Athlete Reports

3 weeks ago, May 07 at 6:26am | 0 comments
Race report

Heading up to New Paltz, NY for the local 2mi/11mi/2mi sprint duathlon lacks the cache of a big WTC race, for sure. This was just meant to be one of Cliff's prescribed "sharpen the spear" races to build some top speed and get a feel for racing on the new bike.  

Standing around the start with the normal crowd - the ageless racers who I'm positive will crush me, the weekend warriors, and various overachievers.  Feeling great about the prospects for the day until the gun (substituted by a hand wave and a quick ready-set-go) goes off - and suddenly I'm getting completely walked by 35% of the field - even though I'm running a steady, tempered 7:00/mi pace right at LT.    While I would love to gear up and retake some of the field, I'm determined not to blow my race early.  I'm relieved later to find that we're up against some relay folks who don't need to "save" anything for the next forty minutes.  In on the first leg in 13:54.  A good day's work in the making.  

On to the bike, supposedly my strong suit.  I'm all decked out with the new Orbea Ordu. full electronic shifting, Zipp 808s and a complete lack of excuses for why I shouldn't PR every time out.   We're off a good start - pouring on the watts right at threshold power - when the "open to traffic" quality of the course starts to look like a liability.  After hanging out behind an errant dump truck for a mile and wondering quite aloud if high V02 max matters when most of the air headed your way is diesel exhaust, I pull in for just over 30 minutes for 12 miles.  Not a bad effort, but I've been here before - so many good bike legs have demolished my legs and ruined a run.  I've come to realize bike fit was the culprit, but it's still a concern.  

Off on the final run, I have no expectations.  The goal is to finish on empty.  Pace is secondary, but I'm surprising myself at how I'm hanging on to my legs.  I'm faster than LT for now and if I can turn off the pain for the last mile this one is going in the books.  I can hear footsteps getting louder behind me, though, and the thought of a "finishing kick" starts to develop.  I've never really had to worry about that as a mid-pack finisher with no "gears" on the run.  What's more interesting than the thought of a finishing kick is the thought of losing to someone else's.  I wind it up with a half mile to go and try to find out where the red line is, somewhere around 6:25/mi pace.  I hold the stalker off by a couple seconds and wonder if this is what it's like to be halfway decent as a triathlete, knowing full well that a half dozen grizzled "old" racers beat me anyway.  

First race of the season in the books - the entire race above LT HR and pace, holding off the advancing horde and sharpening the spear.  Cliff and I have been working on speed for the past six months and have come a long way - with more to come before IMFL in the fall.  2013 is off and running - watch out for the pointy stick.

In the next race report I'm doing an investigation into where we're breeding these grizzled old bad asses - in the meantime consider them armed and dangerous.


Mar 17 at 5:43am | 0 comments

The Positive Effects of Stress TriStar Athlete Alia Crum shares with us the positive effects of stress from her research.

Monday, 3/4/2013 at 5:20:27 PM
By Joe Donatelli rss
Shape Magazine

Books, daytime talk shows, Jack Johnson—everywhere we turn someone is telling us to avoid stress. But those authors, experts, and mellow crooners might be doing everyone a disservice. Stress can be good.

Alia Crum of Columbia University and her colleagues will publish research in the April 2013 edition of The Journal of Social and Psychological Sciences that shows training people to view stress as a positive thing can significantly improve job performance and health.

Crum defines stress as the experience or anticipation of a threat or challenge in one’s goal-related efforts. "We don’t get stressed about things that don’t matter to us,” Crum says. "I think that’s critical because we’re spending all of our time and money and energy trying to get rid of our stressors. What we’re really doing is throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Somewhere underneath there is something you really care about.”

She breaks stress into three categories:

1) Conflict: When what you have and what you want is different
2) Pressure: When you need to do things faster or better
3) Uncertainty: When you don’t know what is going to happen

Crum believes mindsets shape outcomes, and she wanted to test her theory on stress. She and her team conducted two studies.

The first was at a large investment company where layoffs were occurring. Three-hundred-eighty employees were split into three groups. Group 1 watched a series of videos that showed how stress can be enhancing—for example, LeBron James making a clutch free throw along with a message that said stress brings out the best in people. Group 2 watched a series of videos about how stress can be debilitating—LeBron James missing an important free throw along with a message that said stress can cause people to crumble. Group 3, the control group, watched no videos.

Group 1, the one that watched the stress-is-enhancing videos, had a significant reduction in stress-related physicalsymptoms such as headaches, backaches, muscle tension, and insomnia and also experienced a significant improvement in productivity assessment.

In a separate study, the researchers studied the cortisol level of students. Cortisol is a hormone related to stress that’s fine in small doses, but it can be harmful if you have too much. The researchers found that stress brought students to an optimal cortisol level.

If this sounds counterintuitive, consider a parallel. Exercise is a form of stress that benefits the body. Muscles are broken down to make them stronger. To operate efficiently, the mind needs similar challenges or stresses. Why this occurs, physiologically, is a mystery—one that Crum and her colleagues are attempting to solve.

In the coming weeks the researchers plan to release an e-training video for people who want to orient themselves into thinking stress is a good thing.

Or you can YouTube LeBron every morning.

Whatever works.


Feb 27 at 7:08am | 0 comments

Jan 03 at 10:28am | 0 comments

For anything prior to the start see the pre-race report.

