The KodaFit Blog

I really need to make my blog entries a lot shorter.

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Generally motivation is not something I struggle with.  I have been accused of being over optimistic about things, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it just means I often fall short of my goals.  I take solace in something I heard as a kid though…

Better to aim for the stars and miss, than aim for the dung heap and hit it.

I work for the State of Utah, and 3 weeks ago we switched on to a 4 x 10 hour day work schedule.  I understand the reasons behind the plan, and I also know that there are political factors involved in it as well.  At the end of the day I don’t think it’s going to make much difference, other than the fact that for the last few weeks I’ve been struggling.  It also hasn’t helped that the Olympics has been on late at night and I’ve been like a moth to the flame with it.

If I could make just one quick side trip…  It’s cool seeing the Volleyball teams do well, but I really think that NBC could have focussed on other things in addition to volleyball and gymnastics.  Most of all the question has to be asked - WHY WERE THE TRIATHLONS NOT COVERED? That was to be the highlight of my olympic experience, and it didn’t even get a 5 minutes of highlight coverage.  I was able to see them online, but neither race had any audible commentary, and 2 hours of nothing but the sound of splashing and motorbikes accelerating can get boring, even if you’re watching the best of the best.  To be fair though the last minute of the mens race more than made up for it though…  I’d highly recommend tracking that down if you missed it.

OK, so back to the topic at hand…  My daily schedule has been:

4am wake up and get ready for work

5:30am catch the train (after a flat out sprint down the platform because I left home late).

6am catch the bus - which is over crowded due to bad planning.

6:30 arrive at work.

11:30 1 hour run.

5:30 catch the bus.

6pm run to catch the train because the bus driver was late.

7pm arrive home.

7-8pm dinner and try and refresh the kids memories as to who exactly I am.

8-8:30pm Try to get the kids to bed.

8:30 Weight training / running with the guy who got me off the couch a year or 2 back.  I’m not sure if it’s helping my training, but he needs the motivation and I’m grateful he got me into a healthier lifestyle, so I don’t mind.

9:30 Get all the kids back into bed because they have discovered that there is force in numbers against my poor wife (I’m just amazed she still functions after a whole day with them).

10:30 Awaken myself from the floor in one of the bedrooms and go to bed.

10:30-12:00 As I turn the TV off, I catch a highlight of an upcoming olympic final event - I watch and manage to catch my second wind.

12:00 - 4am.  Sleep a little, fight with kids who’ve wet the bet, fallen out of bed, or are convinced there are monster in/under or around the bed.

4am - Beep Beep Beep Beep

And so it continues….

Friday morning I was dead…  My plan was either a long swim, or my long run for the weekend - 12 miles.  I ended up sleeping in till noon.

Friday night I attempt a bike ride.  1 mile in, I run over puncture vine (Thats the actual name I just learned).  I replace my tube and reinflate.  The guy I rode with used to work in a bike shop and is a bike pro - I’m somewhat less of a pro, but also stubborn and want to do everything myself.  It’s a puncture - how hard can it be….  2 miles later, in the midst of a swarm of mosquitos, my tire makes a weird noise and then BANG!!  Friend is now too busy swatting bugs to watch me change the tube again (Apparently the tube had gotten pinched at the first change and resulted in a nice snake bite.  Actually at this point, an actually snake bite would have been a welcome release for the hell I was living in.  So much for Utah being full of Rattlesnakes…

Saturday I was going to wake up early, but slept in till 8, and then I had a list of errands as long as my arm, and the run never came.  I do think that school shopping with 5 kids could qualify as mental training for a marathon, but that’s not going to help my legs go the distance.

Sunday morning…  Slept in, did the Church thing and then had to catch up on some work stuff.  Evening came and went and the run still didn’t happen.

I was scheduled to run again last night, but my night time running buddy (Mr. Bike Pro) is not feeling well - perhaps it’s West Nile from all the mosquito bites…. and so we did a light weight work out.

