Toby's Ironman-In-Training Blog

“That’s amazing! I could never do anything like that.”

That’s by far the most common reaction I get when people hear about my finishing the Louisville Ironman Triathlon. Although swimming 2.4 miles, then biking 112 miles, then running a full 26.2-mile marathon all in one day may seem like a daunting task, it really is something that anyone can do if they really commit to it.

In their book Going Long: Training for Triathlon’s Ultimate Challenge, elite triathlon coaches Joe Friel and Gordon Byrn say: “the truth is, anyone can do the distance if they want it badly enough”, and I have to agree. If you think that you’re too old, too young, too out of shape, too busy, or too nonathletic to go that distance, then there is someone who finished the race with me who will prove you wrong.

Kurt Kahl

73-year-old Kurt Kahl started competing in triathlons when he was 50.

19-year-old Cassie Scull got into multisport since she enjoyed swimming and running in high school.

Cassie Scull

43-year old Ken Fetters battled constant health issues and numbness before being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Single mom Heather Wajer, 37, weighed 315 pounds. She made a bet with a coworker to see who could lose 40 pounds first, but didn’t stop there and lost 141 pounds during her training. (When asked what made her set her sights on the Ironman, she replied: “You don’t get to 315 pounds by doing things in moderation.”)

Alex Kuhn looked in the mirror one day at 300 pounds and realized something had to change. He started walking, then running, and before long “marathons just weren’t enough.”

All of them finished the 2010 Louisville Ironman with me, and you can do it too.

Heather Wajer

I met lots of other great soon-to-be Ironmen during my training (note: “Ironman” is the accepted gender-neutral term; many of them were women!), and most of them aren’t what you’d expect from a “typical triathlete”. They, like me, are normal people with normal jobs and normal lives who decide that they want to push their limits and see what they can accomplish.

Don’t get me wrong… it took many of these people many years to get there. But they did get there. And competing in an Ironman isn’t cheap. The entry fee for 2010 was $550 and it has gone up to $575 for 2011. I spent more on my bike than I did on my first car, but hopefully I’ll get many years of use out of it.

Not convinced that you’re ready to take on an Ironman? That’s fine! There are plenty of shorter-distance triathlons you can start with. A “sprint triathlon” is typically a swim of 400-1000 meters, 10-15 miles on the bike then a run of a few miles. There are also intermediate “olympic distance” triathlons and half-Ironman triathlons. There’s probably one near you; use a site like TriFind.com to find one (entry fees for these shorter races are much more manageable than the Ironman).

Not sure you’re ready to swim, bike, and run? No problem! Find a duathlon (usually run, bike, then run again) or aqua-bike (swim then bike) instead. Or sign up for a regular running race. And don’t worry about how well you can compete against others. The vast majority of participants are racing only against themselves. And crossing that finish line is an incredibly rewarding experience that you’ll never forget! Even those who come in dead last celebrate their triumph because it’s still something that too few people ever experience.

Competing in an Ironman triathlon is a huge undertaking and involves a truly dedicated commitment of your time, sweat, and money. Only you can decide whether you want to take it on, but don’t let “I could never do something like that” keep you from considering it. You can do it if you want it badly enough.

Now that my race is over and I have a bit of downtime, hopefully I’ll be able to blog a bit more about my experiences leading up to the race, and I’ll go into more detail about what it takes to get there. Feel free to ask any questions you have in the comments!

Elizabeth and I just got back from the 2010 Hoosierman in Bloomington, Indiana, where I ran my first triathlon and she ran the duathlon (run, bike, run, without the swimming). I ended up running the “sprint triathlon”, which was a 500 meter swim, 10 mile bike, and 5k run. I had actually signed up for the “olympic” triathlon, which was a 1.5k swim, 26 mile bike, and 10k run. But the day before the event, I was loading our bikes onto the back of the car and pulled a muscle in my back as I lifted Elizabeth’s bike. I’m so used to my racing bike (which I can lift with one hand) that I wasn’t prepared for her much heavier road bike.

