Cross-training -- Fun or Fitness?

This weekend, I took my family whitewater rafting on the Gorge Run, a 14-mile Class 3 section on the South Fork of the American River. It was the first time for my wife and kids. We took our Japanese exchange student who had just arrived a week earlier. Whitewater rafting is non-existent in Japan, so this was going to be a thrill ride for her. Good thing dad is fluent in Japanese--she speaks very little English. As it turns out, she speaks very little of anything.

I got up at 4:30 am. Sat. so I could get in a long run along the American River, nearly four months after completing the American River 50, my first 50-ml. ultra. I felt an odd sort of responsibility to pay my respects to the river. I ran a 14-ml. section of the levee with an 8-ml. tempo in the middle, starting at the drawbridge down the street from the State Capitol building in Sacramento.

It turned out to be a perfect day on the river. Temperatures in the high 90s, a breeze blowing up river, and frequent swimming. I even got dumped on the only Class 4 rapid and had to swim the rapids. Exciting and a bit terrifying at the same time when you don't know if you're about to be bashed into a rock in front of your family.

As the day came to a close, I started thinking about all the different ways you can cross-train. Rafting, or any prolonged and strenuous activiting is certainly one way to do it. I've been thinking about buying a kayak ever since my wife and I nearly passed right over a whale in Maui a couple years ago on a kayak. Maybe it's time, but there are so many styles to choose from.

A good friend has invited me to go rock climbing, and I have considered canyoneering, snowshoeing, inline skating, yoga, and lots of other things. The yoga actually makes the most sense--I could use the core training and stretching. I'll admit most of this nonsense may have nothing to do with cross-training at all. All this other stuff just sounds like great fun and I can't ever get enough of the great American outdoors. And you have to wonder after getting in the required workouts for the swim, bike, run, how much training benefit you really gain from adding a fourth or fifth dimension. I suppose the off-season provides a good excuse to try something new. So much to do, so little time.

Victory at Vineman

A thrilling sense of accomplishment swept over me as I ran the last few hundred yards of Vineman 70.3 on July 20. I had two victories to celebrate.

For the first time, I was entirely comfortable starting the swim. No nerves, no doubting, just a quiet confidence knowing I was going to have a good day. My head was in the right place. Although the 45 - 49 age group proved to be the largest wave, the swim was not nearly as crowded as I expected and the water temperature had cooled considerably to 70 degrees. I felt good through the entire swim and was even able to focus on my stroke and form. The narrow Russian River was easy to navigate and stay in a straight line. I stepped out of the river in 38 mins., 2 mins. ahead of my goal.

After fumbling around a bit too much in T1, I grabbed my bike and headed toward the road. I was amazed how many people ahead of me had not put their bike in the correct gear for the immediate climb out of T1. I jumped on my bike and sped off, looking forward to a good ride. But only one mile into the ride, I heard the awful sound in my rear tire. I could not believe I was having a flat tire just 3 mins. into the ride. It was almost surreal. I collected my thoughts and pulled to the side of the road. I had prepared for this occasion, so I just focused on the task of replacing a flat.

In my haste, I forgot to make sure the tube was not pinched. I was too quick to pull the trigger on a CO2 cartridge and then realized the tube was pinched. Before I could do anything about it, my spare tube exploded. I stood on the side of the road for several minutes trying to come to terms with the fact that my day was over less than an hour into the race. Then I thought about how hard I had trained, how much money I had spent to get there ($250 just to register), and the long weekend in Guerneville, a 2.5-hr. drive from Morgan Hill. I wasn't ready to give up.

My only chance of re-entering the race was to walk my bike over a mile back to my car. I took my shoes off because it was faster to walk barefoot. I still didn't know what I was going to do, but when I got back to my car, I knew the only chance I had was to find someone with a spare tube. So I drove back to T1. I pulled right up to the intersection at T1 and found a bike aid station. The first guy I talked to grabbed my wheel and quickly set about to repair my tire. In less than two minutes, I had parked my car and jumped back onto my bike. Just like that, I was back in the race.

I was re-starting the bike section right at T1 so I re-started my watch. I knew exactly how much time it took me to get there, so I could just subtract (or add) my downtime and I would know my real racing time. I was back on the road racing, but the delay cost me 61 minutes.