Swim

I never thought the Ironman swim start would be a relief but it was. The second that cannon went off I finally forgot about the cold water, put my head down and went.

Let the hitting, kicking and shoving begin. Having been mentally prepared for the worse made the whole thing easier. Think of all the idiot's you drive near in traffic; veering, cutting you off, almost getting accidents. Now picture those people swimming next to you; hitting, kicking and shoving; 2,900 of them to be exact. Quick video of what it looked like below.



The swim is an out and back course in Tempe Town Lake, along the river's side wall. I could see Jamie running along the side for about the first 3/4 of a mile. At some points I would feel I had an opening and had gotten away from people only to soon be consumed by more swimmers. It was hard to get in a real rhythm, not that my lack of swim background ever gets in a great rhythm. 


Just before the turn I got kicked pretty good in the face, jamming the left side of my goggle into my face. I debated for the next couple of minutes if I would stop to clear the water that got in. Once I decided the answer was no I forgot about the sloshing water near my eye.


There seemed to be no true "sighting" on the way out with the rising desert sun in full view at the end of Tempe Town Lake. After the turn everything was much more clear. I could feel my right leg cramp slightly, I stopped kicking all together for a 100 yards or so to relieve the compression from the wetsuit on the legs. I took full assessment of how I was feeling at this time and realized that today was going to be a good day. 


I made the final turn on my way to swim exit and got to the set of stairs to exit the water. I had to wait what was probably a minute for two gentlemen in front of me to get up on the stairs and out of the water. When I first stood up my left leg cramped again, a few longer strides and it went away. At this point I could see the race clock; 1:18.


Thank you Jamie for working with me on the swimming this last year. Without you I'd still be in Tempe Town Lake struggling for air. Another thank you Ben Lablonc who convinced me when we graduated college that it would be a good idea to start learning to swim.


Transition 1: Swim to Bike

Ironman uses wetsuit strippers, why anyone would volunteer for this blows my mind but Jamie made a good point that morning; "Don't let them pull the top off your wetsuit, they'll rip the omnipod off (insulin pump)". At that moment I had that very thought. I pulled the wetsuit down far enough below my lower back then let the wetsuit strippers pull the wetsuit off my legs as I sat on the ground. 


I got back up and started running, back to not knowing how the transition bags would work. I had two gels in my hand that I kept in my wetsuit for a potential low blood sugar. I saw a friend from Sergio's workout and after passing thought how I should have thrown them to him. Next person I knew, Lyndsay Riffe, got the gels. 


I grabbed my transition bag. Saw people sitting on the ground and did the same. A race employee didn't like this, "you can't change out here!". "I'm not getting undressed", I yelled back. She yelled it again and I yelled back the same thing. It was a stressful moment. This is what they get for not explaining transition.


I dumped out my belongings, first throwing on my vest I had loaded with food and my heat sleeves. I started to take my blood sugar and my first thought was; "I get one shot at this, if my fingers are too wet I'm not doing this a second time". It worked, 134, it was a happy moment to see that number. I took the syringe out of the case and gave myself the injection.


Cycling shoes and helmet on. Wetsuit in bag. Start running to bike. I don't remember how I grabbed the bike or handed off the bag but some how all of that happened.


Time: 9:04


For the recond, if you don't have diabetes (or some other issue) and you're transitions are slower than this, get it together.


Bike

The Arizona bike course is three loops, it's an out-and-back course that goes uphill on the way out and back down on the way in. As soon as I got out on the course I started eating. Honey soaked gluten-free waffles! Delicious.


The first loop was pretty uneventful. The course at this point was packed with riders. All 3,000 participants in small lanes of traffic. I heeded a friends advice from Sergio's workouts and kept the pace easy for the first twenty miles, there's no reason to push anything during a long day. While triathlon is suppose to be draft free, there was no help but riding in packs at this point. Course marshals were giving penalties to everyone.


After an hour I decided it was time to check if my blood sugar was in line. Except...no meter. I checked my pockets multiple times. No dice. I either dropped it or left it in my transition bag (next day when I looked through my bags I found I had left it in the swim-to-bike bag). I would have to rely on the continuous glucose monitor (which for those of you not familiar with diabetes, it isn't always the most accurate thing during exercise). Six hours, no testing.


I dropped my vest and cotton gloves near the end of the first lap. Getting the vest off was not easy but I'm really glad I had it during the chilly morning hours. It was also at this time that my stomach started to rumble. 


That bathroom break I felt when my wetsuit went on (see post about prior to the race) was starting to show its face. It was decision time. Stop for a seated bathroom break (if you know what I mean) or fight through it. I weighed the options in my mind and realized I wouldn't be able to keep eating comfortably if I didn't stop. 


After passing the cheering fans I stopped on the second lap at the first aid station, where Jamie and I volunteered last year. The fastest bathroom pit stop ever, three minutes according to my bike computer and I was back on my bike. 


At the end of the race, I'd come to want those three minutes back but it was needed. At least this wasn't "race induced" bathroom break, just a natural break for the body.


