Race Report: TRT 2014

Race Report: Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) 50 mile, July 19, 2014

On July 19, 2014 I finished the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) 50 mile race in just under 16 hours 30 minutes. This race is described as, “A glimpse of heaven and a taste of hell.” Starting at 7000 feet above sea level this race delivers 10,000 feet of total climbing in 50.2 miles. Although there were many hard climbs ahead of me, there were only two major climbs in my mind: the climb out of the Red House loop at mile 14 (1400 feet of climbing over 3 miles at a 13% grade) and the climb at the Diamond Peak ski resort at mile 30 (1800 feet of climbing over 1.5 miles at a gazillion % grade).
Last year when I attempted this race I was physically prepared, but I was not mentally prepared. I knew the course, but I ignored the one obvious thing that would have given me the edge mentally: cutoff times. Cutoff times are time limits that runners have to meet in order to continue racing. If these time limits are exceeded, then the runner is not allowed to continue the race. Last year I was completely unaware of the course cutoff times. That resulted in a DNF (Did Not Finish) at Diamond Peak.

This year I knew all the cutoff times. I knew what time I had to be at each aid station. I knew when I had to push, and when I could relax (which wasn’t very much). I broke up the 50 miles into several small races. My overall race plan was to run at a pace of 3.8 miles per hour between aid stations except for the Diamond Peak climb which would require a 2.5 mph pace. I also kept in mind what my coach, Mama Lisa, told me right before the race started, “The race starts at Mile 30. Take it easy until then.”

The first few aid stations did not have cutoff times. I still projected what time I should be at each aid station so that I could adjust accordingly. From the start to the first two aid stations (Hobart and Tunnel Creek) I hit my targets perfectly (roughly 1.5 hours between aid stations). Tunnel Creek is at mile 11 and is the aid station before the descent to the Red House at 6200 feet: the lowest elevation of the race.

The descent to the Red House is easy since gravity is doing most of the work, but the 3 mile climb out of Red House was every bit as difficult as I remember. Imagine trying to climb a hill in San Francisco. Now imagine that with every corner you turn you are greeted with more hill. Add some sun. Take away the shade. Finally add a ton of sand to make every step feel half as effective. Voila! You now have the climb out of Red House. This is the “…glimpse of hell,” part of the race.
I made it back to the Tunnel Creek aid station pretty battered from the climb. I was walking back into the aid station trying to recover. I did however manage to look like I was running when Belinda snapped some pictures of me. Special thanks to Belinda and Huyen for being so awesome at Tunnel creek; taking pictures and cheering. You two provided a much needed mental boost.
It was a quick 3.5 mile jaunt from Tunnel Creek to the Bull Wheel aid station. The Bull Wheel aid station is the last aid station for 9.5 miles before heading to Diamond Peak. I topped off my 70 oz. hydration pack and filled my 24 oz. hand held water bottle. Last year at this point with temperatures hovering around 95°F was when most people were dropped from the race. Hydration and mental toughness was the key to this part.

If the segment from Bull Wheel to Diamond Peak was a book, then it would be called, “I Am Nature, Don’t Mess With Me.” The sky got dark and ominous with thunderstorms. I’m talking “Raiders of the Lost Ark” scary. I was already at a high elevation and was well aware that being struck by lightening might ruin my day. Seeing lightening that close was a beautifully scary sight that I never want to experience again. It got so bad that the aid station at Snow Valley Peak was evacuated.
I also saw a bear. Awww… Cute but scary.

The cutoff time for Diamond Peak was 9 hours and 45 minutes (clock time of 3:45 pm). I was aiming to be there by 2:30 pm. I arrived at Diamond Peak at 2:58 pm. I was slightly behind pace, but I still made it well before the cutoff time. I dropped off my handheld water bottle, filled up my hydration pack, drank a V8, ate some food, washed my salt-crusted face, and headed out. I spent just under 10 minutes at that station. I wish I spent less time there as the rest of the race had me kicking myself for losing so many precious minutes.

As I was leaving Diamond Peak I was presented with a the biggest climb of the race. In the winter this mountain is a black diamond run, so it’s easy to imagine how steep it is. Nobody in their right mind would ever consider running this part. More or less it is a climb straight up the face of the mountain with 1800 feet of climbing over 1.5 miles. The last two times I did this it took me 45 minutes. This time it took me 1 hour. Exhausted at the top of the mountain with my legs screaming for oxygen I set my mind on my next task: getting back to Tunnel Creek by the 5:11 pm cutoff time.
It was 4:15 pm when I left Bull Wheel for the 3.5 miles back to Tunnel Creek. I had already covered over 30 miles of the course. I was feeling beat up and my walk breaks were more frequent. I had just under 1 hour to get to Tunnel Creek by the 5:11 pm cutoff. I was trying to will myself to run the flat and downhill sections, but the mental demons were getting to me. Thoughts of how easy it would be to quit, and how I can easily justify why I quit were starting to flood my mind. Something in me wouldn’t let me quit.

