triathlete training

The Crystal Springs 50K

2012-01-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

On January 7th, I did the Crystal Springs 50K Trail Run in Woodside, CA. I signed up for this race because I wanted to complete a long run in preparation for Surf City Marathon next month. I consider this type of event a "fully catered training day" where all my basic needs are taken care of so my mind can simply focus on just running. It was a beautiful day on the course which offered lots of single track zig zagging through bay area coastal redwood trees. They say we can learn more from the real thing than from a substitute so perhaps racing your way into shape is the best training out there.

re-discovering that moment

Stop watching, start doing

2012-01-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

Spectating isn’t inherently bad, but I believe we do too much of it. Instead of watching, do something. Or better yet, follow your passion and create something great. Be a part of something you believe in. Many of the things we desire are expensive but the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?

Pictured bellow I'm putting training riding one of my favorite routes called Dry Creek.

Fresno Half Marathon

2011-11-10T04:54:00.000-08:00

I completed the Fresno Half Marathon on November 6th. This year, I took my off season in October after completing my A race in September, P2P100. So doing this race signifies the start of my next training phase on a 12 week marathon training plan for the Surf City Marathon. Using a pace chart, its a good check what holding 7's for a half marathon means when you pace threshold intervals, tempo, long runs and EZ days on the chart so I'll do the right pace on the right days for my training plan. Here's some training workouts my known baseline pace per Fresno now projects me for:

Tempo: 6 mi @ 7
Threshold: 6 x 1 mi repeats @ 6:29 pace
Long Run: 12 mi 8 min long pace, last 6 miles new 6:47 goal pace
EZ: 8 mi 8:30 pace

By training pace correctly, I'll adapt my ability to handle these same workouts consistently over 3 weeks in November. I'll take the 4th week as a recovery week. Then in December, I'll wrench up the pace subtracting 5 seconds from November's training pace to use on these same run's. At the end of December, I'll take the 4th week as a recovery week. Then in January, I'll wrench up the pace subtracting 5 seconds from December's training place to use on these same run's. At the end of January, I'll take the 4th week as a recovery week. The first week in February is Taper and time to race 26.2 My training is like clockwork and I'll see what perfecting my pace in training can do. I'm going to train like a machine using that 3 weeks on 1 week off pattern wrenching it up across these blocks just by 5 seconds so just as I adapt to my training pace I'll recover then introduce more stress in a logical manner. Dedicating yourself to a pace acclimatizes the mind and body to running that pace and adapting to it in training so on race day you can trust your training has brought you a pace you can now execute.

Pine to Palm 100

2011-09-21T09:29:00.001-07:00

On September 17, I ran for 29 hours from Williams to Ashland on a 100 mile adventure in Southern Oregon's Siskiyou Mountains. The event started at 6 am with headlamps in the dark up the Rock Creek trailhead. Out of a field of 80 participants, I selected a position about 25 runners back in order to avoid wasting energy using pre-race nerves or following competitors which tends to dictate to aggressive of a pace to early in the race. It's going to be a long day, so my plan is to race smart.

O'Brien Creek marked the completion of the first 13 miles. The uphill trail had multiple switch backs and I noticed 5 runners overstepped a marked log on the ground missing a turn so I took off after them and brought them back on course. The course was well marked and heeding the race director's advice if you take responsibility to keep your head up looking out for typical trail markings you won't get lost.

Running to Steamboat Ranch at mile 20 my training partner Josh enjoyed conversational pace with fellow runners on the trail, finding out where they were from and the story that lead them here. He also commented that I was quieter than usual and noticed I had an inward focus trying to digest the sheer magnitude of the distance we just fully committed to by starting. I had thoughts flashing through my head about preserving energy & slowly entering into my game face rather than diving in head first like I typically do.

Then came the wake up call, shit I heard behind me. A screaming yell so I turned & found Josh sitting down on the trail. My heart beat skyrocketed with a rush of adrenalin, this could not be good. Josh must have kicked a branch on the ground instigating two bees to sting him and from what I recall he always avoided bees in our training routes because he's allergic to them. In response to the sting, he wanted to get to the next aid station ASAP to have it treated and avoid an unknown reaction on the trail. Not to mention the cost of a back country rescue in these woods. He told me to meet him at the next aid station and takes of at a sub 7 minute mile pace which is a risky pace faster than anyone else at that early point in the race.

As I continue running, that one scenario we specifically agreed to avoid just occurred, he was no longer running behind me, an approach we planned to ensure the greatest chance of a finish together. After months of practicing every aspect of this race in training we could, an element out of our control, a little bee, just took over the plan.

Come to find out, because Josh was running scared to the next aid station to treat the bee sting settling, he ran down hill at too risky of a pace and this gamble cost him a sprained ankle. By the time I meet him at the aid station to assess the damage of the bee stink, I realized he was not going to make it as his ankle appeared swollen, the same size of his calf. Josh and the aid station medic confirmed how it looked, he was out but being head strong he paced with me to Seattle Bar ignoring the pain just to get that self confirmation & allow the fact to settle in this really did just happen.

After leaving Josh, I picked up a new group. A couple kids I dubbed the Montana boys whom I meet the night before at the pre-race dinner. I introduced them to other runners we came upon as such, the Montana boys. Those kids were running strong, tall & shirtless but I got the sense this would be short lived after finding out the strenght of their youth came with no experience under their belt at any significant distance to warrant the pace they held this early in the race. Then came the most seasoned ultrarunner I’ve ever run with, Todd Ragsdale, whose credentials included 30 ultra's including one he ran completely barefoot. When he told me to slow the pace, I heeded his advice. We ran side by side and for about a dozen miles before he left me at the Squaw Lakes aid station at 37 where I took a break to shed some gear including leaving my backpack and shirt. As it turns out, that guy Todd held that same smart pace for the rest of the race going from the 20-30 field position to finish 7th simply due to attrition from those in front not staying even with their early pace. Todd demonstrated to me how to race smart at these events.

The descent to Squaw lakes was rocking single track dowhill. I caught up with a group of 5 who took off fast early in the race and now took the head position in the pack with these 5 running behind me. Those boys went out faster than me but I caught them after the marathon warm up by pacing it right. I was starting to feel my runners high and at this point, they were hitting a mental barrier at the marathon distance waypoint.

At the Squaw Lake loop around the lake the pack dispersed and I ran with one runner, Randy Nidalmia. I had meet Randy the night before at the pre-race dinner and marked him as someone I wanted to run with when I found out he's a 10:20 Ironman athlete and 2:56 marathoner. Credentials I aspire to. His wife was great and shared sunscreen with me at the aid station which was nice since I was crewless. She was hilarious too, she’s a nurse and wore a nurses Halloween costume to contribute to the ultrarunning vibe.

Running with Randy at the French Gulch Divide, I had him look away from the trail and out at the vast tree landscape and by doing so, your eye's are so used to the movement of the trail that they play an illusion with the tree's landscape moving in an outward motion. Randy and I admittedly were in the zone, in a running trance. The best way to explain the running trance to a non runner is think entering pirates of the caribbean davy jones locker for the race and leaving this place at the finish. During this trance you are aware of your thoughts as they impact performance and physically hyper sensitive to taste, touch, feel, etc. It a very primal state of being fully aware of living in that exact moment, like an animal must feel.

At this point, my nutrition was on schedule. This included one eGel plus one salt tab an hour and two bottles of electrolyte fluid between each aid station. I felt very good rehearsing this nutrition plan in training and felt good executing it today. The large number of eGel's I took in like clockwork was more than Randy could imagine taking in himself and witnessed it impact his performance. As we descended Hanley Gap, he could no longer hold my pace and we parted ways. It was good running with this new friend.

Climbing Dutchman peak I was alone at mile 61. Going beyond the 100K has been a significant waypoint in my mind where I take my first step running further than I’ve ever run before. To compound the virgin distance, the sun was setting and along with it the temperature drops. As the temperature dropped, I was not uncomfortable because running kept my core warm but my extremities got cold, most significantly my hands. This started to impact me when I realized my thumbs were so cold I could not physically open an eGel packet no matter how hard I tried. I continued on just knowing I was missing my one eGel per hour interval hoping there was an aid station just around the corner.

When I did reach the next aid station, I intentionally played catch up eating deli turkey wrapped avocado and walked away to allow my big meal of the day to digest. As I pressed on, it continued to get cold. I over estimated where to check in my drop bag which would not be until Glade Creek at mile 73. At this point it was dark and I turned my headlamp on. My nutrition dilemma solved at the last aid station would be short lived as I still did not have my jacket and my thumbs were once again frozen unable to open an eGel. Then came the aid station with miso soup, food never tasted so well. This was still not the aid station with my jacket but fortunately there was Josh and Trish with my spare drop bag. Josh pulls out my puffy brooks jacket, pearl izume gloves and powered by warm miso soup I was back in the game.

Arriving at the Wagner Gap aid station mile 80, the field was getting thin. This aid station was on the side of a ridge with gusty winds. Based on my experience skiing in bad conditions, if you stop at the lodge you don't go back out so being prepared by meeting Josh and Trish at the prior aid station, I blew through this one only changing my shoes and socks from my drop bag and not succumbing to the other comforts drawing everyone in to stay. I pressed on through the night on the Wagner trail perfectly warm and perfectly able to stay on track with my nutrition.

Nutrition and running was going well. But my demons came in the form of being tired from lack of sleep with no access to caffeine and I was alone without a pacer next to me to help stay awake. If you have ever driven your car tired you know your skills are just as impaired as driving drunk and being so tired I was running and swerving all across the trail. Spiralling downhill in my thoughts and my tracks while descending, a car light came up behind me and there was my second save of the day, Josh and Trish. They pulled up behind me with my emergency aid bag which I had tucked a Red Bull into. That Red Bull kept me going to the end of Wagner Gap.

Then came Wagner Trailhead at mile 82. This would be interesting, heading off the dirt road and onto the trail in the middle of the wilderness in the middle of night and at this point, a little sketch as I could fall asleep mid flight standing up. I told myself, don't get lost on this trail, stay awake and would have been willing to double back at any point I stopped seeing trail markers. But I continued on course and felt assurance as I passed each trail marker, even though the trail itself was sketchy with overgrowth. To combat the sleepiness, I would run on the trail and every quarter mile reach a tree to lean up against for 10 seconds to close my eyes for a mini break before trekking on. I almost fell asleep leaning up against those trees but the intervals worked to break up the distance and fatigue into manageable piences and I barely made it to the top.

At the top of Wagner Glade at mile 85 I meet two college students camping out and I stared at the mat next to their blazing fire. Their instructions were to pick up the flag at the top of the climb, the final 3 mile peak, then after bringing them the flag all that is left is a half marathon downhill to get home. I was drawn by that fire, way more appealing than leaning up against those trees. I laid myself down and just before falling asleep from exhaustion; I had that shock that goes through your nerves waking me up just enough so I could talk myself into just picking up that flag first before taking a nap.

Picking up that flag at the final peak was gratifying and along with it came sunrise presenting the most amazing views and a sense of renewal. The flags were placed on top of a rock formation they made you climb and at the top you could see 360 views, everywhere I just ran and the lights of Ashland where I would finish. I ran right past that camp fire on my way down & felt the emotions running through me as I overcame that struggle within.