I started to hammer again and was up and back down the turn around. The headwind coming back down this time was a little stronger. I caught Blair on the bike around this point. I'm pretty proud of pranking her. I could tell it was the Insulindependence jersey so I yelled out "Get out of the way" (she was riding perfectly on the side like we all should be, not in anyone's way). She started looking around like crazy, so funny at the time. "Brennan! I was going to say, I wasn't in the middle of the lane". She would later pass me on the run while looking like a gazelle, myself a wounded shot elephant. She had an awesome race and I hope to convince her to another one some time.



I felt great the whole bike. I tried to hold back not knowing what the run would bring. I grabbed water at each aid station, taking the right amount of salt tablets and eating a lot. 


My continuous glucose monitor read great blood sugars the entire time and I had to trust it was correct. I will say I was happy when the bike was over, 112 miles is a long way. 


Time: 5:39:45


Transition 2: Bike to Run

Off the bike, grab the run gear bag and put on the shoes. Funny that both Peter and Blair had the same stories after the race. The volunteers are almost...too nice. Hovering. Do you need anything? I can help! Should I take this? Should I take that? No, no, it's okay. 


I put on my shoes, visor and heat shirt and ran with my gallon zip lock bag full of run items. 


Time: 2:44


Run

I use that gallon bag to slow me down off the bike. I want to run slow to start and this helps. There's no reason to start sprinting off the bike when you have a marathon to run and you've just biked 112 miles. Yanking items out of the bag; watch on, new blood sugar tester in my pockets, new gels and a water bottle. Dropping the bag next to a cameraman and the run was on!


As soon as I had everything in my pockets I took my blood sugar while running. 141. No complaints there. My inner thighs were cramping a bit but it went away after the first two miles. I had downed a gel at the end of the bike so I waited to eat again. At this point I was consuming mainly Vega gels and coke at the aid stations.


The run was much more fan friendly than the bike course. It's essentially a figure-8 loop with everyone passing friends and family twice. Getting to see everyone and hearing people cheer your name really helps in those dark moments when things start to hurt and the mind asks how long a marathon truly is. Big thanks to Nate Heintzman for setting up the tent so my parents, Jamie, Jamie's Mom Ann, Felicia Gelsey, Tom Reiber and many others had a place to cheer us all on! Also big shout out to Blair's Dad, Dean, for all the awesome pictures.


The second time I saw the fan group on my way around I stopped and gave Jamie a kiss. I'm sure she was plenty embarrassed but it put a smile on my face.  



I felt great during the first ten miles, only ever slowing down to get water and coke down. Things started to unravel at that point, not terribly but it started. I took my blood sugar around this time and it was over 300. I don't know if the pod (insulin pump) was failing or I simply didn't have enough insulin going in me from my plan. I gave myself a very small dose via the insulin pump and after 30 minutes it hadn't come down so I used one of the syringes I had in my tri-shorts.


Somewhere between mile 14 and 15 I made myself throw up. I'm not sure what upset my stomach. It may have been partly the high blood sugar, my other guess is the orange I had around that time. Either way I felt better after things came back up. At this time I took three Tums. I didn't totally know how this would go over in my body but I felt great after (I owe this strategy to Greg Sexton, thank you Greg). Next long race I'll start taking the Tums right when the run starts. 


There's a lot of time to think out there. A lot of time to think about why you're doing this, what it means to you. I thought a lot about playing catch with Dad when I was a kid. How those games of catch lead to this moment. I thought about how happy I was for family to be at the race. It's those small thoughts that can get you through the race.


Starting the third loop felt good. The mind had temporary relief that it was near the end. I couldn't come up with many positive thoughts this last lap. Mile 18 on was like an atomic bomb going off in my body. What hurt the worse was my feet honestly, I don't know if I'd wear Newtons again, their "lugs" started to hurt pretty bad once running form broke down. The knees ached as well but nothing that would stop anyone. Truthfully, for being this far into my first Ironman I felt as good as I could have hoped.


I started running 3 minutes, walking 1. I figured I could do anything for three minutes. The walk pace was quicker than your mall walker but still not fast. I had broth at the aid stations this lap. Curiosity of Jeff Temple's Ironman Louisville blog post I knew when the stomach was failing this would help. 

Seeing the mile 25 sign was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I could hear the cheers of the finish line. Coming around that corner was one of the greatest feelings I've ever had. I slowed down a little and tried to take it in. I heard Jamie yelling, ran pass and then came back to grab her for kiss. This was what all those early mornings and long rides were for, this moment. Below is video taken by Jamie.



I crossed the line and was then grabbed by a volunteer. Passed through the shoot and got to see my family. Seeing the smile on Jamie's face and then my parents made everything worth it. Blood sugar at finish 161.


Run: 4:52:00

Total time: 12:02:29


Aftermath

If I could go back I wouldn't change anything. For my first Ironman the stomach issues were relativity minor thanks to the knowledge imparted on me from friends during Sergio's workouts. I had great blood sugars until the second half of the run and I have Cliff Scherb to thank for that. I finished very happy.


Crossing that line was the accomplishment of a lifetime and I hope to do more. I've gained many new friends through training, new experiences and learned a lot about myself and the way I want to live my life.



Dec 02 at 6:33pm | 0 comments
14 hours, 17 minutes and 13 seconds after the canon went off over Tempe Town Lake I heard those famous words from Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman…  ”From Waterloo, Illinois…  Gary Schmidt….   You are an Ironman!”