As this morning (Tuesday) dawned I realized it’s been five days since I last ran.  The St. George marathon is in 5 weeks.  I got the latest issue of Triathlete magazine last night, which helped psych me up on the train and in the bus.  I drank heavily all morning (I forgot to mention that I was seriously dehydrated most of the weekend as well).  I even watched a couple of Becoming Ironman videos on YouTube to try and get me out of my funk.  Come lunch time, my running group ditched me, but I hit the canyon anyway.  The air was clear (despite the fire at the other end of the valley) and temps were mild to warm, but not unbearable.   My legs were fresh, and up I went.

It wasn’t a fast run by any means, but it was a good solid 3 miles up and then 3 miles down.  My last mile I did in about 8 minutes - not blazingly fast, but decent for me.  I suspect I may still be dehydrated, since my heart rate was really high through out the run, still I was able to maintain my pace and push through it.

I think I’m back on track!  18 miles this coming weekend, Sandy Triathlon the next weekend, followed by a 20 mile run the weekend after and then I begin to taper for St. George!!!

I’m back baby!!

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Or how breaking my rules helped me break down some barriers…

August 9th was the second Magnathon Triathlon for the year. They do 2 - one in June, one in August - My June report is here. In that race I finished in 1:14:00 - my quickest Sprint distance to date.

Perhaps let me share some of my “unofficial rules” for my races…

I have pasta for the 2 dinners prior to race day.
On the day before I spend the day hydrating and doing little else.
Before I go to be, my bike rack is on the car, my bag is packed, and my bike has been cleaned, checked and is waiting right by the front door.
Finally I generally have my nutrition written down, my goal times figured out and then I can get on with a good solid sleep.

I don’t remember what I had for dinner on Thursday… It may have been spaghetti, but I wasn’t even thinking about the race, and I think I had half a loaf of garlic bread as well.
Friday, rather than rest and rehydrate, I took the family to the zoo. Nothing like chasing kids around all day in 100 degree heat to deplete your energy and fluid levels.
Getting home, I raced to the running store, when I realized I was out of Gu, and then we finally ate dinner at about 8pm - Breakfast muffins with egg, cheese and Canadian bacon. Mmmmm! Great food, but probably not the best for loading of carbs.

Then on a whim, I went to the track with my night time gym buddy. He usually does a mile or mile and a half while I do speed drills. I figured I’d stay back and take it easy with him. We ended up doing 2 miles at a nice easy pace, but it didn’t do much for my already depleted fluid levels.

You may recall Friday night… It was the opening ceremonies for Beijing 2008!! I’m glad I watched it - that was absolutely amazing, but then I ended up not getting to sleep till well after midnight. I spent the rest of the night having crazy dreams, getting up a couple of times with kids, and dealing with the side effects of trying to hydrate before I went to bed.

The alarm went off at 4:30, and by 5:30 I was almost all ready to go - and then I started remembering things. Skipped breakfast, which I usually have before I raced, and grabbed some instance breakfast thing in the cupboard - It wasn’t half bad. Then I tore around the rest of the house like a mad thing trying to find the strap for my Garmin. After a few other mad crisis I got on the road, remembered my Ibuprofen, got it, and then set off again.

I made good time getting there, got a nice spot for transition and then got my number… 13. Not the multiple of 8 that I usually have good luck with, but 13 has quite a bit of significance for me, so that seemed to be OK. I had a buddy from work join me as well. He did the Spudman a few weeks back, and due to the fatality in that race, he was excited to do a full race that included a swim (His swim heat at Spudman was cancelled following the accident).

My actual race report will be short and sweet….

Ended up sharing a lane with Mike - the guy from work. Had a solid swim - not too fast, but not too slow (400M in 8 minutes). I can do it in a little over 7, but I suspect that my tri top may be slowing me a little.

T1 got done in a little over a minute and with that, I was out on the bike. I haven’t ridden my bike in almost 3 weeks. I did well, but I could tell I was rusty. Lap 1 went well. Lap 2 was good till I got to the big hill. Usually I can get up to about 40 mph on the hill, but as I started a large dump truck pulled out in front of me. It was a little hairy, but I got behind him, pulled up next to him, and then flew by… Speed 43.5 mph… Fastest ever on my bike!!! Got to the bottom and had a lady pull out in front of me, on a long flat through downtown Magna - its like 4 blocks!! Managed to get around her as well, which always makes you feel good.

