Race Schedule 2012 - Still a Work in Progress

Despite recognizing in my 2011 Annual Summary that I'm a happier athlete (and person) when I have structured and defined training and race plans, I still haven't set my goals or finalized my race schedule for 2012.  I have this constant internal debate over whether I want to be a triathlete or a road runner or a trail runner or an ultra runner or a cyclist (well, probably not that). All kinds of races and training excite me, but in order to be successful at any of them, I have to make some choices because I can't do it all!

So far, I am signed up for a few races:

• After hearing fellow Pablove Triathlon Team members Mike and Warren rave and rave about what a great race Ironman 70.3 Hawai'i ("Honu") is, I decided that I'd make the trip this year and try to finally beat my 70.3 PR (which I set in my very first half-ironman race at Timberman in 2006).  Although I am definitely excited for the trip to Hawai'i and the race experience, I am not really feeling the bike or swim training right now.  Luckily, I have a little bit of time between now and June 2 to get fired up and put the time in.

• After Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee forced the 2011 S.O.S. Triathlon course to be cut pretty much in half, I was determined to go back in 2012 and race the "real" course.  So I'll be in New Paltz for the 2012 S.O.S. Triathlon on September 9.

• I had such a great time at the Catalina Eco Marathon in November - also on a storm-altered course - so I'd like to go back and race there again in 2012. That's on November 12.

• Then, last Sunday, in a fit of what I might end up considering madness, I signed up for the LA Marathon.  It's a race that I've considered doing each of the last 2 years.  At the 2010 race, I paced a couple friends and ended up running 30-something miles along the course.  In 2011, I spent most of the morning on the rain soaked course, running with a bunch of different friends for a couple miles each.  The 2012 race is eight weeks from today.  I don't know if that's enough time for me to properly train to race the marathon that I know I'm capable of.  And yesterday's long-ish road run didn't do a whole lot to give me confidence about it.  Sure, I have a great base, but I haven't done a road marathon since an undertrained and underwhelming performance at Boston in 2009.  In fact, I've barely done any road racing at all.  So, I'm trying hard to temper my expectations.  On the other hand, if I don't give it a shot, I'll never know.  I'll find out on March 18 whether I would have been better off not knowing!

A road marathon, a 70.3, a crazy eight-stage triathlon that should take me between five and six hours and a trail marathon.  Seems like a good schedule for 2012, right?  It should be, but I do still feel like it's missing something.  Something big.  Hmmm... More to come on that.

As a reminder, in December, I reviewed KT Tape Pro, and had a discount offer to pass along. If you're interested in getting a roll, go to the KT Tape Pro store, choose your color and use this code - KTPRO11 - for 20% off.  Hurry up and get on it, the promo code expires on January 31, 2012.

I wish I had a photo

I've probably never appreciated LA as much as I did this morning while running up the Temescal Ridge Trail, racing to beat the sunrise with Lukas, Jimmy and John.

A full moon slowly setting in the west and a red-streaked sky waiting for the sun to rise in the east.  Views stretching 360 degrees - the ocean in front of Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica and Palos Verdes, a quiet downtown LA, the San Gabriel Mountains, Topanga State Park, Malibu and back to the ocean.

I wish I had some photos to post, but I'm not sure they would do it justice.  You should go see it for yourself.  And the beauty of LA is that you can, just about any morning you choose.

Annual Summary - 2011

Looking back, 2010 was a year marked by consistency in training and racing but inconsistency in the rest of "life". In 2011, on the other hand, life was pretty consistent, but training and racing were really just all over the place. 2011 was the first time in at least six years that I didn't ring in the new year with at least one "A" race already on the calendar. And without that key race to both motivate me and structure my training, for most of the year I was not in much of a training rhythm. It wasn't necessarily bad though - in some ways and at some times, it was liberating to train without racing goals.

But it did become pretty evident that I'm a happier athlete with a little more structure. During October and November when I put a training plan in place for The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Race, I was running really well and felt more fit than I had all year.

