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Post-Epic Kona
10.10.04 - Gordo Byrn
By the time that you read this, you’ll likely only have five days left to freshen up for the race. All over the island (right now) athletes are trying to prove that it’s possible to race well despite their training. Life best preparation, deserves life best freshening. No need to make the race any tougher than it will be.
The buzz at the Pier is massive now – I’ve never seen so many fit people in one place. If you are arriving late then expect it.
Given that Molina started the “package” updates perhaps I’ll share a few of my own.
Yesterday, I ventured into tropical waters for the first time since Ultraman. I survived but folks were getting jelly stings left-right-and-center! So that will be my last trip in the sea. I wouldn’t have even done it but the pool was closed for a swim meet and I needed to keep rolling towards my 50,000 yard target for the week.
After my shower, I was walking back towards the pier and euro-speedo-dude was heading towards me. Those of you that have spent time with me know that I really only wear three things in hot weather – a speedo, full slit running shorts or boxers. So I’m comfortable with minimal clothing. Well, ESD was sporting the most porno speedo that I’ve seen in a long while. It was the WonderBra of speedos – lift UP and push FORWARD. Given that it appeared to have been made out of some loose material, it was an intense display of genitals! Naturally, I stopped to enquire where I could get one for myself. Unfortunately, he didn’t speak English, so my search continues…
Had a similar situation later in the day. I was heading out for my run in my favourite shorts. Was tying my shoes and noticed that I was getting a little extra ventilation. Hmmmm, wonder how long they’ve been like that? After my run…
G – Hey Buddy.
Baron – Hi, good run?
G – Yeah, nice run but I noticed something.
B – What?
G – Well, my balls appear to be hanging outside of my
shorts a lot. Any idea how long that’s been going on?
B – About a year.
G – Man-oh-man!
+++
If you didn’t win your AG to get here then remember that the three folks that just blew by you early on the bike… well, they probably did. The quality of the agegroup field here has improved dramatically since I raced in 1999 & 2000. Those guys and gals that make it so difficult to get a slot – we’ll they’re all in town – tanned, shaved and ready to go.
The fastest people on the planet – more than half of which are going to be humbled in a few days. A little fear is a good thing in Ironman.
It’s a very challenging environment in which to be patient and humble – so much testosterone. Hopefully, we’ve helped prepare the Epic Lads to do just that. If we didn’t then, I’m positive that the island will take care of that. I’ve had some dark moments out there on the Queen K but – both times I raced here – I bounced back with a strong run and a rewarding day.
Another thought, you said what needed to be said in taking the steps necessary for qualification. The people that know you, the people that love you, the people that matter – they do not care about your race performance! I’d go further, most of them don’t even understand what all this means!
Not that you had anything to prove before you qualified, but you certainly don’t now. Whether you know it, or not, you are already an inspiration to many people. So make peace with yourself, head out there and enjoy your day. A quiet mind creates quiet power and that’s the secret to a good race. Your finishing position is the least important aspect of your race.
Stay calm, be strong, race with honour.
Oh yeah, and remember that Hellriegel’s hot too…
Five days left to freshen,
g
Epic Kona Day Twelve
10.08.04 - Gordo Byrn
I took yesterday off from writing. Scott said that I was showing signs of a circle of compulsion with my swimming and gave me a 24-hour stand down from the pool. So my second session was cancelled and I was sent to the gym to stretch!
Managed a 15K run before dinner but it was pretty slow. Mister A described it as his slowest run since Ironman New Zealand! Good to see that his sense of humour is returning, that’s a sign that he’s freshening up.
Seeing as Björn was in such good spirits, I took the opportunity to float a proposal past him… we have a rigorous acceptance criteria in the House of Pain – you need to love to train, you need to have what it takes to be world class and you need to make me laugh. Mister A qualifies on all three counts.
Now that my swimming as come up, I was thinking that he would be useful to help push me in the pool. We can swim off the same splits (providing he has done back-to-back seven hour days). Also, when the Baron is in good run shape, Mister A and I can keep each other company when our blond buddy disappears up the road.
Mister A wasn’t able to take full advantage of the Team Epic training environment this year due to a lack of testicular fortitude on the part of a former sponsor (he’d never say a word about that, though. Not his style). Over the last three weeks, he’s been welcomed back into the fold and training like the true all-star he is – when we got to Kona, we had some work to do cheering him up! Not only have his Kona preparations been excellent, I’m happy to report that he’s signed on for Epic Aussie to kick off a five month stint in GordoWorld. I’m looking forward to learning more from him in 2005.
Baron and I have talked about his season and, while we aren’t thinking much past Hawaii, he’ll be at Epic Aussie as well.
OK, so my swim yesterday had the following main set… 10x200 alt IM/Fr, IMs 3:00, Free 2:45 5x300 with pads, 100 fr/50bk/100fr/50bk on 4 mins 10x100 alt IM/Fr, IMs 1:35, Free 1:25
Ripped through that with a lot of fast swimming. The transition from free to back to free with pads is surprisingly challenging. Had at least 15s rest on all the swimming, just made the pad set. Last sets 100s were 69/69/67/65/63. 6K total.
This morning, my super swim contact sent in a 8x400
main set. Molina used the Rock Star splits and I went
on the wannabe splits... the second time is my arrival.
