As They Say ....Better Late Than Never! (OK...Was Just A Tad Lazy!)

"Knights in white lighting shot out of the remote
  They said stand and be reckoned, I begged please, let me go
  They said uh-uh, no way, you've gotta come true
  We can't let you run away"
 "Fields Of Coal" by And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

At least I am not as bad as the last race report....2 weeks late on that one!!! 

Beware of Barracuda Sprint Triathlon - September 6

A typical start to race day.....4:00AM wake up! 

I had just over an hour drive to the race so had to get up that early with the 7:00AM gun time for the start of the race. The race itself was contested all within the property of Eagle Rock Resort in Hazleton, PA. 

Travel mug filled with coffee...time to roll! 

I arrive at the race site and it is still Dark!!! Having less and less daylight each day is quite depressing! At least 15-20 minutes after arriving at race it was light enough to set up transition.

Transition set up...Go time!!! 

Swim - 750 meters

Going into this race, I was a little nervous about the swim. Now I know I have enough endurance to finish the swim but was not sure how fast I might be. Due to working a running camp the week after Challenge Pocono and pool closure at the university, I only swam two days in the three days leading up to the race and they were the Thursday and Friday before the race. All to report on the swim is I felt very strong the entire swim and came out in very good position. Now the swim time I am about to post includes a 150-200 meter run to transition where you crossed the timing mat.

Swim: 14:02 - 9th fastest

T1:1:17

Bike - 15 miles

The bike was a two loop course with a couple of decent climbs but had plenty of flats and downhill to open it up. The first 3-4 miles was a little congested as it was one of the faster portions of the loop and included a 180 degree turn on a very narrow road Thankfully, after the u-turn, four of us started to distance the crowd up a long steady hill. I still shake my head at the number of triathletes who think they can take these climbs in their aerodynamic tucks! WTF? In all the bike had 754 feet of climbing. On the second loop of the bike, it remained the four of us off the pack. First place had a bit on the 2nd and 3rd, who I kept about 15-20 seconds in front of me. Bike done and running into to transition I can see 2nd and 3rd putting on their running shoes! Have a shot at an overall podium!

Bike: 41:04 - 3rd fastest (20 seconds off top bike time - the gap I maintained the entire 2nd loop)
T2:  :39

Run - 3.1 miles
The legs felt good going into the run. I was not sure what to expect in terms of turnover coming off Challenge Pocono and heading straight into the running camp. I felt string over the flat first 1.25 miles but I did not feel fast and I was not making up ground on the leaders. There was a 180 degree turn just before the mile so I could gauge how I was doing against the runners chasing and assured that at least they were not gaining on me. From 1.25 to just before the 2 mile mark was a downhill portion with yet another 180 degree turn to head home. I passed 1st, 2nd and 3rd on my way down and realized they looked as string as I felt so making up ground on them was going to be tough. But about halfway up the hill, I started passing runners headed down and was motivated by the fact I was pulling away from them. Just finish it strong, No letting up regardless of finishing position!

Run: 20:33 - 5th fastest
Total
1:17:32.9 - 4th Overall/1st Age Group

Right now, I am just in a maintenance phase of working out. I am keeping enough volume to stay fit enough if I can be lucky enough to find a race that fits into my coaching schedule of my cross country teams. I am also taking this time to get back into a normal swimming schedule now that the pool is re-opened! I have also got back to my TRX training twice a week.

If I cannot find a race I guess this will be it for 2015 but it has been a successful year so far! I am excited to see what I can do in 2016! What full Ironman will it be???

FINISHING UP @ BEWARE OF BARRACUDA

Challenge Pocono Mountains 70.3 - A Wee Bit Late

Just a classic from my college days that I came across so had to post!!!

Can't go wrong with Fine  Young Cannibals!

Now that I have been back in the Grove and on the grid for two weeks, it is time for my Challenge Pocono Mountains 70.3 race report!

It is two weeks late, but shortly after the Awards Ceremony for Challenge Pocono Mountains, I had a short ride to Camp Canadensis for a week at RunningWorks Running Camp. This running camp for high school is held in the Poconos where internet access and cell reception is not the best and sometimes even seems like it is non-existent! After returning to the Grove, my cross country teams at Susquehanna University returned for our preseason, making it another busy week.

So without further ado or procrastination.........

Challenge Pocono Mountains - 8/16/15

Race Morning

4:00AM- The alarms goes off and of course my initial thought is why so damn early! As I begin to mill around the hotel and get things together for the day, I turn on the television to check the weather. Unfortunately, the forecast did not change overnight......Going to be a hot one!

