The KodaFit Blog

We’re coming up on 10 days since the Ironman, likely the crowning event of this year for me!  It’s been an interesting week for sure.  Last Wednesday night, I pulled up a couple of IMSG video’s on Youtube, which may have been a mistake.  You see, after finishing IMSG, I began a 3 or 4 year hiatus from Iron Distance racing, mostly because I have young kids - actually make that too many young kids! And they need attention, as does my amazing wife - although she mostly just needs help with the kids.  And I was fine with it…  Until I watched the videos!!  I felt the pull of M-Dot, and instantly I tried to find some way where I could keep family happy and race…  So far there has been little, if anything productive which has come from those thoughts.

I think the next few years will likely play out like this…  Lots of Sprint and Olympic distance tris, a couple of marathons, and a few half iron races.   I’d really like to try myself again the full distance of the Silverman, and after last years humbling race, I made a goal to try and break 6 hours.  Perhaps if I can break 6, I’ll try the Iron the next year.  I think I could probably do that in 2011, meaning I’ll do the full Silverman in 2012, and then I think I’d like to try out Ironman Arizona in 2013.

My thoughts have been bouncing around a little as well lately…  My finish time in St. George wasn’t what I wanted it to be.  I think in part because I got off the bike, and knew that as long as I kept moving, I would finish.  And my training wasn’t all it was supposed to be, and finally, that run course was a beast!!  So I’ve caught myself beating myself up over that, and then at the same time realizing that I finished, and as I look back over the race, I enjoyed every single second of it!

My favorite part was approaching “The Wall” right before Veyo, and both times looking up and smiling, because…  That was what Ironman was all about for me…  Looking at a seemingly impossible challenge, staring it straight in the face, and kicking it’s ass!!!

In other news…

I removed my wristband on Saturday night, almost 1 week exactly since the time I finished.  I liked the reminder, but it was starting to get annoying.

The numbers burned into my shoulders have faded significantly…  Actually they haven’t so much faded, as they’ve gotten tanned, and several layers of the surrounding and previously fried skin, has fallen by the way side.

The sunburn is all but gone - although I have my usual summer tri tan on my back - just a little earlier than normal this year.

I’ve started training again.  Great swims the last 2 mornings, and a good solid run at lunch yesterday.  My legs felt good, but I can still tell there is some residual damage.  Think I’ll lay off the speed work for another week or two.

Finally, it’s time to start looking forward…  In 5 weeks it’s the Shark Attack Triathlon.  Last year, if I remember right, I had the fastest swim, 3rd fastest bike, and then I threw it away on the run.  This year I’m swimming significantly faster and my running pace has increased.  My goal for the next 5 weeks, is to get my biking were it needs to be.  Lots of hill climbing and sprint work.  It’s only 11 miles, so I should be able to really, really hammer it out.  The run is fairly flat and it starts with a steep downhill.  If I can get a 7 min/mile average coming off that hill, I’d like to try hold it till the end, and then when the big uphill rears it’s head, I’m going to meet it head on, and run up it as fast as I can, even if I collapse at the top.

So there you have it folks!  I also have a goal to blog more regularly, but every time I set one of those and make  a big deal about it, life gets in the way…  So we’ll see about that one!

read comments (2)

Yikes!  Has it been 3 weeks since I last sat down and wrote something?!?   Today I bring a quick shout-out to the Mrs, a wrap-up of the past 3 weeks of training and lessons learned, and then some plans for the future.

First, HUGE shout out to the wife!!!  Back when we first got married, she used to be able to out run me, and then she started having kids.  I don’t care what anyone says…  Having kids is not natural!  5 kids later (Supposed to be 4, but another one snuck in at the last minute) and we’re now staunch advocates for “Just have 2!!” and Ann is trying to regain her youthy figure.

Last weekend we did the Sweatin’ with your Sweetheart mini-triathlon in Clearfield.  I’ll post more on this later (meaning I’ll write it up tonight, and the post it tomorrow!)  We entered as a team, with me swimming, handing off to her on the bike, and then me finishing off with the run.  She was nervous as anything prior, and almost bowed out on a few occasions prior, but on the day…  SHE DID AWESOME!!

