Triathletes? No. Pentathletes!

I don't know what it is, but for years I've always felt like my days were full. From morning to night, I did something to fill those 24 hours. Because my days were full, I just assumed that it meant I was busy all the time doing important busyperson things. Then I started triathlon training...

When you start doing something that you enjoy, priorities change. If you want to lose weight, you prioritize a smaller number on the scale higher than a pint of Breyer's ice cream. Similarly, when I started triathlon training (I already ran regularly), I suddenly had to fit in several hours of my week for new activities. And since I did not have Hermione Granger's time turner necklace, I had to cut out some of my important busyperson things.

What did I stop doing you ask?
-- I stopped waking up at 7:00am.
-- I stopped going to bed at 11:00pm or later.
-- I stopped eating fast food.
-- I stopped watching a lot of late night TV
-- I stopped trying to convince myself I would workout after work
-- I stopped weighing 230 pounds

In fact, adding almost daily workouts to my schedule actually didnt change my time that much, just when I did things.

Instead of waking up at 7:00am, I get up at 5:00 for Master's swim practice or a bike ride.
Instead of going to bed at 11:00pm or later, I try to go to bed around 9:00pm. Same 8 hours, but I feel so much better when I wake up.
Instead of eating fast food, I cook more. Chicks dig this about me.
Instead of watching late night TV, I read a book before falling asleep. Going to sleep relaxed = waking up refreshed.
Instead of trying to workout after work when I'm tired, I work out in the morning and get it out of the way for the rest of the day.
Instead of weighing 230 pounds, I weigh 204 -- and the biggest changes I made was when I workout, what I eat, and when I sleep.

I think most people underestimate the importance of Nutrition and Rest in their training programs.

Swim. Bike. Run. Transition. Eat. Sleep. We are pentathletes.

A Coppola I am not

The fine folks at Clif Bar have been gracious enough to hold a contest offering their most creative and voracious all natural energy bar loving fans a one year supply of Clif Bars.

The winner will be chosen from the comments posted on their blog answering the question "What would you do with a year's supply of Clif Bars?"

Judging is based on originality, creativity, and content so, of course, I had to offer up my submission to the almighty energy bar gods. I mean, who was I to pass up a year of free Clif Bars?

First, I had to check out the competition: people saying they would eat them, give them to the homeless, or share them with their cycling and/or polar expedition teams. I really like one guy's suggestion of building a house. So many possibilities!

Secondly, I re-examined the question and the judging guidelines: Do something with the Clif Bars. Be creative. Be original. Provide content.

Thirdly, I did what I do best and just make stuff up. But you've always gotta start with some kind of inspiration to getthe juices flowing. I went with parody films.

Here's my entry in the contest --

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By Swisscheez on 07/22/2010

For your consideration:

I would re-edit the amazing Woody Harrelson/Demi Moore movie Indecent Proposal and replace all the dollar bills with Clif Bars.

The film opens on the interior of a run down motel room, our leading couple tired and downtrodden, recently evicted after months of missed rent payments and utility bills piling up. After exhausting their meager supply of energy gels to satiate their ever growing hunger, they are forced to turn to Taco Bell hot sauce packets.

Cut to the smoldering antagonist. He has it all: power, money, good hair, and great teeth. At first glance he’s indestructible, but deep inside he harbors a hurtful resentment from the woman in his past who left him for his best friend, an adventure racer. Protected by his wall of money and influence, he keeps any true heartfelt romance at bay.

One sunny afternoon, we see our down on their luck couple scavenging for trial sized morsels of Luna bars and sips of energy drinks when, between the racks of running shorts, the powerful playboy spies her from across the race expo floor. She is the modern day visage of his former flame. Making his way past the massage tables and vacation Disney marathon booths, he matter of factly walks up to the vagabond and firmly states “I’ll offer you a 1 year supply of Clif Bars to sleep with your wife.”