As disappointed and frustrated as I was with the injury the day before my first triathlon, I think I learned some good lessons. First off, avoid any strenuous activity at all the week of a big race! Earlier that day I had taken our three dogs for a run (which mostly involves them pulling me along while I try to keep them at a reasonable speed) which likely set me up for the injury. Secondly, I need to stretch way more often. I’m going to try to make it a habit to stretch every morning when I get up. And finally, I still have a ways to go before being able to swim 2.4 miles in the Ironman! More on that later…

So as we arrived in Bloomington and picked up our packets, my back was still hurting quite a bit and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to compete at all. We turned in early and when I woke up on race morning I could tell that my back was better but I wasn’t sure I should push myself that far. As we showed up to the race site, I asked about switching to the shorter race which they said was fine. Although still frustrated, I was also relieved about the much shorter swim since I wasn’t sure my back would hold out.

As we picked our spots out on the bike rack in the transition area, it became obvious who the veteran triathletes were. They had all of their gear neatly arranged on a towel by their bike and seemed very organized. I immediately realized my first mistake: I was wearing tri shorts (like bike shorts but a bit shorter and with very little padding) and a tri top (a close-fitting, sleeveless top) which I planned to wear for all three events but that meant I couldn’t pin my bib number to myself until after the swim. It suddenly dawned on me why so many triathletes pin their bib to a “race belt” which they just throw on after the swim. Luckily, I was able to use my MacGyver-like resourcefulness to repurpose the strap from my duffel bag for this purpose!

We were allowed to swim around a bit in the lake beforehand so I decided to get in to see how my back would hold up. To my delight, my swim stroke didn’t cause any pull at all on my injured muscle. It was also my first time wearing a swim cap and even though my hair is rather short I noticed a definite reduction in drag as I moved through the water.

Soon it was time to line up; the swim waves were started in age group order and mine was second. I felt pretty good as I entered the water and stayed with the pack pretty well as we swam out to the buoy. I concentrated on using good form and keeping a slow, steady pace. But when I looked up after a minute or so, I realized I was swimming perpendicular to the swim course, away from the buoy! Lesson #2: sight my swim path more often in open water, and learn to breathe from both sides to avoid swimming in circles!

I corrected my course but quickly found myself drifting to the right again. Even though I knew it was happening, it was very difficult to keep swimming in a straight line, and I began having difficulty getting my bearings. In turn, my form suffered, I got tired, and had to begin using backstroke and a bit of sidestroke to keep moving. A couple people in the wave after me caught up to me. All in all, it wasn’t a terrible experience, but I definitely learned that I need to work a lot more on my open-water swimming.

Moving into the transition area, I felt pretty good but a bit winded. I put on my race belt and bib, dried my feet, smeared on some BodyGlide to avoid blisters on my damp skin, threw on my socks, bike shoes, gloves, and helmet, and took off. I’d been doing a lot of cycling lately so 10 miles was pretty easy for me, although my heart rate stayed rather elevated from the swim and the rising heat. There were however a couple very challenging hills and one very steep downhill portion where I hit 38 MPH.

As I entered the transition area again for the run, I think I made pretty good time switching from bike shoes to running shoes. Bike shoes are very difficult to move quickly in due to the cleats for the clipless pedals; maybe I should have run barefoot instead. But I was still able to get into and out of the transition pretty quickly.

About the only thing I can say about the run is that it really sucked. It started with a very steep hill out of the transition area and the first mile was on a wooded trail. The trail was very slippery due to rains the previous night and very steep in places. I’m rather surprised I didn’t twist an ankle. If they still have the trail portion of the race next year, I doubt I’ll participate.

As the temperature continued to rise, the humidity got very thick and I slowed down quite a bit. I tried to keep my pace in the 9:30 range but I had to slow down for a while. Definitely need to keep working on the hot weather training.

I’m not even sure at this point what my final time was but overall I’m pretty happy with my effort considering the shape my back was in. Unfortunately I think I’m gonna have to take a few days off training altogether in order to get better. But, like the mini marathon earlier this year, I feel like I’m still learning some important race-day tips that will pay dividends come Ironman day, and I’m looking forward to the next race, which may be the Muncie Endurathon…

Triathletes tend to start with one sport and pick up the other two when they decide to give multisport a try. For me, that one sport is running. Up until last year, I enjoyed casual running but never really got serious with training for distance until I decided to compete in my first marathon. But I didn’t know how to begin with a more focused training program.