 

post wreck - Dean Ryan

Somewhere during the course of the marathon I stopped referring to Ironman Arizona as my first and started calling it my only (We’ll see…).  As so many people do, I found myself in the "dark place” and was hating what I was doing.  I wanted to be done.  Why would I do such a thing?  I just wanted to stop moving.

Nov 14 at 8:53am | 0 comments
Ironman World Championship, October 13, 2012  



Training for another ironman 12 weeks after Lake Placid was more mentally tough than physically. There were days I was motivated and other days I just wanted to skip the workout and crawl into bed. With a little help from my friends and coach, I got through it. Ironman is mental game, our brain constantly trying to impose limits. I was ready to reach beyond those limits and compete in the World Championship with only 1 ironman under my belt. I wasn't going to skip a workout because I was tried, I wasn't going to give up.  I also wasn't going to allow myself to slack off in my day to day duties as a mother and at my part-time job. It was a huge balancing act.  I arrived in Kona 6 days before the race so I could adjust to the 6 hour time change. I booked the trip with Endurance Sports Travel (EST) which was absolutely amazing. They made the trip so enjoyable and helpful for all of us. I met a lot of great athletes and had opportunities to preview some of the course before the race.   

Race Day: Normal wake up at 3:30 am, only difference in my race morning routine was time I was able to give shout to my friends in NY. This got me pumped and ready to enjoy the day. One of the girls I met, also traveling with EST, had done Kona a couple times so she knew exactly where to go in the morning and which bathroom had the shortest line. Walking around transition was unreal. Passing by Crowie and wishing him luck, and seeing all the amazing athletes made this experience epic. Then looking beyond transition, the cameras, crowds of people, helicopters over head, it definitely was a celebrity moment.     

Swim: After the pros started, the crowd of age-groupers lined up to pass over the timing mat. I was hesitant to enter the water knowing I would have to tread water for about 10 minutes. My friend, Sandy, suggested that we swim out to the left and hang on to one of the kayaks. It turned out to be a 6 man canoe and I was able to get a spot right in the front after repositioning several times. Next thing I knew I saw people swimming, no cannon, no loud noise so I just went. I wish I could say that only the beginning was like a washing machine but it wasn't until the turn around where things started to thin out. When I would occasionally site, I could see that I was positioned in the middle and I always made sure I was trailing behind someone. The conditions were rough, just as they had been for a couple of days leading up to the race. I could feel my body ride the waves and almost every other breath was a face filled with water, just hoping the next one would be a full breath. Done in 1:15  

Bike: Onto my favorite leg. Once I exited transition, the crowd was about 5 people deep. I hear an announcer, "Carly Johnson from Yorktown Heights, NY." I gave a cheer and a fist pump, absorbing the energy from the crowd. The first couple miles were a little out and back through town, then I was out on the Queen K Highway for the rest of the 100+ miles. At around mile 20 it started, those notorious winds that I kept hearing about. They were coming at me sideways, preventing me from riding aero. As I passed though a water station, a guy in front of me completely toppled over from the wind. This was happening way too early. I could also start feeling the heat radiating off the lava rock and sun beating down on my shoulders. Once I reached Hapuna Beach, the wind died down a bit. It wasn't until mile 50 where I started getting a headwind on the climb to Hawi, and then again the last 20-30 miles. Through the wind, I just had to make sure my heart rate and power was where it needed to be. The last 20 miles of the bike I felt like I was done. A guy next to me, coming back into town, asked if I was ready to run a marathon. I wanted nothing more than to start crying. I did not want to run a marathon, not even a mile. But....I wasn't going to give up. I got my run gear and headed out. Bike done in 6 hours flat.  

Run: From the first to the last step, it hurt. It wasn't an injury hurt, just a tired leg hurt which I experience many nights waitressing after a long day of training. It was all too familiar. I just had to suck it up and keep moving. I was hot too...suck it up and keep moving. Mile 10 I saw my family which got me pumped up. It was a different feeling from Lake Placid. I was out there playing with the big boys, which was amazing, but I missed seeing my friends,  who would normally be there to give me a high five or exchange a quick hello.  I hit mile 20 and I knew this is when the race starts, it was time to pick it up aside from all the aches and pains. As I entered town, the people lined the streets. I could hear Mike Riley echoing through the streets. The end was almost here. I just had to keep it together and not start balling down the shoot. I rounded the corner for the last stretch. It was the most amazing feeling as I was running down the ironman carpet at the World Championship. I fist pumped and cheered with the crowd. 11:18 and I crossed that finish line.   Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think this would happen.  In 2009, I did my first triathlon with a borrowed bike and wetsuit and no swimming background. A year later, completed my first Olympic and half. Then last year getting the crazy idea to do an ironman.  Barefoot and pregnant, changing diapers and chasing two kids to completing the Ironman World Championship all in 5 years.  Hmmm...what's next? 

Carly Core!