The forecast called for temperatures of 90 degrees with very clear skies! Oh well, it will be the same for all..... so race hard but race smart!

I leave the hotel at 4:45AM  to head to the bus shuttle pick up area to catch a ride to the transition area. All the while, I am feeling very relaxed and confident as I get on the bus to head to transition. In my head,  I know that my training for this race had been spot on and regardless of the conditions I was ready for a solid race. Within five minutes of arriving at transition, it is announced that the race start was on a 15 minute push due to fog on the river. I guess they were a little concerned about not being able to see the swimmers!! (Safety first!!!)

Transition set & wetsuit on....Time to Race

Swim -
The first stretch, maybe 400-500 meters, of the swim was upriver and if there was a current I really did not feel it. I started in the 3rd wave of the morning with all males 45 and older. For the first few buoys, I had a clear path with minimal traffic, at least until I started to catch some swimmers who started in the waves 5 and 10 minutes ahead of me. The turn to start head downriver was a little congested but quickly opened up again. Up till now the swim had been uneventful but then we hit a 100 meter stretch where we seemed to be swimming through weeds. Through this stretch, weeds were literally getting tangled in my arms and goggles. Once in a while they even managed to get in my mouth when breathing. After that it was clear sailing to the remainder of the way. I felt strong the entire swim.  Finally to beachfront and finish!
Time - 34:17 - 5th fastest in age group
T1 - 3:09 (400 meter run to Transition)

Bike -
The bike portion of the race was closed to traffic, which came in handy during the first 5 miles of the bike. We had a 5 mile climb to Rt 209 on a road that look liked it had not been paved in decades. I dodged potholes for that stretch. Once we hit 209 it was all systems go.....Big Chain Ring!  209 was a rolling course, out & back course with plenty of sections to open things up. The few rises on this stretch were mostly 1-2% grades at most. Early on during the bike, one could feel the temperature rising quickly, so Plan B was in effect given it will be very hot by time we hit the run. Plan B was very simple....race smart and utilize the heart rate and not become to obsessed with my mph. From training, I knew keeping my heart rate around 155 (+/- 3) would be optimal. Aside for taking water on at the aid stations for hydration, I also used the some of the water to pour over myself and keep my kit wet. The combination of the wet kit and the cooling breezes on the bike helped keep my core temperature from rising to high. Riding towards T2, I felt very strong and refreshed and for now it seemed Plan B was working. Over the 56 miles of the bike, there was a total of 2172 feet of climbing and I averaged 21.13mph
Time - 2:39:00 3rd fastest in age group
T2 - 2:39

Run -
Leaving T2, I kept telling myself...Plan B,Plan B, stick with Plan B! At this point, the sun and heat were baking everybody. My plan, given the conditions, was to keep my heart rate around 160bpm. The first 4 miles of the run were on a gravel path with a decent amount of shade to keep things a little cool (very little!). Over this stretch I was continually checking my heart rate to make sure I was staying at my set goal. I knew if I kept my HR around this number I could complete the 13.1 miles, running the entire way. Knowing I lose a lot of electrolytes in my sweat, I took a couple salt tablets at mile 3 & mile 8. At mile 4, they finally had sponges that I tucked into my kit to keep wet at every passing aid station. The toughest part of the run for me was around mile 7 when we neared the eventual finish line to only turn away to finish the remainder of race. At that moment, I was thinking how much nicer it would have been to have been racing the Olympic Distance race! With both races on the course at this point, it became tough at times to tell who I was passing.  But using my HR plan of 160 bpm, I can say nobody passed me! The run course was a roller coaster rid with no real flat sections after the first two miles. Hitting mile marker 12 and turning into the cottage area along the Delaware, it clicked in my head, I had achieved my goal of running the entire way! No way in hell would I walk in the last mile! I crossed the finish line feeling strong!

Time 1:39:36 - 3rd fastest in age group  
4:56:38 - 3rd in AG/ 26th OA

It may not have been the time(s) I was looking for going into the race, but I was very pleased with the results of the race. Sometimes it can be tough to alter race plans but given the conditions, racing smarter versus racing harder can be the difference between finishing and a DNF! It was the first time that I felt I had the nutrition and hydration worked out properly for a race this long especially given the hot and humid conditions.

I am still wanting to get 1-2 sprint triathlons in before the end of the season with a potential race next Sunday (Beware of Barracuda Sprint Triathlon). The focus of training the past few weeks has been on a lower volume of mileage with a little more emphasis on the quality! Once this race season is over, it will be time to sit down and truly plan next year's venture into a full Ironman distance race! As long as it does not sell out in the next few weeks, I am leaning towards Lake Placid next July! Stay tuned........