On the way down I ran along side Juliano Wilson. This guy was a character, had a thick accent and was joined by his wife to pace him. I was descending faster on the single track and looking forward to that last aid station. All of a sudden, I heard Juliano scream behind me, waving his hands in the air. I was so fatigue I just stopped like a deer in the headlights. Ten feet away, a bear ran by straight through bushes stomping and breathing loud. It was watching me and Juliano had scared it away. It was brown and what must have been a teenager in size and I hugged Juliano and his wife for looking out for me. We ran home together.

The feeling of arriving in town in Ashland was surreal. People in the neighborhood looked at me like I was an animal and I felt like one. Completely stripped down from comforts to the basic simplicity of running and the heightened awareness of being fully present in the moment with one senses is primal. Crossing the finish line I realized I had acquired the ability to run 100 and the journey I took to accomplish this had transformed me in many ways. I had done it; I had completed 100 miles and relentlessly endured the physical perseverance and emotionally challenges faced.

Why did I do it? My fellow ultra friends will comment belt buckle but its more than that. My favorite quote goes "What you get by achieving your goals is not important as who you become". You begin with life's dreams and goals in your mind then work to build a successful life in the present, one day at a time. In our daily life, we are creatures of habit and routine and you will need to use self discipline to build positive rituals that support full engagement in the things that really matter and make conscious decisions to say no to the non-essentials that are not mission critical. Be deliberate about your decision making and similar to how I made the decision to press on from darkness to sunrise, don't just let your environment dictate your circumstances. Actions often reflect external pressures like wanting to sleep and not core values like wanting to finish. I am always amazed at what you can bring out of yourself when want something accomplished and have the will power to stick with it in the face of life's boundaries & obstacles to deliver results.

5x7 Folded Card

2011-09-21T05:55:00.001-07:00

Birthday Sketch Birthday Card

Shutterfly custom cards for Valentines Day, Easter & Mother's Day.

View the entire collection of cards.

I don't diet, I fuel my active lifestyle

2011-09-08T07:06:00.001-07:00

Take notice, you are what you eat. For the sake of our future generations, we need to re-think our relationship with food. It is my opinion that the 33% American obesity rate epidemic can only be addressed through educating one's mindset for greater self control over the mind & body connection. The preventable scenario with our overweight and obese population & non athletes is addressing the weak mindset driven by taste first. If your mindset is taste first, its inevitable what will occur in an environment where restaurants & convenient stores outnumber produce & grocery stores 8:1. The odds are not in your favor when your mind is thinking taste and it takes extra effort to make the right choice in this 8:1 environment. To compound the issue, media is over saturated with diets. Restrictive diets do not work and will leave the body depleted from energy and the mind in a constant battle to be tempted to stray from diet and fall victim to our environment antagonizing one's tastful cravings. The weak mind can be educated & trained to get over the taste first mindset and rethink the mind to crave meeting the nutritional needs of the body as a focus. Do not think of food as taste, think of food as fuel. Do not make goals to get light, make goals to get lean because the difference is you need to fuel your muscles & energy levels and not be left feeling lethargic from a diet. Forget the fad diets, what you choose to eat should depend on your metabolism. Let's be more picky about what we put into our bodies and train your mind to not make decisions based on taste but rather make decisions based on how that food makes you feel. Eating well is the key to a vibrant and healthy life. Failure to address your minds default addition to taste is your lack of education so to address this issue learn the nutritional benefits of different foods. I believe the weak mindset driven by how food taste instead of how food makes you feel contributes to failed diets, obesity, a trip to the doctor with cliche advice to exercise and eat right and a non athletic lifestyle so get to work and learn more about food as fuel.

My Pine to Palm 100 TAPER

2011-09-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

T-minus 13 days & counting til P2P go time. My Taper:

5th: 3 hr Long run for a nutrition & equipment rehearsal only

6th: Swim workout, get in the pool to give your legs a rest

7th: foam roll/stretch, 10 minutes warm-up run, 4 - 6 x 200's, 10 min cool down

8th: 8 mile w a few 30 second pick ups

9th: OFF

10th: 2 hr easy spin

11th: 1 ½ hr relaxed run

12th: Swim

13th: foam roll/stretch, 10 minutes warm-up run, 4 - 6 x 200's, 10 min cool down

14th: 30 min relaxed run

15th: Drive there, stay off your feet!

16th: foam roll/stretch, 15 min run to shake out the drive, stay off your feet!

17th: Race Start

18th: Race Finish

19th Drive Home

A Sharpened Mind Can Shape Our Bodies

2011-08-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

How You Think Is Everything. Be Positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment. There are two types of people, those who say I can’t and those who say I can. Don’t watch the game, be in the game. The will to peruse success in athleticism is not shared by the greater majority of our society so embrace it; you are different and represent that 1%. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity. Don't let other people or things distract you. Do not just cruise but challenge yourself to bring your A game and take performance to another level. Keep your head in the game.

Pursue Life’s Goals. Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them. A reason to believe, even against poor odds, is enough to stay focused on reaching a successful outcome.

Take Action. Goals are nothing without action. Don't be afraid to get started. Just do it! Take responsibility. Be persistent. Be dependable. Be consistent. Address skill issues with training. Work hard. Success is a marathon, not a sprint. If things go well, look through the window for someone to praise; if things go bad look in the mirror to assess your own impact on the results and what you can do to correct it.

Learn to Analyze Details. Get all the facts, all the input. Learn through experience and learn from your mistakes. Ask a peer or a coach for meaningful feedback, explicit to understand exactly what you should do more of or less of. Commit to being the best at what you do, perfecting even the smallest task. Everything worth doing is worth doing well. Choose the discipline you are passionate about, go deep into what you choose and study, study, study sharing ideas and thoughts with your peers. Doing this homework is an acquired skill. Cherish not just the physical aspect but the intellectual dimension of our sport.

Manage your Time. We all have scheduling considerations in our lives. Family, health, work, climate, hobbies, social involvement, church - you name it, they all influence our daily decision making on where you spend your time. Evaluating your triathlon objectives within this context is a very deliberate act that each of us must undertake. Balancing all these considerations is a two way street – both triathlon and the non-triathlon commitments have needs for your time. Things work out really well when there are many points of intersection between the two. Conversely, it isn't always a happy story when the two lack alignment. Frequently, there is a frustrated and overwhelmed athlete in the middle of these moments. If you find yourself in that moment, step back and do the analysis. What are your most important considerations in your life? What environment gives me the best chance to line up all these priorities? Which considerations am I most ready to sub-optimize to preserve another? The formula is different for each of us. In fact, the formula may be different for each of us at different times in our lives. My message is very simple, be deliberate about your decision making and don't just let your environment dictate your circumstances. We all have the freedom of choice, just be deliberate about the choices you make. There is no doubt that a good athlete carefully looks for time management opportunities and deliberately plans where he wishes to spend his limited resources.

Kings Canyon Rae Lakes Loop 8/20/2011

2011-08-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

The Rae Lakes Loop is a back country trail in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon national park. The loop is 42 miles long, and climbs from 5035' at the trailhead to 11,978' at Glen Pass.

The trail head start with Randy at Roads End station.

Yosemite like views without trails being trampled by tourist, there's something unique about isolation in the untamed wild.

The rugged terrain boast big trees, high peaks, pristine lakes and deep canyons.

Nature's streams provides all the aid stations needed (using my MSR filter).

Unspoiled nature.

Nature is a piece of Scott Nelson's character, not an abstract idea so being in nature is how I'm trying to connect with the space he left behind.

Climbing Glen Pass oxygen gets thin, only 70% as compared to sea level.

The view from the top 11,978' at Glen Pass

Randy at 11,978' Glen Pass

Enormous rock faces.

LIving life in the presence of nature.

A display of nature on the John Muir Trail.

Running through back country wilderness surrounded by cathedral like peaks.

Josh and Randy at the end of the trail, 12 hours 47 min. total trip.

My friend Scott Nelson

2011-08-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

A close friend, Scott Nelson passed away yesterday around 7pm. He was on an after work training ride on Rocky Hill. Comming down the hill he announced to a runner 'on your left'. The 14 yr old runner was not paying attention and while doing hill repeats, proceeded to turn around going toward the midle of the street without looking, directly into Scotts path. Scott swerved to avoid, collided with the runner and flipped directly over his handle bars still clipped in landing on his neck and instantly dying due to head trauma. His best friend, John Perez was riding with him and found Scott not moving when he went by his side. John spent the next two hours at the scene of the crash at Rocky Hill. Both John and Scott work at Mt Whitney High School and for today's first day of school the whole community is in morn. Our Visalia Triathlon Club is getting together tonight and I'm preparing a slide show with these pictures I've compiled from last year. John also shared that during this ride, they were just discussing this weeks Visalia Tri Club newsletter, see below, so riding safety was at the forefront of their thoughts. Unfortunatley, awareness was not there with the other party who just as well would have turned to run into the street in front of a car without looking.

Great Monday Morning VTC!
I wanted to discuss a few points on downhill riding. Descending a hill at speeds of 30-40 mph can get quite precarious. Add in oncoming cars, narrow roads and loose gravel and you have yourself a tough situation. You must stay aware and cautious at all times. You should always be looking ahead; looking for turns in the road, oncoming cars, rough road, and/or other cyclists. Don't ever let your mind wonder on fast downhills, be in the moment and conscious of what you are doing. Hands should be on the brakes, slightly pumping them when you need to make a turn or slow down. Don't just hit one brake or the other, use both of them to aide in better decrease of speed. Be ready because cars do not look out for cyclists. Oncoming cars can be coming around a corner at high speeds, be ready! Communicating with other cyclists is crucial. "Car Back!" "Car Up!" "Gravel in the road!" There is no such thing as too much talking when on the bike with others. Remember, safety is first when we are out there on our bikes. If you are by yourself and wear headphones, keep the volume very low so you can hear what is going on around you. If you are with a group, headphones should be left at home. This becomes a dangerous situation when you wear headphones and are with a group.
Let's continue to have fun out there. Be careful, safe and keep working!

To morn his Death I wish to tell my story to celebrate the last year of Scott's life.

Scott's a teacher and he taught me to set a course and enjoy every moment in its persuit, not necessarily just the destination. His deminour is very accepting of what low points are thrown at you in life while very encouraging on every bit of the progress made thus far. Scott welcoms people for who they are and in turn they gravitate to him like a coach or father figure. I recall him expressing utter shock that a girl like Cara would be interested in him and how lucky he felt. His course was a relentless persuit of weekly flowers, weekend family camping trips and placing the idea of a shared experience with their extended family and friends at the top of his priorities. We had discussions about Triathlon and his thoughts on this season was to spend the limited time he could train to optimize the bike leg, just focusing on riding and team up with his best friend John to do the run and girlfriend Cara for the swim along with the entire family to go camping at Wildflower. Everyone gets to have fun perspective and it was not even so much about the race as the shared experence with the people he was around. The humble course he set at Wildflower to seek experience first and results will follow odviously paid dividents and they took second place in the Wildflower relay 2011. Arriving back at the campsite the first words that came out of his mouth were 'how did you do' but to anwer this question would be almost impossible with an obvious medal he was wearing posing my response to inquire about his experience first before boasting about my own. Scott's patience was amazing, his daughter Audry's softball coach, his son Ethan's camping & fishing guide, his students calculous teacher and the like. His riding style was selfless letting the entire group draft him to the base of the hill then attack past him up the hill only to pick up anyone who blew up their legs in doing so to let them draft him home. Being around Scott is like having a springboard that provides the basis for you to excel. He took responsibility to set up base camp necessities to share with everyone when camping, let the group draft him when riding, always brought an ice chest with an abundance of extra chocolate milk & gatoriad to offer his training partners, always brought the best micro brew beer to create an experience to have a beer with a good friend, knew the best bands arriving in town to rally a group of friends to go see, insisted on picking you up to drive there, etc. Everything about Scott created a better shared experience and I hope to have learned to from the examples he set in our lives. Next time I offer to pick you up for a course I've plotted and have an ice chest with cold Gatoraid and perhaps even a fat tire, don't than me, thank Scott for demonstraing to me how to help the people you surround yourself with enjoy today just a little more.

