Sunday, June 25, 2006

Race Recap – Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon ½ Ironman 6/25/06






Relaxing a bit before we head to dinner after playing in the pool (post race) with Meg and Cam and thought I would recap todays race. Overall the day went well for me. Finished just under 5 hours with a time of 4:57!!! With an overall possition of 135 out of 837 athletes.

I was hoping to go 4:30 or better, but it just wasn't part of the plan today. The weather started cooler than normal with some wind and cloud cover. The swim went so fast, I was amazed as I turned at the last buoy that the finish was there. I felt real strong during the swim and came out of the water at :27 mins. The bike was very challenging even thought it didn't warm up until the last 17 mile of the 56 mile ride. There were a total of 8 serious climbs on the bike course. All of them were steep enough to keep me in my granny gear and my pace under 10 mph. I really noticed the wind as well on the course. It really zapped my power. I was hoping to be off the bike around 2:30, but finished the ride at 2:44. Still not bad for the conditions and the course. My fueling worked great on the ride and I was pleased at my hydration / nutrition strategy something that I really have struggled with in the past, so that was a break through for me (YIPPIE!!!!) Hey – you have to look at these things as half full!!! I came off the bike feeling great, I mean it was an awesome feeling to run as if I hadn't even road. OK – that might be stretching it a bit, but I was feeling solid, very solid. I came off the bike in 180th position and after the run I was in 135th. So you do the math – I passed a ton of people on the run a total of 45. That is a great feeling given that this race drew some huge competition. I ran the 1st mile easy getting my legs and my rythum and then set a pace that was sub-threshold but very do able for the 13.1 miles. I felt solid through out. There were a total of three very challenging hills on the run. My strategy for hilly ½ Ironman runs is to stick to my pace until my Heart Rate hits my threshold, then I walk until my HR drops 5 beats below. I did this on the 1st and 2nd hills then on the last hill at mile 10, I decided to charge up the hill but managed to stay at my threshold. I felt great about how I faired on the run. A little part of me, a very little part feels that I didn't hit the run hard enough, but I feel very good about my ½ marathon split of 1:41 on such a demanding course. During the run the temperature rose and I definitely felt the old core temp rise. But I have suffered through much worse. It was a very mild day for this race that usually experiences temperatures in the triple digits. I previewed the run yesterday and was excited about the layout of the course. I look forward to coming back and giving it another shot someday.

The best thing about this race was having my wife and kids there with me. Their support and encouragement is everything. I could not continue to compete if it wasn't for their commitment and sacrifice. I especially love to run down the finish shoot with my children Megan and Cameron. Cam missed out on this one, I think he was playing in the dirt :-)

Overall – God is good, very good. I have a great peace about this race and how it went. I have done 100's of endurance events, but this was the first race that my #1 goal was to #GLORIFY GOD and enjoy him. I really felt that today! I also really felt the presence of prayer during my 5 hour race. I give thanks to my Lord and King for the many relationships that he has blessed me with and as hard as this may seem to understand, a piece of them were with me today!

So there you have it! Another race in the life of Kevin! I look forward to a restful / active recovery week traveling with my family to the Grand Canyon then to the Valley of the Sun to see my brother Jason and Family!

Loving the Suffering of Life and Sport -

Kevin

HERE ARE MY SPLITS FROM THE RACE!!!

SWIM 27:41
BIKE 2:44:43
RUN 1:41:34
OVERALL 4:57:32
POSITION 135

RACE LEG SWIM
DISTANCE 1.2 mi.
PACE 1:27/100m
POSITION144
TOTAL (27:41)

TOTAL BIKE
DISTANCE 56 mi.
PACE 20.40 mph
POSITION 180
TOTAL (2:44:43)

TOTAL RUN
DISTANCE 13.1 mi.
PACE 7:45/mile
POSITION 135
TOTAL (1:41:34)

Friday, June 23, 2006

Hydration / Fueling for Endurance

Hydration is an area that all endurance athletes struggle with. No matter what your background or distance you are traing for you will run into an issue. The following is some feedback that I recently gave to one of my athletes that ran into some hydration issues at his first 1/2 Ironman triathlon.

