Father of two daughters, husband to one wife, writer, day-job, triathlete with aspirations of qualifying for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships...this is my journey...
Finally, because I know nothing ever works out the way you plan...especially when it has to do with your body, I need to generate an alternative plan that takes into account feeling crappy at some point during the race.
I won't spell all these out because they're boring...but essentially I would make assumptions (I feel great from the start, I feel crappy from the start, I feel crappy in the middle etc.) and adjust that 1/4 pace accordingly.
Now, it is time to race. I'll check back after the event. Wish me luck!
The race begins in Jamesville Reservoir, where athletes will complete a 1.2-mile, single-loop swim. The 56-mile bike course winds through the Highland Forest recreational area, taking athletes through the picturesque, rolling countryside of Onondaga, Madison, and Cortland counties. Athletes will finish their race with a 13.1-mile run in and out of Jamesville Beach County Park, offering plenty of shade to accompany the challenging rolling hills.
THE BIKE:
This is the official map from the Ironman website. Below is the profile from the Ironman website. Nice and hilly...right up my alley.
I've also studied the course on MapMyRide. This is important so I can see exactly where the hills fall along the course.
Along with the photos and maps of the course, I've read some race reports from last years competitors. One of the most helpful is from the Fueled by Iron blog. What he wrote about the bike is important. He had a terrible bike -cramping from mile 33 on because he didn't pay attention to fueling in the early sections of the ride.
I got so focused on trying to maintain momentum through the hills that I wasn't focusing on hydrating/fueling/taking on salt. It wasn't until I happened to glance down and see my top tube covered in salt/sweat and felt the heat that I knew I was behind the power curve of hydrating/fueling.
Fueling is something I am paying a lot of attention to and I know, most of it will take place on the bike....but I'll get into fueling later.
I am lucky enough to have a great coach with CompuTrainers. One of the great thing about the CompuTrainer is that you can program specific bike courses into the device and take a virtual ride on that course. Needless to say, I've been virtually riding the Syracuse 70.3 bike course for some time. I realize that isn't the same as riding the actual course, but it is as close as it is going to get during a Pennsylvania winter.
I've also been studying the top three athletes in my age category as well as the age category below mine (checking to see if any of those athletes will move up to my age category) from the 2013 and 2012 events to determine what kind of speed I will need to finish on the podium.
Maintaining speed while conserving energy for the run will be key.
Even though I haven't been training for break-neck speeds over short distances, the competitor in me wanted to beat my time from last year. At the very least, I needed to know my pace from last year and set a pace for this year.
Yep, there I am, 19:51 with a 6:24 pace (19th overall...not to shabby for an old guy who prefers longer distances).
6:24/ mile over 3.1 miles. Got it. But what good does my pace do if I don't know how fast I'm going?
I'm a triathlete. We, by our very nature, are obsessed with data...dare you think I wouldn't have some type of toy to tell me how fast I'm going?
I'm lucky enough to have one of these gems. The Garmin Forerunner 910xt and I have it set to tell me my 1/4 mile pace...so every 1/4 mile, it beeps and vibrates and the time it took me to cover that distance comes up on the screen.
With a little math, I can figure out how long it should take to cover 1/4 mile at a 6:24 pace.
Here is the math.
6:24/4 = 1:36 (you have to convert the 24s into a decimal because it is 24/60 of a minute)
Long hand that's 24/60=.4 So 6.4/4 for 1/4 mile 1.6 minutes (.6x60seconds =36)
so 1:36 every 1/4 mile
yes, I made an excel sheet because I'm nuts
Anyway, to beat last year's time all I need to do is hit my 1/4 mile splits at 1:36 or faster. There is an average pace and current pace section on the watch so I can tell if I am on target but to know exactly how on or off I am, I like to know my 1/4 mile splits. This way, if I lose or gain seconds, I know and can adjust my speed. I use the average pace for a big picture guide but when the mileage gets high, adjusting my speed off that number becomes difficult....hence the 1/4 mile split time.
Long story short, I was able to beat last year with a 19:34 6:18 pace and slide up into 18th overall...not too shabby for a longer distance runner.
So I wore my GoPro Hero -unfortunately my memory card ran out of space before the finish...but it is still somewhat entertaining. Check out the video below!
The race begins in Jamesville Reservoir, where athletes will complete a 1.2-mile, single-loop swim. The 56-mile bike course winds through the Highland Forest recreational area, taking athletes through the picturesque, rolling countryside of Onondaga, Madison, and Cortland counties. Athletes will finish their race with a 13.1-mile run in and out of Jamesville Beach County Park, offering plenty of shade to accompany the challenging rolling hills.
