CLANK CLANK -- the sound of a double brick

With just under one month before IM AZ (28 days), I had one of my more targeted training weekends this year. Since 2006, I tried putting the bulk of my IM preparation towards producing a killer bike split only to have my run implode. So once fully recovered from IM Canada, I opted to get my running legs back and put in the appropriate and adequate miles to go the distance in non-walking fashion.



Saturday was a spectacular day in the CO Foothills, warm and sunny, so Em & I rode together out to Carter Lake. We saw so many others out too; Jodee & Barry Siff, Amanda & Michael Lovato and we rolled up to Kau before the Carter Lake turn. Em turned towards Carter with Kau - who is also training for AZ - and I continued to roll out towards Big Thompson Canyon. I kept the pace mellow until the Dam Store then put in some longer efforts on the climbing portion up to Glenhaven. It was the first time in over a year riding this solo as Griffo, Savloy, Joe and Chuggy were my crime partners this past summer.



I kept a nice aerobic pace on the way back down Hwy 34 until the turn back towards Carter Lake at which time I picked up the pace again. I pushed until the Hygiene Store before stopping for a quick Gatorade then back on the Elite Joule (named Sherpa - after the famous Nepalese Mountain Men and also my favorite restaurant in Boulder) and another sustained effort back into town. Altogether it was just under 100 miles with the best still to come.

Off went the cycling shoes and kit, on went the running shoes and Camelbak fanny pack, and off I went for a 10k transition run to Flatirons to meet Em for a swim. The swim could better be described as a flounder and I thought it's a good thing they kick tris off with swims or there would be many more drownings (when i lived in Belgium, i raced a triathlon in Rutger Beke's hometown of Leuven that consisted of multiple short-short races that mixed up the discipline order and finished with a swim in the canal -- it was brutal).

Sunday was another big test and a new workout for me compliments of Em. She asked me why I always opted to complete my long run in one fell swoop and why I didn't ever try breaking it up into two separate smaller runs. So, yesterday I set the Isaac Joule Aerotic TT bike on the Computrainer and rode 2.5 hours, followed by a 1.5 hour run, followed by a 1 hr bike, and topped off with a 35 minute run. The hardest leg of all was that second bike which I thought was a realistic "feeling" of miles 80-100 of an Ironman bike ride where cramped calves are always an erred pedal stroke away.

This workout was mentally refreshing breaking the mold of my usual Magnolia long runs and if I can get myself out the door before the NFL games start next Sunday, I might just have to do this double brick up on the Peak-to-Peak and Mags.



In other news, check out my recent interviews with US Navy SEAL David Goggins and the soon-to-be-posted Wolfgang Dittrich and Joe Gambles on Slowtwitch.com.

Running to higher ground

I told Em last night (twice according to her) that "if I'm not careful I'm going to start feeling like a runner". The reason for the increase in run mileage these last two months is so I can tackle my primary goal at IM AZ, to run the marathon.

So, I'm taking on the advice passed down to me from one of triathlon's sages -- Timothy Carlson -- who has tried telling me for the past four years that I don't include enough run mileage in my weekly workouts for successful Ironman racing.

I've been including two to three 1-hr runs, one 1.5-hr run, and one 2+ hr run each week and adding in one or two short brick runs off the bike.



Today's run was up at altitude on the Switzerland Trail up on SugarLoaf Mtn. This run descends five miles to the tiny valley community of Sunset before climbing back up the rocky dirt trails to the Switzerland trailhead. It was beautiful running weather, ranging between 35-50 degrees, with the uphill portion taking 15-20 minutes longer than the descent, with snow scattered across the non-exposed sections of the trail.

Tomorrow is a series of cycling intervals on the Computrainer followed by a short brick run leading into a big weekend block of cycling and running.