I really felt for you during your 1/2 IM experience. I, like most long course triathletes, have and do struggle with hydration and nutrition during, so it really breaks me when I hear of my athletes that experience this as well. Nutrition is an aspect that we all neglect to often and can, will and does get in the way of our goals.

A few questions for you to think about as I review some problem areas related to nutrition and hydration for ultra distance competition (anything over 3 hours)
1) How well are you hydrated before, during & after training / racing?
2) What kind of calories are you taking in (carb / protein) during your training practice and racing?
3) What duration are you taking in those calories?
4) Do you simulate 'effectively' the intensity during training that you wish to accomplish during a competition?
5) What kind of electrolyte supplementation do you do?

1) A rule of thumb for daily life is to consume 1 oz of water per lb of body weight 'daily'. If you are not getting this in (or at least close to it) you are effectively beginning your training and potentially your competition in a de-hydrated state. During competition I recommend approx 24 oz of water (no more) per hour to maintain hydration. This is a rule of thumb but have found it to be effective in keeping athletes body functioning and maintaining hydration levels. I have found many newer / less experienced athletes have problems tracking how much water / sports drink they are consuming during an hour, or have a hard time drinking, especially during competition at higher levels of intensity. In greater than 90% of nutrition related problems the source of the problem is really not what food or amount of calories taken in, it is poor hydration practices. Here is an exerp from your post race report that tells me your hydration during the bike was not satisfactory

..I started jogging again to the second sag.. During this same time I felt my stomach was full of water that I drank just getting off the bike. I remembered reading something about the stomach shutting down and hydration becoming a problem when something isn't done right..I don't know but it took several miles for the full stomach to empty. I didn't feel like eating anything so I took was water and very little of it..I just didn't feel that thirsty.

You indicate that your stomach felt full, and felt like it had shut down. That is exactly what happens when athletes get behind on hydration. When that does happen, the only thing you can do is wait it out, which you did. Thus the reason why you started to feel better late in the run.

2) In order to simulate competition as close as possible you have to use in training what you plan on for the race. Some concentration, same fueling intervals and same calorie content. In my experience taking in calories that are a 4/1 ratio of carbs & protein, is the best combination to fuel your body for ultra distance training and racing. With that being said, if taking in protein does not work for you during competition "DO NOT DO IT". This is the greatest error that endurance athletes make. We think to our selves "Tim DeBoom is an incredible athlete and he uses GU, so if I want to be as fast as Tim I need to eat and drink what he does!!!" Sorry - but we are all too different to make such a statement. What works for Tim or me, may not work for you, so you have to experiment. I have been doing triathlons for 16 years and I am still experimenting.

3) I recommend you take in calories every 15 mins during training / and competition both during the bike and run. If you have to set a timer to go off very 15 mins then do it. By taking in calories at a regular interval you maintain your calorie needs on a consistent basis and diminish the chances of upsetting your stomach by taking in to many calories at one time. Also - I highly recommend 'liquid' calories as much as possible on the bike and run. This will assist in a quicker digestion of the food and help keep your blood volume in the areas needed most and out of your stomach.

4) During specific training sessions that simulate racing intensities you need to practice what nutrition / hydration plan you will be using during the race. This is your opportunity to make sure that your body will tolerate the plan and then if things go wrong you adjust and try again. Many athletes do not put there body / mind into this position to see how their body reacts, then wonder why their is issues on race day. Your body will most likely react differently at race intensity than at your regular training intensity. In my coaching of 1/2 Ironman and Ironman athletes I have them do multiple 'Brick" (bike / run) sessions that push their intensity up to a sub threshold intensity for long durations, just as in high intensity racing. These are the sessions that you need to focus your nutrition needs and dial in what is and what is not working. Now - I realize that there are factors that you cannot control during these sessions such as weather, heat, humidity, hills, but as I say "focus on what you have control over and nothing else".

5) During ultra distance training and competition athletes put there bodies under a huge amount of stress. One area that can be very harmful to your body, unless you are proactive in keeping up with it is electrolyte imbalance. Through the process of cooling itself (sweating), the human body losses electolytes. The main element that is lost in sweat is what we refer to as salt. But it is actually sodium chloride, magnesium and potassium. The main electrolye lost is sodium chloride. So in order to maintain the proper level of sodium, athletes need to supplement each hour with some kind of replacement. I recommend 300 mg or sodium chloride per hour as a starting point, but based on your body, heat, duration of training you could need up to 1000 mg per hour. A product that I use for this is endurolytes from Hammer nutrition. It is relatively inexpensive and comes in powder (you can mix it in with your sports drink and capsule form.