I can’t tell you how fast I was going over the last mile, because my GPS watch ran out of power. My guess is that I did the last mile in about 8 minutes. I crossed the sensor at Tunnel Creek at 5:10 pm with 1 minute left to spare before the cutoff. At this point I was well behind my projected times. My race was deteriorating fast. I drank another V8, grabbed my headlamp, and bolted out of there (walking looks like bolting at this point). My next cutoff was 7:02 pm at the Hobart aid station 5 miles away.

The trip from the Tunnel Creek aid station has many downhill sections which I took advantage of. It also had many uphill sections that just sapped me mentally. At a few points during the segment I sat down on a rock and just contemplated quitting. I had already covered way more than I did in 2013. There was no shame in quitting, right? I want to tell you something profound and inspirational that spurred me on out of my funk. The truth is that I didn’t want to come back to this course again trying to avenge a DNF. That was enough motivation.

The last section heading into Hobart is downhill. I raced down that hill at a 7 to 8 minute per mile pace which ended in a desperation sprint. I entered the aid station right at the cutoff time at 7:02 pm. I asked the guy at the aid station what time the next cutoff was at Snow Valley Peak. He said, “No more cutoff times, you just have to finish the race… it’s too far to drive you back.” That was probably best thing I had heard all day. I now had 3.5 hours to run the 10 miles to the finish.

From Hobart the race took me 3.5 miles to Snow Valley Peak; the highest point of the course at 9000 feet. It was now cooler and my pace was getting faster (I tend to run faster in the cold). Most of the trip up to Snow Valley Peak was spent walking uphill, but I was now walking with more purpose. I got to the final aid station at Snow Valley Peak without much fanfare (the aid station volunteers were allowed to return after the thunderstorms stopped). I drank a coke and chicken soup. From here it was mostly downhill for 6.5 miles to the finish.

The sun was still out when I left the peak, but that would quickly change. I was averaging about 12-15 minutes per mile. My pace slowed a bit as it got darker and I had to switch on my headlamp. I don’t know what time I entered into heavy tree cover. All I know is that it was dark and down hill.
I felt oddly at peace while running in the dark. I should have been scared. I could barely see 20 feet in front of me. I was constantly looking for the course ribbons, but they were few and far between. The infrequency of the ribbons made me second guess many times if I was going in the right direction. What was frustrating was that I could see the finish and I could hear the cars from the highway, but several times the course took me in the opposite direction. There weren’t many people out on the course either. I was alone.

At around mile 48 I saw 6 pairs of eyes blink at me in the reflection of my headlamp. They weren’t human. I ran a little faster. I was carrying pepper spray. I don’t know what pepper spray would do against a pack of wolves, a family of bigfoots, or a pack of harmless deer (which is probably what I saw), but I felt like I was carrying a baseball bat made of dynamite. Just stay back and let me finish the race.

I finally found my way out of the woods and could hear cheering. The finish line in the dark still felt miles away. A guy told me that I was exactly 0.333 miles away. It was now 10:20 pm (according to my phone, not my dead GPS watch). I don’t know what time it was, but I believe I crossed the finish line at 10:24 pm. I beat the cutoff time by 6 minutes.

Final thoughts:

• I am happy that I finished this beast of a race, but I also know that I am capable of so much more. It’s now time to go back to work. I know if things don’t change, then I am going to have more close cutoffs like I did for TRT.
• I am carrying way too much weight which reduces my power to weight ratio. I am carrying close to 30 pounds more weight than my ideal race weight. I’m comparing my weight at IronMan Lake Placid when I was 156 pounds on race day. I was 188 pounds on race day at TRT. Over the next few months I will be putting a heavy emphasis on cleaning up my diet and resisting the urge to finish the uneaten portions of my kids’ meals.
• Mental toughness is very important in this race. By itself it is not enough. Mental toughness helped me push when I needed to, but I needed the physical toughness to back it up. Like I mentioned, I need to be in better shape in the future.
• The TRT cutoff times should probably be re-evaluated. It took me 2 hours to get from Diamond Peak to Tunnel Creek. If a person got to Diamond Peak at the cutoff time at 3:45 pm, then they have 1 hour and 26 minutes to cover 5 miles to make the next cutoff. Remember it took me 1 hour to cover the first 1.5 miles.
• The TRT course is absolutely beautiful.

Thanks:

• to my loving wife, Victoria, for supporting me over the last few months and for putting up with my training schedule.
• to my sons for putting up with my schedule and thinking that I can run 100 mph.
• to all of my teammates in the Bay Area ultra running community.
• to Belinda and Huyen for cheering at the race and for providing the pictures, smiles, and encouragement.
• to the staff at Ultra Fitness Beyond Imagination (UFBI) and especially to my fabulous coach, Mama Lisa, for believing in my ability, and for being tough with me when I needed it. Mama Lisa Felder is unparalleled as an ultra running coach for her knowledge and honesty. I am happy to call her my friend.
• to Robel Tezare, Brian Woon, and Laura Warren. I know you are gone from this Earth, but you were with me in spirit.