So with that feather in her cap she was excited about getting fit again, and then she also happened to way herself, and got a little bit of a shock on the size of the number.  I know I gain a little weight after a race, and I suspect this maybe it, but it was a nasty reality check.

So she set her mind to it, and in the last 10 days or so has dropped over 10 pounds.  Most of that is likely water weight, since she isn’t doing anything too extreme other than working out daily and watching her calorie intake.

For Valentine’s Day I got her the small cousin of the Body-Bugg.  It’s the GoWear Fit, and we’ve been having a lot of fun with it.  It tracks calorie usage based on a number of physiological factors and from why I understand is pretty accurate.  It’s become another great motivational tool in her quest to become fit again.

For me, I’ve been doing some pretty intense training the past few weeks.  I’m not sure if it’s the smartest approach, but it seems to be improving my endurance, as well as seriously dropping my times in all 3 disciplines and I’ve started to drop some additional pounds as well.  The downside is that after a really intense workout, I usually need a day or two to recover, but I’m willing to give those workouts up in exchange for better times.

This weekend I have a half-iron simulation, which looks like it may be on the trainer, due to snow - UGH!!  But then hopefully Sunday I can get out and do a long and slow trail run, and then launch into my final base training segment before IronMan St. George.

read comments (3)

Folks, I’ve finally been ranked on the USAT lists!!!  Now the 2009 results are still preliminary, but if they’re right then I ended up as #3162 in my age group.

Just to put that in perspective:

There were  5970 people in that age group, and it included the likes of Andy Potts, Matt Reed and Andreas Raelert.

It also puts me in the top 53% of the age group.

I’m hoping to improve in 2010, but since I’m racing some interesting races next year, that improvement may have to wait until 2011.

read comments (0)

My reports on the Layton Tri, the Utah Half, the Top of Utah half Marathon, and now the Red Rock Relay are still coming, but I wanted to share something else.  It’s pretty significant - at least to me…

At the beginning of this year, I had come to the realization that I was not meant for speed, and that expecting to run at a pace under 9 mins/mile was a rather unrealistic expectation.

Somehow though, over the course of the year, things have changed.  My training has included more intensity and I’ve been doing intervals at the track on occasion as well.

I did a 5k back in June, and came in at 24:18, which is an average pace of 7:48 per mile - a new record!!

I felt like dying though, convinced that I would never be able to maintain that pace for very long.

I’ve read two things since then…

1 - Most world records have been broken when the runner has negative split the course, something I didn’t do in my 5k.

2 - Speedo Steve, after competing in a 40k bike time trial, described it as painful, but not as painful as a 5k.  I’m uncomfortable running a 5k, but I don’t think I cross the threshold into pain.

So armed with those 2 pieces of information, I’ve been trying to start slowly, and put it into the pain zone towards the end.

8/29 - Half Marathon in Logan UT.

Started slower and felt my legs kicking in around mile 6.  Mile 7 dropped below a 9 min/mile.  It hurt, but I kept pushing.  Interestingly enough, my mile splits kept dropping, even as I ran the hill at mile 12.  It hurt, but I was determined not to stop.  The final mile was brutal!  I passed a girl who was puking her guts out, and thought about joining her.  Final time… 1:53:16.  That’s 8 minutes and 49 seconds faster than my previous best, and the course appears to have been a little long!!!

9/4 - Relay Race in St. George UT.

Leg 1 was rough, but I was running at 11,000 ft, so we’ll leave that one for now.  Leg 2 was a 6.7 mile run on essentially flat ground, although there were some rollers.  Started slow, although I was feeling warmed up from my earlier run.  Found a rabbit in another runner, and chased her down for a couple of miles.  Found my groove within the first mile, and finished strong.  Final time.  58:16.  That’s only slightly slower than my 10k PR!