I decided to still race the best I could and see what the day would bring. Halfway through the bike, I was averaging 18.5 mph, well ahead of my 17 mph goal. I was worried the 1-hr. delay would result in a very warm run, but I was pleased to see the temperature never get above 65 degrees on my bike. The marine layer and fog I had hoped for had settled in nicely in wine country. I finished the bike in 3 hrs. 2 mins., about 15 mins. ahead of plan, and an average speed of 18.2 mph. I was quite proud of my bike time and didn't feel like I had blown out my legs in the process.

Since my overall time was already a buzz kill, I decided there was no point trying to rush my way through T2. The bike racks were already very full and it took some time just to find a spot for my bike. I took 5:29 in T2 and started my run at a comfortable pace. I didn't look at my watch much over the first half of the run. Perceived exertion was a better barometer. I knew it would warm up and I didn't want to fall apart at the end of my first ironman.

I knew during the entire run that even if I had a poor run, I could still finish in under six hours. That gave me confidence but I still had to run half a marathon on a rolling course. The last five miles were painful. It's a mental game at the end, just like a marathon. I finished the run in exactly 2 hrs.

My first victory was just finding a way to get back in the race when I was sure my day had ended with a flat I could not repair. My second win was a good finishing time. The flat was completely out of my control. My official time was 6:54 but I'll subtract the 61 mins. of downtime and claim victory with a 5:53.

What's Next? Extremely Extreme.

You know how we stretch our limits, raise the bar, push the envelope. Having completed three ultra marathons this year, I've been thinking about how to up the ante next year, but in searching the internet for all kinds of event, I have learned there really are no limits. For every extreme event you think you have done or can do, there is always someone willing to do something more insanely extreme.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around an ironman, but there are two double ironman triathlons in N. America; one in Virginia and one in Quebec, Canada. If that doesn't satisfy the need for pain, there is the Odyssey Triple Ironman or Le Defi Mondial de l'Endurance, consisting of a 7.2-mile swim, 336-mile bike ride, and a 78.6-mile run. Organizers actually have to cut off registration for these events when they fill up although they only accept a few dozen lunatics.

There is something alluring about fastpacking. More popular in Europe, it's about taking as little gear as possible so you can run greater distances over a period of days in the wilderness unhampered. And I really want to find a good partner or team for adventure racing, combining orienteering, navigation, mountain biking, kayaking, and trail running. A multi-day expedition event sounds awesome, with event names like The Beast, Raid Gauloises, Eco-Challenge, and Southern Traverse.

Then there is the Enduroman series. Take the Arch to Arc, for example. Run 87 miles from London to Dover. Then swim the English Channel. Then bike 180 miles from Calais to Paris. Only four athletes in history have completed it. For the endurance junkie who doesn't have a life and can cough up the $1600 entry fee, there is Enduroman Deca Iron Triathlon. (Deca = 10 x ironman.) Too big and far for just one country, this unbelievable ultra distance course runs through England and Wales. After a 24-mile warm-up swim, it's just an 1,120-mile bike followed by a 262-mile run. The record is 81 hours, 5 minutes; cut-off is 11 - 13 days.

Do I have what it takes to join the most elite ultra endurance club in the world? No, I do not. But I know I will continue to push myself to try the next big thing.

My Brush With Greatness

Today I ran the Run for the Stinkin' Roses, a 10K put on my my running club. Oddly, it was my first 10K race of the year. I was planning to run a hard tempo around 7:15 pace as my final hard run before Vineman. There were only 70-some runners for the 10K, but as I walked up to the start line about 2 minutes before the start, I heard Steve Sokol say he was plannning to run it in about 45 minutes. I knew that was just about the time I wanted to run. Suddenly, I had a new goal. Beat Steve! Why, you ask? Let me tell you a little something about Steve Sokol.

In 1981, Steve performed 52,003 situps in 32 hours and 17 minutes. He has done 30,000 consecuitve jumping jacks, 13,013 leg lifts, 3,333 squat thrusts, 1,000 situps with a 45-pound plate on his chest. He also rode a bicycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a non-stop 43 hours without ever sitting down on the seat! He is a self-described "professional nut case," setting world records in over 30 different categories. The Guiness Book of World Records named him the original Fittest Man in the World. Steve is in his early 50s now, but he is still incredibly fit. And how many opportunities will I ever get to beat someone with his credentials? My goal was clear.