I know a 100 mile ultra marathon is in my future. Over the next few months I will be taking a break from long ultra distances while I concentrate on getting more fit. I also have house remodeling that needs to be done. I still plan on being around for Brazen races and other trail races. For now, I’m going to relax and start to mentally prepare for the work ahead.

One final thought. I know I didn't ask you for a donation this year. Please, find a worthy cause and give of yourself. Go make a difference.

Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Mile - Race Report

Wake up at 1:30am and eat 2 peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches. Throw the kids into the car and speed away from the house by 4am. Get to Lake Chabot by 5am. Start running by 5:30am. Run 50 miles on trails for 13 hours 45 minutes and finish just before 7:30pm. It all sounds so easy when I can summarize a race down to the tangible parts.

On 10/12/2013 I ran my first 50-miler on trails in a time of 13 hours 45 minutes. I opted for the early 5:30am start because I knew I would need all the time I could get. The sad truth is that I didn’t train for this race as much as I should have. I did a 35 mile run back in July and a 13 mile run sometime in September. Work made sure that there was not much more to my training than that.

Fast forward to 10/12/2013, and I find myself staring into the darkness at 5:30 am at Lake Chabot. Three of my teammates were there with me, Yvonne, Angela, and Donna. The first few miles were illuminated by headlamps which eventually gave way to the rising sun. I ran with Angela and Yvonne for a good portion of the morning hours. Angela soon shot ahead and then it was just me and Yvonne. At Skyline Gate I lost Yvonne at the porta-potties, but I knew she would catch up to me quickly. It was on that portion that it seemed like things for me went downhill… literally.

From Skyline Gate there was a really fast downhill portion. I was navigating it pretty well when my right foot found an immovable rock in the trail. I soon found myself flying into the side of the trail while my legs simultaneously decided to cramp up. Another runner helped me up (he had no choice since I was blocking the trail). I quickly got running while trying to take stock of the numerous scrapes on my legs, the splinters in my hands, and the cramps in my legs that were now slowing me down.

Not long after that Yvonne caught up to me. She stayed with me for a little while to make sure I was okay, but she eventually had to go. Soon, Donna caught up to me and passed me as well. I was having a hard time climbing the uphill portions. Both my quads were cramping which seriously hindered my ability to bend my legs. I popped some salt tablets which did not help at all. Then I decided to tie the bandanas I had with me around my thighs. The compression seemed to do the trick and pretty soon I was climbing again.

I saw Josh and Mama Lisa around the Steam Trains. Mama Lisa asked how I was doing (Yvonne had told her I was having trouble with leg cramps). Apparently Josh was having some similar problem. Mama Lisa sprayed our collective legs with BioFreeze which felt good and excruciatingly painful (remember the scrapes) all at the same time. I also told her that I had consumed 12 salt tabs, which caused her to have a horrified look on her face. She said I needed to flush out that salt or else my kidneys would shut down. Got it, no more salt and take in a little more water.

On my way to the turnaround point I was happy to hear Brian’s voice. It was nice to have company for a bit, and he helped pace me to the turnaround point at Lone Oak Picnic area. We saw Angela, Yvonne, and Donna heading towards us coming from the turnaround point. At Lone Oak Mama Lisa told me I had 20 minutes to get out of there due to the cutoff time. I should have done more research, because I did not know about the cutoff time. I dumped a water bottle into my drop-off bag and had two cups of chicken soup. As I look back on it, the chicken soup was the thing that got rid of the leg cramps. I said goodbye to Mama Lisa and left Lone Oak. It was now around 12:15pm and I had an uphill climb with 1 hour 45 minutes to my next cutoff point 4 miles away. I remember thinking at this point, “You just did a marathon, now you have to do another one. Suck it up! You can do this.” I think my inner voice is crazy.

Pretty soon that inner voice was followed by a text from my wife, Victoria, which said, “You can do this, no more DNFs.” That got me going.

I got to the next point with about 20 minutes to spare. This is where it got good. Cyndi who is part of the Ultra Team said she could pace me the rest of the way. I was really happy, because my mind was getting really negative at that point. Every aid station until the end had a cutoff time. Cyndi got me to each and every one of them. She pushed me to run when I needed it. She gave me candy or energy bites when my brain was falling asleep. And at every single aid station, Mama Lisa was there.

I made it to the last aid station/cutoff with about 10 minutes to spare. Mama Lisa met us a little ways before the aid station to tell us that we had little time left to the cutoff. At this point we picked up the pace. Cyndi and Mama Lisa flanked me on either side as we strode for about a quarter-mile at a 7:33 minute/mile pace. As I saw the aid station in the distance my stupid right foot hit another immovable rock and I went flying… again. Mama Lisa and Cyndi picked me up and I checked in. I now had 6 miles left.