If this sounds like you, here are some tips I picked up as I got more serious about endurance training. Note that this isn’t for the beginning runner (may I suggest a program like Couch Potato to 5k for that); I’ll assume you can run at least 2-3 miles.

Shoes

As you can probably guess, a good pair of running shoes is important when you begin running more than a few miles. I can’t stress this next point enough: to get a good pair of running shoes, go to a running shoe store. Not the shoe store at the mall, not the department store, not even the sporting goods store. You need to find a store that specializes in running shoes and just that. I got mine at Pacers & Racers in New Albany.

Yes, you’ll end up paying more than you would if you went to Wal-Mart. But not only will you get a much better shoe, the clerks will take time with you to correctly measure your foot and visually observe your gait as you run in order to find the perfect shoe for you. I found that I had been wearing shoes that were half a size too small for most of my adult life, and that I have a slight overpronation when I run. So they fitted me with the perfect-size shoe with a sole designed to correct for my less-than-perfect gait.

We all have different biomechanics that are either inherited or deeply ingrained from early childhood. While any ol’ shoe will do just fine for running a couple miles, having a shoe that matches the way you run makes a big difference over 26 miles!

Clothing

Two words: bloody nipples. If that doesn’t strike fear into your heart, I don’t know what will. After I bought my first pair of running shoes, they felt so great that I went out and ran 19 miles. Then I looked down to see a streak of red running down my cotton t-shirt.

The problem with cotton is that it soaks up moisture and keeps it there. And (especially if you’re a guy) having that wet clothing rub against your body for hours will take its toll. You need to get some good “technical tees” which are made of moisture-wicking fabric. These come in many different styles so what you get has a lot to do with preference, but basically you want a shirt that isn’t too tight and especially not too loose.

Because I have rather large upper legs I have to wear spandex or compression shorts when I run, to prevent my legs from chafing from rubbing together. I prefer a pair of medium-length compression shorts and a pair of running shorts on top of those.

Moisture-wicking socks are also a must. Most runners (including myself) seem to prefer the ankle-length kind. You can pick up some good ones at the running shoe store or any sporting goods store.

Chafe Prevention

Aside from moisture-wicking clothing, you’ll want to take extra precautions to keep blisters and rashes to a minimum. It’s just a simple fact: when things rub together for long enough it’s gonna do damage to your skin. BodyGlide is your best friend here. Guys, smear a dab on those nipples. Don’t find out the hard way how painful it can be to have that area rubbed raw. If you have problems with blisters, rub some on the “hot spots” on your feet.

Gold Bond is also great for absorbing excess moisture. I found out how important this is during my service in the Army National Guard. Sprinkle some in your socks and/or in the front of your shorts, depending on where you find that friction takes its toll.

Water Belt

Constant hydration is vitally essential while running. Don’t run for more than 20-30 minutes without replenishing water. Unless you want to stage water along your route or continue to run past your home or car to refuel, you need to take water with you. I started off using a runner’s Camelbak but found that it moved around too much for me. Eventually I got the 6-bottle FuelBelt which works really well for me.

GPS Watch / Heart Rate Monitor

When you begin to get serious about running, it’s difficult to build up your endurance without an objective, quantitative measure of your performance. Keeping a constant pace is very important while running long distances, and it’s very difficult for less experienced runners to pace themselves. This is where a GPS watch and/or heart rate monitor can really help.

To that end, my Garmin Forerunner 305 is the best investment I made while starting out. It shows you your current pace, time, distance, and lots of other stats in real-time, and comes with a wireless heart rate monitor (a strap you wear around your chest) to monitor your heart rate. I won’t go into target heart rates and training zones here (there’s plenty of information on the subject elsewhere) but tracking your heart rate is also a good way to get a better idea of how much you’re exerting yourself.