I'd love to take that lesson any apply it to 2012 by finding that "A" race for the year, but I'm prepping for some potential "life" instability and really can't make those race plans until life gets ironed out.

Here's 2011 in more pictures and fewer words:

In January, I "graduated" from six weeks of radiation therapy which started in late 2010.

In March, we launched the Pablove Triathlon Team and then Mike, Warren and I went to Wildflower and did our best to represent the team.

In April I ran the Pasadena Half Marathon and with Kate dragging me along, I broke the 1:30 barrier for the first time.

Later in April, I picked up my new Franco Balcom bike. It's a beautiful bike!

Then, in early June, I got invited up to Agoura Hills to participate in photo and video shoot for Franco. Riding around the Santa Monicas with those guys and the camera crew was a blast!


Our Backyard from Franco Bicycles on Vimeo.

A few weeks later, 60 miles into a Saturday ride and a half mile from home, I broke my clavicle and had surgery to repair it with a long metal plate.  I actually only "lost" a few weeks of training, but the interruption was more than enough to throw off my summer training plans.

In July, we took a fantastic trip to Maui.  We hiked and relaxed and went scuba diving and read and ate.  I biked to the top of Haleakala and suffered most of the way.

In August, I did my one-month Vegan Challenge, which has turned into a full-time plant-based diet, centered around my morning fruit and veggie Vitamix shake.

September was a two-week trip to New York and the Hurricane Irene/Tropical Storm Lee modified Survival of the Shawangunks (SOS) Triathlon.

After SOS, we stopped in East Hampton for a few days and the boys got to run run run on the beach.

Then, I really started training for some fall running races and racked my bike for a few months.

In November, I grew a mustache (or tried to at least) for Movember.

And we spent a great weekend in Avalon, Catalina Island. The Eco Marathon was great fun (and I raced really well), but spending the weekend with that group of friends kicked ass.

On December 3, I ran the The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Race.

It was a pretty great year.  Thanks for following along!  Here's to a fantastic 2012!  (Whatever it might bring...)

Since I diligently keep track of this stuff, here are my 2011 totals (all in all, a pretty balanced year):

Swim: 163,482 meters (101.5 miles)
Cycling (outdoors): 2,263.5 miles
Cycling (indoors): 47:03 (hours)
Run: 1,286.3 miles
Strength Training: 68 sessions
Approximate annual total training/racing time: 532 hours

Monthly Summary - December 2011

Here's December:

Swim: 8,600 meters
Cycling (outdoors): 198.3 miles
Cycling (indoors): 2:55 (hours)
Run: 140.8 miles
Strength Training/Yoga: 5 sessions

Approximate monthly total training/racing time: 47.25 hours

Weight: low 160s?

December started with a BANG!

On December 3, I ran my last race of 2011, The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile. I went into loads and loads of detail about the day in my race report. The race didn't work out the way I'd hoped, but I did finish and I did beat my time from 2009. Also, I ran most of it with Lukas, with whom I've been training a ton this fall. And we got this sweet picture:

(photo by Brett Rivers)

My goal going into December was to do the race and then take the rest of December off from running.  That hasn't really happened.  I did decrease my run volume a ton, but I've maintained about three runs per week for about 25 miles per week.  No offense to my fantastic training partners, but my favorite run might have been my solo Temescal ascent when I raced the sunrise to the peak (and won, just barely).  And honestly, it was extra nice that I met up with the Coyotes for the descent.  I did a couple extra swim workouts this month (mostly the "Aqua-X" workouts with Evan), but my actual swim volume was still really low.

