I've been busy with life, staying fit, racing. I tried something different this past winter and participated in my first road-specific bicycle racing. I won a Category 3 Criterium race and promptly decided that I prefer triathlons.
Ok, back to you. My last post regarding your path to fitness nirvana ended like this "Remember, an hour a day in Zone 2, timer starts once you're in the Zone." If you're still hammering away, good for you! The Zone 2 sessions should occur in one complete hour, as opposed to two half hour sessions.
It's purely individual when to move onto the next step. As you progress, "the next step" for you might be different than for somebody else. I'm going to try and move forward in such a way that it benefits you the most. Those who are on the margins, extreme OCD like me or those who are less motivated, will advance in different ways. I'm gonna guide you on the middle road.
Let's assume that you've been doing one session a day in Zone 2, seven days a week. And you've been doing this for several weeks or months. At this point you should be happy with what you see on the scale! If not, I can only imagine that you're not doing it EVERY DAY. So, you should be ready to move on. There are two ways I suggest to go. If you feel that you still have significant weight to lose, continue on to "Paragraph A" below. If you feel like you have some weight to lose but you'd also like to increase your the strength of your heart, lungs, and muscles, go straight to "Paragraph B" below.
Paragraph A
This will be easy: Simply do two Zone 2 sessions per day, every day. That means either back to back for two solid hours per day OR 2 separate sessions. Perhaps one in the morning and one in the afternoon, but two full sessions EVERY DAY, seven days a week. This is how to get results.
Paragraph B
This is a little more aggressive and should be followed only if you feel like you're fairly close to your weight goal, say within 20-25%. So if you wanted to lose 40 lbs initially, you should be within 8-10 lbs of that goal.
I still want you to be an hour in Zone 2 once a day, every day. But I also want you to go into Zone 3 for an hour once a day, every day. If you need a refresher on just what Zone 3 is, go back to an earlier post titled "More Baby Steps" which describes in detail exactly how to figure it out.
Zone 3 reached by running easily as an example -- you improve your functional capacity. The number and size of your blood vessels actually increase, you step up your lung capacity and respiratory rate, and your heart increases in size and strength so you can exercise longer before becoming fatigued. You're still metabolizing fats and carbohydrates at about a 50-50 rate which means both are burning at the same ratio.
Whether you are moving forward with Paragraph A or B, you should continue the regimen for several weeks (like 8-10 at least) or months. Remember, baby steps. Now go out there and have a fit day y'all!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Ironman Switzerland Race Report and Travel Tips
Ironman Switzerland Race Report
NOTES, LOGISTICS, and TIPS
(If you're primarily interested in the race review, please scroll down a few paragraphs where it's highlighted in red)
For me this whole thing started when we were planning a vacation to Switzerland nine months earlier. Next thing I know I'm registered for Ironman Switzerland. I've lived there, my wife and kids are Swiss, I was really looking forward to this beautiful venue. Zurich is an awesome city but to really appreciate what Switzerland has to offer, you have to get out to the Alps...or do an Ironman ;-)
We stayed at a hotel called Engimatt. It was just perfect, highly recommended.
Quick tip on packing for an Ironman abroad: PACK LIGHT! You'll have your bike too and you'll go home with more stuff than you came with. Utilize hotel laundry or do it in the sink and dry it on the window sill/balcony. Trust me on this, you'll thank me later. Pack what you think you'll need...then take out at least 1/3 more, but probably more like 1/2. Most important piece to bring: electric plug adapter, about $5.
I pack my bike and wheels in these awesome bags. There's no oversize charge because they meet the check-in specs. You do have to feel comfortable taking your bike COMPLETELY apart and reassembling it. It takes me about 45 minutes to tear it down and 30 or so to put it back together.
Note: At the time of this writing, July 2011, WiFi is not easy to find in Switzerland. If you do find it, it's seldom free.
From SFO it's an 11 hour direct flight on Swiss airlines. We landed in Zurich on a beautiful July afternoon. Landing at the Zurich airport on a clear day is just like landing in a post card. The airport isn't exactly in the city of Zurich but it's only about 10 minutes away. After baggage claim you can easily buy a train ticket from an English speaking agent. You'll want to buy a ticket to the Zurich Main train station. This was about $8. The trains to the Main Station leave every 20 minutes or so. The one German word you should know is "Gleis" (rhymes with "price") which means "Track" There are over 50 tracks in the Main Station (or Zurich HB) and they're labelled "Gleis 12" for example.
If you're not in a hurry or totally exhausted I recommend spending about 1/2 hour to explore the airport. It is exactly how all airports should be: efficient, clean, and friendly. The food choices range from sit down to take-away. Remember, the train leaving to the Main Station departs about every 20 minutes so if you miss one just hop on the next one.
On tipping at restaurants: Tips are included in Switzerland. When my change comes, if the service is decent, I simply round up to the nearest Swiss Franc (1 Swiss Franc is about $1.25 at the moment) and leave that bit of change. On the other hand, you will not offend anyone by simply taking all your change.
If you want a light, quick meal go to a deli-looking counter and ask for a Bratwurst and burli or a Shublig and burli for about $7.50. They hand you a tasty sausage that you eat like a hot dog without the bun. The burli is a round, fist sized piece of bread that's hard, crunchy on the outside and soft, tasty on the inside. If you wanna buy some groceries to tie you over for awhile there's a "Migros" in there which probably has the best prices for food and drink.
If you love chocolate, nobody does it better than the Swiss and while in the airport go to the Sprungli chocolate store! Buy some of those little bite-sized morsles (called Luxemburgerli), but only get what you can eat that day, maybe a kilo or two ;-) Swiss chocolate is very fresh with no additives/preservatives and won't last long before it melts.
After getting your train ticket and enjoying a meal, go down two escalators to the train platform which is clean and efficient. Be advised: Swiss trains are NEVER late, ever. Under very, very few instances would I recommend renting a car in Zurich. Besides narrow, confusing streets and signs, there's hardly any parking at all and none that's free, even at a $300/night hotel. The public transport is clean, reliable, and super easy to figure out. Plus you can get pretty much anywhere with it.
Once at the Zurich Main Station, depending on how long you stay, I would recommend buying a week train pass for "Zone 10" which covers all of Zurich trains, trams, buses, and beautiful boat rides on the lake!
The airport itself is not in Zone 10 is why we didn't simply buy the passes there.
We only stayed for 3 nights, so for us it made more sense to buy 24 hour day-passes for Zone 10 at about $9 each. Conveniently, we could buy these at the hotel front desk. You can also get Multi-Zone or even All Switzerland train passes. These can get quite expensive and a cost/convenience analysis would be in order vs car rental.
Cell phones: you'll have to do fairly extensive research here. Only AT&T at the moment works here. I simply called AT&T and told them what date range I'd be here and they put me on the Int'l plan for phone/text/data. Figuring out how to call a Swiss number was a slight chore.
Once at the Main Train station it's easy to get overwhelmed. Relax. You can call the hotel and ask them which tram to take and they'll give directions, something like "take the #13 tram to Waffen Strasse and we're across the street." While at the Zurich HB (Haupt Bahnhof, aka Main Train station) definitely get a Zurich Tourist map with public transport on it and study it. It took us one day of exploring and having fun to figure out the trains/trams/busses. Again, relax. You have 24 hour tickets. If you get lost, you can't stray too far. Zurich is geographically small. BTW, once you have the tickets you just get on board. No need to punch/stamp them or show them to anyone. It's the honor system. They do random checks.
RACE DAY stuff
If you've never done an Ironman event, the organization is incredible. It's not cheap for a reason. They really put you, the athlete, first.
You will of course arrive several days before the race to acclimate to the time change. For me it takes a solid 5-6 days. None of the so-called remedies have worked for me. If they work for you, great.
The weather in Switzerland several days before the race was awesome. It was sunny/partly cloudy and between 65-75 deg F. It often rained and stormed quite hard at night, only to clear to a warm, slightly humid morning. Swiss summers tend to be pleasantly warm but can easily bake or freeze in the same week! They were calling for warm temps and scattered showers for race day. That made me a little nervous.
We checked into the hotel Friday morning and promptly walked to the race venue to test the distance and get the route down. It turned out to be about a 20 minute walk. Not bad. The Ironman Village was being diligently built up Friday morning. Registration and packet pick-up was exciting as the reality of it all sank in. The Ironman Store was "conveniently" located at the end of registration. Oddly, they were selling Finisher stuff already. I didn't really like that the back of the jacket was screened and not embroiderd, nor did I wanna jinx my race so I didn't buy one. At the finish line they gave us a cool Finisher polo shirt and towel.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Bike check-in is Saturday before the race. It's orderly and very "Swiss-like." If you don't know what that means, let's just say the Swiss are perfectionists to the friggin hilt.
RACE DAY arrived and I hardly slept. It was a clear, pleasant morning. Athletes were silently making their way to the venue, many thinking about the long day that lay ahead.
The swim course takes place in Lake Zurich. It's two clockwise loops that are not the same distance. It's a mass land start that swims straight out about 800 meters to the first right turn buoy. Then it's about 900 meters parallel to shore to another right turn bouy. Roughly 800 meters back to shore where there's this little island we had to run across and head back out for the second loop. The second loop was a shorter, strange little shape that you have to see on the web site to understand. The water was 21 degrees Celsius or 70 F. We were told previous year's water temps have been as low as 15C or 59F.
As I just learned how to properly swim in December, 2008, I'm happy with my 1:29 swim time. T1 around 3.5 minutes.
The bike course is two loops. While Zurich isn't in the biggest part of the Alps, there are still some arduous climbs. After completing one of the notoriously most difficult races in Ironman, St George, I highly underestimated this ride course. The ride starts with some long, fast flats where I quickly noticed drafters. As with most triathlons, they were very clear that drafting was not allowed. But unlike most triathlons, the Swiss enforced it! I saw at least 10 penalties handed out including to one guy that was on my wheel. The flats are long and kind of lull you into thinking "This ain't so bad." and of course then it starts climbing seemingly forever. The course winds through the countryside and some super nice little towns where fans are cheering you on every step of the way. The community support is amazing. I heard that 150,000 spectators show up! After coming swiftly out of the mountains and back toward the lake, there's a steep climb around Mile 53/109 known as Heartbreak Hill. The name is worse than the climb but the fans gather by the 1000's here and the vibe is indescribable! Soon it's back out for another loop of bicycle bliss.
