...I'm done working out for the night. So this means a number of things. One, I get to catch up on all my bloggers. Of which I looked at today and I'm way behind. Some of you have posted 20+ times, a blogger was in a terrible bike accident (thank goodness Audrey's okay) and I had no idea. But that was then and now is now. Now is taper time and I need to figure out what I'm going to do with all this spare time! I know, read all your blogs! Time to watch the Olympic Swim trials!
If you just hit my blog... YOU are NEXT... Tag! You're it!!!
10 years ago I was:
18 years old and just finished up High School. I had choosen to go to college, but wouldn't actually start till January 1999.
5 years ago I was:
Overweight, and about to run my very first triathlon ever. It was an olympic race, and by far the hardest thing I had ever done to date. Little would I know that I'd be racing Ironman only a year and a half later.
1 year ago I was:
Gearing up for Ironman Lake Placid 2007. My goals for this race were the same as they were the previous three races. Qualify for Kona!
Only 20 days remain until IM Lake Placid. My taper is in full swing and best news yet, my ankle is healing quite nicely. After two rest days (Thursday and Friday last week) I decided that things were healing faster than I expected and I decided to proceed on as planned with my regular scheduled workouts. But first let me tell you that the Tour of Pennsylvania Bike Race was in town this weekend and my company sponsored one of the professional teams, Konica Minolta from South Africa. Friday night I was invited out to dinner with the team. I met the team in Greensburg PA at Sunset Cafe for a nice hearty Italian dinner. The team's spirits were extremely high as Christoff Van Heerden, the team leader, came away that day with the yellow and green jersey. I spent a lot of the evening talking about racing at that level, and it was really cool to get the perspective from some high caliber athletes. Christoff and one of the other guys actually came from a Triathlon background so we chatted about that as well. Although Christoff lost the yellow the next day, he still took 2nd overall in the race across the state.
Saturday morning Jen and I drove about an hour north of Pittsburgh to Moraine State park for the annual Pitt 2 mile open water swim. My goal for the swim was to swim the race at or around my IM pace. Not too hard, but not too easy either. Having not kicked with the black and blue ankle I wasn't sure how I'd do in the water, but once I got going I had little to no problems. The swim course was an out and back swim. When I hit the turn-around buoy at mile 1 I glanced down at my watch and it read just under 25 minutes. I was right on pace and figured if I finished around 50 minutes I would be happy for the day. I came out of the water around 53 minutes (stronger current on way back) feeling great.
Workout #2 of the day was a five hour ride. Matt Mauclair (another top notch local Ironman athlete) and I set off on the bike ride and were clipping off the miles at a nice pace. At times (with the tailwind) on the flats we were averaging above 30mph. The ride was a good variety of nice aerobic pace as I spent around one hour in zone 3, two hours in zone 2, and two hours in zone 1.
Around four hours into the ride my legs were still fresh....a very good sign! We pulled into the North Shore parking lot five hours after our initial departure and Matt and I quickly transitioned to a 45 minute run. I wasn't sure what pace we were running but it felt fast. My legs were turning over with ease and my heart rate was staying low. I babied my ankle on the corners and didn't have much discomfort.
6 hours and 35 minutes after the start of the swim this morning, my day was finally complete! We finished just in time too. Not even five minutes after we got done running, the sky opened up and the rain began to fall. Once we got home and cleaned ourselves up we headed over to my friends house for a BBQ. It was raining so we had to move the festivities indoor, but it was still a lot of fun. It was relaxing to for once not talk about racing and to spend a night with the guys opposed to the normal 9AM bed time on a Saturday night.
Sunday morning came and went just as fast as Saturday. We were awake early as usual and Jen whipped up a batch of her famous whole wheat blueberry waffles with pure maple syrup! Ummmm my favorite! After a peaceful morning it was getting time to head to the pool. Sundays swim was an easy 45 minutes. You know, those super slow workouts where the old guy in lane six could give you a run for your money. I left the pool, picked up my buddy Paul and headed off to downtown Pittsburgh for stage 6 of the Tour of Pennsylvania. I met some work friends on the Southside of town and we met up with the Konica Minolta one last time for lunch. I was surprised to see them eat so much pasta right before a big race, but I guess your stomach doesn't move around as much on the bike opposed to swimming and running. They were loving their trip to the states as it was the first time here for many of them. After lunch we headed into town for the 35 lap crit race. There was a little bit of rain and a tornado warning which postponed the race briefly half way through, but overall it was really cool to see them guys blaze past a speeds of over 30 mph.
So that's my weekend. Another crazy, but fun weekend. I'm looking forward to my taper, and I head up to Lake Placid this Friday for a weekend of pure training. Next weekend will be my last weekend of hard training as I gear up for my biggest race of the season. It should be a fun one! Time to get in the zone!
Last night I put the ankle on an accelerated recovery plan (at least mentally), and used the R.I.C.E. method! Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. I fell asleep with the ace compression bandage on and woke up around 1AM with minor irritation. I removed the wrap, and fell back asleep. This morning I was able to walk without a limp which is good news I think...
I wasn't about to test the ankle at all and figured I'd give it another 48 hours of rest before I try to do any exercising. Coach K called last night just to check up on me and to hear how I was feeling. He doesn't think this will effect my training. I may have to scale back on workouts though the next week just to make sure I'm 100% in three weeks for IMLP. I still have some discomfort but I think as long as I stick to forward movement (and no sudden side strains) I feel I'll be healed very soon! We shall see.
What was supposed to be a extremely awesome workout turned into my worst one of the year. Everything started off good as I went for a 60 minute ride on the Felt. The ride went smooth, I stayed focused and could tell I was riding "in the zone".
I pulled in the driveway in one piece put on my running clothes and checked happened to check the front porch. Horray, my new shoes were here. I was about a week overdue so figured I could take a couple extra minutes in my transition lacing up the new shoes as it would serve me good for my 2 1/2 hour run. I quickly put on my shoes and I was off. One mile done, two miles done, three, four, four and a half, CURB! To avoid getting hit by a speeding car around the bend I stepped up onto the curb. Within a split second my ankle rolled and I was suddenly in pain. I quickly stopped and dropped down on my sit bones into the grass.
The first thought in my mind was "you've got to be kidding me". My second thought was to assess the situation, and find out how bad it actually was. I got back up on my feet, tried to walk, then tried to jog. f*$#, sh$t, f&%1, g0$da%@#iT. Ok, this is bad. Since I was 4 1/2 miles away from home, walking was the only option so I thought. My friend lived near by so I hobbled over, knocked on the door and asked for some help. She quickly offered to drive me home and get me some ice for my soon to be swollen ankle.
So seven months of training....no injuries....no soreness......the best freakin shape of my life....one little curb has temporarily gotten me sidelined. I'm really praying that I wake up tomorrow and it feels better, but I know that probably will not be the case. I've so far given my ankle three ice baths.
Luckily I have a scheduled "off" day tomorrow, and a light day Friday. I was scheduled to get my V02 max test and lactate threshold tests done Friday night, but that may have to wait. Only three weeks from IMLP this is the last thing I need.
Most of us go through life living only on wishes and never coming close to our limits. But wishes are important, they're the start of great feats. Wishes grow into dreams when you are able to mentally "see" yourself accomplishing the wish. Dreams turn into goals when a plan for attaining them is defined. Goals become a mission when unwavering self belief is realized. With the proper attitude, almost anything is possible. What you believe, you will achieve. ~ Joe Friel
Today I had one of those workouts that made me believe. Today I had one of those workouts where I felt great and in the best shape of my life. I just know that going into IMLP if any other athlete wants a chance at one of those M25-29 age group Kona slot, they better bring their "A" game, because I'll be bringing my A++ game.
My training is going flawless. I know, talk is cheap, but my commitment to my 08 race season is like nothing else I've ever committed to. Each day I lead a life that revolves around training and the sport of Triathlon. Will this get me to my goal of a second straight Kona run? I believe it will.
So this morning began at 7:15 as my riding partner Paul and I headed out on a 80 ride that has a total ascent of over 6,000 feet during the duration. The first major climb comes 40 miles in, and is a doozie. The hill climbs over 1,000 feet in a little over 3 miles. So we had a great ride and it was time to see how my legs respond after 80 miles on the bike. Once I got home, I did a quick turn-around and put on my running shoes. 8 miles later at a sub 7:30 pace, my day was complete.
I rewarded my legs with a ice bath, and intend on a quiet night full of recovery thoughts.
Oh yeah, I wanted to also say good luck to all those racing this weekend at the Philly Tri, especially my friend Drew, and Beth Shutt. Both Beth and Drew have been putting in some solid training, and I expect them both to have awesome results. Good luck you two!
Local Ironman Chad Holderbaum is preparing for another summer of racing with some vigorous workouts and events. The Penn-Trafford graduate and Irwin resident has had good success so far this year in various races leading up to Ironman Lake Placid on July 20 where he hopes to qualify for Ironman Worlds for the second straight year in Kona, Hawaii, later this year. In addition to training for between 15 and 23 hours per week, Holderbaum has battled in marathons, swims and bicycle races.
Kicking off the season in March, he raced in the elite division and took ninth overall at the Miami International Olympic Triathlon with a personal best of 2 hours, 6 minutes. In April, he ran the Big Sur California Marathon and finished 18th overall and third in the men's 25- to 29-year old division with a time of 2:55.59. "In May, I did a pretty crazy race in Portsmouth, Ohio. It was four triathlons in three days called the Triple T Challenge," he said. Friday began with a sprint triathlon, including a 250-meter swim, five-mile bike ride and one-mile run. Saturday included two Olympic distance races with a one-mile swim, 25-mile bike ride and 6.55-mile run. Sunday finished off the weekend with a half Ironman, including a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run. "I treated the weekend like a long training weekend, so placing high in this event wasn't a top priority for me," he said.
Holderbaum's most recent success was earlier this month at the Eagleman 70.3 half-Ironman race, which included a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run. At this race, he qualified for the Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championships held annually in Clearwater, Fla. "On one of the hottest days in the race's storied history, the race was both challenging and included a very competitive field," he said. "Temperatures were in the mid 90's, and humidity numbers matched. Conditions were just like Kona."
As the summer days tick by I find myself becoming busier and busier with my training. Hence you'll notice I haven't blogged in almost a week. Last weekend....well I can't even remember what workouts I did last weekend. Okay, now that I looked it up, Saturday I ran 13 and swam 3100 yards, and Sunday I biked long (4 hours) with Paul.
It seems that I've come to a point in my training where I am getting in good quality workout and not becoming tired. It's amazing watching the body evolve week by week. The hills that I biked up weeks ago, those same hills seem like small rollers.
Monday was an off day, this week and after work I napped, and then did some Yoga with Jennifer. We got this new DVD which is part of the Spinervals series and I highly recommend it to anyone that has a tough time stretching and staying flexible. I was back in action Tuesday for nice long workout. An hour on the bike followed by 17 mile run was just what coach Kevin ordered. Going into the workout I thought that I would be tired towards the end, but it was the exact opposite. After the long run, I felt like I could have kept going another 17....but obviously I didn't. My daily routine continued as I ate and went to bed shortly after the session.
Wednesday morning came all so quickly as the 5AM buzzer went off. I really need to get a new alarm clock that doesn't scare me half to death when it goes off. We climbed out of bed, went down into the basement and jumped onto the trainer. Just a light easy workout for this morning said Coach Kev. Just a little something to get the blood flowing before the evening swim. Wednesday evening was here before I knew it, and my buddy Matt met Jen and I and we proceeded to the Greensburg Y for our 6000 yard swim. That's right 6000 freakin yards!!! This is coming from a guy that who last year would be lucky to swim 6000 yards in a month. The set was broken up into 12 sets of 500. For me at around a 1:30 / 100 pace, that meant I swam 12 sets of 7 minutes and 30 seconds. The first couple went by without a hitch, but by the time I got to around the 7th or 8th interval I was completely water logged. There was no turning back now. I sucked up the pain and swam my heart out. After the 12th set I had that feeling of accomplishment and gratification. So my 3.4 mile swim was officially over, and it felt great. Jen and I headed home and met two of our friends for Pizza and was off to bed shortly after that.
Thursday I called my "Mental Toughness" day. It was my key workout of the week, and I absolutely nailed it! After a 20-30 minute warm up, Coach Kev wanted me to get in a solid 2.5 hours 20 beats per minute below my Lactate Threshold Heart Rate. Not having many flat roads near my house I decided to pack up the car and head down to the Washington Bike Oval just outside of Pittsburgh. The oval is a 1/2 mile course with a slight roller at one point of the oval, and also has banked corners. I've done one crit race there two or three years ago, but decided it wasn't my thing. Anyways, the ride really got tough about 1:30 into the 2:30 ride. Going in circle mile after mile at the same pace, same gear, same position, really was challenging but hopefully workouts like this is what will set me apart from my competition July 20th at IMLP.
Here I am coming out of the water obviously. Biking through the Badwater Wetlands.This has to be my favorite picture of all time. I had no idea that old guys check me out as I run by. All I can say is, it must of been the new shorts... Coming into the finish. The final steps before crossing the finish line.
I made it home from Disney World, and it was actually pretty fun. Yeah the working part of the trip was a drag, but my work ensured to entertain us during our off time. Tuesday night after work I got in a little recovery workout, and then went to Epcot with the work folks. Dinner was served in the Grand American Ball and was followed by the Epcot Illumination water and laser show. Wednesday was another jam filled day of work meetings. After work I ran about 8 miles through part of the Disney 70.3 course in the Disney Wilderness Lodge and boy was it bugging hot! When I say bugging hot...I really mean bugging. When I returned from my run I was covered by these small black bugs. I guess considering Disney was built in a swamp, there still is those little creatures present.
Thursday was a travel day as I didn't get back in town till Thursday evening around 5:30 PM. Jen and I got our bikes ready, met up with our friend Heidi Austin (who just moved back in town from Pensacola FL) who also says she has biked with your favorite blogger Marit. When Heidi told me this, I thought, man is it a small world! After an hour warmming up with Jen and Heidi, it was time to kick it up a notch for a steady 45 minute tempo interval. My legs were still a little heavy from Eagleman, but they're coming back.
Friday was a very busy day. We had to get in a swim and a run today and neither one of us could get out of bed Friday morning, so we decided to do both workouts last night. I headed directly to the pool after work for close to 4000 yards (which consisted of 3000 yards of pull / no legs). It was a really hard workout, but not as hard as the track workout later that evening. The track workout last night was 5x1000's at 20 seconds faster then 5K pace per mile. Can you say OUCH!!!
So that's that. This weekend should be a good one filled with hours and hours of suffering as I've officially entered "Ironman" training.
Well most people out there would be ecstatic to be in Florida in the month of June, but I'd rather be at home. After a long weekend at Eagleman, I had to jump on a plane and fly to Orlando for the week. I flew out of Pittsburgh at 7:15 last night, and didn't arrive in Orlando until midnight. I was unable to get any sleep in the plane (even though I rode first class) thanks to the screaming kid right behind me, and the parent that had absolutely no control over her kid. Regardless, I finally made it to bed around 1:30 AM this morning (way past my bed time), and was up at 6:00 AM this morning for work. I'm staying at the Grand Floridian, it's a really upscale Disney resort and spa. I guess after being on the road traveling week after week, and year after year, even the nicest hotels still seem like a regular hotel. I wonder to myself if the bed I'm sleeping on down here is really worth the price work paid. Anywho, my meetings today lasted till around 4:45 PM which was just long enough for me to not be able to get in my workout. I have to run 45 minutes super easy tonight, but it'll have to wait untill later tonight. With my new job I'm required to not only work all day, but also go to these work functions at night. I know...it's not really work, but it's not working out either. I've gotten into a very strict workout regiment the past five years, and hate when I have to stray away from it. The Disney bus leaves for Epcot at 6:00 PM for dinner, and followed by some sort of laser light and firework show. We then get to roam the park (after it closes to the public) till midnight or something like that. I know, everyone else in the world would be excited to get free admission to Disney World, but right now I have bigger fish to fry. That being Ironman training of course. I'm sure I'll be the first to leave the party and if anyone is looking me I'm sure they'll be able to find me back at the hotel on the treadmill. Not to mention I need to wake up early so I get first dibs on the pool before all the kiddies wake up. Has anyone ever done laps in a "non-lap" Disney pool. It's sort of kidney shaped, and if I swim diagonally, I think it just might be 25 yards (or longer) in length.
So that's my Tuesday. I'm in Disney and I want to workout....not work. ;)
It's hard to believe that my first triathlon of the season is here and gone. However, this race will be one to remember for a long time. Jennifer and I woke up early Saturday morning and headed to Cambridge Maryland for the 2008 Eagleman Half Ironman 70.3 race. The Eagleman consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike race, followed by a 13.1 mile run. The drive from Pittsburgh took a little over five hours but we finally made it into town a little past noon. We met up with Jen's mom and dad (who were about to see their first Ironman race), registered for the race, and got ready for our light workout. As we got our bikes ready for the easy ride there was one factor that we did not take into consideration. That being the heat. By 1PM on Saturday the temperature was in the mid 90's, and I was sweating just standing there. Just as we were about to head out on our ride we ran into two of our friends Jeremy Cornman and Jocelyn Smith.
A nice and easy 20 minute ride and a 10 minute run was just what we needed to loosen up the legs for Sunday. Jen and I checked our bikes into Transition and headed to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. Jennifer has relatives that live in Cambridge so we met up with them along with Jen's parents for dinner. They made an unbelievable dish of Lasagna with a very good mixed salad. It was just the fuel we needed in preparation or the hot and long race day. We said our good byes and headed back to the hotel for some shut eye.
Sunday morning came all so early. I had set the alarm for 4AM and began my pre-race ritual. I got down 600 calories for breakfast at 4:00 AM, jumped in the shower, and began to get in the zone. On one of the hottest days in the race's storied history, I knew I had to overcome both the challenging conditions and a competitive field. Temperatures were in the 90s (Fahrenheit) and humidity numbers were to match, the conditions were "just like Kona". Regardless I had to suck it up, and get ready for the long hard day. My heat was off at 7:00 AM and I quickly got into a smooth rhythm. I exited the water a little slower than I would of preferred in 31:03. Transition was a struggle as I fought with my wetsuit as it just didn't want to slide off. 2:26 later I was off on the bike. I felt strong the first 20 miles of the bike averaging 23-24 mph, but for some reason I didn't feel my best. I began wondering if it was a mistake doing Triple T two weeks ago, or if it was a mistake not doing enough "flat course" training. Regardless I came off the bike much slower than I would of liked averaging only 22.5 mph. Feeling slightly disappointed I now had to get over the fact that it was 96 degrees and I had to run a half marathon in the scorching heat. My position in the "male" division had me in 385th place and I knew I had a lot of hard work ahead of me. My pace wasn't very fast, but I hit the halfway point in 46 minutes and knew that I was again slower than expected. Little did I know that the heat was affecting everyone in the race, not just me. The last six miles I continued to take in fluids, salt, gatorade, and ice. People were dropping off like flies, and I was passing people by the second. My legs still felt fresh, but my core was overheating and I couldn't pick up the pace even though my muscles felt ready to go. I simply honed in knocking off the miles and knocking off other competitors. I finished the half marathon in 1:35:22 passing 353 males on the run with a total time of 4:39:51. I had missed my goal time by close to 20 minutes, but given the extreme conditions I thought maybe I placed in a decent shape among my age group. As the results were posted, I couldn't belive my eyes. The heat really demolished the field, and I was ranked 4th overall out of all males 25-29. And most importantly I had reached my goal of qualifying for the 70.3 Half Ironman World Championship this November in Clearwater Florida. Jen had a great day finishing 10th in her age group with a time of 5:39:25, and Jocelyn had a great day finishing 4th in her age group with a time of 5:00:07.