The Fresno Classic Century & Half Marathon

2011-05-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

The Fresno Classic is a two day event with a 100 mile bike (century) on Saturday followed by a 13.1 mile run (half marathon) on Sunday. I participated in this race as a training weekend because in mirrors my typical weekend brick workout as a triathlete. The Fresno location also works well as home turf. There is just something about eating at home and sleeping in your own bed that makes it easier and seem more like a training day than a race.

At the start of the race, I meet several friends from the Visalia Triathlon Club, Josh Polk, Monte Mitchell and a few others. I pick out the fast riders, the guys in the Safeway cycling kit. I also observe we don't have our major valley teams who must be participating in tonight's criterium instead. This should leave the field open for us triathletes to set the pace in solo time trial without economy of road teams dropping us triathlete who ride like individuals.

The ride starts slow at a mandated 10 mph by the CHP and Rabobank jerseyed amateurs bringing us out of town. I assume this tactic was in order to have everyone start on the closed off freeway at the same time. This was the first century I have ever heard of where they actually close down the freeway to let us ride. Once we hit the freeway, it was game on. The freeway surface is super smooth, better than any surface I have ever been on. At the very start my friend Monte pulls a time trial solo off the front and I hold his wheel tightly with Josh right behind me. The peleton spits and I find our lead group consist of about 14 riders dropping everyone else. The speed was fast, going from 26 to the low 30's.

After the freeway, Monte sets precedence to pull the pelaton for Josh Polk to lead it for the next 15 miles with few rotations not in front. He was not running the next day so he was leaving nothing on the course. At the first aid station, I notice Monte stopped but the rest of the dozen riders kept going. At this point, we head into the hills. Once the hills start, the group fragments and I'm now in the front group of 8 with Josh Polk. This group further fragments and Josh stops at his Moms house who lives in squaw valley to say hello so I find myself with 4 riders in front of me who dropped me on the hills and I'm in 5th with no one in sight behind me. This was half way through the course and I rode time trial solo for the next 50 miles. I finished the day 5th, averaging 19.5 miles an hour which is right on pace to what I'm targeting for Ironman.

After the event, I had a massage and realize I have tight hips from cycling. I learned a few band stretches I can do to help. My tight hips may be attributed to sitting at work so going from sitting 8 hours to riding hours on end on the weekends I am putting them through a lot and will take the extra time to incorporate the recommended band stretching going forward. That night, I picked up Costco sushi and cooked salmon to go with it as my in between recovery meal. I also took an ice bath and stretched.

On Sunday was the half marathon. My goal for the day is a 1:30. I had a great warm up with Justin Levine and Eric Blain, enough to start to sweat before the start. Before the race I drank half a Gatorade and took salt tablets. During the race, I kept nutrition light and only sipped at the aid stations, ate one E-Gel on the course and one Gu after I finished. I also had one salt tab during the run and gave out my others to cramping athletes on the course who needed it. I finished the race right on target with a little spare change, 1:30:58. Overall, very happy for getting out of it what I wanted which was to simulate going out hard on the bike like I will do at an Ironman then running a good pace on tired legs. I am noticing my stride is very different on tired legs than on fresh legs. On fresh legs, I tend to muscle it to be fast and on tired legs, I have to think about running mechanics to be efficient. I am going to invest in a lot more training on tired legs and work on improving my running mechanics for long endurance as my top priority, knowing once I achieve where I want to be as a long distance runner I can always turn it back up on the bike.

My friends also killed it. Eric Blain and John Perez both pulled a 1:26 and Justin Levine did an amazing 1:24. These are my friends who come to the table with running as a strentgh so I like following suit with them on the run and in turn let them follow suit with me on the bike for a reciprocal training investment in our Visalia Triathlon Club group workouts.

Born to Run 100K

2011-05-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you did something for the first time? On Saturday May 14, 2011 I did my first 100K (62 miles), the Born to Run ultra. Here is my race recap to tell my story about the challenges I experienced and some lessons to remember.

I'm relentless in my pursuit to prove to myself there is nothing I can't do. I embrace the 'I can' attitude. Endurance events are just as much of a mental game as a physical one so choose your mantra and stay driven. My mantra, Relentless Hickey!

Signing up for an event keeps you disciplined and the specifics of eating and exercising will almost automatically follow from taking the event you commit to seriously. Given the date on your calendar to work toward, you know you've got to give 100 percent effort into training and do everything you can to get yourself ready. Its not that you wouldn't like to watch sports, drinking beer on the couch, it's just not important enough to make this trade off if you want to be active and participate in the game yourself. I thrive on setting a goal for an event then looking at every single detail to help get me to the finish line. On race day it's a test of my own assumptions for success.

I've read a lot of advice and there is no cookie cutter recipe for success. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. What separates those who succeed from those who DNF is what you do when you get punched in the face. Doing a 100K, it's just a matter of time until you hit the wall or something does not go your way so get ready for when the inevitable occurs because its how you respond in that moment that counts. When you reach that extreme state of fatigue you have to dig deep, reach inside and push through the obstruction.

The ultra experience is more of a primal state. The story may be told similar to how Alice in Wonderland chases the rabbit or Jack Sparrow visits Davy Jones Locker. You dip into a trance and stay there for a long time. At the start of the race on the first mile, I literally fell into my own rabbit hole.

I was running directly behind a group and landed in a hole up to my calf throwing me flat on my side. I picked myself up and recalled what the race director said, take responsibility for yourself. I stood up and decided to stop running behind people so I ran toward the front of the group to sort things out and luckily, came out unscratched. That was the start of my trance where I became acutely self aware. Self aware to make sure I felt ok, self aware of my own pace, self aware of each footstep on the rough trails, self aware of my surrounding environment, etc. The state of Davy Jones Locker has begun and I'd be there for an epic 11 hours 41 min.

After the first lap, I took of my shirt and ditched the ipod. Running through the grass fields you can let your hands down by your side and feel your fingertips brush through the grass as you navigate the
single track. When the wind picks up, you can take a deep breath and enjoy the clean ocean air. Its going to be a long day with the pendulum going between the primal states of thrive and survive so when
you have that runners high its time to milk the experience while it last. For me, it lasted for 55 miles, I could not believe it. For 55 miles I felt like I could run forever. Then on the ridge sometime after mile 55 I ran out of water so the last 7 miles were like hitting the wall trying to deal with catching back up on hydration.

Your body starts with about 2,000 calorie reserves so the first two hours of the endurance event primarily spend the calorie reserve you started with. Between hours two and three, most people hit the wall
you often hear described in the marathon which is when you have burned through these calories. Track kids who don't pay attention to this can rock a 5K, 10K or even a half marathon but blow up on the marathon and beyond. So during an ultra event, you have to execute a nutrition plan to stay ahead of the curve. For me, I don't wait until the 2,000 calories I started with depletes and work toward replenishing my tank with a Gatorade and Gew every 5 miles. If I was able to consume this the entire race I would but at some point you literally get sick of the sugary concentrate. Diluted Gatorade and water taste a lot better toward the end of the race but you'll need to factor in how water flushes out your sodium so salt tablets at each aid station become a must. Real food also settles your stomach down so I had a nice hot grilled cheese sandwich, cantaloupe and a red bull for lunch which kept me going. Crazy but you also need to monitor how often you pee as a sign of keeping hydrated.

A crew can also help you succeed during an ultra by serving as a pacer and monitoring your nutrition. During the miles I'm familiar with, I actually served as the pacer and reminded my friend Scott to fuel because he must have skipped aid earlier in the race and was trying to catch up. After I helped him along the way on his nutrition issue, he returned the favor and helped me re-hydrate and pace last 7 miles when I needed it. We both went through cycles between thrive and survive and partnering up to be each others pace & nutrition crew we achieved more than I would be able to accomplish alone.

The impact this event has on my life is the realization that sometimes we need that punch in the face to overcome the inertia of your normal routine. I can't wait to hit training with my whole new perspective. And yes, the ultra belt buckle 100M 24hrs will be a future endeavor because I'm going to need that buckle to hold my pants up after all this running, ha!

2011 AVIA Wildflower Triathlon

2011-05-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

This year's 29th Annual AVIA Wildflower Triathlon was amazing, as always. It's the Woodstock of triathlon and I thoroughly enjoy being around people who live and celebrate this healthy lifestyle. My favorite thing about Wildflower would have to be the humbling race experience every age grouper goes through in their quest to evolve in the sport. It's certainly humbling when you whiteness what the elite are capable of enduring on this very same race course but it's those lessons learned that allow us grow as we laugh at ourselves and share in this common experience. This year I had the opportunity to publish some of my favorite campfire stories for everyone on page 50 of the official Wildflower event program and tell my story in an interview for TriCal TV.

I arrived at Lake San Antonio on Thursday to set up the Visalia Triathlon Club campsite. This included setting up 5 tents and roping off space for 5 RV's for friends arriving the following day. We scored a prime campsite location including game day lounge seating at the half way point of the run course. Camp set up was followed by packet pick up and an interview with the director of TriCal TV.

On Friday, I woke up with real bad allergies leading to a head ache. Fortunately, this went away after taking allergy medication and acclimating to the environment. This is exactly why I come one day early so that I have time to adjust. Racing in a new location, your body will respond better if you acclimate and give yourself time to settle in. On Friday afternoon, everyone arrived at camp and I took the bus to the race expo, bringing along plenty of fluid & fruit to stay fueled. At the expo, I entered my name in a drawing (won a Polar RS300 watch) purchased some local wine labeled Wildflower (for Grandma who's babysitting back home) and meet Ben Greenfield (the endurance nutrition expert).

Race night you can't expect much sleep because you'll either be excited with pre-race jitters or the noise will keep you awake as cars pull into the campsite through the night. Fortunately, I had a great night sleep on Thursday and got plenty of relaxation during my taper week. Game day I woke up early for my cup of coffee and there's something about a morning campfire to make you feel like your going into battle. By the time everyone else awoke, I was in race day uniform including helmet prancing around a blazing campfire with music and all to awaken the fire in me, ha! Going down Lynch hill with the triathlon backpack on and people all around on amazing bikes you can just feel that incredible vibe the magic this event brings.

