Get Out and Do Something

Go Here

2011-12-31T12:39:00.002-06:00

After tomorrow...or today...just go here for updates. It may take a couple of weeks to get it up to speed so to speak, but go here.

Happy New Year all.

Today's Short Post...

2011-12-15T13:12:00.000-06:00

is brought to you by magazines who want you to write articles without paying you. They offer this to you under the guise that you'll get a lot of referrals or clients by doing this for free. Yet, they likely can give you no hard numbers.

So, don't do the work for free...especially if they want you to be an 'expert.'

Just say no.

They sell really expensive ads to pay for their editorial staff and owners. They should also pay you to write an article, even if it is only $100.

If you pay your authors, then I'm clearly not talking about you. In fact, I only have one publication in mind, but they've offered the same great deal to two people that I know. Both people thankfully turned them down.

I Love Forums

2011-11-22T12:07:00.000-06:00

Maybe this should go on the TBB blog, but it's a bit of a rant, so I'll keep it here.

I was reading a forum the other day. Triathlon Forum. And, I'm on twitter, so it's some of the same. The internet has allowed us to become virtual friends and experts, generally anonymous folks who hide behind screen names. Me, I am a little active on two such forms, and my name is either in my signature like or is my screen name. I generally post on things that I am confident about or more informational posts. And, I've been accused of being one of the folks I am ranting about below...which is why I have ALWAYS had my name attached to my posts. The internet has become a a great avenue for some people who normally might just be "socially awkward".

This gist of the forum post was like this...and this is a recent example as there have been numerous others...

Pro triathlete X fails to complete a race or does poorly. In this example Internet Expert A chimes in and basically says Kharma sucks huh? Or more commonly, the race gets armchaired, and Pro triathlete X gets drug through the mud for not finishing, etc. Then pro triathlete X comes onto the board, posts some stuff, rational or not...and lo and behold Internet Expert A is now their best friend and was suddenly wrong.

Basically you got called out for being a jerk, and now you are trying to backpeddal to fix it.

I realize some of it is inevitable. People in the public eye are scrutinized and analyzed. Pro triathletes are in the public eye to some degree. The triathlon media, love them or hate them...I personally love them!!, ensure that some pros are in the public eye. Where you live plays a great deals as well...so does whoever your manager or coach may be.

This happens a lot. So, think before you type or grow a pair and associate your actual name with your screen name because we all know that you seem to have little issue posting about someone that 'everyone' knows.

Troubadour

2011-11-19T09:59:00.000-06:00

I had lunch with a friend of mine the other day. We talked and solved the problems of each other as well as the world. We talked of the 'woes' of our current professions. Yeah, my life is pretty good, but it's not without a little bit of stress and worry. Anyway, we came around eventually to people who make snap judgements. This line came to mind...yeah it's from a country song!

Well, the truth about a mirror,
Is that a damned old mirror,
Don't really tell the whole truth.
It don't show what's deep inside.
Oh read between the lines,
And it's really no reflection of my youth.

So, chew on that for a bit. As usual, it was a good time to catch up, and even though it had been months, it seemed like days.

Change of Direction

2011-11-01T15:45:00.000-05:00

Here are some thoughts of mine. They will mostly come across as rants. Stay tuned.

Post Game DeBrief

2011-06-07T08:38:00.000-05:00

The last blog was about the sidelines, so I'll call this one post-game.

Well, I don't like the fact that a somewhat negative blog is sitting at the top of my not so updated blog. I've got 2 that need updating. I'm just not sure what to update with.

So, I had breakfast with one of the committee after I wrote this blog. I didn't say anything he didn't know. He just didn't like seeing it in writing...on the whole interweb thing. I emailed one of the race directors as the committee member suggested as a follow up. I don't have an "angle" like one of the esteemed Austin reporters needed when he wrote the story for the statesman...I haven't read it...sarcasm there in case it doesn't translate. If someone has a copy, I'd like to read it. If it's online, apologies, just point me in that direction. I try to stay away from the news. That might make me one of the uninformed Americans. I say that I don't have an "angle" other than being about triahtlons...that's my "angle".

Hopefully the issues will be fixed for 2012. Hopefully CapTex will remain part of the Toyota Cup. The swim issue was a non-issue for the other waves. Registration and timing were for everyone.

I don't guess...I know that it should be about "triathlon." At least that's the way I see it. I'm about triathlon whether it is in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Lubbock, or anywhere else for that matter. I'd like to think that the others in the "triathlon" world are about triathlon, but the fact that some of the statistics like "the average triathlete makes $161,000 yearly" are commonly thrown about shows otherwise.

Triathlon is a great sport. Having been in the sport since 1988, it's difficult not to reminisce about the "old days" or bring up how it "used to be". The fact is, things change. Rick of R&B was one of the early pioneers if you will of triathlon in Texas, Austin in particular. People don't remember or even know that since there are so many new faces in triathlon (pick up the June issue of Texas Runner and Triathlete for some history), and to a degree it is unfortunate. I was going to say that like most things, change is required. But, I think that 'growth' is a better term. And I'll let you decide how you define growth whether it be triathlon, personal, or whatever related. Day to day, month to month, or year to year improvement is how I chose to define growth. That goes to being an athlete, a coach, or whatever other hats I (or you) may wear.

Wow, closing on possibly a philosophical note.

SideLine Ramblings

2011-05-30T17:54:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately, I wanted to write this blog a few years ago. Unfortunately, this year I've been laid up with a hip flexor issue that is now history. I don't know that I would have raced CapTex this year, but it would have been very tempting. I love the race...or rather I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love racing in Austin. I hate that the event has been on the cusp of being a national caliber event. I hate that seemingly every year, it falls a little short. I know why I didn't write this a few years ago. Balls, that's why. It's been on the mind of more than a few triathletes in Austin. But, I'm that kid who spoke up in class. Some have voted with their feet, and that is why you don't see more local pros racing CapTex. Maybe I am old and grumpy right now...certainly a bit grumpy. Even though the Mrs. just won IM title #4 and #5 if you count the Rev Irondistance race...that's coverable TriRags. Right now I'm Mr.GrumpyPants.

The Capital of Texas Triathlon is always one of the more popular Austin events. Why? Well, it is probably the oldest triathlon in Austin, one of the more longstanding races in Texas. The guys who put the race on aren't rookies...they've been race directing for quite some time. This year it was one of the stops on the LifeTime Fitness "Race to the Cup" series. For the first time in its existence, The Capital of Texas Triathlon really had the opportunity to put itself on a national stage. Because this race is in my backyard and because the folks from Slowtwitch.com are covering the LTF series, I volunteered my eyes, voice, and phone to help with the spotting of the pro racers. So, I woke up and headed down to the race.

Hunter Kemper, Cameron Dye, Andy Potts, Ben Collins, Matt Reed, David Thompson, Filip Ospaly, and Andrew Starykowicz were a few of the men lined up at the start. Sara McClarty, Sarah Haskins, Alicia Kaye, Becky Lavelle, and Jasmine Oenick were some of the women lined up. Anyway, this is less of a race report for the pros...you can find the results. Andy Potts won with Hunter a close 2nd. Hunter is in an elite group of about 4 or 5 men who may be able to qualify for the 4th Olympic Triathlon...so it's great to see him back. Sarah Haskins won the women's race.

This is more of me lamenting about the race. Maybe this should go over at the TeamTBB site...it is known as the no-nonsense site. We try to provide straightforward coaching to athletes that works. Brett wants improvement from all of us, but at the end of the day at the pro level...sport is judged by results. I don't want to say you need thick skin, but honesty is spoken and sometimes it is not dumbed down. Triathlon is somewhat of a fringe sport. It has grown from the very fringe beginnings to a lifestyle sport that overpowers some athletes. They are identified by triathlon. The sport is more popular than ever. Why do I say all of this? It is simple. In the US, athletes pay good money to race triathlons. Olympic Distance races are upwards of $100 or even $150 to race. An official Ironman will set you back over $600 not including travel and such. What does that get you? What should it get you? If you are a pro and racing for your share of over $50,000, what does that get you? What should it get you? So, in my longwinded way of writing, which is faster than my speech, I'll get back to the point.

CapTex is part of a bigger national series to provide professionals with the way to make a living. When you are competing for lunch money, mortgage money, etc. there is a certain amount of responsibility that falls upon the athlete to know the course. But, there is also a responsibility that falls on the race director, the race committee, all the way down to the volunteers...though I will say that the volunteers are exempt from a LOT of that responsibility. I say that because they are volunteers. They are doing it to give back. Some have not participated in a triathlon, so they are not 100% sure what to do. Digressing...

This year CapTex failed to deliver on a number of fronts. The first issue came, unfortunately, at the expense of the professional men's wave that started first and that was competing for their share of $50,000. All but 2 swimmers were essentially forced off course costing them between 2 and 3 minutes. To top it off, Andy Potts, who was one of two swimmers who basically said...I'm going this way because that is where the course goes...was led off course as he exited the transition area. The dynamic of the race was changed 2x within the first 20 minutes of the start...actually the biggest change was forced within the first 5 minutes of the race. Would Hunter Kemper have won had he not been forced off course? Who knows, but it's possible that it was a $6,250 mis direction...depending on how the race organization decides.

I don't want this to come off as race director bashing, but there were also significant issues at the race registration on Sunday. In the day and age of computers, sometimes I wonder how far ahead we are. Or, have we become too dependent on the technology? Racers should not, under any circumstance, have to wait in line for in excess of 1.5 hours the day before a race...not these days. I don't know how it was all handled...you hear the negative more than the positive.

With the advent of chip timing, as athletes, we've become spoiled. Not to reminisce about the old days, but timing used to be using pull tags on race numbers and a timing print out. There was a reason that results took a few hours to compile...they were done by hand. There was usually more than enough beer or beverage to go around while we all waited 2 hours for awards. I don't know what the timing issues were on race day, but there were timing issues as we are still waiting for the official results. And to my knowledge, no awards were handed out after the race and the 'awards ceremony' was essentially cancelled.

I've helped with a ton of races. I've co-directed exactly 1 race, and I co-directed that race with the other half of a very successful and very good local Austin Event company...High Five Events...before they started. It was hard work. I for one am glad that I do not direct a large downtown triathlon in Austin. But, given the number of years that the event has been going, there are certain items that seem like they should be handled. The Capital of Texas Triathlon had the potential to really showcase Austin and really provide a first class event. CapTex 2011 should not have been to iron out the kinks or figure it out. CapTex 2011 should have been the year that everything ran seamlessly or at least appeared to run seamlessly. A race that is part of a national series should not have the issues that were experienced in 2011. I am sure there is more to the story...there always is. I am simply writing this as I saw it. I'm not a 'journalist' or a 'reporter' who has a need to put a spin on things or twist and turn comments to make their point. I'm just simply writing things as I saw them and heard them. Right or wrong I don't know.

And, while these comments may come off a bit harsh towards CapTex, the same complaints been voiced on numerous forums and websites about other races or other race series.

2011 Post #2

2011-05-19T19:24:00.000-05:00

I've started post #2 like 5 times. I have 5 drafts up, and I can't figure out where they should go or exactly what they should say. I've got 3 blogs of sorts...if you don't count Facebook and Twitter.

But, reading a few of the links that I have over to the left made me realise that I do like writing, whether anyone cares what it says or not. I've been injured for about 6 weeks now. You'd think that I'd have more time to write. I probably do, but I also probably waste more time.

So, I've got this blog...my TeamTBB Blog...and my FirstEndurace Blog. I'm supposed to do 1x a week on my Team and sponsor site. We'll see. For now and for today, just some random ramblings. I don't tweet these posts, it's just random how people find them.

In the pipeline, since that's a cliche that people like to use now, I have...
- Bike Lanes
- Comments about the WSJ and IMNYC
- Something about being a Cynic that most likely won't make it published
- Responsibility

For now, stay tuned until I get a wild hare and post up again. I say wild hare, but some folks use wild hair. I used the JFGI method to find out what it should be and even wild herr came up, so take your pick.

2011, First Post of the Year

2011-01-04T14:36:00.000-06:00

Oddly enough, today is the 4th of January. 2+0+1+1=4, something I noticed while starting this blog. I have pretty much reserved my triathlon reports, summaries, etc. for my TeamTBB blog. This one has stayed dormant since the last post sometime in August I think it was.

2010 is over. 2011 has started. I am going to somehow resurrect this blog, though I do not know what format it will take. I would like for it to end up being some of my cynical thoughts or rants or things that will make you say "Man, he is going to be a grumpy old man!" But, I don't know for sure.

What I do know is that I enjoy writing of sorts. My high school English Teacher, Suzanne Muecke, would not believe that I just wrote that. That's why I started to blog. Not necessarily because I thought that I had anything informative to say, but because I liked putting thoughts down, and turns out the whole world wide web world can read them.

2010 was a great year. 2011 will be better.

Way OverDue Post

2010-08-27T13:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I suspect that I have lost 2 of my 3 readers here. I regularly update over at the TeamTBB blog.

Been busy! 2xIronman in the span of 14 days gives you tired legs.

Back to the states soon.

Ironman UK

2010-07-30T02:48:00.000-05:00

I have posted a few new blogs over at TeamTBB. I will be racing Ironman UK in Bolton, England on August 1...or as they note over here 1 August.

Swiss camp has been going well. The training and views are awesome. It has been an experience to say the least.

Thanks to TeamTBB, Cervelo, Blue 70, Louis Garneau, 3T, Token Wheels, ISM Saddles, and Avia for making things possible for the team.

2.5 Weeks at Swiss Camp

2010-06-27T08:10:00.000-05:00

And I finally did a blog. You can read it here.

I post now, because I know a lot of folks will be online watching the various Ironman events this weekend...

More later.

Mooseman Race Report

2010-06-13T09:25:00.000-05:00

Well, May ended with our CapTex group of athletes racing well. We also had some other great individual performances with some Age Group wins at 70.3 events and an overall win at an Xterra. Congrats to those athletes.

As Amy and I headed to our next TeamTBB training camp, we raced one of Keith Jordan's most excellent events...70.3 Mooseman. Unfortunately for me, I hit the deck about 3 miles into the ride. After taking a few minutes to collect myself, I gingerly got back on my bike and finished the race. It was another top-10 in a 70.3 race. Certainly, not one that I am happy with. You can read a better report here.

Stay tuned for brief updates here, but also on twitter at @jbmarshtx or on the TeamTBB blog linked above.

Some Randoms

2010-05-26T22:17:00.000-05:00

Time has been flying these days. I have not done a good job at keeping this blog going, apologies to the few remaining readers. I generally blog about once a week over on the TeamTBB site.

My latest is about Randoms. Just some random thoughts. Kind of like on the old Saturday Night Live skit about 'Deep Thoughts' only these aren't that deep at all.

Anyway, you can read the post here!!

Heeeeey...or Hay

2010-05-18T14:08:00.002-05:00

What do you think? I know where they can get at least a few round bales!

Louisiana Has It...Austin Has It...Hey Gov...How 'bout Texas

2010-05-14T10:49:00.000-05:00

I saw this billboard in New Orleans.

How about it???

Wildflower Race Report

2010-05-05T22:08:00.000-05:00

The Wildflower triathlon was last weekend. We went in 2007. I did not want to go back ever. But, we decided to give it a go this year. Little did we know that it would be one of the toughest 1/2 Ironman fields of the year...and a tough course as well.

Needless to say, 15th place is not what I had in mind. You can read the details here. So, now the question is will I go back again...who knows.

More to come.

My Civic Duty

2010-04-27T21:45:00.000-05:00

I am trying to keep this blog alive. I have a few local specific posts in mind. But, this one is local also. I had the pleasure of serving Jury Duty yesterday. You can read about it here.

On a side note, Travis County needs a new system for selecting jurors. There were 19 of us in the room. Probably at least 1/2 had served before. At least 5 of us had actually sat on a case of some sort. Given that there are probably close to a million people in Travis County...there has to be a better way of randomly selecting potential jurors.

O.K. That is all for now. Wildflower triathlon is this weekend. 2007 I raced. It did not go so well. We will see how it goes this time around.

NOLa 70.3 Race Report

2010-04-21T22:06:00.000-05:00

I have posted my New Orleans (NOLa) race report over at TeamTBB. You can find it here.

You will not find any "this is a training race" or "I was so tired going into this race" or anything like that. It is a race for crying out loud. The other guys on the line do not care.

I fell short of getting paid for the race by 2 places and a few minutes.

Next up is Wildflower. Contrary to what Ironman.com says, I am not racing Lonestar this weekend.

On the plus side, I can add to my Top-10 in every WTC 70.3 pro race entered except the 2007 World Championships where I was 12th. Consistency is good, but at the same time can suck.

Stay tuned.

Some BlogKeeping

2010-04-15T21:48:00.000-05:00

Fellow readers, and I know there are fewer of you now than there were!

I am back and about caught up on things. Being gone for 2 months kind of does that. I will keep cross posting my TeamTBB Blogs. We just had another meeting about our site Team-Marsh.com today, and that should be the final meeting about it.

I am getting the race schedule up slowly but surely. It will be a 70.3 focus with an IM or two in there.

Last weekend I raced the Gateway to the Bay Triathlon in Kemah, TX. It was a very well run, first year event. I was 2nd to James Bales who was quicker on foot than I was...and quicker in the transitions I might add.

QA number 2 is up, and you can see it here. It is a little bit more in depth, so check it out. These guys have been great to us the last few years, and we don't give them the credit they deserve.

Off to New Orleans this weekend for the 70.3 race. Follow that up in 2 weeks with a trip to Wildflower to redeem myself from my much less than stellar...or even o.k. race in 2007.

Stay tuned.