When I first went running with my Forerunner, I was amazed at how much my pace varied. I thought I was keeping myself rather steady but found I started at 8-minute miles and finished at 11-minute miles. Once I began tracking my pace and teaching myself what my target pace “feels like”, I was able to run much farther and longer.

So that’s pretty much it… the above is what I consider to be the basic essentials for anyone looking to get into distance running. I’ll add posts about cycling and swimming in the future…

This past Saturday Elizabeth and I ran in the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini-Marathon. I originally wasn’t going to run in this race but she and a couple other friends had signed up for it so I thought it would be fun to join them. I’m really glad that I did it, not only because I finished with a time I was rather happy with (1:54:15), but also because I think it’s important to get a few smaller races under my belt before the Ironman in August.

This race had about ten times more participants than the Louisville Marathon last fall, when I ran the full 26.2 mile distance. Unlike then, there wasn’t really any time during this race when I was essentially running by myself. Figuring out how to run in a crowd and still keep your pace is something you just can’t really practice before race day. In fact early on in this race I found myself mindlessly running with the pack, when I looked down at my watch and realized I had been running about a minute per mile too slow on my pace for quite a while.

Like in the full marathon last year, I think I ran a bit too slowly in the beginning on this one. I suppose that’s better than running too quickly at first, which apparently quite a few people do (at least those who are near my pace), because I passed a lot of people again in the last few miles this time. But unlike the smaller race, even during the last mile I was still running in a large enough group that I had to consciously navigate through them.

Because the race finished downtown, the turns were essentially at right angles and a couple times I tried to take the inside corner only to find myself bunched up in a tight group and had to slow down. In hindsight, I should have swung a bit wider and given myself more room.

There are a few other little things I learned, such as remembering to use foot powder and/or BodyGlide on my feet if there’s a chance of rain (my socks got wet and I ended up with a blister on one foot), making sure that the music player on my phone is ready to go before the race starts (I listen to PodRunner 180 bpm tracks to help keep my running cadence steady), and listening to my body if it’s telling me I need to hit the port-a-john one more time before the race (I had to run to the treeline about 30 minutes in).

If I had corrected all these little things during the Mini and not run with the pack for the first few miles, I’m pretty sure I could have gotten my time under 1:50. But I’m still really happy with my time, and I’m glad I learned some of these lessons now instead of during a longer race. But above all, it was a fun experience, and even though a larger race means bigger packs, it also means a lot more spectators cheering you on which can really help towards the end.

So what this has taught me is that I need to work in a few more races this year before heading into the Ironman, especially since I haven’t actually run any triathlons yet and need to get the same type of “race day experience”, especially in the transitions. Right now I’m thinking of signing up for either the Hoosierman Triathlon (sprint or olympic distance) and/or the Muncie Endurathon (sprint or half-Ironman distance). More on that later…

Miles ridden on bike today: 56.9

Average speed: 16.3 mph

Calories burned: 4446

Bugs accidentally swallowed: about 7

I decided this weekend that I needed to get serious about fully committing to my training, especially now that the weather is so nice. Since my free time during the week varies, weekends are the time when I can do my weekly long-distance training. So rather than plan other things during my weekend and then fit my training in where I can, I decided I need to flip it around and put my training first.

Elizabeth and I are competing in the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini-Marathon in two weeks so on Saturday I wanted to confirm my “race pace”, since next week I’ll be in the taper period (a period of time before a race where you give your body a bit of rest from heavy training; usually a week or two for a mini). I ran the 13.1 miles right at 2 hours, which is actually a little slower than I was hoping, but I felt pretty good afterwards so I’m pretty sure I could have started pushing harder even earlier. So I’m still gonna shoot for 1:50 on race day.

Then today (Sunday) was bike day. It may seem a bit much to have a long bike day on the day after a long run, but biking uses leg muscles differently than running and can actually speed up recovery from a long run. Last year when I was training for the marathon, at first my legs would hurt for days after running over 20 miles. Then I read that biking the day after a long run can help the muscles heal, and found that it certainly did in my case.

