Rev3 Planning is heating up

June 7th will be the inaugural Revolution3 Half Iron distance triathlon in Middlebury, CT at Quassy Amusement Park. Panic is beginning to set in, distress calls are flying, and calls for help are loud. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a little. The team is set to spend 3 1/2 days together this weekend to spend some quality time all getting on the same page and meeting with some key local people. We continue to look for sponsors but my role is more on the logistics of getting this race executed as close to perfection as possible. The founders of the race wanted to hit a home run first year out which puts a lot more pressure on our team to execute. They put up $100,000 professional purse so many of the sports top professionals will be vying for their share. This is one of the richer purses in our sport. I'll be in Rev3 planning mode for the next 4 months. It will be here before I know it.

10 week Computrainer Kick Off

We kicked off the 10 week program with a power test today. Marty chose a 10k dead flat course for the test. After a nice 20min. warmup, we hammered away. This is an early indicator of what my power looks like right now and on the 10th week, we'll do the same test to measure progress.

As for the test, I averaged 308 watts for the 10k session. My HR was a new sky-high 165. I even saw 178 at one point. I was happy that I stayed pretty steady for the whole effort. It will be interesting to see how much my power can improve over the next 10 weeks of riding these sessions 3 days per week. Here are a few pics from today's session:

Chilly Chili 5k

I decided to start the new year with a hard effort. I hadn't been running a whole lot leading up to this race and I certainly haven't done any speed work. To top that off I'm about 10 pounds heavier than my race weight at Ironman Florida two months ago. I haven't done a 5k in over a year I think. I was hoping I might be able to break 20 minutes but figured it would be a stretch considering the points mentioned earlier. Running and body weight have a huge factor in speed. We awoke to one of the coldest days of the winter plus we got 3-4 inches of snow the previous afternoon. It was bitter, bitter cold. The morning started with temps in the single digits with strong winds. Not a good day to run hard and fast....oh well.

I started up front and could see the leaders through the first mile and I was in the top 10-12. I ran the first 1st mile in 6:16 but it was flat to downhill but I was ahead of schedule. My 2 mile split was 13:xx so I fell behind schedule but the 2nd mile was mostly uphill. I have never seen the course so I didn't know what the third mile would bring but it had to be downhill if I was going to hit my target. Unfortunately, there was the biggest hill on the course and I hit an all-time new high heart rate trying to get up that hill. I wasn't feeling too optimistic at this point but settled into the fastest pace I could maintain. At the top of the hill I saw 18:xx on my watch an knew unless I had rocket boosters, I wasn't going to break 20 minutes. I finished in 20:48 or something, 6:43 pace. Better fitness, less body weight, and better conditions will bring me that sub 20 minute 5k before too long. I finished in 17th overall out of 284 people. The best part of the race was watching a 90 year old man run and finish the race....something to strive for.

New Bike

I just got back from picking up my new bike in Philadelphia from Elite Bicycles. If anyone is keeping track, this is my third bike from Elite in the last year. Fortunately I haven't had to pay for one of them. The owner of Elite is Dave Greenfield. Dave is the "The Man". He has the best customer service in the bike business. He pours his heart and soul into his business and goes to the extreme to make sure his customers are happy and satisfied.

My first bike was great but it developed a crack in the top tube in the Easton tubing where a cable hole was drilled out. No questions asked, Dave replaced the frame. The second new bike was great too and I raced it at Ironman Florida. I have had some problems in the past with a high speed wobble and was mentioning this to Dave. He wasn't happy that I was experiencing this with his bike. He had to make it right. He offered to make me a full custom frame to meet my needs. The changes included a beefier downtube, a beefier top tube near the head tube tapering towards the seat tube, a taller head tube, flat/aero seat stays, and a change in geometry to give me longer wheelbase. Hopefully, this machine will be rock solid. Unfortunately, its too darn cold to get outside and test it out so it will have to wait until the weather improves.

In addition, I have been chosen to be one of a few select athletes to be on the Elite Bicycles triathlon team. There will be some nice perks to go along with it so I'm excited to wear my new Elite tri kit in 2009.

Here are a few pictures:

The Flip Turn

I have resisted this for four years now. After reading some comments about it on slowtwitch last year, I decided to give it a try last year for a while. I had some good days and bad days but it just felt awkward so I stopped. Why does a triathlete need to do flip turns anyway? I am so inflexible in my hips and low back so it seems to be a lot of work for me to tumble in a small space, even though its in the water. Some say that it puts you in a hypoxic state (is that the right term?) or at an oxygen deficit for a split second longer, thus training your respiratory system to feel more comfortable with your head in the water for a longer period of time. Marty says that its most important so that you can keep your momentum. When doing an open turn, I sort of come to a stop, then start up again, losing some momentum.

Well, I guess its that time again to give it a try. I think I really need to commit myself to it for a few weeks on every single turn. My buddy Mark was saying that he has vowed to never do an open turn again starting this season.

If anyone has any good tips, please send them my way. I need help.

New Training Methodology

I think I just invented a new style of training. I have yet to read about it this anywhere. Its a bit progressive and would be somewhat controversial among the coaching elites. Here it is....

I seem to get into this rut where I get terribly addicted to sugar and gain a bunch of weight. Well, this might have an advantage. Alright, so you're probably thinking right now that I'm crazy. Well, if you train with an extra 10 pounds, its like training with weight vests. As you get closer to race day, you drop those extra 10 pounds and feel light as a feather. Its kind of like training at altitude and racing at sea level (not that I would know).

Just kidding....starting tomorrow I need to cut out all this sugar and get this weight off.

Indoor Computrainer Rides

One of my goals for 2009 is to improve my cycling. I got an early start on it as fate would have it. I partnered up with a local bike shop, Pedal and Pump. They recently purchased a used multi-rider computrainer system. I offered up to lead a few classes per week which I have been doing now for a few weeks. I have been training with a computrainer for a few years now so I have a really good understanding as how the technology works and how to train with the various metrics (power, heart rate, cadence). These group rides have such a greater quality to them than when riding on my own trainer at home. Having other people there keeps you honest and motivated. I'm doing these classes three days per week and feel that they're helping already. I'll find out on Jan. 4th when I do a TT to determine my threshold power. Pukefest!