QA Number 1...This One with Amy

2010-04-02T18:55:00.000-05:00

We have a QA session coming up that one of our great sponsors and supporters wanted to do.

But, here is a short one with Amy. It is pretty basic and pretty good.

Here is the link.

And, it was Singapore, not Shanghai.

Back In ATX

2010-03-29T21:55:00.000-05:00

Well, the training camp and trip is over. We are back home.

There are things that we missed...family, tex-mex, our athletes, our friends, the local shop, and more.

There are things we did not miss...traffic, stop lights, rude drivers, and more.

One of the things that Brett (that's coach) said to me was that my cycling needed to improve. I needed to have a "Monster Bike". So, after only 4 days back in Austin, I found one and you can read about it here.

Another post about some local training programs coming soon...and a QA session from Adam at ATC.

SE Asia...See ya later!

2010-03-22T08:36:00.000-05:00

Just posted a blog with a few pictures of SE Asia over on the Team TBB blog.

You can see it here.

It has been a great training camp. Back to Austin to get back at it again. Stay tuned, and see you at the races.

IM China Race Report

2010-03-17T03:56:00.000-05:00

Well, Amy and I went to Haikou, Hainan, China last weekend for a little 1st race of the season "hit out" as they say.

Amy hit it out of the park so to speak and won the whole thing.

I feel like I got knocked out about 28k into the run, but soldiered/suffered on to my third top-10 in an Ironman with a 9th place.

The race report can be found here.

New Blog Post...Some Training Questions

2010-03-04T20:52:00.000-06:00

I got a few TeamTBB training camp questions from a fellow athlete. I have posted the questions and a blog post over here at the TeamTBB Blog.

We have been at camp for a full 4 weeks now...I think. We are here for another week, and then it is off to China for Ironman China. Then, we make our way back to Austin. Krabi, Thailand will be missed by Amy and me.

Some Videos from Thailand

2010-02-25T08:09:00.000-06:00

Amy posted a pretty cool blog on the TeamTBB website. We have been shooting some short videos when we get the chance. You can see them on youtube or on here blog.

YouTube Link to my videos.

TeamTBB Blog from Amy with videos.

SE Asia Contrasts

2010-02-25T01:33:00.002-06:00

3 weeks here at camp. The 48 steps to the top floor to cook meals or the 32 steps up to our room have become a challenge...we try to minimize the number of trips.

I posted a new blog over on the TeamTBB site here. Check it out!

Be a Pro - Cross Post

2010-02-21T03:08:00.000-06:00

I just posted a blog entry to the TeamTBB blog. I will probably have some pictures or a video of sorts to follow this week.

I read on a coach blog a few snippits about being a pro awhile back. I posted a week #2 summary here about some of our challenges.

Cross Posting

2010-02-17T18:20:00.000-06:00

I am going to cross post my TeamTBB Blogs here, or at least link them.

Posted about a Thailand eating experience. Click HERE to see it.

Enjoy!

Food vs. Fueling: Part II

2010-02-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

OK, it has been longer than I planned. Part I was basically do not eat crap food when it comes to your day to day nutrition. Remember the disclaimer that I am not a RD, nutritionist, no certs of any kind, just some reading, some experimentation, etc. But, I will say again that I really do believe that A LOT of what we are led to believe as endurance athletes and people in general is not necessarily in our best interests, but in the interests of those funding the study.

I am at a training camp right now, so I have put in more training in 4 days than I typically do in 7. I am doing my best to eat real food, but I cannot always read the labels...so I am sure that I am eating a bit more sugar than normal because the yogurt definitely has sugar in it. I am also eating more dairy than normal because I have not had the convenience of my blender at home for smoothies, protein powder, etc. Anyway, at times it becomes an issue of just getting the calories in. I am fast finding that the "easiest" way to do that in Thailand is with fat...coconut milk, butter, eggs (&protein), cheese. We have continued to do our best to limit the sugar and limit or cut out the wheat products since we have found that to work well for us. Which kind of brings me full circle to what I want to say here.

I try to think about workouts in terms of what type they are or how much glycogen I am going to burn during the workout and tailor my nutrition to that. Without getting too crazy about it, the easiest way to explain it will be to run through a few examples, and give you somewhat of a quote.

- Glycogen depleting workouts that are early. These are hard swim, run, or bike sessions that have intervals in them and last 60 or more minutes. I typically will have only eating a little bit to stave off the morning hunger. I will have a recovery drink after these workouts IF I am not going to eat soon after. If I eat soon after, I make sure I have some carbs (NOT a LOT), hydrate, and then eat real food the rest of the day.

- Glycogen depleting workouts that are late. I try to have real food most of the day leading up to them with not too many carbs. As long as you have eating sensibly, your glycogen stores will be topped off. I try to plan these workouts so that I have a real meal with some protein, fat, and carbs shortly after and DO NOT drink a recovery drink.

- Aerobic (some say base) workouts or easy workouts. Real food before and after, just eat normal. If you experiment a little, I bet that you find that you DO NOT need 70% carbs in your diet like the experts say you do. Go to fitday.com or another site and see where you are. If it is a long ride or run, you can really get by with less than you think. If it is a race rehearsal long workout, it all goes out the window and practice what you plan on doing on race day, but I have found that it should not differ too much.

That is a good start. I posted my general nutrition go-to sites, so I will post some of my workout related nutrition sites...one is on both lists.

First Endurance Team Site

Bob Seebohoar

Robb Wolf

Allen Lim and Neal Henderson both have some very, very good stuff out on the web if you look for it.

Robert Kunz of First Endurance came to Austin last summer. One of the questions asked was should I have a serving of Ultragen after EVERY workout? Robert basically said, no. Based your need for a recovery drink on what type of workout you did and when you plan to eat following the workout. That is the key to workout nutrition in my opinion, and it sold me more on the First Endurance line of products even more. You DO NOT need a 300+ calorie sugar bomb right after every workout...especially if you want to lose some LBs.

Quick Update

2010-02-06T17:55:00.000-06:00

I will go ahead and post a quick update here. I have been at spring heat camp for Team TBB for about 5 days now counting the 2 days in Singapore.

It has been going well, but the real training or the real boot camp has not really started just yet from what I hear. A few things I have noticed...

- you do not need a hot shower in Thailand, or at least we do not have one.

- breakfast, lunch, and dinner pretty much look the same.

- they do not refrigerate eggs in Thailand.

- the local people are nice and like to say 'hello' as you pass, they especially like it if you say hello back.

- it is 'heat' camp.

- there are a lot of birds around or at least depending on the time of day, people are seen carrying birds in cages around.

- a scooter seems to be the preferred method of travel.

Stay tuned for more info here. Food vs. Fueling part II is on the way, really.

Food vs. Fueling - Food Part 1

2010-01-28T13:21:00.000-06:00

So, I've posted about what Amy and I eat on numerous occasions, so I won't rehash that too much.

Food to me is what you eat on a daily basis outside of working out. Your breakfast, lunch, and dinner so to speak. If you "fuel" properly during workouts, you can treat your food as your nutrition and not something to get you from workout to workout to workout...more fueling in my book.

Talking about food, nutrition, and what to eat is like talking about politics, religion, or women... I can't remember where I heard it, but I heard or read that if you want to learn about nutrition, really learn about it, find a biochemist. I will list some of my go-to sites below for things nutritionally related when it comes to day to day eating...food, and not fueling per se. My go-to sites:

Robb Wolf

Whole Health Source

Heart Scan Blog

Marks Daily Apple

Dr. Michael Eades

Fitness Spotlight

You will notice that most (o.k. all) of those above are pretty "low carb" sites. But, that doesn't mean that we eat low carb though we are eating a lot fewer carbs now than in the past. They are also very "real food" centric sites. What you decide to eat and for what reasons are completely up to you. A friend of ours last night commented that she read the Paleo posts, but didn't quite get it. That's where the "real food" approach comes in. So, regardless of where you stand on carbs, protein, fat, carnivore, vegan, or whatever, there is one central idea that I think works best...

Don't eat CRAP. Eat real food.

For us, real food is minimally processed. For the most part that means meat, eggs, fruit, veggies, starchy veggies like potatoes and sweet potatoes, some rice, even butter, coconut oil, olive oil, some full-fat yogurt, cheese on occasion. That is the bulk of our food. It means limiting sugar outside of workouts, it also means limited wheat products as we have found that we seem to operate better in general...less bloating and gas, fewer big energy swings. It means limited packaged foods outside of sports drinks and bars near workouts.

This is all a recap. You can find this elsewhere on this blog. The central message here is to just eat good food. Buy the best quality that you can afford.

What is real food? Pretty much anything with a short, very short, ingredient list.

Chicken is real food. Chicken Nuggets are not.

Butter is real food. Margarine or Smart Balance is not.

Coconut and Olive oil are real food. Soybean, Corn, and Safflower oils are not.

Beef is real food. A Boca Burger is not real food...just look at the ingredient list. Don't eat meat, you can find real foods that will probably work at least as well as a boca burger or TVP.

A piece of fruit is real food. A fruit roll up might work in a pinch, but it's mostly concentrated fruit juice and isn't really real food.

So, whatever your persuasion...just eat real food outside of training. Not sure when the next post will be up, probably on Team-Marsh.com.

Food vs. Fueling Intro

2010-01-25T09:51:00.000-06:00

This one has been a long time coming. I am not a Dr. I am not a RD (that's registered dietitian). I am close to being a USAT Certified coach. But, we have received several questions about race day fueling and nutrition in general. So, I thought that I would start a series of Food vs. Fueling posts that I will post here as well as cross post to Team-Marsh.com once it is up...which should be by the end of the week.

Generally, we break our eating down into 2 pretty distinct phases: Eating during a workout and just regular eating. When you train 2 (maybe 3) times a day on most days, it is difficult to separate the two. But, I will give you my best approximation of what we have found to work and what should work for a lot of folks out there. Because I cannot really prescribe what to do, you will have to find out what works best for you. I will post some of the sites that I have used to form these opinions as well.

In general, I think that we have been mislead on several fronts in regards to general nutrition as well as fueling for workouts whether it be before, during, or after. In short, we try to keep it simple with the bulk of our nutrition coming from real foods...those that aren't in packages. More later.

4 Years Ago

2010-01-21T22:10:00.000-06:00

We had fajitas for dinner and wedding cake for dessert. 4 years later we had fresh venison sausage, stir fried veggies, and roasted sweet potatoes for dinner. We had chocolate brownies for dessert. We tried to keep the meal a "real food" meal as much as possible.

If you are afraid of dairy, do not eat these brownies. If you are afraid of saturated fat, do not eat these brownies. If you need a gluten free brownie, try them. They are not sugar free, but only have 3/4 of a cup of sugar. They came out pretty good. We put some 72% dark chocolate chips on top of them before they were done.

A look back.

Multiple Blogs, Etc.

2010-01-20T21:47:00.000-06:00

Faithful readers, all three of you, I need some help. Our Team-Marsh site really is on the way. And, as part of TeamTBB we blog there also. I suspect that race reports will go to both. Other things like "How to Pack for a Training Camp" will likely go to the TBB blog.

But, what do I do with this one? Help me out.

I do have a post in progress for this one that is a little more than this.

Happy Training.

First Endurance

2010-01-13T18:17:00.001-06:00

A couple more posts before I switch over. I got an email asking about First Endurance products. I thought it would make a good blog topic, so here goes....

----------
Brandon, I have followed your blog for some time now and really enjoy it. I wanted to ask a couple of questions about First Endurance products if you
had a few moments to answer. I will be training for my first ironman in 2010 (Louisville) and I am doing some testing and research on what nutrition strategy will be best. First Endurance is really intriguing because of how many triathletes they have using it and all of the positive press they have received. I noticed you have put a few race reports on the site and seem to like them as well. Do you feel their products have helped you more than what you were doing in the past? If so, do you use all of their products or are there specific ones you recommend?

I have primarily used Hammer products but this will be different because of
the distances involved and how much more training I will be doing. I just
want to look around and make sure I know what all is out there. I realize
an ironman race can be somewhat of a crapshoot, especially with nutrition
but I want to try to nail it down as much as I can.
----------

I think that the FE products are great. And, this year Amy and I will be sponsored by them, so up until this year I have purchased 95% of what I have used. I don't think that the athletes using the FE products are necessarily successful because they use them, but the main thing is that they seem to work well for a lot of folks. As for me and Amy, I think that they have worked really well because we have figured out which mix works for both of us. That is the main challenge in long course fueling. I suspect that I could still manage to take in a bit more calories to push though that marathon. I use only FE products when possible. Amy uses FE and some Clif products (bloks or a bar). Jordan Rapp uses a mix as well.

We have used all of the products. I'll give you my run down of what we've used and my thoughts for each.

- Multi-V: I think that a multi is good 'insurance', so if I didn't use the FE multi, I would use another one. I am o.k. spending a bit more on this one b/c I know that they test their products and there shouldn't be any cross contamination. I am not currently in any WADA drug-testing pool, but with the proposed WTC testing, I guess that I will/should be.

- Optygen: It is a relatively expensive supplement. It had some reviews on slowtwitch. Oddly enough, those who didn't use it questioned it. Those who used it, liked it. Placebo effect? I don't think so. I know that I have had more 'on' workouts and fewer 'off' workouts during the season while taking optygen. If you can swing it, this one is worth it.

- EFS Drink: I've used this one for years. The new formulations are great in that they mix better, etc. If this is all you use, in theory, you should not need supplemental electrolytes, but that is individual.

- EFS Liquid Shot: Fast replacing the drink for me. Lots of calories in a small package, mixes well with water, tastes good. I defnitely recommend this one, especially for the IM run.

- Ultragen: Great for recovery or at least for workouts that require a recovery drink. I will use it after 90+ minute workouts with intervals. And, I try NOT to eat for the 30-45 minutes after taking it so that it gets absorbed or at least does its work. If you have a recovery drink that works for you, great, if not, it is worth a shot.

- EFS Bars: Great for on the bike and before workouts. I used one on my IM bike with no problems. It really tastes pretty much like a chocolate bar, so it's easy for me to eat on the bike.

- Pre-Race: I used it a few times. I am sure it works, I just haven't used it enough to really see for sure. I don't drink coffee, so the caffeine in this can really get me going. And, it does seem to help 'focus' during races.

If I were ranking them in terms of value or what I couldn't live without during the season (off season fueling/nutritional needs change a bit):
- Liquid Shot;
- EFS Bars;
- Optygen;
- Ultragen;
- Multi-V;
- EFS;
- Pre-Race

Hope that helps. Good luck at Louisville...don't really start IM training until about June!
-Brandon

Ch...ch...ch...changes

2010-01-10T15:28:00.000-06:00

It is a new year. Everyone is posting about new sponsors, resolutions, etc. so I thought that I would join the fray...though join the fray seems to show up as "join the fight or argument" when typed in to Google. So, that is not exactly what I mean, but I think you get the jist.

2010 will see a few changes for Brandon Marsh, and Amy too for that matter. Let's see...

January 20 will be my last day at the TCEQ working in the Public Drinking Water section. It has been a really good term there. Short, but good. For anyone who gets a little peeved at the seemingly long time it takes to push things through the state and who gets a little peeved at all the red tape...I feel your pain. But, if you saw the sheer volume of stuff that gets sent in, the quality of (or lack of many times) some of the submittals...you would understand why sometimes it takes longer than it seems like it should to get things pushed through.

Probably the biggest change will be that I will be racing (Amy too!) as part of Team The Bike Boutique (Team TBB) in 2010...and hopefully beyond. Team TBB is a triathlon team comprised of triathletes from around the globe and coached by Brett Sutton. It came as a bit of a surprise, but when Amy and I found that it might be a possibility, we saw it as an opportunity to take a step to the next level of racing. It is also a risk of sorts. Leaving the comfort of regular employment, turning over the reins to a coach for the first time pretty much ever, but they were also willing to take a risk on a 35-year old triathlete, so why not?!

I've posted already about our coaching, and we will continue to coach locally through Rogue as well as a couple of online coaching options that should fit a variety of budgets. I've also been posting that our new Team-Marsh website will be up soon...and it will this time, REALLY. We'll have info about our programs there.

So stay tuned. I'll post a link to the new blog and the new website soon enough. Probably another post or two and then you'll have to update your bookmarks because this blog will probably become fairly 'stale'...kind of brings a tear to my eye after 4+ years of blogging here!! I might cross post every now and then, but that can be a bit of a pain!!

Born to Run - Review

2010-01-06T11:55:00.003-06:00

I said I'd post a review, so here goes. "Born to Run" is a great book. It is a bit of a running story book. Along a similar, but different, vein to "Running with the Buffalos", "The Perfect Mile", or "Gold in the Water". A lot of folks have used it to further a particular cause like barefoot running or even a plant-based diet. But, it's not so much about that in my mind as those are just small parts of it.

It does get into the 'science' of why humans were born to run. How we have an achilles tendon that other upright and walking animals don't have. Also how we have this certain muscle or tendon that hold our heads upright and steady while we run. It talks about how much of a perfect shock absorber the foot is. How we aren't the fastest or slowest, but how we were able to separate ourselves from the neanderthals b/c of our physiological make up. It makes a very convincing argument for why we, as humans, are born to run.

More than that though, it is a book that takes you through some of the Tamahumara Indian tribe and some of the mainstays integral to their way of living. It blends this with several American characters that range from a jounalist to an ex-UFC type guy to several ultra runners. And, in the end, they all race. That is very much in a nutshell.

So, that's it. I very much liked the information presented about why minimalist running is a good thing. Why current running shoe design may not be a good thing. I won't go as far as to say everyone should run minimalistically, but just walking around barefoot a little bit more or even doing some minimal barefooting on nice soft grass or sand might help with foot and lower leg strength. I'll let you read the book and decide if it's right for you.

