Coaches Blog - Half Ironman

Aug 05 at 5:16am | 0 comments
***Race Report to follow***







Dec 10 at 2:59pm | 0 comments
Location: Clearwater Beach Fl
Temperature: amazing
Wind: light at best

Coach Cliff finish

This was my third time racing the 70.3 championships in the past 5 years.  The course is flat and fast and you can expect good conditions.  Having come off of Ironman Hawaii only three weeks before, I was in good long course shape but really had my work cut out for a half ironman performance.  The last time I did this race I had just come off an all time high.  I raced Ironman FL in 9hr7min and the very next weekend did the half Ironman Championships here in 4hr16min.  Coming into this this year I was 10lbs heavier and more tired than before.  Still, I was just happy to be in Clearwater and celebrate with another big race.

I love to race and be out there putting it on the line so I rolled the dice (no training between) and did the double headed monster of both of triathlons greatest events and world championships - back to back and here is how it went.


Swim:
-I started out the swim feeling sluggish 
-I try to jump a few pair of feet but the pack does not seem to have any formation and I meander through the group without a real draft.
-The water temp is comfortable and quite salty, gulp.
-On the return looking to my left I sight off of the pier that flanks the far left side of the course.  
-Pass a few swimmers here and there trying not to go over them but around!

T1:
-Quick in and out. All my stuff lined up on the bike so I can shoot out..

Bike:
-No powermeter today.  All covered up but collecting data.  Just going by heart rate.  Its hard to know where my fitness stand right now since I have not been training in the past few weeks. I rely on feel mostly.
-The wave organization is much better than previous years and I find myself biking fairly solo with only two or three other riders around me.  This is a big change from previous years where the packs of drafting riders were really effecting the race.
-I sip from my camel back and get in some fluids early on as I work off of the liquid calories on the frame of my bike.  
-The pace is fast and only one or two bumps in the road keep me awake : )
-Coming up and over the causeways, the wind blows a bit and slows the pace a touch.
-The consistency in pedaling and need to remain aero is critical.
-I feel fairly good all things considered.  
-HR is a bit high but I have no power to calibrate it against, again by choice so as not to mess with my mental psyche.
-Towards the end of the ride and going through a few out and back sections it is possible to see some fairly large groups moving together.  Well, at least they are moving it to Vegas next year and the cyclists will have their revenge over the drafting cyclist runners here!

T2 Hop off the bike and peel off my camel back to roll through transition.

Run:
-Foot turnover is good.
-The heat builds from mile 1-3
-My HR monitor beeps loudly telling me I am over my target max HR, I chose to ignore it. 
-Miles 1-5 click by and I average 6:40/mi (Woah, nice)
-Mile 6-8 i unravel and the season ends : )  Ha, literally I am cooked.  Went too hard and not enough recovery and or calories to sustain the effort I am putting out.  I begin the walk/ run process.
-My time slows but a smile appears on my face, I look around and I am in a beautiful palm tree filled state and the sun is shining.  
-I take on some sponges and drink some Powerbar Performance drink.
-Try not to walk too much 
-I say hi to a few fellow competitors and enjoy the rest of the race at half my normal speed : )  
-Cross the finish line and close out an excellent season.  Oddly, I was greeted to an orange haired caryokee dancer nicknamed the "alien" at the finish line.  He is a professional crazy person.  Felt like the twilight zone!


Post race thoughts; 

I was really happy to come down and support the other TriStar Athletes whom raced exceptionally well.  With Hawaii behind me, Clearwater was meant to be a challenging and fun day.  I went hard (as I normally do) and rode the wire to the end which happened to be midway through the run!  Trying to parle fitness from an Ironman into a half is difficult since the demands of each event are so different.  To be honest to myself and athletes whom I am dearly devoted to; for me to be selfish and train after hawaii for another 70.3 championship would not have been possible.  I trained for my athletes whom I coach in order for them to be the fittest they could be!  In the end there were several TriStar Athletes whom raced Clearwater and other fall Ironmans faster than I did.  This is the ultimate compliment as a triathlon coach and far more fulfilling than setting a new PR on a course I have done 3X.