Changing subjects entirely, last night was our 2nd anniversary. We were married on the Big Island in a small ceremony with some of our close friends and family. That entire week was a blast having 20-plus Finangers and Deppes running around wreaking havoc in Kona leading up to our wedding on one of the public beaches between Kailua-Kona and Waikoloa Village. Last night we celebrated with dinner at Radda's, a great little European restaurant in North Boulder.

early bird workout

got up early-style at 4am - i think because i was nervous of being late for my massage this morning - but got in my first indoor Computrainer workout of the year. using an indoor trainer is beneficial, especially one that holds power - like a Computrainer, so you can lock in your desired wattage and then just focus on pedaling. of course, i threw in the 2007 tour de france dvd so listening to phil liggett and paul sherwin spitting our their play-by-play dialogue made the workout shoot by quickly. the biggest drawback is going through multiple towels in an effort to keep my isaac joule aerotic tt bike from getting washed away in the flood of sweat.

a quick three mile transition run to keep that feeling of running off the bike, then a big breakfast and a few cups of 100% royal kona coffee before my first massage since before ironman canada in august. my legs received a beating from massage therapist Lisa Lessing, formerly Lisa Lahti - a top professional triathlete and dedicated mother of two girls and wife to the greatest triathlete of all-time, Simon Lessing.

Mags

I really only have one goal in mind while training for IM AZ next month and it might sound easy enough, but I've yet to accomplish it. Run the entire marathon. So, my training this fall has been dedicated to putting in enough run miles to do so. Today, I was back to Magnolia Rd - a 15-mile out & back starting at 8,200-feet and rolling up & down out to the Peak to Peak Hwy at 8,750-feet. Then you get to turn around and go back. This ends a big week on the feet with runs on 6 of 7 days, including a 14-miler on Friday morning and two other one hour runs.

The run starts with a wicked 1k downhill which means you get to face that same hill at the end. Just before starting, I ran into Lance Panguitti - a local race director - and Aaron Hersch - a wrench at Colorado Multisport and a tech writer in triathlon. They were with two other guys and had just climbed the 4.5-miles of steep paved roads that lead up to the gravel where the run starts. Aaron was one summit into a long afternoon on his Serotta that was going to take him up Magnolia, Sugarloaf, Lee Hill, Sunshine and Flagstaff. I'm looking forward to seeing how that worked out for him...

Tomorrow I have my first massage since this past summer with Lisa Lessing. I'm scared shitless that she is going to rip my legs off as I know she and Simon steer a hard ship at their household and aren't easy on the faint-of-heart.

Stirring it up.....

Spiced the weekend workout up a bit today in preparation for Ironman Arizona on Nov. 23rd. I slept through my alarm and got a late start to the day (Em finished her ride about the time I got started). With race day getting closer, I've been focusing the last few weeks on going longer with my running. So, this past week, I decided it was time to get reacquainted with my bike again. I started out with a 30-minute ride from the house to the pool and jumped in for a 40-minute straight swim. This was followed up with a 3 hour ride up Flagstaff Mtn, and out to McCaslin Blvd. I topped the day off with a 50-minute run around Wonderland Lake and back on Hwy 36 for a 5-hour day.

It felt great to do a different kind of workout since it's late in the season and staying mentally fresh is almost as important as staying physically fresh. Tomorrow morning is back to the tried-and-true 15-mile run up at Mags.

Hawaii recap

IM Hawaii race day was one week ago and I wanted to share a few reflections from the trip out to the Big Island.

12) Not racing this year brought a new perspective. Making time to talk with racing and industry friends was a must and seeing everyone in their element.
11) Being annoyed with our three hour layover in Honolulu and taking the Wiki Wiki shuttle too many times between terminals.
10) Staying 25 miles out of Kailua at the Waikoloa Resort and spending some quality time with Cracknell and Bentley.
9) Swimming out on the course and staying very calm when I thought I encountered two tiger sharks (they were dolphins).
8) Interviewing Navy SEALs' David Goggins and Keith Davids before bike check-in (they were not impressed with my shark story)
7) Getting invited to accompany the SEAL team on the boat to pick up the SEAL parachute jumpers on race morning.
6) Yelling at all the drafters (especially the guys drafting off faster women!) out on the bike course near Waikoloa.
5) Walking the Queen K with Franko during the run course and hitch-hiking our way up and down the course.
4) Receiving word that Retul's very own Craig Alexander won the race in dominating fashion!
3) My beautiful wife kept me and Franko entertained all day with text messages of the race updates while we were out on the course receiving no information.
2) Having Norman run by at mile 24 and tell us "no more ha-vy-ee" and "i we-tire" and knowing that he is so full of it!
1) Flying back from Kona the night of the race and being back in Colorado Sunday.

All in all, it was great to experience Kona again, this time from a very different angle. It was much more relaxing even though us Retul guys did work our tails off throughout the three days! Stay tuned for my article on the Navy SEALs I will be posting for Slowtwitch.com next week.