I was hoping for a 6 hour bike but made two mistakes here that I think cost me: 1) I should've rode one lap of the course earlier in the week, or AT LEAST driven it; and 2) I underestimated the ride. As I'm a fairly strong cyclist, I didn't kick up the bike training like I should have. Ended up with riding it in 6:23. T2 was about 5.5 minutes.
The run course is four loops of just over 10k each. It's all in Zurich and therefore really spectator friendly. The crowd is really cheering you on the whole way, it's kinda cool. It's all pretty much flat and after a challenging bike this was nice. You leave T2 and start the marathon along the lake. Since the loops are only about 10k, the organizers had to get creative winding us through the city. I think they did a really good job as they take us through several tree lined parks with trails and over the lake on a bridge to another tree lined section near the Old Town of Zurich. For me, I think the 4x10k format was good from the mental aspect of the race. I never really got too far away and it therefore seemed shorter ;-)
(If you're primarily interested in the race review, please scroll down a few paragraphs where it's highlighted in red)
For me this whole thing started when we were planning a vacation to Switzerland nine months earlier. Next thing I know I'm registered for Ironman Switzerland. I've lived there, my wife and kids are Swiss, I was really looking forward to this beautiful venue. Zurich is an awesome city but to really appreciate what Switzerland has to offer, you have to get out to the Alps...or do an Ironman ;-)
We stayed at a hotel called Engimatt. It was just perfect, highly recommended.
Quick tip on packing for an Ironman abroad: PACK LIGHT! You'll have your bike too and you'll go home with more stuff than you came with. Utilize hotel laundry or do it in the sink and dry it on the window sill/balcony. Trust me on this, you'll thank me later. Pack what you think you'll need...then take out at least 1/3 more, but probably more like 1/2. Most important piece to bring: electric plug adapter, about $5.
I pack my bike and wheels in these awesome bags. There's no oversize charge because they meet the check-in specs. You do have to feel comfortable taking your bike COMPLETELY apart and reassembling it. It takes me about 45 minutes to tear it down and 30 or so to put it back together.
Note: At the time of this writing, July 2011, WiFi is not easy to find in Switzerland. If you do find it, it's seldom free.
From SFO it's an 11 hour direct flight on Swiss airlines. We landed in Zurich on a beautiful July afternoon. Landing at the Zurich airport on a clear day is just like landing in a post card. The airport isn't exactly in the city of Zurich but it's only about 10 minutes away. After baggage claim you can easily buy a train ticket from an English speaking agent. You'll want to buy a ticket to the Zurich Main train station. This was about $8. The trains to the Main Station leave every 20 minutes or so. The one German word you should know is "Gleis" (rhymes with "price") which means "Track" There are over 50 tracks in the Main Station (or Zurich HB) and they're labelled "Gleis 12" for example.
If you're not in a hurry or totally exhausted I recommend spending about 1/2 hour to explore the airport. It is exactly how all airports should be: efficient, clean, and friendly. The food choices range from sit down to take-away. Remember, the train leaving to the Main Station departs about every 20 minutes so if you miss one just hop on the next one.
On tipping at restaurants: Tips are included in Switzerland. When my change comes, if the service is decent, I simply round up to the nearest Swiss Franc (1 Swiss Franc is about $1.25 at the moment) and leave that bit of change. On the other hand, you will not offend anyone by simply taking all your change.
If you want a light, quick meal go to a deli-looking counter and ask for a Bratwurst and burli or a Shublig and burli for about $7.50. They hand you a tasty sausage that you eat like a hot dog without the bun. The burli is a round, fist sized piece of bread that's hard, crunchy on the outside and soft, tasty on the inside. If you wanna buy some groceries to tie you over for awhile there's a "Migros" in there which probably has the best prices for food and drink.
If you love chocolate, nobody does it better than the Swiss and while in the airport go to the Sprungli chocolate store! Buy some of those little bite-sized morsles (called Luxemburgerli), but only get what you can eat that day, maybe a kilo or two ;-) Swiss chocolate is very fresh with no additives/preservatives and won't last long before it melts.
After getting your train ticket and enjoying a meal, go down two escalators to the train platform which is clean and efficient. Be advised: Swiss trains are NEVER late, ever. Under very, very few instances would I recommend renting a car in Zurich. Besides narrow, confusing streets and signs, there's hardly any parking at all and none that's free, even at a $300/night hotel. The public transport is clean, reliable, and super easy to figure out. Plus you can get pretty much anywhere with it.
Once at the Zurich Main Station, depending on how long you stay, I would recommend buying a week train pass for "Zone 10" which covers all of Zurich trains, trams, buses, and beautiful boat rides on the lake!
The airport itself is not in Zone 10 is why we didn't simply buy the passes there.
We only stayed for 3 nights, so for us it made more sense to buy 24 hour day-passes for Zone 10 at about $9 each. Conveniently, we could buy these at the hotel front desk. You can also get Multi-Zone or even All Switzerland train passes. These can get quite expensive and a cost/convenience analysis would be in order vs car rental.
Cell phones: you'll have to do fairly extensive research here. Only AT&T at the moment works here. I simply called AT&T and told them what date range I'd be here and they put me on the Int'l plan for phone/text/data. Figuring out how to call a Swiss number was a slight chore.
Once at the Main Train station it's easy to get overwhelmed. Relax. You can call the hotel and ask them which tram to take and they'll give directions, something like "take the #13 tram to Waffen Strasse and we're across the street." While at the Zurich HB (Haupt Bahnhof, aka Main Train station) definitely get a Zurich Tourist map with public transport on it and study it. It took us one day of exploring and having fun to figure out the trains/trams/busses. Again, relax. You have 24 hour tickets. If you get lost, you can't stray too far. Zurich is geographically small. BTW, once you have the tickets you just get on board. No need to punch/stamp them or show them to anyone. It's the honor system. They do random checks.
RACE DAY stuff
If you've never done an Ironman event, the organization is incredible. It's not cheap for a reason. They really put you, the athlete, first.
You will of course arrive several days before the race to acclimate to the time change. For me it takes a solid 5-6 days. None of the so-called remedies have worked for me. If they work for you, great.
The weather in Switzerland several days before the race was awesome. It was sunny/partly cloudy and between 65-75 deg F. It often rained and stormed quite hard at night, only to clear to a warm, slightly humid morning. Swiss summers tend to be pleasantly warm but can easily bake or freeze in the same week! They were calling for warm temps and scattered showers for race day. That made me a little nervous.
We checked into the hotel Friday morning and promptly walked to the race venue to test the distance and get the route down. It turned out to be about a 20 minute walk. Not bad. The Ironman Village was being diligently built up Friday morning. Registration and packet pick-up was exciting as the reality of it all sank in. The Ironman Store was "conveniently" located at the end of registration. Oddly, they were selling Finisher stuff already. I didn't really like that the back of the jacket was screened and not embroiderd, nor did I wanna jinx my race so I didn't buy one. At the finish line they gave us a cool Finisher polo shirt and towel.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Bike check-in is Saturday before the race. It's orderly and very "Swiss-like." If you don't know what that means, let's just say the Swiss are perfectionists to the friggin hilt.
RACE DAY arrived and I hardly slept. It was a clear, pleasant morning. Athletes were silently making their way to the venue, many thinking about the long day that lay ahead.
The swim course takes place in Lake Zurich. It's two clockwise loops that are not the same distance. It's a mass land start that swims straight out about 800 meters to the first right turn buoy. Then it's about 900 meters parallel to shore to another right turn bouy. Roughly 800 meters back to shore where there's this little island we had to run across and head back out for the second loop. The second loop was a shorter, strange little shape that you have to see on the web site to understand. The water was 21 degrees Celsius or 70 F. We were told previous year's water temps have been as low as 15C or 59F.
As I just learned how to properly swim in December, 2008, I'm happy with my 1:29 swim time. T1 around 3.5 minutes.
The bike course is two loops. While Zurich isn't in the biggest part of the Alps, there are still some arduous climbs. After completing one of the notoriously most difficult races in Ironman, St George, I highly underestimated this ride course. The ride starts with some long, fast flats where I quickly noticed drafters. As with most triathlons, they were very clear that drafting was not allowed. But unlike most triathlons, the Swiss enforced it! I saw at least 10 penalties handed out including to one guy that was on my wheel. The flats are long and kind of lull you into thinking "This ain't so bad." and of course then it starts climbing seemingly forever. The course winds through the countryside and some super nice little towns where fans are cheering you on every step of the way. The community support is amazing. I heard that 150,000 spectators show up! After coming swiftly out of the mountains and back toward the lake, there's a steep climb around Mile 53/109 known as Heartbreak Hill. The name is worse than the climb but the fans gather by the 1000's here and the vibe is indescribable! Soon it's back out for another loop of bicycle bliss.
I was hoping for a 6 hour bike but made two mistakes here that I think cost me: 1) I should've rode one lap of the course earlier in the week, or AT LEAST driven it; and 2) I underestimated the ride. As I'm a fairly strong cyclist, I didn't kick up the bike training like I should have. Ended up with riding it in 6:23. T2 was about 5.5 minutes.