Final lap went well. I was feeling comfortable, but still like I was pushing as hard as I could - you know that nice balance. Ended up getting caught behind the support van that was waiting for another cyclist, but kept a cool head (kind of) and then was able to get by both of them.

T2 was not my best work. I got through in under a minute, but I caught myself getting a little too relaxed. Headed out after giving up 1 position to number 14… My plan for the run was to run the first part really fast, walk the mega hill, and then run the last part really fast as well. I ran the entire thing last time, but the hill was really tough, and I think overall, it slowed me down.

Set off running, looked down at my watch so I could see how much more I needed to push, and I was already at a 7:30 mile. Just a little perspective here… I’m not fast by any stretch of the imagination… My fastest 5k to date, I average a little over 8 minutes a mile. Longer races I drop to 9 minute miles, and in my marathon training, it been between 9 and 10 - generally closer to 10. Back to the story though… I was moving, and it felt good. I kept it up for the first mile, and then I hit the hill - or at least I thought it was the hill… I pushed until my speed dropped into the 8 minute range and then walked the rest. Getting to the top I realized that the big hill was the next one, and so I ended up walking 2 hills (DOH!!!) Crested the hill, or rather got to the top of the steep part and started running again… 8 minute miles, everything still feeling good. Got within a mile of the finish and I sped it up a little. I even started gaining on the guy who passed me. Turned the final corner with 400 meters to go. My speed was perfect, and I pushed it with everything I had. Didn’t pass the guy in front, but I got close!!

Overall time 1:12:07 - fastest sprint to date. 5th place overall, 4th place in my age group.

I think the speed training I’ve been doing at night is actually paying off. I have 2 more races this year. A sprint triathlon in September and my first marathon in October. I’m thinking I’m going to stick with my current training program for the marathon, including a speed workout on Wednesday nights, and then I’m going to work on speed workouts for swimming and cycling - hopefully doing really well in the Sprint in September.

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I make no excuses for this post. It’s simply the situation of me groveling at your feet begging for your vote.

I’m not making any grand promises, only that I’ll try and improve next year.

I don’t have much of an energy policy or anything like that and I’m not even much to look at, but….
In the July Competition for the BFit BDay prize, I would really, really, really like to win…

So if you feel inclined, please visit the BFit BDay website and cast your vote for me - Mike “KodaFit” Mackrory

If you haven’t joined already, I’d highly recommend both the site and the challenge.

Thanks!

Mike a.k.a. KodaFit.

PS - If you would like to read about my day completing the challenge, you can read about it here.

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Training has been a little too relaxed of late, but my hectic life outside of triathlon training more than makes up for it!

Since deciding not to do the Utah Half, I’ve been focusing more on preparing for my first marathon in October.   Running didn’t go so well last week, but on Saturday, I decided it was time to make so preparations, specifically getting my shoes ready and planning for the race.  I read an article in Runners World that was reviewing shoes and made some interesting points.  The first was that running shoes typically need 24 hours to recover from a workout.  That would probably explain why it is suggested that you wear them only for running and not for running errands.  I also read that having 2 pairs of shoes can make your feet more injury proof, at least from overuse injuries, because they have to adapt biomechanically to whatever shoe you are wearing.

So with that in mind, and a goal to actually start tracking the mileage for my shoes, I set off to Striders with the fam in tow.