I Have Been Remiss

2010-01-04T21:47:00.001-06:00

January 4, Twenty-Ten and no Happy New Year post yet.

So, HAPPY NEW YEAR YA'LL.

It's been busy. More later including a review of Born to Run.

Born to Run

2009-12-28T12:29:00.000-06:00

I have a small library of triathlon and running focused books. Time and again, I find that the best books on endurance training aren't really those that are published as training books. You know, books like "The Triathletes Training Bible", "Triathlete's Edge", "The Perfect Distance" (have not read it), "Going Long", "Training Plans for Triahletes", and a myriad of others. I will say that "Daniel's Running Formula" is one of the better ones in my opinion. That's not to say the others don't have their merits.

But, the books that I find most valuable as training books aren't training books at all. They are story books. The three that regularly come to mind are:

- Gold in the Water
- Running with the Buffalos
- Swimming to Antarctica

I have to add a fourth to the list...

- Born to Run

I'll post a review when I finish it...probably in a day or so. They are all story books that follow a person or a group of people or a team sometimes almost daily in their quest to be the best that they can be. Next time you are looking for a training book, pass by the normal ones and go pick up a story book. And, then "just get out and do something".

Happy New Year Ya'll!!

2009 Year in Review and Looking Forward to 2010...Part Deux

2009-12-22T12:47:00.001-06:00

So, I'm going to squeeze in one or two more posts before the ball drops on NYC and 2009 rolls into 2010.

2010 Races are still TBD, but the focus will remain on the 70.3 and dare I say IM distance. Tentatively...

March will have Champions Triathlon here in Austin;
April will have Lonestar Triathlon in Galveston;
May is largely TBD, but may have the Rev3 or maybe Memphis in May Olympic Distance in there, CapTex is TBD based on the June/July Schedule;
June will likely be Boise or Rev3 or Kansas and probably Buffalo Springs;
July for me will likely be IM Lake Placid;
August and forward is To Be Determined.

As we look to 2010, we have a couple of new things on the horizon. I've kept this blog up for the past 4+ years. It started as a way to kind of just document and share my training and racing experience. It mostly remained as a look into some training, racing, nutrition, and general triathlon info as I saw fit. This will likely be the next to last post before I switch over to a new blog. We have a new website in progress at Team-Marsh.com. It will have all the standard pro triathlete website stuff...bio, blog, schedule, results sections but will initially focus on our coaching programs that will have a few price points for everyone, some of the articles that I've written for various publications, some tip sheets, etc as well. Highlights:

- Personal coaching that is TBD as we do not anticipate taking any new clients until about April, maybe earlier, but there are a few things to work out and get done between now and then and taking care of existing clients and such is the focus;
- 70.3 and IM training plans that will have little customization, but have been developed over the last 3 years of coaching athletes to successful IM and 70.3 races. These will be at a good price point and will include some feedback and communication;
- Capital of Texas 8 week program through Rogue Running that starts April 5. If you are coming off of a marathon or other run focus and are swimming, biking, and running a couple of times each, this is an ideal program for you. 4 coached sessions each week and a schedule and forum access;
- Triathlon focused swim workouts;
- Clinics;

I think that I'm going to leave this one up because hopefully there is a lot of good information on it. At least, after you keep something up for 5 or so years, you HOPE that you have written something that finds usefulness for at least one person. But, look for our new Team-Marsh.com website to come shortly after the new year and we hope that it will be a resource as well. Happy Holidays.

2009 In Review and 2010 Looking Forward

2009-12-11T12:33:00.001-06:00

I get more traffic if I blog on Monday, but Friday just works.

2009 is almost in the books. 52 or whatever weeks ago, I was writing a similar blog post. That one was after an October that consisted of leaving Source Endurance and joining the TCEQ to work full-time in engineering again and placing 7th at the local 70.3 event. November consisted of tweaking my calf, opting out of 70.3 worlds, and racing IM Arizona for 128.6 really good miles and a forgettable last 12 miles. 12 months later here we are again.

2009 has been a great year. Racing went well. With the exception of CapTex and my 2 Ironmans, I was 'in the money' at every race that had it...money that is. With the exception of CapTex, I was in the top-10 of every race. I don't remember a season with results like those that wasn't an age group season for me. So, on that front, it was a good one. It was also a tough one. Getting 'older' doesn't make it any easier, and although I don't really feel any effects of it...seeing the ages in the results lets me know. There are also no asteriks next to my name in the results that say "highest placing guy who works full-time", but nonetheless it has been a great year.

2009 was a great year of coaching. I coached an Ironman Champion and 70.3 Champion. There aren't too many who can say that or who have won both in a season. I'm married to that same champion, and we to do well with the coach/spouse relationship. A year before Ironman Wisconsin, Amy had been diagnosed with a stress fracture in one of the small bones in the foot. August 31, 2008 or something like that, she limped home from an easy run the day before what would have been the Austin Triathlon. In February she had an MRI b/c her foot was still bothering her a bit, but got the all clear to get back at it. It was a slow year of re-building, but about 53 or 54 weeks later she was standing on the podium as an IM champion. Somewhat unbelievable. Ironically, Ironman.com just ran a story on Sam McGlone and the improbability of her winning Arizona if you would have asked her a year ago. They could have run that same story almost 3 months ago. 3 days after Wisconsin, Amy started battling some tendonitis that has been tough to kick, but as we look to 2010, Kona is at the end of the season and it is a long way away from now.

I (we like in Top Gun) also coached a small stable of athletes. Pardon me for calling it a stable, maybe group is a better term. I use the world 'PR' somewhat tongue in cheek when referring to triathlons...but they had PRs. More than that, they executed their races well, which is what really matters. We had an age group Kona Qualifier. We had an Xterra Regional Champion who also went to Nationals and Worlds. We also had some folks who did their first or second IMs, others who weren't trying to qualify for worlds in their events, but who just wanted to get back into the swing of running and biking. We worked with Rogue Running on a couple of event based programs. They were well attended and well received. We learned from them and will do them again only this time we will lead them from start to finish and will be 'on deck' with the athletes 4 times a week. Check out Rogue's Site for the details. CapTex will be the first program.

A note on the coaching. It really is about the coach/athlete relationship. If you are looking for a coach, find one that you can trust and not one that tells you how great they are or how much they know or what successes their athletes have had (even though I just told you) because no coach can claim success for every athlete that they have worked with. That all matters a certain amount. Find someone that can talk to you on your level. Find someone that you can develop a relationship with that lasts longer than a few months if you really want to grow as an athlete. To some degree, you will be told what to do. But, in the end, your success is not based on just getting the workouts from someone. It is about your getting the workouts, doing them, and the providing feedback or asking questions.

That's enough for today, I'll probably have another post up in a week or so with some 2010 coaching, schedule, and other info. Probably Friday since they seem to work well...or maybe Monday since readership is higher than about 3 folks!!

IMMex

2009-12-04T12:19:00.001-06:00

Ironman Cozumel was last weekend. Guess what...I didn't race that one either. Instead Amy and I opted to go to my parent's house AFTER hosting both fam damilys at our place for Thanksgiving. It was sans the brothers and sisters in law though as one is in Washington and the other was visiting Buda...but not the cute guy with a round belly.

We had a couple of folks go race Cozumel as well as another that I'd worked with in the past. 1st IM for one of our and 2nd IM for the other. We had one that met his goal...and beat a good friend and training partner. That's always good. The other was met with a bit of bad luck right at the start of the bike with a crash and then a flat 70 miles later. But, she soldiered on, fought through and was a little off of her 'PR' for the IM distance. Search for my PR post to see why I have ' ' around it.

So, it was another successful weekend for our folks. They are now (I originally had not, but that was a typo) enjoying a bit of downtime.

In reading their reports, I go back to something that I said in my Florida report and the Arizona report that I wrote that wasn't about my race. You give an athlete the tools they need to hit their goals. And, IM is a day filled with small decisions. And, it is about moving forward. Hopefully, the athlete won't mind, but this last paragraph was a good one.

"So I've asked myself questions like - Did I have a good time? Yes. Was the race hard? Yes. Was it as hard as I thought it would be? No. Would I do another one? Yes. Is it going to define my life? No. For now, the race was just a significant personal achievement in my life that took a lot of hard work and sacrifice. I do feel a great sense of accomplishment and realize that I'm part of a very select group of the population. I am an Ironman - but that distinction doesn't make me better than anyone else."

I haven't blogged quite as much lately. I'm taking a bit of a break so to speak. Working, coaching, and getting back into training. Working on the schedule for next year and another thing or twelve. Check back for an update in a week or two. Be safe.

IMAz

2009-11-23T12:39:00.004-06:00

I did not race this weekend in Az. But, it was a fast day. Jordan Rapp and Sam McGlone both set course records. Austinites Richie Cunningham and Terra Castro both had solid races in the pro field with Richie finishing 4th and Terra 6th. But this blog isn't about them.

We had two athletes race, MW and CM. When you coach someone, you try to give them all the tools that they need to hit their goal whether it is to just finish, break 15 hours, break 12 hours, or whatever. Sometimes there are little tweaks to be made. Sometimes they just need the reassurance that things are headed in the right direction. Other times, they might need a stern talking to that tells them to just do the workouts. You tell them to control the things that the can control and don't worry about everything else. What do I mean? I mean that you can't control that the water was 62 degrees for every single athlete in the race or that every athlete had to deal with 2000+ people spread out over a 60k loop that you rode 3 times. What I mean is that you control how you react when you get kicked in the head in the swim or when you see a string of people sitting on your wheel (I have been a victim of this, and it got the better of me).

Setting a goal of qualifying for Kona is an interesting goal. You need to know about what it takes (10:45ish for example), but it really isn't a variable that you can control since it depends on how everyone else does, etc. Now, if you know exactly where you are in your age group and where everyone else is and want to 'race' an IM or 70.3, getting the coveted Kona spot can be a little more in your control so to speak.

So, both athletes headed to IMAz with time goals in their minds...2-3 time goals as kind of A/B type goals. We trained to hit them. Nothing fancy, no secret workouts, just consistent day in and day out training. The swim for both (thanks Amy) went well. The bike for both went well...realy well. In reality, I wondered if it went too well as I saw the splits along the way. When I saw the pro splits, I knew it was a fast day on the bike. The run in an IM is always the question. Part pacing, part nutrition, part mental fortitude. The first time check for one athlete was fast...likely too fast. For the other, right on target. I made a call to the SO of MW to give some advice if needed. Second time check was right on target for both. The rest of the run went well for both. MW walked a few of the late stations, but that was it. CM ran the whole way, which was 'huge' in his words.

In the end it was a day of 2 PRs for them. Both had great races that were well executed. CM was under his A goal by a 1/2 hour or so. MW qualified for Kona with her 2nd IM PR this year. It wasn't a conversation that we sat down and had. But, I know that in both of our minds we thought it possible as long as it was a good day.

Thanks to the athletes we have worked with this year through our programs or those at Rogue Running. It has been a great season, and we look forward to another one in 2010.

Last Race Report of 2009

2009-11-10T17:35:00.001-06:00

I did IMAz last year partly because I wanted to and partly because I didn't go to Clearwater due to a wonky calf. If you would have told me that I was going to do 3 Ironman races in the course of the next 12 months, I would have laughed at you.

12 months later, I'm sore again after my 3rd race. Wisconsin was a close but no cigar...not so much with the prize money, but with the Kona slot. So, Amy and I thought about which race might be a good one. Roll the dice on Florida about 7 weeks later or go back to Az or consider Cozumel? I rolled the dice on Florida as I didn't want to extend my already long season to late November. And, I rolled the dice because a few pretty solid guys always show up to get a head start for the Kona spots there. Florida was my first IM, and it's relatively easy for us to get to and relatively inexpensive once you get there. But, it is flat and can be windy, which are two things that a smaller athlete can struggle with...or at least the math shows that a larger athlete has a better chance on the bike in those conditions.

So, we headed out Wednesday morning and rolled all the way to PCB in the so-far trusty Mazda with bikes and gear loaded up. A stop in Breaux Bridge, LA for lunch and we were back on the road. We pulled into PCB about 830 or so, dinner and hotel by about 945pm. Thursday a little swim in the very nice PCB swim center (City of Austin can't you get your schtuff together and get a good year round swim center!), a little run, pro meeting, and the day was done. Friday a swim in the rough gulf, a bike on the course, and race day was around the corner. Forecast for Saturday was for very light (5mph) winds and good temps.

Saturday AM we woke up to a bit more wind than forecasted and some farily choppy seas. Race morning at an IM is pretty painless as long as you don't think about the 140.6 miles you are going to cover on race day. Most of your gear has already been ready, so all you have to do is drop of special needs, air up your tires, and load up your water bottles on your bike.

Swim started promptly at 650am. I didn't have a great start or first loop for that matter, but I had made my way barely to the tail end of the front group at the end of the first loop. I lost them a bit during the run-in and swam the second loop with them just out of reach. IM is a long day of small decisions, and I thought it best to not really push too hard to bridge up to the bunch. In retrospect, maybe it was a mistake, but as I said it is a long day of small decisions. You make your decision and keep moving forward because dwelling on it too much doesn't bring that finish line any closer. I was about a minute down exiting the water. 51:something.

I took my time at Wisco in transitions. There was no time wasted today.

Out on the bike and it was just me. I passed on rider about 15 miles in, and was passed shortly thereafter. The wind the first 6 miles was gusty and variable and we had a pretty strong crosswind for the next 14. That set us up pretty well to have a strong headwind for the next 30 miles. I put my head down and rode a little harder than planned during that headwind section hoping that we'd be payed back later on. We weren't. I was passed by 5 more riders between miles 50 and 75. I tried to go with Justin Daerr and Blake Becker when they passed me, but I also hit a bad patch then as wasn't really enjoying the day. They pulled away, bridged up to a group of about 3-4 and stayed in front of me the rest of the ride about 1-2 minutes up the road. The tailwind never came, and the last 6 miles along the coast were not fun. I did get a bit of a second wind at about mile 95 or so, which was good. I rode 4:40. For the numbers geeks, I rode the same split pretty much alone at Florida as I did at Arizona last year on about the same wattage, so I would rate the two courses on those two days as comparable.

In and out at T2 as well.

On the run I had 2 guys pretty close in front of me. I kept them in sight for quite a few miles. I passed Blake Becker about mile 3 or 4 and was 12th I think. As we got to the state park, I saw Luck McKenzie and the eventual winner coming out about 2 miles ahead or just over. I had a pit stop at mile 7 and was back at the running. I was comfortably running 640ish miles and feeling pretty good. A couple of times I tried to deliberately slow down to be a little bit conservative in the hopes of having a strong second half. As I came through the halfway mark, I was right on pace for a 3-hour or so marathon. I tried to pick it up as I was sitting in 11th place at this point. I saw Amy about mile 14 and she told me that there were a couple not too far ahead. I moved into 10th place about mile 15 and was still running well though I had not been checking splits much and just focused on moving forward. At mile 18 I saw Justin Daerr ahead of me and passed him. He mentioned that I was running faster than the guys ahead of us. I kept going and was slowly making up time on 8th. The only pro that I saw before getting to the state park this time was the eventual winner, so I knew that I wasn't losing much time. At mile 22 things started to get really tough. It seemed like the aid stations were further apart. I was slowing down and 3 hours was slipping out of reach. I quickly walked through a couple of aid stations. I was fooled into thinking that I was about to pass Raynard Tissink, but it turned out to be an age grouper in a similar kit. BUT, it was the motivation that I needed to push through the last 2 miles. 3:05ish on the run.

Finish time 8:42:41. As far as the world of "No PRs in Triathlons" go, this was a PR. Safe to say that I'm going to count it as one since it was better than 30 minutes faster than my previous best. In the end though, what really matters is how well you executed on race day. There are still some tweaks to be made, and every race is different. But, I started the race and didn't quite feel "on". I continued and pushed through the highs and lows. Overall, it was a good way to close out the season even if I was one short of the money and didn't get that coveted Kona spot. I'll be back.

9th again this time 8:42:41

2009-11-07T22:38:00.002-06:00

Small keyboard, excuse any mistakes.

9th again. As nice as consistency is...it is hard and it sucks at times.

9th with a better executed race this time. Sub-par swim, solid solo solo solo bike, good run trhough mile 23. 9th place behind 8 europeans or british colonials. Kona spot is doubtful, but fingers are crossed and I will go to the rolldown. 8th is the last $$ spot too to throw some salt in those wounds.

10:29ish in 2001. 8:42ish in 2009. I wish I could find an investment with that improvement...I might be able to retire...again!

The Voice of Ironman

2009-11-03T14:22:00.003-06:00

This guy is going to call my name on Saturday. After IMMOO Amy and I went back to the finish line. It was the first time that I'd done that. It was cool.

What made it really cool was Mike Reilly bringing home almost every one of the finishers.

Here's an interview with him on xtri.com. It's a good one with a few good points that need to be read and re-read.

Signing off for a bit.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T09:53:00.003-05:00

Be Careful Out There...

Consider Yourself Lucky

2009-10-30T14:45:00.003-05:00

If you are reading this. Not because of the great content and awesome information that is provided, but because of a conversation that I had with a few friends after running this AM as we sat down to some breakfast tacos (wheat free of course) and coffee (something I rarely drink).

Anyway, the general conversation doesn't matter too much other than they asked if the folks that I worked with knew that I was a triathlete...professional triathlete. I said, no. Of course they may know that I've done a triathlon or two, but not that I am lucky enough to race as a professional triathlete with some of the best in the world at some great and not so great places.