The biggest change was that I did get back on the bike this month for my first rides outside since mid-September.  We've been enjoying some beautiful weather, so riding has been really fun.  My first ride back was the 5th Annual Fashion Show Holiday Charity Ride, benefiting Ralph's Riders. A group of 60 or 70 got together for the ride:

(photo by Brooklin Rosenstock)

We rode from Santa Monica through West LA, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood:

We finished at Bike Improve for some post-ride goodies and grabbed a (mostly) Team Pablove photo (with our host and Bike Improve owner, Nir, in the middle next to cycling Santa):

I also got out for a nice ride with Warren, Rom and Semira on Christmas Eve morning.  We rode the PCH out to Trancas and on our way back detoured through Point Dume and got this photo overlooking the bright blue Pacific:

Except for a hill workout on Mandeville last Monday and a little speedy paceline work this morning, the riding has been mostly flat and steady, easy pace.  My cycling fitness took a pretty big hit from the months off so I need to find my legs and heart before trying anything intense.  And it's December, so there's no reason to push it!

December was a busy month.  Lots going on in work and in life.  As nice as it was to have a month without the stress of training for a specific race, it was also great to get out and enjoy the fresh air and clear my mind.

As a reminder, earlier this month I reviewed KT Tape Pro, and had a discount offer to pass along. If you're interested in getting a roll, go to the KT Tape Pro store, choose your color and use this code - KTPRO11 - for 20% off.  Hurry up and get on it, the promo code expires on January 31, 2012.

2011 Annual Summary to come soon!

Happy New Year!

KT Tape Pro - Product Review (and discount offer)

I'll preface this post by saying that I am a believer in kinesio tape.  I'm not sure how it works (click here and scroll down about half-way if you want information about that) but I am convinced that it does. I've had success using kinesio tape for relief from pain and swelling due to various soft tissue issues, primarily in my IT bands, knees and achilles.  I regularly used kinesio tape on those areas whenever I get that twinge that means some soft tissue is getting a little pissy.  I've also put it on pro-actively before most of my bigger races, just in case.

I have a little history with the brand KT Tape and I've been using their tape for the last couple of years (you can read about that in several blog posts from 2010).  I got an email from them a few weeks ago with an offer to send me a roll of a new version of their tape, called "KT Tape Pro".  They describe KT Tape Pro as the world's first 100% synthetic version of kinesio tape (instead of cotton tape with acrylic adhesive) and say that it is a "high performance tape designed specifically to stick better, provide better support for a longer period of time and it stays on much better in water."  In addition to my thoughts about the new KT Tape Pro, there's a 20% off discount code for your purchase of the tape below.

My roll of KT Tape Pro came at a great time - right as I was ramping up my weekly running mileage in training for the Catalina Eco Marathon and The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 mile.  I've been using it for about six weeks now and I can happily say that it does what they claim.  It gives me relief from those bothersome little twinges just like the original version of KT Tape, but the KT Tape Pro goes on and stays on!  For example, I put a strip on my IT band the morning of the Catalina Eco Marathon. I never thought about it during the race and it stayed on perfectly for over a week after the race, including multiple more runs, a swim and at least one shower each day.^[*]  It started to come a little loose around the edges the following weekend but it stayed on well for a couple more days of big running and I didn't actually tear it off until Monday evening. I'm sure it could have lasted a few more days if I'd wanted.  Each other time I've applied the KT Tape Pro - and I've also tried in on my achilles, my lateral knee and the top of my foot - I've had similar results.  If you look closely, you can see it on my left IT band in this photo of me crossing the finish at The North Face 50 a couple weekends ago.

The other really impressive thing about KT Tape Pro is how well it actually does stay on in the water.  The original tape usually comes off the first time I swim.  KT Tape Pro doesn't seem to be affected by the water and remained on during a swim and was still sticking just as well for a few days after.  This would be a huge advantage for triathletes.  (Disclaimer: I've only swam with it on my IT band and not with it on my knee or foot so I'm not sure if it would stay on as well in the water when it's applied around a joint.)

The last point I'll make about KT Tape Pro is that it looks pretty cool - there are eight color choices and they all have reflective silvery stripes.

The nice people at KT Tape have given me a promo code to pass along to all of you.  If you're interested in getting a roll, go to the KT Tape Pro store, choose your color and use this code - KTPRO11 - for 20% off.  Hurry up and get on it, the promo code expires on January 31, 2012.