Aug 06 at 12:09pm | 0 comments
Ironman Lake Placid, July 22, 2012



  For the past year, there hadn't been a day that passed where I didn't think about ironman. I went up last year to volunteer at the finish line and mentally prepared for the long road ahead. It was that trip where I met my coach, Cliff Scherb and I knew he was the right coach to guide me through this adventure. After watching the swim start, the anxiety started building for the following year. How could over 2200 people start at the same time without getting knocked out and kicked in the ribs? 
  My training went as planned with Coach.  Every workout had a purpose, it was all quality not quantity. The last couple weeks were tough but I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.  One of the most important components of my training was practicing the exact nutrition regimen that I would be using on race day, and learning precisely how many calories to take in per hour, along with proper salt intake. 
Race Day: After only 3 hours of sleep I woke up at 4am and did my normal race day breakfast routine. I left at 5:15 to head to transition. My bike and gear were all ready there so I just had to drop off the special needs bags for my  bike and run.
6:50: Pros started and 10 minutes until the 2500+ age groupers start. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I ran into my good friend who was all fired up and had a starting strategy for us. His energy calmed me right down and I was ready to start my adventure.
7:00: Off we go! It was a slow, head out of the water, swim, just trying to get away from all the people. I went as far on the outside as I possibly could, focusing on long smooth strokes. At the turn, I tried to push closer to the line but I got punched in the eye so I stayed wide the whole swim. It was not worth losing energy trying to swim over or around people. After the first loop, I looked at my watch and my time was 35 min. During the second loop I thought to myself how comfortable I was and how I could swim all day. I was really enjoying it. After the second loop my watch time was 1:12,  pretty consistent to my first loop. 
8:15: Transition was pretty hilarious. I grabbed my bike bag and headed into the women's tent. Two women assisted me.  One was putting on my shoes, and the other my helmet.  I just kept saying I got it, I can do it. It was great and I appreciated all their help. As I exited the tent, someone announced my number over a loud speaker and next thing I knew, another person had my bike at the end of the isle. What nice transition service!!!
Bike: I was amped up now, swim was over and was happy to spend some quality time with Shiv. I kept looking at my heart rate and made sure it stayed in zone 2 and lower. Once it even got one beat out of that zone I would stop peddling and wait for it to go down. I had my 3 bottles and salt tabs on the bike. I followed through with my nutrition plan and watched my heart rate especially up the hills and I continuously felt good. I swapped out my bottles at special needs once I finished the first loop. Second loop was just as much fun. My bike split was 5:57. 
Run: Bike to run transition was just as crazy. One volunteer was spraying me with my aerosol sunscreen, while another was putting on my sneakers. Starting the run I was just thinking about pacing myself and controlling my heart rate. Within the first couple miles, I met a new friend and we both agreed we would help each other out over the next 26.2 miles. We chatted for over 15 miles which made the time go by quicker and the pain not as bad.  At mile 18 I hit the wall, the fun was over and I was ready to be done. I was sick of the gels and the thought of another made my stomach turn. Around mile 20, I overheard two ladies rave about the chicken broth. I figured at this point it wouldn't hurt so I had a cup at the next aid station. It was fantastic, everything I needed. Mile 21 started the hills back into town and my legs couldn't handle running them. I power walked up the first but once I saw the oval at the top of the second hill I knew I only had less than 2 miles left. The crowd was going crazy so I picked it back up. Coach Cliff was standing at mile 25 and was reading all his info from his iPad. He told me I had a couple in front of me and I had to pick it up. Coach's order so I gave it everything I had to come in and finish strong. The crowd in the oval was amazing, all I could do was cry. I have been thinking about my finish for the last year, cartwheel...might hurt myself, dance to the finish...don't know how well those hips could move after 140.6 miles, so I just cried. I had no idea what my time was so when I saw 11:08 on the clock, I was amazed. I couldn't believe it. One of the best days of my life. What made it so great were all the people up there to support me before, during, and after the race. From friends helping my husband watch the kids so he could support me, to a great friend helping me gather myself after the race and all the cheering the ENTIRE day; it was an amazing day.
I finished 4th in my age group out of 104, 20th female and 181 out of 2556 overall.
A very special thank you to Coach Cliff for believing in me (he even said in February I was Kona bound, thought he was crazy) and all the awesome, kick butt workouts to prepare 100% for this race. 
Kona, here I come!!!