Leg 3 start with a down hill, and then a mile of uphill, and finally 3-4 miles alongside the river.  It was in the dark, it was muggy, and my head lamp wasn’t real bright.  I didn’t see another soul after the first couple of miles.  It was lonely, but peaceful.  I kinda liked it.  I’d also been up for well over 24 hours at this point.  I started at a good pace, determined to push it at the end.  6.1 miles in 52:26.

Now heres the really amazing thing…  All three races/legs…  My pace averaged out to 8:35!!!  Considering my first 5k 2 years ago came in with a pace a little over 10 min/mile, I’m pretty excited.

Folks, I may be able to make a runner out of this old body yet!!

read comments (6)

This one is a little different from my usual reports…  I didn’t register, opting to do the ‘Bandit’ thing, and then I used it solely to loosen up before the next day, so it wasn’t even really a training run!

Actually, 3 of my kids did this race, and I thought it best if I ran with the youngest.

Here are the 3 competitors…

#60 - Ella - 7 years old
#62 - Lily - 4 years old
#61 - Kynan - 2 years old

The race itself was held at the BAM Race Expo, and pretty much went around the Expo area. From the start we went over a bridge, alongside the Biathlon range, up around the top of the lodge, and then down the east side and into the finishes shoot, where all the races were schedule to finish.

The plan was for Ella to run out by herself, and then I was going to run with Lily and Ky, and stick with whichever of those two ended up lagging behind. Rob, race director extraordinaire, started the race off with some fun comments, getting the kids excited, and then with the shot of his starters pistol, it was go time.

Ella took off right away, and after a couple of steps, we broke out into a run at the back of the back. Lily stayed with us for about 50 feet, and then started chasing after Ella, meanwhile Ky stayed steady and strong at the back.

I was really impressed with all of them. Unfortunately I couldn’t run alongside each, but I could see them over most of the course. Ky really impressed me with his determination, as did Lily in the way she went off by herself.

By half way, Lily had caught up to Ella, and they were doing the run/walk thing, with Ella playing big sister and encouraging Lily. Ky mean while was chugging away at the back, telling me between huffs and puffs, how well he was doing!

Of all this pictures from the entire weekend, I think this is my favorite…

Here’s comes Lily, followed by Ella, with the most excited look of all time smeared across her face. Click on the photo to see it a little closer - it’s priceless (Of course I am the Dad, and hence incredibly biased!!)

And here’s Ky, cruising along, determined as ever.

Ella had been struggling with some side-aches during the race, but she sucked it up and finished strong.

Lily came in close behind, still pleased as can be!

And finally Ky came in, not last, but the only only kid in the last bunch, which wasn’t crying for part and it, and ran the whole way under his own steam - Way to go, little dude!!

As we crossed the line, Ky got accosted by an older girl, and dragged off to the finishers tent for a Laffy Taffy and a drink, while I gathered up finishers medals and visors.

It wasn’t a timed race - at least it wasn’t supposed to be, but they did seem to be tracking who finished were. I’d be interested to see what the times were for my kids, since they all ran well.

And finally, here they are with the ‘Spoils of War’.

read comments (2)

Well, it seems like the little chat I had with ‘The Coach’ on Monday night is starting to pay off. I’ve noticed an improvement in my training, and I’ve learned a lot as well.

Lesson #1 - Apply Sunscreen, even if it’s not going to be much above 80 degrees.

So yesterday I went for a bike ride over my lunch break. I decided to wear my tri-top, since I was hoping to break a 20mph average for the ride. When I got back and pull the shirt off, I noticed that I had gotten a bit of a tan - seriously, it didn’t look that bad. Then last night I went swimming with the Tri Club up in the mountains. While waiting for it to get started with my wetsuit pulled up to my waist and nothing on top, I got some real strange looks. My lower back was a little tender after the drive home, and when I checked the mirror, this is what I saw…

HOLY CRAP!! My shoulders got pretty tanned last year, so they aren’t as bad, but I don’t think my lower back has seen the sun in over a decade.

Anyone wanna play - what is Mike wearing for this picture?

Lesson #2 - I can push harder.

