Gotta Fuel Up!

Team Nothmann spent a few weeks in Northern CA (partially for week and some vacation to boot) recently and we managed a few "longer" rides - 30 and 40 milers. Isaac took seriously the need to fuel up and always had his water bottle and plent of snacks to much on along the way.

He and I stopped a deli on one of our rides and it was some great father-son bonding.

Preliminary Results

Race day was yesterday and the short version is... Personal Record for me (unofficially 5:02:25).

Long version is...

I drove up on Saturday after spending a bit of time with the in-laws, who graciously agreed to watch the boys and the pets. Jake was having a birthday bash Saturday night that I had to miss, so my better half was going to drive up with Isaac on Sunday. I arrived in Racine without too much trouble, picked up my race packet and headed for the beach. I hopped into the water, which was a brisk 56 degrees and I had some respiratory distress that my body Todd warned me about in cold water conditions. This was a helpful prepatory move for Sunday. After getting acclimated to the water, I paddled about for 10-15 minutes and followed up with a 15 minute bike and 10 minute run. I checked my bike into the transition area and headed South to Kenosha, where I was staying for the night.

After a quick shower, I grabbed a bite at Noodles & Company, bought my breakfast at the local grocery and did all of my race prep before heading off to bed. I even shaved my legs (speeds recovery time of the skin in the event of a crash with road rash). Headed off to bed at a reasonable 9:00 pm, and fell fast asleep... only to awake 30 minutes later and not be able to fall back to sleep until about 11:30. ARGHHH!

Bright and early start at 4:30 am, quick breakfast of V8, wheat tortilla with peanut butter and a banana. Checked out of the Comfort Suite by 5:00 and headed North. Parked the car and walked over to the transition area. Set up, and was heading towards the race start between 6:45 and 7:00. There had already been one fog delay, but we ended up starting an hour late due to fog. Difficult to account for every possible scenario. In hindsight, I wish I had taken a gel or PowerBar or something to keep the fuel going during that hour.

Water temperature race day was 55 degrees. Swim felt solid, but I have no idea what my time was. Not too much jostling and only a few people passed me - one woman who started 3+ minutes behind me flew by in a very fluid stroke. WOW! Transition felt a bit slow, but got out on the bike without much trouble and ahead of many.

I executed the bike portion according to plan, maybe even a bit aggressive. I'd planned on staying between 180 and 200 watts for the ride and I generally stayed between 200 and 250. Second half was a bit slower, but not much. I haven't been able to analyze the results, but I'm guessing about 22.6 on the first half and 22.2 on the second half. My training on the bike hasn't been optimal, so I was extremely pleased with the resulting average of 22.4 mph for the 56 mile leg. Jessica had given me an aero helmet for my birthday and that clearly helped. Nutrition overall on the bike was good: 2 x 16 ounces of gatorade with a cookies and creme PowerBar interspersed over the first 1.5 hours... followed by Heed sports drink (~20 ounces). Can't say I was a big fan of the Heed. At the very end of the bike leg, there was this PACK of cyclists who were not obeying the drafting / passing rules. It was very frustrating, because they surged past me and seemed to slow down and block the who lane. I held back for awhile and when I finally saw an opening, I charged through an had several hundred meters on them by the time I hit transition.

Transitioned well out of the bike and took it easy into the run. I knew that if I pushed too hard I would cramp later on. My goal was to be consistent and finish strong. I saw Jessica and Isaac at about mile 6 near the turnaround and it was great to have that support. I still felt strong, much better than last year. Things got tough around mile 9, but I stayed focused, tried to hydrate consistently and poured cold water or ice on myself at nearly every stop. I took some salt tabs at mile 5 - in hindsight probably could have started those sooner. At mile 10, I felt the first signs of cramping in the legs but managed to stave them off. I somehow missed the 11 mile mark altogether and was starting to lag a bit. I walked a little at mile 12, but picked up after 15-20 seconds and ran strong to the finish ('cause I eat my spinach!). Felt very tight and started to cramp that last mile, but knew I'd done 5:15:00 or better. Imagine my surprise when I discoverd it was 5:02:25 - 20+ minutes faster than last year.