The run course is four loops of just over 10k each. It's all in Zurich and therefore really spectator friendly. The crowd is really cheering you on the whole way, it's kinda cool. It's all pretty much flat and after a challenging bike this was nice. You leave T2 and start the marathon along the lake. Since the loops are only about 10k, the organizers had to get creative winding us through the city. I think they did a really good job as they take us through several tree lined parks with trails and over the lake on a bridge to another tree lined section near the Old Town of Zurich. For me, I think the 4x10k format was good from the mental aspect of the race. I never really got too far away and it therefore seemed shorter ;-)
I wrote this report in the 6 days following the race. I tried to write it while the course, the pain, and the glory are all still fresh. As I recall, there were 5 aid stations on every loop. They were all fairly evenly spaced except that last one going back toward the finish line: There's a station about 1 or 2 kilometers before the finish line. Then you go through the Village and back out another 1 or 2k before the next station. This doesn't sound like much...until the 3rd and 4th laps where it's an eternity. They had fruits, water, coke, and some fluid called ISO which I did not like at all. My marathon consisted of salt tablets, water, coke, and orange slices.
About 3/4 into each loop they slipped a colored band on my arm to signify which lap I was on. By my 3rd lap the pain and fatigue was getting quite large. This is where my mind starts playing little tricks on me and thoughts of quitting didn't seem all that bad. By the fourth lap every inch of my body cried out to stop running and my mind took over. By the end of the fourth lap I was giddy. The crowd was phenomenal. I ran the last 100 meters with both arms up, shouting I LOVE SWITZERLAND much to the crowd's delight. I was delirious at that point and was really trying to shout I'M GLAD IT'S OVER! and that I FINISHED!
I really hoped for a four hour marathon and still think I can do it. I ended up with a 4:45. I have two excuses for my lack of performance here, and they really are only excuses at the end of the day, aren't they? 1) The last 6 weeks before the race I battled a nagging upper respiratory infection; and 2) While I continued and kicked up my swim training, I only maintained my cycle training, and only ran marginally around 25 miles a week.
My total time was 12:45.
After the race my legs are just ground up meat. The word "pain" just doesn't seem adequate. On the other hand, the food provided for the athletes was just amazingly delicious. I mean, they could've served dirt covered bugs and we woulda thought it was the best stuff ever. But they had a really good spread and an even better dessert selection! There was also a barrista making delicious espressos, lattes, etc. After that it was off to the wonderful showers they had that just rained down a waterfall on you, no drought going on here! Finally, off to the massage tent.
If you go to Switzerland but don't plan on staying in Zurich the whole time:
-Quick recommendations for other places to visit in Switzerland. I lived off the beaten path in eastern Switzerland, you can do this small tour in one day: Early train to Wasserauen. From Zurich you'll have to change trains in Gossau to the AppenzellerBahn. Take a gondola ride up or a fairly strenuous 1.5 hour hike up the nearby alp, called Ebenalp. You can stop halfway and snack at a mountain farmhouse. They have Swiss beer, very fresh milk, cheese, and bread that are just amazing. Near the top of Ebenalp, DO NOT MISS the wonderful alpen restaurant Aescher. Sit outside and have a tasty lunch of rösti and dessert. After that, hike the 5 minutes up to the Ebenalp. Look/hike around. Take the gondola down and then get back onto the train to nearby Appenzell town for some shopping. After that, if you have time, drive or take the Post Auto bus to the nearby town of Stein and take in the quaint Swiss cheese factory where they make famous Appenzell cheese.
Other visually stunning places to visit include Cellerina/St. Moritz in the south east; great hiking in Grindelwald and the Jungfrau just outside of touristy Lucern in central Switzerland; breathtaking views in Brig/Matterhorn to the west/southwest.
-As I sit here in my hotel room in London I reflect with satisfaction on my time in Zurich. I hope I've inspired someone to try Ironmam Switzerland, or at least to just live vicariously through my adventure. In any case, stay fit y'all!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Silicon Valley International Triathlon (SVIT) Race review/report 2010
I don't know the full history of the various transformations of this event, but I'm thinking it's like 20 years old. If someone could reply with a comment on that information, I'd appreciate it. Held each June in the Almaden Valley of San Jose, this is a very big triathlon in Northern California and the biggest one in San Jose, attracting many hundreds of athletes. It's recently been known as the San Jose International Triathlon and the Silicon Valley Olympic Distance Triathlon (SVODT). The current organizers, USA Productions, have come under much criticism and scrutiny over their handling of this race in particular. Last year the 6.2 mile run was more like 7+ miles, not even close to the official Olympic distance. In this day and age of GPS it is amazing to get this wrong. But that was last year, and these things can't be easy to organize so I give USA Productions kudos just for having this event!
My triathlon club has a long history in this race and we've supported it long before I got here, all of two years ago. Although a relative triathlon newbie, I've been in nearly 20 events including Wildflower, Alcatraz, the Big Kahuna 1/2 Iron-distance, and for me the grand daddy of them all, the Ford Ironman in St. George, Utah.
Yesterday was a great day to have a race, June 13, 2010. This is one of two events that USA Productions has "in the neighborhood." The other one is at Uvas Reservoir in Morgan Hill and it's another super fun race. And they are getting better and better at organizing these events. There'll be glitches but hey, go out with a good attitude, have fun, and you can overlook some of the minor things that will always be present.
The swim course is in Lake Almaden. It's a deep water start so there's no pushing and shoving to get into the water. But make no mistake, it is a triathlon. And as such it's full contact swimming! The water temp was around 68 and I was comfortable in a shorty wetsuit. The water in San Jose is notoriously "toxic" but I've been swimming in nearby Calero, Uvas, and Lake Almaden since I was a kid and I've never gotten sick or anything. I've heard stories of athletes having issues though. Whatever. Here I am the next day and I feel fine. The swim is the swim: it's 1,500 meters of three left turns and a right. Next thing you know you're running up a small beach toward your bike.
The bike course is really fun. It's 40 kilometers (24.9 miles) of rollers and some climbs but mostly it's fairly flat and fast. You leave T1 and start riding flat roads mixed in with some rollers and a little head wind on the Southbound leg for about 12 miles. The wind tends to blow from the south in the mornings and the north in the afternoons around here. At the turn-around I immediately noticed the tailwind and my speed increased about 25-30% from 19 mph to about 26 mph. After a slight climb on Bailey Ave it's pretty much all down hill from there.
The run course was also super fun. It's 10k or 6.2 miles. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the run course but it starts out of T2 and goes out of the park and continues on a paved path which is flat and fast. The whole run course is pretty flat with really nice scenery. None of it is on city streets and there are no cars, how cool is that?! This year it was EXACTLY 6.2 miles, much to the joy of many an athlete. There were several aid stations (4?) with great volunteers along the way, providing water and gel. By the end of the run the temperatures had climbed into the 80's and it was really quite nice. At the finish line we were greeted with an ice cold bottle full of water and a medal. Honestly, the medal was kinda cheap looking compared to others but hey, the event was really fun and well attended. They should look at the medals given out at the Big Kahuna in Santa Cruz and Wildflower.
The post race festivities included live music, food and drinks. I found the venue really nice and USA Productions effort much more focused this year. I look forward to next year's race!
My triathlon club has a long history in this race and we've supported it long before I got here, all of two years ago. Although a relative triathlon newbie, I've been in nearly 20 events including Wildflower, Alcatraz, the Big Kahuna 1/2 Iron-distance, and for me the grand daddy of them all, the Ford Ironman in St. George, Utah.
Yesterday was a great day to have a race, June 13, 2010. This is one of two events that USA Productions has "in the neighborhood." The other one is at Uvas Reservoir in Morgan Hill and it's another super fun race. And they are getting better and better at organizing these events. There'll be glitches but hey, go out with a good attitude, have fun, and you can overlook some of the minor things that will always be present.
So I rode my bicycle the short 3 miles to the venue and arrived around 5:30am. The sun was just coming up and it was warm enough to be comfortable in shorts and a short sleeve shirt. It was around 60 degrees, which was a good thing because it was in the 90's the day before and people were already slathering up on the sun screen. There was little to no wind and it would be a beautiful day, if not just a wee bit on the warm side. I missed seeing the pros this year. I didn't quite understand last year's pro race in that it was a swim, run, time-trial thing. But it had a big purse and it was still cool to see those athletes perform up close. Their power in the bike and the run never ceases to amaze me. It's just super cool. Anyhow, they weren't here this year.
The swim course is in Lake Almaden. It's a deep water start so there's no pushing and shoving to get into the water. But make no mistake, it is a triathlon. And as such it's full contact swimming! The water temp was around 68 and I was comfortable in a shorty wetsuit. The water in San Jose is notoriously "toxic" but I've been swimming in nearby Calero, Uvas, and Lake Almaden since I was a kid and I've never gotten sick or anything. I've heard stories of athletes having issues though. Whatever. Here I am the next day and I feel fine. The swim is the swim: it's 1,500 meters of three left turns and a right. Next thing you know you're running up a small beach toward your bike.
The bike course is really fun. It's 40 kilometers (24.9 miles) of rollers and some climbs but mostly it's fairly flat and fast. You leave T1 and start riding flat roads mixed in with some rollers and a little head wind on the Southbound leg for about 12 miles. The wind tends to blow from the south in the mornings and the north in the afternoons around here. At the turn-around I immediately noticed the tailwind and my speed increased about 25-30% from 19 mph to about 26 mph. After a slight climb on Bailey Ave it's pretty much all down hill from there.
The run course was also super fun. It's 10k or 6.2 miles. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the run course but it starts out of T2 and goes out of the park and continues on a paved path which is flat and fast. The whole run course is pretty flat with really nice scenery. None of it is on city streets and there are no cars, how cool is that?! This year it was EXACTLY 6.2 miles, much to the joy of many an athlete. There were several aid stations (4?) with great volunteers along the way, providing water and gel. By the end of the run the temperatures had climbed into the 80's and it was really quite nice. At the finish line we were greeted with an ice cold bottle full of water and a medal. Honestly, the medal was kinda cheap looking compared to others but hey, the event was really fun and well attended. They should look at the medals given out at the Big Kahuna in Santa Cruz and Wildflower.
The post race festivities included live music, food and drinks. I found the venue really nice and USA Productions effort much more focused this year. I look forward to next year's race!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The road to Ironman St. George 2010: couch potato to Ironman and Race Review.
