Nathan's Olympic Report

Nathan’s Olympic was going to be only my 2^nd Olympic distance ever, but, for me, it was supposed to be a shot at redemption from that horrible Rio Salado sprint back in May.  I was going to be better nourished, better prepared, and probably the best running shape of my life.  Here’s how it all went down:

The day before, Carlos called me to go over some race tactics, give me some nutrition ideas, and to offer up some encouragement.

Race tactics were pretty simply really.  Stand up a few times during the last few u-turns and/or turns of the bike to stretch out the legs for the run.  At this point, the bike is over and he’s seen too many guys hammer it into T1 to beat an age grouper in front of them.  He said it wasn’t worth it.  As for the run, he said that since I was in really good running shape, it would be hard to blow myself up, but if I did, it wouldn’t be a big deal as this is only a “B” race for me.  The first mile should be where I find my running legs.  After that, I should be teetering on going into the red zone and then hang on for the second lap.

As for nutrition, he indicated that I should eat a normal breakfast at least THREE HOURS prior to when my event was to go off.  Since my wave started at 6:58AM, I needed to get up around 3:30AM and start eating around 4:00.

Breakfast consisted of the following:

·         1/4C egg whites

·         1 piece of whole wheat toast

·         2T peanut butter

·         2 or 3C of coffee

·         Undetermined amount of water

·         1 Kre-Alkalyn capsule

It should be noted that I made 1/2C egg whites and 2 pieces of toast, but just couldn't finish it all.

On the way to the event, I also consumed:

·         16oz of water with my Beta-Alanine in it

·         2 small size CLIF Builder bars

Nutrition for the swim was 1 gel 20min before the start.  On the bike, we both agreed that I would need about 400 calories.  Initially, he wanted me to put it all in my water (in the form of EFS), but I told him that would be too sweet for me and that I can only handle about 200 calories (2 scoops) in one 28oz bottle of water.  I told him that I experienced good things with the EFS Powershot a few rides back and thought it would work well in the race.  If you recall, the flask holds 400 calories by itself, so I would have a total of 600 on board with the EFS.  The only problem was with the flask itself.  It doesn’t fit so well into the small pockets of a tri top, so I had to break out the Bento Box that sits on my top tube.  Actually, it worked out real nice since I didn’t have to mess around with opening gel packets or worrying about getting them out/putting them back in my jersey.  I also wanted to carry some plain water as well since washing down a berry powershot with fruit punch EFS doesn’t work so well for me.  With 20min to go in the ride, I wasn’t to take anything else in.  Once on the run, Carlos wanted me taking both water and sports drink at every aid station.  While I can run, and take gels with no problem, he told me not to.

After getting into the non-wetsuit legal water, I found my old buddy, Eric Svans right up front, on the outside.  While we were treading water, I tried to lighten the mood by telling him that I could stand on the bottom (knowing he would give it a try himself).  I wonder how quickly after slipping completely under water he realized that I was messing with him.  When he came up, we were both laughing….”I should have known”, he said.  The next thing you know, we were horizontal and racing.

I know Eric is fast (57min IMAZ 2011 fast), so I wanted to stay with him as long as possible.  I was able to keep up right until we ran into the 45-66 men’s wave that went off 4 minutes ahead of us.  It was at this point that I ran over several bodies and had to navigate between many slower swimmers.  I ultimately found a good, clean line, and found my way around the turnaround buoys.  The swim home was mostly clear water as I didn’t have anybody around me until the last couple of hundred meters.  Once again, I inadvertently climbed over several people from the waves before us.  I round the last buoy and head for those familiar stairs.  A volunteer pulls me out of the water, I cross the timing mat, and hit the lap button on my Garmin to start the timer on T1.  24.43?!?  My prediction to Carlos was 21 – 22!  A whole TWO minutes slower?  That works out to about a 1:30 min/100yd average…..something I do at Bartlett every Friday for 2+ miles!  Oh well, guess I gotta make up for it on the bike, right?!?!

Who says a bad swim means you have to be in a bad mood getting out of the water?

During the Rio Salado sprint, I RAN to get my bike in T1 and I RAN my bike to exit T1.  I then RAN to rack my bike and RAN out of T2.  This time around, I wasn’t going to spend precious energy sprinting to, and from, the racks.  I would slowly jog, or walk, to help lower my HR and get focused.  As a result, I had some slower transition times. Garmin had my T1 at 2:43 & T2 at 2:10.