Feeling Skinny

Ok, in the belief that "better late than never" is indeed a true statement, I am officially feeling skinny. Had I "thrown my weight into it" sooner and gotten serious, I'm sure I could have attained my goal of 165 on race day. It's still possible, but more likely a post-race weight, which wasn't really what I had in mind. I got on the scale today and am maintaing at 170.8 (body fat at 9.5%). In an ideal racing world, I would be about 5 pounds lighter and around 8% body fat, but this is a good testament for trying new things.

I tried fiber... LOTs of fiber and that's still part of my approach. The thing that has really curbed my appetite is more protein - something I needed anyway to recharge my muscles. Those of you who know me realize that I'm not downing cheesburgers or steaks. As a (quasi?) vegetarian (I do eat fish, dairy and eggs), my protein consumption comes primarily from egg whites in the AM and fish at lunch or dinner. The single major change was breakfast, which had previously been cereal with craisins or banana and skim milk versus the 2-3 egg whites with a single piece of whole wheat toast. When we have it stocked in the house, I also drink 12 ounces of V8 (2 servings of vegetables). I try to have an apple as a mid-morning snack, sometimes a handful or two of almonds. I just find myself less hungry and more resistant to the candy and donuts that proliferate the office. Note, I didn't say immune, just more resistant.

Anyway, I feel full of energy am lighter to boot.

Saturday Run

I'd always thought that I should do my long bike on Saturday and long run on Sunday, but I've been reading The Triathlete's Guide to Run Training by Ken Mierke, and he encourages just the opposite. His theory is that running is more stressful on the body (and I concur with that) and that utilizing Sunday for the long run increases risk of injury. That said, he suggests that following the long ride on Sunday, one can do a short brick - which is what I will try tomorrow.

I'm also learning quite a bit about the glycemic index and weight loss for athletes. I've tried to understand the insulin cycle before and have read a few books, but this is the first time that I think I get it. He spends a lot of time debunking the calories in / calories out theory that we are all so programed to accept and explains how certain foods, combinations of foods, and timing of eating plays a role in weight loss / gain. There are some key learnings that I will work to implement over the next several weeks to see if I can't get down to that 165 goal after all.

Isaac and I went on a 13 miler today - nice and easy. I really tried to watch my exertion level as I didn't want to give myself another headache and I fear that on many of these runs, I've been pushing too hard. I didn't have my heart rate monitor on today, but I'm pretty certain I was in Zone 2 (under 155) for most of the workout. I got plenty of fluids and calories and although it was 80 degrees or so and some humidity, it wasn't brutal hot.

Thirteen Miles

This morning, before the rain hit, Isaac and I got out for about a thirteen mile run. I didn't have a heart rate monitor or watch, but it felt very evenly paced. Even with pushing the extra 50 pounds (25 of carriage and 25 of Isaac), we managed to complete the 13 miles in just over 2 hours for about a 9:19 pace - nothing stellar, but I'm fairly pleased. For the half-ironman, I'd be happy with anythng under a 9:00 pace for the run. Everything else constant, it would drop my my time by more than 4 minutes.

Although the run itself felt good and I don't feel like I was red-lining at all, I know that I lost too much weight. I was 175 before the run and 170 after, even though I drank 32 ounces of Gatorade. It wasn't particularly warm, but my sweat rate must have been high. I ate within 30-45 minutes post-run, but I started to feel light headed and tried to take a nap, waking up with an awful headache similar to a migraine but not quite as severe. Two hours post-run I still felt bad, but by four hours post-run I just had a slight, lingering headache.

Need to work on nutrition DURING my run.

Running Free

Great run yesterday. It was cool and dreary here in Napa, but I set out to do a 8-9 mile out and back. I was wearing my new Pearl Izumi Syncrofloat 2 shoes (PIS2) - 2nd time wearing them - and questioned the sizing. I have plenty of room in the forefoot and there is no slippage, but there my footfalls seemed to be slapping down on the pavement more distinctly than usually. I bought the PIS2 shoes via Road Runner Sports, and the sales guy said that they run about a half-size smaller than most running shoes; so, while I'm normally a size 11.5 for running shoes, these are size 12. All that said, the sales guy indicated that Pearl Izumi got their redesigned shoes right this time, and I've been fairly pleased with these PIS2 shoes over the limited runs that I've had them.