If it makes you feel any better - all endurance athletes will struggle with hydration / nutrition at some point. I encourage you to process all of this and set into practice some of the theory's I have outlined. One of the biggest steps you can make is in being intentional about your nutrition. In doing so you will be doing better than most :-) Hope all this helps!

Let me know what you think!

Train Smart - Race Hard - Coach Kevin

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Learning to Breathe while Swimming

Here is some Q&A that I had with an athlete that was struggling with breathing while swimming --

Athletes Question/observation about swimming/breathing: What I am finding out is as I take a breath during the stroke cycle, I begin with plenty of air, but as I continue the breathing/stroking rhythm I start getting short of breath. It seems like I am still inhailing the same amount, but it doesn't seem to last as long. I flip over on my back to catch some additional breaths and then return to stroking/breathing.

Coach Kevin Response: What I have experienced with swimmers, is that durating training their breathing pattern is a bit more relaxed than when in a race / open water, due to intensity and some anxiety. Not sure what your breathing pattern is during your training, but I would suggest breathing more often such as every other stroke. This will allow you to get more oxygen than if every 3rd or 4th stroke. The other suggestion for you is to slow down your swimming intensity early in the race. Most athletes start a triathlon swim at a much too high intensity and end up in oxygen debt real early in the swim and spend the rest of the swim and beyond just trying to make up. Like you mentioned your issue could be more complex, but these are my thoughts.

Again all my best with the racing this weekend!

Coach

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Paladino's Take the Gold at Norfolk YMCA Triathlon




My daugher Megan and I traveled to Nofolk Nebraka (where I went to Junior and Senior high) to participate in the annual super sprint triathlon on June 10 2006. This was Megans 6th triathlon and is a great venue for her to experiece the trill of the sport. She swam 150 yrds, biked 3 miles and run mile. She took home the gold in her age group with a great performance. It was awesome to see her have fun and build her confidence.

I raced in the longer race, but still a mini by most athletes standards, consisting of 500 yrd swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run. I raced in what the organizers call the head-to-head heat, in which competitive athletes are put with athletes of similar expected finish times. I was lucky to be choosen to race in the frist head-to-head heat. After pperforming some brief warming-up. I jumped into my lane and as I was getting ready for the start, fellow Omaha triathlete Jim K jumped into the lane next to me. Oh - I knew it was going to be a fast race. Jim and I have a great relationship and are both seasoned athletes. I have much respect for Jim and his accomplishments and we see each other at many local races each season. I should back up and tell you that this tri was more for my daughter than for me. But HEY, I like to think I am a competitive guy so, seeing Jim I wanted to see how I matched up with the "BIG DOGS". The 500 swim was going to be a great Thresold test for me and as we started Jim and I were neck and neck. My self assesment is that Jim is a better swimmer than me. Has very solid techniqu. We were head to head to the 300+ yrd mark. I was really feeling the lactic juice at this point but focused on my technique and worked hard to hol my position. At the 400 mark I noticed that I had gained a second or two on Jim and ended up first out of the water by this margin. As I made my way to T1, I felt good and looked forward to pushing it on the bike. Over the years I have developed some speed and efficientcy in transistions and blasted through TI beating my competition by 10 - 20 seconds. The bike was an out and back with a few false flats. We were headed into the wind on the way out. My intensity was at an 8, and I was avging 23 mph on the way out. At the turn around I was still #1 and noticed Jim and 2 others close behind. I really through the hammer done on the way back averging 25+ mph and thought that someone would catch me, but I was able to hold them off. I had another fast transition and made it on the run first. As many of you triathletes know, running of the bike, especially an intense bike is a brutal sensation. I felt I was crawling, but my actual pace was 6:27/mile. I made it to the 3/4 mile mark before Jim finally caught me. I held on but his running was incredible. I was able to maintain sight of him and actually felt I was ganing on him in the 3rd mile, but he ended up putting a total of :45 seconds on me. He took 1st overall with me taking second. I placed 1st in my age group beating my closest competitor by over 11 mins. I felt good about my overall perfomance given that this race was not even a low priority race for me. I had a tough week of training going into the tri and still had 6 hours of weekend training to do following this race. But as Jim and I were talking during our 2 mile cool down after the race, we really pushed each other out there and that is what competition is all about.