Aloha,
LF

tough cookies and kona coffee

well, i won't try to hide my disappointment. a few nights ago i received confirmation i would be one of a few "journalists" provided access to join the US Navy SEALs on one of their practice parachute jumps leading up to Saturday's Ironman Hawaii. i was giddy all day long, counting down the hours until i could get a few hours of rest to wake up early and board the airplane with the guys who would be jumping.


so, tonight after an early dinner with Franko, and Bentley and Cracknell, i plopped down into bed earlier than usual. just as i was closing my eyes, i got a phone call...the jump was off. the reason i was given was that our background checks did not clear security in Washington. i still have my alarm set for 3:30am and i'll drive to the airport outside of town just to make sure they don't leave without me, however, i'm pretty bummed that it was cancelled. you can bet tomorrow i'll begin my lobbying to get on the plane to witness the jump happen on race day. we'll see!


otherwise, kona has been a blast. i wish Em was here...we were married on the island coming on two years ago. i'll make it a point to go on a run tomorrow out by the natural energy lab where Em & I placed our "mahalo rocks" on the side of the road, that signify our marriage blessing.



this morning, i woke up bright and early at 5:15am and ran on the Queen K Hwy from our condo out in Waikoloa Village. we are staying 25 miles outside of kona, which has actually been great as we've been staying away from the circus that kona turns into this Ironman week.

we did make it into town around 10:00am for a series of meetings for Retul and was excited to see a larger expo presence than in past years. this was largely due to the hard work of triathlete mag's Sean Watkins. Franko and i had a chance to speak with the top guns from all the major bike brands and ran into a few athletes too.

it was great to see Cliff English cruising around the expo and he spent alot of time shooting the shit with us about the launch of his new coaching business, his wife's - Samantha McGlone - unfortunate and untimely achilles injuries and other industry news.

as my schedule has suddenly opened up tomorrow morning, i'll drag Franko down to the Kailua Pier first thing in the AM so we can swim out to the Coffees of Hawaii yacht anchored 700-meters offshore. this has been a brilliant marketing strategy from COF owner, Albert Boyce, and they have not only attracted all the top stars but also a daily visit by the 30-plus spinner dolphins who have been frequenting the bay this week.



i'm fully prepared to be an outcast tomorrow as i'll be one of few hairy-legged dudes down at the Pier, but can't wait to jump in and taste the salt water again. if i don't write another blog, it's likely because i've been nabbed by one of the - likely hundreds - of tiger sharks swimming in the deeps off the bay. hey, it's worth the risk! at least i had a cuppa 100% Kona Coffee this AM!

One small victory...

This past Sunday Lars and I set out on a bike ride together. We were planning to ride out to Lyons and then head up St. Vrain Canyon to the Peak to Peak Highway over to Ward and then descend down Ward back home. We started out together and Lars warned me that at the beginning of the climbing in Lyons he would take off and we would meet up again at the top.


At the beginning of the 12-mile climb up to the Peak to Peak highway Lars and I were riding next to each other and he says "Ok, sweetie, I'm going to take off, I'll come back to meet you after I get to the top". Usually when this happens and Lars takes off, he really takes off and I have no chance to ever catch back up. It must have been my lucky day because Lars took off but he only got about 10 meters ahead and that is it. I decided I should try to catch back up for no good reason other than because I thought it would be funny. It was funny enough to me that I nearly killed myself to catch up to him just so I could say "You are going to have to go faster than that if you want to have the fastest bike split at IM." At that point Lars took off, this time for good, up the mountain.

The climb up St. Vrain was pretty difficult following my attack on my hubby but I still had a decent time to the top. The bad news is that on the next 10 mile climb over to Ward I nearly fell off my bike. I was going so slow on that section of road that Lars had time to do an extra few mile climb to Brainerd Lake and still got to Ward 10 minutes before me! I definitely paid for my little joke but I still think it was funny.


Monday was my birthday and Lars made sure I had a good one. We went for a swim at the North Boulder Rec Center and then went out to the Buff for breakfast. I had to work all day but then Lars took me out to dinner with some of our good friends at The Kitchen.

Lars just left for Kona today and I already miss him. He'll be there working for the next few days for both Retul and Slowtwitch. We have a contest of who will be more tan after his trip to Hawaii. It is a little of an unfair contest since it is supposed to snow here in Boulder this weekend. Luckily for me, Lars doesn't get all that tan so if I just swim outside a few times I could still win...

Emily