1, 5:10, 4:55
2, 5:00, 4:55
3, 4:50, 4:45
4, 4:40, 4:39
5, 5:30, 5:15
6, 5:10, 5:05
7, 4:50, 4:45
8, 4:30, 4:34 -- maximum effort with even splits
We both absolutely blasted the final one but there’s a big difference between a 400 at the end of a long set and ripping a fast 100 (Scott’s post swim lesson to me). On paper, it seemed much more do-able. The Kona pool has flat side gutters that are at deck level (just like my pool on Christchurch). I like those for hard swimming because you can just roll out of the water and do your dry heaves while lying in the recovery position.
It was tough for me to have to report back that I missed the splits but that’s one of the best things about swimming. It helps us become less fearful in extending ourselves. A Grande Americano, a listen to Led Zep and some breakfast had me feeling much better about things. Missing by four seconds is a pretty healthy margin not as tough as missing by 1 or 2.
Just before Noon, Baron and I headed up into the hills. Clas did a track session and I did a second swim (4K scy). That swim took my 17-day Kona total to 102,600 yards but don’t mention that to Scott or he’ll scale me back again! Björn commented that I’m the only guy that he knows that manages to get over-reached in his off-season. My view is that now is the perfect time to do some swim focus – motivation is good, weather is nice and I don’t feel like riding!
Baron’s run kicked off with an aerobic function test that we like to do. 3x1K continuous at the bottom end of his steady zone – it went very well and he averaged 3:28K pace at 142 bpm. To give that some perspective, my pace at that same relative intensity was 3:53 per KM during IMC race week.
Last week KP made an observation on the elites here (Macca, Marilyn, Björn and Baron). He said that it’s been really neat for him to observe their progression from a year ago. He only meets the full crew at our epic camps (he’s been to every one) – so changes in fitness are more striking to him. He told me that it’s a mind blower to him how far everyone has come, “they’re at a whole new level.” I smiled and said that it was nice to hear that. When an entire training group improves, the gains are often not apparent because it’s tough to benchmark. I also think that highly motivated athletes often forget about the progress that they have made over 12/24/36 month periods.
At the top of our climb that day, Kevin pointed down towards Kailua town. “See those blue roofs down there. Ten years ago, a dream started.” While Kevin might look back on the formation of a dream, I saw those roofs as the birthplace of a goal. A goal that provided the framework for a massive restructuring of his life.
If I listened to the advice of the experts then I never would have even started on my Iron Journey. Four years ago there was a Canadian age grouper racing Ironman Canada. I think that it was his first Ironman. He had a solid swim and rode with Peter up Richter Pass. While I’m sure Peter wondered what the heck that guy was doing, I know what the age grouper was doing... he was riding with Peter friggin’ Reid (!) and having a blast. The age grouper guy came back the following year, the year after that, and the year after that. He went just over ten hours back in 2000. His name? Tom Evans.
Peter went 8:29 that year.
Think Big,
g
Epic Kona Day Ten
10.06.04 - Gordo Byrn
Fun day for me. I seem to be making progress with my swim camp and my arms haven’t fallen off yet. 5.5K in the morning with Mister A (the rest of crew swam open water), then 4K with the crew (double swim) up in the hills at a cooler pool. Ended my day with my normal 15K run around Kailua.
A few days ago Scott asked me if I thought that champions had an obligation to behave honourably. I’ve been thinking about that for several days now. I actually think that everyone has an obligation to act with honour. I think that the earning honour/merit is the main point of life, probably why I like Mitch, Bill, Clas and Bjorn so much (Marines, Swedes and Warriors). With them, certain things are simply understood.
Now saying that people have an obligation to act with honour – that’s likely going too far. It is probably more appropriate to say that when we act with honour, we act in our ultimate self-interest – assuming that we each want to live a life with meaning.
Trouble is, the lure of false gods, the noise in our heads, the lack of time to think – these factors and others can distract us from a life of integrity and meaning. I come across a lot more honour at the top of the age-group ranks than I do in the elite ranks (many elites are on summer vacation, not having had the training or life experience to understand the sources of true meaning – and don’t necessarily assume that I’m not in this group). As Jochums says (see http://www.byrn.org/gtips/jochums_notes.htm) sport doesn’t create character – the quest for honour creates character. Sports can provide a framework for learning/practicing the skills required for a life of integrity (for what it’s worth, I agree with Jochums that swimming is ideal for this).
Even if we misplace our integrity, I think that we can earn it back. Likewise, the more honourable the man, the more conscious he is of situations and actions that could jeopardize his position. I spend a heck of a lot of time avoiding people and situations that, I believe, don’t strengthen my character.
Time and time again, we are shown that success in athletics, celebrity, beauty – none of these necessarily build character and, ultimately, there will be no lasting satisfaction found in a race, victory, promotion, vacation home... unless it reminds us of a process rich in integrity. Ask David Millar if he’d swap every victory he’d ever had to go back and make some better decisions – the dude’s living in his own prison, even if he didn’t get busted and that’s the ultimate punishment for a lack of character. Still, it’s far from too late and David seems like he understands that.
How much is enough? Is what we are really searching for out there in the lava, at the top of the mountain, at the top of our company, at the country club, sitting in the front seat of our new car, beside the fireplace of our ski lodge?
The man who competes with no one, in all the world, has no competitor.
A man of power, isn’t always a man of honour. But it’s never too late. At least that’s the way we see it in the House of Pain.