I have a “home field advantage” in training for the Louisville Ironman because the start of the bike course is only about 20 minutes from my house. My coworker Steve, who is an avid bicyclist and whose brain I was picking for bike-riding tips a while back, told me “once summer gets here you won’t be able to throw a stick on that road without hitting a triathlete training.” Even this early in the year, there are quite a few other bicyclists on the road.

The bike course begins at Waterfront Park and then takes River Road out to where it heads up a steep hill and meets with Highway 42. The traffic isn’t too bad on weekend mornings, but there are some really steep hills (see the elevation guide) that had me rather worried the first time I saw them. Going up them is obviously no fun, but going down them is still rather terrifying for me. Racing bike wheels are so skinny that I’m still getting used to just being able to ride in a straight line, so as I’m flying downhill at over 30mph with my front wheel wobbling the whole way I have visions of hitting a small rock and launching into the air. I’ve heard that it gets easier though.

I biked about 40 miles on the Ironman course this morning and then rode for another 16 or so in the evening. I’ve been delighted to find numerous long, smooth, varied (hilly/flat, straight/curvy) roads near my house that I never knew existed. There is a little town called Utica near me that sits on the Ohio River and it has some great roads along or near the river which are mostly shady and have very little traffic and no stoplights. I had been worried that I would have to go to one of the large parks in Louisville in the evenings to get some quality bike time but I can easily put in 20 miles or more in and around Utica and eastern Jeffersonville.

I’m also really happy to discover how great I feel after riding almost 60 miles. It’s nothing like running for four hours straight where my body feels like it was worked over with a pipe and my legs are so sore I can barely walk. I had a moment of despair a couple weeks ago when I started thinking about how long 112 miles on a bike really is, but now it’s feeling much more manageable.

I’ve always been something of a runner. I never really played in organized sports, so running just seemed like a good, low-barrier way to get some exercise. I enjoy getting out on the road with just my thoughts, or putting in a few miles on the treadmill at the gym.

I had never given much thought to participating in any organized event, until one day a couple years ago when I was flipping through Google Reader and came across this post at one of my favorite sites, LifeHacker.com. It linked to another blog post titled “By the time you finish watching this video, you’ll want to run a marathon“. Well, they were right. After watching the author’s five-minute slideshow where he discussed his experiences training for an finishing the San Francisco Marathon, I knew that I had to run a marathon too.

Long story short, I signed up for the 2009 Louisville Marathon and spent the next year or so training for it. After a minor setback (I sprained my ankle pretty badly while working in the yard), I finished the 26.2 mile run in 4:16:49, or 9:48 per mile. Nothing to brag about, but not bad for a first-timer either.

I was hooked. I loved everything about the marathon experience. I loved pushing myself to new limits and accomplishing my goal. I loved being in the best shape of my life, and dropping 35 pounds without changing my diet much. I loved the camaraderie of the race and being surrounded by other fit, motivated people, while at the same time knowing that the accomplishment was all mine. And yes, I’ll admit that my ego loved the admiration of others who couldn’t imagine running a tenth of that distance.

A couple months before the race, the Louisville Ironman Triathlon was held and as I read about what it entailed (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, then a full 26.2-mile marathon), I marveled at the thought of pushing my body to its limits not just for a few hours, but all day long. I told myself that if I finished the marathon, I would spend the next year continuing my training and then decide whether to enter the Ironman in 2011.

But I couldn’t wait that long. The physical, mental, and emotional high from the race was still too fresh in my memory and I told myself that I could finish an Ironman after training not two years, but one. So I signed up for the 2010 Louisville Ironman to be held August 29.

Since then, I’ve been training and reading as much as time allows. While there’s plenty of information available, I haven’t found a lot of in-depth, first-hand experiences of what it’s like for a novice to reach up to this goal. And as I began telling others about my training, I’ve found that a lot of them have become interested in following my progress. So I decided to start blogging about my experience. Since I’ve already been preparing for several months, I’ll spend the first few posts talking about what I’ve been doing since last fall to get ready.

I’d love to hear from anyone else who is training for this race, especially those who also live in the Louisville area. Hope I’ll see you at the finish line!