Chances are you showed up here b/c you have an interest in triathlons, running, swimming, fitness or whatever. Chances are it's a small part of your life. Chances are it is something that you don't 'have' to do. Anyway, it's not often that I'll write a post like this...maybe it was the coffee.

But, next time you finish up that ride or run or swim...no matter how good or bad it was...consider yourself lucky that you've got a little something that you enjoy doing.

Happy Halloween. I'll have a fun post this evening if I can figure out how to post it up. I suggest low sugar and healthy candy if there is a thing. I suspect we'll go buy some random candy mix to hand out for tomorrow. You 'could' be that guy that gives out boxes of raisins, but who likes those? Or you 'could' make something homade, but no one can be trusted these days. Or you 'could' give out broccoli if you want a flaming bag of dog poop on your front porch the next time.

3:10 to Qualify for Boston

2009-10-27T17:19:00.003-05:00

Want some workout or training info. Here it is. A friend of ours sent an email out to some guys...he got some trash talk in return. Seems he just registered for White Rock Marathon and wants to get his Boston Qualifying time. His Fiancee (now wife) already has hers and is going. I'll do some editing for the sake of the U-21 folks who might read this blog or those who are averse to certain 4-letter words. This jist was this...I need to run under 3:10 to qualify for Boston...how do I do it? He got a lot of replies...here are three with mine being the last. They are all excellent...if I do say so myself.

Reply #1:
- Run a lot of miles fast.

------

Reply #2:
Run on the track tomorrow, wed. don’t "dork" around. Be consistent don’t take long recoveries and don’t chat with people.

Start doing 800s at 6:30 pace. Start with 6 keep adding 2 a week for 5 weeks, then start your taper.

Tuesday, Get a tempo run in the day before you do your track, so your legs a little tired. Tempo runs don’t hurt you.

Thursday easy run.

Run hills on Fridays, repeats or hilly run. add to this each week for 5 weeks. Yes you are running a flat course but think about strength.

Ride your bike really hard on Saturday, the short loop. don’t be a "slacker" and you better pull, go off the front, don’t sit, elevate your HR. Don’t run.

Long run on Sunday Do your long run 30 seconds off your race pace and like Brandon always says finish it strong.

Start with 12 miles add 2 miles a week till you hit 20 miles, then start your taper subtract 2 miles a week. Like josh says keep your long runs under 2 hours but for you I would hit 20 miles since you have 0 time, you need the miles. I listened to josh last year and never ran longer than 2 hours on my long runs for Austin. Make the long runs work for you. don’t waste your time and don’t run with other people that are going to bring you down or "dork" up your run, stay on track. You have a wife and a job so you don’t have time to "putz" around. That means you run with people that want to run not "dork" around or talk like they are going to hit a goal.

Take Monday off. Swim, ride easy lift some weights. Do something don’t be a "wimp". Just don’t run or do anything hard on your legs.

Pretty much I would say go for it but don’t get hurt, enjoy. I will be very impressed if you pull it off in 7 weeks. You can’t be a "wuss" though. 3:10 is a solid marathon.

Get your "freaking" HR zones and run in them or run off a garmin.

Sign up for EAS 10 miler and run it as hard as you can. run like 2 or 3 miles before starting easy. Nov 8th is the date.

This is my 2 cents but there are others on here with more experience than I.

------
My reply:
Wow. I really can't add a whole lot. Every single guy on this list can run 3:10 if they'd just quick being a pansy and get out of bed in the morning and swim, bike, or run.

I wouldn't bother with HR zones for running. It doesn't matter what the HR monitor says. You've got 190 minutes, isn't it actually 190 minutes and 59 seconds, to run 26.2 miles. That gives you 7 minutes and 15 seconds to run each of those miles. Most of the calculators will put your 800s about 3:08-3:15 pace I bet w/ 60-90 seconds recovery. Jog the recovery.

Don't start out too fast. The best way to run it is going to be to either start out at 7:15 and hold it or run the first few miles a little bit 'slow' and then get rolling the last miles.

We will be at the track tomorrow to get in a workout. No dorking around. I'm going to run about 10-12 miles Friday. Then I'm going to run 26.2 miles in about 11 days and smash the 35-39 BQ time.

Lots O' Bikes In Austin

2009-10-23T16:28:00.003-05:00

I better check to see where my ride is going this weekend. With Longhorn 70.3 and the Livestrong Challenge, there are a lot of folks in Austin this weekend. I'll be riding long. Last one probably before IM Florida.

Xterra Worlds is this weekend. We've got an athlete racing.

Longhorn is this weekend. We've got an athletes racing and some future athletes racing. It's crunch time as there are 4 big races in November for a lot of athletes...IM Florida, Clearwater 70.3 Worlds, IM Arizona, and IM Cozumel. Those are all on consecutive weekends.

Good luck to all those racing this weekend!

Seasons Change

2009-10-21T12:22:00.001-05:00

And mine is changing. I've got 1-2 races left. Actually, probably just one race left unless I ride the dirt bike and do the Dirty Duathlon. It won't be Longhorn 70.3. After the near miss in Wisconsin, I decided to return to the site of my first 'real' triathlon. I'll be racing Ironman Florida on November 7. I 'could' race Longhorn on short rest and then continue the rest for Florida. BUT, a good friend of mine commented 'what if you only have a certain number of races in you?'

Even before that, I was kind of 2nd guessing Longhorn. It will be a great field...some 60+ pros will be racing. I just won't be part of it this year.

So, I'll return to the Redneck Riviera of Panama City Beach, Fl. In 2001 I raced the race. I had a less than stellar result, but it was an o.k. first Ironman at 10:29 or so. I'll be looking to beat that time by a bit.

Who'd of thought...a total of 3 Ironmans in the space of about 50 weeks!?

239 Flip Turns Later

2009-10-19T23:03:00.003-05:00

I've got several links to the right. One of them is "Tyler's Take". He blogged this, but I thought I'd blog it as well. Seems Tyler is a swimmer...a really good one at that. Swam in High School...took like 13 years off of swimming and is still really fast. We've known this since we started swimming with TXLA...actually since he started swimming with TXLA. He's a sprinter...but turns out he can crank out some distance events too.

He was going for the USMS Long Distance All-American or something. He swam a 1 hour postal swim in the spring. A 5k and 10k long course postal swim this summer. He needed to swim a 6k and 3k postal swim in the fall. But, he needed someone to join him. So he asked me...the distance sprinter as "The Razz" calls me. It's Ande Rasmussen, and he actually might introduce himself to you as 'the razz!'. I said yes. So, after a set of 60x100@1:20 on Thursday morning I was wondering what I was getting myself into by agreeing to swim virtually the same set WITH NO REST on Sunday at noon.

12:05 we started. 1 hour, 8 minutes, and about 12 seconds later I was done. Tyler passed me about 5 times. The first time it was in about 500 yards. I held him off progressively longer as the swim went on. Unfortunately I think that I would have needed another 6k to even split him on the swim. Sprinter...whatever. I do know why they call it a 'postal' swim though...remember the phrase 'go postal'. Yeah, it's kind of like that.

Anyway, swimmers are a good bunch of people. We're lucky to swim with them. And yeah, I was tired the rest of the day and a little bit sore today...and could only manage a 2k swim all day.

The Vegetarian Myth

2009-10-16T11:54:00.005-05:00

I think that I posted awhile back that I finished reading Mark Sisson's "The Primal Blueprint". Unless you just peruse the shelves at Borders, Barnes and Noble, Half Price Books, Book People, or any other number of bookstores chances are good that you pick up a book because you read a review or are interested in the subject matter. Having read several 'vegetarian' focused books like "The China Study", "Diet for a New America", "Thrive", and having participated in the "Engine2" pilot study, I'm obviously interested in reading books with a nutritional spin on them. "Good Calories, Bad Calories", "The Primal Blueprint", "Paleo Diet for Athletes" are a few that are somewhat on the opposite end of the spectrum from the first few listed. And then there are books like "Omnivore's Dilemma", "In Defense of Food", and "Fast Food Nation"...oh yeah and the documentary "Food, Inc".

So, when I read a book review of "The Vegetarian Myth" posted here...I thought I'd go get it. That meant ordering it since my local big box bookstore didn't have it nor did one of our local bookstores at the time. This short review will NOT do the book justice.

Unfortunately, as I have posted before...there is little middle ground when talking about 'nutrition' for health and longevity. It is kind of like talking about religion or politics. The best thing to do is educate yourself. Find out what works best for you...even though I find it increasingly difficult to refute some of the lower carb and higher fat info that is out there. More and more for me that is tending towards a more paleo/primal way of eating that includes a fair bit of meat, real fats, veggies, some fruits (I commented to Amy this AM that I've never really been a huge fruit eater). I've been cutting back on carbs and minimizing grain (minimize equals virtually no wheat or gluten) consumption where I can so that besides sports drinks and recovery drinks my starchy carb sources are generally sweet potatoes, potatoes, and rice. But, that's not what this post is about.

"The Vegetarian Myth" is very good. That's my review. It is a very good book. 'IF' you have any interest at all about diet, nutrition, sustainability, global agriculture, etc...read this book. Choose to overlook some of the feminist or political ramblings. The author yearns or hearkens (can't believe I wrote that in a blog) for a pastoral lifestyle that is honestly a pipe dream. You can't really reverse progress, though some might argue that in some respects we are going backwards. Anyway, there are three main sections to the book...Moral Vegetarians, Political Vegetarians, and Nutritional Vegetarians.

Moral Vegetarians addresses the issue of killing animals for good. Political Vegetarians addresses or follows the issue of the vegetarian movement and essential focuses on some of the $$ involved much the way several other books have focused on the corn industry in particular. Nutritional Vegetarians addresses what you would suspect it addresses down to nutritional adequacy or inadequacy of omnivorous or vegan diets as well as how we got to the point of the 'food pyramid'.

So, that's about all I'm going to say about it. It is a book based on personal experience and a lot of quoted research and references. In the end, the conclusion is unrealistic. But, it does and should give you something to think about. That's all for this Friday post!

Question 2: What do You do Different?

2009-10-14T22:09:00.001-05:00

There is really no secret answer to this question. As I said, Amy got the 'did you think you would do that well?' question a lot. I have gotten the 'what do you do different?' question a fair amount this year. I have had a good season, one of my better ones. Amy has had a good season, one of her best. We do our own coaching...combo of our experience, reading (A LOT, but not necessarily triathlon training books!), and talking to athletes and coaches.

Rather than write all about our training...I'll just kind of highlight some of it...we don't want to give away all of our 'secrets'!!

So, what did we do this year?

- Amy got healthy and (knock on wood) has stayed that way. I remained healthy. Staying injury free and relatively sickness free lets you be consistent. If you can be consistent, that is half the battle. She's had a little ankle 'niggle' after the IM, so we're playing it safe and we'll see how it goes.

- The season was laid out into 2 pretty distinct phases that ended with BSLT 70.3 and IMMOO...the rest is 'gravy.' That gave a good 5-10 day very light mid-season training break and a relatively unbroken 8 or so weeks before IMMOO. Having a season plan (or longer) can help immensely.

- We swim 4-5 times a week. We bike 5 days a week. We run 4-5 times a week. I think that the bare minimum is 2/2/2 to finish most races, 3/3/3 is better, and anything over that, and I think that you can make some good improvements. Those are generalizations about our training. I have to be very efficient to get my workouts done, and they need to count. If I'm not done by 830 or so in the evening...the workout gets cut short since I start when I get home from work. There isn't a lot of dorking around in our workouts, but that doesn't mean we train hard 7 days a week...maybe 6.5 though!! (kidding).

- Volume was not overly high and there weren't many 'down weeks' in there. By that I mean that I read about a lot of triathletes who "average" 18 hours a week...and these aren't pros. Pros usually quote 30-35 hours a week. Really? Do you know what an 18 hour week looks like? I don't county TPTherapy or the occassional massage as a workout or driving to/from a workout even though it takes time. Do you know that if you train 10 hours one week that it takes over 20 hours the next 3 weeks to average 18 hours for that 4 week period? So, did you really average 18 hours, or was 18 hours your biggest week? Me, I averaged close to 17 hours this season so far...that's counting every week. My max was probably 22. Interesting note here was that Jordan Rapp quoted on Slowtwitch that during his Ironman Canada build (he won the race) he was probably at 22-25 hours a week. That's during his build. Maybe you do average 18+ hours a week. If you aren't getting results, maybe it's time to tweak it. Results are different for everyone. For some it's beating 16.5 hours in an IM, for others is winning the age group.

That's it. We coach our athletes similarly, but tailoring workouts and plans to what races they are doing. We've got folks who are racing Ironman, 70.3s, Xterras, and who are pretty much noobs or getting back into it as well. Generally people are more alike than different, but there is a difference in training for an Xterra, 70.3, or Ironman. And, I really think that training for a triathlon is different than training for a bike race or marathon, even though some of the workouts may be similar. We see the workouts as just one component of the overall program...nutrition, life stresses, etc. all count too.

That Race in Kona

2009-10-09T11:33:00.005-05:00

Seems like every triathlete wants to race Kona. If they don't want to race it, my guess is that they certainly want to be there to see it. Seems like the 'energy' and 'hype' around Kona is a bit more this year. At least in triathlon circles. I'm not sure why.

I've been fortunate enough to participate once. I say participate b/c I stopped racing about mile 90 of the bike and soldiered on to a 11:08 or 9 finish. I've been fortunate enough to spectate once. Amy raced in 2005. She has Kona bragging rights in the house with a 10:48 or something like that. We hope to have a showdown in 2010!

Anyway, the race is tomorrow...5 hours behind central time. I think that pros start at 6:45am. There are quite a few Austinites racing. I'd list them, but I'd forget some. So, here I go with no research on finding out who's going. Jason McMillian is the only Austin pro racing...unless you count ex-Austinite and now Boulderite Michael Lovato. Meghan Brown swims with us at TXLA and she's racing. Paul Terranova is racing. Oh yeah, Joe Thorne of Rogue Running is racing. There are a few more, but good luck to all of them.

I don't have any real favorites. The talent gets deeper every year. Craig and Chrissie are the ones to beat. While everyone thinks that all the girls are racing for 2nd, I suspect there will be a good challenge by Keat and I'm sure someone else who will step it up that's possibly off the radar. For the men, I'm pulling for Michael and Andy to represent the US again in the top-American spot.

A RANT!

2009-10-07T12:21:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it's capitalized. It's a rant. I don't rant here very often. But, on my run this AM I told Patrick I was going to blog it. So, Austinites...especially you fitness minded types...you might get offended here if you feel I am talking to you. I write this as one of you. I write this as someone who coaches athletes and who leads 'group' workouts. And yes, some of it may sound 'elitist', but it's not meant that way.

I ran at the track this AM with about 50 of my closest friends. Actually, I ran with about 2 of my closer friends, there just happened to be near 50 others runnig this morning judging by my calibrated eyeballs. We knocked out a set of 800s. We were on the track for about 45 minutes. I'll let you figure out how many we did.

I view the track as a place to "get'r done". You warm-up to the track or in the outside lanes, quite possibly running the opposite direction in the outside lanes to warm-up. You do your workout in lanes 1 and 2. Cool-down is off track or in the outside lanes again possibly running in the opposite direction if it is not too crowded.

I've always thought that it is the faster person's responsibility to get out of the way as long as both are doing a workout and not just 'jogging'. So, 'if' you are running faster than those in front of you, you move to the outside and pass them. Faster is relative...it could be 5 minute miles compared to 7 minute miles or 8 minute miles compared to 10 minute miles...you get the picture. That's just the way that I think it should be done, and I don't think that I'm completely alone. Kind of like slower traffic stay right on the roads...slower traffic that's running a workout stay left on the track. You can also make an argument for faster folks getting the inside lane and calling 'track' to signal to those in front of them that they are coming. That's kind of like saying 'on your left' to someone in a race...they may or may not know what it means and you might cause more trouble than it's worth.

Personally, I feel a little like an elitist jerk when I yell 'track', but some people have no problem whatsoever with it.

Where my rant starts and basically ends is when I (insert your name here if it's happened to you) have to run all the way to lane 4 to pass a group of runners who are running 3 and 4 abreast in lanes 1-3 during their 'workout' while they are merrily talking their way around the track. Merrily talking your way around the track does not qualify as a 'track workout' to me (maybe a mouth workout)...especially when you are running in a group of 10 or 12 that spans the entire first few (that would be 3) lanes of the track! Run 2 abreast in 1.5 lanes of the track in a line 5 or 6 deep if you must run in a small herd.

Additional rant here. When you are done with your interval, then move switfly to the inside of the track or to the outside lanes. When you are ready to start your interval, look over your shoulder to see if someone is coming from behind. Please don't stand in lane 1 or 2 catching up on the gossip you missed during your last interval while you are waiting for the rest of your group to finish drinking water.

I wanted to make sure I wasn't totally off base, so I googled "track running etiquette". I found several things, but I'll link one to the first item in the list from 'ehow', and one on page 2 of the search from our local 'RogueRunning' website. They both do a good job of explaining etiquette. Personally, I like the Rogue approach of faster runners passing to the outside unless lane 1 is clearly open.

That's all. Rant over. Despite the group dynamics, the run workout was a good one.

Black and Orange

2009-10-03T22:37:00.005-05:00

The black goes better with the P3C than the grey...I've always spelled it that way. Thanks ISM.

And Orange goes with Black...this is either a friend or a foe depending on how well you've been taking care of yourself. Right now, it's kind of both for me! Thanks TPTherapy!

Maybe my next bike will be orange and black...or maybe I'll give my commuter a halloween theme!

ACL

2009-10-02T12:26:00.000-05:00

...and I'm not talking about your anterior cruciate ligament. I'm talking about the Austin City Limits music festival. You will not find me attending. I went the first year it was here and part of the 2nd. After that, it got huge, and that's not my scene.