I decided to get 2 pairs.  I wear a neutral shoe, and I generally end up choosing my shoes based on the toe cushioning.  The last 2 pair I’ve had were both Brooks Radius shoes…  Radius 6 and Radius 7.  I’ve loved them, but I believe that Brooks will be discontinuing this line.  I tried on some Asics, some New Balance, Radius 7’s and even a pair of Brooks Glycerines.  The Glycerines were sweet, but significantly more than the rest of them.  I ended up deciding on a pair of Addidas SuperNovas.  And then I asked about a pair of Brooks Defyance, which will be replacing the Radius model.  They didn’t have my size, but I tried an a pair a half size under my last pair.  My problem is that my right foot is a 9 and my left is a little over a 9.5.  I fit into 9.5’s but like the roominess of a size 10.  The Defyance felt great, and so I ended up purchasing those and the Addidas.  I also picked up a Nathan Fuel belt for my long runs.

Sunday I took the Addidas out for the inaugral run.  I had a 15 mile run scheduled - my longest ever.  The shoes felt great, the hydration belt really helped, and aside from some weird feelings around mile 14 when I stopped and walked for a quarter mile to try and get my heart rate down.  I think these will be my shoes for the marathon which means I need to get another 80 or so miles on them prior to the race.  I’m thinking I use them primarily on my long runs, and keep the defyance for the lunch time runs at work.

OK, so onto the pride…  Some people have a problem with pride, for me it’s just about achieving something more than I had before, or seeing someone I love do the same…

First and the lesser of the two points - I ran 15 miles!!

Second and far bigger than the first, my son!  Both my wifes family and mine have people with heavier body types.  My son has picked up these genes.  He’s not fat, but he’s a stocky young lad, and not a beanstalk like his younger sisters.  He struggles sticking with things, and is definitely not athletic, but he does try.  He ended up staying home with me yesterday while my wife ran some errands with the rest of the kids.  My wife told him that he would have to do my lunch time run with me.  He thought she was kidding!  Anyway, I decided not to run, and instead do an hour of Iron Yoga.  I may post more on Iron Yoga itself later, but in short it’s Yoga combined with weights and it kills.  I suggested young Brody do it with me.  He struggled on a few of the exercises, and did it without weights - which is still pretty strenuous, but the kid stuck with it the whole way through.  I was really, really, really impressed.  I’m not sure if he’ll ever join me in a long distance race, but I’m really proud that he’s trying to be healthier, and willing to stick with it.

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This will be my first product review on this blog. My goal is to provide a review of this product that is comprehensive and examines the pros, the cons and anything else interesting about it. To begin with, let me just say that I received a sample of this product along with a sample of regular Body Glide. I was going to combine the reviews, but I think the sunscreen version deserves a review all on it’s own.

Let’s get the details out of the way first…

Officially this is called BODYGLIDE® 2 Formulas in 1 Anti-Blister & Chafing Stick SPF 25.

According to the literature I received with the sample….

BODYGLIDE® 2 Formulas in 1 Anti-Blister & Chafing Stick SPF 25 helps protect against sunburn and painful rubbing and irritation, and help prevent and relieve chapped or cracked skin. It can be used for sun-exposed skin on the face, neck, arms and legs - and anywhere annoying irritation can occur. Apply liberally before exposure to the sun and  as needed.  Two-formulas-in1, this product is resistant to water and perspiration.

Before I get into a long explanation of my experiments with this product let me give you my final opinion.  It’s amazing stuff, not only does it have all the properties of BodyGlide, but the sunscreen is really good too.  My experience with it was that it is definitely waterproof.  It’s sweatproof too, and is the only sunscreen product I’ve tried that hasn’t run into my eyes on a long run.  It smells pleasant, and is the only thing my kids will allow me to put on their faces.  Not only does it protect against the sun, but it also appears to protect against the wind, definitely of benefit on long bike rides.  If there is a downside to this product, it’s that the sample I was sent was the smaller of the 2 available sizes.  This means I’m going to have to actually purchase some more of it very soon - But I’ll be more than happy to pay full price for it.

OK, now the long story.  I’ll be doing a review of regular BodyGlide in the next week.  In the tests I did with this particular ‘flavor’ of BodyGlide, it performed exactly the same as the original product, so if you are interested in it’s anti-chaffing properties, be sure and check back for that one.