Congratulations again to all the athletes who raced and I look forward with gusto to Thanksgiving and the 2011 season!

All the very best,

Coach Cliff


Aug 31 at 1:52pm | 0 comments
Timberman 70.3

This race was used in preparation for my "A" race Ironman Hawaii (7 weeks away)
Goals
-Get battle tested for longer distances in the bike and run
-Establish my current fitness for Swim + BIke + run and dial in that fitness towards the Ironman World Championships
-Test out my left leg and make sure it can stand up to harder efforts and racing conditions. (This was an old injury and tightness of my hip from early in the season.  I was forced to DNF Rhode Island as a result.)
-Continue to work on my diabetes strategies for the Half Ironman distance. (Last year I tested new ideas and needed a few races this year to continue to prove that they were correct.)
-The results was a fast day and slow day all wraped into one. Mental note and physical note; being sick does not bring speed but does build character when trying to race...

Swim (Note my swim time was 30min not 35 as IM live posted... this was due to a last minute wave switchero!  Hey 5min is a lot on the swim : )
-8:15 wave time, second to last.  Mentally preparing to pass lots of folks and dodge and weave : 0
-Start off strong and swim hard trying to find the fastest moving group
-I miss the lead group of swimmers and fight to try to bridge up to them.
-After 5min of swimming i fall into no mans land!  No one in front to draft....
-After turning the first corner the swells and wind picks up and the water is a chop.
-The pace slows a bit but my effort remains high.
-I pass some swimmers bobbing trying to find the buoys between swells.

T1
-In and out, with out a hitch.
-I usually test my blood sugar but opt not to (This would come back to get me later in the day.)
-Fumble a bit to slip my feet into the pedals as the first mile is straight up out of transition.

Bike
-Moderate, moderate, moderate I say to my self. ....
-My HR pings at 166bpm..  get er down... get  it down.
-Pass a few small climbs on the way to a nice 9% grade climb. Up the hill someone ask me if it is aerodynamic to ride a disc that rubs :/  Grrrr.  I stop and check the wheel and find it is rubbing but only when I climb!
-Feeling good.
-I sip some carbopro and pass lots of cyclists.
-Crossing the top of the major climb and headed down the backside I pass by Chrissy Wellington on her way back into town.  Huh, she was gritting her teeth..  a sign of things to come?
-Miles 20-40 are flat and in and out of the wind.  The rain picks up and soaks us all. 
-Still feeling strong
-Climbing back over the hill to head back towards the lake the roads are treacherously wet and the combination of cars + slower cyclists + steep downhills forces me to slow and at times stop.

T2
-Feet out of the shoes, into transition and out onto the run.  Avg speed in transition.

Run
-Yikes....  mile one feels yuck.  
-Mile 2 no better.  
-mile 3 into the porto potty to pray to the potty gods.
-Feeling nauseous I throw up once and then back into the porto potty at mile 5... whats happening here?
-My HR drops like a stone... averaging 8min miles at 125bpm.
-My stomach sloshes and I make a third pit stop and oh no... yep... diarrhea cha cha cha... Guess I have a bug?
-I walk and run and gut the first loop preparing for the second.  At mile 7 I know everything is off as I cant eat or drink to keep food down. I am just sick.
-To add to the chaos, when i am sick my blood sugar skyrockets and causes more havoc.  A short explanation of what happens to you when you get sick as a type 1 diabetic. Insulin tends to not work as well and when you are ingesting mass quantities of carbohydrate your blood sugar can spike.  On this day my blood sugar was off charts high.  A normal persons body would not experience this but for me it means that all the food I am taking in to perform in the race is being urinated out via my kidneys.  This downward spiral unfortunately leads to electrolyte loss, dehydratrion and calorie depletion rapidly... ie not good. As you can see at all costs I try to avoid getting sick!)
-With that in mind... I keep running and look to get more insulin on board when I finish the race.  Taking insulin now would be too dangerous as it could also crash my blood sugar before breaking the tape.  I pick up the pace for the final 2miles and eek out a smile at the finish.
-Not the run I envisioned but a challenging one for sure!  
-Fortunately, even with a slow run I was able to qualify for the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater FL.  Cool.