I’ve gotten my average ride speed up to the mid 19 mph range a few times in the past. Both in training and in races. The elusive 20mph average has so far eluded me - which elusive things tend to do. Usually on a bike ride, my heart rate averages about 145 bpm. So yesterday, do the makeup ride from the night before, I set a goal to go after a 20mph average. My ride was fairly flat, and after losing a little speed going around detours and what not, I focussed on my pedal technique and aero positioning. Around mile 6, I finally made up the lost time and got the average up to 20 - Woohoo!! Except the second half of my ride is where climb all the hills I had been descending. I stopped briefly at half way, refueld with a Gu, some Endurolytes and about 20oz of water. Then I headed back. My RPE was pretty high, but I felt strong. I turned on my street, right as my Garmin clicked over to 25 miles and ended up with a 20.5 mpg Average!!!!

Lesson #3 - Don’t be polite

My parents raised me well. I’m generally quite polite. Actually when I get annoyed, apparently I get super overly polite. I have found however that politeness is not good in a race. The last 2 open water races I’ve done, have been punctuated by frequent collisions with other swimmers, after which I have always stopped and apologized. NO MORE THOUGH!! The swim last night was actually a clinic put on by the club. We practiced a mass start, drafting, sighting and turns. Without the stress of a race, I could focus on keeping my line and being physical enough to hold my own. I got violated a few times, am pretty sure I returned the favor and held my line. Hopefully I can hold on to this for BAM next weekend.

Lesson #4 - Ear plugs and Sensodyne

I’ve had swimmers ear once or twice - not a pleasant experience. During the swim at Rage, part of my discomfort was both cold water in my ear, and just the feeling of water going in and out. A few weeks back I got some silicone ear plugs - actually they’re more like balls of gu which you squish into your ear and they form a nice water tight seal. They may it harder to hear, but that may be a plus. In addition to keep water out, I found I was able to concentrate on swimming - it helped a lot with other swimmers around me as well. The other problem I found last night is that my teeth have gotten sensitive. As disgusting as this is, especially in public pools, I swim with my mouth open. Generally I’m breathing out when under the water, but water still seems to get in. Cold water plus sensitive teeth equals not a happy swimmer. So I’m going to be following my dentists advise and putting sensodyne on my teeth before I retire for the night.

Lesson #5 - Swim technique

I love my new wetsuit. It’s significantly nicer than the rental I had last year (despite being cheaper). The only thing is that the first time I wore it - at Rage - it rubbed the hell out of the back of my head. In subsequent swims, I’ve discovered that it’s actually the zipper cover which is irritating my neck. I’ve been applying copious quantities of Body Glide, which has helped a little, but it still rubs. It turns out that I’ve been hunching my shoulders as I swim - probably due to nerves. Since I’m more comfortable in the water now, I’ve relaxed a little, which has helped. Once I realized that I relaxed even more, and the problem went away. As an added benefit I also realized that I’m swimming pretty damn straight. BONUS!!! I’m not fast by any means, and relaxing means I’ve likely lost a little speed, but I think I’ll be able to swim further, more comfortably and if I’m swimming straight, I’ll cover less distance, so overall, my time should be less.

There are other lessons too, and other products I’ve been trying. I tried some Clif Recovery Drink last night after the swim. French Vanilla and absolutely delicious. There are also a couple of other things I need to blog about… One being RaceVine.com - but that one needs more attention than just a foot note at the end of another post. Check it out if you get a chance though - hopefully I’ll get it written up this weekend!

read comments (1)

It’s official!  As of yesterday afternoon, I will be racing in the Silverman Half next November.  I can’t wait!!  OK, I guess I don’t really have a choice, its probably a good thing that I have 11 months to prepare, because I seriously need to up my training.

In other news, the winter face is coming in well.  Look for an updated picture later this week and some preliminary details on a cool idea I’ve been thinking about for the last month or so.

Today also kicks off the USAT National Club Challenge.  This month the goal is swimming.   I’m hoping to get in about 3 miles a week for the Desert Sharks.