There are two major tests I did with regard to this being a sunscreen product.  I used it on a couple of long bike rides, and it performed well.  On one ride though, I did a comparison test.  Usually I use Bullfrog sunscreen with an SPF of 36.  Basically that means I can handle the sun 36 times longer with it on than without it.  I like bullfrog because it goes on easily, dries quickly and appears to stay on longer that other products even if I’m sweating heavily.  I have noticed though that it does seem to mix with my sweat, and while it’s tolerable, it does sting a little when it runs into my eyes.

For the test I put Bullfrog (SPF 36) on one half of my face and then put BodyGlide 2-in-1 (SPF 25) on the other half.  I then went out for a 50+ mile ride.   Neither side got sunburnt, although I did get some of the Bullfrog in my eye when I started sweating.  After 3+ hour in 90 degree+ temperatures I returned home.  There was a definitely difference on the two side of my face though.  The side with the BodyGlide was smooth, unburnt and it looked good.  The side with the BullFrog was  unburnt, but it had red blotches from what I assume was wind burn, and the skin didn’t seem to be as smooth.  Even after washing, and waiting a day or two, several people were still able to see the difference on my face.  My assumption is thatwhile the BullFrog was absorbed into my skin, and protected it against the sun.  The BodyGlide remained on the surface and not only protected from the sun, but the wind as well.  Surprisingly too, even after having been out for 3 hours, I could still feel it on my skin.  It’s hard to describe.  It’s not oily, but you can feel it.  It just seems to be a unique BodyGlide feeling.

The second test I did was simply a swim test.  I applied BodyGlide 2 -in-1 to my face right before my weekly long swim.  I did 2 miles at a fairly decent speed, and then got out of the water and checked my face.  The BodyGlide still appeared to be in place, and felt just as thick as it was when I first put it on.  I know with other sunscreens, usually I would need to reapply them after an hour, and then wait 15 minutes or so, before I can return to the water.  I can’t say conclusively if this is the case, but it would appear the BodyGlide 2-in-1 stays on much longer, and I would suspect that the 15 minutes drying period required by other sunscreens isn’t need with this product.

Like I said at the beginning, I would highly recommend this product.  It’s become a standard in my gym bag and I no longer head out on my lunch time runs without applying it first.

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I got tagged by xt4 to do a list of 6 quirks that I have.

Usually when someone in my family or work brings up quirks, the topic immediately turns to my diet, my workouts or my crazy desire to become an IronMan. However since most, if not all of my readers have many of these same quirks and/or have already achieved the goal to finish an IronMan, I guess those really can’t be considered quirks.

Like xt4, I’m not aware of many quirks, and even my wife was at a loss when I asked her, but lets see what I can come up with…

1. When I eat, I can’t have sweet things coming in contact with my regular food. Perhaps this is from growing up in a country where Jello is a desert and not a side dish. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jello salad, but if I have any, it’s usually in a separate bowl, so that none of the sweet creamy stuff gets anywhere near my roll, hamburger or potato salad.

2. I’m just not a fan of Mickey Mouse. Granted my feelings of intense annoyance used to be a lot stronger towards the Mouse, but even now, there’s just something about that little whiny, over excited voice that makes me want to destroy my TV.

3. I would much rather work-out wearing as little as possible, without becoming indecent. That said though, I don’t want to be that guy with the pasty white skin and saggy gut that plods around the park, so I generally wear enough to cover everything that jiggles. That priest in Colorado who was arrested for running naked - I can almost relate to the guy - except I have no idea how he did it without some kind of supportive under garment.

4. This one kind of goes along with #3 but I’m having trouble thinking of more quirks, so we’ll make it it’s own! I’m not a fan of my hair. I was born with a mass of black hair, and over time I’ve had it cut shorter and shorter. I’m somewhere between a #1 and a #2 on most of my head right now. In my mind, If I can comb it, and see a difference, it’s too long. If it wasn’t for the wife forbidding it, I’d probably have started shaving it some time ago.

5. During my last year of high school in New Zealand, I joined the Samoan dance team. Just picture a scrawny, alabaster white South African in a lava-lava, next to a line of big, tanned boys from the islands, all oiled up, slapping ourselves and yelling. Good times!