But, if you've watched PBS, chances are good that you have seen Austin City Limits. It is filmed here in Austin and generally showcases some local Austin or Texas singing talent...but it hosts non-Texans as well. It does seem like if any musician has slept at least 1 night in Austin...then they are from Austin.

So, if you are averse to large crowds, stay away from downtown Austin this weekend.

Me, I'm going to swim, bike, and run a little.

Question 1

2009-09-30T22:10:00.001-05:00

As I stated...a couple of questions have been coming up. Obviously, Amy gets the first one more than I, and she doesn't really answer...so I'm going to! 1st place is 'better' than 9th. I get the 2nd one more than Amy.

- Did you expect to do that well at the Ironman?

For me, I expected to do better than I did. That's not to say I wasn't pleased with my performance. I was pleased, but not satisfied. There will be another one. I wanted a top-5 and a spot to Kona, but knew it'd take a good day. A smart day. A day where most things went as planned. Not a planets all lined up and it snowed in the really 'warm place' kind of day, but a good day. I almost got it. I have a couple of things to work on.

It was my 2nd Ironman in recent history and by my judgment my best one to date. It was the 1st Ironman for a couple of guys ahead of me, but many ahead of me have probably done 4 Ironman races in one single year, much less 4 in the past 8 years. Was top-5 possible...definitely. Was a win possible...anything is possible. Was a top-5 probable...yes. Was a win probable...yes if it was one of those magical days where everything came together.

I should say that I planned to do better than I did. And, I don't just mean planned in my head. A lot of people 'plan' something in their head that may be unrealistic if you sit down and be real honest with yourself. An Ironman is not the place to be completely unrealistic. But, if you pick the right course, have a realistic stretch goal, and things come together you might surprise yourself and others! If you have never come close to running a 6 minute mile in training, don't expect to run a 2:37 marathon...as an example. Even though in these parts (read Austin) I'm a 'short course' guy, I suspect that Ironman is my best distance. So, I'll have one of those days eventually...if it's a 'W' it's a 'W'...if it's not...it is what is as they say.

But, for Amy. Did we (I) expect that she'd do that well? Frankly...Yes. Certainly it was possible. Was it probable...again hard to say. I bet you could have made some money in Vegas if there were odds.

Fact is, she was ready for the race. I knew that if she had one of those magical days that she was going to be very tough and very tough to beat. With the exception of a small mistake on the swim, which really wasn't a mistake but more of a choice, she had one of those days. The choice was made when the right set of feet to draft went one way and she chose to go another. In the end it didn't matter...Ironman is a day of choices.

So did we expect to do 'that well'? Yes and no. Certainly it is still sinking in that things went as well as they did!!

Exhausted...and NOT after an Ironman!

2009-09-27T19:29:00.002-05:00

I'll try to post a video of our niece screaming her head off in delight and the father in law getting drenched under the waterfall at SeaWorld. We headed to San Antonio for a short fam damily trip to SeaWorld. I feel worse now than I think that I did after the Ironman!

Anyway, break time is over. I've got a race in 4 weeks, and I'm sure it won't be an easy one. More later...I haven't forgotten the 2 questions blog.

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

2009-09-24T12:13:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I got a sample of Tropical Traditions extra virgin coconut oil to sample. I got it b/c I tweeted something about coconut oil. And with the sample came a request that I blog it or review it. No, we aren't 'sponsored' by them or anything like that!! We finally finished the jar we were working on...so it was time to try the new stuff. They also sent a book about extra virgin coconut oil.

Depending on what you read coconut oil is either vilified or praised. Vilified because of its high saturated fat content. Praised because there are antecdotal claims that it helps 'cure' anything from acne to high cholesterol. You have to be careful when thowing around cures for things. The book that came along with the sample details the process for making virgin coconut oil and provides recipes, and several health related topics. And, it praises the value of coconut oil. There, that's kind of a disclaimer. We use coconut oil primarily for stir frys and curries...I have yet to lube up with it to see what it does for my skin!! It has a very high smoke point and is very saturated so it does not really change its form when heated. Depending on what you believe about saturated fats will depend on whether or not you use coconut oil.

Personally, I view it as a real food. Since we've cut out a fair number of our carbs and added in quite a bit more fat, coconut oil seemed like a good choice. Canola, sunflower, soy, corn, and other vegetable oils (except olive) are no-nos in my book. So, we've started using coconut oil, and we like it. It's great for stir frys. It's great served on a baked sweet potato like you might use butter. It's great to oven 'fry' sweet potatoes in. We put it on our veggies when we grill them. When you use it to sautee onions and garlic before adding ground beef, ginger, coconut milk, and curry powder...it makes a great curry.

All in all it's good stuff. Check out their website linked above for more info. There is also a video by the CEO of Tropical Traditions. I have not watched the video, so I do not know what is in store. They've also got an online store with a lot of other organic and grass fed/free range meats and wild fish. They ran a big sale on chickens a week or so ago...so we decided to try some. If you're looking for something a little different, give it a try.

2 Questions

2009-09-23T12:48:00.001-05:00

September 13 was a big day for us. Amy won the race, and I was 9th in the men's race. We keep getting 2 questions:

- Did you expect to do that well at the Ironman?

- What are you doing different?

Obviously, she has been getting the first one more than me. Top-10 is a great result, but winning is a 'greater' result. So, over the next week or so I'll adress each one.

Oh yeah, I'll have 2 reviews coming as well:

- Tropical Traditions extra virgin coconut oil...I got a sample b/c o f one of my tweets.

- TPTherapy's 'The Grid', which is kind of a supercharged foam roller.

Recovery from an Ironman

2009-09-20T20:24:00.003-05:00

What does it take? I don't know. I know they all count, but I haven't really 'needed' to recover from my other 3.

#1 was Florida 2001 as an age grouper. I was a little injured going into this race...injured with one of those my seat doesn't feel right, so I'll change it 3 weeks before the race kind of way. Oddly enough my knee started hurting about 3 days later. About another 3 days after the IM I found my measurements, put my seat up and the pain went away in about 3 days! Anyhoo...I 'ran' 13.1 miles of the marathon, just long enough to do 1 loop and get past the crowds and then I walked a fair bit. So, except for being VERY glycogen depleted, I didn't suffer too much soreness. I went back about 3 hours after finishing and got an IV. I was done for the season anyway, so there wasn't much 'recovery.'

#2 was Hawaii 2002 as an age grouper. I bonked so bad on the bike that the last 30 miles were misery. I ran as much as I could, but I walked miles 9-13 and A LOT of the rest. Josh Lee and I traded places and we didn't really know each other. So, needless to say I was not too sore after that one either. Not much recovery, the season was over.

#3 was the fall Arizona 2008. I ran really well for 14 miles...to well. After that it was a gut retching, literally, 12 miles. I walked a lot b/c my gut didn't really let me run much or stand up straight to be honest with you. Season was done, not much recovery was needed as I wasn't too sore after this one either.

#4 was 1 week ago. I 'ran' the whole way except for the last loop aid stations. I was cramping, and was very sore after this one. I also have a 1/2 Ironman in 5 weeks, so I need to recover and get back at it.

So...what has the recovery entailed. 1 day off after the race pretty much eating everything in sight whether it was good or bad...as far as our 'standards' go. Tuesday - Sunday was 1 sport a day of between 30 and 97 minutes. That was 2 swims of about 2k each, 2 runs one of 27 minutes and one of 43 minutes, and 2 bikes one of 75 minutes 'commuting' and one of 97 minutes riding a pretty hilly route. Oh yeah, I also ate 6 donuts on Thursday evening that pretty much put me in a sugar, carb, wheat, grease induced coma and made me wake up with night sweats at 3am on Friday morning. That's the first time I've done that in about 10 years...but hey I earned it right...and it's the last time I do that...really. And, I 'had' to help Amy eat them since everyone has congratulated her w/ donuts and cookie cakes. So, it's back to the very low sugar, wheat free, eating from now on.

That's been my 'recovery' so far. This week will be about double last week with a few of each sport and probably a day off Sunday before getting back at it. Seems like the real tiredness seems to set in about 10-12 days later, but I think that keeping things moving will really help...and sleeping too.

IMMOO Race Report...Final Installment

2009-09-16T22:34:00.003-05:00

Read the one below this post if you're interested in the minor details of the day leading up to the race. Race morning started at 4am with rice cereal cooked the night before, almond butter and protein powder, a banana and an EFS bar. Amy looked at me when we got in the car about 440 and asked if I already finished it. I had. Nerves or not, I just try to cram the food down my gullet race morning, and the hot rice cereal isn't as fibrous as oatmeal...so it goes down better.

I didn't know how many 'swimmers' there were in the bunch. But, I opted to start a bit off to the right away from the congestion. It was the right move as the 2nd place overall guy and I had a clean start and were ahead of the pack. I settled in behind him where I'd stay for the next 3.6k or so. The 2nd loop was ridiculous as we started to catch the back of the AG pack. I tried my best NOT to swim over anyone and feel like I did a good job...it's just counterproductive to make swimming a full contact sport. I got punked by the guy who had been hammering my feet for 3.6k and came out of the water 3rd and was 4th or 5th on the bike.

I have to say that running up the 'helix' was very cool (yes, I know Amy said the same thing). It was lined with spectators. I took the transition easy to try to let the HR come down...it didn't. On the bike my plan was to 'cruise' the first 50 or so miles and build the next. I did that and held 5th for about 20 miles when a group of about 10 came by me including L to the A to the R to the Z (Lars Finanger), Chris McDonald, Blake Becker, and a bunch of Euros. I figured I'd see them later...if not when they were in the penalty tent then towards the end of the bike. Chris McDonald holds the course record, and I was planning on a 5ish hour ride. I failed to mention above that the roads the first 10 miles sucked. They sucked an 'extra' flask of EFS Liquid shot right out of my jersey pocket. Then they sucked my non 'extra' flask of EFS Liquid shot right out of the flask holder. So, now I HAD to get my special needs and might have to use some Gatorade...which historically has not worked so well for me.

I rode steady. I caught 2 guys right after the first loop...they were in the penalty tent. I got my special needs and they repassed me. By mile 80, I had caught and passed them again. I was riding well, but started getting a headache with about 15 miles to go. I was into transition about 9th and out in 11th...apparently L to the you know was in transition as I was, but I didn't see him. Off on the run and mile 1 felt painfully slow. It wasn't. neither was mile 2. I purposely walked the 2nd aid station and started running slowly. I was right on pace for about 10 miles. But, my headache was killing me, my sweat rate was almost non-existent, and I was starting to cramp. I was very dehydrated. I soldiered on walking quickly through the aid stations, taking some water and salt tabs. It helped some, but didn't help enough. 7s slowed to 7:20s to 7:40s and you get the picture. I was passed by a couple of guys and was holding 8th and the last money spot with 4 miles to go. I saw Mac Brown at the last turnaround and just told myself to keep running regardless. My hamstrings would cramp up every curb. My forearms wanted to cramp. My adductors/abductors...basically every muscle below my waist was on the verge. Mac passed me with 3 miles to go. I held 9th the rest of the way. 9:14:41, 9th pro, 10th overall, missed Kona by 1 rolldown spot and about 2 minutes.

Pros: good swim, smart ride, soldiered through the run, another top-10 in the books, 1st good IM, 'fixable' issues.

Cons: missed Kona, need a better flask holder, drink more water on the bike.

It's a repeat from Amy's blog, but several folks deserve a lot of thanks. Tons of thanks to our local sponsors. Austin Tri-Cyclist has always supported us, and we kind of feel like family there. Cervelos really are the best bike I've ridden. Thanks to Performance Wellness for keeping us lined out with ART, Chiro, and Massage. Thanks to PureSport Recovery for helping with our recovery needs. Xterra Wetsuits have provided us with the best (really) wetsuits on the market and speedsuits for the non-suit swims. First Endurance stepped up late in the year with a bit of sponsorship even though we've been using their products for 2 years now. Their products are well researched and proven. Thanks to the folks at TYR for helping us out this year, we are looking forward to working with them in the future. We've done some training programs and coaching for Rogue Running this year, and they've been there to help us out with our running needs as well. We are looking forward to working with these sponsors again in the coming seasons. Thanks to all for what has been a great year of racing.

IMMOO Race Report

2009-09-15T22:12:00.002-05:00

I was going to try to do a themed race report, but that just wouldn't seem to work out. Hopefully, this won't be too much like Amy's. We had similar but different races...obviously since I was 9th in the pro field and she was 1st. Yeah, Amy!!

So, let's get this party started.

Race week was pretty standard. We did some workouts. We ate some food. We slept. We worked. We hopped on a plane Thursday to the windy city. Seems it's a lot cheaper to fly to Chicago. We planned on catching the Van Galder bus to Mad-town, but opted for a rent car since we landed a bit late. We ate at an Outback Steakhouse. I hear Aussies are fans of sheep...or is that Kiwis? So, in their honor I had the rack of lamb. You know what, it tasted just like chicken. Okay, not really, but it was good.

We got to our most awesome homestays fairly late...a girl that Amy swam with at the U...of M. Friday morning we were up for a run, breakfast and the pro meeting. The men's field had about 34 guys on the start list. Many were IM vets and some were fairly new. I still consider myself fairly new at this game. My first 2 were in 2001 (Florida) and 2002 (Hawaii) as an age grouper and let's just say that neither went as I had hoped. My 3rd was 6 years later in Arizona. And let's just say it didn't go quite as I had hoped, but was much better than the other two. There was no real discussion, but the pisser at the pro meeting was the announcement that wetsuits would be allowed even though the water temp was well above the pro cut-off...and there would be no discussion. Being a 'swimmer' I was hoping for discussion, but as it typically the case...we 'swimmers' are outnumbered and I suspect there were more happy than sad folks about the ruling. Swim and then dinner on Friday night.

Saturday was a ride and swim and nap and just be lazy except for putting the bikes and gear into their respective locations. Quite an ordeal, but it does make race morning quite painless. You always try to go to bed early when you have to get up at 4am, but you never fall asleep. Honestly, the magnitude of the event was pretty big. But, it was off to bed.

And now it's off to bed. Sleep tight and all that crap. The next installment tomorrow...same Bat time, same Bat channel (if you ever watched Batman and Robin in black and white like we did at grandma's house during the summer).

So...A Race Happened

2009-09-15T00:21:00.002-05:00

IM Wisconsin. 9th pro. 10th overall...yeah that kind of sucks!! But, as far as so called PRs in triathlons go I think that I got one. I at least ran the marathon with the exception for the aid stations the last 14 miles or so...although I would be hard pressed to call it a run at times.

A race report to follow. But, thanks to everyone for the congrats on FB and email.

And, if you read the Madison paper today, there's a quote that says something like "...one of the highlights of the day was when her husband was standing at the finish with his arms up and tears in his eyes as Amy crossed the finish line..."

I'm sure I butchered the quote, but to finish as the 9th pro and then wait less than 30 minutes for Amy to take the overall win at the race was definitely a little magical. Anyway, it was a great weekend.

Another Week Already!!

2009-09-08T12:08:00.003-05:00

Whew, where does the time go. I posted last week about the RLE swim clinic and suddently it's Tuesday now. We had about 15-20 folks show up. Hopefully it went well, and the gals at RLE do a great job with their events.

Yesterday was the Austin Triathlon. After racing it the last 2 years with a 1st (2007) and 3rd (2008), I opted to sit it out this year since IMMOO is a short 6 days away. Richie Cunningham won the men's race with James Cotter and James Bales taking 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Amy was uninjured and very fit for the first time since the event started. She also opted, although it was very tough, to sit it out. Desiree Ficker won with Kelly Handel and Terra Castro finishing 2nd and 3rd. Some of the Team-Marsh athletes had great days with a 2nd and 3rd in their respective age groups. Our Rogue athletes had good days as well as did 1 or 2 folks who had a Team-Marsh custom training program. We look forward to 2010 with our athletes!

Sunday was a pro panel with the Austin pros before the Austin Triathlon. We answered questions that the audience had. By and large they centered on race day nutrition. It's something that I've had issues with in the longer stuff, but I will have fixed on the 13th of September. It really comes down to one thing...train as you race and race as you train. If you haven't eaten it in training, don't eat it on race day.

Saturday was the 'last' real work out before the Ironman. A "short" 3 hour ride and 30 minute run was on the docket. It went well. Friday night we added in some intensity during our last longish run as Amy and I both raced on separate ATC teams for the Zilker relays. Unfortunately during the thunderstorm that hit, our 3rd man and several others went off course as the volunteer at the turn decided to seek shelter. So, our top-10 overall finish was foiled!!

Stay tuned for another update this week, and then IMMOO sooner rather than later.

9/6/2009 Open Water Swim Clinic

2009-09-02T12:59:00.001-05:00

We are coaching the Red Licorice Events open water swim clinic this weekend. Yeah, it's the day before Austin Tri. But, if you are in Austin and want to get in a clinic, come to the PureAustin Quarry lake location for a swim clinic.

Here's the information on it.

Here's the registration link about it.

Good luck at The Austin Tri this weekend to all of those racing. We will be sitting this one out since we've got IM Wisconsin 6 days later!

What the Pros Eat...Again

2009-09-01T12:27:00.001-05:00

So, I've posted our nutritional habits. I posted a link to Simon Whitfield's awhile back. Jordan Rapp just won IM Canada. Here's a link to his race day nutritional report. He's another athlete that eats a lot of real food, fewer carbs than you would probably think, and a lot more real fat than you would probably think. That last sentence is based purely on some information in this Slowtwitch.com post. Skip to page 6 if you are interested in the day to day nutritional info.

