A foolish consistency

Next up - Seattle Marathon

I've signed up for the Seattle Marathon, taking place Sunday, November 26th, 2006.  This is sort of a forcing function for me to stay in good form over the next 7 weeks, before my I start training for Ironman Arizona. 

I'm not sure what goal time to set yet.  The course isn't as flat as Portland, nor is it as hilly as Seafair.  Should I aim for 3:50, or 4:00?  Hmmm...

Getting Started With Ironman Triathlon

Recently a co-worker who is interested in attempting an Ironman triathlon as a long-term goal asked me some "getting started" questions.  This is an edited version of that email exchange; I thought it might be interesting to post it.

My personal journey to an Ironman finish was like this:

• 1999-2001 – decided that a 200 pound, out of shape Dad wasn’t what I wanted to be, started changing diet, adding exercise, etc, got to a more in-shape 185 in short order
• 2001 - start cycling (bought my 1^st road bike in August)
• 2002 - really started cycling – Chilly Hilly, hill training, nearly 2000 miles of riding, 180 mile 3 day event (Courage Classic)
• 2003 - start triathlons, learn to swim (more than my 3^rd grade lessons at the Y), learn to run, my first Olympic distance triathlon (King's Trail in Maui) with Team-in-Training, several sprint distance triathlons, the RSVP ride.
• 2004 - run training, various cycling events like Flying Wheels, my first marathon (San Diego Rock-n-Roll Marathon) with Team-in-Training in San Diego, sprint distance triathlons such as Seafair and Kirkland's Triathlon at Carillon Point), and a one-day Seattle-to-Portland ride
• 2005 - run training, marathon #2 (Seafair Marathon) , 5ks, Ironman training with MarkAllenOnline
• 2006 - Ironman Arizona, 5ks, marathon #3 (Seafair Marathon), 2 day STP, marathon #4 (Portland Marathon)
• 2007 (planned) - Ironman Arizona, Portland Marathon

 

Q: For the first 30% of your training, what was your focus? (e.g. focus on one discipline, work on all three, build endurance, cardio, etc)

I started out cycling.  Most people seem to come to triathlon from either cycling or running.   It’s all about endurance at the end of the day, but you have to be skilled in all three events.  You’ll find out what you need to focus on.

Q: What would you consider the top 3 considerations when training for a triathlon? (e.g. breathing, heart-rate, good gear, a program, etc)

A approach that works for you and your life is the most important thing.  Gear is important, but you can get serviceable stuff and don’t need to go overboard.

Personally, I'm a heart rate training nut.  I wear a heart rate monitor and use religiously to train.  For long distance runs, I keep my heart rate between 125 and 137.  For speed training, I keep it in the 160-180 range.  Mark Allen is a multiple Ironman winner and he's written a good article on heart rate training http://www.duathlon.com/articles/1460.  I used his online coaching and planning for my Ironman training.

Q: How much time per week do you spend training?

Varies wildly – 2 hours minimum at slack times, but 20 hours a week during the peak of my Ironman training.  As I trained for the Portland Marathon, I started with running about 3-4 hours a week, peaking at about 8 hours.

Q: Would you recommend getting a triathlon trainer or formal training program? Or are these overrated & easily matched with personal effort?

You need a plan right now, you can do that informally.  You’ll need a formal training program for an Ironman.  You gotta respect the distance!

As for personal trainer or self-trained or online training, you'll determine your needs over time.  Are you a self-directed person, and have the time to figure out your own plan?  You do you need to have someone set out all the details, and then make sure you actually show up for training events?  Some of both?

Q: Which discipline was most challenging for you and why? How did you overcome that challenge?

Swimming.  I’m just not good. Overcome with disciplined time in the pool and training (swim classes at the Pro Club). 

Total Immersion refers to training as "practicing" akin to music lessons.  You shouldn't just repeat the same mistakes over and over, you need to work on each individual aspect of swimming (stroke, breathing, body position, etc) and strive to get it right. That mental attitude helped me improve.

Q: What can I expect to spend in gear (approx.)?

• Running gear – shoes $80 every 6 months, clothes $100 or so, winter training adds $100 more in gear
• Swimming gear - $50 in trunks and goggles.
• Bike – how much money do you have?  Seriously – you need to spend $2000 on a road bike & gear that will really take you to an Ironman.   Or spend $1000 to get started, and expect to replace it later.  My first road bike was about $800 (plus $250 for gear like shoes and pedals), my current road bike cost $2750.   Plus you have to have the clothes for various weather conditions – about $200.
• Event entry fees range from $15 for a 5K to $30- $75 for a marathon or triathlon to $200 - $400 for Iron distance events.  Ironman events (Ironman is a registered trademark of the World Triathlon Corporation, no one else can call their Iron distance events an Ironman) are fabulously supported, an incredible event, and cost $400 (maybe more) to register.  And they sell out months in advance.  Ironman Canada sold out in one day, 1500 participants, and you had to register in person in BC to do it. I understand all 2007 Ironman events are sold out now.

My Ironman training cost a small fortune.  I spent $450 on a Total Immersion swim workshop, $400 to register for the event, $300 on new equipment (aerobars, race tires) for my bike, $250 to have my bike transported down to Arizona, $500 for a new Blue Seventy wetsuit (my old one was too small), plus probably $200 in training books, etc.   A fortune in Gu and Gatorade, too.   That's more than $1800 before I even got to the event, plus another $2500 for airfare & hotel for my family for the several days we all stayed in Temp.  You can definitely do it for less.