Hey gang, as I mentioned in my last post I took some time off of the Blog to increase my training regimen in preparation for my first Ironman triathlon. If you're primarily interested in the race review, please scroll down a few paragraphs where it's highlighted. It's been 3 months and I completed my dream of participating in and finishing the race. Crossing the finish line was one of the defining moments in my entire life. Later, I joked with a colleague that I wasn't sure if I was happier to finish the Ironman or when my kids were born. He aptly replied: "ANYONE can have kids, you-are-an-Ironman!" Wow, I hadn't thought about it that way. For those who don't know, the Ironman is a race that starts with a 2.4 mile swim in open water, we get out of the water and onto our bikes for 112 miles, then we run a 26.2 mile marathon. It is truly daunting and even after all the training and 3 weeks since the event, I cannot fathom the monumental task. It's just beyond reason. It's been called the hardest one-day race in the world. Below is my review of the race and the events that lead up to it. It will be long winded and likely boring to many. If it never gets read by anyone, I will still have gotten it off my chest.
I am not one of the fortunate few who are gifted with physical prowess or has that genetic gift for superior physical fitness. I train my ass off just to be average in a world of triathletes. I've come to grips with and am ok with that. Having said that, I'm also in better condition than 99.9% of the population. In a nutshell: May 5, 2008 was the first day I rode my bike to work, 20 miles round trip. After 3 months I was getting in pretty good shape and riding my bike to work soon wasn't enough for me. So I started running in the mornings before I rode my bike to work. One day I was golfing and two of our regular guys didn't show up, so the golf course added a pair to our group, one of whom was Brian. As we played I was talking to Brian about my recent weight loss and training. He said that he was a triathlete and that I should join the local triathlon club. It sounded intriguing. Another challenge. I could run and bike, but I couldn't swim. Brian said the club held a swim session every week and that beginners were welcome. I signed up online that night. In December 2008 I took a swim lesson with the club and promptly swam 75 yards before I thought I was gonna die! 3 months later I entered my first race: a local sprint distance triathlon in February of 2009. For the rest of 2009 I had raced in 7 events including two swims from Alcatraz to San Francisco, a Half Ironman triathlon, a marathon, and several other triathlons.
So in 2009 I had fully immersed myself in the triathlon world and had learned of this crazy race called the Ironman. Not knowing or fully understanding the scope of just what this Ironman race entailed, I tried to sign up for a few, only to learn that they sell out in days. It's not something you can just think about, you have to pull the trigger. So when this new race was announced for St. George, Utah I signed up immediately. This was late Spring/early Summer 2009. From that moment on I took the task seriously. I read books on it, I learned nutrition, I queried veterans, and I trained rain or shine...mostly rain, all winter long. I developed a training plan that turned out to be astounding. To summarize: I trained 6 days a week, taking Sundays off. The volume and intensity increased incrementally leading up to the race. The month before the race I was swimming 5 to 7 miles a week, running 40 miles a week, and biking 200 miles a week. Plus, I was doing yoga 2-3 hours a week. I regulated my nutrition: >100 grams a day of protein, <10 grams/day of saturated fat, a pound a day of fruits/vegetables, etc. In 2009 I swam over 250 miles, ridden my bike over 7,000 miles, run about 1,000 miles, did over 10,000 sit-ups, lifted countless lbs of weight, and learned the importance of stretching.
After that we headed east on Hwy 50. One of the best ways to experience Nevada is to travel Highway 50 -- the so-called "Loneliest Road in America." Highway 50 roughly parallels the Pony Express Trail. It was indeed lonely and also ruggedly beautiful. We then took Nevada hwy 93 south which was also very beautiful. And finally 219 south to Utah 18 south and into St. George. We arrived and checked into our room about 9pm Sunday night.
Monday morning was clear, calm winds, and dry. As I suspected, the climate was similar to San Jose's. It'll be about 70 degrees F. today. Nice. This was taper week of course and so Monday was about exploring the town and a light swim at the venue. As recently as 3 weeks prior, the water temperature was a very, very cold 54 degrees F. By race week it was a balmy and tolerable 60. Many were complaining about the cold water, but I swim in the Northern California Pacific. I know cold. After checking the weather forecast again, it seems we are in for some strong winds this week. They're still calling for rain on race day. So off we go to Sand Hollow Reservoir. The reservoir is about 20 miles outside of town in a rural but developing area. After a short 1 mile swim I found that 60 degrees is tolerable enough that I plan on trying my sleeveless wetsuit on Thursday morning.
I was out of the water by 9am. After a snack and shower, we head off to drive the bike course. So the bike course will begin at Sand Hollow Reservoir. We will get out of the water and ride the 20 or so miles of rolling hills back into St. George where we'll begin two 45 mile loops into the surrounding red rock hills. During the drive I discover there will be a lot of climbing. Some 30 miles of steady climbing per loop and 15 miles of descent back into town at the end of each loop. My GPS showed about 6,600 feet of elevation gain for the bike course.
The rest of the day was spent checking out the town and grocery shopping. If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting Utah, I highly recommend it. The red rock canyons and rugged beauty are simply astounding.
Early Tuesday morning it was clear with a slight warm breeze. Tourist day, no training. We went to Snow Canyon State Park about 15-20 minutes north of town. It was sunny and about 75 degrees outside. Simply stunning. I'm guessing that since the air is very dry, 75 in Utah feels like 78-80 in San Jose weather.
Woke up early Wednesday morning to a gentle wind, blowing about 10-15 mph. I planned to ride the bike course. I've found that the wind kicks up predictably in St. George, pretty much every day. But Wednesday they were calling for 60-80 mph winds and I wanted to be out off the bike before that came! I rode 85 miles and just during the last 5 or so the wind came, it was manageable at first. Fortunately I got off the bike before the real wind came. It blew HARD, HARD, HARD that day and all night long. I'm sure there were plenty of nervous athletes in town that day. Garbage cans were strewn about, the wind was like a tornado without the twister. I mean it was just ferocious.
The Ironman Expo opened on Wednesday. The whole idea that I was really gonna do this race was slowly sinking in. I got my first butterflies. I took the opportunity to do the Athlete Check-In and get my packet and number marking. They were doing something new and had "tattoo number markings" for our arms and legs. It was some kind of airless body paint that would last a week. It would save time from having to do it race morning. Since this was my first Ironman, I couldn't wait to get marked. I got tattooed on both arms. I walked around that day proudly showing off my Ironman status =)
During our time in St. George we met some wonderful people, both athletes and locals. The locals were very excited to be hosting this event and it showed in the smiles and hospitality we were shown. While in the Ironman store, we met two of the nicest people: Dave and Louise from Canada. St. George would be her 21st Ironman! And at 69 she was the oldest female athlete.
By Thursday morning it calmed down to a gentle breeze, and it appeared the system was blowing though. The weather gods were now saying that race day may be nice. 2,000 athletes crossing our fingers and hoping for a small miracle for nice weather. I met up with my triathlon club friends Paul and Audrey for one last swim before the race. After a nice 1 mile swim I decide that the water's gonna be fine for me to race in a sleeveless wetsuit. I'm happy about that.
Thursday night was the Ironman Welcome Dinner. This was the first time I saw all the athletes and organizers in one place. It was awesome. The presentation, music, and speeches were truly inspiring. They brought out one of the original finishers from the very first Ironman on February 18, 1978 on Oahu, Hawaii. He talked about his experience and how things have progressed since then. He had to borrow a bike, cut his jeans to make shorts, and bring money so he could buy drinks (beer in his case!).
Finally Friday arrived. The Day Before The Race. No wind, few clouds. Oh weather gods, please be nice tomorrow. My wife and I planned a day trip to Zion Nat'l Park. It's about an hour drive or so. The drive was nice. The park is absolutely a MUST SEE. Words cannot describe the scenery. We have such a beautiful country and there's so much to see!
Bike drop-off is today. Pumped up my tires, put nutrition on my Bento Box, mixed my Carbo-Pro fluid for the bike, and it's off to the first transition area where my bike goes to it's assigned location.
A long day of hiking and I'm ready for an early bed time. Gotta get up around 3am. I slept fitfully 'til about 2:30am. Of course I didn't need the alarm.
RACE DAY and REVIEW STARTS HERE
Finally, Race Day and the weather gods were with us. Clear skies and no wind! I had two alarms set for 3am. I didn't need either one of them. Paul and Audrey were going to pick me up and drive to downtown St. George. From there all the athletes were to be shuttled by bus to the swim start some 20 miles east. In a nutshell, the swim start and T1 were quite a ways outside of town while T2 and the finish line were right in the middle of town. The logistics seemed a bit complicated, but the Ironman organization made it run as smooth as silk. Long story short on the logistics: They had everything for us at the finish area, labeled, bagged, and ready for pick-up.
It was dark and cold outside, high 40's or low 50's. All three of us are a bundle of nerves and not much is said in the car. We get to downtown which is about 4 minutes away, park the car, and I forgot my wetsuit! Without complaining (at least outwardly) Paul takes me back to get it. Fortunately St. George is a small town and we were early. After we get back and park the car we meandered over toward the buses. It was orderly and fast getting on the buses. The volunteers were already up and chipper, guiding athletes, buses, and cars to and fro with utmost efficiency.
20 minutes later we arrived at Sand Hollow Reservoir, still dark of course since it's like 4:30 am. Amongst the chaos of darkness and athletes pouring in, the ever helpful volunteers kept things going. They were absolutely amazing. After checking my bike and stuff, I had to find a porta-potty. Here was the first glitch. Imagine 2,000 nervous athletes. All need to pee, from the pros to the oldest age-groupers. The lines were long and slow. There definitely were not enough outhouses. This seems to be a common theme at triathlons.