Diabetes Notes
-three days before the race: Short steep taper (Wednesday to Sunday almost completely off. Lots of rest. Managed good blood sugars up to the race)
-3:00am Overnight before the race I wake up with a stomach bug and wind up in the bathroom sick. I go back to bed.
-4:00am Eat two powerbars and take 4units of humalog and go back to bed
-5:30 AM wake up, feeling ok but slightly dehydrated.  Start on bfast
-Eat powerbar and energy drink
-Start WAKING UP!  Feeling amped to race.
-6:00am test and bs is way high.. Nerves + being sick makes my insulin not work as well as it should.  I take an extra shot of 1 unit of humalog.
-6:15am eat another powerbar and take 2units.
-Keep my basal unit on my pump on at .55units 
-7:30am arrive at transition, keep drinking water and can feel dehydration still
-7:45am test and BS is 390mg/dl (This is still way too high and has been high all morning, The consequence is that much of the powerbars I have been eating over night and for breakfast have not been absorbed into my body but rather urinated out and causing dehydration.  A mjaor issue for me as I am starting a long race calorie depleted and dehydrated. Fortunately on this day the weather looked to be cooler and rainy.)
-8:00am I take an additional bolus of 1unit of humalog and turn off my insulin.  
-8:05am I inject 1.85units of humalog into my arm. (Normally I would take 3units of humalog but given the correction units i had been taking all morning I was afraid to take the full amount and consequently get low during the swim)
-8:12 I ingest 400 calories of carbopro.
-8:15am Gun goes and i go into the lake!


Mar 29 at 3:35pm | 0 comments
Run Run as fast as you can!  That's all i was telling myself for my first Selden Half Marathon.  This was my first "race" back after last years Ironman Arizona and it feels good to be racing.  I have been working on some faster stuff in terms of my run and this was a chance to build some early season speed before starting my long distance training later in the year.  The weather was rainy and cool but that didnt slow me down  : )  Click here for results and splits via google maps.

13.1mi  =  1hr 21min 32sec
                                          


Here is how it went.

-From the start I go out fast..... way too fast   5:27 = first mile. But maybe this will be insurance for later...
-2nd mile still fast but better, I can feel my heart rate spiking as I go anaerobic.
-I run with the first 5 guys for the first five miles.  This seems to be going well.
-Crest the first hill back towards starting area and head towards the longer out and back
-Daydreaming I get passed by three runners.  Back to business.
-Mile 5-6 grab some water.  One paper cup full from a military official who says he has run out of water.
-Mile 7 no water here either, and actually no water anywhere on the course!  I can hear people behind me moaning as the volunteer empties her own bottle of Poland Spring to fill the needs of 100s of runners!  Ahhhhh. Good thing it was cool.
-Mile 8 up! up! up! the long but shallow hill...  pace dips to 7:48/mile
-Mile 9 digging in grit my teeth i manage to wave hi to KIM and the crowd only to be passed again by another runner. 
-Damn time to focus less than 4mi to go.
-Find a rabbit (someone to pace off of) and hang on to his feet as I tuck in and run behind him.  Breathing very hard and muscles are sore and screaming! I pass the pacer with .25mi to go
-Under the arches 1hr 21min 32seconds.  A new PR by 15 seconds




                                                  


Even though I was coming into the race a bit "heavy" (~ +8lbs) I was happy to pull this one off.  Im fit to run for now and now its time to focus in on Wildflower.