After setting up transition, I had time to warm up and watch the pro's. I love the fact that these guys will suffer the same elements (hot weather, cold water temp, headwinds, etc). They lead by example when they kick off the race in the first wave to show us age groupers how it's really done. One of my favorite mantras goes along these same lines, 'shut up and ride'.

On the swim, I line up in front and enjoy the entry as everyone elbows for space. I'm comfortable in the water and enjoy contact sports. I stayed on the heels of the former high school/college swimmers as long as I could then did my best to navigate past the age groups who started in the waves in front of us. Personally, I find the swim does not test my max speed as much as it tests my navigational skills. I had a decent swim time and certainly had more fun than those in my way.

Things are looking good through T1 as I make my way out on the bike. My bike strategy was to conserve on the first hill then attack the 5 rollers that followed leading into mile 10 then max out on the aero section of the course for the next 30 miles. Overall, I played the bike course exactly as planned, conserving on both major hills and attaching on everything else. However, I came in just over my 3 hour bogie but given the massive headwinds it was on par for what I had expected to achieve. Toward the end of the course, we had a training partner reunion as Monte overtook me followed by us both overtaking Josh Polk. Yes, I did give Josh Polk the inevitable ass smakin' as I rode by which I had established as a training partner tradition our first year on the course. It worked and woke him up to finish the bike leg with me strong as we entered T2 together.

Out of the run gate at T2 my training partner Josh Polk took off given running is his strength. I employed some sound running strategy advice; 'keep him in your sights'. The first half of the run course includes the grueling hills and with each turn, it took everything in me to ensure he was still visible on the horizon. At the half way point on the run, there was my sanctuary, the Visalia Triathlon Club campsite with everyone there cheering. Its funny how the return on investment in people works and the karma coming back to me at this particular moment was more than I would have expected. Running through my camp triggered the negative split in me and my pace completely transformed into that second wind that just makes your race. Landon paced me and gave me my split, 5 minutes behind Polk. It was on and I kindled the motivation to grind up the hill knowing a long descent through the team in training campsite area was to follow. This move paid dividends and I caught Polk about mile 11. The two of us proceeded to pace to Lynch Hill where I found that 'extra gear' at the end of the race to bring it home. The finish line was lined with people, yelling and screaming and feeling good I simulated a slam dunk on the finish line clock. The best thing about today is how good I felt after, not injured or run down like the prior year and I'm so looking forward to keeping my #1 focus to stay consistent on a marathon training plan to work toward qualifying for Boston which in turn will also help me at the Vineman full end of year.

Brining Your Best Self

2011-04-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

Did you bring your best self to the start line? Are you showing up with your best self in training? This question sparks my thoughts about that next level, moving beyond good enough.

We are living the trophy generation. No matter what you did you get a medal at the end. Congratulations, completing an endurance event you are now 1% of the sedative American society we live in. When I did my first marathon, my mantra was 'just finish' and the words 'you are an Ironman' will forever leave a life changing impression. But completing an event is not a destination, it's a journey and the next step is to go beyond good to great.

You need to redefine yourself. Post race recaps tell the narrative story and define your sense of ones self as everything you planned for unfolds in to race results. Narrating your story helps makes sense of it all so you can continue to grow with each experience. But use caution; there will be certain things that shape who we are that we can get stuck on if we are not careful such as a focusing on a sense of self weakness instead of focusing on self strengths. Problem identification is not the only path to growth; keep in mind the importance of advocating potential. Do you give your problems more air time than your possibilities? Think about a time, a sweet spot, when you were at your best and write a story about your best self moments. What characteristics did you embody when you were at your best? Construct your own best self portrait. When I am at my best, I set examples and become a positive role model for others around me. Who am I to be elite? Who am I not to be? Liberating ones self from your own our fears automatically liberates others. Embrace your self identity and become a reflection of what you vision as your best. Dare to be powerful, using your strengths in the service of your vision. Let others know you are not afraid of achieving your vision. Call out your vision for a new PR or to qualify and embrace the journey to go get it. Create the new narrative, I can. Society trains you to forget your own capacity. You could but your mindset was stuck in an out dated capacity of your best self. Live your life by the inside out not the outside in. Make decisions based on the results you want to create and not the judgments that you fear. Optimize your potential toward this capacity that you already have and you are ready to sculpt that athlete inside.

First things first, take one step at a time. So you have the vision, next comes living into this capacity. Challenge the best of who you are everyday. Embrace the notion of purposeful engagement in work. A purpose is a goal that provides a sense of direction and gives today's actions a sense of meaning. Think of it as a masterpiece. Individually a note does not amount to much but collectively they weave together into a common purpose, a symphony. Why do you workout? 99% of society will say because I have to, you are not part of this. 1% of society will say to improve, to finish the marathon and that is good. But you are not good, you are great and you have a calling to qualify, to be the 1% of the 1%. This vision trickles down to doing every workout with purpose and meaning toward achieving your vision. Ask yourself, how does today's work make a difference toward my goal? Asking the question you are now responsible for connecting purpose to daily activities. Think about the long term consequences of purposeful engagement. Commit to working with purpose. Any job is worth doing well. Value the notion of small wins. If you're doing kicking drills, do them with care. If you are foam rolling, do it as if you are instructing a class. Make it real; do not just pass through the motions. Embrace it all; find opportunities for growth and find perfection in each workout.

Be proactive and intentional in crafting a healthy lifestyle.
How do you feel about the trade offs you made in 2010 after you lived out the full consequences of those healthy lifestyle choices? What types of behavior with family and friends did you decide to suppress in order to align to your vision? Step back and consider other choices for redefining your life. Does your social network of family and friends 'get it' by supporting you and aligning to your vision of living a healthy lifestyle? If your friends talk you out of your morning runs for evening drinks or your family talks you out of your weekly regimen for holiday gorging then perhaps its time to revisit your decision to live a health lifestyle with them so they align. The only way you will be able to transform your healthy lifestyle is by finding meaningful relationship where those around you affirm who you are when you are at your best. Life is interrelated and you need to invest in relationships with those around you to also live the healthy lifestyle. The best self I aught to be cannot occur until those I surround myself with strive to be the best they aught to be. You need to be able to draw upon sources of people around you who are also committed, consistent and embody your vision of your best self. Embrace relationships that take you into your own self best zone. Move to the next level both in fitness and living. We enable one and other good or bad toward the paths we choose and I hope my direction toward living a healthy lifestyle carries momentum for my family and friends because in return, they also give me momentum in living out a healthy lifestyle.

Bring it.

Joshua Hickey

"It's not what you get by achieving our goals, it's who you become".

How I Budget My Training Time

2011-04-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday night I prioritize & schedule my weekly training then print out the weeks calendar to post on my fridge.

After working inside behind a sedative desk job M-F and being the primary caregiver M-F night for my kids after work while my wife works I need Saturday morning to get outside. This is my allocated 5 hrs of me time to achieve balance. I would be a caged animal if I didn’t allocate time to check out off the grid from life’s responsibilities for this mental and physical health break. If for some reason the weekend gets booked, I will use a personal day off work to still achieve this & stay consistent in this basic cycle between working hard and checking out. I believe this health break investment allows me to keep a high pace during work week. How I spend this allocated time to get the most return on my training investment is to cycle. Visalia is close to some of the best climbs in California so I’ll hit Yokohl, Drum Valley, Mt House, Sequoia National Park to name a few. 50% of triathlon is cycling so half of my ability to meet my triathlon goals comes from consistently hitting this 1 key workout.

My second highest priority investment is not even a workout but rather everything I don’t do in order to optimize #1 above. You would not believe how many decisions I make in order to not impact that sacred Saturday morning ride. Not going out drinking Friday night, not buying an expensive car so I can buy an expensive bike, not using my babysitter Friday night so I can allocate same babysitter funds Saturday morning, not letting my gear go unprepared but having laundry done and bike mechanics dialed prior to Saturday morning, not subjecting my body to a mediocre workout to tire out the legs on Friday but doing active recovery so my legs are fresh, etc. You can see there is a lot of thought that goes into Friday to optimize Saturday and saying no to distractions to be able to achieve focus on my #1 priority training time investment.

My third priority is to follow an exact marathon training plan for 3 key days a week. Runnersworld smartcoach lays out a good plan with the 3 basic workouts the long run, speekwork and pacework/hills/brick. The plan also gives you 3 additional easy days so you can run an every other day hard/easy cycle. The good thing about running is its extremely flexible on your schedule if you become a morning person. You don’t have to use sacred weekends to do a long run, setting the Wednesday morning alarm for 4 am and putting on a headlamp will do just fine. I like to complete one run as a brick immediatley following my Sat ride and the other two runs will be setting my alarm early during the week. To get a quality workout, I personally really need to get those 3 key runs outside and for the easy runs, going to the gyms treadmill will do.

My fourth priority is nutrition. I spend every Sunday night doing my grocery shopping for the week. I have a grocery list that I always use and continuously improve every time I read an article or do additional research. Being that my wife works until 8, I have a home made meal ready for her every night but also benefit from this myself as real clean fresh food is key to athletic performance.

My fifth priority is going to the gym itself M-F after work. Lifestyles is great and has child care, kids club and swim lessons so my kids enjoy it to while I workout. I have totally changed my workout philosophy in the gym. First, on Monday and Friday I do active recovery going into and coming out of the weekend. Second, I swim sometimes all 5 days but at least 3 days a week. For swimming, the more often I feel the water and spend 30 min to 1 hr duration in the pool the better swimming I am simply by being familiar with flow. There is a huge opportunity for me to improve technique so I am studying and doing swim drills to improve. After recovery and swimming, my gym time gets allocated for make up runs, easy runs, cycling and some strength & functional training.

My 6th priority is the home cycle-ops. I can put a lot of time in on trainer at home while the kids are sleeping, parking it out front while the kids play, jumping on it at night after the kids go to bed while I view DVR’s TV and on Tuesday mornings taking it to my 5:15 am cycling group workout. There is a great article on Andy Potts and how he uses spinnervals to put in the loin share of his training on the bike indoors. I put this last on my priorities not because it gets skipped but because I have so much flexibility to fit it in whenever which happens to be often since its so convenient.

For additional reference to help plan your week, ref: http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/Weekly-Goals-Planning-to-Help-Balance-Your-Act.htm

Ironman CA 70.3

2011-04-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 2, 2011 I did Ironman California 70.3 at Oceanside which consist of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run.

Leading up to the race on Wednesday March 30th I used my pre-race equipment and pre-race nutrition checklist so everything needed was at hand to execute my race plan. Nutrition wise, I was well stocked to fuel my race with a good amount of prep time going into it for items such as pre-cut individually bagged fruit & veggies fueling my 2,000 calorie reserve you take into a race. On a road trip, fast food just makes you slow and their is no real food convenience to be found at a convenient store so its important to pack the right food you will be burning on that race course.

A lot of professionals do things in a well rehearsed, scripted fashion and I quite enjoy pulling off such a hat trick that looks amazing at the moment. My hat trick this weekend was juggling both a weekend Disneyland vacation and Ironman race with the family. But behind the curtain, truth be told that good multi-tasking is not performed ad hoc but rather there are weeks of planning leading up to script out foreseen scenario’s & optimize this exact time.

On Thursday during my taper, I took time out for the kids to bring them to Disneyland along the way. When I arrive at the finish line, having my family there is a priority to me so I involve them in my race plans so every kid including myself gets a turn getting their energies out.