Probably the biggest thing I got out of Challenge Pocono Mountain 70.3 was  confidence to put together and execute a training plan for the 140.6 distance!

The rewards of a plan well executed!

Hay Is In The Barn (Boring Post)

And in case you didn`t know

I`ve got a heart made of chrome
It`s been burned,

but it`s still willing to try
And shine

Chrome by Matthew Ryan 

After a six week stretch of intense training......I can finally use the proverbial cliche.....

"Hay is in the barn"

13 Days till Challenge Pocono!

Yesterday's 44 mile rolling spin on the bike, through the Amish farms of Central PA, signaled the end of what I believe to be my best stretch of training leading up to an "A race", since my return to the sport of triathlon several years ago. For the first time in the past 3+ years, every workout each day  had a defined purpose and I did not feel as if I was training for the sake of training. 

Still following my plan of training using the MAF methods for the year, my focus fell more on effort and time versus distance and pace during a workout, regardless how slow my heart rate dictated I workout that day. I am very sure this is what helped me feel strong and recovered each day to tackle what most people would believe is insane training! There is a good chance that the mileage I covered the past six weeks is more that some people drive their car over the same period.

6 Week Training Totals

Bike - 29 rides/ 1083 miles/ 53.27 hours/ 20.5mph/ 30,552ft of climbing

Run - 18 runs/ 143 miles/ 19.11 hours/ 8:02 per mile/ 5445ft of climbing

Swim - 15 swims/ 16 miles/ 8.06 hours

Totals - 62 workouts/ 1242 miles/ 80.64 hours/ 35997ft of climbing

Per Week - 10.33 workouts/ 207 miles/ 13.44 hours/ 5999ft of climbing

Looking at the course profile for Challenge Pocono and knowing my past 70.3 results, my long run and ride times were based on my expected/goal times for the race. Over the six weeks, I completed 3 long runs building from 90 minutes to 97 minutes. On the bike, I completed four rides of 2 hours & 28 minutes or longer including one ride of 2 hours & 45 minutes which included 3000+ feet of climbing. As good as I have been feeling about my swim going into Challenge Pocono, I did complete steady relaxed swims of 2000 yards (30:04) and 2100 yards (32:00) for confidence. 

Maybe most importantly, I worked on my nutritional needs during the bike to ensure that I will be starting the run with enough calories for a high finish. I even completed a sweat test during on of my tempo runs to get a better plan for replenishing electrolytes during the long race, especially given it will be the middle of August when the weather can be a bit on the muggy side. 

While so many things can happen once I am on the course, as it is a lengthy race, I feel this is the best prepared for a race I have been since my return to triathlons. This stretch of training has also given me the confidence that I can finally tackle that daunting idea of full Ironman distance training and venture back into that insane race again in 2016.

Ironman race TBA at a later date!!!! Stay tuned!

Taper is officially on! (Even more scientific in approach than years past)

HAY IS IN THE BARN!

Revolution - Time To Claim Back What Is Ours

"We all want to change the world
  But when you talk about destruction
  Don't you know that you can count me out"

 The Beatles - Revolution

Time for Revolution Part 2!

The Revolution where clean athletes & coaches claim back what is rightfully ours....the spirit of clean competition! It is time for us to take our sports back and tell sponsors stop aiding the cheating athletes & coaches and reward those that compete like most of us......CLEAN!

Over the past two weeks while I have mulled over the current situation with the Alberto Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project (NOP), I have been reading a book by Reed Albergotti and Veronica O'Connell titled "Wheelmen - Lance Armstrong, The Tour de France & The Greatest Sports Conspiracy Ever". In the book, through research and investigation they showed that the fraud, as they call it, went well beyond Lance and that pretty much all sponsors were well aware of the doping. In fact, there are reports that Nike paid $500,000 to UCI to assist in covering up a positive test of Lance Armstrong in 1999.

Now in 2015, Nike once again finds itself in a similar predicament. If you have read Wheelmen and then read these articles, you would see how eerily similar both these situations are. 

