Flying Solo

In high school and college when I lifted weights I almost always went to the gym with others; it was easy to see how much harder we pushed when we were being motivated by each other. At the onset of my triathlon (duathlon in the beginning) training I’d go at it mostly alone.  There was the occasional run or bike with a friend but that was about it.  My only other training/running pal early on was my dog Shea. Turns out that Shea is more suited to sprint events and when the runs became too long she expressed her displeasure. Now I'm hard-pressed to get her to join in on any run; she can tell when I am getting dressed to run (which is pretty remarkable) and begins her Ghandhi-like protest. This practice began in the winter so I suppose it's my duty to give her another shot now that it's warmed up.  But, I digress...

I think the main reason behind my solo training was feeling like I’d be holding everyone back.  I would become easily winded, unable to talk, and my legs simply couldn't keep up.  My Ironman boss frequently invited me on long rides but I knew I’d be slowing them down and continually declined.  I promised myself that once I was stronger I’d join in. 

After my first events (Trilogy & Tri Miami) I felt like I was finally in good enough shape to try to train with others.  While my first group (four Tri Locos) ride was a bit of a fiasco and included two flat tires (note: it's probably a good idea to check for the cause of a flat before putting in the new tube) I was pretty much able to keep up (at a pace well above my normal rides).  In the past I had enjoyed the solitude that training provided me, but I began to experience the camaraderie and motivation of group training. 

As my training ramped up during the late summer and fall I began to train with the Tri Locos in groups typically ranging from 2 – 8 people.  A typical week consisted of about four workouts with a group and the rest on my own.  I quickly began to realize the benefits of group training and it became an important part of my preparation for Miami 70.3.

When I moved to NY in December I did so with the regret of leaving the Tri Locos behind.  The Locos are a rare breed of a training group full of good people who frequently put the needs of each other before their own.  No man/woman gets left behind be it running, biking, or swimming and the Locos are a huge reason I've been able to make this journey.  The frequent Loco emails detailing their training plans keeps me feeling connected and reminds me that I am not as alone as I sometimes feel.

Since I've been up north I've joined in on a couple of group rides (while the people seemed nice there is no question the roadies were less than excited about the triathlete intrusion) but other than that I've been on my own again.  As my workouts get longer I will likely try to hook up with a local triathlon group for some bike rides and open water swims.  My main reasons for wanting to train with others at this point are safety and motivation.  Riding with stronger cyclists will help me work harder and improve my biking.  In the water I am hopeful that there will be some similarly paced (read: slow) swimmers for me to stick with so I am not out swimming alone.  I swam myself once in Miami's Key Biscayne; while out in the water I realized just how bad an idea it was to swim alone and vowed to never do it again. 

On the other side of the coin from group training, I actually take pride and draw strength from my solo training.  Though I'll be surrounded by almost 3,000 others in Arizona, I will be swim, bike, and running my own race.  There is no drafting (except for the possibility of swim drafting) in triathlon and during the course of my approximately 6-hour ride I will fall back on the saddle hours I spent training.  Surely seeing the other eleven Locos on the course (all decked out in our bright new uniforms which are on order) will give me a boost, but it's on me to push through those 140.6 miles and cross the finish line.

Now that the storm I've been waiting out has passed, it's off for my run.

Racing for a Cause

No, cancer is not funny, but Family Guy is.  

Sadly, I suspect that anyone reading this has in some way been affected by cancer; I personally (and my family) have been most affected by prostate cancer.  Fortunately for my family my father has received the best possible treatment and medical care and has been cancer-free for more than 5 years.

There are myriad reasons I am a triathlete - don't worry I won't bore you by listing them out - but one of the best things about racing is that every so often I can impose on my family and friends to help raise money and awareness for an important cause. 

As I have done before, I will once again be raising money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.  For my first triathlon I raised over $2,600 for the PCF.  My goal for the upcoming Ironman Arizona (in addition to finishing it!) is to raise $5,000.