Aug 04 at 3:49am | 0 comments

Ironman Lake Placid 2012- Joey Dussich A race report displaying the genius of Coach Cliff: This would be my 4th time Racing Ironman Lake Placid.  My 3rd time as a TriStar Athlete.  I had completed LP in 08’, 09’ and ’10…Last year; my wife and I welcomed our son, Little Joey, into the world, thus my hiatus from Ironman racing.  I decided this year, that I was going to take on Lake Placid again…and I wanted to make it count!  Who better to get you there than Coach Cliff?  Since being coached by Cliff…I went from an 11:30 to a 10:54 (1st year) and a 10:31(2nd year)...I was excited to see where he could take me this year…and with less training, since I wanted to be a good Dad and husband as well…at least as good as I could be.  Cliff optimized all the time I had available and my numbers improved as the season went on. After a successful season leading up to the race and utilizing Coach Cliff’s testing facility, he put together a race plan for me.  I was ready to put it to good use! Swim: The start of the swim at Lake Placid is always pretty scary.  I have always seated myself wide right, but near the front…this year was not much different…maybe a little closer to the left…but I was out front.  The weeks leading up to the race, I was dealing with foot cramps while swimming, so this weighed heavily on my mind…after some nice bumping and shoving before the start…BOOM!  Cannon goes off and we are on the way…I push hard the 1st 400 yards or so and notice I am getting a lot of my own water…but as I look back, I am def not alone….I hit the 1st turn buoy feeling pretty good and on the way back I find my rhythm…I felt good early on the swim, which is a bit unusual for me…takes me a bit to warm up.  I exit the 1st loop around 29 min…I jump back in and wham, a bit of a hammy cramp…no biggie…keep going…still feeling good on the 2nd loop, I exit the water at 59:25…perfect…I wanted to be under an hour! Bike: After a faster T1 than in the past (stayed in one outfit the whole day), I was off on the bike…This would be the 1st race I do with a Power Tap…and our strategy was based around it…I settle in, let the HR drop and watch my power numbers…I was feeling good…I had practiced my nutrition diligently over the past year, so I watched the clock and got ready to start fueling…at 15 min, the process began.  I switched to Infinit Nutrition this year in the hopes of finally beating my stomach stitch and simplifying things…it had worked at Syracuse 70.3, hopefully it still holds.  First part of the loop was nothing special…got caught up in some packs of riders that messed with my pacing a bit, but tried to stay in my own race.  As we hit the turn around at Ausuable forks, I felt the head wind coming on already…not a good sign…historically, the winds pick up in LP on the 2nd loop…they had started a loop too early…and then the sun decided to join in on the fun.  The climb back to town was steady…I was really metering out my effort and sticking to the plan…no matter how slow it may have felt…trying to keep my Hr below or around 149 and watching my power numbers...I hit town and special needs around 2 hours 42 min…re-load at special needs and away I went.  I felt good and went back out on the 2nd loop…still steady as she goes, the heat was really coming on….and the wind was getting stronger.  Nutrition was working, but Legs were feeling it a bit more now and the heat and wind were beginning to take its toll on me…I wanted off the bike…the 2nd climb back to town was a much harder, but again...I stuck to my plan and trusted what Cliff had laid out for me…I wanted to be as fresh as I could be for the marathon.  That hammy cramp that I had during the swim was speaking to me the whole bike and my feet were hurting a bit…I was curious as to how my body was going to hold up as the heat kept cooking us.  I enter town, happy to see the family and friends and ready to run…Bike time: 5:32 After a quicker T2, again, same outfit,- I was off on the run…immediately I felt the pain in the balls of my feet that I was hoping wouldn’t surface…I occasionally get stabbing pains in my sesamoids (those little bones in balls of your feet in line with the big toe), and it is a real bother…I try not to think of it and fall into pace…7:20’s, 7:30’s…steady as she goes…I know the 1st part is downhill…got to keep the HR and pace in check…begin fueling and here is where I will share my trick into eliminating my stomach stitch…drink full Dixie cups of water…in the past I took a gel with little bits of water and got crushed by stomach cramps…now, with the Infinit concentrated in a gel flask, each sip was followed by a full cup of water…No stitch!  Finally!!!  7 years of racing it took me to figure that out :)   I keep running and head back to town…pace ok, HR ok, climbing, but ok…feet in excruciating pain…I try to just keep altering my gate…the run back to town is brutal…the heat is intense…like an oven…I am putting ice cubes in my hat and drinking water…also taking a salt pill every hour…re-load with a second flask at special needs…and I’m off again.  I see my family and Coach Cliff at the turn around on Mirror Lake and all I can say is, "its really hot!”…I am hurting, but need to push on…I just wished my feet would stop hurting so bad…every single step felt like the balls of my feet were being hit with a hammer.  Head down, I go back out for some more.  The second loop is where you really start seeing the carnage…people puking, collapsing…its no joke out there…at mile 18, something I did not plan for happens…I run out of nutrition!  What now?  Can I make it back with nothing?  I start utilizing the aid stations…everyone…perform and water…even tried coke…anything to get me back…this is also the part of the race that I am supposed to, and I quote, "Release the Hounds”…I try, the hounds come out for a bit and then go back into the dog house because it is too hot for them.  The run back to town is a joke…the hill by the gas station might as well be a wall…I shuffle up, clocking off the minutes and re-establishing my goals…I see my family by the finishing chute before I do the last out and back on mirror lake and I cant even smile…I push up, hit the turn around, see my son, tell him I love him, see Cliff, say something in gibberish…and race for the finish…I hit the oval and can’t wait to get to the end!  I round the bend and see my brothers standing there screaming…I look up finally and head to the finish…10:10:18…ran a 3:30 marathon…my pure marathon pr was 3:35 and I pr’d the course by 21 minutes…44th overall, 11th in my AG…I see my wife, fall into her arms and know that I left it all out there.  Since starting with Cliff, I have knocked an hour and 20 min off my time.  He is the man!  Now its time to get ready for Vegas…then another IM hiatus…we’re expecting a little girl this time :)  


Aug 03 at 9:36am | 0 comments

Don's Ironman Lake Placid 2012

 

 

Pre-race

 

I drove up on Thursday afternoon to Lake Placid, NY and went over to the athlete check-in first thing Friday morning. The days leading up to the race are filled with a few short swims, bikes or runs and trying to stay off your feet as much as possible. Friday and Saturday were no different. After checking in all my gear Saturday afternoon I headed back to my hotel for a good nap and then an early pre race dinner (penne pasta and bread) but not so big as to be " the last supper" (as Joanna put it). I took a last walk after dinner and then it was back to the hotel to prepare all my nutrition for the race. It was now 9 pm and time for some sleep before the 4am wake up.