6. Favorite Drink - Juiced Rockstar with either Guava or Pomegranate juice. Failing which, I’ll go for a Monster or an Amp. Other than that, all I drink is water.

I guess that’s not too bad of a list…

I’m not sure if I even have 6 readers who visit regularly, but if by chance I do, and you feel inclined…

I hereby tag:

Craig - Who will become a Half IronMan tomorrow!! Good Luck!
ShirleyPerly
Stef
IronEric
Steve in a Speedo (Or as he is know by my wife and kids - Speedo Steve
There’s one spot left… If you feel the need and haven’t visited here before, send me a comment, and I’ll add your name and blog here.

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This isn’t a post I’ve been excited about writing, but at the same time, I’m feeling a lot better about it that I suspected I would…

Some history…  The Utah Half IronMan is in 2 weeks time.  I think I have the fitness level to complete it, and had a killer training week planned.  The idea was to completely drain myself, put all my systems into overdrive, and then be ready to go for it,  after a nice 2 week taper.  Monday afternoon, we found out about the impending arrival on Tuesday.  I went out and did 20 miles on the bike - really fast too - at least for me!!  Tuesday -> Nothing, Wednesday -> Nothing, Thursday -> Nothing.  Friday I got out and did just over 2 miles in the pool, which went well, but then I got lazy and did nothing else.

Saturday, I think I caught “The Lazy”.  I woke up stiff and tired and it was already late.  Temps were expected to climb into the 100’s and they did.  So Sunday was going to be the day, and that didn’t happen either, but by then my mind was made up…

I have decided that I am raising the white flag of surrender.  It’s not that I don’t think I could finish the race, but I’d  likely be coming in pretty close to the cut-off time, and I don’t think I’d enjoy it very much, and I’m just not feeling ready.  So Saturday I spent a lot of the morning watching tri videos on YouTube - I need to post those links sometime - and now that it’s had a chance to sit for a while, I think I made the right decision…

I’m actually excited that I will now have time to focus on a couple of  things for the next year and be really ready for next year.  This year has been my first full year doing triathlons, so it may actually be better to take another year to work on my base and some fundamentals for each discipline.

The plan for the remainder of the year is this…

August 9th - Magnathon Sprint Triathlon #2

September ? - I Can Tri Sprint Triathlon (If they have it this year…)

October 4th - St. George Marathon

And that’s about it!

For next year, I would like to work on my swimming style, my biking speed and my running stride, but more on that later.

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I’m hopeful that today’s new addition to the tribe will have great potential as a triathlete, although intense training may have to weight a few years!

Bronwyn Ntombi was born this afternoon at 3:40pm MDT.  She weighed in at 6lbs 15oz and was a whopping 21 inches long.  Basically tall and skinny!

Both Mom and baby are doing fine.  Dad and the remainder of the tribe aren’t fairing quite as well, but are optimistic that they will survive Dad’s cooking and sudden enthusiasm about keeping the house spotless…

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Before I get to the weekend report…

Tomorrow is the day. The doctor has decided to induce the wife, and so by then end of tomorrow, I’ll be a new dad! Again!

I’m still weighing up the Utah Half in a few weeks, but right now I’m planning on doing it, and so all the stops are being pulled out for the training.

Last week was really rough due to a lot of sickness in the family, myself included, and so training consisted of a couple of runs and a long bike ride, during which I dragged two of the younger kids around in the bike trailer behind my mountain bike. 22 miles takes a lot longer when you’re dragging kids I’ve found.

The long run last week was 13 miles, and i did it in a little over 2 hours. Not great, but it’s comparable to the Ogden half marathon I did a few months back, and as an added bonus this wasn’t downhill like that one was.

The plan this week is a lot of swimming, running and biking, although that may be limited for a couple of days. I suspect tomorrow and Wednesdays workouts are likely not going to happen, nor I suspect will Thursdays, but it’s a worthy price to pay to take care of the fam.

Watch this space!

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