On Friday I pick up my race packet at the expo and spend the majority of the late afternoon by the pool relaxing in vacation mode enjoying the 90 degree Southern California weather.

Saturday is the day of the race which I will walk through below. In addition, Saturday after the race I drive straight home to be there on Sunday to volunteer on the course at our local Visalia Triathlon. That same triathlon community spirit I whiteness the pro’s bring from Ironman Kona Hawaii to Oceanside, I hope to pass along from Oceanside to Visalia.

Saturday morning before the race I wake up at 3 am. I feel great having crashed out at 7 pm the night before. Managing a good night sleep and waking up early is key. My morning routine consist of visiting the hotel lobby for some coffee with a little extra time to enjoy a conversation with fellow athlete’s doing the same. I eat a raisin bagel, OJ and banana with my coffee right on schedule for breakfast to digest 3 hours before the race. Next, I foam roll and stretch while listening to my ipod. I arrive at transition when it first opens and secure the best location on my designated the rack. I proceed to sip on water with my salt/electrolyte & spotlegs supplements at this time. After my transition area is set up, I make my way to the ocean to spend some time gearing up for this environment which is different than the environment I train in at home. Putting my toes in the water the water temp is 58 degrees. I’m ready for today’s onslaught because next to the ocean, I’ve found that calm state before the storm of the race begins.

The 1.2 mile swim loop is in the Oceanside Harbor. The swim start wave for my age group this year is slated 2nd to last which means I’ll have a sea of prior wave start participants to navigate past. The Pro’s are the first swim wave which kicks off a 6:40 followed by the next swim wave every 3 min. My swim wave was number 22 placing it second to last starting at 7:45. Waiting in line for the swim start was over one hour, with the pro’s starting first, so my warm up routine consisted of some light running drills along side the ocean but I did not want to get too warm then go idle during the expected wait time so I made the decision to stretch more instead. I found a comfortable position at the entrance of transition with plenty of room on the rug to lay out and sit next to coach Faron and his wife. During this time I stretch and made light conversation achieving a very calm, no pre-race nerves state. Going by the book I would prefer to warm up and even jump in the water but at Oceanside, entering the water pre-race is not permitted plus given an hour wait for my age group, the best choice I can make to prepare by body for whats to come is to get as relaxed as possible.

I have a tendency to look my age group peers in the eye and get a little bit in their heads to see if there is some knowledge to steal vs. scenario’s to avoid. As I stand in line watching the pro’s finish this poor girl was discussing how stressed she is about racing in the ocean given the ocean may have sharks. I believe she put it this way, there are no sharks in a marathon so a marathon is mentally easy but swimming in the ocean I get so worried about sharks. As the pro’s come in, I recall that sea otter I observed playing next to the harbor boats earlier but apparently she did not. Now sea otters like to swim on their sides and leaving one fin out of the water mimicking a shark fin. As the pack of pro’s swam in, this sea otter though it would be fun to circle behind them fin up. Now as the girl was talking she looked out of the corner of her eye as someone said here come the pro’s and terror struck as she mistook the sea otter for a shark! Of course we immediately corrected her informing her of the sea otter but that would be the worst pre-race jitters anyone could imagine.

First out of the water for the pro’ is Andy Potts by like a minute. This guy has many qualities I would like to emulate as an aspiring athlete. First, watching him leave the ocean and transition to his bike you can see he’s a big guy, not a marathon build but a swimmers upper body build. The epitome of strength. Second, I watched Andy before at Wildflower finish carrying his kid across the finish line to win Wildflower and that speaks to priorities I value being able to do both family and triathlon. Third, before before the pro’s get to put on their sunglasses to disguise their eyes you get to look at them in the eye after a swim and see struggle, they may make it look easy but looking in his eye’s he is experiencing just as much struggle as any one of us will on this same course the only difference is he’s going faster. I’ll take that fire I notice in Andy Potts eyes and apply it to my game face as I enter the 58 degree ocean harbor for my swim start, no complaints, no worries and prepared my focus for the onslaught to come.

To start the swim, I position myself second in line where there is about 20 rows deep. The person I am standing behind is someone I’ve selected like a race horse who would appear to have the qualities I would bet on to win the swim. My game plan is to follow his heels and draft. The attributes I notice is not just the swimmers build and wetsuit & google gear but he is greeting others in the front of the line as if asserting himself as the alpha male swimmer meeting up with competition he last meet at this same venue last year. The harbor entrance is a start but they tell you to stop at the first buoy for a second start. This serves as a great couple minute warm up to gauge my strategy and practice drafting in my selected position. After stopping at the first buoy, I get to regulate my breaths to normalize breathing in cold water. After the second start, my strategy works very well until our age group catches the age group that started before us. Its now a complete traffic jam, I find my self literally swimming over people not doing a straight line to the next buoy & forcing a line between people to go past them. When I look up to spot, I am not only trying to spot the next buoy but make observations on the swim caps people are wearing as anyone not in my same silver cap is someone to pass and anyone in my silver cap is to be followed as they spend the extra effort to cut through the chaos. At the boat basin entrance, the water goes through a lot more up and down wave current which I am familiar with from surfing so I spot during the peak of the currents wave to navigate. Existing the ocean, the prior age groups slowed down and it literally felt like football practice trying to break the line to make my way in. Exiting the swim, you feel like you were just in a washing machine and I’m literally blowing salt water out of my nose, round one the swim leg was way more contact his year than the prior year.

Have you ever tried to run in your dreams where you mind knows you can go faster but there is something strange going on making everything go in slow motion. Well that is the T1 transition experience. Even pro’s feel like they are going slow because you go from competing in a water environment and have to get used to gravity again while at same time blood rushes back to the head as you move from a horizontal swim to a vertical run stance. I run past a lot of people in transition knowing this is foreign to a lot of them who never practice it until race day and I don’t wait in the line that forms but rather zig zag next to the barriers etc. Since everyone is on a single line carpet track, I must look like a crazy train fallen off the track ready to run through barrier walls to make my T1 time. Most spectators don’t see much of the triathlon itself but they do see all of transition so given this sample of how I race, I must look like I’m trying to run through the gauntlet at the old high school football practice, fast but bumping into everything.

Directly out of the bike course I grab a gew to start fueling. After the event, I practically loose my voice from saying on your left hundreds of times. As the course evolves, I grow more confident barely slipping between bikes on the right and cones on the left taking race day risk tucked tight in the aero position assuming they have got to know by now faster age group will passing them. As we climb many of the rollers, I enjoy giving encouragement to those I see pushing it. In return, as passed a group and hear some one yell out lets put a bungee on the back of that guys bike, ha! My favorite was on the big climb of the day everyone does not look like they are having much fun so when I pull up, I think to myself how do I get these guys going. All of a sudden I hear this bell, who the heck has a bell on their bike at an Ironman race. Well it was an very old guy, with a big old Texas cycling jersey. Of course, the century type rider. I make my way to him and loudly state this guy took a bell to Ironman, lets all rally with him. I shook his hand and make my will to tackle the hill. At this time, I notice everyone around me has changed spirits to follow suit. Misery loves company and I got people going on the hardest hill the day changing their look of pain to a smile either laughing at me, the bell or the fact that I’m playing around on the hardest part of the course. After that hill, the headwinds were felt and everyone says this portion slowed their time down significantly from their former years time. I went aero and brought a lot of people home who after I passed tried to latch on if not drafting behind me for a brief moment at least remembering to keep pace with me as their pace was faded. I finished the bike course strong.

Not much to be said about T2 transition. The velcro on my bike shoes and the quick laces on my shoes affords a speedy switch to the run.

On the run course, I felt the effects of hammering the bike and my legs were heavy. I only sustained a pace of 8:30 min miles, however, I could run that same pace this half or an ultra so I feel very confident endurance wise and need to refine my brick speed. Finishing the race, I like to jump at the finish line and touch the clock for that final kick finish.

The overall time was as follows:

Swim 35:29
T1 3:23
Bike 2:48:51
T2 1:54
Run 1:52:43
Overall 5:22:20

Next up on the race calendar, Wildflower on April 30th. See you then.

Canyon Meadow Trail Run 50K

2011-03-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, March 12, 2011 I did the Canyon Meadow Trail Run 50K distance located at Redwood Regional Park in Oakland CA. See map: http://www.coastaltrailruns.com/images/cm_course_map.gif
The first thought that comes to your mind is Oakland, really, isn’t that place industrial? Exactly the opposite, this regional park is home to a redwood grove that reflects what the California Coastline would have looked like before all the redwoods were cut down to build up our San Francisco bay area. Wow, could you imagine what California could look like if we replanted this native species? This whole www.coastaltrailruns.com series provides a rare earth experience of regional parks trails and experiencing nature in compitition is why I have fallen in love with these type of Ultra’s. I’m still a triathlete but I plan to adopt these locations as my training ground going forward. Doing a 50K ultramarathon through the redwoods is opportunity for the heart, mind, body, and soul to get fully endowed in a more primitive state of mind.

If you opened the map above, the 50 K consist of two half marathon loops around the perimeter plus a final third 5 mile loop cut through the center. 40% of the trail is wide enough for a fire trail vehicle and 57% percent is single track just wide enough for single file navigation between the trees. The total elevation gain is 3,812’ most of which feels like it hits you with that first hill right at the start line which you get to look forward to for a total of three climbs (the 1st time that hill hits you right after the start is a wake up call and 2nd and 3rd time up that same hill is brutal). The course is marked with pink ribbons for the half and yellow ribbons for the 5 mile so navigating the tree’s by way of course ribbon is also part of the challenge to stay alert so you don’t get lost.

I’ve had a great running base period to prepare my body for this triathlon season. Last year, a marathon would put me out of commission and given this year focus on running, after crossing the finish line I feel alive & ready to keep playing tag with the kids at the post race venue. Its now time to add more of a speed work focus into my training so that during my races I take more risk and dig deeper into my body’s reserves leaving nothing in the tank during my priority A race events.

Caynon Meadow is smaller venue so when we raise our hands at the start as the announcer distinguishes the group amongst their race distances I observe my 50 K peers. Sizing up my competition I notice key attributes that would indicate a fast runner and choose who’s shoulder to line up in the front of the line. Just as important, I notice a few individuals to let go as short distance sprinters who will join us for the first part but cut off for the 5 mile markers. My game plan is to pace with anyone doing the marathon or 50K after the groups sort out. As the race starts, hidden around the first turn was a massive uphill that sorted the racers out within the first mile. The uphill battle right off the start line was intense and I let 4 ultra runners go of which I never saw again. I was running within the top 10 across all distances so being in the lead group, I actually found myself alone for most of the day with the exception for the first loop which I paced a half marathon runner. Pacing with the half marathon runner helped me learn the course on the first loop so that I would not get lost on the second loop when running alone. There was actually a road crossing where I stopped and let the runner behind me catch up to locate the next ribbon together and I’m glad because knowing where your headed is more important than running fast in the wrong direction for this type of race.