Anyhow, just some thoughts to take with you into your next race. When you prepare with honour, live with integrity and race with heart. You’ll always be satisfied with your result. If you’re not satisfied then perhaps it’s the process, not the performance that needs to be addressed.
With only a few days to run until the Big Show – it’s worth spending a little quiet time having an honest conversation with ourselves about our true motivation for racing. Deep satisfaction (and true performance) can only come from an intent that is open and pure. If possible then now is a good time to clear up any loose ends that you might have in your personal life. The calming effect on your mind will be highly beneficial.
Back tomorrow,
g
Epic Kona Day Nine
10.05.04 - Gordo Byrn
Before we get back to my Homily-of-the-Day, I’d like to share a little story with you from this morning. Not sure if you’ve noticed but I’ve been hitting the pool pretty hard over the last few weeks. I’m up to 6,500 to 7,000 yards per session and have been putting up some life best times. I just keep getting faster.
Scott, Björn and Ragnar have been doing their best to keep me company. Last Sunday marked my first 40KM week in the water – Scott swam the course in the morning then stacked on another 6K in the afternoon to be with me as I blew through that benchmark. I felt that it was ever so appropriate that he was there because my athletic career really took off when I started working with him. He’s been with me the whole way and it was nice to share something like that with him (even if he CRUSHED me on the paddles and strength set in the middle – “Why you wanna be like that, bro?).
Each day when I get back from the pool – well before dinner – I write up the set for the next day. It’s not so bad for me. All I have to survive is our morning swim then a ten-mile run before dinner. Scott’s gotta ride with a bunch of sub-9 guys, hit the gym and handle all the social arrangements for the Epic Crew. I’m more a logistics type of guy.
So this morning, Scott brings in reinforcements – Carlin (hope I spelled her name right). Anyhow, Carlin soloed to a win at the open water swim this past weekend (Scott was 4th). I’d met her over the weekend (“who’s THAT?”, I said to Mister A) – seeing as she’s married, we’ll just say that she makes a pleasant lane mate and leave it at that.
Carlin joined us for IM Day – a wannabe’s attempt at Dolan training (that would be me!)...
600 choice
12x75, odds fr on a minute, evens bk/br/fr on 1:15
Main Set Pattern is IM then Free then Easy
400, 4x100 @ 1:25, 100
300, 4x100 @ 1:20, 100
200, 4x100 @ 1:15, 100
100, 4x100 @ 1:20, 100
200, 4x100 @ 1:25, 100
300, 4x100 @ 1:20, 100
400, 4x100 @ 1:15, 100
IMs are on 20s RI
200 c/d
When I do my IM day it’s all about survival – if you see me swim backstroke and fly then you’ll know exactly what I am talking about. However, with the dynamic duo in front of me, I was under considerable pressure – until I decided to do my own swim!
Scott might share the actual splits that they were laying down but I remember that they put 30s into me on the first 200 IM! Scott was leading, Carlin was leaving 5s back (so they could chat – what about the social aspects of MY session, I thought). I left 5-10s back but it didn’t really matter – swimming behind Carlin is like drafting a barracuda (she’s pretty well proportioned). Anyhow I was zinging out the back so fast that it was marginal benefit regardless.
Before the final 400IM, Carlin announced that she was going sub-5, if anyone cared to join her. The stage was set for our own little version of Summer Smackdown! I left to find my own lane – I knew that I was going to be at least 100 down on this one and didn’t want to get in the way.
They pushed off – Carlin swimming smoothly and El Skid CHURNING through his lane like a cement mixer. Carlin is a hot backstroker and pulled ahead. She took further ground on the breaststroke leg with Molina going through 300 yards about two body lengths down. Scott pulled a 62 out of his back pocket but it was too little too late and Carlin just out-touched our fearless leader (who closed with a 27 for his final 50).
More later perhaps,
Aquaman
PS – I think that Scott’s been getting hairstyling advice on the side from The Donald. Perhaps Baron and I are being too harsh on him. So I started a poll on my board. Please vote on this important issue.
Epic Kona Day Eight
10.04.04 - Gordo Byrn
OK, I think I have too many ideas going right now and as a result nothing is getting done. Have to resort to the application of my 'One Thing' concept. I’ll type up my thoughts one module at a time and forward to Wy for uploading.
So, I’ve got two pages of notes in my Justice League spiral bound exercise book (Baron is Batman, I get to be Superman). At the top of page one written in pencil is “cycle of compulsion”. Scott caught a glimpse of that one a few days ago. This morning he told me his first thoughts...
“Hmm, that one should be interesting to read. The g-man sure knows a little something about that!”
As opposed to talking you through my well-documented history of extreme activities... I want to talk about a common issue that faces many athletes in our sport. Vinu asked me a few nights ago to give a talk on nutrition to the crew. He reads these reports so these write ups will have to do. Why? Well, I can assure you that eleven days out from an Ironman Race an athlete either doesn’t need the talk (things are fine) or doesn’t want to hear the talk (I’m trippin’ dude!). Besides, my book and website have plenty of clear advice on nutrition.
I’ve noticed a trap in our sport (particularly in the high volume crowd – like, say, ME). Goes like this...
I train lots so that I can eat lots;
I want to eat even more, so I train even more;
I train so much that I get run down;
But I “know” that I can’t rest because then I’ll gain weight;
So I keep training;
But I start to get really run down;
Nuked, my nutrition suffers even more;
Soon I’m training 20/25/30/35/40/45/50 hours but nuked and soft.