Take home points:
- do what works for YOU on race day;
- have a plan for race day, but if your body does not want to stick to the plan, be prepared to modify it;
- eat real food as the bulk of your nutrition;
- back up your workouts day to day and week to week...where have you heard that before.

Now, I have to make sure that I follow the first 2 points above in about 12 days!!

Free Stuff Friday

2009-08-28T11:44:00.002-05:00

Not much to report or much 'free' info to give today. I've been pretty wiped out this week. Workouts have been good, but I'm looking forward to about 5 or 6 days from now when I start to rest up a bit for Ironman Wisconsin. The men's field is shaping up to be a solid one. I guess there are no easy races anymore...but I've been saying that for the last 5 years or so.

Events this weekend...Ironman Canada, Ironman Louisville, Chicago Triathlon. All three have Austin pros racing. I'm sure that all three have other Austinites racing. The Hammerhead Olympic Triathlon has one of our athletes racing as well as a friend of ours. Good luck to those folks.

CapTex is putting on an open water swim this weekend. It's at Festival beach on the 'East' side of Town Lake...Check out the info and a link here.

Free Stuff?: This AM at swimming a fellow master's swimmer stopped me to say that his SO (that's significant other or in this case wife) went to the Marks Daily Apple link to the right and started reading through his site and purchased his book. She was on the verge of diabetes...I suspect Type II which is what they call it now since so many kids are getting it, and it used to be called 'adult onset'. Anyway, she started following the 'primal' eating plan and is no longer on the verge. Congrats to her.

Goes to show that with a little bit of work you can make big changes for the better. But, to a certain extent you've got to look out for yourself. I suspect she lost a bit of weight if that was a concern. I'd say start small with cutting the carbs...which generally means sugar and wheat (as well as other grains)...but those are so prevalent, that I sometimes think that people would rather just deal with whatever results from the SAD (that's standard american diet) and complain about it.

That's about it.

Where Does the Time Go...

2009-08-24T18:09:00.005-05:00

Busy these days. Training, working, some coaching, and just enjoying life.

Rode to Johnson City Saturday. Almost every time I've done that ride, there has been 1 casualty per ride starting with me in December. Casualty = bonk! Saturday was no exception. The heat doesn't make it any better.

Saturday night we saw Food Inc. Do you know where your food comes from or what actually in it. It's pretty easy to know what's in it if it doesn't come from a package...which is how we try to keep it. You'll probably have to find an artsy fartsy theater in a largish city (Austin, Houston, Dallas) if you want to see it, but it's worth it. Eat before you go...not fast food!

Sunday's long run...longest since 2005 or 2006 sometime I think that I saw most of the triathletes in Austin. Ride and swim and cheat meal of Mexican food later on that day.

Can't believe it but IMMOO...what they affectionately call IM Wisconsin is just around the corner. Haven't quite decided what's next, probably Longhorn 70.3 and at least some riding in the dirt when the MTB gets to town. Need a 29er? I've got one for sale or else I'll make it into a commuter of some sort.

Just finished...Primal Blueprint and Healthy Intelligent Training. Next up is The Vegetarian Myth...written by a feminist I believe!!

I'm writing while listening to Radio Free Texas. It never gets old.

Hulaman Race Report

2009-08-20T18:19:00.000-05:00

I posted up a short bit the other day. This is the extended version.

Friday - 1/2 day of work, off to the airport for a day spent with the folks from Southwest Airlines. Off the ground in Austin about 1:10pm. Touchdown in ElPaso. Touchdown in Vegas. Landed in Portland some 6.5 hours later. Our super homestays...Annie and Gio...picked us up and we were off to their place. Put the bikes together and went to eat. The Lemongrass Thai restaurant in Portland...very good. We decided that if it weren't for the 8-10 months of rain, we'd move.

Saturday - Easy run around the neighborhood in the morning. Whole Foods run after. Out to the course to ride 2 loops around Hagg Lake. We also put our running gear in T2...it was a point to point bike. Another Whole Foods run b/c we forgot something. Chilled out a bit, found a pool and swam for a whopping 1k. Lifeguard asked if those of us in the pool at closing would race...he was bored. We declined.

Sunday - Up early out of the house to drive to the lake. This was a nice and small race w/ a hometown feel to it. The temp was about 49 degrees when we got out to the lake, but was going to warm-up. I racked my bike on the pro racks, put the wetsuit on and before long it was time to start.

Swim - I started well and was right on Kieren's feet. Apparently someone else wanted to be there more than me and persisted in trying to get there until we both lost them. Luke McKenzie was on his feet for a bit after that, and after the first turn buoy it was Kieren, Luke, me, and a gap to 4th. I would stay about 10 seconds down from Luke the entire rest of the swim. About 200m from the swim exit my right calf cramped up. I don't know why. But cramp it did, and I was left kind of dragging my right leg behind me wondering how I was going to run up the ramp. Run I did, and in T1 I ended up leaving right behind LukeM about 1.5 minutes or so down from Doeboy...that's Kieren's knickname.

Bike - I've been riding well. It didn't show here...I rode like a girl...at least a fairly fast girl. I caught Luke on the first hill of many around Hagg Lake. I passed him and was re-passed shortly thereafter. I maintained contact about 10-20 seconds for the rest of lap 1 and about 1/4 of lap 2. About that time Maik Twelsiak, who won IMUSA with a blistering bike split, caught and rode by me like I was standing still. He caught and passed Luke as well and seemed to take him with him. After 2.5 laps as we headed out of the park, I was informed that I was now 2 minutes down from 2nd and 3rd...not good. The rest of the ride was uneventful. A lot of headwind on the rest of the point to point couse. A BIG hill at mile 40. Finally, after a short 56 miles (52.5m to be exact'er') that felt like an eternity I was in T2 some 5 minutes down from 2nd and 3rd and probably 7 minutes down from 1st. My powerfile is pretty consistent, and isn't bad...I just didn't feel like I rode very well.

Run - I started rolling and figured 6' pace would be it since that's what my 'steady' run pacing has been lately. Miles 1 - 4 were all about 6-604. I jog/walked through the 4, 6, 8, and 10 mile stations. Oddly enough after mile 4 I started getting below 6' pace. I saw Luck and Maik on their way back, Luke looked to have about 6.5 minutes on me. Maik, probably 6 or so. Kieren only had about 3.5 minutes, but that's 30+ seconds a mile. I wouldn't need the 6.55 miles...I just needed to get to mile 10 as that's about where I passed Kieren. Finished on the track in 3rd.

Overall - 3rd place, 3:53:50 or so on a short bike course. A few garmins that I looked at showed exactly 13.1 for the run. Sub 1:18. Overall a weird but good race. The cramp was weire. The bike ride was kind of weird. Just about everything else was good...especially the luau w/ pulled pork and sticky rice at the end.

Next up IMMOO.

Hulaman Triathlon

2009-08-18T11:46:00.003-05:00

Amy and I headed to Portland for a race this weekend. It was between Hulaman and Lake Stevens. We were tired (literally and figuratively) from training and wanted to race. We rolled the dice and went with Portland having never been there, having the chance to win some $$, getting a homestay, and the thought of doing a bit of a low-key non-70.3 half IM distance race.

For both of us, the fields turned out to be pretty solid. Getting 4th and the last $$ spot would certainly become the goal...if not better. I had Luke McKenzie, Kieren Doe, Maik Twelsik, and several other pros to contend with. Anyway, I ened up 3rd feeling a bit flat on the bike, but having a solid day overall. Here is a little write up of the race. More to follow.

Training is Hard

2009-08-13T11:38:00.002-05:00

That's right...training is hard. We all train so that we can race, but training week in and week out and waking up early 7 days out of the week (6 on select weeks) is hard. Having a long ride staring at you every weekend and a long run every weekend is hard.

It's hard, but you've gotta do it.

So this weekend there will be no long ride or run unless 56 miles followed by 13.1 is long. And there will not be 7 mornings of getting up early this week...there will be 5 though.

For the time being, I am going to enjoy a near 48 hours with no workouts scheduled.

Safe Passing Law

2009-08-11T11:10:00.002-05:00

The fitness minded head honcho of TX veto'd the last "safe passing law" that gives cyclists, motocyclists, I assume pedestrians, maybe even horseback riders at least 3-feet between them and a passing car.

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Taken from a local forum:

First and most importantly, if you have not signed the safe passing petition, please go to the link and do so now. Please also forward to, say, five people. http://www.biketexas.org/component/option,com_philaform/form_id,32/Itemid,1/

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I do 45% or so of my riding inside for a few reasons...
- I don't have to stop unless I want to;
- The computrainer really is a good workout tool;
- I hate dealing with cars;
- It is like putting yourself into a life-sized clothes dryer and riding right now in Texas.

Maybe, that's a big maybe, this bill would make #3 above at least a little more pleasant. Wishful thinking, probably.

Free Stuff Friday...Slow Down

2009-08-07T13:49:00.001-05:00

I guess I've had this idea for a post for awhile now. It came up a bit more this week in exchanging email with another coach and it kind of came up after another email exchange with another coach months ago. Amy and I talk about it weekly with her swim class, some of our athletes, etc.

Anyway, the last thing you want to hear when working out is to slow down. It's especially the last thing you want to hear if you are paying for someone to make you faster. The gist of this post is not to make you think that training should be slow. It shouldn't. It shouldn't be all slow or all fast. There should be a good mix of slow and fast and even medium...which is what 'some' coaches would have you believe is the grey (or gray) area that you shouldn't flirt with in training.

Triathletes tend towards the "Type A" personality. I'm not 100% sure exactly what that means, though I do have a good idea...but Wikipedia puts it pretty well:

"Type A individuals can be described as impatient, time-conscious, concerned about their status, highly competitive, ambitious, business-like, aggressive, having difficulty relaxing"

Sounds like more than one or two triathletes that I know.

Anyway, without dragging on too much more, it can pay to slow down. Set aside some of that type-A menatility and just slow down. It can especially pay to slow down in your hard workouts. It's easy to be a rockstar on the first repetition...I was reminded of this 2 weeks ago during a workout with 50 minutes of threshold intervals! I was a rockstar...until #3 when I felt I was going to die a slow painful death. But, it's harder to be a rockstar on the last interval. I can't put my finger on a specific study...I am sure that there is one...but the adaptations from a workout come more from the 2nd half than the first half. Jack Daniels (not this one) has a good graph in one of his books about the response to a 400m track workout that is a tempo/threshold workout if I remember correctly. It basically shows that because the interval is shorter, and the rest is relatively short, that it takes several (more than 5) 400m intervals to reach your threshold. Obviously, if that is the goal of the workout, then you want to make sure you don't run the first 5 too fast so that you can finish the remaining 15. Run the first 5 too fast and you may fail to complete the workout. That is just one example, but you could extend that to a number of interval workouts. Go too fast on the first couple, and you jeopardize the rest of the workout.

The same holds true for your week after week training. It doesn't pay to have a week where you are a rockstar all week for every workout if it leaves you shelled for the next week or more. Better to back it up week after week than be a superstar for one. And...It can also pay to slow down right now in Texas when it is 104 outside every day. That's for obvious reasons.

Have a great weekend. Oh yeah, read this if you have more time for a long post, it's pretty good...especially the 'epilogue'.

Another Week Down

2009-08-03T10:00:00.003-05:00

Well, my blogging seems to have fallen off. It's sort of been replaced by twittering. My tweets don't go here. But, they do go to our Team Marsh site. It's better than it was, but still not quite there. We don't have any of our coaching stuff up there yet, which seems to be growing bit by bit.

When there aren't any races, when it's 100 degrees outside, and when your days really don't change...there's not a whole lot to blog about. But, some happenings and randoms over the past week or so...

- Austinites - stop watering your dang yards. It's summer. It's Texas. The grass should be brown about now. Geez, I've watered more this year, but I just can't do it. We'll keep our few plants alive, but aside from that, we're done watering. The water portion of our July bill was only about $19...and yes we do shower.

- It is really hilly, and I mean really hilly around the Canyon Lake, Blanco, and Spring Branch area. Yesterday's ride seemed like it took 10 hours even though it was only about 5.

- I just sent in my September column for Runner Triathlete News. It's the region's best tri-mag. Really, it is. Check it out here, and if you don't subscribe, it's almost worth it for the March Triathlon scheduling issue or the marathon schedule issue. Plus, you get four columns a year by yours truly.

- Stay safe out there. Watch the cars. Be smart in the heat. Eat your veggies. Wash behind your ears.

Avia Bolt II Shoe Review

2009-07-28T14:09:00.004-05:00

It's mid-season. It's hot, there are races, I'm not doing them. I did just have an athlete set a 45 or so minute PR for the Ironman distance this past weekend. Because it was set on one of the more difficult courses, we'll go with it as a 'PR' even though I've stated clearly before that 'There are NO PRs in triathlon'.

Anyway, no real new equipment changes for us because we all know that you should make those changes during the off season or at least early in the season. I did get a pair of Easton Attack TT bars for my bike...they are LIGHT and Simple and nice. We got new tires for our race wheels to replace the year old ones...might not have been necessary, but these new ones are supposed to be faster. Tires are boring anyway.

But, I did get my hands on a pair of the new Avia Bolt II racing flats. And, I've been wearing them for training...since I'm not racing. I'm not a real minimalist when it comes to training shoes as some are, so it has been a bit of a change from the Nike Zoom Elites that I typically wear. I have to say though that I might be a convert to wearing very light shoes for training. We'll see how it goes, and this review is how they would fare as a racing shoe...

The Good:
- Fit. I have a normal/narrow foot and it fits well and has space for a bigger foot too;
- Laces. I am sure there is a tech term for it, but the lacing system works really well;
- Cushioning. there's a decent amount of it for a very light weight race type shoe;
- Lining. I don't think that I would get blisters in this shoe as the inside seems 'seamless.'

The Bad:
- The arch has a small carbon/plastic plate that seems to site a bit too close to the heel if that makes sense, but it's not 'bad' enough for me to not wear them;
- Rogue running does not have them to my knowledge.

The Ugly:
- I don't like black shoes.

Races This Weekend

2009-07-24T12:26:00.003-05:00

First off...we are NOT racing this weekend!! It's kind of nice to just get on your bike and ride or step out the door and go for a run with no racing. Well, there's that race in Wisconsin later in the season.

Who's really keeping up right now since there's a little bike race wrapping up Sunday in France. It will all but be decided tomorrow...if it hasn't been already. LA put on a good show though, and certainly got the US interested in bike racing again.

Can he do the same for triathlon?

I suspect that it will be another weekend of contrasts in the pro world of triathlon. Contrasts in that there is an ITU race going on in Hamburg, Germany. There is an Ironman going on in Lake Placid, New York. There is the #2 race of the Lifetime Fitness series going on in New York, New York. And, I'm sure something else is going on somewhere else!

Oh yeah, and there is a re-broadcast of the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Championships on tomorrow from 2:30-4:00 Eastern Time on NBC.

Plenty to choose from. So, take your pick and watch a little triathlon action this weekend. Me, I'm hoping to be done with the workouts sometime during the IM re-broadcast. And, I'll be tuned in to IMLP to see how one of our athletes does up there.

Dog Days of Summer

2009-07-20T12:23:00.003-05:00

Truth be told, it's dang hot in Texas this time of the year. Thursday last week...or maybe Friday...the radio mentioned that it was the 30th day in a row that the temperature had broken 100. Anyway, training in Texas during the summer can be a challenge. It's 'only' supposed to be like 97 today...woohoo!!

There are plenty of articles and tips out and about to find about training in the heat. So naturally, I thought I'd offer up a few...

- Start early. Get started so that the bulk of your workout is completed before it gets too hot. If you have to start late, start later so that you aren't getting full sun...it'll still be 95+, but it won't seem as bad.

- Go inside. Do your bike workouts inside on the trainer. Modify your run workouts to be done on the treadmill. Or, start your ride outside and finish it inside.

- Hydrate. Don't overhydrate, but drink when you are thirsty.

- Focus on the effort and NOT the pace. It's hot and you will slow down. If it is supposed to be a threshold effort, focus first on making sure it feels like a threshold effort. Focus next on your pace or power as it might not be quite where it should be. Also watch your heartrate, but it might be running a few beats higher than normal at your effort level. If HR is sky high, then maybe slow it down a bit. Don't be a slave to the numbers in the heat.

- Take cooler showers. This will help lower your core temp and help recovery.

Be safe out there.

This Is Interesting

2009-07-15T12:23:00.002-05:00

For frequent readers, you know that I tend to trend away from the tri part of this blog every once in awhile. Generally, it's like the last post that is something kind of health related. Or at least food related. I have been a little bit of an experiment of '1' you might say. Or at least, sometimes Amy and I have been a little bit of an experiment of '2'. So, I'm going to link a post from another experiment of '1' that I've known for quite a few years. This post is interesting.

Deconstructing an Injury - My 10 Years with Achilles Tendonitis

A related note. Amy's been running without plantar pain since about February. She was doing all the right things, got some extra therapy for it, and it went away. There's more an more interest these days about anti-inflammatory eating. There is a fairly good article written about it here. I very much agree with the overlying message presented. I will say that in general protein (beef, eggs, pork) has gotten a bad rap these days. I've blogged it before...spend a little more on grass fed meats and eat a little less...and you get the Omega-3s if it's grass fed. About the same time that Amy's foot got better we were on a different path of eating than when it started...ironically enough following a very grain based, very low fat, no animal products way of eating. We started eating more natural fats...mostly mono- but some saturated. Mono-Saturated from Avocados and almonds and almond butter. Saturated from coconut oil. We eat wild caught...bought from Costco...Salmon 1x a week and take a couple of grams of fish oil daily. We get some animal fats from the beef, venison, pork we eat. We also use Olive oil on salads. Oh yeah, and we cut way back on our grain consumption...crazy for a couple of triathletes to have no bread in their house or pasta for that matter!!