It was 5:45pm and I had 6 miles to cover before the 7:30pm race cutoff. I had already run 44 miles. I knew I just had to finish. The strategy for running these races was to run the downhill and flat portions and walk the uphill portions. I can’t remember when I made the decision, but I was just going to run as much as I could… even the uphill portions. I remember after one uphill portion that we ran Cyndi saying something about “Beast Mode.”

It was now dark, but I remember seeing the welcome sight of lights from the marina in the distance. We were now on pavement which made my footing a little surer. It wasn’t too much longer when I heard cowbells. Pretty soon I had a little entourage consisting of Mama Lisa, Cyndi, and Vickee. The UltraTeam was there too cheering me on. I sprinted the last few yards and crossed the finish line 15 minutes before the race cutoff.

There are so many people who I would like to thank. First of all I would like to thank all of you that contributed to my fundraising. With your help I raised over $3000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I would like to thank my wife and best friend, Vickee, for letting me be me no matter how crazy I sound. I would like to thank all of my UltraTeam mates for all the support over the past year; especially my fabulous mentor, Yvonne. Extra special thanks to Cyndi for pacing me… honestly I don’t think I could have finished without you. Mama Lisa, you believed in me… all the thanks in the world cannot adequately convey how grateful I am.

I promise next year I’ll train better! 

Support me and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

GO TEAM! Support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!
I am running an UltraMarathon to bring awareness to the horribleness that is Cancer. Cancer sucks, and I'm committed to reducing the amount of suckage in this world.

Leukemia and Lymphoma has taken away too many people from my life, and I'm sure there are others out there that can say the same thing. WAY TOO MANY.

I am training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team-in-Training (TNT). They are training me to run the Tahoe Rim Trail Ultramarathon (50 miles) and the Rio Del Lago Ultramarathon (62 miles). Why?

I often wondered what the connection was to endurance events and curing disease. I mean, if you wanted to support an organization like LLS, then you would, right? Just give the money to them. However, how often do you think about disease? Really think about it.

The truth is we don't want to think about it. Disease sucks. Dying sucks. Watching loved ones die sucks. So like all the ugliness in our lives, we put it out of mind... hoping the problem will go away. It won't go away.

That's why I am here. That's why WE are here. We keep this issue in the public's eye. We bring AWARENESS by any means possible. We run, because we can. And by some miracle, it works.

TNT brings in money that goes to cancer patients and their families. 76% of your donation will go to these programs.

Honestly, if I didn't mention it, would you think about Cancer?

I'm running 50 miles to bring awareness to Cancer. Please support me by donating. Click on the link GO TEAM.

Thank you!

I wanted to share this quote I got from the CD liner notes of "Facing Future"-Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

=======================
Facing backwards I see the past
Our nation gained, our nation lost
Our sovereignty gone
Our lands gone
All traded for the promise of progress
What would they say….
What can we say?
Facing future I see hope
Hope that we will survive
Hope that we will prosper
Hope that once again we will reap the blessings of this magical land
For without hope I cannot live
Remember the past but do not dwell there
Face the future where all our hopes stand
–Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole

My Grand Sugar Experiment

Every year I give up something for Lent. For me it has been more about seeing how many ways I can challenge myself and less to do with religion. For instance, one Lent I gave up alcohol for 40 days. I learned that I should never do that. :) Just kidding.

Actually what I learned from that is that it's easy to become fixated on what you can't have. My wife got fixated on beer when she was pregnant, and she doesn't even like beer.

Here's a short list of things that I gave up (not permanently, just for 40 days):

• Red meat (pork and beef)
• Meat (anything that isn't a plant)
• Sweets
• Dating (not really an option since I just didn't date that much)
• Alcohol (I found that I started eating a lot of fermented pears at this time)
• Refined sugar

Of all the things I gave up, the one that seemed to have a profound effect was the removal of refined sugar from my diet. It's an exercise that really opened my eyes as to what sugar was doing to me and what little choice I had in eating it.

In case you didn't know, refined sugar is EVERYWHERE! It's in bread, ketchup, chili, chicken soup, hot dogs, cereal, granola, cranberries, microwave popcorn, chips, Cheetos (so sad), etc. In my first few days of my attempt, I nearly starved because all my usual foods were unavailable to me. Seriously, just take five food items out of your pantry and read the label. I'm going to guess that at least one of them has sugar.

The first few days were tough. Soon I started to notice that I had fewer dips in my energy level. When I woke up in the morning, I was alert. In contrast when I had sugar close to bed time, I would wake up really groggy. I do remember the day after Lent I had a brownie. It was a weird feeling as I swear I could feel the sugar course through my veins and my pulse quicken. Maybe I was excited to have the brownie after 40 days, or maybe it was just more sugar than anybody should have at one time. Probably a little bit of both.

Well as New Years Day 2012 approached, I had this idea. Instead of 40 days, why don't I try giving up refined sugar for a year? Let's see what happens. Crazy? Yes, but why not? My wife decided that she wanted to try it too. It's great that I have a partner in this. So here are the rules.