One important thing that I've learned about applying KT Tape is that no matter how good the tape is, if you don't apply it right, it's not going to stick.  Here are my tips (adapted from their website):

1. Clean the skin to completely remove lotion, dirt, and oils. I always wipe it off with rubbing alcohol. When I didn't have rubbing alcohol in Catalina, I used a little hand sanitizer. Also clip hair down (1/8") if it's excessive.
2. For any application where you need to cut the tape, make sure you round the corners; the tap will stay on longer that way.
3. Stretch/extend the area where the tape will be applied (i.e. bend the knee for IT band application, flex the foot for achilles application, bend the elbow, etc.).
4. Do not stretch the last 1.5-2 inches of the tape on either end; tension on the ends will cause the end to come up and then the whole thing will fall off quickly.
5. Before un-stretching the skin, give the application a good friction rub with the waxy side of the backing paper to generate some heat and activate the adhesive.
6. Apply the tape at least 30 minutes before exercising (they say an hour before is optimal).
7. The first skin the tape touches should be its ultimate location. Skin cells come off with the tape, making the 2nd application less effective.

There are tons of great instructional videos at KTTape.com. I usually watch the video a couple times just to make sure I'm doing it right.

If you have any questions about the tape, let me know!

^[*]In general, I've found that the original KT Tape will stay on my thighs and hips for at least three or four days, including training and showers.  It almost always came off right away anytime I went swimming.  It doesn't stay as long on my achilles or ankles, but I guess that's to be expected given the constant movement of the joints in those areas, pulling and pushing the tape around.  That's a fine amount of time, but longer is definitely better, if it means saving money on new pieces of tape and time spent applying it.

The North Face Endurance Challenge - Race Report

(photo by Brett Rivers)

It normally doesn't take me this long to write up a race report. But this hasn't been a "normal" week. In between finishing The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 mile race last Saturday afternoon and getting home last night, I slept in six different beds in five different cities in three different states. And I was busy the entire time.  So, regardless of any desire to write this report, I would have struggled to find the time. And frankly, some mixed emotions about the race left me unsure about what I'd write. But once I got home last night I realized I had to had to get this done...
______________________________________________________________

When the plan is to run 50 miles, sometimes none of that matters.

I finished my pre-race-thoughts blog post with that sentence after discussing why I felt good going into the race.  And last Saturday during the race, none of it mattered.

In the weeks leading up to the race I decided that my "A" goal was sub-9:00. My "B" goal was to beat my 9:33 from the 2009 race and my "C" goal, well, I guess it would have been sub-10 or sub-10:30, but I hoped it didn't get there. I finished the race in 9:17:39, placing 95th overall. So I hit my "B" goal and I know I have a lot to be proud of. My issue with the race is that I didn't run the race that I wanted to or am capable of and it hurt a lot more than I think it should have. And that burns. Without further rambling, here's the story:

Lukas, Tyler, Jason, Erin and I flew up to San Francisco Friday morning. We drove straight into the city to pick up our race packets at the North Face store. Packet pick-up was smooth, efficient and easy-peasy. Standing in line right behind us was Anna Frost who won the 50 miler last year. Lukas and I talked to her for a few minutes. She was super cool and friendly. We talked about her preparation for the race and she seemed calm and psyched to race.  (Her prep definitely worked out for her again this year - she crushed the race, winning the women's race again with a time of 6:56:07, which was good enough for 12th overall!)  One thing I love about ultras – there's very little pretension among the elites and they are grouped in right with the rest of us. Almost all the elites that I have met have been approachable and psyched to chat. (As a side note, I met Krissy Moehl this weekend and got to talk to her for a little bit and she was just as cool. Of course I was psyched to hear her talk about her race at North Face and getting selected to run Hardrock again in 2012, but she was asking me about my race at North Face and my plans for 2012 too.  Ultramarathoners are mostly normal people with normal lives and jobs.  They seem to really appreciate where they are and how they stay there.)

Anyway, after getting checked-in, we had a massive lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, stopped by Aaron’s office to say hi and then rolled out to Mill Valley to settle in for the evening.