See you soon,

GO TRAIN!

All the best,

Coach Cliff

www.TriStarAthlete.com

Feb 10 at 2:55pm | 0 comments

Knowledge is power and power is the driving force for triathletes and cyclists alike.  How we use power in our training and racing will greatly affect our physical ability and the subsequent outcome of our race performances.  The following concepts will help guide your thinking when using the power meter. 

POWERMETERS AND RACING

As a coach I am constantly asked whether or not an athlete should use a power meter to  race an event.  Depending upon the distance my recommendations will vary.  My response has been to train athletes with power but when it comes to raceday trust their instincts and confirm it with heart rate. (Especially so for long course triathlon) 
I am a big proponent of data collection during races and thus I do invite athletes to cover their wattage and rather race with a specific intensity and only confirm that intensity with a heart rate monitor.   Why should this be so?  During longer events such as an Ironman, the long day energy needs must be respected.   A heart rate is a key indicator of this energy balance when considering the lactic threshold and the heart rate at which an athlete can perform most aerobically for a long event.  The lactic threshold wattage and lactic threshold heart rate are not directly correlated and heart rate may vary on any given day and event.)It is the variability between the two that we actually best determine cycling fitness during training and racing. 
Even during training we know generally what power we can hold for a long distance event based on testing.  Yet pacing with power may increase the chances of giving too strong and too early an effort (vs heart rate) or our late stage efforts not strong enough.  Take for example the effect more specifically in a 70.3 event or an Ironman where the heart rate soars out of T1 and onto the bike where an unchecked heart rate can lead to greater energy loss as you try to maintain a specific wattage.  (A constantly jumping and changing target as pressure applied and removed from the pedals can create troughs and spikes in power)  Similarly, once into the ride it may also occur that power again holds an athlete back from their raceday potential.  When you fully taper for an event, you may be capable of more on that day and if you stick to the prescribed power numbers you may miss your true potential for the day!
Another disadvantage to the power meter is that it takes you out of the flow of a race.  The "art” of racing allows you to listen to your body and go for it when you need to and best adjust to the demands of the course.  A heart rate will give you a better global picture of how hard your body is working yet still allow you to put out a good effort without compromising race speed.
This speed may not be realized when using a power meter especially if the course is more dynamic, technical or hilly.   For many athletes rolling hills represent opportunities to ride faster that cant be fully appreciated when plugging in a specific wattage during a race.  Understanding that all "Power is not created equal” on a course will help you to learn where to put your efforts; herein lies the true sophistication of the power meter when used during training versus racing.
So why all the rage with power meters and the touting of their benefits if its not going to help me with my race?

HOW TO TRAIN MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH POWER

-The long ride:  Using power to make sure a steady/easy ride is… well, steady and easy!
 The use of a powermeter during the long ride should really drill into you how to "go easy” and smooth out the profile of the ride. When you ride and keep your watts at an endurance pace you notice hey, my easy ride is easy and this is due to the fact that hills get neutralized and the flatter sections of a course get utilized!  If you keep your workload the same at "X” watts it doesn’t matter if you are on a hilly or flat course you will have a similar effort (Note not speed : )

-How to take a hill:  A difference between racing long and training: 

 As you ride up a hill and note your wattage it is clear that the workload has gone up dramatically in order to carry your weight up the hill. During a race if the hill is fairly long it is best to carry as much momentum from the previous hill or flat into the hill by working the gears, peeling them off as you go up.  As the workload increases sit and pick a steady pace to the top.  However if the hill is rolling go ahead and stand the hill and power over the top of it with a little extra effort.  Note: if you were racing by power the powermeter would not allow you to do this and take advantage of the potential energy and speed stored by your weight carried over and down the backside of the hill. By racing with heart rate you would see that the short time it took to power you over the hill had minimal effect on your heart rate and thus was not as costly to your longer pacing strategy. 