The sky began to light up around 6:30 and the pros soon got into the water. The lines were still long for the outhouses. The pros went off at 6:45 and the rest of us slowly wandered toward the water. The lines were still long for the outhouses! Finally, I made the executive decision to pee in my wetsuit. I'm sure I wasn't the only one. Walking toward the water in a mass of wetsuit clad athletes, the National Anthem started. The crowd slowed to a stop. I listened and much to my surprise I began to cry. First of all, I'm a patriotic American. Second of all, it finally hit home that after nearly a year of seriously focused training, it all boiled down to this. After that we started wandering toward the water, it was an awesome sight! Black Sabbath started playing over the loud speakers: "I AM IRONMAN...Now the time is here, For Ironman to spread fear..." At that moment I thought truer words have never been spoken!
The water was about 59 degrees F as expected. I was still waist deep and about dead center of the mass when the canon went off. Let me tell you if you've never done an Ironman and you're nervous about the swim start, it's every bit of a washing machine as you can imagine. You will get kicked and grabbed. You will also do some kicking yourself. If you have any trepidation you will want to stay out of that mess. Also, it pretty much did not thin out. For the entire 2.4 miles I was always within 5 feet of someone, and 5 feet was breathing room.
Getting out of the water I felt solid. I had trained. But...I WAS COLD, shivering. Others were in the med tent being treated for hypothermia. Determined, I ran/shook my way to the changing tent. Shedding my (sleeveless) wetsuit, I worked slowly, wrapped myself in a towel, and changed. Finally after 12 minutes I made up my mind to move on. I had a 14 minute T1, Yikes. Once on the bike, my first thought was, "I have a long day ahead of me." I shivered for about 15-20 miles even with long sleeves on.
The Bike Course. It was clear and cool Saturday morning. Volunteers and spectators lined the course leaving Sand Hollow. Once on the road it was down to business. I stuck to my nutritional and energy expenditure plan and it worked like a charm. We rode the 20 or so miles back into St. George where we then started the first of two 45 mile loops. The road from Sand Hollow to St. George was hilly, mostly rollers with some climbs and steep, fast downhills. Once in the loop it's about 30 miles of steady climbing followed by several miles of rollers and finally 10-15 miles of steady downhill where we reached speeds of around 45-50 mph. I think that out of 112 miles there might have been a grand total of 6 flat miles.
Climbing on the bike course was challenging. I saw athletes on the side of the road either pushing their bikes uphill or just simply exhausted. One guy in particular looked like he was taking a nap, now that's tired. I had to do a double-take to make sure he wasn't in serious condition but it looked like his head was propped up on his helmet. I was thinking, "If you're tired now..."
It was a fast descent coming into T2, with spectators lining both sides of the street, many people deep. For me it was just amazing flying by people just 3 to 6 feet away at 35-40 mph. I can only imagine what it looked like.
I am not one of the fortunate few who are gifted with physical prowess or has that genetic gift for superior physical fitness. I train my ass off just to be average in a world of triathletes. I've come to grips with and am ok with that. Having said that, I'm also in better condition than 99.9% of the population. In a nutshell: May 5, 2008 was the first day I rode my bike to work, 20 miles round trip. After 3 months I was getting in pretty good shape and riding my bike to work soon wasn't enough for me. So I started running in the mornings before I rode my bike to work. One day I was golfing and two of our regular guys didn't show up, so the golf course added a pair to our group, one of whom was Brian. As we played I was talking to Brian about my recent weight loss and training. He said that he was a triathlete and that I should join the local triathlon club. It sounded intriguing. Another challenge. I could run and bike, but I couldn't swim. Brian said the club held a swim session every week and that beginners were welcome. I signed up online that night. In December 2008 I took a swim lesson with the club and promptly swam 75 yards before I thought I was gonna die! 3 months later I entered my first race: a local sprint distance triathlon in February of 2009. For the rest of 2009 I had raced in 7 events including two swims from Alcatraz to San Francisco, a Half Ironman triathlon, a marathon, and several other triathlons.
So in 2009 I had fully immersed myself in the triathlon world and had learned of this crazy race called the Ironman. Not knowing or fully understanding the scope of just what this Ironman race entailed, I tried to sign up for a few, only to learn that they sell out in days. It's not something you can just think about, you have to pull the trigger. So when this new race was announced for St. George, Utah I signed up immediately. This was late Spring/early Summer 2009. From that moment on I took the task seriously. I read books on it, I learned nutrition, I queried veterans, and I trained rain or shine...mostly rain, all winter long. I developed a training plan that turned out to be astounding. To summarize: I trained 6 days a week, taking Sundays off. The volume and intensity increased incrementally leading up to the race. The month before the race I was swimming 5 to 7 miles a week, running 40 miles a week, and biking 200 miles a week. Plus, I was doing yoga 2-3 hours a week. I regulated my nutrition: >100 grams a day of protein, <10 grams/day of saturated fat, a pound a day of fruits/vegetables, etc. In 2009 I swam over 250 miles, ridden my bike over 7,000 miles, run about 1,000 miles, did over 10,000 sit-ups, lifted countless lbs of weight, and learned the importance of stretching.
TRAVEL AND VENUE DESCRIPTION STARTS HERE (actual Race Day Review further below, in red):
By race week I was in the absolute best shape of my entire life, including high school and college. My wife and I left a week early and made a mini vacation of our stay in St. George. We packed up the bike, went over our checklists, and drove the many hours to Utah in one long day. Me and 2,000 other athletes had been checking the weather forecast for maybe a month. Rain had been predicted on and off for race day and I'm sure I wasn't the only nervous athlete. The race will happen rain or shine. We decided to try a scenic drive right though the middle of Nevada. We left San Jose, california Sunday morning at first light. We drove toward Lake Tahoe via Kirkwood/Markleeville and proceeded to Carson City, Nevada to visit friends for lunch.
After that we headed east on Hwy 50. One of the best ways to experience Nevada is to travel Highway 50 -- the so-called "Loneliest Road in America." Highway 50 roughly parallels the Pony Express Trail. It was indeed lonely and also ruggedly beautiful. We then took Nevada hwy 93 south which was also very beautiful. And finally 219 south to Utah 18 south and into St. George. We arrived and checked into our room about 9pm Sunday night.
Monday morning was clear, calm winds, and dry. As I suspected, the climate was similar to San Jose's. It'll be about 70 degrees F. today. Nice. This was taper week of course and so Monday was about exploring the town and a light swim at the venue. As recently as 3 weeks prior, the water temperature was a very, very cold 54 degrees F. By race week it was a balmy and tolerable 60. Many were complaining about the cold water, but I swim in the Northern California Pacific. I know cold. After checking the weather forecast again, it seems we are in for some strong winds this week. They're still calling for rain on race day. So off we go to Sand Hollow Reservoir. The reservoir is about 20 miles outside of town in a rural but developing area. After a short 1 mile swim I found that 60 degrees is tolerable enough that I plan on trying my sleeveless wetsuit on Thursday morning.
I was out of the water by 9am. After a snack and shower, we head off to drive the bike course. So the bike course will begin at Sand Hollow Reservoir. We will get out of the water and ride the 20 or so miles of rolling hills back into St. George where we'll begin two 45 mile loops into the surrounding red rock hills. During the drive I discover there will be a lot of climbing. Some 30 miles of steady climbing per loop and 15 miles of descent back into town at the end of each loop. My GPS showed about 6,600 feet of elevation gain for the bike course.
The rest of the day was spent checking out the town and grocery shopping. If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting Utah, I highly recommend it. The red rock canyons and rugged beauty are simply astounding.
Early Tuesday morning it was clear with a slight warm breeze. Tourist day, no training. We went to Snow Canyon State Park about 15-20 minutes north of town. It was sunny and about 75 degrees outside. Simply stunning. I'm guessing that since the air is very dry, 75 in Utah feels like 78-80 in San Jose weather.
Woke up early Wednesday morning to a gentle wind, blowing about 10-15 mph. I planned to ride the bike course. I've found that the wind kicks up predictably in St. George, pretty much every day. But Wednesday they were calling for 60-80 mph winds and I wanted to be out off the bike before that came! I rode 85 miles and just during the last 5 or so the wind came, it was manageable at first. Fortunately I got off the bike before the real wind came. It blew HARD, HARD, HARD that day and all night long. I'm sure there were plenty of nervous athletes in town that day. Garbage cans were strewn about, the wind was like a tornado without the twister. I mean it was just ferocious.
The Ironman Expo opened on Wednesday. The whole idea that I was really gonna do this race was slowly sinking in. I got my first butterflies. I took the opportunity to do the Athlete Check-In and get my packet and number marking. They were doing something new and had "tattoo number markings" for our arms and legs. It was some kind of airless body paint that would last a week. It would save time from having to do it race morning. Since this was my first Ironman, I couldn't wait to get marked. I got tattooed on both arms. I walked around that day proudly showing off my Ironman status =)
During our time in St. George we met some wonderful people, both athletes and locals. The locals were very excited to be hosting this event and it showed in the smiles and hospitality we were shown. While in the Ironman store, we met two of the nicest people: Dave and Louise from Canada. St. George would be her 21st Ironman! And at 69 she was the oldest female athlete.
By Thursday morning it calmed down to a gentle breeze, and it appeared the system was blowing though. The weather gods were now saying that race day may be nice. 2,000 athletes crossing our fingers and hoping for a small miracle for nice weather. I met up with my triathlon club friends Paul and Audrey for one last swim before the race. After a nice 1 mile swim I decide that the water's gonna be fine for me to race in a sleeveless wetsuit. I'm happy about that.
Thursday night was the Ironman Welcome Dinner. This was the first time I saw all the athletes and organizers in one place. It was awesome. The presentation, music, and speeches were truly inspiring. They brought out one of the original finishers from the very first Ironman on February 18, 1978 on Oahu, Hawaii. He talked about his experience and how things have progressed since then. He had to borrow a bike, cut his jeans to make shorts, and bring money so he could buy drinks (beer in his case!).
Finally Friday arrived. The Day Before The Race. No wind, few clouds. Oh weather gods, please be nice tomorrow. My wife and I planned a day trip to Zion Nat'l Park. It's about an hour drive or so. The drive was nice. The park is absolutely a MUST SEE. Words cannot describe the scenery. We have such a beautiful country and there's so much to see!