Here are the articles to get you up to date on the situation with the NOP before I rant:

Guide to doping charges against Salazar & NOP 

Cook Not Surprised By Allegations 

Fleshman Speaks On Salazar

Farah Training Away From AS  

The Original Article 

Reading the Guide, you can see that as of now 17 former athletes, coaches and employees of NOP have come forward speaking of Salazar and his ways of trying to cheat the system. And just like with Lance, Nike continues to support Salazar and NOP despite the number of credible people speaking out. Nike, did you not learn anything from the Lance situation? Do you have the same PR idiots working for you? In fact you have been very quiet through the entire situation, releasing this weak statement shortly after the news broke:

Nike Statement on AS & NOP 

You don't condone use of performance enhancing drugs??? Seriously??? Then please explain to me why you signed Justin Gatlin to a contract. In his career, Justin has been suspended twice, yeah one suspension was overturned on a technicality but the other was severe enough to be a 4 year suspension (potentially a lifetime ban)! And oh yeah, you stood behind Lance for years!!!

Nike, you always claim to be cutting edge, here is your chance again....suspend all ties with Salazar & the NOP until further investigation! They are fine to compete and Salazar can coach them all he wants but cut funding for a bit. The evidence is pretty damning so far that cutting ties seems warranted.  Drop Justin Gatlin and any other former dopers! If up to me, 1 positive test would be a life-time but as the system stands, you do your time you deserve to come back but in my opinion you should not be rewarded with a lucrative sponsorship. Maybe you can start a policy that leads the way for other companies and not sign any doper ever to a contract. Show other companies that the message we need to send to our young athletes  is that there is no short cut to competing and doping is cheating!

What can we do as clean competing athletes??

Be more like Paul Willerton!!!

Who is Paul Willerton? Protestors Implore Nike To Drop Lance

We need to stand up to these companies and tell them to stop standing by these athletes and coaches. As clean competing athletes, we  are tired of the cheats. Like voting,  you might not think your one vote makes a difference but if enough of us speak up, these companies will have to respond! And trust me, I know Nike is not the only culprit here but it just seems they have a knack for being involved with the big ones. If you know of other companies signing dopers, call them out!! Let me know and I will join in!

While we are at it, we need to call out USADA! They have been awful quiet throughout this entire process. Tweet, Facebook or email them and say as a clean athlete, there seems to be enough evidence to investigate. Why are you so quiet USADA? If you are investigating just say so! Show us clean athletes that you are serious about what you do.

You can reach USADA on twitter @usanitidoping
You can reach Nike on twitter @Nike

Send your message that you are tired of Dopers!

For all those, like me, who are truly busting your ass, it is time to say enough is enough! There is no rooms for dopers in our sports, whether professional or amateur. As we all know, this plague is not limited to just the professionals. It is time to call out all these cheats and tell them, you are not welcome here! It is time to start the movement that training & competing clean is the only way!We will not the sports of all cheaters but can sure make them feel pretty uncomfortable!

As a competitive multi-sport athlete and collegiate XC/TF coach, I am tired of being skeptical of any great performance. I am tired of discussions with my athletes and fellow competitors about who is clean and who is not. I know I am not the first but I am gladly joining the movement and will do anything I can but we all need to join......claim back what is ours!

#CleanSports #CompeteClean #DopersSuck #DopingIsCheating

Now I just need a cool slogan for t-shirts!!!

Race Report Or Doper Bashing....Hmmmmmm Maybe Both?????

"Well you can fight or you can run,
  Hide under a rock till the war is won,
  Play it safe and don't make a sound,
  But not us we won't back down
  True believers all the way,
  You and I..."
True Believers - The Bouncing Souls

Decisions, decisions, decisions.........

Do I write my race report from today's race?

Or in light of recent events, do I post about my biggest pet peeve in athletics.....Dopers (Salazar)!

Or......Do I somehow manage to cram both into a short blog post???

Or do I write two blogs and channel my best Keith Olberman and write a "Special Comment"?

Since I am leaning towards the latter option, I will begin with my race report......

Yesterday, I competed in my second triathlon of the season at the Mason Dixon Sprint Triathlon. It is a low key race which consisted of a 1/2 swim, 18 mile bike and 5K run (at least listed as these distances).

Swim - 12:53 (15th fastest)

Not much to see here...........The swim is the swim but I was happy that my times have been consistent with 12:53 this week and 12:51 last week for 1/2 mile swims. Like last week also it was about a 60-70 yard to my bike in transition. I could probably be a little faster but my transition was 2:14, including the time to wrestle out of the wetsuit.

Bike - 51:54 (2nd fastest)

The bike is a hilly two loop course and was actually 18.3 miles. I have ridden this course previously so I knew what expect in terms of climbing over the two loops. In all there was 1224 feet of climbing over the 18.3 miles. Different from last week's hilly course, this course had longer stretches of flat sections where you had some time to hammer! The 51:54 over the course works out to 21.2 mph. Out of the water I quickly passed people but near the end of the 1st loop riders seemed few and far between. Not knowing my exact position out of the water, I began to wonder....was my swim that bad and everybody got away or is it that my bike is going that well?  Coming into transition I realized that my bike was going that well....... I was actually able the number of bikes racked as I ran into T2! My transition from bike to run was  considerably faster this week and I was off the bike and out to run in 50 seconds.