Finally, someone posted the video below on the Tri Clubs forum last week for Thanksgiving.  It’s good and it also factors in to my announcement later in the week.

read comments (0)

I got a bit of the lazy again this weekend. I’ve been using my foot as a bit of an excuse, and even though I’m mid-taper and just a week away from the marathon, I was supposed to run both Saturday and Sunday, 5 and 6 miles respectively.

First my leg… When I did my 20 mile run about 2 or 3 weeks back, with a couple of hundred yards to go, I got a bit of pain on the outside of my left heel. I still haven’t found out what it it, but I’m pretty sure I can rule out stress fracture, it’s on the side, so it’s not Achilles tendinitis, which seems to be plaguing a few fellow bloggers.

I suspect that it may be linked to my shoes. I got two pair last time I purchased show, some Brooks Defyance which I got just for training, and some Addidas SuperNova’s. I got a larger size in the Supernova’s and since they were more comfortable, they were to be my marathon shoes. One nice feature of those shoes, is that the heel portion of the sole is separate from the rest of the sole. I suspect that may be part of the problem, since the break is right where the pain is, and the pain seems worse after I run in those shoes. Anyway, so I’m going to wear the Defyance for the marathon.

The plan was to wake up early on Sunday and get 8 miles in before Church, but I stayed up late Saturday, and didn’t end up waking up until 8 - Ooops!

So last night, I finally got motivated and headed out. My training runs to this point have all averaged about 10 minutes per mile. I was hoping to keep the pace under 10 for the entire 8 miles. Have I mentioned how much I’ve enjoyed running lately? I walked a little and started running, it felt good. I had to slow to cross a road, but hit my first mile in 8:45. Nice!! I slowed a little, but still tried to keep the pressure on. Mile 2 - 9:28, more like it!, Mile 3 - 9:36, hopefully I didn’t go out too fast. Mile 4 included a nice uphill for the first part, and downhill for the second. 9:05 - SWEET!!!

The plan was an out and back 4 mile course. I hit 4 miles as I got to the gate of the Shorelands Preserve. Shorelands is a fresh water waterland, on the borders of the great Salt Lake. A local conservation group has acquired the land, and done a fantastic job of making it accessible, including more than a mile of wooden walkway across the marsh. I really wanted to run the loop, and figured that my wimping out of Saturday’s run meant I could justify it. Miles 5 and 6 were spent on the walkway and the path leading back out the the reserve, including a meaty hill. 9:06, not bad and then 8:42 (What the $#&@?) Mike, you magnificent bastard!!

Mile 7 - mostly uphill and 8:49. WOW!! Mile 8 - 8:39 and feeling amazing. Technically I should have stopped, but didn’t have the urge to at all. Mile 9 - 8:21 - Maybe my GPS is broken, except I do seem to be going fast. Mile 10 included some slowing to avoid a dog, a couple of groups on bikes and crossing the road. With half a mile to go, I figured I could burn whatever I had left, and put the pedal down. My legs felt great, mentally I was in it, and aside from my chest feeling like it was about to explode, everything was looking good. I was hoping to have an average pace close to 9:10, which is what I’ll need to hit 4 hours at the marathon next week. After running the last half mile at around 7:20 pace (I don’t even do that for speed work at the track!!), I hit 10 miles and stopped! Final mile - 7:52 - HOLY COW MAN!!!

Overall, I covered 10 miles in 1 hour and 28 minutes. Average pace 8:50. YES!!!! I walked home, feeling a little fatigued, but in consideration of the run I had just done, not bad at all. Sat down and had a good hearty meal, rounded up the kids and got them to bed, did 30 minutes of Yoga with the wife, and then watched some TV, before calling it a night.

This morning - no residual pain at all, not even when I walked down stairs. My foot is a little tender but not as much as in the past. I’m taking today off, will likely do 3 easy mile tomorrow. A mile Wednesday and 1 or 2 easy miles on Friday.

Saturday morning I plan on crossing the threshold into the ranks of those who have completed a marathon - YES!!!!

read comments (2)

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.

read comments (3)