• Avoid refined sugar (synonyms: sugar, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice)
• Natural sugar sources are okay (e.g. honey, maple syrup). Sparingly!
• Refined sugar is only allowed: once a week, hard workout days, and birthdays.

That's it.

I'm almost a month into it and I have only had refined sugar twice: two birthdays. I had a bunch of heavy workout days, but opted for fruit juice. I feel pretty good. I've even skipped my weekly allowance just because I didn't feel the need.

Do I miss it. Of course I do. I miss chocolate most of all. I miss getting up during lunch meetings to get my cookie or brownie. I miss eating all of those things with coffee. I miss talking to the admin who always gives me dark chocolate Kit Kats. When you eat dessert with people, you feel like you are part of a special club. I miss that.

I don't miss the dips in energy or the morning headaches. I'm rediscovering unprocessed foods. I find my sugar fix can come from one single Medjool Date, an apple, or some other fruit. I can taste the sweetness in an almond or a glass of milk. There are flavors that were once muted but are now becoming more pronounced. That is exciting.

On top of that I'm training for an Iron distance triathlon. I'm most interested to see how this change in diet will affect my fitness. I have high hopes.

Well, I still have just under 50 weeks to go. I'll keep you posted.

Oh yeah... I gave up coffee too.

Race Report : Full Vineman 31-JUL-10, Windsor, CA

Result: DNF

Admittedly I did not train as intensely for this event like I had for other races in the past. That is not to say that I wasn’t in shape. My level of fitness hasn’t changed much in the past 4 years, so I was optimistic that I would finish this race, albeit it was a cautious optimism. Why?

It was 7 years ago when I first attempted this triathlon distance at Vineman. I was 60-some pounds heavier then, slower, and inexperienced. I also had a DNF that time too. I suffered from nutrition problems on the bike which ultimately affected my run. I had put that DNF behind me by finishing IronMan Lake Placid 2006, faster and lighter than I was at Vineman 2003.

Why the DNF at Vineman 2010? I woke up with a sore throat. My throat and chest were burning during the swim, and I found breathing to be labored. I finished the swim in 2 hours; 40 minutes slower than normal. The bike wasn’t too bad, which I finished in 7 hours. My throat was raw and the roof of my mouth was swollen from spitting more than usual. My cold got worse throughout the day including a sinus infection (which would plague me for the next 4 days).

When I got to the run, I was feeling pretty bad. My body ached more than it should. I had close to zero energy. Yes, I smiled for the cameras, but I might have run about 5 miles of the distance and walked the rest. I tried everything I could to will myself forward into a run, but my legs did not want to move. I ate as much as I could at the aid stations, trying to get sugar to my brain, but it might have been too little too late.

At the end of the day, I missed the third loop cutoff of the marathon. Of the 140.6 miles, I had only covered about 131 miles. Like Vineman 2003, nutrition ultimately did me in. Unlike Vineman 2010, I was pretty devastated by the turn of events that lead me to this DNF. After about 10 minutes of feeling sorry for myself, I started thinking about how I would train for Vineman 2011.

Thanks to all the well-wishers and all the people that cheered for me on the course. You did provide a great boost to my spirits. Next time, you’ll see me crossing the finish line!

Stay tuned. I’m currently in a new training program. I will give you more details as I try it out!

Tri For Fun

I did my first triathlon in 3 years on Saturday August 15, 2009 in Pleasanton, CA. I finished the Tri For Fun in 1:16:59! I was hoping for a fast finish, but when I thought about it, this is pretty good considering that I haven't practiced that much. The only time that I predicted correctly was the swim. I can't complain considering that I just came off of a knee injury.

• 0:08:26 swim- 400 yd (~2 min/100 yd)
  

• 0:03:04 (T1)

• 0:32:27 bike- ll mi (just under 22 mph)
  

• 0:01:13 (T2)

• 0:31:49 run-5 km (~10 min./mi)
  

Now which IronMan will I do next year?

Swimming

I've been swimming lately. I have to admit that I thought with such a long hiatus from endurance sport that my swimming would be really bad. My first time out I swam for 30 minutes and ~1000 yards (about 3000 short of the distance at IronMan). The next time out I went for 2400 yards (over the distance for a Half-IronMan). Two days ago I did 3000 yards!!! And I felt like I had another 3000-4000 yards in the tank!

My foot hurts though, and I'm not sure why. This bothers me because I have to work on my running.

Oh yeah! Biking! I broke out my road bike in the past 4 weeks. I did the Three Bears (18.7 mile route that climbs 2400 feet) in 1.5 hours. I did it again a few days later at 1.25 hours! So I'm getting back into the swing of things faster than I hoped. So good!

Been trying really hard to cut out processed sugar out of my diet. I feel really good. Actually, when I do take in some processed sugar (not the same as fruit sugar), I can feel myself spiking and then feeling like crap.

I quit drinking coffee again. It wasn't enjoyable anymore.