At the same time I bought my PIS2 shoes, I also bought a pair of New Balance ZIP 8507s (don't know how long this link will last - these shoes aren't even listed on the New Balance site anymore) and I've only been out in those once (on the treadmill for 6.25 miles). The sales guy warned me that they would be fairly stiff out of the box, and he was right! I've been wearing them for 1-3 mile walks, hoping that that will help break them in. I know that I'm going to have to get some more running miles on them to loosen them up, but I was attracted by the durability as a good training shoe - and the sale price. We'll see.

My body felt a bit stiff for the first few miles yesterday. I later realized that my labored breath was attibutable to an uphill slope on the way out. At the turn around I was at 32:40, or an 8:10 pace. My negative split on the way back was more like 31:30 (7.52 pace), but I put in an extra half mile at the faster pace, so my total of 8.5 miles was completed in 1:07:30, or a 7:56 pace. Average HR was 168, making it more of a tempo run than a long run, but I was pleased. I feel fine today.

I used a new sports drink on my run that I got for the holidays. It's called Nuun (fairly new brand) and comes in disolvable tablets which makes it convenient for traveling, long rides or races. I plopped in a "tri-berry" tablet prior to leaving, but since I can often find water on my long rides / runs this is a good, non-messy solution. Tasted pretty good with just a tiny bit of fizz; I'll have to really pressure test it when it heats up to see how well it manages rapid electrolyte replacement. Of note is that it has less than 5 calories, so for long rides, I'll still need some type of carbohydrate bar for nutrition / fuel. However, on my long rides where I usually carry one bottle of water and one bottle of sports drink, this might be the new water.

Little Isaac greeted me as I returned home, wondering why he didn't get to go with Papa, but we didn't bring the jogging stroller with us on this trip, so for now, he's living vicariously.

Vacation Update

Maintaining a schedule and above all a good nutrition plan while on vacation is very difficult. I did squeeze in my planned 15 mile run on Sunday, figuring out a 7.5 +/- loop from my brother and sister-in-law's house using www.mapmyrun.com which is a great little site. Unfortunately, I didn't run a negative split, but nonetheless averaged about 8:35 per mile - I obviously went out too fast! My calves have been very tight since that run, and I'm realizing now that I wasn't as thorough in my stretching post run as I usually am - note to self!

This past Sunday was also my first truly long run solo, so mentally it was an important step for me. I really like training with Jeremy, I imagine on the day of the marathon that he might forge ahead of me, as he is a stronger runner. I felt mentally tough and had only a brief moment of doubt when at mile 8 - 9 my stomach felt off; not cramps but not good. I think it was the Strawberry/Kiwi flavored Carb-Boom! that I ate a few miles before. It was good to test other nutrition, but I'm sticking with Hammer Nutrition for my gels. That said, I've heard good things about Sport Beans and am planning on visiting the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield to see if I can get some new flavors and/or better deals!

From a fundraising standpoint, we are rapidly approaching the cutoff date and we are at 92% of our $15k target (just under $14k). I have a few folks who have told me that they will pledge and the matches seem to be coming in, so I see $14.5 in sight, but still need to get creative on the last $500.

Strong 14 miles and the ToM

Training is going as planned and Friday was a quick 5 mile tempo run around Tower Grove Park - late at night and with GORGEOUS weather. Saturday was spent in the front yard tearing up the rest of the grass and putting down mulch; no real workout but plenty of physical activity. This morning, I met up with Jeremy at Forest Park at 7:15 am - temperature was about 60-65 degrees. We ran two 7 mile loops, negative split, averaging 8:39 minute miles for the 14 miles. Only consumed about 1/2 of my hammer gel container, so I'm thinking I might be able to go the marathon with just one gel bottle. The rain held off and the cloud cover made it one of the most enjoyable runs of the year. Hopefully my friends and colleagues running the Lewis & Clark marathon and half-marathon today all did great!

I hustled off to experience my very first RAMS football game with some customers - it was okay, but I would have preferred spending the time with my fellow Mavericks at the Tour of Missouri. I did manage to connect with them for the awards (and I saw the stage winner ride across the finish line followed by a pack of cyclists). It was pretty cool.

Jessica and Isaac returned home after 10 days in Chicago - great to have the family reunited!

Baby Cakes

The picture says it all. Sweetness has many shapes and forms.