For IMAZ 2007, I’ve already registered ($400) plus paid for bike transport ($220) plus bought a CompuTrainer ($900 on eBay) to improve my bike times.

Q: What else should I know about?

In triathlon, the general rule is that everyone is at least good at two things (sometimes super strong in one) and weaker in the 3^rd.  Swimming is the most common weakness / least common strength.  Cycling is the inverse.  Since the majority of time in an Ironman spent cycling, that’s where most people invest their efforts to gain the time advantage.  My goal for my second Ironman (IMAZ in April 2007) is to slightly improve my swim time, somewhat improve my run, and significantly improve my bike time by increasing my average speed.

You will be injured, but you should try to avoid it.  Suffering is a part of training, but for some people it seems to become a mark of courage (“I can endure more pain than anyone.”)  It’s a dark underside of triathlon.  I recommend not falling into that mindset.

There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of finishing a long distance endurance event.  The training, the dedication, the discipline, then the actual event.  It gives you a different perspective on your life.

Bruce

2006 Portland Marathon Race Report

Another "fastest marathon ever" - I blew away my 4:00 goal with 3:53:11.  Woo hoo!

Weather: Couldn't be better.  Sunny the whole way, no wind, temp around 50 to start and upper 50s at the end.

Course: Flat and fast!  Significantly less effort than Seafair's course; so much so that I wouldn't really compare results.  The only hill of note is the climb to the St. Johns Bridge over to Swan Island.  The course winds through Downtown Portland, along the scenic riverfront, the historic Old Town, through the much celebrated Pearl District, through North Portland to the St Johns Bridge, through the residential section of Swan Island, then back to Downtown Portland via the Steel Bridge. It was a special treat for me to run through the city where I was born and raised, seeing parts of it I have rarely seen.

Vibe: Plenty of fun, energetic, and happy people. Very crowded at the start, then it thinned out after the first 3 miles - that's what you get with 7500+ participants.  A number of people from Team-in-Training were participating; a large number were from Texas given the "Team Texas" logos everywhere. There were racewalkers as well as just plain marathon walkers.  Lots of people were participating in fundraising for various causes.

Support: Easy packet pickup this morning, easy to find the start of the race, the usual pre-race "everyone milling around".  Not as well organized for a huge group of runners as the San Diego marathon, but they had 20,000 runners.  On course, there were plenty of course marshals, police officers, etc. to keep traffic at bay and us runners safe.  Thank you!  The Aid stations were well stocked and had plenty of volunteers. Again, thank you!

Race: I had forgotten my heart rate monitor strap (first time in dozens of events) so I had to throw my heart-rate-based race plan out the window.  I had calculated both a target pace and a target heart rate for each 5 mile section of the run; I stayed with the target pace plan.  I've always tried to "listen to my body" even while using a heart rate monitor so today exactly what I did - relied on perceived effort rather than heart rate. 

The race started out a bit slow, and I stayed near the 4:00 pacer for the first few miles, until I heard him exclaim "I'm 30 seconds behind pace, we need to go faster!"  Jeez!  But luckily there was a good downhill soon after that, so I used that opportunity to pass him and catch up with the 3:50 pacer.  I kept up with him past the 10k mark (0:53:50 for me), but lost him a bit for a while before catching up to within sight at the half (1:54:26).  At the half way point, I felt great - my heart rate was probably in the upper 150s and I had no pain of any sort.  Feeling fine!

I stayed up with the 3:50 pacer for a couple more miles, but after mile 15 I lost sight of him again.  At mile 16 (the last mile before the hill to the bridge), I was tracking to a 3:53 finish (I was carrying my pace chart and comparing to the time-callers at each mile sign).  After the bridge (mile 18) I had lost a full minute.  I was still feeling fine, although my right hamstring was starting to get a little sore.

Running Swan Island was just sweet  - beautiful view of Portland, lots of residents cheering us along, and I continued to feel great.  By mile 23, I knew I had nailed my 4:00 goal and now I was aiming to pick up that "lost minute" from the bridge.  So I pushed it a little harder, and almost before I knew it I was across the Steel Bridge, running along the Willamette River waterfront, then down the chute to cross the finish.  3:54:38 was my gun time (time from race start to my finish), and I'm super-happy to see my chip time (time I crossed the start line to when I crossed the finish line) was 3:53:11 - I did pick up that lost minute! 

Results: 3:53:11 chip time, 1528 / 7548 overall, 1104 / 3328 men, 181 / 489 M40-44.  For those keeping track at home, that's 63rd percentile for M40-44.  These are the stats to beat next year (I already registered!)

Photos:

Me, after the race getting congrats from Theresa back home. Yeah, I wore my Ironman Arizona finishers hat for a little street cred.  I planned to take it off had I turned in a really poor performance :-)

My daughter Lea came down to Portland with me for the event. She was the second driver for the trip home, where I expected to not be in the greatest of shape.  We had a pleasant, quick drive down, a nice dinner in Downtown Portland, and an all around great time.  She spent the morning doing her homework in the Portland Hilton lobby (the host hotel) and doing a little exploring of the downtown area.