...that’s all I’ve got so far. Do you think Shia LeBeouf is available?

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If I win, I think it'd be fun to fil and edit a 90 second trailer of the Indecent Clif Bar Proposal. Probably won't include Shia LeBeouf though. I hear he causes a lot of drama on set. We'll see...

The contest is open until 11:59pm PT on Thursday July 29, 2010 so get your entries in if you think you can beat that!

Is Your Transition Bag a Transformer?

Most bags, my Xterra bag included, are essentially the same as the backpack you had when you were in grade school: one or two big pockets + one or two small pockets. It might be fancy and have sealed zippers and waterproof storage for your wetsuit, but it's overall structure is no different than what you see here.

I shared a photo of my recent transition area in a previous post. My issue with "standard" bags is that they're great for carrying your gear between your car and transition area, but once there, I think it's just in the way. You can lay out your cycling and running gear on top, but it rolls off or gets kicked and moves all around.

The guys at GYST Concept found a way to address all these issues. Their Backpack 1-10, originally made for surfers, should become the new staple among triathletes everywhere.


-- It opens up in the middle to lay flat, revealing 2 compartments: T1 & T2 anyone?

-- One of the compartments has feet outlines: once you wipe off the sand/grass off your feet, your bag gives you an area to set your foot down where it won't get dirty again.

-- The compartments have 3" high walls so your bike rack neighbors can knock into it all they want: your stuff stays in place, so no scrambling around for your shoes or extra water bottle or nutrition.

-- One of the compartments has a sand/water drain: no more musty race jerseys or wetsuits ever again!

-- Clean up is a breeze...and clean: the way the bag unfolds and folds back up, the surfaces that touch the dirt, grass, or mud get wrapped up inside the bag.

I had the benefit of meeting the owner of GYST Concepts, Dominique Aris, and he gave me a personal demo as well as the message behind the corporate moniker. Unfortunately, I didn't film the demo and put it on YouTube. Instead, check out what @AricInTraining thought:

GYST Concepts also makes a second backpack style in addtion to duffel and messenger bag versions and Dominique recommended these for the gym, yoga, or hiking.

These bags are sold in some local sports stores (read: not currently available at big box stores like Dicks, Sports Authority, Big 5, or the like) and range in prices from $93-$166. Don't be surprised if you start seeing these pop up more frequently at upcoming races. They're pretty cool. Check them out.

My first triathlon

Today I crossed the first of many triathlon finish lines on my way to Hawaii. It took me 2 hours, 43 minutes, and 16.1 seconds to complete my first Olympic distance (heck, my first ANY distance) triathlon. No tears. No agony. No bloodshed. It wasn't completely uneventful though, but I'll get to that in a bit.

I had never set up my transition before, so at 6am on the morning of race day, I looked around at the other 1100 racers and just copied what looked like a good idea. Here's more or less how it ended up, except for the swim caps...

At a relatively hefty 208 lbs, I registered in the Clydesdales division (Men 200+ lbs)instead of the 30-34 age group, so I started in wave 9. I never thought my bald head would need a swim cap, but red never looked so good on my shiny dome. Walking down to the Olympic swim start I chatted up a couple of others who were also racing for the first time. Apparently my 3 ocean swim practices made me an expert compared to them, and actually helped to relieve some of the anxiety I was feeling pre-race.

The water was about 60 degrees and was cold enough to make you want to evaluate your commitment to this whole triathlon thing. The first time I ducked under a wave, I swear my breath came out as ice cubes. Luckily I finished the 1 mile rectangular swim course and clawed my way up the beach in 31 minutes and 47 seconds. The warm sand was a welcome relief from the frigid liquid tundra, and I immediately started stripping off my wetsuit.

Apparently I set up my transition area ok, because I didnt have any issues getting down to my trisuit and putting on socks and bike shoes. Looking around, I noticed the other guys in my division were starting to come in. I had a lead! I threw my helmet on, shoved a Clif Bar in mouth, grabbed my bike and ran for the start of the bike course. 2 minutes, 52 seconds for T1. Not bad for a first timer.