I ran today! I ran today! It felt so good!

I've been out running again since my knee injury for the past 3-4 weeks. I haven't been able to find a groove. I would warm up for ever, but my legs just didn't want to move... until today.

Today I had no goals except to just run. I had some crap at work that I needed to clear out of my head, and I just had to run. I think I did it! I stopped focusing so much on my running that the running sorta took care of itself. I did 5 miles in 1 hour. Still slower than where I was before my knee injury, but I'll take it!

Tri 4 Fun

My goals right now are to do any tri that I can, and right now that is Tri 4 Fun in August. It's a sprint, so no extensive 10-month training is needed. My left knee is healing up just fine. I can now run 5 miles on it. I started swimming last week and just swam 2400 yards on Monday. So I'm in good shape.

My mind is wandering lately, so I'm here writing aimlessly. I'm not too enthused with my job as of late. I've been trying to study for my personal trainer certification too.

And I've been playing ukulele too. When I get a chance I'll post a video of me playing and *gasp* singing!

Ironman will have to wait

My training pretty much ended before it began.  I injured my knee playing hockey back in Sept/Oct.  It didn't prevent me from running.  I did notice that if I landed on it during a game I would be in an inordinantly excessive amount of pain.  It also felt "loose" after a run.

So I took some time off from hockey.  I also rested it from most strenuous exercise.  I visited a physical therapist who prescribed more strength training.  My knee is back up to 95%, but it's too late to start training for Vineman. 

For this year I'm focusing on spending time with my newborn son, Sam and my 4 year-old son, Jesse.  Jesse will be going to Kindergarten in September.  He likes to play with me now, but I'm sure that will change once school starts *sniff*.  I may do a half-marathon and/or a sprint tri some time this year.  The other item that takes precedence will be training my wife for a half-marathon; which is something she had been talking about since she was pregnant.  

That's it for now.  I'll still update some training here.  It might be about me or maybe my wife.  Hope all your training is going well. -R

How to reduce your water bill

How am I reducing my water bill? By taking a shower at work!

Actually, it's not what this post is about, but it is an added benefit of squeezing in an early morning run before work. I take the bus into work and get there around 7am. I was already in my running gear, so I just took off for a 30 minute jog (it was ~40F). Then I took a shower at work... I just wish they had hot water!

Sympathy weight gain

What is up with sympathy weight gain? When my wife was pregnant, I was working out quite a bit, ate reasonably well, and gained about 10 pounds. I got up to 173 lb.

In the past two weeks since Sam's birth, I've worked out once (a hockey game last Monday) have eaten reasonably well, and have dropped down to 168 lb. Come on, Body, make sense!

Check out my food and workout log. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pFBVRDqo95n7VDo-FyZXrcw

Training Day #1

I'm trying to emulate Sylvester Stalone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV.  How?  By incorporating my every day activites as workouts.  If you have never seen the movie (and really, what's wrong with you), then just picture a guy chopping trees instead of doing a tricep press in the gym.  Another good comparison is Daniel-san in Karate Kid.

Today I started off the season with some strength training.  I warmed up with some light gardening which consisted of pruning.  I then followed that up with mowing the lawn; but not just any lawn mowing.  That's right, I used a non-gas, non-electric, good ol' fashioned push mower.  It was very Zen.   I can't remember the last time before today when I saw a push mower.  It's like a tricycle... it's fun to ride until your friends see you on one. 

Okay, I'm actually pretty jazzed about using it.

The big part of my strength training had to deal with concrete pavers and a gigantic tree root.  We have these 1 sq ft concrete pavers in the back yard that were coming up.  I decided to take a peek to see what was going on, and sure enough I found a root from my neighbor's tree.  To make a long story short, I lifted about 20 pavers and cut out about 15 feet of root.  There was sawing, and shoveling, and cutting, and sweating, and... you get the idea.

I'm very sore.  I used too much of my back and not enough of my legs.

Now I just have to figure out how to incorporate swimming, biking, and running into my everyday routines.  I can bike and run to my bus stop.  There is no way that I'm swimming to and from work.  Any ideas?

P.S.  I started a workout log that you can access here http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pFBVRDqo95n7VDo-FyZXrcw

Time to train... AGAIN! Vineman 2009

Yes I'm back, training for another Iron-distance event.  Vineman 2004 kicked my butt, and there was a lot of my butt to kick back in the day.  I'm leaner and meaner and ready to take my revenge on the course.

I've been out of the endurance loop for a while.  There was the house remodel (still working on it).  And OH YEAH... I have a new son, Samuel Robert Fernandez Suratos!  Sam was born on Nov. 19, 2008.  Here are some pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/rqsuratos/MeetSam#

This year I won't be training with TNT.  I love TNT, but travelling to all of the training sites stretches me a bit thin.  I'm going to try and fit my training into my current schedule with the goal of not disturbing my family life.  I admit that it will be a challenge, especially having no coach (I actually have to hold myself accountable).  I just cancelled my gym membership which was also the place where I was swimming.  