I wonder (my coach wonders) how can I train so much and still be gaining weight (or, commonly, not losing weight)?
It’s because our ability to implement effective nutrition is tied directly to our mental state. I talked KP through this line of reasoning and he shared a very appropriate concept.
“What I am eating is a far better indicator than how much.”
Indicator of what? Indicator of training stress, recovery, life stress, mental state, physical preparedness. When I am lining up a life best performance, my nutrition is spot-on. I am in a reinforcing circle. I’m rested, focused and fit – where I need to be – where we all want to be in race week!
Once we are in the Circle of Compulsion, it seems counter-intuitive that we’d have to rest more and train less to improve our body composition but that’s my personal experience. Often, even the act of resting will trigger a series of things in our bodies. I’ve thought (and heard) that the rest was screwing me up. I’ve experienced full body cramping so bad that my cheeks locked up (while I was laughing at how screwed I was!).
Turned out that it was simply a sign of the huge load of training stress that I was carrying. Back in 2002, I needed close to two months of lighter training to put myself back together after over doing it preparing for the Keauhou Kona Half IM (the location of my PB for cramping). The break was very valuable for me and, only six months later, I had a massive breakthrough at IMNZ 2003 (cracked nine hours).
My two greatest training stress indicators are nutrition and mental state. When you’ve got both off the rails at the same time then, odds are, some deep recovery is in order.
The greater your emotional response to that suggestion, the more likely you are to need it. I’ve been there many times myself – Shelledsville is a tough place to reside. And like when I was drinking a lot – the message bearer didn’t exactly get a warm response!
Trippin’ is not our natural state.
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Epic Kona Day Seven
10.03.04 - Gordo Byrn
Miss me? I’ve been thinking. Just not writing much!
Had a few warning signs after the run on Wednesday. Few bowls of cereal, FOUR naps on Thursday, a two-hour nap on Friday and a one-hour nap on Saturday. If I needed any confirmation that I’m carrying some fatigue from IMC then that was it. Of course, I continued to hit the swimming pretty solid. My swim this afternoon with Scott and Mister A took me over 40KM for the week. We ended with...
600 every 4th back
24x75 alt fr on 1min with bk/br/fr on 1:15
(4x) continuous 150 fr/50 bk (pads)
(4x) continuous 100 IM/150 fr
400/300/200/100 leaving on 1:20 base with 50 easy on 60s after each
(3x) 200 pads on 2:40/50 br on 1:00/50 fly on 1:00
300 c/d
Times for the 4321
400, 4:56
300, 3:30
200, 2:15
100, 63
Yet again, Scott was proven right – I swam every day this week, threw in some fast work, big volume and was holding life best times for all distances. So much of training is mental. I’m going for another 40K next week. Keep the hammer down until something snaps – and it just might – my rotators were pretty smoked at times.
+++
Oh yeah, a few days ago I said that 8:28 wasn’t fast. Well, after my run here on Wednesday, Scott and I were talking about the run times in Kona. Given how hard the men hammer... it’s amazing how fast some of those guys run in the heat. It’s real hot here! The folks that have gone sub-8:20 here – THAT'S FAST!
I’ve got a bunch more notes that I’ll type up over the next while. It’s dinner time!
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Epic Kona Day Four
09.30.04 - Gordo Byrn
Well, we hit it again this morning in the pool. My arms felt like they were about to fall off at the end of that workout. However, we got through it. I was very shelled after that (three naps so far today). While I slept (most of) the day away, the crew rode out to Waikaloa and back – about 100K. I think Clas might have trimmed that down for himself. Now they are heading to the gym and I’ll get a run done before dinner.
Did you read Tyler’s wife’s letter over on Velonews.Com – I thought that it touched on a lot of the reasons why I’ve spent most of my elite triathlon career alone (and why success in athletics rarely implies success in relationships) – it’s tough knowing that you are #3 behind the bike and the dog. It’s an interesting read. To me, that level of commitment is the baseline if you want to become decent at anything.
If you’re trying to perform well here then you are going up against athletes like Tyler. Molina quote, “all it takes is one totally obsessed guy and you’ll be second every time”.
Even when you are that guy, sometimes second is the best that you can do.
++++
I’m a big believer in discipline in training – perhaps it’s more a control thing? We were talking about group training the other night and I noted that, typically, the only athlete that gets the right session on a group ride is the strongest athlete. Most others lack the self-discipline to stay within their workout guidelines and get the appropriate training.
Folks will come up with a host of explanations for why a certain session works for them. Some of them make me smile on the inside. What I remind myself when listening to others describe their programs:
- It gets them out the door
- They seem to like it
- There are many ways to get fast
- I don’t have to do it
- Stay calm, listen, you might learn something
As in many things, the point of view that we tend to take/defend is the one that matches our current practice. Learning self-discipline in many areas can be quite useful – group training, nutrition, pacing and replies on effective training protocols (!)... each of these areas providing an opportunity to build useful patterns of success.
Perhaps different athletes have different paths to achievement. I like to follow a system of achievement that relies on superior dedication and execution over the long term. Others might base their achievement of raw toughness – enduring more pain that their competitors. For me, a pain tolerance approach to life would negate the whole point of living – I don’t really want to spend most my year, overtired and on edge. Tried that last year – it wasn’t much fun!
The truly great athletes – while they train in groups – I wonder if they ever let the group compromise their key workouts? More likely, I expect that they are using the group to enhance the quality of their key workouts.