RUNNING OUT OF T2 (NOTICE THE EMPTY BIKE RACKS)

Run - 18:35 (3rd fastest)
As you can see by the time, there is no way the course was a 5K but in the end it is the same course for all. The run was a trail run with only the finishing 1/2 mile on the asphalt of the parking lot. I exited transition just slightly ahead of the eventually winner and I could hear him on the trail right behind. About a half mile into the run, he came up on my shoulder as the trail opened wide enough for two people. Over the next 1.5-1.75 I ran on his shoulder or just off his shoulder letting him do the work, at the same time we passed two runners on the course. On the only hill he made a surge but knowing we had close to a mile left, so I kept the intensity the same and it formed a small gap. This gap seemed to stay about the same distance the remainder of the way to the finish line. I finished in 2nd place, just 8 seconds from winning! Weirdly, it was the 2nd weekend in a row that I finished 8 seconds behind the place in front of me. My overall time for the race was 1:26:24.

RUNNING WITH EVENTUAL WINNER (ABOUT 1 MILE INTO RUN)

Coming off these two races, I am very excited for my training as I prepare to race some longer races in the later part of the season. Most likely, my next race will not be until July and quite likely the Anthracite Triathlon (Olympic Distance) in Jim Thorpe, PA on July 19th. I will use that race as preparation for what will most likely be my 70.3 race in August.......Challenge Pocono! I ultimately, like the title of the blog, want to end my season complete a full ironman distance race and of course sprinkle a few shorter races in between those two races. Stayed tune as that announcement could be coming soon.......... Till then here are my latest (self-congratulatory) training totals!

31 Weeks

Bike - 4282 miles/ 203.03 hours/ 21.09 mph

Run - 715 miles/ 95.16 hours/ 7:9 per mile

Swim - 63 miles/ 30.59

Total - 5060 miles/ 328.78 hours

Per Week - 163.22 miles/ 10.61 hours

So the journey continues........... my journey

"But if you’re all about the destination, then take a fucking flight.
  We’re going nowhere slowly, but we’re seeing all the sights."
"The Ballad Of Me And My Friends" - Frank Turner

Looking for "Special Comment" within the next few days.....

RUNNING TO THE FINISH LINE IN 2ND

Yes, I Do Race & Not Just Train

"Every paper that you read
  Says tomorrow is your lucky day
  Well, here's your lucky day"
The Universal by Blur

Nothing funny (in regards to commentary) this week but I do get to bore you with a race report! Believe it or not, I do that racing thing once in a while and not just train for the sake of training! 

At least for you, a race report has the potential (maybe, just maybe) to be a little more entertaining than me going on about the countless miles of training I put in during a week, a mileage total that most people don't even drive in a week......

Today started long before the ass crack of dawn.....My alarm went off at 4am! You read the right.....4am! And before you even ask, YES, I often wonder why I do this to myself when in entails getting up at such an ungodly hour.......I guess deep down I like punishing myself.

After loading the car with my bike and essential gear, I headed off to Lehighton, PA (about 90 minute drive) for my 1st triathlon of the 2015 race season. I was on my way to compete in the Black Bear Sprint Triathlon which consisted of a 750 meter swim, 18 mile bike and 5K run. It was one of three races (Olympic and Half also) but I was so glad I chose the Sprint Tri given the warm and muggy conditions this morning. 

Swim - 750 Meters - 72 degree water
By my standards, the swim went very well. Over the past few months, I have been working harder on my technique and workouts in the pool and today felt like it paid off a little. Of course that could have been the wet suit and the extra buoyancy! Prior to the start, I actually debated whether or not to use the wetsuit as 72 degrees is really not that cold.