I took the first mile at 6:55 pace, faster than I intended, but I could tell Steve was right behind me. At about the 1.5 mile mark, he slowly passed me, but I knew he wasn't going to outrun me if he was trying to run a 45-minute race. So I tucked in behind him and drafted for nearly 4.5 miles. I knew he could run a steady pace, but I didn't know if he had a kick. If I run a smart race, I can always put the hammer down at the end, so I just stayed with him until we reached the high school track. 3/4 of a lap around the track to the finish line. Once on the track I put it in another gear, and Steve did not respond. I finished ahead of him in 43:59, just 8 seconds off my PR.

It was fun to beat Steve for sure, but the real benefit for me was getting my head in the mental game of competition just one week before Vineman. It was a rush and a very good run for me. I look forward to seeing Steve and his 8-year old son (a running prodigy) at another local race.

If you want to become the fittest man on the planet, Guiness now calls it the 24-hour Fitness Challenge. Here's what you need to do: swim two miles, cycle 110, row 20, run 12, hike 12, row 20, climb 20 on an elliptical machine, crank out 1,250 push-ups, 1,250 leg lifts, 1,250 jumping jacks, and 3,250 abdominal crunches. Then you must lift 300,000 pounds of weights in various upper body reps. And it must be done in under 19 hours, 17 minutes, 38 seconds--the current record held by Rob Powell. And if you don't have three credible witnesses and a crew of video cameras documenting every groan, pop, and tear, Guiness won't even consider your record.

Pre-race Jitters

I'm officially tapering for Vineman now. This is when the pre-race jitters start. I remind myself there really isn't any more training I can do now to prepare. But everything else can seem to go a little sideways.

I broke a band in my rear tire last week, probably from going too fast over a cow guard on Canada Road in Gilroy. I think I managed to ride 80 miles before my tire ruptured sometime after I got home. I'm amazed I made it home. I took my bike (Trek 5200) to the shop the next day for a pre-race tune-up and didn't even notice a large bubble in the tire until I got to the shop. That would have been a disaster a day or two before the race. I take my bike to the local bike shop because the lead mechanic has worked for Specialized Bikes (headquartered in Morgan Hill) at various races. But he took a week to get to my bike.

The day after I got my bike back, I went for a 65-ml. ride. Yesterday, I took my bike out intending to do an easy brick but noticed before I even started that my rear wheel was bent. I couldn't figure out how that could have happened. So I gave up on the ride and just went for a run. Later in the day, I took my bike back to the shop, only to discover that my rear Bontrager wheel was broken in several places. Those tires are made with so much tension in the spokes, they are known to break.

I called the Trek bike shop where I bought my bike two years ago. Happy to learn Trek has a 5-year limited warranty on components and accessories. So I ordered a new wheel but that keeps me off the bike for another week. I haven't missed any of my long rides but now I need to hit the gym and spin while I'm without a bike.

I guess I'm lucky all of this happened just two weeks before Vineman. But I'm also wondering if the race will be canceled due to smoke. The fires in California are still raging and we're in the middle of a heat wave--Morgan Hill reaches 110 degrees in the afternoon almost every day this week. The last couple of days the South Bay has had a thick haze from the Big Sur fire and new fires seem to ignite every day somewhere in California.

I've been trying to run in some heat to acclimate for a warm run but I'm hopeless at 80 degrees or warmer. I should probably have that conversation with myself about knowing when to DNF if I can't stand the heat. Yesterday, I bought another hand-held water bottle for the run but haven't decided if I'll use my double-bottle fuel belt or two hand-helds. The water temp in the Russian River was 80 degrees today -- too warm!

I know this is not the way to reinforce in a postive mental attitude but it's hard not to think about these things. I really have trained hard for Vineman so I know I'm ready. There are just so many things that can go wrong. I think everyone hopes for a good race day. I intend to fully enjoy every part of the experience.

US Olympic Trials Inspiration

Every four years, I am mesmerized by the atheltic performances of the Olympics. I prefer the summer games just a bit more than the winter games because I can relate to the variety of events a little easier than curling, biathlon, bobsled, and other sports from the Arctic Circle. I have been watching the Olympic Trials with the excitement I still remember from watching the "Miracle on Ice" -- the U.S. hockey team beating the unbeatable Russians in 1980 and going on to win the gold. I was a senior in high school.

I'm one of millions who was awe-struck and inspired by the US swimmers. 41-yr. old Dara Torres, 9-time Olympic medalist, beating 19-yr. old Natalie Coughlin to win the 100 free and become the only 5-time U.S. Olympic swimmer ever. But then winning the 50 free, too! I'll bet she lands a big endorsement with Nivea or Oil of Olay (she is a former model). Oh, and don't forget the Wheaties box.