If you ever have an opportunity to do this race. I highly recommend it as a low key, grass roots event. One that is great for new triathletes and even children!

Life is a Journey - Enjoy it!

Coach Kevin

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Mental Aspect of Multisport and Importance of Recovery

This is a reply to one of my athletes who was looking for some feedback on the mental aspect of multisport and the importance of recovery.


As you indicated, my background as an athlete and also as a coach / motivator leans towards the mental aspects of multisport. I am in no way an expert, but my experience(s) in life and in sport point in this direction. Let me explain -- All people are passed on certain physical genetic traits through their parents. These traits are what they are and as athletes we can mold them and train them to reflect what we desire them to be. But there is a limit to how trainable these traits are. Me for example -- there is no recordable history on either side of my family's history that would indicate that any ancestor had outstanding athletic gifts or a typical endurance athlete's physique. My father is a large full blooded Italian. My mother an Irish / German. I have a broad / muscular body type, one that is not typical for elite triathletes, but that is what I have trained my body into. When racing at a triathlon, you would not pick me out of a crowd as being higly competitive, yet that is what I have become. I am not saying I the overall winner, but a notable fierce competitor. My genetics are a limiter for me in the fact that I train smart and seriously but there is only so much I can do on the physical side. This is where then mental aspects come in. I found early on that I was more willing than most to suffer when it came to my training and racing. And when I applied this willingness with smart / cutting edge training principles it allowed me to succeed in a sport that my body type and genetic traits were not designed to do. God designed me with a solid work ethic with a tendency for structure (got to check off the to do list). So in my training that I execute week in week out, I apply my mental tenacity, willingness to suffer and in the end this has moved me to a higher level of competition. In the process I have found that racing at this higher level is much more painful (which I love) and more fun. I do some brutal training that really hurts, but in this pain, I know that it is where my growth as an athlete really happens. As a man of faith and one that is intentionally working on his spiritual formation, this pain and suffering is where I feel most alive. I realize that is may sound strange to most people, but I realize that the warrior inside of me, loves the battle.

In contrast to this, I sometimes struggle with being hard, very hard on myself. Workouts or races that do not go well. DNFing in a race because of poor hydration or just plain being stupid. But what I have realized in those situtations was that it was Christ's way of developing my character and helping me be humble. And that is what my advice is to you. We all take ourselves way to seriously and lose focus on what we have and are accomplishing. Your race at the D2D was very successful. And you may or may not have left some out there. What I encourage you to do is to process the feeling that you experienced those last couple of miles and make a commitment to mentally prepare for that same point in your next race. Once you identify with what you can learn from the experience, let it go. There is nothing to gain by constantly breaking yourself down about where you feel you fell short.

Your second concern is highly related to the first. You had a great BT race last weekend. And that even took a toll on your body and your mind. We, as athletes, tend to feel indistructable. But in reality we all need to allow for recovery. In my experience as an athlete and coach we are all in a stage of recovery and we need to be thinking more about how to recover better. Based on our training and personal weaknesses, we need to focus on different areas of recovery. Just as you mentioned hydration, diet, sleep and your long winter of Ironman training all affects your recovery. So - lighten up on the pressure you are putting on yourself and learn to enjoy the JOURNEY more. Also do not expect yourself to bounce bace after a hard event or training effort right away. One thing that I have realized is that I always recover better by doing something light the day following a hard effort. I feel worse by doing nothing and sleeping longer than usual. An athletes body actually gets used to a certain amount of stress and by taking to much time off, we actually delay the recovery process.

I appreciate your thought process and desire to improve. You are on a great journey of improvment and understanding your body. I encourage you to keep the attitude positive. I also encourage you as a man of faith to connect your training and racing as an act of worship. God has given you a passion for multisport for a purpose. Make it about him and his will and you are on your way to some serious growth. I am living in that tension myself, as I realize my athletic and coaching gifts. I pray each day that it would be HIS will not mine that is done and that the Spirit comes alive in me each day.

Hope all this helps!

In his Grip -

Coach Kevin