By truly great, I mean the athletes that ultimately get closest to achieving their potential.
“I was out-training him but he was beating me every year.” - Mark Allen on Dave Scott
countered with
“Tom believed that if he could out-train everyone then no one could beat him.” - Rick Curl, coach of Tom Dolan (former World Record Holder 400 IM, Olympic Champion and all-round legend)
Don’t suppose that there’s any ‘right’ answer. We each have to choose our own paths.
++++
Just in case you’re keeping track... here was the workout from this morning for the Dolan Lane.
600 every 4th bk
12x75, odds Fr on 1:00; evens Bk/Br/Fr on 1:15
(5x) Continuous 200 IM / 100 Fr
600 on 8, 50 EZ
2x300 on 4, 50 EZ, Pads
4x150 on 2, 50 EZ
6x100 on 1:20, 50 EZ, Pads
200 EZ, 400 IM, 200 EZ
++++
Molina List
Scott threw out a few elite stories the other day. When he told me about his list, I said that I couldn’t come up with one thing that I do that’s not normal. That elicted a Bjorn-look from him. Twenty-four hours mulling it over have refreshed my memory... here are a few greatest hits from my training buddies and me.
- March to August 2004 – only two trips outside of home (or trailer) for items not directly connected to training for Ironman Canada. The first was a dinner with Mark Allen and the second was lunch with two training buddies.
- Spend three hours, driving to five tracks before you find one open (a gravel track at 8,500 feet), spend a further 20 minutes pushing football equipment off the track before doing your track session.
- Decide that 6% body fat is too high – start doing your long rides on sugar-free Red Bull – consequently, driving your blood sugar and electrolytes so low that your heart beat goes erratic and you nearly pass out 60K from home.
- 2002 – Ride 550K to a Sprint Tri, ride home.
- 2003 – Ride 550K to a Stage Race, ride home.
- Start back too quickly after an IM, come to Hawaii on a training vacation spend five days (!) in bed eating cereal.
- Ride 3.5 hours on a trainer, slip while clipping back in after a toilet break, head off to emergency for stitches, ride 2.5 hours when getting back home.
- Skip winter for eleven years.
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Epic Kona Day Three
09.29.04 - Gordo Byrn
Today was my first day doing the full schedule with the crew. We kicked off with 12-19 miles of the marathon course. Scott and Wy were out there supporting us and we used to minivan to drop folks at their requested distance.
Have to say that it was highly educational to be reminded of running in Hawaiian heat. From the end of the Energy Lab back to town is about eight miles and there’s a lot of heat and uphill on that route. If I was racing Kona then I’d be looking to pace my entire day on being able to crank my effort up at this point. I think that’s a requirement simply to hold pace. I imagine that a strong runner could take five minutes out of most people in those final eight miles.
From my Ultraman run, I knew that we were experiencing a ‘cool’ day in the lab – it was about 9am when we were in there. I imagine that a few of the crew were experiencing similar thoughts to me...
...hmmm I feel a bit flat all of a sudden
...pretty toasty in here
...imagine having seven (or eight, or nine, or ten...) hours in me before getting here
Some of the larger guys also experienced what happens when an athlete’s ability to generate heat exceeds their ability to dissipate heat – your HR goes through the roof and you slow right down, while struggling to cool.
Clas was strong and smooth today – he’s an inspiration for me. It’s great to see what he’s been able to achieve and I’m sure that he’ll take comfort in knowing that he’s done every single thing possible to race well. The course presents a number of challenges for him – no wetsuit, hot, separate elite start. However, I haven’t heard one complaint, one excuse, one concern – he’ll show up, do his best and that’s enough. He’s a good influence on all of us.
So after riding the course on Monday and running a big chunk on it on Wednesday, I think that a number of the gang (including me) were humbled by the conditions here. It’s a very different race environment than most of us are used to.
Later at the pool, we bumped into a couple of South African buddies of mine (Raynard and Nick). The South Africans are like Swedes – get it done, do it right, no excuses. Tough guys. I think that Raynard in particular will race well here. He’s scoping it out just like we are. Looking very tanned and ripped.
Oh yeah, I made the 60x100 main set – it wasn’t easy but it wasn’t that tough either. Have to admit that I was tapping a bit of ‘primal’ energy to get through the final five on 1:15. Did those all under 1:10 – was very conservative for most of the workout. Going to keep the pedal down until Friday then take two easy swim days on the weekend. Looking for a life best on distance as well as full points for artistic merit.
Ragnar was swimming very well today – guess he only needed a few days to adjust from the icy conditions that he’s been experiencing in Norway.
Ragnar – “Hey gordo, you should come to Norway one summer.”
G – “No problem, just let me know the 96 hours that it will be warm and I’ll come right over.”
++++
A little Epic Update for you – Scott and I have done a little planning for the future camps. In 2005, we’ll just go with Aussie. I want to give IM Canada my best shot so we are postponing Epic France until the year that I want to focus on Hawaii.
After IMC next year, I’ll go back to the desert with a few friends (perhaps Baron, we aren’t thinking much beyond IMH now). After that, I’ll come here and repeat my swim/run focus. This has been my best IMC recovery ever and it did it without “trying” – the secret for a lot of things.