Bike drop-off is today. Pumped up my tires, put nutrition on my Bento Box, mixed my Carbo-Pro fluid for the bike, and it's off to the first transition area where my bike goes to it's assigned location.
A long day of hiking and I'm ready for an early bed time. Gotta get up around 3am. I slept fitfully 'til about 2:30am. Of course I didn't need the alarm.
RACE DAY and REVIEW STARTS HERE
Finally, Race Day and the weather gods were with us. Clear skies and no wind! I had two alarms set for 3am. I didn't need either one of them. Paul and Audrey were going to pick me up and drive to downtown St. George. From there all the athletes were to be shuttled by bus to the swim start some 20 miles east. In a nutshell, the swim start and T1 were quite a ways outside of town while T2 and the finish line were right in the middle of town. The logistics seemed a bit complicated, but the Ironman organization made it run as smooth as silk. Long story short on the logistics: They had everything for us at the finish area, labeled, bagged, and ready for pick-up.
It was dark and cold outside, high 40's or low 50's. All three of us are a bundle of nerves and not much is said in the car. We get to downtown which is about 4 minutes away, park the car, and I forgot my wetsuit! Without complaining (at least outwardly) Paul takes me back to get it. Fortunately St. George is a small town and we were early. After we get back and park the car we meandered over toward the buses. It was orderly and fast getting on the buses. The volunteers were already up and chipper, guiding athletes, buses, and cars to and fro with utmost efficiency.
20 minutes later we arrived at Sand Hollow Reservoir, still dark of course since it's like 4:30 am. Amongst the chaos of darkness and athletes pouring in, the ever helpful volunteers kept things going. They were absolutely amazing. After checking my bike and stuff, I had to find a porta-potty. Here was the first glitch. Imagine 2,000 nervous athletes. All need to pee, from the pros to the oldest age-groupers. The lines were long and slow. There definitely were not enough outhouses. This seems to be a common theme at triathlons.
The sky began to light up around 6:30 and the pros soon got into the water. The lines were still long for the outhouses. The pros went off at 6:45 and the rest of us slowly wandered toward the water. The lines were still long for the outhouses! Finally, I made the executive decision to pee in my wetsuit. I'm sure I wasn't the only one. Walking toward the water in a mass of wetsuit clad athletes, the National Anthem started. The crowd slowed to a stop. I listened and much to my surprise I began to cry. First of all, I'm a patriotic American. Second of all, it finally hit home that after nearly a year of seriously focused training, it all boiled down to this. After that we started wandering toward the water, it was an awesome sight! Black Sabbath started playing over the loud speakers: "I AM IRONMAN...Now the time is here, For Ironman to spread fear..." At that moment I thought truer words have never been spoken!
The water was about 59 degrees F as expected. I was still waist deep and about dead center of the mass when the canon went off. Let me tell you if you've never done an Ironman and you're nervous about the swim start, it's every bit of a washing machine as you can imagine. You will get kicked and grabbed. You will also do some kicking yourself. If you have any trepidation you will want to stay out of that mess. Also, it pretty much did not thin out. For the entire 2.4 miles I was always within 5 feet of someone, and 5 feet was breathing room.
Getting out of the water I felt solid. I had trained. But...I WAS COLD, shivering. Others were in the med tent being treated for hypothermia. Determined, I ran/shook my way to the changing tent. Shedding my (sleeveless) wetsuit, I worked slowly, wrapped myself in a towel, and changed. Finally after 12 minutes I made up my mind to move on. I had a 14 minute T1, Yikes. Once on the bike, my first thought was, "I have a long day ahead of me." I shivered for about 15-20 miles even with long sleeves on.
The Bike Course. It was clear and cool Saturday morning. Volunteers and spectators lined the course leaving Sand Hollow. Once on the road it was down to business. I stuck to my nutritional and energy expenditure plan and it worked like a charm. We rode the 20 or so miles back into St. George where we then started the first of two 45 mile loops. The road from Sand Hollow to St. George was hilly, mostly rollers with some climbs and steep, fast downhills. Once in the loop it's about 30 miles of steady climbing followed by several miles of rollers and finally 10-15 miles of steady downhill where we reached speeds of around 45-50 mph. I think that out of 112 miles there might have been a grand total of 6 flat miles.
Climbing on the bike course was challenging. I saw athletes on the side of the road either pushing their bikes uphill or just simply exhausted. One guy in particular looked like he was taking a nap, now that's tired. I had to do a double-take to make sure he wasn't in serious condition but it looked like his head was propped up on his helmet. I was thinking, "If you're tired now..."
It was a fast descent coming into T2, with spectators lining both sides of the street, many people deep. For me it was just amazing flying by people just 3 to 6 feet away at 35-40 mph. I can only imagine what it looked like.
The Marathon. Coming into T2 with the bike is very cool. This was my first Ironman and I love the organization. You get off the bike, a volunteer takes it, and another volunteer hands you your T2 bag with shoes and stuff in it. It's just as smooth as silk.
The run course was two out-and-backs of 13 miles. Leaving T2 there's about 200-300 yards of flat. Then it's a left turn onto a very slight rise. From there it only got steeper and steeper for then next several miles. Not kidding. All by itself this would've been the most challenging marathon for myself and all the other athletes I spoke with. But in conjunction with an Ironman, it was absolutely brutal. At the end of the first loop, the downhill was a godsend. But being so close to the finish line and knowing that I had to go out on that loop again was a mind game unto itself.
While I saw a few scattered instances of fatigued athletes on the bike course, the marathon ate athletes up for lunch. Ambulance rides, IV's, even a helicopter evac was nearly common. I haven't seen the final stats, but early indications showed 20-30% DNF. The marathon was just vicious.
Finally with the end in sight, I quit using the aid stations at about mile 22. St. George and the local community came out in droves. They supported this race like you cannot believe. From the numerous and fantastic volunteers that all seemed to have a cheerful face, to the spectators who lined the streets many rows deep, it was just phenomenal. I could hear the loudspeakers and the crowd during my last mile and I cannot explain the feeling. I started skipping and jumping and nearly fell with 20 yards to go! In the end I feel like my training and nutrition regimen was perfect. If anything, I probably would've trained running more on some BIG, long hills. I accomplished my dream. Couch potato to Ironman in 24 months.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Taking a Blog break
Hey all:
Here it is January 2010 already! I'm currently training for my first Ironman triathlon coming up in 12 weeks. I'm putting in 18-20 hours a week of hardcore workouts and kicking it up to around 25 hours in a month or so. This means no more blog time. I know you have the tools to succeed. I'll check the blog from time to time and add to it if I can.
From the last post, the most important thing is to stick with the plan. No breaks, no excuses. The next step will be to kick up the Zone time to 1.5 hours a day. Do this for about 3 months, then kick it up to 2 hours a day. Do that for about 3 months. And then start into the next higher Zone for a reduced amount of time.
Good luck!
-Dave
Here it is January 2010 already! I'm currently training for my first Ironman triathlon coming up in 12 weeks. I'm putting in 18-20 hours a week of hardcore workouts and kicking it up to around 25 hours in a month or so. This means no more blog time. I know you have the tools to succeed. I'll check the blog from time to time and add to it if I can.
From the last post, the most important thing is to stick with the plan. No breaks, no excuses. The next step will be to kick up the Zone time to 1.5 hours a day. Do this for about 3 months, then kick it up to 2 hours a day. Do that for about 3 months. And then start into the next higher Zone for a reduced amount of time.
Good luck!
-Dave
Monday, January 11, 2010
What motivates you?
Some may find this hard to believe but I don't jump out of bed every morning looking forward to a hard workout. I too would rather stay in my warm bed and sleep until the last minute. Today was especially challenging: It's Monday, it's cold, it was 4:45am when my eyes opened, and I had to swim in an outdoor pool. In the beginning of my weight-loss endeavor, I was motivated because I was losing weight on a daily basis. What motivates me now is the fear of being ill-prepared for an Ironman race.
What motivates you?
What motivates you?
Cheers,
-Dave
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Get creative in your thinking
Instead of finding excuses to get out of exercising, find one to get into your Zone! Think about ways to incorporate your training into your everyday life: bicycle commute to work. You work too far? It's too cold, it's too rainy, etc. Excuses. I had a guy working for me that rode his bike from Fremont to Los Gatos. He'd ride to a train station that took him to San Jose then rode the rest of the way by bike. That's commitment to the task. If you think about it you can make it happen.
I recently injured my IT band (left knee/hip) and have been very concerned about my fitness regimen. So I increased my swimming to compensate. My point is that there are always ways to work in your Zone time. Put yourself in high priority mode. You deserve it! Remember, an hour a day in Zone 2, timer starts once you're in the Zone.
I recently injured my IT band (left knee/hip) and have been very concerned about my fitness regimen. So I increased my swimming to compensate. My point is that there are always ways to work in your Zone time. Put yourself in high priority mode. You deserve it! Remember, an hour a day in Zone 2, timer starts once you're in the Zone.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy New Year, and Don't be a statistic!
Hello friends,
By now you've bought your HRM, read the manual and tinkered with it a bit, figured out your resting and maximum heart rates, and started on your path to fitness nirvana! You've also been a good student and performed as instructed in your daily routine of getting into Zone 2 for an hour. Yes, daily, every day, 7 days a week, no days off. Perseverance and commitment here will pay dividends. If you have to, go back and read my previous posts. Ask questions. I'm here to help. NO EXCUSES, go out and raise your heart rate into Zone 2 for an hour. The timer doesn't start until you're in the Zone. Don't forget before, during, and after to hydrate with water, no sugary drinks at this point. When we get more into the program, you can think about electrolyte replacement drinks.