Swim time - 12:51 (22nd of 223 triathletes)
T1 - 2:15 (not bad for wrestling out of wetsuit and running close to 100 yards to timing mats)

Bike - 18 miles of HILLS!!
I kid you not about the hills! Over this 18 mile course, there was a total of 1532 feet of climbing including two Cat 4 climbs by Strava standards......WTF!!!!! I had been told it was a hilly course by several people but there is no way I expected this. I was also stupid in that I never even looked at the profile of the course to kind of know where I might run into some of these hills. While it may have been one of the toughest bike course I have encountered during a sprint triathlon, I have to admit, I did enjoy it in some sick way, I guess. I quickly passed a bunch of people in the first 8-10 miles moving myself into the top ten but I was more frustrated I could not draw closer to some of the leaders.....Climbing legs not quite where I thought they were. (Work to be done still)

Bike time - 18 miles/ 1532 feet - 54:09/19.9 MPH (8th of 223 triathletes)
T 2 - 1:28 (a little slow)

Run - 3.1 Miles (Mostly trail running)
Surprisingly, my legs felt great coming off the hilly bike! Like the bike, the 1st mile of the bike was hilly as we climbed away from transition along the trail. It was easily my slowest mile on the run. Once the ground leveled off, my legs felt incredibly strong and as I left the woods, I could finally see some runners ahead of me. I was finally starting to see some targets but  I had just under half of the race to reel them in!  In the 3rd mile, I started to really believe I might be able to catch one or two of them and slowly they kept coming back to me. At the same time, unfortunately, the finish line was getting closer to them and not leaving me much time. Needless to say......I ran out of ground & time to run them down abut still moved within 6 seconds of moving up one spot.....

Run Time - 20:27/6:36 per mile (5th of 223 triathletes)
Overall - 1:31:12 -8th Overall/ 2nd Age Group (45-49)

Training continues to go well and with today's result, I am excited for the remainder of the season. Not much of my schedule is set beyond this weekend but I am thinking of racing next weekend (another sprint tri) and then start focusing on a half-ironman distance race in August and potentially an Ironman distance race in the fall to late fall. My training numbers will increase drastically when this plan starts! (More boring post for you ahead!!!)

30 Week Training Totals

Bike - 4147 miles/ 196.74 hours/ 21.07 mph

Run - 694 miles/ 92.22 hours/ 7:58 per mile

Swim - 60 miles/ 28.98 hours

Total - 4901 miles/ 317.94 hours

Per Week - 163.37 miles/ 10.60 hours

So the journey continues...........

"But if you’re all about the destination, then take a fucking flight.
  We’re going nowhere slowly, but we’re seeing all the sights."
"The Ballad Of Me And My Friends" - Frank Turner

That close to 7th overall

Putting A Little Perspective On Things!

The journey continues and what a journey it was this week!

This week I had the privilege of traveling with 3 of my athletes to Upstate New York for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. In addition to watching my current athletes compete, I was afforded an opportunity to watch several of my former athletes coach their athletes at the highest level of Division III athletics! For three days I watched the very best athletes that Division III has to offer in 18 events and 2 relays! 

Over those 3 days, I watched close to 800 athletes compete for 320 All American spots! That means 60% of the field works hard and sacrifices all year to get to the top of their respective events to possibly come home with no hardware. And trust me, regardless of their seed, every athlete goes there with the hopes of standing on that podium as an All American.

You may be wondering how this all ties into my enjoying journey theme of the blog or putting a bit of perspective on things title to this post..... I will get to that now or at least attempt to as you can imagine how a 360 mile ride home can give one a lot of time to reflect on everything they witnessed.

Here goes:

1. Pick a destination race and travel (drive) with friends. Maybe your trip will not be 1600 miles over 4 days like ours, but that time is great for conversations, jokes, getting to know each other and pointing out things along the drive. Quite often we noticed more of the weird things,  like a cow tied to a tree in a yard in upstate NY...WTF???
2. Respect your fellow competitors - Guess what, we all compete in sports like track & field and triathlons for many of the sames reasons but probably the biggest reason of all - testing our own physical limits and trying to push beyond them. Your fellow competitor is not necessarily out to beat you as they are out to set a personal best and challenge themselves! And sometimes that will mean them beating you and at other times you beating them. It is not always personal! 
3. Get to know your fellow competitors - As mentioned in #2 we are in this for the same reason and in some ways we don't truly compete directly against them as we can only control one thing in a race..... and that is what we do during the race! It was very refreshing to watch many of these athletes interact and get to know each other despite all competing for the limited All American spots. After races, take time to listen more to others talk about their races than always want to talk of your own races. Don't worry, you will get your chance to talk about your race!
4. Don't take take things to seriously - Like the 60% at NCAA's, who walk away with no AA award, we need to understand races are not always going to go the way we want them to! Yeah, we might be disappointed but I assure you the world won't end! Good or bad, we can all learn from our races and put together plan for the next race. As me and a fellow triathlete, who I train with at times, joke about races....they are all "C" races!!!! Like almost all of these 800 athletes, outside of our professions, we won't be making money in the sport of triathlons!
5. Enjoy the journey - Take pictures, Blog, Tweet - who cares - do whatever you want to show others how much you enjoy what you are doing! Just don't over hashtag things!!  Don't just focus on the end results, quite often the greatest pleasure is not in the end result but how you got there! Quite often it is the journey that is the greater challenge! 