We weren’t out on the bike course for more than a mile when Carlos came up beside me (he started in the wave 4 minutes before me) and yelled some words of encouragement.  At that point, it was my goal to keep him in eyesight.  If I could keep pace with him, I knew that I’d have a good ride.  I was able to stick to the plan pretty well as my Garmin showed a time of 1:03:56 (23.2 mph) while Carlos finished in an official time of 1:02:38 (23.8 mph).

As I was entering T2, I saw Kristi and the kids on my right.  I ran by them and slapped high fives.

Once at my rack, right next to the event barrier, I saw them run up shouting, “Go Daddy, Go!”  It was awesome.  After I got my shoes, socks, and race number on, I realized that I didn’t have a hat.  I always run with a hat.  DAMN!  Wait, what was that on my son’s head?!?  It was my IMAZ2010 hat!!!!  I yelled to Kristi to toss it to me before telling her that I only had 6.2 more miles of hell ahead of me.  Visions of cramping right out of T2 immediately came back from Rio Salado, so I kept my pace in check.  Carlos reminding me to find my running legs for the first mile also kept my pace in check.  During Rio, I jammed out of T2 at about a 7:30 pace.  This time, however, it was closer 8 or 8:15.  I quickly settled into a comfortable pace, but didn’t look to see what it was.  All I knew was that I was feeling good and that I was running a bit faster than usual.  This was good.  As usual, I was passed quite often on the run, but this time, not as many passed.  Progress.  I stuck to the plan of water and sports drink at every aid station.  Since it’s tough for me to get anything in while running, I had to slow down a bit so as not to spill it everywhere.  As the run went on, the day got hotter.  On lap two, every cup of water found itself being poured over my head.  Now that I think about it, I may have poured a sports drink over my head too!  As I made the turn onto the Mill Avenue bridge (the last part of the course) a guy passed me with a “39” on his left calf and an “O” on his right.  He was in my division and he was cruising.  It was a long shot, but I kinda wanted to reel him back in, so I picked up the pace.  The HR rose, the heat seemed to increase, and the sweat was pouring into my eyes.  It didn’t seem like I was gaining on him at all.  A bit more effort and I could tell that I WAS gaining.  Did I have enough real estate left or was the finish line too close?  Strategically, I told myself that if I caught him, I didn’t want him to know I was there until it was too late.  I would make the pass in the finish chute.  As we approach said chute, there are two paths.  Go to the right to continue running.  Go to the left to finish.  Just as we reach this fork in the road, I make my move.  I pounce like an African lion on an unsuspecting zebra.  He was mine!  I thought to myself, “How ya like me now dude?!?”  I really felt like a big shot until I realized that he went right at the fork.  He still had 3.1 more miles to run.  Oh well, my second ever Olympic ended seemingly just as fast as it started.  I grabbed my participation medal, whatever sports drink they gave me, and a cold water.  I eyed the family waiting for me on the other side of a barrier and went over.  I handed Kristi my tri top and the kids were allowed through.  After playing in the cooling misters for a bit, it was time to make small talk with other teammates about the race, grab my bike, and head home.  A quick look at the Garmin showed that I PRd the 10K with a time of 52:48.  For those of you keeping score at home, that’s good enough for an 8:28 pace.

All times above are as of my Garmin, so here are the OFFICIAL results:

·         SWIM = 25:02 (1:31/100yd) – 6/72 (AG)

·         T1 = 2:06

·         BIKE = 1:04:07 (23.3 mph) – 6/72 (AG)

·         T2 = 2:14

·         RUN = 52:48 (8:29 pace) 35/72 (AG)

·         OVERALL = 2:26:17 (9/72 AG & 69/560 OA)

Finally, here are some e-mail and text exchanges between me and Carlos:

CARLOS : 

Poor sighting could have been the reason for not getting the swim you expected.

One thing to take away from this.  We have not been prepping you for an Olympic race, this was merely a speed workout and that is how I view it for you so there is really nothing to be disappointed about.

Also, it was HOT, and that impacted the run.  I still believe based on your workout data that you could have run 8 min miles.  What typically happens when you don't trust you run fitness based on past race experiences is that athletes hold back for fear of blowing up and based on our conversation it sounded like you held back a bit.

Don't worry about it, the weather is cooling and you will be running more.

ME:  FYI, your response to my TP (Training Peaks) race recap was spot on.

CARLOS:  Trust your fitness.

ME:  Gonna take some more time to trust my run….I’ve been blowing myself up for two years now.  I got comfy @ 8:29 (a PR pace) and thought it was awesome.