Since the race started at 5am and we wanted to be there right around 4am, it was lights out before 10 with the hopes of getting at least some sleep.

Lukas and I were up at 2:45, out the door at 3:45 and at the race site a little after 4. After training together a lot during the last four or six weeks, Lukas and I were planning to start together and run as much of the race together as possible. We both knew that at some point one of us would pull ahead (or fall back) but until then, having company would be huge. We saw Dominic and Jack and some other Coyotes at the start line and then before we knew it, we were off. Lukas and I watched the front packs of headlamps twisting around that trails headlamps heading out towards Tennessee Valley.

It was a beautiful morning.  Clear skies and a little cold at first, but it warmed up enough pretty quick.  The first 14 or 15 miles of the race went great. With a very deep pool of top talent at the race, the front runners went out FAST. Lukas and I were running at what felt like a comfortable pace, but in retrospect may have been too fast for me, given my preparation and training. We hiked some steep hills, but were running everything else nice and smooth.  At about mile 16 or 17, during the last parts of the climb to Cardiac, I started to feel "it". I made it to Cardiac (mile 18) in 2:50, right behind Lukas and Yanko (a guy who joined us around mile 10), but I was working hard to keep up with them. And it was far too early to be working hard. 

(Cardiac aid station/drop bags.  Photo by Pedro Martinez)

During the next stretch towards the McKennan Gulch out-and-back, I started suffering a bit. My legs were getting heavier and heavier.  I kept generally with Lukas until about mile 20, then I just fell apart. It was around that point that my mind started getting to me. I was convincing myself that I'd done everything wrong – too little training, not enough calories, poor recovery since Catalina - and regardless of whether any of that was true, the negative took hold. During the last 2 miles before the turn-around, with Lukas out of sight, I'd convinced myself that it was time for my first DNF. The only thing that kept my mind positive was that I got to see most of the top men and all the top women fly by me headed back from the turn-around. Those runners were moving! It was especially fun to see Dominic and Jorge on their way back, running in the top 20-30.

By the time I rolled into the aid station at the turnaround (mile 22.8), I realized hadn't seen Lukas on his way back. Instead, I found him at the aid station. He was waiting for me. He said he was struggling, knew I was hurting and wanted us to fight through it together. I tried to convince him to go on ahead, but he wouldn’t listen and we stayed (mostly) together for the next 20 miles. I owe it to Lukas that I finished the race at all. I'm not sure I was mentally strong enough to do that second half on my own.

My diagnosis at the time was calorie deficit. I can't remember how many calories I took in during the first three hours, but I bet it was less than 300. And that is just plain dumb. I probably should have had twice that many. So, beginning at the McKennan Gulch aid station, I stuffed my face every chance I got - mostly with potatoes dipped in salt and GU chomps - and loaded up on the chomps and gels for the time in between aid stations.

Those 27 miles were tough. Despite the fact that the longest hill is the first climb to Cardiac from miles 14-18, there are five killer climbs in the last 20 miles of the race. I hiked (or willed my body up) them all. We ran the downhills and the little bits of flat. And just kept moving. And despite eating more than I ever have at any race, I don't think I ever recovered from not getting enough calories early.  But I did make it so that I could survive to the finish.  The pity is that on such a beautiful course, I could barely focus on enjoying it!

At about mile 29, during the climb up the Dipsea Trail, we ran into fellow Coyote, Pedro, who had some encouraging lies for us and took a couple photos. And we trudged along. Me just trying trying to keep up with Lukas.

(photo by Pedro Martinez)

With six or seven miles to go, Lukas took off and I couldn't keep pace.

The worst part of the race was the last 2 miles. I literally lost the will to run. With two miles to go, I let myself walk and get passed by a few more people. That sucked. The official photos (my bib number was 414) show me running it in to the finish, but that's only because I ran the last few hundred meters!