THE SWIM: The swim course takes place in the Jamesville Reservoir just south of Syracuse. It is in a reservoir -that's a good thing. Water should be calm and flat.
Satellite image of the reservoir
According to the Fueled by Iron blog, there is a 150-200m uphill run from the swim out to transition. I've also read there can be vegetation around the coastline, which can slow the swim. The race packet from last year has the swim direction and buoy location laid out like below. My only question is, it looks like the compass rose on the bottom right of the reservoir diagram doesn't match the satellite /maps image of the reservoir layout, which has the length of the water going south to north rather than east to west. Not a big deal, I don't think.
I also gathered from the Tri Banter Blog that the swimmers are released in waves and the bumping, kicking and punching is minimal.
So, all in all, as far as swims go, this one doesn't look too bad.
Power, heart rate, speed, calories...it all adds up to a faster overall time.
In my opinion, cycling power can have the largest influence on overall time in a triathlon. Power is the numeric value assigned to the amount of watts generated by the rider over a given amount of time.
You can be a slow swimmer, a mediocre runner and a killer cyclist and still place well overall because when compared to the swim and the run, the bike section of a triathlon is the longest. It is therefore easier to 'take back' time with a faster bike (or by improving your average speed on the bike) than it is by improving your swim or run time. This is because as a percentage of the entirety of the race, the bike is the largest so to improve you bike speed, you're improving the longest of the three times.
To be ultra-competitive, you want to be strong in all three disciplines...and trust me, I give equal attention to all three (just ask my coach). BUT, to whittle down the most time, one need look no further than the bike.
Yep, that's me.
I did an FTP test about two weeks ago (Functional Threshold Power -the maximum amount of power one can maintain over a given time.) to see where I am compared to where I need to be. -the video of that painful session is below.
At the end of the torture, you're left with two numbers of importance. Your watt output (power) and your watts per kilogram. Being able to produce big wattage numbers is great -even better on a flat bike course. Syracuse is not flat. It's hilly, which suits me because I enjoy climbing. That's where the second number comes in.
If you can put out more power than I can, yet you weigh more, there is a good chance I will pass you on the hills because my watts/kilogram number is higher. In preparation for Syracuse, I need to focus on getting this number up. How? There are two ways. Increase my power or decrease my weight.
I plan on a little of both.
Bike course elevation profile at Syracuse
Weight lost (I'm about 15 lbs over my race weight)
Power -training to increase my threshold power (I'd like to increase my FTP by 10-20 watts.)
The combination will increase my watts/kilogram and therefore my overall speed during the bike section of the race.
My next FTP test (six weeks from the first) should indicate whether I'm headed in the right direction. Only time will tell.
Jan 1: 9 mile trail run -areo base building pace, stretch, core
Jan 2: Swim 3400 yards in the pool, stretch, core
Jan 3: off -woohoo!, stretch
Jan 4: Bike -lactate threshold intervals...ouch (on the indoor trainer) one hour, stretch, core
Jan 5: Run ~ 6 miles, stretch, core
Jan 6: Off (not scheduled)
Jan 7: Swim: 2275, Bike (at my coach's facility -KET) 1:06, resistance training
Jan 8: Run 8 miles, stretch, core
Jan 9: Resistance training
Jan 10: Swim: 2475 yards, Bike 1:00, stretch, core
Jan 11: Bike 2:00 -Threshold intervals + aero base, stretch, core
Jan 12: Run 45:00 intervals, Bike 1:00 aero base (on the indoor trainer), stretch, core
Current!
If you didn't notice, stretching and core work are a staple in virtually all my workouts. There is a good reason for this...to be explained later.
Videos to watch.
Me taking a FTP test (30 minutes of pure pain to see where I am when it comes to power on the bike)
Hill Repeats...with a tire
There are some other entertaining ones on my channel as well.
I'm a few days late -9 if you're one of those OCD folks- with my first post of 2014 (ever on this blog, actually) but as they say, better late than never.
My goal -the point of it all -this blog, the videos, the races, everything, is to show my daughters that with a little perseverance, a lot of hard work and the support of those you care about, great things can happen.
I am a triathlete. Don't believe me? Ask my coach! It's true.
To get there, I must qualify. To qualify, I must compete in other events and train like it's going out of style. I must also come up with sponsors to help pay for these events. If you don't know, being a triathlete can get expensive...fast! Unfortunately, I am not an heir to Lord Grantham of Dowton Abbey fame. I work a full-time job -plus I'm a writer ...a busy guy to say the least. Here I shall chronicle my journey. Training, hunt for sponsors, race prep, post race reports, videos, photos...the works. Stay tuned....here I go!
Can anyone guess where I first heard the phrase, Delusions of Grandeur?