Please visit my Firstgiving page to learn more about my fundraising efforts and to make a donation.

Thanks in advance for your support and please share this with anyone else that might be interested in donating!

Gotta Race Soon

The Jones Beach Bikeway

Fresh off Sunday's spectating, with an un-scratchable itch to race, today was the perfect day for a bike time trial. After scouring the map for the perfect red-light-free location and coming up short I promptly remembered the Jones Beach Bikeway.  The paved two-lane trail runs for approximately 5-miles between Cedar Creek Park and Jones Beach.  While the trail is a bit short it did provide a great unimpeded location for today's workout.  It was a nice change of pace to ride in a car-free, light-free zone and the view of the water reminded me of my Key Biscayne rides in Miami.

Lately I had been wondering where the other Long Island triathletes ride (I mostly see roadies out and about) but I will wonder no more. There were at least a dozen other triathletes out doing their morning workouts on the path.  Seeing fellow riders neatly tucked (and some not so neatly) in the aero position helped me push even harder during the trial. The mild wind this morning led to a noticeable split but overall I was happy with my times.  I'm looking forward to watching the progression of each swim, bike, and run time trial throughout Ironman training.

Back to my urge to race: I need to look closely at the upcoming race schedule and find an event soon.  I am officiating the New York City Nautica Triathlon on July 8 and that's only going to make it worse.  While this year's focus is Ironman Arizona I can't wait to see what I can do in a shorter race.  I am a much stronger triathlete than I was last season and it will be fun to see how that translates to a short-course race. 

Role Reversal

Today was opposite day: wife's day to race, my turn to cheer.  After all the support she's given me through my triathlon endeavors I was all too glad to be on the sidelines cheering on Mrs. Z in her very first race.  Every newbie triathlete has their own hurdles to conquer and I am so proud of the commitment and dedication Rachel had over the 6 weeks.  Once she made up her mind that she would Tri, there was no quit.  Today her hard work paid off. 

Our 4-person spectating crew covered a ton of ground as we cheered Rachel (and the other racers) on any chance we had. Through the whole race she looked strong and confident.  I couldn't help but think back to my first race and I know I didn't look nearly as good as she did today.  

I knew her swim would go well, but I was still shocked when she emerged from the water so quickly.  I jogged alongside as she headed for T1 (once again remembering her doing the same for me as I huffed and puffed about 4 months ago) and inch by inch worked her wetsuit off.  Into transition she went where she learned just how hard it can be to get clothed while wet.  All dressed and an uneventful mount and she was on her way on the bike.  Right about when I expected she returned from the ride and had a smooth dismount (with enough time for a nice camera pose).  The bike is certainly Rachel's biggest challenge; with the ride behind her all that separated her from the finish was the run.  Again I paced alongside for a minute or two both showing my support and I suppose scratching my race itch.  Eventually I said goodbye and headed to the finish line to watch her finish.  Again, looking solid she made her way down the final shoot.  After running for only a few months and swimming and biking for a month she'd conquered a challenge many people will never attempt. 

The best part of Rachel's triathlon had to be that every time I saw her she had a huge smile on her face. I'd like to think it was because she was seeing me but I know that's not it! Rachel brings a positive energy and infectious enthusiasm to everything she does. Today's race was no different. Through the course of an hour and a half triathlon everyone will feel some kind of discomfort, some give in, some struggle through, and some just smile. 

 

Smiling...

 Still smiling...

 

And...still smiling!

HTFU (I'm not telling you, look it up)

Long Island is somewhere under that rainy mess.

Today was one of those days when all signs pointed towards skipping a workout.  With one car in the shop, my wife dropped me off at work today with my bike.  The plan was to start my ride from work at the end of the day, put it my saddle time, and then head home.  Mother nature had other plans though: the rain began early and continued on all day (it's still raining as I write).

I'll admit it was tempting to just bag it, take my bike across the road, and meet my wife at the gym for a dry ride home.  I didn't have my spin shoes so spin class was out of the question, but I surely could have hit the weights instead of the wet road.  I'd make up my mind though.