In what felt like a bad joke, within 10 feet of the bike mount line, I got a flat in my front tire. Nooooooooooo! This is where I tell you that I've only changed a flat once before, and never under the pressure of a race scenario. Fortunately I had a spare tube for such an occasion. As what seemed like a river of racers rode by me, I pulled out the old tube, inserted the new tube, and now to inflate. Wait, how do I use this CO2 cartridge? I got it because I thought I'd need it someday, but I never saw how to use it. Whoops. There's gotta be a button somewhere to release the air. Where is it!?!?!? Turns out you twist it. The huge cloud of C02 in my face taught me that. Lesson learned. Inflated the tube with what was left, got on the bike, and raced off. 6 minutes for the pit stop. I need to hire a better crew chief.

The bike course was a relatively flat 2 loop course with a small hill and a bridge. I took a huge gulp of my Nuun Tri-Berry flavored electrolyte-laden water, dropped into the aero position and started picking off the slow riders in front of me. Man, that's a good feeling. Besides, I had time to make up for. Eventually I ended in a group that I couldn't shake and hung with for the rest of the ride. I would pass them on the uphills and they would pass me on the straight sections. Maybe the 75psi in my tube was holding me back. I don't know, but I wasn't happy about it. 1 hour, 15 minutes, 25 seconds on the 24 mile course including 6 minutes for the tire change. This should improve next time.

T2 was quick and dirty. Hang the bike, drop the helmet, add the hat, kick of the shoes, slide into new ones, grab a Clif Bar, and go. I only mustered a smile to the guys around me. 1 minute, 33 seconds.

My legs at the start of the run didn't feel as bad as I expected. I had done one brick workout before this where you run after riding to practice for this exact moment. I quickly settled into a 7:30 pace (which is fast for me considering I've been a 9:00 guy for the past year) but my heart rate was up too high before the 5k point and I couldn't maintain. I was in a good state of mind for the victory lap (aka lap #2 on the run course). I would catch up with a couple guys from earlier waves, chat for a second, then move up to the next group. It helped take my mind off the fact that I had never ran 6 miles at this pace and kept me from walking. The Hammer Gel I took at the halfway point was a big factor too!

200 yards from the finish line I picked out a couple runners up ahead and made it my goal to beat them to the end. I caught up with one about 50 yards out and finished just behind the other who had a great final kick. 51 minutes, 37 seconds. Hey look, a new personal best! Woo hoo! The cross training has definitely paid off for me. Awesome!

All said and done, my finish time of 2:43:16.1 was well under my goal of 3 hours, placed me 203rd overall out of 1100 competitors, and I even finished 2nd in the Clydesdale division. I missed out on my haystack podium photo op because I left before the awards were announced, but got a great Strawberry Fields Triathlon white ribbon medal in the mail.

The experience of racing for my first time has taught me a couple things:
1) The run is still my weakest event
2) My bike maintenance knowledge needs immediate improvement
3) The port-o-john at a multisport event smells equally as bad as at a single sport event. The multiple sports don't make it better or worse.

Next race is in October, and I can't wait!

What I think about hours before I have hours to think

I'm pretty sure that my first Olympic distance triathlon this Sunday will take me about 3 hours. That's 3 hours of me pushing myself to keep moving forward. What do I think about for those 3 hours? I dunno...I'll probably be singing to myself the whole time. I find music in my head helps me zone out from the little lazy complaints and uncomfortabilitiesthat happen in a race. You know, those little things like: It's hot. My right shoe is tighter than my left shoe. My race jersey feels like it's pulling on one side. Sweat just dripped down my sunglasses and I can't see. Where's that smell coming from?