(photo by Aaron Spector)

(photo by Aaron Spector)

(photo by Meganne Kanatani)

I can't remember ever being so happy to just be done with a race and can't remember ever feeling so shitty. But I did beat my time from 2009! I crossed to the cheers of Jimmy, Kate, Gareth, Lukas (he finished in 9:09) and Aaron and staggered around for a minute (you can sorta see the salt on my face and you can definitely see the sweet Pablove temporary tattoo!):

(photo by Aaron Spector)

then I chugged a couple bottles of coconut water:

(photo by Aaron Spector)

and collapsed:

(photo by Aaron Spector)

I have had the week to think about what went "wrong".  Here's my list:

• As I mentioned above, I didn't eat enough early. I usually don't take in very many calories at the beginning of runs or races, but that doesn't work for 50 miles. I was in a pretty deep calorie deficit three hours in and by the time I tried to fix it, it was sorta too late. From then on I ate a ton and that saved my race but the damage had already been done.  This was a stupid rookie mistake that I shouldn't be making anymore.  
• I didn't put in enough miles in training. I was well prepared for a marathon or maybe a 50k, but not 50 miles. I needed probably 15-20% more miles each week - the 16-20 Saturdays plus 12 mile Sundays, should have been more like 20-24 mile Saturdays and 14-16 mile Sundays.
• I don't think I was recovered enough from the Catalina Eco Marathon. In my mind Catalina was a training run, but I ran it more like a race. Trying to race those two races three weeks apart, on the training volume I'd done was too much.
• I think Lukas and I went out a bit too fast for the first 15 or so. It was a super fast field up front and the front 40-50 were flying away from the start so it didn't seem like we were pushing too hard, but we must have been.  Or at least I must have been!
• I was coated in salt pretty early and remained that way throughout the race.  I definitely didn't take in enough during those same first three hours, but from then on, nearly every time I ate I made sure to get electrolytes also. I don't know if that means I was taking too much or not enough salt, but I imagine it means something not so good!
• Mental weakness.  I needed to push through some of the hurt, especially towards the end.  Getting passed so many times in the last 5 miles is utter bullshit.

It was a combination of them all, but the calories and training volume were probably my worst mistakes. Live and learn, right?!

Regardless of my mistakes, North Face is a great race. It's organized and run as smooth as butter. The course is beautiful (assuming you can enjoy it).  And it's sick being out there with such an incredible field of lots of the world's best ultrarunners.  The course had been changed a lot since the route I ran in 2009 - same idea and nearly all of the same trails, just hitting them in a different direction or order.  This one felt harder than 2009, but that could be because I was feeling worse!  Either way, it's a very challenging course, but who wants it to be easy?

North Face 2011 is in the books and so is my 2011 season. It was an up-and-down year of training and racing, but I'll have more to say about that in my annual review in a few weeks!

As always, thanks for all the love and support while I continue these crazy adventures.

Official results:
Time = 9:17:39
Pace = 11:10/mile
45/132 M30-39
82/280 Men
95/317 Finishers

North Face Endurance Challenge - Pre-Race

Bright and early tomorrow morning, I'm gonna show up at Fort Barry in the Marin Headlands ready to run the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 mile race.

The race starts at 5AM (I did say "early"!) and I'll hopefully be done sometime early/mid-afternoon.  There is some sort of live tracking, but none of the emails have been clear about how it works.  You can go here and sign up on facebook.  But it's not clear to me whether the point of it is that my results get posted on my facebook page or if you can choose to have my results sent to you.  Either way, I signed up - so if you're curious on Saturday, you should be able to check facebook profile page/wall...

I feel like my training has gone well, I tapered smart, am injury-free and generally physically and mentally ready for the race. When I ran this race two years ago, I finished in 9:33:47. I've done a lot of ultra training and racing since then and I feel like I know how to run much better. I'm headed up with training partners Lukas and Tyler and there will be a lot of SoCal Coyotes running in the 50 mile, 50k and marathon races and a large group spectating and supporting. It'll be great and encouraging to see a bunch of familiar faces out there. All of that all should point to a "good day" out there. But, when the plan is to run 50 miles, sometimes none of that matters.

Wish me luck!