That first hill put me in redline, hills are not my specialty right now as my ideal pace per training is achieved on the flats & rollers so my heart rate had started out higher that I would have liked at mile 1. After passing that first hill, my main thought was to relax the body and get the heart rate down and settled into a more realistic state I could sustain for this journey. During a 5 hour endurance journey, your body will dip into reserves. I have learned my body starts with about 2,000 calories as base from my prior 3 days worth of good nutrition prepares me with going into the race. On top of that base, I need to take in about 300 calories an hour. This nutritional equation is what I factor in to combat the calories I expect to burn during my 5 hour event. If I under estimate on the input side, I will bonk. If I over estimate on the input side, my stomach & body will cramp up. With that said, I nailed nutrition and felt great. But during the process and over the course of 5 hours I listen to my body for key signs like my mind wondering or my calf cramping or my stomach turning and manage nutrition accordingly.

I am learning to relax while holding a high pace while running. The monologue I ask myself many times during a race is: Am I relaxed? How do I feel? Can I relax more? Am I running as relaxed as I can? Are there muscle groups that are unnecessarily tensed? Can I think about relaxing to bring my pulse, my effort, my exertion just a bit lower while holding this pace. Hold it! Relaxation while running is tough, because it's a state of mind your mental game has to control while your body exerts a high pace. In running, one's mindset is not set on work and contraction, but upon relaxation. You're not thinking your muscles into working, you're thinking them into relaxing. The mind must control the body to relax the shoulders and keep the strides crisp because economy of running form is key for long distance events.

50K is just a state of mind. I spent 5 hours, mostly alone, leading the front of the race thinking to myself. Thinking about this pristine environment, thinking about competition, thinking about nutrition, thinking about relaxing while going fast and thinking about putting in some good training today for the season to come.

Make it a priority

2011-02-28T21:53:00.000-08:00

Your calendar is one of the best fitness tools you have. It takes time to train and you need to manage where your time goes. Recording all of your activities in an organizational planner on a weekly basis is a great way to identify available pockets of time that can be best used to train.

Work/School/Kids - fixed time you have no control over are first priority entries on your calendar.
Sleep - aim for a regular sleep pattern such as going to bed early and waking up early. i.e. Turning off that 8 pm prime time TV gives you back your AM prime time training.
Shower/Dress/Pack - time yourself how long it takes you to get ready including what your wearing for work and what your wearing to train and block the appropriate time on your calendar. Picking out clothes, gear and limiting distractions helps you be more efficient.
Train - don’t procrastinate, this is the time you set aside now execute. Just prior to the time you plan to run, don’t let the phone grab your attention. Don’t let that sacred training time you set aside slip away. And don’t let weather stop you in your tracks. By dressing appropriately, running in the rain or cold can be an exhilarating experience. Also, protect your highest quality workouts to get those in more consistently but account for the fact that life happens and workouts missed should be the easy days i.e. bare minimum I’m getting in a long run every week consistently.
Variable task - shopping & laundry can be inserted into your calendar last after your scheduled training. Make the necessary arrangements in advance (childcare, cooking dinner, etc.) to insure that your workout gets done. If you are unable to run as planned due to an unforeseen circumstance, resort to “Plan B” such as getting on a bike trainer at home. Get organized with grocery shopping & laundry so during the week its easy to execute and you don’t have to ask what to wear or what to eat.
Just Say “No” – Depending upon the time you have available to train, there may be occasions when you have to politely decline a social invitation to fit in your training. Don’t confuse this with being compulsive but rather, invoking self-discipline as a means to accomplish an important goal. Share your goal with your family and friends and they will be less likely to try to talk you out of it ad hoc.

Surf City Marathon Post Race Recap

2011-02-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

In pursuit of life's ambition and dreams I tackled my 3rd annual SurfCity Marathon on February 2, 2011 at Huntington Beach, CA. My raceresults for the past 3 years are listed below showing a year over year improvement of 8% for 2010 and 5% for 2011.

2009 8:34 pace, 3:44 final time
2010 7:56 pace, 3:27 final time
2011 7:35 pace, 3:18 final time

Yep, this year I'm only 3 minutes off Boston, that's it. A 3:18 marathon PR! Even better, I feel like I finished this race strong & healthy, a great way to kick off the 2011 season. Here is my reflectionleading up to this race.
During last year's tri season, I did my first Ironman and became distinctly aware of the final leg, the marathon & to be blunt it's brutal. Therefore, going into this year I'll take the winter season as time to isolate training to a marathon focus. With my marathon training schedule laid out, I hit November and December according to plan. I adopted a 6 day a week running routine with every other day hard/easy. My easy days were an 8 mile airport loop completed in one hour, a bread and butter routine. My long days landed as close as I could schedule them to a holiday meal to add some balance to the gluttony of the season. My training weight was held at an even 170, right on target to not slip this time of year.
Then comes January 1st and boom an unexpected change to my plan. I'm suspecting one of three scenarios: it was my old pair of ski boots used on New Year's, it was my tendency to wear old shoes when running in the rain or it was my increased December volume (more than 10%). Whateverthe case or perhaps all three, I was injured and it was humbling to once again be reminded that I am not immune to age or injury. The important thing is my response, I immediately took an eraser to my training schedule, stripping it down to the bare minimum and erasing all three easy days. This left only the bare necessities, keeping a mere 3 day aweek schedule for sprint work, pace work and the long run. My post run regimen also got nailed down to a ritual, with an ice massage, toe raises and the like to treat the shins. I also upgraded my running shoes from Zoot Racing flats to Brooks Launch to provide more cushioning. One last thing, I learned to put on KT Tape for shinsplints, which works very well. I believe it was my ability to re-focus on corrective recovery actions that kept me on track for a healthy race.
At the start of the race I made the decision to go out with the 3:10 pace group along with two friends. The first 9 miles go by fast, similar to the familiarity of a training day. Mile 9 - 15 is an out and back on the Pacific Coast Highway and although I let the page group go, I received a word of sound advice from a friend (who did hold on to qualify for Boston), keep them in your sight. Mile 16 begins the public beach path's out and back, the point where the tough mental race to endure really starts.
I tapped into several race day mental strategies. I found the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean was relaxing and I transferred this thought to relax my run. I felt right at home consuming a gew or a salt tablet along with Vitalyte at the aid stations so my nutrition plan was executed flawlessly. I used someone passing me as a virtual leash, just as I would my training partner and tucked in right behind him, stride for stride, mimicking the high repetition turn over in both our footsteps. I also felt flow in the transfer of my remaining energy to naturally cycle through its ups and downs, achieving my runners high to finish strong, Ole!
A marathon is a spectacular journey, through your physical ability, through your mental focus, through your healthy lifestyle, through the humble and the impressive, through the wall of pain and back again and ultimately through the finish line. See you again Surf City in 2012, after all its only 3 minutes to Boston.

My Review of Icebreaker Bodyfit 200 Mondo Underwear Zip T-Neck - Men's

2011-02-03T07:01:00.001-08:00

Originally submitted at REI

This active base layer zip top from Icebreaker has great range, taking you from mountain biking, hiking to spring skiing.

My cold weather staple

By Hickey from Visalia, CA on 2/3/2011

Sizing: Feels true to size

Pros: Retains Body Heat, Doesn't smell

Best Uses: Endurance in cold weather

Describe Yourself: Expert

Gear Usage: Trail running

Was this a gift?: Yes

I use my Icebreaker Bodyfit for trail running in the CA Southern Sierra's. This is my base layer, against the skin then I put a simple REI shell jacket over it which I can store easily once removed. It holds my body heat very well to stay warm. Most importantly it pulls the sweat off my skin and you can actually see it bead up on the outside so you know it works. The wool helps it not stink and the thumb cut outs are two very nice features. The zipper allows me to release my body heat which I use when running uphill then zip back up for the downhill. I baby this product in the wash and hang it to dry and intend to use it as a staple go to in my trail running apparel. I no longer prefer dry wick long sleeve, you know the kind you have to ring out like a wet towel. Avoid the downhill shivers, this fabric rocks!

3 Rivers CA trail run

Tags: Using Product

(legalese)

Keep your head in the game

2011-02-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

The power of the mind in connection with a fit body will yield greater results. Try using positive self talk as a motivational tool. It can be that inner motivation when you need it most. During training, test out a few motivational sayings and take note what works when your doing well then use it to help replicate that optimal state. Repeating this byte over and over in your head can help you stay inspired, focused and centered. What is my favorite marathon mantra? Here's a few: What Hill. Pain is just weakness leaving the body. Trust your training. Dig deep. Today, define yourself. Howl (like the alpha male in a pack of wolves). Nice. Relentless Hickey!

Post Race Recap: The Big Kahuna, Santa Cruz, CA 2010

2010-09-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

Only two weeks after my Ironman, I raced the Big Kahuna 70.3 on September 12, 2010 consisting of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run.

Naturally, the first response I receive from everyone is "what are you nuts, a half IM two weeks after your full"? My reply to this is a logical approach, I'm mentally prepared for twice this distance & I worked so hard to get to peak race shape, why not double down. Plus, I have some good friends doing this race so I'll treat it like training with good friends, it just happens to be a race course. Because of this, my mindset going into this race is completely relaxed, no butterfly's & no expectations which is rather unique.

Arriving in Santa Cruz, I feel the beach culture. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing my flip flops (Ironman Logo) and granola bar apparel (Odwalla Logo) and smile as I recognize just how much I embrace this culture. I saved my race registration until the day of the expo in order to see how I feel after Ironman recovery and you bet I'm up for it. So I signed up to go big at the Big Kahuna 70.3

Doing an event at the beach, my experience is the salt water and beach air means I must stay well hydrated. On the 3 ½ hour road trip to the event, I brought my ice chest filled with waters and consumed plenty. It's actually really fun caravanning to a local triathlon with the car packed and bikes on the roof making the statement were off to play.

I always make it a point to have a conversation with fellow participants at the race registration expo. The couple who took our group's picture below was from Australia and arrived in Santa Cruz for a destination race (a race location that doubles down as a vacation). We traded stories on the course, the conditions and some of the plans we had for food/hydration and it was neat to have them comment on my Team Odwalla gear so I passed along a bar I had handy in my jersey pocket. I enjoy being an ambassador for my sponsor and it's pretty cool to not only use the product during my race but pass it along for others to try out for their race too. There is something I like to call a triathlon bubble during an event and it's in this spirit of offering advice, product or help to fellow competitors that creates an experience we all look forward to surrounding ourselves with.

After registration, we took our bikes on a short ride to check our gear and preview the course. The course setting was beautiful, hugging the cliff shoreline and taking in the clean ocean breeze. You could not ask for a more scenic trail and tomorrow, this would be set aside for us. I think that is one reason why I love triathlon so much, on normal days your training turf has to be shared with stop signs, stop lights, etc. and on the day of an event, there is a reservation made for you to re-claim this space from cars and let people dominate it. The feeling of flying through the streets non stop with the beach cliff and ocean to your side is going to be epic and I can't wait.

The night before the race we stayed at my Uncles beach house in La Selva. I'd have to say this is the best carb loading I have ever done as my Aunt was hosting a work party and had prepared a restaurant caliber pizza making station next to the outside wood burning pizza oven. Were talking home made dough, feta cheese, asparagus, olive oil style pizza a la cart so each time the guest created their own style, we sampled each others makings. All of the guests were her peer physical therapist from work so the conversations around their profession related to triathlon came easy making a good social event. That night after the carb load, I fell asleep early in the hen house (guest house) at 6pm in anticipation of the 4am alarm.