Anyway, after reading Tri-Training Frenzy's blog it was an interesting tie in. We really try (or tri-) to look beyond the training. Recovery, diet, strength, training...it's all related. So, if you've got something nagging you...maybe look a little beyond the training. Consider lifestyle factors...diet, stress, hydration, etc. Consider equipment changes...pedals, shoes, saddle, aerobars. Look at more than just the training.

I Knew My Pants Were "Looser"

2009-07-10T19:55:00.004-05:00

A good friend of mine posted this link...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/10/attitudes.overweight/index.html

I don't really 'shop'. I still have some of the same clothes that I bought when I first moved to Austin 11 years ago for a job. I don't wear 939 Wrangler Slim Fit anymore...too tight and even Levi's 501s are a bit tight in the legs if they fit my waist... Casual stuff, but still, I've had it forever. I commented the last time that I went to buy shorts and pants...some cargo shorts and Levi's loose fit...that I didn't feel like a small was that small or that a 30 waist was probably closer to a 32 at least.

Anyway, here's a line from the article above...

---------

That's why, in recent years, as the American population has become generally more overweight, brands from the luxury names to the mass retail chains have scaled down the size labels on their clothing.

"You may actually be a size 14 and, according to whatever particular store you're in, you come out a size 10," said Natalie Nixon, associate professor of fashion industry management at Philadelphia University. "It's definitely to make the consumer feel good."

---------

This comes out a few days or maybe a week after the 'Fattest US Cities' list was published.

Seems it's easier to just change the sizing convention of clothes than it is to get people to just change what they pick up on a day to day basis with their fork...or spoon. I'll wager that it's got 80% to do with what goes into your mouth than what you do (ie exercise). Sure, it all helps, buy you can stand on the starting line of just about any athletic event and see that the general size distribution there probably isn't a great deal different than it would be if you took a random sample from the street.

Check a few of the links to the right...and check some of their links for a non-mainstream perspective on diet and health.

In keeping with the 'Theme' of my blog, there were some very impressive performances this weekend in Triathlons....

- Chrissie Wellington went 7/7 at the IM distance with an unbelievable 8:31 in Roth. Bek Keat was second under the previous record as well with a 8:39.

- Matty Reed continued his winning streak by winning the 1st Lifetime Fitness race this season. Andy Potts was 2nd in a sprint finish.

- Alistar Brownlee of GBR won his 3rd ITU World Championship Series event...at the age of like 21

12:34:56 7/8/9

2009-07-09T17:24:00.002-05:00

I really don't have a good blog topic today...or yesterday or the days before that either. But, as you see from the title, yesterday was a once in a century occurence I think. Next year I thought we'd have 23:45:67 8/9/10, but then I realized that 23:45:67 would really be 23:46:07, so that won't work.

Nothing doing right now. I think last week was a whopping 9-10 hours of 'training'. This week sort of starts the focus for IM Wisconsin. We might squeeze in another race sometime in August, but we aren't sure yet.

It's been about a million degrees in Texas lately. Kind of glad that all but one or two of my weekly rides have been indoors. I might start running 1-2 runs a week indoors as well. Swimming, well it'll be mostly outdoors starting next week since UT closes the doors on the swim center for the annual clean up and rehab it...this year it's a month earlier than usual.

Stay tuned. I'm trying to think of a free stuff friday, but I'm coming up a bit short right now. Oh yeah, we've got a placeholder up for our Team-Marsh.com site. We had some creative sayings to put on it, but right now we settled on 'Top American Triathletes', but we don't really like that. As usual, it'll be a work in progress!

July 4th

2009-07-05T21:21:00.005-05:00

Or as Amy might say in poking fun at the sometimes heavy Texas accent that tends to run in my family....JooLie 4th.

We headed towards the coast on Friday to spend some time with family for the 4th. Friday night we went to Kemah, which is on Galveston Bay between the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Island. They've had a 'boardwalk' there for years, and it took a bit of a beating during Hurricane Ike. But, it's pretty well reconstructed now, and it's home to the only rollercoaster in Houston. Growing up there was Six Flags Astroworld, but several years ago they tore it all down and all that's left is a big patch of grass.

So, we did some people watching. Watched a guy balance a flaming chair on his chin while he spun small hula hoops around his arms. We watched him juggle flaming sticks. We watched 'strongman' after 'strongman' pay $2 for 3 tries to ring the bell by hitting a plunger with a big hammer...only to be shown up by a small 110 or so pound female. We ate at a highly over rated restaurant, and then we went on the Kemah Boardwalk Bullet Roller coaster before we headed to my Aunt's. I was surprised that the max speed was 51mph...I suspected that it was closer to 20-30mph. But, that's probably about the average speed. It was a wooden roller coaster, so it jerked you around quite a bit. Amy had a scream showing on the photos and I had a big grin...opposites attract!

Here are a few pictures....

A "toothy" grin...

I'm not sure if Amy is the teacher or the other one...can you tell?

I guess I've been bad...

What the park might look like after several roller coaster rides...

A Proud Moment

2009-07-03T11:09:00.002-05:00

I don't make it a practice to brag...I try to let my feet do the talking. Every once in awhile I do mention one of my athletes here. We do group tri training through Rogue Running. We work with a small group of dedicated athletes. I posted about one of them a couple of weeks ago as he was one of the top age groupers at the Xterra Regional race. Another one a year ago who had a big time IM PR after a 45 minute flat tire stop. I don't think that I posted about a third who set an IM PR and broke 11 hours last November b/c I had just left SE and took a few athletes with me. Several in our Rogue group had 15-20 minute PRs at CapTex as well. And yeah, there are no real PRs in triathlon, but we'll go with it. There are others, but those are the ones that really stick out right now.

Anyway, another athlete of mine just won Lubbock. It's a bit strange b/c we really started out as coach/athlete and even when she asked me out under the guise of it being a 'thank you dinner' I was still operating as 'all business.' Two weeks later we went out on a date...the rest is history.

After 5 years of coaching, turning pro in June 2006, finishing 7th at ITU Long Course Worlds in 2007, and then battling almost 2 years of Plantar Fasciitis and a stress fracture, Amy got all healed up and racing this year. She was 2nd in New Orleans when she had a flat, took a while to change it, and soldiered on to finish 3rd to last female pro. 2 local wins later, a 4th at 70.3 Florida and 70.3 Kansas...it was off to Lubbock. She won...I already blogged it.

Anyway, you can read an interview on slowtwitch.com here.

It's easy to coach a good athlete...she did go to swimming trials. But, it is still a good feeling to have an athlete with loads of talent who puts in loads of hard work finally see the results. I blogged about it before. There are no real secrets to having a successful race or season or lifetime of racing. Every athlete that we've worked with, whether olympic trials swimmer or weekend warrior, generally has one thing in common...they get the workouts done and the results show it. We're working on our Team-Marsh website to highlight some of our racing, training, and coaching options...if you are interested!!

Congrats to Amy on a the start of the season that we knew she had in her.

Oh yeah...this weekend the Hy-Vee triathlon is on TV. It's Sunday and it follows Wimbledon (?) on NBC at 2pm. Tune in for one of the most exciting triathlon finishes I've ever seen...we were watching it last weekend in the hotel at Lubbock.

Good but not Great...BSLT 70.3 Race Report

2009-07-01T12:17:00.000-05:00

Good but not great. Roughly speaking, the first 1/2 of the season has ended, and on a good note I might add. A good note, not a great one. I can say one thing for sure, and that is, that I've been consistent so far...with one exception. 6th in New Orleans. 7th in Florida. 6th in Kansas. 4th in Lubbock. Each race gave me a little something to work on. 4x70.3 between April 3 and Jun 28 seems like a lot, especially when Champions, The Rookie, and CapTex are added in there! On to the race report.

Swim: I didn't warm-up. It was cool and windy and w/o a wetsuit, I didn't want to get cold. I lined up next to Hackett. I had a good start. I got a little boxed in after about 150 meters, but I got out of it about the time someone in the front turned on the jets. I didn't have what it took to respond and with the small field, there was no hiding...I missed the feet in front of me. Honestly, I was already looking 70 miles down the road when I'd be done and could relax for 7-10 days! But, I got back into it around the first turn buoys and got into a good rhythm. I moved to the front of the few guys I was swimming with and came out of the water 4th. I was behind Matthews, Hackett, and Thompson...but with Cam Brown who I figured would ride hard, Brent Poulson who had a good swim, and another guy I didn't know. We were about 2' down from the leaders...the same guys I swam with pretty easily in KS.

Bike: I was ready and willing to take a risk or two here. Cam Brown, Leon Griffin, and 'the other guy' passed me pretty early. Leon gapped us. I dug deep and lost a little ground to Cam and 'the other guy' (TOG from now on). I minimized the damage on the first tailwind section and when we turned into the headwind, I kind of knew it was now or never b/c there would definitely be strength in riding legally in numbers. I pushed hard. TOG went to the front and turned out to be the strongest cyclist of the day. I continued to push hard, but wasn't really gaining...it was as if my legs just didn't want to go. The gap seemed to be stuck at 20 meters or so. We caught Thompson and Gavin Scott rode up to me. I surged and dropped both of them and was still stuck at 20 meters back from Cam Brown. I lost a bit of time over the next 15 or so miles. Cam Brown had a flat, and I was now sitting in 5th behind TOG, Matthews, Griffin, and Hackett. I continued to push trying to make sure my powermeter didn't lose any average watts. I succeeded, but wondered how the run was going to go. For the 2nd year in a row it rained in Lubbock on race day. This year though, the wind blew a pretty constant probably 15 mph. I got of the bike in 5th place with the fleet footed Thompson behind me as well as Ben Hoffman and a few others.

Run: I was hitting sub-6 for the first few miles, and then you hit the first hill. And it's a hill. I passed TOG about mile 3 and was in 4th behind Matthews, Griffin, and Hackett. At mile 4 I lost my sub-6 clocking and to make it worse, I had a quick stop to make. Back on the road in a minute or less, still in 4th it was up the next hill. Out on 'Energy Lab II' road I got a glimpse of those in front and those behind. Matthews seemed out of reach. Griffin seemed out of reach. Hackett seemed out of reach. Thomspon was moving up quickly. But, never say die. I made the turn around in about 41 minutes or so. I felt pretty good. Right at mile 10 Simon passed me. I was 5th now...same as last year. It looked like I was gaining on Hackett. I dug deep...bound and determined to give what I had and not let it happen like Florida and Kansas where 10-20 seconds cost me $500 or more. With about 600 to go I passed Hackett. My legs were on the verge of cramping, and I was ready for a break. 4th overall in basically the same time as last year.

4:06 something. Swim was slower this year since we didn't have the running schenanigans of last year. Bike was actually 2-3 minutes faster on a tough day. Run was basically a dead even split w/ last year w/ a stop...so that was good. A good way to end the first 1/2 of the season. A great way to end was to see Amy put together a good race and get the win for the women.

Shout outs to those that have really helped us out this year. ATC has been great for all things bike related. TYR and Xterra have been great for all things apparel and swimming. Performance Wellness has kept us moving forward without injuries. PureSport recovery fuels us after races and during training. It's been a good year so far, and we are looking forward to the 2nd half of the season where we'll toe the line at IM Wisconsin in September.

BSLT 70.3 Race Report...Part 1

2009-06-29T11:12:00.004-05:00

I'll start with this. It was a long drive after a very fun filled and cool Awards Dinner. Greer (Mike) and Marti continue to improve on a great event 20 years after it started. As I said, I first raced there in 1993 when it was an Olympic Distance race. I raced my first 1/2 Ironman there back in 1999.

Anyway, the short story is that even though this was the last of a series of races, I kind of felt a bit 'done' already. BUT, I was determined to take a risk or two and see how it went. End result 4th overall, basically the same time as last year on what I conider a more difficult day with a 'longer' swim because there were no running shenanigans.

More detailed report to follow, but here's a little bit of the Mac Davis song for you to reflect on...

"I still thought happiness
Was Lubbock, Texas
In my rear view mirror
My momma kept calling me home
But I just could not, would not hear her
And the vision was getting clearer
In my dreams

Well, I thank God each and every day
For giving me the music and words to say
I'd-a never made it any other way
He was my only friend

Now I sleep a little better at night
When I look in the mirror
In the morning light
The man I see was both wrong and right
He's going home again

I guess happiness was Lubbock, Texas
In my rear view mirror
But now happiness is Lubbock, Texas
Growing nearer and dearer
And the vision is getting clearer
In my dreams"

I guess you could say that yesterday, happiness was Lubbock, TX in our rearview mirror. Not because we were leaving Lubbock, TX...for some reason I like West Texas...but because we'd both had good races, were able to have fun doing it, and have been blessed with the ability to keep doing it.

Since My Tweets Don't Go Here...

2009-06-28T13:55:00.002-05:00

Good day today. 4th for the Mr. (that would be me) and 1st for the Mrs. (that would be Amy). 2nd year it rained in Lubbock...and the wind blew A LOT!!

Lubbock, TX

2009-06-24T12:17:00.004-05:00

- Butch Hancock of the Flatlanders "Lubbock's really a psychedelic place, at least as bizarre as any place on the planet. God never intended man to live there."

- "It's been said that all Lubbock ever had was Buddy Holly and UFOs"

- Lubbock is bigger than Norman, Okla.; Lawrence, Kan., and Boulder, Colo., combined.

- There are at least 121 more churches in Lubbock than there are bars.

- Lubbock's nickname is the "Hub City" which derives from being the economic, education, and health care hub of a multi-county region commonly called the South Plains.

- The area is the largest contiguous cotton-growing region in the world.

- Lubbock is the birthplace of rock and roll legend Buddy Holly.

- According to a study released by the non-partisan Bay Area Center for Voting Research, Lubbock is the second most conservative city in the United States with a population over 100,000.

And, it's home of the Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon...20th anniversary this year. I first raced it in 1993 when it was an olympic distance triathlon. I was heading out to a pentathlon camp in Roswell, NM. I think that I was 4th or 5th overall. The next year it became a 1/2 Ironman (I think). I raced it as my first 1/2 Ironman in 1999 (not so great), then in 2000 (a little better), and again in 2002 where I qualified for Hawaii and finished 3rd overall...no realy pro field at that time but a few. Last year was my first year to race it as a professional, I was 5th.

It's basically the same field as Kansas w/o the two Tim's and without Luke...and another Aussie or two and Ben and a few others. So, once again, no easy pickins.

Weekend, Races, Training

2009-06-22T12:36:00.000-05:00

ITU World Championship Series...GBR's Alistar Brownlee (like 21 years old) won. USA's Andy Potts was 4th, Hunter was 5th, Shoemaker was 9th (I think), and we had another male in the top-15, so a good showing. Women didn't fare quite as well, but put several in the top-15 as well.

IMCdA Spain's Pantano won. California's Tyler Stewart won the women's. I think that Pantano popped positive for something a year ago in Europe...as always there's some controversy around that positive result. Top Austinite's were Jason McMillian with 11th for the men and Terra Castro equalled Jason's effort with an 11th. There were tons of other Austinites up there, so congrats to each and every one of them who finished whether it was their first or fiftieth IM.

On a more personal note, one of our guys headed up to Arkansas for the Xterra Regional. It was a breakthrough race. 3rd Amateur overall, 14th in the entire field. Breakthrough in the sense that the training, the strategy, the result all came together. He backed it up the next day by winning his class in the MTB race in Arkansas as well.

His race comes at the end of a pretty solid block of racing that started in Mid-May. That block followed a block of training that was basic, but consisted of backing it up week after week. We haven't had the ability (until a few weeks ago) to track power numbers, so in that case it becomes using perceived exertion and some heart rate numbers to see where he's at. Numbers don't win races. If you track numbers like pace, power, etc. you should see an improvement. But, in the event that you are hit a bit of a plateau (it happens) it helps to focus on the other things that you can do to make your race day go well until you break through the plateau. Little things like nutrition, race prep, course overview and knowledge, race day execution and planning, sleep, the whole package. It really comes down to more than just a 'training plan.'

So, a big congrats. He's now qualified for Xterra Nats and Worlds if he decides to go. It's a well earned and well deserved big race result.

Triathlons This Weekend

2009-06-19T05:55:00.000-05:00

O.K. No free stuff this week...unless you consider the fact that you can watch a triathlon for 'free' this weekend 'free stuff.'

I know that Ironman Couer d' Alene is this weekend and like 1,000 people from Austin are racing...o.k. more like 80 from Austin. You can watch it on Ironmanlive.com. But, coverage will probably be mediocre at best. As good as they are at putting on races, they just can't seem to get the hang of super coverage. And, how much 'coverage' can there really be at an Ironman? I'm not bad-mouthing IM races, I'm doing one in September, I'm just saying that they get taken to the cleaners when their race coverage is compared to that of the ITU Races.

So, if you want to watch a really exciting race that is also on US Soil, tune in to the ITU World Championship Series Race in Washington D.C. It's 75 of the best men and women going head to head (men vs. men and women vs. women if you were wondering) for a portion of the prize purse that is 3x bigger than that at IM races. It's a 7 race series where the best short course triathletes in the world race each other and finish the season at Championship race #8 in Australia. Washington is the only stop for the WCS in the US. But, next weekend is the Hy-Vee World Cup...the richest race in the world...if you qualify to race (I don't) and finish 75th out of 75, you still take home $1,000.

ITU has 2 options for watching...free and paid. I go with the free coverage, and if they have 'technical difficulties' the coverage is usually about on-par with the IM coverage. Here's a link to the Washington D.C. coverage page and race schedule. And, since an IM takes hours (really between 8 and 17 hours), you can easily go watch the WCS race and then tune back in to the IM.