Well, my journey is leading up to my first triathlon of the 2015 race season. Next Sunday, I will be competing at the Black Bear Sprint Triathlon (750M swim, 18 mile bike, 5K run). My goal as of now is to see how hard I can push myself over the course and see where the results will fall.  Training has continued to go well and I feel a lot stronger now than I did last year at this time. Here are the latest training totals: (2015 training started on 11/03/2014)

29 Week Training Totals

Bike - 4009 miles/ 189.85 hours/ 21.10 mph

Run - 672 miles/ 89.38 hours/ 7:58 per mile

Swim - 57 miles/ 27.36 hours

Total - 4738 miles/ 306.59 hours

Per Week - 163.37 miles/ 10.57 hours

My ways of enjoying the journey:

1. Drinking my coffee
2. Drinking my beer
3. Eating my ice cream
4. Blogging - helping others keep things in perspective
5. Pictures -  triduath45  (Instagram)
6. Coaching others

"But if you’re all about the destination, then take a fucking flight.
  We’re going nowhere slowly, but we’re seeing all the sights."
"The Ballad Of Me And My Friends" - Frank Turner 

Hello, My Old Friend

"But if you’re all about the destination, then take a fucking flight.
  We’re going nowhere slowly, but we’re seeing all the sights.
  And we’re definitely going to hell,
  But we’ll have all the best stories to tell."
"The Ballad Of Me And My Friends" - Frank Turner

WOW!!!!! It has been a long time since my last post.

To be honest, it is not like you have actually been sitting there wondering..."Hmmmmm, you know it has been quite a while since Marty has bored us with his training totals or one of his silly pointless rants!!!"

But in case you were wondering that exact thought....Have no worries, I am still alive and ready to bore you with more of my mundane training posts and whimsical rants (if you should even manage to read this blog)!!! 

But a little more focus on this go around will be on the journey! As the lyrics for the song above suggest, to often we become to focused on the destination or the end results of our training that we forget that the journey needs to be enjoyed and the journey is quite often the thing that defines us! 

And if you are wondering.....Yes!!! I still have the ultimate goal of getting back to Kona & competing at the Ironman World Championships! Yes, I am going to be training to win races or place very high & I am not talking about just in my age group. At my age, I must admit, there is no bigger ego boost than kicking the crap out competitors half my age. But I also understand, at my age, I am not going to have sponsors knocking at my door offering me free products and money! And just a hint to most of you out there.....those offers won't be there for you either so you might as well enjoy the journey & learn to not take yourself to seriously sometimes!  (ie. drink a beer, have coffee or a soda, eat a candy bar, stay up late, eat something that is not gluten free, eat something that has fat in it!) 

Pictures of my journey can be seen here or can be followed on my Instagram page: triduath45 (Instagram)

This page will include pictures from my training & life! Please as you go along your journey, remember to stop and smell the coffee burning once in awhile!

Oh yeah.....As you go along your journey, remember, don't take yourself too seriously sometimes.....there are not a lot of people making a living off triathlons! Plus you may also find yourself as a topic of one of my silly rants of why people pick on triathletes too often!(We do bring on the ridicule to ourselves too often)

OK....It is now time for the self-promoting boring training totals as I prepare for my season opening race in two weeks! My official 2015 season began on November 3rd (28 weeks ago).

28 Week Training Totals
Bike - 3888 miles/ 188.93 hours/ 20.57 mph
Run - 644 miles/ 85.76 hours/ 7:59 per mile
Swim - 55 miles/ 26.55 hours
Total - 4587 miles/ 301.24 hours
Per Week - 163.82 miles/ 10.76 hours

Beyond the race in two weeks, I do not have much more of the schedule set but I am still committed to doing an ironman distance race this year...so stay tuned for the announcement!!! 

Change Of Plans

In my years of coaching and competing, I have learned that flexibility can go a long way in helping an athlete and coach!

Now, before I go to far, I must say that it is not the flexibility that you may have initial thought when you read the first sentence. I am talking about flexibility in terms of race schedules, when things happen that adversely effect training or things happen that just make dream races not quite feasible.

When I embarked on my 2015 race season training on November 3, it was with 2 intentions: training for an early season Ironman (Texas) and training using MAF. About 2-3 weeks, I came to the realization that the early season Ironman was not going to happen. I am not giving up on an Ironman distance race but it will have to wait till later in the season. 