But that's just 3 hours. I have 48 hours to think until then. Sorry, but my mental playlist isn't that long. Here's what's running through my mind for the next 2 days:

• Did I pack all my gear? I'm trying to visualize each segment and do a full body scan of the things I'll need: swim, transition, bike, transition, run, finish, eat, sleep.


• Am I lost? I need to print out directions from my house to the hotel, the hotel to the expo, and the hotel to the race start.


• What am I eating? Pre-race/in-race/post-race...there's a lot of eating involved. Do I have enough?


• Was my last workout too hard that my race will suffer? I did a short ocean swim this morning. My legs are a little tired from yesterday's bike ride. Should I jog or let them rest?


• Am I doing anything new for the race that I haven't done in training? I've used my equipment, I'm eating the same stuff. I think I'm good...I think.


• What stupid newbie thing will I do to embarrass myself? It's my first time, please be gentle.


• How do I set up a transition area? I've talked to someone about it, but haven't actually laid one out yet. Hmm. Looks like I just hit the previous 2 bullet points square on the head. Guess I'll just cheat off the guy next to me.


• Are there hills that I don't know about? I should probably check the elevation charts or even better, see if I can still drive the course.


• How awesome is finishing my first race going to feel? Pretty frickin awesome.

I'm typically not much of a worrier. Things happen and you deal with it. Maybe having these thoughts just means I'm really excited. Yeah, I can already tell this is going to be fun.

The shoes make the man

According to Wikipedia, "Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter and decorator. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums.

Coxon is capable of playing several other instruments, besides guitar, and is famous for recording his albums single-handedly, without much help from session musicians. An innovative lead guitarist, other notable British guitarists such as Jonny Greenwood and Noel Gallagher have lauded Coxon's musicality and talent, with the latter calling him 'one of the most gifted guitarists of his generation.' He was voted the 15th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years in a national 2010 BBC poll."

Yeah, yeah yeah...he's a golden god on guitar and pretty much anything he tries to do. And while that's all well and good, in my opinion Graham Coxon revealed his true genius when he said:

"I've always looked at shoes as being immensely beautiful things."

Thanks to Clif Bar and Twitter, I am the proud owner and wearer of these great new "faux-foam beach moccasins money didn't buy because I won them in a contest" flip flops.

He opened the box and saw that the flip flops were good. And it was good. (Book of Clif Bar 7:14)

Bars and Gels vs Liquid Sports Drinks

Energy gels were gross. There was a time when I first started running that I thought a GU packet was just mass produced snot. I hated them, and they hated me because I hated them. But I had bought a box of 12 and am not one to let things go to waste. By the end of the box, I was hooked. Not just on the taste of snot, but on the great energy boost that seemingly flowed through my body each time I downed one.

With such a need for on the go refueling, I wouldn't be surprised if most runners consider energy gels a 5th food group. Personally, I'm a big fan of Hammer Gel and Clif Shot Bloks and never leave for a ride or a run without them.

I read an article in the New York Times today discussing sports bars and gels and their effectiveness compared to liquid sports drinks. It got kind of technical, so if you want to read it, click here. Spoiler alert: gels are as effective* as the liquids.

One side note I was able to pick out, however, was the warning to be wary of products that contain only fructose, because on its own, it can cause gastrointestinal distress. As if dudes need a reason to have more gas...

For shits and giggles, here's a great chart from excelsports.com on some bars and gels and their nutritional contents:

Strawberry Fields Olympic Distance

This weekend I'm heading up to Oxnard, CA for the Strawberry Fields Olympic Distance triathlon. It will be my first time doing this race (a 1 mile swim in a sometimes wild Pacific Ocean, a less than leisurely 24 mile bike ride through strawberry fields, and a 6 mile run along the beach) and from the looks of it, no surprising monster hills await.


From what I've heard, sometimes the surf can get out of hand, but overall it's designed for some PR fun! With 6 days until the race I'm tapering and emptying out the carb reserves. Refueling starts Thursday.