T-Minus 60 Days & Day 1

IMAZ is now officially 60 days away!  With that being said, I started my 2 month regimen of Optygen HP today.  What is Optygen HP?  Here you go, straight from their website:

"Introducing the new and improved OptygenHP formula, now available in its most potent form yet. It contains Rhodiola that’s twice as strong as the original formula. OptygenHP also contains Beta-Alanine because clinical research has shown it increases exercise capacity and muscular strength.

The two main adaptogens in OptygenHP (Rhodiola and Cordyceps CS-4) were first used by Tibetan Sherpas to help them climb Mt. Everest. OptygenHP utilizes these two unique adaptogens because clinical research on elite endurance athletes has shown them to improve performance, increase the body’s ability to adapt to high levels of physical stress, increase aerobic threshold and reduce lactic acid."

It contains 1000mg of Beta-Alanine, but since I've already been taking 4000mg of the stuff for about 9 weeks now (along with the Kre-Alkalyn), the new members to the party are Rhodiola and Cordyceps CS-4.  The way I look at it, if it helped Tibetan Sherpas scurry up Everest, it's sure as hell gotta get me through an Ironman, right?!?!

According to WebMD:

Rhodiola is a plant. The root is used as medicine.

Rhodiola is used for many conditions, but so far, there isn’t enough scientific evidence to determine whether or not it is effective for any of them.

Rhodiola is used for increasing energy, stamina, strength and mental capacity; and as a so-called “adaptogen” to help the body adapt to and resist physical, chemical, and environmental stress. It is also used for improving athletic performance, shortening recovery time after long workouts

And what about Cordyceps?  Well, that ingredient is a little more....odd.  Again, from WebMD:

Cordyceps is a fungus that lives on certain caterpillars in the high mountain regions of China. Supplement makers are able to get enough of the product to sell because cordyceps will reproduce in the laboratory.

It is used for strengthening the immune system, improving athletic performance, reducing the effects of aging, and promoting longer life.

Some people use cordyceps as a stimulant, a tonic, and an “adaptogen,” which is used to increase energy, enhance stamina, and reduce fatigue.

Really?  A fungus that lives on caterpillars?  My first question is, who was the first person to think of using a fungus, found on a caterpillar, FOR ANYTHING?!?!  My second question is, is this the perfect supplement?  I mean, look at all of those benefits!  Promoting longer life?!?  Sweet, I'm in....even if it is some kind of fungus!  According to their website, and a number of other sources on the net, it takes about 6 days before obtaining any benefit from the product and should be used for 1-2 months prior to an event.  I'll report back in six days to let you know if I see any real results.

Stock pick of the bottle and capsules:

Initial Ride Report After Fitting

Since my fitting, I’ve put in these two, shorter, rides:

·         Total time = 1:10 – 1:15

·         W/U = 15 minutes (Spin-ups 3x30 seconds each at RPM: 90, 100, & 110)

·         M/S = 4x5 minutes at 60-70 RPM with 3-5 minutes of recovery

·         Focus on engaging the full leg and turnover

·         Total time = 1:00

·         W/U = 20 minutes (Spin-ups 30 seconds each at RPM: 80, 90,100, 110, & 120)

·         M/S = When good and warm, pick a good stretch of road and do 8x30 seconds ALL OUT to MAX.  30 seconds recovery.  Find a place that you can hammer it, but able to maintain that effort for all 8

·         C/D = Spin EZ @ 90 RPM

Since neither ride had me in the saddle that long, I can’t comment on any long term comfort issues, but I can tell you that I definitely felt more comfortable and most definitely had more power to the pedals than before.  The overall feel of the ride is smoother, more balanced, and more powerful.  I can’t wait to get it out on a longer ride to see how it feels after several hours!

I’ve done that first workout a few times now and have done it on the same course each time.  It’s the main road that runs through our subdivision and has a slight incline.  On August 2^nd, I did a 5x5 (instead of 4x5) and came up with these times for my tempo segments (It just so happens that I have to turn around right as the segments were up):  4:59.9, 4:57.5, 4:59.2, 4:50.9, and 5:25.3 (what happened there?!?!).  This time around, at the same effort, I was reaching the top/end of the street in 4:39.5, 4:44.3, 4:25.2 and 4:37.6.  Up to a 35 second decrease on a 1.47 mile stretch (I’m throwing out that 5:25.3)?  Are you kidding me?!?!  If you ask me if the fit was worth it, right now, my answer is a resounding YES!!!!