 

 

Race Day

 

The sound of the alarm woke me up and I felt pretty good having gotten close to six hours of shut eye. I had my usual pre-race breakfast consisting of a bagel with peanut butter, one banana, small cup of coffee and a sports drink with an extra 600 calories added to it. I soon headed down to the Olympic oval and loaded bottles and salts on my bike and the others in a bag I could get at the half way portion of the bike. I did the same with the bottles and salts for the run. I then walked over to the lake, about 400 yards from the transition area, with cap, goggles and wetsuit in hand. As I walked, I thought about my race plan which Joanna and I had discussed. It boiled down to three phrases which would stick with me for the day: 1. Execute My Strategy 2. Problem Solve and 3. Never Give In. It was now 6:20 am.

 

 

The swim

Most of the other 2900 athletes were now over at the lake and the crowd was starting to fill the entire shore line. I put on my wetsuit, cap and goggles, had my first gel of the day and in the water I went for a little warm up and the anxious ten minutes of treading water. The swim start of Ironman Lake Placid is a mass start of all 2900 athletes at once. This is full contact swimming designed to test your nerve and I mentally got myself ready to get hit, bumped and kicked for 2.4 miles. The swim is a two loop course which has you exit the water after one loop for a 5 yard run over the timing mat and then back into the washing machine for lap 2. I now swim closer to the starting line, better to be the aggressor than get swam over. The butterflies in my stomach now feel like birds and then BOOM, the cannon goes off and it is on. Immediately I am kicked and hit and after 500 yards my goggles are pushed so hard by someone's heel into my eye socket I had to stop and pull them out with both hands. I settled back into a good rhythm with modest contact but then after the turn back to the shore my goggles are off my eyes from another heel. I am now nearing the shore line and exit the water, check my watch, 30 min and 30 seconds for lap one, back in for the lap two. The second lap was more of the same contact. I soon make the turn for the final leg to shore and exit the water. 2.4 mile swim time: 1:02:49. (almost spot on from my 2009 race)

 

 

 

The bike

 

I quickly get my wetsuit off and run the few hundred yards to the transition area. The crowds are awesome and I see many friends cheering me on as I run to start the bike. I make quick work of getting my helmet, glasses and cycling shoes on and then out of the changing tent. I grab my bike, run out of transition, and start the 112 mile ride. The bike course is a two loop 56 mile track with over 5000 feet of elevation gain. As I start the ride I am thinking Execute Your Strategy, don't get caught up in the hammer fest of some riders early on and be patient! I can hear Joanna saying, be patient. As I ride the first group of hills out of town I am getting past by many riders, I keep thinking to myself, just execute and ride your race. We soon hit the big 7 mile down hill which drops you down into the valley. This is one crazy descent with many S curves where you hit speeds close to 50 mph. I would soon start to pass people but only on the flats or smaller down hills. I am riding well and feeling good. I soon make the turn and start the 12 mile climb back to town. Again, I am getting past by some racers who are standing and pushing hard up the hills. Execute, execute, execute. I say over and over again to myself. I hit town after the 2500 feet of climbing and I grab three more nutrition bottles. Lap one down in 2:56.

 

The second lap started out the same on the early hills and big descent, but as soon as I hit the flats I could start to feel the heat as the valley was getting hot. To make matters worse, a stiff wind had developed which was right in your face for the better part of the second loop. I kept thinking, just execute your strategy, don't push harder because of the wind. I soon found myself passing many of the early riders who hammered the first loop of the bike. As I hit mile 90 on the bike I could start to feel the ride in my legs. The winds were really bearing down on me in the hills but I stayed patient and knew everyone else was facing the same conditions so the times would begin to slow. As I reached the top of the last hill, mile 110, I could not wait to get off my bike! I hit town, the crowds were big and the cheering again really energized me. I entered the bike finishing shoot. 112 mile bike time: 6:01:06, just about 19 mph. (11 minutes slower than 2009)

 

 

The Run

 

I quickly grabbed my run gear and put on a new pair of socks, running shoes, visor and sun glasses. I put my salt bag in my shirt pocket and had GPS watch in hand. As I exited the tent I saw some friends cheering me on and it felt great. I quickly picked up the gps signal with my watch so I could get good pacing under way. The run course is also a two loop marathon where the first 2 miles are down hill and then a long out and back along a river road with a few modest hills thrown in for good measure. I was running fast those first few miles, but expected to do so to take advantage of the descent. As I approached mile 3, I could feel something was wrong and I hit the port-a-John. As a result, I could see I was very dehydrated from the bike and didn't get enough fluids. I thought about what Joanna and I had discussed, "when something goes wrong, Problem solve to fix it, the race is long enough to adjust." I knew I would never rehydrate but I could maintain my current level with out depleting my body further to early in the run. I decided to slow my pace by 30 seconds and walk for 30 seconds every aid station to drink plenty of fluids. I also decided to ramp up my salt in take to 8 capsule an hour from 6 to stop the loss from sweat.

 

It was now 2:30pm and in the mid 80s with some clouds rolling in from time to time but mostly I was on an exposed road with no shade. I also decided to increase my gels to 3 an hour as I was feeling low and needed more calories. At mile 9 I hit the first of two steep hills back into town and it was painful shuffling up it. Again, I thought to myself, execute, running hard up the hills is wasted energy. I worked the flats and rolling sections to get my average pace higher. As I approached mile 12 and the second steep hill of the run, my legs were starting to feel the day, but I was making good time, my dehydration felt no worse and I was passing many runners. As I hit town, the crowds were amazing and it gave me a huge lift. Complete strangers would cheer you on and push you to keep going. First run loop time: approximately 1:53.