-Gold on the backside of the rainbow: Found on raceday as well as a long training ride: 

 As you crest the top off hill out of breath and ready for some downtime on the backside of the hill, look at your power and you will notice that it was cut in half or more.  Why stop there?  Keep going!  When you reach the top of the hill carry your effort over the top and stand on the pedals putting your weight into the downward section of the hill.  Your weight on the top of the hill represents potential energy that you need to capitalize on.  Any extra "sauce” you put on the front end of the hill will be more costly as the more energy will not equate to greater speeds.  However, gassing the backside of a hill until you are up to speed will hoist you in front of the pack and catch up to any hard workers who wasted their energy on the front end of the hill you cruised up. (This does not suggest dogging the hills but rather approaching them with prudence and strength.)

-Working the dowhills:   No fear and an application for racing and long ride training:

 Now that you are applying power on the backside of the hills you will find your speed picking up.  There reaches a critical point at which the economies of pedaling faster have a diminished return and you are better served to rest and stop pedaling in order to conserve energy.  At a speed of 30+mph on the downhill it would be better to save the energy for other slower parts of the course. 

-Intervals!  Love em or hate em the power meter is your carrot to boost your performance.

One of the best reasons to own a power meter is the fact that with each session you can quantify exactly what you are doing from one session to the next and week after week.   A "watt will always be a watt”, what?  Opposed to your heart rate which may be influenced by many factors, (ie sleep, stress, heat ect) power will always deliver the same reading from one rider to the next and these numbers are measureable and absolute.   During interval training each week you can ratchet up your intensity and see true fitness gains based on the work you are doing in your training program.  One key idea with interval training that is important for those new to power meters is noticing how slight increases in power from one workout to the next (and week to week) does not have to be major!  An increase of 10 watts may be sufficient and increments of 20-50 watt jumps in intervals can be a lot of work. 

-Calibration:  all that stuff about accuracy well…..

If your machine is not calibrated you can forget about most of the sophistication we just talked about above… because your results will be flawed!  Make sure to calibrate and zero your power meter before each ride.  Simple, yes, power-full you bet.
To learn more about training with power for your next triathlon program give TriStar Athlete coaches a call and make your training work for you!

All the best,

Coach Cliff

Oct 24 at 7:15am | 0 comments
  
The first year of the Westchester Toughman will be known for many things and one of those will be the challenging swim that greeted athletes in the form of a pea soup fog on raceday.   It will also be known for its challenging and beautiful bike course as well as an equally challenging and scenic run course. 



The course sitauted 8miles north of Tarrytown, Croton On the Hudson, was chosen for its protected swim cove and access to great biking routes and a run on a hilly trail course.  Race morning featured a swim with dense fog that delayed the start by approximately 15min.  As the race was underway many athletes found themseleves lost in the Hudson, unable to find the next buoy or even the shore from which they came from.  At several points many athletes in a panick called into the fog asking for help from the Kayakers who couldnt find the swim course as well.
Many athletes abandoned the swim and returned to the start as others swam aimlessly down stream in the current.  Looking at the swim times its hard to tell exactly who did what.  In the end everyone made it out of the water, a little shaky but happy to be on solid ground and ready to bike.

 

The bike course was scenic and challenging with rolling hills.  With minimal wind on the day the bike splits were fairly strong.

  

Run: Lots of differnt terrain made the run course exciting and challening.  With one out and back along the Hudson before heading East uphill to the trail section along the dam and trails.

  

In his own words; Scott Harrison: "They didn't call it Toughman for nothing given the combination of foggy swim, challenging but fair bike and a 'Scenic' run.  This is a 'must do' race for future years.


  

Congratulations to all the athletes and especially the TriStars...!