Bike Fitting

In August of 2010, I took advantage of an incredibly good offer from my local bike shop.  If you recall, from blog posts back then, I was able to upgrade my Argon E-114 from the black 2009 model to the white 2010 model.  When I did that, I figured that a new bike fit wasn’t necessary. 

At the time, the shop simply put some tape where the seat tube met the frame to try and keep the height the same and then put some more tape on the seat rails to keep it in the same spot on the seat tube.  Since I WAS fit on my original frame, the dimensions shouldn’t be that off when all the old parts were put on the new frame.  Over the course of 2 years, I’ve moved my seat when I felt that I wasn’t getting a good leg extension during the down stroke of my pedaling.  Each time I did this, my aero position became more and more aggressive.  What I mean by that is that my back end was getting higher while the front and was staying the same.  I also found myself moving my seat forward, until I couldn’t move it any more.

In the last few months, I’ve been thinking about getting a proper fit, but kept putting it off.  Part of it was the added additional expense ($350 for a 3D fitting all the way down to $189 for a 2D fit)  Part of it was just me telling myself that if it was good enough for the last 2 years, why change now?  Yet another part of it was the general fatigue I was getting in my lower back right around 60 miles into my rides.  Remember when I had my VO2 test done at Eric’s?  Ron said that I had a slight imbalance in my pedal stroke.  Also remember that FMS test I took at Frank’s?  Don said I had a slight imbalance on my right side originating at the hips.  All of this came into play when I finally I gave in and called a local fitter to see what he recommended.

To my surprise, he said that the cheaper 2D fit was more of what I needed and that the fit would end up the same as the more expensive 3D fit.  We didn’t really get into the differences between the two, but he simply said, “The 3D fit will tell us HOW MUCH your knee (for example) is moving while the 2D fit will tell us that your knee is moving”  I’ve gone to Chris, at Bicycle Ranch, before.  In fact, he sized me up back in 2008 before I even had a road bike!  The procedure was the same as I remember.  It’s about 2 hours long and starts with precise measurement of my current set up.  Once that was done, it was time for me to answer a ton of questions about my weekly fitness regime, any injuries, height, weight, shoe size, etc.  Once we got through those, it was “stretch Dan like a pretzel” time.  Chris asked me to lie down on a massage table and proceeded to bend my knees, lift up my legs, told me to not allow him to move my leg when applying pressure, and checked for muscle strength.  Once pretzel time was over, it was finally bike time.

Chris set up my bike on his trainer, attached some cords to it, and positioned a camera to video me from the side.  He told me to start pedaling, at a comfortable cadence, while he stared at the computer monitor that was analyzing my video in real time.  After a few minutes, he asked me to hop off and indicated that my seat needed to be even higher!  This was of concern to me since I thought it was too high already.  I mean, I thought that one of the reasons for my lower back discomfort was due to the aggressive set up that already existed.  He showed me on the computer that my legs were still not extending enough on the downs stroke.  He also said that the seat needed to be moved back!  What?!?  Even MORE aggressive?  Well, he’s the pro fitter, so what was I supposed to do?  He made the adjustments and had me get back on.  After some more computer calculations and analysis, he said that I looked much better and asked how it felt.  I told him that I couldn’t really feel a major change and this it only felt a bit different.  Once again, he asked me to get off, but this time it was to raise the front end a tad.  He added a spacer to Argon’s proprietary front end and had me hop on again.  Still no major difference, but I did feel a bit more comfortable.  Chris said that the video showed that I was now where I should be in terms of position, but he wanted to tackle one more thing.  He got on the platform, just behind me, and looked at my hip movement while I was pedaling.  He saw the same imbalance that Ron did and offered up a solution.  He asked for my right shoe so he could put a shim on the bottom.  The shim was to raise up my right side to that the imbalance would go away.  Within two pedal strokes, I could TOTALLY tell a difference.  Pressure was seemingly off my lower back, my pedal stroke became more fluid, and my hips weren’t off balance.  It was like the heavens opened up and a bright light shined down from above.  It was a wild feeling to say the least.  It felt GOOD!  I can’t wait to give the new position a try on my next ride on Wednesday!  I will be out of the blogosphere for the weekend, but will try to give a full report when I get back.

Finally, as for the new set up, he did say that my saddle could go up a tad and that my arm pads could be raised a bit too, but didn’t want to do too much all at once.  He told me to ride it for a while and if any lower, central, back fatigue came back, then the pads should be raised at that time.

My rig all set up to be fit (finally!):

Chris putting the shim on my right shoe:

The final computer analysis: