The training camp has continued to involve something hard every day. Tuesday we did a run / swim in the morning at the 27.5 meter pool. We keep doing the same workouts we would in the 25 yard pool, but instead of 5,000 yards we’re actually getting in 5500 meters. It’s almost like free mileage because you don’t really notice it when the walls are just a little farther apart. (btw, my hormone level must be getting messed with from all this training because I was watching 24 on Hulu last night and one of the actors said, “just tell me how much further it is”, which annoyed the crap out of me because I couldn’t correct her. Why can’t people figure out the difference between fUrther and fArther? Maybe it’s just me, I’m sure I make my own grammatical errors. And I’ve also bean craving chocolate, so it has to be the training.) Anyway, the afternoon run was a hard one. 4×8 minutes with 1 minute rest holding the fastest possible average. It was not unlike a 10k for time, and I was definitely the slowest of the boys still. It was after the first interval that I stopped for a quick second to retie my shoe when Kathy Tremblay caught me and I realized that I had better get my act together if I didn’t want to be “chicked” (when a guy is beaten by a girl – quite the modest making moment when it happens at this level). I managed to outrun her on the last three intervals, but I was closer to her than I was to the next guy ahead of me.

Wednesday we did what basically amounted to a 5k TT on the bike. To clarify, that’s 5,000 vertical feet. We started on the side of Mt. Haleakala and rode 3×20 minutes with 5 minutes “easy” in between. The “easy” part, however, was still uphill and I never got my HR even close to a recovery rate. We actually finished the ride at about 4700 feet, but the total ascent for the ride was almost exactly 5,000 ft, according to my Edge 705. This ride marked the turning point for me. I started off conservatively on the first interval and found myself riding with Andrew Russell and Kathy (yeah, she’s crazy strong – and really nice too). The three of us rode together for for the second interval at a stronger pace, then on the last interval Kathy dropped back and after 11 minutes I was riding solo as Andrew’s legs started telling him about the past 17 days of training he’s put into them. It’s pretty unbelievable to think that an hour at my best effort didn’t even get me half way to the 10,000ft peak, but it was still a great training day.

Which brings me to today. Another double run with a swim in between. We repeated last weeks run workout of 24x 30 seconds fast, 30 seconds “easier”. This time I didn’t try to stay with the group leaders, Simon Whitfield and Kyle Jones. I started off with the main group and found myself running in fourth position with Kyle an Simon long gone and Jeff Phillips coming back to me ever so slowly. Eventually I passed Jeff, ran with him for 5 or 6 more intervals, then fell back as he found a second wind. It was definitely a successful workout, if only because I didn’t do anything dumb like last week. Hooray for small victories!

(A quick plug for my K-Swiss K’Ona trainers. I’ve been really pleased how they handle fast running through uneven surfaces like the cane fields and on grass. I haven’t twisted my ankle once, and normally I’m the type to roll an ankle easily when I pick up the pace on trails. I’m very impressed.)

Tomorrow we were planning to ride up to the peak of Haleakala, but since everyone seems fatigued we’re going to do another 4 hour “base ride” – which means a 4 hour hammer-fest on the Simon-Pain-Train. I’d much rather ride up the mountain at a constant effort, and get some cool pictures to replace the photo above, which I took from the peak in 2006 with my aluminum Felt (complete with the strap on bars and fold-up pads). Oh well. Looks like I’ll have to come back to  Maui again to get in my crater ride.

Click on these guys sites that I’m training with (and linking to). All but Jeff have particularly good blogs with lots of pictures, as do Kirsten Sweetland and Andrew McCartney.

Sunday I raced in a local “biathlon” put on by the Waikiki Swim Club which consisted of a 5k run followed by a 1k swim. This “Christmas Biathlon” was supposed to be held last month, but lucky for me they had to postpone it until I was here on the island and ready to race. These local community events are really fun, and a great way to reconnect with other athletes in the area. Equal in enjoyment for me, however, is the ability to bring humor to a race where the primary goal is to have fun.

[Above: Can you guess which one’s me?]

So, I wore a pink Splish suit with big bubbly eyes on the front and my K-Swiss K’Ruuz. I figured nobody wanted to lose to a guy in a little pink suit, and with my K’Ruuz it would be pretty hard to beat me. One guy, Brandon Laan (6th at the Honolulu Marathon this year!), did outrun me, however, and the swimmer of his relay was Bill Goding (we used to duke it out at swim practice a few nights a week). They beat me, but nobody else did!

[From left: Todd Iacovelli, Stefan Reinke, Ben Collins, Bill Goding Brandon Laan]

From the gun I followed the lead of Todd Iacovelli and Brandon, both very good local runners. I did my best to stay on their heels, and when Brandon put in a surge at mile 1 my legs shouted at me for not having done any speed training since early November. Brandon gained a few meters on us and I pulled ahead of Todd to try to close the gap. I didn’t see Todd again, and about the time I got back in Brandon’s draft he surged again, creating a 20 second gap over the next few minutes, which remained for the rest of the run race.

I crossed the timing mat at the start of the swim in 15 minutes 50 seconds – 23 seconds after Brandon tagged Bill to start the swim. Jumping into the water, I felt like an old rubber tire trying to swim. Running and swimming are different muscle groups, so I didn’t realize how much of an affect one would have on the other. Somehow in triathlon there’s not so obvious a connection between swimming fast and running fast. It took me a long time to start swimming smoothly, my tummy felt like it was dragging on the bottom, my arms couldn’t seem pull any water, and every wave knocked me around like a turd in a toilet bowl (sorry, for some reason that was the first image that came to mind).

Coming back into the finish I finally started feeling a bit stronger. Bill was LONG gone, but my legs were able to kick again, and my arms were able to pull again, so I kicked and pulled as hard as I could and when the bottom came up to meet me I stood up to hear my fans shouting and telling  me to go away. Apparently, in the pre-race briefing when they said, “keep all the buoys on your  right” they meant “keep the two turn buoys on your right, and the final buoy on your left”. So I went back out and swam around the buoy, I lost very little time and it didn’t make a difference at all in the outcome of the race. After a few more people went to the wrong side, however, they sent some volunteers out to direct the swimmers to the other side. All was well.

[Left: Bob Havrilak drove me to the race and took pictures. As you can see, I’m more worried about what’s going on in the pre-race briefing than looking at the shutter. Pictured is Me, Courtenay, Sarah, and Than (Courtenay’s sister and brother)]

Courtenay raced as well, and we were both the first individuals of our respective genders. Go us, right?

On January 17th is a the second race in this 3-race series. Same course, so it would be an excellent way to judge improvement, or get in on the fun if you missed it the first time around. Check out the WSC website (linked above) for entry info.

We headed to the North Shore of Oahu just before Christmas. I was hoping for a week in the “country” with some nice cycling and running through the woods, but by December 26th I was nearly in tears with frustration over poor training opportunities. It seemed to me that, contrary to what one would expect, the kelly-green bumper stickers pleading “keep the country country” and the black and white ones claiming “HE>I” were sure signs of people who would gladly commit vehicular homicide just to chase cyclists off their precious, traffic-ridden, pothole-speckled, shoulder-less highway. The park and cane haul roads I used to run on when I was living at my uncle’s house are now cluttered with “no trespassing” signs and some jerk in a big van drives around threatening people with $500 fines if they pass the gates. And lastly, the pool was closed for lap swim for the entire four day weekend while the ocean was plagued with 40ft waves. For a guy who likes to train all day, life sucked.

[above: My K-Swiss Keahou’s started off sparkling clean before this run…]

In my last post, I mentioned a run… I spent Christmas Day with my cousin 11 miles down the road from Sunset Beach and decided to ignore a few “no trespassing” signs (which became increasingly threatening - “trespassers will be prosecuted” to “Explosives, stay away”, to “if you come in, we’ll shoot you.” – but who would kill me on Christmas?). Shortly after that last sign the road curved into thick Hawaiian jungle with flora so thick I could only see 10 meters max in any direction. All around me were the sounds of a living forest: birds, bugs, wild pigs, and all the delicate rustling of millions of plants dancing in the breeze.

I found a dirt bike trail that wound its way up the side of a mountain, and I figured it would be nice to get away from civilization and let myself relax for a bit. It was a Christmas present to myself. I ran up, and up, and up, and then up some more – stopping at every opening in the thick green jungle to admire the breathtaking views. My Garmin 310xt told me that I was around 1000 ft above sea level, climbing up a ridge into the Hauula Forest Reserve. At one point I was on a portion of the ridge with cliffs on both sides and no trees nearby when a helicopter came right towards me. “Oh man, if they sent a helicopter I must be in really deep trouble,” I thought. It went right over the top of me, then turned around and came right back to me before flying off into the distance. Figuring that if they were looking for me I was already screwed, I kept climbing, unsure of how far the ridge would take me. I was covered in mud from scrambling up dirt cliffs, and slipping down a few gnarly sections of “trail”, and my legs were scratched from pushing through some knee high shrubs, but for the most part it looked like someone had actually cleaned the trail quite recently. Just when I thought there was no possible way for a dirt bike to get through the technical section behind me I saw fresh motorcycle tracks cut into the red dirt. I kept running, and scrambling upwards until the trail suddenly disappeared. A few more strides and I found out why – there was a 200ft vertical drop directly in front of me and on both sides. The next ridge over had a path that kept going into the forest, but there was no way to get to the next ridge without going all the way back down. I was 3.5 miles in, and it had taken me 45 hard minutes to get there – this would have to be the end of my journey.

The helicopter must have been an island tour, because I never saw a single person during my run. Also, on the way out I was determined to find a route to the forest that didn’t involve disobeying so many signs. I took a few random turns, and used the GPS “bread-crumb” feature of my Garmin Forerunner 310xt to make sure I was headed in the right direction (a few times I got completely turned around – it’s really hard to find your way through thick rain-forest like that). Eventually I succeeded. I ended up coming out of a the trail right behind a Mormon church just a couple miles down from my cousin’s house. I immediately downloaded the route to Garmin Connect to show my cousin, then spent a while trying figure out how to embed the Google map into my blog. Apparently that feature will be in the February update of Garmin Connect, which is probably good because posting a map of where I was trespassing onto the internet is not necessarily a great idea.

With this little adventure under my belt, I headed back to the North Shore with a new determination to find my way off the beaten path – those adventures will be the subject of my next few posts.

Yesterday I called my Huatulco race report the “short version”, which is a bit of a lie. I did not leave out many details about the race itself. After the race I tried my best to rehydrate, so that I could enjoy myself at the athlete reception (read: “after-party”). It seemed to work. After a week of forcing copious amounts of salt into my system, it was pretty hard to drink anything but straight water.

Speaking of electrolytes, I brushed over the heat issue at this race, but it’s worth mentioning, because my performance in Mexico shows an evolution in my ability to race well in the heat (my last trip to Mexico resulted in me DNFing and waking up after a serious bought of heat stroke in a Mazatlan hospital). This newfound heat tolerance has not come through passive acclimation, but through active pursuit of research and methods to improve my body’s temperature regulation, pre-race hydration levels, and to help keep myself cool when it’s simply too hot for sweat alone to do the job. Electrolyte and Carbohydrate Drink, Nuun, sea salt, and carbohydrate loading were the key to hyper-hydration in the week prior to the race, but while training in Seattle I also had to create an artificially warm environment to allow myself to acclimate to uncomfortably hot exercise.

About two months ago I stopped using a fan while riding the indoor trainer (with Seattle’s fall rain and a broken wrist, I had only ridden outside three times since August), and I gradually added more and more layers to my running uniform (for my last track workout I was wearing four layers of K-Swiss long sleeves, tights, run pants, and a hoodie). Along with this heat simulation I had to force myself to drink way more fluid than my natural thirst demanded. When it’s cold out I am simply not as thirsty as I should be. For instance, one day I did a long run in full layering, but because it was cold out I forgot to drink and stop to refill my bottle. I ended up losing 4% of my bodyweight in sweat, which means I was very dehydrated. Luckily I only made that mistake once, and by the time my training block was finished I was used to drinking plenty during workouts.

In order to promote water retention and to keep my body’s electrolyte levels high I used grey sea salt, which is my favorite type of salt (I get it in bulk at Whole Foods). I passed up water during meals in favor of fruit juice, and made sure to have complex carbohydrates with every meal. When I was sitting around and didn’t want a sugary drink I used Nuun tablets to make sure I was still pushing fluids and electrolytes. I had enough salt to increase my thirst, and grams (seriously, grams – it caused more than a few shocked looks at the dinner table these past two months) more than I normally would consume during the day. So by the time I got to Mexico last week I was already used to high fluid consumption and high salt content in my diet.

Once in Mexico, I averaged over six liters of water each day of the trip, and almost all of that was mixed with either carbohydrate/electrolyte mix or Nuun, and it was in addition to the juices I had with breakfast. I drank a lot more than I imagined possible.

For the race I also prepared my body externally. I shaved my head (I hate not having my afro), and purchased disposable instant-ice packs from the first aid section of the drug store. I put one of them into my bike helmet, which kept my head cool for the first 20 kilometers.

Before the race I used an ice vest (basically a neoprene vest that you can put water into and freeze) to keep cool while I waited for the start. This actually made me nervous because I didn’t have a chance to try it in training, and I wasn’t sure how it would effect me in the swim. It was remarkable! I warmed up like normal, then sat in the athlete lounge with the vest on. My legs and arms stayed warmed up, but my core had a nice cool layer to keep me from sweating profusely like my competitors. I took it off about five minutes before we were called out, and by the time we started I had no trouble surging to the front of the swim.

Lastly, on the run I didn’t waste an once of the water given at the aid stations (4 bottles per lap for a total of 16 bottles during the 10km run). I either drank or poured every bit over my head. Amazingly, my K-Swiss K-Ruuz racing flats drained quickly and at no point did my feet feel heavy from all the water I had poured over them. It was high noon while we were running, but we did our best to stay in the shadows. The heat was seriously intense.

Sunblock is another thing to consider because the wrong stuff can trap your sweat and increase body temperature. I used my Hawaiian Island Creations 2x Sunblock (excellent product) in the morning before the race, but parts of my back are still tender today (more a testament to my pasty complexion and the strength of the Huatulco sun – and possibly to my self application technique – than to the quality of the sunscreen).

Still, I do not consider myself an expert in preparations, and I may change a few things for next time (different types of salt, different race uniform material…). Hopefully this account of my hydration and cooling methods helps you reach your potential the next time the mercury rises on race day. I would also encourage you to do your own research, and realize that dietary preparation is very individual. I was consuming >5g of salt a day, but someone else may need much more or much less to avoid cramps. Just remember not to try anything new on race day!

Every time I get a new shipment from K-Swiss I get super excited to find out what new products they’ve released. Since I started working with the company at the beginning of 2008, Kalifornia-Swiss has gone from a one-running-shoe brand (the Ultra-Natural Run) to a full line of innovative and performance-geared running shoes. In that same timeline, the athletic clothing has expanded from a few shirts and some tennis socks, to a full line of running apparel, including shorts, running pants, shirts, running jackets, and even right/left specific running socks (which are incredibly comfortable).

Most recently I got a pre-production pair of the new K-Ruuz 6.5oz racing flats. I’ve never run in shoes that lightweight before, and it’s awesome. Dallas was my fastest 10km time, 32:00, and I’m sure part of what let me run so fast were my new kicks. (As an aside, I probably wouldn’t recommend the K-Ruuz to your average triathlete – the risk of injury when racing in such a minimalist shoe is much higher. Make sure you have some miles under your feet and that you have the body type for a true racing flat. The K’Ona is plenty light at 9oz and still offers great support and stability.)

I also got a running top – which according to the tag is called a “half-zip top” – that I can only find on k-swiss.com for women. It’s made of a super-thin fleece, which has proven to wick my sweat away from my body. It beads on the outside of the shirt, so my clothes never get damp and heavy as  I run. It also has thumb holes, so my hands stay warmer. This is definitely my new favorite cold-weather running top (my previous favorite was a rowing top I stole from my mom’s closet), and if I could find the men’s version on the website I would link it, then buy a few more before they sell out.

Courtenay also just got a new set of kicks from K-Swiss. She went to My K-Swiss and designed her own custom shoes. You can pick your own colors for the fabric, laces, and sole, then you can put your name on the side – all for just $70. Below are the shoes I made with Columbia University in mind, and I’m assuming you’ll get an error message if you try to make shoes for Dartmouth or U. Penn.

On Sunday I completed the coveted, little-known triathlon trifecta. I have already been the star amateur, and the fearless guide to Aaron “Megawatt” Scheidies. This weekend I came back from a season-wrecking injury to prove that my transition to professional status was no mistake.

Forty kilometers south of Dallas, miles from the nearest street lamp, the beat of 80’s pop music sent out a homing signal to the best multisport athletes from around the world. Tour busses probed the black roads bringing hoards of athletes from the nearby metropolis. By 5am the transition area was already brimming with energy. A light drizzle fell upon the thousands of bicycles sitting next to an eerily silent Joe Pool Lake.

I arrived on a bus with 40 other professional triathletes from around the world. My rear wheel had a flat tire, which was creating an unwanted stress in my morning plans. After having my tire fixed I set up transition next to Matt Chrabot. I made sure my equipment was perfectly set up, then started walking toward the swim start. I made it just 10 meters before I realized I had left my chain on the wrong gears. I went back and switched gears, but when I started pedaling the rear tire exploded. Crap – was it luck that I figured this out before the start, or was something irreparably wrong with my rear wheel? Fighting panic, I carried my bike back to the mechanic. He popped off the tire and started inspecting the tube – meanwhile I inspected the tire. There was a gash in the sidewall which was the obvious culprit, and the mechanic happened to have a less-ruined used tire he was willing to give me - Continental 4000, which is by far the best tire for wet and slippery conditions like we were facing – it was a blessing in disguise.

By the time I made my way to the pro tent the rest of my field was already in wetsuits waiting for the sky to provide enough light for them to start a swim warmup. It would be a non-wetsuit swim – 70 degree water temperatures – but with the air temperature it was best to warm up in my Blue Seventy Helix. The flat and green horizon provided very few landmarks to sight off of, so I figured the swim pack may not follow a straight line between buoys.

After the National Anthem and introductions we lined up at the water’s edge. I tried to be on the left side of the start line, but ended up dead center – not a great place if you lack get-out speed. TYR was offering a $1,000 swim prime, and I wanted it (if not for the money, to prove that last week’s terrible swim in LA was just a fluke), so when the gun went off I kicked hard to get ahead of the pack. Within 100 meters there were three Vs, the group to my right was falling back, the group to my left staying even and being led by Paulo Miyashiro – a professional open water swimmer and triathlete from Brazil. I started moving left hoping to grab Paulo’s feet, but moments later he surged, dropped his entire swim group and was soon a splash in the distance. After a long struggle trying to catch my South American friend I finally gave in and found Matt Reed’s feet – widely recognized as the best feet in the business – where I stayed until the end of the 1500m swim.

Following Matt Reed out of the first transition we set off on the 40km point-to-point bike leg. Bouncing across cracks, potholes, and wet roads that seemed to be revolted by our presence, we rolled over the hills of South Dallas. (If only my Garmin Edge 705 would warn me of upcoming potholes!) Matt Reed pulled away and I found myself in a pack of Olympians, World Cup Champions, and general badasses. With so many strong men surrounding me I had no choice but to work hard. The 50 degree rain would have to be ignored. Every hill we encountered made my muscles ache, and the cold made it impossible to eat and drink, and my 705 showed that my heart rate was struggling to keep me warm. I wanted to hold back a little for the run, but I had to maintain position. By the time we charged into Downtown Dallas the rain had finally begun to subside. I pulled on my K-Ruus racing flats from K-Swiss and found myself on the heels of Bevan Docherty – one of the great runners in the sport.

“Stay with him no matter what” I told myself. Frankly, I’m sick of being dropped in the first mile of the run. Exploding at the end seemed likely, but I was willing to find out. I felt lighter on my feet than ever before, and by the end of the first mile I was still in the mix. I ran ahead of Matt Chrabot for another three kilometers before he took over fighting the wind. We rounded the turnaround together and I stayed on his heels until the last 2 kilometers. He started pulling away, and I fought to bring him back. I was already having the run of my life, but with 300 meters left I tried to surge and bring Matt back. It was too late – Matt expected it and accelerated down the final meters to the finish line. Matt crossed in sixth, with me following six seconds back for 7th place.

This finish is my best at this level of competition. I had three strong legs, and fought hard until the end. Next up is the Huatulco World Cup, and I’m definitely excited for a great race there.

Today I learned a new oxymoron. “Hollywood Training”. It doesn’t exist for me here. I went to 24 hour fitness and signed up for a 7 day trial, which gives me access to a 3 lane 25 yard (I sure hope it’s a little long, ‘cause I was swimming quite slowly) pool. After that I gave my friend Nigel a ride to work so I could use his car for a trip to Westlake Village, where I was planning to visit the best athletic apparel and footwear company in existence, K-Swiss.

At the K-House I got to see some of the new shoes coming out early next year. I’m super excited for the new Keahou. The current Keahou is the most comfortable and forgiving running shoe I’ve ever used, and still manages to be lighter weight than most trainers in that price range ($90 – if you want a discount on K-Swiss.com, say something nice on my guestbook page ). Right now I do some track workouts in the lighter-weight K’Ona because it has a more responsive sole and offers greater stability around the corners, so I suggested to the designers that they find a way to get that responsiveness in a high-mileage training shoe like the Keahou – that’s when they introduced me to the Keahou II. I wish I could show sneak peaks – this new shoe is awesome. Hopefully I’ll have a few sample pairs to try out in the next couple months, which will certainly warrant another blog.

Tomorrow I’m planning a 3 hour ride, and wondering if that’s long enough to actually get out of the concrete jungle of Hollywood and LA. Unfortunately, I won’t have a care tomorrow, so driving to my workouts is out of the question. I hope the treadmills at 24 hour fitness are nice.