Race Week, Closing up the Year and New.

Can’t believe it, but its race week again! It’s my fifth Half-Iron in 11 Months along with a Full Iron and a slew of other races in between. It’s called Pumpkinman 70.3 and I am very much looking forward to getting out there again to compete and see where the fitness level is. This is the first race since IMLP which seems like a lifetime ago already. Also, I’m actually going to have some family at one of my races!! The race conditions sound amazing!!

Quick update
As mentioned in my prior post, my time since IMLP has been spent trying to recover as much as possible before heading into building back lost muscle and re-forming a strong base in order to escalate to the next level (there is always a next level). The weekly training volume has been close to 22 hours a week mainly in Z1 with a little weight lifting. I was really surprised how difficult this recovery mode can be (being my first at this level). Many of the workouts post IM have been a little flat with the perceived effort high and difficult to increase the heart rate. I really focused more intensely each day as to complete the workouts at the highest level possible knowing that my body was not going to respond as it did pre-IMLP. I figured that now was a good time to work on technique during days I felt flat and or tired quickly. Also, I’ve been using this period to re-find the fun in training vs. using a watch or tracking all of the million pieces of data us techno geeks tend to do each day. I pushed myself to my coach’s concern more than I should on more than one occasion! I was able to dial it back after a few terse emails, etc.

My major issue have/are always that I take my type, “A” to the extreme and I need to be told to chill more than most. My coach and I are aware of it and he keeps close tabs on my data to make sure I don’t creep. I was also surprised how badly I was hurt in the days following IMLP. I’ve spent my fair share in the ER over the years, but gosh, ribs can knock you to your knees!! It took every bit of six-seven weeks for the ribs to get to a point in which I was not aware of them, and could swim. Actually, I started back swimming about two weeks ago with some mild 1600M Time Trial stuff that closely emulated Pumpkinman’s 1.2 mile swim. It will be interesting to see how I do once back in the wetsuit.

Jesse and Qt2Systems
It was amazing, that my result at IMLP was I’m guessing, within 39 seconds of where Jesse said I would finish from the very first conversation we had. If you want a result, this guy is going to get you there! I was extremely aggressive in trying to convince him that I would complete the race in and around 10:15 vs. the actual 10:40 to gain entry into the World Championship. Jesse spent a lot of time managing my expectations lower, but I would mainly hear none of it. As time went on with me, learning a little about the sport, I determined that there was no such thing as race day extra. You perform at the level you train at, and due to the fact the day is so long, there is no way to keep the hyped up adrenaline going for that time. It’s all a function of garbage in, garbage out from nutrition, volume, etc. There are the intangibles that everyone has to deal with (Flats, broken noses, etc). Those are big race day changers, but we all have to work through something.

Jesse and I spoke on the phone last week to discuss the next phase of our relationship and to discuss the season I just concluded. He started off by saying how crazy a year it was for me and boy was he correct! Jesse went to offer me a great compliment, he explained to me that he felt it was a frigging miracle that I completed the race with the injury I had, let alone in the time. He went on the say the other external issues I had with my personal life and work was also amazing that I hung in and completed the volume as prescribed. He reiterated that last year’s goals were a stretch. We’re assuming Hawaii next year rather than snowballs chance it was this year. After getting off the phone with Jesse, for whatever reason the brevity of the year impacted me and made sense. I’m proud of the year and I will never forget how hard it was, but it’s time to put it behind me and to re-form higher goals, get better at balancing life with this sport and to enjoy it more vs. dealing with perceived stress that never materialized.

This weekend, I am really excited to race Pumpkinman 70.3 in South Berwick Maine. I am dedicating this race to Tony and Christi along with my medal and running shoes with both of their names written on them. So many times during long runs did I think about Tony and how brave he is. I found myself using his strength to push myself harder and harder while feeling grateful for the opportunity I personally have to lay it on the line as often as I do. Thank you Tony for being such an inspiration. I’m looking forward to seeing you stand at the finish-line in DC to collect another medal!! You Rock Pal!

Yesterday, I was allowed to jump from the 4th wave to race with the Elite/Pro’s for the first time for Pumpkin, to bib #18. It will be great to have the whole course in front of me vs. having to plow through zillions of racers. I’m not sure how fit I am as of this writing even though I’ve been doing the volume. It’s just another experience along this journey that has given me more lessons in life in the short 11 months than almost anything to this point has. As always, thanks for following this rant, Please Go Deep in all that you do!
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