Now, I have been able to stick with the plan of training using MAF (Maxium Aerobic Function). Without the scheduled May 16th Ironman, I extended my base building by 4-5 weeks. With the addition of suspension training during this time, I came out of this 16-17 week stretch feeling aerobically stronger and muscularly leaner than I have been in years. I have even had people ask if I had lost weight but as far as I know, I have not, but I do feel leaner and stronger. As I started my Build Phase (3 weeks in now), I have found bike and run workouts above MAF have come easily and my paces at MAF continually drop. My swimming continues to get faster and for first time,since I returned to triathlons 3 years ago, I feel my swim is actually respectable!

20 Weeks Of Training @ MAF

Bike - 86 rides/ 2777 miles/ 130.20 hours/ 21.32 mph

Run - 65 runs/ 444 miles/ 60.07 hours/ 8:07 per mile

Swim - 39 swims/ 40.75 miles/ 19.40 hours

Total - 190 workouts/ 3261.75 miles/ 209.67 hours

Weekly - 9.5 workouts/ 163.09 miles/ 10.48 hours

To keep me motivated, I have signed up for my 1st race of 2015! In 10 weeks, I will be competing at Black Bear Triathlon (Sprint Race).  The distances are 750 meter swim, 18 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. I am still looking to compete a couple half-ironman races during the summer and several sprint races in a lead up to a fall Ironman race.

Some other potential races:

Challenge AC or Pocono

Ironman Timberman 70.3

Lake Lenape Triathlon

Quakerman Olympic + Triathlon

Keystone Sprint Triathlon

People often ask what am I on to complete my training?

What am I on?

I am on my bike 7+ hours a week, in the pool 1.5-2 hours a week and on the roads running 3+ hours a week in 2015......and of course coffee, ice cream and beer for recovery!

Why Try To Reinvent The Wheel??

 
"I'm always wanting more
 Anything I haven't got
 Everything, I want it all
 I just can't stop"
Want -The Cure

Over the years we have had so many different diet fads........(Yes, sorry to disappoint some but they are fads).........

Grapefruit Diet, South Beach Diet, Atkin's Diet, Blood Type Diet, Paleo Diet, Zone Diet, Pritikin Principle....Just to name a few!

Bu watching television the other day I saw a commercial that said to me......blog post! 

The Pub Diet 

Yes folks, you read that correctly.....The Pub Diet! From the kind folks at Applebees who are truly concerned about your health (OK, maybe just a hint of sarcasm in the sentence). These menu choices are said to be packed with protein but low in calories. But before you think Paleo, hold on, not so fast! To add a slight twist to the Paleo Diet, they team their protein dishes with whole grains (the devil in the Paleo Diet) creating their own diet. And to not get too far from the real purpose of  their existence, they even suggest a low calorie drink such as a "Skinnybee" Pomegranate 'Rita (just 130 calories) to wash down the meal.It is just a classic example of corporation trying to make a buck on the latest fad!

Maybe their dishes are healthy and I will give them the benefit of the doubt for trying, but it is Applebees not a five star restaurant. Applebees are basically glorified burger joints that serve alcohol!!! Trust me, I am not against a true pub meal as I am one who could always go for a burger and beer! As competitive (using the term loosely) athlete, when it comes to pub food, healthy choices are not always my first concern when I enter the door. I figure that I train enough that having that beer and burger won't kill me! I have often suggested that ending some training sessions at a bar of choice is a wise decision and will often get more people to train with you. Here is my idea of a true "Pub Diet"....... Beer, Burger, Fries (preferably sweet potato), Nachos, Onion Rings, did I mention beer!!!! Hell I am drinking a nice Victory Storm King Stout as I type this (Carboloading for my training this week)!

Not too much to report to on my training as I am still in my base training! Slow and boring!! Volume of training is starting to increase as I hit 11 hours and 18 minutes of cardiovascular work but still a long way to go before tackling that 140.6 distance of the Ironman. Latest training totals:

Eleven Weeks Of Base Training @ MAF:

Bike - 46 rides/ 1523 miles/ 71.35 hours/ 21.34 mph

Run - 35 runs/ 263.25 miles/ 35.92 hours/ 8:11 per mile

Swim - 21 swims/ 20 miles/ 9.43 hours

Total - 102 workouts/ 1806.25 miles/ 116.7 hours

(12 Suspension Training sessions)

Per Week - 9.27 workouts/ 164.2 miles/ 10.61 hours