I think this blog is going to be important in finding a training program that works with a busy type such as myself.  Hopefully you will find something good from it too.

Here are my beginning stats.  I'm currently 5'6" tall at 171 lb (I raced Lake Placid at ~155lb).  My waist is holding steady at 32".  My resting heart rate is 43 bpm.  My main exercise is my weekly league roller hockey game.  Obviously I'm going to have to get on a bike pretty soon.

My plan for this blog is to:

1. Chronical my training (I plan to have a link to a tracking spreadsheet).
2. Note things that work and don't work.
3. Talk nutrition and weight loss (for those of you who know, I went from 220lb to as low as 155lb). 
4. Random stuff

I haven't been good about including strength training in the past, and I believe that this will be key to doing well in this race.  

Thanks for reading.  Please leave me comments! 

Hello Random Thoughts

That's supposed to read, "Hello " as in "Gee it's been a while since I've been here," followed by a bunch of random thoughts.

True it has been a while. Where have I been? What is the progress of my pursuit of endurance excellence? So many questions and way too much time to answer them. I have put any major triathlons on hold for now since we are expecting another baby this year! Yay! I truly am excited by the prospect of having yet another baby... well my wife is having the baby, but I'm very supportive of her! I guess you can say that I am in the middle of another kind of endurance event.

I have been doing whatever it is I can to stay in shape. I still swim and run. On most Monday nights I play league roller hockey. When I can, I work on the house. Vickee has been very nauseous with the pregnancy. Taking care of a very energetic 3 year old is a lot for her to take on while trying not to throw up.

I've changed my daily routine a bit so that I can be there to take care of Jesse and Vickee. That means that I have limited my evening workouts. Most days I wake up at 4:30am so that I can be in the gym by 5:00am. I workout for about 1 hour, get cleaned up and dressed so that I can catch the bus to work at 7:15am. Traffic is pretty heavy at this time, which is fine with me... the 1 hour ride to work allows me to catch some Z's. Then I work (yawn). Then at 4:15pm I'm back on the bus... sleeping... I'm home by 6:00pm. Then I water the plants, cook dinner, let Vickee sleep, clean up after Jesse, clean Jesse, and then off to bed by midnight.

Somewhere in there I trade stock options...

The only upcoming race I have is San Jose Rock n Roll Half Marathon in October. I've been invited by some friends to do the 2.4 mi Catfish swim in Stevens Creek Reservoir. The biggest race on my mind is Silverman 2009 (it kicked my butt last time).

Here's where it gets random...

I'm working on getting my personal trainer certification. Why? I think people need help. I lost weight and got stronger... I've been there. I know there are people struggling with the exact same thing that I did. And I enjoy helping people. I really started to think about this week...

My god-brother died last week. He was 37 years old. I wouldn't say that he was overly obese. I have seen heavier people who were older than him. I understand that one of his arteries was 90% clogged. Clogged arteries is the current cause of death.

How often have we heard about clogged arteries? We have heard it so much that the thought has become ubiquitous. I don't think we even think about it that much... that is until it hits close to home. It's there. It's real. And way too many people are closer to being just another statistic amongst all the noise. This is where I would like to help.

I knew a guy who said, "You know what God does all day? He vomits! Every time he looks at his creations and realizes all the potential that they throw away." I don't mean any disrespect here, but it does create a nice visual. The thing is... are we living up to our potential? In everything that we do, who we are, and what we are? Does God vomit when he thinks of me? If he does, then I would like to change that.

I should end the randomness right here. Welcome back!
Rommel

Best training week in a long time

This week has been pretty active. I haven't had trained seriously since Nov. 2006. So what have I done.

Sunday I went to the beach. Okay, no training there. Topped off the night with Cheesecake Factory.

Monday, biked to the bus stop (5 hill climbs/ 4.5 miles), biked back home at the end of the day. Played hockey at 10pm (lost, but it was a heck of a workout).

Tuesday: same as Monday without the hockey. And I biked from BART (8 miles).

Wednesday: swim.

It doesn't sound like much, but I liked it.

Run, Run, Run, Bike

Vickee, my wife, has decided that she would like to get back into running. She didn't decide to ease into it with a 5K or a 10K, she decided to go for a marathon! That's right, Arizona Rock n Roll in Jan. 08, 2008.

Both of us are training. I'm training her, and I guess, myself. We are about 3 weeks into it. She is doing great right now.

The other thing going on... I'm biking everyday. Yay! Okay not so exciting, but it is! I took my Bridgestone CB-2 mountain bike and rebuilt it (changed the fork, headset, breaks, wheels). And it works! I bought the bike back in 9th grade (about 20 years ago... dang!).

Anyhow, I commute 4.5 miles each with 5 big hill climbs each way. It takes me ~20 minutes each way. The bike is really heavy. So here's the theory... heavy bike for training = frickin' fast on my road bike.

Jesse is doing well, He's almost 3 now. He runs like crazy... like his old man.