Not sure the original source.

I bought a Garmin Nuvi 785T recently, which has a built-in receiver for the MSN Direct over-the-air service. Now, there’s not much that Microsoft does these days that impresses me in the slightest, but MSN Direct is definitely an exception. It sends real-time traffic data (although the data in Louisville isn’t the greatest), gas prices, movie times, weather, and more directly to the GPS. Plus the coolest feature is the ability to find a location or route on my desktop (using Bing Maps) and send it directly to the GPS while it’s still in my car.

Nevermind the fact that Google Maps Navigation has just made most of this obsolete, I was pretty happy with the service for now. After the 3-month free trial, it cost $50/year, or $100 for lifetime service. Figuring I would use the GPS for several years, and then my wife would use it for several more, I bought the $100 lifetime service in October.

So I was of course dismayed to get an email from them stating that the service would be discontinued in 2012, and that I would only get a pro-rated refund based on three years! Fuming, I searched my inbox for the TOS from when I signed up, and it said that “service was not guaranteed beyond January 1, 2014″! So they (at least implicitly) promised me two more years than what I was getting.

Not only did I buy a more expensive GPS that had the necessary (but soon useless) receiver for the service, I was getting swindled on the service too! With threats of a class action lawsuit on the tip of my tongue, I called their service department to give them a piece of my mind. I asked the very polite girl on the other end to explain the two-year difference in promised service and said I wanted to cancel now and get my money back instead of wait until 2012.

But apparently they were ready for this. She told me that yes, I can cancel now and get a refund (still prorated to three years), but that they will still let me keep the service until 2012! So I’m getting back around $98 of my $100 fee (all but about 1-1/2 months worth) and still get over a year of free service.

I’m still not very happy with Microsoft, but at least they made things right financially. So I have real-time updates on my GPS until January 2012, by which time I’ll surely have Android 2.0 (and Google Maps Navigation) on my Sprint Hero to get me where I’m going.

So I was reading the latest story on the whole sordid Blagojevich scandal today on the Chicago Tribune’s website when I noticed this lovely graphic in the bottom-right corner titled “Colonel Tribune Recommends”. Colonel Tribune is apparently the Chicago Tribune’s “Web Ambassador”.

Now folks, this is just a stroke (pardon the pun) of brilliance. Faced with staff layoffs and crippling ad revenue declines, the Chicago Tribune knew that it had to somehow embrace this brave, new media world. And what’s a more fitting way to depict an obsolete, dying dinosaur like the Chicago Tribune than a confused-looking, disoriented old man wearing a hat made out of newspaper?

Intrigued, I did a bit more looking into Col. Tribune. He has his own page on the Tribune’s website, complete with links to his Facebook profile, Flickr feed, and Twitter page. It seems that the Colonel is quite the Web-2.0-savvy curmudgeon!

I checked out the Colonel’s Flickr feed and found to my horror that apparently wearing newspaper hats is now very hip in Chicago. These people look about as excited as someone who was forced to attend a boring company-sponsored after-hours party on a Friday night. Ahem…

So, welcome to the exciting world of the World Wide Web, Col. Tribune! I’m sure you’ll do your company proud as its public web ambassador while it continues its inevitable death spiral towards oblivion. Now get off my lawn.

Something tells me this whole “green” craze is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. I got an email today from Scott’s Lawn Care touting their new “Water Smart” fertilizer. Their “new Water Smart™ formula saves you thousands of gallons of water a year!”

Curious as to how exactly fertilizer can cut down on your water usage, I went to their website to find out more. Their site is very short on details, but the general gist is that a fertilized lawn will need less water to keep healthy than an unfertilized lawn. So their “Water Smart” fertilizer is just the same old stuff with a new, hip eco-friendly feel-good label!

Look, I’m all for taking common-sense steps to help the environment. Whether or not global warming turns out to be real, making the earth a better place can only be a good thing. But I guess it was inevitable that the whole thing would get commercialized ad nauseum.

So, thanks anyway Scotts, but I think I’ll have to pass on putting your corny Water Smart Pledge badge on my blog.