So there you go. Two options for 'watching' triathlons this weekend. Best of luck to all of the Austinites in Idaho this weekend for the Ironman.

HIT Center Austin

2009-06-18T14:06:00.003-05:00

Ealier this year before we got into our "race mode" we did a boot camp for strength over at the HIT Center Austin. Now that we're more in the race season, our focus has been more on swimming, biking, and running with short and quick "core" workouts...so no boot camps or extensive strength workouts. Anyway...

They are having an open house on Saturday. If you have time between 10am and 1pm, go by and check them out.

Here's a link to the information.

70.3 Kansas Race Report

2009-06-16T12:17:00.003-05:00

Don't know how long and verbose this one will be. As usual, I put the basics up yesterday or Sunday can't remember which now.

Swim: 23:27, 6th or 7th pro split
T1: 1:17, more on this later
Bike: 2:13:44, 5th or 6th pro split
T2: 0:45
Run: 1:16:33, 5th or 6th pro split
Total: 3:55:46, 6th pro

Depending on where you find results, I'm listed as 5th or 6th. I was 6th across the line, narrowly missing 5th by about 20 seconds or so. The details...

Thursday we drove to Dallas and stayed with a college roommate of mine. We broke from our normal weekday eating routine and had dinner at Chuy's in Allen, TX.

Friday we swam at the Allen Natotorium...I don't understand why Austin can't have an indoor city pool/natotorium like this? Then it was off to Kansas. We opted for the 75/169 route through Tulsa and up into KS. A little bit of traffic, some small towns, and 2 lane roads, and we arrive about 4pm so it was a pretty long day in the car. An easy run then off to dinner in downtown Lawrence. Lawrence had a nice feel to it, and we had a great homestay. We later found out that Lars and Tim Carlson and James Hadley were staying in the house next to us and Chrissie Wellington was staying across the street from us.

Saturday was typical pre-race stuff. You really hope for that relaxing day, but everything always takes longer. In this case, where we had to park on race day and T1 were over a mile apart. Anyway, everyone deals with the same thing. Workouts done, pancakes and eggs, quick nap, pro meeting, bike in transition, and before you know it race day.

Swim: I had been swimming angry in workouts after CapTex. I lined up next to Tim O'Donnell as he's a good swimmer and finds fast feet if he's not leading. After losing Tim about 300m in when the bunch came together, I had to do some water acrobatics to swim through the feet I was on and latch on the front group when I saw a gap open up. I swam comfortably at the back of the group of 7 the rest of the swim. I came out 5-10 seconds down from the lead. Fellow Austinite James Cotter was there, and so was TimO, and the other Aussies Paul Matthews, Steven Hackett, Luke Bell, and Simon Thompson.

T1/Bike: I fumbled a bit and was about 10 seconds slower than the others out of T1. I figured this to be a back 1/2 bike course and honestly felt like crap starting out, so I wasn't able to bridge up a 20 second gap. JamesC passed me quickly and set out to chase the group. After about 10 miles he was about 45 seconds up on me and the group was probably 1.5 minutes up. The gap would stay about the same to the leaders. I caught James about mile 15 or 20. We flip flopped a little bit, and I kind of held to my power numbers hoping to work the last 20 miles a bit harder. With about 25-30 miles to go Tim DeBoom rolled up on us. He passed me with about 20 miles left to go, and it felt like the effort to follow was pretty solid, but I went with it. Over the next 20 miles or so Tim put about 20 seconds on me, and I put about an equal amount on James.

T2/Run: I could see that we were about 2 minutes down from Luke, TimO, PaulM, and StevenH. I gave chase and caught TimD about 1.5 miles in. James caught us about 2 miles in. The three of us ran together for about 1/2 mile. On the uphill James broke away and I gapped TimD. James would almost immediately put ~1 minute on me and I put about 20 seconds on Tim. After Lap 1 I was in 6th and 7th looked to be a bit back. I hit kind of a bad patch between miles 8 and 11, but was still running well. I saw StevenH at the last turnaround. I had about 1.5 miles to make up almost a minute. I dug deep, but so did he. I was closing fast, but not fast enough. I crossed the line in 6th with a sub-4 hour clocking.

Overall a good solid race. A well executed swim, bike, and run. The splits oddly enough were all in the top 6 or 7 of the pro-field...a balanced race. Not a perfect race, but no real mishaps and a good finish. Next up is Lubbock 70.3. The same Aussie contingent as well as many others will be coming out for it. The men's field will be very tough. Andy Potts will likely be the favorite going into the race. This may be the 'last' 70.3 event that I race this year. Maybe I'll take a risk or two somewhere in there...sometimes the rewards can be worth a bit of a risk. The 3 70.3s so far have been pretty conservatively raced.

KS is a LONG way from ATX

2009-06-15T14:27:00.002-05:00

Well, back in Austin. Taking the day off work to get things cleaned up, etc. to get ready for the next 2 weeks that will end with another 70.3 miles in Lubbock, TX.

It's a given that the top 3 to 5 places at any given race will be tough. No disrespect intended for the other 70.3 events going on this weekend, but I think that the field in KS was deeper than most this weekend! Seems like most of the Aussies came up from Boulder to race and there were others to add in the mix as well. Oh well, that's the way it goes.

6th again, this time by 20 seconds or so. The short story is that I redeemed myself from my CapTex swim, rode a smart bike ride, and had a solid run to finish 6th. I had 5th in my sites w/ 2 miles to go, but Hackett managed to dig deep and hold me off. The missus was 4th. I'll let you read her report when it gets posted, but she had a well done race. It was a good day in KS for Austin pros with JamesC taking 4th, me 6th, PatE taking 9th, and Amy being 4th in the women's race.

Full report to follow.

A Good Comment About Bike Fit

2009-06-09T16:32:00.012-05:00

I read Slowtwitch. It has good articles and Dan and the staff keep it pretty well updated. And, they covered Rev3 live via text updates. It also has a forum that 'can' provide some useful information if you can sort through all of the forum 'experts' out there. In short, ST.com CAN be a good resource for triathletes...just beware of the forum.

ST recently posted a review of 3 mid-priced tri bikes. The three they reviewed this time were the Cervelo P2C (the bike I was going to ride until Adam and Don said you should ride a P3C and proceeded to convince me of it), the Quintana Roo Caliente/Seduza, and the Cannondale Slice. Three nice bikes. Having ridden 2 of the 3, my biased thought is that the P2C is the best of the bunch. I digress...

Sometimes buried in Dan's writing you find a nugget of information. This was what I found...and the nugget here is NOT in the statement that the P2 fits the fat of the bell curve of riders (translation = the majority of triathletes)...

"All this is to say that the P2 fits the fat of the bell curve of riders. This assumes, though, that you have a fitter who believes that most of today's pros and top age groupers are in a proper position, and that you are capable of riding in that position. If you fitter believes your saddle should be positioned back in the neighborhood of a road bike's saddle, and that your aerobars should be up in height close to or equal with your saddle, well, forget everything I've written above—you either can't ride a P2 as successfully, or you need a new fitter (unless you're quite unathletic, my guess trends more toward needing the new fitter)."

When you look at your bike just sitting there...where are your aerobar pads in relation to your seat? Are they the same height or are the pads a bit lower? If they are, Dan suggests that you find a new fitter. Triathletes love to be different, but in reality, 'most' people are built pretty much the same. Dan on slowtwitch has fit more people to their bikes than most people...period. He has very firm beliefs on how tri-bikes should be fit and ridden. And, I share that opinion for the majority of triathletes.

I haven't blogged about bike fit. My fit has been pretty much the same since about 1998. I've had tweaks here and there, a new seat, a new bar set up, etc. But, it's remained basically the same...tweaked in the last 6-8 months by Don/Adam at ATC and looked at by the Retul System and Dave Wenger.

That's great Brandon...you're a 'fast guy'...I'm not. Read Dan's quote again, especially when he says "you are capable of riding in that position". IT DOES NOT MATTER. The FAT part of the Bell curve is where you were 'safe' in college. It meant that you were not the worst in the class nor were you the best in the class...but you passed the class. If you have a tri bike (P2, P3, Transition, Slice, B2, B12, DA, Tri-anything) you should be riding your bike like a tri-bike. Generally that means a forward seat position and aero bars lower than your saddle. If your bike isn't set up like this, then consider how well you are riding, running, or feeling on the bike...and go see someone about a bike fit. I know for a fact that there are A LOT of you out there who DO NOT ride your tri bike like this...I see you every weekend.

Yeah, I'm biased. But, I also try to give some good free info that hopefully is worth a little bit. Above I listed two places here in the ATX that I'd go check out if something doesn't feel right...one won't cost you anything, the other will set you back a bit. But, either way, if you're riding more comfortable, riding faster, running better, it'll be worth it. Unfortunately, paying (or not) for a bike fit is kind of like paying for swim lessons...it doesn't 'make' you look fast like race wheels or another go fast gadget, but it costs less and might make you even faster.

In Keeping With Monday/Friday Blogs

2009-06-08T07:33:00.004-05:00

In keeping with book-ending the weeks, it's Monday and time for a blog.

Last week was solid solid training all around. I re-learned that long course swimming is difficult. 50s can be very hard. 100s can be equally difficult. An 800 hard after a 5' warm-up is not fun. And, 68 degree water at Barton Spring really can be manageable without a wetsuit. For Biking, threshold and harder than threshold efforts can be hard if you do an hour total of them. And, as I've know, riding indoors almost exclusively really can prepare you for some hard riding outdoors too. And for the run, 6x1 mile is a workout I haven't done for awhile. It's tough on tired and non-tired legs. And a brick run that starts at 1pm on one of the hottest days of the year is NOT fun.

So, overall it was a solid week of swimming, biking, and running.

Next weekend is the 70.3 Kansas. This weekend was the Rev3 triathlon. It's one of the first new big-money 1/2 Ironman distance races in the US other than Wildflower. Several months ago the pro field was huge. It was still quite impressive, but not nearly as big when the gun went off as it was going to be originally. Any way you slice it, the top-10 of the respective men's and women's fields were strong...and so were the others so I don't want to discount them. It was never really on our schedule, but would have been a good race to go race. But, next weekend there are 3 70.3 events on US soil and Escape from Alcatraz. For the men, Kansas looks to be one of the more solid races depth and number. For the women it's a close race between Eagleman and Kansas. I haven't found start lists for Boise yet, but I do know that Crowie will be racing there...and our bud from Durango.

That's all...maybe another Friday update to come.

Free Stuff Friday: Training Sick

2009-06-05T14:48:00.002-05:00

I got an email question from an athlete the other day saying that they were a feeling a bit under the weather. Not full on 'flu virus', but just a little bit under the weather. They asked what to do training-wise.

As usual the disclaimer...I am NOT a doctor, I don't play one on TV or any other time, so DO NOT take this as medical advice. I'd like to think that what I write here is worth more than the $0.00 you pay for it...but we'll just assume that it's not. Make your own decisions or go pay a doctor to help you with them.

As usual, I have an opinion on training when either sick, near sick, or generally compromised. I'll go with the 'rules' method of putting them down.

- Rule #1: Some training is better than no training. That gets you consistency. And, consistency gets you improvement.
- Rule #2: If you'd call in sick to work or miss school or whatever, you probably shouldn't train either.
- Rule #3: Is it in your head only? By that I don't mean are you mental. I mean is the sickness above your neck in that you are stuffy, have a headache, or have some sinus congestion. If the answer to that is yes, then I would train, but at a much reduced intensity. If the answer is that it is in your head AND below your neck...you have a cough or wheezing or serious stomach ache or are just running from all ends...go see a doctor.
- Rule #4: IF you decide to train, go easier and go shorter. Maintain the frequency, but don't worry about the intensity.
- Rule #5: What have you done in the days before being sick and what do you have in the coming days. If it's been a week or more without a day off, then maybe take one. If you have a week until your next scheduled day off, then maybe take one now.
- Rule #6: Going slower now or taking a single day off now is better than being put out of comission for a week or more...see rule #1.
- Rule #7: Revert to rule #2 if you aren't sure.
- Rule #8: Is it really 'in your head'? If that's the case, then you've got bigger problems than your little runny nose.

What about taking meds? See the medical disclaimer. I don't like them. I will take an over the counter medication occassionally. I really try to shy away from antibiotics. IF they are necessary, they can help, but I think that they can also really compromise your system. 1/2 the time though, by the time we/you go to the doc, you are probably about 1/2 way through whatever you have 'running its course' as my mom (a nurse) used to say...so you might be better off just toughing it out. If it's sinus related, I'll use a saline/sinus rinse 2x a day to keep things flowing. Generally, we try to stay away from 'medication', but we do take a multi-V and some fish-oil...and probably have expensive pee b/c of it.

So, there you go. What to do if you're sick. Summer is here, flu season should be over, we're all getting our Vitamin D from our outside training, our Vitamin C from fruits and veggies, so we're not going to get sick anyway, right!?

First Weekend in 4 With No Race Report

2009-06-01T12:32:00.000-05:00

This was the first weekend in 4 weekends with no race report. It's kind of nice to get in some training. Even though we kind of 'trained through' the last one, racing and the stress that comes with it seems to take a bit more out of you.

So, it was nice to have a weekend 'home.' We did end up driving out to Blanco for the Real Ale ride put on by the Real Ale Brewery and Red Licorice Events as well as many of their event sponsors. Amy and I did the 80ish mile ride. It was pretty hilly and a very nice low-traffic ride. Especially nice when compared to the sometimes traffic-laden roads around Austin.

Other than that, a pretty standard weekend of training. Next up is another couple of 70.3 events...and then some hibernation or at least maybe being a little more 'homebodys' to get ready for IM Wisconsin in September. We might do 1-2 local races between the end of June and the IM, so no travel. That will be nice except for the fact that training in Austin in July - October is kind of like training on the face of the sun.

Free Stuff Friday: Recovery Stuff

2009-05-29T12:01:00.005-05:00

Well, I'm not sure how long or how thorough this will be. 3 races in 3 weekends or 15 days kind of gets you thinking about recovery. Especially when your 3rd race has at least 1 very sub-par or uncharacteristic leg...for me the swim...but that's neither here nor there.

Recovery. I think that there are a couple of types. Recovery from a single workout and recovery from a block of training. Let's take the single or day to day workout approach first. We'll go with some of the nutritional aspects here.

Endurox made recovery drinks popular, specifically those with a 4:1 carb:protein ratio. Take it within 30 minutes of exercise and you're good to go the next day. But, it is really necessary or when do you need it? Here are MY rules of thumb...again based on 20 years studying and competing in the sport and a lot of reading and an equal amount of trial by fire. As far as degrees and certifications and what not goes, I have a Chemical Engineering degree and am not a physiologist or nutritionist.

Workouts totalling 30-60 minutes. You 'probably' don't need much in the way of immediate recovery nutrition unless it is a 110% complete blow out effort. As long as you are well-fueled going into the workout, you are probably going to be fine. And, if it's an early morning workout and you didn't eat before it, chances are good that you'll be eating soon after. So, I don't see a 'recovery drink' as being necessary here. This goes even IF you have a second workout later in the day.

Workouts totalling 1-2 hours. If there are some solid segments in here...intervals on the bike or run or swim, then a traditional recovery drink might be a good thing...or at least a partial serving of a recovery drink. If it's just an easy 2 hour ride, then you probably don't have to have a recovery drink. If it's a strong 2 hour run, then a recovery drink is probably going to make you feel better. I would say that IF you have a second workout later in the day, then a post workout recovery drink would be a good idea.

Workouts over 2 hours. A recovery drink right after your workout will likely help you recover. Certainly if you are going to be working out later in the day, then get a post workout recovery drink in you.

Remember, your recovery nutrition is to help set you up for your next workout. If you are well fueled going into the workout and if you stay fueled during the workout, then maybe you just need some real food after the workout. If you have a day off or near 24 hours until your next workout, maybe you just need some real food. Either way, regardless of what the 'research' says, you have to experiment with what works for you. And, one workout or one 'test' is not going to tell you if it was the drink. You might feel like a rockstar the day after you use a new recovery drink...it 'might' be the drink or it 'might' be the 12 hours of sleep you got! It will take several days or tries to figure it out.

Last night I went to hear Robert Kunz of First Endurance speak at Mellow Johnny's. He made a good point...specifically in relation to their offering for recovery...Ultragen. IF you use a post workout drink in that 30-minute window after a hard workout, that's ALL you need in that window. Finish the drink and then eat something later, but don't finish the drink while you are polishing off some eggs and pancakes. Recovery drinks are made to be quickly absorbed. Drinking them with additional food that has protein and fat and possibly slowly digested carbs will slow the absorption and defeat the purpose of the recovery drink.

My choices for recovery drinks: PureSport Recovery and Ultragen, though we've been using only PureSport for recovery the last year or so...they're local and sponsor us. Overall though, First Endurance has to be one of the best overall sources for pre-, during, and post-race nutritional offerings. Yeah, they say chocolate or soy milk works also, but I don't drink milk so that rules it out for me.

In Summary:
< 60 minutes: no recovery drink, eat normally
60 - 120 minutes: full or partial serving of recovery drink w/ in 30 minutes, post 30 minutes normal eating
120+ minutes: recovery drink w/ in 30 minutes, post 30 minutes eat normal with some extra carbs during the first meal after the workout.
Working out Later: same as 60+ minutes
No Fuel before a big workout: recovery drink
No Fuel during a solid workout: recovery drink
No Fuel for a while after a workout: recovery drink

As I was getting my thoughts together for this...and surfing some of my more trusted sites...I found this post. I'm all for real food, and this kind of puts a bit more emphasis on real food...from a sports nutritionist POV.