The morning of the event, we parked at my friend Justin's hotel and rode our bikes to the event, with our transition back packs on. This is a neat time of day, its just prior to sunrise so the beach streets are empty except for those of us headed to the event. I love this time of day and the anticipation of the main event. My morning routine is solid & adjusted to an AM schedule. Especially, my nutrition which consisted of an Odwalla bar, a yogurt, an orange juice, a banana, a small cup of coffee, 12 oz of water and electrolyte/salt pill supplements. The idea is to get nutrition just right and I think I have found what works for me. After my warm up & dynamic stretching, I put on my wetsuit and head off from the transition area to the ocean.

The ocean start is by age group, youngest to oldest. Being in the 35-39, I have two groups of female athletes to pass in the water before reaching the 30 - 34 year old males as my target so I take a mental note of the color of their swim caps now to help gauge my position in the water against the field later. As the gun goes off for my age group, I feel confident enough to be the first to jump in and soon settle in to roughly the third position as we pass the first marked boats.

As we make our way through the swim course, there aren't too many course markings. I think the swim course director in charge of setting up the buoy's the morning of the race ran into last minute issue's settling for only the farthest out buoys at the turn around points giving up on the other half denoted on the swim course map. As a result, our first waypoint was to swim between the two boats without the next waypoint buoy on the horizon at the start of the swim. I found myself headed toward the pier immediately following the first boats and soon heard a paddle boarder tell me to head left to the buoy. This was clearly a zig zap off the route but the good news was I had a clear path to settle into a pace and bypass the herd. My heart rate and breathing actually felt really good, sometimes after the start it jumps given the stress of a mass start but I found myself very relaxed and settled into the right pace. At the first turn around buoy, I was surrounded by the female age group colored caps so that was my gauge that good progress was being made. At the second buoy on the other side of the pier, I had reached the back of the field from the younger male age group which means I caught the slower swimmers who had that 15 min. head start. After turning around and heading to shore, I felt the current and intentionally sped up my pace for each wave set and recovered with a slower pace in between. This rhythm worked in my favor as I was able to over take those beside me. Its interesting, in the ocean distance is somewhat abstract so I go more by feeling instead of open water sighting like I'm used to in lake swims. My total swim time for 1.2 miles was 30:57 (a fast 23:47 minute mile pace).

The T1 location from the ocean swim finish was longer than most courses. Therefore, I took off my wetsuit in the water first, ran across the beach to the timing mat second, put on a pair of shoes I had stashed on the stairs to the boardwalk then proceeded to literally run past my peers moving along barefoot in wetsuits. My T1 time was 3:41, a fast transition.

The bike course started with a hill immediately after transition and I anticipated the correct gear to avoid a spiking heart rate starting this way. The route then led through the community streets where time was made by settling into an arrow position and taking the corners right. The majority of the ride is an out and back on HWY 1 which hugs the ocean on a rolling coastline. Pedaling my bike as fast as I could downhill and tucking into the aero position against the on coming ocean breeze, I managed to max out at 37 mph on my road bike where as my peers hit 45 on these same stretches on their tri bikes indicating the difference to be gained with a possible equipment upgrade. I did feel like my effort up the hills was at par with any bike on the road and held an average 20.6 mph for a bike split of 2:43. It's definitely tempting to think of going from a road bike to a tri bike to aim for the elite sub 2:30 bogie next year. Going this fast on the course was also thrilling as the weather conditions were extremely wet, enough to cause crashes on the slippery railroad tracks & painted road lines.

The T2 was also fast at 1:11. I made the smart choice to head out with my own hydration given the salt water/beach environment and later appreciated this as the aid stations were rather sparse in both frequency and small Dixie cups offered.

The run hugged the cliff pedestrian path before turning inland through beach community streets followed by an out and back on trails through the park. The views were spectacular, you could not ask for a better course. I always like out and back courses because you get a glimpse of the elites and its motivating to whiteness what's humanly possible. The aid stations volunteers and spectators got a kick out of my Odwalla uniform and the attention sure does put a smile on my face. I return the favor when positive vibes are sent my way, often sharing words on good pace, keep it up or thanks for your help volunteers to those around me. I gave the run my all, leaving nothing on the course and used any remaining training tokes I had saved from my prior Ironman leading to a 8:51 average pace for a 1:55 half marathon. This is good training feedback for me, leading into Q4 marathon season where I can isolate one sport and focus on improving my run.

The final stretch of the run lead us to the beach and under the peer through half a foot of water then through sand and a big aloha themed finish line with hula girls, announcements and cheers. The announcer picked up on my jersey and boasted about how much he loved Odwalla and uses it all the time so the crowd followed suit and gave me a "go Odwalla" as I finished. I finished the day with the total time of 5:14, my new PR for the half ironman distance. I definitely vision a goal of hitting sub 5 on this same course next year and I'm excited to put together a running plan to make this happen.

Good luck to all those reading this post race report & mahalo!

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37504&id=100000042438113&l=13834bbcd3

Post Race Recap: Ironman Louisville Kentucky 2010

2010-09-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

In pursuit of life's goals, I raced my first Ironman Louisville, Kentucky on August 29th 2010 consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. They say, getting to the Ironman starting line is a major accomplishment and getting to the finish line changes your life forever.

From the moment I arrived in Louisville, it was truly magical. Magical, because I marked this date on my calendar first then embarked on an epic training journey to get here, surrounding myself with positive like minded people to help me see it come to fruition. This journey has been a transformation; I started triathlon weighing 195 lbs and today weigh 170 lbs, re-discovering the athlete in my former self. Today, I'm in the best shape of my life and completely ready to validate that statement when I hear "you are an Ironman".

The pleasure of being at my first Ironman is worn with my team Odwalla sponsored gear and a huge smile on my face, attracting conversation with just about everyone. People are arriving from all over the world to create this triathlon bubble. Everyone who does an Ironman has an inspiring journey and the positive, goal oriented attitude is shared with all these other people who have worked hard to get here. I picked up triathlon as an individual event but realize you never do it alone. There with you is everyone who ever advised or supported your training. The people met and the fiends made on my training journey are here with me today and I'm thankful for all their support and experience invested in this goal. I know when I need to dig deep, I'll find that mental place within where I have pushed myself in training side by side with a friend and will now use that in my arsenal on race day.

We live in a world of comfort and there are two types of people, those who say I can't and those who say I can. Personally, I have pushed myself to get comfortable being uncomfortable and embrace the challenge. An example of this is forgoing television at night and setting the AM alarm clock, not as a trend but as a routine. It took starting power to become that morning workout person and staying power to stick with the program to see improvements. Similarly, it will take starting power to sign up for an Ironman and staying power to finish. It's that mindset I share today with all the athletes in Louisville which includes one of the largest fields in Ironman history, about 3,000 athletes.

I stayed at the Galt, the events host hotel at the bank of the Ohio River. Immediately after checking into the hotel was athlete check in followed by dinner in a massive banquet ballroom for the athletes. Everything from the flight to shuttle to check in to dinner, etc. is following an agenda to the tee so being a little type A and printing everything out by date & time works in my favor, allowing me to settle down and simply do these necessary agenda items while focusing my energy and thoughts on what's really important, the event, not the overhead.

The morning before the race was a practice swim. The week prior, I changed my mindset to eastern time and alarm to 2 am PST so there was no adjustment to a 5 am routine once in Kentucky because I literally practiced it the week before. Waking up without an alarm, using the restroom, eating, etc. was familiar to me at 5 am EST eliminating one less variable to stress my body with for this race. As some stood in the swim starting line holding a cup of coffee having a difficult time adjusting to this hour, I was stretching, warming up and rehearsing my game face approach. The practice swim was to jump into the Ohio River and swim to the bridge and back. I was one of the first five in, creating a completely clear route all the way out. On the way back, hundreds of athletes were headed in the opposite direction as me which I had to weave through and practice looking up to avoid. Exiting the swim, I was stoked to finally feel the environment and turn on my engine which had been uncomfortably held in during my taper. I was also very exited to discover another variable had been removed, the water a warm 84 degrees and not so clear felt like for like with my home turf, Lake Kawea where I had put in my practice open water swims.

The afternoon before the race was bike check in at the Great Lawn. The transition area to host 3,000 bikes was massive. The orientation was also completely new. Instead of transitioning at your bike rack, the transition is in a tent where you call out your number and the volunteer hands you your designated bike or run bag. Because transitions have nothing to do with fitness and everything to do with executing your plan, I did a walkthrough rehearsal which evidentially paid off as my actual T1/T2 transition times (3:53/3:45) were at par with the pro's, something those in my Visalia Tri Club call free speed.

The night before the race was an early dinner with my mom and wife. It was a time to slow down and enjoy the moment and both their faces were glowing just as I had pictured this vacation to be. Savoring a date at a destination race is truly special.

The morning of the race, at 5 am athlete check in the temperature in Louisiville was 79 degrees. The race begins with a unique time trial swim start that takes the competitors along side Towhead Island before turning back down-stream. Because of the time trial start, a line forms at 5 am and I estimate every 10 minutes will put approximately 300 athletes starting before you. The hotel is almost a mile walk from the swim start with the transition in the middle so it's a continuous flow of athletes walking to the start with a sense of urgency for their place in line. Arriving at the transition to check in my bike and run bags, I opened my pack, rooted through the contents and remembered taking my bottles out to place them in the fridge. Realizing I'm on the clock for my planned position in line, I minimized this impact by borrowing a fellow athlete's phone and calling up to the room having my wife Jamie meet me in her pajama's to deliver my missing water bottles. We later laughed at making her walk in her pajamas in front of all these athletes, ha!

At 7 am, the gun fires and the pro's start. I observe the line they took closer too the island instead of to the right of the buoys and plot my route. For the age group start, every 3 seconds an athlete jumps into the water from the line and there are two lines sending athletes in. The entire bay starts to look like a massive human herd with splashes everywhere.

I positioned myself in line behind the fastest looking swimmer I could find and held his line after we jumped in allowing myself to take advantage of following his bubbles as he looked up to navigate around those we passed. This strategy allowed me to conserve considerable energy for the first 3 buoys which would have otherwise been spent ramping up to an open line.

After the third bouy, my speed for the most part was governed by choosing a lane in a herd of traffic and making decisions when to overtake the person in front of me. Once I passed the island, I was able to get away from people and pick the next bouy and make a line to it instead of just negotiating space in the herd. This portion of the swim was also the only upstream current between the end of the island and turn around. When I reached the turn around bouy I was one third of the way complete. The bouy line back stretched further than the eye could see but in the distance I could see a bridge as a major way point to keep in mind.

After swimming for 30 minutes, the mind becomes acutely aware of feelings, thoughts and senses. I am feeling great. I focused on stroke. I'm paying close attention to not breath in any water on accident. I'm able to sense my proximity to the shoreline and observe my position is closer to the shore as some of the field has gone deep trying to catch the current. Thinking back at the upstream swim to turn around, I did not sense enough current to warrant a change of course into deeper waters. As I settle into my existing route, I fall into a trance, completely clearing my mind of other distractions. As I focus on the present, the bridge is now overhead and I can observe my speed as each breath allows me to see the bridge moving further in the distance behind me.