So to sum up the 2008 race season so far: 1.) I PRed with a 2:06 Olympic Triathlon Distance 2.) I PRed with a 2:55 marathon time on a very hilly "Big Sur" course 3.) I PRed in all swimming legs (Olympic and Half IM) 4.) I PRed in my half Ironman distance 4:39 (Eagleman - very hot day) 5.) I PRed in my half Ironman Run 1:35 (Eagleman - very hot day) 5.) I qualified for the 70.3 Half Ironman World Championships
I'd say I'm off to a nice start. My focus will now shift to Ironman Lake Placid. I talked to Coach Kevin yesterday, and he plans on doing what it takes to get me in shape for a Kona run.
So it's hard to believe that it's been over a week since I posted to my blog. Trust me when I say, I've been that busy. So I guess I should back up a week, and start with last Sunday. Talk about a busy day. I was up really early, and in the saddle by 7:30 AM. Matt Mauclair and I set off on a 4 hour ride, and man was it a good one. We rode up the ridge and I took Matt up 3 mile hill. It was a great ride. After I got home I didn't have much time to get ready and head to Detroit for game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Three of my buddies from work picked me up at 3PM and were were off. Sunday night we stayed in Windsor Canada and spent the night out at the bars (not typically my cup of tea) but it was fun just to mix it up for a change. Knowing that Eagleman was only a week away, I was good and only had a beer or two. Monday morning came all so fast, and we packed up our bags and headed back across the border into the Unites States. We drove that morning to the Joe Louis Arena in hopes for some last minute sights of the Penguins. After the Pens morning skate, we got to see the Pen's load the players bus. We also ran into some other famous people such as Bob Errey (pictured below and was on both 1991 & 1992 Pens Cup winning teams) and we also chatted with Bob Pompiani (a local sports broadcaster).
After we left the arena, the four of us headed to Hockey Town. Hockey Town is a restaurant in Detroit devoted to Detroit Red Wings Hockey. We ate lunch and hung out there all afternoon. It was really cool being in enemy territory. We got harassed, but it was all in good fun.
After we spent the afternoon at Hockey Town were were off to the game. The Penguins were on the verge of elimination as the Red Wings were up in the best of seven series three games to one. I call this picture, 'Walking Through the Gauntlet". Chris felt the need to antagonize every Red Wing fan in Detroit.
The game started off on the right foot as the Pens took an early 2-0 lead going into the 2nd period. However Detroit being a solid hockey team bounced back and with a minute to go in the game were leading the Pens 3-2. Everyone in the building thought it was over. The celebration in Detroit had already begun. That all changed with 34 seconds to go on the clock. Max Talbot scored to tie the game and put the series into sudden death overtime.
The game went on well past midnight waiting for someone to score. Finally Petr Sykora buried a pass from Malkin in the third overtime to win the game for the Pens forcing a game six back in the burgh. It was a great game and were glad to support the hometown team on the road in Detroit. Game six of the series was back in Pittsburgh at Mellon Arena.
The entire city was nervous, but we thought the Pen's could force a game seven and even possibly win the cup. The arena was ecstatic. Then energy level was out of this world. Again I went to the game with the same three guys, but also was lucky to run into my friends Jim and Shawn. We spent the pre-game in the igloo club (thanks to the Westinghouse tickets).
The game was a tough battle, but needless to say the Red Wings prevailed, and won the game, the series 4-2, and were crowned the 2008 Stanley Cup Champions.
As the Wings hoisted the cup, fans yelled out "LETS GO PENS" chants. Although we lost the cup it was a great year for this young team. And trust me when I say, we will be back many times in the years to come. Again great season Pens!