For 2006, we are going to do a January camp in New Zealand again. Something about being able to start/finish at my garage is HIGHLY attractive to me. Scott spends winter in Christchurch so it’s less attractive to him! This time we will focus on the Northern part of the South Island – Nelson, Kaikoura, Blenheim – we’ve got some great routes and I know a beautiful trail run in the Marlborough Sounds. It’s a fun part of the country, too.
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A little ATP planning adjustment for me as well. I was going to check out the Epic Aussie course but we think that’s too much travel for me and I need to swim more. So my December trip to Oz has been axed in favour of Coach Roly sessions in Christchurch. Thanks to those of you that were offering me a place to stay – I might take you up at a later date!
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Top Shelf Refreshment
Scott referred to this in his first report. We’ve got a large Jim Beam bottle (with a small micky beside it) that lives on top of the fridge. It’s been calling my name for several days now so last night I poured myself a tall cool one after writing my epic entry.
Think I managed to go from buzzed to flat to hungover in about two hours. Oh what a change training makes! So my bourbon-loading experiment was successful but only because it cured me of my desire to drink bourbon.
One bourbon, one coors lite – that’s my tally for the camp. These things are often better in concept than reality.
Not sure Scott’s been counting – perhaps I’ll keep score for him one day.
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More tomorrow – I seem to have found my groove on these things so I’ll keep them going on a daily basis.
A quote that’s been in my head for a few months – “having a coach doesn’t relieve us of our obligation to think”. While coaches can dictate strategy to folks, it seems a lot more effective when it’s a discussion. Hellemans calls coaching elite athletes “a negotiation” – that’s a nice way to look at it for any athlete. Working together to find an optimal strategy.
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Epic Kona Day Two
09.27.04 - Gordo Byrn
“It’s not fast.”
Sitting on the massage table yesterday evening after my very moderate day (the crew really had a solid day, I’ll let Scott tell that because, as he just pointed out to me… I wasn’t there!). Anyhow, sitting on the table I remembered something that Dave told me this summer about racing here in his 40s. He said that he had a decent day but wasn’t fast. I asked what he went, he went 8:28.
If you are like me the you probably believe that the best elite athletes have the ability to go much ‘harder’ than the rest of us. I think that most pros think, train and race that way. I think that this might be a mistake. I do some hell sessions, Baron does some absolutely amazing training – he was shaking like a leaf yesterday at the end of his key ride. We put up some great numbers, train massively even when shelled, blow through limits, expand our minds… all the while wishing that we could do a little more, train a little harder, be a little thinner…
However, after my race in Canada, I realized that in actual fact a pretty decent Ironman only has a few periods that are fast. The bulk of it is simply a steady to mod-hard effort, pretty comfortable. Then it gets uncomfortable – part of the trick is learning to deal with the discomfort. A lot of that comes from the hard training. We talked about that at dinner – as the crew probably noticed, I seemed to be in one of those moods where I simply take the opposite view to whatever is going. I seem to get into that groove sometimes!
Anyhow, after my fast result, I realized what Dave was saying. While my time was good, I was simply rolling along for most of the day. There weren’t any truly fast periods for any length of time. My bike ride in particular was the lowest average intensity that I’d ridden in any elite IM effort. As a result, my run was the highest average intensity for an IM and my overall time the best ever.
Like I mentioned yesterday, I think that nearly everyone over-estimates their true overall fitness as well as the cost of a sane bike ride. Many athletes that blow early, or can’t get rolling on the bike, end up with excellent overall races due to being able to run well.
I often assure athletes that every IM personal best race will tend to feel like you could have gone harder on the bike. Just my experience.
I’ve also been thinking about a line from The Karate Kid that I think applies well to bike training and IM racing.
“Why do we train? We train so we don’t have to fight.”
In other words, I become strong on the bike so I don’t have to use it.
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Fear of resting
IMers are a proud training bunch. Resting is a difficult process for many athletes. The mind starts to question preparations, every minor ache becomes a major issue, additional nutritional focus is required. In order to reach true breakthrough performance, resting is a requirement. Having raced very well tired, resting certainly isn’t a requirement for a decent performance. However, most (but not all) of my life best performances have come when I was rested prior to a major competition.
I think that learning to freshen appropriately is as important as learning to train properly. I’ve some pretty motivated people stuff themselves badly, one of these characters appears in my bathroom from time-to-time.
…and on that note, today was a pretty mellow day for Baron. 4K scy in the pool this morning with some fly and steady. Very good core/balance session with some strength work and stretching.
Tomorrow he’ll run 18miles (it will take him less than two hours) – roughly… 30 min easy, 45 min steady then 6x5 min Open Half Marathon effort on 1 min recovery (4 min K Pace).
He’s going to swim in the afternoon – likely an easy 4K.
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My Dolan session went well today – made it– was faster the second time through and we only took 20s RI after the IMs. Did a dive start on all the IMs and had some stellar streamlines.
Tomorrow’s training for me… Run the last 25K of the marathon course with the crew.
The Dolan Lane has the following main set…
1:30/1:25/1:20/1:15
1/1/1/1 then
2/2/2/2 then
3/3/3/3 then
4/4/4/4 then
5/5/5/5Kona 4
No Easy Way – it’s mission critical for me to speed up my swimming. I want to have my shot to run shoulder to shoulder with the best.
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Had a few Qs on my post-IMC strategy – I’ve been doing a lot of running and swimming – hardly any cycling. There’s no big strategy behind it. I run because I like and it helps me avoid massive weight gain. I’m swimming a lot because I like and it’s an important part of how I get to the next level. I’ve got the bike power to ride with the top runners, I just need to get into that group earlier in the day.