This week I want you to buy a scale, if you don't already have one. And I don't mean one of those old bathroom scales. I mean a good digital one or better. As soon as you get it, hopefully by Monday, I want you to weigh yourself. Do this at the same time every day. Our body weight fluctuates quite a bit throughout the day. Some people find that they're lightest right when they wake up. Others, like me, are lightest in the late afternoon after work. I don't know why this is, it just is. This might take you a couple weeks of weighing yourself several times a day. Once you've figured out what time of day you will take your weight, start doing it every single day. You can take a mental note of your progress and I think you'll be amazed at your progress, assuming you stick to the plan: NO DAYS OFF. PERIOD. NO EXCUSES. Even through sickness I raise my heart rate. You need to commit to the task at hand.
For reasons that I don't fully understand, I found that roughly every 3 weeks or so my weight would actually increase by a pound or two even though I was strictly committed to my plan. This lasted only one or two days and was only a minor mental setback, slightly discouraging but it passed quickly. For the most part, I saw daily improvements on the scale and that is unbelievably uplifting to see. In fact, I was so encouraged to see the scale in the beginning that I'd go out and do another Zone 2 bike ride. If you're so inclined, do it.
Don't Be a Statistic!
In this morning's Mercury News (Jan 3):
-56% of women ages 25-49 made a resolution to manage their weight.
-41% of resolution-makers who don't make it through the first week!
-Average number of weeks women last before abandoning their resolution: 4.
Be a leader: Persevere and Commit to the task at hand.
Remember, Zone 2 every day for an hour. The plan will be to increase your time spent in Zone 2 incrementally. But for now, just get used to doing it every day for an hour. Every day. You will be amazed. Commit to the task and persevere! Cheers,
-Dave
By now you've bought your HRM, read the manual and tinkered with it a bit, figured out your resting and maximum heart rates, and started on your path to fitness nirvana! You've also been a good student and performed as instructed in your daily routine of getting into Zone 2 for an hour. Yes, daily, every day, 7 days a week, no days off. Perseverance and commitment here will pay dividends. If you have to, go back and read my previous posts. Ask questions. I'm here to help. NO EXCUSES, go out and raise your heart rate into Zone 2 for an hour. The timer doesn't start until you're in the Zone. Don't forget before, during, and after to hydrate with water, no sugary drinks at this point. When we get more into the program, you can think about electrolyte replacement drinks.
This week I want you to buy a scale, if you don't already have one. And I don't mean one of those old bathroom scales. I mean a good digital one or better. As soon as you get it, hopefully by Monday, I want you to weigh yourself. Do this at the same time every day. Our body weight fluctuates quite a bit throughout the day. Some people find that they're lightest right when they wake up. Others, like me, are lightest in the late afternoon after work. I don't know why this is, it just is. This might take you a couple weeks of weighing yourself several times a day. Once you've figured out what time of day you will take your weight, start doing it every single day. You can take a mental note of your progress and I think you'll be amazed at your progress, assuming you stick to the plan: NO DAYS OFF. PERIOD. NO EXCUSES. Even through sickness I raise my heart rate. You need to commit to the task at hand.
For reasons that I don't fully understand, I found that roughly every 3 weeks or so my weight would actually increase by a pound or two even though I was strictly committed to my plan. This lasted only one or two days and was only a minor mental setback, slightly discouraging but it passed quickly. For the most part, I saw daily improvements on the scale and that is unbelievably uplifting to see. In fact, I was so encouraged to see the scale in the beginning that I'd go out and do another Zone 2 bike ride. If you're so inclined, do it.
Don't Be a Statistic!
In this morning's Mercury News (Jan 3):
-56% of women ages 25-49 made a resolution to manage their weight.
-41% of resolution-makers who don't make it through the first week!
-Average number of weeks women last before abandoning their resolution: 4.
Be a leader: Persevere and Commit to the task at hand.
Remember, Zone 2 every day for an hour. The plan will be to increase your time spent in Zone 2 incrementally. But for now, just get used to doing it every day for an hour. Every day. You will be amazed. Commit to the task and persevere! Cheers,
-Dave
Thursday, December 24, 2009
More Baby Steps
Ok, here we are on Christmas Eve and you have this shiny new HRM (heart rate monitor). You've read the directions and tried on the chest strap. Did you see your heart rate? How cool was that? We're going to establish several Heart Rate Zones. Don't let this scare you, I'm gonna walk you through it step by step. Now the first thing to do is figure out what your Resting Heart Rate is. This is very important because it establishes a base. We need the absolute lowest rate at which your heart beats. Believe it or not, your heart rate will begin to elevate the minute you get out of bed. That's why I want you to put the HRM next to your bed tonight. If you can, wear the strap and watch to bed. If that's not comfortable, just put them on first thing when you wake up. Turn it on and write down what your resting heart rate is. This is not a test: don't get all excited about doing it right and have your heart rate skyrocket 'cause you're nervous. It's important to get your Resting Heart Rate, but if you're off by a few beats, we're not gonna send you to the HRM police ;-)
Some HRM straps require a smidgen of moisture (spit or water) to start transmitting, others transmit right away. This is something you can figure out before tomorrow morning. There is no "normal" Resting Heart Rate. In fact as you get more and more fit, your Heart Rate Zones will change. More on that later.
Once you get your Resting Heart Rate, the next step is to get your Maximum Heart Rate. This isn't quite as easy as the Resting Heart Rate. There are several ways to get the Maximum Heart Rate, I'll go over three: 1) Go to your doctor or a sports medicine facility and do a treadmill test while hooked up to The Machine. This is the ideal situation and the least convenient/most costly. I didn't do it but if you're so inclined, this would be the best, most accurate measurement. Plus you'll get a doctor's evaluation of your physical condition; 2) You can put on your HRM, get on your bicycle and ride as hard as you can non-stop up the steepest hill you can find for about 15-20 minutes. Make a note of your Maximum Heart Rate just before you pass out. This is what I did. This works with running too; 3) Perhaps the easiest (and least accurate) thing to do is estimate your Maximum Heart Rate. The equation is easy: MHR = 220 - your age. For example: MHR (Maximum Heart Rate) = 220 minus 45. So, a 45 year old person's estimated MHR would be 175 bpm (beats per minute). This is just an estimate, but it will get in the ball park for our purpose.
Now that we have a Resting Heart Rate and a Maximum Heart Rate we will establish several Heart Rate Zones. I'm gonna keep this simple and create only 4. We have to do this in terms of percent so that everybody can plug in their specific numbers.
The first one is appropriately called heart rate Zone 1. Zone 1 is any light and easy activity in which you are exerting very little energy, like a nice walk around the block. This activity should raise your heart rate to approximately 50% of your max. So if your Maximum Heart Rate is 175 beats per minute, 50% of that is about 88 beats per minute, and so your Zone 1 would begin at 88 beats per minute. Make sense?
Following the previous example, Zone 2 will start at 60%. So again, if your Maximum Heart Rate is 175 beats per minute, 60% of that is 105 beats per minute.
Plugging in your own numbers but continuing to use my previous example, Zone 3 would begin at 70%. So again, if your Maximum Heart Rate is 175 beats per minute, 70% of that is 123 beats per minute.
Lastly, Zone 4 is 80%. I think you're getting the hang of this: 175 bpm x .80 = 140 bpm. For our purposes, we will seldom, if ever, have an activity in Zone 4.
Now that we have several numbers above (in red), you may have noticed that they are not Zones, per se, but specific numbers. The actual Zones are between the numbers. So following the previous example, Zone 1 is any heart rate that is between 88 and 104 beats per minute. Zone 2 is any heart rate between 105 and 122 beats per minute. Zone 3 is any heart rate between 123 and 139 beats per minute. Any heart rate >140 beats per minute is in Zone 4 and we're not concerned with that now.
I hope this isn't overwhelming. I've made it as uncomplicated as I can. If you have questions, by all means ask. We'll spend a vast majority of our time in Zone 2. I think you have something to nibble on for awhile. This blog is about YOU. You need to prioritize as you see fit. In other words, if you're serious and you're committed, NOTHING will get in your way. On the other hand, if you find excuses, no matter how legit they may seem, this won't be successful for you and you might as well quit now. YOU CAN'T TAKE ONE DAY OFF OF YOUR COMMITMENT. Not one.
Your homework for today is to figure out all your Zones. This should take you all of about 1 day or less. You should start your program tomorrow and not stop for like a year. Yes Christmas Day, there's no time like the present. Remember I said NO EXCUSES. Here's what you want to do, despite any activities you might have already planned: I'm partial to bicycle riding but walking, jogging, or running is just as good! Put on your heart rate monitor and go outside for your activity. get into your Zone 2 heart rate, for an hour.
Show IPA verb, -vered, -ver⋅ing.–verb (used without object)
Let me know if you have any questions or comments. If any of the comments are negative, keep them to yourselves. Cheers,
-Dave
Some HRM straps require a smidgen of moisture (spit or water) to start transmitting, others transmit right away. This is something you can figure out before tomorrow morning. There is no "normal" Resting Heart Rate. In fact as you get more and more fit, your Heart Rate Zones will change. More on that later.
Once you get your Resting Heart Rate, the next step is to get your Maximum Heart Rate. This isn't quite as easy as the Resting Heart Rate. There are several ways to get the Maximum Heart Rate, I'll go over three: 1) Go to your doctor or a sports medicine facility and do a treadmill test while hooked up to The Machine. This is the ideal situation and the least convenient/most costly. I didn't do it but if you're so inclined, this would be the best, most accurate measurement. Plus you'll get a doctor's evaluation of your physical condition; 2) You can put on your HRM, get on your bicycle and ride as hard as you can non-stop up the steepest hill you can find for about 15-20 minutes. Make a note of your Maximum Heart Rate just before you pass out. This is what I did. This works with running too; 3) Perhaps the easiest (and least accurate) thing to do is estimate your Maximum Heart Rate. The equation is easy: MHR = 220 - your age. For example: MHR (Maximum Heart Rate) = 220 minus 45. So, a 45 year old person's estimated MHR would be 175 bpm (beats per minute). This is just an estimate, but it will get in the ball park for our purpose.