As I reach the end of the swim, I get a surge of adrenaline as other competitors now bunch up and begin to bump into each other seeking their position going into the gates. Upon exiting the water, I am in a hypersensitive state going from a swimming trance like rhythm to now standing upright bringing a rush of blood to the head. Pulling my earplugs out, I can hear the crowds, taking my goggles off my eyes start to adjust and I stagger off and onward toward transition.

Entering the T1, I call out my number 1708. I sit down in the tent and put on my shoes & helmet, place my goggles & cap back in the bag and I'm off observing this is a faster transition than anyone else in the tentdoing crazy things like drying off or doing anything other than a simple execution of the bare minimum.

The day continues with an impressive bike course that winds past some of the world's most famous Kentucky Derby horse country. For me, the bike course is my strong leg where I'm really in the zone executing. The first portion is picking off the fast swimmers and re-grouping for the most part with fellow competitors I deem as fast on the bike. Although the elevation high is 1,000 feet, the whole course is rolling climbs going up and down for 112 miles of rollers. Half way through the bike course I am making great time averaging 20 mph. At this point, the heat & humidity set in and I start to notice really fit people dropping out, dehydrated on the side of the road. Luckily, I had absolutely executed my nutrition plan taking in Odwalla bars, gew & fluid. Those who were on the side of the road were the fastest swimmers & bikers just in front of me who let lack of nutrition plus humidity lead to a crash. I did sense some dehydration on the bike as my mind second guessed me on the second loop thinking it was a third, finding sites on the side of the road all too familiar.

After completing the second loop on the bike, the line back to town was against the wind where time trial aerodynamics have the advantage. I'm on a road bike so my average pace going back did fall to 17/18 mph, plus this is the portion when I started thinking about preparing the legs in a gear suited for the marathon to follow.

Entering the T2, I call out my number 1708. I sit down in the tent and put on my run shoes, placing my helmet and bike shoes back in the bag and I'm off, a fast transition keeping my routine to the bare minimum.

Heading out on the marathon I knew this not only is the hardest portion but the heat & humidity will change my ideal race into plan b, survival mode. Come to find out, 36% of the pro field who finished the swim did not finish and dropped out during the bike or run leg. Only 5 pro's ran a Boston Qualifying time of sub 3:15. Those 5 with the ability to race in the heat are pure machines, for the remainder, doing the marathon in the heat & humidity was pure survival.

The bible says, run with patients the race that is set before us. In the blistering sun, relentless humidity and radiant heat off the pavement I knew at the start this marathon it was going to be the hardest thing I have ever done and I would have to bull thorough it. My plan was to rest more frequently to cool down so I would walk the aid stations and run in between. As the day went on, every single mile had a really good athlete faster than me dangerously overheated with an ambulance and IV at the side of the course. The thought of dehydration hung over all of us.

And so the day went, I treated myself to walking the rest stops then running in between. Each time I set off after an aid station, the heat came flooding back raising my core temperature, heartbeat and all signs of dehydration setting in. A person suffering dehydration experiences several progressive stages: muscle contractions, a distorted sense of time & distance, heaviness in movement, weariness, illogical decisions and everyone around me was suffering these symptoms. My response to everyone suffering due to the extreme heat and humiditywas don't worry about what you can't control, move forward and take on what's next and for us it was finding a moment of shade or glimpse of that next aid station that drove us to press on. Winning is doing the best you can with what your given and today I am leaving nothing on the course as I move forward through the Louisville city streets acutely aware of each step, wiping burning sweat from my eyes and surviving the elements with a smile.

By the time I reached the last mile, the 25 prior seemed like a remote memory. In the distance, the amplified announcements, the music, the crowds all combine to fire up my adrenaline. I had reached the finishline celebration at Fourth Street Live and achieved a defining part of my life as the announcer said "Joshua Hickey, Visalia CA, YOU ARE ANIRONMAN!". I had instantly transformed from a person surviving to a person now thriving in the transformation of crossing the Ironman finishline for the very first time. Looking beside me, it was magical to see everyone who truly endured something similar. As take away from such an event, this is my favorite quote: "What you get by achieving your goalsis not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."

Good luck to all those reading this post race report and embrace the journey in pursuit of life's goals.

Climb to Kaiser 2010

2010-06-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

Post Race Recap: 6/26/2010 Climb to Kaiser

The Climb to Kaiser is an epic ride that starts and ends in Clovis, CA. The ride goes from the valley into the Sierra National Forrest with an absolute elevation gain of over 8,000 feet. This is more than any top bike ride in the continental US. Kaiser Pass, the highest point of the ride, is reached via six different climbs but just to mess with you they throw in three small climbs on the way back creating a strange sense of going up hill both ways around Huntington Lake. It took me 12 hours to complete the 155 mile, 13,900 foot of elevation gain climb! Its the phycoligical stuff you contend with spending a twelve hour day on the road.

3:30 am the alarm goes off. We rented a cabin at Shaver so I slept at high elevation and have an hour drive to the start in Clovis. I enjoyed a cup of coffee with my sponsors Odwalla bar to put food in me first thing for fuel. For the drive, I also had an Odwalla superfood drink.

5:30 am the race starts. Along with my friend Kevin we follow the CVC jerseys pulling the peleton and remain toward the front of the pack. We fly through town around 24 - 27 mph. The head of the pack whips it around corners to break up the pack but by popping an interval out at race pace around each corner, you get to recover in the slipstream during each straight away. Kevin asks me if the start seems slower this year, I reply no, your just faster.

Mile 23 we enter the foothills and begin the Wildcat Climb & Burrough Grade. At this point, Kevin sends me off as the pack riding together on the flats breaks up on the hills. The first group consist of about a dozen and I find myself in the second group taking turns leading pulls.

Mile 40 the next two climbs (really one long climb), Tollhouse Grade and Pine Ridge Grade, lead up to Shaver Lake/Hwy 168. During this climb I catch the back wheel of several CVC jerseys and pushed my threashold to eventually max out just in time for the Shaver Lake rest stop. Fortunately this was the point of the ride where my brother Luke meet me to pace with for the climb.

Mile 58 Big Creek Climb (steep & winding) gains 2,000 feet of elevation in less than 4 miles and leads to Huntington Lake. The average grade of this climb is 10 percent, the worst half-mile grade is 15 percent, and the steepest grade is 20 percent!

Mile 72 Huntington Lake Bear Cove (lunch). Up to this point, at each rest stop I have consumed a V8 and refilled my bottles, one with pertepium and the other with heed. However, my brother knows me too well and from going out hard, he notices that I am a little faded "like Davey Jones Locker" so we stop and have a sandwich for lunch which makes me feel much better.

The last major climb winds up Kaiser Pass, Mile 82. This is an out an back so on this road you get to see the fastest rider gracefully hugging the corners on their descent.

Mile 90, completing the loop around Huntington Lake on 168 is a kick in the moral with three final climbs before proceeding on the treacherous mountain roads for a 35 mile descent. As you hug the corners on this route, your in between trucks hauling boats and vivid sierra vista cliffs and mentally must be 100% alert, its a hair raising descent.

Mile 116 Eventually the route leaves Highway 168 and continues on Auberry Road all the way back to the outskirts of Clovis. Back in the Valley it gets hot. The valley in the afternoon is substantially hotter than the cool sierra's so those electolyte pills I consumed at the last rest stop are going to work. I pair up with one other rider to take turns pulling and the interval sets on rollers and flats feel so good to what I am used to that we pass several riders who deem as downhill freaks.

Mile 142 is the Millerton Store providing the infamous popsicle for anyone contending with the heat. Not me, I transitioned through this stop in minimal time.

Mile 155 and I am finished at the Alta Sierra Middle School. As difficult as this climb is, the rest stops made all the difference in the world and its amazing the endurance you can sustain for hours when they keep feeding you. At each rest stop, I was meet by a Fresno Cycling Club volunteer asking what do you need, can I get you ice, soda, hammer strength which was outstanding support. Each of the 300 participants on this ride have a passion for cycling and curiosity to test ones self. After all, life should be an adventure and for me this 12 hour bike ride was of epic.

Train Like the Pros, Race Your Way Into Shape

2010-05-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, training only makes you better at training and when races results are in, all the training in the world did not yield your new PR. Instead of trying out the latest and greatest new training regimen, sign up for more B races and race your way into shape. I got this idea from cyclist competing in the Tour de France, many of which use the classics and other European tours to race their way into shape. Accept your first race of the year as starting point then continuously improve each subsequent race. Instead of always tapering like you would for an A – top priority race, treat your B – lower priority races the same on your weekly schedule for a typical training long day. On your training plan, make your long days fall on a Sunday so they can be easily swapped out to either do that long run/ride or race instead. A training race pace can attempt to simulate situations but one needs to race for real to get into the appropriate race rhythm. After all, doing race pace work for intervals does not add up to a five hour half or eleven hour full Ironman where you reach within to throw out what others say and find your own personal race pace inside. This year, 18 weeks prior to Ironman I raced Wildflower 70.3 to get re-acquainted with what a T2 race pace brick should feel like and I will be racing Kaiser to make an investment in 155 miles and 13,500’ of strength training.

My Wildflower Checklist

2010-04-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Camping Items

☐shoulda ☐woulda ☐coulda

Swim Items

☐ Anti-Fog Solution☐ Body Glide☐ Cap☐ Ear Plugs☐ Goggles☐ Wetsuit

Bike Items

☐ Bike☐ CO2 Accessories☐ CO2 Cartridge☐ Cycling Shoes☐ Floor Pump☐ Helmet☐ Spare Tube☐ Sunglasses☐ Tire Levers☐ Water Bottles☐ Bentobox ☐ Rubberbands ☐

Run Clothing Items

☐ Hat☐ Running Shoes☐ Socks ☐ Flip Flops/Sandals☐ Warm Clothing ☐ Head Light/Flash Light☐ Race Number Belt☐ Towel for Transition Area☐ USAT Card☐ Ipod

My Review of Thule Peloton Bike Fork Mount

2009-06-12T08:40:00.001-07:00

REI

The world's best-selling fork mount just got a makeover—for road bikes, disc brakes or fat tires, the Peloton fork mount is up to the challenge.

Lock & load, why spend more

Hickey Visalia, CA 6/12/2009

Gift: No

Pros: Easy to Install, Lightweight, Easy to Use, Durable, Stable

Best Uses: Mountain Bikes, Small Cars, Road Bikes

Describe Yourself: Avid Cyclist

Great product. After adjusting the front fork tension, its lock and load with a simple handle to close tight & lock your bike. The existing straps swap between road and mountain bike tire size making it easy to use the same rack for both my bikes. The more expensive models I've used on friends cars have you pay way to much for "ergonomic" or "aerodynamic" features which seem nice but certainly dont justify the extra cost. This rack has the basics and is a no brainer purchase because its (1) inexpensive, (2) holds your bike tight and (3) is very easy to use. Bottom line, dont buy 1 of the latest & greatest rack for yourself, buy 2 of these for the same price and pick up your friend for a group ride!

For my hatchback to open, I face my bike backwards

: Time to play, Using Product, Picture of Product

A bike rack is a lift ticket to the great outdoors

: Using Product

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