No Belt

Oh it is so easy to not do any workouts. My previously heralded weight loss is now in jeopardy. I'm still slimmer than I was a few years ago, but now my pants are being held up sans belt.

I started going back to the gym sporadically for about a month. I haven't been in the pool due to lack of motivation (the master's swim class was cancelled). I've been doing mostly running.

On the positive side, I ran 8 miles the other day at a 8:20 pace, which is where I was last year. Is this the part of training that is known as the, "Off-season?"

Now that the sun is shining more lately, I should be getting back on my bike. I run when I get a chance, but I really miss being part of the team.

SilverMan 2006 Race Report

SilverMan Full-Distance Triathlon-November 12, 2006

I do not know what my official statistics are for the SilverMan Full-Distance Triathlon. For those of us who did not finish (DNF), our stats were not recorded. I can tell you that the dreaded DNF that I received for this race carries with it no regret, but rather a greater appreciation for the SilverMan course.

This was the second year for the Nevada SilverMan Full-Distance Triathlon. “Full-Distance” denotes the same distance as an IronMan, without the trademark infringement. The slogan is, “You have experienced Iron, now experience Silver.” It has also been called, “North Americas most grueling race.” And rightfully so as I was soon to find out.

The race starts with a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Mead. The swim is followed by a 112-mile bike ride from Lake Mead to Henderson, NV with a combined climbing elevation of 9700 feet. The last leg of the race is a 26.2-mile run around Henderson that climbs 3700 feet. To put this race into perspective, IMUSA Lake Placid has only 4000 feet of climbing on the bike and 1000 feet of climbing on the run.

The water temperature was 64°F and the air temperature was 72°F. Those temperatures were not anything out of the ordinary for an endurance race. Some would even argue that those temperatures were ideal for a race like this. A slight breeze would even be acceptable. The breeze that day was anything but “Slight.”

It was a very blustery day. The lake conditions were choppy with white caps. When in the lake, I estimate that the waves were as high as 2 feet. My swim speed up until today had been very consistent at 2 minutes per 100 yards. That gave me a swim time of 1h: 24m at Lake Placid and 0:40m at Big Kahuna (1.2 miles). I expected a similar swim time for this race.

I felt like I was in the spin cycle of a washing machine. The water made a sickening rocking motion. I understand from later reports that the motion caused many people to get motion sick and throw up during the swim. I did not experience nausea, but two kayaks hit me. The 2-foot waves made sighting of the buoys difficult as well (that and the fact that the buoy colors were the same as the swim cap colors). The waves were so strong that they would flip me over on to my back. Lastly, the anti-fog solution that I put in my goggles did not prevent fog, thus I was partially blind for most of the swim.

Every time I reached a buoy, it seemed like there were 10 more buoys to swim to. I was starting to feel like it was never going to end. The cutoff time for the swim is 2h: 20m. I had already passed 1h: 20m, and I estimate that I was little over half the distance to the finish. Could it be that I was going to be eliminated on the swim? It was hard for me to grasp, but it was starting to look like it.

“I am not going to be eliminated on the swim,” I thought. So I refocused, and headed for the shore. I kayak tried to escort me in. I was determined to finish the swim before the cutoff.

I crossed the timing mat at 2h: 11m.

I felt pretty good, despite being in the water for almost an hour longer than I had expected. Others weren’t so lucky. I know of at least one person that had hypothermia, and at least 20 people had to be pulled from the swim from nausea, being washed up on the island, or just general fatigue.

My transition was fast (about 5 minutes). I was not going for any clothing changes. Instead I opted to wear my TNT IronTeam trisuit for the entire race. My transition was just a matter of toweling off, applying sunscreen, putting on my shoes, and I was off. Now for the bike ride.

Prior to Lake Placid, I had removed my triple crank for a lighter double crank. The advantage of the triple crank is that it has a smaller climbing gear (a.k.a. “Granny Gear.”). The disadvantage is that it has more rotational weight. The double crank provides slower climbs than the triple, but it has less rotational weight.

I was told to expect to be passed when climbing uphill, but that I would likely pass people when going downhill. The strategy worked well at Lake Placid. What goes up, must come down, right? Wrong!

The SilverMan bike course is a point-to-point race, which means that there are no loops. Thus, what goes up does not have to go down. From the very beginning I would climb 500 ft, then it would level off, then I would climb another 500 ft, then level off, etc. There were hardly any downhill portions. For the first 56 miles or so, it was uphill with a mighty head wind.

I estimated that I needed to average 14 mph over 8 hours to make the 5pm bike cutoff. I was at 11.5 mph at 3:45pm. Having only covered 83 miles, I would have to average about 30 mph for 1 hour. In short, I would not make the cutoff.

At the end of the day, 44% of the people that started did not finish. Most IronMan races will have 10-15% of the people not finish. I know that my DNF is a result of equipment and not a lack of physical ability. I will see this race again, but next time I will be better prepared.


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