Now that we have a Resting Heart Rate and a Maximum Heart Rate we will establish several Heart Rate Zones. I'm gonna keep this simple and create only 4. We have to do this in terms of percent so that everybody can plug in their specific numbers.
The first one is appropriately called heart rate Zone 1. Zone 1 is any light and easy activity in which you are exerting very little energy, like a nice walk around the block. This activity should raise your heart rate to approximately 50% of your max. So if your Maximum Heart Rate is 175 beats per minute, 50% of that is about 88 beats per minute, and so your Zone 1 would begin at 88 beats per minute. Make sense?
Following the previous example, Zone 2 will start at 60%. So again, if your Maximum Heart Rate is 175 beats per minute, 60% of that is 105 beats per minute.
Plugging in your own numbers but continuing to use my previous example, Zone 3 would begin at 70%. So again, if your Maximum Heart Rate is 175 beats per minute, 70% of that is 123 beats per minute.
Lastly, Zone 4 is 80%. I think you're getting the hang of this: 175 bpm x .80 = 140 bpm. For our purposes, we will seldom, if ever, have an activity in Zone 4.
Now that we have several numbers above (in red), you may have noticed that they are not Zones, per se, but specific numbers. The actual Zones are between the numbers. So following the previous example, Zone 1 is any heart rate that is between 88 and 104 beats per minute. Zone 2 is any heart rate between 105 and 122 beats per minute. Zone 3 is any heart rate between 123 and 139 beats per minute. Any heart rate >140 beats per minute is in Zone 4 and we're not concerned with that now.
I hope this isn't overwhelming. I've made it as uncomplicated as I can. If you have questions, by all means ask. We'll spend a vast majority of our time in Zone 2. I think you have something to nibble on for awhile. This blog is about YOU. You need to prioritize as you see fit. In other words, if you're serious and you're committed, NOTHING will get in your way. On the other hand, if you find excuses, no matter how legit they may seem, this won't be successful for you and you might as well quit now. YOU CAN'T TAKE ONE DAY OFF OF YOUR COMMITMENT. Not one.
Your homework for today is to figure out all your Zones. This should take you all of about 1 day or less. You should start your program tomorrow and not stop for like a year. Yes Christmas Day, there's no time like the present. Remember I said NO EXCUSES. Here's what you want to do, despite any activities you might have already planned: I'm partial to bicycle riding but walking, jogging, or running is just as good! Put on your heart rate monitor and go outside for your activity. get into your Zone 2 heart rate, for an hour.
I almost forgot, some of you have treadmills, fitness center memberships, stationary bikes, etc. THESE ARE ALL FINE. I'm partial to being outside, but the important thing is to get into the Zone.
Why do we care about all this Zone stuff?!
Because if for example you were to just go out and start a jogging regimen, you could easily be jogging in Zone 3 or 4. These are not the optimal fat burning Zones. Be informed. See below:
Zone 1
This is the safest, most comfortable zone, reached by walking briskly. Here you strengthen your heart and improve muscle mass while you reduce body fat, cholesterol, blood pressure, and your risk for degenerative disease. You get healthier in this zone, but not more fit -- that is, it won't increase your endurance or strength but it will increase your health.
Zone 2
It's easily reached by jogging slowly. While still a relatively low level of effort, this zone starts training your body to increase the rate of fat release from the cells to the muscles for fuel. Some people call this the "fat burning zone" because up to 85 % of the total calories burned in this zone are fat calories.
Zone 3
In this zone -- reached by running easily as an example -- you improve your functional capacity. The number and size of your blood vessels actually increase, you step up your lung capacity and respiratory rate, and your heart increases in size and strength so you can exercise longer before becoming fatigued. You're still metabolizing fats and carbohydrates at about a 50-50 rate which means both are burning at the same ratio.
Zone 4
This is for VERY FIT individuals and we won't be concerned about Zone 4 here. This zone is reached by going hard -- running faster. Here you get faster and fitter, increasing your heart rate as you cross from aerobic to anaerobic training. At this point, your heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to supply the exercising muscles fully so they respond by continuing to contract anaerobically.
What I want you to do EVERY DAY is get into your Zone 2 heart rate, for an hour. If it helps, you can do 1/2 hour in the morning and 1/2 hour in the afternoon or evening. But you have to do it every day, whether it's raining or cold or whatever. This will take some commitment. Have you figured out yet that I'm partial to that word? Commitment is exactly what you'll need to persevere.
per⋅se⋅vere
[pur-suh-veer]
səˈvɪər/ Show IPA verb, -vered, -ver⋅ing.–verb (used without object) | 1. | to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly. |
Let me know if you have any questions or comments. If any of the comments are negative, keep them to yourselves. Cheers,
-Dave
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Baby steps
For many the road to fitness entails losing some weight first. The first thing to do is have an initial concrete goal. It can be long or short term. Mine was to get back to my high school weight. Trust me, this was a lofty goal. I believe that if you set lofty goals you'll strive harder to attain that goal. This is purely individual, some people just won't commit to the task, others fear failure. To succeed at this YOU NEED TO COMMIT yourself and PRIORITIZE accordingly. That means NO EXCUSES, like I don't have time, it's too dark outside, it's raining. No matter how valid a reason not to commit to the task, it is ultimately an excuse.
My way of losing weight might be the easiest method ever because it doesn't entail cutting back on eating, or even changing your eating habits. How cool is that?! Those who know me know that I love to eat, and I have the sweetest sweet tooth of anyone I know. Sometimes it's a little bit embarrassing because I'll have two pieces of cake at a party or I'll sneak like a dozen cookies. But I'm not too too worried about it because I'm totally fit. If you're reading this and it appeals to you, I'll give you the tools to do it. I don't want anything except for you to succeed!
My way of losing weight might be the easiest method ever because it doesn't entail cutting back on eating, or even changing your eating habits. How cool is that?! Those who know me know that I love to eat, and I have the sweetest sweet tooth of anyone I know. Sometimes it's a little bit embarrassing because I'll have two pieces of cake at a party or I'll sneak like a dozen cookies. But I'm not too too worried about it because I'm totally fit. If you're reading this and it appeals to you, I'll give you the tools to do it. I don't want anything except for you to succeed!
UPDATE, one paragraph:
Here I am 10 years older than when I initially wrote these words. And while my thoughts are largely unchanged, I do now firmly believe that You-Are-What-You-Eat. I have modified my own nutrition considerably since writing this blog. HOWEVER, I still believe that it can be overwhelming to bite off too much (pun intended ;) and still recommend not to burden yourself with anything but fitness in the beginning (Unless, of course, your Dr has said something different).
During the time that I lost 20% of my body mass, I never cut back on my eating, and now I eat more than I ever have in my life. I love to eat and refuse to cut back. While it's true that I eat slightly differently today, I think that in the beginning it's more important to take those baby steps. And that puts eating habits way down the list, so don't change a thing and don't worry or feel guilty about what or when you eat.
Which leads me to my first baby step. Buy a heart rate monitor. OMG what's a heart rate monitor?! It sounds complicated and expensive. Don't get nervous, it's a cheap and easy device and I'm gonna walk you through it. The most basic premise to losing weight is that we have to burn more calories than we take in. Since we're not regulating what we take in, we have to measure what we burn. We start with raising our heart rates which burns calories. This'll be more fun than you think.
A heart rate monitor is just that, it measures how fast our hearts are beating. You can get a good one for as low as about $40 and up to many hundreds of dollars. I would recommend a simple one like one of these that I found on Amazon:
Fitbit or
Garmin
UPDATE, 9/12/2016: Since I originally wrote this post, heart rate monitors have become better and a little more user friendly. You don't have to use the strap anymore, the sensor is simply built in to the watch. Here's the Garmin product as of today but Polar and others have similar watches:
Garmin
These are just examples, and there's no difference between men's and women's heart rate monitors. I use a Garmin.
Again, don't worry about how to use it yet. Just get one. They also have 'em at Big 5, Sports Authority, REI etc. Just tell the person helping you that you want a simple unit to get started. It might only perform two functions: heart rate and calorie meter. It'll come with the watch-looking thing for your wrist and a belt thingy that wraps around your chest and measures those heart beats. This belt sends a wireless signal to the "watch" and voila! you're reading your actual heart beat.
Next post I'll walk with you through some ways to effectively use the HRM (heart rate monitor). Once you get it read the manual, play with it, tinker with it, have some fun. Don't be intimidated by it, you won't break it. I still use mine every single day and put it on like I do my watch.
Until next time. Smile, you're on the path to fitness nirvana!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Doctor's orders
I read an article in yesterday's San Jose Mercury News written by a doctor who was concerned about today's children not getting enough exercise. Today's kids have little or no PE in school these days. And parents often stress academics over physical fitness. What they don't know is that they go hand in hand! It's really a shame. He went on to cite increasing rates of diabetes, obesity, etc.
I knew I was overweight when I started on my trek to fitness. What I didn't know is that my cholesterol level was off the chart. With a total number of 340, my doctor said, "You have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel." Man, if a statement like that doesn't wake you up, nothin will. I won't get into the significance of the numbers yet but LDL is "bad cholesterol" and HDL is "good cholesterol." The ratio between the two is vital. We have much control over these numbers and I'll delve into that later as well as other important nutritional issues. The first thing is to take baby steps.
The point I'm trying to make is that before you set off on this or any diet or physical fitness endeavor, by all means have your doctor give you the green light. You might just learn something like I did.
I knew I was overweight when I started on my trek to fitness. What I didn't know is that my cholesterol level was off the chart. With a total number of 340, my doctor said, "You have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel." Man, if a statement like that doesn't wake you up, nothin will. I won't get into the significance of the numbers yet but LDL is "bad cholesterol" and HDL is "good cholesterol." The ratio between the two is vital. We have much control over these numbers and I'll delve into that later as well as other important nutritional issues. The first thing is to take baby steps.
The point I'm trying to make is that before you set off on this or any diet or physical fitness endeavor, by all means have your doctor give you the green light. You might just learn something like I did.
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