Then there was the bitter-sweet. Ryan Lochte breaking the world record in the 400 IM swim but still losing to Phelps. On the track, Kara Goucher goes to Beijing in the rare double -- 5000 and 10,000 while her husband Adam failed to qualify in the 10,000. She cried.

On almost every race or event, I thought about the ones who took 3rd or 4th place and did not make it to Beijing. They trained every bit as hard as those who made it, but missed it in some cases by 1/100th of a second. I guess that's why they call it the "Trials." I think it's the effort, the dedication and the commitment that captivates me. I know how hard I train--harder than almost anyone I know. But it pales in comparison to the effort these athletes put out over many years.

Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff...enough said. I'll be watching most of the Olympics while on vacation in Maui.

My First 70.3

The Vineman 70.3 is July 20. I did Uvas on May 18 and clocked 2:37 at San Jose International on June 8. But this is my first 70.3 and I'm not even sure I'm training correctly for it. I've never even looked for a training program for this distance. I must be an idiot. Take the advice of my training partner who has done Vineman, other halfs and an ironman, then add the conditioning from two 50Ks and AR50 earlier this year, and I have probably lulled myself into a false sense of security. I'm running 40 mls. a week, riding 100+, swimming 2 - 3 times a week, and taking that ever important rest day.

For the swim, I'm doing lots of intervals in the pool with a total of 3000 - 3500 yards for each workout. I've done 4 open water swims this year which has helped me to learn to swim in a straight line. I work out twice a day two days a week. I've been doing long rides (50 - 80 mls.) on the bike on weekends, followed by a 30-min. run faster than race pace. For the run, I'm doing speed work mid-week and a long run (12 - 15 mls.) on weekends with a 6 - 7 ml. tempo in the middle section. This weekend I'll do a long run with negative splits.

I know I can finish at Vineman but concerned the water temp (which has been as high as 84 recently) could be too warm even for a sleeveless wet suit and I will really suffer on the run if it's warmer than 70 degrees. I have a 7:10 am. start which means I'll be running in the 11 am. - 1 pm. window. I'm really hoping for fog and a marine layer and cool temps that morning in Guerneville. I know I'm not supposed to set a time goal for my first 70.3, but it's 6:15. Sub-6 is within reach but everything will have to go supremely well.

I'm open to all advice even though it's too late to make any changes. Need to start tapering soon.

Locker Room Talk

OK, let's get personal. This is my locker room. I keep just about all my gear except wetsuits and shoes in here. It started with just some water bottles and Gu. But over time, I realized I kept going back in the house for a towel, zoomers, heart rate monitor, gloves, whatever. It's easier to leave it all in the car, keeps the bedroom closet less cluttered, and there's less to forget on race day.

There are other benefits of having a mobile locker room. It makes it much easier to do an unplanned workout if I get out of work early, it feeds my obsession with organization, and it helps me feel like I'm prepared for training or a race.

Any locker room of course requires some regular maintenance. There are too many chapsticks I never use, trial size Alcis capsules--no idea what to do with those things, nasty Gu flavors I try to give away, other miscellaneous items from goodie bags that just pile up. I have four pairs of gaiters in there--three of them were obviously designed by people who don't run trails. Notice all the towels. Can't ever have too many towels.

The only thing missing from my locker room is a shower and a cold beer...I'm working on it.

It's Never Too Late

This is a blog for the average triathlete like me. I was a 3-ml. a day runner for 25 years, always in decent shape, but never even thought about pushing the envelope...until I turned 40. Since then, I have competed in dozens of running, swimming, cycling events and triathlons. I have run marathons and ultra marathons and will do my first 70.3 at Vineman later this month.

There are plenty of highly competitive triathletes older than me (who finish well ahead of me) but I am here to encourage anyone who thinks they're too old to tri.

Ray Crock was well into his 60s when he started MacDonalds.
Beethoven was 80 and deaf and still writing symphonies.
Picasso was still painting masterpieces at age 88.
Casey Stingel was still managing the New York Yankees at age 75.
Moses led 3.5 million people out of captivity. He was really old.
Colonel Sanders started KFC at age 66 with a $99 retirement paycheck. Then, over a 2-year period, he traveled across the country and did 1,009 presentations before someone bought his first recipe.

So just get out there and tri!