I chose to ride. My coworkers must have thought it a bit absurd to head for a ride given the conditions: it was super wet, sort of chilly, and just plan raw, but out I went.  The way I see it I don't get to choose the weather on race day so why should I be picky about what weather I should train in.  I didn't do my whole workout outside; after arriving home I swapped out my rear wheel and continued the session on my indoor trainer.  I was soaking wet from head to cleat, but I chose not to dry off and get comfortable.  Instead I just pushed through the uncomfortable slop and completed my workout.

Despite the crappy conditions I can actually say I enjoyed my ride home.  Maybe it was pride fueling each pedal stroke (knowing that a year ago there was little chance I would have made the same choice), or maybe it was the incredulous looks from the rush hour drivers I was passing.  Whatever it was, it was fun, and I'd do it again.  I think I'll look back on this workout and be glad I stayed the course and gutted it out.  That which doesn't kill you...

Taco. Burrito. What's Coming Out of Your Speedo!

Now it's my turn to cheer!

Many people do Coach-to-5k programs and they should all be proud of their accomplishments. It was only several years ago when I used the original C-2-5K podcast (apps had hardly been born yet) to get my butt running. Then there's my wife!

Though she is naturally athletic she's never been a runner; in fact, like me she pretty much loathed running. I was excited when she began her C-2-5K program but even more so when she told me of her plans to take on her first triathlon. About a month ago I helped create a training plan that will guide her to the finish line.

Prior to the semi-formal plan she had already made significant progress in her running, but she had hardly swam or biked. Luckily Rachel is a fish: a natural free and easy swimmer that completes her workouts with relative ease. We've swam together several times lately and each time I come away humbled. I've worked tremendously hard to become as not slow (notice I didn't say fast) as I am; Rachel swims at roughly the same pace as me after not swimming for years. Biking has probably been the most challenging aspect for her and the hills around our neighborhood are not friendly for someone just getting into riding (nor are the local drivers who seem to have little cyclist awareness). Her first few rides were rough but she stuck to it and made it over the hump. At first 20 minutes seemed tough but Sunday she completed a 1 hour ride.

For someone who hasn't trained regularly she's stayed on track impressively. She's completed every workout and is clearly building her strength and endurance. I'm proud of the progress she's made and can't wait to stand on the sidelines (as she's done for me so many times) and yell louder than I've ever yelled.

And So It Begins...

Last Sunday marked the official start of my 6-month training plan for Ironman Arizona. I've stayed thoroughly active throughout the "off-season" but by comparison Ironman training will bury my winter workouts.

This first week of workouts quickly reminded me of the importance of having a coach at this stage of the game.  For one thing the complexity of the overall plan (including its various phases) and the different types of individual workouts is difficult to coordinate. Doing the workouts will be hard enough; I'm just glad I don't have to plan them out. My job now is simple: read Coach's instructions and follow them to a tee. 

In addition to having Coach's tailor-fitted training plan I also have an added level of accountability for my workouts. I'm pretty self-motivated and committed (I have had to be after moving away from my training partners) but now I have the addition motivation of knowing that Coach is always watching (albeit from 1400 miles away). This week I received an email nudge on Wednesday wondering if I'd been on top of the week's workouts. "Yes Coach."  I had completed them all but just hadn't loaded them to Training Peaks.

All in all it was a pretty easy week consisting of about 8 hours of training. I was initially surprised by the low volumes (especially today's 45 min bike ride) but I keep reminding myself that Ironman is a completely different animal. I couldn't help but start glancing ahead at the upcoming weeks workouts which have been loaded and that was all it took for me to realize that I should enjoy these short workouts while I can.

Despite the fact that I train mostly solo I take comfort in knowing that there are about a dozen other Tri Locos following Coach Tim's training plan. I may be physically alone but in my mind I feel the camaraderie and motivation of the rest of the Ironman-hopeful Locos.