 

As I made the turn to start the second loop, I took a huge breath and thought to myself, one more time back into the belly of the beast. The second half of the marathon is where you truly find out what you got. I had been racing for a little over 9 hours (covered 127 miles) and the course gets very lonely about 1/2 mile out of town. I stopped to quickly get my extra bag of salt capsules and off I went. The 2 miles down hill were good and I was moving well. I allowed myself to still walk for about 20 seconds at each aid station but knew I needed to push my pace. My goal was to now run faster between each aid station, which are about a mile or so apart. The pain in my body was getting worse but I just tried to make peace with it and move forward. As I neared mile 20, I was suffering more than ever before. You reach a point in the ironman race where your body doesn't want to go and you have to go to those deep dark corners to keep on pushing. "Never Give In!" I thought. I decided it was time to start drinking cola at every aid station and to push my pace for the final 6 miles. I hit the first steep hill and shuffled along but then starting running at 7:40 pacing along the flats and pushing harder. Again I walked for 20 or 30 seconds at the next station but again pushed my pace. As I approached town the cheering was unbelievable and the crowd was a huge boost. I had 2 miles left and one big hill. "Everything you got" I said to myself and as I neared the top of the last hill I began to push harder. I would run a 7:35 final mile. As I made the turn and started heading toward the Olympic oval I could hear the announcer declaring people Ironman. My pace quickened and soon I found myself in the finishing shoot inside the oval with the crowds roaring. Goose bumps came over me as I heard the announcer declare "Don Gervais, You Are an Ironman!". As I crossed the finish line I let out a huge scream. Marathon run time: 3:45:23 (33 minutes faster than 2009).

 

Total finish time for the 140.6 miles: 10:57:05. 21 minutes faster than 2009! My efforts placed me 152nd out of 2896 (100 places better than 2009) and 31st in my age group out of 327. I could not have done it without the great coaching, race prep and rehearsed execution of Joanna. A great day I will never forget.

 

 


 


Jun 19 at 7:50pm | 0 comments
My nerves were totally frayed leading into this race. I had bigger expectations than previous years, and qualifying for the AGNC’s was key to achieving my race goals for the year. My wife helped diffuse them, by reminding me that I’d qualified the last two years, and that I was much better trained this year. Still, my mind was playing tricks on me. Because the swim start felt so awful two-weeks ago at Rev3, I decided to warm up by running shortly and a good swim with some pickups to get the blood flowing. Twenty minutes later it would be time to race. The swim start felt way better than Rev3, but it was a fray to say the least. Lots of jostling in the first 200 yards, but I found some feet and got a decent draft into more open water. I am still plagued by inefficiency on the swim, and had to let that precious draft go to let my HR and breathing settle. After composing myself, I focused on strong long strokes and a good kick. I was nowhere near any opportunity to draft. I stayed focused and pushed to finish hard. The first six miles of the bike course are really fast. For three miles it’s slightly downhill and flat and the next three miles descend to the lowest course point. It’s a screaming fast turn-filled descent that gets the adrenaline running (especially when you forget to re-clamp the front caliper). With the HR low still low, I took in a bottle before the climbs to come. I felt pretty solid for the first three miles up out of the cellar, I picked off a bunch of people and the legs felt decent up the first few steeper grades. Around mile nine something didn’t feel right. I was pushing it up a gradual grade, but the bike was just not responding. Did I flat? Nope. Were the rear brakes rubbing? Nope. What is going on? Then it hit me, fatigue from Rev3 HIM two-weeks ago was still in my legs. At least it wasn’t a flat…so, with the internal governor switched on, I knew this wasn’t going to be my best bike. Around mile 16 I got absolutely smoked by another 30-34, and I tried to catch him for a mile or so, but he was gone. I didn’t have that extra register, and I was not about to go into the pain cave without my best bike-legs underneath me. By this point I was by myself, and unusually for a 40K, I just wanted off the bike. I was fired up to run. The two-loop run course sets up so nicely for a fast run because there is only one hill, and it comes at you near miles 2 and 5. I got the feet moving real quickly out of the gate, down the hill I leaned forward and let gravity do it’s thing. My pace was faster than I had planned, but I felt like I might just be able to hold it. Leaders started passing on the return of loop one, and I was keeping a mental tally of my place, best estimate of 20 or so in front of me with no idea how many in my AG. High-cadence was my focus in the flats below the hill, I felt efficient and fast and knew I had an opportunity for a strong run. I felt great even as my HR spiked going up the hill, I was able to immediately turn it up at the top and my HR settled quickly. I saw my wife and girls at the turn-around; I love that part of the race, better energy than any fuel. Now time to repeat the loop, and let it rip. I was starting to fatigue pushing the final hill, but with less than a mile to go I was able to gut it out and crank it up on the flats to the finish. I crossed the line in 2:14 claiming third in the AG and 13th OA. Checking the splits when I got home, I noticed a nice little 2:00 min addition to my final time…my first race penalty, which is most likely the result of a rear bottle ejection right in front of the official, ouch. The final result was 3rd AG / 17th OA.