I’ve been careful with the strength training as I feel that it was a key contributor to my parasympathetic fatigue last October.
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Related to my opener, Mister A and I were talking about racing the other day – the conversation got to the point where he implied that my strength was my run. I thought about it and said, “It’s not my run. Most people run so slow. My strength is my race. I am using my fitness, the course, the competitors to have a good race. A fast run is simply how I have my best race.”
I spend a lot of time thinking about how to have my best race, my best preparation, my best shot. I’ve had to adapt a lot as I’ve learned how to approach our sport. One of the reasons why people stagnate is an inability to change their approach.
Champions Endure The Discomfort Of Change.
Rock On,
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Epic Kona Day One
09.26.04 - Gordo Byrn
Not sure if I’ll be writing every single day – we’ll need to see how the camp develops. Yesterday was a get used to Kona day. Open water swim, bike and run.
Following Ultraman last year, I need to swim with a full suit and epi-pen so I opted for a pool swim instead.
Today was the first ‘real’ day of the camp and probably the biggest day that the crew will do. I skipped the ride and ran a little longer.
Pool swim in the morning, ride the entire course, 10K run off the bike. Baron did a very tough race specific ride that’s a mixture of stuff that I’ve learned from Scott and Dave. Four main sets...
45 mins IM effort
(4x) 5 min big gear, 2 min T watts, 3 min steady, continuous so 4x10 mins with no rest
30 mins standing, all terrain, start at Kawaihae
10x5 min change up intervals on 30s RI (1-4 steady, 5-8 mod-hard, 9-10 LT-)
For the technically minded reader...
Set A – we normally see Half IM wattage with IM heart beats; part of what we want to learn is how easy it feels to push HIM watts with fresh legs. The powermeter really helps control effort and I encourage the athlete to dial it down and save it for later. Scott’s always encouraging me just to sit at the bottom of my steady zone and stay relaxed/efficient.
Set B – I like the big gear work for strength, the T watts are for a quick change in cadence/recruitment, the steady is to have the athlete recover at a good speed – the ability to tolerate changes in cadence/power/recruitment is pretty useful in a race situation. A few years ago, these would be incredibly taxing for me and generate a lot of fatigue in my legs. Dave Scott is very keen on change (load, cadence, pace, power, recruitment, position) in main sets of all sports – key thing that I learned this summer.
Set C – I like the long standing sets (now that I’ve adapted) – it can be a very efficient way to climb/ride and offers the athlete another option on race day. I think the longer sets help the athlete become relaxed with this method. We don’t target any specific HRs or Watts – we place a mod-hard cap on HR and let the athlete ride on feel. The main thing is just to do it. Baron’s adapted now so we typically see HIM or higher wattages with steady to mod-hard HRs.
Set D – Change up intervals – the goal is to mix cadences and hold high power/speed with a sustained heart rate (short RI). We aim to start steady so that the athlete doesn’t chase the HR up and crash late in the set. Watts are generally similar across 1-8 and we look to hit T watts for the last two. The cadence pattern is 2 mins 92-94; 90s 70-75; 30s 92-94; and 60s 70-75. This is a Dave set that I found highly effective this summer for my flat TTing. The cadence ranges were personal to me, we were training against my preference.
I like to back end load all the sets so they are done with 10-15 min easy riding between them and ending as close to the end of the ride as possible (pretty classic technique to challenge yourself at the end – my coaching advisors all use it in specific prep).
This is a very challenging ride and the goal is to have the best main set performance at the end of the ride – most athletes ride too hard early in the ride – and that is a good learning experience for race day. Better to be humbled a few weeks early than on the course. Still, not everyone learns the lessons.
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What’s racing blind?
I mentioned that a few days ago. Basically, racing blind is ignoring power, pace, HR and all data. My view is that you can always ignore the data but if you don’t have it then you’ll never know what’s up. So many IM athletes have chronic pacing problems that they simply don’t face up to (back pain, GI issues, bonking).
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Hot Weather Running
Here in Kona, I sat outside the Energy Lab last year and watched the first four hundred athletes through this part of the marathon – these are the fittest people in our sport and, I think, I saw less than ten people that looked like they were really running! Everyone else was on survival pace.
They should give out a card to every athlete on race morning… “Remember, you will be running a tropical marathon after the bike leg”. Running in the tropics is far different than anywhere else. I’ve been enjoying my no pressure runs each day. Wednesday will see the lads try a faster run in the heat – we’ll start at 8am because we don’t want to totally smoke ourselves!
Mister A and I ran 15K this afternoon starting at 1pm. Toasty! We’ve have a little joke going.
“It’s the same heat for everyone”
“Hellreigel’s hot too”
“I can run here, I’m a winner”
Mister A isn’t that big a practitioner of ‘touchy feely’ stuff so our conversation is a bit tongue in cheek. I’ve got a few years yet to feed him sports psych by stealth! He’s been helping me with the practical side of my game so it’s a fair trade.
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Had a bit of breakthrough in the pool today – swam 800 yds (SCY) in 9:20 – that’s fast for me. Scott still doing his best Don Rickles impersonation to keep me honest…
“A year ago you couldn’t have done that with flippers and an out-board motor. It’s amazing what a little motivation will do for a guy.”
