual Thanksgiving tradition turkey trot. Its a great start to the day as I get to see a lot of friends I know and burn a few calories before I stuff my face with 2 plates of thanksgiving feast and a little dessert. It turned out to be 2 helpings of dessert too.

I'm 4 weeks post ironman and still in recovery mode. I had explicit instructions from my coach to run EASY....well that was my intention and I was planning on starting in the back which would force me to run slow with all the people until I ran into Gus and Laura Ellison before the race. We headed out on a warm-up run and Gus wanted to start in the front so I was just hanging with them. So the race started and there I was in the front and I just went with the flow. It wasn't an easy pace but it wasn't a hard pace either. I stayed at conversation pace the whole way and ran steady. I stayed in my aerobic zone. I've gained about 5 pounds after ironman and I could feel it. I wasn't as fleet footed as I was feeling a month ago. It still felt good and I cruised in about 35 min. and change....a little over 7min/mile pace.

I'd like to find a 5k maybe in the spring to give a go at breaking 20 minutes for a 5k. I think I have to maintain 6:30 pace, maybe slightly faster. The key for me to run that fast is to get lighter. 2009 will be the year of trying to get lighter and leaner. I also really want to get my bike stronger. I think my swim and run will continue to improve but I think I have to work harder to improve my bike. I feel like I didn't make much progress with my bike in 2008 so I want to make sure I make some more progress in 09.

Stayed tuned for the new bike update. I hope to pick it up sometime in December.

Functional Strength Training

I'm working on a little piece relating my work and hobby. I figure I might have some expertise and could be of value to someone...maybe. Its something that has bothered me because I read these articles written by "triathlon coaches" the most recent one saying that weight training for triathletes is a complete waste of time and a poor return on your investment. There are a lot of people in this world that call themselves a coach. They may be experts in the fields of swimming, biking, and running but a lot of these guys/gals fall short in their knowledge of exercise physiology and kinesiology, a very important element in the ability to avoid injuries which is a common occurrence in endurance athletes. Maybe I'll refine it a bit and try to have it published somewhere. See below:

The Importance of functional strength training to triathletes.

Functional strength training is essential to triathletes. As a fellow triathlete I used to believe that weight training was insignificant in my training for triathlon. If you are trying to balance a family, a career, and this hobby of triathlon, you have a finite period of time to train. If you are training for long course triathlons, your time becomes even more precious. It is easy to believe that all of your training time needs to be divided into swimming, biking, and running. There are a lot of great points and counter points out there referring to the value of weight training for triathlon as it relates to getting faster and stronger. Most of us set out to get faster and stronger so how can functional strength training help me do that?

Through my training and work as a licensed massage therapist, I see many triathletes in my office with injuries resulting from training for triathlon. The majority of the movements of swimming, biking, and running exist in the sagittal anatomical plane of the body, meaning that flexion and extension of the lower body are the main movements we do as triathletes. Most of the injuries I see from triathletes in my practice are in the lower body, the most common being things like ITB syndrome, plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, and piriformis syndrome, among others.

What happens when we constantly train our bodies to move forward in the sagittal plane through flexion and extension movements is that we over-develop the flexor/extender muscles like the gluteus maximus, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. The muscles that support these major muscles (gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, tfl, and the peroneals, among others) are not the primary muscles for flexion and extension in the lower body and become under-developed. These support muscles work in the axial anatomical plane of the body and do things like abduction and rotation. These movements and muscles are not directly related to swimming, biking, and running movements but they are essential in supporting those primary muscles and movements needed. When a primary muscle is so much stronger than its support muscle, injuries are more likely to happen.

Simple exercises like resistance band training, one-legged balancing, and side planks are just a few of the things you can do to strengthen those support muscles groups.

So, while functional strength training may not directly make us faster swimmers, bikers, or runners, if we strengthen these support muscles, we are more likely to avoid injuries and stay healthy. And don’t be surprised if functional strength training doesn’t play a pivotal part in getting faster!

Pics from IMFL

I smoked that girl. She was on her first loop :)

Still Cruisin

"Thank God its over!"


Race Report coming soon.

Reaching Your Potential

I changed the title of my blog since Ironman Florida is over, I figured I would keep this going. I'm putting the finishing touches on my IMFL race report. I warn you that its long....oh well.

I was just thinking about the concept of performance and potential in sport. As amateurs, we all come in all shapes and sizes. Take triathlon for example, while racing at Ironman Florida, I witnessed athletes racing in all shapes and sizes. Granted, elite triathletes tend to be much smaller, leaner athletes but the sport attracts everyone which is a great thing. Will I ever be one of the fastest people in a triathlon? Highly unlikely but you never know. A few years ago, I would say never. I don't fit the mold to go really fast. I have seen some great athletes who are in great shape, lean, and have trained their asses off but they get to big races and have sub-par performances. They may still be really fast but they didn't reach their potential. There are many reasons why this could be. What do you think is more rewarding? Going fast but not reaching your potential or going slower but reaching your potential? After racing IMFL, I think I reached my potential. I exceeded my expectations and that was an incredibly rewarding feeling. I just raced in Florida with a local CT triathlete. He had a good race but didn't meet his goals. He was almost an hour faster than me. One week after Ironman, he went out and ran a hard 5 mile running race. These are the types of things that prevent people from reaching their potential. Many people under-estimate the damage a race of this distance does to your body. Even though you may feel great one week later, it doesn't mean you are recovered. You need to have the patience and knowledge to understand things like recovery, taper, day off, rest, etc. to reach your potential.

I look forward to reaching my new potential whatever that is and I hope its a little faster too :-)

Just back from Florida

Will post some pics later and write a full race report soon. I had a great day out there. Felt great for most of the day and executed my race plan very well. I was very happy with the way my race went. I couldn't be happier. My realistic goal was to finish under 12 hours but I just wanted to race hard but enjoy it. I didn't know how my body would respond so I just concentrated on being in the present and sticking with my plan. Finished in 11:04:19. Broke my stand alone marathon PR by 20 minutes.

Other tidbits:
An 11 foot mako shark was caught 100 yds offshore just 2 miles away from where we were swimming.

The swim was absolutely brutal. I got punched in the head about a hundred times. Crazy. Some guy got caught using fins.....idiot.

The bike was flat and fast. Major pelotons, like a 100 riders riding together at times. Pretty comical actually.

I felt like a million bucks starting the run and was passing a ton of people on the first leg and throughout the run. My stomach became unsettled by mile 16 or so. I had to slow down to keep from blowing up.

Time for some rest.