-Brian Maiolo (2nd AG)
-Stefan Kusurelis (3rd Overall)
-Scott Harrison (3rd AG)
-Haluk Sarci (2nd place relay)
-John Farnham (2nd place relay)
-Coach Cliff (2nd place relay)

May 04 at 11:05am | 0 comments

Traveling to the beautiful island of St Croix, this Half Ironman triathlon has it all.  Sun, surf, wind, hills, heat, rain, and did I mention hills?  The 2008 event included a who’s who of Pro athletes and top age groupers looking to get an early jump on gaining entry to the Kona and Clearwater World Championships as well as a good test race for those coming out of the winters grip. Congratulations to all TriStar Athletes in St Croix for braving a tough day and slaying the beast!






” Sometimes you own the course, sometimes the course owns you.”

Race Detail

Swim:


· 6am Swim from mainland to race start on the Cay

· 6:30am pros start

· 6:32am ask other swimmers their potential swim times to get a pair of feet to draft off of.

· 6:35am <Male 29yrs start! 

· 6:40am no fast feet in this group.. and can’t hang on with the fastest guy who leaps ahead to the pro field swimmers.

· Lots of chop out here; like the hull of a boat slamming into each wave it was hard to get into a swim rhythm.

· Stopped several times to sight the buoys.

· Finish the swim up the ramp in a slower than normal time 33min

Bike:


· Get on the bike and try to settle in but HR is 172!  Continue riding with HR 168+ for first 25min. (@ >280W)

· Settle in a bit and start to feel more relaxed but legs feel empty…

· Several small thunderstorms wet us and the roads as we cruise through town making the conditions  slippery

· Chain falls off the right side of my bike x 2 and have to stop to fix it.

· Up the beast, really working here; shouldn’t be so hard but sure feels like it. (HR 176bpm)

· Mile 45 on the bike big thunderstorms and high wind make for hard conditions.  I munch on my second wet Powerbar  and stick to my game plan dialing in my watts and noting the HR.

· Sun peeks out and wind picks up on the back of the island.  Legs feel depleted and don’t think I am eating enough!

· SRM troubles; as the course heats up (effecting the calibration of my power meter) I have to switch back to HR to pace the bike. 

· More hills… and some fast fun downhill sections.  Some gusty winds blow my front wheel around making the descent hairy.

· Mile 50 legs are toast and feel more like after an Ironman than finishing a half Iron bike :O

Run:


· Enter T2 and take my time to get set and ready to run.  Load up my camel back and wet my cap to start onto the run course without a cloud in the sky!

· Hot HOT HOT! Ice, water, sponge and Gatorade at each aid station.

· Mile three some walking and jogging.  The trail through the golf course is hot and stagnant until I reach the ocean side with a nice breeze.

· Get passed by Amanda Lovato on the run.. she is looking strong but suffering . 

· I walk some of the major hills and jog as much as I can to keep moving. My only words of the day to the cheering section as I walk up the steep hill on the 9th hole of the golf course, "Sometimes you own the course, and sometimes the course owns you!”  Though I did say it with a laugh and a smile : )

· Mile 6..  Starting to feel a little better after getting in lots of strong Gatorade from my camel back.

· Some blisters on the feet but keep moving. 

· To cool my body I put cups of ice from each aid station under my cap.  (Brain Freeze!)

· All about finishing as there is only 3miles to go.  Really suffering in the heat..

· One loop through the downtown heat and can hear the crowd cheering and see the finish line. Glad to be done : )


· Finish 5:05:30  Swim:33min Bike 2:41 Run:1:48, 6th place M25-29  [AVG HR 163bpm or (97% of LT on bike, and 96% of LT on run) Weather low 71 high 89. Sun and rain showers with  thunder storms.

While this wasn’t the stellar race I had hoped for it did blow out the winter cob webs and should get me ready for my ‘A’ race, Ironman Cour D’Alene.  Based on some of my experiences from this race I plan to tweak a few things for my nutrition going forward (Eat more on the bike) and also make sure NOT to get sick the week before the race!

~Coach Cliff

Need help planning your ‘A’Race nutrition?  We can help dial in your specifics!  Contact us!