Scott’s declared the top two lanes the Dolan Lanes – in honour of Mister Swimming – Tom Dolan. I’ve never met Tom but I’ve heard his coach speak and I have a lot of respect for what he stands for (achievement and honour through relentless dedication and focused effort). So we’ve been dreaming up sets for the Dolan Lane. Today’s came from a guest coach – a particularly swift swimmer from Team World – the main set was (4x) 800, 4x100 – pretty straightforward and we had quite a bit of rest on the 800s. Molina and Mister A were drag racing – Ragnar and I were trying not to get lapped (only managed to hold them off on the last one – where I swam 1:10s). To put this in perspective, the first time I broke 2 minutes for a single 100m long course was early 1999. That kind of stuff gives me a lot of satisfaction for what it represents to me.
The main set for tomorrow is a Mister A special:
400 IM; 4x100 fr
300 IM; 3x100 fr
200 IM; 2x100 fr
100 IM; 1x100 fr
Twice through – 100s on 1:20, 20s extra rest at the end of each set – first time through just make the IMs, second time through look to pick it up
The twice through was my touch – it rasied a few eyebrows. Scott and Ragnar are going for it and they rode the course today – that’s what I call backing it up.
More later,
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Pre-Epic Kona
09.24.04 - Gordo Byrn
Not feeling quite as feisty today as yesterday. Woke up very hyper and before the rest of the house. That’s a good sign for me.
Ran to the pool with Baron’s MP3 player. ZZ Top rocking in my ears had me absolutely rolling along. Mister A ran as well but took a different route. So we were waiting for the crew, pretty sweaty and enjoying the sun. Lisa Bentley wandered in…
G – Hey there, good to see you.
L – Hi, you look hot.
G – Thanks for that.
L – No, I mean hot.
G – Yeah, I know. Thanks for that.
;-)
Lisa is looking pretty ripped and ready to go. Scott observed that she was considerably “out veining” the g-man. To make myself feel better, I resorted to a full body shave after my run home – always perks me up that.
Anyhow, we’re riding again this afternoon. Nothing special might try a little steady on the flats to see how I’m feeling. Scott’s still recommending that I leave my HRM and watch at home. Wants me to keep enjoying myself. Have to say that Kona is a mighty fine place for a little base training.
One idea for you on coaching that I wrote a friend today...
Coaches are good for leadership and motivation – however, it only takes a single comment to a young woman to give her a lifetime of challenges with her self-image. It’s not just the coaches, it’s society, the locker room, boys, the media, so many things telling our girls and women that they aren’t OK. So we create a society where we are all looking for an external confirmation that we’re OK – they don’t even know us – how the hell can they know if we are OK or not!
And there are folks that have figured that out and use that truth for their own ends. And some of them may produce great results but do they produce great people?
Many young women think that they are looking to a coach for results, they think that the results will bring them the fix they need – however – when the results arrive they find that the hunger remains (there are a lot of messed up champions, Olympians…). Why is that? It’s because they were never looking for results in the first place. They were looking for acceptance.
That doesn’t apply to everyone but it certainly applies to someone.
More later,
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Pre-Epic Kona Thoughts
09.23.04 - Gordo Byrn
As this is an elite camp, I’ll be sharing my real thoughts with you over the course of the next few days. “Real” thoughts are the raw ideas that flow through my mind throughout the course of the day. It what I think, not what I think folks need. If you know what I mean.
I’m also working on a section for the USAT manual on long course racing so I’ll touch on some of the key aspects of that piece of work. So there will be a mix of elite and AG thoughts.
Don’t take any of this too seriously – I’m just kicking around various ideas.
To kick off – why is it so difficult for us to give ourselves a chance to succeed? Stacking races, stacking IMs (!), racing blind… why do so many athletes want to stack the deck against themselves. Excuses – at a certain level, I think that we are looking for a way out – if we really execute and we suck, well perhaps that’s more than we want to face.
The athletes that understand this, that most of their competition will beat themselves. They truly commit, to me they are the ones that achieve, improve and reach the top. Comes back to Professional vs Elite classifications – having observed the training a lot of athletes, I think that there are only a few true professionals in our sport. Very few people really know how to train/race. There are a lot of folks out there trying very “hard” and not getting the results that they desire.
Read an interesting book this summer – The Daniels’ Running Formula. Lots of good ideas in there and I’d recommend it to any coach/athlete that’s serious about improving. One of JD’s points is that if an athlete wants to train faster then they should prove it but racing faster. Scott and I were talking about that this afternoon on our ride (my first since IMC!).
Take that JD concept – what does it mean to me? It means that NOTHING counts until we prove it on game day. We can sit down and make all the pace, HR, power, position calculations but it doesn’t mean squat if we blow up race, after race, after race – so many excuses out there. With IMC and IMWisco, all the usual topics came up (hills, heat, carbohydrate solution, cramping, electrolytes, water). Maybe the real reason that so many of us under perform is that we aren’t really as fast as we think we are? Forget the excuses, a race shows us where we are at – and that’s why a lot of folks don’t commit – no tapers, racing tired, going for the win. When I listen to Evans, Lessing, Bentley, Brown – what I hear is, “I did my best, had a solid day” – great role models for performance.
We need to give ourselves permission to succeed, permission to rest, permission to give it our best shot. A lot of this is driven by the fact that I’m wondering why a lot of folks just done seem to get better. I’ve been trying to figure out why ‘pros’ don’t make continuous improvement. While not ‘easy’ the path to performance improvement seems pretty clear to me.